success attendant on those measures, the increasing power of France, the agitated and defenceless state of Ireland, a great proportion of whose military force was now become more a subject of alarm than security, caused men of reflection to pause for a moment; and in the interval of returning reason, some efforts were made to reconcile the conflicting passions of the public, and, by a cessation of hostility on the part of the govemment, to procure, if not an acquiescence, a non-resistance on the part of the people. The person who offered his services on this occasion as arbitrator between the government and the people, seemed well qualified for the undertaking: he had once been a distinguished character in Ireland. Of ancient family and ample fortune, he had lately been raised to the peerage, which reflected no additional lustre on the man, whose ancestors swayed princely authority in the land, before Britain had a title in that land to bestow a leader of the immortal band of volunteers, the principles of liberty were early congenial to his heart-benevolent and kind, he felt for the misfortunes * See in Appendix, No. I., Lord O'Neill's sentiments on parliamentary reform. which he could not relieve, and in the eventful day of strife, fell the victim of mistake, when the roused and ungovernable passions of men were no longer under the control of discriminating To Lord O'Neil, then, was assigned the important commission, which it was vainly hoped would afford security to the state, and tranquillity to the people. reason. Lord O'Neill entered on his mission in the full confidence and security of an unsuspecting mind. He had several interviews with us in prison, and though we entertained no very high ideas of the sincerity of the administration, we had no reason to suspect the purity of his views. But his humane intentions were counteracted by the intrigues of faction; for that demon of dissension -the bane of Ireland's happiness and peace, he who, in the language of Grattan "lived too short for justice, but too long for his country," interposed. The cherished hopes of conciliation and justice were followed by torture on the one hand, and resistance on the other. * * Lord CI-e. CHAPTER V. Prison anecdotes-Increased severities-Communications from prison-just reliance on popular feeling-Perilous situation of the Governor-Domiciliary visit-Lord Carhampton. THE calm resignation and unshaken fortitude which supported men through the severest trials, and accompanied them in the last stage of their mortal career, seemed a matter of unaccountable surprise to those, who were insensible to the love of country and the innate feelings of virtue, which teach us how to die. The fatal bell had tolled, and another victim was doomed to the grave. I endeavoured to conceal from myself the emotion which a recurrence of such scenes had not yet taught me entirely to suppress. He is, perhaps, said I, the only prop of a widowed mother; the husband, father, long sighed for, never to return, or the youthful scion of a noble house. The irresistible impulse of feeling led me forward to exchange, through our grated window, the last cheering smile of confidence, and bid a final adieu. This simple, but mournful ceremony, was uniformly practised when not particularly prohibited by the ever cautious vigilance of the prison authorities. The procession was ascending the small interior platform, which was immediately opposite my apartment, and which afforded me a near and distinct view of the prisoner. I was rejoiced, however, to find that my fears were groundless, for he was not a victim to political vengeance! I was about to retire, when something peculiarly interesting in his deportment arrested my attention. He was a man whose appearance evidently bespoke him above the ordinary class of society. Young, well proportioned, and though emaciated by the rigours of imprisonment, his countenance had not lost those traces of manly beauty, which seemed to have been impaired less by corporal than mental suffering. His eye involuntarily caught mine, and as if struck by some sudden and empassioned impulse, he exclaimed, "And must I die disgraced when the road to virtue and to fame lay open before me? Good God! that I should have compromised the dignity of man to perish like a felon, when I might have fallen like a hero. It was my first, my only crime. I have endeavoured to atone I have no wish for life-disgrace would be my companion, and I only seek forgetfulness in the grave." He extended his hand, unconscious of the bars between us, but suddenly recoiled. "Mine," said he, "is not the hand of honour. Yours shall not be polluted by the touch. While your tomb will be moistened by the tears of your country, mine will be marked by the finger of scorn." The unhappy man was hurried to his fate. By one of those acts of petty despotism, in which the governor of our prison but too often indulged, we had for some time been restricted from the usual enjoyment, if enjoyments they might be termed, which government had permitted him to extend to the state prisoners under his paternal care. This restriction extended to the privation of exercise and air, and even the most remote or partial communication with our friends. We had offended against the majesty of the governor, for we had presumed to converse in a language which he did not understand, and for this offence were all communication and social intercourse interdicted. Our conversation being, as he supposed, of a treasonable nature, the safety of the prison and the safety of the state were equally in danger. Had this occurred in an earlier stage of our imprisonment, we should have treated the matter in a more trivial light, terror and se |