with his face upturned to the moon, the cold clay of him whom she had followed through scenes of poverty and

woe.

Yet the memory of the Rebellion of 1798 is still cherished with pride among the peasantry of Ireland. Tales of personal heroism are transmitted from father to son. And melancholy as were many scenes of this civil war, disastrous as was its issue, none can deny to those who took up arms, that they had many wrongs, and that they fought with a bravery worthy of men struggling for liberty. As Lord Chatham said of the civil war in the time of Charles I., "There was mixed with the public cause in that struggle, ambition, sedition, and violence. But no man will persuade me that it was not the cause of liberty on the one side, and of tyranny on the other."

CHAPTER XXIII.

NEW FRENCH EXPEDITION.-HUMBERT SAILS WITHOUT ORDERS.-LANDS AT KILLALA IN THE NORTH OF IRELAND.-TAKES POSSESSION OF THE TOWN.IS QUARTERED IN THE BISHOP'S PALACE.-DEFEATS GENERAL LAKE AT CASTLEBAR.-SURRENDERS TO CORNWALLIS.

STATIONED on the coast of France, Tone had watched the progress of the Rebellion with impatience, amounting to agony. His hopes had been raised to a high pitch by the formation of the Army of England, and the appointment of Napoleon to the command. But his spirits sunk as he saw successive divisions of this magnificent army suddenly leave the north of France, and march toward the Mediterranean.* On the 20th of June, Bonaparte sailed from Toulon for Egypt. The Rebellion in Ireland broke out three days after. When the news reached France that the war had actually begun, Tone urged the Directory to hurry off an expedition with all speed. His heart was faint as to the prospect of success. Still he felt bound to make every exertion to help his countrymen, and especially now that they were exposed to the hazards

* "Poor Hoche !" writes Tone. "It is now that we feel the loss of his friendship and influence! If he were alive, he would be in Ireland in a month, if he went only with his staff in a fishing-boat. I fear we shall not easily meet with his fellow."

of war. An armament was set on foot, but Carnot, "the organizer of victory," was no longer in power. Tone was called up to Paris, to consult with the ministers of the army and navy on the organization of a new expedition. But with that dilatoriness which now marked the councils of the Directory, it was delayed for weeks, when every day was precious. At length, after the Rebellion had been crushed, the expedition sailed.

Even now it might have effected its object, but for the indiscretion of an officer. General Humbert, who was appointed to command a division of the invading army, had risen from the ranks. He had gained some distinction in the war in La Vendée, and was one of the generals under Hoche in the Bantry Bay Expedition. He was now stationed at Rochelle with eleven hundred men, destined to form part of the new invasion. He waited with impatience for the order to embark. But from week to week the expedition hung along. Meanwhile refugees from Ireland, who had escaped from the insurrection, arrived in great numbers in the French ports, with their blood boiling from battle. Humbert listened with eagerness to their tales. His spirit chafed with impatience at the delay. He would wait no longer. He called on the merchants and magistrates of Rochelle to advance a small sum of money, marched his men on board three frigates that were lying in the harbor, and compelled the captains to set sail.

This small force reached the Irish coast in safety. On the 22d of August they arrived off the harbor of Killala, in the county of Mayo, in the north-west part of Ireland. They immediately landed, and took possession of the

QUARTERS IN THE BISHOP'S PALACE. 265

town. Humbert led on shore 70 officers and 1030 men; a force about as diminutive as that with which Cortez undertook the conquest of Mexico.

The general, with his staff, immediately took up his quarters in the bishop's palace. This reverend dignitary had expected a visitation from the clergy of his diocese, when the arrival of the French furnished him with unexpected guests. These were not the men whom he had bidden to the feast. Still they seemed disposed to make themselves at home, and to be agreeable. At first he was not a little alarmed at this irruption of barbarians. But Humbert begged him to be under no apprehension. He should be treated with respect and attention, and his people should be protected in their property. Nothing should be taken by the French troops but what was absolutely necessary for their support,—a promise which, the bishop himself says, was religiously observed.

Indeed no one could desire from a hostile force a more generous treatment than that which he received. A suite of apartments in the palace was reserved to the bishop and his family; and no one was allowed to disturb their privacy. Indeed the officers seemed particularly anxious to show their politeness. In the town, so long as the French remained, the strictest discipline was preserved. No plunder was permitted, no persecution of Protestants by the Catholic peasantry.

Thus relieved of his fears, the bishop had opportunity to observe closely this foreign army. For two weeks he saw them daily; and a narrative, supposed to be by him, furnishes minute and most interesting details of the officers

M

and soldiers. He says, "Intelligence, activity, temper ance, patience, to a surprising degree, appeared to be combined in the soldiery that came over with Humbert; together with the exactest obedience to discipline. Yet, if you except the grenadiers, they had nothing to catch the eye. Their stature for the most part was low, their complexion pale and sallow, their clothes much the worse for the wear; to a superficial observer they would have appeared incapable of enduring almost any hardship. These were the men, however, of whom it was presently observ ed, that they could be well content to live on bread or potatoes, to drink water, to make the stones of the street their bed, and to sleep in their clothes, with no covering but the canopy of heaven. One half of their number had served in Italy under Bonaparte; the rest were of the army of the Rhine, where they had suffered distresses that well accounted for their thin persons and wan looks. Several of them declared, with all the marks of sincerity, that at the siege of Mentz, during the preceding winter, they had for a long time slept on the ground, in holes made four feet deep under the snow. And an officer, pointing to his leather small-clothes, assured the bishop that he had not taken them off for a twelvemonth."*

Of what heterogeneous materials this little invading army was composed is seen from this mention of five soldiers that lodged in one house. The man on whom they were quartered, thus describes his guests:-"When they entered my house, I implored them to spare the lives of me and my wife. They raised us from our knees. and

* Gordon's History, p. 306.