€¦ · PREF ACE. T H E Memoirs of Theobald W olfe Tone, while they possess the u sual...
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Transcript of €¦ · PREF ACE. T H E Memoirs of Theobald W olfe Tone, while they possess the u sual...
L IFE AND ADVENTURES
THEO BALD W O L F E T O NE,
VJRIT T EN BY H IM SELF,
AND EXTRACT ED F ROM H IS JOURNAL S.
EDIT ED BY H IS SO N,
WILLIAM T HEO BALD WO L F E T O NE.
“fi ‘fi‘U—m ‘ M
GL ASG O W
PREF ACE.
T HE Memoirs of Theobald Wolfe Tone,whil e th ey possess the
u sual autobiograph ical intere st,advance claims to attention at
th is m oment of a stil l more important description . Simplyregarded as the self-portraiture of an arden t
,enthu siastic
,and
m en tally d istingu ished individual, they would furnish an el igibl esubj ect of contem plation to the amateu r student of diversifiedcharacter
,fo r whom th is series is ch iefly intended
,i f existing
circumstances did not warrant a close consideration of them on
the part of th e statesman and pol itician . The individual sel fexh ibited was no common person or conspirator ; his m ind washeighten ed and firm
,his capacity respectable
,and his energies
extraordinary . Yet this m an,and m any m ore of k indred qualities,
were led into attempts to separate thei r country from its connexionw ith Great Britain 5 and to l iv e and die devoted m artyrs to thepurpose and prin ciple which excited them to action . At a tim ewhen the country
,th e fate of which they aspired to m odify, i s
labouring u nder excessive agitation,from a portion of th e sam e
n egat ive and positive endurance which stimulated exertions so
equivocal,i t surely cannot be wholly useless to investigate the
an d inferences which have led persons,whose patriotism and
tedness, however m istaken , i t is difficult to doubt, intostrenuous
,persevering, and dangerous . It i s useless for
a certain tribe of politicians,in th e spirit of a weak theory and
worse pract ice,to exclaim traitor and“rebel
,
”and dism iss thesubj ect : al l history form s a practical satire upon the silly doctrineof passive obedience
,by which they affect to be guided ; and in
estim ating the m otives to pol itical resistance,every unsoph isticated
h uman heart form s a plea of m itigation for even the erringv ictim s of an attempt to e scape unj ustifiable thraldom or put downnational oppression . Such be ing the case
,we know not of any
th ing which,at a crisis l ike the present
,m erits consideration m ore
than a characteristic narrative of conduct and adventure,of a
nature to show what designs vicious and partial governm ent maysecretly engend and irritated population
l
4 PREFACE.
what passions i t may arouse, what energies awaken what tal entsm isdirect. O f al l th e bal eful results of harsh and unequal rule
,
n one possibly exists m ore truly revolting than that which fil m sth e loftiest and best h uman aspirations into an uncongenial current
,
and transform s in to archangel s ruined,
”m en i ntended by nature
to act el evated and honourabl e parts . It is not indeed th e j ud icia lcondemnation
,or l egally pronounced sentence al one
,wh ich can
effe ct debasem en t : but so m any are the snares and temptation sthat beset conspiracy
,even in its most defensible form
,that th
highest spirits are in danger of invol vem ent,and general ly have
reason to rue,l ike Ham l et
,that disj ointed tim es should render
the cal l of conscience imperative .In what is above written
,no opinion is to be inferred on th e
part of th e Editor as regards the plans or proj ects of the
Autobiographer, but sim ply in favour of the character of the viewsand m otives by which h e was personally actuated . From heatedpartizans on either side
,noth ing l ike an impartial estim ate can b e
expected ; but the calm dissector of the human h eart cannot readwhat fol lows without perceiv ing that Wolfe Ton e followed up thesin cere didtates of h is heart and understanding. A m orespontaneou s single -m inded man , in fact, n ever entered into a plot ;and i t is impossible to read of his forlorn perseveran ce in sol icitingth e aid of France
,th e privation s to which h e was in th e interim
subj ected,and th e anxiety he endured on the s core of a tend erly
beloved wife and fam i ly,without being st ruck w ith the tenacity
and firmness of purpose wh ich u ltimately,although inadequately
and to his own destruc tion , succeeded . From his j ou rnals,n ever
in tended for th e publ ic eye,sufficient extracts h ave been m ade in
the fol lowing pages,to display th e difficulty
,and al ternate stages
of hope and depression , which he almost daily was d e em ed to
encounter. Again i t m ay be repeated , that every sch eme of policyinvolves an awful m oral responsibil ity upon its adm inistrators,which
,however delusively
,can form apologies to such m en for an
undeviating resol ution to change th e governm en t of their country.
l t may be farther proper to observe, that the j ournals of th eu n fortunate subj ect of th is l ittle book, occupy no smal l portion oftwo thick octave volum es of th e Am erican edition . Writtench iefly for the amusem en t of a. wife
,to whom th e j ou rnal ist seems
to have never ceased to be a lover,th ey abound with matter which
cou ld scarcely be ve ry interesting to any one else. To a steadinessof obj ect which is scarcely a characteristic of his countrym en
,lVol fe
Tone united the m ercurial vivacity and gaieté do occur which m ostdecidedly belong to them . These occasional ly evaporate in m erefire -side j oke and col loquial flippaney, which never being intendedfor the public eye, nothing but fil ial partial ity cou ld deem fit for
PREFACE. 5
it . T he frequ en t bu rs ts of co nj ugal l o v e an d par e n tal tende rn ess dem and greate r con s ide ration , an d hav e th e r e fo r e som et im e s fou n d favo u r . The grea t obj e ct i n th e s e l e ct io n fromthe J ou r n al s, h ow e v e r , has b e e n to r eta in al l wh ich t en ded togi v e a cl ear i dea of the v i ew s
,im pu l ses
,and act ion s of the
w r it e r i n r ela t ion to a Fre n ch i n vas io n of I re l and,a nd the
d isso l ut io n of i t s co n n ecti on w i th Great B ritain— th e m ai nsp ri ng of al l h is action s . Th e ed ito r ia l labou rs and n a rrat iv esof h is so n h av e i n som e i n s tan ce s
,al th ough spar i ngly
,b e en
cu r tai l ed i n a s im i la r m an n e r ; s im pl e om i ss io n s in al l cas e sb e ing th e o n ly l ibe rty tak en .
I n con clu ding this n ecessary expl anat io n,th e Edito r has
o n l y to expr e ss a h op e that h is l abou rs w i l l in tr odu ce som e
v e r v cu ri o u s a n d chara cte ris t i c d eta i l s t o a m o r e ge n e ra lp eru sa l tha n th e diffu s e an d desu l to ry Am er ican vol um e s tromw h ich th ey ar e s e l e cted
,can poss ib ly claim in th e Un it e d
K i ngdom . H e has al r eady obse r v ed,th at th e l e sso n s con
v ey e d ar e p e cu l ia rly oppor tu n e ; an d i f th e p re s en t l i t tl evo l um e w i l l o n ly sl ightly ass is t t o i n cu l cate cau t ion i n on e
o rde r of w arm par tizan s,an d con ci l iat ion in a noth e r
,it w i l l
e ffe ct what far m or e p re te nd ing tom es o ften a sp ire to in va i n .
PItEF ACE
BY MR W ILLIAM THEO BALD WO LF E TO NE.
(THE EDIT OR O F T HE F IRST EDI T ION or THE MEMOIRS) .
IN publ ish ing th e l ifd, works, and m emoirs of my fath e r, I owe
som e account of the m otives wh ich engaged m e to d elay theirappearan ce to th e present day
,and to produce them at this
m om en t. These m emoirs were never destined fo r the publ ic ; th eywere written for one or two friend s
,now no m ore , and for h is
fam i ly,of which my m other and myself are now th e sol e survivors .
H is pen , wh ich always flowed with l igh t and easy grace,w ea
,of
course, al lowed to 1 1m in these careless m emorandum s w ith theu tm ost efi
'
usion and abandon of soul ; th ey exh ibit his very passingfeel ing on every occasion
,and are som etim es as severe on th e
failings and weaknesses of h is own party,and of t 1 ose to whom
h e was m ost warm ly and sincerely attached , and for whom he
sacrificed the bril liant prospects of his youth,and
,at length
,his
l ife,as on their adversaries . O f course
,wh ilst th e interests in
which he was engaged were yet al ive,numbers
,and som e of them
unsuspected at the tim e, m ight have been dangerously comprom ised,or seriously hurt, by th is publication . In h is l atter‘days, whenhe anticipated
,with th e deepest despondency
,the probabl e failure
of his hopes,he u sed sometimes to exclaim
,
“Thank God ! nom an has ever been comprom i sed by m e . Young as I was at thetim e
,I was brought up by my surviving pa1 ent in al l the
principles and in al l th e feel ings of my father .But
,now
,one quarter of a century is m ore than el apsed
,and
repeated revolutions have altered the political face of the world .
The founder of the United Irish Society,the first of h is country
m en who cal led on the peopl e to un ite, without discrim ination of
faith,for the independence of their country
,has sealed with h is
blood,the principles which he professed . His contemporaries
,
th e m en with whom he thought and acted,are mostly sunk in the
grave ; those Who su i vive,are either retired from public l i
"
e,or
engaged i n dilferent pursuits ; the v ery goovernm en t against wliich
he struggled,exists no m ore ; and th e coun tiy whose l iberty h e
sought to establish,has lost even that shadow of a n ational
administration, and has sunk into a prov ince of Eng land. I
PREF ACE T O T HE F IRST ED I T ION . 7
annot th ink that th e publication of these m em oirs,at the present
d ay, can inj ure th e prospects, or endanger the peace, of any l ivingbeing . H is few surviving friends
,and even his opponents
,can
on ly look on those relics with feel ings of fond recol lection,for one
of the m ost am iable,affectionate
,and gentle-hearted of m en— a
man of the purest and sin cerest principles and patriotism (whatever m ay be d eem ed , according to th e reader
’
s opin ion,of the
soundness of his views) , and of the m ost splendid talents. It is,
besides,a tribute which I owe to h is m em ory
,and a sacred duty
,
bel ieving,as I do
,that
,in th e eyes of impartial and uninterested
posterity,they wi l l be honourable to his character; that they
throw a m ost interesting l ight on the pol itical situation and historyof Ireland ; and that even yet, and in its present state, the v iewswhich they contain may be of som e use to that country for whichh e died ; and for which , though an exile from my infancy, I m ustever feel the interest due to my native land .
Another m otive which has determ ined m e to bring ou t th iswork at present
,is the late publication of som e fragments of i t (an
autobiography of my father) in th e London New MonthlyM agazine ; a publication entirely unexpected by m e
,as I have
never had any acquaintance or correspondence with the editors ofthat paper. As I possess
,and now republ ish
,th e original m anu
script from whence they are taken , I m ust do these gentlem en thej ustice to give my testim ony in favour of their accuracy ; and,with the exception of a few trifl ing m istakes, very pardonabl e atsu ch a distance of tim e
,and which shal l be rectified in the present
work , to thank them for th e l iberal ity of their comm ents andobservations. The character of these notes
,and the very appear
ance of this biographical sketch at this tim e,and in England
,
convinces m e that my father’
s nam e is not yet qu ite forgotten,and
is stil l respected,even in the country of his adversaries. The
am iabil ity of his personal character secured him ,indeed
,even
during his l ife-tim e , and am idst al l th e rancour of pol iticalan imosity, the rare advantage of preserving th e friendship of m anyvaluable and il lustrious individuals who were opposed to him in
princ iples . He scarcely had a personal enemy, unless perhaps weexcept the Chancellor Fitzgibbon (Lord Clare), and the Hon .
George Ponsonby,who agreed in th is point alone . H is spirit
could never stoop to th e petulant insolence of the one,nor to the
haughty dulness of the other. But I have n ever seen h is nam em entioned in any history of th e times without respect and regret.I cannot
,therefore
,believe that even th e m ost zealous partizans
of the British governm ent would have th e weakness, at this tim e andd istance, to feel any obj ection to the publication of these writings.Although the character of Tone, and his pol itical princ
inl es,
8 PREFACE T O T H E F IRST EDIT ION.
w il l b e best d eveloped in his own works,yet h is son may b e
allowed to give way to som e of his feel ings on this subj ect . H is
image i s yet blended with the recollections of my infancy . To th esoundest j udgment and m ost ac ute penetration in serious business ,h e j oined a m ost sim ple and unaffected modesty
,and the m ost
p erfect disinterestedness ; no hum an breast cou ld be m ore fre e fromthe m eaner passions, envy, j ealousy, avarice, cupidity; and oftenobl ivious of him self
,he delighted in the fam e and glory of other s.
Inj uries he easily forgot ; kindness never. Though his constitutionwas nervous and sensitive to a very high degree
,he was natural ly
of a m ost cheerful tem per,and confid ing, unsuspiciou s, and
affectionate heart. Indeed,few m en have enj oyed so completely
the happiness of l oving and of being beloved . His wife andfam ily he perfectly adored ; and th e circl e of his intimate friends,of those who we i e really and devotedly attached to him ,
com prisedm en of th e m ost opposite parties and descriptions . H is characterwas tinged w ith a ve in of ch ivalry and I oman c e ; and l ively,polite
,and accomplish ed
,his youth was not entirely free from som e
imprudence and wi ldness. H e was fond of pleasure as wel l as of
glory ; but the latter feeling was always,in him
,subserv ien t to
principle ; and h is pleasures were pure and elegant, those of a
simple taste and brill iant fancy and im agination ; m usic , l i terature,field sports and el egant society and conversation
,especially that of
am iable and accomplished wom en,with whom he was a universal
favourite. His m usical and l iterary taste was of the m ost cultivateddel icacy ; and the charm s of his conversation , where a natural andn ational vein of wit and feel ing flowed without effort or affectation
,
were indescribabl e . But, though form ed to be the d el ight of
society , th e j oys of hom e and dom estic l ife were h is real el em ent.He was the fondest of husbands
,of fathers
,of sons
,of brothers
,
and of friends . In the privacy of his m odest fi reside,th e l iveliest
fl ow of spirits and of feel ing was never interrupted by one m om entof dulness or of harshness
,and it was th e happiest of retreats.
His success in the world was aston ish ing,and owing almost as
m uch to th e am iabil ity of his character and social qualities,as to
h is extraord inary talents . Risen from an obscure birth,and
struggl ing with poverty and difficulties,h is classical triumphs
and acquirem ents at th e un iversity were of the highest order. O ne ntering afterwards into l ife
,he supported h is father and num erous
fam ily,by his sole efforts ; and rose not only to independence and
fam e, but was received as a favom ite In the fi st aristocratic c i1 c l es,
even before he engaged in pol itics. Am ongst the ill ustriou sfam ilies and characters with whom he was fam il iarly acquainted
,
an d who certainly yet remember h is nam e with affe ction,were the
Duke of Le inster, Lord Moira, and his noble and prince ly mother;
PREFACE T O run F IRST ED IT ION . 9
The Honourable George Knox,and Marcus Beresford
,Plunkett
,
G rattan,Curran , H am il ton Rowan ,
P. Burrowes, Sir LaurenceParsons , Emm ett, C . Bushe , Whitley Stokes, &c . ,
and al l th eheads of the Irish bar and society . I have already observed
,that
,
however opposed to m any of them in pol itics,and when he was
becom e a m arking leader,and m ost obnoxious to th e government
,
he preserved their affection . And when,after Jackson ’s trial
,he
lay under a kind of prescription , they gave him nobl e and generou sproofs of it.H is success in politics was no less wonderful . When he wrote
h is fi rst pamph let in favour of the Cathol ics (the Northern Whig) ,he was not acquainted with a. single individual of that religion , socomplete at that period was the distin ction m arked in societybetween the several sects . In a few m onth s he was th e prim em over of their councils, and accomplished the union between themand the D issenters of the North .
H is pol itical principles wil l of course be blamed or approved,
according to those of the reade r. D uring h is l ife- tim e som eregarded him as a fanatical dem ocrat and furiou s demagogue
,
wh ilst others in his own party accused him of haughtiness in hism anner
,and aristocratical prej udices . The fact is
,that though
h e preferred in theory a republican form of governm ent,his m ain
obj ect was to procure the independence of his country under a
l iberal adm inistration,whatever m ight be its form and nam e.
His tastes and habits were rather aristocratical for the society withwhich h e was som etim es obliged to m ingl e. I beli eve that
,in
reading these m emoirs,m any p e ople w i l l b e su rp r ise d at (an d som e
perhaps wil l blam e) th e m oderation of his views . The persecutionsof the governm ent drove him m uch further than he purposed atfirst . But
,from their fair and impartial perusal, none can possibly
rise,w ithout being convinced of his purity and patriotism
,what
ever th ey may deem of h is wisdom and foresight. No man who
ever engaged so d eeply and so earnestly in so great a cause, wassol ittl e influenced by any m otives of personal am bition , or so disinterestedly devoted to what he thought the interest of his country.In opening these pages i t shou ld also be rem em bered that the
situation and pol itical organization of Ireland at that p eriod, weretotall y differen t
,both from what they had been before and from
what they had fallen to since . She possessed , at that precisem om ent, a. separate governm ent, and a national legislature,nom inally independent ; my father never considered him sel f as anEngl ishman
,nor as a subj ect of Great Britain
,but as a native and
subj ect of the kingdom of Ireland,m ost zealously and passionately
devoted to the rights, th e liberties, and glory of his country.
At the epoch of the Am erican war the unguarded state
1 0 PREFACE T o T HE F IRST EDIT ION.
of that island,the efforts of th e patriots in its l egislature, and the
sim ultaneous and form idabl e rising of th e volunteers,whilst
England was exhausted by that fruitless contest, had wrung fromth e British governm ent the relu ctant acknowl edgm en t of itsindepend ence . This period was brief and glorious . With thefi rst dawn of l iberty she took a n ew spring and began to flourishby her natural resou rces ; the spirit of her people reviving w ithh er comm erce
,industry
,and m anufactures . But th is dawn was
soon overcast by the corruption of her governm ent, and the bigotedintolerance of the rul ing Protestant ascendancy ; th e form er carriedto th e m ost open profl igacy, and th e latter to th e m ost besottedblindness . My obj ect i s not to write a h istory
,nor to anticipate
what my fathe r has u rged with such force and eloquen ce in th efol lowing works and m em oirs ; but had th e Irish legislature, whorecovered their independent rights
,had the l iberal ity to em ancipate
their Catholic brethren,and allowed them to participate in th e
benefits of free and equal citizensh ip, and had the volunteersadm itted them into their ranks
,Englan d wou l d n ever hav e
recovered the power which she had lost. It would b e a curious,
but at this day a very vain speculation,to calculate what these
two independent but al lied kingdom s m ight have risen to,cu l tivat
ing their separate m eans under on e sovereign and wi th on e interest .This wakening of th e spirit of l iberty
,roused
,howeve r
,from
their long slumber of slavery the oppressed and degraded Catho l ics,
who,by a strange anom aly
,form ing the or 1 g 1 1 1 al population of th e
country and the m ass of the people, were, at that period , and arestill in som e r e sp e c ts, al iens in their natiVe land . Their first stepswere weak and tim id
,but their progress was incon c e iyab ly rapid ;
those of the present day,in reading these m em oirs
,and other
works of th e sam e t im e,w il l scarcely bel ieve that thei r fath ers
cou l d ever have been degraded to su ch a state ; and w ith whattrembling, doubts, and hesitation , they first opened their eyes tothe dawn of freedom , and directed their first tottering steps in itscareer. My father was the fi rst Protestant who engaged in theircause to its whole length ; and experien ced th e greatest d ifficul ty,in th e beginning
,to rouse them
,if no t to a sense of their wrongs
,
at l east to the spirit of expressing them .
But these efforts , by which the whole island began shortly toheave her foundations, alarm ed the j ealou sy of that party whomonopol ized al l the power and property of th e country . T osecure the support of England
,they sacrificed its prosperity
,
honour,and independence
,and the British m inistry
,W ith patient
0
I t isn remaikab l e fac t that m ost of th e l e ade i s of the U n ite d l 1 isl 1 m e n who p e rishedI n the r_ 1 n l war we re Prote stan ts : T on e
,Emm e t t
,Russe l l
, L ord Ed u ard F itzg e rald , Si c.O f the twe nty p risone rs 1 1 1 F ort Georg e , four on ly we re Catholics.
PREFACE T o T H E F IRST ED IT ION . 1 1
d iscretion , awaited th e resul t; they gave al l their m eans and aidto strengthen the Irish adm inistration
,and allowed it to render
itself as odiou s as possible,and to d estroy
,by its cruelty and
insolence,in the hearts of the people al l affection for their nationa l
governm en t . N0 other arms than those of corruption were usedby England against the independence of Ireland ; for its own ad
m inistration took on itself al l th e odium of its tyranny,and al l th e
task of reducing th e people to slavery . The distant king andparliam ent of England were
,on the contrary
,often sol icited as
m ediators by the oppressed and m iserable Irish . It was th isgovernm ent and this party
,against which the anim osity and
attacks of my father were directed ; it was th e Irish governm entwhich he sought to overturn by uniting the d ivided factions of th epeople. H is resen tm ent against England was a secondary and inc idental passion ; i t arose from her support of those abuses. Helong endeavoured by legal and constitutional m eans
,and even by
sol iciting the British m onarch and governm ent,to effect that
reform ; nor was it til l al l h is hopes proved fruitless from thatquarter, that he determ ined on attempting, by any m eans, theseparation of the two countries .As for the Irish adm in istration
,England reaped the fruits of
her policy. It becam e so corrupt and so infamous that it cou ldno longer stand
,and finally its m embers bartered the existence of
their country as a nation,for a paltry personal compensation to
them selves . It was the cheapest bargain England ever drove .Was it th e wisest ’.Z Instead of using her influence to re organizethat wretched governm ent
,to give it strength and popularity
,by
em ancipating the people and attach ing them to their institutions ,sh e chose to absorb Ireland in her own sphere
,and efface it from
the l ist of nations. But that execrabl e adm in istration , in dis
appearing from existence,l eft
,as a perniciou s l egacy behind it
,al l
its abuses,confirm ed
,rooted in the soil
,and now supported by the
direct and open authority of the British m onarch,l aws
,parl iam ent
,
and constitution . The union and incorporation of the two countrieswere but nom inal ; and the m ass of the Irish population participatedneither in the benefits nor privileges of the British institutions.This was a wretched and narrow policy . Instead of encouraging,
by every m eans in its power, the industry and the m ental andphysica l resou rces of Ireland, and thus adding to the generalm ass of wealth and inform ation of the whole empire, a pettyj ealousy of her competition with the trade and m anufactures ofEngland has always engaged the governm ent of the latter countryto keep d own and crush
,in every possibl e way, the natural spring
and spirit of the Irish .
Whether England has gained mu ch by the union, time wil l show.
1 2 PREFACE T O T HE F IRST EDIT IO N.
The m inistry has gained a cl ear reinforcem ent of one hund red votesin Parl iam ent, for no Irishm an wi l l ever consider h imself as an
Engl ishm an ; and whilst his own country is m iserable and enslaved ,what earth ly m otive but his own interest can influence him in
questions which regard m erely the l iberties or interests of Engl and ?The peopl e show no sym ptom s of attachm ent or l oyalty to theirnew m asters ; and for what should they be loyal ? For six hund red years of slavery, m isru l e, and persecution Ireland m ust beguarded at the sam e expense
,and w ith th e sam e care
,as form erly
,
and is rather a heavy clog on th e powers and m ean s of GreatBritain than a support and an addition to th em . Nor i s i tabsolutely impossible that, if som e ambitious and unprincipl edm onarch hereafter m ount the thron e, he m ay find in the IrishCatholics
,of whom th e mass wil l be brutalize
'
d by m isgover nm ent,
and rendered ignorant and ferocious, very proper instrum ents forh is designs. They have no reason to adm ire
,nor to be attached
to the British constitution, and would follow th e cal l of Satanhim self
,were he to cheer them on to revenge —and who could
blam e them itBut I m ust not lose m yself in dissertation s which do not concern
my subj ect. For in my father’s tim e no on e dream t of that un ion ;
and his m ost v iol ent adversaries, the m ost furious upholders of theProtestant ascendancy
,wou ld have been m ost indignan t at such a
suggestion . H ad it been prem aturely proposed,they would
,per
haps,have j oined with their adversaries rather than h ave l istened
to it . The only conclusion which I wish to draw from theseprem ises is
,that England
,by d issolving that Irish governm ent
,
has fully confirm ed the charges adduced against it,and my father
’sopinion of it; and til l th e abuses which it supported, and whichhave survived its fal l
,are corrected ; till that m onopoly is removed
by which al l th e rights and powers of citizenship and sovereigntyare usurped by a favoured m inority ; whilst the rem ainder of thepopulation groans in slavery
,Ireland
,either under a separate and
national adm in istration , or as a province of Great Britain, wi l l everremain in an unnatural state of anarchy and m isery, unable tocultivate her resources, either for her own benefit, or for that ofher m asters .I shal l close th is preface with a single rem ark . The only
l ibertie s wh ich I have taken with the fol lowing m em oirs,in pre
paring them for th e press,were to suppress a few passages relat ive
to fam ily affairs . which concern n obody; and the account of som eearly amours
,which my father, though a little wi ld in his youth ,
was too mu ch of a gentleman to have allowed to appear,and which‘
t would il l become his son to rev ive at th is day.
L I F E
T H’
EO BAL D W O L F E T O NE,
PREVIO US T O H IS M ISSIO N T O FRANCE.
W RIT T EN BY H IM SEL F .
Nil d esp e randum .
PARIS, August 7, 1 796 .
As I shal l embark in a business with in a few days, the event of
which is uncertain , I take the opportunity of a vacan t hour tothrow on paper a few m em orandum s, relative to myself and myfam ily
,which m ay amuse my boys , for whom I write them ,
in
case they should hereafter fal l into their hands.I was born in the city of Dublin , on th e 2oth of June , 1 763 .
My grandfather was a respectable farm er near Naas,in the county
of Kildare . Being killed by a fal l off a stack of his own corn,in
the year 1 766, his property, being freehold leases, descended tomy father, his eldest son , who was
,at that tim e
,in successful
business us a coachmaker . H e set,in consequence
,th e land s
which cam e thus into h is possession , to h is youngest bro ther,wh ich
,eventually
,was the cause of m uch l itigation between th em
,
and ended in a decree of the court of Chancery that utterly ru inedmy father ; but of that hereafter. My m other
,whose nam e was
Lamport,was the daughter of a captain of a vessel in the We st
India trade, who, by m any anecdotes wh ich she has told m e of
,him ,
was a great original sh e had a brother who was an excel lentseaman
,and served as fi rst l ieu tenant on board of the Buckingham
,
comm anded by Adm iral T yrre l , a distinguished offic e r in th eBrit ish service .I was their eldest son ; but, before I com e to my history, I
must say a few words of my brothers . W il liam,who was born
1 4 L IF E or
in August, 1 764, was intended for business, and was, in con
sequence,bound apprentice
,at the age of fourteen
,to an em inent
booksel ler. With him he read over al l th e voyages he could find,
with which , and som e m i l itary h istory, he heated an imaginatiorin atural ly warm and enthusiastic so m uch
,that
,at th e
o
age of
sixteen,he ran off to London
,and entered as a volunteer in th e
East India Company’s service ; but his first essay was very
u nlucky ; for, instead of finding h is way out to India, he wasstopped at the island of St Hel ena , on which barren rock h eremained in garrison for SIX years, when, his t im e being expired ,he returned to Europe . It is h ighly to his honour
,that though
h e entered into such execrabl e society as the troops in thecompany
’ s service m ust be supposed to be,and at such an early
age,he passed through them without being affe cted by th e con
tagion of their m anners or th eir principles. He even found m ean s,
in that degraded situation and rem ote spot,to cu ltivate h is m ind
to a certain degree,so that I was m uch surprised
,at our m eeting
in London,afte r a separation of
,I bel ieve
,eigh t years
,to find him
w ith the m anners of a gentl em an,and a considerabl e acquaintance
with the best parts of English l iterature : he had a natural turnfor poetry
,which h e had m uch improved
,and I have among my
papers a volum e of his poem s,al l of them pretty
,and som e of
them el egant . H e was a handsom e,wel l-m ade lad
,with a very
good address,and extrem ely wel l received among the wom en
,
whom he loved to excess. He was as brave as Caesar,and loved
th e army . I t was impossible for two m en to entertain a m oresin ce re
,and , I m ay say, enthusiastic affection for each other, than
h e and I; and,at this hour
,there is scarcely anyth ing . on earth I
regret so m uch as our separation . H aving remained in Europefo r th ree or fou r years
,my father being, as I have above alluded
to, u tterly ruined by a law-su it with his brother,William took the
resolution to try his fortun e once m ore in India,from which
,my
own affairs being n early desperate, I d id not attempt to dissuadehim . In consequence
,he re - entered the com pany ’s service in th e
beginning of the year 1 792, and arrived at Madras towards th eend of the sam e year. With an advantageous figure
, a goodaddress
,and the talents I have d escribed
,he recomm ended him self
so far to the colonel of th e battal ion in which he served,that h e
gave him his d ischarge,with letters to h is friends at Calcutta
,an d
a smal l m i litary comm and,which d efrayed the expense of his
voyage,and procured him a gratification from th e com pany of
£ 5 0 sterl ing for h is good behaviour on his arrival . The serviceh e perform ed was quelling
,at som e hazard
,a dangerous m utiny
which arose among the black troops whowere under his command,
1 6 L IF E O F
of him ; he has a good constitution,unshaken courage, a fluen t
address ; and his variety of adventu res m ust, by this tim e , havesu fficiently matured his m ind
,and given him experien ce . I l ook ,
therefore,with confidence to ou r m eeting again
,and -th e hour of
that m eeting wi l l be one Of th e happiest of m y l ife .My second brother
,Matthew
,was Of a temper very differen t
from that of William ; w ith less of fi re,he was m uch m ore solid ;
he spoke l ittle,but thought a great d eal ; in th e fam i ly we called
him th e Spectator, from his short face and h is silen ce ; but, thoughh e had not William ’ s volubility
,and could not
,l ike him
,m ake a great
d isplay,w ith frequently l ittle substance
,and though h is m anner
was reserved and ph legm atic,so as to be frequ ently absen t in
company, he had a rambling, enthusiastic spirit, stronger than anyof us. H e loved travel ling and adventures for their own sakes.In consequ ence
,before h e was twen ty-five
,he had visited England
twice or three tim es,and had spent twelve m onth s in Am erica,
and as much in the West Indies . O n his re turn from th is lastplace
,he m entioned to m e h is determ ination to pass over to France,
and enter a volunteer in the service Of the republ ic, in which Iencouraged and assisted him . This was in th e m onth Of August,1 794. In consequence
,h e crossed over to Ham burgh
,when ce he
passed to Dunkirk,and presen ting him sel f as an Irishm an de sirous
of th e honour Of serving in the French arm ies,was immediately
thrown into prison on suspicion . There h e rem ained until May,1 795 , when he was discharged by order O f th e comm ittee Of publ icsafety
,and
,going on to H avre de Grace
,he took h is passage to
Am erica, where he arrived in safety, for th e second tim e, aboutChristmas
,at which tim e I was actual ly at New Yerk , waiting
for my passage to France, so that we were together in America ,without knowing Of each oth e r a circum stance wh ich I regret m ostexceedingly ; as, in the present situation of my affairs
,it i s at least
possibl e that we may n ever m eet again ; but I am not of a verydesponding temper . The variety of adventures we have both gonethrough , and the escapes we have had in circum stan ces O f greatperil
,have m ade m e a kind of fatal ist
,and therefore I look wi th
confidence to th e day,and
,I hope not a very rem ote one
,when
th e whole of my fam ily shal l be reunited and happy, by wh icht ime I think the spiri t Of adventure will
,or at l east ough t to be
,
pretty wel l laid in al l of us. My brother Matthew,l ike IVil liam ,
i ssom ething Of a . poet
,and has written som e trifies
,in th e burlesque
style, that are not il l done . He is a brave lad,and I love him
m ost sincerely . H is age,at the tim e I write this
,i s abou t twenty
six or twenty- seven years . Matthew is a sincere and ardentrepubl ican, and capabl e, as I think, O f sacrificing every thing to
T HEOBALD W OL F E T ONE. 1 7
his principles. I know not what effect h is ly ing so long in a.French prison may have had upon him ; but, if I do not d ece ivemyself
,it has m ade no change in h is sentim ents . He is m ore
temperate in al l respects than William or myself, for we have botha strong attachm en t to pleasures and amusem en ts, and a dash ofcoxcombry
,from which he is totally free ; and , perhaps , a. l ittle, at
l east,of the latter foibl e would be of no prej udice to him
,nor
render him l ess agreeabl e .My third brother
,Arthur
,i s m uch younger than any of us,
being born abou t th e year 1 782 ; of course he is now fou rteenyears of age . If I can j udge
,when h e grows up , he wi l l
resemble Will iam exactly in m ind and person . He is a fine,smart
boy,as idle as possible (which we have all been , w ithou t exception) ,
w ith very quick parts,and as stout as a l ion . My father was ben t
on m aking him an attorney,for which no boy on earth was ever
so unfitted . H e wi shed h im self,having th e true vagrant turn of
the fam ily,to go to sea ; his father was obstinate, so was he, and
the boy was in a fair way to be lost when I prevailed , with som edifficu lty
,on his father to consent to h is going at least on e voyage .
In consequence,he sail ed with a captain M eyl er to Portugal , being
then abou t twelve years Of age . O n his return h e l iked the sea sowel l that he was bound regularly apprentice to captain M eyl e r,under whom h e m ade a voyage to London, and a second voyage toPortugal . O n his return from th is last trip
,in Jun e
,1 795 , h e
found m e at Belfast on my departure for Am erica, and he determ in ed to accompany m e . I was extrem e ly happy to have himwith us
,and
,in consequence
,he crossed the Atlanti c wi th m e
,and
remained until I decided on. com ing to France ; when I resolvedto despatch him to Ireland
,to give notice to my friends there of
what I was about . I put him,in consequence
,on board the
Susannah,Captain Baird
,at Philadelphia
,on th e 1 0 th D ecember
,
1 795,since wh ich tim e
,from circum stances
,it has been impossibl e
for m e to have heard of him,but I rely
,with confidence
,that he
has arrived safe,and discharged his comm ission with ability and
discre tion .
My sister,whose nam e is Mary
,i s a fine young woman ; she has
al l the pecu liarity O f our d isposition,w ith al l the d e l icacy O f her
own sex . If she were a m an,sh e would be exactly l ike one of us ;
and,as it is
,being brought up am ongst boys, for we never had
but on e m ore sister,who died a ch ild : she has contracted a.
mascul ine habit of th inking,without
,however
,i n any degree
,
de rogating from that fem in ine softness of m anner which is suitedto her sex and age . When I was driven into exile in Am erica
,as
I shal l relate hereafter, she determ ined to share my fortunes; and,
1 8 L I FE or
i n consequence,sh e also
,l ike th e rest Of us
,has made her voyage
across the Atlantic .My father and m other were pretty m u ch like oth er people ; _but,
from th is short sketch,w ith what I have to add concerning m yself
,
I think it wil l appear that th eir chi ldren were not at al l l ike otherpeople
,but have had
,every one of them
,a wi ld spirit of adventure ;
which,th ough som etim es found in an individual
,rarely pervades
a whole fam ily,in cluding even th e fem ales . For my brother
W illiam has visited Europe,Asia, and Africa, before he was thirty
years of age . M atthew has been in Am erica twice,in th e West
Indies on ce,not to m ention several trips to England
,and h is
voyage and imprisonm en t in France,and al l this before he was
twenty- seven . Arthur,at the age Of fou rteen , has been once in
England,twice in Portugal
,and has twice crossed the Atlant ic
,
going to and returning from Am erica. My sister Mary crossedthe sam e ocean
,and I hope w il l soon do the sam e on her return .
I do not here speak of my wife and our l ittl e boys and girl , th eeldest of whom was about eigh t
,and the youngest two ye ars Old
when we sai led for Am erica . And,by all I can see
,i t i s by no
m eans certain that ou r voyages are ye t entirely finished .
I com e now to myself. I was,as I have said
,th e eldest ch ild
Of my parents, and a very great favourite . I was sent,at the age
of eigh t or nine , to an excellen t English school , kept by SissonDarling . a m an to whose kindness and affection I was m uchindebted
,and who took m ore than comm on pains with m e . I
respect him yet . I was very idle,and it was only the fear of
sham e which cou ld induce m e to exertion . Nevertheless,at the
approach Of our publ ic exam inations,which were h e ld quarterly
,
and at which al l our parents and friends attended,I used to l abou r
for som e tim e,and general ly w ith success ; as I have Obtained six
or seven prem ium s in different branches at one exam ination,fo r
m athematics,arithm etic
,reading
,spel ling
,recitation
,use of th e
globes, &c . In two branches I always failed
,writing and the
catechism,to which last I could never bring myself to apply .
Having continued w ith Mr Darl ing for about three years,and
pretty n early exhausted the circl e of English education,h e
recomm ended strongly to my father to pu t m e to a Latinschool
,and to prepare m e fo r the University ; assuring him
that I was a fine b oy, of u ncomm on talents,particularly
for the m athem atics ; that i t was a thousand pities to th row m e
away on a business,when
,by giving m e a liberal edu cation
,there
was a m oral certainty I shou ld becom e a fellow of Trinity College,wh ich was a. noble independen c e
,b eside s th e glory of the situation.
In these arguments he was supported by the parson O f the parish,
TH EOBAL D W OL F E T ONE. 1 9
Doctor Jameson , a worthy m an,who used to exam in e m e from
tim e to tim e in th e elem ents of Euclid . My father,who to do
him j ustice,l oved m e passionate ly
,and spared no expense on m e
that his circum stances would afford,was easily persuaded by these
au thorit ies . It was determ in ed that I should be a fel low O f
Dublin College . I was taken from Mr Darling, from whom Iparted with regret
,and placed
,about the age of twelve
,under the
care of the Rev . William Craig,a m an very different
,in al l respects
,
from my late preceptor. As th e school was in th e sam e streetwhere we l ived (Stafford Street) , and as I was under my fath er
’ seye
,I began Latin w ith ardour
,and continued for a year or two
with great diligence, when I began Greek , which I found stil l m oreto my taste ; but, about th is t im e, whether unluckily for m e or
not,th e future colour O f my l ife m ust determ ine, my fathe r,
m eeting with an accident O f a fal l down stairs,by which h e was
dreadfully wounded in th e head,so that h e n arrowly escaped w ith
l ife,found
,on his recovery
,h is affairs so deranged in al l respects
,
that he determ ined on quitting business and retiring to th ecoun try ; a resolution which he executed accordingly ; se ttling w ithal l h is creditors
,and placing m e with a friend near th e school
,
whom he paid for my diet and lodging, besides al lowing m e atrifl ing sum for m y pocket. I n th is manner I becam e
,I m ay say,
my own master before I was sixteen ; and as at th is tim e I am notrem arkabl e for my d iscretion , it may wel l be j udged I was l ess sothen . The superintendence Of my father being rem oved , I beganto calcu late that
,according to th e slow rate chalked out for m e by
Craig I could very wel l do the business of th e week in three days,
or even two, if necessary, and that consequently th e other th reewere lawful prize. I therefore resolved to appropriate three daysin the week , at least, to my amusem ents, and the others to sch ool ;always keeping in the latte r three the day of repetition
,which
included the business of th e whol e week,by wh ich arrangem ent I
kept my rank w ith th e other boys Of my class. I found no
difficulty in convincing hal f- a- dozen O f my school - fellows Of th ej ustice O f this distribution O f ou r tim e
,and by th is m eans we
establ ish ed a regular system O f what is cal led m ite/ring; and we
contrived,being som e of th e smartest boys at school
,to get an
ascendancy over the spirit O f th e m aster,so that when we entered
th e school in a body,after on e of our days of relaxation
,he did
not choose to burn his fingers with any one of us nor did h e oncewrite to my father to inform him O f my proceedings, for which h em ost certainly was highly culpable . I m ust do myse l f and myschool s fellows th e j ustice to say
,that though we were abom inably
idle,we were not vicious; our amusements consisted in walking
20 L IF E O F
to the country,in swimm ing parties in the sea
,and particu larl y
in attending al l parades,field days
,and reviews of th e garrison of
D ublin in the Phoenix Park . I m ention th is particularly,becau se
,
independent of confirm ing m e in a rooted habit Of idleness,which
I l am ent m ost exceedingly , I trace to the splendid appearance of
the troops,and th e pomp and parade of m i l itary show
,the
untam eable d esire wh ich I ever since have had to becom e a soldier;a desire wh ich has never once quitted m e
,and wh ich after sixteen
years of various adventures,I am at last at l iberty to indul ge.
B e ing at th is tim e approaching to seventeen years of age , i t wil lnot be thought incredible that woman began to appear lovely inmy eyes, and I very wisely thought that a red coat and cockade ,with a pair of gold epaulets, would aid m e considerably in myapproaches to the Obj ects of my adoration .
This,combin ed with the reasons above m entioned, decided me .
I began to look on classical learning as nonsense,on a fel lowship
in Dublin Col lege as a pitifu l estab l ishm ent ; and , in short, Ithought an ensign in a m arching regim ent was th e happiest creaturel iving . The hour when I was to enter the University
,which now
approached , I looked forward to with horror and disgust . Iabsented myself m ore and m ore from school
,to which I preferred
attending the recruits on a dril l at the barracks. So that at lengthmy schoolm aster, who apprehended I should be found insufficientat the exam ination for entering the college
,and that h e
,of con
sequence,would com e in for his share of th e disgrace
,thought
proper to do what he should have don e at least three years before,
and wrote my father a ful l account O f my proceedings . Thisimm ediately produced a violent dispute between us. I declaredmy passion for the army, and m y utter dislike to a learnedprofession ; but my father was as obstinate as I ; and as h e u tterlyrefused to give m e any assistance to forward my schem e, I had no
resource bu t to subm it,or to fol low my broth er Will iam
’s example,
which I was too proud to do . In consequence,I sat down again
,
wi th a very bad grace, to pul l up my lost tim e ; and , at length,afte r labouring for som e time
,sorely against the grain
,I entered a
pensioner of Trinity College,in February
,1 78 1 ; being then not
quite eighteen years of age . My tutor was the Rev . MatthewYoung
,the m ost popular in th e University, and one of the first
m athem aticians in Europe . At first I began to study logiccourageously ; but unluckily, at my very first exam ination
,I
happened to fal l into the hands of an egregious dunce,one
Ledwich,who, instead of giving m e th e prem ium
,which
,as best
answe rer,I undoubted ly m erited
,awarded it to another
,and to
m e very indiffe rent j udgments . I did not stand in need of this
T HEOBALD W OL FE T ONE. 2 1
piece of inj ustice to alienate m e once more from my studies . Ireturned with eagern ess to my m il itary plan ; I besought my fatherto equip m e as a volunteer
,and to suffe r m e to j oin the British
army in America, where the war stil l raged . H e refused m e asbe fore ; and in revenge I would n ot go near the lege
,nor Open
a book that was not a m il itary one . I n th is m anner we continuedfor above a twelvem onth
,on very bad term s
,as may wel l be
supposed,without either party relaxing an inch from their
determ ination . At l ength,seeing the war in Am erica drawing to
a close,and being beset by som e of my friends who surrounded m e
,
particularly D r Jam eson,whom I have al ready m entioned
,and a
M r G . J . Brown,who had been sub-master at Mr D arl ing ’s
academy,and was now becom e a l awyer
,I subm itted a second
t im e,and returned to my studies, after an interval of above a
year. To punish m e for my obstinacy, I was obliged to subm it todrop a class
,as it i s called in the University
,that is
,to recom
m ence with the students who had entered a year after m e . Icontinued my studies at college as I had done at school ; that is,I idled until th e last mom ent of delay . I then laboured hard forabout a fortnight before the public exam inations
,and I always
secured good j udgm ents,besides obtain ing thre e prem iums in the
three last years of my course . During my progress th rough th eUn iversity I was not without adventures . Towards the latter endof 1 782, I went ou t as second to a young fel low of my acquaintance, of th e nam e of Foster, who fought with another lad ,
also ofmy acquaintance, nam ed Anderson , and had the m isfortune toshoot him through th e head . The second to Anderson was
William Arm strong, my m ost particular friend , who i s now a veryrespectable clergym an
,and settled at Dungannon . AsAnderson
’ sfriends were outrageous against Foster and rr e
,we were obliged
at first to withdraw ourselves ; but after som e tim e their passionabated
,and I returned to col lege
,whence th is adventure was near
d riving m e a second tim e and fo r ever. Foster stood h is trialand was acquitted ; against m e th ere was no prosecution . In thisunfortunate business the eldest of us was not more than twentyyears of age .At l ength , about the beginning of th e year 1 785 , I becam e
acquainted with my w ife . She was the daughter of Will iamW i therington
,and l ived
,at that tim e
,in Grafton Street
,in the
house of her grandfather,a rich ol d clergyman
,of the name of
Fanning . I was then a scholar of the house in the University,
and every day,after comm ons
,I used to walk under her windows
w ith one or the other of my fellow- students ; I soon grew passionately fond of her, and she
,also was struck with me
,though
22 L IF E or
certainly my appearan ce, n e ith er t uen nor now,was much in my
favour ; so it was,however
,that
,before we had ever spoken to
each othe r,a m utual affection had comm enced between us . She
was,at this time
,not sixteen years of age
,and as beautiful as an
angel . She had a brother som e years older than herself ; and as
it was necessary, for my adm ission into the fam ily , that I shouldbe fi rst acquainted w ith him , I soon contrived to be introduced tohim ; and as h e played wel l on the v iol in
,and I was myself a
m usical man,we grew in timate
,th e m ore so
,as it m ay wel l b e
supposed,I neglected no fair m eans to recomm end myself to him
and th e rest of the fam ily,with whom I soon grew a favourite .
My affairs n ew advanced prosperously; my w ife and I grew m orepassionately fond of each other ; and
,in a short tim e
,I proposed
to h er to m arry m e,w ithout asking consent of any one
,knowing
wel l i t would be in vain to expect it ; sh e accepted th e proposalas frank ly as I m ade it
,and one beautiful m orning in the m onth
of July,we ran off together and were m arried . I carried h er out
of town to Maynooth for a few d ays,and when the first ec lat of
passion had subsided,we were forgiven on al l sides
,and settled
in lodgings near my w ife’s grandfather.
I was now,for a very short tim e
,as happy as possibl e
,in th e
possession of a beautifu l creature that I adored,and who every
hour grew m ore and m ore upon my heart . The schem e of a fellowship , which I never rel ished , was now abandoned, and it wasd eterm ined that
,when I had taken my degree of bachelor of arts,
I should go to the Temple,study the law
,and be cal led to th e
bar . I continued,in consequence
,my studies in the University,
and obtained my last prem ium two or three m onth s . after I wasm arried . In February
,1 786
,I comme nced bachelo r of arts
,and
shortly after resign ed my scholarship, and quitted the University.
I m ay observe here, that I m ade som e figure as a scholar, andshould have been m uch more successful if I had not been so inv e te rate ly idle, partly owing to my passion for a m il itary life, andpartly to the distractions to which my natu ral dispositions and
temperam en t but too m uch exposed m e . As i t was,however
,I
obtained a scholarship,three prem ium s
,and three m edal s from th e
H istorical Society,a m ost adm irable institution
,of which I had
the honour to be auditor ; and also to close th e session with aspeech from the chair
,the highest complim en t which that socie ty
is used to bestow. I look back on my coll ege days w i th regret,and I preserve
,and ever shall
,a m ost sincere affection for the
Un iversity of D ubl in .
But to return . Th e tranquil and happy life I spent,for a short
eriod after my marriage, was too good to last. We were obl iged
24 L IFE O F
had the c ourage to return alone,and
,in the dark
,to find me out
n ot knowing but she m ight again fal l into the hands of the villains,
from whom sh e had scarcely escaped, or that I m igh t be lying a
l ifeless carcase at the threshold . I can imagine n o greater effortof courage ; but of what is not a wom an capable for him she tru lyloves ? She cut th e cords which bound m e ; and at length wej oined th e rest of the fam i ly at a l ittle ham l et with in half a m i leof th e house
,where they had fled for shelter . O f al l th e adven
tu res wherein I have be en hitherto engaged,th is
,undoubtedly
,
was th e most horrible . It m akes m e shudder even now to thinkof it. It was som e consolation that n one of us sustained anypersonal inj ury
,except my father, whom on e Of th e villains scarred
on the side of the head with a knife : th ey respected the wom en,whose danger m ade my only fear ; and on e of them had even thehuman ity to carry ou r l ittle daughter from her cradle where sh el ay scream ing, and to place her beside my wife on th e b ed , whereonsh e was tied with my m oth er and sister. This terribl e scene
,
besides infinitely distressing us by the h eavy l ess we sustained ,and which my father
’s ci rcum stances could very i l l bear,destroyed
,
in a great degree our dom estic enj oym ents . I slept continuallyw ith a case of pistols at my pillow,
and a m ouse could not sti r,that I was not on my feet and through the house from top tobottom . If any on e knocked at th e door after n ightfal l
,we flew
to our arm s,and in th is m anner we kept a
“
m ost painful garrisonthrough the winter . I should observe here
,that two of th e ruffian s
being taken in an unsuccessful attempt,within a few days after
our robbery,were hanged
,and that my father
’ s watch was foundon one of them .
At length,when our affairs were again reduced into som e l ittl e
order,m y father supplied m e w i th a sm al l sum of m oney
,wh ich
was,however
,as m uch as h e could spare
,and I set off for London
,
l eav ing my wife and daughter w ith my father, who treated them ,
during my absen ce , with great affection . After a dangerouspassage to Liverpool
,wherein we ran som e risk of being lost
,I
arrived in London,in January
,1 787
,and imm ediate ly entered my
n am e as a student -at- law on the books of the Middle Tem ple ; butthis I may say was al l th e progress I ever m ade in that profession .
I had no great affection for study in general,but that of th e l aw
I particularly disliked ; and to th is hour I think it an il liberalprofession
,both in principles and practice . I was
,l ikewise
,
am enabl e to nobody for my conduct ; and , in consequence, afterth e first m onth I never opened a law book
,nor was I ever three
tim es in IVestm inste r H al l in my l ife . In addition to th e reasonsI have m entioned
,the extreme uncertainty O f my circum stan ces,
T HEOBALD W OL F E T ONE. 25
which kept m e in m uch uneasiness O f m ind , d isabl ed m e total lyfor that cool and systematic habit of study wh ich is indispensablefor attain ing a knowl edge O f a science so abstruse and d iffi cul t asthat of the Engl ish code . H owever , on e way or another
,I
contrived to m ake it out. I had chambers in th e Tem ple (NO . 4
B are Court,on the first floor) , and whatever d ifficulties I had
otherwise to struggle w ith , I contrived always to preserve theappearance Of a gentlem an , and to m aintain my rank w ith myfellow- students
,if I can cal l myself a student . O ne resource I
derived from th e exercise of my talents , such as they were . Iwrote several articles for th e European M agazine , m ostly criticalrev iews of n ew
“publications . My reviews w ere bu t poor per
forman ces enough ; however, th ey were in general as good as thoseof my brother critics ; and in two years I received
,I suppose
,
about £5 0 sterling for my writings, which was my m ain Obj ect ;for
,as to l iterary fame , I had no great ambition to attain it . I
l ikewise,in conj unction with two of my friends, n am ed Jebb and
Radcliff,wrote a burlesqu e novel
,which we cal led“Belmon t
Castle,and was intended to ridicul e th e execrable trash O f th e
circulating libraries . It was tolerably wel l done,particularly
Radcliff’s part
,which was by far the best ; yet so i t was that we
could not find a bookseller who would risk the printing it,though
we Offered the copyright gratis to several . It was afterwardsprinted in Dublin
,and had som e success
,though I believe
,after
all,i t was m ost relished by the authors, and their imm ediate
connections .At the Temple I becam e intimate with several young m en of
situation and respectability,particu larly with the H on . George
Knox,son of Lord North land
,with whom I form ed a friendsh ip
O f wh ich I am as proud as O f any circum stance in my l ife . H e i sa man of inappreciable m erit
,and loved to a degree enthusiasm
by all who have the happiness to know him . I scarcely knowany person W hose esteem and approbation I covet so m uch ; an dI had
,long after the comm e ncem ent of our acquaintance
,when I
was in circum stances Of peculiar and trying difficulty, and desertedby m any Of my form er friends, th e unspeakable consolation and
support Of finding George Knox stil l th e sam e,and O f prese rvim
r
h is“esteem unabated . H is steady friendship on that Occasion I
shal l m ention in its place ; i t has m ade an indelible impression O f
gratitude and affection on my heart . I likewise renewed an O l d
college acquaintan ce with John H all, who, by d ifferen t acce ssionsto h is fortune
,was now at the
'
head of about sterl inga-year . H e had changed his nam e twice
,for two estates first to
that of Stevenson, and then to Wharton,which is h is present
26 L IFE O F
nam e . H e was th en a. m ember of the British Parl iam ent,and to
h is friendship I was indebted for the sum of £ 1 5 0 sterling, at atim e when I was unde r great pecun iary difficul tie s . Another Oldcollege friend I recal l w ith sen tim ents of sincere affection
,Benj am in
Phipps,of Cork. H e kept a kind of bach elor’ s house
,w ith good
win e, and an excel lent coll e ction of books (not law books) al l
which were as m uch at my command as at his . With som eOddities
,which to m e only rendered him m ore am using , he had a
great fund of inform ation,particularly of pol itical detail ; and in
his company I spent som e of the pleasantest hours wh ich I passedin London .
At length,after I had been
.
at the Tem ple som ething betterthan a year
,my broth er Will iam ,
who was returned a few m onthsbefore from his fi rst expedition to St H elena, j oined m e
,and we
l ived together in the greatest am ity and affection for about ninem onths . being the rem ainder of my stay in London . At thisd istance of tim e
,now eight years
,I feel my heart swel l at th e
recollection of the happy hours we spent together . We were oftenw ithout a guinea
,but that never affected our spirits for a m om ent;
and if ever I felt myself oppressed by som e u ntoward circum stanceI had a never- fai l ing resource and consolation in his friendship
,
h is courage,and the inv incibl e gaiety of his d isposition
,which
nothing could ruffl e . With th e com panionable qualit ie s hepossessed
,it i s no wonder that he recomm ended him self to Ben .
Phipps,so that he was soon
,I bel ieve
,a greater favourite with
him than even I was. They were inseparable . It fi ll s m y m in dnow with a kind Of tender m elancholy
,which is n ot unpleasing
,
to recall the many d el ightful days we three have spent together,
and the walks we have taken,som etim es to a review ; som e tim es
to see a ship Of war launched ; som etim es to v isi t th e Indiam en atD eptford
,a favourite expedition with Ph ipps. William
,besides his
natural gaiety, had an inexhaustibl e fund Of pure Irish hum our ; Iwas pretty wel l myself
,and Phipps
,l ike the landlord of the
He rcul es Pillars,was an exce l l ent third man . In shor t
,we m ade
i t out together adm irably. As I foresaw by this tim e that Ishould n ever be Lord Chancel lo r
,and as my m ind was natural ly
act ive,a schem e occurred to m e
,to the m aturing of which I
devoted som e tim e and study . This was a proposal to them in ister to establish a colony in one of Cook ’ s newly discoveredis lands in th e South Sea on a m il itary plan , for al l my ideas ranin that track
,in order to put a bridle on Spain in tim e of peace
,
and to annoy her grievously in that quarter in tim e of war . Inarranging this system
,which I th ink even now was a good one
for England, I read e very book I cou ld find relating to South
T HEOBAL D W OL F E T ONE. 27
America, as Ulloa,Anson , Dampierre,W oodes,Rogers
,Narborough ,
and especial ly the buccan iers, who were my heroes, and whom Iproposed to myself as the archetypes of th e future colonists .Many and m any a delightful evening did my brother, Phipps, an dI spend in read ing
,writing
,and talking of my proj ect, in which ,
if it had been adopted,i t was our firm re sol ution to have embarked .
At length , when we had reduced it into a regular shape , I drewu p a m em orial on the subj ect, wh ich I addressed to Mr Pitt, anddelivered with my own hands to th e porter in Downing Street .We waited , I wil l not say patiently, for about ten days, when I addressed a l etter to the m inister
,m entioning my m em orial
,and
praying an answer,but this appl ication was as unsuccessful as th e
form er . Mr Pitt took not the smallest notice of either m em orialor l etter ; and al l th e benefit we reaped from ou r schem e was th eamusem ent it afforded us during three m onths
,wherein it was
th e subj ect of our constant specu lation . I regret these delightfulreve ries which then occupied my m ind . It was my first essay inwhat I may cal l pol itics, and my disappointm ent m ade such animpression on m e as is not yet quite obliterated . In my anger Im ade som eth ing l ike a vow,
that,if ever I had an opportunity , I
would m ake Mr Pitt sorry,and perhaps fortune may yet enabl e
m e to fulfi l that resolution . It was about this tim e I had a veryfortunate escape : my affairs were exceedingly embarrassed, andj ust at a m om en t when my m ind washarassed and sore w ith my ownvexations
,I received a letter from my father, fi l led with complaints
,
and a description of th e ruin of his circum stances,which I after
wards found was m uch exaggerated . In a transport of rage Id eterm ined to enlist as a soldie r in the India Company’ s service ;to quit Europe for ever
,and to l eave m y w ife and child to the
m ercy of her fam i ly, who m ight,I hoped , be kinder to her when
I was rem oved . My brother combated th is desperate resolutionby every argum ent in h is power ; b ut at length , when he saw m e
determ ined,he declared I shou ld not go alone
,and that h e would
share my fate to the last extrem ity. In this g loomy state of m ind ,deserted as we thought by gods and m en
,we set out together for
the India H ouse,in L ead e nhal l Street
,to offer ourselves as
volunteers ; but on our arriva l there, we were inform ed that th eseason was passed
,that no m ore sh ips would be sent out that
year; but that, if we returned about the m onth of March following,w e m igh t be received . The clerk to whom we addressed ourselvesseem ed not a l ittle surprised at two young fel lows of our appearance pre senting ourselve s on such a business
,for we were
extrem ely wel l dressed; and Will iam ,who was spokesman for us
both,had an excel lent address. Thus were we stopped, and I
28 L IFE or
believe we were the singl e instance,sin ce the beginning of the
world,of two m e n
,absolutely bent on ruining them selves
,who
c ould not find the m eans . We return ed to m y chambers, and,desperate as were our fortunes
,we cou ld not he 1p laughing at the
circumstance that Ind ia,th e great gu l f of al l undon e
O
l i e ings,shou ld be shut against us alone . H ad i t be en th e m onth of Marchinstead of September
,we should infal l ibly have gone off ; and
,in
that case,I shou ld m ost probably
,at this h our
,be carrying a
brown m usket on th e coast of Corom andel . Provid ence,however
,
d ecreed it otherwise,and reserved me
,as I hope
,for better things .
I had been now two years at th e Tem ple,and h ad kept eight
term s,that is to say
,I had dined three days in each term in th e
comm on hall . As to l aw,I knew exactly as m uch about i t as I
did of necrom ancy . It becam e,however
,n ecessary to th ink of
my return , and,in consequence
,I m ade appl ication
,through a
friend,to my wife
’s grandfather,to learn his inten tions as to her
fortune . He exerted him self so effectually in our behal f that theol d gentlem an consented to give £5 00 imm ediately, and expresseda wish for my imm ediate return . In consequence
,I packed up
d irectly,and set off
,with my brother, for Ireland. We landed at
Dublin th e 23d D ecember, and on Christm as day, 1 788, arrivedat my father
’
s h ouse at Blackball,where I had th e satisfaction to
find al l my fam ily in health , except my wife,who was grown
d elicate,principal ly from the anxiety of her m ind on the uncertainty
of her situation . O ur l ittl e girl was now between two and threeyears old
,and was charm ing. After rem aining a few days at
Blackhal l,we cam e up to Dubl in
,and were received
,as at first
,in
Grafton Street, by my w ife ’3 fam ily . Mr Fann ing paid m e
punctual ly the sum h e had prom ised ; and my wife and I bothflattered ourselves that al l past an im osities were forgotten
,and
that the recon ciliation was as sincere on the ir parts as it m ostassured ly was on ours . I now took lodgings l n Clarendon Street,purchased about £ 1 00 worth of l aw books
,and determ ined
, iriearnest
,to begin and study th e profession to which I was doom ed.
In pursuance of th is resolution,I commenced bach elor of laws in
February,1 789, and was cal led to the bar in due form in Trinity
term fol lowing ; shortly after wh ich I went my first (th e Leinster)circui t
,having been prev iously e lected a m ember of the Bar Club .
O n th is c ircu it, notwithstanding my ignoran ce, I pretty nearlycleared my expenses ; and I cannot doubt, if I had continued toapply sedulou sly to the l aw
,but I m ight have risen to som e
em inen ce : but,whether it was my incorrigible habits of idleness,
th e sincere disl ike I had to the profession,which the l ittle insight I
was beginning to get into it did not tend to remove,or whether it
T HEOBALD W OL FE T ONE.
was a controll ing destiny, I know not; but so i t was,that I soon
got sick and weary of the l aw. I continued,however
,for form
’
ssake
,to go to the courts
,and wear a fool ish wig and gown , for a
considerable tim e ; and I wen t the ci rcuit, I bel ieve , in al l, th ree
tim es ; but as I was, m odestly speaking, one of the m ost ignoran tbar risters in the four courts
,and as I took littl e
,o r rather n o pains
to con ceal my contempt and disl ike of th e profession , andespecially as I had neither the m eans n or th e incl ination to tre atm essieurs the att orneys
,and to m ake them drink (a sacrifice o f
thei r respectabil ity which even the m ost l ibe ral m ind e d of the
profession are obliged to m ake ) , I m ade, as may wel l be supposed ,no great exh ibition at the Irish bar .I had not b e en long a counsellor
,when th e coup d e g race was
given to my father’s affairs by a decree in Chancery
,wh ich total ly
ru ined him ; th is was in a lawsu it between him and h is brother,who was l ieutenant of grenadiers in the 22d regim ent. Duringthe whole of th is busin ess I obstinately refused to take any p 1 rt
,
not thinking i t decent to interfere where th e parties were both son early allied to m e . W hen
,however
,my father was to tal ly
ruined,I thought i t my duty, as i t was m ost certainly my incl ina
tion,to assist him
,even to distressing mysel f
,a sacrifice which the
great pains and expense he h ad bestowed on my education wel lm e rited . I
,in consequence
,strained every nerve to preserve a
rem nant of h is property ; b ut his affairs were too desperate, and Iwas myself too poor to rel ieve him effectually ; so that after on eor two ineffectual efforts
,by which I lost considerably with
reference to my m eans, without essentially serving him ,we were
obl iged to subm i t ; and the last of h is property, consisting of twohouses
,on e in Stafford Street, and one on Summ er H ill , were sold
m uch under their value,to m en who took advantage of our n e ces
sities,as i s always th e case . Soon after he had the good fortune
to obtain a place under the Paving Board,which he yet retains
,
and which secures him a decent, th ough moderate independence .As the law grew every day m ore and m ore disgustful
,to which
my want of success contributed ; though in that respect I neverhad th e injustic to accuse the world of insensibility to my m erit,as I wel l knew th e faul t was my own ; but being, as I said , m oreand m ore weary of a profession for which my temper and habitsso utterly disqualified m e
,I turned my attention to pol itics, and ,
as one or two of my friends had written pamphlets w ith success, Ideterm in ed to try my hand on a pamphlet. Just at this periodthe Whig Club was instituted in Ireland
,and th e press groaned
with publications against them on th e part of governm ent. T wo
or three defe nces had l ikewise appeared , bu t none of them extra
30 L IFE or
ordinary. Under th ese circum stances,though I was very far from
entirely approv ing the system of the Whig Club,and mu ch l es s
the ir principl es and m otives,yet
,seeing th em at the tim e the best
constituted political body which th e country afforded,and agreeing
w ith m ost of their positions , though my own private Opin ions wen tinfinitely farther, I thought I could venture on their d efencewithou t v iolating my own consisten cy . I therefore sat down
,and
in a few days finished my first pamphlet,which I entitled“A Review of the last Session of Parliamen t !
” To speakcandidly of th is performance
,i t was barely above m ediocrity,
i f it rose so high ; n everth eless, as i t was written evidentlyon honest principles
,and did not censu re or flatter one
party or the other,w ithout assign ing suffi cien t reason
,i t had a.
certain degree of su ccess. The Northern Whig Club reprintedand d istributed a large impression at th eir own expense, w ith an
introduction h ighly complim entary to the author,whom
,at that
tim e,they d id not even know ; and a very short tim e after, when
i t was known that the production was m in e, they did m e the
honour to elect m e a m ember of th eir body,which they notified to
m e by a very handsom e l etter,signed by their Secretary, H enry
Joy,Jun . of Belfast
,and to which I returned a suitabl e answer .
But th is was not all . The leaders of the Whig Club,conceiv ing
my tal ents, such as they we re, m ight be of service to their cause;and not expecting m uch intractab il ity from a young lawyer, whohad h is fortune to m ake
,sent a brother barrister to compl im ent
m e on my perform ance, and to thank m e for th e zeal and abil ityI had shown . I was
,in consequence
,in troduced to George
Ponsonby,a d istinguished m em ber Of the body
,and who m ight be
conside red as the leader Of the Irish Opposition ; with him ,how
ever,I never had any comm un ication further than ordinary civilities .
Shortly after,the barrister above-m entioned spoke to m e again ;
he told me th e Ponsonbyswere a m ost powerful fam i ly in Ireland ;that they were m uch pleased with my exertion , and wished
,in
consequence,to attach m e to them ; that I should be em ployed as
counsel on a petition then pending before the H ouse of Commons,wh ich would put a hundred guineas in my pocket, and that Ish ould have professional business put in my way, from tim e totim e
,that should produce m e at l east as m uch per annum ; he
added,that they were then
,i t was true
,out of place
,but that th ey
wou l d not be always so ; and that on their return to office, theirfriends
,when ou t of power
,would naturally be first considered ;
he l ikewise observed,that they bad influence
,direct or indirect
,
over no less than two and twenty seats in Parliam ent ; and he insinuate d pretty plainly , that when we were better acquainted it
32 L IF E or
to which I have sacrificed everything,and am ready to sacrifice
my life if n ecessary, I was exceedingly assisted by an ol d friend ofm ine
,Sir Lawrence Parsons, whom I look upon as one of th e very,
very few honest men in th e Irish House of Comm ons . It was hewho firs t turned my attention on this great question , but I verysoon ran far ahead of my m aster. It is
,in fact
,to him I am ln
d ebted for the first comprehensive V iew of the actual situation of
Ireland ; what his conduct m ight be in a crisis I know not,b ut
'
I
can answer for the tru th and j ustice of his theory. I now beganto look on th e l ittle pol itics of the W hig Club with great contempt ;their peddling about petty grievan ces
,instead of going to the root
of th e evil ; and I rej oiced that, i f I was poor, as I actually was,I had preserved my independence, and cou ld speak my sentimentswithout being responsible to any body but the law.
An occasion soon offered to give ven t to my n ewly receivedOpin ions . O n th e appearance of a rupture w ith Spain
,I wrote
a pamph let to prove that Ireland was not bound by the declarationof war ; but m igh t, and ought, as an independent nation , tos tipulate for a n eutrality. In exam ining this question
,I advanced
the question of separation,w ith scarcely any reserve
,m uch less
disgu ise ; but the public m ind was by no m eans so far advanced asI was, and my pamphlet m ade not the smallest impression . Theday after i t appeared , as I stood p er du e in th e booksel ler
’s shop,
l istening after my own reputation, Sir H enry Cavend ish
,a
notorious slave of the H ouse of Commons,entered
,and throwing
my unfortunate pamphlet on th e counter in a rage,exclaim ed“Mr Byrne
,if th e author of that work is serious
,he ought to be
hanged . Sir H enry was succeeded by a bishop‘,an Eng l ish
doctor of divinity,w ith five or s ix thousand a-year
,laboriously
earned in the church . His lordship ’s anger was not m uch lessthan that of the other personage . Sir
,
” said he,
“if th eprinciples contained in that abom inable work were to spread
,do
you know that you would have to pay for your coals at the rate offive pounds per ton "l Notwithstanding these criticism s
,which I
have faithfully quoted against m yself, I continue to think mypam ph let a good on e ; but apparent ly the publ isher, Mr Byrne,was of a different opinion , for I have every reason to bel ieve thath e suppressed the whole impression ,
“for which his own godsdamn him .
”
Shortly after th e premature end of my second pamphl et, whichI have recorded
,and wh ich did not
,however
,change my opinion
on i ts m erit, for“Victrix causa D lis p lacuit, sed vieta Catoni ,”we
cam e to an open rupture with my w ife’ s fam ily . It if not my in
tention to enter on this subj ect. O ne circumstance is sufficient to
T HEOBALD W O L F E T ONE. 33
prove that the breach was not of our seeking,viz .
, that we hadevery thing to lose and nothing to gain by a quarrel .About this tim e it was that I form ed an acquaintance with my
invaluable friend Russell, a circum stance which I look upon as oneof the m ost fortunate of my l ife . H e is a man whom I love as abrother. I wil l not here attempt a panegyric of his m erits ;i t is sufficien t to say
,that
,to an excellent understanding
,he j oins
the purest principles and the best of hearts. I wish I had abil ityto delineate his character w ith j ustice to h is talents and hisvirtues . H e wel l knows how m uch I esteem and love him
,and I
think there is no sacrifice that friendship could exact,that we
would not with cheerfulness m ake for each other, to the utmosthazard of l ife or fortune . There cannot be im agined a m oreperfect harmony
,I m ay say identity of sentim ent, than exists
between us ; our regard for each other has n ever suffered a m om ent’ s
relaxation from the hour of ou r first acquaintance,and I am sure
it will continue to the end of our l ives . I think th e better ofmyself for being the obj ect of the esteem of such a man as Russell.I love him and I honour him . I frame no system of happiness formy future l ife, in which the enj oym ent of his society does not
constitute a m ost distinguishing feature ; and, if I am everincl ined to m urm ur at th e difficulties wherewith I have so l ongstruggl ed
,I think on the inestimable treasure I possess in th e
affection of my w ife and the friendship of Russel l and Iacknowl edge that al l my labours and sufferings are overpaid. Imay truly say that even at this hour, when I am separated fromboth of them
,and uncertain whether I m ay ever be so happy as
to see them again,there is no action of my l ife which has not a.
rem ote reference to their opinions,which I equal ly prize . When
I think I have acted well, and that I am l ikely to succeed in th eimportant business wherein I am engaged
,I say often to myself
,
My dearest love and my friend Russel l w il l be glad of this .But to return to my history. My acquaintance with Russel l
commenced by an argum ent in th e gallery of the H ouse ofCommons . H e was at that tim e enamoured of the Whigs
,but I
knew these gentlem en a l ittl e better than he,and indeed he did
not long rem ain under the delusion . We were struck w ith eachother
,notwithstanding the d ifference of ou r opinions
,and we
agreed to dine together the next day,in order to discuss the
quest ion . We liked each other better the second day than thefirst
,and every day has increased and confirm ed ou r m utual
esteem .
My wife ’ s health continuing stil l de l i cate,sh e was ordered by
her physician to bathe in the salt water. I hired, in consequence,B
34 L IF E O F
a l ittl e box of a house on th e sea- side,at Irishtown
,where we
spent th e summ er of 1 790 . Russel l and I were in separable ; andas our d iscussions were m ostly pol itical
,and our sentim ents agreed
exactly,we extended our v iews
,and fortified each other in the
opin ions,to th e propagation and establishm ent of which we have
ever since been devoted . I recal l with tran sport th e happy dayswe spent together during that period ; the delicious dinners, in thepreparation of which my wife
,Russell
,and myself
,were al l
engaged . The afternoon walks,th e discussions we had as we lay
stretch ed on the grass . It was delightful Som etim es Russel l’
sv en egab l e father, a veteran of near seventy
,w ith the cou rage of a
h ero , th e seren ity of a philosopher, and the piety of a saint, usedto v isit our l ittl e m ansion
,and that day was a fete . My wife
doated on the ol d m an,and he loved her l ike on e of h is ch ildren .
I wi l l not attem pt,because I am unable
,to express th e veneration
and regard I had fe r him ; and I am sure, that next to his ownsons
,and scarcely below th em
,he loved and esteemed m e .
Russel l ’s brother , John , too, u sed to v isit us; a man of a mostwarm and affectionate heart
,and in contestib ly of the m ost com
panionab l e talents I ever m et . His hum our,which was pure and
n atural,
flowed in an inexhaustible stream . He had not th estrength of character of my friend T om ,
but for the charm s ofconversation h e excelled him and al l th e world . Som etim es too,m y brother Wil liam u sed to j oin u s for a week
,from th e county
K ildare,where he resided with my brother Matthew,
who had
l ately comm enced a cotton m anufactory at Prosperous in thatcounty. I have al ready m entioned the conviv ial talents hepossessed . In short
,when th e two Russells
,my brother, and
I,were assembled
,it i s impossible to conceive of a happier
society . I know not whether our wit was perfectly classica l ornot
,nor does it signify . If it was not sterl ing, at least it passed
curren t am ongst ourselves . If I may j udge, we were none of us
d estitute of the hum our indigenous in the soi l of Ireland ; forthree of us I can answer
,they possessed it in an em inent degree ;
add to this,I was the only one of the fou r who was not a poet
,or
at l east a m aker of verses : so that every day produced a ballad,
or som e poetical squib,which amu sed us after dinner; and as our
c onversation turned upon no ribaldry or indecency,my w ife and
sister n ever l eft th e table . These were delicious days . The richand great, who sit down every day to th e m onotony of a splendide ntertainm en t
,can form no idea of th e happiness of our frugal
m eal,nor of the infinite pleasure we found in taking each h is part
in the preparation and attendance . My wife was the centre andthe soul of al l . I scarcely know which of us loved her best; her
T HEOBAL D W OL F E T ONE. 35
courteou s manners, her goodness of heart, her in comparabl ehumour
,her never- failing cheerfulness
,her affection for m e and fo r
our ch ildren,rendered her th e obj ect of our common adm iration
and delight. She l oved Russel l as wel l as I did . In short, a
m ore interesting socie ty of individuals, connected by purer m otives,and animated by a m ore ardent attachm en t and friendship for eachother
,cannot be imagin ed .
During the course of this summ er,th ere were strong appearances
of a rupture between England and Spain,relat ive to Nootka
Sound . I had m entioned to Russel l my proj ect for a m ilitaryc olony in the Sou th Seas ; and, as we had nothing better to do,we sat down to look over my papers and m emorandum s regardingthat business . After som e tim e
,rather to am use ourselves than
wi th an expectation of its com ing to anything,we enlarged and
corrected my o riginal plan ; and having dressed up a h andsom e1 rem orial on the subj ect
,I sent it enclosed in a letter to the Duke
of Richm ond,th en m aster of the ordnance . I th ought I shou ld
h ear no m ore about it,but was not a l ittl e surprised when , a few
days after,I re ceived an answer from his Grace
,in which
,after
speaking with great civility of the m erits of my plan , he inform edm e such business was out of his departm en t ; but that if I desiredit,h e wou ld del iver my m em orial , and recomm end it to the notice
of Lord Grenville , secretary of state for foreign affairs,whose
business i t properly was. I imm ediately wrote him an answer ofacknowledgm ent
,entreating him to support my plan ; and by th e
sam e post,I wrote also to Lord Grenvi lle . In a few days I
received answers from them both,inform ing m e that the m em orial
had been re ceived by Lord Grenville,and should be taken into
speedy consideration,when
,i f any m easures were to be adopted in
consequence,I m ight depend on receiving farther inform ation .
These letters we looked upon as leaving it barely possibl e thatsom eth ing m ight be d one in the business
,though very unlikely ;
and so indeed it proved,for shortly after
,a kind of peace
,cal led
a convention,was agreed upon b etween Spain and England
,on
which I wrote once m ore to Lord Grenvil le,enclosing a second
m em orial,in order to learn h is determ ination
,when I received a
very civi l answer,praising my plan , etc .
,and inform ing m e that
existing circum stances had rendered it unnecessary,at that t im e
,
to put it in execution, _ but that m inisters would keep it i n
recollection . Thus ended,for the second tim e
,m y attempt
to colonize in the South Seas; a m easure which I stil l th inkm igh t be attended with the m ost beneficial consequences toEngland . I keep all th e papers relating to this business , includingthe originals of the m in ister ’s letters
,and I have l ikewise copied
36 m m or
the whole of them in a quarto book,to which I refer for farther
inform ation . It was singular enough,th is correspondence
,con
t inned by two of the king of England ’ s cabinet m in isters at StJam es’s
,on the one part
,and Russel l and myself
,from my l ittl e box
at Irishtown,on th e other. If the m easure I proposed had been
adopted,we were both determ in ed on going out w ith th e expedi
tion ; in which case, instead of plann ing revolutions in our owncountry
,we m ight be now
,perhaps
,carrying on a privateering
war (for which I think we have both talents) on the coast ofSpani sh Am erica . This adventure is an additional proof of therom antic spirit I have m ention ed in th e beginn ing of my m em oirs,as a trait in Ou r fam ily ; and , indeed, my friend Russel l was, inthat respect
,completely on e of ourselves . The m in ister
’s refusaldid not sweeten us m uch towards him . I ren ewed the vow I hadonce before m ade
,to m ake him
,if I could
,repent of it
,in which
Russel l m ost heartily concurred. Perhaps th e m iniste r may yethave reason to wish he had let us go off qu ietly to the Sou th Seas .I should be gl ad to have an opportunity to rem ind him of his oldcorrespondent
,and if I ever find on e
,I wi l l not overlook it. I
d are say he has u tte rly forgot the circum stan ce,but I have not .
Every th ing,however
,is for th e best
,
”as Pangloss says,
“in thisbest of al l possibl e worlds .” If I had gone to the SandwichIslands in 1 790 , I should not be tod ay e lzef ol e br igade in th eservice of the French republic
,not to m ention what I may be in
my own country if our expedition th ither succeeds .But to return . Shortly after this disappointm ent, Russell , who
had for two or three years revel led in the eas e and dignity of anensign ’s half pay
,am ounting to £28 sterl ing a-year
,which he had
e arned before h e was twenty-on e,by broiling in the East Indies
for five years,. was unexpectedly prom oted by favour of the
comm ander - in ~chief to an ensigncy on ful l pay,i n the 64th
regim ent of foot,then quartered in th e town of Belfast . He put
him self,in consequence
,in battle array
,and prepared to j oin . I
remember the last day he dined with u s in Irishtown,where h e
cam e,to use his own quotation
,
“al l clinquant,all in gold l” We set
him to cook part of th e dinner in a very fine su it of laced regim entals.I love to recal l those scenes . We parted w ith the sincerest regreton both sides ; h e set off for Belfast, and shortly after we return edto town for the winter ; my wife
’ s h ealth being perfectly re
establ ished,as she m anifested by being
,in due tim e
,brought to
b ed of our eldest boy,whom we cal led Will iam
,after my brother .
This w inter I endeavoured to institute a kind of pol itical c lub,
from which I expected great things . It consisted of seven or
eight m embers, em inen t for their talents and patriotism,and who
T HEOBAL D W OL FE T ONE. 37
had al ready more or l ess distinguished th em selves by their l iteraryproductions . They were John Stack , fe l low of Trinity College ;D r W m . Drennan
,author of the celebrated letters signed O rel lana
Joseph Pol lock,author of th e stil l m ore j ustly celebrated lette rs of '
O wen Roe O ’
N eil Peter Burrowes,a barrister
,a m an of a m ost
powerfu l and com prehensive m ind ; William John son , a l awyer,also of respectable talents ; Whitley Stokes, a fellow of TrinityCol lege
,a m an
,th e extent and variety of whose knowl edge is only
to be exceeded by the number and intensity of his v irtues ; Russell,a corresponding m ember
,and myself. As ou r pol itical opinions
,
at that tim e,agreed in m ost essential points
,howeve r they may
have since differed,and as this little club m ost certainly com prised
a great proportion of inform ation,talents
,and integrity
,it m ight
natural ly be expected that som e distinguished publications shouldbe the resu lt ; yet, I know not how i t was
,we d id not d raw wel l
together ; ou r m eetings degenerated into d ownrigh t ordinarysuppers we becam e a m ere oyster cl ub ; and, at l ength , a m isunderstanding
,or rather a rooted disl ike to each other
,which
m anifested itself be tween D rennan and Pollock (who we re com
pl ete ly Caesar and Pompey wit-h regard to l iterary empire), j oinedto the retreat of John Stack
,to h is l iving in the North
,and th e
l ittle good we saw resulting from our association,induced us to
d rop off on e by one ; and thus, after three or fou r m onths of sicklyexistence
,our club departed thi s l ife
,l eaving beh ind it a puny off
spring of about a dozen essays on d ifferent subj ects,al l
,as may be
supposed,tol rable
,but not on e of any distinguished excel lence.
I am satisfied , any one of th e m embers, by devoting a week of histim e to a well - chosen subj ect , would have produced a work of tentim es m ore value than th e whole club were able to show from theirj oin t labours during its existence . This experim en t satisfied m e
that m en of gen ius,to be of use
,m ust not be col lected in numbers.
T hey do not work wel l in th e aggregate,and
,indeed
,even in
ord inary conversations,I have observed that two m any wits spoil
the d iscourse . The dullest entertainm ent at which I ever rem ember to have assisted was one formed expressly to bring togethern ear twenty persons
,
“every one m ore or l ess distinguished forsplendid talents
,or great convivial qual ities . We sat and prosed
togeth e r i n great solemnity,endeavouring
,by a rapid circulation
of the bottl e,to animate the discourse
,but it would n ot do ; every
man was clad in a suit of intellectual arm our,in which he found
him self secure,i t is true
,but il l at his ease ; and we al l rej oiced at
the m om ent when we were perm itted to run hom e and get intoour robes de cham bre and slippers . Any two of th e m en presentwou ld have been the d elight and entertainment of a we l l- chosen
38 L IFE or
society,but al l together was
,as Wolsey says
,
“too muchhonou r.In recording th e nam es of the m emb e rs of the club
,I find I
have strangely om itted the n am e of a man whom ,as wel l for h is
talents as h is principles,I esteem as m uch as any, far m ore th an
m ost of th em,I m ean
’
T homasAda l s Emm et,a barrister. He is
a man comp e te ly after my own h eart— of a great and comprehensive m ind— of th e warm est and sin cerest affection for his friends—and of a firm and steady adheren ce to h is principles
,to which h e
has sacrificed m uch,as I know
,and wou ld
,I am sure
,if necessary
,
sacrifice h is l ife. H is opinion s and m ine square exactly. In
classing the m en I m ost esteem,I would place him beside Russel l
,
at th e head of the l ist; because with regard to them both , them ost ardent feel ings of my heart coincide exactly w ith th e m ostsevere decision of my j udgm ent. There are m en whom I regardas m uch as it i s possible . I am sure
,for example
,if there be on
earth such a thing as sincere friendship,I feel it for Whitley Stokes
,
for George Knox,and for Peter Burrowes . They are m en whose
talents I adm ire,whose virtues I reverence
,and whose persons I
love ; but the regard which I feel for them ,sincere and afi
’
e ctionate
as it i s,i s certainly not of the sam e species w ith that which I
en tertain for Russel l and Emm et. Between us there has been ,from the very comm en cem en t of our acquaintan ce
,a coincidence
of sen tim en t,a harm ony of feelings on points which we al l
con scientiously consider of the last importance , which binds u s inth e closest ties to each other. We have unvaryingly been devotedto the sam e obj ect
,by the sam e m eans —we have had a fellowship
in ou r labou rs— a society in ou r d angers— our hopes,our fears
,our
w ish es,our friends
,and our enem ies
,have been the sam e . When
all th is is considered,and the talents and principles of the m en
taken into th e account,i t wi l l not be wondered at
,if I esteem
Russel l and Emm et as the first of my friends . If ever an oppor
N oz‘e [wfé e Ea
’z
'
z‘or o/ 2723 F irst —Abou t this tim e , whilst his id eas on the
e v ils resu l tm g from the conn e xion with B ritain we re fe rm e n ting in his m ind ,m y fathe r
w rote a le tte r to his frie nd Ru sse ll , w he re h e e xpand e d u pon them,and c on c lud e d , Su ch
an d su ch m e n (m e n tion ing his frie nds and assoc iate s in the c lub) think w ith n e .
'
l his
v e ry innoc e n t pap e r p rod u c e d abou t two y e ars afte rwards, m 1 793 , a m ost rid icu lou s alarman d d istu rbm c c I t wou ld n ot hav e be e n notic e d , at the tim e i t was w ritte n , m ore thanthose p am phle ts which w e re p u L l ishe d ; b u t the n ,
whe n the p ol itical fe ve r rag e d at theh ighe st, an d when it was alre ad y forgotte n by liim se l f an d his fr 1 e nd s, it fe l l by som e
c han c e or in d isc re tion in to the hands of the g ov e rnm e n t . T he g e n t le m e n m e n tion e d ,m any of whom had sin c e e spouse d the p ar t of the adm in istration
,we 1 e al l sum m on edbe fore the Se c re t Com m itte e . F or that m ost ille gal t ribunal , the Star Cham be r of I re land ,
assum e d the powe r of e xam in ing any susp e c te d ind ivid uals on the op in ions, as w e l l as theac tions, of the mse lve s and othe rs; p u tt ing them on
’
the 1 r oath to answ e r a l l the ir qu e stions,and imp r ison ing them arbitrarily . O n th is oc casion the se g e n t le m e n we re charg e d w i thbe ing p rivy not on ly to a theore tical d isqu isition , b u t to a d e e p consp irac y agam st the
gove rnm en t . as far back as the y e ar 1 79 1 . I t 1 5 , howe v e r, remarkable,that my fathe r was
not cal le d be fore them . Pe rh aps he was d e emed incorrig ible .
40 L IFE or
stil l more to their credit than to m ine . But to return to myhistory from this long digression
,on wh ich
,however
,I dwe l l with
affection,exiled as I am from the inestim able friends I have
m ention ed,i t is a consolation to my sou l to dwel l upon their
m erits, and th e sincere and animated affection I feel for them .
God knows whether we shal l ever m eet ; or if we do , how many ofu s may survive the contest in which we are, by al l appearance,abou t to embark . If it be my lot, for one , to fall, I l eave behindm e this smal l testimony of my regard for them ,
written underc ircum stances which I think may warrant its sincerity.
The French Revolution had now been above a twelvemonth inits progress . At its comm encem ent
,as the fi rst em otions are
generally honest, every one was in its favour ; but after som e tim e,th e probable consequences to m onarchy and aristocracy began tobe foreseen
,and the partizans of both to retrench considerably in
their adm iration : at length,Mr Burke ’ s fam ous invective appeared ;
and this in due season produced Paine’ s reply,which h e cal led
Rights of Man . This controversy,and the gigantic event which
gave r ise to it, changed in an instant the pol itics of Ireland . T wo
years before the n ation was in a lethargy. The puny efforts ofth e Whig Club
,m iserable and defective as their
,
system was,were
the only appearance of anything like exertion ; and he was lookedon as extravagant who thought of a Parliam entary reform
,against
wh ich, by - the -by, al l parties equal ly set their face. I haveal ready m entioned
,that in those days of apathy and depression
,I
m ade an unsuccessfu l blow at the suprem acy of England,by my
pam phlet on the expected rupture with Spain ; and I have alsofairly m entioned that I found nobody who v entu i'ed to secondmy attempt, or paid the least attention to the doctrine I en
d eavoured to dissem inate . But the rapid succession of events,
and,above all
,the explosion which had taken place in France
,and
blown into the elem ents a despotism rooted for fourteen centuries,
had thoroughly aroused al l Europe ; and the eyes of everyman , inevery quarter, were turned anxiously on th e French NationalAssembly. In England, Burke had the triumph completely tod ecide the public ; fascinated by an eloquent publ ication , whichflattered so m any of their prej udices
,and animated by their un
conquerabl e hatred of France, which no change of circum stancescould alter, the whole Engl ish nation , i t may be said, retractedfrom their fi rst decision in favour of the glorious and successfulefforts of th e French people ; they sicken ed at th e prospect of th eapproach ing l iberty and happiness of that m ighty n ation : theycalculated, as m erchants, the probabl e effects which th e energy ofregenerated F rance might have on their commerce ; they rejoiced
T HEO BALD W OL FE T ONE. 41
when they saw th e combination of despots form ed to restore th eancient system ,
and perhaps to dism ember the m onarchy ; andthey waited w ith impatience for an occasion , which happily form ankind they soon found
,when they m ight
,with som e app earance
of d ecency,engage in person in the infamous contest .
But m atters were very different in Ire land fl an oppressed,
insulted,and plundered nation . As we wel l knew experim ental ly
what i t was to be enslaved , we sympathised m ost sincerely withthe French people
,an d watched their progress to freedom with the
u tmost anxiety ; we had not, l ike England, a prej udice rooted inour very nature against France . As th e Revol ution advanced
,
and as events expanded them selves,the public spirit of Ireland
rose with a rapid acceleration . The fears and animosities of thearistocracy rose in the sam e
,or a stil l h igher proportion . In a
l ittle tim e the French Revolution becam e the test of everym an
’s pol itical creed,and the nation was fairly d ivided into two
great parties,th e aristocrats and th e dem ocrats (epith ets borrowed
from France) , who have ever since been m easuring each other’ s
strength,and carrying on a. kind of smothered war
,which the
course of events,it is highly probab l e
,may soon cal l into energy
and action .
It is needless,I bel ieve
,to say that I was a dem ocrat from th e
very comm en cem ent; and as al l the retainers of governm ent,
including the sages and j udges of th e l aw,were of course on the
other s ide,this gave the coup d e grace to any expectations, if any
such I had,of my succeeding at the bar, for I soon becam e pretty
notorious ; but in fact I had for som e tim e renounced all hope, andI may say all desire , of su cceeding in a profession which I alwaysdisl iked
,and wh ich the pol itical prostitution of i ts m embers
(though otherwi se m en of high honour and of great personal worth )had taught m e sincerely to despise. I therefore seldom went nearth e Four Courts ; nor did I adopt any on e of the m eans, and leastof al l the study of the l aw
,which are successfully em ployed by
those young m en whose obj ect it is to rise in their profession .
As I cam e about this period rather m ore forward than I hadhithertodone, i t is necessary, for understanding my history, to takea rather rapid survey of the state of parties in Ireland
,that i s to
say,of the m embers of the establ ished religion
,the D issenters and
the Cathol ics .The fi rst party
,whom for d istinction ’s sake I cal l th e Pro
testants, though not above a tenth of th e population,were in
possession of the whole of the governm ent,and of five - sixths of
the landed prope rty of the nation ; they were, and had bee n fo rabove a century
,in th e quiet enj oym ent of the church
,the law,
‘
42 “L IFE or
the revenue,the army
,th e navy
,th e magi stracy
,the corporations
—in a word,of th e whole patronage of Ireland . With propert ies
whose titl e was founded in m assacre and plunder, and being, as itwere
,but a colony of foreign u surpers in the l and
,they saw no
security for their person s and estates but in a close connexion w ithEngland
,who profited of their fears ; and, as th e price of her
p rotection,exacted the implicit surrender of th e comm erce and
l iberties of Ireland . D ifferent events,particularly the Revolution
in Am erica,had enabled and emboldened the other two parties of
whom I am about to speak,to hurry the Protestants into m easu res
h ighly disagreeabl e to England and beneficial to th eir country ;but in which
,from accidental circum stances, th ey durst not refuse
to concu r. The spirit of the corps,however
,rem ained unchanged,
as they have m an ifested on every occasion since which chance hasoffered . This party
,th erefore
,so powerfu l by th eir property and
influence,were implicity devoted to England , wh ich they esteemed
n ecessary for the securi ty of their existence ; th ey adopted , inconsequence
,the sentim ents and th e language of th e British
cabinet ; they d readed and abhorred the principle s of the FrenchRevolution
, and were,in one word
,an aristocracy in th e ful lest
an d m ost od iou s extent of th e term .
The D issenters,who form ed th e second party
,were at l east
twice as num erous as th e first. Like them,they were a colony of
foreigners in their origin ; but being m ostly engaged in trade andm anufactures
,with few overgrown landed proprietors among th em
,
they d id not,l ike them
,feel that a slavish dependence on England.
was essential to their very existence . Strong in their numbersand thei r courage
,they fe l t that they were abl e todefend them ~
selves,and they soon ceased to consider them selves as any other
than Irishm en . It was the D i ssenters who com posed the flowerof the fam ou s volunteer army of 1 782
,which extorted from th e
Engl ish m in ister the restoration of what i s affected to becalled the constitution of Ireland ; i t was th ey who fi rst prom otedand continued the dem and of a Parl iam entary reform ,
in which,
however,they were baffled by a superior add ress and chicanery
of the aristocracy ; and i t was they finally who were th e first tostand forward in the most decided and unqualified m anner insupport of the principles of th e French Revolution .
The Cathol ics,who composed the third party
, were above twothird s of the n ation
,and formed
,perhaps
,a stil l greater proportion .
They embraced the entire peasantry of th ree provin ces,they con
stituted a considerable portion of th e m ercantile interest ; but fromth e tyranny of th e penal laws enacted at d ifferent periods againstthem , they possessed but a very smal l proportion of th e landed
T HEOBAL D wow s T ONE. 43
property, perhaps not a fiftieth part of th e whole . It is not myintention here to give a detail of that execrable and infam ous code
,
fram ed w ith the heart and the m alice of dem ons, to plunder, anddegrade
,and brutal ize the Catholics . Suffice it to say, that there
was no inj ustice , no disgrace, no disqualification , m oral , political ,or rel igious , civil or m i l itary, that was not heaped upon them ; itis wi th d ifficul ty that I restrain mysel f from entering into th eabom inable detail ; but i t is th e less necessary , as it is to be foundin so m any publications of th e day . This horrible system
,
pursu ed for above a century w ith unrelenting acrim ony andperseverance
,had wrought its ful l effect
,and had
,in fact
,reduced
the great body of the Cathol ic peasantry of Ireland to a situat ion ,m ora liy and physical ly speaking, below that of the beasts of thefi eld. The spirit of their few 1 emaining gentry was broken , andtheir m inds degraded ; and it was only in a class of theirm erchants and traders
,and a few m embers of the m edical profes
sion,who had sm uggled an education 1 n d esoite of the penal code
,
that any thing l ikeo
political sensation existed . Such was prettynear ly the s ituation of the three great parties at the comm encem en tof the French Revolution
,and certainly a m uch m ore gloomy
prospect could not wel l present itself to the eyes of any friend tol iberty and his country . But as the lum inary of truth and freedomi n France advanced rapidly to its m eridian splendour
,th e publ ic
m ind in Ireland was proportionably il lum inated ; and to thehonour of the D issenters of Belfast be i t said
,they were th e first
to reduce topractice their newly received principles,and to show
,
by being j ust,that they were d eserving to be f1 e e .
”he dom inion of England in Ireland had been begun and continned in the disunion of the great sects which divid ed the lattercountry .
! In effe ctuating this disunion,the Protestant party w ere
th e wi ll ing instrum ents,as they saw clearly that if ever the D is
senters and Catholics were to discover their true interests,and
,
forgetting their form er ru inous dissensions,were to unite cordially
,
and make comm on cause,the downfall of English suprem acy
,an d
,
of cou rse,of their own unj ust m onopoly
,would be the necessary
and imm ediate consequence . They therefore laboured continually,
and for a long tim e successful ly,to keep th e other two sec ts
asunder ; and the English governm en t had even the address topersuade the Cathol ics that the non execut ion of the pen 1 1 laws,wh ich w
,ere in fact
,too atrocious to be cu f a1 L Gd in their f 1 1 l
rigou r was owing to their clem ency ; that the Protestan ts andDisseriters
,but especially the latter
,were th e enem ies
,and them.
At least since the re ign of Elizabe th and James l .
44 L IFE 0 1?
selves,in effect
,th e protectorsof the Cathol ic people . Under this
arrangem ent th e m achine of governm ent m oved forward 0 11 carpet
g round ; but the tim e was at l ength com e when this system of
iniqu ity was to tumbl e in the dust,and th e day of truth and
reason to comm ence .So far back as th e year 1 783, th e volunteers of Belfast had
instru cted their deputies to th e convention held in Dublin , for th epurpose of fram ing a plan of Parliam entary reform
,to support th e
equal adm ission of th e Cathol ics to the rights of freem en . In thisinstance of l iberal ity they were then almost alone ; for it is th eirfate in pol itical wisdom ever to be in advance of their countrym en ;it was sufficient , howe ver,
‘
to alarm th e governm ent,who imm edi
ately procured from Lord Kenm are,at that tim e esteem ed the
l eader of the Cathol ics,a solemn disavowal
,in the nam e of the
body,of any wish to be restored to their long- lost rights. Pros
trate as the Cathol ics were at that period,th is last insu lt was too
m uch ; they in stantly assembl ed their general comm ittee, and disavowed Lord Kenmare and his disavowal ; observing at the sam et im e that they were not fram ed so differently from all oth er m en
as to be in love with their own degradation . The maj ority of th evolunteer convention
,however
,resolved to consider the infam ous
d eclaration of Lord Kenm are as the voice of th e Cathol ics ofIreland
,and
,in consequence
,the emancipation of that body m ade
no part of their plan of reform . The consequen ce natural to suchfolly and inj ustice imm ediately ensued : th e gove rnm en t seeing theconvention
,by their own act
,separate them selves from th e great
m ass of th e people, who could alone give them effect ive force, heldth em at defiance ; and that form idable assembly, wh ich , underbetter principles
,m igh t have held the fate of Ireland in their
b ands,was broken up w ith disgrace and ignoniiny, a m em orable
warn ing that those who know not to render th eir j ust rights toothers
,wi ll be found incapable of firm ly adhering to their own .
The genera l comm ittee of the Catholics,of which I have spoken
above , and which , sin ce the year 1 792 , has m ade a distinguishedfeature in th e politics o f Ireland , was a body com posed of thei rbishops
,their country gentlem en
,and of a certain number of
m erchants and trade rs, al l resident in D ublin , but named by theCathol ics in the different towns corporate to represen t them . Theoriginal obj ect of th is institution was to obtain the repeal of apartial and oppressive tax called quarterage , which was l evied onthe Catholics only ; and the governm en t
,which found the com
m ittee at first a conven ient instrum ent on som e occasions, connivedat their existence . So degraded was th e Catholic m ind at th e
period of the formation of the ir committee, about 1 770, and long
T HEOBALD W OL F E T ONE. 45
after, that they were happy to be allowed to go up to the Castl ewith an abom inable, slavish address to each success ive viceroy, ofwhich
,m oreover, until the accession of the Duke of Port l and in
1 782,so l ittl e notice was taken that his Grace was th e fi rst who
condescended to give them an answer ; and , indeed, for abovetwenty years
,the sole business of th e general comm ittee was to
prepare and deliver in those records of their depression . Theeffort which an honest indignation had called forth at the tim e ofthe volunteer convention in 1 783
,seem ed to have exhausted their
strength,and they sunk back into their prim itive nul l ity. Unde r
this appearance of apathy,however
,a n ew spirit was gradual ly
arising in the body,ow ing prin cipally to the exertions and th e
example of one man,John Keogh
,to whose services h is country ,
and more especial ly the Catholics,are singularly indebted . In fact
,
the downfal l of feudal tyranny was acted in l ittl e on the theatre ofthe general comm ittee . The influence of their clergy and of th e i rbarons was gradually underm ined; and the th ird estate, th e comm ercial interest
,rising in wealth and power
,was preparing
,by
degrees,to throw ofl the yoke
,in th e imposing
,or at least , th e
continuing of which the leaders of the body,I m ean the prelates
and aristocracy , to their disgrace be it spoken , were ready to concur .Already had those leaders
,acting in obedience to th e orde rs o f
th e governm ent,which held th em in fetters
,suffered one or two
signal defeats in the comm ittee,owing principal ly to the talents
and address of John Keogh ; th e parties began to be defined, anda sturdy dem ocracy of n ew m en
,with bolder v iews and stronger
talents,soon superseded the tim id counsels and s l avish m easures
of the ancient aristocracy. Everything seem ed tending to a betterorder of things am ong the Catholics
,and an occasion soon ofl e red
to cal l th e energy of their new leaders into action .
T he D issenters of the north , and m ore especially of the town ofBelfast
,are
,from th e geniu s of their religion , and from the superior
d ifl ii sions of pol itical inform ation am ong them,sincere and eu
lightened republ icans . They had ever been foremost in th epursuit of Parl iam entary reform
,and I have al ready m entioned
the early wisdom and virtue of the town of Belfast in proposingth e em ancipation of the Cathol ics , so far back as the year 1 783.
The French Revolut ion had awakened al l parties in the nation fromth e stupor in which they lay plunged ; from th e tim e of the dis
p ersion of the ever m em orabl e volunteer convent ion , and thecitizens of Belfast were th e first to raise their heads from th eabyss
,an d to look the situation of their country steadily in the
face . They saw at a glance their true obj ect,and the only m eans
to obtain it; conscious that the force of the existing government
46 L IF E or
was su ch as to requ ire th e un ited efforts of the whol e Irish peopleto subvert it
,and. long convinced in their own m inds that to be
free it was necessary to be j ust, they cas t their eyes once m ore onth e long neglected Cathol ics, and profiting of past errors, forwhich , however, they had not to accuse them selves, they determ ined to begin on a n ew system ,
and to raise th e structure of thel iberty and independence of their country on the broad basis ofequal righ ts to the whole peopl e.T he Catholics, on their part, were rapidly advancing in pol itica l
spirit and inform ation . Every m onth,every day
,as th e revol u
tion in France went prosperously forward,added to their courage
and their force ; and the hour seem ed at last arrived , wh en , after ad reary oppression of above one hundred years
,they were once
more to appear on th e political theatre of their country. Theysaw the brill iant prospect of success
,which events in France
opened to their V iew; and they determ in ed to avail them selvesw ith prom ptitude of that opportun ity
,wh ich n ever returns to those
who om i t i t . F or this,the active m embers .of the general com
m itte e resolved to set on foot an imm ediate application toParliam ent
,praying for a repeal of th e penal laws . The first
d ifficulty they had to surm ount arose in their own body ; th eirpeers
,their gentry ( as they affected to cal l them selves), and their
prelates,either seduced or intim idated by governm ent , gave the
m easure al l possible opposition ; and , at length , after a longcontest
,in which both parties strained every nerve
,and produced
the whole of their strength,the question was decided on a d ivision
in the comm ittee,by a m aj ority of at l east six to on e,in favour of
the intended appl ication . The triumph of the young, dem ocracywas complete ; but though the aristocracy were defeated, theywere not yet entirely broken down . By the instigation of governm ent they had the m eanness to secede from th e general comm ittee
,
to disavow thei r acts,and even to publish in the papers that they
d id not w ish to embarrass th e governm ent by advancing theirclaim s of emancipation . It is difficult to conceive such a degreeof political degradation ; but what wi l l n ot the tyranny of anexecrable system produce in tim e ? Sixty- eight gentlem en
,
individual ly of high spirit,were found
,who publicly
,and in a
body,deserted their party and their own j ust claims
,and even
sanctioned this pitifu l desertion by the authority of their signatures .Such an effect had the operation of th e p enal laws on th e m indsof th e Cathol ics of Ireland, as proud a race as any in al l Europe .But I am in som e degree anticipating m atters
,and indeed
,
instead of a few m em orandum s relating to myself,I find myself
embarking in a kind of history of my own times; l et me return
48 LIF E or
p ublic noticg; and the Belfast volunteers on som e pub l ic occasion ,I know not precisely what, wished to com e forward with a d ecl aration in its favour. For this purpose Russell
,who by this tim e
was entirely in their confidence,wrote to m e to draw up an d
transm it to him such a declaration as I thought proper ; which Iaccordingly did. Am eeting of th e corps was held in consequence ;but an opposition unexpectedly arising to that part of the declaration which al luded directly to the Cathol ic claim s
,that passage
was,for the sake of u nanim ity, withdrawn for th e present, and the
declarations then passed unan im ou sly. Russell wrote m e anaccount of al l this
,and it imm ediately set m e on thinking m ore
seriously than I had yet done u pon the state of Ireland . I soonform ed my theory, and on that theory I have unvaryingly actedever since .T o subvert th e tyranny of our execrable governm ent
,to break
th e connexion with England,the n ever-failing source of our
pol itical evi ls,and to assert the independence of my country
these were my obj ects . T o unite the whole people of Ireland, toabol ish the m emory of al l past dissensions
,and to substitute th e
comm on n am e of Irishm an in pl ace of the denom inations of
Protestant,Catholic
,and D issenter— these were my m ean s. T o
effectuate these great obj ects,I reviewed th e three great sects .
The Protestants I despaired of from the outset,for obv ious reasons .
Already in possession,by an unjust m onopoly
,of the whole power
and patronage of the country, i t was not to be supposed theywould ever concur in m easures
,the certain tendency of which m ust
be to l essen their influence as a party,how m uch soever the nation
m ight gain . T o the Catholics I thought it unnecessary to addressmyself
,because
,that as no change could make their pol itical
situation worse,I reckoned upon their suppor t to a certainty;
besides,they had already begun to manifest a strong sense of their
wrongs and oppressions; and finally, I wel l knew that, however itm ight be disguised or suppressed
,thei r existed in the breast of
every Irish Catholic an inextirpable abhorrence of th e Engl ishnam e and power. There remained only the D issenters
,whom I
knew to be patriotic and enlightened ; however, the recent eventsat Belfast had showed m e that al l prej udice was not yet entirelyrem oved from their m inds . I sat down accordingly
,and wrote a.
pamph let addressed to the D issenters, and which I entitled An
Argum ent on behalf of the Catholics of Ireland , the obj ect ofwh ich was to convince them that they and the Catholics had buton e comm on interest
,and one comm on enemy ; that th e d epression
and slavery of Ireland was produced and perpetuate d by thed ivisions existing between them ; and that consequently to assert
T HEOBAL D W OL F E T ONE. 49
th e independence of their country,and th eir own ind ividual
l iberties,it was necessary to forget al l form er feuds
,to consol idate
the entire strength of the whole nation,and to form for the future
but one people . These principles I supported by th e best argum ents which suggested them selves to m e ; and particu larly bydemonstrating that the cause of the failure of al l form er efforts
,
and m ore especially of the vol unteer convention in 1 783,was the
unjust neglect of the claim s of their Catholic breth ren . Thispamphle t
,which appeared in September
,1 79 1
,under the signature
of a Northern Whig,had a considerable degree of success. The
Cathol ics ( with not one of whom I wasat the tim e acquainted ) werepleased with the efforts of a volunteer in their cause
,and distributed
it in al l quarters . The people of Belfast,of whom I had spoken
with the respect and adm iration I sincerely felt for th em,an d to
whom I was also perfectly unknown ,printed a very large edition
which they dispersed through the whole North of Ireland ; and Ihave the great satisfaction to believe that m any of the D issenterswere converted by my argum ents. It i s l ike van ity to speak of
my own perform ances so m uch ; and the fact is, I bel ieve that Iam som ewhat vain on that topic ; but as it was the imm ediatec ause of my being m ade known to the Cathol ic body, I may be,perhaps
,excused for dwell ing upon a circumstance, wh ich I m ust
ever look on,for that reason
,as on e of th e m ost fortunate of my
l ife . As my pamphlet spread m ore and m ore, my acquaintanceamongst the Cathol ics extended accordingly. My first friend inthe body was John Keogh
,and through him I becam e acquainted
with al l th e leaders— as Richard M‘Cormick , John Swe etman,Edward Byrne
,Thomas Braughal l , in short , the whole sub
comm ittee,and m ost of th e active m embers of th e general
comm ittee . It was a kind of fash ion this winter ( 1 791 ) am ongth e Catholics to give splendid dinners to their pol itica l friends
,in
and out of Parliam ent ; and I was always a guest of course . Iwas invited to a grand dinner given to Richard Burke
,on his
l eaving Dublin,together with Will iam Todd Jones
,who had dis
tingu ished him self by a m ost excel lent pam phlet in favou r of th eCatholic cause
,as wel l as to several entertainm ents given by clubs
and assoc iations ; in short, I began to grow into som eth ing l ikereputation
,and my company was, in a m anner, a requisite at al l
th e entertainm ents of that w inter.But this was not al l . The volunteers of Belfast
,of the first
,or
green company, were pleased , in consequence of my pamphlet, toelect m e an honorary m ember of their corps ; a favour whichth ey were very del icate in bestowing ; as I bel ieve I was the only
person, except the great H enry Flood, who was eve r honoured
5 0 L IFE‘
O F
w ith that m ark of th eir approbation . I was also invited to spenda few days in Belfast in order to assist in fram ing the first cl ub ofUnited Irishm en
,and to cu ltivate a personal acquaintance w ith
those m en whom,though I highly esteemed
,I knew as yet but by
re putation . In consequence,about th e beginn ing of O ctober
,I
went down with my frien d Russel l , who had by this tim e quittedthe army
,and was in Dublin On his private affairs . The incidents
of that j ourney,which was by far the m ost agreeable and interest
ing on e I had ever m ade,I recorded in a kind of diary
,a practice
which I then comm enced, and have ever since, from tim e to tim e ,continu ed
,as circumstances of sufficient importan ce occurred . T o
that diary I refer. It is sufficient here to say,that my reception
was of th e m ost flattering kind,and that I found th e m en of th e
m ost distingu ished publ ic v irtue in the nation,th e m ost estimable
in al l th e dom estic relations of l ife : I had the good fortune torender mysel f agreeable to them ; and a friendship was thenformed between us which I th ink it wil l not be easy to shake . Iti s a kind of inj ustice to nam e indivi duals
,yet I cannot refuse
myself the p l easure of observ ing how pecul iarly fortunate I esteemmyself in having form ed connexions w ith Sam uel N e ilson
,Robert
Simm s, William Simm s, William Sinclair, Thomas M‘Cab e : I
may as wel l stop here : for in enum erating my m ost particu larfriends
,I find I am
,in fact
,m aking ou t a list of th e m en of
Belfast m ost distinguished for their virtu e,talent
,and patriotism .
To proceed . We form ed our club , of which I wrote the declaration
,and certainly the formation Of that club comm en ced a n ew
epoch in the politics of Ireland . At l ength,after a stay of abou t
three weeks , which I look back upon as perhaps the pleasantestin my l ife, Russel l and I returned to D ublin , with instruction s tocultivate the leaders in th e popular interest
,being Protestants ;
and,if possible
,to form in the capital a club of United Irishm en .
Neither Russell nor myself was known to on e Of those leaders ;however
,we soon contrived to get acquainted with Jam es Napper
Tandy,who was the principal of them ,
and through him ,w ith
several others,so that
,in a l ittle tim e
,we succeeded ; and a club
was accordingly form ed, of which the Honourable Simon Butlerwas the fi rst chairm an
,and Tandy the first secretary . The club
adopted the d eclaration of their brethren of Belfast,with whom
th ey imm ed iately Opened a correspondence . I t is but j ustice toan honest man who has been persecuted for h is firm adherence tohis principl es
,to observe here that T andy
,in com ing forward on
this m zcasion ,we l l knew that he was putting to the m ost extrem e
hazard his p O pu laf l ty among the corporations of the city ofI ) . 1 1 , wi th n hom he had enj oyed the m ost unbounded influence
T HEOBALD W OL F E T ONE. 5 1
for near twenty years ; and in fact, in the even t, his popularity wassacrificed . That did not prevent
,however
,his taking his part
decidedly : he had the firmness to forego the gratification of hisprivate feel ings for the good of his country . The truth is
,Tandy
was a very sincere republ ican , and it did not require m uchargum ent to show him the impossibil ity of attaining a republ ic byany m ean s short of the united powers of th e whole people ; h e ,therefore
,renounced the lesser obj ect for the greater
,and gave up
the certain influence which he possessed (and had wel l earned) inthe city , for the contingency of that influence which h e m ighthave (and wel l deserves to have) in the nation . For my own
part,I think it right to m ention that
,at th is tim e
,th e establ ish
m ent of a republic wasnot the imm ediate obj ect of my speculations.My Obj ect was to secure the independence of my country underany form of governm ent
,to which I was l ed by a hatred of
England,so deeply rooted in my nature, that it was rather an
instinct than a principle . I left to others,better qual ified for th e
inquiry,th e investigation and m erits of the differen t form s of
governm ent,and I contented m yself with labouring on my own
system,which was luckily in perfect coincidence as to its operation
with that of those m en who viewed the question on a broader andj uster scale than I did at the tim e I m ention . But to return .
The club was scarcely form ed before I lost al l pretensions to anyth ing like influence in their m easures; a circum stance which atfirst m ortified m e not a l ittle ; and perhaps had I retained m oreweight in their councils
,I m ight have prevented
,as on som e
occasions I laboured unsuccessfully to prevent,their running into
indiscretions,which gave their enem ies but too great advantages
over them . It is easy to be w ise after the event . So it was,however
,that I soon sunk into obscurity in the club
,which
,how
ever,I had the satisfaction to see daily increasing in numbers and
consequence . The Catholics particularly,flocked in in crowds
,as
wel l as som e of th e Protestant m embers of corporations m ostdistinguished for their l iberality and public spirit on form eroccasions ; and indeed, I m ust do the society the j ustice to say,that I bel ieve there never existed a pol itical body which in cludedam ongst its m embers a greater portion of sincere
,uncorrupted
patriotism,as wel l as a very respectable proportion of talents .
The ir publications,m ostly written by Dr D rennan
,and m any of
them adm irably wel l done,began to draw th e publ ic attention
,
especially as they were evidently the production of a societyu t terly disclaim ing al l party v iews or m otives
,and acting on a
broad,original scale
,not sparing those who called them selve s
p atriots more than those who were th e habitual slaves of the
5 2 L IF E or
governm ent; a system in wh ich I heartily concurred , having longentertained a m ore seriou s contempt for what is cal le d opp osition
than for the comm on prostitutes of the treasury bench,who want
at least th e v ice of hypocrisy . At l ength the Sol icitor Gen e ral,in
speaking of th e society,having m ade use of expressions in the
H ouse of Commons extrem ely offensive,an explanation was
d emanded of him by Sim on Butler, chairma ,n and Tandy
,
secretary. Butler was satisfied— Tandy was not ; and after severa lm essages, which it is not my affair to detail, the Sol icitor-Generalat l ength complained to th e House of a breach of privilege
,and
Tandy was ordered,in th e first in stance
,into custody . H e was
in consequence arrested by a m essenger , from whom he foundm eans to m ake h is escape ; and imm ediately a proclamation wasissued
,offering a reward for taking him . The society now was in
a d ifficu lt situation,and I thought myself call ed upon to m ake an
effort,at al l hazards to myself
,to prevent its fal ling by any
improper tim idity i n th e public Opinion . We were,in fact
,com
m itted with the H ouse of Comm ons on th e questioii of p i iiril ege ,and having fairly engaged in the contest
,i t was impossible to
recede w ithou t a total forfeitu re of character . Under thesecircum stances
,I cast my eyes on Arch ibald H am i lton Rowan
,a
distinguished m ember of th e society, whose m any virtues, publicand private
,had set h is nam e above the reach of even the
m alevolence of party ; whose situation in l ife was O f th e m ostrespectable rank
,if ranks be indeed respectable; and above all ,
whose personal courage was not to be shaken,a circum stance
,in
the actual situation of affairs,of the last im portan ce . To Rowan
,
therefore,I applied ; I showed him that the current of publ ic
opin ion was rather setting against us in this business,and that it
was nece ssary that som e of us should step forward and exposeourselves
,at al l risks
,to show the House of Commons
,and the
n ation at large,that we were not to be intim idated or put down
so easily. I offered,if h e would take the chair
,that I would
,with
the society’ s perm ission,act as secretary
,and that we would give
our signatures to such publ ications as circum stances m ight rendern ecessary . Rowan instantly agreed; and accordingly, on the nextn ight of m eeting, b e was chosen chairm an , and I pro -secretary,in the absence Of Tandy ; and the society having agreed to th eresolutions proposed, which were worded in a m anner very offensiveto the dignity of the House of Commons
,and
,in fact
,amounting
to a challenge of their authority, we inserted them i n al l the news
pape rs, and printed five thousand copies, with our nam es affixed .
T he l east that Rowan and I expected in consequence of thisstep, which, under the circumstances, was, I must say, rather a
T HEOBALD W OL F E T ONE. 5 3
bold one,was to be comm itted to Newgate for a breach of privilege
,
and perhaps exposed to personal discussions with som e of them embers of the H ouse of Comm ons ; for he proposed, and I agreed,that if any disrespectful language was appl ied to either of us inany debate which m ight arise on the business, we would attack theperson
,whoever he m ight be , immediately, and oblige him either
to recant his words or give battle . Al l our determ ination,howeve r
,
cam e to nothing . The H ouse of Comm ons,either content with
their victory over Tandy, who was obliged to conceal h imself forsom e tim e
,or not thinking Rowan and myself obj ects sufficiently
im portant to attract their n otice ; or p erhapsfl which I ratherbelieved
,not w ishing j ust then to embroil them selves with a man
of Rowan ’s fi rm ness and courage,not to speak of h is great and
j ustly m erited popularity, took no notice whatsoever of our resolut ions ; and in this m anner he and I had the good fortune, and , Im ay say, the m erit, to rescue the society from a situation of consid e rab l e difficulty w ithout any actual suffering, though certainlyw ith som e personal h azard on our part. We had likewise th esat isfaction to see the society, instead of losing ground, rise rapidlyin th e public opinion by their firmness on the occasion . Shortlyafter
,on the last day of th e session s
,Tandy appeared in publ ic
,
and was taken into custody, the whole society attending him in a
body to the H ouse of Comm ons . H e was ordered by the speakerto be comm itted to Newgate
,whither he was conveyed
,the society
attending him as before,and the parliam ent being prorogued in
half an hour after,he was l iberated imm ediately
,and escorted in
triumph to his own house . O n this occasion Rowan and I attendedof course
,and were in the gallery of the H ouse of Comm ons . As
we were not sure but we m ight be attacked ourselves,we took
pains to place ourselves in a conspicuou s situation,and to wear our
Whig Club uniform s,which were rather gaudy
,in order to signify
to al l whom i t m ight concern , that there we were . A good m anyof the m embers, we observed, rem arked us, but no farther n oticewas taken ; our nam es were never m entioned ; th e who l e businesspassed over qu ietly , and I resigned my pro~se cretaryship, being theonly office I ever held in th e society, into the hand s of Tandy, whoresum ed his functions . This was in spring, 1 792 : I should observe,that the day after th e publication above m entioned
,when I
attended near the H ouse of Comm ons,in expectation of being
cal led before them to answer for what I had done,and had
requested my friend, Sir Lawrence Parsons, to give m e not ice,in
order that I m ight present myself,the house took fire by acciden t
,
and was burned to the ground .
The Society of United Irishmen beginning to attract the publ ic
5 4 L IF E or
notice con siderably,in consequence of the events which I have
m entioned,and it being pretty generally known that I was
principal ly instrum ental in its form ation,I was one day surprised
by a v isit from the barrister,who had about two years before
Spoken to m e 0 1 1 the part of th e Whig leaders,a business of which
I had long since discharged my m emory . H e told m e he wassorry to see the n ew l ine I was adopting in pol itics
,the m ore so
as I m ight rely upon it, that the principles I now held would neve rbe generally adopted
,and consequently I was devoting m yself
without advancing any beneficial purpose ; he also testified to m e
surprise at my conduct, and insinuated pretty directly , thoughw ith great civility
,that I had not kept faith w ith the Whigs
,with
whom he professed to understand I had connected myself,and
whom,in consequence
,I ought to have consulted before I took so
decided a l ine of conduct as I had lately done . I did not l ike th elatter part of h is discourse at al l ; however, I answered him w ithgreat civil ity on my part, that, as to the principles h e m entioned ,I had not adopted them withou t exam ination ; that, as to thepam phlet I had w ritten in th e Catholic cause
,I had not advanced
a syllable which I did not conscientiously believe,and consequé
/n tly
I was neith er inclined to repent nor retract ; as to my supposedconnexion with the Whigs
,I rem inded him that I had not sought
them ; on the contrary,they had sought m e ; if they had , on
reflection,not thought m e worth cultivating
,that was no faul t of
m ine . I observed,also
,that Mr George Ponsonby
,whom I looked
upon as principal in the business,had never spoken to m e above
a dozen tim es in my l ife, and then m erely on ordinary topics ; thatI was too proud to be treated in that m anner ; and
,if I was
supposed capable to render s ervice to the party,i t would on ly be
by confiding in , and communicat ing w ith m e,that I could be real ly.
serviceable,and 0 1 1 that footing on ly would I consent to be treated ;
that probably Mr Ponsonby would think that rather a loftydeclaration
,but i t was my determ ination, the m ore as I knew he
was rather a proud man . Finally,I observed
,he had my perm is
sion to report al l this,and that I looked on myself as under no tic
of obligation whatsoever,that I had written a pam phlet
,unsolicited
,
in favour of the pfity; that my principles were known , and I wasnot at al l disposed to retract them ; what I had d one I had done,and I was determ ined to abide by it. My friend then said he wassorry to see m e so obstinate in what he m ust consider an indiscreetl ine of conduct
,and protes ting that h is principal obj ect was to
serve m e,in which I bel ieved him
,he took his leave
,and this put
an end com pletely to the idea of a connexion with the Whigs. Ispoke rather haughtily in th is affair. because I was som ewhat pro
5 6 L IFE or
them selves ; for their petition was extremely guarded, asking onlythe right of elective fran chise
,and equal adm ission to grand juries;
whereas that of Belfast prayed for their entire adm i ssion to al l therights of citizens. This petition was
,also
,on th e m otion of the
sam e m em ber,taken off th e table and rej ected ; and the two papers
sent forth together to wander as they m ight.There seem s
,from this tim e ou t
,a special prov idence to have
watched over the affairs of Ireland,and to have turned to her
profi t and advantage the deepest laid and m ost artfu l schem es ofher enem ies . Every m easure adopted
,and Skilfully adopted
,to
thwart th e expectations of the Catholics,and to crush th e rising
spirit of union between them and the D issenters,has
,without ex
c eption ,only tended to confirm and fortify both ; and the fact I am
about to m ention,for one
,is a striking proof of the truth of th is
assertion . The principal charge in the general outcry raised inthe H ouse of Comm ons against th e general comm ittee was, thatthey were a self-appointed body
,not nom inated by the Catholics
of th e nation,and consequ ently not authorised to speak on th eir
behalf. This argum ent,which
,in fact
,was the truth
,was
triumphantly dwelt upon by th e enem ies of the Cathol ics ; but, inth e end
,it would perhaps have been m ore fortunate for their
wishes,if they had not laid such a stress upon th is circum stan ce
,
and drawn the l in e of separation so strongly between the generalcom m ittee and th e body at large . For the Catholics th roughoutIreland who had h ith erto been indolent spectators of the business
,
seeing their breth ren of Dublin,and especial ly the general com
m itte e,in sulted and abused for th eir exertions in pu rsu it of that
l iberty which,if attain ed
,m ust be a comm on blessing to all
,cam e
forward as on e man from every quarter of th e nation,with
addresses and reso lutions ; adopting the m easures of the genera lcomm itte e as their own
,declaring that body the only organ com
petent to speak for the Catholics of Ireland ; and condemning, interm s of the m ost m arked disapprobation and contempt
,the
conduct of th e sixty- eight apostates,who were so triumphantly
held up by the h irel ings of governm ent as th e respectable part ofth e Cathol ic community. The question was now fairly decided .
The aristocracy shrunk back in disgrace and obscurity,l eav ing the
field open to the dem ocracy ; and that body neither wantedtalents nor spirit to profit of the advantages of their presen tsituation .
The Catholics of Dubl in were,at th is period
,to the Catho l i cs
of Ireland,what Paris
,at the comm en cem ent of the French
Revolution,was to the departm ents. Their sentim ent was that of
the nation,and whatever pol itical m easure they adopted was sure
T HEOBALD W OL F E T ONE. 5 7
to be obeyed. Still , however, there was wanting a personal comm unication between the general comm ittee and their constituentsin the country ; and as the Catholic question had n ow grown toconsiderable m agnitude , so m uch indeed as to absorb all otherpolitical discussion it becam e the first care of the leaders of thecomm ittee to fram e a plan of organ ization for that purpose . It isto the sagacity of Myles Keon , of Keonb rook , county Leitrim ,
that his country is indebted for the system 0 1 1 which the gen e ra lcomm ittee was to be fram ed anew,
in a m anner that should renderit impossible to bring it again in doubt whether that body were ornot the organ of th e Catholic wil l . His plan was to associate tothe comm ittee, as then constituted, two m em be rs from eachcounty and great city, actual residents of the place which theyrepresented ; who were
,however
,on ly to be summ oned upon
extraordina1 y occasions, l eaving the common routine of businessto the or ig inal m em bers , who, as I have al ready related, we i s al lres idents of Dubl in . The comm ittee
,as thus constituted
,wou ld
consist of half town and half country m embers ; and the electionsfor the l atter he proposed should be held by m eans of primary andelectoral assemblies
,held
,the first in each parish
,the second in
each county and great town . H e l ikewise proposed that the townm embers should be held to correspond regu larly with their countryassociates
,these with their imm ediate electors
,and these again
with the prim ary assemblies . -A m ore simple,and at the sam e
time m ore comprehensive organization,could not be devised . By
this m eans the general comm ittee becam e the centre of a circleembracing the whole nation , and pushing its rays instantaneouslyto the remotest parts of th e circum ference. The plan was laid inwriting
,before the general comm ittee, by Myles Ke e n ; and after
m ature d iscussion , the first part, relating to the association andelection of the country m embers
,was adopted with som e sl ight
variation ; the latter part, relating to the constant communicationw ith the m ass of the people, was thought, under the circum stances,to be too hardy
,and was accordingly dropped sub sil entio.
About this tim e it was that the leaders of th e comm ittee casttheir eyes upon m e to fil l the station left vacant by RichardBurke. It was accordingly proposed by my friend John Keoghto appoint m e their agent, w ith the title of assistant- secretary, anda salary of £200 sterling a-year
,during my continuance in the
service of the comm ittee . This proposal was adopted unanim ously .
John Keogh and John Sweetm an were ordered to wait on m e withthe proposal in writing, to which I acceded imm ediately by a.
respectful answer; and I was that very day introduced l n form to
the sub committee,and entered upon the functionsof my new office.
5 8 L IF E or
I was now placed in a very honourabl e,but a very arduous
situation . The comm ittee having taken so decided a step as to
propose a general election of m em bers to represent the Catholicbody throughout Ireland
,was wel l aware that th ey would be
exposed to attacks of al l possibl e kinds ; and they were not disapp ointed . They were prepared
,however
,to repel them
,and the
l iterary part of th e warfare fel l,of course
,to my share . In
reviewing the conduct of my predecessor, Richard Burke, I saw
that the rock on which he spl it was an overwe ening opinion of hisown talents and j udgm ent
,and a desire
,which he had not art
enough to conceal,of guiding
,at his pleasure
,the m easures of the
comm ittee. I therefore determ ined to m odel my conduct withth e greatest caution in that respect ; I seldom or n ever offered myopinion
,u nless it was cal led for, in th e sub - comm itte e ; but con
tented myself with giving my sentim ents, withou t reserve, inprivate to the two m en I m ost e steem ed
,and who had
,in their
respective capacities,the greatest influence 0 1 1 that body— I m ean
John Keogh and Richard M‘Cormick, secretary to the generalcomm ittee . My discretion in this respect was not unobserved ;and I very soon acquired
,and I may say , without vanity, I
d eserved,th e entire confidence and good opinion of the Cathol ics.
The fact is,I was d evoted m ost sincerely to their cau se ; and being
now retained in their serv ice,I would have sacrificed everyth ing
to ensure their su ccess,and they knew it . I am satisfied they
looked upon m e as a faithful and zealous advocat e,neither to be
intim idated nor corrupted, and in that respect they rendered mebut j ustice . My circum stances were, at the time of my appointm ent
,extremely em barrassed
,and of cou rse th e salary annexed to
my office was a considerable obj ect with me . But though I hadnow an increasing fam ily totally unprovided for, I can safely say
,
that I would not have deserted my duty to the Catholics for thewhole patronage of th e governm ent if it were consol idated intoone office
,and offered m e as the reward . In these sentiments I
was e ncouraged and confirm ed by the incomparable spirit of mywife ; to whose patient suffering under adversity— for we had oftenbeen reduced
,and were now wel l accustomed to difficu l ties-m l
know not how to render j u stice . Wom en in general,I am sorry
to say it,are m ercenary, and especially if they have children , they
are ready to m ake al l sacrifices to their establishm ent. But myd earest love had bolder and juster v iews . O n every occasion of
my l ife I consu lted her; we had no secrets, one from the other,and I unvaryingly found her think and act with energy andcourage
,com bined w ith the greatest prudence and d iscretion . If
ever I succeed in l ife, or arrive at anything l ike station or eminence
T HEOBALD W OL FE T ONE. 5 9
I shal l consider it as due to her counsels and her example . But
to return . Another rule which I adopted for my conduct was, inal l th e papers I had occasion to w ri te, to rem ember I was notspeaking for myself
,but for the Cathol ic body ; and , consequently,
to he n ever wedded to my own compositions, but to receive th eobj ections of every on e with respect ; and to change w ithou treluctance whatever th e comm ittee thought fi t to alter
,even in
cases where perhaps my own j udgm ent was otherwise . Andtrifling as this circum stance m ay seem ,
I am sure it recomm endedm e considerably to the comm ittee, who had been , on form eroccasions
,m ore than once embarrassed by the self- l ove ofRichard
Burke ; and, indeed , even of som e of their own body,m en of con
sid erab l e talents, who had written som e excellent papers on theirbehalf
,but who did not stand criticism as I did
,w i thout wincing.
The fact is,I was so entirely devoted to their cause
,that the idea
Of literary reputation as to myself never o ccurred to m e ; not thatI am at al l insensible on that score, but th e feel ing was total lyabsorbed in superior considerations ; and I think I may safelyappeal to the sub- comm itte
,whether ever
,on any occasion
,they
found m e for a m om ent set up my vanity or self—love against theirinterests
,or even their pleasure . I am sure that by my discretion
on the points I have m entioned , which , indeed, was no m ore thanmy duty, I secured the esteem of the comm ittee
,and
,consequ ently
,
an influence in their counsels,which I should j ustly have forfe ited
had I seem ed too eage r to assum e it ; and it is to the cred it of bothpartie s that
,from th e fi rst m om ent of our connexion to th e l ast .
n either my zeal and anxiety to serve them ,nor the kindness and
favour w ith which they received my efforts, w e re e ve r, for a singl em om ent
,suspended .
Alm ost the first business I had to tran sact was to conduct acorrespondence with Richard Burke
,who was very desirous to
return to Ireland once m ore,and to resum e his form er station
,
which th e com m ittee were d e term ined h e should not do . I t was
a m atter of som e difficul ty to refuse w i thout offend ing him ;and I m ust say he pressed us rather forcibly ; however, we parriedhim w ith as m uch address as we could
,and after two or three
l ong l etters,to which the answers were very concise and civil
,h e
found th e business was desperate,and gave it up accordingly.
This ( 1 792) was a m em orable year in Ireland . The publicationof the plan for the n ew organizing of th e general comm i ttee gavean instant alarm to al l th e supporters of the British governm ent ;and every effort was m ade to prevent the election of the countrym embers ; for it was sufficiently ev ident that, if the representative sof three m il l ions of oppressed people were once suffered to m eet
60 LIFE or
i t would not afterwards be safe,or indeed possibl e, to refuse their
j ust dem ands . Accordingly,at th e ensuing assizes
,th e grand
j uries,un iversally throughout Ireland
,published the m ost furious,
I may say frantic , resolutions against th e plan and its authors,whom they charged with littl e short of high treason . Governm ent ,l ikewise
,was too successful in gaining over th e Cathol ic clergy,
particularly the bishops,who gave the m easure at first very serious
opposition . The comm ittee,however
,was not d aunted ; and,
satisfied of the j ustice of their cause and of their own courage,they laboured
,and with success
,to inspire the sam e spirit in th e
breasts of their brethren throughout the nation . F orl
this purpose,
their fi rst step was an adm irable one . By their order I drew up astate of th e case
,with a plan for the 0 1 0fanization of th e comm ittee
annexed,which was laid before Sim on Butler and Beresford
Ew ton,two lawyers of great em inence
,and what was of con
sequence here,king’ s counsel
,to know whether the comm ittee had
in any respect contravened the l aw of th e land; or whether, bycarrying the proposed plan into execution , th e parties concernedwould subj ect them selves to pain or penalty . The an swers of
both th e lawyers were completely in our favour,and we instantly
printed them in th e papers,and dispersed them in handbi lls
,
le tters,and al l possible shapes . This blow was decisive as to the
legal ity of the m easure . For the bishops,whose opposition gave
us great trouble,four or five differen t m issions were undertaken by
differen t m embers of th e sub - comm ittee,into the provin ces
,at
their own expense,in order to hold conferences w ith them ; in
which,with m uch difficu lty
,they succeeded so far as to secu re the
c c - operation of som e,and the neutral ity of the rest of th e prelates.
O n th ese m issions the m ost active m embers were John Keogh andThomas Braughal l , neither of whom spared purse nor person wherethe interests of the Cathol ic body were concerned . I accom paniedMr Braughal l in h is v is it toConnaught, where he went to m eetthe gentry of that province at th e great fair of Ballinasloe . As i twas late in the evening when we l eft town , th e postil l ion whodrove us having given warning
,I am satisfied
,to
‘som e footpads
,
the carriage was stopped by four or five fellows at th e gat e of thePhoenix Park . We had two cases of pistols in the carriage
,and
we agreed not to be robbed . Braughal l , who was at this tim eabout sixty-five years of age , and lam e from a fal l off h is horsesom e years before
,was as cool and intrepid as man could be . H e
took the command,and by his orders I let down al l th e glasse s ,
and cal led out to the fellows to com e on,if they were so inclined ,
for that we were ready ; Braughal l desiring m e at the sam e tim enot to fire
,til l I cou ld touch the scoundrels.
’ This rather
T HEOBALD wor’
rs rroan. 61
embarrassed them,and they did not venture to approach the
carriage,but held a council of war at th e horses’ heads. I then
presented on e of my pistols at the postil l ion , swearing horriblythat I would put him instantly to death if h e did not drive overthem
,and I m ade him feel the m uzzle of th e pistol against th e
back of h is head ; the fellows on th is took to their heels and ranoff
,and we proceeded on our j ourney without further interruption .
When we arrived at the inn,B raughal l , whose goodness of heart
is equal to his courage,and no m an is brave r
,began by abusing
the postil l ion for his treachery,and ended by giving him half a
crown . I W anted to break the rascal ’s bones,but he would not
suffer m e ; and this was th e end of our adventure .Al l parties were now fully em ployed preparing for the ensuing
session of parl iam ent. The governm ent,through the organ of the
corporations and grand j uries,opened a heavy fire upon us of
m anifestoes and resolutions . At first we were l ike young soldiers,
a l ittle stunned w ith the noise ; but after a few rounds we beganto look about us
,and seeing nobody drop w ith al l th is furious
can nonade,we took courage and determ ined to return th e fire. In
consequence,wherever there was a m eeting of the Protestan t
ascend ency,which was th e titl e assum ed by that party (and a very
impudent one i t was) , we took care it should be followed by am eeting of the Catholics
,who spoke as loud
,and louder than thei r
adversaries ; and as we had the righ t clearly on ou r side,we found
no great difficulty in silencing the en emy on th is quarter . TheCatholics l ikewise took care
,at th e sam e tim e that they branded
their enem ies,to m ark their gratitude to their friends
,who were
daily increasing,and especial ly to the peopl e of Belfast ; between
whom and the Cathol ics the union wasnow com pletely establish ed .
Among the various attacks m ade on us this summ er,th e m ost
rem arkable for their virulence we re those of the grand j ury ofLouth
,headed by the Speaker of the House of Comm ons ; of
Lim erick,at which the Lord Chancel lor assisted ; and of the
corporation of the city of D ublin ; which last publ ished a m ostfurious m anifesto
,threatening us
,in so m any words
,with a resistance
by force . In consequence,a m eeting was held of the Catholics of
D ublin at l arge,which was attended by several thousands
,where
the m anifesto of the corporation was read and m ost ably comm entedupon by John Keogh
,D r Ryan
,Dr M‘Neven
,and several others ;
and a. counter-manifesto being proposed,which was written by my
friend Emm et,and incomparably wel l done
,it was carried unani
m ousl y, and publ ished in al l the papers, together with the speechesabove -m entioned; and both the speeche s and the man ifesto hadsuch an infinite superiority over those of the corporation, which
62 L IF E 0 1?
were also publ ished and dil igen tly circul ated by the government,that i t put an end
,efi‘ectual ly , to th is warfare of resoluti ons.
The people of Belfast were not idl e on their part; they sparedn either pains nor expense to propagate the n ew doctrine of theunion of Irishm en th rough the whole n orth of Ireland ; and th eyhad th e sati sfaction to see their proselytes rapidly extending in al ldirections . In order m ore effectually to spread their principle s
,
twe lve of th e m ost active and intelligen t am ong th em subscribed£25 0 each
,in order to set on foot a paper
, whose obj ect should beto give a fair statem ent of al l that passed in France , wh ither eve ryone turned their eyes ; to incu lcate th e n ecessity of union am ongstIrishm en of al l rel igious persuasions; to suppott th e em ancipationof th e Cathol ics ; and , finally, as th e necessary, th ough not avowed ,consequence of al l th is
,to erect Ireland into a republ ic
,independent
of England . This paper,which they called very appositely th
North ern Star,was conducted by my friend Sam uel N e il son
,who
was unanim ously chosen editor; and it could not be del ivered intoabler hands . It is
,in truth , a m ost incomparable paper, and i t
rose instantly on its appearance with a m ost rapid and extensivesale . The Catholics everywhere throughout I reland (I m ean th eleading Catholics) , were, of course, subscribe rs ; and the
'
Northc rn
Star was one great m eans of efi'
ectual ly accom pl ish ing th e un ionof th e two great sects
,by the simple process of m aking their
m utual sentim ents better known to each oth er.It was determ ined by the people of Belfast to comm em orate
th is year the ann iversary of the taking of the Bastile wi th greatcerem ony . For th is purpose they planned a review of thev olunteers of the town and n eighbourhood
,to be followed by a
grand procession,with emblem atical device s
,etc . They al so
d eterm ined to avai l th emselves of this opportuni ty to bring forwardthe Catho l ic question in force ; and in consequen ce, they resolvedto publish two addresse s
,on e to the people of France
,and one to
the people of Ireland . They gave instructions to D r Drennan toprepare th e form er
,and the latter fel l to m y lot . D rennan
exe cu ted h is task adm irably ; and I m ade my address, for mypart
,as good as I knew how . W e were inv ited to assist at th e
ceremony,and a great num ber of the leading m embers of th e
Catho l ic comm ittee determ in ed to avai l them se lves of th is opportunity to show th eir zeal for the success of the cause of l ibe rty inFrance
,as wel l as th e i r respect and gratitude to th e ir friends in
Belfast. In consequence,a grand assembly took place on the i 4th
July. After the review,th e volunteers and inhabi tants
,to the
number of about six thousand,assembled in the L inen ~H al l
,and
voted the address to the French people unanimously. T he address
CONT INUAT IO N O F T HE L IF E
T H EOBAL D W OL F E T ONE
W RIT T EN BY H IS SO N .
IN the preceding abstract,written at Paris
,from m emory, and
am idst th e most anxious cares, my father brought down thenarrative of his l ife to the m iddle of July
,1 792 . From thence
,
to his arrival in France,elapsed a space of upwards of thre e years.
I feel it my duty to account and apologize for the scantiness of mym aterials relative to this period
,perhaps the most interesting of
h is career. It was during that tim e that,young and unknown
,
acting against al l the power and influence of a party,secure in the
long enj oym ent of unopposed usurpation and insolent authority,he roused the energies of his oppressed countrym en
,and rall ied
the m ass of the people, so long divided by confl icting interests andreligious anim osities
,to assert their n ational independence .
From the m om ent h e engaged in this cause,he inad e it a rul e
to consign in a d iary, destined for th e sol e perusal of his m ostintimate friends and fam i ly, th e passing events of the times, hiscomm ents upon them
,and his own thoughts and actions . O f this
spirited and l ively j ournal,we yet possess
,and herewith publish
,
th e part which begins at h is arrival in France,and extends to the
date of the last expedition, where he perish ed . But on h isd eparture from Am erica, he left in my m other
’ s hands that whichcontained the diary of his efforts in Ireland
,whilst form ing the
Society of the United Irishm en,and acting as agent and secretary
to th e Catholic sub-comm ittee . T he experience of our form erj ourney had proved what l ittle respect was then paid by th eBritish cru izers to the neutral Am erican flag
,and how unsafe it
would have been to have carried such papers along w ith him .
When,at the close of th e year 1 796
,my m other sai led from
Am erica to j o in him ,th e sam e reasons stil l existed . As he had
l eft with Dr Reynolds, of Philadelphia, an ol d friend and associate
L IFE O F T HEOBAL D W OL F E T ONE. 65
in h is pol itical career,an unlim ited power of attorney to protect his
fam ily and m anage their affairs in h is absence , she trusted to h ischarge a l l our l ittle property in Am erica, amounting to Som ehundreds of pounds ste rling, a select l ibrary of six hundredVolumes
,and
,above all
,my father
’
s papers,essays
,and m anu
scripts, including those j ournals, and enclosed in a strong cordedand sealed trunk , of which she kept the key. I am pained to addthat th is sacred trust
,this pledge of confidence and of friendship
,
h e v iolated by an unpardonable negligence . Neither during myfather’ s l ife nor after h is death , cou ld our repeated demands
,nor
our l etters and m essages by the m ost respectable and confidentialfriend s who wen t to Am erica, procure any answer . At l ength
,in
the year 1 807, when th e state of my health compel led us to unde rtake a sea voyage , and we cam e to Philadelphia, we cal led theunfortunate to an account, bu t he could give none ; and
,reduced
by repeated and severe il ln ess , was then tottering on th e verge ofl i fe . What cou ld w e do ? Seriou s as the sacrifice was
,in our
c ircum stances, w e offered him a fu l l rel ease for the remainder ofthe property
, if he could only put u s in the way of recovering the
papers . But it was al l in vain,for he had them not ; h e begged
m e to search his house, and I found the trunk broken open andempty. With a great deal of difficulty I recovered som e fragm entsd ispersed in different hands, and non7 published . But his j ournalsof the m ost importan t and interesting years, of 1 7 93, 1 794, and1 795 , were irrecoverably gone . The manuscripts of the num erouspamphlets and essays, which my father composed at that tim ea great number of which were anonym ous, and often ascribed toother hands— as wel l as the m aterials of a philosoph ical andpol itical h istory of Ireland, which h e was then compil ing, and hadalready begun to write
,were also lost . Dr Reynolds d i ed w ithin
a few weeks,and we were obl iged to give up al l hop e s of
d iscovering them .
By this loss,inappreciabl e to our feel ings
,w e are deprived of
the m eans of tracing accurately my father’ s career during those
three eventful years ; in which he was con stantly em ployed in supporting the spirit of union and independence in his country
,and
perform ing, as agent to the Cathol ic comm ittees,those services
which,by their parting vote of thanks
,they declared“no gratitude
could overrate,and no remuneration overpay .
”As i t is n ot my
purpose to write a h istory of Ireland,nor a pol itical d issertation
on the state of that country under its form er,never to be forgotten
,
nor forgiven,governm ent
,I wil l m erely ind icate
,from my m other
’srecol lect ions
,and from th e scan ty m ate rial s which we have
recovered, a few of those prom in ent events in which he was th e nC
66 L IF E O F
engaged,and which m ay e l ucidate som e passages in h is subsequent
m cmm rs.
O f th e j ournals,which form ed the m ost interesting part of this
col lection,we have recovered those of O ctobe r, 1 79 1 , w ith som e
trifling fragm ents of an earl ier date,those of July
,August,
September, O ctober, and November, 1 792, and part of Januaryand February
,1 793 . My father states
,in his own m em oir
,that
h e began to keep them regularly in 1 79 1 , when he engagedseriously in the po l itics of the day . From then ce
,they extended
in a regular series to th e m iddle of 1 795,when h e sail ed for
Am erica ; but al l th e rem ainder, though b e frequently refers tothem in his other writings
,are irrecoverably lost. This loss may
b e partly suppl ied by a mutilated abstract of the operations of the
general comm ittee and delegation which carried th e petition of theCatholics to England ; and of their subsequent n egotiations withth e Irish governm en t
,from the beginning of December
,1 792
,to
the end of April,1 793 . This e legant and lu cid report
,wh ich we
w il l insert in th is portion of h is life,as it properly form s a con
tinuation of it,w il l show how qual ified he -was to write that history
of Ireland,which h e had begun
,and of which it was probably
destined to form a part.Along wi th these papers we have recovered h is notes of the
sittings of the Cathol ic general comm ittee,but in a very mutilated
state,and written on fly ing scraps of pape r during th e debates,
along with a few relating to other periods of his l ife . These wereth e m aterials from whence his j ournals were afterward swritten
,when
sitting,surrounded by his wife and . ch ildren , as I yet rem ember
him,in the evening leisu re of h is hom e . Even in this state they
are highly interesting. We have al so recovered several hundredl ette rs from his personal friends
,and from the United Irishm en of
Be lfast and D ublin,fi l led w ith th e daily d e tai‘s of their hopes
,
fears,and transactions. O f these we have selected a few to
illustrate som e portions of his life,bu t the greater n umber can be
but of l ittl e interest to the publ i c at th is day,though they breathe
1 1 th e fervou r and spirit of th e tim es . Som e of his earl ier m anuscripts
,and several of his printed essays
,pam ph lets
,and smal ler
pieces,complete this col lection
,but th e greater part of the latter
are l ost. Such are the m aterials out of which we m ust endeavourto trace th is portion of my father
’ s life .We have already seen in the preceding narrative
,th at in 1 79 1
he wrote that pam phlet l n favour of the Catholic cause, signed“a
Northern Whig,
”whose success was so prodigious
,and 0 1 1 which
h e was appointed secretary and agen t to the sub comm ittee,in the
place of Richard Broke. The fol lowing year, 1 792, was the most
T H EOBALD wow s T ONE. 67
busy period in his political care er . In th e course of a few m onth s ,constantly engaged in th e sam e great pursu it, h e perform ed threej ou rneys to Belfast
,to effect the union be tween the Catholics and
D issenters,in which h e succeeded
,at l ength
,completely ; beside s
several oth e r j ourneys in Connaught and elsewhe re,to rally th e
Cathol ics them selves in the common cause,and cal m the agi tated
passions of the D issenters . The detail s of these j ou rn eys,written
in a m ost playful and lively styl e , are contained in the j ournal swhich we have saved
,as wel l as h is negotiations w i th the Whig
l eaders,G rattan
,Lord Moira
,and the Marquis of Abercorn
,on
behalf of the Cathol ics . D uring the sam e period he founded th efi rst clubs of the United Irishm en
,whose organization and obj ect
were then very differen t from those which the tyranny of th egovernm ent afterwards drove them to
,when they had spread al l
over th e country. The prim itive obj ect of th is society wasm erelyto form a union of al l religiou s denom inations , whose m embers,abj uring every form er feud
,should j oin th eir efforts to reform th e
abuses of th e government and constitution of the country,and
restore the rights of free and equal citizenship to Irishm en of everysect and rel igion . Their oath of secrecy and regular organizationwere introduced at a later period
,and by other l eaders
,wh en my
father had ceased to have any influence over them,and scarcely
held any correspondence with their councils .Towards th e clo se of that year
,1 792 , his arduou s efforts to
unite th e m ass of th e nation in the sacred cause of union andindependence
,presented m ore favourable symptom s of success than
at any form er period . The Catholics and D issenters were un ited,
and a new and com plete sy stem of representation was organizedam ongst th e form er
,which enabled them to concentrate in one
voice th e gri evances and opinions of three m il l ion of m en . Thisgreat resu lt was obtained by th e unrem itting efforts of th e subcomm ittee of Dublin
,as wel l as of my father. T hey had been
charged,especial ly after the defection of L ord Kenm are and sixty
eight of th e leading and aristocratical Cathol ics,who had seceded
in th e preceding year from the great body of their brethren,wi th
assum ing falsely the character of representatives of the Cathol icinterest . In consequence
,after rousing
,by every possibl e m eans
,
the spirit of their party through the whole kingdom,and awaken
ing them to a sen se of their wrongs and grievances, they summ onedfrom every county and city in Ireland
,a num ber of fairly and
freely el ected representatives,to join in their del iberations .
In th e beginning of D ecem ber, 1 792 , that general comm ittee ofth e Cathol ics of Ireland
,which first represented the whole. strength
of their body, opened their m eetings; and the single circum stance
68 LIFE GB
of their sitting, w ith al l the form s of a l egisl ative assembly, in thecapital
,produced a kind of awe and stupefaction in th e govern
m ent. Never did such a convention begin its proceedings underauspices m ore favourable . Their friends were rou sed theire nem ies stunned ; and the British governm ent, extrem ely em
harrassed at hom e,showed no desire to interfere . From a letter
of Richard Burke,m ention ed in my father
’s j ournals of 23d and24th July
,1 792, and quoted in the Appendix, w ith his answer,
they concluded that England was determ ined on remaining n eutralin th e controversy . To yield without a struggle
,and recomm end
them selves as wel l as they could to th e ruling party, as that
gentleman advised , was a counsel too cowardly to be fol lowed .
They felt secure in their own strength,which their adversaries
and even their friends (see Burke’s letter) had m uch undervalued
-ih th e spirit and union of the people,and in the support of th e
D issenters ; and determ ined on bringing m atters to a close byaddressing the monarch d irectly against their own government.Had they persevered in the sam e spiri t with which they began
,
th ey wou ld undoubtedly have succeeded .
The immediate purpose of th is m eeting was to draw a statementof the ir grievances
,a vindication of th e Catholics , and a petition
to th e king ; and to address them d irectly to his m aj esty,w ithout
sending th em through th e channel of th e I rish adm in istration .
These papers,th e first which fairly repre se nted the whole exten t
of their grievances,and claim ed the total repeal of those penal
l aws by which n ine - tenths of the population were d e prived of th erights of citizenship
,and almost of human ity
,in their own country
,
were al l drawn by my father, the only Protestant in the assembly ;and he accompanied the delegation which presented them to these v e re
O n this o ccasion I m ust observe that, notwith standing the
affected alarm of th e Irish governm en t at a. m ere playful andtheoretical letter of his
,which
,as I have form erly stated
,fel l after
wards in te th eir hands ; at th is time he on ly sought to obtain ,w ithout the struggles of a revol ution
,th e gradual emancipation of
his country by l egal and constitutional m eans ; by uniting theD issenters and Catholics, who form ed the m ass of the peopl e , tooverwhelm the rul ing and oppressive m inority of the Protestan tascenden cy
,and deprive it of its usurped privileges . And wel l
would it have been for England, if h er administration had had thesense and determ ination to support the cause of j ustice instead of
M r T on e , Jun , g ive s the se docum ents, which having no furthe r d ire ct conne c tion
with the p e rsonal history of 11 1 5 fathe r than what 1 5 afford e d by the fac ts above -m e ntione d,are omitte d .
—Ed . e! Au tobz'
og mpfiy .
TEKOBALD W OL FE T ONE. 6)
that of oppression . The m i ll ions which have been expended,and
the oceans of blood which have been shed in Ireland,would have
been spared ; sh e would have secured th e gratitude and attachm entof its warm -hearted population
,and acquired a faithful and usefu l
al ly to fight by her side in her subsequent contests,instead of a.
chained enemy,requiring the constant employm ent of half her
forces to keep him pinned to the earth .
D uring the whole course of the year 1 792,the progress of the
Cathol ic interest had been rapid and decisive ; at its close , th egovernm ent of Ireland seemed paralysed, and the general comm ittee,supported by the whole power of the D issenters
,and by al l th e
l iberal Protestants in the country,and the Whig party in parl ia
m ent,conquered the m onarch ’s approbation of their claim s and th e
assent of the British m inistry. The weakness of som e of their ownl eaders
,and the skill
,prom ptitude
,and decision of their adversaries
,
soon altered th is favourable prospect.In a better cause
,th e able and energetical m easures of the Irish
governm ent and Protestant ascendency party,would deserve the
highest adm iration . Threatened in the vital principle of theirunj ust m onopoly of power, u nsupported by the British m in istry,they were stunned for a m om ent at the unexpected v igour of aparty which they had too long despised. But
,recovering shortly
from th e panic,they felt the pulse of the se l eaders
,who seem ed
astonished at their own success . It is rem arkable,and belongs
,
perhaps,to an innate principle in human nature
,that th e Catholic
leaders displayed m uch m ore spirit in pleading their cause am ongststrange rs
,and before the m onarch him self
,than when they had to
settl e th e term s of that rel ief,already granted
,w ith those subor
d inate m inisters of his, before whose insol ence and oppression theyhad bent so long in subm ission . They then seem ed to recognizethat frown to which they had been accustom ed ; and the Irishadm inistration perceiving its advantages, instantly assum ed ah igher ton e . O ffering the repeal of such of the penal statuteswere too odious and had fallen in disuse, and granting the electivefranchise
,wh ich
,in th e organization of society and property
in Ireland,could confer no effectual power on the Catholics
,they
retained the m onopoly of al l the real elem ents of that power,and
artfully d elaying the passage of th e bill thus m utilated,made them
understand that it shou ld depend on their passive and quietdem eanour . In the m eantim e
,having secured
,for the m om ent ,
the silence of the expecting Cathol ics, they bent al l their effortsagainst the reform ers and the rebub l icans of the north, who hadso powerfully assisted them . They profited of the alarm excitedby the horrors of the French Revolution ; they roused the fears of
70 men or
al l m en of property ar 1 tim idity ; they se cured,by sacrificing the
in te i csts of th ei r coun t 1 y , the co-op e 1 ation of the m e rcan ti l e andm anufacturing classes l n England
,and overawed and intim idated
pve n th e British m inistry. The very cloak of patriotism se i ved
t heir de signs ; they exclaimed against th e interference of thatm inistry as an en croachm ent on th e n ational independen ce of th eimperial crown of Ireland
,and were readily supported by those
who possessed the m onopoly of that independence At hom e theypossessed al l the powers of th e governm ent
,th e army , the treasu ry,
th e j udiciary,m agistracy
,clergy
,landed property
,and corporations ;
they rall ied al l th e ir efforts ; and , on pretence of som e trifl ingt roubles in the north between th e Defenders and Peep -of-dayBoys
,called ou t al l the forces of th e nation
,augmented the arm y,
raised the m i l itia and yeom anry,and disarm ed the people . The
gentry,m agistracy
,and clergy of th e Established Church every
where seconded these efib rts. Unscrupulous as to their m eans,bloody, unsparing , and uncom prom ising with their enem ies, theyestablished
,at the sam e tim e
,and under th e sam e pretext
,with
the consent of th e Whig as wel l as the Tory interest,that secret
c omm ittee,whose operation s soon equal led
,in cruel ty and i llegal
v iolen ce,those of the Star Chamber in England
,the Inquisition in
Spain,the bloody tribunals of the D uke of Alva
,and the Com ité
o’
e Sal ut publ ic in France . In short,under pretence of resisting a
revolu tionary spirit in Ireland,they assum ed them se lves a revol u
tionary vigour beyond the l aw. When secu re of al l those m eans,
they passed,at l ength
,that m utilate d bill
,cramped by so m any
restrictions,and granted with such m an ifold relu ctance, that it
was received by the m ass of th e Catholic body with as l ittl e
gratitude as it deserved .
T hose m easures of th e Irish adm in istration,though abl e and
v igorou s,and cal culated to rescue them from their impending
danger,were
,however
,founded on narrow and short ~ sighted v iews .
They succeeded ; but it was evident that they would finally renderthat governm ent so odious and unpopular that it would be unab l eto stand . The British m inistry acted on principles of m ore longsighted pol icy. Their sagacity cannot be doubted . Aim ingal ready
,in al l probability
,at th e future incorporation of that
country,the m ore unpopu lar its governm en t rendered itself
,the
better was it for th eir ends in the long run . In fact,the m ost
v iolen t declam ations of the United Irishm en,wh ich led them by
thousands to the dungeon,the transport hulk
,the picket
,and th e
halter,never pictured its crim es in m ore glowing colours than
they were afterwards displayed by Lord Castlereagh him self,long
the remorseless agent of its cruelties, and then the venal instrument
72 L IF E or
This change of circumstances was m ost dishearten ing to thosee ager and disinterested spirits who had devoted themselves to thec ause Of th e Catholics ; because , in the first place , it was j ust; andthat in th e second, th eir enfran ch isemen t was a n ecessary prel im inary to th e emancipation of Ireland
,to the reform of her
governm ent , and to the establ ishm en t Of a free and equal systemof national representation . The bitter feelings which fi ll ed myfather
’ s breast at this first failure of hopes which had been so nearly
g ratified, and the further v iews which h e th en began to m editate,can be traced m ore freely in h is j ournal s of January and February,1 793 , where h e gave way to them w ithout control , than in the
p receding abstract, wh ich was evidently written with caution , andd estined for publication . They may also be found in his notes 0 1 1the debates of the general comm ittee in April ; but chiefly, perhaps,in th e fol lowing loose fragmen t of his thoughts, which I havefound am ongst h is papers, dated March 27th, 1 793 .
Sudden change of d eputation , on our return from Engl andL ast conversation previou s to leaving London— Bell ew
’ s v isit,and
m ine,to the castle— Al l set asid e by the first v isit of th e whole
d eputation— Negotiation , giving up both H ouses of Parliam entPeopl e then u nanim ous and spirited
,bu t soon d isheartened by this
u naccountable conduct'
of their form er leaders— Great advantagesof the castl e over u s in negotiation—_ My own opposition to com
prom ise— Compell ed to give it up at last . Consequence Of th isd erel iction ; a loss of al l publ ic spirit— L ow state of governm entat the Opening of the session
,as appeared from their adm itting
the principle of reform - Their recovery from th e indeci sionof Catholics— Consequent carrying, under cover O f
' th e Cathol icbill
,th e gunpowder and m i l itia acts
,augm entation of army
,pro
c lamations,e tc — Motives of Catholic l eaders ; not corruption
Som e n egotiation carried on by one of them in London,unknown
to the others— The others , probably, unwill ing to risk their estates .Suppression of Belfast volunteers— Feelings of the North
thereupon— Probable consequences of any m ishap befal ling th eEngl ish in the war— T en thousand F rench wou ld accomp l ish a
separation .“Secret comm ittee - First Obj ect to v i lify the Catholic com
m itte e ; fail ing that, to fix a charge of separation on th e peop l ehere , and thereby induce the Engl ish m in ister to support a u nion— Possible , by prop er m eans, to carry said un ion ; also, possible tofail
,and then the countries infall ibly -separated .“War unpopu lar h ere— trade very bad —credit rather better
than in England .“Governm ent apparently strong and p eople subdued; probably
T HEOBALD W OL F E T ONE. 73
both fallacious—Accessions to peopl e perm anen t,to governm en t
but tem porary— Gunpowder act no prevention,if the people are
determ ined to have arm s— Militia wil l not dragoon the people ;bad pol icy to exasperate them
,and then m ake m i li tia of th em
,
that is,give them arm s and disciplin e."
[To the eternal dishonour of the Irish m il itia, my fath er wasm istaken in this particular; he did not calculate sufficiently on th eeffect O f the esprit de corps in embodied troops !
Secre t comm ittee exam ine , even about m e ; have my l etter toRussel l ; proof of their weakness when they descend so l ow .
Such were the ideas ferm enting in his m ind . But the increasinginsolence and cruelty of the adm inistration soon roused the spiritof the people
,and rall ied their anger and divided parties. O penly
trampling on l aw and decency,its oppressive m easures fired the
hearts of the multitude with indignation,and Spread the affi l iation
of the United Irishm en m ore rapidly than could have been doneby al l th e efforts of th e patriotic leaders . Their views were no
longer bounded to Catholic em ancipation and reform of parl iam ent ;they aim ed at separation
,l iberty
,and even revenge . Their
societies took a fie rcer character,and then
,for the first tim e
,began
those secret oaths and associations by which their m embers boundthem selves ; whilst the O range lodges
,w ith form s at l east as
i l legal as those of the United Irishm en,and purposes as diabol ical
as those of the others were pure and l iberal,were en cou raged by
the governm ent al l over the country. To unite al l sects and
parties,for the independence of Ireland , was the professed Obj ect
of th e first; to support th e exclusive privileges O f the m embers ofth e Anglican church , and keep the rest of the nation in slavery forever
,of the second . And
,in opposing th e principle s of those two
societies,I have selected those on ly which were openly avowed by
both bodies .The two parties were thu s arrayed in opposition to each other,
and it soon becam e evident that the contest could only be finallydecided by force ; and that if England continued to support the rul ingparty with al l her power and influence, th e other had no resourcebut to break the connexion between th e two countries
,and establish
a n ational and independent governm ent. This idea had oftenm ingled with the dreams O f my father
’
s youth ; but he then , forth e fi rst tim e
,began to consider it seriously. As foreign aid was
indispensable for th is purpose, since their enem ies had all thepower of adm in istration , and all that of England to back them ,
the Irish le aders,and he am ongst the rest
,naturally cast their eyes
and hopes,although 1 1 0 positive overtures were m ade till som e time
afterwards,towards the rising fortunes of the French Republ ic.
74 L IF E O F
She was then struggl ing , w ith unparal leled spirit and success,against th e arm s of al l Europe , and anim ated by the m ost v iolentresentm ent against England . In the beginning of their revolution
,
the French had looked up to that country w ith hopes and confi
d ence ; th ey had expected the praises and countenance of th e freestand m ost l iberal people in Europe, for breaking their own chains ;and
,on the first cel ebration of their independence (1 4th July) , had
blended in a wreath the flags of England and Am erica w iththeir own tri-colour. But England
,supporting the coal ition Of the
European kings,began then
,as she has continued ever since
,to
Oppose the springing l iberties Of the rem ainder of m ankind,as if
she w ish ed to m onopolize th e benefits of freedom ,as W el l as those
of trade and m anufactures.My father’s part
,during th is period
,was most trying and
difficu lt. With th e Whig party he was utterly disgusted: In h isopinion
,whatever professions they had form erly made were v iolated
by their j oining the governm ent in those extraordinary and ill egalm easures . They showed them se lves as m uch afraid Of a real andradical reform in the social organization and governm en t O f th ecountryy as the To ries them selves ; and yet so unnatural was thestate of Ireland , that such a change was indispensable before i tc ould be settled in a state of any stability . As for the revolutionaryspirit
,of which they now affected such fears
,i t m igh t have been
total ly suppressed by an early conciliation of the Cathol ics,and a
j ust al lowance of their claim s . With the Cathol ics and UnitedIrishm en he had to combat alternate fits of despondency and
en thusiasm,and to reconcil e con tinual d iscords . At on e tim e
,
when it was endeavoured to form a corps of volunteers from al lthe religious sects
,they expressed their alarm and distrust at the
smal l number of Protestants who presen ted them selves . “Andare you not the n ation ?
” replied he ;“do w ithout them ; wi l l you
not keep,if you are not corned with Protestants
At other tim es, on th e contrary, their enthusiasm ,roused by the
energetical e fforts and dazzling exploits of the French republicans ;and their indignation kindled by the oppression of th e governm ent,burst ou t into imprudent and extravagant excesses . My fatherendeavoured to restrain them ; but the only consequence of hisefforts was
,that he l ost al l influence in the United Irish clubs
,his
own creation, but who had now assumed a n ew spirit an d organ ization . As in al l periods of popular ferm entation
,the loudest and
boldest talkers took the lead,and the papers teem ed daily with the
m ost imprudent and inflamm atory pub l ications . These ebul litionsof impotent resentm ent , by which they only favoured the views ofthe adm in istration, he always condemned . Numbers of them
T HEOBALD W OL F E T ONE. 75
agreed to cal l each other by the title of citizen ; and h e frequentlyrecei ved letters through the post Office
,written in im itation of th e
popular style of the French Jacobins,and addressed to Citizen
Theobald Wolfe Tone. H is good sense pointed ou t to him th edanger and folly of su ch idle demonstrations . “Make yourselffree
,
”would he say,
“and cal l yourself what you pl ease . But you
are no m ore citizens for shutting yourselves up in a room ,and
call ing yourselves by that nam e,than you would be al l peers and
noblemen,by calling each other my lord.
”Such was his general
dissatisfaction at the state of affairs,that he retired in a great
degree from the political arena, and spent m ost of his tim e at asm al l country seat which he inherited by the death of his uncle
,
captain Jonathan Tone . 0 11 every occasion,however
,of danger
and difficulty,he was prom inent
,and ready to assum e the post O f
peril and honour.But it is not my purpose to write a history of Ireland . D uring
the year which fo l lowed the passage of the act of April,1 793
,the
storm did not ye t burst, but it was l owering and th ickening everyhour
,with terrific and portentous gloom . Blood had not yet
flowed,and the reign of torture had not yet comm enced ; but a
noxious crowd of inform e rs,from the faeces of society
,began to
appear l ike the verm in and insects from th e mud of Egypt, underthe fostering patronage of the castle ; state prosecutions werem ultiplied beyond exam ple ; j uries were packed, and iniquitou sj udgm ents rendered ; the soldiery were quartered on the disaffecteddistricts
,and indulged in every l icence; the affections of the people
were al ienated for ever,and their irritation increased to m adness.
It is not my intention to enter into the details of these odioustransactions. Am ongst the m ost marked events which indicatedthe increasing v iolence of al l parties
,and the approaching crisis of
the storm,were the arrests, trials, and imprisonm ent of my father
’ sfriends
,Arch ibald H am ilton Rowan , Sim on Butler, and O l iver
Bond . The declarations and spee ches for which they were arrested,
and those m ade on their trial s, are in every history of the tim es,
and in every recolle ction . It is needless he re to dwel l upon or
recapitulate them .
At l ength,in the m onth Of April, 1 794, William Jackson was
arrested on a charge of high treason . This gentl eman was sent bythe French governm ent to sound the people of Ireland as to theirwi llingness to j oin the French
,and had received his instructions
from one Madgett, an O l d Irishm an , long settled in France, in th eOf fice of the departm ent for foreign affairs, and whose nam e i srepeatedly m entioned in my father
’ s j ournals . The sincerity O f
Jackson was fully dem onstrated by his heroic death ; but his im ~
76 u rn or
prudence and indiscretion rendered him totally unfit for such a
m ission . O n his passage through England, h e opened him self toan English attorney, Cockayne, an old acquaintance of his, whoi nstantly sold his inform ation to th e British governm ent, and wasordered by the '
pol ice to followhim as an official spy. The leadersof the patriotic party and Catholics in Ir ,
eland desirous as theywere to open a comm un ication w ith France, were unwil
"1 1 ng to
c om prom ise them selves with a stranger, by answering directly tohis overtures . My father undertook to run the risk ; and evene ngaged h im self to bear their answer to that country, and del iverto its governm ent a statem ent of th e wants and situation of Ireland.
But after som e communications with Jackson , he was deeply disgusted by the rash and unl im ited confidence which that unfortunatem an seem ed to repose in Cockayne . He m ade it a po int n ever toopen h im self in his presen ce, and insisted on i t with Jackson .“This business
,
”said he,
“is one th ing for u s Irishm en ; but anEnglishman who engages in it m ust b e a traitor one way or th eother.” At l ength
,on a glaring instance of Jackson’ s indiscretion
,
he withdrew his offers,taking care that it should be in th e
presence of Cockayne, who cou ld testify nothing furth er againsthim
,and decl ined engaging any longer in the business . Jackson
was shortly after arrested .
This was an awful period . Al though Cockayne cou ld on ly givepositive ev idence against Jackson
,the l atter m igh t undoubtedly
have saved h is l ife by giving information . The m ost v iolen tsuspicions were directed against my father, as being privy at l eastto those plots
,if not engaged l n them . Every n ight h e expected
to be arrested for exam ination before the secret comm ittee.Several of th e patriotic and Catholic leaders
,m ost fromattachm en t
to him,some for fear of being comprom ised by his arrest
,urged
him to abscond ; and m any of those h ighly respectable and belovedfriends
,whom
,notwithstanding th e d ifference of th eir political
opinions,his am iable character and social qual ities had secured to
him amongst the aristocracy and higher classes,j oined in the sam e
request,and pressed u pon him the m eans necessary for that
purpose. He constantly refused them . The great body of th eCathol ics behaved
,on this o ccasion
,with fi rmness and dignity
,and
showed a proper sense of gratitude for h is form er services . Severalof th e Whig leaders (am ongst whom I am sorry to include th ehonourable nam e of Grattan), whose party he had m ortallyoffended by refusing to engage in their service as a pam phleteer
,
advised them to abandon him to his fate,and to ld them
,H ow
c ould th eir,
parliam entary friends support them whilst they retainedin their serv ice a man so obnoxious and so deeply comprom ised ?
T HEOBALD W OL F E T ONE. 77
They rej ected al l such overtures . I mu st,however
,observe that
,
though my fath er had put him self forward in their cause, on thisoccasion
,m ost of their l eaders were as deeply engaged as h im self
,
and could n either in honour,in j ustice
,nor in prudence, act other
wise— a circumstance of which Grattan was probably not aware .D uring all th is tim e he refused, m uch against the advice of his
friends,to conceal h im self; but remained , generally, at h is hom e
in the country, compiling his history of Ireland,and m aking
occasional visits to D ublin ,where h e continued to act as secretary
to the Cathol ic sub - comm ittee . At l ength,by th e m ost pressing
instance s w ith the governm ent,his aristocratical friends succeeded
in concluding an agreem ent , by which on his engaging simply tol e ave Ire l and
,as soon as h e could settl e h is private affairs
,no
pu rsuits were to be m ade against him . I cannot th ink that them ost furiousp artizans of that governm ent cou l d blam e thosegenerous and disinterested efforts (for th ese friends were opposedto him in pol itics) , or t hat their nam es can suffer in th e sl ighte std egree by th e publication of these facts . O ne of them
,th e
honourable Marcus Beresford,the am iable and accom pl ished is now
no m ore ; the other, th e honourable and high -m inded George Knox,
wi ll,I am sure
,see w ith pl easure th is hom age to his v irtues
,by
his own god -son,and the only surviving ch ild of h is departed friend .
As th is com prom ise (for these true friends would n ever haveproposed any other) engaged him to nothing contrary to h isprinciples
,and left his future course free
,he accepted it ; giving in
to them a fai r and exact statem ent of how far and how deep he hadbeen personal ly engaged in this business ; and adding , that h e wasready to bear the consequences ofwhatever he had done ; but wou ld ,on no account , charge, comprom ise , or appear against any one el se .O f th is transaction he drew,
before h is departure from Ireland,
th e fol lowing ful l and m anly narrative,which we insert entire
,as
wel l as the statem ent above -m entioned . The only fact wh ich,in
both these papers,he passes over in silen ce
,from obvious and
generous reasons,is
,that any othe rs were privy to these commun i
cations w ith Jackson . H e assum es them as the sole act of h isown w i ll . A copy of the notice on th e situation of Ireland
,which
he had given in to Jackson,fel l into th e hands of the governm ent.
Statem ent of M r T one’
s comp romise with the I rish Government.
H aving seen in a newspaper report of th e trial of the Rev .
Will iam Jackson,th e testim ony of Mr Keane
,in which he m entions
that h e understands I have comprom ised with governm en t,I think
it a duty incumbent upon m e,feeling as I do that the expression
carries a very inv idious import, to state what the nature of that
78 L IF E or
comprom ise is. At th e tim e of Mr Jackson ’s arrest,and M r
Rowan ’s escape,and D r Reynol ds
’
s em igration,my situation was a
very critical on e . I felt the necessity of tak ing imm ediate anddecided m easures to extricate myself. I
,therefore
,wen t to a
gentlem an,high in confidence with the then adm in istration
,and
to ld him at once,fairly
,eve iy step I had taken . I told him
,also
,
that I knew how far I was in danger,that my l ife was safe ,
u nless it was u nfairly practised against,which I did not at al l
apprehend ; but that i t was certainly in th e power of th egovernm ent
,if th ey pleased , to ruin m e
,as effe ctual ly as they
possibly cou ld by my d eath ; that, on two points,I had m ade
up my m ind ; th e first was,that I would not fly ; th e other , that
I would never open my l ips, as a w itn ess, e ither again st Mr Rowan ,to whom I felt myself bound by the strongest ties of esteem andregard '
or against Mr Jackson , who, in whatever con versations h ehad held in my presence, m ust have supposed he was speaking toa man who would not betray him : that I had no claim whatsoeveron the governm ent
,nor shou ld I m urm ur at any course they m ight
please to adopt . What I had done,I had done
,and
,if necessary
,
I m ust pay th e penal ty ; but, as my ru in m ight not be an obj ectto them
,I was ready
,if I were al lowed
,and could at al l aecom
p lish it, to go to Am erica. In the m eantim e,here I was
,ready
to subm it to my fate, whatever that m ight be , bu t inflexibly determ ined on th e two points wh ich I have m entioned above
,and for
which I would sacrifice my l ife a thou sand tim es, rather thanrecede. The gentleman to whom I addressed myself
,after a short
tim e,assu re d m e that I shou ld not be attacked as a principal
,nor
summ oned as a witness ; which assurance he repeated to m e
afterwards on another occasion,and has been very faithfully kept.
This assurance was given m e unclogged by any stipu l ation or
condition whatsoever ; and I have eve r since, to the best of myj udgm ent
,observed a strict n eutral ity. Whether th is
,wh ich is
th e whole of th e comm un ication between governm ent and m e,be
a comprom ise or not, I hope , at least, i t is n o dishonou rable one .
I have betrayed no friend ; I h ave revealed no secret ; I haveabused no confidence . F or what I had done I was ready to suffer ;I wou ld
,if necessary
,subm it I hope to death
,but I wou ld not to
what I consider disgrace . As to that part of my conduct whichwas in troductory to thi s unfortunate business , I leave it, withoutanx iety, to the censu re of al l incl ined to condem n it.
”
Statement of M r T one’
s commun icationswith Jackson .
Som e days prev ious to the D rogheda assizes, I was informedby A. that there was a gentleman in town , who was very
80 L IFE or
at that tim e,went no farther. I had a latent suspicion he m ight
possibly be an em issary of th e British m inister,and therefore to
inortify him,if that were th e case
,I spoke w ith th e greatest
asperity of th e English nation,and of their unj ust influence on th e
governm en t of Ireland . His friend sat at a d istance during thisconversation
,and I am sure cou ld have heard no part of it
,n either
did I inquire,nor do I know
,what conversation A. and the
gentlem an had previous to their beckoning m e over ; and the reasonI did not inquire
’
was,that
,not knowing how th e affair m ight
term inate,and especially not knowing bu t this person m igh t be
an English spy,I determ ined I would know as l ittl e of other
people’
s secrets as I cou l d,consisten t with my taking any part in
th e business .“The next day,I think
,I saw A. again . He showed m e
a paper,adm irably d rawn up
,in my j udgment, which he said he
had got from th e gentlem an above m entioned . The paper wentto show the political state of England
,and th e deduction was
,
that an invasion there wou ld tend to un ite al l parties against theFrench . I said the state of Ireland was total ly differen t
,and that
it wou ld be easy,in th e sam e
'
compass, to explain that on paper.H e bid m e try
,and I agreed to do so . I do not recollect that we
had any further conversation at that tim e . I went hom e,and that
even ing m ad e a sketch of the state of Ireland,as it appeared to
m e,and th e inference of my paper was, that circum stances in Ire
l and were favourable to a French invasion . I made no copy.
O n Wednesday m orning,the day I had fixed to d in e with the
gentlem an and h is friend,I found myself cal led u pon f to go down
to D rogheda imm ediately,to arrange m atters preparatory to th e
trial of MM . Bird and H am i ll , etc. I therefore wrote,and sent an
apology,stating the fact . I then went
,as usual
,to call on Mr A.
and showed him th e paper . Shortly after,the gentleman
and h is friend cam e in . After a short general conversation of
regret at th e disappointm ent,etc . , A. the gentlem an
,and I
,
retired to a window at one end of the room,and his friend took
up a book and retired to the other end . The conversation betweenus was carried on in a ve ry low voice , so that h e cou ld not possiblyhear u s . I then said I had seen the Engl ish paper
,and had
attem pted a sim i lar sketch as to Ireland , which I read . As Iu nderstand som e copy of that paper has been found, I refer to thatfor the general outline on ly
,as A. assured m e that severa l
al terations had been m ade in it,som e
,I bel ieve
,softening
,and
others aggravating, the m atter contained . When I had’
dons, the
gentlem an asked m e,
‘Would I entrust the paper to him ? ’
I
gave it without hesitation, but imm ediate ly after I saw I
T HEOBALD W OL FE T ONE. 8 1
had been guilty of a gross indiscretion,to cal l i t n o worse
,
in delivering such a paper to a person whom I hard ly knew,and
withou t my knowing to what purposes he m ight apply it. Itherefore
,in abou t five m inu tes
,dem anded it back again ; he
returned it imm ediately, having neither opened nor read it, norany part of i t. I then gave it to A. ,
and I bel ieve th eprecise words I used
,but certainly th e purport of them was
,‘that if h e had a m ind,h e m ight m ake a copy,
’
in wh ich case Id esired him to burn the one I gave him . The conversation th enturned
,as before
,on th e state of Ireland ; th e n ecessi ty of seeking
aid from France; and her readiness and ability to afford it, if aproper person could be found who would go over
,and lay the
situation of th ings here before the Com ité d e Sa l u t p u bl ic. But Ido not recol lect that either A. the gentlem an
,or I
,cam e to
the definite point of myself being that proper person . I wentaway
,leaving the paper
,as I said
,in the hands of A. and
se t off directly for D rogheda .“O n Saturday m orning I received a letter from A. (acircum stan ce wh ich I had forgotten
,until my sitting down to
write,and referring to dates for greater accuracy
,revived it in my
m em ory) , expressing an earnest desire to see m e imm ediately onindispensable business . In consequence
,I set off instantly
,posted
u p to town , and called directly on A. H e told m e that thegentlem an was in a great hurry to be off
,and wanted to see m e of
al l things. I could not,however
,l earn that any n ew m atter had
occurred,and therefore was a l ittle vexed at being hu rri e d up to
town for nothing. I said,however
,I could cal l on the gent leman th e
next m orning (Sunday) at n ine, which I was, however, determ inednot to do ; and, in consequence, instead of cal ling on him
,set off
for D rogheda at six o ’ clock. O n Thursday I returned to town,
and received a rebuke from A. for breaking my engagem ent.He then told m e
,to my unspeakable aston ishm ent and vexation ,
that he had given two or th ree copies of th e paper I had left withhim
,to the gentleman
,w ith several alteration s
,but that h e had
burned my copy, as I had _desired him . Finding the thing done,and past recalling
,I determ ined to find no faul t
,but to withdraw
myself as‘soon as I cou ld from a business where in I saw such
grievous indiscretion . I am not su re whether it was on that,or
on the next m orning,that the gen tlem an and h is friend cam e in .
But,after som e tim e
,the conversation was taken up on the usua l
topics ; and for the first tim e,to my knowledge, th e gentl eman
’sfriend m ade one . Before that h e seem ed to m e to avoid i t. Ithen took an opportunity
,on the difficulty of a proper person being
found to go to France being stated, and it being m entioned (I
82 L IFE or
cannot precisely recol lect by whom of th e party) , that no one was,in al l respects
,so fi t as myself
,to recapitulate pretty nearly what
I had said in al l th e preceding conversations on the general stateof the country ; and I then added , that with regard to my goingto France
,I was a man of no fortune
,that my so le d ependence
was on a profession ; that I had a wife and three ch ildren , whomI dearly loved
,solely depending on m e for support ; that I could
not go and leave them totally unprovided for,and trusting to the
m ercy of Providen ce for existence ; and that, consequ ently, w ithregard to m e
,th e going to France was a thing total ly impossible .
They al l agreed that what I said was reasonable,but there was no
of er of mon ey or p ecun iary assistan ce of ang/hind he ld ou t to indu ce
me to change my d eterm ination ; a circum stan ce which I m entionm erely because I understan d that it is bel ieved that som e suchwas m ade.“The gentleman before m entioned was about to point out
certain circum stan ces which would facil itate such an exped ition ,
if a person could be found ; but I stopped him ,adding
,that as I
could m ake no use of the inform ation,I did not desire to becom e
the d epositary of secrets useless t o m e,and which m igh t be
dangerous to him . I think it was at this conversation,th e last I
was at, previous to the gentlem an’s being arrested
,that som e one
,I
cannot at all ascertain whom,m entioned a letter being put into
the post office,containing the papers before m entioned , and directe d
to som e person at som e n eutral port ; but I am u tterly ignoranthow
,or when
,or to whom
,th e letter was addressed
,or what were
its conten ts, ,other than as I have now stated ; and ,th e reason ofmy not knowing is, that I studiously avoided burdening my m indwith secrets
,which I m igh t afterwards be forced to betray
,or
subm it to very seve re inconven iences . What happen ed after th egentlem an ’s b eing arrested
,I know not
,other than by common
report,hav ing on ly seen him for abou t two m inutes in A. s
apartm en t,on th e night of h is comm ittal, when al l th e conversation
I recol lect was,that I d eclared
,and so did A. that if we
were brought before the privy council we would each of us declare
,the truth as nearly as we cou ld
,consistent with our personal safety ;
for that al l attempts at fabrication wou ld on ly add infamy to peril,and that we m ust now take our chance .I have now stated
,as wel l as my m em ory enables m e
,al l th e
m aterial facts wh ich cam e to my knowl edge, or in which I tookany share . I find I was presen t at th ree conversations
,instead of
two,as I at first thought
,but that m akes no difference of con
sequ ence . I cannot answer for th e precise accuracy of dates, butI believe they are exact.
T HEOBALD W OL F E T ONE. 83
I have framed the foregoing narrative,relying impl icitly on
the honour of th e gent lem en to whom I wi ll ingly confide it,that
no use whatsoever shal l be m ade O f i t against any on e of the partiesconcerned
,in any j udicial transaction ; I give it for political
purposes solely .
W i th regard to myself,th e part I have taken appears on th e
face of the narrative . Whatever m ay be the consequence , I shal lm ake no attempt to w ithdraw myself
,or avoid th e fate
,whateve r
that be,which awaits m e . I have but one thing to add
,that there
i s no circum stance which can befal l m e,not even excepting an
ignom in iou s death,that I wi l l not rather undergo
,than appear as
an ev idence in a court of j ustice,to give testim ony against any
one of th e parties concerned .
T HEO BAL I) WO LFE TO NE .
DUBL IN, M'
ag/ 3d , 1 794.
When my father del ivered this paper, the prevalent opinion ,which he then shared
,was
,that Jackson was a secret em issary
employed by the British governm ent . It requ ired th e unfortunatem an ’ s voluntary death to clear h is character of such a fou l impatation . What renders this transaction the m ore od ious
,is
,that
before h is arrival in Ireland,the l ife of Jackson was com pletely in
th e power of the British governm ent . H is evi l genius was alreadypinned upon him ; his m ission from France, his every thought andhis v i ews
,were known . H e was al lowed to proceed
,not in orde r
to detect an existing conspiracy in Ireland,but to form one and
thus increase the number of victim s. A m ore atrocious instanceof p erfidious and gratu itous cruelty is scarce ly to be found in th eh istory of any country but Ire land .
Soon afterwards, the efforts of h is friends , and th e generou sinterference of Arthur Wolfe
,afterwards Lord Ki lwarden
,and then
Attorney-General,e ffected the com prom ise above m entioned . I am
aware m any persons may th ink that my father d id not showsufficien t gratitude to th e Irish governm ent
,in whose power h e
certainly was to a very dangerous degree . To this I can only rep ly,
that he considered his duty to his country param oun t to any personal feel ing or consideration ; that their tyranny grew m ore andm ore atré c ious every day ; and that , even in that extrem e peri l , heconstantly refused to tie his hands by any engagem en t for thefu ture. H e would
,however
,have accepted the offer wh ich th ey
m ade at fi rst to send him to the East Indies,out of th e reach
of European politics; perhaps they feared him even there, whenth ey altered their m inds . But confiding in the prostrate state ofIreland, they finally al lowed him to withdraw his head l ike the
84 L IFE or
crane in [Esop’s fables,from the j aws of the wolf, and depart free
and d isengaged for his voluntary exile .The state of his affai rs d id not
,however
,al low him to proceed
on his journey for several m onths . During al l that tim e,Jackson ’s
trial was stil l pend ing, and he was frequently threatened by them ore v iolent m em bers of th e governm ent that h e shou ld be compolled to appear, and be exam ined as a w itness— a m enace whichhe constantly spu rned at . Awhole year from the arrest of Jacksonin April , 1 794, to h is trial and death in April, 1 795 , was spent inth is anxious suspense .Towards the beginning of th e year 1 795 , a gl impse of hope
and sunshin e shone for an instant on th e Irish horizon,by the
m om entary triumph of the Whigs,and the appoin tm ent of Earl
Fitz -William to the vice - royalty . O n th is occasion,overtures were
again m ade to my fathe r by that party, at first to set up a n ewspaper
,and afterwards to write in support of th eir adm inistration .
The Catholic leade rs,who fel t the utility Of which h e m igh t be to
th em in such a situation , entered with e agerness into the idea, andpressed the adm inistration
,whose favour they enj oyed
,on the
subj ect. H e always felt repugnant to i t,and his id eas on the
occasion are couched in the fol lowing short m em orandumFeb . 7
,1 795 .
— MM . Bryne, Ham i ll, and Keogh , waited on
M r Grattan to recomm end m e to th e n ew adm inistration as a
person who had don e and suffered m uch in the Cathol ic cause .
Previous to their going,I thought i t right to apprize Mr H am ill
,
the other two being al ready, and Mr Ke ogh particularly, thoroughlyacquainted with the circum stances of su ch Obj ect ions as I though tm ight arise
,on Grattan
’
s part, against m e : first,that I was an
United Irishm an,and probably the author of papeis offensive to
the p resen t governm ent. In answer to wh ich I assured him,as
th e fact m o’
st truly was,that in that club I never had any influence ;
so far from i t,that I was looked on as a suspicious character ; or,
at best,a Catholic partizan ; endeavou ring to m ake th e club an
instrum en t of their em ancipation , at the sacrifice of al l its otherobj ects ; that, since May, 1 793, I had n ever attended its m eetings
,
or taken any part in its concerns,which conduct I had adopted in
consequence of an address,carried total ly against my j udgm en t,
and calling on th e Catholics,imm ediately on the passing of their
bil l,to com e forward and demand a reform
,a m easure which I
l ooked upon as m ischievous and insidious ; that I had never writtenbut one paper on th e comm ittal of Butler and Bond by the secretcomm ittee ; which paper would be found, I did think, a verym oderate one ; and that I was, of course
,not th e author of the
papers Offensive to the p resent administration . The next probabl e
T HEOBALD W O L F E T ONE. 8 5
obj ection which I thought m ight arise, was abou t the nationalguards . In an swer towhich
,I stated that during the whole of that
business,as well as of th e publication,
‘citizencD
soldiers,to arm s
,
I was in London, attending the Cathol ic delegates, and of cou rsecould not be concerned ; for which I appealed to Mr Keogh . Thethird obj ection was m ore serious
,wh ich was th e part I h ad in
Jackson and Rowan’ s business
,which is ful ly d etai led in other
parts of my m em orandum s. That,w ith regard to that
,all I could
say was,that my conduct undoubtedly had been very indiscreet in
that business,but such as it was I had stated it fully to the late
adm in istration , who, after consideration m aturely had , were not ofopinion that it was such as to cal l for pun ishm ent ; that I hadpositive assurance to that effect
,and even a letter w ritten by
Secretary H am ilton , by order of Lord Westm oreland , guaranteeingm e from al l attack ; that, therefore, I did hope, I should find
myself,if not bettered
,at l east not inj ured by th e late change in
th e governm ent. The rest of the topics of defence on this head Ileft to Keogh
,with whom I had at great length mooted the whole
affair a few days back .“H am i l l said,
‘Al l th is was very fair, but was h e to understand that they were at l iberty to state to Mr Grattan my inc l ination to support the presen t governm ent .
‘1 ’ I said,
‘By no m eans,
if that were to be so, i t would becom e a m atter of bargain andsale
,without any complim ent paid to the great body whom he was
to represent ; that I wished it should have no aspect to the future ,but should rest on the m erits of past services rendered to theCatholics . At the sam e tim e
,I added
,he m ight state a disposition
on my part towards th e n ew adm inist ration ,O
grounded on som e oftheir m easures
,which had already developed them selves
,such as
Catholic emancipation,and the nom inations to the prim acy and
provostship . This,however, I guarded , by saying there were
others , to the support of which I would not be purchased by theirwhole patronage : such as th is infam ous war; anything reflectingon the north of Ireland, or on Parl iam entary reform ; that, soonerthan lend any countenance to such m easures
,I would
,if n ecessary
,
put £5 0 in my pocket, and transport myself to th e farthest cornerof the earth . Subj ect, however, to th is exception , there were m anytopics
,particularly al l Catholic m easures
,in which I could prom ise
them my m ost cordial support; but that I feared (and I am surethe fact is so) that the m easures I would obj ect to, would be,perhaps
,the only one s which they would thank m e for defending.
H aving had th is eclaircissem ent, the deputation wen t off, andI write these m em orandum s, waiting the event of their appl ication ,I thank God
,w ith the most perfect serenity. I have never
86 L IF E or T HEOBAL D W OL FE T ONE.
indulged any idle or extravagant expectations,and therefore it is
not in the power of man to disappoint m e . My bel ief is,the
appl ication wi l l fail,and
,if so
,I am no worse than I was.
I should have added above,in i ts place
,that I told Mr Ham il l
I did not wish to form any connexion with th e presen t adm in is
tration,because I thought I foresaw th ey woul d not long retain
nor deserve the confidence of the people ; and I again repeated Iwished to stand solely on th e recomm endation of th e Catholic body
,
and not on any services rendered,or to be rendered
,by myself.
My father finally refused this offer,declaring that he felt th e
h ighest respect for Lord Fitz-William ’s character ; that h eentertained no doubt h is m easure s would always deserve support ;and that h e would support them
,as an individual
,as long as he
approved of th em ; but that h e cou ld enter into no engagem ent.In fact
,his pol itical principles had taken
,from a very early period
,
a l oftier flight than those of the Whigs . H e thought their v iewsnarrow
,th eir ends selfish
,and their m easures tending rather to th e
aggrandizem ent of their party than to th e perman ent and generalgood of th e country. The Whigs were h ighly irritated at th isrefusal ; and Mr Ponsonby, who expected to be appointe dAttorneyGeneral
,hinted that
,perhaps Mr T on e would not find the next
Attorney-General so accomm odating as the last . O n Lord Fitz ~
VVil l iam’
s recal l in March,1 795
,my father received a n ew proof
of the affection and confidence of th e Catholics,by their appointing
him,in th is precariou s situation
,to accompany the deputation
which they sent to sol icit from th e m onarch the continuance of h isl ordship in the adm in istration
,and to draw th e petition fo r th is
pu rpose,and the address to his lord sh ip . O n th e mpn th of Apri l
following,soon after h is return
,th e trial and death of Jackson took
p l ace . It nobly redeem ed his prev ious errors .With the vice- royal ty of Lord Cam den began the trium virate of
those three noble earls,Cam den Carham pton
,and Clare ; who, by
a series of increasing persecutions,succeeded at length in driving
the people to m adness,and open and general insurrection . But
towards th e beginning of his adm in istration,my father put in
execution his agreem ent with the governm ent to l eave Ireland .
The v otes of thanks which he received from th e Catholics ofDublin
,on resigning his appointm ent as th eir secretary and agent ;
and the honours which were paid to him ,there and in Belfast ;
his last secret instruction s to fol low up th e negotiat ion begun withJackson ; and th e events which occurred between h is departurefrom Ireland and his arrival in France ; are contained in th efol lowing brief continuation of th ese m em oirs
,which he wrote
before embarking in th e Bantry Bay exped ition .
88 L IFE on
l iberty,having m ade that sacrifice, to begin again on a fresh score .
They both agreed with m e in those principles,and I then proceeded
to tel l them that my intention was, imm ediately on my arrival inPhiladelphia
,to wai t on th e French m in ister
,to d etai l to him ful ly
the situation of affairs in Ireland , to endeavour to obtain a recom
m endation to th e French governm ent ; and,if I succeeded so far
,
to leave my fam ily in Am erica, and to set off instantly for Paris,d apply
,in the nam e of my country, for the assistance of France,
to e nable us to assert ou r independence . It is unnecessary,I
bel ieve,to say that th is plan m e t with the warm est approbation
and support from both Russel l and Emm et ; we shook hands , andhaving repeated ou r professions of unalte rabl e regard and esteemfor each other, we parted ; and this was the last interview whichI was so happy as to have with those two invaluable friend stogether . I rem ember it was in a l ittle triangu lar field that th isconversation took place ; and Emm et rem arked to us that it wasin one exactly l ike i t in Switzerland where William Tell and hisassociates planned the downfal l of th e tyranny of Austria. T he
next day Russel l returned to Belfast .As I was determ in ed not to appear to l eave Ireland c landestine ly,
whatev er m ight be the hazard , I took care , on the day of Jackson’
s
trial,to walk up and down in th e m ost publ ic streets in D ublin ;
and to go, contrary to my usual custom ,in to several of th e m ost
frequented coffee houses,and to my booksel ler
’s,which was stil l
m ore frequented . In th is last place I was seen by Lord Moun tj oy,who gave him self th e pain s to cal l on the Attorney -General ! th enext day, and inform him that I was to be found for
lthat he had
seen m e in Archer ’s th e day before . The Attorney-General gavehim
,however, no thanks for his pains, and so the affair ended ; my
obligation,however , to his l ordsh ip , is not the l ess for his good
intentions . Having m ade th is sacrifice to appearances,I se t with
al l d iligence to prepare for my d eparture ; I sold off al l my l ittl eproperty of every kind
,rese rving on ly my books, of wh ich I had a
very good selection of about six hundred volum es,and I d eter
m ined to take leave of nobody . I also resolved not to cal l on anyof my friends, not even Knox or Emmet ; for as I knew the partI had taken in Jackson ’s affair had raised a violen t outcry againstm e
,with a very num erable and powerfu l party, I resolved not to
impl icate any of those I regarded,in the d ifficulties of my situation .
Satisfied as I was of the rectitude of my own conduct,and of the
purity of my m otives, I bel ieve I should have had fort itude to bearthe desertion of my best friends ; but, to their honour be it spoken ,I was not put to so severe a trial . I did not lose the c ountenance
W olfe , afte rwards L ord Kilwarden.
T HEOBALD W OL F E T ONE. 89
and support of any one man whom I esteem ed and I believe thatI secured the continuance of their regard by th e firmness I hadshown al l along through th is m ost arduous and painfu l trial ; andespecial ly by my repeated declarations, that I was ready to sacrificemy l ife , if necessary, but that I wou ld never degrade m yself bvgiving testimony against a m an who had spoken to m e in th e confidence that I would not betray him . I have said that afterJackson ’s d eath I v isited nobody ; but all my friends m ade it, Ibelieve
,a poin t to cal l on m e ; so that for the short time I
remained in D ublin after, we were n ever an hour alon e . My friendsM‘Corm ick and Keogh, who had both interested them selvesextrem e ly al l along on my behal f, and had been principallyinstrum ental in passing the vote for granting m e th e sum of £300in addition to th e arrears d ue to m e by the Catholics
,were of
c ourse am ongst the foremost . It was hardlynecessary, to m en of
their foresight,and who knew m e perfectly
,to m ention my plans ;
however, for greater certainty, I consulted them both ; and Irece ived , as I expected , their m ost cordial approbation ; and theyboth laid the m ost pos1 tive inj unctions upon m e to leave noth ingu nattempted on my part to force my way to France, and lay our
situation before th e governm ent there; Observing , at the sam e tim e ,that if I succeeded
,there was nothing in the power of my country
to bestow to which I m igh t not fairly pretend. It has oftenastonished m e
,and them also , that the governm en t, knowing there
was a French m inister at Philadelphia,ever suffered m e to go
thither,at l east w ithou t exacting som e positive assurance on my
part that I should hold no comm unication with him,direct or in
d irect ; so it was, however, that, e ither despising my eflorts,or
l ooking on them selves as too firm ly e stabl ished to dread any thingfrom France
,they suffered m e to depart
,w ithout demanding any
satisfaction whatsoever on that top 1 c— a circum stance of which Iwasm ost sincerely glad : for, bad I been obliged to give my parole ,I should have been exceedingly distracted between opposite duties ;luckily, howe ver, I was spared the d iflicul ty ; for they suffered m e
to depart,w ithout any stipulation whatsoever . Perhaps it would
have been better for them if they had adhered to their first proposalof sending m e out to India ; but as to that, the event wi l l determ ine .Having paid al l my debts, and settled with everybody, I set O ff
from D ublin for Belfast on the 20th May , 1 795 , with my w ife ,sister and three children
,l eaving
,as m ay wel l be supposed, my
father and mother in very sincere afll iction . My whole propertyconsisted in our clothes
,my books, and about £700 in m oney and
bill s on Philadelphia. We kept our spirits adm irably . The greatattention manifested to us, the conv iction that we were suffering
90 L IF E O F
in th e best of causes th e hurry attending so great a change, andperhaps a l ittl e vanity in sh owing ourselves superio r to fortune
,
supported u s under what was certainly a trial O f the severest kind .
But if our friend s in Dublin were kind and affectionate, those inBelfast
,if possible
,were sti l l m ore so. During near a month that
we rem ained there,we were e very day engaged by one or oth er
even those who scarcely knew m e wer e eager to entertain us ;parties and excursions were planned for our am usem ents ; and
,
certainly th e whole of our deportm ent and reception at Belfastvery little resembled those of a m an who escaped with his l ife on lyby m i racle
,and who was d riven into exil e to avoid a more dis
graceful fate . I rem embe r,particular ly
,two days that we passed
0 1 1 the Cave Hill . 0 1 1 the fi rst, Russell , Ne ilson, Simm s, M
‘Crack : n,
and one or two more O f us,on th e summ it of M‘Art’s fort
,took a
solem n Obligation,which I think I m ay say I have, on my p zrt
,
endeavoured to fu lfil— never to desist in our efforts until we hadsubverted th e authority of England over our country
,and asserted
her independence . Another day we had the tent of th e firstregim ent pitched in the D e er Park
,and a company of th irty of us
,
in cluding the fam ily of th e Simm s’ s,Neilson
’
s,M‘Cracken ’
s,and
my own,d ined and spent the day together deliciou sly. But th e
m ost agreeable day we passed during our stay, and on e of the m ostagreeable of ou r l ives
,was in an excursion we m ade with the Simms
’
s,
Nellson,and Russel l
,to Ram
’
s Island,a beautiful and romantic spot
in Lough Neagh. Nothing can be imagined m ore delightful ;and we agreed
,in whatever quarter we m ight find ourselves
,
respectively,to comm emorate the ann iversary of that day, th e
1 1 th of June . At l ength the hour of our departure arrived. O n
the 1 5 th June we embarked on board the Cincinnatu s, of Wi lm ington , Captain Jam es Robinson , and I flatter myself we carriedwith us the regret of al l who knew us . Even som e of my form erfriends
,who had long since deserted m e
,returned on th is reverse
of my fortune, struck, I bel ieve, with the steadiness with wh ichwe al l looked it into the face . O ur friends in Belfast loaded us
with presents on our d eparture, and fil led our l ittl e cabin with seastores
,fresh provisions
,sweetm eats
,and e veryth ing they cou ld
devise for the comfort of my w ife and children . Never, whilst I'
l ive,wil l I forget the affectionate k indness of their behav iour .
Before my departure, I explained to Simm s, Neilson , and C . G .
Teeling,my intentions with regard to my conduct in America; and
I had the satisfaction to find i t m et, in al l respects, with theirperfect approbation ; and now I looked upon myself as competentto speak fully and with confidence for the Cathol ics, for the
Dissenters, and for the defenders of Ireland.
THEOBAL D W OL FE T ONE. 91
We were now at sea,and at leisure to examine our situation .
I had h ired a state room,which was about eight feet by six, in which
we had fitted up three berth s ; my wife and our youngest l ittle boyoccupied on e
,my siste r and my l ittle girl th e second, and our
eldest boy and m yself the third . It was at first grievouslyinconven ient
,but necessity and custom by degrees reconciled us to
our situation . O ur greatest suffering was want of good water,under which we laboured the whole passage
,and which we found
i t impossible to repl ace by win e,porter
,or spirits
,of which we had
abundance . The captain was tolerably civil , th e vessel was stout,and we had good weather alm ost the wh e re of our voyage . Butwe were 300 passengers on board a ship of 230 tons
,and of cou rse
crowded to a degree not to be conceived by those who have n otbeen on board a passenger ship . The slaves who are carried fromthe coast of Africa have m uch m ore room allowed them than them iserable em igrants who pass from Irelan d to Am erica ; for theavarice of the captains in that trade is such
,that they think they
n ever can l e ad th eir vessels sufficiently,and they trouble their
h eads in general no m ore about the accomm odation and stowageof their passengers than of any other lumber aboard . I laboured ,and with som e success
,to introduce som ething l ike a pol ice, and
a certain degree,though a very imperfect one
,of cleanl in ess am ong
them . Certainly th e air of the sea m ust be wonderful ly wholesom e ; for if the sam e number of wretches of us had been shut upon the sam e space ashore
,with so m uch inconvenience of every
k ind about us,two thirds of us would h ave died in the tim e of
our voyage . As i t was,in spite of everything
, we were tolerablyh ealthy ; we lost but one passenger, a wom an ; we had som e s ickaboard
,and the friendship of Jam es Macdonnel l
,of Belfast
,having
supplied m e with a sm al l m edicine chest and written d irections,I
took on myself th e Office of physician . I presc ribed and adm inistered accordingly
,and I had th e satisfaction to l and al l my
patients safe and sound . As we distributed l iberal ly the surplusof our sea stores
,of which we had great abundance
,and especial ly
as we gave,from tim e to tim e
,wine and porter to the sick and
aged,we soon becam e very popular aboard ; and I am sure there
was no sacrifice to our ease or conven ience in the power of ourpoor fel low-passengers to m ake
,that we m ight not have comm anded .
Thirty d ays of our voyage had now passed over without any event,
save the ordinary ones of seeing now a shoal of porpoises,now a
shark,now a set of dolphins
,th e peacocks O f th e sea playing
about, and once or twice a whal e . We had, indeed , been broughtto , when about a week at sea, by the William Pitt, Indiam e n
,
which was re turning to Europe with about twen ty other ships,
92 L IF E O F
u nder convoy of four or five m en -of-war ; but on exam ining our
papers they suffered us to proceed . At l ength,about the 20 th of
July,som e tim e after we had cleared th e banks of N ewfound land
,
we were stopped by three British frigate s ; the The tis . CaptainLord Cochrane ; th e H ussar, Captain Rose ; and the Esperance,Captain Wood
,who boarded us
,and after treating us w ith the
greatest insolence, both Officers and sailors , th ey pressed every oneof our hands
,save one
,and n ear fifty of my,
unfortunate fe l lowpassengers
,who were most of them flying to Am erica to avoid the
tyranny of a bad governm en t at hom e, and who thus m ost un exp e cted ly fell under the severest tyranny, one of them at l east
,
which exists . As I was in a j acket and trousers, one of th el ieutenants ordered m e into th e boat
,as a fit m an to serve the
k ing ; and i t was on ly the scream s of my wife and sister wh ichinduced him to desist . It would have been a pretty term inationto my adventures if I had been pressed and sent on board a m an
of-war . The insolence of these tyrants,as wel l to myself as to my
p oor fel low-passengers,in whose fate a fel lowsh ip in m isfortune
had intere sted m e,I have not since forgotten
,an d I never wi ll .
At l ength,after detain ing us two days
,during which th ey rummaged
us at least twenty times,they suffered u s to proceed .
O n the 30th Ju ly, we m ade Cape Henlopen ; th e 3 1 st we ran
up th e D elaware , and th e 1 st of August we l anded safe at Wilm ingtou , not one of us providential ly hav ing been for an hourindisposed on th e passage
,nor even sea- sick . Those on ly who
have had their wives,their children
,and al l in short that is dear
to them ,floating
‘for seven or eigh t weeks at the m ercy of th e w indsand waves, can conceive the transport I fe l t at seeing my w ife andou r darl ing babies ashore once again in health and in safety. We se tup at the principal tavern , kept by an Irishman , on e Captain O
’
Byrne
O F lynn (I th ink) , for al l the taverns in Am erica are kept bym aj ors and captains either of m i l itia or continentals
,and in a
few d ays we had entirely recruited our strength and spirits,and
totally forgotten th e fatigues of the voyage .D uring our stay in Wi lmington we form ed an acquaintance
which was of som e service and a great deal of pleasure to us,with
a General Humpton,an Old Continenta l officer . He was an
Englishm an,born in Yorkshire, and had been a m aj or in the 25 th
regim ent,but on the break ing out of theAm erican war
,he resigned
h is comm ission,and Offered his services to Congress
,who imm edi
ately gave him a regim ent,from which he rose by degrees to his
present rank . H e was a beautiful,hale
,stout ol d man
,of near
seventy , perfectly the so ldier and the gentl eman, and he took a greatl iking to us
,aswe did to him on our part. O n our removal to
T u EO BALD W OL FE T ONE. 93
Philadelphia,he found us a lodging w ith on e of his acquaintan ce ;
and rendered al l the l ittle services and attentions that our situationas strangers required, which indeed he continued without rem ission ,d uring the whole of my stay in Am erica, and I doubt not equallysince my departure. I have a sincere and grate ful sense O f thek indness of this worthy veteran .
Imm ediately on my arrival in Philadelph ia, wh ich was aboutthe 7th or 8th of August , I found out my ol d friend and brotherexile
,-D r Reynolds
,who seem ed
,to my very great satisfaction ,
very com fortably settled. From him I learned that Ham i ltonRowan had arrived abou t six weeks before m e from France
,and
and that sam e even ing we al l three m et . It was a singularrencontre
,and our several escapes from an ignom inious death seem ed
l ittle short of a m irac le . We comm unicated respectively ourseveral adventures since our last interview,
which took place in th egoal of Newgate in D ublin
,fourteen m onths before . In Reynold
’
sadventu res there was nothing very extraordinary . Rowan hadbeen seized and thrown into prison imm ediately on his landingnear Brest
,from whence he was rescued by the interference of a.
young man nam ed Sul l ivan , an Irishm an , in th e service Of theRepublic
,and sent on to Paris to th e Comm ittee of Publ ic Safety
,
by Pr ieu r de la Marne,th e d eputy on m ission . O n his arrival
h e was seized w ith a m ost dangerous fever,from which he narrowly
escaped with his l ife ' when h e recovered,as well as during his
il lness,he was main tam ed by the French governm en t ; he gave in
som e m em orial s on th e state of Ireland,and began
,from the
reception he m e t with,to conceive som e hopes of success ; but
imm ediately after cam e on th e fam ous 9th Therm idor, the downfal l of Robespierre, and the dissolution of th e Comm ittee of PublicSafety. The total change which this produced in th e politics o fFrance
,and the attention of every m an being occupied by his own
imm ediate personal safety, were th e cause that Rowan and h isplans were forgotten in the confusion . After remainin cr therefore
,
several m onths,and seeing no l ikel ihood of bringing matters to any
favourable issue,he yielded to the sol icitude of his fam ily and.
friends,and embarked at Havre for New York
,where h e arrived
about the m iddle of June,1 795 , after a tedious passage of eleven
weeks.It is unnecessary to detan again my adventures, which I related
to them at ful l length , as wel l as every thing relating to the stateof pol itics in Ireland, about which, it may wel l be supposed , theircuriosity and anxiety were extrem e . I then proceeded to tel lthem my designs, and that I intended waiting the next day on theF rench minister, with such credentials as I had brought with m e
,
94 L IF E or
which were th e two votes of thanks of th e Cathol ics,and my
certificate of adm ission into the Belfast volunteers,engrossed on
vellum,and signed by th e chairm an and secretaries ; and I added
that I would refer to them both for my credibility, in case th em inister had any doubts . Rowan offered to com e with m e
,
and introduce m e to the m inister,citizen Adet
,whom he had
known in Paris ; but I observed to him ,that as there were English
agents withou t num ber in Ph iladelph ia,h e was m ost probably
watched,and
,consequently
,his being seen to go with m e to Adet
m igh t m aterially prej udice h is interests in Ireland . I therefored ecl ined his offer
,but I requested of him a letter of introduction ,
wh ich he gave m e accord ingly,and the next day I waited on th e
m in ister,who received m e very pol itely . H e spoke English very
im perfectly,and I Fren ch a great deal worse ; however, we m ade
a shift to understand on e another ; he read my certificates andRowan ’s l e tter
,and he begged m e to throw on paper
,in the form
of a m emorial,al l I had to comm unicate on th e subj ect of Ireland .
This I accordingly did in the course of two or thre e days, thoughwith great difficul ty
,on account of th e burn ing heat of the c l imate
,
so different from what I had been used to,th e therm om eter varying
between n inety and ninety- seven . At l ength,however , I finished
my m emorial, such as it was, and brought it to Adet and I offeredhim
,at the sam e tim e
,if h e thought it would forward th e business
,
to embark in th e first vessel which sail ed for France ; but them in ister
,for som e reason
,seem ed not m uch to desire th is
,and he
el uded my offer by rem inding m e of th e great risk I ran , as theBritish stopped and carried into their ports indiscrim inately al lAm erican vessels bound for France ; he assured m e
,howeve r
,« I
m ight rely on my m em orial being transm itted to the French
governm ent, and backed with his strongest recomm endations ; andhe also prom ised to write particu larly to procure the enlargem entof my brother Matthew,
who was th en in prison at Guise ; al l whichI have since found he faithfully perform ed .
I had now discharged my conscience as to my du ty to my country ;and it was with the sincerest and d eepest contristation of m indthat I saw this
,my last effort, l ikely to b e of so l ittle effect. It
was barely possible,but I did not m uch expect that the French
governm ent m igh t take notice of my m em orial , and if they did not,there was an end of al l my hopes . I now began to endeavour tobend my m ind to my situation , but to no purpose . I m oved myfam ily
,first to Westchester, and then to Dowingstown , both in th e
state of Pennsylvania,about th irty m iles from Philade l phia, and I
began to look about for a smal l plantation , such as m ight suit theshattered state of my finances
,on which th e enormous exp ense of
96 L IF E orQ
answer for our fam ily during my absence; and that the sam e Providen ce which had so often
,as it were
,m i raculously preserved us
,
wou ld,sh e was confident, not desert us now . My sister j oined her
in those entreaties,and it may well be supposed that I required
no great suppl ication to induce m e to m ake one more attem pt in a
cause to which I had been so long devoted . I set off,accordingly
,
the n ext m orn ing (it being th is tim e abou t the end of November) forPhiladelphia
,and went
,imm ediately on my arrival , to Adet, to whom
I showed the letters I had ju st rece ived ; and I referred him toRowan ,who was then in town
,for the character of th e writers. I had the
satisfaction,contrary to my expectations, to find Adet as wi lling to
forward and assist my design ne w,as he seem ed
,to m e at least
,
lukewarm,when I saw him before
,in August . He told m e
imm ediately that he would give m e le tters to th e French governm ent, recomm ending m e in the strongest m anner
,and also m oney
to hear my expenses, if necessary. I thanked him m ost s in cere lyfor the letters
,but I d eclin ed accepting any pecuniary assistance.
Having thus far surm ounted my difficulties, I wrote for my brotherArthur
,who was at Princeton
,to com e to m e imm ediately, and I
fitted him ou t with al l expedition for sea. Having entrusted himwith my determ ination of sail ing for France in the first vessel
,I
ordered him to comm unicate this,imm ediately on his arrival in
Ireland,toNeilson
, Simm s, and Russel l , in Belfast; and to Keoghand M‘Corm iek only, in Dublin . To every one else
,including
e specially my father and m other, I desired him to say that I hadpurchased
,and was settled upon my farm ,
near Princeton . Havingfully instructed him
,I pu t him on board the Susanna
,Captain
Baird,bound for Belfast
,and on the 1 0 th of December
,1 795
,he
sailed from Philadelph ia, and I presum e he arrived safe ; but, as
ye t, I have had no opportun ity of hearing of him . Having dispatch ed him
,I settled al l my affairs as speedi ly as possible . I
d rew on Simm s for £200 , agreeable to h is l etter, £ 1 5 0 sterl ing ofwhich I devoted to my voyage ; my friend Reynolds procured m e
louis d’ors at the bank for £ 1 00 sterl ing worth of si lver . I
converted th e remainder of my l ittl e property into bank stock, andhaving signed a general power of attorney to my wife, I waitedfinally on Adet , who gave m e a l etter in cypher, d irected to th eCom ité d e Salu t p ubl ic, the only credential which I intended tobring w ith m e to France . I spent one day in Philadelphia withReynold s, Rowan , and my ol d friend and fel low-sufferer
,Jam es
Napper Tandy, who, after a long concealmen t and m any adventures,was recently arrived from Hamburg; and , at length , on the 1 3thDecember, at night, I arrived at Princeton , whither Rowan
accompanied me, bringing with me a few presents for my wife,
T HEOBAL D W OL F E T ONE. 97
sister,and our dear l it tl e babies . That n ight we supped together
in high spirits ; and Rowan retiring imm ediately after, my wife,
sister,and I
,sat toge ther til l very late
,engaged in that k ind of
animated and enthusiastic conversation which our characters,and
the n ature of the enterprise I was embarked in,may be supposed
to give rise to . The courage and firm ness of the wom en supportedm e
,and them too
,beyond my expectations ; w e had neither tears
nor lam entations,but
,on the contrary
,the m ost ardent hope
,and
the m ost steady resolution . At l ength,at four the next m orn ing
,
I embraced them both for th e last tim e,and we parted with a
steadiness which astonished m e . O n the 1 6thD ecember I arrivedin New York
,and took my passage on board the sh ip Jersey
,
Captain George Barons . I remained in New York for ten days,during wh ich t im e I wrote continually to my fam ily; and a day ortwobefore my departure I received a letter from my wife informing m e that she was with child, a circum stance which sh e hadconceal ed so far
,I am sure
,l est it m ight have had some infl uence
on my determ ination . O n the 1 st January,1 796
,I sailed from
Sandy H ook, w ith n ine fellow-passengers,al l French
,bound for
Havre de Grace . O ur voyage lasted exactly one m onth , duringthe m ost part of which we had heavy blowing weather; five t im eswe had such gales of wind as obliged us to l ie under a close reefedm izen stay- sai l however
,ou r ship was stout . W e had plenty of
provisions,wine
,brandy
,and especially , what I thought m ore of
rem embering m y last voyage , excellent water, so that I had no
reason to complain of my passage . We did not m eet a singl evessel of force
,either French or English ; we passed three or four
Am ericans, bound m ostly, l ike ourselves, to France . O n th e 27thwe were in soundings
,at eighty five fathoms ; on the 28th we
m ade the Lizard ; and at length , on the 1 st of February, we l andedin safety at H avre de Grace
,having m et with not the sm allest
accident during our voyage . My adventures,from this date
,are
fully detailed in the diary,which I have kept regularly since m y
arrival in Fran ce .
EXTRACTS FRO M T HE JOURNAL S at
‘
T HEOBAL D W OL F E T ONE
DURING H IS M ISSIO N IN F RANCE,
COMPRISING H IS NEGO T IAT IO NS W IT H T HE F RENCH GO VERNMENT IN PARIS, 1 796.
F ebruary 2 ,1 796.
-I landed at Havre de Grace yesterday,after
a rough winter passage from New York of thirty- one days .F ebr uary 6.
—It is very singular,but I have had several occasions
to observe,that there is m ore difficulty in passing silver than paper.
I have seen m oney refused where assignats have been takencurren tly. This i s a phenom enon I cannot understand
,especial ly
when th e d epreciation i s c onsidered . The rebub l iean silver isreceived with great suspicion . People have got it into their headsthat it i s adulterated ; but, even so, surely it i s worth intrin sicallym ore than a bit of paper . So i t is
,however
,that assignats are
m ore current . The com edic again . The Marseil laise hym n sungevery night, and the verse,
“Tremblez Tyrans,
” always receivedwith applause .F ebruary 7 , Su nday
— I was curious to observe how this daywould be kept in France. I believe nobody work ed ; th e shops werehalf open
,half shut
,as I have seen them on holidays in other
countries ; everybody walking the streets . A vessel from Bostonwas wrecked last n ight w ithin twenty yards of the basin, and anu nfortunate French wom an lost, w ith two children . She had fledto Am erica early in the Revolution ,
‘and was now return ing to her
husband on the restoration of tranqu i l l ity . God Alm ighty helphim ! sh e m ight have been saved alone, but preferred to perishwith her infants : it is too to think of.
F ebruary 1 2 .
- Paris . the Hotel des Etrangers,Rue
T he se e xtrac ts are chie fly confine d to d e tails of the in te rcou rse of the au thor with theF ren ch au thoritie s, in re fe ren c e to the p ropose d m vasron of I re land , be ing se le c te d from a
volum inous m ass of fl ippan t and u n in te re st ing m atte r , on ly c alcu lated to mee t the eye of
MrsT one, towhom it wasaddressed - Ed . y Au i/obwgmfl g'
,
1 00 L IFE or
instantly before the d irectoire exe cu tif,who considered the contents
as of the greatest importance ; that their intentions were, that Ishould go imm ediately to a gentlem an
,whom he would g ive m e a.
l etter to ; and , as he spoke both languages perfectly and was confidential
,that I shou ld explain m yself to him w ithout reserve ; that
h is nam e was Madgett. I answered,that I knew him by repu ta
tion,and had a l etter of in troduction to him
,but did not consider
myself at l iberty to m ake myself known to any person without h isapprobation . He an swered that I m ight comm unicate w ith Madgett
,
w ithout th e least reserve ; sat down and wrote a note to him ,which
he gave m e ; I then took my l eave, th e m inister seeing m e to thedoor. Set off for Madgett
’s and del ivered my l etter . Madgett
delighted to see m e ; tells m e h e has th e greatest expectation our
business w i l l be taken up in the m ost serious m anner ; that theattention of th e French governm ent is now turned to Ireland
,and
that the stability and form it had assum ed gave him the strongesthopes of success ; that he had w ritten to H am i lton Rowan , abouta m onth since
,to request I m ight com e over instantly
,in order to
confer w ith th e French governm ent,and determ in e on the necessary
arrangem ents ; and that h e had done this by order of th e Fren chexecutive. H e then asked m e had I brought any papers or
credentials ; I answered that I only brought the letter of Ad et tothe executive
,and one to the Am erican ambassador ; that I had
d estroyed a few oth ers on th e passage,in cluding one from Mr
Iowan to h im self, as we w ere chased by a Berm udian ; that as tocredentials
,the only ones I had
,or that the nature of th e case
would perm it,I had shown to Adet on my first arrival in Ph ila
delphia,in August l ast . That these were the vote of thanks of
the general comm ittee of the Catholics of Ireland,for my services
as their agent,signed by Mr Edward Byrne and the two secretaries
,
Richard M‘Corm ick and John Sweetm an , and dated in April,
1 793 . A second vote of thanks from th e Catholics of D ublin,
sign ed by the chairm an and secretary ; and the resolutionof th e Belfast regim ent of volunteers, electing m e an honorarym ember
,in testim ony of their confidence
,and signed b y the
office s of th e regim ent . Thes e I had offered to Adet to bringw ith m e to France
,but he said it was sufficient that I satisfied
him,and
,as they were large papers
,i t would be running an
u nn ecessary risk of discovery,in case we were stopped by British
c ruizers. That he would satisfy the French executiv e,and that
th e fewer papers of any kind I carried the better ; and , consequently,t zh it I had brought only those I m entioned . Madgett then saidthat was enough
,especially as h e had the n ewspapers containing
the resolutions I m entioned ; and that the French executive were
T HEOBALD W OL FE T ONE. 1 0 1
already fully apprised who I was. H e then added,that we should
have te n sail of the l in e , any quantity of arm s that were wanted ,and such m oney as was indispensable ; but that this last was to beu sed discreetly, as the dem ands fo r it on all quarters were so
n um erous and urgent.F ebruary 1 8 .
—Breakfast at Madge tt’
s. Long account,on my
part,O f the state of Ireland when I left i t . which w i l l be found
substantially in such m em oirs as I m ay prepare . Madgett assuresm e again that the governm ent here have their attent ion turn edm ost seriously to Irish affairs ; that they feel that unless they cansep arate Ireland from England , th e latter is invulnerab l e ; that theyare w il l ing to conclude a treaty Offensive and defensive witIreland
,and a treaty of comm erce on a footing of reciprocal
advantage ; that they w ill supply ten sai l of the l ine, arm s, andm oney
,as he told m e yesterday ; and that they were already m aking
arrangem ents in Spain and H o lland for that purpose . H e askedm e did I th ink anything would be done in Ireland by her spontaneous efforts. I told him
,m ost certainly not ; that if a l anding
were once effected,every thing would fol low instantly
,but that
that was indispensable ; and I begged him to state this as myopin ion
,to such persons in power as he m ight comm unicate
w ith ; that if French were in Ireland,we should
in a m onth have an army of on e,two
,or 1 f necessary
,
m en,but that the p oin t d
’
app u i was 1 ndispensab l e . I thenm entioned th e necessity of having a m an of reputation at
the head of the French forces,and m ention ed Pichegru of
Jourdan,both of whom are wel l known by character in Ireland .
H e to ld m e th e re was a kind O f cooln ess between the executiveand Pichegru (th is I suspected before) , but that, if th e m easureswere adop ted
,he m ight stil l be th e general ; adding that he was a
m an of m ore talents than Jou rdan . I answered,
“e ith er wou l ddo .” H e then de sired m e to prepare a m em orial in form for the
‘
French execut ive as soon as possible,which he wou ld translate and
have d el ivered in w ithout delay .
F ebruary 1 8 , 1 9, QO .
—At work in th e m orning at my m emorial .Cal l on Madgett once a day to confer w i th him . H e says therew il l be sent a person to Ireland imm ediately
,with whom I shal l
he'
s a con ference ; and that it w ould be desirabl e he should bringback an appointm en t of m in ister plenipotentiary for m e
,in order
to conclude an all iance offensive and defensive w ith the republ ic ;in which case I should be acknowl edged as such by the Frenchgovernm ent . Certainly nothing could be m ore flattering to m e ;however
,I answered that such an appointm ent could not be had
,
without commun icating with so m any persons as m ight endanger
1 02 L IFE or
the betraying of the secret to the Irish government; that I onlydesired credit w ith th e directoire exe cu tif
,so far as they shou l d
find my assertions supported by ind isputabl e facts ; that theinform ation I brought was th e essential part ; and the credential,though highly gratifying to my private feelings, would be , in fact,but m atter of form . That when a governm ent was form ed inIreland
,i t would be tim e enough to talk Of em bassies ; and then ,
if my country thought m e w orthy,I should be the happiest and
proudest m an l iving to accept the office of ambassador fromIreland . So there was an end to my appointm ent . I m ust waittil l the war at l east is comm enced
,if ever it comm en ces
,or perhaps
u ntil it is over,if I am not knocked on th e head in th e m eantim e .
I should l ike very w el l to be the first Irish ambassador ; and if Isucceed in my present business, I think I w i l l have som e claim to
th e Office . Madgett says if we su cceed,it i s part Of the plan
, bu t
I bel ieve he m ean s his own plan,to d em and Jam aica for Ireland,
by way of ind emnity. I w ish we had Ireland w ithout Jam aica.F ebruary 22 — Finished my m em orial , and delivered a fair copy,
sign ed,to M adgett
,for the m inister o f foreign relations . Madgett
in th e horrors . He tell s m e he has had a discourse yesterday fortwo hours w ith the m in ister
,and that the succours he expected
w i l l fal l very short O f what h e thought . That the m arine of
France is in such a state that governm ent w i l l not hazard a largefleet and
,consequ ently , that we m ust be content to steal a m arch .
That they wi l l give 2000 O f th eir best troops,and arm s for
that they cannot spare Pichegru nor Jourdan ; that they w il l giveany quantity of artillery ; and, I think , he added, what m oneym ight be necessary. He also said they would first send properpersons am ong the Irish prisoners of war
,to sound them
,and
exchange them on the first Opportun ity. T o al l this,at which I
am not disappointed,I answered
,that as to 2000 m en
,they m ight
as wel l send twenty. That w ith regard to myself, I would go ifthey wou ld send but a corporal ’s guard ; but that my opinion was,that 5 000 was as l ittle as could be landed with any prospect ofsu ccess
,and that that num ber would leave the m atter doubtful .
I hid him then rem em ber that my plan was buil t on th e supposition of a powerful support in the first instance ; that I hadparticularly specified so in my m em orial ; and be g ged him to
apprize the m inister that my opinion was so. That nevertheless ,w ith 5 000 m en
,the business m ight be attempted
,and I did believe
would succeed ; but that, in that case, we m ust fight hard for it;that though I was satisfied how the m i litia and army would act incase of a powerfu l invasion
,I could not venture to say what m ight
b e their conduct under the circumstances he mentioned; that, if
1 04 L IFE or
w ith a courage truly heroic ; on which they instantly submitted,
and sent a p erson to conduct m e . This happened to be h is dayfor giving audience
,which each m em ber of the executive directory
does in his turn . Introduced by my guide in to the ante- cham ber,which was fi l led with peopl e; th e oflicers of state
,al l in their n ew
costum e . Write a l ine in English,and d el iver i t to on e of the
huissiers,stating that a stranger j ust arrived from Am erica w ished
to speak to citizen Carnot on an affair of consequence . H e broughtm e an answer in two m inu tes
,that I should have an audience .
The folding doors were now th rown open,a bel l being previously
rung,to give notice te the peopl e that al l who b ad busin e ss m ight
present them selves,and citizen Carnot appeared
,in the p etit
c ostume of white satin w ith crim son robe,richly em bro idered . It
is v ery elegant, and resembles alm ost exact ly the draperies ofVandyk . H e wen t round the room re c eivm papers and answeringthose who addressed him . I told my friend the huissier
,in
m arvel lou s French,that my business was too important to be
transacted there,and that I would return on another day, when it
would not be Carnot’
s tu rn to give audience,and when I should
hO pe to find him at leisure . He m entioned th is to Carnot,who
ordered m e instantly to be shown into an inner apartm ent,and
that h e would see m e as soon as th e audience was over. That Ithought looked wel l
,and began accordingly to con my speech
again . In the apartm ent were five or six personages,who being
,
l ike myself,of great distinction
,w ere adm itted to a private
audience. I allowed them al l precedence,as I w ished to have my
w il l of Carnot ; and while they were in their turns speaking w ithhim
,I could not help reflecting how often I had wished for the
opportunity I then enj oyed ; what schem es I had laid, what hazardsI had run ; when I looked round and saw myself actually in thecabinet of the executive d irectory, vis-a-vis c itizen Carnot
,the
organizer of victory, I could hardly bel ieve my own senses,and
felt as if it were al l a dream . H owever,I was not in the l east
degree disconcerted,and when I presented myself
,after the rest
were dism issed , I had all my facu lties, such as th ey were, as wel lat my comm and as on any occasion in my l ife. Why do I m entionthese trifling circum stances ? It is because they w il l not be triflingin her eyes for whom they were written . I began the discourseby saying
,in horrible French , that I had been inform ed he spoke
Engl ish . A l ittle, sir, but I perceive you speak French , and if
you please we w il l converse in that language . I answered stil l inmy j argon , that if h e could have the patience to endure m e
,I would
endeavour,and only prayed him to stop m e whenever I did not
m ake myself understood. I then told him that I was an Irishman;
T HEOBALD W OL FE T O NE. 1 05
that I had been secretary and agent to th e Catholics of thatcountry
,who were about of people ; that I was al so in
perfect possession of the sentim ents of the D issenters,who were at
least and that I w ished to comm unicate with him on theactual state of Ireland . H e stopped m e here to express a doubtas to the numbers being so great as I represented . I answered a
calculat ion had been m ade w ithin these few years, grounded on thenumber of houses ; which was ascertained for purposes of revenue ;that
,by that calculat ion , th e people of Ireland am ounted to
and it was acknowl edged to be considerably underthe truth ,
H e seem ed a l ittle surprised at th is, and I proceededto state
,that the sentim ents of al l those peopl e were unanimous
in favour of Fran ce , and eager to throw O ff the yoke of England .
He asked m e then“what they wanted .
” I said,
“An arm ed forcein th e comm encem ent , for a poin t d
’
app u i, unti l they could organizethem selves
,and undoubtedly a supply of arm s and som e m oney.
I added that I had already delivered in a m em orial on the subj ectto the m inister of foreign relations ; and that I was preparinganother
,which would explain to him ,
in detail,al l that I knew on
the subj ect,better than I could in conversation . H e then said
,“IVe shal l see those m em orials . The organizer of victory proc e ed ed to ask me
,
“Were there not som e strong places in Ireland ?”I answered I knew of none, but some works to d efend the harbourof Cork . H e stopp ed m e here, saying,
“Ay , Cork ! but may it
not be necessary to l and there 2 By which I perceived he hadbe en organ izing a l ittle already in his own m ind . I answered
,
I thought not . That if a anding in force were attempted, itwou l d be better n ear the capital for Obvious reasons ; if wi tha smal l army , i t should be in th e north rather than thesouth of Ireland
,for reason s wh ich h e would find in my
m em orials . H e then asked m e,
“Might there not be som e dangeror delay in a longer navigation ? I answered
,i t wou ld not m ake
a difference of two days,which was nothing in com parison of
the advantages . I then told him that I cam e to France bydirection and concurrence of the m en
,who (and here I was at a.
loss for a French word,with which
,se eing my em barrassm ent, he
suppl ied m e ) , guided the two g reat parties I had m entioned. Thissat isfied m e cle arly that he att ended to and understood m e . Iadded that I had presented m yself in August last
,in Philadelphia
,
to citizen Adet,and del ivered to him such credentials as I had
w ith m e ; that h e did not at that j unctu re th ink it advisable form e to com e in p erson b ut offered to transm it a m em orial
,which
I accordingly d elivered to him . That about the end of Novemberlast I received l etters from my friends in Ireland, repeating their
1 06 LIFE or
instru ction s in th e strongest m anner,that I should , if possibl e,
force my way to France, and lay the si tuation of Ireland beforeits governm ent . That
,in consequence, I had again waited on
citizen Adet, who seem ed eager to assist m e,and offered m e a l etter
to th e directoire exe cu tif, which I accepted w ith gratitude . ThatI sai led from Am erica in the very first vessel
,and was arrived
about a fortnight. That I had del ivered my l etter to th e m iniste rfor foreign affairs
,who had ordered m e to explain myself w ithout
reserve to citizen Madgett,which I had accordingly don e . That
by h is advice I had prepared and delivered one m em orial on the
actual state of Ireland; and was th en at work 0 1 1 another, whichwould com prize th e whole of th e subj ect. That I had theh ighe strespect for the m in ister
,and that as to Madgett, I had no reason
whatsoever to doubt him ; but, n evertheless, m ust be perm itted tosay that
,in my m ind, it was a business of too great im portance to
be transacted w ith a m ere comm is. That I should not think I haddischarged my duty, either to France or Ireland
,if I left any
m easure u nattempted which m ight draw th e atten tion of th ed i rectory to the situation of the latter country ; and that , in consequence
,I had presum ed to presen t myself to him ,
and to im pl orehis attention to the facts contained in my two m em orials. ThatI would also presum e to request that
,if any doubt or d ifficulty
arose in his m ind on any of those facts,h e wou ld have the goodn ess
to perm it m e to explain . I con cl uded by saying, that I looked uponi t as a favourable om en that I had been allow ed to comm unicatew ith him
,as h e was already perfectly w el l known by reputation
in Ireland,and was the very m an of whom my friends had spoken .
H e shook his head and sm iled,as if h e doubted m e a l ittle . I
assured him the fact was so ; and as a proof, told him that inIreland we al l knew
,th ree years ago
,that he cou ld Speak English ;
at which h e did not seem displeased . I then rose,an d after th e
u sual apologies,took my l eave ; but I had not cleare d the ante
cham ber, when I recollected a very m aterial circum stance , W hichwas
,that I had not told him
,in fact
,who
,bu t m erely what I was;
I was,therefore
,returning on my steps, when I was stopped by
th e sentry dem anding my card ; but from this d ilemm a I wasextricated by m y lover the huissier , and again adm itted . I thentold Carnot
,that as to my situ ation , credit, and th e station I had
fi l led in Ireland,I begged leave to refer him to Jam es Monroe
,the
Am erican ambassador. H e seem ed stru ck w ith this, and then forthe first tim e asked my nam e . I told him in fact I had two
nam es,m y real on e and that under which I travel led and was
d escribed in my passport . I then took a slip of pape r, and wrotethe nam e
,
“Jam es Sm ith, citoyen Am ericain, and under it,
1 08 L I FE or
m eans,consisten t with their utm ost capacity
,untried
,to accomplish
it. And he repeated again,
‘w ith earnestness
,
“that I m ight count
upon it . The m in ister then asked m e what we wanted in Ireland ?I answered
,that we wanted a force to begin with ; arm s, amm un i
tion,and m oney. H e asked m e what quantities o f each wou ld I
think sufficient ? I did not w ish to go j ust then into th e detail,as
I j udged,from Madge tt
’
s discourse,that the m inister’ s plan was
on a smaller scale than m ine,and I did not desire to shock him
too m uch in the onset. I therefore took advantage of my badFrench , and m entioned that I doubted my being able sufficientlyto explain myself in conversation
,but that h e would find my
opinions at length in the twom em orial s I had prepared; and whenhe had considered them
,I hoped he would allow m e to wai t on
him,and explain any point which m ight not be suffi ciently clear.
He then proceeded to give m e his own ideas; which were,as I
suspected,upon a sm al l scale . H e said h e understood Ireland
was very populous and the people warl ike,so as soon to be m ade
soldiers,and that they were already in som e degree arm ed . I
answered,not so m uch as to be calculated upon in estim ating the
quantity of arm s wanted, as m ost of the guns which they had werebut fowl ing-pieces . H e th en said
,h e knew they had no artillery
nor cannoniers,and that
,consequently
,it would be necessary
to supply them w ith both ; that field p ie ces would be sufficient ,as we had no strong places ; that we should have th irty pieces ofcannon
,hal f eight-pounders
,and half sixteen -pounders
,properly
m anned and ofii cered,and stand of arm s . I interrupted
him to say, at least,as the on ly l im itation to the numbers
we could raise would be the quantity of arm s we m ight have toput into their hands . H e then went on to say
,that th ese should
he l anded n ear Belfast,where b e supposed they would be m ost
l ikely to m eet with early support. I answered,Certain ly
,as that
province was the m ost populous and warl ik e in th e kingdom .
He then produced a map of Ireland, and we looked over it together.I took th is advantage to slide in som e of m y own ideas
,by saying
that if we were able to begin in considerable force,we should
comm ence as near the capital as possible ; the possession of which ,i f once obtained
,would
,I thought
,decide the whol e business ; but
if we began w ith a smal ler force,we should comm enc e as near
Belfast as we could,and then push forward
,so as to secure the
m oun tain s of Mourne and the Fews , by m eans of wh ich and ofLough Erne
,we could cover the entire province of Ulster
,and
m aintain ou rselves until we had collected ou r friends in su fficientforce to penetrate to D ublin . H e l iked my plan extrem ely, whichcertainly appears to be the only feasible on e
,in case of a small
T HEOBALD W OL FE T ONE. 1 09
force being landed . H e then m entioned the Irishm en serv ing inthe British navy ; and asked m e what I thought of sending properpersons am on g st them to insinuate the duty they owed to theircountry
,and whether
,in such case
,they would act against us or
not ? This is Madge tt’
s schem e ; and, if it is not followed by verydifferent m easures, is nonsense . I answered
,that undoubtedly the
m easure was a good one , if accompan ied properly ; but to give itfu l l effe ct, it was absolutely necessary there shoul d be a governm entestab l ished in Ireland , for reasons which he would find detailed inmy m em orials, and of which I gave him an imperfect abstract. Ithink he seem ed satisfied on that head . The resul t of this conversation
,the principal circum stances of which I have substan tial ly
related,is,that the executive directory at present are determ ined
to take us up,but on a sm al l scale ; that they w i l l give us thirty
pieces of cannon,properly m anned
,and stand of arm s
,w ith
som e m oney,of course
,to begin with ; but I did not col l ect from
the m in ister that they had an idea of any definite number of troops,
at least h e m entioned none,and I did not press him on that head
,
I wish they should first read and consider my m em orials ; perhapswhat is said in them m ay induce them to reconsider the subj ect ;and if so
,I shall have done a m ost important service both to
France and Ireland .
F ebr uary 29 .
-Finished my second m emorial , and delivered itto Madgett for translation . We have not a m inute to spare , fo rin a l itt l e tim e the channel fleet w il l probably be at sea, and the
camps form ed in Ireland ; and of course the governm ent there wil lhave the advantage of a force ready concentred and prepared to actinstantly ; and perhaps they m ay happen to take the wrong side,which would be very bad .
M arc/z 1 .
— This day I got an Engl ish newspaper from Madgett,dated the 2d of last m onth
,in which there is a paragraph al luding
to the death of the late unfortunate Maj or Sweetman in a duel .I do not think I ever received such a shock if my l ife ! GoodGod ! if it should be m y friend ! The only chance I have is, thatth ere may be another person of that nam e , but I fear the worst.I had the sincerest and m ost affectionate regard for him ; a bette rand a brave r heart blood never warm ed ; I have passed som e of th epleasantest hours of my l ife in his society. If he be gone
,m y loss
is unspe akable , but his country w il l have a m uch severer one ; h ewas a sincere Irishm an ; and if ever an exertion was to be m adefor our emancipation
,he would have been in th e very forem ost
rank ; I had counted upon his m il itary talents, and had am usedmyself often in m aking him a general ; poor fellow ! If he be gone,there is a chasm in my short list of friends
,that I wi l l not find it
l l 0 L IF E. or
easy to fil l . After all,it may be another ; but I fear, I fear I
cann ot bear to th ink of it.M ar ch 6.
— I have not had spirits since th e news of poor Sweetm an ’s d eath to go on with my m em orandum s . As i t happens
,I
have n o seriou s business,and I am glad of it
,for my m in d has
been a good deal engaged on that subj ect. It seem s th e quarrelarose about treading on a lady
’ s gown,in com ing out of the opera
,
a worthy cau se for two brave m en to fight about ! T hey fought atfour yards’ distance
,which was Swe e tm an
’
s choice ; they were bothdesperately wounded
,but Captain Watson (an Irishm an al so) , is
l ikely to recover ; m y poor . friend is gon e . When he received theshot
,which went through his body
,he cried out to Watson ,
“Areyou wound ed ?
”“Yes,replied the other;
“I bel ieve m ortally.
”
And so am I,replied Sweetm an h e fel l instantly . I certainly
d id not th ink I could have been so m uch affected on his accountas I have been . Independently of my personal regard for him,
Ireckoned m uch upon his assistan ce
,in case of th e French govern
m en t affording us any aid . H is courage,h is eloqu ence
,his popu lar
talents,his sincere affection for his country
,wou ld have m ade him
em inently serviceable ; al l that i s now lost ; we m ust supply hisplace as we can . I wi l l write no m ore about him
,but shall ever
rem ember him w ith the m ost sin cere regret .M arch 1 1 .
— Went to the m in ister,D e l a Croix
,and had a l ong
conversation . H e began by saying,that h e had read my t wo
m emorials careful ly,and that I seem ed to insist on a considerabl e
force,as necessary to the success of the m easure ; th at, as to that,
there were considerabl e difficulties to be surm ounted ,aiising from
the superiority of th e English fleet . That,as to m en
,they
cou ld not possibly be transported,unless th e French were m aste rs
of th e channel,in which case they cou ld as easily send or
and m arch at once to Lond on . (N.B .
—In th is D e la Croixism uch m istaken . It would be
,i n my m ind , j ust as impossibl e for
France to conquer England,as for England to conquer France.
H e does not know what it i s to carry on war in a country where everym an ’ s hand is against you
,and yet h is own coun try m ight have
given him a lesson ; howeve r, i t was not my business to contestthe poin t w ith him , so I l et him go on . ) As to in en
,i t
was thus ou t of th e qu e stion . As to 5 000,there would be great
d ifficu lties ; th ey would require, for exam ple , twenty ship s to conveythem ; it wou ld not be easy to equip twenty sail in a French portwithout the English having som e notice
,and
,in that case
,they
would instantly block up the port with a force double of any thatcou ld be sent against them . To th is I answered
,that I was but
too sensible of the d if ficu lty he m ention ed ; that, howe ver, al l g reat
1 1 2 LIFE or
give to dem agogues, if we had any such among us. It is nu
necessary here to write an essay on the subj ect; but th e resul t ofmy m editations is, that the advantages, al l circum stances considered ,outweigh the in conveniences and hazard ; and I, for on e, am readyto take my share of th e danger and the responsibil ity ; I was
,
consequently,glad when D e la Croix proposed th e m easure . ) I
added,that the m eans which he then m entioned undoubtedly
w eakened my argum ent, as to the necessityof num bers, considerably.
H e then said,that from Madge tt
’
s representations,he had been
indu ced to th ink that m en were not at al l wanting. I answered,
that was very compatibl e w ith my theory, for that certainly if therewere any idea of national resistance
,5 000 m ight be said to be no
force at al l for a conquest . I then sh ifted the discourse,by saying
that,as to th e embarkation
,on whatever scal e it wasm ade
,it m igh t
be worth consideration whether it cou ld not be best effect ed fromHolland ; that their harbours were, I bel ieved, l ess closely watchedthan the French ; and that, at any rate , England had no port forships of war to the northward of Portsm outh ; so that even if sh ehad a fleet off the coasts of H ol land
,it m u st return occasional ly
'
to
refit,and during on e of these intervals the expedition m ight take
place . This brought on th e ol d subj ect of debauch ing the Irishseam en in the British navy
,wh ich seem s a favourite schem e of D e
l a Croix,and is
,in my m ind, flat non sense . He qu estioned m e
,
as before,whether
,by preparing a few of them
,and suffering them
to escape,they m igh t not re use th e patriotism of the Irish seam en ,
and cause a powerfu l revul sion in th e navy of England . Ianswered
,as I had done already
,that the m easure was undoubtedly
good,if properly followed up ; at the sam e t im e , that there was
great hazard of alarm ing the British governm ent ; that h e wouldfind my plan on the subj ect in my second m em orial
,where h e
would see that an Irish governm ent was,in my m ind , an indis
pensable requisite ; that I did not build on th e patriotism of the
Irish seam en , b u t on their passions and interests; that we couldoffer them th e whol e English comm erce as a bribe
,whilst England
has noth ing to oppose in return but the m ere force of discipl ine ;and I pressed this as strongly on the m in ister as my execrableFrench wou ld perm it. O n the whol e
,I do not m uch glory in th is
day’ s conversation . If I have not l ost confidence,I certainly have
not gained any. I see the m in ister is rooted in his narrow schem e,
and I am sorry for it . Perhaps 1 mp er1 0 us Circum stances wi l l notperm it him to be otherwise ; but if the French governm ent havethe power effectu al ly to assist us
,and do not
,they are m iserable
politicians. It i s now on e hundred and three years since LouisXIV. neglected a sim ilar Opportunity of separating Ire land from
T HEOBALD W O L F E T ONE. 1 1 3
England ; and France has had reason to lam ent it ever since . He,
too,w ent upon th e short- sighted policy of m erely em barrassing
England,and leaving Ireland to shift as she m ight. I hope the
republic wi l l act on nobler m otives, and w ith m ore extended views .M arch 1 4— Went this day to th e Luxembourg ; I have the lu ck
of going on the days that Carnot gives audien ce,and of course is
m ost occupied ; waited, however, to th e last . when on ly one personremained besides m yself. Carnot then called m e over . and said ,you are an Irishm an . I answered I was;
“then,said b e ,
here is alm ost a countrym an of yours,who speaks English
perfectly. H e has the confidence Of governm ent ; go with him
and explain yourself w ithout reserve . I did not m uch l ike thisre ferring m e over; however, there was no rem edy; so I m ade m ybow
,and fol lowed my n ew l over to his hotel . H e to ld m e on the
way that he was General Clarke ; that his father was an Irishm an ;that he had him self been in Ireland
,and had m any relations in
that country ; he added (God forgive him if h e exaggerated) , thatal l the m i l itary arrangem ents O f the republic passed through hishands ; and in short, gave m e to understand that h e was at theh ead O f the war departm ent . By this tim e we arrived at the hotelwhere he kept his bureau
,and I observed in passing th rough th e
of fice to his cabinet,an imm en se number of boxes labelled
,Armée
d a Nord,Armée des Pyrenees Arm ée du Rhin , etc . , etc . , so that
I was pretty wel l satisfied that I was in the right tract. Whenwe ente red the cabinet
,I told him in three words who and what I
was,and then proceeded to detail
,at considerable l ength
,al l I
knew on th e state of Ireland ; which , as it is substantially containedin my two m em orials
,to which I referr ed him
,I need not here
recapitulate . This took up a considerab l e t im e ; I suppose an hourand a half. He then began to interrogate m e on som e of the
heads,in a m anner which showed m e that he was utterly n u
acquainted with the present state O f affairs in Ireland,and
part icularly w ith the great internal changes which have takenplace there w i thin the last three o r four years
,which
,however
,is
no im peachm en t of his j udgm ent or tal ents ; there were, however,oth er points on wh ich h e was radical ly w rong. For example
,he
asked m e,would not the aristocracy of Ireland
,som e O f which he
m entioned,as the Earl Of O rm ond , concur in th e attempt to
establish the independence of their country ? I answered,
“Mostcertainly not ;
” and begged him to rem em ber that i f the attemptwere m ade
,it wou ld be by the people
,and the people only ; that
he should calculate on al l the opposition that th e Irish aristocracycould give ; that the French Revolution , which had given courageto the people
,had
,in the sam e proportion
,alarm ed the aristocracy
,
ILL L IFE on
who trembled for their t itles and estates; that th is alarm was
diligently fom en ted by the British m in i ster , who had b e en
able to persuade every m an of property that their only securitywas in supporting him implicity in every measu re calculatedto oppose the progress of what were cal led French principle s ;th at
,consequent ly
,in any system h e m ight frame in his
m ind,he should lay down the utm ost opposi tion of ,
thearistocracy as an essential point . At the sam e t im e
, I added that,in th e case of a landing being effected in Ireland
,thei r opposit ion
would be of ve ry l ittl e significance,as their conduct had been such
as to give them no claim on the affections of the people ; that theirown tenants and dependants would
,I was satisfied
,de sert them ;
and they would becom e j ust so m any helpless ind ividuals,devoid
of power and influence . H e then m entioned that the volun teerconvention in 1 783
,seem ed to be an exam ple against what I n e w
advanced ; the people th en had acted through th e i r l eaders . Ianswered
,they certainly had ; and as their l eaders had betrayed
them,that very convention was one reason why the peopl e had for
ever lost al l confidence in what was cal led leaders . H e st il l seem ed,
however,to have a l eaning towards the co-operat ion of our
aristocracy,which is flat nonsense . H e asked m e was there n o
one man of that body that we could not m ake use of 2 and againm entioned
,
“fo r exam pl e,the Earl of O rm ond .
” I answered,
“notone ;
” that as to Lord O rm ond,he was a drunken beast
,w i th out
a character of any kind,but that of a blockhead ; that I did bel ieve,
speaking my own private opin ion as an individual , that perhapsthe Duke of Leinster m ight j oin the people, if the revolution wasonce begun
,becau se I thought him a good Irishm an ; but that for
this opini on I had m erely m y own conj ectures,
and that,at any
rate,if th e beginning was once m ade
,it woul d be of very l ittle
consequence what part any individual m ight take . I do not knowhow Fitzgibbon ’s nam e happened to com e in here
,but h e asked
m e wou ld it not be possible to m ake som ething of him . Any onewho knows Ireland
,w i l l readily bel ieve that I did not find it easy
to m ake a serious answer to this quest ion . Yes,Fitzgibbon would
be very l ikely,from his situation ,
his principles,his hopes and h is
fears,his prope rty
,and the general tenor of his condu ct
,to hegin
a revolution 1 n Ireland . At l ast,I believe
,I satisfied Cl arke o
the subj ect of the support to be expected from ou r aristocracynH e then asked m e what I thought the revolution
,if begun
,would
term inate in . I answered,undoubtedly
,as I thought
,in a republic
al l ied to France . He then said what security could I give , that intwen ty years after our independ ence , we m igh t not be found engagedas an ally of England against France ? I thought the obse rvat ion
1 1 6 L IFE 0 9
get possession of the Fews mountains,which cover th e province of
Ulster,until we could raise and arm our forces that
,if possible
,
a se corid landing should be m ade i n th e Bay of Galwaay, which armyshould cover itself
,as soon as possible , by the Shannon , breaking
d own m ost of th e bridges,and fortifying the rem ainder ; that we
should thus begin w ith th e comm and of the one half of the nation,and that the m ost discontented part ; that, as to the port of embarkation
,which the m in ister has also m entioned
,I suggested som e
of the D u tch ports ; first, because I bel ieved they were less watch edthan the French ; and next, that England having no harbour whereshe could refit a fleet
,to the north of Portsm outh
,even if she kept
a fleet in th e North Seas,it m ust return occasional ly to refi t
,and
the expedition m ight take place in the interval . If,however
,th e
Dutch ports were too strongly watched,w e m igh t go from any of
the French harbours on th e ocean,and coast round by the west of
Ireland into the Lough of Belfast. Madgett reduced this to writingin French
,and we wen t together to the m in ister
,where he d el ivered
it to him before my eyes . Madgett te ll s m e that Prieu r d e l aMarne is in the secret
,and has recomm ended and guaranteed a
Capuchin friar of the nam e of Fitz -Sim ons to go to Ire land . Itold Madgett I had the m ost v iol ent disl ike to l e tting any priestinto th e business at al l. He said he d id not l ike it either
,b u t that
Prieur de la Marne had known this m an for twenty years , andwould stake h is l ife on h is honesty . I do not care for al l that ;I give my opinion plump against his being sent. l‘fliadge tt m en
tioned that the fellow had som e notion of a resumption of th eforfeited lands . That would be a pretty m easure to begin w ith IBesides
,h e has been ou t of th e count 1 y twenty or th irty years
,and
knows noth ing about it,and
,I dare say, hates a Presbyterian l ike
the d evil . No ! no ! If I can help it,he shan ’ t go
,if I can ’
,t
why, I can’ t . I want a m il itary m an . I m u st see whoever is sent,
I presum e ; and how can I com m it the safety of my friends in Ireland to a m an in whom I have no confidence myself.M arcia 20 .
—~ Breakfast w i th Madge tt . The m in ister wants toknow our plan of conduct
,supposing the landing effected . This
has been already detailed in m y m em orial , but it i s necessary togo over the sam e ground again and again . Pu t it to him in
other words,
”v ia — The Cathol ic comm ittee is already a complete
representation of that body ; and th e D isse ntens are so preparedthat they can imm ediately choose delegates . That those two bodies
,
when j o ined , wi l l represent, num erically, nine- tenths of the people ;and
,of course
,unde r existing circum stances
,are th e best
governmen t that w e can form at the m om ent . This Madget treduced to writing ; but I have no copy, which is of the l ess
T HEOBAL D W OL F E T ONE. 1 1 7
consequence, as the paper is only a paraphrase of part of my lastm em orial .M arc/L 2 1 .
— Went, by appointm en t (th is being the l et ofGerm inal ) , to the Luxem bourg, to General Clarke ;
“damn it androt it for m e
,
”he has not yet got my m em orials ; only th ink howprovoking . I to ld him I would m ake him a fair copy
,as I had
the rough draft by m e . H e answered it was unnecessary,as h e
had given in a m em orandum , in w riting, to Carnot, to send for theoriginal s
,and would certainly have them before I cou ld m ake th
copy. We then went into the subj ect as before,but noth ing n ew
o ccurred . H e dwel t a l ittl e on the nobles and clergy,and I repl ied
as I had done in the form er conversation ; he said he was satisfiedthat nothing was to be expected from either
,and I answered that
he m ight expect all the opposition th ey could give,if they had the
pow e r to give any ; but that, happily, if the landing were onceeffe c ted
,thei r opin ion wou ld be of l ittl e consequence . H e then
asked m e,as before
,what form of governm ent I thought would be
l ikely to take place in Ireland,in case of the separation being
effected ; adding that,as to France
,though she would certainly
p refer a republic,yet her great obj ect was the independence of
Ireland under any form ? I answered,I had no doubt whatever
that if we succeeded, we would establ ish a republic ; adding thatit was my own w ish
,as wel l as that of a l l th e m en w ith whom I
co- operated . H e then talked of the necess ity of sending som eperson to Ireland to exam ine into the state of things there
,adding
,
you would not go yourself. I answered,certainly not ; that , in
th e first place,I had already given in al l the inform ation I was
possessed of,and for m e to add anyth ing to that would be
,in fact
,
only supporting my credit by my own declaration ; that he wouldfind
,even in the English papers
,and I was sure m uch m ore in the
Irish,if he had them
,sufficient evid ence of the state of the country
to support every word I had advanced ; and evidence of the m ostunexceptionable nature
,as it cam e out of th e m ouths of those who
were interested to conceal it, and would conceal it, if they could ;that for m e to be found in Ireland now would be a certain sacrafice of my l ife to no purpose ; that if the expedition was undertaken ,I would go in any station ; that I was not only ready and w il l ing
,
but should m ost earnestly suppl ieate and entreat th e Frenchgovernm en t to perm it m e to take a part
,even as a private volunteer
,
w ith a fire lock on my shoulder ; and that I thought I cou ld be ofuse to both countries . H e answered
,
“as to that
,there could be
no difficulty or doubt on the part of the French gove rnm ent.” H e
then expressed his regret at the delay of the m em orials,and
assured m e he wou ld use al l dil igence in procuring them ,and would
1 1 8 L IF E or
not lose a mom ent after th ey came to his hands. Clarke askedm e had I thought of subsisting th e F rench troops after the land ing ,
in case th e executive d ecided in favour of th e m easure . I answeredI had not thought in detai l on the subj ect ; but there was oneinfall ibl e m ode which presented itself
,which was, requisition in
kind of al l th ings n ecessary ; adding, that h e m ight be sure, whoever wanted
,the arm y shou ld not want
,and especially ou r al l ies ,
if we w ere so fortunate as to obtain their assistance . He askedm e
,
“Might not that disgust th e people of property in Ireland ?I answered
,th e revolution was not to be m ade fo r th e people of
property ; but as to those of them who w ere ou r friends,the spirit
of enthusiasm would induce them to m uch greater sacrifices ; andas to those who were ou r en em ies
,it was fit that they should suffer.
M ar ch 22 — 4 have worked this day l ike a horse . In the m orning I cal led on Madgett to tel l him that Carnot wanted th em em orials
,and begged him to expedite th em . H e boggled a good
d eal,and I got alm ost angry ; however, I am grow ing so m uch of
a statesman,that I did not let him see it. I therefore dropped
the business of th e m em orials,and Madgett then told m e that he
sets off to -m orrow,on a pilgrim age
,to root out th e Irish prisoners
of war,and especial ly Mr Will iam Browne
,who is to be sent to
Ireland if he can be found ou t,or if h e has not long since been
d ischarged ; that he is to go to Versail les , Compiegne, Guise, ,andpropagate the faith am ongst th e Irish soldiers and seam en . Thisis h is favourite schem e
,and is
,in my m ind
,not to m ince th e
m atter,dam ned nonsense . What are five hundred or one thousand
Irishm en,m o re or less
,to the su ccess of the business . Nothing.
And then there is th e risk of the business taking wind . I do notl ike it at al l ; but I surm ise th e real truth to be, that it is a smal lm atte r of j ob (a and that there i s som e cash to betouched
,e tc . Madge tt
’
s schem e is ju st l ike my countrym an’s,that
got on horseback in the packet in order to m ake m ore haste . H e
always h unting for m aps,and then he th inks he is m aking
revolutions. I bel ieve h e is very sincere in the business ; but h ed oes
,to be sure
,at tim es pester m e confoundedly.
Al erm/i 23 — Madgett sen t for m e this morning to tel l m e,as
u sual,that every th ing is going on wel l ; b u t, for my part, I think
every thing is going on v ery slowly . Madgett th en told m e th em in ister desired I should draw up such a m em orial as I thoughtthe French comm ander ought to publ ish on landing. That is notquite so easy . I wish ed to evade it by saying the sty l e of Frencheloquence was so different from ours that I doubted my abilitiesto do it . H e answered
,i t was precisely for ‘
that reason i t was
necessary I shou ld write it ; that, when I had done, th e executive
1 20 L IFE or
not be above five or six thousand m en,I hoped and expected th ey
would be the best that France could spare us. Clarke repl ied,
they would undoubtedly be suffi ciently d iscipl ined . I answered,
i t was not m erely discipl ined troops,but m e n who were accu stom ed
to stand fire ; that we wanted som e of the old battal ions fromH ol land or th e Rhine ; for as to raw troops, we shou ld soon havee nough of them . Clarke answered that h e could not prom i se weshould have the pick and choice of the French army
,but that
,if
any were sent,they wou ld be brave troops, that would run on th e
enemy as soon as they saw them . I answered,as to the cou rage
of the French army,it was suffi ciently known
,and I would venture
to say,that wherever they would lead
,th e Irish would fol l ow.
Clarke then said there was som e Irish officers yet rem aining inFrance
,who m ight go
,and he m entioned Jennings
,who used to
cal l him self Baron de Ki lmaine : God knows why. I answered,
that in Ireland we had no great confidence in the officers of th eol d Irish brigade
,so m any of them had either deserted or betrayed
th e French cause ; th at as to Jennings, he had had the m isfortuneto comm and after Custin e , and had been obl iged to break up the
fam ous Camp de Cae sar ;”that
,though this m ight probably have
been no fault of his,it had m ade an impression ; and , as h e was
at any rate not a fortunate general,I thought it would be better,
to have a Frenchm an . We then began to chat rather than talkseriously
,and m oot points of war . First
,as to D ublin
,I told him
I did not expect,w ith th e proposed force
,that m uch could be don e
there at first ; that its garrison was always at l east 5 000 strong ;and that th e governm ent
,taking advan tage of the
,m om entary
success of th e coalesced despots, had d isarm ed the people, take nth eir cannon
,and passed th e gunpowder and convention bil ls
,
whose natare and operation I explained to him ; that , however, ifth e landing were once effected
, on e of two things would happeneither the governm ent wou l d retain the garrison for their security,in which case there would be 5 000 m en id l e on the part of th eenemy
,or they wou l d m arch them off to oppose us
,in which case
th e peopl e would rise and seize the capital ; and I added , if theypreferred the first m easure
,which I thought m ost l ikely
,whenever
we were strong enough to m arch southward, if we were as I hadno doubt we should be , superior in th e field
,we could starve
Dublin in a w eek, w ithout striking a bl owI l ike this day s business very w el l . I see I was wrong th e
day before yesterday in th inking Clarke’ s m anner cold . I fancy
that it was myself that was ou t of t em per, because, forsooth , hehad not read my m em orials .Ap ril 1 .
—Saw a sup erb battalion, of infantry, and a squadron
T HEOBALD W O L F E T ONE. 1 21
of cavalry inspected at the T uil l e ries by a general officer. TheFrench are very fine troops
,such of them as I have seen ; they
are al l the right m i litary age,with scarcely any old m en past
service,or boys not grown up to it. They are not very
correct in their evolutions ; nor near equal to the English , andm uch less
,as I suppose
,to the Germans . This has a l ittle shaken
my faith in th e force of disciplin e, for they have certain ly beatenboth British and Germ ans l ike dogs ; b u t after the spectacles whichI see daily
,why need I wonder at that ? T he f é
‘te d e l a j eun esse,
for example, of yesterday, explains it at once . D iscipl ine wil l n otstand against such enthusiasm as I was a w itness to, and, I maysay
,as I felt m yself. If we go on in Ireland
,we m ust m ove
heaven and earth to create the sam e spirit of en thusiasm which Isee here ; and , from my observation of the Irish character, whichso n early resembles th e French , I think it very possible . Thed evi l of it is , that poor Pat is a l ittl e given to drink , and theFrench are very sober. IVe m ust rect ify that as wel l as we can ;he is a good man that has no fault ; and I have a sort of sympatheticfeel ing which m akes m e the m ore indulgent on th is score . (Query) .W ould it have a good effect to explode corporal punishm en t altogether in the Irish army , and substitute a discharge with infamyfor great faults
,and confinemen t and hard diets for l esser ones ?
I believe there is no corporal punishm ent in the French army ; andI would wish to create a spirit in our soldiers
,a high point of
honour,l ike that of the French . When on e of their general s
(Marshal Richel ieu) was b eseiging a town , he was torm ented withthe drunkenness of his army . H e gave out
,in orders
,that any
soldier who was seen drunk should not he suffered to m ount tothe assau lt
,and there was not a man to be seen in liquor after
wards . D runkenness then induced a suspicion of cowardice,which
kept them effectually sober . It is a choice anecdote,and pregnant
with circum stances .Ap r il 2 —Went to - day to Clarke
,at Luxembourg. He tell s
m e he has been hunting in vain for a proper person to go to Ireland ;that he had a Frenchman tampered w ith
,who was educated from
a child in England, and spoke the language perfectly . That,at
first,he agreed to go
,but afterwards
,on l earning the penalties of
the English l aw against high treason,his heart fail ed him and he
decl ined . This is bad . H owever, there is no rem edy . Clarkew ent on to tel l m e that if the m easure were pursued (without saying whether it wou ld or not), the executive were determ ined to
employ m e in the French service in a m ili tary capacity ; and thatI m ight d epend on finding every thing of that kind settled to m ysatisfaction . I answered that
,as to my own personal feelings, I
1 22 L I‘FE o r
had noth ing m ore to demand . H e th en wished I would give hima short plan of a system of Ciroumm er ie in Ireland
,particularly in
Munster ; for he would tel l m e frankly, the governm ent had it
design before anything m ore serious was attem pted,to turn in a
p arcel of renegadoes ( or, as h e said, b lackguards) , into Ireland , inorder to distress and embarrass the governm ent there
,and d istract
them in th eir m otions . I answered,I W as sorry to hear it . That,
if a m easure of that kind were adopted w ith a V i ew to prepare them inds of the peopl e
,it was unnecessary
,for they W ere al ready
sufficiently prepared . That i t would only produce l ocal insurrect ions
,which wou ld soon be suppressed
,because the army (including
the m i l itia) would, in that case, to a certainty, support th e governm ent ; and every m an
,of any property, even those who wished for
the independence of their country,would do th e same
,from the
d read of indiscrim inate plunder,which woul d b e but too l ikely to
ensue from such a m easu re as he described ; that there was ano therthing very m uch to be apprehended in that case
,and which , if I
were m in ister of England,I shou ld not hesitate on e m om en t abou t
,
and in which the parl iam ents of both cou ntries wou ld instantlyconcu r
,viz .
,to pass two acts
,repeal ing those c lauses which enact
that the m i l itia shal l only serve in their own country,and d irectly
to shift th e m i l itia of Ireland into England,and replace them by
th e English m il itia,which would serve to awe both coun tries
,and
most m aterially embarrass us. That,if all th is W as so
,and those
insurrections suppressed,their in ev itable effect
,grounded upon al l
h istorical experience,wou ld be to strength en the existing goVern
m ent . That England would take that opportunity to reduceIreland again to that state of subj ection
,o r even a worse on e than
sh e had b e en in before 1 782 ; and wou l d bind her, hand and foot,in su ch a manner as to make al l future exertion impossible; inwhich she would be supported by the whol e Irish aristocracy
,who
com pose the legislature, and who would sacrifice everything totheir own security.
Ap r il 3 .— Called on Madgett th is m orn ing, by appointment .
H e is a lways fu l l of good news . He tells m e the marin e forcewi l l be seventeen ships of war, great and smal l, arm s and artil lery,etc.
,for m en ; that m any of the officers are already nam ed ,
but he bel ieves not the general-ih - chief. Al l this is Very good,b ut
Would I could see it,
”quoth blind Hugh . We then cam e tomycomm ission in the service of th e republic. He asked me
,as I was
here the representative of the Irish people, would I not feel itbeneath the dignity of that character to accept of a comm ission ;for
,as to the French government
,they ivou l d give m e any rank
1 p leased to demand. I answered, that I considered the station
1 24 L IFE or
we shal l never labou r together again for th e good of our nativecountry . I am sure he has been too wise and too cautiou s to puth im self in their power ; but what wisdom or caution is proof againstforg ed or suborned te stim ony, which I know they wi ll n ever st ickat procuring ; and in th e state affairs are now in Ireland
,any
ev idence w il l be received . IVe l l,a day wil l com e for all th is . If
we cannot preven t h is fal l,at l east I hope we shal l be able to
revenge it ; and I, for on e,if it be in twenty years from this
,
p rom ise not to forget it. My heart is hardening hourly, and Isatisfy m yself now at once on points which w ould stagger m e
twel ve m onths ago. The Irish aristocracy are putt ing them selvesin a state of nature w ith the people
,and let th em take th e conse
qu e n ces. They show no m ercy,and th ey deserve none . If ever
I have the power,I w il l m os t heartily concur in m aking th em a.
d r eadf u l examp l e. D ined to -day in the Cham ps Elysees,w ith
Madgett and a person of the nam e of Ahern e,a physician
,who is
to be sen t to Ireland . Explained to him my sentim ents as to theconduct h e should adopt there
,and particularly cautioned him
against w riting a syl lable,or carrying a singl e Scrape of a p e n with
him ; pointed out to him the persons whom he is to see and speakto
,at the sam e tim e that I fear m any of the m ost usefu l are now
either in prison or conceal ing them sel ve s . This com es of d elay,but that is no fault of m ine . I l ike Aherne very well ; he seem sa cool man with good republ ican sentim ents . He has been al readyem ployed in Scotland . Apropos
,of Scotland. There is som e
schem e going on there,as I recolle cted from hints which dropped
from him and Madgett,but what it is I know not
,nor
‘did I inquire.My opinion is
,that noth ing w i l l ever be done there
,unless we
fi rst begin in Ireland .
Ap r il 1 1 .
—Sull ivan cal led on m e th is m orning,for it i s h e that
brings my secondary intel ligence, to tel l m e that D ’
Al barad e,th e
late m inister of th e m arin e is to comm and the naval departm entof our expedition ; and that a confidential person to ld him yesterdaythat he m igh t look for good n eW s soon for h is coun try , for thatthere was som e thing at that m om ent doing for her in H ol lan d ; bywh ich I presum e that it is there their preparations are m aking . Iam glad of that. I m entioned H olland m yself to Carnot
,C larke,
and the m iniste r. By- the -bye
,th e m inister is on the eve of being
turned out,but as the business is now in th e hands of Carno t
him sel f,I am in hopes that wi ll m ake no difference to us . I do
not glory at al l in the present aspect of th ings .Ap r il 3 ,
— By- the -bye
,Clarke is j ust as com peten t to regul ate
this affair,as I am to be m ade Lord Chancel lor of England ; and
for my fitness for this station, I appeal to al l who ever knew m e
T HEOBALD W OL F E T ONE. 1 25
in the capacity of a lawyer . I have not forgot h is nonsense abou tgaining over som e of the Irish aristocracy to our side , to beg inw ith ; such as Lord O rm ond , for example ; neither have I forgothis asking m e
,m ight we not m ake som ething of Fitzgibbon ?
Good God,i s it n ot enough to set one m ad
,to be obliged to l isten
and keep my temper, not to say my countenance , at such execrabletrash ? And ye t th e fate of Ireland is in a certain d egree in thism an ’s hands . Well
,well
,wretched
,I again repeat it
,is the nation
whose independence hangs on the w i l l of another . Clarke hadalso som e d oubts as to my report on the influence of the Irishpriests
,which h e dreads a good deal ; and this is founded on his
own observation,on a visit b e paid to Ireland in the year
1 789. That is to say a Frenchm an,who j ust peeps into
the country,for an instant , seven years ago, and then in
the heat of the revolution,sets up h is Opinion against m in e
,
who have been on the spot,who had attentively studied and
b e en confiden tially employed,and to whom nothing relating
to Catholic affairs could possibly be a secret . That is reasonableand m odest in my friend Clarke . H e l ikewise catech ised Aherne
,
as to the chance of our preferring m onarchy as to our form ofgovernm ent
,in case of a successful’ revolution ; adding that, in that
case,we would of course consu lt th e French governm ent in our
choice . This is sell ing the bear’s skin with a vengeance . I
wonder does h e seriously think that, if we succeeded , we wouldcom e post to Paris to consu lt him
,General Clarke
,a handsom e
,
smooth -faced young m an , as to what w e should do ? I can assurehim we would not. When he spoke to m e on th is head
,h e was
m ore reasonable , for he said it was indifferent to the Frenchrepubl ic what form of governm ent we adopted
,provided we secured
our independence . I t seem s now he is m ore sanguine ; but I , foron e , w i l l n ever be accessory to subj ecting m y country to the controlof France
,m erely to get rid of that of England .
Ap ril 1 5 .
-Went w ith Ahern e to the m inister,and m et a m ost
gracious reception . H e had seen Clarke,to whom th e m ilitary
part of the business had be en entrusted,and who assured him that
preparations w ere actually m aking in the interior of H olland .
With regard to Aherne,h e said his instructions would be ready in
three or four days . Then we shal l see som ething of the m atter.I m ent ioned to him the arrestation of Keogh , and the embarrassm ent it m ust produce in ou r affairs . H e observed it would onlyinflam e the people’ s m inds the m ore . I answered
,as to them
,they
were sufficiently inflam ed already ; but the embarrassm ent whichI saw
,was in the imprisonm ent of him and others
,inasmuch as
they could be of su ch service in fram ing a prov is ional governm ent.
1 26 L IF E or
I observed l ikewise,and begged him to remember
,that the very
m en I had pointed out as m y friends, and as the proper persons tospeak to in Ireland
,were the very persons now imprisoned and
persecuted by the British governm ent . I also took the opportunityto apologis e for not seeing him oftener ; that I knew the value ofhis tim e too w el l to take it up in visits of cerem ony, and we partedthe best friends in the world ; h e assuring m e that in every part ofth e business wherein he was engaged
,I m ight d epend on his
utm ost exert-ions . I m ust now wait til l I see Aherne ’s instruct ions .Apr il 20 .
—Went w ith Aherne,at one o’ clock
,to the m inister ss ,
in order to see after h is instructions . At last there i s a prospectof som eth ing like business . The m in ister read the draft of theinstru ctions
,in which there is a great deal of trash m ixed w ith
som e good sense . O nly think of one of the articles, wherein theysay
,that if Ireland continues devote d to th e House of Stuart
,one
of that fam i ly can be found who w il l be agreeable to al l parties !Who the d evi l is this Pretender in petto ? It i s all on e to us
,
however,for we w il l have noth ing to do w ith him . I m ade one
or two observations on th e instru ctions,to th e m inister ; he acted
v ery fairly,for he gave them to m e
,and desired m e to m ake what
observations struck m e ; and as‘to Aherne, he said that he m ust
only be guided by such of them as m igh t appl y to the state ofthings he found there
,and disregard those that did not ; al l which
i s candid . I see the instructions ar e w ritten by Clarke,for I find
in them his trash about m onarchy,the noblesse
,and c l ergy . There
is one thing,however
,which reconciles m e to al l this absurd ity
,
which 1 s,that the French governm ent prom ises us m en and
20,000 si and of arm s ; w ith that force I have not th e shadow of
d oubt of our su ccess . It 1 s to be escorted by nine sail of the l ine
(Dutch , I be l i eve) , and three frigates, and w i ll be ready about the
m iddle or t owards the end of May,which i s not m ore than six
weeks off.Ap ril 22 .
—Copied Ahern e’
s instructions,and wrote my observa
tion s,which are v ery short . I barely m ention what is n ecessary
,
and for the rest I say al l i s very right ; and that when he arrivesin Ireland
,I have n o doubt but the peopl e th ere w il l execute every
part of them which circum stances w il l adm it . Gave them to
Madgett to t ranslate . Went to Clarke to apprize him of my havingchanged my lodgings : asked him had he any news for m e . H e
answered not . I replied that h itherto he had not found m e verypressing for inform at ion ; but that n everthe less, I expected thatwhen the tim e cam e
,I shou ld be properly apprized of every th ing.
He replied,
“Certainly. He then attacked m e about h is pro~
clamation for Chouannising England . I repl ied that I. had done
1 28 L I F E O F
in endeavouring to lay th e state of Irel and before the Frenchgovernm ent
,as wel l as th e situation I had once the honour to
fil l in m y own country,that h e would not consider m e as
u nreasonably importunate in requesting him to give m e su_
chinform ation as h e m ight deem proper
,as to the state of the
expedit ion,supposing it were to take place . H e rep l ied my request
was not at al l unreasonable ; but that, before m easures werefinally determ ined upon , i t would be necessary that the Frenchgovernm ent should be satisfi ed as to the actual state of things inIreland ; and for that purpose a person should be sent to observeeverything
,and m ake his report accord ingly ; for if the people there
were am icable to th e French republ ic,the attem pt m ight be m ade ;
but if not,it wou ld require a considerabl e force to conquer the
country . This was a staggering blow to m e,to find m yself no
farther advanced at th e end of three m onths than I was at my firstaudien ce . H owever
,I recol le cted m yself
,and said
,that undoubt
e d ly th e French governm ent was in the right to expect everypossible inform ation as to the actual state of th e country ; but thatI begged leave to observe that there were few individuals m orecom petent, from their situation
,to give them that inform ation
than myself“m uch m ore so than any stranger they m igh t send,
who would j ust sl id e into th e country for a m om ent , and return ,if he V~
” 1'
e lu cky enough to escape ; that as to al l I had advanced ,I hoped he wou ld find my assertion s confirm ed by the Englishgazettes ; that, n evertheless
,if he doubted my inform ation , or
enpposed that affairs m ight be altered since my departure fromIreland and so thought it n ecessary to send a confidential person
,
I begged him to rem em ber that the tim e was precious,and there
was not on e m om en t to lose . H e said h e understood that I couldnot go myself. I an swered
,I was too wel l known in that country
to be there fou r-and- twenty hours w ithout being discovere d andse ized ; that, consequently, I was the m ost unfi t person in th eworld ; and I took that opportunity to m ention that
,if th e
pedition were undertaken,I hoped to be perm itted to bear a
part in its execution . He replied,that the Fren ch governm ent
W on 1 in that case certain ly avai l them selves of my courage andtal ents (pr rytl er cl e votre cou rage et d e nos l al ents) . But sti l l
,
he d idnot say whether the expedition wou ld take place or not
,though
th i s was the second push I m ade at him on that head . W hen Isaw he would not give m e any definite information
,I observed that
there was a subj ect on which I had received su ch positive instruotions on leaving Ireland , that I considered myself bound tom ention it to him ; and that was relative to the gen eral whom ight b e appointed to the command; that it was ou r wish , if
T HEOBALD W OL F E T ONE. 1 20,
possibl e,that it should be Piehegru ; that i f he remained at the
head of the arm y of the Rhine , I probably should not havem entioned him ; bu t that at presen t, when he is not employed inany m i l itary function , I h oped I was not i rregular in praying him
(Carnot) to turn his though ts on Pichegru for that comm and ;supposing, as before , that the expedition was to take place . Carnotreplied
,that undoubtedly Pichegru was an officer Of consummate
talents ; but, at the sam e t im e,there were m any generals no t
inferior to him in abilities (aussif orts que l at) . I repl ied I was
satisfied that th e republ ic abounded w ith excel lent Officers ; butthat
,in my country, the prej udice as to Pichegru
’
s characte r wasso strong
,that I rated him equal to an army of m en
,as to
th e effect h is appointm en t would have on both parties in Ireland .
He repl ied that he wou ld giv e every consideration to what I saidon the subj ect; and that, at any rate , I had d one perfe ctly righ tin suggesting Pichegru to the not ice of the directory . I thenobserved that as to Pichegru him sel f, I though t the appointm en twould add a new lustre to h is form er glory ; that, i f h e desi redfam e
,the assisting in creating a free republic of peopl e
was an obj e ct of no ordinary m agnitude ; and if he was studiousof h is interest
,which I did not suppose, he m ight rely on th e
gratitude of my country in its fu l lest extent,as wel l as every
person who m ight be instrum ental in establish ing her l iberties .Just at this m om en t General Clarke entered
,and I cannot
say that h e seem ed highly delighted at the r encon l re. Itook my l eave of Carnot, and wen t over to speak to him . Itold him in substance our conversation as above written
,and
when I m en tioned Pitcheg ru , he said,“Pichegru . O h
,he won ’ t
acce pt it.” I said I was sorry for it. H e then asked m e had I
finished h is proclamations for c/zouann ising England . I told himI found it im possible ; but that I would finish the one I had begunfor Ire land
,whose grievances I knew
,and with whose local cir
c umstances I was acquainted ; of both O f which,with regard to
England,I was utterly ignorant . H e desired m e then to finish
that on e,and bring it to him withou t loss of t im e . I said I would
in the course of four or five ' days, and took my l eave .M ay 1 0 .
— Madgett has got orders to find ten or a dozen inte l lige nt prisoners
,who are to b e sent into England . Into England
,
of al l places in the world ! What can that m ean ? H e tell s m e
there is to be an expedition there,contemporary with ours
,in order
to cut out work for John Bull at hom e,and prevent his distracting
h is poor head too m uch about his Irish affairs . H e tel ls m e,also
,
that H oche is to comm and in England . If that be so,it looks
seriou s, but Madgett is so terribly sanguine that I know not whatJE
1 30 L IFE or
to th ink . I w il l say fo r the pre sen t, in the language of th e Gazette,“this n ews m erits further confirmation .
”At work at my pro
clam ation .
Ill ay 1 1 .
—At'
work furiously at m y proclam ation ; I l ike it betterthan my first attem pt . M adgett is gon e in search of h is imps
,
whom he has orders to send off to H och e as soon as h e has fo undthem . That looks a l ittl e serious
,but stil l I am slow of faith .
M ay 23 , 24, 2 5 , 2 6 .
— After balan cing . fo r four or five d ays,and
turning the m atter every way in my thoughts , I have taken myresolution , and written this day to my dearest love , to Rowan , andDoctor Reynolds
,acquain ting them w ith m y d eterm inat ion to
settle in France, and de siring th em to m ake preparat ion s for th ed eparture of my fam ily with al l possible haste. It is a bo l dm easure
,but“Audaces fortun a j uvat .
” If m y negotiat ion heresucceeds
,i t wil l be best they should be in France ; i i
'
it fails,stil l
I am satisfied it is m ore advisabl e fo r u s to settle here than inAm erica. At al l events
,th e die i s cast. It i s an epoch in my
l ife . I have decided to th e best of my j udgment, and i f I fail , Ifai l . I am weary of floating about at the m ercy of events ; l e t m e
fix myself,if possib le
,at last .
Ju ne I,2,3 .
-A fain t ray of hope has broke to -day across theimpenetrable gloom wh ich has
,for som e tim e back
,e nveloped my
prospects . I called on Clarke, p ro forma, not expecting to find
him,in which I was not disappointed . I found
,however
,a note
,
inform ing me that he had read my proclam ation, and liked it ve rywel l ; that, however, i t would be necessary to curtail i t som ewhat,and that he desired to see m e for that pu rpose, any tim e after th isday and to-m orrow. It is th e first tim e h e has d esired to se e m e .
Well,that is som eth ing . I wrote an answer imm ediately
,appoint
ing the 1 8th Prairial (6th June) , by which I leav e him ,ou t of
respect,one day clear. Will any thing com e ou t of this ? I am
gl ad Clarke l ikes my proclam ation , wh ich I found too long myself.I se e he has a. correct taste in those th ings. If th e expeditiontakes place it wil l be som eth ing to boast of to have w ritten th eproclam ation . But let m e not be“running before my horse tom arket .” I have kept my hopes under a strict regim en al l al ong ,and latterly
,God knows
,on a very low diet . I w i l l not l et this
breeze tem pt m e to spread a deal of canvass, m erely to have i t furlagain . Things are
,however
,better to-day than they were yesterday.
Jun e 6 .
— Call ed this m orning, by appointm ent, upon GeneralClarke . Found him m ore cordial in h is m ann er than ordinary .
H e told m e he had read my proclam ation , and found it extrem elyW e l l don e ; that, however, it would be necessary to cu rtail it considerably, for the first point in these compositions is to insure their
1 32 L IFE or
such to be repaid,with al l other expenses
,at the concl usion of the
business . He laughed at th is,and said we would have n o m oney;
I said that was true,or
,at l east
,we should not have m uch
,but
we would h ave means ; and I instan ced th e quantity of Englishproperty which would
,in that event
,be forfeited to the state ; and
assu red him we would have enough to pay our debts of j ustice,of honour, and of gratitude .June 20 .
— T o-day is my birth day— I am th irty - th ree years ol d .
At that age Al exander had conquered the world ; at that age Wolfehad com pl eted h is reputation
,and expired in th e arm s of v ictory .
Wel l,it is n ot my fault, if 1 am not as great a m an as Al exander
or Wolfe . I have as good dispositions for glory as either of them,
but I labour under two smal l obstacl es at least— want of talents andwant of opportun ities ; n either of which
,I con fess
,I Can hel p.
Jzm e 23 . Called on Cl arke in the m orning,and found him in
high good hum our . H e tells m e that h e has m entioned my businessto Carnot, and that with in a m on th I may expect an appointm en tin th e French army . This is glorious ! H e asked m e wou ldI choose to serve in th e cavalry or infantry. I said i t was equalto m e
,and referred it to him to fix the in th e m ost eligibl e situa
tion . I fancy it wi l l be in the caval ry,
“for a captain of horsen ever takes off his hat .
”H e then told m e th at he was at l iberty
to acquaint m e so far,as that th e business
,and even the tim e
,were
determ in ed on by th e d i rectory,and the m anner only rem ained
u nder discussion . There is good news at last . I observed to him,
after expressing the satisfaction I Sincerely felt at th is inform ation ,that I W ish ed to rem ind him of th e great advantages to bederived from the l anding being effe ctuated in the North
, particu
l arly from th e circum stan ce of fram ing our first army of l lze d gf er entr e l igious p ersuasions, which I pressed upon him I bel ieve
,w ith
success . I then asked him,had he m any Irish prisoners rem ain ing,
as I though t th ey m ight be usefully employed in case of th elanding being effected . H e laughed at this
,and said
,
“I see youwant to form your regim ent . I said I shou ld l ike very wel l tocomm and two or three hundred of th em
,who m ight be form ed
into a corps of hussars,to serve in the advanced guard of the army
,
not only as soldiers, which I knew th ey would , and w ith sufficien tcourage
,but as ecolaireu rs to incense th e country peopl e . H e
seem ed to rel ish th is a. good deal , and I went on to say that,in
that case,they should be as an Irish corps in green j ackets
,w ith
green feathers,and a green standard with the harp
,surmou nted by
th e cap of l iberty . H e bit at this, and m ade m e d raw a sketch ofth e dev ice
,and also a description
,which he took down him se lf in
French,from which I infer the standar d wil l be made directly.
rHEO EAL D W OL FE T ONE. 1 33
Whilst I was wi th Clarke , Madgett call ed on him ,and I stepped
into the next room wh ilst he gave him audience . It was torecomm end Ahern e to be employed as a m i l itary man in th isbusiness . Cl arked seem ed , I thought, disincl ined . He asked m e
did I know Aherne ? I answered that I saw him m erely officiallyby the m inister
’s orders,but that I
‘
knew nothing whatsoever toh is prej udice ; and that, as to Madgett, I had a very good OpinionOf him
,and Of course supposed he would not recommend an
im proper person ; that, however, I could say noth ing from myself,
for or against him ,further than what I had m entioned . N .B.
— I
do not W ish to hurt Aherne but I had rather h e was not employedin Ireland atfirst, for he is ou tré and extravagant in his notions ;he wants a total bou l eversement of al l property ; and he has nottalents to see the absurdity and m ischief
,not to say the impossi
b il ity O f th is system ,if system it m ay be cal led .
I. have a m ind
to step h is prom otion , and bel ieve I m ust do it. It would be aterrible doctrin e to comm ence with in Ireland . I wish al l possiblej ustice to be done to Aherne, but I do not wish to see him in a
station where he m ight do infinite m isch ief. I must think of this .I told Clarke I had wri tten for my fam ily, and was determ ined, atal l e v ents
,.to settl e in France.
June 25 . I ’ve now not fifty ducats in the world ; but,hang
it,that does not signify : am I not going to be an Officer in the
French service ? I believe I m ight have been a l ittle m oreeconom ic al , but I am sure not m uch . I brought with m e onehundred Louis to France
,and they wi l l have lasted m e j ust six
m onth s,by the tim e they are run out ; after al l
,that is no great
extravagance . Besides,a fool and his m oney are soon parted
,
and poor Pat was never m uch noted for h is discretion on thatpoint ; and I am in som e things as arrant an Irishm an . as everstood on th e Pou t-neuf. I think I have m ade as good a defenceas the nature of the case wi l l adm it, and I leave it to al l the worldwhether I am not fairly excusabl e for any l ittle dedommagem entwhich I can l ay hold on, seeing the sacrifices I have m ade thusfar
,th e services which I hope I shal l at last have rendered my
country,and especial ly the dreary and tristfu l sol itude to which I
have devoted myself in Paris, where I have not form ed a singleconnexion but w ith the persons indispensably necessary to th esuccess of our business.June 28 .
- Cal led on Clarke by appointm ent. I told him Ihad two th ings to m ention : first
,that as w e had the Pope now in
ou r grasp,I wished him to consider whether we m ight not artfully
seduce him into writing to his legate, D r Troy,in order to secure
,
at least the neutrality,if not the support
,Of the Irish Cathol ic
1 34 I JF E or
clergy. He obj ected,r s this would be re cognizing the auth ority
of the Pope ; and said he was sure the d irectory would m ake no
publ ic application Of this sort ; besides, that it wou ld be m akingthe m atter known in Italy . I replied
,that undoubtedly it was
not a m atter for an official application,but for private address ;
and as to m aking it known,it need not be applied for u ntil the
last stage Of the business : nevertheless,I m erely th rew i t ou t as a
hint for h is consideration,without pressing it
,as I expected no
form idabl e opposition from th e priests in Ireland . H e gave m e
to understand that he had a communication Open with Ire land ,and showed m e a paper
,asking m e did I knowthe handwriting ?
I did not . H e then read a good deal . It stated very briefly,
that fourteen of th e counties,in cluding th e entire no rth , w e re
completely organized for th e purpose O f th rowing off th e Englishyoke and establish ing Our independence : that
,in th e rem aining
eighteen,organization was advancing rapidly
,and that i t was so
arranged that the inferiors obeyed their l eaders without exam in ingtheir orders
,or even knowing who th ey were
,as every one knew
on ly the person imm ediately above him . That the m i l itia wereabout m en
,O f whom m igh t be relied on ; that there
were about regular troops,wretched bad ones
,who would
soon be settled in case the business were attem pted . Clarke wasgoing on
,but stopped here sudden ly
,and said
,l augh ing
,There
is som ething there which I cannot read to you , or you wi ll gu ess .”
I begged him to use h is d iscretion wi thout cerem ony. H e thenasked m e
,did I know O f th is organization ? I replied that I could
not,wi th truth
,say positively I knew it
,but that I had no m anner
of doubt of it ; that it was now twelve m on ths exactly since I leftIreland
,in which tim e
,I was satisfied
,m uch m ust have been done
in that country,and that he would find in my m em orials that such
an organization was th en begun,was rapidly spreading
,and I had
no doubt would soon embrace the whole people . It is curious,
the coincidence between the paper he read m e and those I havegiven him
,though
,upon second thought
,as truth is uniform
,it
would be stil l m ore extraordinary if they should vary. I am
del ighted beyond m easure with the progress which has been m adein Ireland since my banishm ent . I see they are advancing rapidlyand safely ; and , personally , nothing can be m ore agreeable to m e
than this coincidence between what I have said and written andthe accounts which I see they receive here . The paper also stated
,
as I had done,that we wanted arm s
,amm un ition
,and arti llery ;
in short,it was as exact in al l particulars , as if the sam e person
had written all. T his ascertained my credit in France beyond a
doubt
1 36 L IFE O F
d id fly,and there embraced him tenderly . He then said h e pre
sum ed I was the author of the m emorandum s which had bee ntransm itted to him . I said I was. Well
,said he
,there are one
or two points I want to consult you on . H e then proceeded toask m e
,in case ‘Of the landing being effectuated
,m ight he rely on
finding provisions,and particularly bread ? I said it wou ld be
impossible to m ake any arrangem ents in Ireland,previous to the
l anding , because of the su r ve il lance of the governm ent, but if thatwere on ce accomplished
,there would be no want of
'
provisions ;that Ireland abounded in cattle ; and , as for bread , I saw by th eGazette that there was not only no deficiency of corn
,but that she
was able to supply England,in a great degree
,during the late
alarm ing scarcity in that country ; and I assured him that,if the
Fren ch were once in Ireland,he m ight rely that
,whoever wanted
bread,th ey should not wan t it . H e seem ed satisfied with this
,
and pro ceeded to ask m e,m ight we count upon being abl e to form
a provisory governm ent,either of the Catholic comm ittee
,m entioned
in my m em orials , or of the chiefs of the defenders ? I thought Isaw an opening h ere to com e at the number of troops intended fo rus
,and replied
,that that would depend on the force which m ight
he l anded ; if that force were but t rifl ing, I could not pretend tosay how they m ight act ; but if it was considerable, I had no doubtof their co- operation . Undoubtedly
,
”replied h e,
“m en wi l l not
sacrifice them selves when they do not see a reasonable prospect ofsupport ; but, if I go, you m ay be sure I wil l go in sufficien t force .
”
H e then asked,did I think ten thousand m en would decide them ? I
answered,undoubtedly
,but that early in th e business the m in ister
had spoken to m e of two thousand,and that I had replied that su ch
a number would effect no thing. NO,replied he
,they would be over
whelm ed before any one could j oin them . I replied that I wasglad to hear him give that opinion
,as it was precisely W hat I had
stated to the m in ister ; and I repeated that,with the force he
m entioned, I could have no doubt of support and c O -operationsufficien t to form a provisory governm ent . H e then asked m e
W hat I thought Of the priests,or was it l ikely they would give u s
any trouble ? I replied,I certain ly did not calcu late on their
assistance,but neither d id I th ink they would be able to give us
any effectual opposition ; that their influence over the m inds of thecomm on people was exceedingly dim inished Of late
,and I instan ced
the case of the defenders,so often m entioned in my m em orials and
in these m em orandum s . I explained all this at som e length tohim
,and concluded by saying
,that
,in prudence
,we shou l d avoid
as m uch as possible shocking their prej udices unnecessarily ; andthat, with common discretion, I thought we m
igh t secure the ir
T HEOBAL D W OL F E T ONE. 1 37
neutral ity at l east, if not their support. I m entioned this m erelyas my Opinion , but added that, in the contrary event, I wassatisfied it would be absolutely impossible for them to take th epeople out of our hands . We then cam e to the army . H e askedm e how I thought they would act ? I repl ied
,for the regulars I
could not pretend to say,but that they were wretch ed bad tr0 0 ps ; for
the m ilitia,I hoped and bel ieved that when we were on ce organized
,
they would not only not oppose us,but com e over to th e cause of
their country en masse; nevertheless, I desired him to calculate onthe i r opposition , and m ake his arrangem ents accordingly ; that itwas the safe policy, and if i t becam e necessary, i t was so m uchgained . H e said he would undoubtedly m ake his arrangem ents soas to leave nothing to chance that could be guarded against ; thathe would com e in force
,and bring great quantities of arm s
,am
m unition , stores, and arti llery ; and,for h is own reputation
,see
that al l th e arrangem ents were m ade on a proper scale . I wasvery glad to h ear him speak thus : i t sets my m ind at ease on
d ivers points . He then said there was one im portant pointrem aining
,on which he desired to be satisfied ; and that waswhat
form of governm en t we would adopt in th e event of our success ?I was going to answer him with great earnestness
,when General
Clarke entered to request we would com e ' to dinner with citizenCarnot . We accordingly adj ourned the conversation to the apartm ent of the president
,where we found Carnot and one o r two
m ore . H och e,after som e time
,took m e aside and repeated his
question . I replied ,“Most undoubtedly a republic .” H e asked
again,Was I sure ? I said as sure as I could be of any thing ;
that I knew nobody in Ireland who thought of any othe r system,
nor did I b e l ieve there was anybody who dream t of m onarchy.
H e asked m e,was there n o danger of the Catholics setting up one
of th eir chiefs for king ? I replied ,“Not the sm al lest
,
”and thatthere were n o chiefs am ongst them of that kind of em inence .This is the old business again
,but I believe I satisfied H oche ; i t
l ooks wel l to see him so anxious on that topic,on which b e pressed
m e m ore than on all the others . Carnot j oined u s here,w ith a
pocket -map of Ireland in his hand,and the conversation becam e
pretty general between Clarke,H oche
,and him
,every on e else
having left the room . I said scarcely anything,as I wished to
l isten . H oche rel ated to Carnot the substance of what had passedbetween him and m e . IVhen he m en tioned his anxiety as tobread
,Carnot laughed
,and said
,
“There is plenty of beef inIreland ; if you cannot ge t bread you m ust eat beef.
” I told himI hoped they would find enough of both ; add ing, that w ithin thelast twenty years Ireland had become a great corn country
,so that
1 38 L IFE or
at present it made a considerab l e articl e in her exports . They thenproceeded to con fer
,but I found it difficult to follow them
,as it was in
fact a suite of form er conversations,at which I had not assisted ; and
besides,they spoke with th e rapidity of Frenchm en . I collected ,
however,if I am right
,that there w il l be two landings , one from
H ol land,near Belfast
,and the other from Brittany
,in Connaught ;
th at there w il l be,I suppose
,in both em
‘barkations
,not l ess than
1 0,nor m ore than m en ; was also m ention ed
,but
I did not hear any tim e specified . Carnot said,
“It will be,to be
su re,a m ost bril liant operat ion . And wel l m ay he say so, if h e
su cceeds . We then went to dinner,which was very well served ,
without being luxurious . We had two courses,and a dessert.
There were presen t about sixteen or eighteen persons,Madam e
C arnot,her sister and sister-in - l aw
,Carnot
,his brother
,H oche
,
T rugu e t, th e m in ister of m arine, Clarke, two or thre e officers, andLagarde
,the secr etair e genera l . I sat by H och e . After coffee
was served,we rose
,and Carnot. H oche, T rugu et, L acu é e , and
Clarke , retired to a cabinet and held a counci l on Irish affairs,
wh ich lasted from six to n ine o’ clock . In the m eantim e I walked
with Lagarde in the gardens of the Luxembourg,where we l istened
to a sym phony perform ed in the apartm ents of La Re veil l ie reLepaux
,who is lodged over Carnot. Lagarde tel ls m e that L a
Reve il l iere has concerts continually ; and that m usic is h is greatresou rce after th e fatigues of h is business
,which are imm ense . At
nine the council broke up,and I walked away w ith Clarke ; h e
said every thing was now settled,and that h e had him sel f m uch
trouble to bring everyth ing to bear,but that at last he had
succeeded . I wish ed him j oy m ost sin cerely,and fixing to cal l
upon him to-m orrow at twelve,w e parted .
—This was a grand day ;I dined w ith the president of the executive directory of France
,
beyond al l comparison the m ost i l lustrious station in Europe . Iam very proud of it
,because it has com e fairly in the lin e of my
duty,and I have m ade no unworthy sacrifices to obtain it . I l ike
Carnot extrem ely,and H oche
,I th ink
,yet better .
Ju ly Z 6.
— Saw Clarke . H e tel ls m e the arreté of the directoryfor my comm ission wi l l be signed to -day , and that h e wil l write tothe m inister at war to send back the brevet to him
,so tha t I shal l
have it to -m orrow at twelve o ’clock . H e tells m e also that thereis a change in the arrangem ent . The cavalry of the c la’evm zt l eg ion
d e pol ice has been form ed into a regim ent of dragoons, the twenty~
first . The colone l had given th e directory to unders tand therewere supernum eraries of m en and horses sh augh to form a secondregim ent
,which was in tended for m e . It appeared
,however
,on
inspection,that the contrary is the fact, for the twenty-first is even
1 40 L IF E O F
God forgive m e for call ing it French,for I bel ieve
,properly speak
ing,i t is no language ; however, he wil l understand that m oney is
the drift Of it,and that is the m ain point Called at twelve on
Clarke . At last h e has got my brevet from th e m in ister at war.
It is for the rank Of chef d e br igad e, and bears date the 1 stMessidor (June 1 9th) . It rem ains now to be signed by Carnotand Lagarde
,which wi l l be done to -day and to-m orrow
,at nine
,
I am to pass m uster. Clarke em braced m e on giving m e thebrevet
,and saluted m e as a b rother ofii cer ; so did Fleury, and my
heart was so full I cou ld hardly reply to either Of them . I am as
p roud as Punch . Clarke asked m e,would we consent
,in Ireland
,
to l et th e French have a direct interference in our governm en t ?adding
,that it m ight be n ece ssary, as it was actual ly in H olland,
where,i f i t were not for the continual superin tendence of the
French,they wou ld suffer their throats to be cut again by th e
stadtholder. I answered that,undoubtedly
,th e Fren ch m ust have
a very great influence on the m easures Of our governm ent,in case
we succeeded ; but that I thought, if they were wise , they wouldnot expect any direct interference ; adding, that the m ost effectualway to have power with us, would be to appear not to desire it .I added that for that reason
,I hoped whoever was sen t in the
civil departm ent would be a very sensible cool m an,because a
great deal would depend on his address . Clarke replied,
“W e
intend to send nobody but you .
”T hat stunned m e a littl e .
What could he m ean ? Am I to begin by representing the Frenchrepublic in Ireland
,instead of representing the Irish republic in
France ? “I am puzzled in m azes,and perplexed with errors
I m ust have th is explained in to m orrow’s conversation . Clarkethen went on to say they had no security for what form of governm ent we m ight adopt in case of success. I replied
,I had no
security to Offer, but my decided opinion that we would establisha republic. He obj ected that we m ight establ ish an aristocraticr epublic, l ike that of Genoa . I assured him the aristocracy ofIreland were not such favourites with the people that we shou ldspill our blood toestabl ish the ir power. H e then said
,Perhaps
,
afte r all,we m ight choose a king ; that there was no security against
that but inform ation , and that th e people of Ireland were ingeneral very ignorant .” I asked him
,in God
’
s nam e,whom wou ld
we choose,or where would we go look for a king ? H e said
,“May be the Duke Of York . I assured him that h e,or his aid
de-cam p, Fleury, who was present, had ful l as good, and indee d am uch better chance , than his royal highness ; and I added , thatwe neither loved the English people in general . nor his Maj esty ’ 8fam i ly in particu lar, so wel l as to choose
o
one of them for ou r king,
T HEOBALD W OL F E T ONE. 1 41
supposmg , what was not the case , that the superstition O f royaltyyet hung about u s. As to the ignorance of our peasantry
,I
adm itted it was in general too true ; thanks to our execrablegovernm ent
,whose policy it was to keep them in a state of bar
barism ; but I could answer for the information of the dissenters ,who were thoroughly enlightened and sincere re publ icans , and who,I had no doubt
,would direct the publ ic sentiment in fram ing a.
governm ent. H e then asked,was there nobody among ourselves
that had any chance,supposing the tide should set in favour of
m onarchy ? I replied,Not one . H e asked
,Would the D uke
of Leinster,for exampl e I repl ied
,No : that every body
loved and l iked the duke,because he was a good man
,and always
resided and spent his fortune in Ireland ; b ut that he by no m eanspossessed that kind of character or talents which m igh t elevatehim to that station . He then asked m e again
,Could I think
of nobody ?” I replied,I could not ; that Lord Moira was the
only person I could recollect who m ight have had the least chance,
b u t that he had blown h is reputation to piec es by accepting acommand against Fran ce ; and, after him ,
there was nobody.
”
Well,
” said Clarke,
“may be you , after al l, will choose on e of
your own l eaders ; who knows but it may be you rself ?” I repl ied
,
we had no l eaders of a rank or description l ikely to arrive at thatdegree of em inence ; and as to myself, I neither had the de sire northe talents to aspire so high . Well
,that is enough of royalty for
the present. We then,for the hundredth tim e
,beat over the old
ground about the priests, without, however, starting any freshideas ; and I summ ed up al l by tel l ing him that, as to religion, mybelief was
,we should content ourselves with pulling down the
e stablishm ent, without setting up any other ; that we would haveno state rel igion , but let every sect pay their own clergy voluntarily ;and that as to royalty and aristocracy, they were both odious inIreland to that degree
,that I apprehended m uch m ore a general
massacre Of the gentry, and a distribution of the entire of theirproperty
,than the establishm ent of any form of government that
wou ld perpetuate their influence ; that I hoped this massacre wouldnot happen , and that I, for one, wou ld do all that lay in my powerto prevent it, because I did not l ike to spil l the blood, even of theguilty ; at th e sam e tim e, that the pride, cruel ty , and oppressionof the Irish aristocracy were so great, that I apprehended everyexcess from the j ust resentm ent of the people . The conversatione nded here . Clarke gave m e H oche ’ s address
,and de sired m e to
call on Fleury tom orrow at n ine, and that he would introduce m e
at the war-oth ee,where I m ust pass review .
Ju ly 20 .
—Called at Clarke’ s and saw Fleury
,who ga
v e m e my
1 42 L IF E O F
brevet,signed by Carnot ; and so now I am
,to al l intents and
purposes,bhef d e br igade in th e service Of th e republ ic . Fleury
is to bring m e to m orrow at n ine to the comm issaire ordonnateu r ,
to pass rev iew,and th ence to th e treasury
,to receive a m onth
'
s
pay ; so , Vogue la gal er e !Ju ly 23 .
—Called on Hoche at seven,and found him in b ed
,
talking with two generals whom I did not know. O ne is going toItaly
,very m uch against th e grain . General Sherlock cal led in .
I collect from what h e said,that he is to be of our expedition
,and
that h e does not know i t h im self yet. After th ey we re gone,
Hoch e asked m e,
“When I would be ready to leave town ?” Ianswered
,I was at h is orders , but wish ed, if possible, to have four
or five days to m ake som e l ittl e arrangem ents. H e said,by al l
m ean s ; that he proposed leaving town in seven days h im self, andthat
,if h e cou ld
,he would give m e a seat in h is carriage ; but i f
not,he would settl e that I should travel w ith General Cherin
,his
m ost particular friend , who was to h ave a comm and in the business;but to whom
,as yet
,he had not opened him sel f on the sam e
subj ect . I m ad e my acknowl edgm ents , and asked him ,at the
sam e tim e,whether my appearan ce at head -quarters m igh t not
give rise to som e suspicions,from th e circum stance of my being a
foreigner ? He replied,he would settl e m e in a v i llage near
Rennes , his head -quarters,where I should be incognito
,and at the
sam e tim e w ithin his reach . I asked him then,was he apprized
of th e d irectory having honoured me with th e rank of chef d ebrigad e ? He repl ied he was
,and m ade m e his com pliment. I
then observed to him,I presum ed I should be of m ost serv ice in
som e situation n ear h is person ; that I spoke Fren ch , as he m igh tob s erve
,very imperfectly ; n evertheless, I could m ake myself
und e rstood ; and as he did not speak English,I m ight be useful in
his comm unication s with th e peopl e of Ireland . He replied,
Leave al l that to m e ; as soon as you join , and that your regim en ti s form ed
,I wi l l app ly for the rank of adj utant -general for you ;
that wi l l place you at once in th e état-maj or ; and besides , youm ust be in a situation where you m ay have a comm and ifnecessary .
” I returned him a thousand thanks,and he proceeded
to. ask m e,
“Did I th ink it was l ikely that the m en O f property,
or any of th em,wish ed for a revol ution in Ireland ? I re plied
,“Most certainly not,and that h e should reckon on al l th e
opposit ion that“class could give him ; that, however, i t was
possible,that when th e business was once comm enced
,som e of
th em m igh t j oin u s on speculation ; but that it would be sore lyagainst th eir real sentim ents . H e then asked m e
,D id I know
Arthu r O’
Connor ?”I replied
,I did
,and that I entertained the
1 44 L IF E O F
wel l worth considering. I am heartily glad to find H och e of thishum ane temperam ent
,because I hope I am hum ane mysel f ; and
trust we shal l beable to prevent unnecessary bloodsh ed in Ireland,
which I shall,m ost sin cerely
,exert my best endeavours to do . At
twelve I went and saw Clarke,and took him up 0 1 1 ou r conversa
tion Of th e 1 8th,relative to a d i rect interferen ce on th e part of
France . I said if he m eant by that to adm it a representative of
th e republ ic into any part of our governm en t,it waswhat France
ought not to expect,nor we to gran t. That France wou ld certainly
have a great influence but the surest way to keep it would be notto assum e it . That what h e said Of Hol land did not apply to us.
The French had conquered Holland,and had a right, if they
pleased,to th row it into th e sea ; but it was not so with Ireland .
We rather resembled the situation of Am erica in th e last war.Clarke seem ed satisfied with al l th is
,and I proceeded to ask him
,
had they thought of a pe rson to resid e n ear the future Irishgovernm ent ? He said General Hoche would be there. I repl ied
,
h e would be mov ing about,but I m eant a sort of charge d
’af aires,
who should be stationary. C l ark e replied,undoubtedly a proper
person would be sen t. I said,I hoped the Fren ch governm ent
would be very del icate in their choice, and send a man of greattem per and d iscretion
,as m uch would depend on his conduct. I
then Observed,that Clarke had Often asked m e what security
Ireland would give that,if h er independence was once established,
sh e m ight not forget her Ob ligations to France,and perhaps here
after be found l eagued w ith her enem ies . T o which I offered him ,
as th e only security,ou r honour as gentl em en . Now I begged
leave,in retu rn
,to ask him what secu rity he had to give u s, that
if England offered to renounce every thing provided France wouldsacrifice us
,France would not accept the offer ? He answered in
my own words,
“O ur honour as gentlemen l” and assu red m e,in
th e strongest m anner,France would be
,as I bel ieve myself,
in capable of such conduct.Ju ly 25 .
— Runn ing about al l th is morning on trade affairsDamn it ! Saw Clarke. H e te lls m e I am to travel with Hocheand that we set off th e 30 th— in five days. HuzzaJu ly 2 7 .
- Clarke tells m e th is m orning that the directory haveordered m e th ree m onths’ pay. That is
,
“taut de p r is sur
l’
enuemi ;” but I am forced to borrow £5 0 from Monroe, which
grieves m e sorely,for i t is breaking in sti ll m ore on the sacred
funds of my l ittl e fam i ly ; i t is, however, unavoidable, and so“what can ’t be cured m ust,
”etc . I cannot go down to quarterswithout som e m oney in my pocket .Ju l g3 1 —Received my pay,
“and al l are as drunk as so many
T HEOBALD W OL FE T ONE. 1 45
swabbers . I insist upon it,that is a very good quotation, from
Rigdum F unnidos.
August 1 .
— Called on Clarke from m ere idlen ess ; did not se ehim ; but, com ing out, m e tGeneral Hoche
,whotook m e in h is carriage
to General Cherin , w ith whom I am toi
trav e l . I was introducedby Hoche ; and I remember now he is on e of th e generals withwhom I dined at Carne t
’
s . After a short conversation,in which
it was fixed that we set O ff from th e 7th to the l 0th, I took myl eave
,H oche and Cherin d esi ring m e to cal l 0 1 1 th em in the m ean
tim e with out the cerem ony of sending up my nam e, which is civilo f them . So
,now I daave l esp etites entrees.
”
August 7 , 8 .-Saw H oche and Cherin together th is m orning.
Both very civi l and no n ews . Hoche,I bel ieve
,sets O ff the l l th .
August 1 1 , 1 2 , 1 3 .
— Saw Cherin this m orning ; he tel ls m e i tmay be ten days before we get O ff. H el l ! hel l ! hell ! H ow shal lI get over these eternal delays ? H oche set off yes t erday .
August 2 1 , 22 , 23 .
—Met Cherin‘
to-day driving about in hiscabriol et ; he stopped m e and asked m e was I ready to se t off? Ianswered
,
“In five m inutes,and that I only waited for h is orders .
He then desired m e to cal l on him to m orrow at el even,in orde r
to settle about our departure ; so, perhaps, we may set O ff beforethe 30th.
Sep tember 1 3 , 1 4, 1 5 .—At last I have brough t Cherin to th e
point ; he has received a courier last n ight from General H och e,and tel ls m e now I m ay set O ff with th e first courier
,or wait a few
days for him ; but I am tired waiting. I wrote,therefore
,by h is
direction,a note to the m inister of war, praying an order to depart,
w ith th e first courier,for Rennes
,and he has prom ised to get it
for m e by to m orrow . Huzza !Sep tember 1 7 .
— Took l eave of Madgett,Aherne
,and Sull ivan ;
wrote two letters O f acknowledgment to Carnot and D e la Croix,
thanking them for their kindness,etc . At three O ’ clock in th e
afternoon left Paris . It is now exactly seven m onths and five dayssince I arrived there - a very important era in my l ife : whether itwas for good or evi l to my country and to myself, the event m ustdeterm ine ; but I can safely say I have acted al l through to th every best O f my conscience and j udgm ent ; and I think I have notconducted myself i ll . I certain ly did not expect on my arrival tohave succeeded as wel l as I have done ; and I have been under som edifficulties at tim es
,having not a sou l to advise or communicate
w ith . I have now don e w ith Paris,at l east for som e t im e
,and
God knows whether I shal l ever revisit it ; but, at al l even ts,I
shal l ever look back on th e tim e I spent there with the greate stsatisfaction. I beli eve there is no part of my conduct that I need
1 46 L IF E or
w ish to recal l,at l east w ith regard to business. As to pleasure or
amusem en t,I had very littl e . I form ed
,and endeavoured to form
,
no connexions; I v isited and was visited by nobody, French or
foreign er ; and l eft Paris , after seven m onth s’ residence
,w ithou t
being acquain ted with a singl e fam ily. That is singular enough .
The theatres form ed my grand. resource against the m onotony ofmy situation ; but, on the whole, I passed my tim e dul l enough .
Well , if ever I return , I w i l l m ake myself am ends . I am now
l ike th e Turkish spy,
who passed forty-five years at Paris w ithoutbeing known or suspected .
” I dare say Mr Pitt knew I was th ere ,as close as I kept ; if h e did , i t was by no fault or indiscretion Ofm in e . It is singular enough that having passed my tim e in am anner so m onotonous
,and not l eaving behind m e a singl e person
whom,on the score of personal regard
,I had reason to regret , I
yet quit Paris with som ething l ike reluctan ce . But I m ade thatremark before . Al lous! I am now afloat again : l et u s see whatwi l l com e of th is voyage .
DURING T H E PERIOD T HAT GENERAL T ONE W AS AT TACHED T O
T H E ARM Y O F T H E W EST .
Sep tember 20 .
—At three this m orning arrived at Rennes,having
passed three nights agreeably with out sleep . We nt to b ed,and
slept l ike a dragon til l eleven . Rose,and sen t for my adj oint,
MacShe ehy , who has been here for som e days . H e tells m e al l isgoing on
,as h e believes
,prosperously .
Sep tember 23 .
— At work al l th e m orning w ith ,Colonel Shee,making an analysis of the distribution of th e troops actual ly inIreland . The general called in
,and sat w ith us half an hour.
D in ed as u sual with th e état-m aj or . I am now,to al l intents
,one
of the fam i ly,and I l ike it of al l th ings . (Sings )
“H ow m errilywe l ive that soldiers be
,
”etc . I hav e got room s at head quarters,
and m oved my kit accordingly . We are all lodged in th e palaceof the c idevant bishop of Rennes
,a superb m ansion
,but not m uch
th e better fo r the Revol ution .
Sep tember 24.
— VVal ked with Colonel She e in th e garden . Hetell s m e that H oche has sel ected th e élite of th e Army of th eO cean
,which consisted of m en
,for ou r expedition ; that
th e arm s and everything were ready,and that we were waiting
only for the m arine . He also spoke as if in a fortnight or m orewe m ight put ourselves in m otion ; but I did not press him forspecific in form ation . The season is sl ipping away fast th roughour fingers . H owe ver
,I bel ieve th ey are doing their best.
Sep tember 25 .
— Walked,as usual
,in the garden with Colonel
1 48 L IFE O F
Hoch e is bent on going, write out cofl te,and that every thing is
ready but seam en,whom he has given orders to press along the
coast as far as Bordeaux . I see an articl e in a French paper,that
thirty persons have been arrested in D ubl in for high treason .Who can they be ? Are any of my friends Of the number ? forthere are no nam es m entioned . I hope in God we shal l be inIreland tim e enough to l iberate them
,be they who they may . I
th ink General H oche w il l be pretty security for their appearan ce ;and I fancy that even my own bail would not
,in this case
,be
refused . Colonel Shee and I have been reading over th e Am ericanordonnance
,and m aking ou r observation s on i t . If we arrive
safe,I wi ll propose adopting it
,w ith a few necessary al terations .
It is excellent,for an army that mu st be made in a hurry
,being
clear and concise .O ctober 1 3
,1 4.
- Th e General se t off,unexpectedly
,for Paris
,
th is day at twelve o’ clock . It seem s
,on his v isit to Brest
,h e had
reason to be d isconten ted with th e adm in istration of the m arine ;however
,they prom ised him fair
,and he returned to Rennes
,
leaving orders with a confidential person to let him know how theywere going on . This person has written him word
,that since h is
d eparture al l th e preparations are slackened and,in consequen ce
,
he is set off in a rage for Paris ; and I trust wil l return in a fewdays w ith ful l power to cashier a parcel of those scoundrel ly agentsof the m arine . I have written , by Colonel Shoe
’
s desire, a short
address to th e peasantry of Ireland, explain ing to them th e great
benefits th e Revolution has procured to the peasantry of France.This he has translated into French
,and gave the copy to th e
General to read on his way to Paris.O ctober 1 5
,1 6.
— The Gen eral returned,unexpectedly
,this
m orning at nin e o’clock. It seem s h e m e t a courier on the road
with despatch es,which rendered his trip to Paris unnecessary .
Colonel Shee tells m e to-day that it was intended,after landing
us,to despatch the fleet with three thousand m en to the East
Indie s ; but, in consequ ence of a m utiny at the Mauritius,that
schem e i s given u p, and we are to keep both ships and m en . Im entioned to him a report I had heard, that we were waiting forcannon iers from th e army of Sam br e et M use
,which I thought
very Odd if it were tru e ; h e assured m e it was no su ch thing ; wehave already three com panies O f cannon iers and
,in short
,every
thing is ready except the seam en ; to procure whom th e m ostpositive and pressing orders have been given by the m inister ofm arine and directory.
O ctober 1 7 .
—O ur expedition,as wel l as th e l ife of th e General
,
has had a most prov idential escape . Last night, between nine and
T HEOBAL D W OL F E T ONE. 1 49
ten , as he was return ing from th e comédie with General D eb e l l e
and H edouville, a. ruffian , who was posted at a corner,
fired apistol at him
,w ithin five or six yards
,which fortunately m issed
,
and the v il lain instantly ran Off, but was stopped by two of th eaids-de - camp, who happened to com e that way, before he had run
one hundred yards . The pisto l was l ikewise found where h e haddropt it. O n his being seized and exam ined, he confessed that hewas hired by a person, whom he described, to assassinate GeneralHoche
,and was to have fifty Lou is for his reward . H e threw
h imself on his knees before Hoche, who behaved incomparablywe l l
,and desired him to rise
,as no man should kneel to him
,and
tel l the whole truth,assuring him that he had not him self the
least resentm ent against him . The fel low then repeated his storyexactly
,and the two aids-de -camp set out with a guard in quest O f
the other vil lain,whom they found in bed
,and brought to head
quarters. A m agistrate being sent for,the two were confronted
,
and the latter denying everything,they were both
,after a long
exam ination , comm itted to prison . It seem s the fellow who firedthe shot i s a workm an employed in the arsenal ; th e other is latelyfrom Paris
,and says he is a horse-dealer . In order to induce the
form er to comm it the m urder, he told him that he was a royalist,and that i t was for the king
’
s service to assassinate H oche ; which ,together with th e prom ise of th e fifty Lou is
,determ ined him .
The nam e of the form er is Moreau , and of th e latter T eyssierd .
Nothing could be better than the General ’s behaviou r through allth is affair. F or my part, I do not see what the royal ists couldprom ise them selves from his death ; at the sam e tim e i t is beyondal l doubt that this v il lain , T eyssierd , has cam e down from Parisexpressly to have him assassinated . I do not at al l suspect th eEnglish O f assassination ; but certainly, at this m om ent, they arem uch mere interested in Hoche
’
s death than t hat m iserable LouisXVIII . In short, I know not what to th ink of the m otives ofth is abom inable affair ; a few days may probably explain it further .O ctober 1 8 .
— In consequence of the affair of yesterday,a search
was m ade in th e l odgings of T eyssie rd , and a case of pistols,two
fusils,and three air guns
,were found ; th e two last articles buried
i n th e garden . There were also am ong his papers th e d irectionsof several persons in Paris and L ondon . I should be sorry , muchas I dete st th e English nation
,to suspect them of such vi le and
horribl e m eans of effectuating their purposes as that of assassination ; yet they have already done several things in th is war as bad ,at Quiberon
,and elsewhere . I am very m uch afraid the English
cabinet is impl icated in this infe rnal business ; th e m ore so as the
general received notice a few days since,from the minister of
1 5 0 L IF E O F
j ustice at Paris, to be on his guard , as an attempt was intended tobe m ade on his l ife by som e English agents . Hoch e is entirelytoo carel ess of his person ; which , as he is circum stanced , thoughi t may be very m agnanim ous, i s not very wise . He was ou t til lpast ten o
’
clock last night. The General has no confiden ce in them arine ; but is dete rm ined , if we fal l in with
,
th e Engl ish fleet,
that fight th ey shal l ; for, as th e m il itary wi l l b e at l eas t two to
on e on board,he wil l give it ou t in general orders
,that the fi rst
m an,offic er or seam an
,of whatever rank
,that offers to fl in ch
,shal l
be instantly shot on th e quarter d eck . That is stout O f Hoche,or
as P . P. would say, m an ly and decided . I had rather,however
,
that our valour was tried on terra firma,for I am of opin ion with
th e Turks,
“That God has given the sea to th e infide ls and theland to the true bel ievers .
”A sea fight is ou r p isafter ; n everthe
l ess,if it m ust be
,it m ust.
O ctober 1 9 .
- Since my arrival here I have not had the leastcomm unication with the General ; we have scarcely ever spoken atm eals when we m et
,and I began in consequence to grow a l ittle
u neasy at it ; for as there are two Irishm en here,M‘She ehy and
D uckett,besides myself
,and as the first is a blockhead and th e
last a scoundrel,I did not exactly know whether the general
m igh t n ot lum p us al l off togethe r in form ing his opinion . Itherefore h inted remotely to Colonel Shee, yesterday, my uneasi
ness at th e great reserve of th e general towards m e ; and in couse
quenc e of what I said,which was indeed but very l ittl e
,h e
Spoke to him of it at d inner . The General assured him that b e byno m eans confounded m e with th e two others ; but Observ ed , whichis th e fact
,that if he was to mark m e by any particular attention
,
i t would be imm ediately observed , and set people on m akinginqu iries
,which wou ld be very inconvenient
,as i t was absolutely
n ecessary that I should rem ain incognito as m uch as possible ; h eadded that
,in tim e and place
,I shou ld see how he wished to
treat m e . This has satisfied m e entirely .
O ctober 20 .
— This day received my orders to set out for Brestthe day after tom orrow ,
being th e 1 st Brum aire . H uzza ! hnzza !I am to travel in Gen eral D eb e l l e
’
s carriage,w ith H oehe
’
s cousin,
and Privat,hi s aid -de - camp . Settled al l my affairs at Renn e s
instantly,and hove short . I am ready at a m inute
’
s warn ing. Ihave been hard at work tod ay on my pam phlet, wh ich is scurrilousenough . Colonel Shee translates i t as I go on , for the inspectionof the gen e ral
,and I l ike i t better in h is French than in my own
English . I th ink it wil l do tol erably wel l when it is finished .
O ctober 2 1 .
—Last n igh t I m e t th e general in the galle ry alon e .
He immediately cam e up to m e and asked m e,had I occasion for
1 5 2 L IFE O F
m en . They are the banditti intended for England,and sad bl ack
guards, they are . They put m e strongl y in m ind of the Greenboys of Dublin .
November 1 3 .—Wen t, by order of th e general, among the
prisoners of war at Pontanezen,near Brest
,and offered their
l iberty to as m any as were wi l l ing to serve aboard the Frenchfleet. Sixty accepted the offer
,of whom fifty were Irish. I
m ade them drink heartily before they left th e prison,and they
were mustered and sent aboard th e sam e even ing. I never sawth e national character stronger m arked than in the carel ess gaietyof those poor fel lows . Half naked and half starved as I foundth em
,th e mom en t that they saw th e wine before them
,al l their
cares were forgotten ; th e Engl ishmen balanced, and several O f
them asked,in th e tru e style of their count ; y
,
“What would Igive them 2” It i s but j ustice to others Of them to Observe
,that
they said noth ing should ever tempt them to fight against theirk ing and country. I told them they were perfectly at l iberty tomake their choice, as I put no constrain t on any m an . In theeven t
,of abou t 1 00 English
,ten m en and boys Offered them selves,
and of about sixty Irish,fifty
,as I have O bserved y not one
Scotchman , though there were s everal in the prison . When Icalled for th e wine
,my English recru its begged for som eth ing to
eat at th e sam e tim e,wh ich I ordered for them . Poor Pat never
thought of eating ; but when his h ead was a l ittle warm with thewine
,he was very u rgent to be perm itted to go amongst the
Englishm en,and flog those who refused to en ter
,which , of
course,I prevented
,though with som e l ittle d ifficu l ty .
“Arrah ,blood an ’
ounds,captain dear
,won
’ t you l et m e have one knockat the blackguards ?” I thought myself on O rmond quay oncemore . O h, if we once arrive safe on th e other side , what soldierswe wil l m ake of our poor fel lows ! They all said they hoped Iwas going w ith them ,
wherever it was. I answered,that I did
not d esi re on e man to go where I was not ready to show the way,and they repl ied with three cheers . It i s to be Observed , that In ever m ent ioned th e Obj ect of the expedition ; they entered theserv ice m erely from the adventurou s spirit of the nation, and theirhatred of th e English
,withou t any idea that th ey had a chance
of seeing Ireland again .
November 23 — 1 cannot imagin e what delays us now,unl ess it
be waiting for Richery, who is said to be com ing up from‘Roche
fort. Though I have the strongest apprehensions we shal l b eintercepted by the English
,sti l l I wish we were at sea . There
is noth ing so terrible to me as su spense ; and besides, the l ives ofmy poor friends in Ireland are in extrem e peril . God send we
T HEOBALD W OL F E T ONE. 1 5 3
may be in time to save them ,but I m uch fear i t. Well
,let m e
not think Of that . If we fal l in with the English , we m ust fightthem at close quarters, and crowd our tops
,poops
,and quarter
deck with m usketry. It is our only chance,but against superio r
numbers that wil l not do. Those infernal Spaniards ! They wil lpay dear for their fol ly ; but what sati sfaction is that to us ? Iwas th inking last night of my poor l ittl e fam ily til l I was as
m elancholy as a cat. God knows whether we shal l ever m eetagain . If I reach Ireland in safety, and any th ing befal ls m e
after,I have not th e least doubt but that my country wi l l take
care of them ,and my boys w i l l find a father in every good
Irishman b ut if I should happen to be killed at sea,
and the expedition should not succeed,I dread to think
on what may becom e O f them . I t is terrible ! I rely on
th e goodness of Providence,which has often interposed to
save us, on th e courage and prudence of my wife , and on th efriendship of my broth er to protect them . My darling babies ! Idoat on th em . I feel th e tears gush into my eyes whenever Ithink on them . I repeat to myself a. thousand tim es th e lastwords I heard from their innocent l ittl e m ouths . God Alm ightybl ess and protect them . I m ust leave th is subj ect . I have takena l ittle boy, whom I found am ong th e prisoners Of war, as myservant . He is so young that he wi ll not be O f m uch use to m e ;but he was an orphan
,and half-naked . H e was born in Dorset
shire, and h is father was an Irish quarter-m aster of dragoons . H e
i s a natural son . I have rigged him ou t handsomely ; and if h ebrushes my coat and takes care of my portmanteau , with thebaggage
,i t is al l I require. His n am e i s William White .
November 24, 25 .- I have been hard at work half th is day
transl ating orders and instructions for a Colonel Tate,an Am erican
ofli cer,who Offered his services
,and towhom the general has given
the rank of chef de brigade, and 1 05 0 men of the Legion Noire,
in order to go on a buccaneering party into England . Exceptingsom e l ittl e errors in the local ity, which , after al l, may seem errorsto me from my own ignorance
,the instructions are incomparably
well drawn ; they are done , or at least corrected, by the genera lh im self; and if Tate be a dashing fellow,
with m il itary talents,h e
may play the ‘devi l in England before he is caught . His Obj ect i sLiverpool ; and I have som e reason to th ink that the schem e hasresu lted from a conversation wh ich I had a few days since withColonel Shee; where in I told him ,
that if we were once settled inIreland
,I thought we m ight m ake a piratical v isit in that quarter ;
and,in fact
,I w ish i t was we that should have the credit and
profit Of it. I shoul d l ike, for example, to pay a v isit to Liverpool
1 5 4 L IF E oF
myself, with som e of th e gen tl em en from O rmond Quay ; thoughI must say, the citizens of the Legion Noire are very l ittl e beh indmy countrym en , either in appearan ce or m oral ity ; which l ast hasbeen prodigiously cultivated by three or fou r cam paigns in Bretagneand L a Vendee. A thousand of these desperadoes
,in their bl ack
j ackets, wi l l edify John Bul l exceedingly, if they get safe intoLancashire .November 26.
-T o-day,by the general ’s orders
,1 have made a
fair copy of Colonel Tate’ s instructions,with som e alterations
,
from the rough draft of yesterday,particularly with regard to h is
first d estination,which is now fixed to be Bristol . If h e arrives
safe, i t will be very possibl e to carry it by a coup-de -m ain,in
which case h e is to burn i t to th e ground . I cannot but observehere, th at I transcribed with the greatest sang froid the orders toreduce to ashes th e th ird city in th e British d om in ions , in wh ichthere is,
’ perhaps,property to the am ount of But
su ch a thing is war ! The British burned w ithout m ercy inAm erica; they endeavoured to starve of sou ls inFrance ; and
,above all
,th ey are keeping
,at this m om ent, my
country in slavery,my friends in prison , and myself in exil e . It
is these consid erations which steel m e against horrors which Ishou ld otherwise shudder to th ink of. Yet I cannot but remark
,
what m isery the execution of the orders which I have transcribed ,and assisted in fram ing
,may produce ; and how quietly Colonel
Shee and myself sat by the fire d iscussing how we m ight do thegreatest possible m ischief to th e unfortunate wretches on whomour plans are intended to operate . Well
,they m ay thank them
selves ; they are accompl ices with their execrable governm ent , whichhas shown us the way in al l those d ireful extrem ities ; and therei s not a man of them but would wi l l ingly exterm inate both theFrench and Irish . Yet once again The conflagration of
such a city as Bristo l ! It i s no sl igh t affair ; thousands andthousands of fam i l ies
,if th e attempt succeeds
,wil l be reduced to
beggary . I cannot help it. If it must be, it m ust ; and I willnever blam e th e French for any degree of m isery which they mayinfl ict on th e people of England. I do not th ink my m oral ityor feel ing is m uch improved by my prom otion to th e rank of
adj utant-general . The truth is,I hate the ve ry nam e of England ;
I hated her before my exile, I hate her since, and I wil l hate heralways .November 30 -TO day Colonel Shee, who has been alarmed
with som e symptom s of th e gout,to which h e is a m artyr, resolved
to go on board the Fraternité, whilst he is yet abl e to m ove about .He is near sixty, and with a broken constitution, as may wel l be
1 5 6 U F E or
l and the m en in the north as near Belfast as possibl e . If we couldland 2000 m en in th is m anner
,w ith as many stand of arm s as we
c ould carry beside,I have no doubt but in a week we would have
possession of th e en tire north of Ireland,and we wou ld certainly
m aintain ourselves th ere for a considerabl e tim e against all the forcewhich cou ld be sen t against u s; the consequence of which wou ldbe
,l e t
,that the whole south would be disfurnish ed of troops
,
which would,of course , be sen t against us ; and I also am almost
certain that th e British fleet wou ld directly qu it its station off
Brest,where they have been now cruizing ten weeks
,accord ing
to our accounts,as th inking that th e m isch ief was already d on e
,
and that they were watching th e stabl e when the ste ed was
stol en ; in which case, th e main embarkation m igh t imm ediatelyse t off
,and
,landing in th e south
,put th e enemy between two
fires, and so settl e th e busin ess alm ost w ithou t a blow. If th is
schem e be adopted,i t is absolutely n ecessary that no m ortal
should hear of i t bu t Morard de Galles,H oche
,and Colone l Shee .
D ecember 5 , 6, 7 , 8 .— The u niform ity of my l ife, at an chor in
the road of Brest,does not furnish m uch m atter for observation .
I saw Mr Sh e e yesterday , who i s stil l in bed with the gout . H e
tells m e that h e spoke of my plan to the general , who said at onceit was impossible
,and that he durst not take on him sel f the
responsibility it would induce . H is reasons are good . First,if
our l ittl e squadron fel l in with the enemy,we m ust
,to a m oral
certainty,be taken . Next
,if we got even clear
,and that th e
rem ainder of the squadron fel l in w ith the en emy and was beaten,
which would m ost probably be the case,th e whole fault would be
laid on him,as having weakened the m ain force by the detachm en t ;
and,lastly
,that from the state of ou r preparations
,being victual led
and furn ish ed but for a short period,we m ust speedily sail
,coette
qui coette ; so that th e advantage I proposed in drawing'
off th eEngl ish fleet would be useless
,as we cou ld not afford to wait th e
tim e necessary to suffer that circum stance to operate . This lasti s th e best of his reasons; but I rem ain fi rm ly of opin ion that mysch em e is
,under al l th e circum stances
,infinitely the best . H ow
eve r,it is d ecided otherwise, and I m ust subm it . O ur force is of
fifteen sail of th e l ine , ten frigates, and seven or eight transports ;that m ake s upwards of thirty sail, a force which can never escapeth e vigilance of the English
,unless there should com e a furious
storm for two or th ree days, withou t rem ission . which would blowthem up th e channel .D ecember 9
,1 0 , —VVent ashore yesterday to take my l eave
of Brest. Four of our frigates stood ou t of th e Gulet thatevening ; so there are, at least, symptoms of movement. This
THEOBALD W OL F E T ONE. 1 5 7
m orning went on board the Fraternité to see Colonel She e, and , tomy infinite satisfaction , saw Riche ry in th e offing, standing in forthe road
,where he anchored safe ly in an hour after. H e brings
w ith him five sh ips of the l ine and two frigates,of which we shal l
have three of the l ine,and the crews of th e two others, which are
foul . It is a reinforcem en t of the mosti
infinite consequence to us.and
,perhaps
,may enable us to force our way out at last. I am
aston ished how Riche ry , w ith his squadron , has been able to eludethe vigilan ce of the English ; h e m ust be an excel lent officer, and ,I presum e
,we shal l have him ,
of course,w i th us. The general
com es aboard to-day, and it is not impossible,if th e weather i s
favourable,but we may sai l to -night. God send ! whatever may
be the event,for I am t i red of this suspense .
December 1 2 .
— The état-m aj or cam e aboard last n igh t ; we are
seven in the great cabin,including a. lady in boy ’ s cloth es
,the
w ife of a comm issaire,one Ragoneau . BJ what I see we have a
l ittle army of comm issaries, who are going to Ireland to m aketheir fortunes . If we arrive safe , I think I wi l l keep my eye al ittle upon these gentlem en . In consequence of the arriva l O f
Richcry, our squadron wi l l be augm ented w ith two if not thre eships
,and the army w ith 1 700 m en
,which; with already
on board,wi l l m ake — a force m ore than sufficient for
our purpose ; if, as I am always obliged to add , we have the goodfortune to reach our destination in safety.
D ecember I ii — At 1 1 O’
clock this m orning th e signal was m adeto h eave short ; and I bel ieve we are now going to sail in downrigh t earnest. There is a signal also at the point for four sail ofenem ies in the offing. It is most del icious weather
,and the sun
is as warm and as bright as in the m onth O f May . I hope,
” asLord George Brill iant says, he m ay not sh ine through som ebodypresently.
”I'Ve are al l in high spirits
,and the troops are as gay
as if they were going to a ball . W i th our or m orecorrectly m en
,I would not have the least doubt of our
beating of such as w il l be Opposed to us ; that is to say, ifwe reach our d estination . The signal
"
i s now flying to get underway : so
,on e way or other, the affair wil l be at last brought to a
decision,and God knows how sincerely I rej oice at i t.
D ecember 1 7 .— Last night passed th rough the Raz
,a most
dangerou s and difficult pass,wherein we were with in an in ch of
running on a sunken rock , where we m ust every soul haveinevitably perished. I knew nothing about it
,for my part, til l
th is m orning,and I am glad of it . Captain Bedout told m e he
had rather stand three such engagem ents as that wherein he wastaken, than pass again through the Raz at night, so i t seems the
1 5 8 L IF E O F
affair was serious; if we h ad struck , we should have gone to piecesin a quarter of an hour
,as the tide runs furiously at the rate of
not less than 1 0 knots an hour. O urs is the first squadron thathas passed through the Raz
,which even single ships avoid
,unless
in case Of n ecessity . Th is m orning , to my infin ite mortification
and anxiety,we were but eighteen sail in company
,instead of
forty-three,which is our num ber. We conj ecture
,however , that
the remaining twenty-five have m ade th e i r way through the Yroise ,and that we shal l see them to-m orrow m orn ing ; at the sam e tim e,we m uch fear that som e of our com panions have - perished in thatinfernal Raz. We have n othing for it now but to wait til l tom orrow. (At n ight. ) This day has passed without any event;the weather m oderate
,the wind favourable
,and our eighteen sai l
pretty wel l together . T wo Of the adm irals and the General arewith the absent ; God send they m ay have escaped the Raz .
B ear-Adm iral Bouvet and General Grouchy,second in comm and,
are with us. I bel ieve there is a rendezvous fixed in case Ofseparation
,so to-m orrow we shal l see . We run on an average
five or six knots an hour,course W .N.W .
D ecember 1 8 .
—At nine this m orn ing,a fog so th ick that we
cannot see a sh ip’ s l ength before us.
“Hazy weather,m aster
Noah ; damn it, we m ay be, for aught I know,wi thin a quarter
of a m il e Of our m issing ships,without know ing it; i t is tru e we
may also,by the sam e m eans
,m iss the English
,so it m ay be as
wel l for good as evi l,and I count firm ly upon th e fortune Of th e
republ ic . H ow,after all
,if we were , not to j oin our com panions ?
What wil l Grouchy and Bouvet determ ine ? We are enough to
m ake the attempt,but we m ust then steer for the North of
I reland . If it rested with m e I would not h esitate a m om ent;and
,as it i s
,I wil l certainly propose it
,if I can find an op enino'.
If we are d oom ed to d ie , we are e noug hT o do our c ou n try loss; and if to rise ,T he fewer m en , the g reate r share of honour.
rT his damned fog continues withou t interruption . (At night. )
Foggy al l day,and no appearan ce of our com rades. I asked
General Cherin what we should do,in case they did not rej oin u s ?
He said that he supposed General Grouchy would take the
command with th e troops we had with us,which
,on exam ination
,
we found to am ount to about m en . I need not say that Isupported this idea w ith al l my m ight.December 1 9 .
-This m orn ing,at eight
,signal of a fleet in the
offing ; Bran l ebas General ; rose mre ctly and m ade my toilet, sonow I am ready
,ou pour l esAng laise, ou pour l es Anglaises. I
1 60 L IF E or
and Seduisan t, of 74; the Frate rnité, Cocarde, andRom aine frigates ;the Mutine and Vol tigeu r
,corvettes ; and th ree other transports
D ecem ber — Last night,j ust at sunset
,signal for seven sail
in the offing ; al l in high spirits, in hopes that it is our com rades;stark calm al l the fore part of the n ight ; at length a breeze sprungup, and th is m orn ing, at day- break
,we are under Cape Clear,
distant about fou r leagues,so I have
,at al l events
,once m ore
seen my country ; but the pleasure I should otherwise feel at th isis totally destroyed by th e absence of the general
,who has not
j oined us,and of whom we know nothing . The sails we saw last
nigh t have disappeared,and we are al l in uncertainty. It is most
delicious weather,with a favourable wind
,and every thing, in
short,that we ’
oan d esire,except ou r absent com rades. At the
m om ent I write th is we are u nder easy sai l,with in three leagues,
at m ost,of the coast
,so that I can discover h ere and there
patches Of snow on the m ountains. W hat if the general shouldnot j oin us . If we cruise here five days
,accord ing to our instruc
t ions,th e English wi ll be upon us
,and then al l is over. We are
thirty -five sail in company,and seven or eight absent. Is that
such a separation of our forc e,as under al l the circumstances
,wi l l
warrant ou r following th e letter of ou r orders,to the certain
failure Of the expedition? If Grouchy and Bouvet be m e n of
Spirit and d ecision,th ey will land imm ediate ly
,and trust to their
success for j ustification .! If they be not
,and if this day passes
w ithout ou r seeing the general,I m uch fear the gam e is up .
December 22 — This m orning,at eight
,we have neared Bantry
Bay considerably,but the fleet i s terribly scattered ; no news of
th e Fraternité ; I bel ieve it is the fi rst instan ce of an adm iral in aclean frigate
,with m oderate weather
,and m oonlight nights
,
parting com pany w ith his fleet. Captain Gramm ont,ou r fi rst
Lieutenant,told m e his Opinion is that she is either taken or lost;
and,in either event
,it is a terrible blow to us . Al l rests now
upon Grouchy,and I hope he m ay turn out well ; he has a glorious
gam e in his hands,if he has spirit and talent to play it. If he
succeeds,i t wil l immortalize him . I do not at al l l ike th e
countenance of the état-maj or in th is crisis . When they speakOf the expedition
,it is in a style O f despondency ; and when they
were not speaking of it,they are playing cards
'
an d laughing ;th ey are every one of them brave O f their persons ; but I seenoth ing of that spirit Of enterprise , combined with a steadyresolution
,which our presen t situation dem ands. They stared at
m e this m orning when I said that Grouchy was the m an in thewhol e army who had least reason to regret th e absence of the
general ; and began to talk of responsibility and diffi cu lties, as if
T HEOBALD W OL F E T ONE. 1 61
any great enterprise was without responsibil ity and difficul ties.I was burning w ith rage
,however
,I said noth ing, and w il l say
nothing unti l I ge t ashore,if eve r I am so happy as to arrive
there. Wep
are gaining th e bay by slow degrees,with a head
w ind at east, where it has hung these five weeks. T O -night wehope
,if noth ing extraordinary happens
,to cast anchor in th e
m outh O f the bay, and work up to -m orrow m orning; th ese delaysare dreadfu l to my im patience . I am now so near the shore thatI can see distinctly two O l d castles
,yet I am utterly uncertain
whether I shal l ever set foot on it . According to appearances,
Bouvet and Grouchy are resolved to proceed .
D ecember 23 — Last nigh t it blew a heavy gal e from the eastward with snow,
so that the m ountains are covered th is m orning,
which w il l render our bivouacs extrem ely amusing. It is to beobserved
,that of the thirty- two points of the compass
,the east is
precisely the m ost unfavourable to us . In consequence,we are
th is m orning separated for the fourth time ; sixteen sail, includingn ine or ten of the l ine
,with Bouvet and Grouchy
,are at anchor
with us,and about twenty are blown to sea ; l uckily the gale se t
from the shore,so I am in hopes no m isch ief wil l ensue . The
wind is stil l high,and
,as usual
,right ah ead ; and I dread a visit
from th e English ; and altogether I am in great uneasiness. O h !
that we were once ashore , l et what m ight ensue after ; I am sickto the very soul of this suspense. It 1 s curious to see hO w thingsare managed in this best of al l possible worlds . W e are here
,
sixteen sail,great and sm all scattered up and down in a nob le
bay,and so dispersed that there are not two togethe r in any spot
,
save on e,
‘
and there they are now so close,that if it blows to-nigh t
as it d id last night,they wi l l inevitably run foul of each o th e r
,
unless one of them prefers driving on shore . We lie in thisdisorder
,expecting a visit from the English every hour
,w ithout
taking a s ingle step for our defence ' even to th e comm on one ofof having a frigate in th e harbour s m outh , to give us not ice oftheir approach : to j udge by appearances, we have less to dreadhere than in Brest water,for when we were there
,we had fou r
corvettes stationed O ff the gou l et, besides the signal posts . Iconfe ss this degree of security passes my comprehension . Theday has passed withou t th e appearan ce O f on e vessel
,friend o r
enemy,the w ind rather m ore m oderate , but sti l l a-head . To nigh t
,
on exam in ing the returns with VVaud ré , chef d’
é tat -m aj or O f the
artil lery,I find our m eans so reduced by the absence of the
m issing, that I think it hardly possible to m ake an attem pt here ,with any prospect of success ; in consequence, I took Ch e rin intothe captain’s room
,and told him frankly my Opinion of our actual
F
1 62 L IF E O F
state ; and thought it our duty,since we m ust look upon the main
obj ect as unattainable,unless th e whole of our friends returned
t O -m orrow,and th e English gave us our own tim e
,which was
hardly to be expected,to see what could be best done for th e
honour and interest Of the republic,w ith the force which rem ained
in our hands; and I proposed to him to give m e the l egion d esFrancs a com pany Of the artil lerie legere
,and as m any Officers as
desired to com e volunteers in the expedition,w ith what arm s and
stores rem ain ed,wh ich are now reduced
,by our separation
,to
four field pieces,
firelocks at m ost, 1 000 1b . of powder,
and cartridges,and to l and us in Sligo Bay
,and let us
m ake the best of our way ; if we succeeded, the republ ic wouldgain infinitely in reputation and interest ; and if w e failed
,th e
l oss would be trifling,as the expense was already incurred
,and as
for the l egion,he knew what kind of de speradoes it was composed
of,and for what purpose ; consequently, in the worst event, the
republic wou ld be wel l rid of th em ; finally,I added
,that though
I asked the comm and,it was on the supposition that none of th e
generals would risk their reputation 0 1 1 such a desperate enterprise;and that if another was found
,I would be conten t to go as a.
s im ple volunteer . This was the outline of my proposal , which Ipressed on him with such argum ents as o ccurred to m e ; cone l uding by observing that, as a foreigner in the French service ,my situation was a del icate one, and if I were s imply an officer, Iwou ld Obey l n silen ce the orders of my superiors ; but, from myconnexions in Ireland
,having obtained the confidence of the
d irectory,so far as to induce them to appoint m e to th e rank of
cbef d e br igad e, and of General Hoche,who had nom inated m e
adjutant general,I thought i t my duty, both to France and
Ireland,to
“
speak on this o ccasion and that I only Offered myplan as a pis al le r, in case nothing better suggested itself. Cherinanswered that I did very right to give m y Opinion ; and that ashe expected a council of war would be called to -m orrow
,he woul d
bring m e w ith him,and I should have an opportunity to press it .
D ecember 24.
—This m orn ing the whole état-m aj or has beenm iraculou sly converted
,and it was agreed
,in ful l council
,that
General Cherin,Colonel Wandre
,ch ef d ’etat -maj or of th e artille ry,
and m yself,shou ld go aboard the Imm ortal ité
,and press General
Grouchy in th e strongest m anner to proceed on the expeditionw ith the ruins of ou r scattered army . Accordingly, we m ade a
signal to speak w ith the adm iral,and in about an hour we were
aboard . I m ust do Grouchy the j ustice to say,that th e m om ent
we gave our opinion in; favou r Of proceeding, he took his partdecidedly, and like aman of spirit; be instantly set about pre
L IFE O E
and in a rough sea. I have written and Copied fifte en letters,
besides these m em orandum s ; pretty wel l for one day . I th ink Iwi l l stop here . I have but on e observation to add : there is n ot
,
I w il l venture to say, on e grenadier in th e compagnie b loom thatw il l not sleep to -night in h is hammock m ore contentedly than thearchbishop of D ublin
,in a down bed . I presum e ou r arrival
‘
has
put several re spectab le characters in no sm al l fuss .D ecember 25 .
- Last night I had the strongest expectations thatto-day we should debark
,but at two th is m orn ing I wasawakened
by the wind . I rose imm ediately,and wrapping myself in my
great coat,walked for an hour in the gal lery
,devou red by the
m ost gloomy reflections. The w ind continues right ah ead, so
that it is absolutely impossible to work up to the landing place,
and God knows when it wi l l change . The sam e wind is exactlyfavourable to bring the English upon as
,and these cruel delays
give the enemy tim e to assem ble his entire force in th is neighbou rhood ; and perhaps ( it 1 s, unfortunately, m ore than perhaps),by h is superiority i n numbers
,in cavalry
,in artil lery
,l n m oney
,
i n provisions,in short in every thing we want
,to crush us
,
supposing we are even abl e to effectuate a landing at last ; at thesam e tim e that the fleet wil l be caught as in a trap . H ad we
been able to land the first day and m arch directly to Cork, we
shou ld have infal l ibly carried it by a coup de main; and then we
sh ould have a footing in the country,but as it is— if we are
taken,my fate w il l not be a m ild on e ; th e best I can expect is to
be shot as an em igre ren tr é , unless I have th e good fortune to bekilled in the action ; for m ost assuredly if the enemy wi l l have us,he m ust fight for us . Perhaps I m ay be reserved for
'a trial,for
the sake of striking terror into others, in which case I shal l behanged as a traitor and embowe l led
,etc. As to the embowel l ing
,
ye m’
en flake,” if ever they hang m e
,they are welcom e to
embowel m e if they please . These are pleasan t prospects !Noth ing on earth could sustain m e now
,but the con sciousness
that I am en oraged in a j ust and righteous cause . For my fam ily,I have
,by a despe rate effort, surm ounted my natural feel ings so
far,that I do not think of them at th is m om ent. This day , at
twelve,the wind blows a gale
,stil l from the east ; and our situa
tion is now as critical as possible, for it is m orally certain thatthis day or to-m orrow
,in the m orn ing, the Engl ish fl e et wil l be
in the harbour’ s m outh,and then adieu to every thing. In th is
d esperate state of affairs, I proposed to Cherin to sally ou t withall our forces
,to m ount to the Shannon
,and d isem barking the
troops,m ake a forced march to Lim erick
,wh ich is pm bab ly
unguarded the garrison being, I am pretty certain,0 1 1 its march
T HEOBAL D W OL FE T ONE. 1 65
to oppose us here ; to pass the river at Limerick, and by forcedm arches
,push to the north . I de tailed al l this on a paper which
I wil l keep,and showed it to Captain Bedou t and all the generals
on board ; Cherin, Simon , and Chasseloup. They al l agre ed asto the advantages of the plan ; but afte r settl ing it, we find itimpossible to communicate with the general and adm i ral
,who are
in th e Immortal ité,nearly two l eagues ah ead , and the wind is
now so high and foul,and the sea so rough
,that no boat can live
,
so al l communication is impracticable,and to -m orrow m orning it
wil l m ost probably be too late ; and on this circum stan ce perhapsth e fate of the expedition and th e l iberty of Ireland depend .
D ecember 26 .
-Last night,at half after six o ’clock
,in a heavy
gale of wind stil l from the east, we were surpri sed by the adm iral’ s
frigate running under ou r quarter,and hailing the Indom ptable
,
with orders to cut our cable and put to sea instantly,th e frig ate
then pursued her course,l eaving us al l in th e utm ost astonish
m ent. O ur first idea was that it m ight be an English frigatelurking in the bottom of th e bay
,which took advantage of the
storm and darkness of th e night to m ake her escape,and w ished
to separate our squadron by this stratagem ; for it seem s utterlyincredible that -an adm i ral should cut and run in this m anner
,
w ithou t any previous signal of any kind to warn the flee t; andthat the first notice w e should have of his intention
,should be
his hailing us in th is extraordinary m anner,w ith such unexpected
and peremptory orders . After a short consu ltation w ith h isofii c e rs
, (considering the storm ,th e darkness of the night
,that
we have two anchors out,and only one spare one in th e hold) ,
Captain Redout resolved to wait,at al l events
,till to -m orrow
morning, in ord e r to ascertain whether it was really the adm i ra lwho hailed us . The m orning is now com e
,the gale continues
,
and th e fog is so th ick that we cannot see a ship ’ s l ength ah ead ;so here we l ie in the utm ost uncertainty and anxiety . In al l
probability we are now l eft withou t adm iral or gen eral ; if so,Cherin wi l l command the troops
,and Be dou t the fleet
,but
,at al l
events,there is an end of the exped ition . Certainly we have
been p ersecuted by a strange fatal ity from th e very n igh t O f ou rdeparture to this hour. We have lost two comm and e rs-in - ch ief;of fou r adm irals not on e rem ain s ; we have lost one ship of thel ine that we know of
,and probably m any others of which we know
nothing ; we have been now six days in Bantry Bay, within fivehundred yards of the shore
,without being able to effectuate a
landing; we have been dispersed four tim es in four days; and atthis m om ent
,of forty- three sail
,O f which the expedition consisted
,
we can muster of al l size s but fou rteen. There only wants our
1 66 L I F E or
fall ing in with the English to complete our destruction ; and toj udge of the future by the past
,there is every probability that
that wil l not be wanting . Al l ou r hopes are now reduced to ge tback in safety to Brest
,and I believe we wi l l set sai l for th at
port the in stan t the weather wi l l perm it. I confess,myself
,I
now look on the expedition as impracticabl e . The en emy hashad seven days to prepare for us
,and th ree
,or perhaps fou r days
m ore before we could arrive at Cork ; and we are now too m uchreduced
,in al l respects
,to m ake th e attem pt with any prospect
Of success— so al l is over ! It i s hard,after having forced my
way thus far, to be obliged to turn back ; but it is my fate, and Im ust subm it. Notwithstanding al l ou r blunders, it is th e dreadfu lstormy weather and easterly winds
,which have been blowing
furiously and wi thout interm ission,since we m ade Bantry Bay
,
that have '
ru ined us . Well,England has not had such an escape
since the Spanish Arm ada; and that exped ition, like ours, wasd e feated by the weather ; th e elem ents fight against u s
,and
courage is Of no avail . Well,l et m e th ink no m ore abou t it; it
is lost, and let it go ! I am now a Frenchm an and m ust regulatemy future plan s accordingly. I hope the directory wi l l not
d ism iss m e the service for this unhappy failure ; in which,
certainly,I have noth ing personal ly to reproach myself with ; and
in that case,I shal l be rich enough to l ive as a peasant. If God
Alm ighty sends m e my dearest love and darl ing babies l n safety,I wi ll buy or rent a l ittle spot
,and have d one with the world for
ever. I shal l n either be great,nor fam ous
,nor powerfu l
,but I
m ay be happy. God knows whether I shal l ever reach Francemyself
,and in that case
,what w il l becom e of my fam ily.
z It i shorrible to m e to think of. O h ! my l ife and soul, my darlingbabies
,shal l I ever see you again? This infernal wind contin ues
without interm ission and now that al l is lost,I am as eager to
get back to France as I was to com e to Ireland .
D ecember 2 7 .
—Yesterday several vessels,including the Indom p
table,d ragged their anchors several times
,and it was with great
diffi culty they rode ou t th e gale . At two o’
clock,th e Revolution
,
a seventy—fou r,m ade signal that she could hold no longer, and in
consequence of the comm odore’s perm ission , who now comm andsour l ittl e squad ron
,cut her only cable and put to sea . In th e
n ight,th e Patriote and Plu ton
,of seventy - four each , were forced
to put to sea with the N icom ede flute,so that this morning we
are redu ced to seven sail of th e l ine and one frigate . Anyattempt here is now desperate ; but I think still , if we weredebarked at the m outh of the Shannon, we m ight yet recover al l .At ten O
’clock the commodore made signal to get under way,
1 68 L IFE O F T HEOBAL D W OL F E T ONE.
did not compreh end th e m ean ing ; bu t hearing th e water d istinctlyrolling in th e cabin beneath m e
,and two or three of the officers
m ounting in their sh ir ts as we t as if they had risen from thebottom of the sea
,I c oncluded instantly that the ship had struck
and was fill ing with water, and that she would sink directly. Asth e m ovem ents of th e m ind are as quick as lightning in suchperilous m om ents
,i t is impossible to describe the infinity Of id eas
wh ich shot across my m ind in an instan t . As I knew all n o tionOf saving my l ife was in vain, in such a stormy sea
,I took my
part instantly,and lay down in my hammock, expecting every
instant to go to th e bottom ; but I was soon rel ieved by th eappearance of on e of th e ofl i ce rs
,Baudin
,who explained to u s the
accident. I can safely say that I had perfect comm and of myselfduring th e few terribl e m inutes which I passed in th is situation ;and I was not , I m ore afraid than any of th ose about m e .
I resigned myself to my fate, wh ich I verily though t was inevitable
,and I could have died like a man . Imm ediately afte r th is
blow,th e wind abated
,and at day- light
,having run n ine knots an
hour under on e j ib only, during the hurricane, we found ourselvesat the rendezvous
,having parted com pany with three sh ips of the
l ine and the frigate,which m akes our sixth separation . The frigate
Coquil le j oined us in the cou rse Of the day, which we spent standingOff and on th e shore
,w ithout being j oined by our companions.
D ecember 29 .—At four th is m orning th e comm odore m ade th e
signal to steer for France ; so. th ere is an end of ou r expeditionfor the present; perhaps for ever. I spent al l yesterday in myhamm ock
,partly through sea~ sickness
,and m uch m ore th rough
vexation . At ten we m ade prize of an unfortunate brig; boundfrom Lisbon to Cork
,laden with sal t
,which we sunk .
,
D ecember 30,3 1 — 0 1 1 ou r way to Brest. It wil l be wel l
supposed I am in no great h um our to m ake m em orandum s. Thisis the last day Of the year 1 796, which has been a very remarkable one in my history .
January I , J797 .
-At eigh t th is morn ing m ade the island of
Ushant,and at twelve opened the Goulet . We arrive seven sail
th e Indomptable, Of 80 ; th e Watigny, Cassard , and Eole, 74 ; theCoquille
,36; the Atalante , 20 ; and th e Vautour lugger of 1 4.
We left Brest forty- th ree sail,of which seventeen were of th e l ine.
I am utterly astonished that we did not see a singl e Engl ish shipof war, going nor com ing back . They must have taken th eirm easu res very ill, not to intercept us; but perhaps they havepicked up som e of our m issing ships. Well
,th is even ing wi l l
explain all,and we shal l see now what
‘
is becom e of one of our
four adm irals, and of our two generals-ia- ch ief.
EXTRAC T S
F RO M T H E
JOURNAL O F
[Nofe of the E rl d or .—An1 idst al l the ag itation of m y fathe r’s m ind , du ring the il l fated
and tan talizing e xp e d ition of Ban try Bay, he was aware that his wife and thre e infan tchild re n ,
whom he had le ft at Pn n c e ton ,1 n N ew Je rse y , on his d e partm e from Am e rica,
w e r e , am idst the storms of that w in try se ason , on the i r way to rej om him . T he fe e lingsof the most aff e c tionate O f husbands and of fathe rs, in su ch a situation , can be be tte rc on c e iv e d than e xp re sse d . In fac t , e m barke d in an Am e rican v e sse l for Ham bu rgh , wealm ost c rosse d him 1 n the B ritish Chann e l , in the last days of D e c em be r ; and
,afte r a
t e d ious an d rough p assag e of two m on ths, m y m othe r,w ith he r infan t fam ily , lande d at
the m ou th of the froze n E lbe ,and p roc e e d e d to H am b h rgh m an op e n post waggon . In
that c om m e rc ial c ity ,d e vote d to the B rit ish i n te re st , the first n ews she re c e ive d was, that
of the failu re of the e xp e d u ion , em b e l l 1she d w ith a thousand e xag g e rations. H e r anxie tym ay we l l b e con c e ive d ; ob l ig e d to con c e al it, as w e l l as he r nam e
,he r on ly c onsolation
was, that she d id not he ar that of T on e m e n tione d . Alre ady in w e ak and shatte re dhe al th, she was se ize d w ith a ne rvous fe v e r
,and remaine d in the m ost c ru e l p e rp le xity ,
among st strang e rs, whose v e ry lang uag e she d id not u nd e rstand . She wrote instan t ly to
Paris, add re ssm g he r le tte r to M r M adg e tt, and the answe r to this le tte r,which cam e in
due t im e,was the first n ews she re c e ive d of his safe ty .
January 1 to 31 , 1 797 .
— It is exactly one month to-day since Iwrote a l ine by way of m em orandum . It wi l l be wel l supposed Ihad no great in cl ination , nor, in fact, have I had much to say. O n
our arrival at Brest, after a day or two, there was a l ittle intrigue set0 1 1 foot against General Grouchy, w ith a v iew to lessen th e m eritof his serv ices ; in consequence O f which he determ ined to send m eto Paris with his despatches for the directory and m in ister of war .
Simon was j oined w ith m e in comm ission,and F airiu was also
despatch ed by Cherin,who is at th e head O f th is cabal . Grouchy
d e sired m e to state fairly what I though t of h is conduct duringour stay at Bantry Bay , to the governm ent ; and I was not a l ittl epleased wi th this proof of h is good opinion . We set O ff 0 1 1 th efifth of January, at night, and arrived , w ithout accident, at Parison th e 1 2th . W e went imm ediately to the m inister of war
,and
del ivered our letters ; we saw him but for an instant ; thence wewent to the directory, where we were introduced
,and had an
audience for above half an hour, at which all the directors assisted.
Su ch p ar ts of the Jou rnal on ly are se le c te d as re late to the p roce ed ings and views ofthe au thor 1 1 1 re sp e c t to I re land .
—E cz. q/Au tobzog m p/zy
1 70 L IFE on
They we i e of opinion on that day, from th e latest accounts,that
H oche had effectuated a landing with that part of the army whichhad been separated offBantry Bay, and m consequence we expectedorde i s imm ediately to return to Brest. Seve i al days elapsed inthis m anner
,waiting continually for news of th e general
,until at
l ength,on th e 1 5 th he arrived
,with the Revolution 74, at La
Rochelle ; so that put at on ce an end to my expectation s of anythingfurther being attem pted , at least for th e presen t . The m orn ingafter h is arrival
,I saw th e general for five m inutes. H e received
m e very favourably,and
,fou r or five days after
,W as n am ed to th e
comm and of th e army of Samb re ,e t Meuse
,which was decisive
w ith regard to our expedition . I began now to think of my own
situation and of that of my fam ily, of whom i t is at length su relytim e to speak . O n my arrival at Paris , I found a l etter from mywife at M adg e tt
’
s,dated at H am burgh
,and inform ing m e of her
safe arrival there about the 20th of December,with my siste r an d
th e children,my brother having decided to settl e in Am erica. T he
tran sports of j oy I felt at th e news of her arr1 val were m ost dreadfully corrected by the account she gave m e of her health
,which
th rew m e into th e m ost terribl e alarm s . I wrote to her instantlyto rem ain at H am burgh until further orders, and by no m eans toth ink of exposing hersel f
,in her present weak state
,and our dear
l ittl e babies,to a j ourn ey from Hamburgh
,in th is dreadful season ;
a great part of th e road being through a wi ld country,whe i e there
is n o bette l accomm odation for travelling than open waggons. O n
the 30th,I wrote to General Hoche on th e subj ect of my pre sent
situation,praying him to apply to the governm en t to perm it m e to
retire from th e service,preserving my pay and appointm ents, and ,
at the sam e tim e,offe ring
,at any future p eriod when I m igh t be
u seful,to resum e my s ituation . The sam e evening I had a
note from th e general,desiring to see m e early the n ext . m orn ing
,
and accordingly this day, 3 1 st January, I wen t to the hotel of th em in ister of war
,where he is lodged
,at eight o
’
clock . O n my cal ling on his aid- de- cam p
,Poitou
,who m akes his correspondence ;
Poitou showed m e my letter, w ith a note in the m argin , written bythe general :“F air e une cap ie p ou r étre ad cl r cssé e an d ir ectoire, avecla d emand e d e sa conservation
,motivée su r l
’
u til ité dont il p eat é l r e;Zu z
'
faire u n c ré‘ponsefl atteuse , ct l ut témoz
’
gner ma satisfaction d e sacon d u ite .
”Noth ing
,certainly
,can be m ore agreeable to m e .
Poitou also showed m e,in confidence , th e copy of th e general
’
sletter to the directory in my favour , which is worded in th e m ostflattering and strongest m anner. So I am in hopes I shall succ e ed in my application .
F ebruary 8 .— This day I was hailed by General Hoche, who
1 72 L IFE or
see h e has thrown him self,body and soul , into th e revol ution of
his country . Well,if we su cceed
,he wi l l obtain
,and deserves
,
one of th e first stat ions in the gove rnm ent . He is a n obl e fel low,
that is the truth of i t. I am now waiting fo r my brevet andorder to j oin
,and eke
,for my gratification d
’
eutr ée en campagne,which am ounts to 800 l ivres
,together with two m onths’ pay ,
wh ich wi l l m ake en numeraire,330 l ivres m ore ; and my trunk
has not yet arrived from Brest, and wi ll not be here this m onth ,and before that tim e I may be at Cologne , where ou r head quartersare fixed ; and in my trunk are two gold watches and chains, andmy flute
,and my papers, and al l that m akes l ife d ear to m e ; and
so I am in perplexity and doubtful dilemm a. I m ust see andspin ou t the tim e
,if possible
,til l my trunk arrives, or I shal l be
in a state of anxiety thereupon,which wi l l be truly alarm ing.
F ebr uary 1 9 , 20 , 21 , 22— I see
’
by the Courier of th e 1 4thinstant
,that Robert and William Simm s are arrested for publ ish
ing Arthur O’
Connor’
s l etter,as it should se em
,for the account
is rather confused. I col lect from another paragraph in the sam epaper
,th at they were released on th e 9th; but O
’
Connor remainsin custody. He has proposed him self as candidate for th e countyAntrim
,and I
“
have no doubt wil l be returned ; and it is for al etter tb th e electors of that county that he has been arrested .
Governm en t wil l m ove heaven and earth to keep him ou t . Thereis now scarcely one of m y friends in Ireland but is in prison , andm ost of th em in peril of th eir l ives ; for the system of terror iscarried as far there as ever it was in F 1 ance in the tim e of Robespie rre . I th ink I wil l cal l on l ai not to day, and propose to himto write to D r Reynolds to have. som e person on whom we cand epend sent over f1 om Ireland, in order to confer with the governm ent here . It may be easily done, and mv l ette r W i l l
a
go inperfect safety by Monroe. Al lonsl
F ebruary 24.
— This day I cal led on Monroe,and gave him a
l etter of eigh t pages for D r Reynolds,in which I gave a detailed
account of our late expedition,and assure him of the determ ination
of the French governm en t to persevere in ou r business . I l ikewiseoffe r him a rapid sketch of the present posture of the great powersof Europe
,in order to satisfy him of the perm anency of the
Republic,together w ith a brief v iew of ou r comparative resources
as toEngland . Finally, I d esire him ,observing the m ost profound
secrecy and rigid caution,to w rite to Ireland ; and by prefe ren ce,
if possible, to R S ,to send a proper person to H am burgh
,ad
d ressed to the French resident there, in order to com e on to Parisand confer with the directory . I calculate, if nothing extraordinaryhappens to delay him,
that that person may be here by the m iddle
T HEOBALD W OL F E T ONE. 1 73
of Ju ly next; finally, I desi re him to assure my friends that wehave stronger hopes than ever of success ; and to entreat them ,
inthe m eantim e, to remain quiet, and not
,by a premature explosion
,
give the Engl ish governm ent a pretext to l et loose their dragoonsupon them . Such is the substan ce
‘
of my l etter, which I haveevery reason to hope wi l l go safe .F ebr uary 2 5 .
“Walked toNanterre to see my friend Shee, withwhom I wil l spend two days.M arch 3 .
—I have been lately introduced to the fam ous ThomasPaine
,and l ike him very well . H e is vain beyond belief
,but h e
has reason to be vain,and for my part I forgive him . H e has
done wonders for the cause of l iberty,both in Am erica and
Europe,and I bel ieve him to be conscientiously an honest m an .
He converses extrem ely wel l ; and I find him wittier in discoursethan in his writings; where h is humour is clum sy enough . H e
read m e som e passages from a reply to the Bit p of Landaff,
which he is preparing for the press, in which h e belabours th eprelate without m ercy. He seem s to plum e h im self m ore on histheology than his pol itics, in which I do not agrce with him . Im entioned to him that I had known Burke in England
,and spoke
of the shattered state of his m ind,in consequ ence of the death of
h is on ly son Richard . Pain e immediately said that i t was the
Rights of Man which broke his heart ; and that the death of hisson gave him occasion to develop the chagrin which had preyedupon him ever since the appearance of that work . I am su t e theRights of Man have torm ented Burke exceedingly
,but I have seen
myself the workings of a father’s grief on his spirit,and I could
not be deceived . Paine bas no child ren ! O h ! my l ittle babies,if I was to lose my W i l l . , or my l ittle Fantom ! Poor l ittle souls,I doat upon them and on their darl ing m other
,whom I love t en
thousand tim es m ore than my own existence . They are never ou tof my thoughts . But to return to Paine : he drinks like a fish ; am isfortune which I have known to befal l other celebrated patriots .I am told that the true tim e to see him to advantage is about tenat night
,with a bottle of brandy and water before him
,which I can
very wel l conceive . I have not yet had that advantage,but m ust
contrive,if I can
,to sup with him at least on e nigh t before I set
off for the army.
M ar ch 1 1,L i l - Applied to-day and got an order for my arrears
s ince th e 1 st Navore . In the m argin of the order I observed the
fol lowing note :“Nata. L’
actiuité ci l a grand e u til ité d e cet oficier,
ont été attestées par l e bureau d es qgficiers gen eraux.
” This is veryhandsom e . [H ere fol lows an accoun t of General T one
’
s j ourney to
the headq uarters of General H ool’
ie at Cologne !
I 74 L IF E or
Ap r il 7 - Cologne . —Went wi th the Adjutan t-General Gastines,with whom I travelled to th e quarter—ge neral . The general busy , andcou ld n ot see us, but sen t to invite us to dinner. D inner pleasant.Ap ril 9 .
—Call ed on Mr Shee early, and m ention ed to him mypresent situation . After turning it into al l possible l ights
,we
agreed that I should write a letter to th e general,suggesting the
necessity Of open ing a comm unication with Ireland,and offering
,
in case he had not otherwise d isposed of m e,to go in person to
Hamburgh for that purpose . Wrote th e letter accordingly,which
Mr Shee tran sl ated , and I signed .
Apr il 1 2 .
—Saw th e general tod ay,for an instant
,before d inner .
He told m e he had read my l etter, approved of th e plan ; and had,in consequence
,desired Poitou to m ake ou t a perm i ssion for m e to
go to H amburgh . I did not l ike the word“perm ission,
” andtherefore took an Opportun ity to speak to him again after d inn er
,
when I told him that I did not desi re to go to H amburgh unlesshe h im self thought it advisabl e
,and requested that in that case
,
he would give m e an order,specifical ly
,for that purpose ; as other
wise it m ight appear that I had applied for a conye at th e veryOpen ing of th e cam paign
,which was not the case . He entered
into my view Of th e business directly, and prom ised me to havethe order m ade accordingly ; so I am in hopes that affair wi l l besettled to my m ind . I took th is occasion to ask him if h e hadany particular direction s to give m e
,or any particu lar person to
whom he wished I should address myself. H e told m e not . Thatall I had to do was to assure my friends that both th e Frenchgovernm ent
,and h im self indiv idually
,were ben t as m uch as ever
on the em ancipation of Ireland,that preparation s were m aking for
a second attem pt,which would be con clud ed as speedily as the
u rgen cy of affairs would adm it ; that it was a business which th eRepub l ic would never give up ; and that if three expedition s failed ,th ey would try a fourth ; and ever, until they succeeded . H e
desired m e also to recomm end that th is d eterm ination should bem ad e known through the m edium of the patriotic prints in Ireland
,
in order to satisfy the people that we had not lost sight of them .
I then took my l eave, and we wished each other m utually a goodvoyage . I am very wel l satisfied with th e turn which this affairis l ike to take ; and especially, I am infinitely indebted to GeneralH oche for his kindn e ss to m e personally .
Ap r il 1 7 .—This day F airin
,aid-de - camp to Gen eral Cherin
,
b rought m e th e order fo r my departure, enclosed in a very friendlyletter from the general-in—ch ief. I do not see anything concerningmy frais d e rou te, so, I presum e, that part of the business isrefused , It is wel l it is no worse.
1 76 L IFE orgeneral cal led me into the garden and told m e he had some goodn ews for me . He then asked
,
“Did I know on e L ewines ? I
answered I did,perfectly w ell
,and had a high opinion of his
talents an d patriotism .
“Well,said he
,
“he is at Neuwied , waiting to see you you m ust set off to m orrow m orn ing ; when you j oinhim
, you m ust go together to Treves, and wait for further orde rs .”
The next morn ing I set off,and on th e 1 4th , in the even ing,
reachedJu ne 1 4.
— Neuwied,where I found L ewineswaiting for m e . I
cannot express the unspeakable satisfaction I felt at seeing him . Igave him a full account of al l my labours, and of every thing thathappened since I have been in ’
F rance ; and he inform ed m e,in
return,of everyth ing of consequence relating to Ireland, and
especially to my friends now in j eopardy there . I cannot pretendto d etail his conversation
,which occupied us ful ly during our stay
at Neuwied,and our j ourney to
s e 1 7 .
—Treves,where we arrived on th e 1 7 th . What is
m ost m aterial is,that h e is sen t here by the executive comm ittee
of the united people of Ireland,to sol icit
,on their part, th e assist
ance in troops,arm s
,and m oney
,n ecessary to enable them to take
the field,and assert their l iberty ; the organisation of th e people is
com plete,and nothing is wanting bu t th e poin t d
’app u i. His
instructions are to apply to France,Holland
,and Spain . At
Hamburgh,where he passed only two m onths
,he m e t a senor
Nava,an ofii ce r of rank in the Spanish Navy, sent th ither by the
Prince of Peace,on som e m ission of consequence ; he opened him
self to Nava,who wrote off
,in consequence, to his court, and
received an answer,general
,it i s true
,but in the highest degree
favourable ; a circum stance which augurs well , i s, that in fortyd ays from the date of Nava’ s letter
,he received th e answer
,which
is less tim e than he ever knew a courier to arrive in,and shows
th e earnestness of th e Spanish m in ister. L ewin es’
s in structionsare to dem and of Spain sterl ing
,and stand of
arm s . At Treves,on the 1 9th
,D alton
,th e general ’s aid -de - camp,
cam e express w ith orders for us to return toJu ne QI .
— Coblentz,where we arrived on the 2 1 st, and m et
General Hoche . H e told u s not to be discouraged by th e arrivalof a British n egotiator
,for that the d i rectory were determ ined to
m ake no peace but on conditions which would put it out of the
power of England longer to arrogate to hersel f th e comm erce of
the world, and dictate her laws to al l the m aritim e powers. H e
added,that preparations were m aking also in Holland fo r an ex
p ed ition , th e particulars ofwhich hewould communicate to u s in twoor three days; and, in the meantime, he desired usto attend him to
T HEOBALD W OL FE T ONE. 1 77
June 24.—Cologne .—At 9 O
’ clock at n ight the general sent u sa l etter from General Daende ls, comm ander -in -ch ief of the arm y ofthe Batavian republic
,acquainting him that everyth ing was in th e
greatest forwardness,and would be ready in a very few days ; that
the army and the navy were in the best possible spirit ; that thecomm itte for foreign affairs (th e directory per interim of theBatavian Republ ic) desired m ost earnestly to see him W i thout lossof tim e
,in order to m ake the definite arrangem ents ; and especially
they prayed him to bring with him th e deputy of th e people OfIreland
,which Daend e ls repeated two or three times in his letter.
In consequence of this,I waited on the general
,whom I found in
his bed in the Cour Imperiale,and received his orders to set O ff
w ith L ewin es without any loss of tim e,and endeavour to attend
him at
s e 2 7 .—The Hague
,where we arrived accordingly
,having
travel led day and night . In the evening w e went to the com édie,where we m e t th e general in a sort of public incognito ; that is tosay
,he had combed the powder ou t of his hair , and was in a plain
regim ental frock . After th e play,we followed him to his lodging
at the Lion d ’
O r,where he gave us a ful l detail Of what was pre
paring in Holland . He began by tel l ing us that the DutchGovernor
,General Daende ls
,and Adm iral D ewinter
,were sin
c e re ly actuated by a desire to effectuate som ething striking torescue their country from that state of obl ivion and décadence intowhich it had fallen ; that, by th e m ost indefatigable exertions 0 11
their part,th ey had got together
,at the Texel
,sixteen sail of the
l ine,and eight or ten frigates
,al l ready for sea
,and in the highest
condition ; that they intended to embark m en,th e whole O f
their national troops,3000 stand of arm s
,80 pieces of artil lery
,and
m oney for their pay and subsistence for three m onths ; that h e hadthe best opinion of the sincerity of al l parties
,and O f th e courage
and conduct of th e general and adm iral,but that here was th e
d ifficulty : the French governm ent had dem anded that at l eastFrench troops
,th e élite of the army
,should be em barked ,
instead of a l ike number of D utch ; in which case, if the dem andwas acceded to
,he wopld him sel f take the comm and of the united
army,and set off for the Texel directly ; but that the Dutch
governm ent m ade great diffi culties,alleging a variety of reasons
,
of which som e were good ; that they said the Fren ch troops wouldn ever subm it to the discipline of th e Dutch navy ; and that, inthat case
,th ey could n ot pretend to enforce i t on their own , with
ou t m aking unj ust distin ctions,and giving a reasonable ground
for j ealousy and discontent to their army ; bu t the fact is,” said
H oche,“that the comm ittee
,Daende ls
,and D ewinter
,are anxious
1 78 L IFE or
that the Batavian republ ic shou ld have the whol e glory of'the
expedition if it succeeds ; they feel that their country has been forgotten in Europe
,and they are risking e verything
,even to their
last stake : for, if this fails, they are ru in ed— in orde r to restoreth e national character. The dem and Of the French governm ent isnow before the comm ittee ; if it is acceded to
,I wi l l go myself
,
and,at al l even ts , I wil l present you both to - the committe e , and
we w il l probably then settle th e m atter definitely.
” Both L ewinesand I now found ourselves in a considerable difii c u l ty . O n the one
side,it was an Obj ect of th e greatest importance to have Hoche
and h is 5 000 grenadiers ; on th e oth er, it was m ost unreasonableto propose anything which could hurt th e feel ings of th e D utchpeop l e
,at a m om ent when they were m aking unexampled ez er
tions in our favour,and risking
,as H oche him self said
,their last
sh ip and last sh il l ing to em ancipate us . I cu rsed and swore l ikea d ragoon ; i t went to my very heart
’s blood and m idriff to give upth e general and our brave lads
,5 000 of whom I would prefer to
any in Europe ; on th e other hand, I could not but seethat the Dutch were perfectly reasonable in th e desire to have thewhole reputation O f an affair prepared and arranged entirely attheir expense
,and at such an expense. I confess H oche
’s re
nou n cing the situation which h e m ight comm and is an effort ofv ery great virtue . It is true he is doing exactly what an honestman and a good citizen ought to do ; he is preferring the interestsof his country to his own private v iews ; that , however , d oes notprevent my regarding h is conduct, in this in stance
,w ith great
adm iration,an d I shal l n ever forget it.
Ju ne 28 .— This m orning
,at ten
,L ewines and I t went w ith!
G eneral H oche to the comm ittee for foreign affairs , wh ich we
found sitting. There were eight or n ine m em bers,of whom I do not
know al l the nam es,together with General Daend e ls. Those whose
nam es I learn ed were citizens H ahn (who seem ed to have greatinfluence am ong them ) , Bekker, Van Leyden , and G rasv e l de
General H och e began by stat ing extrem ely well th e history of ou raffairs
,since he had interested h im sel f in them ,
he pressed in th estrongest m anner that we could wi sh the advantages to be reapedfrom the em ancipation of Ireland
,th e alm ost certain ty of success ,
if th e attem pt were once m ade,and the necessity of : ttempting it,
if at al l,imm ediately . It was citizen H ahn who replied to him .
H e said h e was heartily glad to find the m easure san ctioned by sohigh an opinion as that of General Hoche ; that originally the obj ectof the Dutch governm ent was to have invaded England , in orderto have operated a diversion in favour of the French army, wh ichit is hoped wou ld have been in Ireland ; that circumstances being
1 80 L IFE or
e special ly for my papers, and that L ewines should remain at theH ague
,at th e orders of th e comm ittee
,unti l my retu rn , which
m ight be seven e r eigh t days . The m eeting then broke up .
Ju ly 1 .—Arrived at Cologne
,where I found the general . He
told m e that,
‘
as he had expected,the m inister of m arine was
piqued,and had given orders in consequence
,to prepare everything
at Brest with the greatest expedition ; that he had , if ne cessary,at the disposal of the m inister ; that h e had j ust received
orders from th e directory to proceed instantly to Paris,by way of
D unkirk ; that from Paris h e would set O ff for Brest, wh e re everything would be ready in a fortnight
,and in a m onth he hoped to
be in Ireland . He then o rdered m e £5 0 sterling,w ith orders to
return imm ediately to the Hague,with a l etter for General Daen
dels . I told him,that if he expected to be ready so soon
,i t was
my wish not to quit him . He replied,he had considered it
,and
thought it best I should accompany Daend e l s,on which I acquiesced .
I then took occasion to speak on a subj ect which had weighed verym uch upon my m ind ; I m ean th e degree of influen ce which theFrench m ight be disposed to arrogate to th em selves in Ireland
,and
which I had great reason to fear would be greater than we m ightchoose to al low them . In the gazette of that day there was a.
proclam ation Of Buonaparte’
s,addressed to the governm ent. of
Genoa,which I thought m ost grossly improper and inde cent
,as
touching b n the indispensable rights of the people . I re ad th em ost Obnoxious passages to Hoche ; and observed, that if Buonparte commanded in Ireland, and were to publish there so indisorc et a proc l am ation , it wou ld have a most ru inous effect; that inItaly such d ictation m ight pass
,but never in Ireland
,where we
understood our rights too wel l to subm it to it . Hoche answeredm e
,
“I understand you,but you may be at ease in that respect ;
Buonaparte has been my scholar, but he shal l n ever be my mas ter .”
He then launched ou t in to a very severe critique on Buonaparte’
s
conduct,which certainly has latterly been terribly indiscreet
,to
say no worse of i t; and observed that, as to h is V ictories , it waseasy to gain victories w ith such troops as he commanded ; especiallywhen the general made no d ifficulty to sacrifice the l ives of hissoldiers
,and that these v ictories had cost the republ ic
m en . A great deal of what H oche said was very true, but I couldsee at the bottom of it a very great j ealousy of Buonaparte .Ju ly 8 .
— Arrived early in the m orn ing at the Texel,and went
imm ediately on board the adm iral’ s ship
,th e Vryheid
,of 74 guns ;
a superb vessel . Found Gen e ral Daend e ls aboard,who presented
me to Adm iral D ewinter, who commands the expedition .
Ju ly 1 3 .—I have had a good deal of discourse to day with
T HEOBALD W OL F E T O NE. 1 8 1
neral Daend e l s, and I am m ore and m ore pl eased with him .
3 plan is, to place such of our people as may present them selvesat first in the cadres of the regim ents which we bring out
,unti l
ou r battal ions are each ; that then we may form a corps ,and he wil l give u s proper officers to discipl ine and organize it ;that h e wil l keep the main army of 1 8 o r m en in activity
,
and leave the security of ou r communications,the guarding of
passes,rivers
,etc. , to the national tr0 0 ps, until th ey are in a cer
tain degree discipl ined . A great deal of th is is good,but we m ust
be brought more forward in the picture than that,for every reaso n
in the world . I replied,that the outl ine of his plan was j ust; but
that cases m ight occur where i t would be necessary to depart fromit occasionally . For instance, if the m il itia were to j oin us , theyought not
,nor would they consent to be incorporated in the Dutch
battal ions . Daende ls said ,“certainly not ; that he knew what the
esp rit al e 00 7293 was too wel l to think of it; that the m ilitia battal ions would
,in that case
,becom e them selves cadres of regim ents ;
so that affair wil l be settled to the satisfaction of al l parties.Ju ly 1 4.
- General Daend e l s showed m e to-day his instructionsfrom the Dutch governm ent. They are fair and honest
,and I
have no doubt he wil l act up to them . The spirit of them isalways to m aintain the character of a faith ful ally ; not to interferein the dom estic conce rns of the people ; to aid them by every m eansin h is power to establish their l iberty and independence ; and toexpect no condition in return
,bu t that we should throw off the
English yoke ; and that, when al l was settled on that score,we
should arrange our future comm erce with the Dutch republic on
the basis of reciprocal advantage and accommodation .
Ju ly 24, Q5 ,—To -day I saw in the D utch papers that great
changes have taken place in the French m in istry . Tall eyrandPerigord
,cidevan t Bishop ofAutun
,whom I saw in Philadelphia,
i s appointed to the foreign affairs, in place of Charles de la Croix ;F lev il le Pelet to th e m arine, in place of T rugu e t ; Lenoir Laroch eto the police
,in place of Cochon ; Francais de Neufchateau to the
interior,in place of Ben ez e ch ; and H oche to the war departm en t,
in place of Petie t. O f al l these n ew m e n I only knew H oche .Sat down imm ediately and wrote him a lette r of congratulation ,in wh ich I took occasion to m en tion the negotiation now going onat Lisle
,with the English plenipote nt iary
,Lord Malm esbury ; and
prayed him in case that peace was inevitable , to exert his in terestto get an article inserted
,to resto re to their country or l iberty al l
the Irish patriots who are in exile or in prison ; and assuring him ,
at the sam e tim e,that I should never profit of such an article
,as I
never would re turn to Ireland whilst sh e remained in slavery.
1 82 L IF E or
Ju ly 2 7, 28 .
— Yesterday we had a sort of fair wind,but which
cam e so l ate,and was so feeble
,that we could not weigh anchor ;
at eight in the even ing it cam e round to the west,as bad as ever ;
and to-day it is not m uch better. I am weary of my l ife. TheFrench are fitting ou t a squadron at Brest
,which , it now appears ,
is to be on ly of twelve sai l of the l ine . Lord ‘Bridport’ s fleet istwenty-two sail ; ergo, he may d etach , with perfect security , sevensai l , to re inforce Duncan , who wi l l then have at least n in eteen sailagainst our fifteen ; ergo , he wil l beat us, etc. D am n it to all e tern ity for m e . I am in a transport of rage
,which I cannot d escribe .
Everything now depends upon the wind,and we are totally helpless .
Ju ly 29 — 1 l ike D ewinter’
s b ehaviour very m uch ; there isn othing l ike fanfaronade in it ; and I fancy Duncan w i l l have warmwork of it to -m orrow m orning . The wind to-night is exce l len t
,
and blows fresh ; if i t holds, as I trust in God it may, to -morrow,
at eigh t o’
clock,we shal l be unde r way, being the hour of the tide.
August 5 .— This m orn ing arrived aboard th e Vryheid , Lowry,
of County Down,m embe r of th e executive comm ittee
,and John
Tennan t,of Belfast . I am in no d egree delighted with th e inte l l i
gence which they bring. The persecution in Ireland is at itsheight; and the peopl e there, seeing no prospect of succour, wh ichhas been so long prom ised to them ,
are beginning to lose confid ence in them selves
,and their ch iefs
,whom they almost suspe ct of
d eceiving them . They ground thei r suspicion s on the great crisisof the m utiny being suffered to pass by
,without the Fren ch
governm ent m aking th e sm al lest attem pt to profit of i t ; and I canhardly blam e them . If either th e D utch or th e French can cife c
tuate a landing,I do not b e l ieve th e presen t subm ission of the
people w il l prevent th e i r doing what is right; and if no landingcan be effectuated
,no part rem ains for the people to adopt but
subm i ssion or fl igh t.Aug ust 1 2 .
-To -n ight Adm iral D ewinter took m e into secret,
and told m e that he had prepared a m em orial to h is governm ent,
stating that the presen t plan was no longer advisable ; and , in consequence
,he proposed that it should be industriously publish ed
that the exped ition was given up ; that th e troops shou ld be d isembarked
,except from 25 00 to 3000 m en
,of the élite of the army
,
who,wi th twen ty or th irty piece s of arti ll ery
,and al l th e arm s and
amm unition,sh ould rem ain on board the frigates
,and on e or two
of the fastest sail ing transports ; that, as th e v ig ilance of the en emywould probably be relaxed in consequence
,th is flotilla shou ld pro
fi t of the first favourabl e m om ent to put to sea and push for theiroriginal destination
,where they should land the m en , arm s , and
arti llery, and he would charge himself with the execution of this
1 84'
L IF E or
the admiral,viz. : to transport 2 5 00 me n
,and the arms
,stores,
and ammunition ; and had d eterm ined to persist in their originald esign ; that, however, in consideration of th e lateness of the season,he had prepared a m em orial
,which h e showed m e
,for a new
arrangem ent,which is shortly th is : T o sai l ou t and fight Adm iral
Duncan . If th e issue of the battle be favou rabl e,to pass over
imm ediately m en,or as m any more as we can send
,in
e verything that wil l swim,to Scotland ; to seize, in the first instance,
on Edinburgh , and m arch right to Glasgow,taking every possible
m eans to alarm th e en emy with the idea that we m eant to penetrate by the North of England
,which is to be done by detaching
flying parties,m aking requisitions
,e tc . ,
on that side ; to maintainourselves
,m eantim e
,behind the canal wh ich j oins the Firth of
Forth to th e Clyde,having our righ t at D umbarton and our l eft
at Falkirk , as wel l as I can remember, for I have not, at present,e ither the map or th e m em orial before m e ; to col lect al l the vesselsin the Clyde, and pass over the army to the North of Ireland .
August 24.— H ard work at the newspapers . Al l we have found
rem arkable is,that Roger O
’
Connor surrendered h imself, and wasd ischarged about the m iddle of July ; Arthu r O
’
Connor, the 3d of
Ju ly,his sureties being Fitzgerald and Emm et ; and i t should seem ,
though it is not very clearly expressed,that nearly
,if not the
whol e of th e other state prison ers have been also enlarged.
God Alm ighty send ! If we arrive,they wil l be of use ; if we do
not,at l east th ey are not langu ish ing in prison .
August Mai— The general has subm itted his plan to GeneralD ej ean , who approves of it entirely in a m i l itary point of view,prov ided the frigates can get round to m eet us; but of th is, barring som e unforeseen accident
,I th ink there can be l ittl e doubt ;
inasmuch as the adm iral him self,who seem s at present cool enough
in al l that concerns the expedition,has already
,in h is proj ect of
the l 0th instant, not only given h is Opinion in favour of th e possibility of effectuating
,wi th frigates
,th e passage north about
,b ut
even offered to comm and th e expedition . The general ’s plan isnow before the governm ent, with General D ej ean
’ s approbation,
and he tel ls m e he has strong hopes it wil l be adopted .
Sep tember 1 .
— A n ew system,rendered indispensab le by the
course of events,has been m entioned to m e to day by the
general,which wi l l probably obl ige m e to m ake a course to th e
head-quarters of the army of Sambre et Meuse,and from
thence to Paris . Adm iral Duncan ’ s flee t has been reinforcedto twenty-one sail of the lin e ; so that, even if th e wind com e
round in our favour,i t would be m adness in us to venture an
action with such a te rrible inferiority of forc e ; in add ition to
T HEOBAL D W OL F E T ONE. 1 85
which,we have now
,in consequence of the delays occasioned by
the wind,not above ten days ’ provis ions rem aining for the troops
on board . The plan proposed is,in fact
,b ut an improvem ent on
the last on e,viz. , to l and the troops, and quarter them in th e
n eighbourhood,so as to be abl e to col lect them in forty -eigh t
hours ; to appear to have renounced the idea of the expedition,
but in the m eantim e to revictual the fleet with al l diligence andsecrecy
,wh ich may occupy probably a m onth ; to endeavour even
to reinforce it by one or two vessels,who m ight
,in that tim e
,be
got ready for sea . Al l this w i l l bring us to th e tim e of th eequinox
,when it wi ll be im possible for th e enemy
,who w ill
,
besides,it
' is probable,have relaxed in his vig i lance, in consequence
of these manoe uvres,to keep the sea . When al l i s ready
,the
troops are to be re -embarked with the grea test expedition,and a
push to be m ade instantly for Scotland,as already d etailed .
Such is the present idea , which we shall probably lick into m oreshape . The general talks of sending m e to the H ague to conferW ith the D utch governm ent and General D ej ean
,from thence to
Wetzlar,to communicate with H oche
,and from thence to Paris
,
to open the affair to th e m in ister of m arine.Sep tember 2 , 3 .
— This day the gen e ral gave m e my instructionsto set off to j oin General Hoche at W e tzlar
,and gave him a copy
of the m em orial contain ing the plan already m entioned . In
addition,he gave m e the verbal instructions to the fol lowing pur port
,
that,in addition to the written plan
,it m ight be expedient to
fol low up the first debarkation by a second of of theFrench troops
,now in the bay of H olland ; with which reinforce
m ent,the army
,being brought up to m en
,could maintain
itself in Scotland in spite of any force that could be broughtagainst them ; that they m ight even penetrate into England , andby that m eans force the enemy to a peace ; that m ight beemployed on this service
,and the remaining 5 000 detached into
Ireland,from whe nce it was m oral ly certain that a great portion
of the troops would be withdrawn to defend England itself.That
,if General H oche would
,in that case
,take the command of
the united arm ies,he (Daende ls) desired nothing better than to
serve under him ; if not, he was ready to serve under any otherFrench general
,being a sen ior ofli cer; in which case each army
was,as to al l m atters of discipline
,adm inistration
,etc . , to remain
under their respective chiefs .Sep tember 1 3
— This day I saw General H oche,who i s j ust
returned from Frankfort ; h e has been very il l with a violent cold ,and has stil l a cough
,which m akes m e seriously uneasy about
him ; he does not seem to apprehend anything him self; but I
1 86 L IF E O F T HEOBALD W OL F E T ONE.
should not be surprised,for my part, if, in thre e months , he were
in a rapid con sumption . H e is dreadful ly al tered , and has a d ry,hol l ow cough
,that it i s distressing to the last degree to hear . I
should be m ost sincerely and truly sorry if any thing were tohappen him ; but I very much fear he wil l scarcely throw off his
p resent i llness . I imm ediately explained to him th e cause of myarriva l
,gave him Daend e l
’
s plan,and the m ap of Scotland
,and
such further elucidation as I was able,in conversation . H e shook
his head at th e id ea of a second em barkation at the m outh of theClyd e ; and observed , that, if we got safe into Scotland , th eBri tish would imm ed iately detach
’
a squadron of frigates into th eIrish channel
,which would arrive to a m oral certainty before the
Dutch frigates which were,according to the plan proposed, to go
n orth about,and that they would thus cut us off al l communica
t ion with Ire landSep tember 2 1 . The d eath of G eneral Hoche hav ing broken my
connexion w ith the army of Sambre e t Meuse,where I have no
l onger any business, I appl ied th is day (20th) for an order to se t
Off for Paris,which I obtained instantly from General Lefebvre
,
who comm ands in chief, p er inter im . Set off at four o
’
clock andtravel led al l n ight; arrived at twe lve on the 2 1 813, at Coblentz,and at n ight at Bonn.
1 88 L IFE or
m emorandums on th e mom ent . There n ever wasa more completev ictory than that gained by th e English . The fleets were equal in '
number, but they had th e advantage in number of guns and weightof m etal . D ewinter fought l ike a l ion
,and defend ed h im se l f to
the last extrem ity,but was at length forced to strike
,as were nine
of his fleet ou t of sixteen,whereof i t consisted . With him were.
taken th e Adm i rals Reyn tzies, who i s sin ce dead, and Meurer.Eloys lost h is righ t arm
,and Story is th e only one who cam e off
cl ear ; the two last were not taken . I cannot conce ive why the
Dutch gove rmn e nt sen t ou t their fleet a t that season,
‘without
m otive or obj ect,as far as I can learn . My opinion is
,that it is
direct treason,and that the fleet was sold to Pitt ; and so th ink
Barras, F l evi l l e l e Pe ll ey , and even Meyer , the Dutch ambassador,whom I have seen once or twice . It was wel l I was not on boardth e Vryheid. If I had
,i t would have been a pretty piece of busi
n ess . I fancy I am not to be caugh t at sea by th e English forth is is the second escape I have had 5 and by land I mock myselfof them .
November 9 .—~This day General Hedouvil le brought m e to
General Pe rth ier,and presented m e to him
,recomm ending m e in
th e warm est m ann er. We had very l ittle conversation,but h e pro
m ise d to speak of m e to General Buonaparte,whom he sets off to
j oin in three or four days . T wo days after,I cal led
,and left for
him a m em orial of about five l ines,addressed to Buonaparte,
offe ring
’
my services, etc . It is drol l enough I shou ld be writingto Buonapai te .
D ecember 21 .
—General Desaix brought L ewin es and m e thi sm orning and introduced us to Buonaparte
,at h is house in th e Ru e
Chantereine . H e l ives in the g i eatest simpl icity , his house issm all
,but neat, - and al l th e furniture and ornam ents in the m ost
classical taste . H e is about five feet six inches h igh,slender
,and
wel l m ade,but stoops considerably ; h e looks at least ten years
older than h e is,owing to the great fatigues he underwent in his
imm ortal campaign of Italy. H is face is that of a profound thinker,but bears 1 1 0 m arks of that great enthusiasm and unceasing activityby which he has be en so
l
m uch d istinguish ed . It is rather, to mym ind
,the countenance of a m athematician than of a general . He
has a fine eye,and a great firm ness about the m outh ; he speaks
l ow and hollow. So m uch for h is m anner and figure . We hadnot much d iscourse w ith him
,and what l ittl e there was, was b e
tween him and L ewines,to whom
,as our ambassador, I gave th e
pas. We told him that Tennant was about to depart for Ireland ,and was ready to charge him self with h is orders if h e had any to
give . He desired us to bring him the sam e evening, and so we
T HEOBAL D W OL FE T ONE. 1 89
took our leave . In the evening we re turned with Tennant, andL ewin es had a good deal of conversation w ith him
,that is to say
,
L ewin es incensed him a good deal on Irish affairs , of wh ich he appears a good deal uninform ed : for example
,he seem s convinced
that our population is not m ore than two m ill ions,which is non
sense . Buonaparte listened,but said very littl e . When al l th is
was finished,he desired that Tennant m ight put off his departure
for a few day s, and then turn ing to m e,asked whether I
was not an adj utant-general . T o which I answered , that Ihad the honour to be attached to General H och e in thatcapacity. He then asked m e where I had learned to speakFrench . T o which I replied
,that I had learned the l ittle that I
knew since my arrival in France , about twen ty m onths ago . H e
then desired us to return the nex t evening but one , at the sam ehour
,and so we parted .
D ecember 23 .— Called th is even ing on Buonaparte
,by appoint
m ent,w ith Tennant and L ewin es
,and saw him for about five
m inutes . L ewin es gave him a copy of the m em orials I del iveredto the governm ent - in February
,1 796 (nearly two years ago) , and
which fortunately,have been well verified in every m aterial fact
by every thing that has taken place in Ireland since . He alsogave him Taylor’s map, and showed him half a dozen of Hoche ’sl etters
,which Buonaparte read over . He then d esired u s to
return in two or three days,w ith such docum ents relating to
Ireland as we were possessed of; and , in the m eantim e,that
Tennant should postpone h is d eparture . We then left him . Hism anner is cold
,and he speaks very l ittl e ; i t is not, however, so
d ry as that of H oche, but seem s rather to proceed from languorthan any thing else . H e is perfectly civ il
,however
,to us ; but ,
from any thing we have yet seen or heard from him,i t is im
possible to augur any thing good or bad . We have now seen thegreatest man in Europe three tim es
,and I am aston ish ed to think
how l ittle I have to record about him . I am sure I wrote tentim es as m uch about my fi rst interview w ith Charles de la Croix
,
but then I was a greenhorn : I am now a l ittl e used to see greatm en
,and great statesm en
,and great gen erals
,and that has
,in
som e d egree,broke down my adm iration . Yet
,after all
,it is a
d rol l thing that I should becom e acquainted w ith Buonaparte .This tim e twelve m onths I arrived in Brest
,from my expedition
to Bantry Bay. Well,th e th ird tim e
,they say, i s the charm .
My next chance,I hope
,w il l be w ith the Armée d ’
Ang l eter reAl lons! Vive la Rep u bl igu e ! I m ake no m em orandum s now at
all,which is grievous ; but I have nothing to write.January 1 3 .
—Saw Buonaparte this even ing with L ewines,who
1 90 L IF E or
d e l ivered him a whole sh eaf of papers relative to Ireland,in cluding
m y two m em orial s of 1 795 , great part of which stands good yet .After L ewin es - had had a good d eal of discourse with him
,I
m entioned the affair of M‘Kenna,who desires to be employed as
secretary . Buonaparte observed that h e bel ieved the worl dthought he had fifty secretaries
,whereas he had but one ; of course
th e re was an end of that business ; however, he bid m e see whatthe m an was fi t for
,and let him know. I took this opportun ity
to m ent ion the desire al l th e refugee United Irishm en now in
Paris,had to bear a part in the exped ition
,and th e util ity they
would be of in case of a landing in Ireland . He answered thatthey would all be undoub tedly employed
,and de sired m e to give
him in,for that purpose
,a l ist of the ir nam es . Finally
,I spoke
of myself,tell ing him th at General D esaix
_had inform ed m e thatI was carried on the tableau of th e Arm ée d ’
Angl ete rre ; he saidI was.
” I then observed that I did not pretend to b e of th esm al lest use to him whilst we were in Fran ce
,but that I hope d
to be serviceable to him on the other side of the water ; that I d idnot give myself to him at al l for a m il itary m an
,having n e i th e r
th e know l edge nor the experien ce that wou ld j ustify m e in
charging myself w ith any function . M ais o'
ous étes brave,
”saidhe
,in terrupting m e . I repl ied that , when the occasion presented
itse l f,that would appear ; Eh bien
,
”said he,
ceZa sufit.” We
then took ou r leave .
F ebru ary 1 .
— The number of Irish refuge es is considerably ihcreas ed . Indep endent of L ewines, Tennan t, and Lowry , of whom Ih ave spoken
,there are Teeling
,of Lisburn ; O rr, ofD e rry ; M
‘Mahon,
of County Down ; Macan and Burgess,of County Lowth ; Napper
Tandy,and my brother . Th e re is also on e Maguire
,whowas s e n t
by Reynold s from Philadelphia,in consequence of my l etter to him
by Monroe ; an d one Ashley , an Englishm an , form erly se cre tary toth e corresponding society
,and one of those who was tried by
Thom as H ardy,in London
,for h igh ti eason . We al l do very well
,
except Nappe r Tandy, who 1 8 noto
b ehaving correctly . H e b egaiisom e m onths ago by caball ing against m e w ith a p 1 iest of the nam eof Quigley
,who 1 8 sin ce gone OE, no on e knows whithe r , th e ci 1
cum stan ces of this petty intrigue are not worth my recording Iti s sufficient to say that Tandy took on him to summ on a m ee t ingof th e Irish refugees
,at which L ewin es and I were to be arraigned ,
0 1 1 I know not what charges,by him se l f and Qu ig l ey . L e u 1 nes
refused to attend,but I went; and when I appeared , there was no
one found to bring forward a charge against m e,though I cal led
th ree tim es to know,
“wheth er any person had anyth ing to offe r.
In consequence of this m anoeuvre,I have had no comm unica tion
1 92 L I FE or
for that we coul d not suffer th e publ ic to be longer abused . O nthese term s we parted very drily on both sides . The fact is
,Muir
and Tandy are puffing one another here for their private advantage ;they are supporting them selves by endorsing each other’s credit
,
and issuing,if I m ay so say, accomm odation bil ls of reputation .
This conversation has given the coup de grace to Tandy, with h iscountrym en here
,and he is now in a m anner completely in Coven
try . H e deserves it. These details are hardly worth writing,
but as there may be question of the business hereafter,I thought
I m ight as wel l put th em down .
M arc/t 4.
—O n th e 1 9th of February last,as I see in the Courier
of the 26th,Lord Moira m ade a m otion of great expectation in the
Irish H ouse of Lords tend ing to condemn the vigorous m easureswhich have been pursued by the British governm ent in thatcountry
,and to substitute a m i lder system . I was exceedingly
d isappointed at his speech , wh ich was feeble indeed,contain ing
l ittle else than declam ation,and scarcely a single fact
,at a tim e
when thousands of crim es of the m ost atrocious nature have beenperpetrated for m onth s over the whole face of the country. In
tim es l ike ours,half friends are no friends . A man in h is situa
tion,who can tel l th e truth with safety, or even with danger, and
does not,is a feeble character
,and his support is not worth
receiving . H e m ust speak ou t al l boldly,or be silent. Independen t
of this,which I cannot but consider as a tim id and unmanly sup
press ion of facts,which at th is great occasion especial ly
,should be
sounded through Europe if possib le,by every m an hav ing a d rop
of genuine Irish blood in h is veins, there is introdu ced a strainedcomplim ent to the v irtues of th e king, and a m ost extravagant andfulsom e eulogium on th e m agnanim ity of H is Royal
“H ighness
George,Prince of Wales
,which completely disgusted m e . A
pretty tim e,indeed
,to com e out w ith a panm ric on the royal
v irtues of the princely heir, when his m inisters and his army arelaying the country waste w ith fire and sword .
“I hate such halffaced fel lowship .
”H is lordship
,at the conclusion of th is m ilk
and water harangue,com es to h is concil iatory plan
,which is to
check the army in their barbarities, and to grant Cathol ic eman e i
pation and parl iam entary reform . It is really am using to se e thevarious shifts
,and struggles and turns
,and twists and wry faces,
the noble lord m akes,before h e can bring him self to sw. 1 l low th is
last bitter pill . This k ind of condu ct wi l l n ever do wel l at anytim e
,but it is downright fol ly in tim es l ike the present. H is
lordship has m ortally offended one party, and not at al l satisfie dthe other
,as wil l always be the case in sim ilar circumstances . I
am sorry for al l th is,because I e steem him personally; pol itically I
T HEOBALD W OL F E T ONE. 1 93
must give him up, th e m ore so, as he ought to have known better .
But if Lord Moira speaks in this half-and -hal f sty le,th e chancel lo r
on the other side appears not to have been so reserved ; he openlycalls the Un ited Irishm en rebels
,and says they should be treated
such ; he m entions m e by nam e,as having been adj utant-general
in H och e’
s expedit ion,and again in th e arm am ent in the Texel ;
and says I am at this very m om ent an accredited envoy at Paris,
for that ac cursed society; who had also, as he is pleased to say,their envoys at Lisl e
,by whose insidious and in fernal m ach inations
it was that Lord Malm esbury’
s negotiation was knocked on thehead . H e also m akes divers comm entaries on a w el l -known letterwritten by m e to my friend Russell, in 1 79 1 , and which , one wayor the other
,he has brought regularly before the house at least
once a session ever since,and which figures in th e secret report
m ade by Secretary Pelham ,in the last on e . From al l these facts
,
and dive rs others which he enum erates, he infers that the designof the United Irishm en i s to separate Ireland from Great Britain
,
and that,consequently
,al l m easures to destroy that infamous con
spiracy, are fair and lawful ; of which Opinion th e H ouse of Lordswas also
,Lord Moira ’s m otion being rej ected by a large m aj ority.
I can hardly,I th ink
,be suspected of part ial ity to the chan cel lor;
bu t I declare I have a greater respect for his conduct on this occasion than for that of Lord Moira . H e i s at least an open andavowed enemy; he takes h is party, such as it is, l ike a man who
expects no quarter,and is therefore determ ined to give none . H ad
Lord Moira brought as m uch sincerity to the attack on thatm ost atrocious of all governm ents, as the chancel lor did to its defence
,though I am far from thinking he would have been able to
influence the decision of the House of Lords,he wou ld at l east
have been able to scandalize it to al l Europe . Instead of that h ehas trimm ed
,and by trimm ing has lost h im self; for to repeat i t
once m ore,in terrible tim es as ours now are
,a m an must speak
out the whole truth or be silent . There is no m ean,especial ly
when,as in th e case of Lord Moira
,he may do it with perfect
safety to his person . But to return to my friend Fitzgibbon .
Though his speech be sincere,I cannot think it very w ise under
all the circum stan ces of the case . If the people of Ireland had anyd oubts as to the determ ination of the French Governm ent to sup
port them ,he has taken care to remove them all by dwel l ing on
the reception their envoys have m e t with here .M ar c/t 20 .
—I t is w ith the m ost sincere concern and anxiety thatI see in the l ate Engl ish papers that Arthu r O
’
Connor has beenarrested at Margate
,e ndeavouring to procure a passage for France ;
the circum stanc e s m en tioned indicate a degree of rashness and in
1 94 L I FE or
d iscretion on his part which is astonishing . It seems he set off
from London in company w ith four others,viz Quigley the priest
,
who was som e tim e sin ce in Paris,and of whom I have no great
reason to be an adm irer ; Binns, of the corresponding society ; Al ley,also of th e corresponding society
,and h is servant of th e nam e
of Leary. Quigley cal led h im self at first Captain Jon es,and
afterwards Colonel Morris; the others passed for h is servants .Their first attem pt was at a place called Whitstable
,where th e
v igilance of th e custom -house officers em barrassed them . Theythen hired a cart
,which they l oaded w ith their trunks
,of which
it seems they w ere sufficiently provided,and
"
crossed th e countryon foot for twenty-five m i les to Margate . It does not appear theym ade m uch mystery of their destination ; but be that as i t m ay,at Margate they were arrested by th e Bow-street runners
,F ugin
and Rivet,who had followed them 81, la p iste from London . From
Margate they were brought back w ith their luggage to London,
where they were exam ined two or three successive d ays before th ePrivy Coun cil
,and finally comm itted to the Tower . Since their
comm ittal,several other persons have been arrested
,particu larly a
Colonel D espard,a Mr Bonham
,a Mr Evans . It i s in conceivable
that five m en should attempt such an enterprize,and with such a
'
quantity of luggage ; it is equally incredible that th ey should bringpapers with them
,of which th e newspapers say several hav e been
found ; and especial ly on e in th e great coat pocket of Quigl ey, pur«
p orting to be an add ress from th e Executive D irectory of Englandto that of France
,and d esiring the latter to give credit toQuigley,
as being“the worthy citizen whom they had lately seen .
” Thesel ast expressions stagger m e
,or I should not bel ieve it possible any
man l iving would leave a paper of such consequence in such acareless
,extraordinary place . O th er n ewspapers
,however
,say
that no papers have been found,but the expressions above quoted
shake m e a good deal . It is al so said that O’
Connor has said thathis friends may be easy about him ,
as h e has nothing to fear . Godsend it m a
ybe so
,but I am afraid he wil l find it otherwise .
M arch 35 .
—Received my l etters of serv ice from the war officeas adj utant general l n th e Arm ée d
’
Angl ete rre . This has a loftysound
,to be sure
,but God knows the heart ! Applied to the
m inister at war for leave to rem ain a few days in Paris,to settl e
my fam ily, which he granted .
fil arclz 261 — 4 see in the Engl ish papers of March 1 7th,from
the Irish papers of the 1 3th,news of the m ost disastrous and
afflicting kind,as wel l for m e individually as for the country at
l arge . The English governm ent has arrested the whole comm itteeofUn i ted Irishmen for the province of L einste r, including almost
1 96 L IF E or
Ap r il 2 71 — 1 am sadly off for intelligence here, having nothingbut th e imperfect extracts in the Paris papers . What m iserablesl aves are the gentry of Ireland ! The only accusation broughtagainst the United Irishm en by their enem ies is
,that they w ish
to break the connexion w ith England ; or,in other words
,to
establish the independence of their country ; an obj ect in which ,sure ly
,the m en of property are m ost interested . Yet th e v ery
sound of independence seem s to have terrified them ou t of al lsense
,spirit
,or honesty. If they had on e drop of Irish blood in
their veins,on e grain of tru e courage or genuine patriotism in
th eir hearts,they should have been th e first to support th is
great obj ect ; the peopl e would have supported them ; the Englishgove rnm en t w ould never have dared to attem pt the m easures theyhave since triumphantly pursued
,and contin ue to pursu e ; ou r
r evolution would have been accom plished w ithout a shock,or
,
perhaps,one drop of blood spil led ; which now can succeed
,if i t
d oes su cceed,only by al l the calam ities of a m ost furious and
sanguinary contest : for the war in Ireland,whenever it does take
p lace, w i l l not be an ordinary one . The arm ies w i l l regard eachother
,not as sold iers
,but as deadly en em ies . Who
,then
,are to
b lam e for this? The United Irishm en,who set the question
afloat,or th e Engl ish governm ent and their partizans ; the Irish
g en try who resist it . If independence be as good for a country,
as l iberty for an individual , th e qu est ion wil l be soon decided.
W hy does Englan d so pertinaciously resist our independence? Isit for love of 1 1 8— 1 3 i t because she thinks we are better as we are?That single argum en t
,if it stood alone
,should determ ine every
honest Irishm an . But,i t w i l l be said, the United Irishm en
extend their views farther ; they go now to a d istribution of
property,and an Agrarian l aw . I know not whether they do or
no. I am su re,in June
,1 795
,when I was forced to leave
the coun try,they entertained no such ideas . If they have
sin ce taken root am ong them , th e Irish gentry may accusethem selves .M ay 1 9 .
— I do not know what to th ink of ou r expedition . Itis certain that the whol e l eft wing of th e army of England is
,at
th is m om ent,in ful l m arch back to the Rhine ; Buonaparte is,
God 'knows where , and the clouds seem th ickening m ore and m orein G erm any, where I h ave n o doubt Pitt is m oving heaven andhell to embroi l m atters, and divert the storm wh ich was alm ostready to fall on h is head . In the m eantim e
,T re ilhard
,p rincipal
n egotiator at Rastadt, i s e lected into the vacant place in the
d irectory,in the room of Francois de Neufchateau
,and Sieys goes
to Berl in as ambassador extraordinary, taking Rastadt in his way.
T HEOBALD W O L FE T ONE. 1 97
Pe rhaps we may be abl e to arrange m atters; I look for greatthings from his tal ents and activity .
June 1 2 .— H avre .—Yesterday I read in the Fren ch papers an
account of the acqu ittal of Arthur O’
Connor at Maidston e,and of
h is being tak’en instantly in to custody again . Undoubted ly Pittm eans to send him to Ireland
,in hopes of finding th ere a m ore
complaisan t j ury. Quigley,the priest
,i s found gu ilty; i t seem s
h e has behaved adm i rably well,which I confess was m ore than I
expected ; h is death redeem s him . Al ley, Binns , and Leary, th eservant
,are also acquitted and discharged . O
’
Conne r appears tohave behaved w ith great intrepidity . O n being taken intocustody
,he add re ssed the j udges
,desiring to be sen t to the sam e
d ungeon with his brother ; who, l ike him ,was acquitted of h igh
treason ; and , l ike him ,was arrested in the very cou rt . The j udge
,
Buller,answered him coldly, that their comm ission expired when
the sentence was pronounced,and that they cou ld do noth ing
farther in the business . H e was instantly comm itted . Mysatisfaction at this triumph of O
’
Conn e r i s almost total ly des troyedby a second article in the sam e paper, which m entions that LordEdward Fitzgerald has been arrested in Thom as- street
,D ublin
,
after a. m ost desperate resistance ; in which him sel f, th e m agistrate,one Swan , and captain Ryan , who comm anded th e guard , wereseverely wounded . I cannot describe th e effect wh ich thisintelligence had on m e ; it brough t on
,alm ost imm ediately
,a
spasm in m y stom ach, which confined m e al l day . I knewFitzgerald but very l ittle , but I honour and venerate his character,which h e has uniform ly sustained
,and
,in th is last instance
,
i llustrated. What m iserable wretches by h is side are th e gentryof Ireland ! I would rather be Fitzgerald
,as h e is now
,
wounded in his dungeon,than Pitt at th e head of the British
Empire . What a nobl e fel low ! O f th e fi rst fam i ly in Ireland ,
with an easy fortune,a beautifu l w ife
,and fam ily of
lovely ch ildren,the certainty of a splendid appointm ent under
governm ent if he would condescend to support their m easures ;b e has devoted h im self whol ly to th e em ancipation of hisc ountry
,and sacrificed everything to i t
,even to h is blood .
Poor fellow. H e is not the fi rst Fitzge rald who has sacrificedh imself to the cause of his country . There is a wonderfu lsim i larity of principle and fortune between him and his ancestorLord Thom as
,in the reign of H enry VIL ,
who lost h is head onTower-hill
,for a gallant
,but fru itless attem pt
,to recover the in
d ependence of Ireland . God send the catastrophe of his nobled escendant be not the sam e . I dread everything for him
,and my
onl y consolation is in specu lations of revenge . If the blood of this
1 98 L IFE or
brave young man be sh ed by th e h ands of his enem ies,it is no
ordinary vengeance which wi ll conten t the people whenever the dayof retribution arrives . I cannot express th e rage I feel at my own
helplessn ess at this m om ent; but what can I do ? Let m e i f possibl e th ink no m ore ; i t s ets m e half m ad .
Jun e 1 3 .
—I have been running over in my m ind the l istof m yfl iends
,and of th e m en whom
,w ithout being so intim ately con
u seted w ith them,I m ost esteem . Scarcely do I find on e who i s
n ot,or has not been
,in exil e or prison
,and in j eopardy of his l ife .
To begin w ith Russel l and Emm et,th e two d earest of my friends,
at this m om en t in prison on a capital charge . M‘Nev e n and J.
Sweetm an,my ol d fel low- labourers in th e Catholic cause ; Edward
Fitzgerald,Arthur and Roger O
’
Connor,whom
,though I know
l ess person al ly,I do not l ess esteem ; Sam pson , Bond , Jackson and
h is son,stil l in prison ; Robert and Will iam Simm s , th e m en in the
world to whose friendship I am m ost obliged,bu t j ust discharged
,
Neilson,H azlitt
,M‘Cracken ,
th e sam e ; M‘Corm ick, absconded ;Rowan and D r Reynolds in Am erica; L ewines, Tennant, Lowry,Ham i lton
,Teeling
,Tandy
,etc .
,and others
,w ith whom I have
l ittle or no acquaintance,but whom I m ust presum e to be v i ct im s
of their patriot ism,not to speak of my own fam ily in France
,
Germ any,and elsewhere . Stokes disgraced on suspicion of virtu e .
It is a gloomy catalogue for a m an to cast h is eyes over . O f al l
m y political connexions I se e but John Keogh , who has escaped , andhow he has had that inconceivable good fortune
,is to m e a m i racle .
Jane J7,1 8 .
—The news I have received this m orning, partlyby the papers
,and partly by letters from my w ife and brother, are
of the last importan ce . As I suspected,the brave an d '
unfortunateFitzgerald was m editating an attack 0 1 1 the capital
,which was to
have taken place a few d ays after that on which h e was arrested .
H e i s since dead 1 n prison ; h is career i s finished gloriously for himself
,and whatever he the even t
,his m em ory w il l l ive for ever in
the heart of every honest Irishm an . He was a gallan t fel low.
For us,who remain as yet
,and m ay perhaps soon follow him
,
the only way to lam ent h is death is to endeavour to revenge itAm ong his papers
,it seem s
,was found th e plan of the insu rre e
tion,th e proclam at ion intended to be publ ished, and several o thers,
by which those of the leaders of th e peopl e who have thus farescaped
,have be en im pl icated
,and se veral of th em seized . Am ong
others,I see T om Braughal l ; Lawless, son of Lord Clon
o
curry;Guri an
,son of th e barrister; Cham bers and P. Byrne, printers;
w ith several others,whom I cannot recollect. Al l this
,including
th e death of the brave Fitzgerald,has
,i t appears
,but accelerated
matters; the insurrection has formall y commenced in several coun
200 L IF E O F T HEOBALD W O L FE T ONE.
Al l I dread is, that they may be overpowered before that time,W hat a state m y m ind is in at th is m om en t !Jun e 30 .
—H aving determ in ed to set O ff for Paris,in consequence
of the l ate n ews f rom Irel and,I got leave of absence for a fortnigh t,
from General K i lmaine . My adj oin t,Citizen Fave ry
,cal led on
m e the n ext m orning after my arrival , to inform m e that them inister of war had despatched an order for m e to com e to Parisin al l haste . I waited upon him in consequence . H e told m e i twas the m inister of m arine who had dem and ed m e
,and gave m e
,
at the same time , a. l etter of introduction for him.
N ARRA T I V E
THE TH IRD AND LAST EXPEDITIO N
F O R T H E L IBERAT IO N O F IRELAND ;AND O F
T H E CAPT URE,T RIAL
,AND DEAT H
T HEO BALD W O L F E T O NE.
BY T H E ED IT O R, H IS SO N .
IN order to give a cl ear and ful l n arrative of the third and lastexpedition for th e del iveran ce of Ireland
,i t w i ll be necessary to
ascend som ewhat higher. When Carno t,the on ly abl e and honest
m an in th e council s of the directory, was proscribed, and whenGeneral H oche died , th e friends of a revolut ion in that is land lostevery chance of assistance from France . Those two g reat statesm e n and warriors, earnest in the cause
,of which they perce ived
the fu ll im portance to the interests of their coun try ,and to the
extension of republican prin ciples,had planned the expeditions of
Bantry Bay,and of th e Texel
,on th e largest and m ost e ffe ct ive
scal e which the naval resources of France and H olland couldafford . The form er fail ed partly by th e m isconduct of th e navy
,
and partly by th e indecision of Grouchy,of that honest b u t
wavering m an who twice held the fate of Europe in h is hand s,at
Bantry Bay and at Waterloo, and twice l et it slip through them,
from wan t of resolution . The second failed only through the
fault of the elem ents .O n th e d eath of H oche
,the French governm ent recal led , to
succeed him ,the m ost i l lustrious of their warrio rs ; he who
afterwards w ielded the destinies of Europe,and who then
,under
the nam e of General Buonaparte,was already acknowl edge d the
fi rst comm ander of th e age and yet i t was an age fertile in greatch iefs. Bu t he who, before the age of thirty, had already achievedthe immortal campaigns of Italy ; subdued that beau tiful country ;founded one republic (the Cisalp in e), and extingu ished another
202 L IFE or
(Venice ) ; humbled the power of Austria, and com pel led her,by
his private authority,to l iberate L a Fayette from the dungeons of
O lm utz,and acknowl edged the French republic by the treaty of
Cam po Form io,was m ore than a m ere general . It is
,however
,
w ith extrem e reluctance that I feel myself called ‘upon
,by the '
nature of my subj ect, to point ou t any errors in the conduct ofthe sovereign
,ch ief
,and benefactor
,under whom I bore my first
arm s an d received my first wounds ; of him who decorated m e
w ith the insignia of the leigou of honour,and whom I served
w ith constant fidel ity and d evot ion to the last m om ent of hisreign . But the imperious voice of truth compels m e to attributeto the influence and prej udices of General Buonaparte
,at that
period,th e prim e cause of the fai lure of th e third expedition for
the l iberation of Ireland.
The loss of H oche was irreparable to th e Irish cause.Although he died in the prim e of his youth— and his deeds
,
ecl ipsed by those of his still greater rival,are now nearly forgotten
— at that period they were competitors in glory and form ed twoopposite parties in the army . The generals and officers of thetwo schools continued for a long tim e to view each other withdislike . Both these great m en were ambitious ; both eager fortheir personal fam e
,and for that of France ; and bent 0 1 1 raising
he r to an unequalled rank am ongst nations . B ut H oche was anardent and sincere republ ican ; he could sacrifice h is own hopesand prospects to the cause of l iberty
,as he nobly proved
,when
h e resigned to Dae nd e ls th e comm and of th e Texel expedition .
Buonaparte always associated in his m ind the powe r of Franceand his own aggrandizem en t ; nor could he be satisfied with herbeing raised to th e pinnacle of power and prospe rity
,unless lee
was the guide of her m arch and the ruler of h er destin ies .Adm i rably form ed by nature for a great adm in istrator an d
organizer,he m editated already in his m ind those vast creat ions
which h e afterwards accom plished , and which required an un
l im ited authority for their execution ; he loved the promptobedience and regulated order of absolute power ; and felt asecret dislike to the tum ultuous and wavering confl icts of arepubl ican governm ent
,whose energy is so frequently counter
acted by the disun ion of its part ies,and the n ec essity of persuad
ing instead of comm anding. In short,he never was a republican .
This feel ing he could scarcely disguise,even then
,whe n it was
most necessary to conceal it : for no m an who ever rose to such
T he d ire c tory w e re so far from app roving of this nobl e ac t , that the y wou ld not e ve n
al low L a F ay e tte to re tu rn to F ran c e . I twas not t i l l N apole on be cam e first consu l , and wasthe re by e nable d to g rant th is p e rm ission , that it was obtained . I t was one of the firstacts of his administration .
204 L IF E or
and oppressed countriesof Europe always looked up toNapol eon fortheir l iberation . H e n ever gratified their hopes ; yet, by raisingIreland
,he m ight have crushed for ever
,the power of England ;and
,by assisting Poland
,pl aced a cu rb on Russia . H e m issed
both obj ects , and finally fel l under the efforts of Russia and of
England . And i t m ay be observed , as a singular retribution , thatan Irishm an comm and ed th e army wh ich gave the l ast blow to h isdest in ies .When my father was presen ted to him ,
and attached to hisarmy as adj utant-general , h e received him w ith cold c ivili ty
,but
e ntered into n o comm unications . H is plan s were already form ed .
O stensibly a great force was organised on the western coasts of
France,under the n am e of th e arm y of England ; bu t the flower of
the troops were successively w ithdrawn and m arch ed to th e Med iterranean ; th e eyes of Eu rope were fixed on these operations
,but
,
from their eccentricity,their obj ect could not be discovered . My
father,d espatched
,as may be seen in his j ournals, to head -quarters
at Rouen,and employed in unim portant m ovem ents on the coast
,
in the bombardm ent of Havre,etc .
,heard w ith successive pangs of
d isappointm ent that Buonaparte had left Paris for th e south ; thath e had arrived at Toulon ; that he had embarked and sailed w ith apowe rfu l expedition in th e beginning of June . But his destinationrem ained as mysterious as ever. General Ki lm aine was l eft incomm and of th e disorgan ised rel ics of the army of England
,from
whenc e al l th e best troops were w ithdrawn . That ofii ce r, an Irishm an by birth , and on e of th e bravest generals of th e army of Italy,whose caval ry he comm anded in the preced ing cam paigns
,was
,
from th e shattered state of his health and constitution,u nfit to
conduct any active enterprise .When Buonaparte departed from th e coast of France
,all fortune
and conduct seem ed to disappear wi th him from the council s of therepublic . The directors were neith er cruel n or bloody
,l ike th e
governm ent which had preceded them . Bu t th e Jacobins,though
they m ight wel l be feared and hated,could not be despised . The
rapacity of the directors disgusted al l the friend s and allies of
France ; their prodigality wasted its resources— their weaknessencou raged its internal enem ies— th eir improvidence and incapacitydisorganised its arm ies and fortresses
,and left th em d efenceless
against the reviving efforts of adversaries who were hum bled , bu tnot subdued . Suwarrow and Prince Charles soon turned th e fateof arm s ; Austria re - entered the l ists ; and , in th e short space of abouttwo years
,the very existen ce of that republic
,which H oche and
Napoleon had l eft triumphing and powerful,was in j eopardy ; he r
conquests were gone, her treasu ry was em pty,her arm ies were
T HEOBALD W OL F E T ONE. 205
naked, disorganised, and flying on al l sides . Such was the state ofFrance when the conqueror of Egypt returned to save and restore it.In th e m eantim e
,the Irish Cabinet succeeded in i ts infernal
purpose of driving the peopl e to prem ature insu rrection . Theleaders of the United Irishm en had organised a plan for a genera lrising . But traitors were found in their councils ; th ey were al larrested ; the gallant Lord Edward Fitzgerald killed , and thecapital secured . N evertheless , th e exasperated peasantry in Ki ldare
,Carlow
,and som e districts in the n orth
,rose in arm s against
the intolerable excesses of the soldiery quartered u pon them . Butthese partial insurrections of naked crowd s
,w ithout arm s or l eaders
,
without union or concert , which my father had so often deprecated,could lead to no resul t. They were success ively crushed by th e overpowering forces directed against them
,and the reign of terror was
established w ithout check or l im itation . The state of Franc e,
in the worst days of Robespierre, was never‘m ore prostrate
,nor
did its governm en t pursue its bloody m easures w ith a m ore nu
sparing hand . The whol e popu lation w ere abandoned to theabsolute discretion of an infuriated , l icentious, and undisciplinedsoldiery ; the m eanest agents of authority exercised a power w ithou t control ; individuals were half-hanged, whipped , and picketed ,to extort confession w ithout trial
,in th e very capital
,in the courts
of the castle , and under th e roof of the V iceroy the countryblazed w ith nightly conflagration
,and resounded w ith the shriek s
of torture ; n e ither age nor sex were spared, and the bayonets of them ilitary drove m en
,wom en
,and children
,naked and houseless
,to
starve in th e bogs and fastnesses those who trusted to the faithof capitulation s we re surrounded and slaughtered by
’
dragoons inth e very act of laying down their arm s and no citizen
,however
innocent o r inoffensive,could deem him self secure from inform ers
The noble resistance of th e sm al l county of Wexford d ese rvesto be particularly noticed . It was such as to alarm for a m om en tthe Irish governm ent about the success of their m easu res . Thatl ittl e d istrict
,comprising about souls , surrounded by the
sea and m ountains,and secl uded from the rest of the island
,had
imbibed b u t a sm al l share of the prevail ing revolut ionary spiri t,
for its population had not m uch comm unicat ion w i th their neighbours
,and were rem arkably quiet and happy . It is stated by Mr
Edward H ay, that b efore the insurrection , i t did not containabove two hundre d United Irishm en . I t m ay, perhaps, havebeen deem ed
,from this very circum stance , that if an insurrection
could be provoked w ith in its l im its,the people less organized and
prepared than in th e d istricts of the north,would be subdued
more easily, and afford w ith less risk a striking example to the
206 L IF E or
rest of the island . T he soldiery were l et l oose,and committed
for som e time every excess on the innocent peasantry. A nobl elord
,who comm and ed a regim ent of m il itia
,was distinguished by
the invention of th e pitch cap ; another officer, worthy to serveunder him
,by the appellation of“The Walking Gallows .” But
why recal l facts which are engraved on th e hearts and in them em ory of every Irishm an ? At l ength
,goaded to m adness, the
W exfordians,to the number of 20 or rose in arm s, w ith
pikes,staves
,and scyth es
,and
,in two or thre e actions
,seized on
the chief towns,and drove the soldiery ou t of th e county. Their
m oderation towards their persecutors,in the m om ent of victory,
was as rem arkabl e as their courage in the field . Their forbearance
,and even their del icate and ch ivalrou s generosity towards
th e ladies and fam i l ies of th e aristocracy who fel l into their hands,was m ost am iable and adm i rab le . ! The nob l e lord abovem ention ed was taken
,and even he was rescued by their leaders
from the infl iction of th e pitch cap,wh ich h e so well deserved .
In recom pense,he engaged
,on th e close of th e in surrection
,to
obtain a capitu lation for them,if they would l e t him loose
,and
afterwards sat on the court m artial which condem ned them to b ehanged . It requ ired al l th e m eans and all th e efforts of th e Irishgovernm ent to subdue th is sm al l district . At on e tim e , theytrem bled in the walls of D ublin
,lest the W exfordians should
penetrate there. Several battles were fought, with variedsuccess ; and it was not til l th e royal forces surrounded themon al l sides
,that they broke through their toil s
,and threw
them selves into the m ountains of Wicklow,where their l eaders
successively capitu lated . Provoked and irritated as theseinnocent people were
,i t i s remarkabl e that on ly two instances of
cruelty,the m assacre of their prisoners at Scu l labogu e , and on th e
Bridge of Wexford,occurred on their side d uring the insurrection .
And th ese w ere both perpetrated by runaways from their m ainarm y
,whilst th e rem ainder were fighting.
The indignation of th e unfortunate Irish was j ust and extrem eagainst that French Governm ent which had so repeatedly prom isedthem aid
,and now appeared to desert them in their utm ost need.
When Lord Cornwall is,who was sent shortly after to put an end
to the system of terror,which desolated the country, succeeded to
the v ice - royalty,2000 volunteers from this very county of Wexford
offered their services to fight the French,and form ed the flower of
the British army which invaded Egypt under GeneralAbercrom bie.Their petition
,a m odel of native simplicity
,energy
,and indigna
T he comm e nt of some patrician ladies on this forb earanc e was,“T hat the c roppiesw an t e d g al lan try .
"
208 L IFE or
l iberty. This party, more gallant than wise, were ch iefly led by an
o ld sufferer in the cau se,Jam es Napper Tandy . Their zeal was o ften
indiscreet and unenlightened,and they did m ore m ischief than good .
Napper Tandy“boasted that would rise in arm s on his appearan ce ; and the directory was puzzled by these declarations, whichc ontradicted my father
’s constant assertion,that or
French troops wou ld be absolutely necessary in the beginn ing ofthe contest.The final ruin of th e expedition was hurried by the precipitancy
and indiscretion of a brave,but imprudent and ignorant ofli e e r.
This anecdote,which is not general ly known
,i s a striking instance
of the disorder,indiscipl ine
,and disorganization
,which began to
prevai l in th e French army . Humbert,a gallant soldie r of for
tune,
‘but whose heart was better than his head,impatient of the
delays of his governm ent,and fired by the recitals of th e Irish
r efugees,determ ined to begin th e enterprise on his own responsi
b il ity, and thus oblige the directory to second or to desert him .
Towards the m idd le of August,calling on th e m erchants and
m agistrates of Rochel le,he forced them to advance a sm al l sum of
m oney, and all that h e wanted , on m il itary requisition ; andembarking on board a few frigates and tran sports
,w ith 1 000
m en,1 000 spare m uskets
,1 000 guineas, and a few pieces of
artil lery,he compelled the captains to set sail fo r th e m ost
d esperate attempt which is,perhaps , recorded in h istory . Three
Irishm en accompanied him my uncle , Matthew Tone, Bartholm ew
Teeling of Lisburn,and Sul livan , neph ew to Madgett, whose
n am e is often m ention ed in these m em oirs. O n the 22d ofAugust they m ade the coast of Connaught
,and landing in th e
bay of Ki llala.,imm ediately storm ed and occupied that l itt l e town .
Strange and d esperate as was this enterprise,had it been
p rosecuted w ith the sam e spirit and vivacity w ith which it wasbegun
,i t m ight have succeeded ; and Hum bert, an obscure and
u neducated soldier, have effected a revolution , and crowned hisn am e with imm ortal glory . The insurrection was scarcelyappeased
,and its embers m ight soon have been blown into a
flam e but,l anding in a distant
,wi ld
,and isolated corner of the
i sland,instead of pressing rapidly at once
,as he was strongly
advised,to the m ountains of Ulster
,the centre of th e United
Irish organization,and call ing the people to arm s
,h e am used
h im self,during a fortnight
,i n dril ling the peasan try of the n eigh
bourhood who flocked to his standard,and enj oying the hospital ity
of th e bishop of Kil lala . That prelate rendered a m ost signa lservice to th e Irish governm ent by thus detaining the French
general. At the battle of Castlebar, he defeated a num erou s corps,
T HEOBALD W OL F E T ONE. 209
wh ich had been directed,in al l haste
,against him , under General
Lake . O n this occasion , I have heard , but cannot vouch for theau thent ic i ty of the anecdote
,that
,as soon as his Irish auxiliaries
had fi red their m uskets,they flung them away as useless , and
rushed to the charge w ith thei r pikes . For a few days a gene ralpan ic prevailed bu t the viceroy
,Cornwallis
,m arched in person
al l th e forces of the kingdom w ere pu t in m otion,and H um bert
was speedily surrounded , and confined beh ind th e Shannon , bytwen ty tim es his numbers . At l ength h e perceived the t rap in towh ich he had fallen ; and attempted , what h e should have d on eat first
,to force h is way over that rive r, and throw him self in to
the m oun tains of the North . But encircled,on the 8th of Sep
tember,at Ballinam uck
,by an entire army , his sm al l band, after
a gallant resistance,w ere com pel led to lay down their arm s. The
French w e re received to composition,and shortly exchanged bu t
the Irish w ere slaughtered W ithout m ercy; and th e cruelties afterwards exercised ou th e u nresisting peasantry , wil l render thenam e of General Lake rem embered for ages in those rem oted istricts of Connaught . O f the Irish , who had accom paniedHumbert
,Sull ivan escaped
,under the disguise of a Frenchman
,
and Matthew Tone and Teeling were brought in irons to Dubl in;tried
,and execu ted .
The n ews of H umbert’s attempt,as m ay wel l be im agined
,
threw the directory into the greates t perplexity. They instant lydete rm in ed , however, to hurry al l th eir preparations
,and send off
at least the d ivision of General H ardy,to second h is efforts , as
soon as possibl e . The report of his first advan tages,which
shortly reached them,augm ented their ardour and accel erated
their m ovem ents . But such was the state of th e French navyand arsenals
,that i t was not u nti l th e 20 th of September that
this smal l expedition,consisting of one sai l of the l in e and e igh t
frigates,under Comm od ore Bom part, and 3000 m e n
,u nd e r
General H ardy,was ready for sailing . The n ews of H umbert
’
sdefeat had not yet reached Fran ce .Paris was then crowded w ith Irish em igrants
,eager for action .
In the papers of the day, and in later productions , I have seen itm entioned that no few er than twenty- fou r United I rish lead ersem barked in General H ardy ’ s expedition ; an d L ewin es
,an agen t
of the United Irish in Paris,is sp e cified by nam e . This accoun t
is erron eous . The m ass of the United Irishm an em barked in a
sm al l and fast sail ing boat,w ith Napper Tandy at their head .
They reached,on the 1 1 th September
,the Isle of Bagh lin ,
on thenorth west coast of Ireland
,where they heard of H umbert
’
s
disaster; they m e rely spread som e proclam ations,and escaped to
2 1 0 L IFE or
Norway. Three Irishm en only accompan ied my father in H ardy’sflotilla : he alone was embarked in th e adm iral
’s vessel,the Hoche ;
th e others were on board the frigates . These were Mr T. Corbettand M‘Guire
htwo brave officers , who have since died in the
French service,and a third gentlem an
,connected by m arriage
w ith h is friend Russell,who i s yet l iving
,and whose nam e it
would,therefore , be im proper in m e to m ention .
In Curran’
s Life,by his son
,I find an anecdote m entioned
wh ich m ust have been derived from the authority of th is gentlem an . It is stated
,that on the night previous to the sailing of
th e expedition,a question rose am ongst the United Irishm en
engag ed in it, whether, in case of their fall ing into the enemy’s
hands,they shou ld suffer them selves to be put to death , according
to the sentence of the l aw,or anticipate their fate by their own
hands”.l That Mr Tone m aintain ed,w ith his u sual eloqu ence and
an im ation,that
,in no point of V iew in which h e had ever con
side red su icide,he could hold it to be j ustifiable ; that one of th e
com pany suggested that,from pol itical considerations
,it would be
better not to rel ieve,by any ac t of self-m urder
,the Irish govern
m ent from th e discredit in which num erous executions wouldinvolve it : an idea which Mr Tone highly approved . Thisanecdote is substantially correct ; but the gentl em an did not
u nderstand my father .At the period of this expedition
,he was hopeless of its success
,
and in the deepest despondency at th e prospect of Irish affairs .Su ch was th e wretched indiscretion of th e governm ent, that beforehis d eparture
,he read h im self in th e Bien Informé , a Paris
n ewspaper,a detailed account of the whole arm am ent
,where his
own nam e was m entioned in ful l l etters,w ith the circum stance of
his being embarked on board the H oche . There was,therefore
,
no hope of secrecy. He had al l along deprecated the idea of
those attempts on a sm al l scale . But h e had also declared,
repeatedly,that if the governm ent sent only a corporal ’s guard
,
he felt it his duty to go along with them ; he saw no chance of
Kilmain e’
s large expedition being ready in any space of tim e,and
therefore determ in ed to accompany Hardy . His resolu tion was,
however,deliberately and inflexib ly taken , in case he fel l into the
hands of th e enemy, never to suffer the indignity of a publicexecu tion . He did not consider this as suicide— an act which ,in u sual cases
,he regarded as a weakness or frenzy
,b ut
m e rely as choosing the m ode of h is d eath . And,indeed
,
h is const itutional and n ervous sensitiven ess , at the slightestidea of persona l indignity
,would have suflic ed to determ in e
him never to bear the touch of an executioner. It was at dinner,
2 1 2 L IFE or
and besides, my father was the only Irishman on board O f the
IIoche .
The British adm iral d espatched two m en-of—war,the razee
,and
a frigate , after the Loire and Resol u e ; and th e H oche was soonsurrounded by four sail of the l ine and a frigate
,and began on e O f
the m ost obstinate and desperate engagem ents which have eve rbeen fought on the ocean . During six hours she sustained the
fi re Of a whole fleet,til l h er m asts and rigging were swep t away
,
her scuppers flowed w ith blood,her wounded fi l led th e cock pit
he r shattered ribs yawned at each n ew stroke,and l et i n five feet of
water in the hold,her rudder was carried O ff
,and she floated a dis
m ant led w reck on th e waters ; her sails and cordage hung in shreds,nor could she reply with a single gun from her dism oun ted batteriesto the unabating cannonad e Of the enemy . At l ength she struck . TheResol ue and Loire were soon reached by the English fleet ; the form erwas in asinking cond ition ; sh e m ade, however, an honourable defence ;th e Loire sustained three attacks
,d rove off the English frigates
,
and had almost effected her escape; at l ength,engaged by the
Anson,razee of sixty guns, sh e stru ck after an action of three
hours,entirely dism asted . O f the other frigates, pursued in al l
d irection s,th e Bellone
,Imm ortal ité
,Coquil le
,and Embuscade
were taken ; and the Rom ain e and Sem il lan te , through a thousanddangers
,reached separate ports in France .
D uring the action,my father commanded one Of the batteries,
and according to th e report Of the Officers who returned toFrance
,fought w ith the utm ost d esperation
,and as if h e was
c ourting death . When the ship struck,confounded with the
oth er Officers,he was not recognized for som e tim e ;
'
for h e hadcom pletely acquired the language and appearan ce of a Frenchman .
The two fleets were dispersed in every d irect ion,nor was i t til l
som e days late r, that th e H och e was brought into Loch Swil ly,and the prisoners landed , and m arched to Letterkenny. Yetrum ours of h is being on board m ust have been circulated
,for the
fact was public at Paris. But it was thought he had be en killedin the action
,and I am w il l ing to bel ieve that the British O flice rs
,
respe cting the valou r of «a fall en enemy, were not earnest ininvestigat ing the point . It was at length a gentleman
,wel l
known in the coun ty of D erry as a leader of the O range party,
and on e of th e chief m agistrates in that n eighbourhood, Sir
George H i ll,who had been h is fel low-student in T rin ity Col lege
,
and knew his person,who undertook the task O f discovering him .
It i s known that in Spain,grandees and nob l em en of the fi rst
rank pride them selves in the functions O f fam i l iars,spies
,and
inform ers of the H oly Inquisition; it remained for Ireland to
T HEOBALD W OL FE T ONE. 21 3
Ofi'
er a sim ilar exampl e . The French oflficers were invited tobreakfast with th e Earl of Cavan ,
who comm anded in that d istrict ;my father sat undistingu ished am ongst them when Sir GeorgeH il l entered th e room ,
followed by pol ice officers . Lookingn arrowly at the company
,b e sing l e d ou t the obj e c t o f his search
,
and stepping up to him ,said
,
“Mr Ton e, I am very happy to se e
you .
”Instantly ri sing , w ith the u tm ost c omposure , and d isdain
ing al l u seless attempts at concealm ent,m y father re pl i e d ,
“SirGeorge I am happy to see you ; how are Lady H il l and yourfam ily? Beckoned in to the next room by the police Officers
,an
unexpected indignity awaited him . It was fi l led w ith m il itary,
and one General Lavau , who comm anded them,ordered him to
be ironed,declaring that
,as on leaving Ire l and
,to enter the
French service,he had not renounced his oath O f allegiance
,h e
remained a subj ect of Britain,and should be punished as a
traitor. Seized w ith a m om entary burst of indignation at suchunworthy treatm en t and cowardly cruelty to a prisoner of war
,
h e flung off his uniform,and cried
,
“These fetters shal l neverd egrad e th e revered insignia O f the free n ation which I haveserved .
”Resum ing then his u sual calm
,he offered his l imbs to
the i rons,and when they were fixed he exclaim ed
,
“For the
cause which I have embraced , I feel prouder to wear these chains ,than if I were decorated w ith the star and garter O f England .
”
The friends of Lord Cavan have asserted that this extrem e,and I
w il l add,u nman ly and u ngenerous severity , was provoked by his
outrageous behaviour when he found that he was not to have theprivileges of a prisoner of war . This supposition is not onlycontrad icted by the whol e tenor of his character
,and h is sabse
quent d eportm ent, b ut no other instances of i t have ever beenspecified than those n oble replies to the taunts of General Lavau
.
O f the latter,I know nothing but these anecdotes
,recorded in
th e papers Of the day. If,as his nam e seem s to indicate
,he was
a French em igrant,the coincidence was curious
,and his conduct
the less excusable .
Anothe r version of this story, which I have seen , for th e firsttime
,in the London N ew Monthly Magazin e
,states that M r Ton e
was recognised by,o r accord ing to another account
,had the
imprudence to m ake him self known to an O l d acquain tance at
Lord Cavan’
s tabl e,who speedily inform ed his lordship of the
guest who sat at h is board . The fi rst circum stantial account i sthe one which reached us in France ; b u t, in my opinion , th edifference between the two stories is very trifl ing. I t regardsonly the fash ion in which Sir George H il l gave in his inform ation .
From Letterkenny he was hurried to Dubl in without delay.
2 1 4 L IF E or
In the sam e m agazine, I find that, contrary to usual custom,he
was conveyed during the whole route , fettered and on horseback,
under an escort of d ragoons . O f this further indignity I hadn ever heard before . D uring th is j ourney
,the u nruffl ed serenity
Of his countenance , am idst the rude soldiery, and under the awe
struck gaze O f his countrym en,
e xcited universal adm iration .
Re cognizing in a group O f fem ales which thronged the w indows,
a young lady O f his acquaintance “There,
”said he,
“i s my Oldfriend Miss Beresford ; how wel l sh e looks . O n his arrival
,he
was imm ured in the provost’s prison
,in the barracks of D ubl in
,
u nder the charge Of the notorious Maj or Sandys,a man whose
insolence,rapacity
,and cruelty
,wi l l long be rem embered in that
city,where
,a worthy instrum ent of th e faction which then ruled
it,he enj oyed under their patronage a despoti c authority w ithin
its precincts .Though the reign of terror was d rawing to a close
,and Lord
Cornwall is had restored som e appearance Of legal order andregular adm in istrat ion in th e kingdom
,a prisoner Of such im port
an ce to the Irish Protestant ascendancy party,as the founder and
l eader of th e United Irish Society,and the m ost form idable O f
their adversaries,was not to be trusted to the delays and common
form s of l aw. Though th e Court of K ing’ s Bench was thensitting
,preparations were instantly m ade for t rying him summarily
before a court m artial . But before I give an account Of thistrial
,and of th e n ature of his defence
,i t w il l b e necessary to
rem ove som e erroneous impressions on these subj ects,which I
have seen stated,both in Curran
’
s Life,by his son
,and in the
very fair and l ibera l comm ents of th e London New MonthlyMagazin e. A prevailing notion in both these works is
,that from
my father’ s early d isl ike to l egal studies
,and inaccu rate acquaint
nc e w ith the English laws, he con sidered h is French comm issionas a protection
,and pleaded it in his defence . It is impossibl e to
read his speech on the trial and preserve this idea . T hough heused to laugh at his l ittl e proficiency in l egal lo re , he knew perfe ctly wel l that the course h e had deliberately taken subj ectedhim to the utm ost severity Of the British laws . Nor was heignoran t
,that by the custom of th e land
,and the very tenor of
those laws,h is t rial
,as it was conducted
,was inform al . H e never
was legally condem ned for,though a subj ect of the. crown (not
of Britain,but of Ireland), he was not a m i l itary man in that
kingdom he had taken no m il itary oath,and O f course th e court
m art ial which tried him had no power to pronounce on his case,
which belonged to the regu l ar crim inal tribunal s . But h is heartwas sunk in d espair at the total failu re O f his hopes, and he did
2 1 6 L IF E O F
T 0 1 26. I m ean not to give the cou rt any u seless trouble, and
w ish to spare them the idle task of exam in ing w itnesses. I adm i tal l th e facts al leged
,and only request l eave to read an address
which I have prepared for th e occasion .
Col . Daly. I m ust warn the prisoner,that
,in acknow l edging
those f acts, he adm its to his prej udice that he has acted Ifm ifomuslyagainst his
'
Ma.j esty . Is such h is inten tion ?”
Tone . Stripping this charge of th e techn ical ity of its terms,
i t m eans,I presum e, by the w ord traitorously ,
’
that I have beenfound in arm s against the soldiers of th e king in
‘
m y native country.
I adm i t th is accusation in its m ost extended sense,and requ est again
to expl ain to the court th e reasons and m otives of my condu ct.”
The court then observed,that they would hear his addre ss
,pro
v id ed he confined him self w ithin the bounds of m oderation . Herose
,and began in these w ords :Mr President
,and Gent lem en of th e Court Martial : I m ean not
to give you th e trouble of bringing j udicial proof to convict m e,
l egally , of having acted in hostil ity to the gove rnm en t of h isBritann ic Maj esty in Irel and . I adm it the fact. From mye arl iest youth I have regarded th e connexion between Ire l and andGreat Britain as the curse of th e Irish nation ; and fel t convin cedthat , wh il st it lasted , this country cou ld n ever be free nor happy.
My m ind has been confirm ed in this opin ion by the experien ce of
e very su cceeding year,and the conclusions which I have drawn
from every fact before my eyes . In cons equence,I d eterm ined to
apply al l the power which my ind ividual efforts could m ove,in
ord e r to separate th e two countries .“That Ireland was not able of h ersel f to throw off the yok e , Iknew . I therefore sought for aid whereve r i t was to be found .
In honourable poverty,I rej ected offers
,which to a m an in my
ci rcum stances,m igh t be considered advantageous . I rem ained
faithful to what I thought th e cau se of my country , and sough t inthe French Republic an al ly
,to rescue three m i l l ion s of my
countrym en fromThe President here in terrupted the prisoner
,observing that this
language was neith er rel evant to the charge,nor such as ought to
be d el ivered in a publ ic cou rt . O n e m em be r said , it seem ed cal c u
lated on ly to inflam e the m inds of a certain d escription of pe ople ,( the United Irishm en ) , m any of whom m ight probably be presen t ;and that
,th erefore
,th e court ought not to suffer it. The j udge
advocate said,he thought
,that if Mr Tone m eant this paper to be
laid before h is Excel lency,in way of extenuation
,it m ust have a
quite contrary effect,if any of th e foregoing part was suffered to
remain.
T HEOBALD W OL F E' T ONE. 2 1 7
Tone . I shal l urge th is topic no further, since it seem s d isagreeable to the court; but shal l proceed to read the few wordswhich rem ain .
”
Gen. L of tus. If the rem ainder of your address,Mr Ton e
,is
of the sam e com plexion w ith what you have al re ady read , W il l younot hesitate for a m om en t in proceeding
,sin ce you have l earned
the opinion of th e court 2”
Tone .
—“I bel ieve there is noth ing in what remains for m e tosay which can give any offence . I m ean to express my fe e l ingsand gratitude towards the Cathol ic body, in whose cause I was
e ngagedf’
Gen . L oftus. That seem s to have noth ing to say to th e chargeagainst you , to which on ly you are to speak . If you have anything to offer in defence or extenuation of that charge , the courtwil l hear you ; but they beg that you w il l confine yourself to thatsubj ect .
”
Tone. I shall,then , confine myself to som e points relative to
my connexion with the French army. Attached to no party inthe French Republic, w ithout interest, w ithou t m oney , withoutin trigue
,the openness and integrity of m y views raised m e to a
high and confidential rank in its arm i es . I obtained the confidenceof the execu tive directory, the approbation of my generals, and , Iventure to add
,the esteem and affection of m y brave com rades .
When I review these circum stances,I fe el a secret and internal
consolation,which no reverse of fortune , no sentence in the power
of this court to inflict, can ever deprive m e of,or weaken in any
degree . Under the flag of the French Republ ic I original ly e u
gaged,w ith a view to save and l iberate my own country. For that
purpose I have encountered the chances of war am ongst strangers ;for that purpose I have repeatedly braved the terrors of the ocean
,
covered,as I knew i t to be
,w ith the triumphant fleets of that
power which it was my glory and m y duty to oppose . I havesacrificed al l my views in l ife ; I have courted poverty ; I have lefta beloved w ife unprotected , and ch ildren whom I adored
,father
less . After such sacrifices in a cause which I have always conscientiously considered as the cause of j ustice and freedom
,it i s
no great effort at this day, to add th e sacrifice of my l ife .’
But I hear it said,this unfortunate country has been a prey
to al l sorts of horrors . I sincerely lam ent it. I beg,however
,it
may be rem embered , that I have been absent four years fromIreland . To m e
,these sufferings can never be attributed . I
d esigne d,by fair and open war
,to procure th e separation of the
two countries . For Open war I was prepared ; bu t if, instead of
that,a. system of private assassination has taken place
,I repeat
,
2 1 8 L IF E or
whilst I depl ore it,that it is not chargeable on m e . Atrocities
,
i t seem s,have been comm itted on both sides . I do not le ss de
p lore them ; I detest them from m y heart ; and to those who knowm y character and sen tim ents, I m ay safely appeal for th e truth ofthis assertion . With them
,I need no j ustification .“In a cause l ike th is
,success is every thing. Success
,in th e
eyes of the vu lgar,fixes its m erits . Washington succeeded and
Kosciusko failed .
After a com bat nobly sustain ed,a combat which would have
excited the respect and sympathy of a generous enemy, my fatewas to becom e a prisoner. To the eternal disgrace of those whogave the order
,I was brought hither in irons
,l ike a felon . I
m ention th is for the sake of others ; for m e,I am indiffe ren t to it ;
I am aware of the fate which awaits m e,and scorn equally the
ton e of complaint and that of suppl ication .“As to the conn exion between this country and Great Britain,
I repeat i t,al l that has been im puted to m e
,words
,w ritings
,and
actions,I here del iberately avow . I have spoken and acted w ith
reflection,and on principle
,and am ready to m eet th e cou se
qu en c es. Whatever be the sentence of th i s court,I am prepared
for it . Its m embers wi l l surely discharge their duty; I shall tak ecare not to be wanting to m ine .This spee ch was pronounced in a ton e so m agnanim ous
,so fu l l
of a noble and calm seren ity,as seem ed deeply and visibl y to
affect al l its hearers,th e m em bers of th e cou rt not excepted . A
pause ensued of som e continuance,and silen ce reigned in th e hall
,
t ill interrupted by Tone him self,who inquired whether it was not
usual to assign an interval between the sentence and execution ?The j udge advocate answered
,that the voices of th e court wo uld
be collected w ithout delay,and the result transm itted forthw ith
to th e lord l ieutenant . If the prisoner,therefore, had any farth e r
o bservations to m ake,now was the m om ent .
T ana—“I wish to offer a few words relative to on e singl epoint— to the m ode of punishm ent . In France
,our emig rés, who
stand near ly in th e sam e situation,in whl ch I suppose I now
stand before you , are condem ned to be shot. I ask,that the
court shou ld adj udge m e the death of a soldier,and l e t m e be
shot by a platoon of grenadiers . I request th is indulgence ratherin consideration of th e uniform which I wear
,th e uniform of a
chef-de-brigade in the French army,than from any personal
regard to myself. In order to evince my claim to th is favour, Ibeg that the court m ay take th e troubl e to peruse my comm issionand letters of service in th e French army . It wi l l appear fromthese papers that I have not received them. as amask to cover“
220 L IFE or
that of Ireland at this fatal and sham efu l period . I t was,in short,
the feel ing which m ade the people soon after passively acquiesce inth e Union , and in the extinction of their nam e as a n ation . O f
the n um erous friends of my father, and of those who had sharedin h is pol itical prin ciples and caree r
,som e had perished on the
scaffold,others rotted in dungeons
,and the remainder dread ed
,
by the sl igh test m ark of recognition,to be involved in his fate .
O n e noble exception deserves to be recorded ;John Philpot Curran
,th e celebrated orator and patriot
,had
attached him self,in h is political career
,to the Whig party ; but
h is th eoretical principles went m uch farther. And when them arch of the adm in ist ration to d espotism was pronounced— whenthe persecu tion began— I know that in the years 1 794 and 1 795 ,and particu larly at the D rogheda assizes in th e form er year
,and
on occasion“of the trial of Bird and H am il l,where they were
both em ployed as counsel,he opened h is m ind to my fathe r ; and
that on th e m ain point— on the necessity Of breaking the conn exion with England —they agreed . Curran prudently andproperly confined h im self to those l egal exertions at th e bar
,
where his talents were so em inently useful,and where he left an
imperishable m onum ent to his own and to his country’ s fam e . Itwas we l l that there rem ained one place
,and one man
,th rough
which the t ruth m ight som etim es be heard . H e avoided com
m itting h im sel f in th e council s of th e United Irishm en ; but, had
_th e proj ect of l iberating Ireland succeeded , he wou ld have beenam ongst th e forem ost to hai l and j oin h er independence . O n thisoccasion
,j oin ing h is efforts to those of Mr Peter Burrowes
,he
n obly exerted h im sel f to save his friend .
The sentence of my fath er was ev idently il l egal . Curran knew,
however,very well
,that by bringing the case before the proper
tribunal,the resu lt wou ld u ltim ately be th e sam e— that he could
not be acqu itted . But then the d elays of the law m ight bebrough t in play
,and the al l - important point of gain ing tim e
would be obtained . The French governm en t could not, in honour,but interfere
,an d th e case
,from a m ere legal
,would becom e a
pol itical one . In politics my father had m any adversaries , but fewpersonal en em i es ; in private and public l ife h e was generally b el ov ed and re spected his m od eration
,too
,was known and appre
c iated by those who feared a revolution , and trusted to him,
as a m ediator,if such an event was to take place . In short,
it did not appear a m atter of impossibil ity to have final lv
saved him by som e agreemen t with the governm ent. D eterm ineu
to form a bar for h is defence,and bring the case before the
Court of King’s Bench . then sitting , and presided ove r by Lord Kil
THEOBALD W OL F E T ONE. 22 1
warden,a man of the purest and m ost ben evolent virtue
,and who
always tempered j ustice w ith m ercy,Curran endeavoured the
whol e day of the 1 1 th to raise a subscription for this purpose .But ter i or had closed every door ; and I have it from his own l ips,that even am ong the Cathol ic leaders, m any of them wealthy
,no
on e dared to subscribe . Curran then d eterm ined to proceed alone.
O n th is circum stance no comm ent can be expected from the son ofTh eobald Wol fe Tone . Those m en had behaved nobly towardshim
,in former t im es, almost as perilous . The universal d read
m ust be their excuse .O n the next day , 1 2th Novem ber, (th e day fixed for h is exe cu
tion), the scene in the Court of King’s Bench was awful andimpressw e to the highest degree . As soon as i t opened
,Curran
advanced,l eading the aged father of Tone
,who produced his affi
d avit,that his son had been b rou e ht before a bench of Officers
,
calling itself a court m artial , and sentenced to death .
“I do notpretend
,
”said Curran ,“that Mr Tone is not guilty of the charge s
of wh ich h e is accused . I presum e the officers were honourablem en . But it is stated in this aflfidavit, as a solem n fact, that MrTone had‘no comm ission under his Maj esty ; and, therefore , nocourt m artia l cou ld have cognizance of any crim e imputed to him
,
whilst the Court of King’s Bench sate in the capacity of th e greatcrim inal court of the land . In tim e when war was raging
,when
m an was opposed to m an in th e field , courts m artial m igh t be en
dured ; but every l aw authority is w ith m e,whilst I stand upon
this sacred and immutable principle of the constitution,that martial
l aw and civil l aw are incompat ible, and the form er must cease withthe existence of the latter. This is not
,however
,th e tim e for
arguing this m om entous question . My client m ust appear in thiscourt. He i s cast for death this very day . H e m ay be orderedfor execut ion whilst I address you . I cal l on the court to supportthe l aw
,and m ove for a habeas corpus
,to be directed to the
provost lnarshal of the barracks of D ublin,and Maj or Sandys
,to
bring up the body of Tone .”
C/zicf Justice . Have a writ instantly prepared .
Cui 'rcm . My cl ient m ay die whilst the writ is prepar
Chief—Jusiicc .
-“M r Sheriff, proceed to the barracks , and acquaint
the provost -m arshal that a w rit is preparing to suspend M r Tone’ s
execut ion,and see that he be not executed .
The court awaited , in a state of the u tm ost agitation and suspense
,the return of the sheriff. H e speedily appeared
,and said
,
My lord,I have been to the barracks i n pursuance of your order
.
The provost marshal says h e m ust obey Major Sandys. Maj or
222 L IF E 0 1?
Sandy s says he m ust obey Lord Cornwa l l is . Mr Curranannounced
,at the sam e tim e
,that Mr Tone
,th e fath er
,was j ust
returned after serving the habeas corpus,and that General Craig
w ould not obey it . The ch ief-j ustice exclaim ed,Mr Sheriff, take
th e body of Tone into custody— take the provost -m arshal andMaj or Sandys into custody, and show the order of th e court toGeneral Craig.
”
The general im pression was now,that th e prisoner would be led
out to execution in defiance of th e cou rt . This apprehension was
l egible in th e countenance of Lord K i lwarden ; _
a m an who,in th e
worst of tim es,preserved a rel igious respect for the laws ; and who
besides , I may add,felt every personal feel ing of pity and respect
for the prisoner,whom he had form erly contributed to sh ield from
th e vengeance of gove rnm en t on an occasion almost as perilous.H is agitation
,according to the expression of an eye-witness, was
m agnificen t .The sheriff returned at length w ith the fatal news . He had been
refused adm ittan ce in the barracks ; but was inform ed that M r
Tone,who had wounded him self dangerou sly the night before,
was not in a condition to be rem oved . A French em igrantsu rge on
,who had closed the wound
,was cal led in
,and declared
the re was no saying , for four days, whether it was m ortal . Hish ead was to be kept in on e position
,and a sentinel was set over
him to prevent his speaking. Rem oval w ould kil l him at once .The ch ief—j ustice instantly ordered a rule for suspending theexecu tion .
I m ust collect my strength to give the remaining d etail s of th eclose of my father
’s life . The secrets of a state prison,and of
su ch prisons as were those of D ub lin at that period,are seldom
penetrated ; and the facts which have reach ed us are few andm eagre . As soon as h e l earned the refusal of his last request, hisd eterm ination was taken w ith the sam e resolution and coolnesswhich he exhibited during the whol e t ransaction . In order toSpare the feelings of his parents and friends
,he refused to see any
on e,and requested only the use of w riting m aterials. During the
1 0th and 1 1 th of November,he addressed th e directory
,the
m inister of m arine , General Ki lm aine, and Mr Shee, in France,and several of his friends in Ireland
,to recomm end his fam ily to
their care . I h ere insert a translation of his letter to the
directory, the only one of which we obtained a copy
224 L IF E O F
I have written on your behalf to the French gove rnme
th e m in iste r of m arine,to General Kilm aine
,and to Mr Shee
th e l atte r I w ish you especially to advise . In Ireland,I h a ve
w ritten to you r. brother H arry , and to those of my fri ends whoire about to go in to exile, and who, I am sure, w il l not abandon
Adieu,d earest love : I find it impossible to finish this lette r.
Give m y l ove to Mary ; and, above al l things, rem ember that youare now th e only parent of our dearest children , and that the bestproo f you can give of you r affection for m e
,w i l l be to preserve
yourself for their education . God Alm ighty bless you al l .“Yours ever,
T . W . TONE.
.P.S. I th ink you have a friend in Wi lson who wil l not
desert you .
SECO ND LET T ER.
DEAREST LOVE,
-I write j ust one l ine to acquaint you thatI have received assuran ces from your brother Edward of h isd eterm ination to render every assistan ce and protect ion in h ispower ; for which I have w ritten to thank him m ost sincerely .
Your sister has l ikewise sent me assurances of the sam e nature,and expressed a desire to see m e
,which I have refu sed having
d e term ined to speak to no one of my friends , not even my father,from m otives of hum anity to them and myself. I t is a very greatconsolation to m e
,that your fam i ly are determ ined to support you ;
as to the m anner of that assistan ce,I leave it to the ir affection
for you,and you r own excellent good sense
,to settl e what m anner
w il l be m ost respectable for al l parties .Adieu
,dearest love . Keep your courage as I have kept m ine ;
m y m ind is as tranqui l th is m om en t as at any period of my l ife .Cherish my m em ory ; and
,especially
,preserve your health and
spirits for the sake of our dearest children .
Your ever affectionate,
T . W. TONE.
r 1 th Noe/emhe r , 1 798.
Nobly d id this p u re and virtuous man, and he alon e of al l those whom my fathe r had
d e p e nd e d u pon ,fu lfi l the e xp e c tat ion of his fr ie nd . H e was to m y m othe r a brothe r , a
p ro te c tor , and an ad vise r , d ur ing the whole p e r iod of ou r d istre ss and whe n , at the c loseof e ighte e n y e ars, w e we re ru in e d a se cond tim e by the fal l of Nap ole on ,
he cam e ov e r
from his own country to offe r he r his hand and his fortune , and share ou r fate in Am e rica.
T HEOBAL D W O L F E T ONE. 225
It is sa id,that on the evening of that ve ry day, he could see
and hear the so ldiers erecting the gallows for him before h isw indows. That very nigh t
,according to the report given by h is
j ailo rs,having secreted a penknife
,he inflicted a deep wound
across h is neck . I t w as soon d iscovered by th e sent ry,an d a
su rge on called in at four o’ clock in the m orning
,who s topped the
blood and closed it . H e rep orted,that as the prisone r had
m issed the carotid arte ry,he m ight yet survive
,bu t was in the
extrem est danger. It is said that he m urm ured on ly in reply,“I am sorry I have been so bad an anatom ist.” Let m e draw a
ve il over the rem ainder of th is scene .Stre tched on his bloody pallet in a dungeon , th e first apostle of
Irish union,and m ost i l l ustrious m artyr of Irish independence ,
counted each lingering hour during the last seven days and nightsof his slow and silent agony . N0 one was al lowed to approach him .
Far from his adored fam ily , and from al l those friends whom he lovedso cl early , the only form s which d itted before h is eyes were thoseof the grim j ailor and rough attendants of the prison ; the onlysounds which fel l on his dying ear
,the heavy tread of the sentry .
He retain ed,however
,the calm ness of h is soul
,and the possession
of h is faculties to th e last. And th e consciousness of dying forhis country
,and in the cause of j ustice and l iberty
,i llum ined
,l ike
a bright halo,his latest m om ents
,and kept up h is fortitude to the
end . There is no situation under which those feelings w il l notsupport the sou l of a patriot.O n th e m orning of the 1 9th November
,h e was seized with the
spasm s of approaching death . It is said that the surgeon who
attended,whispered that
,if he attem pted to m ove or speak he
nust expire instantly ; that he overheard him ,and m aking a slight
m ovem ent,replied,“I can yet find words to thank you
,sir ; i t is
the m ost welcom e news you give m e . What should I w ish to l ivefor 2” Falling back
,with these expressions on his l ips
,he expired
without further effort .O n closi ng this painfu l and dreadfu l narrative
,I m ust allude to
som e h ints which I have heard from a m ost respectable and wel linform ed quarter
,that
,in consequence of the attempts to with
draw him from th e j urisdiction of the m il itary tribunals,my
father’
s end m ay have been precipitated by the hands of his jailors ;and that
,to conceal their crim e
,they spread the repor t of his
v oluntary death . It is certainly not my duty to exculpate them .
That his end was volun tary,his d eterm inat ion
,previous to h is
leaving France , wh ich was known to u s,and the tenor of his l ast
letters, incl ine m e to believe . Neither is it l ikely that Maj or Sandysand his experienced satell ites
,would perform a m u rder in so bungH
226 L IFE O F T HEOBALD W O L F E T ONE.
l ing a way as to allow th eir v ictim to survive the attem pt duringe ight days . If this was the case, his d eath can never be con sideredas a suicide ; it was m erely th e resolution of a noble m ind to disappoint
,by his own act
,the brutal ferocity of his enem ies
,and
avoid th e indignity of th eir touch .
But on th e other side,it cannot be denied that the character of
these m en wou ld warran t the worst conclusion . The detail s ofmy father
’s death and last words on ly reached the publ ic earthrough their reports ; no one was al lowed to approach him afterh is wound ; no m edical attendant to com e n ear him ,
except th eprison surgeon
,a foreigner and French emigran tfi
" Why was no
coroner ’s inquest held on his body,as was held on Jackson ’ s
,i n
the very court where he died ? The resistance which was opposedby th e m il itary to the warrant of the chief-j ustice
,was indecorous
and viol ent in the extrem e,nor was i t til l compelled by the firm ness
of Lord Ki lwarden to give way, that they acknow l edged the woun dof their prisoner
,though
,according to their own report
,it had been
infl icted during the preceding night . Was it possible,that fearing
the interference of the civil courts,they hastened his end ; or what
would be m ore atro ciou s stil l,adm itting the fact that he had
wounded h im self,did they intend to conceal it
,and to glut their
m ean and ferociou s revenge, and insu lt their dying enemy, whohad thought to escape their indignities
,by dragging him ou t in
that state,and executing him w ith their own han ds ’
.Z That their
preparations continued til l interrupted by the interference of
superior authority ; that the wound of their prisoner was anxiouslyconcealed as long as
'
possible; and that no on e,even afterwards,
was al lowed to approach and speak to him du ring his long agony,are certain facts .Between those dreadful suspicions
,the reader mu st j udge for
h im self. As for what passed W ith in the provost’s prison,i t m ust
remain for ever am ongst the guilty and bloody m ysteries of thatpandem on ium . If charges of so black and bloody a nature can beadduced w ith any appearance of probabil ity against th e agen ts of
the Irish governm ent,the v iolence
,c ruelty
,and lawl ess proceedings
in which they were indulged with perfect impunity by their em
p loyers, not only warrant them ,but give them too trem endous a
probability. As for my part, I have m erely stated , as I have donethrough th e whol e of th is work, in the fai rest and ful lest m anner,the facts which have reached us
,w ithout any comm ent or opinion
of my own .
I t wou ld b e a v e ry c u rious coin c id e n c e , if Ge n e ral L avau ,who behave d so bru tal ly to
m y fathe r on arre stm g 1 1 1 11 1 , was also a F re n ch em ig ran t . T he se m e n wou ld hold hnn in
d ouble abhorrence , as a. soldier of the F rench Repub l ic and a democrat.
228 L IFE or
officer,l est h is assum ed nam e should occasion any d iplomatic
delay ; he add ed that the English officers then in the Frenchprisons
,shou l d b e confined as hostages to answer for h is safety ;
and that,if none were equal to him in rank
,th e d iffe rence should
be m ade u p in num bers . It was unfortunate that Sir SidneySm ith had then escaped from th e Temple . As soon as thesepapers were d rawn
,La Re ve il l ie re Lepaux addressed her w ith
them to the m in ister of m arine,Bruix
,who assured her that
prelim inary steps had already been taken , and that these despatch esshould be forwarded in the course of the sam e day . From thenceshe call ed on Schimm e lp ennick, th e D utch ambassador, who gaveher sim i lar assu rances that m y father should be claimed in th enam e of the Batavian republ ic, in whose service h e bore the sam erank as in the French . She w rote for th e sam e purpose to h isfriend Adm i ral D ewinter, and to G en era l Ki lm ain e, comm anderin é chief of th e army in which h e served they both gave the sam eprom ises in return .
To the French m in isters,my m other expressed , at the sam e
tim e,her determ ination to j oin and nurse he r husband in his
prison,taking my young sister al ong w i th her
,and l eaving my
brother and myself to the care of our aunt. For sh e did notexpect that even these efforts would obtain his r elease
,but
probably a commu tation of h is fate to a confinem ent which shew ish ed to share . I t m ay w el l be bel ieved that these reclam at ion sexcited th e m ost l ive ly and universal interest. Al l the credentialsand al l th e m eans which sh e could w i sh , were furn ished to her,and sh e was al ready on her way to embark for Ireland , when th en ews of h is death arrived
,and put a stop to all further proceedings .
It wou ld be needless to dilate upon , and impossible to express,her feel ings on the occasion .
That Curran ’ s anticipations were not il l founded,and that the
in terference of th e French and Batavian governm ents wou ld havebeen effectual to d elay my father
’
s fate, and finally save his l ife, Iam convinced . A case sim ilar
,in m any instances
,happened
n early at the sam e tim e . Napper Tand y , a m an as obnox iou s tothe Irish governm en t as any of the popu l ar l ead ers , had e scapedto Norway , and from th e n ce to H am burgh . He was therearrest e d by the c oward ly and treach erous CU l l l l l V il l l C l ’ of the se nateof that city, along W i th thre e o ther Irishm en
,MM . W il l iam
Corbett,Blackwell
,and
'
Morris; they were given up to theEnglish resident
,and sen t to D ublin for trial . But th e reign of
m i litary tribunals was passed . Tandy was t ried by a court of
l aw ,and defend ed by Curran ; delays were th rown in the way of
his condemnation, and in the m eantim e, Napoleon, who was now
T HEOBALD W OL FE T ONE. 229
returned from Egypt,claim ed him as a French general
,designated
an English prisoner of equal rank as a hostage for his safety, andlaid a severe fine on the city of H amburgh
,to chastise its breach
of the laws of n eutrality . Napoleon was not to be trified w ith,
and Tandy was soon exchanged,and spent th e remainder of his
Old days at Bourdeaux,with the rank and appointm ents of
a general of brigade . Corbett and Blackwel l had previouslye scaped from Ki lm ainham gaol
,under peculiar and rom antic
c ircum stances . Miss Edgeworth has availed herself of som e ofthem in her popular novel of O rm ond . The form er
,a gal lant
officer,I have known in th e French army
,where he rose to the
rank of adj utant-general and ch ief of th e staff of the sixth Corpsd
’
Arm é e .
I wi l l now close this painful narrative with a short abstract ofth e fortunes and fates of m y father
’
s fam ily after h is death,and
of th ose Irishm en who accom panied him in h is last expedition .
O f these,Mr T . Corbett
,brother of the preceding gentlem an
,
happened to be on board one of the frigates which escaped . Thetwo others passed undistinguished am ongst th e Fren ch prisoners
,
who on these occasions always concealed,to the best of their
power,the Irishm en who were taken w ith them ; and they were
exchanged,in due season
,with their companions. MM . T .
Corbe tt and M‘Gu ire died in the French army.Cf my father
’
s brothers and sister,Matthew
,a captain of
grenadiers,had perished before him
,in H umbert’s expedition .
Arthur, a beautiful and gal lant boy, entered the D utch navy, as
a m idshipm an,under the patronage of Adm iral D ewinte r
,my
father’
s friend . H e was a un iversal favourite,though very w ild
,
and distinguished him self in several actions by a rare intrepidity.Taken by the English , about the sam e tim e as h is brother, he wasrecognised by an Irish officer weeping over the account of hisbrother
’
s death . This k ind-hearted countrym an favoured hisescape
,an d at the age of eighteen he was prom oted to a l ieu ten
ancy . H e sailed soon after for the East Indies ; and since thatperiod has never been heard of. IVil l iam
’
s fortunes w ere stil lm ore varied and singular. H is early struggles and efforts in the
East Indies have already been not iced . H e finally rose to a secondin comm an d of a free corps, com posed of Europeans and adve n
t u re rs of al l n ation s,raise d for the l l ahrat ta se rvice by colone l
(now ge neral ) Boyd of Boston,a m ost en terprising Am erican
offi cer. O n Boyd’
s d eparture,he succeeded to the comm and ; and
when he heard of his brother'
s death,w rote a m ost n obl e and
affectionate l etter to my m other, enclosing an order for £200 , and
engaging, for the future , to be a father and p rotector to the fam ily.
230 m m or
H e was shortly after k illed in storm ing a smal l fort in one of th eIndian wars . M ary follow ed her husband to St D om ingo
,and
died of the yel low fever,during the siege of Cape F rangais, at tend
ing a sick friend who had be en deserted by her own fam ily andservants. None O f them
,including my fathe r, reached to th irty
six years of age .As for Tone ’s own fam ily, his wife and child ren, th e interes t
which had been excited In Fran ce by his trial was al l transferredto them after h is fate . As som e very idle s tories have beenc irculated on this subj ect ; and as ou r station , mod e of l ife
,and
connection s in France,have been m uch m isrepresented in som e
l ate publications ; I feel that I cannot conclude this nari ative
better than by a short abstract of the fol lowing events .In the first m om ents after the death of my father, I have
al ready m ention ed that the interest excited by his fate,and by the
state of h is fam ily,was universal . The directory instantly passed
a decree by which an imm ediate aid of francs,from the
funds of the navy,and three m onths’ pay from the war departm ent,
were assigned to his widow,and sh e was requested to produc e her
titles to a regular pension . At the sam e tim e, Bruix and Tal leyrand (to the latter of whom ,
whatever character be assigned to
him in history, we certainly owe gratitude for the l ively and disinterested part which h e always took in our fate, on the few bu t
im portant occasions on which we addressed him ) proposed, thefirst
,to take charge of my brother, and the other of m e . Ki l
m aine,who had no ch ildren
,proposed to adopt us 'both . But
gratefii l as my m other fel t for those offers, she declined them ,
determ ined never to part from her children and to fulfil,to the
last,the solem n engagem ent under which she considered herself
bound, to superintend their education she did not w ish them to
be bred as favourites and dependants in great fam ilies ; and trustedrather to the gratitude of the n ation to give them a public, simple,and m an ly education
,as an hom age to their father
’
s services .These gentlem en entered into her v iews ; and, on their dem and,th e directory decreed that the sons of Theobald Wolfe Tone
,
adopted by the French republic , should be educated at the nationa lexpense
,in th e Prytaneum .
The pensions which the executive had,constitutionally
,a power
to grant to the widows and fam il ies of offi cers killed on the fieldof battle
,were l im ited by law according to the rank of these
officers,and to the length of tim e during which they had served .
According to th is l aw,the pension to which m y m other was en .
titled,amounted only to 300 francs
,or l ittle more than £1 2 ster
l ing a-
year. T his she refused e ither to demand or accept. Bu t
232 L I F E or
battle ceased to receive them wh e n they reached th eir fourteenth
year ; he proposed to extend this period to th e age when theym ight in their t urn
,en ter the serv ice .
Several m onths had been ne cessary to coll e ct the proofs,c e rtifi
cates,and d ocum ents requ ired by l aw
,for m aking an application
to the l egislature ; or,indeed
,be fore my m other was able to
attend to i t . Nor did sh e know one m ember of th e counci l offive hundred
,to presen t them to when th ey were ready . In
reading this speech of Lucien,sh e fe l t that h e was the person she
ought to add ress . My father had been kn own to h is brotherwhen he comm anded th e army of England ; and he was one of
the representatives. She imm ediately wrote a note to him,to
know when sh e m ight have the honour of waiting upon him on
particu lar business ? He answered,that h is pub l i c duties left
only the hours of ten in the m orning or seven in th e evening,
unemployed ; but that, at either of these , he wo ul d be happy to
receive her. In consequen ce,next m e i n ing
,taking w ith he i her
children , her papers, and the report of his speech , she call ed u ponhim
,and presented to him that speech as h er l etter or introdu c
tion . He was highly touched and flattered . She gave him al l
her papers and showed him her children . H e was m uch m oved,
and said he knew the story wel l,and had been deeply affected by
it,which sentim ent he only shared in comm on w ith every one
who had heard of i t ; that it was the duty of the French legislatu reto provide for the fam ily of Tone honourably ; and thanked herfor the d istinction conferred u pon him
,by choosing him to reprort
on the case . My m other m ent ioned the difficulties she lay under,
an unconnected stranger,scarcely understanding the language .
H e stopped her by requesting her to take no m ore trouble ; thath e wou ld charge him self w ith it ent irely, and get the perm issionof th e executive
,which would be necessary ; and if he wanted any
further particulars from her,would write to her for them . Noth
ing could be m ore d el icate or generous than his whol e m anner.Next m orning, Madam e Lucien Buonaparte , his first wife,
called upon my m other,and introduced h erself. She was an
am iable wom an,of irreproachable character
,but v ery weak health ,
and even then dying of consum pt ion . A1 1 acquaintan ce com m enced,which term inated on ly at her death a few m onths afterwards .The report of Lucien Buonaparte was still delayed for so
tim e . H e had som e papers to col lect to prove my father’
sse rvices . Carnot was in banishm en t ; H oche was d ead ; poorKi lmain e
,who eve r since my fath er
’ s death had expressed a warminterest in our fate
,was dying . In th e r w ings of l evei he would
insist on putting horses to his carriage, an d d riving 1 1 1 th u s 0 the
T HEOBALD W OL F E T ONE. 233
d irectory and coun cil of five hundred,to reproach them w ith their
delays in prov iding for the w idow and children of Tone . H ardywas gone to th e West Indies ; and General Sim on , m y father
’so l d com panion in both expedit ions , and who had been ch ief of thestaff in the last
,gave al l the n ecessary attestations . The perm ission
of th e directory was obtained ; b u t Lucien , in order to produce a
greater effect,stil l delayed til l the period of h is own Presiden cy
,
which was to take place in th e m onth of Brumaire (that presidencyfam ous for a revolu tion which soon al tered the face of France andof a l l Europe ) . Perhaps h e al so waited for the arrival of hisbrother ; for th e re can be very l ittl e doubt that he was on e of
the se le aders of the republic who, w ith different hopes and view s,seeing th e desperate si tuation into which i t was fal l ing
,secretly
invited Napoleon from the shores of Egypt to return and save it.At l ength the news suddenly arrived
,and ran through France
l ike an el ectric shock,that the conqueror of Italy and Egypt had
landed on its coast . H e arrived at Paris towards the close of
Vendemaire . The effect was imm ediate . Al l eyes were turnedu pon him ,
and n ew hopes and rising spirits threw the whol ecountry into a kind of ferm entation of expectancy. Matters cou ldnot rem ain as they w ere ? What should he do ? What partwould he take ? It would be going out of ou r subj ect to enterinto the various intrigu e s which arose
,and of which
,indeed
,
sec l uded as w e l ived , we knew noth ing at the tim e . O n the 9thof Brum aire
,only nine days before the revolu tion which put an
e nd to th e d irectory and placed his brother at the head of affai rs,
Lucien,th en presid ent of the council of five hundred
,pronounced
at l ength a beaut ifu l speech,which m ay be cal led the funeral
orat ion of my father. At the close of which a comm ittee was
imm ediately appointed,consisting of Joseph Buonaparte
,Jean d e
Bry (lately escaped from th e congress of Rastadt,where his
com rades w ere assassinated) , and seve ral other m embers of th etwo l egislative councils
,to report 0 1 1 th e subj ect of a pension and
permanen t provision for the w idow and fam ily of General Tone .The revolu t ion of the 1 8th Brum aire fol lowed a few days after
wards. As an instance of the complete secl usion and privacy inwh ich we l ived
,I w il l on ly m e nt ion that
,on that very m orning
,
m y m oth e r,e n tire ly ignorant of the great events which were
gom g 0 1 1,calle d on M adam e Lucie n Buonaparte
,who was con
fine d ,and in a ve ry w eak and dec l ining state of health . She
expressed h e r surprise at hav ing seen the garden of the T uil l eriessurrounde d by soldiers
,who l e t no one pass
,so that sh e was
obliged to wal l: round it .
“Good god I” exclaim ed Madam eLucien
,who appeared extrem ely agitated
,
“are you ignorant of
234 mm or
what is going on ? She explained herself,however
,no further.
O ur friend,General Ki lm aine
,who
,u nabl e to m ove from his bed
,
l ent his horses and su ite on that day to h is ol d friend and com
m ander,Buonaparte
,gave us n o m ore inform ation and we were
only inform ed of the change which had taken place by the newspapers and public rej oicings .This revolution
,which in the first m om ents seem ed to prom i se
so favourably to ou r prospects,proved otherwise . Napoleon and
Lucien shortly cool l ed,quarrel l ed
,and at l ength parted in angry
disunion . Lucien was a stern patriot h e sincerely thought thath is brother cam e to restore the r epubl ic and
'
when he saw th eturn wh ich the n ew governm ent began to take
,would n ever be
reconciled to him til l after h is fal l and retreat to Elba . Hen obly supported him
,however
,in h is last enterprise
,as wel l as
Carnot,because those two inflexible republicans then deem ed that
the cau se of France and Napoleon was one . Ki lm aine died a fewdays after th e revolution ; he was our staunch friend, and on e of
the m ost confidential officers of Buonaparte had he survived,h e
wou ld probably have been raised to the highest posts and creditin h is governm en t instead of Clarke. Clarke
,I m ust say
,showed
him self,on this o ccasion
,cold and ungrateful . He and my father
were long pledged to support each other’ s fam i l ies in case eitherof th em fel l . At the period of Carnot
’
s expulsion from the dirce«
t ory, he had been for som e tim e under great suspicion and disgrace,and apprehensive of being arrested every day. My father showedhim every m ark of kindness
,though Clarke begged him
,w ith
t ears in his eyes,to discontinue visits which m ight comm it h im self
,
and could be of no use ,to him .
“I shal l never desert a frien dbecause he is in m isfortune
,
”was h is reply. When Napoleon re
turned,and that Clarke ( destined to sti l l h igher honou r, and to
becom e m inister of war,peer of France
,duke of Feltre , and count
of H un ebourg) was m ade his privat e secretary ; when a singleword of his m ight have settled the affair of my m other
’s pension,
and that she sen t h er papers to him in a letter,and cal led three
t imes upon him (without being received) by the desire of h is uncleShee, my father
’s ol d and faithfu l friend,he gave 1 1 0 answer
,and
took not the slightest notice of them .
Shortly after , Madam e Lucien Buon aparte died our connexionwith that fam ily was th en broken up of course
,and Lucien him !
self soon after left France,and never returned to it til l 1 8 1 5 .
In th is d issolution of on e governm ent,and creation of another
,
the comm ittee appointed to report on our pension was broken upof course . Lucien
,who was for a short tim e m in ister of th e
interior, adv ised my mother to present his former report to the
236 L I F E or
the treaty of Amiefis, my m other, withou t any sol icitation or ex.
p e ctation on her side , suddenly received from th e em peror the gran tof a pension of l ivres to herself
,and 400 to each of her three
ch ildren to their twentieth year. My sister had already sunk inthe grave , and my brother followed her in th e year 1 806, so thatthis pension was reduced to livres a-year.I have som e
'
reason to bel ieve that this tardy act of j ustice waspartly owing to the arrival of th e Irish state prisoners who hadlangu ished so long in Fort George
,and who cam e over during the
peace of Am ien s . O ur ancient and dear friends Russel l,Emm ett
,
and M‘Neven were of the number. But T om Russell,my father
’ sbosom com panion
,and the young and he ro icRobert Emm et
,perished
soon after in their gallant bu t desperate attem pt to surprise th eCastle of Dublin . When the war broke ou t
,the se l eaders of th e
United Irish party were treated by the French government withfavou r and attention . T he Irish legion was organized to place andem ploy the refugees. Mr Emm ett Observed at that tim e
,H ow could
they trust to that governm en t wh en they saw the w idow of Toneu nprov ided for“l” The pension was alm ost instantly granted .
In the course of the sam e year we received from Ireland £787sterl ing
,or upwards of francs
,th e am ount of a subscrip
t ion raised by som e of m y father’s friends for th e widow and
fam i ly of Tone . This sum was l ent out at interest til l I was ofage
,so that we could not comm and it for entering the m i litary
school . We were inform ed at the sam e tim e,and by th e m ost
respectable authorities,of som e circum stances connected w ith its
col lection which pained ou r feel ings exceedingly . It was saidthat m any of those wealthy friends Of my father
’ s,who had shared
in al l his v iews, and owed m uch of their political influence to h ise fforts
,refused to contribute . The gentlem an so often m entioned
in his m em oirs by th e n am e of Gog,was specified by nam e . It
was also said that th e Earl of Moira,when spoken to
,answered
,“That not on e sh ill ing of his m oney should ever be applied toall ev iate th e m erited sufferings of rebels . If th is be true
,as I have
too m uch reason to fear it is,I cannot envy h is lordship ’ s feel ings .
T he rem aining events of ou r sim ple story no longer belong tomy father
’s h istory. They w i l l be best understood from then arrative of my m other, w ritten in answer to those articles whichhave lately appeared in several publ ication s concerning us . Thecircum stances under which I entered th e m i litary acad emy an dthe French army
,those of he r interview w ith Napole on
,which
has bee n m uch talked of and m isrepresented,w il l be found in that
narrat iv e accurately and exactly detai l ed . I wi ll only Observethat if she had taken th is determ ination sooner, and addressed
T HEOBALD W OL FE T ONE. 237
him at once personally,I am sure h is j ust i ce wou ld not have been
so tardy . Napoleon was often hasty and prej udiced in his
j udgm ents ; but when t ruth was presented to him,his feel ings
were always great and magnan imous .
[T he narrative of M rs T one above al lu d e d to ,is c h ie fly writte n in ord e r to do
away with the e ffe c tsof m u c h id le gossip and m isre p re se n tation of he r situation
and cond u c t at Paris, in som e O f the Eng lish jou rnals. In su bstanc e,it nar
i ates the d e ath of he r d augh te r and you ng e st son by consum p tion ; and the
patronage of the e ld e r , the e d itor of his fath e r '
s m e in O i rs, b y the F re nc h
au thorities. H aving with g reat d ifficu l ty , owing to hisd e l ic ate health , be e n e n
ab led to g e t him regu lar ly e du cated , with a view to the F re n c h se rvic e ,M rsT one
sough t an in te rview of Napoleon , wh ich is thus c harac te ristical ly d esc ribe d !In the course of a few m on ths, wh en m y son was ou t of the awkward squad ,
and be ginn ing to b e known and d istingu ishe d in the school , I thoug h t it wastim e for m e to ac t . Ac cord ing ly ,
one fine m orn ing , se e ing from m y windows
p reparations for the hu n t, I d e te rm in e d to m ake the attem p t. I sup pose S t
G e rm ain’
s, with its te rrac e and forest is p re tty we l l known now. At the firste n tran c e to the fore st , on the te rrac e , an d adp in ing the parte rre , the em p e ror
a lways got fresh horses to the c arriag e on his arriving fi om Paris, and d rove on
to the lod ge , abou t a leagu e off, whe re he bre akfasted and took horse ; that wasthe g e n e ra l re nd e zvous, and wh e re m any we n t to give p e titions. I thoug h t Ishou ld b e ob l ig e d to go the re too, b u t I d id not like i t on ac cou n t of the c rowd
an d the d istan c e , an d we n t on ly to the fi rst e n tranc e ; horses and a few guards
we re on the'
spot . I aske d the offic e r if I m ig h t b e p e rm itte d to p rese n t thebook and pap e r I he ld in my hand to his m aj esty . H e told m e the lodg e wasthe best p lac e , as his m aj esty ne ve r ste pp e d wh e re we we re ; that the horses we rec han ge d as qu ic k as possib le ,
and he d rove on . I said it was im possib le for m e
to go so far ; that the b ook was writte n b y m y son , a sc holar in the c astl e,and I
thoug h t wou ld b e p le asing to h is m aj esty : so he told m e to stay in the c irc le ,
an d that I m igh t try . If I cou ld not su c c e e d ,he ad vise d m e to wai t ti l l the
ne xt hu n t, and the n take a coac h and go e ar ly to the lodg e .“V e ry soon the carriage , W ith the emp e ror and em p ress, d rove in to the c irc le ;the horses we re c hang e d as qu ick as thoug h t, b u t I ste ppe d u p an d p rese n ted
the book and m emorial . H e took them , and hand ing the book to his er r/y er ,
ope n e d the pap e r . I have said it comm e nc e d b y re c al ling T on e to his m emory .
W h e n he b egu n ,he said T on e l'with an e xpressive ac c e n t . I rem em be r we l l . ’
t7 e m'
e/z rozw z'
ens die/z) . H e read it al l throug h , and two or thre e tim e s stoppe d ,
looke d at m e , and bowe d in read ing i t. W he n he had finish e d , he said to m e,
Now ,spe ak to m e of you rse lf.
’
(1W a z'
7ztezzan t par/es m oi d e wow ) . I h esita te d ,
for I was not p repare d for that qu e stion ,and took sm al l in te rest in the subj e c t .
H e p roc e e d ed , H ave you a p e nsion I said I had . Is it su ffic 1 e i i t ? do you
wan t any e x traord inary su c cou r By th is tim e I had re cove re d m yse l f, and said ,
" l‘hat his m aj e sty '
s good ne ss le ft m e no p e rsonal wan t ; that al l m y care s, al l
m y in te re st in l i fe we re c e n tre d in m y c h ild , whom I now gave up to h is m aj e sty'
s
se rvic e .
’
H e answe re d , Be tranqu i l the n on h is ac coun t .’
I p e rc e ive d a l i ttlehal f sm ile , whe n I said ‘i l y c hi l d ,
’
I shou ld have said my son ; I knew it , b u tfo rgot . H e had stoppe d so long that a c rowd had gath e re d , and we re c rush ing on .
T h e y d rove in the guard , and the re cam e a horse ve ry c lose to m e ; I was ( l ig h te n e d ,
and re t iring , b u t he cal le d m e to stay whe re I was.
‘R estez .’ r es/es 1 d .
”W he th e rit was for m y safe ty , or that he wan te d to say m ore , I cannot te l l ; b u t m O i e it
was im possib le to say for the noise . I was c lose to the carriag e d oor , and the
g uards on horseb ack qu ite c lose b e h ind m e , and ind e e d I was tre m b ling . H e
salu te d the p eop le ,and d ire c te d that two Napol eons a
—p ie c e shou ld b e g i ve n to
the ol d wom e n,and wom e n W i l l! l ittle c h i ld re n , who wa s hold ing ou t th e ir
han d s. H e the n d rove on ,an d in going , nod d e d to m e two or thre e tim eswith
affe c tionate fam i l iarity, saying , Your ch i ld shal l b e we l l natu ralized .
’
I
238 L IF E or
c rossed instan tly whe re the carriage had stood ; the c losing guards cove red myre tre at , and I got, b y a b y
-
path of the forest , hom e in qu ie t, b y anothe r gate .“T he emp e ror fre qu e n tly visite d the sc hool of infan try at St Cyr , reviewe dthe cad e ts
, and gave th em c old c ol lations in the p ark . Bu t he had ne ve r
visite d the school of c avalry sinc e its estab lishm e nt , of whic h we we re ve ry jealous, and d id al l in
‘ou r powe r to attrac t him . W he n eve r he hu n te d , the c ad e ts
we re in grand parad e on the parte rre ,‘Vz
’
v e Z'
Empe r eu r ,
’
ivith al l th e ir younge ne rgie s; he h e ld his hat raise d as he passe d th em , b u t that was al l we cou ldgain . W ise p eop le whisp e re d that he n e ve r wou ld go, whilst th ey we re so e vi
d e n tly e xp e c ting him ; that he like d to ke ep th em alwayson the ale rt ; itwas goodfor d isc ip lin e . T he g e ne ral took anothe r p lan , and onc e al lowe d no sign of lifeabou t the c astle whe n the emp e ror passe d
— it was like a d ese rte d p lac e ; b u t itd id not take n e ithe r— he passe d as if the re was no castle the re . It was d ésespem n t.
W he n , 1 0 ! the n e xt day b u t on e afte r I had spoken to him , he sudd en ly gal lop e din to the cou rt of the castle ,
an d the c ry of the sen tine l , was the
fi rst notic e they had of it. Al l we re in und ress, al l at work , and this was whathe wan te d . H e e xam ined in to e ve rything . In the m ilitary schools the cad e ts got
amm un ition bre ad , and live d like we l l fe d sold ie rs; b u t the re was a g reat ou tc ryin the c irc les of Paris against the bre ad of the sc hool of S t. G e rmain . L ad ies
com p laine d that the ir sons we re poisone d by it ; the emp e ror though t it was al l
n ic e ty , an d said no m an was fit to b e an offic e r who cou ld not eat ammu n ition
bread . H owe ve r , be ing the re , he aske d for a loaf, whic h was brough t , and he
saw it was vil lanous trash,com posed of p eas, beans, rye , potatoes, and e ve ryth ing
that wou ld m ake flou r or m eal , instead of good brown W heate n flou r. H e tore
the loaf in two in a rag e , and d ash e d it against the wal l ; and there it stuck l ikea pie c e of m ortar , to the great annoyan c e of those whose du ty it was to haveatte nd ed to th is. H e ord e re d the bake r to b e c al le d , and m ad e him look at i t
sticking . T he m an was in g reat te rror at first at the emp e ror’
s ange r; b u t takingh eart, he begg e d his m aj esty not to take his con trac t from him , and he wou ldg ive good bread in fu tu re ; at wh ic h the em pe ror broke in to a royal an d im p e rialpassion , and th re aten e d to send him to the gal leys; b u t su d d e n ly tu rn ing round ,
said , Ye s ! he wou ld al low him to ke e p the contrac t on cond ition that , as long as
it laste d ,he shou ld fu rn ish the school with good white house hold bread ,
su ch
as was sold in the bake rs’
shops in Paris; an d the bake r thankfu l ly p rom ised tofu rn ish good white bre ad in fu ture at the sam e p ric e .
By this tim e the c ad e ts had got on th e ir fu l l u niforms and we re d rawn ou t
on parad e . T he em p e ror insp e c te d and re viewe d th em . H e stopp e d be fore m yson , and aske d the g e ne ral if he was not a y oung Irishman ,
looke d'
at him a l ittlewhile , and passed on . T he ge n e ral told m e afte rwards that he had m ade in qu iriesabou t him , an d that he had spoke n of M onsieu r T on e as he d ese rve d ; he d id not
te l l m e how that was.
T a l leyrand Pe rigord , Prin c e of Be neven t, had a cou ntry lodge at St G e rm ain’
s,
wh e re he ofte n sp e n t a we ek . H e hap pe n e d to b e th e re at this p e riod , and I
though t it rig h t to wait u pon him . H e had known T on e we l l ; I had not se en himsin c e the e n trance of my boys in the Prytan eum , b u t I rem em be re d his cond uc tat that tim e . H e re c e ive d m e with g re at polite ness and inte rest, inqu ire d intom y fortu n es for so m any ye ars past , and l isten ed to them in fu l l d e tail , with mu c hkind ne ss. H e obse rve d , the fi rst an d c hie f obj e c t was to take c are of my son
’
s
h eal th , til l his g rowth was fin ishe d and his constitu tion form ed ; he cou ld not b e
in a be tte r p lac e for th is p u rpose , w ith good air and e xe rc ise , a ve ry ac tive life ,
and I so n e ar to watc h ove r him . Bu t this, ’
b e ad d e d ,
‘must not b e at you r cost ;
it is a n ational d ebt ; I wil l sp eak of it to the D uke of F e l tre , and to the em pe ror ;I m ake it m y own business.
’
T h is conve rsation was ve ry consol ing and satis
fac tory to m e , and I e xp resse d m y g rate fu l thanks to the p rinc e . Its couse
qu e n c e s we re not long d e laye d ; for, soon afte r, I re c e ived a le tte r from the D ukeof F e l tre , te l l ing m e that he had re p re se n ted ou r situation to the emp eror, who
was p lease d to ord e r that m y son shou ld b e a gove rnm e nt sc holar , and thatthe m oney I had ad van c e d shou ld b e restore d to m e ; also, that my son
c ou ld no long e r hold a p e nsion on the state ; and it was his m ajesty ’
s p leasurethat the whole pe nsion original ly granted franosi shou ld b e reunited on
240 L IF E or T IIEO BAL D W OL FE T ONE.
offic e r of the army , y e t C lark e , the D uk e of F e l tre , of whom I had no favou r to e xp e c t,w as the n m in iste r of war
, and sig nal ize d his z e a l by the m ost u ltra v iole n c e ; L ord Castler e ag h was in Paris; w e he ard of a t t e sts e ve ry day , and offic ious frie nds re p e ate d ly g av eu s n otic e that m y tu rn wou ld c om e n e x t, an d tha t I was g oing to b e take n up . I d id not
m in d the se re por ts for m yse lf, b u t fe l t se v e re ly for the an xie ty whic h the y gav e to m y poor
m othe r . I t W i l l re ad ily b e be lie v e d that a re sid en c e in F ran c e w as now od ious to m e , anda l l that I w ishe d for w as to re tire to som e qu ie t c orne r whe re I m ight g iv e m yse lf u p to
stu d y , l i te ratu re , and com forting the latte r day s of m y on ly p are n t . W e w rote to ou r
faithfu l frie nd , M r W ilson , and in his an sw e r he p re sse d us that w e shou ld try , at le ast forsom e t im e , whe the r a re sid e n c e in Eng land w ou ld not su it u s; and that, from the l ibe ral ityof i ts insti tu tions, ou r safe ty at le ast wou ld b e se c u re d . I t w as w ith e xtre m e re lu c tan c ethat I e n te re d in to this id ea. I was brought u p , as m ay w e l l b e imag in e d , in the g re ate st
d islike of that coun try which had e nslav e d m y own ,whose p owe r had form e r ly d e stroy e d
m y fathe r and al l m y fam ily , and latte r ly ove r tu rne d the h e ro to whose for tun es I hadat tache d m yse lf, an d ru in e d al l m y ow n p rosp e c ts. N e ve rthe le ss I c on se n te d to try , andm ake at le ast a v isit to it . M y in othe r add re sse d Sir Char le s Stuart , the B ritish am bassador,for a passpor t . T o the ob l ig ing d isposi tion and p ol ite n e ss of this g e n t lem an ,
I re nd e r a
W i l ling te stim on y . H e said that he c ou ld not v e n tu re it on his own au thority , bu t wou ldc onsu l t h is g ov e rnm e n t , and had no dou bt l e av e w ou ld b e re ad ily g ran te d . T he ac cou n t
g ive n i n the si st n um be r of the L ondon N ew Mon thly Magaz in e , of the su bse qu e n t transact ions W i th L ord Cast le re ag h , is p e rfe c t ly corre c t , e xc e p t that inste ad of happ e ning afte r
m y m othe r ’s m arriag e , the y happ e n e d te n m on ths be fore . T he fol low ing le tte r, add re sse dto m y mp the r, and wh i ch c lose d them , I have p re se rve d as a c u riosity :‘
Paris, 5 th N ov em be r, 1 8 1 5 .
MADAM,—I re g re t that , u n til the last post, I re c e iv ed no answe r from hism aje sty
’
5
gove rnm e n t re sp e c ting the rep re se n tation transm itted to England , in favou r of y ou r son .
T he qu e stion app e ars to have be e n re fe rre d to I re land , and it is un fortunate that the d istu rban c e s of that coun try shou ld have p re ve n te d that favou rab le d e c ision on the part of the
g ov e rnm e n t which Iyhad re ason to hop e for at the tim e you d id m e the honou r to c al l . Iam , m adam
,w ith g re at re sp e c t, your obed ie n t and hum ble se rvan t,
CH ARL ES ST UART .
’
O n the e xtrem e W isdom , libe rality , and cau tion of this re solu tion , against on e who had
l e ft that coun try an infan t tw e n ty -on e y e ars be fore , and d id not know a sou l in it , and whod id not e ve n re qu e st to go the re , b u t to v isi t Eng land , I leav e e v e ry re ad e r to j u dg e . Itook it as a v e ry high com p lim e n t to m y im portan c e and abilitie s; for I had n e v e r d re am e d
of be ing so dang e rous a p e rsonag e , or se tting e ithe r the L iffe y or T ham e s on fire . I t m aywe l l b e be lie ve d , howe ve r, that I re noun c ed instan tly al l id e ri
I
of v isiting Eng land at thattim e .“
W e cam e at le ng th to the con c lusion , that the on ly c oun try W h e re I c ou ld liv e inhonou rab le inde p e nd e n c e was in the Un i te d State s of Am e rica .
'
I he final se ttlem e n t of
ou r affairs comp e l le d us, how e v e r, to rem ain se v e ral m on ths l ong e r i n Paris. In the m on th
of Ju ly , 1 8 1 6, ou r in valuab le friend , M r W ilson , le arn ing ou r fina l re solu tion , c am e ove r to
F raric e,and offe re d his hand and fortune to m y m othe r , e xp re ssing his d e te rm ination to g o
w ith u s to Am e rica. W ith W hat fu l l app robat ion I se cond e d his d e m and , it is n e e dle ss to
re p e at . O n the 1 9th ofAug ust fol lowing the y w e re m arrie d in the chap e l of the B ritish
am bassador ; and ,
9in the m on th of Se p te m be r , I parte d from them both wpith a he avy he art,
and e m barke d at Havre d e Grace for N ew York .
M y m othe r p roc e e d e d to Scotland w ith M r W ilson , and both j oine d m e in N ew Yorkbe fore the y e ar had g one round . In this fre e an d hosp itab le c ou n try ,the asy lum of the
world , an d W he re the vic tim s of political an d re lig ious p e rse c u tion m e e t from e ve i y quarte r ,u nd e r the p rote ction of libe rty and e qual laws, w e w e re at le ng th re u n i te d— n e v e r m ore , Ihop e , to b e p at ted in this life . I hav e sin ce lost m y v e ne rabl e frie nd and be n e fac tor , bu tm y m othe r stil l su rv ive s, and I hav e y e t the satisfac tion of m in iste ring to he r com fort and
happ in e ss. Enj oy ing an honou rable rank in the Am e rican arm y ,an d the p roud t itle of a
fre e Am e rican c itize n , u n ite d to the obj e c t of m y e arly and c on stan t affe c tions, the on lyd aughte r of m y fathe r ’ 5 frie nd and c oun tryman , Co
yunse l lor W il liam Sam p son , of N ew
York , (whose fate it is w e l l known l e d him , l ike u s, to this coun try , a v ic tim in the c ause
of l ibe rty and of his native land ) , I fe e l at le ng th l ike the sailor , who,afte r a storm y pas
sag e , re tu rns to his hom e and find s him se lf c lasp e d b y al l the tie s, su rrounded by al l
the charitie s, that are d eare st and m ost valuab le to the human he art. "
ERGUSON 85 KS
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The History of the Irish Brigades in the Service of F rance,from the Re volu tion in G re at Britain and Ire land un de r
Jam e s II . , to the Re volu tion in Franc e u nd e r L ou is XV I . By
John Corn e l ius O’
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The Irish Brigade and its Campaigns in the Great AmericanW ar. By Captain D . P. Conyngham , A.D .C . Crown Sva,Price i/, post fre e , In extra gre en c loth, gil t back, price a! .90“free for 21 3 in stamps.
M ISCEL L ANEO US B O O KS . Pric e
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T H E LADY O F THE ISLE . By M rs.
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MASKED GUIDE .
CAMERON ,F ERGUSO N CO .
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W HY DID HE LOVE HER ? BELI Z A A. D UPUY .
HECTOR O ’HA LLORAN . By W . H
MAXW ELL .
T H E SC AR LE T LE T T E R .iB y
NATH AN IEL H A W TH O RN .
CONINGSBY . By BENJAM IN D ISR’
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HE W OULD BE A C ENT L EMABBy SAM U EL LO VER.
HE LONE HUNTER O F CHESTNUT VALLEY.
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A NOBLER VENGEANCE : or , T heLady of L e e Court .
TH E SECRET HELPER A Tale o fLove and Crim e .
I‘H E LOVER ’S STRATAGEM .
I‘H E NORTHERN SCOUT .
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TH E PIONEERS O F KENTUCKYA Tale O f Ad ven ture s, Trials, an d
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T H E VERMONT RANGER : or , T heSilve r Pon d .
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M .
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THE BETRAYEDMyst e ry .
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Chie f’s Cap t ive .
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T H E SECRETS O F THE OLD SMITHY .
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W ILL 0 ’ THE VVISP ,the Ban d it Que en
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THOROUGHBRED THE SPORT : or,
T he Thugs of Rocky Bar .
or,T he Child ofT he Cre ekor
,
CAMERON, FERGUSON 85 0 0 , G lasgow.
T he“Rocky M ou n tain S e rie s of Pe nny Nov
S e r ie s R .
Crown Sv o, 4 0 Pag e s, I l lu strate d Cove rs.
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THE BRANDED BRIGAND . PUT MARTIN .
THE BANDIT ’
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T HE STEEL BELT .
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W INVVO O D THE F UGITIVEBLACK RALPH : or , the Myst e riou s Be lt .THE SCOUT O F THE W
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THE SOLD IER O F F ORTUNE .
THE OCEAN BLOODHOUND : or, the Con vict Brothe rs.THE W
'
RONGED M OTHER : or , Je ssie’s Rom an ce .
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RACY IRISH ANECDOTES.
GAM ES F O R THE F AMILY CIRCLE .
BURLESQUE ORATIONS AND NEGRO DROLLERIES.BOB RIDLEY ’
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BURLESQUE L ECT URES AND DARKEY CONVERSATIONS.
CAMERON, FERGUSON 85 0 0 , Glasgow.
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TONY PASTOR ’S IRISH -AMERICAN COMIC SONG BOOK .
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I .—T H E ENG L IS H S ER IES .
I‘HE CONCERT HALL . THE OLD SONGS O F ENGLAND .
TH E LONDON LADS. THE MISTLETOE .
TH E BRITISH . THE ROSE .
I I . - T H E S CO T T IS H S ER IES .
THE THISTLE . ST . MUNGO .
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AYRSHIRE LADDIE . SCOTTISH COMIC .
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D em y F ol io S iz e .
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YANKEE PADDY’
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CHIMING BELLS .
GOOD -BYE , MAGG IE , DARLING .
ROBERT EMMET SONG BOOK .
THE NATIONAL LEAGUE .
THE BOYS O F W EXF ORD .
CAM ERO N ,F ERGUSO N 0 0 , G lasgow.
THE F ELONS F O R OUR LAND .
THE GREEN ABOV E THE RED .
THE RED HAND O F ULSTER .
SONGS or T I-IR RIGHTS or MAN AND
HYMNS or LIBERTY .
TA -RA-RA-BOOM -DR AY .
THE GIRLS O F LONDON .
MRS . M‘CARTHY ’S PARTY .
TEACHING M‘F ADDEN TO W ALTZ .
THE W ILD BOYS O F LONDON .
IT TAKES A G IRL TO DO IT .
SPARE THE OLD MUD CABIN .
RISE ,YE SONS O F W ILLIAM .
YE LOYALISTS O F IRELAND .
BARNEY ’S LOVE LETTER .
MY POLLIE IVAIT S F O R ME .
THE MOVE ON .
O UT ON THE RAN DAN .
F INE OLD SCOTTISH BALLADS .
E:"
x:
"u .
New issue of the und e rnote d
F O U R S O O i E T Y N Q VE'
L Q
IN BEAUT IF UL CO L O URED F L O RAL CO VERS ,
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1 .—T H E M EL O DEO N W IT H O UT A MAST ER.
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T HE F LUTE W ITHOUT A MASTER . A Com p le te Se lf - In stru ctor. 6d .
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O NE HUNDRED CHRISTY MINSTRELS’M EL O DIEq 6d .
F O R T HE VIOL IN .
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HUNDRED SCOTTISH AIRS. 6d .
HUNDRED CHRISTY MINSTRELS’ MELODIES. 6d
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DANCING TUNES. Arran ge d by Carl Volti. 6d .
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THE MELODEON W ITHOUT A MASTER . W ith a Se le ction o f Popular Airs.
SONGS AND AIRS. Is.
GEMS O F SONG . I S .
F ASHIONABLE DANCE MUSIC . l s.
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F O R T H E P I AN O F O R T E .
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T HE EXCELSIOR COLLECTION O F PIANO F O RT II M USIC . T he Chcap c
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CAMERON, FERGUSON’
& 0 0 G l asgow.
L E T T E R W R I T E R S .
S H iL L ING .
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E C O MPREHENSIVE LETTER \VRIT ER C loth , G ilt T itle .
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T W O PENNY.
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E JUVEN ILE LETTER W RITER. Sewe d , F an cy C ove r.
BRUDDER BONES’
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T HREEPENNY .
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GGER
!
D
IALO GUES
,LAUG H ABLE D RO LLERIES , AND F UNNY
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GER C O M ICALIT IE S : o r , Book of E thiop ian W'
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UG H ING G AS : A Re se rvo ir of N ig g e r \Vit a nd H um our .GG ER SERMO N S AND D ISCO URSES T O H IM DARKEY BRED DREN .
ACK J O KER AND PLANTATIO N HUMO URIST .
CAM ERON ,F ERGUSON 85 0 0 ,
Glasgow.
CHEAP IRI SH NATIONAL MUS IC FOR THEPEOT H RE EPEN C E PE R S H EE T .
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T H E W EST ’S ASLEEP. W o rd s by TH O M AS D AV IS .A NATIO N O NCE AGAIN . W o rd s by TH O M AS D AV IS .T H E G REEN F LAG . W o rd s b y M . J . BARRY .
O ’
D O NNELL ABU. W ord s by M . J . M‘CANN .
Pian oforte Ac c om pan im e n ts a rrang e d _by J . J . J O HN S O N .
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I“
n S 0, 2 v
fj .‘ m J A “a:J u 0‘O |V
~;l -‘u
1 ,n , 1
l“? I" "a o
41 7“-
. I z l fi \‘
S IXPENNY.
In Colou r e d I l lu strate d Cove rs.
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BOOK O F SCOTTISH READINGS, in Prose an d Ve rse , Se rie s I .
Do. do. do. d o. Se rie s II .
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LANGUAGE O F F LOW ERS, F O R LAD IES AND GENTLEM EN .
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T H E W HOLE ART O F MAGIC AND LEGERDEMAIN . Sewed , ColF loral Cove rs.
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PARLOUR GAMES AND F ORF EITS .
T H E LANGUAGE O F F LOW ERS, AND GARDEN TELEGRAPH .
PARLOUR MAG IC F O R YOUNG F OLKS.
F UN AND W IT : Quibb le s an d Rid d le s for the F ire sid e .
NEVER—W 'HAT A GENTLEMEN NEVER DOES. A Com ic Gu ideEtiqu e tt e of Refin ed Socie ty .
