.
THE LIBRARY
THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA
LOS ANGELES
THE
BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH
BT
ALICE NOLAN.
NEW YORK:
P. O'SHEA, 27 BARCLAY STREET.
ENTERED ACCORDING TO ACT OP CONGRESS, IN THE YEAR 1869, BT
P. O'SHEA,
IK THB CLERK'S OFFICE OF THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK.
STEREOTYPED BT
DENNIS BRO'S A THORNS,
AUBURN, N. T.
PS
TO THE
FAITHFUL PEOPLE OF IRELAND AND THEIR DESCENDANTS,
SCATTERED OVER EVERY PORTION OP THE HABITABLE GLOBE,
VICTIMS
Or BRITISH RULE AND LANDLORD RAPACITr,
EXILES
FROM OUR OWN BEAUTIPUL AND POETIC LAND, TO WHOSE SOFT VALES AND
OCEAN-BOUND SHORES OUR HEARTS EVER FONDLY TURN,
U RESPECTFULLY AND LOVINGLY DEDICATED BY
THE AUTHOE.
1732701
PEEFAOE.
THE incidents related in this tale, really and truly
occurred, though not in the consecutive order in
which they are placed.
The mass of the Irish landlords having attained
an unenviable pre-eminence, it was found necessary
to concentrate several characters in one individual,
and make him the representative of his class : thus
the Right-Rev. S. W. Biggs is in reality some super
latively bad landlords exhibiting in one mortal
frame. It must not be inferred, however, that the
picture is overdrawn, or that there could not be
found one person in that class sufficiently wicked
to bear the responsibility alone. Unhappily the
fact of their being so numerous is the very reason
why one must be made to stand for many, otherwise
the recital of each individual's inhuman execution
of English laws (framed for the destruction ol a
kindly, virtuous people, and cruel enough to disgrace
VI PREFACE.
savages,' not to speak of their manifest injustice)
would form a library in itself. Another cause also
existed, which seemed to render this amalgamation
a necessity : The writer was surprised to find that
many atrocities perpetrated by landlords within
the last twenty-five years were almost unknown in
America, even to Irish people who had emigrated
before that period ; thus the trial and legal murder
of Bryan Seery, in "Westmeath, had never been
heard of by any one with whom the writer con
versed in this country during a period of seventeen
years ! Man}' other transactions detailed here, which
happened under other tyrants, were equally un
known ; and although the vast majority of the Eng
lish-speaking people of the United States.are natives
of Ireland, or descendants of these persecuted -Celts,
yet the evictions by Lord Plunket, the Protestant
Bishop of Tuam, seem alone to have aroused a cry
of indignation throughout this land thanks to the
fearless zeal and energy of dear good Father Lavell,
and the saintly, noble Archbishop of Tuam, who
would not tamely witness the destruction of their
flock. All honor to those Columbkills of the nine
teenth century ! In view of these facts, it appeared
indispensable to collect some of the skeletons of
landed proprietors together, thrust them into one
PREFACE. Vll
wolfs-hide, and hold the disgusting creature up
for execration.
After much trouble and correspondence, therefore,
the writer obtained a file of the Dublin Nation con
taining a full report of the trial and execution in
February, 1846, at the town of Mullingar, County
"Westrneath, of Bryan Seery, for the murder of Sir
Francis Hopkins, Bart., who was not murdered at
all, having received a shot through his hat, instead
of his hearty if he ever possessed such a sensitive or
gan. This noble baronet, then, under the title of
one not unknown to the crowbar brigade Right
Reverend Samuel Wilson Biggs, D. D., Lord Bishop
of Glengoulah, is the hero, and his deeds, inter
woven with others of his class, form the groundwork
of this tale.
All the other characters introduced are real.
Margin, the agent, is a life likeness, if anything a
trifle too flattering. Like all paintings, it conceals
many of the blemishes and wrinkles so visible in the
original. The names of persons and places are
changed for obvious reasons.
The record of the O'Byrne family, as related by
Mr. De Courcy to Biggs, is not their history. It
is merely a fancy sketch. The O'Byrnes have,
indeed, a truly noble history, but its details are
VH1 PREFACE.
too long for the pages of such a tale as the
present.
Having said so much by way of explanation, it
only remains to crave the indulgence of the reader
for the author, who is perfectly sensible of the liter
ary demerits of the undertaking, it having been ori
ginally written during invalid hours for dear young
relatives, who never saw the old historic land of their
fathers.
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
CHAPTER I.
DEAR READER, have yon ever been in the beautiful
County of WickloW, in Ireland ? I pity you if you
have not, ahd will pity you still more if, having the
means, you do not visit before you die that land of
enchanting scenery for Moore tells us (and I think
you will admit he is pretty good authority),
" There is not in this wide world a valley so sweet
As that vale in whose bosom the bright waters meet."
That vale is the Yale of Ovoca, so called from a
stream, of liquid silver bearing the same name,
which takes its rise in the neighboring hills, bounds
from cliff to cliff into the lovely valley below, where,
meeting the limpid Avon, they clasp each other in
a bright and gurgling embrace. Soon disengaging
itself, the Ovoca dashes forward, singing and tum
bling as it runs through the picturesque village of
" Wooden Bridge," then turning the little headland
2 THE BYRXES OF GLENGOULAH.
it seems to expand its bosom and move more slowly
no doubt out of courtesy to the honors paid it in
flowing through the groves of Shelton, where the
sweeping willow and the graceful larch bend their
branches to kiss the beautiful stream as it passes.
Emerging from those lovely shades it makes a curve
by the lighthouse of Arklow, and with a joyous
bound flings itself into the arms of " the Irish Sea,
or St. George's Channel," which forms the eastern
boundary of Ireland. Oh, happy, cloudless days of
childhood ! How vividly ye impress the memory !
Many a sunny morning in summer have I wandered
in those enchanted groves, with a book you will
think, of course ; nothing of the kind a goodly-sized
basket on my arm, and a pair of scissors contained
therein ; for, reader, my taste was not of the literary
kind then, I assure you to pick ^ackHerries, or
hunt for bird's nests, was then the bent of~my incli
nation. Armed, therefore, with the basket and scis
sors aforesaid (the latter was to save our hands from
the swarms of little thorns which guarded the fruit),
my sister and self committed great depredations on
the blackberries (which, by the way, were the largest
and most luscious of the kind I have ever tasted).
Often has my sister who was ever more piously
inclined than I was called to me from a neighbor-
THE BYRNES OF GIENGOCLAH. 3
ing bush to stop and recite the " Angelus," as, clear
as the morning air, broke the tones of Shelton Abbey
bell for six o'clock ; not, as of old, to call the faithful
to prayer, but to summon the laborers to work on
the estate of the Right-lion, the Earl of Wicklow,
whose magnificent country seat lay on the opposite
side of the river. I see it all before me now, though
more than thirty years have gone by the clear,
bright, sunny morning, the ever-verdant grass dot
ted with myriads of daisies and cowslips, the gentle
kine moving slowly and browsing the sweet herbage,
groups of sheep with tiny lambs nibbling or play
ing on the turf; the gurgling limpid river " murmur
ing a happy song " as it glides on to the sea, the
graceful trees along its banks bending to catch the
reflection of their own fair forms on its bosom, the
hills of Shelton at one. side of the river and Castle
Howard on the other, rising cone after cone, clothed
to the very top with every variety of tree and shrub.
To the east a break in the hills discloses the slender
minarets and turrets of Shelton Abbey towering
from the distant groves ; more distant still, the pret
ty little town of Arklow, with its long line of fisher
men's huts stretching out to the beach; and, still
beyond, the blue sea with its tiny crests of foam
and mimic waves, scarcely rocking the little fishing-
4 THE BYKNES OF GLENGOULAH.
smacks, with which it is now covered, bent on their
daily toil. The air is redolent with the perfume of
wild-flowers. From every bush and brake thousands
upon thousands of birds are pouring forth their joy
ous songs, and high in the heavens numberless larks
are taking their melodious way
" Who, singing ever soar,
And soaring ever sing."
Two children have stopped their blackberry feast to
lecite, in union with the whole Catholic world, the
beautiful " Angelus Domini." Their garb is black,
for a few months before the loved voice that taught
them that sweet Christian practice had ceased to be
heard on earth ! Well ! Pardon me, reader, when
I found myself on the banks of the Ovoca I could
not for my life but try to paint, however imperfectly,
the beautiful panorama which memory conjured up ;
but now we will let it move on, and I will proceed
to tell you my tale.
About four miles from this lovely scene, at the
base of one of those cone-shaped hills, was a snug
farm of about forty acres, held by one Anthony
Byrne, as decent a man and as honest a neighbor as
ever the sun shone on. Anthony, or, as he was usu
ally called, Toney Byrne, arose with the lark, and
like that bird of melody went to his work with a
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 5
light heart, singing or whistling some sweet old
melody of his native land, his " fack " on his should
er, and his two stout farm-laborers bent in the same
direction. Like the great majority of Irish peasants
Toney Byrne led a blameless life. If he met a
neighbor going to work, or returning from it, some
such conversation would be sure to ensue as the fol
lowing : " God save yon, Toney ! " " Oh, God save
you, kindly, Ned! how are you the mornin'?"
" Why, then, the Lord be praised, I was never better
in my life ; and how are you, and how is the woman
that owns you ? "
" We're all pretty lively, thanks be to the great
God, and to you for askin'." " How is the crops
wid you, Toney ? "
" Well, finely ; thanks be to God ! " or as the case
might be. " Why, then indeed, Ned, they're migh
ty backward this season, the Lord of heaven be prais
ed ! The upland hay turned out very short entirely,
and I'm greatly afeard of the oats too but sure we
can't expect things to be always goin' right ; bedad
I'm thinkin' we'd have ne'er a thought at all for
th' other world if we didn't meet some little disap
pointment here, so we must only be satisfied when
we know we did our best."
"Throth its true for you, Toney ; I'm in dread my
6 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
wlmte will be short too ; but as you say, when we
did our part we can't help it, so welkim be the will
of God."
Every one who knows anything of the Irish peas
antry knows how common such dialogues are in
every part of Ireland. The leading characteristics
of the people are gratitude to God in prosperity or
adversity, and humble submission to the Divine
will under all trials and circumstances.
At the conclusion of their frugal supper Toney
and his family would give hearty thanks to God in
the real old Catholic fashion, never forgetting to
pray for the souls of the faithful departed. After
supper all would gather around the bright turf fire
to tell stories and crack jokes while the pipe was
handed about.
If a stranger happened to be present, which was
very often the case (for Toney Byrne, like a true
Irishman, never closed his door to the poor or the
stranger), he got the snuggest seat in the ample
chimney corner ; then some of the neighbors would
raise the latch and step in with " God save all here ! ?>
" God save you kindly, and you're welcome ; sit
down."
" Faix, Barney," one of the youngsters would cry
out,, " you forgot to say barrin the cat and the dog."
THE BYKNES OF GLENGOULAn. 7
" Sorra matter avic ! let the poor brntes havo
pace ; you oughtn't to be so hard on the animals
anyhow, Mike."
This sent the laugh round at Mike's expense, a
young urchin of ten, who crept grinning up to his
father's side on the hearth. I know of no place
where a more social evening can be spent than in
the kitchen of an Irish peasant farmer. Thrilling
ghost stories, poetic fairy tales, and very frequently
dissertations and arguments on history, for the Irish
peasant is very fond of, and not at all ignorant of,
historic lore.
Napoleon le Grand is his great hero, principally
because the English hated him ; and after detailing
and discussing his various exploits, you are sure to
hear, " Aye, Boney was able for them all, and would
bate the whole world if he let the Pope alone."
There every one chimes in, and all are unanimous
in pointing out how his power waned from the hour
he meddled with the Holy Father, and how jnst it
was he should die in exile as he caused the Sovereign
Pontiff to die in a foreign land in his old age. Thus
many a pleasant hour passed, and when bed-time
came the neighbors, wishing a kindly " good night,"
would retire to their homes. Then Toney and his
bustling, good-natured little wife, calling the house-
b THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
hold together, would pull out the beads and recito
the rosary before lying down to rest.
A couple of times in the year the townlands of
Glengoulah were visited in turn by Darby Wholahan,
the blind piper, who drew melodious strains from a
very respectable-looking, silver-keyed instrument,
which he called the " Union Pipes," and which was
a combination of the Scotch and Irish bagpipe. The
most staid fool in the parish could not keep still
while Darby performed the " Peeler's Cap," or
" Lord Macdonald's Reel ;" and as for " The Hun
ter's Jig," you'd give your oath you heard the fox
running for his life, and the hounds in full cry after
him.
Darby was kept going from one farm-house to
another, all the neighbors assembling each evening
where he was known to be, and the Terpsichorean
performances on every floor were a triumph of grace
and agility. Between the pauses in the dance
Darby had an inexhaustible fund of anecdotes
replete with humor ; he could, besides, sing an
excellent song, either comic or sentimental, and
had a great talent for recitation, so that it is no
wonder every hand was extended and every heart
bounded when Darby arrived. " Oh, God be with
those happy days ! Oh, God be with my childhood !
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 9
Every meeting passed off pleasantly and innocently,
and each arose next morning refreshed for the day's
work by the harmless and healthful recreation of
the evening before.
Thus passed the even tenor of Toney's life and
his neighbors. They were not rich in this world's
goods, but they wanted for nothing, having where
withal to live upon, and enough besides to share
with their poorer fellow-creatures a little store may
be for cases of emergency, and immense treasures
in Faith, Hope, and Charity. No doubt they had
their faults too who has not ? but they were few,
and so overlaid with virtues that they could scarcely
be perceived.
The landlord who owned this fine estate was Sir
Charles Plover, Bart. He was an absentee, and his
property was managed with justness and kindness
by Mr. De Courcey, a wealthy merchant who had
extensive flour mills not far distant. Mr. De
Courcey watched over the interests of the tenantry
like a wise and prudent man, knowing that the
real interest of the landlord was in the prosperity
of the tenant. He had the best farm seeds brought
from Dublin for their use, saw that their fields were
properly drained, encouraged them to keep their
houses neat and to train some creeping vine
10 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOHLAH.
around them, for which purpose he made presents
to the farmers' wives and daughters of many a
honeysuckle and woodbine.
He had hedges planted here, overtopping banks
removed there, mountain rills widened and made
to form water-courses for the use of the cattle and to
carry off field drains, obliged them to sink wells,
and all to have neat and well-kept gates and cattle-
pens. By a properly-arranged mixture of justice,
firmness and prudence, he made Sir Charles Plover's
estate the most prosperous both for landlord and
tenant in the county of Wicklow, while the eye of
the tourist was enraptured with the scene of tranquil
beauty. On the sides of the hills the white farm
houses gleamed from clumps of trees, trailing vines
of the sweet-scented honeysuckle crept around the
windows and rustic porch, the blue smoke curled
high up in the air, the little vegetable garden with
here and there a bed of cultivated flowers bordered
with " London Pride" formed a bright patch, and
helped the primroses to scent the mountain breeze.
Mr. De Courcey was not a Catholic, but he was
a gentleman, and presumed not to interfere with the
faith of the tenantry. He respected those who
lived up to the dictates of their consciences,
and was often heard to speak in terms of high
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAII. 1.1
admiration of the noble fidelity with which the
Catholics of Ireland clung to their faith through
weal or woe.
To say that Mr. De Conrcey was respected and
beloved by the tenants would be cold words; he
was almost idolized. Second only in their affections
to the venerable Father Esmond, and his curate
Father O'Toole, was the much-loved agent. His
appearance amongst them ever brought a smile of
welcome, while each busied him or herself to appear
their best before " Mr. De Courcey, God bless him."
What a pity that the fair face of nature should
ever be overcast by a cloud ; but clouds and storms
will come, dear reader, and so, taking a sheltered seat
before it breaks upon us, and keeping our eyes fixed
on God's good Providence, " who rules the whirl
wind and directs the storm," we will rest awhile and
leave the outburst for another chapter.
CHAPTER II.
BEFORE I proceed further I must tell you about
Toney's family as likely a set of children as you
could meet with two girls and three boys. Mar
garet, the eldest, was a hard-working, gentle-tem
pered girl, unobtrusively industrious, ever at hand
when her mother wanted her, which was pretty
nearly the whole day, for Mrs. Byrne was of a
bustling, quick-tempered nature, but had the warm
est and kindest heart in the world. Margaret was
a tall, well-proportioned girl, with an open, smiling
face, and the bloom of youth and health on her
cheek. She was about 18 at the time my tale com
mences. Winifred, who was not yet 14, was a
smaller figure, with a remarkably pretty face, in
which drollery and roguery were the leading char
acteristics. She was a great pet with her father,
who would shield her from her mother's anger
when some piece of work allotted to her would be
found untouched, or when she had played some prank
on the old schoolmaster who came to teach them three
evenings in the week. " Whist, Kitty," he would
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 13
say, " the girl is young ; and if she is fond of playing
tricks, the creature has no more harm in them nor
a kitten." So Winnie went on playing pranks and
laughing merrily. But the darling of his mother's
heart was Andrew, the eldest boy, now about 12 ;
he resembled his father in figure, being remarkably
tall for his age ; while his features were like his
mother's, fair and frolicsome. He bore a strong
resemblance to his sister Winnie, and was ever
ready to second her in all her pranks ; but there was
no son more docile or obedient than Andy, for all
his devil-may-care ways and hasty temper. One
day, when speaking confidentially of her family to
a neighbor who had dropped in, Mrs. Byrne was
known to say, " Margie and little Pat is the father
on the sod there's no trouble in life wid them,
they go smooth along, gain in' the good- will of every
body ; deed, Mrs. Fehily, though I'm her mother,
I will say Margie is worth her weight in gold ; you
could not cross her temper ; but for all she has a
dacent spirit too there's not a mane thought nor a
mane act in her carcass." " Mane ! " cried Mrs.
Fehily ; " why, then, I'd like to know where any
thing mane could be got in the Byrnes of Glengou-
lah ! Sure we wouldn't know where to go look for
dacency if we didn't find it in the ould stock."
14: THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
" I'm beholdin' to you, Mrs. Fehily, for your good
word; but, indeed, it's true wbat you say. Sure
everybody knows the Byrnes is tbe oldest family in
Wicklow, barrin the O'Tools, and though I know
myself Toney is proud of them too. Still he's
always tellin' the children the way to prove they'ro
of the ould stock is to be good, humble Christians,
and to never forget how the Byrnes of ancient
times was hung, drawn, and quartered for bein'
Catholics, but they kept their faith through thick
and thin, though they lost their lands."
" 'Deed, Mrs. Byrne, it's often I heard my grand
father tellin' of all the hardships they met with
from Crom'ell and his crew ; bad luck to their memo
ries, the black-hearted villains !"
" Well, may God in his mercy keep the persecu
tion from our doors anyway ; but I was tellin' you
about the children. If Margie and Pat is like the
Byrnes, there's Winnie and Andy and Mike has the
very spirit of the Malones my own people."
" Why, then, now, do you tell me so ? "
" Tell you so ! Two apples never grew more like
one another than my Andy and his uncle my poor
brother, Andy Malone that I christened him after;
God rest his soul this day ! Oh, Mrs. Fehily, dear !
if you were to see that boy when he was risin' twen-
THE BTKNES J)F GLENGOULAH. 15
ty-two! there wasn't the match of him in three
baronies. He was as tall and straight as an arrow
the Malones was all tall and likely, glory be to God ;
it's after the Delanys, my mother's people, I take in
my height. Well, he had a pair of shoulders on him
the breadth of your apron, and sorra such a lad for
tricks in the country round. He'd sing like a lark
the minit he'd open his eye in the mornin'; and it's
try in' the steps in a double or a reel he'd be while
he'd be puttin' on him (dressing) ; then he'd kneel
down and pray I'll engage as fervent as any one
and be off to his work; but when breakfast time
came maybe we wouldn't all get our share. Before
he'd go to the field again he'd put myself and Onny
and Mary and Biddy (there was the four sisters of
us growing up) all in a heap a top of one another
on the floor, and the spinnin' wheel a'top of us again.
My mother used to run after him, makin' believe
she was goin' to hit him a box, and he'd whisk her
up in his arms, and run round and round the house
with her, and then put her sittin' in her own chair
in the chimbley corner and run off. We couldn't
do a ha'porth but laughin' for an hour after, and my
poor mother holdin' her sides. He was as innocent
as a child, for he'd stay a whole day, when it would
be too wet to work, playin' wid little Norah and
16 THE BYKNES OF GLENGOULAH.
Tommy, and makin' babby houses for them, and
then he'd dance for the creatures. Oh, dear ! oh,
dear ! glory be to the holy God ! but it's hard to
live in this world at all." Here poor Mrs. Byrne,
overcome by her feelings, rocked back and forth and
sobbed in her apron, upon which Mrs. Fehily inquir
ed what happened him? "Happened him! They
broke his heart, so they did. Didn't ould Wilson,
the tithe proctor, come to take up the tithes one day,
and my mother and himself had some words and he
gave her the lie ? Andy was just comin' in at the
door on the minit when he heard the word ; and, Mrs.
Fehily, dear, it would do your heart good to see him
leapin' on Wilson. Well, he bate him and kicked
him till he cried for mercy. ' Now,' says he, ' I'll
tache you how to spake to a dacent woman, : says he,
'you blood-suckin' varmint that's livin' by the plun
der of the honest and the hard workin' poor, yourself
and jour employers,' says he ; ' be out of the house
this minit, or I'll have your life,' says he. Wilson
was glad enough to get leave to go ; but before eve-
nin' fell a whole possee of polis came and took my
poor fellow away to prison. Och! Mrs. Fehily,
asthore ! but that was the black night in our house ;
the neighbors had to hold my father when he seen
the polis puttin' handcuffs on his darlin' boy ; my
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 17
poor mother fell off in a dead faint when she seen
the polis eomin' in, and well become my poor fellow
but he tried to comfort the father. ' Never mind,
father dear,' says he, ' it won't be for long ; I'll soon
be back again wid you all, plaze God,' says he.
He was going to say more, but they dragged him off.
He was four months in prison before the trial came
on, although the best of bail was offered for him
they said it was too great a crime to bate a tithe
proctor, and they could not think of taking bail for
it. When the trial came on you'd think he was the
greatest villain that ever lived to hear the charges
brought against him it would frighten you to hear
the papers read by the prosecutin' counsil ; they said
he was a dangerous character and must be made an
example of. And when they said, ' stand up, An
drew Malone, and plead guilty or not guilty to these
charges,' he stood up as grand as an earl. ' If you
mane,' says he, 'am I guilty of baitin' and kickin'
the tithe proctor? I amj says he; ' I gave him as
good a kickin' as ever he got, and the man doesn't
live that I'd let give the lie to any dacent woman,
let alone my own mother. I hope Wilson wont for
get the lesson I gave him in good manners,' says he.
He was as brave as a lion and didn't care a fiv'pen-
ny bit for the whole of them. A wild cheer and
18 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
cries of ' bravo, Andy Malone ! ' rung through the
court. The Judge, mighty angry, called for silence,
and said if they done that any more he would have
the court cleared. They then told my poor fellow
to sit down and would not let him say another word,
though he had no counsil ; he would not let my fa
ther fee counsil, for he said it would be of no use,
and sure it was true for him. They then sentenced
hrm to twelve months' imprisonment and hard labor.
Och ! but it was the sore year to us goin' in and out
of prison tryin' to bring him the little comforts he
was used to. Many's the fine turkey and pair of
barn doors (fat fowl) we brought the jailor to get his
good will for Andy, but he was trated nothing the
better for it. He didn't care for the work, for he
was as strong as a horse ; but they put him with the
riff raff of the prison on purpose to break his spirit,
and well they did it. When that weary year was
out and he was let out you wouldn't know him. He
tried to laugh and joke as of old to comfort the
mother, but she could not be deceived she saw the
change in him, and the light went out from her heart
from that hour. The damp of the prison cell got
into his bones ; and the close confinement, but above
all the keepin' company with house-breakers and
horse-thieves, broke his heart. His cheuk was palp
THE BYRNES CF GLENGOTJLAH. 19
."
and his step was heavy, and he faded and faded, and
before the harvest was all in he hadn't a bit on his
bones and had to keep his bed ; and by the end of
October, when the laves was all fallin' in showers,
and the wind was moanin' through the deserted
brandies, we follied him to his grave ; the strong
and the brave was low in his youth." * Here poor
Mrs. Byrne, throwing her apron over her head and
rocking to and fro, gave way to a burst of grief.
The sympathizing Mrs. Fehily, who was weeping
too, exclaimed indignantly, " Och ! then I pray this
day that the vengeance of "
" Oh stop, Mrs. Fehily, dear ! Whist asthore
don't curse them ! He bid us not with his dyin'
breath. Mother darlin', says he, the heart in my body
* A similar case occurred in Carlow in (I think) 1832 or 1833. Two re
spectable farmers, brothers, who held land under a landlord named Watson,
exercised their newly-acquired franchise by voting for the liberal candi
date. The landlord was enraged, and shortly after indicted them for maim
ing two horses, his property. They were lodged in jail all hail refused ;
and by some quibble of law their trial was postponed from one assizes to
another until they lay a whole year in prison. At length they were brought
to trial, and the principal evidence against them was a woman whose
character was so notoriously bad that there was a burst of indignation
through the court when she was put upon the witness stand. The prison
ers' counsel, on her cross-examination, made her contradict herself thret
times. The prosecuting counsel ordered her to retire, and the men were
acquitted. The younger brother, a high-spirited young man, was so grieved
by the associations to which they were exposed, and the hardships ol
prison life, that he sank rapidly aud died in a few weeks after his release 1
The witness, whose name was Anne Magee, her brother, and other mem
bers of her family, had free quarters in Dublin Castle for years, and wer*
regular informers for the Crown. The present writer has frequently seen
her with a brace of pistols in her belt, and report said that she carried *
dagger in her bosom.
20 THE BYKXE3 OE GLEXGOULAH.
was broke when they put me in with thieves and
murderers ; and when I thought how no one belong
MI' to me was ever so disgraced before, I made up
my mind one night in the cold cell not to bear it it
I was to be hung for it ; and when we were turned
into the yard next mornin', says he, who should
be waitin' to see me but Father Delany God lave
him his health ! Well I up and told him what was in
my mind, and he put his hand on my head and said
mother, I'll never forget his words My poor
child ! says Father Delany, says he, I know you
since the day you were christened, and I knew your
father and mother before you, and its a great trial
upon the son of virtuous parents ; but Andy asthore,
says he, don't you know who was put between two
thieves and crucified in the presence of His Blessed
Mother? it was the Lord of all glory, my dear son,
and he suffered it for your sake, to teach you pa
tience and humility. Bear everything then manfully
for His sake who bore so much for yours, and He
will give you a crown of glory and the company of
the blessed saints and angels forever. It was then,
o '
mother, that he took the silver crucifix from his
own neck and put it on mine, and told me often to
look at it and think on our blessed Lord's sutferins ;
and, mother darlin', I got quite calm and changed
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 21
ever since 'deed I'm thinkin' it's obliged to them I
ought to be that I'm goin' young from this world
ami its hardships. Sure, mother darlin', this life is
short and very cold, says he, and we will be all soon
together, where we will never see sorra any more.
And, mother jewel, says he, don't let any one
belongin' to me curse them that brought me low in
my youth, for the Lord of glory on the blessed cross
prayed for them that nailed him to it ; and Father
Delany says it's His will that I'm goin' och ! och !
Mrs. Fehily, dear, it would break your heart if you
were to hear him talkin' like a bishop for all the
world. My poor mother would say to all, " yes, avic
machree ! sure it's the truth you're spakin', darlin'
of my heart."
She never left him night nor day ; and when he
was gone she was like one stupified.
The day of the berrin' she took a tremlin' all over,
and we wanted her not to go, but she said she'd stay
by him while ever he'd be above ground. When
they were n'llin' up the grave she stood by, and while
my father and the rest of us, even to the neighbors,
were cryin' like the rain, she never shed a tear, but,
risin' her hands and eyes to Heaven, she said in a
voice that pierced the hearts of all present, for it
was mournful as the cry of a banshee " May God
22 THE BYENES OF GLEXGOULAH.
and His Blessed Mother receive your soul this day,
my darliu' fair-haired boy the joy of my life and
the light of my eyes I'm a sorrowful, broken-
hearted woman now." She took the tremblin'
again. We brought her home and put her to bed,
and she never riz from it ! that day six weeks we
laid her by the side of Andy. Och ! but ours was
the cold, black house, where there used to be nothin'
but singin' and laughin' the live long day. My
poor father struggled the best he could for a year
and a half, but the faver broke out God bless the
hearers (here both women made the sign of the
cross on their foreheads) and he took it, and by
rason of his bein' broke down by his great troubles
he couldn' stand it, so we buried him too. And lit
tle Tommy and ]S"orah the creatures sickened and
died the week after my father we always thought
Andy and my mother done that by their prayers
before the weeny little ones knew what hardship
was. " Oh, God ! rest all their souls in glory this
day, Amen ! " Oh, Amen, amen ! Mrs. Byrne, dear !
but glory be to God ! Sure if you had your share
of trouble in your young days, God is makin' up to
you now for it ! Oh, praises be to His holy name ! It's
true what you say, Mrs. Fehily ; asthore it was my
luck to get one of the quietest men in the seven par
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 23
ishes, and the most industrious. Then I have good
bidable children, thanks be to God ; and my sisters
is all married comfortable ; so, as you say, Mrs.
Fehily, God is makin' up to me sure enough for the
troubles of my youth, and it's a great deal more than
I deserve." The distant sound of Shelton Abbey bell,
ringing for the laborers to leave off work, warned
Mrs. Fehily that supper-time was coming. Hastily
picking up her ball of worsted which rolled upon
the floor, and sticking her needles in the stocking
she was knitting, she wished Mrs. Byrne a good
evening, ran across the road, and mounting the
stile crossed into the neighboring field, where she
met her husband and two sons returning from work,
and they all trudged home together.
CHAPTER HI.
A SHOKT time after the conversation detailed in
the last chapter, one fine Sunday, Tonej Byrne and
his family were coming down the hill after hearing
mass in Glengoulah chapel, when they were over
taken by Ned Fehily and family. After the usual
greetings, commenting on the sermon delivered by
Father O'Toole, etc., etc., Toney asked Ned to let the
women and children walk on, and to come with him.
and see the oat-field. So they crossed the ditch
through an opening in the hawthorn and went over
the farm.
But few words had passed between them when
Ned asked, " "Why, then, Toney, is it true what I
hear that you're goin' to get your little girl marrid V
" Well, 'deed I dun know yet, Ned ; she's speakin'
to a boy of the Donohoes of Cool-a-glisson, in the
county Wexford, and the mother is mighty partial to
the match, but I didn't give in yet." " And why not,
Toney ? Sure I know Bartle Donohoe well, and
a clane likely boy he is, and more betoken the child
of as dacent a father and mother as any in the same
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULA.il. 25
county, though I know he's no match for one of the
Byrnes if things was as they ought." " Oh ! be
dad, the sorra fault I have to find with him on that
score, oh no ! I have a mighty great regard, indade,
for the same boy ; and sure Father Esmond tells me
he got a great account of him entirely from his own
parish priest. It isn't that at all ; but you see, Ned,
I have to look into the well-bein' of my little girl ;
and what I don't like is this : You see Tom Donohoe
has four other boys besides Bartle, and I belave
three daughters ; and though he has a fine well-
stocked farm, and holds under Earl Fitzwilliam
one of the best landlords in Ireland still and all
if he goes to divide up his farm between the boys
it will leave each of them only a strugglin' livelihood,
and I think Margie can do better than that; the
colleen is young, and has plenty of time before her.
So 1 told Bartle my mind a fortnight ago, and he
agreed to wait awhile and see if some arrangement
could be made. He came to tell me, a few days ago,
he heard a report that Pat Hanlon of Moyglish is
talkin' of goin' to America. Pat has an uncle in
Canada that's goin' to leave him a power of money,
and he speaks of goin' out to him with his wife and
child you know he has but the one little slip
of a girl and in case he does go, he'll be givin'
i5t) THC BYEXES OF GLEXGOULAH.
up his farm ; so Bartle set off a Friday to see the
eail, and get a promise of the first chance in it. If
God gives him luck it will be a great rise
entirely for him, and plaze goodness I'll give him
some help to stock it ; but sure we don't know it's
all in the hands of the great God, and we must wait
with patience, glory be to His holy name."
Having inspected the oat, potato, and wheat crops,
and expressed their hopes and fears on their appear
ance, Toney repaired to Fehily's farm, which was
adjoining, to make the same inspection, and both
then went to their respective homes.
During the week Bartle Donohoe, the suitor of
Margaret Byrne, came to inform her father of his
interview with Earl Fitzwilliam, and his entire
success.
It was true that Pat Hanlon was resigning his
farm ; and the earl wrote a letter to his agent, Cap
tain Johnson, requesting that Bartle Donohoe should
have the preference before any one. He was quite
delighted with the kind consideration with which
the earl inquired after his tenants and their fami
lies, making inquiries also after their comforts, ho
ping the stock had escaped the sickness which was
prevalent in a barony not far distant. A widowed
tenant of his lordship, who had been deficient in her
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 27
rent in consequence of the loss of several head of
black cattle from this cause, came to ask an exten
sion of time while Bartle was there. The earl ex
pressed great regret at the losses she sustained, as
sured her she should not only have time, but that,
knowing her to be an industrious improving tenant
and a widow, she should be allowed for every head
of cattle she lost on presenting a statement of their
value to the agent. " The captain did not act
harshly, did he ? " said the earl. " Oh no, indeed,
my lord," replied the poor woman, while tears of
gratitude filled her eyes, " oh no, indeed ; he only
sent for his rent, and sure that's what he had a right
to do ; but it fretted me not to have it for him, and
I made up my mind I'd come and speak to your
lordship. I knew I'd be sure to meet with considera
tion if I'd see you may God shower his choicest
blessings on your house this day ! Oh no, my lord,
the captain never distressed me a bit." "If he
did, I'd distress him," said the earl. " I will not
allow such acts to be done on my estate." * Both
Bartle and the widow retired blessing God for giv
ing them so good a landlord. Oh, that the landed
proprietors of Ireland could only be made to under-
* Thii conversation actually occurred ; but since then, unhappily, tho
papers report him to have become au exterminator like the rest. Such i
the force of bad example.
28 THE BYRNES OF GLEXGOULAH.
stand their own interests ! If they would but make
themselves acquainted with the character of the
people over whom they exercise so much power, and
then act towards them with simple justice, showing
that consideration for their feelings which God cer
tainly intended one human being to have for anoth
er, what a life of inborn happiness would they not
enjoy in this life, not to speak of their prospects in
the life to come !
Toney Byrne had now no further opposition to
make to his daughter's marriage, and accordingly
Margaret and Bartle Donohoe were married in about
ten days from his interview with Lord Fitzwilliam.
They had a genuine Irish wedding ; the table was
laid in the long barn, graced with many fine tur-
eys, geese, chickens, rounds of beef, sirloins of ditto,
plum puddings, apple dumplings, every kind of
pakes, fruits, etc., and wine and whiskey ad libitum.
But I presume most of my readers have been to Irish
weddings before now, and it is unnecessary to describe
how the venerable Father Esmond sat at the head of
the table, how Father O'Tool occupied the next seat
of distinction, how the parish priest blessed and cut
the wedding cake, helping the bridesmaid to the first
cut, how she made believe to be eating but reserved
the greater part to divide amongst her young friends
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOtTLAH. 29
for the purpose of dreaming on it, how when the
priest retired the tables were cleared away, and the
fiddlers and pipers and dancers all commenced in ear
nest, how they danced in the barn and in every room
in the house until the small hours of the morning,
when the guests, after many affectionate good-byes,
took their departure, praying long life and happiness
to the young couple. My readers have enjoyed all
this before, and I therefore merely glance at it.
A few days after the wedding Bartle Donohoe took
his bride to his father's, where they were to remain
until his own farmhouse was vacated.
The hauling home was another scene of festivity.
Her father, eldest brother, and some near relatives,
accompanied them. All rode on horseback; Mar
garet was mounted on a pillion behind her husband.
Some miles from Donohoe's farm Bartle's father, his
two oldest brothers, and a band of neighbors, came
to meet them on horseback and formed a guard of
honor to welcome the young bride, who blushingly
thanked them for their attention, and smiled through
the tears she had been shedding all day after parting
with her mother and sister.
" All the world and his wife " were assembled at
the farm, and another joyous scene similar to the
wedding took place. Next day, after many tears
30 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
fond erabracings, and blessings on his child, Toney
Byrne and his escort returned to Gleugoulah. They
passed Mr. De Courcy's mills on their way home,
and met Tom Moody, the under steward, coming out
of the office. Calling Toney one side he told him
strange news. Mr. De Courcy had received letters
from London that morning, announcing the death
of Sir Charles Plover. He had been killed in a duel
by a colonel in her majesty's life-guards, with whom
he had a dispute at play. The melancholy event
took place near Dieppe, in France, whither they had
gone to evade the law. Sir Charles Plover had
never married, consequently the estate must pass
into the hands of the nearest of kin, who was his
first cousin, the Rev. Samuel Wilson Biggs, who
was rector of Christ Church, Nottingham, England.
Poor Toney Byrne heard this news with a sad
heart, for though the landlord was nothing to him
none of the tenantry had ever seen him still he
foreboded evil the moment he heard the new land
lord was an Anglican minister. " 1 wonder will Mr.
De Courcy act as agent still, Mr. Moody ? " asked
Toney of the steward. " That's more than any of
us can tell, Mr. Byrne ; but I don't see any reason
why he wouldn't I'm sure he knows the property
better than any one, and he understands the people
THE BYKNES OF GLENGOULAH. 31
unless he gets tired of it and gives it up himself. I
think the new landlord ought to be very glad to give
it to him." " God grant he may keep it, then," saiY
Toney, fervently, " for he's a fair and honorable
gentleman."
Poor Mrs. Byrne had been inconsolable from the
time she parted with her dear child, and renewed
her sorrow when she saw her husband returning
without her ; but she soon dried her eyes when Toney
said :
" Don't be foolish, Kitty ; give thanks to God that
your daughter hits a dacent boy and a comfortable
home under a good landlord ; not at all like her
father and mother, I'm afraid. I met Tom Moody
at the mills below, and he tells me news came from
London this mornin' that Sir Charles is dead, and
the new landlord is a Protestant minister ; so God
between us and harm, this day ! But, Kitty, my
heart bodes no good to ourselves or our neighbors.
I'm afraid there's a black cloud gatherin' a top of
Glengoulah hill."
" Oh, Christ protect us ! Toney, avic ! " exclaimed
his wife, arising from her seat with staring eyes.
" Is it the truth you're spakin' ; or are you only
frightenin' me a purpose to keep me from frettin'
after Margie ? "
32 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOUJ.AH.
" Bedad, it's the truth I'm telliu' you, Kitty ; and
sorry I am to have to tell it."
" Oh the cross of Christ about us and preserve us ! "
And Kitty made the holy sign on her forehead, lips,
and breast, and courtesied devoutly. " Och, wirrah,
wirrah, this day ! Luck nor grace can't come where
one of them black divils has any hand God forgive
me but sure I know the breed of old. Don't I
mind when my poor brother Andy was put in for
beatin' the tithe proctor God rest his soul, amen !"
(Mrs. Bryne certainly meant her brother's soul, not
the tithe proctor's). " Didn't my mother go to the
minister to ask him to spake a word fur the poor
boy, seein' he was young and hot in himself, and
was aggravated by reason of her bein' oifended.
Didn't the ould hypocrite snuffle through his nose
and tell her she reared her son bad ; that she ought
to tache him to be meek and humble, and to folly
the scriptures, and if he was struck on one cheek to
turn the other ? My poor mother was the mildest
and pacefulest woman that ever lived. You'd won
der if you saw how patient and gentle she looked.
To think any one could have the heart to spake that
way to her, and she in trouble! she riz up and
walked from the room without another word, she
was chokin'."
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 33
Young Andy Byrne, who was listening to his
mother with flashing eyes and burning cheeks, said
quickly : " Mother, who was with ray grandmother
when he said that?" "No one, alanna ; she was
loath to take any one with her, afraid they might re
fuse to let her see the minister if there was another
by."
" I wish I was by, and to be as big as I am now ;
I'd give him a rap in his ould jaw, and I'd see if he'd
turn tli' other side. "
" Oh whist, Andy, avic machree !" said his moth
er with a shudder ; and drawing him towards her she
laid his head on her bosom, and passing her hand
through his fair clustering hair, she made the sign of
the cross on his forehead, murmuring fervently : "God
bless my own bouchleen bawn, and mark him to
grace, and preserve him from sin, accidents, and
dangers."
" Musha, mother !" exclaimed Andy, jumping np
and cutting a caper on the floor ; " one would think
I was goin' to kick the minister now, you're so fright
ened; 'deed if I was with my grandmother that day
I'd give him a polthogue, just to see how he'd take
it ; he's too ould now if he'd be alive at all, but I
suppose the divil got him long ago."
" Oh, fie upon you, Andy, honey ! Don't talk that
34 THE BYKXES OF GLENGOULA. H.
way ; sure you know we're not allowed to judge
any one."
" Och musha, mother astliore ! Don't I know you
mid my father and the priest is sayin' that always ;
but sure I know very well God Almighty has no
hand in such ould varmint and hypocrites, and he
must belong to one side or the other; anyway it's
well for his ould jaw I wasn't near him that day.
Hooroosh ! there's the spotted calf runnin' through the
meadow like mad." And away bounded Andy in high
glee for the chase. His mother looked after him with
a mixture of pride and sadness. Turning from the
door, she said to herself: "Well, hasn't he the. noble
sperit all out? Thanks and praises be to the great
God for all things ! He's a Malone to the backbone."
"Tony, who had lit his pipe after entering the house,
sat back in the chimney-corner. Keeping his eyes
fixed on the fire, and being entirely absorbed in puff
ing and watching the blaze as it flickered in and out
of the turf pile, he heeded not what was passing be
tween his wife and son. Advancing now to meet
her, as she turned from watching Andy, he said :
" Kitty, I'm after goin' over in my mind the
way we're in at present, and I don't like how things
look, but I see no way of bettering ourselves ; so I
come to the conclusion that the best thins: we can do
THE BYRMSa OF GLEtfGOULAII. 35
4
is to remember we're in the hands of God, and to go
on doin' our duty and We it all to Him. Thanks
be to His holy name we've everything snug and com
fortable around us, and we have our rent ready, and
what need we care ? We never seen Sir Charles's
face, and maybe this ma/i would stay in England too,
and lave the estate to be managed by Mr. De Courcy,
and sure, if he does, it will make no differ to us who is
landlord ; howsomever, let it go what way it will, we
can't better it by frettin' about it, so welcome be the
will of God."
Poor Kitty tried hard to take the same philosophic
view of affairs as her husband ; but it was plain her
spirit chafed under the bare idea of holding their
farm, which belonged to the Brynes, father and son,
for generations, at the will of a member of that body
which made itself most obnoxious to the people in all
parts of the country, and which poor Kitty had good
reason to dread as the bitterest enemy of her faith
and race. She therefore merely shook her head,
saying with a sigh : " Maybe so, asthore; maybe so;
God is good !" and calling "Winefred to her they took
their snow-white pails and went to the byre to milk
the cows, which now came slowly into the yard chew
ing the cud, and taking observations with their mild
intelligent eyes.
CHAPTER IY.
ABOUT a month after the wedding of Margaret
Byrne her mother and sister were busy spinning
away to make a stock of house linen for the winter,
Mrs. Byrne having sent a chest full to Margaret as
her mother's wedding gift ; and her stock being
greatly reduced thereby, they were working away
to replace it, when a horse and rider turned into the
front yard, and stopping .at the porch the rider
alighted. He was a stout portly man, apparently
about fifty years of age, with a mild benevolent
countenance, his hair slightly sprinkled with silver,
and his whole air, garb and bearing carrying unmis
takable evidence of the true gentleman. Mrs. Byrne,
hurriedly calling Mike to hold the horse, ran out,
and, courtesying, welcomed Mr. De Courcy to the
farm. Taking off his hat he entered the farm-house,
saluted Winefred kindly, and, taking a seat, com
plimented her on her industry, inquired what she
had been spinning (for Winnie arose to make obei
sance on his entrance, but did not through politeness
resume her noisy occupation), and whether she found
THE BYRNES OF GLEKGOULAH 37
it productive ; asked Mrs. Byrne after her husband
and the boys, and what progress the} T were making ;
inquired how the young summer stock got on, and
whether she still bore off the palm for her butter,
poultry, etc. Mrs. Byrne gave him all the satisfac
tion she could. He admired the neat arrangements
of the flower beds in the grass plot before the door,
and seemed highly pleased with the look of comfort
and industry which the whole place presented, not
forgetting to note the flitches of bacon and coils of
hogs' puddings suspended from the ceiling. He
then told Mrs. Byrne they were going to have a res
ident landlord.
Unlike Sir Charles Plover, who had never been in
Ireland since he was a boy, the Rev. Mr. Biggs was
coming to reside amongst them. Orders had been
received to put Glengonlah Castle in immediate
repair, and artizans of all kinds were coming to
decorate it in the highest style of art. Splendid
furniture was ordered from Paris, and a regular
suite of English servants coming to take charge
of all domestic arrangements. Mr. Biggs ex
pected to be settled in his future residence by
Christmas.
" I understand," said Mr. De Courcy, " he has ei-
fected an exchange with the present rector of this
38 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOFLAH.
parish, and intends to rule in the double capacity of
landlord and rector."
" Well, the Lord break hard fortune before us !
Bnt I'm mighty sorry to hear it, your honor ; I'm
afraid luck and grace and happiness are leavin' us
behind them ;" and poor Mrs. Byrne rocked to and
fro, as was her wont when her mind was troubled.
"Oh, don't say that, Mrs. Byrne," said the agent,
cheerfully. " Don't you know one of the worst evils
of Ireland is absenteeism, or the landlord making his
residence in a foreign land and not looking person
ally after the condition of his tenantry ? And now
Mr. Biggs is going to repair that evil by residing
amongst you all, and watching over your interests.'"
" Oh no, sir; it may be true what you say, that a
landlord has a right to look to his tenants. If they
all done it, then one would be ashamed of the other
not to act like a gentleman ; but where there's only
one they're more like to be a tyrant. Anyway, may
God long preserve your honor ! "We didn't know the
bad of an absentee landlord while we had you. Oh,
Mr. De Courcy, dear ! sure you won't lave us ? "
" I really cannot tell yet, Mrs. Byrne. I should
be very sorry, indeed, to part with the tenantry of
Glengoulah estate, for I have found them thoroughly
upright, peaceable people, kind neighbors, and good
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULA.H. 39
friends. I really feel a kind of affection for every
one on the estate, and I believe they love me too."
Mr. De Courcy's voice trembled as he said the latter
words. It was evident (though he did not express it)
he boded no good from the clerical landlord'. As
for poor Mrs. Byrne, she and Winnie cried outright,
and could not speak a word. " However, it is all
foolish to think on it yet," said Mr. De Courcy,
brightening up. " We may be pleased all round by
the change. The English landlords are very kind
and just to their tenantry in their own country, and
Mr. Biggs may be one of the best of them for aught
we know. Remember, I know as little about him
as any of you. Rest assured, Mrs. Byrne, I shall not,
give up the management of the estate as long as I
can retain it with honor to myself and good to the
tenantry. Please tell Byrne to bring his lea.se to
my office during the course of the week, as I am
putting my affairs in order." And so taking a amil-
ing adieu, he patted Mike on the head, slipped a
half-crown into his hand unknown to his mother,
and mounting his horse rode away.
Mr. De Courcy, after leaving Toney Byrne's farm,
rode on about three miles over the beautiful " Cas
cade mountain," as it was poetically and truthfully
named, for hundreds of tiny waterfalls came bound
40 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
ing through the variegated shrubs, over moss-covered
rocks, and made the hills musical with their murmur
ing glee as they rushed down to meet the Avon
and flow into the lovely vale of Ovoca. Beyond
this hill, and between it and another cone-shaped hill,
crowned on top with a clump of mountain ash, was
a verdant plain about a quarter of a mile wide.
In the centre of this plain nestled a large thriving
village, almost pretending to be a town (in America
it would be called a city). Here was a green where an
annual cattle-fair was held, and at the end of this
green stood a goodly-sized stone building of cruci
form shape, destitute of ornament save a stone cross
of modest dimensions at the termination of the ga
ble, which faced the entrance. Over the principal
door, which was a double one grained in oak, were
the initials I. H. S., so well known to every Catho
lic to signify " Jesus, Saviour of men." The back of
this building was shaded by a grove of oak, elm, and
ash-trees, commingled. Beside it stood a magnifi
cent elm towering above all, and bearing high up in
its branches a bell of humble size, from which a
simple rope most unpoetically dangled, or was tied
around the trunk ; nevertheless that modest bell
made music amongst the mountain echoes, as from
its Jenfy spire it called the faithful children of the
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 4
Church to come and assist at the adorable sacrifice.
The ground on which this building stood covered a
considerable space, and was enclosed by a rustic pa
ling, which could now be scarcely discerned through
the thickly-interlaced hedge of sweet-brier and wild
roses. Within this enclosure, and all around the
building, with the exception of the neatly -gravelled
pathway, the grass was thick, soft as Genoa velvet,
and literally bespangled with daisies and buttercups.
Long green mounds were strewn around : some with
head-stones, simple and quaint enough ; some with a
plain stone cross ; some with a rose-bush at the head ;
but the greater number with no mark save that
known to the eye of affection, which never makes a
mistake. All told " the short and simple annals of
the poor. " Dear reader, this is the village and par
ish chapel of Tinmanogue, and the little churchyard
is the principal bury ing-place of the neighboring
hills. That substantial-looking cottage beside the
chapel, embowered amongst the trees, with its bright
flower-garden in front, is the residence of the be
loved parish priest of Tinmanogue and his almost
equally beloved curate. The hillsides and the plains
around are dotted with farm-houses and the cottages
of the farm laborers, all bearing the same look of
neatness and comfort, for it is still the estate of the
42 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
late Sir Charles Plover, and now the property of the
Rev. Samuel Wilson Biggs.
Mr. De Courcy on coming in sight of Tinma
nogue let the bridle fall loosely on the neck of his
horse, and turning to look on every side, surveyed
the lovely prospect with feelings of pleasure and
regret. He felt that inward satisfaction which every
just man feels in looking upon the effects of his
good works, and then came the sense of deep
regret which he could not shake oft', for he knew
O '
he would soon be as a stranger amongst those farms
whose prosperity he had watched with paternal care ;
and though he well knew he would ever live in the
warm affections of the grateful people, he also knew
they would soon be surrounded by trials from which
he could not extricate them.
Arriving at the shady cottage he was shown into
the modest parlor. The furniture was plain, sub
stantial, and beautifully clean. It bore a strong
resemblance in many points to Goldsmith's celebrat
ed room, for the sanded floor was there, and the
clock -ticking behind the door ; the green boughs-
were in the fire-place, and the chest of drawers con
triving to pay a double debt not in the same sense,
however, for it was not a bed either by night or by
day; but the top part was a writing-desk and bureau,
THE BYKNE3 OF GLENGOULAH. 43
being the depository of the parish registries, and all
other important papers, while the under part was a
chest of drawers ; it was of old fashioned mahogony,
and had massive handles and ornamental key-holes
of the brightest brass. In place of "the twelve
good rules and royal game of goose," the walls
were hung with a plain, neat paper, and suspended
thereon were some rare pictures for Father Esmond
was a lover of the beautiful in art, and brought those
with him from France. Ireland in his young days
had no means of educating her sons for the priesthood,
as the odious penal laws were still in force. Father
Esmond, therefore, had been sent, with many other
students, to France, to study his ecclesiastical course,
and had returned a learned and holy priest.
Between the windows was an exquisite engraving
of the " Ecce Homo." Over the bureau a well-
executed copy of Carlo Dolci's " Holy Family."
Over the sideboard a fine engraving of Raphael's
"Last Supper." In the recesses of the fire-place
were the " Annunciation" and the " Baptism of Our
Lord," both matches, finely finished, and in old-
fashioned oval frames. But the masterpiece of all,
and the glory of the old pastor's heart, was an old
oil painting over the mantelpiece it was the " Re
pentance of St. Peter," and was indeed a gem.
44: THE BYKNKS OF GLENGOTJLAH.
Mr. De Courcy, who was an enthusiastic admirer
of the fine arts, stood entranced before it for some
time, and then passed to the others. Looking
through a side window he saw an equally fine living
picture. A venerable man, evidently more than
eighty summers, with a benign and smiling counte
nance, was standing beside a clear pond in the hol
low of a verdant field. He was a little above the
middle height and of a rotund form, his dress was
black save a pair of dark-gray stockings which en
cased his stout, well-formed legs, which, whenever
he went abroad, or expected company, were again
covered by black-cloth leggings, terminating in a pair
of thick shoes fastened by silver buckles of a depart
ed age. On his head he wore the three-cornered
tonsure cap peculiar to his sacred office ; his long
snow-white hair flowing underneath was stirred by
the gentle breeze. In his hand he held a small bas
ket from which he scattered wheat and breadcrumbs
to a numerous flock of geese, ducks, and chickens,
alternately scolding, petting, and laughing heartily
at the scramble amongst the fowls. A couple of aris
tocratic ducks, disdaining to enter the crowd of beg
gars, stood a little apart with an eye cocked up, as
much as to say, " Here we are, waiting in dignified
expectation." They were now addressed : "Indeed,
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 45
then, you shall, Juno, have some nice crumbs, yourself
and Ceres, just because you are not fighting about
it. Down, Caesar; down, sir;" and away went
ducks and geese plunging into the pond, while the
chickens with extended wings ran screaming away
to the barn-yard. This commotion amongst them
was excited by Mrs. Malone opening the little yard-
gate leading to the field to tell his reverence how a
visitor awaited him, contrary, however, to the express
injunctions of Mr. De Courcy, who assured the
house-keeper he was in no hurry, and would prefer
awaiting the leisure of Father Esmond.
Mrs. Malone, after delaying a little, got on the fidg
ets, and the moment she opened the gate out bounded
Caesar, a splendid mastiff, who had been wistfully
watching the gate ever since his master's egress, and
now sent the poor chickens flying in all directions.
Father Esmond entered the house immediately.
" My dear friend, Mr. De Courcy," said he, extending
both hands ; " I ana quite rejoiced to see you ; you
are heartily welcome to Tinmanogue-; bless my soul
how glad I am to see you ! And you are here some
time, Mrs. Malone tells me, and would not let me be
called now what's that for ? You wanted to surprise
me, did you?" His eye now caught a stray glance
of Mr. De Courcy's wandering over the fire-place.
46 THE BYRNES OF GfLEXGOULAH.
1 Ah. HA ! I see it all now ; I have the secret. You
were examining my ' St. Peter'." Mr. De Courcy
pleaded guilty. "Well, I forgive you it is not
every day you meet with a picture like that. My
dear sir, that picture would take whole weeks to
view properly. Many an hour I remain before it
and yet discover new beauties continually. Now
just stand in this light and catch the expression ol
that face. Look ! there is true repentance for you ! "
" Indeed, Father Esmond, I never saw anything
more perfect ; he seems truly the rugged fisherman.
I fancy he has just moored his smack, awaiting the
morrow's dawn to be off again."
"Yes, just so; the weather-beaten fisherman
his hair seems to stand out as if still blown about
by the gales from lake Galilee; his garment flies
open and bares his breast to the breeze, but he heeds
not all that. Oh, my friend ! just look at those
sun-embrowned hands clasped together so closely;
don't you think they seem to quiver with the an
guish of that eoul upon which Jesus has cast a
pitying yet reproachful glance ? Don't those ears still
seem to ring with the crowing of that cock which
first warned him of his terrific sin ? those lips seem
trying to utter words of heartfelt sorrow, but can
not for the choking SO |) S Then look at those tears
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 47
streaming down the furrowed cheeks; those eyes
incessantly filling, raised to heaven with an expres
sion of intensest love for his Divine Master, and
agonizing contrition for having denied Him. Oh,
Peter ! Peter ! how many of us follow you in your
fall ; how few in your repentance ! "
Mr. De Courcy, who seemed spellbound by the elo
quence of his host, now turned to look at him. His
cap was in his hand, his white hair flowing back,
and his aged eyes filled with tears : he looked almost
as fine a picture as the blessed Peter himself. A
new emotion filled the heart of Mr. De Oourcy ; he
could not account for it, but he seemed to feel him
self quite insignificant, and would fain have re
mained silent and unobserved. Soon Father Es
mond, wiping his eyes, cried out : " Bless my soul !
that picture makes me forget everything. Sit
down, my dear sir, sit down ; you will pardon the
forgetfulness of an old man. I hope Mrs. De Courcy
and the little people are well. How are matters
progressing at Glengoulah ? I suppose the old castle
is putting on its grand look, as of old."
" Yes, indeed ; the castle and the demesne of Glen
goulah are fit for any nobleman to reside in. I
wish they were about to be occupied by so:ne jne
worthy of such a princely inheritance. Indeed,
48 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
Father Esmond, I came to visit you to-day for the
purpose of having a conversation with you on this
very subject. I am anxious to know if you have
any idea who this Biggs is ; have you heard anything
of him?"
" I have not the slightest suspicion who he is ; nor,
indeed, do I much care. As long as you are the
agent we don't care who the landlord is, and for this
reason I never made an inquiry on the subject ;
but there's the old man's selfishness breaking out
again ! I'm forgetting how very unpleasant it
would be for you if he should happen to be a dis
agreeable man. I wish he had stayed where he was
born."
" Well, Father Esmond, I had a suspicion from
the first that he was the person of whom I heard my
cousin William speak when he came home from
Oxford. I thought the name was the same, but not
feeling certain I wrote my cousin on the subject,
related what I had heard of the character of our
new landlord, and begged he would describe, as ac
curately as possible, his old class-mate at Oxford.
He had started for Germany before my letter
reached his home, but they forwarded it to him, and
he replied from Dresden. It only reached me yes
terday."
THE BYRNES Oe GLKNGOJLAH. 49
Pulling out a pocket-book, Mr. De Courcy took a
letter from it which he handed to Father Esmond.
While the priest was occupied reading the letter his
guest again stood before the " St. Peter ;" and as lie
went afresh over every lineament the words of the
venerable Father seemed to burn into his soul.
Father Esmond, having read the letter twice over
with the greatest care, folded it and returned it with
a sigh. " God help my poor people if the person
your cousin speaks of be the same l^iggs ; and I fear
it is, for the points of resemblance are very strong.
I fear there are sad times in store for the tenantry.
Oh, Mr. De Courcy, my dear friend, let me im
plore you not to abandon my poor people. You are
their only earthly salvation. Should you resign he
would easily find a creature of his own to appoint
who would be ready for any mean employment."
" God forgive me ! I'd rather have the wickedest
old sinner than one of those canting, psalm-singing
crew. The sinner might be converted ; but those
creatures are so full of self-glorification that they have
no room for the glory of God, and if they don't begin
they certainly end with hypocrisy."
" You may rest assured, Father Esmond, it will be
the last resort left to honor when I resign the Glen-
goulah estate. I need hardly tell you that it is not
50 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
for its pecuniary profits I will hold it under such a
man. I don't need it, happily ; but my affections have
become bound up with the tenantry. I am not a
very demonstrative character, and I'm sure many of
the poor fellows have thought me exacting, but I love
them as though they were my own children. I have
ever found them punctual and upright in all their
dealings with me, and ready to adopt any suggestion I
made for the improvement of their farms ; indeed, 1
think they took an especial pride in following my ad
vice, just to show their confidence in me; for some of
them, I know, could not see the drift of my arrange
ments in the beginning, though they saw the benefit
of them afterwards. It will be one of the most pain
ful epochs of my life if I am ever compelled to resign
the management of this estate, and I hope fervently
I may be spared it."
Poor Father Esmond was quite overcome by these
observations, and, making a great effort to control
his feelings, he said : " My dear friend, there is not a
man, woman, or child in Glengoulah but would die
for you. You must not leave us. God is stronger
than the enemy ; we will all importune Heaven, and
" Oh, Father Esmond, no ; please do not let the ten
antry know 1 heard anything of the landlord it
THE BViiNES OF GLENGOULAH. 51
would be extremely imprudent. In the first place,
we have only a suspicion-a very strong one, it ia
true, but still a mere suspicion that he and this Ox
ford man are the same person ; and then, if the peo
ple through my means become prejudiced against him
it would be sure to reach his ears, and we might look
out for separation truly ; and, moreover, we would de
serve it too. No, no ; I brought this letter to put you
on your guard, as you might see some way of foiling
him if he should contemplate a crusade against the
religion of the people. This is in strict confidence."
" Pardon me, my dear Mr. De Courcy ; I was
quite taken off my guard by the bare idea of losing
you. Of course you are perfectly right ; I see the im
propriety of letting any one know. You may rest
easy : the contents of that letter shall never pass my
lips until you release me yourself from silence."
" Enough, Father ; I must go now. It is getting
late."
" Upon my word, you sha'n't leave me until you
take pot luck with me ; my dinner will be ready an
hour from this, and Father O'Tool will be home and
will amuse you with his droll stories. He's the life
and soul of Tinmanosrue."
o
" I am very much obliged, Father Esmond ; but it
is quite impossible I could accept of your kind invi-
52 THE BYKXES OF GLENGOULAH.
tation to-day. There are two gentlemen to dine with
me tourists ; who came to see the vale of Ovoca. I
met them this morning accidentally, and they prom
ised to be at my house at six o'clock."
" Well ! well ! I am very sorry for my sake ; but the
duties of hospitality can't be postponed, so I give you
up for this day but you mustn't take the curse of
the house with you.
" Mrs. Malone, will you be kind enough to bring
the decanters here ; and where's that cake I heard
you boasting about ? I think you said it went very
nicely with raspberry jam ! We'll put it to the test
ma'am, if you please."
Mrs. Malone, who had been expecting some such
summons, came in arrayed in a black-satin gown
which had seen better days, and a cap decorated
with blue gauze ribbons. She bore a tray, with a
goodly array of wine-glasses, decanters, cake, and pre
serves, with her best china plates, and came near
demolishing a glass in her efforts to place the tray
on the table and make a most gracious courtesy at
the same time for Mr. De Courcy's especial benefit.
With the kindness of a true gentleman he saluted
the good woman, told her he had heard of her high
reputation in the manufacture of cakes and pre
serves, and was resolved to show how much he ap-
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 53
predated such useful acquirements. Mrs. Malono
assured his honor it was only his kindness to say so,
not but she could make cakes if she only had the
least idea that they would be tasted by so capable a
judge, but that one now on the tray was only a poor
specimen of her art, etc., etc. It was easy to see,
however, that she was mightily pleased, and mak
ing two more dignified courtesies one at the table,
and one at the door she made her exit, ever after
wards declaring that " Mr. De Courcy was the nicest
and most knowledgeable gentleman that ever came
to Tinmanogue."
To say truth, the refreshments were all the best ;
and the agent, having partaken of them, requested
Father Esmond to try and get over to his house
soon. Mrs. De Courcy would be quite delighted to
see him, and he wanted to show him some new ma
chinery he had got in the mill.
" Ah, my dear friend ! it is little visiting I can do
now. I suffer much at times from asthma, but
praises be to God ! I have had a long life of good
health, and must expect some shadow of the coming
event which can't be far distant now."
" Oh, you mustn't say that, Father ; I trust it is
many, many years distant."
"Well! well! God's holy will be done as He
54 THE BYRNES OF GLEXGOULAH.
pleases, my son. I would like very much indeed to
go and see your family ; if possible I will do so."
Mr. De Courcy leaned over and in an undertone
whispered, " Meantime, Father, please remember me
in your petitions to Heaven, and when you are
viewing your St. Peter."
" Indeed, then, I will, my dear friend and child.
God bless you ! "
Mr. De Courcy vaulted into his saddle, and, rais
ing his hat once more to the venerable figure stand
ing on the door-step, galloped up the hill and was
out of sight in a minute.
CHAPTER V.
THE long-expected time came at length when
there arrived at Glengoulah Castle troops of servants
and piles of luggage from England ; and, about a
week afterwards, the Rev. Samuel Wilson Biggs,
his lady the Rev. Mrs. Samuel Biggs, his two maid
en sisters the Misses Biggs, a valet, and two waiting
maids, drove up in two carriages and four to the
grand sweep before the castle hall; whereupon
there was great commotion amongst the hired retain
ers, and a great clattering of dishes in the culinary
apartments, accompanied by an odor bearing sure
evidence that Ihe comforts of the inward man were
being attended to.
A few days after the arrival of the family the two
waiting women took counsel together, during break
fast hour, in the dressing-room of the Rev. mis
tress.
" La me ! " said Miss Jemima Jenkins (the Rev.
mistress's own maid) to Miss Amelia Hopkins, who
had the felicity to wait on the spinster sisters of their
Rev. master " La me ! I verily believe we shall
56 THE BYRNES OTT GLKNGOULAH.
mope to death in this hold castle, perched hon the
top of the 'ill; just look out of this winder, and see
what a frightful 'iglit we are." And the two young
ladies gazed into the valley below, just at the point
" where the bright waters meet." Then they cast
their eyes on the opposite hills, covered with verd
ure, though it was the first week of December, and
on the thousand waterfalls and silver streams one
of the most picturesquely beautiful scenes the eye of
man could wish to repose on in this world. Draw
ing in her head, Miss Jemima Jenkins exclaimed,
with a sigh : " I shall ask mistress to raise my wages.
It is evident there is no chance of society in such
a wild place ! I should die, I know I should, in one
quarter."
" Yes," rejoined Miss Amelia Hopkins ; " and only
think ! the coachman, footman, and two grooms are
all married men ; it is perfectly unbearable ! I too
shall demand 'igher wages, or I sha'n't wait on Miss
Biggs, nor Miss Rachel neither, so I sha'n't."
" And I heard mistress tell master this morning,"
said Miss Jemima Jenkins, " that she didn't see how
she was ever a goin' to live among such barbarous
people. But la ! master is so religious ! he told her
she must look upon it as a trial sent her by the Lord,
and try to bear it with Christian fortitude. He said :
THE BYKNES OF GLENGOULAH. 57
Mistress, and Miss Biggs, and Miss Bachel, and you,
and me, and all the servants, should try and reform
the people on the estate. ' I am sui e, sir,' says I, ' if
I had come hair to such a rich hestate I should pre
fer to pay hagents to manage it for me, and live in a
civilized country myself;' but I do believe if there's
a saint on hearth master's one. He turned up the
wites of his heyes, and says he, in a solemn voice,
' What you say, my dear Jenkins, would be quite
acceptable to a worldly-minded man, but my bowels
yearn with compassion for those creatures who
are half savages by nature, and whose steps run
after iniquity ; it will be my care to regenerate them
in a new baptism, so to speak, and bring their feet
into the path of the Lord.' Oh, 'Opkins, you never
'card such sighs as he drew up from the very bottom
I of his stomach ; it gave me the 'art burn to 'ear 'em."
" "Well ! I don't care if he is so religious, I haint
and so I just intend to do as little work as ever I
can ; and I'm a goin' to see if I can't make some
hirapression on the 'art of Mr. Jones, the 'ed butler.
I've singled him out as my game, so see you don't
look at him !" shaking her finger playfully at her
companion. "La me!" cried Miss Jemima, with a
contemptuous toss of her head, which made all the
pink ribbons in her fancy cap flutter for five seconds, "
58 THE BYENES OF GLENGOULAH.
" I think mistress's own maid may look 'igher. I
haint got such low tastes, I can assure you, 'Opkins;
and if I do amuse myself a talkin' to Mr. Thompson,
master's valet, it is only till I can find society
capable of appreciating me."
" Well done, my lady Pimlico," cried Miss Ame
lia, mimicking the voice of her friend Jenkins,
O 7
" Well, I never ! So we're puttin' on hairs, are we ?
He, he, he. My heyes ! wont I have ftiu in the ser
vants' 'all to-night. I suppose we'll begin to get
religion too, like master, and turn up the wites of
our heyes and sing psalms " and the tantalizing
young lady began to sing in a nasal tone :
" Oh ! there's a 'appy land, far, far away."
Suddenly the bell of Miss Biggs's dressing-room
rang furiously, and at the same moment the sickly
step of the Rev. mistress was heard ascending the
stairs, which caused the instantaneous cessation of
the hymn, and the sudden transition of Miss Ame
lia Hopkins from the front to the rear of the castle,
while the offended person of Miss Jemima Jenkins
quickly passed from an easy, dignified position in an
arm-chair before the looking-glass, to one of most
bustling activity, with something in her fair hand
which bore a suspicious resemblance to a dusting-
brush. For the present we shall leave the afflicted
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 59
inmates of Glengoulab Castle to the terrible calami
ties consequent upon a residence amongst a barbar
ous people, and see what the savage tenantry are
about.
Toney Byrne took his lease to Mr. De Courcy's
office, at the mills, as directed, and was told to leave
it there, for the Rev. landlord had not yet attended
to any business ; but Mr. De Courcy would be sure
to call his earliest attention to it, and to some others
^x
which also required renewal.
Some weeks had elapsed, Christmas had come and
gone, the new year had dawned, but Toney re
ceived no summons to visit the office in order to sign
his new lease. At length, in the second week of
January, at the oft-repeated request of his wife, To
ney went to the office once more. He was received
as kindly as ever by Mr. De Courcy, who told him
he regretted very much that his lease was still un
signed by the landlord. " I have urged him fre
quently, Byrne, and he kept putting me off upon
one pretext or another until last week, when he pos
itively refused to sign any lease until he made him
self acquainted with the character and condition of
the tenantry. However,, it wont be long now until
the March gales come, and perhaps he may give or
ders to have the leases ready by rent day. Meantime
60 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
I am quite willing to have the character of each ten
ant and the condition of each holding scrutinized,
for I am proud of the whole."
" Yes, sir, thanks be to God, your honor needn't
be afraid or ashamed of any of us."
" Mr. Biggs is going to have a new church built on
the demesne, and a school-house, he tells me, so that
will give a good deal of employment."
" Ah, what in the world does he want with anoth
er church, sir? Sure the parish church of Tinman-
ogue has only a congregation of seven persons, and
where will he find scholars for his schools ?"
" Why, you forget, Byrne, that his own establish
ment at the castle would make a numerous congre
gation ; and, as they are all English, I presume they
are Protestants likewise. Perhaps, too, many of
them are married, and have young families ; and if
so, the ladies will require some useful occupation, and
so may turn teachers. And, perhaps" Mr. De
Courcy smiled quietly "some of the tenantry may
be glad to avail themselves of so good an opportuni
ty to educate their children, and send them to this
school too."
" Oh no, bedad, sir ! Sorra a fear of that. If
the good gentleman is goin' to build churches, or
schools aither, for the benefit of the Glengoulah peo-
THE BYKNES OF GLENGOULAH. 61
pie, he had better keep his money. A good mornin'
Mr. DeCourcy!"
" Good morning, Byrne."
As Toney was approaching his home he met
Tom Moody, whom he invited in to " take the weight
off his limbs, and have a draw of the pipe." He
told Mrs. Byrne " a power of news " about the Biggs
family, and their doings at the castle. Indeed,
Kitty had been dying to see the same Tom, and had
come out upon the road a dozen times when she
espied a hat like his coming down the road. With
a long stocking tucked under her arm, at the toe of
which she was busy with her needles, Mrs. Byrne
would come out and look down the road in the op
posite direction from where the owner of the hat
was coming, as if expecting somebody. After gazing
a while she would turn round carelessly, intending,
if it should be Tom, to say, " Why, then, now, is that
yourself, Tom Moody ? Who'd ever think to see
you here the mornin'? Come in and rest a while."
And so she would be sure to hear all the news, for
Tom was an incorrigible gossip, and had a knack
of worming himself in with strangers, and by find
ing out a little here, and a little there, and " putting
that and that together," as he said himself, it was
quite wonderful what shrewd guesses he made.
62 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
Poor Mrs. Byrne, however, had come out so often,
and looked down the road so intently, and turned
round so innocently (expecting to accost Tom) every
time encountering the eyes of a stranger, that she
almost despaired of ever seeing Tom Moody again.
She had kept her own counsel, however, and never
mentioned her movements to any one, for she knew
how much Toney discountenanced gossiping. As
Tom now made his appearance with her husband
she accosted him kindly, but with the most diplo
matic nonchalance, inquired after all the neighbors
in his parts (Tom was a bachelor), and glancing
carelessly at his hat, which he held between his
knees, she requested to be allowed to put it on the
table. As she laid it down she took a second look
at it, and said, " Why, then, Tom Moody, did you
pass down this road three or four times this week? "
" No, indeed, ma'am ; if I did you may be sure I'd
step in to bid you the time of day."
" 'Deed, that's what made me wonder ; and yet I
certainly seen a hat like this one goin' down the
road, whoever wore it."
" You did, Mrs. Byrne } are you sure of that,
ma'am ? "
" 'Deed, I never was surer of anything ; when 1
seen your hat now it brought it to my mind."
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 63
" Ahem ! I see now how the cat jumps ; what
kind of a lookin' man was he, Mrs. Byrne ? "
Kitty, unwilling to confess she was outside of her
own premises, said, evasively, " I just seen the hat
over the hedge, and not bein' a common, one it took
my eye."
" "Well, ma'am, that must be no other man but
Sandy McGlauren, the Scotch steward ; he has a hat
for all the world the comrade of mine ; but he's a
gradle taller nor I am, and has great big bones.
Well, ma'am, if there's a head goin', divil alive it's
the same Sandy ; he's as deep as a draw-well. And
so he was up through the farms ! Bedad, I don't like'
the look of that, Mr. Byrne," turning to Toney. " I
don't like to see such cattle rovin' through the hills,
so I don't. 1 wouldn't say now but he was calcnlat-
in' the value of every farm, and that a rise in the
rent would be soon recommended."
" Tut, tut, man ! " exclaimed Toney, who was
always disposed to see the bright and peaceful side
of everything " Tut, tut ! Don't yon know he's a
stranger, and it's only natural he'd like to see the
country he has come to live in, and to examine the
quality of the land too, and see if it's like his own ?
I don't see anything in that but what we'd do our
selves, if we were in his place/'
64: THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
" Well, wait till you see, Mr. Byrne. I just can
tell what them lads is thinkin' of. There's not a
wink on me ! " at the same time winking very hard
with both eyes, to show his great cleverness.
" 'Deed, honest man, it's you I belave," chimed
in the good woman ; " but sure this man of mine
won't give ear to anything lie hears. I do be as
mad as a March hare with him sometimes. The
childer can put their finger in his eye and he can't
see it."
"Well, now, Kitty, where's the use of judging
any one till you know they're guilty it isn't fair
and we wouldn't like it to be done to ourselves. I
like to judge every one fair and square until I find
them goin' wrong."
" Why, then, indade, Mr. Byrne, it's little you'll
see that's fair or square from the same Sandy, or his
master aither, if I'm a livin' man; but time 'ill tell
God keep us all from harm."
" Oh ! amen, Tom, honey ! " said poor Mrs. Byrne,
fervently ; and then she began to question him on
all he knew of the Biggs family.
" And what kind of a lookin' man is the minis
ter?"
" A mighty mane lookin' little man, Mrs. Byrne,
as ever you seen. How old is your Andy now ?"
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 65
" He's just risin' fourteen."
" Well, the sorra taste bigger nor Andy lie is
God bless the boy ; but he's most as black as your
shoe no, not so black as that ; but I'll tell you now
for all the world what he looks like, and sorra word
of lie I'm tellin' he looks like a chimley sweep that
was after givin' his face a kind of wash, what we call
4 a lick and a promise,' now that's the very color
of his skin ; and he has the schaminist eye you ever
looked at, and wid all a mighty down mane look."
" Oh, then the curse of the crows on him ! Where
was he comiu' at all at all among dacent people ?
Did you. ever see the mistress at all ? "
" See her ? 'Deed, I'll engage I did ; and more
than onst, too."
" Is she pretty itself? "
" Pretty ? Musha, Mrs. Byrne, where would such
a speciment of a man get a pretty woman eh, now? "
" Why the dickens go from her, sure? We heard
she was a lord's daughter."
" So she is, ma'am ; a speretual lord's ; that is, a
Protestant Bishop."
" Oh, persume to her ! " said Mrs. Byrne, con
temptuously ; " if that be all, sure of course we
couldn't expect much dacency from her. She's black
lookin' too, I'll be bound ? "
66 THE BYENES OF GLENGOULAH.
" To ; but she's the livin' picture of a yalla mnllott
(mulatto) ; I mane in the color of her skin. I seen a
yalla mullott last summer when I was up in Dublin
I went on an errand from the master to the coun
sellor. Well, there was an American ship lyin' in the
docks, and I should go on boord of her wid the rest
of the crowd to be sure, and there I seen the mul
lott. She was the steward's wife, I belave, and at
tended the ladies' cabin. Her skin looked like a bar
of yalla soap that had the measles, but for all she
was a fine soncy lookin' woman, and had the dar-
lintist pair of eyes you could wish to see. Well, the
minister's lady has such another skin ; but, be my
sowkins, she can't hould a candle to the mullott in
any other respect."
" Is she a big woman ? "
" Her height is fair enough, but the divil such a
quare made woman ever I seen ; she's the very figure
of a broomstick, and hasn't a bit on her bones. She
has quare dead-lookin' hair, and not as much of it
on her whole head as Miss Winny there God
bless the colleen has in one of them locks that,
hangs over her laughin' eye. Her nose, chin and
elbows is like raziers; and as for her jaw bone,
it's so sharp that I'm sure if Samson had it he'd
kill more Philistines wid it than he kilt wid the
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOtJLAH. 67
jaw bone of the ass that's wrote about in the
Scriptures."
" Well, bad cess to you ! out of my sight, Tom
Moody, that I mightn't sin, but my heart's broke
laughin' at you ; but you're the fine lad, so you are."
" Upon my sowl I'm not tellin' you a word of lie,
ma'am. Wait till you see her ; they say she's half
the time dyin', and must have all kinds of attention
from mornin' till night. She has a great high-flyer
of a watin' maid leapin' round her all the time wid
smellin'-bottles and head-dresses. His two sisters is
the very mott of himself small, black, and mane
lookin' but they're all dressed so grand, my dear,
and has such airs about them, and spake so fine
you'd take them to be rale quality if you didn't
know who they wor." For all she laughed so heart
ily at Tom's description of the minister's family,
poor Mrs. Byrne felt her heart sink at the prospect
of having the future destiny of the Ityrnes entrusted
to such keeping. Day or night she could not rest,
her duties became irksome, and she would sit for
hours brooding over coming shadows, although her
fingers were busy at the knitting. Soon she be
came fretful and impatient, and would fly off to Mrs.
Fehily or some other neighbor to hold converse and
try to dive into the future intentions of the landlord.
68 THE BYRNES OF GLEXGOIJLAH.
But day after day passed, and Mrs. Byrne gre\v
more restless. At length she thought of a plan it
was to vrsit Father Esmond at Tinmanogue, and
have his reverence's opinion on the state of the case.
Having once conceived the project she gave Toney
no peace until he consented to go.
" Now's the time, Toney, before the spring work
comes on, for we'll be all too busy then, and can't
spare any of the bastes. Father Esmond is a long
headed man and has great exparience and more
be token he's a livin' saint and his advice is good.
And it will aise our minds if it won't .do anything
else, so let us saddle Puss in the name of God, and
put on the pillion and be off in the mornin' early,
and then we'll have plenty of time to see his rever
ence, and be home early after with the help of God."
" Well, Kitty, I'm very loath to trouble his rev
erence With our affairs, since he has the whole busi
ness of the parish to attend to ; but indade I'll over
come my dislike if it '11 only aise your mind, for I
never seen you so unaisy about anything. You're
like a hen on a hot griddle, so you are ; and indade
it's glad I am you thought of somethin' to give you
relief; so let us be off as you say to-morrow mornin'
in God's name."
CHAPTER VI.
*' Two travellers might be seen wending their way "
down the Cascade hill one cold morning at the be
ginning of February. The wind swept moaning
through the ravines, and made a hollow murmuring
through the leafless branches ; and between each
gust a heavy drizzling rain was trying to fall, but
was caught up by a stiff nor'easter before it reached
the earth, and blown about in every direction.
The travellers, one of whom was a woman, were
on horseback the woman seated on a pillion behind
her husband both well clad, and with shawls tied
over their hats. The horse, a sober philosophical sort
of animal, jogged on perfectly unmindful of wind or
rain. He held the bit in his mouth, and, with hanging
lip, and eyes fixed on the road before him, seemed to
look with scornful defiance on the little gusts which
jumped out at every winding of the road from be
hind rocks and stumps of trees, and battering his
ears and nose, sent his mane flying into an erect po
sition, then retired to their hiding-places, and running
along the hillsides were ready for him again at the
70 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
next turning. Our four-footed friend, however, had
evidently made up his mind not to be daunted by
such insignificant obstacles as the weather could
present, being perfectly conversant with all its pow
ers ; and he accordingly jogged on in the same sing
song trot whach he had commenced on leaving home
in the morning, and never varied his pace until
pulled up by his rider at the residence of the parish
priest cf Tinmanogue.
The cottage was no longer hidden amongst the
trees ; for the foliage had departed, and the bare
vines hung dangling from the housetop, sometimes
rapping on the panes as the wind blew them hither
and thither, like vines in distressed circumstances
which were begging for admission from the winter's
storm. The scene, however, was not so much
changed as one would suppose from the season ; the
evergreens in front of the house still proudly bore
their green banners, the mountain ash hung out
myriads of scarlet berries, and the ever- verdant grass
looked soft as velvet still, though the mountain
breezes chased the lights and shadows in quick suc
cession over its surface. The only effect winter
could produce was to cause the daisies and butter
cups to hide their heads in slumber, awaiting the
breath of spring to reanimate them.
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAU. 71
Toney Byrne, alighting from his horse, assisted
his wife to dismount. Fastening the bridle to one
of the trees by the roadside, they entered the priest's
garden, knocked at the hall-door, and, upon inquir
ing for Father Esmond, were shown into the back
parlor, which he seldom left now, as it was a warm
room, and he was much afflicted with asthma. The
venerable gentleman sat at a round table near the
fire-place, attired as we last saw him, with the ad
dition of a cloak thrown over his shoulders. The
old pleasant smile was there, indicating kindness and
hospitality. His table was full of books and writ
ing materials, and in the centre of it stood a neatty-
carved ivory crucifix on a pedestal of ebony, and at
its foot lay his well-worn breviary. He arose on
Toney's entrance, welcomed him and his wife to
Tinmanogue, and having shaken them warmly by the
hands, made them sit down in the ample chimney,
where an immense turf-fire was blazing. Having
ascertained the mode by which they travelled, he sent
his boy to put the horse in the stable and feed him.
After inquiring for their family and the neigh
bors round, the priest asked after Margaret and her
young husband, prophesying the future prosperity
of so worthy and virtuous a couple. The father and
mother were proud of the encomiums passed on
72 THE BYRNES OF GLEXGOCLAH.
" their little girl," and thanked his reverence grate
fully.
* But oh, Father Esmond, asthore ! " said Mrs.
Byrne, " the heart within nie is sore at the way
things is goiu' to be, I'm afeared, sir ; and that's
what brought us to see yonr reverence to-day. I
told Toney I could not rest till I seen you and got
some consolation, so we made it up that we'd ride
over the hills in spite of the heavy mist and the
drivin' wind ; for indade, Father honey, the wind
is drivin' no faster than the black thoughts is runnin'
through my mind."
" Well, to spake the truth, your reverence, I don't
like how things looks myself; but still and all, I
think Kitty takes things too much to heart, and I'd
be glad if your reverence wonld give her a good
Bcoldin'; she'll sicken herself, so she will, if she
goes on at this rate."
"My dear friends, have patience. Don't you
know God never abandons those who put their
trust in Him? What is troubling your minds?
Tell me how yon are situated regarding your lease ?"
" Well, sir, you see the Byrnes, father and son, for
years upon years held a lease for the life of the
landlord, and there was a special request put in the
body of it that the next landlord would continue
THE BYfiNES OF GLENGOCLAH. 73
the same, by raisin of their beiu' of the old stock,
and havin' given paceable possession in generations
gone of Glengoulah Castle and lands to the ances
tors of the Plover family. But now, your reverence,
this man is not a direct heir, but is come of a
mighty low English breed, I hear ; and as we're en
tirely at his mercy, sure it's no wonder we'd be un-
aisy, though I do be tryin' to persuade Kitty that
the day often clears up and the sun shines out
when the mornin' looks dark."
" Well, Toney, I don't see as yet that you have
any cause to fear ; it is surely not possible that Mr.
Biggs would eject one of the best tenants on his es
tate without cause, and he has no fault nor cannot
have any with you, I am sure. I know myself, from
conversations I had with Mr. De Courcy, that he
has a very high regard for you, and he would not
be a party to any injustice ; he knows the Byrnes
made that farm what it is, from being wild moun
tain land and bog, by the hard labor of their hands
and the sweat of their brows. Oh, no ! my dear
children ; rest content, and you'll find Mr. Biggs
cannot be so unfair. Let us give the devil his due,
and maybe after all he's not so black as he's
painted."
" Sorra a ha'porth myself knows about him,
4 THE BYBNES OF GLENGOULAH.
Father honey, only what old Harry McLean told us.
You know Harry went off as a body servant to Sir
Charles when he went to the college in England,
and he never left Sir Charles while he lived. He
came back a few weeks ago and brought a power of
news about the new landlord. I heard it all from
Tom Moody, the under steward. Harry says Mr.
Biggs's mother was a bar-maid in an inn in England.
She was very pretty, and Sir Charles's uncle married
her ; he was the uncle by the mother's side, and as
none of the Plover family married, he became the
heir. He says these Biggses is all as mane as dirt
savin' your reverence's favor and that they're good
for nothing but psalm singing ; his wife is the daugh
ter of some Protestant bishop in England, and they
think they're demeanin' themselves mightily to come
to live in Ireland at all. They have no one around
them but English barring a head steward, a Scotch
man and sure, your reverence, it's well I know if
he's let to have his say in anything it's short Mr.
De Courcy 'ill hold the agency, and the likes of him
interfarin' between himself and the tenants."
" Mrs. Byrne, my dear child ! don't be too ready
to believe all you hear. How can you vouch for
the truth of what this Harry McLean says ; he may
have some dislike to Mr. Biggs's family. But now,
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 75
suppose it all true, those things cannot affect you.
Let him manage his household as he likes, that is
nothing to the tenantry. As to the Scotchman, it's
most probable he is merely a head gardener to look
after the demesne. You may be sure he won't have
charge of the estate, so don't trouble yourself about
it. If you take my advice and I know you will
go on industriously as you have always done, mind
no one's stories, and above all don't repeat them to
your neighbors. Keep your children to their lessons
and their duties, and never fear. God is good, my
dear friends, and we must never forget all He has
done for us."
u Och ! then, sure its true what your reverence
says ; glory, honor, and praise be to His holy name
we have a great deal to be thankful for, sure enough.
And does your reverence really think there's no fear
of us bein' put out ?"
" Well, my child, I really see no earthly reason
why you should be ejected ; you always paid your
rent punctually, and such tenants as you are a trea
sure to any landlord with common sense. Now just
put such thoughts from your mind and be cheerful
at your work as usual. Remember, Kitty, we are al
ways in the hands of God, and He can do as He
pleases with us. Walk ever in His presence, my child,
76 THE BYENE8 OF GLENGOULAH.
and be resigned to His holy will. Don't believe the
half of what you hear, Kitty ; just let it out at one
ear as fast as it comes in at the other."
The cheerful tones of the venerable Father's voice
and his smiling face brought comfort to the heart of
poor Mrs. Byrne.
She raised her eyes to Heaven, then bowing her
head, made the sign of the cross on her forehead.
" Why, then, that your reverence may live long
and die happy ! I knew I'd get comfort and conso
lation where I always found it; indeed, Father
honey, you took a load from my heart the mornin'."
The priest then led them to talk of other matters
the farm, the stock, the crop, diseases of cattle, etc. ;
then he came to more domestic matters.
" And so you tell me Andy is makin' great prog
ress at the figures ? "
" Yes indeed, your reverence ; thanks be to God.
Mr. Tobin says he promises to be a fine scholar ; he
writes a mighty pretty hand, and so does Mike too,
for his age, but Winny bates them all at the cy-
pherin'. The master is might} 7 proud of her, she's
so apt at the learnin'. And sure the dacent man
has the patience of Job with her ; her eye is every
where to see what mischief she can be at. Th'other
night she run the shank of the pipe into the fire til 1
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 77
it was almost red hot, just at the time she knew the
poor man would be turnin' round to take a draw,
and then she put it down mighty cute and slipped
out. He took it up by the head, not thinkin' any
thing, and burned his mouth a little. Another time,
o/ *
she'll be mounted on the ditch with a white sheet
about her, to frighten the poor man as he goes home.
I do be goin' to kill her, but the father always has
an excuse for her."
Father Esmond laughed heartily at Winny's tricks,
and told her mother not to be uneasy about her, for
she would be a fine girl yet ; that it was the lightness
of her spirits made her so frolicsome.
Toney and his wife arose to go home, but Father
Esmond insisted on their sitting down again. He
said they should not stir a step until they eat then
dinner with him ; that it would soon be ready. So in
about half an hour a fine dish of roast chickens and
an elegant cut of " belly bacon " reposing on a bunch
of young greens, made their appearance on the di
ning-room table, with crisped potatoes jumping out
of their skins, and a tankard of home-brewed ale.
When the cloth was removed, a good glass
of punch completed the entertainment. Father
O'Toole was in a distant part of the parish attend
ing a sick call.
78 THE BYENES OF GLENGOULAH.
After chatting awhile, in order, as they said, " not
to be like the beggars that run off the minute they
get their bit," Toney brought round " the baste,"
and, both mounting as before, took their departure
for home, greatly refreshed both in mind and body.
Father Esmond watched them from the window
until a turning of the road hid them from his sight.
" My poor simple children," said he, shaking his
head sorrowfully, " God help you, and soften the
hardships that are before you. No security for be
ing left in possession of the farm, made valuable by
the toil and strength of many an honest man of
your name ! No hold on the home of many gene
rations but the honor of a Sassenach, and that man
the Rev. Samuel Wilson Biggs, the most Papist-
hating, smooth-faced hypocrite that ever landed on
these shores, and that's saying a big word. God
help poor Ireland, and the true children of the
soil ! Poor Kitty ! your heart bodes evil, as well it
may, from one of his cloth ; but if you only heard
all I did, and from such good authority too, of his
career in Oxford ! My poor, honest, virtuous peo
ple ! my heart bleeds for them all, but especially for
poor Toney Byrne, the last of the once proud chief
tains of Wicklow, the O'Byrnes of Glengoulah !
Oh, God help us ! God help us !"
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 79
Thus soliloquized Father Esmond, as with an im
patient step and an indignant frown he paced the
sitting-room up and down, his hands behind his
back.
Suddenly stopping at the table he looked a mo
ment, then drawing over a little stool covered with
black cloth, he knelt, and bowing his white head
before the crucifix he prayed from his heart out,
for patience for himself and his faithful flock, the
dwellers of those beautiful hills.
CHAPTER VII.
ONE fine dry morning in the early part of March,
a plain but richly-finished carriage, of a deep shade
of chocolate, with linings of crimson satin, drawn by
a noble pair of dark chestnut horses, was brought to
a sudden stop at the office of Mr. De Courcy by a fat
English coachman in clerical livery. The door was
thrown open and the step let down in a twinkling
by the liveried footman, and out stepped two aentle-
men. One was a lean, gaunt -looking individual,
with keen, sharp eyes, shaded by shaggy brows, high
cheek-bones, and a quantity of sandy-colored frowsy
hair. He was attired in a Highland shooting-dress,
or something resembling it, and wore a drab felt hat
turned up at the ears ; his hands and feet were large
and clumsy, and his manner ungainly. This inter
esting individual was Mr. Sandy McGlauren, the
head steward of Glengoulah Castle. His companion
was a man of low stature, and exceedingly sallow
complexion. He had stealthy eyes, which feared to
look you full in the face, excepting when worked
upon by passion, and then they assumed an cxpres-
THE BYKNES OF GLENGOULAH. 81
sion of fierce malignity ; the nose was pinched, and
the mouth and chin of a mean receding character.
The hair was lank, black, and hung low on the fore
head. The dress was plain black, with the exception
of the long-tailed white cravat worn by Anglican
ministers, and commonly called " a white choker."
His whole appearance bespoke an air of mock hu
mility and sanctimoniousness. He was in fact the
very personification of the lowest English mechanic,
such as we see so frequently amongst the Mormons
who land at the American ports.
This gentleman, it is needless to say, was the Rev
erend Samuel Wilson Biggs, the proprietor of Glen-
goulah Castle, and rector of the united parishes of
Tinmanogue, Slivedoon, and Kilorglan.
Those three parishes were originally separate, and
had each an especial rector ; but as they were in the
gift of the landlord of Glengoulah, the Reverend
Samuel Biggs contrived to remove the incumbents,
and very considerately bestowed the whole three
upon himself, thereby fulfilling the scriptural adage
that " charity should begin at home." Besides this
very wholesome reason for retaining the three par
ishes, the Reverend Samuel had two still more
praiseworthy objects in view. First, he knew how
very difficult, if not impossible, it would be to find
82 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
another equally zealous as himself in propagating
his gospel views which were of course the only
true views; and secondly, he felt the importance of
the immense income which those parishes yielded in
the form of tithes, in assisting his godly ideas ; thus
making Ihe mammon of iniquity subserve in spread
ing the knowledge of the Lord amongst those be
nighted mountaineers. In the three parishes afore
said he placed curates at small salaries to do the sub
ordinate work of preaching, giving out service, and
attending to the sick if there were any such who
required their presence.
As these two worthies were alighting from the
chocolate-colored chariot, a dusty head was stuck out
of one of the windows above the office, and the voice
belonging to it cried quickly: "Come here, Mick,
and look at these quare lookin' customers. Who
the D'houl are they at all ?" Mick thrust out a
head with a paper cap, and a face all besmeared
with flour: "Oh, then, swate bad luck to the two
of yiz. Yiz are the darlin' pair of turtle doves !"
And Mick, fixing his arms akimbo, gazed down ad
miringly with a comical leer " That the divil may
come jumpin' for the two of yiz ; sure that's the
ould Scotch haro from the castle, and his psalm-sing
ing master. Throth, I might aisev know 'twas no
\D /
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 83
dacent bodies. Sure it isn't in their skins to look
like Christians."
The gentlemen were now shown into the private
office by one of the clerks, and the dusty heads dis
appeared.
Mr. De Courcy came in a few minutes later, and
they proceeded to business.
After some conversation about the estate, Mr. De
Courcy produced Toney Byrne's lease, and those of
sixteen other tenants, all drawn up in legal form,
only awaiting the signature of the landlord.
The Reverend Samuel refused to sign, stating as a
reason that he considered Mr. McGlauren an excel
lent judge of the value of land, and he had him go
through the farms, examine them, and report upon
his observations. His (Mr. McGlauren 's) opinion was
that the farms were all rented at an absurdly low
figure, and therefore he, the Reverend Samuel, had
resolved to raise the rents twenty-five per cent., and
he wished Mr. De Courcy to signify as much to tne
tenantry next rent-day.
A deep flush of indignation passed over the noble
features of Mr. De Courcy, and his first impulse was
to resign the agency on the spot, but he remembered
his promise to Father Esmond, and by a great effort
of self-control mastered his an<rer. His emotion waa
84 THU BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
keenly noted by the sharp eyes gleaming from under
the heavy brows of the Scotchman. With a low
chuckling laugh, and a shake of hiscarrotty head, he
said : " The Munusther maun be reicht, sir ; he maun
be reicht" (right). The crimson, but of a paler
shade, again for a moment flushed the brow of Mr.
De Courcy. Disdaining however to notice the scoun
drel, he turned to Mr. Biggs, and represented to
him the impolicy of commencing his career in anew
country by an act which could not fail to render his
name unpopular, not alone with his own tenantry,
but throughout the land ; reminded him how he
came there a stranger, and knew nothing of the
wants or feelings of the people ; told him how his
(Mr. De Courcy's) father had been agent for thirty-
five years to that estate, and he himself was close
upon twenty-five years, so that it might be supposed
he had the best knowledge of the property ; and he
assured him, if the land had become more valuable,
it was because of the untiring industry of the occu
piers, who had literally enriched it by the sweat of
their brows ; that it would be a poor reward for the
toil of years to make them pay for their own im
provements, and a very poor incentive to others to
labor in the same cause.
The Reverend Samuel during this discourse sat
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 85
with head on one side, eyes half closed, and hands
meekly folded on his breast, like one who had made
up his mind to bear all contradictions and trials for
the sake of spreading the gospel, for which never-
to-be-sufficiently-applauded object he wanted all the
money he could scrape together, it mattered not
whether injustice, oppression of the poor, ruin of fam
ilies, or any of those little minor circiwnstances stood
in the way the one grand end had to be accom
plished. Therefore, smiling benignly, and casting his
eyes up to the ceiling, he said, with an approved nasal
pronunciation : " My good friend, I am but a steward
in the vineyard over which the Lord hath appointed
me. I must do His work ; besides, you will please
to bear in mind that I do nothing illegal. I do but
assert my rights. If those people of whom you
speak consider the rent I demand exorbitant, they
can give up their farms, and I can find occupiers
for them immediately those, too, who are of the
household of the Lord."
" You will pardon me, reverend sir, if I remind
you that property has its duties as well as its rights.
Let us try to disguise the fact as we may, those poor
people are, like ourselves, made from the slime ot
the earth, and have their human feelings, and human
passions too. There is a rule, I believe, which ex-
86 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
horts us to do unto others as we would be done by.
A dark, malignant scowl took possession of the
godly features of the Reverend Samuel, and his lips
became livid ; but, quickly recovering himself, this
consummate Pharisee arose from his seat, observing,
" Just so, Mr. De Courcy ; just so. You have hit
upon my principle exactly. You will please notify
the tenantry as I told you."
" I must be very dull of comprehension," said Mr.
De Courcy, smiling sarcastically, " but I confess I
cannot see its application in the present case."
" Ah, my good friend ! " and the Reverend Sam
uel laid his kid-gloved hand blandly on Mr. De
Courcy's arm and rolled his eyes upwards, " there
are many of the sweetest passages in the book of
life, the mysterious meaning whereof is hidden from
those who are not called. But be of good cheer and
pray ; the Lord may vouchsafe to enlighten you yet."
" I must beg to call your attention, sir," said Mr.
De Courcy, thoroughly disgusted, " to the case of
Anthony Byrne. You surely will not class him.
with the rest of the tenantry ? "
" And why not, pray ? Am I under any especial
obligations to Mr. Anthony Byrne that I should
make an exception in his favor '? "
" Well. I rather think yon are, Mr. Biggs. Your
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 87
ancestors owed the peaceful possession of these es
tates to the ancestors of Toney Byrne, and you per
sonally owe them your existence at the present hour."
" I do not comprehend you, Mr. De Courcy."
" Know then, sir, that the O'Byrnes of Glengou-
lah, the direct ancestors of this man, were once the
proudest and most powerful chieftains of Wieklow.
They were deprived of their estates for no crime but
fidelity to the faith of their fathers." The malig
nant scowl again, speedily succeeded by upturned
eyes. " One of those chieftains was a gallant young
man. lie had just been married when a deed of at
tainder was sworn against him and his young wife,
who was of the Talbot family. His manhood arose
against such flagrant injustice, and assembling his
tenantry he armed them and fortified the eaitle iu
which you now dwell. The roads were not in as
good condition as at present, and let me tell you the
British soldiery were badly handled at every foray
they made upon Glengoulah. Months passed, and
still O'By me was master of his castle; but the Lord
Protector, stung to the quick at the oft-repeatfxi de
feats and losses of his men, had ordered a desperate
attack to be made on the stronghold the following
spring. Poor O'Byrne knew his fate was sealed.
He resolved to sell his life dearly, and to die flghting
88 THE BTEXES OF GLENGOULAH.
in the sacred cause of home and altar. An unfore
seen circumstance changed his determination. Du
ring the short cessation of hostilities pending the last
attack upon the castle, and whilst O'Byrne and his
enemies were both making grand preparations, his
wife, the lady Eineline, went to visit a sick tenant
who dwelt on the opposite hill. As it was in the
morning she deemed no other attendant necessary
but her maid. On the way they met two drunken
English soldiers, who gagged them, carried them into
the city of Dublin, and would have treated them in
the most barbarous manner, but a sergeant named
Plover just happened to enter the house where they
brought the females for concealment. He immedi
ately recognized the lady Emeline as the wife of the
chieftain of Glengoulah, whom he had met in many
a stormy encounter, and whom he admired for his
bravery. With the generosity of a true soldier, he
resolved to save her honor at the risk of his life
for in those days it was very dangerous to interfere
between a soldier and his prey ; he therefore brought
in drugged liquor and treated the miscreants, pre
tending to applaud their conduct. Soon they slept
soundly, and Sergeant Plover carried the lady Eme
line and her maid in safety to the castle. The
chieftain, in a state of distraction, was with his retain-
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 89
ers scouring the hills in search of his beloved wife.
They dispatched a trusty messenger to announce
to him her safe arrival. On learning from her the
noble conduct of Plover, O'Byrne was so filled with
gratitude that he consented to surrender without
further trouble to the Lord Protector, on condition
that Plover was made proprietor of Glengoulah, and
he himself permitted to retire to the Continent.
The first part of the proposal was gladly acceded to
by the Lord Protector, for that castle had cost him
already enough of blood and treasure, and Plover
was a favorite soldier, having many times distin
guished himself by his bravery. O'Byrne, however,
would not be permitted to leave the country, but
was allowed as a favor to become a tenant farmer
on the estate of which he was the rightful lord.
This was done to humble his proud spirit, and the
gallant young chieftain submitted to his hard fate
with the fortitude of a noble Christian soldier.
He tilled his farm with his own hands and the
kind offices of his neighbors once his old retainers,
who would insist on helping him, even at the risk
of proscription. He thus contrived to make a living"
for his family.
" Mr. Plover after a while built him a comfortable
house, and gave him the farm at a nominal rent
90 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
He would have given it in fee simple, but the law for
bade one of his faith to hold property. Mr. Plover
in his will left strict injunctions to all his descend
ants to respect forever the descendants of O'Byrne,
and' never to harass or annoy them in any manner,
particularly specifying how they were indebted
to that family for their position in society. The
son of this man was made a baronet, and so
the Plover family came to possess Glengoulah
Castle.
" With regard to your personal affair, Mr. Biggs,
your father, the uncle by marriage of the late Sir
Charles Plover, was taken a prisoner by the Insur
gents in the rebellion of 1T9S. They had been tri
umphant in Wextbrd, and he had papers upon him
which convicted him of being a spy for the govern
ment. He had but lately come from England on a
visit to his brother-in-law.
" He was tried by the court martial of the Insur
gents and sentenced to be hanged at daylight next
morning. Byrne, the father of the present Anthony,
remembering the peril from which an English sol
dier once rescued one of his ancestors, resolved to
save his life. But though he was high in favor with
the Insurgent chiefs, he begged Captain Biggs's lifo
in vain ; so at all risk he cut the fetters that bomvl
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAII. 91
him during the night, and put him in safety on the
road to Glengoulah. It was after this occurrence
that Captain Biggs married and you were born.
The present representative of the once princely chief
tains of Glengoulah is now but a peasant farmer ; and
a more simple-minded, honest man a more improv
ing, industrious tenant, or a more humble, peacea
ble Christian, to my mind, does not live on any town-
land in Ireland than Anthony Byrne. I have his
lease here, and you surely will not refuse a request
specified in the will of all the Plovers. It is but
common justice to the man to whose ancestors, Mr.
Biggs, you owe not alone your estates, but your very
existence."
The Keverend Samuel Biggs had reseated himself,
and it would require the pencil of a Rubens to por
tray the various changes in his countenance whilst
Mr. De Courcy related the history of the O'Byrnes.
One time his cheeks and forehead would turn black
as night, and his lips become a livid white with rage ;
again he would steal a glance at him under his dark
brows, and the ferocity of a tiger would gleam from
his sinister eyes, but often est he kept those visual or
gans almost closed, and retained his old attitude of
Pharisaical sanctity.
The Scotchman remained motionless, and never
92 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
once moved liis cold, keen eyes from the face of Mr
De Courcy.
When that gentleman ceased, his fine open coun
tenance was lit up by the exciting subject on which
he had been speaking.
Taking the lease of Toney Byrne from the pile on
the table before him, he pushed it with the writing
tray towards Mr. Biggs, who, suddenly becoming
animated, looked up in his face with a malignant
sneer, saying " My good friend, with all your
high eulogisms on this O'Byrne family, it is very
apparent from your own showing that they were
ever of a rebellious spirit, and disloyal to their
lawful sovereign ; for if they had been obedient
subjects they would have conformed to the glori
ous Reformation, and thus retained their castle and
estates. The loss of their wealth and social posi
tion was a just punishment upon them for their
disaffection to the constituted authorities. I have
no sympathy with rebellion, and shall ever dis
countenance it."
"And suppose, sir," urged Mr. De Courcy again,
" that obedience to the commands of one's sovereign
O
became disobedience to the commands of God, how
would you act in that case ?"
The Reverend Samuel almost foamed with rage,
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 93
while a sardonic fire gleamed from his cat-like eyeb.
Rising from his chair, he hissed out :
" Sir, you mistake my character altogether. 1
shall make it my business to find out the disloyal
persons on my estate, and get rid of them by all
means. I will never sign that lease ; attend to your
orders, sir." Then compressing his livid lips, he
stepped into his carriage, followed by the chuckling
Sandy, and in a moment they were gone.
CHAPTER VIII.
FOE a few seconds after they left, Mr. De Courcy
stood like one transfixed, looking at the door by
which they went out, and which the cautious Scotch
man had shut close after them ; the veins in his fore
head were swollen, and his eyes flashed wildly. Sud
denly stamping his boot impatiently on the floor,
he drew himself up to his full height, gave his
breast a stroke, and exclaimed : " What is the matter
with you, Charles De Courcy ? Have you become a
poltroon, that you, an Irish gentleman of unsullied
honor, suffered that upstart English hound to order
you? Yes! order me like a hireling?" Making
a bound to the door, he touched the handle. It
opened, and before him stood Father Esmond, bow
ing with uncovered head, his white hair flowing be
hind, and unable to articulate from his labored
breathing.
" Oh, my dear venerable friend," said Mr. De
Courcy, grasping his hands, and bowing over them
to hide his emotion. His passion was all gone now ;
he was subdued as a child. Leading the old gentle-
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 95
man to the fire he placed him in an easy-chair, roused
up a bright blaze, and preparing some mulled wine
made him swallow it, with all the tenderness of a
son. When the good father was better, Mr. De
Courcy said :
" Assuredly it was Providence sent you to me to
day, and just at the right moment too."
" Ah, I understand what you mean. I passed
Biggs and the Scotchman as I drove round the
avenue to the mills, and he looked black as mid
night. I thought immediately there was bad news
for my poor flock." Glancing at the table, he said,
eagerly, " Has he signed the leases ?"
" Indeed he has not, Father Esmond ; he refused
to do so point blank."
"But Toney Byrne's! He could not refuse to
sign his ? Tell me that he signed Toney's, and I will
rest easy."
" "Would that I could do so, Father ! There it is,
apart from the rest, where I pushed it towards his
chair, after making a final appeal towards hie sense
of justice -jmticc ! " he repeated, bitterly; " justice
from a Pharisee a vile, canting hypocrite ;" and he
flushed to the temples. Arising, he paced the room
a few times, then sat down and related the whole sub
stance of his conversation with -Biggs, assuring Fa-
96 THE BYK^ES OF GLENGOLLAif.
ther Esmond that but for the promise he had made
him, and his figure, which seemed continually to
rise before him, he would have thrown up the agency,
and flung him neck and heels out of the' office.
"Indeed, Father Esmond, my temper was never
BO sorely tried in my life."
" Well, God be praised ! my dear son ; God be
praised ! It affords me some consolation to think I
was any way instrumental in preventing the destruc
tion of my poor people, for if you gave them up
they were lost altogether."
" Father, I made you a promise, and I will adhere
to it at every cost short of honor."
" Twenty-five per cent, of an increase ! Oh, my
poor children ! My poor children ! That's what
brought me here to-day. There was a report that
the rents were about to be raised. Altogether, good
ness knows, they are paying enough; but I never
dreamed of anything so monstrous. Twenty-five
per cent., Mr. De Courcy ! Can any government call
itself just which permits one class to hold such
power over another ? "
" My dear Father Esmond, I have always been
conservative in my views, as you know ; and as long
as the lord of the soil acted with justice and human
ity to his tenantry, I deemed it best to take things
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 97
as they were. But I now see the folly of leaving
any class utterly dependent upon another. I could
scarcely believe once that any one holding the posi
tion of a gentleman could prefer a few paltry pounds
to the love and respect of those from whom he
derives his income. I have no language strong
enough to denounce the British Government if it
permits such things to exist any longer. It is a
plague spot on its legislation."
" Plague spot ! Why, my dear sir, it is robbery of
the most barefaced kind. We will suppose a very
common case. Give a man a piece of ground, in
some cases wild mountain land, which never yielded
you any profit; let him toil on it from morn till
night, and his sons after him, and their sons again
aye, and their daughters, too ; and after generations
have ploughed it, manured it, watered it, weeded it,
and watched over it with unceasing care and unre
mitting toil, you inherit it and come a stranger into
the country. You say : ' That is a neat farm ; how
much does that man pay V 'So much.' ' Ridicu
lous ! That farm would bring much more, and
more I will have.' ' But the man in possession made
it what it is.' ' What do I care ? The law gives it
to me, and I only claim my legal rights.' Sir, I
respect the highwayman as a far more honorable
98 THE BYKNES OF GLEXGOULAH.
member of society than that man, for he will can
didly tell you he came to rob you ; there is no
pretence about him. But what shall we say of the
law that upholds the scoundrel ; not only permits
him to violate the first principles of justice, but
supports him in the commission of two crimes which
cry to Heaven for vengeance oppression of the poor,
and defrauding the laborer of his wages? Now I
ask you, if you were not an eye-witness of the fact,
could you believe that the boastful and self-styled
liberty-loving British Government could perpetrate
such enormities in the face of the world in the nine
teenth century ? "
The old gentleman was fairly out of breath.
" Keally, Father Esmond, it never occurred to me
in that light before. It is indeed monstrous, and I
shall make it my business to have this case brought
before Parliament. It is not rightly understood, I
think, or those obnoxious laws would be repealed,
and more just ones substituted."
" Ha ! ha ! ha ! Justice from the British Parlia
ment ! My dear friend, can it be possible you put
faith in such a fallacy ? I am too old a bird to be
caught with such chaft as English legislation. I've
seen that tried too often, and always with the same
result. God give my poor people patience until He
THE BYRNES OF GLENGODLAH. 99
shall send them a deliverer from their intolerable
burdens."
" Well, Father, I confess to having some faith still
left in British shame, at least, if not in British jus
tice."
" Shame ! How long have honest men been trying
to arouse their sense of shame to the scandal of
making a Catholic people like the Irish support the
Protestant Church Establishment, whose doctrines
they utterly repudiate ? Just think of it : an impov
erished, overtaxed people supporting in gorgeous
luxury an institution that does nothing for them,
either in soul or bod} 7 ! Where is there either shame
or justice in that tell me ? "
" Oh, I admit there ia no excuse for that abomin
able tithe system ; but you know religious bigotry
can transform the most sane man into a fanatic.
But here is a subject altogether apart from such
feelings a simple subject of right between man
and man. I really think the matter has not been
sufficiently investigated and kept before the public;
and I do believe if it were, even English legislation
would have been shamed into doing justice."
"Well, my son, try it; there is no teacher like
experience."
" Pardon me, Father Esmond ; 1 should not have
100 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
kept you here so long. Those exciting topics make
me neglect good manners. Pray, lean on my arm,
sir, and we will go up to the house. Mrs. De Courcy
will be charmed to see you."
And so, between chatting with his amiable host
and hostess, walking through the gardens and hot
houses, viewing the mills and the new machinery,
dining and listening delightedly to Mrs. De Courcy
singing Moore's melodies, accompanying herself on
the harp, it was near eight o'clock of a bright moon
light evening when Father Esmond arrived at his
own door, to the great delight of Mrs. Malone, who
was in a terrible state of excitement about his
asthma, and who immediately commenced scolding
him, while she arranged his chair and footstool in
the most comfortable manner, and piled the blazing
turf. She then transferred herself to the kitchen
to scold Pat Lally, his servant man, for " keeping
his reverence out in the night air."
We will leave herself and Pat jawing, and take
a peep at the poor, benighted people of the town
where this good pastor resided, and see how they
fared for education.
A short distance from the priest's house, about half
way down the green, was a long, low building, con -
taming rows of benches against the walls on which
THE BYRNES OF GLENGODLAH. 101
hung some half-faded maps, boards with simple spell
ing and reading-lessons for the junior classes, and a
couple of black-boards. At the upper end of this
apartment was a desk or rostrum to which three
steps ascended. Over it on the wall hung a large
ordinary colored engraving, in a narrow black frame,
of the Crucifixion. On the desk was laid the largest
edition of Walker's Dictionary, bearing palpable evi
dence of having been well used, and a formidable
looking cane with a brass ferrule and top. This cane
was used with terrible effect on the sides of the desk
for the purpose of striking terror by its noise, and
was a constant companion of its owner on all occa
sions, save when it rained. In this desk was seated
every day a little dumpy man much below the mid
dle size, while the broad shoulders and massive head
might have belonged to a pair of legs three times
the size of those that bore them. The upper part
of the body was evidently intended for a six-footer,
but nature in some stingy freak cut the legs short,
and so they were forced to expand as best they
might, to bear up the ponderous body. Accordingly
they did expand broadwise, and a pair of calves like
a Dutch Burgher's was the consequence. These calves
were encased in spotless white hose with deep ribs,
while the feet belonging to them were covered in
102 THE BYRNES OF GLEXGOULAH.
well-shaped, highly-polished shoes, fastened by steel
buckles. The remainder of the costume consisted
of a snow-white shirt and cravat, a dark-blue body
coat, with bright brass buttons, a pair of breeches of
snuff-colored cloth, fastened at the side of each knee
by three small brass buttons, a vest of the same ma
terial and buttons ; a black beaver hat, rather of the
Quaker shape, as the leaf was a good deal wider
than those usually in vogue ; coiled up nicely in the
crown of the hat was a clean blue muslin handker
chief with a white vine border ; in the fob of the
breeches reposed a huge silver watch, which kept
time to the second, and pendant from it hung dang
ling a purple-watered watch ribbon, two inches wide,
at the end of which was fastened a large gold seal
and key. On a wet or very cold day an overcoat of
black freize was laid carefully across the shoulders,
the sleeves hanging loose, and a large blue cotton
umbrella replaced the cane. This costume never
varied once during the lifetime of any one who
knew him.
His features were large, strongly marked and
coarse ; the mouth, a little open, displayed a most in
dependent set of teeth, for each stood on its own
merits, with a space between, and as they had no
chance for bad companionship they remained un-
BYKNES OF GLENGOULAH. 103
tainted to the age of 85. The checks were bloom
ing as those of youth, and the head covered with a
.profusion of coarse hair, which was white as the
mountain snow. Such was the personal appearance
of Mr. Michael RafFerty, for more than forty years
the teacher or "master" of Tinmanogue school.
Like most of his class, he was a fine writer, a splen
did mathematician, arid well versed in grammar,
geography, and history, but, unlike many country
masters, he knew nothing of the classics.
In repose the face seemed harsh, for the brow was
contracted, partly by thought and partly from the
habit he had formed of trying to terrify refractory
urchins; but when animated, or in conversation he
looked up, you noted the gentle expression of his
mild blue eye, and your heart warmed to him.
Meet him where you would, in the school-house or
in the street, morning, noon, or night, Sunday or
week-day, he always looked as if he had just made
his toilet ; his shirt and cravat were always clean,
his clothes always brushed, his hat always unruffled,
his stockings always spotless, and his shoes ever
shining like a looking-glass. It mattered not how
wet or sloppy the village streets were, he could
manage to navigate through them without a speck.
It was a matter of astonishment to all the villagers
101 THE BYKNES OF GLENGOULAH.
how on earth he could ever pick his steps in the
dark of a winter's morning going to the chapel, back
to his lodgings, and then to the school-house, with
out speck or stain, excepting a very small fringe of
mud to the soles of his shoes. Many a one followed
him to learn the art, and gave it up in despair, de-
daring it was a particular knack he had.
And that little dumpy old bachelor (Mr. Eafferty
never married), with such an odd figure and coarse
features, held one of the noblest and purest souls that
ever dwelt in mortal coil. For over forty years Ii3
was known to all the inhabitants of Tinmanogue to
be in the chapel every morning as the Angelus was
chiming six o'clock. Assembling all the poor and
whoever wished to join, he recited public morning
prayer, read a pious chapter, and then those who-.-e
duties would not permit them to stay, went off, and
those who could wait remained to hear mass.
Amongst the latter was always our venerable friend.
After mass he went to breakfast, and thence to
school, where he led many a pupil, not alone in the
walks of science, but in the more difficult path ot
Christian perfection. At five o'clock every eve
ning he was again in the chapel reciting for a crowd
of faithful souls the Rosary of the Blessed Virgin,
and many a fervent Hail Mary went up for the con
THE BYKNES OF GLENGOULAH. 105
veivion of those who strayed from the right path.
And who can tell how many wanderers, foot-sore
and weary, were brought back to their dear Father's
home by the prayers of that humble and faithful
band ? Here let me remark, in passing, that the last
years of this most perfect man have convinced me,
more than any other circumstance, that we will
have much to suffer for our many imperfections
even the best of us before we can enjoy the Beat
ific Vision. He was a little over 85 years of age
when he left this world, and I heard those who
knew him from his early years venerable priests
who had grown up with him declare his whole life
to be one of most spotless sanctity; his exterior
cleanliness, and the neatness with which he picked
his steps through the mire, were a type in him (it is by
no means always the case, however,) of that interior
purity of soul which he possessed, and which
brought him unstained through the mire of tempta
tions. Yet, for five years before he quitted this life,
he was never able to leave his bed. He lost the use
of his limbs, and a most depressing languor fell
upon his once stalwart form ; but, lying there help
less as a child, the Christian soul rose above this
world and its passing sorrows ; of him it might be
truly said, he lived on earth but not in it. Every
106 THE BFBXES OF GLENGOULAH.
time one of the priests would come to give him the
Holy Sacrament he would beg with streaming eyes
to be raised to a kneeling posture in the bed, that
he might more fittingly receive his Lord and Master
as became a sinner.
Light be the turf of holy Ireland on your breast,
most dear and venerable friend ! I see your every
feature before me as distinctly to-day as when a
child I sat upon your knee, when you puffed out
your cheeks and laughed so joyously when I broke
them in with my tiny fists. Many an hour I passed
since then in most profitable converse beside that
prison bed, yet a murmur never escaped his lips.
Many forgot him, as will ever be the case in this
world, and sometimes he fared very poorly ; but his
love, his trust, his every hope, were placed where
they ever bear fruit. His only regret was his inability
to go to the chapel and be present at the Adorable
Sacrifice. Many an effort he made of a beautiful
Sunday in summer to arise and creep along by any
means, and only gave up the attempt when he sank
exhausted, and the good couple with whom he
lodged carried him back to bed. For two nights
before he died the most ravishing music filled that
humble dwelling. Some of the neighbors arose to
look out, thinking it was a band returning with
THE BVItNES OF GLENGOULAH. 107
excursionists, or from a party at the house of some
of the gentry ; but the musicians were invisible, and
still the entrancing strains filled the air. Upon
entering his room next morning (for he always slept
undisturbed at night) his landlady, a good, pious
woman, who deemed it an honor to wait upon him
as well she might found him conversing with
unseen spirits, his face radiant, she declared ; and on
calling to him he remained a good while perfectly
unconscious of her presence. He afterwards told
her the Blessed Mother and her holy spouse, St.
Joseph, had been to visit him, and were coming
next day at the same hour to take him away.
Accordingly, next morning the neighbors were all
assembled in his room when they heard him mur
mur, " Oh, Blessed Mother, I come ! Can it be
possible !" and his exulting spirit took wing in that
glorious company. Who can doubt that myriads of
angelic spirits were there attending on the Queen of
Heaven, and that they attuned their viewless harps
to celestial melody ?
Such was the teacher from whom most of tho
men and boys of Tinmanogue received their educa
tion. As might be expected, Father Esmond had
a great respect for Mr. Rafferty, and felt well satis
fied to have his school under the charge of such- a
108 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAF.
master. Let us now see how the girls fared for in
struction. There had long been established in the
neighboring town of Ardmore, a convent of the
Presentation order, where the ladies devoted their
lives to the education of the poor; and where, in
addition to the usual English branches, they devoted
their attention to straw-plaiting, lace-making, em
broidery, and every kind of work, both useful and
ornamental. Another convent, of the order of Our
Lady of Mercy, had a fine academy for the education
of the wealthy, where every accomplishment was
taught. For those who could not come into town
to school, two male and one female teacher went out
giving lessons at the farm-houses through the hills.
One of these teachers, Mr. Tobin, was, as I said
elsewhere, engaged by Toney Byrne to visit his
farm three times in the week and give, as lie ex
pressed it himself, " a draught of his superfluous
knowledge from the overflowing fountain of his brain
to the young aspirants who thirsted to drink there
from." Mr. Tobin was a large-boned man, who
walked with a shuffling gait, and always looked as if
his bones were thrown together in a great hurry,
being left to shift for themselves and get under the
skin after their own fashion and a remarkably
funny fashion it was for he seemed entirely dis-
THE BYRNES OF GLRNGOULAH. 109
jointed at every step lie took ; yet lie managed to
get over a considerable space of ground in as short a
time as most men after all. His garb was what is
usually called " shabby genteel." His body-coat,
vest and pantaloons were all black once, and still
had some faint pretentious to that approved shade
in gentlemen's wear; his shirt and cravat a dingy
white; his hat, a tall thin "stove pipe " with a nar
row rim, contained three articles, a brown cotton
handkerchief, a small black-covered prayer-book,
and a pair of beads, all of the greasiest description.
His clothes looked as loosely hung as himself. His
head was bald, and his features sharp, as was also
his disposition, for all his remarks tended to the
sarcastic. Yet, withal, he was a fine teacher and a
magnificent penman. Parents deemed themselves
fortunate who had engaged Mr. Tobin, and many of
the gentry secured his services for their children ;
but though all respected him for his age and learn
ing, no one loved him ; hence the little scruple
young people had your humble servant included
in playing practical jokes on the old man.
The other teacher who "shared the labors of Mr.
Tobin in the visiting department, was a young man
who had been a pupil of Mr. Michael Raflerty.
He dressed more fashionably than either of the oth-
110 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
er masters, and was in fact quite a dandy teacher
He knitted bis brows very hard and pursed out bis
lips very much to give himself an air of profound
scholarship and determination ; but for all his fine
clothes and fine airs he lacked the real knowledge of
the others, and was consequently little heeded. From
this circumstance he was frequently heard to lament
the decay of literary taste, and to declare it as " big
positive conviction," and no one need try to persuade
him to the contrary, " that if a second Byron arose
he would not be appreciated in those degenerate
days." Such, dear reader, was the state of educa
tion in the town lands of Ardmore, Glengoulah, and
Tinmanogue when the Rev. Samuel Wilson Biggs,
taking pity, in the benevolence of his charitable bo
som, on the benighted condition of his semi-barbar
ous tenantry, determined to carry out a most philan
thropic idea which had long lain dormant in that
very interesting portion of his clerical form it was
to build a school-house on his demesne, where his sis
ters could find the most gratifying occupation for
their superabundant time, and also earn a well-
deserved reputation for sanctity.
The Rev. Samuel, being a man of energy, or, as
he would express it, ' ; consumed with the zeal of the
Lord," had no sooner matured his plans than he put
THE BYKNE8 OF GLENGOULAH. Ill
them into execution bricklayers, carpenters, paint
ers, and hod-carriers were briskly at work, and by
the time the primroses peeped under the hawthorn
hedge, and hill and grove had resumed its foliage, an
elegant school-house stood in all its grand propor
tions and all its comfortable appointments.
It wanted but two requisites to make it perfect
a competent teacher, to whom the Misses Biggs would
act as assistants when so disposed, and sc/iolars.
CHAPTER IX.
THE rent-day came at last, for that is called in
landlord parlance. " the spring gale." It was the
25th of March, which every Christian knows is the
feast of the Annunciation, and which all the Tin
man ogne tenantry knew was a holiday of obligation,
even if the bell from the now leafless branches of
the elm-tree had held its tongue that day a crime
which could not be laid to its charge, for its clear,
sharp tones were carried by the March wind through
every glen and ravine of the hills around.
After Mass their venerable pastor read the gospel
of the day, and took occasion from it to remark on
the life of sorrow, poverty and suffering which
their dear Lord had endured on this earth to pur
chase for them the joys of heaven. He reminded
them how sufferings have ever been the portion of
the elect, and if borne with that patience and resig
nation of which their adorable Lord set them the
example and united with His bitter passion, they
would assuredly bring them all face to face with
their Divine Redeemer, who would receive them iu
THE BYKNES OF GLENGOULAH. 113
His sacred arms and give them a crown of glory for
ever more, in lieu of the short afflictions of this mis
erable world.
A similar discourse was preached bj Father
O'Tool to those residing on the townland of Grlen-
goulah, in the little chapel of ease at tho top of the
hill, and happy was it for those docile children of
the Church that their ears and hearts were open to
receive those sacred truths from the lips of their
pastors; for Almighty God, pleased with their ardent
faith and profound resignation, distilled into their
hearts the dew of His Divine grace, and gave them
strength to bear up with fortitude against the many
severe trials which were before them.
After Mass the men all repaired, as was their cus
tom on that day, to the o J Jfice of Mr. De Courcy.
where, as each paid his rent and got his receipt, that
gentleman requested him to remain a few minutes,
as he had something to say.
When business was over and all had assembled,
Mr. De Courcy assured them it was with the utmost
reluctance he had to inform all those whose leases had
expired, or were about to expire, that their present
landlord, the Rev. Samuel Wilson Biggs, had come
to the determination of raising their rents 25 per
cent., or one-fourth more than they were now paying.
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOUL.AH.
A murmur of discontent ran through the crowd,
and many were about to remonstrate and put in their
special claims to consideration, but Mr. De Courcy,
waving his hand for silence, all was still.
He said, " My friends, you cannot possibly hear
this news with more pain than it gives me to tell it;
nor can you urge any claim or make any stronger
remonstrance against it than I have already done in
your name. As long as I hold the agency of this
estate I am bound up in your interests, both by dutj
and inclination, and I know you will believe mr
when I tell you that if the fortunes of my owe
children hung upon my words I could not make a
more touching appeal than that which I addressed
to the landlord, in order to change his intentions ;
but I spoke in vain. Hits only reply was, that if any
of you think his demand exorbitant, he is satisfied
to take the farms off your hands ; and, indeed, he
said he had persons already in view who were will
ing to pay the amount he requires. If any of you
think you can be more successful than I was by a
personal application, I would be very glad you would
try it. Those who have no leases will now under
stand they will have to pay at the advanced rate
next September gale, and all the rest as the leases
drop. Notices in a legal form will be sent round
THE BYKNES OF GLENGOULAH. 115
to this effect. Mr. Biggs has further instructed me
to say that he will not sign any lease at present, even
at the advanced rate."
Voices now repeated " Long life to you, Mr. De
Courcy."
" We're entirely obleeged to you, sir, whatever
way it turns."
" Sure, well we know it's not your honor's fault,"
etc., etc.
A report had reached them some days before that
there would be " a rise," but they never expected it
to be so much ; and above all they did not expect to
be left without leases.
One fine young man, apparently about twenty
years of age, who had a blind father and a paralyzed
grandmother to support, now approached Mr. De
Courcy, who concluding he was coming to ask
about his lease said, " He refused to sign your lease
amongst the rest, Dempsey."
" Oh, I suppose he did, sir ; I did not expect any
thing else. But will your honor be plazed to tell me
did he really refuse to give a lase to Toney Byrne ?"
"He did, indeed."
" And did he rise the rent on him, sir ?"
" He did."
" Well, boys," turning to the other men, " we may
116 THE BYBXES OF GLEXGOTJLAH.
hold our tongues after that ! Mr. De Courcy ! I
beg your honor's pardon, for I know it's agin your
grain to tell such news to us but I can't help say in'
that's the blackest piece of robbery ever was commit
ted in the County "VVicklow. May God defend us all
from harm this day !"
" Faix, its yourself is tillin' the truth, Bryan
Dempsey."
"Bedad, that's gospel, anyway."
" Och ! sure we ought to bo ashamed to spake of
ourselves at all, so we ought."
These sentences were uttered by several voices at
the same time, while poor Toney stood like one
transfixed. The news of the raise did not surprise
him, for Turn Moody kept Kitty pretty well posted
on all such reports as the wily Sandy McGlauren
thought fit to put in circulation ; nor did Toney care
much for that, for his rent was low, and now that
he had brought the land into the highest state of
culti vation, he could afford it ; but the refusal to sign
his lease was a blow he never expected. He nev_r
spoke or stirred from the spot where he stood till
Bryan Dempsey, grasping his hand, drew him into
the avenue, where all his neighbors came flocking
around him to sympathize with " one of the ould
stack," forgetting their own sorrows in the greater
THE BYKNES OF GLENGOULAH. 117
one of the lawful heir of Glengoulah. Poor Toney
went home to Kitty and the children with sad news
and a sad heart. For the first time in his life he
was utterly sunk and depressed. Always hopeful
until now, he had accustomed himself to look at the
bright side of everything, but he had never known
before what it was to be dependent upon the will of
a landlord, and he felt that the spirit of the Byrnes
was broken at last. Still, Toney was a Christian,
and high above his sorrows arose his resignation to
the Divine will ; therefore, though his heart was
troubled and his head bowed, he would say : " It's
no fault of ours, so welkim be the will of God."
It was plain to Kitty that with all his resignation
the light was gone from his heart, and like a true
woman she pretended to the greatest hope and cour
age.
" Tut, tut, man ! Don't be a bit ateared. If we
have no law itself, he won't put us out while we pay
our rent regularly and manage the farm right. May
be he's only waitin' to see what kind of people we are ;
and when he knows us better he won't be so black.
I'm thinkin' he wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for
that ould Sandy McGiauren. I'm sure he puts wick
edness in his head. Well, God is good anyway, and
He'll bring us through if all the divils in hell was
118 THE BYKNLB OF GLENGOULAH.
after us the cross of Christ be about us, and the
protection of His Blessed Mother ! Amen ! " and
Kitty crossed herself and made an attempt at a gen
uflexion, which was a duck down and a scrape of
the left foot behind. When Toney was full of hope
eix months ago, before the landlord arrived, Kitty
was in despair, and could see no gleam of hope
whatever ; and now, in a sort of affectionate contra
diction, because Toney was depressed, her hopes
arose. We have seen how she teased her husband
night and day until they visited Father Esmond.
She now proposed another visit to him for consola
tion, but Toney decidedly refused to trouble his rev
erence any more with his affairs. After time had a
little blunted the first keen edge of his troubles he
worked away cheerfully as ever to all appearance ;
and since his self-reliant spirit prevented him from
intruding his sorrows on his pastor, that old pastor
himself, accompanied by his curate, Father O'Tool,
drove up in his gig to pay a visit of condolence to
Toney and his family. Poor Father Esmond was
Badly grieved for the position in which Toney was
placed ; he told Mr. De Courcy, the day he visited
the mills, that he was confident Toney Byrne would
be treated with more harshness than any of the ten
an try by Biggs, just because he was the rightfu 1
THE BYKNES OF GLENGOCLAH. 119
owner of Glengoulah Castle. Like all vulgar up
starts, Biggs would hate the idea of coining in contact
with a man whose appearance constantly reminded
him that he himself was but an usurper. Mr. De
Courcy was of the same opinion.
Now, however, Father Esmond spoke hopefully,
and begged Toney not to lose heart whatever he did.
Father O'Tool told them so many droll anec
dotes that they were in roars of laughter before half
an hour passed. The very sight of this fine young
priest who was said to be a lineal descendant of
the far-famed royal O'Tools of Glendalough was
enough to revive the most depressed.
He was in appearance "every inch a king."
Twenty-eight years old, six feet three "without his
boots," and made in proportion ; his dark-brown hair
fell in shining masses on a noble forehead of alabaster
whiteness ; his eyes, dark-blue, were dancing with
boyish mirth ; the nose was a model for a sculptor ;
the mouth, wreathed in smiles, disclosed rows of pear
ly teeth, while the cheeks and lips were tinged with
the bloom of a happy heart ; his carriage and whole
appearance was that of a strikingly handsome,
noble-looking man, and yet withal there was a
simple expression of almost boyish fun and harm
less waggery. Wherever Father O'Tool went, there
120 THE BTKNES OF GLENGOULAH.
was sure to be a. group of children around him.
Some swung from his arms, others hung on his
o / o
skirts, while his voice and joyous laughter were the
loudest in the merry throng.
With all his frolicsome ways, no one knew bet
ter how to uphold the dignity of his sacred calling,
and on the altar, and in the confessional, there was
no more zealous and impressive priest. Gathering
Toney Byrne's youngsters around him he soon won
their confidence, and heard from Mike all the jokes
"Winnie played on Mr Tobin, the schoolmaster;
and Father O'Tool told them in return all the
pranks he used to play in his school days. After
they had all laughed to their heart's content, he
questioned them on their Catechism and other
studies, and exhorted them to love and obey their
parents. They were sober as judges in a moment,
for every child in the parish knew Father O'Tool's
habits well : he would be as a child amongst good
children, but he became stern as a lion with a sulky
or disobedient child ; and thus, though they loved
him dearly, they very much feared him too. And
some children of a larger growth partook of the
same sentiments in his regard.
Toney and his wife were highly delighted with
the kindness of the good priests in trying to lighten
THE BYKNE8 OF GLENGOULAH. 121
the burden of their trials, and this visit had the
desired effect. It kept alive the lamp of hope, and
gave them heart to go through their duties, which
sometimes of late became irksome as the idea would
present itself to their minds that a stranger might
be brought in to reap the benefit of their toil. So
it was with the other tenantry, the fellow-sufferers
of Toney, most of whom repaired to Father Esmond,
asking his advice how they should act, and wishing
to know if his reverence would recommend them
to make a personal application to the landlord.
They were all prevented from doing so by the priest,
who detailed to them the noble appeal made in
their behalf by Mr. De Courcy, and assured them
every such application would be met by insult.
He consoled them all he could, told them to keep
quiet and go on conducting themselves properly,
as they had always done, and thus they would dis
arm the most malicious of their enemies. Those
who did not come to him they were but four, in
eluding Toney Byrne he visited and consoled.
One only man went to the landlord, contrary to
the advice of his best friends. He was a fine, stout
fanner, named Mat Doran, an upright, honest man,
the only support of a blind father, who had lost his
sight by a premature explosion in a quarry in which
122 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
he was working, and a helpless brother who was
born an idiot the day after the explosion. As Mat
had never injured a human being, and had ever
nobly done his duty to all around him, he could not
be made to believe that his landlord would be so
unjust, and therefore resolved to have a talk with
him himself. Giving the knocker a single blow,
sufficient to drive a tenpenny nail at least, the door
was flung open by a singular specimen of humanity
dressed in black livery, with lace epauletts and a
powdered wig. He was not by any means the best
proportioned man in " that section of country," as
a Yankee would say, having a rotund corporation
and very slim supporters, set off in fine black silken
hose, and low shoes with ponderous silver buckles.
The creature was further adorned with blear eyes
and a very sallow complexion.
Upon Mat Doran stating that he wanted to see
Mr. Biggs, his landlord, upon some business relating
to his farm, the powdered lacquey stared at him
with his blear eyes in the utmost amazement. " Go
and tell him acushla," says Mat, " for the horses is
waitin' for me in the field." The footman gruffly
slammed the door, leaving the farmer standing out
side.
In a few minutes he returned with word that the
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 123
Rev. Mr. Biggs never held conversation with his
tenantry. He had employed an agent for that pur
pose, Mr. De Courcy, of the Cascade Mills, and to
him he should apply. This message was delivered
with all the insolence which could be displayed by
a pampered menial. Mat Doran, who had a largo
amount of waggery in his composition, was deter
mined to have a little fun if he had no justice ; he
accordingly stepped into the hall, stuck his head
one side, and putting his arms on his brawny hips,
inspected admiringly the scanty supporters in the
black-silk hose, and then the powdered wig. " Beau
tiful ! beautiful ! " exclaimed Mat. " I declare to
my Kitty, but it makes one strong to see such a fine
pair of legs. What do you feed your calves on, allan-
nah ? Upon my conscience I'd like to have the re-
sate, for they're the thrivin' pair intirely ; you ought
to send them to the next cattle show, and you'll be
sure to get the pramitim ! "
The man with the limited understandings was in
a rage, and cried, " Begone, you insulting fellow ! "
But he took care to draw back from the dangerous
looking fists of the stout farmer. " Aisey ! avic ;
aisey !" cried the tantalizing Mat. " If you move too,
fast you'll crack your legs acrass, and sure that 'id
be the sin of the world, so it would, for they're
124 THE BYKNE8 OF GLENGOULAH.
the very shape for all the world of a decayed
jackass."
" Begone, fellow ! I say, instantly !" Mat now burst
into a guffaw of a laugh, and made the halls of the
castle re-echo with his merriment. " May the divil
fly away wid the man that brought you to Wickla ;
anyway he had a cruel taste for music. Is that the
kind of a shape yiz have in England? That I
mightn't sin, but if we had such a beauty as you
born in Ireland we'd make a fortune exhibiting him.
Good mornin', avourneen ! " And Mat walked out
leisurely, laughing vociferously.
This harmless raillery afterwards cost poor Mat
Doran his farm, and threw himself and all he loved
ou the world.
CHAPTER X.
MAY " was treading close upon the heels " of June
when the school-house was completed. The Rev
erend Samuel Wilson Biggs, taking counsel with his
sisters, came to the conclusion that it would be
scarcely sale to spend some hours a day in a build
ing erected so recently ; and besides, being so near
July, the vacation time, it would not be worth while
to open the school until autumn. It was therefore
agreed to spend the summer hunting up the right
sort of teachers at the lowest rate of remuneration.
The building of the church was progressing rap
idly also, and was expected to be ready for service
before winter, to the great delight of Mr. Job
Scruggins the blear-eyed man with the limited un
derstandings who declared " it was perfectly un-
endoorable fora gemman to hascend these orful 'igh
'ills every Sunday, not to speak of the natooral dis
gust a refined pusson must feel meeting so many
low Hirish."
The fact was, Job found it no easy task to pre
serve his equilibrium standing behind the carriage
125 THE BYKNES OF GLENGOULAH.
going over Cascade Hill, and as he swung from one
foot to another, in order to balance himself, laugh
ing faces peeped at him from cottage doors or
mountain bye-paths, and some joke would be per
petrated at the expense of his undeveloped perpen
diculars. As Mr. Job Scruggins did not resemble
his namesake in patience, he shook his silver-
mounted pole at the delinquents in a very threaten
ing manner, a proceeding which was repaid by a
shout of derisive laughter from a group of merry
urchins who followed the carriage, and one of
whom to show his particular appreciation of the
fun always threw his legs into the air and walked
several yards on his hands, head downwards an
accomplishment which he had brought to great per
fection by constant practice.
During the summer the Misses Biggs called in
their carriage at all the laborers' cottages, to ascer
tain the number of children in each, and to bear to
the hitherto benighted parents the joyful intelligence
that "they would soon have an opportunity of hav
ing their children educated, as their considerate
landlord, ever anxious for their welfare, both here
and hereafter, had actually built a school-house for
their use, and was about employing a male and a
female teacher to impart useful knowledge. 1 '
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 127
Exchanging looks of commiseration for these
ignorant peasants, the ladies drew sighs of profound
regret when they found not one single parent pre
pared to rejoice at the good fortune in store for
them.
Some seemed to turn pale at the news. Some
said their children went to school to Tinmanogue,
others to Ardmore ; others again thought their chil
dren too small yet ; some could not spare them
from home, etc., etc. On the fourth day of their
unsuccessful canvass, on return to the castle, Miss
Hachael expressed her dissatisfaction by declaring
she never met such unthankful people -in her life.
It was her positive conviction they were not a bit
pleased to have such a splendid chance to educate
their children. She would not be surprised now if
they would prefer keeping them at home, or send
ing them to those old villages with the odious names.
Both sisters laughed contemptuously at such schools,
" where the pupils are taught nothing but to wor
ship the Virgin Mary, and adore images."
Miss Biggs, in the excess of charity, checked her
scorn and reprimanded her sister: " My dear Rachael,
we must have pity on those ignorant creatures,
bearing in mind how much the Lord hath favored
our happy country, where the blessings of His word
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
are so liberally dispensed, and where the population
walketh in righteousness. Let ns not despair if our
footsteps are as jet unmarked by success. We can
afford to watch and wait. You know it is written,
" For the Lord hath built up Zion, and he shall be
seen in His glory." It is a great mark of the mercies
of the Lord that he hath vouchsafed to put these
unfortunate people into the safe keeping of so godly
a man as our reverend brother, and we must even
try to arouse him to use his temporal as well as
spiritual authority in such a sanctified cause. Be
not daunted, my sister ; let us go with refreshened
hearts to the good work on to-morrow again. Hith
erto we have visited only the cottages of the labor
ers; let us now try the farm-houses, and see what
success we maj' have amongst those of the tenantry
who have no leases. I fear me we would make but lit
tle impression on those who are as yet independent of
our reverend brother, for these are a stiff-necked
people. "
" Well, sister, I will chasten my spirit and accom
pany you, for your feet seem ever to run in the path
of the Lord."
And so day after day the carriage was winding
through the hills, ever and anon stopping at tha
white farm-houses with the trailing vines
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 120
The personal appearance of these elderly youn$
ladies, barring their rich dresses, was by no means
prepossessing ; but were they as beautiful as Venus,
it would be all the same to the Glengoulah tenantry.
The bare sight of them brought heavy grief to many
a once happy hearth. Well they now knew why
their leases were withheld, and in terror and dismay
.they fled to their loved pastor for consolation. Poor
Father Esmond wept with them, for he saw at a
glance the whole map of persecution laid before
them, and he could but point to the cross, and ex
hort them to have courage and patience.
"My poor, poor children!" he would say, while
tears coursed each other down his venerable face,
" remember the eighth Beatitude : ' Blessed are they
who suffer persecution for justice sake, for theirs is
the Kingdom of Heaven.' These are the words of
our Blessed Redeemer himself, and He wont de
ceive you. This life is but short after all, my dear
people, and soon, oh ! soon we shall all meet in our
own Kingdom ; just think of that. Your dear Saviour
tells you that the Kingdom of Heaven is yours!
and the Blessed Mother and holy saints will be your
companions! and the choirs of angels your musi
cians ! and God himself your most loving Father
who will nourish and cherish you. for ever more I"
130 THE BYRNES OF GLEXGOULAH.
Then there would be sobs and tears of joy and
sorrow commingled, until some half-despairing moth
er would say :
" Oh, Father, honey ! I could bear anything my
self; but what will I do with my poor children?"
And then there would be a chorus of mothers sob
bing in sympathy. Thus did this pretended minis
ter of the gentle and merciful Jesus bring wailing
and desolation to the homes of those simple, virtu
ous people.
On the feast of the Assumption of our Blessed
Lady, August loth, Father O'Tool preached a most
eloquent discourse to the tenantry in the little moun
tain chapel of Glengoulah. It was on a Wednesday,
and the Biggs school was to be opened the follow
ing Monday a notice to that effect having been
sent to all the farm-houses. Everybody was anxious
to hear what the zealous young curate had to say on
the subject, for they knew he would be sure to give
it his earnest attention ; therefore the gathering was
unusually large, many coming from the townland of
Tinmanogue and the adjoining parish of Ardmore.
It was a pleasing sight to see groups of people
wending their way by so many different roads up
the hill to the picturesque little chapel which peeped
out at them from a grove, and seemed to smile a
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 131
welcome as its little painted cross glittered in the
sunlight.
Most of the men, the young ones in particular,
wore blue body coats with bright brass buttons,
yellow or light-colored vests, gray neckties, and well-
brushed " Caroline hats," breeches of white or drab
corduroy, from the knee of which a knot of the
same colored ribbon flattered in the breeze, while
the well-greased pumps and spotless woollen stock
ings showed off the arched instep and splendidly
developed calves to perfection.
The women vied with each other in bright man
tles glorying in hoods of quilted silk, and substantial
looking bonnets of beaver with gay ribbons, while
many of the young maidens wore large hats with
flying ribbons, after the fashion of their Welch
neighbors across the channel.
Families who lived at a distance came in the well-
known low-backed car. Very many of the farmers'
wives rode on pillions behind their husbands.
Some of the Catholic gentry and wealthy farmers,
also shop-keepers from Ardinore, came in jaunting
cars and gigs, but the greater number were pedes
trians. It was amusing to watch some country
swain showing off his horsemanship, the chargei
being unable to alter from a sling trot if it cost him
132 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
his life, while his rider rose and fell in the saddle,
very much to his own satisfaction, until he gained
the side of a group of pedestrians, in the centre of
whom was a rural belle equally celebrated for her
beauty and her coquetry. It was quite plain, from
the smile on her lip, that she knew perfectly well
who was reining up close beside her, but she was
pay;'ng such profound attention to the conversation
of a sober-looking young man who walked with her
that she never once turned around until the head of the
steed, peeping over her shoulder, made her give the
prettiest little start and exclamation of surprise.
Just at this juncture a large open carriage dashed
by, containing four finely-dressed ladies and two
ditto gentlemen, not forgetting the fat coachman
and another burly looking gentleman sitting beside
him, dressed in black, with a blue satin cravat, in
which were jauntily stuck two gold pins with enor
mous heads, resembling the Lord Mayor's mace,
and both fastened together by a slender gold chain.
The left hand was partly hidden in a canary-colored
kid glove, while the right was uncovered for the
evident purpose of displaying a couple of heavy
rings ; and from the upper vest pocket to the button
hole, back again to the lower pocket, and then for a
quarter of a yard down, hung dangling a massive
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 133
chain, thick enough for fetters, at the termination of
which was a bunch of seals and keys the size of a
kitten's head. The two gentlemen seated in the
carriage were similarly attired, and sat with their
knees touching each other on the outward rim of
the cushion to accommodate the four ladies, who
reclined back, for the double purpose of seeming at
their perfect ease and to make the carriage hold
six, whereas it was lawfully intended for four. One
of the ladies was an elderly female of rotund figure,
good-looking, and dressed as became a staid matron ;
while the three young ones were bedizened in silks,
laces, and jewelry, and were nearly in convulsions
of laughter at the costume of the peasantry.
"I do wish you would not giggle so, Beckey,"
said the matron to the youngest of the ladies, who
sat opposite to her ; " I know, to be sure, the dress of
these here country people is wery haggrawatin', but
then we must not forget the big gulf of difference as
lies 'atween us, seein' 'ow we 'ad the hadwantage
of residin' from birth in a civilized country, while
these here poor creeturs never seen nothink but bar
barism."
"Well, mother, I can't help a larfin' to save my
life. Just look at that old 'oman 'oldin on be'ind the
man on 'orse back, with a beaver bonnet and cloth
THE BYKXE3 OF GLEXGOULAH.
mantle of a 'ot day in Hawgust ; if she wouldn't
make a dog larf I'll never say nothink again."
"Oh, dear! I shall die of merriment; I know I
shall ;" said another of the young ladies, who had
been gracefully occupied during this conversation
in stuffing a cambric handkerchief into her mouth.
"I shall 'ate merriment for nevermore if you do,"
remarked the young gentleman beside her, giving
her a nudge with his elbow, and trying to look ten
derly under her bonnet.
" Keep your sharp helbows to yourself, Mr. Scrug-
gins," cried the offended young lady, with an assump
tion of great dignity.
" I didn't mean hany hoffence, Miss Jenkins," re
plied the accused ; " you are really too hicy cold to
an 'art what hadores you." Another nudge and ten
der glance followed this speech.
" Keep your protestations for them as values them,
for I don't." And she cast a look of pitiful contempt
on the young lady opposite, who seemed to be carry
ing on with great gusto a flirtation with her neigh
bor, and smiling her best at the young fanners as
they passed.
" 'Old your tongues now, all on you ; 'ere we are at
the Popish mass 'ouse, and hif they see hany of us
a larfin' they wont let us hin." The last remark
THE BYRNES OF GLEXGOULAH. 135
was made by ths matron as the carriage came to a
full stop, and the party, trying to look very grave
and grand, alighted.
Upon asking an old man with a wooden leg and
crutch whether they might go in, he shewed them
into a prominent seat on a long bench near the altar-
rail a mark of courtesy to strangers. They imme
diately commenced staring every one who entered
the chapel, lounging for greater convenience on the
back of the bench, and twirling their heads in every
direction.
As the congregation came in each of them made
a genuflexion, often differing in form, and some not
the most graceful, but all precious in the sight of
God, for whose dear love those faithful heart? bowed
in lowly adoration after the fashion their simple
minds deemed best. The oft-repeated crossing and
genuflexions were a source of much suppressed mirth
to the strange party, but when the priest carne out
in his alb, previous to vesting himself, followed by
the man with the crutch carrying a bucket of holy
water, into which the priest dipped the asperges
and sprinkled the congregation while they remained
standing, and the crossing and genuflexions were
repeated, a low titter might be heard, which would
certainly have broken out and ended by the expul-
136 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
sion of the whole party from the chapel but for the
frowns arid threatening gestures of the matron, who
looked carving-knives at each, and shook her head
severely. This matron was the housekeeper of
Glengoulah Castle. The youngest of the party,
whom she called " Beckey," was her daughter Re
becca, who assisted in her household duties. The
other two young ladies were our former fair acquain
tances Miss Jemima and Miss Amelia Hopkins. The
burly gentleman who sat beside the coachman was
Mr. Selling, the head butler. The young gentle
man who carried on the comfortable flirtation with
Miss Hopkins was Mr. Tompson, " master's hown
man;" and the discomfitted young gentleman who
was reproved for the sharpness of his elbows, was
our friend of the slender supporters, Mr. Job Scrug-
gins, no longer in velvet smalls and silken hose,
with a cockade in his hat and a gold-mounted pole
in his hand no longer trying to balance himself on
the back of the carriage going over " those villainous
'ills," but dressed like any gentleman, with long trou
sers of broadcloth, and every thing else to match, sit
ting inside the carriage, and bright eyes smiling
around him and a fair chance to have some fun at
the expense of " the wild Hirish," now that his up
rights were hidden from mortal vision. A holiday
THE BYBNES OF GLENGOULAH. 137
had been given to most of the upper servants on the
condition of their first visiting the Popish mass
house, in order to bring home the pith of Father
O'Tool's discourse regarding the schools ; the re
mainder of the day they might drive through any
part of the country they wished, and take a cold
dinner with them if they so desired.
Accordingly a well-filled hamper was fastened be
hind the carriage, and the party, nothing loth, com
menced the sports of the day by inspecting the bar
barous natives in their house of worship.
Just as Father O'Tool finished hearing some con
fessions in the sacristy he hearc^ a man inquiring
from one of the acholytes if he was disengaged.
Approaching the door he saw Tom Moody, who im
mediately pulled off his hat, and whispering behind
it said, " he came to let his reverence know that a
carriage had just stopped at the chapel door, and a
whole set of the servants from the castle had gone
in, with the probable intention of remaining during
mass."
" Very good, Tom ; I hope they have got a com
fortable seat."
" The best in the chapel, your reverence."
" That's right. I am glad they have come ; eery
glad, indeed. I hope they have good men.ories.'*
138 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
Tom, making a scrape to his reverence, left him
to vest and went into the chapel. After the distri
bution of holy water the Adorable Sacrifice com
menced, during which the conduct of the castle peo
ple tried the patience of the congregation to the ut
most, sneering up in their faces during prayer,
nudging and tittering at sight of beads, and staring
with ignorant astonishment when the whole congre
gation were bowed almost to prostration at the ring
ing of the consecration bell.
CHAPTER XI.
AFTER the communion the priest turned around,
read the Gospel of the day, and made a few remarks
on the time-honored festival of the Assumption of
our Blessed Lady.
He then announced to them that on the Monday
following a school would be opened by their land
lord, the Rev. Samuel Wilson Biggs, for the avowed
purpose of proselytizing the children on the estate.
" Woe to you, people of Glengoulah ! " said he,
" if, at the bidding of any man be he landlord, or
nabob, or monarch woe to you ! if you place in
peril one of those tender souls for which your dear
Saviour shed his most precious blood. Your chil
dren have hitherto been educated in a manner
befitting their station ; and, above all, they have been
thoroughly instructed in the true faith of Christ
and your venerable pastor lias reason to rejoice in
his virtuous flock. To God be the glory given !
From this, His holy altar, I warn you against the
wiles of the Serpent. Remember, you are but stew
ards placed over the souls of those little ones ; your
THE BYKNES OF GLENGOULAH.
time in this world is but short ; and when you depart
hence and stand all alone, with God alone as your
judge, where will you hide from His wrath when
He will demand from you in a voice of thunder,
blood for blood? But why do I speak thus?
Surely I forget that I am addressing the descendants
of heroes ! the children of the saints ! You well
know that every inch of the soil of holy Ireland is
watered by the blood of her martyrs, who suffered
every species of torture the evil genius of tyrants
could invent the pitch cap, the triangle, the gibbet,
impaling upon spears, burning at the stake, tracked
by blood-hounds, hunted like wolves, and starved
by an artificial famine ; but they nobly suifered all
and preserved to their descendants the priceless
inheritance of the true faith ! It is not you faithful
children of those martyred heroes ! it is not you who
will sell for a mess of such pitiful pottage this mag
nificent inheritance ! this grand old faith ! which has
stood unchanged for more than eighteen hundred
years. Tell your landlord, or his messengers, that
in all that relates to the payment of his just demands,
you will obey him ; but you will not send your chil
dren to his schools. You don't want his interference
in your family affairs, and you will have none of it.
Commit no breach of the peace ; but let him under
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 141
stand, once for all, that he is exceeding the bounds
of his duty, and that as you are not exceeding yours
you will feel obliged if he will keep to his. It is
quite too much for you to support a church in which
you have no faith; but to resign to its ministers the
education of your children is beyond all endurance,
and neither you nor your pastors will permit it."
Much more he said, and in more eloquent lan
guage than can be remembered after such a lapse of
time. Nearly the whole congregation were in tears,
and those who were independent of the landlord
were burning with indignation at his conduct.
Mass was finished and the congregation dispersed ;
some to their homes, some to the houses of acquaint
ances in the neighborhood ; while many groups of
men, reclining against the ditches or sitting in the
grass, held consultation together over the sad aspect
of the future. Seated in the centre of the largest
of those groups was an old man with a wooden leg
and a crutch, who seemed to be relating something
of great interest to his auditors, as many who at first
reclined on one elbow now sat upright, and leaning
their chins on their hands gazed eagerly in his
face, now and then giving vent to exclamations of
surprise, pleasure, or anger, as their feelings moved
them.
142 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAII.
" See that, now ! "Well, glory be to God ; but
that's fine all out!"
" Bravo, Jerry ! be gor its true for yees. Oh, the
divil sweep the whole crew of them ! Sure its well
we know it's not what's right they're studyin'."
" What's right enagh ? No I but it's plottin' how
they can circumvint the poor, they are, all day long."
" But the brazen-faced lies of them is what kills
me : callin' every other nation despots and them
selves lovers of liberty."
" Oh, the lyin' divils ! Sure they couldn't tell the
truth if they tried, so they couldn't."
This wooden-legged old man was Jerry O'Hara,
who had served many years in the British army as
an artillery-man, had been all through the Peninsu
lar war, and had finally lost a leg at Waterloo, for
which he received a pension, and lived comfortably
in his native village of Ardmore. Having little to
occupy his time, " Lame Jerry," as he was usually
called, spent most of his time reading ; and, having
a retentive memory, he was a perfect oracle among
the peasantry, and an ever welcome visitor to their
firesides.
Although a most faithful soldier when in service,
now that he was out of it Jerry was accustomed to
deliver his opinions very freely on the short-comings
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 143
of the Government, and especially the abominable
laws relating to landlord and tenant, and the odious
Church Establishment.
In order to strengthen his arguments Jerry hunted
up every work which treated on the subject of land
tenures in all the countries of Europe, and was quite
familiar with the modes of tillage, the products, and
particularly the relative positions of landlord and
tenant in France, Italy, Switzerland, and Germany.
On the occasion in question he was detailing to his
listeners, in a high-flown strain of eloquence, the
condition of the serfs in Russia, which he had been
making his study of late, and contrasting them with
the Irish peasantry under the free and enlightened
British Government. " The -Russian serf," said Lame
Jerry laying down the case on the palm of his left
hand with the two forefingers of his right " the
Russian serf is elevated far in condition beyond the
Irish peasant. He never experienced the bitterness
of beggary. In his days of misfortune he has not
suffered the agony of choosing between the alterna
tive of being separated from every tie of affection,
which is next to death, or of dying of starvation.
The serfs wife is his wife, and he can keep his vowa
to her as God has willed it. The serfs children are
his children, and he can watch over them from child-
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAK.
hood to manhood." (Jerry was probably alluding
to the cruel separation of husband and wife, parents
and children, in the Government poor-houses in Ire
land.)
; ' In all Russia there is not a single work-house,
a single poor-law board, or a single pauper. The
cow of the Russian serf is never distrained for
rent or taxes. The cabin of the Russian serf is
never thrown down unless another is built in its
stead. If he is prostrated by sickness, he is cared
and tended at the cost of the lord of the soil. If
murrain destroys his cattle, or a bad season blights
his harvest, the noble has to replace his stock or
sow his land. The serf pays no county cess, or
poor rate, or income tax ; nothing but his obiok or
head rent. For this the proprietor gives up his
domain to the serfs for cultivation and management.
For this he is accountable for their losses and for
their support in sickness and in age. And those
people are called serfs, and their monarch a despot !
And what do you think, but the present emperor
is trying his best to free them even from the name of
serfs, and give them a right to the land for ever, to
be purchased by them in fee simple, if they desire
to do so, by installments. Now contrast this coun
try with Russia, and see the difference ! You will
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 14:5
find the welfare of the people the study of the sove
reign in Russia ; but show me where you ever
found the welfare of the Irish people an object of
solicitude to an English monarch ? Even the welfare
of the English people is a matter of little anxiety
to them. In the city of London, where the mon
arch resides, there is more poverty than in the whole
of the Russian empire ! The whole aim of the British
Government has ever been to oppress the Irish people
and squeeze out of them the last shilling ; and yet
their newspapers are ever lauding the glorious
British constitution, and they are particularly elo
quent when they come to denounce the shocking
despotism of the Russian Czar ! So I lay it down as
a fact that can defy contradiction, that Ireland,
which God made one of the richest countries on the
face of the earth, both in agricultural and mineral
productions, is the poorest and worst governed por
tion of the globe, under the thrice accursed British
ule." *
A round of applause greeted these concluding
^ntiments, to which every heart responded, when a
noise was heard behind the ditch as of a man leap
ing down and rustling amongst the hawthorn to
disen^re himself from its grasp.
* Dublin Irishman.
14:6 THE BTENE3 OF GLENGOULAH.
One of Jerry's auditors, a fine athletic young man,
catching the branch of a crab-apple tree which
inclined somewhat to the road, swung himself on to
the ditch and leaned over, just in time to catch
the retreating figure of Sandy McGlauren. who was
passing over a stile into a neighboring field. The
young fellow on the ditch, shaking his fist after him,
exclaimed :
" That the divil may come jumpin' for you, and
break every bone in your body, for an ould spy in'
thief!"
"Who is it, Darby?"
" Arrah ! tell us who it is, Darby ?" cried several
voices, and all started to their feet.
" Musha ! "Who would it be but that divil of a
Sandy."
A chorus of groans followed the announcement,
and then a volley of back-handed prapers were
uttered in his behalf, many of which consigned him
to a perpetual residence in a remarkably warm cli
mate, not forgetting to request that he should be
accompanied by his clerical master, as it would be
a pity to separate such a lovin' couple ; more
betoken it would be the sin of the world to spoil
two houses with them.
Alternately perpetrating witticisms, making puns,
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 147
and praying backwards, at the expense of the uncon
scious Sandy, the party, with Lame Jerry in the
centre, wended their way down the mountain and
dispersed to their homes. The remainder of the
week was spent by the Misses Biggs in making an
especial visit to the farm-houses of the " tenants at
will," requesting in a most emphatic manner that
the will of their reverend brother should be com
plied with in sending their children to the school he
had established for them, and to no other. He ex
pected it, they said, and would take no refusal.
Monday came, however, and with it came three
pupils all Protestants. So, as may be supposed,
the labors of the male and female teachers, and the
Misses Biggs, were not of a very arduous character ;
indeed, as Sain Weller would saj r , " it is just possible
they could surwive it."
CHAPTER XII.
THE day before the September gale (29th) a for
mal and very stiff note was received by Mr. De
Courcy from the Rev. Samuel Wilson Biggs, order
ing Mr. De C, to notify the tenantry that his rev
erence required each and every one of them to send
their children to his school, and he would take no
excuse. Mr. De Courcy took not the slightest no
tice of the mandate, and made no observation what
ever relating to the school to any of the tenants.
He received their rents and gave them their receipts
as usual, and they departed for their homes. In a
few days afterwards, however, he paid a visit to
Father Esmond, showed him the landlord's imperti
nent missive, and informed him the time had come
when he should resign the agency, as lie had re
deemed his promise, having kept it as long as it was
possible to do any good to the tenantry and retain
his own self-respect. ZTiatw&sno longer possible.
And now he had determined to resign it, but would
not do so without acquainting Father Esmond.
The venerable old priest at once saw the impossi
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 149
bill ty of any honorable-minded man retaining such an
office under such a landlord ; and, while he acquiesced
in his decision, he gave him many thanks and praises
for his great forbearance. " It is happy for me, my
dear friend," said the priest, " that your good and
respected father so considerately purchased this
ground for me, and also my schoolhouse, through
his influence with old Sir Thomas Plover, or I too
should be at the mercy of this tyrant, and my poor
people left without a temple to worship in. And,
thanks to your further consideration, you obtained a
similar privilege for us from the late Sir Charles, so
that we have our chapel of ease on the hill, and no
thanks to the present incumbent. May God give
us all patience ! There will be sad hearts all over
the estate when the news of your resignation reach
es the tenants. Oh, my poor, persecuted children !
my peaceable, happy flock ! to be torn by wolves,
and worried by hypocritical wretches, with the name
of the tender and loving God upon their lips, and
their hearts filled with malignity !"
Poor old Father Esmond paced the room, his
hands behind his back, and his eyes fixed on the
floor, as he gave utterance to these expressions :
" God protect us all ! And he calls himself a
Christian minister, and writes reverend to his name,
150 THE BYRNES OF GLEXGOULAII.
and quotes scripture! Oh, God help us! God help
us!"
" I am really burning with shame, Father Esmond,
as a Protestant, to think such things can be done
with impunity by one of our ministers, and we are
silent, both press and people. If we -only heard of
one individual Protestant being persecuted in a Cath
olic country, what bursts of eloquence would come
daily from our press ! what vast indignation meet
ings would be held! what fine speeches made, and
flourishing correspondence carried on bet \veen the
British envoy and the secretary of state ! I am
thoroughly disgusted with such flagrant injustice.
There is no fair play for my Catholic fellow-country
man I see that very plainly no liberty of con
science for him. Acts of barbarous cruelty are per
petrated daily upon simple, unoffending people
merely because they are Catholics. And men other
wise honorable members of society are content to
shrug their shoulders and wash their hands of it. It
sickens me to the soul to see it. As a sincere Pro
testant, I am determined not to rest satisfied until I
get this Biggs disgraced from his sacred office. I
believe there is truth and justice still to be found
amongst our clergy, and I mean to put it to the test.
You smile incredulously, Father Esmond ; but I do
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 151
hope to make my voice heard, both with respect tc
liberty of conscience and a satisfactory adjustment
of the landlord and tenant question."
" Well, God speed you, my dear friend ! If you
succeed you will confer a priceless benefit on society.
I am sure no cause ever had a nobler or more sincere
advocate. You will have the most fervent prayers
of an old man, though I have not the slightest faith
in your success."
The day after this interview Mr. De Courey's foot
man left the following note at Glengoulah Castle :
" Mr. De Courcy, having received a very imperti
nent communication on the 27th September last
from the Rev. Samuel Wilson Biggs, wishes to in
form that individual that he, Mr. De Courcy, held
the agency of the Glengoulah estates under the lato
Sir Charles Plover for twenty-five years, but he has
never yet been agent for a proselytizing institution,
nor does he intend lending his services for so vile a
purpose.
" Mr. De Courcy further informs the above-named
person that from the 29th of said month he has
ceased to be the agent for the Glengoulah estates, as
he purposes never to have his name connected with
any man who has not the instincts of a gentleman.
*' CASCADE MILLS, October 3, 18 ."
152 THE BYRXES OF GLENGOULAH.
Next morning Sandy McGlauren called at the
office for the accounts and documents relating to
the estates, which were delivered to him by one of
the clerks. And so Glengoulah Castle and estates
passed from all honest hands, and the hundreds of
hard-working, upright peasantry who dwelt thereon
were altogether in the unholy keeping of knaves
and tyrants.
Great the grief and loud the lamentations of that
once happy tenantry when the intelligence was pro
claimed that their much-loved Mr. De Courcy had
ceased to be connected with Glengoulah. Tears
bedewed every face, and a wail arose from every
homestead, such as in Egypt of old awoke Pharaoh
from his dream of security when heart-broken
mothers and grief-stricken fathers mourned with a
great cry the death of their first-born.
The Rev. Samuel Wilson Biggs did not remain
long without an agent. He appointed one Jacob
Margin as his representative with the tenantry of
Glengoulah. He could scarcely have shown a wiser
discrimination in his choice, for there never was a
more fitting representative of his master, or a more
convenient tool to perform any disreputable deed.
It will be here necessary to give a short sketch of
Mr. Jacob Margin's doings before he was appointed
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 153
agent for the Glengonlah estates. This hoary old
miscreant was both dreaded and detested by every
one of his poorer neighbors. Public report said he
could not tell who his own father was. It is certain,
however, he was of low extraction, for he was
brought from a distant county years ago as a land
steward to the estate of a Colonel Ranford, an ab
sentee, who had spent his fortune at the Cheltenham
Waters in England. Margin arose by trickery until
he became agent to the Clonbeggin estate (Colonel
Ranford's property), and also to the Bannow Navi
gation Company, and finally to the mining company
of the neighboring district. Having made himself
thoroughly acquainted with the state of Colonel
Ranford's finances, and finding he indulged in play,
Margin strongly advised him to remain in England,
representing it as an impossibility that any gentle
man could reside in Ireland in consequence of the
lawless condition of the people. It was not his
fault if this statement were incorrect, for he tried
his best to drive the whole country to distraction,
and partially succeeded with the Clonbeggin tenan
try, and with all the cottiers, laborers and miners
who had the misfortune to come under his sway.
He had not been more than five years installed as
agent to Clonbeggin when Colonel Ranford found
7*
154: THE BYENES OF GLENGOULAH.
himself in very embarrassed circumstances, with an
army of duns at his heels. Making some ineffectual
efforts to curtail his expenses, he ordered Margin to
sell a portion of his unentailed property, and so year
by year and bit by bit he sold all his ancestral acres
which the law would allow him to dispose of, at an
immense sacrifice the agent declaring it was a most
difficult matter to find purchasers, owing to the dis
turbed state of the country. The colonel then or
dered the entailed portion to be mortgaged, and at
the end of fifteen years he was so hopelessly involved
as to be obliged to fly to the Continent to avoid his
creditors. Just at this period his only son came of
age, and, in order to check any aspirations after ex
pensive pleasures, the colonel told him the desperate
state of his affairs.
Mr. Horatio Ran ford, who was blessed with more
sense than his father, decided upon starting at once
for Ireland, and try to manage the estate himself.
We may imagine, but cannot describe, his indigna
tion on finding that Mr. Jacob Margin or Jab, as
he was nicknamed by the peasantry had been
enriching himself at his father's expense. Every
portion of Col. Ranford's property which had been
sold had been purchased by Margin himself. Every
pound which had been advanced upon the mortga
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 155
ges came from the pocket of Margin at a ruinous
interest.
Many a noble tree, too, in the beautiful wood of
Clonbeggin, which clothed the hillside overhanging
the river Bannow, was cut down and sold, and
many more were marked for destruction. Such was
the state of affairs at Clonbeggin when Mr. Horatio
Ranford arrived from England.
Transported with fury when he discovered the
perfidy of Margin, he at once dismissed him from
the agency, and immediately employed a lawyer to
investigate matters, and, if possible, prosecute the
old scoundrel ; but the wily rascal had every docu
ment so legally drawn up that he defied prosecution,
and coolly presented his accounts, showing Colonel
Ranford to be 1,500 in his debt. The colonel's
estate lay contiguous to that part of the County Wick-
low where the coal mines -were situated, and, as
" Jab" was of a very industrious turn of mind, he
took contracts to work them from the mining com
pany. His transactions with this company were
worthy the genius of the demon himself. He
worked the mines so expensively that for a good
while it was all outlay and no return. The com
pany grumbled, became disheartened, and at length
stopped the works. To facilitate matters, " Jab"
156 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
succeeded in damming up the course of a stream
which ran by his house, and thus overflowed the
whole mines, including the pits on the estate of
Lord "Wallingford, which extended for miles on the
slope of the hill below the water-course.
Upon the plea of removing an evil which he pre
tended very much to deplore, old " Jab" built a
wall around an island in the river, called " Moll
Cody's island " (from an old crone who dwelt there
alone). It actually belonged to the County AVexford,
but " Jab" filled up the stream on the Wicklow side,
and deepened the bed of the river behind it, so that
the stream changed its course, the island disappear
ed, or rather became the main land, and formed a
portion of the farm of Mr. Jacob Margin.
It was apparently an insignificant addition to his
possessions, being only a couple of acres in extent.
But of Margin it might be truly said he looked
below the surface of things, for his experienced eye
saw that a valuable bed of coal lay underneath the
island, which he intended to turn to good account.
While he protested " the everlasting gratitude of the
people was due to him for spending both time and
money turning the course of the stream in order to
free the pits from water and give employment to
the miners, it made his heart ache to see so many
Til K DVUNKS OF GLENGOULAH. 157
hundreds thrown out of work." Notwithstanding
all his protestations, however, the water did not
move from the pits, and Lord Wallingford's engi
neers were ungrateful enough to say he did it to
enrich himself.
His lordship thereupon commenced a law-suit
with Margin for abstracting a portion of the Coun
ty Wexford contrary to statutes made and provided.
He employed barristers of high standing to plead
'his cause, and, feeling confidence in its integrity,
with the calm demeanor of a gentleman he awaited
the decision of the court.
Not so his opponent. His course was quite differ
ent. Every species of chicanery and fraud, no mat
ter how brazen, was resorted to, provided only he
kept clear of the meshes of the law. He had around
him a set of sycophants of the most degraded char
acter, and these he employed to serve as witnesses
and swear the exact reverse of all that had been
proved by the testimony of the other side. What
was of still more importance, he had made himself
a favorite with the Government for various little
services rendered, more easily understood than ex
plained, so that he counted on success as certain,
as well he might under the circumstances. The
trial came on ; and, after various motions and post-
158 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
ponements, and finally changing the venue, and
going through the whole form again in another
county, was twice decided in Margin's favor. All
the country people predicted this decision from the
commencement, as they said " Jab was never beat
yet, no matter who was against him, for the devil
always takes care of his own." Lord Wallingford,
becoming disgusted with such low trickery, aban
doned the case, and would have no more to do with
it.
Now came the turning point in old " Jab's" life
the point for which he had toiled and schemed
and planned and robbed with an indomitable energy
which should put to the blush those who are striving
for an everlasting reward. Few are the Christians
indeed who work half so hard for the Eternal King
dom as this unfortunate wretch worked to gain a
position for a few years in this perishable world.
He allowed the pits to remain under water about
six months longer to save appearances, and the
amount of destitution and suffering in the mines
was appalling. Hundreds emigrated to America,
and hundreds more passed from the earth like shad
ows, worn out with typhus and various other appa
rent diseases, but in reality dying by inches from
long suffering and hope deferred. Having at length
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 159
satisfied himself that the mining company were
pretty well tired of the mines, Margin laid before
them a proposition : it was to rent the whole of the
mines belonging to the company at a low estimate,
in consideration of the great risk incurred " which
risk, however, he was willing to undertake merely
from a benevolent motive to give employment."
Out of every 1 which the pits produced he would
give them 2s. 6d., or one-eighth.
After pondering on it for a while, and remember
ing the losses they had already sustained, they agreed
to the proposal. A magnificent engine, which cost
the company over 3,000, and had long been lying
there apparently useless, he purchased from them
for 800. To work he went now, and soon the
water disappeared from the pits. Men, horses and
machinery toiled night and day, and untold wealth
was brought up from the bowels of the earth.
CHAPTER XIII.
THIS Margin had a wife the very reverse of him
self. A more kind-hearted being never breathed the
breath of life, or one more full of sympathy for the
suffering poor. This good woman was ever on the
watch when her husband's back was turned to see
what amount of relief she could distribute. Often
would she hide away in a closet the wife of some
poor cottier on Jab's unexpected return, and on let
ting her out through the back gate she would slip a
fine cut of bacon under her cloak, in addition to the
well-filled bag of meal slung across her shoulder.
The fiercer the wind blew or the more incessant the
down-pouring rain, the more surely was the excel
lent Mrs. Margin to be seen straining her eyea
through the window-panes, and ever and anon dart
ing out in the storm to look up and down the road,
hoping to catch a glimpse of her dear poor, and
most lovingly would she take the shivering hands
and lead the drenched forms to the warm kitchen
hearth.
It is said there is an angel in every house, and
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 161
most assuredly there was for a time an angel of
mercy under the roof-tree of this incorrigible villain.
Many a half-uttered curse was stifled on the lips of
the goaded peasantry when they remembered this
gentle being.
At a subsequent period, when the people, driven
to distraction, formed a secret society, old " Jab "
was tried by one of their tribunals and condemned
to die for his atrocious robberies and wholesale mur
ders of the poor. A silence for many minutes
reigned in that rough assembly, until one gaunt-
looking man, with a blackened face and hollow voice,
proposed that the sentence should be reversed " for
the sake of his wife, the best and kindest woman
that ever lived." The motion passed unanimously,
and the world was for a while longer cursed by the
old miscreant. - Margin had two sons and three
daughters, nearly all like himself. Besides his own
immediate family, he imported a whole colony of
nephews from his native county, whom he established
in various branches of business. Two had general
stores or shops in different ends of the mines, where
every article was kept, " from a needle to an anchor."
Another was transformed into a doctor, and imme
diately installed in the county dispensary at a good
salary. Another established a mill. One of his
162 THE BTENES OF GLEN<K>ULAH.
sons he made a lawyer. The other, in conjunction
with one of his nephews, founded a " Loan Bank,"
one of the greatest curses ever introduced into a
country. This was ostensibly a great accommoda
tion to the miners, as they could borrow small sums,
from one to ten pounds, with which they could buy
a few loads of coal, and by the sale make a little
profit to help in the support of their families. For
this accommodation they paid twenty per cent, in
terest, which was, of course, deducted from the
principal before it was paid over. The payments
were made by weekly installments, and should be all
refunded in twenty weeks. If but one week was
omitted there was a fine, and for three the whole
was forfeited. Two solvent names besides the bor
rower's should be on the paper for security, and this
document should be laid before the board for a week
before the important question could be decided
whether the poor, trembling applicant would be re
fused or not. Many a time the little speculation
turned out a failure, or at least did not become avail
able in time to meet the weekly payments, and then
the poor wife might be seen trudging her weary way
over the hills to the nearest post-town where there
was a pawn-office, with her best blue cloak. Next
hei husband's Sunday frize would go, then their
THE BYRNES OF OLENGOULAH. 163
poor bed-covering, until they were perfectly bare.
The applicant should first apply to the doctor, ma
king known the amount he required, the purpose
for which he wanted it, the names of his securities,
etc. If the doctor approved, he would then sign the
application, and lay it before the board. They
could afterward accept or reject it as they pleased.
For this small act of courtesy the doctor demand
ed pay not directly, but indirectly. For instance,
he would make it his business to ride past the cabin
of such applicant on his way home from the dispen
sary, and if a clutch of young ducks, or chickens,
or a couple of geese, happened to be waddling round,
he would call out the poor woman and order them
to be sent to his house, stating that he would set
tle for them with her husband. Woe betide her,
however, if she dared ever to remind him of the
debt ; for her husband or her son would be turned
out of the uncle's employment, or their wages cut
down, or some species of paltry revenge taken. A
few such examples effectually silenced all demands
for payment for poultry. The only course left was
to hide them ; and many a half-naked little boy
with bleached hair standing erect as a stubble field,
would be perched on a ditch, from which a view
of the dispensary could be obtained, watching the
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOTTLAH.
door to see which way the doctor's horse would turn.
If seen approaching, the poor little urchin would fly
like the wind to warn his mother, and ducks, tur
keys and all would be driven into the cabin and
the door shut, to make believe there was no one in.
All the cottiers, miners, laborers, etc., received their
pay in orders on the shops, where every article was
kept which they could possibly need of course at
a good profit. It was with great difficulty they
could prevail upon their task-masters to give them
a little money at Christmas and Easter to pay their
dues for the support of their clergy. It was a reg
ular habit of the whole Margin tribe to meet at
" Jab's " house at stated periods and take counsel
together. Each one would then report progress ;
and if there was a farm that one of them coveted, or
a poor cabin formed an eyesore to the landscape
from their residences, or any other such trifle
stood in their way, all would put their wicked wits
to work to find out how they could circumvent the
occupiers of such farm or cabin, and then become
the owners themselves. Knowing the importance
of having a friend in high places, it was their con
stant study to curry favor with the British Govern
ment by denouncing the disaffected, and every other
means in their power a task not at all difficult
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 165
among a people goaded to madness, and who were
often driven to crime from sheer desperation. Thus
the Margin family became literally the autocrats
of that immense district, so rich in mineral wealth,
and the mass of the people held their very existence by
the breath of those merciless wretches. Many an
unfortunate " small" farmer whose well-tilled fields
they coveted, was, by a series of petty persecutions,
induced to join the brigade of Captain Starlight, or
some other illegal association. His footsteps were
dogged by night and day, until he was finally de
nounced by some of the Margin crew to the minions
of the law, and sent to languish out ten or fourteen
years in penal servitude, in all probability never
more to behold " friends and sacred homes."
As soon as the excitement cooled down, Margin,
by some contrivance, would get hold of the cov
eted fields, and the broken-hearted wife and children
would be sent to the road, or worse the workhouse.
One well-remembered circumstance will serve as an
illustration for many, many similar ones. A poor,
wretched man had been denounced in the way above
mentioned and transported. He had never been
more than an humble cottier who worked with the
neighboring farmers, and who, before and aftei
hours, tried to till one little potato field behind his
166 THE BYKNES OF GLENGOULA.H.
cabin. The miserable cabin and poor potato patch
were, however, painfully visible from Margin's par
lor windows, and every expedient was resorted to
in order to get possession of them. This poor man's
father and grandfather before him had been cottiers,
and contentedly tilled the same field and inhabited
the same cabin. It was the only home he ever knew,
and he loved it as dearly as the rich man loves his
ancestral halls ; perhaps more dearly, for it was all
the world to him. Here he was born ; here he was
married ; and here his seven little ones first saw the
light. Margin tried to purchase it, but he would
not sell. He then coaxed, wheedled, threatened all
in vain. Thereupon " Jab" commenced to perse
cute, and a series of petty annoyances each of
which would take a volume to describe we re set
to work, until the unfortunate creature was driven
to join an illegal society, then in full operation in.
the neighborhood, and which promised him redress.
His was the very voice that begged Margin's life
might be spared " for his good wife's sake," while
the wretched old villain was tracking his footsteps
like a blood-hound. The unfortunate man was dis
covered with illegal papers on his person, and Margin
on the trial represented him as a very lawless char
acter and a disturber of the public peace. He was
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. _ 167
therefore, of course, sentenced to serve for ten years
beyond the seas.
Immediately after his departure a great council
of the Margin tribe was held, and the subject under
discussion was how to get this cabin out of sight.
It might be done eventually by the power of the
law, but it would take time ; and, as one of the
nephews was about to make a very wealthy match,
it was quite indispensable to have such an unsightly
object removed before the wedding took place. The
doctor proposed to take forcible possession, knock it
down, and let the wife then go to law if she could
a contingency which her poverty made impossible.
This proposition was received with great favor
and agreed to be acted upon, but old " Jab" recom
mended that some weeks should be allowed to
elapse until some fresh calamity had abated the
public sympathy for this worse than widow and her
orphans ; and for this purpose it would be necessary
to create a kind of panic. Accordingly a false re
port was spread one morning, about a month later,
that Margin's farm-house and mill had been entered
and robbed the night before. Many names were
mentioned as being suspected, and all were in con
sternation, for the ukase had gone forth that ho
would stop all the works for a month if the robbers
168 THE BYBNES OF GLENGOULAH.
could not be found and stopping the employment
was the same as a sentence of death to hundreds.
Everybody, therefore, was perplexed how to act, and
was trembling for his own fate. In the midst of the
general confusion a set of strange men, unknown in
that part of the country, came from Margin's farm
with picks and crowbars to the coveted cabin, and,
coolly handing out the wretched furniture, finally
dragged out the unfortunate wife and her seven
children into the road, pulled off the thatch, broke
down the walls, quenched the fire on the hearth,
and demolished every vestige of their home ; for,
however humble, it was home, after all, and around
it their fondest affections were entwined.
Doctor Margin presided in person over this inhu
man transaction done, too, without even the sem
blance of a vile law to sustain it. Calling her
desolate children round her this heart-broken poor
woman knelt down, and, throwing her arms up to
heaven, while tears rained down her cheeks, prayed
that the wrath of an angry God might descend upon
every member of the Margin family except the one
of whom he was not worthy that they might be
accursed both in this world and the world to come !
It was a terrible scene. Arising, she shook the
dust from her feet, and, casting one last look on the
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 169
heap of ruins she loved so well, she and her misera
ble little flock took their way with cries and sobs to
the house of the parish priest.
The good pastor brought them to his fireside, gave
them all the consolation he could, and what tempo
rary relief was in his power. When she told him
the curse she had pronounced upon the Margins, he
shook his head sorrowfully, and said he regretted
she had committed such a sin.
" Father, honey ! don't say another word to me ! "
exclaimed the bereaved creature. " I don't believe
that the good and marciful God will ever lay it upon
my sowl ; because my heart was blistered and He saw
it my good God saw it and he knows that the
same breed tore the father from my poor childer,
and I tried to bear it and never cursed them then.
But when they tore down my poor cabin, and put out
the fire where I had warmed many a desolate cray-
thur for His sake, and when my heart-broken or
phans were turned upon the cowld road, I should
spake or I'd bust ; and I know my blessed Father
in heaven will hear my prayer and will never have
it afore my sowl. I didn't do it to offind him. Oh,
God forbid ! " And the poor soul burst into a pas
sionate flood of grief.*
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
Mr. Jacob Margin made a smiling garden where
tli s poor home once stood, and beautiful flowers of
brilliant hue exhaled their fragrance and opened
their petals to the sun, and the birds came there and
sang thfiir little hymns of praise, never knowing the
bitter sorrow that had wrung burning curses on that
very spot from a heart seared with human agony
curses which arose from that broken heart to the
throne of the Most High, and which will assuredly,
in God's own good time, bear fruit. A few months
later it was gazetted that " Mr. Jacob Margin had
been appointed to the commission of the peace, his
excellency the lord lieutenant having no doubt he
would make an energetic and efficient magistrate,"
O O '
and thus the low-born wretch became Jacob Mar
gin, Esq., J. P.
God help poor Ireland !
I would here apologize to my readers for introduc
ing Mr. Margin to their notice. I am painfully
sensible he is not by any means a respectable ac
quaintance. But as we pass through life we must
brush against villains sometimes; and as the man
lived and figured in many of the sad events recorded
in these pages, it is necessary he should be known
and his character understood, especially as his
nephews and sons are still living, and enjoying the
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 171
fruits of his knavery. Many a one now in exile
through his means, and many who have, thank God !
outlived his treachery, will recognize the portrait.
Again I say, God help poor Ireland ! and God
comfort her oppressed people !
In the long catalogue of the robberies committed
upon them by English law or by Government fa
vorites without any law there is none so much to
be deplored as robbing them of their independent
spirit. It is galling to the soul to see them, hat in
hand, craving as a boon what the meanest serfs in
Europe receive as a right namely, a, livelihood out
of the soil on which God has placed them. But it is
a thousand times more galling to hear those who
ought to know better condemning them for so doing.
They cannot help it. Their very lives and the lives
of their little ones depend upon their submission to
the great man of the district most frequently a
miserable upstart, inferior to themselves in every
thing but wealth. Many fanners who hold large
farms of fine productive land, and who often have
money in bank, are afraid to ride a good horse or
allow their wives or daughters to appear much betr
ter dressed than their poor neighbors lest it should
be suspected they had money, for a raise in the rent
would surely be the consequence.
172 THE BYKNES OF GLENGOTJLAH.
The poor cottiers tremble to be discovered with a
flock of geese or turkeys, or a litter of young pigs.
We have seen from the acts of Doctor Margin how
necessary it is to hide them away (unfortunately he
has many imitators), and thus the practice of dissim
ulation is early implanted. Falsehood belongs to
the whole system of British rule in Ireland, and is
perfectly inseparable from the odious and infamous
laws relating to land tenures. Prevarications are
essential to the existence of the peasantry under the
present order of things. Let those, therefore, who
condemn them see if they be not guilty themselves
before they cast the first stone at the wronged and
friendless poor ; and when they hear of some outrage
committed by the " Whiteboys," or some such ille
gal association, let them pause before pronouncing
their eloquent denunciations, remembering the in
tolerable burdens and foul oppressions heaped on the
people.
I am not the advocate of secret societies, nor do I
believe there is much good affected by them ; but it
would be well if those who pass such severe judg
ment on their members would bear in mind that the
provocations of the Irish peasant are beyond human
endurance, and quite sufficient to excuse his seeking
redress after any fashion, or to palliate any excess
THE BYKNES OF GLENGOULAH. 173
he might commit. They should further bear in
mind that no other people under heaven could pass
through such a terrible ordeal for centuries, and
come out of it with so many shining virtues untarn
ished.
CHAPTER XIV.
THE grief and consternation of the Glengoulah
tenantry was indescribable when they heard that
Margin had been appointed agent. They knew not
what it was to be servile, for they had always been
accustomed to being treated by Mr. De Courcy as
human beings, whose feelings were worthy of con
sideration and respect. It therefore took a long
time and a well-planned series of persecutions to
bring even a portion of them under subjection, while
others were driven into rebellion, many -of whom
were formerly remarkable for their orderly, peacea
ble dispositions. Margin purchased a small estate
as near as possible to Glengoulah Castle, and built
a fine house upon it, to which he subsequently re
moved.
About this time his eldest son, the lawyer the
only one of her children who possessed anything
like the heart of his mother was drowned by the
upsetting of a little gig in which he had been taking
?- pleasure sail on the beautiful Ovoca. The sight
of the dead body of her firstborn and favorite son
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 175
preyed upon the mind of the kind and amiable Mrs.
Margin, and she did not long survive the blow.
It is beautifully said, no matter how a man may
be debased by sin, he still has some one redeeming
trait to show the Divine hand that formed him ; u as
in a ruined temple, after long searching among the
rubbish, one may discover some broken arch or rem
nant of a once finely-chased capital to mark the fin
ished genius of the architect."* So it was with
this most avaricious old sinner. He had one redeem
ing trait, one green spot in the arid desert of his
withered heart. It was a great love for his wife and
respect for her virtues, which he would never tire ex
tolling, but would not try to imitate. He mourned
her long and sincerely ; but sorrow, which purifies
most natures, seemed only to stir to its depths the
bitterness of his accrimonious disposition. He was a
tyrant by nature, and since the only virtuous thing he
ever loved was taken from him, he devoted all his
energies to the acquisition of his idols wealth and
power.
It is unnecessaryto enter into the details of his
petty, systematic persecutions, nor would the history
be at all edifying. It will be enough to mention
that when four years had passed there was a visible
* Doctor Cahill.
176 THE BYRNES OF GLEXGOULAII.
change both in the farm-houses and the people of
Glengoulah. The rents had been increased again and
again, until nearly all their hard earnings went into
the pocket of the landlord. Then came the agent's
" duty work," which means that all the tenants and
their laborers are expected to devote some days, turn
about, during the season, to tilling his farm free of
cost, under pain of his eternal enmity. Add to these
troubles the uncertainty of being left in possession
after meeting every demand, and wonder no longer
that gates were seen hanging by one hinge, cattle
roaming at will or grazing in the ditches, pigs and
poultry tresspassing upon neighbors, thereby causing
disputes and often lawsuits ; the cattle pens looking
shabby, and the whole byre, once so trim and well-
kept, dirty and miry, the poor vines and flower-beds
drooping and running wild, the very smoke seeming
not to curl up as of old in graceful spiral wreaths,
but coming out one time in a sullen gust of indig
nation, and at another lazily mounting but a little
way, and falling back again on the roof of the farm
house with a sad, disconsolate air. The landscape,
however, lost nothing of its beauty, for the hand of
God had piled the beautiful hills peak over peak,
and clothed them with the most exquisite variety of
shrubs and trees, and the slopes He covered with the
THE BYKNES OF GLENGOULAH. 177
softest and greenest of turf. Then he called out the
starry buttercups and daisies to spangle it over, as
the blue heavens were spangled at night with the
myriad worlds of light ; and He filled the groves
with bands of feathered musicians ; and He com
manded the crystal rills to run singing into the val
leys, and the brooks, and the birds, and the flowers
all obeyed Him ; and, therefore, no amount of wick
edness on the part of man could mar the lovely pros
pect.
Well, it is time, after this long digression, to see
how Toney Byrne and his family fared in these al
tered times.
Poor Toney has still the same industrious habits,
the same confiding trust in Divine Providence,
although there is a great change in his once happy
homestead. And death, too, has visited him in the
midst of his other cares. His youngest child, Pat
rick " the very mott of himself," as his mother used
to say a gentle, good-humored, loving boy, was
taken down with scarlet fever, as were Andy and
Mike likewise, but the two latter recovered, and lit
tle Patrick went to play with the angels and bade
adieu to sorrow for evermore. It was a sad trial
upon his father and mother to part with this quiet,
affectionate little fellow. It was the first child thev
8*
178 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
ever buried, and their grief was great to see him
die in the morning of life ; but when the first
great burst of sorrow had passed, they blessed God
for securing their beloved boy a home in His own
kingdom, far from the persecutions of their proselyt
izing landlord and agent. Those three boys had
unconsciously brought great trouble to their parents,
for they had been continually harassed by messages
from the landlord earnestly requesting they should
be sent to the school designed for them. Toney
mildly but firmly refused to send them, alleging
" he wanted the eldest boy at home to help him on
the farm the only time he could spare for learning
being at night ; and as a master came to teach him,
why, they might as well all learn together."
Nothing daunted, the Bible-reader of his reve-
ence came again to request the two younger ones
might be sent.
Not wishing to exasperate his tyrant, poor Toney
said " his second eldest boy was inclined to be frol
icsome, and he tried to keep him from other boys as
much as possible. He would only be a source of
trouble in the school, and he did not wish to let him
from under his own eye."
A third message came and this time it was
borne by Miss Biggs herself, in her carriage.
THE BYKNKS OF GLENGOULAH. 179
" Her reverend brother had sent to request the
youngest boy to come to school the following Monday
morning, as he understood he possessed a very mild
temper." Toney was eating his dinner when she
swept in awful grandeur into the farmer's kitchen.
He told her " his little boy had never been absent
from home without some member of his family ; and,
being of a very timid disposition, he would fret and
pine among strangers.
Miss Biggs was very eloquent, and consumed with
zeal ; Toney Byrne very mild, but determined. All
she could get out of him was, that he would wait
until the boy grew older before he would send him
to school ; and he bowed the lady very respectfully
into her carriage.
Toney had expressly forbidden Kitty to hold any
conversation with those Bible-readers, or any of the
Biggs messengers, knowing she would not be able
to keep her temper, and would do no good by losing
it. Therefore, when they called in his absence,
Kitty told them she would tell her husband and let
him do as he pleased. Some tried to engage her in
a controversy, but she resolutely kept very busy
always, and did not remain a moment in the room.
About a year or two after this, just as school
opened one vacation, the three boys took the scarlet
180 THE BYRXES OF GLENGOULAII.
fever, and the youngest died as we have seen : " a
just judgment upon his parents," the Bible-readera
and the Misses Biggs said, " for keeping him from
the knowledge of the Lord."
His Christian parents took a very different view,
however, of his removal. They deemed it a mark
of the tenderest love of their dear Father in Heaven
to take the gentle child to His bosom, and thus de
prive the voracious Biggs of a prey he intended to
devour. There was now no fear of his claiming
Mike for a pupil, for some .months at least, a*$ the
minister and his family, like all of their class, had a
mortal dread of contagion. So Toney enjoyed about
six months' peace.
Winnie still contrived to trail the vines and tend
the flowers as of old, for the sake of good Mr. De
Courcy, whose gift they were therefore the farm
house, in its exterior, looked less changed than most
others, but many of its interior comforts were gone.
The kitchen roof no longer contained its weighty
drapery of flitches of bacon, nor were the bins filled
with oatmeal as in former days. Poverty was be
coming an inmate where none of God's poor were
ever denied relief. But no murmurs nor complaints
were heard. Cheerfulness and hospitality still had
a shelter around the blazing turf pile, and tales and
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 181
songs went round ; but often the subjects under dis
cussion took a gloomier character than was their
wont, and men talked with flash ing eyes of the vast
change wrought in Glengoulah since Sir Charles
died, but especially since old Margin became agent.
The bare mention of the agent's name brought
curses to their lips, which were but half uttered
when a reproof from Toney stopped them : " Boys,
boys, honey ! take care what you're sayin' now
don't be sinnin' your souls with him lave him to
God ; he can't be worse nor he is, and all your hard
words wont make him any better."
" Better eneagli ! Be my sowl, he'll be better when
the divil has him, but not till thin."
" Well, it can't be very long till that time comes,
anyway. Sure the divil has a heavy mortgage on
his sowl, and he'll pretty soon be lookin' for his own,
plaze the pigs."
" Och ! That he may take him body and bones
wid all my heart. Don't be shakin' your head at
me now, Mr. Byrne ; throth its sorry I am that cur-
sin' is a sin, for its fine, manly talk."
" Well, purshume to you ! Out of my sight, Tom
Moody ; you'd make a dog laugh, so you would.
Isn't it to pity the unfortunate wretch ye ought ?
I'm sure, wid all his riches, not one of us would swap
182 THE BYKNES OF GLENGOULAH.
places with him, poor as we are (and sure, we could
be a great dale worse, glory be to God) ; would we
now ? "
" Is it to swap with old Jab ? Oh, no ! Faix, if
we have empty pockets, we have light heels and
Bound ones too, the Lord be praised ! "
This was in allusion to a running sore of long
standing which Obliged Jab always to appear astride
a little, stout-built, black pony, which same animal
was often earnestly recojj*mended by passing pedes-
TB^*" 3 *"
trians to stumble aya break its master's neck a re
commendation, however, the sure-footed little animal
heard in dignified silence.
" Well, he can't have very long to run now, him
self or his ould leg; let him do his best. There wont
be many brealSip' hearts after he goes, that's one
comfort."
" Be dad, your right there, Peter ; for he'll break
them all afore he goes, I'm thinkin'."
This last remark was made by Bryan Dempsey,
the young farmer who evinced so much sympathy
for Toney Byrne the day Mr. De Courcy announced
so unwillingly the first increase in the rents, and
the landlord's refusal to sign the leases. Little did
poor Bryan dream how very prophetic his words
were, as far as concerned him and all he loved most
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 183
dearly. He had become a constant visitor at Toney's
farm-house ever since that day, and had endeared
himself to every one in the house by his efforts tc
make them forget their sorrows.
At this present time, however, since the truth
must be told, he had a little personal interest to for
ward there too, for his heart had been attracted to the
joyous nature of the pretty, blooming Winnie, now
emerging into womanhood. Somehow or other,
whatever way it happened, Bryan too had become
dearer to Winnie than all the world besides. No
doubt it was all because of his great respect for her
father. Of course she would not acknowledge such
a weakness for any consideration, and was always
ready to repel with indignation such a very foolish
charge. Nevertheless, a close observer might easily
detect how her ear quickened when his visiting hour
came in the evening ; how her cheeks flushed when
a step came into the little porch and the latch was
raised ; how her heart " fell down into her shoes "
when some other head Tom Moody's for instance
appeared with its " God save all here ;" how she
tossed her head, looked at the fire, gave a very un
necessary jerk to her spinning-wheel, and had hard
ly a civil word for poor Tom, who, taking a seat be-
eide her, tried his very best to be entertaining ; how
184 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOTTLAH.
another step, and the right head this time, made her
pure blood mount to the temples, and how very sud
denly she became all attention to Tom's narrative,
laughing at his jokes, and asking him many ques
tions, being very careful meantime to avoid the
particular spot where Bryan sat.
Yes, indeed, to any observer who knew anything
of that mysterious fountain of truest human aifec-
tion a woman's heart it was very plain that the
teasing, laughter-loving singing-bird of the hills was
caged at last. Accordingly, after a little show of
resistance on Winnie's part, and many an anxious
sigh on the part of Toney, who would fain have seen
Bryan's affairs in a more flourishing condition for
the sake of his favorite child, as well as for the sake
of her brave young suitor whom he loved as a son,
Bryan and Winnie were married.
Toney had long since surrendered all hope of leases
ever being given by the parson, but he trusted that,
seeing how peaceable and industrious they all were,
he would leave them in undisturbed possession.
Mrs. Byrne, although she owned Bryan Dempsey
to be a great pet of hers, made divers moans at the
idea of parting with her only daughter ; and al
though the whitewashed farm-house of Bryan could
be distinctly seen about a mile up the hill peeping
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 185
through the trees from the spot where Mrs. Byrne
so often sat spinning, yet she shook her fist at Bryan
and called him a " hard-hearted, cruel boy to rob
her of her only daughter, her last remaining com
fort. She might now sit alone and spin, and who
would she have to talk to ? Sure all the world and
his wife knew boys were not fit companions for a
mother," etc., etc.
But the wedding took place nevertheless, and a
very pleasant wedding it was too, in spite of their
altered circumstances. Nor did the guests find
much difference in the quality or quantity of the
viands from the memorable occasion six years before
when Margaret Byrne was converted into Mrs. Don-
ohoe of Coolanish, County Wexford. The truth was,
the same Margaret and her husband, with a thought
ful affection creditable alike to head and heart, came
to Glengoulah a few days before the marriage of
Winnie, bringing four boisterous young urchins and
two or three very suspicious-looking hampers. Now
there issued from two of those hampers, I can aver
most positively, doleful cries for freedom from sev
eral chosen specimens of bipeds which had been
kept in durance vile the whole journey, and which,
sad to relate, had their heads knocked off on being
released from confinement. Certain I am I saw with
186 THE BYKNES OF GLENGOULAII.
my mortal eyes the bodies of three gigantic l
hanging by the heels at the end of the hoase, while
the perseverance with which the smaller poultry
struggled and begged for life was worthy of a better
cause. I also received reliable information that a
whole sheep and a side of beef were found in con
cealed parts of the market-wagon on a close inspec
tion. What the other hamper contained must for
ever remain a secret to outsiders. So
" All went merry as a marriage bell."
Darby Wholahan was there sporting bran new
pipes for the occasion, rolling his sightless orbs and
making all sorts of grimaces for the amusement
of the junior Donohoes and sundry other youngsters
who were never done admiring the squeezing of
that merry bag of wind, diving every half minute
underneath on an exploring expedition to see where
the music came from, and always going off in an
ecstasy of delight when Darby would make it squeak
like a young pig. Ah, but the jigs and reels ! You
should have been there to see, for my pen fails. " The
New Married Bride," " Cover the Buckle," " Hush
the Cat," and innumerable others, were done to perfec
tion.
" Now Felix Magee puts bis pipe to his knee,
And with flourish so free sets each couple in motion,
With a cheer and a hound larln patter the ground,
The maids move around just like .->wai!3 in the ocean,
THE BYRNES OF GLKNGOULAH. 187
Cheek? bright as the rose, feet light as the doe'a,
Now coyly retiring, now boldly advancing
Search tho world all around, from the sky to the ground,
No such sight can be found as an Irish lass dancing."
"Well ! well ! The brightest sun that ever shone
upon this world but lends his brightness for a little,
and then fades into the deep night. All earthly
joys must end ; and so the happy wedding-party of
Winnie and Bryan was broken up, when, at the dawn
of day, the whole company in a body walked up
the hill and took a loving farewell of the young
couple at the door of the white farmhouse that
peeped through the clump of trees.
CHAPTER XY.
A FEW years passed away, the Protestant bishop
of the diocese died, and the Rev. Samuel Wilson
Biggs was appointed his successor in the Episcopal
dignity. It was considered good news by the ten
antry on the Glengoulah estate, for they hoped he
would remove to the Episcopal palace, where his
predecessor always resided, but they were doomed
to disappointment.
His newly-created lordship declared it was his in
tention to reside permanently at Glengoulah Castle.
" He could not think," he said, " of abandoning the
Lord's pasturage, now that new sheep were daily
flocking to feed upon the fatness thereof."
The solution of this mystery was that the storm
BO long threatening was now about to burst. Noti
ces to quit were served upon every one of the ten
ants whose leases had expired ; and though they diJ
not owe one farthing of rent, yet were they all to
be ejected from the homes occupied by so many
generations of their ancestors. Grief and conster
nation dwelt in every house. "Where were they .to
turn to ? What was to become of their children 1
THE BYKNE8 OF GLENGOULAH. 189
On the townland of Driniraure the tenantry held
a meeting among themselves, and discussed the
question : " Should their children be sacrificed ? "
Fear unhappily prevailed over their better judg
ment, and the agreement come to was that the chil
dren, should be given up. The next day the bailiffs
came amid the loud and prolonged lamentations of
the parents, many mothers tearing their hair and
throwing themselves frantically on the earth. The
children were given up, and no more was heard of
the ejectment on that townland,* with one excep
tion. No one knew better than his lordship how,
for this dereliction of duty, those unfortunate crea
tures were racked by the bitterest remorse of con
science ; and were, of course, most justly excluded
by their pastor from partaking of the holy sacra
ments. Little he cared for the pangs he caused the
poor his paramount determination was to crush
the benign influence of the true faith, and to destroy
the affection existing between the people and their
pastors. Senseless wretch ! As well might he try to
prevent the green moss from clinging to the change
less rock which supports it, and which it beautifies
by its dependent love.
I have said there was one exception on the town-
* See the account of the Partry evictions, 1857.
190 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
land of Drinimure, which I must relate. A man
named Cormac held a fine farm on that townland,
and his ancestors before him for more than two hun
dred years ! He was a man proud of his ancient
race, whose spirit chafed against these petty transac
tions. The accession of Biggs to the estate made
him rear and plunge like a war-horse, but the ap
pointment of Margin to the agency broke his heart.
Every time they came in contact they openly quar
relled, for Cormac never could brook Margin's inso
lent sneering manner. Happily for poor Cormac,
before the expiration of Margin's first year of office
he died, commending his widow and only child to
God. Mrs. Cormac was a woman of high spirit,
and she bravely toiled to keep herself and child in
respectability, although the frequent raisings of her
rent made it a difficult matter to perform. Her lit
tle daughter, Norah, was a sweet child, and went
regularly every day to the convent-school of Ard-
more, a distance of six miles. Being a talented,
amiable child, she was much beloved by the nuns.
She had a fine voice, and they taught her to sing
many beautiful hymns, and often accepted her ser
vices in their choir on festive occasions.
Judge the feelings of this widowed mother when
she was called upon for the last time to resign her
TIIE BYKNES OF GLENGO.ULAH. 191
loved and carefully-instructed child, now about four
teen years old, to the care of the Misses Biggs, or
give up the time-honored home of the Cormacs for
ever and become an outcast on the bounty of stran
gers. Fancy may imagine but no pen could por
tray the anguish of that mother's heart. Though a
young woman, her hair became blanched, and many
an hour in the dead of ni^ht she would kneel at the
o
foot of a picture of the " Mater Dolorosa," where all
the emblems of the sacred passion were represented,
lying before the sinless Virgin ; again, she would
arise and pace the floor, moaning and wringing her
hands. Ah, poor mother! who can blame you if
for a brief space the tempter triumphed ! When
the bailiffs entered the house, accompanied by a
Bible-reader named Faulkner, Mrs. Cormac fixed
her eyes upon them, glaring like a chained lioness ;
her lips were compressed and her arms tightly
crossed upon her bosom, as if to keep them from
doing bodily harm to the wretches.
Turning to her child she said, in a harsh, hurried
voice, " Go with them, Norah !"
Norah looked wildly at her mother for a moment,
and then, uttering a piercing shriek, which never
afterward left her mother's ears, she sped down the
road like an arrow from a bow, and reaching the
192 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
banks of the Ovoca flung herself into its now deep
and rapid waters, for it was the month of November.
Another of the tenants, named Fitzpatrick, who
was coming up the road at the moment, saw the ac
tion, jumped in and saved her ! * He carried her
out, and placed her living though senseless form in
the arms of her mother, who just reached the spot
in a state of distraction. The neighbors helped
both to their home. After the application of re
storatives the little girl opened her eyes, and seeing
her mother leaning over her, clasped her fondly and
looked lovingly in her face with a childish smile.
The mother was consoled, and blessed God that she
was restored to her. Poor soul ! she did not then
know, what she soon learned, that the dear child,
though ever loving and gentle, was an idiot ! The
light of reason had fled those timid but ever smil
ing eyes. A few days afterward the Bible-reader
called to demand the child again. Norah, shaking
from head to foot, cowered behind her mother's
chair like a terrified fawn. Mrs. Cormac, confront
ing Faulkner, exclaimed indignantly
" Begone, Satan ! Tell your hell-hound of a mas
ter that I spit upon his notices, and defy his threats ! "
* " A boy, son of John Fitzpatrick, tried to drown himself rather than be
victimized, bat was rescued by his fattier." From Father Lavelle's Letter
on Partry Evictions, 1858.
THE BYJBNES OF GLENGOULAH. 193
Seeing the unearthly light that shone in the out
raged woman's eyes, the sneaking Bible-reader
turned and fled.
The following Sunday night the dwellings of tho
poor laborers in the town of Ardmore and its
neighborhood were invaded by the emissaries of
the sheriff, offering the sum of 2 to any man who
would assist in the evictions. They met a blunt
refusal in many places, notwithstanding the evident
destitution under which the poor people svere suffer
ing. In one instance a father and his son were
offered 4; and another man with two sons was
offered 6. Those who have seen the bitter povertj
of the poor laborers in Ireland can justly estimate
the fortitude and even heroism necessary to refuse
such a temptation.
When the recruiting general found he could not
succeed he changed his tactics, representing that
" they were only required at the castle for a day's
little business."
The poor wives of these men, on inquiry, discovered
the artifice, and flung themselves on their knees be
fore their husbands, entreating them to reject the
bribe. They declared they were satisfied to endure
with patience the starvation they and their little
ones were suffering, while they had a shelter, even
9
194 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
without fire, as they were that cold weather. The
men were also offered with the bounty a strong es
cort of police from the outside of the town until
they would return at night, and were told they
would be flanked by two divisions of her majesty's
20th regiment, with loaded muskets and screwed
bayonets, while they were levelling the houses. The
pooi- fellows said it was not the dread of man that
deterred them, but the fear of God, and that they
had already too many proofs of the desolation brought
on by the accursed crowbarism\\\ the neighborhood.*
After some delay his lordship procured ten men,
the offscourings of the lanes and alleys of Dublin,
to be imported for the work of desolation. On the
26th of November the rain fell in torrents, when
there passed through the town of Tinmanogue a
body of two hundred mounted constabulary, a troop
of infantry, a troop of dragoons, and two pieces of
artillery, on their way to the townland of Drinimure
to evict therefrom the only evil-disposed tenant on
that part of the estate, widow Cormac and her idiot
child.
The poor woman had had a succession of fainting
fits from the time she discovered her beloved and
only child was bereft of reason, and now lay very
* See Caetleton Papers, November, 1869. Partry Evictions.
THE BYRNES OF GLKNGOULAH. 195
ill. Every exertion had been made by Father
O'Tool (who was a kinsman of her late husband),
and by Father Esmond, to have this virtuous and
injured woman left in her home ; but the rev
erend lord was inexorable. A widow lady who
lived a mile or two from this place, but who hap
pily was a tenant to the Dublin Mining Company,
brought a car with a feather-bed, protected as far as
possible from the incessant down-pour, and placed
upon it the dying woman and her idiot daughter.
She carried them to her home, and tended them
carefully and lovingly as became a Christian, for
which may God forever bless her.
Besides the military and police present to over
awe the just indignation of an outraged people,
Margin was there on his black pony, and his right-
hand man, Faulkner, the Bible-reader. A fiendish
grin seemed to lurk around the mouths of the
vile pair, upon perceiving which Mrs. Dargan, the
widow lady above referred to, walked up to Margin
and told him whatever might be the fate of Mrs.
Cormac, she (Mrs. Dargan) would live to see his
power laid in the dust, for she warned him his judg
ment was not far off.
He laughed scornfully, but her words came liber
ally true. Poor Mrs. Cormac lingered four weeks
396 THE BYKNES OF GLENGOULAII.
on a sick bed, and on Christmas Eve her Heavenly
Father sent his angels to carry this poor victim of a
landlord's intolerance to the throne prepared for her
in His own celestial kingdom. Fortified for her
journey by the reception of the holy sacraments, and
with the venerable Father Esmond giving her the
absolution for the dying, she peacefully drew her
last sigh.
All day on the festival of Christmas poor Norah
watched beside the bed on which lay the silent,
wasted form of her loved mother. She would smile
and courtesy to the candles, to the crucifix at the
head of the bed, and to the neighbors as they came
noiselessly in ; then, fixing her eyes upon her mother
she would sing in a subdued tone a verse from a
beautiful Christmas carol taught her by the nuns :
" God rest ye all good Christians,
Upon this blessed morn
The Lord of all good Christians
Was of a woman born.
Now all your sorrows He doth heal.
Your sins He takes away ;
For Jesus Christ our Saviour
Was born on Christmas day."
No one remembered to have told her it was
Christmas day ; but with that intuitive knowledge
peculiar to idiots she seemed to know and compre
hend it all. Might it be that those sinless children
of earth, who are dcbarre 1 from worldly wisdom,
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 197
being more akin to the angels, derive knowledge
from them? Who can fathom? On the feast of
St. Stephen, the first martyr, the bell in the great
elm tree of Tinmanogue Chapel tolled mournful
sounds through the snow-covered groves and ravines
of those beautiful hills. How sadly they fell on the
hearts of those crowded in small rooms in the villa
ges, who but a few weeks before were the occupants
of comfortable farm-houses now levelled with the
earth ! Not a few wished to be laid to rest in that
old familiar graveyard whither the neighbors were
with measured tread conveying a widow of the once
princely house of Cormac !
Well, to return to the 26th of November.
After the noble exploit of levelling the house of
the widow, and driving her and her idiot child upon
the charity of the faithful, the great army marched
in all the pride of military pomp to the townlands
of Drissmore, Tinmanogue and Ardmore. House
after house was levelled, and the occupants flung out
like weeds on the highway. Two children, sick with
the scarlet fever, were carried out by the bailiffs
and laid in the ditch with hardly any covering,
while their mother, a poor widow, awoke the echoes
with her cries. One of them died during the night.
" Their cot was unroofed, yet they strove to hide
In its walla till the fever was passed :
198 THE BYKNKS OF GLENGOULAH.
Their crime was found out, and the cold ditch side
Was their hospital at last.
Slowly they went to the poor-house and grave,
But the Lord they bent to their souls will save."
Some of the best dwellings and the choicest farms
were reserved for the pets of the landlord.
Always desiring to appear humane and merciful
while he played the tyrant, Lord Biggs racked his
brain to devise some excuse for evicting Toney Byrne,
whom he knew the whole country regarded as the
rightful owner of those broad acres and that stately
castle which he desecrated by his hypocritical pres
ence.
The name of an O'Byrne was hateful to his ears,
and he vowed mentally to get rid of the whole
" nest of vipers " off the estate. If little Patrick
had lived all would be easy enough ; but now Andy
and Mike were too much grown to go to school, and
Winnie's children were too young. What was to
be done ? He consulted Margin, and that worthy
individual came at once to the rescue. He advised
his lordship to send Bible-readers to instruct such
families as had no children fit for school, and to be
guided by their treatment of those " Apostolic
men ;" " for I think, my lord, with all due respect
for your lordship's better judgment, these adults,
iiiir (according to nature) nearer their end than
THE BVJiNES OF GLEtfGOULAlf. 199
the younger ones, require as much, yea, even more,
to be regaled and strengthened by ' the Word.' >:
" Thou art a very Solomon, my good Margin,"
exclaimed Lord Biggs in an ecstasy; " it is a most
sage advice, and shall be acted upon without delay.
Send Faulkner to me."
Margin went off gleefully, rubbing his hands as
was his wont when pleased with himself.
Next day Faulkner commenced his labors. He
was ordered to go every day to certain families
named, and to read and expound for them the Holy
Scriptures. Toney Byrne saw immediately the drift
of this proceeding. He accordingly took every
day to the fields his two sons, and kept them
by him. He enjoined his wife to keep her ears
stuffed with cotton or wool, and to continue what
ever employment she was at, never heeding the ex
pounder.
Things continued thus for a while. But one day
Andy complained of feeling sick, and came home
from the field about eleven o'clock for the purpose
of lying down on the bed.
Faulkner had just finished his exposition and was
leaving, when he espied the scapular which Mrs.
Byrne usually wore, and which had escaped from
her dress. Like a tiger he sprang forward, and, with-
200 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
out a word of warning, tore it from her neck.* Mrs.
Byrne screamed, and Andy, jumping on the Bible-
reader, pounded him until he cried for mercy. An
dy then seized his Bible, tore it in flitters, and cast
both it and the expounder out of the back door un
til he landed them on a heap of manure in the pig
yard. This sealed the doom of the Byrnes, but To-
ney never regretted it. He would always avoid
quarrels ; but when the proper time came for defend
ing the right he was not the one to flinch.
Lord Biggs professed to act with great leniency in
not prosecuting the Byrnes after such atrocious con
duct, merely contenting himself with dispossessing
such evil-disposed, disorderly tenants from his estate.
* See Partry Evictions.
CHAPTER XYI.
THE sorrow and compassion felt for the Byrnes
was greater than for all the other tenantry put to
gether. Loud were the wail ings and deep the
curses when " notice to quit" was served on Anthony
Byrne. A day or two before the arrival of "the
crow-bar brigade," every species of vehicle, from Mr.
De Courcy's carriage to the market-carts of the
farmers on the neighboring estates, and jaunting-
cars from the towns around, were tendered to Toney
Byrne to convey him and his family away before
the bailiffs would come.
His daughter Margaret Donohoe and her husband
also came and brought three wagons to convey her
parents and brothers, also Winnie and Bryan Demp-
sey and their little family, to their home not wish
ing Margin to have the satisfaction of putting them
out. These testimonies of respect and affection
deeply touched the heart of Toney, and made his
eyes fill to overflowing ; but he stoutly refused to be
treated differently from the other tenants.
" No, sir ; I humbly thank you from my heart
9*
202 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
out for your great consideration and wonderful
kindness, but I can't accept of it. I am but a sim
pie poor man, like the rest, and if I come of the old
stock it is only another reason why I should stand
by my people. He is but a sorry captain, sir, that
abandons his men in the hour of danger, and it
would badly become an O 'Byrne to desert the old
neighbors."
Such was the substance of Toney's reply to all ;
and this noble unselfishness but made the wail of
grief the deeper when he stepped out in the torrents
of rain that chill November morning, leaning on the
arm of his daughter Margaret the rest of the family
following in silence, except poor Mrs. Byrne, whose
half-stifled sobs were echoed by the women around.
When he got a short distance up the hill Toney
stopped, determined to watch to the last the destruc
tion of his home, but it was not levelled. Margin
after fastening the windows and doors, put the key
in his pocket.
A fortnight subsequently it was taken posses
sion of by Sandy McGlauren, the Scotch steward.
Toney and his family were carried by Margaret
and her husband to Coolanish, where they were joy
fully welcomed by all the Donohoes and their hon
est neighbors, and where they tried to make them-
THE BYKNES OF GLENGOULAII. 203
selves useful as possible in their altered sphere.
Bryan Dempsey, Winnie, their children, and his
blind father and paralyzed grandmother were also
evicted in the torrents of rain, and were taken by a
cousin of his to his farm some eight miles distant.
Subsequently Bryan Dempsey rented a small cot
tage and garden in the suburbs of Ardmore, and as
he had still left a horse, cart, and a couple of cows,
he worked about with the neighboring farmers and
kept his family pretty comfortable.
Every one vied in showing kindness to Bryan, for
the} 7 all loved and respected him for his affectionate
attention to his decrepid relatives, as well as for his
cheerful countenance and child-like simplicity of
character. Winnie, too, was a great favorite, and
was as dutiful and respectful to her father-in-law arid
to old granny as Bryan could desire.
Many of the other tenants opened little shops in
the provision line and public houses in the neigh
boring towns and villages. Many more emigrated
to America, where the yellow fever and the malaria
of the swamps, where they worked building rail
ways or canals, soon hurried them to the grave.
Oh ! if the record of each could only be kept,
what a tale it would reveal! But I must narrate
the events that befell the Byrnes.
204: THE BYKNES OF GLENGOULAH.
Toney Byrne rented a few acres of land from
Tom Donohoe, for he would not live in a state of
dependence while able to work, so they got on in
peace and virtue, and blessed God for the comforts
they enjoyed ; but his heart yearned in spite of him
for the hills of Wicklow, which were dear to him as
beautiful Grenada to the sorrowing Moor, and for
the old homestead in Glengoulah, which was his
Alhamhra.
One night, the first week in January, that same
homestead was discovered to be on fire ; and while the
Scotchman and his family were trying to extinguish
the flames in one place it suddenly broke out with
even more violence in another and another. And as
the wind was in a frolicsome humor that night, he
roared up the broad chimneys and danced along ;he
flaming roof, sticking out tongues of flame through the
window-frames, and, rolling up the burning thatch,
carried off great bundles, letting them spitefully fall
in the farm-yard, where the cattle were assembled.
He played all sorts of pranks in the hay-loft and sta
ble going wild with delight when the terrified
horses reared and plunged with extended eye-balls.
The neighbors came running from all sides, but
whether they got suddenly weak at the prospect, or
from whatever cause, they gave but little assistance
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 205
in saving the house, contenting themselves with car
rying out of danger the cattle, farming implements,
etc., and in preventing the fire from spreading be
yond the premises. The flames ceased not until the
home of Toney Byrne, from which the poor and the
stranger never turned without receiving comfort,
was laid in ashes. The pretty garden and flower
beds were trampled under the feet of men and horses,
while the beautiful evergreens, the gift of Mr. De
Courcy, stood like charred and blackened sentinels
presiding over the destruction of the smiling garden
they once contributed to adorn.
His reverend lordship turned up the whites of hia
eyes in holy horror at the depravity of the human
heart, declaring he made.no doubt it was "that
wily Byrne who seA^jiis emissaries to destroy the
house he could no longer occupy, and he felt con
vinced he was instigated to commit the deed by that
old prist, who would, of course, give him absolution
for it."
The real truth was, poor Toney was almost the
only one who did not rejoice when the news spread
that Byrne's farm-house was burned, and that Sandy
had to find another home.
" Divil's cure to him P'-was the invariable response.
" He grudged a dacent man the last foothold he had
206 THE BYBNE3 OF GLENGOULAH.
on wliat belonged to all his generations since the
time of the Phynasians. He was etarnally stickin'
his nose about Byrne's farm, and measurin' the house
wid his eye, and he could not speed better bad-luck
to all of his sort."
"Be my conscience, then, boys, ye have no raison
to rejoice," cried Lame Jeny, " for if ye knew but
all, its just what Sandy wanted. M}"self thinks as
the divil tak.es care of his own, his black majesty
set fire to it to oblige him. Didn't he tell Perry
Deacon, the bailiff, in my own hearin', though he
didn't see me, that he liked the farm mighty well,
but found the house unconvanient ; the ladies of
his family would like a better house."
" Oh ! then the divil choke his impudence ! The
ladies, eneagh ! Ha, ha, ha ! Throughth, its enough
to make a dog laugh, let alone a Christian."
" Well, take it aisey now, avic ! I'll lay my life
Lord Biggs (ahem, God bless the mark !) will be
soon buildin' him a fine house to compensate him
for the wickedness of these house-burnin' Papists ;
and ten to one but Margin will be layin' a present
ment before the grand jury to levy the expenses off
the county as it was the work of an incendiary.
Take Jerry O'Hara's word for it, ye'll be made
amenable for this crime, and Lord Biggs, Margin
THE BYKNES OF GLENGOULAH. 207
and Sandy will pnt their tongues in their cheek.
My friends, they're all arcades ambo / but, as ye
don't understand Greek, I'll be biddin' ye good
morn in'."
\Ve may well surmise that this state of things,
made secret societies flourish where they never took
root before. Nightly meetings were held in church
yards, ruined buildings, and oftenest on the heap of
rubbish which marked the spot of a once happy
home. Those societies were unknown in Gleniroulah
during the agency of Mr. De Courcy, while they
were in full blast in the neighboring mining districts
under the management of Margin.
Now all the evicted tenantry were invited to join
them. Many did so, and others refused to have any
thing to do with midnight assemblies and secret
oaths. Among the latter was Bryan Dempsey, who
would never listen to their solicitations. As to To-
ney Byrne, they never even dared to name it to him,
his religious principles being too well known.
One night a meeting of this kind was held, and
" the Right Reverend Samuel Wilson Biggs, Lord
Bishop of Ardihore and Glengoulah by the grace
of Act of Parliament, was indicted before Judge
Starlight for the wilful murder of the widow Cor-
mac, the widow Hynes's child, and Peter, Mary and
20S THE BYRNES OF GLENQOULAH.
Bridget Flannigan, besides many, many others, too
numerous to mention ; also, for depriving Norah
Cormacof her reason by brutal treatment in forcing
her to attend his proselytizing school, etc., etc."
Witnesses were called and duly examined, but as
these cases are already known to the reader it is un
necessary to repeat them here.
The last witness who gave his testimony was Mi
chael Flannigau. He was an old man, with bent
form, and hair white as snow. He tottered forward
and took from his breast pocket a soiled and torn
letter, blotched in many places by the blistering
tears dropped upon it. The sight of it sent a shiver
through his aged frame, and, as soon as he could
speak, he exclaimed :
" Boys, ye all know my fine, manly boy Peter,
turned of three and twenty, and my two putty little
girls that couldn't brook to see their mother and me
in hardship. When we were put out of the ould
place they all emigrated to America, lavin' us for a
while on my cousin Jack Flannigan's floor. A good
friend he ever proved to me and mine God bless
him for it ! We were only one week turned out
when they went to America. Read this letter ; they
wrote it to the mother and me from Liverpool."
One of the men stepped forward and read the let-
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 209
ter. It was, as usual with Irish letters, brimful ot
the heart, every second line being dear father and
mother : " Don't fret for us, dear father and mother ;
we are young and strong, thanks be to God for it.
We will soon earn a comfortable home for ye both,
dear father and mother a home where old Bigga
can't get us, and ye'll end your days in pace, plaze
God. Keep up your hearts, dear father and mother ;
time wont be long passin', we'll soon see one an
other again. Pray to God and his Blessed Mother
for us we're to sail to-morrow, dear father and
mother, in a fine ship called the 'Ocean Spray.'
They say she goes a'most as fast as a steamer, and
looks grand on the water. God bless yo-u, dear pa
rents ; you'll soon hear again, plaze God, from your
lovin' children. Till death.
" PETER, MART, AND BRIDGET FLANNIGAN."
After a few moments the old man, whose head
was bowed to his knees and covered with his hands
while the letter was reading, rose up again and said,
in a trembling voice : " My children never seen the
American shore : the ship went down in the Irish
say, where she came agin a steamer in a fog, and
over four hundred emigrants perished.* My heart's
treasures were drowned in sight of the very hills
* A fact.
210 THE BYRNES OF GLEXGOULAFI.
where they were born and played through many a
summer day.
" I buried their mother in three weeks in Tinma-
nogue her heart broke; and now I'm childless,
homeless, and well nigh upon seventy years. If
they were left in the ould place, and not forced by
a tyrant to transport themselves, my children would
be alive to-day ; and I now accuse ould Biggs of be
ing their murderer."
" What did he eject you for ? " asked Judge Star
light. " Did you pay your rent ? " " Yes, to the
farthin' ; here is my last resate."
" Well, you had no child young enough to go to
school. I don't see what excuse he had to put you
out." " The bailiff told me he said I was a danger
ous character, because I lent Father O'Tool a
cart" *
Curses loud and deep fell from every lip. Flan-
nigan resumed : " I know an ould man like me,
wid one foot in the grave, ought not to be thin kin'
of revenge, but I can't help it. I wander over the
ruins of my ould home and think I see before me
the fire-side, and my children sittin' round it in
comfort still ; then I start up. And when the wind
shakes the trees I think I hear them cryin' and
* See Partry Evictions, 1860
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOCLAH. 211
strugglin' for life in the dark, deep say ! O God pity
and look down upon me ! " Tears streamed from
the old man's eyes, and in that rough assembly,
where all were ready for deeds of violence per
chance some already stained with blood every
heart was touched, and many a coarse sleeve was
drawn hastily across the eyes. Judge Starlight
nrose, summed up the evidence, and called upon the
jury to decide upon his guilt or innocence. A ver
dict of guilty was rendered in five minutes. Then
the judge in a solemn voice pronounced upon him
" the sentence of Death ! to be executed at the
earliest and best opportunity by some one of the
present assembly allotted and sworn for the purpose."
Then followed the drawing of lots ; and one being
appointed, a terrible oath was put to him that, with
out fear or pity, he would execute that sentence zs>
directed the first opportunity, he being furnished
bv the society with fire-arms for the purpose.
CHAPTER XVII.
CHRISTMAS came with a great fall of snow, the
greatest that had been seen for a number of years ;
but Glengoulah Castle was unusually gay. The
lord bishop who ruled there had gone to visit
his home in England the previous summer, taking
with him her right reverend ladyship and his two
sisters.
They returned in time to enjoy the Christmas fes
tivities, and brought with them a large party of
fashionable visitors. Among those visitors were two
young ladies in the bloom of youth and beauty,
nieces of her ladyship. They were the daughters
of Sir Harold Menville, ofMenville Hall, Middlesex,
and their mother was sister to her reverend ladyship.
The elder of those girls, though a very estimable
young lady, was a stately beauty, and a good deal
more worldly than her sister ; but Clara was a laugh
ter-loving, mischievous young brunette, all impulse,
and with a heart brimful of merriment and kindly
feelings. They were enchanted with the lovely
scenery, even though the charming hills were covered
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 2 13
with snow, and the swollen Ovoca stole darkly and
silently along through the leafless groves. There
was a dash of romance about their excursions up the
mount ains that pleased their fancy, and the pic
turesque costume of the peasantry set them into ec-
stacies, especially Clara. She loved to go into the
farmhouses and cottages and converse with the in
mates, especially the children. Soon finding out she
was of a different stamp from the Biggs tribe, the
women told! her and her sister of the many visits
paid them by the Misses Biggs to draw them from
their faith. Though very indignant to hear it, both
sisters made it a subject of amusement to them dur
ing their stay. They first complained to their aunt,
hoping she would put a stop to it ; but they found
she was a party in the scheme, and, to their great
regret, they were forbidden to visit any more in Irish
cottages unless accompanied by the Misses Biggs.
Clara vowed revenge, and never ceased to tanta
lize the spinster sisters. She would irreverently sing
snatches of hymns through her nose ; quote all the
passages she could hunt up in the Bible which con
demned women preachers, and recount for their ed
ification the number of their aristocratic friends in
England who had of late embraced Catholicism, and
o /
wish she had courage enough to follow their example,
214: THE BYKNES OB 1 GLENGOULAH.
as she certainly would before long ; not that she had
really ever bothered herself on a subject so serious,
but just for mischief.
The Misses Biggs, though boiling over, were forced
to be silent.
There was to be a grand dinner-party on Christ
mas day at the castle, and a great ball on St.
Stephen's day. Numbers of guests had been invited
some from Dublin for the occasion; and the cas
tle shone resplendent from the servants' hall to the
battlements, from which the " Union Jack " proudly
floated.
On the night of Christmas eve the English guests
were all assembled in the great drawing-room of
the castle. Muffed chandeliers shed a flood of mel
low light on the silken hangings of pale amber.
Carpets of the softest Persian texture, gorgeous
mirrors shaded off with French lace, inlaid tables
of inestimable value, and luxurious ottomans, made
this noble apartment a tit abode for royalty. Splen
did fires blazed in the ample grates of polished steel
that stood within mantel pieces of the most elabor
ate antique carving, each of which was in itself a
gem of art. At one of the inlaid tables, in a nook
beside the fire, sat his lordship with the Honorable
Augustus Kiskdale. Between them was a Chinese
THE BYRNES OF GLENQOULAH. 215
chess-board of exquisite workmanship both were
most intent on the game. Dowagers and " men of
high degree" played at whist or chatted in groups
around the room. A bunch of young beauties were
laughing merrily with a troop of young military
gentlemen.
Miss Menville was turning the leaves of a scrap-
book, which was gallantly held for her by a youthful
officer of artillery. Her sister Clara was seated at
a magnificent harp, the strings of which she softly
swept with a master touch, often stopping to enjoy
a burst of merry laughter at the remarks of a stiff,
formal-looking baronet, who was turning the leaves
of her music and giving utterance to some sombre
love speeches of his own peculiar invention. Here
was a picture of life, with all its comforts with all
its luxuries.
Without, a wild storm was raging. The wind
roared up the chimneys, crashed furiously against
the heavy stone casements, and ran tearing and
tumbling along the battlements as if meditating the
destruction of the whole building. Then would
come a lull of ominous import, as if the elements
were mustering their forces for a fresh attack.
Hark ! What's that ? A wild gust of snow, sleet,
wind, and driving rain, came gushing madly against
216 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
the shutters of the drawing-room, which however
were of great strength and securely fastened, but
they could not shut out a blinding flash of forked
lightning, followed instantaneously by a tremendous
crash of thunder which rocked the castle to its foun
dations and made the high-born guests turn pale and
shiver with fear. His right reverend lordship, who
had just captured a "king's bishop " from his oppo
nent, covered his face with his trembling hands.
Another clap and crash on the battlements split
the flag-staff through the centre, tore the Union
Jack in shreds, and brought down a stack of chim
neys in the back part of the building. The ladies
gathered in a terrified group around the fire-place
near which his lordship sat, excepting the Misses
Menville, who quite enjoyed the scene. The mirth-
loving Clara fairly danced with glee. " Oh, how
grand ! " she cried. " Howl on, old storm ; 1 love
your music! Oh, for a ramble up the mountains
to-night ! "What say you, Sir William ? " she said
to her grim admirer, who sat stiff and pale with
fright.
A rueful smile lighted up the baronet's face.
" You are full of mirth to-night, Miss Clara."
" Upon my honor I am perfectly serious, sir baro
net." And the young mischief dropped him a stately
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 217
courtesy. " I command you as a true and faithful
knight to follow me. Will you ? or will you not ? "
Before he had time to fashion a reply, sundry
screams and the flight of the ladies to the farthest
corner of the drawing-room made both turn. The
door had been softly opened, and on its threshold
stood a slight girlish form with bare and bleeding
feet, dressed in a long white gown, her dark chest
nut hair flowed down to her waist, and she was per
fectly drenched by the storm.
Even Clara for a moment shrank back appalled
by the apparition. Advancing into the apartment
she seemed to take no notice of the company, but
smiled and courtesied to the chandeliers one by one.
Just then the great bell in the tower chimed foi
midnight. All at once she burst forth in a wild
sweet voice :
" God rest ye. merry Christians,
Upon this blessed morn
The Lord of all good Christiana
Was of a woman bora.
Now all your sorrows he doth heal,
Yonr sins he takes away,
For Jesna Christ our Saviour
Was boru on Christmas Day.
It was poor Norah Cormac. No one had seen
her enter the castle, but she came unheeding the
wild elements, and stood face to face with the wretch
who had robbed her of home, kindred, and reason
218 THE BYRNES OF GLEXGOULAII.
He saw her now by the light of the chandeliers and
knew her perfectly. His eyes scowled like a demon's,
and he cowered over his inlaid table and shaded his
wan face with his hands. JN"orah heeded him not
she was still smiling, nodding, and conversing with
the soft lights shining down on her dripping form.
Clara was the first to approach her. Being satis
fied it was no spirit, she at once surmised her to be
some poor idiot, and her heart was touched with
pity. Advancing toward her she said : ki What is the
matter with you, my poor girl ? You are thoroughly
drenched ; wont you have some dry clothes and a
good supper ? Norah again sang her favorite hymn,
" God rest ye all," etc.
The ladies were quite horrified when Clara ap
proached the unearthly-looking being, who seemed
so unconscious of the presence in which she stood.
"When they saw, however, how young she was, they
began to revive, and her pitiable condition excited
their commiseration. Her reverend ladyship rang
for the servants, greatly to the relief of her reverend
lord, who would have given a goodly sum for the re
moval of Norah. The servants gathered around her
in a group, and their lady ordered them to take her
to the kitchen, and to provide her with dry, warm
clothes, and a comfortable supper ; but the order
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 219
was easier given than executed. Norah would not
move a step for all their entreaties ; she had fixed
her attention on one particular globe in the chande
lier, and kept nodding and speaking rapidly to it in
a low tone.
The bishop feared to speak, but he motioned to
the servants to carry her off at once. The burley
coachman was selected as the ablest, though he ex
hibited the strongest symptoms of disgust at the
idea of lifting that dripping form in his fine clothes.
" My heyes ! " he exclaimed ; " but ain't she wet
though ? my welvet smalls and silken hose will be
utterly ruined ! What shall I do ? " Hereupon he
heaved a deep sigh and made a despairing grab at
Norah. In an instant his powdered wig was flying
into the fire, and his eyes blinded by a dash of long
wet hair. The unfortunate coachman ran for his
life down stairs, upsetting the housemaid in his
rapid descent, and causing such fright and consterna
tion among the rest of the servants that none of
them would enter the room again for anybody's
order.
CHAPTER XYIII.
OLAKA again approached the maniac girl and said,
gently, " My poor child, I wish to be your friend,"
and she took her cold wet hand in hers; "do come
with me to the warm fire, and let me give you dry
clothes. Now I know you will come with me," and
she tried to draw her gently. Norah was like a
lamb in her hands until she moved ; but she then re
sisted, and exclaimed : " Oh, no, no ! I could not eat
here. I wont have dry clothing ! I will never be
warm again ! Oh ! you don't know where I was to
night. When the wind was tearing up the trees*
and the thunder crashing as if all the heavens were
falling, I was sitting calm and quiet on her grave
singing ! You did not know her, she's gone to God ;
she died this night, and she always makes me sing
that hymn." Here she again sang softly " God rest
ye," etc. Clara once more tried to draw her away ;
but Norah frowned, and again cried : " No, no !
Not for all the world would I sit by his fire ! If I
ate a bit it would choke me ! She was my mother ;
and she had no one to love but me. I sat on her
THE BYKNKS OF GLKNGOULAH. 221
grave to-night in Tinmanogue in all the storm, and
she bid me come and see him. No one knows how
I got into the castle ! Ha, ha, ha ! I wont tell that ;
no, no, he'll never know that ! Ha, ha, ha ! It was
he sent her to the grave and left me lonely !" And
the poor girl looked so woe-begone up in Clara's face
that the young lady's eyes filled with tears. " Who
left you lonely, my poor girl ?"
" Biggs ; old Biggs over there !" arid she tossed her
head in the direction of the splendid chessboard,
whose kings and knights now lay unheeded, for the
whole company were listening in breathless silence
to the wailings of the young maniac. " He's a bishop
now, they say. Ha, ha, ha ! He turned her out on
the road as cold and as wet a day as this, and she
died from it. She bid rne come and let him put me
out again ; and then I'll go home to God. That's
what brought me here to-night. He must do it
himself ; I'll make him ! Ha, ha, ha ! God rest
ye," etc.
" My poor girl, your fears are groundless ; the
bishop would not harm you." She grasped Clara's
arm. " Not harm me ? You don't know him. He
offered my mother a lease forever of the home owned
by the Cormacs for 200 years if she'd sell my soul to
the Protestants, but she would not do it for all the
222 THE BYKNES OF GLENGOULAH.
gold he has, and he put her out in the torrents of
rain in her sick bed. Mrs. Dargan took us both to
her house for the love of God, but my mother died
on Christinas eve."
" But, my poor child, he would not harm, you."
Clara's tears flowed down her cheeks.
" I will tell you it was me he wanted. Didn't he
send Faulkner, the Bible-reader, to bring me along to
school ? But he couldn't catch me, though. Ha, ha,
ha! He chased me; but he couldn't catch me. Ha,
ha, ha ! When I think of it I laugh 'till I cry again.
I thought of it sitting on her grave to-night, and I
roared out laughing, only the thunder smothered my
voice." The laugh of this poor maniac was perfectly
appalling, and made the wretched tyrant shiver with
terror.
Norah continued : " Do you know what I did ?
That lightning flash did not speed quicker through
the black heavens to-night than I flew till I got to
the river bank, and in I jumped. It was high water
too, and I was swept down, down I don't know any
more ; and I never could remember anything since.
There was always some confusion here" (putting her
hands to her temples), " but it all came back to me
to-night the storm brought it all back, and she told
me how we were dragged out in the torrents from
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 223
our home. I took a fancy to dress in white always ;
I think it a pretty dress." (And she looked down
complacently at, her wet and tattered garment.)
" The boys used to call me white lady, some of them ;
others called me crazy Norah, and all sorts of names,
in fun ; but they never hurt me." Clara caught at
the idea. " Well, ISTorah, I have a sweet white dress
of my own, wliich I will give you ; come, let us try
it on, and see if it will fit." Lord Biggs would have
given half his estate to be out of the room, but he
feared to stir. Now, however, he took the opportunity
of the change in her conversation, and was gliding
quietly to the door. In a twinkling Norah was hold
ing on to his arm with a death grasp. His teeth ac
tually chattered with dread. " Ha, ha, ha ! Old
Biggs ! did you think you could escape me f Do
you think I crossed the mountains to-night with
torn and bleeding feet, in all the wild storm, to let
you oif without doing her bidding ? I'd tear you
in bits easier than your bull dog tore my dress, if
you didn't do her bidding ! " Her eyes gleamed on
him with a maniac tire that froze the blood in his
veins. " She bid me not leave the castle until you
put me out in the torrents, as you did before from
our home ; and then you'll see me no more, for God
said he'd take me to His home then. Do you hear
224: THE BYRNES OF GLKNGOULA.H.
me, Biggs ? " (And she shook the wretched man with
that supernatural strength peculiar to maniacs.
" Come, come on ! God's messengers are waiting
for me, and her bidding must be done."
He looked imploringly around. A young officer
made an adroit movement to pinion her arms be
hind, but she blinded him, as she did the burly
coachman, by a slap of her long wet hair.
All drew back in terror. Clara alone seemed to
retain her presence of mind.
"Lead her down, uncle," she said ; "humor her
and when she's once outside I will go with her down
the steps and coax her around to the kitchen door."
" Come, come ! " cried Norah, clutching his arm ;
'* I can't let you wait." So down he led her to the
great hall, followed closely by Clara, who flew into
the back hall and secured a couple of cloaks. Her
aunt, shaking like one in an ague fit, watched the
scene amid her guests from the grand staircase.
Biggs opened the door, and Norah once more
singing out
" God rest ye, merry Christians,"
walked out into the wild storm. Clara was spring
ing after her, but her uncle pushed her back, slam
med the door violently, locked it, and then fell
fainting to the floor.
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAII. 225
In a moment be was surrounded by bis sympa
thizing friends, who raised and supported him to a
seat.
Terrific flashes of lurid lightning and crashing
thunder now followed in quick succession.
" Oh ! God of Heaven ! Think of that poor idiot
child out in such a storm ! " cried Clara ; " she will
die ! Oh ! let me follow and save her ! "
She ran to the door ; but the guests interposed,
and her aunt, turning upon her a withering look,
exclaimed
" Miss Clara Menville, I order you to your room
instantly. You have made a sufficient fool of your
self to-night."
Poor Clara burst into a passion of tears, and
Lieutenant Cordell (the same who tried to pinion
Norah) approaching, assured her in a low, rapid
voice that he would go out and seek the idiot girl.
So Clara was forced to retire to her room.
The young lieutenant was true to his word. Ac
companied by a brother officer, and a couple of
servants bearing lanterns, they searched the whole
demesne and could find no trace of the poor ma
niac wanderer. They returned to the castle per
fectly drenched.
Meantime his lordship was conveyed to his bed-
10*
226 THE BYRNES OF GLKXGOULAH.
room, where restoratives were administered by his
valet. The unhappy man was really sick with ter
ror, and shook on his couch of down like one in a
palsy.
Two hours later the wind gradually subsided and
died away in hoarse murmurs, and the rain was suc
ceeded by a thick fall of drifting snow.
About four o'clock in the morning every inmate
of the castle which was now dark and still was
aroused by a low mournful cry. It sounded like
nothing they had ever heard before ; half like the
howl of a dog, and half like a human shriek low
in its tones, yet piercing to the very heart. So dis
tinctly was it heard by all that each one fancied it
came from some being outside his own window.
A few minutes silence ensued, and, as they list
ened for a repetition, was heard a faint voice sing
ing slowly
" Now all my sorrows He will heal,
My sins He'll take away,
For Jesus Christ, our Saviour,
Was born on Christmas day."
An interval of a few seconds, and the voice again
sang slower and fainter
" Saviour
Was born on Christmas day!'*
In vain they listened it was heard no more.
Clara had lain down, but c >uld not sleep lor
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAII. 227
thinking of the 'poor maniac, and now she was
quite delighted to hear her voice once more.
Arising, she went to the window, softly opened
the shutters, and tried to peer out into the darkness.
Pier window looked out upon the Ovoca, and that
enchanting valley " where the bright waters meet."
The dark river, swollen by the late rains, rushed
rapidly and silently on ; the winds were all hushed,
a peaceful calm rested on the lovely hills, while the
enow fell in great soft flakes, arraying them in robes
of white on that blessed Christmas morn.
Clara closed her window very softly, and stole
back to bed. Her heart was comforted to think
poor Norah had not been lost in that frightful
storm ; then her thoughts turned upon the revela
tions of the maniac girl, and she writhed with
indignation and shame to think any of her con
nections should persecute people for worshipping
God in the old faith of Christian Europe ; then her
thoughts flew back to that very night twelve months
ago, when, in the city of London, she accompanied a
party of friends of high rank (who had become con-
verts)to midnight mass, and heard in one of those
beautiful churches erected by Pugin the grand or
gan rolling in glorious harmony through the vaulted
roof as the choir sang that magnificent hymn that
228 THE BYKNES OF GLENGOULAH.
fell from the lips of angels through the golden
clouds of morn eighteen hundred years ago :
" Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth to men of good will I "
Clara's eyes filled with tears and her heart with a
new emotion. She resolved to leave no exertion
untried to create a new order of things on her
uncle's estate, and to begin by hunting up Norah
next day and providing everything for her comfort.
The great clock of the castle struck five, and Clara,
thinking and resolving, fell gradually off to sleep.
She dreamed she was again going to midnight mass
in London, but she had no carriage as before ; the
snow fell fast as she found herself traversing alone
the sedgy banks of the Ovoca, half blinded by the
snow and cutting her feet with the briars and stones.
After weary travelling she seemed to reach the
church, and a bright light shone around. She lis
tened entranced to the grand choir singing. Look
ing up she could see no organ, no roof but soft
clouds of translucent light seemed to open, and a
troop of angels, with rapturous adoration, sang :
" Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth to men of good will 1 "
"Watching those celestial forms she was surprised
to see that one smiled down upon her who had
bleeding feet and a tattered white garment. Gaz
ing at the countenance she recognized the features
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 229
of the young maniac girl, but her face was now ra
diant as the sun, and a wreath of glory rested on her
long dark hair. Every moment she seemed to grow
brighter, and to ascend higher and higher, until the
clouds closed beneath her blistered feet and dark
ness reigned around.
Clara, turning upon her side, fell into a deeper
sleep, from which she did not awaken until the
great bell rang to summon the household to break
fast.
CHAPTER XIX.
Clara's door gently opened, and her maid peeped
in.
" I am awake, Palmer," she said ; " come along."
Emma Palmer came in and busied herself about her
young lady, but Clara saw she was troubled by some
secret which she was dying to relate. Guessing it to
be the supernatural cry which had been heard in
the night, she good-naturedly resolved to gratify her.
" What's the matter, Palmer ?" " Oh, nothing, Miss
Clara ; I hops you slept well last night, Miss."
" Why, Emma child, you must certainly feel sick,
for you are pale as a ghost, and drawing great heavy
sighs constantly ; are you in any pain ?"
" Oh, Miss Clara, I am not in any pain ; but I wish
we was back again safe in England."
" What are you afraid of, child ?"
" Oh, Miss Clara, I feel so nervous ; I shall never
enjoy nothing in this country any more. They say the
castle is haunted ; we all heard the most dolefulest
cries last night after the rain ceased ! I'm sure such
Bounds never came from the lips of any human crea-
THE I5YUXES OF GLENGOULAH. 2ol
ture it was a most awful cry ; then a voice began
to sing. Oh, Miss Clara, my heart runs cold I can't
tell you what was found on the front steps of the
hall door !"
" Tell me instantly, Palmer ; what do you mean ?'
speak !
" Oh, Miss Clara, don't be angry with me. "When
the stable-boy went to clear the snow off the marble
steps this morning he seed a great pile of snow, as he
thought, and took his shovel to it, but could not
move it. He called the groom ; and what did they
find, think you ? Oh, Miss Clara, it was that poor
crazy girl, frozen to death !"
" Oh, God ! Don't tell me she is dead ! " cried
Clara, springing to her feet.
" Miss Clara, I seed her myself," sobbed Palmer ;
" she's stone dead."
" Oh God, have mercy on me ! Oh why did I not
fly to her when I heard her singing why, why did
I let her perish ? " And Clara wrung her hands and
wept bitterly. "Does the bishop know about this,
Palmer ? "
" No, Miss Clara ; the valet said he was so nervous
and frightened last night that no one should tell
him ; and they sent for a doctor, and the coroner,
and the magistrates."
232 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
" Who did all this ? "
" Mr. Margin, the agent ; please you, Miss Clara."
" Well, the bishop must be told of it ; he has a
duty to fulfil. I will go to him instantly, and tell
him myself. I do not care for his displeasure."
Away flew Clara in her dressing-gown. Thomp
son, the valet, opened the door at her knock, and told
her his lordship was dressing.
" Well, he wont mind me. I must see him."
She rushed past Thompson and, unannounced,
confronted the bishop, who was sitting at his toilet
table.
" Oh, uncle ! 1 w-aet to tell your lordship some
thing most important."
For a few moments sobs choked her utterance and
large tears rolled down her cheeks.
" Have the goodness to explain yourself, Miss,"
exclaimed the bishop, in a cold, authoritative voice,
which roused Clara's indignation.
" My lord, the unfortunate maniac girl whom you
prevented me from accompanying last night lies
frozen to death at your door ! "
" Well, what if she does ? I did my best to shel
ter and save her, but she was wilfully bent on her
own destruction. You were a witness to that your
self."
THE BYKNES OF GLENGOULAH. 233
" No, no I my lord ; she would not accept a shel
ter here, but I could have brought her to some other
and saved her."
He pretended not to hear her, and affected com
posure.
"Thompson, send immediately for Mr. Margin,
and let him see to all that is necessary."
*' He has been here an hour ago, my lord, and
done all you would wish."
" I am much obliged to him. Then let the mat
ter be mentioned to me no more, unless the coroner
should need my testimony."
His frigid indifference provoked Clara beyond en
durance.
" My lord, my lord ; I fear there has been a foul
wrong done somewhere."
The face of the bishop grew livid with rage, and
the old tiger-light flashed from his eyes.
Thompson withdrew to the outer room, but took
care to be in good hearing distance.
" Did you come here to dictate to me, madam ?
I do not forget your conduct last night. Only for
your low propensities, I could have had that pauper
instantly dismissed from my presence ; but you fos
tered and encouraged her idle, malicious tales in the
very presence of ray guests. Yes, madam, to in-
231 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
dulge your morbid sensibility, you allowed a driv
elling idiot to falsify the character of your own re
lation, who is, moreover, an elderly dignitary of the
Church, and that in his own house."
" It is false ! utterly false ! " exclaimed Clara.
" When the poor victim first spoke of her wrongs
I had no idea who her persecutor was. My lord,
' children and fools speak truth,' and I now believe
all she said. I also believe the Almighty would not
sufter an innocent sheep to perish at the door of the
pastor if he were worthy of the name."
She walked indignantly from the room and
slammed the door after her like a cannon ball.
Now all his pretended indifference vanished ; he
shook convulsively, and clutched at the table for
support. Wretched tyrant ! He writhed under the
lash of public opinion, for he drank in those bitter
words of Clara : " Children and idiots speak truth."
Well he knew that old adage had passed through
more minds than her's ; he read it in the faces of
his guests in the drawing-room last night, all worldly
though most of them were. And now Oh ! that
dreaded inquest the thought was torture. All his
long catalogue of extortions and persecutions would
become common topics of conversation, and his as
sumed mask of sanctity would be rudely torn away
THE BYRNES OF GLENGODLAH. 235
Finding himself unable to support those bitter re
flections and yet appear calm, he resolved to remain
in his room and play the compassionate pastor, over
come by his feelings for one of his lost flock who
would not be saved. Accordingly Thompson brought
him up a dainty breakfast in a service of silver and
gold.
About noon the coroner arrived, and a dense
crowd of people from town and country. It was
many a long day since the noble lawn before the
castle was filled by so many honest faces and feeling
hearts. Among the rest was the venerable Father
Esmond in the carriage with Mr. De Courcy. Al
though scarce able to breathe, he came with the
sympathizing crowd to honor that old branch of the
Cormacs. Mrs. Dargan and her son were also there
in their jaunting car, with a hearse following behind
them containing a handsome coffin and white plumes.
The report had spread like wildfire that Biggs had
pushed the idiot girl out in the storm, and that she
lay down on the threshold and died of cold !
The coroner, who was an upright man, and anxious
to elicit truth, summoned every inmate of the castle
to give evidence.
Lord Biggs made a great show of regret at the
obstinacy of the crazy girl, declaring that no father
236 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH".
could be more anxious for the welfare of his child,
but no effort of his or of his household could save
her.
The testimony of her ladyship and the guests and
the servants followed ; but the spectators were little
inclined to believe any of them until Clara came
forward ; and her evidence was given with so much
straightforwardness and real feeling that all hearts
were inclined in her favor.
"When requested by Mr. De Courcy to state if she
could account for the idiot girl seeming to feel
kindly toward her, yet refusing her proffered assist
ance, Clara hesitated a im aent, and then said
"The poor child evir'jntly harbored the impres
sion that his lordship .,iad injured her, and nothing
could induce her to accept his hospitality, although
the bishop was most anxious to have every attention
paid her."
Lieutenant Cordell testified to Miss Menville's
desire to accompany the girl, and how she had pro
vided cloaks for the purpose, but was prevented by
her friends from sacrificing her life on such a ter
rific night but that he and Capt. Windham had
taken a couple of servants and lanterns and gone
over the whole domain without finding a trace of
her. The people at the different lodges declared
THE BYENES OF GLENGOULAH. 237
she did not pass through the gates, so he was satis
fied she had hidden away somewhere, and that a
further search was useless. He said he had no doubt,
like many maniacs, she had had a presentiment of
her approaching death, and had taken the resolution
of dying at the door of one whom (no doubt) her
overwrought imagination had deemed her persecutor.
Biggs withdrew immediately after Clara's testimony.
A verdict was returned of " Death caused by expos
ure to the cold and wet."
After the verdict was rendered Margin came for
ward, and said " it was his lordship's wish to have
everything regarding the funeral conducted in the
most becoming manner and at his expense." A
storm of voices replied, " No, no, never ! "We'll bury
her ourselves. "We want none of his money !"
Here Mrs. Dargan's son came forward, and said his
mother had already provided a coffin and hearse to
carry her home ; and at her house all who respected
the house of Cormac could see the remains of the
young maniac laid out as became a Christian.
This announcement was received with murmurs of
applause cheers were dispensed with out of respect
to the departed. The remains were tenderly borne
to Mrs. Dargau's, and having been waked for two
nights, according to custom, were carried to Tin
238 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
manogue on the shoulders of the neighbors the
empty hearse following after and deposited be
side those of her father and mother.
The funeral cortege was the longest seen in that
part of the country since the death of Mr. de
Courcy's father.
Glengoulah Castle was shut up and the blinds
drawn down. His lordship dispatched messengers
postponing the festivities indefinitely, and most of
the guests departed for their homes.
CHAPTER XX.
THE Misses Menville wrote to their father request
ing to be taken home. Pending their father's reply
the young ladies were scarcely noticed by their aunt
and uncle.
Taking advantage of the liberty thus afforded
they frequently drove out in a little pony phaeton,
accompanied only by a footman. They one day
visited the Presentation convent of Ardmore, and
were perfectly delighted with the whole establish
ment, especially the schools attached to it, where the
beautiful lace fabrics and straw-plaiting, made by
the children, excited their wonder and admiration.
Here was the lie direct given to the oft-repeated
tales of the wilful ignorance of the Irish people, and
the lamentable darkness in which they were kept by
their priests. Both young ladies questioned many
of the children on different subjects, and were sur
prised at the quick intelligence of their replies, as
well as their respectful and polite demeanor.
They confessed to each other the superiority in
this respect of the Irish peasantry over those of their
24:0 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
own country; and could not help contrasting the
difference in the mode of education, and the happy
looks of the children, with their uncle's false and
forced system.
They drew from the superioress the whole partic
ulars of Norah Cormac's birth and education. She
seemed at first unwilling to speak harshly of Lord
Biggs out of respect to their feelings, but Clara told
her what the maniac girl had said about the Bible-
reader and their subsequent ejectment from their
home, so the superioress then told them the whole
truth, and the sorrows and persecutions endured by
the whole Catholic population who were under his
lordship's dominion. They left a large donation for
the schools and returned.
Clara came once again alone. She said her
father had written and would be there next day, so
they would be leaving immediately for England.
" I came to ask a favor of you, Reverend Mother,"
she said, blushing deeply. " It is to remember me
in your prayers. Mother, I am not happy ; my
mind is not at rest ; " and her eyes filled with tears,
as did those of the good mother.
" My dear young lady, calm yourself," she re
plied ; " I feel assured you are very dear to the sa
cred heart of Jesus, and that he has great designs
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAII. 24:1
on your soul. "We have anticipated your wishes
already, dear child, and daily recite a bead for you
and your sister, to whose generosity we are so much
indebted ; but we will say additional prayers for
you especially for the future. And now I want you
to confer a small favor on me in return."
As she spoke she unlocked an escritoire which
stood in a recess, and took from one of the compart
ments a gold medal of Mary Immaculate. Present
ing it to Clara, she said : " Now promise me, dear
young lady, to wear this constantly, and daily recite
one ' Hail Mary' for light to guide you to the right
path." Do not let sneers or frowns deter you from
wearing this holy medal, which is blessed in the
Catholic Church, remembering the words of Scrip
ture ' Every creature of God is good, and nothing
to be rejected that is received with thanksgiving,
for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.'
" Should any of your friends laugh at you for
venerating a bit of metal, remind them how the
Israelites were cured of a venomous bite by looking
on a piece of metal made in the form of a serpent."
Clara, sobbing, promised faithfully- to fulfil the
request of the nun.
The superioress embraced her warmly and they
parted.
11
242 THE BYKNE8 OF GLENGOULAH.
The following year Clara had the happiness to be
come acquainted in London with dear Father Faber
the very angel of converts and under his spiritual
guidance she, with the consent of her father, entered
the one sheepfold of the one shepherd !
The death of Norah Cormac, under such circum
stances, did not serve to increase the popularity of
Biggs he became more obnoxious than ever; and,
as if to defy public opinion still more, he showed his
petty malignity by impounding every cow and pig
that grazed along the road belonging to the poor
cottiers. It was whispered in circles, too, where his
habits were best known, that his applications to the
madeira and claret in his cellar were more frequent
than appeared seemly for a preacher of the gospel
it was so quietly conducted, however, that, but for
Mr. Thompson's confidential communications to the
housekeeper, this weakness in such a shining pillar
of the Church would never be known.
Some months passed away his lady and sisters
were on a visit to some friends in England, and were
not expected home until Christmas.
In the month of November Lord Biggs went to a
dinner-party at Colonel Dickson's, whose estate lay
contiguous to Glengoulah.
As he was returning home, about an hour after
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 243
midnight, a shot was fired at him. He was riding
in a small carriage, driven by the brave Jacob, so
noted for his slender understandings.
The carriage had passed through the great gate,
and his lordship, expressing a wish to alight, was as
sisted from it by the porter at the lodge, and he
walked up the avenue. He had ascended the steps
and knocked at the hall door, when he heard the re
port of the gun and saw a man running. He ran
down the steps and tried o overtake the man, but
fell in the attempt. On getting up he screamed for
help, and then the door was opened and lights
brought out, but the intended assassin was beyond
their reach. A posse of police were sent for in-
stanter, and while one portion were detailed to follow
in the direction taken by the man who fired the shot,
another portion, acting as a body-guard, accompanied
his lordship to a magistrate to make depositions.
The bishop expressed a wish to make his charges
to Mr. De Courcy, for malignant reasons of his own,
and they accordingly proceeded to Cascade House.
Mr. De Courcy and his household were all in bed,
but the servants were soon aroused and showed the
party into the library.
On learning their errand Mr. De Courcy came
down in his dressing gown, and bowed coldly and
244 THE BYKNES OF GLENGOULAH.
formally to his lordship. The bishop addressed him
immediately :
" Sir, one of your immaculate peasantry has at
tempted to murder me this night."
Mr. De Courcy unlocked his escritoire, seated
himself, pen in hand, and, calling upon the constab
ulary present to act as witnesses, said to the bishop :
" You wish to make depositions, I presume."
" It was for that purpose I came here."
" Haley " (to one of the policemen), " please present
that Bible to his lordship. You will please swear
to the truth of the statement you are going to make."
" I can have no hesitation in doing so ; " and he
touched the book with his lips.
He then detailed the circumstances as just related.
" Do you think from the report was it a pistol, my
lord, or a gun, which was fired at you ? "
" It was a gun."
" You judge so from the report ? "
" Not that alone ; I saw the gun in the villain's
hand."
" Oh, you saw him, then ? "
" Yes ; most distinctly. I saw his countenance
fully, and looked at his profile. His face is indelibly
fixed on my mind.. There was no moon, but it was
dusk, or darkish twilight."
THE BYKNES OF GLENGOULAH. 245
" Do you know who he is ? "
" No ; the scoundrel is a stranger to me."
" Have you reason to suspect any one, my lord ? "
" Yes, sir. You well know I have reason to suspect
the whole vile crew of my tenantry, any one of whom
would gladly take my life ; but this wretch, I pre
sume, is a stranger, whom they hired to murder me,
being too cowardly to do it themselves. I have no
doubt that it is a plot that has been long in contem
plation."
Mr. De Courcy turned upon him a stern look.-
" My lord, you must confine yourself to facts. I can
not notice your comments. This is not the place for
them. Has your lordship any further facts to re
late?"
" No."
The deposition having been duly read over, wit
nessed, and signed, his lordship and guard took their
departure.
As Mr. De Courcy sat at breakfast next morning
with his family, he was surprised to see the bishop's
carriage stopping at the door, and his lordship and
guard alighting from it. He received them in the
library as before.
" I have come, sir, to make a new statement,"
said Biggs.
THE BYKNES OF GLENGOULAH.
Mr. De Courcy again opened his escritoire, and
prepared to write.
" I was so confused last night from excitement,"
proceeded his lordship, " that I could not .recollect
who my intended murderer was ; but when alone in
the silence of my chamber since I recalled his fea
tures, and remembered him to be a man whom I
ejected from my land some few years ago. He has
been prowling about this neighborhood ever since,
as a laborer. His name is Dempsey Bryan Demp-
Bey."
Mr. De Courcy fixed a scrutinizing look upon the
bishop as he uttered these words, and demanded
" My lord, have you been drinking strong liquors
since I took your deposition ? "
" Certainly not."
" Do you remember you swore point blank, in the
presence of witnesses, that you had a perfect view
of the man's face, that his countenance was indeli
bly fixed on your mind, and that he was a stranger
to you ? "
" Yes ; but I recalled his features since."
" And you would now swear that what you swore
a few hours ago was untrue? "
" I tell you I recollected his features since."
Mr. De Courcy closed his escritoire.
THE BYRNES OF GLKNGOULAII. 247
" My lord bishop, I must remind you I am a mag
istrate, and not accustomed to allow any man to
treat me with indignity."
" Then yon refuse to take my deposition ? "
"Most decidedly. You must go elsewhere with
your trifling ; it will receive no toleration from me."
He departed, foaming with rage, and betook him
self to Margin, in whom he found a willing tool.
CHAPTER XXI.
IT was two o'clock in the cottage of Bryan Demp-
eey. He and Winnie, with their three youngest
children, had just sat down to dinner the two
older ones were at school in Tinmanogue with Mr.
Rafferty.
One little girl of four years sat beside her father,
who peeled her potatoes and divided Ins attentions
between her and a blooming little fellow of two
years, who sat opposite, beside his mother. Winnie
held the baby a fine infant of five months on her
lap, and fed it and herself together.
Winnie still looked very young and pretty, and
was always neat and tidy in her person and house.
Their little cottage contained but two rooms. The
inner one, which you caught, a glimpse of through
the half-open door, contained a good old-fashioned
bed, with curtains of dark chintz and fringed pillow
slip. Beside it was a kneeling-chair, or Prie Dieu,
of painted wood. Those were the gifts of her
mother to Winnie on her marriage.
Over this chair, suspended on the wall, hunjj
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 249
several little framed pictures around a large-sized
one of the Crucifixion, which formed a centre-piece.
Our Blessed Lady repairing a child's garment, St.
Joseph planing a board, and the Divine Infant be
tween both, crumbling with his tiny lingers a piece
of bread among a group of little chickens, formed
the subject of one of the small pictures rudely ex
ecuted, but exquisitely touching in design. Another
was the infant St. John carrying a lamb bigger
than himself. A third was St. Patrick, dressed in
full pontificals, standing in a commanding attitude
with his finger pointing to the ocean, while a whole
crowd of snakes, toads, and serpents, bounded or
crawled as quickly as they could into the foaming
waves, apparently very glad to escape from his for
midable-looking crozier. A fourth was St. Bridget,
wrapt in meditation before her inextinguishable fire
in the " Holy Fane of Kildare."
A font of white delf hung close to the bed's head
containing holy water, and a rosary hanging upon
it completed the spiritual ornaments. The re
mainder of the furniture was humble but comforta
ble.
In the outer room or kitchen the ample fire-place
had its usual pile of blazing turf.
Before this fire Bryan and Winnie were now eat-
11*
25 > THE BYRNES OF GLENG^ULAU.
ing their mid-day meal, as it is called, though it was
two o'clock, the hour when all the laboring people
take their dinner.
Opposite the front door of the cottage was another
door leading to the little garden and potatoe-
patch. A. short partition protruded a little from
this door, which hid from observation a settle bed
that came down at night and accommodated the lit
tle boys with a sleeping apartment, and folded up
in the day under a curtain effectually concealing it.
The whole wall at this side was covered by a dresser,
the pride of Winnie's heart, and the admiration of
all who saw it. Here burnished tin, copper, delft,
and china, contended for mastery. Each shelf was
a study, and the coup cPoeil a mass of brilliancy per
fectly dazzling to look upon.
lu a nook near by was an alarm clock, which kept
time to perfection, and two shelves containing their
limited library.
A table white as snow stood under the window,
and chairs white as the table were disposed around
the apartment.
Over the fire-place was a portrait of a burly look
ing gentleman with a massive head, good humored
face, and twinkling eye, dressed in a coat of bright
green while a scroll in his hand labeled " Repeal"
TH 1C P.YKXKH OF GLKNGOULAH. 251
told plainly as possible that it was the portrait of
the renowned Daniel O'Connell, Esq.,M. P. Beside
this picture was another of a lady dressed in the
height of fashion sitting before a looking-glass, giv
ing, as we may suppose, the last finishing touch to
her complexion, when she discovers, reflected in the
looking-glass, the figure of a great gaunt skeleton
close beside her, leaning on a scythe of very ex
tensive dimensions. Without further ceremony he
informs her she has to go with him. while she, not
at all relishing the invitation, remonstrates in most
moving language, to which he replies in terms more
convincing than entertaining. The dialogue being
printed underneath was a source of great edification
to Bryan's visitors, who considered it a neat and
instructive composition.
The outside of the cottage was literally covered
with woodbine and Siberian honeysuckles, wherein
Winnie displayed her early taste ; and among the
vines hung three cages, containing a lark, a gold
finch, and a thrush, whose combined voices kept the
neighborhood in melodious strains " from early morn
till set of sun."
Winnie herself often helped the feathered song
sters.
When washing or scouring off her tables
252 1HE BYKNES OF GLENGODLAH.
chairs she would rattle off " The Rakes of Kildare,''
" Kitty's Rambles," or some other equally lively
air ; or she would sing for the baby as a lullaby that
beautiful old melody, " I'm asleep and don't awaken
me," till the birds sat thoughtfully o . their perches
and listened. .It was a pleasant little home, though
not a rich one, for peace and virtue dwelt beneath
its roof.
" Ah, then, Bryan," said Winnie, " did you think
of asking Mrs. Keigan how she felt the rheumatics
this year ?"
" 'Deed, then, it never once crost my mind."
" Oh, shame on you, Bryan ; and you two nights
under the same roof with Jier ! How in the world
did you forget it ?"
" Well, I didn't hear her complainin' ; and then, I
didn't think of it. Anyway she was as spry as any
of us, around the fire every night, singin' songs and
tellin' ghost stories we did not go to bed era night
till past ten o'clock."
" Is that the work you were at ? Indeed I heard
some of John Keigan's ghost adventures before now
and laughed till I cried again he's the devil all out,
at invention. Did he tell you about the night him-
self and Pat Rourke met the big buck goat down
by Kitturnen church-yui d ?"
THE BYKNES OF GLENGOTJLAH. 253
" Did he ? Ha, ha, ha, ha ! Sure I thought my
sides would split. Pershume to you, for one John
every time I think of it I have to go off. Ha, ha, ha,
ha ! The laugh was contagious, for Winnie threw
back her head in a kink, while the baby kicked and
crowed, and the other little ones laughed uproar
iously.
"Winnie wiped her eyes in her apron and was just
resuming her dinner when a shadow crossed the
open door and a constable entered the cottage.
Alas for poor Winnie and her little ones ! That
shadow was the most woeful that ever fell upon
their lives. Long did the memory of that heartfelt
laugh of poor Bryan's ring through the pleasant cot
tage, now dark forevermore that laugh, so indica
tive of a peaceful conscience, for truly does the poet
sing:
" I never heard a hearty laugh
Come out a villain's throat."
At sight of the constable Winnie turned pale as
death. She had never seen one, since their eviction
from their farm, without an inward ejaculation ; and
now again the baneful shadow stood within their
home and all strength left her.
Bryan, though he had as little love foi the genus
as Winnie, was too mindful of his hospitable
duties, and possessed too much of that inborn refine-
254 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
inent so remarkable in all Irishmen from the hum
blest peasant in his cot to the lord in his palace to
appear embarrassed, nor did he feel so in reality, for
his soul was guiltless.
" God save you, honest man ! " he cried cheerfully ;
" wont you sit and take share of our meal ? It
is not much, but it's the best we have, and you're
kindly welcome to it."
" Thank you, no ! Does Bryan Dempsey live
here?"
" Bedad he does, sure enough ; that's my name,
sir."
" You will have to come with me to Mr. Margin's
office."
"Mr. Margin's office? I think there must be
some mistake. I have no dealings with Mr. Margin,
nor hadn't for years."
" Didn't you hear the news, Mr. Dempsey ? "
" No, sir ; I heard no news."
" The lord bishop of Glengoulah was shot at last
night."
"Good God! was he though? And is he killed ?"
"No. He had a narrow escape of death."
" Thank God ! I'm glad the unlucky old sinner
wasn't killed in his sins."
The constable eyed him narrowly.
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 255
" They think you know something about it, Demp-
sey."
" Me, sir? Oh, bedad ; you're jokin' now in earnest.
If he wasn't to die till I'd shoot him, he'd be a
long-lived man ; and don't they know who done it ? "
" I can't tell yet ; but I was ordered to bring you
to Margin's office. If you feel you are innocent, you
can't object to come with me."
" Oh, sorra an objection I have. I wasn't even at
home since last Tuesday. I was eight miles from
here at a cousin's of my own, diggin' their potatoes.
I'm only in town since nine o'clock this mornin',
God be praised ! "
" Well, my good man, you can state all this on
your examination ; it is useless to tell me." It is
evident the constable was prepossessed in favor of
the man from his transparent honesty. Bryan arose
and took his hat. Winnie had not uttered a word
since the constable came in, but sat with lips apart
and dilated eye-balls, catching every word that fell
from him. Now, that she saw her loved husband
about to depart with him, an undefined sense
of harm to come took possession of her mind,
and restored to her a momentary strength. She
started wildly from her seat, hurriedly laid her baby
in its cradle, and clasping him frantically in her
256 THE BYK-NE3 OF GLENGOULAH.
arms, exclaimed : " Brvan ! Brvan, asthore : machree 1
* /
Don't go near them. Don't you know that villainous
Biggs thirsts for my father's blood ? and seeiu' him
beyond his reach, he will murder him through you!
Darlin' of my heart, he will never let you out of his
clutches, and your poor Winnie will see you no
more! Oh, God pity me! Bryan, don't go near
them blood-hounds ; they're on your track ! I see it
all before me ; your innocence wont save you with
them they don't care for guilt or innocence ; they
want the poor man's blood, and little trouble they'll
take to find out the truth so as they have the victim 1 "
" Winnie, my poor colleen ! " said Bryan, tenderly.
" Don't let your fears make you spake so foolish.
Don't you know there's law in the land ? and it's
against common sense to think they can swear
away my life, when I have plenty to prove I was
eight miles from the place where they say the crime
was committed! Nonsense, Winnie ! have sense.
I'll be home wid you to-night, or to-morrow at
furthest, please God."
" Oh Bryan, my own true husband ! " and Winnie
wept convulsively on his breast. The children all
commenced screaming as they saw their mother cry.
Poor Bryan went from one to another, embraced
Ihem hastily, and hurried away with the constable.
CHAPTER XXII.
MANY of the neighbors had gathered in when
they heard the cries and saw Bryan Dempsey in the
company of a constable. Curses, heavy and deep,
were unsparingly bestowed upon "Biggs, and the
whole crew of murdherin' thieves." The shadow
of a doubt of Bryan's innocence never crossed the
mind of one individual; he had not an enemy on
earth but the wretches in whose presence he was
about to stand, nor did even they hate him person
ally ; he was but a tool used for the maintenance of
the sordid landed interest. When he arrived at
Margin's a posse of policemen were waiting to con
vey him to the castle, in the hall of which were
assembled some country people and several magis
trates. Margin, taking Dempsey by the shoulder,
placed him among about twenty country people,
and then proceeded with the farce of an examina
tion.
" Now, my lord, cast your eyes over yondei
crowd and see if you can recognize your intended
murderer."
258 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
" Yes ; I see him there among the crowd. It is
Bryan Dempsey. He is the man who knocked me
down with a horse-pistol. I now recognize him
fully; he repeated the blow five or six times. I
struggled with him, and knocked him down once."
A warrant was issued immediately for the arrest
and imprisonment of Bryan Dempsey in Ardmore
jail. Before night people of wealth and position
offered any amount of bail for the temporary release
of Bryan until the day of trial, but no bail would be
taken.
It would be vain to attempt describing the an
guish of poor Winnie, although she was surrounded
by that sympathizing charity so abundant in the
Irish heart for those in misfortune. One of the
neighbors had started oif for her parents and soon
she had her loved family about her, but their very
presence seemed to make her miss him more. She
would start every moment, thinking she heard his
step, or the sound of his voice, and going to the door
would strain her eyes wildly down the Ardmore
road, and return moaning bitterly, exclaiming, " Oh,
no ! no ! My heart's life, you'll never come that road
again ! " To reason with her was vain. She said
her heart told her the face of Bryan Dempsey would
never more be seen alive in their little home.
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 259
Father Esmond, now bent by age and iriinniities,
was confined to his bed by a severe attack of asthma.
When he heard of the arrest of Bryan Dempsey foi
such a crime he immediately sent Father O'Tool
to offer every consolation in his power to his afflicted
children. He had known both from childhood,
and well knew the} 7 would not injure the humblest
of God's creatures. Perhaps, of all the tenantry
evicted four years ago from the Glengoulah estates,
the one who murmured least was poor Bryan not
that he suffered less than others, for he had an old
grandmother who was over ninety years, and was
bed-ridden for five years before ; and he had a father
who was stone blind, not to speak of his young wife
and three children, to all of whom he was devotedly
attached but his nature was of that cheery, hope
ful character which always looks at the bright side
of the picture, and his song was ever of " the good
time coining." Even now in his prison cell, though
he chafed over it when alone, he ever spoke cheer
fully to his friends, especially to "Winnie, telling her
pleasantly she was a little goose to be making a
sprinkling-pot of her eyes, for he would be soon at
home with her, rocking the cradle, and smoking in
the chimney corner. He did really believe so him
self ; and how could he think otherwise ?
200 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
He was arrested on the 19th of November, and
remained in prison until the following January, when
a special commission \vas appointed to try the case.
For the benefit of those who are unacquainted witli
the customs relating to the trial of prisoners in Ire-
laud, I may as well state that there are two general
assizes held throughout the country one in spring
and one in summer at each of which two judges
preside, one to try civil and the other criminal cases.
All minor offenders are disposed of at the quarter
sessions held in each county town. If, however, the
crime be of a very aggravated character, and the
country in such a state of disturbance as to alarm
the peaceably disposed, the loyal gentry convene a
meeting and petition the chief governor, or lord
lieutenant, as he is called, to order a special com
mission to be held, in order to strike terror into the
evil doers. This is a very expensive proceeding, and,
as the tax for its payment is levied off the county, it
is always a very unpopular one, and only resorted to
in cases of the most urgent necessity. The present
case was deemed one of that nature. The person of
a dignitary of the Church by law established had
been murderously assailed, and the inviolability of
the whole landlord class had been struck at through
him. Such a state of things was not to be borne.
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULA.H. 261
A great meeting of the landed interest was held at
Ardmore, and a deputation sent to Dublin Castle,
praying his excellency to appoint a special commis
sion to try By ran Dempsey, as it was essential to
strike terror into all evil disposed tenants. Accord
ingly the commission was appointed, to be opened
on Tuesday, January 20th, 1846.*
The court opened at eleven o'clock A. M., when the
chief justice of common pleas and the chief baron of
the exchequer took their seats on the bench. The
town was crowded from, an early hour by people
from all parts of the surrounding counties, who were
most anxious about the result of the proceedings.
An immense number of constabulary were col
lected in the town, both horse and foot. Notwith
standing the declaration of the landlords that the
country was plunged in agrarian outrages, the only
case of any importance on the calendar was that of
firing at the Right Reverend Bishop Biggs, of Glen-
goulah Castle.
A large number of Catholic clergy of the sur
rounding districts were present during the trial.
The court was thronged from an early hour by the
gentry of the county. A vast number in fact all
* See the account of Bryan Seery's trial, January 20th, 1846 (' for an at
tempt to murder Sir Fras>. Hopkins, Bart."), by special commission held
at Mullingar, County Meath, Ireland.
262 THE BYKNES OF GLENGOULAH.
the jurors of the county were summoned, and a very
full attendance of both grand and petit jurors was
the result.
When the writ of commission was read by the
clerk of the crown the long jury panel was called,
and a number of gentlemen sworn in on the grand
jury. The chief justice of common pleas then
charged them. He said : " Gentlemen of the grand
jury, I very much regret that the state of this
county has been such for the last five months as to
render it expedient for you to assemble at this unu
sual period, and within a few weeks of your being
impanelled at the approaching assizes. On looking,
however, at the official return of the outrages that
have been perpetrated since the last assizes, I am
not surprised that those who naturally feel the deep
est interest in the welfare of this county should
endeavor speedily to put an end to this state of
things, and by a prompt administration of the law
to overawe the disturbers of the public peace, and
to afford security and protection to the unoffending
and industrious, and to restore tranquillity and order.
Gentlemen, it is not my intention to enlarge on the
disastrous consequences which would result from
permitting your county to remain any longer in the
Btate in which it unhappily has been for some
THE BYBNES OF GLENGOULAH. 263
months past. I purposely and studiously abstain
from doing so, because I am anxious to avoid advert
ing to any topic calculated to inflame or disturb
that calmness with which it is so desirable that all
who take part in the administration of the criminal
law should approach the discharge of their solemn
duties. Gentlemen, from the experience I have so
frequently had of the manner in which you discharge
your duties as grand jurors, I feel that you do not
require any explanation or instruction from the
court. I have the fullest reliance on the intelligence
and intention with which you will proceed in the
examination of the different charges which will be
brought before you. You will not, I am satisfied,
suifer any indignation at the outrages that have been
committed, to excite a prejudice m. your minds
when you are weighing the evidence against each
individual accused ; and, however those who have
been engaged in the offences which we deplore may
have insulted and violated the laws, I hope we shall
let them see that those laws will be administered on
the present occasion not more for the detection and
punishment of the guilty than for the protection and
safety of the innocent, or even those with respect to
whose guilt there can exist a rational doubt. With
these few observations I shall dismiss vou for the
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
consideration of the business which is prepared to
be laid before you."
The grand jury then retired. Bills were sent be
fore them, and immediately " a true bill " was found
against Dempsey for shooting at Bishop Biggs.
Dempsey was then placed at the bar. The indictment
contained twelve counts. After twenty challenges
on the part of the prisoner a jury was sworn.
The clerk of the crown, having read over an ab
stract of the usual indictment, asked the usual ques
tion. The prisoner in a firm voice pleaded " not
guilty." The long jury panel was then called over,
and eighty-four gentlemen answered to their names.
A jury was selected frem them, four of whom were
magistrates.
CHAPTER XXIII.
BRYAN DEMPSEY was indicted in the usual form :
" For that he, on the 18th day of November, not
having the fear of God before his eyes, aided by
some person unknown, unlawfully and maliciously
did cut and wound the Right Rev. Samuel Wilson
Biggs, Lord Bishop of Glengoulah and Ardmore,
with the intent to kill and murder him," etc. The
attorney-general then arose a.nd said : " It appeared
to him to be a case where all the witnesses should be
removed from the court."
Chief Baron " Very well ; let all the witnesses
withdraw ; if they remain they will be fined."
The witnesses accordingly retired.
The attorney-general proceeded to state the case.
He said : " From the abstract of the indictment
which they (the jury) had heard read, they would be
able to understand the general nature of the offence
with which the prisoner at the bar, Bryan Dempsey,
stood charged before them. It was one of many
cases which unfortunately had occurred in the county
in a short perio 1, and which disgraced it. From the
12
266 THE BYENES OF GLENGOULAH.
nature and number of these offences it was deemed
expedient to call the county together on this very
extraordinary occasion, with a hope that by a
prompt and effective administration of the law
the progress of such crimes might be arrested. It
was thought necessary to issue a special commission,
in order to investigate the case now before them a
case in which the evidence appeared to him to be of
so clear and satisfactory a nature as to warrant an
expectation that the perpetrators of the offence would
be brought to speedy justice. The present case was
of that class for most, and the crown did, not call on
the jury for a verdict unless the evidence was of that
nature to render it clear. He was sure the jury
would give the matter their fullest consideration, and
unless the evidence for the crown was much shaken
with regard to truth, they would find a verdict of
guilty. Of course, if they had any reasonable doubt
of the guilt of the prisoner, they would give it to him,
and find a verdict of not guilty." He then pro
ceeded to call the witnesses. The first witness
called was the Lord Bishop Biggs, who was exam
ined by Sergeant Poker.
" I live at Glengoulah Castle, in this county, four
miles from Ardmore. I recoilect the 18th of Novem
ber last, and went out to dinner at 7 o'clock in a
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 267
small carriage driven by an English servant. I
dined at Colonel Dickson's, and left it at 25 minutes
past 12 o'clock. I suppose there were about twenty
persons at the party. I was perfectly sober. There
was no moon, but it was dusk or darkish twilight.
I got out of the carriage in the avenue, and walked
up to the hall door. I then walked up the steps, rang
the bell, and when turning around heard a shot and
saw the smoke. I saw a man, who ran. I followed
him, and in the distance of about thirty yards came
up with him. There is a bank there, and I fell ;
the man fell also. I got up, saw him with a gun,
seized it, and then throttled him. I saw his counte
nance full, and looked at his profile. The man's face
is indelibly imprinted on my mind. I took hold of
him, looked over my shoulder, aud saw a second
man. I let go the lirst, and the second presented a
pistol at me. He pulled the trigger, but fortunately
it did not go off. I knocked him down with my
left hand, and struggled with him. The second man
knocked me down, and repeated the blow five or six
times. The blow was with a horse-pistol. I cried
out ' Help.' The hall door was opened ; and when a,
light was brought, the man ran away. I saw the
man the next day, and BJC him now in the dock it
is Dempsey. I know him for eight years. He was
268 THE BYRNES OF GLKNGOULAH.
a tenant of mine, and was evicted about font years
ago. He was a peaceable tenant. When I dis
possessed him I promised to get him another farm
and pay a year's rent for it. He never said he was
dissatisfied. When I seized him he had no hat on
the hat he used to wear had a peculiar cut, and
any one would know it. I saw it at Glengoulah
next morning it is the same he used to wear be
fore. I saw a coat next morning it was the pris
oner's. I got five wounds in the head, and Dr.
Ferguson attended me in an hour. I took means
next morning to have the party arrested."
Court " Did you communicate the name to any
one?"
Prisoner's counsel objected, but the court allowed
the question to be put, and witness replied :
" I described the person, and in consequence the
prisoner was arrested (identified the hat and coat).
That is like the hat the prisoner always wore when
I saw him."
Counsel " You swore two informations next morn-
ing?"
" Yes. Can't say I mentioned about the hat."
Counsel handed the witness one of the informa
tions and told him to read it, which he did, and
uaid : " There is nothing about a hat in this."
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 269
" Read the second information."
" There is nothing about a hat in this either. I
swore the second information after I remembered it
was Bryan Dempsey who had fired at me. I know
him for years, and saw him t'he following afternoon,
about five o'clock, at Glengoulah, when he was
brought into the hall. There were several magis
trates there, and several country people also. There
was only one man among them that I recognized.
They put Dempsey among the country people.
Don't know what magistrate did that. Thomas Sel
ling, my butler, gave me the hat. I don't know if
he is in town at present. The sergeant of police
showed me the coat. I think I saw it in his hands
first the following day at five o'clock. The butler
gave me the hat in the morning. I did not see the
coat until five o'clock. Don't know what the ser
geant has sworn to now, if he has sworn at all. I
have heard that he did swear an information. I
have no means of knowing the fact. I don't know
if he is to be a witness here. I don't know if Con
stable Dougherty has sworn an information. I nev
er heard his name before. Never heard there was
a joint information sworn by the constables. Did
not speak to the sergeant about the hat. Sergeant
heard me say I knew the coat. Dempsey was my
270 THE BYKNES OF GLENGODLAH.
tenant, and surrendered his farm peaceably. We
parted apparent!}' good friends. I don't know where
the coat is. It was twenty minutes to one when I
came home on the night in question. I had no rea
son to complain of the prisoner's character or con
duct while my tenant. If he had had capital, I
would have continued him. I never heard any
complaint against him."
Three servants of Lord Biggs were examined to
prove the finding of the hat and coat near the scene
of the attack. Two policemen and Sandy McGlau-
ren swore positively the hat belonged to Dempsey.
Mr. Clements, Q. 0., then addressed the jury on
behalf of the prisoner. He dwelt much on the quiet,
peaceable character given of him by the landlord
himself, who declared he never appeared dissatisfied,
nor grumbled at his being ejected, all which .tended
to prove he could have no motive for perpetrating
the crime laid to his charge. He said the whole
case rested on the evidence of identification given
by his lordship, who had an opportunity of seeing
the person only in the dark and dead hour of night,
after coming from a party. The bishop swore an
information next morning, but the name of the
prisoner he never mentioned (he here read the in
formation). Would they credit an humble peasant
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 271
who would swear such an information ? The pris
oner was a tenant of the bishop, and did he in his
information ever state that Dempsey was the man
who tired at him ? Ilis lordship had made a mis
take ; and he (Mr. Clements) was prepared to prove
it. With reference to the evidence given by the
policeman, it was painful to witness the exhibition
made there that day. It' human lives *were to de
pend on such evidence as that given by them no
man in society would be safe. They never had the
hat in their hands and only saw it once, but when
or where they could not tell ; and yet the jury were
called on to take away the life of the prisoner at the
bar on the proof of identity of a peasant's hat ! God
forbid people's lives should depend on such evidence,
or that a jury could be found to convict a man of
capital felony on such swearing ! It was even six
days after the prisoner was arrested that the informa
tions were sworn by the policemen and land-steward
about the hat. He would ask them, as honest, con
scientious men, could they find a verdict against the
prisoner. He would now proceed to give proofs
which would save the prisoner's life, without even
the shadow of a doubt as to his guilt. He would
account for the prisoner on that night by persons of
respectability, and beyond doubt. The evidence
272 THE BYKNES OF GLENGOULAH.
that would be given was, that the prisoner, after
leaving his farm, took potato ground from his uncle,
a man named Keigan, and a most respectable fanner.
On the Monday before the outrage the prisoner went
to dig his potatoes, and was asleep eight miles away
from Glengoulah at the time the bishop was attacked.
He would now prove his case.
Bridget Keigan swore that on the night of the
attack Dempsey slept at "her house. She saw him
at ten o'clock on the Monday night, and after lock
ing the doors went to bed. On getting up next
morning she found them still locked as she left them
The prisoner came down stairs with her son some
time after. He slept there on Tuesday night also.
Glengoulah is eight miles from where Mrs. Keigan
lives. Mary and Catharine Keigan, daughters of
the last witness, corroborated her statement in every
particular.
John Keigan examined : Remembers the time
Bishop Biggs was fired at, and when the prisoner
was arrested. Gave the same account of the tran
sactions mentioned by the other witnesses. He
said the prisoner slept with him on Monday night
and on Tuesday night. The witness got up on
Tuesday morning at daylight, and the prisoner got
up also.
THE BYRNES OF GLENGuUL.YU. 273
Mr. Gordon " On your oath, from the time you
went to bed on Monday night, until you got up, did
Bryan Dempsey leave the room ? "
" He did not leave the room that night, nor could
not without my knowing if. I was never at Glen-
goulah Castle, but I know where it is. It is eight
miles from my father's ; and a person going there
must either*go that distance, or fly across the lake."
Some other witnesses were examined, but their
evidence was totally void of public interest.*
* This account of the trial is taken verbatim from the Dublin Nation
newspaper of January, 1846, and February.
12*
CHAPTER XXIV.
THE Reverend Father Esmond, though gasping
with asthma, and leaning for support upon the arm
of Mr. De Courcy, arose and gave a very high char
acter to the prisoner, having known him from child
hood. He said : " His filial piety to a blind father
and a paralyzed grandmother were the admiration
of all who knew him. When a mere stripling he
was deprived by death of a mother's care, and yet
lie seemed to cling with all the more tenderness, and
a gentleness almost feminine, to the infirm beings
whom Heaven had left dependent on his youthful
care. For many years he was seen, by hundreds
now listening, every Sunday at the chapel of Tin-
manogue, lifting his helpless parents from the car in
which he brought them, and tenderly supporting
them to the seat provided for them near the altar.
This attention he never slackened, even when he
became a husband and a father, or when evicted
from his farm and placed in altered circumstances
never until he laid them respectfully to rest among
their kindred dead. I have watched him too in
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. Si 75
the relation of husband, father, neighbor, friend
in all he has been the true man ; upright, honest,
brave, high-principled. At the time when he was
evicted from his farm, when the fire was quenched
from his hearth, and his helpless parents carried out
in torrents of rain, almost on the eve of Christmas
I was an eye-witness of it all the only tongue that
uttered no unkind word was that of Bryan Demp-
sey. He actually endeavored to turn their misfor
tunes into a subject of merriment, trying to infuse a
spirit of cheerfulness and hope into the hearts he
loved a spirit which I well knew he did not him
self feel ; but Bryan Dempsey was a stranger to self
he lived only in those he loved. Had I a hundred
lives, I would stake all this moment on the inno
cence of Bryan Dempsey. He never lifted a hand
to injure any man ; nay, I verily believe he never
harbored an injurious thought of his greatest enemy.
This virtuous man, gentlemen, is a very humble one
in the eyes of the world, but very dear to the heart
of his Heavenly Father. See you touch not a hair
of his head !" The venerable old man became so ex
cited during his brief speech that his eyes flashed
and his face glowed, while tears streamed down his
aged cheeks. At the conclusion of his speech sobs
and cries attested the deep feeling which touched
276 THE BYKNES OF GLENGOULAH.
every heart. Even the very wretches who thirsted
for the blood of this virtuous peasant remained si
lent for some time for very shame. The gallant
prisoner, who bore himself so bravely all through,
was so overcome by the noble testimony borne by
his venerable friend and spiritual father that he
leaned over the dock and sobbed like an infant. Mr.
De Courcy then arose, remarking " that it would
be superfluous to add another word to the testimony
of Father Esmond regarding the prisoner's character,
in every sentence of which he concurred, having
known Dempsey since he was a baby in his mother's
arms." This closed the defence.
Sergeant Babbett then proceeded to reply on the
part of the crown. His observations were confined to
the evidence.
At nine o'clock the chief baron proceeded to sum
up the evidence, which he did by reading the testi
mony given by the witnesses, and offering a few
brief observations as he went along. The jury then
retired.
At half-past ten they came out and said there was
little probability of their agreeing, and asked for a
tire and their coats.
Bailiffs were then sworn, and the court adjourned
to eight o'clock in the morning.
TIIK BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 277
Oh ! what a night of anguish for that virtuous
family the alternate feelings of hope and despair
which scorched their souls ! None thought of sleep,
and many of the neighbors came to watch with
them. The chief baron said if the jury agreed be
fore twelve o'clock he would come and receive the
verdict. At eight o'clock on Wednesday morning
his lordship sent to know if the jury had agreed,
but was answered in the negative. It may be re
marked here that the jury panel contained the
names of every gentleman who had signed the requisi
tion for the issuing of this commission.
At ten o'clock on Wednesday the chief justice
of the common pleas and the chief baron took
their seats on the bench, when the jury were called
into court.
Chief Baron " Well, gentlemen, have you agreed
to your verdict ? "
Foreman " No, my lord ; we have not."
" Is there any likelihood of your agreeing ? "
" Not the least, my lord."
" Under these circumstances, gentlemen, you must
again retire to your room. There is no alternative ;
we have no discretion in the matter."
" My lord, there is not the least use in our retir
ing again, as there is no possibility of our ever agree-
278 THE BYKNES OF GLENGOULAH.
ing. There are ten of us one way, and two another ;
so, my lord, you may be good enough to discharge
us, for agree we never will on this case. We are now
twenty-four hours locked up in our room, with only
some water for refreshment, and a very indiffer
ent fire, and some of us in very poor health indeed.
Our room is more like a dungeon than anything else.
If we are confined any longer it may seriously en
danger our lives."
" It is indeed a great hardship, gentlemen, and we
feel very much for your situation ; but we have not
the power, gentlemen, under the circumstances, to
act otherwise. You must again return to your room."
" My lord, if there was the most remote probabili
ty of our agreeing we would not make this applica
tion ; besides, we are likely to be starved to death
if we are kept any longer confined.'"
" It is a great hardship, no doubt, and I assure
you we feel for your situation ; but we can do noth
ing. You must again retire, gentlemen."
Chief Justice " We feel conscious of the situa
tion you are in, and feel very much for your position.
Perhaps, if you look over your notes, you may come
to some conclusion ; and if you require any assist
ance, the learned chief baron who tried the case will
render you every assistance."
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 279
After a short discussion the jury slowly retired,
protesting they would be starved. The court or
dered a good fire to be put in the jury-room, which
being done the jury were again locked up.
At half-past eight o'clock p. M. the jury, not hav
ing agreed to a verdict, were discharged, after hav
ing been locked up thirty-six hours. The attorney-
general immediately announced that he would again
put the prisoner on his trial on the Thursday follow
ing. This announcement caused the utmost excite
ment throughout the town ; and the friends of the
prisoner, who were very numerous and respectable,
and even the prisoner's counsel, were taken by sur
prise, as they did not anticipate (notwithstanding
their declaration of readiness) a second trial of the
prisoner at that commission.
It was quite clear from the time the jury retired,
that they would not agree, and the announcement
made by the foreman, that there were ten for convic
tion and two not, was canvassed very freely as a
most extraordinary intimation, and most certainly
influenced the prosecutors to bring on the trial again.
They determined, no doubt, to mend their hand next
time in the selection of a willing jury, and thus se
cure a conviction. The general impression was that
the prisoner would ha /e been held over until the
280 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAFI.
Spring Assizes, when the excitement then existing
on the subject would have ceased ; but it was no part
of the landlord plan to let reflection take the place of
passion : a landlord was fired at, and some one mu-st
suffer for such a daring crime be he guilty or in
nocent it did not matter a pin's point. Assuredly
no one could be so mad as to suppose the life of a
peasant, however guiltless, could be compared to the
atrocious attempt to take the life of Samuel "W.
Biggs, Lord Bishop of Glengoulah, with its castle
and its broad acres ! The counsel on both sides
were in attendance at the sitting of the court. The
building was thronged to excess, and the town
was tilled with country people to ascertain the result
of poor Dem psey's trial. The prisoner's counsel ap
plied for a postponement of the case to the Assizes,
but were refused. The most barefaced anxiety was
expressed for a conviction, and all prudence thrown
aside, so much so that the prisoner's most earnest
friends gave up all hope of justice. From the
judges on the bench to the constables at the doors,
all thirsted for the blood of this innocent man. The
judge's charge, respecting the outrages so very fre
quent in the country, was not only magnified but
misrepresented. On Thursday, January 31st, Bry
an Dempsey was tried a second time. After hearing
THE BYKNES OF GLENGOULAH. 281
a repetition of the evidence adduced on the first trial,
and deliberating from eight o'clock to miunight, a
verdict of guilty was returned by a packed jury.
Those present in court that night will never for
get the scene to their dying hour. Rain fell in tor
rents, but the packed streets bore testimony to the
intense anxiety of the people. The silence of the
grave fell upon all inside as the foreman, pale and
with trembling tongue, uttered the foul falsehood.
The very lights seemed to flicker and blink with
shame when the chief baron arose and expressed his
concurrence with the verdict of the jury. Then put
ting on his black cap and gloves he sentenced Bryan
Dempsey to be hanged on a day hereafter to be
named ! The heroic prisoner received the sentence
with the greatest self-posaession and nerve. Bishop
Biggs, arising hastily, grasped the arm of the Mar
quis of Jastfield, and entered into an earnest conver
sation with the judges. The bishop seemed terribly
excited. Soon the crowd began to sway from side
to side, and whispers were passed from one to an
other, a rush was made for the doors, and it required
the strongest efforts of the police and military, who
were there in great force, to keep anything like
order. Large groups of people, with each an im
promptu spokesman or two among them, were dis-
282 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
cussing some matter which seemed to cause conflict
ing feelings of hope and despair.
Soon the news spread like wildfire through the town
that a man bearing the worst description of charac
ter a successful evader of the law, and altogether a
desperate ruffian had been seen running from the
Judges to Mr. Margin's office, and from Margin's to
the priest's, declaring before God that he was the man
who fired at Bishop Biggs. He begged the judges,
for the love of God, not to hang an innocent man,
for that Dempsey had no hand or part in the act, nor
did he ever belong to Captain Starlight's company.
When questioned why he allowed an innocent
man to be tried for so foul a crime, he stated " he
never dreamed for a moment that any jury could
find Dempsey guilty, but if they caught him he
would be sure to be condemned. He declared he
would have finished the bishop (and was very sorry
he did not) but that his lordship was so drunk when
knocking at the hall door that he staggered from
the knocker to the bell at the side of the door, and
he, firing in the interval of the slip, the ball destined
for his lordship's body lodged in the door. He en
treated they would try him then,, and said he was
willing to die to save a just man not in expiation
of such an act as shooting at Biggs that he consid-
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 283
ered was no crime, but a virtue to rid the world of
such a double-dyed villain a serpent that sucked
the life- blood of the poor."
"Will it be believed : the whole prosecuting crew
judges and landlords -affected to believe him crazy,
and recommended he should be sent to the lunatic
asylum and have his head shorn ! Mr. De Courcy
took this man's sworn depositions before two reliable
witnesses. He then drew up the draft of a petition
to the lord lieutenant, and lost not a moment in
getting it numerously and most respectably signed.
In fact every man of known worth and integrity
was happy to sign such a memorial even one of
the jurors signed it. Of course the wretched bigots
and persecuting landlords, with a few of those time-
servers, plentiful in every country, who fancy it
looks fashionable to be opposed to poor people,
held aloof, or yet worse, declared against the inno
cent man. Be not surprised, dear reader ! they were
the Pontius Pilates of this little episode. Such exist
in every state of society, and in every country under
the sun. Alas ! for human respect. The fear of
being "cut" by some little upstart Caesar of the
day shuts their souls to every noble sentiment, and
extinguishes every spark of principle, without which
man is unworthy of the name !
CHAPTEK XXV.
SOON those legal murderers heard of the petition
and immediately took counsel together, and appoint
ing a deputation started them to Dublin. The
viceroy was already closeted with a deputation of a
very different character. Some half dozen gentle
men of high character and position, and bearing
historic names, came to seek the god-like preroga
tive of mercy at the hands of the representative of
the sovereign. Among them was the " observed of
all observers," the Rev. Father Esmond, now on the
verge of one hundred years, emaciated and droop
ing, laboring to breathe, and so weak as to be sus
tained by the arms of Mr. De Courcy and Sir
Lawrence O'Donnell, of Park Castle. His snow-
white hair flowed down his shoulders, and nothing
could be more affecting than the noble appeal made
by the venerable father on behalf of Bryan Demp-
sey. The tire of his eloquence seemed to arrest for
the time the disease under which he labored. His
language flowed with tie force and rapidity of a
mountain torrent, tearing to shreds the vile efforts
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 285
resorted to for obtaining a conviction of guilt; the
vindictive motives which impelled Bishop Biggs ; the
heart-rending scenes of the eviction ; the wondrous
patience of the people ; the firm conviction in every
mind of Dempsey's innocence, even before the real
murderer had appeared. He then dwelt on the un
blemished character, high principles and sterling
worth of this poor peasant whose life hung upon the
decision of his excellency, and who awaited his fate
with the heroism of a martyr. He wound up by
Baying :
" My lord, I beseech you hear my words ! The
voice now sounding in your excellency's ear is as a
voice from the grave. This is my last appeal to
mortal ear ; in a few days more I shall be numbered
among the dead. Soothe the dying hours of an old
man who has spent nearly a century on earth, and
God's blessing will rest upon you forever ! "
The viceroy listened to him with the deepest at
tention, never taking his eyes from the venerable
form. It is said he was visibly affected by the ap
peal, but yet he gave no decisive answer, merely
stating he would consider the petition and give an
early reply. " I would beg to remind your excel
lency," exclaimed Mr. De Courcy, " there are but a
few days left ; the 13th is named for the execution "
286 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
The viceroy bowed, and the deputation left actu
ated by conflicting feelings. Some had strong hopes
of a pardon ; others hoped and feared alternately.
Father Esmond alone felt sure of a refusal.
" Deceive not yourselves, my dear friends," said
he ; " he has to die ; I feel it, and his old priest has to
pass him through that ordeal. Well, my God ; your
will be done ! I know it. I have that last effort to
make for my poor child ; and then, O Lord ! let Thy
servant depart in peace ! " Shortly after the friends
of justice had departed the landlord deputation were
ushered into the presence of the viceroy, whose
prejudices they worked upon for their own selfish
ends, declaring they could not live in the country
if Dempsey were pardoned.
" It is necessary," said they, " that an example
should be made, in order to preserve the future tran
quillity and loyalty of the country ; for, if the agita
tors can now obtain a triumph, they will burst into
open rebellion against her majesty and her liege
subjects ! " or, in other words, they said : " It is ex-
pedient that one should die for the people. If you
miss this man you are no friend of Csesar."
Could any language be more alike ?
The viceroy promised an immediate investigation
of the case and dismissed them.
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 287
On the next day Father Esmond received an offi
cial communication from his excellency's secretary,
regretting he could not comply with the prayer of
the petitioners regarding the pardon of the prisoner
Dempsey.
All were more or less disappointed, excepting two
Father Esmond and Winnie.
Despair seized on poor Winnie from the moment
her eye lighted on the constable as he stood in the
doorway of her happy home, throwing a shadow
across the cottage floor, and a deeper and more last
ing one across her heart. Frequently adverting to
that day, she would say to her father :
" Oh, father ! I wish you saw us that day ; we were
so happy. He threw himself back in the chair, and
we both laughed from our hearts out. It was our
last on earth. The poor little ones all began laugh
ing too, even to the baby, who kicked and crowed.
That set her father in a kink ; w r hen it seemed as if
the sun went out of a sudden. And, och ! och ! it did
go out sure enough, and will never rise again for me.
Oh, father ! father ! how can I live and think of my
brave Bryan dyin' on a gallows ? And how can I
look my poor orphans in the face ? Oh, God ! have
mercy on my soul ! "
Her father looking at her, compassion and ro
288 THE BYKNES OF GLENGOULAII.
proach mingled in his gentle features, would ex
claim : " Oh, Winnie,, my lannah bawn ! what's that
you're sayin' ? I know you did not think of yourself,
or you would not talk as if it was any disgrace to
die a martyr for Him who died as a criminal for us
upon a tree. Don't you know well, Winnie, if Bry
an was not the heart's blood of a good Catholic he
need have no fears of judge or jury ? Do you think
if he was an Orangeman, or such a Catholic as could
be brought over like some we know they would
touch a hair of his head ? ISTo, child ; he would be
working his own farm still, and living in the house
where he and his generations before him were born.
But God forbid child of mine was ever the wife of
an unprincipled man. I always loved Bryan Demp-
sey ; and a proud man I am this night to think that
they could neither buy him with their wealth nor
terrify him with their threats. If they hang him he
will die a martyr ; but they may not be so bad as
you think, after all, Winnie. Don't be givin' way
to such black thoughts; God is good."
" Oh, father ! don't try to raise my hopes; I know
\\ eli he has no mercy to expect from them. I know
he will die a true and brave martyr. Oh, God ! for
give me for repinin'. Father O'Tool was telling
me and Bryan yesterday in the jail how they used
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 289
to hunt priests in the time of Queen Elizabeth ; and
how, when they'd catch them, they'd half hang
them, then tear their hearts out and they still alive,
and cut them up in quarters. It made my heart
sick. Father! how can human beings be so cruel ?
Sure, that's worse than the brutes."
" Brutes, child ! I wouldn't name them the same
day with brutes. When human beings lose the
grace of God they sink below the beasts of the field.
Yes, indeed, Winnie, we must belong either to God
or the devil ; if God abandons us to our own pas
sions, sure we're blacker than any devil. The cross
of Chri t 1 e ab'uit us! " and Winnie and her father
crossed themselves reverently. The 13th was named
for the execution. I will not harrow my readers by
describing the parting scene between Winnie and the
husband she so devotedly loved, and their five little
children. Not a tear came from Winnie, for her
grief was past tears. She fainted many times, and
was at last carried away insensible, amidst the cries
of her little ones, by her afflicted relatives. Father
Esmond and Father O'Tool entered the cell soon
after Winnie left, and found poor Bryan prostrate
on the floor, little more than half alive. This was
the evening of the 12th ; and before the jail was
closed for the night a declaration was drawn up and
13 '
290 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
witnessed by these two reverend gentlemen, two
magistrates of the county, the deputy overnor of
the jail, and one of Dempsey's legal advisers. The
following is a verbatim copy of the document :
" County of Wicklow, to wit :
" I, Bryan Dempsey, now a prisoner in Ardmore
jail, and to be on to-morrow executed, do most sol
emnly and sincerely declare in the presence of that
God before whom I must shortly appear for judg
ment, that I never tired at the Right Reverend
Bishop Biggs, that I never committed any act tending
to injure him in person or property, that I never
was cognizant of or party to any conspiracy or plot
to shoot or injure the said Right Reverend Bishop
Biggs ; and that I am not guilty, directly or in
directly, of the crime for which I am to be hanged.
" Witnessed on this 12th day of February, 184-6,
by the undersigned."
Here followed the signatures.
Father O'Tool remained all night in the cell of
the martyr, praying with him when awake, and for
him while he slept. At length the fatal morning
dawned. When poor Bryan awoke from his last
living sleep his heart died within him, and the room
seemed to swim around. Wildly he thought of his
loved home and its dear inmates, and his heart
THE BYKNES OF GLENGOULAH.
yearned to see them once again ; but a mournful
voice seemed to sound in bis ears " Never more,
Bryan Dempsey ! never more ! To-day you die a
felon's death for murder ! " Stretching out his hands,
he cried aloud, "Oh, God! it is only a frightful
dream ; it cannot be ! "
Father O'Tool was beside him instantly. " My
poor Bryan, have courage ! "
" Oh ! father dear. Oh ! father asthore, machree !
Sure I never hurted any man in my life ; it can't be
they will hang an innocent man ! "
Father O'Tool silently presented him with the
crucifix. He eagerly grasped it, and pressed to his
lips the representation of the bleeding feet. Sink
ing upon his knees, he exclaimed: " Oh, blessed
Jesus ! you died on a felon tree for love of me ; and
why should I refuse to die for love of you ! For
give the murmuriugs of my weak heart, and give me
strength that I may die with the fortitude becoming
a Christian. Oh, merciful Lord ! receive my soul
into life everlasting."
Father Esmond arrived early and administered to
him the Most Adorable Sacrament for the last time,
as he had also done his first Communion. He
prayed with him long and tenderly, and told him
many anecdotes of the wonderful graces and lights
292 THE BYRNES OF GLKNGOULAH.
bestowed bj the Almighty upon those who are con
demned to death unjustly. Soon as the clock struck
twelve they recited the "Angelus" together, and
then Father Esmond said : " Bryan, ray child ! your
hour of glory is come ! " He answered, in a firm
voice : " I am ready. I follow Christ. I declare I
am an innocent man ! " He then moved after the
governor of the prison to the fatal drop, answering,
while Father O'Tool repeated the litany of Jesus:
" Lord, have mercy on me ! Christ, have mercy on
me ! " "When he came in front of the jail, the pale,
haggard face and mournful eyes of him so full of
life, and once so gay, smote every heart, and a cry of
anguish burst from the few spectators present.
Bryan held the crucifix in his hand and exclaimed,
in a clear deep voice, which fell upon the heart in
tones not to be disbelieved or doubted : " I declare
before my God, that I had neither act, hand, part,
nor knowledge of the crime for which I am going
to die here ! "
The consummation had not yet come : the victim
was kept waiting for his doom for an hour afterward.
It was reported that Sir Gideon Chapman, the com
mander of the garrison, was expecting a reprieve by
the one o'clock Dublin train for a man who was sen
tenced to die at twelve! These lying and cruel
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 293
reports, however, did not move the people to a
belief that the overseers'of the tragedy were sincere ;
they only made them more despised. One man
asked of another in the street if the prisoner had
fainted, or was the execution postponed ? " No,"
was the reply. " He is too strong in his innocence,
and they want to keep him on and off for a wldle to
see if he'll die like a dog."
Poor Father Esmond, gasping for breath and
shivering in every limb that cold gloomy day, >till
stood with the prisoner's hand clasped in his.
" Oh ! father, asthore ! your reverence is killing
yourself for me-; and what are a thousand lives like
mine to yours ? Oh ! father, 'honey ! you're almost
dead ; won't you go to the fire and sit down ?"
" No, my poor child ; I thank you most kindly.
But you surely do not want to part with your old
spiritual father ?"
" Part ? Oh, would to God I could have you with
me before the judgment-seat ; you would plead for
my poor soul to the God of mercies."
" No, Bryan ; you will be alone there ; but you
will stand before your Heavenly Father, who loves
you more than I could ever do. I too shall In;
there very, very soon after you ; we shall not i-o
parted long. I feel it here. In a !e\v days we sliali
294 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
meet again, and then then, Bryan, ' eye hath not
seen, ear hath not heard, nor hath it entered into
the heart of man to conceive the joys our Heavenly
Father has waiting for us !' " the eyes of the ven
erable saint were fixed on the sky. " Do you not
already hear the rushing of the angelic hosts around
the throne of our King and our God? Already the
far-off strains of celestial harmony strike upon my
ear!"
Bryan fell upon his knees. " Father, give me
your last blessing and absolution. I would not ex
change this death for the wealth and power of the
whole world."
Father Esmond laid his hand upon his head, and
ere the last words died upon his lips the officials
came to conduct him to the fatal drop. Both priests
warmly clasped his hands; and Father Esmond,
raising aloft the crucifix, exclaimed (as Abbe Edge-
worth did, in similar words, to Louis XVI.) " Mar
tyred victim of tyranny ! go and be tried before a
just tribunal ! "
The old man fainted and was borne away as the
drop fell.
All this time not a sound could be heard in the
streets, not a footstep broke the awful stillness ; and,
except the clergy in attendance, the law officials, the
THE BYKNES OF GLEKGOULAH. 295
reporters, and the military, who in large force sur
rounded the prison and stopped up every approach
to it, not a human eye was bent to see this example
of the law's vindication. All business was sus
pended; nearly all the shops in Ardmore Protes
tants as well as Catholics were closed. Traders,
who had come from Dublin to attend the butter and
wool market, usually largely supplied on Fridays,
were disappointed to find not a single pound offered
for sale, and the market as deserted as a wilderness.
Deep grief was in every home, and it seemed as if
the destroying angel had passed over the town its
streets deserted, its look so vacant and death-like.
Once in a while a neighbor would pass from one
house to another, and in the clenched hands and
teeth and passion-dark faces there were signs of
a spirit which unjust sentences could not allay. For
an hour or two anxious, peering faces and tearful
eyes were thrust out watching in the direction of the
jail.
About four o'clock, as the shades of evening were
beginning to fall, about twenty men passed through
the principal street in the direction of Bryan Demp-
sey's home. They kept as much as possible the
military step and walked two deep in solemn
silence. The four foremost bore on their shoulders
296 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
a bier, on which was a handsome coffin of black
velvet, with a silver cross and silver handles. This
was provided by Mr. De Courcy. In it were laid
the mortal remains of poor Bryan Dempsey. Loud
were the wailings and deep the anguish when the
mournful cavalcade reached the cottage. When it
was set down and the lid raised, Winnie was brought
by her father to look upon the body of her young
husband. They first all knelt down and joined in
prayer for the repose of his soul, and s rength for
the bereaved widow. She then approached, shud
dering ; but, to the astonishment of fill present, her
countenance brightened as she gazed upon him. He
was dressed in the brown habit of the scapular, and
on his breast, in letters formed of white satin ribbon,
were the initials, I. H. S. His hands were clasped
together, as if in prayer, and held a small wreath
of palm-leaves thj emblem of martyrdom. The
hair was brushed back off his forehead, which was
white as alabaster, and the handsome, manly fea
tures were ca m an i tV.ir as marble. Not a feature
was distorted a smile even seemed to linger on the
lips. Winnie gazed long in mute admiration. She
thought she had never seen anything so beautiful
At length, in a low voice, she said : " Father, who
did all this for him?"
TUB BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 297
*' Two ladies, asthore Mrs. De Courcy, and Miss
Clara Menville, the young lady that you mind was
so kind to Norah Cormac. May God bless them
both for it ! "
The young widow looked in her father's face and
then at her dead husband two or three times ; then,
uttering a wild cry, she burst into tears. They were
the first she had wept since Bryan's arrest. The
pent-up fountains seemed closed to all her sorrows ;
but this touching tribute to his innocence and
worth broke the spell, and tears like the rain fell
upon the lifeless remains of him she loved so well
blessed tears, which relieved her overcharged heart
of its burden of woe, and rejoiced her parents to
see.
296 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
a bier, on which was a handsome coffin of black
velvet, with a silver cross and silver handles. This
was provided by Mr. De Courcy. In it were laid
the mortal remains of poor Bryan Dempsey. Loud
were the wailings and deep the anguish when the
mournful cavalcade reached the cottage. When it
was set down and the lid raised, Winnie was brought
by her father to look upon the body of her young
husband. They first all knelt down and joined in
prayer for the repose of his soul, and s rength for
the bereaved widow. She then approached, shud
dering ; but, to the astonishment of ;ill present, her
countenance brightened as she gazed upon him. He
was dressed in the brown habit of the scapular, and
on his breast, in letters formed of white satin ribbon,
were the initials, 1. H. S. His hands were clasped
together, as if in prayer, and held a small wreath
of palm-leaves thj tmblem of martyrdom. The
hair was brushed back off his forehead, which was
white as alabaster, and the handsome, manly fea
tures were ca m an i fair as marble. Not a feature
was distorted a smile even seemed to linger on the
lips. Winnie gazed long in mute admiration. She
thought she had never seen anything so beautiful
At length, in a low voice, she said : " Father, who
did all this for him?"
TUB BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 297
*' Two ladies, asthore Mrs. De Courcy, and Miss
Clara Menville, the young lady that you mind was
so kind to Norah Cormac. May God bless them
both for it ! "
The young widow looked in her father's face and
then at her dead husband two or three times ; then,
uttering a wild cry, she burst into tears. They were
the first she had wept since Bryan's arrest. The
pent-up fountains seemed closed to all her sorrows ;
but this touching tribute to his innocence and
worth broke the spell, and tears like the rain fell
upon the lifeless remains of him she loved so well
blessed tears, which relieved her overcharged heart
of its burden of woe, and rejoiced her parents to
see.
CHAPTER XXVI.
CLARA MENVILLE had received an account from
the superioress of the convent of the progress of
the trial. She besought Clara to write, and try to
influence her uncle in causing the liberation of this
just man, that his blood might not be at his door.
Poor Clara was in anguish of mind. She knew a
letter would be unavailing ; but if she could only
reach Glengoulah she would throw herself on her
knees and kiss his feet, and wash them with her
tears but, oh ! how was she to reach Ireland ? Her
father was spending the winter in Rome, and she
and her sister were staying at Toppleton Hall, Che
shire, the seat of Viscount Toppleton, a nephew of
her father, whose lady, though an excellent woman
in her way, was a rigid upholder of all the pro
prieties observed by ladies of rank. Clara, though
perfectly aware of her weak points, undauntedly
flew to her and passionately begged permission to
leave by that evening's steamer for Ireland. She
rapidly portrayed the heart-rending scenes now pass
ing in Wicklow, and urged the impossibility of de-
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 299
laying one night without losing her reason. Lady
Toppleton was utterly horror-stricken, at such a
breach of etiquette, reminding her how his lordship
was absent in Parliament, and no one there who
could with propriety accompany her. She would
have read her a homily on the importance of ladies
of rank being always calm and unmoved, especially
by the occurrences of common life ; but Clara,
whose thoughts were far away, abruptly asked if
she could not travel with her nurse a respectable,
middle-aged matron, whom she devotedly loved,
and who always had remained with her since the
death of her mother. Lady Toppleton, struck dumb
with amazement, stared at her as though she feared
the contingency hinted at had already taken place,
and that her senses were clean gone. She arose and
rang the bell, ordering her carriage immediately.
" Miss Clara Menville, go to your room !" said
she, with haughty dignity. "I am going to the par-
Bomige to consult with Mr. Audley on this affair,
and shall in all probability impart the result on rny
return."
Probably not, Lady Toppleton : nous verrons !
When the carriage was out of sight Clara rang for
her nurse, and telling her it was a matter of life and
death for her to leave Toppleton Hall and reach the
300 THE BYENES OF GLENQOULAH.
Liverpool railway station within half an hour, she
hastily got packed a few changes of clothing, ordered
her pony phaeton to the door, into which she jumped
with her nurse, driving herself, as was her custom,
witli her " tiger" behind. As Lady Toppleton drove
up the avenue from the parsonage she met the boy
bringing home the phaeton, and learned from him,
to her unspeakable horror, that Miss Clara and Mrs.
Bunse were on the road to Liverpool.
The impulsive Clara thought the train was going
at an unusually slow pace, while the truth was it was
flying at the rate of forty miles an hour, and was in
agonies when it stopped in a town or village. She
could neither eat nor sleep. Intent only upon one
thought the saving of a fellow-creature's life she
threw to the winds the cold barriers .of etiquette
and position. Arriving in Dublin late at night, she
flew post-hasto to Glengoulah Castle. Day was just
breaking on the morning of February 13th as she
ascended the castle steps. Here she met a bitter dis
appointment : her uncle, they told her, left the castle
the night the sentence was passed on Bryan Demp-
sey, and was staying at the Club House, Sackville
street, Dublin, and the execution was to take place
at noon that day. Mrs. Biggs was in England.
Poor Clara wept most passionately she saw the
TIIE BYRNES OF GLENGOTJLAH. 301
hopelessness of achieving her object now. Pacing
the floor and wringing her hands, she exclaimed
wildly : " Too late ! too late ! My God ! must he
die?" Throwing her arms around her nurse, she
wept bitterly on her bosom. Then, starting up, a
thought seized her she would go to Mr. De Courcy,
and see if anything could be done. Requesting
Mrs. Bunse to await her at the castle, she ordered a
carriage and drove to Mr. De Courcy's. That ex
cellent gentleman and his wife received their unex
pected guest with a thousand welcomes. They
made every exertion to console her, but Clara wept
long and sadly all her hopes were dashed to earth
all her plans frustrated *
Mr. De Courcy told her the utter impossibility of
getting a reprieve, even had she arrived in time ;
explained to her how the real murderer, struck with
remorse, had declared himself the guilty party, and
was willing now to die in expiation of his crime, and
to save this innocent man ; how Father Esmond had
gone to Dublin Castle and pleaded for the prisoner
in the most moving eloquence before the viceroy
himself 1 but all in vain ! Her uncle had sworn
point-blank that Dempsey was the man he could
not be mistaken so Dempsey must die! Clara's
tears again flowed bitterly. u Can I do nothing ?"
302 THE BYKNES OF GLENGOULAH.
she cried ; " have I fled from my home like a crim
inal, to be of no use to any one ? "
" No, my dear young lady," said Mrs. De Courcy ;
"you were not permitted by the Almighty to take
a useless voyage. I doubt not you are destined to
play a most useful part in this sad drama. If you
cannot save the condemned, you can console his
young widow and bring comfort to his orphan little
ones. We can all take our share in such acts as
these."
" Oh, yes ; thank God ! " said Clara, springing up.
" I thank you heartily for the suggestion. Let us go
and be doing at once, for I feel that my heart will
burst if I cannot do something for this poor victim.
Oh, uncle ! uncle ! God pardon you ! "
Mr. De Courcy insisted upon her taking breakfast
before leaving the house; so having swallowed a
cup of tea both ladies drove to the Convent of Ard-
more first. Clara, on account of her connection
with Bishop Biggs, felt a delicacy in intruding her
self upon Dempsey's family, and wished to be di
rected by the superioress how to act. The reverend
mother was overjoyed to see her.
" Well, ladies," said she, when all were seated,
" if ever an earnest prayer to God was quickly re
sponded to, surely mine was this morning. I am in
THE BYKNES OF GLENGOULAH. 303
such trouble for my poor child Winnie, whom we
educated here, that I have been trying to think of
every plan to console her. Her mother was here
yesterday to ask the prayers of the community for
her ; she has not shed a tear since her husband was
arrested, and has had frequent fainting fits. I have
great fears for her if his body is brought home to her
distigured, as I hear is common after strangulation ;
and I was just thinking of getting some charitable
woman to arrange his features after death, and to
dress his body in the habit of Our Blessed Lady.
Now the difficulty is to get permission to do this
from the authorities. I can get plenty of pious
Christians to perform the task, but they are poor,
and consequently would not be heeded. I then ap
pealed to St. Joseph, earnestly begging through his
intercession that I might be directed to some influ
ential person who would procure this favor for my
employes. I was coming out of the chapel after
making my petition for the sixth or seventh time
when the door-bell rang, and the moment I saw you
both I knew my prayer was heard. God be praised
for all His mercies !"
" Most certainly, reverend mother," replied Mrs.
De Courcy. " We can, no doubt, easily obtain
your request. Mr. De Courcy has already ordered
304 THE BYKHES OF GLENGOULAH.
a handsome coffin to be sent for him through tho
same motive."
" Oh, Heaven reward him ; it is just like him."
" Reverend mother," said Clara, in a low voice,
"have you yet appointed the persons to do this
work?"
" No, Miss Menville ; but I know two respectable
women who, I am sure, will do it for the love of
God."
Clara grasped her hand. " Oh, dear mother !
please permit me to be one of the persons and you
will confer a favor on me."
Mother Joseph started. " You? dear child! Oh,
no, no ; that would be too much to expect."
" Ah ! Mother Joseph ! you do not deem me
worthy ? "
The superioress could not speak ; tears streamed
down her cheeks ; she clasped the youthful heroine
of charity in her arms.
" Oh, my precious child ! how rich in God's grace !
But it would be too frightful a task for .one so
young."
" No, no, mother ; please do not refuse me. I
came a long journey to save the life of this martyr ;
but as I have been unable to effect my object, do
not refuse me this great favor. Mother, if you do
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 305
not think me wholly unworthy, reject me not, I
beseech you."
" My dear young lady, who could resist charity
like yours ? I shall send a very pious and respecta
ble woman to assist you."
Mrs. De Courcy was struck dumb with astonish
ment admiration succeeded ; and as the high born
Clara proceeded to beg as a favor a task from which
human nature recoiled, she sobbed audibly. She
had never seen charity like this before. " My God ! "
she cried to herself, " if this be Catholicism, give me
light to direct me, that I and all who are dear to
me may embrace it." An impulse of God's holy
love immediately filled her soul with a feeling en
tirely new. The world seemed naught to her, and
she felt an unaccountable strength vibrate through
every nerve. Something seemed to say for her (as
she declares to this day she never could say it her
self) : " Mother, I will be that assistant ; I will not
be outdone in generosity by this noble young lady,
who sets me such an heroic example ! "
It was long before the tender heart of Mother Jo
seph could reply, so entirely was she overcome by
her feelings.
" Oh, wondrous love of God 1 " she at length ex
claimed j u what are you not able to eifect ! " Turn-
306 THE BYBNES OF GLENGOCLAH.
ing her tearful eyes on Mrs. De Courcy, she said :
" It shall be as you say, dear lady ; I would not for
worlds deprive you of the merit of such an action.
Sure I am, Mrs. De Courcy, our Blessed Lord will
bestow 011 you also the greatest gift in the treasury
of Heaven.'* She brought down the brown habit
of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and explained its
meaning to Mrs. De Courcy, who had never, seen
one before. Miss Menville was familiar with them
already, but begged permission to make a wreath
of palm-leaves from the garden. They drove to the
prison, and had an interview at the governor's house
with the high sheriff. Mrs. De Courcy introduced
Miss Menville, niece of Lord Biggs. The sheriff
bowed profoundly ; and when Clara made her re
quest he immediately assented, and directed the
governor to send word to the ladies the moment the
prisoner's body was cut down, and to have it con
veyed to a room in his own house, and everything
prepared for their reception. The intermediate
time was spent by Clara in the chapel of the
convent praying for the soul of him who was
about to appear before his Eternal Judge, and beg
ging mercy and conversion for her unfortunate
uncle.
The governor came himself to announce that the
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 307
execution was over. Poor Mrs. De Courcy's heart
sank within her, and she turned deadly pale.
" Kneel a moment with me," said Clara.
She knelt and repeated with her three Hail Marys,
" in honor of the tears our Blessed Mother shed when
the adorable body of her Divine Son was placed in
her arms, that she would procure strength for them
to accomplish the task they had undertaken."
They arose much strengthened and drove rapidly
to the prison. Clara knelt beside the body of poor
Bryan Dempsey, which was laid upon the floor.
She closed his eyes and arranged his features, while
Mrs. De Courcy combed back his dark chestnut
hair, and was surprised how little horror she ex
perienced in performing offices she once imagined
she never could fill. Poor Bryan had carefully
washed and shaved himself that morning, preparing
for the reception of the Most Holy Sacrament, and
their task was thus rendered easy. The governor's
wife sent her servants to assist the ladies, but they
would suffer no one to touch the body only them
selves until the coffin came, when they accepted the
services of the undertaker's men to put it in its last
receptacle. When this was accomplished, they re
mained to keep watch beside the body until Toney
Byrne, his sons, son-in-law, and a few neighbors came
303 THE BYRNKS OF GLENG: >ULAtt.
to convey it home. Toney WHS quite surprised to
see Mrs. De Courcy in such a place. She drew him
aside and told him who the beautiful young lady was
standing beside the coffin, and detailed the part she
had acted, and its motive, carefully remaining silent
on her own share in the transaction. She then
brought him to look at Bryan's body. Toney Byrne
could not ntter a word ; but kneeling in the midst
of friends he prayed silently, while great drops
poured down his cheeks. Clara, immediatelj* divin
ing who he was, drew back with instinctive delicacy
until he had concluded. She then approached, and
taking his hand said, " Are you not Mr. Byrne ? "
" Yes, miss. May God's blessing light upon you.
I'll never forget till my dying hour what you have
done this day."
" My good friend, I was not alone ; to Mrs. De
Courcy you are more indebted than to me."
Toney raised his eyes to Heaven ; and again the
great tears rolled, but he could not speak. His
friends now lifted the coffin, and the mournful caval
cade moved on.
CHAPTER XXVII.
EKYAN DEMPSEY'S body was waked from Friday
evening until Sunday. Father O'Tool went there
two or three times each day, and members of the
Purgatorian and other religious societies kept re
lieving each other at stated intervals of the day and
night, saying rosaries and litanies for his soul. None
others were admitted excepting his immediate rela
tives and old neighbors.
On Sunday the funeral took place at three o'clock
p. M. to the chapel yard of Tinmanogue, where
all his kindred slept. The procession was immense,
and was attended by many gentlemen of rank, who
wished to mark their disapprobation of this legalized
murder. The tolling of the old bell and the meas
ured tread of the silent multitude recalled to many
the beautiful lines of Davis :
" Why rings the knell of the funeral bell
From a hundred village shrine?,
Thro' broad Fingal where hasten all
These long and ordered lines 1
With tear and sigh they're passing by,
The matron and the maid-
Has a hero died is a nation's pride
In that cold coffin laid f
310 THE BYRNES OF GLENGODLAH.
With frown and curse behind the hearse,
Dark men go tramping on
Has a tyrant died that they cannot hide
Their wrath till the rites are done ?
Ululee ! Ululee ! high on the wind,
There's a home for the slave where no fetters can bind.
Woe ! woe 1 to his elayers, comes wildly along
With the tramping of feet and the funeral song.
And now more clear
It swells' on the ear,
Breathe low and listen 'tis solemn to hear;
Ululee ! Ululee ! wail for the dead.
Green grow the grass of Fiugal on hip head,
And spring flowers blossom ere elsewhere appearing ;
And shamrocks grow thick on the martyr for Erin.
Ululee ! Ululee ! soft fall the dew
On the feet and the head of the martyred and true."
Winnie returned home to her now desolate cot
tage, where the light of her life had been forever
quenched ; but the fountain of her heart's grief
flowed freely, and a soft and tender sorrow now
reigned where a wild and burning agony so long
dwelt. She and her family blessed God for the
change. Soon, too, she was called on to minister to
the wants of those she was bound to by the strongest
ties of gratitude. It was the intention of Mrs. De
Courcy and Miss Menville to visit Winnie before the
interment of Bryan, but on reaching Cascade House
that evening from the jail poor Clara was seized
with a violent fever, and by midnight was delirious.
The terrible excitement she had undergone, joined
with loss of rest and fatigue, told fearfully on her
tender frame. Her nurse came from the castle to
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 311
wait upon her, but Mrs. De Courcy gave strict or
ders that no one should inform Toney Byrne or any
of his family of Miss Menville's illness, therefore
they remained in ignorance of the sad event until
the day after Bryan's funeral. The instant Winnie
heard the news she repaired to Cascade House, and
kneeling beside the unconscious Clara poured forth
tears and prayers for her recovery. She would wil
lingly have taken the place of Mrs. Bunse, but that
bustling lady would not suffer any hands to tend her
darling but her own. "Winnie or either of her pa
rents were there many times every day, and soon had
the pleasure of hearing that their young benefactress
was pronounced out of danger.
A new and severer trial now awaited them. Win
nie, on her return from Cascade House one evening
* O
during the week, received a message that Father Es
mond wished to see her. She flew to her dear spir
itual father, whom she found propped up in bed with
pillows, and breathing more freely than he had done
for years. He seemed calm and collected.
" Oh father, honey ! " cried Winnie, leaning over
beside his bed ; " is it true what they tell me, that
you are better ? "
" Yes, my child ; the great drag is gone from my
chest, and I feel light and easy. My good God is
314 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
unfortunate landlord, and all who were concerned
in the legal murder of your husband ! "
Winnie gazed on the sinking features of the dying
saint. She seemed choking for a moment, and then
said :
" Father, I would willingly do it ; but how could
I ask such a prayer with my lips unless my heart
went with it ? Oh ! father, asthore ! I cannot tell a
lie. I don't wish them harm ; but I can't bear to
think of them, nor to mention their names. Sure,
God who sees my heart would not hear such a
prayer ! Indeed, father, I can't help it !"
" Then, my child, you must earnestly pray tha
God may remove such bad feelings from your heart.
You may rest assured our Blessed Lady will obtain
for you proper feelings of charity if you strive to
overcome yourself and say what I tell you. God
does not expect impossibilities. He knows how
sorely your poor human nature has been tried ; and
if He sees you trying to conquer it, He will shower
upon you most abundant gifts and graces. Winnie,
I asked this same favor of your p >or ; ryan before
he was led to execution. He never hesitated, but
went on his knees and joined most fervently with
me. I asked him if he would like you an i his chil
dren to pray for the same object, and he said he
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOTJLAH. 315
would very much. Your good, pious father has
ever set you this example of Christian charity ; but,
Winnie, I ask it not for the love of father, mother,
or of your old pastor, nor even to comply with the
last wish of your loving husband ; no, Winnie, not
for any or all of these must you do this you must
do it for the love of Him for whom all our actions
should be done for our dear Lord Jesus, who prayed
for the wicked wretches who nailed Him to a
cross."
Winnie bowed her head to the ground and sobbed
convulsively for a few moments; then rising, she
said:
" Father, I will faithfully do as you tell me, and
teach my children to do the same, with God's bless
ing, while there's life in my body or speech in my
tongue !"
Father Esmond held out his hand, now shaking
with the death tremor. " God reward you, my dear
child. I can now die in peace. May the blessing
of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, descend upon
you and yours, and remain with you forever."
His voice grew faint, and Winnie called in Mrs.
Malone, who administered restoratives. Reports flew
around that he was in his death agony, and all the
neighbors flocked in. Approaching midnight his
316 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
agony really commenced. Father O'Tool put the
blessed candle in his hand and held it there. Sev
eral other priests from the neighboring parishes
were present, one of whom recited the beautiful
prayers for the departing. To the surprise of all
he joined in the responses himself. When the prayers
were concluded he opened his eyes and looked
around the apartment. Seeing so many of his pa
rishioners in tears, he said : " May God bless you all,
my faithful, loving children. We will meet again
in our heavenly kingdom. ' Oh ! how lovely are
thy tabernacles, O Lord of Hosts ! My soul faint-
eth for the courts of the Lord.' " He seemed trans
ported in an ecstasy. After a moment or two he
cried out : " Jesus ! Jesus ! receive my soul." and,
turning his head on the pillow, calmly expired. Si
lence reigned around until Father O'Tool, extin
guishing the light, sank upon his knees, and ex
claimed : " Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord !"
and he burst into tears. Then the sobs and lamenta
tions of the bereaved parishioners were mournful to
hear. Ah ! those were sorrowful days in Tinma-
nogue. A funeral pall seemed to hang over the beau
tiful village. Every shop was closed, every bell
tolled that of the convent, the old elm-tree he loved
so well, the school-house, where in days of yore he
THE BYRNES OF GLENGODLAH. 317
spent so many hours instructing the boys now grown
to manhood, and too many, alas ! eating the bread
of exile in a foreign land. All tolled mournfully,-
and bore the sad intelligence through the echoing
hills around. The father, friend, counsellor, con
soler, peace-maker, and pastor, so idolized for more
than half a century, was gone from them just when
they thought they needed him most, and could least
spare him. But so they would have thought any
time he might be called.
" Sheep without a shepherd,
When the snow shuts out the sky."
The cruciform chapel, embowered in shrubs, was
crowded night and day until he was laid in the
tomb. A continuous stream of people passed and
re-passed in and out, with tear-washed cheeks and
sad hearts. They were taking their last look of their
beloved father as he lay in his coffin, dressed in his
ecclesiastical robes, his white hair floating down his
shoulders, and his saintly features smiling. They
waked him thus before the altar where he had so often
celebrated the divine mysteries, and where his fath
erly tones and venerable appearance so many times
recalled to them the Apostles of old. But the
family that mourned him most was Toney Byrne's,
for they felt he had shortened his precious life by the,
318 THE BfliXES OF GLENGOULAH.
hardships he had undergone, first by trying to save
the life of Bryan Dempsey, and then in consoling
his last moments.
He was buried in the chapel-yard among his
flock ; and, according to his own request, no fence
was put up between him and his loved parishioners.
His grave was beside the chapel, and on the edge of
the centre walk, that all might find him accessible
in death, as he always was in life.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
ON the same night, and at the same hour when
the venerable pastor of Glengoulah was conducted
by angels to the throne of the Eternal Father,
whom he ever strove to serve, while his last sighs
were embalmed by the tears and prayers of his lov
ing people, quite a different scene was enacting iu
Dublin.
In a sumptuously furnished apartment of the
Club House, Sackville street, a man lay moaning
on a bed of down.* Four stalwart-looking men
in their shirt-sleeves watched beside him. Their
strength was frequently put to the test to keep the
wretched sufferer from jumping out of the window,
or dashing his head against the wall ; they were
then obliged to force him into the bed, or strap him
in a large invalid chair. Sleep had been long a
stranger to his wild and frenzied eyes, and at times
his shrieks were appalling.
" I tell you the truth, Jim," said one of the watch-
* IHs a well-established fact that Sir Francis Hopkins 1va.s obliged to be
strapped to a bed (after the execution of Seery) at the Club House, Sackville
Btreet, and finally died a lunatic some where on the continent.
320 THE BYKNES OF GLENGOULAH.
ers, wiping great drops of perspiration from bis fore
head with a blue cotton handkerchief; " if tbey bad
a paid me last Saturday you wouldn't see me bere
to-nigbt. The pay is good, to be sure ; but, be the
great King William, it's earned hard."
" Well, I wouldn't care a pin's point," joined an
other, " about bis leapin' and jumpin,' if he'd only
hould his tongue ; but, upon me life, be puts the
heart across in me when he does be jabberin' to
some one unseen ! "
" Yes, indeed. And between ourselves, George, 1
think the divil has a heavy mortgage on his soul ;
and, upon my conscience, but he'll have pleasant com
pany when this ould fella goes home to him."
" Well, the divil sweep the whole of yees ; but yees
got to be mighty fine Christians all at onst," chimed
in the fourth a big, rough Orangeman. "Aren'
yees worthy follyers of King William, to be echoin'
the sentiments of the Papish broodl What if he
did send some of them on an arrand to the divil a
little before their time ? Its good enough for the
likes of them ! "
" Hould your tongue, Alick ! and don't be makin'
a jackass of yourself. I can drink the glorious and
immortal memory as well as any of yees, and shout
' To hell with the Pope ! ' till my lungs are hoarse, on
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 321
the 12th of July ; but, when all is said and done, I
can't feel any spite to my Papist neighbors and
sure I'd have a bad right for I don't forget, Masther
Alick, how fast you ran from my bedside the night
the doctor said I had the cholera nor all as one
Tom Hanlon, my dour-neighbor, if he is a Papist.
I'll never forget it to him. When he heard my wife
cryin'he come in and rubbed and stuped me till the
sweat run down his face savin' favor and he staid
there wid me the whole night, till the danger was
passed and it was clear daylight ; and then he worked
all day long at his trade. He's a stone-mason, and
one of the best livin' men I ever seen."
" I suppose there's some good ones among them
like ourselves, Joe ; " and George nodded in the di
rection of Alick, while he chuckled to himself.
"Hould your divils of tongues; here's the doc
tors ! " cried Alick.
Two gentlemanly-looking men came into the room
quietly.
" Well, my men, how is our noble patient this
evening ? "
" Couldn't be worse, sir. He's after exhausting
himself talkin' and screechin'. He thinks he sees a
man followin' him constantly. We had to take down
all the pictures and mirrors; he a'most went into
14*
322 THE BYRNES OF GLEXGOULAH.
fits at sight of them. One time, when we were
makin' the bed, he caught sight of himself in the
lookin'-glass and run under the bed, where he
squeezed himself flat like a pancake. Be the Boyne,
but it's hard work, your honors, to attind him. My
self wouldn't take tin pounds a night if I knew what
was afore me ; but I wouldn't break my engagement,
onst I made it, for five hundred pounds."
Joe and George made a face at one another at the
back of the physicians when they heard Alick's hon
orable account of himself. One of the doctors held
his pulse until two other physicians entered ; then
all went into consultation. The consequence was he
was strapped to the bed, his head shaved, and a large
blister applied to the poll, while bags of ice were
kept to his temples. The doctors remained all night,
relieving one another at stated intervals. By morn
ing he seemed calm. About eight o'clock A. M. the
.Kingstown train brought his lady and suite, who ar
rived by the mail boat from London. The physi
cians, after consultation, deemed it best to bring her
to him unannounced. She walked with a languid
o
air to the bedside, and began to weep in an embroid
ered handkerchief. He fixed his eyes wildly upon
her, and convulsive tremors shook his frame. He
said, in a hissing whisper, " Are you his widow ? "
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 323
The lady renewed her tears.
" I tell you I can do nothing for you. I tried to
save him since I came here, but they kept me
strapped down. I told the judge the day before I
left the castle not to hang him, but he said it was too
late. Curse the old fool for being always too late.
Curse you too, and the whole Papist crew; and
curse myself. G d you ! don't you hear me
cursing myself; and why do you cry? I can't give
him back to you if you were to cry till doomsday. I
know he's dead. I saw him hanging there on that
wall. He leered at me and grinned as he was going
off the drop."
" Oh, dear husband ! do not speak so horribly !"
said the weeping lady.
" I tell you, woman ! your husband did grin at
me ; he did ! And oh, God ! how frightful he looked !
I see him again ! There he is ! He is always leer
ing and mocking me ! "
The lady turned to leave the room. He shouted
after her: "Come here, you woman! I want to
make a bargain with you. I'll give you your choice
of the best farm in Glengoulah if you will keep
him from following me ! "
The lady now thought she would try to soothe
him. " Oh, my dear ! you are laboring under a
324 THK BYKNES OF GLENGOULAH.
delusion. There is no one trying to follow J T OU.
No one can follow you."
He made violent efforts to disengage himself
from his bands, and failing he glared upon her and
shrieked out :
" Do you dare tell me I lie ? You are a cursed
fool, you low, contemptible creature, to doubt the
word of a bishop. I tell you a huntsman with a
yelping pack after his heels is not more surrounded
than I am. My life has been most miserable for
more than a year. I had wealth and honors, but no
happiness. I drank to drown my miseries, but it
would not do it was then I suffered most. A
curse, I say again, upon my obstinate tenantry.
They wouldn't hear the true gospel from me ; but
would believe their d d old priests. I swore to
make them Protestants, or to have my revenge, and
I had it ! Ha, ha, ha ! I'm glad I made them suffer !
I had my revenge ! But, G d d n them ! they
have theirs now. Sometimes they all come together,
and set me nearly crazy with their abuse ; some
times they come alone, but in such rapid succession
that they bewilder me. Last night that old villain
Flannigan w r as here abusing me for pulling down
his house ; he accused me of leaving him homeless
and childless, because his children were drowned at
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 325
sea on their way to America. Then Fogarty walked
in to curse me, because his old mother died a luna
tic, because she lost the farm, and was starving.
Then in came thirty-seven that were evicted from
the townland of Drismore shortly before Christmas,
each telling a dismal tale of suffering, enough to
drive any one mad but myself. Then the widow
Ryan came in and abused me because the bailiffs
carried out her two children in the rain, and both
sick in scarlet fever, and they died next day (she
says). I verily believe they died just to spite me
these papists are very vindictive. Then in came the
widow Cormac, and blew a perfect hurricane from
her nostrils. I felt the bed rock under me, and
everything was blown about; the snow began to
fall, and she pointed to a heap of it that had drifted
into a pile, and there that wild maniac daughter of
hers lay dead. They never let me get a wink of
sleep, but stand leering and grinning at me when
they are tired abusing. I do not heed them, how
ever. I crouch down and keep very still until they
are gone. Then I try to get away, and scream out
for help, but no one cares to save me. I could bear
any of them yes, all of them together better than
this Bryan Dempsey. I know you are his widow,
and I feel really sorry for you ; but 1 can do nothing
326 THE BYKNES OF GLENGOPLAH.
for you while he follows me, and keeps pointing tc
his throat and grinning so terribly. Mind I prom
ise you, on my word of honor as a gentleman and a
Christian bishop, if 3^011 will keep your husband
away I will give you a beautiful farm, and never
molest your children in their religion. Will you do
this for me? Papists profess to be charitable and
forgiving I will see now."
The doctors whispered her to agree at once. " Of
course I will do it for you," said the unhappy lady.
And, hoping to humor him, she asked : " What would
you think of taking a trip to England, my lord ?
They say spirits cannot cross water, so they cannot
follow you over sea."
" I should like it very much, indeed ; but you must
accompany me, or your husband will not stay away."
" Oh, certainly ; I shall go with you everywhere."
This assurance seemed to calm him, and he waa
permitted to sit in his easy-chair; but he would by
no means suffer her to leave the room a moment.
He evidently took her to be poor Winnie Dempsey,
and imagined he was freed from the ghastly vision of
Bryan's death while she was present. In about a
week the doctors pronounced him fit to travel, and
they left for London.
As Miss Menville was lying in fever at the resi-
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 327
dence of Mr. De Courcy while these scenes were
transpiring, she was not aware of the arrival of her
aunt in Ireland. Mrs. Biggs, however, was duly
waited upon by the housekeeper of Glengoulah Cas
tle, and, learning that her niece was a guest at Cas
cade House, deemed it beneath her dignity to pretend
being aware of that circumstance ; she therefore
sent her no message, and left before she had recov
ered.
When Lord Biggs and suite arrived in England
they resided for a time in a fine mansion outside
Greenwich, removed from all company or any ex
citement. The grounds were extensive and taste
fully laid out, the landscape around highly culti
vated, and every object inviting to repose. Here
the bishop's health greatly improved, his paroxysms
became less frequent, and hopes were beginning to
be entertained of his recovery, when a circumstance
occurred which rendered those hopes fallacious.
A large number of ejectment cases had been laid
over from the last quarter sessions, in consequence
of the landlord's illness, and Mr. Margin was at a loss
to know how to proceed. Hearing that his lordship
was rapidly recovering he wrote Lira for instructions
several times ; but r ceiving no reply he pondered
over the case and finally came to the determination
o28 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
of paying a visit to the invalid. He thought, too,
that this act of courtesy would secure him future
favors; so off he started in the month of May for
London, with a bustling and important air, sending
his bailiffs around before his departure to warn the
unhappy tenantry to be prepared for the worst on his
return. Fresh consternation and renewed tears were
the result of those warnings.
One lovely afternoon Lord Biggs was reclining
in a large arm-chair on the lawn, enjoying the
beauty of the evening and the charming landscape.
He had a portfolio of handsome engravings lying
before him on a rustic table. His valet had just
gone into the house for a few moments, when a turn
in the avenue brought a new comer in sight. At
first he seemed not to ' recognize the person, but a
few rapid strides brought Margin, bowing and
scraping, face to face with his lordship. The un
happy bishop trembled like an autumnal leaf at the
presence of the unwelcome visitor; but when the
agent, making another profound obeisance, inquired
after his lordship's health, maniac lightning seemed
to flash from the bishop's eyes he uttered a fierce
growl and clutched Margin by the throat. Having,
as before intimated, a diseased leg, and being taken
unawares, Margin lost his balance and fell to the
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 329
ground. The frantic Biggs jumped upon him and
endeavored to strangle him. Margin screamed for
his life, and the whole household rushing out he
was saved from immediate death. But Lord Biggs's.
delirium returned in the most aggravated form*
Mrs. Biggs bitterly upbraided Margin for presuming
to speak to his lordship on business. He assured
her he had not done so, and was merely commencing
to inquire after his health when he fell upon him.
"No wonder he should," she replied. "It was
your bad counsels and worse acts that made him un
popular with his tenantry, and made them reject the
Book of Life and the liberal education offered to
them and to their children."
" Is this, then, madam, the reward I receive for
making the Glengoulah estates four times as valua-
ble as they were under the agency of De Courcy ? "
" Oh, don't you speak of Mr. De Courcy. What*
ever his faults were, he was at least a gentleman."
" Madam, you evidently do not understand the
case ; permit me to explain "
" Sir, I understand one thing that your business
is with his lordship's lawyers, Messrs. Hawse &
Jones, of whose address you are well advised. You
certainly have none in this house, and I beg you
will withdraw."
330 THE BTKNES OF GLENGOULAH.
Choking with rage and mortification, Margin for
the first time realized the truth of the proverb :
" As you sow, so shall you reap."
He returned to Glengoulah much more speedily than
he had anticipated ; and if not a better he was deci
dedly a much more ragged man ; for his new coat,
purchased expressly for the occasion, was torn to
shreds in the scuffle with Biggs. Pie was observed
to be very taciturn and crest-fallen after his return.
The ejectment cases were again held over until next
session, and the poor tenants, for a time at least, felt
secure of a roof.
The bishop became so untractable that he could
not for a moment be left alone, as he attempted self-
destruction several times. The doctors again re
commended change of air and scene ; so Mrs. Biggs,
with their own physician, keeper?* from a lunatic
asylum, servants, etc., left for Paris' early in June
and thence to different cities, crossing into Bel
gium, thence to Germany, sailing up the Rhine, an J
visiting every place of interest. All was in vain.
Biggs seemed to become more frantic every new
place he arrived at. His lunacy, however, took
different phases. Sometimes he would shake with
terror and hide away in holes and corners from the
victims of his avarice. Again he would imagine
THE BTKNE8 OF GLENGOULAH. 331
himself in the plenitude of his power ordering their
arrest, and swearing to wipe out the whole Papist
brood, and colonize his estate with Prptestants.
Through all his language was a mixture of blas
phemy and Pharisaical cant. He would curse priests
and people ; but his heaviest maledictions were re
served for Margin, whom he cursed in all moods,
and vowed to exterminate root and branch, as soon
as he returned. Finding change of scene ineffec
tual, they came back to England about the end of
August.
A final consultation being held by the doctors,
they recommended that he should be placed under
the discipline of a private lunatic asylum immedi
ately. This advice was forthwith acted upon, and
the result was it terminated his madness and his life
before the end of the following month. In the last
week of September, just as the rent-day came on,
strapped to an iron bedstead in a mad house, the
unhappy sinner died ! His last words were a male
diction on Margin.
How inscrutible are the ways of Providence !
How just His retributions ! This was the end of all
for him the fame of whose cruelties rang through
all Europe!
The Right Reverend Samuel "W. Biggs, Lord
332 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
Bishop of Glengoulah and Ardmore the stroke of
whose pen sent hundreds of virtuous people to the
crowded towns to perish of want, to the emigrant
ship, and to the grave ! there he lies dead in the
cell of a mad-house, chained like a dog to an iron
bed ! Dead ! without one friendly voice to soothe
his last moments ! Dead ! without kith or kin to
close his eyes, or a Christian tongue to utter one
prayer for mercy on that passing soul so heavily
laden !
"Sic transit gloria mundil"
CHAPTER XXIX.
ONE clear, balmy morning in October, in that sea
son which is poetically called in Ireland " The poor
man's harvest," a woman of prepossessing and still
youthful appearance, dressed in an humble garb of
black, and holding by the hand a little girl with
fair, clustering curls, was sitting in the parlor of the
Presentation Convent of Ardmore. Soon a beauti
ful young lady entered, attired in the dress of a pos
tulant of that order. Her soft, hazel eyes were lit
up with a smile of pleasure as she caught sight of
the widow, who immediately arose and courtesied.
The young postulant exclaimed : " My dear Win
nie, I arn so glad to see you ! and this is your little
Mary?" She took "Winnie's toil-worn lingers be
t-ween her soft, white hands as she spoke, and then
patted the child's golden curls.
" You were so good, miss, as to invite me to come
to see you ! And some of the neighbors told me you
would be soon going to England again, so I took tho
liberty of asking for you."
334: THE BYRNES OF GLENUOUf.AII.
" Winnie," said the young lady, earnestly, "have
you lieard the news from England?"
" Vcs, miss ; I heard it. God pity us all ! In
deed, indeed, Miss Clara, I felt heart sorry for 3*011! "
Poor Clara covered her face with her hands, and
Winnie wept in sympathy.
" Ah, Winnie, what a contrast ! Which of them
was the richer man ? You have every reason to be
lieve 3'our dear husband is in heaven with God and
his saints furcvermore ; but my wretched, wretched
uncle died in his sins!"
" Oh, Miss Clara, dear ! don't grieve your noble
heart for one so unworthy. Sure, if he took your
advice, or any one's with a conscience, it's alive and
happy he'd be to-day. And they say many's the
warnin' he got to let the poor alone, but he wouldn't
heed them, and their cries pierced the heavens at
last. My heart aches to see an angel like you shed
ding a tear for him ! "
" It is because of his life of crime, Winnie, that I
cannot help weeping for his miserable death. He-
member, Winnie, his soul was created to God's im
age. Oh, what a disfigured image he made of it ! "
" That's just the way my father feels when he
speaks of his death. lie mourns for his soul as if all
belongin' to him was laid low. Sure, I know it's the
THE BYKNES OF GLENGODLAH. 335
right feelin', and I ought to think of these things too;
but oh, Miss Clara, dear ! pray God to forgive me. I
can't for my life think of him but I think of my
peaceable, happy home, if it was poor ; and of the
hearty laugh my poor darlin' was givin' when the
peeler darkened our door ! Oh ! vo, vo, vo ! A laugh
will never be heard there more ! Oh, Miss, honey !
why did he choose out the purest and best man that
ever lived, and persecute him to the gallows?' 1
Winnie was in one of her paroxysms of grief at
the recollection of her devoted husband. She wrung
her hands and raised her eyes to heaven in the aban
donment of sorrow. Clara was awed into silence at
this outbreak, so natural and so touching. She had
never before seen such a manifestation of woe, and
it added another link to the chain of evidence every
day growing stronger on her mind that the Irish
were a people of the deepest feelings. She did not
dare interrupt a sorrow so sacred. After a \vhile
Winnie came over to ask her pardon. She said her
heart was overcharged, and she could not control
herself.
" Indeed, my poor child ! " she said, taking the
widow's hands in both her own, "I am very far
from condemning your feelings ; but, Winnie, I have
not told you the news about myself. I have become
336 THE BYKNES OF GLENGOULAH.
an inmate of this convent ; yes, indeed." And she
smiled at Winnie's blank look of amazement.
" I am going to be a nun, please God. And do
you know the favor Mother Prioress lias granted
me ? I am to be called, in religion, Sister Norah. 1
7 O J
wish to bear while I live the name of that dear child
who first brought the dawn of faith to my darkened
soul."
" And you are not going back to England, miss ?
And you are, for sure, going to stay with us here in.
Ardrnore ! "
" For sure and certain, "Winnie. I wrote to papa
for permission he is in Rome ; and from the fav
orable answer I received I have very strong hopes,
through God's mercy, that he too will soon be re
ceived into the Church. He is about being con
verted. Now is not this delightful news ? See how
sweetly our Heavenly Father dispenses to us joys
and sorrows, both alike to draw us to himself.
And now, when your little Mary is old enough to
come to school, Sister Norah will be her teacher ;
meantime you must all pray to the Blessed Mother
to obtain for me the grace of perseverance."
"Winnie felt happier that day than she had done
since Bryan's death. She hastened home to com
municate the joyful intelligence to her parents, and
THE BYUNES OF GLENGOULAH. 337
great were the rejoicings all through Glengoulah,
Tinmanogne and Ardmore when it was known that
the beautiful young English lady had become a
nun.
A few days later it was announced that the Glen-
goulah estates had become the property of George
Bentley, Esq., the nearest heir-at-law to the departed
bishop. He was a country gentleman in England,
having much property there, and being an excellent
landlord he felt ashamed of the unenviable notoriety
acquired by his predecessor, and was determined to
leave nothing undone to repair the scandals now the
topic of general conversation. He betook himself to
Glengoulah Castle as soon as possible, and set about
seeking testimony from both sides as to the charac
ter of the tenantry, the treatment to which they were
subjected by both agents, the relative condition of
the estates under the past and present regime, etc.,
etc. His cousin, Clara Meriville, now Sister Norah,
of the Presentation convent, gave him valuable aid
in his inquiries. He visited the farms himself, and
conversed with many of the tenantry sent for some
of the dispossessed, and promised to reinstate them
if their conduct bore the investigation he designed
making. Margin was the first to pay court to the
new landlord. Mr. Bentley received him courte-
15
338 THE BYKNES OF GLENGOULAH.
ousl}', for he resolved to be perfectly unbiased in his
judgment, and invited all, agent and tenant alike, to
lay their grievances before him. Margin did not
much relish this state of things, but he determined
to have the first statement, arid thus try to create a
favorable impression of himself in the mind of Mr.
Bentley. Accordingly he drew a frightful picture of
insubordination, bigotry, lawless violence, arising
from treating with too much kindness a people who
were unable to appreciate it, always requiring a
strong hand over them, or they would be sure to ewd
in arson, or, probably, assassination.
Mr. Bentley listened attentively, made copious
notes, but uttered no word of comment. Margin
had strong hopes he would mar the evidence of his
opponents by this timely eloquence, and corrobo
rated all his statements by a written document
signed by those political fanatics who made them
selves so conspicuous on the trial of Bryan Demp-
sey, and by the honorable and truthful Sandy Mc-
Glauren.
Unluckily for Mr. Margin, about this juncture
Lord Wallingford returned from a lengthened so
journ on the continent to the great delight of his
tenantry, who strewed the roads with green boughs,
and would have taken the horses from his carriage
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 339
and drawn him home as in a triumphal car, but he
would not allow it. Arcades of flowers were formed
in every village through which he passed, even in
those places where the people had not the good for
tune to own him for a landlord. Such was the ad
miration and respect felt for a good man, who was
always actuated by a sense of justice. About a
week after this arrival a card, announcing a visit
from Lord Wallingford, was handed to Mr. Bentley
at the castle. They met in the library, and his
lordship greeted Mr. Bentley most cordially and
welcomed him to the county. After some general
conversation, Lord Wallingford said: ' k You have a
splendid property here, Mr. Bentley."
" Yes ; but I was half afraid to take possession of
it. I do assure your lordship, it required no small
amount of both moral and physical courage to face
the terrible dangers predicted for me by my friends
in England, maiming for life being among the small
est. I take credit to myself for being a most valiant
knight, and doubt not, if I lived in the ages of chiv
alry, I should have won my golden spurs while yet
a stripling."
" Your danger or safety, Mr. Bentley, depends
entirely on yourself. I speak to you candidly, as
one man of honor should to another. You have
340 THE BYRNK8 OF GLKNGOULAH.
come to reside among a people of deep passions and
warm affections a people keenly alive to a sense
of wrong, but so long loaded down with oppression
as to receive as favors and repay with sinceresl,
gratitude those common acts of justice which you
are every day accustomed to render to your English
tenantry, and which they" expect as a right. You
will find plenty to convey to you a very different
character of this people, but if-you are the man of
sense and honor I take you to be you will not allow
your judgment to be warped."
" But you forget, my lord, that I am a stranger.
How am I to judge, except by the testimony of re
liable witnesses? Quite lately I was honored by
two statements one made in writing, and one
in language of surpassing eloquence by gentlemen
whose veracity they assure mo has never been called
in question excepting by a low rabble, who ought
to have been hanged long ago if they had their
merit. Those gentlemen seem to be equally con
versant with the value of sheep and pure Bible edu
cation, green crops and Popery, while they know
every turn of a peasant's mind, and can read his
motives better than he can himself. Would you
have me insensible to the advantage of possessing
such a mine of information 2 "
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 341
Lord Wallingford, seeing the smile which played
on Mr. Bentley's face, joined with the quiet sarcasm
of his words, found that he was one not likely to be
turned from the path of rectitude, and that the cause
of the long-suffering people would be safe in his
hands. Smiling, he said : " I see, Mr. Bentley, you
are a man of penetration. Have you seen Margin,
the agent, yet ? "
"Why, -my lord, he did me the honor of introduc
ing himself this morning, after my arrival. He is
the gentleman to whose moving eloquence I alluded
just now, and from whose inexhaustible mine of
information I expect such valuable aids to the acqui
sition of wealth."
" And he really had the effrontery to look an hon
est man in the face ? Your allusion to mines, in
connection with his name, is more apropos than you
are aware of. Did you know that he had a lawsuit
with me, Mr. Bentley, respecting the mines of Coold-
nure ? "
" No, my lord ; bat I shall consider myself your
lordship's debtor if you will kindly inform me of
the transaction."
Here Lord Wallingford entered into the details
we have already laid before our readers of Jacob
Margin's antecedents, and drew a faithful picture of
34:2 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
the rascal's character, and the transformation effected
on the Glengoulah estates since he became agent.
Mr. Bentley's open smile vanished, and a dark cloud
of indignation overspread his manly countenance,
as Lord "YVallingford proceeded with his narrative.
" I thank you most heartily, my lord, for this in
formation ; it shall not be lost upon me. Do you
know a man named O'Hara, who lives in this neigh
borhood Jeremiah O'Hara ? I believe he is lame."
" Oh, yes ; ' Lame Jerry ' they call him an hou-
est, outspoken poor man he was when I left home,
and a genius in his way."
" A man of surprising information for a peasant.
I had a long interview with him yesterday, and he
really gave me more insight into the state of affairs
in Glengoulah than any one I spoke with until I had
the good fortune to meet your lordship* You will, I
trust, pardon the comparison."
" Pardon ! my good friend ; you do me quite an
honor. Why, ' Lame Jerry ' is one of the natural
curiosities of the County "Wicklow ; and a tourist
might as well leave the country without seeing St.
Kevin's bed, or
' Glendalough, whose gloomy shore
Sky lark never warbled o'er,'
as without hearing the poetic legends of Lame Jer
THE J3YUNE3 OF GLENGOULAH. 343
ry ; besides this, he possesses a large stock of historic
lore, and a perfect knowledge of the condition of
landlord and tenant in nearly all the countries of
Europe. Jerry is the oracle of at least three coun
ties. He lost a leg at Waterloo, for which he re
ceives a small pension from Government."
" Ah ! I see you are not aware, my lord, that he
has been deprived of that trifle."
" No ! Mr. Bentley ! you are not serious ?"
" Yes, indeed ! The poor man assured me he had
been describing to a number of peasantry one eve
ning, sitting in a group on the road-side, the condi
tion of the Russian serfs, and its vast superiority
over their own, when lie discovered that the Scotch
steward had been playing eavesdropper. Shortly
after this Margin trumped up some charge against
him of conspiracy, or some other folly, and the poor
man's pension was withdrawn, the learned judge
assuring him he was very leniently dealt with in
consequence of having but one leg."
" Oh ! shame, shame ! However, Jerry shall
never need their pension while I live."
" He does not need it now, my lord. He tells me
he wants for nothing, and never knew before how
many friends he could count upon."
" Well, Mr. Bentley, that single transaction con-
344 THE BYKNES OF GLENGOULAH.
tains a volume for a man possessed^ of jour high
principles ; but of this more hereafter. I hopo to see
you soon at Clonmalure. If you are an admirer of
the picturesque, we have some handsome scenery
there ; if your taste lies in literary pursuits, I have
a few rare books and manuscripts in my library ;
and if you are anything of a sportsman, I think we
can please you ; for my old huntsman, Larry Mc-
Quade (a perfect genius, by the way, to whom I must
introduce you) boasts that he has the finest hordes
and dogs in the country. I expect a few friends to
dinner on Tuesday, and if you will do me the honor
to join our little party sans ceremonie I shall be most
happy."
"I hope your lordship will be so good as to hold
me excused. I am sincerely thankful for your kind
ness, but I purpose leaving Ireland in a few days,
and prefer remaining quiet until my plans are more
matured. I merely came this time to have ocular
demonstration of convictions already established in
my mind. I purpose returning in May, and then,
my lord, I hope we shall spend many happy hours
together."
The gentlemen shook hands and parted, mutually
pleased with the frank and genial qualities they dis
covered in each other.
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 345
Mr. Bentley wrote Margin from England to notify
the tenants that he would not require the March
rent to be paid until the third week of May, and
that they should then meet him at Glengoulah Cas
tle, as he intended giving them a collation on the
lawn, thus introducing himself to all of them in
' O
person. He also invited Margin, Sandy M'Glauren,
and all the bailiffs, Bible readers, etc., etc., formerly
in the employ of his predecessor.
Margin sent the notification around only on the
eve of rent-day. He never performed a more dis
tasteful task, and put it off until the last moment.
The invitation angered well, and high hopes
began once more to take possession of hearts where
only despair had so long dwelt. Still the people
felt a little disappointed that Margin was retained
as agent, but consojed themselves with the hope
that he would be at least shorn of the power to do
evil any more.
IS*
CHAPTER XXX.
MAT came at last, and with the daisies and prim
roses came the summons to the landlord's entertain
ment. The castle and lawn presented a gay appear
ance. An immense marquee was erected, underneath
which long tables were spread, covered with sub-
stantials of every variety. Pipers and fiddlers, in the
midst of groups, were dispersed through" the tent
and lawn ; but the chair of honor was reserved for
Darby Wholahan. It was an old-fashioned high-
backed chair, placed on an elevation, festooned with
evergreens and flowers, and was arranged at the head
of the tent under a clump of larch-trees that trailed
their graceful branches like a bower on either side
of him, and where all could see him when the can
vas was rolled up.
"When the repast was finished, Mr. Bentley, accom
panied by Mr. De Courcy, entered the tent, and was
introduced to the tenantry by their old and loved
agent. Baskets of wine were opened on all sides,
and landlord, tenants and all drank health, long-life
and happiness to each other in flowing bumpers. A
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 347
party of gentlemen from the surrounding and neigh
boring county came in, including Sir Lawrence
O'Donnell and Lord Wallingford, and pleasant greet
ings were exchanged. To Toney Byrne, whom the
neighbors had placed at the head of the centre-table
in spite of all his entreaties they paid special at
tention. Mr. Bentley jumped lightly on a bench and
addressed the people :
" Men of Glengoulah : I invited you here to-day
for a threefold purpose. First, that we niijjit all
become acquainted with each other ; secondly, that
I might try to do justice where so much necessity
for it existed ; and thirdly, that I would see you en
joy yourselves. We Englishmen are said to be very
gruff fellows ; but I beg to assure you that I am a very
sociable character, not at all long-faced, but on the
contrary a great admirer of rational amusements,
and a believer in the old adage that ' God loves a
cheerful heart.' You see, though, a very modest
man, I can sound my own praises. I feel confident
when we become better acquainted we shall feel for
each other that esteem and affection which should
exist between a good landlord and worthy tenantry,
somewhat resembling the ties of mutual love and
respect existing between a father and his children.
I have English tenantry too, to whom I am much
348 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
attached ; but as I have not the gift of ubiquity, I
have decided upon residing every alternate year in
Ireland and England. Having said so much by
way of introducing myself, I shall now refer to my
second object in calling you around me.
" Men of Glengoulah, I have made the most mi
nute investigations in your regard, and am quite sat
isfied you have been a maligned and misrepresented
people. You have suffered much for some years
past, and it is but fair to reward those who merit it.
To all my tenantry I give an abatement of twenty-
five per cent. ; to some, who have been more especially
imposed upon, and whose cases will receive imme
diate attention, a further abatement will be made."
(A burst of cheers rang through hill and dale.)
" Anthony Byrne, I beg to inform you that you
shall be fully reinstated in your old farm, which
shall be newly stocked, to compensate you in some
small degree for the injustice you suffered and bore
so admirably. Any alterations you deem necessary
in the new house, which was erected after the fire,
shall be made at my expense. For your eldest son,
who is now old enough to do for himself, I have a
choice farm ; and for your daughter the widow of
poor Dempsey I have ordered an annuity to be set
tled upon her and her heirs forever." Cheer after
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 349
cheer broke forth, and the old hills gave back the
echoes oft renewed. Toney Byrne stood up and
made vain efforts to speak ; but the tears which
coursed down his cheeks were more eloquent than
words. Mr. Bentley resumed : " These are only
acts of simple justice, my friends, and not worth
thanking for. Every injustice on my estates shall
be repaired. Mr. Margin will please come forward.
Jacob Margin, I arraign you before the tribunal of
a people whose sacred" rights you have trampled up
on, whose holiest feelings you have outraged, whose
homes you have made desolate or levelled with the
dust."
" I was but the servant of your right reverend
relation, Mr. Bentley. I only followed my orders ! "
exclaimed Margin, sneeringly.
" Peace, man ! I know your antecedents. You
had sent your victims to the penal colony, and to
the gallows, before you laid eyes on the Glengoulah
estates. I do not seek to justify the memory of my
unfortunate predecessor ; but I know who was his
evil counsellor and his willing tool. In the presence
of the people I dismiss you in disgrace. You are
no longer agent of mine. I also dismiss your col
league, Sandy McGlauren, and all your troop of
cormorants, bailiffs, Bible-readers, and the rest.
350 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
You, Margin, are an old man, and I advise you to
repent of your misdeeds and make restitution."
Margin quickly disappeared. Silence reigned for
a few moments. Though brimful of joy at the an
nouncement, no voice was raised in triumph. With
that instinctive delicacy which is pre-eminently the
characteristic of the Irish people, they refrained
from rejoicing over a fallen foe. Mr. Bentley re
sumed : " I have the happiness to announce to you
that Mr. De Courcy " at the mention of that hon
ored name all sprang to their feet, and cheer after
cheer echoed and re-echoed through the hills " Mr.
De Courcy, who loves you all as his children."
-Again the wild cheers broke forth, and the people
seemed perfectly crazy. Mr. Bentley, laughing,
said : " I see I cannot name that name. "Well, a
certain gentleman has resigned his seat in Parlia
ment, where he long and vainly strove to obtain a
fair settlement of the landlord and tenant question,
and prefers again to become a quiet country gentle
man, living at peace amongst those who love him,
and " Here his voice was drowned m cheers
and shouts from several parties.
" God bless him, and you too, Mr. Bentley ! "
" Long life to ye both ! " " That you may never die
at all!"
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 351
" I see you are not willing to listen to me."
A stentorian voice shouted : " Boys, give three rale
Irish cheers and a ceadmillefailthafoi' Mr. Bentley,
our good landlord ! " These were given with a hearty
good will, throwing up of hats, and the wildest en
thusiasm.
" Now boys," cried the same voice, " hould your
tongues. Not another word. Let the gentleman
spake."
" I often heard," resumed Mr. Bentley, '* of an
Irish cheer ; but now I understand what it is."
" I have not much more to say. Mr. De Courcy
has done me a great favor in accenting the agency
of these estates. It is to him a labor of love, he
says, and I know you will all appreciate his kind
ness in saying so. He is not only my agent, but my
most valued and honored friend. The property shall
be entirely controlled by his wise head, who knows
the necessities and capacities of the tenantry. I now
want to see you enjoy yourselves in dancing, and all
your national pastimes."
There were loud calls for Mr. De Courcy, but he
merely bowed and smiled his acknowledgments,
while they drank his health and rent the air with
cheers. When he retired, Lame Jerry arose and
begged " before the dancing commenced, that every
352 THE BYRNES OF GLENGOTTLAH.
one should fill their glasses and drink long life and
every prosperity and happiness to their respected
neighbor and loved friend, Anthony O'JByrne, tho
old chieftain of Glengoulah." Again the old hills
gave back the echo of the oft-renewed cheers which
seemed never-ending, when Darby Wholahan
jumped up, rolling his sightless eyes around, ex
claiming :
" Boys, I'm going to improvise." [Cries of " Bravo,
Darby ! it's yourself can do it ! "] " I am going, I
say, to improvise. Most of yees knows what that
manes ; but, lest there should be any gorsoons whose
powers of discrimination are not nately developed,
I'll translate it for their edification. I said, I was
going to improvise. Now that manes, my young
friends, I'm going to compose a song for this truly
festive occasion, illustrative of the bards of old in
the ancient halls of our forefathers. I shall also im
provise an air upon my ancient instrument the
pipes." [" Bravo ! Long life to Darby Wholahan,
the king of pipers ; the best musician in the barony !
aye, or in the whole county, for that matter ! "
Darby sat down and flourished a number of chords
with great rapidity, then struck a particular key ;
and gazing upward, as if reviewing the past, present
and future in the light of the soul, he broke forth in
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 353
a wild but most harmonious recitative of the ancient
glories of " Green Erin of the Streams " her ages
of martyrdom and long-sufferings for the faith of
Christ, the valiant deeds of her sons, foremost among
whom was the gallant O'Byrne of Glengoulah. He
then touched on the penal laws, their disinheriting
effects and consequent impoverishment of the old
Celtic race, shoving them out by wholesale and in
troducing in their stead the Sassenach, some of whom
were as bad as the evil one could make them, but
whose wicked deeds we would pass over to-day in
honor of him who would become " more Irish than
the Irish themselves," and under whose benign sway
the lovely hills and vales of their country, so cele
brated in song and story, would again resound with
the joyous laugh and merry dance where the poor
and the stranger would ever find a welcome, and the
bard be honored as in days of yore 1
He ceased. During the recitative a number of
gentlemen from the castle stole on tip-toe, one by
one, into the tent, and listened delightedly. Now
cheers, bravos and compliments flowed in upon all
sides. Mr. Bentley and many other gentlemen came
forward as he ceased, to shake by the hand a bard
who combined poet and musician in his own person.
Mr. Bentley requested " that Mr. Wholahan would
354: THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
call and see him at the castle on his next visit to
Glengoulah. By that time he expected Mrs. Bent-
ley and his family there, and as his wife was some
what of a musician herself, she would be pleased to
meet a genius like Mr. Wholahan," etc. A proud
and happy man was Darby that night. - Such tones
as he brought out of the pipes were never before
heard by mortal ears. As our droll friend Tom
Moody said : " It would make a cat spake to see the
humors of the ould head joggin' from side to side,
now smilin' down at the pipes, and then snuffin' up
at the stars."
It was indeed a most entrancing sight. The sun
had sunk behind the western hills, but the sapphire
and golden tints which accompanied his declining
course were still spread far over the firmament, while
the moon, sailing slowly and majestically onward,
threw a flood of silver radiance on the old woods
skirting the noble lawn, and shed a trail of glitter
ing spangles on the bosom of the Ovoca. Groups
of happy boys and girls footed away right merrily
" The Eocky Koad to Dublin," Lather the Wig,"
" Trip to the Cottage," etc., on the smooth velvet
turf. Occasionally Darby's voice could be heard :
" That's yourself, Mick ; but it's no wonder you
do it so nately with such a partner ! Sure, Bessie
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 355
Daily wouldn't hurt a bunch of primroses if she
danced on them, her step is so light. Ah, Bessie,
you decavin' rogue ! though } r ou tread so lightly on
the turf, upon my conscience you're hard enough
upon the boys' hearts !" " Why, then, Mrs. Fogar-
ty ! is that your voice I hear ; and is it only looking
on you are you that could bate seven baronies at
the dance ?" " Bedad, it's the truth you're spakin',
Mr. Wholahan. Come out here, Mrs. Fogarty, and
letua show these youngsters what dancin' was in our
day. Oh, by the powers of Moll Kelley, I'll take
no excuse. Sure, it's many a time we danced to
gether before either of us was married, and I'll be
bound we have the old kick in our foot yet. What's
your favorite, ma'am? Bedad, you must have it!
Darby, give us ' The New Married Bride !' and now
clear the road, boys ?"
Such were the scenes of merriment all around.
Between ten and eleven o'clock they began to wend
their way homeward, with bounding steps and glee-
some jokes, betokening hearts awaking to a sense
of happiness and contentment.
CONCLUSION.
ANOTHEK year flew by, and once more the vines
and flowers in her old home were tended by the
careful hand of Winnie. The children played among
the flower-beds in front of the handsome, capacious
cottage erected by the late Bishop Biggs for Sandy
McGlauren.
Retribution had at last overtaken the wh^le troop
of vampires. The same day that Toney Byrne took
possession of his old farm, the soul of Jacob Margin
was brought before the bar of Eternal Justice. He
died ot putrid fever after seven days' sickness, at
his residence, Fawnbrook Lodge. Three days after
ward a stately hearse, with nodding plumes, and
half a dozen carriages, accompanied his remains to
the Protestant church-yard of Ardmore. A few
miserable outcasts, whom his tyranny had made
desperate, flung stones at the hearse and cursed the
senseless clay as it passed along ; but the majority
of the people shook their heads in horror, and, get
ting out of the way, crossed themselves, and invoked
a prayer to be delivered from the evil one. Such was
THB BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 357
the end of Jacob Margin. It was said not even one
of his own relatives ever shed a tear for him. He
went to his grave " unwept, unpitied," and but too
well known.
Sandy McGlauren went back to Scotland, a richer
if not a wiser man ; while Faulkner, the Bible-
reader, and his confreres, betook themselves to
u White Friar's Hall," to shout for Thresham Gregg
and the Dublin Corporation.
Mr. De Courcy, when he had the affairs of the es
tate restored to their loi-mer order, and saw the peo
ple once more contented and happy, took with his
family a tour on the continent, which he had long
contemplated. About six months after his depart
ure little Mary Dempsey came home from school
earlier than usual one day, and throwing her arms
around the neck of her grandfather, with whom she
was a great pet, exclaimed : " Oh, grandaddy ! I
have the greatest news for you ! "We were all dis
missed from school to-day at twelve o'clock. First,
we were brought to the chapel to join in a Te Deum
that all the nuns sang in thanksgiving to God. Sis
ter Norah played the organ ; but she could not sing :
her voice was choked with sobs. She told me to tell
vou in particular the news she had heard. Now what
will you give me if I tell you \ " and the young
358 THE BYKNES OF GLENGOtTLAH.
rogue peered laughingly into his face. Her grand
father fondled the little prattler and stroked her fair
curls. Then he said :
" I wont give anything. I don't care to hear it ! "
" Yes, you do, you bad old grandaddy ! You'd
give ever so much to hear it ! "
" "Well, I'll give you a kiss."
" Oh, I'll get plenty of them without telling any
thing."
" Well, then, I'll buy you a pretty picture the
next time I go to Ardmore."
" Will you, for sure and certain ? "
" For sure and certain."
" Then I'll te.ll you. Sister Norah got a letter
from Rome this morning, from her father, telling her
he had become a Catholic ; and on the same day and
in the same church our own Mr. De Courcy and all
his family were baptized, and all made their first
communion. Now, grandfather, isn't that good
news?"
Toney Byrne did not utter a word he raised his
hands and eyes to heaven, and going into his room
knelt down. The child saw the large tears stream
ing down his cheeks, and she ran off to find her
mother and grandmother and communicate the joy
ful intelligence. Soon it was over the \\hole coun-
THE BYKNES OF GLENGOULAH. 351)
try, and from every bill-top that night bonfires blazed
and groups danced merrily around them. Every
old flute and fiddle ever scratched was brought forth
and put in requisition for the dance, and when all
instruments failed the best whistler or jigger took
up the tune and footed it with right good will until
the near approach of midnight.
On any Sunday morning early, long before the
chapel-bell of Tinmanogue gives warning that the
holy mass will soon commence, if you chance to be
passing and peer through the sweet-briar hedge
among the peaceful graves, you will not fail to see a
pensive woman of prepossessing appearance, dressed
in plain black, surrounded by a group of hushed
children, kneeling around a grave which she fre
quently stoops to kiss and bedew with her tears.
And " Aft in the simmer eve's gloamin' " the
same figure may be observed (attended by one or
other of her children, and sometimes by an old man)
plucking the withered leaves from the rose bushes
which hang lovingly over the cross at the head of
the grave, or carefully removing the weeds from the
well-kept turf studded with daisies. Would you
know who sleeps beneath ? Then read the iuscrip-
3(50 tt\i!, BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH.
tion on \he white marble slab inserted into the chapel
wall aboYCy the grave :
BRYAN DEMPSEY,
DEPABTEL. IN THE PEACE OF THE LOUD,
Febraary 13th, 1846,
Aged 28 years.
BLXJUIESCAT IN PACE.
" Glengoulali forever mourns her youthful martyr 1 "
Watch the movements of this mourner a little
longer and you will see her proceed to another
grave, upon which she bestows equal care, and fer
vently kisses the green sod, praying all the while.
A box tomb of Carrara marble stands at the head
of this grave. On the top of the tomb two angels,
finely carved, hold between them an immortal crown,
and seem already on the wing for realms of bliss.
The inscription reads thus :
ERECTED BY HIS SORROWING PARISHIONERS,
TO THE MEMORT OP
REV. EUGENE PATRICK ESMOND,
FOR FIFTT-SIX TEARS
FATHER, FRIEND, COUNSELLOR, AND PASTOR OF GLENGOULAH,
Died a Martyr to Charity, February 20th, 1S46, Aged 98 Years.
Requiescat in Pace.
These graves and her children are the great charge
of Winnie's life. The white marble slab over Bryan
was the gift of Clara Menville, through Mr. De
Courcy, who carried out her wishes when she en
tered the convent.
Winnie's life glided peacefully on with her father
and mother. Many of the old people have dropped
THE BYRNES OF GLENGOULAH. 361
to sleep iii the hope of a glorious resurrection, but
Toney Byrne yet lives, loved and respected by all
who know him.
Still on winter evenings the neighbors gather
around his fireside as in days of yore, and beguile
the hours with legend, and song, and tale. Still
Toney watches the budding corn and waving fields
he tilled for so many years, and his life is a continual
prayer of thanksgiving. He thinks of the old neigh
bors who were persecuted to death or forced to emi
grate to foreign lands, while he can sit securely and
smoke at his porch, listening to the concert the
Bweet birds are making ; and in the humility of his
heart he wonders why it is that God has so espe
cially favored him. The terrible trials he has passed
through have faded from his memory ; or if ever
spoken of, he always says .
" Well, don't you see how God in his tender mer
cies brought us through all? And now we're better
off than ever ! Praises be to His holy name ! "
And now, dear reader, lest in this changeful world
some new evil should befall us, I will make my
adieu, hoping you will follow the advice I gave you
in the first chapter to visit before you die the lovely
hills and vales, not of Wicklow alone, but of " Erin
the beautiful."
1G
362 THE BTENES OF GLENGOULAH.
If you have not the good fortune to see Anthony
Byrne in the flesh, you will, thank God, see many,
many left in that grand old land with the spirit and
the virtue of the Chieftain of Glengoulah.
THE EM).
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