dear friend indeed, whom I would wish to have with me on such an occasion.' O'Brien accordingly set out upon his excursion, his faithful valet being his only companion, and determined, most adventurously, either to make incidents or to find them. The country was at this period much disturbed; and that part of it, towards which he directed his course, the very focus of insurrection. It may easily be conceived, that a Roman Catholic population may be very readily brought to consider tithes a grievance; and that, if the Protestant gentry, from motives of short-sighted and miserable cupidity, give countenance to such a notion, those who consider that they are compelled, by unjust and cruel laws, to pay for the support of an heretical church, may excusably look upon any exactions for that purpose as most odious and insupportable.

The Church, in fact, was ill-administered. It was parcelled out amongst the sons and relatives of those who possessed parliamentary interest sufficient to command its patronage, and its spiritual interests were scan dalously neglected. The Protestant Church of Ireland, at that period, almost realized the Archbishop of Dublin's antithesis of "a church without a religion;" and the Protestant gentry accordingly, with some rare exceptions, grew up to manhood, and became magistrates of the county and members of parliament, with scarcely any sense of religion, and with no sense at all of the Church, except that they were jealous of its rights and envious of its possessions.

The following letter, which I received from my friend shortly after his departure, will more fully describe the precise state in which he found the country than any thing which I could say.

"MY DEAR HASTINGS, "You were wrong in supposing that I should want incident to give interest to my excursion-decidedly wrong. It were difficult to convey a full idea of the state of things where I stop at present, to one who has hitherto only known the calm and tran quil character of the metropolis. Here every thing is in commotion-you would think that the elements of civil society were crumbling into a chaos; the gentry either cowering before the menace and the vengeance of

a furious people, or else standing against them in determined and deadly opposition. This little town has been, for the last three days, in a state of the utmost alarm and confusion. Before I left town, you may rememberour having had an account, through the papers, of combinations entered into among the people, for the purpose of regulating the quantum of tithe and rent to be paid. This appeared alarming enough at a safe distance, but to comprehend the nature of it fully, you should feel yourself here where the effects of such combinations are immediately apparent. A party met the day before yesterday at a few miles' distance from this little town. Their object was to swear the people of some neighbouring villages to an acquiescence in their determinations. But their progress was interrupted by Mr, who, with a small party of military, had come out to disperse them. At first a kind of parley took place between the opposing parties. Mr- demanded why they had assembled, and, with all proper formalities, commanded them to return peaceably to their homes; but instead of obeying him, they continued to advance closer on him and his little party. In this critical state of things, where a few soldiers were in danger-a danger which had been recently realized-of being surrounded by an immense, and perhaps wellarmed multitude, Mr with the promptitude for which he has been remarkable, stepped forward, and drew a line on the road. Whatever you have to say,' said he, we will hear while you keep to your own side of this line, but the instant a single man passes it, I command the military to fire.' This for a few minutes checked the populace; but they again moved forward, and in the hindmost part of the crowd a bustle was observed, as if the party were producing arms from under their great coats. Mr - all this time kept watching the road, and observing whether they passed the line, and the instant the foremost man passed it, he gave the word, and two soldiers fired. He had directed that the first shot should be fired over their heads, but that the second should be deliberately aimed. He soon found it necessary to give the second command, for though the report of the first shot gave a moment

ary check to the crowd, yet when they found it only a report, they commenced again the forward movement. Then Mr - gave the word to fire and take aim, and the two most forward men, who seemed leaders of the party, fell. At this, a general panic spread through the multitude, and when they saw the soldiers levelling their muskets for a general discharge, and heard Mr cry out, that if they did not instantly disperse, many more of them should experience the fate of their leaders, they-irresolute how to proceed, and terrified by their leaders' fall-scattered and dispersed over the country. The two unfortunate men had been shot dead; and Mr returned with his party to give directions about holding an inquest on the bodies; but, in the meantime, some of the disturbers had returned for their fallen friends; and whether it was that they had received encouragement from some of the gentry, or had been rendered desperate, they conveyed the bodies into town, and had them laid at Mr's door. This took place in the evening, and the people passed the night in the greatest terror, expecting that an attack would be made upon the town, and feeling how badly prepared they were to resist it.

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'Next day, a market-day, the streets were excessively crowded, and the dead bodies were paraded in a very conspicuous place, and curses and menaces, not only deep but loud, were to be heard on all sides. The gentry, feeling themselves called on to adopt some resolution, summoned a meeting at the Court-house, which, at first, they intended to consist of magistrates exclusively; but some gentlemen, not magistrates, having made their way in, the doors were left open to the people indiscriminately; and although the magistrates were permitted to occupy the higher part of the Courthouse, and were indulged in something like a breathing place, yet, all the lower parts were so exceedingly thronged, that it required the greatest exertion, on the part of the constables, who were in attendance, to preserve the magisterial benches from being carried violently by the pressure of the mob.

"For some time, it did not clearly appear what the magistrates had met to deliberate about; but their discus VOL. XXVI. NO. CLVII.

sions began to turn on the state of the country, the expediency of relieving the peasantry from their burdens, especially that of tithe ; and the mob, as was to be expected, shouted in acclaim. Some proposal was under consideration of offering a certain sum in lieu of tithe, when my attention (for I had forced my way in, and was standing at an open window) was called away by some murmurs in the street below me; and I soon distinguished passionate exclamations from the crowd in the Court-house-'Oh, look at him! Good Lord, have mercy on us!—look at him! how easy he is, and two poor souls crying out again' him.' I looked from the window, and was directed by the mob in the house and in the street towards a remarkably fine-looking old man, coming towards the court. The mob in the street appeared under the influence of a panic rather than a desire for revenge-at least I saw no attitudes of menace, and if there was any threatening expression, it did not reach my ears. I could see, very distinctly, the old gentleman; for as he advanced, the mob fell back from before him, and left his figure quite visible. He had all the erectness and amplitude, in the upper part of his figure, which we look for in the Roman statues-his limbs light and handsomely formed-his countenance calm and steady, without a wrinkle, and with an appearance of freshness remarkable at his time of life. Indeed, it was more from his dress, than his person, that you would judge him to be old. He wore large buckles in his shoes, a long-skirted coat, a powdered curled wig, and a cocked hat. I had full time to observe him, as he walked leisurely through the streets; his hands behind his back, and his head held steadily up-turning, as he walked, to neither side of the way. Just before he entered the Court-house I heard him speak, and was much struck by the character of his voice, and the steady deliberation of tone with which he made every syllable he uttered be distinctly heard. Some butchers kept their stalls adjacent to the gate, and I suppose it had been his habit to converse with them on ordinary occasions, for he said, as he passed them by, I salute no man to-day

my notice might not be serviceable.' As he passed under the gateway, I turned towards the assembled magis2 H

trates, and found that they had been expecting him, and intended to make a proposition, about the success of which they were very doubtful-I heard the words- All to no purpose it won't do quite unmanageable.' But now all this by-play was at an end, for Mr H had made his way up to the benches, and was standing conspicuously in sight of the whole as sembly. Now the proposal was made -what it was I could not distinctly hear-for the gentleman who made it spoke in a low and hurried tone. For some time Mr H was silent, and remained observing the magistrates with fixed attention, and in a manner so imposing, that even the mob were hushed into perfect stillness. At last he spoke-'I pity you,' said he; ''fore God, I pity you. You, gentlemen of the county-the sons, some of you, of most respectable parents-and you suffer yourselves to be terrified into these paltry measures, because you have not virtue enough to protect the people when they are suffering, nor courage to oppose them when they do wrong. You, magistrates of the county, sworn to preserve the peace, and you lend yourselves to make every rabble-rout important and dangerous. For shame! I tell you, you are more guilty than the creatures whom the law will soon be called on to punishyou are worse subjects of your king, and worse enemies to the laws which it is your province to uphold. And you take upon you to intercede with me for the poor! When was it known that I ever oppressed a poor man? When was I ever known to favour the rich? I call upon you to name the instance, if in your power. And you,' said he, turning to the populace, whom now for the first time he regarded'you, poor misguided creatures, come forward any one of you, and say, have I ever, in any instance, done you wrong? I have acted as a magistrate for more than forty years; I have for that length of time had dealings with you; and if you produce a single act in which I have been guilty of injustice, I here pledge my word before you all, to recompense the injured person to the utmost of my power-Is there one of you who has a claim upon me? Does nobody speak? Not one. Do you, gentlemen, note this silence? Is there one among you that would hazard the

same demand? And yet you intercede with me! And you dare to dictate to me how my property is to be disposed of ;-you who have not courage to defend your own! I pity you. You think you can protect yourselves by making a sacrifice of me! 'Fore God, unless your wisdom is more to be commended than your consciences, if I were to give up the management of my own concerns, you are not the guardians I should choose. What have you met here for to-day? There are two dead bodies lying in your streets, and I call upon you to see that an inquest is properly held. As for me, I need none of your civilities. Let the jury on the inquest declare their verdict, and upon that decision I will act. Let the laws of your country be duly executed, and endeavour to act as if you felt the importance of the charge committed to you; and, above all things, make no such pitiful proposals as you have made, until the country is in a state not to have insurrection encouraged by your rashness or imbecility.'

"The old gentleman concluded; and, after some desultory conversation, the assembly broke up, and the people departed. I could see that Mr Hwas afterwards remonstrating with the magistrates individually, and that they seemed to submit to him with a certain kind of deference; and the end of all was, that, on the verdict, he was acquitted; and that the alarms of the town subsided into a more tranquil apprehension. To day there was a new alarm. A report reached the town that a man had been killed, and was lying in a ditch at about two miles' distance. It was said that he was a proctor of Mr H, and that, the police being absent on some duty, no person would incur the hazard of going out to see the poor man, although it could not be certainly known whether he was yet dead. Such, you see, is the terror here. As I, however, was only a sojourner, I did not so much apprehend the consequences; and I set off, John accompanying me, at a very rapid pace; and although we were on foot, we soon reached the spot where the poor man was lying-a dreadful spectacle he was! We were in the act of examining whether any spark of life remained, when I heard, from the other side of the angle which the road made at this place, the same

6

deep and distinct voice which had so much struck me on the day before. It was uttered in a kind of address to a stubborn horse. I will not struggle with you; I never contended with a brute devoid of reason.' Then seeing us, as he descended from his vehicle, he said, with the same precision, Answer-Who are you?-are you friends?' I gave him a brief explanation, and directed his attention to the pitiful sight which awaited him. After feeling the wrist of the object before him, and applying his hand to the mouth, he remained for some minutes silent, gazing on the body. Then he turned round to me. He

is dead,' said he; it was no common struggle, you may perceive,' pointing to the footprints stamped deeply into the ground, and to some blood-stains and fragments of cloth

torn from the coats of the murderers by a dying grasp. 'Poor fellow! said he, again turning to the dead body; we have passed many hours of danger together, and God gave us strength and courage to come through them. You were a faithful servant.' After remaining some time silent, he asked whether I would assist him in removing the body; and I gave, of course, an affirmative reply. He had previously placed planks across a part of his car, and on these we laid the body, and secured it as effectually as we could. During our return I made some acquaintance with Mr H——, although he spoke very little; but he has given me a very pressing invitation to spend some days at his house, which I felt no hesitation about accepting, and I purpose removing there to-morrow."

"MY DEAR O'BRIEN, "I feel myself in imminent peril of incurring a censure such as we have sometimes not unsparingly visited on our friend Stephenson, when, at a random stroke, he has demolished a theory, and obtruded some irrelevant story or remark upon us, while occupied with some far more interesting narrative or speculation. Your letter, with all its speciosa miracula rerum, is lying before me-not unread-and I am actually on the point of setting it aside, while I call your attention to certain wonders of my own, which I think not unworthy of your consideration. What course shall I pursue? Shall I do violence to the current of my thoughts, and practise politeness on compulsion; or shall I do what I believe will be more acceptable to you, think no more of giving honour to your epistle, and write you a correct and particular account of my own adventure? I have made up my mind-your letter shall lie over. I could not tell you of my strange haps in telegraphic concise ness. Once let me begin, and multitudes of thoughts and feelings, earnest and loquacious as Irish witnesses, will insist on having their words. Let them have their wish, and accept you my story, assured that I have not received your communication with less thankfulness, and that I do not regard it with less interest, because I defer the expression of my acknowledgments

which now possesses me shall have in some degree subsided, and the divine voice' of that region of enchantment, out of which I have just emerged, shall have ceased to ring around me.

"One preliminary, however, I must beg to arrange-and observe, I understand it as agreed to by you. It is, that you read straightforward as I write, and make no short cuts to the conclusion of my story. I am about to tell you of matters strange and difficult of comprehension. What I write to you, I may perhaps hereafter submit to more general perusal. Of what I now communicate to you, it is not improbable that I may attempt an explanation; and to understand whether I

succeed, it is necessary that you shall have read the entire account of what I endeavour to explain. In my view of such matters, even where feelings have been disproportionably excited, they are not unworthy of being noticed. You are not one of those who think that nothing but what can be touched or seen, deserves to be made mention of. You are willing to allow its proper reality to the world of imagination; and you know that if, even without an adequate cause, astonishment or terror has been strongly felt, the circumstances under which such sensations were experienced, are as worthy of being recorded as are many of those important facts which are daily paraded in all the pomp with which printing can invest them. Hear, then,my