^Sffi
iMiffr-T.*!'!!'
i
THE
IRISH ABROAD AND AT HOME
fir
AT TPIE COURT AND IN THE CAMP.
WITH
SouiJMVS of '%\t '^%dbe/'
REMINISCEI\CES OF AN EMIGRANT MILESIAN.
Vixere fortes ante Agaraemnoaa
Multi: sed omnes illacrimabi'les
Urgentur ignotique longa
Nocte, carent quia vate sacro.
HORACB.
Les HfUesif.ns etaient braves jadia.
French version o/tJu Greek Proverb.
NEW YORK:
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY,
346 & 348 BROADWAY.
1856.
y ^
S'JI.'jb
CONTENTS
CHAPTER L
Choice of a theme — M. Menneval — General Petiet — Mr. John Wil-
son Croker's "Familiar Epistles" — John Lawlcss's "Trial's AH" . 13
CHAPTER 11.
Fionn Mac Cumhal — "A Giant Refresheil" 19
CHAPTER III.
The Irish Codes or Bayard — Maolraordha O'Reilly — "Myles the
Slasher" — His heroic defence of the bridge of Finea — Death —
Burial and epitaph 24
CHAPTER IV.
The first step the only difficulty — Pigault Lebrun — Capriciousness of
memory — Lord Roscommon 27
CHAPTER V.
Professor Playfair, Horace, and Lord Roscommon on gas-light — Ful-
ton, Franklin, Napoleon, and Marshal Saxo on steam — Strada and
the electric telegraph 29
CHAPTER VI.
Fall of Irish families — Conquest — Penal laws — Cousin Robin — Confis-
cation— Voltaire and his contemporaries — Inconsistencies — William
Todd Jones 32
CHAPTER VII.
Ingratitude of kings, states, and princes — Oblivion of public services
— The Irish nearly forgotten in the theatres of their exploits — Ame-
rican Order of Cutciunatus 36
CHAPTER VIIL
J, ally Tollendal — A soldier at eight years of age — A model parent
— Lally rescues his father at Ettingen — Death of Marshal Berwick
at the siege of Philipsburg — Lally is sent on missions to England
and to Russia — Insures the victory at Fontenoy by his covp d'ceil
on the eve of that battle — Is wounded in the engagement and
thanked and honoured by the king, which he playfully acknow-
ledges in a bon-mot — The O'Briens, Dillons, Johnsons — Prince
Nugent — Bon-mot of a trooper of Fitz James's" — Guard-room
song of " Berwick's"— The Ca Ira of Franklin 40
(3J
IV CONTENTS.
CHAPTER IX.
Career of Lally Tollendal — He joins the Pretender in Scotland — Bat-
tle of Selkirk — Visits London secretly — The Jacobite English
Peers — Lally is about being arrested, but escapes as a smuggler —
Is present at the defence of Antwerp, the battle of Lansfeldt, and
the siege of Bergen-op-Zoom — Is again wounded — Is made prisoner
— Is exchanged and becomes a favourite and friend of Marshal
Saxe — Is consulted upon the means for making war cu England —
Recommends attacking her by invasion, by a descent on her Ameri-
can colonies, or in India — Is appointed to command an expedition
to this last-mentioned quarter — Arrives there — Takes Fort Saint Da-
vid and Devicotta — Marches on Tanjore — Takes Madras — Battle of
Vandravaches — Is besieged in Pondicherry, and obliged to surrender
— Is sent to England a prisoner of war — Visits France on parol . . 48
CHAPTER X.
Lally is accused of peculation and high treason — Surrenders himself
and is imprisoned in the Bastille — His trial, conviction, sentence,
and execution 66
CHAPTER XL
General discontent at the execution of Lally — Immorality of Louis
XV., and his (probably) hypocrisy — Voltaire aids the son of Lally
in his endeavours to have the judgment against the father reversed,
and which is at length pronounced by a decree of parliament, with
the hearty assent of Louis XVI 60
CHAPTER XIL
Lally Tollendal the younger — Voltaire on his death-bed congratulates
Lim on the success of his efforts — The States-General — Lally a
member of that body — His admirable conduct on the eve of and after
the taking of the Bastille — Mirabeau, Fox, Sheridan, and Plowden
(the Historian) 62
CHAPTER XIIL
Lally's legislative labours — History of a constitution, and of its alter-
nate reign and reversal — The throne and the monarch in peril —
The king's advocates, and their loyalty and devotion to him ... 67
CHAPTER XIV.
Progress of the revolution — Memoirs of Mounier, Montmorin, Ma-
louet, and (Bertrand de) Molleville 70
CHAPTER XV.
The Reign of Terror — Maillard and the massacres at the Abbaye —
His horrible sang froid and dissimulation — The Swiss Guards —
"A la Force!" — Death of Count Montmorin — Malouet — Henry
Brougham — Lord Castlereagh's figure of speech — The Abb6 Gre-
goire, " I'Ami des Noirs" — Bertrand de Molleville 73
CHAPTER XVL
Lally returns to France on the advent of Napoleon to the Consulate,
and flatters him — Becomes acquainted with his uncle. Cardinal Fesch
— Discourteous bon-mota of Napoleon and Wellington respecting
Lally Tollendal and Surgeon O'Reilly. — Lally and Madame de Stael 77
CONTENTS. V
CHAPTER XVII.
Political inconsistency — Pitt — Lord Castlereagh — The latter enaWes
a, chief of the United Irishmen to escape — William IV. and tho
tenacious memories of the royal family 80
CHAPTER XViri.
Coincidence of opinion of Lally ToUendal the elder and Napoleon of
the most efSeacious mode of making war on England — The faith-
lessness of Xapoleon towards the Irish — Pretends to follow the
counsel of Arthur O'Connor, Thomas Addis Emmet, and Doctor
MiicNeven — The camp of Boulogne — The invasion of England re-
nounced for the Austrian campaign — Mr. Pitt and Lord Nelson on
the subject of invasion 84
CHAPTER XIX.
Napoleon's egoisme and fatal ingratitude to Poland 88
CHAPTER XX.
The United Irishmen and the question of French assistance — Father
Denis Taaffe — His misgiving touching French good faith — The
Poles — Ill-treated by Napoleon, are neglected by his successors
Louis XVIII. and Charles X. — They are cajoled, deceived, all but
betrayed by Louis Philippe — Terrible apathetic phrase of Marshal
Sebastiani, " Order reigns in AVarsaw" — Louis Philippe's ruse to
secure momentary popularity 91
CHAPTER XXL
The Revolutions of 1830 and of 1848 in Paris — Combated respectively
by descendants of Irishmen — General Wall and Marshal Bugeaud
— Colonel Hugh Ware (of Rathcoffey) and General Coutard — The
Irish Legion at Astorga 93
CHAPTER XXIL
Charles X. — Marshal Marmont — General Wall — The Revolution of
1830 — Lord Dundonald — Culinary acumen of the Due de . —
General Vincent's counsel to Charles X. to resist — Is overborne by
the Archbishop of Paris, and retires 97
CHAPTER XXIIL
Marshal Bugeaud — Louis Philippe and tho Revolution of 1848 — The
disaflFected unprepared for aud surprised by it more than the king
and his ministers — Poltronnerie — The change effected by gamins . 101
CHAPTER XXIV.
Louis Philippe's elevation to the throne in 1830 — He mystifies La
Fiiyette, Laffitte, and all but Arthur O'Connor — La Fayette's "best
of republics," and Talleyrand's bon-viot thereon — Mr. Rives, the
American envoy 107
CHAPTER XXV.
Ingratitude of Louis Philippe to La Fayette — Mr. Rivea and his
imputed influence on the Revolution of 1830— La Fayette's visit to
the United States — His bonhommie HI)
Vi CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XXVI.
Louis Philippe's insincerity and selfishness — Proves them at the com-
mencement of his reign — His solicitude to obliterate all marks and
traces of his ascent 113
CHAPTER XXVII.
Un pent trap t6t — The republicans and Bonapartists, who alone effected
the revolution, roused by Louis Philippe's reactionary policy, and
set "all right" again for the moment — A Bonapartean emeute —
Marshal Lobau's receipt for dispersing a crowd without firing . . 116
CHAPTER XXVIIL
"The schools" of Paris — Their daring audacity and revolutionary
principles — Their pugnacity in presence of c/eua cl'armes — They
powerfully contributed to the success of the Revolujtion of 1830 —
Battle of the Rue Plumet — Death of Vanneau, of the Ecole Polytech-
nique — "A good mass" for the repose of his soul — Accidental deaths
of General Pajol and of Marshal Excelmans 121
CHAPTER XXIX.
Causes of the Revolution of 1848, viz. : Republico-Bonapartism of the
nation ; exasperated by the impolitic demonstration of principles
of legitimacy by Louis Philippe, who dissembled not his pretension
to reign by Divine right, nor his horror of democracy; his grasp-
ing at money; his accepting, with Madame do Feucheres, participa-
tion in the property of the Prince de Conde for his son; tho ru-
mours that that prince had come by his end unfairly; the Spanish
marriages; the impunity with which corruption and embezzlement
were practised ; the writings of Thiers, Louis Blanc, and Lamartine;
and finally, tho murder of the Duchess of Praslin by her husband . 123
CHAPTER XXX.
Coincidences — Napoleon — The Generals Counts O'Reilly — Their ex-
ploits respectively — The Chevalier O'Gorman 133
CHAPTER XXXL
Mysterious death of the Viscount Wall, now for the first time ex-
plained— Tho gallant and unfortunate Theobald Dillon 136
CHAPTER XXXIL
Duels and duellists : George Robert FitzGerald ; Dick Martin ; Count
Rice ; Nicholas French ; Jack Geoghegan ; Du Barri ; Lord Delvin ;
"Delvin" O'Reilly — Anomaly in the regulations of the British ser-
vice—An island taken by an unqualified officer (Colonel Keating)
— Baron Hompesch and his "Hussians" 141
CHAPTER XXXIII.
Duraouriez orders Theobald Dillon to Tournay, whose troops mutiny,
run back to Lille, and assassinate their general — Executions "a la
lantenie" and d la guillotine!" — The murder of Theobald Dillon
avenged 14g
CHAPTER XXXIV.
Arthur Dillon — His distinguished career — His friendship with Camilla
CONTENTS. vii
Desmoulins, devoted on both sides, and a cause of Camillo's destruc-
tion; that of Danton and of their fellow sufferers — Dillon's polite-
ness at the foot of the scaffold— His execution — "Vive le Roi !" — •
The widows of Camille-Desmoulius and of "Pcro Duchcsno" guillo-
tined with him 151
CHAPTER XXXV.
Heroic women — Madame Camille-Desmoulins — Madame Lab^doycre
— Solicit death respectively 155
CHAPTER XXXVI.
Camille-Desmoulins incurs the resentment of Robespierre, partly be-
cause of his noble defence of Arthur Dillon in the Convention, and
pays the penalty of provoking the tyrant 15S
CHAPTER XXXVII.
The guillotine en permanence — General James O'Moran — Remarkable
coincidence — The first and the last shots of the war fired by Irish-
men— Sergeant Rousselot the first French soldier distinguished in
that war — M. Jouy — "The Hermit of the Chaussee d'Antin" — Aide-
de-camp of General O'Moran — M. Tissot, the veteran historian . .161
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
Continued Reign of Terror — The Luxembourg and "the Carmes" —
General O'Hara; Miss Catherine O'Reilly ; T.Ward; Burke; John
Malone — The massacre of one hundred and seventy-eight bishops
and other ecclesiastics at the Carmes, with MacCurtin, C. E. F. H.
Macdon.ald and others — Thomas Paine — Petition of American citi-
zens to the Convention in his favour — Danton (presiding) accords to
them "the honours of the sitting" — Danton, himself, arrested and
imprisoned in the Luxembourg — Recognises Paine — Anacharsis
Cloots — His rebuke to the mob at the scaffold 1(56
CHAPTER XXXIX.
Commissaires de la Repnhliqne direct the operations of her fleets and
armies — Whimsical nominations to that office — Provost Hely Hutch-
inson, of Trinity College, Dublin — His avidity — His daughter ap-
pointed captain of dragoons as a pis al/cr — Bon-mot upon him (Lord
Donoughmore) — The French Provisional Government of 1848 —
Named as commissar}' of the army in the North the editor of the
Charivari — Indignation of colonels reviewed by him — Jean Bon St.
Andre (an ex-parson) appointed commissary of the Brest fleet in
1791 — Orders that the fleet (which only put to sea to protect the
arrival of provisions from America) fight the fatal battle of the 1st
June — Military and nautical incivility Ifl
CHAPTER XL.
French politeness and gallantry — Splendid instance of it cited by Lord
Palmerston — Laughable experience of a similar impulse by the au-
thor— An Englishman's love of fair play — Battle of Carapcrdown —
Lord Duncan at prayer — Jack's disapproval of its object — An Irish
sailor's reason for not going to mass — Bitter reflection of the Turk-
ish admiral on the battle of Navarino — Wellington's sagacity and
foresight 175
VIU CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XLI.
"The glorious 1st of June" — Jean Bon St. Andr6 scratched and runs
below — Lord Howe and his sailing master — "Tom Packenham"
(uncle of General Packenham, killed at New Orleans in January,
1S15) — Lord Howe's estimation of the qualification for the rank of
prince — Duquesnoy, an ex-monk, appointed commissaire of the
army of the North — His atrocious brutality and infamous reports . 180
CHAPTER XLir.
Emigration of the French princes in 1791 — Causes the dissolution of
the Irish Brigade — One portion remains with the Republic; the
other follows the princes — Their names 185
CHAPTER XLIII.
Colonel Stack and the Duke of York — A new religion — Surgeon Egan
is made prisoner after the battle of Talavera in Spain — His inter-
view with Marshal Mortier and its fortunate consequences for him —
Death of the Marshal by the infernal machine of Fieschi .... 190
CHAPTER XLIV.
Egan's journey to France — Extraordinary adventure of an English
orphan — The Irish Legion — Egan arrives in Paris — Is courteously
received by Marshal Clarke (Due de Feltre), and munificently re-
warded by the Emperor Napoleon — Egan arrives in London — His
interview with the Duke of York — The O'Maraa 194
CHAPTER XLV.
The Forty-second — "He is my son I" — French and British sentimen-
tality 200
CHAPTER XLVL
Egan in the 23d Light Dragoons — Captain Power and fatality — Egan
challenges his captain — Is broke, but reinstated — Is appointed to
the 12th Light Dragoons (now Lancers) — The gallant Colonel Frede-
rick Ponsonby — AVaterloo famous swordsmen and horsemen — Gene-
ral La Houssaye — His desert (according to English orthography) lea
qnntre mendiana — Captain Newpor.t — Colonel Ponsonby unhorsed
and desperately wounded — Private John Murphy's occupation at
Waterloo— Whistles "the Grinder"— Fate— Ned Kelly and Mon-
tague Liud 203
CHAPTER XLVIL
"Waterloo Kelly" of the 1st Life Guards — Contributes to the preser-
vation of the British army on the eve of the battle of Waterloo —
The Marquis of Anglesey — Major Berger — Captain Perrott — Fate
favourable to Kelly — His death in India 203
CHAPTER XLVIII.
Irish colleges and seminaries abroad — The Irish college of Paris —
Monarchical principles of its inmates in 1789 — Irish foot-ball in the
Champ de Mars — The altar of the country profaned by an Irish
student (Charles O'Reilly) — Fearful consequences — La Fayette —
Bailly — " A la lanterne les calotins !'' 214
CONTENTS. ix
CHAPTER XLIX.
St. Patriek's Day in Spain — The n'olon — The brigand monk — Colonel
Hugh Ware — The fruits of a skinful of wine 217
CHAPTER L.
The Abb6 Kearney coadjutor of the Abb6 Edgworth in attendance on
Louis XVI. in his last moments — The execution of that monarch —
The Abb6 Kearney imprisoned in the Temple, but becomes after-
wards superior of the Irish College — The Abbe Edgeworth dies at
Mittau — His epitaph (by Louis XVIII.) 221
CHAPTER LL
The Reign of Terror — Doctor MacMahon — He is accused of iiictvt'sme
— Conceals himself — Ventures abroad — Is detected, but spared, and
escapes miraculously — Repairs to the frontier and makes two cam-
paigns 228
CHAPTER LII.
Omens, precursors, and causes of the Revolution of 1789 — Charles X.
and Captain Morris — Tho Bastille — Louis XVI. and the Abb6 O'Neill 233
CHAPTER LIIL
The Irish College closed — Interregnum— The Abbe MacDermott — Ma-
dame Campan — Eugene Beauharnais — His mother (Josephine) —
Jerome Bonaparte — Scholastic revels — The beauties of the Republic
— Madame Tallien (Princess of Chimay) — Madame Rocamier —
"The Vestris" — Napoleon returns from Egypt — Examines Jerome
in history — "Priests and tyrants" — Jerome flies from the cabinet of
the First Consul, and takes refuge at the house of his mother (Ma-
dame Laetitia) — Is sent to sea — Lands in America and marries there
Miss Patterson — Returns to France — Is created King of Westphalia
— Distinguishes himself at Waterloo 236
CHAPTER LIV.
The Irish College under the Restoration — Church militant — The Abbfi,
Captain, and Duellist, Ferris — A banquet — Captain Murphy — A
New York clipper — The Irish renegade, Somers — Is denounced,
tried, and shot in twelve hours for corresponding with Lord Castle-
reagh — The Abb6 Ferris twice President of the Irish College — Chal-
lenges Hely d'Oissel (Minister for Public Instruction) to mortal
combat — Generals O'Connell and O'Mahony— Napoleon and the
nuns — The British parliament and a cardinal's hat 239
CHAPTER LV.
The Irish at home — British misrule — Sufferings of the Irish — Resist-
ance— Antagonism — Protection afforded to insurgents and political
offenders by the peasantry — Remarks on education, and suggestions
for the amelioration of Ireland 246
CHAPTER LVL
Disaffection — Secret societies : Rapparees ; White Boys ; Defenders;
Black Hens ; Caravates; Shanavests ; Rockites; Moll Doyle's Sons;
Carders; Ribbonmen (this last sect founded by Orangemen) . . . 249
1*
V
X CONTENTS.
* CHAPTER LVII.
Attack of the Journal des Debats upon the Irish character — Reply of
the author of this work — The Island of Saints — Saints Columbanus,
Colombkill, and Killian — The law of "wager of battel" — Counsel-
lor MacNally 251
CHAPTER LVIII.
The penal laws — Their fearful effects on the Catholics; reduce them
to the lowest point of the social scale — The Balfes — Plundered by
means of a bill of discovery — The chief of the family a turner in
the United States 258
CHAPTER LIX.
The Geoghegans — A sham convert — Geoghegan of London conforms;
sells his property and relapses into popery — His ribald excuse for it
— Geoghegan of Dunowen — A new team 2G3
CHAPTER LX.
The reign of intolerance — AKject condition of the conquered party —
Orange lilies — Lord Chesterfield and Miss Ambrose (Lady Palmer),
"the Dangerous Papist" — His Lordship's repetition of that fine sen-
timent and compliment to George II. — The author's reception by
Lady Palmer seventy years afterwards — His interview with Madame
de Genlis — Lord Edward and Lady Pamela FitzQerald — Green cra-
vats— " The glorious and immortal memory !" — " Captain Moll Nu-
gent"—Her toast— The Chevalier D'Eon 266
CHAPTER LXL
The Luttrells — Junius (Sir Philip Francis) and Henry Lawes Luttrell,
Earl of Carhampton — The Earl accused of a capital offence by Doc-
tor Boyton, whom he challenges — Father Fay and Mary Lewellyn
— Hamilton Rowan and Lord Carhampton — The commander-in-
chief out-generalled — Scene at Connelly, the bootmaker's .... 272
CHAPTER LXn.
General Montague Mathew — Who sold the Pass? "Luttrell, the trai-
tor"— He is assassinated in a sedan chair — His compact with the
evil one — The devil's mills — "La chose impossible" 280
CHAPTER LXIII.
Lord Carhampton aggravates his unpopularity by his persecution of
the United Irishmen and his espiotinarje of the troops — Two militia
men shot for conspiring to murder him — Two doves rise from their
bodies and soar to heaven — Saratoga — The Highland "watch" and
the red Indian 283
CHAPTER LXIV.
Administration of justice in Ireland — State prisoners — Bernard Coile
— Toasts of the disaffected — Latet anguis in herba — The betrayer of
Robert Emmet — Fitz-Patrick Knaresborough — Judge B 1 bribed
— Knaresborough's life is spared — Strange commutation — Lord Nor-
bury's inhumanity and repartee 287
CONTENTS. XI
CHAPTER LXV:
Draco in Dublin — From the court to the gallows — Cheap detective — A
farthing candle watches over a purse of gold 293
CHAPTER LXVI.
The unspotted ermine of the bench — Bob Moore — His enormous in-
come— Brutality and wit — Justice Hickey — Duelling — Grattan, Cor-
ry, Curran, FitzGibbon, Napper Tandy, Toler, Daly, and James
Moore O'Donncll 296
CHAPTER LXVII.
Irregularities in the administration of the laws — Resisting the sheriff
— "Fighting FitzGerald" — His hon-mot at Versailles — His encounter
with Dick Martin — His reception by Lord Tyrawley d la Baillie
Nicol Jarvie 300
CHAPTER LXVIir.
Elegant, educated, travelled, George Robert FitzGerald, the epitome
of riot, turbulence, tyranny, and treachery — Imprisons his father in
his own Castle of Turlogh- — Receives the high sheriff warmly — Takes
for his adviser Brecknock of the London bar, and engages a band of
North-country bravos, through whose counsel and agency he effects
the murder of Pat Randall MacDonnell — Origin of Lynch law — A
"Porteous Mob" — George Robert and Brecknock tried, found guilty,
and executed for the murder, as accessories, on the evidence of the
principal in it 304
CHAPTER LXIX.
Counsellor Costelloe and Brantome — Dutch ducats — Cheating the
hangman 310
CHAPTER LXX.
Nero Norbury — Bank prosecutions — Walter Cox — "Billy MacDowell"
(jailor of Newgate) — Horrible application of the laws to bank note
forgers — Toler in his glory — The Duchess of Richmond — Moore
hanged 317
CHAPTER LXXL
Irish Independence declared in 1782 — How lost — The Duke of Rut-
land Lord Lieutenant — "Dying scarlet" — Convivialism extinguishes
patriotism 325
CHAPTER LXXII.
"A hard drinking neighbourhood" — The Duke and Sir Hercules Lan-
grishe — In vino Veritas — Tommy Moore — Sheridan — Byron — The
Rivals 328
CHAPTER LXXIIL
Corporate decorum— The Duke of Rutland at the Mayoralty— " Wipe
your eye, my lord"— "No sky-light !"—" No heel taps !"— Lord
Muskerry's theories 331
CHAPTER LXXIV.
A fast man— St. George Caulfield— His incredible prodigality— Is ex-
XU CONTENTS.
polled Paris and France by order of Napoleon — Kitchen wine —
George Nugent Reynolds — Kilkenny theatricals — Roger O'Connor
— Sir Francis Burdett — A start from the post 334
CHAPTER LXXV.
The Rutland reign — "Manners, you blackguards !" — Vice-regal nights
and knights — The Duke and the shoe-boy 337
CHAPTER LXXVI.
The Duchess of Rutland and the beautiful Mrs. Dillon — Aldermnn
Poole — Black Pits — " More pigs than Protestants" — The Duke breaks
up — Dies — His funeral SiO
CHAPTER LXXVII,
"Clubs:" "The Cherokees;" "The Kildare Street;" "The Hell-fire
Club" — Costume of the Cherokees — Lord Llandafif and his brother
General Montague Mathew — Beau Brummel 343
CHAPTER LXXVIII.
Arthur O'Connor — Henry, Lord Paget (Marquis of Anglesey) — "Mur-
der in jest" — Lord Santry sentenced to be hanged — Is saved by the
water ordeal — Five Irishmen contemporary ministers of war — The
Empress Maria Theresa and O'Donnell and the Empress Josephine
and William Harrison of Belfast 347
CHAPTER LXXIX.
Ireland and the Irish 351
CHAPTER LXXX.
Postliminous preface 355
THE
IRISH ABROAD AND AT HOME.
CHAPTER I.
Les MUesiens avaient iii le peuple le plus puissant de la Carie. lis
avaient ontrepris, et soutenu plusieurs guerres mSuiorables. Elles avaient
envoys de nombreuses colonies dans le Propontide et le Pont Euxin.
C. De Mery.
I am curious in Euch matters — believing as I do that Secret History with
her tittle-tattle is far more to be relied on than her statelier sister with all
her sonorous periods — solemn falsehoods — stately didactics, and inconse-
quent conclusions. — "Liverpool Fifty Years Ago." {In the Boston Liberty
Bello/1S49.)
THE late excellent M. Mdn^val, in his " Historical Recol-
lections of Napoleon and Marie Louise," gives the following
reason for undertaking that interesting work :
" I have long hesitated about a task which diffidence in
my capability rendered me fearful I should not be able worthily
to fulfil. In the mean while, age advances ; and, however in-
sufficient be my pen, I can no longer postpone giving to the
world — not memoirs, but some recollections."
With similar modesty General Petiet exclaims, in his '' Sou-
venirs Militaires," '' A dieu ne plaise que j'aie I'intention
d'4crire I'Histoire (de 1815); je n'en ai ni la pretention, ni
les moyens."
That which in M. Men^val and General Petiet was mis-
placed distrust of powers which each eminently possessed, is
with me a profound and undissembled sense of incapacity for
(13)
14 THE IRISH
grave, formal Historical Memoirs of Ireland and Irishmen;
and yet all my matter will be found of historical character,
referring as it will to the condition of Ireland and her offspring,
and other inhabitants, during six hundred years ; that is, from
the date of the Invasion, under the second Henry (1172), to
the last quarter of the 18th century, when the first sensible
relaxations of the penal code (directed against the Catholics
who constituted the great mass of her population), took place.
It is however to the situation of Ireland, and to the events
which took place there, and to those which occurred elsewhere
to Irishmen, and consequently to the characteristics of the
Irish, between the accession of Elizabeth and the middle of
the reign of George III., that my recollections will especially
refer. That sad period when, to the ordinary inflictions upon
a conquered people were superadded savage, relentless (mis-
called) " Religious" Persecution.
The alleged motive for this atrocious augmentation of the
sufferings of a people whose only crimes consisted in defend-
ing to the last extremity their independence, and in desperate
fidelity to the faith of their ancestors, was, forsooth, to inure
their acquiescence in British rule, and (as a means for insuring
its permanence) conformity to the religion professed by the
invaders. Whether this policy or proceeding be or be not
susceptible of defence I shall not discuss, but no argument
or sophistry can excuse or even palliate the inhuman and
infamous abuse of the power delegated, for the purpose, to, or
usurped by military chiefs, adventurers, and fanatics, and
which rendered Ireland, for two hundred years at least, the
most unhappy country on the face of the earth.
During those two centuries oppression and resistance, revolt
and repression, rebellion and defeat, with their accompanying
horrors, succeeded to each other incessantly in " that land for
which the Almighty has done so much and man so little."
The soul sickens at the catalogue of barbarities on the one
hand, and of heroic endurance on the other, presented by the
history of Ireland, throughout the period just alluded to —
that is, extending from the Reformation to the Declaration of
Irish Independence, in 1782.
Mr. John Wilson Croker,* the witty author of certain
* Since more generally and more advantageously known as Secretary of
the British Admiralty and as the principal writer in the Quarterly Keview
— which position ho still occupies.
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 15
strictures on the Dublin stage, publislicd in the year 1805, in
the shape of " Poetical Epistles to Frederick Edward Jones,
Esq." (patentee of the Dublin Theatre), refers, in a note, to
the clever play of my old and esteemed friend, the late jMr.
John Lawless, just then recently brought out under the title
'' Trial's All." The hero of the piece — a romantically patri-
otic suitor — labours under a charge of disaffection to the
government, and is finally rewarded, not with the hempen
halter as a traitor false, but with the noose of matrimony as a
lover true, to the great scandal of all loyal men — Mr. Croker
among the rest — who asks sarcastically, " what can have
turned Mr. Lawless's attention to such Green Street^ sub-
jects?"
This question was understood to convey something more
than disapprobation of the theme chosen by Mr. Lawless, who
had with several of his fellow-students (including George
Moore, David Power, John Keogh, Thomas Moore, and Ro-
hert Emmet), been expelled Trinity College, Dublin, seven or
eight years before, for suspected disloyalty. Thenceforward
Mr. Lawless had been regarded as a man of very questionable
politics, a character which seemed, however, in no way to
diminish his self-esteem, self-respect, and complacency. Nor
did it, I must add, interfere with the success of his drama.
In like manner I may be asked, " why revive recollections
of painful occurrences and unhappy times ?" I reply : '' Limit-
ation nans against continued suppression of them."
" Be it so. But what perversity or corrupt taste can have
led you into this course of study and composition ?"
My answer is, '^ I could not help it." The sage Dogberry
laid down the law long before I submitted to it, for he held
that
" To write and read come by nature."
Like Worcester —
"Rebellion lay in my way and I found it."
From the first moment when I began to understand the
conversations held in my presence, until that which supplied
to me personal acquaintance with and appreciation of the
afflictions of Ireland, I had heard of little else than
» Green Street, Dublin, is the street in which, as in the Old Bailey, Lon-
don, are situate the jail of Newgate and the Criminal Court.
16 THE IKISH
" Treasons, stratagems, and spoils,"
and of the conflicts of the Irish with the invaders of their
soil. I heard of Fionn Mac Cumhal, and Ossian, and Oscar.
I reverenced the tact, the courage, and the patriotism of
Fionn ; and I admired the genius of Ossian, and I pitied Oscar
for the incessant labour to which he is doomed in the other
•world (in a place not to be named), which consists in thresh-
ing, with a red-hot iron flail, the recusant sons of Erin as they
enter. I heard of the Danes, and of Brian Boroimhe, and of
his son Donoh, and of his grandson Morogh ; the three gene-
rations who fell at Clontarf, on Good Friday, 1014, in the
defeat and expulsion of the Ostmen. I heard of '' the red-
haired man," Mac Morogh, who, it was prophesied, would be
" Cause of grief and woe to Erin,"
and of " the woman,"* who, the same seer foretold, would
" Lay waste the plains of Leinster ;"
and I heard of her Lieutenant Essex, and his doings ; and of
StraiFord, and of his taking unto himself by forfeiture (that
was the courtly phrase) in a single day the possessions of
seventy-five chiefs and gentlemen of the clan of the O'Byrnes
(one of them, I was told, my maternal progenitor), and which
paternal adoptions constitute at present the Wicklow estates
of the Earl Fitzwilliam, a great English nobleman, the lineal
or collateral descendant, I forget which, of the propounder of
that great appropriation clause. I heard of Maolmordha (pro-
nounced Meeolmora) that is, Myles O'Reilly, or, as he was
called, " Myles the Slasher." I heard also of Owen Roe, and
of Phelim, and of (Shane) O'Neill, and of Sir Teague O'Re-
gan, and of the wholesale colonization of Ulster (which those
who were excluded, in order to make room for it, unreasona-
bly persisted in terming confiscatioii), by that godly prince,
the foe d outrance of Papists, witches, and warlocks, James
I., — that monarch, so expert in
" Reckoning up the several devils' names."
and who, by his autos-da-fe of hags and sorcerers, did so much
* Elizabeth.
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 17
towards the illumination of the world ;* thus setting to his
granddaughter the example which she so closely imitated, in
" Roasting, just like crabs, the martyrs ;"
and I heard of the massacres of Monaghanstown, and of
MuUaghmasteen ; and of Oliver Cromwell, and of his logical
revenge in battering down the north side of every church,
tower, and castle because of the heroic resistance he had
encountered in the north of Ireland, and of his pious adjura-
tion to his soldiers, to '' fear God and keep their powder dry;"
and of King Shamus, with (in Irish) a most contemptuous
epithet thereto attached ; and of " the brave Duke Schora-
berg," who
" Lost his life,
In crossing the Boyne ■water ;"
and of Luttrel, who ''sold the pass;" and of the immortal
Sarsfield ; and of the chivalrous Frenchman, of whom the epic
poet sings :
" Saint Ruth is dead.
And all the guards have from the battle fled ;
As he rode up the hill he met his fall,
And died a victim to a cannon-ball."
After them, I heard of the Rapparees, and of " the bold
Freney," and of " Freney's Mountain," where, when oppor-
tunity served, he exercised reprisals on the invader ; and of
Father Sheehy, and of the untimely end respectively of all the
jury by whom he had been found guilty (an historical fact, by
the way) ; and of the " Boghalawn-Bawns" and " White Boys."
Side by side with these, was the incessant mention of
forfeitures, spoliations, and confiscations, and of hangings,
drawings, and quarterings, and of " bills of discovery," and
of "Protestants" and "Romans," and of "relapsed Papists."
Those mournful recollections were occasionally relieved by
the patriotic sallies and waggeries of Swift, who vas still, in
my boyhood, the idol of the old Irish. f To these quickly
succeeded " the Volunteers of Ireland," and " the declaration
of independence," and " the Duke of Leinster," and " Lord
Clanricarde," and " Lord Charlemont," and " Henry Grattan,"
» I wonder whether the Abb6 (afterwards Cardinal) Maury, drew his
celebrated calembourg from this source.
t IIow often has not an old worshipper of " the Dane" (as he pronounced
his quality) taken me to Hoey's Court in the city of Dublin, to point out
the house in which the patriot was born !
18 THE IRISH
and '' Henry Flood," and "Edmund Burke/' and "Father
O'Leary."
Thus prepared and predisposed, I began, although then
only a child, to acquire some faint notion of the bitterness with
which those references were uttered, and gathered from it that
some party with whom I ought to sympathize had received
injury. Almost suddenly, however, the interest with which
domestic politics were viewed, gave place to foreign topics, or
were in some sort identified with them. " The French Revo-
lution" and "the Bastille," and "Lafayette" and "the
National Guards" were jumbled in a manner, inconceivable
by me, with the " Irish volunteers," and " Hamilton Rowan"
and "Napper Tandy" and "the Catholic claims," and "the
Catholic Committee," and its chiefs " Tom Broughall" and
"John Keogh" and "Dick McCormick" and "Toby Mac-
kenna," (the latter of whom, in consequence of a pamphlet he
wrote unfavourable to the claims of his cor6ligionnaires, was
called a deserter), and " Colonel Talbot" and " Sir Edward
Newenham," the popular candidates for representing the county
and city of Dublin in Parliament.
The result of all this was the formation of what will
probably appear, as I have anticipated, a depraved and
unwholesome taste, which grew with my growth, and strength-
ened with my strength; and which acquired further force from
close and more matured observation of events, and from sub-
sequent personal acquaintance and intercourse with some of
the remarkable men thrown up by the volcano. The mass of
matter, thus accumulated in a tolerably retentive memory, I
shall now proceed to lay before the reader.
Ere I close this portion of my exordium, however, I shall
venture upon a digression which will, thus early, give to the
reader a touch of my quality for discursiveness. In the fore-
going recapitulation of materials with which, unarranged, my
mind is stuffed, will have been observed two names, Fionn
Mac Cumhal and Uaolmordha. The first flouri.shed before
the noble institution of Scannachies or Bards. We have
consequently fewer records of his sayings and doings than could
have been desired. The latter, more fortunate in that regard,
had for historian the late erudite Chevalier 0' Gorman, from
whose elaborate work I shall, however, make only one extract.
Taking those heroes — for such they were respectively — in
chronological order, I shall present the biographical notice of
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 10
Fionn Mac Cumlial as it has been ti'aditionally lianded dowu,
and under its original title
" A Giant Refreshed."
CHAPTER II.
Wise in council — brave in fijcbt.
Ulysses.
THE first Patriot of wlaom I heard mention made was Fionn
Mac Cumhal, whose contemporaries used to say that
"None but himself could be his parallel."
In after times, however, that is, in the progress of the dispute
between the Greeks and Trojans, there appeared in the ranks
of the former a man, who, if he did not rival Fionn " entirely,"
approached him nearer in physical and mental qualities than
any who had figured since his day, though ages upon ages had
passed in the interval. Stnick with its admirable appropriate-
ness to herald in my hero, Fionn, I have chosen a line from
the well-known tragedy bearing for its title the name of this
remarkable person, for the motto of this my second chapter.
Fionn Mac Cumhal (pronounced by the Firbolgs and their
successors Fimi Mac Cool) was the head of a family and sept
of giants, and renowned equally for stature, strength, craft,
and wisdom. Unfortunately my memory is refractory respect-
ing him and his exploits, two only of which live in it; but
even these sufiice to give the measure of the man.
It appears, from the tradition still tingling in my ears, that
the fame of Fionn had travelled far, and provoked the jealousy
of a contemporary chief and giant, who resolved on seeing the
redoubted Fionn, conquering him, and making him his tribu-
tary or slave. "With these amiable intentions, the rival swell
arrived at Fionn's house early one fine morning, and by acci-
dent encountered him on his threshold. Fionn had either been
informed of the proposed visit from the big 'un, or his tact
and prevision enabled him at once to discover the quality of
his visiter, and to penetrate his object. He received him,
therefore, with assumed sang froid and courtesy.
20 THE IRISH
The first salutations having been interchanged, the stranger
opened the conference with a declaration of his satisfaction at
finding a competitor for superiority so formidable as Fionn's
respectable conformation announced, and stated at once his
purpose of bringing matters between them to an immediate
settlement.
'' You have come at an unlucky moment, sir," said Fionn;
" papa is absent."
" Papa ! What do you mean ? Are you not Fionn Mac
Cumhal ?"
" Bless you, no !" said Fionn. " I am his ' little Poucet/
as he calls me ', his youngest son."
The visiter stared with astonishment, making inwardly some
observations on certain indications of precocious puberty in
his youthful host, who, unfortunately, it being Saturday, had
omitted shaving. " If the parent be on a corresponding scale
with this imp," said he, "■ I shall have caught a Tartar." He
then added, aloud : '•' I regret that I cannot have the pleasure
of seeing yoiir papa."
" And I too, sir ; I am sure he will be equally so when he
hears of your visit."
" Will he be long absent ?"
" Many hours ; he is gone out for a day's shooting."
'' Hum !" said the giant, aside. '^ There is no necessity for
haste, then." Raising his voice, he added : " I shall drop in
another morning, for it is not in my power to wait the return of
your worthy parent to-day. I feel a little peckish, however.
My walk across the country has whetted my appetite. Could
you not let me have something to allay it ? A snack of any-
thing? A little cold meat ?"
" How unfortunate that you did not arrive yesterday ? We
had a weanling elephant for dinner."
" Capital ! Let the remains be sent up, with a little Har\'ey,
if you please."
" Alas, sir ! papa and the children finished it nearly at
dinner. For supper we had broiled bones, and picked them
EO clean, that my sisters made worsted bobbins of them for
their tambour embroidery."
" Hum ? A-propos, where are your brothers and sisters?"
" The boys are gone with papa. Sisters — taking their work
with them — have gone to spend the day with a neighbour of
ours — the Queen of Dunshaughlin."
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 2l
Here the least of the least suggestion of suspicion crossed
the giant's mind, but a glance at the honest, candid, and simple
countenance before him banished the unworthy thought. Still
he resolved on further inquiry. Therefore addressing Fionn,
who stood respectfully at a distance, cap in hand, ready to pilot
hiai to the high road — he said — " can I not have the honour
of paying my respects to mamma?"
Fionn filled, as we say in the north, and then pumped —
"And the big round tears
Coursed one another down his innocent nose."
The giant was moved at Fionn's pantomime.
'' I see how it is, my poor little man," said he, patting his
head kindly : " I shall not trespass on you further. Still it is
not possible for me comfortably to resume my walk until I have
refreshed myself a little. Can you give ne mothing ?"
" There's not a thing in the house, sir."
" A crust, even ?"
" Certainly, sir," said Fionn, who now perceived that if he
would get rid of his guest, he must enable him to make the
start. " Certainly, sir," said he; "but — comble cle vxalheurs!
— the bread is only in process of baking. You must wait,
therefore, a few minutes before it be served. In the mean
while I shall hasten the operations of the cook, who is our
baker;" — and, bowing respectfully, he quitted the presence.
Fionn had been scared nearly out of his wits by the mon-
strous proportions of his visiter. He saw that in combat, or
other manual trial with him, he, Fionn, could only succeed —
if at all — by a ruse. Fortunately he was full of resource, and
determined on a grand coup to extricate him from the difiiculty.
He therefore sought the personage he called his baker, and
who in fact was cook, slut, and butler, a mere maid-of-all-work,
and ordered her to prepare forthwith some cakes of meslin
(mixed wheat and rye) ; but he added, that when the dough
should be ready, instead of putting the cakes on the griddle
singly, two were to be joined together, with a griddle in the
centre, so as to form a cake of three layers, and in this state
they were to be cooked on embers. " I'll make him spit a
tooth," said Fionn, aside.
The cook was intelligent and active, and promised to furnish
forth the breakfast-table within an hour.
Thereupon Fionn rejoined his guest, who was much grieved
22 THE IRISH
to learn that an interval so long was to elapse before his meal
would appear.
" To beguile the time," said he, '' let us have a game of
some kind: one that may afford me an inkling of the sort of
education given you by your papa."
" Alas ! sir," said Fionn, '' my bringing up has been of a
very common-place, or rather of a peculiar kind. I am only
taught and exercised in gymnastics."
" So much the better. Let us have a trial of that kind —
a tour de force, if you please. I approve the system of your
parent highly, and shall measure my strength with you ; for
notwithstanding your early youth, I find you a tidy bit of stuff.
What shall we have ?"
*' A game of pigs, sir."
'' Pigs ! I never heard of ihivijeu."
'■'■ It is very simple, sir. Papa is fond of pickled pork, and
keeps a large live stock of the raw material on hand. Besides
hundreds of thousands abroad under the care of herdsmen, he
has always in his several styes as many more. For exercise,
he takes me into the centre of one of them, and tucks up his
sleeves — I do the same j and we commence emptying the stye
of its stock, each seizing an animal, and by main force flinging
him out."
" ' I find that pretty,' as Gargantua said when his mare — a
beast of quality — ^laid waste the neighbouring woods," observed
the giant. '' Let us have a game of pigs."
Fionn led him to the piggery, a large oblong building, in
which were in fact many hundred huge specimens of the grunt-
ing order. He left the door open, and throwing off his coat
advised his visiter to do the like.
" Now, sir," said he, when his guest was unfrocked, " let
us begin, and see whether you or I am the stronger and more
adroit."
The visiter addressed himself to the strange task with impa-
tience and vigour, forgetting all observation of Fionn until he
had jerked abroad the last pig, the respectable father of a nu-
merous family, which had been previously evicted by him with
as little compunction as is felt in the modern operation of
" clearing" in the county of Roscommon. Turning to Fionn
with an air of exultation, he found him mopping, and breath-
ing hard, as if from fatigue ; although in truth he had not
caused a single shriek of regret, or a single tear to fall, by the
ABROAD AND AT HOME, 23
expulsion of sow or hog from his habitation. Not oue of the
evicted grognanh could say that by Fionn he had been
"Forced from his home, yea from where he was born."
'^ Well, that job is done," said the giant, using his handker-
chief; "but how are we to ascertain our comparative merits?
How discriminate between those thrown forth by you an,d by
myself?"
" Nothing more easy," said Fionn ; '^ while you seized your
animal by the leg, I took mine by the tail : a particular twist,
taught me by papa, enables me to mark my game at the very
moment that I make a point. Do you know anything of that
art ?"
" Nothing."
" Consequently, the animals expelled by you will present no
appearance by which you can distinguish them ; while every
pig I pitched out will be found to have a curl in his tail."
The giant cast an eye abroad, and went forth with his wily
host. Nine out of ten of the herd were found to have Fionn's
mark upon them. The giant looked unutterable things, shook
his head, pronounced it a bad job, and said peevishly : " Let's
in to breakfast."
By this time, the repast was served. It consisted simply
of cakes and ale. The stranger, ravenous, seized upon one
of the gateaux, thrvist it between his jaws, and closed them
with a snap and a report that would have startled one of less
nerve than Fionn. The consequence upon the cake was visi-
ble, for he had bitten
" A huge half-moon,
A monstrous cantle out."
Throwing it on the table, with a roar which shook the welkin,
he at the same moment ejected two canine, and a molar of the
lower set — the last mentioned, it must be confessed, the least
bit in the world carious.
" What a deuced hard crust !" he exclaimed.
" Oh, that's nothing!" replied Fionn. " Papa, following
our countryman Mr. Aberuethy's rule, has them well baked ;
and papa, also according to that polite man's system, masticates
his food well, and saves himself the trouble and the expense
of calling in a doctor."
24 THE IRISH
" Why, you do not pretend to say ttat this is the ordinary
bread of your father i"'
" Oh ! dear, no. Papa would blow up the cook sky-high
if she presumed to serve up to him ' soft Tommy/ as he would
call this crumb."
The stranger looked aghast. Then reconsidering — his first
impression was reproduced, and he said apart, " If the son — a
mere child he calls himself — can pitch out nine porkers for
my one, and if the father's jaws can munch granite like this,
I shall come off second best in a set-to with him." Rising
incontinently, therefore, and wiping his lips, from which the
blood was fast oozing, he said : "Good morning to you. Master
Fionn. My compliments to papa," and bolted, muttering ma-
ledictions on " Abernethy biscuits."
CHAPTER III.
"Horace (surnomme Codes parce qu'il avait perdu un ceil en combat)
descendait d'un des trois guerriers que se batterent centre les 3 Curiaces.
Porsenna ayant inis la siege devant Rome (I'an 607 a,vai)t N. S. J. C),
chassa les Remains du Janicule et les poursuivit jusqu'a un pont de bois,
dont la prise entrainait celle de la ville meme. Ce pont n'etait defendu
que par trois hommes — Horace Codes, T. Herminius, et Sp. Lartius —
comme ils previrent qu'ils seraient accables par le nombre, Horace con-
seilla a ses compagnons de rompre le pont derriere lui, tandis qu'il en
defendrait I'entree."
Dictionnaire Hisiorique.
THE title "Myles the Slasher," given to Maolmordha
O'Reilly will, to those unacquainted with the wars of Ire-
land and the custom of the period, appear affected, if not bor-
dering upon that coarse quality, and still coarser word, swagger.
It was however that, by which in reward of his services was
distinguished one of the bravest and most respectable among
the brave and respectable chieftains, noblemen, and gentlemen,
who, two centuries ago, contended, in a cause similar to that
in which so many men sung by poets and lauded by historians
struggled. He attempted that which the glorious " prophet"
ScHAMYL has been endeavouring to effect with heroic per-
severance during so many years against the giant Russia
ABROAD AXD AT HOME. 25
without aid, countenance, or sympathy from nations so deeply
interested in the issue. If
"Freedom shrieked when Kosciusko fell,"
she will utter a departing groan when Schamyl shall have suc-
cumbed. Toussaint L'Ouverture, Aloys Reding, Andrew Hofer,
Henri Dembinski, those heroes of Saint Domingo, Switzerland,
the Tyrol, and Poland, have, within the present century, won
golden opinions of all men, lovers of liberty, while the
'• romantic savage" of the Caucasus, '' contending for every
inch of ground — burning up every blade of grass" upon it
before the ruthless countless foe, still resists and will resist
to the death, the hordes of Russia, unknown, unsung, un-
pitied. '' Woe worth the day" when Russia shall have con-
quered him !
Myles O'Reilly did not less than he. Let us see, however,
what the historian of his house and of his name says of him.*
'' Maolmordha O'Reilly (who married Catharine, daughter
of Charles O'Reilly) was a very able captain and a celebrated
partisan during the civil wars of 1643 in Ireland, and acquired
the surname of * Myles the Slasher.' In the year 1644, Lord
Castlehaven, then commander of the Confederate Army of the
North, encamped at Granard, in the county of Longford, having
ordered iMaolmordha, with a chosen detachment of horse, to
defend the bridge of Finea against the attacks of the Scots,
then bearing down on the main army with very superior force.
Maolmordha was slain, fighting bravely at the head of his
troops, as a second Horatius Codes, in the middle of the pass
(the bridge of Finea).
'' His body being found the next day among the dead was
brought by his friends to Cavan, and interred with his
ancestors in the monastery originally founded by them in that
town, with an inscription on his tomb, of which the last two
lines were legible at the period of the demolition of that
splendid monument in the beginning of the nineteenth cen-
tury:
"'Lector, ne credas solum periisse Melonem,
Hoc nam sub tumulo patria victa jacit.' "f
•«• Vide the " History of the Illustrious House of O'Reilly," by the
Chevalier O'Gorinan.
t Thus rendered by his descendant, Mr. M. J. O'Reilly:
" ' Reader, think not that Myles rests here alone.
His prostrate country lies beneath this stone.' "
2
26 THE IRISH
I was religiously brought up. Indeed, the slightest ten-
dency towards scepticism or disrespect of the Sacred Writings
would have afflicted my family, and would have been summarily
reproved. I am not quite sure, nevertheless, that a lesser
degree of punishment would have followed any expressed doubt
on my part of the achievements of " Myles the Slasher," with
whom, correctly or otherwise, my family claimed relationship.
Shall I confess, however, that it cost me an effort to hear with
gravity the relation of his last feat ? He had placed himself
in the centre of the pass, and calmly waited the approaching
host, with the exclamation of Fitzjames in a similar position —
" Come one, come all. This rock shall fly
From its firm base as soon as I;"
Standing erect within the gorge, he with his single hand slew
in succession four and twenty of the assailants ; the twenty-
fifth — however —
" A wary, cool, old sworder took,
The blows upon his cutlass, and then
His own put in — "
for, raising himself in his stirrups, he lunged at the neck of
Myles. The Slasher, missing parry, dipped his head and
caught within his teeth his adversary's sabre, and there held
it as in a vice; then, raising his own powerful arm, he lopped
that of his antagonist which held the sword — the body of the
maimed man falling over the bridge from a convulsive move-
ment when struck.
Myles, however, who would not evade the Hyrcan tiger's
spring, was not proof against the coward stratagem to which the
enemy resorted. Finding him an isolated man — unapproachable
on level ground — they embarked a company of halberdiers in a
boat at hand, and passing under the bridge compelled him with
their pikes to quit his post. His flanks uncovered, he ulti-
mately fell, the bridge was traversed — and for the Irish — the
battle lost.*
While yet an unfledged ignorant gamin, I dared in secret
to doubt the manner in which Myles disposed of his last
assailant, but was subsequently obliged to recognise the correct-
>
* That is — like another celebrated warrior and patriot — Leonidas — he
was " turned" — a fault in the latter with which Napoleon has reproached
him, but which, in Myles O'Reilly, was the inevitable consequence of an
unshrinking sense of duty.
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 27
ncss of the statement, and that there is no fact recorded in
history more unquestionable.
Myles, ' un vrai enfant perdu/ paid with his life for the
safety of the army. In ordering him to perish rather than
quit his post, Lord Castlehaven cannot, it would seem, be
blamed. That which Lord Castlehaven ordered in Ireland in
1644, Kleber commanded in La Vendee, one hundred and
fifty years afterwards, and is praised for it.
" At the battle of Torfau, on the 19th of September, 1793,"
said the late General La Houssaye one day to me (in the year
1836) "at that battle Kleber had only four thousand troops
to oppose to twenty thousand Vendeans, who outflanked him
through their superiority in numbers. Kleber consequently
ordered a retreat, which he nevertheless knew the enemy were
capable of rendering disastrous to him. Calling, therefore, to
him a fine young fellow, named Schwaiden, whom he loved
and esteemed :
" Captain," said he, " take your company of grenadiers and
stop the enemy before this ravine. You yourself will perish,
but you will save your comrades."
" It shall be done, G-eneral," replied the brave fellow ; and
everything turned out as Kleber predicted.
CHAPTER IV.
Reader, I think proper, before we proceed any farther together, to
acquaint thee, that I intend to digress, through this whole history, as often
as I see occasion.
Fielding (Tom Jones).
THE French have a proverb, " C'est le premier pas qui
couie," the truth of which I feel painfully at this moment.
That diflaculty surmounted, and the first step taken, my truant
disposition may, I fear, lure me from the straight path which
all who enter on a course like this are, rigorously speaking,
bound to follow. Should I so err — should I deviate from it
" to cull a flower or two" — pray be tolerant, nor urge me with
the inexorable " On ! on !" of Bossuet. Thus indulged, my
28 THE IRISH
journey will be cheerfully resumed, and be better and earlier
Ijrought to a conclusion.
Hesitation, before making the first move in an enterprise —
a literary one surtout — is generally felt. Even the veteran
novelist, Pigault Lebrun, confesses that on placing himself
at his desk to compose a new romance, he was subject to a
similar want of resolution. He would "bite his nails, look
upwards and downwards, and push the paper from before him,
and bespatter the furniture with the ink with which he had
filled his pen ;" but with him this apparent want of courage
to begin had its origin partly in another cause, namely, his
practice of sitting down to indite a new tale, of which the
story, scene, and dramatis personse had not yet been conceived
by him.
In these latter circumstances, among others, I differ from
the facetious Frenchman. For example, and to give a new
reading to Sheridan's celebrated antithesis, I am not, as was
Lebrun, obliged to " draw upon my imagination for my facts ;"
and (to be less like the author of " My Uncle Thomas,") I am
compelled to be " the debtor of my memory for my wit."
Apropos of my memory. Like most men who have attained
to "a certain age" — or, rather, to adopt the noble poet's re-
duction of the figure — have become "certainly aged," my
memory, in respect of recent events is less faithful than it is
touching facts and conversations which occurred in my early
life. I recollect, for example, the departure of two of my
cousins for the Irish College at Lille (France), when I was
little more than three years old. Therefore, whatever other
qualities for a chronicler I may possess, I feel that I bring to
the task a very tenacious memory, while I shall confess its
having failed me in two remarkable instances, at the very
period too, my boyhood, when, the mind being unencumbered,
knowledge is most easily acquired. These exceptions are,
total incapability to bear in mind the rules of grammar, or the
directions for that very common-place figure in dancing called,
"right and left" (the cliaine Anglaise of the modern Qua-
drille). Often have I blushed at the confusion I introduced
into an admirably organized " set," but sufi'ered for my fault
only from a good-humoured reflection upon my awkwardness.
In the former respect it was otherwise — my sense of humilia-
tion was complete, until one day, in a biography of my illus-
trious countryman, Lord Roscommon, I found that he had
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 29
laboured under a similar unconquerable obtusity throughout
life. He could never comprehend grammar. Had he kept
his own secret, the world would never have suspected it ; but
not being confident that I should escape detection, I make a
clean breast of it, and thus artfully bespeak indulgence.
•*• CHAPTER V.
Ceux qui sontcapables d'inventer sont rares ; ceux qui n'inventent point
sont en plus grand nombro, et, par cons6quent, le plus forts; et Ton voit
que, pour I'ordinaire, ils refusent aux inventeurs, la gloire qu'ils meriteut
et qu'ils eherchent par leurs inventions.
Pascal.
THE mention, in the last chapter, of that illustrious Irish-
man, Lord Roscommon, leads me naturally this time into
a dio-ression of considerable lencjth, and in the course of which
I shall have to traverse the old world and the new. I should
have thought that Roscommon was at the fingers' ends of every
classical scholar of Great Britain. What was my surprise,
therefore, on finding in Mr. Gillies's " Memoirs of a Literary
Veteran, lately published, an account of a convivial meeting
at Edinburgh in the year 1807, composed of all the literary
celebrities of Scotland, Playfair, Jeffries, Lord Lauderdale,
Mr. Gillies himself, and several others, in which Professor
Playfair propounded a proposition which astounded his audi-
tors, namely, " the possibility that in a few years from that
date the streets of the city of Edinburgh would be lighted
by gas !"
How is it possible that the galaxy of learned, scientific,
and talented men enumerated by Mr. Gillies, could have for-
gotten the well known line of Ilorace : —
" Non famnm ex fidgore sed exfumo dare liieem,"
and, above all, how did it happen that they bore not in mind
the beautiful couplet in which Roscommon rendered it, and
which flows thus : —
" One with a flanh begiii.t and ends in smoke —
The other, out of smoke brinos glorious light — "
30 THE IRISH
proving that the knowledge of flame from gas was known (at
least) nearly two thousand years before.
How long it slumbered ! and the discovery of steam, too !
by utilizing which an American citizen (I was near claiming
him as an Irishman) has immortalized himself.* Fulton did
not, it is true, discover that immensely powerful agent, but its
application by him to propulsion has all the merit of originality.
Proposing to consider the offspring of Irish parents, though
born in foreign lands, as native Irish, my surprise at the
neglect and ill treatment of Fulton by the greatest man whom
the world has seen since Caesar, partakes of resentment, ridicu-
lous as it may appear.
" It was at the beginning of 1801," says M. Bourrienne, in
his Memoirs, " that Fulton presented to the First Consul his
Memorial on Steamboats. I urged the latter to examine the
subject seriously. ' Ah, bah !' said he, ' all those inventors,
all those manufacturers of projects, are either intrigans or
visionaries. Do not speak to me again about him.'
'' I observed to him that the man whom he called a vision-
ary, only repi'oduced an invention already known. That
Franklin wrote from Paris, in 1788, to a medical friend in
America, saying, ' there is nothing new here for the moment
to notice in science, except a boat put in motion by a steam-
engine, and which ascends a river without other aid.' Napo-
leon would, however, hear nothing more on the matter ; and
thus was adjourned, for a time, an enterprise destined to
impart to commerce and navigation such an immense
impulsion."
May not Napoleon have recollected that another ''great
captain," Marshal Saxe, had entertained the idea of ascending
the Seine in a vessel without oars or sails, and upon which he
had expended 20,000 francs, without other success than pro-
voking a pleasantry founded on the rebuke of the shoemaker
by Apelles ? The preparation of the craft was done in secret.
Of the nature of its construction nothing was or is known.f
* It would be ridiculous to dispute with America the honour of having
produced Fulton — I only claim for Ireland that of having been the birth-
place of his ancestors, who, I have heard, emigrated to Philadelphia from
the county of Antrim, Ireland, somewhere about the middle of the last
century.
t A modern and (fortunately for his country I hope) still existing hero,
General Dembinski, has equally turned his mind to this subject, and has
it is said discovered a power for propulsion of almost incredible force.
ABROAD AND AT HOxME. 31
Months after I liad written the above, touching gas and
steam, I was literally astonished upon reading one day a pas-
sage in The Spectator (No. 241), which suggested, possibly,
the idea of The Electric Telegraph, and which I here
transcribe : —
" Strada, in one of his prolusions, gives an account of a
chimerical correspondence between two friends, by the help
of a certain loadstone, which had such virtue in it that if it
touched two several needles — when one of the needles so
touched began to move — the other, though at never so great
a distance, moved at the same time, and in the same manner.
" He tells us that the two friends, being each of them pos-
sessed of one of these needles, made a kind of dial-plate,
inscribing it with the foui'-and-twenty letters, in the same
manner as the hours of the day are marked upon the ordinary
dial-plate. They then fixed one of the needles on each of
these plates in such a manner that it could move round with-
out impediment, so as to touch any of the four-and-twenty
letters.
" Upon their separating from one another into distant
countries, they agreed to withdraw themselves punctually into
their closets at a certain hour of the day, and to converse with
one another by means of this their invention. Accordingly,
when they were some hundreds of miles asunder, each of them
shut himself up in his closet at the hour appointed, and imme-
diately cast his eye upon his dial-plate. If he had a mind to
write anything to his friend, he directed his needle to every
letter that formed the words which he had occasion for, making
a little pause at the end of every word or sentence to avoid
confusion. The friend, in the mean while, saw his own sym-
pathetic needle moving of itself to every letter which that of
his correspondent pointed at. By this means they talked
together across a whole continent, and conveyed their thoughts
t > one another in an instant over cities or mountains, seas or
deserts."
Now, rejecting the medium here spoken of, sympathy, and
substituting for it a wire, and you have the Electric Telegraph,
and conceived more than two hundred years ago ; for Strada
(he was a Jesuit) died in college at Kome, in 1649, at the
age of 78 years.
82 THE IRISH
CHAPTER VI.
A la vue de tant d'humiliations et de souffrances ignor^es, ou, du moins,
S, peine connues, do I'Europe — ma conscience m'a fait un devoir d'61ever la
voix.
Pelix Colson, L'Etat Prisent et de I'Avenir dea Principatith de Moldavie
et Wallachie.
Un pastoreau qui s'appellait Robin.
Maeot.
ON commencing the record of my recollections, I contem-
plated chronological order; but already have I, yielding
to an irresistible desultory impulse, abandoned that commenda-
ble resolve. I promise to be more consecutive in future, si
c' est possible.
Few facts in history are more surprising, than the rapidity
and the completeness of the fall of Irish families, stricken down
by the penal laws. Reduced to beggary at once, and with
habits acquired in affluence ; surrounded only by contempora-
ries similarly crushed, or by the despoilers revelling and riot-
ing in possession of their forfeited lands; friendless and
unpitied ; yea, absolutely persecuted and insulted, rather than
protected and solaced, because of the injustice and the rigour
with which they had been visited, for injustice never pardons
its victims. Regarded as suspects, from the reasons for dis-
content so abundantly furnished them, they seemed strack
with stupor or paralysis, and utterly incapable of any effort to
rise out of the abyss into which they had been precipitated.
Dispirited, heart-broken, unmanned, they suffered any little
personal property which escaped the fang of the soi-disant
law to melt away ; and on its exhaustion were compelled to
resort to the most humiliating means to prolong existence, and
to accept for their helpless offspring the humblest and most
common-place condition which promised a maintenance for
them. " A trade" was the general resource sought for the
son of the heretofore chief of a clan, landholder, or gentle-
man. And this too in many cases without education ; for
instruction, gratuitous at least, could only be obtained through
that unacceptable condition, conformity to the religion of the
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 33
State. This gave rise to Swift's observation to Pope ([ (juote
from memory) : "If you would seek the gentry of Ireland,
you must look for them on the coal quay, or in the liberty."*
Thus in my youth, " the Devoy," the head of one of the
most powerful and distinguished of our septs, was a black-
smith. I have often seen a mechanic, named James Dungan,
who was said to be a descendant of Dungan, Earl of Limer-
ick; and ''the Chcevers" (Lord Mount Leinster) was the
clerk of a Mrs. Byrne, who carried on the business of a rope-
maker, in New Row, Thomas Street, in the early part of the
present century.
With their property vanished also the moral courage, and,
as I have shown, the pride and self-respect, of the impover-
ished. Maddened and embittered by humiliation and suflfer-
ing; renouncing all hope of recovering their alienated lands;
those victims of " bills of discovery"'|' or of confiscation,
burned or otherwise destroyed, or threw aside as worse than
useless, the records of their former possessions, the proofs of
their former i-espectability, and seemed in fact desirous to
efface all evidence of it. I know one case in which the title-
deeds and other documents connected with the possession of
an estate were searched for on an important occasion, and in
which it appeared that they had been given to tailors to cut
into strips or measures for the purposes of their trade !
So general was this indifference at the period of persecu-
tion (added to the accidental or wanton destruction of records
by other means, and by other parties), that when, about the
year 1815, a claim was set up to a dormant peerage, and a
relative of mine having been applied to for information in
support of it, he said to the claimant : '' You are positively
in remainder, but you are in the condition of the descendants
of very many Irish families, whose great difl&culty is to prove
who was their grandfather."
I had not yet entered into my teens when, shortly before
Christmas of 1790, a stranger arrived unexpectedly to visit
my family, and was received as " Cousin Kobin," with evident
» Meaning that they were local porters or weavers — and yet—credat
JuJwus ! — the former degrading metier was declared, by Act of Parliament,
one of those to exercise which a Papist was ineligible.
t A bill of discovery was filed in the Court of Chancery, charging the
proprietor of an estate with being a Catholic. The property was adjudged
accordingly to the discoverer, unless the owner, to preserve it, conformed to
Protestantism.
2*
P-
34 THE IRISH
affection and regard. He was, to me, a perfect curiosity,
for his manner, language, and pronunciation differed from
those of the persons I had previously seen and heard speak.
There was a certain sensitiveness and fierceness, a mixture of
susceptibility and pugnaciousness, about him which I could
not understand, and I perceived that his many references to
" The English" were in a tone which made my father serious,
for old recollections and traditions rendered him timid; and
which perceiving, Cousin Robin's voice would sink into a
whisper, for my parent's gravity would recall him to a sense
of the danger in which he himself stood, and which I shall
here explain.
Cousin Robin had left Ireland at an early age, and — first a
cadet — he soon become an officer of the Regiment of , in
the Irish Brigade. This must have been between the years
1750 and 1760. He had not consequently seen much conti-
nental service against '' the eternal enemies of his House;" but
he had made the American campaign under Rochambeau. He
had, moreover, at his fingers' ends, all the anecdotes of the
Brigade, and which had been, with true military precision
and correctness, transmitted from father to son, or rather from
each mess to its successor, and of this knowledge he made no
secret. His mind appeared to dwell continually upon "the
Boyne," and '' Aughrim," and '"Limerick," and ''Cremona,"
and " Pavia," and " Lamfeldt," and " Bergen-op-Zoom," and
" Fontenoy," and upon " Dillon's," and '• Clare's." and " Ber-
wick's," and '> Fitz James's," and " Burke's," and '•' Sheldon's."
and '•' Galmoy's," and '' Bulkeley's," and "Walsh's." His
quality of officer in the army of France brought his neck
within the compass of a halter in Ireland, and hence the
apprehensions and admonitions of my father, and Cousin
Robin's appreciation of them ; for, I repeat, the remains of
terror still existed among the Catholic Irish of that day, and
had nowhere less diminished than in our humble circle. I
was told therefore to call him only '' Cousin Robin," should I
happen to speak of our guest with my little comrades. This
behest was however superfluous. I had never heard his sur-
name.
Two anomalies were striking in the conversation of Cousin
Robin. One was, that while vaunting the loyalty and devo-
tion of his ancestors to their King (James II.), he suffered to
appear a feeling of supreme contempt for that monarch. The
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 35
other was, that while treating as infamous and canaille, Vol-
taire, Rousseau, D'Alembert, Grimm, and the other modern
philosophers of France, he permitted himself to use language
which showed that he had not escaped the contagion of infi-
delity, and which I well remember shocked the primitive
religious little circle who were his auditors.
Like the Chevalier de Valois of Balzac, '' Ce bonhomme
usait du privilege qu'ont les vieux gentilshommes Yoltairiens
de ue point aller a la messe ; mais chacun avait une excessive
indulgence pour son irreligion, en faveur de son devouement a
la cause Royale."
In the first case, contempt for a sovereign who, when in
Ireland, in the hour of danger, evinced none of the personal
courage which he was said to have displayed early in life, was
mixed up no doubt with regrets for the sacrifices made by
those who followed him into exile ; further increased by the
unjust and unwise imputations said to have been uttered by
him of the men who had risked, and ultimately lost every-
thing, by adhering to his cause.*
In the second case, fashion struggled with principle. The
young people of the day in France read Voltaire, and yet
boasted their loyalty. They laughed with him at religion and
its ministers, and they professed themselves ready to die in
defence of the monarchy, of which his writings sapped the
foundations, and in this practice it is to be feared Cousin
Robin followed the general example. f
* A tradition exists that at the battle of the Boyne, an Irish soldier
exclaimed, in the hearing of James : " I hold King William at the end of
my carbine," and that King James rebuked him, adding : "What! would
you make my daughter a widow ?"
He was further accused of inveighing against his Irish adherents on his I
retreat from the Boyne, and of having, in the hearing of a female domestic,
denominated them cowards.
" Cowards !" exclaimed the woman. " There is no such word as 'cow-
ardice' in their language."
In nearly the same terms did the late Sir Robert Peel, in his speech on
proposing a Reform of the Criminal Code to the House of Commons some
six or eight-and-twenty years since, speak of Ireland. Referring to a par-
ticular crime, the capital punishment of which ho proposed to maintain,
he said : " there is not in the Irish language a word to express it."
t The late excellent William Todd Jones was eccentric and inconsistent
in another way. He was a member of the Irish Parliament, and a. staunch
democrat, and an enthusiastic admirer of Rousseau. "I hate your bigti
wines and aristocratic dinners," he would say, while holding to his lips a
bumper of John A 's old Port—" give mo the mountain peasant ana tne
pure stream !" and he drained his glass with the gusto and the dexterity
of William Pitt, whose feats in that line are too well known to require
record here.
36 THE IRISH
Disappointed in his expectations in Ireland, he took his
leave early in 1791, and returned to France. He was among
the Irish who emigrated with " the princes," and fell, I sup-
pose, in the campaigns in which they were engaged, for we
never heard more of him. Owing to the freedom with which
he permitted himself to speak on religious matters, and to
acerbity produced by disappointment, a coldness had begun to
grow up between him and his relatives, who in consequence
witnessed his departure without regret, and made no effort to
continue their intercourse by correspondence. Some years
afterwards, however, his failings were forgotten, while his
anecdotes of the Brigade were recalled with delight. Like the
frozen words spoken of by that renowned and veracious voyager.
Baron Munchausen, and which, when the thaw released them,
became audible, the narratives and gossip of Cousin Robin
recurred with marvellous exactness to my memory many years
afterwards, as will be seen in the following chapters.
CHAPTER VII.
Voila ce qui reste d'une vaste denomination,
Un souvenir obscur et vain !
VOLNEY.
THE lines ju.st quoted suggested to me a painful sensation
when I first heard them quoted, for they were unfeelingly
applied to '' the Irish Brigade," in the French service then,
recently, dissolved. Here, in Germany,* often the field of their
exploits, and even in France, where, above all other countries,
their fame should require no foreign trumpet, the applicability
of the quotation is unhappily but too well justified. The heroism,
devotion, and fidelity of that renowned corps, in supporting
and defending the cause they espoused, constitute for it im-
perishable claims to the respect and admiration of the living
generation and of posterity. Alas ! that in France, whose glory
they assured in many battle-fields, and especially in those of
the eighteenth century, some of them comparatively of recent
* This chapter was written in Wurtzburg.
ABROAD AXD AT HOME. 37
date, the memory of the Brigade ma}' be said to have faded
away, and to exist ouly in historical and official records. Few,
lamentably few Frenchmen of the present day, are aware even
that to the O'Briens, the Nugents, the Dillons, the Johnsons,
the Lallys, and their countrymen, companions in arms, France
was indebted for the important victory of Fontenoy.
In a conversation with a friend, upon this subject, a couple
of years since, I regretted the ingratitude of the French to-
wards the Irish. He replied : " Thus it ever has been with
kings, governments, and princes. Why should you complain
of the oblivion into which the services of Irishmen, performed
a hundred years ago, have fallen in France, when her own
dazzling feats and career in Egypt, only fifty years since (pre-
ceded and accompanied, too, by occurrences which — because
of their stupendous effects — posterity will deem fabulous), are
held by her own writers to have left behind them only ' a vain
and obscure souvenir ?' When has it been otherwise, even in
the united armies of a coalition ? When has it happened dif-
ferently to foreigners, though volunteers in that which they
deemed the holiest of causes ? They ai-e, and ever have been,
in such circumstances, exposed to the hardest blows, the most
painful sufferings, and to the jealovisy of their native-born com-
rades. The relation of their deeds of valour has been diluted,
or altogether omitted in the official reports, or, what is still
worse, the credit for them given to others. ' There is glory
for you !' The learned Abbe MacGeoghegan may have been
correct in his estimate that 600,000 Irishmen perished in the
ranks of the armies of France, but I am sure he underrated
them by one-half. Is not that fact consolatory to their coun-
trymen ?"
" What fact, may it please you ?"
'' The fact that they fell fighting for ' La Belle France,' in
company with some of her distinguished sons."
This was said ironically. After a pause, he continued :
" You speak of Fontenoy in particular. You remember that
Count Saxe, although deemed dying, and (unable to remain on
horseback) borne in a wicker or basket-work carriage, com-
manded in that memorable action, which raised the falling
fortunes of France. How many Frenchmen of the present
day are there who are similarly informed ? Who, in France,
recollects him or his services ? — unless the student of history,
or the traveller who has seen and admired his tomb in the
38 THE IRISH
church of Saint Thomas in Strasbourg. I do not call to mind
any striking instance of French ingratitude, or injustice,
towards an Irishman."
'^ What ! Not to Lally Tollendal ?"
" I had forgotten that case, and admit its force ; but it makes
equally for my theory, and your own. You contend that Irish-
men are forgotten in France : I that foreigners are ever ill-
treated. Spain and Austria would appear susceptible of favour-
able comparison with France, in respect of their conduct
towards your countrymen in their service ; but they go not far
enough to disprove my proposition. The case of the German
Legion, incorporated with the British army some forty years
ago, so far from weakening, strengthens my argument ; for it
constitutes the only complete exception to the rule. The grati-
tude of the United States for the aid rendered to America by
France in her revolt against England, was displayed in thanks,
at the moment, and in the creation of something like an order
of knighthood with which to decorate those by whom they
were so powerfully aided in their contest for independence, and
which, to reflecting minds, would indicate rather an equivocal
appreciation of the character of their allies."
" That is carrying the commentary too far. You forget the
brilliant reception given to La Fayette when, some twenty-
five or thirty years since, he visited America."
" I thank you for reminding me of that fact, which I admit
proves that if at the moment when 'the States' were occupied
with their Constitution, and the means for consolidating and
defending it, they appeared to undervalue benefits, they have,
in their prosperity (which condition often renders people obli-
vious), preserved a warm and perfect recollection of them.
How few, however — I still ask — are the instances in which
nations have been grateful to auxiliaries ! Are you silent ?
you say and with truth, that ' Irishmen have been brave, and
faithful, and devoted' — very well, France is 'peu reconnaissant,
voild tout.' Take it philosophically. If Johnson, and Dillon,
and Clare, and other illustrious Irishmen be forgotten in France,
in what state is the memory of him for whom they so unfor-
tunately and so inconsiderately abandoned country, family,
and fortune? Of the tens of thousands of badauds and fan-
bouriens conveyed from Paris and its suburbs — (on Sundays
especially), by rail to St. Germain-en-Laye, how many of them
know more than the popular story that the military prison they
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 39
behold, on issuing from the terminus, was once the palace of
Louis XIV., and that 'he abandoned it because its windows
commanded a view of the Abbey of St. Denis, in which he
himself would be entombed ?' How many of them remember
that James II. of England, to whom Louis XIV. ceded it,
lived in and kept in it ' his mimic Court,' as has been unfeel-
ingly said? and that he died in it, and lies buried in the church
opposite to it, in the Place du Chateau ? Hundreds, perhaps
thousands of the most distinguished of the Irish army, nobility,
and gentry, of the period paid to the exiled monarch in that
chateau a homage which reflected honourably on themselves, and
excited the admiration of Louis XIV., and yet there exist in
Saint Germain's two indications only that a personage once so
high had dwelt there and closed his career within its walls, and
not one that he was followed thither by a crowd of attached and
honourable adherents. The two indications I have referred to
consist of the monument raised to him in the church of the
town, by order of George IV., and the 'Hotel du Prince de
Galles,' a third-rate iun and restaurant. Of the many Irish
of distinction who figured at the chateau, and who during its
existence resided in St. Germain's and its neighbourhood, and
most of whom ended their days there, not a vestige, I repeat,
nor a name is to be found.
" And whose fault is that, I ask in continuation ? Are
the French insensible to favours and services ? I cannot tell.
The facts are as I state ; but that is no reason why the memory
of the ever to be lamented Irish emigration of 1690, or of the
noble and illustrious men who sprang from or followed it,
should be forgotten by their own countrymen ; and you would
probably be doing an acceptable service in contributing, by
your recollections of your ' Cousin Robin's' anecdotes of the
Brigade, and by other information bearing on the point, to
remind the world of a corps whose gallant deeds conquered
European respect, in so many fields of carnage."
'' But my cousin's soxivenirs were not all of an important
character," I observed.
'' That is to say, he dealt not with the great affairs in which
the Brigade figured ?"
" I beg your pardon. Those were his chief topics ; but they
are recorded in history. I could from his reminiscences add
only passages omitted by the historian, because probably of
their insignificance."
40 THE IRISH
''That is no reason for their suppression. Try their effect.
Begin with a little memoir of Lally, whose splendid achieve-
ments and melancholy fate are alike nearly forgotten, and
work in the yet unpublished matter you possess. It is the
history of a distinguished man, treated, in his hour of mis-
fortune, with black ingratitude by a king and a country who
had recognised and lauded his heroism and other great deserts.
His fate adds force to the advice, ' Put not thy faith in
princes ;' revives contempt and abhorrence for the wretched
voluptuary, who, while by his sensualities, he was preparing
the sanguinary revolution which destroyed his successor and
terminated the sovereignty of his race, consoled himself with
the egotistical reflection that the day of reckoning would not
arrive during his time. When counselled to amend his ways,
he exclaimed, as all the world knows, ' Apres nous It cUlaye.' "
In asserting the military eminence of the Irish abroad, it
would be superfluous, for the majority of my readers, that I do
more than allude to " The Irish Brigade." As however
the history of that celebrated corps is not yet written (although
much desired and highly desirable), and is consequently
unknown to the world in general, I shall here attempt, not its
history, but a sketch or two suggestive of the qualities which
obtained for it an unperishable name.
CHAPTER VIII.
A tous les degrfis le mfitier des armes est noble ; parce que pour tous il
se compose de sacrifices, et se rScompense avant tout par I'estime publique.
Marshal Marmont, Esprit des Institutions Militaires.
THOMAS ARTHUR LALLY (O'Mullally), Count de Tol-
lendal or Tollendally in Ireland, was born at Romans in
Dauphiny, now the department of the Drome (France). He
was christened on the 15th January, 1702.*
" It might be said with reason," say the Chronicles, "that
Lally became a soldier at his birth, for (on the 1st January,
. , * Archives of the French Ministry of War.
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 41
17 09 J he received his coiumiysion of captaiu iu the Irish
infantry regiment of Dillon, of which his father, Sir Gerard
Lally, was Colonel-commandant, and of which General Dillon,
the uncle of the latter, was ' Colonel-proprietor.' He was not
yet eight years old when, in September, 1709, his father had
him with him at Gerona, under canvas, ' wishing,' as that kind
parent fondly expressed it, ' to make him, by at least smelling
powder, to gain his first step,' and he had not attained the age
of twelve years, when that pattern father caused him to mount
his first trench at Barcelona, in 1714; and, after that vacation
amusement, sent him back to college."
This species of education developed speedily in young Lally
a lively inclination for a military life, but which did not pre-
vent his pursuit of classic learning, nor his acquiring a know-
ledge of the living languages of Europe, and of the history,
manners, and interests of the various nations of which that
quarter of the globe was composed. Endowed with an excel-
lent memory, perspicuity, and appreciation, rude health, vast
bodily strength, and astonishing activity of mind, eveiything
became easy to him. He was as successful in bodily as in
mental exercises, and would have obtained rapid advancement
in the military service, but for the eccentricity of his father,
which retarded it. He became captain of a company in
" Dillon's" on the 15th of February, 1728, only, and aide-
major of that corps the 26th of January, 1732. He served
at the siege of Kehl in 1733, and distinguished himself there
by his brilliant valour and his rare military knowledge. He
was present at the attack on the lines of Ettingen in 1734.
His father, then a brigadier-general, by whose side he fought,
having been wounded, was about being made prisoner, when
young Lally flew to the rescue, covered his body with his own,
and succeeded in saving the life and preserving the liberty of
his parent. He served in the same year at the siege of
Philipsburg, which fell on the 18th of July, and was close to
Lord Clare O'Brien when a cannon-shot struck the latter on
the shoulder and killed his uncle. Marshal Berwick, who was
by his side. In the year 1735, Lally distinguished himself
at Clausen, and returned to the command of a company on the
1st of November of that year.
In 1737 he proceeded to England, to assure himself by his
own observation of the strength still remaining to the Stuarts
in that country ; and returned to France, after arranging a
42 THE IRISH
correspondence with the principal partisans of James II., and
on the 6th of February, 1738, was made captain of grenadiers
in his (Dillon's) regiment.
About that time Cardinal Fleury, then Prime Minister of
France, expressed a desire to find among the foreigners at-
tached to the French service, a man whose reputation for intel-
ligence and courage might ju-stify him in confiding to him the
secret and perilous mission of proceeding to Russia, with the
double object of detaching that power from its alliance with
England, and of attaching it to France. Recommended by
MM. de Belleisle and De Chavigny, Lally was chosen for that
important duty, and succeeded in commencing under most
favourable circumstances the negotiation with which he was
charged. The indecision of the French ministry, and its
avoidance of a definitive explanation, were such, however, that
he was obliged to relinquish his task and to quit St. Peters-
burg (where his further stay, without orders, would have ex-
posed him to personal danger), and return to France.
On his arrival in Paris he presented to Cardinal Fleury two
memoirs : one, relating to the internal statistics of Russia ;
the other, an expose of her foreign relations and of her foreign
and commercial policy ; but the representations of Lally became
fniitless, owing to the incapacity of the French ministry. The
negotiation commenced by him fell to the ground; and Russia
entered into the league against France.
On the 24th of November, 1741, Lally was promoted to
the rank of major in Dillon's regiment, and in that quality
served in the defence of Flanders. The talents he displayed
there induced Marshal de Noailles to demand him for aide-
major of the army under his command ; and in that capacity
he fought at the great battle of Dettingen in 1743, in which
the French were defeated.
On the 19th of February, 1744, he received — anew — his
appointment of aide-major to the army of Flanders with the
rank of colonel of infantry, under the orders of his friend
]Marshal de Noailles, and was present at the sieges of Menin,
Ypres, and Fumes. From Flanders he marched to Alsace,
and fought at the affair of Hao'uenau.
In reward of his services, now the theme of admiration,
an Irish regiment was created for him on the 1st of October,
1744, bearing his name. The whole of the ensuing winter
he employed in organizing and instructing his regiment, and
ABROAD AND AT HOME, 43
with such success was this eflfected, that in four months it be-
came a model of discipline.
On the eve of the battle of Fontenoy, Lally, having gone
on a reconnoitering party, discovered a road which led from
Anthoin to Fontenoy, and which had been erroneously consi-
dered impassable. He perceived that by this road the French
army would, in the impending action, be inevitably turned.
By Lally's advice, the end of it was seized upon, occupied,
and fortified with three redoubts and sixteen pieces of cannon,
" a precaution to which was incontestably due the success of
the action."*
" During that celebrated battle,f the Irish Brigade contri-
buted powerfully to the victory, piercing with the bayonet the
flank of the terrible English column, while the Due de Riche-
lieu, with the household troops, attacked it in front." After
the battle, Lally, who had been slightly wounded, was sitting
on a drum, surrounded by a considerable number of mutilated
soldiers of his own regiment, and having by his side several
English officers, his pi-isoners, to whom he was tendering as-
sistance and relief, when the Dauphin arrived at full gallop, to
announce to him the approbation and acknowledgments of the
King.
" Monseigneur," said Lally to the Prince, '' these favours
are like those of the Scriptures : ' they fall on the blind and
the lame.' "
In saying these words, he pointed to his lieutenant-colonel,
who had received a stab of a bayonet in the eye, and his aide-
major, through whose thigh a musket-ball had passed.
The King's appreciation of the service he had rendered
did not, however, terminate in mere words, for calling him to
the head of the army, he created Lally a brigadier-general on
the field of battle.
Shall I be pardoned a digression here? I have just stated
that the covp-d'ieil of Lally had enabled him to secure victory
to the army in which he served (a victory so honourably
acknowledged by Marshal Saxe). An accident, some half a
century later, obtained for another Irishman (now Prince
Nugent), and for the Austrian army of Italy, in which at the
time (1795 or 1796) he was only a captain, similar advan-
* See published papers of Marshal Saxo.
f Chronologie Militairc.
44 THE IRISH
tages. He had one day retired to a sequestered spot on the
edge of a morass, from whence he saw at some distance a corps
of French hussars manoeuvring on ground deemed impracti-
cable for cavahy. Next day, when both armies were in position,
and immediately before the battle began, the Austrian general
(I think it was Melas) said to an oflBcer of his staff, loud
enough to be heard by Nugent,
" The victory would be ours if I could pass a division of
cavalry to that point, on the flank of the French army which
holds itself sufficiently protected by the morass.
'^ I will undertake to conduct one, sir," exclaimed Nugent.
"■ If you do that, and you succeed," replied the general,
" the service will be remembered."
The corps accordingly was marched under the guidance of
Nugent, and turned the French, whose defeat was the con-
sequence.
"I do not say," observed the late General Ambrose (on
whose authority I give the anecdotTe), " that Nugent's courage
and intelligence would not have insured to him, sooner or
later, the honours and distinctions he enjoys ; but this all-
important service which sheer accident, unquestionably, placed
in his power to perform, accelerated his advancement."
The particulars of the battle of Fontenoy are too well
known to require recapitulation here. None but a jealous
Frenchman ever disputed the credit of the victory with the
Irish. More than one English writer in admitting the fact
complacently observes that, "it was not to Fi'cnch prowess
they succumbed." If, however, the details of the fight are
to be found in history, one or two little anecdotes preserved
at] the mess of " Dillon's" will possibly be received with
favour. How many have we not of \Yaterloo ! How few those
of Fontenoy, with which Europe rang in 1745, as it did with
" Waterloo" sixty years afterwards. It is well that the honour
of the latter victory cannot be denied to Ireland.
Long after he had left Ireland. Cousin's Robin's anecdotes
and reminiscences were recalled in the conversations of our
family. Of the battle of Fontenoy he recounted all the
incidents recorded in the Military Annals of the time, adding
to them several occurrences, narrated by the actors in that im-
portant engagement. For instance, he related a story of two
of Fitzjaraes' dragoons, whose horses having been killed, had
joined Clare's grenadiers, and continued to fight in line with
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 45
their carbines. Subsequently a cannon-shot from an enfilading
battery of the enemy carried off the legs of both, whereupon
one of Clare's remarked : " There are two troopers who
will want no more boots." '^ You may jest with impunity,"
replied one of the poor fellows; " you are not afraid of our
kicking you as you deserve for your honmot !"
" At Fontenoy," said Cousin Robin, " some extraordinary
wounds were inflicted.* Captain Creagh," (father or grand-
father of the lady of Colonel Luke Allen, who lived in Dublin
some six or eight-and-thirty years since) " received a musket
bullet in the breast, which shattered his cross of St. Louis,
and passed so completely through his body, that several pieces
of the cross were extracted from the wound made in his back
by the issue of the ball and from which he recovered. He
was soon after presented to Louis XV., who said kindly,
" ' The enemy marked you well, for they knew your value.
So do I; and to render you less an object for their shot for
the future, I will give you a cross that they will not be able
to perceive unless in close quarters.'
"This," continued Cousin Eobin, ''was the origin of the
small cross that afterwards became uniform, except on state
occasions."
Their brilliant services at Fontenoy, and their almost coin-
cident bravery and success at Tournay, having rendered the
Irish Brigade favourites of the French monarch, they became
objects of envy and jealousy with the army in general. Louis
himself never ceased speaking in their praise, but his friendly
disposition was powerfully checked by the malevolence of those
by whom he was surrounded, and especially by him who best
knew the deserts of the Irish — D'Argenson, Minister of War.
The feeling of both — the sovereign and his minister — to-
\vards the Irish was admirably exemplified in an instance well
known, perhaps, but not so universally so as to render unpar-
donable its mention here.
Presuming on their recent and unquestionable claims to
favour, the corps of the brigade made an assault one day upon
the minister in full levee, at Versailles. Each was armed with
documents and certificates in support of his particular demand,
and struggled to present them.
* I recollect to have heard from a military medical man, that a sergeant
of the Guards, shot through the heart at AVatorloo, was transported to Chat-
ham, and survived for fourteen days.
46 THE IRISH
" Fire in each eye and papers in each hand,"
they pursued D'Argenson tlirougli the salon. At length ho
took refuge in the recess of a window. The rush upon him
now became tremendous ; each lunging and poking at him
with his dossier over the shoulders of those of his comrades,
who had succeeded in arriving at the Minister's presence. By
a desperate effort, D'Argenson disengaged himself, forced an
opening through the mass of his assailants, and reaching the
circle of which the King was the centre, exclaimed :
" Sire, that Irish Brigade of your Majesty gives me more
trouble than the rest of your entire army."
*' My enemies say the same of them," replied Louis.
Neither the King's friendship for them nor the jealousy
of courtiers or rivals prevented, however, their being em-
ployed in every quarter where danger presented itself, and
where valour and military knowledge were required for the
service of France. Of this the continuation of the biograph-
ical notice of Lally Tollendal will afford abundant evidence.
But ere we postpone for the present our reference to the battle
of Fontenoy, which if lost would have been as fatal for France
as was that of Waterloo, three-quarters of a century later-
wards, I shall close this chapter with a Guard Room Song of
the Brigade, founded upon that action, and rescued from obli-
vion by my recollection of it, as sung by Cousin Robin in his
ultra Anti-English moments. The music and the poetry are
not* first rate, perhaps, but equal in each respect to those of
the more celebrated Ca Ira!* of the French Montagnards,
and the Yankee Doodle of Brother Jonathan.
* Is it superfluous to observe here, that this exciting (perhaps atrocious)
song of the Reign of Terror in France, took its title and its burden from an
expression of Franklin, who, residing in Paris throughout the American
War of Independence, used to exclaim when any new advantage was gained
by his countrymen — "Ca Ira I"
ABROAD AND AT HOME.
47
THE BATTLE OF FONTENOY.
GnAED ROOM SONQ OP " BEEWICK'S," TO THE AIR OF THE MAJICQ OF THE RBOLMKNT.
I ^±~L^r:\^.
V=^^-
-^.^-
w^9~
\
y^-^zL.
^
^1— p- — ^ —
The first day of May, in tho year of for ty-five.
-^-
fv
:^=^:
-^-
\
The French and the En - glish in
bat - tie did strive,
To see who'd be vic-to- rious at the siege of Tournay,
Ltf_A
^— #— ^-^"f^lg
T
P
ZTJSLlIZll
'¥-
And there hea - vy can - non most loud - ly did play.
Duke AVilliam he commanded the English in chief,
But he lost the battle that day to his grief;
From two in the morning they fought until noon, ^-w
But fortune it smiled on the House of Burhoon. V^
Oh ! what brave generals the Irish had there !
There was Johnson, and Dillon, and the brave Lord of Clare,
Who swore they'd be revenged for the wrongs that were done
At Aughrim, at Limerick, and likewise the Boyne.
Then bespoke the Lord of Clare with courage so bold —
Saying " my loving countrymen of Ireland's true mould-
Lot us take courage and boldly advance
And destroy all those heretics who drove us to France."
0.
Count Saxe he commanded his cannon for to roar.
The English never hoard such a volley before.
Three hundred and sixty brass cannon he lot fly
Whifh caused all poor 'Tournay for "quarter" to cry.
48 THE IRISH
CHAPTER IX.
Blow, blow, thou Winter's wind,
Thou art not so unkind
As man's ingratitude.
Freeze — freeze — thou bitter sky,
That dost not bito so nigh
As benefits forgot.
^s yoit like it.
WE left Lally wounded, but recompensed, on the field of
Fontenoy.
A very short time after the reverses of the allies in the Low
Countries, the Pretender made his appearance in Scotland,
raised the standard of his grandfather, and was immediately
joined by tens of thousands of his adherents. Informed of
these events, and deeming them capable of restoring the son
of James II. to the British Crown, Lally besieged all the men
of influence in the Palace of Versailles to obtain the despatch
of an expedition of ten thousand men in support of Prince
Charles. His project was seized upon with avidity. A fleet
was prepared in the harbours of Boulogne and Calais ; an
army was assembled ; and the 5th of January, 1746, was
named for the departure of the expedition, under the com-
mand of the Due de Richelieu, it is true ; but Voltaire, not
always favourable to the Irish, as we know, states that Lally
was the life and soul of it. The expedition encountered many
obstacles, insomuch that Richelieu, being annoyed at them,
resigned the command of it, and it was abandoned. Lally was
not, however, a man to be turned from his purpose by delays
or difficulties. At the head of a small body of Irish he sailed
and joined the Pretender, whom he served as counsellor and
aide-de-camp at the battle of Selkirk — the last success gained
by the Prince.
Lally subsequently made a secret journey to London.*
* The celebrated Irish portrait-painter, Hamilton (who possessed afund of
information on this period — how acquired I forget), after referring to the Pro-
tender's visit to London, incog., with the view ascribed to Lally, stated, that
the abandonmsnt of the Pretender's cause was the result of a secret meeting
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 49
Thence he proceeded to Spain and Flanders, and returned
once more to London, where a reward was offered for his head
by the government. He was on the point of being arrested ;
but escaped in the garb of a sailor, in which disguise he fell
into the hands of a party of smugglers, who, deceived by it,
compelled him to join them in their search for the traitor
Lally, for whom they would receive, they assured him, " a
high price." Lally persuaded them, however, that a richer
prize might be gained on the coast of France, with which, he
said, he was perfectly acquainted, and offered to become their
guide. The smugglers accepted the proposition ; and were
led by the advice of the wily and malicious Lally into the
midst of a French naval force, by whom they were made pri-
soners. It is unnecessary to say that on declaring his quality,
he was himself landed and set at liberty.
Having returned to Versailles, he resumed his efforts to
obtain the organization of another expedition in aid of the
Stuarts, when the loss of the battle of Culloden put an end for
ever to the hopes of that ill-fated House.
In the following year Lally served with great distinction at
the defence of Antwerp, at the battle of Lansfeldt, and with
eclnt at Bergen-op-Zoom, where he was incessantly in action —
now in the trenches, now at the head of detachments. On
one occasion he was wounded, and nearly overwhelmed by the
explosion of a mine.
After the siege of Bergen-op-Zoom, which was taken by
assault, Lally opened the trenches against Fort Henry, which
capitulated "the same day. He next proceeded to open the
trenches against Lille, and afterwards to attack the Fort de la
Croix, "wishing to take both places at the same moment."
Discontented with the result of a reconnaissance he directed
to be made, he resolved to reconnoitre for himself, and was
proceeding on that undertaking when he fell into the hands
of a party of the enemy's hussars, who made him prisoner.
He was speedily exchanged, however, and rejoined 3Iarshal
Saxe, of whom he became the confidant, and was one of his
of the heads of the Jacobin party, held at the house of the E.irl of West-
moreland of that day, at which the utter futility of further attempt to restore
the e.xiled family was demonstrated. Mr. Hamilton added, that it was in
Lord Westmorehmd's house that the Pretender was concealed, and which
having been communicated to George the Second, that Monarch uttered tho
generous sentiment ascribed to him — and which was in effect: "Let the
poor man look about him and depart."
3
50 THE IKISH
principal iustruments in that superb military operation, tbe
investment of Maestriclit, in 1748. During the siege of that
place Lally divided with the Marquis de Cremilles the func-
tions of Marshal-general des logis of the army. In the course
of the operations he was again wounded, but was rewarded on
the very day of the capitulation of jMaestricht with the rank
of Major-general, as he had been made Brigadier-general on
the field of battle at Fontenoy.
It would appear that from 1748 to 1755, Lally was out of
his element, and inactive on the coast of Picardy, under the
command of Marshal de Belleisle. In this latter year he was
summoned to Paris, to be consulted on the means of inflicting
reprisals on the English, who had taken two French men-of-
war on the coast of Newfoundland.
" Three means present themselves," said Lally.
" Name them," said the Council.
" Make a descent upon England with Prince Edward, the
young Pretender ; attack and reduce the power of the English
in India; conquer their colonies and possessions in America."
The Council decided, however, that they preferred to ne-
gotiate, and seek satisfaction in that way, and thus avoid a
rupture.
"Then," said Lally, "you will fail. You will not obtain
the one, nor will you prevent the other ; and you will lose the
opportunity of destroying your enemy."
After pronouncing this prediction (which was accomplished
in all its parts), Lally returned into Picardy. He was again
summoned to Paris in 1756, when he was informed that one
of his propositions of the preceding year was adopted by go-
vernment, and that an expedition against the East Indies was
in preparation. The command of this was ofi"ered to Lally,
and was accepted by him. The offer was accompanied by pro-
motion to the rank of Lieutenant-general (dated 19th of No-
vember), together with the command of the troops already
sent thither. He was also named Commander, and afterwards
Grand Cross of the Order of St. Louis. To these distinctions
were added his nomination to the post of Syndic (or Chair-
man) of the East India Company, and Governor-general of
all the establishments of France in the East Indies.
After a variety of disappointments and impediments, which
retarded the sailing of the expedition by seven months, it
sailed on the 2d of May, 1757, but was much reduced in the
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 51
strength origiually contemplated. Instead of six sail of the
line, with a treasury of six millions (£240,000 sterling) and
six battalions of land troops promised to Lally, two-thirds only
of that amount, in ships, men, and money, were supplied. It
would almost seem that from the first this expedition was pre-
destined to be a failure. Its conception had been treated as
visionary; its preparation, when resolved on, proceeded languid-
ly ; and when ordered to depart, it had been so diminished in
force as to increase considerably the risks it would have to en-
counter. But this was not all : instead of arriving in the East
Indies in seven months, the longest period in which the voyage
was made in those times, it only reached its destination on
the 28th of April, 1758, or nearly a year after its departure
from France.
Immediately on making the land, Lally determined, with his
characteristic activity and energy, to make up for the time lost
at sea. His first achievement was to invest Fort St. David,
which from its sti'ength was termed '' the Bergeu-op-Zoom of
India." With a force of two thousand two hundred men, and
a park of artillery consisting of only six mortars and twenty-
two pieces of cannon, he commenced the siege of a place
covered on the side on which only it could be attacked, by
ramparts furnished with a hundred and ninety-four guns of
hea\'}' calibre, and a garrison of two thousand seven hundred
men. He carried all the forts by assault, however, on the 8th
of May, opened the trenches, and in spite of the paucity of
his materiel, and the refusal of a part of the squadron to
co-operate with him, he compelled Fort St. David to surrender
at discretion on the 1st of June.*
Having ordered the fort to be rased, he marched on Devi-
cotta, a town and fort of Hindostan, situate at the mouth of
the Colran, forty-three miles distant fi'om Pondicheny and
sixty-two from Tanjore, which immediately opened its gates to
him. Seventy pieces of cannon, large magazines, and a consi-
derable extent of territory, were the fruits of this conquest.
In short, in the space of thirty-eight days from his disembark-
ation, he had swept the whole coast of Coromaudel of the
enemy.
Alarmed for the safety of Madras, the English authorities
assembled there the garrisons of all the towns abandoned by
* Speaking of this enterprise, the Count d'Estaing said : " Its success
alone could prove its possibility."
52 THE IRISH
them in the North. Lally, on his side, impatient to besiege
them in their capital, threw forward detachments, and at the
same time sent orders to Lieutenant-colonel Bussy and the
Councillor Moracin, who respectively commanded the French
forces in the Deccan and in Mausilipatam, to join him with
their troops. He wrote to them : "■ My entire theory is com-
prised in five words; they are sacramental: 'plus d' Anglais
dans la Peninsule.' "
The Count d'Ach^, however, who commanded the French
squadron, declared on the 17th of June that he was not in a
condition to second the siege of Madras ; and on the other
hand, Leyrit, Governor of Pondicherry, wrote, that after a
fortnight from that date, he would discontinue to pay or pro-
vision the army. Disaj^pointed and disabled by these circum-
stances, Lally listened to a proposition to march against the
Rajah of Tan j ore, and oblige him to pay thirteen millions,
due by him to the French East India Company. For this
purpose he put his troops in motion to traverse an enemy's
country of fifty leagues, but had not got a fourth of that dis-
tance, when his little army found itself destitute of provisions.
During twelve hours, the soldiers had not tasted food. Three
times did they in their fury set fire to Devicotta. Neverthe-
less, Lally continued his march on Tanjore, the Rajah having
repudiated his debt and refused payment.
Arrived at Tanjore, Lally occupied the outlets and com-
menced battering the town en bi-eche; but learning that the
French naval squadron had sustained a second defeat, and that
Karrical and even Pondicherry were threatened, a council of
war was assembled on the 8th of August, by Lally, which
decided upon retreating at daybreak on the day next but one
following.
This intention was betrayed by an extraordinary incident.
Fifty horsemen of the army of the Rajah had bound them-
selves to each other to kill the French G-eneral, and presented
themselves at his tent on the morning of the 10th, to offer, as
they said, their services to him. Lally jumped out of his bed,
and taking time only to pull on his drawers, went to receive
them. Scarcely had he made his appearance, when one of the
horsemen rushed upon him, and attempted to cut him down.
Lally parried the blow with a stick he happened to have in his
hand, and the assassin was killed, at the same moment, by one
of the General's guards. Lally, having been knocked down
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 53
by two kicks of a horse, rose with fury, and seizing a sabre,
fought with the assailants at the head of his guards, and with
such resolution and effect that twenty-eight of the fifty Tanjore
horsemen fell at his feet, twenty-one were drowned in a lake,
in attempting to escape, and the fiftieth blew himself up by
setting fire to a caisson, attached to a gun close at hand.
This explosion led to the discovery of the meditated flight
of the French. The entire garrison of Tanjore, comprising
sixteen thousand men, commanded by English ofiicers, marched
from the town upon Lally, who repulsed them upon every
point. After unheard-of difficulties, he succeeded in effecting
his retreat; having levied on the inhabitants, during two
months, contributions in provisions, and five hundred thousand
francs in money.
Still full of his project against Madras, Lally was most de-
sirous to pursue the enemy ; but was prevented from it by the
refusal of the naval squadron to co-operate with him j and, in
fact, it sailed from Pondicherry.
In the mean while, Lally watched for the withdrawal of the
British fleet to winter at Bombay, and on the very day of its
quitting for that destination, he sent his army against four
fortified places in the dominions of the Nabob of Arcot, and
marched himself upon the capital. In an inci'cdibly short
space of time, he made himself master of all those four places,
and secured to the East India Company the revenues of the
whole country. At Arcot, he was joined by Colonel Bussy;
but the latter, whose jealousy and hatred of him Avas intense,
continued incessantly to demand to be sent into the Deccan
with a third of the army intended to operate against the Eng-
lish. Lally, whose heart and soul lay in the capture of Mad-
ras, imagined that he might insure the co-operation of Bussy
by promoting him to the rank of Brigadier-general ; but Bus-
sy, accepting the offered grade, persisted nevertheless in his
request to be sent into the Deccan. An irreconcilable schism
arose, therefore, between the two Generals. The King's troops
took part with Lally : those of the Company Avith ]iussy. Lally
continuing inflexible, the Council, to whom the question was
referred, concluded by adopting his proposition : a resolution
due in great measure to the Count d'Estaing, who asked : *' Is
it not better to die of a musket-shot on the glacis of Madras,
than of hunger on those of Pondicherry ?"
To carry this project into execution, money was indispens-
64 THE IRISH
able. A subscription was, therefore, proposed. Bussy would
not contribute a single sou : Lally advanced one hundred and
forty-four thousand livres; and with that feeble resource he
put in motion three thousand European and five thousand na-
tive troops, took four fortified places on his march, and entered
as conqueror the city of 3Iadras on the 14th of December,
1758.
He proceeded immediately afterwards to reconnoitre Fort
St. George, and having received, most opportunely, from Eu-
rope a million of livres, he opened the trenches before that
fortress, which enclosed a garrison of five thousand men. Four
times during his investment of the place the enemy's army in
the field attempted to force him to raise the siege, and were
as many times defeated and put to flight. At length Lally
succeeded in making a breach in the works, and proposed a
general assault in the night of the 16th-17th of February,
1759, when an English squadron, composed of six sail of the
line, arrived as by a miracle, revictuallecl the city and reinforced
its garrison by six hundred British soldiers with ammunition
and supplies of every kind. This circumstance obliged Lally
to raise the siege and retire to Pondicherry the same day, 17th
of February.
On the 17th of October of the same year, his army, to
whom ten months' pay were due, revolted ; and Lally was again
obliged to raise a subscription, to which he contributed fifty
thousand francs, and succeeded in re-establishing order among
his troops.
He still, with his handful of men, continued his usual course
of active operations against the English ; carried off their
magazines from Cangivaron, and took Vandravache (which the
French chroniclers turned into Vin de VdcJies) sword in hand,
" entering the breach himself at the head of the storming-
party, when of seven volunteers who accompanied him, three
fell dead at his feet."* He was, however, beaten on the 27th
of January, 1760, under the walls of the place by the English,
less by the enormously disproportionate force of the enemy,
than through the defection of his own cavalry, who some time
* Cousin Robin gave a different and a more correct account of this bril-
liant affair from tliat above quoted. He stated ttiat it was to Colonel Charles
Geoghegan, of Sionan, Westmeath, that this important success was due, and
this I heard afterwards (in 1816) confirmed by Captain John Geoghegan,
of " Berwick's," son of the Colonel.
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 55
afterwards sold themselves to the Indian chiefs, and passed
over to them.
On the 18th of March, 1760, two English squadrons com-
menced the blockade of Pondicherry, and continued it during
an entire year, Lally maintaining himself with his usual reso-
lution, in spite of the famine and consequent discontent which
prevailed in the garrison.*
On the 13th of Januaiy, 1761, Pondicherry was threatened
with assault. Upon which Lally, although exceedingly ill,
directed that he might be carried to the ramparts, and there
with his own feeble hands divided the last hog.shcad of wine
remaining to him among the exhausted canonniers. On the
14th, the Council of War recommended him to capitulate;
but the British General (Coote) insisting that the garrison
should become prisoners of war, Lally hesitated.
The garrison had now subsisted on the flesh of the vilest
animals, and on the hearts of the trees ; and there remained
in the magazines on the 15th of January four ounces of rice
per man. On the 16tli, in that frightful state, he surrendered
Pondicherry to the English. During the siege the garrison
had been reduced to seven hundred men, of whom not fifty
were in a state to defend themselves; while the English army
amounted to fifteen thousand men, and on board the fleet (of
fourteen sail of the line) were seventeen thousand men more.
With the surrender of the place terminated the submission
and silence of Lally's opponents, and all the pent-up discontent
which his haughty and rigorous rule had engendered in his
army, was set free. Indeed, the malignity of his enemies
increased with his misfortune to such a degree, that the escort,
under which he was sent prisoner to Madras, became the pro-
tectors of his life from assassins, for, on his march thither, an
attempt was made to assassinate him, which was only defeated
by the courage and good faith of his escort. It would seem,
n-^vertheless, that even his captors were not favourably dis-
jMjsed towards him, for it is stated that on the 10th of March,
1761, Lally, although not yet entirely convalescent, was em-
barked in a wretched tub of a vessel, ill-formed and ill-provi-
* The hatred of which Lally had become the object was incrcfiible, and
increased with every measure ordered by him for insuring the safety of the
city. He was menaced with assassination ou the 7th October, 1760, and an
attempt even to poison him was made on the Sth. He remained confined
to his bed from its effects until the 4th of December.
56 THE IRISH
sioned, commanded by a Dutchman, to be conveyed to England
as a prisoner, where he arrived on the 23d of September. He
immediately learned that a storm was brewing against him in
France. He therefore solicited his liberty of the British
Government, which was refused, but permission to visit his
country on parole was conceded to him.
CHAPTER X.
Now the gods forbid
That our renowned Rome, whose gratitude
Towards her deserving children is enroU'd
In Jove's own book, like an unnatural dam
Should now eat up her own.
What has he done to Rome that's worthy death ?
Killing our enemies? The blood he hath lost,
(Which I dare vouch is more than that he hath
By many an ounce,) he dropped it for his country ;
And, what is left, to lose it by his country
Were to us all that do't and suffer it,
A brand to the end o' the world.
Cortolanua.
HAVING- arrived at Paris, Lally hastened to present him-
self to the government. He denounced, as a true subject
of the King, the intrigues and the crimes of his subalterns, and
submitted himself to the proof of any charge they could bring
against him. During an entire year, he was promised by the
government that it would inquire into his case, and it even
sought to reconcile him with his enemies, but his impracticable
temper induced him to reject this offer, and indignantly to
refuse acquiescence in the steps taken with that object ; while,
on their side, his adversaries were equally opposed to an
amicable arrangement. Among them his implacable enemy
and mutinous subaltern, Colonel Bussy, particularly distin-
guished himself by expressions of unrelenting hate. ''Lally's
head must fall !" was his constant expression.
Being informed that a lettre de cachet had been signed
against him, Lally declined the advice given him to conceal
himself. On the contrary, he proceeded to Fontainebleau,
where the Court then resided. Immediately on arriving there
he wrote to the Due de Choiseul : "I bring hither my head
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 57
and my innocence." Two days afterwards he surrendered him-
self a prisoner at the Bastille, where he remained nineteen
months without even being examined.
The observation of Talleyrand, that "■ speech was given to
man to conceal his thoughts," docs not appear to have occurred
to Lally, also ; or, if it did, he held it not applicable to other
agents — pen, ink, and paper, par exemjile — for the liberty of
writing granted him during his confinement in the Bastille was
used by him, not in declarations of innocence, and arguments
in support of them, but in attacks upon all whom he supposed
his enemies. This naturally redoubled the rancour of his
accusers, who continued the louder to call for his condemnation.
Nevertheless, it may be said that it was accident which in some
sort compelled the government to bring him to trial.
The custom in France, which prevailed more or less till the
Revolution of 1848 (and the apprehension of which still
remains so general that few public men keep their private docu-
ments at their residences), that of seizing the papers of deceased
or even living persons, supposed to have reference to public
afi'airs, brought to light certain charges against Lally Tollendal.
A Jesuit named Lavaur died in Paris in 1763, in whose secre-
taire was found a libel on Lally. On that document charges
of peculation and high treason were raised against him ; and
upon it an order for prosecuting him was issued. The preli-
minai'y inquiry and discussion of the interrogatories of the
prisoner and his enemies, in which those whom he accused
were admitted to testify against him, lasted two entire years,
during the whole of which time he was refused the aid of
counsel. At length, notwithstanding the declared opinion of
the senior member, or chairman of the commission, acquitting
him of all other heads of accusation than that deemed " mili-
tary," and to examine into which he (the Doyen des Substituts)
advised a court-martial, the Attorney-General pronounced for
a capital accusation of him befoi*e the Parliament of Paris.
On Monday the 5th of 3Iay, 1766, Lally was brought into
court. On perceiving the (sellette) stool on which, as a culprit,
he was compelled to take his place, he uncovered his breast,
displayed the marks of his wounds, and pointed to his gray
hairs, exclaiming with bitterness: "And this is the reward of
fifty-five years' services !"
All his objections to the charge, and to the testimony of the
witnesses against him, were overborne and overraled, and on
3*
58 THE IRISH
the following day, May 6th, the Court acquitted him of the
guilt of peculation and high treason, but pronounced him
"guilty of having betrayed the interests of the King, of the
State, and of the East India Company," and sentenced him to
be beheaded.
This decree excited universal horror and surprise. The
Attorney-General, Seguier, differed on the point with the rap-
porteur of the proceedings (Pasquier, father of the Due de
Pasquier, Louis Philippe's President of the Chamber of Peers
in France), who was a hard and severe man. M. de Seguier
did not confine himself to mere opposition in court ; he declared
to the world and in society his full belief in the innocence of
Lally. M. Pillot, a judge, who enjoyed the highest reputation
for sound judgment, went nearly as far as the Attorney-General,
holding that even if Lally could not be acquitted of all the
accusations brought against him, still he did not merit capital
punishment. Moreover, on the 8th, at the conclusion of a
Conseil d'Etat, Marshal Soubise threw himself at the feet of
Louis XV., and demanded of him, in the name of the armi/y
the pardon of General Lally. The Minister of War followed
his example, but the King, induced probably by the counsel
of the " Du Barri," or other of the profligate creatures who
surrounded him, had the infamy to reply , — " 'Tis you who
caused him to be arrested. It is too late. He has been tried
— he has been tried I"
A short time afterwards, nevertheless, the monarch said in
the ear of the Due de Noailles : " They have murdered him !"
and, four years afterwards, he said publicly to the Chancellor
Maupeau : " It is you who will have to answer for Lally's blood
—not I."
Will the world equally absolve him ? Was there ever such
ingratitude, such iniquity, such weakness, such falsehood ?
Lally's whole life had been spent in his service. Louis believed
him to be the victim of a conspiracy and persecution ; and yet,
at the instance of his enemies, and possibly of courtesans and
other parties behind the scene, he refused to spare the life of
him whom he had recognised as the author of the most impor-
tant success of his reign — the glorious victory of Fontenoy !
When the decree of the Court, which declared him " guilty
of having betrayed the interests of the King," was read to
Lally, he cried, in a voice of thunder : " That is false ! Never,
never !"
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 69
After giving vent to his indignation against the Attorney-
General, and against the judges, Lally became suddenly silent,
and appeared to reflect while he walked up and down, his
hand on his left breast under his coat. Then pretending to
kneel, he stabbed himself with a compass, which penetrated
between the ribs to the depth of several inches, but without
reaching the heart. A confessor then was summoned, and
through his exhortations and the consolations of religion, Lally
resigned himself to die.
He was in this favourable frame of mind when the execu-
tioner presented himself with an order to gag him ! His
enemies contrived even that the time fixed for his execution
(after sunset) should be advanced six hours ; and instead of
being conducted to the scaifold in his carriage, as had been
promised him, he was brought thither, gagged, in open day in
a cart ! Arrived at the fatal spot, he received the stroke of
the executioner immediately upon pronouncing pardon of his
enemies and of his judges. The clergymen who attended him
in his last moments, wrote to the weeping family of Lally, that
— " II s'est frappe en hero, et se repente en chretien." (He
received death like a hero, and was penitent like a Christian.)
To witness the execution of Lally crowds of amateurs who
revel in strong emotions and sanguinary spectacles repaired to
Paris from the provinces, and even from foreign countries.
Among the latter, was George Selwin, who must have been
still a very young man in 1766, but this propensity was early
developed in him. Many men of the very first rank in Paris
also sought and obtained permission to be present on the
scafi"old, in order to witness the decapitation, or rather the
butchery of a friend — a companion, probably a rival. The
throng was so great, that the executioner (whose instrument
was a heavy sword) had not space to wield it, or to measure
his distance and take aim. The blow, consequently, fell in
the middle of the sufi"erer's head, which it cut through.
During many years afterwards, and even to the Revolution
of 1789, this sword was a principal ornament of the museum
of Samson, the executioner; and was always exhibited to
visiters, whose attention he directed to a notch in it, caused
by its encountering the victim's teeth !
Thus perished, on the 9th of May, 1766, Lally Tollendal.
"The scars of his old wounds were nenr his new,
Those honourablo sc-irs which brought him fame."
60 THE IRISH
CHAPTER XI.
You have done a brave deed ! Ere you go, hear this —
As far as doth the capitol exceed
The meanest house in Rome, so far my son
Whom j-ou have banished does exceed you all.
Coriolanns.
AT that period, as at subsequent ones, public opinion was
rarely expressed in condemnation of the acts of govern-
ment in France. Louis XV. did not, it is tiiie, cause the
unjust execution of Lally ToUendal, but he permitted it. The
profligate old sinner was, it is believed, suffering under the
pangs of conscience at the period of Lally Tollendal's triaJ,
and acquiesced in the murder, possibly to bring his ministers
into discredit, possibly too at the instigation of one of hi.s
concubines. There was no public press to descant upon the
case during its progress, and to stigmatize the infamous per-
version of justice committed by the capital sentence pro-
nounced upon the heroic Lally by his judges. There was
none to support an appeal to the King's clemency, and to
demonstrate that to sanction a decision so odious was to become
a party to it. It is fortunate for the memory of Louis XV.
perhaps, that history cannot (because of their repulsive cha-
racter) record the incidents of his advanced life. Thoroughly
depraved though he were, he had, it will be seen, moments of
remorse, or — possibly — of hypocrisy. The close of his ill-spent
life approached. The murder of Lally must have pressed upon
his conscience, yet he did nothing to prove that he repented,
by repairing to the orphan son of his victim the evil he had
caused him by allowing his father to be put to death. It was
reserved for his successor (who, alas ! in his own turn pleaded
in vain for life), to do justice to the memory of the gallant
but unfortunate Lally.
I have just suggested the possibility that Louis XV. was a
hypocrite. Crossing the Pont Neuf one day in his carriage,
he saw two clergymen rapidly approaching, one of them carry-
ing the sacred vessel in which he was conveying the sacrament
to a sick man in extremis. The King ordered the carriage to
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 61
halt and the door to be opened. He then descended, and
kneeling down in the mud, bowed his head with at least
apparent veneration, and remained in that attitude until the
procession had passed.* This act of devotion, or of dissimula-
tion, obtained for him a momentary revival of his popularity,
but he gave no further sign of repentance. His vicious court,
who were exclusively members of his vices, rendered return to
a moral life impossible for the now doting libertine. One of
his guilty tools at least, ''the Du Barri," expiated her own
sins afterwards on the Place de la Revolution on the 3d
Frimaire An. II., ''convicted of having worn mourning in
London for the tyrant" (Louis XVI.), and whence she had
the folly to return to France.
Our Cousin Robin, in giving the details of the life, exploits,
reverses, sufferings, and death of Lally, spoke with impar-
tiality. He blamed him for an execrable temper (his great
failing), and drew a picture of him resembling, in many par-
ticulars, a hero of more modern times, the late Sir Thomas
Picton. He concurred in disbelieving all imputation against
the loyalty of Lally, but, too fond of quoting Voltaire, he
always added the somewhat enigmatical saying ascribed to
that satirist : " Every man in France had a right to put Lally
to death, except the executioner."
The Abbe Duvernet has denied, however, that Voltaire
ever used that expression ; but the world found something like
a confirmation of it iu his " Fragmens sur quelques Revolu-
tions dans rinde."
Three days after the death of Lally, a friend who deplored
him asked one of his principal judges upon what fact the
finding and sentence of the Court had rested. " On no point
in particular," replied the judge; "it was on the en&emhle of
his conduct that he was found guilty and sentenced."
" That is true," said Voltaire ; " but a hundred incongrui-
ties in the conduct of a man in place, a hundred imperfections
* Another royal devotee, wo will not say hypocrite, displayed similar
devotion within this present year in a neighbourinj; capital, as will bo seen by
the following extract from the Constitutionnel of 21st January (1854) — ■' On
lit dans la Espana, du 15 : 'Hier, a quatre heures de I'apres-midi, la rcino
Marie-Christine, passant par la rue d'AIcala, a rencontre lo viatique que Ton
portait a un pauvre malade. La reine Christine est descendue do sa voiture ;
elle y a fait monter le pretre et elle a suivi i pied un cierge a la main ot
dans les rues boueuses, jusqu'a la demeure du malade. Elle est revenue do
la meme maniere a la paroisse.' "
62 THE IRISH
of character, a hundred traits of bad temper, do not constitute
a crime meiiting capital punishment. If it were permitted to
subalterns to draw their swords against their general, he possi-
bly deserved death at the hands of oiScers whom he had out-
raged, but not to die by the glaive of justice."
Thus the sceptic on, unfortunately, more important points.
He who denied to the Irish the credit of having gained the
battle of Fontenoy, questioned the decree which sent the great
agent in that victory to the scaffold.
In the year 1778, a memorial was presented to Louis
XVI. in council, by Count Lally Tollendal, only son of the
unfortunate Lally; in consequence of which a commission was
appointed to examine into the whole case of his father. After
thirty-two sittings, the commission " reversed (cassa) the de-
cree of the Parliament of Paris of the 6th of May, 1768, and
everything that had followed it."
From that moment General Lally Tollendal was reinstated
by law, and his character pronounced to be restored to honour.
Public opinion had never considered him guilty.
Louis XVI. concurred, with his usual kindness of heart, in
this decision, and accompanied his assent with compliments to
Count Lally Tollendal (afterwards created Marquis by Louis
XVIII.) on his "filial piety." He was rewarded, as we shall
see, for this benevolence, in his own moment supreme, by the
heroic presence and invaluable mental support of two Irish-
men (Catholic clergymen).
CHAPTER XII.
He who is a good son makes a good brother — a good husband — a good
father — a good relative — a good friend — a good neighbour — a good citizen.
Chinese Proverb.
Qu'est ce qui louera son pero mieux que I'enfant malheureux ?
TROPHIME GERARD DE LALLY TOLLENDAL was
the son of the unfortunate General Lally, of whom in the
preceding chapters I have been speaking, and gained for him-
self by his talents, his liberal opinions, his honourable princi-
ples, his civil courage, his devoted attachment to a Sovereign
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 63
in adversity, and above all by sui-passiug filial piety, the esteem
and admiration of his contemporaries, and a distinguished place
in history.
He was born in Paris on the 5th of May, 1751, and was
educated in the College of Harcourt. He studied with steadi-
ness and success, notwithstanding the one absorbing idea
which occupied him from the first moment when he could
realize the atrocious treatment of which his father had been
the object, and the sentence of death so diabolically executed
upon him.
The first impulse of young Lally was to bring about the
re-establishment of his father's character, through the expo-
sure of the foul and disgraceful process by which his destruc-
tion had been achieved. Thus he had hardly left college,
when the courts rang with his complaints and appeals. Aided
by the powerful co-operation of Voltaire, his efforts were in-
cessant, until at length justice and humanity triumphed. By
four decrees of the Council, the judgment and sentence of the
Parliament of Paris, by whom the elder Lally had been con-
demned, were quashed, as we have stated, and the affair was
in train to be satisfactorily and definitively concluded by the
Parliament of Rouen, to which it had been referred, when
the Revolution of 1789 broke out, and prevented the imme-
diate accomplishment of his desires.
The formal establishment of General Lally was not there-
fore absolutely necessary. So complete and unequivocal had
been the verdict of acquittal, expressed by the first decree of
the Council which annulled that of the Parliament, in the
estimation of the world, and especially of Voltaire, that though
then on his bed of death, the philosopher wrote to M. Lally
the following note : —
'' The dying is recalled to life by this great event. He
tenderly embraces M. Lally. He perceives that the King is
the defender of justice, and he dies content."
This note bore date 26th of May, 1778. Voltaire died on
the 30th.
Some time after the death of Voltaire M. Lally purchased
the appointment of Grand Bailli d'Etampcs. The preamble
of its conveyance recited that it had been accorded to him
^' in consideration of the services rendered by his father to
the State" and of '^ his own filial piety."
The 6clat which his conduct had gained for him procured
64 THE IRISH
for M. Lally, in 1789, his election to the States-Greneral as a
deputy of the noblesse of Paris. Passionate, however, as a
reformer, and an enthusiastic disciple of Necker, then the
drapeau of the Opposition, Lally on the 25th of June, in
conjunction with the minority of the noblesse, went over to
the Tiers-Etat.
On the 11th of July, when the agitation of the public
mind was nearly at its height, he made in the States-General
a vehement speech, in which he paid to La Fayette, who had
just proposed the declaration of the Rights of Man, the fol-
lowing compliment : " The author of this declaration speaks
of libei-ty in the manner in which he defended it."
Two days afterwards — that is, on the eve of the Revolution,
as it may be termed — he evinced his sense of honour and
common honesty by indignantly repudiating the odious idea
of a national bankruptcy which had been proposed, or at least
eusrorested, in the Assembly : —
"La dette publique," cried he, "est sous la sauvegarde de
I'honneur et de la loyaute frangaise 1"
Xext day, the 14th, while the siege and attack of the
Bastille were actually in progress, he was elected a member
of the " Committee of the Constitution," and at the same mo-
ment named one of the deputation which it wa.s resolved
should be sent to tranquillize the people. The Bastille had,
however, already fallen, and the conquerors were returning
flushed with victory, and accompanied by prisoners and tro-
phies, to the Hotel de Ville, when they were encountered in
the Rue St. Antoine by the deputation. All interposition was
therefore supei-fluous.
We find Lally again at the Hotel de Ville on the following
day, where he once more harangued the multitude (now in a
state of increased excitement) in a speech calculated to soothe
them, and bespeak a kindly reception for the Sovereign, against
whom the evil disposed were endeavouring to provoke popular
fury.
This effort was, however, only partially successful. It de-
monstrated the loyalty and the spirit of conciliation that ever
distinguished Lally, but it betrayed a just appreciation of the
actual situation, by recognising that it called for mediation
between the monarch and the masses, and of the perspective
which, with admirable foresight, he thus early perceived dis-
tinctly defined. He comprehended the difiiculty of reconci-
ABROAD AND AT HOMK. 6fi
ling others to views which were natural to himself, aud was
horror-struck at the aspect of the abyss into which, only a
little later, the monarch and the monarchy were so fright-
fully hurled.
It was still under these impressions that two days subse-
quently (on the 17th of July, 1789), when the King repaired
to the Hotel de Ville, Lally again addressed the people, re-
callino; to mind the numerous acts of kindness and beneficence
of the Sovereign towards them ; and then turning to the King,
he dwelt upon the sentiments of affection, fidelity, and grati-
tude for him with which the people were, he assured him,
penetrated.
The manner in which these observations were received
proved to Lally that he had failed in his praiseworthy effort,
and convinced him of the hopelessness of any further attempt
at mediation. He resolved therefore upon a step which the
most fastidious advocate for consistency will not condemn,
seeing that it was not desertion from a principle or a party —
loyalty and attachment to the King (to whom he owed more-
over a deep debt of gratitude) being the first article of his
political faith.
The views of the revolutionists forming the majority of the
Tiers-Etat being now palpable, and becoming fully impressed
with the consequence, should success attend the revolutionary
projects of the majority, Lally abandoned that party and
ranged himself by the side of the defenders of the Court,
and thenceforward, without relinquishing one of his liberal
principles, devoted himself to the service of the doomed sove-
reignty. In proportion as the King's danger became more
manifest, Lally's zeal in his cause increased and his courage
rose, and with constancy and energy he endeavoured to stem
the torrent directed from the tribune against the unfortunate
Louis. Without disdaining vulgar assailants, he sought espe-
cially the leaders of the Revolution, and courageously grappled
with even the Corypheus of the party — that " Hercules of
eloquence" — Mirabeau himself.
My readers of a certain standing will perceive that the-
phrase just applied to Mirabeau is derived from Sheridan's
somewhat bombastic compliment to Charles Fox, conveyed 'in
a toast proposed by him at one of the Whig Club dinners in
179-4 or 1795, which ran thus : —
" May the Hercules of eloquence destroy the Hydra of cor-
66 THE IRISH
ruption, and double chain the triple-headed Cerberus of taxa-
tion!"
It is due to the memory of that powerful orator, liberal
statesman, and most amiable of men, Charles James Fox, to
observe, however, that with obesity and a hesitating and con-
fused manner in the commencement of a speech (which his
nephew, the late Lord Holland, also laboured under), all resem-
blance, physical, moral, or intellectual, between him and Mira-
beau ceased. The one was handsome, with a countenance
beaming with benevolence, with also
" A hand
Open as day to melting charity,"
the other, ugly, repulsive, rapacious, with imprinted on his
brow the forbidding audacity and defiance of one whose dis-
orderly youth and manhood had brought upon him the world's
dislike, I might almost say abhorrence; of one who had
endured inflictions, some of which bore a character of perse-
cution and tyranny together, with an unmistakable fearless
determination to avenge them, and which he accomplished.
The one was occasionally — almost habitually — sportive as an
infant, the other breathed only from a long rankling, concen-
trated sense of profoundly felt though not altogether unmerited
injuries.
It were worse than absurd to attempt to gild refined gold,
to utter here a word even in admiration of the powers of Mr.
Fox ; but the following example, characteristic of his playful
disposition, has not yet appeared in print. I had it from the
late Mr. Francis Plowden, the eminent English chancery bar-
rister, but better known as '' Plowden the historian."
Fox and Sheridan had been dining with him in his cham-
bers, in Essex Street, Strand. At length Sheridan rose, and
observed,
" It is time to go down to the House."
" Allons done," replied Fox, and they left, accompanied by
their host.
On reaching the street, Sheridan proposed, in order to make
a return for Plowden' s hospitality, that if there should be
nothing important before the House on their arrival, they
should adjourn to what subsequently became " Bellamy's."*
* The refreshment room of the House of Commons.
ABROAD AND AT HOiME. 67
''Done," said Fox; but Plowden insisted that the carouse
should be at their common cost.
" Very well," said Fox; " every man for himself ; but to
pass the time let us have a game on the road. He who utters
the stupidest joke, or makes the worst pun before we reach St.
Stephen's, shall be excused paying for the wine.''
''Agreed," said his companions; and they proceeded to-
wards St. Stephen's.* Plowden was in every respect a pon-
derous man, and had as yet made no attempt to escape scot
free. Of Sheridan's essay, if any, Plowden had no recollec-
tion.
The trio had nearly reached Northumberland House, and
Fox had not opened his lips since proposing the wager. He
was silent, and as completely abstracted as if occupied with that
modern solecism in good manners, cigar-smoking; and was
treated by his friends with the indulgence tacitly accorded to
the perpetrators of that nuisance. Suddenly a porter coming
from the " Golden Cross" over the way, with a hare dangling
in his hand, rushed into the centre of the party, in order to
avoid a passing carriage, nearly upset Fox, and roused him
from his revery.
" I beg your pardon, Fm sure," said the man, respectfully.
"No harm done, my friend," replied the bland orator;
" but may I take the liberty of asking you, sir, if that be
your own hare or a wig?"
Sheridan and Plowden " gave in" without further contest.
We are forgetting Lally, however.
CHAPTER XIII.
We can never labour more gloriously than in meriting the esteem of our
fellow citizens.
Bias.
THE zeal in the service of Louis XVI. displayed by M.
Lally Tollendal, increased as he became impressed with
the fearful fate that menaced the King, his family, and his
« Tho sittings of the late Commons' House of Parliament were hold in
the former Chapel of Saint Stephen, Westminster, London.
68 THE IRISH
country. He no longer qualified his language while remon-
strating with the leading orators of the adverse faction ; he
dwelt with indignation on the excesses committed in the capital,
and in a prophetic strain thus admonished his hearers : " If
the spirit of revolt be not immediately arrested and repressed,
we shall have shaken off the ministerial yoke only to assume
one tenfold more insupportable." Then obviously pointing to
Mirabeau, he characterized him as
'•A lion he was proud to hunt — "
and, in reply to some irregular observation by which he had
been interrupted by him, Lally remarked, with bitterness : '' It
is possible for a man to possess great talent and grand ideas,
and yet to be a tyrant."
On the 19th of August following, in an able and eloquent
speech, he felt the pulse of the Assembly on the subject of a
mixed constitution comprehending three powers (the favourite
notion of his idol, Necker). Either, however, he had indis-
posed the majority of the Assembly by his introductory obser-
vations, indiscreetly condemnatory of the declaration of the
Rights of jMan, of which he had at first approved, or the
Assembly was resolved to listen to nothing coming from the
Court, with whom they identified him ; for his measure was
declared unsuitable, and negatived. Nevertheless, in order to
mark that it was to the author and not the principle they
objected, the Assembly almost immediately agreed to another
that was substituted for it; '^ although," said the commenta-
tors, " it contained distinctions without difi"erences," and was
" simile et idem."
Like that of Lally, this pi-oj'et de loi contemplated three
powers : a Chamber of Representatives, a Senate (of which,
however, the members were not necessarily to be drawn from
the privileged classes, but who must possess a certain quali-
fying amount of income), and finally, a King, with the absolute
veto.
This project, which may be considered that of Lally, was
approved and became a law, and the Committee of the Con-
stitution, from whom it had emanated, was dissolved.
Few measures can be named that have displayed a tendency
to mortality and a susceptibility of resuscitation comparable
with this Constitutional enactment. It endured for a brief
time only. Some ten years later a precisely similar one was
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 69
granted by Napoleon to his subjects; and this was superseded
thirteen or fourteen years afterwards by Louis XVIII., by
another (historically known as La Charte) professing to be
founded on a more liberal principle, and on his demise was
continued — nominally — by his successor (Charles X.), until —
together with his throne — it was upset by the Revolution of
1830. Louis Philippe gathenug up the fragments, professed to
restore the edifice in its pristine purity. He did not keep his
word, and in consequence it fell, anew, into the mud beneath the
insurrection of 1848. A fresh interregnum took place, and,
now — in 1852 — it again obtains, having been once more esta-
blished by Louis Napoleon in the form and terms octroyi by
his uncle.
Thus we have seen the plan of a Constitutional Monarchy
tossed, like a shuttlecock, from the National Assembly to the
Convention, who suffered it to drop. Adopted by Napoleon,
it was kept bounding on the battledore, in order, at the con-
venience of the striker, to be launched forward again with
increased force, or allowed to fall. Caught up by Louis XVIII.,
and once more put into action ; shaken by his death, its
existence — very imperfectly performing its functions however
— was tolerated for some time by Charles X. With him, upon
his attempting to deplume it altogether, it once more came to
the ground. It was appropriated by Louis Philippe, who — in
that phrase so well known and, for him, so unfortunately
departed from — declared that thenceforward ^^ La Charte"
should be " une verite," but who — pursuing a less important
object, the aggrandizement of his name and family — allowed
the constitutional principle to become impaired in its most
indispensable faculties, it again fell into the houe (teaching him
that with a people as with a child, faith must ever be kept).
It retained its vitality, however, for having been picked up by
Louis Napoleon, its leading principles are to-day preserved in
his system of government (notwithstanding the anomaly) in
the name of a republic. Resumons : —
Overruled and defeated within, Lally now directed his
attention to the aspect of affairs out of doors, and became in
consequence hoi-rified at the indications of innovation which
everywhere met his view, and which he recognised as prelimi-
nary to the terrible crisis that he had vainly sought to persuade
himself was not inevitable. The fearful events of the 5th and
6th of October manifested to him, hov.'evcr, the sure advent
70 THE IRISH
of the evils he had hoped to see obviated, and which he was
forced to admit were about to burst on France. Seeing, more-
over, that the Assembly was deficient in the power or the will
to re-establish order, he renounced his predilection for par-
liamentary life, and retired into Switzerland, where he joined
his friend Mounier, and where he composed his well-known
work entitled ''Quintus Capitolinus."
Becoming somewhat reassured, and believing that it was
his duty to endeavour, by all means available to him, to obviate
the dangers which menaced his Sovereign and his country,
Lally returned to France early in 1792, and, in conjunction
with Mounier, Montmorin, Malouet, and Bertrand de Molle-
ville, sought to snatch the King from the precipice on the
brink of which he stood.
CHAPTER XIV.
Ce n'est ni le d^faut de branches ni de feuilles, qui fait p6rir un arbre,
mais la pourriture de sa racine.
Proverbe Chinois.
HAD it been possible to have saved France from the evils
and the horrors of which she has been the theatre during
now upwards of sixty years, with certain intervals, it would
have been effected by the quintuple alliance mentioned in the
close of the last chapter, and the powerful coadjutors influenced
by their doctrine and example. They were individually liberal,
yet royalist advocates of reform (champions of freedom even),
but staunch defenders of the person and authority of the
Sovereign. In this no inconsistency was seen. It accorded
with the views and comprehended the desires of the vast
majority of the nation at that period : but a few perturbed
spirits, who would not be propitiated, and a few incorrigible
bigots, clinging to principles and privileges irreconcilable with
the wants and the taste and spirit of the age, and incompatible
with the measures calculated and proposed for the general
well-being, derided and opposed it. By one set of opponents
the profession of faith of Lally and his friends was treated as
" a desire to perpetuate a r<5gime which had run its race, and
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 71
with whlcli at any risk il/aut Jini?:" By another it was dealt
with, as " the mot cVordre for the destruction of a fabric with
whose history were associated all the glories of France, and
with the continued existence of which, entire and intact, her
safety and her destinies were indissolubly bound up."
Notwithstanding the resistance of these two clashing and
discordant elements, the system for which Lally and his col-
leagues contended, — a constitutional monarchy, — triumphed
for a moment, as we have seen. Instead, however, of recon-
struction, demolition was the result. The monarchical prin-
ciple which, unqualified and unlimited, had prevailed for seven
or eight centuries, had been so much weakened, and so impor-
tantly entame in the progress of the discussion of the measure
which was proposed for its renovation, that scarcely was it
re-established, when, not imperceptibly, or by sap, but from
open, unconcealed, undissembled, unintermitting assaults upon
it, the whole building gave way, overwhelming in its fall both
defenders and assailants.
The four distinguished associates of Lally in his attempt
to preserve the monarchy if possible, but the monarch at all
events — namely — Mounier, Montmorin, Maloiiet, and Beitrand
de Molleville, took respectively a prominent part in the im-
portant proceedings which preceded the abrogation of royalty
and the execution of the King.
John Joseph Mounier was the son of a respectable mer-
chant of Grenoble, and was born on the 12th November,
1758. He received an excellent education, which, united to
sound sense, a discriminating and active mind, and a consider-
able share of eloquence, insured to him distinction in the profes-
sion of the law, to which he devoted himself He thus attained
to the rank of Juge Royal, with the additional advantage of
a high reputation for political knowledge. On the failure of
the Assembly of Notables, in 1787, and the convocation of the
States General, his popularity obtained for him a nomination
to that Assembly, of which body he soon became the life and
soul, and had nearly succeeded in laying the foundation of a
solid representative government, when the divisions and con-
flicts of the States-General defeated that great object. The
struggle for superiority between the clergy and nobles, with
the Tiers-Etat, became hourly more violent. Of this last-
mentioned section Mounier was one of the most strenuous
partisans, and to him was due the change of the '' States-Ge-
72 THE IRISH
neral" into tlie '' National Assembly." It was he, also, who,
when on the 20th June the Ticrs-Etat were refused admit-
tance into the Salle de I'Assemblee, moved an adjournment to
the Tennis Court, where he proposed the oath, which was taken
on the spot, not to separate until after having given a Consti-
tution to France.
This extraordinary scene, which the pen and the pencil have
a thousand times represented, was perhaps the most exciting
and at the same time imposing of the Revolution. "David's
celebrated picture of it — called the * Serment de la Jeu de
Paume,' is faithful in its great features, but fails in its indi-
vidualities"— such, at least, was the opinion of one of its most
obvious characters, the Abbe Gregoire, expressed to me three-
and-twenty years afterwards. " To Bailly, in particular, the
honestest man of the Revolution," the Abbe Gregoire said,
'' the picture of David did not do justice."
The weakness of the King, his refusal to act upon the
vigorous counsel of Mounier, and especially the events of the
5th and 6th October, convinced the latter that the monarch
was lost. He therefore sent in his resignation of member of
the (now) Constituent Assembly, and retired to his native city,
Grenoble. He died in 1803.
Montmorin (Armand Mare), was a man of talent, of fitful
energy, but vacillating to a contemptible degree. After the ter-
rific affair of the 10th August, 1792, he deemed it prudent to
conceal himself. He took refuge in the house of a washerwoman,
in the Faubourg St. Antoine, where, however, he was disco-
vered on the 21st of that month, arrested, and after examina-
tion committed to prison. He was one of the unfortunates
butchered at the Abbaye, on the 2d of September following.
In the picture of that appalling slaughter Montmorin figures
so prominently that a slight sketch of it will possibly prove
acceptable, especially as it portrays the accused and the judge
in never-fading colours.
In the preceding sanguinary scenes of the Revolution, a
sheriff's officer named Maillard had been a principal actor.
He was one of the foremost assailants of the Bastille. He
excited and managed the march of the Poissardes to Ver-
sailles, on the 5th October, and he was one of the most des-
perate in the attack on the Tuileries, on the 10th August.
These circumstances will explain why to him was deputed the
task of presiding over an important branch of the general mas-
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 73
sacre ordered for the 2d September — tliat of the prisoners con-
fined in the Abbaye.
CHAPTER XV.
Tigre enchaine se laisse conduire par un enfant — mais celui qui le mdno
— fut-il un geant, risque tout a I'irriter: le peuple est do meme.
Apojihther/mes de Tao-See.
Astucieux et perfiJe comme un Syphnien.
MAILLAKD and his monster associates forming the tribu-
nal which on that day (the 2d of September), established
itself at the Abbaye for the ti'ial, as it was termed, of the
prisoners confined in that edifice, had hardly taken their seats
at a table placed in the hall, when the Swiss Guards, to the
number of thirty-seven, who had surrendered at the Tuileries
on the 10th of August, or had been captured elsewhere, were
commanded to appear before the judges. They were accord-
ingly brought promptly before Maillard.
"'Tisyou,'' said he, addressing them, ''who assassinated
the people on the 10th of August."
" We were attacked, and only obeyed the orders of our
chiefs."
Maillard shook his head doubtingly, and with that coolness
which freezes the blood when one reflects upon his demonstra-
tion of it in those terrible moments, added, and with seeming
carelessness : " At all events, however, there is nothing for me
to do but to transfer you to La Force."*
" A la Force ! entendez-vous ?" said he to the attendants.
These observations were directed to two parties — the pri-
soners and the turnkeys. It had been arranged, in order to
spare the judges the pain of hearing exclamations, remon-
strances, entreaties, execrations, or maledictions from the
doomed, that the words d la Force would mean " condemna-
tion to death." The prisoner, therefore, on quitting the pri-
son, the door of which closed upon him immediately on his
egress from it, found himself surrounded by nearly — and only—
* The great prison of Paris.
74 THE IRISH
two hundred frantic and half-intoxicated demons, armed with
bludgeons, hammers, muskets, hatchets, pikes, pistols, and
sabres, and compared with whom, the savages of New Zea-
land would appear mild and humane. These horrible mis-
creants were instructed that, unless accompanied by recognised
agents, proclaiming their acquittal, all who left the prison
were to be instantly put to death.
Who is there who has not wept at the description given by
Lamartine and others of the " beau jeune officier Suisse,"
with his flaxen hair, in the flower of his youth, who when his
companions shrank back at the words, " k la Force," believing
it to be his sentence of death,* advanced and offered himself
as the fli'st victim ? The door opened. He passed it. For a
moment, the sight of a beautiful young man, who regarded
them with firmness, paralyzed the butchers by whom he was
to be slausfhtered. Not a sound was heard. At lencrth bend-
ing his head he rushed forward, and was instantly struck down
and slain. His comrades, officers, and soldiers of the Swiss
Guards, to the number above mentioned, followed, and also
perished.
Some wretched coiners (a class of ofi"enders always, even
in our own time, punished capitally in France) were next
brought forward, and although not accused of being aristo-
crats, were transferred to the executioners by the usual sen-
tence. To them succeeded Montmorin, the friend of Lally.
Full of the recollection of his successful pleading before
the Assemblies, and with autrefois acquit upon his lips, he
advanced into the hall of trial with confidence, and placed
himself erect before Maillard, whom he regarded with a steady
countenance. Maillard dropped his eye upon the book before
him (the register of the prison), and pronounced interroga-
tively, but without much emphasis, the name " Montmorin ?"
'' The same," said the ex-minister.
" What is your defence to the charge of incivisme that I
find here against you V'f
" I have already been tried — accused rather — before the
Assembly, and have proved my innocence. I was ordered to
be liberated, but have been, nevertheless, most irregularly and
illegally detained."
* " Les malheureux," says Thiers, "qui avaient entrevu les sabres mena-
fants de I'autro c6t6 du guichet ne peuvent s'abuser sur leur sort!"
f This assertion was false.
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 75
'^ C'est bieu !" said Maillard, carelessly; " convey Monsieur
de Montmorin d la Force V^
" La Force !" said tlie unfortunate unsuspecting man.
*^ Why 'tis a league oflF ! Will you allow me a fiacre ?"
''Certainly," said Maillard. "Sit down in the mean
while ;" and then he whispered something to a man, who left
the hall.
After the despatch of half a dozen other cases in succes-
sion, the man to whom Maillard had whispered re-entered,
and communicated something to the judge, who nodded
approval, and turning to Blontmorin, said quietly and even
politely to him,
'' The car'riage that is to convey you to your destination
waits for you."
Upon receiving this fiendishly equivocal intimation the ex-
minister rose, and bowing with much dignity to the Court,
quitted the hall. In thirty seconds afterwards he was in the
presence of his Eternal Judge. Immediately on passing the
threshold of the door his head was cloven with an axe.
Pierre Victor Malouet was the descendant of an honour-
able family in the Puy de Dome, and was born in July, 1740.
At the period of the Revolution, he was Intendaut de la Ma-
rine at Toulon, and was elected deputy of his native city to
the States-G-eneral. There, in conjunction with Lally and his
friends, disciples of Neeker, and moderate in their views of
reform, he constantly displayed respect and attachment for
the monarchy, and kept aloof from the intrigues of faction.
He attempted to check the revolutionary spirit, which was, he
perceived, assuming a dangerous form. He opposed the arm-
ing of the National Guards,* a measure which he regarded as
fraught with great peril. In a similar feeling, he disapproved
of the declaration of the Rights of Man, thinking that "it
were better to re-establish tranquillity than disturb the bands
* In December, 1830, this principle was urged (the epochs wore nearly
similar) by one of the greatest men of modern times. Among other influ-
ential parties solicited by the friends of Prince Polignac and his ex-col-
leagues (Peyronnet, Chantilauze, and Guernon de Rainville) to interfere
in their favour at their approaching trial by the Court of Peers, for having
signed the ordinances of Charles X., was Henry Brougham. It will easily
bo credited that he warmly assented. Ho wrote accordingly to numerous
persons in Paris, possessing the power to befriend the prisoners, and con-
tributed thus mainly, if not principally, to save their lives. He added his
counsel, however, on another point : " Do not," said ho, " do not re-establish
the National Guard." The event justified his prevision and warning.
76 THE IRISH
of society by metaphysical definitions;" and contending, that
the people ought to be recalled to sentiments of order and
submission to the laws, and reconciled to the payment of taxes,
to which they had contracted antipathy.* He declared him-
self in favour of a qualified veto {veto suspensi/), and for the
division of the Legislative Body into two permanent Cham-
bers. He displayed hostility to many measures which he
deemed abuses ; but his most vigorous eifort to interrupt the
march of innovation was directed against the projects of the
Abbe Gregoire and his confreres '■'■ les Amis des Noirs," and
he painted in vivid colours the evils they had already pro-
duced in the colonies, and those further evils that they would
infallibly occasion.
Between Lally and Malouet there were in fact many points
of resemblance, not only on public questions, but in the affec-
tions and suggestions of the heart on private matters, with also
a coincidence and success in their demonstration of it. Like
Lally, Malouet had been named a Deputy to the States-Gene-
ral ; like him, he displayed in it monarchical predilections ;
but of the two, the royalism of Malouet was, perhaps, the more
ardent. Like Lally, he deemed himself called upon to repair
the injury done by calumny to a great man, for whom he en-
tertained affection. Deeply interested in the political events
which were passing before his eyes, or in which he was an ac-
tor, he nevertheless demanded, and by perseverance and zeal
obtained, the reversal of the decree of the Parliament of Paris ^
pronounced, on the bth of May, 1781, against his friend,
the celebrated Abbe Ruynal, and against his history; which
decree had ordered ''that the author be arrested and impri-
soned, and his book burned by the hand of the public
executioner."
Antoine Frangois Bertrand de Molleville was born at Tou-
louse in 1744, and reckoned among his ancestral relatives the
Cardinal Chancellor Jean Bertrand (or Bertrande), whose me-
mory in 1775 he defended against an attack of Condorcet, in
his "Eloge du Chancelier de'l'Hopital."
Unfortunately he was imbued with the principle that the
enjoyment of liberty by the people is ever stormy, and believed
that the excesses which almost always result from attempts to
diminish that liberty, are necessary consequences of its exist-
* Lord Castlereagh's figure on this head was less accurately defined. He
charged the people with "ignorant impatience of taxation."
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 77
euce. Actiug uudcr this impression, he advised the monureh
to refuse concessions which, according to him, if withheld,
might have prevented the arrival of disasters, and finally the
extinction of royalty.
lu reply, the King displayed towards him one of those
ephemeral indications of firmness which, from their being al-
most immediately afterwards abandoned, uniformly tended to
his own injury.
After having subsequently filled the place of Director of
the King's Secret Police, he was ultimately, like his friends of
whom I have spoken, obliged to take refuge in England. In
1814, on the restoration of the Bourbons, he returned to Paris,
where he was received with much favour.
CHAPTEPt XVI.
CaiUabit vacuus coram latrone viator.
Jnvciii.ll.
La politDsse et les convenances veulent qu'on proportionno le rire a la
qualite des personnes avec lesquellcs on se trouve, afin do nc pas manquer
au.\ egards quo Ton doit a leur rang — et — ii leur dignito.
French Proverb.
IT has been seen that M. Lally Tollcndal was more fortu-
nate than his friend Montmoriu. His devotion to the King
and his only moderate liberalism were notorious. He had
therefore been one of the thousands of men, similarly distin-
guished or merely susj^rcfed, who were arrested after the 10th
of August and thrown into the Abbaye. His previous popu-
larity, however, the general esteem in which he was held, or
the personal regard of some powerful friend saved him, as was
equally the case with the celebrated philanthropist, the Abb6
Sicard, " the friend of the deaf and dumb." Sicard, like Lally,
had been incarcerated in the Abbaye without any positive
charge against him, and was snatched from the impending tjlaive
of the peiiple souucrain by a watchmaker, named Monuot,*
* This fact destroys the story gotten up by the democrnts of modern
times, that it was Robespierre who saved the Abbd Sicard.
78 THE IRISH
who recognised him by accident in the crowd of unhappy
inmates of the Abbaye.
On his escape from prison Lally once more took refuge in
England, where he remained until the 18th Brumaire arrived,
when, taking advantage of the clemency of Napoleon, he re-
turned to France. He took up his residence at Bordeaux, but
quitted it in 1805, to visit Paris to present his homage to
Pope Pius YIL, who had come to officiate at the coronation
of the Emperor. There he made the acquaintance of the
Archbishop of Lyons, uncle of the Emperor, better known in
later days as Cardinal Fesch. Through him, probably, he ob-
tained means of approach to Napoleon, and became sensible of
the irresistible fascination which that wonderful man exercised
over all who came in contact with him. To this influence
were due, it is to be supposed, the enthusiasm with which he
lauded the Concordat just concluded by Napoleon with the
Pope, and his flattery of the former, at a period too when he
could not have recovered from the efi"ects of a sarcasm in which
the Chief Consul chose to reply to an application from him for
a 2;rant of means of subsistence. '' Ah ha !" exclaimed Na-
poleon, when Lally's petition was presented to him on passing
through the town where he resided. "Ah ha! this drole
wishes to be like the Colossus at Rhodes, with one foot on
Calais and the other on Dover" (alluding to the pension on
the Irish Establishment accorded to Lally by the English Go-
vernment in 1792).
The recorded bou-mots of the Duke of "Wellington are
fewer than those of his great antagonist Napoleon. In fact,
between the two, few parallels are to be found. Its rarity, at
least, will therefore recommend the follo-n-ing companion to the
unfeeling jest just recounted. Attached to one of the regi-
ments of the British army in the Peninsula, was a surgeon of
the name of O'Reilly. He was as tall, as slim, and as springy
as Ireland, " the Flying Phenomenon," whom some people in
London and Dublin will remember to have seen at Astley's
Amphitheatre, hopping (for such was the movement) over
half a dozen horses side by side, but at a distance of a yard
from each othei*. Surgeon O'lleilly was the lightest-footed
and one of the lightest-hearted fellows in the British army,
and in this latter quality only exceeded by his and my old
friend, Maurice Quill. He did not spend all his time in pi-o-
fessional business or amusement, however. He had a great
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 79
facility ia the acquisition of languages, and applied himself
first to the study of those of Spain and Portugal respectively.
Having acquired them, he sought to attain a knowledge of the
patois of the inhabitants of whatever district he happened to
be quartered in.
One day, on a somewhat important occasion, a peasant was
brought before the Duke, and was questioned by him touching
the topography and statistics of the neighbourhood, the
strength and movements of the enemy, &c. The man could
not understand the questions, and consequently could not
reply to them. In this dilemma, somebody mentioned Surgeon
O'Reilly. He was immediately sought and pi-esented to the
Duke, who dictated to him a series of questions upon which
to examine the peasant. The latter understood O'Keilly per-
fectly, and was equally understood by him. After the
examination, both were dismissed by the Duke.
In the course of the following week, the Duke was riding
in the neighbourhood of his quarters, and was surprised to
observe a complete field of ofiicers, of all ranks and arms, at
some distance ofi"; and occasionally between him and the
horizon a white body would rise and fall, each appearance
being more and more remote.
<' What is all this ?" asked the Duke.
An officer of his staff rode off, and returned laughing. " It
is only Surgeon O'Reill}^, sir," said he, "engaged in one of
his steeple-chases."
*' Who are his competitors ?"
"He has none, sir; but he considers that a race over a
certain distance, necessitating a number of extraordinary leaps,
in height or length, is a steeple-chase. The whole camp is
occupied at this moment with one of them."
The Duke rode on, without further remark.
Some months or years later, O'Reilly had occasion to seek
.n favour at the hands of his illustrious commander and fellow
'• Meathian," and ventured to recall to his Grace the service
he had had the good fortune to render in the examination of
the peasant. The Duke had forgotten the circumstance, for
he remarked: "I have no recollection of the qualities of your
head, but a perfect remembrance of those of your heels."
I am unable to add if Lally Tollcndal or Surgeon O'Reilly
owed to the renowned persons, who had thus condescended
to jest upon them respectively, any advantage beyond that of
80 THE IRISH
immortality. It is fair to assume, for it would be disgraceful
were it otherwise, that the rebuff which each received was
accompanied by a salve for their wounded sensibility — an
infliction the more lache because perpetrated with perfect
security against resentment.
Little remains to be said of the Marquis de Lally Tollendal.
He was received with favour by " the Restoration," created a
peer, and otherwise distinguished. His public conduct thence-
forward, in the Chamber of Peers especially, was only in fact
the continuation of the course he had followed in the States-
General. He was rather a good than a great man. After an
active political life, he died during the Restoration ; and,
although some little inconsistencies were observable in him,
was followed to the gi-ave with regret and respect.
From his pen we should have had the Memoirs of his
father, but for a curious circumstance. He was an enthusiastic
admirer of Nccker. This led to close intimacy with the illus-
trious daughter of that minister, Madame de Stael, which
terminated only with life. On the appearance of the first
volume of Michaud's '^ Biographic Universelle," the idea of
publishing the lives of their respective parents suggested itself
to them, and led to the conclusion of an agreement between
them worthy of their filial love. Lally undertook the biogra-
phy of Necker, and 3Iadame de Stael charged herself with
the Memoirs of General Lally. Each performed the task which
had been undertaken ; and their respective productions appeared
in the " Biographic Universelle."
CHAPTER XVI r.
The lions of Greece become foses at Ephesus.
Lar,
HOW far political inconsistency in a public man is blameable
or excusable I shall not discuss. Every age and country
furnish examples of it.
The most remarkable instance of the inconsistency of public
men in England is that of Mr. Pitt ; and, more recently, that
of Sir Francis Burdett. In Ireland several such examples of
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 81
departure froiu professed and registered opinions have occurred,
and among them that of Grattan ; but he woukl be an unworthy
Irishman who should regard the services of this tnily groat
man as obliterated by a single error of judgment, or a single
concession to expediency, whether erroneous or justifiable;
and of these his inconsistencies only consisted. In like man-
ner, the personal and pecuniary sacrifices of Sir Francis Bur-
dett to the popular cause in early life, were unjustly held to
have been annulled by his ultimate Conservatism. Himdrcds
of similar cases might be quoted, of men changing their poli-
tical opinions late in life, from the popular to the unpopular
side. Among them may be cited that of the late Mr. Hus-
kisson, who, from a bonnet rouge in Paris, became in his own
country one of the most conservative but still liberal public
men whom England has had to lament in the present century.
Similarly, Doctor (now Sir John) S , who, from being
a red-hot Democrat and admirer of the French Ilevulution,
changed to an out and out Antigallican and Conservative.
The examples of an opposite kind, that is, of repudiated
Toryism, are comparatively few.
Of the former class we have had in Ireland one instance
nearly as striking as that of Mr. Pitt in England, in the late
Marquis of Londonderry, better known as Lord Castlereagh.
Like Mr. Pitt, he had started in life as a reformer, but had
not far advanced into manhood, when he became the most
devoted ally and instrument of the British Government in
Ireland. The name of Lord Castlereagh is associated with
every unpopular measure and proceeding of that government
in Ireland from 1790 to 1800, for a climax, with the Union.
Lord Londonderry was as remarkable for a fine face and
person as for courtesy. He was a kind master,* and, it is said,
a warm friend ; still there never has been more of public ran-
cour expressed towards an individual than against him. Colonel
William Stewart, of Killymoon, who, and whose ancestors,
had long represented the county of Tyrone in Parliament, and
had been identified with all the popular questions of Ireland
except one, boasted that he had never had to accuse himself
of being found in a division of the House of Commons with
Lord Londonderry, '' even on the Catholic Question."
How far the liberalism of the honourable member was
* One of bis servants, an Irishman of Herculean staiure, ia said to have
died of grief for his master.
4 *
82 THE IRISH
admirable, my readers will decide. His remark showed that
he inherited the &oi-clisant patriotism of his family, which
never contemplated regard for the condition of his Catholic
fellow-subjects; in other words, he and his ancestors were at
once ardent champions of Irish political independence and of
Irish sectarian intolerance. Now, Lord Londonderry sepa-
rated himself betimes from the former party, and became,
professedly at least, towards the close of his career, one of the
warmest advocates of religious liberty. His countryman, in
contradistinction to him, took credit for ''consistency."
Whether Lord Londonderry's agency in effecting the Le-
gislative Union of England and Ireland were praiseworthy or
the contrary, I decline expressing an opinion ; but as a decided
and unmitigated enemy of the liberal party in the Irish Par-
liament, and of the United Irishmen, he is known in Ireland.
Still the following story would argue that this difference in
public opinion did not interfere with his private friendships.*
One day in the year 1798, a friend, a member of Parlia-
ment, called upon him (then Lord Castlereagh) at his house
in Merrion Street. He entered the study of his lordship sans
ceremonie. *' What money have you about you?" asked the
latter, starting up.
"None," replied the visiter.
" Here," said Lord Castlereagh, opening a drawer of his
escritoire, and taking from it some rouleaux, " here are five-
and-twenty guineas; go down to the Pigeon House forthwith,
take a boat there, and lie to, waiting the Holyhead packet,
which will sail at five o'clock. Board her, and conceal your-
self in Wales."
" I do not comprehend you."
" Look here," said his lordship, taking from a bundle of
papers on his table one carefully folded, "look here; these
are the details of information, confirmed by oath, which has
been received against you. It compromises you capitally in
the conspiracy of the United Irishmen. Whether truly or
falsely, you know ; but whether tnily or falsely, it will lead to
your arrest within an hour from this time, unless you follow
my counsel."
His friend read the document with dismay, shook Castle-
* One of the toasts of tbo Irish convivialists at that period was — "May
a difiference in opinion on public subjects never interfere with private
friendship."
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 83
reagh by the hand, accepted the money, repaired to the Pigeon
House, and in all other particulars conformed to the advice
given him; nor did he return to Ireland until the rebellion
was over, and all pursuit of parties implicated in the conspi-
racy which preceded it had ceased.
To the person who communicated to me this anecdote, I
observed that it might be in my power to make public an
amiable ti'ait in the character of a man who was not generally
believed to have allowed himself to be influenced by ordinary
feelings ; but as it difi'ered so completely from the received
impression respecting Lord Castlereagh, it was desirable that
proof of its truth should be afforded by giving the name of
the party benefited. This he undertook to procure for me ;
but the descendant of the person who had been seiTcd, would
not assent ; and preferred suffering a creditable action of a
man whose name is loaded with obloquy in Ireland to remain
questionable, to the avowal that his own parent had at one
period been disaffected to the British Government. So much
for gratitude.
My informant, a man of truth and honour, remains in the
belief that this story is true to the letter. True or false, the
story bears only on the private impulses of Lord Castlereagh,
which appear to have been kind and friendly. It leaves
untouched, however, the question, " Is political consistency,
' coute qui coute,' laudable or blameworthy ?"
On this question, as on most others, " much may be said
on both sides." That consistency is generally deemed estima-
ble, is proved by the universal pretensions to it that one observes
even by men in whom its absence is obvious. Some slyly
claim it by remarking that others have it not; as we see
people assume credit for good sense and exemption from
weakness by exposing little peculiarities of their neighbours.
We have laughed at the innocent inconsistency of poor honest
Todd Jones, and (I record it without disrespect or irreverence)
find it equally in a higher man.
The late kind and excellent King William IV. (then Duke
of Clarence) was once conversing with Mrs. Dorothea Plow-
den (the celebrated beautiful " Dolly Phillii^s," lady of Plow-
den, the learned historian of Ireland), when " the powers of
the memory" were referred to. " The memory of my (the
royal) family," said the Duke, " is tenacious to a proverb ; in
fact it proves sometimes annoying and a nuisance to others.
84 THE IRISH
For example, I have kuowa my sisters say to a lady at tlie
drawing-room, on a birth-day, ' You wore that petticoat, or
that train, this day five years/ "
About the year 1826, the same Duke of Clarence, then
Lord High Admiral, went on a cruise in the Channel, to try
the rate of sailing of the two new three-deckers, the '' Prince
Kegent" and the " Princess Charlotte," and to test the com-
parative qualities of "the Jacks" and of the marine artillery
(then recently created) in firing at floating objects. Passing
along the coast, the Duke would halt for the night at one or
other seaport, and invite the oflicer in command of it to dine
and spend the evening on board his vessel. On one of those
occasions they shipped one of the old glories of the navy — I
think it was Sir Richard Keats. When he came on board,
the Duke shook him warmly by the hand.
" It is a good while since we met first, your royal high-
ness," said the Admiral.
" One-and-forty years this November. You wei'e, when
you joined, a chubby, rosy-cheeked little rascal, with a blue
jacket, having a double row of brass buttons on it !"
The Mote and the Beam, partout et toujours.
CHAPTER XVIII.
En politique les chemins droits et unis sont les meilleurs.
French Proverb.
ALTHOUGH, according to the royal critic quoted in the
last chapter, the tenacious memory of some persons may
be a nuisance to their neighbours, it is sometimes intolerable
to the possessor of it himself, especially where inadvertently
it reminds the sufi"erer of fatal faults, mistakes, and omissions.
Various epochs are mentioned as the commencement of Napo-
leon's fall. Talleyrand deemed the unprincipled invasion of
Spain " le commencement de la fin ;" others, the expedition
against Russia; but if we are to believe his own confe.ssions
and self-accusations in Saint Helena, Napoleon's reverses were
due to his allowing himself, at Tilsit, in 1807, to be duped by
his own inordinate rapacity, stimulated by that pi-ofound dis-
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 85
sembler, the Emperor Alexander, who diverted him from the
reconstruction of the kingdom of Poland, then so facile, and
■which, oh I retributive justice ! necessitated the expedition to
Moscow five years later. "Who is there, with a particle of feel-
ing, who does not deplore the fate of the heroic army which
perished in consequence of Napoleon's ingratitude to Poland?
Who is there who does not lameut at this moment (February,
1854), another result of it, the capability of Russia to attack
its unoffending neighbour, Turkey, and throw all Europe into
confusion, and possibly war ?
It -will be remembered that General Lall}-, when summoned
to Paris to suggest means for attacking England with success,
proposed "a descent vipon her coast; the conquest of her
American colonies ; or the reduction of her power in India ;"
and that these being declined, he exclaimed : " Then you lose
the opportunity of destroying your rival."
Singular coincidence ! Nearly similar were the suggestions
of Napoleon's mind on the same subject fifty years afterwards!
In his conversations in Saint Helena he said, " I ought to
have re-established the kingdom of Poland ; I ought to have
invaded Ireland, and I ought to have attacked the power of
England through India."
It must have cost Napoleon much to acknowledge that he
had acted ungratefully to the Poles, in omitting to reconsti-
tute their kingdom, for it was admitting the principal cause
of his own rain — the well-merited punishment of his self-
ishness. He did not add another point, which he might have
done, that independently of a conviction of the dangers an
expedition to Ireland would be exposed to before its arrival,
he was utterly ignorant of the importance of that country, and
that he was, moreover, indisposed towards the Irish in general
by the ultra democratic principles manifested by those of them
whom he knew in Paris. Their intrepidity in the ranks of his
army subsequently, went far in producing that repentance for
having neglected to attempt an invasion of Ireland ; for, like
Lord Edward Fitzgerald, fighting bravely was in his estima-
tion the first quality of a man or a people. He erroneously
accused himself, however, when he took blame for forgetting
India, in which quarter he to the last supposed England was
vulnerable.
Urged by Arthur O'Connor, Thomas A. Emmet, and Dr.
MacNevin, he in 1804 pretended a determination to invade
86 THE IRISH
Ireland, aud Augereau was appointed chief of the expedition.
To carry out this professed project, the United Irishmen who
had taken refuge in France were formed into a legion, at the
head of which figured Arthur O'Connor, raised for the nonce
to the rank of Lieutenant-general, and Dr. MacNevin, and Mac-
Sheehy (afterwards aide-de-camp of Napoleon, and who fell by
his side at Eylau), as colonels. O'Connor, suspecting that Na-
poleon was not in earnest, and only meant a demonstration,
quitted the coast, whither he had been summoned to embark,
and returned to Paris. For this act of disobedience he was
never brought to trial, nor even rebuked, and thenceforward
he declined presenting himself at the levees of the First Con-
sul, or Emperor. Believing that he had sinned past forgive-
ness, and that his elevation to the rank of general would be
annulled in consequence, he refrained from drawing his ap-
pointments for some months. One day, however, he was
agreeably surprised by a communication from the Ministry of
War, that it would be convenient if he were to take up his
overdue pay, and this he did to the day of his death, nearly
fifty years afterwards, without having been again called into
service, however. General O'Connor was the only superior
ofl&cer in France who had not been decorated with the cross
of the Legion of Honour, so offensive to Napoleon was his
stern republicanism.
If he were not sincere in his announced intention to invade
Ireland, what a consummate dissembler was Napoleon ! On
the 26th of September, 1804 (5th Vendemiaire, An. XIIL),
he issued from Mayence the following order to the Minister
of War:—
" My Cousin — The expedition against Ireland is" resolved-
on. You will have, in consequence, a conference with Mar-
shal Augereau. There are means at Brest for transporting
eighteen thousand men. General Marmont, on his side, is
ready with twenty-five thousand men. He will endeavour to
disembark in Ireland, and will be under the orders of Marshal
Augereau. The great army of Boulogne will be about the
same time embarked, and will make every possible effort to
penetrate into the county of Kent. You will tell IMarshal
Augereau to be guided in his proceedings by events. If the
information I have received from the Irish emigrants, and by
the persons I have despatched into Ireland, be correct, a great
number of Irish will range themselves under our colours on
ABROAD AND AT HOxME. 87
our landing. He will then march straioht on Dublin. If, on
the contrary, this movement be retarded, or not practicable,
he will take up a position, and wait the arrival of Marshal
Marmont and his large army. The navy will be ready, I am
promised, by the 30th Vendemiaire (26th of October) : the
land force certainly at that period. Marshal Augereau must,
above all, provide himself with a good commander for the
artillery.
*' This done, I pray God to take you into His holy keep-
ing."
Subsequent orders organized this projected expedition;
which was to be composed of fifteen hundred cavalry, four
hundred artillery, eighty workmen, a troop of horse artillery
(eighty men), two hundred men (four companies) of the wa-
gon train, two hundred sappers, eighty miners, administrative
supernumeraries, servants, &c. (non-combatants) five hundred,
infantiy thirteen thousand.
One of the ofiicers to be employed on that projected expe-
dition is at this moment at my elbow. He still thinks that it
was really contemplated ; but this is far from being borne out
by all that I have otherwise heard on the subject.
Whether there be any doubt respecting the threatened in-
vasion of Ireland, there is even less reason for believing that
Napoleon really meant to invade England ; and it is not the
least remarkable circumstance connected with his history, that
the opinions of the very best authorities in France are to the
present hour in opposition on the point, many eminent men
believing that he never intended attempting it, while others
aver that he had positively decided upon its execution. In
support of the former belief comes the probability that he was
as thoroughly convinced of the impracticability of the gigantic
expedition he affected to prepare, as my readers will be when
they become acquainted with the following incident, known
now, probably, only to the surviving witness of it, the amia-
ble, benevolent, respectable, and venerable Marquis of Bristol,
who inherits his father's kindness of disposition towards de-
serving Irishmen in adversity, without his eccentricity.
One morning, in the beginning of the year 1805, when the
eyes of all England were fixed upon the port of Boulogne and
its flat-bottomed boats. Lord Nelson entered the private cabi-
net of Mr. Pitt in Downing Street. In it he found the pre-
mier and his secretary, the Earl now Marquis of Bristol.
88 THE IRISH
" T have given you the trouble of calling on me, my lord,"
said 3Ir. Pitt, " to ask your opinion respecting the armaments
in Boulogne, and of the measures requisite to meet them."
"Those armaments are formidable, if you will," said Nel-
son ; " but to us less so than they seem. They cannot all
come out in one tide, and before the second tide I should be
upon them."
Here, without another word, terminated the conversation
of those great men on the subject which agitated the entire
world at that period — France and Great Britain especially —
the invasion of Eno-land.
CHAPTER XIX.
Sperate et vostnet rebus servate secundis.
Virgil.
" T70UE. 'if is a wondrous peacemaker." It is not less
X efficacious in making war. If Nelson and his fleet
were not in the Channel, and no opposition could be made by
others to the Boulogne flotilla, then (as in the similar hypo-
thesis of the Prince de Joinville) a landing might be made upon
the English coast. So long however as England shall be wide
awake, and upon her guard against open or concealed enemies,
so long will invasion be chimerical. The harbour and basins
of Cherbourg, formed and fortified by a succession of the ablest
mihtary engineers and at an outlay perfectly fabulous, have all
the capabilities for containing and protecting a fleet of forty sail
of the line. They are constituted to keep England perpetually
on the qui vive, hut pari passu with their progress have been
the defensive preparations of the latter. If ever war again
occur between these ancient rivals, Cherbourg will act an
important part in it ; but England would have too much at
stake in such circumstances to justify belief that she would be
found unprepared. The publication of the particulars of the
interview of Lord Nelson and Mr. Pitt, just recited, would have
spared the English public much alarm and much pain at the
period of its occurrence, but it did not suit the book of that
statesman to check the enthusiasm of the nation, which the
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 89
threats and demonstrations of the enemy inspired, and which
had made the people of England rise nearly as one man, to
meet and repel them and to assent to the daily augmentation
of taxation.
Napoleon did not speak truly, when he accused himself of
neglecting to attack England through India, for he never lost
sight of it. To use a very homely figure, he resembled in
that respect the Irishman who regarded his marriage with
" the rich Widow Muldoon" as half concluded, because " he
had his own consent to it;" but with respect to India, the
banns were forbidden by a power which the Emperor through-
out his reign knew to be irresistible. The suggestions of Lally
ToUendal in 1755 were, therefore, much more rational than
the soi-disant neglected projects of Napoleon fifty years later,
for in Lally's day the naval preponderance of England was not
complete.
The iron must, however, have entered Napoleon's soul when
he recollected his faults towards Poland ; but he paid for them
by his overthrow. The defence made by his advocates of his
calamitous omission to re-establisb Poland as an independent
state in 1807, consists merely in the speculative danger of a
triple alliance of Russia, Austria, and Prussia against France
had he attemjDted it. The same unworthy argument is ad-
vanced in extenuation of his omitting, preliminarily to his
entrance on the Russian compaign of 1812, to proclaim the
independence of Poland. "Woe to the power which trifles with
and deceives a brave and loyal friend with a view to propitiate
a faithless, pretended ally ! Napoleon permitted the Poles to
hope that, that time at least, their devotion to France would
be rewarded by their reintegration in the list of nations. He
preferred, however, the professed neutrality of Prussia and
Austria, purchased by a pledge to leave to them possession of
the grand duchy of Posen and Galicia. Fatal error ! Fatal
repetition of a crime !
Few authors or composers have been more frequently-
guilty of quoting and repeating themselves than has Na-
poleon, and there are infinitely fewer who have had such
magnificent conceptions. He had succeeded by a cokj) de
theatre in detaching the Emperor Paul, at the close of the year
1799, from his alliance with England. By a similar claptrap
he in 1807 proposed to separate Alexander from his connexion
with Prussia and Austria. In the former case, he clothed,
90 THE IRISH
ai'iued, and liberated the eighteen or twenty thousand Russians,
engaged in the expedition to the Helder, and who fell into the
hands of the French, and sent them home, newly armed and
clothed and with expressions of condolence for the brave men
and their amiable Sovereign, whom he regarded as egare
by " the eternal enemy of the continent." By a display of
generosity and moderation at Tilsit, he calculated upon gaining
the admiration and the friendship of Alexander, and the dis-
solution of his connexion with Prussia and Austria. He suc-
ceeded momentarily, and Poland remained in chains.
The conduct of Napoleon towards Poland and the Poles
would, probably, have been similar in respect of Ireland and
the disaifected Irish, had the opportunity occurred. He allowed
them to believe, throughout his reign, that he never ceased to
occupy himself with their calls upon him for aid to throw oif
the yoke of England, but he had ever been juggling with
them.
Although termed " The Array of England," the magnificenl
force, created and intrusted to him in May 1798, the United
Irishmen were persuaded that the object of it was the separa-
tion of Ireland from connexion with the sister island. This
belief was entertained the more universally because of its per-
fect coincidence with the political crisis in Ireland, where the
rebellion commenced about the identical day on which Napo-
leon sailed from Toulon at the head of a hundred ships of war
and 300 transports. A lesser co-operating force would have
sufficed to give success to the rebellion in Ireland. Even the
1100 men who arrived in the bay of Killala, the last week in
August, might, had they marched three months earlier, have
turned the scale.
Much as the United Irishmen desired French assistance,
such a force as that commanded by General Bonaparte would
have been trop fort for their mere independence. They had
stipulated for an expedition of not less than 5000 and not more
than 10,000 men, so little did they rely upon the good faith
and disinterestedness of the French government. For this
caution the foundation may be found in the following circum-
stances.
ABROAD AXD AT HOME. 91
CHAPTER XX.
Timeo Danaos et dona ferentea.
AMONG- the remarkable men engaged in promoting the
cuaspiracy of the United Irishmen in 1797 and 1798, and
who
Fought, bled, and conquered
in one important affair of the subsequent rebellion, was a ci-
devant Roman catholic clergyman named Taaffe. Habits
of intoxication precluded his admission into the upper circles
of the conspiracy, but his unquestionable Anglophobia, his
learning, and, when sober, his sagacity, commanded for him
access to the leading members of it. At the time when, in
1797, every effort was made by the conspirators to procure
French assistance, Taaffe, whose acquaintance with the conti-
nent rendered his advice desirable, was consulted by some of
the chiefs of the Union. " If you be not able to separate
Ireland from England unaided, seek French co-operation,"
said he, *' but take care what you are about. If the number
of your allies be sufficient to justify their attempting to hold
the country, which you, with their help, shall have rescued
from the English, they will keep possession of it; and, when
the time for closing the war between France and England
shall have arrived, you will he swopped for some Sugar
Island.'"^
* Later I propose giving Louis Bonaparte's reason for reconiracnding
(which he did, warmly) the invasion and conquest of Ireland. The sense
was — "Ireland will be a capital e.tchange at the end of the war!'' Holland,
Italy, and Switzerland would have been dealt with similarly had the
war ended without the removal of Napoleon from the throne of France,
and had peace been concluded by treaty, involving, in the usual way, restitu-
tions or exchanges — without the slightest consideration for the wishes or
predilections of the people so transferred, and whose adhesion to the late or
transferring government might have irretrievably compromised them with
the new or original rulers of their country.
Was not Father Taaffe inspired when he so counselled the United Irish-
men ? Why the French did not dream of holding America, after assisting
92 THE IRISH
Such to the letter was the fate of Poland ten years after-
wards !
Yes ! to that reprehensible policy alone is to be ascribed
his fatal omission to re-establish Poland ; not, as is alleged, be-
cause of his apprehending that Austria, outraged by the pros-
pectiA'e loss of Gallicia, which would necessarily form part of
reconstituted Poland, would attack his right flank with the
forty thousand men she had concentrated in Bohemia, under
the convenient and equivocal title of "Army of Observation."
Austria, however, had a little private injury of her own to
avenge, and preferred doing it to concurring in the great en-
terprise of disabling France. Austria detested Prussia for her
temporizing conduct in the Austerlitz campaign of 1805, and
was only too happy in an opportunity to "return her money"
by refraining from any declaration or demonstration in her
favour in, now, similar circumstances. Prussia had kej^t aloof
while Austria fought the battle of Aiisterlitz, determined to
join her had she been successful. Austria, with feelings and
views of precisely the same nature, looked on while Napoleon
annihilated Prussia at Jena ; conduct on the part of each at
once impolitic, petty, miserable, and detestable. Such conduct
was imitated to a certain extent by Georgey, at the battle of
Kapolna, on the 26th and 27th of February, 1849, which
nevertheless Dembinski gained ; but from which he was not
able to reap the advantages that a decided victory would have
secured to him, to Hungary, and to Poland. There is this
diiference in the cases, however : the conduct of Prussia and
Austria was respectively and contemptibly impolitic ; that of
Georgey would appear to have been treason, although his
friends attempt to extenuate it by saying that he only remained
in observation, expecting that Dembinski would be beaten,
and that then he, Georgey, would, like "honest little Spado,"
present himself with his formidable army and "pick up the
laurel !"
AVhat advantage has Poland derived from her devotion to
France, evinced by the powerful co-operation of the Polish Le-
in its successful revolt, and whj' they did not "swop" it for some or other
acquisition by England during the war, suggested possibly to TaafTe Lis
wise advice. In that instance the French, probably
— Let, I dare not, wait upon, I would.
The case of America proves nothing, therefore, against TaafFe's theory.
ABROAD AND yVT HOME. 93
gion in the first wars of the Republic, in the Tilsit campaign,
and subsequently in that of Mosco\y, and in the glorious though
unfortunate one of 1813 and 1S14? Let us see.
Under the Restoration, of course nothing was done by
France for Poland. After the Revolution of 1830 Poland re-
volted, and created for France a diversion of the most power-
ful kind, if indeed it be true that she, because of her own
revolution, was threatened with invasion by the Northern
Powers. In what way was the gratitude of the monarchy of
July expressed for this good service ? By an annual vote, or,
as Sir Francis Burdett once charactei'ized the pretended advo-
cacy of the Catholic claims by certain portions of the British
Cabinet, "an annual farce." Motions were made every year
in the Chambers of Peers and Deputies respectively, that "Po-
land continued to be the object of sympathy in France;" and
even this unftieaning assurance was not carried without violent
opposition to it. Louis Philippe knew well, however, that if
the Chambers were hypocritical in the matter, the feeling of
the nation was with the Poles ; and, with his proverbial adroit-
ness, he, in a particular emergency, on the 20th of July, 1831,
turned it to his own advantage.
That day was the concluding one of the anniversary of
" the three glorious days" of the preceding year. IMarshal
Sebastiani had not yet pronounced that appalling sentence,
which produced upon the world horror equal to that of Byron
when he quoted Suwarrow's despatch from Ismail. " Or])ER,"
said Sebastiani, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Louis Phi-
lippe, "reigns in Warsaw !" — order in that case being the
silence of death, utter discomfiture, and desolation.
No. Sebastiani had not then uttered that heartless phrase :
Praga and Warsaw were still in Polish hands.
"There's not a street
Where fights not to the last some desperate heart — "
But Louis Philippe well foresaw and contributed to insure the
denouement. During the entire struggle of the Poles, in
1830-31, his government had discouraged every demonstra-
tion of feeling for Poland in France, while the nation in gene-
ral called for French intervention in the unequal contest, for
which it alleged as a reason that the interference in favour of
Greece, in 1826, was an example which France of 1881 was
bound to follow; but even this argument fiulcd. A coldness
94 THE IRISH
towards Louis Philippe resulted, and, coupled with other con-
siderations, had made such progress, that on the occasion to
which I refer, the King felt it keenly.
The rejoicings in commemoration of "the three glorious
days" of July, 1830, were, on the 29th of July, 1831, to ter-
minate with a review of the National Guard of Paris and of
the regular troops in garrison in that city. The former were
drawn up in a line, extending from the Place Vendome to the
Boulevard des Capucins, and thence to the Place de la Bas-
tille, on the south side of the Boulevard ; the troops on the
opposite side. It happened that on that day the Horse Na-
tional Guai'ds, although not armed with lances, put on for the
first time their new head-dress, the Polish cap, the picturesque
schapska, which had previously been adopted by the regiments
of lancers in the French and British armies.
The review by Louis Philippe, was performed by his pass-
ing along the line by the right side on proceeding to the Bas-
tille, and by the left on his return to the Place Vendome. He
had made considerable progress without being saluted by a
single cheer. A melancholy silence was preserved by the Na-
tional Guards, and chiefly, if not entirely, because of the neu-
trality observed by his government in the Polish contest. The
King adroitly, influenced by an actual report made to him,
terminated that painful silence, and turned the tide in his
favour. " Have you heard," said he, in a familiar tone, to
one of the generals by whom he was accompanied, " have you
heard the news ?"
"No, sire."
" The Poles have gained a complete victory over the Bus-
sians, who have lost twenty-five thousand men killed, wounded,
nnd prisoners."
This was overheard by some officers of the National Guard
a cTieval, who were mixed up with the brilliant staff of the
King. They halted, allowed the cortege to proceed, and,
riding over to the line of National Guards, communicated the
welcome intelligence, which ran with the proverbial rapidity
of rumour at once from the Boulevards des Italiens to the
Bastille, and to the Place Vendome. The people who crowded
the Boulevards caught it from the National Guard, and a shout
arose from three hundred thousand men which rent the air.
" Vivent les Polonais ! Vive le Roi !" saluted Louis Philippe
at every step from that moment until he returned to the Palais
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 95
Koyal. I ueed hardly add that the statement made by Ilis
Majesty rc(iuired confirmation, for it turned out to be utterly
without foundation.
Louis Philippe was not, however, the sole gainer by this
soul-stirring ruse and mystification of some or other party.
The Horse National Guards, with their schajjska, revived,
wherever they appeared, the enthusiasm of the public for the
Poles. It was the last cheer to that expiring nation.
CHAPTER XXL
A strange coincidence — for that's the phrase
By which such things are settled now a-daj-s.
BvROJf.
I OUTLIVED— as is evident— the French Revolution of
1830, and (make me thankful !) that also of 1848. Of
both I was an eye-witness. This is not, however, the coinci-
dence bespoken by the motto of the present chapter — it is the
remarkable one that the general officer in command of the
royal troops who fought against the Parisian insurgents in
1830 was the son of an Irishman, and that he who occupied
the same position in 1818 was the son of an Irishi<;o?na?i.*
This will appear a whimsical rap2:)rocliement probably, but I
take credit for it nevertheless as a literal Irish coincidence.
I may be reminded that Marshal Marmont, Duke of
llagusa, as Commandant of the first military division (of
which Paris is the chief place) during the insurrection and
revolution of 1830, must be regarded as the Military Governor
of the capital. The nominal official Commandant of Paris at
that time, however, was General Coutard.
This officer had had rapid promotion. On the morning of
21st April, 1810, he was only chef de battaillon in a French
regiment — one of those engaged in the siege of Astorga in
Spain. We find him in July, 1830, a general, commanding
'' la Place" in Paris. Similar success did not attend a foreign
officer equally in the service of France, with whom, on the
* Mademoiselle Sutton, daughter of Count Clonard, formerly captain in
the regiment of Berwick, Irish Brigade.
9G THE IRISH
morning just mentioned, he vras near having ''an affair" at
the very gates of Astorga. This foreigner was Hugh Ware —
(a descendant or collateral relative of Sir James Ware) — a
native of Kildare, Ireland, and, at the epoch of which I speak,
captain of grenadiers in the Irish regiment, which also formed
part of the Corps d' Annie of General Junot (Due d'iVbrantes).
The particulars of this " affair" are relevant because they refer
to ''the Irish abroad" — the introduction of them here may,
possibly, on that account, be held justifiable and apropos.
A storming party of half a dozen compagnies cV elite of the
army of Junot, led by the intrepid Captain (now Colonel) John
A , a native of Dublin, had entered the breach in the
walls of Astoro-a the evening before, and made a lodgment in
the covered way. The town capitulated in consequence on
the following morning, and was delivered up.
By some mistake, or more probably through favouritism.
Commandant Coutard received orders to lead the march of the
French army into the town at the head of the two companies
of grenadiers. On arriving at the gate, he found Ware already
there, with the Irish grenadier company.
" You must give place to me," said Coutard.
" Impossible," said Ware. " Our light company opened
the way into the town by the breach yesterday evening. The
honour of marching first in by the gate is therefore ours by
right."
Coutard persisted, observing : " I have two companies."
'' In my old trade" (civil engineer) " that would make a
difference," said Ware, "but not in my present one: in this
kind of thing, I would make our claim good, had you two
regiments."
A quarrel was imminent. The bayonets were about to
cross, when Junot, being informed of it, ordered (on the
principle of giving a triumph to neither party) that Ware and
Coutard and their grenadiers respectively be withdrawn.
To account for the promotion of Coutard, and the inter-
ruption of Ware's career, it is only necessary to observe, that
the former, on the fall of Napoleon, took service under the
restored Bourbons, and that the latter declined it.
ABROAD AND AT HOME, 97
CHAPTER XXII.
Erapereur chasseur : dynastie perdue.
French Proverb.
'•' rVis s'emprcsse beaucoup de fairc chasser les Jeunes
\J Princes/' says Madame de Genlis, ia her " Dictiouuaire
des Etiquettes." *' En voyaut durant leur education, los soins
qu'en general on pretend a cet egard, on eroirait qu'il est
tr^s important de leur inspircr le gout de la chasse, et, c'est
precis^ment le coutraire qu'il faudrait faire."
I wonder had Madame de Genlis Charles X. in her eye,
when she wrote the remarkable woi'ds just quoted. He was
a mighty hunter, and he destroyed his dynasty. At the
breaking out of the insurrection in Paris on the 27th of July,
1830, General Coutard was sea-bathing at Havre or Dieppe.
The command of "the Place" devolved therefore on General
Wall as next senior officer, and was exercised by him during
the three days ; but, for a time at least, under the authority
of Marmont, who, if I remember correctly, did not appear
during the insurrection. Indeed it is said that he did not
quit the Etat-Major in the Tuilerics from the commencement
to the end of the conflict. All the energy of " the young
officer of artillery, who immortalized himself in defence of the
blockading lines of Mayence in 1795, when surprised by
Clairfayt," and the heroism of "the clipf de hataillon, who
gained a sabre of honour at Lodi," and " who distinguished
himself in a hundred battles subsequently in Italy, Malta,
Egypt, at Marengo, and in Germany and Dalmatia, and (so
far as intrepidity could go) in Spain;" all the energy and
faculties of " the once favourite aide-de-camp of Napoleon,"
seemed to have departed from him in the presence of civil war
in 1830. Was it that one false step, his abandoning of
Xiipoleon at the critical moment (and which obtained for him
such profound unpopularity), that paralyzed him 'i or was it
really his duty to remain in the Chateau by the side of the
ministers, a« his friends contend ? It is certain, at any rate,
that he did not fight durino; the 27th, 28th, and 29th of July,
5
98 THE IRISH
1830, aud that Wall commauded out of doors in those days of
peril, and, for the elder branch of the Bourbons, days of
misfortune.
G-eneral Wall did all that was practicable under these
circumstances with the very limited force at his disposal, which
consisted on the 27th of July of some battalions of the Garde
Royale, including a regiment of Swiss, and of the 5th, 15th,
50th, and 53d regiments of the line, and some cuirassiers and
lancers of the guard, in all not more than eight thousand two
hundred (it has been estimated even so low as seven thousand
five hundred) men. With this handful he had to attack
barricades thrown up or formed in every quarter of that
extensive city, and a population, or rather the inhabitants of
Paris of every class, animated with the most inveterate hati*ed
of the reigning family. Wall failed, but has never been
blamed or reproached for the issue.
He could not have succeeded, in fact. The two hundred
aud twenty-one deputies, who in March of that year (1830)
defeated Ministers, rendered by that act a revolution inevitable.
This was demonstrated the month following at the dinner given
to the two hundred and twenty-one at the tavern called the
'' Vendanges de Bourgogne," at which I was present, seated
by the side of George La Fayette. The fatal ordonnanees,
those monuments of Prince Polignac's utter incapacity as a
statesman, only precipitated a catastrophe sure to happen.
Its advance was obvious ; yet no step, no preparation to prevent
or retard it was taken.
The late Lord Dundonald resided at St. Cloud in 1830.
His house, near the Infantry Barrack, commanded a view of
the bridge, the river Seine, and the Bois de Boulogne. His
sister-in-law (the late respected and excellent Miss Plowdeu)
was on a visit to him in charge of her niece, who had lost her
mother. A day or two after the Revolution, I proceeded to
St. Cloud to inquire for her, and on asking some particulars
of the retreat of the troops, and the advance of the insurgents,
she observed : '^ The recollection of it is so painful, that I
shall endeavour to forget it. We were looking anxiously, as
you may believe, towards the bridge and the road from the
Bois de Boulogne, when he saw the party of the Garde Royale
arrive, which had bivouacked in the hois the previous night
(29th of July), retreating in haste and disorder. Several of
the soldiers were observed to fling their muskets over the
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 99
bridge to enable them to run faster. At length, the last of
them had reached our end of the bridge, whereupon Ave
naturally looked for their pursuers. We could not believe our
eyes. There appeared, in full trot, entering upon the bridge
from Boulogne, some half-dozen bare-footed gamins of Paris,
followed, it is true, by a straggling column, to which no power
of description or ridicule could do jvistice. They displayed
some regard for their safety, however, for perceiving that
ample means were provided on our side the bridge to sweep
them into eternity, they halted, and leisurely and undisturbed
retired to the other. They are now, as you perceive, in full
possession of the Chateau and the town."
All had been ignorance, carelessness, and presumption at
the Chateau, during the three days.
On the evening of the third clay (the 29th of July), while
Charles X. was playing his party of whist, the Due de ,
who held a high situation in the royal household, entertained
half a dozen of his colleagues at dinner in his apartment in the
Chateau. A boiled fowl figured in the repast. The host
tasted it, and found it execrable.
*' Mais non," said the Count d' , ^'mais non. C'est
excellent."
'•' Mon ami," said the Duke, gravely, " it would have been
excellent had it been boiled, as it should have been, in houll-
lon." Then turning to an attendant, he said : '' Send for the
chef."
That functionary having appeared, the Duke remarked,
placing his fork on the leg of the fowl he had before him :
" Mon ami Durand, be frank. Was this fowl boiled in hoidl-
Ion r
The chef, as little confused as a Frenchman generally is,
when any attempt is made (at that impossible conclusion) tc
show him he is in error, said : " Partly, Monsieur le Due."
" Partly !" exclaimed his master.
" Partly, only. I had not enough houillon, and was oblige!
to add to it a hetle* drop of water."
"There !" said the noble host, triumphantly, to his guests.
'' There ! you see I could not be deceived."
x\nd this was his point of importance, in the Chateau, at
such a moment! And yet there are in this world, people
a " Une trfig petite-petite goutte."
100 THE IRISH
wlio wonder at the ease with which the Revolution of July
was effected !
I must cite another instance, however. Before the Court
broke up from St. Cloud, and before the troops were withdrawn
from that admirable flankinp; position in its vicinity, Mont
Valerien, ci-devant Jlont Calvaire, now a fortress (the right
flank being covered by Meudon), General Vincent, a renowned
officer of the Imperial army, but who, from his notorious
attachment to the Bourbon family, was continued in his rank
after tlie Restoration, presented himself to Charles X. on the
30th of July : '' Sire," said he, " we have them all at the
mouths of our pieces. Give but the word, and I shall disperse
this canaille, by whom, to our shame, we are surrounded and
menaced."
" I shall ask the Archbishop's advice first," said the King.
Vincent looked grave, not daring to raise his eyes to those
of his comrades, who were as impatient as he to attack ''the
rabble" in front of them. The King, taking the prelate aside,
consulted him. The Archbishop opposed the effusion of blood,
and did wisely ; for at that moment the Revolution was inevi-
table, and Vincent's propo.sition was rejected. He immediately
retired from St. Cloud in disgust and despair. A species of
capitulation followed ; and Charles X. and his Court, escorted
by the brave and loyal Garde Royale, commenced his journey
to the coast. He halted for a moment at Rambouillet, because
all the money promised him by the Provisional Government
had not arrived ; but he recommenced his retreat without
waiting for it, in consequence of the march of '' all Paris" upon
him. The money was paid, however, and he was suffered
quietly to embark. Thus ended the second Restoration.
ABROAD AND AT IIUME. 101
CHAPTER XXIIl.
S'il se trnuvnit h la cour d'un prince sept officiers (miniutres) vdritablemnnt
z61es et qui osassent lui remontre son devoir, quelque corrompu qu'il I'Qt, il
ne perdrait point sa couronne.
Proverbe Chinois.
Who talces fear for his counsel loses his cause.
French Proverb.
1HAVE endeavoured to show that General Wall's eiforts to
put down the insurrection which broke out in Paris on the
27th of July, 1830, could not, because of the utter insuffi-
ciency of the means of repression at his command, succeed,
even though guided by the advice of Marshal Marmont.
With Bugeaud, in Februar3% 1848, the case was different.
Disafi"ection had long been known to exist : revolt, sooner or
later, was predicted; but this was, by those predisposed to it,
on the 22d of February, 1848, deemed still far off. Not so
the Ministers. Those most surprised by the revolution which
commenced in Paris on that day, were precisely those who
were engaged in preparing it, and this includes the whole
"corps de Reduction" of the "National" newspaper.
The government had, nevertheless, long since taken every
possible measure of precaution to meet and repel an outbreak.
With this view, Paris had been accurately surveyed, and all
its features studied ; every spot which appeared desirable to
occupy with troops in case of a revolt, was indicated in a plan,
or diagram, laid down with a judgment, a tact, and an acciaracy
that would have raised envy in that master of the art of direct-
ing a first representation — Richard Brinsley Sheridan. With
skill equal to his, the place of every actor in the forthcoming
drama was dictated. The position of every gun, howitzer, and
caisson ; of every general and other superior officer; of every
corps, regiment, company, detachment, or man, and of horse,
forming the magnificent garrison of Paris, on the first appear-
ance of danger, was clearly indicated. Occurrences, inci-
dents, accidents, were foreseen, and, as far as foresight could
suggest, prepared for. The grouping, separation, re-forming,
and rallying, were decided upon. The parts were distributed
102 • THE IRISH
and rehearsed, and a signal only was necessary for the com-
mencement of the general, well- concerted action.* Means in
men, horses, and materiel, for carrying out this programme,
were provided, and to supei-fluity.
Another '' strange coincidence" is here observahle — "the
dinner of the t^YO hundred and twenty-one" rendered the
Revolution of 1830 inevitable — a projected dinner was the
immediate agent in producing the Revolution of 1848.
A banquet, at which were, to assemble the members of the
Liberal Opposition in the Chamber of Deputies, and all the
malcontents of every class who would go to the expense of a
ticket for it, was projected for the 22d of February, and a
locale (at the top of the avenue of the Champs Elys^es)
selected. A thousand guests would, it was expected, be pre-
sent. A chairman and stewards were named, and all the
minor arrangements made ; but at the eleventh hour, Monday,
the government, judging accurately and acting wisely, prohi-
bited the banquet.
This was precisely to the taste of the " National," " Re-
forme/' and other republican newspapers, who made the
utmost use of it in crying out against the arbitrary measure.
The articles published by them on the subject were of an
exciting kind ; but these proceedings had been anticipated by
the secret societies, who on the preceding night had met, and
recommended to their members a course of action, which
developed itself on the following (Tuesday) morning.
Inhabiting a house which looked upon the Boulevard des
Italiens, I was at an early hour that morning attracted to the
window by a dull sound, or buzz of human voices, and then
beheld a sight which prepared me for the events which subse-
fiuently happened. The whole of the pavement on both sides
the Boulevard was filled with a stream of people, directing
their steps towards the Madeleine, with (as I afterwards
found) an intention of proceeding to the spot appointed for
the forbidden banquet. This appearance existed on both
sides as far as the eye could reach, and continued for many
hours ; until, indeed, further progress was interdicted by an
* It was said that it was this plan, found in the archives of the Minister
of War of the Interior, after the Revolution of February, 1S4S, which
suggested to the insurgents, in the month of June following, the positions
which they occupied during that terrible insurrection, which enabled them
to render it so formidable.
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 103
armed force — at liivst, consisting only of small bodies of horse
and foot municipal guards, but who were, at a later hour, rein-
forced by cavalry and infantry of the line.
As every man in Paris was aware that the proposed dinner
had been forbidden, the object of this formidable demonstration
flashed upon every observer, those among them particularly
who had witnessed former insurrections ; for here, as on those
occasions, the majority of the men who formed the continuous
torrent passing before our eyes were in the prime of life, with
a grave yet sarcastic expression upon their countenances, and
wearing, moreover, an unmistakeable air of resolution. Their
costume was that, however, which most struck the experienced
spectator. Over their other clothing they wore their war mat,
the blue blouse, new or nearly so, having been carefully funded
since the last occasion. "■ What materials for a revolution I"
exclaimed a friend who had called upon me at the moment.
" Such was ray own thought," I replied.
When further progress towards the Champs Elysees was
offered to the moving masses at the Madeleine, in the Rue
Royale and in the Place de la Concorde, considerable crowds
were formed of them. These crowds were dispersed by the
troops, but they re-formed every moment. As usual, as the
day wore on, some (jamins (boys and striplings) became dis-
orderly. The mounted i\Iunicipal Guard would then trot
among the groups, and distribute blows with the flats of their
sabres. Instead of producing the desired effect, this moderate
proceeding only incited to further and more decided aggression.
The Place de la Concorde (ci-devant the Place de la llevolution),
was at length entirely cleared, and then successively the Rue
Royale and the Place de la Madeleine, by strong detachments
of the Garde Municipale i\ Cheval, Cuirassiers, and Lancers.
From the steps of the Church of the Madeleine, a view of the
Place de la Revolution was obtained, and from thence could
1 o seen horse soldiers galloping after urchins who, in defiance
of them, would attempt to run across the square. At length
atones were thrown, charges of cavalry became frequent, and
some sword-wounds were inflicted. This was the immediate
prelude to a serious riot. A detached party of boys passed up
the Champs Elysees and attacked an isolated guard-house in
the Avenue Martignon, near the Rue Ponthieu, from which
its occupants were driven. They then, with the materials
of some houses in course of construction in a new street, to
104 THE IKISH
be called Rue de Joinville (it is now the Hue de Cirque),
threw up two barricades, but as tbey were left in undisturbed
possession of them, they decamped. The guard-house was
subsequently burned. Still the men en blouse uttered no
word and gave no sign, remaining merely iu observation.
From thence towards the evening, however, the spirit of
resistance ran through the city. Hasty barricades were
formed, and a series of partial and irregular conflicts took
place, in which unhappily some lives were lost. At nightfall,
as usual in Parisian insurrections, the contending parties re-
tired to their respective quarters with a gravity nearly as pro-
voking as that of the gentlemen of the sword in the Seven
Years' War at the setting in of winter.
It would have been perfectly easy then, with the supera-
bundant means in the hands of government, to obviate a
formidable insurrection on the morrow, and for which one
party only were prepared. The time that ought to have been
applied to the display of force, and to some negotiation with
popular and influential men to act as mediators, was, however,
thrown away. Like the courtiers of 1789 and 1830, the
" great riot" was suffered by the ministers of Louis Philippe
to assume colossal proportions, and become a revolution.
They were, in fact, fear-stricken. Tradition and evidence
had shown them how formidable were le vrai pevple once on
foot, and although they had in anticipation provided irresisti-
ble means to meet and crush a revolt, if promptly and inexo-
rably applied, they trembled for that which the chapter of
accidents might produce. With an army of sixty thousand
men, and a National Guard of eighty thousand, they feared
collision with a totally unarmed populace. They quailed,
dreaded taking the initiative, and abandoning their several
hotels, congregated during the nights of the 19th, 20th, and
21st of February in that of their colleague of the Interior,
which was deemed the best situated for protection from a couj:)
de main, or for flight. Had Marshal Bugeaud been invested
with the command of Paris on the night of the 22d of Febru-
ary, with as pleoary powers as Napoleon had been on that of
the 13th Vendemiaire, and Soult in June, 1832, April, 1834,
and 3Iay, 1839, he would have made short work of the emcute.
This was not done, and the people were left accessible by the
secret society men, who as the night advanced urged them lo
throw up further barricades, and to collect or fabricate arms
AB-ROAD AND AT HOME. 105
The day of the 23d dawued, therefore, upon numerous fortified
positions, and considerable numbers of resolute, though insuf-
ficiently armed, men to defend them. Still the real "■ people"
were not in the affair, and the leaders of the secret societies
^yere yet far from imagining that a revolution might be made
to grow out of these materials. Had ]3arbes* been at liberty,
he would have committed them and the cause, but on the
morning of the 23d serious resistance of the troops appeared,
to the sane among the disafi"ected, problematical if not impos-
sible.
The dispersion of the insurgents by the yet unaccounted-
for fusillade from the garden of the Ministry for Foreign
Affairs ou that night, 23d of February, 1848, would argue
that Bugcaiid, if left to himself, would have overwhelmed the
revolt. His triumph would, however, it must be confessed —
have had only a brief duration. The efiects of that same
fusillade show (convince me at least) that Bugcaud who, to
confirm his success, would have been obliged to occupy the
city militarily, and to do military execution, would, in so act-
ing, have provoked among the better classes of the Parisians a
sympathy for the victims, and would thereby have occasioned
a 2;eneral outburst. From the moment when, on the forenoon
of the 28d of February, the National Guards interposed, in
front of the church of the Petits P^'res, between the Municipal
Guards and the populace, and had done so in a similar manner
in front of a barricade in the Piue Vieille du Temple on the
evening before, it became evident that the slaughter of the
people would not have been permitted by the National
Guards ; and would have occasioned a general outburst which
would have been supported by the departments, who would
have marched on Paris, and, though not contemplating it be-
fore the riots of the 22d, have completed the Revolution. f
One word upon that influential incident, the fusillade ou
the Boulevard des Capucins.
About nine o'clock in the evening of that day, I witnessed
on the Boulevard the passage of a long and tumultuous column
* M. Barljes was an advocate, and possessed a considerable fortune. IIo
was the leader in the insurrection of 12th May, 18.39, and proved himself an
unmitigated republican, daring and intrepid.
f A year has elapsed since the above first appeared in type. On this, 9th
February, 1854, I have learnt from one of the most distinguished men of
modern times, that Louis Philippe, in a conversation with him atClaremont
in 1850, expressed a similar conviction.
5 *
106 THE IRISH
of people, some of whom were undei* the excitement of the
day's conflict, many of them intoxicated, some armed, others
with torches. This mass poured along in the direction of the
Ministry for Foreign Affairs, which building and its garden
were occupied by a battalion of the 14th regiment of the line.
In front of it was a very imposing force of infantry, cuiras-
siers, and municipal guards. The cries of the insurgents as
they passed along were of the most horrible character ; for
among them was, as is ever the case in Parisian insurrections,
a large mixture of thieves by profession, whose audacity is the
most extreme that can be conceived. It was evident, that a
collision between them and the troops must ensue, if the latter
refused submission to them. I was not surprised therefore by
the heavy firing which took place shortly afterwards, nor by
its fatal effects. Between fifty and sixty persons, most of
them mere spectators, were killed or wounded by the dis-
charge. The principal portion of the insurgents fled. The
thieves, in default of better prey, turned their attention to an
iron railing which protected the passengers on the pavement
of the Boulevard asrainst fallincr into the Rue Basse du Hem-
part. Affecting even more of rage than animated them, the
thieves, who never dreamt of flight, tore down these palisades
to an extent of many yards, and carried them off, while the
dead lay on the pavement, and the wounded were being con-
veyed to neighbouring chemists' or apothecaries' shops.
This fusillade rendered the Revolution inevitable. The
respectable inhabitants, who had heard with affright the noise
of the combat of the day, and who had made many efforts at
mediation, and who, moreover, had been terrified by the pas-
sage of the irregular and disorderly mob proceeding towards
the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, became disgusted with the
carnage that had occurred, and at daybreak next morning
were occupied in cutting down the trees in front of their own
houses on the Boulevard, and in constructing with them and
with paving-stones barricades more or less formidable.
By eleven o'clock the Revolution was complete, and Louis
Philippe, having abdicated, was in a broiujliam on his way to
Neuilly.
ABROAD AND AT HOIVIE. 107
CHAPTER XXIV.
I caunot flatter and speak fair,
Smile in men's faces, smooth, deceive, and coy.
Duck with French nods and apish courtesy.
liichard III.
THE three days that succeeded to ''the three glorious days"
par excellence, of July, 1830, were productive of momen-
tous events. The Parisians, still in arms, were waiting with
patience the result of the intrigues and deliberations proceeding
in the Hotel de Ville, and were evincing in their victory a
moderation without example, when suddenly there arrived
intelligence that Charles X. and liis suite and escort (still
12,000 or 15,000 strong) had halted at Rambouillet. In a
moment every man in Paris who had taken part in the late
conflicts and every man favourable to the revolution who had
not participated in them, not merely presented themselves to
be regimented and sent to toss the fuyards into the sea, but,
without waiting for these preliminaries, seized upon every
coach, cart, chariot, wagon, and omnibus, that fell in their
way, and set off in most admired disorder to precipitate the
flight and departure of the last of the kings of France, a
finale achieved, however, without their aid.
Within doors at the Hotel de Ville, intrigue and dissimula-
tion triumphed, and another trial of the regal system was
resolved upon.
It sometimes happens that those who practise flattering
through sheer benevolence of disposition, become the dupes of
unscrupulous professors of the science. In complacence to all
within his sphere, La Fayette was outrivalled by Louis Philippe,
to whom his habit of amiable acquiescence and his unsuspecting
confidence in the avowed principles of the duke, rendered him
an easy conquest.
Among those whom I knew in the crowd at the Hotel de
Ville on the 30th of July, 1830, was General Arthur O'Con-
nor {the Arthur O'Connor). He was coming down the steps
from it when I met him, and wore an air of unutterable chagrin
108 THE IRISH
and disgust. "Well, General," said I, "how are matters
going on within ?"
"To utter ruin," said he. "I came hither to ascertain
what we were to derive from the victory just achieved by the
people, and was struck to the heai't by the adulation heaped
upon honest old ' Fayette,' and his intoxication from its fumes.
' Homme du peuple !' one cried ; ' Homme des peuples !'
another; 'Enfant de la liberte !' a third; ' Soldat de la
liberte !' a fourth; 'Homme des deux mondes !' a fifth. It
made me sick, and I have withdrawn from the pack of intri-
guants and dupes :"
And fearful boding shook him as he spoke.
A few days afterwards I met General O'Connor again, and
asked him whether he had been present at the investiture of
Louis Philippe at the Hotel de Ville.
" No," replied he ; " but, resolved upon ascertaining whether
my misgivings were justified, I presented myself at the Palais
Royal next day and saw ' Orleans.' Fully prepared to permit
no evasion and also to withstand cajolery, I was nevertheless
worsted in 'the keen encounter of our wits,' but had all my
fears confirmed. We separated, notwithstanding, on civil
terms ; he pi'ofessing liberalism, which I accepted at its true
value. It would seem that on his side he was impatient to
indulge in self-gratulation at his supposed victory over me, for
while I was taking leave of him, he could not suppress a look
which spoke clearly (to use an Irish homely figure), ' I have
thrown dust into that fellow's eyes ;' but he had not."*
When summoned to the Hotel de Ville on the 3d of
August, Louis Philippe submitted with the tact of a Gloster,
or of a Sextus Quintus, to a species of ordeal similar to the
profession of faith demanded of, and always so speciously
responded to on the hustings in England, by aspirants to the
position of senator. His colloquy with La Fayette on that
occasion was a tissue, as well as a masterpiece of mystification.
La Fayette was touched, and gave in. The hat was thrown
up, and Louis Philippe was proclaimed king.
Thus he who thirty years previously had withstood the
almost irresistible blandishments of Napoleon, and the sugges-
* General O'Connor had, as I have already shown, penetrated the insin-
cerity of Napoleon in his announced intention of invading Ireland. He
now displayed similar sagacity in respect of Louis Philippe.
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 109
tions of gratitude to hiiu for his delivery from Olmutz, yielded
with seeming fatuity to an almost fransparent deceiver. That
which appeared pure weakness, was however pure patriotism.
La Fayette accepted as npis allcr a pledge, which hatl it becu
kept, would have preserved France from future revolutions,
and which at once terminated a crisis that might otherwise
have degenerated into anarchy.
The dialogue just alluded to, and which preceded this im-
portant result, merits however something more than mere
mention. Its principle points were these : —
'' A Republic is the very best form of govei'nment," said
La Fayette, iuterrogativelj^ ?
''No man who has like you and me, General, been in the
United States, can deny that proposition," replied Louis
Philippe.
Taken by this admission, urged by the partisans of the
duke, who were unanimous among "the 221," and following
his own now moderated opinion, as well as recognising the
expediency of terminating the crisis as speedily as possible,
La Fayette pronounced this ludicrous new reading of his
foregoing admirable dictum — " A monarchy surrounded by
Republican Institutions," said he, "is the best of Republics !"
This was cheered by the majority, suffered to pass by the
still Republican few, and the elevation of Louis Philippe to
the vacant throne decreed.
It would appear, however, that later the duke — now king —
was not quite at ease respecting the portee of the nonsense in
which La Fayette had clothed his momentary recantation of
republicanism. It appeared ambiguous to the clear-sighted
intrigant who had benefited by it, and who, therefore, consulted
Talleyrand upon its real import, resolved to have it defined
publicly if so advised.
" Yoyons," said the wily and witty ex-bishop, "uue
Monarchic eutour^e des Institutions Republicaincs. C'est un
jambon entour^ do persil. Vous pouvez rejeter le persil
quaud cela vous plaira."*
It was done precisely as Talleyrand recommended ; and
Louis Philippe, supporting himself on the well-earned popu-
larity of La Fayette, perambulated Paris with him, taking to
* " Let us see. ' A monarch}' surrounded with republican institutions,' —
it is 'a ham ornamented with parsley.' Accept the ham and throw aside
the parsley whenever it please you."
110 THE IRISH
himself the lion's share of the enthusiastic salutations with
which the gulled Parisians hailed the gallant veteran revolu-
tionist. Their association, so profitable to him, was, however,
irksome to Louis Philip^^e even at that early period of his
reign. He therefore submitted to the presence in public of
the great agent of his elevation with the grace and dissimula-
tion of the other royal duke above mentioned, adding inwardly,
with one change, in the precise words of that master hypo
crite, —
" I Lave him, but I will not keep him long."
Accordingly, a month had not elapsed after his elevation
before he showed symptoms of a desire to throw down or cast
aside the two steps by whose aid principally he had mounted
to the throne — that is to say, General La Fayette and M.
Jacques Laffitte, the banker. One consideration, however,
prevented the immediate execution of this design, and it was
an admirable one. Those personages were — La Fayette espe-
cially because of his vast popularity and his command of the
National Guard — necessary to a project to which the now King
devoted all his energies ; that of saving from the scaffold the
four ex-ministers of Charles X., Prince Polignac and MM.
Peyronnet, Chantelauze and Guernon de Rainville, then pri-
soners in the citadel of Vincennes, and for whose blood there
was an almost unanimous cry from the populace.
CHAPTER XXV.
Plus on sert des ingrats plus on s'en fait hair.
Tout ce qu'on fait pour eux ne fait que nous trahir.
CORNEILLE.
THE ingratitude of Richard for Buckingham was testified
en demon ; that of Louis Philippe for La Fayette was not
less profound though bloodless.
Everybody knows more or less of General La Fayette, the
soldier of liberty in both hemispheres. He was vain, possibly,
but he was a man of truth, and was brave as he was vain.
Naturally fearless, he pursued the bubble reputation through
ABROAD AND AT HOME. Ill
all its phases, even in the cannon's month. In private life he
was the soul of courtesy, conquering through bonhummie,
flattery, and winning acquiescence. At the early age of
twenty-six — tall, handsome, and well-bred — the heir of a mar-
quisate and of an immense fortune, he resolved to fly to the
aid of the Americans, then engaged in their revolutionary
conflict with Great Britain. To prevent this, his family sent
him to visit London ; but that step only facilitated the execu-
tion of his project. He chartered a vessel (purchased for him
in Spain, to escape detection), filled it with arms and stores,
and, with several other French ofiicers, embarked for America,
where he distincjuished himself for undaunted couraae ; and
after the successful termination of the struggle was rewarded
by the victors with the decoration of the order of '' Cincin-
natus."
About forty years subsequently, he accepted an invitation
to visit the Republic he had contributed to establish. Accord-
ingly he left France for America, and became a nation's guest.
His progress through the States was a real triumph.
At Baltimore it was, I think, that La Fayette blazed as a
consummate courtier. He visited there, or was visited by, one
of the conscript-fathers of the American Revolution, now a
silver-haired, stern republican. The veterans shook hands.
"You wear well. General," said the American, ''and have
figured since in other revolutions than ours." " Yes, my
friend," replied La Fayette blandly, and placing his hand on
the old gentleman's head, while his eye sparkled with good-
nature— "And you, having brought to a successful issue your
contest for independence, have retired to your farm, changed
the sword for the ploughshare, wedded a lovely woman, and
become the father and the grandfather of a line of virtuous
citizens."
" Married I" exclaimed the hoary democrat. " Married ! I
never was married in my life."
" Happy dog ! happy dog !'' returned La Fayette, shaking
him by the hand again, with a look of intense gratulation.
If gratitude be pi-aiseworthy in a state, America deserves
the palm for it ; and of this La Fayette bore from her shores
splendid proofs. How difi"erent was the conduct of Republican
France towards those who assisted in the overthrow of the
Monarchy of July ! Where are the foreigners who fought for
liberty, as they imagined, in the streets of Paris in February
112 THE mlsH
1848 ? Expelled unfeelingly and penniless, by ordei" of the
Provisional GoA'ernment, most of them without any assignable
cause ; others under the pretext of their being implicated in
disorders, but in reality all to gratify native workmen, who would
not, and who never will, tolerate foreign competitors. While
millions were squandered upon the maintenance of the hundreds
of thousands of idlers and cut-throats in the Ateliers Nation-
aitx, the German tailors, the English and Irish labourers, even
the unoffending poor little colony of lace (tulle) weavers,
seduced from Nottingham, and established at Calais, under the
direction of an Irish gentleman, were ruthlessly and at a
moment's notice obliged to fly from the knife or the bayonet
of the Montagncn-ds, who were appealed to by the interested
French workmen, to rid them of their rivals.
To return to La Fayette, however. That the Revolution
of 1830 could not have been turned into a monarchy if La
Fayette had not consented to it, is a fact incapable of denial.
He had never been other than a moderate, and possibly
theoretical Republican. As a member of " the two hundred
and twenty-one" deputies, whose resistance precipitated that
Revolution, he had adopted the qualified pretensions of that
party which only went to obtain reform, including an extension
of the elective franchise. He was at his country seat (La
Grange), a convenient distance from Paris, on the 25th of
July (the date of the fatal ordonnances), and had some foreign
friends residino- with him — among; others Mr. Rives, an
American envoy, sent on a special mission to demand five
millions of dollars of the French Govei*nment, compensation
for losses incurred twenty years before by American citizens,
under the operation of Napoleon's Berlin decrees. 3Ir. Rives
was, in his visit to La Fayette's seat, accompanied by his lady
and one or two children. "*" All was ease and tranquillity at La
Grange, when an express arrived in the afternoon of Monday,
26th of July, acquainting La Fayette with the ordonnances,
and summoning him to Paris forthwith, to assist at the con-
sultations of the " two hundred and twenty-one" on the new
* I add here, because of its absurdity, a charge brought against this
gentleman by the Red Republicans, that a republic would have been esta-
blished on the ruins of the monarchy in Julj', 1830, but for his influence
upon La Fayette. " Mr. Rives was charged," said they, " to recover a debt
due to the United States, and fearing that a republic would not be as prac-
ticable (honest?) as a monarch, prevailed on La Fayette to recommend a
monarchy !"
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 113
position of affairs. He left for the capital early iu the morning
of the 27th, accompanied by the guests just named. On his
arrival in Paris, the people were already skirmishing with the
troops ; and " the two hundred and twenty-one" were in
council. The insurrection had not yet assumed a formidable
aspect, but was spreading every moment amid exasperation,
produced by the deaths of several unoffending men and women,
from the firing of the soldiers. The issue could not yet be
foreseen — the opposition, therefore, wise in their generation,
resolved to observe attentively and act according to circum-
stances.
The result is known. The insurrection went on increasing
until it involved the whole population of Paris with the sole
exception of the royalists, who observed throughout the conflict
the most dastardly neutrality. The troops of the line refusing
to act against the people, the defence of the throne fell upon
the Garde Royale, who, worn out and overwhelmed, retreated on
the evening of the second day upon St. Cloud. Next day the
Revolution was completed.
CHAPTER XXVI.
La ruse la mieux ordie
Peut nuire a son inventeur;
Et souvent la perfidie
Retourne sur son auteur.
French Proverb.
"npOUT les raoyens sont bons pourvu qu'on rdussisse," says
I Machiavel. There have been disciples of this detestable
counsellor, however, who, stopping short at the first portion
of this proposition, have incurred and have paid the penalty
of '•' doing things by halves." Who, '' keeping the word of pro-
mise to the ear and breaking it to the sense," have found the
inconvenience of
" havino; a former friend for foe."
In the two last chapters I have noticed the concluding
incidents of the reigns of the last two kings of France. Each
114 THE IRISH
was brought to a premature terminatiou, yet neither could have
gone on for another year.
This is not, however, the time nor place for a record of
the events of the reign of Louis Philippe. It is sufficient
to observe that — feeling his way cautiously — he proceeded
steadily from the 3d August, 1830, to the 24:th February,
1848, to manifest his design and his hope to turn to his own
and his family's advantage the Republico-Bonapartean Revo-
lution, which his agents — without committing him in the
intrigue in the most remote degree — had so adroitly concluded
by confen'ing upon him the kingdom of " the French." La
Fayette and Laffitte acquiesced in this magnificent spoliation,
it is true ; but they soon perceived their error, and openly and
to the last moment of their existence lamented and " begged
pardon of their countrii/' for it.
Louis Philippe had, in fact, scarcely seized the reins of
government, when he commenced backing the machine. A
week had not elapsed from his nomination ere he ordered the
removal of the marks of the conflict which had resulted in his
triumph. Tins yfA?, trap tot 2Mdi trop fort. The fighting men
in the late Revolution exclaimed '' what ! are the scars of our
glorious wounds to be efi'aced !" and this time, fearing to per-
severe, the command was recalled, and the bullet andcannonshot
indentations escaped obliteration for the moment. He respected
the admonition, apprehending a relapse of the people into
insurrection, at the instant too when the ex-ministers were
about being brought to trial. He equally and for the same
reason adjourned his projected ingratitude to La Fayette and
Laffitte, as above observed.
Almost coincidentally with his attempt to destroy the
recollection of the late combats, he ventured upon his fib"st
coup d'egoism. He, in imitation of Napoleon, created an
order of knighthood, to reward the most distinguished of the
insurgents. The decoration of this order was a cross of three
points, and bore this inscription : — •• Donnee par le Hoi."
Against this inscription the decores protested. " Given by
the king!" said they; '"'we earned it without having him in
our thoughts." He persisted, however. Several of the recipients
declined wearing it, and many of those who accepted it, found
afterwards that it pointed them out for persecution as — Demo-
crats I The students, who were most distinguished in the
Revolution, and who were the first to reject this cross, animated
ABROAD AXD AT HOME. 115
by patriutisin did good service, however, in the course of the
disorders caused by the trial of the ex-miuisters.
This important and much-dreaded event took place in the
midst of indesjsribable excitement. It had been found neces-
sary to bring- them to the Palace of the Luxembourg (where
the trial took place) from Vincennes by night ; and it required
the entire force of the Parisian National Guard to prevent the
storming of the Palace by the people, during their trial, and
their immediate immolation. They were found guilty, sen-
tenced to imprisonment for life, and carried off to Vincennes
by a coKp de main and reinstalled in its famous citadel.
Scarcely had the co-operation of La Fayette and Laffitte
thus enabled the King to effect this noble object, when he con-
trived to disgust them. They retired, and he called to his
council others less, or rather not at all liepublican ; thus admit-
ting that he had been forty years wrong or a dissembler in
politics. His abjuration of Republicanism was soon afterwards,
early in 1831, completed, by his removing from the Palais
Royal to the chateau of the Tuileries, which change of resi-
dence he had long desired, but feared to attempt it. Soult
and Casimir Perier considered the transit to be safe, and it was
carried into effect.
Louis Philippe was already unpopular with the parties he
had spent fifteen years in propitiating. Six months had hardly
elapsed since, through their aid, he had possessed himself of
the throne of his relative and Sovereign, when we find him up
to the neck in reaction. Men, measures, and principles all
were reversed, or were all directed solely for the concentration
of all power in himself. Was it for this that the Revolution
had been made ? "Was it for this that the Repubhcans and
Bonapartists had permitted him to be nominated to the sove-
reignty by a body which the legally constituted chief of the
State at the time had dissolved ?
Such were the reflections suggested by that which was con-
sidered the apostacy of Louis Philippe ; but those who uttered
them were indisposed to plunge the country into a new strug-
gle, or they calculated (with wonderful sagacity, it turned out)
upon the effect of this impolicy upon the nation. The mass
of the populace, however, were blinded to the reactionary
course of Louis Philippe by his affectation of equality at the
commencement of his reign ; and when subsequently awoke to
a sense of his real character, it was too late. They followed
116 THE IRISH
the Kiug adinii'ingly in his walks through the streets of Paris,
the Queeu (whom he spoke of as ''ma femme") under one
arm, and a huge umbrella hugged closely by the other. They
roused him from his dinner almost daily to hear their praises
of him, and their professions of faith in his Republicanism. It
was a sight worth paying five-and-twenty years of a man's life
to witness. The whole court-yard of the Palais Royal filled
with a dense mass of the populace and the bourgeoisie singing
at the top of their voices the " Parisieune," a song commemo-
rative of the late insurrection and revolution, into which its
author, that courtly Republican poet, Casimir Delavigne, had
adroitly introduced a couplet identifying Louis Philippe with
the combatants and their victory. In the choras of this song
of triumph, and in that of its elder brother, the " ]\Iarseillaise
Hymn," with which the serenade invariably concluded, Louis
Philippe, ''his wife," his truly beautiful children, his staff,
his ministers (La Fayette, Lafl&tte, and Casimir Perierincluded),
crowded together in the balconies, joined with apparent energy
and devotion.
" All things have but a time," says the old song. " Every-
thing finishes with a song," says Beaumarchais.
CHAPTER XXVII.
M''ake not a sleeping lion.
ON the lyth February, 1831, certain partisans of the over-
thrown Bourbons, confiding in the moderation of the
people who had really efi"ected the Revolution, and which had
been testified in a manner not less unexpected than creditable,
and further encouraged by the evident hostility of Louis
Philippe to Republicanism, emeutes, and insurgents, had the
audacity to attempt the celebration in the church of St. Ger-
main I'Auxerrois, of a religious ceremony in memory of the
Duke of Berry, of whose assassination by Louvel that day was
the anniversary. An alarm was given, however, and in a few
minutes thousands of infuriated democrats of all, but especially
of the lower, classes, rushed into the church from all points,
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 117
at whose aspect the Carlist rjascons took to their heels. Noi
satisfied with dispersipg the devotees aud profauinp; the church,
which I regret to say they did, the people entered the court
of the Louvre opposite, and continuing- their march arrived in
the Carrousel in front of the celebrated triumphal arch, on the
four sides of which medallions illustrative of passages' in the
life of Napoleon, in alto-rdievo, had formerly figured. These
had been removed in complaisance to those vei-y persuasive
persons, Blucher, and other foreign soldiers, in 1814, and had
been, twelve years afterwards, replaced by as many other mar-
bles, portraying the military achievements of the Due d'Angou-
Icme in the Spanish campaign of 1823. The arrival of the
people in the Carrousel caused terror in the Chateau. (" The
10th of August" is ever present to its occupants for the time
being.) The mob soon explained the object of their visit, and
the government hastened to satisfy them. Workmen with
sledges, pickaxes, tomahawks, hammers, and other implements,
mounted on ladders, and forthwith commenced demolishing
(for simple removal would not have contented the applicants)
those memorials of the Duke's exploits. As the hammer or
the pickaxe did its work, a suppressed groan of satisfaction
was uttered ; for the spectators were too much excited and too
much in earnest to cheer. One of the workmen seemed to
hesitate when he had commenced the destruction of a fine
figure of the warrior. Agj exclamation from below warned
him that he would not be permitted to trifle.
" Ah ! 9a vous etes faible ? Fort bien ! Nous vous aide-
rons. *
The hammer was no longer impotent or inactive. The
Duke's head was knocked from his shoulders, and the whole
of the tablets, of the finest material and execution by the way,
lay in a few minutes at the base of the arch in fragments.
The restoration of the medallions referring to the Emperor
was then demanded and promised ; and in fact they were
drawn from the cellars of the Tuileries, in which they had
lain for sixteen years, and replaced in their original positions,
and still ornament the triumphal arch in front of that palace.
The dineute did not, however, end here. A general attack
on all signs and inscriptions and ornaments which could be
* "Ah ! your strength fails you? Very well. We'll como up nnd help
you."
118 THE IRISH
construed into a Bourbon signification, was made tlirougliout
Paris. One of these attacks I will describe.
In the centre of the Place des Victoires in Paris, is a
second edition of an equestrian figure of Louis XIV., erected
during the Ilestoration. The low iron palisade or railing
which surrounds it was at that time surmounted by fleurs-de-
lis in metal. Upon these the people, on the loth of Feb-
ruary, 1831, pounced with eagerness, but exhibited some
judgment. They skilfully broke off with hammers the scrolls
attached to the spikes or spearheads, which rendered them
lilies, and left the points to protect the monument.
To the statue of Henri IV., on the Pont Neuf, re-erected
by order of Louis XVIII., the indignant public next directed
their attention. They repaired thither, and demanded its in-
stantaneous descent and destruction. It was promised, but
successfully evaded in consequence of a statement, true or
false, made on the spot by the brass-founder who had cast it,
and who now implored its preservation. After dwelling on
the respect for the arts, which the populace of Paris are per-
suaded is inherent in them, and which so recently as in the
Revolution of the preceding July, had been successfully ap-
pealed to, the man of brass said : "Do not remove this monu-
ment. It is well executed."
'• Ah ! bas !" cried the mob.
" Do not disturb it, or you Avill destroy one of the most
certain means of transmitting to postei'ity the eflSgy of the
Emperor."
"Comment qh, farceur?"
" The materials for it are of honourable origin. They
were the wrecks of the bronze monuments to Napoleon and
Desaix, destroyed in 1815."
"Ehbien?"
" I was determined, however, that the Emperor should still
survive in the new destination given to the broken remains of
his statue. With this view, when about to cast this figure of
Henri IV., I enclosed within the right arm an equestrian
figure of the emperor in miniature, who, in future uges, when
this statute shall in its turn be broken up, will, like the phoe-
nix, be reproduced and live."
This couj) de iMdtre saved the statue of Henri IV., but
{)roved incontestably the affection for the Emperor which still
ived in the memoi-y of the people. It was probably one of
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 119
those clever expedients resorted to without scruple, in dealing
with the sovei'eign people in France.
Popular memory in Paris is surprisingly tenacious, and par-
ticularly so in matters connected with Napoleon. In addition
to the " little account" just settled between the Emperor and
the Bourbons, there remained a small item to be liquidated.
A plain bronze tablet, over the entrance to the column in the
Place Yendome, had borne the following inscription : —
" Neapolio Imp. Aug. Monumentum Belli Germanici.
Anno MDCCCV. Trimestri spatio, ductu suo, profligati ex
xre capto, glorije exercitus maximi decavit."
On the eve of the entry of the Allies into Paris, 31st of
March, 1814, this inscription was covered with a close fitting-
blank plate, also of bronze, which on the 13th of February,
1831, still eclipsed it. After completing the destruction of
the Angouleme trophies in the Place du Carrousel, the people
repaired to the column in the Place Vendome, and demanded
and obtained the removal of the mask. The inscription
thenceforward' was displayed as in the olden time.
If this were not sufficient to warn Louis Philippe that the
public entertained other feelings than of regard for him and
his family, a fresh "flapper" was added, which ought to have
entirely awakened him to a sense of his real situation, and
induced circumspection.
In 1840 or 1841, a movement took place in the Chamber,
I believe to procure the recall of the banished family of Bo-
naparte. This being resisted by the government, produced
an outburst of feeling for the memoiy of the Emperor which
astonished and alarmed the King and his Court. Not so
much so, probably, as a similar appeal (were such possible)
would have done in favour of the equally proscribed senior
branch of the Bourbons, his relatives, still it was sufficiently
menacing to suggest the necessity for measures to crush at its
outset this very formidable demonstration. Into the move-
ment the people without doors rushed with avidity, and then
was seen to blaze up fiercely the Bonapartism which had so
long been smouldering. The locality in which it was dis-
played was the Place Vendome. Every projection of the base
of the column, every spear of the palisading that surrounds
it, was hung with garlands, crowns, and wreaths of dried
flowers (immortelles) in memory of the Emperor. This was
wormwood to Louis Philippe. Then came rose-trees and
120 THE IRISH
flowering shrubs, with which the space between the railing
and the cokimn was heaped. The lamp-posts bore hundreds
of labels or papers, on which were inscribed in manuscript,
"Recall the family of the hero!" "Vive I'Empereur !"
" Restore his eihgy to the decoration of the Legion of Honour.
He founded it. What had Henri Quatre to do with it ?" &c.
This proceeding attracted vast crowds of the curious to
the Place Vendome, and the tone of the people began to be
threatening. The government saw that the excitement must
be put a stop to if a Bonapartist revolt, perhaps revolution,
would be avoided, and therefore consulted, among other mili-
tary authorities, the unsophisticated but illustrious Command-
ant of the Parisian National Guard, Marshal Count Lobau (a
former aide-de-camp of the Emperor), on the means for sup-
pressing the riot and dispersing the mob. Among the first
measures submitted to him was one to have the rappel beaten
for calling out the National Guard. " Leave that to me,"
said the ci-devant grocer.
All who have visited Paris know that there is situate in
the Rue de la Paix, two doors from the Place Vendome, a
barrack of sapeiirs pompiers (firemen). To that establish-
ment the herculean Marshal Mouton bent his steps, traversing
with extreme difiiculty the now tumultuous crowd which filled
the " Place." On arriving at the barrack, he ordered : " Turn
out the fire-engines. Place them in battery where the Rues
Neuve des Petits Champs and Capucines open into the Rue
de la Paix. Fix the hose. Fill the cisterns, advance au pas,
and play your best upon those gaillards."
This sino-ular command of the hero of the " lie de Lobau"
was executed to the letter, and the crowd which would have
stood a discharge of grape fled, roaring with laughter, though
dripping wet from the deluge poured upon them by the hila-
rious firemen. The expedient, unexampled as it was judicious,
completely succeeded. In an instant the " Place" was cleared.
The immortelles and the arbvstes, and the placards, were
carted oiF immediately after, and thus ended a demonstration
which had, with some reason, created uneasiness to Louis
Philippe and his councillors.
These significant hints, of which many similar might be
quoted, were " lost upon Maud.'' Indeed, the reign of Louis
Philippe was full of them, and they were all disregarded.
Never was opfimisme more in\"CtPrate than his.
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 121
CHAPTER XXVIII.
Promising is the very air of the time ; it opens the eyes of expectation :
performance is ever the duller for his act. To promise is most courtly and
fashionable : performance is a kind of will or testament which argues a
great sickness in his judgment that makes it.
Timon of Athena.
TO return to 1831.
Encouraged and sustained by the counsel of Casimir
P^rier and the firmness of Soult, the former having by that
time replaced Laffitte as President of the Council of Ministers,
nominally,* Louis Philippe assented to measures proposed for
taking down the spirit of ^' the schools" and the populace,
who were ever harping on their services and the holiness of
insurrection. " The schools, (the phrase by which the students
of the schools of law and medicine, and of the renowned
Ecole Polytechnique are designated) had throughout the
Eestoration given unquestionable proofs of their hostility to
the Bourbon monarchy. No Sunday or Thursday evening
of the summer passed without a row and a conflict between
them and the gendarmes stationed at the celebrated Chaumi-
ere on the Boulevard de Mont Parnasse. There these inge-
nious youths, to the number of many hundreds, assembled in
the evenings to enjoy with a corresponding number of gri-
seftes, the festive dance or the exhilarating chance of being
dashed to pieces in a descent from the Montagues Russes.
Besides being eminently loyal, the gendarmes were not only
rigid observers of decorum, modesty, and correctness in their
own deportment, but were the causes why those virtues were
to be found in other men. In moments of vivacity, innova-
tions would be attempted by the dancers. The shocked
gendarme would then interfere. He was called a spy, a
77iouchrir{J, a (jvciix, a gredin, for his pains. Instead of re-
plying he would seize the contumacious student ; upon which
the word would fly from one part of the garden to the other,
* "A Council of Ministers is a farce," said a Minister of the Provisional
Government to mo one day. " The King is over present, nnd the Council
is a monologue."
6
122 THE IRISH
when scores of young men would emerge from the bosquets,
and rush to the rescue. By this time, the gendarmes, dis-
mounted for the nonce (for horse-soldiers are always the
guardians of public morals in the suburban ball-rooms of
Paris), had drawn their sabres. Another cry from the stu-
dents, " to arms," when a conflict would take place, such as I
once witnessed at the race-course of Doncaster, where thimhle-
riggers were heartlessly interraptcd in the labours of their
vocation by the police. These worthies unshipped the legs of
their tripods, and converting them into death-dealing blud-
geons, met with the manliness of Britons the onslaught of
the men in blue. At the Chaumiore the proceeding was of
the same kind. In a moment all the chairs in the garden of
the Chaumiere would be broken up, and a real down-right
battle would ensue, in which very often those of the gendarmes
capable of flight would, after inflicting ghastly wounds upon
their adversaries, be compelled ingloriously to quit the field.
In these places, and in these scenes, the Polytechnic scholars
never figured. They were grave, staid, sedate, serious, and
reserved. More fixedly Bonapartist than their contemporaries
of the schools of law or medicine, and living secluded from the
world, their recreation was the study of the wonders performed
by the Emperor J and their enjoyment, the recollection of the
partiality and favour he had displayed for their corps in the
Champ de Mai of 1815, as it was termed, but which had
really been the Champ de Juin. Having a dignified reputation
to support, they took no part in the innumerable fights of their
brethren of law and physic with the police and the gendarmes
during the Restoration, but were nearly moved to take the
field upon one occasion — the death of a young law student
in an engagement with the gensdarmes in the Hue St. Denis
(in 1827, I think). On the 27th of July, 1830, however,
their spirit could not be suppressed, it would seem, or the
governor of their school was unwise and injudicious, for before
the close of that, the first of " the three days," they were
dismissed to their homes, and thus literally thrown into the
insurrection.
The part they bore in that important affair is well known.
They led in most of the attacks upon the military. It is
generally believed that a considerable number of them fell in
the insurrection, but one only of them was killed — a tale, pale,
serious-looking young man of one or two-and-twenty, named
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 123
Vanneau. I saw him sliot off his horse during the battle in
front of the Swiss barrack in the Eixe Plumct.
This affair, which concluded the Revohition of 1830, is
generally termed the Battle of the Rue de Babylone. The
reason is, that the barrack (garrisoned by the Swiss on this
occasion), with its great court, occupies the entire space between
the two streets just mentioned, with a gate and a superior
building over it in each. The insurgent force attacked both
sides. The column which assailed the barrack in the Rue
de Babylone was probably the stronger, and in it was the
late Mr. Daniel O'Connor, son of General Arthur O'Connor.
The party which attacked on the side of the Rue Plumet,
commanded by young Vanneau, succeeded in creating a panic
in the little garrison (one hundred and forty, or one hundred
and fifty Swiss recruits), and caused them to abandon the
barrack in feai'ful disorder. Vanneau, who had been induced
to mount a horse belonging to the major of the Swiss, found in
the neighbourhood, was shot in front of the barrack. He fell
mortally wounded, and was carried by the Rue Traverse to the
chapel of Saint Vincent de Paul, in the Rue de Sevres.
Thei'e they found some Sisters of Charity, administering to
other insui'gents wounded, and who had been similarly carried
thither.
" Sisters, take care of the General !" said the leader of the
little party. "We must return to the fight. We shall come
back after the battle."
The engagement did not last long, nor was it very mur-
derous. The moment after the barrack was entered by the
insurgents, those of them who had carried the wounded
" Polytechnique" to the chapel of Saint A'iucent de Paul,
hastened to inquii'e after him.
'' Alas ! he is dead I" said the principal sister. " He never
spoke after you left."
" Then all that remains for us to do now," said the chief
of the little party, '' is to see that he has a grand mass and a
respectable funeral. What money have you, comrades ?"
They turned out the contents of their respective purses : it
amounted only to thirteen francs seventeen sous.
" We wish it were more, sister," said the simple, brave, and
much affected poor fellows. "It will not do much, but
take it."
124 THE IRISH
They then knelt clown, uttered a prayer, kissed the pallid
cheek of their late chief, and departed.
This scene took place five minutes after the termination of
a mortal combat, in which the actors in it'had been engaged.
I was, with the late Mr. John Murphy, son of Mr. William
Murphy of Smithfield, and other Irish friends (guests of the
late hospitable and most excellent Colonel de IMontmorency),
an eye-witness of the occurrences I have here described. The
battle was scarcely over when I was joined by another young
countryman, just arrived from Belgium, whose father, after
losing an arm at Vinegar Hill, had served as captain, and died
in the Irish Legion. All fighting being at an'end, we pro-
ceeded to visit the barrack. Standino- smokina; a German
pipe, and leaning lazily against the half-opened gate of a house
we passed, we observed a man whom my friend recognised,
and thus addressed : —
"Eh bieu, Maleski, how goes it?"
'' Quite well, sir. And you ?"
" Comme vous voyez."
'' And Colonel B.',' how is he V
" Very well. But this poor fellow," pointing to a man who
had received a wound in the thigh, and who had been placed
against the wall of the house of which Maleski was the porter,
" his eyes roll — he is dying !"
" He is only a little drunk. I have just given him a
bottle of wine. They will carry him to the ambulance pre-
sently."
"■ Have many been killed ?"
" More or less."
This meant " a few," and was uttered with indifi"erence
ranounting nearly to contempt, by him who had fought in the
French ranks from the year 1807 to the year 1815 inclusive,
and who had made the Russian, Polish, German, Spanish, and
French compaigns of the Emperor, during the last four years
of his service in the Irish regiment.
Besides the '' Polytechniques," the students of law and
medicine fought everywhere during the three days, and lost
many of their number in the conflict. Among them a young
Irishman, named Fitzpatrick, who highly distinguished him-
self. "The schools" became, consequently, the idols of the
Parisians, of the lower classes especially, and were, together
with the " Polytechniques," of vast service during the trial
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 125
of the ex-mi II istors of Charles X. in cahiiing the eoogregated
people. Appearing with a card designating their particular
school in their hats, they soothed the agitation, and even suc-
ceeded in converting to better feelings many of the people
who tumultuously demanded the heads of Polignac and his
companions.
Like Laffitte and La Fayette, however, their mission was
held by Louis Philippe to have terminated with that occasion.
Symptoms of an anti-civic disposition were becoming manifest
in the king. The schools expressed in acts and in words their
disapprobation, but by this time the army was reorganized and
held in hand by that very competent person, Marshal Soult,
and the leading part of the public, who formed the principal
portion of the National Guard, were becoming weary of mobs
and ementes, which interrupted their business. The resolution
of the King, therefore, to face and break his first lance with
the students was not so hazardous as it would have been six
months earlier. This coup d'essai was fixed for the 14th of
July, 1831, the anniversary of the taking of the Bastille in
1789, on which day the schools had threatened a demon-
stration.
The measures of government were so well taken, however,
that no formidable body of malcontents appeared. A small
party, at the head of which was a young medical stvident,
named Desirabode, son of a well-known dentist of that name
in the Palais Royal, repaired to the Champs Elysees, and there
cut down a sapling of which to form a tree of liberty, which
they proposed to plant in some public situation. In this ope-
ration they were interrupted by a pot-valiant drummer of the
National Guard, and one or two other armed citizens. The
students disregarded their intervention ; whereupon the drum-
mer drew his sabre and inflicted a wound with it upon the
head of the leader, young Desirabode, who fell covered with
blood, and was subsequently conveyed to a hospital. The rest
of the party dispersed, abandoning the tree of liberty.
Louis Philippe must have been delighted at this termina-
tion of a projected appeal to the people, but would seem to
have entertained some apprehension for the consequence. Ten
days after the occurrence "Desirabode, pere," was named
dentist to the King.
Many similar instances of the King's propitiatory system,
126 THE IRISH
whea admonished, might be mentioned, but one more may
suffice.
The popuUiiity of that splendid cavalry officer, splendid
alike in person and achievements, General Pajol, who had
taken an active part in the Revolution, suggested to His Ma-
jesty that it would not be amiss to neutralize him, if practi-
cable, but his price was the haton of a marshal, to which he
was eminently entitled. This, however, was refused him,
through the influence of Soult, it was believed. As a means
of deprecating his hostility, his two sons, remarkably fine
young men, were promoted in a cuirassier regiment — one of
them, even, was appointed aide-de-camp to the Duke of
Orleans.
After Murat and Ney, none in the army of the empire had
displayed more daring intrepidity than Pajol. Nearly on the
same line marched his contemporary in age and in achieve-
ments, Excelmans. Each was a cavalry officer of the first dis-
tinction, and each was among the last who sheathed their
swords in the service of Napoleon. To Excelmans the Empe-
ror remarked, early : " You are one of my bravest men." To
Pajol, after the battle of Montereau, he said: ''Had all my
generals done their duty as you have done, the foreigner would
never have set his foot on the soil of France." Both Pajol
and Excelmans made the campaign of Russia in 1812. They
were also employed in the engagements of Ligny and Quatre
Bras, in June, 1815; and, by a further coincidence, were in-
cluded in the corps of Marshal Grouchy, and consequently
were not present at Waterloo. Their anti-Bourbon disposi
tions were recalled and manifested in 1830. While a propo-
sition of Charles X. was under consideration at the Hotel de
Ville on the 2Sth of July, 1830, Pajol drew his sword and
said he would pass it through the body of any one who dared
to utter the word " compromise." He thus contributed to
prevent the attempted reconciliation of the popular party with
that of Chai'les X., from whom a deputation had arrived with
offers of submission to the will of the people. Next day, he
and Excelmans were at the head of the crowds of Parisians
who left Paris to compel Charles X. to quit St. Cloud and
France.
Both Excelmans and Pajol, after a thousand hand-to-hand
engagements with the enemies of Napoleon, died of the most
common-place accidents. Pajol, although not reconciled to
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 127
Louis Philippe, accepted aa invitation to a ball at the Tuile-
vies, and in coming down stairs, fell, and broke his thigh, of
which accident he died.* Excelmans, who had been raised,
as he merited, to the rank of Marshal, was very lately (in the
autumn of 1852), thrown by his horse and killed on the road
to Versailles.
Claude Pierre Pajol ! Le beau, le brave ! The hero of a
thousand hand-to-hand encounters — from Spires in 1792 to
Quatre Bras in 1815 — covered with wounds more numerous
and more grave than those received by any man in the French
armies — Oudinot excepted — and after having had in the course
of his campaigns sixteen horses killed under him, falls down
stairs and dies in consequence ! Excelmans, his contemporary
(Pajol, the favourite of Murat, which alone would stamp him,
and he were respectively born in 1775), after a similar career,
falls from his horse and expires on the road to Versailles,
the theatre of his last great feat of arms (on the 1st July,
1815); and which, but for the treason of Fouche, might (a
fact not generally known) have proved utterly destructive of
the allied armies then marching in haste, confidence, and dis-
order upon Paris.
And "such was the end" respectively of Pajol and Excel-
mans I
Th.it they who many a day
Had faced Napoleon's foes uutil they fled,
should perish so iugloriously, suggests our special wonder and
their friends' regret.
I may be here admonished that they were not Irishmen
(I wish they had been). IMy reference to them was however
irresistible, following upon the mention of Wall and Bugeaud,
in connexion with the Revolutions of 1830 and 1848. The
apropos may not be obvious, but as the digression comprehended
details of interest, it will perhaps be pardoned.
■■■■■ The Parisians, "who will have their humour" turn everything; into a
c ilcmboHi: Upon the melancholy, and pen d!stinfju>', finish of Pajol's bril-
liant life they made a pun which — oddly enough — tells better in English
than in French — la voiln. '• Cela n'est pas le bed (la halle) qui doit avoir
tu6 Pajol." (That is not tho hall which ought to have killed Pajol.)
128 THE IRISH
CHAPTER XXIX.
Qui ne vit que pour soi n'est paa digne de vivre.
BOILEAU.
HAVE I. in the preceding chapters, succeeded in excul-
pating Wall and Bugeaud from the charges of having in
any respect contributed to the Revolutions of 1830 and 1848 ?
Have I clearly shown, that in the one case the blame (if there
were blame) was due to Marmont ; and in the other, to the
fact that the efforts of Bugeaud were paralyzed, and his plans
rendered useless by the order given to the King to discontinue
resistance. My exculpation of those generals might con-
sistently terminate my reference to the Revolutions they were;.
respectively called upon to prevent ; but having intimate know-
ledge of the causes and the manner of those great events, I
may possibly be permitted briefly to explain them.
On the evening of the 27th of July, 1830, in company with
a fellow-countryman, I was passing down the Rue de la Paix.
We had heard that there had been some skirmishing in seve-
ral quarters between the mob (now assuming the character of
insurgents) and the gendarmes and parties of the Garde Roy-
ale. A man shot through the forehead was in the afternoon
carried to the Bourse, and left there to excite the people to
revolt, an object soon effected. A wooden barrack of gendar-
merie, placed at the north-west angle of the Place de la
Bourse, was attacked, evacuated by its garrison, and burnt to
the ground. A woman shot through the body was carried by
a baker's journeyman to the guard-house of the Bank of
France, and deposited in front of it " to show the people and
the soldiers," as he said, "the manner in which their wives,
sisters, and mothers were treated by the Bourbons." Stones
had been thrown at the windows of the Ministry for Foreign
Affairs, -then inhabited by Prince Polignac, but on the arrival
of a battalion of the Garde Royale with two field-pieces, the
insurgents for the moment dispersed.
These incidents, all of which occurred early in the evening,
caused much agitation in our quarter of the city, and induced
us to brave any danger that might attend the indulgence of
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 129
our curiosity, Avbich had been increased by a report that two
regiments of the line then actually dra'wn up in the Place
Vendorae had refused to fire on the people.
When we arrived in front of the Stamp Office, we heard
shouting in the Place Vendome, which appeared a solid mass
of men, soldiers, and civilians. We could plainly distinguish
above the murmur of the multitude those significant compli-
ments, " Vive la Ligne !"* A distant fire of musketry was now
heard. Immediately afterwards some men emerged from the
Rue Xcuve dcs Petits Champs, flying apparently from some
danger. Then came General Wall with his staff, and a small
escort of Lancers of the Royal (iuard. He rode at full trot
into the Place Vendome, the people opening right and left to
let him pass to the Etat-Major in the corner. On his appear-
ance he was saluted by the crowd with new cries of " Vive la
Ligne !" The soldiers and officers remained ominously silent.
On inquiry, we learned that it was perfectly true that the
troops of the line had refused to fire. They were, technically
speaking, "standing at ease" with ordered arms, and suffered
rather than received the hugging and embracing forced upon
them by the people, with whom they not yet — except thus
passively — fraternized. The officers were dejected and re-
mained motionless.
Having followed General Wall as far as the crowd permit-
ted, I remarked to my friend that he appeared discomposed.
'• Well he may," said an English military-looking man who
overheard me, for in times like these no ceremony was ob-
served in asking or in telling news. " Yonder are the head-
quarters of the army, and here are a couple of thousand men
forming part of that army, who refuse to act against the mob.
General Wall, in a reconnaissance, has just had an affair with
the insurgents in the Place des Victoires, who, after losing a
few of their number, dispersed, but rallied in a neighbouring
street. He is evidently come to consult with Marmont and
Polignac, who it is supposed have arrived at the Etat-Major by
a subterraneous pa^ssage from the Tuileries.f The defection,
s "The line for ever!" This cheer had for its object to draw a distinc-
tion between the Regiments of the Line and those of the Garde Royale.
The former were recruited by conscription, and might be said to represent
the whole population; the latter were selected by the Court, as well for
their personal superiority as for their political sentiments. Some regiments
of the Garde were said to be almost e.xclusively Vendeans.
■(" This at least was true respecting Polignac.
6*
130 THE IRISH
as it may be termed, of the two regiments before you render
tbis matter very serious, altbougb at present tbe}'' refuse to
join the people. Wall may well appear grave and pre-occupied,
therefore. To-morrow will be a fearful day, but all is over for
to-day."
This was confirmed by the gradual withdrawal of the prin-
cipal portion of the crowd. The troops remained under arms
all night.
Before parting, my friend observed : " When these absorb-
ing events shall have passed by, I have a strange story to tell
you of the brother of this Greneral Wall. Remind me of it.
Good-night."
Louis Philippe's want of energy was not perhaps the result
of a sudden access of despair or terror, but of his sense of
incapability to repair a series of errors, mistakes, and weak-
nesses, followed by consequences he could not obviate, without
commencing afresh a conflict, in which his advanced age and
(it must be confessed) impaired popularity would have deprived
laim of all chance of success.
The causes to which the Revolution of 1848 should be
attributed are many. First, the unsubdued and undiminished
Republicanism and Bonapartism to which he owed his elevation,
and which, instead of soothing and conciliating, he had con-
firmed, and even exasperated by a system of hostility (some
add of ingratitude), commenced within a week from his
nomination to the throne. Secondly, to the inspiration of his
evil genius — " some demon whispered" him, and he attempted
to re-establish the Bourbon name and sovereignty in all its
ancient splendour and absolutism ! Thirdly, to his demanding
of the nation dotations for the Dukes of Orleans and Nemours,
while he was in the annual receipt, it was alleged, of upwards
of thirty millions of francs (his private patrimony, the Civil
List, and the Woods and Forests). Fourthly, to his accepting
for his fourth son the heirship to the property of " the last of
the Condes," jointly with an English woman of very bad
repute named Dawes (''Baroness Feuch^res"). Fifthly, his
curtailment of the prescriptive right of the public to the garden
of the Tuileries. Sixthly, to the Spanish marriages* (that
* The secret history of this calamitous affair will, ia all prohability,
meet the public eyo, and will astonish those who ascribed to Louis Philippe
statesmanlike views and policy. Other actors in the drama may appear,
and with greater disadvantage. If it be true, as I have heard, that but for
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 131
fatal sug-gestion of his amour propre, wliicli suspended the
friendship of his best and most faithful and most influential
ally). Seventhly, to the enormous, outrageous, and almost
universal corruption, which, in the latter years of his reign,
pervaded all the departments of government, and influenced
every public contract or undertaking ; without, it must be con-
fessed, his participating in advantage from the plunder other-
wise than, as he flattered himself, by the support of those in
whose rapacity he acquiesced. Eighthly, to the histories of
the first Revolution by MM. Thiers and Louis Blanc, which
led to impressions favourable to the '' morality" of the monsters
Robespierre, Dauton, and their associates ; and to " the
GiroHcUns" of M. de Lamartine, which also bespoke sympathy
for revolutionists ; and finally, to the horrible murder of the
Duchess of Praslin by her husband, which destroyed every
vestige of prestige remaining to high birth and aristocratic
position. Almost immediately upon the occurrence of that
dreadful tragedy the Revolution took place.
Republicanism and Bonapartism the King could not have
extinguished, but a wise system of government would have
obviated the evil to be apprehended from them. Family pride
was excusable in a man so descended, but was unwisely mani-
fested. The dotation for the Duke of Orleans (£80,000 per
annum) was perhaps too large in any circumstances, but was
rendered more striking by the application for one of half that
amount for the Duke of Nemours, which was refused. That
the Duke of Bourbon should have bequeathed a moiety of his
fortune to the Due d'Aumale was perfectly natural, but it was
injuriously afiiected by the association of that young Prince's
name with that of a person whose position in the house of the
Due de Bourbon was deemed something worse than equivocal
— and this view of the afiair was made more striking by the
refusal of her husband, General Baron Feuch^res (to whom
it devolved on her death), to touch a shilling of her share of
the Duke of Bourbon's fortune. The portion of the garden
of the Tuileries, enclosed under pretext of forming a private
garden for the King, was selected simply to form an outwork
to the palace, to protect it against a couj^ de main in case of
these marriages the Revolution of 1S4S would not have occurred, the world
will be astounded by the nature of the intrigue, through which the loss of
a throne, and' the plunging of some of the fairest portions of Europe into
civil war and anarchy, were efTected.
132 THE IRISH
insurrection. The Spanish marriages he ventured on with the
full knowledge that England would protest against them ; but
he relied upon his talent for conciliation and cajolery to obtain
her ultimate assent to them. The coriiiption which grew up
during his reign he must have lamented, but was unable to
put a stop to and prohibit it. The consideration for the re-
publicans of the first Revolution, suggested by the works of
MM. Thiers and Lamartine, he deplored and feared. Finally,
it is hardly necessai-y to say, that in no respect ought the
tragedy at the Hotel Praslin to be visited upon Louis Philippe,
who was the pattern family man of France. Nothing can
save him, however, from the unfavourable verdict of posterity
whenever a claim to the character of wisdom, foresight, and
sound policy be set up for him. His concurrence in the efforts
made to rescue from popular fury Prince Polignac* and his col-
leagues must ever redound to his honour, although accompa-
nied by the recollection that he would have earlier spurned
the two aids by which only he could have mounted to the
throne. La Fayette and Laffitte, had their assistance in his
humane project for saving the lives of the ministers of Charles
X., not been indispensable.
* Behold a coincidence. Prince Polignac was twice indebted for his
life to the clemency of sovereigns of whom he had been the unmitigated
enemy. The mercy extended to him by Napoleon was, however, much
more remarkable than the compassionate interference of Louis Philippe in
his favour; for the former, as was so unfortunately proved in the ease of
the Due d'Enghien, was still agitated by the unworthy and unmanly con-
spiracy against his life, in which Prince Polignac was so undeniably com-
promised. Was it compunction for his unjust cruelty to the Due d'Enghien
that induced Napoleon to pardon Prince Polignac ?
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 133
CHAPTER XXX.
But these are deeds which should not pass away,
And names that must not wither, though the earth
Forgets her empires with a just decay ;
The enslavers and enslaved, their death and birth.
The high — the mountain majesty of worth
Should be, and shall, survivor of its woe.
And from its immortality look forth
In the sun's face, like yonder Alpine snow,
Imperishably pure — beyond all things below.
Byron.
IT will have been already seen that I am an observer of co-
incidences. Among the many eminent men whom I follow
in that propensity was the Emperor, Napoleon the First.
"It is strange," said he, as he entered the city of Vienna
on the 12th May, 1809, " that on each occasion — in Novem-
ber, 1805, as on this day — on arriving in the Austrian capital,
I find myself in treaty and in intercourse with the respectable
General O'Reilly."
The reader must not smile. The individual thus distin-
guished was not the
"General Count O'Beilly"
damned to immortal fame by the sarcastic Byron. The Gene-
ral Count O'Reilly of the poet, was Alexander O'Reilly, the
favourite of King Charles III. of Spain, whose life he saved
in a riot in Madrid in 1765. He further enjoyed, it was said,
high favour in the eyes of His Majesty's royal consort. The
fruits of this distinction were the highest rank in the Spanish
army, of which, besides being Governor of Cadiz, he was named
generalissimo. He had also had the honour of being appointed
Ambassador to the French Court. On his presentation to the
beautiful and unfortunate Marie Antoinette, it would appear
that he had forgotten for the moment an autograph letter
from his royal mistress to the French Queen. With an em-
barrassed and hurried air, which excited merriment in the
gay and silly circle within which he found himself, he how-
134 THE HUSH
ever searched for it, and finding it, presented the missive.
This incident was thus described by an English wag of the
day:—
" ' I have it here/ said the Sieur O'Reilly, thrusting his
hand into his breeches pocket."
But the badinage of even the immortal Byron (on all seri-
ous matters the advocate of Ireland, as he was the devoted
friend of her immortal son, Moore) cannot deprive this dis-
tinguished Irishman of well-earned reputation for courage and
skill in the oi'ganization of the Spanish forces, and for sagacity
and decision. Unhappily, however, among other results of
the royal favours heaped upon him, was the jealousy of native-
born officers of the army. To this sentiment was due the
defeat of the expedition under his command against Algiers,
which he would probably have " taken," but for the impru-
dence and disobedience of the Marquis de Romana, who, in
order to distinguish himself, and at the same time to discredit
the cautious policy of O'Beilly, rushed forward prematurely
and rashly, and caused the failure of the enterprise. O'Reilly
was, therefore, no more chargeable with the defeat of the
Spanish expedition to Algiers, than was Hoche for that of
the French to Ireland. Romana, who brought about the dis-
aster to the Spanish army, paid with his life for his fault ; but
Grouchy, whose non-arrival in Bantry Bay deprived France
of the most important advantage that could have resulted from
the war, and saved England from the greatest disaster that could
have befallen her, lived — strangest of coincidences ! — to repeat
his default, and so to deprive France of the only chance that
remained to her of changing the fate of the battle of Water-
loo; and, consequently, of saving from utter destruction the
British army.
It would require the brilliant services — the intrepidity and
the humanity — of Grouchy, in La Vendee, in Italy, in Russia,
in Germany, and finally at Ligny, on the 16th June, 1815, to
save his name from execration in France. He was only un-
fortunate.
A French biography of General O'Reilly describes the
affair in pretty nearly the same terms, but ascribes rather to
the irrepressible ardour of the Spanish troops than to the mo-
tive here assigned, the precipitancy of Romana. My version
of the story was derived from Chevalier 0' Gorman fifty years
ABROAD AND AT HOME, 135
ago, to whom it was communicated by General O'Reilly
himself.
It would appear that the financial department of Spain was
not better managed in the last than in the present century.
Plunder and corruption were said to be the universal pi-actice
of all concerned in the collection of the revenue, but especially
in Cadiz, at the period of Count O'Reilly's arrival there as
Governor. In consequence, he assembled those functionai-ies
at an early day, and thus addres.sed them : " Gentlemen, I am
a man of few words. Whether I be a robber or not, I shall
not here discuss ; but, mark me well, I shall allow no man to
rob the public treasury but myself."
The death of his royal patron, Charles III., on the 14th
of December, 1788, caused O'Reilly the loss of his command
of Andalusia, and the governorship of Cadiz, and indeed of
all his employments. He returned therefore to Catalonia,
where he lived a retired life until the breaking out of the Avar
between Spain and revolutionary France, when, his militaiy
renown remaining undiminished, he was, on the death of its
chief, Ricardo, in 1794, called to the command of the army
of the Pyrenees. He arrived at head-quarters, but died sud-
denly, almost immediately afterwards, the victim of foul play —
he was poisoned.
The French author I quote adds : '■'■ O'Reilly's talents as a
general, the various services he had rendered to Spain, and
his personal qualities, effaced almost entirely from the hearts
of the Spaniards the jealousy they had conceived of him as a
foreigner."
Let us now speak of the Austrian General Count O'Reilly,
termed by Napoleon " the respectable." His Christian name
was Andrew, and ho was a son of the house of Ballinlough,
in the county of Westmeath, Ireland. The compliment paid
him by Napoleon was the more remarkable, because, as is uni-
versally known, it was " the dragoon regiment of O'Reilly"
(fes Troisieme Chcvaux Lrger) which by a splendid charge
saved the wreck of the Austrian army at Austerlitz ; but Na
poleon was generally liberal to all brave men, friends or foes.
The coincidence remarked by Napoleon respecting General
O'Reilly is only one of the many recorded of the Emperor, who,
to serve his purpose, frequently created them in advance. For
example — his fighting the battle of Friedlaud in 1807, and
his commencement of liis last campaign in 1815, on the 14th
136 THE IRISH
of June respectively, on the anniversary of the battle of Ma-
rengo, were not entirely accidental, any more than was the
battle of Austerlitz, on the 2d of December, 1805, which was
the anniversary of his coronation.
CHAPTER XXXI.
It is a miserable effect, when men full of towardness and hope — such as
the poets call Aurorce Filii — sons of the morning — in whom the expecta-
tion and comfort of their friends consisteth, shall be cast away and destroyed
in such a vain manner.
Bacon ( On Duelling).
&ENERAL WALL, of whom I have just spoken, was the
last of the Irish Brigade who drew a sword in defence of
the elder branch of the House of Bourbon.* He and his
brother. Viscount Wall, and "the Dillons," and other Irish-
men, or Irish by descent, were the most brilliant of the body
of men, of handsome exterior, and of courage, gallantry, and
high breeding, who shone at the dazzling Court of IMarie
Antoinette and Louis XVI. I have a perfect recollection of
the pride with which our Cousin Robin spoke of them. Vis-
count Wall died mysteriously, an event which caused much
sensation at the time ; but the Revolution was approaching,
and soon caused the tragedy to be forgotten. The following
is the account given of the affair by Cousin Robin : —
" Wall was one of the bravest of men. One day he de-
sired his valet-de-chambre to put up the articles of dress and
toilette necessary for a short absence from Paris, and to order
his carriage for an early hour next morning. At the time
indicated, the post-chaise was at the door. He told his wife
that he should be absent only a day or two, and stepping into
the carriage desired the postillion to drive to Fontainebleau.
"■ Having arrived there, he repaired to the Hotel de Tu-
renne, where he was well known, ordered dinner, and taking
his sword in his hand said he would stroll into the forest, but
■•■■■ There was in the battalion of the Garde Royale which fought in Paris
during this Revolution, a Captain Wall, but I believe they were not related.
Captain Wall — an excellent man and oflScer — had not served in the Brigade.
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 137
would be back in an hour or two. It was then about four
o'clock.
'' He did uot return to dinner, nor that uight, a circum-
stance which caused the proprietor of the hotel, who loved
and respected him, much alarm, and induced him next morn-
ing to acquaint the authorities of the town with the facts.
He also apprised some friends of Wall, officers of the garrison,
of his disappearance. A large party in consequence set off
for the forest in the direction that Wall had taken, and there
dispersed. For a considerable time their search was fruitless,
but at length in a remote and unfrequented part of the forest
they found the dead body of Wall, nearly covered by a drift
of fallen leaves. He had been run through the body. His
sword lay by his side ; his purse, filled with money, was in his
pocket ; his watch in his fob. The body was removed to the
hotel, and thence to Paris.
" This melancholy afiair became the topic of conversation
at Court, in the salojis, and other assemblies of high life. In
one of them a friend of Wall, an Irishman of distinction,
repelled the idea that he had fallen in a duel. ' Wall,' said
he, ' was not surpassed as a swordsman : he could not have
met a superior. He was basely murdered.'
'' Next morning this person received a letter by the petite
poste, couched in these terms : —
" ' You stated last night that Wall was assassinated. It
is false. If you be a man of honour, and willing to have sat-
isfaction for this imputation on your veracity, and at the same
time avenge your friend, repair, alone, on Monday next, be-
tween the hours of two and four o'clock, to the Forest of
Fontainebleau, route ' (naming it). ' You will, at a cer-
tain point' (indicating it), ' find a person in a blue surtout,
who on your approach will take out a pocket-handkerchief and
put it to his face for a moment, and will then strike into a
path leading to a fit and proper spot for the decision of our
quarrel.'
'< This letter was signed, ' He by whose hand Wall fell.' "
In England, probably no notice would have been taken of
a challenge of tliis kind, coming, as it did, anonymously; but
at the period of which I speak, persons observant of the code
of honour were more fastidious.
"The challenged person," continued Cousin Robin, '-'sent
138 THE IRISH
immediatelv for a friend, the gallant, unfortunate Theobald
Dillon.
'• ' You cannot refuse this cartel/ said Dillon, ' but I do
not like the look of it. Why require you to be unaccompa-
nied by a friend ? It suggests strongly the idea of an ambush.
You must keep the rendezvous, however, but I shall be at
hand to aid you, should (as I fear) foul play be intended and
offered to you.'
'' On the day appointed. Dillon and his principal repaired
to Fontainebleau. When the hour fixed drew near, they
walked into the forest in the direction of the point named for
the meetius- Ou their arrival near to a turning which led
immediately to it, Dillon stopped.
" ' I can go no farther,' said he, ' but if you perceive any-
thing suspicious in the manner or conduct of your antagonist,
call out, and I shall be with you in a few seconds.'
" After shaking hands, the friends separated. Dillon re-
tired, and the challenged party proceeded. On turning the
comer, before arriving at which DtUon had stopped, he per-
ceived at a distance a man standing in the middle of the road,
towards whom he walked directly. When he had come within
forty or fifty yards of him, the stnmger took out his handker-
chief, raised his hand, and pointed to a path at one side, into
which he struck at a quick pace. His adversary followed.
Another turn was made by the leader, and another path was
chosen. This was also abandonad for another, more intricate
and scarcely marked. It led to the Rocher Brule, one of the
most deserted parts of the forest. The leader made another
sharp turn. The Irishman, now nearly at his heels, made a
similar movement. He had not, however, advanced three
steps in this new direction when he found his collar seized by
a visorous hand. He turned to reeard the assailant — it was
Dillon. An exclamation escaped him. This induced his
enemy to look back, who, seeing how matters stood, shook his
head, waved his hand, and disappeared in the forest.
"'Whvdid vou interrupt me?' asked the Irishman of
DiUon.
'• • To save you from the fate of Wall. This man is obvi-
ously an assassin. Your character hitherto will secure you
from any reflection on your courage. Moreover, I am living
to testify to it. This affair must go no farther.'
'• The friends returned to Fontainebleau and to Paris nest
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 139
dt'v. For some time afterwards the occurrence continued to
be the subject of comment and conversation in the salons, but
political questions soon threw it into oblivion, and from that
time until the present moment (now three years and upwards),
I do not think that I have once spoken of it."'
This story made a deep impression on the hearers. I had
not forgotten it even when, thirty years later, it was brought
to my recollection by an incidental occurrence, and the cloud
which rested upon the death of Viscount Wall up to that
time, was — quant a moi at least — dissipated.
One day, in the autumn of 1822, I met in the g-arden of
the Tuileries an Irish friend, who, after the customary saluta-
tions, said : " Do you observe the old gentleman iVom whom I
have just parted ? He has been a man of distinction ; one of
those who fluttered and figiired on this identical spot, the
Tuileries, five-and-thirty years ago, when Marie Antoinette
was in her zenith. He has just recounted to me an anecdote,
which seems to remove the mystery that has hitherto enveloped
the death of Tiscount Wall, who, you know, was found dead
in the Forest of Fontainebleau, in the year 1787. The anec-
dote he has told me is this : —
'' ' I was.' said he, ' one of many others who were forced
to emigrate in 1792, and succeeded in getting on board an
English vessel, on the coast of Brittany. On our passage to
England, I found myself one day leaning over the ship's side,
at the elbow of a person whom I had long known by sight, and
had met in society, but with whom I had no acquaintance.
Our conversation dwelt at first upon the present melancholy
state of France. It was subsequently turned to the scenes in
which we had both mixed in Paris, at Court, at Versailles, and
at Trianon. In the course of those recollections the name of
AVall accidentally occurred.
" ' His death was a strange afi"air,' said I.
'^ ' Not so strange as probably you believe,' he replied.
'' ' "What is your opinion of it ?' I asked. ' It was by
assassination — was it not ?'
" * No such matter.'
'' ' Everybody regarded it so at the time.'
" ' I am aware of that ; but it was an error. Before, how-
ever, I enter on the task of disabusing you on the subject,
will you have the kindness to tell me all that you know and
have heard respecting it ?'
140 THE IRISH
" I complied, recounting the circumstance as I had heard
it at the time of its occurrence.
" '■ And these,' said he, '■ are the facts on which j^ou found
your belief that Wall was murdered ? And that the challenger
of the Irishman you speak of was his assassin ?' said my fellow
ti'aveller.
'' ' Even so.'
" ' Then you mistake. "Wall was not murdered, nor was
the challenger of Dillon's friend an assassin. The facts are
these. Wall was most unjustly jealous of his wife. He
named a man as her paramour, who, becoming aware of the
imputation, challenged him. They fought, and Wall fell —
fairly, however.'
" To this statement were added expressions and particulars,
which convinced me that my companion was the party of whom
Wall had been jealous, and by whose hand he fell. He was
subsequently the challenger of Dillon's friend.
" ' You knew afterwards who this person was, whom you
supposed, rightly or wrongly, to have been the adversary of
Wall,' I observed.
" ' I did. He was Count de Damas.' "
These facts have never before been published.
M. and Mme. de Rohan have had the following inscription
engraved upon the tomb of the Viscount de Wall : —
" TO THE MERCIFUL AND JUST GOD.
HERE LIES ,
MABIE JOSEPH RICHARD PATRICK, VISCOUNT DE WALL,
DECEASED AT THE AGE OF 23 YEARS, NOV. 26tH, 1787.
INNOCENT VICTIM !
HE SOUGHT NOT TO BE REVENGED.
HE WHO IS, HAS SAID ' VENGEANCE IS MINE.'
Deut. chap, x.xxii. v. 35.
'•■ Powerful God ! only true support of afBicted hearts ! In remitting to
Thee the vengeance of this innocent victim, in finishing the recital of the
circumstances and consequences of his unhappy end, hear our prayers for
the cruel being who has thus plunged us into grief. Permit that his
remorse may excite his repentance ! He cannot repair the evil he has done
to us, but he may have recourse to Thee, and experience the effects of Thy
infinite mercy."
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 141
CHAPTER XXXII.
And, thereupon, the Court did, by their several opinions and sentences,
declare how much it imported the peace and prosperous estate of his
JIajestj' and his kingdom, to nip this practice and offence of duels in the
head, which now did overspread and grow universal, even among mean
persons.
Bacon.
I HAVE just spoken of "Wall's " exeelleuce at his weapon,"
the sword ; but among his own countrymen at that period,
were to be found many of as high reputation as himself as
fencers and duellists. Of one of them, George Robert Fitz-
gerald, I shall have occasion to speak presently; another was
" Dick Martin ;" another was Count Rice, with whose brother,
Dominick, a barrister, I became acquainted some fort}' years
ago in Dublin.
Count Rice was in fact the best swordsman of the day, and
had fought many duels. His last affair was with a Frenchman
in Paris, who, aware of Rice's " force," resolved to set his
skill at nought by unfair means. When in presence of an
adversary Count Kice, who was cool as a lettuce, had the habit
of making the fencing salute before engaging. The French-
man in question waited for this flom-ish, and ran him through
the body before their points met.
Instances of this nature (the death of a skilful duellist by
an unpractised hand) are numerous. Muley, the gun-maker
of Parliament Street, in whose house Robert Emmet's friend,
the unfortunate Captain Russell, was arrested, was one of the
best " shots" in Ireland. There being no rear to his house,
he took his customers for pistols into the cellars, where they
fired at a lighted candle, or at a mark by caudle-light. He
spoke of a Mr. Nicholas French, of the county of Galway,
who snuffed a candle at twelve yards a dozen times in succes-
sion, yet who was killed in a duel afterwards by a man who
never before fired a shot.
In that age of duelling in Europe, such affairs were gene-
rally managed in good faith and loyalty; but as the instances
just related prove, exceptions occurred occasionally. One of
142 THE IRISH
tliem recurs to luy memoiy, in which the treacherous combat-
ant was also a Frenchman, a circumstance which must not be
held to reflect injuriously on the character of that gallant
nation.
Among the crowd of flatterers by whom " the Faguiani,"
the reigning prima donna of that day (seventy years ago) in
Loudon was surrounded, were the Duke of Queeusbury, George
Selwin, a Frenchman whose name I suppress, and Mr. John
Geoghegau, of Jamestown, county of Westmeath, Ireland,
who from his dashing character was called " Jack the Buck."
These two last mentioned quarrelled about their lady-love in
the saloon of Covent Garden Theatre one night. The French-
man challenged Geoghegan, who had used some violence to-
wards him. The challenge was accepted; and both being-
armed, as was the fashion at that period, they agreed to meet
at the portico of St. Paul's Church, Covent Garden, immedi-
ately after the play. They then separated ; Geoghegan re-en-
tered the house, and the Frenchman went home.
At the appointed time the adversaries met, drew their
swords, and engaged. Geoghegan parried a thrust, and made
sure of his man ; but instead of entering it, his sword broke
on the breast of his antagonist, who ran him through the body.
In falling, Geoghegan grappled with, but was unable to hold
him. With the stump of his sword, however, he scored him
down the back.
On leavina; the theatre, the Frenchman had cone home and
put on a " prudence," something like a quire of paper in the
shape of a cuirass. Geoghegan recovered from the wound,
but it was the remote cause of his death.
Of Geoghegan, I remember another anecdote. He was
present at a club or assembly at Bath one night when Du
Barri, the first "protector" of Madame Du Barri, and bro-
ther of him who became her husband (they were a bad lot),
was dealing a pack of cards in a game of whist, on which a
large sum was staked, when Geoghegan asked a wriiter for a
carving- fork. Having obtained it, he waited until Du Barri,
having dealt all but the last card, was about to turn it, when,
by a violent thrust of the carving-fork, Geoghegan fixed the
dealer's hand to the table, saying: " I shall beg your pardon,
sir, if you have not the ace of clubs beneath your hand."
The charge proved well-founded, and Du Barri, bleeding
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 143
profusely from the wouud, was kicked out of the room, and
down stairs.
One more instance of misfortune to skilful swordsmen, and
I shall resume my narration.
In the year 1761, and for many subsequent years, there
existed in Dublin a public garden, the resort of the fashiona-
ble world at that period, called IMarlborough Green. It occu-
pied the ground on which Lower Gardener Street, and I believe
part of Beresford Place now stand. In that year there arrived
in Dublin, on a visit to his family, a Captain Eugene O'Reilly,
of a cavalry regiment in the Austrian service. Walking one
day in the garden of JMarlborough Green, in company with some
ladies, a gentleman passed, in uniform, I think, for he was a
cavalry officer, and whose spur caught the gown of one of the
ladies, and tore it. The offender apologized, and each party
continued their promenade. When they met again, a similar
circumstance occurred. O'Reilly, now becoming angry, used
some strong expressions, which were haughtily replied to, ac-
companied by a challenge to decide the matter on the spot.
They stepped accordingly into the green, and drew.
O'Reilly had never fought with a small sword. He knew
that his antagonist was Loi'd Delvin, eldest son of the then
Earl of Westmeath, and equally well known as one of the
most accomplished swordsmen of the day. He knew, there-
fore, that in a rencontre of any duration he was sure to be
killed, and accordingly the moment their points met he threw
himself with all his force on his adversary', and ran him through
the body. Lord Delvin fell. He was carried home, and died
next day, enjoining his family and friends not to prosecute his
antagonist, whom he confessed he had pui'posely provoked, but
why I have never heard.
O'Reilly, alarmed for the consequences of this act, left
Dublin that night for the coiuity of Meath, either to seek
shelter with his friends, or to make provision for an attempt
at escape from Ireland. He walked the entire distance to
Kells, between thirty and forty English miles. On his arrival
there nest morning his hair, through agitation, as was believed,
had from dark auburn become as white as snow. He was
pointed out to me in Dublin some thirty or forty years after-
wards by the name of <' Delvin" Reilly, in allusion to this
unfortunate duel.
I have referred to the existence of Irish officers in the ser-
144 THE IRISH
vice of foreign countries. Many of my readers, the younger
portion of them especially, may ask : " How comes it that
they travel ? Why, if they preferred a military life, did not
those gentlemen enter the English army ?"
In a short time the answer to this question will probably
excite surprise. It was, because the laws forbade the admis-
sion of a Roman Catholic, as a field officer, into the British
f service. The father of the Lord Delvin of whom I have just
spoken, had conformed to the religion of the State, or his son
could not have held an English commission ; and this most
impolitic, and in more than one of its provisions anomalous
regulation, lasted until about the year 1810.
While native-born Catholics were ineligible, even to the
rank of Colonel in the British army, a foreign Catholic, the
Baron de Hompesch, brother of the Grand Master of Malta,
figured in the British Army List among the lieutenants-gene-
ral. He had commanded in Ireland in 1798, a corps of ban-
ditti, recruited in all the military prisons of Europe, and which
were officially called " Hompesch's Mounted Riflemen," more
generally " Hessians," and by the lower orders of the people
" Hussians." They were more dishonest, and to the full as
cruel, as their co-operating cavaliers, the Ancient Britons.
One of the immediate influential causes of the repeal of
that clause in the penal statute was, I believe, an occurrence
which took place about the year 1810, on the capture of the
Isle of France by a British force, under Lieutenant-colonel
Keating. He had carried the island in the most dashing style,
but iipon the arrival of his despatch in London, announcing
the fact, it occurred to some or other of the sagacious autho-
rities that he was a Eoman Catholic, and consequently that
his employment in the capture of the island was irregular. I
am not sure that the French took exceptions to it on that
ground, but lest they should, a short Bill was brought into
Parliament to legalize the capture, to relieve the gallant Papist
from the consequences of his pi-pmunii-e, and to render eligible
to superior rank in the array all his co-religionists.
The capture of the Isle of France was attended with me-
lancholy consequences for some unfortunate countrymen of
Colonel Keating — some Irish and English soldiers and sailors
found in arms among the French troops. They were, to the
number of ten or twelve, sent prisoners to London, and were
tried in May, 1812, by a special commission, presided over by
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 145
Chief Barou Macdonald, at the Sessions House, Horsemonger
Lane, Surrey, for high treason. The Attorney-general, Sir
Vicary Gibbs, prosecuted in person. The prisoners were de-
fended by Henry Brougham, who, even at that early period
of his career, was regarded as the first advocate of the day.
His junior on that occasion was Mr., afterwards Sergeant,
Jones.
It appeared in evidence that those unfortunate men had
been sailors in vessels captured, or soldiers in a British regi-
ment, which had formed part of a corps that had previously,
but unsuccessfully, attempted to take the island. Their offi-
cers, made prisoners with them, attended at the trial, and de-
posed in their defence to the following effect : —
" The French authorities had, for a long time, vainly sought
to induce them (the captured soldiers) to enter the French
service; but they constantly rejected all the offers made to
them, until at length, witnessing the privations and sufferings
inflicted on us (the officers), the poor fellows resolved to accept
the terms proposed by the French, in order that, while on
duty, they might ameliorate our condition. They solicited our
assent to that proposition ; but this was, of course, refused
them. They persisted, however, and after entering the French
service, always testified for us, their late chiefs, the utmost
respect, and insisted that the severities practised against us
Bhould be relaxed."
To their good conduct in every respect, except taking
service under the French, their officers bore unanimous
testimony.
Mr. Brougham made for the prisoners the most of these
facts ; but the Judge, in addressing the jury, told them that
" they must discard them, and all other extenuating circum-
stances, from their consideration,'' as " no justification of trea-
son could be admitted."
In consequence of this, in one or two cases the jury found
the accused guilty. This only served to stimulate Mr.
Brougham to increased efi"orts in defence of the remainder.
There were great grounds for complaint of the course followed
in the prosecution, which he urged vehemently and often ;
and having obtained an acquittal in one case, it became incon-
venient to create new occasions for the repetition of his pleas
for the prisoners : the Attorney-general, therefore, abandoned
the prosecution of those yet untried. The case of one of the
148 THE IRISH
" Dillon, bound by the orders of Dumouriez to avoid a
combat, halted his army and commanded a retrograde move-
ment. This produced instant murmuring in his column.
The Austrian General, observing confusion in Dillon's corps,
and suspecting that it had been occasioned by some important
circumstances, unknown to, but favourable for him, broke up
from his position, and in order to hasten the disorder, and
insure the retreat of the French, caused some cannon-shots
to be fired upon them. Although none of the shot, because
of the distance, reached the French, the loud reports, com-
bined with the lurking treason in their ranks, produced a
sudden panic. The cavalry, who bad formed the advance,
now pressed upon the retiring infantry and rode them down.
Alarm and dismay achieved the utter disorganization of the
corps, and then was raised, but by whom has never been
known, that terrible cry, ' Trahison ! Sauve qui pent !' which
has more than once in later times produced disaster in our
army.
" The troops whom I had seen leave Lille in the best pos-
sible fighting trim, and with profound indifference for any
adversary they might meet, re-entered it pele-melc, running
and breathless, under the influence of terror, for which no
cause could be assigned, save the apparition of a foe for whom
they had expressed so much contempt.
" Dillon did his utmost to check this disorderly flight at
its commencement. In attempting to stop and rally the flying
dragoons, he was insulted, threatened, and at length wounded
by a pistol-ball fired at him by one of them close to him. He
fell and was borne away to his carriage, which followed the
now disbanded army. Four pieces of cannon were abandoned
to the Austrians, and it was only on reaching the town of Lille
that the retreat terminated.
" The whole had been preconcerted, however. Difsorgani-
^ation had made lamentable progress among the troops.
Instigated by the Parisian sans-culottes, every town and city
of France was in anarchy, and the whole army, nay every
j-egiment, was tampered with by emissaries of ' the Mountain,'
and of ' the Princes,' and ' the foreigner' respectively. Money
was distributed by the agents of the foreigner; blood and
pillage were promised by the Princes. Disobedience towards
their officei'S was masked under professed suspicion of their
loyalty, and was inculcated by the Montagnards. Corps of
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 149
* Volunteers/ as they were called, would leave Paris apparently
with enthusiasm and resolution for the frontier, but would halt
at the distance of a few miles from the capital, and, under the
pretext that their officers were aristocrats, would disobey or
attack them, and then disband themselves and disperse. In
the case of Dillon's soldiers, and, indeed, the whole of
Dumouriez's army, this predisposition to mutiny and revolt
was aided, as I have said, by the machinations of the enemies
of the Republic, under the guise of ultra civisme.
" Lille had been for many days in tumult and disorder
previously to the sortie of Dillon. The democrats, with much
reason, asserted that treason was being hatched against the
Republic ; and the miscreants who, under pretence of devotion
to it, sullied the Revolution with every possible practicable
crime, were impatient. The venerable cure of the Madeleine
had rendered himself suspected or unpopular, and, being
informed that his life was in danger, concealed himself.
Shortly after Dillon's army had left the town, he was observed
by a farrier endeavouring to escape from it disguised as a
woman, and was denounced. He was immediately seized, and
was borne to the lanterne in the Paris fashion, and put to
death ! This appalling proceeding, which resembled the mode
of execution practised on board ships of war, will not in a few
years be understood. Modern gas-lights have in most large
towns of France superseded the primitive machine (^Reverhoire)
which, sustained by a rope passing from posts placed on each
side of a street or road, hung over the centre of the public
way. To permit the trimming, lighting, and extinguishing
of the lamps, the rope by which they were suspended was at
one side secured within the post, which was hollow, like a
spout. The lamplighter had access to it by an aperture or
door, and was thus enabled to lower and arrange it, and when
he had eifected his object he tightened the rope, raised the
lamp, locked the spout, and put the key into his pocket. The
unhappy victim of popular fury in the Revolution would be
placed under the lamp, which would be lowered, and the rope,
taken from it, put round his neck, and, amid the cheers and
the execrations of the populace, he would be ' run up.' The
body of the cure of La Madeleine was still d la lanterne when
Dillon's retreating corps arrived at the gate of the city, now
La Porte de Paris.
" Scarcely had the first of the runaway soldiers entered the
150 THE IRISH
town, when the mob, wound np to fury, and excited by their
recent murder of the poor priest, rushed forth with terrible
menaces. Their first victim was Colonel Berthois, of the
Engineers ; their nest, Dillon himself, who was again shot by
one of his own soldiers while yet lying wounded in his carriage.
He was thence torn and trodden to death. His head was cut
off, and his body stamped upon and dragged through every
kennel of the town, and finally thrown into a fire kindled in
the great square, on the top of which blazed the sign-board of
the Hotel de Bourbon, which had been torn from its hinges
by the populace.
" The horrible tragedy did not, however, end here. The
remains of the ill-fated Dillon were drawn, half-consumed,
from the flames, and the body was opened ; and then the scene
of cannibalism took place, with the particulars of which I will
not shock you, and in which a woman bore a principal part !
I had the satisfaction of seeing her guillotined for that crime
soon afterwards."
This disgraceful and revolting offence was brought before
the Convention by his gallant relative, Arthur Dillon. An
inquiry was instituted ; the leading parties in the murder of
Theobald Dillon, among whom were some of the populace of
Lille, were convicted and sentenced to death. One of the
latter, a Captain in the National Guard, displayed on the
scaffold a courage and a sangfroid rarely perceptible out of
France, among assassins when brought to justice. By a decree
of the Convention, the children of Theobald Dillon were
adopted by the country. Twenty years later, one of his sons
served as an officer in the Irish Leoion. He is still living;.
The manner of Theobald Dillon's death was lamentable ;
but there is reason to believe that, had he not been murdered
in the way just related, he would have perished a little later
on the scaffold. Misfortune or error in judgment, and above
all, respectability of descent and the assertion of truth, were
in those times never pardoned in a military commander. Of
this his gallant brother, Arthur Dillon, was a striking example.
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 151
CHAPTER XXXIV.
An absolute gentleman; full of most excellent clifTerences, of very
soft society and great shewing.
Hamlet.
ARTHIJ]^ DILLON was born in Ireland on the 3d of Sep^
tember, in the year 1750. Early in life he became a
colonel in the service of France, and was employed in the
West Indies with his regiment during the American war. He
distinguished himself by his courage and his military skill in
the conquest of Grenada, St. Eustatia, Tobago, and St.
Christopher, of which last-mentioned island he was made
Governor after his retreat from Savannah.
His promotions in the army were nearly contemporaneous
with those of the unfortunate Theobald Dillon. He was created
a brigadier of infantry on the 1st of March, 1780, and mare-
chal de camp on the 1st of January, 1784. On the proclama-
tion of peace, the Island of St. Christopher was restored to
England ; when Dillon returned to France, and thence visited
London, where he was received with distinction, and par-
ticularly at the British Court. It would appear that in his
government of St. Christopher he had displayed sagacity and
wisdom ; for on his appearance at the levee of George III., the
Lord Chancellor (Lord Loughborough) crossed the circle to
approach him, and said : " Count Dillon, we knew you to be
a brave and able soldier, but we were not awai-e that you were
so good a lawyer. ^Ye have investigated, and have confirmed
: 11 your judgments^ and all your decrees delivered during your
I'overnment."
Disappointed in his expectation of the government of Mar-
tinique, Dillon accepted that of Tobago. After remaining
there three years, he returned to France ; and was in 1789
elected a deputy to the States-General : he defended in
that Assembly the interests of the colonies with talent and
energy. He was appointed in 1792 commander of an army
of between twenty-five and thirty thousand men, and fought
152 THE IRISH
with success in the plains of Champagne and in the forest of
Argone. Dumouriez having ordered him to march on Verdun
to harass the retreat of the Prussian army, he arrived at that
city precisely as the enemy were about to enter it. He imme-
diately placed his cannon in battery on IMount St. Bartholomew,
which commands the citadel, and on the 12th of October sum-
moned the Governor to surrender. After a brief delay the
town capitulated, and Dillon entered it on the 14th at the head
of his troops.
For some reason not now known, Arthur Dillon appeared
in Paris in the beginning of the year 1793, and was, at that
season when denunciations were almost universal, secretly
accused of opinions and practices hostile to the Republic.
This led to his arrest by the Mayor of Paris, in compliance
with an order of the Committee of Public Safety. He was
committed to the Palace of the Luxembourg, then a prison
crowded with some of the most noble and distinguished men,
and even women of France. The universal horror which had
followed the massacres in September of the pi'eceding year,
deterred the government, which had just sent Louis XVL to
the scaffold, from getting rid by similar means of the unfor-
tunate persons with whom, in the brief interval which had
intervened, the whole of the ordinary jails and other places
of confinement again overflowed. A new method, not less sure
than direct massacre, although a little more tedious, was con-
ceived ; one more odious, too, for it required perjury and the
perversion of every semblance of law and justice to carry it
into execution. A mock plot was got up, in which all the
persons imprisoned, without exception, were compromised.
Previously to this conception, to which it must be confessed
Dillon afterwards in a moment of aberration gave colour, his
case had been brought before the Convention by a generous
and courageous friend, whose defence of him was one of the
circumstances which brought himself to the scaflFold. This
intrepid advocate was Camille-Desmoulins. The faults and
errors of that excitable young man were many and enormous ;
but they did not, it would appear, exclude from his bosom
emotions of friendship or the manlihood to display them.
In vain had the devoted, the talented, the enthusiastic, but
rash and precipitate Camille, appealed to the Convention in
behalf of his incarcerated friend ; in vain had he dwelt upon
the services rendered by Dillon to France ; in vain had he
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 153
with indignation repelled and repudiated the incredible crimes
attributed to him ; in vain had he with irony and sarcasm
rebutted the accusation, that Dillon was compromised in " a
plot, which had for its objects the overthrow of the Republic,
to seize upon the principal military posts (those of the arsenal
and the Pont Neuf especially), to arrest and egorger the
patriotic members of the Convention, and of the Committees
of Public and of General Safety ; and finally, to tear out their
hearts, roast, and then devour them ?"*
On these absurd charges Dillon and his fellow-prisoners
were brought to trial, if trial it could be termed, for in every
case conviction and execution followed accusation as matters of
• course.
Unfortunately it would appear that there had been in the
prison a project on foot for sending a thousand crowns and a
letter to the wife of Camille. One of the prisoners, the base
and cowardly Laflotte, hoping to obtain life and liberty by de-
nouncing a plot, ran to the keeper of the Luxembourg and
drew up a declaration, in which he described a conspiracy about
to break out within and without the prisons, to rescue the
accused and assassinate the members of the two committees.
The use which was made of this fatal deposition will be pre-
sently seen. Among other results were the aggravation of the
charges against Danton, Camille-Desmoulins, and their asso-
ciates, then upon their trial, and ultimately the butchery by
the guillotine of the prisoners confined in the several prisons,
namely, the Luxembourg, the Cai'mes, La Force, the Mairie,
Picpus, Talaru, les Anglaises (the convent of the English
Nuns), the Madelonettes, Sainte Pelagic, the Rue de Sevres,
the Porte Libre, Saint Lazare, the Conciergerie, Plessis, &c.
Arthur Dillon was guillotined on the 24th Germinal, An.
II. (14th of April, 1794), together with seventeen other per-
sons (two of them females) of various stations in life, some of
them distinguished by birth, more of them by crime. All were
innocent of the particular oifence for which they ostensibly
suffered death. They were conveyed in common carts from
the Conciergerie to the Place de la Revolution, where stood the
guillotine en j^ennanence. When they arrived at the fatal
spot, they descended from their hideous vehicle and were
mustered at the foot of the scaffold and counted by the exe-
•■'" The e.\;ict ferins of the actv d' accusation.
154 THE IRISH
cutioner before commencing the slaughter. This preliminary
over, he laid his hand upon the shoulder of one of the female
victims, and motioned to the steps leading to the scaflfold. She
shrank from his touch, and turning to Dillon, said : "■ Oh ! M.
Dillon, pray go first !"
"Anything to oblige a lady," said the elegant and courteous
Dillon, Avith his usual captivating smile, and ascended the
scafi'old. His last words, pronounced in a voice that resounded
through the '* Place," were, '' Vive le Roi !" Was it this
incident that suggested to Sir Walter Scott the expression :
" God save King James !" which he places in the mouth of
Hector Mac Ivor, in precisely similar circumstances ?
I have heard from a late amiable, excellent, and generally
well-informed friend, Colonel Morres de Montmorency, that
this lady was the Honourable Miss Brown, sister or aunt of
the Lord Kenmare of that day, but am inclined to believe that
he was for once in error. On turning to the fearful records
of the time, I find among the fellow-sufferers of Dillon only
two women — the lovely, interesting, and youthful widow of
Camille-Desmoulins and the relict of the monster Hebert
(P^re Duchesne). Their husbands had been adversaries d
outrance throughout the Revolution, but they entailed upon
their unhappy consorts a common and simultaneous fate. From
what I have learnt, it is more probable that it was the widow
of Hubert who recoiled from the touch of the executioner than
the heroic widow of Camille-Desmoulins.
The widow of Hubert had been many years before the
Revolution a nun of the Convent of the Conception, in the
Rue Saint Honore, Paris, and had attained to her six-and-
thirtieth year, when the Revolution broke out, and the convents
were suppressed, and their inmates dispersed or immolated.
She ''could not call it love," for at her age,
" The hey-day of the blood is tame,
And waits upon the judgment — "
She married, nevertheless, the wretch Hebert, and, probably
guiltless of political crime, died in consequence.*
* I have met but one person who knew Madame Camille-Desmoulins,
M. Tissot, the distinguished literary veteran, whom I shall have to mention
later. He spoke of her with feeling approaching to enthusiasm.
ABROAD AND AT UOME. 155
CHAPTER XXXV.
In sweetest harmony they lived.
Nor death their union could divide.
ON the same scaffold with Dillon, and nearly at the same
moment, perished, as we have seen, the younp:, the beau-
tiful Aunc Philippe Louise Duplessis Lacidon, widow of the
unfortunate Cainille-Dcsmoulins. Her wedded life had been
as happy as was possible, considering the state of excitement
and agitation in which her husband's connexion with the
stormy events of the Revolution must have kept her. Their
attachment to each other amounted to the romantic. " De-
termined that death should not long sepai-ate them," it was
said she took that which her biographer terms, '' the generous
resolution to follow him."
One-and-twenty yeai's afterwards, another young, beautiful,
and interesting woman, similarly bereaved, gave public utter-
ance to a resolution of precisely the same tendency.
Verba volaat, scripta manent.
This was the widow of the young, the handsome, the brave,
the gallant, the noble, the faithful, and the devoted adherent
of Napoleon, Charles Angelique Frangois Huchet, Count de
Lab<5doy5re. She ergcted to his memory in Pere la Chaise,
a handsome monument (head-stone it would be called in Ire-
land), on which is portrayed, for it still exists, in bas-relief, a
veiled female weeping over a child, who extends his hands
towards her in supplication or sympathy, and which bears this
epigraph : —
"mox amour pour mox fils
A PU SEUL
The other face of the monument says : —
'*' Ici repose Charles Angelique Frangois Huchet, Comte de
* My love for my son alono retains me in life.
156 THE IRISH
Lab6doyere, n6 17 Aout, 1786. Enleve a tout ce qui etait
cher le 19 Aoiit, 1815. "=i=
It was quite in keeping with the insane rigour which sent
Labedoyere to his early tomb to forbid a perceptible space to
be set aside for the interment of his remains in a public ceme-
tery. On first visiting Pere la Chaise, on Le Jour des Morts
(All Souls) in the year 1822, I was accompanied by an Irish-
man, who had been a superior officer of the French army
during the Empire, and who still lives. The tombs of Mas-
sena and Davoust, in " the Square of the Marshals," were
easily discovered; the grave of Ney, surrounded, as at the
present day, merely by an iron railing, which the passenger
then regarded as if by stealth, was pointed out by an invalid
soldier, who spoke a few words in a hurried and mysterious
manner. To the resting-place of Labedoyere nobody could
direct us — even the guardians professed their inability to indi-
cate it.
After visiting the mausoleum of Abelard and Heloise, we
returned towards the gate, passing by a path bounded on the
left by the wall of the cemetery, but at a distance of four or
five yards, just sufficient to admit of a single row of graves,
shrouded with shrubs. We had walked during some minutes
in silence, when suddenly some object occasioned a remark.
The instant after our voices could be heard, two soldiers inished
from among the tombs to our left, and walked in a rapid pace
in the direction of the chapel. " These fellows have been
about something," observed my companion; "let us see."
We proceeded to the spot from which they had fled, and
found that they had been mourning over the grave of Labe-
doyere. The face of the monument, turned towards the wall,
could attract no visitant or spectator but one acquainted with
its locality. On the white marble we found inscribed in
pencil, evidently just written, the following words : —
" Ah ! Labedoyere ! Tu seras venge un jour !"
This was prophetic.
How inefficacious is the punishment of death for political
ofi'ences ! How unchristian and frequently impolitic the in-
dulgence of revenge ! How futile human calculations ! On
the 30th of July, 1830, I found a dozen tri-coloured flags and
several pen and ink inscriptions attached to them floating over
* C. A. F. Hucbet, Count de Labedoyere, born 17th of August, 1786.
Removed from all that was dear to him 19th of August, 1815.
ABROAD AND AT HOxME. 157
the resting-place of Labedoy^re ; at that moment when those
by whose unrelenting decree he was slaughtered, were flying
towards Rambouillet, hunted by a swarm of the Parisian
populace, directed, as far as they would be directed, by Pajol.
Moreover, the originally obscure spot accorded to the widow
of Labedoy^re for the reception of her husband's remains, is
now, in consequence of the extension of the burying-ground,
one of the most public portions of the cemetery.
I am told he was a traitor. True. And Ney was a traitor ;
and yet there are more than I who sincerely regret their exe-
cution, and among them, I am told — and I hope truly, the
Duke of Wellington. If there existed a similarity in their
deaths, there was a very important difference in the manner in
which Camille-Desmoulins and Labedoyere met the fatal stroke.
The former did not renounce or recall the impious levity of his
remarks upon St. Just, or of his reply to the question of his
own judges touching his age, and possibly died as he had lived.
Labedoyere marched to the platoon beneath whose fire he fell
with the sang-froid and gravity he ever displayed on entering
the field of battle. His earliest friend, he who had directed
his infancy and youth, the Abbe Dulondel de Cairn, accom-
panied him in his prime of manhood to the place of execution,
and bestowed upon him, an instant before he fell, his benedic-
tion. Like Lally, Labedoyere '' se frappait en heros et repentit
en chretien."
But let us speak of Madame Camille-Desmoulins.
In order to accomplish her designs, Madame Desmoulins
wrote, we are told, to the miscreants who arrogated to them-
selves the title of Judges of the Revolutionary Tribunal, an
energetic letter, in which she expressed all the horror with
which they inspired her, and asked for death at their hands.
The monsters who presided at the tribunal of blood made no
difficulty in complying with her desire, but they held it in
some sort necessary that their fiat should bear the appearance
of justice. They therefore caused her to be accused of par-
ticipation in the plot for which, ostensibly, Dillon was brought
to the scafi'old, and for which charge, as I have said, he unfor-
tunately furnished them with plnusible proof.
With Arthvir Dillon may be said to have ended the illus-
trious Dillons of the Irish Brigade.
To this unhappy instance of conjugal love continued after
158 THE IKISH
the death of one party, another, and a remarkable one, may
be added.
The noble wife of Marshal Mouchy (she was of the family
of Noailles) devoted herself with even more perseverance than
Madame Desmoxilins. On her husband's committal to the
Luxembourg, she insisted on being incarcerated with him.
When brought before the Revolutionary Tribunal, she placed
herself beside him and remained, although told by Fouquier-
Tiuville that she was not arraigned. AVhen he was broue-ht
out for execution she ascended the cart, and when in the Place
de la Revolution, she mounted the scaffold — and was guillo-
tined with him.
These examples of conjugal love we irresistibly admire;
but some will pronounce them simply suicides.
The unhappy widow Desmoulins and the Marechale Mouchy
were not without some imitators among the male sex, as will
be seen by the following extract, which I find among my
papers.
Champcenitz, son of the Governor of the Tuileries, was
born in Paris in 1759, and distinguished himself up to the
moment of his arrest in July, 1794, by his devotion to the
King, and by the admirable ridicule he used in contending in
the newspapers with the partisans of the Reign of Terror.
He unnecessarily and purposely provoked his fate by coming
to reside in Paris, and was condemned to death on the 24th
of July, by the Revolutionary Tribunal. After hearing his
sentence, he begged his judges, with mock gravity, to inform
him whether it would be permitted to purchase a substitute !
He was executed only three days before the fall of Robes-
pierre.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
Etre a cheval sur le dos d'un tigre.
French translation from the Chinese.
THE motto of this chapter is thus described by the trans-
lator : —
*' Expression proverbiale fort commune j\ la Chine, pour
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 159
designer la situation la plus terrible dans laquelle uu homme
puisse se trouver."
It indicates faithfully tlio position of the rash, headstrong,
thoughtless young man, Camille-Desmoulins, who, imagining
that friendship subsisted between him and Robespierre, pre-
sumed to deal with him as an equal, and to reply upon him.
Fatal error !
Of the eighteen unhappy persons who perished on the
scaffold in the way I have just mentioned, two only were sub-
jects of sympathy and commiseration. These were Dillon and
the widow of Camille-Desmoulins.
Of her highly gifted but ill-fated husband, one word.
When placed literally on his trial, before the Committee of
the Jacobins, Camille-Desmoulins made an attack upon his
enemies and accusers rather than a defence of himself. This
naturally produced increased rancour on their part, and espe-
cially on that of CoUot d'Herbois, and insured his destruction.
He might have been saved by the interposition of Robespierre,
who had on a former occasion successfully interfered between
him and his enemies ; but his unreflecting and impetuous tem-
per led him into the error of converting into hostility the
proposed " protection" of that compound of vanity, ego'isme,
arrogance, and cruelty.
The line taken by Robespierre in extenuation of Camille-
Desmoulins on this occasion, was that which he had followed
on a previous one. He repeated that "■ the disposition and
principles of Camille are excellent, but they do not entitle
him to write against the patriots. Call upon him to quit the
society of aristocrats (Dillon was deemed one), ^' and other
evil and improper associations, and in forgiving him, order
the offending numbers of his newspaper to be burnt."
The unhappy Camille, forgetting all the caution and cir-
cumspection with which a man so proud, so conceited, and so
dangerous as was Robespierre should be treated, cried out from
his place : "To burn is not to answer."
" Very well, then," resumed the now irritated Robespierre ;
" burn them not, but answer them. Let the numbers of his
journal be read immediately. Since he desires it, let him be
covered with ignominy. Let not society withhold its indigna-
tion, since he persists in repeating his diatribes and his perilous
principles. The man who adheres with such pertinacity to
perfidious writings is, perhaps, something worse than mis-
160 THE IRISH
guided. If he had been influenced by good faith, if he had
written in the candid simplicity of his heart, he would no
longer have dared to maintain and defend works condemned
by all true patriots, and which are sought for with so much
solicitude by the counter-revolutionists. His courage is only
assumed. He betrays the men under whose dictation he has
written his newspaper articles. He betrays Camille-Desmou-
lins as the organ of a rascally faction, which has borrowed his
pen to disseminate its poison with more audacity and security."
Camille in vain demanded to be heard, and to soothe Ro-
bespierre. They refused to listen to him, and proceeded forth-
with to the reading of the leading articles of his paper, which
occupied two entire days. They were held to be overwhelm-
ing. In extenuation he contended, and with truth, that the
articles of his journal, " Le Vieux Cordelier," which were
complained of, were misinterpreted by those who founded on
them the accusation to which he was called on to reply. At
some intervals, his patriotism, energy, the courage and the
talent which shone through the personalities and invective
with which they were charged, and the wondrous audacity,
scorn, and ability of Danton, who was tried with him, sug-
gested hope to their friends that they would be acquitted ; but
Billaud de Varennes and Saint Just restored the wavering
courage of Fouquier-Tinville and Hermann, and ordered that
the proceedings should be deemed closed at the end of three
days.
" The situation is critical," said St. Just ; " but if you act
with resolution, this is the last danger you will have to sur-
mount. The accused present at the Revolutionary Tribunal
are in full revolt against its authority. They carry their inso-
lence so far as to throw pellets made of soft bread at the faces
of their judges. They excite the people, and may succeed in
misleading them. That is not, however, all. They have pre-
pared a conspiracy in the prisons. The wife of Camille has
received money to provoke an insurrection. General Dillon is
to issue from the- Luxembourg, place himself at the head of
some conspirators, cut the throats of the Committees of Public
and of General Safety, and set the guilty prisoners free."
The result is too well known to require that I give the par-
ticulars. Camille, the young, the ardent, and the devoted,
was, with Danton and his companions, transferred to the pri-
son which already held Dillon, for whom he had in some de-
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 161
gree sacrificed himself, and whom by eight days he preceded
to the scaffold.
Among the faults or sins of Camille-Desmoulins were osten-
tatious infidelity and the utterance of revolting blasphemies
under the appearance of jests. Was this a mere fagon de
parler in him, as I have known it to be in others ? How
many weak and vain young men are there everywhere who
strut and swagger in the cheap finery of soi-disant scepticism
and impiety ?
Unfortunate, highly talented Desmoulins ! His fearless and
impassioned eloquence, and his cry '' To arms !" in the garden
of the Palais Royale, on the 12th of July, 1789, contributed
powerfully to produce the Revolution ; and his friend Dan-
ton's declaration, " The country's in danger !" saved the Re-
public. What was the reward of their republicanism and
clvisme? Death on the same scaffold, to which they were sent
by monsters, compared with whom they were truly moderns.
CHAPTER XXXVII.
Another, and another still !
JIacbeth.
ARTHUR DILLON had been, on the 6th of March, 1794,
preceded to the scaffold by another Irishman of distinc-
tion, born in the same county, in the same year (1750) — his
contemporary in fact in every respect, for he had, like him,
commenced his career in " Dillon's." This was General
James O'Moran, born at Elphin, in the county of Roscom-
mon, Ireland. He was, like Dillon, at the period of the Revo-
lution, a lieutenant-general, and a Knight of St. Louis. Hav-
ing, with Colonel Charles Geoghcgan, and several others of his
countrymen, served in America under Rochambeau and La
Fayette, General O'Moran received, like most of his brother
soldiers at the conclusion of the war, the decoration of an order
of chivalry created by the American Government, with which,
as I have already said, they complimented those of their foreign
allies who had displaj-ed courage, talent, and bonne volonti, in
162 THE IRISH
their cause. This order was called the order of " Cincinnatus."*
On his return to France, he was appointed captain of a com-
pany in '^ Dillon's regiment," and the year following was raised
to the rank of major-general. In 1792 he was promoted to
the grade of lieutenant-general, and was sent to the army of
the north, and " covered himself with glory" in that hard-fought
campaign. It was General O'Moran, say the French archives,
" and not General Labourdonnaye (as is incorrectly stated in
all the military narratives of the period), who in 1793 carried
for the first time the important barrier town of Furnes." His
case resembles, however, too closely that of his friend and con-
temporary, Arthur Dillon, to justify an extended notice of it.
Like Dillon he was a brave and gallant ofl&cer ; like him, was
denounced in the zenith of his glory " by a ferocious brute,
sent to the army of the Pas de Calais in quality of representa-
tive of the people." Like Dillon, too, he was doomed by the
Revolutionary Tribunal to the scaffold.
'^ General O'Moran," say the French Biographers, "had
fulfilled entirely the glorious career to which he would appear
to have been destined, but he is not the less entitled to the
eulogiums of his contemporaries, and to the homage of society
as one of the men who opened to our armies the road to victory,
which it pursued during thirty years, and as ' a model of all
the military virtues,' as well as ' one of the most honourable
victims of that great and melancholy epoch.' "
General O'Moran was, in fact, one of those Irishmen who,
in more modern times, most successfully sustained the reputa-
tion of his countrymen on the Eui'opean continent. Centuries
have passed since the foundation of that reputation was laid,
and the stnicture still remains a glorious monument —
"Untouched by time, unstained by crime."
* "Talking of crosses," said our Cousin Eobin one day; "Charles Geo-
ghegan of Sionan, county of Westmeath, made, as colonel, the American
campaign with Rochambeau and La Layette, and received from the hands
of Washington the cross of Cincinnatus. Geoghegan, now a general, retired
into Brittany, and was regarded with veneration by his neighbours, who
particularly admired his decorations of St. Louis and Cincinnatus. They
would ask him : ' General, what order is that?'
"'Saint Louis.'
"'And this?'
" ' Cincinnatus.'
" 'Cincinnatus ! — there is no such Saint in the calendar as Cincinnatus !'
" To understand this little story," said Cousin Robin, "you should recol-
lect that, in French, Cin and Saint are pronounced alike."
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 1G3
Before taking leave of this distinguished and lamented son
of Ireland, I feel an irresistible desire to quote from a brief
biography of him a passage suggesting one of the most remark-
able of the man}' ''strange coincidences" that have struck me
in the course of my life. I will show that it ivas hy the order
of an Irishman, the first (as hy the order of an Irishman,
the last) shots were fired, in that desolatinrj continental toar
which commenced in 1792 and terminated in 1815. From
O'Moran to Wellington, how many millions of the bravest men
that ever lived have perished in the field, and with what results,
for France, at least ?
The following is the extract to which I alluded : —
*' On being named marechal de camp in 1791, the com-
mand of the fortified town of Conde was conferred upon
O'Moran. He exercised it at the precise moment when war
was declared, and commenced hostilities by a night attack upon
the Abbey of Saint Amand, occupied at that moment by a
body of Austrians. Another curious fact is, that, with the
discrimination, tact, and policy of an observant and sagacious
soldier, he elicited on the part of a man named Rousselot, who
was promoted by him from the ranks to the grade of sergeant,
the first of those military exploits, those prodigies of heroism,
of which the ensuing campaigns furnished so many and such
bright examples.
"This step in his military career Eousselot owed to the
braveiy he had displayed in the attack upon Saint Amand.
" The fortress of Conde is situated on the extreme frontier.
Its environs became during several months the scene of daily
sanguinary conflicts. The Aixstrians approached the place
frequently, and were as often driven back. On the 9th of
May, 1792, Rousselot, with a party of eight recruits, occupied
Marion, the most advanced of all the outworks of Conde. Here
he was attached by a body of a hundred and twenty-five hulans.
Unintimidated by the disproportionate number of the enemy,
Rousselot made his arrangements, posted his men in the most
advantageous manner, and then addressed them in these words :
— ' If I e-\ance the slightest tendency to fly, kill me. If you
attempt to run, I will kill you.'
" After a combat of an hour, during which he and his men
had each ' burned' forty cartridges, Rousselot felt obliged to
retreat from his post and take refuge in the Place, halting at
every twenty steps, however, to fire upon the hulans, of whom
164 THE IRISH
five-and-twenty bit the dust. Jumping upon the horse of one
of them, Rousselot entered the town at the head of six of his
little troop. Two had fallen gloriously in the unequal conflict."
I have stated that General O'Moran had been denounced
by a ferocious wretch, present with the army in quality of
representative of the people, and was sent by him before the
Revolutionary Tribunal.
The aide-de-camp of General O'Moran in this battle of
Bonne Secours was Captain Jouy of the " Regiment du Colonel-
general," who was desperately wounded by his side on that
occasion. As some balm to his wound, O'Moran created him
adjutant-general on the field of battle. We find them still
together at the taking of Furnes, and almost immediately after-
wards associated in a calumnious accusation of treason by the
wretch Duquesnois, representative of the people, arrested by
his order, and sent prisoners to Paris.
Although great exceptions can be found, it is not often that
men exchange the field for the closet, the sword for the pen.
The reader will therefore probably be surprised to find that the
Adjutant-general Jouy, aide-de-camp of General O'Moran,
became subsequently one of the most successful literary men
of France, and member of the Institute.
At the College of Orleans, Versailles, Jouy had formed a
friendship, which continued throughout his life, with one who
became, like himself, celebrated in the world of literature, and
from whom I received, within these few days, the subjoined
brief particulars respecting him. That friend was Pierre
Francois Tissot, Professor of History at the College of France,
now on the eve of the completion of his eighty-fourth year,
and still lecturino; at that establishment.
'' Jouy was my class-fellow at college," said this distin-
guished literary veteran. " He and his chief. General O'Moran,
were brought prisoners to Paris. I immediately took measures
to enable them to escape from prison : I succeeded in respect
of Jouy, but failed unfortunately with regard to his brave and
interesting chief (I always loved the Irish. I wrote some
lines on Robert Emmett, which I presented to the Emperor,
who approved them warmly,* and a copy of which you will
find in my works.) O'Moran was executed."
* They must have been wormwood to Napoleon, nevertheless; for the
speech of Robert Emmett, in describing the conduct of France "in every
country through which she had pushed her victories," was the severest com-
mentary ever uttered with regard to her or him.
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 165
Rescued tlius from death by his kind friend Tissot, Jouy
was enabled to escape through his aid into Switzerland, and
spent eight mouths in the village of Baumgarten. After the
fall of Robespierre he returned into France, re-entered the
service, and was soon afterwards appointed chief of the staiF
of the army in Paris, commanded by General Menou. On
that eventful day, the 2d Prairial, he commanded a battalion
of young men, for whom he had procured arms, and by whom
he confirmed to the Convention the triumph it had gained
over the Terrorists. Nevertheless, he was on the 13th Ven-
d^miaire arrested and dismissed from the army, for having en-
tered into conference with the deputies of Sections of Paris at
the camp of the Trou d'Enfer; but fifteen days afterwards,
he was reinstated, and sent to Lille to take the command of
that place, where he had hardly arrived when he was again
taken into custody and imprisoned, under pretext of corres-
ponding with Lord Malmesbury, and conniving with the Bri-
tish ministry. The accusation fell to the ground, however,
from its absurdity, and he was once more restored to liberty
and to his rank. Notwithstanding this amende, disgusted by
this third persecution, he solicited leave to retire, and obtained
his rctraite, the Directory adding a supplementary pension in
requital of his services, and in consideration for his wound.
At that period he was only thirty years of age.
IM. Jouy became one of the most distinguished dramatists
of France. He died in the year 1846, at the age of seventy-
seven, having been born in the year 1769, a year memorable
as having given the world so many warriors, statesmen, and
authors.
To M. Jouy we are indebted, among other works, for the
operas " La Vestale," " Fernand Cortes," '' Les Bayaderes,"
the tragedies of " Sylla," in which Talma was so great, " B4-
lisaire," and others. He was also the author of those admir-
able works, ''L'Hermite de la Chauss^e d'Antin," "Le Franc
Parleur," '-L'Hermite en Provence," and many more of first-
rate merit. He was besides one of the editors of the ''Cour-
rier Frangais" in its palmy days, of the "Minerve," and other
journals.
166 THE IRISH
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
If there be more — more ■woful— hold it in,
For I am almost ready to dissolve,
Hearing of this.
Lear.
ANOTHER distinguished Irisliman, of a different cliaracter
however, and whose fate was not similarly unfortunate in
its climax, was a fellow-prisoner of Arthur Dillon, in the Lux-
embourg— I allude to the British General 0' Hara, late Go-
vernor of Toulon, who, in a Rortle from that place against the
French investing army, in which figured Lieutenant Napoleon
Bonaparte, was made prisoner by Colonel Suchet, afterwards
Marshal Due d'Albufera, then commanding the "Bataillon de
I'Ardeche."
It does not appear, notwithstanding his being brought to
Paris and confined in the Luxembourg, that General O'Hara
had ever been considered as other than a prisoner of war by
the French Government of the day; but the thieves and
murderers to whom the care of that prison and its unhappy
inmates was confided, dealt with him impartially as with their
own countrymen committed to their pious care. Either from
natural disposition, gaiete du coeur, such as that displayed by
a fellow-prisoner of note, Herault de Sechelles (whose attempt
to embrace Danton, at the foot of the seaifold, produced the
terrible hon-mot of that great criminal), or whether from a
sense of security or mere philosophy. General O'Hara seemed
indifferent to the horrors he witnessed, and of which he might
(he ought to have known) by possibility become other than a
mere spectator.
The principal jailor, or turnkey of the Luxembourg, was
a Pole, named Wilchiritz, who, in infamy, and especially in
plundering the victims intrusted to him, surpassed all his co-
adjutors, administrators of the Luxembourg, and in that way
he extended his attentions to General O'Hara. Having suf-
fered this villain to rob him of his money and trinkets, the
ALllOAD AND AT JIOME. 167
_i;-eueral, with great gravity and earnestness, thus addressed
him : —
''Brother governor, you have rifled me most dexterously;
you have literally left nothing to be desired. It is a comfort
to have to do with men eminent in their line. I thank you.
You can, however, lay me under another obligation; relieve
me in another way." The ruffian stared, and asked an expla-
nation. " It is to beg of you that you will suffer no French-
man to enter my chamber. It is a weakness, I confess, but,
how can I help it ? I cannot conquer it."
On another occasion. General O'Hara, comparing the de-
grees of liberty enjoyed by Englishmen and Frenchmen, de-
monstrated it somewhat oddly. ''For instance," said he, "we
English may say with impunity that George III. is mad, but
show me the Frenchman who dares write that Robespierre is
a tiger."
Strangely enough they had for a fellow-prisoner, a Miss
Catherine (or Christian) O'Reilly. Why she was confined, or
how she escaped death, I have not been able to learn. Proba-
bly she had been found in a convent. In my young days she
resided in Francis Court, Francis Street, Dublin.
Three other unfortunate Irishmen were Q-uillotined in the
Place de la Revolution, in Paris, a day or two before or after
the execution of Arthur Dillon. These were T. Ward, ex-
provisional General of Brigade of the Army of the North,
born in Dublin in 1749 ; a sailor lad of seventeen years, named
Burke ; and a man of the name of John Malone ; but I have
only been able to learn of them that they were committed
merely as "suspected persons" to the fatal Convent of the
Carmes (Carmelites), in the Rue de Vaugirard, which became
on the 2d and 3d of September, 1792, the theatre of the mas-
sacre of one hundred and seventy-eight priests and bishops ;
and that they were subsequently involved by the miscreant
public accuser, Fouquier-Tinville, in the general " conspiracy
of the prisons."
Among their companions in the Carmes, likewise confined
as suapects, and upon the scaffold, were some of the haute
noblesse of France, including members of the families of Ro-
han, Grammont, and d'Autichamp, as well as the first husband
of the Empress Josephine, General Alexander Beauharnais.
The portion of the general massacre of September, to
which I have just alluded, that of the bishops and priests,
168 THE IRISH
was perhaps the most appalling of all. The mode of the
slaughter, the ■um*esisting character of the sufferers, and their
affecting resignation and piety, and their leave-taking of each
other, while actually under the impending club or sabre, de-
scribed to me by an eye-witness, would be too hari-owing to
present to my readers, who will have found more than enough
of it in Prudhomme, Thiers, and Lamartine.
In the month of October, 1822, I found myself in pre-
sence of one of the miscreants most active in that slaughter,
and of a spectator of his crimes. I had gone to see a friend
in the Faubourg St. G-ermain, an Irishman, who had served
in the French army. While in conversation with him, an
old man entered the apartment with a pair of boots in his
hand, which he had repaired for my friend. He was followed
by the porter of the house, who, however, remained on the
landing-place, observing the shoemaker, with no friendly eye.
Having received his money, the latter took his leave. The
porter looked at him with undisguised abhorrence as he passed
him, and following him to the head of the stairs, remained
there, regarding him as he descended. When the sound of
the closing of the gate was heard, the porter entered the
apartment with all that easy familiarity for which his class is
renowned, and observed to my friend : —
" Ah, Colonel ! if you knew that man as well as I do, you
would not employ him !"
'' Why not ?"
" He is a monster ! I saw him knock the brains cut of
eleven priests at the Carmes, on the 2d of September, 1792,
with his hammer !"
MacCurtin, Deputy to the National Assembly, and after-
wards to the Council of Five Hundred, escaped better than
his countrymen, or descendants of Irishmen, I have mentioned.
He was an enthusiastic loyalist, and served with the Chouans
under a nom de guerre (Kinles, say the French records) in
the quality of Major-General of Upper Brittany and of Lower
Anjou. When, after the 18th Fructidor, the list of persons
to be transported was under consideration, his name was jDro-
nounced. Nobody knew anything about him. '' No matter !"
said one of the committee engaged in the work, "he has been
a member of the party of Cliehy. Let him go with the
rest!" He was recalled by the Consuls in 1800, bu.t never
re-appeared on the political scene.
ABROAD AND AT HOME, 169
Charles Edward Frederick Henry Macdonald, of an illus-
trious faniily of Scotland, commanded, in 1792, the 60th regi-
ment of iut'autry. He was denounced and imprisoned as a
suspected person, and was guillotined twelve days before the
fall of Robespierre.
I find that several English of both sexes preceded Arthur
Dillon as prisoners in the Luxembourg. Of these the most
remarkable was Thomas Paine. Having incurred prosecution
by the Attorney-General of England, for his celebrated
" Eights of Man," he deemed it prudent to withdraw with
his republicanism to France in 1791, where he was received
with open arms, and elected a Deputy to the Convention for
the department of the Pas de Calais. Upon Paine's princi-
ples various opinions were and will bo held ; but there was
unanimit}^ on one point — one which covers a multitude of sins
where they co-exist — his humanity. Not only did he vote
for the banishment only of Louis XVI., but published his
motives for it in an appeal for a reconsideration of the capital
sentence. To this circumstance, and his celebrity as a demo-
crat, probably he owed the mortal hatred of Robespierre, who
doomed him to the scaffold, committing him as a preliminary
step to the Luxembourg. The American citizens in Paris,
however, and among them my late respected friend, Mr. Mi-
chael O'Maley, who had known Paiue in the United States,
determined that he should not perish without an effort. They
met accordingl}', and resolved to send a petition to the Con-
vention for his release, and named a deputation, of whom
O'Maley was one, to present it. " When we arrived at the
Salle de la Convention," said Mr. O'Maley, "we found Dan-
ton in the presidental chair. He received us with courtesy,
undertook that the Convention should entertain our petition,
and invited us to 'the honours of the sitting.' In conse-
quence, I had the singular fortune of being seated during two
or three hours beside that extraordinary man, and notwith-
standing his ugliness could not avoid admiring his masculine
eloquence, his tact, and decision."
The petition produced no positive good effect, however.
The Dictator rarely, if ever, rescinded a resolution when once
taken, no matter the amount of civisme, or of talent, displayed
by his victims previously to their attracting his enmity. Of
this Danton himself had fatal experience a few months after-
wards, as we have shown. Paine remained in prison until, I
8
170 THE IRISH
think, the fall of the tyrant, who, without avowing it, admitted
probably that it might be inconvenient to add America to the
other enemies of the French Republic, by the immolation of
one of her citizens.
On entering the palace (prison) of the Luxembourg, toge-
ther with Camille-Desmoulins, Lacroix, and Philipeaux, Dan-
ton perceived a crowd of prisoners ready to receive them, and
among others, Paine. Addressing him, Danton said: "That
which you did for the happiness and the liberty of your coun-
try (America), I have in vain attempted for mine. I have
been less fortunate, but not more culpable."
It was in the prison of the Luxembourg that Paine com-
pleted (and, if the pun were not a vile one, I would apply it
to himself) his " Age of Keason ;" for I have heard little of
him after his release, in Paris, except of his libations (his con-
stant custom of an afternoon) and his theological disputations
with a good-natured, jovial Irish Catholic clergyman, Father
Gannon, who had conceived the extraordinary idea of re-con-
verting him to Christianity. The theatre of these scenes was
the Cafe de Londres, a coffee-house of the second order, which
still exists in the Eue Jacob, then much frequented by the
Irish and English residents of Paris.
Robespierre could bear no rival near the popular throne.
To evince or profess enthusiastic republicanism, he tolerated
in none but himself. Paine had thus insured to himself the
hatred of this (with M. Thiers' leave), the most atrocious
miscreant that has ever polluted the earth. A similar pre-
tension in one much more rabid, J. B. (Anacharsis) Cloots,
the self-styled '' orator of the human race," procured for him
the vengeance of the monster, who sent him to the scaffold
three weeks before Arthur Dillon, under a charge of partici-
pating in the crimes of Hubert, but not without suspicion that
the immaculate Robespierre was partly moved thereto by the
unhappy Prussian's vast wealth.
Mr. O' Malay, whom I have just mentioned, was in the
Place de la Revolution on the arrival there of Cloots, Hebert,
Vincent, Ronsin, and their sixteen companions in misfortune.
As usual, the cart containing the condemned, which passed
close to Mr. O'Maley, was followed or accompanied by a crowd
of hideous vagabonds, paid to revile them, and so to give to
their execution the character of popular vengeance. Hebert
and Cloots, persons of a very opposite stamp (for Hubert was
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 171
one of the blackest villains of the Revolution, and Cloots
only a crazy republican), were especially the objects of the
outrages of this atrocious escort. In order to attract purchas-
ers, the hawkers of Hubert's newspaper, " Pfere Duchesne,"
had been in the habit of vaunting the violence of its contents
in this way : " Le Pere Duchesne est b en colore aujour-
d'hui" (Pere Duchesne is very mad to-day). This expression
they dinned into the ears of the unhappy and guilty wretch
throughout the whole of his journey, from the Conciergerie
to the scaifold. On the other hand, shouts of ridicule of his
ultra-republicanism greeted Cloots, which were usually summed
up with " Vive la liberty I"
" Ah, has \" said Cloots, regarding them with contempt.
" You know not what liberty is, and are unworthy of it."
I shall close this sad list by mentioning that the respected
Abbe John Baptist O'Ryan, cwc (parish priest) of Loix, in
the department of the Lower Charente, was condemned to
death and executed in the early part of the year 1794 (16th
Pluviose, An. II.), by the Revolutionary Tribunal sitting at
Bordeaux.
CHAPTER XXXIX.
Ne sutor ultra crepiJaiu.
THE incomprehensible practice of deputing men utterly
ignorant of military matters, such as frantic demagogues,
journalists, or pamphleteers, to represent the people with the
army, ay, and the fleet, has been often noticed, condemned,
and ridicided by the historians of the first Revolution. Un-
fortunately, in the more recent Revolution of 1848, this
practice was imitated in a singular manner, as we shall observe
presently.
Those commissaires were at once spies, informers, and
tyrants ; and their doings with the army produced terrible
results. To their ignorance, malevolence, and audacity were
due the loss of some battles of importance, and the removal
from the French army in consequence of their denunciations
(and the subsequent trial condemnation and death), of many
172 THE IRISH
Frencli general oflScers of distinctioa ; among others, of Cus-
tine, Westermann, Houchard, as well as our two gallant coun-
trymen, Dillon and O'Moran. Those appointments were at
once injurious, absurd, and impolitic.
In the anxiety of the republican journalists and pamphlet-
eers, who to their astonishment found themselves at the head
of the Provisional Government in the spring of 1848 to pro-
vide not only for their immediate friends, but for all who had
assisted in the recent Revolution, or who had previously suf-
fered persecution for their opinions or revolutionary practices,
some difficulty and embarrassment was occasionally felt — such
as that of the Irish viceroy, who, having nothing vacant with
which to endow the daughter of that irresistible solicitor,
Hely Hutchinson, Provost of Trinity College, Dublin, ap-
pointed her to a troop of dragoons.*
Coolness, self-respect, and self-reliance seldom desert a
Frenchman. He is rarely diffident. If it were possible to
exchange the wooden implement of a drummer for the hdton
of a Marshal of France, he would, with the most profound
gravity and confidence, assume the dignity and its charge with
the air of a man who should say — ''this is all right, and as it
should be. This is my place."
To the difficulty of M. Armand Marrast, M. Bastide, and
their colleagues of the Provisional Government, to find posi-
tions for their friends or associates, was due no doubt the fol-
lowing bizarre ajipointment, but for which I shall cite presently
a celebrated precedent.
In the month of March, 1848, I was honoured with a visit
from an illustrious foreign general officer. The situation of
public affairs was, of course, the subject of our conversation.
A stanch stickler for the hierarchy of the sword, the General
* I do not vouch for the correctness of this fact, but I have heard it —
fifty years ago — so often and always uncontradicted — that I accepted it for
truth. The insatiable voracity of the worthy Provost for place and pension
was such as to provoke one who knew him well, to say — " Give Hutchinson
Ireland for an estate, and he'll ask you to add to it the Isle of Man for a
cabbage garden."
The Provost left ten children, all — in one shape or other — pensioners of
the state, including Richard, the iirst Earl of Donoughmore, and John, who
succeeded Sir Ralph Abercrombie in the command of the British Army at
Alexandria, when the latter was mortally wounded in action with the
French, on the 21st March, ISOl ; and honest " Kitt Hutchinson," for many
years M. P. for the city of Cork.
ABROAD AXD AT HOME. 173
condemned the proceedings of the Provisional Government to-
wards the army in indignant terms.
"I travelled to-day," said he, "in the railroad train from
Valenciennes to Lille, in company with the colonel of a regi-
ment of engineers, and the colonel of a regiment of artilleiy,
in garrison at the former place. They were furious. They
and their regiments (of engineers and artillery, mark I) had
that morning been reviewed by — whom do you think ? — the
editor of the ' Charivari !' sent on that special service by his
contemporaries of the press who figure in the Provisional
Government I"
One remarkable instance of the ajjplication of this system
to the navy presents itself, as I have just hinted, in the nomi-
nation of Citizen Jean Bon St. Andre, to be " Commissaire
de la Ropublique aupres la Flotte de Brest,'' commanded by
Admiral Villaret Joyeuse, which took place in the month of
May, 1794. It would be a bull to term this a lai/ nomination,
for Jean Bon St. Andre had been during the fifteen preceding
years a Protestant clergyman ; but the ridiculousness of the
appointment is only strengthened by that circumstance.
Jean Bon St. Andre was forty years old at the commence-
ment of the Revolution, and became at once one of its most
ardent partisans. His republicanism knew no bounds. He
not only voted for the death of the unfortunate Louis XVI.,
but, in order that the condemnation of the monarch should not
be reconsidered or revised, successfully opposed the proposi-
tion of an appeal to the people, which there is every reason
to believe would have saved the unhappy King's life. He
testified similar violent animosity with respect to " the Giron-
dins," by supporting Robespierre in his deadly and persever-
ing hatred of that party, and especially of Brissot, its chief;
and having been the mover for the admission of Robespierre
into the Committee of Public Safety, was about to experience
the Dictator's gratitude.
Jean Bon St. Andre received without surprise, and ac-
cepted without hesitation, from his friend Robespierre, his
appointment as Commissary of the Republic at Brest, with
instructions to have the fleet manned and provisioned, and in
every respect prepared for a cruise, with the least jwssible
delay. He left Paris that night.
On his arrival at Brest he found the fleet in a deplorable
condition ; but he was not a man to spare expense of any
174 THE IRISH
kind in promoting the interests confided to him. Invested
-n-ith absolute authority, and being full of energy, he suc-
ceeded in getting the fleet organized, manned, provisioned,
and in every respect ready to put to sea, in an incredibly
short space of time ; and reported that fact by telegraph to
Eobespierre. By the same medivim, he received instantane-
ously an order for the immediate sailing of the fleet, and for
his own embarkation in it, in order to stimulate and control
the Admiral in any and every respect, and in short to direct
all its movements for attaining the object in view — namely,
the arrival of a convoy of corn and flour from that refuge for
the destitute — America, expected '"to arrive in all May "
France at that period labouring under an accumulation of
afflictions unexampled in the history of nations — foreign war,
domestic tyranny, massacre, rapine, and famine I
With this order Jean Bon St. Andre complied ; and going
forthwith on board the Admiral's ship, he gave his commands,
and with sad forebodings Yillaret Joyeuse signalled the fleet
to put to sea. In another hour they were " hull down" to
the inhabitants of Brest.
It would appear that all was plain-sailing with the French
squadron until the 28th of 3Iay, when there "struggled into
sight," first one, then in succession some twenty or thirty
vessels, which were very soon ascertained to be a fleet of
British men-of-war, the leading ship bearing the pennant of
Lord Howe. The citizen ex-parson was in transports, and
gave orders to engage. The crews caught his enthusiasm,
and made the air ring with " Yive la Republique !'' The
Admiral, despatched on a special mission, did not, however,
participate in this effervescence. Famine was raging in
France; to facilitate the arrival of supplies, he had been
ordered to put to sea — not to seek laui'els, which the reputa-
tion of Lord Howe did not justify him in believing too easy
of acquisition. He was, however, a brave and experienced
seaman ; and notwithstanding the mortifying control to which
he was subjected, he submitted to it, and resolved to do his
duty.
After a variety of manoeuvres, the two fleets came to action
on the 1st of June, 1794, which resulted in the memorable
victory of Lord Howe. 31. Thiers thinks, however, that not-
withstanding "the superiority of the English in ships," victory
would have been on the side of the French, but for the inci-
ABROAD AKD AT HOME. 175
vility of Lord Howe, who, in taking tto weather-gauge, may
be said to have taken the wall of his gallant adversaries, Vil-
laret Joyeusc and Jean Bon St. Andr6 — a solecism in good
breeding, imitated, with aggravating circumstances, by Nelson
with regard to Admiral Brueys, off Aboukir, where, not con-
fining himself to a similar discourtesy. Nelson literally forced
his way inside the brave but unfortunate Frenchman !
This species of proceeding on the part of seamen might
perhaps be excused, because of their general notorious negli-
gence of the convenances on such occasions ; but unhappily
it would appear that English landsmen sometimes similarly
forget themselves. I pray indulgence for a digression in ex-
emplification.
CHAPTER XL.
Lupus pilos non animum mutat.
Autant les peuplea modernes Temportent en politesse sur les peuples
anciens, autaut les Franpais sont superieurs sous ce rapport S. toutes les
nations de I'Europe.
M. C. De Mery.
YOILA le j)'>'ogres ! How dift'erently war is carried on in
these degenerate days, from the mode practised at the
field of Fontenoy, when an officer of the body guard, stopping
in front of the army and taking oft" his hat, "begged Messieurs
de la Garde du Roi de I'Angleterre to have the kindness to
begin."
I had written the preceding lament on departed militaiy
courtesy when I recollected that within these forty years there
occurred (in the Peninsular War), not merely on a field of
l/..ttle, but in a charge of cavalry, an instance of French po-
liteness, gallantry, and bravery (for the act partook of all these
(jualities), which proved that the race had not become dete-
riorated.
I was endeavouring to recollect the particulars in order to
quote them, when the London newspapers of the 16th of June,
1852, reached me. Lord Pahnerston, in his speech in the
House of Commons on the preceding night, on the subject of
176 THE IRISH
the cowardly and brutal attack by some A'astrian officers at
Florence upon a young Englishman named 3Iathei', cited the
precise case of gallantry and generosity, performed during a
charge of cavalry, about which I was solicitous to know, the
facts.
"Many of us," said Lord Palmerston, ''knew the brave
Colonel Harvey, who had lost his arm in an engagement. He
served in the Peninsular war, mutilated as he was, and in
leading his regiment in a battle during a melee, a French ofii-
cer rode up to him and was going to cut him down, but observ-
ing that his opponent had only one arm, he dropped the point
of his uplifted sabre on Colonel Han-ey's shoulder, bowed,
and rode on to seek an adversary with whom he could contcud
on more equal terms.
''That, sir," continued his Lordship, addressing the Speak-
er, "that, sir, is French courage." In contradistinction to the
conduct of two armed Austrians, with a regiment at their back,
in respect of an unarmed English youth.
His Lord.ship then proceeded to exemplify the nature of
English courage by referring to the case of a butcher, with a
knife in his hand, who was struck by a man violently, and
whom the butcher reproached in terms like these : " Coward !
you chose your moment when, seeing a knife in my hand, you
knew I could not return your blow !"
There is little exaggeration in the compliment quoted from
M. de Mery to our gallant neighbours, his countiymen, in the
motto to this chapter. Nobody who has lived, or even tra-
velled, in France will deny to them the exercise of ])olitesse
par excellence. In the instance mentioned by Lord Palmers-
ton, it reached the sublime. Un revanche et pour m' amuser,
may I here introduce a proof of the correctness of Napoleon's
dictum : " From the sublime to the ridiculous there is but
one step."
One day in the month of September, 1822, I obtained
from an esteemed friend and countryman, the late Mr. Daniel
Bailey "Warden, for many j-ears the respected consul of the
United States at Paris, a ticket of admission to the sitting of
the Institute (of which learned body he was a corresponding
member), and repaired thither accompanied by a friend. We
found, on our arrival, that the doors had only just been opened,
and that the crowd of visiters extended from the Salle of the
sittings (on the first floor) down the staircase and far into the
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 177
hall below. We placed ourselves, therefore, at "the tail/'
waiting our turn to commence the ascent.
As usual at all public places, a soldier was stationed in the
hall to keep order. He was under the direction of an unmis-
takeable ci-devant emigrant — a man of at least seventy — with
powdered head and *■' ailes de pigeon," and eke an embroidered
full dress coat and sword. He was evidently delighted with
his position, and walked slowly and with a self-satisfied air, up
and down the hall, communing smilingly and complacently
with himself :
And twixt his finger and his thumb he held
A pouncet box, which ever and anon,
He gave his nose, and took't away again —
Who, therewith angry, when it nest came there
Tooli it in snuff — and still ho smil'd and talk'd.
At length, observing that the staircase remained filled, he
called upon the soldier (a young grenadier of the Garde Roy-
ale) to make the people ascend.
'' I have requested them to do so several times," said the
young fellow.
'' Ask them again. ^'
The soldier repeated his request, but observing that we
could not comply, resumed his walk. "Why don't you make
those people ascend the staircase ?" demanded the now petulant
old man in office.
"I have asked them repeatedly, and they say they cannot."
"Force them."
"They repeat that they cannot."
"Then charge ihem," said the courtier, turning on his heel
while taking a pinch, ^^ charge them — but — do it politely."
A late distinguished and lamented friend, Mr. Thomas
Barnes (^' the" Barnes), was told by General Foy that when,
during the battle of Waterloo, in spite of the terrible fire of
the British Guards, he had penetrated at the head of a body
of grenadiers within the walls of Hougoumont, he was struck
by "the atrociously ferocious aspect of the English soldiers
in rising to receive them" (for those not actually fighting were,
by orders, lying on the ground).
"They seemed to have been impatient of their prostrate
position," said the general (Foy), "for they started up on our
entrance to expel us. I shall never forget their expression
of countenance at that momeut I It was that of demons !"
8^!=
178 THE IRISH
"That is odd!" said Barnes; ''for when one meets them
in Westminster, they appear quiet, good-natured looking
fellows."
"Oh! that's another matter!" replied the general; and
there the conversation ended.
"1 suppose," said Barnes, when relating this anecdote —
"I suppose the general thought our guardsmen ought to have
greeted the intruders with
'•■ 'Nods and becks and wreathed smiles,'
and ofters of hospitality."
Comparison between the splendidly chivali'ous act of the
Frenchman, who not only spared the life of Colonel Harvey,
but saluted him en passcnit, and the species of reception given
to the troops of General Foy on entering within the precincts
of Hougoumont by its then occupants, and who might be con-
sidered chez eux — comparison between these, I say, would be
disadvantageous to the British guards, but — as General Foy
said to Mr. Barnes — the circumstances were not the same.
" John Bull" has his faults, but he is a manly fellow, and
loves beyond most things fair fighting. In exemplification
Lord Palmerston might have added the following little anec-
dote, which now for the first time gets into type.
At the moment when, on the 14th of October, 1797, the
British fleet under Admiral Duncan, and the Dutch fleet com-
manded by Admiral de Winter, were about to engage, two
sailors passing by Admiral Duncan's cabin, saw him on his
knees.
"My eyes! Jack," exclaimed one; "what is the Admiral
about there ?"
"Praying to Heaven," I'eplied the other.
" Praying for what ?"
" That the Lord give us victory."
" Well now ! that's a shame. We are well able
to lick them ourselves. Besides, give the beggars a chance."
Jack is an odd and an honest fellow at the same time. The
cardinal virtues of Lord Nelson — " Fear God, love the King,
hate the French," — were without hesitation or cavilling adopted
by, and governed the political sentiments of every man in the
fleet, be his religion what it might. Of this, and of an
Irishman's orthodoxy, poor Basil Hall gave the following
illustration : —
ABROAD AND AT HOJIE. 179
lie was ou service on tho Aniericaii Lakes some five-and-
thirty years since, and being at Montreal one Sunday forenoon
about eleven o'clock, lie met an Irish sailor, rolling about
cutting sections with wonderful gravity. As he passed Captain
Hall, the man touched his hat. The latter turned round and
said : —
'' How comes it, sir, that you are not at church ?"
" Catholic, your honour" (with another touch of the
nor' wester).
'' A Catholic ? very well. That is a Catholic church
yonder, and the clergyman is a friend of mine."
" Beggar's a Frenchman ! your honour."
Dead beat, poor Hall was obliged to sheer off without
speaking, and convulsed with suppressed laughter.
Foreigners nevertheless charge British sailors with hypo-
cris}'. The sentiment conveyed by the following lines of the
old sea-song, is frequently considered by them as bombast and
with incredulity : —
" Jlark the last broadside, my boys !
Sho sinks — down she goes.
Quick ! man all your boats, my boys,
They're no longer your foes.
For to save a brave fellow
From a watery grave,
Is worthy of Britons,
Who but conquer to save."
The British sailor, aud indeed your real sailor of any nation,
is a noble fellow, humane as he is brave. Nevertheless ex-
ception was taken to the rule on a remarkable occasion by a
Turk.
A few minutes after the last cannon-shot was fired in the
" untoward event" which took place in Navarino Bay, on the
20th of October, 1827, a boat, manned by English seamen,
under the command of a lieutenant, took on board the surviv-
ing commandant of the unfortunate Turkish fleet, to convey
him on -board Sir Edward Codrington's ship. As the boat
was steered through floating wreck and dead bodies, she
passed at a short distance the bowsprit of one of the vessels
which had been blown up, and on which three Turks still held
on, while in their own language they said something which
the English ofi&cer was at no loss to understand. The coxswain
looked at him. He nodded, and in a moment afterwards the
180 THE IRISH
boat was seen cleaving the waves, approaching the drowning
or nearly eshausted Turks, whom they took on board, and
treated with kindness. At this, the Turkish Admiral from
the sternsheets burst into a loud peal of laughter.
''Why do you laugh?" asked the English officer, through
a Greek interpreter, by whom he was accompanied.
" At your mock humanity," replied the Turk. " Only two
hours since we were lying at anchor here peacefully — inoffen-
sively. You chose to enter the bay, and we permitted it, for
we could not believe the treachery you meditated. See what we
are now !" said he (pointing with his hand to the remains of
the superb Turkish fleet, portions of which were still burning) ;
" and," he added, with bitter scorn, " you pretend to feel for
these worthless wretches whom you yourselves brought to the
door of death, while you slaughtered without provocation
thousands of their unoffending comrades !"
The charge made by the Turk on the policy in which the
battle of Navarino originated, was however more specious than
just. The severest censure pronounced upon it was by the
Duke of Wellington, in the phrase just quoted — in calling it
"an untoward event." As usual, the sagacious Irishman
was right. The affair was a master-stroke of Russian policy,
with a view to the partition of Turkey, and the ultimate (con-
sequent) conquest of India.
CHAPTER XLI.
The better part of valour is discretion.
2d Part, Eenry IV.
My starboard leg I lost in battle soon,
Under Earl Howe on the glorious first of June.
Old Son J.
' E left Jean Bon St. Andre carried away by the general
. . enthusiasm, and giving orders to attack Lord Howe.
When, however, that old fox sloped down on " La Montague,"
and poured in broadside after broadside, "it was different."
" Availing himself of a scratch, as an excuse for quitting the
deck," say his own historians, " Jean Bon St. Andre "went
w
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 181
below, and remained there during the engagement;" as, in
similar circumstances, did Egalite, some years before.
Upon the conduct of Lord Howe, on the 1st of June,
1794, which M. Thiers seems to consider as uncourteous, I
may be allowed to observe, in extenuation (if it require ex-
tenuation), that he must have been comforted and abetted in
it by the captains of his fleet, whom he had assembled before
the action ; moreover, this charge is inconsistent with the mild-
ness, gentleness, modesty, politeness, and forbearance (if one
may judge of the sack by the sample), of the sea captains of
that day. Of two only of those gallant men have I had par-
ticular information, and it came to me from persons who knew
them well. These two were Captain (afterwai'ds Sir A.) Ball,
and Captain the Honourable (afterwards Sir) Thomas Packen-
ham, each of them a sea Chesterfield.
'' Poor Tom !" His crew was composed exclusively of
Irishmen. His manners were very pleasing, and his affability
remarkable. In his intercourse with his crew, he showed vast
good-nature ; a quality imitated by his nephew-in-law, the
Duke of Wellington. I suppose, although, the instances on
record of it are said to be rather rare. For example, Captain
Packenham one day ordered a dozen to be administered to a
*' Liberty Boy," named Casey. The recipient thought the
captain parsimonious, but not worth complaining about ; he
therefore, when " cast olF," approached his officer with an air
of reproach certainly, but with outstretched hand, said :
" Never mind, Tom ; that shan't break squares between us."
'' Nor the next," said Tom. " Give him another dozen !"
During the battle of the 1st of June, Packenham's ship
was engaged with a powerful adversary. By Tom's side, on
the poop, stood an intelligent, ingenuous Middy, of some dozen
years, whose attention was divided between his restless chief
and the incidents of the fight. Having come recently from
school, and Tom's theory not prohibiting knowledge of the
French language once acquired, the boy was selected in order
to interpret for his officer any expression on board the enemy's
ships which might reach him between the broadsides.
The " Queen Charlotte" was hailed by her antagonist, to-
wards the middle of the en2;a2;ement.
"What does that fellow say?" asked Tom, of his juvenile
aide.
" He asks you to strike, sir. What shall I reply ?"
182 THE IRISH
'' Bid him — " but a tremendous broadside rendered the
rest of the message inaudible. They were again hailed in
consequence.
" What does he say now ?" asked Tom.
" He repeats his call upon you to strike, sir, or that he will
make you."
Tom had not time to dictate a rejoinder, when the French-
man now impatiently repeated his demand, and in a louder tone.
"And now," said Tom, " what does he want?"
" He says, sir, that if you don't strike he'll sink you."
" By I am afraid he will," said Tom, half aside ;
" but—"
Before he could conclude his sentence came another broad-
side, and he was again hailed ; this time in English.
'' What do you want ?" asked Tom, directing his own
voice upwards to the part of the enemy's ship whence the
demand came.
" Strike !" repeated the Frenchman in English.
" By I will," said Tom ; and hard, too, as
you'll find."
Turning to his first lieutenant, he added : " Get closer, Mr.
, and double shot the guns." Then leaning over the
side of his ship, he amused himself with that happy resource
of soldier officers in a country town — spitting over the bridge
— until some new movement called him to more active employ-
ment, and a busy time he had of it, for the Frenchman fought
gallantly.
The penchant for close quarters (incomprehensible to a
landsman) displayed by Captain Packenham, was evinced by
his Admiral in a still more remarkable manner, at about the
same moment. Desiring to get as close to the ship of Villaret
Joyeuse as possible, Lord Howe said to his sailing-master :
"A little nearer, Mr. ."
" Ay, ay, my Lord," replied the master.
" A little nearer, Mr. ."
" Ay, ay, my Lord."
" Closer, Mr. ."
" Ay, ay, my Lord."
By this time the " Queen Charlotte" was placed in precisely
the position quoad the '* Montague," which Lord Howe de-
sired. Thereupon he said : '' That will do, Mr. ."
" Ay, ay, my Lord."
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 183
*' My Lord I My Lord ! If I be a Lord you ought to be a
Prince.""
A moto quaeramus sera ludo.
The victory -vras most important for England, but was con-
tested by the French (our friend Jean de Bry excepted) with
heroic courage. On account of the blowing up or sinking of
the '' Vengeur" by order of her captain (as the French allege),
this famous sea-fight continues to the present day to be referred
to in France with pride and exultation. How the explosion
or settling down took place, has, I am told, never been proved,
and is now never likely to be.
Of the miscreants sent by the Convention to the armies in
1792 and 1793, to watch, control, and direct the operations,
and to arrest and denounce such of the generals as they pleased
to regard as traitors or cowai'ds, was one who rivalled St. Just
and others of his fellows in cruelty, brutality, and atrocity.
This was an ex-monk, named Duquesnoy. He had thrown
off his habit, and become a farmer, at the commencement of
the Revolution. Into the subsequent excesses of that Revo-
tion he entered with a sort of fury, and in consequence was
elected and sent to the Legislative Assembly, as a representa-
tive for the department of the Pas de Calais. Subsequently,
as a member of the Convention, he voted for the death of the
King without revision or appeal; and, by coitps de baton (!)
compelled his colleague, Bollet, to give a similar vote. On
the 31st of May, 1792, he was sent to the Army of the North,
in quality of commissaire, and on his way ordered measures
of ten'or, which became the order of the day. His correspond-
ence, couched in terms the most coarse and cutting, suggests
reason for believing that he was a furious animal, and the ex-
citer of the infamous Joseph Lebon. '' Courage ?" cried he
in one of his despatches — "■ Courage ! Proceed ! ever firm !
We, St. Just and I, will return and — gd ira ! — more inflexible."
After a course of cruelties and crimes which posterity will
hardly credit, he was brought to trial, and sentenced to death
on the 16th of June, 1795, for participation in the insurrec-
iion Jacobirie, which occurred on the l^re Prairial, An. III.
At the moment when the executioners were binding him to
the fatal plank of the guillotine, he had the coolness to ex-
claim : " May mine be the last innocent blood that will be
shed !"
In the unpublished coi'respondence of the Committee of
184 THE IRISH
Public Safety, I have found the followiug letter from this atro-
cious and appalling fiend, addressed to Carnot, dated 18th
October, 1793. " I send you four to be shortened! The
first is the General Gratien ; the second, the Commandant of
the 25th regiment of cavalry; the 3d, the temporary Com-
mandant of Avesnes ; the fourth, an Irishman named Mande-
ville, whom I have heard styled this morning ' Monsieur le
Marquis.' Now, as I do not like marquises, I send him to
yon."
Poor Maudeville ! he paid dearly, it would seem, for his
respect for titles.
It is consolatory to add, however, that I find in one of the
biographers of Carnot, that he only broke the Brigadier-gene-
ral Gratien; and for good reason, if he were guilty of the
charge alleged against him by Duquesnoy* — misbehaviour be-
fore the enemy. Carnot has frequently denied the accusations
of cruelty brought against him in his capacity of member of
the Committee of Public Safety, so that if a General accused
of cowardice or incapacity escaped the death solicited for him
by his accuser, a foolish expression of vanity would hardly
have been punished capitally, even at that horrible epoch.
Who this Gratien was I have not been able to discover.
He was probably a Swiss, as were, no doubt, the Jlarcus, Kap-
per, and Gausser, who figure in the ci-devant regiment of
Berwick in 1792.
* The following is the extract of the despatch of Duquesuoy, ubove
referred to : —
'' Je vous envoie quatre Jean F . Le l^"" le g6neral de brigade Gra-
tien. Le 2" le commandant du 25 regiment de cavalerie, le .3" est le com-
mandant temporaire d'Avesnes ; le 4"° est un Irlandais, nomrae Mandeville.
que j'ai entendu nommfi ce matin M. le Marquis. Comme jo n'aime pas les
Marquis, je vous I'envoie." — Correspondence inirlite du Comiti du Salut
Publique, torn, iii., p. 323.
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 386
CHAPTER XLII.
Thou shalt flourish in immortal youth,
Unhurt amidst the war of elements,
The wreck of matter, and the crush of worldJ.
Cato.
I OBSERVED at the commencement of my work that I
should be found desultory, inconsecutive, and discursive;
and when I regard the length of the digression I have just
committed, I feel astonished at the huge draught I have made
on the readers' indulgence, and am even tempted to suppress
it. The truth is, that I have justified it to myself by the reflec-
tion that "my anecdotes are a-propos of some Irish topic or
man, and therefore pardonable if not acceptable."
The reader will remember that my plunge into compara-
tivelj' modern French politics and history, arose out of a coin-
cidence I fancied in the employment of the son of an Irishman^
and the sou of an Irishwoman, in the resistance oifered to the
revolutionists of 1830 and of 1848 respectively, and a volun-
teer defence of the Irish character ; which the fastidious might
deem compromised by their defeat. Will he accept such
a-propos as an excuse for my flight off at each tangent that
presents itself? If so, I shall be grateful; but if he will not
so receive it as a favour, I shall claim a right. My title —
'*' The Irish Abroad and at Home" — ^justifies these digressions.
Nevertheless, I deprecate the reader's displeasure, and implore
him to
Be to my faults a little blind,
Nor clap a padlock on my mind.
Do this, and I pledge myself to be less diffuse in future.
When, in 1791, the princes, the brothers of Louis XVI.,
perceiving the abyss towards which the French monarchy was
hurrying, conceived the idea of emigrating, in order to assem-
ble beyond the frontiers an armed force capable, with the
assistance of the royalists remaining in France, of restoring
order and the kingly power, the French army was sounded,
18G THE IRISH
with the view to ascertain the real spirit which animated it.
The experiment produced unsatisfactory results for those who
made it; for the majority of those sought to be seduced,
although still faithful to the King, evinced an unconquerable
aversion to civil war. Emigration was then positively proposed ;
very many of the superior officers of the army declared for that
measure, but several among them, and the principal portion of
those of inferior grades, declared they would not quit France.
They said they were loyal subjects of the King, but above all
that they were Frenchmen. The consequence was, that the
Counts de Provence and d'Artois (afterwards Louis XVIII.
and Charles X.) emigrated, and were accompanied or followed
by hosts of the ilite of the kingdom. Still many more re-
mained, who were stanch royalists, and who for that very
reason would not abandon their King in his hour of peril.
Others refused to emigrate, because they had embraced the
new doctrines.
Precisely similar was the eifect of this experiment upon the
Irish Brigade. A large portion declared for " the Princes,"
and quitted the French territory. Another, of whom Arthur
Dillon may be deemed the type, resolved to remain with the
King, and, as we have seen, actually served against the foreign
troops and the army of Cond^ with zeal and fidelity. A third
accepted the Revolution frankly and enthusiastically. The first
and second portions said : '' We are bound by oath and by
gratitude to the French monarchy." The third said : '* We
are the soldiers of France." Which was right? As in most
questions, much can be urged on either side. Be that as it
may, a division took place, and the Brigade from that moment
ceased, virtually, to exist.
I have stated that after the campaigns against the Republic,
in which that portion of the Irish Brigade who had emigrated
with the Princes were engaged, they were adopted by the
British Government. Those of the officers who preferred
active service, remained with their rigiments in the enjoyment
of their rank. After being recruited in Ireland, they and
their corps were sent to the British West Indies. On their
return, the Brigade was dissolved : the soldiers were dis-
charged, and the officers had the option of employment in regi-
ments of the line, or of going on half-pay.
Before returning to the period of their break-up in
France, it may not be uninteresting for the Irish reader to find
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 187
before him the names of the officers of the three reg;imeDts of
the Brigade, before their separation in the year 1791, in the
manner, and for the considerations I have mentioned.
The regiment of Dillon, stationed at Lille, was thus com-
posed at that period : —
Colonel : Theobald Dillon.
Lieutenant-colonels : O'More, O'Toole.
Captains : Barry, MacDermott, MacDermott, Greenlaw,
Coghlan, Dillon, O'Keeffe, Fennell, Walsh, Hussey, Hussey,
Hussey, O'Farrel, Sliee, Sheldon, Fagan, Fitzmaurice,
Pindar.
Lieutenants : MacClo.sky, O'Mara, John O'Neill, Doran,
Fras. MacDermott, Redmond, Keau JMahony, Joseph O'Neill,
Warren, Langton, Cliiford, Conway, Jordan, Corkeran, Mont
Gerald, John Walsh, Chr. Fagan, Macnamara, Barnewall, Pat.
FitzSimon, John Mahony, O'Sullivan, Tarleton, Theobd. Walsh,
Charles Walsh, Michl. Bellew, O'Dunne.
Regiment of Berwick, in garrison at Landau : —
Colonel : .
Lieutenant-colonels : 0'3Ioore MacDurmott.
Captains: O'Connor, Biyan O'Toole, Richd. O'Toole,
O'Gormican, Crase, Reed, Egan, William O'Mara, Thaddeus
O'Mara, John Geoghegan, Harly, Tuite, Swanton, Delany,
Gregory O'Byrne.
Lieutenants : D. Allan, Kavenagh, Forbes, Grace, John
Mulhall, 0' Kennedy, Garrett FitzSimons, Blake, Richd.
O'Byrne, d'Evereux, Geraghty, Doyle, Nagle, Pat. Piersse,
Gerard Piersse.
Sub-lieutenants : O'Sullivan, MacCarty, Pat. Jennings,
Luke Allen, Andw. Elliott, Morris, Cameron.
• Regiment of Walsh, stationed at Vannes : —
Colonel : Walshe de Serraut.
Lieutenant-colonels : Sarsfield O'Neill.
Adjutant : O'Connell.
Captains: O'Shee, MacCarthy, Slack, Begg, Plunkett,
O'Reordan, Barry, O'Gorman, Keating, O'ShielJ, Meeghan,
O'Byrne, Roche, Toben.
Lieutenants aud Sub-lieutenants : Laffan, Trollcr, Wm.
Haly, O'Rourke, Clarke, Bulkeley, Trant, O'Dunne, Meade,
John Burke, O'Duhigg, Andw. Creagh, Michl. Creagh,
Sherlock.
188 THE IRISH
Independently of these, I find the foUo'wing scattered
through the records of 1791 : —
O'Connell (Daniel), MacMahon, O'Mahony, Robert Dillon,
Dr. Osmond Blair, Arran, "Wildermaulh (O'Connell's regi-
ment), O'Kelly, St. Leger, O'Brien (Lieutenant-colonel), three
Reynolds's (Joseph, Baptist, and Francis), Blackwell, Francis,
Gibbons, Hamilton, Jennings, Maurice Jernyngham, Kendall,
MacDonald, MacDonald, 0' Kennedy, James, Morgan, 2sugent,
Moore, 0' Hacaartv.
In 1792, there remained in France, of the ci-devant regi-
ment of Dillon, stationed at Arras, the following ofiicers : —
0'3Ioran, Waltut (?), O'Farrel, Fitzgerald," Pindan, War-
ren, Hart, Plunkett, Tarleton, Michael Bellew, Doyle, Nagle,
Delaney, Chr. Fagan, Andrew Elliott, MacCormick, Reed,
Defrey (?), Morris, John O'Bernard, MacDermott, Hussey,
Shee, MontGerald, Barnewell, Corkeran, Gelis (?), O'Neil,
Waters.
Of the ci-devant regiment of Walshe in 1792, at St. Do-
mingo, I find the following list of officers : —
Adjutant-major William Cruse, Captain Meaghan, Thomas
O'Gorman, John Keating, Lawrence O'Riordan, Thomas
Kavanagh, Wm. Haley, Jerry O'Connor, George 0' Byrne,
Martin MacMahon, Terence MacMahon, Marcus (?), O'Duhigg,
Redmond Burke, Mahony, Trotter, Toben, O'Flynn, Stuart.
Of the regiment of Berwick, the following oSicers appear
in the French Army list for 1792. The separation just
alluded to having taken place in the interval, many new names
will be perceived in the corps, and many others will be found
omitted.
'■'The etat of the ci-devant regiment of Berwick, which
subsequently became the 70th demi-brigade, or regiment of the
line, in 1792," shows that the first battalion was in garrison at
Orleans, the second at St. Domingo. The staflf of the regiment
at that period stood thus : —
Colonel : O'Connor.
Lieutenant-colonels : Harlv, Shee.
Adjutant-majors: Terlaing (query, Delany?), D. Allan.
Adjutant-treasurer: Terlaing (Delany?).
Captains : Swantou, Hussey, MacCormick, Aupick (?),
Doyle, Roberts, Nagle. Delany, Martin Harst (Hart ?), Andrew
MacDonnay, Defrey, Reed, Andrew Elliott, Brunck (Burke ?),
Marcus (?), Laffan, O'Flinn.
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 189
Lieutenants : Luke Allen, Merle (?), D. Allan, Burke,
Grattas ('/), Mejere (Meagher, or Meao-han), Flanian (Flem-
ing), Prior, D. Allan (3d), Chaperian, Nagle, Ravel, Kappes,
Iloudouart, Derenzy, Gausser, Eugene Chancel, Shee.
Sub-lieutenant : Nestor Chancel.
Under the head of '' Regiment of Steiuer" (Swiss), there
occur the following three names : O'Relly (Major), O'Relly
(Bernard), and O'Relly (Lou.is) Lieutenants.
Of the regiments of Berwick, Dillon, and Walshe, many
officers emigrated with the Princes, and were incorporated with
the res;iments organized in the British service. When the
Brigade was dissolved, many entered into British regiments of
the line, and attained to superior rank. Among these were
Bryan O'Toole, who distinguished himself in the Peninsular
war; O'Gormagan, lost in the terrible storms of November, 1807,
in Dublin Bay, when two transports, containing seven or eight
hundred Irish soldiers, went down ; James FitzSimon, after-
wards Lieutenant-colonel 67th regiment ; Garrett FitzSimons,
Luke Allen.
Among those who went on half-pay were Geoghegan, Mul-
hall, Kavanagh, of Burres, who married later a sister of the
Marquis of Ormond; Thady O'i^Iai-a, and Stack, Conway,
Moore.
Of the Irish who remained in France, Jennings, under the
title of Kilraaine, became a most distinguished General; O'Mara,
Colonel; O'Mara, General; Elliott, Colonel and Aide-de-
camp of General Bonaparte (Napoleon) ; Harty, a distinguished
General; O'Neill; Colonel (of the 47th, ci-devant Walshe's) ;
MacSheehy, Colonel and Aide-de-camp of the Emperor Napo-
leon ; Arthur and Theobald Dillon, and James O'Moran be-
came Lieutenant-generals ; Blackwell, Colonel.
190 THE IRISH
CHAPTER XLIII.
Celui qui donne vend, si celui qui prend n'est pas ingrat.
Ln reconnaissance fait durer le hienfait.
I AM about to demonstrate the truth of the foregoing two
French proverbs, which in truth may be resolved into the
homely English one, '' A good action rarely goes unrewarded."
Having mentioned an unamiable coincidence of character in
the two greatest warriors of the age, it is " refreshing" to sig-
nalize a trait of an opposite kind in one little their inferior.
I have just named Stack, formerly of Walshe's regiment,
as one of the officers of the late Irish Brigade, who having
entered the British service, went on half-pay at the dissolution
of that body. He had remained on half-pay so long that he
became the oldest Colonel of the army. His promotion to the
rank of Major-general was preceded by a somewhat curious
interview with the Duke of York.
Having solicited the honour of an audience of His Royal
Highness, he received an intimation that the Duke would re-
ceive him at the Horse Guards next day, at eleven o'clock in
the forenoon.
He was punctual in his attendance ; and being introduced
to the Commander-in-chief, was honoured with the expression
of the Duke's usual politeness, and the customaiy question :
" Well, Colonel, what can I do for you?"
''I perceive, sir," replied Stack, "that there is a brevet
coming out, in which I hope to be included. I am the senior
colonel in His Majesty's service."
"True, Colonel Stack; but give me leave to ask you of
what religion you are ?"
"I am of the religion of a Major-general."
The Duke bowed, and Stack was gazetted.
The question put by the Duke of York to Colonel Stack
touching his religion, would appear to have had its origin only
in the regulation which excluded Roman Catholics from certain
ranks in the British army. ~ Another fact occurs to me, how-
ABEOAD AXD AT HOME. 191
ever, wliich would seem to argue that the Duke was not only
strict on the point iu his official capacity, but that he enter-
tained strong private feelings on the subject. Before I proceed
to narrate the circumstance, however, I beg to prepare my
reader for another long digression, which, although Ji-propos of
Irishmen principally, will be found to refer to Englishmen and
foreigners also, and to epochs and events in modern history
respecting which intense interest still exists. Most of the de-
tails into which I am about to enter, were communicated to
me by an esteemed friend, Patrick Egan, to whom many of
them are personal. Those which I add from other sources I
have taken care to verify.
Mr. Patrick Egan was a native of Tuam, county of Galway,
Ireland, and of highly respectable parentage. His grand-uncle
had been the Catholic Archbishop of Tuam, and he was him-
self the nephew of one of the most distinguished physicians
of Ireland, some forty years ago. Doctor Thomas Egan, of
Sackville Street, Dublin. In the month of February, 1809,
he was appointed assistant surgeon of the 23d Light Dragoons,
then serving in Spain, and received an order to repair to his
reo-iment there forthwith.
He "joined" in Portugal, and was present at the battle of
Talavera de la Reyna, on the 28th of July of that year, in
which the 23d Light Dragoons distinguished themselves. The
morning following that victory of the British army, the Duke
of Wellington ordered a movement iu retreat, iu consequence,
it was surmised, of the arrival of large reinforcements to the
enemy, under the command of Marshal Mortier, Due de Tre-
viso. I forget in what form the order was given to Mr. Egan
to remain in charge of the wounded, but it was imperative.
Mr. Egan was deeply penetrated with the zeal and consi-
deration for his charoe, which distins-uished the medical offi-
cers of the British army throughout the Peninsular war. He,
therefore, felt deeply when, on inquiring into the state of the
supplies required for his hospital, he learned that everything
which could contribute to the comforts of his patients had been
carried off, even to the sago, " in order to furnish the officers'
breakfasts." The stores which he found in the magazine were
miserable in quality and quantity.
Under these circumstances, knowing that the French army
was approaching, and that they would make short work of the
eatables to be had in the town, he repaired to a butcher's shop
192 THE IRISH
to provide beef for soup, for his hospital. The butcher, aware
that the British army had marched, and that the French miglit
be expected to arrive at any moment, became — to propitiate
the latter, possibly — insolent, refusing to give him any but un-
sound meat, w-hich Egan indignantly refused. The butcher
thereupon flew into a rage, and would have murdered him but
for an armed hospital sergeant, by whom he was accompanied.
Egan thereupon returned, much chagrined, to his hospital.
The rest of the day he spent in the performance of his
duty — the most painful personal portion of which was the ne-
cessity for his stooping over his patients, the ambulance being
destitute of beds for them. Towards evenintr he was in the
act of dressins? a French drao;oon, who had a terrible sabre-
wound of the right shoulder, received in a melee with a party
of the 23d Dragoons. Suddenly Egan perceived the poor
fellow raise his eyes and lower them as in reverence. Turning
his head to ascertain the cause, he saw, regarding the wounded
man with interest, a very tall French officer, who bowed to him
with much appeai'ance of kindness.
" Well, comrade," said the officer, addressing the patient,
" you have suffered, I am sorry to see, but it will pass away.
Who is this gentleman?" nodding towards Egan.
"An English surgeon. Marshal." (Egan started.)
" He seems kind to you."
" He makes no difference between French and EnoHsh —
none between us and the wounded of his own army."
" Sir, I thank you," said the officer, turning to Egan.
" Continue your humane occupation. I beg, however, the
favour of your company at dinner. You will easily find my
quarters. I am the Due de Treviso."
Egan availed himself of the flattering invitation he had
received, and accompanied the Marshal to the theatre. (The
theatre at such a time !) He returned early to his hospital,
but waited on Mortier the following afternoon. After some
unimportant conversation, the Marshal asked Egan how the
wounded went on ? Being satisfied in regard to them, he con-
tinued : '• I am obliged to march, and we shall probably meet
no more. I have ordered that the prisoners, and such of our
own invalid soldiers as can bear the transit, proceed to France ;
but I cannot take leave of you without again expressing to
you my sense of the humanity and skill with which you have
tieated our wounded, nor without asking you if there be any
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 193
way ia which I can acknowledge them — observing, however,
that it will be necessary that 3'ou accompany the column of
prisoners and convalescents to France ?"
Egan's countenance fell. He had heard of the detention
of many hundred unsuspecting British subjects seized sud-
denly in France, on the rupture of the peace of Amiens, and
of the miserable life they led in the fortified towns appointed
for their reception and detention.
Marshal Mortier noticed the expression of uneasiness on
his countenance, and penetrated the cause. '' Be not uneasy
on your own account," said the Marshal ; " you shall not be
considered or treated as a prisoner. Indeed, but for the neces-
sity for your presence with the still suffering wounded, I would
set you at liberty this moment, and without exchange. On
your arrival in France, you will receive a passport for Paris.
Repair thither, and present yourself to Marshal the Due de
Feltre (Clarke), who will take care that you are provided with
a cartel to take you to England. Adieu, sir. Ban voyage !
Once more I thank you," added the kind-hearted Marshal.
At the same hour of the same day, of the month (July),
five-and-twenty years afterwards, Mortier fell on the Boule-
vard du Temple, Paris, under the discharge of the infernal
machine of Fieschi. He may be said to have voluntarily in-
curred his fate. It had been rumoured that an attempt upon
the life of Louis Philippe would be made that day, and Mor-
tier requested of the Minister of War to be placed by the side
of the King — ''because," added the glorious veteran, "I am
tall (6 feet 2) and may cover him."
These words were prophetic.
I am not superstitious — much less would I encourage such
propensity in others — and yet the calamity that occurred that
day caused to me — and I am sure to many — no surprise.
Similarly strong was the general impression in Paris on the
1st December, 1851, that something was impending — " II y
a quelque chose dans I'air," observed a French friend to mo
that day. At midnight Louis Napoleon struck his covp d'^tnt.
The report of the volley fired upon the King by Fie?chi
ran with the swiftness of lightning from the Boulevard du
Temple to the Place Vendome — conveyed along the line irom
man to man. I instantly mounted a cabriolet, and, by streets
parallel with the Boulevards, reached the spot on which the
devoted friend and soldier had, with thirteen other persons
9
194 THE IRISH
of less note, just fallen. He had, literally, '^ perished on tho
pavement —
" Killed by five bullets from an old gun barrel.
"And they who waited once and worshipped — they
With their rough faces thronged about the bed,
To gaze once more on the commanding clay,
Which for tlie last, though not the first time bled.
And such an end ! That he who — many a day
Had faced Napoleon's foes until they fled;
The foremost in the charge or in the sally,
And now to bo butchered in a civic alley !"
But let me quit the theme.
CHAPTER XLIV.
At every jolt — and they were many — still
He turned his eyes upon his little charge.
Son Juan.
REASSURED by the kind and flattering promises of the
IMarshal Mortier, Egan returned to his ambulance and,
in good time, started with the convoy of wounded and prisoners
for France.
Tho incidents of the journey of Egan and his companions
to France were not many. On passing through a town (of
which I forget the name), the day after leaving Talavera, he
was much struck by the appearance of a remarkably fine boy
of ten or eleven years of age, richly dressed, who came to
observe the passage of the column. On addressing him,
Egan found that he spoke pure Englivsh. The boy then
turned to the French officers of the escort, with whom he
conversed with equal ease and correctness ; and then meeting
a German officer of " ours," he talked to him in his own lan-
guage with almost equal fluency. He wished them all good-
by in their respective languages. The party then moved on.
In passing through Burgos, Egan saw, among other troops
which formed its garrison, a number of officers and soldiers in
green uniforms, faced with yellow, the Irish harp glittering
on their appointments. On inquiring, he learnt that it was
the 3d foreign regiment, composed of Irishmen. He would
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 195
have been happy to enter into conversation with the officers,
but for an accident. One of the English prisoners came to
complain to him that a Sergeant Kennedy of this Irish regi-
ment was tampering with the Irishmen among the prisoners,
and endeavouring to induce them to enter the French ai'my.*
Egan resented this, and, in consequence, none of the civihties
which, totally unconnected with political considerations, would
have taken place between him and his expatriated countrymen,
ensued.
Shortly before the column of wounded and prisoners
reached Bayonne (their journey had been necessarily slow),
Egan, in passing through a town, recognised the boy I have
alluded to, but how changed ! He was literally in tatters.
The youth knew him and claimed his protection. " We are
countrymen," said he, in a tone of entreaty. '' I am Scotch."
"I am Irish," said Egan, "but that makes no difference.
Are you alone ?"
" Yes, I have not a friend in the world."
" Fall in," said Egan : " we are about to march." He
obeyed with alacrity.
On their journey, Egan learned his story from the child.
He was, he said, the son of a sergeant of the 42d Highlanders,
who had been killed the previous year, at Orense. He and
his mother fell into the hands of the French, by whom they
were well treated. Awaiting an opportunity for being ren-
dered to the English, she offered her services as an hospital
nurse, and was accepted. In the hospital, the boy found
French and German as well as English officers and soldiers.
His gayety and intelligence recommended him to them, and
he became a general favourite. Being a child of great quick-
ness, he thus acquired in a few mouths the proficiency in the
* Many hundreds of Irish soldiers, made prisoners by the French, yielded
to similar invitations. Impatient at confinement, fed insufficiently with
rations of inferior food, and yielding possibly in many cases to a favourable
disposition towards the French, they listened to the arguments and solicita-
tions of the Irish officers and sub-officers sent into the various depots or
prisons for that purpose. " No Englishman would be received," said Colonel
M. to me lately, in speaking of those proceedings. " No Englishman would
be received. It was not their fault, therefore, that we had not many of
them in our regiment, for the enuni of confinement, and the privations and
regimen they were subjected to, rendered their lives miserable. We were,
therefore, on entering a prison to recruit among the Irish, frequently soli-
cited by the English, their companions, to accept them. One relied upon
his surname as a proof that he was of pure Irish descent. Another pleaded
that his mother was an Irishwoman. <fec."
196 THE IRISH
Frencli and German languao-es, which had so much surprised
Egan on first meeting with him. Unhappily, his mother
became ill and died. The circumstance was mentioned with
regret by some French officers at the table of a French Gene-
ral who commanded in the town (I think it was Placentia),
and created much interest. He was, consequently, adopted
by the chire aniie of the General, a Spanish lady of great
beauty and of good family, and became such a favourite that
she amused herself by having him dressed with splendour and
elegance.
Almost immediately after Egan's first meeting the boy, the
face of public affairs changed materially in that part of Spain.
The division of the French army commanded by the General
whose liaison with a Spanish lady I have just mentioned, was
obliged suddenly to break up and march. Time and means
of transport were only available for the conve3fance of the
lady, who dared not remain behind. The exasperation of her
countrymen against the French rendered her own doom cer-
tain, should she fall into the hands of " the brigands," as the
French called the men who made such noble efforts for the
expulsion of the invader from their native land. Thus aban-
doned, the poor boy attempted to reach France, begging his
way, in the hope that something would turn up in his favour,
or that he should get means to reach England.
Such was his little history.
After leaving Bayonne, the journey of the prisoners was
more rapid, for the French convalescents and invalids remained
in that town. On arriving at Orleans, Egan was thunder-
struck by receiving, instead of a passport for Paris as he had
been led to expect, 2tfe,uille tie route for Verdun as a prisoner
of war, in common with his companions. In this emergency
he consulted Mr. Thompson, an American gentleman (a resi-
dent of Orleans or Bayonne), who assured him that he was
convinced that Marshal Mortier meant what he promised, and
that he had kept his word in writing respecting him to the
Minister of War. He advised Egan, therefore, to throw him-
self into the diligence, even without a passport, just as he was,
and proceed to Paris. On his arrival there, he told him to
address to Marshal Clarke (" Egan's countrj-man by the way/'*
* This was an error. The French archives thus describe him : " Henri-
Jacques Guillaume (Clarke), Duo de Feltre, Comte de Hunebourg, Margchal
de France, naquit 3, Landrecies, dans le Hainaut, le 17 Octobro, 1765."
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 197
he added) a memorial setting fortli all the circumstances of
the case, and he might rely upon it, that the order for his in-
carceration in Verdun would be rescinded.
Egan followed this counsel. He arrived in Paris next
morning, and lost not a moment in writing to the Minister of
War, referring slightly to his own deserts, but dwelling upon
the promise of the Due de Treviso. He added : " I can con-
ceive it possible, that there may exist reasons why the pledge
of the Marshal should not be immediately redeemed ; but I
beg, if it be not deemed expedient immediately to release me,
as he so kindly promised should be done, that instead of my
being transferred to Verdun, I may be allowed to remain in
Paris, where such admirable opportunities exist for improve-
ment in my profession."
He solicited, further, to be suffered to keep in his charge
the boy so often mentioned, whom he had brought to Paris,
and whom he described as theyz7s ailojjlif oi a French general.
Within an hour he received a reply, requesting him to pre-
sent himself, with his proteye, at the Ministry of War, at nine
o'clock on the foUowinc: morniuG;.
Marshal Clarke received him with affability and kindness j
told him that he had viva voce stated the whole case to the
Emperor, who desired that Mr. Egan should be authorized to
remain in Paris as long as he pleased ; that if Mr. Egan con-
sented, his young charge should be placed in the military
school ; but that if he objected, then the boy should be allowed
to continue under his protection, and accom^Dan}^ him to Eng-
land ; that at his own pleasure, and at his own time, Mr. Egan
might repair to L' Orient, where he would find a cartel to take
him to Southampton ; and finally, he desired Marshal Clarke
to thank Mr. Egan in his (the Emperor's) name for his care
of the French wounded, and his acceptance of sixty napoleons,
to indemnify him for the loss of his baggage, and to enable
him to prepare for his voyage.
The offer to provide for the boy Egan respectfully declined ;
but as a donation from such a quarter could not be refused, he
accepted with thanks the twelve hundi-ed francs. He then ex-
pressed his acknowledgments to the Duke de Feltre for his
kindness and attention.
But it is needless to observe, that his parents and all his ancestors were
Irish. (The Irish name of Clarke is O'Clery.) I cannot sny so much for
his predilections in every instance.
198 THE IRISH
Impatient to return home, Egan, with his proUge, left
Paris in the course of the week, and proceeded to L' Orient
(or Morlaix, I am not sure which), where he found a cartel,
which landed him safely in England ; and he left for London
the same night.
His first care next morning was to report himself at the
Horse Guards, when he was desired to return at three o'clock.
Afterwards, he visited several distinguished personages (among
others, the late Duke of Bedford and the late Lord Essex),
from whose relatives serving in the British army in the Penin-
sula, or prisoners of war, he was the bearer of messages or
letters. As he was the only person who had arrived from
Prance for a long period, he became quite a lion.
On returning to the Horse Guards at the appointed hour, he
was ushered into the cabinet of the Duke of York, who re-
ceived him with even more than his usual share of courtesy
and urbanity. Egan briefly recapitulated the particulars of
his voyage from Ireland to Portugal, and his journey thence
to Spain ; of the service he had witnessed, and his subsequent
journey through Spain and Prance to England, in the short
space of six months ; and introduced the episode of the orphan
boy.
To all this the Duke listened with the deepest attention.
When Egan had finished. His Royal Highness asked some
exjolanations, which were given him.
"You have just mentioned, Mr. Egan," said he, "that
you passed through Burgos on your way towards France. Did
you observe there a regiment, or corps, composed for the
greater part of Irishmen V
" Yes, sir. A battalion only, I believe."
"By whom is it commanded?"
"Colonel O'Mara."
" Was he not in our service ?"
" No, sir."
" Have a care. He was an officer of the Irish Brigade
who emigrated with the French Princes, and who, when his
regiment, with the others of the Brigade, came to England,
after the early campaigns of the Republic, were adopted and
taken into the British service by order of His Majesty."
" I beg your pardon, sir. The officer of whom your Royal
Highness speaks never returned to France. He was in Dil-
lon's regiment. He has constantly resided in the city of Dub-
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 199
Hn since his corps was dissolved. I saw him there last Feb-
ruary. The chef de hataillon in command of the Irish
battalion at Burgos, is his brother, and was like him an ofBcer
of the Brigade (lieutenant in Berwick's regiment) before the
Revolution. A part only of each regiment of it emigrated
with the Princes, as your Royal Highness knows. Another
brother, "William O'Mara, also of Berwick's, is now in Paris.
He had also remained in France, and was aide-de-camp of
Marshal Lannes, who was killed at Esling last May. The
Marshal died in O'Mara's arms."
*' Did you know any of the officers you saw at Burgos ?"
''No, sir; but I recognised two: one, a Mr. Allen, who
lived in College Green, Dublin, whom while I was in college
I saw almost daily; the other, a Mr. I , whose family live
in Sackville Street, Dublin."
" He is a deserter from our army ?"
" The militia only, sir, I believe."
" Originally the militia. Is he not a Catholic ?"
" No, sir ; he is a Protestant."
The officer here spoken of was a brave, intelligent young
man, full of animal spirits and good-humour, and occupied
himself, when fighting was not to be had, in creating amuse-
ment for his comrades, and thus enabled them to pass many
merry hours in barrack and bivouac, which would have other-
wise hung heavily on hand. He was in the Irish regiment
in the French army, what my facetious acquaintance, Maurice
Quill, was in the English service — and what a countryman of
theirs, " Billy Healy," had been in the American army in the
"War of Independence — a fellow of infinite humour, of whom
many amusing anecdotes are recorded.
Captain I was one of the victims of the impolitic reac-
tion on the second Restoration in France (1816). His Bona-
pirtean principles were notorious, and were, by one or other
of the numerous spies then entertained in every corps or
regiment in the service, reported to the government. Pie
Tvas in consequence reduced to poverty, and compelled to leave
France the same year. He repaired forthwith to South Ame-
rica, then in full revolt against the mother country (Spain),
and taking service there, highly distinguished himself in the
war that followed. The last I heard of him was, that he and
Colonel Bowes Egan, brother of the Surgeon Egan of whom
I have been speaking, were on the staff of Admiral Brion.
200 THE IRISH
CHAPTER XLV.
They order these matters better in France.
OTERITE.
AFTER the conclusion of Mr. Egan's verbal report, just
mentioned, the Duke of York chatted with him for some
time ; and then, bowing to him, requested him to return next
morning at ten o'clock, and to bring with him his young com-
pagnon du voyage.
Aware of the Duke's strict observance of appointments,
Egan and his young companion reached Charing Cross, on
his way to the Horse Guards, by half-past nine o'clock nest
morning. As he passed the shop of Place, the tailor, he was
strvick by the appearance of a sergeant in the Highland cos-
tume, approaching. When the man came nearer, Egan per-
ceived that he belonged to the 42d regiment, upon which he
addressed him, asking him how long he had been in that regi-
ment. The sergeant answered, and asked in return, " Why
do you ask, sir?"
" Did you know a Sergeant , of that corps ?"
'■'■ Certainly I did, sir," replied the man with increasing
interest. '' What of him?"
" This boy is his son !"
" Good God I" said the poor fellow, bursting into tears,
and taking the boy into his arms, and covering him with
kisses ; '' he is my son, sir ! And my wife ?"
" She is dead !"
Overpowered by the sudden shock, the sergeant staggered,
and he could not refrain from tears. A crowd now began to
assemble, upon which Egan led him and his child into Place's
shop. The mingled feeling of joy and grief continued for
some time to agitate the poor man; but at length Egan men-
tioned that he had an appointment with the Commander-in-
chief, and that it was necessary for him to proceed to keep it
forthwith, accompanied by the boy. " I, too, sir, am ordered
to attend at the Horse Guards," said the sergeant ; '• I will
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 201
accompany you thither, if you will allow me, and wait for you
in the Park."' He then wiped away his tears, and taking his
son by the hand accompanied Egan to the Horse Guards, re-
maining below while they ascended to the office of the Com-
mander-in-chief.
His Ilo3'al Highness received Egan with his accustomed
affability, and was charmed with his young companion, with
whom he conversed in French and German. The boy, spoiled
by the familiarity permitted him latterly in Spain, replied
with the utmost self-possession and vivacity, to the questions
of the royal Duke, who was amused and delighted with his
replies and repartees, and told him of whom the portraits were
which hung upon the walls, to get a nearer view of which the
little fellow had unceremoniously mounted on the chairs. At
length the Duke turned to Egan, saying, '^ You have given
me a very interesting account of your journey, and have done
yourself much credit by your kindness to our young country-
man here, with whom your adventure is quite romantic."
'' Its sequel, sir, is still more surprising," added Egan.
"What do you mean ?" asked the Duke.
Egan then mentioned his rencontre with the father of the
boy a few minutes previously, observing that that coincidence
was the most extraordinary that had ever occurred to him.
" Not so extraordinary as you think," said the Duke, with
a smile. " Recollecting the particulars respecting the boy
which you detailed in your conversation with me yesterday, I
desired that an order should be sent to the depot, or a detach-
ment of the 42d now at Chatham, to supply me with infor-
mation touching the services and death of Sergeant , of
that regiment, killed in action last year at Orense. The reply
was," continued the Duke, touching a paper on the table,
" that ' they thought the best answer that could be given
to my queries, would be conveyed by the man himself, who
had (it was tme) been severely wounded in the affair at
Orense, but who had survived it, and was then actually in
Chatham.' As for the boy, be at ease respecting him ; I shall
t-ake charge of him." Then, in his usual manner, he bowed
to Egan, and advanced upon him with grace, but rapidly, and
in a moment the latter found his back against the door.
Bowing respectfully, he retired with his charge, whom he
confided to his father. The Duke placed the boy in the Mili-
tary School the week following.
9*
202 THE IRISH
Half-angry at the matter-of-fact explanation of the occur-
rence of the morning, given to him by the Duke of York,
Egan was further annoyed by the freezing indifference with
which he and his young friend were regarded by the clerks or
secretaries at work in the ante-rooms of the Horse Guards,
which recalled to him forcibly the treatment they had experi-
enced at the Ministry of War, in Paris.
The Duke of York himself bore a most favourable com-
parison with the Duke de Feltre ; but the cold and somewhat
repelling glances of the persons in the offices through which
he now passed, contrasted strikingly with the sensation which
Egan and the boy had caused amongst, and the interest, the
enthusiasm displayed and expressed by the clerks of the
French Minister of War.
'' Sterne was right," said he, bitterly. " They tell me that
the French are not sincere. What care I, if I derive from
their complaisance and honhommie all the advantages of the
truest and kindest of intentions ? Perhaps my amour propre
is wounded by the freezing haughtiness of the gentlemen I
have seen in the office of the Horse Gruards, and that I am
unjust : but it is not in this instance only that the French
appear to advantage in their social character and position
when compared with our own countrymen. The French are
fond of emotions, and ever seek occasion for them ; and they
found them in me and my young companion, and expressed
the interest they took in us and our story. Their contempo-
raries at the Horse Guards were equally well informed re-
specting us, and hardly favoured us with a passing look, in
which indifi'erence would seem to have conquei-ed curiosity !
I suppose I must concede to general assertion that the French
are triflers ; biit in their trifling they contrive to render one
more contented with himself — the most pleasurable sensation
perhaps of which man is susceptible."
In this latter assertion many persons will concur. Appear
to disregard it as we may, flattery is, with the generality of
the world, the best return they receive for kindnesses or good
offices ; the one which leaves them vmder the most agreeable
impression. A debt of gratitude well paid is doubly agreeable
to the recipient ; but then one has often so long to wait for
it ; and sometimes it never comes at all ! Give me the ready-
money flattery !
'Nous avons," says Pascal, ^'une si grande id^e de I'amc
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 203
de riiomme, que nous ue pouvons souflfrir d'eu etre m^prises
ct de n'etre pas duns I'estime d'uue ame ; et toute la felicity
des hommes consiste dans cette estime."
CHAPTER XL VI.
Quis furor, o cives, quae tanta licentia feris.
Virgil.
POOR Egau ! he died early. It was obsei-ved of him that
he was a little eccentric. Which of us Irishmen is not ?
He possessed other qualities also not unusual with us : — he was
warm in temper, kind-hearted, and affectionate. He was
utterly fearless, but had not a spark of moral courage.* He
was "broken," by sentence of court-martial, for sending a
challenge to his superior officer, Captain, afterwards Major Sir
James Cutcliffe, who had put an affront upon him. The bearer
of his message, Lieutenant Price, son of Alderman Sir Charles
Price, of London, shared his fate ; both, however, were almost
instantaneously replaced in their respective ranks, but in other
regiments. In his new corps, the 12th Light Dragoons, the
officers, chiefly Irish, with whom he was an especial favourite,
and who called him, familiarly, "Paddy," were continually
playing tricks upon him. For instance, they persuaded him
one day to charge with the regiment in an action in Spain.
The Colonel, Frederick Ponsonby, laughed at the joke, but
interdicted its repetition.
Notwithstanding his unquestionable braveiy, Egan once
received a challenge which he would have refused, although
from "an officer and a gentleman," and an Irishman; it was
on the morning of the battle of Talavera. He was applied to
by Captain Power, of his own regiment, the 23d Light Dra-
goons, to give him a restorative to enable him to mount, and
* He went in for his examination before the College of Surgeons admi-
rably well prepared. On being asked, among other questions, bow, in
the case of a wound of the fore-arm, he would stop the efifusion of blood ?
he replied : " By the application of a— a— a—" " A what, sir ?" asked the
examiner, savagely. Egan stammered — his presence of mind and memory
forsook him; he could not recollect the word tourniquet. IIo was, on that
occasion, not permitted to pass.
204 THE IRISH
"sit" his horse, and take the field. " I shall do no such thing,"
said Egan. '' You have been now many weeks labouring
severely under dysentery, and are deplorably reduced. Even
to mount on horseback, not to speak of fighting, would kill
you. I shall order j^ou no medicine for any such purpose ;
you must keep your quarters."
Power insisted, but Egan was immovable. ''Then," said
Power, ''I shall do without it, but I hold you accountable, and
shall call you out immediately after the battle is over."
The brave fellow mounted his horse, though hardly able to
sit upright. All the way to the field he complained bitterly
of Egan, and repeated his resolution to challenge him after the
impending battle. The regiment charged, and Power received
a ball in the forehead. He and an Irish comrade, Captain
King, fell dead at the same moment. I think they were the
only ofiicers of their regiment who were hit in that battle.
The Colonel of Egan's new regiment (the 12th Light Dra-
goons, at present Lancers), the gallant Frederick Ponsonby,
evinced towards him, while he remained in it, the most friendly
regard, and was repaid by warm and sincere attachment. I
forget by what fatality it was that Egan arrived on the field
of Waterloo the night of the battle, only time enough to prove
his zeal and professional skill. He found, to his deep regrot,
that his noble commander was among the " desperately wound-
ed" in that combat of giants. His first care on joining was to
ascertain the condition of his protector and friend, and to ten-
der to him his undivided care and attention; but this, the
amount of sufferers precluded.
On inquiring into tLe incidents of the battle as far as con-
cerned his own regiment, Egan learned that Colonel Ponsonby,
one of the first horsemen and swordsmen of the British army,
was at his post (that is to say, at the head of his regiment) in
a charge they executed against a corps of French'^or Polish
Lancers. Meeting a lancer and parrying his thrust, Ponsonby
made sure of taking off the assailant's head en passant, with
"cut six," from his powerful arm. He had, however, to do
with no ordinary adversary (most probably a Pole) — for havino-
given point and being parried, the lancer held his lance firmly
under his arm, and iu passing Ponsonby (for their horses con-
tinued respectively their onward movements) struck him with
the shaft of it a blow on the temple, which knocked him off
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 205
his horse, before the cut which Ponsonby intended for him
could take effect. This scene occupied scarcely five seconds.*
Skill in horsemanship and in the use of his sabre are not,
it would seem, always efficacious in preserving him who pos-
sesses them. Of this another instance may be mentioned in
the death of Captain Newport, who fell in action in the Penin-
sular war, and who was considered nearly unrivalled as a horse-
man and a swordsman. I remember speaking slightingly of
a horseman's skill in combat, one day, in conversation with that
celebrated sahreur, the late General Delahoussaye, who, in the
wars of the Revolution and the Empire, had killed a hundred
men with his own hand.
" Mon ami," said he, "you are in error. The man who is
sure of his horse, sure of his eye, sure of his hand, and sure of
his sword, will never be killed but by a cannon-ball."
" You do not mean, General, that these render him invul-
nerable V
"I do."
"And pray. General, how does it happen that you have
this, and this, and this wound ?"
" Ah ! mon ami, in a vieUe, skill is of no use ; in fair fight-
ing, it is everything. You say truly, I have received les qua-
irc mendiansjj but here I am yet, you see."
To return to Colonel Ponsonby at Waterloo. Although
unhorsed, he had been only stunned. After a short time he
recovered his senses, and raising his head to look from above
the high corn in which he was embedded, he unfortunately
attracted the attention of two other lancers, who (the 12th
Dragoons having retired) were at the extremity of their regi-
ment, now once more in line. They rode at him with fury.
One of them exclaimed : " Ah ! b — -. — ! Tu n'est pas encore
mort done ! Tiens !" and then dropped his lance into the
defenceless Ponsonby, who in agony turned over on his back.
The second lancer in like manner inflicted upon him a terrific
wound. Thinking him killed, and another charge upon them
* A similar circumstance is stated, I think, by Mrs. Tlieob.ild Wolfe
Tone, in ber Memoirs, to have occurred to her son William, iu the Russian
campaign of 1812.
f Lea qnatre meiidlans (figs, nuts, raisins, and almonds) constitute the
cheapest and most general dessert furnished by the me(Zi'ocre restaurants of
Paris. i\Iy friend, the playful General, applied the term to his wounds
from sabre, bayonet, musket-ball, and cannon-shot.
206 THE IRISH
being imminent, they •without delay returned to their places
in the column.
Dreadful as were his wounds, he sui'vived, and was able to
join his regiment, which had marched in pursuit of'the retreat-
ing French army, and was quartered in the Bois de Boulogne,
I think, or in the town of Passy, near Paris, in the month of
August following. It was a gala day for the 12th : his arrival
was hailed with joy by the whole corps, and he was entertained
with enthusiasm. The first salutations over, he inquired into
the accidents which each had encountered during the memo-
rable 18th of June. From that of the officers, Ponsonby
turned to the conduct of his soldiers, who were chiefly Irish.
" Apropos," said he, turning to Captain Andrews, son of a
Dublin alderman and brewer of that name, " is there not in
your troop a soldier of the name of John Murphy ?"
''Yes."
" Parade him."
The man came. Ponsonby looked at him for a moment,
and turning to Andrews, said : " That is not the man."
" There is another John Murphy in my troop," said
Andrews.
" Let him come."
The first soldier retired, and was succeeded by a burly,
comical-looking young fellow of some five-and-twenty years.
The Colonel regarded him earnestly, and, after a careful exa-
mination of his countenance, said : " You may go."
When he was out of hearing, Ponsonby said : " That is one
of the bravest and one of the oddest fellows I have ever seen.
While lying on my back wounded, our regiment charged the
lancers a second time, as you will recollect. This Mr. Murphy,
cut off from his troop, was attacked close to the spot where I
lay by two of them. He used his sword, as I suppose he would
have done a shillelah in a row at a fair, knocking the lances
alternately aside, " mill fashion," and with a rapidity which
made their thrusts harmless. His enemies kept poking at him
for some time, and compelled on his part only defensive mea-
sures. At length his classic recollections came to his aid (I
would swear the fellow had read Virgil), and he feigned a
retreat. He was pursued ; when wheeling round at the proper
moment, and parrying the lance of the foremost of his pur-
suers, he cut him down. The second pressed on, and met a
similar fate, receiving from the brawny arm of Mui-phy a cut
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 207
which told somewhere near his collar bone, and must have
divided him diap;onnl]y. His body fell to the earth "without
groan or motion, and Murphy, scarcely glancing at his handi-
work, trotted off, -whistling ' the Grinder/ "
Everybody has heard that Napoleon (although, 'u order to
reassure him, he ridiculed the superstitious feeling w^ch came
over Lasalle on the eve of the battle of Wagram) was himself
a fatalist, like many other celebrated men. When at Monte-
reau (near Fontainebleau), 1814, he alighted from his horse,
and pointed a field-piece himself upon the advancing Russians.
The artillery soldiers expressed apprehension for his safety,
their battery being the object of a cannonade from the enemy
in the plain below. *' Fear not/' said he; " the bullet that is
to kill me is not yet cast."
"Was it fate that urged Captain Power, of the 23d Light
Dragoons, on the day of the battle of Talavera, to mount his
horse and charge, in opposition to the judgment and the advice
of his medical attendant, Egan ? Was it fate which similarly
led to the death, at Waterloo, of a very gallant officer (jMon-
tagu Lind, of the 1st Life Guards) who, like him, rose from a
bed of sickness to meet his death ?
He feared, perhaps, that some such spirit a,g Hotspur's
would exclaim,
"Zounds ! how has he leisure to be sick
In such a justling time ?"
And before the regiment repaired to the field he sent for Ned
Kelly, his friend and comrade, to ask his advice. " I am ill,"
said he, " but in this juncture a man should be unable to wield
his sword to justify his absence from his regiment."
" That is my feeling, too," said Kelly.
" Now," continued Lind, '^ as there is a likelihood of severe
service, I ask you as a friend, a comrade, and a soldier, what
would you do in my circumstances ?"
Kelly reflected a moment, and then said : " You are able
to sit youi" horse for a time, and to bear a sword in command-
ing, at least ?"
Lind nodded assent.
"Well, then, I would hire a post-chaise and would follow
the army, and when the regiment was about to charge, I would
mount my horse and head my troop."
Lind acted ou this counsel, and was killed in the terrible
208 THE IRISH
charge of the Household Brigade — '^ the fighting 1st, the
galloping 2d, and the standfast Blues."
The name of " Edward Kelly" is to be found in the Duke's
despatch from Waterloo. But praised as he was by his chiefs,
popular, admii'ed, and celebrated as he was in London in 1816
and some years following Waterloo, he is scarcely known to the
rising generation, except — possibly — the mess of the 1st Life
Guards. Of Burford's clever panorama of the great battle,
and in which Kelly figured conspicuously, there exists no shred
that I know of. History, however, testifies to his prowess and
his good fortune in contributing to the crowning success of
England on the continent. Of him (a son of whom Kildare
may well be proud) some particulars occur to me which I have
never seen in print, and which, referring to a soldier of Water-
loo, will, I am sure, be received with indulgence and read pro-
bably with interest.
CHAPTER XLVIL
Fortunae majoris honos, erectus et acer.
CLAt'DIAy.
CAPTAIN KELLY was presented to George IV., then
Prince Regent, in the autumn of 1815, by a personage
of a kindred spirit, now Field-Marshal the Marquis of
Anglesey (and who had been an eye-witness of many of his
deeds of arms), in these brief terms : " I have the honour of
presenting to your Royal Highness the man who rescued the
army from great impending danger on the eve of the battle of
Waterloo, and who, in next day's engagement, assisted power-
fully in insuring its victory — Captain Edward Kelly, of his
Majesty's I st regiment of Life Guards." Kelly, in consequence,
figured as Major in the next brevet.
Edward Kelly was of the respectable family of that name
in the county of Kildare, Ireland, known as " the Kellys of
the Curragh." He entered young into the army ; but of the
early incidents of his career little is known. I saw him fre-
quently in Dublin, between 1806 and 1811, when he was on
the staff of his noble and respected Colonel, the Earl of
ABROAD AND AT UOME. 209
Harrington, then commander of the forces in Ireland. It was
not, however, until the year 181C that I made his acquaintance,
in London, at which period his regiment, the 1st Life Guards,
occupied Knightsbridge Barracks. A few months afterwards
we met at Bangor, and travelled together to Holyhead. He
was then on his way to visit his friends and relatives in
Ireland.
At that time the only means which offered for crossing the
Menai Strait which separates the Island of Anglesey from the
mainland was a ferry op^^osite to Bangor. The traj'ei took up
some twenty minutes in the finest weather ; in winter it was
a very disagreeable and tedious affair. On the occasion of
which I speak, it was a pleasant one, owing a good deal to the
interesting conversation of ray gallant companion.
From the centre of the Menai looking to the left, coming
from England, Plasnwydd, the seat of the Marquis of Anglesey,
was discernible. When he was informed of that fact, Kelly
looked towards it with apparent interest. '*' It is the seat
then," said he, "of one of the bravest men who ever un-
sheathed a sword ; one who distinguished me by companion-
ship in danger, and to whom I am indebted, not merely for
kindness, but for valuable service." He then, with modesty,
referred to the circumstances in which the friendship for him
of the illustrious Field-Marshal originated, but which, were
incomplete. I therefore inquired of his brother officers and
others, and learned the following particulars respecting their
introduction to each other.
In the afternoon of Saturday, 17th of June, 1815, the
British army was in full movement towards the position
intended to.be occupied by the Duke of Wellington, and was
pressed severely by the light cavalry of the corps of Marshal
Ney. A long line of horsemen occupied the road, and of these
Kelly was the last man ; his troop of the Life Guards closing
the column. The 7th Hussars (Lord Uxbridge's own regi-
ment) were skirmishing in the rear and on the wings. Sud-
denly a louder hurrah ! than usual struck Kelly's ear. Ho
turned and saw Lord Uxbridge, now the Marquis of Anglesey,
alone in the middle of the road, using gestures of anger, as
Kelly thought, and vociferating at the top of his voice. The
hussars, born down by superior force, were retreating. In the
distance a regiment of lancers were concentrating, with the
obvious intention of charging the rear-guard of the British
210 THE IRISH
army. Perceiving the danger that threatened Lord Uxbridge
in the first instance, and the rear of the English army in the
second, Kelly galloped back, and on arriving nearer his Lord-
ship, said,
" My Lord, there is not a moment to be lost. The regi-
ment of lancers yonder is forming, and will be upon us
presently. Retire with me, and I will halt the Life Guards
and charge under your Lordship's orders."
" Do so, my good fellow," said the Earl.
Kelly jumped his horse over a drain which skirted the
road, and which here formed an angle, and galloped across the
distance which separated him from his troop. On arriving,
he called "halt!" in a loud voice, and the regiment instinc-
tively obeyed.
" Who cries ' halt V " asked Major Bei'ger, who commanded
the rear squadron of the Life Guards.
" 1," said Kelly. " Look ! Lord Uxbridge awaits our
coming up, in order to charge that body of lancers now, at this
moment, in close column."
" The Life Guards must continue their march. The hussars
are to cover the retreat — not we."
" But observe the danger to all, if those fellows come upon
us unbroken !"
" That is not our affair."
" The eyes of both armies are upon us. The safety of our
own army depends upon us."
" I repeat that is no business of ours. Forward !"
Kelly, fvdly impressed with the importance of the crisis
which threatened, indignant at the unseasonable prudence of
his superior oflScer, and feeling for the reputation of the regi-
ment, called out once more, " Life Guards, halt I" A second
time he was obeyed. Raising himself in his stirrups, and
holding his sword at the utmost stretch upwards, and then
brandishing it, he cried in a voice of thunder : " Men, will
you follow me ?" A cheer and a wheel round responded to
his appeal. He formed them, and galloped up to Lord
Uxbridge, who was still alone, with the exception of his staff,
on the spot where he had left him.
This was perhaps the decisive moment of the fate of both
armies ; for by this time the mass of the enemy's heavy cavalry
were discovered rapidly advancing. The lancer regiment
already mentioned was now in charging form. The Life
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 211
Guards made a similar disposition. Lord Uxbridge and Kelly
placed themselves in front. " Charge !" was uttered by both,
and at it they went.
In this encounter the Colonel of the lancers fell by Kelly's
own hand. The charge succeeded completely. The lancers
were broken, overthi-own, and dispersed; and the Life Guards
receiving the thanks, and Kelly a warm shake of the hand of
Lord Uxbridge, resumed their place at the rear of the still
retreating English army. In this fashion, unmolested during
the remainder of the day, they reached the position at Mont
St. Jean, by their immortal chief. Next day the " cheese-
mongers"* gained further and perennial laurels.
In the charge against the lancers I have just spoken of,
Kelly escaped death by a strange circumstance. When about
to mount his horse that morning, he found that his cartridge-
box was out of order. Knowing that a brother officer (PeiTott)
was too ill to march, Kelly entered his quarters, and asked the
loan of his cartridge-box. He received it of course, and throw-
ing it over his shoulder hurriedly, shook hands with Perrott,
and dashed out of the room in consequence of another sum-
mons from the trumpet.
Perrott was a man hardly of the middle size ; Kelly stood
sis feet high. This difference caused the cartridge-box of
Perrot to hang scarcely below Kelly's shoulder-blade. The
hurry of the march, and the incidents of the day, prevented
Kelly's recollecting this circumstance. After cutting down
the Colonel of the lancers, Kelly was in another second attacked
by a soldier of that regiment. With a blow from his vigorous
arm, which parried and at the same time shattered the lance,f
Kelly raised his sabre anew, and cut at the lancer; but he was
too late. As in the case of Frederick Pousonby, this personal
rencontre took place while Kelly and his antagonist were re-
spectively in rapid motion ; and as in the former case too, the
Pole was too active for his foe. Dropping the remnant of his
* Thia was a, friendly sobriquet, and not a terra of contempt. The gal-
lant 50th were, in a similar spirit, called "the dirty half hundred." The
lOIst " the hundred and worst," &c.
f Kelly was on that day mounted on a powerful black mare. When the
lancer gave point, Kelly threw up her head, and to that movement possibly
owed his life. The lanco intended for him struck tlie marc's nose, and cut
open her head until it passed between her ears. This fine animal, like her
rider, survived the action, and was, for some years afterwards, an object of
interest to the visiters of the Life Guards' stables.
212 THE IRISH
lance, he, with the rapidity of lightning, drew his sabre, and
cut at Kelly as they passed. The well-aimed blow fell upon
the cartridge-box of Kelly, which, according to the regimental
regulation, was of massive silver. It was completely cut
through, but Kelly escaped without a scar.
After the second and insuhordinate call of Kelly to the
Life Guards to charge, and their equally disobedient acquies-
cence on the evening of the 17th of June their chief, Major
Berger, continued to ride at the tail of the retreating column.
It is needless to say that Kelly was never tried for breach of
discipline, but Major Berger was subjected to a court of in-
quiry. The finding was favourable to him; but he felt ob-
liged, nevertheless, to withdraw from the service, and sold his
commission. What remains to be told of him is lamentable.
He was next heard of as a pauper, applying for relief at one
of the Loudon police ofl&ces, having run through all his money,
and become utterly destitute. He had the air of a gentleman,
and had never been suspected of want of courage before the
eve of the battle of Waterloo.
Major Berger owed his first commission to a singular cir-
cumstance. In proceeding to London on some grand occasion,
George III. was struck by the appearance of a youth on the
parapet of a house in the Strand, who had a battery of small
cannons, with which he saluted His Majestj', and then hur-
raed, waving his cap over his head. " Fine boy ! fine boy !"
said the King. " Make an officer of him !" It was done; and
this was the unfortunate Berger, whose father was a tradesman
in the Strand.
In the course of our journey from Bangor to Holyhead, I
asked Kelly, naturally, many questions about Waterloo, for it
was almost the only topic of conversation in 1816. Amongst
other things, I iuqviired whether all that was said of Shaw
(the pugilist and Life Guardsman) was true ?
''I do not know, but have no doubt of it," replied Kelly;
"every man did his duty that day, however, and none more
bravely than my orderly, Paddy Halpin."*
" What ! were there Irishmen in the Life Guards ?"
'• Yes, but not manv."
Our conversation next turned to the Peninsular war, and
* John Shaw was well known among the pugilistic corps of London
before the battle of Waterloo. Paddy Halpin afterwards figured in tho
same circle, but not in the ring; only with the gloves, I think.
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 213
then on the qualities of the English, Irish, and Scotch soldiers.
'' They are all equally bravo," said he ; " but they differ much
in character. In Spain, when goiug ray rounds as officer of
the night, I found on coming vipon an English regiment, the
men fast and confidently asleep. On arriving at a regiment of
Highlanders, they, too, would seem sound asleep, but I ob-
served that they were closely observing me. I would go fur-
ther, and from a hovel could hear the sound of a fiddle. On
entering, I would find the soldiers of an Irish regiment engaged
in a country dance ! On remonstrating, and telling them that
possibly we should have an action next day, and that they
ought therefore to seek repose, ' Let it come, sir !' they would
reply. ' Were we ever backward ?' "
Poor Kelly ! He accompanied that distinguished cavalry
officer, Lord Combermere, to India, as chief of his stafi'; for in
Spain, Kelly's gallantry had become known to his Lordship.
Change of climate, advancing years, hard campaigning, but,
above all, the untimely death of his only sou, a young officer
of much promise, broke up his iron frame. He never raised
his head after his son's death ; and died during the Burmese
campaign, lamented by all who knew him.
Connected with this sad event was a circumstance that may
have interest for some of my readers. Immediately before
intelligence of his death reached Europe, I happened to meet,
at the Hotel Quillac, in Calais, a number of Indian officers,
who had just arrived there on their return home. On my way
I inquired of them for " Ned Kelly;" they said that " he was
pretty well, but much grieved in consequence of his bereave-
ment."
A gentleman at another table asked : " Is he in low spirits ?"
"Very!"
" Then," said the gentleman, an old soldier, " I am sorry
to say he is ' ordered to join.' I lament this, for he was a
noble fellow. I have served seven-and-twenty years in India,
myself, and have never known a desponding invalid recover,
nor a man mentally depressed to live long in that countiy."
This prediction was verified. The next mail brought an
account of the death of Edward Kelly — "Waterloo Kelly."
Seveu-and-thirty years have elapsed since the day of Wa-
terloo, and yet the memory of it is so rife, and the interest
belonging to it so easily revived, and so powerful when awak-
ened, that it requires nn effort to detach oneself from it, having
214 THE IRISH
once touched it. Ireland is not tliought of by foreigners, nor
even by Englishmen in general, when speaking of that great
battle; and yet, more than a moiety of the army of Wellington
throughout his career, and especially at Waterloo, were, like
himself, Irish. These latter facts account for, and will, I trust,
excuse the length I have permitted to mj'-self in dealing with
an action which changed the face of Europe.
Through what new scenes and changes must we pass
=*?
CHAPTER XL VIII.
No quid nimis.
Terence.
ENOUGH of war, and its atrocious incidents.
How was Ireland represented on the Continent in other
circumstances, while the Brigade was gathering laurels ? Little
is to be found in France to indicate the quiet course of the
convent and the college in that long interval. Ireland gave to
France, Spain, Italy, and Germany, in former times, savans
of celebrity, saints and martyrs ; but during the last century
it was treason to travel, and to seek abroad the instruction ne-
cessary for the scientific student, or to qualify the aspirant for
sacerdotal functions. To communicate it was consequently
impossible. Few children, dedicated to lay or peaceful pur-
suits, ventured to incur the penalty of Premunire, pronounc-
ed against all who dared defiance of the alternative pronounced
by the code prescribed for Ireland — " Learning and Protest-
antism, or Ignorance and Catholicity." The Irish (or English)
Catholic youth, to be found in the colleges or seminaries of
France during the eighteenth century, were, generally speak-
ins;, ''intended for the Church." From the accession of
George the Third, however, some relaxation of the code was
observable ; still the prohibitory law was unrepealed, and cau-
tion was practised to conceal the evasions of it. One little
expedient was to change the names of the students, lest, by
some infidelity, the records of the institution should be ab-
stracted, and reach the hands of the British government, and
denounce the offenders. "Thus," said the late Mr. Francis
ABROAD A2>JD AT HOME. 215
Plowdcn, " Arthur Murphy" (the dramatist) became Arthur
" French." — [He added those of several others of his coutcm-
poraries at Saint Omer's; among others, that of the last Duke
of Norfolk but one, but they have escaped me.] The Kem-
bles (John and Charles) were, I believe, educated at different
colleges, and were inscribed under their real names. Mr.
Charles Kemble is possibly the last survivor of those who, at
Saint Onier's,
Were taught by stealth, and feared to find it fame.
A late and regretted friend and college contemporary of
Charles Kemble, used to narrate a little vengeance exercised by
them and their comrades on the Benedictine Friars, to whom, on
the banishment of the Jesuits, the education of youth was con-
fided. The robes of the Jesuits were black, those of the Bene-
dictines white. It would appear that the change was not to
the taste of the pupils, for, as the latter would pass by them,
they secretly and silently bespattered them with ink.
There are few records of the Irish colleges of France to be
found. In the Revolution everything of that nature was de-
stro^-ed. That those institutions were well conducted, no doubt
can be entertained. The Colleges of Douay, St. Omer, Lille,
&c., scarcely yielded to that of Paris in rank among the aca-
demical institutions of Europe.
The Bevolution, assuming nearly at its outset an irreligious
aspect, was naturally viewed with horror at the universities
and colleges, presided over as they were by Catholic clergy-
men, and to this rule the Irish college of Paris was not an
exception. The students necessarily became anti-Revolution-
ists. Two instances of their mode of evincing their hostility
to the great popular movement occur to me. The first, involv-
ing fearful conseqviences, compromising two of the most illus-
trious men of the Revolution ; the second — the mere offspring
of an orr/ie — had no important result, because of the poli-
tical "situation;" it passed off harmlessly for the ofi'euding
actors in it, and was in fact the farce after the tragedy.
On Saint Nicholas's day, 6th of December, 1790, the stu-
dents of the Irish college, in virtue of that high holiday, repaired
for recreation to the Champ de Mars, and comiucnced a game
at football — not the jeu au balon, as is incorrectly stated by
Prudhomme, and which consists in thumping a large inflated
ball with the feet from one player to another — but regular, down-
215 THE IRISH
riglit football, after the Irish fiishion. In the coi:rse of the
game (" accidentally on purpose," I fear), the ball reached the
" Altar of the Country," which had remained in front of the
Military School ever since the grand federation of the 14th of
the preceding July. The ball v^as pursued by a stripling from
the county of Louth, named Charles O'Reilly, whom I after-
wards knew, who in his real or pretended scramble for it, or
by a misdirected kick upset — not a pedestal, as Prudhomme
says — but the statue of Liberty itself, which graced the altar.
The sentinel on duty over the sacred edifice rushed upon the
oiTender, took him by the collar, and called for the guard and
upon the eye-witnesses, who were numerous, to aid him in
securing the authors of this gross insult. The guard arrived,
and the spectators joined them.
Three of the prisoner's friends, the late Doctor MacMahon,
J. J. Plunkett, nephew of the late Catholic Bishop of Meath,
and Curtin, or MacCurtin, ran to the rescue. Their other
companions crowded around, explaining at the top of their
voices how the accident, as they persisted in calling it, occur-
red. The soldiers and the spectators understood not a word
of the explanation, which was given in English; and the
students, raw levies, were for the most part as completely
ignorant of French. The parties respectively, therefore,
resorted to the expedient usually employed in such cases —
that is, they elevated their voices. This, however, did not
help them as they desired, but it had an iinfortunate effect
upon the French party, who imagined that the Irish were
cursing, swearing, and abusing the French and France, and
blaspheming the altar of the country.
As Frenchmen in a passion are maniacs, and as their un-
fortunate misinterpretation of the young Irishmen's language
greatly excited the anger of the auditors and spectators of the
scene, the tumult became terrific. The quarrel was a pretty
quarrel as it stood, when some misbegotten knave of a demo-
crat, observing the semi-clerical costume of the students, and
their round hats (cocked ones being the order of the day),
cried out : '' Aux calotins ! Les calotins a la lanterne !"*
These awful sounds being understood by some of the stu-
dents, were explained to the remainder, and as, even then,
summary execution had been done upon several unfortunate
* They are priests ! To the gallows with the priests !
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 217
ecclesiastics, sauve qui petit ran through the Irish ranks ; and
Avith the exception of young O'Reilly, who was in fault, they
immediately fled. The greater number escaped; but some
half dozen were captured, and would probably have been
strung up (for the citizens were by this time extremely in-
censed), but for La Fayette, who thus justified in advance
Madame de Stael's sneer, that he was " like the rainbow,
appearing always after a storm." They were liberated in the
course of the day.
CHAPTER XLIX.
'Tis sport to you, but death fo us.
Fable of the Frogs.
ON St. Patrick's Day, in the year 1791, occurred the second
instance of the "enmity of the Irish students for the
Revolution ; and it was even less creditable to them than that
which I have just recounted.
A party of them dined at a traiteiir's to celebrate the fete
of the Patron Sainc of their country (17th March.) They had
no doubt druni with enthusiasm the customary national toasts,
and were very noisy and very merry, when one of them had
occasion to quit the banqueting-room. On passing through
the "•eneral snlh-d-manger, he noticed three officers of the
National Guard at supper. Observing that they ate vora-
ciously, although they had before them only one simple dish,
spinach, the Irishman looked with contempt, first at the party,
and next at the modest repast. " Dry bread and spinach !"
exclaimed he; "let us moisten the vegetable at any rate."
Seeing a watering-pot, kept at hand to enable the waiters to
cleanse the apartment when the guests should have departed,
he seized it and sprinkled abundantly the dish and the plates
of the party. Astounded by the suddenness of the aggres-
sion, the officers remained for a moment motionless. At
length, all rose and rushed to their sabres, which they had
taken ofi" and hung up before commencing supper. They
were successively knocked down by the aggressor. The waiters
rushed in on hearing the noise, and the other students came
10
218 THE IRISH
to the aid of their culpable companion, on whose head and
shoulders blows began to be unmercifully showered. A
general fight now ensued, many wounds were inflicted, and
several of the combatants had already fallen, when a detach-
ment of soldiers from the Luxembourg arrived, and put an
end to the affray, carrying off to the guard-house the rioters,
and, shutting them up in the violon (blackhole), left them to
their reflections, as they remarked. But this was a miscalcu-
lation, for the incarcerated students continued for au hour oi
two alternately quarrelling among themselves, and singing.
About six o'clock in the morning, however, they appeared
to have recovered their senses, and were then regaled with a
promise that they should be brought before the ti'ibunal for
assaulting and maltreating peaceful citizens, and for vilifying
the Republic ia several languages.
A council of war was, therefore, immediately held, the
result of which was a letter to the British Ambassador, the
Duke of Dorset, representing the facts of the case, with be-
coming expressions of humility and repentance. The Duke
was, however, in England, but his Secretary of Embassy, Sir
Charles Whitworth (afterwards Lord Whitworth, and Lord-
lieutenant of Ireland), repaired to the Minister for Foreign
Affairs, and so successfully pleaded their cause that they were
discharged with a simple admonition.
I am not certain that there is anything excusable in the
disorders of tipsy Irishmen on '' Patrick's Day." Sure I am
that the indulgence extended to the party just mentiontd in
a foreign country, too, and at a period of considerable political
excitement, has no parallel nearer home. The remorseless use
made of their staves on the heads of unfortunate Irish drunk-
ards, by the London police, on such occasions, has frequently
made my blood boil with indignation, however disposed I
might be to blame and punish riot and tappage. " They order
these matters better in France," however, and in Spain, too,
as I shall proceed to show.
A detachment (two battalions) of the Irish Regiment in
the French service, was quartered in the city of Buro-os, in
the month of March, 1810. On St. Patrick's Day the officers
of it presented to their soldiers so many skins of wine, with
which to celebrate the festival, that — literally, " every man had
his skinful" — to the great damage of their understandings.
The consequence was a sortie of the whole party after they had
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 219
finished their potations, and an indiscriminate assault upon
every person they met in the streets. Burgos is — ever3'hody
knows — a fortified town. The Commandant, a wary old
Frenchman, sent a sufficient force to quell the riot, which was
done ; and the principals in it, who were numerous, were con-
veyed to the city prison, and confined in the violon.'^
It so happened that shortly after their imprisonment in the
blackhole, a Spanish friar was brought before the Commandant
charged with being a brigand — the polite term applied by the
French to those who were, in fact, patriots. He, also, was
ordered to the violon. He arrived within it precisely at the
moment when there was a general row among its previous occu-
pants, accompanied by exclamations and expressions in English,
of which he had a smattering, and in another language quite
unknown to him, and which, in the darkness that prevailed,
had, in his conception, something unearthly. Presently he
was knocked down by an accidental blow; a fierce engagement
took place in his immediate vicinity, and a series of assaults
and retreats was performed over his body. Several of the
combatants fell upon him ; he became a mass of contusions.
At length his screams were heard by the Spanish turnkeys,
who opened the door and removed him in a piteous plight.
Covered with blood and dust, he was once more led before the
Commandant, who laughed loudly at the woful appearance he
pi'esented ; a favourable indication for the prisoner, but who
misunderstood it.
The friar stood aghast. He had hoped for sympathy, but
met with derision as he conceived. Gravely addressing the
Commandant, he said : " Sir, from Frenchmen I expected
treatment difi'erent fi'om that which I have experienced."
" You believed, probably, that you would be shot. Per-
haps you may not be disappointed."
" God's will be done ! For that I was not, I tnist, quite
unprepared; but I never heard that the French tortured their
prisoners."
'' Tortured ! What do you mean ?"
'' The moment I entered the prison-walls, within — I was
beset by a legion of your torturers. At one moment I thought
they were fiends ; but my reason came to my aid. and I dis-
covered that they were mere executioners, and in human
« Blackholo.
220 THE IRISH
shape. They howled, they kicked, they fought, they danced
— for the most part on my body; they swore, they blas-
phemed, some of them in French, others in English, but the
greater number in an unknown tongue, while they pummelled
and beat me into a jelly. Look here, Commandant."
The Commandant, on the first occurrence of the disorder,
had sent for some of the officers of the Irish regiment, and
had received from them an account of the cause of the
outrages that had been committed, with a request that the
oiFenders should be kept in custody till next day. He now
raised his eyes and fixed them upon the man whom, half an
hour before, he had seen enveloped in a whole and decent
habit, of solemn and respectable demeanor, now literally in
rags, covered with blood, mud, and bruises, and his hair and
beard thinned by the wild men among whom he had been
thrown. The functionary fell back in his chair screaming
with laughter. On this the Spaniard drew himself up ; but
this assertion of dignity only increased the Frenchman's
gayety. As, however, even mirth must have an end, he at
length addressed the indignant priest in the following words :
" You were perfectly right in your opinion of the French :
they never torture their prisoners. You were quite as wrong,
however, in surmising that those who maltreated you were
executioners inflicting a sentence : they were simply out of
their minds through temporary intoxication, and when restored
to their senses, will deeply lament the outrages of which they
were guilty towards you. Your being placed in their vicinity
was an accident. You have suffered much, and I have been
the innocent cause of it; I shall make, therefore, the best
reparation in my power. You have been sadly punished, but
are now free. Go and tell your countrymen that the French
can be humane. Tell them also to avoid the society of Irish-
men on the 17th of !March, for I have just learnt from Cap-
tain Ware, that all his countrymen are seized with insanity
on that day."
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 221
CHAPTER L.
Oh pardon uie, thou bleeding piece of earth,
That I am meek and gentle with these butchers :
AVoe to the hand that shed this costly blood !
Over thy wounds now do I prophesy,
Which like dumb mouths do ope their ruby lips
To beg the voice and utterance of my tongue.
A curse shall light upon the limbs of men ;
Domestic fury and fierce civil strife,
Blood and destruction shall bo so in use
That mothers shall but smile when they behold
Their infants quartered with the hand of War,
All pity choak'd with custom of fell deed.
One struggle more, and I am free
From pangs that rend my heart in twain.
Julius Ccesar
Byron.
ARRIVING in Paris shortly after the peace of 1815, I
sought a coiinti-yman and friend who had served in the
French army with distinction from the year 1803, and to whom
I am indebted for much that I know respecting the Irish
abroad. Among other advantages that I owe him, was my
introduction to the Irish College. On an appointed day we
were wending our way thither, when, on the Estrapade,* we
saw approaching us an elderly, plain-looking man, rather low
in stature, wearing a gown of questionable colour, and a
shocking bad hat. He carried a bundle in his hand, and
seemed absorbed and at the same time in a hurr3^ The
moment my friend perceived him he said : " Here comes
the principal of those to whom I was about to introduce
you ; a warm-hearted and in every other way favourable
specimen of our countrymen abroad ; the superior of the Irish
College."
* This is the name of a street which rose precipitately from the Place
St. Michel to the Rue des Postes, in which, and the Rue des Irlandais, run-
ning into it, the Irish College is situated. Recent improvements have,
however, changed that reproach considerably. The Estrapade was the
theatre of military punishments in former days. The reader will remember
fat Jack Falstaflf's exclamation: "Were I at the Strapado, and all the
backs in the world !"
222 THE IRISH
'^Impossible I"
'' I grant you that he has none of the outer appearances
of a functionary of that class, such as you have been accus-
tomed to behold in Dublin or Maynooth, in Cambrid,o;e or
Oxford. He is, however, a learned, and what is in my mind
better, a liberal, charitable, benevolent man, ever engaged in
acts of kindness, especially where his own countrymen ara
concerned."
By this time we had come up to him. My friend, after
the first salutation, said : " Monsieur 1' Abbe, will you allow me
to present to you my friend, our countryman, Mr. ?" The
Abb6 gave him one hand, and, looking sheepishly all the
while, hastily put the other which held the bundle behind his
back. He then extended to me the one which my friend had
imprisoned, inquiring how long I had been in Paris ?
" What have you got there. Abbe ?" asked my friend, with
a smile, pointing to the concealed hand.
" I'll tell you the truth," said he blushing, and with-
drawing it, showed that it held a much worn black coat and
shorts tied together with packthread. " I am taking these to
a poor fellow, Paddy Collins, to whom they will be welcome,
for they are necessary. I would have preferred giving him
money, for I cannot well spare them ; but, by the way, you
have not named me to your friend."
'■'■ I beg pardon of both," was the reply. '■'■ This," said my
friend, looking from me to the priest, " this is the worthy Abb^
Kearney."
"Pooh, pooh!" said the old gentleman. "Don't mind
him ; he was always a flatterer. If he had not been a ' yellow-
belly' (Wexford man, you know), one would say that he had
licked the Blarney stone."*
My friend had spoken truly of the venerable priest. I was
favoured with permission to call upon him when I would, and
passed in his company very many most agreeable hours. He
was full of anecdote; he had lived long in Paris; had seen
and. felt much, and was, when drawn out, communicative; but
he was diffident ; and not wishing to be too inquisitive, I
omitted opportunities while in his society of learning particu-
lars of the great Revolution now lost for ever.
For the honour of Ireland, two of her sons, the celebrated
*• A figurative expression, applied to persons addicted to paying extra-
vagant compliments.
ABROAD A]M1> AT HOME. 223
Abb6 Edgeworth and this simple, retiring individual were in
attendance on the unfortunate King Louis XVI. of France, at
the moment of his execution. History mentions the Abb6
Edgeworth only, but the second, the Abb6 Kearney, was also
present ; not officially, for the powers which then ruled would
have rejected a demand for a plurality of confessors or
chaplains, and would probably have refused permission for
even one to approach their august victim. The Abbe Kearney's
presence was therefore voluntary; but I recollect his saying
that if not desired by, it was known to the King that he
wished to attend, and assist at that lamentable sacrifice.
The conduct of the Abbe Edgeworth on that heart-rending
occasion, is well known. He united the most ardent zeal of a
minister of religion, to courage and devotion to his royal
patron in the presence of his own almost certain death. These,
together with his other claims on respect, are inseparably con-
nected with an event, the history of which insures immortality
to him, and sheds lustre on his country.
Respecting the execution of the unhappy monarch Louis
XVL, I spoke to the Abbe Kearney moi'c than once. His
replies were brief, and were accompanied by evidence that the
subject caused him much pain. The following simple narra-
tive is all that I could obtain from him.
"I arrived," said he, ''in the Place de la R(§volution before
the King, and managed to reach the scaffold just as the car-
riage in which he sat with the Abbe Edgeworth and two
gendarmes approached from the Rue Royale. The front ranks
of the crowd which surrounded the scaffold were principally
sans-cnlottes, who evinced the most savage joy in anticipation
of the impending tragedy.
" The scaffold was so situated as to provide for the royal
sufferer a pang to which less distinguished victims were insen-
sible. It stood between the pedestal on which had been
<" -""cted a statue of Louis XV. (overthrown early in the Revo-
I'ltion),* and the issue from the garden of the Tuileries, called
the Pont Tournant. IMidway between those two points, a
hideous, soi-dimnt statue of Liberty raised her Gorgon head.
This situation was chosen in order to realize a conception
characteristic of the epoch and the frantic fiends who figured
in it. It insured that the unhappy persons, on being placed
* The site of the obelisk brought from Thebes, which was placed on it
in 1836.
224 ' THE IRISH
on the bascule of the guillotine, should, in their descent from
the perpendicular to the horizontal when pushed home to
receive the fatal stroke, make an obeisance to the goddess !
Yes, even to that frivolity in a matter so appalling did the
monsters directing those butcheries resort.
" For the King this position of the guillotine was therefore
peculiarly painful, for, looking beyond the statue of Liberty,
the Palace of the Tuileries appeared at the end of the grand
avenue, and upon it his last glance in this world must have
rested.
" Scarcely had the King descended from the coach, when
Samson, the executioner, and his aids approached him to make
his ' toilette,'* as the preparation of the victim for death was
termed. He had a large head of hair, confined by a ribbon
according to the fashion of the day. Upon this Samson seized
with one hand, brandishing a pair of huge scissors in the
other. The King, whose hands were yet free, opposed the
attempt of Samson to cut ofi" his hair, a precaution necessary,
however, to insure the operation of the axe. The executioner's
assistants rushed upon him. He struggled with them violently
and long, but was at length overcome and bound. His hair
was cut off in a mass and thrown upon the ground. It was
picked up by an Englishman who was in front of the scaffold,
and who put it in his pocket, to the scandal of the sans-culottes,
who like him were in the first rank of spectators. As we never
heard more about the circumstance, I suppose the unhappy
Anglais was murdered. When the bustle occasioned by this
incident was over, the King ascended the scaffold. All that
followed with reorard to him is well known."
"Is it not true, Abbe," said I, "that the Abbe Edgeworth
uttered, as the King was mounting the short flight of steps
leading to the scaffold, those sublime words of encouragement,
* Fils de Saint Louis, montez au ciel 1' "
"No," he replied; "but while the King was struggling
with the executioner and his men, as I have just described,
the Abbe Edgeworth recommended resignation to him, adding
(and these words suggested possibly the phrase ascribed to
him) : ' You have only one sacrifice more to make in this life
before you enjoy life eternal — submit to it.'
" The execution over, the Abbe Edgeworth and I were
* Another of the horrible gayeties of the time. The guillotine itself
was called " the national window" by some — " the national razor" by others !
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 225
advised to withdraw as quickly as possible. I suppose the
illustrious Maleshcrbes was present to take a last farewell of
his royal master and client, for the cloak of his coachman was
obtained and cast round Edgeworth, under favour of which he
retired. Nevertheless he must have been pursued, for he found
it necessary to take refuge in a little milliner's shop, in the
Rue du Bac, whence by a back door he made his escape."
'^ And you?"
"I reached home safely, but was subsequently arrested,
and passed three years in the Temple."
This account of the execution of Louis XVI. is perfectly
consistent with all those pubHshed on the subject, except that
it demolishes the memorable exclamation attributed to the
Abbe Edgeworth, which, had I not reliance upon the veracity
of the Abbe Kearney, there appear many I'easons for believing
was not uttered.
The fact of the cutting off the hair of the King immedi-
ately before his death, and his resistance, are exactly borne
out by M. Thiers, who thus describes the occurrences in the
Conciergerie, before the departure for the scaffold : —
'^ It was five o'clock in the morning of the next day, at the
Temple. The King awoke, called Clery, his valet de chamhre,
asked him what o'clock it was, and dressed himself with the
utmost calmness. He congratulated himself upon having re-
covered his strength by sleep. Clery lighted the fire, and then
brought in a small chest of drawers, of which to make an altar.
The Abb6 Edgeworth, who had passed the night in the prison,
put on his vestments, and commenced celebrating Mass, which
Clery ' served,' and which the King heard, kneeling, with the
utmost fervour. He afterwards received the communion from
the hands of M. Edgeworth, and Mass being over, rose full of
restored strength, and waited tranquilly the moment for pro-
ceeding to the scaffold. He asked tor a pair of scissors to cut
off his hair himself, and thus escape that humiliating operation
at the hands of the executioner; but the authorities refused
it, fearing that he would commit suicide."
After his release from the Temple, the Abbe Kearney ap-
pears to have been an object of suspicion for every government
of France which followed to the period of the Restoration. On
the occurrence of every emeute, or the discovery of every con-
spiracy, he was taken into custody as a matter of course. On
10 *
226 THE IRISH
the explosion of the Infernal Machine — that incident so fatal
to many innocent persons, and so disgraceful to the partisans
of the Bourbon dynasty — the Abb6 Kearney was one of the
first of the many suspected persons who were arrested.
" I was on my way to my old quarters in the Temple," said
he to me, " accompanied by two police agents in coloured
clothes, who allowed me to walk before them free. On cross-
ing the Pont Neuf, I saw approaching a former friend and
pupil, Mathieu de Montmorency. He drew up, and as I passed
close to him said, in an under-tone, in English (a language I
had taught him) : '■ Unhappy man ! I know whither you are
going. Will they never allow you to be quiet V Now I had
no knowledge of — nothing whatever to do with — the Infernal
Machine," added the Abb6.
He did not remain long in prison on this charge. The real
authors of the atrocious deed were discovered, and several of
them met the just punishment of their crime. The man who
actually fired the match by which it was made to explode,
however, escaped. I found him one day, in the year 18o5, at
the house of the late Mr. Lewis Goldsmith, in Paris, who
introduced him to me. He was a rather shrewd-looking man,
of apparently a low class in society.
The Abb6 Kearney died in Paris, in the year 1827, and
was buried in the vaults of the Irish College.
The Abb6 Edgeworth remained concealed in Paris after
the slaughter of his original penitent the admirable, heroic,
saint-like Princess Elizabeth, the purest victim offered on the
Revolutionary scafi"old, to whom he owed his introduction to
her brother the King. During the sixteen months which
elapsed between the execution of her brother and her own
death, the Abbe Edgewoi'th contrived to correspond with and
console her. His mission being, as he considered, terminated
with her sacrifice, on the 10th of May, 1794, he retired into
Germany, and continued attached to the Princes and the
French soldiers who fought under them during twelve or
thirteen years. He died at Mittau, the capital of Courland,
of a fever caught while attending some wounded French
soldiers.
On his tomb is engraved the following epitaph, composed
on the spot by King Louis XVIII. , in testimony of his afi"ec-
tion and esteem for the illustrious defunct : —
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 227
D. 0. M.
HIC JACET
KEVERENDISSIMtJS VIR
HENRICTTS ESSEX EDGEWORTH DE FIRMONT,
SANCT.E DEI ECCLESI^ SACERDOS,
VICARIUS GENERALIS ECCLESI^ PARISIENSI9, ETC.
QUI
REDEMPTORIS NOSTRI VESTIGIA TENENS
OCULUS C^CO,
PES CLAUDO,
PATER PAUPERmi,
MCERENTIUU CONSOLATOR,
FUIT.
LUDOVICUM XVI.
AB IMPIIS REBELLIBUSQUE SUBDITIS
MORTI DEDITUM
AD ULT1MU5I CERTAMEN
nOBORAVIT,
STREXUOQTJE MARTYRI CCELOS APERTOS
OSTENDIT.
E MANIBCS REGICIDARUM
MIRA DEI PROTECTIONE
EREPTUS,
LUDOVICO XVIII.
BUM AD SE VOCANTI
ULTRO ACCURRENS,
EI PER DECE5I ANNOS,
REGI.E EJUS FAMILIvE,
NECNON ET FIDELIBUS SODALIBUS,
EXEMPLAR VIRTUTUM
LEVAMEN MALORUM,
SESE PR^BUIT.
PER MULTAS ET VARIAS REGIONES '
TEMPORUM CALAMITATE
ACTUS,
ILLI QUEM SOLUM COLEBAT
SEMPER SIMILIS,
PERTRANSIIT BEXEFACIENDO.
PLEXUS TANDEM BONIS OPERIBUS
OBIIT
DIE 22 MAII MENSIS
Airao DOMINI, 1807,
JETATIS VERO 80^, 62.
REQUIESCAT IN PACE!
228 THE IRISH
CHAPTER LI.
None are all evil — quickening round his heart
One softer feeling would not yet depart.
Byron {The Corsair).
COINCIDENTALLY witli my iutroduction to the Abbe
Kearney, President of the Irisli College, was my presenta-
tion to its physician. Doctor Patrick MacMahon, late librarian
of the School of Medicine, Paris, of whom no superior in
warmth of heart, benevolence, kindness, and love of country
has appeared among the Irish abroad.
Doctor MacMahon was nephew of an Irish physician (of
the name of O'Reilly, I believe) attached to the Court of
Louis XVI., which fact in the Reign of Terror caused him to
be included among the suspects; at which period, to be
suspected, denounced, brought before the Revolutionary
Tribunal, condemned, and sent to the scaffold, was in the
ordinary and daily routine. Participating in the suspicion
resting upon his uncle, because of their relationship. Doctor
MacMahon sought safety in concealment.
During many months he contrived to evade discovery. At
length, fatigued with confinement, he took advantage of the
diversion caused by the celebrated declaration of Danton :
"La patrie est en danger !" to steal forth one evening, and to
enter a little traifeur's in the place St. Michel, for the restau-
rant had not yet been invented. In order to escape notice he
chose a table at a corner at the remotest part of the dining-
room, and, through necessity, as he would have done from
prudence at that period, when none dare display wealth or
fastidiousness, ordered a moderate and humble repast, in
keeping with the public taste and discretion of the day.
He had successfully gotten through his modest refection,
disturbed occasionally perhaps by the entrance of some of the
fearful agents of terror, by whom he was not, however, noticed.
At length, about eight o'clock, when about to rise from table,
he saw a man bearing a tricolored sash, the emblem of autho-
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 229
ritj, enter the room and strut towards the place in which he
was seated, looking with a scowl upon the assembled guests,
who crouched beneath it. In this person MacMahon recog-
nised one of the most renowned sans-culottes of the quarter.
He gave himself up for lost when the man approached him,
but was somewhat reassured by the haughty bearing of the
visiter, who seemed to overlook a being so humble as himself.
When, however, he had reached the lowest part of the hall,
the man turned on his heel, and in so doing touched MacMa-
hon, to whom he said, in almost indistinct terms, " Follow me !"
''' Alas I" thought poor MacMahon, '^ and this is the result
of my daring ! Heaven help me \"
He rose, however, and paying his bill at the bar, left the
house. The streets were badly lighted at that period ; lamps
(lanternes) suspended over the centre of the street by cords
at very distant intervals, served with little more effect than to
"Make darkness visible."
He perceived, on quitting the house, that the official whose
command he had obeyed had placed himself in the part of the
street most in shade. This gave MacMahon a glimmer of
hope, and supplied him with strength to comply with a signal
to approach. When he had come close to him, the man said,
in a stern voice : " What do you here ?"
" I was nearly tired of my life," said MacMahon.
"I should think so," interrupted the man.
'' And I stole abroad to breathe the air for a moment, and
to obtain a morsel of food, of which I was much in want."
" I have your name on a list of persons denounced to the
Committee of Public Safety, and it is my duty to arrest you."
'< The will of God be done !"
" It is not the will of God that I take you into custody,"
said the man. " I have a reason for sparing you, that you
may possibly know one day. At present, however, let us
insure your safety. You are aware that matters are going
hard with the Republic on the frontiers, and that Danton has
proclaimed the countiy in danger. Thousands of citizens
enrol themselves daily as volunteers. On Thursday, a detach-
ment will leave this quarter, and with it I recommend you to
march ; but of course without enrolling your name. You may
thus save your life. The volunteers are to rendezvous at the
JIairie, at eleven o'clock. Be punctual. I shall be there.
230 THE IRISH
Now go home, and do not come abroad until then. Adieu;
no thanks J good-night. Oh, I had forgot; — as your name
will not appear at the Mairie, you cannot be armed at the
public expense. Can you provide yourself with a musket ?
It need not be serviceable, but you must be armed."
" I shall procure a gun," said MacMahon.
" Very well. Adieu I"
MacMahon did not proceed to the place of rendezvous on
the day which was to determine his fate, until nearly eleven
o'clock, in order as he hoped to be able to mix himself up in
a crowd. He did in fact find a very considerable number of
volunteers already assembled, and breathed more freely at the
prospect of escaping the eyes of dangerous inquisitors. What
was his horror, however, at hearing that the volunteers were
to be drawn up in single files at each side of the Porte Coch^re
and passage leading to the Mairie, and to find that he was
appointed, because of his low stature, to the last place of the
left hand file coming from the Mairie, and would consequently
be the first in view of the authorities, civil and military, who
were to arrive to witness and applaud the departure of the
section of the Cordeliers to combat the enemies of the Re-
public.
The first of the expected ofiicers who arrived was his friend.
On perceiving MacMahon, he started back : " You are lost !"
said he, on beholding the exposed situation of his trembling
protege. " The names of the volunteers enrolled will be read
out, in order that they may receive a fraternal cheer from
their fellow-citizens. With that you have nothing to do ;
afterwards will be read a list of suspected persons, who, it is
thought possible, may, as you propose, seek to escape the
punishment of their incivisme. Your name is on that list. I
need hardly caution you against answering when it is called.
We must see, in the meanwhile, if it be possible to put you
less obviously in view."
He then exclaimed, in a loud voice, as if directed to Mac-
Mahon : " No, citizen ! you cannot expect a place so distin-
guished as that you occupy. It is all very well to parade your
patriotism, but you are under size. Men of better appearance
must first meet the eye of the representatives. Here ! Let
a dozen citizens of those at the head of the column pass hither ;
and let those diminutive, but of course equally excellent
citizens, take ground to the centre." (This was in the darkest
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 231
part of the Porte Cocli^re). " That will do ! One word more,
citizen," said he, in an under-tono to h\s proteij6 : — "Present
arms to the representatives as they pass, and contrive to con-
ceal your face with your musket. Everything depends upon
it. When the order to march is given, step into the centre
of the column, and be sure to imitate your comrades in ci-ying,
' Vive la Republique !' Good-by ! I can do no more. We
may meet again."
Having said this with a haughty air, he strode up to the
Mairie.
The change of the position which MacMahon originally
held in the column, so kindly recommended by his friend,
preserved him. The representatives and other authorities
arrived at the Mairie precisely as the clock struck the hour of
noon ; for the fashion of the day in such matters was punctu-
ality— a virtue assumed by all the consular, imperial, and
royal rulers of France who have succeeded to the Republic,
One and Indivisible. Scarcely perceiving the double file of
volunteers, the Coramissaire de la Convention, with head erect,
proceeded to the IMairie, on the step of which stood the Mayor
himself, anxious (for he was in heart and soul an aristocrat)
to recommend himself by well-assumed zeal and thorough ob-
sequiousness to those whose nod would have been as sure a
sentence of immediate execution as if uttered by Robespierre
himself.
After an interchange of salutations, the representative ha-
rangued the citizens assembled in the court of the Mairie on
the sacrifices (life being the least of these) which all citizens
were bound to make for the country. He then, followed by
his staff and attendants, passed down the right hand line of
volunteers. Having arived at the extremity, he turned to the
left. He stopped before the second man of the file : "Do my
eyes deceive me?" he cried. "Are you not the son of the
ex-noble D ?"
"Yes !" stammered the young man thus addressed.
" And you dare to associate yourself with real patriots !
You, whose family has figured at all the fetes of St. Germains,
Versailles, the Trianons, and whose unworthy parent was one
of the suite of the Austrian in her visit to the Gardes Suisses,
on the 4th of October ?"
"The principles and the position of my ancestors, I do not
deny, citizen representative ; but the country being proclaimed
232 THE IRISH
in danger, I hoped it would be permitted to tte grandson of
one of the conquerors at Fontenoy, to aid in the expulsion of
the enemies of France from the territory of the Republic."
A murmur of approbation commenced in the circle which
suiTounded the representative, but a stern regard from the ty-
rant repressed it instantly.
" To the Abbaye with the aristocrat !"* he almost roared,
and rapidly ascended the line, too much taken up with his
passion to observe attentively the many trembling auditors of
the sentence he had pronounced, for such in fact it was.
The names of the volunteers were then read loudly by an
officer. Each answering by the word '^ present," and receiving
a cheer of approbation from the assembly. This being over
another test was pi-oduced from the pocket of the greffier of
the Kevolutionary Tribunal, which that functionary also read
aloud. To the first name uttered there was no reply. To the
second, a youth of seventeen, of a most interesting appearance,
responded. "Advance," said the greffier. The young man
went forward, and made a profound obeisance to the represen-
tative, who eyed him with the aspect of a fiend. " Stand
aside," said the greffier, and resumed reading from his list.
As it was alphabetically arranged, eight other unhappy persons
acknowledged themselves present, and were similarly with the
first placed aside before "Patrick MacMahon" was pronounced.
No reply. "Does any citizen recognise MacMahon among
those present?" asked the greffier. A silence so complete
ensued, that MacMahon feared the beating of his heart would
be heard. No answer having been given, the greffier pro-
ceeded, and three other unfortunates were added to the nine
already marked. The word "march !" was almost immediately
afterwards given, and the column of volunteers of the "section
of the Cordeliers" was put into motion for the frontier, which
MacMahon safely reached.
He seized throughout that campaign as a voltigeur, but his
quality of student of medicine becoming known, he was trans-
ferred to the medical staff, in which he distinguished himself
by humanity, assiduity, and skill, and after two more years of
service was allowed to return to Paris.
The twelve unhappy persons taken into custody at the
* At the massacre of the prisoners confined in the Abbaye, a different
result was experienced by a young man who had in a similar way confessed
that he was an aristocrat. '
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 233
IMairie, as above narrated, were sent before the Revolutionary
Tribunal early next forenoon, and at four o'clock that evening
were guillotined on the Place de la Revolution. MacMahon
never discovered the name of his protector.
Dr. Patrick MacMahon died in Paris in the year 1835, and
was buried in the cemetery of Mont Parnasse. The grave
never closed upon a warmer friend, a more generous and feeling
medical practitioner, or a truer Irishman.
CHAPTER LTI.
There is a history in all men's lives,
Figuring the nature of the times deceased.
The which observed, a man may prophesy
With a near aim, of the main chance of things
As yet not come to life.
The time will come, that foul sin, gathering head,
Shall break into corruption.
Henry IV. (2d Part).
"TTTE have referred elsewhei'e to the supreme cgo'isme of
VV Louis XV. in anticipating that the day of retribution
for immorality and misgovernment would not arrive in his
time, while, in the utterance of those heartless words —
"Apres nous le deluge" —
he clearly predicted the advent of the avenger.
While treating of the horrors of the Revolution of 1789, I
may be allowed to introduce here an incident in which an
Irishman took a leading part, and which may be regarded as
characteristic of the period when, unmindful of portentous ap-
pearances, the Court in general persisted, by its frivolity and
more serious offences against public feeling, to attract to it
contempt and indignation.
The latter years of the life of King Charles X. of France
were, as respected morality and religion, exemplary; but that
his youth was irregular and dissipated, and contributed to
hasten the Revolution, is universally believed in his own
country.
About the year 1786 or 1787, when the awful change^
234 THE IRISH
already become inevitable, was approacbiug witb rapid strides,
fatuity would appear to have seized upon the Court. The little
farces performed at the Trianon, which was fitted up as a Swiss
village, in which the King was "the farmer;" the Queen,
''the helle laitiere ;" the Archbishop of Paris, "the curd,"
&c., provoked bitter reflections on the part of the enemies of
the royal family, who, admitting that those little travesties
were innocent, regarded them as they merited, as follies un-
worthy the actors, and unsuited to the epoch.
At that period the Count de Provence, afterwards Louis
XVIII., was popular, being notoriously liberal, or indifferent,
in matters of religion, and disposed to recommend moderate
reforms of every description. His brother, the Count d'Ar-
tois, afterwards Chai'les X., was, on the contrary, looked upon
with disfavour ; not so much because of his alleged gallantries
and immoralities, as that he was a bigot in religion, and the
enemy of every measure tending towai'ds reform. As it is
well known that, in after years, the Count d'Artois expiated
the sins of his youth, and became exceedingly religious, it will
do no injury to his memoiy to narrate one of the incidents of
his life, which increased considerably his unpopularity, and by
reflection injured his entire family in the public estimation.
There resided in the Hotel des Invalides, Paris, at that
time a retired officer of the Irish Brigade, a Captain Morris.
He had lost his left arm in action, and had been admitted,
through favour of friends at Court, into the Hotel des Inva-
lides, although j^et in the flower of his age.
He was returning to his quarters one night along the Boule-
vard des Invalides, when, near the Avenue Villars, he heard
the ci-y of a female in distress. He ran towards the spot from
whence the voice came, and saw a young woman struggling
with a man, while another man came forward, and drawing his
sword, ordered Morris to keep off. The sword of the latter
was unsheathed in a moment. In another instant Morris had
disarmed his antagonist, whose sword he flung to a distance.
He then advanced upon the man against whom the woman
continued to defend herself The aggressor, on the approach
of Morris, desisted and drew his sword.
" Withdraw," he said.
" Not I, by ," said Morris, pressing forward.
Their blades met.
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 235
'' Hold !" said the man, who found in Morris a dangerous
adversary. "I am the Count d'Artois."
Morris's point fell. He muttered an apology, which the
Count appeared to hear with haughtiness. The disarmed man
now joined them. '' Take his sword," said the Count to him,
'-'and march him to the corps dc garde." Morris surrendered
his sword, and led the way in the direction of the guard-house.
The woman had taken advantage of the conflict, and eff"ected
her escape.
When he arrived at the corps de garde, Morris was con-
signed to the violon, under the special care of a sentinel. The
Count and his aide-de-camp withdrew.
When day broke, Morris regarded the armed guardian
placed over him, and found that he was an old soldier. They
conversed on military affairs, and upon certain events of which
they had been respectively eye-witnesses. As the hour of six
o'clock approached, Morris addressed the soldier : —
" Comrade, in ten minutes you will be relieved. Will you
do me a service V
" Willingly, if consistent — "
'' I would not ask it otherwise. In an hour from this time
T shall be an inmate of the Bastille. Will you do me the
favour to go to the Tuileries the moment after you shall be
relieved, see the Abbe O'Neill, and tell him where he may
find his friend, Captain Morris, and under what circumstances."
The soldier promised compliance, and kept his word. x\t
seven o'clock he was admitted to the Abbe O'Neill, then one
of the Chaplains of the palace. The Abb4 repaired instantly
to the apartment of the King, whom he shocked by the reci-
tal of his brother's misconduct. Louis XVI. gave an instant
order for the release of Morris, who had, as he himself had
anticipated, been transferred to the Bastille. At nine o'clock
he was liberated.
If it be true, and there appears every reason for believing
it, that the corruption and demoralization which marked the
last years of Louis Philippe's reign in France contributed
much towards bringing about the Revolution of February,
1848, it is no less certain that the dissolute manners of the
Court of Louis XVI., of which, however, he was himself
guiltless, contributed to that of 1789. Charles X. died a
sincere penitent ; but it is unquestionable that French history
charges him with precipitating, by his conduct, the Revolu-
236 THE IRISH
tion foreseen and predicted by his grandfather, who had him-
self laboured so shamefully to prepare the way for it.
Having succeeded early in the Revolution in escaping from
France; the Count d'Artois had the unhappiness to learn in
exile the imprisonment and execution of Louis XVI., his con-
sort, and his sainted sister, with the other enormities practised
on his nephew and niece at the same period ; and he assisted,
seven-and-twenty years later, at his son's death-bed, with pro-
bably the bitter reflection that his own unpopularity had con-
tributed, with that so industriously earned by the Due de
Berri himself, to steel the dagger of the assassin Louvel.
CHAPTER LIII.
Patxem sequitur sua proles.
THE period which elapsed between 1792, at which date it
was closed, and 1800, may be deemed an interregnum as
regards the Irish College in Paris.
When it was taken possession of in the name of the Re-
public, and the students expelled, there existed at St. Germain-
en-Laye, near Paris, an academy, for the education of young
men, at the head of which figured the estimable Abbe Mac-
Dermott. At the same time, and in the same town, there
was a similar academy for young ladies, presided over by the
distinguished Madame Campan. Later, under the Directory,
both were broken up, and the personnel of each removed to
Paris. The Abb6 MacDermott was allowed to re-enter into
possession of the Irish College, and to carry on in it his aca-
demy, in which were to be found sons of the most distinguished
and wealthy families of the day ; and Madame Campan similarly
established herself. The former numbered among its pupils,
for example, Eugene Beauharnais ; Jerome Bonaparte ; Cham-
pagny (created later Due de Cadore) ; one of the Perigaux
(whose sisters married afterwards Laffitte and Marshal Mar-
mont), &c. Madame Campan was placed subsequently by the
Emperor Napoleon at the head of the establishment at St.
Denis for the education of the daughters of the members of
the Legion of Honour.
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 237
" I entered the institution of the Abb6 MacDermott" (the
Irish College) ''in the year 1794," said a friend to me the
other day ; " but am not able to present you with a favourable
picture of our studies. The practice of religion had not yet
been tolerated. Voltaire and Rousseau were more read by
myself and my fellow-students, than sacred history. Of this
fact Abb6 MacDermott was aware. It grieved him, but he
could not help it nor control us. AH that he could do was to
impose the outward observance of morality and propriety of
conduct.
" If, however, we were not devout or spiritual in our stu-
dies, we distinguished ourselves as gentlemen. The college
was the centre of elegance and gayety. Twice a week we gave
balls, at which we were honoured with the presence of the
highest and the most beautiful women of the day. Our fes-
tivities wei'e graced by Josephine, the good, the amiable, the
excellent, the kindhearted ; by Madame Recamier ; by the
still more lovely Madame Tallien, afterwards Princess of Chi-
may, and other celebrities ; as well as by the pupils of Madame
Lemoine, whose establishment for the education of young
ladies was the most distinguished in Paris. Vestris, ' the
Vestris,' was the director of our balls. It was a jolly time
that could not last for ever."
The return of Napoleon to France, and the Revolution of
the 18th Brumaire, interrupted the festivities at the Irish
College. The Consulate assumed a character of respectability
and gravity, to which the Directory had no pretensions.
Amid the important occupations of Napoleon in 1800, he felt
anxiety to know something of the progress of Jerome, then
in his 16th year, and sent for him. Jerome presented him-
self at the Tuileries, and opened the interview by asking for
employment. " "What are you fit for ?" asked Napoleon.
" Everything."
" A la bonne heure. Nous verrons."
In five minutes afterwards Jerome was seen flying from
the cabinet of the First Consul, the latter in pursuit of him
in a towering passion. Jerome ran to his mother's (Madame
Letitia), where he lay concealed for a month. Napoleon
instantly ordered the Abb6 MacDermott to be summoned
before him.
"How comes it, sir?" asked the irritated chief of the
State, of the meek priest ; " How comes it, sir, that I find
238 THE irasn
my brother so utterly ignorant ? Why, he cannot tell the
names of the kings of France I"
'' It is, unfortunately, but too true," replied the Abb4 ;
" but I cannot help it. Discipline has long ceased to exist at
the Irish College. When I beg him. Monsieur Jei'ome, to
read history, that of France in particular, he spurns it. ' The
History of France !' he exclaims. ' What is it but the his-
tory of a heap of priests and tyrants I' "
'' Very well/' said Napoleon, now a little cooled. " I'll
take him in hand."
Accordingly, the First Consul adopted the course often pur-
sued elsewhere in similar circumstances with wild gamins :
he sent the young etoiirdie to sea.
Jerome embarked in 1801, as second lieutenant of the
ship in which his uncle (by marriage) General Leclerc sailed
for St. Domingo, with a splendid army, to bring that former
possession of France once more under the French yoke. The
utter failure of that expedition, the death of Leclerc, and the
annihilation nearly of the army under his command, and the
subsequent marriage of Jerome in the United States, are mat-
ters of history.
Jerome returned to France, and became successively, lieu-
tenant, commander, post-captain, and rear-admiral. In 1807,
however, he passed from the navy to the army, and with a
corps of Bavarians and Wurtemburghers, drove the Prussian
troops out of Silesia. On the 18th of August, of that year,
he was created King of Westphalia, where it appears he con-
ciliated the affections of his subjects, a task facilitated by his
excellent heart.
Much occupied in this undertaking, Jerome did not forget
his old tutor, the Abb6 MacDermott, whose declining life he
rendered easy by a pension of eight or ten thousand francs.
All the world knows that Prince Jerome displayed unques-
tionable personal courage in the course of his military service,
and, on one celebrated occasion in pai-ticular, distinguished
talent. He commanded the second corps of the French army
at Waterloo, and headed the attacks upon Hougoumont and
the British right wing. That he failed was not his fault.
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 239
CHAPTER LIV.
Quand les Irlandai? sont bons iln'existo pas d'hommesmeilleurs; etquand
ils sont mauvais en n'en saurait trouver de pires.
French Proverb,
IN the first part of the foregoing opinion passed upon us by
the French, no Irishman will refuse concurrence. Does
the second portion of it equally and justly apply to us ? I
doubt it — at least — I could cite crimes and vices of other
nations of which the Irish are guiltless. Still, occasionally, a
black sheep appears among and disfigures the flock ; but so
seldom that the exception proves not the rule.
The friend who introduced me at the Irish College was, I
soon perceived, a favourite with the superior, the iconome,
the professors, and especially with the students, because of a
service which turned out to be fraught with danger, which he
had rendered to a late president of the college, the Abbe
Ferris. This service will shock all who entertain respect for
the clerical character. It consisted in delivering from that
ecclesiastic to the Minister of Public Instruction, Hely d'Oissel
(himself the son of an Irishman), a challenge to meet him in
mortal combat with swords, in consequence of some expres-
sions deemed offensive by the Abbe Ferris, which the minister
had employed in some speech or official document.
Accustomed as we are to the pacific character of the
Catholic clergy in these times, when no Prince-Bishop claims
to be a warlike leader, this will appear startling. We saw in
Ireland, some seventy years ago, a noble bishop of the Esta-
blished Church (the Earl of Bristol, Bishop of Derry), iden-
tifying himself with the Volunteers ; and some ten or twenty
years later, another prelate, Doctor Fowler, who for some rea-
son or other was distinguished as " The Boxing Bishop ;" we
have also seen reverend captains of yeomanry cavalry shrouding
their uniforms with their surplice, when, having dismounted,
they would ascend the pulpit ; but a fire-eating abb<5 is some-
240 THE IRISH
thing new and racy ; and a very remarkable person was this
abb6 in every way.'*'
The Abb6 Ferris resided iu Paris at the commencement
of the Revolution, and emigrated with the Princes. Subse-
quently he distinguished himself in the campaigns of 1792,
1793, and 1794, in the army of Conde, not as almoner of a
regiment, but as an intrepid captain of grenadiers. Thanks to
the clemency of Napoleon, he was allowed some years later to
return to France, and continued to reside in Paris. Here he
renewed his acquaintance with a man named Somers, a native
of the county of Wexford, Ireland, who, like Ferris, had been
a Catholic priest at the period of the Revolution, but who fol-
lowed a line of conduct different from that of Ferris. He re-
nounced his religious habit, professed himself a sans-culotte,
and married the widow of a shoemaker; and carried on, it
would seem, from his appearance and expenses, a profitable
business. It will naturally be conceived that no sympathy
could subsist between him and Ferris ; still they continued on
amicable if not intimate terms.
One day in the year 1812 or 1813, a large party of Irish,
some half-dozen or so, agreed to dine together at a traiteur's,
for restaurate^irs were not yet known at that period, to fgte a
friend who was to proceed to the United States. Among
them were Ferris, Captain Murphy, a very popular dashing
oflBcer, and an enthusiastic Bonapartist ; the late excellent and
amiable Michael O'Maley, and others. The entire party had
nearly assembled, but he, in whose honour the dinner was
given, had not yet arrived. This was an Irishman, a captain
of an American vessel, which was to sail from Havre for New
York the next day but one, and was to call at some or other
of the English Channel ports. While they were chatting,
waiting for the hero of the entertainment, Somers, who was
not popular with his countrymen, suddenly entered the room.
" Has Captain arrived ?" he asked.
" No," said some of those he addressed.
" He is to sail on Thursday," said he, " and promised to
post a letter for me at whatever English port he should touch.
Here it is," continued Somers, placing a letter on the table.
* Father Gannon, already named, was remarkable in Paris for his pug-
nacity and skill in casual rencounters, but only with the arms given him
by nature.
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 241
" Have the goodness to give it him. Good-by," and he with-
drew.
Murphy started up. " He shall carry no letter for you,
you spy," said he, and seizing the .letter, threw it behind
the fire, on which were blazing three oaken logs. Another of
the party rushed to the chimney, seized the letter, which had
not yet been even scorched, and put it into his pocket. The
expected guest entered at that moment. Dinner was imme-
diately served, and this incident forgotten; the rest of the
day was spent in joviality. The party separated at eleven
o'clock. At the same hour the following forenoon, Somers
was shot in the Plain of Grenelle, by sentence of a court-
martial, sitting at that period en j^crmanence in Paris.
He had been denounced at midnight as a spy, and in cor-
respondence with the enemy.* The proof of his treason was
incontestable. It was contained in the letter which I have
just stated had been snatched from the fire by one of his
countrymen, and which being produced to him when brought
to trial before the military commission, he admitted to be in
his own hand-writing. It was addressed to '' Mr. Smith, No.
1, Downing Street, Westminster, London." It contained only
these words : —
"■ You will read in the journals of to-morrow, that a review
of fifty thousand troops was held in the Carrousel, in front of
the Tuileries, this forenoon. It is false. There were scarcely
ten thousand."
The Emperor was at that moment in Kussia. The exag-
geration of the number of troops reviewed, which Somers pre-
dicted would appear in the " Moniteur," and other journals,
had for its object to demonstrate that a large disposal3le mili-
tary force still remained in Paris. The contradiction of that
statement by anticipation was interpreted, and fairly so, by the
court-martial, as conveying information to the enemy.
The Mr. Smith, to whom the letter of Somers was ad-
* I wish I could haro suppressed this un-Irish act of treachery, even
though its victim were infamous himself. I know who the informer was, but
from tenderness towards his truly respectable relatives, I withhold his name.
In the motto to this chapter will be found a Frenchman's idea of the Irish
character. If recrimination were an argument, I could here observe that
— be it praiseworthy or the contrary — the fidelity of the Irish conspirator,
or even felon, to his associates, is proverbial — while in France it is so rare
that the police reckon securely upon proofs by confederates against any
ofifender who may fall into their hands.
11
242 THE IRISH
dressed, was the brother-in-law and private secretary of Lord
Castlereagh, then Secretai-y of Foreign Affairs of His Majesty
George III.
From the exclamation of Captain Murphy, before throwing
Somers's letter behind the fire, it will be seen that the cha-
racter of the latter was suspected. Murphy, and the chief
portion of the Irish in France at that day, bore allegiance and
attachment to Napoleon, and despised and detested both the
treason and the traitor in the person of Somers. After his
death, his wife (through an allowance of the British Grovern-
ment, it was believed, and which must have been liberal) was
able to give a very considerable dower with her daughter on
her marriage. I have heard so large a sum as £12,000
sterling.
On the Restoration, the Abbe Ferris was provided for by
the place. President of the Irish College. A battalion of the
Garde Royale would have been more to his taste, but to pre-
serve discipline in the Irish College gave him some occupation,
and thus the years wore on. Early in the month of March,
1815, the arrival of Napoleon at Cannes, from Elba, became
known in Paris. That which alarmed all other royalists, how-
ever, had no terrors for this worthy son of Ireland, and of the
church militant. He heard of the return of Napoleon to
France, with as much indifference as he would have received
during a campaign an order to storm a battery ; but the 30th
of that month came, bringing with it Napoleon himself.
The approach of the Emperor was announced to the Presi-
dent of the Irish Colle2:e in more than one form. The most
significant was the ascent of two of the students (A. B. and
John O'M.) to the roof of the college, and their removal of
the white flag, which during a year had floated peacefully over
its walls, and their substitution of the tricolor for it. On
learning these facts, the president looked queer and decamped.
After the Hundred Days, however, he returned to Paris,
and found that the Bev. Paul Long had been appointed Presi-
dent of the Irish College in his absence.
"You must withdraw," said the absolute Ferris, in the
tone of the late Speaker of the House of Commons (Lord Can-
terbury), to the then incumbent.
" I won't," said the meek Paul Long. '' I have no orders
to receive from you."
" Then I will put a padlock on the door, and keep you and
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 243
your staff prisoners ; or if you and they leave for a mftment,
you shall not re-enter."
Ultimately the Abb4 Ferris became once more President
of the Irish College. How he conducted the establishment
up to a certain period does not appear ; but at length he con-
trived to involve himself in some difficulties with the Minister
for Public Instruction (Hely d'Oissel), and who, in an order
issued in his official capacity to the Irish College, had wounded
the amour propre of the captain of grenadiers, as I have just
stated, whereupon, in the French fashion, the Abbe provided
himself with two seconds (both Irishmen), and caused them
to deliver to the Minister a cartel with this inscription : " My
arm is the sword."
The reply was instantaneous. He directed the Abbe Ferris
to remove sixty leagvies from Paris, and to remain in a town
indicated, until he was permitted to return to the capital. M.
Hely d'Oissel added : " With respect to the parties who pre-
sented your insolent message, I am in search of evidence of
their identity. If they prove, as I suspect they will, other
than native-born Frenchmen, they shall be forthwith expelled
the French territory."
This missive troubled the Abbe Ferris considerably. The
persons who had accepted the office of seconds to him, were
officers who had served in the Imperial army of France, and
of whose Bonapartism there was something stronger in the
books than mere surmise. Their expulsion as foreigners would
not be refused by government, however, and would necessarily
cause to them, among other inconveniences, the loss of their
half-pay ; for, with a becoming regard to economy, the full or
half-pay of the French officer is suspended from the moment
of his departure from the French soil, unless with the special
permission of the government. The Abbe Ferris was there-
fore much concerned for the fate that awaited his witnesses. '
He was not a man to remain inactive under such circum-
stances, however, particularly when the hours of his own so-
journ in Paris were numbered. He repaired, therefore, at
once to General Count Daniel O'Connell (uncle of the late
more celebrated man of that name), and stated the whole case,
imploring his interference for their countrymen, his two
seconds. " For myself," said he, " I would scorn to ask indul-
gence of the mongrel Minister, who is only Irish by the
father's side."
244 THE IRISH
"I"think it would be useless, moreover," said the veteran
O'Connell. '■'■ You must submit. Give yourself no trouble
about your seconds. I and O'Mahony will represent them.
I shall see the latter immediately on the subject."
Ferris, overpowered by this kindness, took his leave, and
left Paris that night; and Generals O'Connell and O'Mahony
intimated to M. Hely d'Oissel without delay, that if he de-
sired to know further respecting the persons who presented
the hostile message he had received, they were ready to answer
him in any way he might require ; and that they, Generals
O'Connell and O'Mahony, assumed the entire responsibility of
the act.-
This proceeding saved from exile two distinguished soldiers,
whose banishment would have been destructive of their pros-
pects ; for, being political refugees before their entry into the
French service, their resources in their native land would have
been unavailable for them. The brave and respectable vete-
rans, O'Connell and O'Mahony, received their acknowledgments
in the manner that may be conceived ; adding, however, that
'' in fact they ran no risk, being unassailable by M. Hely
d'Oissel ;" but that '* had it been otherwise, they would not
have hesitated to devote themselves for fellow-countrymen, even
though there existed between them no political sympathy."
Here the matter dropped. The Abbe Ferris returned to
the Irish College, but did not evince so much generosity as
Generals O'Connell and O'Mahony, for he opposed the re-
admission to the college of the two students who had in the
Second Restoration been expelled, for hoisting the tricolor
flag on the college in March, 1815.
Generals Counts O'Connell and O'Mahony both lived to an
advanced age.
The direction of the establishment which Ferris had in
some sort usurped, has since been placed into able and worth}'
hands, and has consequently been eminently successful. In
Somers, treason was fitly punished by treachery.
I must not take leave of the Irish College, however, with-
out recording — 5.-propos or raal-a-propos — an incident which
occurred in its vicinity, and which will suggest a comparison
between French and British toleration, not creditable, certainly,
to the reputation for civility of the great man who figures in
it, however much in keeping with the male common sense for
which he is renowned. After all, perhaps, a bad joke upon
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 245
religious costume, while authorizing its assumption, will appear
more in accordance with the value of the matter in question,
and with the progres, than a formal, grave, pompous, prohi-
bitory, and penal Act of Parliament, which has, moreover,
this regrettable quality, that it is a concession to sectarian pre-
judice.
There was, before the Revolution of 1789, a Convent of
Nuns, situate in a little street without an outlet, which runs
off the Rue des Postes, Paris, and which street bears this in-
scription : " Impasse* des vigues" — a title
" 'Which liberal shepherds call by a grosser name."
This convent was, like all others, suppressed during the
Revolution. Scarcely had Napoleon been fixed in the Con-
sulate, however, when he displayed indulgence for the pro-
scribed nuns and clergy, and on a petition from the surviving
sisters, reinstated the nuns of the Impasse des Vignes in their
convent. Emboldened by this favour, the Prioress thought
she would beg a further one, and accordingly memorialized the
citizen Consul to allow the sisterhood to resume the habit of
their order.
" Tell them," said Napoleon to the person who had pre-
sented to him their petition, '' tell them they may wear what-
ever masquerade they please, if they abstain from mixing in
politics."
Did the liberality or tolerance of this reply compensate for
its i*udeness ?
* Is it not to Voltaire that this commendable new reading is due? How
happy had he always kept decency and delicacy in view !
246 THE iRisn
CHAPTER LV.
Towards the recovery of the hearts of the people -[of Ireland] there be
but three things in naturd reriim :
1st. Religion.
2d. Justice and protection.
3^1. Obligation and reward.
Bacon*.
HOW were matters proceeding at home all this time? Had
the great principles recommended by Lord Bacon to
Elizabeth, for the pacification and preservation of her Irish
kingdom, been carried out ? They were suggested in no friendly
feeling for that country ; were beyond suspicion of latent affec-
tion or regard for it, and should therefore have found credit
with those for whose guidance they had been laid down. But
either they were unheeded or were inefficacious ; for, indepen-
dently of minor revolts in the interim, in less than fifty years
after they had been written, the Great Rebellion of 1641 hap-
pened. Cromwell's consequent campaign was, for the Irish,
disastrously successful. They were overpowered, reduced to
inaction, and, as usual, paid in their persons and in their pro-
perty amply for their short-lived insurrection. Under Charles
II. and his weak and feeble, and consequently mischievous
brother, they, although not treated with remarkable favour,
recovered their spirit; and partly, perhaps, from religious
sympathy with the latter, in another half-century displayed
for him in his misfortunes more loyalty, afi"ection, devotion,
and attachment than (notwithstanding the obvious policy that
would have marked such demonstration) was ever evinced for
any of his predecessors since the invasion by Henry II. In
defence of a fallen monarch, they offered to the world the
extraordinary spectacle of a people who in their hearts did not
acknowledge his sovereignty over them, yet with their lives
and fortunes asserted it.
Did King James's successors act upon Lord Bacon's pre-
cepts in the succeeding half-centurj' ? Did the counsel of that
wise man influence their conduct and characterize the measures
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 247
of the new conquerors of Ireland, for its pacification and pre-
servation ? Was religion inculcated in the spirit of Chriyti-
anity ? AVas justice administered or protection given ? Were
obligation and reward conferred only upon those who truly
laboured for the hand fide annexation of Ireland to England,
and for the permanent maintenance of their connexion ? Lord
Bacon said that, " if consciences be to be enforced at all"
(words which, I need hardly observe, imply a doubt in the
mind of him who pronounced them), *' instruction and time
for its extension should precede their enforcement." What
were the means for '' enforcing consciences," resorted to up to
the period of which I speak — the middle of the eighteenth
century? What was the nature of the ''instruction" afforded
to the Irish ? Simply, a command to renounce Popery, and
to embrace Protestantism.
To judge from the manners which prevailed in Ireland at
that time, it would seem that intolerance had assumed the
place of religion ; confiscation and persecution that of justice
and protection ; and that the plunder of the unhappy recusant
became the reward and the remuneration of those who demon-
strated by word and deed inveterate hostility to the conquered ;
and all this in spite of Lord Bacon's recommendation of pro-
pitiation and conciliation. Then, as in our own day, emigra-
tion appeared to the suffering the only remedy for the evils
which had fallen upon them ; and, in consequence, the prin-
cipal portion of those who could do so, removed to France, or
other Catholic countries of the continent.
This exhausting waste continued to operate, among the
better classes particularly, during the fifty years which followed
the abdication of King James 11., and might have occasioned
fears lest utter depopulation should follow ; and yet (and this
is a remarkable though not unexampled incident in the history
of Ireland) the loss or the absence of those emigrants became
a^out the year 1740 hardly perceptible ; in the capital espe-
cially, where luxury, revelry, and riot, still indicated the
existence of prosperity. It is true, that those who enjoyed
life in this way were of the party of the victors; for the
vanquished were as nothing in the scale of the country. Those
among them who retained property, and who wished to preserve
it, and those who remained faithful to the exiled family, and
were encouraged and maintained in their resolve to prove their
continued allegiance to that family, when a foreign invasion,
248 THE IRISH
(constantly promised them by France) should give them an
opportunity, sought security in retirement from observation.
A few compromised or turbulent men, who disliked, or were
unable to effect emigration, and who spurned the idea of sub-
mission, remained in the Galtees, and other mountain fastnesses,
where they subsisted upon the contributions levied by them on
the Saxon who fell into their hands, or upon the supplies
furnished to them voluntarily by the peasantry, who also acted
as scouts for them, and afforded them harbour and shelter
when driven to demand it, and by whom they were, moreover,
regarded rather as martyrs, sufferers for conscience sake, per-
secuted patriots, or political proscripts, than as brigands and
desperadoes.
The feeling has continued to be displayed ever since up to
the present day, by the Irish peasantry, in favour of all objects
of the law's pursuit ; for, from error producing conviction, or
from ingenuity or perversity in their appreciation, nearly every
great crime which stains our annals — murder among the rest —
is connected with something quasi-justifiable, something sus-
ceptible of political association, of being traced to some rem-
nant of the impressions which arose out of the relations of
conquered and conqueror.*
Evei'y case of murder committed in Ireland, resulting from
agrarian or other conspiracies, developes in the peasantry of
the country in which it is perpetrated, the feeling I have just
condemned.
" Murder most foul, as at the best it is."
Do that feeling and its results express and convey sympathy
with the assassin, and approbation of his crime, as is allleged ?
I do not believe it. Nevertheless, the prevalence of the practice
of declining to aid in bringing to justice a criminal of that
description, nay, of actual assistance given him to facilitate
his escape, are unhappily undeniable.
What is the remedy for this evil ? Death by the executioner?
Crime merits punishment, and has rarely failed to receive it
in Ireland. Does punishment deter from crime ? The state
of some of the northern Irish counties at this moment would
prove the negative. If punishment fail, what remedy can be
applied ? '' Time and instruction," Lord Bacon would say.
* Murder, in order to effect robbery, is, as I have shown in my letter to
the "Journal des Dfibats," of very rare occurrence in Ireland.
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 249
The first has hardly yet begun to operate, but uow when I am
told the second is about being added to it, there should be
ground for hoping for amelioration.
In order to its plenary success, however, the system of edu-
cation must be approved by the ministers of the religion pro-
fessed by the peasant. Without that preliminary recommen-
dation of it, the project will not succeed. All legislation
contemplates the successful carrying out of the law, and in this
case success can only be insured by the approval, the acquies-
cence, and the concurrence of those to whom the objects of
such legislation look for counsel to adopt and submit to it. In
a word proselytism must not be, nor appear to be, the motive of
any code of instruction laid down for the people, if its success
be desired. In this sentence will be found the failure of any
measure propounded for the instruction of the peasantry of
Ireland.
" But we will legislate, and we will enforce submission."
You have been playing that game for centuries, and with
facilities for its advancement, now and for evermore utterly
unavailable, and you have not succeeded. In latter times
coercion, devastation, " clearing," have had their day, and may
again be resorted to ; but they are not in the spirit of the age,
and must fail as they have always done. Honesty of purpose
is all that is required in preparing a code for the instruction
of the people. It must, however, as I have already said, be
apparent as the sun, or it will fail.
CHAPTER LVI.
The "good old times" — (all times when old are good) —
Are gone; the present might be if they would ;
Great things have been, and are, and greater still
Want little of mere mortals but their will.
Byron ( The Age of Bronze).
I HAVE alluded in a former chapter of this work to the
hostile feeling against the new dynasty, and in fact against
British nile, which prevailed in Ireland till the middle of the
eighteenth century, and which, if we believe the newspapers,
exists in certain portions of it at the present moment.
11*
250 THE IRISH
Why is this ? Where lies the fault ? Why should Ireland
retrograde one hundred years ? Why should the Whiteboys
of the middle of the last century be reproduced under the name
of Ribbonmen, in this the middle of the present one ? Have
the suggestions of Lord Bacon been adopted, and acted upon
in the way he contemplated ? How is it that successive British
G-overnments of all shades of political colour, some of them
hostile, more of them favourable to Ireland, while their repre-
sentatives there, lords-lieutenant or secretaries of state, were
many of them men of great sagacity and talent — (among the
latter class, in our own day, have been Wellington, his brother
Wellesley Pole, Sir Robert Peel, and Lord Derby) — how is it,
I ask, that vip to this hour the governors and the governed
have not been reconciled ? Why should the peasant of the
present day feel the same disposition for secret association and
open revolt, which influenced his predecessor of a hundred
years ago ? Notwithstanding the removal of the principal
causes of discontent which existed at the former period (the
penal laws and tithes), he appears to be now, as he was then,
quite ready to become a conspirator or an insurgent.
Ribbonism is as old as the hills. It is a plagiary of White-
boyism, as had been Defenderism and other successive imita-
tions of that confederacy. The " Ribbonman" is the " White-
boy" (the descendant of the '' Rapparee"), the "Defender,"
the "Black Hen," the "Caravat," the " Shanavest," the
" RockifS," the " Son of Moll Doyle," the " Carder" of other
days, less the atrocity of this latter sect.
How, and by what agency, has Ribbonism been resusci-
tated ? Why was it allowed to smoulder, instead of being ex-
tinguished ? Why was it suffered to retain vitality ? Who
were the agents of its regeneration ? or does pugnacity bear a
charmed life in Ireland, to be recalled into existence at the
will of any visionary, quack, agitator, juggler, or impostor; or
of that occult, undying, yet deadly enemy of the peasant, the
rabid sectarian, the interested fomenter of discontent and dis-
affection ?
Whether it be desirable that the whole of the inhabitant.'
of a state be of one religion, does not concern the present ques-
tion. That principle is one now in process of solution by him who
has a giant's strength, the Russian Emperor ; but imitation
of him, even were it not hazardous, no man of decent principles
on this side the Vistula would recommend, because (among
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 251
Other reasons) unanimity in religious opinion is not necessary
to constitute a nation of good subjects.
Such doctrine is as absurd as commtmism. In one year
after the establishment of a universal religion, you would have
as many dissenters from it, as there would be poor men in a
country of which the wealth should have been equally divided
among all its inhabitants twelve months previously.
Originate how it may, he who enters into a treasonable
conspiracy, stakes his liberty if not his life. Former plots may
have been the spontaneous issue of the soil ; but this Ribbon
association was concocted by the inveterate enemies of the
Roman Catholic peasantry of Ireland. Of that fact, though
unable to prove it, I am convinced. I remember well the first
appearance of this scourge. It had its birth about forty years
ago, and was, if not the identical scheme itself, twin-brother
of one conceived for the purpose of involving in it and in ruin,
some of the most respectable inhabitants of Limerick (among
them Mr. Arthur, who narrowly escaped the gibbet or trans-
portation, for imputed complicity in the plot). Moreover, its
injurious effects are not local. The reputation of the whole
community is compromised by it. If hearty in the pursuit, I
cannot conceive how a government, armed as have been all the
successive Irish governments of late years, by strong enact-
ments (independently of the exercise of Varhitraire, in which
Irish authorities delight), could fail to hunt out Ribbonism
and extirpate it in a week.
CHAPTER LVIL
Dolus versatur in generalibus.
Law Maxim,
Turpe est aliud loqui — aliud sentire — quanto turpius aliud scribere alLud
Eentire.
Seneca.
THE reflections uttered in the last chapter had been sug-
gested to me in the forenoon of the 27th August, 185:^,
by some newspaper accounts of alleged " Ribbon" outrages in
the north of Ireland, when a friend called upon me. He was
252 THE IRISH
evidently much excited. I inquired the reason, whereupon,
without uttering a word, he placed before me the number of
the "Journal des Debats" of that day, pointing at the same
time to its leading article, which I proceeded to read.
It stated, " that in no country of the world was the crime
of murder so frequent as in Ireland, of landlords especially,
the landlord being generally a Protestant."
That such a sweeping calumnious charge should be brought
against the inhabitants of a country — guiltless of offence to-
wards France — or to the writer of it, whom I knew to be a
very sincere and practical Catholic — and that it should be pub-
lished in a paper so respectable as the " Debats," astonished
me. I concurred, therefore, with my friend in thinking that
it ought to be answered. Taking time to cool down, however,
I delayed my reply for a few days, and then addressed to the
editor of the Journal des Debats —
"More in sorrow than in anger," —
the following letter, which, because of its conveying a number
of facts illustrative of the character of that much traduced
people, " the Irish at home," I shall here introduce, pledging
myself for the correctness of every one of its statements : —
" Paris, 30th August, 1852.
'' Sir,
'' 1 appeal to your candour and liberality in behalf of a
people and a country, whom I regard as injuriously assailed
in the leading article of your journal of Friday last, the 27th
instant.
" The writer of that article commences with an assumption
of the most startling kind, that ' England will never become
mistress of Ireland, until the Irish race be extirpated.' This
he found, no doubt, in some or other of the anti-Irish news-
papers. It has been a favourite opinion of certain parties
ever since its promulgation by a parliamentary buffoon,* some
twenty-five years ago, who said that ' Ireland would be a fine
country if submerged for four-and-twenty hours.' Ireland
has not yet been drowned, however ; but, unfortunately for
him, he has been. I lament his fate, but shall not suppress
the record of his malignity and absurdity.
" The next proposition of the writer in your journal is still
* The late Sir Joseph Yorke.
ABROAD AXD AT HOME. 253
more objectionable, because it is something else than nonsense.
He sa\-s : ' There is no country in the world in which assassi-
nation is more frequent than in Ireland."
'' I know that this also is a mere repetition of the inconsi-
derate language which he finds in the newspapers ; but it
being the first time that it has appeared in France, it may
not be too much to ask that it be recalled. It is utterly un-
tenable.
*'I do not think I shall be contradicted when I say that
'to generalize is illogical and wrong.' If the writer of the
article I refer to, were to stigmatize the murder of landlords,
or murder of any kind in Ireland, as hateful in the sight of
God and man, there is not a decent Irishman in existence who
would not agree with him ; but to impute that crime to the
Irish nation, would be unjust, and, knowing him as I do, I
am sure the writer had no such idea when he penned hi,s
article.
" He goes further, however. He asserts that the paucity
of convictions which occur in prosecutions for the murder of
landlords in Ireland, proves the impossibility of bringing such
criminals to justice. Now, I only remember one case where
circumstances justified such a deduction, and that is the
recent one which possibly suggested this surprising accusa-
tion— namely, that of the alleged assassins of Mr. Bateson.
If there be others, let them be stated, and I pledge myself
that the exceptions will be so few as to prove my rule.
" ' To kill a landlord, is held no crime in Ireland,' says the
writer, 'because, in general, the landlord is a Saxon or Pro-
testant.'
" I am convinced that the writer did not contemplate the
conclusion to which this sentence irresistibly leads. It should
be rescinded, nevertheless, and with it the admission should
be coupled that the landlords murdered in Ireland have not
been exclusively Saxons or Protestants, for among them were
Mr. Scully, Commodore (Bryan) O'Reilly, Mr. Nangle, Mr.
Kenny, and Mr. Marum, all of them Roman Catholics. The
last-mentioned was brother of a Roman Catholic Bishop.
" Not only is the crime of murder not ' more frequent in
Ireland than in any other country in the world,' but ii is
much less so. I would fain believe that the writer only meant
the murder of landlords, and vinfortunately in that case I should
be obliged to acquiesce in the assertion, a crime horrible in its
254 THE IRISH
nature, and the perpetrators of which are the most deadly ene-
mies of Ireland that exist.
'' Ireland possesses seven millions of souls ; France, thirty-
five millions. The population of the capitals of the two coun-
tries are on a similar proportionate scale. I shall make no
other comparison, for recrimination is not my object; but I
will declare that (and having been an inhabitant of the city
of Dublin and its vicinity during the first five-and-thirty years
of my life, and not an inattentive observer, my declaration
■should have some weight) during those five-and-thirty years,
twelve murders only took place in Dublin (with a population
of upwards of 200,000). Three of them were to effect rob-
bery; two of them were committed by political informers,
O'Brien and (I think) Metcalfe, who were executed; and by
armed yeomen, soi-disajit partisans of government, calculating —
and correctly — on impunity, for they were absolved; one (but
this has never been proved) was the murder of a man sus-
pected of being an informer; one charged against the Earl
of Kingston, a peer of the realm, but of which the House of
Lords acquitted him; two by debtors, in resisting arrest by
sheriffs' officers ; and one by a drunken blacksmith, who ran
a red-hot piece of iron down his brother-in-law's throat.
'* Ireland has been occasionally, and yet is, it is said, dis-
graced by miscreants committing the foul crime of murder
upon landlords or their representatives, not to the number of
thirteen thousand in twenty years, as the article I refer to would
seem to convey, but in the course of thirty or forty years to,
probably, the number of twenty; but even this is dreadful.
" Murder is not characteristic of an Irishman ; nor is
cowardice, although King James ungratefully applied to them
that term. There is not, as he was told in reply, a word in
their language to signify it, no more than there was (as the late
Sir Robert Peel so handsomely said in the House of Commons)
to express another crime which he indicated, but which can-
not be named in print. Nor is parricide a crime of Irishmen ;
nor infanticide, nor suicide, nor incendiarism, nor dastardly
poisoning.
" If, however, all the world complained of Ireland or Irish-
men, France or Frenchmen are the last who should denounce
them. The Abbe MacGrcoghegan states, that 600,000 Irish-
men perished in the service of France; and he underrated them
by one-half. The Irish Brigade of France gained for France,
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 255
among other victories, the battle of Fonteuoy. The names of
Lallj, Dillon, Johnson, O'Brien, Nugent, are associated with
the principal warlike achievements of France for a hundred
years, that is to say, from 1690 to 1783. Two of Napoleon's
aides-de-camp — Irishmen — Elliott and MacSheehy, fell close
to his person, the former at Areola, the latter at Eylau. Jen-
nings (General Kilmain) was the first officer for whom Napoleon
inquired on his return from Egypt.
" Of the more modern Irish in the French service, I shall
not speak. Their valour has been recognised by a capital
judge of the commodity. Marshal Lannes died in the arms
of his aide-de-camp, William O'Mara. William (the late Gene-
ral) Corbet, was the favourite aide-de-camp of Marshal Mar-
mont, Terence O'Reilly of Genei-al Loison, sometime Grand-
Marshal of the palace ; distinctions never arrived at without
merit.
" It is not, however, in military matters only that Irishmen
should be advantageously borne in mind by Frenchmen. The
Abbe Edgeworth, notwithstanding the almost certain danger
of the proceeding, attended Louis XVI. to the scaffold. St.
Columbanus and St. Fiacre were among the first missionaries
who carried into France, from Ireland, Christianity and civi-
lization.*
* I selected these two from the number of Irish saints who have figured ia
France — because of the celebrity of St. Columbanus on the continent gene-
rally— and of St. Fiacro in Paris, where there is a street called after him —
and, especially because the hackney coaches (for what reason tradition sayeth
not) bear his name. AVhen reminded of these facts, the French reply :
"yes, but did we not give to Ireland her tutelar saint? — Patrick — who
was born at Tours ?"
France is not, as all the world knows, the onlj' country of the continent
indebted to Ireland for its saints.
I remember meeting at Wurtzburgh (in Bavaria), a laquais de place,
who (having ascertained that I was an Irishman) made an irresistible
appeal to my purse, through my nationality, that was at least adroit. In
showing me the sights of ^Vurtzburgh, he led me — as a matter of course —
to the citadel : half way up the beautiful hill, on the summit of which stands
the fortress, we arrived at a bridge thrown over the Maine, aird which is
adorned by numerous statues of saints and bishops. Stopping before the
centre one, and uncovering reverentially and making a genuflexion, he said
— " That is your great countryman."
" My countryman !"
" Yes. The great St. Killi.vn. He arrived here from Ireland in the
Ninth Century, to convert the inhabitants, and was martyred yonder. That
church (pointing to it) is dedicated to him. It stands on the spot upon
which he was burnt."
" Saint Killian !" I repeated, for my memory failed me iu his regard.
"Yes. He gives his name to half the men of Franconia. You will find
it, even in Ler Freischutz."
256 THE IKISH
" If, sir, you acquiesce in my view that injustice has been
done, however involuntarily, to an always gallant and a now-
suflfering country, you will, at your earliest convenience, apply
an antidote to the bane, and extenuate, at least, the injurious
effect to my country of the article I complain of.
" I have the honour to be,
" Sir,
'' Your very obedient servant.
This letter, which I signed with my name, remains unan-
swered and unnoticed, and the justice I besought for Ireland
and Irishmen is withheld, and adds painfully to the feeling
with which the first perusal of the attack impressed me.
The statistics of crime which the foregoing letter contains,
I shall here enlarge upon.
The three cases of murder for the purposes of robbery,
referred to, were, first, that of a gentleman named Barry,
residing in North Frederick Street, by his footman. The
second, the assassination of an old lady and her chambermaid
in Peter's Row, fifty years since, by an attorney of the name
of Crawley. The third, the murder of a poor woman who let
lodgings in a cellar in Thomas Street, by her servant, in which
case, moreover, the murderess was not Irish. The informers,
who became murderers, and who paid the penalty of their
crimes, were Metcalfe, an artillery soldier, who stabbed a
wretched woman, his concubine ; and James O'Brien who
murdered an invalid gentleman named Hoey. One of the two
soi-disa7it loyal yeomen who shot unoffending men in the streets,
was a nailor named Shiel, living in Kevan Street, who, in spite
of positive and unimpeachable evidence, was acquitted. The
name of the other assassin who shot a poor young man, literally
in the arms of his mother, in Golden Lane or its vicinity, I
forget. The person run through the body, coming out of
Astle^s Amphitheatre, in the year 1797, was named Kelly.
He had the reputation of giving private information to govern-
ment of the proceedings of the United Irishmen, but no pro-
ceeding to bring his assassin to justice took place, so far as I
can recollect. The homicide charged against Lord Kingston
was committed upon his Lady's nephew, for the seduction of
his Lordship's daughter. One of the two debtors who respect-
ively shot the sheriffs' bailiffs, was a captain in the navy named
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 257
C . The name of the other has escaped me, as well as
that of the blacksmith ; but I remember well surgeon Colles's
attempt to bring him to life by galvanism, after execution.
Respecting the assassination of landlords and their agents,
it is not necessary that I should give any particulars, for the
recollection of those cases is still fresh in the jjublic memory,
the crime being of modern gi'owth. I shall, however, notice
one, for a particuLir reason — namely, that of Mr. Bryan
O'Reilly, agent to his relative, Mrs. (afterwards Lady) Talbot,
of Malahide, who, like her brother. Sir Hugh O'Reilly, inhe-
rited a large fortune, in the county of Westmeath, from their
uncle, Governor Nugent, whose patronyme — by the way — the
Baronet was obliged to assume.
The murder of Mr. Bryan O'Reilly — who had served and
attained the rank of Commodore in the navy — took place in
open day, early in the year 1815. He had been collecting the
rents due to Mrs. Talbot, and was followed throughout the
whole day by his murderer, whom he had, I believe, ejected
from a farm on the estate of Mrs. Talbot, and who, in some
by-road, shot him through the back. The assassin was, how-
ever, almost immediately ai'rested ; the pi'oofs against him were
incontestable, and he was committed to Mullingar jail, to abide
his trial at the approaching assizes, which were to take place
in March. He had not been long in prison, when he confessed
his crime to the jailor.
On the 16th or 17th of March, 1815, he was brought to
trial. At that period it was the custom to try murderers on a
Friday, in order (as the law allowed only forty-eight hours
between conviction and execution) that they should have the
benefit of the Sunday, and live over to Monday. Under this
impression, the attorney for the prosecution told his witnesses
that they need not attend until the Friday, which was, I think,
the 18th of March. Without consulting him, however, the
prisoner was brought up for trial on the Thursday, arraigned
and given in charge to the jury; and as there was no evidence
against him, he was acquitted.
Upon these facts, the process called " trial of battle" was
invoked by the family of Mr. O'Reilly, and combated with
extraordinaiy talent and complete success by Counsellor Mac-
Nally, whose arguments on the occasion constituted subse-
quently the grounds for the repeal by Pai'liament of that
absurd law.
258 THE IKISH
CHAPTER LVIII.
You hardly will believe such things wore true
As now occur. I thought that I would pen you 'em.
Byrox {Don Juan).
THE disorganization of society in Ireland produced by con-
quests, forfeitures, confiscations, and religious persecution
(but which, like faction, was only the madness of many for the
gain of a few), assumed now what the French call a fearful
development. The self-proclaimed Protestant, which was fre-
quently a misnomer, for he was a mere robbei*, seized and en-
tered upon the lands and houses of the Papists, and turned
them to his own use ; sometimes without any form of law, and
more frequently by its perversion ; always, however, to the utter
disregard of justice. To encourage proselytism in the vain
belief that real conversion would grow out of professed con-
formity, rewards were oifered to children to declare against
their parents, brothers were armed against brothers, servants
against masters. False friends pertaining to the State religion,
to whom property was transfeo'red in trust by Roman Catholic
owners, who hoped by that subterfuge to preserve at once their
worldly possessions and their faith, repaired to the Court of
Chancery, and declared that fact, and as a matter of course
became the proprietors.
Of this species of perfidy and baseness, a remarkable instance
occurred in the vicinity of Dublin. Mr. Malpas, who erected
the obelisk on Killiney Hill, which still remains (and a most
striking ornament of Dublin Bay it is), handed over by deed
to a neighbour, and soi-disant friend, Mr. Espinasse, a very
considerable landed property ; of which, in the manner above
described, Espinasse possessed himself. Not content with
this spoliation, he denounced his confiding friend as a Jacobite
as well as a Papist. " Malpas's obelisk," said he, " is only a
landmark for the Pope."
The effect of this system was naturally to perpetuate the
hatred of the Roman Catholics for the government which pre-
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 259
scribed — at least permitted — and legalized these confiscations
Families hitherto respectable, affluent, hospitable, and gene-
rous, but now plundered and impoverished — nay, reduced to
misery — fell into disrepute and were compelled to solicit alms
of those who had been their pensioners — the cottiers (small
landholders), in many instances, sheltering and supporting
their late landlords. Honourable pride, virtue, self-respect,
gave way. In a few cases the Catholics conformed nominally
to the State religion, to save a remnant of their property. The
contempt of their late co-religiouists, relatives, or friends, who
adhered under all the consequences to the faith of their fathers,
and the maledictions of the Church and the populace, were
poured upon them, liemorse and irritation did the rest. The
new convert became, as usual, still more the Protestant and
persecutor than he who had never professed any other creed
or principles. In the majority of instances, the Catholic who
repelled apostacy was crushed, worn down, broken-hearted;
all pride, spirit, and self-esteem gave way, and the previous
landholder sank into the condition of the pauper or the serf.
Thus, in my youth, ''the Devoy," chief of a powerful tribe,
was a blacksmith ; the Byrne of Ballymanus, a woollen-draper j
the Cheevers, Lord Mount Leinster, clerk to Mrs. Byrne, rope-
maker, of New Row, Thomas Street.
Two examples of the working of the system, which pre-
vailed even so lately as eighty years ago, will suffice to convey
an idea of the situation of the Catholic gentry of that period.
Robin Balfe was a gentleman possessing a tolerably large
fortune, residing in Cortown Castle, near Kells, in the county
of Meath. He was the eldest of six or eight brothere, giants
in stature, all of whom lived in the castle or its dependencies ;
and having no profession or pursuit, became almost of neces-
sity, and like their contemporaries upon the adverse faction,
dissolute and riotous. Towards the year 1745, his friends
perceived that Robin Balfe, then a man of thirty or forty
years of age, displayed symptoms approaching to imbecility or
folly, which declared itself in inordinate susceptibility of the
tender passion. Fearing that he would contract a marriage
with an inferior, his brothers pressed him to seek a wife in the
circles of the gentry of the county. He said he would think
of it. When pressed more closely, he desired that they would
suggest to him a suitable match. They named several, all of
which he declared non-receivable, on grounds the most absurd.
260 THE IKISH
Miss Bligh (of Lord Darnley's family), for example, he scorned;
"the Blighs being scarcely a hundred years settled in Meath !"
Alarmed at this opposition to their project, his friends became
importunate, and said : " Since you disapprove all that we pro-
pose, choose for yourself."
"Now you talk common sense," said he, "I will marry the
daughter of a gentleman — a pretty girl I have long loved."
" What gentleman ?"
" Ned Balfe, of Nobber."
Whether agreeable or otherwise to his family, they acqui-
esced in this choice ; and Robin Balfe married his fair name-
sake, and brought her home to his castle.
At that period there iived a certain "Counsellor John
O'Reilly." He was a gentleman by birth, and a barrister by
profession, as the title given to him indicates, and was in some
respects the O'Connell of that day. He was a man of talent
and energy, and had been deputed by the Roman Catholics
of Ireland to represent them, I will not say at the Court of
George II., but to hold for them "a watching brief," and to
interfere on the spot in matters connected with his mission,
communicating the results to his constituents, and informing
them whenever any new danger or attack menaced them or
their property.
In the course of time, the funds to maintain "Counsellor
John" O'Reilly in this position failed; his own patrimony was
expended, and he returned penniless to Ireland, without hav-
ing achieved much for those who had deputed him to London.
"Power is too powerful," said he; "we must submit to fate."
Although unsuccessful, he was well received by the Roman
Catholic gentry, whose interests he had certainly sought to
maintain. Money was out of the question. They ofiered him
hospitality, and he continued for some time the guest in suc-
cession of half the Catholic families of Meath. Among others,
Robin Balfe was more than kind to him ; he invited him to,
and domesticated him in Cortown Castle for a long period.
An improper intimacy between O'Reilly and the lady of
hi.'? host ensued. Not content with their disregard of all the
ties which bound them to the unhappy Robin Balfe, now fall-
ing into idiotcy, they sought to render him the laughing-stock
of his servants, tenants, and neighbours ; parading him in
grotesque apparel, with his face daubed with yellow ochre.
Indignant at and fatigued by this infamous abuse of the
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 261
poor man's weakness, and irritated possibly by the temporary
alienation of their brother's income for 0'E,eilly's benefit, Ro-
bin's giant relatives resolved on taking the law into their own
hands — no unusual practice in those days. They imprisoned
him in a chamber of his own house, therefore, and turned his
faithless wife and her paramour out of doors.
The guilty pair did not quit the castle empty-handed, how-
ever. They carried with them an iron coffer, in which were
preserved the title-deeds of the estate, and other family docu-
ments ; and these they pawned with Sir , grandfather of
the present Lord , for a thousand pounds.
The lender waited not repayment: he "filed a bill of dis-
coveiy in the Court of Chancery,'' as that process was deno-
minated in those days. He showed that Balfe was a Papist,
and he himself a Protestant, and a decree was passed invest-
ing him with the estate.
The brothers of lialfe resisted. They defended with their
persons, and by the aid of their retainers, the Castle of Cor-
town, and with some loss of life, I think. Overpowered, they
retired at length, and perceiving that all their efforts to obtain
justice were vain, one or two of them, infuriated by their
wrongs, conformed to the Protestant religion, and claimed the
alienated estates. After a long course of impoverishing liti-
gation, they were beaten by the baronet (he was not yet
ennobled). One of them fell in a duel ; another, I think, in
retaining forcible possession of the castle. Reduced to po-
verty, the survivors ended their days in obscurity and unhap-
piness.
The descendant of Robin Balfe, the chief of the family,
was in its reduced condition ''apprenticed" about the year
1760, ''to a trade," the refuge of the offspring of half the
ancient Roman Catholic families of Leinster. At the begin-
ning of the present century, he was a turner, living in Cathe-
rine Sti-eet, near Meath Street, Dublin, and emigrated to the
United States of America shortly afterwards, where probably
his descendants still exist.*
A gleam of hope for, but which never reached him in his
exile, occurred some thirty years since to a relative of his, a
member of the legal profession. In reflecting upon the un-
happy Ml of the Balfes, this cousin remembered that previ-
» His own Christian name was Patrick. That of bis eldest son, Michael.
262 TPIE IRISH
ously to the elopement of 3Irs. Robin Balfe with '' Counsellor
John," a portion of his (Balfe's) estate, called Balrath, now
of the value of four thousand pounds per annum, had been
mortgaged to a Mr. Nicholson for a thousand pounds ; and that
Mr. Nicholson being a Protestant, and in possession, that por-
tion of Robin Balfe's estate was not mentioned in the decree
on the bill of discovery, filed by Sir . He further
ascertained that Mr. Nicholson, being an honest, honourable
man, or satisfied with undisturbed possession of the lands and
mansion-house of Balrath, had taken no steps to legalize his
holding the portion of the Papist's property over which he had
a lien.
Alas ! limitation had run against the claim which the law-
yer was about to make for restitution of his relation's property,
and that hope vanished.
One word more respecting this unfortunate family, to illus-
trate further the operation of the penal laws at that period.
One of the Balfes, brothers of Robin, who had, as the phrase
went, " turned Protestant," in order to claim and recover the
family fortune, became from change of position, chagrin, pri-
vation, and resentment, an irritable, violent, desperate man,
and being of huge proportions,* was the terror of half the
country, especially when in his cups, "his custom of an after-
noon." In a public-house brawl one night, he was beset by a
roomful of half-intoxicated men, whom he had insulted. During
half an hour he, with his back to the wall, defended himself
resolutely and efi"ectively, inflicting fearful wounds on the as-
sailants. At length a window over his head was opened, and
a virago armed with a churndash appeared at it. With a
terrible blow, which fractured his skull, she felled the giant.
He was carried to the house of his sister (a Mrs. Owen
O'Reilly), where it was found that his case was desperate.
Informed that his death was inevitable, Balfe, who had never
contemplated a real change of creed, eagerly consented to
receive the visit of a Roman Catholic clergyman. Becoming
from that fact, however, what was termed ''■ a relapsed Papist,"
and the laws against " Popish priests" administering the sacra-
ments of their Church, particularly to persons in his cireum-
* Tbero is in the Balfe family a tradition that the seven brothers in
question were singularly "constructed" — and, that instead of ribs — divided
and connected in the usual way, they possessed a plate of bone, "which
accounts for their extraordinary strength !"
ABROAD AND AT IIOMi;. 263
stances, being severe (in fact it was a capital oifeuce), much
secrecy was required in procuring for the dying man the con-
solations of religion. A clergyman — a former proUje of the
family — was found, however, to brave the consequences. Dis-
guised as a woman, and seated on a pillion behind a peasant
of the neighbourhood, he arrived at the house where Balfe
lay, and having administered the sacraments to the dying man,
withdrew.
The surviving brothers of Balfe, affected by the condition
of their relative, expressed their determination to take ven-
geance of the faction by whom he had been murdered, as they
deemed it. " No," said the dying gladiator, with a last effort,
" let there be no vengeance — no prosecution. I brought it on
myself" Then raising himself on his elbow, and his eye
momentarily flashing, as he looked upwards, he added, in the
words and with the air of Altamont : —
" I conquered in my turn. With that blackthorn stick I
struck the first blow which brained Jack ." Having
uttered this, he fell back on his pillow, and expired.
CHAPTER LIX.
Diseur de bons mots, mauvais caractSre.
Pascal.
Qui nescit dissimulare nescit vivere.
THE second instance of the working of the penal code, in
its legalization of confiscation, and encouragement of soi-
cUstait conversions to the established religion, which I pro-
mised, is the following. Coupled with the foregoing, it pre-
sents a perfect illustration of the then condition of the Catholics
of Ireland : —
Seventy or eighty years ago, there resided in Soho Square,
London, an Irish Roman Catholic gentleman, known among
his friends as " Geoghegan of London" (father of the late ex-
cellent Baroness Montesquieu). Pretending to be, or being
really, alarmed, lest a relative (Mr. Geoghegan, of Jamestown)
should conform to the Protestant religion, and possess himself
264 THE IRISH
of a considerable property, situate in Westmeath, Ireland, of
■which he (" Gcoghegan of London") was tenant for life, and
of which, if I remember rightly, Geoghegan of Jamestown
was the presumptive heir, Geoghegan of London resolved upon
a proceeding to which the reader will attach any epithet it
may seem to warrant.
He repaired to Dublin, reported himself to the necessary
authorities, and professed, In all its required legal forms, the
Protestant religion on a Sunday, sold his estates on Monday,
and relapsed into Popery on Tuesday.
He did not effect these changes unostentatiously; for ''He
saw no reason for mauvaise Jionte," as he called it. He ex-
pressed admiration of the same principle of convenient apo.s-
tacy, which governed Henri IV. 's acceptance of the French
crown. " Paris vaut bien une messe," said that gay, chival-
rous, but somewhat unscrupulous monarch. Thus, when asked
the motive for his abjuration of Catholicism, Geoghegan
replied : " I would rather trust my soul to God for a day, than
my property to the fiend for ever."
This somewhat impious speech was in keeping with his
conduct at Christ-Church when he made his religious profes-
sion : the sacramental wine being presented to him, he drank
off the entire contents of the cup. The officiating clergyman
rebuked his indecorum. " You need not grudge it me," said
the neophyte ; " it's the dearest glass of wine I ever drank."
In the afternoon of the same day he entered the Globe
Coffee Room, Essex street, then frequented by the most
respectable of the citizens of Dublin. The room was crowded.
Putting his hand to his sword, and throwing a glance of defi-
ance around, Geoghegan said,
" I have read my recantation to-day, and any man who says
I did right is a rascal I"
There exists still, a further expression of Mr. Geoghegan,
which, had the features I have traced not been preserved,
would convey a perfect picture of the man; but it was a jest
upon a matter too sacred to justify its repetition in print in
the terms employed. The gist of it is this.
A Protestant with whom he was conversing the moment
before he left home to read his recantation, said to him : " For
all your assumed Protestantism, Geoghegan, you will die a
Papist."
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 265
" Fi done, mon ami I" replied he. " That is the last thing
of vrhich I am capable."
One more specimen of the operation of the penal laws, and
I have done with that part of my subject, which is one so
ungracious that nothing but the necessity for plainly exhibit-
ing the system could induce me further to dwell upon it.
Mr. G-eoghegan, just mentioned, had a relative, Mr. Kedagh
Geoghegan, of Donower, in the county of Westmeath, who,
though remaining faithful to the creed of his forefathers,
enjoyed the esteem and respect of the Protestant resident
gentry of his county beyond most men of his time. Not-
withstanding that his profession of the Roman Catholic reli-
gion precluded his performing the functions of a grand juror,
he attended the assizes at Mullingar regularly, in common with
other gentlemen of Westmeath, and dined with the grand
jurors.
On one of those occasions, a Mr. Stepney, a man of con-
siderable fortune in the county, approached him, and re-
marked : " Geoghegan, that is a capital team to your carriage.
I have rarely seen four finer horses — nor better matched.
Here, Geoghegan, are twenty pounds," tendering him a sum
of money in gold. " You understand me. They are mine."
And he moved towards the door, apparently with the intention
of taking possession of his soi-disant purchase. The horses,
not yet detached from Mr. Geoghegan's carriage, were still in
the yard of the inn close by.
'' Hold, Stepney !" said Geoghegan. '' Wait one moment.
I shall not be absent for more than that time." He then
quitted the room abruptly, and was seen running in great haste
towards the inn at which he always put up.
There was something in the scene that had just occurred
which shocked the feelings of the witnesses of it, and some-
thing in the manner of Geoghegan, that produced among them
a dead silence and a conviction that it was not to end there.
Not a word was yet spoken, when the reports of four pistol-
shots struck their ears, and in a few seconds afterwards Geog-
he^-an was perceived coming from the direction of the inn,
laden literally with fire-arms. He mounted to the room in
which the party were assembled, holding by their barrels a
brace of pistols in each hand. Walking directly up to Step-
ney, he said : " Stepney, you cannot have the horses for which
you bid just now."
12
266 THE IRISH
" I can, and will have them."
"You can't. I have shot them; and, Stepney, unless you
be as great a coward as you are a scoundrel, I will do my best
to shoot you. Here, choose your weapon, and take your
ground. Gentlemen, open if you please, and see fair play."
He then advanced upon Stepney, offering him the choice
of either pair of pistols. Stepney, however, declined the com-
bat and quitted the room, leaving Geoghegan the object of the
unanimous condolements of the rest of the party, and over-
whelmed with their expressions of sympathy and of regret for
the perversion of the law of which Mr. Stepney had just
sought to render him the object.
In tendering twenty pounds for horses that were worth
twenty times that sum, Stepney was only availing himself of
one of the enactments of the penal code, which forbade a
Papist the possession of a horse of greater value than five
pounds.
Xotwithstandinsr this incident, old Kedasrh Geoi^hecan con-
tinned to visit MuUingar during the assizes for many years
afterwards; but to avoid a similar outrage, and to keep in
recollection the cruel nature of the Popery laws, his cattle
thenceforward consisted of four oxen.
CHAPTER LX.
Our country sinks beneath the yoke.
It weeps; it bleeds; and each new day a gash
Is added to her wounds.
Jllacheth.
IT was about the middle of the last century that the " No
Popery" system attained to its culminating point in Ireland.
Then, and for sixty years afterwards, the British Government,
whatever its own views of it were, felt obliged to acquiesce in
those of the home party, and to permit, with all the reputation
of directing them, inflictions on the proscribed sect, which were
highly disapproved by every man of liberality and sagacity
connected with the government. Of this latter class an'illus-
trious example was found in the Lord-lieutenant of the day
(1746 I think), the celebrated Earl of Chesterfield.
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 267
The time is not remote from the present, when the British
Government wisely interfered to terminate pai'tj processions
and manifestations in Ireland ; but there remained then to be
removed only a trifling remnant of the pomp and circumstance
with which Orange festivals and triumphs were celebrated at
the period of Lord Chesterfield's viceroyalty, and dviring a
long while afterwards. The principal of those were the 1st,
12th, and 2Sth of July, the anniversaries respectively of the
battles of the Bovue and of Anchrim, and of the siese of
Enniskillen, when with very questionable taste, feeling, and
policy, the Catholics were reminded of their defeat and
humiliation by salutes from the batteries in the Park and at the
Pigeon House. The night closed with fireworks and bonfires.
King William's birth-day (the 4th of November) was observed
with more ceremony. Within ray own recollection, and even
till the period of the Union, on each 4th of Xovcmber, the
troops composing the garrison of Dublin marched from their
respective barracks to the Royal Exchange, and there turning
to the right up to the Castle, and to the left to the College,
lined the streets, Cork Hill, Dame Street, and College Green,
on each side the way.
At the same time the Lord-lieutenant would be holding a
levee j a drawing-room wound up the observances, at which the
nobility, the bishops, the members of the House of Commons
(the Speaker at their head), the judges, the bar, the provost,
vice-provost, and fellows of Trinity College, the Lord Mayor,
aldermen, and other public functionaries wei'e present. The
levee over, the Lord-lieutenant issued in his state-carriage and
with great pomp from the Castle, passed down the line of
streets, and round the statue of King William, and then
returned to the Castle ; followed also in carriages by the great
officers of state, the bishops, the Houses of Lords and Com-
mons, and those of the gentry who had been present at the
levee.
So omnipotent and exigeant was the ruling faction, that it
became the custom in Lord Chesterfield's time, and long
afterwards, for every person, ladies as well as gentlemen,
appearing at the levees or drawing-rooms at the Castle on the
festivals in C|uestion, to wear orange lilies in their bosoms or
at their houtonniere, and it was on one of those occasions that
Lord Chesterfield paid to a Miss Ambrose, afterwards Lady
268 THE IRISH
Palmer, the reigning belle of the day, the well-known com-
pliment, but which nevertheless I shall venture to transcribe.
The levees and drawing-rooms of that period were more
exclusive than the good sense and condescension of modern
British sovereigns have rendei'ed them. I have heard that
the only member of the family of a man in trade, who figured
in the vice-regal assemblies at the Castle at that time, was the
young and transcendently beautiful lady just mentioned. She
was the daughter of a Mr. Ambrose, an opulent brewer, and a
Roman Catholic. At the drawing-room held on the 4th of
November, 1745 or 1746, Lord Chesterfield approached her,
and glancing at the flower in her bosom, uttered the following
impromptu : —
"Pretty Tory, where's the jest,
Of wearing orange on a breast,
AVhich in whiteness doth disclose
The beauty of the rebel rose ?"
This was not, however, the only compliment paid her by
that liberal and spirituel nobleman.
On retiring from his government, and presenting himself
at Court in London, George II. asked him, among other ques-
tions : " My Xiord Chesterfield, are not those Irish Papists
most dangerous persons ?"*
" I never met but one deserving that character, sir."
" No ! and who was that V
" Miss Ambrose."
Seventy years afterwards I was presented to her at her
residence in Henry Street, Dublin. Being informed by the
friend to whom I owed the honour of my introduction to her
Ladyship, that I ought to make my bow to the gods of her
idolatry — Lord Chesterfield and Napoleon, whose portraits oc-
cupied prominent places in the drawing-room — I acquitted
myself so satisfactorily by a genuflexion before each, imme-
diately after my obeisance to herself, that I obviously made
upon the venerable lady, then upwards of ninety, a favourable
impression.
"You are fond of portraits, I perceive," said she; "there
is another in the room. Do you find it to resemble any person
you have seen ?"
It was that of a lovely dark girl of eighteen or twenty.
* Thenceforward, for more than a century Lady Palmer was spoken of
fl.3 "the dangerous Papist."
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 269
The tnitli flashed upon me, and I replied with a bow of
unaffected veneration, " A great deal. In the eyes especially ;"
and I spoke truly.
I might have added that the fine aquiline nose remained, but
ninety years had impaired its harmony with the other features,
and reference to it in terms of admiration, might have suggested
to the still keen-witted lady that I presumed to flatter.
In person, Lady Palmer was tall, as tall as another celebrated
woman, to whom, when also advanced in life (in September,
1830), I had the advantage of being presented — I mean
Madame de Genlis. The literary reputation of the latter dis-
tinguished her from Lady Palmer; but the unspotted character
of the dangerous Papist was an ample compensation for any
comparative deficiency of esjyrit.
Very few of the living generation in Ireland remember the
daughter of Madame de Genlis, the Lady Pamela. She died
in Paris, twenty years ago, in circumstances, the mention of
which would inflict a pang on all who deplore the untimely
end of her fearless, ardent, chivalrous husband. Lord Edward,
and affix a merited stigma on near relatives whose misfortunes
induce me to spare.
Poor Lady Pamela ! When a little boy, and passing one day
with a relative, near the Royal Exchange, Dublin, she was
pointed out to me walking with her husband. I was recom-
mended to impress their appearance on my memory, and it is
engraven upon it. The portrait of Lord Edward, given in
Moore's life of him, is a perfect resemblance.
Lord and Lady Edward were each below the middle size ;
both good-looking. He, lively and animated ; she, mild, but
not serious of aspect. Fearless though some danger attended
it,* he wore a green coat and a green-and-white cravat; she
was dressed in, I think, a cloth walking-dress of dark green,
and a green neckerchief, for it was in winter.
Before I paused to mention my introduction to Madame de
Genlis, I had been relating the circumstances of my presenta-
tion to Lady Palmer. The remaining incidents of my recep-
tion were common-place, except, perhaps, that (in compliment
to my tact and discernment, I suppose) I was gratified with
double rations of seed-cake and London particular : the one,
* Green is the national colour of the Irish, ami was between 1796 and
1799 prohibited because of its indiscreet and impolitic display by the United
Irishmen.
270 THE IRISH
because it was invariably served to a visiter; the other, in
acknowledgment possibly of my gallantry.
Lady Palmer lived many years afterwards. Her Ladyship,
although the only bonrgeoue, was not the only Roman Catholic
who appeared at the Castle balls and drawing-rooms in those
times. There is a story told of a lad}', a member of the old
Clare of Westmeath family (I have heard that she was the
daughter of the fourth Earl of Westmeath, and the honoui--
able Bellew, daughter of Lord Bellew), who for some
reason which has escaped me, was strangely distinguished by
the title of " Captain Moll Nugent." Perhaps it was the
following circumstance that obtained for her that unfeminine
title. The name " Moll" was not deemed derogatory.
Generally speaking, in mixed companies — that is in good
society — allusion to politics, to Jacobites, or Williamites, was
omitted, even in those days. Sometimes, either through design
or inadvertence, however, etiquette was infringed, and the
Roman Catholics present were aifronted, by toasts or expres-
sions recalling to them their defeat. Thus, at supper after the
ball given at the Castle on a 4th of November, the Lord-
lieutenant for the time being, gave as a toast, '' the glorious
and immortal memory of the great and good King William,
who delivered us from brass money, Pope, Popery, wooden
shoes, and slavery !"
"I'll drink your toast, my Lord," said Miss, or Lady, Moll
Nugent, who was one of the company — " but with a trifling
addition, if you will give me leave."
" Certainly," replied the Viceroy.
" Then," said she, '' I shall add the memory of the sorrel
horse that kicked his brains out !"
This is not a pleasant story. Much less does it furnish a
type of the Irishwoman of rank of that period.
"I do not like your manly belles,
Your Chevaliers d'Eon,* and Hannali Snells."
But allowance must be made for a high-spirited young woman,
* One of the most extraordinary episodes of the history of the last
century will be a memoir of this person, whose celebrity rested a good deal
on showy talent and skill, and especially upon the doubts that existed
respecting his sex up to the moment of his decease in London, at a very
advanced age. Frequently, while a young boy, at the commencement of
the present century, I dined in company with a man well known in Europe
in that day, the Chevalier O'Gorman, who had married a sister of the
Chevalier d'Eon. It will scarcely be credited, that at that period O'Qor-
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 271
a rigid Roman Catholic possibly, and certainly a fanatical par-
tisan of the expelled Stuarts, to whom, the legal possessors of
the throne of those realms, her fomily had been faithful even
to desperation, and had suffered for it in its members and in
its property. All this, and her daily observation of the perse-
cution of her friends and creed, and of insults wantonly
offered to her party, which none of the male sex dared resent,
rankled in her bosom, and it only required the slightest spark
to produce an explosion. This display of intolerance and
ascendancy at a social party, she considered the more cowardly
because chastisement of it could not be anticipated, there
being no male Roman Catholic present. She rose, therefore,
to protest against what she deemed a violation of the rights of
hospitality and of the principles of good-breeding; ''for,"
she continued to argue, '' he who gave the original toast knew
there was present at least one Roman Catholic lady whose
susceptibilities it was sure to wound.'' Viewed as the circum-
stance may be, now when we are all sober, the toast drunk by
Captain Moll Nugent raised her to the pinnacle of popularity
with her party.
When incidents like these were possible in high places, the
latitude will easily be conceived in which as regarded insult
and provocation, and resistance, the inferior grades of society
indulged, and the consequent state of in-itation in which the
country was held for a hundred years. A hundred years?
Ay, and upwards ; for long after the conmiencement of the
present century there continued to exist in the front of a house
in Nassau Street, Dublin, between Grafton Street and Dawson
Street, a marble tablet, inserted in the wall, in which a bust
of King William, of the natural size, and in bas-relief, was
to be seen, and beneath it this inelegant and unworthy
distich : —
" May we never want a Williamite,
To kick the breech of a Jacobite."
This monument of intolerance and execrable taste was,
moreover (at the expense of the city, it would seem) as regu-
larly painted, and its epigraph as carefully picked out prepara-
man himself believed Chevalier d'Eon to be a woman. I have more than
once heard him express that opinion.
An engraved portrait of him at the ago of 35 (that is, of the year 1763);
is now before me. It represents a female head and well developed — (and
decolhti) bust .'
272 THE IRISH
torj' to each 4th November, as the statue of King William on
College Green. That it caused heartburning, I recollect well ',
and yot its removal was due only to the demolition of the
entire house for the purpose of local improvement.
CHAPTER LXI.
There is in this young man's conduct a strain of prostitution, -which, for
its singularity, I cannot but admire. He has discovered a new line in the
human character. He has degraded even the name of LfTTRELL.
Junius (Letter to Lord North).
THE lines above quoted were written by his great country-
man, Sir Philip Francis,* when the subject of them,
Henry Lawes Luttrell, afterwards Earl of Carhampton, was
little more than thirty years old ! How justly the immortal
critic judged, will be seen in this chapter.
Twenty years would seem to have produced no improvement
in his conduct, for somewhere about the year 1790 there
appeared in Dublin a pamphlet written by Dr. Boyton, an
eminent physician, in which, although not expressly named,
Lord Carhampton found himself charged, by innuendo, with a
capitally criminal outrage upon an orphan, or very poor, and
very young, girl, named Mary Lawless, procured for him by a
wretched woman of the name of Mary Lewellyn.
This pamphlet bore for epigraph the following extract from
''Lear:"—
"Tremble, thou wretch.
That hast within thee undivulged crimes
Unwhipp'd of justice !"
As accessory before the fact, in the offence just mentioned,
Mary Lewellyn was prosecuted, convicted, and sentenced to
death at the Commission Court of Oyer and Terminer, held
in Green Street, Dublin. With respect to the principal in
the atrocity, the evidence of his identity was not so conclusive
as to justify the impeachment of him whom public rumour
pointed at as the criminal ; but the perpetration of the capital
* It is now questionless that Jtiuius was Sir Philip Francis — aided,
probably, by his great countryman Burke, but who I admit denied all know-
ledge of or participation in those unrivalled strictures.
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 273
offence was fully proved. Lord Carhampton, therefore, escaped
the punishment which his wretched instrument, as was every-
where said and believed, had incurred. A certain Saturday
was named for its infliction upon her.
The peer stood his ground without flinching, although the
whole torrent of public opinion was poured against him, accom-
panied by curses loud and deep. He was, in fact, a man
whom nothing could intimidate ; but his disregai-d of danger
did not obtain for him that involuntary consideration which
Dr. Johnson, I think, in speaking of the personal courage of
Richard and Macbeth, says always suggests itself in favour
of an intrepid man, even when he happens to be a villain.
Lord Carhampton was hated, despised — hateful and despicable.
About the time of these incidents, there flourished in
Dublin, an ex-clei'gyman of the Roman Catholic religion who
had succumbed to the seducer of ''all mankind," as the phi-
losophic Filch has it, and who had in one and the same day
embraced the Established Church and a buxom wife in the
person of a widow with whom he had been long intimate.
This convert, while ofiiciatiug and serving as a Roman Catholic
priest, was known as Father Fay. I forget whether, with the
usual pension allowed to persons in his circvimstances, his
orthodoxy was rewarded with a living, but if it were, it proved
insuflScient ; for some time after his recantation and marriage,
Father Fay brought himself into trouble, and by the simplest
possible process, namely, that of afiixing to a slip of stamped
paper, at the end of certain lines promising to pay to some-
body a hundred pounds, another name than his own, upon
which document he obtained the sum specified less the lawful
interest, for Father Fay was scrupulous on that point. When
the bill came to maturity, the forgery was discovered, and the
Reverend Benedick was remorselessly arrested, committed to
prison, brought to trial, found guilty, and sentenced to be
hanged.
Fortunately for him (as the world of Dublin argued) he
was ordered to be executed on the same day and on the same
scafibld with Mary Lewellyn ; for a reprieve and commutation
of punishment having issued in favour of the monster instru-
ment in the ruin of an innocent child, the government (so it
was surmised by the Dublin public) could not think of allow-
ing the law to take its coui'se in a case of infinitely less depra-
vity. Thereupon Father Fay was also reprieved, and with his
12*
274 THE IRISH
fair companion ordered to be transported to the new penal
settlement, Botany Bay, for life.
I do not remember whether Mary Lewellyn was actually
transported, but Father Fay made the voyage to Sydney. He
must have conducted himself well there, for after a few years
he was allowed to return home. He settled in the county of
Kildare as a tanner, visited Dublin occasionally, and was
pointed out to me about the year 1798. He was a keen, sen-
sible-lookins; man, and I remember hearino- of him enouo;h to
justify belief that he was a United Irishman in principle, but
his character of '' reprobate priest" forbade his reception into
any of the innumerable societies of that body in Kildare.
How his career ended I have never heard.
The commu.tation of the punishment awarded against
Mary Lewellyn was, as above mentioned, assigned by public
agreement to the credit of Lord Carhampton, and was held to
add considerably to the already strong presumptive evidence,
circulated and believed, of his complicity in the outrage of
which the child Mary Lawless had been the victim, and upon
the following mode of inference.
It was a-propos of the celebrated election for Middlesex,
held at Brentford early in Decembei*, 1768, that Junius spoke
of Lord Carhampton, in the terms prefixed to this chapter.
Everybody knows the history of that disgraceful proceeding.
Colonel Luttrell was the ministerial candidate, and employed
to defend him and assault his opponents, a mob of despera-
does. In the course of the fearful riots which ensued, these
ruffians attacked some partisans of the popular candidates
(John Wilkes and Sergeant Whitaker) with staves, bludgeons,
and other deadly weapons, when a man named George Clarke
was killed by one of Colonel Luttrell's bravoes, an Irish chair-
man of the name of Edward MacGuirk. He was tried for
the murder of Clarke, found guilty, and sentenced to death ;
but, as was believed, Colonel Luttrell used all his influence in
his favour, and through the Duke of Grafton (as stated by
Junius) succeeded in obtaining a free pardon for him.
The recollection of this fact suggested, possibly, to Dr.
Boyton new ground for suspicion against Lord Carhampton,
in the case of Mary Lewellyn. Without bestowing upon his
LordsTiip praise for protecting his guilty instruments, Dr.
Boyton argued that he who so successfully interested himself
for Edward IMacGuirk, would consistently seek to relieve
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 275
Mary Lewellyu from the consequences of her zeal in his ser-
vice. The clemency of the government in respect of the
latter, and the notorious influence of Lord Carhampton at the
Castle, were considered by Dr. Boyton irrefragable proofs of
his Lordship's guilt.
Under this impression, Dr. Boyton wrote the pamphlet
alluded to. It recapitulated the known facts of the case,
showed that the principal was more guilty than the accessory ;
and pointing at, without naming, Lord Carhampton, stated
that he deserved death for it. This pamphlet produced a
great sensation in Dublin.
One forenoon, immediately after its publication. Dr. Boy-
ton received a visit from an intimate friend, a person already
of considerable celebrity, Archibald Hamilton Bowan,* a gen-
tleman of large fortune, whose country residence was at Rath-
coffey, in the county of Kildare, but who identified himself with
the popular party in all the political occurrences of the day
in Dublin. On his entrance into Boyton's study, the latter
hastened to meet him, and said : " Bowan, you are the very
man I wanted. Bead this;" handing him an opened letter.
Bowan sat down and read the letter, which was a challenge
from Lord Carhampton, demanding the contradiction of cer-
tain passages in Dr. Boyton's pamphlet, ''which went to
charge him. Lord Carhampton, with the crime committed
upon the person of Mary Lawless," or a meeting.
" And you wish me to act for you in this affair, Boyton ?"
said Rowan.
" Certainly. That is, I wish you to see Carhampton's
friend, and fix the time and place for our meeting ; and with-
out delay, lest the matter take wind, and we be arrested."
" That may become my duty as your friend," replied Ha-
milton Bowan ; " but as you repose your honour in my hands,
you must leave to me the arrangements which I may consider
called for."
" I do so most implicitly," said Boyton.
They shook hands, and Bowan left for Lord Carhampton's
residence. On reaching it he was immediately introduced to
his Lord.ship.
"I come," said Bowan, ''as the friend of Dr. Boyton."
* namilton Rowan, eight or ten years afterwards, sought the hospitable
shores of the United States— being, for his conne.xion with the conspiracy
of the United Irishmen, banished by Act of Parliament.
276 THE IRISH
" This is irregular," interrupted Lord Carhampton. " See
my friend, Colonel , who will take, with you, the measures
necessary for our meeting."
" Not yet," said Rowan ; " I must have a little preliminary
explanation with yourself."
" With me ?"
" Yes. You wrote this letter in my hand to Dr. Boyton ?"
"I did."
*' Why ?"
" Why ? Because he accuses me of being a ravisher, and
deserving of the gallows."
"Who says that my friend Dr. Boyton charges you with
that crime ?"
'ado."
" On what ground ?"
" On this," said the little man, now in a fury. " On this ;"
and he handed Dr. Boyton's pamphlet to Rowan.
" Have the goodness to point out to me the passages of
which you complain."
A tint of red suffused the yellow visage of his Lordship.
"There!" said he, "and there — and there! Is not that
enough ?"
" I perceive that Boyton does not spare invective or con-
demnation of the criminal. Who is he ?"
" Who is whom ?"
" The criminal."
Caught in the snare thus adroitly prepared for him by the
wily Rowan, the show of blood in Carhampton' s cheeks dis-
appeared ; instead of its being replaced by his usual jaundice
hue he became livid, and gasped for breath in rage and disap-
pointment.
" You are silent, my Lord. I will put the question in
another way. Was it you who outraged the poor child spoken
of in this book ?"
" I ! How dare you ask me such a question ?"
" I dare do all that may become a man," said Rowan, with
an air of pity or contempt; "'who dares do more is none.'
You know the quotation, and will make its application."
" I only know and feel that Boyton must contradict those
statements, or fight me," said the peer, recovering.
" Now hear me, my Lord, and quietly. I find that Boyton
shows that a horrible crime has been committed, and he asserts
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 277
that the perpetrator deserves hanging. This conclusion you
must yourself admit/'
" I ! I admit nothing."
*' I cannot find that Lord Carhampton is stated in this book
to be the criminal. Do you, my Lord, accept the criminality,
and in that character challenge Dr. Boyton ?"
" I ! A thousand times no I"
"Then," said Rowan, rising and drawing his magnificent
person to its full height, '' why have you written this letter to
Dr. Boyton ? Of what have you to complain, unless you iden-
tify yourself with the monster he denounces ? Your name
occurs not in any part of this book."
"Ah!" said the humbled peer; "ah! I perceive that I
have been too hasty. Very well, I withdraw the challenge."
" Let me have it under your hand."
The peer sat down, and wrote a note to the efi'ect that he
recalled the letter of the preceding night, that he had written
to Dr. Boyton, "which was founded on misconception." He
then handed it to Hamilton Bowan, who read it, folded it, and
put it into his pocket.
" Now, sir, our interview is at an end," said his Lordship,
pointing to the door.
" Not yet," replied Rowan. " My mission was to demand
on what ground you challenged my friend Boyton ; and if that
were refused me, to make the arrangements for a hostile meet-
ing. This extremity has been obviated. Now my duty is to
demand of you, on the part of Dr. Boyton, a written apology
for sending him a message on grounds which you have just
retracted."
Never was there between two men a more sti'iking contrast
than that displayed by Lord Carhampton and Hamilton Rowan
at that moment. The one, a man below the middle size, ex-
quisitely formed, however ; but, as the song went,
"As beautiful, charming, and fair
As saffron and charcoal could make him ;"
brave to desperation ; but now reduced to a beaten, crouching
attitude from conscious guilt and rage, at having committed
himself, and having lost the vengeance on which he had
reckoned, with a feeling moreover that he had been over-
reached ; while, towering above him, stood one of the most
278 THE IRISH
superb men of his time,* who, to the pride and satisfaction of
having succeeded in an important mission for an esteemed
friend, added the expression of triumph over a deadly political
adversary.
Lord Carhampton wrote the required apology, and Rowan
withdrew.
Independently of the character given him by Junius, and
of the affair just narrated, Lord Carhampton would appear to
have been a bad fellow. He was, as I have already said, brave,
and as ready to provoke or answer a challenge as any ruflBer of
that period of violence. He had a taste for society. He was,
for instance, a " Monk of the Screw," and did not want for
moyens ; but the traditional curse of his country weighed upon
him, and kept him constantly in a feverish state of preparation
to resist allusion to it. I have mentioned, in the short speech
of General Montague Mathew, on the Treaty of Limerick, the
crime committed against his country by the ancestor of Lord
Carhampton, and which entailed on his progeny abhorrence
and detestation.
" That Luttrell sold the pass, no man can deny," said the
regretted Mounty.
To understand this, it is only necessary to know that the
defence of a pass through a bog into the position of King
James's forces, was confided to Colonel Luttrell on the 12th of
July, 1690. He betrayed that trust, and thus facilitated the
victory of the Williamites at Aughrim.
In my youth, the most detested name that could be uttered
in Ireland, was that of Luttrell. It was ever present to the
recollection of the Roman Catholic party in particular, one of
whom Luttrell had been, and was used as an epithet of reproach
and hatred on the strangest occasions.
About the period of which I have been lately speaking,
there lived in Fishamble Street, Dublin, a shoemaker, the Hoby
of the day. His name was Conolly. His daughter married
Mr. James Conolly, the most intelligent, enterprising, and
successful merchant Ireland ever possessed. Conolly, the
shoemaker, was not a natural son of the gentle craft. His
family had, like hundreds of others, been overthrown, and he
himself, according to the custom of the overwhelmed and hope-
* Hamilton Rowan must be well remembered by the aged citizens of the
United States, having emigrated thither from France when the Republic
was no more.
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 279
less helplessness of the time, had beeu ''put to a trade," as
the Devoys, aud the Balfes, and the Cheeverses had beeu, of
whom I have spoken.
Lord Carhampton's person was symmetry itself, of ■which
advantage he availed himself as a counterpoise to the counte-
nance, which, with the mental qualities and disposition attri-
buted to him, obtained for him, six or eight years later, in
*' The Press" newspaper, the sobriquet Satanides. His boot-
maker was Conolly, of course.
One day Lord Carhampton left the Castle, strolled up Castle
Street, and turned down Fishamble Street, and entering Con-
olly's shop, inquired whether the dress boots had been made
which he had ordered ?
" Yes, my Lord, they have just come in. Nowlau, where
are my Lord's boots that you have brought home ?"
" Here, sir," said Nowlan.
" Try them on, my Lord, then."
The peer sat down ; but instead of a tight fit, which he
always desired, the boots were, though for the rest of the world
too small, for him " larger than the largest size."
''Look here, Conolly," said the Lord, "they are not boots,
they are churns \"
Conolly looked at them for a moment, apparently vinable to
speak. " Leave the way," said he to Nowlan; and then, under
the influence of concenti'ated rage, he knelt down, aud without
effort drew off the Lord's boots. To seize them by the legs, to
rise, and to catch Nowlan by the collar, were only the work of a
moment. Then showering on the unfortunate fellow blows
with them over the head, on the face, on the shoulders, and
everywhere that he could get at, he exhausted himself, ex-
claiming with every blow of the boots : " You Luttrell son of
a ! You Luttrell son of a I You Luttrell son of a
t"
His Lordship, pulling on, himself, the boots he had just
put off, to ti-y the new ones, made his escape while the scene
just described was being enacted.
Such incidents as these (for some or other reference to the
treason of his grandfather was of constant recurrence) contri-
buted, no doubt, to augment the malevolence to which his
atrabilarious habit predisposed him.
280 THE IRISH
CHAPTER LXII.
Vendidit hie auro patriam.
VlKGIIi.
LORD CARHAMPTON'S after life fully justified the esti-
mate of liis character formed by Junius — adding daily to
his hereditary patrimony of public abhorrence, until his mea-
sure of detestation was full and running over. The principal
reason for all this execration was given in Montague Mathew's
short speech, elsewhere quoted, as every Irish reader will have
understood. " That Luttrell sold the Pass," said General
Mathew, ''no man can deny;" but those words explain not
to the general reader the origin of Lord Carhampton's unen-
viable inheritance. It can be done in a few words : —
" To Colonel Luttrell, his Lordship's grandfather, had been
intrusted the defence of the pass through a bog which led into
the centre of the Irish (King James's) position at Aughrim.
He betrayed his trust by delivering it to the enemy ; and the
battle was lost, bringing with it — but, it is now believed, unne-
cessarily— the total discomfiture of the Irish army, and the
consequent Treaty of Limerick."
Such is the popular belief; but his treason consisted in
disobedience of an order of his General and friend (the immor-
tal Sarsfield), to meet and co-operate with the garrison of
Galway at Six INIile Bridge ; instead of which he entered into
a negotiation with the English to- betray Limerick. For this
crime he was arrested, tried by court-martial, and found guilty;
but was reserved to abide the King's pleasure. The surrender
of Limerick, however, occurred, and saved him from an igno-
minious death ; but only to perish a few years later by the hand
of an assassin.
This wretched man, Colonel Luttrell, was shot in a sedau
chair, somewhere in the neighbourhood of College Green,
Dublin. The chairmen averred that they were not aware of
the event until, having arrived at the point or place to which
he had desired thera to bear him, they stopped ; and, opening
ABROAD AND AT UOME. 281
the chair for him to issue from it, found him weltering in his
blood, and quite dead. They declared that they had heard no
report, and concluded, " therefore, '' that the pistol with which
he was shot had been charged with ichitc powder !
These particulai's I have never seen iu print. They are
derived from oral, but indisputable, tradition. The compilers
of peerages — Debrett in particular — have, with intelligible
complaisance, suppressed the military title and army rank of
the traitor, and, consequently, all mention of his crime ; stating
merely that " Henry Luttrell, Esq., of Luttrellstown, married in
October, 1704," and " had issue, Simon, father of Henry
Lawes, 2d Earl of Carhampton."
Such was the career and end of '' Luttrell the Traitor" — but
common fame, which, this time, requires corroboration, subjoins
some supplementary particulars which were rife among, and
firmly believed by, the people, in my youth.
The demesne and mansion of the Luttrells (Luttrellstown),
four or five miles distant from the city of Dublin, is beautifully
situated on the left bank of the river Liffey. It now bears the
name of Woodlands, to which it was changed by the late Irish
Croesus, Luke White, who purchased it of the Lord Carhamp-
ton of whom Junius and I (smile not at the association, reader)
have been speaking. His Lordship is said to have had the best
of the ci-devant bookseller in the bargain, a rather uncommon
incident in Mr. White's business transactions, but not extra-
ordinary considering the traditional cleverness of the Luttrells
in evading the terms of an agreement for sale, and of which
here is an instance.
Near to this demesne of Luttrellstown, I remember to
have been shown a water-mill, or mills, which bore the rather
repulsive title of " the Devil's ^lills" from, as I have been
assured, the following circumstance.
His Satanic Majesty, impatient to foreclose a mortgage he
held upon the life of Colonel Luttrell, called upon him one
night, and declared he would wait no longer for his due. The
Colonel, admitting the treaty which subsisted between them,
entrenched himself behind his privileges, and demanded that
the terms of it should be observed.
"What terms, and may it please you?" asked the Old
One.
" What terms ! Do you not remember that you were to
282 THE IRISH
do for me three things, or the bargain should be void ? One
only of them has been performed."
" True ; but I have not been called upon to execute the
remaining provisions, and concluded, therefore, that you relin-
quished further claim upon my services, and were prepared to
carry out our treaty by a waiver, which would entitle me to my
property in you whenever I should demand it."
'' ' I have had no such stuff" in my thoughts.' "
" Propose the other tasks, then, for I will not be fobbed off"
in this way any longer. What do you require ?"
" Build me a mill, or mills, yonder, before morning."
" Before morning ! Where am I to find bricks and mortar
at this short notice ?"
" Where you please. That is your aff'air. If jou do not
that which I ask, I shall see you — far enough — before I go
with you."
Satan gnashed his teeth, but withdrew, while the Colonel
made the welkin roar with unseemly mirth at having posed the
old gentleman.
Aladdin was not, however, more astonished on awaking one
morning and beholding a palace raised during the preceding
night by his friendly genius, than was Colonel Luttrell on
the forenoon of the day following his late colloquy with his
ally the devil, when (being at his ease respecting his debt
to Old Nick, he had slept sounder and to a later hour than
usual), on going to his window, he caught a view of mills, with
their wheels a-going, which had no existence the evening
before.
" Done !" said he, " by all that's horrible ! I have, how-
ever, another chance, and must take care to make the most of
it, for the fiend will no doubt call upon me to-night for the
last job, or the forfeiture."
Precisely as he had foreseen, the devil presented himself to
the Colonel that night. " You see," said he, " how ridiculous
it is in you to seek to withhold from me the price of the labours
you have imposed upon me. Surrender with a good grace, and
rely upon my recollection of it. Remember, besides, that you
are so odious to your countrymen, that one or other of them
may be expected at any moment to terminate your sinful life,
and thus render superfluous direct interference on my part to
remove you whither you will receive your just reward."
" You do not take me for a fool, devil, do you ?"
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 283
" ' Ou the contrary' (as your countrymau said when asked
if he sang), I take you for a rogue."
" Well, there is no Ixse losing time. You remember our
treaty. You are to perform one more task at my desire.''
The devil nodded his head in acquiescence, beating a tattoo
the while.
'' Then," said the Colonel, rising, " go make ropes of the
sands of the sea."
The devil stood aghast. " It is impossible !" cried he.
"Then go and do it," said the Colonel. "At all events,
quit my house," and taking him by the nape of the neck he
kicked him down stairs.
The Colonel lived some time after this interview ; but one
unlucky day, as the reader has seen, he was shot in his sedan
chair, and was, as all the world uncharitably believed, imme-
diately afterwards called upon by his creditor to book-up.
La Fontaine, in his " Chose Impossible," and M. Gr. Lewis,
M. P. (" Every one knows little Matt's an M. P."), in one of
his " Tales of Wonder" (in a story of a Lady and a faithful
Page), borrow this incident of Luttrell the Traitor's life; which
facts, by all persons of common sense, will be held to prove the
correctness of the tradition.
CHAPTER LXIII.
Let me have men about me that are fat ;
Sleek-headed men — and such as sleep o' nights.
Julius Caesar.
HENRY LAWES LUTTRELL, Earl of Carhampton, was
cMti/ and mean in appearance, but such was not his own
belief. He imagined, on the contrary, that his rank and qua-
lity could be penetrated under the most ordinary garb. Having
passed and repassed several times one day before a grenadier
of a Highland regiment on guard at the principal entrance of
Dublin Castle, without notice or salute from him, he addressed
the soldier angrily, forgetting that he was himself "in Mufti,"
and demanded the reason for his neglect. "Wha are ye,
mon ?" asked the soldier.
284 THE IRISH
"The Commander-in-chief," replied his Lordship. (Such
w^s the rank then assumed by the Commander of the Forces
in Ireland.)
"Are you by gom ! ye've a d d bra birth on it then —
toorn aboot, luon, till I salute ye."
Lord Carhampton was not the soldier's friend — in fact, he
was a bad fellow in all the relations of life. The conspiracy
of the United L-ishraen called into action all the bad passions
engendered in his bosom by the hatred of his name expressed
by his countrymen of all ranks whenever reference to it was
made, and he displayed the eifect in every way possible to him.
In the feeling of detestation for him the soldiers of the Irish
Militia participated, adding to their repugnance for his descent,
dislike of his politics and resentment for his harshness as Com-
mander-in-chief. A plot against his life was discovered in one
of the militia regiments (I think it was the Kildare) quartered
in Dublin in 1797. Two of the soldiers charged with partici-
pation in it were brought to trial for it, found guilty, and shot
pursuant to sentence in the Phoenix Park.
I remember the occurrence well, because of a wonderful
appearance following their execution, and of which I heard on
the evening of the same day, from a person who had the ac-
count from an " e^e-ivitness." The sufferers were named Dunne
and Carthy. "Their bodies had no sooner touched the earth
after the fatal volley," said the informant, "than two doves
were seen to rise from them and soar into the heavens."
Whether true or not, I record the story only as a proof of
the disposition of the popular mind at that period, in regard
to Lord Carhampton, and which associated something super-
natural with their enmity towards him.
Brave though he were. Lord Carhampton was capable of
the basest dissimulation to lure victims, and of the most con-
temptible meanness. He would steal out from his ofl&cial resi-
dence (the Royal Hospital at Kilmainham) after nightfall, and
endeavour to surprise some of the sentinels off their guard, or
fast asleep. For his espionnage he was once nearly paying
dearly, and with this incident I shall close my references to
him.
A near relative of mine was deeply compromised in the
conspiracy of the United Irishmen, and active, especially, like
Henry MacCracken, in seducing the soldiery from their alle-
giance. He succeeded to a certain extent, it would appear,
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 285
for he was visited by several soldiers and sub-officers in the
course of each day.
Among other persons of that description, I recollect to have
seen a soldier of the Fraser Fencibles come to our house.
After other matters had been disposed of, he said: ''I was
near giving the old one his due last night."
''Who?" asked my relative.
'^Carhampton. You know his habit of endeavouring to
catch the sentinels on duty about the Hospital napping. I
was on guard last night about twelve o'clock in the grounds
which overlook the road towards Blanchardstown ; and had
not been long posted when I heard a cautious tread approach
my post. 'This is he,' said I to myself, and I silently cocked
my musket. I listened, and heard the same stealthy step ap-
proach, occasionally crushing the brushwood. My eye was
fixed upon the spot whence the noise proceeded. It still ad-
vanced. I brought my piece to the recover, my eye straining
out of my head. Presently my hair stood on end, for I saw
an object moving towards me. My heart beat, but my hand
was firm. 'He shall have it,' said I, 'but I must not violate
the law.' At the moment when I expected the General would
pounce upon me, I cried : ' Wha goes there ?' No reply.
' Wha goes there, a second time ?' Still no answer. ' Wha
goes there, a third time V said I, bringing Bess to the present,
my finger on the trigger, when the moon shone full on the
pale face of a Hereford cow, looking at me as from a window,
and quietly licking her lips."
"You had a narrow escape of committing a homicide, which
might have terminated fatally for yourself," said my relative.
"I had not much fear of that. I bore in mind the con-
duct of my father in the American war in nearly similar cir-
cumstances. He was a Highlander, and left Scotland with
our laird, who had gotten a company in the 42d. One night,
some time before Saratoga, he was placed as a sentry at an ad-
vanced post in the bush, at which, seven nights in succession,
one of our men had been killed and scalped. He demurred,
but the corporal was inflexible. 'Then give me the power to
fire whenever I may see reason,' said my father, who was as
wary as he was brave. This was acceded to, and the corporal
retired.
" My father instantly set about preparations to insure hia
safety. Ho found himself stationed within a small circle,
286 THE IRISH
surrounded, except at one point, whence opened a path, by
bi'usliwood. 'That's not where the danger lies/ thought he;
'it is too much exposed.' Placing himself in the centre,
whence he could command it, however, his eye passed round
the position. After this examination he cocked his musket
and commenced marching slowly — not round the vacant spot,
but across it, backwards and forwards, always resting himself
in the middle of the space. He had passed half an hour in
this way amidst profound silence, when he thought he heard
a rustling of branches. He fixed his eye upon the spot
whence the supposed noise came, but all was silent, and con-
tinued so for a quarter of an hour, during which time he
made no movement, and uttered no sound. He was just about
resuming his walk when the noise again struck upon his ear ;
but this time quite close to him. Bringing his gun, as I did
last night, to the recover, he cried : ' Wha goes there V No
answer. Presently, however, a huge hog issued slowly from
the covert, browsing and munching. My father's gaze was
upon him, but instead of approaching him, the animal skirted
the enclosure, plucking at the briars, and grunting all the way.
This did not, however, throw my father off his guard. His
eye followed the hog, he himself holding his breath, turning
as on a pivot. Insensibly the invader appeared to have quitted
the edge of the enclosure, and to approach him, making also
a change in his form, as my father thought. Now quite close
to him the animal seemed to convert himself into a ball, when
my father, coming to the present, fired. A shriek from the
hog and a roll followed, and then he lay still. Drawing back
a step, my father reloaded, and was about to advance upon his
visiter, now apparently motionless, when the corporal and the
picquet-guard arrived.
" ' Why have you fired ?' asked the corporal.
" 'Because I feared a surprise.'
" ' From whom ?'
" ' From him who lies yonder,' pointing to the hog.
" A roar of laughter burst from the guard, which the cor-
poral reproved, and then said to my father : ' This is a serious
matter. A false alarm. Your cowardice has unmanned you,
and will I fear have brought you to the halberts at least.
Here, McKenzie, take his place. Fall in. March.'
'"Hold, corporal,' said my father. 'Examine that fellow
before you go.'
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 287
" 'That's only reasonable,' said the corporal ; 'besides, my
lads, a leg of pork won't be a bad addition to our morning
meal.*
" They approached the motionless object, with a view to
seize it, when, like the diamond hunters that Siridbad (he Sailor
speaks of, the hog's skin burst, and a red Indian, with toma-
hawk in hand, sprung to his feet, and made a dash at the
thicket, but fell before he could reach it, shot through the
heart by ^IcKeuzie.
CHAPTER LXIV.
" So tbey have made McC a Baron of the Exchequer," said a brother
barrister to the late kind and witty John Parsons, one day in the autumn
of 1S03. "I wonder what sort of judge he will make — eh, Parsons?"
"Indeed, I think," replied John — "that he will administer j?!rfi]/ferc)!t
justice."
Extract from my Common-iilace Book.
Gold, from law, can take out the sting.
Gav.
IX the preceding pages I had a view to show, by exemplifi-
cation, how conquest, and its concomitant effects upon
unreflecting minds, operated in turning the beautiful sister
Ireland of Great Britain into a grand arena for the display
of pride, oppression, injustice, tyranny, riot, libertinism, and
demoralizing extravagance, in nearly every circle and class,
from the castle, and the senate, and their aristocratic imitators,
to the humblest position in the social scale. How was it in
the Palais de Justice, in the mean while ? Were the judges of
the land pure and unsuspected ? Were the laws, such as they
found them, honestly administered, and consequently respect-
ed ? Were the sheriffs unprejudiced and incorruptible ? Were
the jurors fairly, freely, and impartially convened, and were
their verdicts always irrespective of the person and of the re-
ligious professions of the litigant, or accused ?
The impression on the minds of the despised and beaten
Jacobites — (the word always sets me in a rage — why should the
Irish have been Jacobites ?
What was James to thera, or they to James,
That they should fight and beg for him?)
288 THE IRISH
— The impression on the minds of the crushed and conquered
party was, I say, that the victors were not, in their case, a whit
more considerate, more moderate — less brutal, cruel, overbear-
ing, and unjust, than a successful soldiery, and the host of
plunderers and Assonuneurs that always follows close upon the
heels of a victorious army, have ever been. The conquered
party presumed not to court distinction — place — employment.
They would not become religious renegades, and were not,
therefore, they well knew, eligible to such advantages. Inca-
pacitated to pretend, they aspired not to even the humblest
situation connected with the administration of the laws. They
only supplicated impartial justice — under the cruel code that
obtained — protection, and a little money. How much of jus-
tice, protection, and pity was accorded to them before the time
to which I have brought my reminiscences may, I would fain
hope, be gathered from the facts I have thrown together.
With the trials of Father Sheehy, and other imputed crimi-
nals, about the year 1760, the world is familiar. I do not
propose referring to a period so remote. I only mean to lay
before my readers a few specimens of the manner in which, in
the latter half of the last century, British laws were adminis-
tered in Ireland, a period when, it cannot be denied, some
progress towards amelioration in government, in legislation,
and in the administration of the laws, had been made. From
these the reader will deduce his own conclusion respecting
Irish courts of justice, judges, sheriffs, lawyers, crime, and
criminals, in the quarter of a century preceding the year
1792.
Circumstances, which it is not necessary that I here men-
tion, rendered me at an early period of my life — that is, in
the autumn of 1803, and up to March, 1805 — a visiter (in
the character of confidential messenger) of the State prisoners
confined in Newgate, Dublin, charged, in many cases unjustly,
with compliciU in the insurrection of 23d July (1803). The
purpose which at first led me thither did not require that I
continued my visits, but for a young person with much leisure
there was a charm in the pursuit which led me to repeat them
as often as I could, with decency. To the unhappy inmates
on '• the State side" I was ever welcome, as may be sup-
posed. With one of them, the late Mr. Bernard Coile, I be-
came a special favourite, for among other reasons the avidity
with which I swallowed the very interesting narrative of his
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 289
chequered life, and — not '' Conger and Fennel" — but (he often
kept me to dine with him) a list of some three or four-and-
twenty patriotic toasts. Often, towards eight o'clock in the
evening, a fellow-prisoner of his, as he was termed, but as I
now firmly believe an agent of the government (and even the
betra3'er of Robert Emmet), incarcerated for the purpose of
acquiring and betraying the knowledge of the proceedings of
the prisoners and their friends — often, I say, would
enter Mr. Coile's room on those occasions, and with an air of
gayety ask : '' Well, young , why are you here so late ?"
" I kopt the young citizen," Mr. Coile would reply ; '' I
kapt the young citizen, to drink all the toasts."
" Where in the list are you now ?" would ask of me.
"At the imports, sir."
" The imports only ! By you will be tipsy before you
arrive at the exports."*
From these facts it will be seen that, if there were arbi-
trary imprisonments in those days, and Mr. Coile was in reality
a victim of that class, prison discipline was not enforced with
severity.
There was at the period of my visits to Newgate, in 1803,
and had been for several years previously, a prisoner, totally
unconnected with politics, about whom there was a mystery
which for a cousidei'able period I was unable to penetrate.
With this person, who was lodged in an upper part of the pri-
son, Mr. Coile was more intimate than were any other of the
political prisoners. He visited the " mysterious," who, in a
few instances to my knowledge, returned the favour ; but never
entered the apartment of any of Coile's companions in misfor-
tune. Once or twice I found him in Mr. Coile's room ; upon
which he would immediately retreat and ascend to his own cell,
as he called it. Although dressed with the disregard to appear-
ance observable in prisoners generally, this person had obvi-
ously belonged to the class of gentlemen. All that I was for
some time allowed by Mr. Coile to know about him was, that
his name was Nasboro'.
With all my faith in Barney Coile, I could not accept his
pronunciation of the name, however ; for I had observed in
* The opening toast was always : —
"The imports of Ireland — Her friends, the first."
The concluding one — (of four-and-twcnty !)
" The exports of Ireland — Her enemies, the first."
13
290 THE IRISH
him a tendency to alter the sound of certain vowels. There-
fore, with all the indifference that I ought to have felt on the
subject, I did not rest until I discovered that Nasboro' was, as
I suspected, a misnomer.
An arbitrary change in the pronunciation of the letter A
in a proper name, and of the letter E in such words as excellent
and perpetual, which in his mouth became axcellent and
parpatual, was one of Mr. Coile's peculiarities. It rendered
me, as I have just said, doubtful of the orthography of the
name of his mysterious fellow-prisoner. He had, in fact,
rendered Knaresborough, Nasboro' — the former being the name
of the person in question. This provincial peculiarity of pro-
nunciation, together with his political prepossessions, accom-
panied Bernard Coile to the grave. He would as soon have
thought of rescinding the one as the other.
The mysterious prisoner, Mr. Fitz-Patrick Knaresborough,
was known familiarly in his own county, Kilkenny, as Fitzy
Cranesberry (a pei'version of the agent's less justifiable even
than that efifected by Bernard Coile). He was, before becoming
the inmate of a jail, a young man of considerable fortune, of
excellent education, and highly respectable family. It is
necessary, however, that —
" I trace back the time
To a far distant date."
Many years previously to the manhood of Mr. Knares-
borough, three young ladies, sisters, inhabitants of the county
of Kilkenny, were one day seized and forcibly carried ofiF by
three young men of fortune of the adjoining county of Car-
low. The outrage caused an instantaneous and a vast sensation
in the two counties, Carlow and Kilkenny. The ravishers and
their victims were pursued and overtaken. The young ladies
were restored to their friends, and the offenders were com-
mitted to prison, were brought to trial, and were hanged in
Carlow.
The recollection of these lamentable occurrences was for-
cibly brought to mind by this Mr. Fitz-Patrick Knaresborough,
who somewhere about the year 1790, I believe, played the
return match of the three unhappy young men, just alluded to,
by carrying off from their county a young lady of considerable
personal attractions and fortune. As in the former case, im-
mediate pursuit of the ravisher took place. He was overtaken,
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 291
his victim was wrested from him, and restored to her fjimily;
but Knaresborough escaped.
A reward was offered for his apprehension, but without
effect. At the approach of the following assizes, however, he
gave notice in the usual way that he would surrender and
abide his trial. He kept his word, and repaired to the town
of Carlow on horseback the day before that appointed for the
commencement of the assizes. When near to Carlow he over-
took a post-chaise, into which he looked as he passed, and
beheld in it the young lady he had carried off. So confident
was he of acquittal, and so lightly did he regard his crime
(abduction only, I believe), that he spoke to and joked with
her. They parted, and he, proceeding to the jail of Carlow,
gave himself up as a prisoner that night.
Bills of indictment were in the customary form sent up to
the grand jury against him next day, and were duly found.
He was arraigned upon them, and put upon his trial. The
young lady appeared, and proved the case against him. This
unexpected circumstance changed his air of gayety into one of
anxiety, and his astonishment was completed by his being con-
victed and sentenced to death.
His family and friends participated in his surprise and
alarm. They had considerable interest in high quarters, upon
which they thought they might rely for a reversal or commu-
tation of the sentence, and they resolved to omit no step to
insure his safety. Thus they sought the concurrence of the
jury by whom he had been convicted in an application to
government for mercy in his favour, but found them inexor-
able. They discovered further, that the finding " guilty" had
resulted not so much from the view of the evidence taken
by the jury, or their horror for the crime proved, as from a
determination to retort upon Kilkenny the conviction and
execution of the three Carlow gentlemen for the similar offence
above mentioned.
Defeated in this quarter, Knaresborough's friends resorted
to other expedients to save him from the scaffold. Among
other proceedings was a memorial to the Judge by whom their
friend had been tried and sentenced, to recommend him to
mercy ; and they accompanied it by a sum of six hundred
pounds.* The application was successful. The money was
* I suppress this man's name. Its initial and final letters wero B 1
292 THE IRISH
accepted. The Judge reported favourably, and the sentence
of death was changed to one of transportation for life.
Even this sentence was further commuted, or at least the
execution of it postponed. It was accompanied, however, by
a condition of a somewhat painful kind, namely, that Knares-
borough should be brought into Court at every assizes for the
county, or Commission of Oyer and Terminer for the town
or city, in the prison of which he should happen to be con-
fined ; but as a favour he was transmitted to Dublin to undergo
his punishment at Newgate.
During several years the unhappy man submitted without
a murmur to the required exhibition of himself in court, but
at length he protested against being so paraded, and refused
to obey or acquiesce iu the summons directed to the jailor to
produce his person before the Judges in commission. Lord
Norbury happened to preside over the commission when
Knaresborough's refusal to appear in court was announced.
(How injudicious Knaresborough was to choose such an occa-
sion for the display of contumacy !) When informed that
Knaresborough was determined to yield only to force in being
produced in court, the facetious Judge said : '" De gustibus
non est disputandum' — let the original sentence be executed."
The alternative was not, however, to Knai-esborough's
taste; and therefore, when the Judge's decision was commu-
nicated to him, he submitted at once to the order for his pro-
duction in court, and was led thither.
Thenceforward for a considerable time the unfortunate
Knaresborough was " trotted out" at each Commission Court,
but the form was, at length, discontinued, by order of govern-
ment. I know that he was liberated, but forget at what date.
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 293
CHAPTER LXV.
No ceremony that to great ones 'longs,
Not the king's crown, nor the deputed sword,
The marshal's truncheon, nor the judge's robe.
Become them with one half so good a grace
As mercy does.
Measure for Ifeasure.
I BELIEVE it was of the Judge mentioned in the last chap-
ter that an appallingly barbarous saying lived in the
memory of the old inhabitants of Dublin in my youth, and
barbarous it was in every sense. " I shall make a farthing
candle watch a purse of gold in the streets of Dublin," said
he, being then Recorder. How a fitrthing candle could be
made to perform such a function will appear puzzling to my
readers. Let them cease cudgelling their brains, however.
His Lordship meant to say (and he carried out his project to
its fullest extent) : '' I shall be so prompt and so extreme in
my punishment of crime, that a purse of gold left in the open
street, and obseiTable by a light placed by the side of it, shall
be respected and remain untouched."
The advocates of the expediency of repealing capital
punishment for any other crimes than murder (for at that
point most reformers draw up) might derive support from the
results of this inexorable man's system. He proposed to
deter from the commission of theft, while he only begat detes-
tation of the laws. Scarcely a victim went to the scaffold
through his agency who was not followed by public commisera-
tion, and imprecations on the head of his Judge, in whose
undue severity all recollection of the culprit's guilt was almost
forgotten.
It was this wretch who first invented or brought into prac-
tice the suiumary execution of a criminal immediately upon
conviction : the process was termed transferring from the court
to the scaffold. Of the working of his system, I shall here
give one example, communicated to me by a person of some
294 THE IRISH
celebrity in Dublin, fifty years ago — Mr. Daniel Muley, in
whose house (as already mentioned) the unfortunate Captain
Thomas Russell was arrested in the autumn of 1803.
A country lad of decent family arrived in Dublin one day
on business. This concluded, he visited his sister, who was
servant of a shop-keeper living in Parliament Street. She was
much esteemed by her employers, and was told by her mistress
to keep the young man in the house during his stay. After
breakfast he took leave of his sister, saying he would go and
see the sights, and would be back to dinner at two o'clock.
He turned towards Capel Street, but made a long halt on
Essex Bridge, admiring the ships, which then and in my own
memory came up close to it. (Carlisle Bridge was not yet
built.) Having satisfied his curiosity in that respect, he pur-
sued his way up Capel Street, turned by chance into Little
Britain Street, and thence into Green Street, in which the
sessions, or a commission was then sitting for the trial of pri-
soners, presided over by the functionary to whom I have just
referred. The lad strolled into the court, and was listening
with open mouth to the evidence and the verdict of the jury
in a case before the Court, when he was suddenly collared by
a man, who exclaimed : " This is another of them !" The
Judge demanded why the Court was disturbed, and learned
that a highwayman had just been discovered and seized.
" Keep him over for a moment," said his Lordship, who, put-
ting on the black cap, sentenced a wretched criminal just found
guilty to be hanged. "Remove him," added he, " and place
this highwayman at the bar;" which was done.
The poor lad was thrust into the dock ; a bill of indictment
was instantly prepared, and the prosecutor accompanied it
before the grand jury, who asked him some questions, mere
matters of course, and found a true bill for robbery against the
young man, who was put upon his trial forthwith. The evi-
dence was home and clear. It was that of the man who had
seized the prisoner in court, and who gave a round, unvar-
nished, and well-connected statement of the transaction. In
vain did the poor fellow declare his innocence, and require that
his sister and her master (who knew him to be of respectable,
however humble, parentage) should be sent for and examined.
The Judge was deaf to his entreaty and bullied him, and
charged the jury to return a verdict of " guilty." This was
done. The black cap was again donned, and the new convict
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 295
sentenced to death, and to the instant infliction of it, in com-
pau}- -with his predecessor at the bar.
At that period capital sentences were carried into execu-
tion on a gibbet erected a little behind the spot on which the
left hand corner houses of Fitzwilliam Street and Baggot
Street now stand, as you proceed towards the canal bridge. I
remember a pool of water then filling the remains, I think, of
an excavation called the Gallows Quarry ; but the place on
which the executions were done was known as Gallows Green,
called, from its vicinity to it, but improperly, Stephen's Green,
from which it was distant several hundred yards. The sad
procession in the present case proceeded from the Sessions
House down Capel Street, and had crossed Essex Bridge.
3Iuch noise preceded and accompanied it, and attracted the
attention of the servants in the house in which the sister of
the poor young man of whom I speak resided. The cook said
to her : " Come up, Mary, and see the men going to be
hanged." They ascended to an upper story, and had just
looked out of the window as the cart in which the two culprits
were, reached the house. The boy recognised his sister at the
window, and shrieked out to her. Frantic at the apparition
of her brother going to death, she ran down to her master and
besought his interference. He promised it; seized his hat,
and proceeded to interest some person of consequence for the
prisoner. An immediate application at the Castle produced
an order for the suspension of the execution, but before the
respite arrived the men were dead.
This occurrence provoked an outbreak of public indigna-
tion loud and vehement on that Judge's practice of sending a
man before his Creator
"With all his crimes broad blown, as flush as May,
And how his audit stands, who knows, save Heaven."
296 THE IRISH
CHAPTER LXVI.
But which aro the offenders that are to bo examined? Let them come
before Master Constable.
Much Ado about N^othing.
MANY years after tlie period of which I have been lately
speaking, I became once more a visiter of a political pri-
soner in His Majesty's jail of Newgate, Dublin — that is, in
the year 1815 or 1S16. I always found on entering, a group
of three persons sitting at the fire in the hall — hatch is, I be-
lieve, the professional name of this particular spot. These
were Walter Cox (the prisoner I had come to visit), William
MacDowell (the jailor), and a "fat old man — a tun of man, a
trunk of humours, a reverend vice, a gray iniquity, a father
ruffian, a vanity in years." The name of this person was
Robert Moore, or, as possibly he is still remembered by the
abbreviation, Bob Moore.
Bob Moore was by birth, education, and profession, a gentle-
man. He had been, I was told, handsome ; but forty or fifty
years spent in indulgence in many species of dissipation and
irregularity, had brought him to the condition I have sought to
indicate in the garbled quotation from Prince Hal just given.
Being a barrister, and highly connected, he was qualified for,
and could almost command any place in court; and being gifted
with impudence to an extent never surpassed, and being a hon
vivant, a buck, a rake, and unquestionably one of the wittiest
men of his day, he became the favourite with an ornament of
the bench, (was he not a Chief Justice ?) through whom he
obtained appointments in the Court of King's Bench, which,
when his prodigality compelled him ultimately to transfer it
to Mr. John Pollock, realized for this latter gentleman, I am
told, eight-and-twenty thousand poixnds per annum.
My lords and gentlemen of the Law Fees Inquiry Commis-
sion, you call out,
'• Lies ! lies! lies !
I tell you, roaring infidels, 'tis true !"
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 297
I never heard the numerous employments in question esti-
mated at a lesser annual value. One of those offices was that
of registrar to his learned chief. Is not the situation called
^' associate" in the English courts ?
In the performance of his functions of registrar, Bob
Moore, in the full costume of a barrister, sat immediately
under the bench, whence he communicated in a whisper with
his chief, or kept him perpetually on the broad grin by his
soliloquies and his running commentaries on the speeches of
counsel, or on the testimony of witnesses. His learned chief
sometimes (as was evident from the protrusion of Bob's tongue
on one side of his mouth) remonstrated with, or reproved him ;
but these were rare exercises of authority, and totally useless.
Remarking Bob's habitual inattention to punctilio and deco-
rum, his Lordship ventured in a few instances to desire amend-
ment. With what effect, I shall give two examples.
His learned chief presided on one occasion over the Com-
mission Court, the counterpart of the Old Bailey Court of
London. Bob's duty, in one or other of his numerous cha-
racters, was to read the indictments to the prisoners placed at
the bar, and to call upon them to plead. He commenced
generally by a half-comic stare at the wretch about to be tried,
and by a gesture conveyed a prediction of his fate. This
pleasantry always produced a murmur of applause among the
barristers and the auditory. Bob would then articulate that
" the prisoner at the bar stood indicted for that he," but then
the voice would fall, and the rest of the document became in-
audible.
Once, and once only, was this conduct reproved, and a very
pretty reply was uttered by the offender.
'• Mr. ]Moore," said the Judge solemnly. (It was always
^' Mister" Moore in court.) " Mr. Moore, read the indictment
distinctly."
^'Ido."
" You do not."
"I do."
" You do not."
" Here ! By the , then," said the registrar, thrusting
up the parchment to the bench. '^ Here, by the ! read
it yourself then !"
The other example was of a less revolting kind. In term,
the Court of King's Bench of which Bob's chief was the head
13*
298 THE IRISH
sat at eleven o'clock. '' The fumes of last night's punch"
would frequently render Bob unconscious of the advance of
time towards noon. It was, therefore, no unusual circum-
stance to see him pushing his way violently into court after
the judges had takcu their seats on the bench.
One day he was later than usual. He had struggled into
his gown as he was passing from the robing room into court,
but his wig was in a sad state of disorder, and utterly inno-
cent of powder. This was a point upon which his chief was
peculiarly sensitive, and, with all his assumed indifference.
Bob rarely provoked him by inattention to it. The present
was, however, a glaring exception to the rule.
There then existed in Dublin a class of magistrates known
by the title of "Jobbing Justices," who were not always
creditable appendages of the executive. The last of them,
in my recollection, was a lame surgeon, of the name of Drury.
The flower of the flock, at the period of which I speak, was a
certain Justice Hickey, who was remarkable among his fellows
for always wearing clean linen, and a well-powdered periwig.
These justices generally attended the Court of King's Bench,
and sat at the table among the barristers and attorneys. On
the unlucky day to which I have alluded. Bob attracted his
chief's ire by the insurgent condition of his wig, every hair
of which stood on end,
" Like quills upon the fretful porcupine."
" Mr. Moore," said his Lordship.
" What's the matter ?" a.sked Bob, winking the while to
the bar.
" Your wig."
''What of it?"
" Is totally destitute of powder."
" Oh ! if that be all, by I'll soon settle that," said
Bob; and making a long arm, he reached over to Justice
Hickey, who sat opposite to him, pulled off his snowy Caxon,
and using it as a puff, transferred the greater part of its charge
of powder to his own, and threw it back into the astonished
Hickey's face.
I am far from giving these as specimens of the general
practice in " the Four Courts," but in one or other shape
there occurred daily in all of them incidents which showed
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 299
that justice, if at all dispensed, was not administered in them
with dignity and decorum.*
The staid, decorous, pacific modern reader, would experi-
ence a sensation, if I were to state all that I have heard about
the members of the legal profession, from the judge to the
attorney's clerk, in those days, and even down to a later
period. Lord Clare, Lord Xorbury, Judge Daly, and other
members of the bench, had respectively been '' on the ground"
as principals, with the chance of becoming homicides. Duel-
fighting had become a rage in the legal profession, but with
certain parties there was method in their madness. Norbury
was brave as a duellist, and audacious as he was false and
cruel. Daly's promotion to the bench was preceded — if it
were not caused — by his killing, in a duel, James 3Ioore
O'Donnell, the anti-unionist candidate for the county of
Mayo. Deeply deplored was the victim. I have a recollec-
tion of the sorrow it created in Ireland, and of the horror
expressed at the statement that he was one of eight or ten
called out by bravoes to qualify themselves for place — and
such place ! '' At a private concUiahulej" said a well-informed
party to me in Paris, " the parts were distributed : Corry
challenged Grattan, and was shot in the arm ; Toler and Daly,
and others, called out their men."
When these were the habits and the practice of legislators
and law-givers, it will be readily believed that order, decorum,
and dignity presided not in the Courts of Justice, and that,
consequently, respect for the laws was neither general nor
profound.
* Everybody will recollect the inexcusably impertinent conduct of Lord
Chancellor Clare on one occasion, who, while Curran was addressing him
in a most important case, occupied himself with a favourite spaniel or New-
foundland dog, seated by him ; and all the world wUI remember the rebuke
administered to him by that rarely gifted man. Curran having ceased
speaking, through indignation, or malice prepense, Lord Clare raised his
head and asked : " Why don't you proceed, Mr. Curran '!"
" I thought your Lordships were in consultation," replied Curran.
Glorious John !
300 THE IRISH
CHAPTER LXVIL
Tho Lord Sanquhar, a Scotch nobleman, having, in private revenge,
suborned Robert Carlisle to murder John Turner, master of fence, thought,
by his greatness, to have borne it out — but the King, respecting nothing so
much as justice, would not suffer nobility to be a shelter for villany, but,
nccording to law, on the 29th of June, 1612, the said Lord Sanquhar, having
been arraigned and condemned by the name of Robert Creighton, Esquire,
was before AVestminster Hall Gate executed, where he died very penitent.
The Argument of the charge delivered by Sir Francis Bacon, Knight,
the King's Solieitor-Oeneral, at the arraignment of the Lord Sanquhar
in the King's Bench ut Westminster.
AS we approacla the period of the French Kevolutlon, we
find the Irish government become less at ease and more
stringent in its measures of conservation. The admonitions
received from the loss of America, and the declaration of Irish
Independence, produced upon it their effects in more ways
than one. They stimulated its resolve to maintain the con-
nexion of Ireland and England, and they suggested the expedi-
ency of relaxing the iron rule by which it had been continued,
and which, while it rendered the great mass of the population
hostile, failed to propitiate and attach the party to whom the
latter had been, as it were, delivered over for persecution and
torture.
Some improvement had taken place in the general adminis-
tration of the laws, but still there existed irregularities and
anomalies of an extraordinary character, and an impression
that judicial decisions were not always uninfluenced or impar-
tial. It was no unusual circumstance, therefore, for litigant
parties to anticipate the decrees of the tribunals, and, taking
the law into their own hands, to enter upon and maintain for-
cible possession of property in dispute, frequently without a
semblance of legal claim.
An instance of this kind occurred in the county of Meath,
some seventy or eighty years ago ; the invader holding his un-
lawful seizure against the sheriff backed by a strong military
force, and enduring a siege, in the course of which even artil-
lery was employed. I\Iy father, from whom I had the particu-
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 301
lars, was among the spectators ; who, like those who crowded
to the siege of Antwerp some years since, had assembled to
witness the operations. An unfortunate horse-soldier, whose
regiment was quartered in the town of Trim, and who had
gone thither to enjoy the proceedings, was killed close to my
father by a shot from the garrison.
Another and more horrible affair of the same nature took
place in the county of Mayo, about the same time. Mr.
George Robert FitzGerald, of whom, under the name of
" Fighting FitzGerald," the English public have, through the
medium of a collection of reminiscences, published five-and-
twenty years ago, some knowledge, retained his father, during
several years, a prisoner in his own house — the Castle of Tur-
lough. Other crimes were subsequently laid to his charge, and
proved ; with how much legality will be seen.
George Robert FitzGerald was a gentleman of ancient
family. He had travelled, and had been presented at nearly
all the courts of Europe. His biogi-aphers claim for him ex-
ceeding elegance of manners, as well as the copyright of a most
impudent and impious joke, in order to demonstrate that he
was a man of wit and repartee. The story runs, that three
pictures of exquisite art were one day shown to him by the
unfortunate Louis XVI. in his cabinet at Versailles ; and that
His Majesty observed : " That at the right-hand is His Holi-
ness the Pope ; that on the left is my own portrait by ;
this in the centre I need not tell you is the Ecce Homo of
Upon which FitzGerald is said to have rejoined : " Please
your Majesty, I have always understood that our Saviour was
crucified between two thieves, but I never knew who they were
before."
In person, FitzGerald was small, but admirably formed ; in
mind and disposition, that which will suggest itself from the
perusal of the following particulars. He was a most undutiful
son ; as a friend, nothing is known of him, for he cultivated
no friendships, but he attached to himself adherents who would
dare death itself in his service ; they were, however, of the
most atrocious description, and their support was no doubt well
paid. As an enemy, and in such character chiefly is he known
to history, he was implacable. His courage was questionable.
He fought many duels; twice with Dick Martin; but in com-
bat, as in evei-y other circumstance of his life, he was cunning,
302 THE IRISH
ruse, unloyal. As a subject and citizen, lie was bad as could
be^ and even at variance witb the laws and with society.
In Mayo he sought to reign despotically. He was fully
aware of the admonition of Beaumarchais : " Souvenez-vous,
que I'homme qu'on salt timide est toujours dans la d^pendance
de tous les fripons," and he exercised the advantage his auda-
city gave to him without scruple or limit. He would bear no
brother near the throne, and was consequently engaged inces-
santly in broils with a neighbouring gentleman, Mr. Patrick
Randall MacDonnell, like himself, a member of an ancient and
highly respectable family, but who yielded not in turbulence,
and not much in misconduct, to George Robert FitzGerald.
Ostensibly reckless and daring, he nevertheless gave strength
to the received belief, that your bully is ever a coward. In a
casual dispute at the gaming-table (Daly's Club-house, College
Green) with Hamilton Gorges of Kilbrew, county of Meath,
better known and always respected as '' Hammy Gorge," he
was beaten, kicked, cuffed, knocked down, and had all the
furniture of the room and other matters heaped upon him, yet
he never challenged his adversary.
In both his " affairs" with Dick Martin he displayed
insolence certainly, but accompanied by evidence of craft and
treachery, incompatible with the feelings of a brave man. In
commencing the first of them he reckoned upon an easy con-
quest from his skill as a swordsman, but scarcely had their
weapons crossed when he became aware that he had to do with
un adversaire de la premiei-e force, but one also trop entre-
prenant. Thus informed, FitzGerald put into action all his
capabilities. They fought with swords across a channel or
gutter in the barrack-yard of Castlebar, where an immense
crowd had assembled to witness the engagement, most of them,
of course, " Mayo men." Before the combatants had taken
their places, FitzGerald called to the spectators : " Here goes !
Mayo against Galway ! The Mayo cock against the Galway
one!" This produced a cheer from the bystanders; but it
failed, as every other possible means would, to intimidate the
gallant Dick. They fought for twenty minutes ; Martin fell
dangerously wounded.*
* While in London, forty years afterwards, attending to his parliamentary
duties, Dick lived in modest lodgings in Manchester Buildings, close to
Westminster Bridge, "in order to be near the House, he said — but although
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 303
Some time afterwards they met by chance at the door of
Dugdale, the bookseller, whose house stood at the corner of
Palace Street and Dame Street, Dublin. After a word or two
they drew, and exchanged several passes; but even at that
period, when gaming, horse-racing, cock-fighting, and hard
drinking, clanship, constitutional insolence, and ill-manners
produced daily and nightly quarrels, duelling in the streets
was not permitted. The police were called for. Before their
arrival, however, Martin had several times bent his sword on
FitzGerald's body, which was encased in steel chain-armour.
At length, Martin rushed upon him and knocked him down,
or he fell by accident from the steps on his face, and Dick
inflicted upon him, while prostrate, a wound which would, by
the rules of the modern '' ring," be deemed foul, for it was
" below the waistband." Dick admitted that qualification
afterwards, but excused himself by saying, '■'■ it was the only
vulnerable point he could find about him."
FitzGerald one day paid a visit to Lord Tyrawley, the kind-
hearted Jemmy Cuflfe, at his seat, Deel Castle. It was winter.
On sending in his name, he was admitted and found Cufie in
his study standing with his back to the fire-place, his hands
behind him holding a large poker, which, when FitzGerald
was announced, he had hastened to thrust into the fire. George
Robert had come to quarrel, and Cufl'e knew the object of his
visit, and prepared to receive him in the way I have described.
FitzGerald, who was quicksighted to an almost miraculous
degree, immediately perceived on entering how matters stood,
and knew well that Cufl'e would unrelentingly enact the part
of Baillie Nichol Jarvie when similarly armed. He therefore
the possessor of estates larger than several of the German Principalities,
he was compelled to this comparative shabbiness. Being esteemed by his
own countrymen, he was much visited, and had really attached friends.
Among the latter, strange to say, was Major FitzGerald, son of his old
antagonist, George Robert (and now a magistrate of Middlesex). Dick's
petit lever was literally an undress one. He " received" in his bed-chamber,
and frequently on the entrance of a visiter, rose from his couch and gave
audience, promenading the while eans-culotte — almost "sans everything."
One Monday, about the year 1824, Major FitzGerald called on him, and
entered his dormitory sans ceremonie. Dick turned out, and conversed with
him for some time as they walked up and down the room, upon indifferent
topics. At length Dick, suiting the action to the discovery of evidence
said: "Look here. Major. See what your good father did forme in the
streets of Castlebar;" pointing to the scars of a sword wound through and
through his body.
804 THE IRISH
conducted himself civilly, and after some unimportant conver-
sation took his departure.*
CHAPTER LXVIII.
Le " moi" est baissable : ainsi ceux qui se contentent seulement de le
couvrir sont toujours haissables. En un mot — lo "moi" a. deux qualites —
il est injuste en soi en ce qu'il se fait centre de tout; il est incommode aux
autres en ce qu'il veul les asservir.
Pascal.
GEORGE ROBERT FITZGERALD was the incarnation
of the ego'isme so strongly reprobated and condemned by
Blaire Pascal, in the extract above given. The hostilities
carried on between him and his partisans with Mr. MacDonnell
and "■ his clan," kept the county of Mayo, or rather the entire
pi'ovince of Connaught, in perpetual alarm. The whole king-
dom in fact resounded with their quarrels and conflicts ; but
besides this foreign feud upon his hands, he had a very grave
affair which occupied his leisure hours at home.
His father having refused to join him in levying a fine
and selling his estate, George Robert confined him, as I have
already stated, in a small room in his own mansion, the Castle
of Turlogh, county of Mayo, and kept him prisoner there
during some years. The government, being informed of this
circumstance, ordered the high sheriff of Mayo to proceed to
Turlogh and set the unfortunate old man at liberty. The
sheriff repaired thither accordingly, accompanied by a body of
dragoons to enforce submission. On coming into the neigh-
bourhood, he took the precaution of making some inquiries of
the people, who flocked in considerable numbers to enjoy
resistance of the laws and the discomfiture of the sheriff, to
whom they knew FitzGerald would not submit.
'' Don't go, for your life, sir," said a man to whom the
magistrate addressed himself; "the master is prepared to
blow you all to the \"
* Soon after, he paid a visit with somewhat similar intentions to Mr.
(afterwards Sir Richard) Nagle, at Jamestown House, county of Westraeath
(with whom he was connected by marriage) ; but the interview terminated
civilly, with, however, indications that FitzGerald was not right in his
mind.
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 305
Prosecuting his inquiries further, the sheriii" learned that
FitzGerald had built two small towers in advance of, and
flanking the castle, and had mounted in them some ship-guns
which had belonged to a vessel that had foundered on the
coast close to his residence. He, nevertheless, announced
himself by an agent, who trembled as he delivered the message,
and demanded the instantaneous release of Mr. FitzGerald,
senior. George Robei't did not hang up the messenger, but told
him to acquaint the sheriff, with his compliments, that the
old gentleman had gone out fishing, and could not conse-
quently be given up to the magistrate.
This was true, for on the approach of the shei-iff, George
Robert persuaded his unhappy parent to enter an armed boat
" for the amusement of fishing," as he said, and which put to
sea, and remained in the ofiing during the negotiation.
The sheriff, not content with the reply made to his sum-
mons, put a bold face upon the matter, and, disposing his
force, marched upon the castle. The moment he came within
range, he was complimented with a salute from the forts, the
projectiles from which cut the branches of the trees of the
avenue over the heads of himself and his party. A general
scamper of sheriff and escort instantly followed. When be-
yond the reach of shot, they pulled rein and rallied. Scarcely
had they recovered breath, when a servant appeared, coming
from the castle. With mock respect he presented his master's
civilities to the sheriff, apologizing for the little incident that
had just occurred, and which was "merely the execution of
orders given by Mr. FitzGerald to some of his people, to em-
ploy themselves in duck-shooting." He begged the sheriff to
return, therefore, assuring him of a distinguished and warm
reception.
There was in the leer of the man who presented this mes-
sage something admonitory. The sheriff declined the invita-
tion, therefore, and retired. He sent to the government a
detailed account of the facts, declaring his conviction that
FitzGerald, aided by his miscreant adherents, would defend
Turlogh Castle to the last extremity.*
* They knew him too well to risk tlie consequences of disobeJicneo.
Never was knave more absolute than he. Ilis hunting-stud was one of the
best in the country. For exercise, and to test the qualities of a magnificent
horse he had lately purchased at a large price, he desired a groom to mount,
and leap him over a wall in the neighbourhood of his residence. The horse
306 THE IKISH
A Privy Council was held at the Castle of Dublin, in con-
sequence of this lawless and outrageous conduct of George
Robert FitzGerald, and a new exjDcdition against Turlogh was
ordered, composed — will it be credited? — of horse, foot, and
artillery ! This time the law was enforced. George Robert
made no resistance, and surrendered his prisoner.
Disembarrassed of his home-occupation, he devoted all his
time and all his strength to his struggle for the dictature of
Mayo with Pat Randall MacDonnell. In a journey into the
North of Ireland he had collected half a score of villains,
whom he brought up to Mayo and planted in various directions
about Turlogh Castle. These desperadoes formed his body-
guard, and were ready to perform any service FitzGerald might
require of them. The Corypheus of the gang was a man
named Andrew Craig, nicknamed by the country people, on
account of his North-country accent, ''Scotch" Andrew.
During a visit to London, FitzGerald had made acquaint-
ance with an Old Bailey lawyer, whom he had probably em-
ployed to defend him in some difference with the authorities.
Recognising in him available qualities, FitzGerald proposed
to him to become his privy councillor and legal adviser. This
man, whose name was Brecknock, accepted the office, and
throughout his subsequent quarrels and encounters with the
law and with adverse factions, FitzGerald derived much "com-
fort and assistance" from him.
The quarrel with MacDonnell had endured so long, and
was accompanied by so many reverses, that FitzGerald's impa-
tience and rancour urged him to extremities. He therefore
consulted his privy councillor, upon the means of ridding him-
self of his rival and adversary without risking his own life.
"The matter is not difficult," said Brecknock. "You are
a magistrate ; send one of your people to provoke MacDonnell
to a breach of the peace, than which nothing is more easy.
Let the man swear examinations against him before you; and
upon these, issue a summons, or, if necessary, a warrant.
When MacDonnell shall appear or be brought into your pre-
sence, commit him to the county jail. Send him off under an
escort of your people, direct another party of your adherents
was faced at it, but on arriving shied, or balked it. " Dismount," said Fitz-
Gerald to the groom ; " even a horse must do my bidding, or suffer for it."
Then taking out a pistol, one of his usual travelling companions, he shot
the animal on the spot.
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 307
to make a pretended attempt at rescue of tte prisoner on the
way; it will then be lawful for the escort to fire upon him.
He will probably attempt to escape in the scuffle ; but, at all
events, as none but your own partisans will be present, they
can say that he did. You will thus safely and surely disem-
barrass yourself of a mortal enemy."
This advice was followed in every particular. Mr. Mac-
Donnell was insulted : he horsewhipped the offender, was
brought before FitzGerald to answer for the assault, and was
by him committed to the jail of Castlebar. A strong party
of FitzGerald's people, including the Scotch settlers, was
drawn up, and to them the prisoner was delivered for con-
veyance to prison. Before they set out they were harangued
by Brecknock, who exhorted them to a faithful and courageous
performance of their task in lodging the culprit safely in pri-
son. '^ Should he attempt to defeat the ends of justice by
flight," said Brecknock, "it will be yoixr duty to shoot him,
if- no means less violent present themselves for preventing his
evasion."
The party then commenced their journey.
Upon reaching the foot of a bridge, on their way, a group
of men in a field which overlooked the road, called upon the
party to liberate their prisoner. A refusal and other words
ensued between the escort and the men who threatened a res-
cue. Stones were thrown. Mr. MacDonnell, it was said,
made some movement which his guards afi"ected to consider as
an attempt at flight, and he was shot by Scotch Andrew. He
fell from the horse on which he rode, and was borne to the
bridge and placed sitting against the wall, while the mock
conflict proceeded. He died soon after, and in that position,
I think.
This horrible event was said to give nearly general satisfac-
tion, for it was hoped that FitzGerald had, by his connexion
with it, committed himself capitally. Full one-half of the
gentry of the country were friends of MacDonnell, against
whom no actual crime, and ''only a disposition to riot" and
disorder were alleged, while FitzGerald had, by his insolence,
brutality, and cruelty, and the terror he inspired, become the
object of universal fear or hatred. He and his legal oracle
and his trusty bravo were arrested by order of government.
The Crown lawyers were ordered to prosecute them, and they
conducted the case con amove. The Attorney-general, John
308 THE IRISH
FitzGibbon (afterwards Lord Clare), aud the Solicitor-general,
Barry Yelverton (afterwards Lord Avonmore), pledged them-
selves toTTs conviction, and in fact George Robert FitzGerald
was doomed.
Impatient at the interval that must elapse before he could
be brought to trial at the assizes, or fearing that through some
error or failure of evidence the prisoner might escape punish-
ment, the gentry rather than the populace of Mayo resorted
to a proceeding similar to that which had a short time previ-
ously occurred at Edinburgh, in the case of Porteus, rendered
for ever memorable by Walter Scott, in his " Heart of Mid
Lothian," and in which possibly oi'iginated that famous trans-
atlantic process called trial by Lynch law. They broke open
the jail, forced themselves into FitzGerald's cell, and sought
to murder him, and retired only when they believed they had
put him to death ; but he recovered. There was little outcry
against this infamous outrage, so general and intense was the
execration in which the victim of it was held.
The assizes were now drawing near, and the law-officers of
the Crown were indefatigable in getting up the case against
the assassins of Mr. MacDonnell. They found, however, a
deficiency of evidence in respect of the one of the party whose
conviction they were most solicitous to insure. Against Scotch
Andrew and Brecknock the proofs were incontestable ; but
they saw no means of connecting FitzGerald with the crime
without further aid. They came to the extraordinary resolu-
tion, therefore, of suffering the actual murderer to escape, in
order to use his evidence against the accessories. On the tes-
timony, therefore, of Andrew Craig, alias Scotch Andrew,
George Robert FitzGerald and Brecknock were convicted of
the murder of Patrick Randall MacDonnell as accessories
before the fact.
The prisoners were tried separately. I have heard that
Brecknock sustained his reputation for astuteness in his own
defence ;* but the proofs against him were overwhelming :
FitzGerald treated the proceedings against him as illegal, but
all the points made by his advocates were overruled.
There was not, I believe, any horror evinced at the mode
* Everything was seized upon in Ireland in those days in an anti-
Catholic spirit. Thus George Robert, who was a violent enemy of the
persecuted Papists, was said to have acted under the advice of a Jesuit —
Brecknock was a Protestant.
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 309
by ■which FitzGerald was brought within the grasp of the law;
nevertheless, the feeling with regard to him was precisely that
expressed by Voltaire in the case of Lally Tollendal : ''Every
man in Ireland had a right to put him to death, except the
executioner." A judge of the land, in speaking of FitzGe-
rald's execution, said : " They have murdered the murderer."
The convicts were hanged from scaffolding employed in the
erection of a new jail in Castlebar, which was yet unfinished.
FitzGerald, on being brought to the place of execution, recog-
nised the presence of nearly every gentleman of the county,
including the high sheriff, the Hon. Denis Browne, brother of
the Earl of Altamont (subsequently created Marquis of Sligo),
who might be said to be his friend, at least he was his neigh-
bour, and only his equal. The guard was composed of the
corps of volunteer cavalry, of which George Robert FitzGerald
himself had been the captain !
The culprit was made to mount a ladder, and the rope was
drawn over a board, fixed upon its edge. It was placed round
the neck of FitzGerald, who displayed much levity. He was,
in fact, half-drunk with wine and spirits. Giving vent to his
excitement, he jumped from the ladder ; and although slight
and light, the tension of the rope over the edge of the board
caused by his fall snapped it. He came on his feet, and after
a moment recovered the shock, and said to Denis Browne :
" Mr. Sheriff, your rope is not fit to hang a dog."
Another was procured ; but the interval was so long, that
the fumes of the wine or brandy he had swallowed evaporated,
and a collapse ensued. He now trembled. In this state he
was compelled once more to mount the ladder, however, and
standing on it, instead of now anticipating the executioner, he
prayed the sheriff repeatedly for time, pretending an expecta-
tion of a reprieve. In this way an hour passed. At length,
at a given signal, he was turned off and died.
Every word I have written of this unhappy man is unfa-
vourable to him. It is just, however, to add, that I have never
met any person who knew him, who did not express the belief
that George Robert FitzGerald was mad.*
* I have heard a precisely similar opinion pronounced respecting two
unfortunate Irishmen, -who suffered capital punishment in London early in
the present century. These were, Colonel Despard, executed for high treason
in May, 1803, and Bellingham, the assassin of Mr. Percival in the lobby
of the House of Commons, in 1812. All the circumstances prove, however,
that they were respectively non compos menda. At the present day thoy
would bo merely " shut up."
310 THE IRISH
The grounds of this belief were the apparently constitu-
tional wrong-headedness, the perversity, the pugnacity, the
recklessness he displayed. Miscreant though he were, an
amount of sympathy was expressed for him, towards which
the illegality of admitting the evidence of the principal against
the accessories, went for much. Mad or not, he was eccentric.
Being out hunting one day, a fox led the party into a church-
yard, or other enclosure, which brought them to a stand-still.
It was bounded on one side (that by which the fox escaped)
by a six-foot wall ; outside was a precipice of twenty feet.
" I will bet five hundred guineas," said Sir Samuel O'Mal-
ley, '' that no man here will clear that wall."
" Done !" said FitzGerald; and putting spurs to his horse,
he leaped it. The poor animal was killed ; but FitzGerald,
reserved for another fall, escaped, and without a broken bone.
CHAPTER LXIX.
Advise well before you begin; when you have maturely considered,
then act with promptitude.
SALLrST.
IN the middle and towards the end of the last century there
figured at the Irish bar another Mayo man, a passage in
whose life will relieve the tragic tale I have just been telling.
He was a descendant of the ancient and honourable Norman
house of Costelloe — (your Nagle and your Nangle are varie-
ties of the Costelloe, be it known.) He had received an ex-
cellent education, and possessed considerable legal knowledge.
He was shrewd, of much seeming gravity; but was playful as
a kitten, cunning as a fox, mischievous as a monkey ; '' A
fellow of infinite jest," — a living joke; witty himself, and the
cause of wit in other men. He was, although his family had
resided during six centuries in Ireland, a true Norman.
He had been in the year 1745, and subsequently, a student
of the Middle Temple, London, and had not denied himself
any of the pleasures, or indeed any of the adventures of which
the English metropolis afi"orded, that is, to the utmost extent
of the means supplied by his family. He thus acquired vast
ABROAD AND AT IIOME. 311
reputation of a particular kind among his contemporaries, and
even became the hero of a tale in which he was made to appear
a stanch Jacobite, guilty of high treason in short, in har-
bouring the Pretender in his chambers.
In justice to the counsellor's character for loyalty, it must
be stated, however, that he was maligned in that respect. I
had heard and laughed at the story myself, and had even told
it once or twice with much success. I had occasion to refer
one day, however, to some of the old chroniclers of France, and
found in Brantome the adventure which had been ascribed to
Costelloe, related of the Duke of Orleans, brother of Charles VI.
Continuing my investigation, I hit upon it also in the " Essais
Historiques of St. Foix," and in an English version of it by
Dr. Gilbert, in his " View of Society in Europe."
This story was a specimen of a hundred anecdotes of "■ The
Counsellor," which I refi-ain from giving here, not, however,
because there is any doubt of their correctness. Fortunately
there is one which is not liable to the objection that imposes
silence on me respecting the others, and which will serve to
portray my hero in his proper colours.
His terms served, Costelloe was called to the bar in Dublin,
where he gave unquestionable proofs of talent ; but whether
through indolence or taste, eschewing equity and common
law, he devoted himself to what is termed Old Bailey practice,
and in which he was unrivalled.
One morning, at the time when Costelloe was in the height
of his reputation, the city of Dublin was frightened from its
propriety by the announcement that G-leadowe's bank had
been plundered of a large sum in gold, by the chief cashier,
to whom its charge had been intrusted. The alleged culprit
was instantly taken into custody, brought before the sitting
magistrate, interrogated, and the proofs of his guilt being
held manifest, committed to Newgate. The whole process
was terminated by eleven o'clock, A. M.
Before the prisoner had reached his destination, Costelloe
was made aware of all the circumstances of the case by one
of the committing magistrate's clerks, whom he kept con-
stantly in pay. This man had hardly left Costelloe's house
after acquitting himself of this duty, when the Counsellor
received a letter inviting him to repair forthwith to Newgate
to see a Mr. , just brought in, who desired his ad\'ice.
Costelloe proceeded at once to Newgate, for such a course
.312 THE IRISH
was not then interdicted to practitioners by private resolutions
of the bar; but even had it been, he was not a man to be
turned from his purpose by any rule that interfered, however
slightly, with the indulgence of his own humour. He was
there introduced to the cashier of Gleadowe's, a man of serious,
sanctimonious mien, and of some fifty years of age. The
usual salutations over, and the door carefully closed, Costelloe,
with that wonderful coiqj cToeil for which he was celebrated,
saw at once the species of person he had to deal with, and
begged to be informed why his presence had been requested.
" You have heard, probably, sir," said the man, " that I
have been the cashier of Gleadowe's bank, and that it is said
a large deficit has been discovered in my accounts V
"■ That you had been a clerk of old Gleadowe, I was igno-
rant/' replied Costelloe; "but I have just been informed that
his cashier has appropriated to himself one of his money-bags,
in fact that the bank has been robbed by the rascal of a whole
heap of gold."
" Rascal ! That is a harsh word, sir."
" Not if applicable."
" Well, sir, I shall not dispute terms, however painful to
an honest, conscientious man to bear them. I am the party
in question."
" And you done the trick ?"*
" Sir !"
" You sacked the swag ?"
" I don't understand you !"
" You've gotten the money ?"
*' Really, sir, I cannot comprehend you."
" You robbed the bank ?"
"Do you mean to insult me ? I rob the bank ! I cheat
my employer ! I plunder my benefactor, and preserve the
fruits of it ! No, sir, no ; I have not a shilling in the world."
" Then, by , you'll be hanged."
" What can you mean ?"
" I'll make it as clear to you, as that those fetters are of
* Many years afterwards, in a more celebrated place (the House of Com-
mons), on a more exciting occasion, a more distinguished Irishman, the
Right Hon. George Tiernay, was guilty of this identical error. In one of his
remarkable speeches delivered in that colloquial stj'le which rendered it so
difficult to report him, he — after a most powerful critique of the acts of
the Tory Administration — summed up with "but, sir, His Majesty's Minis,
ters done the trick."
ABROAD A^'D AT HOME. 813
iron. If you have robbed tbe bank, you must have at least
some of the money, and can afford to pay me well for saving
your life. If you are innocent, and consequently penniless,
you will be weighed, as sure as was Cahir na (jappul.^
'^ Weio-hed i"
" In the City Justice scales. The case is spoken of every-
where, with this addition, that the proofs against you are irre-
futable."
" Then there is no hope ?"
"None, if you be what you say yourself — guiltless; for
you cannot aiford to retain me, who, probably of all the bar,
could alone give you a chance."
Overwhelmed and horrified, the hypocrite, after some hesi-
tation, admitted that he was in a condition to remunerate the
Counsellor for undertaking his defence. '* What is your {oe,
sir ?" he asked.
'' Ten per cent. !"
" Ten per cent. ? Why that is a thousand pounds !"
" So much the better for both of us."
After many futile attempts to beat down the Counsellor's
demand, the prisoner acceded to it, and gave him an order
upon his wife for the enormous sum of a thousand pounds, on
an understanding, that if the Counsellor's exertions should
fail, he would return nine hundred and fifty pounds of it to —
the tcidow !
Immediately upon receiving this draft, Costelloe left the
prison, and without waiting to present it, proceeded to the
Crown Office, situate in South Cope Street, on the site of the
rear or court-yard of the present Commercial Buildings, which
at that period resembled in its functions the head police-office
of modern times. The sitting magistrate had risen ; but the
chief clerk was at his desk when Costelloe entered. " Good
morning, Mr. Johnson," said he. The clerk returned the
salute. " Anything in my way to-day, Mr. Johnson '{" he
asked with the most perfect nonchalance.
" What, Counsellor ! Have you not heard of the robbery
at Gleadowe's ?"
" Gleadowe's ? The bank ? Not a word of it."
* Ccihirno gappul ("Charles the Horse") Ts-as a celebrated horse-stealer
in his day, ■whose career was terminated by the application to him of one
of his professional implements — the halter.
14
314 THE IRISH
"Yes; the cashier, who was deemed the most trustworthy
of men, has plundered the chest."
<' Plundered the chest 1"
" Extracted from it ten thousand guineas in gold made up
in rouleaux, and has substituted for them as many farthings."
"And got clear off?"
" No. He is safe in Newgate."
" What a scoundrel !"
" A consummate one : but he will suffer for it. The evi-
dence against him is conclusive ; for part of the stolen property
was found in a secret drawer of his desk at home."
' Did you not say, that the money abstracted was in gold ?"
' Yes ; but those pieces have been identified."
" How ? One guinea is so like another !"
" True ; but mark the finger of Providence ! Along with
the guineas the villain carried off ten foreign gold coins,
Dutch ducats, which were also in the safe, and these have
been sworn to by his deputy, and will hang him. See here."
The clerk opened his desk, and took from it a small box,
committed to his custody for produ.ction at the trial of the
accused, and poured its contents into the hands of the
apparently wondering Counsellor.
Costelloe examined them piece by piece with the most
intense interest ; turned and re-turned them in his hand, and
again regarded them with the concentrated attention of a Jew
money-changer. The scrutiny lasted so long that the clerk
manifested impatience. At length Costelloe restored them,
observing : " The fellow has undone himself."
" What a fortunate oversight ! was it not, Counsellor?"
" Providential, as you just now properly remarked. Never
was proof more clear."
After a few words further on general subjects, the Coun-
sellor left the ofiice with a mind seemingly disengaged. That
evening his confidential clerk and secretary was seen to go on
board a Liverpool packet, which lay at Sir John Eogerson's
Quay, and sailed half an hour afterwards.
Some weeks later the prisoner was brought to trial at the
Commission Court, Green Street; and in the presence of as
numerous an auditory as had ever been congregated in it. As
usual, the counsel for the accused sat immediately before him.
On one side of Costelloe was placed his clerk, with whom in
the course of the proceedings he frequently conversed, and
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 315
whose hat was on the table before him ; on the other hand of
Costelloe was the attorney of the prisoner. When called upon
to plead, the unfortunate man at the bar, with much feelinj^
and deep emotion, exclaimed : '' Not guilty." With a solemn
asseveration, he added, that the rouleaux of coin (farthings)
found in the safe were those which had existed there for years,
and formed part of '' the rest," as he had been given to under-
stand ; and he had received them from his predecessor at the
value indicated by the ticket attached to each packet. He
had never opened them.
Costelloe cross-examined but only slightly the witnesses
who deposed to the preliminary facts. At length came the
turn of the deputy cashier, who swore that he had frequently
seen in the chest the identical ten Dutch pieces of gold which
the Counsellor had so curiously examined at the Crown Office,
and which the witness now again identified.
At this testimony Costelloe looked serious. The examina-
tion in chief of the deputy cashier being over, and no move-
ment made by Costelloe, who seemed deeply absorbed in
thought, the counsel for the Crown was led to believe that no
cross-examination was intended, and accordingly told the wit-
ness that he might go down.
" Stop a moment, young man," said the Counsellor, rising,
and with an abstracted and vacant gaze ; " stop a moment. I
have a question or two to ask you on behalf of my unhappy
client," who now, feeling the peril in which his life was placed,
began to weep bitterly. The witness reseated himself, and
Costelloe went on : " And so, sir, you accuse your friend of
robbery?"
" I am sorry that my duty compels me to give criminatory
evidence against him."
'' No doubt — no doubt. His conviction will gain you a
step, eh ?"
'' Sir, do you think that it was under such an impression,
and with such a view that I gave my testimony V
" Certainly I do."
A murmur of disapprobation ran through the court at this
insult to the witness. The counsel for the prosecution looked
towards the Bench for protection. The Judge, however, did
not interfere, nor did he reprove the warmth with which they
exclaimed against the '' indecent insinuation of Costelloe
towards a witness whose testimony, from all that appeared.
316 THE IRISH
could not be impugned ;" but his Lordship evidently looked
with interest to the development of Costelloe's motive, know-
ing well that he would not have committed an indecorum so
gross without some powerful secret reason. The witness him-
self, disappointed at the failure of the counsel for the Crown
to interest the Court in his feelings, became red with indigna-
tion. Of these circumstances Costelloe took no notice, but
proceeded : " And so you swear, sir, that those identical pieces
of gold in your hand this moment — Where are they ?" he
asked rudely of the solicitor for the prosecution. They were
again handed to the witness, and Costelloe resumed : '' And
so you swear, sir, that those identical pieces of gold in your
hand were in the prisoner's keeping ? — now mind, you are on
your oath !"
" I do swear it."
" Hand me those coins, sir," said Costelloe in a tone that
expressed rage and fury. The witness complied, and handed
them to the Counselloi', who looked upon them with dismay.
The witness was triumphant. The prisoner trembled. The
court was hushed. Costelloe sighed.
"You have sworn positively, sir," said he ; " and it will
be well for you, if truly. Here, sir, take your blood-money."
He stretched out his hand, with a countenance half-averted,
as if with disgust ; and, missing that of the witness, let fall
the mass into the hat before him, by the sheerest accident in
the world. " I beg your pardon, sir, for my awkwardness,"
said Costelloe to the witness ; the only approach to civility he
had as yet manifested towards him. Then, putting his hand
into the hat, and taking up a single piece, he said : " You
persist in swearing, sir, that this piece of money, the property
of Mr. Gleadowe, was in the prisoner's custody? Now, mind,
sir — none of your assumed contempt."
" I mean nothing of the kind, sir."
"Then why look it? Recollect that you are swearing
away this poor man's life. Do you still say, fellow, that this
piece of money was in the keeping of the prisoner ?"
The witness, brow-beaten and bullied, became once more
irritated. He took the ducat into his hand, and, scarcely
deigning to glance at it, said : " I swear it !"
"And this also?" said Costelloe, taking up another, and
presenting it to him.
" And that also."
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 317
"And this?"
"Yes."
"And this, and this, and this ?" to the number of ten.
" Yes."
" And this, and this, and this ?" said the knave, producing
from the hat, in succession, twenty other pieces of a similar
kind.
The witness was horror-stricken : his hair stood on end.
The counsel for the Crown looked blank; the Judge faintly
smiled. The case was abandoned, and the robber saved.
The affiiir was quite simple. It will be recollected that
immediately after his scrutiny of the ducats at the Crown
Office, which enabled him to fix in his memory their dates and
effigies, Costelloe returned home ; and that, in the evening of
that day, his confidential clerk sailed for Liverpool, the least
observable of routes. On arriving there, the man went by mail
to London, and thence by a Dutch packet to Rotterdam, where
he bought up a score of ducats of the dates indicated, by his
master ; with what effect I have just shown.
CHAPTER LXX.
In causes of life and death, judges ought, as far as the law permitteth in
justice, to remember mercy.
Bacon.
England has had her Jeffries; Ireland has e.xhibitcd a Norbury.
CIOME twenty or thirty years after this 'achievement of
|>^ Costelloe, there took place in the Bank of Ireland a series
of robberies, perpetrated by a deputy cashier — a mortified-look-
ing young man, named Henry Malone (aided by confederates,
the sons of a person who had done the state some service in
prosecuting to conviction two unhappy youths, of seventeen
and eighteen years respectively, for high treason). Detected at
last, 31 alone was taken into custody, committed to Newgate,
brought to trial, and was acquitted of the felony, but was imme-
diately ai-rested for the sums he had embezzled, " amounting/'
said the Bank, " to thirteen or fourteen thousand pounds," but
818 THE IRISH
whicli public rumour averred was a considerable under-statement
of the fact. He died ia the Marshalsea (debtor's prison).
Eight or nine years later, a clerk in the bank of Ball, Plun-
ket & Doyne, Dublin, possessed himself (he being '' clerk of
the chest") of a sum of ten thousand pounds, in bank-notes.
Arrested in a house of ill-fame, with several hundred pounds
in his pocket, he barely denied his guilt, but defied the bank-
ers, his employers, to prove their case against him, although he
admitted that their system embraced every conceivable check
upon their clerks. By the connivance of the government, his
employers were allowed to compound his felony, on restitution
of all the money remaining of the sum he had stolen, and upon
a demonstration of the mode by which he had, with impunity,
plundered them. He delivered up to them accordingly nine
thousand and some hundreds of pounds, and showed them that
he could never have been detected, for he had effected his
crime by merely altering a figure in the sum stated in his
account book ten days previously, to be safe in the chest —
(that is changing the sum of £135,000 into £125,000) — and
which account had heen checked, the money counted, &c. He
then changed a figure in each succeeding day's account, so
that the sum actually in the chest corresponded exactly with
that appearing on the face of his book, as the " contents of the
chest."
These occurrences were held to prove how difficult it is to
imagine and carry out a protective system of bank manage-
ment, where dishonesty exists united to craft and audacity.
Nevertheless, severe censures were pronounced upon the estab-
lishments in which those crimes had been practised.
If, however, the Bank of Ireland and the private banking
companies of Dublin failed in their prosecutions of plunderers
on a large scale, they were sufficiently active, successful, and
inexorable in their prosecution of comparatively minor offenders.
The number of lives forfeited to the laws by forging bank-notes
and uttering them, was appalling. No mercy was shown to
man, woman, or child convicted of that crime, even though the
note were of so low a value as twenty shillings. Of the savage
cruelty with which the laws in those respects were carried into
execution, one example will suffice.
During the viceroyalty of the late Duke of Richmond in
Ireland, a poor simple man, named Moore, was tried at the
Sessions House, Green Street, for having passed or uttered at
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 319
the large groceiy establishment of the Messrs. Smith in Sack-
ville Street, a forged note of the nominal amount of thirty shil-
lings, purporting to be a note of one of the private banks then
existing in Dublin. It was proved that he bought, at the
house of the prosecutors, on the morning of a certain day, some
tea and sugar, and paid for it with the note in question, which,
soon after his departure, was discovered to be a forgery. He
returned in the evening, made a similar purchase, and tendered
another note in payment. " You were here this morning,"
said the shopman who served hiui. Moore denied it. He was,
however, detained. A constable was procured, and the utterer
of forged notes, for the second was a counterpart of the first,
was sent to Newgate after he had been examined before a ma-
gistrate.
"When brought to trial he did not deny the charge against
him, but gave the following account of himself. He stated
that on the day before the commission of the crime for which
he stood indicted, he had arrived nearly penniless in Dublin
from Edenderry, where he was born, bred, and passed the
whole of his life. He was a married man, and had two or
three children to support. He was a sort of woodsman or
hedge-carpenter; that, is, he had maintained himself and
family by purchasing timber-trees, which he cut up and formed
into spokes and felloes for coachmakers. Business failing him,
he sunk into great distress, and left his native village to seek
employment of some kind in the capital. On the evening of
his arrival, he fell into the hands of a gang of forgers, who
were on the look-out for agents or instruments. Observing his
simple and honest appearance, they calculated on deriving
much from his co-operation. Giving him temporary relief,
they, on the following morning, sent him on his first expedi-
tion, which, like first steps in crime in general, was successful.
They asked him to try again : he hesitated ; but they told him
t'l.'it the notes were genuine, although they confessed that they
had been found in the street by accident. He made a second
attempt, therefore, at the very house which a conscious crimi-
nal would have avoided, and now stood before the court a
guilty man.
It was proved that immediately on being taken into cus-
tody he admitted his guilt ; and declared unhesitatingly his
readiness to concur in bringing the actual forgers to justice,
and stated where they were to be found. The whole gang,
820 THE IRISH
five in number, were in consequence watched, and were
secured in the act of preparing other forged notes for circula-
tion. They were brought to trial at the Quarter Sessions,
before the Recorder, convicted, and sentenced to transporta-
tion for having forged notes " in their possession ;" their
unhappy instrument was reserved for trial before the superior
criminal tribunal, the commission at which two judges of the
superior law courts preside — the " uttering" of forged notes
being a capital felony.
The prisoner called several coachmakers of respectability
in Dublin, with whom during many years he had had dealings,
as witnesses to his character. Two of them, George Waters
of Dominick Street, and Thomas Palmer of Peter's Row, gave
him the best possible character. Other persons who knew
him, bore testimony also to his honesty and industry.
The prisoner having confessed his guilt, was, by the blood-
thirsty prosecuting counsel, induced to withdraw his plea and
put himself upon his trial. The proofs being manifest, the
jury could only return a verdict of guilty — but accompanied it
with a strong recommendation to mercy. Lord Norbury, who
tried him (in conjunction with Baron George, for they were
ever associated*), said the recommendation should reach the
proper quarter, but passed sentence of death upon the poor
man in his usual way, and everybody knows what that was —
harsh and unfeeling. The prisoner was then reconducted to
Newgate.
The jury separated under a painful impression, notwith-
standing their recommendation of the man to mercy, for they
had misgivings about the Judge. They deemed it impossible,
however, that under the circumstances of the case the sen-
tence would be carried into execution. '' He will escape,"
said they — but they barely hoped it — '^ with a few. months'
imprisonment."
There happened to be at that moment in Newgate, a poli-
tical prisoner whose room was exactly over the condemned
cell. This was the late Walter Cox — who two years after-
wards emigrated to the United States, and established a news-
paper in New York, and who, at the period of Moore's trial,
was undergoing imprisonment for a seditious libel published
in the " Irish Magazine," of which he was the editor and
* It was tliey who tried tho unfortunate and lamented Robert Emmot,
twelve years previously.
ABROAD AXD AT HOME. 321
proprietor. He and the convict Moore met frequently in the
court-yard every day, for the latter was allovred every species
of indulgence by the humane, however bratal-looking jailor,
MacDowell. It happened that one of the jurors by whom
3Ioore had been convicted, called upon Cox one day while
walking in the court-yard, in which the convict was at that
moment speaking through a grating to his weeping wife. The
juror recognised him, and spoke of him to Cox. ''Poor fel-
low !" said the latter; '' he has no idea of his danger."
"What danger?"'
" Of beinsr hanged."
'' Oh, impossible ! "We recommended him to mercy, and
the Judge promised to lay our recommendation before the
Lord-lieutenant."
" What Judge ? Norhury ?"
" Yes."
" Phew ! You don't know him. That man will be
hanged."
" Surely you are in error?"
''You'll see."
"No, Cox. It is not possible. You speak, excuse me,
you speak in this way, under a feeling of hostility caused by
the sentence his Lordship pronounced against yourself. That
is all."
" Not all, or rather, not at all. You have recommended
this poor fool to mercy ! The mercy of the Judge ! ' There
is no more mercy in him, than there is milk in a male
tiger.' "
" It was not to the mercy of the Judge we recommended
him, but — "
" Why did you not acquit the prisoner ? It was the jus-
tice of the case. He was a mere dupe."
" Why not acquit him ! — Because he had confessed that
he was guilty."
" Guilty of what ? Of uttering an instrument of exactly
the value of that it purported to represent. The bank of
which it pretended to be an engagement is insolvent."
" That may or may not be, but my mind has been made
uneasy by your belief that this poor man will be executed."
" He will be hanged. Remember my words. Norbury — "
"I cannot continue this discussion. Youi opinion has
14*
822 THE IRISH
made me unhappy. No effort of mine shall be omitted to save
this poor creature."
" The old story : cut my head and give me a plaster. Nor-
bury— "
" I must leave you. Farewell."
In the temper of mind which the words of Cox suggested,
the juror returned home and drew up a strong memorial to
the Lord-lieutenant, on the part of himself and his fellow-
jurors,* which they unanimously signed. He drew up a
similar one from the grand jury, by whom the bills against
the prisoner had been found. He procured also a certificate
from the magistrate. Alderman Darly, who had committed the
prisoner, stating that through the instrumentality of the con-
vict, Moore, an extensive and dangerous gang of forgers had
been brought to justice. A memorial was obtained from
Messrs. Waters and Palmer, and others who had dealings
with the prisoner, and finally, a petition from the proprietors of
the grocery establishment who had been his prosecutors, pray-
ing a commutation of the sentence pronounced against him.
These several documents the juror caused to be presented to
the Lord-lieutenant. He addressed to the Attorney-general,
Mr. Saurin, a memorial on behalf of the convict, in which
were enumerated the several memorials, certificate, and peti-
tion, just mentioned, with extracts from, or analyses of them.
Next day he returned to Newgate, and found matters pre-
cisely as he had left them the day before. The prisoner was
again at the grate, speaking to his poorly clad and deplorable-
looking wife, who held up to the bars a little girl, of six or
seven years old, who was shoeless, and whom he kissed and
blessed. Cox was in the precise mood which had made the
juror so uneasy, or rather, he now spoke more despondingly
of the case. "Billy MacDowell" (the jailor) ''gave him a
pint of porter last night," said he, " and made him so happy
that Billy burst into tears."
'' Then MacDowell thinks as you do, that the law will take
ita course ?"
" The law take its course ! I tell you the man will be
hanged. Norbury — "
* One of them — Mr. John C , an eminent stationer, the son of one
of the leading United Irishmen who had chosen the United States for his
place of exile — (being banished by Act of Parliament) — is, I believe, now
carrying on business in the capital of one of "The States."
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 323
The juror, further stimulated by this reiterated prediction,
again hastih' quitted the prison, sought George Waters, and,
accompanied by him, repaired to Lord Norbury's residence in
Great Denmark Street. The Judge was, luckily, in his study,
and they were admitted to him. Waters, who was known to
his Lordship, stated with au apology the object of their intru-
sion, and the steps taken on behalf of the convict.
'"Waters," said the rubicund Chief Justice, "you are an
excellent, kind-hearted fellow; so are you, . Your
exertions are creditable to you. You are an humane, philan-
thropic person. I should be happy to concur in your views
and your solicitude, but the laws must be maintained."
With earnestness and feeling, his visiters pleaded the pri-
soner's innocence, and again referred to the memorials addressed
to the Duke of Richmond and to Mr. Saurin.
" I know all about it," said he. '^ This is Thursday; the
man is ordered for execution on Saturday. A council is to be
held at the Castle at three o'clock to-morrow, to decide upon
his case, at which I and Saurin are to be present. Meet me
at the Castle-yard at four, and I will tell you the result."
Mr. Waters and the juror withdreAV. The latter conceived
little hope, from the manner and the reputation of the Judge.
He sent for the wife of the prisoner, and told her how the
matter stood, and his fears that all his exertions would prove
in vain. Already broken down by poverty, distress, and
anxiety, she fainted. When she recovered a little, the juror
recommended her to take some rest, and to be sure to return
to him at four o'clock on the following day, when perhaps he
might have good news for her. She made no reply, but raised
her eyes to heaven, and, appearing to pray mentally, withdrew.
At three o'clock in the afternoon of the next day the juror
repaired to the Castle, although that was only the hour fixed
for the council. He saw Mr. Saurin, and, after him. Lord
Norbury arrive, the latter on horseback. His Lordship saw
the juror well, for he had approached him as he alighted, but
did not allow his eyes to meet his gaze ; and tapping his top-
boots with his whip, and puffing from his inflated cheeks as
usual, he ascended the staircase. This, his non-recognition,
struck the juror as ominous. Agitated and uneasy, he walked
for an hour in the Castle-yard ; then went out upon Cork Hill,
and paced to and fro by the wing of the Exchange for another
hour. The delay seemed favourable. It was therefore with
824 THE IRISH
something like hope that he advanced to meet Lord Norbury
as he issued from the Castle-gate. The sombre aspect of the
Judge struck to his heart, however. The latter opened the
conversation, continuing nevertheless to walk towards Parlia-
ment Street.
" You are a kind, excellent fellow, ," said he.
'' Every attention has been paid to the documents addressed
by you to his Excellency. We have weighed them all well 3
but the bankers have been playing the devil."
''My Lord!"
'' Yes ; the bankers have been playing the devil. They
have stated to government that, if this man be suffered to
escape, they will never prosecute another. The law must take
its course."
He made a sort of bow to the juror, who, in a state of
horror, hung upon him until he had reached a saddler's shop
in Parliament Street, into which he suddenly turned.
Now, fully perceiving how desperate was the case, the juror
abandoned all intention further to appeal to the Judge. He
returned to his home, therefore, and found in the hall the wife
of the prisoner. It was now dark. He desired that she should
receive some refreshment, of which he told her she would have
need, for there was a little journey before her. He then sat
down, and in her name drew up a memorial to the Lord-lieu-
tenant, repeating his former statements. This finished, he
sent for a hackney-coach, and, presenting the memorial to the
poor woman, told her she must be herself the bearer of it ;
that she must repair to the Vice-R,egal Lodge in Phoenix Park,
and endeavour by some means to obtain admission to the Lord-
lieutenant, and place it in his hands. " If that be found im-
possible," said he, " see the Duchess of Richmond. . Tell her
your story, and pray her to take charge of your petition. She
is charitable, humane, and feeling, and will do all in her power."
He then directed a servant to accompany the unhappy creature,
who, conceiving hope from being herself employed on behalf
of her husband, departed with something like alacrity.
Arrived at the Vice-Regal Lodge, she was allowed to pene-
trate to the hall. She was there told that his Excellency was
engaged, and would soon go to dinner. At her entreaty, a
servant undertook, however, to mention to his Lord her arrival
and object. He soon returned, and said that his Excellency
regretted it was- not in his power to interfere ; that the matter
ABKOAD AND AT HOME. 825
had that afternoon been considered and decided in council.
'•' Here is the Duchess, however," said the servant, in a whis-
per; ''speak to her."
The poor woman rushed forward, as the comely, good-
huraoured-lookiug lady crossed the hall, proceeding to the
dining-room ; threw herself on her knees, attempted to speak,
but failed. She held up the petition, however.
" What's all this?" said the Duchess.
The matter was explained.
Stooping down, and raising the poor woman, she said : " Give
me the paper. I will present it ; if I succeed, you will see
me again;" and, instead of entering the salle-d-maiiger, she
passed to the Duke's room.
A delay of some minutes occurred. At length a female
attendant, instead of the Duchess, issued from the room, holding
the paper, and in tears. She placed it in one of the hands
of the supplicant, who, anticipating the truth, was gasping :
into the other she poured some money, and ran out of the hall.
The man was hanged next day.
CHAPTER LXXI.
La puissance des rois est fondfie sur la raison et sur la folie du peuple —
et bien plus sur la lolie. La plus grande et la plus importante choBe du
monde a pour fondement la faiblesse.
Pascal.
HAVING, however faintly, depicted the Irishman of the
last century at home — the oppressor and the oppressed —
the Judge — the advocate and the criminal — a sketch of him
in his playful festive and domestic moments may assist the
judgment in arriving at an estimate of his character.
The triumph of the champions of Irish Independence in
1782 was complete, but the victory was not used with moder-
ation. As in most sublunary aifairs success was accompanied
and followed by intoxication, until it produced upon the
English Cabinet an impression which is said to have suggested
and governed all its measures thenceforward.
The history of the two or thi-eo years which succeeded to
326 THE IRISH
the Declaration of Independence, contains no very striking
fact illustrative of this opinion. " The nation seemed drunk,"
said Sir Jonah Barrington to me in Paris, fifteen years ago,
" and having participated in the struggle, I took my part in
the jubilation ; but we were wrong. Instead of proclaiming
our success, we should have dissembled our estimate of it ; in-
stead of announcing projects for further steps towards com-
plete independence of the sister kingdom, and for reducing
our liaison with her to a mere federal connexion, we should
have assumed an attitude of content, and have used every
possible means for removing from England and her govern-
ment all sense of soreness from the concessions we had, as it
were, torn from her. Instead of revelling in the interval
which succeeded to our fortunate struggle, we should have ap-
plied all our sagacity and all our energies to insure to ourselves
at least the undisturbed enjoyment of the fniits of it, and to
which we ought, in fact, to have limited our views, for that
time. 2lais, que voulez-vous? In what history can we find
examples of youth evincing self-denial and moderation ? And
we were a young people then. Instead of consolidating
the stracture we had raised, and by, among other means,
reconciling to its aspect those at whose expense it may be said
we had erected it, we wounded their self-love ; we provoked
their regrets for the loss they had sustained, and strengthened
their resolution to resume possession at the first possible instant,
and by all practicable means.
"■ In that moment of aben-ation, we forgot that we had
attained to our end, not so much through the preponderance
of our own strength, as because of the momentary decrepitude
of our adversary. We forgot the cares and embarrassments
of which the Peace of 1783 had relieved England, and we
left out of view the physical force which had returned to her,
of which in order to maintain a long and distant foreign war
she had been obliged to divest herself. Oh, wirra ! wirra !"
I am unable to pronounce upon the amount of credit due
to this view of the question. Well or ill-founded, it has been
a hundred times expressed in my hearing by contemporaries
of the men of '82 ; well or ill-founded there would appear to
have been suggested to England, by the declaration of Irish
Independence, and by the conduct of the popular party subse-
quently, fear for the connexion ; an impression which deter-
mined, I have always heard, a defensive attitude in the first
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 327
instance, and ultimately measures for the recovery of British
domination in Ireland, and then for secvxring its permanency.
History is open to any reader, who may satisfy himself on
this point, should he question the correctness of this view of
it, and for which I do not vouch. He would not, however,
be able to find in history many little incidents held at the time
to make for the position laid down by the friend (Sir Jonah
Barrington) above quoted, one of which is somewhat startling,
to wit : the imputed appointment of the Duke of Rutland to
the viceroyalty of Ireland, with a view to the demoralization
of its patriotic aristocracy, and, by diverting the public mind
from grave concerns, render the resumption of British power
practicable and facile.
The obvious absurdity of this hypothesis must not, however,
deprive it of all claim to credence. We who saw subsequently
the delivery of Ireland, bound hand and foot, to a triumvirate
nearly despicable as statesmen, John Beresford, John Fitz-
Gibbon, and John Foster, or, more properly speaking, to the
first of those persons, to be dealt with at their or his good
pleasure ("judgment" would be a misnomer), we who have
witnessed this expedient of the British government of that
day, hesitate to regard the mission ascribed to the Duke of
Rutland as incredible.
Whatever its motive, he arrived in Dublin before he had
attained to his thirtieth year, accompanied by his lovely Duch-
ess, then in her eight or nine and twentieth year. The Duke
possessed a princely fortune, a captivating countenance, and
well-formed person. He was of the most amiable temper, and
endowed with an overflowing fund of good humour. He was
afi'able, gay, gallant, high-bred, high-spirited, and utterly re-
gardless of expense.
The Duchess was marvellou.sly handsome, spirited, and
dashing (she was a Beaufort), the head of society, the leader
of fashion. I have heard that it would not be hyperbole to
apply to her Burke's celebrated description of the unfortunate
Marie Antoinette — than whom, however, .she was more regu-
larly beautiful. It is needless, therefore, to observe that this
noble couple became the admired of all admirers in Ireland —
arriving there, moreover, after a long interregnum of dull-
ness at the Castle — for it is notorious that in the forty years
that intervened between the viceroyalty of the courtly Earl of
Chesterfield, and that of the gay, the gallant, and the rattling
328 THE IRISH
Duke of Rutland, there are no " remains," except a joke or
two of Lord Townsend.
If, therefore, it ever entered into the heads of those whom
the Duke represented in Ireland, to found a convivial school
in that country, and to allure its inhabitants into expensive
habits, as means for impairing their moral and physical system
— imitated (at least practised) by Napoleon fifteen years after-
wards in respect of the Englishmen so foully detained in
France upon the rupture of the peace of Amiens — the Duke
ascertained, at his first step, that his contemplated disciples
were already adepts, with heads of adamant, and consequently
incapable of conviction by wine and wassail. He plunged
fearlessly, nevertheless, into the stream, followed by his jolly
companions, and was engulfed in it. Many of his proselytes
also succumbed, but most of them survived him.
CHAPTER LXXII.
If I had a thousand sons, the first human principle I would teach them,
Ehould be — to forswear thin potations, and addict themselves to sack.
Henry IV. (2d Part).
IT is reported that the first inkling that the Duke of Rut-
land had of the qualities of the parties, whom rumour
asserted he had been commissioned to initiate into the plea-
sures of the table, was afforded him in an after-dinner tete-
a-tete, discussion with one of the kindest hearts, honestest
heads, and most racy wits and purest patriots of Ireland — Sir
Hercules Langrishe. If that were indeed the Duke's covp
d'essai, it was conclusive of the fate of the alleged primary
object of his mission. To lead Sir Hercules in the circulation
and absorption of the bottle, was about as hopeless an attempt
as would be an effort to induce him to renounce his love of
Ireland, and to concur in the sacrifice of her independence.
His public character has been drawn in every record of the
conflict maintained in the Irish Parliament with the advocates
of the union. The following item in the list of his capabili-
ties, portrays the venerable patriot in his domestic garb,
having doffed the toga : —
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 329
Some friends were snown into his dining-parlour one even-
ing, long after that which they knew to be his dinner-hour.
They found him alone in company with half a dozen '' dead
men" (empty bottles). He had just poured into his glass the
last drop of claret which one of them had contained. " What 1
Sir Hercules I" exclaimed the intruders, astounded by the
terrible show ; " surely you have not got through these with-
out assistance !"
" Oh, no !" said the Baronet. " I had the aid of a bottle
of Madeira I"
This anecdote I heard from Thomas Moore, one day after
dinner, at the house of the late Mr. Thomas Barnes. Re-
lated by ]\Ioore it was highly effective ; but that which was
most admirable belonging to it, was the train laid by the poet
for its explosion — proving how a man improves by reading.
Moore had shown, in his Life of Sheridan, how skilfully
the wit visuall}- led, with the art of a consummate dramatist,
to the inti'oduction of previously prepared points, or epigrams,
in Parliament or society. On the occasion of which I speak,
Moore had recourse himself to a precisely similar ruse, pro-
fessing to be reminded of the anecdote of Sir Hercules Lan-
grishe I have just related, by the casual occurrence in the
conversation of the words " aid" and " assist," and which he
showed were " simile non est idem."
Sheridan and Moore ! To remind the world that Ireland
produced, in a century, not only Grattan, Curran, Burke,
Flood, Francis, Wellington ; but these two illustrious orators
and poets (for Moore was an orator) were perhaps sufficient to
warrant my firm conviction that their now suffering, impover-
ished, divided native land, was not — is not — the degraded
country which, in consequence of partial outrages, even atro-
cious though they be, public writers of the present day dare
to represent her. Each was an orator, each a poet, each a
patriot. The love of Ireland which imbued the Minstrel Boy
burned not more fiercely in his breast, than in the bosom of
Bichard Brinsley Sheridan ; and yet, one of Sheridan's splen-
did dramatic productions — '' The Rivals" — was hissed, on its
first representation, by Irishmen, who mistook for sneer that
which is its antipodes — raillery; good-humoured, playful
raillery.
Upon one occasion, speaking of songs, Sheridan said: he,
one of the triumvirate Irishmen (Sheridan, O'Keeffe, and
330 THE IRISH
Moore), wto must be placed at the head of the list of Ivric
poets — '' I would rather be the author of Hosier's Ghost than
of the Annals of Tacitus."
This liberal fi^re of speech it was, probably, which sug-
gested the following fine compliment of Byron to Sheridan's
genius. It is a passage in the diary of Byron's six months'
residence in London, in 1812-13.
" Saturday, Deer. ISth, 1813.
'* Lord Holland told me a curious piece of sentimentality in
Sheridan. The other night we were all delivering our
respective and various opinions on him and other ' hommcs
marqiians,' and mine was this : — ' Whatever Sheridan has done
or chosen to do, has been par excellence, always the best of its
kind. He has written the best comedy (School for Scandal),
the best opera (the Duenna, in my mind far before that Saint
Giles's Lampoon, the Beggar's Opera), the best farce (the
Critic, it is only too good for an afterpiece), and the best
address (Monologue on Garrick). and, to crown all, delivered
the vert/ best oration (the famous Begum Speech), ever con-
ceived or heard in this country I' Somebody told Sheridan
this the next day, and he burst into tears I — Poor Brinsley !
If they were tears of pleasure, I would rather have said those
few but sincere words than have written the Iliad or made his
own celebrated Philippic. Nay, his own comedy never grati-
fied me more than to hear that he had derived a moment's gra-
tification from any praise of mine, humble as it must appear
to ' my elders and my betters.' "
To this fine imperishable tribute I would with unafi'ected
humUity and the utmost sincerity pray leave to add, that I
would rather own the copyright of a sentiment of Sheridan, in
his preface to the first edition of the comedy of •' The Rivals,"
than of all the orations he ever delivered, and of all the bon-
mots he ever uttered.
''It is net without pleasure," thus this sentence runs,
"that I catch at an opportunity of justifying myself from the
charge of intending any national reflection in the character of
Sir Lucius 0' Trigger. If any gentlemen opposed the piece
from that idea, I thank them sincerely for their opposition ;
and if the condemnation of this comedy (however misconceived
the provocation) could have added one spark to the decaying
flame of national attachment to the country supposed to be
reflected on, I should have been happy in its fate ; and mis^ht,
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 331
•with truth, have boasted, that it had done more real service
in its failure, than the successful morality of a thousand stage
novels will ever effect."
CHAPTER LXXIII.
I hiivo sounded the very base string of humility. I am so good a pro-
ficient in one quarter of an hour that I can drink with any tinker in his
own language through life.
Shakspeare.
LET US, however, return to the Duke of Rutland.
If his first conception of the enduring qualities of an
Irish convivial companion were derived from the source I have
just indicated, further investigation ought to have appeared to
him superfluous. By another class, with whom almost im-
mediately upon his arrival in Dublin he came in contact, big
appreciation of the Irish character in such respect was, sup-
posing it not yet formed, perfected.
He accepted an invitation to the inauguration dinner at the
Mayoralty-house of a new Lord Mayor. He found near him at
table the Lord Chancellor, the Speaker of the House of Com-
mons, several of the judges, and many rural and city magnates.
Seated at the right hand of the Lord Mayor, the Duke was
the special object of that functionary's hospitable solicitude,
and also of his unintermitting care. ''Dyeing scarlet" was
the order of the day at those civic assemblies, as well as at
those in still more elevated life. The Anacreontic invitation :
" Fill your glass — I hato to seo
An empty or a full one,"
was not exactly the ordinance prescribed or followed in that
vicinity. The dictum indicated to the noble stranger appeared
to him unobjectionable and sounded liberally, — it merely
said,
" Fill as you please, but drink what you fill.
The Duke found, however, that this quiet, just, and reason-
able injunction was only theoretical, and that it was superseded
332 THE IRISH
by the rule absolute of his despotic host, which substituted
for it,
"Fill every glass and drain it."
To seek to evade this precept was sure to bring the culprit
into trouble. So complete was the espionnage exercised, that
hardly had the crime been consummated, when the criminal
was denounced. In most cases summary punishment, in the
shape of overflowing bumpers, followed.
The Duke's first infringement of the order in question was
mildly reproved by this brief and friendly admonition from his
watchful entertainer : '' Wipe your eye, my Lord." The
Duke literally complied, and threw the hilarious citizens into
ecstasies. Upon a subsequent inadvertence, which consisted
in pouring wine into a glass not entirely empty, he received
the following intelligible hint : " No heel-taps, your Grace."
His third and last offence, that of not filling up to the brim,
was thus reproved in the severe stentorian voice of the late
Lord Mayor, indignant at an innovation countenanced, he
feared, by his unworthy successor : " No skylight, my Lord !"
That night produced the Duke's abdication of the role of
tempter — if he had undertaken to act such part — his aban-
donment of all designs upon the heads of those he was
charged with governing. How far the Irish were otherwise
contaminated by the illustrious companion thrown, unhappily
for him, into the midst of a society such as may be estimated
from these impei'fect notes, I have never learned. I am inclined
to the charitable belief that he was as much sinned against as
sinning: but it is an indisputable fact that during the Vice-
royalty of the Duke of Rutland, dissipation in every sense
proceeded to an extent not previously observable in Ireland.
The worship of Bacchus, in particular, received from his
example an impulse of which it was supposed incapable — a
momentum irresistible, and which continued to render popular
the pleasures of the bottle for five-and-twenty or thirty years
afterwards. Gradually, however, from the hourly decreasing
number of votaries, through death, absenteeism, or diminished
means, the metropolis exhibited in a subsequent period, symp-
toms of decaying zeal ; but the provinces stood firm.
A few years since, an advertisement appeared in a London
paper, announcing that '^a free public-house, in a hard-
drinking neighbourhood," was in the market. Every part of
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 333
Ireland might in my time have claimed that enviable charac-
teristic. Every private dwelling vied with its neighbour in
performing the rites of hospitality as respected bed and board
— the former never being reached by a guest while he retained
the power to swallow, for it was a strict rule that the one party
should press his friends and that the other should exclaim,
" T take your courtesy, by Heaven,
As freely as 'tis nobly given."
The jovial hours spent at the table were wound up under it in
most instances.
Strange to say, men lived long, nevertheless, under this
system. Sir Hercules Langrishe appeared, when I last saw
him, a man in very advanced age. The gay, the conviyial,
the rattling, facetious, and the friendly Tom O'Meara was
between eighty and ninety when he died.
A well-known personage, '' clothed in the unspotted ermine
of the bench," as he himself termed it, and of whom we have
lately spoken, namely, John Toler, first Lord Norbury (yclept
by his commentators Nero Norbury), Chief Justice of the
Court of Common Pleas — hard-headed as hard-hearted — was
in his eighty-sixth year when he died, having been, in the
early part of his life, one of the hardest-drinking men of his
time. I ought to observe, however, that, like the warm-
hearted Tom O'Meara, '' ould Towler"* was, nearly to the day
of his death, a fox-hunter. His lordship's " Brother Boyd,"
whose name entered into a figure which intimated that the
person designated by it was well up in the wind, was an old
man when he died. A person was deemed quite comfortable,
superior to all the ills of this life, who could be said to be as
" sober as Judge Boyd."
Lord Muskerry, their contemporary worshipper of the rosy
god, who on his death-bed consoled himself with the reflec-
tion, that he had nothing to accuse himself of, having never
denied himself anything, was between seventy and eighty
when he died.
" Happy fellow !" observed his lordship one day, on seeing
a hackney coachman lying dead drunk, and dozing on the
steps of his lordship's house; ''happy, enviable fellow! you
* One of George Nugent Reynolds's "Alphabets" cpntained these linos:—
T was a Toler — hark forward ! 's the cry;
But, instead of a stap;, 'ti? a m;in that must die.
834 THE IRISH
have the privilege of getting drunk three times a day, without
losing caste !"
I lament my inability to give a pen and ink sketch of the
most wonderful of them all, in performance and in longevity,
considering all he had gone through — George Butler, who, for
fifty years previously to my meeting him, had never dined
from home on a Sunday, and never entered his own doors on
any other day before four o'clock A. M. He was, like Mr.
Cerberus, three gentlemen in one — Bacchus, Anacreon, and
Momus.*
CHAPTER LXXIV.
Faith, sir, we were carousing till the second cock.
Macbeth.
IF degeneracy menaced the capital, the science of living fast
and living well was carried to its acme in the provinces, up
to the latest period of my knowledge of them. In the county
of Roscommon, for example, a Mr. St. George Caulfield came
of age some forty or fifty years since, and into the receipt of
three or four hundred thousand pounds in money, the accu-
mulation of a very long minority ; and also into the possession
of landed estates of, I have heard, the annual value of eight-
and-twenty or thirty thousand pounds — a fortune amassed by
his grandfather, who had been a distinguished ornament of the
bench. This thoughtless young man suggested in his county
a taste which, even in my time, was dem'onstrated by visits
from the sheriff, and frequent mention in the records of the
Court of Chancery.
Mr. Caulfield had only just, like Mr. Toots, " come into
his property," when he plunged into extravagance on a scale
never before witnessed in Ireland. Servants, hounds, horses,
carriages, table, luxury, profusion in every possible shape;
such were the means by which, in the brief space of ten or
twelve years, he contrived to squander upwards of a million
* A man of nearly equal celebrity in the convivial world, Jack Sweet-
man, the Hatter, who lives in the memory of the elder denizens of Dublin,
attained to the age of eighty.
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 335
sterling, and unlike the hons vivans just enumerated, to bring
himself to the grave. One specimen of the means by which
he arrived at these ends will suffice.
He arris'ed in Paris during the short Peace of 1802, and
distinguished himself on the veiy next Sunday after, by a
turn-out of half a dozen carriages, perfect copies of those of
the First Consul, and with the requisite number of servants
clothed in Kendal green (Xapoleon's livery). This folly was
immediately followed by a prohibition to repeat it from the
Minister of Police; but within forty-eight hours afterwards a
similarly nmnerous cortege, with coachmen and lacqueys in the
livery of the late royal family of France was produced by the
Irish millionaire, and was punished by an immediate order to
the spendthrift to quit Paris within eight hours, and France
in three days.
This expression of Napoleon's humour and impatience
saved the object of it twelve years' detention in France; for
before the end of the week following his expulsion, the Peace
of Amiens was broken, and hostilities recommenced between
France and England.
Thus compelled to limit the display of his extravagance to
the United Kingdom, the unfortunate young man only changed
the scene, but not the amount, of his expenditure. Not merely
the county of Roscommon, but the whole province of Con-
naught, rang with his exploits in the demolition of his hand-
some fortune. His denomination of port and claret as " kitchen
wine," was repeated with admiration, but neither his fortune
nor constitution could long sustain the inroads upon them
which he committed. His decline in each sense was rapid.
He filled an early grave after having dissipated every shilling
he had inherited, or could raise by mortgage or annuity; and
after having by his example produced imitations, which I am
told have led to the compulsory sales of half the estates of his
county.
The witty and sarcastic George Nugent Reynolds, himself
a Connaught man (as on a celebrated occasion he reminded
Lord Clare), thus wrote of the taste for expense prevalent in
that province at the time in question, and its consequences : —
''There is not a hogshead of port that crosses the bridge
of Athlone" (entering Connaught from Leinster), " which has
not a custcdiam in the bottom of it."
Hard drinking, although fast giving way, still struggled
336 THE IRISH
for existence so lately as ia the year 1817 ; and to show this
I shall here introduce an example.
When in that year Sir Francis Burdett visited Ireland with
the admirable purpose of supporting, in a moment of unex
ampled prostration, a friend, Roger O'Connor, whom he
believed utterly incapable of the foul crime of which he was
accused, and having by his presence very powerfully con-
tributed to that friend's acquittal, he was besieged with
invitations from the greater portion of the remaining resident
gentry of the kingdom. Having accepted some of these, Sir
Francis found, not only that his fame as a fox-hunter had
preceded him, but that it was transcended by his reputation
for capability of enduring the attacks of the most eminent
bacchanalians of the day. This was demonstrated to him in
an especial manner on his visit to Kilkenny at the moment
when the celebrated private theatrical company, comprising
Richard Power, Thomas Moore, Wrexon Beecher, George
Rothe, Corry, &c., were members, supported by Misses O'Neill
(afterwards Lady Beecher) and Walstein, were performing.
Sir Francis was invited on the day of his arrival in Kilkenny
to a social party, including the most distinguished men and
the best heads of the country. To do honour to their guest,
by testing his qualities, a chairman for the banquet was chosen
of approved capacity and sustaining power (an admired mem-
ber— erifre-nous — of a profession in which such qualification is
not indispensable, in a word, '"'a jolly buck parson," as the
song says). " Accordingly at it they went," said a friend to
me, who was present at the tournament, the president
challenging the baronet from the post, and prodigious was the
quantity of wine spilt in the course of the evening. Beset on
all hands. Sir Francis accepted every provocation — gallantly
threw in bumper after bumper, until the contest finished from
sheer fatigue — but " England's pride and Westminster's glory"
came off victorious, and with glowing though not flying colours.
That is, he rose from the table flushed with wine, if not with
victory, and erect and firm. When he entered Mrs. 's
box at the theatre immediately afterwards, he bore no other
mark of the recent conflict.
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 8S7
CHAPTER LXXY.
L'homme di?parait ici-bas cnmroe la lime, qui, vers le matin, se pr6-
cipite, eu un moment, derriere la montagne.
French version of a Chinese Proverb,
THE round of pleasure of which Dublin Castle was tho
centre durins; the Rutland reicrn seems, from the tradi-
tious it left among all ranks, and their repetition with undis-
Rembled admiration and delight by those who partook of or
witnessed them, to have been as interminable as intoxicating.
The incidents of the festive board, the magnificent cavalcade,
the adventures of the Duke in the pvirsuit of enjoyment, the
dazzling beauty of the Duchess, and the splendour and gayety
of her entourdge and suite, occupied the whole Irish world.
The Duke, I should observe, did not confine his search for
diversion to his own sphere. His voyages of discovery to lands
that did not unfortunately remain unknown, were chronicled,
yet without producing, as far as I have ever heard, an expres-
sion of disapprobation. His wild oats were thickly and lavishly
f^own. A vulume might in fact be written on his eccentriciliea
and adventures. None of them, however, displayed absolute
vice.
Whether an increased amount of demoralization really be-
came perceptible from the indulgences then the order of the
day and night at the Irish Court, I am unable to pronounce;
but I believe it would be hazardous to deny that in that gay
reign was laid the foundation of that sweeping, and, in its
general effects, lamentable measure, the Ihicumbered ]']state3
(Ireland) Bill. Every man became expensive, extravagant,
and reckless. The contagion, because of their wide separation
from the Court and the aristocracy, did not then, nor for many
years afterwards, reach the middle classes ; but from the mo-
ment when the Union provoked the emigration of the aristo-
cracy and the wealthy, the disease broke out in a new place,
and produced the natural effects of imitation of failings and
of indulgences, practised with comparative impunity by those
possessing real means from actual income, or its anticipation
15
338 THE IKISII
by mortgage. Their mansions, their habits, and their weak-
nesses devolved upon their substitutes. This is, however, an
anachronism here.
A work, edited, or rather written, it is to be lamented, by
Amyas Griffith, who was capable of better things, contains an
alleged hon-mot of a certain Mrs. Leeson, alias " Peg Plunkit,"
of that day, and one or two other imputed incidents of an
unfavourable character, but there is reason to believe that the
"calemboui'" at least was sheer invention. It is perfectly
true, however, that among his other freaks, the Duke knighted
an innkeeper, Cuffe, of Athlone, one night, in his cups ; and
that when, in the morning, repenting the sally, he requested
mine host to say nothing about it, the latter replied, "I should
be most happy to oblige your Grace, but unfortunately I men-
tioned it last night to Lady Cuffe, and it is over the whole
town by this time."
Another amusing case made considerable noise about the
same time.
One day he rode out on horseback, to pay a morning risit
to Lord Loftus, afterwards Earl and Marquis of Ely, at Rath-
farnham Castle ; considerably in advance of his attendants, he
entered the gate and rode straight up to the house. It was
not yet two o'clock. Some workmen employed to repair or em-
bellish the castle, had dined and were lazily waiting the hour
of two to resume their labours, lying at full length on the
grass in the lawn, enjoying their siesta. Having hastily
alighted, the Duke called to one of them to come and hold his
horse.
"Hold the devil!" said the man, rudely, because of the
affront offered to his quality of mechanic. "It is but one
man's work — hold him yourself."
"Who are you, you rascal?" asked the Duke, approaching
him with an air of mock severity.
"I'm as good a man as you. I am a plasterer," said he,
rising on his elbow.
" What's your name, you villain ?"
" Harry McCabe."
"Rise up, Sir Harry," said the Duke, applying his whip
smartly to the man's shoulders, who bounded on his feet, but
was deterred from any attempt to resent that which he deemed
an assault by the approach of Lord Loftus from the castle, who
came running towards them roaring with laughter.
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 339
I have often seen this man, who was a burly, good sort of
fellow, and who bore his blushing honours with exceeding com-
placency. To the day of his death he was by his friends and
comrades addressed as ''Sir Henry." He was said to be the
son of a gentleman of large fortune lost in the usual way — by
"bill of discovery."
At that period, and for some fourteen or fifteen years after-
wards, there existed in Dublin as elsewhere a class of labourers
known as shoe-blachs, a profession once more and very properly
followed in Loudon. A professor of that black art, as cele-
brated for his wit as his contemporary Jemmy Wright, the
shaver, so distinguished by Foote, had established his stand
immediately "under the nose of the Court," that is in a species
of gateway, forming the entrance into Crampton Court, exactly
opposite the lower castle-yard. Plearing much of the man's
extemporaneous repartees, the Duke resolved upon a visit to
him. Accordingly he presented himself one day, and requested
the service of the shoe-boy (such was the appellation given to
the artist, although a man of forty). Accordingly he com-
menced operations, and his fun, by carefully wiping the Duke's
shoes with a wig, accompanied by some joke, about from head
to foot, which I do not remember ; in short, he kept the Duke
in continual laughter until the job was finished, when, having
no small money, the Duke handed him a guinea, and demanded
the change. The reply of the artist thereupon was the origi-
nal joke henceforward so well known to gentlemen in difficul-
ties. "iVsk me for change for a guinea!" exclaimed he.
"By , you might as well ask a Highlander for a knee-
buckle."
It is almost needless to say that the laughter-loving Duke
did not insist upon having the change.
840 THE IRISH
CHAPTER LXXVI.
It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the Queen of France —
then the Djuphiness — at Versailles; and surely never lighted on this orb,
wliieh she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her
just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she
just began to move in. Glittering like the morning star, full of life,
splendour, and joj'.
Burke (Description of Marie Antoinette).
IX the commencement of my references to the reign of the
Duke of llutland in Ireland, I alkided to his beautiful
Duchess, and her susceptibility of description in the glowinp;
terms of Burke, when portraying the lovely but indiscreet
and unfortunate Marie Antoinette. Happy were it for France
that those harrowing episodes of her history — the deaths of
Queen Marie Antoinette and of the Due d'Enghien — could
be expunged her annals. Neither crime is capable of jjallia-
tion.
In a grave work of this kind I have felt bound, but most
reluctantly, to yield to a sense of duty, and to give politics
the first place, which gallantry would have accorded to the
fairest of the fair, Mary Isabella, Duchess of llutland and
Vice-Queen of Ireland. Her ravishing beauty, and the en-
chanting elegance of her manners, united to captivating gayety,
would appear to have turned the heads of all the men, and yet
without creating envy in her own sex. Everything was " Rut-
land." I remember more than one song of the day of which
she was the theme. A new and magnificent square took
the name of " Rutland." A new dye, as was pretended,
was given to silks and ribbons, in honour of the Duchess,
called '•' Rutland blue" (perhaps the colour became her), but
which seemed to me to be simply that which was known as
•' garter blue." There was a carriage denominated " the Rut-
land gig," then in vogue, which may possibly have been an
imitation of a species of phaeton, drawn by six ponies, con-
ducted by three youthful postilions, in splendid liveries, in
which the Duchess delighted to take her promenades on the
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 341
North Circular Road, an avenue which became after her
departure the most deserted portion of Dublin. One of the
songs I have just referred to, commenced with these lines: —
"If yon wish to see her Grnre,
The Circular Roail, it is the plAce."
Sympathizing in all the tastes and fancies of her Lord, the
sparkling Duchess sometimes sought excitement elsewhere than
in the Castle, the Lodge, or the Circular Road.
There lived at that time in Francis Street, Dublin, a silk
and poplin merchant, of the name of Dillon, next door to the
more celebrated silkmercer Grogan, whose grandson represents
or has represented the city of Dublin in Parliament, and who
by assiduity and skill in trade became a millionaire. Dillon
was probably not so rich a.s Grogan, but he was undoubtedly
in independent circumstances. Being a Roman Catholic, how-
ever, he lived a retired and unostentatious life, although con-
nected with the noble family whose name he bore. He had,
moreover, a wife —
" The which ho loved passing well ;"
and she was worthy of all respect. Independently of her
being the most transccndcntly beautiful woman in Ireland,
she was distinguished by grace, modesty, charity, and unsul-
lied reputation.
One day Francis Street was disturbed from its propriety
by the apparition of the Duchess in her coach or phaeton and
six, with outriders, her usual retinue, and was driven directly
to the house of Mr. Dillon. Her gi'ace immediately alighted
from the carriage, and entering the shop, asked whether she
could see Mrs. Dillon ?
" Certainly, madam," replied a perturbed shopman, " she
is in the parlour : shall I call her ?"
" No," said the lady, " I will go to her."
On the entrance of the Duchess into the room called the
parlour, a tall, magnificently-formed woman advanced towards
her distinguished visiter, whose conquest she instantly made
by her sweetness and dignity^. " I am Mrs. Dillon," she said,
with a graceful bend.
''I could swear it," said the Duchess; ^' I could swear
it," she repeated, and after a lengthened gaze, that Avas begin-
ning to become embarrassing for the object of her admiration,
342 THE IRISH
she turned to a lady companion, and said : " There is no
exaggeration in it !" Then, advancing upon the wondering
Mrs. Dillon, and taking her kindly by the hand, while she
peered into her dove-like eyes, apologized for her apparent
rudeness, and said : *' I have been under an impression that I
was the handsomest woman in Ireland, but have been told by
persons not disposed to flatter that I was in error, for that Mrs.
Dillon, in face and figure, far surpassed me. I find that 1
was wrong, and they right. You are, allow me to say, the
most beautiful woman in the three kingdoms."
Nor was there anything extravagant in this compliment.
Some years afterwards I saw Mrs. Dillon at her retired country-
house, in the oddest quarter in which a country-house could be
supposed to exist, a place called Roper's Rest,* and still re-
member the admiration her appearance created in me.
" II faut ceder a temps," says the well-known proverb.
Enforcing the admonition it conve3-s, a French writer observes,
that it is founded on a law of Nature, from acknowledgment
of which no man can claim exemption. Bernardin de Saint
Pierre thus expresses himself: "Jamais on n'a jete I'ancre
dans la fleuve de la vie : il emporte egalement celui qui lutte
centre son cours, et celui qui s'y abandonne. Tempori paren-
cluni."
The life led by the Duke of Rutland was too fast to last
long. He was prematurely brought up. The first announce-
ment that he was seriously indisposed, caused a sensation of
grief in Dublin of which there had been no previous example.
'* Physicians were in vain." The Duke died on the 24th Oc-
tober, 1787, in the 33d year of his age.
His remains, borne with pomp and circumstance unparal-
leled in Ireland, were followed to the point of their embark-
ation for England by, it may be said, the whole of the nobility
and gentry of the countiy, and certainly the entire population
of the city of Dublin, accompanied by unanimous expressions
of regret. I remember well the most prominent actor in this
procession, for he was often subsequently pointed out to me.
* Roper's Rest was a species of lane in continuation of tbat classic spot,
where some years since resided an exceedingly ugly and not highly polished
brewer, hight Alderman Poole.
" And where do you live when you are at home, my Lord Mayor ?" asked
the Duke of Richmond, seated at Poole's right hand at the civic feast at
the Mayoralty House, one 30th day of September. "In Black Pitts,"
replied his Lordship, "where there are more pigs than Protestants."
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 843
This was a soldier of a regiment of the Dublin garrison, called
from his remarkable height (nearly eight feet), " Big Sam,"
who during many years afterwards performed the functions of
porter at Carlton House.
The Duchess never re-married. I remember seeing her
forty-three or forty-four years aftenvards, in Hyde Park, Lon-
don, bearing still a remnant of her former beauty.
CHAPTER LXXVII.
"Clubs! Clubs! Clubs!"
Quentin .Durward.
BE not alarmed, reader. I propose not to inflict upon you,
at this late hour, references to the Parisian " clubs" of
the first French Revolution, nor my reminiscences of those
of 1848, which were equally turbulent and noisy, although
less sanguinary, nor notices of (their antipodes) " White's,"
or " Boodle's," or " Brookes's," or even of " the Band)/"
Club of London, although Irishmen have figured in each and
all of them. There might be found in Ireland much of club
anecdote, as there is still extant something of club law, but I
shall confine myself to a few words respecting three only of
those cerclea, beginning, somewhat oddly, with the middle one
of them in point of date.
To the race or class of men with whom the Duke of Rut-
laud had spent the last two or three years of his life, succeeded
another less disordei-ly, although, as has been seen, yielding not
in their bacchanalian exploits to their predecessors. They as-
sumed the self-accusing denomination of " Cherokees." They
were, generally speaking, young men of rank, and were remark-
fble for the personal appearance of the majority of their body,
ji.nong whom were many of the handsomest and finest men in
Europe. Of these several became afterwards well known in
London, viz. the Mathews (Lord Llandaff" and his brother,
General 3Iontague Mathew), the Butlers (Walter and James,
first and second Marquesses of Ormond), Lord Cole (the late
Earl of Enniskillen), Sir Henry Parnell, Sir Wheeler CuflFe,
&c. The handsome dashing Cherokees rivalled in fact in
844 THE IRISH
personal appearance the distino-uislied descendants of Irishmen
on the Continent, and who flourished at the same period — the
O'Donnells of Spain and Austria, and the Walls and Dillons
of France.
The costume of the Cherokees was not exactly that of the
tribe whose name they assumed. It was on the contrary rich
and recherche, as became men who.«e pretensions were ultra-
aristocratic. In my day, in Ireland, the Cherokee Club dress-
coat of William Palmer (son of the beauty Lady Palmer, and
father of the present baronet) was still preserved. It was of
dark brown cloth, lined with pink satin.
The handsomest member of the Cherokee.s was perhaps
Walter, Earl of Ormond; but the Mathews, upwards of six
feet high respectively, were finer men. Lord Cole was equally
tall, but clumsier made. There must still exist in London and
Dublin the recollection of Lord jMathew (the late Earl Llan-
daff) and General J^Iontague jMathew. Even in St. James's
Street every person they passed stopped to look at and admire
them. If there were a difference of opinion respecting their
personal claims to admiration between the brother.s, IMontague
had the advantage. The Lord wore an air of haughtiness
which never appeared in the princely, manly, frank Montague
(" Mounty" was the pet name by which he was known) : —
hauteur was neither requisite to nor would be natural in him.
The dress of the Blathews was, and remained nearly to the
dny of their deaths, as striking and singiUar as their personal
qualities. It was that, in fact, of the year 1792, when the
Lord was in his twenty-fourth, and IMounty in his twentieth
year. It is still familiar to all who have knowledge of por-
traits of that monstrous coxcomb, Robespierre, consisting of
a blue or green coat, made full, with large folding collar,
double-breasted white waistcoat, and nankeen shorts or tights,
with silk stockings, (which latter their contemporary Ilo-
bespierre always covered with top-boots), their linen trimmed,
including a copious /f//;o/, or frill. Their hair was powdered,
flowing over their shoulders, but confined carelessly, as it were,
near the ends with ribbon.
Should this sketch convey an idea that the Mathews (or
indeed the Cherokees generally) were effeminate, it would
be a vast error. Two braver men never stepped than the
IMathews. Of the two, the Lord was however the more pug-
nacious. Within these forty years he proposed Mounty aa
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 345
a candidate for admission into the Kildare Sti'eet Club, Dub-
lin, but he was rejected. Eighty-five blackballs registered the
political rancour of the club, which was eminently Toryj
amongst whom, nevertheless, the sons of three Roman Catho-
lic brewers (Conolly, Farrell, and Moore) figured ; but they
had been admitted because they had no fixed political princi-
ples, and to give to the club an apparent claim to a character
for liberality on the score of station and rcKgion.
"When the numbers were declared, the great room of the
club was full. Lord Mathew (or rather Llandaff, for his father
was now dead), closed the door, and put his back to it. He
then said, in a low voice : ''There are eighty-five rascals
in this room."
"Llandaff! Llandaff! recall those words," cried several of
his friends.
" No, I will not. I say again there are eighty-five
scoundrels in this room."
" Surely, my Lord, you will allow men to exercise their
right?"
" Certainly I will ; but I repeat my words — there are
eighty-five scoundrels in this room, for every man it con-
tains pledged himself to me to vote for my brother's admis-
sion."
The effect of this statement may be conceived. The haughty,
indiffnant, and now supercilious Earl, after a pause, proceeded,
amid breathless attention : —
'•Montague Mathew is the only man in Ireland for whom I
could not succeed in procuring admission into this club. Who
among you is better entitled to the distinction, if it were one,
than Montague Mathew ? Which of you is of a nobler family,
or more illustrious descent ? Who among you is more Irish,
or rather more patriotic in principle and conduct than he ?
Bear in mind, every man of you, that I denounce eighty-five
of those who hear mc as scoundrels !"
He then threw open the door, and for the last time de-
scended the stairca.se of the Kildare Street Club.
Poor Mounty ! His last appearance in Dublin was as chair-
man of a preparatory meeting of the subscribers to the banquet
given to the poet Moore. This was in the year 1818. He
referred to the state of his health, then evidently breaking
down, as the rea.son why he could not have the pleasure of
15*
346 THE IRISH
being present at the fcle, at -wliicli presided Lord Charlemont.
He died in the following year, 1819.
General Mathew sat in tlie House of Commons, as one of
the members for Tipperary. He was the soul of good humour,
and a model of elegant manners ; but whenever an Irish ques-
tion was under discussion, he appeared excited ; and on such
occasions his style of oratory was peculiar.
One night, in 1817, the treaty of Limerick was incidentally
referred to in a petition for Catholic Emancipation. The
General, who had been indulging the least in the world in
"the royal pleasure," entered the House while Spring Rice
was opening the debate. He caught the words " treaty of
Limerick," and forgetting that '' Aughrim" had not been pro-
nounced, he interposed, and said : " Sir, that Luttrell sold the
pass no man can deny ; but toe lost the battle through the bad
talents of our generals."
Accustomed as the House was to laugh at Mounty's jokes,*
there was no merriment expressed after this brief interruption,
for it would have sounded as ironical. Neither was any fault
found with his identification of himself with the vanquished
Jacobites.
The Cherokees were the Dandies of their period, without
the aff"ected impertinence of the latter club, suggested by their
extraordinary and inordinately foppish chief, Brummel. They
were, for it was the fashion of their day, more riotous and
more duellist, but possibly not more courageous or manly, than
the Dandies. Foppery is not unfrequently accompanied by
intrepidity.^
* Perhaps there may exist some persons unacquainted with General
Mathew's chef-d'oeuvre. I will therefore venture to record it here.
There was, in his time, in the House of Common.', a highly-respected
gentleman, Mr. Mathew Montague, father of the present Lord Rokeby.
Montague Mathew's person I have already described. Mathew Montague's
was the most diminutive and least striking of the six hundred and fifty-
eight. It happened that one night Mounty had inscribed his name in the
Speaker's list, having a petition or other matter to submit to the House.
When his turn came, the Speaker confounding names called upon Mr. Mon-
tague. Mounty remonstrated. The Speaker admitted his error, but pleaded
in excuse the similarity of the names — "Montague Mathew," and "Mathew
Montague," said Mounty. "You call that a similarity! "Why, sir, there
is as much difference between the honourable member and me, as between
a horse-chestnut and a chestnut horse."
"f There is a story told of a young ofEeer of the Guards, whose right leg
was amputated at Waterloo. The operation over, he called for the severed
limb. "That's it," said the dying youth with a smile. " That was the
most admired leg at Almack's last season."
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 347
CHAPTER LXXVIII.
Handsome is, who handsome does.
Old Sai/ing.
ENGLAND (perhaps the fact was universal) produced about
the same period some remarkably fine men, of whom the
Prince of Wales, and several of the royal dukes, stood fore-
most. A step lower in the social scale were seen young men,
very tall, and distinguished in more than one respect, whose
appearance must still live in the memory of many of the pre-
sent generation, and three of whom made, each in his way,
immense sensation in the world afterwards. These were Lord
Paget (the present Marquis of Anglesey), Lord Thanet, and
Sir Francis Burdett. The former, in 1790, was in his twenty-
second year; the latter in his twentieth. Strangely enough,
each, eight years subsequently, distinguished himself by
friendly feeling for an Irishman, some sixteen or eighteen
years their senior, himself also a remarkably handsome man
— Arthur O'Connor. This disposition was evinced for him
not merely in society, in the very first circle of which he
moved, but in his hour of proscription, incarceration, and peril.
The part performed by Lord Thanet and Sir Francis, at Maid-
stone, in May, 1798, during and after the trial of O'Connor,
Quigley, Allen, Binns, and Leaiy, is well known ; but very
few are aware of the following fact, communicated to me by
General O'Connor in Paris in 1822.
After the arrest of O'Connor and his friends, at Ramsgate,
all of whom survive him except one (^" the poor fellow who
was hanged at Maidstone," as Sir Francis Burdett, with tears
in his eyes, said to me, speaking of them thirty years after-
wards), the party were sent prisoners to London. They
halted, however, for the night at Canterbury, for travelling was
yet slow at that period. They had not yet turned in, but were
assembled in the great parlour of the inn, objects of curiosity
and of occasional vituperation for half the residents of the
town, when suddenly a trampling of horses and considerable
bustle were heard without. The Bow Street oflScers looked to
013 THE IRISH
their prisoners, whose attention was directed to the door of tho
room opening on the hall. Presently was seen entering (in, I
think, his Light Dragoon iTniform) the finest man in England,
Henry Lord Paget. His air was serious, but he walked quickly
up to the principal prisoner, and said : " Mr. O'Connor, I
regret exceedingly to see you in your present circumstances.
You know that our political opiniuns are decidedly opposed.
You may be, and are, I trust, innocent of the charges which
are said to have led to your being in your present painful posi-
tion; but that has nothing to do with the object of my visit,
which is to tender to you frankly, freely, and unreservedly,
any assistance which by person, family, or connexion, or ^pray
excuse the freedom) purse, 1 have the power to render 3'ou."
He then shook O'Connor warmly by the hand, and pulling
out a purse of gold, pressed it on him.
The money was declined,* but with expressions of sincere
acknowledgment from O'Connor, who was deeply aSected, of
admiration from his fellow-prisoners, and of undissenibled in-
dications of respect from the mere spectators of the scene.
The Cherokees are extinct. There is little good to record
respecting them, I believe ; but the worst with which their
memory can be reproached, are exclusiveness, foppery, dissipa-
tion, and fast living. The subject is rather barren. Its only
claim to be remembered is, that it was a feature of the closing
part of the last century, or rather of the closing part of my
reminiscences of it, terminating about 1792. It may not be
uninteresting to observe the effect of the progress which the
Cherokee Club exhibited, in comparison with its predecessor in
notoriety and, it may be said, in profligacy in Ireland, the
Hollfire Club. The improvement was immense.
The Peerage shows that the title of Santry (Barry, Baron
Santry) was forfeited in 1739. Respecting the possessor of
the title at that period, there exist in Dublin, no doubt, more
accurate and ample particulars than my memory supplies, and
which would be acceptable as illustrative of the manners of
the aristocratic youth of that remote day. I remember being
told that the last Lord Santry was a member of the club with
the horrible title just mentioned (the Hellfire Club), and which
was distinguished for its disgraceful orgies, licentiousness, bru-
talities, and violence — in short, for
* O'Connor bad with him at the moment of his arrest a very lar^e jum
of money in gold — which was seized by his captors.
ABROAD AND AT HOME. ■ 849
" All that the devil would do if run stark mad ;"
find to an excess and an extent incredible, if we did not recol-
lect that Ireland was a conquered country, still under the heel
of the foreign conqueror, who was still drunk with his victory,
and still gorged with the spoils and plunder of his brave but
outnumbered antagonist.
Among other feats achieved by certain members of this
club in a tavern, situate in Saul's Court, Fishamble Street, was
the seizure of a sedan-chairman, a class of honest, hard-work-
ing poor men, then politely denominated "Christian ponies;"
of which, I believe, not one pair now remains for specimen.
Securing him, they threw back his head, and poured brandy
down his throat until the poor fellow could no longer swallow.
Keeping his head in a position which admitted of his mouth
being filled to ovei-flow, they added sufficient for that purpose,
and then set fire to it ! The man died.
For this crime the leader of the party, Lord Santry, was
brought to trial, convicted, and sentenced to death. It will
be easily believed that interest was not spared to save him from
the fate which he so richly merited. This, with much diffi-
culty, succeeded : he was, however, obliged to quit the British
dominions, and died at Calais — like another titled miscreant
(Lord George Gordon), some forty or fifty years afterwards —
• a circumcised dos:.
His title was declared forfeited; and so loud was the out-
cry raised by his crime, that the govei'nraent was only with
difficulty induced to spare his life. The deciding argument in
his favour, according to tradition (surely it may be questioned),
was a threat of his maternal uncle. Sir Compton Domville, of
Temple Oge, to deprive the city of Dublin of water, the sui)ply
of which was his property, and to whom the estate of Lord
Santry passed.
1 have just observed that contemporary with the appearance
at home of numerous Irishmen remarkable for their personal
appearance, several descendants of Irishmen were similarly
distinguished in France, Spain, and Austria : among others,
the Walls and Dillons in France, and the O'Donnells in Spain
and Austi'ia ; the two latter countries being those in which
Irish valour was ever best rewarded.
I know not whether the O'Donnells, who attained fortune
0-13 THE IRISH
their prisoners, whose attention was directed to the door of tho
room opening on the hall. Presently was seen entering (in, I
think, his Light Dragoon nniform) the finest man in England,
Henry Lord Paget. His air was serious, but he walked quickly
up to the principal prisoner, and said : " Mr. O'Connor, I
regret exceedingly to see you in your present circumstances.
You know that our political opinion^ are decidedly opposed.
You may be, and are, I trust, innocent of the charges which
are said to have led to your being in your present painful posi-
tion ; but that has nothing to do with the object of my visit,
which is to tender to you frankly, freely, and unreservedly,
any assistance which by person, family, or connexion, or (,pray
excuse the freedom) pur.se, 1 have the power to render you."
He then shook O'Connor warmly by the hand, and pulling
out a purse of gold, pressed it on him.
The money was declined,* but with expressions of sincere
acknowledgment from O'Connor, who was deeply affected, of
admiration from his fellow-prisoners, and of undissembled in-
dications of respect from the mere spectators of the scene.
The Cherokees are extinct. There is little good to record
respecting them, I believe; but the worst with which their
memory can be i-eproached, are exclusiveness, foppery, dissipa-
tion, and fast living. The subject is rather barren. Its only
claim to be i-emembered is, that it was a feature of the closing
part of the last ceutury, or rather of the closing part of my
reminiscences of it, terminating about 1792. It may not be
uninteresting to observe the effect of the progress which the
Cherokee Club exhibited, in comparison with its predecessor in
notoriety and, it may be said, in profligacy in Ireland, the
Hellfire Club. The improvement was immense.
The Peerage shows that the title of Santry (Barry, Baron
Santry) was forfeited in 1739. Respecting the possessor of
the title at that period, there exist in Dublin, no doubt, more
accurate and ample particulars than my memory supplies, and
which would be acceptable as illustrative of the manners of
the aristocratic youth of that remote day. I remember being
told that the last Lord Santry was a member of the club with
the horrible title just mentioned (the Hellfire Club), and which
was distinguished for its disgraceful orgies, licentiousness, bru-
talities, and violence — in short, for
* O'Connor had with biin at the moment of his arrest a very large £um
of money in gold — which was seized by his captors.
ABROAD AND AT HOME. • 849
" All that the devil would do if run stark mad ;"
and to an excess and an extent incredible, if vrc did not recol-
lect that Ireland was a conquered country, still under the heel
of the foreign conqueror, who was still drunk with his victory,
and still gorged with the spoils and plunder of his brave but
outnumbered antagonist.
Among other feats achieved by certain members of this
club in a tavern, situate in Saul's Court, Fishamble Street, was
the seizure of a sedan-chairman, a class of honest, hard-work-
ing poor men, then politely denominated "Christian ponies;"
of which, I believe, not one pair now remains for specimen.
Securing him, they threw back his head, and poured brandy
down his throat until the poor fellow could no longer swallow.
Keeping his head in a position which admitted of his mouth
being filled to overfow, they added sufficient for that purpose,
and then set fii'e to it ! The man died.
For this crime the leader of the party, Lord Santry, was
brought to trial, convicted, and sentenced to death. It will
be easily believed that interest was not spared to save him from
the fate which he so richly merited. This, with much diffi-
culty, succeeded : he was, however, obliged to quit the British
dominions, and died at Calais — like another titled miscreant
(Lord George Gordon), some forty or fifty years afterwards —
a circumcised dojj.
His title was declared forfeited; and so loud was the out-
cry raised by his crime, that the government was only with
difficulty induced to spare his life. The deciding argument in
his favour, according to tradition (surely it may be questioned),
■was a threat of his maternal uncle. Sir Compton Domville, of
Temple Oge, to deprive the city of Dublin of water, the supply
of which was his property, and to whom the estate of Lord
Santry passed.
I have just observed that contemporary with the appearance
at home of numerous Irishmen remarkable for their personal
appearance, several descendants of Irishmen were similarly
distinguished in France, Spain, and Austria : among others,
the Walls and Dillons in France, and the O'Donnells in Spain
and Austria ; the two latter countries being those in which
Irish valour was ever best rewarded.
I know not whether the O'Donnells, who attained fortune
352 THE IRISH
impression in my devious patli. I can scarcely hope that I
shall have pleased everybody, but I have sought with solicitude
to avoid giving offence to any.
On conimencing this record of my reminiscences I had a
double object in view — the preservation of facts, expressions,
incidents, and characters, illustrative of the period during
which Ireland suffered most oppression, and Irishmen success-
fully laboured abroad to sustain the reputation for bravery and
talent raised by their predecessors in the two preceding cen-
turies. I also hoped that, should my recollections obtain any
portion of public fovour, other persons more competent and
better informed would be tempted to follow my example and
reply to the calumnies and vituperation with which even yet
" the Irish" are assailed, by showing from their note book or
their memory, what the Irishman really is in times of diffi-
culty and danger — of suffering and of triumph —
"When sadly thinking"
at one moment; at others,
" Quaffing, laughing,
At past dangers scoffing;"
in the camp, in the fight, and
"I'th' imminent deadly breach."
Now
and anon,
" Marching over Egypt's tented plain,
Or braving foes on India's distant shore;"
"In the bower and the hall,"
at the tribunal, in the Senate, on the stage, on the scaffold.
In 1690 Ireland was, as now (1852), suffering from an
emigration which threatened to depopulate the country. She
was then — as in a hundred years afterwards, and now sixty
years still later, divided into parties — Saxon and Celt. Catho-
licism was, alike in 1692, 1792, and 1852, decried and sought
to be eradicated. The ^nly difference is that in the two for-
mer periods proselytism was (but with marvellous unsuccess)
sought to be achieved by penal enactments, and the whole
power of the state ; whereas, at present it is through the aids
supplied by pestilence and famine, and the agency of volun-
teer zealots or enthusiasts. Secret conspiracies, occult projects
ABROAD AND AT HOxMB. 853
of separation from England through revolt, marked and mark the
three periods, bringing ruin upon the parties engaged in them,
and all but irreparable injury to their native land. Another
specialty stamped the thi'ec epochs. The newspapers of the
day vied with each other in invective towards Ireland and the
Irish. Dissension and party spirit, religious and political,
everywhere throughout the island, separated its population,
producing rancour, hatred, and antagonism.
If these things still obtain, a qui la /ante? In what
variety of system have not those who M'ould be governors of
Ireland indulged?
"Through what new scenes and changes have we passed !"
During a century the religion of the great majority of the
Irish was deemed the obstacle to absolute British rule in Ire-
land, and was, consequently, and with a constancy and zeal
■worthy a better cause, persecuted. At nearly the end of that
period, however, the descendants of those by whom Ireland
had been subjugated, and the Catholics oppressed, and many
of whom still enjoyed the spoils of the conquered, became more
Irish than the Irish themselves, and forming themselves into
an armed association — professedly for the defence and preser-
vation of that fief of the British crown — tore from Great Bri-
tain, in the moment of her embarrassment and distress, her
sovereignty over Ireland. The men who did this were not
Catholics, but they reckoned, and secui'ely, upon the concur-
rence of that body should physical force become necessary to
attain their object. Fortunately for the British connexion, the
men of 1782 limited their exaction to theoretic concessions.
The separation of Ireland from England, at that day, were as
facile, and would have been as bloodless as the mere declara-
tion of her independence.
All that they had asked for was granted with apparent
good-will and good faith, but with (it is asserted and believed)
an arr'crr peiisee.
Relieved of the burden of a transatlantic war which had
required all her strength, and which had seriously compromised
her resources. Great Britain, at the period where I break off,
begins to recover her force, and to reconsider her home policy.
She is believed to have pci-ceived that if she would preserve
her European rank, she must assume to herself the entire pos-
session and the control of Ireland, which had, in all but name,
thrown off her authority. The consequcuco of this alleged
354 THE IRISH
impression was, it would seem, a resolution to reconquer her
ascendency.
In this determination she was confirmed, and not feebly
aided, by the indiscretion of the very party who had coerced
her into acquiescences not immediately incompatible with her
safety, certainly, but, fi'om their tendencyto enco^^rage further
and more formidable encroachments, capable of producing a
crisis, the issue of which might by possibility be fatal for her.
Already had there been a commencement of the execution of
her project to recall all that she had granted. The seeds of
dissension were extensively sown by her in the quarter to which
principally was due her momentary panic, and were carefully
fostered in their development, and had already begun to blos-
som, and even to produce fruit. Already, through the opera-
tion of alarm adroitly suggested, had the government succeeded
in detaching from the ranks of the Independents many pre-
tended, lukewarm, or timid adherents, including individuals
of the highest class, when the French Revolution came and
furnished to her a new motive, or rather a new reason for
prompt action, and her antagonists with temptations to demon-
strations and imprudences invaluable for her and fatal for
them.
Independently of participation in the panic produced among
the crowned heads of Europe by the wild cry of "liberty" in
France, the British Government was admonished of the resist-
ance and struggle preparing for it in Ireland, by a monstrously
impolitic proposition of Hamilton Rowan to change the title of
the "Volunteers" to that of "National Guards !" Thus fore-
warned, that government resolutely grappled with its adversa-
ries the champions of Irish independence, and commanded
and eflfected the dissolution of that body.*
Thenceforward it was, between the British Government and
the Irish party — war to the knife. How it was waged, its
incidents, and result — the extinction of Irish independence —
history records.
Contemporary with the dissolution of the Irish Volunteers,
* Althongb then in little more than infancy, I preserve a lively recol-
lection of the sensation the dissolution of the Volunteers produced in Dublin,
which sixty years subsequent!}-, that is, within a week of my inditing this
passage, has been recalled to my memory by the description given to me on
the spot by a tearful eye-witness of the leave-taking of the eagles and the
Imperial Guard by Napoleon in the Cour de Cheval at Fontainebleau. Tho
Volunteers bad on many accounts become tho idols of the population.
ABROAD AND AT HOME. 355
tte Irish Brigade was engaged in its final campaign and burn-
ing its last cartridge in Belgium.
At the same period the Defenders were becoming daring,
and the United Irishmen had nearly organized their system.
The first had scarcely a definite object. The second contem-
plated a national efibrt, and not a desultory, fugitive, and fruit-
less expenditure of strength in isolated nightly attacks upon
houses and persons for the mere acquisition of fire-arms. Such,
in a word, was the situation of Ireland at the close of a century
from the expulsion of the Stuarts.
Of the subsequent periods of Ireland's history, the progress
of the Conspiracy of the United Irishmen, and its absorption
of the Defenders; the Rebellion; the Invasion, the Union,
the Insurrection, absenteeism, the gradual and ultimately gal-
loping decay of -landed proprietors; the astounding increase
of the population, and its present decrease through the opera-
tion of expulsion, pestilence, famine, and flight; these several
phases in the history of Ireland have, I say, been chronicled
and become familiar with every reading man of the present
generation.
CHAPTER LXXX.
Les hommes n'ayant pu guerir la mort, la misere, I'ignorance, se sont
avisos, pour se rendre heureu.x, de ne pointy penser: c'est tout co qu'ils
out pu inventor pour se consoler de tant de maux.
Pascal.
F
OLLOWING humbly the example of an old and respected
friend, Francis Plowden the historian, I would fain add
here that which, in strictness, should be preliminary. Dealing
with Irish matters, Mr. Plowden caught, probably, the (at least
imputed) practice described in homely terms as '' putting the cart
before the horse," and subjoined to his History of Ireland that
which he termed a
PosTLiMixous Preface;
and — lawyer though he were — summed up with his exordium
instead of peroration.
Although it will be produced anonymously, I feel some
850 THE IRISH '
anxiety for tlie fate of this volume. Of criticism I have little
apprehension, for on my facts only rest my hopes of their suc-
cess. Many of these are already known ; but I believed that,
were they grouped and put together, their effect might be
enhanced, and they might become for my purpose useful. In
whatever way it has been carried out, my project was, as 1 have
already said, to present the Irishman -of the last century — his
condition, qualities, and disposition ; and, in endeavouring to
attain that object, I thought that, having generalized, exempli-
fication would be more available than argument.
To illustrate the nature and the pressure of the penal laws
— that grievance par excellence of Ireland in the last century —
I have given some well-known anecdotes, with the addition of
others drawn from veritable sources peculiarly my own ; namely,
the private history of two families — the Balfes and the Geo-
ghegans, with which families I am connected — with the first
by blood, with the second j)'^''>' alliance — and of whose tradi-
tions, consequently, I have intimate knowledge.
The courage and gallantry of the Irish soldier require no
evidence from me to place it in the very first rank. If, there-
fore, I have referred to the O'Briens, Dillons, 0'3Ioraus,
O'ileillys, O'Donnells, Nugents, Jennings, kc, it was because
of the prominent places they occupied — their individual quali-
ties, and of other interests attached to their deeds, names, and
persons, and to demonstrate the impolicy of those enactments
— now, happily, repealed — and which deprived their country
of their talents and their services. Had it been otherwise, I
might have cited the Wellesleys, the Ponsoubys, the Hutehin-
sons, the Goughs, the Beresfords, &c., of our own time.
Yes ; to that cruel code are ascribable all the imperfections,
all the fxults, and (if he have any) all the vices of the Irish-
man of the last century. I challenge the entire host of his
enemies to disprove this fact.
To the Irishman I have heard ascribed thoughtlessness, heed-
lessness, and habitual levity.* " Can these/' I may be asked,
* In like manner, it is the fashion to call the Irish lazy and incapable
of constancy and lusting application. Now mark how plain a tale shall
set those down who make such charge.
In a conversation one day, some thirty years since, with the proprietor
of a London Morning Newspaper of eminence, he said — "Your countrymen
have wonderful industry. The greater part of our hard work in London is
AEROAD AND AT HOME. 357
"be traced to liis political position ?" Yes — a thousand times,
yes ! So at least argued a dear friend, now no more, whose
opinion, singular though it be, I implicitly accept.
" lleflectiou is an excellent thing," said he, " for a sane,
safe man, well to do in the world. It saves him fi-om iDany
inconveniences — perhaps crimes — suicide, for example. Reflec-
tion, which would deter a man of well-constituted mind from
suicide, would drive the victim of misfortune, persecution, and
injustice to its perpetration. Centuries of grinding oppression,
of compelled submission, and of demoralizing poverty, in the
presence of his alienated possessions and of the dissipation of
wealth that should be his, engendered indignation, impatience,
and regrets in the Irish heart ; and which have been trans-
mitted from father to son, indisposing him for sober contem-
plation and reflection, and driving him to abstraction and
intoxication, if he would avoid insanity or deeds of dire
revenge. Hence — I am inclined to contend — the habitual
levity on which ignorant, conceited, hostile hypocrites of the
present day dilate. I state not this as an apology for trifling
or want of reflection — eutcndez-vons — but merely to account
for them in an Irishman ; repeating that they are the produce
of two hundred years of sufi'oring, and of two hundred years
of efforts to withdraw the mind from its contemplation."
Some fifty years since, there emigrated from Dublin to the
United States a Roman Catholic clergyman of talent and the
utmost respectability, the Reverend iMarcus Barrett, of whose
interesting conversation I have a perfect recollection. One day,
after dinner, the young people got up a little dance, which
they opened with " Shawn Eevee." When it was over, Mr.
Barrett, who was present, was observed to be absorbed in medi-
tation. On being asked the reason, he said : " The lively tune
just played suggests to me a grave reflection. The Scotch
have taken it from us to adapt it to their beautiful Jacobite
performed by them. The vast mnjority of our ecal-whippers, bricklayers,
labourers, and newspaper reporters are Irishmen."
The association was odd per ee — but stranger still from the fact that at
that moment I was myself a Parliamentarj- Reporter, though not connected
with his journal. His evidence fully proves the inaccuracy of the charge of
idleness or laziness, brought against my countrymen, however whimsically
conveyed. I shall only add that ho who so expressed himself was a most
kind-hearted man, incapable of rudeness or discourtesy. He onl3' supported
his theory or proposition that the Irish are industrious, without any inten-
tion to be uncivil.
358 THE IRISH ABROAD AND AT HOME.
song, ' Over the "Water to Charley.'* Of that I do not com-
plain, for we are scions of the same stock. It is the construc-
tion of the air of which I have been thinking. The music of
Ireland is the music of a heart-broken people. It is a collec-
tion of sighs ; and yet — strange inconsistency ! — it is suscepti-
ble of instantaneous change from the grave to the gay. By
merely accelerating its measure, the dirge supplies the melody
for the ' Chanson a boire.' "
This, everybody knows, is literally true. Does Father
Barrett's character of her Muse apply also to the children of
Erin ? Does versatility equally belong to both, with this differ-
ence, that in the one it is an admirable quality, and in the
other deemed an indication of disease ? " The Irishman is,"
they say, '' inconsistent, inconsecutive, inconstant." Be it so;
but, instead of those qualities meriting the character of "an
entailed curse," as I have heard them unkindly and inconsi-
derately termed, have they not had their origin in a bountiful
dispensation of Divine Providence, which endowed the sufferer
with the power to abstract his mind from the trlste and somhre
contemplation of a ^' prostrate countiy," a plundered, destitute
family, and a persecuted faith ?
Times are altered, however, and we shall change with them.
* A more remarkable instance of the kind, is the adaptation of "John
Anderson my Joe" to the air of our jovial bacchanalian song, the Crooskecn
Lawn,
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