with impunity; the spirit of impartial justice (without which law is nothing better than an instrument of tyranny) has for a time disappeared in this county, and the supineness of the magistracy of Armagh is become a common topic of conversation in every corner of the kingdom.

"I am," said his Lordship, "as true a Protestant as any gentleman in this room. I inherit a property which my family derived under a Protestant title, and with the blessing of God I will maintain that title to the utmost of my power. I will never consent to make a sacrifice of Protestant ascendancy to Catholic claims, with whatever menace they may be urged, or however speciously or invidiously supported. Conscious of my sincerity in this public declaration, which I do not make unadvisedly, but as the result of mature deliberation, I defy the paltry insinuations that malice or party spirit may suggest. I know my own heart, and I should despise myself, if, under any intimidation, I could close my eyes against such scenes as present themselves on every side, or my ears against the complaints of a persecuted people.'

Lord Gosford was one of the most extensive land proprietors in Ulster. His loyalty no man will presume to impeach, and his candid exposé

of the Orange atrocities in Armagh, the most devoted partisan of the cause has never dared to question. All the foregoing circumstances combined had a powerful effect in alienating the minds of the people from every feeling of confidence and every hope of justice from the government of the country, and the numbers of United Irishmen hourly increased, until nearly the whole active population was committed in this universal Association. It was impossible to resist the national impulse; the most elevated in rank and fortune embraced the system, and some of those, who have since held confidential situations in the state, boasting their exclusive loyalty to the throne, were at that period, amongst the most zealous supporters of "Union and Truth.”*

Every measure that could tend to expand the system, or to rouse the national feeling, was called into action. Green, the national colour, and as the venerable Betagh termed it, "the fancy colour of the Deity," was almost universally worn; few appeared without this badge of national distinction. The drooping manufactures of the country were for a moment revived, and the velvet of Genoa and the silks of Florence were rivalled through the improved taste of

* The motto or countersign, of the United Irish Societies.

the Dublin artist, whose looms, though now unemployed, were, at that period, barely sufficient for the domestic consumption. A green velvet stock, or a silk robe, with a shamrock device, were the emblems of national feeling; and the former was not unfrequently presented to the youthful patriot by the fair daughter of Erin, as the pledge of a more tender regard. The enthusiasm of the females even exceeded the ardour of the men; in many of the higher circles, and in all the rustic festivities, that youth met a cold and forbidding reception from the partner of his choice, who either from apathy or timidity, had not yet subscribed to the test of union.

As the vigilance of government increased, and the system of union became more pregnant - with danger (for the insurrection act had now attached to it the penalty of death), the exertions of the people were redoubled. Music, to which the Irish are so peculiarly attached, and which, if I may use the expression, speaks the native language of their soul, was most successfully resorted to on this occasion; and the popular songs* of the day, suited to the temper of the times, were admirably calculated to rouse the national spirit, and elevate the mind to a * See Appendix.

contempt of danger and the most enthusiastic feelings which love of liberty and of country could inspire. No wonder, then, that the system of union became formidable, and that public sympathy for those who suffered in the cause was general and sincere; while the man, who with firmness encountered the privations of a prison, was regarded as a martyr to truth and the liberties of his country. Of this number, young and enthusiastic, it was my fortune to be one. Educated in the province of Ulster, I imbibed early sentiments of independence, which, though they have marred my best prospects in life, and entailed misfortunes incalculable on my family, I trust I shall never abandon. Fox, Grattan, Curran, and the illustrious patriots of their day, have lived in vain, if the present generation of Irishmen should blush to avow the sentiments which they maintained. Had my mind been ambitious, few of my contemporaries had fairer prospects of advancement; but I preferred Ireland, in her poverty and distress, to the splendour which is wrung from her miseries and misfortunes; and whether in the dungeon or on the mountain's heath, I never envied the feelings of the man who owed his fortune or his safety to the abandonment of her cause.

CHAPTER II.

Arrests in Ulster-Lord Castlereagh.

It was in the autumn of the year 1796, that government commenced active operations against the United Irish Societies, by the arrest of those men who were either considered the decided partisans of the cause, or suspected of being favourable to the system of union. The principal performer in this scene was, of all men, the last who could have been supposed ambitious of exhibiting in such a character, A man whose influence and example had so powerful an effect in rallying the youth of his native province, that all seemed proud to emulate the virtues which had elevated him to a distinguished situation, through the confidence and partiality of his countrymen. Strange indeed that Lord Castlereagh should have been the selected tool of the Camden administration, to drag the companions of his youth, and the early associates of his political fame, from the peaceful