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Title: Twenty-five years in the Secret Service: The recollections of a spy

Author: Henri Le Caron

Release date: August 16, 2022 [eBook #68765]
                Most recently updated: April 30, 2024

Language: English

Original publication: United Kingdom: William Heinemann

Credits: Richard Hulse, John Campbell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)


*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN THE SECRET SERVICE: THE RECOLLECTIONS OF A SPY ***




  TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE

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  Bold text is denoted by =equal signs=.

  Footnote anchors are denoted by [number], and the footnotes have been
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  Some minor changes to the text are noted at the end of the book.




[Illustration: (author, with signature)

  Yours truly,
  H. Le Caron]




  TWENTY-FIVE YEARS

  IN

  THE SECRET SERVICE

  _The Recollections of a Spy_

  BY

  MAJOR HENRI LE CARON

  With Portraits and Facsimiles

  “No citizen has a right to consider himself as belonging to himself;
  but all ought to regard themselves as belonging to the State, inasmuch
  as each is a part of the State; and care for the part naturally looks
  to care for the whole.”
                                                        —ARISTOTLE.

  Third [Illustration: (colophon)] Edition


  LONDON

  WILLIAM HEINEMANN

  1892

  [_All rights reserved_]




INTRODUCTION.


It has seemed good in the sight of many people that I should place
on record, in some permanent and acceptable form, the story of
my eventful life. And so I am about to write a book. The task is
a daring one—perhaps the most daring of the many strange and
unlooked-for incidents which have marked my career of adventure. I
approach it with no light heart, but rather with a keen appreciation
of all its difficulties.

To cater, and cater successfully, for the reading public of this _fin
de siècle_ period is an undertaking which fairly taxes all the powers
of resource and experience of the most brilliant writers of our time.
And I am in no sense a practised writer, much less a professional
_litterateur_. I have spent my life working at too high a pressure,
and in too excited an atmosphere, to allow of my qualifying in any
way for the rôle of author.

Nor am I handicapped in this way alone. I am, unfortunately for my
purpose, deprived of the most important of collaborators a writer
ever called to his aid—the play of imagination. For me there is
no such thing as romance to be indulged in here. The truth, the
whole truth, and nothing but the truth is what I have set myself to
tell regarding all those matters with which I shall deal. There are
many things, of course, to which I may not refer; but with respect
to those upon which I feel at liberty to touch, one unalterable
characteristic will apply all through, and that will be the absolute
truthfulness of the record.

This may seem strange language coming from one who, for over a
quarter of a century, has played a double part, and who to-day
is not one whit ashamed of any single act done in that capacity.
Men’s lives, however, are not to be judged by the outward show and
the visible suggestion, but rather by the inward sentiments and
promptings which accept conscience at once as the inspirer of action
and arbiter of fate. It is hard, I know, to expect people in this
cold prosaic age of ours to fully understand how a man like myself
should, of his own free will, have entered upon a life such as I have
led, with such pureness of motive and absence of selfish instinct
as to entitle me to-day to claim acceptance at the bar of public
opinion as an honest and a truthful man.

Yet such is my claim. When years ago, as these subsequent pages will
show, I was first brought into contact with Fenian affairs, no fell
purpose, no material consideration prompted me to work against the
revolutionary plotters. A young man, proud of his native land and
full of patriotic loyalty to its traditions, I had no desire, no
intention to do aught but frustrate the schemes of my country’s foes.
When, later on, I took my place in the ranks of England’s defenders,
the same condition of mind prevailed, though the conditions of
service varied.

And so the situation has remained all through. Forced by a variety
of circumstances to play a part I never sought, but to which, for
conscientious motives, I not unwillingly adapted myself, I can admit
no shame and plead no regret. By my action lives have been saved,
communities have been benefited, and right and justice allowed to
triumph, to the confusion of law-breakers and would-be murderers. And
in this recollection I have my consolation and my reward. Little else
indeed is left me in the shape of either the one or the other. There
is a popular fiction, I know, which associates with my work fabulous
payments and frequent rewards. Would that it had been so. Then would
the play of memory be all the sweeter for me. But, alas! the facts
were all the other way. As I will show later, in the Secret Service
of England there is ever present danger, and constantly recurring
difficulty, but of recompense, a particularly scant supply.




LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.


      _PORTRAITS._

  MAJOR HENRI LE CARON                             _Frontispiece_

  ALEXANDER SULLIVAN                             _To face p._  62

  PATRICK EGAN                                         ”      160

  “NUMBER ONE”—P. J. TYNAN                            ”      168

  CHARLES STEWART PARNELL                              ”      178



      _FACSIMILES._

  THE OATH OF ALLEGIANCE                                       16

  A FENIAN TWENTY-DOLLAR BOND                                  27

  MY COMMISSION AS MAJOR IN THE ARMY OF THE IRISH REPUBLIC     54

  PATRICK EGAN’S LETTER OF INTRODUCTION                       234

  ALEXANDER SULLIVAN’S CHEQUE FOR THIRTY THOUSAND DOLLARS     264

  ALEXANDER SULLIVAN’S LETTER                     _Appendix III._




TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN THE SECRET SERVICE.




I.


Of my early youth little that is very interesting or exciting can be
told. A faded entry in the aged records of the ancient borough of
Colchester evidences the fact that a certain Thomas Beach, to wit
myself, came into this world some fifty and one years ago, on the
26th day of September 1841. My parents were English, as the American
would phrase it, “from far away back,” my grandfather tracing his
lineage through many generations in the county of Berkshire. The
second son of a family of thirteen, I fear I proved a sore trial
to a careful father and affectionate mother, by my erratic methods
and the varied outbursts of my wild exuberant nature. My earliest
recollection is of the teetotal principle on which we were all
brought up, and the absence of strong drink from all our household
feasts. The point is a trivial one, but not unworthy of note, as it
supplies the key to some of my successes in later life, in keeping
clear of danger through intoxication, when almost all of those with
whom I dealt were victims to it. When others lost their heads, and
their caution as well, I was enabled, through my distaste for drink,
to benefit in every way.

Living in a military town as I did, and coming into daily contact
with all the pomp and circumstance of soldiering, it was but natural
that the glory of the redcoat life should affect me, and that, like
so many other foolish boys, I should feel drawn to the ranks. Of
course I wanted to enlist, and what wonder that for me life held no
nobler ambition and success, no grander figure than that clothed
with the uniform of the bold drummer-boy. All my efforts, however,
were naturally of no avail, and I found the path to glory blocked at
every point. The fever, nevertheless, was upon me, and my want of
success only made me the more determined to achieve my object in the
long run. Home held no promise of success, and at home I decided I
would no longer remain. So it came about that one fine morning, when
little more than twelve years of age, I packed my marbles, toys,
and trophies, and in the early light slipped quietly out on to the
high-road _en route_ for that Mecca of all country boys—the great
glorious city of London!

I had run away from home in grim earnest. Not for very long,
however. Fortunately for me—unfortunately as I thought in those
young days—I committed a grave blunder in tactics. Meeting one of my
school-fellows on the journey, I was foolish enough to inform him of
my proceeding and intention, and in this way my anxious parents were
soon put upon my track, and my interesting and exciting escapade was
brought to an ignominious conclusion. I had, however, tasted of the
sweets of adventure, and it was not very long before I made another
attempt to rid myself of the trammels of home life. Here again I
was fated to meet with defeat, but not before I had made a distinct
advance upon my first effort, for two weeks were allowed to elapse
before I was discovered on this occasion. The natural consequences
attended these attempts of mine, and soon I was written down as the
black sheep of the family, from whom no permanent good could ever be
expected.

The idea of keeping me longer at school was quite given up, and in
order the better to tie me down, I was apprenticed for a period of
seven years to Mr. Thomas Knight, a Quaker, and well-known draper in
my native town. The arrangement suited me not at all. Nothing could
be more uncongenial than a life worked out in the solemn atmosphere
of a staid and strict Quaker’s home, where the efforts to curb my
impulsive nature resulted in increasing bitterness of spirit on my
part every day. In eleven months it was conceded on both sides that
the continuation of the arrangement was distinctly undesirable, and
so I was free once more. A short residence with my parents followed;
but the old promptings to wander afar were too strong for me, and
once more, for the third and last time, I broke away, and reached
London at last, in the month of May 1857.

Through the kindness of relatives, employment was secured for me in a
leading business house; but my stay there was of short duration. With
my usual facility for doing everything wrong at this period of my
existence, I happened to accidentally set fire to the premises, and
was politely told that after this my services could not be properly
appreciated. I was not long out of employment, and strangely enough,
through the agency of one of the gentlemen whose house had suffered
through my carelessness, I was later on enabled to obtain a much
better situation than I had held in their house.

From London I subsequently made my way to Bath, and from Bath to
Bristol, always in search of change, though everywhere doing well.
When in Bristol, however, I was struck down with fever, and reduced
to a penniless condition. Then came the idea of returning to London,
which I duly carried out, walking all the way. My foolhardiness
proved almost fatal, for ere I got to the metropolis, my illness came
back upon me, and I was scarce able to crawl to St. Bartholomew’s
Hospital in search of relief.

My stay at St. Bartholomew’s was not a very long one. Horrified at
the terrible death of a patient lying next to me, and fearful that,
if I remained, something equally horrible might be my fate, I managed
to obtain possession of my clothes and to leave the institution.
Thoughts of home and mother decided my return to Colchester, and
thither I immediately proceeded to make my way on foot. Again the
fever attacked me, and once more I had to seek the friendly shelter
of an hospital, this time taking refuge in the Colchester and East
Essex Institution. Here I remained till I was permanently recovered,
after which I entered the service of Mr. William Baber of the town.
However, my efforts to lead a sober conventional life were all in
vain. The wild longing for change came back in renewed strength, and
in a little while I had left London altogether behind and journeyed
to Paris _viâ_ Havre.




II.


I am amused as I look back now upon the utter recklessness and daring
of this proceeding of mine. I knew not a soul in France; of the
language, not a word was familiar; and yet somehow the longing to get
away from England and to try my luck on a new soil was irresistible.
One place was as good as another to me, and Paris seemed rather more
familiar than the other few centres of activity with the names of
which I was then acquainted. And so to Paris I went. It was my good
fortune to hit upon an hotel kept by an Englishwoman in the Faubourg
St. Honoré, and here I tarried for a time while my little stock of
money lasted. This was not by any means a long period, and soon I
found myself reduced once more to a condition of penury, having in
the interval gained little but an acquaintance with the principal
thoroughfares and their shops, and a slight knowledge of the
language, to which latter I was helped in no inconsiderable degree by
a wonderfully retentive memory.

Things were at a very low ebb for me indeed, when help came from an
entirely unexpected quarter. Happening one Sunday to pass by the
English Church in the Rue d’Aguesseau, of which, by the way, the Rev.
Dr. Forbes was at that time chaplain, I was attracted by the music
of the service then proceeding, and entered the little unpretentious
place of worship. Here I joined heartily in the service, with the
order and details of which I was perfectly familiar, having already
sung in the choir of my native town. My singing and generally strange
appearance attracted the attention of a member of the church, with
whom I formed an acquaintance. We left the church together—not
however before I had promised my assistance in the choir—and at
his request I breakfasted with my English friend at one of the
_crêmeries_ in the Faubourg. Now, as then, a respected citizen of
Paris, I am happy to number this countryman among the truest and most
steadfast of my friends.

We passed the day together, attending the remaining two services
at the church, and in the hours we spent in each other’s company
I told him my history and my needs. Warm-hearted and impulsive,
he immediately suggested that I should vacate my room and share
his lodging, even going the length of advancing me money to enable
me to do so. Before a week had passed, he had capped his goodness
by securing a situation for me; and I found myself at length
comfortably installed in the house of Withers, _à la Suissesse_,
52 Faubourg St. Honoré. Through his influence also I became a paid
member of the church choir, and in a very short time I was the
recipient of the friendship and confidence of Dr. Forbes and his
wife, from both of whom I received very many kindnesses. Thanks to
them, I was very soon enabled to better my position, and to change
to the house of Arthur & Co., where matters improved for me in every
way. There then succeeded some of the happiest days of my life.
Freed from care and anxiety, with all the necessaries of life at
my control, and a fund of boyish spirits and perfect health, I was
without a trouble or a dark hour, happy and contented in my daily
task.

So the weeks and months came and went without discovering any change
in my position, till an unlooked-for incident once more brought the
wild mad thirst for change and excitement back to me, and sounded
the death-knell of my quiet life. On the 9th April 1861, the shot
was fired at Fort Sumpter which inaugurated the war of the Rebellion
of the United States. That shot echoed all over the world, but in no
place was the effect more keenly marked than in the American colony
in Paris, which even in these early days was a very numerous one.

Arthur’s, the place of business of which I speak, was one of the most
favoured of the American resorts, and here the excitement raged at
fever heat, as little by little the news came over the sea. Those
were not the days of the cable, flashing the news of success or
defeat simultaneously with its occurrence, and picturing in vivid
phrase and description every incident and climax of warfare, till
almost the figures move before us, and our eyes and ears are deadened
by the smoke and sound of shot. The tidings came in snatches, and the
absence of completeness and detail only served to give the greater
impetus to discussion and imagination.

There was no more excited student of the situation than myself; and
very soon, of course, I was fired with the idea of playing a part
in the scenes which I was following with such enthusiasm and zest.
Friends and associates, many of them American, were leaving on every
hand for the seat of war; and at last, throwing care and discretion
to the winds, I took the plunge and embarked on the _Great Eastern_
on her first voyage to New York.

I reached that city in good time, and without delay enlisted in the
Northern Army, in company with several of my American associates
from Paris. In connection with my enlistment there occurred a
circumstance, trivial in itself at the moment, yet fraught with the
most important consequences in regard to my after-life. This was
the taking to myself of a new name and a new nationality. I had
no thought of remaining in America for any length of time—at the
outset, indeed, I only enlisted for three months, the period for
which recruits were sought—and, regarding the whole proceeding
more in the light of a good joke than anything else, I came to
the conclusion that I should not cause anxiety to my parents by
disclosing my position, and decided to sustain the joke by playing
the part of a Frenchman and calling myself Henri le Caron. So came
into existence that name and character which, in after years, proved
to be such a marvellous source of protection and success to me
personally, and of such continued service to my native country, whose
citizenship I had, by my proceeding, to resign.

As subsequent events proved, however, I was not to carry out my
original idea of returning. The three months came and went, and many
more followed in their wake, till five years had passed and left me
still in the United States’ service. The life suited me. I made many
friends; soldiering was a pleasant experience; and I was particularly
fortunate in escaping its many mishaps. I had no care for the
morrow, and, happily for me, I found my morrows to bring little if
any care to me. Only on one occasion was I seriously wounded. This
was when, during an engagement near Woodbury, Tennessee, I had my
horse killed under me by a shell, my companion killed at my side, and
myself wounded by a splinter from the explosive, which laid me up for
about a month.

Interesting and animated as was my career as a soldier, I must not
delay to deal with it too fully in detail, but must hurry on to that
subsequent life of mine in America, which possesses the greatest
interest for the public at large. I shall, however, before leaving
it, run over very shortly the different stages of my soldiering
experience. The facts may be interesting to the many people in this
country and America who are familiar with the history of the American
war of the Rebellion. I enlisted as a private soldier on August 7,
1861, in the 8th Pennsylvanian Reserves, changing therefrom to the
Anderson Cavalry, commanded by Colonel William J. Palmer. Here I
remained for a year and ten months, serving through the Peninsula
campaign of the army of the Potomac, including the battles of Four
Oaks, South Mountain, Antietam, and Williamsport, all of which were
fought under the command of General George B. MacClellan.

In October 1862, I joined, with my regiment, the Western Army, under
General William S. Rosencranz, and participated in the advance from
Louisville, Nashville, and Murfreesboro’, including the engagements
at Tullahoma and Winchester, and ending with the capture of
Chattanooga and Chicamanga in September of the same year. The failure
of Rosencranz at Chicamanga closed his career. He was succeeded by
General George H. Thomas, who remained in command up to the end of
my service in the army. By this time I had obtained a warrant as a
noncommissioned officer, and was principally engaged in scouting
duty. On the command in which I served being ordered to the relief of
General Burnside at Knoxville, I left Chattanooga, then in a state of
siege and semi-famine, and reaching Knoxville, I took part during the
whole of the winter of 1863 in the East Tennessee campaign against
the rebel General Longstreet, my engagements including Strawberry
Plain, Mossy Creek, and Dandridge. I was fortunate enough to be
recommended for a commission in 1864, and, after my examination
before a military board, was gazetted Second Lieutenant in the
United States Army in the month of July of that year. For the next
twelve months I was exclusively employed in scouting duty, in charge
of a mounted company, serving in this capacity under General Lovel
L. Rousseau in West Tennessee. In December 1864, being attached
to General Stedman’s division of the Army of the Cumberland, I
was present at the battle of Nashville, and took part in all the
engagements through Tennessee and Alabama, being promoted in the
course of them to the rank of First Lieutenant.

During 1865 I was appointed upon detached service of various
descriptions, filling amongst other positions those of Acting
Assistant-Adjutant-General and Regimental Adjutant. At the close
of the war I joined the veteran organisations of the Army of the
Cumberland, and the Grand Army of the Republic, and held the
appointment therein of Vice-Commander and Post-Surgeon, ranking as
Major.

Long ere this I had, of course, given up all idea of returning to
France, and had communicated my whereabouts and position to my
parents, much to their anxiety and dismay.

Tragedy and comedy blended together in strange fellowship in our
experiences of those days; and, as I write, a couple of amusing
examples of this occur to me. It was in 1865, when engaged on
scouting duty in connection with the guerilla warfare carried on by
irregular bands of Southerners, that I received the following order:—

         “HEAD-QUARTERS, THIRD SUB-DISTRICT, MIDDLE TENNESSEE,
              “ACTING ASSISTANT-ADJUTANT-GENERAL’S OFFICE,
               “KINGSTON SPRINGS, TENN., _May 17, 1865_.

  “SIR,—The following despatch has been received:—

                                           “NASHVILLE, _May 16, 1865_.

  “Brig.-Gen. Thompson.

  “In accordance with orders heretofore published of the Major-Gen.
  Commanding Dept. of Cumberland, Champ Fergusson and his gang of
  cut-throats having refused to surrender, are denounced as outlaws,
  and the military forces of this district will deal with and treat
  him accordingly.

                                   “By Command of Major-Gen. Rousseau,
                                           “(Signed) H. C. WHITLEMORE,
                                                  “Capt. and A.A.A.G.”

This, of course, meant sudden death to any of the band who might come
within range of our rifles. The men, indeed, were nothing less than
murderers and robbers, carrying on their devilish work under the plea
of fighting for Southern independence. It was not long before an
opportunity was afforded me of coming in contact with a specimen of
the class, and it is on this meeting that one of my anecdotes will
turn.

A few days after, when riding ahead of my troop, in company with a
couple of my men, in order to “prospect” the country, with a view to
finding suitable accommodation for our wants, I came to a well-built
farmhouse a few miles from the Duck River. As we approached the
front, my attention was attracted by an armed man, in the well-known
butter-nut grey uniform of the enemy, escaping from the back in a
very hasty and suspicious manner. Reading his true character in a
moment, I shouted to him to halt, at the same time directing my
troopers to “head him off” right and left. Disregarding our cries,
he started off in hot haste, while we pursued him in equally hurried
fashion. The chase was a hard and a stern one, his flight being
only broken for a moment to allow of his discharging his carbine at
me. Not desiring to kill him, I saved my powder, and in the end ran
him to earth, and stunned him with a blow from the butt-end of my
revolver.

When my companions arrived, we proceeded to examine our prisoner,
and found, on stripping him of his grey covering, that underneath he
wore the unmistakable blue coat of our own regiment, with the plain
indication of a corporal’s stripes having been torn therefrom. As we
had a few days previously discovered the stripped, bullet-riddled
body of a brave corporal of ours, who had been murdered by some of
these scoundrels, we at once concluded that this was one of his
assassins, and my troop, coming up at this point, dealt him scant
mercy, and filled his body with their bullets ere consciousness
returned. A search of his pockets revealed his identity, his
pocket-book containing some two hundred dollars in bills, and an oath
of allegiance to the U.S. Government, which he had doubtless used
many times to save his wretched life. The following is a _facsimile_
of the original document, which I have kept through all these
years—the stains being those of the man’s blood:—

[Illustration: (Oath of Allegiance)]

Making our way back to the house, we discovered two weeping women,
and half-a-dozen small children. A single question elicited the fact
that the elder of the two was the mother, while subsequent inquiries
proved that the dead man was the notorious William M. Guin, a nephew
of ex-U.S. Senator Guin, of California, and one of the leaders of as
notorious a gang of cut-throats as ever operated in the South-West.
Our custom was to burn the houses of any persons found harbouring
these guerillas, but the heartrending entreaties of the wretched
women and children caused me to leave them unmolested. Some time
afterwards, when peace was finally declared, I was quartered at
Waverley, in the same vicinity, and often met the unfortunate mother,
who knew me as “the man who killed her boy,” though, as she told me,
she never blamed me, having often warned her son that he would come
to a bad end.

And now for the other side of the picture. During these operations,
my men were principally mounted on horses captured from the citizens,
who were invariably rebels; and as our habit was to take every
available animal when found, the methods adopted to hide them in
caves, ravines, and swamps were sometimes very remarkable. Upon
one of my expeditions at the time, in the direction of Vernon, on
the Duck River, I came across a fine black horse, which I speedily
confiscated to the use of “Uncle Sam.” My prize, however, did not
long remain in my possession, for in a few days my quarters were
invaded by a deputation of the fair sex, who presented me with the
following amusing appeal:—

                               I.
      “We write in good spirits to you,
      For our glad expectations we hope to find true,
      That you’ll act as a gentleman always should do,
      And with a request from the ladies comply
      Which a fame would attain you that never should die;
      While we’ll think of you ever with kindness sincere,
      And say of you what it would please you to hear,
      And wish for you always a life long and free
      From grief and visitation that sometimes will be.

                               II.
      “Now, what must you do these good wishes to gain,
      And make us rejoice that we asked not in vain?
      Well, a something ’twill be a great boon to obtain
      To us who now ask—and a kindness most true
      And most earnestly wished for—but to you
      It will be what they tell us a victory is—
      Quite easy to “Grant,” and we hope you’ll grant this.

                               III.
      “We once (not long since) had a favourite here,
      Obedient and gentle, deservedly dear;
      He was patient, obeying our will without force,
      And he seemed like a friend, though he was but a horse.
      How much we esteemed him we never can say,
      And Dixie we named him. You took him away!
      And sadly and truly we’ve missed him since then—
      Oh, captain, do give us poor Dixie again.
      If you have conquered _one_ Dixie, be generous here;
      Return us the other we all count so dear,
      And we’ll say Captain Le Caron (and hold it so too)
      Is the very best soldier that ever wore blue.
      Your country is famed both in prose and in song;
      To its sons truth and justice are said to belong—
      Good principle, honour, with bravery too;
      Prove now to us, captain, that this is quite true.
      Let us have our old friend—you have better by scores,
      But to us none so dear can e’er stand at our doors;
      None other can seem half so good or so wise,
      So worthy our care as he was in our eyes.
      You _must_ be enlightened, be generous too;
      Give us back our poor Dixie,
      Do, captain, please do.
      Just say we may have him, that welcome word say,
      And your petitioners will evermore pray.

                                         “MARY BARR.
                                         “CYNTHIA BARR.
                                         “POLLY HASSELL.
                                         “MARY L. G., _a sympathiser_.

  “VERNON, TENNESSEE,
  “_July 1865_.

  “To Captain Le Caron.”

I naturally pursued the only course which a soldier could, and
surrendered the horse. Strange to say, one of my lieutenants
afterwards surrendered his affections and future happiness to one of
these fair damsels, and still lives with her as his wife, surrounded
by a charming family, away out in central Kansas.




III.


In the midst of all my soldiering, I wooed and won my wife. She is
the principal legacy left me of those old campaigning days of mine,
as bonny a wife and as sympathetic and valuable a helpmate as ever
husband was blessed with in this world. Many years have gone by since
we first met away in Tennessee, where she, a bright-eyed daring
horsewoman, and I, a happy-go-lucky cavalry officer, scampered the
plains together in pleasant company. Little thought either of us
then what the future years held in store. Yet when these years came,
and with them the anxious moments, the uncertain intervals, and the
perilous hours, none was more brave, more sympathetic than she.
Carrying the secret of my life close locked up in that courageous
heart of hers, helping me when need be, silent when nought could be
done, she proved as faithful an ally and as perfect a foil as ever
man placed like me could have been given by Heaven. A look, a gasp,
a frightened movement, an uncertain turn might have betrayed me, and
all would have been lost; a jealous action, a curious impulse, and
she might have wrecked my life; a letter misplaced, a drawer left
open, a communication miscarried, and my end was certain. But those
things were not to be. Brave, affectionate, and fearless, frequently
beseeching me to end this terrible career in which each moment of the
coming hours was charged with danger if not death, she tended her
family lovingly, and faced the world with a countenance which gave
no sign, but a caution which never slumbered.

I had not to wait for these later years, however, to prove her
readiness and resource. These had been shown me long ere marriage
was dreamt of by either of us, and when, in one of the most exciting
episodes of my military career, she gave me my freedom and my life.
For our wooing was not without its romance. Our first meeting was
quite a casual one. An officer in charge of a party of thirty,
engaged in scouting duty, I stopped my little troop one night, in
the winter of 1862, at a house some fifteen miles from Nashville,
Tennessee, in order to rest our horses and prepare our supper. We
selected the house, and stopped there without any prearrangement.
This, however, was in no way extraordinary. It was quite the common
practice to stop _en route_ and buy hospitality from the residents.
The house was the property of my wife’s uncle, and here she lived.
While our supper was being prepared, we chatted agreeably together,
and the time swept pleasantly along, We were in fancied security, and
gave no thought to immediate danger. In a moment, however, all was
confusion. The house was suddenly surrounded by a band of irregular
troops, calling themselves Confederates, but in reality nothing more
or less than marauders, and soon the fortunes of war were turned
against us.

Half my little command, fortunately, escaped, owing to their being
with the horses at the time of the enemy’s approach, and so enabled
to take to flight. The other half, however, with myself, were not so
fortunate. We were in the house, surprised, and immediately taken
prisoners. A large log smoke-house was improvised for a prison, and
in this my comrades and myself were placed, tortured with indignation
and hunger, as the riotous sounds which followed proclaimed to
us that our captors were partaking of the supper which had been
originally intended for ourselves. Our position altogether was
anything but a happy one. Death was very near. Irregular troops like
those with whom we had to deal seldom gave quarter. If we escaped
immediate death, it would be only to be brought within the Southern
line to be condemned to a living death in prison.

We sat and pondered; and as the probabilities of the future loomed
heavily and darkly before us, the sounds of revelry in the adjoining
house gradually died away. Our captors, filled with the good things
provided for us, gradually dropped to sleep, and soon nothing
was heard but the measured movement and breathing of the guard
stationed at our door. In a little time, however, there was perfect
silence, and our watchful ears detected the absence of our sentry’s
person. Curious but silent we anxiously waited, and soon heard the
withdrawal of the bolt by some unknown hand. Opening the door, we
found the pathway clear. My brave Tennessee girl, finding the gang of
irregulars all steeped in heavy slumber, had decoyed our guard away
on pretence of his obtaining supper, and returning, had unbolted our
prison-house, prepared to face the consequences when the sleeping
ruffians awoke. Through her action our safety was assured, and after
walking fifteen miles, we reached camp in the morning to join our
comrades, who had given us up for lost.

This happened on Christmas Eve 1862; and it was not until April
1864—sixteen months afterwards—that I again met the girl who had
done so much for me, and who was subsequently to become my wife.

The house in which these exciting events had taken place had meantime
been totally destroyed by the ravages of war, and she was now living
with her aunt in Nashville itself. I was stationed in camp, there
awaiting my examination before a board of officers for further
promotion, and here occurred the most eventful engagement in which I
ever took part, where, conquering yet conquered, I ignored all the
articles of war and subscribed to those of marriage, entering into a
treaty of peace freighted with the happiest of results.




IV.


The war was now over and done, a thing of the past. I was situated
in Nashville with my wife and family, and with my savings, happy in
the enjoyment of the moment, and the pleasant reminiscences of the
past. Henri le Caron, the agent of the British Government in the
camps of American Fenianism, did not exist, and I had not the shadow
of a conception as to what the future held in store for me. The
future indeed troubled me not one whit. Looking back, as I do now,
upon all that has happened since then, I am filled with astonishment
as great and sincere as that which affected the world when I first
told my story in its disjointed way before the Special Commission.
It may be that I am somewhat of a fatalist—I know not what I may be
called—but my ideas, strengthened by the experience of my life, are
very clear on one point. We may be free agents to a certain extent;
but, nevertheless, for some wise purpose matters are arranged for
us. We are impelled by some unknown force to carry out, not of our
own volition or possible design, the work of this life, indicated
by a combination of circumstances, to which unconsciously we adapt
ourselves. In such a manner did I become connected with Fenianism
and the Irish Party in America. For I never sought Fenianism;
Fenianism rather came to me.

I use the phrase Fenianism as one that is familiar, and requires no
explanation from me. All the world must surely know by this that
almost from time out of mind there has existed in America a body of
discontented and rebellious Irish known as Fenians, who, working in
harmony with so-called Nationalists in this country, seek the repeal
of the Union between Great Britain and Ireland. It will, however, be
necessary for me to say something about the position of Fenianism at
this time—I speak, of course, of the year 1865—in order that what
follows may be quite clearly understood.

Fenianism at this period was in a rather bad way. Its adherents in
America and Ireland were divided into two hostile camps, and its most
recent effort had been of a very poor and depressing character. In
fact, the division of forces had been brought about by the failure
of this selfsame effort, an attempt at the emancipation of Ireland,
which is known as “the ’65 movement.” It was organised by the Fenians
in Ireland and America, under the direction of James Stephens; and
for the purpose of its development very many officers and men crossed
to Ireland from American soil. The attempted rising, however,
proved, like almost all Fenian efforts, a fiasco. It was found that
Stephens had wofully misrepresented the state of affairs at home,
both as regards preparation and enthusiasm; and those who had come
from America returned to their homes, disgusted and indignant at the
way in which they had been sold.

In the result disaffection quickly spread, and the organisation
in America broke up into hostile camps, the majority, under the
leadership of Colonel W. R. Roberts, revolting from the leadership
of Stephens and Mahoney, and declaring their belief that “no direct
invasion or armed insurrection in Ireland would ever be successful
in establishing an Irish Republic upon Irish soil, and setting her
once more in her proper place as a nation amongst the nations of the
earth.” Not content, however, with the situation, the seceders met
in convention in September 1865 in Cincinnati, and formed themselves
into what was known for the next eventful five years of its existence
as the Senate Wing of the Fenian Brotherhood. They scoffed at the
idea of invading Ireland successfully, but by no means advocated
a policy of inaction. They simply sought to change the base of
operations. “The invasion of Canada” became their cry; and with this
as their programme they succeeded in gaining the allegiance of some
thousands of the disaffected Irish, whose support was attracted
by the familiar device of a _de facto_ civil and military Irish
Government upon paper, framed upon the model of the United States.
A good deal of money was subscribed, and with funds so obtained
ammunition was purchased and shipped along the Canadian border.

[Illustration: (Twenty-dollar bond)]

The methods of obtaining money were many and varied, but none was
more successful than the issue of Fenian bonds. The following is a
reproduction of a twenty-dollar bond in my possession. These bonds
were given in exchange for ready money to the many simple souls who
believed in the possibility of an Irish republic, and who were quite
ready to part with their little all, in the belief that later on,
when their country was “a nation once again,” they would be repaid
with interest. Very many of the persons displaying this credulity
were Irish girls in service in the States, and thus came into vogue
the sneering reference to the agitation being financed by the
servant-girls of New York.

A curious feature of the intended invasion was the publicity given to
the design, and, more remarkable still, the action, or rather want of
action, of the United States Government in regard to it. This latter,
indeed, was the subject of very angry comment at the time on the part
of Englishmen resident in the States. It certainly seemed strange,
and passing all comprehension, that the United States Government,
although in full possession of the facts, and quite peaceful in its
relations with England, could have permitted the organisation of a
raid upon a portion of English possessions without movement or demur
on their part of any kind whatever. Yet such is the deplorable fact.
From the commencement of the preparations till five days after the
Fenians had crossed at Black Rock, the government of President Andrew
Johnson did nothing whatever to prevent this band of marauders from
carrying out their much-talked-of invasion.

Let it not be thought that I exaggerate or draw on my imagination. I
do not. If evidence in support of my statement be needed, it is to be
found in the speeches made from public platforms, in open meetings,
fully reported throughout the country at the time.

It was during this period that I was brought into close acquaintance
with Fenianism and its workings. Strangely enough, it was my
army associations which formed the medium. Through an old
companion-in-arms, the man O’Neill mentioned above, by whose side I
had served and fought, I learnt, at first casually, and in broken
conversation, what was transpiring in the circles of the conspiracy.
Indignant as I was at learning what was being done against the
interest of my native country, I knew not how to circumvent the
operations of the conspirators, and did nothing publicly in the
matter. Without my own knowledge, however, I was to become one of the
instruments for upsetting all these schemes. Writing as I regularly
did to my father, I mentioned simply by way of startling news the
facts I learned from O’Neill. My letters, written in the careless
spirit of a wanderer’s notes, were destined to become political
despatches of an important character. Without reference to me,
my father made immediate and effective use of them. Startled and
dismayed at the tidings I conveyed, he, true Briton that he was,
could not keep the information to himself, but handed over my letters
immediately to John Gurdon Rebow, the sitting member for Colchester.

Mr. Rebow, fully concurring with my father as to the importance of
my news, proposed that he should, without delay, communicate with
the Government of the day, to which my father agreed. In this way my
first connection with the Government was brought about. So keenly
alive to the position of affairs did the Home Secretary show himself,
that he, as I learnt subsequently, in the most earnest way requested
my father to correspond with me on the subject, and to arrange for my
transmitting through him to the Government every detail with which I
could become acquainted. This I did, and continued so doing until the
raid into Canada had been attempted, and attended with failure.




V.


Before proceeding further, I had perhaps better give some idea of
what the raid was like. The details should prove of interest, if
for no other purpose than that of contrast with those of the second
attempted invasion, of which I shall have to speak more fully later
on. This, which was the first invasion of Canada by the Fenian
organisation, took place upon the morning of the 1st of June 1866.
As I have already stated, the design had been flourished in the face
of government and people for six months previously. All this time
active preparations were proceeding, and thousands of stands of arms,
together with millions of rounds of ammunition, had been purchased
from the United States Government and located at different points
along the Canadian border; while during the spring of the year,
military companies, armed and uniformed as Irish Fenian soldiers,
were drilled week by week in many of the large cities of the United
States.

No opposition was offered to the proceedings; indeed, John F.
Finerty, the editor of the _Chicago Citizen_, in a public speech
made by him at Chicago so late as February 5, 1886, declared with
great glee that Andrew Johnson, the then President of the United
States, openly encouraged the movement for the purpose of turning
it to political account in the settlement of the Alabama claims. Be
the blame whose it may, however, the result was not unsatisfactory.
The attempt proved a complete failure. The Fenians were driven out
of Canada, sixty of them killed and two hundred taken prisoners,
with the loss of but six lives in the Canadian ranks. All the same,
however, the unsatisfactory condition of things I speak of existed,
while, to make matters worse, not a single one of the defeated
invaders was called to account by the United States for the violation
of the Neutrality Laws.

The whole affair, viewed from any but an imaginative Fenian
standpoint, was of a ludicrous character. The time for the operation
was chosen by the Fenian Secretary for War, General T. W. Sweeny,
then commanding the 16th United States Infantry stationed at
Nashville, Tennessee. A particular route had been selected, but when
the amount of funds came to be questioned, the original idea of
carrying the men by steamer to Goodrich, Canada, had to be abandoned
for the less romantic but more economical process of crossing the
Niagara River in flat boats with a steam tug called into requisition.
Under the command of General John O’Neill, and a number of other
gentlemen of high-sounding ranks, and distinctly Irish patronymics,
the raid actually came off on the morning of the 1st of June, when
about 3 A.M. some 600 or 800 Irish patriots, full of whisky and
thirsting for glory, were quietly towed across the Niagara River to a
point on the Canadian side called Waterloo!

At 4 A.M. the Irish flag was planted on British soil by Colonel Owen
Starr, commanding the contingent from Kentucky, one of the first to
land. Unfortunately no Canadian troops were in the vicinity, and
O’Neill’s command, which had by the next day decreased to some 500,
marched upon and captured Fort Erie, containing a small detachment of
the Welland battery. Matters, however, were not long allowed to go in
favour of the invaders. In a very little time the 22nd Battalion of
Volunteers of Toronto—a splendid band of citizen-soldiers—appeared
upon the scene, and at Ridgeway, a few miles inland, there occurred
a fair stand-up fight, in which the Fenians in the end got the worst
of the day’s work. Ridgeway has frequently since been claimed by the
Fenian orators as a glorious victory, but without justification. It
is true that at first, flushed with their almost bloodless victory at
Fort Erie, the Fenians advanced fiercely upon their opponents, and
for the moment repulsed them; but in the end the Canadians triumphed,
and succeeded in putting the invaders to flight, driving them back
to Fort Erie a frenzied, ungovernable mob, only too thankful to be
taken as prisoners by the United States war steamer _Michigan_, and
protected from total annihilation at the hands of the, by this time,
thoroughly aroused and wrathful Canadian citizens.

The following extracts from the official report made by General
O’Neill to Colonel William R. Roberts, President of the Fenian
Brotherhood, though very highly coloured, admits the defeat:—

  “Here truth compels me to make an admission I would fain have kept
  from the public. Some of the men who crossed over with us the night
  before (_i.e._, the morning of the 1st of June) managed to leave
  the command during the day, and re-crossed to Buffalo, while others
  remained in houses around the fort marauding. (Real Irish patriots
  these!) This I record to their lasting disgrace.

  “On account of this shameful desertion, and the fact that arms had
  been sent out for 800 men, I had to destroy 300 stand to prevent
  them from falling into the hands of the enemy....

  “At this time I could not depend upon more than 500 men, one-tenth
  of the reputed number of the enemy, which I knew was surrounding
  me—rather a critical position.

  “Thus situated, and not knowing what was going on elsewhere,
  I decided that the best course was to return to Fort Erie and
  ascertain if crossings had been made at other points; and, if so, I
  was content to sacrifice myself and my noble little command for the
  sake of leaving the way open.

  “I returned to the old fort (Erie), and about six o’clock sent word
  to Captain W. J. Hynes, and his friends at Buffalo, that the enemy
  would surround me with 5000 men before morning, fully provided
  with artillery; that my little command, which had by this time
  considerably decreased, could not hold out long; but that, if a
  movement was going on elsewhere, I was perfectly willing to make
  the old fort a slaughter-pen, which I knew would be the case the
  next day if I remained.

  “Previous to this time, some of the officers and men, realising the
  danger of their position, availed themselves of the small boats
  and re-crossed the river; but the greater portion of them—317,
  including officers—remained until 2 A.M., June 3rd, when all,
  except a few wounded men, went safely on board a large scow
  attached to a tug-boat, and were hauled into American waters.

  “Here they were hailed by the United States steamer, which fired
  across their bows and demanded their surrender. With this request
  we complied, not because we feared the twelve-pounders or the still
  more powerful guns of the _Michigan_, but because we respected the
  authority of the United States.”!!!

Thus fought the Irish patriots of 1866. Thus ended the first Fenian
raid upon Canada. Not a glorious achievement, by any means. Quite
the reverse, in fact. Even the leader of the expedition himself has
to subscribe to failure and defeat. And yet there have been, and are
to-day, men who boast of all this as a glorious victory, and proudly
vaunt the statement that they were present at and participated in it.

Lucky it was that the movement was thus defeated at its very start.
If it had not, the consequences might have been very different
indeed. The news of the temporary victory at Fort Erie had a
wonderful effect, and by the 7th of June not less than 30,000 men
had assembled in and around Buffalo. The defeat of their comrades,
however, and the tardy issue of Andrew Johnson’s proclamation
enforcing the Neutrality Laws, left them no opening, and so the whole
affair fizzled out in the most undignified manner. Undignified indeed
it was for all parties concerned. The prisoners were, without a
single exception, released on their own recognisances, and sent home
by the United States authorities; while the arms seized by the United
States Government, through General Meade, commanding in Buffalo, were
returned to the Fenian organisation, only to be used for the same
purpose some four years later.




VI.


Meantime the conditions of peace, in purely American matters, had set
in, and the army was reduced to a nominal footing. I took advantage
of the state of affairs to settle down to a civilian style of life.
The first question that called for thought and care was my future
vocation in life. The father of a family, it became necessary for
me to look out for some means of obtaining a settled income. Acting
under the advice of an old comrade, now a Senator of Illinois,
I finally determined to study medicine, and set to work in this
direction without delay.

While so engaged, I paid my first visit to Europe in the autumn
or “fall” of 1867, and once more met my father and mother in the
flesh. My letters regarding Fenian matters were naturally a topic of
interesting conversation between us, and my father with much pride
showed me the written acknowledgments he had received for his action
in the matter. Poor old father! Never was Briton prouder than he of
the service he had been enabled to do his country—services unpaid
and as purely patriotic as ever Englishman rendered. No payment was
ever made—none was asked or expected—for whatever little good I had
been enabled to accomplish up to this time. Matters, however, were
now to develop in a new and unexpected way. Mr. Rebow expressed a
desire to see me, and, accompanied by my father, I visited him at his
seat, Wyvenhoe Park. He subsequently visited me on several occasions
at my father’s house, and had many chats on the all-absorbing topic
of Fenianism. Learning from me that the organisation was still
prosperous and meant mischief—my friend O’Neill having succeeded
Colonel Roberts as president—he gained my consent to enter into
personal communication with the English Government. In a few days
I received through him an official communication requesting me to
attend at 50 Harley Street. To Harley Street I went, and there met
two officials, by whom a proposition was made that I should become
a paid agent of the Government, and that on my return to the United
States I should ally myself to the Fenian organisation, in order to
play the _rôle_ of spy in the rebel ranks. I knew that this proposal
was coming. I had thought over the whole matter carefully, and I
had come to the conclusion that I would consent, which I did. My
adventurous nature prompted me to sympathy with the idea; my British
instincts made me a willing worker from a sense of right, and my past
success promised good things for the future.

I returned, therefore, to the States in the Government service;
and, taking advantage of an early meeting with O’Neill in New York,
I proffered him my services as a military man in case of active
warfare. O’Neill, delighted at the idea, promised me a position in
the near future, and I returned to my home in the West, pledged to
help the cause there meantime.[1]

And now a few words as to O’Neill. Taking the prominent part he
did in Fenian affairs at this time, he certainly proved a very
interesting personality. General O’Neill, Irish by birth, was born
on the 8th of March 1834, in the town of Drumgallon, parish of
Clontifret, Co. Monaghan. He emigrated when young with his family to
the United States, and settled at Elizabeth, New Jersey. Enlisting in
the 2nd U.S. Cavalry as a private soldier in 1857, he was engaged
in fighting Indians in the Far West for some three years. Upon
the breaking out of the War of the Rebellion, he was commissioned
as lieutenant in the 5th Indiana Cavalry. From this he received
promotion in the 15th U.S. Coloured Infantry, with which regiment
he continued to the end of the war. Resigning his command at the
conclusion of hostilities, he commenced business as a United States
Claim Agent in Nashville, Tennessee, where, it will be remembered, I
was stationed with my regiment for a long time after the cessation of
active operations.

When freed from the discipline of his military service,
O’Neill—ardent Fenian that he was—threw himself heart and soul
into the Irish rebel movement in the States. He raised and commanded
the Tennessee contingent in the movement upon Canada in 1866, taking
command of the entire expedition by reason of his seniority of rank
and his proved knowledge of military tactics. I have already quoted
his report of the termination of this “invasion.”

At the Cleveland Convention of September 1867, he was elected a
senator of the Fenian Brotherhood; and on the 31st of December 1867,
owing to the resignation of Colonel W. R. Roberts, he was elected
President of the Brotherhood.

In personal appearance O’Neill was a very fine-looking man. Nature
had dealt kindly with him. Within a couple of inches of six feet in
height, possessing a fine physique and a distinctive Celtic face, he
combined an undoubted military bearing with a rich sonorous voice,
which lent to his presence a certain persuasive charm. He had one
fault, however—a fault which developed to the extremest point when
he attained the presidency of the Fenian Brotherhood. This was his
egotism. He was the most egotistical soul I ever met in the whole
course of my life. In his belief, the Irish cause lived, moved, and
had its being in John O’Neill; and this absurd self-love contributed
to many disasters, which a more even-headed leader would never have
brought about.




VII.


On my return to my Western home, I lost no time in commencing my
double life. I organised a Fenian “circle” or camp in Lockport,
Illinois, and took the position of “centre” or commander of it, thus
becoming the medium for receiving all official reports and documents
issued by O’Neill, the contents of which documents were, of course,
communicated by me to the Home Government. I went to work with a
will, and was soon in the very thick of the conspiracy, organised
a military company for the Irish Republican Army, and eventually
attended the Springfield Convention in the position of a delegate.

While so engaged, I entered the Chicago Medical College, and
commenced my medical studies in earnest. I was much assisted in
this direction by the kindly help of an old friend, Dr. Bacon, who
had been attached to my regiment in war times as surgeon. He was
then surgeon to the Illinois State Penitentiary, and through him I
obtained the position created at this time of Hospital Steward, or,
in other words, Resident Medical Officer in that institution. There
was a comfortable salary attached to the office, which I found to be
in every sense a useful post. Although, as matters turned out, I was
only to spend some few months there, I gained even in this short time
a vast amount of experience in almost every branch of medical study.

Life, indeed, in the Illinois Penitentiary gave me experience in many
ways. It brought me for the first time into direct contact with many
of the evils which then affected official administration. Things,
of course, are different now, though it must be confessed still
anything but perfect; but when compared with the usages of olden
times, the shortcomings of the present system are of no account
whatever. At the time of which I speak, money could accomplish
everything, from the obtaining of luxuries in prison to the purchase
of pardon and freedom itself. Everything connected with the prison
administration was rotten to the core. Corruption was in every place.
The penitentiary contained some fifteen hundred prisoners, and the
whole management of affairs affecting these men was vested in three
Commissioners, as they were styled, whose proceedings were of the
most flagrant and jobbing character. So great did the scandals of
their doings become at one period, that one of the three had to
abscond; but so demoralised was the condition of affairs that no
attempt was made to arrest and bring him back. These three men had
no object save that of gaining money. They were the proprietors of a
general shop inside the prison, from which the prisoners purchased
luxuries at usurious rates; and the work of the prisoners themselves
was let out to contractors, who paid heavily for the privilege of
remaining undisturbed in their monopoly. Everything was turned to
money. In one case I knew of a prisoner, failing to win his cause
on appeal, and having thereby to undergo a period of seven years’
imprisonment, being offered his release for a sum of 10,000 dollars,
which offer he refused, stating in the most business-like way that
he would only give 7000. This was not considered satisfactory, and so
the negotiations fell through.

No popular idea of prison life now indulged in at all fits in
with the actual condition of affairs five-and-twenty years ago.
Money was useful for the purpose of commerce in the Commissioners’
interest, and therefore was allowed free circulation amongst those
confined. Those who could afford it, and whose cases were not finally
decided—appeals were constantly being heard—were allowed to board
at the Governor’s table, to wear their own clothes, and in every
way conduct themselves as if in a private house. In those days the
prisoners were not shaved—they wore their hair and whiskers as they
pleased. Those who could not afford to live the lives of gentlemen
had the store to go to for petty luxuries; and so, no matter how
matters turned, the Commissioners were the gainers. The Governor, or
Warden, as he was called, was their nominee, dependent upon them for
office; and everything was governed by their wishes and desires.

In such a vast assembly of criminals there were many whose characters
and careers formed subjects for very interesting study to me. I was
fortunate in being connected with the prison at a time when some more
than usually clever and facile scoundrels were temporarily resident
there. Towering head and shoulders over the whole crowd was that king
of forgers, Colonel Cross, perhaps the most daring, successful, and
expert penman of our time. About forty years of age at this period,
a man of fine commanding presence, splendid diction, and gentlemanly
demeanour, Cross attracted me from the first day I was brought into
contact with him. The son of one of the most prominent Episcopalian
clergymen in the United States, he was possessed of a wide classical
education, and discoursed with intelligence and wondrous fluency on
theology, medicine, and every kind of science.

He was no ordinary criminal. Even in prison he commanded admiration
from his fellows, and I was often amazed to see how respectful were
the salutations accorded him as he moved about. He boasted, I learned
afterwards with truth, that he had never robbed a poor man; and,
strange being that he was, he had borne almost all the cost of the
education of his brother’s children. Indeed, at the time I met him,
he was educating in the most expensive manner a poor little girl
whom, in a moment of generous caprice, he had adopted as his daughter.

When I was first brought into contact with him, Cross had his
case before the courts on appeal, and, pending the decision, he
was living in the most expensive way in prison, boarding at the
Governor’s table, dressing in the most fashionable way, and smoking
the best of cigars. Having no work to do, he interested himself in
the affairs of his fellow-prisoners; and so clever and capable was
he, and so great a knowledge of law did he possess, that he succeeded
in preparing the cases of many of them for appeal in such a way as to
allow of their regaining their liberty.

I had not been in the prison very long before he appealed to me to
take him as my assistant in the hospital; and attracted by the man
as I was, I acceded to his request, to discover subsequently that I
had a most valuable attendant, whose knowledge of medicine was both
extensive and practical.




VIII.


The career of Cross would supply material for a most exciting
novel. He always went in for “big things,” as he phrased it.
Nothing troubled him more than the fact that he was then undergoing
punishment for a small affair which he contemptuously referred to
as being too paltry altogether for association with him. Perhaps
the “biggest thing” he ever did was the forgery of a cheque for
£80,000 in Liverpool, and his escape with the booty. Like many
other talented criminals, if he had but turned his ability to
proper account, he would undoubtedly have won a place and name in
the foremost ranks of honest men to-day. He planned his enterprises
with the most consummate care, and worked them out for months before
reaching the final stage. An illustration of his method was very well
afforded by his forgery on the Park National Bank of New York.

Determining to commit a forgery on this bank, he set to work to
obtain the needful introduction and guarantee for his accomplice,
who should eventually present the forged cheque. He, by the way,
never presented a forged cheque himself—this was always the work
of an accomplice. In order, therefore, to obtain the introduction
to the bank, he opened some business with a certain firm of brokers
in Wall Street who happened to “deposit” at the particular bank in
question. In this way he ran up an account for a respectable sum,
to obtain the repayment for which he one day went to the office in
Wall Street accompanied by one Simmons, the accomplice in the future
forgery. The cheque—a draft for twelve hundred dollars—was duly
drawn, when Cross asked his friend Simmons to go to the bank to cash
it, requesting in a free-and-easy way that the broker might send one
of his clerks with him to identify Simmons, he being a stranger.
No suspicion was indulged in—there was no ground for such, and
the request was willingly complied with. Simmons, coached by Cross
beforehand, had a hundred-dollar bill in his pocket, the use for
which will be apparent in a moment. When the clerk and he reached
the bank, the necessary introduction took place; and in reply to
the usual question how he wished the money, Simmons replied, “In
hundred-dollar bills.” As the clerk counted the notes, Simmons drew
his bill out of his pocket, and mixing all up as he stood aside
to check his payment, he recalled the clerk’s attention by the
announcement that he had given him thirteen instead of twelve bills.
The clerk indignantly protested he had made no mistake. Simmons,
playing the _rôle_ of honest man, became distressed, the manager was
appealed to, one of the notes eventually received back, and Simmons
retired, the recipient of most fulsome thanks, his character and
reputation fully established in the minds of the banking officials.
Of course the clerk was one hundred dollars to the good at the end
of the day, but Simmons’ claim to honesty in no way suffered by the
fact, as no one for a moment thought of a plot.

Content to lose the hundred-dollar bill, in the promise of things
to come, Cross continued his legitimate traffic with the brokers,
Simmons, on the most friendly terms at the bank, cashing the cheques,
which increased in amount as the time passed. Months had passed,
and nothing of an illegal nature had been attempted, when at the
end of the fifth month a genuine cheque for thirty dollars was by
Cross changed to 30,000, and cashed by Simmons without the slightest
hesitation or suspicion at the bank, both Cross and he escaping with
the booty.

Many and varied as were Cross’s tricks with his pen, none was more
daring or successful than that which led to his escape from Sing-Sing
Prison, that famous home of criminals in New York. Obtaining through
outside agency a printed and properly headed sheet of note-paper
and envelope from the Governor of the States’ Office at Albany, he
actually forged the order for his own release, had it posted formally
from Albany, and, on its receipt, obtained his freedom without
provoking the slightest suspicion or inquiry.

I am glad to say that Colonel Cross still lives, and is now working
out an honest existence under another name in the north-west of
America.

My life at the Illinois Penitentiary was crowded with incidents,
and little leisure was left me. Where real sickness did not exist,
shamming and malingering in their most ingenious phases were
resorted to. I was amazed at the talent brought to bear upon their
attempts to escape work by those with whom I had to deal. Some of
the methods adopted were simply marvellous in their conception and
execution. A more quick-witted lot of men it has never been my fate
to meet. Every twist and turn of daily life was subordinated to the
needs of the trickster, and not one single daily incident seemed to
be without its possibility of application, either to assist in the
attempt to shirk work or to escape from imprisonment altogether.
Nothing in this way impressed me more than the case of a man known as
Joe Devine, an eminent hotel sneak thief, some two-and-thirty years
of age, and of very distinguished appearance.

It happened that one afternoon about five o’clock a negro prisoner
died of consumption. It was the practice to bury the dead immediately
the coffin was made ready; but, owing to the fact that the coffin in
this case was not ready till after the prison gates had been locked
for the night, the burial had to be postponed till the following
morning.

Under the circumstances, I arranged that the coffin with the body
enclosed should remain for the night in the prison bath-room. This
Joe Devine of whom I speak happened to be in charge of the bath-room
at this period, and it therefore became his duty to see that proper
arrangements were made for the disposal of the coffin for the night.
Early the next morning, as was customary, Devine and some of his
fellow-prisoners were allowed out of their cells some little time
before the others, in order to prepare the bath-room and other places
for their use. With assistance Devine unscrewed the coffin, took the
dead negro out, and concealed himself in his place, not, however,
before he had worn down the thread of the screws in the lid, so that
they could be thrust out with a heavy push from the inside. The time
for the funeral arrived in due course, and the coffin was removed
in a little cart accompanied by two prisoners whose time was nearly
expired, and who were therefore trusted outside the gates of the
prison (being known by the name of “trusties”), together with the
clergyman of the jail.

Nothing happened till the grave was reached, when Devine, presumably
concluding that it would be dangerous to remain longer where he was,
burst the lid of the coffin and jumped out, immediately starting off
at a run. The clergyman and “trusties” being too horrified to offer
any resistance, he escaped without molestation. The first I heard of
the matter was on the return of the clergyman and the “trusties” with
the news that the man had come to life; but, as they explained in
their horrified way, he was white, not a nigger! The roll was called,
and Devine was missing; so we concluded he was the white man in
question. We then set to work to find the corpse of the poor negro.
For two hours the prisoners searched up and down without any result.
Eventually, however, the body was discovered underneath a pile of
towels in one of the box-seats of the bath-room, the corpse being
doubled up in two, the head and feet meeting, in order to permit of
its being concealed in its narrow hiding-place.

Another escape equally effective, for the moment at least, was that
of a man known as Bill Forester, a notorious bank robber, and one
of the suspected murderers of Nathan the Jew, whose death in New
York created a profound interest at the time. Forester, fortunately
for himself, selected as his medium of exit one of the many boxes
employed by Mack & Co., contractors for shoe-making, who employed
some four hundred of the convicts. Surrounded and hedged in between
boots and shoes, in one of the large boxes used for their transport,
Forester passed through the prison gates in one of Mack’s vans,
and not till he had got a distance of a mile and a half from the
jail did he venture to emerge from his hiding-place. His liberty,
however, proved to be only of a temporary character, for, caught
in another State a little later, the enterprising burglar was again
arrested, and carried back to the Penitentiary to complete his term
of imprisonment.

His method had many imitations. None was more novel or disastrous
than that employed by a fellow-convict whose name I cannot at the
moment recall. This poor fellow hit upon the ingenious idea of
getting out of durance vile inside a load of horse-manure, and when
the load was half-way packed, he lay at full length with a breathing
space arranged, while the remainder of the loading was completed. His
intention, of course, was to be freed from his uncomfortable position
within an hour, when the manure would be discharged at the quay
adjoining the prison. To his horror, however, he discovered, when the
cart reached the quay, that a gang of fellow-convicts were engaged
unloading a boat under the charge of armed wardens or sentries. To
attempt escape meant instant death, and there he lay for hours with
the heavy weight of the upper portion of the cart’s load pressing
upon him. Six o’clock came and with it the return of the men and
sentries to prison. Through the long weary hours of the night the
poor fellow lay, unable now to move from the consequences of his
continued prostration in the manure; and when the morning arrived he
was found but too willing a captive. He was immediately placed under
my charge, but his recovery proved by no means a rapid affair.




IX.


In the midst of all these exciting incidents of prison life, I
received a telegram from O’Neill in New York, as follows: “Come
at once, you are needed for work.” To comply was to surrender my
pleasant and interesting position, and to lose for the moment all
chance of pursuing my medical study. On the other hand, however, the
opportunity of doing good service to my native land presented itself.
I did not hesitate. Communicating immediately with the “Warden” or
Governor, I resigned my position, much to his disgust. He sought an
explanation. I could give none. He offered an increased salary. I was
unable to explain why even this could not tempt me, and so I left in
a way which was misunderstood, and under circumstances which, by the
very reason for their existence, could not be appreciated.

Hurrying to New York, I soon presented myself in person to O’Neill
at the headquarters of the Fenian Brotherhood, then situated in the
mansion at 10 West Fourth Street. Here I found the President of the
Brotherhood, surrounded by his staff of officials, transacting the
duties of their various positions with all the pomp and ceremony
usually associated with the representatives of the greatest nations
on earth. I was not long left in suspense as to what was required of
me. Commissioned at the very outset as Major and Military Organiser
of the Irish Republican Army (at a salary of sixty dollars per month,
with seven dollars per day expenses), I was instructed to proceed
to the Eastern States in company with a civil organiser, in order
to visit and reorganise the different military bodies attached to
the rebel society. To my unhappy amazement, I learned that I was,
while engaged on this work, to address public meetings in support of
the cause, and my miserable feelings were accentuated by O’Neill’s
desire that I should accompany him, the very evening of my arrival,
to a large demonstration being held at Williamsburg, a suburb of
Brooklyn. I was in a regular mess, for if called on to speak—as I
feared—I should be found absolutely ignorant of Irish affairs. There
was nothing for it, however, but to keep a brave face, for I had
undertaken my work, and in its lexicon there was no such word as fail.

[Illustration: (Commission as Major)]

The evening came, and with it our trip to Williamsburg. On arrival
there, in the company of O’Neill and some brother officers, I found
several thousands of persons assembled. We were greeted with the
greatest enthusiasm, and given the seats of honour to the right and
left of the chairman. My position was a very unhappy one. I was
in a state of excessive excitement, for I greatly feared what was
coming. Seated as I was next to O’Neill, I could hear him tell the
chairman on whom to call, and how to describe the speakers; and,
as each pause took place between the speeches, I hung with nervous
dread on O’Neill’s words, fearing my name would be the next. The
meeting proceeded apace; some four or five of my companions had
already spoken, and I was beginning to think that, after all, the
evil hour was postponed, and that for this night at least I was
safe. Not so, however. All but O’Neill and myself had spoken, when,
to my painful surprise, I heard the General call upon the chairman
to announce Major Le Caron. The moment was fraught with danger; my
pulses throbbed with maddening sensation; my heart seemed to stop its
beating; my brain was on fire, and failure stared me in the face.
With an almost superhuman effort I collected myself, and as the
chairman announced me as Major M‘Caron, tickled by the error into
which he had fallen, and the vast cheat I was playing upon the whole
of them, I rose equal to the occasion, to be received with the most
enthusiastic of plaudits.

The hour was very late, and I took advantage of the circumstance.
Proud and happy as I was at being with them that evening, and
taking part in such a magnificent demonstration, they could not,
I said, expect me to detain them long at so advanced an hour. All
had been said that could be said upon the subject nearest and
dearest to their hearts. (Applause.) If what I had experienced that
night was indicative of the spirit of patriotism of the Irish in
America—(tremendous cheering)—then indeed there could be no fears
for the result. (Renewed plaudits.) And now I would sit down. They
were all impatiently waiting, I knew, to hear the stirring words
of the gallant hero of Ridgeway, General O’Neill—(thunders of
applause)—and I would, in conclusion, simply beg of them as lovers
of liberty and motherland—(excited cheering)—to place at the
disposal of General O’Neill the means (cash) necessary to carry out
the great work on which he was engaged. This work, I was confident,
would result in the success of our holy cause, and the liberation of
dear old Ireland from the thraldom of the tyrant’s rule, which had
blighted and ruined her for seven hundred years.

These last words worked my hearers up to the highest pitch of
enthusiasm, and amidst their excited shouts and cheers I resumed my
seat, with the comforting reflection that if it took so little as
this to arouse the Irish people, I could play my _rôle_ with but
little difficulty. And as time passed on, and my experience widened,
the justice of the reflection was fully assured. With a little
practice and scarce any labour, save that necessitated by the use
of a pair of scissors and some paste, I succeeded in hoodwinking
the poor and deluded, together with the unprincipled, blatant,
professional Irish patriots.

Before, however, starting on my travels as organiser, I had an
experience which went far to justify all I had previously thought and
heard as regards the part played by Andrew Johnson in connection
with the first Canadian raid. I recall the incident as important,
as showing to what extremes American political exigencies have
carried men in catering for the Irish vote in America. About American
politics generally I shall have something to say later on; but as
this matter fits in chronologically here, I think it better to deal
with it now. Johnson, it must be remembered, was not by any means
a man above suspicion. In 1868, so great was the disaffection with
his administration of the Presidency, that he was impeached, though
unsuccessfully, by the Senate.

[Illustration: ALEXANDER SULLIVAN]

It was in this year—1868—that, at O’Neill’s request, I accompanied
him to the White House to have an interview with Johnson. O’Neill
and he had been personal friends from ’62, when Johnson had acted as
Military Governor in Tennessee. The precise object of our visit was
the securing of Johnson’s influence in the return of the arms to the
Fenian Brotherhood, previously seized by the American Government. It
will be remembered that I mentioned, some pages back, that every gun
taken by the United States Government, after the first raid in 1866,
was returned to the Fenian organisation by this government under a
promise, only made to be broken, that they should not be used in
any unlawful enterprise; and in consideration of certain worthless
bonds.

Our reception at the White House was a cordial one, O’Neill’s
distinctly so. During the conversation the President used some
remarkable words. So strange did they sound in my ears, that they
impressed themselves upon my memory, and are even now fresh in my
recollection.

“General,” said Johnson, addressing O’Neill, “your people unfairly
blame me a good deal for the part I took in stopping your first
movement. Now I want you to understand that my sympathies are
entirely with you, and anything which lies in my power I am willing
to do to assist you. But you must remember that I gave you five full
days before issuing any proclamation stopping you. What, in God’s
name, more did you want? If you could not get there in five days,
by God, you could never get there; and then, as President, I was
compelled to enforce the Neutrality Laws, or be denounced on every
side.”

Such was the language used, such the position assumed, and such the
apology tendered to the Fenian leader of 1868 by the President of the
United States Government. Can any comment of mine point the moral and
adorn the tale of all this better than the incident itself can do
when left in its naked and startling significance? I think not.




X.


I entered with a will upon my duties as travelling organiser, and
was alike successful in winning the confidence of almost every
Fenian with whom I was brought into contact, and in obtaining the
most important information and details for the Home Government.
Matters had meantime proceeded apace, so that when the Philadelphia
Convention of 1868 was held, O’Neill’s determination to invade Canada
a second time was ratified without a dissentient voice. I was now
promoted to the rank of Inspector-General, and was from time to time
sent along the Canadian border to locate the arms and ammunition.
The situation was becoming critical where British interests were
concerned; and, in order to grapple with the pressure of the
moment, I was placed in direct communication with Lord Monck, then
Governor-General of Canada. I paid a visit to Ottawa, and when there,
planned a system of daily communication with the Chief Commissioner
of Police in Canada, Judge J. G. M‘Micken, with whom, from this date
to the total disruption of the Fenian organisation in 1870, I acted
in concert and in the most perfect harmony.

I cannot speak too highly of the treatment I received at Judge
M‘Micken’s hands. Comparatively young in years as I was then,
distinctly youthful in Secret Service experience, I found him ever
ready and willing to help me, meeting me at a moment’s notice,
placing everything at my disposal, and watching over my safety and
my interests with a fatherly care which I shall ever recall with
thoughts of the keenest appreciation. Equally pleasant and agreeable
was my connection with the Home Government. Many changes had taken
place since my visit to England, and those with whom I had first
had communication had disappeared from this work to give place to
Mr. Anderson, with whom alone I had to deal from this time forward.
I shall have a good deal to say about Mr. Anderson further on, and
therefore I shall only delay here to repeat what I have said above,
that with England as with Canada my connection was of the most
satisfactory and pleasant character.




XI.


It was during the autumn of 1868 that, in the course of my travels
on behalf of the organisation, I first met Alexander Sullivan.
Alexander Sullivan is a well-known man to-day, but if by any chance
his identity has to be marked, little else need be mentioned beyond
the words, “The Cronin affair.” He was a young man then, but then as
now he was the same Alexander Sullivan, clever, unscrupulous, careful
only of himself, subordinating everything to his personal ambition,
using Irish politics as a stepping-stone to advancement in American
affairs, and reckless who or what suffered if but he did succeed.

The “Arch Fiend” of Irish-American politics, as he has been dubbed,
and the alleged chief conspirator in the brutal murder of Dr. Cronin,
is no ordinary man; he is an individual with a history, and that not
by any means a creditable one. The son of a British pensioner, born
in Canada some forty-five years ago, he left that country under a
cloud, and settled down in Detroit, where he started a boot-and-shoe
store in the Bresler Block, Michigan Avenue. On the night of the 12th
May 1868 a fire totally destroyed his shop and its contents. The
occurrence had its suspicious features, and Sullivan was arrested
on a charge of arson. Although the over-insurance of his goods and
other questionable proceedings were proved at the trial, he gained
his liberty through an alibi, sustained by the evidence of Margaret
Buchanan, a teacher in the public school of Detroit, who afterwards
became his wife. A man, as I have said, of stirring ambition, he had
from the outset of his career in Detroit taken a prominent part in
political affairs, and his status as an Irish leader (he was then a
State “Centre” for Michigan) lent his position and views a certain
importance. He took an active part in the then pending national
campaign upon the side and in the interests of General Grant and
Schyler Colfax, who in that year were nominated as the respective
Republican candidates for President and Vice-President of the
republic.

It was at this time that Sullivan commenced his political tricks
in the manipulation of the Irish vote in American party interests,
and it was in consequence of his action in this respect that I was
first brought into contact with him. Previous to this date, the Irish
vote had been almost exclusively Democratic; but, from the loud and
frequent complaints which reached headquarters, Sullivan was found to
be using his influence in the organisation for political purposes,
and seeking to bring about a change of policy in the organisation
itself, which threatened a serious schism amongst our members.

I was despatched by the President to Detroit in order to investigate
the case, and if possible settle the difficulty. I found ample proof
of Sullivan’s guilt of the charges alleged against him, and, after
repeated interviews between us, he agreed that the best thing he
could do would be to hand in his resignation as State “Centre” of
the Brotherhood, which he accordingly did. My intercourse with him
at this time left no doubt on my mind as to his great ability. His
line of defence was an exceedingly clever one, and is well worth
recording here, as showing how in these early days Sullivan had
carefully mapped out his policy in regard to Irish affairs, and their
connection with American matters. He contended that, in all he had
done, he had had the best interests of Ireland at heart. He did not,
he said, consider that the Irish people in America had ever occupied
the position in the body politic to which they were fairly entitled.
The Irish vote, argued he, had been hitherto solidly cast for the
Democratic party. Only a division of that vote would cause them to be
a potent power in politics. With that position and influence to which
they were entitled assured to them, they could make terms with the
American Government for the cause of Ireland.

The history of the past twenty years shows how cleverly Sullivan
worked out these views of his, and gained acceptance for them at the
hands of his fellow-patriots. The pity of it is, however, that in
the result Ireland has gained not at all, while Irish patriots like
Sullivan and Egan have filled their pockets and reaped their harvests
in Chili and elsewhere.

Sullivan’s immediate reward was his appointment as United States
Collector of Internal Revenue at Santa Fé, New Mexico. His
resignation of his official position in the Brotherhood had come too
late; his work bore fruit in the Presidential election, the vote was
split, and so he earned his wage. It is worthy of note that this was
the first time the Irish vote was split, and that Sullivan was the
primary cause of it. Ever since the vote has so remained, to the
advantage of the Irish leaders of both sides, who, in the scramble
for office, barter the adhesion of their followers in the public
market-place.

Santa Fé, however, did not hold Sullivan long. His shady methods
compelled him to make an inglorious exit; and so he was to be
found in the year 1873 working with his wife, _née_ Buchanan, in a
reporting capacity on Chicago newspapers.

Here for the present, however, I must leave Sullivan. I have dealt
thus fully with the man at this early stage, because of the strange
influence he from this time forth wielded over Irish politics in
America; and in order to properly represent his character, I have
somewhat anticipated events in his life which are far ahead of the
time with which I am at present dealing. I have done so advisedly,
for Sullivan will play a large part in the chapters to which I must
now proceed. Where his personality will not thrust itself upon the
scene, his shadow will darken every act and incident. From this
time onward, for a period of twenty years, I used the man as my
dupe. Feeding his vanity, assisting his ambition, helping him in the
hundred and odd ways in which it was possible for me to do, I gained
his friendship and his confidence to such an extent, that no man in
the whole course of my career in the Secret Service proved a more
valuable, albeit an unconscious, ally than he.




XII.


Before continuing my narrative, I will stop to relate one of the
few cases in which I was forced into a very narrow place, and faced
with the near possibility of complete exposure. The incident is
useful as illustrating the dangers by which I was surrounded, and
the requirements of the position in which I was placed. At a council
of war held in Troy House, Troy, New York, in the month of November
1868, I came in contact with John Roche, well known as one of the
shining lights of Irish nationality in that city. Roche was one
of those hypercritical and over-suspicious individuals who were
constantly recognising British detectives in every stranger whom they
met. He had been, I discovered, originally a resident of Montreal,
and as I had been instructed by O’Neill to visit and study the
enemy’s country, I indicated to Roche my desire of ascertaining the
names of a few reliable brothers whom I could visit. The truth was
that the Canadian Government were at this time particularly anxious
to find out the extent of the organisation which they knew existed
in several of their large cities, notably Montreal, Kingstown, and
Toronto; and I thought this a good opportunity of getting some useful
hints.

Roche furnished me with the names of several leading members.
Unluckily for me, I foolishly wrote the particulars down in a
note-book in his presence. The act, in his opinion, was a suspicious
one. He watched me closely, and evidently conceived the idea that
my patriotism was of a very incautious character, if not worse. On
the eighth of the following month, at the Annual Convention held in
the Masonic Hall, Philadelphia, to which he was a delegate, I found
his suspicions solidified in the form of a set of charges against
me, imputing carelessness, dangerous conduct, and suspicious acts.
My friends, and they were legion, together with myself, indignantly
denied the allegations, and virtuously demanded an inquiry, which
was granted, and a committee was appointed to lay the charges.
Roche was duly heard, injured innocence was largely _en evidence_
on my part, and very quickly a unanimous verdict was reported back
to the Convention, asserting that the charges were scandalous and
without the slightest foundation, it being fully demonstrated by the
following letter that I was authorised to visit and acquaint myself
with the other side, as I represented to Roche:—

                                  “HEAD-QUARTERS FENIAN BROTHERHOOD,
                                     “NO. 10 WEST FOURTH STREET,
                                        “NEW YORK, _October 23, 1868_.

  “P. O. BOX 5141.
     “HENRY LE CARON,
        “Care of Capt. T. O’Hagan,
           “Ogdensburg, N.Y.

  “DEAR SIR AND BROTHER,—Yours of the 20th and 21st came duly to
  hand and are perfectly satisfactory.

  “I think it better not to commence equalising goods just yet; I
  will write you again on the matter.

  “It would be highly beneficial to us for you to avail yourself of
  every opportunity to study the country on both sides of the line
  for future emergencies.

  “Everything here is going on satisfactorily.

                                             “Yours fraternally,
                                                     “JOHN O’NEILL,
                                                        “_Pres. F.B._”

I did not, however, deem it prudent to let matters rest even here,
feeling that my ultimate success in the interests of the Government
depended upon absolute confidence on the part of the ruling powers.
Accordingly I sat down and immediately wrote out my resignation as an
officer of the Irish Republican Army, giving this want of confidence
as my reason, and couching my letter in indignant terms. As I hoped
and anticipated, my letter brought the following welcome response,
which placed me on a surer footing than ever, and brought me into
even more confidential relations with the head of the organisation
than I had hitherto enjoyed:—

                                 “WAR DEPARTMENT, FENIAN BROTHERHOOD,
                                    “NO. 10 WEST FOURTH STREET,
                                       “NEW YORK, _December 29, 1868_.

  “P. O. Box 5141,
     “Major H. LE CARON,
        “Box 1004,
           “Chicago, Ill.

  “MAJOR,—Your letter tendering your resignation as an officer of
  the I.R.A. came duly to hand, but I delayed answering until such
  time as I could submit it to the President, who was out of town,
  as without his instructions I could give you nothing definite in
  reply. He now directs me to say that it is his wish you should
  remain an officer of the organisation, and that if you require a
  leave of absence for a month or more, you can have it. He further
  says he hopes it will not be long before the opportunity you refer
  to may be granted. Your services have been thoroughly appreciated
  both by him and the officials of both Departments, civil and
  military, therefore you should not notice the inuendoes or taunts
  of parties who cannot value your services. If the officers of the
  organisation who have been vilified and calumniated were to resign
  on that account, some of its best officers would not now be at
  their post. The ‘Patriot’s meed is bitter;’ they must bear with
  much, even from those who should be the first to defend and sustain
  them.

  “Personally, I would advise you to act on the suggestions of the
  President, and hope you will.

  “The President will write you in a few days. Whatever course you
  may decide upon pursuing in this matter, you shall always carry
  with you the best wishes of

                                   “Your friend and brother,
                                            “J. WHITEHEAD BYRON,
                                               “_Col. & A.A.G., F.B._”

I got thus safely out of my awkward position, and learnt one good
lesson. I never kept a pocket-book again.




XIII.


The Annual Convention to which I have made reference in connection
with the Roche incident took place in Philadelphia, “the city of
brotherly love,” in the month of December 1868. It was made the
occasion of an immense demonstration, no less than 6000 armed and
uniformed Fenian soldiers parading the streets. The convention itself
was numerically a large one, and was attended by over 400 properly
qualified delegates. The proceedings were of the usual kind. Brag
and bluster were the order of the day. The determination to invade
Canada once more was still upheld by the vote of the assembly,
and the position of O’Neill and his colleagues was as fixed and
satisfactory as ever—that of myself, of course, being included in
this reference.

The report of the envoy to the sister organisation in Ireland—Daniel
Sullivan, Secretary of Civil Affairs—was an interesting document,
and contained full details of the Clerkenwell Explosion of the
previous year. This was the attempt to blow up Clerkenwell
Prison which Mr. Parnell subsequently described in reply to Mr.
Gladstone—the old Mr. Gladstone, I mean, not the new one—as “a
practical joke.” It was, however, as we in Philadelphia were to
learn, anything but a practical joke. It was rather as cool and
carefully planned a scheme as ever Fenianism indulged in to spite
the British Government. If the attempt failed to accomplish all that
was expected of it, it was yet very fruitful in drawing from Mr.
Gladstone a confession about its effect being “to bring the Irish
question within the range of practical politics,” which has ever
since proved the most effective and popular argument advanced on
behalf of dynamite in the United States.

About this time, John Boyle O’Reilly, a very well-known Irishman,
late editor of the _Boston Pilot_, a poet and novelist, and author
of a delightfully written novel, “Moondyne,” the material for
which was obtained during his confinement in Australia as a Fenian
prisoner, first arrived in New York, having succeeded in making his
escape from the convict settlement at Freemantle. With his appearance
came the idea of rescuing his fellow-prisoners. The proposal, first
mooted in uncertainty, was eventually taken up with the greatest
enthusiasm, and carried to a most successful conclusion. For the
purpose a whaler was chartered by the organisation and fitted out at
New Bedford, Massachusetts, with the ostensible object of whaling
in the South Seas, but, in reality, for bringing the convicts off
from Australia. The boat was partially manned by trusted men of the
organisation, though, to keep up the deception, a certain number
of well-known whalers’ men went to make up the crew. On arrival
at Australia, some of the most trusted Fenians were landed with
instructions to open up communication with the convicts, while
the vessel cruised about on the high seas. It was not anticipated
that the task set the men left on shore would be a difficult one,
because the convicts were hired out as labourers during the day,
and communication with them was not by any means a trying matter.
As affairs turned out, it was quite easy. The men from the whaler,
however, had not been landed more than a day or two, when they found
that they were not the only persons arranging the convicts’ rescue.
Two men—M‘Carthy and Gray—were already at work in this direction,
having been sent out by the Supreme Council of the Fenian Brotherhood
in Ireland, at the instigation, as he claimed to me subsequently, of
Patrick Egan. M‘Carthy and Gray had, it appeared, already established
communications with the convicts; and so, in order to expedite
matters, the two sections of rescuers joined forces. On a given day,
the plot was carried to a successful termination, and the rescued men
were placed on board the whaler, which immediately set out for the
States. Although an armed cruiser was immediately despatched to stop
it, and some firing took place, the whaler succeeded in getting out
of Australian waters and on the high seas in safety.




XIV.


The year 1869 saw O’Neill still at the helm of Fenian affairs, and
large sums of money rolling in to the coffers of the organisation;
although, as always the case with Irish movements, dissensions
reigned within the ranks. The Stephens section, now presided over
by John Savage, who had succeeded John O’Mahony, was constantly
attacking the Senate wing, and many and bitter were the feuds which
raged. In my position as Inspector-General of the Irish Republican
Army, I was fully engaged in my old work of inspecting the companies,
and directing the location of arms along the Canadian country for
coming active operations. In this way I distributed fifteen thousand
stands of arms and almost three million rounds of ammunition in the
care of the many trusted men stationed between Ogdensburg and St.
Albans. Some thousands of these guns were breech-loaders, which had
been re-modelled from United States Government “Springfields” at the
arms factory, leased, and “run” by the organisation at Trenton, New
Jersey. The depôt from which the bulk were packed and shipped was
“Quinn and Nolan’s” of Albany. Quinn was a United States Congressman
and Senator of the Fenian Brotherhood; and Nolan, that very Mayor
Nolan so prominently mentioned by Mr. Parnell in his evidence as
one of the eminently conservative (!) gentlemen who received him in
America. Constantly the recipient of compliments for the admirable
way in which I discharged my duty, I was now promoted to the office
of Assistant Adjutant-General, with the rank of Colonel; and my new
position enabled me not only to become possessed of the originals of
every document, plan of proposed campaign, &c., but also specimens of
the Fenian army commissions and uniforms of the time, which of course
I conveyed to the officials of the Canadian Government.

Successful as I was in evading detection through all this work,
those assisting me in my Secret Service capacity were not always
destined to share in my good luck. This was particularly the case
on one occasion. I was at the time shipping arms at Malone, N.Y.,
and attended, on behalf of the Canadian Government, by one of the
staff of men placed at my disposal for the purposes of immediate
communication and the transit of any documents requiring secrecy
and despatch, as well as for personal protection, should such prove
necessary. This man, John C. Rose, was one of the most faithful and
trusted servants of the Canadian administration, and for months he
followed me along the whole border. Though stopping at the same
hotels, and in constant communication with me, no suspicion was
aroused, until his identity was disclosed by a visitor from the seat
of Government at Ottawa to G. J. Mannix, the head-centre of that
Gibraltar of Fenianism, Malone. Men were immediately set to watch him
without my knowledge, and the fact of his being found always in my
wake on my visits to and return from several towns led to the belief
that he was spying upon my actions. A few nights after this belief
had been formed, poor Rose, on his return from sending a despatch
from the post-office, was waylaid, robbed, and brutally beaten, and
subsequently brought back to the hotel in as sorry a plight as I
ever saw. I was immediately advised by my Fenian friends as to the
dangerous character of this mutual enemy of ours, as he was termed;
and though shocked and embittered by the treatment accorded to the
poor devoted fellow, I had, for politic reasons, to applaud their
cowardly assault, and to denounce my brave friend, who was bearing
all his sufferings in silence and with a splendid spirit. For months
poor Rose was quite prostrated, and through this act of my brother
Fenians, I was deprived of the services and co-operation of as
faithful and capable an ally as ever was given me.

In the winter of 1869, the Fenian Senate announced the completion of
the arrangements for the invasion; and in the month of December the
Ninth Annual Convention was called in New York. In connection with
this convention, I was called upon to perform a little act which
served to more closely knit the bonds of friendship between O’Neill
and myself, and, if possible, to obtain for me an even larger share
of his confidence than I had hitherto enjoyed. O’Neill, as was
customary in Irish revolutionary circles, had, in his capacity of
leader, been making free with the funds of the organisation. In a
word, he had been spending for personal purposes monies received from
the circles or camps. Professor Brophy, the Treasurer, one of the
few honest deluded Irish patriots of the time, refused to cook the
accounts in order to cover the President’s delinquencies. The books
had to be submitted to the Convention, and O’Neill was in a frightful
difficulty. In his embarrassment he came to me, and, to my surprise,
made a clean breast of the whole matter. The opportunity was too good
a one to be lost. I advanced the money, and took his note of hand,
thus saving his reputation before the Convention.

Need I say that money was never repaid me. Surely not! The only
memento which I have of my dollars is O’Neill’s note of hand, which,
as a curiosity, I have preserved to this date. It is certainly an
interesting document, so I give it here.

                                          “NEW YORK, _April 19, 1870_.

  “$364, 41/100.

  “Received from Colonel H. le Caron, three hundred and sixty-four
  dollars and 41/100, borrowed money, to be returned whenever
  demanded.

                                                        “JOHN O’NEILL.
                                                        “_Pres. F.B._”

A council of war followed, and all was now activity. In view of
active operations in Canada, all monies were called in, and orders
were issued from head-quarters to have in readiness all the military
organisations. The final order was issued in April as follows:—

                               “HEAD-QUARTERS FENIAN BROTHERHOOD,
                                    “NO. 10 WEST FOURTH STREET,
                                       “NEW YORK, _February 10, 1870_.

  “P.O. BOX 5141.

     “_To the Military Officers of the Fenian Brotherhood._

  “BROTHERS,—You have, no doubt, ere this received general orders
  No. 1 from General Michael Kerwin, Secretary of War, F.B.
  (head-quarters, No. 50 North 12th Street, Philadelphia, Penna).
  _A strict compliance with the requirements thereof is hereby
  imperatively demanded._ The success or failure of our holy cause
  now depends upon the prompt and energetic performance of the
  duties incumbent upon each and all of us, and upon none does the
  responsibility rest so heavily as upon the military officers of the
  F.B.

  “Brothers, if you be so situated that business or family duties
  will prevent you from getting your commands in readiness for
  _active and immediate service_, you will please forward your
  resignations to the Secretary of War _at once_, and at the same
  time send on the names of persons suitable to take your places. If
  you are thoroughly in earnest, you will not hesitate to give your
  assistance to those who may be appointed to fill the vacancies
  created by your voluntary withdrawal from the positions to which
  you have been commissioned.

  “Your duty, if circumstances permit, will be to get your men in
  readiness at the earliest practicable moment. If you should resign,
  this duty will devolve upon your successors. If there are any arms,
  ammunition, or military clothing within your knowledge which can
  be forwarded to certain points, to be named hereafter, so inform
  the Secretary of War, whom you will address in reply to this
  circular, and he will, on receipt of your communications, forward
  _private instructions_ with regard to your respective commands.

  “Pay no attention to what may appear upon the surface or in
  newspapers. We mean fight—speedy fight—_and nothing else, thigin
  thu_?[2]

  “Officers receiving copies of Military Oath with this circular will
  sign the same in presence of witness, and return to the Secretary
  of War.

  “Ascertain and report how many of your men can and will furnish
  their own transportation, and in the meantime try and persuade all
  of them to save enough for that purpose. Military men should not
  forget that the civic circles have supplied the means wherewith
  to provide breech-loaders, ammunition, &c. &c. Their liberality
  in these regards will, to a limited extent, relieve them from the
  responsibility of advancing the means of transportation. They will
  not, however, hesitate to co-operate with the military branch of
  the F.B. in this matter.

  “_Preserve the utmost secrecy with regard to this circular, and
  reply at once._ Delay, and you are guilty of neglect of duty!

                                “Yours fraternally,
                                         “JOHN O’NEILL,
                                      “_President Fenian Brotherhood_.


                            “HEAD-QUARTERS, WAR DEPARTMENT, F.B.,
                                 “DECKERTOWN, SUSSEX COUNTY, N.J.,
                                      “_April 28, 1870_.

  “General Orders.
  “No....

  “Commanding officers of regiments, companies, and detachments will
  hold their respective commands in readiness to move at a moment’s
  notice.

  “Officers of circles having no military organisations attached
  will immediately take the necessary steps to organise the military
  of their neighbourhoods, and forward to this office the names of
  officers selected, so that they may be commissioned.

  “Commanding officers of companies will get as many men as possible
  ready to move at once, leaving to the civic officers the task of
  collecting and forwarding—if possible within twenty-four hours
  thereafter—those who may not be able to move with the first
  detachments.

  “Officers and men must avoid the use of uniforms or any insignia
  that would distinguish them.

  “Officers must not be recognised by military titles, and officers
  or men must not speak of Fenian matters while _en route_.

  “Take no man who is a loafer or a habitual drunkard.

  “Take no man who has not seen service, or who has not sufficient
  character to ensure his good behaviour _en route_ and in presence
  of the enemy.

  “Any arms, uniforms, or war material remaining in the hands of
  circles _must be immediately_ packed and forwarded to the points
  designated in circular of February 19, 1870.

  “Hold no communications with any person not authorised from these
  head-quarters. All letters relating to military matters must be
  addressed to M. Kerwin, Deckertown, Sussex County, New Jersey.

  “Let no consideration prevent a prompt compliance with this order.

                                           “M. KERWIN,
                                        “_Brig.-Gen. and Sec. of War_.

                                   “Approved,
                                         “JOHN O’NEILL,
                                      “_President Fenian Brotherhood_.

  “H. le Caron,
  “_Col. and Adj.-General_.”




XV.


At this time I was out West, and receiving a telegram from O’Neill,
directing me to meet him in Buffalo, I hurried thither without
delay. I reached that city only to find that O’Neill had ordered
an immediate movement on Canada, and that, as he phrased it, “no
power on earth could stop it.” This condition of things startled and
surprised me. His determination in the way of immediate action was
opposed to the decision of the last council of war, and my chiefs in
Canada would, I feared, be quite unprepared. I at once telegraphed
the authorities at Ottawa, and was soon in personal communication
with their trusted agents in Buffalo. Fortunately, as matters turned
out, the plan of action was the same as decided upon at the last
council of war, the full details of which the authorities possessed;
and so the situation was not so complex as I had at first feared.

The next few days were busy ones. All military commanders were
ordered to report at given points with their commands; instructions
were issued for the placement of arms by the following Tuesday, at
rendezvous near the line at Franklin and Malone, and I was appointed
Adjutant-General with the rank of Brigadier-General. We had quick
promotion and brave ranks in the Fenian army!

On Saturday, April 22, 1870, O’Neill and I left Buffalo for St.
Albans, he full of enthusiasm and the belief that the Canadians
would be taken entirely by surprise, I laughing to myself at his
coming discomfiture. We arrived at Milton, Vermont, at daylight on
the following morning, to find that everything was proceeding most
satisfactorily. Prompt action had been taken by those in charge of
the munitions of war, and by the following Tuesday morning sufficient
war material for our army was ready at the appointed places.

This second and last invasion of Canada differed in many respects
from that of 1866. Then the raid was loudly advertised for months
before it actually took place. This time everything was different.
Secrecy (as it was supposed) covered every move and intention. Had
not the Canadian authorities been fully advised, the results, under
the circumstances, would have been undoubtedly serious. There was
another important feature about this second raid, and that was its
preparedness. Matters in connection with the first affair had been
of a very happy-go-lucky character. Now the services of a number
of ex-military men of undoubted ability had been secured, and war
material for at least twelve thousand men was actually on the ground.

O’Neill’s ideas may be set forth in very few words. The chief object
he had in view was to obtain possession of Canada, not as the
permanent seat of an Irish republic, but as the only vulnerable point
of attack—the base for operations against England. His theory was
that the Fenians needed the ports and shipyards of the Dominion from
which they could despatch privateers to prey upon English shipping.
By the possession of territory he anticipated they could claim and
obtain the rights of belligerents from the United States. In this
event he held the promise of many men, eminent on the side of both
North and South during the War of Rebellion, to enroll themselves
under the Irish banner, and to command expeditions which it was
fondly hoped and expected would wrest Ireland from the hands of the
oppressor.

His plan was to get across the boundary line without delay, and then
to intrench himself at a point where his small contingent would form
the nucleus round which a large army and unlimited support would
rally from the United States. Buffalo, Malone, and Franklin were
the three points from which attacks were to be made. However, “the
best laid schemes of mice and men gang aft aglee.” O’Neill expected
1000 men to meet him at Franklin on the night of Tuesday, April 25,
1870. The history of 1866 repeated itself. As was the case then,
so now, only a quarter of the number presented themselves. By the
following morning only 500 had mustered. Every hour’s delay added
to the danger of failure and collapse; and so he feared to postpone
the arrangements any longer. I viewed the situation with a good deal
of equanimity, for on the previous night all my trusty messengers
had departed, carrying full details as to the time, exact points of
crossing, numbers, place of operations, &c., to the enemy’s lines.

At eleven o’clock on Wednesday, O’Neill left the Franklin Hotel to
place himself at the head of the Fenian army, not without hope and
confidence, yet struggling with the disappointing fact that one-half
his men had not arrived. His chief anxiety appeared to be that the
Canadians would not give him a chance to fight. He misapprehended the
situation on this score, however, as subsequent events showed.

Hubbard’s Farm, the Fenian camp and rendezvous, was situated about
half a mile from Franklin, and here all the available “invaders”
were mustered. Arranging them in line, O’Neill addressed them as
follows:—

“Soldiers, this is the advance-guard of the Irish-American army for
the liberation of Ireland from the yoke of the oppressor. For your
own country you enter that of the enemy. The eyes of your countrymen
are upon you. Forward. March.”

And march they did, O’Neill, as he departed at their head,
instructing me to bring to his support on their arrival a party of
400 men then _en route_ from St. Albans.




XVI.


Careless of consequences, I waited to see what would happen. As I
stood on the brow of the hill where our company was situated, the
scene was indeed worthy of my study. Ludicrous as were many of the
elements which went to make it up, the charm of nature was superior
to them all, and commanded my tribute of respect and admiration.
Right below me was a pretty valley, down the very centre of which
flowed a little creek marking the boundary of Canadian territory, and
dividing by its narrow course the Canadian from American soil. A soft
pleasant sward sloped gracefully down from where I stood to its bank,
while on the other side there rose in graceful outlines the monarchs
of a Canadian forest, overtopped by a rocky cliff standing out in
bold and picturesque relief. The soft sweet breezes of the spring
morning played upon our faces, while the brilliant sunlight sent its
rays flashing upon our bayonets, and dancing on the waters underneath.

Nature was in her very best and sweetest mood, and yet little room
for appreciation of her charms existed in the breasts of those who,
sweeping down the valley’s side beneath me, were seeking, in their
own foolish way, to make “Ireland a nation once again.” They were a
funny crowd. All were armed, but few were uniformed. Here and there
a Fenian coat, with its green and grey faced with gold, caught the
eye, but only to stand out in contrast with the surrounding garments
of more sombre hue and everyday appearance. The men marched with
a certain amount of military precision, for all had received some
degree of military training. At last they reached the little wooden
bridge by which the water was crossed, and deploying as skirmishers
in close order, they advanced with fixed bayonets, cheering wildly.
Not a soul appeared in front. The dark Canadian trees hid from their
view the ambushed Canadian volunteers; and, fixed in their belief
that nothing was known of their coming, they advanced in a spirit of
effervescent enthusiasm. But not very far, however.

A few paces, and on their startled ears came the ringing ping, ping,
of the ambushed rifles, as the Canadians poured a deadly volley
straight into their ranks. Utterly taken aback, they stopped, broke
rank, and fled as in 1866, an ungovernable mob, to return for a
moment in order to pour a volley on their almost invisible enemy, and
to finally retreat up the hill to where I stood, still under the fire
of their adversaries, leaving their dead to be subsequently buried by
the Canadians.

On the slope of the hill was a large structure known as Richard’s
Farm, to which the invaders retreated and continued their firing,
ineffective as it was.

Seeing that all was over here, for a time at least, I hurried off
to the point where the St. Albans contingent had by now arrived,
and were arming. The process took some time, and while engaged
in superintending it, I was afforded practical evidence of the
termination of O’Neill’s part in the fight. Standing in the middle
of the public road where the men were forming into line—it was now
half-past one, the “battle” which I have just described having taken
place about 11.30—I was startled by the cry, “Clear the road, clear
the road!” and almost knocked down by a furiously driven team of
horses, to which was attached a covered carriage. As the conveyance
flashed by me, I caught through the carriage window a hurried
glimpse of the dejected face of O’Neill, who was seated between
two men. I understood the situation in a moment, but said nothing.
To have given the command to shoot the horses as they turned an
adjacent corner would have been the work of an instant, but it was
no part of my purpose to restore O’Neill to his command. I learned
subsequently that O’Neill was in the custody of the United States
marshal, General Foster, who, acting with that precision so peculiar
to General Grant’s administration, when contrasted with that of
Andrew Johnson’s, had, in consequence of the information furnished,
arrived on the scene of the battle immediately after I left, and
arrested O’Neill for a breach of the Neutrality Laws. O’Neill, who
was in the company of his comrades, had at first refused submission,
and threatened force, but on General Foster placing a revolver at his
head, he gave in.

When the news of O’Neill’s arrest reached us later on in the
afternoon, a council of war was held, presided over by John Boyle
O’Reilly, of whom I have already spoken, the council being held in
a meadow, where we all stood in a circle. Contingents were hourly
arriving, and a strong attempt was made to get Boyle O’Reilly to
take command, and lead the attack at some other point, but in the end
nothing was done.

Next morning, General Spear, the Secretary of War of the Fenian
Brotherhood, arrived at St. Albans, and sought to do something
practical in the way of continuing the invasion. Through his
_aide-de-camp_, Colonel Brown, and subsequently in person, he
appealed to me to supply him with 400 or 500 stands of arms and
ammunition within twenty-four hours. Of course, it would never have
done for me to have allowed further operations, and so I pleaded
it was impossible under the condition of affairs then developed.
Thousands of Canadian troops had arrived on the border, and the arms
being located in places difficult to get at, they were out of reach
for the moment. Luckily for me, the appearance of United States
troops in the vicinity put any further attempt at war operations
out of the question, for in order to avoid arrest for breach of the
Neutrality Laws, the Fenians had to disappear with alacrity. I left
this point with the rest of them, and hurrying to Malone, another
of the places where rendezvous had been arranged, I found a similar
state of things prevailing here, although the arrest of O’Neill, and
the unexpected appearance of the United States troops, filled the
invaders with dismay, and utter demoralisation was the result.




XVII.


On Friday, April 27th, under the excuse that I was going to
Burlington to see about O’Neill, I went round by way of Rouses Point
to Montreal. I was elated with my success, and wanted to report
myself at head-quarters without delay. It would not, however, have
been safe for me to have gone direct to Ottawa, and so I travelled in
a roundabout way. On the Friday night I stopped with Judge Coursel,
the Commissioner of the Quebec police, and the following morning took
train to Ottawa. Before my journey concluded, I found I had been
altogether too premature in my self-congratulations. In fact, that
journey brought me even closer to discovery than I had ever been
before.

Nothing unusual happened till we got to Cornwall, where there was the
usual half-hour’s delay for dinner. Taking full advantage of it, I
was enjoying a hearty meal, when both my meal and peace of mind were
disturbed by an unlooked-for incident. Struck by an unusual commotion
at the door of the dining-room, I looked round to find advancing
towards me two men, one remarkable for his tall military appearance,
and the other for his clerical attire. All eyes were turned upon
them, and as I ceased eating for the moment to look up, I heard the
clerical-looking person say, as he pointed his finger towards me,
“That is the man.” Advancing, the tall man, who subsequently turned
out to be the mayor of Cornwall, speaking with a Scotch accent, said,
“You are my prisoner,” accompanying the words with a grasp of my
shoulder. I imagined there was some mistake, and laughed as I turned
to resume my dinner, asking at the same time what was the matter. Not
a movement, however, disturbed the solidity of my Scotch friend’s
face as he solemnly repeated the words, “You are my prisoner,”
adding, “you must come with me at once.”

As I learned subsequently, the priestly looking person was a
wandering preacher, who had happened to be in the vicinity of Malone
when I was locating arms there, and I had been pointed out to him
then as the leading Fenian agent. His memory was a very good one, and
he immediately recognised me when we met again.

Matters were beginning to look serious; but still I could not
comprehend what all this meant, and being still hungry I said,
“But won’t you let me finish my dinner?” “No,” was the sharp
reply; “come.” “For what reason?” quoth I, indignantly. “Why am I
arrested?” “You are a Fenian,” came the reply, the words falling
clearly and distinctly on the hushed room, where those present began
to show signs of anger and indignation towards me. I hurried out with
my captors, and was taken to a room adjoining the ticket-office,
there to have demanded of me my luggage and my keys, with everything
on my person. I had no luggage save a hand-bag, yet I had with me
documents which would reveal everything, if made public. My position
was dangerous—distinctly dangerous. The prospect before me was
that of disclosure and imprisonment amongst a strange people, where
I had no friend. Prompt action was called for, and so I asked the
mayor for a few minutes’ private conversation. Suspicious, and yet
curious, he brought me into the ticket-office, where we were left
alone. Here I told him the exact situation. It was true, I said, that
I was a Fenian, but also a Government agent. I was even then on my
way to Ottawa to see Judge M‘Micken. To delay or expose me would mean
serious difficulty for the Government. Let him send me on to Ottawa
under guard, if he liked, and then he would prove my statements true.
Did he want immediate proof, then here were my papers, and there a
telegram to Judge M‘Micken, advising him of my coming, which he
himself would despatch.

My manner must have impressed him, for he decided to adopt my
suggestion, and send me on by the same train in which I had been
travelling (which had not yet gone, all this occupying but a few
minutes), under the escort of a lieutenant who, with his Canadian
regiment, was then returning from the scene of the invasion.
The details of my arrest as a Fenian quickly spread amongst my
fellow-passengers, and travelled before me on the route, and the
reception I met with along my journey was most disagreeable. For
safety’s sake, the lieutenant transferred me to the care of a
sergeant and couple of soldiers, and the carriage in which we
travelled was the sole point of attraction in the train. Crowding
round this carriage, the infuriated Canadians would hiss and hoot
me, while their cries of “Hang him,” “Lynch him,” gave me a very
uncomfortable idea of what would happen to me if left alone amongst
them. So careful were my guardians of me, that they would not even
allow me to have the window raised, so that I might smoke, fearing
that in some way I might take advantage of the open window to escape.
This was really a serious grievance with me, for they could not
possibly have inflicted a greater deprivation than that in the matter
of smoking. All through my life, even down to the present time, I
have been a great smoker, sometimes consuming as many as sixteen
cigars in the day, a statement which will probably puzzle some people
who hold that tobacco ruins the nerves.

On reaching Prescott Junction, I found that the news of my
capture—of course my name and rank never transpired—had created
such a sensation that a special correspondent of the _Toronto Globe_
had travelled to meet me, in order to find out who and what I was,
and everything about me. He was doomed to be disappointed, however,
for I could not be got to speak. When, eventually, we arrived at
Ottawa, I found my telegram to Judge M‘Micken had brought his
representative to the station, and by him, myself and my guards were
immediately conveyed to the police-office, where the Commissioner was
awaiting us. Pretty certain of my safety now, I was quite prepared
to smile, and really did laugh when brought into the presence of my
friend the judge. Not so he, however. With proverbial soberness and
solemnity he heard the details of my capture, received possession
of my person, and gave a formal receipt for my custody. Armed with
this, my guardians left, and then the old man’s genial kindly nature
asserted itself. By his instructions I remained in his office till
nightfall, when, in a cab under cover of the darkness, I accompanied
him to the club to take up my quarters there for the night.

In the club the Fenian prisoner of a few hours previously was made
a most welcome guest, and had an exceedingly good time. My identity
being known to some of the officers who crowded the club-house after
their return from Franklin, I found myself quite the hero of the
hour, and had most interesting chats over the experiences of the
raid on both sides of the fight. Amongst the pleasant people whose
acquaintance I then made was Dr. Grant, the physician to Prince
Arthur, who was in Ottawa at that time.

With the following day came arrangements for my departure for home,
and it was decided that, in order to avoid travelling over the
same line again, I should be driven during the night to Ann Prior
terminus—a distance of some forty miles from Ottawa—from which
place I could take a branch line to my destination. Fortunate though
I thought myself, my troubles were not at an end. This trip of mine
to Ottawa was a chapter of misfortunes. As I was on the point of
starting, I discovered that I had not sufficient money to bring me
home. Accordingly, Judge M‘Micken had to supply me with the needful
funds. This, however, did not prove by any means an easy thing to
do. A cheque was duly drawn, but of course I could not cash it,
and the judge had to have recourse to a friend. The amount was a
large one—three hundred and fifty dollars—and it was beyond the
resources of the club at the moment. The services of the club porter
therefore had to be utilised for the purpose of obtaining the money.
Here, unknown to us, seed was being sown which was to bear evil
fruit. The porter knew, of course, that I was the Fenian prisoner,
although nothing more; and, gossip that he was, he let out the
secret a little later. It became public property; and the Canadian
press published the fact that an important Fenian had been in Ottawa
immediately after the raid, and received a very large sum of money
from the Government official with whom he was in communication,
adding that the Fenians must have been nicely duped all through. This
was bringing danger very, very near to me again; yet, marvellous
to relate, suspicion never rested upon me in connection with the
paragraph. I drove from Ottawa in the night, got safely home, and was
never troubled further by my eventful visit. But, for a long time, I
treasured very unchristian-like feelings towards that porter.




XVIII.


With the fiasco at Pigeon Hill, and the equally inglorious
termination of the musters at other points of the Canadian border,
there died out altogether the idea of attacking and seizing any
portion of Canada. O’Neill, after some confinement, was brought to
trial, and sentenced to six months’ imprisonment, and the Fenian
organisation literally went to pieces for the time. I had no thought
of its ever reviving again, and so turned my attention once more to
my medical work, which I had had to completely neglect from the time
of my leaving Joliet and attaching myself to O’Neill’s staff.

I had scarcely resumed my studies, however, when a visit from O’Neill
on his release showed me that there was still some fight left in
himself and his comrades. He came to me as a matter of fact to enlist
my co-operation in some work of a distinctly active character.
In explanation of the position of affairs, he laid before me the
originals of several letters to him from the Rev. W. B. O’Donohoe,
a young priest of Manitoba, who was at the time acting as secretary
for the notorious Riel. The correspondence gave all the details
of a contemplated uprising of the half-breeds in the North-West
against the Dominion authorities, and stated, to my amazement and
disgust, that he—this young priest—had received permission from his
Archbishop—Tasché—to throw off his ecclesiastical garments and take
a part therein.

In conclusion, O’Neill’s assistance and co-operation in the attempt
was sought, and as he put it, “anything to cripple the enemy” being
his motto, he was only too eager for the fray. He had one great
difficulty, however, and that was the want of arms. Knowing that a
quantity remained in hiding since the second raid, he had sought to
obtain possession of them, but had been referred to me as the person
who had deposited them with their present custodians, and without
whose permission they could not be given up. I cheerfully agreed to
let him have 400 breech-loaders and ammunition, and accompanied him
to the points where they were, for the purpose of their delivery, but
not before I had surreptitiously obtained the use of the documents,
and sent copies to both the Home and Canadian Governments with full
information as to what was _sur le tapis_.

O’Neill, in company with a trusted confederate, J. J. Donnelly,
fitted out his expedition, and on the 5th day of October 1871, after
crossing the line at Fort Pembina, was arrested with his party,
and all his war material seized, in consequence of the information
supplied by me. Riel, thus deprived of the expected assistance,
surrendered at Fort Garry to Lord Wolseley without firing a shot.
O’Neill and his party having been turned over to the United States
authorities, were, four days afterwards, tried and acquitted. Strange
as it appears, these men, captured on Canadian soil, were, by some
egregious blunder, handed over to the United States authorities, and
by them acquitted on the ludicrous technicality that the offence was
not committed on American, but Canadian soil.

Subsequently O’Neill came back to me and made my life a burthen.
Discredited and disheartened, he took to drink and went entirely to
the dogs, bringing to the verge of starvation an affectionate but
heart-broken wife, who, once a sister of mercy, had nursed and grown
to love him in a hospital where he was confined, and, disregarding
all her vows, had in the end married him. Drifting slowly downward
through disgrace and drink, O’Neill, the once brilliant, if
egotistical, Irishman met a lone and miserable death.




XIX.


On resuming my studies, I decided to enter the Detroit College of
Medicine, and so, taking my family with me, I settled down there.
There were many reasons for my change of residence, not the least
important of which was that connected with the unpopularity which
I found attached to me in my old home after my return from the
Canadian affair. O’Neill had many opponents, and by these opponents
I was attacked in company with O’Neill, and the others engaged in
the affair, for having ruined the organisation by the premature
“invasion” which had taken place. Therefore, I thought it better to
remove to another quarter where this state of feeling did not exist,
and where my Irish record would be of service to me in the future. As
far as Detroit was concerned, I fixed upon it because of the desire
of Judge M‘Micken that I should become acquainted with, and obtain
as much information as I could about, Mackay Lomasney—whose name
will be familiar in connection with the London Bridge explosion—and
others just settled down there.

Lomasney was, in the eyes of the authorities, an important man;
and his subsequent career, terminating with the attempt to blow
up London Bridge, in which he lost his own life, fully justified
their estimate. He had been engaged in the ’65 and ’67 movements
in Ireland, had been charged with the murder of a policeman and
acquitted, but sentenced to twelve years’ penal servitude for his
work as a rebel, and, with others whose names will appear later,
had been amnestied in the year 1870. He had now settled down in
Detroit as the proprietor of a book-store; and as he was known to
be a most active revolutionist, much curiosity was felt as to what
he was actually doing. I formed a very pleasant acquaintance with
Mackay Lomasney, and found him a most entertaining man. The future
dynamitard was at this time about twenty-eight years of age. Though
of youthful appearance, his face was a most determined one, and
the way in which it lent itself to disguise truly marvellous. When
covered with the dark bushy hair, of which he had a profusion, it
was one face; when clean-shaven, quite another, and impossible of
recognition. Acting, as he constantly did, as the delegate from the
American section to the Fenians at home, this faculty of disguise
proved of enormous service, and may very well have had disastrous
effects on police vigilance. I have seen Lomasney both shaved, on
his return from Ireland, and unshaved, in his American life; and in
all the men I have ever met, I never saw such a change produced by
so easy a process. I may dismiss Mackay Lomasney from this point
of my story by saying that, beyond his activity in connection with
the establishment of the Irish Confederation, his movements gave
little ground for apprehension, and, as far as the Confederation was
concerned, its development proved of very little account.

But, if the Confederation was to accomplish little, the men who with
Lomasney took part in its initiation were not without their claims to
attention. Foremost amongst them were two bearing names destined to
be familiar in latter-day politics. These were O’Donovan Rossa and
John Devoy. As both will be found constantly strutting across the
stage of Irish-American affairs from this date, I will pause here to
refer to them in some little detail.

Jeremiah O’Donovan—the “Rossa” was, he claims, added in early years
as the outward and visible sign of the alleged fact of his being
directly descended from the Princes of Rossa—was, at the time of
his arrival, one of the most popular men amongst the Irish in the
United States. Sentenced to imprisonment for life for taking part
in the ’65 movement, he had, according to general rumour, undergone
the severest of sufferings and indignities in the British dungeons.
A strong current of sympathy set in in his favour in consequence,
and as both in public and private he lost no opportunity of dilating
upon his grievance, the sentiment was in no sense allowed to waver or
grow weak. The man whose name was to be so closely associated with
dynamite and devilry in later years, did not at this time suggest by
his appearance the possession of any undue ferocity. His face, though
determined, was yet not without its kindly aspect, while his love for
the bottle betrayed a jovial rather than a fiendish instinct. His
fierceness, indeed, lay altogether in speech. Voluble and sweeping in
his language, he was never so happy as when pouring out the vials of
his wrath on the British Government.

Devoy, the notorious author of the “New Departure,” was at once
seen to be a man of weighty influence. Forbidding of aspect, with
a perpetual scowl upon his face, he immediately conveyed the idea
of being a quarrelsome man, an idea sustained and strengthened by
both his manner of speech and gruffness of voice. Experience of
Devoy’s character only went to prove the correctness of this view.
Quarrelsome and discontented, ambitious and unscrupulous, his
friendships were few and far between; and had it not been for his
undoubted ability, and the existence of those necessities which link
adventurers together, he could never have reached the prominent place
which he subsequently attained in the Fenian organisation.

With their fellow-prisoners who had been amnestied, General Thomas
F. Bourke, Thomas Clarke Luby, Edmond Power, and Henry S. Meledy,
together with James J. O’Kelly, late M.P. for Roscommon, but then
a struggling reporter on a New York paper, Rossa and Devoy brought
the Irish Confederation into existence, and formed its first
“directory” or executive. They indulged in the wild hope of being
able to gather in all the scattered Irish under one banner, and
to put an end once and for all to the dissensions and divisions
which had so disastrously affected Irish affairs in the past. They
were disappointed. Not by their unaided efforts was this to be
accomplished. Indeed, the Confederation was never popular. It was
regarded as a sort of close corporation “run,” as we say in the
United States, in the interest of the exiles, and, as a consequence,
was jealously viewed by the rank and file. Every effort that could
be made to bring about a fusion was tried by these men, but without
success. Even Stephens himself was brought over from France and put
at the head of affairs; but his name had lost its charm, and he had
to return to Paris a discredited man.




XX.


While my Fenian friends struggled on in this way, I looked after
my own affairs. Completing my studies and business in Detroit, I
moved myself and my family to Wilmington, where I settled down to
make a home and secure an income. I was now a fully fledged M.D.,
and so I immediately commenced practising at Braidwood, a suburb
of Wilmington. Success attended my start, my Irish connection and
record bringing me an amount of patronage almost beyond my powers of
attention. I had given up all idea of anything definite happening
in the way of Fenian affairs, and turned my attention to local
politics. Here, of course, my Irish friends were again of use.
Failing to obtain a seat on the School Board, for which I had been
nominated, I succeeded in getting an appointment on the Board of
Health. The office was really a sinecure, with one hundred dollars a
year attached. Not content with it, I gained the much more lucrative
appointment of Supervisor of Braidwood, attached to which was a daily
fee of 2½ dollars, and travelling allowances when engaged on town
business. Anybody acquainted with the American political system, even
to a moderate extent, will know how paying such offices can be made.

Meantime I had joined the Medical Society of my State, and assisted
in founding the State Pharmaceutical Society. My activity did
not even stop here, and, in addition, I took a very active part
in bringing about much-needed legislation on the question of the
practice of medicine. In these days there was no such thing as a
State law regulating the practice of medicine or pharmacy, and I—let
me frankly confess it—as much for the sake of popularity as anything
else, spared no pains, even going to the extent of “lobbying” in
Springfield, the State capital, in the interest of legislation on
these matters, in which I was very successful.

Little as I imagined it then, events were at this time shaping
themselves to an end which, frequently attempted, had never yet been
wholly accomplished by the aspiring leaders of the Irish in America.
This was the bringing together of all Irishmen at home and abroad
into one vast and perfect organisation. The hour was coming, and
with it the men. Born in comparative poverty and insignificance, but
under an impressive name, the association now being formed, the great
Clan-na-Gael of the future, was destined to be a powerful, rich,
and far-reaching organisation, healthy of limb and strong of hand,
fated to leave its heavy mark upon the pages of this half-century’s
history. From small beginnings have come great results.

Away back towards the end of the sixties, there came into existence
one of those temporal societies, an off-shoot of the permanent
conspiracy known under the name “Knights of the Inner Circle,” which
was joined by many Irish conspirators, myself amongst the number.
With its members there became associated, in the latter end of 1869,
some three hundred members of the “Brian Boru” Circle of the Fenian
Brotherhood in New York City, who, in consequence of a political
quarrel over electioneering matters, seceded from their original
body; and by these men, acting in concert with others under the name
of the “United Irishmen,” what were really the first camps of the
Clan-na-Gael were established.

The V.C. (the cypher was arranged on the plan of using the
alphabetical letters immediately following those intended to be
indicated) had for its object the same intention which governed the
inception and development of all Irish conspiracy in America—the
freedom of Ireland from English control by armed force. It was,
however, to differ from its predecessors insomuch as, unlike them,
it was to be of an essentially secret character. P. R. Walsh of
Cleveland, Ohio, known as “the Father of the Clan,” was the apostle
of this new condition of things, and he, with others of shrewd and
far-seeing minds, argued with great success, that if one lesson more
important than another was to be learnt from the past history and
miserable fiascos of the movement, it was that no possible success
could be achieved with a revolutionary organisation working in
the open day. The Irish people, reasoned these priests of the new
faith, had not judgment enough to manage their schemes for freedom.
They revealed their secrets to the heads of their Church; they were
dictated to by these heads; they feared to obey their non-clerical
leaders; and so were thwarted the best schemes of the most active
workers. A revolutionary movement must be secret and unscrupulous,
and, to be successful, they could not enter on the contest for
freedom with the yoke of the Church around their neck.

Language like this reads strangely indeed in the light of latter-day
revelations, and the knowledge the world now has of Clan-na-Gael
priests and their work. But at the time it was not without its
appropriateness and significance. The priests at the period of which
I write were, neither in Ireland nor America, the priests of these
subsequent years. Then, as in those days of old, when religion was
paramount and priestly control salutary and effective, the ban of
the Church was not merely a phrase dangerous in sound, it was a
living dread reality, fearful in its consequences in the eyes of
those who in their lives worked out that grand old characteristic
of the Irish people, faith in their Church and reverence toward its
rulers. It was reserved for the coming years to bring to the view of
a startled public a people reckless and defiant of priestly control,
because of the teachings of their atheistic and communistic leaders,
and the self-surrender of all their higher and priestly functions by
those who were content to be led by, rather than to lead those whose
consciences were their charge and their responsibility.




XXI.


The arguments were well put, and what was more, they were well timed.
They proved successful. Everything appeared in favour of the new
move; and the re-establishment of the Fenian organisation in Great
Britain on a more compact secret basis, under the title of the _Irish
Republican Brotherhood_, was one of the many satisfactory features of
the moment. Matters, however, moved slowly; and, although actually
established in 1869, it was not until the year 1873 that the movement
became in any way general. Then it was that, merging almost all
other societies in itself, the Clan, now known as the V.C. or United
Brotherhood, established subordinate bodies or “Camps,” as they were
called, almost simultaneously in all the leading centres of the
United States. Secrecy was the text preached in every direction.
Every member was bound by the most solemn of oaths to keep secret all
knowledge of the order and its proceedings which might come to him,
under penalty of death. A Masonic form of ritual was adopted; grips,
passwords, signs, and terrorising penalties were decided upon; and
all the pomp and circumstance of mystery, so dear to the Irish heart
and so effective in such a conspiracy, were called to the aid of
those who now inculcated this new doctrine.

Undoubtedly, there was no secret made amongst its members as to the
treasonable character of the organisation. The official printed
Constitution set forth the truth of the matter in no uncertain
way. “The object,” it stated, “is to aid the Irish people in the
attainment of the complete and absolute independence of Ireland, by
the overthrow of English domination: a total separation from that
country, and the complete severance of all political connection
with it; the establishment of an independent republic on Irish
soil, chosen by the free votes of the whole Irish people, without
distinction of creed or class, and the restoration to all Irishmen of
every creed and class of their natural privileges of citizenship and
equal rights. It shall prepare unceasingly for an armed insurrection
in Ireland.”

The Ritual and forms of initiation were framed entirely upon Masonic
precedent; and, to the vast majority of the members of the Clan,
the statement will come no doubt as a great surprise that the much
vaunted secret forms of the Masonic order need be secret to them no
longer, inasmuch as that, when being admitted to a Clan-na-Gael club,
they were going through the same forms and ceremonies as attached
themselves to that great source of mystery and wonderment in the
eyes of the non-elect, the Masonic Brotherhood. I have often laughed
to myself at the surprise shown by some Masons on the occasion of
their initiation to Clan-na-Gael clubs—for there are Masons in the
Clan—at being brought once more into contact with the familiar
procedure. One great feature of similarity exists between the two
ceremonies. In both the candidate is impressed with a deep sense of
awe and respect, to learn subsequently that nothing very mysterious
or wonderful is to come within his knowledge. Though the effect is
the same, however, the causes are very different. In one case,
that of the Mason, nothing very strange happens or is committed to
his secrecy, for the simple reason that the practice of brotherly
love and charity requires no unusual strain either on his powers of
wonder or reserve; while in the other the poor confiding Irishman is
simply intended to play the part of a dupe, to move and subscribe to
order, but to be trusted in no single regard, until by jobbery or
manipulation he works his way to the higher ranks of the organisation.

The candidates for membership were balloted for in the usual club
manner, three black balls excluding. The successful ones having
answered different queries regarding their age, belief in God,
&c. &c., were, after being blindfolded and shut out from view of
their future associates, brought forward and addressed by the
Vice-President of the meeting as follows:—

  “MY FRIENDS,—Animated by love, duty, and patriotism, you have
  sought affiliation with us. We have deemed you worthy of our
  confidence and our friendship. You are now within these secret
  walls. The men who surround you have all taken the obligations of
  our Order, and are endeavouring to fulfil its duties. These duties
  must be cheerfully complied with, or not at all undertaken. We are
  Jsjtinfo (Irishmen) banded together for the purpose of freeing
  Jsfmboe (Ireland) and elevating the position of the Jsjti (Irish)
  race. The lamp of the bitter past plainly points our path, and we
  believe that the first step on the road to freedom is secrecy.
  Destitute of secrecy, defeat will again cloud our brightest hopes;
  and, believing this, we shall hesitate at no sacrifice to maintain
  it. Be prepared, then, to cast aside with us every thought that may
  impede the growth of this holy feeling among Jsjtinfo (Irishmen);
  for, once a member of this Order, you must stand by its watchwords
  of Secrecy, Obedience, and Love. With this explanation, I ask you
  are you willing to proceed?”

The answer being satisfactory, the candidates were next placed
opposite the President, and addressed by him as follows:—

  “MY FRIENDS,—By your own voluntary act you are now before
  us. You have learned the nature of the cause in which we are
  engaged—a cause honourable to our manhood, and imposed upon us
  by every consideration of duty and patriotism. We would not have
  an unwilling member amongst us, and we give you, even now, the
  opportunity of withdrawing, if you so desire. Every man here has
  taken a solemn and binding oath to be faithful to the trust we
  repose in him. This oath, I assure you, is one which does not
  conflict with any duty which you owe to God, to your country,
  your neighbours, or yourself. It must be taken before you can be
  admitted to light and fellowship in our Order. With this assurance,
  and understanding, as you do, that the object of this organisation
  is the freedom of Jsfmboe (Ireland), will you submit yourself to
  our rules and regulations and take our obligation without mental
  reservation?”

At the conclusion of the address, the questions having been put, and
correctly replied to, the candidate took the oath as follows:—

  “I, ————, do solemnly and sincerely swear, in the presence
  of Almighty God, that I will labour, while life is left me,
  to establish and defend a republican form of government in
  Jsfmboe (Ireland). That I will never reveal the secrets of this
  organisation to any person or persons not entitled to know them.
  That I will obey and comply with the Constitution and laws of the
  V.C., and promptly and faithfully execute all constitutional orders
  coming to me from the proper authority, to the best of my ability.
  That I will foster a spirit of unity, nationality, and brotherly
  love among the people of Jsfmboe (Ireland).

  “I furthermore swear that I do not now belong to any other Jsjti
  sfwpmvujpobsz (Irish revolutionary) society antagonistic to this
  organisation, and that I will not become a member of such society
  while connected with the V.C., and, finally, I swear that I take
  this obligation without mental reservation, and that any violation
  hereof is infamous and merits the severest punishment. So help me
  God.” (Kiss the book.)

And then, in conclusion, the President made the following remarks:—

  “The name of this Order is the V.C. Its local sub-divisions are
  styled D.’s, and are known by members. This is D. No. —. The
  leading object of the V.C. is to co-operate with the J.S.C. (Irish
  Republican Brotherhood) in securing the independence of Jsfmboe
  (Ireland), and the special object is to secure the union of all
  Jsjti Obujpobmjtut (Irish Nationalists). As it is essential for
  the safe and efficient working of our organisation to preserve the
  strictest secrecy in reference to it, you will never mention the
  name of the V.C., or anything connected therewith, to any one whom
  you do not know to be a member thereof in good standing. And that
  we may be more effectually guarded from exposure, as well as to
  secure concentration of effort, you are prohibited by the supreme
  authority from contributing money to, or otherwise aiding, any
  other Jsjti sfwpmvujpobsz (Irish revolutionary) society.

  “Should you desire to secure some worthy person for membership,
  you will first have him proposed here, and, if elected, you may
  then indirectly and carefully ascertain his sentiments on the
  subject of secret Jsjti Obujpobm (Irish National) organisations,
  and, should his views be favourable, you might then intimate that
  you believe there is a secret organisation in existence working for
  Jsjti (Irish) liberty; and, if he appears inclined to join it, you
  may admit that you are a member of it, or acquainted with a member
  of it, and that you think you can secure his admission therein; but
  no further information must you convey, nor use the name of any
  person connected with the Order....

  “Finally, my brother, be careful that you do not make an improper
  use of these instructions, and let not the cause of Jsfmboe
  (Ireland) or the interests of the V.C. suffer through any want of
  prudence, perseverance, and courage on your part while travelling
  onwards on the path to freedom. (Two raps.)

  “Brothers! It affords me great pleasure to introduce to you your
  new brother.” (One rap.)




XXII.


Up to the year 1881, when the administration of the conspiracy
underwent a change, with which I will deal at its proper time, the
Clan-na-Gael was governed by an executive body (known in the cypher
as F.C.), presided over by a Chairman elected by the body at the
annual conventions, and a Revolutionary Directory known without any
regard to the cypher by its initial letters R.D. This Revolutionary
Directory was composed of seven men, three of whom were nominated
by the Executive, three by the Irish Republican Brotherhood (known
as the J.S.C.) in Ireland, and a seventh selected by the six when
appointed. The Revolutionary Directory was, as its name implies, a
body dealing directly with revolutionary matters, and it was chiefly
characterised by the autocratic power possessed by its members, about
whose action no detailed information was supplied, and against whose
proceedings there was, in consequence, no basis for appeal. The names
of all these officers were known only to the delegates who elected
them, and to the Presiding Officer of each camp, known as Senior
Guardian.

To the Executive (or F.C.) was intrusted, amongst other things, the
arrangements regarding the places and dates for holding the biennial
and annual conventions of the order; and their decision in this
respect was carefully guarded, and only at the very last moment
communicated to the high officials, in order to prevent any spies
or agents of the British Government from becoming acquainted with
their proceedings. The head of each subordinate body was informed a
week in advance of the date and place of the convention; and he was
instructed to arrange for the immediate election of a delegate from
his camp. So close was the secret kept, that the delegate, if other
than the presiding officer, did not know till the very hour of his
starting where he was bound for. Like convicts, the members were
known by numbers, never by names. Camps (known as D.’s) were also
numbered; and, in order the better to cover their doings from the
outside world, each camp had a public name by which it was known. For
instance, my own camp was known as the “Emmet Literary Association.”

During the early years of its existence I was not a member of the
Clan-na-Gael. Although, as I have stated, I was one of the “Knights
of the Inner Circle,” I did not take any prominent part in the
early days, when the V.C. succeeded, or rather absorbed it. There
were reasons for my not doing so. My prominence and action in the
ill-fated Canadian raid had not been altogether forgotten, and I
was still held responsible, in certain minds, for the premature
undertaking of it. Another reason affecting my action was the
difficulty introduced by a clause in the new constitution in regard
to the question of nationality. This clause read as follows:—

  “All persons of Irish birth or descent, or of partial Irish
  descent, shall be eligible to membership; but in cases of persons
  of partial Irish descent, the camps are directed to make special
  inquiries in regard to the history, character, and sentiments of
  the person proposed.”

In view of the whole situation, I determined that I should live down
any ill-feeling which might exist regarding my previous exploits,
and that I should take advantage of the interval thus brought about
by arranging some plan for my election later, on the ground of my
partial Irish descent. I had, of course, hitherto passed myself off
as a Frenchman, strongly sympathising with Irish affairs, though
never laying any claim to connection with the country. Now I had
to change my tactics a little, and so I gradually got it put about
that my mother—poor lady, she is living to-day, and will probably
never know till she reads this of the liberty I took with her
birthright—was of Irish descent. Of course, as the people out there
had never seen or heard of my mother, and it was quite a common thing
for French and Irish to intermarry, the deception was not likely to
be discovered, as indeed it never was.

There was still yet another reason for my being cautious. The most
insane and implacable enemy of O’Neill’s—and through my friendship
for O’Neill, of myself—Major William M‘Williams, of old Fenian fame,
was now high in the councils of the new organisation. In the O’Neill
_régime_, presumably jealous of my position, he had denounced me
as an adventurer, and the ill-feeling he had for me had culminated
during the sittings of a Fenian congress in an open attack, reported
in the New York papers as follows:—

  “THE FENIAN CONGRESS AND A FENIAN ROW.

  “The Fenian Congress was in session yesterday. A quorum of the
  Executive Committee appointed in Chicago was in session all day.
  They say they intend to commence work as soon as they obtain
  possession of the munitions of war. Major M‘Williams and Major Le
  Caron, two of the delegates, had a little onset in front of the
  Whitney House last eve, and blood might have flowed had it not been
  for the interference of several delegates.”

The altercation, I may add, on this occasion involved the use of
revolvers, and created too pronounced a feeling between us to allow
of my ever after expecting anything but the bitterest opposition from
M‘Williams. To my relief, however, M‘Williams eventually got into a
personal altercation with a fiercer antagonist than myself, by whom
he was shot in Columbia, S.C., being killed on the spot. His exit
cleared the way of the only difficulty which existed at the time of
his death, and so I considered it prudent to accept the invitation,
often extended to me, to join the Clan-na-Gael. I joined, and an
appointment upon the Military Board of the organisation quickly
followed. It must not, however, be thought that I had been “out of
things” meantime. Not at all. Possessed, as I was, of more than one
confiding friend, I secured information about everything that took
place.




XXIII.


Slowly but surely the Clan-na-Gael was gaining ground, despite all
the forces arrayed against it. Triumphing over Church opposition,
conscientious scruple on the score of joining secret societies, and
the single opposing Revolutionary faction still faithful to the
memory of Stephens, it had, in 1876, a membership exceeding 11,000,
which included amongst its leading names those of Alexander Sullivan,
John Devoy, O’Donovan Rossa, Thomas Clarke Luby, Thomas F. Burke, Dr.
Carroll, James Reynolds, Frank Agnew, Colonel Clingen, Wm. J. Hynes,
P. W. Dunne, Michael Boland, Denis Feeley, J. J. Breslin, Michael
Kirwen, and General Millen.

These were the men who in the after years were to be in the front
rank of the Clan-na-Gael, and by their position and influence to
model and direct the policy of the organisation. Of them and their
position at this time I shall now have some little to say.

With Sullivan I have already dealt, and here I need only state that,
having established himself in Chicago, he had taken to the study of
law, in which branch of the profession he was now—in 1876—preparing
to practise. He had been maintaining his questionable reputation,
for he had shot a man in cold blood; and though twice tried, had
been successful in escaping the consequences of his act, owing to
the employing of that process so frequently charged against the
Government in Ireland—packing the jury. Of Devoy and O’Donovan Rossa
I have also spoken before. The former, drifting to New York, had
since we parted with him been engaged on some two or three American
papers, and he was now, if I remember aright, engaged on the _New
York Herald_ staff. Rossa, very much to the front for the moment, in
consequence of his “skirmishing” theory, had meantime been living on
the proceeds of the fund raised for himself and his fellow-exiles on
their arrival in 1871, and a special subscription for himself, which
Ford inaugurated in the _Irish World_. Luby had been a well-known
patriot since 1865, when, in company with John O’Leary and Charles
J. Kickham, he had been sentenced to a long term of penal servitude
for the part he played in Ireland as one of the editors of the _Irish
People_. General Thomas Fras. Burke had served with the Confederate
Army, and had been amongst those who, in 1867, left America to lead
in that most disheartening of fiascos, the Irish rising of 1865,
as the result of his part in which he was sentenced to death, but
subsequently amnestied.

Dr. William Carroll, one of the principal physicians in Philadelphia,
whose name will appear prominently in the future, and who stood one
of the sponsors for Mr. Parnell on the occasion of his arrival in
America, was best known as the admirer, friend, and associate of
John Mitchell, and was himself nothing if not a Revolutionist. James
Reynolds of New Haven, Conn., whom I first met in connection with the
secret organisation, was by profession a gas- and brass-fitter, and
an avowed advocate of “extreme” measures. He was in fact a member of
the Revolutionary Directory of this period. Frank Agnew had a Fenian
record extending as far back as the Senate period of the Fenian
Brotherhood. Strangely enough, I first came in contact with him when,
on an inspecting tour, I had occasion to inspect a Fenian Company of
which he was captain in Chicago. He was one of those who arrived too
late to be of use in connection with the Fenian raid of ’70. He was
now a contractor of some importance in Chicago, and a great friend
and ally of Sullivan’s. Of Colonel Clingen I need not say much, save
that he had been an old Fenian ally of mine in days gone by, and had
sat with myself on the Military Board during O’Neill’s _régime_.

Of the others I have mentioned, Hynes and Dunne perhaps deserve
the most prominent place, by reason of the part they have recently
played in the Cronin affair. Both these men, it will be remembered,
came out as very strong opponents of Alexander Sullivan, whom they
roundly accused of causing Dr. Cronin’s death. Hynes I knew as far
back as 1865, when, as a clerk to John O’Neill, he took a very active
part in the work of the Fenian Brotherhood. Owing to a row between
O’Neill and himself, he severed his connection with active Fenianism,
and obtained a clerkship in one of the departments at Washington,
finding his way, after a little time, to Arkansas. Although returned
as a carpet-bag Congressman for the State, he failed to prosper,
and at last he found himself without a dollar in Chicago. Here the
first man to help him was Alexander Sullivan, against whom he is now
arrayed. Through Sullivan’s political influence, Hynes was engaged
as professional juryman at a fee of two dollars a day, from which
position he worked himself forward to that of a prominent politician
and a well-known member of the bar at which he practises.

P. W. Dunne proved to be a duplicate of O’Donovan Rossa, in
appearance and in many other ways, with this one strong exception,
that, whereas Rossa never sacrificed any of his means for the good of
his countrymen, but rather lived upon them in fact, Dunne sacrificed
an almost princely fortune. In early years he had been a prominent
distiller (a very lucrative business) in Peoria, Illinois; and
he was one of the leading seceders from the Stephens wing of the
Fenian Brotherhood, after the failure of 1865, in which he himself
participated, in company with P. J. Meehan, editor of the _Irish
American_. He was now situated in Chicago, occupying the position of
Superintendent of Streets, and had preceded Sullivan and Clingen upon
the Executive of the Clan-na-Gael.

As for the remainder, Boland, once a lieutenant in the United States
Army, was now a practising lawyer in Kentucky, having meantime
taken part in the ’66 raid on Canada. He was also one of the most
prominent of Clan-na-Gael officials, and an advocate of extreme
measures. Feeley, also an attorney-at-law, had been a member of the
Royal Irish Constabulary in his early days, and was now, as of yore,
one of the most prominent and bloodthirsty of rebels in the States.
Kirwen had been Brigadier-General and Fenian Secretary of War during
the Canadian raid of 1870, and had preserved his Revolutionary
record unbroken; while Breslin, chiefly remarkable for the part he
had played in helping James Stephens to escape from Richmond prison
(Ireland) in 1866, now, as ever since then, a prominent and avowed
Revolutionist, was occupying his public life in some municipal office
of an important character, while, in secret, playing his part on the
Revolutionary Directory of the Clan-na-Gael.

One name I have left to the last, and that is General Millen’s. The
discredited hero of the Jubilee Explosion Scheme of 1887 was at this
time engaged on the editorial staff of the _New York Herald_. Unlike
almost every one whom I have named, his military title was neither
of Fenian nor of American extraction. He had, according to his own
account, gained both his military knowledge and his rank when, out in
Mexico on the part of the _New York Herald_, he had thrown in his lot
with Juarez prior to the overthrow of the government of Maximilian
and the establishment of the First Republic, of which Juarez was
President. Be the claims to military knowledge which he advanced good
or bad, they were accepted with a certain amount of good faith by the
Clan leaders; and his usefulness in this regard being appreciated,
he held a position of some importance at this time, being in fact
Chairman of the Military Board.




XXIV.


My advent in the organisation, though gratifying to a certain extent,
did not satisfy me as fully as I wished. I wanted to know everything
that took place on the inner side of the movement, and I found
that, as one of the rank and file, I could really learn nothing.
Accordingly, I set my wits to work to see how I could accomplish my
desire of gaining such a position as would give me all I wanted. Very
little consideration was needed to show me that, in a large centre
like Chicago, where jealousy and ambition governed every motive,
it would be impossible for a new-comer to get to the front, and so
I decided to work out my designs in a smaller and more unimportant
place, where internal dissensions would find little if any home.
It will be remembered that Braidwood was the place where I had my
drug-store, and where I had had strong evidence of my popularity in
my election as Supervisor by a majority of 103 over my opponents. In
the end, therefore, I determined to establish a camp in Braidwood,
and with the assistance of the official organiser, a most promising
“camp” was got together, to the Senior Guardianship or Presidency of
which I was unanimously elected. Sullivan unconsciously assisted me
in my design. It was through his influence, though at my suggestion,
that the official organiser was sent down in the first instance.

Having once obtained the position, I spared neither pains nor money
to make myself secure in it. My status and extensive practice as a
doctor permitted of my playing the _rôle_ of the generous patriot,
and there was no subscription list on which my name did not figure in
some capacity as the patriotic, political, charitable, or religious
friend. The latter was not by any means the most infrequent, for
religion of a certain type plays a very large part in Irish politics.
Where money and the other arts failed, then I took to diplomacy.
Year in, year out, I continued president of my camp, though always
at election time asking to be allowed to retire in favour of some
better and more deserving brother. Of course it was simply a case of
“swearing I would ne’er consent, consenting.”

I was too useful to my brothers of “Camp 463,” now 204, to allow of
their permitting me to retire to the ranks. If no other reason but
the question of money came in, then this of itself alone would have
been sufficient. When a delegate had to be despatched to conventions
or gatherings elsewhere, none were more ready to start than I,
while—more important still for the patriots—my bills for expenses,
instead of being of the large and unjustifiable character usually
associated with such proceedings, could only be got from me under
protest, and with every manifestation of desire to save them outlay.
Of course, this travelling about from centre to centre, this mixing
with many men from many points, and the opportunities thus afforded
for gaining information and opening up new sources of supply,
admirably suited my purpose; and by taking advantage of the varied
openings given me, I was enabled to extend my usefulness as a Secret
Service agent to a very appreciable extent.

Matters, indeed, were satisfactorily situated for me at every point.
As Senior Guardian of the Braidwood camp, I was in receipt of every
document issued from head-quarters, and through me many of these
found their way to Mr. Anderson on the English side of the water.
My work in connection with these documents taxed all my powers of
resource; and had it not been for the popular and trusted position
which I held, I could have accomplished very little in regard to
them. A stringent regulation of the Executive required that all
documents—when not returned to head-quarters, as many had to
be—should be burned in view of the camp, in order that the most
perfect secrecy should be secured. It was, of course, impossible for
me to retain the originals of those which had to be returned, and of
them I could only keep copies. With those requiring destruction in
the presence of my camp, I was enabled to act differently. Always
prepared for the emergency, I was, by a sleight-of-hand performance,
enabled to substitute old and unimportant documents for those which
really should have been burnt, and to retain in my possession, and
subsequently transmit to England, the originals of all the most
important. I was, of course, shaking hands with danger and discovery
at every turn, and yet so marvellous was my success that I not only
escaped betrayal, but that which would undoubtedly have led to it,
namely, suspicion.

To this end, I was much assisted by the confidence reposed in me
by my fellow-officials, the Junior Guardians, who exhibited their
trust to the extent of giving me possession of their keys of the
strong-box, of which they held possession during their period of
office. This contained all the papers of the camp; and with a view to
its safety, one key was given to the Senior Guardian, and the other
to the Junior Guardian, the locks being different in construction,
so that the box could only be opened by the concurrence of both
officials. Had I not been able to obtain the confidence of my Junior
Guardians to the extent of possessing their keys, I could never have
brought my designs to such a successful issue. Strangely enough,
when I appeared in the witness-box at the Commission—for I was even
then Senior Guardian of my Clan-na-Gael camp—I had both keys of our
strong-box in my possession, which I jokingly offered to Mr. Houston
as a memento of our strange and unlooked-for meeting.




XXV.


Meantime, events had been developing themselves in a strange
and unlooked-for way. O’Donovan Rossa—speaking to the Irish in
America through the columns of the _Irish World_—had advocated the
establishment of a Skirmishing Fund in the following style:—

  “Five thousand dollars will have to be collected before the
  campaign can be started. England will not know how or where she
  is to be struck. A successful stroke or any stroke that will do
  her 500,000 dollars’ worth of damage will bring us funds enough to
  carry on the work: and by working on incessantly and persistently,
  the patient dirt and powder shock will bring out enough perhaps to
  carry on the war.”

In the same issue of the _Irish World_, Patrick Ford, in the course
of a commendatory article, said—

  “What will this irregular warfare of our Irish Skirmishers effect?
  It will do this much. It will harass and annoy England. It will
  help to create her difficulty and hasten our opportunity. It will
  not only annoy England, but it will hush her too. This is what we
  look for from the Skirmishers. One hundred dollars expended on
  skirmishing may cause to England a loss of 100,000,000 dollars.
  That would be a damaging blow to the enemy; and what is to prevent
  the dealing one of three or four such blows every year?”

Here I shall drop Rossa and his Skirmishing Fund for the moment,
to say a few words about Ford. The opportunity seems a favourable
one for dealing with a man whose name has been so prominent of late
years, and clearing up a few of the many misconceptions which appear
to exist regarding him. Like O’Donovan Rossa, his colleague at this
time in skirmishing matters, Ford’s position in Irish revolutionary
affairs has been quite misunderstood in British quarters outside the
Parnellite party. As a matter of fact Ford is not, and never has
been, a member of the Clan-na-Gael. True it is that he was a member
of the old Fenian organisations which preceded it—as, for instance,
the Irish Confederation, but in the membership of the last and most
powerful of all the branches of the Irish-American conspiracy, the
editor of the _Irish World_ has had no place. The secret of his
position and influence lies in his paper. This, from the very moment
of its start, has been a pronounced success, reaching a high-water
mark of influence and circulation, which threw the puny efforts
of its competitors completely into the shade. The paper came into
existence at the proper moment for itself; it was well edited, well
printed, and splendidly equipped with news from every quarter, and on
every point. It caught the public fancy and “went” amazingly. Ford,
originally a printer and a man of no mean attainment, gathered round
him a staff of equally clever writers, established correspondents at
every important centre, and working at very high pressure, was on the
point of failing on several occasions, only to escape through the
assistance of friends, politicians, or capitalists, willing to oblige
for certain considerations. Indeed, if I am not very much in error,
matters are not in the most favourable way for the paper at this very
time.

Patrick Ford, according to Michael Davitt, is a most worthy disciple
of the Christian principles, and a man whose life would serve as a
model for very many of those who criticise this dynamite advocate’s
character in no enthusiastic vein. Speaking of the man simply “on
the view” as the American phrase has it, Davitt’s observations are
not so far-fetched as they would appear to be at the first blush.
In appearance and manner, the editor of the _Irish World_ is quite
the opposite of the man you would figure to yourself after reading
his dynamite appeals and exordiums in his own journal. Quiet and
unobtrusive alike in look and speech, he is as mild a mannered man
as ever scuttled a ship. Of medium height, spare of build and spare
of feature, without any ferocity whatever marking the outer man, he
gives the observer the idea of being a quiet, sedate, and rather
retiring business person. Although a vigorous and effective writer,
he is not remarkable for his platform utterances, and while a good
talker, is by no means an orator.

Associated with Patrick Ford in his connection with Irish-American
affairs have been his brother Augustine and his nephew Austin.
Augustine, whose name comes into prominence with Rossa in the
Skirmishing Fund affair, was the publisher, as distinct from the
editor, of the _Irish World_; while Austin, then a young fellow, was
afterwards to become a member of the Clan-na-Gael, and to serve as
the medium of communication between the leaders of the Revolutionary
organisation and his uncle, the editor of what was undoubtedly,
though unofficially, their mouthpiece, the _Irish World_. There were
many reasons for an alliance, unofficial though it might be, existing
between the _Irish World_ and those charged with the conduct of the
vast secret conspiracy known to the initiated as the V.C. For what
the _Irish World_, with its extended popularity, its great influence,
and its enormous circulation, championed in public, the Clan-na-Gael
worked for in private. Ford and his fellow-workers, in a different
path, understood each other full well; and when, within a year after
the establishment of the Skirmishing Fund, it became desirable that
the Clan-na-Gael should take charge of it, there was no more ardent
advocate of the change than he. And as in the early, so in the
later years. When the new departure came to the front, Ford and his
Clan-na-Gael friends were of the same mind as to its importance,
and the necessity for supporting it. When dynamite came to be the
order of the day, he was its loud-tongued apostle; and when, later
still, “martyrs” like Brady and Curley suffered in Ireland the just
consequences of their fiendish part in the Phœnix Park murders, the
editor of the _Irish World_ was first to fill the gap with a fund on
behalf of their families, excluding from its benefits all connected
with those who had had the good sense, though bad patriotism, to
plead “guilty” to their part in the fell transaction.




XXVI.


To return, however, to Rossa and his Skirmishing Fund. As a prominent
Fenian of “the old guard,” and a member of the Clan-na-Gael, Rossa’s
influence, backed up by Ford’s advocacy, succeeded in getting
together no less than 23,350 dollars by the 14th March following the
issue of the appeal—in something less than twelve months in fact.
Although, however, this large sum had been accumulating during this
period, and portions of it had been ready at different times for use
if required, no skirmishing or pretence at skirmishing had taken
place, and some little dissatisfaction commenced to manifest itself
at the non-fruition of the many promises which had been held out of
“hurting England.” There then occurred the transfer of the fund to
the Clan-na-Gael under very mysterious circumstances, which have
never been thoroughly explained or understood. The nearest approach
to an explanation was afforded by a communication from Rossa, which
appeared in the _Irish World_ of the 21st April 1877, which, I think,
I cannot do better than quote here.

  “When I started this Skirmishing Fund, the council-men of the two
  Irish revolutionary societies in America—the Fenian Brotherhood
  and the Clan-na-Gael—took it into their heads that I was going to
  interfere with the regular revolutionary work, that I was going to
  play the deuce with everything, and they gave me no friendly help.
  I have been doing all I could to convince them that I am not the
  very desperate character I was in prison or out of prison; and some
  six months ago, being telegraphed to visit a convention of one of
  those societies, I went there. I there proposed to receive into the
  trusteeship and Executive Council of the Skirmishing Fund one or
  two of their body, provided that the one or two meant skirmishing
  work such as was laid down in our programme. This proposition of
  mine was accepted, and all passed off harmoniously.

       *       *       *       *       *

  “Here is how things stand now:—Mr. James J. Clancy, who acted as
  treasurer of the fund, got married a few weeks ago and ceased his
  connection with the _Irish World_. Then Austin Ford wrote me (on
  14th March) the following note:—

    “‘I told you that, at a certain Irish convention, I had
    consented to admit to the trusteeship of the fund some members
    of their body. They gave me several names to select from; and
    looking about for men who meant work, I took the names of John
    J. Breslin, who rescued the Australian prisoners, and who was
    the principal actor in the rescue of James Stephens in 1865;
    of Doctor William Carroll, of Philadelphia, who left his
    professional business (and being a particular friend of John
    Mitchell), came to New York when Mitchell was going to Ireland
    two years ago, went on board the steamer to see him off, went on
    the steamer with him to Ireland, having no other idea in his head
    but to take care of him. The other name I took was that of James
    Reynolds of Newhaven, Connecticut. He is the man in whose name
    the _Catalpa_ was registered, and he mortgaged his property to
    raise $4000, when it was needed at a crisis in connection with
    the expedition. Now Mr. Clancy and Mr. Ford have resigned, I
    have in connection with these three men I have mentioned taken
    into the trusteeship John Devoy, Thomas Clarke Luby, and Thomas
    Francis Bourke.’

       *       *       *       *       *

  “Last night Thomas Clarke Luby went to Washington, carrying
  with him $17,500 in American bonds endorsed by me, to have them
  transferred for safe keeping to the names of Dr. Carroll, Thomas C.
  Luby, John Devoy, Tom Bourke, John Breslin, and James Reynolds....
  John O’Mahony died. It was deemed well to send his remains to
  Ireland. There was no money to bear the expenses. I thought I might
  trespass on the skirmishing money. I consulted Mr. Ford and Mr.
  Clancy about a loan. They said it could be legitimately looked upon
  as within the pale of our work, and they paid me $2030 to defray
  the expenses. The Clan-na-Gael and the Fenian Brotherhood have
  promised to refund the money.”

No secret was made of the connection which now existed between the
“trustees” and the “fund,” for a public address was issued “to the
Irish people in the United States,” and published in the _Irish
World_ of the 21st April, containing the following passages:—

  “But since the ‘skirmishing’ project was first announced,
  circumstances have greatly altered.... Old Europe is threatened
  with a general convulsion. War on the most tremendous scale cannot
  much longer be staved off by all the artifices and subtleties of
  all the diplomatists in the world. Russia and Turkey are equally
  resolute to fight the inevitable fight.... The rest of the Great
  Powers of Europe will be drawn by an irresistible force into the
  arena. England, above all, whether she likes it or not, must draw
  her sword once more or meanly confess herself a third-class power.
  She is too proud of the part to yield her high place without a
  blow. She must first be beaten to her knees.

  “England’s difficulty then has all but come; in other words,
  ‘Ireland’s opportunity.’ Is Ireland prepared to seize that
  opportunity?...

  “In view of the altered circumstances of the time, ‘big with
  fate to us and ours,’ we propose to enlarge the basis of the
  ‘Skirmishing Fund,’ established by Rossa, and of the plans it was
  intended to further. We propose forthwith to create a ‘Special
  National Fund’ to aid the work of Ireland’s deliverance.

  “Action, some may think, has been postponed too long. Be this as it
  may, _we_ are determined to lose as little further time as possible
  ere we furnish our countrymen with practical results of our work.
  But a blow must be followed up by blows. Unhesitatingly then” (they
  ask for) “the means to do what may give heart and inspiration
  to our brothers at home, and prepare the way for the last grand
  struggle.

  ... “We shall only add that it is plain that ‘the Home Rule
  Agitation’ has signally failed to satisfy the yearnings of the
  Irish people. The O’Mahony funeral demonstration, with its
  deep heroic significance, has exercised the vain misleading
  phantom. Every true Irishman in Ireland (and shall we not say in
  America too?) once more believes in the old creed of our gallant
  fathers—that the sole way to free or regenerate Ireland is by
  total separation from England; and that total separation can only
  be achieved by desperate sacrifices, daring enterprises, and the
  strong hand.

          “JOHN J. BRESLIN,       }
          “THOMAS CLARKE LUBY,    }
          “JOHN DEVOY,            } New York.
          “THOMAS FRANCIS BOURKE, }
          “JER. O’DONOVAN ROSSA,  }
          “WM. CARROLL, M.D., Philadelphia, Pa.
          “JAMES REYNOLDS, New Haven, Conn.”


The names of the trustees will, of course, be familiar, as being
amongst those regarding whom I gave some details some few pages back,
and who were all remarkable for their past Fenian records and present
prominence in the Clan-na-Gael ranks.




XXVII.


While the Skirmishing Fund and its custodians were engaging public
attention in this way, the secret work of the organisation was
by no means being neglected. The ordinary work of shipping arms
to Ireland, and communicating with the sister society as regards
members, organisation, &c., was conducted with regularity and
precision; while operations of an extraordinary character were
indulged in as opportunity offered. Amongst these latter must
be classed the negotiations, commenced about this time, for an
alliance between the Revolutionary party in America and the Russian
Government. Wild and absurd as the idea may at first appear, it is
nevertheless an undoubted fact that these negotiations were not
alone started in sober earnest, but they were in the end finally
completed and developed to the stage of a regular diplomatic compact
at headquarters in Russia. As is well known, the relations between
England and Russia were for some three or four years previous to
1880 of a distinctly strained character, and war at many times
appeared imminent. Filled with the idea that war would actually take
place, the Clan-na-Gael Executive caused overtures to be made to
the representative of the Russian Government, proposing that they
in America should fit out privateers which, sailing with letters of
marque from Russia, should worry English vessels and assist in every
way possible in furthering the designs of Russia, in return for which
Russia should pledge assistance to the Irish in their attempt to
wrest Ireland from English domination.

The matter assumed the proportions of a really serious proposal,
and Dr. William Carroll, of Philadelphia, about whom I have already
spoken, and who was one of the trustees of the Skirmishing Fund,
as well as Chairman of the Executive Body of the Clan-na-Gael,
was delegated by the Executive to represent their interests in
the negotiation. Dr. Carroll, through the assistance of Senator
Jones of Florida, was placed in communication with the Russian
minister at Washington, and to this gentleman the Clan-na-Gael
ambassador represented that some millionaires—the names of two were
mentioned—were prepared to subsidise the undertaking, and that
several points had been fixed upon for fitting out the privateers,
San Francisco being notably one of them. So satisfactorily did the
negotiations progress for the Clan-na-Gael people, that in a few
months Dr. Carroll left America for the Russian capital, where, it
was subsequently reported in an official way, the treaty between the
Russian Government and the Revolutionary organisation was formally
ratified.

It was a significant fact that shortly after this the Russian
minister at Washington was recalled. The report in the official ranks
of the Clan-na-Gael was that the proceeding was the result of an
action taken by the British Government in consequence of what had
occurred. Of course, regarding this view of the occurrence, as far as
I can speak, there was neither definite information nor proof.

This was but one of the many wild schemes indulged in at this period.
Another had to do with the manufacture of a submarine torpedo-boat,
with which it was intended to inflict terrific damage on the British
navy under water. After one failure, the boat was actually built at
the shipyard on the Jersey side of the North River at a cost of some
37,000 dollars; but nothing ever came of it, for it was apparently
completed only to be towed to New Haven, where it lay, and where,
for aught I know, it may be rotting at the present day. Its principal
use, as far as I could make out, was in supplying a certain number
of patriots, charged with the control of its construction, some five
dollars a day each as recognition for their invaluable services.

On the other plots and schemes I can only touch in the lightest
possible way. They included the assassination of Queen Victoria, the
kidnapping of the Prince of Wales or Prince Arthur, an attack on
Portland Prison, with the rescue of Michael Davitt therefrom, and a
hundred and one odd schemes in which Dhuleep Singh, General Carroll
Thevis, Aylward, and other soldiers of fortune or discontent all
figured.




XXVIII.


The month of September ’78 was remarkable for the arrival in America
of Michael Davitt. He had been released from Portland Prison on
ticket-of-leave several months previously, and having travelled
through Ireland in the meantime, now came to the States with the
ostensible object of lecturing. This first visit of his differed
from the second one paid in 1880 by reason of the change which his
opinions underwent in the interval. When in September 1878 Davitt
landed in America to be met by Devoy and others, and welcomed in an
effusive address, he took pains, in replying, to state he was still
faithful to the principles of his youth, for which he had suffered
imprisonment, and that the dungeon had not changed his political
convictions in the least. Apparently not, for during his visit Davitt
put in an appearance at several Clan-na-Gael camps, and took part in
their proceedings as a duly accredited brother and representative.
Contact with Devoy, however, and with the theories on the subject
of the “New Departure,” to which Devoy at this time was giving
prominence, must have changed Davitt’s views somewhat, for references
to past principles, life-long convictions, &c., soon made way for
pleasant pictures and prophecies of the development known as the “New
Departure,” which was at last to bring the Irish political plotter
within sight of his Mecca.

There is no need for me at this late day to deal at any great length
with what has since been known as the “New Departure.” It proved to
be nothing more or less than the scheme which found its development
and outcome in the Parnellite movement, viz., the bringing together
the two forces of Irish discontent—the Constitutional and the
Revolutionary sections—and, while allying them for strategic and
financial purposes, yet so arranging the compact that each was
allowed to work in its own way for the accomplishment of the object
which all had in view—the repeal of the Union between Great Britain
and Ireland.

The exact terms of the treaty or alliance proposed by the American
Fenians, after consultation with Davitt, were set forth in a cable
sent to Mr. Parnell by Devoy and some of his fellow-trustees of the
Skirmishing Fund in the month of October 1878, at a time indeed
while Davitt was still in the country. As the cable has a historic
interest, I will quote it in full here:—

  “The Nationalists here will support you on the following
  conditions:—

  “First, abandonment of the federal demand, and substitution of a
  general declaration in favour of self-government.

  “Second, vigorous agitation of the Land Question on the basis of a
  peasant proprietary, while accepting concessions tending to abolish
  arbitrary evictions.

  “Third, exclusion of all sectarian issues from the platform.

  “Fourth, Irish members to vote together on all imperial and home
  questions, adopt an aggressive policy, and energetically resist
  coercive legislation.

  “Fifth, advocacy of all struggling nationalities in the British
  Empire and elsewhere.”

Following up this proposal, to which, by the way, no direct public
reply was ever given, there appeared in the press letters from John
Devoy advocating the new move in arguments which I think I can best
summarise by using the following extracts from one of his epistles:—

  “The question whether the advanced Irish National party—the party
  of separation—should continue the policy of isolation from the
  public life of the country, which was inaugurated some twenty
  years ago by James Stephens and his associates, or return to
  older methods—methods as old at least as the days of the _United
  Irishman_—is agitating the minds of Irish Nationalists on both
  sides of the Atlantic just now; and certainly no similar incident
  has aroused such wide discussion in Ireland for many a day as the
  publication of the views of the exiled Nationalists resident in New
  York on the subject.

  “The object aimed at by the Irish National party—the recovery of
  Ireland’s national independence, and the severance of all political
  connection with England—is one that would require the utmost
  efforts and the greatest sacrifices on the part of the whole Irish
  people.... I am not one of those who despair of Ireland’s freedom,
  and am as much in favour of continuing the struggle to-day as
  some of those who talk loudest against constitutional agitation.
  I am convinced that the whole Irish people can be enlisted in
  an effort to free their native land, and that they have within
  themselves the power to overcome all obstacles in their way.... I
  am also convinced that one section of the people alone can never
  win independence; and no political party, no matter how devoted or
  determined, can ever win the support of the whole people if they
  never come before the public, and take no part in the everyday life
  of the country. I have often said it before, and I repeat it now
  again, that a mere conspiracy will never free Ireland. I am not
  arguing against conspiracy, but only pointing out the necessity
  of Irish Nationalists taking whatever public action for the
  advancement of the National cause they may find within their reach,
  such action as will place the aims and objects of the National
  party in a more favourable light before the world, and help to win
  the support of the Irish people.”




XXIX.


While the ball was thus rolling in this way, Davitt completed his
tour in America, and returned to Ireland to resume his work there.
He did not return alone, however, for in his wake there travelled
his new colleague, Devoy, who, journeying as one of the secret
agents of the Clan-na-Gael, went to Ireland to inspect and report
on the condition of the Revolutionary organisation there to the
V.C. Convention, to be held in Wilkesbarre, Pennsylvania, in July
1879. Associated with Devoy in this work of inspection was General
Millen, acting in the capacity of military envoy. Devoy, while in
Ireland, made good use of his time. While he organised the Irish
Republican Brotherhood in their secret meetings, he openly advocated
the proposed alliance with all his might and main. In Ireland,
however, as the report which he afterwards made to the Clan-na-Gael
showed, the Fenians were not so ripe as his colleagues in America for
giving up, even temporarily, their secret methods for constitutional
agitation; and the work which he was to accomplish was not destined
to bear too early fruit.

As the report which Devoy presented of the visit thus made gave an
interesting account of how matters stood in Fenian circles there at
this period, I give a few extracts. They are important as showing the
condition of the Revolutionary forces, which gave Mr. Parnell so much
trouble a year or two later, when, through me, he appealed to Devoy
to come over and cripple the opposition he was receiving from this
quarter:—

  “Three of the best organised counties—Dublin, Louth, and
  Wexford—seceded from the S.C. (Supreme Council or Executive of
  the Irish Republican Brotherhood), and believing the statements,
  so often repeated, that the American organisation supported Mr.
  Stephens, transferred their allegiance to that gentleman. There
  still remained with the S.C. (Supreme Council), Ulster, Connaught,
  Munster, a portion of Leinster, Scotland, and South of England; but
  the work in these districts was almost paralysed, and the attention
  of the men distracted by repeated visits and communications of a
  conflicting nature from contending factions, who all claimed to
  be ‘working for Ireland.’ The numbers stood at this time (1878)
  as follows:—About 19,000 men stood by the S.C., some 3000 acted
  independently in the North of England, and not more than 1500,
  chiefly in Leinster, followed Mr. Stephens. No real work could be
  done; it was a struggle for existence, and ultimately the majority
  prevailed. When your former envoy arrived in Ireland, this was the
  state of things he found existing. As you have been informed, he
  succeeded, with the help of another member of the V.C. residing in
  Ireland, in first gaining over the Leinster men to the S.C., by
  telling them the real truth about the state of things in America.

       *       *       *       *       *

  “A reorganisation of the S.C. satisfactory to all parties concerned
  was then effected, and an efficient secretary elected, who has
  since then rendered invaluable service in repairing the damage
  done during the short period of turmoil and contention. Some years
  before the organisation had been a compact body of over 40,000 men,
  acting under its elected council, and making commendable efforts to
  arm its members in spite of the most discouraging difficulties. At
  the beginning of last year, after the S.C. had triumphed over the
  difficulties above mentioned, it was reduced to about 24,000 men,
  the confidence of many of its members greatly shaken, and much of
  the material accumulated during past years badly damaged through
  neglect or entirely lost.

  “It was deemed better to endeavour to weld into a solid mass the
  united fragments than to increase its size by the addition of new
  members. Some mistakes were made, but, upon the whole, the action
  of the S.C. seemed to me judicious and safe. Some 17,000 dollars
  had been sent by the F.C. (10,000 dollars came from the National
  Fund for arms) for the purpose of introducing arms into the
  country; but it was left in the hands of the R.D. until my arrival,
  in the belief that the machinery of the movement had undergone too
  great a strain to be able to bear much pressure, and the hands
  of the S.C. were too full with the work of restoration to allow
  them to undertake any more. The organisation was just beginning
  to breathe a little freely, and to feel that it was again a solid
  living body, when I arrived to confer with the S.C. as to the best
  means to infuse new life and vigour into it.

       *       *       *       *       *

  “I began with Tipperary, Limerick, and Clare, and continued my tour
  till I had a fair idea of the condition of the organisation in all
  of the seven provinces.... Besides county and circle meetings, I
  attended provincial conventions in Munster, Ulster, Connaught,
  North of England, and South of England, and local district meetings
  in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Derry, Ennis, Glasgow, Dundalk, and
  other towns.

  “When Leinster and Munster shall have been thoroughly reorganised,
  which will take some time, I hope to see 50,000 good members in
  Ireland alone, and I should not care to see many more. In Ulster,
  Connaught, Tipperary, and Clare the great bulk of the men are small
  farmers or farmers’ sons, and, on the whole, there is a much better
  representation than in ’65. I am glad to be able to report also the
  presence in the organisation, and in positions of trust, of a few
  of the smaller landed gentry, a few professional men, and a large
  sprinkling of comfortable business men.”

Nothing calls for further attention in connection with this visit
of Devoy and Millen to Ireland, beyond the fact that the expenses
of it were defrayed out of a sum of 10,000 dollars taken from the
Skirmishing Fund for the purpose. Nor need I speak in any detail of
the proceedings of the Wilkesbarre Convention to which the delegates
reported. There was no incident connected therewith which calls for
any special mention, as particularly affecting events at this period.




XXX.


Though lacking official recognition and support, the scheme of the
“New Departure” was creating a good deal of enthusiasm throughout
the ranks of the Gaels; and the reports which continued to come from
Ireland as to the condition of the Land Question kept the matter
fully alive. The arrival, too, of Mr. Parnell in New York in the
month of January 1880 gave a fresh impetus to the whole thing. And
whatever doubt had heretofore existed as to the possibility of
working the new move, and making it subservient to the requirements
of the Revolutionary organisation, took immediate flight after a
week’s experience of Mr. Parnell in America. In the view of the
conspirators scattered throughout the States, Mr. Parnell had given
himself over, body and soul, to the chiefs of the Clan-na-Gael. At
every point, under every circumstance, without a single exception,
well-known and trusted men of the secret councils were by his
side and at his elbow, pushing him forward into prominence here,
bespeaking a welcome for him there, and answering for his thorough
fealty to the grand old cause at all manner of times. Nor did his
own utterances leave any room for question. Brimful of references of
deep meaning, and constantly lit up with the flashing of bayonets
and rattling of musketry, his speeches breathed the sounds of war
and the policy of the hill-side in every note, till men listening to
his accents thought that at last the hour and the man had come. Poor
fools! They knew not that his enthusiasm was the enthusiasm of the
dollar, or its equivalent in English coin when totted up to £40,000,
and his only weapon the House of Commons lie!

Mr. Parnell’s efforts in America to collect funds for the
famine-stricken Irish—this was the ostensible object of his
visit—were cut short by the general election which took place in
Ireland in the spring of 1880, and he left hurriedly, but not before
he had laid the foundations of the Land League, and played into the
hands of the secret conspirators by giving them a very leading share
in its control. Exit therefore Mr. Parnell to give way to Michael
Davitt, and enter Mr. Davitt once more on the American stage in quite
a new _rôle_. Flushed with the triumphs of his recent proceedings
in Ireland in the establishment of the Land League organisation,
and the position he had suddenly sprung into, he now came out as
a Constitutionalist pure and simple. There were no more visits to
Clan-na-Gael camps, for the time at least. All was open and above
board. He had his fad; that fad was the Land League; and his fad was
to win in the political race, hands down. No matter where he went,
it was the same story. Travelling Braidwood-way in order to lecture
in my district, he spent three days in my company, part of which
time he was my guest, and fell ill on my hands, when I honestly and
successfully ministered to his needs. In our intercourse at this
period we had many talks over the situation, and with me as with
everybody else, he could only speak of the new movement. At his
request, I told him the whole story of the second Canadian raid;
and so great was his enthusiasm in his new _rôle_, that he seized
upon the fiasco I related as yet another proof for me of the utter
impossibility of doing anything in the way of active operations.
Amused and interested, I watched the dark determined face glowing
with light and enthusiasm, and wondered within me how long this born
conspirator would be content to walk in the trammels of a truly
constitutional path. The opportunity, however, was too good to be
neglected, and I improved it by getting some very useful information
unawares from my patient and guest.

I was quite _au courant_ with Land League matters, for as an official
of the Clan-na-Gael I had been instructed to develop the movement in
my district, which I accordingly did, following the usual practice
of enrolling my colleagues of the Clan-na-Gael as members of the
League Branch, and thus keeping the control in our own hands. At
public meetings held in favour of the open movement—it will be noted
I speak of the Land League as the “open,” and the Clan-na-Gael as
the “secret” movement—I frequently presided, and when the occasion
arose, introduced Davitt and Devoy.




XXXI.


So matters progressed and developed, the only important incident of
the interval being the discovery that James J. O’Kelly, late M.P. for
Roscommon, after being despatched by the Revolutionary Directory of
the Clan-na-Gael to England with moneys to attend to the shipping of
arms to Ireland, had thrown in his lot with the advocates of the New
Departure in Ireland, and been returned to Parliament with the funds
placed at his disposal by the Revolutionary chiefs in New York. This,
of course, was not the only occasion on which the moneys subscribed
for blowing up England went to subsidise the New Departure. Davitt
and Devoy had both drawn upon them to a large extent, though Davitt
conscientiously paid every farthing of his share back in 1882.

In the month of November 1880, John Devoy issued a very peculiar
circular to the Senior Guardians of the V.C., or Clan-na-Gael camps,
which was remarkable as showing how loyal after all this author of
the New Departure was to the methods of revolutionary work, and
how he regarded the Land League but as the stepping-stone to more
decisive things. This is how he put the matter:—

  P.O. BOX 4, 479.

                                         NEW YORK, _November 1, 1880_.

  “DEAR SIR AND BROTHER,—I propose to give a course of lectures this
  winter on the subject of “The Irish National Cause and the Present
  Crisis,” with a view to stirring up our people here and increasing
  the resources of the National movement. I will stipulate beforehand
  that the proceeds shall either go to the Revolutionary Fund of the
  V.C. or to the National Fund, so that we may be better prepared to
  meet any emergency that may be forced upon us by England. While
  believing that all our efforts should be directed to restraining
  the people in Ireland from any premature insurrectionary movement,
  I think the excitement at home should be utilised for the purpose
  of procuring the funds necessary to enable the National party to
  complete the preparations for the struggle for independence. The
  _time_ for that struggle must be selected by us and not by England;
  but one must not forget that our hand may be forced in spite of all
  our endeavours; and it therefore behoves us to commence stirring
  up our people in America now. I think the Land League has now
  money enough for present purposes, and that the state of things
  prevailing in Ireland demands that all money that can be got from
  our people here should be devoted to revolutionary purposes. I am
  convinced, in fact, that the doing of this is the best help we can
  at present give the Land League. The prosecutions have already
  given the agitation a more decidedly national tone. Let us help to
  broaden it into a truly national movement, and make it serviceable
  to the cause of independence.

  “If you agree with this view of the situation, I should be glad to
  receive your assistance in organising lectures in your vicinity,
  _provided your doing so would not be detrimental to the interests
  of the V.C._

  “I intend to begin in the New England States, then to go through a
  portion of New York State and Penna, and thence west. Communicate
  to the P.O. Box mentioned.—Fraternally yours,

                                                      “JOHN DEVOY.”

I was only too willing to arrange for such a lecture as Devoy wanted,
for thereby I should be bringing Devoy and myself into contact, with
every probability of getting useful information. Accordingly, Devoy
lectured for me somewhere about January or February ’81, and during
his stay visited and addressed my camp. He made a visit of some three
or four days to my district, and as I had hoped and anticipated,
we had many and long confidential chats together. The position of
affairs was fully discussed. Devoy was very pronounced in his views
about money subscribed for Land League purposes. What had been only
hinted at in his letter, he gave very plain utterance to in his
speech. The money subscribed for the Land League, he contended,
should not all go for bread, and in this connection he outlined to
me the ideas of the Revolutionary Directory of the Clan-na-Gael (of
which he was a member) at this time. These were, to put it shortly,
to strike and damage the British Government where and when they
could. “The organisation on this side,” said he, meaning America,
“have agreed to furnish the means, and the organisation in Ireland
have signified their willingness to carry out a system of warfare,
characterised by all the rigours of Nihilism.”

All, however, was not plain sailing to him, and with amazing
frankness he explained to me what his fears were. There was, he
admitted, no possibility of a rising, as the leaders in Ireland
were all against such a movement in the weak condition in which
the organisation was. But, on the other hand, all attempts made
to restrain the fire-eating elements would be met with failure,
unless something practical was done. The attitude of Rossa and his
followers had also to be considered. If no active work was done,
some of our best men would flock to Rossa’s standard and so weaken
the organisation (Rossa, I should explain, had by this time taken
up an independent attitude, and was working in connection with the
fragments that remained of the old Fenian Brotherhood). It was
thoroughly understood that work had been done by Rossa’s emissaries
or rather some of them; hence the danger. The name of Boyton, whom
I did not know at the time, but who was, as I learnt, a brother of
Boyton the swimmer, engaged as a League organiser in Ireland, then
came up, and I was informed that Boyton was one of those occupied
in developing the new policy. By this I mean active warfare _aux_
Clan-na-Gael as distinct from the constitutional work openly
advocated by the Land League. Devoy remarked regarding this active
policy that it was being well looked after, but would take time to
complete.

Devoy’s confidences were in fact most exhaustive, and enabled
me to send quite an interesting budget by the next mail to Mr.
Anderson. I learnt, as a further item of news, that much trouble
was being experienced in keeping the I.R.B. (the sister society)
men in some parts of Ireland, notably in Mayo, where they had the
best organisation and most arms, from making what Devoy described
as “fools of themselves.” He, it appeared, feared attacks on the
military when the latter were attending evictions. This striking
interview between the Clan-na-Gael leader and the Secret Service
agent concluded with the important announcement on the part of the
former that he had received a letter from Mr. Parnell, through a
friend, in which Mr. Parnell stated he was exasperated and was
willing to do anything. He (Mr. Parnell) had agreed to the calling of
the 1882 Convention, and to its being a National Movement Convention;
and, in conclusion, Devoy said Mr. Parnell’s personal attitude
towards the National (_i.e._, Revolutionary) party was well and
satisfactorily understood.

This was, indeed, a time of confidences with me. I had communications
with Alexander Sullivan and Meledy within a very short period from
this, and from them—Sullivan being one of the Executive, and
Meledy a leading member of the Clan-na-Gael—I learnt, though at
different times, that a new plan of campaign was coming into force,
nothing more or less indeed than one of cold-blooded murder and
destruction. It appeared that a man called Wheeler had invented a new
hand-grenade, and had offered a supply to the organisation. They were
of such a portable character as to be easily carried in a satchel,
and were especially adapted for the purpose in view. Meledy told me
he had offered to take part in the work of placing them in Ireland
and England.

The significance of the matter was lost upon me at the time, but
was fully appreciated by me later on, when I learnt of the informer
Carey’s evidence in connection with the Phœnix Park murders and
the Invincible conspiracy, in the course of which he confessed
that he and his confederates had arranged to kill Earl Cowper, the
Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, by a hand bomb just perfected in the
organisation, which could be easily thrown from a window in a house
in Cork Hill, Dublin, which they had selected for the purpose.




XXXII.


My private affairs permitted of my taking a holiday in the early
part of the year 1881, and so I determined to make a trip to Europe.
Happening to communicate my intention to my old friend, Colonel
Clingen, now the commander of the Clan-na-Gael guards in Chicago,
and a very prominent member of the organisation, he gave me to
understand that the Executive would avail themselves of my journey
to send by me documents which could not be trusted to the mails.
Nothing could have suited me better, and I willingly consented to be
of any service I possibly could. Devoy, it subsequently transpired,
was the correspondent whose communications I was to convey, and by
an arrangement of Clingen’s a meeting took place between Devoy and
myself at the Palmer House, Chicago, in the month of March 1881.
Devoy on this occasion handed me sealed packets addressed to John
O’Leary and Patrick Egan in Paris. O’Leary was then regarded as the
representative agent and official means of communication between the
Clan-na-Gael and the Irish Republican Brotherhood in Ireland; Egan
was the treasurer and accredited representative of the Irish Land
League.

Journeying by way of Liverpool, I reached England on the 12th of
April 1881, and stopping in London in order to see Mr. Anderson
and show him the packets, as well as to receive instructions, I
eventually travelled to Paris. On arrival there I drove to the
Hotel Brighton, where I had learned Egan was located, and where I
determined to take up my abode. The first person I met with in the
hotel was Egan himself. He was coming down the stairs in view of
me, as I asked for him, in company with Mrs. A. M. Sullivan (wife
of the late M.P.), both being bound for the opera, where, on their
invitation, I subsequently joined them. I made myself known to Egan
at once, only to find of course that he had received some hint of my
coming, and was quite expecting me.

[Illustration: PATRICK EGAN]

As I washed and prepared to take myself to the opera, to see some
more of this strange man, I endeavoured to recall his appearance, and
to see how far he fitted in with the idea I already held regarding
him. A man of bright cheery presence, stout build, and jovial look
and voice, the latter very marked in its Irish accent, with bright
laughing eyes and warm handshake and a closely cut head of tawny
hair, he was the last person in the world you would take for a
deep conspirator, and a constructor of murder. I was puzzled and
bewildered—I could not make it out; and so giving up all thought of
trying to read the man’s character on the outward view, I determined
I should leave my further studies in this direction to a later date
and go and enjoy the opera, which I did.

The next morning saw me _en route_ for the residence of John O’Leary,
to whom I wished to deliver my second packet without delay. I
discovered him without much difficulty in his abode at the Hotel de
la Couronne, in the Quartier Latin. I found the old man surrounded by
his books and manuscripts, and from his appearance more fit for the
patient secluded life of the student than the troublous career of the
rebel. Seated in his room, and gazing affectionately on his different
treasures of old and rare editions, he seemed to have little in
common with my friends of the Clan. Yet I found him fully posted, and
as keen to talk with me as possible. At first somewhat suspicious
and uncertain in his manner, he gradually lost his appearance of
distrust, and in the end gossiped with me quite freely. As he opened
Devoy’s packet in my presence, I was enabled to discover that I had
been the bearer of a very long document, with an enclosure, to which
he paid great heed.

From the very start I found O’Leary opposed to the “active” policy.
He was as strong and bitter an opponent of the murderous idea as
one could wish to meet; and, unlike Irish patriots in general, he
was not without the courage of his convictions. He showed me a copy
of the Dublin _Irishman_ (the unfortunate Pigott’s paper), of some
date in the month previous, containing a letter over his signature,
denouncing all secret warfare. In fact, so far did this really
honest patriot go, that he refused in his official capacity to take
any responsibility for expenditure in connection with the “active”
policy. While condemning such methods, however, he avowed himself
in full accord with an open insurrectionary movement; and he spoke
in the bitterest terms of the way in which J. J. O’Kelly and others
had played false, while acting as paid members of the organisation.
Another point in connection with our talks was the opposition shown
by O’Leary to the Parnellite alliance. He would have nothing to do
with such a joining of forces as was proposed, and he was all against
mixing up the honest rebel movement with one which was, in his
opinion, worthy of great distrust.

I enjoyed my talks with O’Leary because in him I found a fine,
honest, fearless spirit. The man was old and grey, with furrowed
brow and stooped figure, the result of his long confinement in
English prisons. There was little about him then to remind one of
the bright-eyed daring prisoner who, fifteen years before, had, from
the dock of a Dublin court-house, hurled defiance at judge, jury,
and Government alike; but there still remained with him the same
fearlessness of tone and honesty of conviction which marked him out
then, as now, a prince amongst his fellows of the Irish conspiracy.




XXXIII.


In strong contrast to O’Leary was another old Irish rebel whose
acquaintance I made in Paris for the first time. He was a man whose
name was familiar to me as a household word, but with whom I had
never before been brought directly into contact. I speak of James
Stephens, the leader with whose name it was at one time possible to
conjure in Ireland, who had been the head and front of the Fenian
Brotherhood in Ireland in 1865, whose word was law to its sworn
thousands, and who, after making his escape from Richmond Bridewell
in Dublin, ended his inglorious public career by an unromantic exit
in petticoats. Curious being that he was, he inspired feelings of the
sincerest affection on the part of his immediate followers; and there
were few things that, in their regard for him, they would not seek to
accomplish on his behalf.

His escape from Richmond Prison, attended with tremendous risk as it
was for all concerned, was a case in point; and as it is a matter
about which present-day folk remember little if anything, I feel
tempted to give the story in the old man’s words, as he told it to me.

“The two brave men,” said he, “brave men and true, who were
instrumental in releasing me were J. J. Breslin and Daniel Byrne.
Breslin was a man of great expediency, or he never could have
procured the impression of the key which opened my cell, and which
was hung on a nail in the Governor’s safe. He had to distract the
Governor’s attention; steal the key, putting another in its place;
get the impression, and then return the key to its proper place
again. The most singular circumstance connected with my escape was
that while Kickham, who was deaf, occupied the cell on my right,
M‘Leod, a thief, was in the cell on my left. A gong was placed in
his cell communicating with the Governor’s office, in order to allow
of his giving the alarm if necessary; and he could not have helped
hearing me get out, when Breslin and Byrne, at one o’clock in the
morning, stood beside my cell. He did hear me; but that thief, base
as he was, was not base enough to sell me to the British Government.
But then my trouble began. We had only a few minutes to do our work
in. It was pitch dark, and the storm howled furiously. The ladder
provided for my scaling the wall proved too short. Breslin, who was
chief hospital warden, and Byrne, who was night-watchman and ‘lock
up,’ were armed with two revolvers each. They had also provided for
me. Our intention was to fight, if discovered, until killed.

“The short ladder nearly proved fatal. I could not reach the top of
the wall, which was twenty feet high, so Byrne got a table out of
the dining-room and placed the ladder upon it. Even then it was too
short. I had to come down again. Breslin was fairly wild. Another
table was procured, and again I tried. After a dreadful struggle,
I succeeded in getting outside of the wall. It was no joke to jump
twenty feet into the darkness. I had to do it, however, or be caught.
Breslin gave me directions where to go if I did not break my neck in
falling; and he and Byrne returned to their duty. I let go my hold,
and down I went, fortunately falling on soft ground.

“My directions were to follow a gravel walk (for I was in a garden)
until I came to another wall twenty feet high, where I was to throw
a stone over as a signal to eleven men, all armed, who were waiting
outside to receive me.

“I had some difficulty in finding the walk, and could get no stone of
any size in the dark. At last I reached the garden wall, and threw
over a handful of gravel. A rope with a weight attached was thrown
over the wall. I climbed up by its aid, and soon found myself in the
arms of my body-guard. We embraced with joy, and I soon made them
disperse. I went to a house in sight of the jail, and remained there
fourteen days. I afterwards went to a fashionable boarding-house in
the finest part of Dublin and stayed two months. I left Dublin in the
brigantine _Concord_, in company with Flood and Kelly, on the 12th of
March, and landed in Ardrossan on the afternoon of the 15th.”

Poor Stephens now lives in his humble garret in Paris, an exile
broken in fortune, health, and hope, smoking his short black pipe and
brooding over these days that are no more.




XXXIV.


All this time Egan and I had been constantly together. My desire
was, of course, to make a study of the man, and to get to know as
much about him as I possibly could. Everything played into my hands.
Egan was ignorant both of the geography and the language of the
French capital, and he very largely availed himself of the help which
I was enabled to render him, as the result of my supposed French
nationality and knowledge of the city. My position, altogether, was
a very pleasant one at this period. Egan lived in a most extravagant
fashion, and as he would pay for everything and would not allow me to
share in any outlay, I had the best of all things without any strain
on my pocket whatever. He frequented the most expensive cafés, had
the choicest of dishes, would only be content with the best boxes
at places of entertainment, and, in a word, spent his money right
royally. The information should be pleasant reading for the poor
dupes in America and Ireland who subscribed the funds over which he
was then presiding.

We cemented a strong friendship, and I was with him almost at all
times. I made a point of being in his rooms when his letters
arrived, and he was certainly very frank and open in acquainting
me with their contents. As a result, I obtained full and accurate
information as to the position and progress of affairs in Ireland
during my stay. There was not the faintest shadow of a suggestion of
secrecy between us as to our attitude towards Revolutionary matters.
I remember well on one occasion Egan summing up his own position in
these words—which I noted at the time—“I am a Land Leaguer, and
something else when the opportunity presents itself.” He boasted
to me of his having been the backbone of the Fenian organisation
in Dublin for many years, and admitted the fact, with which I was
acquainted, that he was a member of the Supreme Council or executive
body there.

[Illustration: “NUMBER ONE”

P. J. TYNAN]

In our talks on Revolutionary organisations, I found Egan an
enthusiastic advocate of the “active” policy spoken of by Devoy,
and he heartily entered into a discussion with me as to the ways
and means of carrying it out. In this connection reference was made
to Mr. Parnell, and he assured me most emphatically that “Parnell
was all right as a Revolutionist.” In support of this statement he
cited the fact that some twelve months previously Mr. Parnell sought
admission into the ranks of the Irish Revolutionary Brotherhood,
but was refused. “Parnell,” remarked Egan with a wise look, “thought
a good deal of the organisation, but it was not then in a flourishing
condition, and we thought he would think a great deal more of it by
being on the outside rather than in it.”

Our conversations naturally tended in the direction of finance; and
when the topic cropped up, Egan dealt with it in no nervous spirit,
regarding me as quite a worthy recipient of his confidence. About
this time a demand was being made for a public audit of the accounts
of the League. He explained that an audit committee of three members
of the League had already gone over his books, and this was all the
audit that could possibly take place. His reasons for such a strong
statement were very frankly given. A public audit would, he said, be
the very thing Dublin Castle—meaning the Irish Government—would
like to have, but this was out of the question. It was impossible for
him to make public many of the items of his expenditure! I laughed to
myself as he said this, wondering whether the expenses of our many
extravagant trips about Paris came under this head.

But he was dealing with far more dangerous matters. He stated
explicitly, in a very significant way, that the money had been used
for other purposes than those of constitutional agitation. Amongst
these sources of outlay were the expenses of the Dutch officers from
Amsterdam to assist the Boers in their revolt against British control
in South Africa; and coming nearer home, the varied expenditure in
connection with parties attached to the Irish Republican Brotherhood
in Ireland. Altogether our talks on this branch of the subject
enlightened me on many points, and supplied me with sufficient
material to form a fixed belief in my mind that his idea, at least,
was identical with that held in the States—that the open agitation
was but a branch of the movement to obtain the separation of Ireland
from England.

I use the phrase “his idea,” but to be really accurate I should say
“their idea,” for Egan always spoke on behalf of his colleagues—with
one exception, which I can recall—and represented that a complete
harmony of view prevailed. And in everything that happened
subsequently during my stay in England, I found this representation
of his sustained by fact, save the single exception of which I
speak—namely, in the case of Mr. A. M. Sullivan. I had not long
to wait for an opportunity of putting the statement to the test as
far as several of the M.P.’s were concerned; for very shortly after
this conversation, Egan and I travelled to London, and by him I was
introduced into the House of Commons, and to several Irish M.P.’s,
with the significant description “one of our friends from America.”
I well remember that amongst those I first met in this way was Mr.
Parnell himself, from whom I received a very warm greeting. On this
occasion I was accommodated with a seat under the gallery of the
House. This was but one of several visits I paid to the House at
this time, in the course of which I constantly came in contact with
Egan. When alone I generally sent in my card to Mr. Parnell, and
he obtained the necessary admission for me, much to his disgust, I
am sure, when a later day came and I put in an appearance in the
witness-box of Probate Court No. 1, London.

At every point I, of course, made careful notes of what occurred,
and, either verbally or in writing, reported them to my chief,
so that the Government were not really so deplorably ignorant as
the Parnellites then proudly hoped and believed. In fact, not one
occurrence of importance with which Egan became acquainted—and he
really knew everything, and kept nothing back from me—was delayed
by a single post from headquarters at the Home Office in London.
To resume, however. After this first visit to London, Egan and I
returned to Paris by different routes and on arriving there the
same close intercourse prevailed between us. I had not been very
long back, when Egan informed me that Mr. Parnell had written him
expressing a very strong desire to see me before my return to
America. Nothing loth, I promised to call upon the Irish leader when
next in London, and I duly carried out my promise.




XXXV.


Making my way down to the House on the occasion of my next appearance
in London, I obtained admission to the Lobby—admission was then
an easier matter than now—and encountered Mr. J. J. O’Kelly in my
search for Mr. Parnell. The late envoy of the Clan-na-Gael, who,
unfaithful to his trust, had got into Parliament with skirmishing
money instead of attending to the shipping of arms for “active” work,
had a long chat with me over the situation, before the Irish leader
put in an appearance. While we talked in this way, O’Kelly complained
bitterly of the opposition which the open or constitutional
movement known as the Land League was still receiving from the
Irish Republican Brotherhood or secret organisation in Ireland,
and he stoutly advocated coercion on the part of the directors of
the American branch of the conspiracy in order to bring the Irish
malcontents into line.

His remarks, however, were cut short by the appearance of Mr.
Parnell, who, leading the way, conducted us to a corridor outside
the Library of the House, where an interview of over an hour took
place, O’Kelly remaining for a little until the conversation was
well under way. O’Kelly, while he remained, did almost all the
talking. His remarks were a repetition of what he had already said
to me in private. When he left, Mr. Parnell adopted the same line
of complaint, speaking in low tones, as we walked up and down the
corridor, to prevent any one being continually within ear-shot. I
was told detectives were watching us, and that spies held a place
in every corner. As I afterwards learnt, the statement was not
without foundation, for every movement of myself and my companion was
noted, with details as regards time, and duly reported to Government
officials within twenty-four hours.

The whole matter, said Mr. Parnell, following up O’Kelly’s remarks,
rested in our hands in America. We had the money, he said, and if we
stopped the supplies the home organisation would act as desired. He
expressed his belief that Devoy could do more than any one else to
bring about a clear understanding and alliance; and he commissioned
me to use my influence with Devoy, and to arrange for his presence
in Paris at as early a date as possible. So anxious was he to bring
Devoy over that he undertook to pay all his expenses. Still speaking
in this connection, he asked me to at once proceed from New York,
after seeing Devoy, to other prominent members of the organisation,
mentioning particularly the names of Alexander Sullivan and William
J. Hynes, the presence of either of whom, upon this side of the
water, he desired for the purpose of bringing about a thorough
understanding and complete harmony of working. Special reference was
also made to Dr. William Carroll of Philadelphia, and his attitude
towards the open movement. Dr. Carroll, I may here explain, had been
elected Chairman of the Executive Body at the Wilkesbarre Convention
of 1879, but had resigned in 1880 in consequence of his opposition
to the way in which the New Departure was being worked, and the
treatment he received. This was the same Dr. Carroll who had spent
the previous year in Europe, having been specially charged with the
carriage of negotiations between the V.C. and the Russian Government.

After arranging these matters with me, Mr. Parnell entered into
details regarding the position of the Irish Question at this time.
His remarks on this point were a veritable bombshell to me. He
started off by stating that he had long since ceased to believe that
anything but the force of arms would accomplish the final redemption
of Ireland. He saw no reason why, when we were fully prepared,
an open insurrectionary movement could not be brought about. He
went carefully into the question of resources and necessaries. He
stated what the League could furnish in the way of men and money,
and informed me as to the assistance which he looked for from the
American organisation. He spoke of having in the League Treasury at
the end of that year an available sum of £100,000. He discussed with
me the details of the position occupied by the home and American
Revolutionary organisations, and defended the American policy for the
time being. I parted with him with the assurance that I would do all
he wished.

The interview had certainly proved a startling one for me; and as I
proceeded to my seat under the gallery of the House, I pondered over
the manner and method of my late companion, to discover, if I could,
any incident in the course of our hour’s talk which would materially
affect all that he had said. But there was none. The manner of the
League chief had been grave and impassive, as was his wont; he
had been business-like all through; there was no uncertainty, no
indistinctness in his utterance. He had certainly made a plunge, but
it was a plunge taken with all deliberation and premeditation. I went
over all the points in my own mind again, carefully impressed them on
my memory, and took my seat in the house beside General Roberts, with
whom I had an interesting talk in an undertone, and to whom I pointed
out some of the celebrities on both sides. If I remember aright, it
was the occasion of a vote of thanks to General Roberts for his march
on Candahar; and when the vote had been recorded, a large number of
members crowded round to speak to him, whereupon I left.

Reaching the street, I called a hansom at once, and late hour though
it was, I drove direct to Mr. Anderson’s private house in order to
acquaint him with what had happened, while the facts were fresh in
my memory. Carefully I went into every detail, and as carefully Mr.
Anderson followed, taking a note as I went along of the principal
points. The early dawn had crept upon us ere my report was finished,
and concluding at last, I took my departure, to lose no time in
getting that sleep for which I commenced to pine, and which I
considered I had very fairly earned.




XXXVI.


I saw Mr. Parnell once more. This was when I went to say good-bye to
him. I found him in the tea-room of the House of Commons, as cordial
as ever. Indeed, he was particularly agreeable on this occasion,
presenting me with a photograph of himself, on which he wrote,
“Yours very truly, Charles S. Parnell.” This portrait, which is here
reproduced, I kept as an interesting souvenir for a long time, but
had to surrender it at last to the Special Commission, amongst the
records of which it is now duly numbered. Soon after I left London
for Ireland, not, however, before I had seen a good deal of Egan,
and spent several pleasant evenings in his company, at the house
of Mr. A. M. Sullivan, M.P., who now, poor man! is no more. I well
remember Egan’s impressing upon me the necessity for my covering my
revolutionary sentiments whenever Mr. Sullivan was near. It would
never do, I was told, to talk of revolutionary matters, for he was
ultramontane. This advice I followed, noting the fact in my own mind
to Mr. Sullivan’s credit.

Talented, witty, and brilliant, Mr. Sullivan made a magnificent
_raconteur_. Even now I can recall many of his happy efforts which
would well bear reproduction. I shall not, however, yield to the
temptation of bringing them in here, but will content myself with
recalling one pleasant story told about the irrepressible Mr. Biggar.
Mr. Biggar, as I was informed by way of preface, was known as the
great objector and “counter-out,” sometimes, sad to relate, moving
that the House be counted when it was not to the interests of the
party to take any notice of the want of a quorum. Very pious in
disposition, he rarely failed to attend early mass, in spite of late
sittings and consequent fatigue. One morning Mr. Biggar, fatigued
after a very heavy night’s sitting, but still devotionally inclined,
attended mass at St. George’s in Southwark. So tired out was he that
he fell fast asleep in his chair as the service proceeded, and so he
remained until all had been concluded and every one had gone. Upon
being vigorously aroused by the verger, Mr. Biggar started up, rubbed
his eyes, looked at the roof, and fancying himself at the moment in
the House of Commons, with the master instinct strong within him,
loudly exclaimed, “Mr. Speaker, I move that the House be counted.”

[Illustration: (Parnell signature)

  _Yours very truly
  Char. S. Parnell_]

Thanks to Egan, I travelled to Dublin under happy circumstances.
I was the bearer of letters of introduction to Dr. Kenny, M.P.,
O’Rorke, Egan’s brother-in-law, and to those in charge at the
Land League head-quarters. I anticipated an interesting time, and
I was not disappointed. Dr. Kenny, though his memory is now very
deficient—shall I say?—proved the most entertaining of men, and I
had both lunch and dinner at his hospitable board in Gardiner Street.
It was in his company I paid my visit to Kilmainham Prison, and
through his kind introduction that I made the acquaintance of John
Dillon, P. J. Sheridan, M. J. Boyton, and the others I met on the
occasion. My visit and its incidents afforded a very good insight
into how matters were conducted, and proved to me how very easy
it was to carry on communication with the outside world—at least
when you were an Irish political prisoner. To my surprise there was
no attempt made by the warder to hear the conversation I had with
Boyton. On the contrary, this interesting official most obligingly
took himself off.

This meeting with Boyton was full of interest to me. He was the man,
it will be remembered, who had been named by Devoy as carrying out
the arrangements for the “active” policy of Ireland, and who was
best known as the brother of Captain Boyton the swimmer. From him
in the secrecy of conversation, undisturbed by the presence of a
warder or fellow-prisoner, I learnt that the Land League had placed
the Fenian or National cause in a far stronger position than ever in
Ireland. Could the Clan-na-Gael only see the national spirit which
had been developed all over Ireland, they would never oppose it,
he believed. In counties where the Revolutionary organisation had
been dead for years, continued he, there was now material for work,
and men ready to go as far as any one. All these men wanted was
organisation and leaders. He besought my assistance in proving his
claim to be a naturalised American citizen, which, if established,
would mean his release. I left him with no doubt in my mind as to his
being a thorough-paced Revolutionist. When I got outside the prison,
I received from Dr. Kenny a letter which Boyton had intrusted to him
after leaving, containing a couple of his photos. Boyton, need I
state, was a paid Land League organiser like Sheridan, the director
of the Invincibles. My meeting with Sheridan was, by the way, almost
a momentary affair, and that with Dillon in the presence of a warder.

After a very interesting time in Dublin, I left by North Wall boat,
being “seen off,” as the phrase is, by Egan’s business partner and
brother-in-law, O’Rorke, and Andrew Kettle, both Leaguers remaining
on the bridge of the boat talking to me till we left. The detailed
report of all I had seen and heard was duly submitted to Mr.
Anderson. I was commended for my success, said good-bye to everybody,
and once more took ship for home, in order to get back in time for
the Convention of the Clan-na-Gael, which was to take place very
soon. Of course there was another matter which prompted my speedy
return, and that was the work I had undertaken to do on behalf of
Mr. Parnell. I had to see Devoy and the others, to report the Irish
leader’s views to them, and having acquitted myself of all I had to
do as a Revolutionary envoy, to find out as much as possible of the
result, in order that I might utilise the information in my capacity
as an agent of the Secret Service.




XXXVII.


I reached New York somewhere in the month of June 1881. Devoy was not
there when I arrived, and so I had to telegraph to him at New Haven,
Conn., in order to arrange an interview. My telegram was followed by
a written report of all that had happened; and as Devoy was detained
at New Haven, a lengthy correspondence took place between us. Though
at first reluctant to go to Europe, he eventually undertook to do
so. His consent, however, was conditional on his colleagues agreeing
to the undertaking, and with them he promised to confer immediately
on his return. Later on he telegraphed me to lay his correspondence
before Sullivan and Hynes, when I discussed the matter with them.
The following is one of the letters I had from Devoy in connection
with this matter. It is, unfortunately, the only one I retained in my
possession, the others having been forwarded with my despatches at
this period, as they were of a far more important character.

                                      “41 ORANGE STREET, NEWHAVEN,
                                              “OFFICE OF MR. REYNOLDS,
                                                  “_June 24, 1881_.

  “DEAR FRIEND,—I am sorry I was obliged to leave here for New York
  last Saturday, consequently I did not get your letters till my
  return last night. They would have been sent on to me, but I was
  expected to return. I am much obliged for the information you have
  given me, and the interest you have taken in a matter that affects
  us all so closely. I have not heard from H. (Hynes), but yesterday
  I received a note from E. (Egan) urging me strongly to go over, but
  I did not understand for what purpose till I got your explanation.
  I should like to go very much if I could spare the time, and if I
  thought my visit would produce the effect anticipated, but I am
  afraid it would not. I have no authority to speak for anybody, and
  no man would undertake to speak for the V.C. without its consent,
  and which must take time to get; and none of us, even if we had
  that consent, could give any guarantee for the individuals on
  the other side, who are hostile, and who, I feel certain, do not
  represent the opinion of the home organisation. There can be no
  change there until there is a change of persons, and that is sure
  to come in time. All I could do would be to tell E. (Egan) and
  P. (Parnell), on my own responsibility, what I believe would be
  satisfactory to our friends here, and make propositions that I
  might have felt morally certain would be approved of; but I would
  not, on any consideration, have them pay my expenses; that would
  place me in a false position at once. I have asked advice, and
  if certain friends here think it the right thing to do, I shall
  start next Wednesday; but, at present, I do not think I shall be
  so advised. They seem to misunderstand our dissatisfaction here.
  It is not their action in Ireland, but the action they allow their
  friends to take in their name here. There is little difference of
  opinion about the essential point, but we cannot tolerate the kind
  of thing begun in Buffalo. Please drop me a line to P.O. box 4,479,
  New York City, and even if I should go it will reach me. I will
  write again.—Yours in haste,

                                                      “JOHN DEVOY.”

Before proceeding to Sullivan and Hynes, I took a trip to
Philadelphia, in order to see Dr. Carroll and convey Mr. Parnell’s
views to him. With him I found very little sympathy for the proposal.
He was as antagonistic to the open movement as possible. As for
Davitt, he had lost all faith in him. “When Davitt ceases to be a
Revolutionist,” he remarked, “I have no further use for him.” As for
any practical alliance between the two forces, his idea was that no
two or three people should take upon themselves to decide, but that
the whole question should be brought up before the coming Convention.
Altogether, Dr. Carroll appeared anything but an enthusiast on Mr.
Parnell’s behalf, although in the end he went the length of saying
that he was glad to find by Mr. Parnell’s attitude that there was a
returning sense of reason on his part. From Philadelphia I journeyed
to Chicago, where I saw Alexander Sullivan and William J. Hynes. I
dealt with them separately at first, but in the end a conference
took place between the three of us. The news I brought them appeared
to be a source of gratification. They apparently fully realised the
importance of the situation, and determined in the end that one of
them at least should go.

I had now completed my part of the work, and so, content with my
labours, I returned home, wrote a full account of my proceedings to
Mr. Anderson, and turned my attention to my business. I communicated
fully with Egan in two lengthy letters, but I did not write Mr.
Parnell, for Egan had purposely asked that I should not communicate
direct with his chief. As far as any further public action on my part
was concerned, I dropped out of the affair at this point. I knew that
I should learn everything in time, and I was quite content to wait.

As I had anticipated, I did hear the result, and on no less an
authority than that of Sullivan himself. He informed me some time
later that the sanction of the executive body of the Clan-na-Gael
or V.C. had been given to the bringing about of an “understanding.”
Sullivan, however, did not anticipate that it would be all plain
sailing. Even then he expected trouble from the members of the home
organisation, but he pointed out that their opinion was not that of
the organisation in its collective capacity. On one point he was very
strong, and that was the getting rid of poor old O’Leary. The old
man’s independence of mind and speech was not by any means relished,
and so it was determined that he should go. There could be no
radical change brought about, Sullivan confessed, while O’Leary was
there, and, I might depend upon it, a change of the representative
was certain to come very soon. As he talked, Sullivan grew quite
enthusiastic over the new move, and he showed me by his manner that
he had given the subject a great deal of thought.

“I feel morally certain,” he continued, “that the propositions I will
make will be approved of. I for one am opposed to bringing up this
matter openly at the coming Convention. I shall most certainly object
to Parnell or any of his friends compromising themselves by allowing
such a course. The whole matter must be left to the Revolutionary
Directory and the F.C.” (Executive Body). [As it will be seen later,
this is exactly what happened. There was no public discussion of
the proposal in open convention, but matters were satisfactorily
arranged in the quiet caucuses of the responsible committees.]
Sullivan, continuing, said, “They (that is, the Parnellites) seem to
misunderstand our dissatisfaction here. Our quarrel is not with their
action in Ireland, but with the action they allow their friends here
to take in their name. I know there is but little difference about
essential points, but we cannot tolerate the kind of thing begun in
Buffalo.”

This reference to Buffalo dealt with some proceedings in connection
with the first American Land League Convention of a few weeks
previously, which had attracted a good deal of attention and comment
at the time. I had no personal knowledge of what took place, owing to
the Convention having been held while I was in Europe, but I heard
fully of the affair on my return. The whole thing was nothing more
or less than an attempt on the part of the clerical element to gain
the controlling power in the League Councils, to the exclusion of the
Clan-na-Gael influence. Certain speeches had been made and action
taken with this view, and although the result had not weakened them,
the Clan-na-Gael leaders felt very bitter on the point.




XXXVIII.


The month of August at length arrived, and with it the Great Dynamite
Convention of 1881. It was pretty well known that “active” work
was to be the order of the day, when the future plans and schemes
of the organisation came to be discussed. Nothing was talked of
throughout the camps but the utter lack of practical effort which had
characterised the past few years; and now, when funds were pretty
large, and the organisation itself in a very flourishing condition
in every way, it was determined that some outward and visible sign
should be given England of its power of doing mischief. The stories
which were daily reaching America of the alleged brutalities being
practised by the British Government, only served to inflame the blood
of the rank and file of the conspirators, and to make them the more
eager to force on some exhibition of their strength. The leaders,
however, were in no sense behindhand in the way of bloodthirsty
sentiment; indeed, as will be seen by what I have already stated
about Devoy and others, arrangements had ere this been completed for
giving expression to the popular desire.

The Convention, which assembled in the club-room of the Palmer House,
Chicago, lasted from the 3rd to the 10th of August 1881; and although
the word dynamite finds no single place in the official records of
the assembly, it was in the air and in the speeches from start to
finish. The whole question of active operations came up and was
debated at great length in connection with the statement of accounts
furnished by the trustees of the Skirmishing Fund. Many of the
delegates present attacked both the Revolutionary Directory and the
Executive Body for having practically done nothing, while an enormous
amount of money had been spent from this fund; and wild demands were
made for particulars. The fight raged so fiercely that disclosures
were made compromising people on the Irish side of the water; and,
in order to prevent a complete _exposé_, a resolution was suddenly
passed forbidding the mention of names and other compromising
particulars. Explanations were, however, tendered as to the schemes
which had been discussed and in part arranged. These included
the treaty with Russia, the supply of officers to the Boers, the
torpedo-boat, the hand-grenade, the purchase and shipment of arms,
the purchase of 200 six-pound cannons at $25 each, and the attempt to
rescue Michael Davitt on two occasions.

In the end a resolution in the following terms was adopted which,
read by the light of the many and excited debates, was a clear
instruction to the Executive Body to be up and doing at once in the
way of “active” warfare:—

  “That it is the sense of this Convention that, while we do not
  dictate to the F.C., whatever action they may inaugurate, however
  decisive, will meet the full approval of the delegates present and
  the V.C. at large.”

This, however, was not the only important resolution they recorded.
While the fight over an active policy was being engaged in, I
secretly attended by request before the Committee of Foreign
Relations, and explained to them the views of Mr. Parnell and Patrick
Egan. As the result of what took place in connection with this
matter, the following resolution was proposed and adopted in open
convention:—

  “That it is the sense of this Convention that both branches of
  the S.E. (_i.e._, the Irish and the American members of the
  Revolutionary Directory), in so far as they can give their time and
  energies to it, should devote themselves to the work of revolution;
  and if such bodies cannot give their approval to public movements
  that are intended to promote the political and social regeneration
  of Jsfmboe (Ireland) when they are supported by a large proportion
  of the Jsjti (Irish) people, they will at least refrain from
  antagonising them, and that the members of the I.S.C. (the Irish
  Republican Brotherhood) and the V.C. (Clan-na-Gael) should not
  arbitrarily be prevented from exercising liberty of action in
  regard to such movements.”




XXXIX.


In this way did both of Mr. Parnell’s ideas receive recognition
and support. In the first place, the Revolutionary Directory was
instructed to prepare for the rising of which he spoke, while, in
the second, a pretty strong hint was given to the home organisation
that members in their individual capacity should join the League
and support its programme. It is only right that I should state at
this point that I was not the only one charged with representing
Mr. Parnell’s views. My attendance before the Foreign Relations
Committee brought me into contact with John O’Connor, _alias_ Dr.
Clarke, _alias_ Dr. Kenealy, the travelling agent of the Clan-na-Gael
in Europe, who informed me that he specially attended in his
representative capacity to support the “understanding.” This was not
my first meeting with O’Connor by any means. When in Paris I had been
introduced to him by O’Leary, and had frequently met him in the
company of Egan, with whom he was on the most confidential terms, and
working in perfect harmony. O’Connor’s statement was followed by one
on the part of Devoy, who informed me that “the matter was now all
right.”

This Convention saw the initiation of the Sullivan _régime_,
Alexander Sullivan, ere its close, being elected to the position of
president of the organisation, with head-quarters at Chicago. His
election was attended by many changes in the constitution. Up to
this the executive body, or “F.C.” as it was termed, had consisted
of a chairman, secretary, and treasurer, with eleven district
members or “E.N.’s,” elected to control the society in their several
districts. The Convention now reconstituted the “F.C.” by excluding
these eleven “E.N.’s,” and limiting the number to six, including the
secretary, who was _ex-officio_, but without a vote. This was quite
a revolution in the management of affairs, and Sullivan, in his
new position, acquired a power and prominence never enjoyed by any
previous president. It was after gaining possession of this important
and powerful post that he visited Europe, in accordance with the
arrangement I had been the means of first proposing to him. Of course
it was not publicly announced that Sullivan was in Europe. By some
he was understood to be ill, by others in Florida. It would never
have done for him to have publicly admitted or allowed the fact to be
known that he was so far east as Paris.

I had very many interesting conversations at this Convention, but
none more so than those with Dr. Gallaher, now in Portland Prison
for complicity in the dynamite outrages, and Mackay Lomasney, who
had just returned from Ireland, where, like Devoy in 1879, he had
been acting as the inspecting envoy of the Clan-na-Gael. Gallaher,
at the time I speak of, was making experiments in the manufacture of
explosives, and advocating their use. He was quite enthusiastic in
their praise, and so carried away by his subject that he expressed
his willingness to personally undertake the carriage of dynamite to
England and to superintend its use there. Lomasney was an equally
ardent dynamitard, not foreseeing then the fate which awaited him
under London Bridge.

I think I cannot better conclude this chapter than by quoting the
following statement of accounts, furnished at this Convention, of
the Skirmishing Fund, which, in all its details, even to the amount
stolen by the messenger of the _Irish World_, should prove of
interest.

  RECEIPTS, &c.

  Total receipts by _Irish World_ up to May 31, 1881 $88,306 32
  Received by trustees from other sources              1,603 50
  Interest                                             1,072 50
  Profits on Exchange                                    471 25
                                                     ----------
                                                              $91,453 57
                                                              ----------
  EXPENSES, &c.

  Purchase of bonds                                  $31,488 87
  Lent per F.C. to S.C. for tools                     10,000  0
  Lent to F.C.                                         5,875  0
  Irish volunteers                                     1,000  0
  J. J. O’Mahony’s burial                              2,030  0
  O’D. Rossa’s defalcations                            1,321 90
  Old submarine vessel                                 4,042 97
  New submarine vessel                                23,345 70
  Miscellaneous expense                                  321  4
  Lent Dr. Carroll                                       860  0
  Luby and Burke                                         100  0
  Cheques dishonoured                                     78 68
  Reception, Condon and Meledy                           249 79
  Allowed A. Ford on old money, Rossa’s not cashed        41 90
  _Irish World_ overcharged                                5  4
  Subsidising foreign newspapers (J. J. O’Kelly)       2,000  0
  Land League trial (Davitt)                           1,532  0
  Special to O’Kelly                                     177 63
  Author, New Departure                                1,003 90
  Stolen by messenger of _Irish World_                    27 50
  Reception of Parnell                                   165  0
                                                     ----------
                                                              $85,666 92
                                                              ----------

  ASSETS.

  Balance in bank                 $5,745 82
  Balance on hands                    40 83
                                  ---------
                                                               $5,786 65
                                                              ----------




XL.


I have found this subject of Irish secret conventions so interesting
to the many people who have talked with me about Clan-na-Gael affairs
since my appearance in the witness-box that I almost think I might
venture on some slight description of the _modus operandi_ of these
gatherings without wearying the reader. Like all proceedings from
which the general public are shut out, a Clan-na-Gael assembly
becomes interesting in proportion to the amount of secrecy by which
it is attended. Not indeed that a Clan-na-Gael Convention is anything
very exciting or terrible after all. It possesses none of the weird
features of that scene in which our three old friends of Macbeth
figure. It is on the contrary very Irish—very Irish indeed. But what
it is and what it is not can best be demonstrated by some few details
by way of description; and so, transforming my gentle reader for the
nonce into a V.C. delegate, I will take him with me for a flying
visit to the Clan Convention of 1881 in the club-room of the Palmer
House, Chicago.

As we pass along down the corridor to the iron doors of the
club-room, we find our passage barred by two stalwart Irishmen. They
are members of the local camp, stationed as sentinels to prevent the
entry of the unauthorised. We have already presented our credentials
and been intrusted with the necessary passwords, and on giving
the outside password to these guardians of the door, we are duly
admitted. On the other side, however, we are brought face to face
with another couple of trusted Gaels, and to them we have to give the
inside password. ’Tis done, and, freed now from further question, we
enter the charmed assembly. What a sight! What a babel of voices and
a world of smoke! You can scarce see for the clouds which curl and
roll round you as the breath of fresh air is admitted by the opening
door, while, as for hearing, your ears are deafened by the din and
clatter of many tongues and stamping feet. Yes, we are at last in the
Irish Parliament, as it is grandly termed, in full session. These
are the hundred and sixty odd delegates of the great V.C., sworn “to
make Ireland a nation once again,” who are now assembled in the year
of grace 1881 to clamour for dynamite as the only means of achieving
their patriotic ends.

Let us sit down in the corner and study the scene with attention.
It partakes, on the first view, more of the character of a “free
and easy” entertainment than a grave portentous gathering of
conspirators; but you must not judge by first appearances or
outward characteristics. It is the way these men have of doing their
business, and the dread character of their work is in no way affected
by the almost ludicrous phases of the preliminary performance. Always
you must remember that you are dealing with Irishmen, who in their
wildest and most ferocious of fights still retain that substratum of
childishness of character and playfulness of mood, with its attendant
elements of exaggeration and romance, which make it as difficult for
an ordinary House of Commons member to rightly understand his Irish
colleague when he launches forth in description or invective, as it
is for the civilised foreigner to know where the actual grievance now
comes in.

Well, we are seated, and we must proceed to make the most of our
time. And so I hurry on with my description. That is the chairman
seated over there on the platform, with his two secretaries in
attendance. The permanent presiding officer, as he is termed, is on
this occasion no other than our friend Wm. J. Hynes, the gentleman
who received his start in Chicago politics as a professional juryman
through the instrumentality of Alexander Sullivan, and who since that
time has put together flesh as well as riches, and is now one of the
strongest-looking men here, possessed of that which, if he had no
other qualification, would yet constitute a strong claim for the
office of chairman—a voice capable of rising above the din caused by
fifty excited patriots all yelling with their greatest might. Seated
round in semi-circular fashion are the different delegates who, in
the language they love so well, may be described as the flower of
Irish-American patriotism. They are a funny crowd, as lolling with
arms akimbo, and thumbs resting in their waistcoat arm-holes, they
hang their feet on the chairs in front, which for comfort’s sake
are tilted to an angle of some 40 or 45 degrees, and puff their
cigars—on such an occasion there is nothing so vulgar as a pipe
indulged in—high up into the air, changing their position now and
again in order to have a pull at those interesting-looking black
bottles, or to disrobe themselves of coat or waistcoat, the better to
cool their heated frames.

But hark! there is a row on now. Listen to the oaths and foul
epithets which fill the air. These two patriots to our left have
apparently disagreed about something and, want to fight it out. See
how they jump to their feet, kick the chairs about, throw a curse
across the floor at the chairman as he seeks to stop their rowdy
proceedings, and enter into grips with each other. Watch how friends
hurry up on either side, and note the general confusion which now
reigns. The business of the Convention of course is brought to a
standstill, but not for long. See, all is quiet again now. These
incidents are of hourly occurrence, and the fun of it all is that
these two combatants will be drinking whisky in the most amicable
way out of the same black bottle in less than a quarter of an hour’s
time. Do you notice these few men hurrying in with handkerchiefs to
their lips? Thirsty souls! They have been taking advantage of the
interval to pay a visit to the bar.




XLI.


At last we turn to business again. Luckily the topic is an exciting
one—nothing less indeed than the Skirmishing Fund discussion—and
so matters will be interesting. O’Meagher Condon is on his feet, and
he is launching forth in vehement style against the whole of the
governing powers. Condon is one of those men who were mixed up in
the Manchester Martyr affair, and since his arrival here a couple
of years since, on being amnestied, he has been quite a hero. He
has now a position in a Government department at Washington, and is
much esteemed in the ranks of the Gaels. How his face works with
excitement and passion as he attacks Devoy and his fellows on the
Revolutionary Directory for their want of practical work. He finishes
at last, and up jumps Devoy, more sour-looking than ever, with the
perpetual scowl growing heavier and heavier. As he proceeds, the
author of the New Departure has recourse to the usual method of
controversy. He asserts that Condon is a coward, and was guilty of
the grossest neglect at Manchester. If Condon had but distributed the
twenty odd pounds which were found on him on his arrest, many of the
men would have escaped, instead of being captured with empty pockets.
Gruffer and gruffer becomes Devoy’s voice, as losing partial control
of himself he trembles with excitement and flings charge after charge
across the floor.

We are in for another personal quarrel, and so have to wait patiently
while Condon, for the hundredth time, recites the threadbare
narrative of his glorious deeds in Manchester. Matters are very
electrical when the Rev. George C. Betts of St. Louis craves a
hearing, and with his well-known smile seeks the suffrages of
his fellow-patriots for the moment. Truly, a strange figure in a
strange place. Tall, erect, in the black garb of the Church, with
priest-like face and priest-like form, he woos the assembly to a
strange quietness as his clerical style of utterance falls upon
the audience. He is as hot a dynamitard as any, but he wants no
personalities. If they are to accomplish anything, they really must
be more practical. And so he proceeds, winning applause and spreading
enthusiasm, till Devoy and Condon, and their personalities, are swept
into forgetfulness, and all are engaged in applauding revolutionary
sentiment spiced with religious quotation, and served up in the most
orthodox of fashions.

The reverend dynamitard concludes, and resumes his seat amidst
most enthusiastic evidences of his popularity. He gives way to an
equally inharmonious figure in this motley gathering. The man who
now rises is one of medium height, whose every movement bespeaks the
professional man, as awhile back the picture presented by the Rev.
Dr. Betts bespoke the cleric. A young man too is this, with his neat
attire, trim beard, and gold-headed cane. No less a person is he than
Dr. Gallaher, who, in this year of 1892, in the convict suit of grey
with its regulation arrows, works out his weary life in Portland
prison. As you watch, and as he speaks in that quiet gentlemanly
fashion of his, you can well believe that he is a man of whom it
might be afterwards boasted that he was introduced to Mr. Gladstone
himself. Save in his sentiments there is nothing of the dynamitard
about him, but in the matter of his speech there is no room for
doubt. Quiet and self-controlled though he be, his talk is the talk
of war, and the enthusiasm which lights up his countenance is that
strong steady flame which will steadily burn till England’s dungeon
doors close upon him and cut short his career of recklessness.

Following him on the floor is the familiar form of Denis Feeley,
the fellow “Triangler” of Sullivan in later days, and with him the
object of attack on the part of Cronin’s friends. Cool, calm, and
deliberate, he carries his audience with him as he advocates “a
secret blow at the enemy”; while his big form shakes with indignation
as he works himself up to an excited pitch over “the wrongs of their
beloved country.” At last Feeley concludes, and there rises another
well-known figure, that of T. V. Powderly, for years the chief of the
largest working-men’s organisation in America, known as “The Knights
of Labour.” Little doubt can there be as to his views. Listen to what
he says:—

  “The killing of English robbers and tyrants in Ireland, and the
  destruction by any and all means of their capital and resources,
  which, enables them to carry on their robberies and tyrannies, is
  not a needless act. Hence I am in favour of the torch for their
  cities and the knife for their tyrants till they agree to let
  Ireland severely alone. London, Liverpool, Manchester, and Bristol
  in ashes may bring them to view it in another light.”

And so the talk goes on, and seven hundred years of grievances find
expression from the lips of excited patriots, while quarrelsome
delegates destroy all decorum. There is little purpose in our waiting
further. One hour will be but the repetition of the other. As we rise
to leave, however, one figure catches the eye and impresses itself
upon us. It is that of the arch-plotter Sullivan, who, through all
this din and turmoil, sits and makes no sign. He knows that later on
he will be the candidate for the highest place amongst them, and so
he takes no side. There is no possibility of your missing him as you
pass him by. There he sits, quiet, watchful, and alert. You cannot
mistake the man. There is a sense of power and intelligence in that
clean cut, clean shaven face of his, lit up by its bright daring
eyes. Had you but heard him speak, the lesson of his presence would
have been complete. His clear trumpet voice, rising and falling with
the play of a practised orator, his choice finished diction, his
well-reasoned, well-arranged argument, and the graceful gesture and
movement of his whole body would prove to you that there at least was
a man gifted to command and competent to control.

And so we terminate our flying visit to the Eighty-one Convention of
the Clan-na-Gael, wherein there were assembled forty lawyers, eight
doctors, two judges, clergymen of both leading religions, merchants,
manufacturers, and working men, all mixed up in glorious confusion,
almost all reduced to the level of the whisky bottle, and none
removed from the struggles of personal avarice and ambition.




XLII.


Nothing of a very stirring character happened for the next couple
of months, and so, much to my satisfaction, I was permitted to
attend for a little without interruption to my private affairs.
They sadly lacked some notice on my part, for business was growing,
my drug-stores were increasing in number, and so was my family.
Patients were very numerous too, but expenses were not without their
increase, for I had to employ a regularly qualified M.D. to take my
place in my absence. If I could have settled down and simply minded
my own business from this henceforth, I would have been in a very
satisfactory position to-day. But ’twas not to be. I was constantly
on the move, and living at high pressure right through. To keep
myself thoroughly posted I had to be here, there, and everywhere,
and, in the end, my ordinary business had to take a very secondary
place. Even at this time my leisure from political affairs was to be
of very short duration, for, in my capacity as Senior Guardian, I
received the following in the month of November 1881:—

  “_Private._
  “For S. G. alone.

                                                 “HEAD-QUARTERS, K.,
                                                 “_November 21, 1881_.

  “S.G. of D.

  “DEAR SIR AND BROTHER,—It is the desire of the F.C. that as many
  members of the V.C. as can possibly attend the Irish National
  Convention at Chicago, November 30, 1881, will do so without
  entailing expense on the organisation.

  “You will therefore make every effort to get the members of the
  V.C. elected as delegates from any Irish society that may have an
  existence in your neighbourhood, whether it be as representative of
  the Land League Club, the A.O.H., or any other organisation.

  “The F.C. particularly desires your presence as a delegate, if it
  is possible for you to attend as such.

                                        “Fraternally yours,
                                                  “K.G.N. OF THE V.C.”

I thoroughly knew what this meant. Under the new _régime_ of Sullivan
there was to be no more of the “Buffalo business,” and to prevent
it things were to to done in a thoroughly practical manner. The
members of the secret revolutionary organisation were to capture the
representation at the coming Land League Convention, to act unitedly
in the development of a policy in harmony with the Clan-na-Gael, and
to officer the future executive in such a way as to prevent further
misunderstanding. In order to do all this, the Clan-na-Gael men
were to obtain election as League, or Ancient Order of Hibernian,
delegates, the latter organisation being a purely benevolent body,
whose branches had largely affiliated with the League or open
movement from the start. This was accordingly done; and thus it came
about that, when I met my fellow-delegates to the open Land League
Convention of 1881, I found almost every second man a brother from
the camps of the Clan-na-Gael.

The whole scheme worked in the most perfect manner. On arrival
in Chicago each Clan-na-Gael man reported himself to the chief
officer of the district, to whom credentials were presented.
Official intimation was then given as to what would happen, and each
conspirator learned that, prior to the sessions of the convention,
caucuses of the Brotherhood would be held in the hall of Camp
16, Twenty-second Street, Chicago. The usual precautions were
taken, and admission only gained by passwords exchanged on each
occasion. As the chairman at the first gathering—the Rev. George
C. Betts—humorously put it, “our object was to make things easy for
the Land Leaguers, and to save them as much trouble as possible.” At
each meeting the plan of procedure at the coming session was decided
upon, and the election of temporary and permanent officers arranged.
Nominations for various committees were fixed, and no opportunity
neglected for adapting the constitution and officials to our
requirements. The resolutions subsequently adopted in open convention
were drafted by our committees.

It therefore came about that John F. Finerty of Chicago, the
well-known dynamite advocate and prominent member of the Clan,
“called the convention to order,” and made the opening speech.
William J. Hynes of the Revolutionary Directory, and the chairman of
the late Clan-na-Gael Convention, was appointed temporary chairman,
and Joseph E. Ronayne, who had acted in a similar capacity at the
Dynamite Convention, was appointed secretary, while T. V. Powderly
of the Clan Executive, whose fiery speech at the same Convention
was given a few pages back, was nominated assistant-secretary. The
nomination of these men led to a trial of strength between the two
forces of the Convention, but the real tug of war was reserved for
the second day, when resolutions previously adopted at the Gael’s
caucus were proposed, nominating the Rev. George C. Betts of St.
Louis as permanent chairman, and Patrick Ford, John Devoy, Mrs.
Parnell, and a number of priests as vice-presidents. Of course the
priests were put forward for politic reasons. The vice-presidents
were not objected to, but the appointment of the Rev. George C.
Betts, a Protestant clergyman, was strongly opposed by the priestly
party. A very excited debate took place, but in the end the
opposition to Betts was withdrawn at the instigation of the Irish
visitors—Messrs. T. P. O’Connor, M.P., T. M. Healy, M.P., and Father
Sheehy—and so at the close this Vice-President of the Clan-na-Gael
was elected, and the secret organisation triumphed all along the line.

The Irish political controversy was darkened the following year
by the sad event in the Phœnix Park, Dublin, when Lord Frederick
Cavendish and Mr. Burke met their deaths at the hands of the Irish
Invincibles. As regards the Invincible conspiracy, I have little or
nothing to say. It was in no sense an American affair, and no matter
how little or how much certain sympathisers in the States may have
known of the murderous conspiracy, nothing was said on the subject in
public or in secret to connect the Clan-na-Gael in any way with the
proceedings of Carey and his friends. There was, of course, a certain
amount of sympathy with the affair, as was shown by the attitude
taken up by John Devoy in his paper the _Irish Nation_, which was,
by the way, the official organ of the Clan-na-Gael at this time,
and subsidised from its fund. Devoy gave great prominence to the
refusal of Egan to offer a reward for the discovery of the murderers,
printing the following telegram in his issue of 13th May 1882:—

                    “PATRICK EGAN ON BLOOD-MONEY.

                                             “_Paris_, _May 10, 1882_.

  “Mr. Egan, the Treasurer of the Land League, has telegraphed the
  following to the _Freeman’s Journal_ of Dublin:—

    “‘EDITOR, _Freeman_, Dublin.—In the _Freeman_ of yesterday Mr.
    James F. O’Brien suggests a reward of £2000 out of the Land
    League Fund for the discovery of the perpetrators of the terrible
    tragedy of Saturday. Remembering, as I do, the number of innocent
    victims who in the sad history of our country have been handed
    over to the gallows by wretched informers, in order to earn the
    coveted blood-money, and foreseeing the awful danger that in the
    present excited state of public feeling crime may be added to
    crime by the possible sacrifice of guiltless men, I am determined
    that if one penny of the Land League Fund were devoted for such a
    purpose I would at once resign the treasurership.

                                                  “‘PATRICK EGAN.’”

And commenting upon it in the following vein:—

  “Patrick Egan has spoken out like a man against the adoption by
  Irishmen of the base English policy of suborning informers. He
  declares that should a penny of the Land League funds be devoted
  to such an object, he will resign the treasurership. Mr. Parnell
  should at once repudiate the attempt made from this side to connect
  him with action so culpable and un-Irish. By consenting to become
  the trustee of the Irish-American blood-money he would forfeit the
  sympathies of his warmest admirers.”

It was in this year, too, that O’Donovan Rossa was finally expelled
from the Clan-na-Gael. He had been in very bad odour for a long
time previously, owing to his unsatisfactory connection with the
Skirmishing Fund; and at last, after a couple of attempts to get rid
of him, he was summarily kicked out, and from henceforth repudiated
by the recognised officials of the secret organisation.




XLIII.


Eighteen hundred and eighty-three proved a very busy time with me.
There was another Land League Convention: Egan, Sheridan, Frank
Byrne, and other Invincibles “on the run” arrived in the country, and
altogether my time was pretty well occupied in obtaining information
and passing it on to my chief. The year opened amidst rumours in
the public press of the secret movement having captured the open
organisation of the League. Mr. Parnell himself had taken action
previously in connection with the Kilmainham Treaty, and in other
ways which were not understood or appreciated, and, as a consequence,
a partial breach had occurred. So strained were matters becoming that
in February it was announced that both Mr. Parnell and Egan would
come to America in April for the purpose of discussing the whole
situation and fixing upon some new mode of operations for the future
which, while equally effective as regards joint working, would not
impair Mr. Parnell’s usefulness. Many weeks, however, had not passed
ere the fight between the clerical and revolutionary elements in the
States began to wax exceedingly hot, and, changing his plans, Mr.
Parnell determined not to interfere, and so failed to put in his
promised appearance.

Egan, however, thanks to the revelations of Carey, had to make a
speedy and somewhat undignified exit from Dublin, and not waiting
till the month of April, he put himself _en evidence_ in American
life in the month of March. I met him a week or two after his
arrival, when he was the guest of Alexander Sullivan, the President
of the Clan-na-Gael, at Chicago. We renewed our cordial friendship,
and the same close intimacy prevailed between us as had been the
case in Paris. Egan told me that the programme now to be proposed
would give full satisfaction in America; while, as for Sullivan, he
(Sullivan) remarked to me significantly about this time that, though
he had never doubted Egan, he was now more than satisfied.

The public Convention of the Land League, henceforth to be known as
the National League of America, took place at Philadelphia on the
26th April and following days. The same plan of campaign as had been
developed in 1881 was put in force by the Clan-na-Gael. A secret
circular was issued instructing the camps to send delegates, and
these delegates when assembled in Philadelphia pursued the same line
of policy in their caucus gatherings. The whole thing worked like
an exquisite piece of mechanism, and produced the most satisfactory
results for the Clan leaders. Of course I was a delegate, and of
course I attended all the secret caucuses. Well for Egan that it
was so. He considered it impolitic to appear at any of the secret
gatherings, and so, much to my satisfaction, he asked me to acquaint
him daily with what transpired, which I did, and received in return
many interesting pieces of private information. The Convention
was remarkable for the presence of Egan and Brennan, the runaway
treasurer and secretary of the Irish Land League, both of whom took
part in the proceedings, and of Frank Byrne and his wife, who were
accommodated with seats on the platform.

In accordance with the arrangements made at one of the caucus
meetings, Alexander Sullivan was appointed president of the new
organisation. He played his part well on the occasion, and succeeded
in entirely overcoming the scruples of those opposed to him in
consequence of his being chief of the Clan-na-Gael. Not once but
twice did this prince of intriguers decline the honour respectfully
but firmly; and not till after repeated appeals from Mrs. Parnell,
the mother of the Irish Home Rule leader, did he consent to take the
office. Another leading Gael was appointed secretary, and out of the
Executive Committee of seven, five were members of the Clan-na-Gael.

Although Mr. Parnell did not make his promised appearance, he sent a
lengthy and significant telegram, in which he asked that the platform
should be so framed as to enable himself and his friends to continue
to receive help from America, and to work in such harmony as would
allow of their achieving those great objects for which, through many
centuries, the Irish race had struggled.

This was a pretty plain hint from the leading spirit on the Irish
side to keep matters moderate in appearance, and it was not lost on
those charged with the conduct of affairs, as the following extracts
from my official report to my camp on my return will show:—

  “The various reports were read and routine business transacted.
  These developed that the Land League had not increased in members,
  but, on the contrary, had decreased during the past year; that a
  majority of the patriots of America had become tired of giving
  their earnings for ‘Simon Pure agitation;’ of the 900 branches
  existing a year ago, 105 had disbanded, and 298 had failed to
  report. The total receipts for the past year from all sources were
  79,138 dollars, 40 cents, and the disbursements 74,123 dollars, 40
  cents, leaving on hand a balance of 4915 dollars.

  “There was an evident desire upon the part of clerical delegates
  and lady Land Leaguers (who evinced a fear of amalgamating with
  dynamiters and secret society Revolutionists) to retain the
  organisation intact, dropping the word land, adopting the platform
  of the Dublin Convention of last October, electing their officers
  for the ensuing year, calling themselves the National League,
  and adjourning _sine die_. This policy received an able but
  unscrupulous supporter in Miles O’Brien of New York, a renegade
  member of the V.C., who exhibited the last circular of instructions
  from the F.C. to a number of priests to show them how they were to
  be manipulated by the terrible Clan-na-Gaels. Had this source been
  successful it would have prevented union, it would have continued
  the various factions, and the formidable front presented to-day of
  all the societies of the country pledged upon one platform to work
  united with one object in view would never have been achieved.

  “Brother Brown of St. Louis moved a substitute for all resolutions
  to declare the Land League dissolved after the adjournments of this
  Convention, and the delegates to attend the National Convention
  the next day. This eventually was practically carried by a large
  majority.

  “The Convention, to which I presented credentials from this body
  on Thursday morning, presented the grand array of nearly 1200
  delegates upon the floor, the stage being decorated with portraits,
  paintings, statues, flags, and flowers, and graced by some fifty
  ladies—conspicuous amongst them being Mrs. Parnell and Mrs. Frank
  Byrne—the galleries packed to overflowing, some five thousand
  interested spectators being present, a sight not soon to be
  forgotten.

  “Again the V.C. showed the work of its second conference of
  Wednesday night, the proceedings being opened by Brother Sullivan,
  and Brother Dorney being unanimously elected temporary presiding
  officer, the temporary secretaries being Brothers Roach of Troy,
  Brown of St. Louis, Hines of Buffalo, and Gleason of Cleveland.
  The appointment of the Committee on Credentials, after the opening
  speeches, constituted the first work on hand, and here again the
  perfect organisation of the V.C. developed itself; and the first
  breeze created by the Rossa-Dunne faction, who moved an amendment
  that each society have a member upon the Committee on Credentials,
  was promptly voted down. Rossa presented his credentials as a
  member of the National Party of New York, but was admitted only
  upon a press ticket.

  “The knowledge of a blood and thunder set of resolutions being
  in the pocket of Major Horgan of New York, ready to be fired,
  regardless of consequences, into the Convention, required the
  passage of a resolution that, until permanent organisation
  was effected, all resolutions offered should be referred to
  the Committee on Resolutions without being read. A permanent
  organisation was effected in the afternoon by the unanimous
  election of Brother Foran of Cleveland as presiding officer. The
  various committees being appointed, the Convention adjourned till
  Friday morning, the result of the day’s work summarised showing
  that there was nothing to warrant the fear that the Rossa faction
  would develop any strength or discord; that the V.C. were in the
  majority everywhere; that by every action it was desired to follow
  out the instructions of Mr. Parnell as cabled to the Convention on
  that day; and at least, so far as the public policy was concerned,
  to drop all nitro-glycerine methods of procedure, and to perfect
  the union of the united societies of the country and Canada upon
  one platform, for the purpose of sustaining Parnell and his policy
  by acting and existing permanently as an auxiliary body, or rather
  further, to the Irish National League.

  “One straw to show which way the wind blew was the nomination in
  committee of P. A. Collins of Boston for permanent chairman. His
  candidature was unitedly set down with a will for his action in
  offering a reward of 5000 dollars for the discovery of the killers
  of Burke and Cavendish last year.

  “Friday morning found the Convention in session with the various
  committees on Plan or Organisation, Platform, Resolutions, and
  Permanent Organisation ready to report. After some spirited
  speech-making by Fathers Boylan and Agnew, and others, Dr.
  O’Reilly of Michigan submitted the report of the Committee on
  Resolutions, in which was included the platform of the National
  League of America. After reading, an attempt was made by Finerty
  to adopt them _seriatim_, for the purpose of getting inserted some
  more favourable to the turbulent Rossa-Dunne faction. They were,
  however, adopted as a whole....

  “The Committee on Organisation presented their report, which was
  unanimously adopted.

  “It was then in order to elect officers for the ensuing year.
  Alexander Sullivan nominated Dr. O’Reilly of Michigan as treasurer.
  He was elected without opposition, Father Walsh having declined,
  stating privately that he had to choose between his parish and the
  treasurership; and that being the case, he would have to decline.

  “The nomination for president resulted in the almost unanimous
  choice of Brother Alexander Sullivan, who, after twice
  diplomatically declining, finally was prevailed upon to accept.
  The Executive Council of one from each State was elected, a large
  majority of whom were members of the V.C.

  “Brother Hines of Buffalo was unanimously elected permanent
  secretary. Various sums of money were subscribed for the new
  league, principally by the ladies. Resolutions were passed turning
  over the books, balances on hand, and property of the old Land
  League to the new League.

  “Speeches expressive of God-speed and goodwill followed by
  everybody, and the Convention adjourned to meet again next year at
  the call of the Executive.

  “The Executive Council subsequently met and elected the Council of
  Seven, five of which are members of the V.C.

  “To briefly summarise the results of the Convention, we find the
  unification of all Irish societies pledged under one leadership to
  follow the lines laid down by Parnell and the party at home, not
  to lead but to follow them whence they may go with all the energy,
  practical and financial support possible—a proof to the world
  that the ten millions of Irish nationality upon the continent can
  be represented in convention by their 1200 delegates, and work
  harmoniously and unitedly, and giving to those, and their number
  is legion, who believe in force alone, the supreme satisfaction of
  knowing that the machinery of the cause is now under the control
  and direction of their comrades, who believe, as they do, that
  dynamite, or any other species of warfare that can be devised is
  perfectly legitimate, so long as it can be made effective, and
  accomplish results permanent and tangible.

       *       *       *       *       *

  “Michael Boyton arrived upon the second day of the Convention with
  two members of the Supreme Council, who, as it will be readily
  understood, did not figure publicly upon this occasion.”




XLIV.


It was shortly after this—I think somewhere about the 29th of
May—that I was fortunate enough to learn from Sullivan some
particulars as to what was going on in connection with the Dynamite
Campaign. A demonstration had been arranged at Milwaukie, Wisconsin,
in honour of Patrick Egan, and at Sullivan’s pressing invitation
I accompanied him in order to participate in it. We travelled
together and conversed almost all the way, Sullivan, as was his
wont, supplying me with very interesting details. He told me that
the management of the secret warfare was entirely in the hands of
the Revolutionary Directory in America. Men, it appeared, could not
be obtained at home to do the work, for from some lack of courage or
discipline they could not be relied upon.

The rule adopted was that no volunteer should be accepted. Special
choice would be made of men without families, and a special course
of instruction in the use of explosives would be necessary after
a man was chosen. So great was the care taken in the selection of
agents, that their whole career and character would be inquired into
beforehand without their knowledge. No new members would be chosen
for the work, because forty of the Royal Irish Constabulary had been
sent on full pay to America to join the organisation with a view to
selling it. Sullivan imparted the further interesting information
that Dr. Gallaher, when on his mission, purposely abstained from
coming in contact with Irish members, and obtained introductions to,
and acquaintance with, English members. He was often in the House, I
was told, and had been even introduced to Mr. Gladstone himself.

Contrary to expectation and the requirements of the existing
constitution, no Clan-na-Gael Convention took place in this
year—1883. In the ordinary course of events such an assembly should
have met in August 1883. For reasons best known to themselves,
however, Sullivan and his colleagues on the executive of the secret
organisation postponed the gathering, and in the end, by a system
of manipulation which Sullivan developed to a perfect science, in
connection with his management of Irish affairs, the approval of
the organisation was gained to certain changes which included the
putting off of the Convention to the following year, 1884. To allow
of these changes being approved of, it was necessary to hold a
series of district Conventions, and delegates were there elected to
represent the districts at the general Convention which would follow.
Sullivan’s adherents were generally in the majority at such district
assemblies, and so it was a matter of ease for him to have supporters
elected at almost every gathering, which, in other words, meant that
the delegates then elected were nothing more or less than ardent
Sullivanites, who in the future Convention would question nothing,
whereas ordinary delegates would undoubtedly prove curious, if not
embarrassing, in their search for information as to the conduct of
the affairs of the Clan-na-Gael.

All was not clear sailing, however, and murmurs were heard in several
quarters regarding this attempt to burk discussion and inquiry as
to the work of the past two years. Several of the camps eventually
ceased their allegiance and were immediately expelled, and the
organisation split up into two sections, the one being Sullivanite
and the other anti-Sullivanite. Devoy and his whole camp were amongst
those expelled from the Sullivan wing. The seceders formed a new
organisation under the old name, and the Sullivanites became known
as the U.S. Sullivan was still the strong man, and had the greatest
number of supporters; and, following my usual rule, I acted with the
majority and became a U.S. man. At the start a change was made as
regards the number and title of the governing body. Three members
formed the executive, and they were now known as the Triangle—a
name taken from the △ sign which was used by way of cypher signature
on all documents coming from head-quarters. The fight between the two
sections was now raging bitterly, and the oath of the U.S. was so
drawn as to exclude members of any other Revolutionary body, thereby
denying the right of any person to be a member of both organisations.

Meantime, under the plea of imminent danger of discovery, the books
of the organisation were all burnt, and no record whatever was left
in existence which would allow of investigation. This had driven
very many men to desperation, and loud and sweeping were the charges
which the seceders made against the Triangle for misappropriation of
funds and other like matters. None were more prominent in leading the
attack on Sullivan and his colleagues than Dr. Cronin, whose murder
has recently been the subject of such lengthy investigation. Indeed,
from this point onwards, almost down to the end of 1888, the history
of the Clan-na-Gael is the history of the dispute between Cronin and
Sullivan. And now, having purposely excluded all special mention of
Dr. Cronin from my story heretofore, in order that I might the more
fully and clearly deal with the matter in a compact form, I shall
proceed to sketch the life and career in Irish-American politics
of this last victim of political assassination. In explaining the
situations in Irish affairs as they affected or were affected by Dr.
Cronin, I shall have to travel rapidly over points already dealt
with; but I think it better to do this than to improperly represent
the ill-fated Cronin by omitting from my reference to his career the
points which told in favour of himself or his adversaries.




XLV.


Philip H. Cronin was born in Ireland, but when very young emigrated
to Canada. From thence when a young man he went to St. Louis,
Missouri, where he studied medicine at the St. Louis College of
Physicians and Surgeons. Before this he had been clerk in a chemist’s
store, and had thus acquired a very considerable practical knowledge
of medicine. He graduated with high honours, and became eventually
Professor of Materia Medica and Therapeutics in the college. He also
attended a medical college from which he secured the degree of M.A.
Cronin was a man of fine presence, good looking, almost six feet in
height, and very well formed. He was a clever man in every way, and a
good forcible speaker, though in style aggressive and combative to
a degree. Very ambitious, like his future enemy Alexander Sullivan,
he was never happy in a back seat, always thrusting himself forward
and fighting for the place of leader. In fact, so pronounced were his
ideas in favour of his supremacy, that where he could not rule he was
quite prepared to ruin.

He moved to Chicago in the latter part of 1881, and immediately
entered upon the practice of medicine, taking up his residence at 351
Clark Street, at the corner of Oak Street. At this time he was about
thirty-two years of age, so that he was only some forty years old at
the time of his murder. From the moment of his arrival in Chicago, he
went in enthusiastically for Irish politics, and took a leading part
in both Revolutionary and Land League matters. He identified himself
with the Clan-na-Gael, and was prominent at all gatherings of the
Irish of every kind. He was strong in social instincts, and was quite
a figure at social gatherings, where he used to great advantage the
fine tenor voice of which he was possessed, singing national songs
especially with great spirit and enthusiasm. As a consequence he
rapidly came to the front in Chicago, and in six months was better
known than an ordinary resident would have been in ten years. Towards
the Land League movement he was especially sympathetic, and he
took a very large part indeed in building it up. He was in a short
time elected President of the 18th Ward League, then known as the
“Banner League” of Chicago. Equally active in the secret movement,
he was a guiding spirit of Camp No. 96 of the Clan in Chicago,
publicly known as the “Columbia Literary Association,” and so great
was his influence that, on the appointment of the notorious Frank
Agneau to the position of district member, Cronin succeeded him as
Senior Guardian of the camp. This was the camp which held its weekly
meetings in the well-known Turner Hall on the north side of the city.

It was at this time that the policy of dynamite had been decided
upon, and that the campaign against English Government buildings and
persons was being inaugurated. Cronin (who was anything but a saint
in character) was an ardent advocate of the policy; and, owing to his
scientific attainments, he was appointed as chief instructor in the
use and handling of explosives, acting all this time, be it marked,
as the President of the Banner League (or Chicago branch of the Land
League) as well. In fact, he held the position of President of the
Land League branch down to the year 1888. Cronin, unfortunately for
himself, succeeded at a very early stage in falling foul of Alexander
Sullivan. Living as he did till 1887 at the corner of Clark and Oak
Streets, within a few doors of Sullivan himself, he gained such an
amount of prominence that he was rapidly throwing Sullivan into the
shade. He threatened to become more powerful than Sullivan, and this
Sullivan, equally ambitious and more unscrupulous, could not brook.
In a short time Sullivan and his adherents came to detest the Doctor,
and as I found—for I lived within a stone’s throw of each, knew them
both intimately, and saw them continuously—the relations between
them were becoming more strained and bitter every day.

In June 1881, as I have related, Sullivan obtained a victory over
all his rivals by being chosen President of the Clan-na-Gael, or
Revolutionary organisation, at the Dynamite Convention held that year
at the Palmer House, Chicago. It was after this that Cronin gave
the first pronounced sign of his enmity in public. The opportunity
for its display was brought about by the attack made by O’Meagher
Condon upon John Devoy, the principal of the three members of the
Revolutionary Directory, Devoy with his colleagues being charged with
responsibility for the failure of the many schemes of active warfare
proposed by Condon. Devoy, evidently jealous of Sullivan’s election,
indulged in a good deal of incrimination, not confining his attacks
to Condon alone, and he was afterwards supported by Cronin, who was
possessed of the same grievance. The two joined forces, but without
any effect, for Sullivan’s position was assured. From the dispute,
however, which occurred at this Convention, dates the commencement of
undisguised hostility between Sullivan and Cronin.

Early in 1883, when the call was issued for the Philadelphia
Convention (at which was formed the first branch of the American
National League as distinct from the Land League), a meeting of
Cronin’s branch of the League took place in Chicago for the election
of delegates to the Convention. Sullivan and his friends, determining
to crush Cronin if they could, packed this meeting, and had elected
as delegates Alexander Sullivan himself, his brother, and other
personal adherents, much to the disgust of Cronin and his supporters.

Sullivan was equally successful later on when, under the new
constitution, the Executive called district Conventions in lieu of
the general convention they had managed to postpone. The Convention
in Cronin’s district was held in Millionaire Smythe’s Hall in
Chicago—Smythe being Senior Guardian of Camp 458; Cronin, as Senior
Guardian of his own camp, attended in the capacity of delegate
therefrom. Mackay Lomasney, my old friend from Detroit, also attended
from his district in a like capacity. Although an attempt was made to
impeach Sullivan’s action, it was not successful. His friends were in
the majority, and his conduct was upheld. All attempts on the part
of Cronin to bring about a different state of things—and they were
not a few—were voted down, and Alexander Sullivan, in company with
Mackay Lomasney, the London Bridge dynamitard, was elected delegate
to the Triangle Convention of 1884.

Cronin, filled with fury, returned to his camp and made a series of
most sweeping charges against the Triangle. In return charges were
preferred against him of being a traitor, liar, &c. &c., Sullivan
of course being the instigator. A Trial Committee, of which I was
one, was appointed, and by it Cronin was promptly found guilty and
formally expelled. I voted, as I always did, on the side of the
winning party. Cronin on his expulsion immediately joined the ranks
of the seceders, which by this time included such well-known men as
Devoy, Dillon, M‘Cahey, and others, and he immediately obtained a
seat on the executive of the new body. And here, for the moment, I
must leave him.




XLVI.


The next matter of public importance in which I was interested was
the Boston Convention of the Irish National League of America, which
took place in the Fanieul Hall, Boston, on the 13th and following
days of August. Of course I went in my dual capacity as League
delegate and Revolutionary official. The same plan of campaign was
practised with the same successful results. The Rev. Dr. Betts
was again to the front as president of the secret caucuses, while
Egan, grown more bold by this, was a regular attendant. When the
nomination of officials of the League came up, Sullivan was named
for re-election as president. He, however, declined, and made way
for Patrick Egan. Egan, after some refusal on the ground that the
British Government probably knew of his connection with the secret
movement, and that his taking office might compromise Mr. Parnell,
eventually agreed, and so he took the chair vacated by Sullivan. This
Convention was attended by Mr. Thomas Sexton, M.P., and Mr. William
Redmond, M.P., on the part of the Parnellite party, and by P. J.
Tynan, the famous “No. 1” of the Phœnix Park murders—shall I say on
behalf of the Invincibles? Sullivan undoubtedly was the pet boy of
the period, for he was the object of the most adulatory references on
the part of Mr. Sexton. He was, we were told, a man who did honour
to the race from which he had sprung; a man of whom any race might
well be proud—and so on. Egan, however, came in for his fair share
of attention too. He was, according to another speaker, “that clean
handed, that patriotic, that heroic exile,” although, of course, no
reference was made to the reasons for his exile as supplied by the
Phœnix Park crimes.

If, however, no reason was given in public for his exile, Egan was
not slow to refer to the matter in private. I had journeyed in his
company to Boston, and had had a very exciting chat with him, in
which the question of his flight had largely figured. His description
of how he was enabled to get away from Dublin was most graphic. He
started off by boasting how he had got information from the Castle;
and to show how readily it could be obtained he said that, within
twenty minutes of the order being issued for the warrant for his
arrest, he knew of the fact. He was at his office at the time, and
at once proceeded to his house and packed his satchel. He had two
children sick then, and Dr. Kenny was attending them. He destroyed
a number of documents which he had in the house, some of them
pertaining to his connection with the Irish Republican Brotherhood,
and also some letters of James Carey. In fact he destroyed all papers
tending to incriminate him in case he was arrested. Fortunately for
him there happened to be in Dublin at the time a Scotch friend in
the Belfast flour trade, who assisted him in getting away. He gave
this friend his rug and valise, and instructed him to purchase a
ticket for Belfast at the Northern Terminus. He himself arrived at
the railway station one moment before the train started, took his
valise and rug from his Scotch friend, slipped into the train, and
that night was in Belfast. On his arrival at Belfast he found that he
could not get out by boat, and he went to an hotel, where he slept.
In the morning he purchased a return ticket to Leeds, travelled with
that as far as Manchester, and then got off the train. There he
purchased another ticket from Manchester to Hull, took the steamer
from Hull to Rotterdam, and thus got out of the country.

From the account of his own escape, he passed on to tell me how his
fellow-official Brennan, the Secretary of the Irish Land League, had
got away. Brennan, it appeared, gained the first hint of his being
implicated by reading the announcement of Carey’s evidence on a news
sheet displayed on the pavement in the Strand. He was accompanied by
Mr. Thomas Sexton, M.P., at the time, and on reading the announcement
they at once turned down a side street where arrangements were made
for Brennan’s flight. Brennan started off for his lodgings in order
to pack a valise, while Mr. Sexton, going to Charing Cross, purchased
a ticket for Paris. On this ticket he travelled to London Bridge,
and there by arrangement he met Brennan, who immediately proceeded
on the train to the French capital. Egan was very generous in his
confidences on this occasion, and amongst other things he told me
that he was satisfied the new Executive Body would continue the
“active work,” and it would be done by men who would not go further
than their orders, as Dr. Gallaher had done. This was news to me,
and I inquired how. “Why,” replied Egan, “he (Dr. G.) got in with
some of Rossa’s men, and MacDermott (a reputed informer) got it from
them, and gave him away.” Previously to this I had met Egan in camp
gatherings, and knew that he was now an actual member of the American
Revolutionary organisation. It was, by-the-bye, at a camp meeting in
Philadelphia in this year that Egan, addressing some sixty members,
said, “I have been reading up the records of the Italian banditti,
and from them I have come to believe in this rule: Let us meet our
enemies with smiling faces, and with a warm grasp of the hand, having
daggers up our sleeves ready to stab them to the heart.” Strange
words these, and yet I thought when I heard of their being uttered
of the smiling face and warm hand clasp which had puzzled me not a
little on that first night when I met the speaker on the staircase of
a Parisian hotel.

The Convention of the secret organisation followed immediately after
that of the National League, but as I was not a delegate I had no
intimate connection with it. It was at this Convention, as I learnt
subsequently from Sullivan, that arrangements were made—few, if any,
Anti-Sullivanites were present—for the destruction of the records
of which I have already spoken, and which gave rise to so much
bitterness on the part of the Cronin faction.

The principal fact worthy of notice in connection with the secret
Convention of 1884 was the acknowledgment by the “Triangle” of
118,000 dollars as the sum received and expended for dynamite
purposes from the date of the holding of the Convention of 1881. No
vouchers or detailed statements were forthcoming, and their absence
was sought to be explained on the ground that it was inexpedient
to supply information in view of the risk and exposure of brave men
engaged in the enterprises. No detailed statement of the expenditure
of this vast sum has ever been made to this day.

As one result of this unsatisfactory condition of things, a circular
was drawn up by Cronin and his friends, making definite and formal
charges against the “Triangle” of stealing the funds of the
organisation. Cronin was very aggressive in giving currency to these
charges in the most offensive language, and the feeling against him
on the part of Sullivan’s adherents became extremely embittered. As
it grew in intensity it spread to more than Cronin, and soon the
followers of both men were ranged in hostile camps, fighting a wordy
war of the deadliest type. All attempts to heal the breach proved
fruitless, although much outside influence of an important character
was brought to bear upon the different parties concerned.




XLVII.


While the contest raged between the opposing factions, I was up
and doing, travelling about, and gaining as much information as I
possibly could. I made many trips to various points of the country,
and so was enabled to gauge pretty accurately the condition of
public feeling and the probabilities of the future. My pretexts for
all this travelling were admirably adapted to divert suspicion from
my real object. When a journey for my health’s sake was not possible,
I got appointed (through Irish political influence) to a seat on
the Mississippi Valley Sanitary Commission; and when no more work
was to be done under this cover, I connected myself with one of the
largest pharmaceutical houses in the States, and travelled as their
representative in whatever direction suited me. So successful was I
in combining business development with my secret work, that I had
great difficulty in resigning this latter connection, the proprietors
strongly urging my continuance in it, and only parting with me after
many fruitless attempts to change my decision. When at home I was of
course an ardent politician, and a volunteer on every committee in
the Democratic interest. So prominent was I in local politics, that
on one occasion I ran for election for the House of Representatives,
only being defeated by a majority of 128 votes on a poll of several
thousands. It was the cry of “The Fenian General” that lost me the
seat with the English voters.

I was frequently in communication with Egan through all this period,
for he made many trips to Chicago, both for business purposes—he
had now embarked in the grain trade—and with the object of
consulting with Alexander Sullivan, whose worthy _fidus Achates_ he
proved. It was as the result of one of my interviews with him that
I received the following passport to the faithful, which proved of
such service in the way of corroboration when I appeared before the
Special Commission:—

[Illustration: (Passport)]

  +----------------------------------------------------------+
  |                                                          |
  | Transcriber’s Note: the following is a transcription of  |
  | the handwritten text of this letter.                     |
  |                                                          |
  | Irish National League of America                         |
  | OFFICES OF PRESIDENT AND SECRETARY                       |
  |                                                          |
  |                         Lincoln, Neb., November 24 1885  |
  |                                                          |
  | It affords me great pleasure to introduce to all         |
  | friends of the Irish National League with whom he        |
  | may come in contact during his visit in the south my     |
  | esteemed friend Dr. H Le Caron of Chicago.               |
  |                                                          |
  | Dr. Le Caron although French by name and descent has     |
  | ever proved himself one of the most devoted friends of   |
  | the Irish National cause and since the formation of the  |
  | Land and National Leagues has been most indefatigable    |
  | in promoting the good of those organizations.            |
  |                                                          |
  |                                            Patrick Egan  |
  |                                            President     |
  +----------------------------------------------------------+

Alexander Sullivan meantime occupied himself very busily in purely
American politics, and for the purpose of making his position in this
regard the more favourable, he caused it to be understood that he had
withdrawn from the Clan-na-Gael. This, of course, was only a blind,
for as a matter of fact, for twelve months at least after he had so
announced his withdrawal, his name continued to appear on circulars
and documents. This, however, is immaterial. What is important to
note is that Sullivan warmly advocated the election of J. F. Blaine
to the Presidency, and that he in secret circles made much of the
fact that Blaine’s foreign policy would do all that the Clan-na-Gael
desired. Mr. Blaine paid a high tribute in the public prints to the
services rendered him by Sullivan.

The year 1886 saw the introduction of the Home Rule Bill by Mr.
Gladstone, and consequent inactivity on the part of the American
conspirators. I therefore had rather an easy time of it. Enthusiasm
ran pretty high, because it was thought that with Home Rule granted
the way to complete separation would be cleared in a wondrous degree,
and that at last we were in sight of the point for which all had
struggled and many had bled, “the making of Ireland a nation once
again.” Mr. Parnell now appeared to have a distinct claim upon Irish
American indulgence, and particular pains were taken to prevent
anything happening which might unfairly affect his position in any
way. So complaisant were “the men beyond the sea” in America, that
the open Convention called for January 1886 was postponed in order
that Mr. Parnell might be present. The gathering eventually took
place in the month of August 1886, but there was no Mr. Parnell, his
place being taken by no less than four of the leading Parnellites
from the English side—Messrs. Michael Davitt, John E. Redmond, M.P.,
John Deasy, M.P., and William O’Brien, M.P. As usual, the whole
proceedings were governed by the Sullivanite wing of the secret
organisation. I was myself a delegate, attended the secret caucuses
presided over by Patrick Egan, and assisted in developing affairs in
the interests of the conspirators.

The fact that Devoy, Cronin, and others were now in opposition was
an element of danger in connection with the satisfactory working of
the intrigue to “nobble” the open movement; but by a system of proxy
voting success was achieved, and the adherents of the Croninites
driven from the field. The way in which this was accomplished was
remarkable, and very suggestive of the position which Egan, the
ex-Land League official, and friend and adviser of Mr. Parnell,
held in the Revolutionary organisation. By a circular issued by
the “Triangle” on the eve of the Convention, it was ordered that
each Senior Guardian should secure proxies for all branches of the
National League in his vicinity unable to send delegates to the open
Convention, and immediately forward such proxies to Patrick Egan.
Here was a clear confession of the close connection between the two
movements—open and secret—existing in the person of the present
United States minister to Chili, the then President of the Irish
National League of America.




XLVIII.


I have already touched at several points on the Dynamite Campaign,
and I will now pause in my narrative for the purpose of dealing in
some detail with the incidents attending the development of the
plot to “blow up England.” Although there had been several attempts
made by O’Donovan Rossa’s adherents to damage public buildings,
notably the Mansion House, London, the barracks at Chester, the
police-station and the Town Hall at Liverpool in 1881 and 1882, the
Dynamite Campaign as organised by the Clan-na-Gael did not really
commence till the latter end of 1882, or rather the beginning of
1883. Indeed the attempts on the part of Rossa’s people were simply
gunpowder explosions, and had no connection with dynamite at all.
They were of a very miserable character, and quite in keeping with
O’Donovan Rossa’s reputation in the States. With him experience
proved that it was always, as the homely phrase has it, a case of
“great cry and little wool.”

To Dr. Gallaher, our friend of the professional appearance and
gold-headed cane, was intrusted the task of inaugurating the work
undertaken by the Revolutionary Directory of the Clan-na-Gael. At
the time he set out all was enthusiasm in the ranks of the Clan,
and great things were promised. In one secret circular the F.C. (or
governing body) had informed the members “that it had no delicacy
or sentimentality about how it would strike the enemy, or when or
where.... They meant war, they meant that war to be unsparing and
unceasing. They meant it to be effective. Their policy would be to
make assaults in all directions, so that the suffering, bitterness,
and desolation which followed active measures should be felt in every
place.”

Under the pretence of taking a voyage to Europe for his health’s
sake, Gallaher set out in the steamship _Alaska_ on the 15th October
1882, reaching Liverpool in good time, and from thence travelling to
Glasgow, in order, as he explained, to see some relatives. Glasgow,
by the way, has always had a prominent representative of the British
branch of the Fenians in residence there. From Glasgow he came on to
the London Wall Hotel, and here he remained for a month spying out
the land and making the preliminary arrangements for the work which
was to follow. His work finished, he took a trip to Dublin, where
at the Gresham Hotel he lived as befitted a man of his position.
From thence he proceeded to Donegal to visit more “relatives.” From
Donegal he eventually made his way to Queenstown, where in the
_Bosnia_ he took passage for home on the 10th December, having, as he
subsequently reported, made all necessary arrangements for commencing
his branch of the “active work.”

He was with Sullivan in Chicago in the following month, and here he
and I met and had many chats together. We were fellow-doctors, and we
“chummed” together in a fashion very agreeable to me. He soon wearied
me, however, for I found he could talk of nothing but dynamite, its
production, its effectiveness, and the great weapon it was soon to
prove against the British Government. He spent the next couple of
months in communication with the powers that were, and placed them in
full possession of all he had done and all he hoped to do. They took
an equally sanguine view of the possibilities of success, and no time
was lost in enlisting the first dynamite band which visited Europe.
By the middle of March there were eight men embarked on the dangerous
enterprise, Gallaher being the leader and paymaster; and at this date
the first of them set out for England in the Cunarder _Parthia_.
Every precaution was taken to avert suspicion, and so much care was
exercised that some travelled as steerage passengers, while the rest,
like Gallaher, journeyed in gentlemanly fashion. The band was made up
of Gallaher and his brother Bernard, Dowd, Wilson, O’Connor, Curtin,
Whitehead, and Norman, all being Clan-na-Gael men, though none save
the doctor held any important position in the organisation.

The first arrivals of this precious assembly of dynamitards reached
Liverpool on the 27th of March, and, of course, separated at
once. Gallaher went to the Charing Cross Hotel, which he made his
head-quarters. His men were quickly put to work, and in a very short
time a nitro-glycerine factory was established in Birmingham, under
the superintendence of Whitehead. From here large quantities of
liquid were conveyed to some few points in London in rubber bags and
rubber shooting-stockings. All the elaborate arrangements, however,
were destined to come to naught, for before any “active” work
could be done, thanks to the vigilance of the police in London and
Birmingham, Gallaher and his associates were arrested, and the whole
of the nitro-glycerine seized. The month of May 1883 saw the trial
and conviction of the leader and three of his associates, Whitehead,
Curtin, and Wilson, the case for the Crown being completed by the
testimony of Norman, _alias_ Lynch, who played the _rôle_ which
never lacks an exponent in the case of an Irish conspiracy—that
of informer. All of the unfortunate prisoners were sentenced to
penal servitude for life. An interesting feature in connection with
Gallaher’s arrest was the discovery on his person of no less a sum
than £1400.

What the actual designs of this dynamite band were, are not, and
probably never will be known. Quite sufficient for the public must
be the fact that so enormous was the quantity of nitro-glycerine
discovered that according to experts, it was quite equal to the
blowing up of every house and street in London, from one end to the
other. Pleasant discovery this for the ordinary British citizen who
laughs at dynamite and pooh-poohs the existence of any condition
of things calling for a more elaborate Secret Service. The arrest
and discomfiture of the Gallaher band had one very useful result.
It effectively put an end to all idea of manufacturing dynamite on
English soil. Unfortunately, however, it did not put an end to the
Dynamite Campaign. It simply affected the weapon, not those who were
prepared to employ it.

The next group of dynamitards who visited England included
Cunningham, Burton, Mackay Lomasney, Luke Dillon, and a man known as
Ryan of Philadelphia. These men did not all come at the same time,
but they worked together in harmony so far as it was possible. During
their visit to London explosions occurred in October 1883 on the
Underground Railway; in February 1884, at Victoria Station; in May
1884, at Scotland Yard; in December 1884, at London Bridge; and in
January 1885, at the House of Commons and the Tower. The dynamite
employed in these cases was all brought from America, secreted about
the persons of the conspirators, and of women who were sent over with
it, as well as by an employé of one of the steamers of the National
Steamship Line, who belonged to the organisation. The explosive was
generally made up in slabs of Atlas powder, obtained from, amongst
other sources, the Atlas Company and the Repauno Chemical Company of
Philadelphia.

Of the second group, only two men were brought to trial, Cunningham
and Burton; and these men, for the attempts on the House of Commons
and the Tower, were sentenced to penal servitude for life. The
remainder, with the exception of Lomasney, escaped to America.
Lomasney, in company with a man supposed to be named Fleming, met his
fate under London Bridge in his attempt to blow up that structure.
Luckily for the Londoners, the bridge escaped without any injury,
but Mackay and his companion apparently came to their end by the
discharge of the explosive, for they were never seen more.

There were two other men whose part in the Dynamite Campaign of this
period deserves mention. These were “Jack” Daly, as he was called,
and his confederate, J. F. Egan, who were tried and sentenced at
Warwick in 1884, the former to imprisonment for life, and the latter
to penal servitude for twenty years. Daly was perhaps the most daring
and desperate criminal of all, and his intended crime merits special
reference. This was the blowing up of the House of Commons while in
session, by the throwing of bombs on to the table in front of the
Speaker. So ardent was Daly in planning this foul enterprise that he
twice gained admission to the Strangers’ Gallery of the House. When
arrested, some of these bombs were found upon him, and examination
showed that one of them, if used, would have been quite sufficient
to send every stick and stone, to say nothing of the members of the
House of Commons themselves, heavenwards or thereabouts. Luckily,
this desperate man was arrested in time, for assuredly his character
was quite sufficient to warrant the belief that he would have carried
out his intention.[3]

Of all the schemes indulged in by the dynamite men, none seems to
have been more far-fetched than that of the theft of a certain stone
from within the walls of Westminster Abbey. This was the famous
“Stone of Scone,” which serves as the seat of the Coronation-chair
in the Abbey. To an outsider the possession of such a stone as this
seems of no importance whatever. Yet, ludicrous as it may appear, the
idea of securing it gave rise to great enthusiasm and led to a very
generous subscription with this object. According to the originators
of the scheme, this “Stone of Destiny” was really the property of
Ireland for a thousand years before Christ, and upon it were crowned
the Irish kings, for hundreds of years, on the sacred Hill of Tara.
Its restoration to the land of its original and only lawful owners,
it was contended, would inspire confidence in the course then being
pursued, and the people would be strengthened by the well-known
tradition “that so long as this stone remained in Ireland, so long
would she remain a united nation,” while its loss to the English
would work wonders. Elaborate preparations were made for carrying
out the scheme. Men were sent from America to work in conjunction
with certain Fenians in London, and it was decided that some of the
conspirators should secrete themselves in the Abbey, and at night
seize the police, remove the stone, and pass it out through a window
to others who would be in waiting outside to take it to a place of
safety. For months these men waited and waited, but the opportunity
never came, for one of the group gave the whole thing away to the
police, and the detectives who surrounded the sacred edifice made the
seizure impossible. In the end the three principals had to leave the
country for fear of arrest, and the whole affair ended in smoke—as
usual!

The close of the year 1885 brought the announcement of Mr.
Gladstone’s conversion to Home Rule, and the termination of the
Dynamite Campaign for the time being. How the political situation
was viewed at this period, can best be represented by the following
extracts from a secret circular of the Clan-na-Gael, or United
Brotherhood, issued two days before Christmas:—

  “The operations so far conducted have compelled the enemy to
  recognise the Constitutional party, and we are now in a fair way
  to reap the benefits and results of the heroic work of the members
  of the U.S. (United Brotherhood).... We expect to resume active
  operations after the present exigencies of the Constitutional
  party are passed. We have purposely and advisedly abstained from
  doing anything likely to embarrass them during the crisis of the
  elections. It is to be hoped that during these operations, members
  will abstain from making inquiries or discussing the subject in
  any manner, for we cannot say when we undertake to answer members,
  but that at the same time we are answering the inquiries of our
  enemy, furnishing important information, and giving important clues
  to detect and suppress our work. The mystery of an unknown power
  striking in the dark, always able to avoid detection, is far more
  terrible than the damage inflicted. We caution you, therefore,
  above all things, to be silent; but if compelled to speak, disavow
  all knowledge, or better still, mislead all inquirers. In the
  meantime, we wish to impress on you the necessity of mutual
  forbearance and faith.”

So, for the time, in deference to “the exigencies of the
Constitutional party,” the Dynamite Campaign was brought to a close,
leaving as its record little or no damage to the enemy, but no less
than twenty-five of the unfortunate instruments in prison, sixteen
undergoing life sentences, two, sentences of twenty years’ penal
servitude, and seven, sentences of seven years each. Of course, some
of these prisoners are not men from the American side. In many cases
those coming from America picked up colleagues in England, and,
unfortunately for these latter, the knowledge which the local police
possessed proved disastrous to them.




XLIX.


The secret convention of the Revolutionary organisation—or rather,
of the principal section which had remained faithful to Sullivan—met
in due course, in August 1886, but as I was not a delegate, I had
no personal knowledge of what took place. The spirit of the time,
however, was very fairly reflected in some circulars, issued prior
to its assembly, from which I take the following extracts:—

  “The indications all point to the conclusion that the measure of
  Home Rule offered will be emasculated and pared down in such a way
  as to make it unacceptable to those for whom it is intended. We
  are now preparing for those contingencies, and the estimates for
  the cost of making a rigorous campaign with ‘delusion’ (dynamite)
  will absorb more funds than are at present available from the
  prescribed percentage. The Executive, therefore, in order to meet
  the great outlay necessary at this crisis, take this occasion to
  request that, in addition to the usual percentage, each camp at
  once, by a vote of the camp, send on such additional funds as they
  may deem proper.... It is suggested that in voting this fund it be
  credited in forwarding it entirely to ‘delusion’ (dynamite). In the
  meantime, in the next few months, important operations are likely
  to take place; you are cautioned to use every device to mislead
  those engaged in tracing our operations.”

And again:—

  “We have some members who are opposed to the active operations of
  the last few years, and who, therefore, favour a more enlarged
  representation. It would seem to us that the operations objected to
  are fully vindicated by the concessions wrung thereby from England.
  However, we offer no suggestions as to what line of policy you
  may see fit to pursue. It will be the business of your Convention
  to frame that policy, and the business of the Executive Body to
  execute them without regard to individual opinions....

  “The silent secret warfare has been productive of results. It would
  be well, therefore, to instruct your delegates as to your wishes on
  those points fully and clearly. Having instructed your delegates
  which of these policies you wish to pursue, the details will not be
  difficult. It would be well, therefore, to put your instructions
  to your delegates in one of the following general terms, with such
  alterations as you deem proper:—

  “Viz., ‘Our delegate is instructed to favour an active secret
  policy, similar to recent operations;’ or, in the alternative of
  favouring a return to open insurrectionary operations, as follows:—

  “Viz., ‘Our delegate is instructed to favour the planting of
  ploughs (distribution of arms) and an open insurrectionary
  movement.’

  “There can then be no insinuations of misrepresentation, and
  whatever policy is adopted will have the overwhelming support of
  the organisation at its back. It will be well, also, to embody such
  changes as are desirable in the constitution in your instructions.
  It is to be hoped that, in the short time intervening between this
  and the Convention, you will fully, wisely, and carefully consider
  the policy of the future, and the character, intelligence, and
  experience of your delegates....

  “The active operations of the U.S. (United Brotherhood) have
  brought about the probable granting of Home Rule. It is desirable
  that delegates to the National Convention shall be fully informed
  of your desire to follow up these operations on the same lines, or
  whether you desire to fall back on the old work of putting ploughs
  in. The latter course does not seem to us fruitful of results
  or practical. The former policy has been vindicated by great
  destruction with little loss to us. It is for the Convention to
  decide, however, what the future policy shall be.”

From the official report of the secret Convention which reached me
subsequently, I learnt that the votes in favour of dynamite had been
in the majority, for the policy of the late Executive had been
endorsed, and the new Executive given a free hand for the future.
What, however, was perhaps the most important proceeding of all
at this Convention of the Revolutionists, was the passing of the
following resolution:—

  “Resolved:—That we maintain the same relations in the future to
  open societies, working for the same purpose as ourselves, that we
  have in the past.”

If further proof were wanted beyond that already given of the
“understanding” which existed between the open and secret
organisations, it could not be supplied in a more emphatic manner
than this.

Although the Executive were given full power to act as they thought
best, it was apparently considered undesirable to do anything during
the latter part of 1886, and so nothing of importance came to pass
up to the month of April 1887, when I made another trip to Europe,
without, however, any letters or credentials on this occasion. My
visit was, nevertheless, not of an uneventful character. I visited
the House of Commons more than once, and in the social intercourse
which took place between myself and some of the Irish M.P.’s, learnt
many facts of an interesting character. It was during this visit that
I set myself to find out some particulars regarding Dr. James G.
Fox, M.P. I was rather curious about this gentleman, who now failed
to recognise me in the House of Commons lobby, although we had met
on more than one occasion at Land League Conventions in the States,
where we had been brother delegates. His associations, his position
as State Executive for the League in New York, and his well-known
National proclivities as evinced during his fifteen years’ residence
at Troy and elsewhere in the States, all made me anxious to know
something of the man in his new position of M.P., and of how his
thoughts now inclined.

I learnt casually that he was in the habit of frequenting Gatti’s
Restaurant in the Adelaide Gallery, Strand, and there I determined
to renew my acquaintance with him. The opportunity for doing so was
not long wanting, for on an early day I found myself seated at the
same table with him, where he was deeply engaged in perusing the
_Irish World_. Making this fact an excuse for opening a conversation
with him, I asked, in an interested way, if I could obtain copies
of the paper he was reading at any place in London. I spoke with
a marked American accent, and my appearance did not belie the
suggestion I wished to convey as regards my nationality. He replied
that he thought not, explaining that he received it regularly from
the other side, asking me in conclusion if I was interested in the
publication. I replied in the affirmative, and then followed his
query as to whether I was not from the United States. To this I made
answer by producing my card, whereupon he looked intently at me as he
remarked, “Why, I ought to know you; I have met you in conventions.
My name is Fox.” The information was rather unnecessary as far as I
was concerned, but, maintaining a quiet face, I thought for a moment,
and in the end confessed to a recollection of him. We were soon on
familiar terms, and discussed American matters with great freedom.

There was one fact that I wanted particularly to discover, and that
was whether or not Fox was a member of the Clan-na-Gael. I had had
no opportunity of learning this at the open conventions at which we
had previously met, but yet my view very strongly inclined to the
belief that he was. In the course of our conversation, therefore,
I took occasion to give him the “hailing sign,” but he did not
return it, merely remarking significantly that he was not a member
of any secret society, a remark which, taken in connection with my
sign, tickled me not a little. I never ascertained the truth of the
matter, but I remembered the circumstance when, in June 1888, at
the Clan Convention in Chicago, a burly delegate near me mounted his
chair, announced himself from Troy—where Fox had lived—and in a
loud voice demanded recognition by the chair. On this being accorded
him, he said, holding up the _Times_ pamphlet, “Behind the Scenes
in America,” that he held in his hand a little book which had been
sent to him by a Member of Parliament who was a member of his camp.
This book was being sold by the thousand at the price of one penny,
and the information it contained could only have been supplied by
a traitor high up in the ranks of the organisation. He moved for a
committee to inquire into the matter. This committee was appointed,
but their inquiry ended in smoke, the “traitor,” as I was termed,
having another narrow escape.

While in England on this trip, the authorities learned of the
presence of General Millen in Paris, and to Paris I was despatched,
in order to find out if possible what Millen was doing. I found “le
brave Général” of the Clan-na-Gael very comfortably settled in the
_Hôtel des Anglais_ in the Cour de la Reine, accompanied by his wife
and two interesting daughters. I called upon him, representing that I
had heard of his being in Paris through the _Herald_ office, and was
anxious as an old friend to say “how do you do.” I did not, however,
gain very much by my visit, for the simple reason that at this time
Millen had not, as far as I believe, any close connection with the
dynamite business known as the Jubilee Plot, with which his name was
subsequently associated. At this point his business in Europe had to
do with the bringing about of a reconciliation between the British
and the American branches of the Revolutionary organisation.

The fact was, that for two or three years previously the relations
between the two sections of the conspirators had been of a very
strained character. Sullivan, finding that the home organisation was
not in favour of dynamite, when the campaign was started, had argued
that they should not have any more money to spend on organisation
and arms, which, for all that was known to the contrary, were simply
rusting away in Ireland; and, accordingly, supplies were stopped,
and the home Fenians were not notified of the last couple of
conventions, with the result that no envoys from Great Britain and
Ireland attended. This led to a very bitter feeling in Ireland, and
the contention was strongly urged that the conduct of the American
Executive was distinctly _ultra vires_. Now, when dissensions raged
in America, Sullivan, long-headed as usual, sought to strengthen his
section by the allegiance of the home organisation; and accordingly,
Millen was despatched to Europe to bring about a more satisfactory
condition of affairs. His mission, in this regard at least, was
unsuccessful.

As for Millen’s connection with the Jubilee explosion, I know very
little. The whole undertaking was shrouded in mystery, but it is
pretty certain that it was not a Clan-na-Gael affair alone. The
best description that could be given of it would be that it was in
its inception a Rossa undertaking financed by the Clan-na-Gael.
For political reasons the secret organisation could not openly
ally themselves with dynamite for the moment, because tactical
considerations dictated the giving of a free and untrammelled hand
to Mr. Parnell to hoodwink Mr. Gladstone and his supporters. As,
however, the circulars I quoted a few pages back showed, dynamite was
not by any means thrust aside; so, in order to keep a fair front to
the open movement, and yet a satisfactory stand in the eyes of the
fiery rank and file, Rossa was temporarily taken into the good graces
of the Executive, and some of his adherents despatched with funds
from the secret organisation to kick up a row in England. Millen,
at the time I saw him, was not in the plot, which at that moment
indeed had not been hatched; but on his return to America he fell in
with the scheme and returned to Europe to work it out. His bungling,
however, led to his being superseded by John J. Moroney, a tried and
trusted friend of Alexander Sullivan, who was despatched to London
with a large amount of money and distinct orders to show some value
for it. What happened is a matter of too recent history to need
recapitulation here. The introduction of Moroney and his colleagues
to the House of Commons by Mr. Joseph Nolan, M.P., and the facts
associated with the working of the conspiracy, are of too late a date
to be forgotten so soon.[4]

I returned to the States in October, only to remain a couple of
months there, and to come back again to Europe at the end of the
year. This time my visit was of a purely private character, and
the sluggishness of affairs allowed of my having a complete rest
from all sorts of investigations and interviews. I came to Europe
in connection with a business speculation which promised highly
satisfactory returns, and I was successful in laying the foundation
for a very encouraging enterprise. Unfortunately for me, however,
I was not to reap the fruits of my work. As a consequence of my
appearance in the witness-box, I was prevented from returning to
the States at the time when the profits were accruing, and so had to
undergo the loss of this as well as many other sources of income.




L.


The following year—1888—was my last in America, and ere its close
I left for the purpose of attending the dying bedside of my father.
I left for England in December with the full purpose of returning
in a month, but as matters turned out I really left my home for the
last time. I had written twice to Mr. Anderson, offering my services
in connection with the Special Commission, but nothing had come
of my proposal, and I had no idea that anything would happen in
connection with the matter. My idea was, as I have explained, that
the Government were really prosecuting the Parnellite party, and I
could not understand how all the information which I knew them to be
possessed of was not appearing. The charges and allegations had made
a great stir in America, and the disclosure of the whole working of
the Clan-na-Gael in the “Behind the Scenes” articles had created such
a sensation as seemed to me to make a full disclosure imperative,
so that the American public might have accurate and complete data
for arriving at a proper conclusion regarding the foul conspiracy
existing in their midst.

I must not, however, travel too fast; and so shall have to go back
a little, in order to complete the story of the Cronin-Sullivan
dispute, which, in a way, came to a conclusion in the year of which
I write. As I have already stated, the history of the Cronin affair
while it lasted was the history of the Clan-na-Gael for the time
being, and thus in completing my statement of it I shall be bringing
the record of revolutionary matters down to the date at which they
and I parted. To return, therefore, to the Cronin matter, which I
left at the point in 1886 where appeals from outside quarters failed
to heal the breach. As a last resort, a conference was arranged
in September 1887 between committees from each organisation, the
Sullivan section and the Cronin section; and a final effort was made
to settle the differences. Cronin was one of the committee from his
section, but he did not help the settlement. The conference continued
up to April 1888, when a basis of union was arrived at. The rock
upon which the disputants invariably split was the demand made by
the Cronin section for the appointment of a committee to try their
charges of misappropriation against the Executive, and the expulsion
of the Executive from the organisation if found guilty. In the end,
this was conceded; and a united Convention was called in June 1888,
which, meeting first in Maddison Street Theatre, was eventually
moved to Green Baum, in consequence of the allegation that British
detectives had gained admission to the former place of meeting.

Here was pandemonium let loose for eight days, during which the
Convention sat morning, noon, and night. I was a member of this
assembly, and I never heard such a row in my life. The Sullivanites
had it all their own way at first; but the seceders, with Cronin
at their head, threatened to “bolt” if they did not get fair play;
and they appealed to the patriotism of their countrymen to give
them a chance. They were, accordingly, given a representation on
all committees, but were always in a minority. Cronin perhaps took
as prominent a part in the Convention as any man, and his conduct
naturally incurred the enmity, and eventually the vengeance, of his
opponents. He and Devoy submitted formal charges of fraud, &c.,
against Sullivan’s executive.[5] Strong language was used, but
Sullivan’s friends defended him warmly. Finally a Trial Committee
was appointed to try the parties charged. Cronin, strange to say, was
a member of this Trial Committee, though he was one of the persons
making the charges. There was a terrible scene when his appointment
was made known, but the Convention had to put up with him in the end.

All the Trial Committee were sworn by the oath in the ritual to
truly and justly try the charges submitted to them. The committee
consisted of seven members, and as subsequent events showed, four of
them were Sullivan’s friends. They met in November 1888. Previous to
this, however, Cronin had been playing a very objectionable part.
He spoke against the accused whenever occasion offered, wrote to
the papers in accusation of them, and in no way showed himself the
unbiassed person he had sworn himself to be. Sullivan naturally felt
very bitter over all this, and he fell out with a number of friends
who sided with Cronin in the claim for full investigation. When the
trial came on, it was found that all the vouchers, papers, and indeed
every evidence of expenditure, had been destroyed, in accordance with
the resolution which had been adopted at the Boston Convention. This
increased the uproar, and after two weeks of inquiry the majority,
consisting of Sullivan’s friends, expressed themselves satisfied
with the statements made by the accused; while the minority could
only admit the proper expenditure of 33,000 dollars, which left a
deficiency of 85,000 dollars, or £17,000. The result of the trial
was that Michael Boland was convicted of misappropriation; Sullivan
was acquitted, but censured for the loose way in which the Executive
had done its business, and D. C. Feeley was likewise acquitted but
censured. The details of this finding were given me, by the way, by
Sullivan.

At the time I left for Europe, the Trial Committee had adjourned, and
Cronin was back in Chicago. The Executive had refused to sustain the
action of the Trial Committee by a majority of one, and there the
affair stood. But Cronin would not let well enough alone. He had
been talking very plainly, and denouncing Sullivan right and left. I
figured in this trial by furnishing Sullivan with affidavits for his
defence. Cronin afterwards charged Sullivan with getting me admitted
into the organisation, and with putting me into a position of trust.
This did not help matters, and altogether Cronin proved himself to be
a very dangerous man in the eyes of Sullivan. Doubtless he possessed
much information, the publication of which would damn Sullivan for
ever. What followed is a matter of recent inquiry. Cronin was foully
murdered, and Sullivan, with others, was charged with participation
in the crime. Sullivan was released, but three men, well-known
members of the Clan, were convicted, and sentenced to penal servitude
for life.[6] The inquiry was fruitful in many ways, and brought to
light a vast amount of corroboration of the most important portions
of my testimony. There were, however, no two more sensational
incidents than those produced by the report issued by Cronin after
the Trial Committee had dissolved, and the positive proof now
supplied for the first time of the statement frequently made, that
Sullivan had in May 1882 received in his position as chief of the
Clan-na-Gael a sum of £20,000 from Patrick Egan, then Treasurer of
the Land League in Paris.

The report issued by Cronin stated amongst other things—

  “That the Trial Committee appointed at Chicago was unable to elicit
  all the facts connected with the charges placed before it, because
  of the refusal of several of the witnesses to answer many of the
  questions asked, and because of the inability of others to remember
  events and figures that might be supposed to be indelibly impressed
  on their memories. From the evidence presented, I am obliged to
  report—

  “That the family of one who lost his life in the service of this
  order was scandalously and shamefully neglected, and continued to
  be neglected for two years after their destitute condition was
  known, and that Alexander Sullivan, Michael Boland, and D. C.
  Feeley are responsible and censurable for that neglect.

       *       *       *       *       *

  “That the defendants, Sullivan, Boland, and Feeley, issued a
  deceptive report to the Boston Convention, leading the order
  to believe that its affairs had been examined by independent
  committees, and that the order was $13,000 in debt; that, in fact,
  Alexander Sullivan and Michael Boland were on the Committee of
  Foreign Affairs, and the Treasurer states that there was a balance
  in the treasury, and not a debt.

  “That, prior to the Boston Convention, one hundred and eleven
  thousand ($111,000) dollars was expended without any direct or
  indirect benefit to the order, and most of it in a manner that
  could not in any way have benefited the order, and that the same
  three defendants are censurable and responsible for this enormous
  and wasteful expenditure.

       *       *       *       *       *

  “That the $80,491 reported to the district Convention as having
  been spent in active work was not spent for any such work, no such
  work having been done or contemplated during the eleven months
  within which this large amount was drawn from the treasury. The
  active work done between the Boston and district Conventions was
  paid for out of the surplus held by the agent of the “Triangle” at
  the time of the Boston Convention, and not out of the $87,491 drawn
  from the treasury months after such active work had ceased.”

[Illustration: (Check for $30,000)]

I give these extracts in order to show the reader how matters stood
between Sullivan and Cronin on the eve of the latter’s murder. Into
the details of the £20,000 transaction I need not enter, beyond
stating the fact that banking officials were called to prove by their
books that on May 15, 1882, Sullivan cashed, through Monroe and
Co. of Paris, two cheques amounting to the sum I name. This, I may
state, was about the date when Sullivan, in response to Mr. Parnell’s
request, crossed to Paris in order to settle the difficulty with the
Revolutionary body on the British side. As the following extracts
will show, the matter had been one around which a great deal of
controversy had raged for many years:—

  “The O’Donovan Rossa resents Mr. Patrick Egan’s imputation against
  his character for truth and veracity. The O’Donovan, when in this
  city a few days ago, intimated to a _Chicago Tribune_ reporter that
  Mr. Patrick Egan, while Parnell, Dillon, Davitt, and other members
  of the Executive of the Land League were in jail in Ireland, was
  visited in Paris by Revolutionary Irish patriots from this country,
  who induced him to give 100,000 dollars of the money contributed
  to Land League purposes to them for revolutionary purposes, _i.e._
  making war on the British Empire with dynamite and such things.
  Mr. Egan having seen or heard of O’Donovan’s statement, denied
  that there was a particle of truth in it, and sent the _Tribune_
  a telegram to that effect from Denver. Now comes O’Donovan with a
  rejoinder. We have received from him the following telegram:—


                       “‘_Editor of the “Tribune.”_

    “‘Mr. Patrick Egan denies my statement. I say my statements are
    more worthy of belief than Patrick Egan’s. I stated in Chicago
    that money sent from America to support the no-rent movement in
    Ireland was followed over by some parties who got 100,000 dollars
    of it; that it was not used for any such work in Ireland, and
    that Patrick Egan knows all about it. I repeat my assertion. Will
    Patrick Egan meet me in the presence of John Finerty and Denis
    O’Connor of Chicago, or in the presence of Patrick Ford and Major
    Horgan of New York, both answering all questions under oath?

                                             “‘O’DONOVAN ROSSA,
                                       “‘_Editor_ “_United Irishman_.”

    “‘NEW YORK, _July 15, 1883_.’”




LII.


Long before these final developments, however, I had sailed for
England, and severed for all time my connection with Irish politics
in the United States. I had come, as explained, to my father’s
dying bedside. Unfortunately for me, I was not in time to find him
conscious, and did not reach the house where he lay till the day on
which he died. When the sad offices connected with his death had
been fulfilled, I turned my thoughts again to home, and set about
preparing for another voyage to the States. Everything had been
completed for my departure, when I suddenly learned from Mr. Anderson
that the _Times_ had approached him with a view of obtaining a
witness regarding the American side of the conspiracy. Before this
point was reached, I had chatted over my proposal of going into the
witness-box with Mr. Anderson, but he had very frankly told me that
he had no intention of giving up such a useful informant of his own
initiative; and as he had no connection with the _Times_ case, he did
not think it likely that any approach would be made to him on the
subject.

Matters, however, turned out differently to what he expected, and on
the eve of my departure for America I learned that my services might,
after all, be utilised, and my desire to drive the truth home given
full play. To be effective, however, my coming appearance should be
kept a profound secret, and so I appealed to Mr. Anderson to make
such arrangements as would allow of this being the case. As a result,
I was informed a little later that the _Times_ people had arranged
that Mr. Houston should be the person with whom I should deal, and
that to him alone should I be known pending my appearance in the
witness-box. This was the first mention I had ever heard of Mr.
Houston, and it was with no little curiosity I made my way to No. 3
Cork Street in search of the gentleman to whom I bore a single line
of introduction. I remember well how, when I was first ushered into
his now familiar room by his faithful “Rogers,” I gazed suspiciously
at the tall youthful figure which met my view. As Mr. Houston took my
letter of introduction from me and carelessly opened it, answering
my suspicious glance with a slight smile hovering about his face, I
could not help the remark, “Sir, you are a much younger man than I
was led to believe I would meet.” The smile broadened into a laugh as
the reply came back, “I am sorry, but I cannot help being young, you
know. However, I am Mr. Houston.” And so we two people met for the
first time.

I informed Mr. Houston that it was always an understood thing on
my part that my letters to Mr. Anderson were private property,
and that whenever I liked to ask for them they would be at my
disposal. Accordingly I had, on learning that my evidence would be
accepted, requested that Mr. Anderson should allow me to go over
all my documents and select such as appeared necessary for the
corroboration of my statements, as well as for the assisting of my
memory. To this he had assented, excluding any of the papers which he
had made official by passing them on at the time of their receipt.
It was then arranged between Mr. Houston and myself that I should
get the documents from Mr. Anderson, and go to work at once in the
preparation of my evidence. Much to my disappointment, I learnt there
was not time for me to make a last hurried trip home, and that if
I was to carry out my intention of testifying I should have to be
content with the many losses which would result from my stopping
in England. One thing, however, I stipulated for, and that was the
bringing over of all my family to England before I appeared in the
box. I was willing to let all my private affairs go to ruin by my
non-return; but I was not prepared to leave my wife and family to
bear the brunt of the popular ill-will which would result from what
was to follow.

One of the first things I did, therefore, was to cable for my wife
and children; and having eased my mind on this score, I went to work
with a will in the preparation of my evidence. For ten long working
days, Mr. Houston and I waded through the hundreds of letters and
Clan-na-Gael documents I had now at my disposal, he taking notes as
he went along, and I dictating many items brought to my recollection
by the letters I was perusing. We worked in this way from ten to six
o’clock each day, undisturbed by visitors of any kind; and when I
left him, Mr. Houston, with the assistance of his clerks, worked far
into the night, copying the circulars, and transcribing the notes
which remained at the end of our day’s work.

On Tuesday morning, the 5th of February 1889, the curtain was
rung up, and throwing aside the mask for ever, I stepped into the
witness-box and came out in my true colours, as an Englishman, proud
of his country, and in no sense ashamed of his record in her service.
On what followed I need not dwell. While I was under examination,
my old employer, Mr. William Baber of Colchester, was brought into
court by the well-known detective Meiklejohn, in order that he might
identify me. Nothing, of course, came of the incident; but as I once
more saw Mr. Baber, I thought to myself how little he knew of the
part I had played at his father’s death-bed. It was in 1884 that I
was hurriedly called one day to see a patient who was said to be
dying. I found him an old man of eighty, surrounded by his family
and friends. In a few minutes he was dead; and finding that all round
about me were strangers to the grim monster, I performed the last
offices for the body. As I was so employed, the poor people related
to me their history, and then I learned to my surprise that the man
whose eyes I was now closing in death was none other than the father
of my former employer at Colchester, who had emigrated to America
some few years previously.

Great as was the sensation produced by my strange and weird but
true story, it was as nothing compared to that brought about by the
perfect corroboration afforded by the assassination of poor Cronin,
of whom I have said so much. Little did I think, when day after day I
stood in the witness-box to tell my tale, and morning after morning
read the scoffing references of those who believed it not, that in a
little while the blood of a murdered Gael would cry out in judgment
against those of whom I spoke, and that in the outcome truth would
prevail, and the black foul conspiracy be dragged into the open
light. Yet so it was; and to-day there are none who question the
existence of the murderous alliance to which I testified, and of men
within its ranks prepared to obey its leaders, even unto the shedding
of blood.




LIII.


I have told my story, and little more remains to be done. Yet I
cannot lay down my pen without rendering some little tribute to one
whose care and caution on my behalf I can never repay. I refer to
Mr. Anderson. For twenty-one years I served under this gentleman
in the Secret Service, and no greater honour can I pay him than to
say that during all this time I was never discovered. Only those
who have played my part can fully appreciate what this means. Not
always careful, not always guarded enough in the rattle and bustle
of my life, there were times when, had it not been for my chief’s
watchfulness, discovery might have overtaken me. But he never
wavered or grew lax in his care. He proved indeed to me, not the
ordinary official superior, but a kind trusty friend and adviser,
ever watchful in my interests, ever sympathising with my dangers
and difficulties. To him, and to him alone, was I known as a Secret
Service agent during the whole of the twenty-one years of which I
speak. Therein lay the secret of my safety. If others less worthy of
the trust than he had been charged with the knowledge of my identity,
then I fear I should not be here to-day on English soil quietly
penning these lines.

If my identity remained undiscovered, it was not for want of attempts
on the part of colleagues of Mr. Anderson to find it out. It was but
natural, of course, that those associated with my chief should seek
to penetrate his reserve regarding such a voluminous correspondent as
myself, and to gain, at first hand, possession of the many important
pieces of information which he alone appeared to be able to supply.
All attempts, however, in this direction, and they were many, proved
fruitless. So determined was a certain public official at one time
to discover my identity, that having in some way got hold of my
Christian name, Thomas—I always wrote in the name of Beach to Mr.
Anderson—and assuming it to be my surname, he despatched a detective
to Chicago to discover the man called Thomas in the organisation
there. Of course there was no chance of getting at me in this way,
but, nevertheless, I was warned in time, and left no possible
loophole for discovery. Imagine, dear reader, the weakness of such
a policy as this, which would commit the safety of an important
informant to the irresponsible knowledge of an ordinary detective!

When this attempt failed, communications were sought to be opened
up with me by the same official through Sir John Rose and Judge
M‘Micken, with whom I had acted at the time of the Fenian raid
of 1870. So strong, indeed, was the pressure brought upon Judge
M‘Micken, that the old gentleman travelled specially to Chicago to
see me on the point. However, I would have none of it. I was quite
contented, and too well assured of my safety as I was; and so, much
to my own satisfaction, I was left undisturbed in Mr. Anderson’s
charge.

There was only one thing about which he had frequently to remonstrate
with me, and that was my expenditure. Many a lecture did I receive
from him on the subject of money spending. It was not, of course, his
fault, but rather that of the system. Indeed, so kind and friendly
was he that he at times advanced me money for which he himself had
to wait for repayment for some time, if indeed he ever got all of it
back, which I very much doubt. Of course I could not help spending
the money. I tried to be as sparing as possible, and, whenever I
could, debited my expenses to those other undertakings which I
allied with my Secret Service work. But it was not always possible
to pursue such an economic course, and in very many instances where
Mr. Anderson could not pay, I had to pay myself. I occupied a certain
position; I had to live up to that position. The expenditure of money
amongst the Irish patriotic class was an absolute necessity for my
purpose, and consequently I could never put any money by, but rather
lived up to, if not, indeed, at times beyond every penny of my income.

On this question of Secret Service money I could say much. The
miserable pittance doled out for the purpose of fighting such an
enemy as the Clan-na-Gael becomes perfectly ludicrous in the light
of such facts as I have quoted in connection with the monetary side
of the Dynamite Campaign. Gallaher, as I have said, had no less
than £1400 on his person when arrested in 1883; while, coming down
to a later date, Moroney, when despatched from New York in 1887,
in connection with the second stage of the Jubilee explosion plot,
carried with him some £1200. How on earth can the English police and
their assistants in the Secret Service hope to grapple with such
heavily financed plots as this, on the miserable sums granted by
Parliament for the purpose? There are, I believe, some thirty men
charged with the special duty of circumventing political crime in
London. All praise and honour to them for the work they have done,
and the sincerest of congratulations to Chief-Inspector Littlechild,
who so ably conducted the arrests of all the principals of the
latter-day dynamite plots. But these policemen have succeeded more by
chance than anything else; events have played into their hands, and,
clever men that they are, they have been sufficiently capable to take
advantage of the little that came to their knowledge, and from small
clues to work out great things.

Some day, however, a big thing will happen, about which there will be
no leakage beforehand, and then the affrighted and indignant British
citizen will turn on his faithful band of thirty and rant and rave at
them for their want of capacity and performance. The fault will be
the want of a perfect system of Secret Service, properly financed.
If plots are to be discovered in time—and already there are some
whisperings of coming danger—they can only be discovered through
information coming from those associated with them. As I have shown,
the men engaged in them are very highly paid. If it is to be made
worth their while to speak, then the price offered by the British
Government must be higher than that of the other paymasters. There is
no use in thinking that mere tools like Callan and Harkins—the men
now in prison in connection with the Jubilee Explosion Plot—would
be of any service. These men know nothing. It is the Millens and the
Moroneys of the conspiracy who should be in Government pay, and they
have no mean price. Imagine offering either of these men a retainer
of £20 a month with a very odd cheque for expenses thrown in! The
idea is ridiculous. I have heard it urged that the thought of Secret
Service is repugnant to the British heart, wherein are instilled
the purest principles of freedom. The argument has sounded strange
in my ears when I remembered that London, as somebody has said, is
the cesspool of Europe, the shelter of the worst ruffians of every
country and clime. America is called the Land of the Free, but she
could give England points in the working of the Secret Service, for
there there is no stinting of men or money.




LIV.


This, then, is my story; and in it must be found the justification,
if such be needed, for the part I have played. I have no apology to
make for my twenty and odd years’ work in the Secret Service. I took
up that work from a conscientious motive, and in a conscientious
spirit I pursued it to the end. I have in no sense been an informer,
as the phrase is understood. I allied myself with Fenianism in order
to defeat it; I never turned from feelings of greed or gain on the
men with whom I at first worked in sympathy. I never had any sympathy
with Irish Revolutionists. Quite the opposite. Nor have I been an
_agent provocateur_. Although I always voted for politic reasons
on the side of the majority, even to the joining in the vote which
meant dynamite, on no single occasion was I instrumental in bringing
an individual to the commission of crime. True, I had to take many
oaths. But what of that? By the taking of them I have saved many
lives. Which counts the weightiest in the balance of life? And who is
it that sneers at me for my conduct in this regard? An honest man’s
criticism I can accept; but for the judgment of these double-oathed
gentlemen who, having first taken the Fenian oath, then rushed to
Westminster to swear allegiance to the Crown and Constitution they
had aforetime sworn to destroy, I have nothing but contempt and
derision. Away with such rubbish and cant as they indulge in to the
regions where common-sense finds no place.

I said I have saved lives by my action as a Government agent. I hope
I shall have done more by my appearance in the witness-box. To me
no more satisfactory result could attend my disclosures than the
realisation by the poor deluded Irish in the States of the way in
which they have been tricked and humbugged in the past years. For
these poor weak people, animated by the purest, if the most mistaken
of patriotic motives, who give their little all in the hope and trust
that the day will come in their lives when Ireland will be a land
flowing with milk and honey, I have the deepest and the most sincere
sympathy. To know these people, to come into contact with them,
and to discuss with them the eternal subject of Irish nationality,
is to respect their honesty of purpose, no matter how much we feel
called upon to condemn their methods of procedure. But, for the
blatant loud-voiced agitator, always bellowing forth his patriotic
principles, while secretly filling his pockets with the bribe or the
consequences of his theft, there can be no other feeling but that of
undisguised loathing.

I speak of what I know from personal experience, when I say there
is no greater fraud in this nineteenth century of ours than the
modern Irish patriotic agitator in America. Gold is his god, his
patriotic principles—save the mark!—his breviary and his beads,
holding aloft which he stands at the corner of the market-place so
that he may be seen of all men, and paid tribute to by some. By
jobbery, trickery, treachery, and delusion of the meanest and most
despicable type he works his way along, rising higher and higher in
the ranks of his fellow-conspirators, till at last, in the position
of responsibility and power, he sells the votes he can command, and
pockets the funds over which he has control. Brave and blustering
in speech, he advocates, in the safety of his American city, three
thousand miles from the seat of danger, the most desperate of
enterprises; and without the slightest pang of compunction or twinge
of conscience he rushes his poor dupes across the water to their fate
on the scaffold or the living death of penal servitude; while his
lips unctuously mumble of the righteousness of their beloved cause,
and his whisky-laden breath blasphemously calls for the blessings of
Heaven upon the foul enterprise.

It has been in fighting such scoundrels as these that I have spent
the last quarter of a century. From them I would fain deliver their
poor dupes ere I completely efface myself from Irish affairs. I
have no stronger, no sincerer wish than to see an end put once
for all to the delusion which is practised upon thousands of poor
Irishmen throughout the States by the men of whom I have written.
With the rank and file it has assuredly been a case of “theirs not
to reason why, theirs but to do and die.” I hope it may not be so
in the future. I trust that what I have penned, and what the sad
murder of Cronin has writ large upon the page of history, may not be
without its effect; and that to-day men may pause ere they continue
in such a way as I have pictured, the mere tools of an unscrupulous
faction, the miserable dupes of a reckless and improvident executive.
Gallahers, Dalys, and Mackay Lomasneys there always will be—men
inspired with fanatical hatred of all things English, and ready at
all times to risk freedom and life in working out their designs; but,
apart from them, there are thousands whose criminality reaches no
further point than the paying of those subscriptions so frequently
and so persistently demanded.

With such men I hope these words of mine will have weight; and
if, awakening to a true sense of their situation, and realising
that their combination and support help not Ireland but Ireland’s
professional mendicants, they turn to a better path, and a clearer
and more honest view of Irish matters as they really are, then shall
I feel that I have not struggled or written in vain.




APPENDIX.




I.

THE STORY OF THE JUBILEE PLOT.


Fully two months before the celebration of the Queen’s Jubilee in
London, reliable intelligence reached the Scotland Yard authorities
that a gang of skilful and unscrupulous conspirators in America were
devising a plan for carrying out acts of murder and destruction in
London. The names of the principal persons engaged for this purpose
were known to the police, and the individuals were closely watched
even during their voyage across the Atlantic. The headquarters of
the organisation were established in Paris, and both there and in
Boulogne their movements were under strict observation. The direction
of the conspiracy rested with General Millen, a well-known Fenian
agent, who, finding the police espionage unbearable, had latterly
kept out of England. Had he returned, he would have been immediately
arrested. Last Saturday he left Amsterdam for New York, being watched
by English detectives down to the time of the vessel sailing. After
the Jubilee celebration, some of the gang crossed the Channel and
came to London, their plans previous to the Jubilee celebration
having been disconcerted. The most prominent of the arrivals in
London was the man Melville, said to be the shrewdest of the whole
gang. The police do not believe that those conspirators were in
communication with O’Donovan Rossa, or acting with his cognisance.
Cohen’s presence in London was known to the police some time prior
to his death. There was only one of the gang of whose presence they
were not aware. Strangely enough, the police were on their way to
arrest the deceased [Cohen] at the moment of his death, and had they
been twenty minutes earlier they would have captured the unknown
individual who left the death chamber just previously.

The man Melville came to London as an agent of Millen, and took
modest lodgings in Gladstone Street, but at the time was deficient
in funds. The police, however, watched him closely, and found that
on two occasions he called on Mr. Joseph Nolan, M.P., at the House
of Commons. He had for his companion the man Harkins, and both of
them were seen in company with the dead man Cohen, upon whom an
inquest was held yesterday [26th October 1887]. The police suspicions
of Melville’s business were confirmed. His assertion, that he
represented Mr. Philips, of Philadelphia, proved entirely false.
Afterwards Melville went to Paris, and there met a man named Dennehy,
who, with a man named Maloney, sailed for America on August 17.
Dennehy is a member of the Clan-na-Gael, and his address is known to
the police. Melville then returned to London and stayed at the Hotel
Métropole with a Miss Kennedy, of 53 Charles Street, Boston, with
whom he travelled through Ireland, and afterwards to Paris, where he
called upon General Millen at the Hôtel du Palais, and was also seen
in a cab with a man remarkably like the deceased man Cohen, who was
absent from his lodgings about five weeks ago. He sailed for America
from Havre on September 17, and on reaching New York, his companion,
Miss Kennedy, was arrested for smuggling a large quantity of
valuable goods. Melville’s hurried departure upset the plans of the
Clan-na-Gael, and closely following this Cohen died. Harkins admitted
yesterday that he called at the House of Commons with Melville, and
that he had written for money to Burchall. Melville’s address in
America is known to the police—viz., Mr. J. J. Moroney, 925 Tenth
Avenue, New York.—_Daily Press_, 28th October 1887.

THOMAS CALLAN, 46, labourer, and Michael Harkins, 30, grocer, were
placed upon their trial at the Central Criminal Court, London, on
February 1, 1888, upon an indictment of various counts, charging them
with maliciously conspiring with Joseph Melville and Joseph Cohen,
and other persons, to cause, by an explosive substance, an explosion
in the United Kingdom of a nature likely to endanger life, and to
cause serious injury to property, and with having in their possession
and under their control an explosive substance with intent by means
thereof to endanger life and cause serious injury to property within
the United Kingdom, and with having in their possession and under
their control an explosive substance in such circumstances as to give
rise to a reasonable suspicion that they did not have it in their
possession and under their control for a lawful object.

The prisoners were found guilty, and each sentenced to fifteen years’
penal servitude.

       *       *       *       *       *

The SELECT COMMITTEE appointed to consider the regulations applicable
to the admission of strangers to the HOUSE OF COMMONS met again on
Thursday, the 19th inst., Viscount EBRINGTON presiding.

Mr. JAMES MONRO, Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police,
examined by the Chairman, said:—Melville’s real name is Moroney,
of Philadelphia, New York, and a member of the Clan-na-Gael. He was
sent over here in pursuance of instructions, and for the purpose of
committing an outrage in the Jubilee week. He came over with Callan
and Harkins in the steamer _City of Chester_. They did not arrive in
England until June 21. They had missed the previous steamer, all the
berths being engaged, and they did not arrive until the Monday. They
came at once here, only to find that General F. F. Millen had been
rendered powerless by the operations of the police. Melville was the
man who was chief in giving them dynamite, in enabling them to get it
in here. and in giving them instructions how to dispose of it. The
dynamite was brought over by other persons to Melville—two men, and
also a person of the name of Callan, and another man, I believe. The
other man we have not been able to get hold of. But Melville and this
fifth man arrived on May 15; so that when Melville and his associates
came on June 5, Callan was here to meet them.

The House of Commons was one point in these dynamite operations.
One of these men was sent down on two occasions to Windsor Castle
to “prospect” the State apartments, taking with him a watch for the
purpose of finding out how long it would take him to effect his
purpose and get away. On both occasions the State apartments were
closed. He did not go back again, because I suppose he thought he
would be identified. General Millen was a man known twenty years ago
in Fenian matters. He was connected with the Fenians in 1867. He was
what was called a military member of the Clan-na-Gael, and he was
sent over to this country on a secret mission in 1879. He reported
his progress to his associates under the name of Robinson.

He was in communication with Melville. That is to say, he met
Melville on one occasion in Paris, not in this country. He met
Melville in Paris in September 1887. Melville was sent over. He left
in April and arrived in France about the end of April. He was in
England before that. He left this country in January 1887, and went
to America. He left America and arrived in this country in April. I
forget the exact date.

General Millen had no home in England, but he had relatives—his
daughters, living in London for a certain time. On August 4, Melville
and Harkins came to the House of Commons, and sent up their cards,
or rather, Mr. Melville sent up his card to Mr. Joseph Nolan. Mr.
Nolan came out to them and saw them in the central lobby. After a
little conversation they went away. On the 5th of August the visit
was repeated by the same two men. They sent up their card to Mr.
Joseph Nolan. Mr. Nolan came out and disappeared with them; by that
I mean the police did not follow them. He took them, it is believed,
to the gallery. Now it is known that he did so, as the entry in the
Strangers’ Gallery book shows. They were not seen to leave that night
by the ordinary entrance. They were for some time on the terrace.

They must have gone down with a member?—They were accompanied by Mr.
Joseph Nolan.

About how long did they remain?—About twenty minutes or half an
hour, as far as I can remember. They were under observation by my
men; they were seen by the House of Commons police. They were under
observation outside.

At that time were you aware of any business in which they were
engaged in this country?—We had not identified Harkins at that time,
but I knew Melville was a dangerous character. On his visit here my
information was that he might be looked for in the House of Commons.
That information was received in connection with his relation with
Millen. He was met in Paris afterwards, and Melville was actually
in Paris in the month of July, but I am not prepared to say he met
Millen then, but they were connected. There was another man in Paris
in regard to whose movements I was apprised in connection with
Millen’s relations in Ireland; and it is also a fact that General
Millen was in communication with Mr. Joseph Nolan by means of
letters conveyed by Millen’s daughters, who were then in London and
under observation. One of these letters so conveyed was a letter of
introduction to Melville.

Was that prior to the visit to the House of Commons?—That was prior
to the visit; that was on the 14th of July, on which date Millen’s
daughters visited the House of Commons. They saw Mr. Joseph Nolan and
repeated the visit on the 15th. Millen is their real name. They had
been living here for some time before that.

THE HOME SECRETARY.—Did they visit the House on that occasion, or
did they remain in the central hall?—Witness: On the first occasion
they were taken by Mr. J. Nolan to the Ladies’ Gallery, and on the
second occasion they were taken by Mr. Nolan to the bar of the House
of Lords, and after they left they were accompanied by Mr. Nolan some
little up the street on both days.

They did not go over the House of Commons?—I cannot say they did.
They then left for Paris, where Millen then was, and, as I said
before, on the 4th of August Melville then appeared.

Did you follow up this matter by any inquiries of Melville
himself?—Melville was traced to his lodgings, and on the 8th of
August he was interviewed. After Melville’s interview we interviewed
Mr. Joseph Nolan on the 16th of August. He was asked whether Melville
had visited him and whether he knew him. Mr. Nolan said Melville was
a stranger to him, that he had brought no letter of introduction,
that he had mentioned the names of several gentlemen known to him
(Mr. Nolan) in America, among them a gentleman named Stack, who had
been successful in life and was over in England on a trip; that he
(Stack) seemed to be well acquainted with the oil wells and silver
mines in the Rocky mountains, that he seemed to be a man well read
in history, and altogether was a rather well-informed man; that
he had come with this letter of introduction, and that he (Nolan)
treated him with the same civility that he would expect in America.
We made inquiries, and we came in the Strangers’ Gallery book, upon
an entry which we believed to be in Mr. Nolan’s handwriting. We had
the handwriting submitted to an expert, and he said it was the same
as that on a remittance sent by Mr. Nolan. We had no doubt on the
subject, because when Mr. Nolan was examined he said it was in his
handwriting. We made inquiry of Mr. Stack, and had him interviewed
on the 26th of January this year. He said he did not remember
anything in connection with the registry in the book at the gallery
in the House of Commons, and did not remember anything about the
man Melville. The writing in the book appeared, he said, to be his
own, but he was certain he never gave an order to Mr. Joseph Nolan,
M.P. and Mr. Nolan knew nothing about his signature. It was an
understood thing among the Irish party that everything possible was
to be done for Americans who might wish to see the House of Commons,
and the consequence was that there was scarcely a day passed without
application being made for admission to the House by Americans. This
matter would stop that kind of thing. If the Irish members were aware
of it they would shun an American as they would poison, and it would
be detrimental to the party generally.

By MR. FORREST FULTON.—One of the letters conveyed by the daughter
of General Millen to Mr. Joseph Nolan, who was in communication with
General Millen, was a letter of introduction of Melville to Mr.
Nolan. Millen introduced Melville as a friend.

Is there any statement at all as to what Melville was doing in this
country?—No, not so far as I am aware.

THE CHAIRMAN.—I think you spoke of letters passing?—Yes, more than
one. This was one of the letters conveyed to Mr. Nolan from General
Millen by his daughters.

And these letters passed on various occasions?—Yes, they passed on
more than one occasion.

By MR. FULTON.—Mr. Nolan said he knew nothing at all about Melville,
and had not received any letter from him?—Yes.

MR. FULTON.—You say you know where the daughters of General Millen
reside. Do you know that they were visited by Mr. Nolan at any
time?—Not at the period referred to, so far as I know.

On other occasions?—On a previous occasion they were.

When was that?—In January of the previous year; but I had not
commenced observations then.

The Committee adjourned till three o’clock in order to give MR.
JOSEPH NOLAN, M.P., an opportunity of replying to the evidence of Mr.
Monro.

THE CHAIRMAN communicated to Mr. Nolan the statements made by Mr.
Monro. Mr. Nolan said he had no wish to go back upon the evidence
he had given in Court in connection with the dynamite trial. He had
received no introduction of any one from General Millen.

You visited the House with two daughters of General Millen on the
14th or 15th of July, and showed them over the House, and that one of
them gave you a letter from her father introducing a man who would
come subsequently—a man named Melville. Is it true that the two
daughters of General Millen were there on the 14th or 15th of July,
and were shown over the House by you?—It is true that I showed two
ladies named Millen over the House.

The daughters of General Millen?—I do not know about that.

Were they strangers to you at that time?—One of them was.

One of them you did know?—Yes.

She was the daughter of General Millen?—That I do not know.

Did you meet her in London?—I met her in London, I think, in 1886.
She has been living in London.

Did you know General Millen?—I know him by repute.

As what?—As an officer in the Mexican Army, and as correspondent of
the _New York Herald_.

Have you ever met him?—Yes.

When?—In 1886.

In England or abroad?—In England.

Was he a stranger to you then?—He was.

Where did you meet him; at a private house?—He called upon me at my
own house.

Was that the only occasion on which you ever saw him?—Yes.

MR. LAWSON.—Called upon you doubtless as many Americans do?—Yes.

THE CHAIRMAN.—Is it true that the ladies brought a letter of
introduction about Melville?—It is not true.

Or a letter of any kind?—No.

The statement was a letter written by the General?—No; not that I
remember; in fact there was no necessity for it, because one of the
ladies knew me.

It is said they brought a letter to you at the House introducing
Melville to you on a future occasion?—That is not so. One of the
ladies said she had not seen her father for years, and she believed
he was ill at the time in Europe, and that she intended to call upon
him.

Have you had any communication with him?—No.

THE HOME SECRETARY.—Are you aware that Melville and Millen had met
each other?—No, and I may say that I had never heard that General
Millen had any connection whatever with what is known as the dynamite
party. It has been stated, I believe, that he has, but I never heard
it previous to the recent case. On the contrary, I heard that General
Millen as an Irish officer was clearly opposed to the policy of that
party.

THE HOME SECRETARY.—That has nothing to do with it. Did Melville
come from America; he had been in London for some months?—I did not
know that.

Did Melville speak about Millen?—No.

Were you aware that they were acquainted?—No. I knew a number of
Irish Americans who have visited me at the House. They asked for
admission, and I have been told that he was among the number. I
remember that a policeman or gentleman who said that he belonged to
the detective force called upon me in the House, and made inquiry
about some one or two men who had visited the House. I told them all
I knew at the time.

MR. LAWSON.—It is said you did not acknowledge the handwriting on
the Speaker’s Gallery ticket as yours, and you said it was not your
handwriting?—I simply said I could not swear to the writing as being
mine.

THE HOME SECRETARY.—Have you any doubt about it?—I rather think it
was I who wrote it, but I could not positively swear.—_The Times_,
20 April 1888.




II.

THE STORY OF THE CRONIN MURDER.


The Cronin murder trial ended yesterday, after prolonged deliberation
on the part of the jury, in the conviction of four of the five
prisoners arraigned. By the laws of the State of Illinois the jury
not only decide the issues of guilty or not guilty, but also award
the punishment of the convicts. To this fact is probably due the long
delay in the present case in the announcement of the verdict. The
jury have acquitted John F. Beggs. They have awarded imprisonment
for life to Daniel Coughlin, Martin Burke, and Patrick O’Sullivan,
whom they convict of murder; and imprisonment for three years to John
Kunze, whose offence is reduced to manslaughter, and whose part in
the crime was shown to be of a very minor kind.[7] Now that the case
is over, it seems desirable to state in a connected form the theory
upon which this remarkable trial was instituted by the State of
Illinois.

The prisoners, Daniel Coughlin, Martin Burke, John F. Beggs, Patrick
O’Sullivan, and John Kunze, were indicted for the murder of Dr.
Patrick Henry Cronin, on May 4, 1889. The case naturally created
intense excitement throughout the State, affecting as it did many
and complex interests of party, race, and creed. Committees were
formed and funds were raised for the prosecution and for the
defence, and the prisoners were convicted and acquitted on the
platform and in the Press, with that reckless disregard of common
decency which disgraces the partisan warfare of America. American
judicial proceedings are, however, framed to work in a society which
habitually indulges itself in debauches of partisan fury, even while
prisoners stand at trial for their lives, and accordingly the most
elaborate safeguards are employed to secure the impartiality of the
jury. The State and the prisoners exercise the right of challenge
both peremptorily and for cause, in a degree undreamt of in this
country. Each juror, before he is sworn to try the issues, is
subjected to the most merciless examination and cross-examination
by counsel for the State and for the prisoners, and challenges
“for cause” are allowed on grounds which in English eyes appear
ludicrously trivial. The prisoners in the Cronin case were, by law,
entitled to twenty peremptory challenges apiece, or, as they combined
their challenges, to one hundred peremptory challenges in all, and
the State was also entitled to one hundred peremptory challenges. The
work of impanelling the jury began on August 30, and ended on October
22. Seven full working weeks were spent in this preliminary labour.
No fewer than 1115 unfortunate citizens of Cook County were exposed
to the rigid scrutiny of counsel for the State and counsel for the
defence. Of these, 927 were “excused,” to use the American euphemism,
for cause, while 78 were peremptorily challenged by the State, and
97 were similarly challenged by the defence. Thus the State had 22
challenges unexhausted, and the defence only three when the tale was
completed. At last, on October 24, the State’s Attorney “got down to
trial” and made his opening speech. The case relied upon and proved
by the State depended on the following assertions and inferences.

Dr. Cronin was summoned from his home at half-past seven on the
evening of May 4, and never returned. On May 22 his naked body,
bearing marks of violence, was found in the catch-basin of a sewer.
The theory of the prosecution was that he was murdered in pursuance
of a conspiracy, and that the accused, together with other persons
not in custody, were members of that conspiracy. The jury by their
verdict have declared that Dr. Cronin was so murdered, and that
all the prisoners save Beggs did conspire to murder him. This
conspiracy arose from a bitter quarrel within the ranks of the United
Brotherhood, or Clan-na-Gael. The history of that organisation was
sketched by State’s Attorney Longenecker in his opening speech. It
was founded in 1869, to “free” Ireland by open warfare. Irishmen
joined it from “patriotism,” Irishmen joined it for the purposes of
American political warfare, and others “for the sake of the money
that was in it.” The organisation grew “until now it stretches from
ocean to ocean in our land.” It was organised by districts, each
with its District Member and District “Camps.” Each “Camp” had a
public name, by which alone it was known to the general public.
Thus, “Camp 20,” to which several of the prisoners belonged, was
called the “Columbia Club,” and other “Camps” were known as “Literary
Clubs,” and so on. Prior to 1881 the organisation was governed by an
Executive Body, which was composed of the District Members. In 1879
this Board consisted of fifteen members.

In 1881 a National Convention of the United Brotherhood was held in
Chicago. At that Convention the Executive Body was reduced to five
members, and Alexander Sullivan, Feeley, and Boland were appointed
thereon. These three men constituted a majority of the new Board,
and, in the State’s Attorney’s phrase, “took charge” of it. “They
then adopted,” he says, “what is called the dynamite policy. They
called it ‘active work.’ They adopted a policy to blow up property
and individuals, and that policy was adopted immediately after
they got possession of the Executive Board of the organisation.”
Moreover, this new Executive Body inserted a provision in the oath
of the organisation binding all members to obey the Executive Body
without question. “If they directed a man to go and kill another
man in England it had to be done, and they had no right to question
the order.” In 1884 this controlling Board adopted the symbol of
the Triangle, and issued orders under that designation. The whole
object of this Junta was to steal the funds of the organisation,
and the State’s Attorney roundly accuses them of endeavouring to
effect this object by acts of well-nigh incredible infamy. They
pretended to their organisation that great sums were being expended
upon “active work.” To lend colour to this fiction they procured a
certain amount of such work to be done. They sent emissaries to this
country. But they failed to provide them with the funds indispensable
for their personal safety. The men were referred to an agent of the
organisation in England, and when they had reached this side of the
Atlantic precautions were taken that they should not too speedily
return. When the dynamite emissary landed in the United Kingdom, “I
say to you,” says the State’s Attorney, “that somebody there made
known who the man was, and what he was detailed to do, and he was
immediately arrested and thrown into prison. To-day the prison doors
in England are locked against twenty or more men who were sent there
by that Board.”

The next trick of the Triangle, to hide their embezzlement of the
funds, was to circulate a rumour that English detectives were
watching the Order, and to get the biennial Convention postponed upon
that plea. A meeting was held of the friends of the Triangle, “and
they destroyed every vestige of work they had done. They destroyed
their books, and then sent out a circular showing that the Order
was indebted to them $13,000, notwithstanding when they took hold
of it they had a fund of $250,000 in the treasury.” Naturally these
proceedings led to great dissension in the Order, and finally to a
split in its ranks. To the quarrel that thus arose, Dr. Cronin, on
the theory advanced by the prosecution, and accepted by the jury,
owed his death. Cronin from the first protested against the action
of the Triangle. In 1885 he was tried for treason to the Order.
Alexander Sullivan prosecuted, and the convict Daniel Coughlin sat
on the Trial Committee. Cronin was convicted and expelled. Thereupon
Cronin joined a new organisation formed by the seceding members of
the Order, and no further steps were taken until June 1888. In that
month a joint convention of the two factions was held in Chicago
with a view to reunion. At that convention Cronin charged the old
Triangle, which had then ceased to exist, with misappropriation of
the funds of the Order, and with misconduct towards their emissaries
to Europe. It was resolved that the charges should be investigated,
and a Trial Committee of six, three from each faction, was appointed
to try Sullivan, Feeley, and Boland. Of that Trial Committee, Cronin
was a member. A memorandum in Cronin’s handwriting, containing the
joint findings of Cronin himself, and one P. M‘Cahey, as members of
the Trial Committee, and also minutes of the evidence adduced at
such trial, were found amongst Cronin’s papers, and proved at the
coroner’s inquest. These documents were, of course, inadmissible
at the actual trial, according to a well-known technical rule of
evidence, but, as they undoubtedly guided the State’s Attorney and
his associates in framing the case against the prisoners, and as,
moreover, they possess a very special and personal interest for
Englishmen, we do not feel constrained to ignore their contents here.

The Trial Committee, it appears, met at Genesee House, Buffalo,
on August 20, 1888. Alexander Sullivan objected that “one of the
committee was a malignant enemy of his,” and he named Cronin as that
enemy. Feeley and Boland joined in Sullivan’s objection, but Cronin
denied that he had any personal enmity to Sullivan and the objection
was overruled. Boland then charged the notorious John Devoy, who was
a friend of Cronin’s, and attended the Trial Committee, presumably in
his interest, with being a British spy. Cronin defended Devoy, the
committee settled down to work, and the trial proceeded. The minutes
of the evidence taken by this committee, and found in Cronin’s own
handwriting, form one of the most startling documents ever produced
in any Court. Four principal witnesses were examined in support
of the charges made against the Triangle of neglecting to supply
the emissaries actually engaged in dynamiting with funds, and of
neglecting the families of those emissaries who had perished by
explosions, or had been sent to penal servitude in this country. The
first witness was himself one of the London dynamiters. The last was
the widow of Mackey Lomasney, who was blown up while attempting to
destroy London Bridge. The names of the male witnesses are not given.
The first witness swore that after the Boston Convention of 1884,
one Donovan, “who acted as agent for the body,” and “was then in the
employ of General Kerwin,” asked him if “he could furnish enough men
to accomplish a certain amount of active work.” The witness procured
one recruit. Donovan and John J. Moroney paid their steerage passage,
and gave them $100 each “to carry on work.” For further funds they
were referred to “the agent on the other side.” The two dynamiters
crossed to this country, but the funds were not forthcoming. The
agent, it is satisfactory to learn, “was sure he had been betrayed by
some one,” and it is yet more gratifying to know that he “is now in
prison.” The witness then gives the following account of his exploits
in this country, and of the base ingratitude of his employers:—

“At the agent’s request, work was delayed six weeks. I at last told
him I would do the work. There were four of us.... I finally induced
him to give orders to do the work. This was on Thursday. On Saturday
we did it. After the work was done I met him the same evening. He
remained in capital city seven days afterward. I was so reduced for
funds that I prevailed upon him to give me four pounds of the sixteen
he had left. On landing in this country had three-and-one-half
pounds.... I at once complained to Donovan and Moroney, and through
them to the executive, or General Kerwin, of the treatment I had
received, and the culpable neglect of the F. C. About the last of
February 1885, Donovan furnished me with $10 with which to reach my
home.

“_Q._ How many operations did you perform?—_A._ Three. We always
bade each other good-bye after each meeting, thinking it might be our
last meeting on earth. I have learned that, in order to get back,
the other man who went over with me had to sell his clothes to get
passage-money. He came with a sprained ankle. In July or August 1885,
he received $7 from Moroney.”

Subsequently the witness found that the mother of Cunningham, the
dynamiter, was in want. He complained to Moroney and General Kerwin,
whereupon Kerwin told him he ought to be expelled. The munificent
sum of $100 was finally sent by the “F. C.” (Executive Body) to the
mother of their dupe Cunningham, now undergoing in this country the
just but awful punishment of penal servitude for life. The witness
further ascertained that Mrs. Mackey Lomasney, the widow of Captain
Mackey Lomasney, who “was killed in London, and was assured, witness
was told, that his family would never want,” was in great distress.
The relatives of Dr. Gallagher, another dynamite convict under a
life-long sentence, were also in want. A hundred dollars was raised
for Mrs. Gallagher. Then comes this terrible statement, a statement
which should warn the miserable tools of the Clan-na-Gael what kind
of succour they may look for from their chiefs when their “heroism”
lands them in the dock. “I requested,” says this same witness, “that
the men on trial on the other side should be defended. General Kerwin
said that friendless men were better off in such cases.” To the men
who have risked their lives at its bidding, the Order, with its ample
revenues, grudges the few pounds needed for their legal defence, and
coldly abandons them “friendless” to their fate.

The next witness confirms the above statements as to the conduct of
the organisation towards Mrs. Cunningham. In July 1885, he succeeded
John Moroney as D. M. (District Member), and in October of that year
he “went out as an organiser of the National League in the West.” “I
saw General Kerwin and told him that he should send money to Mrs.
Cunningham, that the lady was hurt on the subject of being neglected
by us. He said he would send it.”

The cross-examination of this witness was directed to show that he
entertained animus against Kerwin and Boland for endeavouring to
defeat his candidature for the presidency of the National League,
which candidature, he alleges, had been officially adopted by the
Clan-na-Gael. “The slate,” he says, “was Baldwin, Minton, and Carroll
for F. C. (Executive Body), and myself as President of the League.”
Boland asked him why he would not take the secretaryship.

The third witness, “a member since the beginning of the old
organisation,” knew Mackey Lomasney, and remembers his departure
for Europe in August 1884, with his brother Jim, and a third
conspirator. The witness describes his efforts to obtain relief
from the organisation for Mackey Lomasney’s widow. In 1885 he went
to Newhaven and saw Dr. Wallace (who was then “D.”), Condon, and
Boland. Boland “denied all responsibility,” and alleged that Mrs.
Mackey Lomasney had been supplied with plenty of money. The witness
called on Carroll. “He professed utter ignorance of the whole affair.
I said, ‘By God, you must see her.’ Carroll offered the witness
$100, which he refused. I said, ‘You know how to send this, as you
have the others; if you respect the memory of the dead, and the
widow and the orphan made so by your act, do your duty by all.’” The
witness further states that Mrs. Mackey Lomasney continued to be in a
poverty-stricken state, without coal or clothing, until August 1886.

The last witness was Mrs. Susan Mackey Lomasney herself. Upon
Alexander Sullivan’s request, made presumably to show his reliance on
the bare word of a dynamiter’s wife, she was not sworn. Mrs. Mackey
Lomasney stated that her husband went away in August 1884, and that
since that date she had received $1000 from the organisation. She
called on Alexander Sullivan in 1885, but did not ask for help. In
August 1886, she again visited Sullivan, explained to him the state
of her affairs, and asked for help. “He asked me for a schedule of
my liabilities—$200. He would attend to the matter. He gave me no
money, nor offered me any.” Sullivan told the witness not to mention
his name to any one. She then called on “James Q.,” who “talked to
her about Father Dorney,” but gave her no help. The witness was
so poor at this time that she borrowed a dress to visit Sullivan.
Several weeks after the witness again called on Sullivan and applied
for a loan of $100, which she obtained. That was all she ever got
from Sullivan. In cross-examination Mrs. Mackey Lomasney admitted
that her husband wrote to her from Europe, saying he had received
money from Mr. Sullivan. The witness did not know the amount.

“Here,” say the minutes, “Mr. S. admitted that (Mackey) Lomasney was
sent by the organisation.”

The Trial Committee was divided in opinion as to the guilt or
innocence of the accused. Four members were for an acquittal. Two,
Cronin and M‘Cahey, were for a conviction on the principal charges,
and, in particular, on the charges of “scandalous and shameful
neglect” of “the family of one who lost his life in the service of
this Order,” and on that of issuing a fraudulent financial report and
squandering the funds.

Dr. Cronin’s documents illustrate many interesting points. Amongst
other things they prove that he, his friends Devoy and M‘Cahey and
their faction, are to the full as wicked scoundrels as Sullivan,
Feeley, Boland, and the party of the Triangle. The minority report
does not condemn the Triangle for dynamiting, but for dishonest
dynamiting. It does not reprobate the despatch of miscreants like
Mackey Lomasney to work slaughter and destruction in the heart
of a great city, but the subsequent neglect of the Order to keep
faith with their emissary, by providing for his widow. It acquits
the Triangle of wilfully omitting to supply the actual authors
of the dynamite explosion with funds to fly from the law, but it
severely censures their “agent” for the omission. Both wings of the
Clan-na-Gael were engaged in the same devilish plots, and while every
one must rejoice that the assassins even of a dynamiter should meet
their lawful doom, Cronin merits no more sympathy as an individual
than “Captain Mackey” himself. He was brutally murdered, while
himself engaged in plotting the wholesale murder of others.

On the theory of the State’s Attorney, now endorsed by the verdict
of the American jury, it was Cronin’s persistent efforts to have the
evidence taken by the Trial Committee published with the report, that
sealed his doom. That committee, as has been seen, sat in August
1888. The report did not appear while Cronin lived. But on the day
of his murder the Executive Body of the Clan-na-Gael met, and on
the next day, or the next day but one, the report was published to
the Order. The evidence was not then issued with the report, but a
protest from Alexander Sullivan was annexed thereto, in which he
charged Cronin as a perjurer, and a traitor to the Irish cause. All
the prisoners except Kunze were members of the Clan-na-Gael. All
those members belonged to the same “Camp” of the Order, known in
the ranks of the Order as “Camp 20,” and in public as the “Columbia
Club.” The prisoner, John F. Beggs, was “Senior Guardian” of the
“Camp,” and an intimate friend of Alexander Sullivan’s. On February
8, 1889, the “Camp” met, with Beggs in the chair, and from that
meeting the prosecution dates the conspiracy to murder Cronin. A
member got up and said that they should investigate the affairs of
the Triangle, these men who had robbed them of their funds. The
prisoner Coughlin and others demanded the speaker’s authority for
this statement. He replied that he had heard part of the report of
the Trial Committee appointed to try the Triangle read in another
“Camp.” That other “Camp” was Dr. Cronin’s. The State alleged that
Beggs made a violent speech and declared that he would not have these
attacks made upon the Triangle, and that it had to be stopped if it
took blood. Coughlin at once moved that a secret committee of three
be appointed to investigate. The motion was carried, and the prisoner
Beggs, as Senior Guardian, was directed to nominate the committee.
All the accused except O’Sullivan and Kunze attended this meeting of
“Camp 20.” Two days later Beggs wrote to his superior officer, a man
named Spellman, and informed him that “it was charged that the S.
G. of the Columbia Club at a recent meeting read to the assembled
members the proceedings of the Trial Committee.” On February 17,
Spellman disclaimed any jurisdiction “to inflict the penalty” in
the case. On February 18, Beggs replied that the matter had to be
investigated or there would be trouble. The State’s Attorney argued
that this secret committee of three was in fact appointed to try,
and did try, the murdered man, and that Spellman’s disclaimer of
jurisdiction to inflict “the penalty” proves that Cronin had been
convicted and already stood for sentence at the bar of the Order.

On February 19, a man giving the name of Simonds, who is not in
custody, took rooms at 117 Clark Street, Chicago, immediately
opposite to Dr. Cronin’s office. On the same day he bought some
furniture and a carpet. He asked for goods of the cheapest quality,
and stated that he required them only for temporary use. He also
bought from the same dealers the largest packing trunk they had, a
valise, and a trunk strap. He told the shopman that the first strap
supplied to him was not large enough, and a larger one was procured.
All these articles were put into the rooms at 117 Clark Street.

On March 20, a man, proved to be the convict Martin Burke, hired
Carlson cottage, under the name of “Frank Williams,” for one month
from Mr. Carlson, who himself lives next door. Burke then went to
the prisoner P. O’Sullivan, whose premises immediately adjoin the
Carlson cottage, and told O’Sullivan that he had taken it. Burke and
another man not in custody next removed all the furniture, the trunk,
the valise, and the carpet from 117 Clark Street into the Carlson
cottage. This removal took place on the evening of March 20, the day
Burke took the cottage.

O’Sullivan is an ice man by trade. On March 29, nine days after
the taking of the cottage, O’Sullivan tried to find one Justice
Mahoney, to come and make a contract between him and Dr. Cronin.
O’Sullivan did not find the justice on March 29, but some time in
April they went together to Cronin’s office, and a contract was made
between O’Sullivan and Cronin, whereby Cronin agreed to attend to
O’Sullivan’s workmen. O’Sullivan then gave Cronin some cards and
said, “I may be out of town and my card be presented.” O’Sullivan’s
business was not dangerous. No accident had ever occurred amongst his
men. Numbers of doctors lived between O’Sullivan’s place of business
and Dr. Cronin’s office, which is nearly an hour’s drive from
O’Sullivan’s yard. “What,” the State asked, “was the object of this
contract, made after the discussion in ‘Camp 20,’ and after Beggs had
been directed to appoint the secret committee?”

On April 20, Martin Burke, under the _alias_ of “Frank Williams,”
returned to the Carlson cottage and paid a second month’s rent in
advance. He had never occupied the cottage. He said his sister was in
hospital and could not come to housekeeping. The Carlsons grew uneasy
about their tenants. They inquired of their neighbour O’Sullivan
about these men, who had taken their house but never moved into it.
O’Sullivan said, “You will get your rent; it is all right,” and told
them he knew one of their tenants. Shortly before May 4 the convict
Coughlin was heard to declare in a “saloon” or public bar that a
certain north-side man, a leading Catholic, or a leading Irishman,
would soon bite the ground, or to use words of the like effect.

On the evening of May 3 there was a meeting of “Camp 20.” A member
asked if the secret committee appointed in February to inquire into
the alleged publication of the report of the Triangle Trial Committee
in Cronin’s “Camp” had itself reported. The State alleged that Beggs,
the Senior Guardian, answered, “That committee is to report to me.
The ‘Camp’ has nothing to do with that.”

Between eleven and one o’clock on May 4, the convict Coughlin went to
Dinan’s livery stable and ordered a horse and buggy to be ready about
seven that evening “for a friend.” Later he telephoned to the convict
O’Sullivan to go out. About 7.15 in the evening Coughlin’s friend
came and asked for the buggy. The ostler harnessed a white horse.
The stranger objected to the colour, but the ostler said it was the
only horse he could have. The stranger then drove to Dr. Cronin’s.
He reached Cronin’s home about 7.20, gave him one of O’Sullivan’s
cards, saying, “O’Sullivan is out of town, and here is his card”—the
very words used by O’Sullivan himself when he made his contract with
Cronin—and told Cronin that one of O’Sullivan’s men had his leg
crushed, and that the doctor was wanted immediately. The doctor took
his instruments and some cotton with him and drove hastily off in the
buggy. He was never seen alive again.

The State allege that the convict Burke was at the Carlson cottage on
the night of May 3, together with another man, after the meeting of
“Camp 20.” On the night of May 4 Burke was also there, and he bade
good-night to his landlord and neighbour, old Mr. Carlson, at a late
hour that evening. A casual passer-by saw a man whose description
answers to that of Cronin get out of a buggy and hastily enter
Carlson cottage, and she afterwards heard blows and cries. Between
eight and nine that night, two men, whose descriptions answer to
those of Coughlin and Kunze, were also seen to drive up to Carlson
cottage, and Coughlin was seen to enter it.

On the night of May 4-5 a waggon was seen at three different points
by policemen and night-watchmen in the neighbourhood of Lake
Michigan. There were three men in the waggon, a driver and two
others, who, when the waggon was first observed, sat on a large
chest which the policemen took to be a tool-chest. At one in the
morning of May 5, the watchman at Edgewater challenged these men in
the waggon, and asked them what they were doing. They said they were
trying to find the lake shore drive. The drive is not continued up
to this point, and the watchman gave them some directions, after
which they drove away. They were seen later on in the same waggon,
but without the chest. The catch-basin in which Dr. Cronin’s body was
subsequently found is half a mile from Edgewater. On the morning of
May 5, a trunk identical in all respects with that purchased by the
tenant of 117 Clark Street, in February, and afterwards removed by
Burke to the Carlson cottage, was found between this catch-basin and
the city, about three-quarters of a mile from the catch-basin. During
the trial Dr. Cronin’s clothes were found in a valise in the sewer
about a quarter of a mile further on from the point where the trunk
was found. This valise corresponded in all respects with that bought
by Simonds and delivered to him at 117 Clark Street, and afterwards
removed by Burke from Clark Street to Carlson cottage. It will be
remembered that Cronin took cotton with him to dress the wounds of
his expected patient on the evening of May 4. Cotton was found in the
trunk on May 5. It was smeared with blood, as also were the sides of
trunk.

On May 6 the convict Martin Burke called at a tinsmith’s shop, and
asked the smith to solder up a box for him. The smith wanted to raise
the lid to do his work. Martin Burke told him not to do so, and made
him secure the box by passing a metal band round it and soldering
the band. The smith had read some report as to the disappearance of
Dr. Cronin two days before. While he was soldering the box he asked
Burke what he thought of the matter. Burke replied with coarse abuse
of Cronin, denounced him as a spy, and declared he would turn up all
right.

On May 13, two men called on old Mrs. Carlson, the wife of the owner
of Carlson cottage, and tendered her another month’s rent. She
refused the offer, as she said she wished the cottage to be occupied,
and she added that no rent was due until May 20. Shortly afterwards
the Carlsons received a letter from their tenants saying that they
were sorry to give up the building, and sorry that they had had to
paint the floor, but that that was done for their sister.

On May 20, the date of the expiry of “Williams’” lease of the
cottage, the Carlsons entered the building by the window. They found
the whole of the house in confusion and signs that a severe struggle
had taken place therein. All the Clark Street furniture was there,
but the trunk was gone, the valise was gone, and the carpet was
gone. The walls and the floor were stained with blood. Paint had
been hastily daubed over the floor. The arm of the rocking-chair was
wrenched off and a key, which afterwards proved to fit the lock of
the bloodstained trunk discovered on May 5 near Edgewater, was found
under a bureau, stained with some of the paint which had been applied
to the floor.

On May 21, the Carlsons reported the state of their cottage to the
police, and on May 22 some men engaged in cleaning the sewers found
the naked body of Cronin in the catch-basin. Some cotton similar to
that taken away by the doctor on the evening of May 4, and similar
to that found in the bloody trunk on May 5, was also found with the
body in the catch-basin. The head of the corpse was cut in a dozen
different places on the back and temples.

As soon as the body was identified, Martin Burke fled from Chicago.
He crossed the Canadian frontier, and was finally traced to Winnipeg,
where he was arrested under an assumed name. He had taken a ticket
from Winnipeg to Liverpool.

Kunze has rightly escaped with a much less severe sentence than his
co-conspirators. The more material of the allegations against him, in
addition to the fact mentioned above of his having driven Coughlin
to the cottage on the night of the murder, are that he was seen in
the rooms hired by Simonds at 117 Clark Street, and that he told a
fellow-workman after the murder, but before the discovery of the
body, that he knew Cronin was murdered, and that the body would never
be found.

The substantive defence appears to have consisted chiefly of a series
of _alibis_. They were of the familiar Irish type—a type which in
the graphic American tongue is described as “lop-sided.”

Full reports of the speeches for the defence and of the concluding
arguments for the State have not yet reached this country, and can
hardly be expected for some days. But whatever the line taken by
counsel for the prisoners may have been, it has failed to prevent a
purely American jury of citizens of Cook County from convicting and
sentencing to severe punishment four members of as foul and wicked
a conspiracy as ever was hatched by Irish brains. That conspiracy,
as the evidence shows, was itself the outcome of those intestine
quarrels that by a just retribution ever corrode the heart of the
Irish-American plots against this country. It was the State’s
Attorney’s cue to paint Dr. Cronin as an innocent and patriotic
Irishman, murdered by the hands of villainous rivals. But the true
nature of the patriotic society to which Dr. Cronin belonged, and
to the hands of whose members he owes his dreadful end, can hardly
escape the American public when they come to study the records of
the Cronin trial and the verdict of the Chicago jury. Whether that
study will nerve the honest citizens of the Republic to rise against
the tyranny of Irish machine-men, and purge their name and nation of
the stain of harbouring and tolerating such associations, remains to
be seen. At any rate, the people of Illinois are to be congratulated
on their victory—a victory which, in spite of endless “exceptions”
taken on behalf of the prisoners throughout the case, and the endless
series of appeals allowed by American law, will hardly be affected
in the long run by any fresh proceedings. On the other hand, the
convictions may not improbably result in some of the convicts turning
informers _more patrio_, and thus bringing the real prime movers in
the murder, whose existence is widely believed in in America, in turn
to their doom.—_The Times_, 17th December 1889.




APPENDIX III.


[Illustration: (page 1 of 2 of a handwritten letter)]

[Illustration: (page 2 of 2 of a handwritten letter)]

_NOTE.—The above letter was written to me by Sullivan before the
trial of the charges brought against him by Cronin, and refers to
evidence being collected by Sullivan to refute those charges. “D.”
means division, “J. G.” and “S. G.” mean Junior Guardian and Senior
Guardian; and the use of these initials peculiar to the Organization
prove Sullivan’s continued participation in the Clan-na-Gael._

                                                           H. LE C.

  +------------------------------------------------------------------+
  |                                                                  |
  |  Transcriber’s Note: the following is a transcription of the     |
  |  handwritten text of this letter.                                |
  |                                                                  |
  |                                                     Aug 30 1888  |
  |                                                                  |
  | My Dear Doctor                                                   |
  |                                                                  |
  | Just rec’d your telegram. Will you, if the enclosed are correct, |
  | subscribe to and return them to me? I am not sure whether you    |
  | were in the ’86 convention. Of course, I know you were in ’84.   |
  | You can subscribe before a notary or before your J. G. or S. G.  |
  | Please fill in the blanks. On the first line, your name, on the  |
  | 2d, no. of D. On line at end, sign your name and write in name   |
  | of county at the head.                                           |
  |                                                       In haste   |
  |                                                       Sincerely  |
  |                                                         Alex     |
  |                                                                  |
  +------------------------------------------------------------------+


INDEX.


  Agnew, Frank, details of, and his connection with Clan-na-Gael
          in 1876, 172.

  American Army, enlisted in, 9;
    different engagements with, 11, 12.

  American War, episodes in connection with, 13-19.

  Anderson, Mr., communications with, 60, 100;
    my reports to him regarding conversation with Mr. Parnell, 176;
    and regarding my visit to Ireland, 181;
    informs me of desire of _Times_ for my services, 266;
    introduces me to Mr. Houston, 267;
    returns me my letters, 268;
    my tribute to, 271.


  Betts, Rev. Dr., at Dynamite Convention, 199;
    presides over Clan-na-Gael caucus prior to League conventions, 206,
          227.

  Boland, Michael, details regarding, and his connection with
          Clan-na-Gael, 125;
    convicted of misappropriation of Clan-na-Gael funds, 261.

  Bourke, General Thomas, on Executive of Irish Confederation, 104;
    further details of, and his connection with Clan-na-Gael, 121;
    trustee of Skirmishing Fund, 137.

  Boyton, Michael, Devoy’s references to, as League organiser and
          Clan-na-Gael emissary, 157;
    interview with, at Kilmainham Prison, 179;
    his views on situation in Ireland, 180.

  Brennan, Thomas, Secretary of Land League in Ireland, at Philadelphia
          Convention, 209;
    story of his escape from Dublin, 230.

  Breslin, John J., details regarding, and his connection with
          Clan-na-Gael, 124;
    trustee of Skirmishing Fund, 136;
    assists Stephens to escape from Richmond Bridewell, Dublin, 164.

  Buffalo, the row at, 186.


  Canadian Invasion, story of the first, 31;
    story of the second, 82-85.

  Carey, James, evidence of, regarding hand-grenade, 158.

  Carroll, Dr. William, details regarding, and his connection with
          Clan-na-Gael, 122;
    trustee of Skirmishing Fund, 136;
    action in connection with proposed alliance with Russia, 140;
    visit to, on behalf of Mr. Parnell, and his views regarding
          position, 182.

  Clan-na-Gael, the beginning of the, 106;
    object of, 107;
    views which led to formation of, 108;
    general principles and methods of the, 110;
    form of admission to, 112;
    governing body of, 115;
    appointed on Military Board of, 119;
    leading men of the, 120;
    and the Skirmishing Fund, 136;
    work of the, 139;
    proposed alliance of, with Russia, 139;
    controls the Land League, 152;
    letter from Devoy regarding same, 154;
    Mr. Parnell on difficulties with Irish members of, 175;
    Michael Boyton on same, 180;
    Alex. Sullivan elected president of, 191;
    change of constitution of, 191;
    manipulating League organisation, 204;
    details of scheme for same, 205;
    and Phœnix Park murders, 208;
    and Philadelphia Convention of Land League, 211;
    Sullivan’s working of, 218;
    books and documents burnt, 220;
    and League Convention of 1886, 236;
    Egan and National League, 237;
    and Home Rule Bill, 246-248;
    and League movement, 250;
    finding of committee of, on Cronin charges, 261.

  Clerkenwell Explosion, references to, 71.

  Clingen, Colonel, details regarding, and his connection with
          Clan-na-Gael, 122;
    arranges for my bringing letters from Devoy to Europe, 159.

  Collins, P. A., candidature for presidency of National League in
          America unsuccessful, because of his offer of reward for
          discovery of Phœnix Park murderers, 215.

  Condon, O’Meagher, at Dynamite Convention, 198.

  Conventions, Fenian, at Philadelphia, 60;
    at New York, 76;
    Clan-na-Gael, at Pennsylvania, 146;
    at Wilkesbarre, 149;
    Land League, at Buffalo, 186;
    “Dynamite,” at Chicago, 187-194;
    Land League, at Chicago, 204;
    National League, at Philadelphia, 211;
    at Boston, 227;
    Clan-na-Gael, at Chicago, 231;
    National League, at Chicago, 236;
    Clan-na-Gael, at Chicago, 247, 259.

  Cronin, Dr. P. H., reference to, 123;
    attacks Sullivan for misappropriation of funds, 220;
    sketch of his life, 221;
    expelled from Clan-na-Gael, 226;
    development of dispute between, and Sullivan, 258;
    murder of, 262;
    corroboration of my evidence through murder of, 270;
    the story of the murder of, Appendix.

  Cross, Colonel, life and methods of, 44-48.


  Daly, “Jack,” story of, and Dynamite Campaign, 243;
    letters to Breslin on Home Office, 244.

  Davitt, Michael, release and arrival of in America, 142;
    opinions of, at this time, 143;
    visits camps of Clan-na-Gael, 143;
    meets with Devoy, 143;
    takes up “New Departure,” 143;
    returns to Ireland, 146;
    second visit to America, 151;
    advocates the Land League movement, 152;
    takes ill at Braidwood, 152;
    gives information unawares, 152;
    paid back moneys advanced from Skirmishing Fund, 153;
    Dr. Carroll’s views regarding, 183;
    speech against, by Devoy, 259.

  Devine, Joseph, story of escape of, from Illinois, 50.

  Devoy, John, arrival and sketch of, 103;
    further details regarding, and his connection with Clan-na-Gael,
          76, 121;
    trustee of Skirmishing Fund, 137;
    and “New Departure,” 143;
    letters regarding same, 145;
    goes to Ireland as secret agent of Clan-na-Gael, 146;
    report regarding position of revolutionary forces in Ireland, 147;
    issues circular to Clan-na-Gael camps regarding Land League, 154;
    supplies details of plots and plans of Clan-na-Gael, 155;
    intrusts me with letters to Egan and O’Leary, 159;
    communication with regard to Mr. Parnell’s views, 181;
    letter from him regarding same, 182;
    at Dynamite Convention, 199;
    on Phœnix Park murders, 208;
    in opposition to Sullivan, 219;
    joins forces with Dr. Cronin, 225;
    secedes from Clan-na-Gael, 226;
    speech against Davitt, 259.

  Documents, in connection with second Canadian raid, 78;
    in connection with Clan-na-Gael, 112;
    my procedure with regard to, 128;
    telegram regarding “New Departure,” 144;
    Devoy’s letter, 145;
    Devoy’s letter _re_ League and Clan-na-Gael, 154;
    my report to my “camp” of League Convention, 213;
    Egan’s letter of introduction to League in America, 234;
    Clan-na-Gael circulars _re_ Home Rule Bill, 246, 247;
    Clan-na-Gael resolution re National League, 250;
    extract from Cronin report on misappropriation of funds, 263.

  Dunne, P. W., details regarding, and his connection with Clan-na-Gael,
          123.

  Dynamite, invention of hand-grenade, 158;
    Convention of 1881, 187;
    proceedings at, 188;
    description of, 194;
    Sullivan supplies particulars of campaign of 1883, 217;
    sketch of same in England, 237;
    methods of conveying, 240-242.


  Egan, Patrick, and rescue of Australian prisoners, 73;
    Devoy intrusts me with letter to, 159;
    first meeting with, in Paris, 160;
    description of, 161;
    life with, in Paris, 167;
    as “a Land Leaguer, and something else besides,” 168;
    on Mr. Parnell as a Revolutionist, 169;
    on the Land League accounts and audit, 169;
    introduces me to M.P.’s, 171;
    Devoy on, and Phœnix Park murders, 208;
    arrival of, in America, 209;
    position as regards matters in America, 211;
    and Clan-na-Gael caucus in connection with Philadelphia Convention,
          211;
    appointed president of American National League, 227;
    a tribute to, 228;
    tells the story of his escape from Dublin, 229;
    on Dr. Gallaher and Dynamite Campaign, 230;
    speech at camp meeting at Philadelphia, 231;
    supplies me with general introduction to League in America, 234;
    circulars of, as president of League, to camps of Clan-na-Gael,
          237;
    charges by Rossa against, in connection with £20,000 paid to
          Sullivan, 264.

  England, my first visit to, 36;
    my second, 159;
    my third, 257;
    my fourth and last, 257.


  Facsimile of Fenian bond, 27.

  Fatalism, thoughts on, 24.

  Feeley, Denis, details regarding, and his connection with
          Clan-na-Gael, 124;
    at the Dynamite Convention, 201;
    acquitted but censured in connection with Cronin charges, 261.

  Fenianism, state of affairs in connection with, 25;
    methods of obtaining money for, 27;
    Andrew Johnson’s government and, 28;
    my first connection with, 29.

  Fenian Brotherhood, I join the, 38;
    I organise a “camp” or “circle” of, 40;
    appointed major and military organiser of, 54;
    my first speech to, 56;
    appointed inspector-general of, 60;
    appointed assistant-adjutant-general of, 74;
    appointed adjutant-general and brigadier-general of, 82.

  Fenian prisoners, rescue of, from Australia, 72.

  Finerty, John F., and first Canadian invasion, 31;
    at League Convention, 206.

  Ford, Austin, medium of communication between Clan-na-Gael and _Irish
          World_, 133.

  Ford, Patrick, as editor of _Irish World_, advocates Skirmishing Fund,
          131;
    sketch of, 131;
    _Irish World_ and Clan-na-Gael, 133.

  Forester, Bill, escape of, from Illinois, 51.

  Fox, Dr. J. G., meeting with, 251.


  Gallaher, Dr., views on dynamite, 192;
    at Dynamite Convention, 200;
    introduced to Mr. Gladstone, 218;
    organising Dynamite Campaign in England, 238;
    with Sullivan in Chicago, 230;
    sentence on, 241;
    £1400 found on, 241.

  Grant, General, and the second invasion of Canada, 88.


  Hand-grenade adopted by Clan-na-Gael, 158.

  Home Rule, effects of Mr. Gladstone’s Bill, 235.

  Houston, Mr., first meeting with, 267;
    preparation of evidence by, 269.

  Hynes, Wm. J., details regarding, and his connection with
          Clan-na-Gael, 76, 123;
    in communication with, regarding Mr. Parnell’s proposals, 184;
    at Dynamite Convention, 196;
    at Land League Convention, 206.


  Inner Circle, Knights of the, 107, 117.

  Ireland, visit to, 177.

  Irish Confederation, formation of, 101;
    executive of, 104.

  Irish Republican Brotherhood, establishment of, 109;
    John Devoy’s report on, 147;
    troubles of Mr. Parnell with, 173;
    Boyton’s references to position of, 180;
    efforts of Sullivan to capture, 254.

  _Irish World_, Patrick Ford in columns of, advocates Skirmishing Fund,
          130;
    reference to position of, 132;
    and Clan-na-Gael, 133;
    and Skirmishing Fund, 137;
    statement of accounts, 193.


  Johnson, Andrew, and first Canadian raid, 28, 35;
    interview with, 57.

  Jubilee Explosion Plot, reference to, 254;
    Millen’s connection with, 255;
    story of the, Appendix.


  Kenny, Dr., M.P., introduced to, by Patrick Egan, 179;
    assisted by him to interviews with Boyton and others, 179.

  Kerwin, Michael, details regarding, and his connection with
          Clan-na-Gael, 78, 124.


  Land League and Clan-na-Gael. See latter.

  Lomasney, Thos., first dealings with, 100;
    description of, 101;
    views on dynamite, 192;
    dynamite work in England, 222.

  Luby, Thos. Clarke, on executive of Irish Confederation, 104;
    further details regarding, and his connection with Clan-na-Gael,
          121;
    trustee of Skirmishing Fund, 137.


  M‘Micken, Judge, first communications with, 60;
    his kindly treatment of me, 61;
    and my troubles in connection with journey to Ottawa, 94;
    my last meeting with, 273.

  Medicine, I commence study of, 36;
    resume study of, 97;
    I enter Detroit College of, 100;
    I become a fully qualified doctor of, 105;
    I utilise my connection with, 126.

  Meledy, Joseph, supplies details of “active” work of Clan-na-Gael,
          158.

  Millen, General, details regarding, and his connection with
          Clan-na-Gael, 125;
    goes to Ireland as military inspector for Clan-na-Gael, 146;
    my meeting with, in Paris, 253;
    his connection with Jubilee Explosion Plot, 254 and Appendix.

  Moroney, Joseph, and Jubilee Plot, 256;
    introduced by J. S. Nolan, M.P., to House of Commons, 256;
    in possession of £1200 for dynamite work, 274;
    his movements in connection with same, Appendix.


  New Departure, Devoy and Davitt and, 143;
    sketch of, 144;
    advocated by Devoy in Ireland, 146;
    received with enthusiasm by the Gaels, 149.
    [See also “Davitt” and “Devoy.”]


  O’Connor, John, _alias_ Dr. Clarke, travelling agent for Clan-na-Gael
          in Europe and ally of Egan, 190.

  O’Donovan Rossa, arrival of, and sketch of, 102;
    further details regarding, and his connection with Clan-na-Gael,
          121;
    advocates “Skirmishing Fund,” 130, 135;
    Devoy on difficulties regarding, 156;
    expelled from Clan-na-Gael, 209;
    work of his agents in England, 237;
    controversy with Egan regarding the £20,000, 264.

  O’Kelly, J. J., member of executive of Irish Confederation, 104;
    obtains seat in Parliament by misappropriation of Clan-na-Gael
          funds, 153;
    interview with, in House of Commons, 172.

  O’Leary, John, letter for, given me by Devoy, 159;
    my first meeting with, 161;
    Sullivan informs me, must be got rid of, 185.

  O’Neill, General John, and Fenianism, 29;
    commands first invasion of Canada, 32;
    extract of report regarding same, 34;
    sketch of his life, 38-40;
    my loan to, 77;
    general orders of, in connection with second invasion of Canada,
          83;
    speech to the invaders, 85;
    arrest of, 88;
    sentence on, 97;
    and the Riel Rebellion, 98;
    last days of, 99.

  O’Reilly, John Boyle, arrival in America of, 72;
    at invasion of Canada, 88.


  Parnell, Mr., and the New Departure, 144;
    arrival in America, 130;
    supported everywhere by Clan-na-Gael representatives, 130;
    returns to Ireland for General Election, 151;
    Devoy on position of, with regard to Clan-na-Gael, 157;
    my first meeting with, 171;
    House of Commons interview with, 175;
    gives me his portrait, 177;
    his request to me carried out, 190;
    and Kilmainham Treaty, 210;
    cables to American supporters, 212;
    subsequent references to, 215, 235, 236, 255.

  Powderly, J. V., speech at Dynamite Convention, 201;
    at Land League Convention, 206.

  Phœnix Park murders, Clan-na-Gael and Devoy and, 207.


  Rebow, Mr. John, communicates my letters regarding Canadian invasion
          to Government, 30;
    arranges for my joining Secret Service, 37.

  Revolutionary Directory of Clan-na-Gael, details regarding, 116;
    Devoy supplies particulars regarding plans of, 155;
    referred to with respect to Mr. Parnell’s complaint regarding Irish
          Republican Brotherhood, 186;
    complaints regarding, 188.

  Reynolds, James, details regarding, and his connection with
          Clan-na-Gael, 122;
    trustee of Skirmishing Fund, 136.

  Russia, Clan-na-Gael alliance with, 140.


  Secret Service, I join the, 37;
    general references to, 273-276.

  Sheridan, P. J., in Kilmainham Prison, 179;
    arrival of, in America, 209.

  Skirmishing Fund and O’Donovan Rossa, 121;
    advocated in _Irish World_, 131;
    and Clan-na-Gael, 136;
    pays for expenses of Devoy and Millen in Ireland, 149;
    statement of accounts of, from _Irish World_, 193.

  Special Commission, my offer of evidence for, 259;
    I appear as a witness at, 269.

  Speech, my first Irish, 55.

  Stephens, James, brought from France for Irish Confederation, 104;
    my first meeting with, 163;
    story of his escape from Richmond Bridewell, 164.

  Stone of Destiny, plot to obtain, 224.

  Sullivan, Alexander, my first meeting with, 61;
    the early career of, 62;
    manipulation of the Irish vote in America by, 63;
    appointed collector of internal revenue at Santa Fé, 65;
    reporter in Chicago, 65;
    further details regarding, and his connection with Clan-na-Gael
          in 1876, 120;
    supplies details of “active” work of Clan-na-Gael, 158;
    my report to, regarding Mr. Parnell’s views, 184;
    informs me result of same, 185;
    elected president of Clan-na-Gael, 191;
    trip to Europe, 191;
    at Dynamite Convention, 203;
    elected president of Land League, 212;
    supplies particulars of Dynamite Campaign of 1883, 217;
    charged with misappropriation, 219;
    at war with Cronin and Devoy, 225;
    Mr. Sexton’s tribute to, 228;
    and J. G. Blaine’s candidature, 235;
    tried and acquitted but censured in connection with Cronin’s
          charges, 261;
    proved to have received £20,000 from Egan in Paris in 1882, 263;
    alleged connection with Cronin murder, Appendix.

  Sullivan, A. M., the late, reference to, 170;
    cautioned regarding, 177;
    story about Mr. Biggar, 178.


  “Times,” the, my first dealings with, 266.

  Triangle, the, formed in connection with split in Clan-na-Gael, 220;
    acknowledgments of money received by, 231;
    charges against, 232.

  Tynan, P. J., No. One of the Phœnix Park murders, present at Boston
          Convention, 228.


  “United Irishmen,” the, of New York, 107.

  “United Brotherhood,” reference to, 110.

  “U. S.,” formation of, 219.


  “V. C.” See “Clan-na-Gael.”


  Walsh, R. P., the father of the Clan-na-Gael, 108.


THE END.


  PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE, HANSON AND CO.
  EDINBURGH AND LONDON




FOOTNOTES:

[1] I was not the only member of the family fighting for Queen and
country then. Two others of my brothers entered the army at home. One
is to-day a commissioned officer in South Africa; the other, poor
fellow, left his bones to whiten on the battlefield of Tel-el-Kebir.

[2] The Irish for “Do you understand?”

[3] As this same Daly has more than once been the subject of lengthy
debates in Parliament, and his release demanded by the Irish members
on the ground of his being the victim of a wrong conviction, I think
it well to state that his sentence and the subsequent refusal of the
Home Secretary to accede to these demands, were based on letters
written by him to the notorious J. J. Breslin of the Revolutionary
Committee of the Clan-na-Gael, and now in existence among the records
of the Home Office.

[4] See Appendix (I.).

[5] John Devoy, in the course of a speech delivered at Cheltenham
Beach prior to the death of Mr. Parnell, made the following statement
as regards the Cronin affair:—

“The men to whom I refer and whom I charge to be in alliance with the
men who instigated the murder of Dr. Cronin, are Michael Davitt and
John O’Connor, one of the members from Tipperary. (Cheers and cries
of Hear, hear). I say here that there is a combination between the
coterie which brought about the murder of Dr. Cronin and the Davitt
clique in Ireland, to oust Mr. Parnell from the leadership and place
Michael Davitt in his place. In Michael Davitt’s sworn testimony
before the Parnell Commission, he said, I sought out John Devoy,
because I heard he was going to make trouble in the Convention,
so that I might learn his plans and frustrate them.’ I am glad of
that admission from Michael Davitt himself, and for the payment of
a thousand dollars given to him for one speech in Ogden’s Grove,
and the full proceeds of a lecture tour given throughout the United
States under the auspices of the Triangle. The Cronin murder was as
much a part of the infamous work of this alliance to down Parnell,
and to down every man in this country who believes in giving his
movements a fair, full, and reasonable trial, as the puffs of Michael
Davitt at a thousand a puff.”

In corroboration of Devoy’s statement, I find in the financial
report of the Clan-na-Gael the sum of one thousand dollars charged;
and while Mr. Davitt had for some years disassociated himself from
the party of violence, he does not appear to have been averse to
receiving a portion of their spoils. Mr. Davitt may plead, as other
well-known Irish patriots have done, that he did not know the source
from whence this money was derived; but no man was in a better
position to have found out than he, had he so desired.

[6] See Appendix (II.).

[7] The Coroner’s jury brought in a verdict of “wilful murder”
against Alex. Sullivan, and he was formally arrested, but
subsequently released, for want of sufficient evidence against him.




       *       *       *       *       *
       *       *       *       *       *

  Telegraphic Address:
  _Sunlocks, London_.

  _21 BEDFORD STREET, W.C.
  OCTOBER 1892._


A LIST OF

MR WILLIAM HEINEMANN’S

PUBLICATIONS

AND

FORTHCOMING WORKS


                       _The Books mentioned in this List can
                       be obtained_ to order _by any Bookseller
                       if not in stock, or will be sent
                       by the Publisher post free on receipt
                       of price_.




Index of Authors.


  Alexander, 13

  Arbuthnot, 8

  Atherton, 13


  Balestier, 9

  Barrett, 9

  Behrs, 3

  Bendall, 16

  Björnson, 9, 11, 12, 15

  Bowen, 5

  Brown, 8

  Brown and Griffiths, 16

  Buchanan, 8, 9, 10, 14

  Butler, 5


  Caine, 8, 12

  Caine, 16

  Cambridge, 9, 12

  Chester, 7

  Clarke, 9

  Colomb, 6

  Compayre, 5

  Couperus, 11


  Davidson, 5

  Dawson, 16

  De Quincey, 7

  Dilke, 6


  Eeden, 6

  Ellwanger, 7

  Ely, 8


  Farrar, 7

  Fitch, 5

  Forbes, 6

  Fothergill, 9

  Franzos, 11

  Frederic, 6, 13


  Garner, 6

  Garnett, 6

  Gilchrist, 9

  Gore, 16

  Gosse, 7, 9

  Gray, 7

  Gray (Maxwell), 9

  Griffiths, 16


  Hall, 16

  Harland, 9

  Hardy, 12

  Heine, 4

  Henderson, 6

  Henderson, 14

  Howard, 10

  Hughes, 5

  Hungerford, 10, 13


  Ibsen, 15

  Irving, 6

  Ingersoll, 8

  Jæger, 7, 15

  Jeaffreson, 3


  Kimball, 16

  Kipling and Balestier, 9


  Lanza, 13

  Le Caron, 3

  Lee, 10

  Leland, 16

  Lie, 12

  Lowe, 6

  Lynch, 13


  Maartens, 10

  Maeterlinck, 15

  Maude, 6

  Maupassant, 11

  Maurice, 6

  Mitford, 13

  Murray, 6


  Norris, 9


  Ouida, 9


  Palacio-Valdés, 11

  Pearce, 10

  Pennell, 6

  Philips, 14

  Phelps, 13

  Pinero, 14


  Rawnsley, 8

  Richter, 7

  Riddell, 9

  Rives, 10

  Roberts, 8

  Roberts (V.), 12

  Robinson, 14


  Salaman, 7

  Scudamore, 6

  Serao, 11

  Sienkiewicz, 12


  Tasma, 9, 10, 13

  Terry, 6

  Thurston, 16

  Tolstoy, 3, 11, 15

  Tree, 15


  Valera, 12


  Warden, 13

  Waugh, 4

  Weitemeyer, 8

  West, 5

  Whistler, 6

  Whitman, 3, 8

  Williams, 7

  Wood, 9


  Zangwill, 6, 9

  Zola, 9


       *       *       *       *       *

VICTORIA:

QUEEN AND EMPRESS.

BY

JOHN CORDY JEAFFRESON,

Author of “The Real Lord Byron,” etc.

In Two Volumes, 8vo. With Portraits. [_In October._

       *       *       *       *       *

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN THE SECRET SERVICE.

_THE RECOLLECTIONS OF A SPY._

BY

MAJOR LE CARON.

In One Volume, 8vo. With Portraits and Facsimiles. Price, 14_s._

       *       *       *       *       *

REMINISCENCES OF COUNT LEO NICHOLAEVITCH TOLSTOI.

BY

C. A. BEHRS,

TRANSLATED FROM THE RUSSIAN BY

PROFESSOR C. E. TURNER.

In One Volume, Crown 8vo. [_In October._

       *       *       *       *       *

THE REALM OF THE HABSBURGS

BY

SIDNEY WHITMAN,

Author of “Imperial Germany.”

In One Volume. Crown 8vo. [_In November._

       *       *       *       *       *

ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON:

_A STUDY OF HIS LIFE AND WORK_.

BY

ARTHUR WAUGH, B.A. OXON.

WITH TWENTY-ONE ILLUSTRATIONS.

_From Photographs Specially Taken for this Work, and Two Portraits._

In One Volume, Demy 8vo, 10_s._ 6_d._

CONTENTS:—Lincolnshire—Cambridge—Literary troubles and Arthur
Hallam’s Death—Early Years in London—The Beginnings of Fame—From
_The Princess_ to _In Memoriam_—_Maud_—_Idylls of the King_—From
the _Idylls_ to the Dramas—_Queen Mary_ and _Harold_—_The Falcon_
and _The Cup_—_The Promise of May_ and _Becket_—From _Tiresias_ to
_Demeter_—The Closing Years—The Voice of the Age.

       *       *       *       *       *

=THE WORKS OF HEINRICH HEINE.= Translated by CHARLES GODFREY LELAND,
M.A., F.R.L.S. (Hans Breitmann.) Crown 8vo, cloth, 5_s._ per Volume.

  I. FLORENTINE NIGHTS, SCHNABELEWOPSKI, THE RABBI OF BACHARACH, and
  SHAKESPEARE’S MAIDENS AND WOMEN. [_Ready._

_Times._—“We can recommend no better medium for making acquaintance
at first hand with ‘the German Aristophanes’ than the works of
Heinrich Heine, translated by Charles Godfrey Leland. Mr. Leland
manages pretty successfully to preserve the easy grace of the
original.”

  II., III. PICTURES OF TRAVEL. 1823-1828. In Two Volumes. [_Ready._

_Daily Chronicle._—“Mr. Leland’s translation of ‘The Pictures of
Travel’ is one of the acknowledged literary feats of the age. As a
traveller Heine is delicious beyond description, and a volume which
includes the magnificent Lucca series, the North Sea, the memorable
Hartz wanderings, must needs possess an everlasting charm.”

  IV. THE BOOK OF SONGS. [_In the Press._

  V., VI. GERMANY. In Two Volumes. [_Ready_.

_Daily Telegraph._—“Mr. Leland has done his translation in able and
scholarly fashion.”

  VII., VIII. FRENCH AFFAIRS. In Two Volumes. [_In the Press._

  IX. THE SALON. [_In preparation._

*** _Large Paper Edition, limited to 100 Numbered Copies. Particulars
on application._

       *       *       *       *       *

=The Great Educators.=

_A Series of Volumes by Eminent Writers, presenting in their entirety
“A Biographical History of Education.”_


_The Times._—“A Series of Monographs on ‘The Great Educators’ should
prove of service to all who concern themselves with the history,
theory, and practice of education.”

_The Speaker._—“There is a promising sound about the title of Mr.
Heinemann’s new series, ‘The Great Educators.’ It should help to
allay the hunger and thirst for knowledge and culture of the vast
multitude of young men and maidens which our educational system turns
out yearly, provided at least with an appetite for instruction.”

Each subject will form a complete volume, crown 8vo, 5_s._


_Now ready._

  =ARISTOTLE, and the Ancient Educational Ideals.= By THOMAS
  DAVIDSON, M.A., LL.D.

_The Times._—“A very readable sketch of a very interesting subject.”

  =LOYOLA, and the Educational System of the Jesuits.= By Rev. THOMAS
  HUGHES, S.J.

_Saturday Review._—“Full of valuable information.... If a
schoolmaster would learn how the education of the young can be
carried on so as to confer real dignity on those engaged in it, we
recommend him to read Mr. Hughes’ book.”

  =ALCUIN, and the Rise of the Christian Schools=. By Professor
  ANDREW F. WEST, Ph.D. [_In October._


_In preparation._

  =ABELARD, and the Origin and Early History of Universities.= By
  JULES GABRIEL COMPAYRE, Professor in the Faculty of Toulouse.

  =ROUSSEAU; or, Education according to Nature=.

  =HERBART; or, Modern German Education.=

  =PESTALOZZI; or, the Friend and Student of Children.=

  =FROEBEL.= BY H. COURTHOPE BOWEN, M.A.

  =HORACE MANN, and Public Education in the United States.= By
  NICHOLAS MURRAY BUTLER, Ph.D.

  =BELL, LANCASTER, and ARNOLD; or, the English Education of To-Day.=
  By J. G. FITCH, LL.D., Her Majesty’s Inspector of Schools.

_Others to follow._

       *       *       *       *       *

  =THE GREAT WAR OF 189-. A Forecast.= By REAR-ADMIRAL COLOMB, COL.
  MAURICE, R.A., MAJOR HENDERSON, STAFF COLLEGE, CAPTAIN MAUDE,
  ARCHIBALD FORBES, CHARLES LOWE, D. CHRISTIE MURRAY, F. SCUDAMORE,
  and SIR CHARLES DILKE. In One Volume, 4to, Illustrated. [_Nearly
  ready._

In this narrative, which is reprinted from the pages of _Black
and White_, an attempt is made to forecast the course of events
preliminary and incidental to the Great War which, in the opinion of
military and political experts, will probably occur in the immediate
future.

The writers, who are well-known authorities on international politics
and strategy, have striven to derive the conflict from its most
likely source, to conceive the most probable campaigns and acts of
policy, and generally to give to their work the verisimilitude and
actuality of real warfare. The work has been profusely illustrated
from sketches by Mr. Frederic Villiers, the well-known war artist.

  =THE GENTLE ART OF MAKING ENEMIES.= As pleasingly exemplified in
  many instances, wherein the serious ones of this earth, carefully
  exasperated, have been prettily spurred on to indiscretions and
  unseemliness, while overcome by an undue sense of right. By J.
  M‘NEIL WHISTLER. _A New Edition._ Pott 4to, half cloth, 10_s._
  6_d._ [_Just ready._

_Punch._—“The book in itself, in its binding, print and arrangement,
is a work of art.... A work of rare humour, a thing of beauty and a
joy for now and ever.”

  =THE JEW AT HOME.= Impressions of a Summer and Autumn Spent with
  Him in Austria and Russia. By JOSEPH PENNELL. With Illustrations by
  the Author. 4to, cloth, 5_s._ [_Just ready._

  =THE NEW EXODUS.= A Study of Israel in Russia. By HAROLD FREDERIC.
  Demy 8vo, Illustrated. 16_s._ [_Just ready._

  =PRINCE BISMARCK.= An Historical Biography. By CHARLES LOWE, M.A.
  With Portraits. Crown 8vo, 6_s._ [_Just ready._

_The Times._—“Is unquestionably the first important work which
deals, fully and with some approach to exhaustiveness, with the
career of Bismarck from both the personal and the historical points
of view.”

  =ADDRESSES.= By HENRY IRVING. Small crown 8vo. With Portrait by J.
  M‘N. WHISTLER. [_In the Press._

  =STRAY MEMORIES.= By ELLEN TERRY. 4to. With Portraits. [_In
  preparation._

  =LITTLE JOHANNES.= By FREDERICK VAN EEDEN. Translated from
  the Dutch by CLARA BELL. With an Introduction by ANDREW LANG.
  Illustrated. [_In preparation._

*** _Also a Large Paper Edition._

  =LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE.= By RICHARD GARNETT, LL.D. With Portrait.
  Crown 8vo (uniform with the translation of Heine’s Works). [_In
  preparation._

  =THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS.= By Professor R. L. GARNER. Crown 8vo,
  7_s._ 6_d._ [_Just ready._

_Daily Chronicle._—“A real, a remarkable, contribution to our common
knowledge.”

_Daily Telegraph._—“An entertaining book.”

  =THE OLD MAIDS’ CLUB.= By I. ZANGWILL, Author of “The Bachelors’
  Club.” Illustrated by F. H. TOWNSEND. Crown 8vo, cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._

_National Review._—“Mr. Zangwill has a very bright and a very
original humour, and every page of this closely printed book is full
of point and go, and full, too, of a healthy satire that is really
humorously applied common-sense.”

_Athenæum._—“Most strongly to be recommended to all classes of
readers.”

  =WOMAN—THROUGH A MAN’S EYEGLASS.= By MALCOLM C. SALAMAN. With
  Illustrations by DUDLEY HARDY. Crown 8vo, cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._

_Daily Graphic._—“A most amusing book.”

_Daily Telegraph._—“Written with brightness and elegance, and with
touches of both caustic satire and kindly humour.”

_Daily Chronicle._—“It is the very thing for a punt cushion or a
garden hammock.”

  =GIRLS AND WOMEN.= By E. CHESTER. Pott 8vo, cloth, 2_s._ 6_d._, or
  gilt extra, 3_s._ 6_d._

_Literary World._—“We gladly commend this delightful little work.”

  =GOSSIP IN A LIBRARY.= By EDMUND GOSSE, Author of “Northern
  Studies,” &c. Second Edition. Crown 8vo, buckram, gilt top, 7_s._
  6_d._

_Athenæum._—“There is a touch of Leigh Hunt in this picture of the
book-lover among his books, and the volume is one that Leigh Hunt
would have delighted in.”

*** _Large Paper Edition, limited to 100 Numbered Copies, 25s. net._

  =THE LIFE OF HENRIK IBSEN.= By HENRIK JÆGER. Translated by CLARA
  BELL. With the Verse done into English from the Norwegian Original
  by EDMUND GOSSE. Crown 8vo, cloth, 6_s._

_Academy._—“We welcome it heartily. An unqualified boon to the many
English students of Ibsen.”

  =DE QUINCEY MEMORIALS.= Being Letters and other Records here
  first Published, with Communications from COLERIDGE, The
  WORDSWORTHS, HANNAH MORE, PROFESSOR WILSON and others. Edited, with
  Introduction, Notes, and Narrative, by ALEXANDER H. JAPP, LL.D.
  F.R.S.E. In two volumes, demy 8vo, cloth, with portraits, 30_s._
  net.

_Daily Telegraph._—“Few works of greater literary interest have of
late years issued from the press than the two volumes of ‘De Quincey
Memorials.’”

  =THE POSTHUMOUS WORKS OF THOMAS DE QUINCEY.= Edited with
  Introduction and Notes from the Author’s Original MSS., by
  ALEXANDER H. JAPP, LL.D, F.R.S.E., &c. Crown 8vo, cloth, 6_s._ each.

    I. SUSPIRIA DE PROFUNDIS. With other Essays.

_Times._—“Here we have De Quincey at his best. Will be welcome to
lovers of De Quincey and good literature.”

    II. CONVERSATION AND COLERIDGE. With other Essays. [_In
    preparation._

  =THE WORD OF THE LORD UPON THE WATERS.= Sermons read by His
  Imperial Majesty the Emperor of Germany, while at Sea on his
  Voyages to the Land of the Midnight Sun. Composed by Dr. RICHTER,
  Army Chaplain, and Translated from the German by JOHN R. MCILRAITH.
  4to, cloth, 2_s._ 6_d._

  =THE HOURS OF RAPHAEL, IN OUTLINE.= Together with the Ceiling of
  the Hall where they were originally painted. By MARY E. WILLIAMS.
  Folio, cloth, £2 2_s._ net.

  =THE PASSION PLAY AT OBERAMMERGAU, 1890.= By F. W. FARRAR, D.D.,
  F.R.S., Archdeacon and Canon of Westminster, &c. &c. 4to, cloth,
  2_s._ 6_d._

  =THE GARDEN’S STORY=; or, Pleasures and Trials of an Amateur
  Gardener. By G. H. ELLWANGER. With an Introduction by the Rev. C.
  WOLLEY DOD. 12mo, cloth, with Illustrations, 5_s._

  =IDLE MUSINGS=: Essays in Social Mosaic. By E. CONDER GRAY, Author
  of “Wise Words and Loving Deeds,” &c. &c. Crown 8vo, cloth, 6_s._

  =THE COMING TERROR.= And other Essays and Letters. By ROBERT
  BUCHANAN. Second Edition. Demy 8vo, cloth, 12_s._ 6_d._

  =ARABIC AUTHORS=: A Manual of Arabian History and Literature.
  By F. F. ARBUTHNOT, M.R.A.S., Author of “Early Ideas,” “Persian
  Portraits,” &c. 8vo, cloth, 10_s._

  =THE LABOUR MOVEMENT IN AMERICA.= By RICHARD T. ELY, Ph.D.,
  Associate in Political Economy, Johns Hopkins University. Crown
  8vo, cloth, 5_s._

  =THE LITTLE MANX NATION.= (Lectures delivered at the Royal
  Institution, 1891.) By HALL CAINE, Author of “The Bondman,” “The
  Scapegoat,” &c. Crown 8vo, cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._; paper, 2_s._ 6_d._

_World._—“Mr. Hall Caine takes us back to the days of old romance,
and, treating tradition and history in the pictorial style of which
he is a master, he gives us a monograph of Man especially acceptable.”

  =NOTES FOR THE NILE.= Together with a Metrical Rendering of the
  Hymns of Ancient Egypt and of the Precepts of Ptahhotep (the oldest
  book in the world). By HARDWICKE D. RAWNSLEY, M.A. 16mo, cloth,
  5_s._

  =DENMARK=: Its History, Topography, Language, Literature, Fine
  Arts, Social Life, and Finance. Edited by H. WEITEMEYER. Demy 8vo,
  cloth, with Map, 12_s._ 6_d._

*** _Dedicated, by permission, to H.R.H. the Princess of Wales._

  =IMPERIAL GERMANY.= A Critical Study of Fact and Character. By
  SIDNEY WHITMAN. New Edition, Revised and Enlarged. Crown 8vo, cloth
  2_s._ 6_d._; paper, 2_s._

  =THE CANADIAN GUIDE-BOOK.= Part I. The Tourist’s and Sportsman’s
  Guide to Eastern Canada and Newfoundland, including full
  descriptions of Routes, Cities, Points of Interest, Summer Resorts,
  Fishing Places, &c., in Eastern Ontario, The Muskoka District,
  The St. Lawrence Region, The Lake St. John Country, The Maritime
  Provinces, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland. With an Appendix
  giving Fish and Game Laws, and Official Lists of Trout and Salmon
  Rivers and their Lessees. By CHARLES G. D. ROBERTS, Professor of
  English Literature in King’s College, Windsor, N.S. With Maps and
  many Illustrations. Crown 8vo, limp cloth, 6_s._

    Part II. =WESTERN CANADA.= Including the Peninsula and Northern
    Regions of Ontario, the Canadian Shores of the Great Lakes, the
    Lake of the Woods Region, Manitoba and “The Great North-West,”
    The Canadian Rocky Mountains and National Park, British Columbia,
    and Vancouver Island. By ERNEST INGERSOLL. With Maps and many
    Illustrations. Crown 8vo, limp cloth. [_In preparation._

  =THE GENESIS OF THE UNITED STATES.= A Narrative of the Movement
  in England, 1605-1616, which resulted in the Plantation of North
  America by Englishmen, disclosing the Contest between England and
  Spain for the Possession of the Soil now occupied by the United
  States of America; set forth through a series of Historical
  Manuscripts now first printed, together with a Re-issue of Rare
  Contemporaneous Tracts, accompanied by Bibliographical Memoranda,
  Notes, and Brief Biographies. Collected, Arranged, and Edited by
  ALEXANDER BROWN, F.R.H.S. With 100 Portraits, Maps, and Plans. In
  two volumes. Roy. 8vo, buckram, £3 13_s._ 6_d._

       *       *       *       *       *

=Fiction.=

In Three Volumes.

  =THE HEAD OF THE FIRM.= By Mrs. RIDDELL, Author of “George Geith,”
  “Maxwell Drewett,” &c. [_Just ready._

  =CHILDREN OF THE GHETTO.= By I. ZANGWILL, Author of “The Old Maids’
  Club,” &c. [_Just ready._

  =THE TOWER OF TADDEO.= A Novel. By OUIDA, Author of “Two Little
  Wooden Shoes,” &c. [_In October._

  =KITTY’S FATHER.= By FRANK BARRETT. Author of “Lieutenant
  Barnabas,” &c. [_In November._

  =THE COUNTESS RADNA.= By W. E. NORRIS, Author of “Matrimony,” &c.
  [_In January._

  =ORIOLE’S DAUGHTER.= A Novel. By JESSIE FOTHERGILL, Author of “The
  First Violin,” &c. [_In February._

  =THE LAST SENTENCE.= By MAXWELL GRAY, Author of “The Silence of
  Dean Maitland,” &c. [_In March._


In Two Volumes.

  =WOMAN AND THE MAN.= A Love Story. By ROBERT BUCHANAN, Author of
  “Come Live with Me and be My Love,” “The Moment After,” “The Coming
  Terror,” &c. [_In preparation._

  =A KNIGHT OF THE WHITE FEATHER.= By “TASMA,” Author of “The Penance
  of Portia James,” “Uncle Piper of Piper’s Hill,” &c. [_Just ready._

  =A LITTLE MINX.= By ADA CAMBRIDGE, Author of “A Marked Man,” “The
  Three Miss Kings,” &c.


In One Volume.

  =THE NAULAHKA.= A Tale of West and East. By RUDYARD KIPLING and
  WOLCOTT BALESTIER. Crown 8vo, cloth, 6_s._ Second Edition. [_Just
  ready._

  =THE SECRET OF NARCISSE.= By EDMUND GOSSE. Crown 8vo. [_In October._

  =THE AVERAGE WOMAN.= By WOLCOTT BALESTIER. With an Introduction by
  HENRY JAMES. Small crown 8vo, 3_s._ 6_d._ [_Just ready._

  =THE ATTACK ON THE MILL and Other Sketches of War.= By EMILE ZOLA.
  With an essay on the short stories of M. Zola by Edmund Gosse.
  Small crown 8vo, 3_s._ 6_d._ [_Just ready._

  =DUST.= By BJÖRNSTJERNE BJÖRNSON. Translated from the Norwegian.
  Small crown 8vo.

  =MADEMOISELLE MISS and Other Stories.= By HENRY HARLAND, Author of
  “Mea Culpa,” &c. Small crown 8vo. [_In the Press._

  =AVENGED ON SOCIETY.= By H. F. WOOD. Small crown 8vo. [_In the
  Press._

  =THE DOMINANT SEVENTH.= A Musical Story. By KATE ELIZABETH CLARKE.
  Crown 8vo, cloth, 5_s._

_Speaker._—“A very romantic story.”

  =PASSION THE PLAYTHING.= A Novel. By R. MURRAY GILCHRIST. Crown
  8vo, cloth, 6_s._

_Athenæum._—“This well-written story must be read to be
appreciated.”

       *       *       *       *       *

=The Crown Copyright Series.=

Mr. HEINEMANN has made arrangements with a number of the FIRST AND
MOST POPULAR ENGLISH, AMERICAN, and COLONIAL AUTHORS which will
enable him to issue a series of NEW AND ORIGINAL WORKS, to be known
as THE CROWN COPYRIGHT SERIES, complete in One Volume, at a uniform
price of FIVE SHILLINGS EACH. These Novels will not pass through an
Expensive Two or Three Volume Edition, but they will be obtainable
at the CIRCULATING LIBRARIES, as well as at all Booksellers’ and
Bookstalls.

  =ACCORDING TO ST. JOHN.= By AMÉLIE RIVES, Author of “The Quick or
  the Dead.”

_Scotsman._—“The literary work is highly artistic.... It has beauty
and brightness, and a kind of fascination which carries the reader on
till he has read to the last page.”

  =THE PENANCE OF PORTIA JAMES.= By TASMA, Author of “Uncle Piper of
  Piper’s Hill,” &c.

_Athenæum._—“A powerful novel.”

_Daily Chronicle._—“Captivating and yet tantalising, this story is
far above the average.”

_Vanity Fair._—“A very interesting story, morally sound, and
flavoured throughout with ease of diction and lack of strain.”

  =INCONSEQUENT LIVES.= A Village Chronicle, shewing how certain folk
  set out for El Dorado; what they attempted; and what they attained.
  By J. H. PEARCE, Author of “Esther Pentreath,” &c.

_Saturday Review._—“A vivid picture of the life of Cornish
fisher-folk. It is unquestionably interesting.”

_Literary World._—“Powerful and pathetic ... from first to last it
is profoundly interesting. It is long since we read a story revealing
power of so high an order, marked by such evident carefulness
of workmanship, such skill in the powerful and yet temperate
presentation of passion, and in the sternly realistic yet delicate
treatment of difficult situations.”

  =A QUESTION OF TASTE.= By MAARTEN MAARTENS, Author of “An Old
  Maid’s Love,” &c.

_National Observer._—“There is more than cleverness; there is
original talent, and a good deal of humanity besides.”

  =COME LIVE WITH ME AND BE MY LOVE.= By ROBERT BUCHANAN, Author of
  “The Moment After,” “The Coming Terror,” &c.

_Globe._—“Will be found eminently readable.”

_Daily Telegraph._—“We will conclude this brief notice by expressing
our cordial admiration of the skill displayed in its construction,
and the genial humanity that has inspired its author in the shaping
and vitalising of the individuals created by his fertile imagination.”

  =THE O’CONNORS OF BALLINAHINCH.= By Mrs. HUNGERFORD, Author of
  “Molly Bawn,” &c. [_In the Press._

  =A BATTLE AND A BOY.= By BLANCHE WILLIS HOWARD, Author of “Guenn,”
  &c. [_In preparation._

  =VANITAS.= By VERNON LEE, Author of “Hauntings,” &c. [_In
  preparation._

       *       *       *       *       *

=Heinemann’s International Library.=

EDITED BY EDMUND GOSSE.


_New Review._—“If you have any pernicious remnants of literary
chauvinism I hope it will not survive the series of foreign classics
of which Mr. William Heinemann, aided by Mr. Edmund Gosse, is
publishing translations to the great contentment of all lovers of
literature.”

_Times._—“A venture which deserves encouragement.”

_Each Volume has an Introduction specially written by the Editor_

Price, in paper covers, 2_s._ 6_d._ each, or cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._

  =IN GOD’S WAY.= From the Norwegian of BJÖRNSTJERNE BJÖRNSON.

_Athenæum._—“Without doubt the most important and the most
interesting work published during the twelve months.... There are
descriptions which certainly belong to the best and cleverest things
our literature has ever produced. Amongst the many characters, the
doctor’s wife is unquestionably the first. It would be difficult
to find anything more tender, soft, and refined than this charming
personage.”

  =PIERRE AND JEAN.= From the French of GUY DE MAUPASSANT.

_Pall Mall Gazette._—“So fine and faultless, so perfectly balanced,
so steadily progressive, so clear and simple and satisfying. It is
admirable from beginning to end.”

_Athenæum._—“Ranks amongst the best gems of modern French fiction.”

  =THE CHIEF JUSTICE.= From the German of KARL EMIL FRANZOS, Author
  of “For the Right,” &c.

_New Review._—“Few novels of recent times have a more sustained and
vivid human interest.”

_Christian World._—“A story of wonderful power ... as free from
anything objectionable as ‘The Heart of Midlothian.’”

  =WORK WHILE YE HAVE THE LIGHT.= From the Russian of Count LYOF
  TOLSTOY.

_Liverpool Mercury._—“Marked by all the old power of the great
Russian novelist.”

_Manchester Guardian._—“Readable and well translated; full of high
and noble feeling.”

  =FANTASY.= From the Italian of MATILDE SERAO.

_National Observer._—“The strongest work from the hand of a woman
that has been published for many a day.”

_Scottish Leader._—“The book is full of a glowing and living
realism.... There is nothing like ‘Fantasy’ in modern literature....
It is a work of elfish art, a mosaic of light and love, of right and
wrong, of human weakness and strength, and purity and wantonness,
pieced together in deft and witching precision.”

  =FROTH.= From the Spanish of Don ARMANDO PALACIO-VALDÉS.

_Daily Telegraph._—“Vigorous and powerful in the highest degree. It
abounds in forcible delineation of character, and describes scenes
with rare and graphic strength.”

  =FOOTSTEPS OF FATE.= From the Dutch of LOUIS COUPERUS.

_Daily Chronicle._—“A powerfully realistic story which has been
excellently translated.”

_Gentlewoman._—“The consummate art of the writer prevents this
tragedy from sinking to melodrama. Not a single situation is forced
or a circumstance exaggerated.”

  =PEPITA JIMÉNEZ.= From the Spanish of JUAN VALERA.

_New Review_ (Mr. George Saintsbury):—“There is no doubt at all that
it is one of the best stories that have appeared in any country in
Europe for the last twenty years.”

  =THE COMMODORE’S DAUGHTERS.= From the Norwegian of JONAS LIE.

_Athenæum._—“Everything that Jonas Lie writes is attractive and
pleasant; the plot of deeply human interest, and the art noble.”

  =THE HERITAGE OF THE KURTS.= From the Norwegian of BJÖRNSTJERNE
  BJÖRNSON.

_Pall Mall Gazette._—“A most fascinating as well as a powerful book.”

_National Observer._—“It is a book to read and a book to think
about, for, incontestably, it is the work of a man of genius.”


_In the Press._

  =LOU.= From the German of BARON V. ROBERTS.

  =DONA LUZ.= From the Spanish of JUAN VALERA.

  =WITHOUT DOGMA.= From the Polish of H. SIENKIEWICZ.

       *       *       *       *       *

=Popular 3s. 6d. Novels.=

  =CAPT’N DAVY’S HONEYMOON=, The Blind Mother, and The Last
  Confession. By HALL CAINE, Author of “The Bondman,” “The
  Scapegoat,” &c.

  =THE SCAPEGOAT.= By HALL CAINE, Author of “The Bondman,” &c.

_Mr. Gladstone writes_:—“I congratulate you upon ‘The Scapegoat’
as a work of art, and especially upon the noble and skilfully drawn
character of Israel.”

_Times._—“In our judgment it excels in dramatic force all his
previous efforts. For grace and touching pathos Naomi is a character
which any romancist in the world might be proud to have created.”

  =THE BONDMAN.= A New Saga. By HALL CAINE. Twentieth Thousand.

_Mr. Gladstone._—“‘The Bondman’ is a work of which I recognise the
freshness, vigour, and sustained interest no less than its integrity
of aim.”

_Standard._—“Its argument is grand, and it is sustained with a power
that is almost marvellous.”

  =DESPERATE REMEDIES.= By THOMAS HARDY, Author of “Tess of the
  D’Urbervilles,” &c.

_Saturday Review._—“A remarkable story worked out with abundant
skill.”

  =A MARKED MAN=: Some Episodes in his Life. By ADA CAMBRIDGE, Author
  of “Two Years’ Time,” “A Mere Chance,” &c.

_Morning Post._—“A depth of feeling, a knowledge of the human heart,
and an amount of tact that one rarely finds. Should take a prominent
place among the novels of the season.”

  =THE THREE MISS KINGS.= By ADA CAMBRIDGE, Author of “A Marked Man.”

_Athenæum._—“A charming study of character. The love stories are
excellent, and the author is happy in tender situations.”

  =NOT ALL IN VAIN.= By ADA CAMBRIDGE, Author of “A Marked Man,” “The
  Three Miss Kings,” &c.

_Guardian._—“A clever and absorbing story.”

_Queen._—“All that remains to be said is ‘read the book.’”

  =UNCLE PIPER OF PIPER’S HILL.= By TASMA. New Popular Edition.

_Guardian._—“Every page of it contains good wholesome food,
which demands and repays digestion. The tale itself is thoroughly
charming, and all the characters are delightfully drawn. We strongly
recommend all lovers of wholesome novels to make acquaintance with it
themselves, and are much mistaken if they do not heartily thank us
for the introduction.”

  =IN THE VALLEY.= By HAROLD FREDERIC. Author of “The Lawton Girl,”
  “Seth’s Brother’s Wife,” &c. With Illustrations.

_Times._—“The literary value of the book is high; the author’s
studies of bygone life presenting a life-like picture.”

  =PRETTY MISS SMITH.= By FLORENCE WARDEN, Author of “The House on
  the Marsh,” “A Witch of the Hills,” &c.

_Punch._—“Since Miss Florence Warden’s ‘House on the Marsh,’ I have
not read a more exciting tale.”

  =NOR WIFE, NOR MAID.= By Mrs. HUNGERFORD, Author of “Molly Bawn,”
  &c.

_Queen._—“It has all the characteristics of the writer’s work, and
greater emotional depth than most of its predecessors.”

_Scotsman._—“Delightful reading, supremely interesting.”

  =MAMMON.= A Novel. By Mrs. ALEXANDER, Author of “The Wooing O’t,”
  &c.

_Scotsman._—“The present work is not behind any of its predecessors.
‘Mammon’ is a healthy story, and as it has been thoughtfully written
it has the merit of creating thought in its readers.”

  =DAUGHTERS OF MEN.= By HANNAH LYNCH, Author of “The Prince of the
  Glades,” &c.

_Daily Telegraph._—“Singularly clever and fascinating.”

_Academy._—“One of the cleverest, if not also the pleasantest,
stories that have appeared for a long time.”

  =A ROMANCE OF THE CAPE FRONTIER.= By BERTRAM MITFORD, Author of
  “Through the Zulu Country,” &c.

_Observer._—“This is a rattling tale, genial, healthy, and spirited.”

  =’TWEEN SNOW AND FIRE.= A Tale of the Kafir War of 1877. By BERTRAM
  MITFORD.

  =THE MASTER OF THE MAGICIANS.= By ELIZABETH STUART PHELPS and
  HERBERT D. WARD.

_Athenæum._—“A thrilling story.”

  =LOS CERRITOS.= A Romance of the Modern Time. By GERTRUDE FRANKLIN
  ATHERTON, Author of “Hermia Suydam,” and “What Dreams may Come.”

_Athenæum._—“Full of fresh fancies and suggestions. Told with
strength and delicacy. A decidedly charming romance.”

  =A MODERN MARRIAGE.= By the Marquise CLARA LANZA.

_Queen._—“A powerful story, dramatically and consistently carried
out.”

_Black and White._—“A decidedly clever book.”

       *       *       *       *       *

=Popular Shilling Books.=

  =MADAME VALERIE.= By F. C. PHILIPS, Author of “As in a
  Looking-Glass,” &c.

  =THE MOMENT AFTER=: A Tale of the Unseen. By ROBERT BUCHANAN.

_Athenæum._—“Should be read—in daylight.”

_Observer._—“A clever _tour de force_.”

_Guardian._—“Particularly impressive, graphic, and powerful.”

  =CLUES; or, Leaves from a Chief Constable’s Note-Book.= By WILLIAM
  HENDERSON, Chief Constable of Edinburgh.

_Mr. Gladstone._—“I found the book full of interest.”

  =A VERY STRANGE FAMILY.= By F. W. ROBINSON, Author of
  “Grandmother’s Money,” “Lazarus in London,” &c.

_Glasgow Herald._—“An ingeniously devised plot, of which the
interest is kept up to the very last page. A judicious blending of
humour and pathos further helps to make the book delightful reading
from start to finish.”

       *       *       *       *       *

=Dramatic Literature.=

THE PLAYS OF ARTHUR W. PINERO.

With Introductory Notes by MALCOLM C. SALAMAN. 16mo, Paper Covers,
1_s._ 6_d._; or Cloth, 2_s._ 6_d._ each.

  =THE TIMES=: A Comedy in Four Acts. With a Preface by the Author.
  (Vol. I.)

_Daily Telegraph._—“‘The Times’ is the best example yet given of Mr.
Pinero’s power as a satirist. So clever is his work that it beats
down opposition. So fascinating is his style that we cannot help
listening to him.”

_Morning Post._—“Mr. Pinero’s latest belongs to a high order of
dramatic literature, and the piece will be witnessed again with all
the greater zest after the perusal of such admirable dialogue.”

  =THE PROFLIGATE=: A Play in Four Acts. With Portrait of the Author,
  after J. MORDECAI. (Vol. II.)

_Pall Mall Gazette._—“Will be welcomed by all who have the true
interests of the stage at heart.”

  =THE CABINET MINISTER=: A Farce in Four Acts. (Vol. III.)

_Observer._—“It is as amusing to read as it was when played.”

  =THE HOBBY HORSE=: A Comedy in Three Acts. (Vol. IV.)

_St. James’s Gazette._—“Mr. Pinero has seldom produced better or
more interesting work than in ‘The Hobby Horse.’”

  =LADY BOUNTIFUL.= A Play in Four Acts. (Vol. V.)

  =THE MAGISTRATE.= A Farce in Three Acts. (Vol. VI.)

To be followed by Dandy Dick, The Schoolmistress, The Weaker Sex,
Lords and Commons, The Squire, and Sweet Lavender.

       *       *       *       *       *

  =A NEW PLAY.= By HENRIK IBSEN. Translated from the Norwegian. Small
  4to. [_In preparation._

  =A NEW PLAY.= By BJÖRNSTJERNE BJÖRNSON. Translated from the
  Norwegian. [_In preparation._

  =THE PRINCESSE MALEINE=: A Drama in Five Acts (Translated by
  Gerard Harry), and THE INTRUDER: A Drama in One Act. By MAURICE
  MAETERLINCK. With an Introduction by HALL CAINE, and a Portrait of
  the Author. Small 4to, cloth, 5_s._

_Athenæum._—“In the creation of the ‘atmosphere’ of the play M.
Maeterlinck shows his skill. It is here that he communicates to us
the _nouveau frisson_, here that he does what no one else has done.
In ‘The Intruder’ the art consists of the subtle gradations of
terror, the slow, creeping progress of the nightmare of apprehension.
Nothing quite like it has been done before—not even by Poe—not even
by Villiers.”

  =THE FRUITS OF ENLIGHTENMENT=: A Comedy in Four Acts. By Count
  LYOF TOLSTOY. Translated from the Russian by E. J. DILLON. With
  Introduction by A. W. PINERO. Small 4to, with Portrait, 5_s._

_Pall Mall Gazette._—“The whole effect of the play is distinctly
Molièresque; it has something of the large humanity of the master.
Its satire is genial, almost gay.”

  =HEDDA GABLER=: A Drama in Four Acts. By HENRIK IBSEN. Translated
  from the Norwegian by EDMUND GOSSE. Small 4to, cloth, with
  Portrait, 5_s._ Vaudeville Edition, paper, 1_s._ Also a Limited
  Large Paper Edition, 21_s._ _net_.

_Times._—“The language in which this play is couched is a model of
brevity, decision, and pointedness.... Every line tells, and there is
not an incident that does not bear on the action immediate or remote.
As a corrective to the vapid and foolish writing with which the stage
is deluged ‘Hedda Gabler’ is perhaps entitled to the place of honour.”

  =STRAY MEMORIES.= By ELLEN TERRY. In one volume. Illustrated. [_In
  preparation._

  =SOME INTERESTING FALLACIES OF THE Modern Stage.= An Address
  delivered to the Playgoers’ Club at St. James’s Hall, on Sunday,
  6th December, 1891. By HERBERT BEERBOHM TREE. Crown 8vo, sewed,
  6_d._

  =THE LIFE OF HENRIK IBSEN.= By HENRIK JÆGER. Translated by CLARA
  BELL. With the Verse done into English from the Norwegian Original
  by EDMUND GOSSE. Crown 8vo, cloth, 6_s._

_St. James’s Gazette._—“Admirably translated. Deserves a cordial and
emphatic welcome.”

_Guardian._—“Ibsen’s dramas at present enjoy a considerable vogue,
and their admirers will rejoice to find full descriptions and
criticisms in Mr. Jæger’s book.”

       *       *       *       *       *

=Poetry.=

  =LOVE SONGS OF ENGLISH POETS, 1500-1800.= With Notes by RALPH H.
  CAINE. Fcap. 8vo, rough edges, 3_s._ 6_d._

*** _Large Paper Edition, limited to 100 Copies, 10s. 6d. Net._

  =IVY AND PASSION FLOWER=: Poems. By GERARD BENDALL, Author of
  “Estelle,” &c. &c. 12mo, cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._

_Scotsman._—“Will be read with pleasure.”

_Musical World._—“The poems are delicate specimens of art, graceful
and polished.”

  =VERSES.= By GERTRUDE HALL. 12mo, cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._

_Manchester Guardian._—“Will be welcome to every lover of poetry who
takes it up.”

  =MAGONIA=: A Poem. By CHARLES GODFREY LELAND (HANS BREITMANN).
  Fcap. 8vo. [_In the Press._

  =IDYLLS OF WOMANHOOD.= By C. AMY DAWSON. Fcap. 8vo, gilt top, 5_s._

       *       *       *       *       *

=Heinemann’s Scientific Handbooks.=

  =MANUAL OF BACTERIOLOGY.= By A. B. GRIFFITHS, Ph.D., F.R.S.
  (Edin.), F.C.S. Crown 8vo, cloth, Illustrated. 7_s._ 6_d._

  =MANUAL OF ASSAYING GOLD, SILVER, COPPER, and Lead Ores.= By WALTER
  LEE BROWN, B.Sc. Revised, Corrected, and considerably Enlarged,
  with a chapter on the Assaying of Fuel, &c. By A. B. GRIFFITHS,
  Ph.D., F.R.S. (Edin.), F.C.S. Crown 8vo, cloth, Illustrated, 7_s._
  6_d._

_Colliery Guardian._—“A delightful and fascinating book.”

_Financial World._—“The most complete and practical manual on
everything which concerns assaying of all which have come before us.”

  =GEODESY.= By J. HOWARD GORE. Crown 8vo, cloth, Illustrated, 5_s._

_St. James’s Gazette._—“The book may be safely recommended to those
who desire to acquire an accurate knowledge of Geodesy.”

_Science Gossip._—“It is the best we could recommend to all geodetic
students. It is full and clear, thoroughly accurate, and up to date
in all matters of earth-measurements.”

  =THE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF GASES.= By ARTHUR L. KIMBALL, of the
  Johns Hopkins University. Crown 8vo, cloth, Illustrated, 5_s._

_Chemical News._—“The man of culture who wishes for a general and
accurate acquaintance with the physical properties of gases, will
find in Mr. Kimball’s work just what he requires.”

  =HEAT AS A FORM OF ENERGY.= By Professor R. H. THURSTON, of Cornell
  University. Crown 8vo, cloth, Illustrated, 5_s._

_Manchester Examiner._—“Bears out the character of its predecessors
for careful and correct statement and deduction under the light of
the most recent discoveries.”

       *       *       *       *       *

  LONDON:
  WILLIAM HEINEMANN
  21 BEDFORD STREET, W.C.




  TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE

  Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been
  corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within
  the text and consultation of external sources.

  Some hyphens in words have been silently removed, some added,
  when a predominant preference was found in the original book.

  Except for those changes noted below, all misspellings in the text,
  and inconsistent or archaic usage, have been retained.

  Pg vii: The Tynan portrait is at page ‘168’ not ‘228’.
  Pg 265: There is no section numbered ‘LI’.
  Pg 305: ‘villanous rivals’ replaced by ‘villainous rivals’.
  Index: ‘Forrester, Bill’ replaced by ‘Forester, Bill’.




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