Page images
PDF
EPUB

ceding, and he fuffered very little either in his health or fpirits from the croffes and disappointments he experienced. In the month of March, 1792, be found himself indifpofed with a catarrhal affection and cough. A phyfician being called in, declared his diforder to be an inflammation of the lungs, which producing a fuppuration, put an end to his life in the courfe of a few weeks. Hell is certainly entitled to a place among thofe who have rendered effential fervice to the fcience of aftronomy The Ephemerides Aftronomicæ ad meriadianum Vindobonenfem, begun in the year 1767, and continued till his death, forms a valuable aftronomical calendar, which contains a great many intereft ing papers. His literary labours were confined to his favourite fcience and its different branches. In the other branches of knowledge, and particularly theology, he was a firm adherent to the principles he had been taught in his youth, and which he firenuously defended He was warmly attached alfo to the order into which he had entered at an early period; the diffolution of it gave him great uneafiness, and he always flattered himself with hopes of its revival. He poffeffed a benevolent heart, and was always ready to affift thofe in diftrefs to the utmost of his ability; he in particular endeavoured to relieve the fufferings of the poor, and with this noble view he expended almoft the whole of his preperty.

A collection of fome of the Maffacres, and Murders committed on the Iris in Ireland.

Continued from page 16.

County of Derry.

1641. Some 300 men, women, and children of the Irish, having freely come under the protection of

the garrifon of London-Derry, were ftripped, plundered, and killed by the faid garrifon.

1644. Mr. Morris, Mac. Daniel, natural fon of the late Earl of Antrim, was hanged at Coleraine, by the governor's orders, notwithstanding he had Colonel Michael Jones's pals.

County of Down.

1641. The Burgeffes, and inhabitants, of the town of Newry, meeting the English army on their march to beficge the caftle of the faid town, were received into protection; and, after quarter given to the garrison of the faid caftle, the faid inhabitants, and the foldiers of the faid garrifon, to the number of 500 and upwards, men, women, and children, were brought on the bridge of Newry, and thrown into the river, and fuch of them, as endeavoured to escape by fwimming, were murdered.

County of Donegal.

1541. About the soth of Novem→ ber, Sir William Steward commanded the gentry and inhabitants of that county to join with his forces in oppofition to the rebels, and accordingly they came to the place appointed, where captain Cunningham, with a party of the faid Sir William's regiment, under pretence of incorporating with them, fell upon the inhabitants with his armed foldiers, and killed very many of them; among whom were Owen Mac Sherney, Morris O'Farey, and Donagh O'Callan, gentlemen of quality, and estates.

About the fame time Capt. Fleming, and other officers of the faid regiment, commanding a party, fmothered to death 220 women and children, in two caves. And about the fame time alfo the faid Capt. Cunningham murdered about 63 women, and children, in the Ifles of Rofs.

1641. The

1641. The governor of Letter-, kenny gathered together on a Sunday morning, 53 poor people, most of them women, and children, and caufed them to be thrown off the bridge into the river, and drowned them

all.

1641. In November, one Reading murdered the wife, and three children of Shane O Morghy in a place called Ballykenny of Ramelton, and after her death cut off her Breafts with his fword.

1641. 1642. The garrifons of Rapho, Drombo, Lifford, and Caûle Raghaen, flaughtered no less than 1500 of the poor neighbouring inha bitants, never in arms, and three perfons were chiefly noted among them for their barbarous cruelty, by name James Graham, Henry Dungan, and Robert Cunningham, commonly call ed the killer of old women.

1641. 1642. About 2000 poor labourers, women and children, of the Barony of Terhu, were inaffacred by the Garrisons of Ballafhany, and Donegal, and Lieutenant Thomas Poe, an officer among them, coming under colour of friendship to vifit a neighbour that lay fick in his bed, and to whom he owed money, carried a naked dagger under his cloak, which (whilft he feemed to bow towards the fick man in a friendly manner, afking how he did) he thrust it into his body, and told his wife her huf. band fhould be no longer fick.

1640. In the month of June, about 3000 horfe and foot of his Majefty's army, being defeated near Letter-kenny, by the English rebels, adhering to Cromwell, moft of the principal officers of the faid party, taken prifoners in the battle, were killed in cold blood, by order of Sir Charles Coote, late Lord of Mountrath, notwithstanding they had quarter from the officers who took them prifoners.

County of Monaghan.

1641. Captain Townley, governor of Magherneckle, killed four, labourers, and a woman, being under protection, Capt. Bromwell, governor of Clones, meeting upon the road with Marc Charles O'Connolly,. a gentleman living under his protecti on, caufed him to be hot to death. The foldiers of the garrifons of Dundalk and "Trim, killed no lefs than 500 innocent perfons, women, and children, in that county.

1641. 1642. The armies of Montroe, and the Legan, in their feveral marches through that county, flaughtered about 2000 poor old meo,. women, and children.

1652. Colonel Barrow of Crom-. well's army, having, taken an ifland, defended by Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Mac Mahon, for his majesty, t after killing the faid Lieutenant Colonel, and his foldiers, put all the women and children to the fword, to. the number of 80, among whom a child, of fix years old, being fpared by the foldiers, was killed by order of the faid Colonel Barrow.

County of Cavan.

Marc de la Pool, an English gentleman, having taken lands in that county fome years before the war,. invited feveral of his friends to come out of England, and live with him, who were all murdered in their houses by the army, (only the faid de la Pool, who was brought into the Town of Cavan,) and there hanged for no other reafon, but their being Roman Catholics, and living among the Irish. Sir Alexander Godren, and his lady, both Scotch, but Roman Catholics, each of them, above 70, years old, were plundered of their goods, and. ftripped naked; and, all their, tenants, servants, and all their fons murdered. In the fame year the English forces in this county, drowned 650 men, women, and childrer, in, and about,

Butler's

Butler's bridge, no murders having been committed on any Proteftants there, although in the pamphlet lately printed, feveral murders are faid to have been committed in that place.

[To be Continued.]

might be fure he would keep what came to him by defcent, and what they never durft have difputed his claim to, if they had not taken a mean advantage of the fituation of his affairs; for that if the brave tribe he commanded had not fuffered fo much at Clontarf, inftead of giving hostages for his renunciation of the crown of Munfter, he would have chaftifed them for their difobedience

Amazing Inftances of Intrepidity in a in making fo bold a demand, and

Body of Irifb.

After the battle of Clontarf, the Irish army feparated, the forces of Connaught departing by the neareft road to their own country, whilft the Mamonians returned, under the command of Donogh, one of the furviving fons of Brian; but as they were proceeding on their match, the difpute concerning the alternate fucceffion ordained by Olliol Olum, was again revived between the tribe of the Dalgais and the Eugenians.The princes of the latter race now feparated their forces from thofe of the former, and fent a meffage to Donogh (who till then bad led all the troops of Munfter) laying claim to the crown of that province on the principle above-mentioned, which they thought reafon fufficieat for them to demand of the fon of Brian, at this critical time, a formal renunciation of his right of fucceffion in that province, for which they expected hostages to be given, alledging that his father and uncle had violaid the ordinance of their great anceftor, by fucceding each other, inftead of obferving the alternate claim of the Eugenian family.

To this meffage Donogh replied with great firminefs, That the fubmiffion paid to his uncle and father was only extorted by force, and that they had attained the fovereignty of their province rather by their valour in taking it out of the hands of the Danes, than by any established law. And he farther added with great contempt, That they

would have obliged them to give hoftages for their loyalty, and better bes haviour for the future. After he had difpatched the meffenger with this anfwer, he made his troops acquainted with the whole proceeding, who highly approved his conduct, and im mediately ran to arms, But as there were numbers of fick and wounded among them, it was firft refolved that these fhould be lodged for fe:urity in a fort at a little distance, with a fufficient guard, while the reft might engage the Eugenians, who were full three times their number.

But to this the fick and wounded could by no means be prevailed upon to agree: they were all determined not to be feparated from their beloved general and their brave companions of war, therefore tenting their wounds with mofs, they began to brandish their weapons, and prepare for the fight; a circumftance which ftruck the enemy with fo much terror and aftonishment, that they inftantly withdrew their forces, and fuffered Donogh with his tribe of the Dalgais to pursue their way home unmolefted.

But in their route this valiant tribe met another obftacle of the fame nature, from the oppofition that they were threatened with by Mac Gilly Patrick, king of Offory, who prefum ed to infult them in their diftrefs, under the pretence of demanding hostages that they would commit no outrages, before he let them march through his territories; which if they refufed, he declared he would meet

H

them

them in the field.-It feems the whole intent of this proceeding was not really to fecure the safety or property of his fubjects, but rather to provoke Donogh to engage in an unequal fight, as this mean prince kept in remembrance fome inconveniencies his famiJy had fuftained from Brian, who had made his father pifoner, and flain many of his fubjects. Seeing therefore how much Donogh's force was reduced fince the battle of Clontarf, he refolved to take advantage of the fituation of the Dalgais, whom he now confidered as unable to refift his arms. But Donogh, knowing the bravery of the hardy veterans he commanded, anfwered the meffenger, That he was furprised at his bafenefs in thus taking advantage of his diftrefs; and that he esteemed it as a great misfortune to be thus infulted by a man whom he had ever defpifed; but that, notwithstanding the king of Offory had been bafe enough to bid him defiance, at a time when his troops were wearied by a long journey, yet he would accept the challenge. The herald, hearing Donogh talk in fuch terms, took upon him to reprefent to the prince the imprudence of his refolution, confidering the inequality between the two armies, but he was told, that he ought not to interfere, and that if the law of nations had not preferved his per fon inviolate, he should have had his tongue cut out for his infolence. Donogh then difmiffed him from his prefence with a fret command to tell his mafter, that he would fight him as long as he had a fingle man left to fupport his caufe.

Having returned this fpirited anfwer to the king of Offory, Donogh again propofed to his men the feparating the fick and wounded from the army; but thefe again refused it, holding a friendly and affecting conteft with their general, and begged moft earneftly that they might be allowed to thare the honour or the ruin of the day, and to triumph or

die with their companions. It was in vain that the prince reprefented to them their inability to fuftain the charge, and even the incumbrance they would be to the found and healthy troops. As to the first argu

ment, they declared themfelves refolved on victory or death; and to obviate the fecond, they propofed a method fcarcely to be paralleled in hiftory, which was that of driving a fufficient number of ftakes into the earth, to which the wounded who were scarcely able to ftand should be tied, with an effective man on either hand-By this fcheme thefe fatigued and mangled foldiers, having their arms at liberty, might then form a kind of rampart against the enemy, on one hand, whilft, on the other, they would mark the ground, from which the reft of the army would be ashamed to recede, as their retreat from thence mult prove certain dẹftruction to their brave difabled companions.

Having overcome their general in this tender ftruggle, he caufed them to be put in battle array; and thefe more than heroes were just going to be placed according to their defire, when the king of Offory's troops came in fight, who with aftonishment beheld the ftrong preparation for the engagement. But no fooner did they perceive what end it was intended to anfwer, than one and all laid down their weapons, and refufed to enter upon the defperate combat; which when Mac Gilly Patrick found it was impoffible to perfuade them to, after upbraiding them with cowardice, and giving vent to a fruitless paffion, he withdrew his army from the field, very much mortified ;--yet he refolved to harrafs them in their march with flying parties, which refolution he fo far effected, as to cut off many of thefe brave foldiers in their retreat, (which fomewhat refembled that of the Greeks from Perfia, called the retreat of the ten thoufand) fo that after their lofs at

the

the battle of Clontarf, and the injury they received from his mean refestment, of ali this martial tribe not above eight hundred and fifty retuined fafe into their own country.

Thus did the refentment or ambition of the Irish princes fhed, in inteftine wars, that blood which would have flowed more nobly in the defence of their lives and liberties, and advance with hafty ftrides towards the final diffolution of that government their ancestors had taken fo much pains to establish.

Thaddeus Ruddy.

THADDEUS Ruddy was one of the laft of the Irish bards this was uttered with a fi h, and I now record it with a tear. He was born near Lake Clean, the fountain of the Shannon, in the county of Leitrim, in 1623. I was told at first, that he could scarcely read his own language (Irish), nor even fpeak English; but on farther inquiry, I learnt that he had ftudied his mother tongue gramatically, and that towards the latter end of his life he could read a little English, but could not be prevailed on even to attempt to fpeak it. He was defcended of a good family, but, to use his own expreflion, he firft faw the light through the chinks of a ruined house, that once flourished in peace and plenty.

The following paffage is taken from the introduction to one of his poems, called "The Spring and Summer of Life."

"The fixteenth Lent had fcarce paffed over my head, when the best of mothers was called to receive the reward that is promised to the pious. Death did not long feparate thofe whom early love had united: my father foon followed, and they now Deep in one grave together, which

a great confolation to me.

is

I was

glad to hire myfelf out to a farmer in the neighbourhood, in whom I found an indulgent father. In this fituation the mute ufed to vifit me, as it were, by stealth, for I was afhamed and afraid to acknowledge, that a ploughman fhould dare to approach the fountain of Aganippe; but it was love that fift led me to it."

I could collect little more of his life than what I have juft tranfcribed. Bridget Brady, it feems. was the objet of his fruitless paffion; fhe was the daughter of a purte-proud miller, almost all the young women could repeat a number of the verfes that he poured forth in praife of this inexorable beauty. I have attempted the tranflation of a few, in which I have endeavoured to preferve the local comparisons.

[blocks in formation]

I won't compare you to the rofe, The modeft tenant of the shade, Nor yet to any flower that blows: The faireft flowrets quicklv

ade.

I won't

« PreviousContinue »