of great courage; but his lordship made so desperate a defence, with no other arms than a dagger, that Swan was wounded, and Ryan died of his wounds eleven days after. Lord Edward himself expired in great agony on the third of the following month, from the effects of this furious conflict, as he had been wounded in the shoulder by the shot of a pistol from major Sirr.

On the nineteenth and twenty-first of May, several other arrests were made, and among the arrested were Henry and John Sheares, brothers, natives of Cork, men of great abilities, and lawyers, who had made a visit to Paris in 1792, where they had imbibed very deeply revolutionary ideas; had, on their return to Ireland, been active in the united conspiracy, and had, as we have good reason to believe, at last been raised to the fatal eminence of the directorial committee. From a belief of his being an United Irishman-a belief doubtless impressed by some dextrous management on his part, and the hope of his co-operation in the business-they confided the secret of the time and plan of the insurrection to Captain Armstrong, of the King's County militia, who had procured an introduction to them through the medium of Patrick Byrne, bookseller of Grafton-street, Dublin. The intelligence occasionally received by this officer, who had procured his introduction for the service of government, was regularly con

veyed to the lord lieutenant. In the house of Henry Sheares, at the time of his arrest, and in the hand-writing of John, was found a manifesto evidently intended for publication after the capital should be in possession of the conspirators. In this were expressed very sanguinary sentiments, quite contrary, as I have reason to believe, to the natural disposition of these gentlemen; but, in the poet's phrase, "to shut the

"* gates of mercy on mankind, may be a maxim with revolutionists; and, in fact, the severe and terrible measures to which government, for the preservation of its existence, had been obliged to have recourse, must naturally excite a spirit of revenge and cruelty in the malecontent faction: yet the former members of the directory, among whom was Thomas Addis Emmett, had intended to avoid bloodshed as much as possible, and only to banish those who should prove refractory, allowing their families a maintenance out of their properties. † If the affairs of the union had continued to be conducted with the ability of these former members, probably the government, with all its vigilance, would have been overturned, greatly, I apprehend, to the detriment of the British islands and Europe in general.

The above-mentioned manifesto, which was

Gray's Elegy in a Country Church-yard.
+ Appendix to the report, &c. No. 31.

not quite finished for publication, ran in the following terms. "Irishmen, your country is "free, and you are about to be avenged. That "vile government, which has so long and so "cruelly oppressed you, is no more. Some of "its most atrocious monsters have already paid "the forfeit of their lives, and the rest are in "our hands. The national flag, the sacred

green, is at this moment flying over the ruins "of despotism; and that capital, which a few "hours past had witnessed the debauchery, the "plots, and the crimes of your tyrants, is now "the citadel of triumphant patriotism and vir

tue. Arise then, united sons of Ireland, arise "like a great and powerful people, determined "to live free, or die. Arm yourselves by every "means in your power, and rush like lions on your foes. Consider that for every 'enemy you disarm, you arm a friend, and thus be

come doubly powerful. In the cause of liberty, "inaction is cowardice; and the coward shall "forfeit the property he has not the courage to

protect. Let his arms be secured and trans"ferred to those gallant spirits who want and "will use them. Yes, Irishmen, we swear by "that Eternal Justice, in whose cause you fight, "that the brave patriot who survives the present glorious struggle, and the family of him who "has fallen, or hereafter shall fall in it, shall re"ceive from the hands of a grateful nation an

ample recompense out of that property which "the crimes of our enemies have forfeited into "its hands, and his name shall be inscribed on "the great national record of Irish revolution,

as a glorious example to all posterity; but we "likewise swear to punish robbery with death " and infamy. We also swear that we will

never sheath the sword till every being in the "country is restored to those equal rights which "the God of nature has given to all men; until "an order of things shall be established in which "no superiority shall be acknowledged among "the citizens of Erin but that of virtue and "talent. As for those degenerate wretches who "turn their swords against their native country, "the national vengeance awaits them: Let them "find no quarter, unless they shall prove their "repentance by speedily exchanging the stand"ard of slavery for that of freedom, under "which their former errors may be buried, and "they may share the glory and advantages that "are due to the patriot bands of Ireland. Many "of the military feel the love of liberty glow "within their breasts, and have joined the na"tional standard. Receive with open arms "such as shall follow so glorious an example

they can render signal service to the cause of

freedom, and shall be rewarded according to "their deserts. But for the wretch who turns "his sword against his native country, let the

national vengeance be visited on him; let him "find no quarter. Two other crimes demand • ************. Rouse all the energies of your "souls: call forth all the merit and abilities "which a vicious government consigned to

obscurity; and under the conduct of your "chosen leaders march with a steady step to "victory. Heed not the glare of hired soldiery or aristocratic yeomanry: they cannot stand "the vigorous shock of freedom. "pings and their arms will soon be yours; and "the detested government of England, to which " we vow eternal hatred, shall learn, that the

Their trap

treasures it exhausts on its accoutered slaves, "for the purpose of butchering Irishmen, shall "but further enable us to turn their swords on "its devoted head. Attack them in every di"rection by day and by night: avail yourselves

of the natural advantages of your country, "which are innumerable, and with which you

are better acquainted than they. Where you "cannot oppose them in full force, constantly "harass their rear and their flanks: cut off "their provisions and magazines, and prevent "them as much as possible from uniting their "forces: let whatever moments you cannot de"vote to fighting for your country, be passed "in learning how to fight for it, or preparing "the means of war-for war, war alone must

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