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unfavorable opinion of me, particularly the ladies of your lordship's family, whose good opinion I should be sorry to lose. I shall keep a copy of this, as it contains the outlines and principal part of my story: and lest, by any accident, this should not reach your lordship, I shall deposit the copy with a gentleman, from whom you may one day receive it, and some other curious intelligence.

I should add, that Mr. Emmet, in one part of his examination (and he was a director of the union) did say, that had any reasonable hope of a reform at any time presented itself, the connexion with the French would have been broken off. This, from a man of known veracity, upon his oath, proved very consoling to me, for the efforts I had made, and the sufferings I had undergone.

I have the honor to be, my Lord,

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Now, before I suffer the press to resume the Series of the Letters, written during my stay in France; and, as I have had occasion to bring Mr. Emmet's name before the public, there is one fact respecting, him which I feel it as a duty to state.

He, with the other leaders of the United Irishmen, has been charged with encouraging the crime of assassination, and reference has been made to an anonymous publication, called the "UNION STAR,"

which was circulated clandestinely, from time to time, and thrown into the areas, or pushed under the doors in the night. One or two numbers of it came to my hands. The reasoning they contained, upon the subject of retaliation, was uncommonly nervous and daring. They imputed, not to virtue, but to cowardice or weakness, that principle, which they maintained had no other operation than to arrest the arm of defence, and leave the helpless victim at the mercy of the infuriate assailant! They stated, that those who had proclaimed their nation out of the king's peace, and suspended the laws, ought not to hope for the protection of laws. They had chosen, they said, to resort to the state of nature, if ever such existed, where there were no laws, and it was at their own peril. Shall they, whose unmeasured extor tions, deprive the hungry of food, and the naked of covering, whose magnificence is only equalled by the wretchedness of those who pay for it? Shall they, said the author, who support such a system of plunder, by a system of universal proscription, be held as immortal gods? Shall their persons be inviolate, and the groans of the tortured administer to their repose? Who is he, they said, who can recall the dead to life, and restore to the widow her lost husband, and to the orphan his parent? Where have they learned to sanctify robbery, and to haloo murder? Where have they learned that ten thousand innocent poor should die, that one guilty rich should live?

Such were the outlines of this publication, of which, I believe, the author never was discover

ed. Some thought it was a stratagem of the government, in order to throw odium upon the opposite cause. To me the arguments seemed too strong, and too terribly applicable, to warrant that supposition. I had, upon the subject of these papers, sexeral conversations with Mr. Emmet. He was very zealous in his efforts to restrain them, and I believe successful. And what is more, there was found, amongst his papers, at his arrestation, one drawn up by him and me, and intended to have been subscribed by all whose names could be supposed most influential amongst the people, which the government, with its usual candor, took care entirely to suppress. The danger we had to avoid, was, that of being marked by the government as chiefs: for Ireland has afforded instances enough of men being put to death upon that proof of guilt, that they had been able to save their persecutors lives. So strange and intricate are the ways of guilt, when to save or to destroy, are equally criminal and fatal. Some of these instances are to be found in Mr. Plowden's history of Irelanda work which, allowing for the circumstances of the times, the prejudices, of which no man can suddenly divest himself; considering that he was an Englishman, writing under the sanction of the British government; considering the terror and delusion which has not yet subsided, does him extreme honor.

Others of these facts are to be found in Mr. Hay's account of the proceedings in Wexford, and others in the history of the the rebellion, by the Rev. Mr. Gordon.-(See Appendix No. XI.)

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I DO not know to what it was owing,

10.

unless to the crime of having corresponded with Lord Moira, that I received the following sharp letter, from Mr. Wickham :

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I AM directed by the duke of Portland to inform you, that that if you think proper to make use of the passport which has been granted, to enable you to proceed from Pullhelly to Falmouth, it is expected that you should take the nearest road from one place to the other; and especially that you should not attempt to go through London.

I have the honor to be, Sir,

Your most obedient humble servant,

WM. WICKHAM.

About this time I found also that my persecutors were not yet asleep in Ireland; for I saw by a newspaper, that Lord Clare and some other judges had published an order, that my name, together with those of Mr. O'Connor and Mr. Emmet, were struck out of the list of barristers. I paid little attention to the fact. It is not at present worth disputing: but I believe it amounts to nearly the same thing, as if I had ordered their names to be struck out of the list of judges. The only object it could have was, to take advantage of the perverseness of the moment, and the general terror that prevailed, perhaps to surprise some of the judges, who might not know, as I am sure they did not, the iniquities committed against me; and, as far as possible, to put it out of the power of the government itself to make me atonement, should justice ever return. I need not say what was my feeling; for there is only one that such proceeding can excite.

However, in spite of calumny, in spite of prejudice, I lived from the 27th of November, until about the 20th of January, amongst the ancient Britons, in perfect good will and harmony with all of them. Bitter prejudices when overcome, often turn to friendships and it might have been so with them. I found these people hospitable and good; and I imputed the mischief they had done in my country to the dupery practised upon them; of which they had been themselves the victims. I therefore abstained from all cause of offence towards them, and lamented deeply the vicious policy of rulers, who, instead

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