CHARLES STEWART PARNELL IrtlmmtL THE IRISH RACE IN THE PAST AND PRESENT BY REV. AUG. J. THEBAUD WITH A SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER OF RECENT EVENTS By JOHN HABBERTON P. J. KENEDY & SONS 3 & 5 BARCLAY STREET NEW YORK ^ =^ ^1 ^ "^ A^ .>9 A^. P^ ^/ PREFAOE Count Joseph de Maistbe, in his " Prin-cipe G6n6rateur des Constitutions Politiques *^ (Par. LXI.), says : " All nations mani- fest a particular and distinctive character, which deserves to be attentively considered." This thought of the great Catholic Writer requires some development. It IS not by a succession of periods of progress and decay only that nations manifest their life and individuality. Taking any one of them at any period of its existence, and comparing it witn others, peculiarities immediately show themselves which give it a particular physiognomy whereby it may be at once distin- guished from any other; so that, in those agglomerations of men which we call nations or races, we see the variety every- where observable in Nature, the variety by which God mani- fests the infinite activity of his creative power. When we take two extreme types of the human species — ^the Ashantee of Guinea, for instance, and any individual of one of the great civilized communities of Europe — the phenomenon of which we speak strikes us at once. But it may be remarked also, in comparing nations which have lived for ages in con- tiguity, and held constant intercourse one with the other from the time they began their national life, whose only boundary- line has been a mountain-chain or the banks of a broad river. They have each striking peculiarities which individualize and stainp them with a character of their own. How different are the peoples divided by the Hhine or by the Pyrenees I How unlike tliose Which the Straits of Dover run between ! And in Asia, what have the conterminous Chinese and Hindoos in common beyond the general characteristics of the human species whicli belong to all the children of Adam ? But what we must chiefly iasist upon in the investigation we are now undertaking is, that i he life of each is manifested by a ly PREFACE. special phvBiognomy deeply imprinted in their whole history, which we here call cJiaracter. W hat each of them is their history shows ; and there is no better means of judging of them than by reviewing the various events which compose their life. For the various events which go to form what is called the history of a nation are its individual actions, the spontaneous energy of its life ; and, as a man shows what he is by nis acts, so does a nation or a race by the facts of its history. When we compare the vast despotisms of Asia, crystallized into forms which have scarcely changed since the first settlement of man in those immense plains, with the active and ever-moving smaller groups of Europeans settled in the west of the Ola World since the dispersion of mankind, we see at a glance how the characters of both may be read in their respective annals. And, coming down gradually to less extreme cases, we recognize the same phenomenon manifested even in contiguous tribes, springing k)ng ago, perhaps, from the same stock, but which have been formed into distinct nations by distinct ancestors, although they acknowledge a common origin. The antagonism in their character is immediately brought out by what historians or an- nalists have to say of them. Are not the cruelty and rapacity of the old Scandinavian race still visible in their descendants ? And the spirit of organization displayed by them from the beginning in the seizure, survey, ana distribution of land — in the building of cities and castles — in the wise speculations of an extensive commerce — may not all these characteristics be read everywhere in the annals of the nations sprung from that original stock, grouped thousands o\ years ago around the Baltic and the Northern Seas ? How difierent appear the pastoral and agricultural tribes which have, for the same length of time, inhabited the Swiss valleys and mountains I Witn a multitude of usages, difi*ering all, more or less, from each other ; with, perhaps, a wretched administration of internal affairs; with frequent complaints of individuals, and partial conflicts among the rulers of those sinaU communities — with all these defects, their simple and ever-uni- form chronicles reveal to us at once the simplicity and peaceful disposition of their character ; and, looking at them through the long ages of an obscure life, we at once recognize the cause of their general happiness in their constant want of ambition. And if, in ,the course of centuries, the character of a nation has changed — an event which seldom takes place, and when it does is due always to radical causes — its history will immediately make known to us the cause of the change, and point out unmii- takably its origin and source. Why is it, for instance, that the FVench nation, after having lived for near a thousand years under a single dynasty, cannot PREFACE. ^ now find a government agreeable to its modem aspirations ? It is insufficient to ascribe the fact to the fickleness of the French temper. During ten centuries no European nation has been more uniform and more attached to its government. If to-day the case is altogether reversed, the fact cannot be explained ex- cept by a radical change in the character of the nation. . Fii-mly fixed by its own national determination of purpose and by the deep studies of the Middle Ages — ^nowhere more remarkable than in raris, which was at that time the centre of the activity ol Catholic Europe — the French mind, first thrown by Protestant- ism into the vortex of controversy, gradually declined to the consideration of mere philosophical Utopias, until, rejecting at last its long-received convictions, it abandoned itself to the ever- shifting delusions of opinions and theories, which led finally to skepticism and imbeliet in every branch of knowledge, even the most necessary to the happiness of any community of men. Other causes, no doubt, might also be assigned for tne remark- able change now under our consideration. The one we have pointed out was the chief. To the same causes, acting now on a larger scale throughout Europe, we ascribe the same radical changes which we see taking place in the various nations composing it : every thing brought everywhere in question ; the mind of all unsettled ; a real an- archy of intellect spreading wider and wider even in countries which until now had stood firm against it. Hence constant revolutions unheard of hitherto ; nothing stable ; and men ex- pecting with awe a more frightful and radical overturning still of every thing that makes life valuable and dear. Are not these tragic convulsions the black and spotted types wherein we read the altered character of modem nations ; are they not the natural expression of their fitful and delirious life ? These considerations, which might be indefinitely prolonged, dhow the truth of the phrase of Joseph de Maistre that " all nations manifest a particular and distinctive character, which deserves to be attentively considered " The fact is, in this kind of study is contained the only pos- ftible philosophy of history for modern times. W ith respect to ages tnat have passed away, to nations which have run their full course, a nobler study is possible — the more 80 because inspired writers have traced tne way. Thus Bossuet wrote his celebrated " Discours." But he stopped wisely at the coming of our Lord. As to the events anterior to that great epoch, he spoke often like a prophet of ancient times ; he seemed at times to be initiated in the designs of God himself. And, in truth, he had them traced by the very Spirit of God ; and, lifted by his elevated mind to the level of those sublime thoughts, he had only to touch them with the magic of his style. yl PREFACE. But of subsequent times he did not speak, except to rehearse the well-known mcts of modern history, whose secret is not yet revealed, because their development is still being worked out, and no conclusion has been reached which might furnish the key to the whole. There remains, therefore, but one thing to do : to consider each nation apart, and read its character in its history. Should this be done for all, the only practical philosophy of modern histoiT would be written. For then we should have accomplished morally for men what, in the physical order, zoologists accomplish for the immense number of living beings which God has spread over the surface of the earth. They might be classified accord- ing to a certain order of the ascending or descending moral scale. We could judge them rightly, conformably with the standard of right or wrong, which is in the absolute possession of the Chris- tian conscience. Brilliant but baneful qualities would no longer impose on the credulity of mankind, and men would not be Ted astray in their judgments hj the rule of expediency or success whicn generally dictates to historians the estimate they form and inculcate on their readers of the worth of some nations, and the insignificance or even odiousness of others. £i the impossibility under which we labor of penetrating, at the present time, the real designs of Providence with respect to the various races of men, so great an undertaking, embracing the principal, if not all, modem races, would be one of the most use- ful efltorts of human genius for the spread of truth and virtue among men. Our purport is not of such vast import. We shall take in these pages for the object of our study one of the smallest and, apparently, most insignificant nations of modem Europe — the Irish. For several ages they have lost even what generally con- stitutes the basis of nationality, self-government ; yet they have preserved their individuality as strongly marked as though they were still ruled by the O'Neill dynasty. And we may here remark that the number of a people and the size of its territory have absolutely no bearing on the estimate which we ought to form of its character. Who would say that the Chinese are the most interesting and commendable nation on the surface of the globe ? They are certainly the most an- cient and most populous ; their code of precise and formal mo- rality is the most exact and clear that philosophers could ever dic- tate, and succeed in giving as law to a gi-eat people. That code has been followed during a long series of ages. Most discoveries of modern European science were known to them long before they were found out among us ; agriculture, that first of arts, which most economists consider as tlie great test whereby to judge of the worth of a nation, is and always has been carried y PREFACE. vil by them to a perfection unknown to us. Yet, the smallest Euro- pean nationality is, in truth, more interesting and instructive than the vast Celestial Empire can ever be — ^wnose long annals are all compassed within a few hundred pages of a frigid narra- tive, void of life, and altogether void of soul. But why do we select, among so many others, the Irish na- tion, which is so little known, of such little influence, whose his- tory occupies only a few lines in the general annals of the world, and whose very ownership has rested in the hands of foreigners for centuries ? We select it, first, because it is and always has been thorough- ly Catholic, from the day when it first embraced Christianity ; and this, under the circumstances, we take to be the best proof, not only of supreme good sense, but, moreover, of an c.^vated, even a sublime character. In their martyrdom of three centu- ries, the Irish have displayed the greatness of soul of a Polycarp, and the simplicity of an Agnes. And the Catholicity which they have always professed has been, from the heginmng^ of a thorough and uncompromising character. All modem European nations, it is true, have had their birth in the bosom of the Church. She had nursed them all, educated them all, made them all what they were, when they began to think of emanci- pating themselves from her ; and the Catholic, that is, the Chris- tian religion, in its essence, is supernatural ; the creed of the apostles, the sacramental system, the very history of Christianity, transport man directly into a region far beyond the earth. Wherever the Christian religion has been preached, nations have awakened to this new sense of faith in the supernatural, and it is there they have tasted of that strong food which made and which makes tnem still so superior to all other races of men. But, as we shall see, in no country has this been the case so thor- oughly as in Ireland. Whatever may have been the cause, the Irish were at once, and have ever since continued, thoroughly impregnated with supernatural ideas. For several centuries after St. Patrick the island was " the Isle of Saints," a place midway between heaven and earth, where angels and the saints of heaven came to dwell with mere mortals. The Christian belief was adopted by them to the letter ; and, if Christianity is truth, ouffht it not to be so ? Such a nation, then, which received such a thorough Christian education — an education never repudiated one iota during the ages following its reception — deserves a thor- ough examination at our hands. We select it, secondly, because the Irish have successfully re- fused ever since to enter into the various currents of European opinion, although, by position and still more by religion, they formed a part of Europe. They have thus retained a character of their own, unlike that of jiny other nation. To this day, they Viii PREFACE. stand firm in their admirable stubbornness ; and thus, when £a rope shall be shaken and tottering, they will still stand firm. In the words of Moore, addressed to his own country : " The nations have fallen and thou still art young ; Thy sun is just rising when others are set ; And though slavery's cloud o'er thy morning hath hung, The full noon of freedom shall beam round thee yet. That constant refusal of the Irish to fall in with the rapid torrent of European thought and progress, as it is called, is the strangest phenomenon in their history, and gives them at first an outlandish look, which many have not hesitated to call bar- barism. We hope thoroughly to vindicate their character from such a foul aspersion, and to show this phenomenon as the secret cause of their final success, which is now all but secured ; and this feature alone of their national life adds to their character an interest which we find in no other Christian nation. We select it, thirdly, because there is no doubt that the Irish is the most ancient nationality of Western Europe ; and although, as in the case of the Chinese, the advantage of going up to the very cradle of mankind is not sufficient to impart interest to frigid annals, when that prerogative is united to a vivid life ana an exuberant individuality, nothing contributes more to render a nation worthy of study than hoariness of age, and its derivation from a certain and definite primitive stock. It is true that, in reading the first chapters of all the various histories of Ireland, the foreign reader is struck and almost shocked by the dogmatism of the writers, who invariably, and with a truly Irish assurance, begin with one pf the sons of Ja- phet, and, following the Hebrew or Septuagint chronology, de- scribe without flinching the various colonizations of Erm, not omitting the synchronism of Assyrian, Persian, Greek, and Ro- man history. A smile is at first the natural consequence of such assertions ; and, indeed, there is no obligation whatever to believe that every thing happened exactly as they relate. But when the large quartos and octavos which are now pub- lished from time to time by the students of Irish antiquarian lore are opened, read, and pondered over, at least one consequence is drawn from them which strikes the reader with astonishment. " There can be no doubt," every candid mind says to itself, " that this nation has preceded in time all those which have flourished on the earth, with the exception, perhaps, of the Chinese, and that it remains the same to-day." At least, many j^ears before Christ, a race of men inhabited Ireland exactly identical with it« present population (except that it did not enjoy the light of the true religion), yet very superior to it in point of material well- PREFACE. ix being. Not a race of cannibals, as the credulous Diodorus Siculus, on the strength of some vague tradition, was pleased to delineate ; but a people acquainted with the use of the precious metals, with the manufacture of tine tissues, fond of music and of song, enjoying its literature and its books ; often disturbed, it is true, by feuds and contentions, but, on the whole, living hap- pily under the patriarchal rule of the clan system. The ruins which are now explored, the relics of antiquity which are often exhumed, the very implements and utensils pre- served by the careful hand of the antiquarian — every thing, so different from the rude flint arrows and barbarous weapons of our North American Indians and of the European savages of the Stone period, denotes a state of civilization, astonishing indeed, when we reflect that real objects of art embellished the dwellings of Irishmen probably before the foundation of Rome, and per- haps when Greece was as yet in a state of heroic barbarism. And this high antiquity is proved by literature as well as by art. " The ancient Irish," says one of their latest historians, M. Haverty, " attributed the utmost importance to the accuracy of their historic compositions for social reasons. Their whole system of society — every question as to right of property — turned upon the descent of families and the prmciple of clanship ; so that it cannot be supposed that mere fables would be tolerated instead of facts, where every social claim was to be decided on their author- ity. A man's name is scarcely mentioned in our annals without the addition of his forefathers for several generations — a thing which rarely occurs in those of other countries. " Again, when we arrive at the era of Christianity in Ireland, we flnd that our ancient annals stand the test of verification by science with a success which not only establishes their charact-er for truthfulness at that period, but vindicates the records of pre ceding dates involved in it." The most confirmed skeptic cannot refuse to believe that at the introduction of Christianity into Ireland, in 432, the whole island was governed by institutions exactly similar to those of Gaul when Julius Caesar entered it 400 years before ; that this state must have existed for a long time anterior to that date ; and that the reception of the new religion, with all the circum- stances which attended it, introduced the nation at once into a happy and social state, which other European countries, at that time convulsed by barbarian invasions, did not attain till several centuries later. These various considerations would alone suffice to show the real importance of the study we undertake ; but a much more powerful incentive to it exists in the very nature of the annals of the nation itself. Ireland is a country which, during the last thousand years, % PREFACE. has maintained a constant struggle against three powerful ene- mies, and has finally conquered tnem all. The first stage of the conflict was that against the Northmen. It lasted three centuries, and ended in the almost complete dis- appearance of this foe. The second act of the great drama occupied a period of four hundred years, during which all the resources of the Irish clans were arrayed against Anglo-Korman feudalism, which had finally to succumb; so that Erin remained the only spot in Europe where feudal institutions never prevailed. The last part of this fearful trilogy was a conflict of three cen- turies with Protestantism; and the final victory is no longer doubtful. Can any other modem people oflfer to the meditation, and, we must say, to the admiration of the Christian reader, a more interesting spectacle? The only European nation which can almost compete with the constancy and never-dying energy of Ireland is the Spanish in its struggle of seven centuries with the Moors. We have thought, therefore, that there might be some real interest and profit to be derived from the study of this eventful national life — an interest and a profit which will appear as we study it more in detail. It may be said that the threefold conflict which we have outlined might be condensed into the surprising fact that all efibrts to drag Ireland into the current of European affairs and influence have invariably failed. This is the key to the under- standing of her whole history. Even originally, when it formed but a small portion of the grjeat Celtic race, there existed in the Irish branch a peculiarity of its own, which stamped it with features easy to be distinguished. The gross idolatry of the Gauls never prevailed among the Irish ; the Bardic system was more fully developed among them than among any other Celtic nation. Song, festivity, humor, ruled there much more universally than elsewhere. There were amonp them more harpers and poets than even genealogists and anti- quarians, although the branches of study represented by these last were certainly as well cultivated among tnem as among the Celts of Gaul, Spain, or Italy. Ihit it is chiefly after the introduction of Christianity among them, when it appeared finally decreed that they shoula belong morally and socially to Europe, it is chiefly then that their pur- pose, however unconscious they may have been of its tendency, seems more defined of opening up for themselves a path of their own. And in this they followed only the promptings of Nature. The only people in Europe wliich remained untouched by what is called Koman civilization — never having seen a Roman PREFACE. 3d soldier on tlieir shores; never having been hlessed by the con- struction of Koman baths and amphitheatres ; never having lis- tened to the declamations of Roman rhetoricians and sophists, nor received the decrees of Koman praetors, nor been subject to the exactions of the Eoman lisc — they never saw among them, in halls and basilicas erected under the direction of Roman archi- tects, Roman judges, governors, procojisuls, enforcing the de- crees of the Caesars against the introduction or propagation of the Christian religion. Hence it entered in to them without opposition and bloodshed. But the new religion, far from depriving them of their charac- teristics, consecrated and made them lastmg. They had their primitive traditions and tastes, their patriarchal government and manners, their ideas of true freedom and honor, reaching back almost to the cradle of mankind. They resolved to hold these against all comers, and they have been faithful to their resolve down to our own times. Fourteen hundred years of history since Patrick preached to them proves it clearly enough. First, then, although the Germanic tribes of the first invasion, as it is called, did not reach their shore, for the reason that the Germans, as little as the Celts, never possessed a navy — although neither Frank, nor Yandal, nor Hun, renewed among them the horrors witnessed in Gaul, Spain^ Italy, and Africa — they could not remain safe from the Scandinavian pirates, whose vessels scoured all the northern seas before they could enter the Medi- terranean through the Straits of Gibraltar. The Northmen, the Danes, came and tried to establish them- selves among them and inculcate their northern manners, system, and municipal life. They succeeded in England, Holland, the north of France, and the south of Italy ; in a word, wherever the wind had driven their hide-bound boats. The Irish was the only nation of Western Europe which beat them back, and refused to receive the boon of their higher civilization. As soon as the glories of the reign of Charlemagne had gone down in a sunset of splendor, the Northmen entered unopposed all the great rivers of France and Spain. They speedily con- quered England. On all sides they ravaged the country and destroyed the population, whose only defence consisted in prayers to Heaven, with here and there an heroic bishop or count. In Ireland alone the Danes found to their cost that the Irish spear was thrust with a steady and firm hand ; and after two hundred years of struggle not only had they not arrived at the survey and division of the soil, as wherever else they had set foot, but, after Clontarf, the few cities they still occupied were compelled to pay tribute to the Irish Ard-Righ. Hence all attempts to substitute the Scandinavian social system for that of the Irish septs and clans were forever frustrated. City life and maritime enter- ni PREFAOE. prises, together with commerce and trade, were as scornfully rejected as the worship of Thor and Odin. Soon after this first victory of Ireland over Nortliern Europe, the Anglo-Norman invasion originated a second struggle of longer duration and mightier import. The English Stronguow replaced the Danes with Norman freebooters, who occupied the precise spots which the new owners had reconquered from the North- men, and never an inch more. Then a great spectacle was offered to the world, which has too much escaped the observation of his- torians, and to which we intend to draw the attention of our readers. The primitive, simple, patriarchal system of clanship was confronted by the stern, young, ferocious feudal system, which was then beginning to prevail all over Europe. The question was, Would Ireland consent to become European as Europe was then organizing herself ? The struggle, as we shall see, between the Irish and the English in the twdtth century and later on, was merely a contest between the sept system and feudalism, involv ing, it is true, the possession of land. And, at the end of a con- test lasting four hundred years, feudalism was so thoroughly de- feated that the English of the Pale adopted the Irish manners, customs, and even language, and formed only new septs amon-g the old ones. Hence Ireland escaped all the commotions produced in Europe by the consequences of the feudal system : I. Serfdom, which was generally substituted for slavery, never existed in Ireland, slavery naving disappeared before the entry of the Anglo-Normans. II. The universal oppression of the lower classes, which caused the simultaneous rising of the communes all over Europe, never having existed in Ireland, we shall not be sui;prised to find no mention in Irish history of that wide-spread institution of the eleventh and following centuries. III. An immense advantage which Ireland derived from her iflolation, on which she always insisted, was her bein^ altogether freed from the fearful mediaeval heresies which convmsed France particularly for a long period^ and which invariably came from the East. For Erin remained so completely shut off from the rest of Europe, that, in spite of its ardent Catholicism, the Crusades were never preached to its inhabitants ; and, if some individual Irishman joined the ranks of the warriors led to Palestine by Eichard Coeur de Lion, the nation was in no way affected by the good or bad results which everywhere ensued from the marching of the Christian armies against the Moslem. The sects which sprang from Manicheism were certainly an evil consequence of the holy wars ; and it would be a great error PREFACE. jriii to think that those heresies were short-lived and affected onlv tor a l)rief space of time the social and moral state of Europe. It may be said that their fearfully disorganizing influence lasts to this day. If modem secret societies do not, in point of fact, de- rive their existence directly from the Bulgarism and Manicheism of the Middle Ages, there is no doubt tliat those dark errors, which imposed on all their adepts a stern secrecy, paved the way for the conspiracies of our times. Hence L-eland, not having felt the effect of the former heresies, is in our days almost free from the imiversal contagion now decomposing the social fabric on aU sides. But it is chiefly in modem times that the successful resistance offered by Ireland to many wide-spread European evils, and its strong attachment to its old customs, will evoke our wonder. Clanship reigned still over more than four-fifths of the island when the Portuguese were conquering a great part of India, and the Spaniards making Central and South America a province oi their almost universal monarchy. The poets, harpers, antiquarians, genealogists, and students of Brehon law, still held fall sway over almost the whole island, »when the revival of pagan learning was, we may say, convulsing Italy, giving a new direction to the ideas of Germany, and pene- trating France, Holland, and Switzerland. Happy were the Irish to escape that brilliant but fatal invasion oi mythology and Grecian art and literature ! Had they not received enough of Greek and Latin lore at the hands of their first apostles and mis- sionaries, and through the instrumentality of the numerous amanuenses and miniaturists in their monasteries and con- vents ? Those holy men had brought them what Christian Home had purified of the old pagan dross, and sanctified by the new Divine Spirit. Virgin Ireland having thus remained undefiled, and never having even been agitatea by all those earlier causes of succeed- ing revolutions. Protestantism, the final explosion of them all, could make no impression on her — a fact which remains to this day the brightest proof of her strength and vigor. But, before speaking of this last conflict, we must meet an objection which will naturally present itself. To steadily refuse to enter into the current of European thought, and object to submit in any way to its influence, is, pretend many, really to reject the claims oi civilization, and per- sist in refnsing to enter upon the path of progress. The North American savage has always been most persistent in this stub- bom opposition to civilized life, and no one has as yet considered this a praiseworthy attribute. The more barbarous a tribe, the more firmly it adheres to its traditions, the more pertinaciously it follows the customs of its ancestors. They are immovable, xiv PREFACE. and cannot be brought to adopt usages new to them, even when they see the immense advantages they would reap from their adoption. Hence the greater number of writers, chiefly English, who have treated of Irish affairs, unhesitatingly call them bar barians, precisely on account of their stubbornness in rejecting the advances of the Anglo-Norman invaders. Sir John Da vies, the attorney-general of James I., could scarcely write a page on the subject without reverting to this idea. We answer that the Irish, even before their conversion to Christianity, but chiefly after, were not barbarians ; they never opposed true progress ; and they became, in fact, in the sixth, seventh, and eighth centuries, the moral and scientific educators of the greater part of Europe. What they refused to adopt they were right in rejecting. But, as there are still many men who, without ever having studied the question, do not hesitate, oven in our days, to throw barbarism in their teeth, and attribute to it the pitiable condition which the Irish to-day present to the world, we add a few further considerations on this point. First, then, we sav, barbarians have no history ; and the Irish certainly had a history long before St. Patrick converted them. Until lately, it is true, the common opinion of writers on Ireland was adverse to this assertion of ours ; but, after the labors of modem antiquarians — of such men as O'Donovan, Todd, E. O'CuTry, and others — there can no longer be any doubt on the sulyject. If Julius Csesar was right in stating that the Druids of Gaul confined themselves to oral teaching — and the statement may very well be questioned, with the light of present informa- tion on the subject — it is now proved that the Ollamhs of Erin kept written annals which went back to a very remote age of the world. The numerous histories and chronicles written by monks of the sixth and following centuries, the authenticity of which cannot be denied, evidently presuppose anterior compositions dating much farther back than the introduction of our holy religion into Ireland, which the Christian annalists had in their hands when they wrote their books, sometimes in Latin, some- times in old Irish, sometimes in a strange medley of both lan- guages. It is now known that St. Patrick brought to Ireland the Koman alphabet only, and that it was thenceforth used not merely for the ritual of the Church, and the dissemination of the Bible and of the works of the Holy Fathers, but likewise for the transcription, in these newly-consecrated symbols of thought, of the old manuscripts of the island ; which soon disappeared, in the far greater number of instances at least, owing to the favor in which the Roman characters were held by the people and their instructors the bishops and monks. Let those precious old symbols be called Ogkatn^ or by any other name — there must liave been something of the kini PREFAOE. ^ XT If any one insists tliat such was not the case, he must of neces- sity admit that the oral teaching of the Ollamhs was so perfect and so universally current in the same formulas all over the island, that such oral teaching really took the place of writing ^ and in this case, also, which is scarcely possible, however, Ireland had an authentic history. This last supposition, certainly, can hardly be credited ; and yet, if the first be rejected, it must be admitted, since it cannot be imagined that subsequent Irish his- torians, numerous as they became in time, could have a^eed so well together, and remained so consistent with themselves, and so perfectly accurate in their descriptions of places and things in general, without anterior authentic documents of some kind or other, on which thev could rely. Any person who has merely f lanced at the astonishing production called the " Annals of the 'our Masters," must necessarily be of this opinion. In no nation in the world are there found so many old his- tories, annals, chronicles, etc., as among the Irish ; and that fact alone suffices to prove that in periods most ancient they were truly a civilized nation, since they attached such importance to the records of events then taking place among them. But the Irish were, moreover, a branch of the great Celtic race, whose rerown for wisdom, science, and valor, was spread through all parts, particularly among the Greeks. TSie few de- tails we purpose giving on the subject will convince the reader that among the nations of antiquity they held a prominent posi- tion ; and not only were they possessed of a civilization of their own, not despicable even in the eyes of a Roman — of the great Julius himself — but they were ever most susceptible of every kind of progress, and consequently eager to adopt all the social benefits which their intercourse with Some brought them. At least, they did so as soon as, acknowledging the superior power of the enemy, they had the good sense to feel that it was all- important to imitate him. Hence sprang that Gallo-Roman civilization which obtained during the first five or six centuries of the Christian era — a civilization which the barbarians of the North endeavored to destroy, but to which they themselves finally vielded, by embracing Christianity, and gradually changing their language and customs. Everywhere — in Gaul, Italy, Britain, and Ireland — did the Celts manifest that Busceptibility to progress which is the invari- able mark of a state antagonistic to barbarism. In this they to- tally differed from the vandals and Huns, whom it took the Church such a dreary period to conquer, and whom no other power save the religion of Christ could have subdued. These few words are sufficient for our prese3.t purpose. "We proceed to show that, in their stubborn opposition to many a current of European opinion, they acted rightly. ivi 4 PREFACE. They acted rightly, first of all, in excluding from their course of studies at Bangor, Clonfert, Armagh, Clonmacnoise, and other £ laces, the subtleties of Greek philosophy, which occasioned eresies in Europe and Asia during the first ages of the Church, and were the cause of so many social and political convulsions. By adhering strictly — a little too strictly, perhaps — to their tra- ditional method of develop^jg thought, they kept error far from their universities, and presented, in tne sixth, seventh, and eighth centuries, the remarkable spectacle in Ireland, France, Germany, Switzerland, and even Korthern Italy, of numerous schools wherein no wrangling found a place, and whence never issued a single proposition which Kome found reason to censure. They were at that time the educators of Christian Europe, and not even a breath of suspicion was ever raised against any one of their innumerable teachers. If their mind, in general, did not on that account attain the acuteness of the French, Italians, or Ger- mans, it was at all times safer and more guarded. Even their later hostility to the English Pale, after the eleventh century, was most useful, from its warning against the teachings of prel- ates sent from the English Universities ot Oxford and Cambridge ; and Rome seems to have approved of that opposition, by usmg all her power in appointing to Irish sees, even within the Pale, prelates chosen from the Augustinian, Dominican, Franciscan, and Carmelite orders, in preference to secular ecclesiastics edu- cated in the great seats oi English learning. Thus the Irish, by opening their schools gratuitously to all Europe, but chiefly to Ajiglo-Saxon England, were not only of immense service to the Church, but showed how fully they ap- preciated the benefits of true civilization, and how ready they were to extend it by their traditional teaching. Nor dia they confine themselves to receiving scholars in their midst : they sent abroad, during those ages, armies of zealous missionaries and learned men to Christianize the heathen, or educate the newly- oon verted Germanic tribes in Merovingian and Carlovingian Gtiul, in Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian England, in Lombardian Italy, in the very hives of those ferocious tribes which peopled the ever- moving and at that time convulsed Germany. II. They were right in refusing to submit to the Scandinavian yoke, and accept from those who would impose it their taste for city life, and the spirit of maritime enterprise and extensive com- merce. We shall see that this was at the bottom of their two centuries of struggle with the Danes ; that they were animated throughout that conflict by their ardent zeal for the Christian religion, which the Northmen came to destroy. There is no need of Celling on this point, as we are not aware that any one, even their bitterest enemies, has found fault with them here. III. They were right in opposing feudalism, and steadily re PREFACE. xvii fusinff to admit if on their soil. Feudal Europe beheld with surprise the inhabitants of a small island on the verge of the Western Continent level to the ground the feudal castles as soon as they were built ; reject with scorn the in^vaders' claim to thetr soil, after they had signed papers which they could not under- stand ; hold fast to their patriarchal usages in opposition to the new-bom European notions of paramount kings, of dukes, earls, counts, and viscounts; fight tor four hundred years against what the whole of Europe had everywhere else accepted, and conquer in the end ; so that the Irish of to-day can say with just pride, " Our island has never submitted to mediaeval feu- dalism." And hence the island has escaped the modern results of the system, which we all witness to-day in the terrible hostility of class arrayed against class, the poor against the rich, the lower orders against the higher. The opposition in Ireland between the oppressed and the oppressor is of a very difierent character, %s we shall see later. But the fact is, that the clan system, with all its striking defects, had at least this immense advantage, that the clansmen did not look upon their chieftains as '* lords and masters," but as men of the same blood, true relations, and friends ; neither did the heads of the clans look on their men as villeins, serfs, or chattels, but as companions-in-arms, foster- brothers, supporters, and allies. Hence the opposition which exists in our days throughout Europe between class and class, has never existed in Ireland. Let a son of their old chiefs, if one can yet be found, go back to them, even but for a few days, after centuries of estrangement, and they are ready to welcome him yet, as a loyal nation would welcome her long-absent king, as a family would receive a father it esteemed lost. "We know in what manner a son of a French McMahon was lately received among them. All hostility is reserved for the foreigner, the invader, the oppressor of centuries, because, in the opinion of the natives, these have no real right to dwell on a soil they have impover- ished, and which they tried in vain to enslave. This, at least, is their feeling. But the sons of the soil, whether rich or poor, high or low, are all united in a holy brotherhood. This state of thi ngs they have preserved by the exclusion of feudalism. iV. The Irish were right in not accepting from Europe what is known as the " revival of learning ; " at least, as carried almost to the excess of modern paganism by its first promoters. This " revival " did not reach Ireland. Manv will, doubt- less, attribute this fact to the almost total exclusion then sup- posed to exist of Ireland from all European intercourse. It would De a great error to imagine such to have been the cause. Indeed, at that very time, Ireland was more in daily contact with Italy, xviii PREFAOE. Fiance, and Spain, than liad been the case since the eighth cen^ tury. If the Irish were right in holding steadfast to the line of their traditional studies, in rejecting the city life and commercial spirit of the Danes, in opposing Anglo-Norman feudalism, and, fiaally, in not acceptinff the more than doubtful advantages flowing from the literary revival of the fifteenth century ; if, m all this, they did not oppose true progress, but merely wished to advance in the peculiar path opened up to them by the Christianity which they had received more fiiHy, with more earnestness, and with a view to a greater development of the supernatural idea, than any other European nation — then, beyond all other modes, did they dis- play their strength of will and their undying national vitality in their resistance to Protestantism — a resistance which has been called opposition to process, but the success of which to-day proves beyond question that they were right. It was, the reader may remark, a resistance to the whole of Northern Europe, wherein their island was included. For, the whole of Northern Europe rebelled against the Church at the beginning of the sixteenth century, to enter upon a new road of progress and civilization, as it has been called, ending finally in the frightful abyss of materialism and atheism which now gapes under the feet of modem nations — an abyss in whose yawning womb nulhis ordo, sed sempit'Cmus horror habitat. The end of that progress is now plain enough : political and social convul- sions, without any other probable issue than final anarchy, unless nations consent at last to retrace their steps and reorganize Chris- tendom. But this was not apparent to the eyes of ordinary thinkers m the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Only a few great minds saw the logical consequences of the premises laid down by Protestantism, and predicted something of what we now see. The Irish was the only northern nation which, to a man, op- posed the terrible delusion, and, at the cost of all that is dear, waged against it a relentless war. " To a man ; " for, in spite of all the wiles of Henry VIII., who brought every resource of his political talent into play, in order to win over to his side the great chieftains of the nation — in spite of all the efforts of Elizabeth, who either tried to over- come their resistance by her numerous armies, or, by the allure- ments of her court, strove her best, like her father, to woo to her allegiance the great leaders of the diief clans, particularly O'Neill of Tyrone — at the end of her long reign, after nearly a hundred yaars of Protestantism, only sixty Irishmen of all classes had re- ceived the new religion. At firsts the struggle assumed a character more political than PREFACE. xil religious, and Queen Elizabeth did her best to give it. apparently, that character. But for her, reh'gion meant politics ; and, had the Irish consented to accept the religious changes introduced by her father and herself, there would have been no question of " rebellion," and no army would have been sent to crush it. The Irish chieftains knew this well ; hence, whenever the queen came to terms with them, the first article on which they invariably in- sisted was the freedom of their religion. But, under the Stuarts, and later on, the mask was entirely thrown aside, and the question between England and Ireland re- duced itself, we may say, to one of religion merely. All the political entanglements in which the Irish found themselves in- volved by their loyalty to the Stuarts and their opposition to the Roundheads, never constituted the chief difficulty of their posi- tion. They were " Papists : " this was their great crime in the eyes of their enemies. Cromwell would certainly never have endeavored to exterminate them as he did, had they apostatized and become ranting Puritans. One of our main points in the following pages will be to give prominence to this view of the question. If it had been understood from the first, the anny of heroes who died for their God and their country would long ere this have been enrolled in the number of Christian martyrs. The subsequent policy of England, chiefly after the English Revolution of 1688 and the defeat of James IL, clearly shows the soundness of our interpretation of history. The " penal code," under Queen Anne, and later on, at least has the merit of being free from hypocrisy and cant. It is an open religious persecu- tion, as, in fact, it had been from the beginning. We shall have, therefore, before our eyes the great spectacle of a nation suffering a martyrdom of three centuries. All the persecutions of the Christians under the Roman emperors pale before this long era of penalty and blood. The Irish, by numer- ous decrees of English kings and parliaments, were deprived of every thing which a man not guilty of crime has a right to enjoy. Land, citizenship, the right of education, of acquiring property, of living on their own soil — every thing was denied them, and death in every form was decreed, in every line of the new Prot- estant code, to men, women, and even children, whose only crime consisted in remaining faithful to their religion. But chiefly during the Cromwellian war and the nine years of the Protector's reign were they doomed to absolute, unrelent- ing destruction. Never has any thing in the whole history of mankind equalled it in horror, unless the devastation of Asia and Eastern Europe under Zengis and Timour. There is, therefore, at the bottom of the Irish character, hid- ien under an appearance of light-headedness, mutability of feei- ng — ^nay, at times, fiitility and even childishness — a depth of XX PREFACE. perseverance, constancy, and true heroism, unequalled bj an^ other nation of modern times. And this it is which has preserved to them that intense spirit of nationality, so strong after every means had been adopted to crush it out. The hundred years which followed the penafi code were an age of gloom for them. They were mere Slaves, and seemed to have lost all courage, all desire even of impro^dne ^heir condition. After so many heroic struggles, they appeared to surrender all claim, not only to independence, but to a con- dition barely supportable. They were K)rgotten by Europe, and might have been considered as wiped out of existence. Wlio at that time would have dreamed of their resurrection at any future day? Yet they lived. They had, it is true, only one token of na- tionality, but this was enough to preserve unquenched the sacred fire of true patriotism : they had the wooden altars of their glens, of their morasses, of their mountain-fastnesses ; they had a few hunted priests officiating for them in the darkness of the night, beneath the canopy of heaven, or in the gloom of forests. There, before a rude crucifix, they knelt, one standing sentinel on some projecting rock, or at the entrance of the woods, to give the alarm if he saw the "wolf" coming to devour them. This alone saved them as a nation, and prepared the era of their success which is now nearly complete. For, have they not at last obtained almost all they ever fought for? Have they not at last freedom of religion, freedom of education, the full right of acquiring property, some political influence, liberty of speaking aloud to their would-be oppressors, and of calling on Europe to witness the justice of their claims ? Are they not, perhaps, on the point of recovering " home rule ? " And how long will their soil remain in possession of absentee landlords, who take to them- selves the fat of the land, and abandon the inhabitants of the country to the periodical devastation of famine and the constant degra^tion of pauperism ? Several attempts have been made to introduce among them the modem revolutionary spirit. A few individuals have been inoculated with it ; the mass of the people have remained intact, owing to their religious steadfastness, and to their intimate con- viction that the hierarchy of the Church and the priesthood are now, as ever, the true leaders of the people. May they continue firm in that holy conviction I Hence, what is now passing in Ireland ought not to be con- sidered as having any thing to do with the general upheaval of European passions, and with the Continental convulsions of so- ciety. The object of the Irish has never been, and cannot now be, to shake tne foundation-stones of the social fabric. Thej want to replace their national status on the basis of true order PREFACE. XX) according to the eternal laws which God gave to mankind. V^othing else is in their mind ; they are pursuing no guilty ' aiid., shadowy Utopia. Who knows, then, whether their small island inay not vet become the beacon-light which, guiding other nations, shall at a future day save Europe from ttie uni- "v versal shipwreck which threatens her? The providential mis- sion of Ireland is far from being accomplished, and men may yet see that not in vain has she been tried so long in the cru- cible of affliction. Another part of the providential plan as affecting her will show itself, and excite our admiration, in the latter portion of the work we undertake. The Irish are no longer confined to the small island which gave them birth. From the beginning of their great woes, they have known the bitterness of exile. Their nobihty were the first to leave in a body a land wherein they could no longer exist ; and, during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, they made the Irish name illustrious on all the battle-fields of Europe. At the same time, many of their priests and monks, unable longer to labor among their countrypen, spent their lives in the libraries of Italy, Belgium, and Spain, and gave to the world those im- mense works so precious now to the antiquarian and historian. Every one knows what Montalembert, in particular, found in them. They may be said to have preserved the annals of their nation from total ruin ; and the names of the O'Clearys, of Ward and Wadding, of Colgan and Lynch, are becoming better known and appreciated every day, as their voluminous works are more studied and better understood. But much more remarkable still is the immense spread of the people itself during the present age, so fruitful in happy results tor the Church of Christ and the good of mankind. We may say that the labors of the Irish missionaries during the seventh and eighth centuries are to-day eclipsed by the truly missionaiy work of a whole nation spread now over North America, the West In- dia Islands, the East Indies, and the wilds of Australia ; in a word, wherever the English language is spoken. Whatever may V have been the visible causes of that strange " exodus," there is an invisible cause clear enough to any one who meditates on the designs of God over his Church. There is no presumption in attributing to God himself what could only come from Him. The catholicity of the Church was to be spread and preserved through and m all those vast regions colonized now by the adventurous English nation ; and no better, no more simple way of effecting this could be conceived than the one whose workings we see in those colonies so distant from the mother- country. , This, for the time being, is the chief providential mission of )V jmi PREFAOE. Ireland, and it is truly a noble one, undertaken and executed in a noble manner by so many thousands, nay millions, of men and women — poor, indeed, in worldly goods wnen they start on their career, but rich in taitli ; and it is as true now as it has ever been from the beginning of Christianity, that ha^ est victoria noetra^ fides vesi/ra. These few words of our Preface would not suffice to prepare the reader for the high importance of this stupendous phenome- non. We purpose, therefore, devoting our second chapter to the subject, as a preparation for the very interesting details we shall furnish subsequently, as it is propei that, from the very threshold, an idea may be formed of the edifice, and of the entire propor- tions it is destined to assume. We have so far sketched, as briefly as possible, what the fol- lowing pages will develop ; and the reader may now begin to understand what we said at starting, that no other nation in En- rope offers so interesting an object of study and reflection. Plato has said that the most meritorious spectacle in the eyes of God was that of " a just man struggling with adversity." What must it be when a whole nation, during nine long ages, offers to Heaven the most sublime virtues in the midst of the extremest trials ? Are not the great lessons which such a eon- test presents worthy of study and admiration ? We purpose studying them, although we cannot pretend to render full justice to such a theme. And, returning for a mo- ment to the considerations with which we started, we can truly say that, in the whole range of modem history, it would be dim- cult, if not impossible, to find a national life to compare with that of poor, despised Ireland. Neither do we pretend to write the history itself ; our object is more humble : we merely pen some considerations suggested naturally by the facts which we suppose to be already known, with the purpose of arriving at a true appreciation of the character of the people. For it is the people itself we study ; the reader will meet with comparatively few individual names. We shall find, moreover, that the nation has never varied Its history is an unbroken series of the same heroic facts, the same terrible misfortunes. The actors change continually ; the outward circumstances at every moment present new aspects, so that the interest never flags ; but the spirit of the struggle is ever the same, and the latest descendants of the first O'Neills and O'Donnells bum with the same sacred fire, and are inspired by the same heroic aspirations, as their fathers. Happily, the gloom is at len^h lighted up by returning day. The contest has lost its ferocitv, and we are no longer sur- rounded by the deadly shade which obscured the sky a nundred years ago. Then it was hard to believe that the nation could PREFACE. xxiii ever rise ; her final success seemed almost an impossibility. We now see that those who then despaired sinned against Provi- dence, which waited for its own time to arrive and vindicate its ways. And it is chiefly on account of the bright hope which begins to dawn that our subject should possess for all a lively in- terest, and fill the Catholic heart with glowing sympathy and ardent thankfulness to God. TABLE OF COiNTEJ!fTS. PAOK Craptbb I. The Celtic Race 1 II. The World under the Lead of European Races. — Mission of the Irish Race in the Movement .... 39 III. The Irish better prei)ared to receive Christianity than other Nations 60 IV. How the Irish received Christianity .... 84 V. The Christian Irish and the Pagan Danes . . . .106 VI. The Irish Froe-Clans and Anglo-Nornian Feudalism . 133 VII. Ireland separated from Europe. — A Triple Episode . .159 VIII. The Irish and the Tudors.— Henry VIII. . . . 176 IJ. The Irish and the Tudors.— Elizabeth.— The LiSdaunted Nobility.— The Suffering Church . . . .204 X. England prepared for the Reception of Protestantism — Ireland not 229 XL The Irish and the Stuarts. — Loyalty and Confiscation . 257 Xn. A Century of Gloom.— The Penal Laws ... 292 XIII. Resurrection. — Delusive Hopes 827 XIV. Resurrection. — Emigration 374 XV. The "Exodus" and its Effects 425 XVI. Moral Force all-sufficient for the Resurrection of Ireland 4€5 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IRELAND frontispiece — Druid Priests Sacrificing Battle of the Boyne .... Daniel O'Connell .... Charles Stewart Parnell • • • IRELAND PAST AND PRESENT THE IRISH RACE. CHAPTER 1. THE CELTIC RACE. Nations which preserve, as it were, a perpetual youth, should be studied from their origin. J^ever having totally changed, some of their present features may be recognized at the very cradle of their existence, and the strangeness of the fact sets out in bolder relief their actual peculiarities. Hence we consider it to our purpose to examine the Celtic race first, as we may know it from ancient records : What it was ; what it did ; what were its distinctive features ; what its manners and chief characteris- tics. A strong light will thus be thrown even on the Irish of our own days. Our words must necessarily be few on so exten- sive a subject ; but, few as they are, they will not be unimpor- tant in our investigations. In all the works of God, side by side with the general order resulting from seemingly symmetric laws, an astonishing variety of details everywhere shows itself, producing on the mind of man the idea of infinity, as effectually as the wonderful aspect of a seemingly boundless universe. This variety is visible, first in the heavenly bodies, as they are called ; star differing from star, planet from planet ; even the most minute asteroids never show- ing themselves to us two alike, but always offering differences in size, of form, of composition. This variety is visible to us chiefly on our globe ; in the in- finite multiplicity of its animal forms, in the wonderful insect tribes, and in the brilliant shells floating in the ocean ; visil)le also in the incredible number of trees, shrubs, herbs, down to the most minute vegetable organisms, spread with such reckless Abundance on the surface of our dwelling ; visible, finally, in the infinity of different shapes assumed by inorganic matter. But what is yet more wonderful and seemingly unaccountable is that, taking every species of being in particular, and looking 2 THE OELTIO EAOE. at any two individuals of the same species, we would consider it an astonishing effect of chance, were we to meet with two objects of our study perfectly alike. The mineralogist notices it, il* he finds in the same group of crystals two altogether similar ; the botanist would express his astonishment if, on comparing two specimens of the same plant, he found no difference between them. The same mav be said of birds, of reptiles, of mammalia, of the same kind. A close observer will even easily detect dis- similarities between the double organs of the same person, be- tween the two eyes of his neighbor, the two hands of a friend, the two feet of a stranger whom he meets. It is therefore but consistent with general analogy that in the moral as well as in the physical faculties of man, the same ever- recurring variety should appear, in the features of the face, in the shape of the limbs, in the moving of the muscles, as well as in the activity of thought, in the mobility of humor, in the com- bination of passions, propensities, sympathies, and aversions. But, at the same time, with all tnese peculiarities perceptible in individuals, men, when studied attentively, show themselves in groups, as it were, distinguished from other groups by peculi arities of their own, which are generally called characteristics of race ; and although, according to various systems, these charac- teristics are made to expand or contract at will, to serve an a priori purpose, and sustain a preconcerted theory, yet there are, with respect to them, startling facts which no one can gainsay, and which are worthy of serious attention. Two of these facts may be stated in the following proposi- tions: I. At the cradle of a race or nation there must have been a type imprinted on its progenitor, and passing from him to all his posterity, which distinguishes it from all others. II. The character of a race once established, cannot be eradicated without an almost total disappearance of the people. The proofs of these propositions would require long details altogether foreign to our present purpose, as we are not writing on ethnology. W^e will take them for granted, as otherwise we may say that the whole history of man would be unintelligible. If, nowever, writers are found who apply to their notion oi race all the inflexibility of physical laws, and who represent history as a rigid system of facts chained together by a kind of fatality ; if a school nas sprung up among historians to do away with the moral responsibility of individuals and of nations, it is scarcely necessary to tell the reader that nothing is so far from our mind as to adopt ideas destructive, in fact, to all morality. It is our belief that there is no more " necessity " in the leanings of race with respect to nations, than there is in the cor- rupt instincts of our fallon nature with respect to individuaU. THE OELTIO RACE. S The teachings of faith have clearly decided this in the latter ease, and the consequence of this authoritative decision carries with it the determination of the former. According to the doctrine of St. Augustine, nations are re- warded or punished in this world, because there is no future ex- istence for them ; but the fact of rewards and punishments awarded them shows that their life is not a series of necessary sequences such as prevail in physics, and that the manifestations or phenomena of history, past, present, or fdture, cannot resolve themselves into the workings of absolute laws. Race, in our opinion, is only one of those mysterious forces which play upon the individual from the cradle to the grave, which affect alike all the members of the same family, ana give it a peculiarity of its own, without, however, interfering in the least with the moral freedom of the individual ; and as in him there is free-will, so also in the family itself to which he belongs may God find cause for approval or disapproval. The heart of a Christian ought to be too full of gratitude and respect for Di- vine Providence to take any other view of history. It would be presumptuous on our part to attempt an explana- tion of the object God proposed to himself in originating such a diversity in human society. We can only say that it appears He did not wish all mankind to be ever subject to the same i ule, the same government and institutions. His Church alone was to bear the 3iaracter of universality. Outside of her, variety was to be the rule in human affairs as in all things else. A imiversal despotism was never to become possible. This at once explains why the posterity of Japhet is so differ- ent from that of Sem and of Cham. In each of those great primitive stocks, an all-wise Providence introduced a large number of sub-races, it we may be allowed to call them so, out of which are sprung the various nations whose intermingling forms the web of human history. Our object is to consider only the Celtic branch. For, whatever may be the various theories propounded on the subject of the colonization of Ireland, from whatever part of the globe the primitive inhabi- tants may be supposed to have come, one thing is certain, to-dav the race is yet one, in spite of the foreign blood infused into it by so many men of other stocks. Although the race was at one time on the ver^e of extinction by Cromwell, it has finally ab- sorbed all the others ; it has conquered ; and, whoever has to deal with true Irishmen, feels at once that he deals with a primitive people, whose ancestors dwelt on the island thousands of years ago. Some slight differences may be observed in the people of the various provinces of the island ; there may be various dialects in their language, different appearance in their looks, some slight divergence in their disposition or manners ; it cannot be othe^ 4 THE OELTIO RACE. wise, since, as we have seen, no two individuals of the human family can be found perfectly alike. But, in spite of all this, they remain Celts to this day ; they belong undoubtedly to that stock formerly wide-spread throughout Europe, and now almost confined to their island ; for the character of the same race in Wales, Scotland, and Brittany, has not been, and could not be, kept so pure as in Erin ; so that in our age the inhabitants of those countries have become more and more fused with their British and Gallic neighbors. We must, therefore, at the beginning of this investigation, state briefly what we know of the Celtic race in ancient times, and examine whether the Irish of to-day do not reproduce its chief characteristics. We do not propose, however, in the present study, referring to the physical peculiarities of the Celtic tribes ; we do not know what those were two or three thousand years ago. We must confine ourselves to moral propensities and to manners, and for this view of the subject we have sufficient materials whereon to draw. We first remark in this race an immense power of expansion, when not checked by truly insurmountable obstacles ; a power of expansion which did not necessitate for its workings an unin- habited and wild territory, but which could show its energy and make its force felt in the midst of already thickly-settled regions, and among adverse and warlike nations. As far as history can carry us back, the whole of Western Europe, namely, Gaul, a part of Spain, Northern Italy, and what we call to-day the British Isles, are found to be peopled by a race apparently of the same origin, divided into an immense number 01 small republics ; governed patriarchally in the form of clans, called by Julius Caesar, " Civitates." The Greeks called them Celts, " Keltai." They do not appear to have adopted a common name for themselves, as the idea of what we call nationality would never seem to have occurred to them. Yet the name of Gaels in the British Isles, and of Gauls in France and Northern Italy, seems identical. Not only did they fill the large expanse of territory we have mentioned, but they multiplied so fast, that they were compelled to send out armed colonies in every direc tion, set as they were in the midst of thickly-peopled regions. We possess few details of their first invasion of Spain ; but Roman history has made us all acquainted with their valor. It was in the first days of the Republic that an army of Gauls took possession of Rome, and the names of Manlius and Camillus are QO better known in history than that of Brenn, called by Livy, Brennus. His celebratea answer, " Ysd victis," will live as ong as the world. Later on, in the second century before Christ, we see another THE OELTIO RACE. 5 array of Celts starting from Pannonia, on tlie Danube, where they had previously settled, to invade Greece. Another Brenn is at the head of it. Macedonia and Albania were soon con- quered ; and, it is said, some of the peculiarities of the race may Btill be remarked in many Albanians. Thessaly could not resist the impetuosity of the invaders ; the Thermopylae were occupied by Gallic battalions, and that celebrated defile, where three hun- dred Spartans once detained the whole army of Xerxes, could offer no obstacle to Celtic bravery. Hellas, sacred Hellas, came then under the 230wer of the Gauls, and the Temple of Delphi was already in sight of Brenn and his warriors, when, according to Greek historians, a violent earthquake, the work of the o^ fended gods, threw confusion into the Celtic ranks, which were subsequently easily defeated and destroyed by the Greeks. A brancli of this army of the Delphic Brenn had separated from the main body on the frontiers of Thrace, taken pos- session of Byzantium, the future Constantinople, and, crossing the straits, established itself in the heart of Asia Minor, and there founded the state of Galatia, or Gallo-Greece, which so long bore their name, and for several t drawn coldly from the mind, and sternly imposed by the ex- ternal law, in the form of axioms and enactments, as wag the case THE OELTIO RACE. 35 chiefly in Sparta, and as is still tlie case in the Chinese Empire to-day ; but they gush forth impetuously from impulsive and loving hearts, and spread like living waters which no artificially- cut stones can bank and confine, but which must expand freely in the land they fertilize. Deep affection, then, is with them at the root of all moral and social feelings ; and as all those feelings, even the national and patriotic, are merged in real domestic sentiment, a great pu- rity of morals must exist among them, nothing being so condu- cive thereto as family afibctions. Above all, when those purely-natural dispositions are raised to the level of the supernatural ones by a divinely-inspired code, by the sublime elevation of Christian purity, then can there be found nothing on earth more lovely and admirable. Chastity is al- ways attractive to a pure heart ; patriarchal guilelessness becomes sacred even to the corrupt, if not altogether hardened, man. Of course we do not pretend that this happy state of things is without its exceptions ; that the light has no shadow, the beauty no occasional blemish. We speak of the generality, or at least of the majority, of cases ; for perfection cannot belong to this world. Yet mysticism is entirely absent from such a moral and re- ligious state, on account, perhaps, of the paucity of ideas by wnich the heart is ruled, and perhaps also on account of the artless simplicity which characterizes every thing in primitively- constituted nations. And, wonderful to say, without any mysti- cism there is often among them a perfect holiness of life, adapt- ing itself to all circumstances, climates, and associations. The same heart of a young maiden is capable of embracing a married life or of devoting itself to religious celibacy ; and in either case the duties of *each are performed with the most perfect simplicity and the highest sanctity. Hence, how often does a trifling cir- cumstance determine for her her whole subsequent life, and make her either the mother of a family or the devoted spouse of Christ ! Yet, the final determination once taken, the whole after- life seems to have been predetermined from infancy as though no other course could have been possible. There is no doubt that sensual corruption is particularly engendered by an artificial state of society, which necessarily fosters morbidity of imagination and nervous excitability. A primitive and patriarchal life, on the contrary, leads to modera- tion in all things, and repose of the senses. Herein is found the explanation of the eagerness with which the Celts everywhere, but particularly in Ireland, as soon as Christianity was preached to them, rushed to a life of perfection and continence. St. Patrick himself expressed his surprise, and showed, by several words in his " Confessio," that he was scarce- ^e THE CELTIC RACE. .V prepared for it. " The sons of Irishmen," lie shjb, *' and the daughters of their chieftains, want to become monks and virgins of Christ." We know what a multitude of monasteries and nunneries sprang up all over the island in the very days of the first apostle and of his immediate successors. Montalembert re- marks that, according to the most reliable and oldest documents, a religious house is scarcely mentioned which contained less than three thousand monks or nuns. It appeared to be a consecrated number ; and this took place immediately after the conversion of the island to Christianity, while even still a great number were pagans. " There was particularly," says St. Patrick, " one blessed Irish girl, gentle horn, most beautiful, already of a marriageable age, whom I had baptized. After a few days she came back and told me that a messenger of God had appeared to her, advis- ing her to become a virgin of Christ, and live united to God. Thanks be to the Almighty ! Six days after, she obtained, with the greatest joy and aviditv, what she wished. The same must be said of all the virgins oi God ; their parents — those remain- ing pagans, no doubt — instead of approving of it, persecute them, and load them w4th obloquy ; yet their number increases constantly ; and, indeed, of all those that have been thus born to Christ, I ca/nnot give tJie nu7ribei\ besides those living in holy widowhood, and keeping continency in the midst of the world. " But those girls chiefly suffer most who are bound to ser- vice ; they are often subjected to terrors and threats — from pa- fan masters surely — yet they persevere. The Lord has given is holy grace of purity to those servant-girls ; the more they are tempted against chastity, the more able they show them- selves to keep it." , Does not this passage, written by St. Patrick, describe pre- cisely what is now of every-day occurrence wherever the Irish emigrate ? The Celts, therefore, were evidently at the time of their conversion what they are now ; and it has been justly re- marked that, of all nations whose records have been kept in the history of the Catholic Church, they have been the only once whose chieftains, princes, even kings, have shown themselves al- most as eager to become, not only Christians, but even monks and priests, as the last of their clansmen and vassals. Every where else the lower orders chiefly have furnished the first fol- lowers of Christ, the rich and the great being few at the begin- ning, and forming only the exception. The evident consequence of this well -attested fact is that the pagan Celts, even of the liighest rank, generally led pure livea, ana admired chastity. But there is something more. Morality rests on the sense of duty ; the deeper that sense is imprinted in the heart of man, the more man becomes truly moral and holy THE OELTIO RAOE. 3? It can be almost demonstrated that scarcely any thing gives more solidity to the sense of duty than a simple and patriarchal life. Their views of morals being no more complicated than their views of any thing else ; being accustomed to reduce every thing of a spiritual, moral nature to a few feelings and axioms, as it were, but at the same time becoming strongly attached to them on account of the importance which every man naturally bestows on matters of that sort ; what among other nations forms a complicated code of morality more or less pure, more or less corrupt, for the nations of which we speak becomes compressed, so to speak, in a nutshell, and, the essence remaining always at the bottom, the idea of duty grows paramount in their mindfi and hearts, and every thing they do is illumined by that light of the human conscience, which, after all, is for each one of us the voice of God. False issues do not distract their minds, and give a wrong bias to the conscience. Hence Celtic tribes, by their very nature, were strictly conscientious. So preeminently was this the case with them that spiritual things in their eyes became, as they truly are, real and substan- tial. Hence their religion was not an exterior thing only. On the contrary, exterior rites were in their eyes only symbolical, and mere emblems of the reality which they covered. It should, therefore, be no matter of surprise to us to find that for them religion has always been above all things ; that they have always sacrificed to it whatever is dear to man on earth. They all seem to feel as instinctively and deeply as the thoroughly cul- tivated and superior mind of Thomas More did, that eternal things are infinitely superior to whatever is temporal, and that a wise man ought to give up every thing rather than be faithless to his religion. From the previous remarks, we may conclude, with Mr. Mat- thew Arnold, who has applied his critical and appreciative mind to the study of the Celtic character, that " the Celtic genius has sentiment as its main basis, with love of beauty, charm, and spirituality for its excellence," but, he adds, " ineffectualness and self-will for its defects." On these last words we may be allowed to make a few concluding observations. If by " ineffectualness " is understood that, owing to theii impulsive nature, the Celts often attempted more than they could accomplish, and thus failed ; or that on many occasions of less import they changed their mind, and, after a slight effort, did not persevere in an undertaking just begun, there is no doubt of the truth of the observation. But, if the celebrated writer meant to say that this defect of character always accom- panied the Celts in whatever they attempted, and that thus they were constantly foiled and never successful in any thing; or, itill worse, that, owing to want of perseverance ana of energy, 88 THE CELTIC BACK they too soon relaxed in their efforts, and that every enterprise and determination on their part became " ineffectual " — we so far disagree with him that the main object of the following pages will be to contradict these positions, and to show by the nistory of the race, in Ireland at least; that, owing precisely to their " self-will," they were never ultimately unsiM:cessful in their as- pirations ; but that, on the contrary, they have always in the end effected what with their accustomed perseverance and self-will they have at all times stood for. At least this we hope will be- come evident, whenever they had a great object in view, and with respect to things to which they attached a real and i>ajr» moirnt importance. CHAPTER n. nas woiuLD under the lead of the European baoes. — ^hibsioj^! OF THE IRISH RACE IN THE MOVEMENT. " The old prophecies are being fulfilled ; Japhet takes pos- session of the tents of Sem." — (I)e Maistre, Lettre au ComU cPAvaray.) The following considerations will at once demonstrate the importance and reality of" the subject which we have undertaken to treat upon : It was at the second birth of mankind, when the family of Noah, left alone after the flood, was to originate a new state of things, and in its posterity to take possession of all the conti- nents and islands of the globe, that the prophecy alluded to at the head of this chapter was uttered, to be afterward recorded by Moses, and preserved by the Hebrews and the Christians till the end of time. !N"ever before has it been so near its accomplishment as we see it now ; and the great Joseph de Maistre was the first to point this out distinctly. Yet he did not intend to say that it is only in our times that Europe has been placed by Providence at the head of human affairs ; he only meant that what the prophet saw and announced six thousand years ago seems now to be on the point of complete realization. It will be interesting to examine, first, in a general way, how the race of Japhet, to whom Europe was given as a dwelling place, gradually crept more and more into prominence after hav- mg at the outset been cast into the shade by the posterity of the two other sons of IToah. The Asiatic and African races, the posterity of Sem and Cham, appear in our days destitute of all energy, and incapable not only of ruling over foreign races, but even of standing alone and escaping a foreign yoke. It has not been so from the be- ginning. There was a period of wonderful activity for them. Asia and Africa for many ages were in turn the respective centres of civilization and of human history ; and the material 40 THE WORLD LED BY EUROPE. relics of their former energy still astonish all European travel- lers who visit the Pyramids of Egypt, the obelisks and temples of Nubia and Ethiopia, the immense stone structures of Arabia Petraea and Persia, as well as the stupendous pagodas of Hin- dostan. How, under a burning sun, men of those now-despised races could raise structures so mighty and so vast in number ; how the ancestors of the now-wretched Copt, of the wandering Bedouin, of the effete Persian, of the dreamy Hindoo, could display such mental vigor and such physical endurance as the remains of their architectural skill and even of their literature plainly show, is a mystery which no one has hitherto attempted to solve. Nothing in modern Europe, where such activity now prevails, can compare with what the Eastern and Southern races accomplished thousands of years ago. Ethiopia, now buried in sand and in sleep, was, according to Heeren, the most reliable observer of antiquity in our days, a land of immense commercial enterprise, and wonderful architectural skill and energy. In aU probability Egypt received her civilization from this country ; and Homer smgs of the renowned prosperity of the long-lived and happy Ethiopians. It is useless to repeat here what we have all learned in our youth of Babylon and Nineveh, in Mesopota- mia ; of Persepolis, in fertile and blooming Iran ; of the now ruined mountain-cities of Idumaea and Northern Arabia ; of Thebes and Memphis ; of Thadmor, in Syria ; of Balk and Sam- arcand, in Central Asia ; of the wonderful cities on the banks of the Ganges and in the southern districts of the peninsula of Hindostan. That the ancestors of the miserable men who continue to exist in all those countries were able to raise fabrics which time seems powerless to destroy, while their descendants can scarcely erect huts for their habitation, which are buried under the sand at the first breath of the storm, is inexplicable, especially when we take into consideration the principles of the modern doctrine of human progress and the indefinite perfectibility of man. At the time when those Eastern and Southern nations flour- ished, the sons of Japhet had not yet taken a place in history. Silently and unnoticed they wandered from the cradle of man- kind ; and, if Scripture had not recorded their names, we should be at a loss to-day to reach back to the origin of European na- tions. Yet were they destined, according to prophecy, to be the future rulers of the world ; and their education for that high destiny was a rude and painful one, receiving as they did for their share of the globe its roughest portion : an uninterrupted forest covering all their domain from the central plateau which they had left to the shores of the northern and western ocean, their utmost limit. Many branches of that bold race — audaa Japeti genus — ^fell into a state of barbarism, but a barbarism very di^«^ THE WORLD LED BY EUROPE. 41 ent from that of the tribes of Oriental or Southern origin. With them degradation was not final, as it seems to have been with some branches at least of the other stems. Thej were always reclaimable, always apt to receive education, and, after having existed for centuries in an almost savage state, they were capable of once more attaining the highest civilization. This the Scan- dinavian and German tribes have satisfactorily demonstrated. It may even be said that all the branches of the stock of Japhet first fell from their original elevation and passed through real barbarism, to rise again by their own efibrts and occupy a prominent position on tne stage of history ; and this fact has, no doubt, given rise to the fable of the primitive savage state of all men. That the theory is false is proved at once by the sudden emergence of all Eastern nations into splendor and strength with- out ever having had barbarous ancestors. But, when they fall, it seems to be forever; and it looks at least problematical whether "Western intercourse, and even the intermixture of West- ern blood, can reinvigorate the apathetic races of Asia. As to their rising of their own accord and assuming once again the lead of the world, no one can for a moment give a second thought to the realization of such a dream. But how and when did the races of Japhet appear first in history ? How and when did the Eastern races begin to fall be- hind their younger brethren ? * A great deal has been written, and with a vast amount of dogmatism, concerning the Pelasgians and their colonizations and conquests on the shore and over the islands of the Mediter- ranean Sea. But nothing can be proved with certainty in regard to their origin and manners, their rise and fall. In fact, Eu- ropean history begins with that of Greece ; and the struggle be- tween Hellas and Persia is at once the brilliant introduction of the sons of Japhet on the stage of the world — the Trojan War being more than half fabulous. The campaigns of Alexander established the supremacy of the West ; and from that epoch the Oriental races begin to fall into that profound slumber wherein they still lie buried, and which the brilliant activity of the Saracens and Moslems broke for a time — now, we must hope, passed away forever. The downfall of the far Orient was not, however, contempo- raneous with the supremacy of Greece over the East. The great peninsula of India was still to show for many ages an astonishing activity under the successive sway of the Hindoos, the Patans, the Mx)guls, and the Sikhs. China also was to continue for a long time an immense and prosperous empire ; but the existence of both these countries was concentrated in themselves, so that the rest of the world felt no result from their internal agitations. 42 THE WORLD LED BY EUROPE. Life was gradually ebbing away in the great Mongolian family^ and the silent beatings ot the pulse that indicated the slow freez- ing of their blood could neither be heard nor felt beyond their own territorial limits. ISTothing new in literature and the arts is visible among them after the appearance, on their western frontiers, of the sons of Japhet, led jby the Macedonian hero. It now seems established that Sanscrit literature, the only, but really surprising proof of intellectual life in Hindostan, is anterior to that epoch. As to China, the great discoveries which in the hands of the European races have led to such wonderful results, the mariner's compass, the printing-press, gunpowder, paper, bank-notes, re- mained for the Chinese mere toys or without further improve- ments after their first discovery. It is not known when those great inventions first appeared among them. They had been in operation for ages before Marco Polo saw them in use, and scarcely understood them himself. Europeans were at that time so little prepared for the reception of those material instruments of civil- ization, that the publication of his travels only produced incre- dulity with regard to those mighty engines of good or evil. But those very proofs of Oriental ingenuity establish the fact of a point of suspension in mental activity among the nations which discovered them. Its exact date is unknown ; but every thing tends to prove that it took place long ages ago, and nothing is so well calculated fo bring home to our minds the great fact which we are now trying to establish as the simple mention of the two following phenomena in the life of the most remote Eastern nations : The genius of the East was at one time able to produce liter- ary works of a philosophical and poetical character unsurpassed by those of any other nation. The most learned men of modern times in Europe, when they are in the position to become pi*ac- tic4illy acquainted with them, and peruse them in their original dialects, can scarcely find words to express their astonishment, in- timately conversant as they are with the masterpieces of Greece and Rome and of the most ]>olitc Christian nations. They find in Sanscrit poems and religious books models of every descrijv tion ; but they chiefly find in them an abundance, a freshness, a mental energy, which fill them with wonder ; yet all those high intellectual endowments have disappeared ages ago, no one knows how nor precisely when. It is clear that tlie nation which pro- duced them has fallen into a kind of unconscious stupor, which has been its mental condition ever since, and which to-day raises Duny Europe to the stature of a giant before the fallen colossus Again : many ages ago the Mongolian family in China ii». vented many material processes whit-h have been mainly the ittuse of the rise of Emope iu our days. They were really th« THE WORLD LED BY EOROPE. 43 invention of the Chinese, who neither received them from nor communicated them to any other nation. Ages ago they became known to us accidentally through their instrumentality; but, as we were not at that time prepared for the adoption of such useful discoveries, their mention in a book then read all over Europe excited only ridicule and unbelief. As soon as the West- ern mind -mastered them of itself, they became straightway of immense importance, and gave rise, we may say, to all that we call modern civilization, fiut in the hands of the Chinese they remained useless and unproductive, as they are to this day, al- though they may now see what we have done with them. Their mind, therefore, once active enough to invent mighty instru- ments of material progress, long ago became peifectly incapable of improving on its own invention, so that European vessels con- vey to their astonished sight what was originally theirs, but so improved and altered as to render the original utterly contempt- ible and ridiculous. And, what is stranger still, though they can compare their own rude implements with ours, and possess a most acute mind in what is materially useful, they cannot be brought to confess "Western superiority. The advantage which they really possessed over us a thousand years ago is still a reality to their blind pride. But it is time to return to the epoch when the race of Japhet began to put forth its power. Roman intellectual and physical vigor was the first great force which gave Europe that preeminence she has never since lost ; and there was a moment in history when it seemed likely that a nation, or a city rather, was on the point of realizing the prophetic promise made to the sons of Koah. But an idolatrous nation could not receive that boon ; and the Roman sway affected very slightly the African and Asiatic nations, whatever its pretensions may have been. For, when Rome had subdued what she called Europe, Asia, and Africa — the whole globe — whenever she found that her em- pire did not reach the sea, she established there posts of armed men ; colonies were sent out and legions distributed along the line ; even in some places, as in Britain, walls were constructed, stretching across islands, if not along continents. Whatever country nad the happiness of being included between those limits belonged to " the city and the world " — urbi et orbi ; be- yond was Cimmerian darkness in the North, or burning deserts m the South. Mankind had no right to exist outside of hei sway ; and, if some roaming barbarians strayed over the inhos- pitable confines, they could not complain at having their exist- ence swept off from the field of history, so unworthy were they of the name of men. Science itself, the science of those times, had to admit such ideas and dictate them to polished writers. 44 THE WORLD LED BY EUROPE. Hence, according to the greatest geographers, mankind could exist neither in tropical nor in arctic regions ; and Strabo, divid- ing the globe into ^ye zones, declarea that only two of thera were habitable. "We now know how false were those assertions, and indeed how circumscribed was the power of ancient Rome. She pretended to universal as well as to eternal dominion ; but she deceived herself in both cases. Under her sway the races of Japhet were not " to dw^U in the tents of Sem." She was not worthy of accomplishing the great prophecy which is now under our con- sideration. It is, however, undoubtedly due to her that the children of Japhet became the dominant race of the globe, and the Eastern nations, once so active and so powerful, were overshadowed by her glory, and had already fallen into that slumber which seema eternal. Egypt was reduced so low that a victorious Koman general had only to appear on her borders to insure immediate submission. Syria and Mesopotamia were fast becoming the frightful des- erts they are to-day. Persia dared not move in the awful pres- ence of a few legions scattered along the Tigris ; and, if, later on, the Parthian kings made a successful resistance against Rome, it was only owing to the abominable corruption of Roman society at the time ; but, in fact, Iran had fallen to rise no more, save spasmodically under Mohammedan rule. The fact is, that, in the subsequent flood of barbarians which for centuries overwhelmed and destroyed the whole Oi Europe, we behold, on all sides, streams of l^orthern European races, members of the same family of Japhet. It was the Goths that ruined Palestine even in the time of St. Jerome. If side by side with Northern nations the Huns appeared, no one knows pre- cisely whence they came. Attila called himself King of the Scythians and the Goths, as well as grandson of Nimrod. He came with his mighty hosts from beyond the Danube ; this is all that can be said with certainty of his origin. The East, therefore, was already dead, and could furnish no powerful foe against that Rome which it detested. It is even in this Oriental supineness that we can find a reason for the dura- tion of the inglorious empire of Constantinople. Rome and the West, though far more vigorous, were overwhelmed by barbari- ans of the same original stock sent by Providence to " renew its youth like that of tne eagle." Constantinople and the East con- tinued for a thousand years longer to drag out their feeble exist- ence, because the far Orient coind not send a few of its tribes to touch their walls and cause them to crumble into dust. It is even remaikable that the armies of Mohammed and his succes- sors, in the flush of their new fanaticism, did not dare for a long THE WORLD LED BY EUROPE. 46 time to attack the race of Japhet settled on the Bosporup. From tlieir native Arabia they easily overran Egypt and Northern Africa, Syria and Palestine, Mesopotamia and Persia. But Asia Minor and Thrace remained for centuries proof against their fury, and, whenever their fleets appeared in the Bosporus, they were easily defeated by the unworthy successors of Constantine and Theodosius. This fact, which has not been sufficiently no- ticed, shows conclusively that the energy imparted by Moham- medanism to Oriental nations would nave lasted but a short time, and encountered in the West a successful resistance, had not the Turks appeared on the scene, destroyed the Saracen dynasties, and, by infusing the blood of Central Asia into the veins of Eastern and SouSiern fanatics, prolonged for so many ages the sway of the Crescent over a large portion of the globe. This was the turning-point in human affairs between the East and the West. We do not write history, and cannot, con sequently, enter into details. It is enough to say that a new element, strengthened by a long struggle with Moslemism, was to give to the West a lasting preponderance which ancient Kome could not possess, and whose developments we see in our days. This new element was the Christian religion, solidly established on the ruins of idolatry and heresy ; far more solidly established, consequently, than under the Christian emperors of Korae, while paganism still existed in the capital itself. The Christian religion, which was to make one society of all the children of Adam ; which, at its birth, took the name of uni- versal or catholic (whereas previously all religions had been merely national, and therefore very limited in their effects upon mankind at large); which alone was destined to establish and maintain, through all ages, spite of innumerable obstacles, a real .universal sway over all nations and tribes — the Christian religion alone could give one race preponderance over others until all should become, as it were, merged into one. At first it seemed that Providence destined that high calling for the Semitic branch of the human family. The Hebrew peo- ple, trained by God himself, through so many ages, for the high- est purposes, finally gave birth to the great Leader who, by redeeming all men, was to gather them all into one family. This Leader, our divine Lord, himself a Hebrew, chose twelve men of the same nation to be the founders of the great edifice. We know how the divine plan was frustrated by the stubbornness of the Jews, who rejected the corner-stone of the huildjmg^ to be themselves dashed against its walls and destroyed. The sons of Japhet were substituted for the sons of Sem, Europe for Asia, Rome for Jerusalem ; and the real commencement of the lasting preponderance of the West dates from the establishment of t2i« Christian Church in Rome. 46 THE WORLD LED BY EUROPE. See how, from Christianity, the Caucasian race, as we call it, came to be the rulers of the world. A miglity revolution, wherein all the branches of that great race become intermingled and confused, sweeps over the Iloman Empire. Every thing seems destroyed by the onset of the barbarians, in order that they, by receiving the only true religion which they found with- out seeidng among those whom they conquered, might become worthy of fulfilling the designs of Providence. All the barriers are overthrown that one institution, called Christendom, may take form and harmony. There are to be no more Romans, nor Gauls, nor Iberians, nor Germans, nor Scandinavians — only Christians. It is a renewed and reinvigorated race of Japhet, imbued with true doctrine, clothed with solid virtues, animated with an overwhelming energy. It is a colossal statue, moulded by popes, chiselled by bishops, set on its feet by Christian em- perors and kings, chiefly by Charlemagne, Alfred, Louis IX., and Otho. Is there not perfect unity between those great men divided by such intervals of space and time ? Is not their work a universal republic, whose foundations they laid with their own hands? The rest of the world, still prostrate at the feet of foolish idols, or carried away by human errors and delusions, sinks deeper and deeper into apathy and corruption, while Europe is reserved for mighty purposes in centuries to come. A stream is fathering in the West, which is destined to sweep down and ear away all obstacles, and to cover every continent with its regenerating waters. That stream is modern European history. It has been re corded in thousands of volumes, many of which, however, are totally unreliable fables of those mighty events. Those only have had the key to its right interpretation who have followed, the Christian light given from above, as a star, to guide the won- derful giant in his course. The chief among them were : of old, Augustine, the author of the " City of God ; " Orosius, the first to condense the annals of the world into the formula, " divind providentid regitur mwndus et homo ; " Otho of Freysinguen, m his work " De rmitai/ione reruniy^ and the author of " Gesta Dei per Frcmcos ;^^ in modem times, Bossuet and his follow- ers. The destruction of idolatry was of such vital importance in the regeneration of the world that it sufficed as a dogma to im- bue a great branch of the Semitic family with a strong life for several centuries. Moslemism has no other truth to support it than the assertion of God's unity; but, by waging war against the Trinity and, consequently, against the very foundation of Christian belief, it became, for a long time, the greatest obstacle to the dissemination of truth. It prevented the early triumph THE WORLD LED BY EUROPE. 47 of the Caucasian race, and galvanized, for a time, the nations of the East and South into a false life. The ravages of the Tartar hordes under Genghis Khan and his successors were in no sense life, but only a fitful madness. The European stream was thus impeded in its flood by the new activity of Arabia and Turkomania. It was a struggle in which victory, for a long time, hung in the balance : it required many crusades of the whole of Western Europe ; the long hero- ism of the Spanish and Portuguese nations ; the incessant attack and defence of the Templars and the Knights of Malta over the whole surface of the Mediterranean Sea, to secure the prepon- derance of the West. It was finally decided at Lepanto. Since that great day, Mohammedanism has gradually declined, and there now seems no insurmountable obstacle to the free flowing of the European stream. This stream, however, is not homogeneous: far from it. Had the Christian element always remained alone in it, or at least supreme, long ere this the victory would have been secure forever, and the Catholic missions alone would have fulfilled the old prophecies and given to the sons of Japhet possession of the tents of Sem — a glorious work so well begun in the East, in India and Japan ; in the West, in the whole of America ! But, unfortunately, the policy of the papacy, which was also that of Charlemagne, and of other great Christian sovereigns, was not continued. The Korman feudalism of Engl and and North- ern France ; the Csesarism of Germany and the Capetian kings ; the heresies brought from the East by the Crusaders ; the pagan- ism and neo-Platonism of the revival of learning ; above all, the fearful upheaval of the whole of Europe by the Protestant schism and heresy, troubled the purity of that great Japhetic stream, and has retarded to our days its momentous and overwhelming impetuosity. Wonderful, indeed, that in the whole of Europe one small island alone was forever stubbornly opposed to all these aberra- tions, which has stood her ground firmly, and, we may now say, successfully. The reader already knows that the demonstration of this stupendous fact is the object of the present volume. Having stood aloof so long from all those wanderings from the right path, she has scarcely appeared in the field of European history save as the victim of Scandinavia and of England. But there is a time in the series of ages for the appearance of all those called by Providence to enact a part. What is a myriad of years for man is not a moment for God ; and it would seem that we had reached at last the epoch wherein Ireland is to be rewarded for her steadfastness and fidelity. The impetus now imparted to European power becomes each •lay more clearly defined, and, to judge by recent appearances, 48 THE WORLD LED BY EUROPE. Irishmen are about to play no inglorious part in it. The powei of expansion, so characteristic of them from the beginning, hag of late years assumed gigantic proportions. The very hatred of their enemies, the measures adopted by their oppressors to anni- hilate them, have only served to give them a larger field of operations and a much stronger force. It is not without pur- pose that'God has spread them in such numbers over so many different islands and continents. It is theirs to give to the spread of Japhetism among the sons of Sem its right direction and results. The other races of Western Europe would, had they been left to themselves alone, have converted that great event into a curse for mankind, and perhaps the foreninner of the last calamities ; but the Irish, having kept themselves pure, are the true instruments in the hands of God for righting what is wrong and purifying what is corrupt. Had Europe remained in its entirety as steadfast to the true Christian spirit as the small island which dots the sea on its western border, what an incalculable happiness it would have proved to the whole globe, resting as it does to-day under the lead of the race of Japhet ! But where now are the pure waters which should vivify and fertilize it ? Innumerable elements are floating in their midst which can but destroy life and spread barrenness everywhere. Let us see what Europeans believe ; what are the motives which actuate them ; what they propose to themselves in dis- seminating their influence and establishing their dominion ; what the real, openly-avowed purposes of the leaders are in the vast scheme which embraces the whole earth ; what becomes of for- eign races as soon as they come in contact with them. The bare idea causes the blood of the Christian to curdle in bis veins, and he thanks God that his life shall not be pro- longed to witness the successful termination of the vast con- spiracy against God and humanity. For, in our days, spite of so many deviations in the course of the great European stream, it is truly a matter of wonder what power it has obtained over the globe in its mastery, its control, its unification. What, then, would have been the result had ita course remained constantly under Christian guidance I It is only a short time since the whole earth has become known to us; and we may say that, for Europe, it has been enough only to know it in order to become at once the mistress of it ; such power has the Christian religion given her ! The first circumnavigation of the globe under Magellan took place but yesterday, and to-day European ships cover the oceans and seas of the world, bearing in every sail the breath and the spirit of Japhetism. The stubborn ice-fields of the pole can scarcely re- tard their course, and hardy navigators and adventurous travel- THE WORLD LED BY EUROPE. 49 lers jeopardize their lives in the pursuit of merely theoretical ijotions, void almost of any practical utility. The most remote and, up to recently, inaccess^'ble parts of the earth are as open to us, owing to steam, as wer^? the countries bordering on the Mediterranean to the ancients. The Argo- aautic expedition along the southern coast of the Black Sea was in its day an heroic undertaking. The Phoenician colonies estab- lished in Africa and Spain by a race trying for the first time in the history of man to launch their ships on the ocean in order to trade with Northern tribes as far as Ireland and the Baltic, though never losing sight of the coast ; the attempts of the Car- thaginians to circumnavigate Africa ; the three years' voyages of the ships of Solomon in the Ked Sea and the Persian Gulf, were one and all far more hazardous undertakings than the long voyages of our steamships across the Indian Ocean to Australia, or around Cape Horn to California and the South Sea Islands, through the Southern and Northern Pacifies. From all large seaboard cities in any part of the globe, lines of steamers now bear men to every point of the compass, so that the very boards at the entrances of offices, to be found every- where for the accommodation of travellers, are as indices of works on universal geography. And the European, still unsatisfied with all he has achieved in speed and comfort, looks to more rapid and easier modes of conveyance. Scientific men have been for many years engaged in experiments by means of whrch they hope to replace the ocean by the atmosphere as a public highway for nations ; and the cur- rents of air rushing in every direction with the velocity of the most rapid winds may yet be used by our children instead of riv- ers, thenceforth deserted, and of ocean-streams at last left empty and waste as before the voyages of Columbus and De Gama. All this constitutes a positive and stern fact staring us in the face, and giving to the Caucasian race a power of which our an- cestors would never have dreamed. And if all this is to be the only result of man's activity — the attainment of merely worldly purposes — God, whose world this is, may look down on it from heaven as on the work of Titans preparing to attack his rights, and He will know how to turn all these mighty efforts of the sons of Japhet to his own holy designs. He may use a small branch of that great race, preserved purposely from the begin- ning unsullied by mere thrift, and prepared for his work by long persecution, a consideration which we shall examine later on. Meanwhile the great mass of the European family is allowed to go on in its wonderful undertaking ; and we turn to it yet a short while. As if to favor still more directly this work of the unification of the globe, Providence has placed at the disposal of the prime 50 THE WORLD J^B BY EUROPE. movers m the enterprise pecuniary means which no one could have foreseen a few years ago. In 1846, on a small branch of one of the ffreat rivers of Cali- fornia, a colonist discovers gold carried as aust with the sand, and soon a great part of the country is found to be immensely rich in the precious metal. That first discovery is followed by others equally important, and after a few years gold is found in abundance on both sides of a long range of the Rocky Moun- tains ; again in the north, nearly as high up as the arctic circle. North America, in fact, is found to be a vast gold deposit. Aus- tralia soon follows, and that new continent, whose exploration has scarcely begun, is said to be dotted all over by large oases of auriferous rock and gravel. In due time the same news comes from South Africa, where it has been lately reported that dia- monds, in addition to gold, enrich the explorer and the work- man. It is needless to speak of mines of silver and mercury after gold and diamonds ; but the result is that the European race is straightway provided with an enormous wealth commensurate with the immense commercial and manufacturing enterprises required for the establishment of its supremacy all over the globe. There is work, therefore, for all the ships afloat ; others and larger ones have to be constructed; and modem engineering skill places on the bosom of the deep sea vessels which few, in- deed, of the greatest rivers can accommodate in their channels and bays. All these means of dominion and dissemination once pro- cured, the great work clearly assigned to the race of Japhet may proceed. Intercourse with the most savage and uncivilized tribes is eagerly cultivated even at the risk of life. ISTew avenues to trade are opened up in places where men, still living in the most primi- tive state, have few if any wants ; and it is considered as part of the keen merchant's skill to fill the minds of these uncouth and unsophisticated barbarians with the desire of every possible lux- ury. Have we not lately heard that the savages of the Feejee Islands, who were a few years ago cannibals, have now a king seeking the protection of England, if not the annexation of hi^ kingdom to the British empire ? Yes, the material civilization of Europe, the new discoveries of steam and magnetism, the untiring energy of men aiming at universal dominion, give to the Caucasian race such a superiority over the rest of mankind that the time seems to be fast ap- proaching when the mjmneu, the dress, the look even of Euro- Seans, will supersede all other types, and spread everywhere the ead level of our habits. This fact has already been realized in America, North and THE WORLD LED BY EUROPE. 51 Soatli. Geograpliers may give lengthened descriptions of the original tribes which still possess a shadow of existence ; foreign readers may perhaps imagine that the continent is still in the quiet possession of rude and uncivilized races roaming at will over its surface, and allowing some Europeans to occupy certain cities and harbors for the purposes of trade and barter. We know that nothing could be more erroneous. The Europeans are the real possessors, north and south ; the Indians are per- mitted to exist on a few spots contracting year by year into nar- rower limits. The northern and larger half of the continent is chiefly the dwelling-place of the most active branch of the bold race of Japhet. The first of the iron lines which are to connect its Atlantic and Pacific coasts has recently been laid. Cities spring up all along its track : the harbors of California, Oregon, and Alaska, will soon swarm much more than now with hardy navigators ready to europeanize the various groups of islands scattered over the Pacific. Already in the Sandwich and Tahiti groups the number of Europeans is greatly in excess of that of the natives. Those natives who, in the Philippine Islands, have been preserved by the Catholic Church, will too soon disappear from the surface of the largest ocean of the globe. Then Eastern Asia will be attacked much more seriously than ever before. Since its discovery, Europeans could only reach it through the long distances which divide Western Europe from China and Japan. But within a short time numerous lines of steamships, starting from San Francisco, Portland, Honolulu, and many other harbors yet nameless, will land travellers in Yokohama, Hakodadi, Yeddo, Shanghai, Canton, and other em* poriums of Asia. ISTor will the Americans of the United States be alone in the race. Several governments are preparing to cut a canal through the Isthmus oi Panama, or Darien, or Tehuantepec, as has already been done with that of Suez ; and soon ships starting from W estem Europe will, with the aid of steam, traverse the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans successively as two large lakes to land their passengers and cargoes on the frontiers of China and India. The Japanese, those Englishmen of the East, are ready to adopt European inventions. They are indeed already expert in many of them, and seem on the alert to conform to European manners. It is said that the nation is divided intand. It is clear, from the numerous details of the life of St. Patrick, that he never encountered either temples or the statues of gods in any place, although occasional mention is made of idols. The only fact which startles the reader is the holy zeal which moved him to strike with his " baculus Jesu " the monstrous Crom Cruagh, with its twelve " sub-gods." In all his travels through Ireland — and there is scarcely a spot which he did not visit and evaugelize — St. Patrick meets with only one idol, or rather group of idols, situated in the County Cavan, which was an object of veneration to tne people. Nowhere else are idols to be found, or the saint would have thought it his duty to destroy them also. This first fact cer- tainly places the Irish in a position, with regard to idolatry, far difixirent from that of all other polytheist nations. In all other countries it is characteristic of polytheism to multiply the stat PREPARATION FOR OHRISTIANI FY. 73 lies of the gods, to expose them in all public places, in their houses, but diiefiy within or at the door of edifices erected for the purpose. Yet in Ireland we find nothing of the kind, with the exception of Crom Cruagh. The holy apostle of the nation goes on preaching, baptizing, converting people, without finding any worship of gods of stone or metal ; he only hears that there is something of the kind in a particular spot, and he has to travel a great distance in order to see it, and snow the people their folly in venerating it. But what was that idol ? According to the majority of ex- pounders of Irish history, it was a golden sphere or ball repre- senting the sun, with twelve cones or pillars of brass around it, typifying, probably, astronomical signs. St. Patrick, in his " Confessio," seems to allude to Crom Cruagh when he says : " That sun which we behold by the favor of God rises for us every day ; but its splendor will not shine forever ; nay, even all those who adore it shall be miserably punished." The BoUandists, in a note on this passage of the " Confes- sio," think that it might refer to Crom Cruagh, which possibly represented the sun, surrounded by the signs of the twelve months, through which it describes its orbit during the year. We know that the Druids were, perhaps, better versed in the science of astronomy than the scholars of any other nation at the time. It was not in Gaul and Britain only that they pursued their course of studies for a score of years ; the same fact is at- tested for Ireland by authorities whose testimony is beyond question. May we not suppose that a representation of mere heavenly phenomena, set in a conspicuous position, had in course of time become the object of the superstitious veneration of the people, and that St. Patrick thought it his duty to destroy it ? And the attitude of the people at the time oi its destruction shows that it could not have borne for them the same sacred character as the statue of Minerva in the Parthenon did for the Greeks or that of Capitoline Jove for the Komans. Can we suppose that St. Paul or St. Peter would have dared to break either of these ? And let us remark that the event we discuss occurred at the very beginning of St. Patrick's ministry, and before he had yet acquired that great authority over the minds of all which afterward enabled him fearlessly to accomplish what- ever his zeal prompted him to do. Whatever explanation of the whole occurrence may be given, we doubt if we shall find a better than that we advance, and the considerations arising from it justify the opinion that the Irish Celts were not idolaters like all other peoples of antiquity. They Possessed no mythology beyond harmless fairy-tales, no poetical istories of gods and goddesses to please the imagination and the senses, and invest paganism with such an attractive garb as 74 PREPARATION FOR CHRISTIANITY. to cause it to become a real obstacle to the spread of Chrifr tianity. Moreover, what we have said concerning the belief in the omnipotence of one supreme God, whatever might be his nature, as the first dogma of Druidism, would seem to have lain deep in the minds of the Irish Celts, and caused their immediate com- prehension and reception of monotheism, as preached by St. ratrick, and the facility with which they accepted it. They were certainly, even when pagans, a very religious people; otherwise how could they have embraced the doctrines of Chris- tianity with that ardent eagerness which shall come under our consideration in the next chapter ? A nation utterly devoid of faith of any kind is not apt to be moved, as were the Irish, per- haps beyond all other nations, at the first sight of supernatural truths, such as those of Christianity. And so little were they attached to paganism, so visibly imbued with reverence for the supreme God of the universe, that, as soon as announced, they accepted the dogma. The simple and touching story of the conversion of the two daughters of King Laeghaire will give point and life to this very important consideration. It is taken from the " Book of Ar- magh," which Prof. O'Curry, who is certainly a competent authority, believes older than the year 727, when the popular Irish traditions regarding St. Patrick must have still been almost as vivid as immediately after his death. St. Patrick and his attendants being assembled at sunrise at the fountain of Clebach, near Cruachan in Connaught, Ethn^ and Felimia, daughters of King Laeghaire, came to bathe, and found at the weU the holy men. " And they knew not whence they were, or in what form, or from what people, or from what country ; but they supposed them to be fairies — duine sidhe — that is to say, gods of the earth, or a phantasm. " And the virgins said unto them : * Who are ye, and whence are ye ? ' " And Patrick said unto them : ' It were better for you to confess to our true God, than to inquire concerning our race.' " The first virgin said : ' Who is God ? " ' And where is God ? " * And where is his dwelling-place ? " * Has God sons and daughters, gold and silver ? " * Is he living ? "* Is he beautiful? " * Did many foster his son ? "*Are his daughters dear and beauteous to men of thli world ? " * Is he m heaven or on earth % PREPARATION FOR CHRISTIANITY. 75 ***In the sea? — ^In rivers? — In mountainous places? — In rallejs ? " ' Declare unto us the knowledge of him ? " * How shall he be seen ? — How shall he be loved ? — How i* he to be found ? " ' Is it in youth ? — Is it in old age that he is to be found ? ' " But St. r atrick, full of the llofj Ghost, answered and said : " * Our God is the God of all men — the God of heaven and earth — of the sea and rivers. The God of the sun, and the moon, and all stars. The God of the high mountains, and of the lowly valleys. The God who is above heaven, and in heaven, and under heaven. " * He has a habitation in the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and all that are thereon. " ^ He inspireth all things. He quickeneth all things. He is over all things. '* ' He hath a Son coeternal and coequal with himself. The Son is not younger than the Father, nor the Father older than the Son. And the Holy Ghost breatheth in them. The Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost, are not divided. " * But I desire to unite you to a heavenly King inasmuch as you are daughters of an earthly king. Do you believe ? ' " And the virgins said, as of one mouth and one heart : * Teach us most diligently how we may believe in the heavenly King. Show us how we may see him face to face, and whatso- ever you shall say unto us we will do.' " And Patrick said : * Believe ye that by baptism you put off the sin of your father and your mother ? ' " They answered him, * We believe.' " * Believe ye in repentance after sin ? ' * We believe . . .' etc. " And they were baptized, and a white garment was put upon their heads. And they asked to see the face of Christ, And the saint said unto them : ' Ye cannot see the face of Christ except ye taste of death, and except ye receive the sacrifice.' " And they answered : * Give us the sacrifice that we may behold the Son our spouse.' " And they received the eucharist of God, and they slept in death. " And thev were laid out on one bed — covered with garments — and their friends made great lamentations and weeping for them.^' ^ ^ This beautiful legend expresses to the letter the way in which the Irish received the faith. J^or was it simple virgins only who tmderstood and 'believed so suddenly at the preaching of the apostle. The great men of the nation wore as eager almost as the common people to receive baptism ; the conver- sion of Dubtach is enough to show this. 76 PREPARATION FOR OHKISTIANITY. He was a Druid, being the chief poet of King Laeghair^ — all poets belonging to the order. After the wife, the brothers, and the two daughters of the monarch, he was the most iilustrioui convert gained by Patrick at the beginning of his apostleship. He became a Christian at the first appearance of the saint at Tara, and immediately began to sing in verse his new belief, as he had formerly sung the heroes of his nation. To the end he remained firm in his faith, and a dear friend to the holy man who had converted him. How could he, and all the chief con- verts of Patrick, have believed so suddenly and so constantly in the God of the Christians, if their former life had not prepared them for the adoption of the new doctrine, and if the doctrine of monotheism had ofiered a real difficulty to their understand- ing ? There was, probably, nothing clear and definite in their belief in an omnipotent God, which is said to have been the leading dogma of Druidism ; but their simple minds had evi- dently a leaning toward the doctrine, which induced them to approve of it, as soon as it was presented to them with a solemn affirmation. In order to elucidate this point, we add a short description of the labors and success of this apostle. In the year 432, Patrick lands on the island. By that time, some few of the inhabitants may possibly have heard of the Christian religion from the neighboring Britain or Gaul. Palla- dius had preached the year before in the district known as the present counties of Wexford and Wicklow, erected three churches, and made some converts ; but it may be said that Ireland con- tinued in the same state it had preserved for thousands of years : the Druids in possession of religious and scientific supremacy ; the chieftains in contention, as in the time of Fingal and Ossian ; the people, though in the midst of constant strife, happy enough on tneir rich soil, cheered by their bards and poets ; very few, or no slaves in the country; an abundance of food everywhere; gold, silver, precious stones, adorning profusely the persons of their chiefs, their wives, their warriors ; rich stuffs, dyed with many colors, to distinguish the various orders of society ; a deep religious feeling in their hearts, preparing them for the faith, by inspiring them with lively emotions at the sight of divine power displayed in their mountains, their valleys, their lakes and riv- ers, and on the swelling bosom of the all-encircling ocean ; su- perstitions of various kinds, indeed, but none of a demoralizing character, none involving marks of cruelty or lust ; no revolting statues of Priapus, of Bacchus, of Cybele ; no obscene emblems of religion, as in all other lands, to confront Christianity ; but over all the island, song, festivity, deep aftection for kindred ; and, as though blood-relationship could not satisfy their heart* fosterage covering the land with other brothers and sisters ; all PKEPARATION FOR CHRISTIANITY. 77 permeated with a strong attachment to their clan-sjstem and so- cial customs. Such is an exact picture of the Erin of the time, which the study of antiquity brings clearer and clearer before the eyes of the modern student. Patrick appears among them, leaning on his staff, and bring- ing them from Rome and Gaul new songs in a new language set to a new melody. He comes to unveil for them what lies hid- den, unknown to themselves, in the depths of their hearts. He explains, by the power of one Supreme God, why it is that their mountains are so high, their valleys so smiling, their rivers and lakes teeming with life, their fountains so fresh and cool, and that sun of theirs so temperate in its warmth, and the moon and stars, lighted with a soft radiance, shimmering over the deep obscurity of their groves. He directs them to look into their own consciences, to admit themselves to be sinners in need of redemption, and points out to them in what manner that Supreme God, whom they half knew already, condescended to save man. Straightway, from all parts of the island, converts flock to him ; they come in crowds to be baptized, to embrace the new law by which they may read their own hearts ; they are ready to do whatever he wishes ; many, not content with the strict com- mandments enjoined on all, wish to enter on the path of perfec- tion : the men become monks, the women and young girls nuns, that is to say, spouses of Christ. In Munster alone " ft would be difficult," says a modern writer, Father Brenan, "to form an estimate of the number of converts he made, and even of the churches and religious establishments he founded." And so with all the other provinces of the island. The proofs still stand before our eyes. For, as Prof. Curry justly remarks : " No one, who examines for himself, can doubt that at the first preaching in Erin of the glad tidings of salvation, by Saints Palladius and Patrick, those countless Christian churches were built, whose sites and ruins mark so thickly the surface of our country even to this day, still bearing through all the vicis- situdes of time and conquest the imchcmged na/mes of ihevr origi- nal founders^ According to the commonly-received opinion, St. Patrick's apostleship lasted thirty-three years; but, whatever may have been its real duration, certain it is that his feet traversed the whole island several times, and, at his passing, churches and mon- asteries sprang up in great numbers, and remained to tell the true story of his labors when their founder had passed away. Nor was it with Ireland as with Rome, Carthage, Antioch, and other great cities of Europe, Africa, and Asia. Not the slaves and artisans alone filled these newly-erected Christian edifices. Some of the first men of the nation received baptism. We hav9 78 PREPARATION FOR CHRISTIANITY. »lr«!*ady Bpoken of the family of Laegbair4 In Connaught, at the first appearance of the man of God, all the inhabitants of that portion of the province now represented by the County Mayo became Christians ; and the seven sons of the king of the province were baptized, together with twelve thousand of their clansmen. In Leinster, the Princes llland and Alind were bap tized in a fountain near Naas. In Munster, Aengus, the King of Cashel, with all the nobility of his clan, embraced the faith. A number of chieftams in Thomond are also mentioned ; and the whole of the Dalcassian tribe, so celebrated before and after in the annals of Ireland, received, with the waters of baptism, that ardent faith which notliing has been able to tear from them to this day. Many Druids even, bv renouncin g t heir superstitions, abdi- cated their power over the people. We have mentioned Dub- tach ; his example was followed by many others, among whom was Fingar, the son of King Clito, who is said to have sufiered martyrdom in Brittany ; Fiech, pupil of Dubtach, himself a poet, and belonging to the noble house of Hy-Baircha in Lein- ster, was raised by St. Patrick to the episcopacy, and was the first occupant of the See of Sletty. Fiech was a regular member of the bardic order of Druids, a poet by profession, esteemed as a learned man even before he embraced Christianity ; and during his lifetime he was, as a Christian bishop, consulted by numbers and regarded as an ora- cle of truth and heavenly wisdom. ^Nevertheless, PatricK encountered opposition. Some chief- tains declared themselves against him, without daring openly to attack him. Many Druids, called in the old Irish annais magi^ tried their utmost to estrange the Irish people from him. But he stood in danger of his lire only once. It was, in fact, a war of argument. Long discussions took place, with varied success, ending generally, however, in a victory for truth. The final result was that, in the second generation after St. Patrick, there existed not a single pagan in the whole of Ire- land ; the very remembrance of paganism even seemed to have passed away from their minds ever after ; hence arises the difii- culty of deciding now on the character of that paganism. After its abolition, nothing remained in the literature of the country, which was at that time much more copious than at present — nothing was left in its monuments or in the inclina- tions of the people — to imperil the existence of the newly-estab- lished Christianity, or of a nature calculated to give a wrong bias to the religious worship of the people, such as we have seen was the case in the rest of Europe. May we not conclude, then, that Ireland was much better prepared for the new religion than any other country ; that, PREPARATION FOR CHRISTIANITY. 79 when she was thus admitted by baptism into the European family, she made her entry in a way peculiar to herself, and which secured to her, once for all, her nrm and undeviating at- tachment to truth ? She had nothing to change in her manners after having renounced the few disconnected superstitions to which she had been addicted. Her songs, her bards, her festivities, her patri- archal government, her fosterage, were left to her. Christianized and consecrated by her great apostle ; clanship even penetrated into the monasteries, and gave rise later on to some abuses. But, perhaps, the saint thought it better to allow the existence of things which might lead to abuse than violently and at once to subvert customs, rooted by age in the very nature of the i)eople, some of which it cost England, later on, centuries of in- conceivable barbarities to eradicate. As to what exact form, if any, the paganism of the Irisli Celts assumed, we have so few data to bmld upon that it is now next to impossible to shape a system out of them. From the passage of the " Confessio '' already quoted, we might infer that they adored the sun ; and this passage is very remarkable as the only mention anywhere made by St. Patrick of idolatry among the people. If it was only the emblem of the Supreme Being, then would there have been nothing idolatrous in its worship ; and the strong terms in which the saint condemns it perhaps need only express his fear lest the superstition of the ignorant people might convert veneration into positive idolatry. At all events, there was uot a statue, or a temple, or a theological sys- tem, erected to or connected with it in any shape. The solemn forms of oaths taken and administered by the Irish kings would also lead us to infer that they paid a supersti- tious respect to the winds and the other elements. But why should this feeling pass beyond that which even the Christian experiences when confronted by mysteries in the natural as well as the supernatural order ? The awe-struck pagan saw the light- ning leap, the tempest gather and break over him in majestic fury ; heard the great voice of the mighty ocean which laved or lashed his shores : he witnessed these wonderful effects ; he knew not whence the tempests or the lightnings came, or the voice of the ocean ; he trembled at the unseen power which moved them — ^at his God. So his imagination peopled his groves and hill-sides, his rivers and lakes, with harmless fairies ; but fairy land has never become among any nation a pandemonium of cruel divinities ; and we doubt much if such innocuous superstition can be rightly caUed even sinful error. In fact, the only thing which could render paganism truly a danger in Ireland, as opposed to the preaching of Ohristiamty, 80 PREPARATION FOR OHRISTIANITY. WSL8 the body of men intrusted with the care of religion — the Druids, the rnaai of the chronicles. But, as we find no traces of bloody sacriiices in Ireland, the Druids there probably never bore the character which they did in Gaul ; they cannot be said to have been sacrificing priests ; their office consisted merely in pretended divinations, or the workings of incantations or spells. They also introduced superstition into the practice of medicine, and taught tlie people to venerate the elements or mysteriouB forces of this world. Without mentioning any of the many instances which are found in the liistories of the workings of these Druidical incan- tations and spells, the consulting of the clouds, and the cere- monies with which they surrounded their healing art, we go straight to our main point : the ease and suddenness with which all these delusions vanished at the first preaching of the Gospel — a fact very telling on the force which they exercised over the mind of the nation. All natural customs, games, festivities, social relationships, as we have seen, are preserved, many to this day ; what is esteemed as their religion, and its ceremonies and superstitions, is dropped at once. The entire Irish mind ex- panded freely and generously at the simple announcement of a God, present everywhere in the universe, and accepted it. The dogma of the Holy Spirit, not only filling all — com2)lens omnia — but dwelling in their very souls by grace, and filling them with love and fear, must have appeared natural to them. Their very superstitions must have prepared the way for the truth, a change — or may we not say a more direct and tangible object taking the place of and filling tlioir undefined yearnings — was alone requisite. Otherwise it is a hard fact to explain how, within a few years, all Druidism and magic, incantations, spells, and divi- nations, were replaced by pure religion, by the doctrine of celes- tial favors obtained through prayer, by the intercession of a host of saints in heaven, and the belief in Christian miracles and prophecies ; whereas, scarcely any thing of Roman or Grecian mythology could be replaced by corresponding Christian prac- tices, although popes did all they could in that regard. Nearly all the errors of the Irish Celts had their corresponding truths and holy practices in Christianity, which could be readily substi- tuted for them, and envelop them immediately with distrust or just oblivion. Hence we do not see, in the subsequent ecclesi- astical history of Ireland, any thing to resemble the short sketch we have given of the many aangers arising within the young Christian Church, which had their origin in the former religion of other European nations. In regardmg philosophy and its perils in Ireland, our task will be an easy one, yet not unimportant in its bearings on sub- sequent consiaerations The minds of nations differ as greatly PREPAKATION FOR CHRISTIANITY. 81 as their physical characteristics ; and to study the Irish mind we have only to take into consideration the institutions which swayed it from time immemorial. They were of such a nature that they could but belong to a traditional people. All patriarchal tribes partake of that general character ; none, perhaps, so strikingly as the Celts. People thus disposed have nothing rationalistic in their nature ; they accept old facts ; and, if they reason upon them, it is to find proofs to support, not motives to doubt tnem. Thev never refine their discussions to hair-splitting, synonymous al- most with rejection, as seems to be the delight of what we call rationalistic races. It was among these that philosophy was bom, and among them it flourishes. They may, by their acute reason- ing, enlarge the human mind, open up new horizons, and, if confined within just limits, actually enrich the understanding of man. We are far from pretending that philosophy has only been Eroductive of harm, and that it were a blessed thing had the uman intellect always remained, as it were, in a dormant state, without ever striving to grasp at philosophic truth and raise itself above the common level ; we hold the great names of Augustine, Anselm, Thomas Aquinas, and so many others, in too great respect to entertain such an opinion. Yet it cannot be denied that the excessive study of philoso- phy has produced many evils among men, has often been subser- vient to error, has, at best, been for many minds the source of a cold and desponding skepticism. No race of men, pernaps, has been less inclined to follow those intellectual aberrations than the Celtic, owing chiefly to its eminently traditional dispositions. Before Christianity reached them, the intellectual labors of the Celts were chiefly confined to history and genealogy, medi- cine and botany, law, song, music, and artistic workings in met- als and gems. This was the usual cwrricfuhmi of Druidic studies. Astronomy and the physical sciences, as well as the knowledge of " the nature of the eternal God," were, according to Caesar, extensively studied in the Gallic schools. Some elements of those intellectual pursuits may also have occupied the attention of the Irish student during the twelve, fifteen, or twenty years of his preparation for being ordcmied to the highest degree of ollamh. JBut the oldest and most reliable documents which have been examined so far do not allow us to state positively that such was the case to any great extent. In Christian times, however, it seems certain that astronomy was better studied in Ireland than anywhere else, as is proved by the extraordinary impulse given to that science by YirgU of Salzburg, who was undoubte(fly an Irishman, and educated in his native country. 8d PREPARATION FOR CHRISTIANITY. It IS from the Church alone, therefore, that they received their highest intellectual training in the philosophy and theology of the Scriptures and of the Fathers. It is known that, by me introduction of the Latin and Greek tongues into their schooli in addition to the vernacular, the Bible in Latin and Greek, and the writings of many Fathers in both languages, as also the most celebrated works of Roman and Qreek classical writers, became most interesting subjects of study. They reproduced those works for their own use in the acrmtoria of their numerous monasteries. We still possess some or those manuscripts of the sixth and following centuries, and none more beautifal or correct can be found among those left by the English, French, or Italian monastic institutions of the periods mentioned. During the seventh, eignth, and ninth centuries, the Irish schools became celebrated all over Europe. Young Anglo-Sax- ons of the best families were sent to receive their education in Innisfail, as the island was then often called ; and, from their celebrated institutions of learning, numerous teachers and mis- sionaries went forth to England, Germany (along the Rhine, chiefly), France, and even Switzerland and Italy. Yet, in the history of all those intellectual labors, we never read of startling theories in philosophy or theology advanced by any of them, unless we except the eccentric John Scotus Erige- na, whom Charles the Bald, at whose court he resided, protect- ed even against the just severity of the Church. Without ever having studied theology, he undertook to dogmatize, and would perhaps have originated some heresy, had he found a following in Germany or France. But he is the only Irishman who ever threatened the peace of the Church, and, through lier, of the world. Duns Scotus, if he were Irish, never taught any error, and remained always an accepted leader in Catholic schools. To the honor of Erin be it said, her children have ever been afraid to deviate in the least from the path of faith. And it would be wrong to imagine that the preservation from heresy so peculiar to them, and by which they are broadly distinguished from all other European nations, comes from dmness of intellect and inability to follow out an intricate argumentation. They show the acuteness of their un- derstanding in a thousand ways ; in poetry, in romantic tales, in narrative compositions, in legal acumen and extempore argu- ments, in the study of medicine, chiefly in that masterly elo- quence by which so many of them are distinguished. Who shall say that they might not also have reached a high degree of eminence in philosophical discussions and ontological theories I They have always abstained from such studies by reason of a natural disinclination, which does them honor, and which has saved them in modem times, as we shall see in a subsequeul PREPARATION FOR CHRISTIANITY. 8d chapter, from the inmimerable evils which afflict society every- \where else, and by which it is even threatened with destmction. ^ Thus, among the nmnerous and versatile progeny of Japhet . one small brancn has kept itself aloof from the universal move ment of the whole family ; and, in the very act of accepting Ckristianity and taking a place in the commonwealth of Western nations, it has known how to do so in its own manner, and has thus secured a firm hold of the saving doctrines imparted to the whole race for a great purpose — the purpose, unfortunately often defeated — of reducing to practice ana reality the sublime ideal of the Christian religion. The details given in this chapter on the various circumstances connected with the introduction of our holy faith into Ireland were necessarily very limited, as our chief object was to speak of the nation's preparation for it. In the following we treat directly of what could only be touched upon in the latter part of thii. CHAPTER IV. HOW THE IRISH BBOBHTED OHRIBTULNTTT. Fob the conversion of pagans to Christianity, many extenor proofs of revelation were vouchsafed by God to man in addition to the interior impulse of his grace. Those exterior proofs are senersMj termed "the evidences of religion." They produce tneir chief effect on inquiring minds which are familiar with the reasoning processes of philosophy, and attach ffreat importance to truth acquired by logical aeduction. To this, many pagans of Greece and Rome owed their conversion ; by this, in our oays, many strangers are brought, on reflection, to the faith of Christ, always presupposing the paramount influence of divine grace on their mmds and hearts. But it is easy to remark that, except in rare cases, those who are gained over to truth by such a process are with some diffi- culty brought under the influence of the supernatural, which forms the essential groundwork of Christianity. This influ- ence, it is true, is only the effect of the operation of the Holy Ghost on the soul of the convert ; but the Holy Ghost acts in conformity with the disposition of the soul ; and we know, by what has been said on the character of religion among the Ro- mans and the Greeks in the earlier days of the Churcli, that it took long ages, the infusion of Northern blood, and the sim- plicity of new races uncontaminated by heathen mythology, to mspire men with that deep supernatural feeling which in course of time became the distinguishing character of the ages of faith. Ireland imbibed this feeling at once, and thus she received Chris- tianity more thoroughly, at the very beginning, than did any other Western nation. The fact is — whatever may be thought or said — the Christian religion, with all the loveliness it imparts to this world when rightly understood, though never destroying Nature, but always keeping it in mind, and consecrating it to God, truly endowed, consequently, with the promises of earth as well as those of heaven — ^the Christian religion is nevertheless fundamentallv su KEOEPTION OF CHRISTIANITY. 85 pernatiiral, full of awe and mystery, heavenly and incomprehen- sible, before being earthly ana the grateful object of sense. Without examining the various formularies which heresy compelled an infallible Church to proclaim and impose upon hei children from time to time, the Apostles' Creed alone transfers man at once into regions supernatural, into heaven itself. The Trinity, the Incarnation, the Redemption, the mission of the Holy Uhost on earth, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sms, and the resurrection of the dead, are all mysteries neces- sitating a revelation on the part of God himself to make them known to and believed by man. Do they not place man, even while on earth, in direct communication with heaven ? The tirm believer in those mysteries is already a celestial citi- zen by faith and hope. He has acquired a new life, new senses, as it were, new faculties of mind and will — all things, evidently, above Nature. And it is clear, from many passages of the New Testament, that our Lord wished the lives of his disciples to be wholly pene- trated with that supernatural essence. They were not to be men of the earth, earthly, but citizens of another country which is heavenly and eternal. Hence the holiness and perfection re- quired of them — a holiness, according to Christ, like that of the celestial Father himself ; hence contempt for the things of this world, so strongly recommended by our Lord ; hence the assur- ance that men are called to be sons of God, the eternal Son hav- ing become incarnate to acquire for us this glorious privilege ; hence, finally, that frequent recommendation in the Gospel to rely on God for the things of this life, and to look above all for spiritual blessings. That reliance is set forth in such terms, in the Sermon on the M-ount, that, taken literally, man should neglect entirely his tem- poral advantages, forget entirely Nature, and think only of grace, or rather, expect that the things of Nature would be given us by aur heavenly Father " who knows that we need them." Nature, consequently, assumes a new aspect in this system. It is no longer a complexity of temporal goods within reach of the efforts oi man, and which it rests with man alone to procure for himself. It is, indeed, a worldly treasure, belonging to God, as all else, and which the hand of God scatters promsSy among his creatures. God wiU not fail to grant to every one what he needs, if he have faith. Thus God is always visible in Nature ; and redeemed man, raised far above the beasts of the field, has other eyes than those of the body, when he looks around l^m on this world. Had Christianity been literally understood by those who first received \f^ it would have completely changed the moral, social, and even natural aspect of the universe. The change produced 86 RECEPTION OF OHRISTIANTTY. throughout by the new religion was indeed remarkable, but not what it would have been, if the supernatural had taken complete possession of human society. This it did in Ireland, and, it may be said, in Ireland alone. To begin with the preaching of St. Patrick, we note his care to impart to his converts a sufficient knowledge of the Christian mysteries, but, above all, to make those mysteries influence their lives by acting more powerfully on the new Christian heart than even on the mind. Thus, in the beautiful legend of Ethn6 and Felimia, the saint, not content with instructing them on the attributes of God, the Trinity, and other supernatural truths, goes further still ; he re- quires a change in their whole being — that it be spiritualized : by deeply exciting their feelings, by speaking of Christ as their spouse, by making them wish to receive him in the holy Eucha- rist, even at the expense of their temporal life, he so raises them above Nature that they actually asked to die. " And they re- ceived the Eucharist of God, and they slept in death." Again, in the hymn of Tara, the heavenly spirit, which con- sists in an intimate union with God and Christ, is so admirably expressed, that we cannot refrain from presenting an ejrtract from it, remarking that this beautiful hymn has been the great prayer of all Irisnmen through all ages down even to our own times, though, unfortunately, it is not now so generally known and used by them as formerly : " At Tara, to-day, may the strength of God pilot me, may the power of God preserve me, may tne wisdom of God instruct me, may the eye of God view me, may the ear of God hear me, may the word of God render me eloquent, may the hand of God protect me, may the way of God direct me, may the shield of God defend me, etc. " Christ be with me, Christ before me, Christ after me, Christ in me, Christ under me, Christ over me, Christ at my right, Christ at my left ; . . . Christ be in the heart of each person whom I speak to, Christ in the mouth of each person who speaks to me, Christ in each eye which sees me, Christ in each ear which hears mel" Could any thing tend more powerfully to make of those whom he converted, true supernatural Christians — ^forgetful of this world, thinking only of another and a brighter one ? The island, at his coming, was a prey to preternatural super- stitions. The Druids possessed, in tne opinion of the people, a powei beyond that of man ; and history shows the same pnenome non in all pagan countries, not excepting those of our time. A real supernatural power was required to overcome that of the ma^. Hence, accordrng to Probus, the magicians to whom the ar- rival of Patridc had been foretold, prepared themselves for the RECEPTION OF CHRISTIANITY. 87 contest, and several chieftains supported them. Prestit^es were, therefore, tried in antagonism to miracles ; but, as Moses pre- vailed over the power of the Egyptian priests, so did Patrick over the Celtic magicians. It is even said that five Druids per ished in one of the contests. The princes were sometimes also punished with death. Re- craid, head of a clan, came with his Druids and with words of incantation written under his white garments; he fell dead. Laeghair^ himself, the Ard-Righ of all Ireland, whose family be- came Christian, but who refused to abandon his superstitions, perished with his numerous attendants. But a more singular phenomenon was, that death, which was often the punishment oi unbelief, became as often a boon to be desired by the new Christian converts, so completely were thev under the influence of the supernatural. Thus Ruis found it hard to believe. To strengthen his faith, Patrick restored to him his youth, and then gave him the choice between this sweet blessing of life and the happiness of heaven ; Ruis preferred to die, like Ethn^ and Felimia. SechnaU, the bard, told St. Patrick, one day, that he wished to sing the praises of a saint whom the earth still possessed. " Hasten, then," said Patrick, ^' for thou art at the gates of death." Sechnall, not only undisturbed, but fall of joy, sang a glorioiia hymn in honor oi Patrick, and immediately after died. Kynrecha came to the convent-door of St. Senan. "What have women in common with monks ? " said the holy abboc. "We will not receive thee." "Before I leave this place," re- sponded Kynrecha, " I offer this prayer to God, that my seal may leave the body." And she sank down and expired. The various lives of the apostle of Ireland and liis successors are full of facts of this nature. Supposing that a high coloring was given to some of these by the writers, one thing is certain : the people who lived during that apostleship believed in them firmly, and handed down their belief to their children. More- over, nothing was better calculated to give to a primitive people, like the Irish, a strong supernatural spirit and character, than to make them despise the joys of this earth and yearn for a better country. There are, indeed, too many facts of a similar kind rela-ted in the lives of St. Patrick and his fellow-workers, to bear the impu- tation, not of imposition, but even of delusion. The desire of dying, to be united with Christ ; the indifference, at least, as to the prolongation of existence ; the readiness, if not the joy, with which the announcement of death was received, are of such fre- quent mention in those old legends, as matters of ordinary occur- rence, aurprising no one, that they must be conceded as fiusta often takinsj place in those early ages. 88 RECEPTION OF CHRISTIANITY. And, more striking still, this feeling of accepting death, either as a boon or as a matter of course, and with pencct res- i^ation to the will of God, seems to have been throughout, since the introduction of Christianity, a characteristic of the Irish people. It is often witnessed in our own days, and mani- fested equally by the young, the middle-aged, or the old. The young, closing their eyes to that bright life whose sweetness they have as yet scarcely tasted, never murmur at being deprived of it, though hope is to them so alluring ; the middle-aged, called away in the midst of projects yet unaccomplished, see the sud- den end of all that before interested them, with no other con- cern than for the children they leave behind them ; the old, among other races generally so tenacious of life, are, as a rule, glad that their last hour has come, and speak only of their joy mat at last they " go home " to that country whither so many of their friends and kindred have gone before them. This in itself would stamp the Celtic character with an in- delible mark, distinguishing it from all other, even most Chris- tian, peoples. The second sign we find of the firm hold the supernatural had taken of the Irish from the very beginning is their strong belief in the power of the priesthood. This is so striking among them that they have been called by their enemies and those of the Church " a priest-ridden people." Let ub consider if this is a reproach. If Christianity be true, what is the priesthood ? Even among the Greeks, from whom so many heresies formerly sprang before they were smitten into insignificance by schism ana its punish- ment — Turkish slavery — when the great doctors sent them by Providence spoke on the subject, what were their words, and what impression did they make on their supercilious hearers? St. John Chrysostom will answer. His long treatise, written to his friend Basil, is but a glowing description of the great privi- leges given to the Christian priest by the High-Priest himself- Christ our Lord. When the great preacher of Antioch, though not yet a ])rie8t, describes the awful moment of sacrifice, the altar surrounded by angels descended from heaven, the man consecrated to an office higher than any on earth, and as high as that of the incarnate Son of God — God himself coming down from above and bring- ing down heaven with him — who can believe in Christianity and fan to be struck with awe ? Who can read the words of Christ, declaring that any one invested with that dignity is sent by him as he was himself sent by his Father, and not feci the innate respect due to such divine honors ? Who can read the details of those privileges with re- spect to the remission of sin, the conferring of grace by the sacra- RECEPTION OF CHRISTIANITY. 89 ments, the infallible teaching of truth, the power even granted to them sometimes over Nature and disease, without feeling him- self transported into a world far above this, and without placing his confidence in what God himself has declared so powemil and preeminent in the regions beyond ? Such, in a few words, is the Christian priesthood, if Chris- tianity possesses any reality and is not an imposture. Among all nations, therefore, where sound faith exists, the greatest respect is shown to the ministers of God ; but the Irish have at all times been most persistent in their veneration and tnst. And if we would ascertain the cause of their standing in this regard, we shall find that other nations, while firmly believ- ing the words of Christ, keep their eyes open to human frailty, and look more keenly and with more suspicion on the conduct of men invested with so high a dignity, but subject at the same time to earthly passions and sins ; while the Irish, on the con- trary, abandon themselves with all the impulsiveness of their nature to the feeling uppermost in their hearts, which is ever one of trust and ready reliance. But this statement, whatever may be its intrinsic value, itrielf needs a further explanation, which is only to be found in the greater attraction the supernatural always possessed for the Irish nature, when developed by grace. They accept fully and unsuspiciously what is heavenly, because they, more than others, feel that they are made for heaven, and the earth, consequently, has for them fewer attractions. They cling to a world far above this, and whatever belongs to it is dear to them. Hence, from the first preaching of Christianity among them, all e&rthly dignities have paled before the heavenly honors of the priesthood. They have been taught by St. Patrick that even the supreme duties of a real Christian king fall far below those of a Christian bishop. The king, according to the apostle of Ireland — and his words have become a canon of the Irish Church — " has to judge no man unjustly ; to be the protector of the stranger, of the widow, and the orphan ; to repress theft, punish adultery, not to keep buffoons or unchaste persons ; not to exalt iniquity, but to sweep away the impious from the land, exterminate parricides and per jurers ; to defend the poor, to appoint just men over the anairs of the kingdom, to consult wise and temperate elders, to defend his native land against its enemies rightfully and stoutly ; in aU things to put his trust in God." All this evidently refers only to the exterior polity and administration. But " the bishop must be the hand which sup- ports, the pilot who directs, the anchor that stays, the hammer that strikes, the sun that enlightens, the dew which moistens, the tablet to be written on, the book to be read, the mirror to be 90 KEOEPTION OF CHRISTIANITY. seen in, tLe terror that terrifies, the image of all that is good ; and let him be all for all." Under this metaphorical style we here dis3em all the in- terior qualities of a spiritual Christian guide, teaching no less by authority than example. And, in the opinion of the converts of Patrick, were not the bishops, abbots, and priests, supported by an invisible power, stronger than all visible armies and guards of kings and princes I " Wlien the King of Cashel dared to contend against the holy abbot Mochoemoc, the first night after the dispute an old man took the king by the hand and led him to the northern city- walls ; there he opened the king's eyes, and he beheld all the Irish saints of his own sex in wnite garments, with Patrick at their head ; they were there to protect Mochoemoc, and they tilled the plain of Femyn. " The second night the old man came again and took the king to the southern wall, and there he saw the white-robed glorious army of Ireland's virgins, led by Bridget : thev too had come to defend Mochoemoc, and they filled the plain oi Monael." * In the annals of no other Christian nation do we see so many examples of the power of the ministers of God to punish the wicked and help and succor the good, as we do in the hagi- ography of Ireland. Bad kings and chieftains reproved, cursed, punished ; the poor assisted, the oppressed delivered from their enemies, the sick restored to health, the dead even raised to life, are occurrences which the reader meets in almost every page of the lives of Irish saints. The Bollandists, accustomed as they were to meet with miracles of that kind, in the lives thev pub- lished, found in Irish hagio^aphy such a superabundance of them, that they refused to admit into their admirable compilation a great number already published or in manuscript. Nevertheless, the critics of our days, finding nothing impossible to or unworthjr of God in the large collection of Col^an and other Irish anti- quarians, express their surprise at their exclusion from that of Bollandus. No one at least will refuse to concede that, true or not, the facts related in those lives are always provocative of piety and redolent of faith. They certainly prove that at all periods of their existence the Irish have manifested a holy avidity for every thing supernatural and miraculous. Do they not know that our Lord has promised gifts of this description to his apostles and their successors ? And what the acts of the Apostles and many acts of martyrs positively state as having happened at the vei^ beginning of the Church, is not a whit less extraordinary or physici^y impossible than any tiling related in the Irish legends. » Many quotations in this chapter are from the " Leg«nd, Hiat. " by J. 0* Bhea. RECEPTION OF OHRISTIAOTTY. dl Every Christian soul naturally abhors the unbelief of a Strauss or of a Kenan as to the former ; is it not unnatural, then, for the same Christian soul to reject the latter because they fall under the easy sneer of "an Irish legend," and are not con- tained in Holy Writ ? At all events, the faith of the Irish has never wavered in such matters, and to-day they hold the same confidence in the priests' power that meets us everywhere in the pages of Colgan and Ward. The reason is, that they admit Christianity without reserve ; and in its entirety it is supernatural. The criticisms of human reason on holy things hold in their eyes something of the sacrilegious and blasphemous ; such criticisms are for them open disrespect for divine things ; and, inasmuch as divine things are, in fact, more real than any phenomena under natural laws can be, skepticism in the former case is always more unreason- able than in the latter, supposing always that the narrative of the Divine favors reposes on sufficient authority. It is clear, therefore, that since the preaching of Christianity in ireland, the world showed itself to the inhabitants of that country in a different light to that in which other men beheld it. For them, Nature is never separated from its Maker ; the hand of God is ever visible in all mundane affairs, and the frightful parting between the spiritual and material worlds, first originated by the Baconian philosophy, which culminates in our days in the almost open negation of the spiritual, and thus materializes all things, is with justice viewed by the children of St. Patrick with a holy horror as leading to atheism, if it be not atheism itself. Without going to such extremes as the avowed infidels of modern times, all other Christian nations have seemed afraid to draw the logical conclusions whose premises were laid down by revelation. They have tried to follow a via rriedm between truth and error ; they have admitted to a certain extent the separation of Gjd and Kature, supposing the act of creation to have passed long ages ago, and not continuing through all time; and thus they are bound by their system, to hold that miracles are very extraordinary things, not to be believed jpri/md facie, requiring infinite precautions before admitting the supposition of their having taken place ; all which indicates a real repugnance to their admission, and an innate fear of supposing God all-power- ful, iust, and good. It is the first step to Manicheism and the kindred errors; and most Christian nations having, unfortu- nately, imbibed the principles of those errors in the philosophy of modem times, have almost lost all faith in the supernatural, and reduced revelation to a meagre and cold system, unrealized and not to be realized in human life. Not so the Irish ileiigion has entered deep into their life. 93 REOEPTiON OF CUKISTIANITY. It is a thing of every moment and of every place. Nature, God'a handiwork, instead of repelling them from God himself, draws them gently but forcibly toward Him, so that they feel them- selves to be truly recipients of the blessings of God by being sharers in the blessings of Nature. And must God's ministers, who have received such extraor- dinary powers over the supernatural world, be entirely de- prived of power over the inferior part of creation 1 Who can say so, and have true faith in the words of our Lord ? Who can say so, and truly call himself the follower and companion of the saints who have all believed so firmly in the constant action of God in tliis, the lesser part of his creation ? And this faith of the Irish in the power of the priesthood is not a thing of yesterday. It dates from their adoption of Chris- tianity, to continue, we hope, forever. It ought, therefore, to be carefully distinguished from that love for every priest of God which beats so ardently in the hearts of them all, and which was so strengthened by a long community of persecution and suf- fering. In Ireland, as in every other Christian country, the priest hood has always sided with the people against their oppressors During the early ages of Christianity in the island, the bishops, priests, and monks, were often called upon to exercise their authority and power against princes and chiefs of clans, accus- tomed to plunder, destroy, and kill, on the slightest pretext, and unused to control their fierce passions, inflamed by the rancor of feuds and the pride of strength and bravery. Some of those chieftains even opposed the progress of religion •; and it is said that Eochad, Eling of Ulster, cast his two daughters, whom Pat- rick had baptized and consecrated to God, into the sea. For several centuries the heads ©f clans were generally so unruly and so hard to bring under the yoke of Christ, that the saints, in taking the side of the poor, had to stand as a wall of brass to stem the fury of the great and powerful. Bridget even, the modest and tender virgin, often spoke harshly of princes and rulers. ^ " While she dwelt in the land of Bregia, King ConnaPs daughter-in-law came to ask her prayers, for she was barren. Bridget refused to go to receive her; but, leaving her without, she sent one of her maidens. When the nun returned : * Mother,' she asked, ' why would you not go and see the queen ? you pray for the wives of peasants.' * Because,' said the servant of God, * the poor and the peasants are almost all good and pious, while the sons of kings are serpents, children of blood and fornication, except a small number of elect. But, after all, as she had recourse to us, go back and tell her that she shall have a son ; he will be wicked, and his race bIiaII be ao* cursed, yet he shall reign many years.' '^ RECEPTION OF CHRISTIANITY. 93 We might multiply examples such as this, wherein the saints and the ministers of God always side with the poor and the helpless ; and their great number in the lives of the old saints at once gives a reason for the deep love which the lower class of the Irish people felt for the holy men who were at once the ser- vants of God and their helpers in every distress. The same thing is to be found in the whole subsequent his- tory of the island, chiefly in the latter ages of persecution. But, as we said before, this affection and love must be distinguished from the feeling of reverence and awe resulting from the super- natural character of their office. The first feeling is merely a natural one, produced by deeds of benevolence and holy charity fondly remembered bv the individuals benefited. The second was tne effect of religious faith in the sacredness of the priestly character, and remained in full force even when the poor them- selves fell under reproof or threat in consequence of some mis- deed or vicious habit. Hence the universal respect which the whole race entertains for their spiritual rulers, and their unutterable confidence in their high prerogatives. In prosperity as in adversity, in free- dom or in subjection, they always preserve an instinctive faith in the unseen power which Christ conferred on those whom He chose to be his ministers. This feeling, which is undoubtedly found among good Christians in all places, is as certainly only found among particular individuals ; but among the Irish Celts it is the rule rather than the exception. Well have they merited, then, in this sense, from the days of 3t. Patrick down, the title of a "priest-ridden " people, which has been fixed on them as a term oi reproach by those for whom all belief in the supernatural is belief in imposture. Another and a stronger fact stiU, exemplifying the extent to which the Irish have at all times carried their devotion to the supernatural character of the Cftiristian religion, is the extraor- dinary ardor with which, from the very beginning, they rushed into the high path of perfection, called the way of " evangelical counsels." Nowhere else were such scenes ever witnessed in Christian history. For the great mass of people the common way of life is the practice of the commandments of God ; it is only the few who feel themselves called on to enter upon another path, and who experience interiorly the need of being "perfect." In Ireland the case was altogether dinerent from the outset. St. Patrick, notwithstanding his intimate knowledge of the lean- ings of the race, expresses in his " Confessio " the wonder and delight he experienced when he saw in what manner and in what numbers they begged to be consecrated to God the very first day after their baptism. Yet were they conscious that tliis very 94 REOEPTION OF CHRISTIANITY. eagerness would eixcite the greater opposition on the part of their pagan relatives and friends. Thus we read of the fate of Eochad's daughters, and the story of Ethn6 and Felimia. The whole nation, in feet, appeared suddenly transported with a holy impetuosity, and litted at once to the height of Christian hfe. Monasteries and nunneries covld not be con- structed fast enough, although they contented themselves with the lightest fabrics — wattles being the ordinary materials for walls, and slender laths for roofs. Nor was this an ephemeral ardor, like a fire of stubble or straw, flashing into a momentary blaze, to relapse into deeper gloom. It lasted for several centuries ; it was still in full flame at the time of Columba, more than two hundred years after Patrick; it grew into a vast conflagration in the seventh and eighth centuries, when multitudes rushed forth from that burn- ing island of the blest to spread the sacred fire through Europe. How the nation continued to multiply, when so many de- voted themselves to a holy celibacy, is only to be explained by the large number of children with which God blessed those who pursued an ordinary life, and who, from what is related in the chronicles of the time, must have been in a minority. Of the first monasteries and convents erected not a single vestige now remains, because of the perishable materials of which they were constructed ; yet each of them contained hundreds, nay thousands, of monks or nuns. But, even in our days, we are furnished with an ocular dem- onstration of what men could scarcely bring themselves to believe, or at least would term an exaggeration, did not stand- ing proof remain. God inspired his children with the thought of erecting more substantial structures, of building walls of stone and roofing them in with tiles and metal ; and the island was literally covered, not with Gothic castles or luxurious palaces and sumptuous edifices, but with large and commodious build- ings and churches, wherein the religious life of the inmates might be carried on with greater comfort and seclusion from the world. At the time of the Reformation all those asylums of perfec- tion and asceticism were of course profaned, converted to vile or slavish uses, many altogether destroyed to the very founda- tions ; a greater number were allowed to decay gradually and become heaps of ruins. And what happened when the English Government, unable any longer to resist public opinion, was compelled to consent that a survey be made of the poor and comparatively few re- mains still in existence, in order to manifest a show of interest for the past history of the island ; when commissioners were ap- pointed to publish lists and diagrams of the former dwellings of RECEPTION OF CHRISTIANITY. 95 the " saints," whicli the '* zeal " of the "reformers" had battered down without mercy ? To the astonishment of all, it was proved by the ruins still in existence that the greater portion of the island had been once occupied by monasteries and convents of every description. And Prof. O' Curry has stated hia conviction, based on local traditions and geographical and topographical names, that a great number of these can be traced back to Pat- rick and his first companions. It is clear enough, then, that, from the beginning, the Irish were not only " priest-ridden," but also very attached to " monk- ish superstitions.^' Yet we could not form a complete idea of that attachment were we to limit ourselves to an enumeration of the buildings actually erected, supposing such an enumeration possible at this time. For we know, by many facts related in Irish hagiology, that a great number of those who devoted themselves to a life of penance and austerity, did not dwell even in the humble struct- ures of the first monks, but, deeming themselves unworthy of the society of their brethren, or condemned by a severe but just " friend of their soul," as the confessor was then called, hid themselves in mountain-caves, in the recesses of woods or forests, or banished themselves to crags ever beaten by the waves of the sea. Yes, there was a time when those dreadful solitudes of the Hebrides, which frighten the modern tourist in his summer ex- plorations, teemed with Christian life, and every rock, cave, and sand-bar had its inhabitant, and that inhabitant an Irish monk. They sometimes spent seven years on a desert islet doing penance for a single sin. They often passed a lifetime on a rock in the midst of the ocean, alone with (rod, and enjoying no com- munion but that of their conscience. Who knows how many thousands of men have led such a life, shocking, indeed, to the feelings of worldlings, but in reality de- voted to the contemplation of what is above Nature — a life, con- gequently, exalted and holy ? Passing from the solitudes to the numerous hives where the bees of primitive Christianity in Ireland were busy at work con- structing their combs and secreting their honey, what do we see ? People generally imagine that all monastic establishments have been alike ; that those of mediaeval times were simply the repro- duction of earlier ones. An abbot, the three vows, austerity, psalmody, study — such are the general features common to all ; but those of Ireland had peculiarities which are worthy of ex- amination. We shall find in them a stronger expression of the supernatural, perhaps ; certainly a more heavenly cast, a greater forgetfiilness of the world, its manners and habits, its passions and aims. 96 RECEPTION OF CHRISTIANITY. Patrick had learned all he knew of this holj life in the estab- lishment of Lerins, wherein the West reflected more truly than it ever did subsequently the Oriental light of the great founders of monasticism in Palestine and Egypt. The first thing to be remarked is the want, to a great extent, of a strict system. The Danes, when Christianized, and the Anglo-Normans, introduced this afterwards ; but the genius of the Irish race is altogether opposed to it, and the Scandinavian races in following ages could hardly ever bring them under the cold uniformity of an iron rule. Did St. Patrick establish a rule in the monasteries which he founded ? Did St. Columba two centuries later ? Did any of the great masters of spiritual life who are known to have exercised an influence on the world of Irish convents? Not only hae nothing of the kind been transmitted to us, but no mention of it is made in the lives of holy abbots which we possess.' St. Co- lumbanus's rule is the only one which has come down to us ; but the monasteries founded by him were all situated in Burgundy, Switzerland, Germany, and Italy — that is to say, out of Ireland, out of the island of saints. He was compelled to furnish his monasteries with a written rule, because they were surrounded by barbarous peoples, some of whom his establishments often received as monks, and to whom the holiness of Ireland wslb unfamiliar or utterly unknown. But why should the people of God, living in his devoted island, redeemed as soon as born by the waters of baptism, be shackled by enactments which might serve as an obstacle to the action of the Holy Ghost on their free bouLb! According to the common opinion, each founder of a monas- tery had his own rule, which he himself was the first to follow in all its rigor ; if disciples came, they were to observe it, or go elsewhere ; if, after having embraced it, they found themselves unable to keep it to the letter, the abbot was indulgent, and did not impose on them a burden which they could no longer bear, after having first proved their willingness to practise it. Thus, it is reported that St. Mochta was the only one who practised his own rule exactly, his monks imitating him as weD as they could. St. Fintan, who was inclined ^.o be severe, re- ceived this warning in a vision ; " Fight unto the end thyself; but beware of being a cause of scandal to others, by requiring all to fight as thou doest, for one clay is weaker than anotner." ThuB, every founder, every abbot even, left to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, practised austerities which in our days of self- indulgence seem absolutely incredible, and showed themselves » The "Irish Penitentials," quoted at length in Rev. Dr. Moran'a "Early Iriah Obureh," are not monastic rules, although many cunottt have reference to mopka. REOEPTION OF CHRISTIANITY. 97 ftevere to those under their authority. But this severity was tempered by such zeal for the good of souls, and consequently by such an unmistakable charity, that the penitent monk carried his burden not only with resignation, but with joy. This, in after-ages, became a characteristic feature of Irish monasticism. The life of Columba is full of examples of this holy severity. In St. Patrick's life we read that Colman died of tmrst rather than quench it before the time appomted by his master. How many facts of a similar nature might be mentioned ! Enough to say that, after so many ages, in which, thanks to bar- barous persecutions, all ecclesiastical and monastic traditions were lost to Ireland, through the sheer impossibility of following them up, the Irish still show a marked predilection for the holy austerity of penance, though the rest of the Christiari world seems to have almost totally forgotten it. But if the Irish convents lacked system, there was at the same time in them an exuberance of feeling, an enthusiastic im- pulse, which is to be found nowhere else to the same extent, and which we call their second peculiar feature after they received Christianity. This is beautifully expressed in a hymn of the office of St. Finian : " Behold the day of gladness ; the clerks applaud and are in ioy ; the sun of justice, which had been hid- den in the clouds, snines forth again." As soon as this primitive enthusiasm seemed to slacken in the least, reformers appeared to enkindle it again. Such was Bridget, such was Gildas, such were the disciples of St. David of Menevia in Wales, such was any one whom the Spirit of God in- spired with love for Ireland. Thus the scenes enacted in the time of Patrick were again and again repeated. And when a monastery was built, it was not properly a mon- astery, but a city rather ; for the whole country round joined in the goodly work. As some one has said, "it looked as if Ire- land was going to cease to be a nation, and become a church." With regard to the question of ground and the appropriation of landed property, what matters it who is the owner 1 If it be clan territory, there is the clan with nothing but welcome, ap- plause, and assistance. If it be private, the owner is not con- sulted even ; how could he think of opposing the work of God ? Thus, we never read in Irish history — ^in the earlier stages at least— of those long charters granted in other lands by Sings, dukes, and counts, and preserved with such care in the archives of the monastery. It seems that the Danes, after they became Christians, were the first to introduce the custom ; after them, the Anglo-Normans, in the true spirit of their race, made a flonrishing business of it. The Irish themselves never thought of such at first. There was no fear of any one ever claiming the ground on which God's house stood. The buildings were there • »8 KEOEPTION OF OHRISTIANITY. the ground needed to support them : what Irishman could think of driving away the holy inmates and pulling the wails about their ears ? The whole surrounding population is busy erecting them. Long rows of wattles and tessel-work are set in right order ; over them a rough roof of boards ; within small cells begin to appear, as the slight partitions are erected between them. Symmetry or no symmetery, the position of the ground decides the ques- tion ; for there is no need of the skill of a surveyor to establish the OTade. Does not the rain run its own way, once it begins ? How far and how wide will those long rows reach ? They seem the streets of a city ; and in truth they are. The place is to receive two, three thousand monks, over and above the stu- dents committed to their care. And, in addition to the cells to dwell in, there are the halls wherein to teach ; the museums and repositories of manuscripts, of sacred objects ; the rooms to write in, translate, compose ; the sheds to hold provisions, to prepare and cook them, ready for the meal. For the most important edifice — the temple of God — alone stones are cut, shaped, and fitted each to each with care and pre- cision. A holy simplicity surrounds the art ; yet are there not wanting carven crosses and other divine emblems sculptured out. Within, the heavenly mysteries of religion will be performed. Should you ask, " Why so small ? " the answer is ready. That large space empty around holds room enough for the worshippers, whose numbers could be accommodated in no edifice. The minds of Irish architects had not yet expanded to the conception of a St. Peter's. Inside is room enough for the ministers of re- ligion ; without, at the tinkling of the bell, in the round-tower adjoining, the faithful will join in the services. Nor was it only in the erection of those edifices that a cheer- ful impulse, which overlooked or overcame all diflSculties, was displayed. The monastic life was not all the time a life of pen- ance and gloomy austerity, but of active work also and over- flowing feeling, of true poetrv and enthusiastic exultation. We read in the fragments we still possess how, on the arid rock of lona, Columba remembered his former residence at Derry, with its woods of oaks and the pure waters of its loughs. In all the lives of Irish saints we read of the deep attachment they always preserved for their country, relatives, and friends ; what they did and were ready to do for them. And though all this was at bot- tom but a natural feeling, the extent to which it was carried wiU make us better acquainted with the Irish character, and explain more clearly that extraordinary expansion of soul which, in the domains of the supernatural, surpassed every thing witnessed elsewhere. ^'In a monastery two brothers had lived from childhood RECEPTION OF OHEISTIANITY. 99 The elder died, and while he was dying the other was laboring in the forest. When he came back, he saw the brethren open- ing a grave in the cemetery, and thus he learned that his brother was dead. He hastened to the spot where the Abbot Fintan, with some of his monks, were chanting psalms around the corpse, and asked him the favor of dying with his brother, and entering with him into the heavenly kingdom. * Thy brother is already in heaven,' replied Fintan, * and you cannot enter to- gether unless he rise again.' Then he knelt in prayer, the angels who had received the holy soul restored it, and the dead man, rising in his bier, called his brother : * Come,' said he, * but come quickly ; the angels await us.' At the same time he made room beside him, and both, lying down, slept together in death, and ascended together to the kingdom of God." This anecdote may tend better than any thing else to show us how Nature and grace were united in the Irish soul, to warm it, purify it, exalt it above ordinary feelings and earthly passions, and keep it constantly in a state oi energy and vitality unknown to other peoples. For, in what page of tne ecclesiastical history of other nations do we read of things such as these ? With regard to their country, also, grace came to the aid of Nature ; the supernatural was, therefore, seldom absent from the natural in their minds, and something of this double union has remained in them in every sense, and has, no doubt, contributed to render their nationality imperishable in spite of persecution. How ardent and pure in the heart of Columba was the love of Ireland, from which he was a voluntary exile I Patrick, also, though not native bom, yielded to none in that sacred feeling ; one of the three things he sought of God on dying was, that Erin should not " remain forever under a foreign yoke." Kieran offered the same prayer, and their reason for thus praying was that she was the " island of saints," destined to help out the sal- vation of many. Religion has been invariably connected with that acute senti- ment ever present in the minas of Irishmen for their country ; and it is, doubtless, that holy and supernatural fe«»bng which has g reserved a country which enemies strove so strenuously to wrest om them. But it was not love of country alone, of relatives i^nd friends, which enkindled in their hearts a spirit of enthujiia«m ; their whole monastic life was one of high-spirited devotedness, and energy, and action, more than human. We see them laboring in and around their monastic hive. How they pray and chant the divine office ; how they study and expound the holy doctrine to their pupils ; how they are ever travelling, walking in procession by hundreds and by thousands through the island, the interior spirit not allowing them to stand 100 RECEPTION OF CHRISTIANITY. still. There are so many pilgrimages to perform, so many shrines to venerate, so many works of brotherly love to imder- take. Other monks in other countries, indeed, did the same, Wt seldom with such universal ardor. The whole island, as we said, is one church. On all sides you may meet bishops, and priests, and monks, bearing revered relics, or proceeding tq found a new convent, plant another sacred edifice, or establish a house for the needy. The people on the way fall in and follow their footsteps, sharers of the burning enthusiasm. Many — ^how many I — were thus attracted to this mode of life, wherein there was scarce aught earthly, but all breathing holiness and heavenly grace I Thus the island was from the beginning a holy island. But zeal ' for God in their own country alone not being enough for their ardor, those men of God were early moved by the impulse of going abroad to spread the faith. Volumes might be written of their apostleship among barbarous tribes ; we have room only for a few words. They first went to the islands north of them, to the Heb- rides, the Faroe Isles, and even Iceland, which they colonized before the ITorwegian pirates landed there. Then they evan- felized Scotland and the north of England ; and, starting from lindisfarne, they completed the work of the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons, which was begun by St. Augustin and his monks in the south. Finally, the whole continent of Western Europe offered itself to their zeal, and at once they were ready to enter fully and un- reservedly into the current of new ideas and energies wliich at that time began to renew the face of that portion of the world overspread by barbarians from Germany, under the Merovin- fian icings in France, and later on, under the Carlo vingian ynasty, they became celebrated in the east of France, on the banks of the Rhine, even in the north through Germany, in the heart of Switzerland, and the north of Italy. This is not the place to attempt even a sketch of their missionary labors, now known to all tne students of the history of those times. But we may here mention that at that time the Irish monarchs and rulers became acquainted with continental dynasties and affairs through the necessary intercourse held by the Irish bishops and monks with Kome, the centre of Catholicity. Thus we see that Malachi II. corresponded with Charles the Bald, with a view of making a pilgrimage to Rome. We learn from the yellow-book of Lecain that Conall, son of Coelmuin6, brought from Rome the law of Sunday, such as was afterward practised in Ireland. Over and above the Irish missionaries who kept up a con- •taxit correspondence from the Continent of Europe with their RECEPTION OF OHRISTIANTTY. 101 native land, it is known that many in those early ages went on pilgrimages to Home ; among others, St. Degan, St. Kilian, the apostle of Franconia ; St. Sedulius the younger, who assisted at a Roman council in 721, and was sent by the Pope on a mission to Spain ; St. Donatus, afterward Bishop of Fiesole, and his disciple, Andrew. St. Cathald went from Rome to Jerusalem, and on his return was made Bishop of Tarento. Donough, son of Brian Boru, went to Rome in 1063, carrying, it is said, the crown of his father, and there died. It has been calculated that the ancient Irish monks held from the sixth to the ninth century thirteen monasteries in Scotland, seven in France, twelve in Armoric Gaul, seven in Lotharingia, eleven in Burgundy, nine in Belgium, ten in Alsatia, sixteen in Bavaria, fifteen in Rhaetia, Helvetia, and Suevia, besides several in Thuringia and on the left bank of the Rhine. Ireland was then not only included in, but at the head of, the European movement ; and yet that forms a period in her annals which as yet has scarcely been studied. The religious zeal which was then so manifest in the island itself burned likewise among many Continental nations, and lasted from the introduction of Christianity to the Danish in- vasion. What contributed chiefly to make that ardor lasting was, that every thing connected with religion made a part even of their exterior life. Grace had taken entire possession of the national soul. This world was looked upon as a shadow, beauti- ful only in reflecting something of the beauty of heaven. Hence were the Irish " the saints." So were they titled by all, and they accepted the title with a genuine and holy sim- plicity whicn betokened a truer modesty than the pretended aenegation which we might expect. Thus they seemed above temptation. The virgins consecrated to God were as numerous at least as the monks. These had also their processions and pilgrimages ; they went forth from houses overfull to found others, not knowing or calculating beforehand the spot where they might rest and " expect resurrection." Such was their lan- guage. Sometimes they applied at the doors of monasteries, and if there was no spot in the neighborhood suitable for the sis- ters, the monks abandoned to them their abode, their buildings and cultivated flelds where the crops were growing, taking wim them naught save the sacred vessels and the booKs they might need in the new establishment they went forth to found else- where. Who could imagine, then, that even a thought could enter their minds beyond those of charity and kindness ? Were they not dead utterly to worldly passions, and living only to God 1 It would have been a sacrilege to have profaned the holy island, not only with an unlawful act but even with a worldly imagina 5 102 REOEPTION OF CHRISTIANITY. tion. Had not many holy men and women seen angels con- Btantly coming down from heaven, and the souls of thejust at their departure going straight from Ireland to heaven ? Both in perpetual communication I Had the eyes of all been as pure as those of the best among them, the truth would have been un veiled to all alike, and the " isle of saints " would have shown itself to them as what it really was — ^a bright country where re- demption was a great fact ; where the souls of the great major- ity were truly and actually redeemed in the full sense of the word ; where people might enjoy a foretaste of heaven — the very space above their heads being to them at all times a road con- necting the heavenly mansions with this sublunary world. True is it that there were ever in the island a number of great sinners who desecrated the holy spot they dwelt on by their deeds of blood. The Saviour predicted that there should be " tares among the wheat " everywhere until the day of judg- ment. It was among the chieftains principally, almost entirely, that sin prevailed. The clan-system, unfortunately, favored deadly feuds, which often drenched all parts of the island in blood. Family quarrels, being in themselves unnatural, led to the most atrocious crimes. The old Greek drama furnishes frightful ex- amples of it, and similar passions sometimes filled the breasts of those leaders of Irish clans. Few of them died in their beds. When carried away by passion, they respected nothing which men generally respect. It would, however, be an exaggeration to suppose on this account a distinct and complete antagonism to have existed be- tween the clan and the Church, and to class all the princes on the side of evil as opposed to the " saints," whom we have con- templated leading a celestial life. We know from St. Aengus that one of the glories of Ireland is that many of her saints were of princely famuies, whereas among other nations generally the Gospel was first accepted by the poor and lowly, and foimd its enemies among the higher and educated classes. But in Ireland the great, side Dy side with the least of their clansmen, bowed to the yoke of Christ, and the bards and learned men became monks and bishops from the very first preaching of the Word. The fact is, a great number of kings and chieftains made their station doubly renowned by their virtues, and find place in the chronicle of Irish saints. Who can read, for instance, the story of King Guaire without admiring his faith and true Chris- tian spirit ? It is reported that as St. Caimine and St. Cumain Fota were one day conversing on spiritual things with that holy king of Connaught, Cahnine said to Guaire, " O king, could this church be filled on a sudden with whatever thou shouldst wish, what REOEPTIOK OF OHEISTIANiry. 103 would thy desire be ? " "I should wish," replied the king, " to have all the treasures that the church could hold, to devote them to the salvation of souls, the erection of churches, and the wants of Christ's poor." " And what wouldst thou ask ? " said the king to Fota. " I would," he replied, " have as many holy books as the church could contain, to give all who seek divine wisdom, to spread among the people the saving doctrine of Christ, and rescue souls from the bondage of Satan?' Both then turned to Caimine. " For my part," said he, " were this church filled with men afflicted witn every form of suffering and dis- ease, I should ask of God to vouchsafe to assemble in my wretched body all their evils, all their pains, and give me strength to support them patiently, for the love of the Saviour of the world." ' Thus the most sublime and supernatural spirit of Christianity became natural to the Irish mind in the great as well as in the lowly, in the rich as well as in the poor. Women rivalled men in that respect. " Daria was blind from birth. Once, whilst conversing with Bridget, she said : ' Bless my eyes that I may see the world, and gratify my longing.' The night was dark; it grew light for her, and the world appeared to her gaze. But when she had beheld it, she turned again to Bridget. * ITow close my eyes,' •aid she, * for the more one is absent from the world, the more present he is before God.' " Even though one may express doubt as to the reality of this miracle, one thing, at least, is beyond doubt : that the spirit of the words of Dana was congenial to the Irish mind at the time, and that none but one who had first reached the highest point of supernatural life could conceive or give utterance to such a sentiment. That more than human life and spirit elevated, ennobled, and, as it were, divinized, even the ordinary human and natural feelings, which not only ceased to become dangerous, but be- came, doubtless, highly pleasing to God and meritorious in his sight. An example may better explain our meaning : " Ninnid was a young scholar, not over-reverent, whom the influence of Bridget one day suddenly overcame, so that he afterward appeared quite a different being. Bridget announced to him that from his hand she should, for the last time, receive the body and blood of our Lord. Ninnid resolved that his hand should remain pure for so high and holy an office. He enclosed it in an iron case, and wishing at the same time to postpone, as for as lay in his power, the moment that was to take Bridget * This passage is given in Latin by Colgan {Acta S8.). In the original Irish, translated and published by Dr. Todd — L^er Hymn — there are more details. 104 RECEPTION OF CHRISTIANITY. from the world, he set out for Brittany, throwing the key of tha box into the sea. But the designs of God are immutable. When Bridget's hour had come, Ninnid was driven by a storm on tht Irish coast, and the key was miraculously given up by the deep." Where, except in Ireland, could such friendship continue for long years, without giving cause not only for the least scandal, but even for the remotest danger ? In that island the natural feelings of the human heart were wholly absorbed by heavenly emotions, in which nothing earthly could be found ? Hence the celebrated division of the " three orders of the Irish saints," the first being so far above temptation that no regulation was imposed on the Cenobites with respect to their intercourse with women. " Women were welcome and cared for ; they were admitted, so to speak, to the sanctuary ; it was shared with them, occupied in common. Double, or even mixed monasteries, so near to each other as to form but one, brought the two sexes together for mutual edification ; men became instructors of women ; women of men." Nothing of the kind was ever witnessed elsewhere ; nothing of the kind was to be seen ever after. Kobert of Arbrissel established something similar in the order of Fontevrault in France ; but there it was a strange and very uncommon excep- tion ; in Ireland for two centuries it was the rule. This alone would show how completely the Christian spirit had taken pos- session of the whole race from the first. It is this which gives to Irish hagiology a peculiar character, making it appear strange even to the best men of other nations. The elevation of human feeling to such a height of perfection is so unusual that men cannot fail to be surprised wnerever they may meet it. Yet far from appearing strange, almost inexplicable, it would have been recognized as the natural result of the working of the Christian religion, if the spirit brought on earth by our Lord had been more thoroughly diffused among men, if all had been penetrated by it to the same degree, if all had equally under- stood the meaning of the Gospel preached to them. But, unfortunately, so many and so great were the obstacles opposed everywhere to the working of the Spirit of God in the souls of men, that comparatively few were capable of being alto- gether transformed into beings of another nature. The great mass lagged far behind in the race of perfection They were admitted to the fold of Christ, and lived generally at least in the practice of the commandments ; but the object pro- posed to himself by the Saviour of mankind was imperfectly carried out on earth. The life of the world was far from being impregnated by the spirit which he brought from heaven. In the ^^ island of saints " we certainly see a great number RECEPTION OF 0HRI8TIAMTY. 105 0{)en out at once to the fulness of that divine influence. Herein we have the explanation of the deep faith which has ever since been the characteristic of the people. ^* Centuries have perpetu- ated the alliance of Catholicity and Ireland. Kevolutions nave failed to shake it ; persecution has not broken it ; it has gained strength in blood and tears, and we may believe, after thirteen centuries of trial, that the Roman faith will disappear from Ire- land only with the name of Patrick and the last Irishman." Note. — ^It is known that F. Oolgan, a Franciscan, undertook to publish the " Acta Sanctorum HibemisB." He edited only two volumes : the first under the title of "Trias thaumaturga" containing the various lives of St. Patrick, St. Oolumba, and St. Bridget : — the second under the general title of "Acta SS." — Barnwall, an Irishman born and educated in France, pub- lished the " Histoire L6gendaire d*Irlande," in which he collected, without much order, a number of passages of Oolgan' s "Acta," and Mr. J. G. Shea translated and published it. We have taken from this translation several facts contained in this chapter, the work of the Franciscan being not acces- sible to OS. Dr. Todd, from Irish M8S., has given a few pages showing the accuracy of Oolgan, although the good father did not scruple occasionally to condense and abridge, unless the MSS. he used differed from those of Dr. Todd. The whole is a rich mine of interesting anecdotes, and Montalembert has shown what a skilftil writer can find in those pages forgotten since the sixteenth century. Mr. Froude himself has acknowledged that the eighth was Ihi golden age of Ireland. CHAPTER V. THE OHBIBHAN IBISH AND THE PiLGAN DANES. Fob several centuries the Irish continiied in the happy state de- BC^ibed in the last chapter. While the whole European Conti- nent was convulsed by the irruptions of the Germanic tribes, and of the Huns, more savage still, the island was at peace, opened her schools to the youth of all countries — ^to Anglo-Saxons chiefly — and spread ner name abroad as the happy and holy isle, tne dwelling of the saints, the land of prodigies, the most blessed spot on the earth. No invading host troubled her ; the various Teutonic nations knew less of the sea than the Celts themselves, and no vessel neared the Irish coast save the peace- ful curraghs which carried her monks and missionaries abroad, or her own sons in quest of food and adventure. Providence would seem to have imposed upon the nation ^he lofty mission of healing the wounds of other nations as they •ay helpless in the throes of death, of keeping the doctrines of '.he Gospel alive in Europe, after those terrible invasions, and of reading into the fold of Christ many a shepherd! ess flock. The peaceful messengers who went forth from Ireland became as celebrated as her home schools and monasteries ; and well had it been for the Irish could such a national life as this have con- tinued. But God, who wished to prepare them for still greater things in future ages, who proves oj suffering all whom he wishes to use as his best instruments, allowed the fury of the storm to burst suddenly upon them. It was but the beginning of their woes, the first step in that long road to Calvary, where they were to be crucified with him, to be crucified well nigh to the death before their final and almost miraculous resurrection. The Danes were to be the first torturers of that happy and holy people ; the hardy rovers of the northern seas were coming to mau^urate a long era of woe. The Scandinavian irruption which desolated Europe just as she was beginning to recover from the effects of the nrst great Germanic wave, may be said to have lasted fi'om the eighth to THE IRISH AND THE DANES. 107 the twelfth century. Down from the North Sea came the sliock ; Ireland was consequently one of the first to feel it, and we shall see how she alone withstood and finally overcame it. The better to understand the fierceness of the attack, let us first consider its origin : The Baltic Sea and the various gulfs connected with it pene- trate deeply the northern portion of the Continent of Europe. Its indentations form two peninsulas : a large one, known under the name of Norway and Sweden, and a lesser one on the south- west, now called Denmark. The first was known to the Romans as Scania ; the second was called by them the Cimbric Cherso- nesus. From Scania is derived the name Scandinavians, after- ward given to the inhabitants of the whole country. Besides these two peninsulas, there are several islands scattered through the surrounding sea. The frozen and barren land which this people inhabited obliged them from time immemorial to depend on the ocean for their sustenance : first, by fishing ; later on, b^ piracy. They soon became expert navigators, though their ships were merely small boats made of a few pieces of timber joined together, and covered with the hide of the walrus and the seal. It seems, from the Irish annals, that they belonged to two distinct races of men : the Norwegians, fair-haired and of large stature ; the Danes dark, and of smaller size. Hence the Irish distinguished the first, whom they called Finn Galls, from the second, whom they named Dubh Galls. By no other European nation was this distinction drawn, the Irish being more exact in observing their foes. It is the general opinion of modem writers that they be- longed to the Teutonic i^raily. The Goths, a Teutonic tribe, dwelt for a long period on the larger peninsula. But whether the Goths were of the same race as the Norwegians or Danes is a question. Certain it is that the various German nations which first overwhelmed the Roman Empire bore many characteristics different from those of the Danes and Norwegians, though the hmguage of all indicated, to a certain extent, a common origin. The Swedes, the inhabitants of the eastern coast of Scania, do not appear to have taken an important part in the Scandi- navian invasions ; nor, indeed, have they ever been so fond of maritime enterprises as the two other nations. Moreover, they were at that time in bloody conflict with the Goths, and too busy at home to think of foreign conquest. For a long time the Scanmnavian pirates seem to have con- fined themselves to scouring their own seas, and plundering the coasts as far as the gulfs of Finland and Bothnia. At length, emboldened by success, they ventured out into the ocean, at- tacked the nations of Western and Southern Europe, and in the 108 THE IRISH AND THE DANES. west colonized the frozen shores of the Shetland and Faroe Islands, and soon after Iceland and Greenland. For several centuries the harbors of Denmark and Norway became the storehouses of all the riches of Europe, and a large trade was carried on between those northern peninsulas and the various islands of the Northern and Arctic oeas, even with the coast of America, of which Greenland seems to form a part. Those stern and mountainous countries and the restless ocean which divides them were for the Scandinavian pirates what the Mediterranean and the coasts of Spain and Africa had long before been for the Phoenicians and Carthaginians. These peoples were clearly destined to introduce among modern na- tions the spirit of commerce and enterprise. But here it is well to consider their religious and social state from which nations chiefly derive their noble or ignoble quali- ties. We shall find both made up of the rankest idolatry, of cruel manners and revolting customs. Their system of worship, with its creed and rites, is much more precise in character and better known to us than that of the Celts. If we open the books which were written in Europe at the time of the irruption of these Northmen, and the poems of those savage tribes preserved to our own days, and comprised under the name of Edda, besides the numerous sagas, or songs and ballads, which we still possess, we find mention of three superior gods and a number of inferior deities, which gave a peculiar character to this Northern worship. They were Thor, the god of the elements, of thunder chiefly ; Wodan or Odin, the god of war ; and Frigga, the goddess of lust ; the long list of others it is unnecessary to give. Their religion, therefore, consisted mainly : 1. In battling with the elements, particularly on the sea, under the protection of Thor; 2. In slaying their enemiee, or being themselves slain, as Odin willed — the giving or receiving death being apparently the great ob- ject of existence; 3. In 'abandoning themselves at the time of victory to all the propensities of corrupt nature, which they took to be the express will of Frigga manifested in their unbridled passions. Such was Scandinavian mythology in its reality. Modem investigators, principally in Germany and France, find in the Edda a complete system of cosmogony and of a re- ligion almost inspired, so beautiful do they make it. At least they have made it appear as profound a philosophy as that of old Hindostan and far-off Thibet. By grouping around those three great divinities, which are supposed to De emblematical of the superior natural forces, their numerous progeny, that of Odin especially, together with an incredible number of malicious giants and good-natuied ases — a kind of fairy — any skilful theo- THE IRISH AND THE DANES. 109 rist, gitlcd with the requisite imagination, may extract from the whole Jin ahnost perfect system of cosmogony and ethics. Then the disgusting legends of tlie Edda and the sagas are straigntway transformed into interesting myths, offsprings of poetry and imagination, and conveying to the mind a philosophy only less than sublime, derived, as they say, from the religion of 2joro- aster. It is, as we said, in Germany and France chiefly that these discoveries have been made. The English, a more sober people, although of Scandinavian blood, do not set so high a value on what is, in the literal sense, so low. Pity that such pleasing speculations should be mere theo- retical bubbles, unable to retain their lightness and their vivid colors in the rude atmosphere of the arctic regions, bursting at the first breath of the north wind 1 How could sensible men, under such a complicated system of religion and physics, account for the uncouth pirates of the Baltic ? As useless is it to say that they brought it from the place of their origin — Persia, as these theorists affirm. To a man unin- fluenced by a preconceived or pet system, it is evident at fii'st sight that no mythology of the East or of the South has ever given rise to that of Scandinavia. There is not the slightest re- semblance between it and any other. It must have originated with the Scandinavians themselves ; and their long reUgiaus tales were only the bloody dreams of their fancy, when, during their dreary winter evenings, they had nothing to do but relate to each other what came uppermost in their gross minds. Saxo Grammaticus, certainly a competent authority, and Snorry Sturleson, the first to translate the Edda into Latin, who is still considered one of the greatest antiquarians of the nation — both of whom lived in the times we speak of, when this re- ligious system still flourished or was fresh in the minds of all — solved the question ages ago, and demonstrated beforehand the falsehood of those future theories by stating with old-time -sim- plicity that the abominable stories of the Edda and the sagas were founded on real facts in the previous history of those na- tions, and were consequently never intended by the writers as imaginative myths, representing, under a figurative and repulsive exterior, some semblance of a spiritual and refined doctrine. We must look to our own more enlightened times to find ingenious interpreters of rude old songs first flung to the breeze nine hundred years ago in the polar seas, and beflowed forth in boisterous and drunken chorus during the ninth and tenth cen- turies by ferocious, but to modem eyes romantic, pirates reeking with the gore of their enemies. Because it has pleased some modem pantheist to conooct systems of religion in his cabinet, does it become at once clear 110 THE IRISH AND THE DANES. that the mythic explanation of those sonffs is the only one to be admitted, and that the odious facts which those legends express ouffht to be discarded altogether ? At least we hope that, when philosophers come to be the real rulers of the world, they will not give to their subtle and abstract ideas of religion the same pleasant turn and the same concrete expression in every-day life that the worshippers of Odin, Thor, and Frigga, found it agree- able to give when they were masters of the continent and rulers of the seas. No ! The only true meaning of this Northern worship is conveyed in the simple words of Adam of Bremen, when relating what still existed in his own time. {Deseript. inaula/rwm Aquil.y lib. iv.) He describes the solemn sacrifices of Upsala in Sweden thus : " This is their sacrifice ; of each and all animals they offer nine heads of the male gender, bv whoso blood it is their custom to appease the gods. The dead bodies of the victims are sus- pended in a grove which surrounds the temple. The place is in their eyes invested with such a sacred character that the trees are believed to be divine on account of the blood and gore with which they are besmeared. With the animals, dogs, horses, etc., they suspend likewise men ; and a Christian of that country told me that he had himself seen them with his own eyes mixed up together in the grove. But the senseless rites which accompany the sacrifice and the sprinkling of blood are so many, and of so gross and immoral nature, that it is better not to speak of them." We have here the naked truth, and no meaning whatever could be attached to such ceremonies other than that of the rank- est idolatry. To complete the picture^ it is proper to state that Thor,Odin, and Frigga, were frightful idols, as represented in the Upsala temple, and the small statues carried by the Scandinavian sailors on their expeditions and set in the place of honor on board their ships, were but diminutive copies of the hideous originals. It is known, moreover, that Odin had existed as a leader of some of their migrations, so that their idolatry resolved itself into hero-worship. Having spoken of their gods, we have only a word to add on their belief in a future state, for evenr one is acquainted with their brutal and shocking Walhalla. Yet, such as it was, admit- tance to its halls could only be aspired to by the warriors and heroes, the great among them ; the common herd was not deemed worthy of immortality. Thus aristocratic pride showed itself at the very bottom of their religion. Of their social state, their government, we know little. They lived under a kind cf rude monarchy, subject often to election, when they chose the most savage and the oravest for their ruler. But blood-relationship had little or nothing to do with their system, so different from that of the Celts. The sons of a chief- THE IRISH ANI? THE DANES. Ill tain could never form a sept, but at his death the eldest replaced him ; the younger brothers, deprived of their titles and goods, were forced to separate and acquire a title to rank and honor by piracy ; and that right of primogeniture, which was the primary cause of their sea invasions, stamped the feudal system with one of its chief characteristics, a system which probably originated with them. Some, however, entertain a contrary opinion, and suppose that at the death of the father his children shared his inheritance equally. Of their moral habits we may best judge by their religion. All we know of their history seems to prove that with them might was right, and outlawry the only penalty of their laws. A man guilty of murder was compelled to quit the country, unless his superior daring and the number of his friends and fol- lowers enabled him, by more atrocious and wholesale murders, still to become a great chieftain and even aspire to supreme power. Iceland was colonized by outlaws from Norway ; and the frequent changes of dynasty in pagan times prove that among them, as among barbarous tribes generally, brute force was the chief source of law and authority. That outlawry was not esteemed a stain on the character is sufficiently demonstrated by the fact that the mere accident of birth made outlaws of all the children of chieftains with the ex- ception of the eldest bom ; the necessity for the younger sons abandoning their home and native country, and roaming the ocean in search of plunder, being exactly equivalent, according to their opinion and customs, to criminal outlawry of whatever character. This, at least, many authors assert without hesitation. Their domestic habits were fit consequences of such a state of society. There could exist no real tie of kindred, no filial or brotherly afiection among men living under such a social system. The gratification of brutal passions and the most utter selfish- ness constituted the rule for all ; and even the fear of an inex- orable judge after death could not restrain them during life, as might nave been the case among other pagan nations, since the hope of reaching their Walhalla depended for its ftdfilment on murder or suicide. With their system of warfare we are better acquainted than with any thing else belonging to them, as the main burden of their songs was the recital of their barbarous expeditions. It is, indeed, difficult for a modern reader to wade through the whole of their Edda poems, or even their long sagas, so fall is their literature of unimaginable cruelties. Yet a general view of it is necessary in order to understand the horror spread throughout Europe Dy their inhuman warfare. As soon as the warm breeze of an early spring thaws the ice on his rivers and lakes, the Scandinavian v ikmg unfurls his sail, 112 THE IRISH AND THE DANES. fills his rude boat with provisions, and trusts himself to the mercy of the waves. Should he be alone, and not powerful enough tc have a fleet at his command, he looks out for a single boat of his own nation — there being no other in those seas. Urged by a mutual impulse, the two crews attack each other at sight ; the sea reddens with blood; the savage bravery is equal on both aides ; accident alone can decide tlie contest. One of the crews conquers by the death of all its opponents ; the plunder is trans- ferred to the victorious boat ; the cup of strong drink passes round, and victory is crowned by drunkenness. But if the two chieftains have contended from morning till night with equal valor and success, then, filled with admiration fbr each other, they become friends, unite their forces, and, falling on the first spot where they can land, they pillage, slay, outrage women, and give full sway to their unbridled passions. The more ferocious they are the braver they esteem tliemselves. It is a positive fact, as we may gather ft-om all their poems and songs, that the Scandinavians alone, probably, of all pagan na- tions, have had no measure of bravery and military glory oeyond the infliction of the most exquisite torture and the most horrible of deaths. Plunder, which was apparently the motive power of all their expeditions, was to them less attractive than blood ; blood, there- fore, is the chief burden of their poetry, if poetry it can be called. It would seem as though they were destined by Nature to shed human blood in torrents — the noblest occupation, according to their ideas, in which a brave man could be engaged. The figures of their rude literature consist for the most part of monstrous warriors and gods, each possessed of many arms to kill a greater number of enemies, or of giant stature to overcome all obstacles, or of enchanted swords wnich shore steel as easily as linen, and clave the body of an adversary as it would the air. Then, heated with blood, the Northman is also influenced with lust, for he worships Frigga as well as Odin. But this is not the place to give even an iaea of manners too revolting to be ])resented to the imagination of the reader. Can til's Universal History will furnish all the authorities from which the details we have given and many others of the same kind are derived. We do not propose describing here the horrors of the devas tations committed by the Anglo-Saxons and Danes in England, by the Normans in France, Spain, and Italy. All these nations, even the first, were Scandinavians, and naturally fall under our review. The story is already known to those who are acquainted with the history of medineval Europe. The only thing which we do not wish to omit is the invariable system of warfare adopted by this people when acting on a large scale. \ THE IRISH AND THE DANES. 113 Arrived on the coast they had determined to ravage, they soon found that in stormy weather they were in a more danfferoua position than at sea. Hence they looked for a deep bay, or, better still, the month of a large rive., and once on its placid bosom they felt themselves masters of the whole country. The terror of the people, the lack of organization for defence, so character- istic of Celtic or purely German o-Franco society, the savage bravery and reckless impetuosity of the invaders themselves, increased their rashness, and urged them to enter fearlessly into the very heart of a country which lay prostrate with fear before them. All the cities on the river-banks were plundered as they passed, people of whatever age, sex, or condition, were murdered ; the churches especially were despoiled of their riches, and the numerous and wealthy monasteries then existing were given to the flames, after the monks and all the inmates even to the school- children, had been promiscuously slaughtered, if they had not escaped by flight. But, although all were slaughtered promiscuously, a special ferocity was always displayed by the barbarous conqueror tow- ard the unarmed and defenceless ministers of religion. They took a particular delight in their case in adding insult to cruelty ; and not without reason did the Church at that time consider as martyrs the priests and monks who were slain by the pagan Scandinavians. Their sanguinary and hideous idolatry showed its hatred of truth and holiness in always manifesting a pecul- iar atrocity when coming in contact witn the Church of Christ and her ministers. And, our chief object in speaking of the stand made by the Irish against the pagan Danes is, to show how the clan-system became in truth the avenger of God's altars and the preserver of the sacred edifices and numerous temples with which, as we have seen, the Island of Saints was so profusely studded, from total annihilation. Knowing that, when their march of destruction had taken them a great distance from the mouth of the river, the inhabitants might rise in sheer despair and cut them off on their return, the Scandinavian pirates, to guard against such a contingency^, looked for some island or projecting rock, difficult of access, which they fortified, and, placing there the plunder which loaded their boats, they left a portion o? their forces to guard it, while the remainder continued their route of depredation. In Ireland they found spots admirably adapted for their purpose in the numerous lou^s into which many of the rivers run. This was their invariable system of warfare in the rivers of England ; in Germany along the Hhine ; along the Seine, the Loire, and the Garonne, in France, as well as on the Tagus and Guadalquivir in Spain, where two at least of their large expeditions penetrated. This continued for several centuries, until at last 114 THE IRISH AND THE DANES. they thought of occupying the country which they had devastated and depopulated, and they began to form permanent settlementi in England, Flanders, France, and even Sicily and ISTaples. When that time had arrived, they showed that, Jiidden under their ferocious exterior, lay a deep and systematic mind, capable of great thoughts and profound designs. Already in their own rude country they had organized commerce on an extensive scale, and their harbors teemed with richly-laden ships, coming from far dis- tances or preparing to start on long voyages. They had become a great colonizing race, and, after establishing their sway in the Heb- rides, the Orkneys, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, and Greenland, they made England their own, first by the Jute and Anglo-Saxon tribes, then by the arms of Denmark, which was at that time so powerful that England actually became a colony of Copenhagen ; and finally they thought of extending their conquests farther south to the Mediterranean Sea, where their ships rode at anchor in the harbors of fair Sicily. We know, from many chronicles written at the time, with what care they surveyed all the countries they occupied, confis- cating the land after having destroyed or reduced its inhabitants to slavery ; dividing it among themselves and establishing their barbarous laws and feudal customs wherever they went. Dudo of St. Quentin, among other writers, describes at length in his rude poem the army of surveyors intrusted by Eollo, the first Duke of Normandy, with the care of drawing up a map of their conquests in France, for the purpose of dividing the whole among his rough followers and vassals. Of this spirit of organization we intend to speak in the next chapter, when we come to consider the Anglo-lsorman invasion of Ireland ; but we are not to conclude that the Northmen became straightway civilized, and that the spirit of refinement at once shed its mild manners and gentle habits over their newly-con- structed towns and castles. For a long time they remained as barbarous as ever, with only a system more perfect and a method more scientific — if we may apply such expressions to the case — in their plunderings and murderous expeditions. Of Hastings, their last pagan sea-kong, Dudo, the great admirer of Northmen and the sycophant of the first Norman dukes in France, has left the following terrible character, on reading which in full we scarcely know whether the poem wag written in reproach or praise. We translate from the Latin. According to Dudo, he was — " A wretch accursed and fierce of heart, Unmatched in dark iniquities ; A scowling pest of deadly hate. He throve on savage crueltieg. THE IKI8H AND THE DANES, 115 Blood-thirsty, stained with every crime, An artful, cnnning, deadly foe, Lawless, vaunting, rash, inconstant, True well-spring of unending woe !" Hastings never yielded to the new religion, which he always hated and persecuted. But, even after their conversion to Chris- tianity, his countrymen for a long time retained their inborn love of bloodshed and tyranny ; they were in this respect, as in many others, the very reverse of the Irish. Of KoUo, the first Christian Duke of Nonnandy, Adhemar, a contemporary writer, says : "On becoming Christian, he caused many captives to be beheaded in his presence, in honor of the gods whom he had worshipped. And he also distributed a vast amount of money to the Christian churches in honor of the true God in whose name he had received baptism ; " which would seem to imply that this transaction occurred on the very day of his baptism. We may now compare the success which attended the arms of these terrible invaders throughout the rest of Europe with their complete failure in Ireland, fi will be seen that the deep attach- ment of the Irish Celts for their religion, its altars, shrines, and monuments, was the real cause of their final victory. We shall behold a truly Christian people battling against paganism in its most revolting and audacious form. But, first, now stood the case in England? " It is not a little extraordinary," says a sagacious writer in the DubUn Review (vol. xxxii., p. 203), " that the three successive conquests of England by the Anglo-Saxons, Danes, and Normans, were in fact conquests made by the same people, and, in the last two instances, over those who were not only descended from the same stock, but who had immigrated from the very same localities. The Jutes, Angles, and Saxons, were for the most part Danes or of Danish origin. Their invasion of England commenced by plunder and ended by conquest. These were overthrown by the Danes and Norwegians in precisely the same manner. " In the year 875, Koll or Rollo, having been expelled from Norway by Harold Harfager, adopted the profession of a sea- kong, and in the short space of sixteen years became Duke of Normandy and son-in-law of the French ting, after having pre- viously repudiated his wife. The sixth duke in succession from Rollo was William, illegitimate son of Robert le Diahle and Herleva, a concubine. By the battle of Hastings, which WiUiam fained in 1066, over King Harold, who was slain in it, the former ecame sovereign of England, and instead of the appellation of * the Bastard,' by which he had been hitherto known, he now obtained the surname of ' the Conqueror.' lie THE IRISH AND THE DANES. " Thus both the Saxon and Danish invaders were subdaed by their Norman brethren." All the Scandinavian invasions of England were, therefore, successful, each m turn giving way before a new one ; and it ie not a little remarkable that the very year in which Brian Boru dealt a death-blow to the Danes at Clontarf witnessed the com- plete subjection of England by Canute. The success of the Northmen in France is still more worthy of attention. Their invasions began soon after the death of Charlemagne. It is said that, before his demise, hearing of the appearance of one of their fleets not far from the mouth of the Rhine, he shed tears, and foretold the innumerable evils it por- tended. He saw, no doubt, that the long and oft-repeated efiorts of his life to subdue and convert the northern Saxons would fail to obtain for his successors the peace he had hoped to win by his Bword, and, knowing from the Saxons themselves the relentless ferocity, audacity, and frightful cruelty, inoculated in their Scan- dinavian blood, he could not but expect for his empire the fierce attacks which were preparing in the arctic seas. All his life had he been a conqueror, and under his sway the Franks, whom he had ever led to victory, acquired a name through Europe for military glory which, he dreaded, would no longer remain untar- nished. His forebodings, however, could not be shared by any of those who surrounded him in his old age ; his eagle eye alone discerned the coming misfortunes. Seven times had the great emperor Bubdued the Saxons. He had crushed them effectually, since he could not otherwise prevent them from disturbing his empire. The Franks, who formed his army, were therefore the real conquerors of Western Europe. Starting from the banks of the Rliine, they subjugated the north as far as the Baltic Sea ; they conquered Italy as far south as Ben even tum, by their victories over the Lombards ; by the subjugation of Aquitaine, they took possession of the whole of France ; the only check they had ever received was in the valley of Roncevaux, whence a part of one of their armies was (compelled to retreat, without, however, losing Catalonia, which they had won. Nevertheless, we see them a few years after powerless and stricken with terror at the very name of the Nortlimen, as soon as Hastings and Rollo appeared. Those sea-rovers established themselves straightway m the very centre of the Frankish dominion ; for it was at the mouth of the Rhine, in the island of Walcheren, that they formed their first camp. From Walcheren they swept both banks of the Rhine, and, after enriching them- selves with the spoils of monasteries, cathedrals, and palaces, they thought of other countries. Then began the long series oi till ^ THE IRISH AND THE DANES. 117 oliatious which desolated the whole of France along the Seine, le Loire, and the Garonne. Opj)osition they scarcely encountered. Paris alone, of all the ^reat cities "of France, sustained a long siege, and finally bought them ofi' by tribute. The military power of the nation was an- nihilated all at once, and of all French history this period is un- doubtedly the most humiliating to a native of the soil. And now let us see how the Irish met the same piratical invasions. We are already acquainted with the chief defect of their po- litical system, namely, its want of centralization. The Ard-Righ was in fact but a nominal ruler, except in the small province which acknowledged his chieftainship only. Throughout the rest of Ireland the provincial kings were independent save in name. Not only were they often reluctant to obey the Ard-Righ, but they were not seldom at open war with him. Nor are we to suppose that, at least in the case of a serious attack from without, their patriotism overcame their private differences, and made them combine together to show a common front against a common foe. In a patriarchal state of government there is scarcely any other form of patriotism than that of the particular sept to which each individual belongs. All the ideas, customs, prejudices, are opposed to united action. Yet an invasion so formidable as that of the Scandinavian tribes showed itself everywhere to be, would have required all the energies and resources of the whole country united under one powerftd chief, particularly when it did not consist of one single fearftd irruption. During two centuries large fleets of dingy, hide-bound barks discharged on the shores of Erin their successive cargoes of human fiends, bent on rapine and carnage, and altogether proof against fear of even the most horrible death, since such deatn was to them the entry to the eternal realms of their Walhalla. But, at the period of which we speak, the terrible evil of a want of centralization was greatly aggravated by a change occur- ring in the line which held the supreme power in the island. The vigorous rule of a long succession of princes belonging to the northern Hy-Niall line gave way to the ascendency of the southern branch oi this great family ; and the much more limited patrimony and alliances of this new quasi-dynasty rendered its personal power very inferior to that of the northern branch, and consequently lessened the influence possessed by the ruling family in past times. In Ireland the connections, more or less numerous, by blood relationship with tho great families, always exercised a powerful influence over the body of the nation in rendering it docile and amenable to the will of the Ard-Righ. MuHingar, in West Meath, was the abode of the southern Hy- 118 THE IRISH AND THE DANES. Nialls, and Malacliy of the Shannon, the first Ard-High of thia line, succeeded King Niall of Callan in 843. The Danes were already in the country and had committed depredations. Their first descent is mentioned by the Four Masters as taking place at Eathlin on the coast of Antrim in the year 790. But the country was soon aroused; and religious feelings, always uppermost m the Irish heart, supplied the aeficiencies of the constitution of the state and the particularly unfavorable cir- cumstances of the period. The Danes, as usual, first attacked the monasteries and churches, and this alone was enough to kin- dle in the breasts of the people the spirit of resistance and retali- ation, lona was laid waste in 797, and again in 801 and 805. " To save from the rapacity of the Danes," says Montalembert in his Monks of the West, " a treasure which no pious liberality could replace, the body of S. Columba was carried to Ireland. And it IS the unvarying tradition of Irish annals, that it was deposited finally at Down, in an episcopal monastery, not far from the eastern shore of the island, between the great monasteir of Bangor in the North, and Dublin the future capital of Ireland, in the South." Ireland was first assailed by the Danes on the north immedi- ately after they had gained possession of the Hebrides ; but the coasts of Germany, Belgium, and France had witnessed their attacks long before. Keligion was the first to suffer ; and as the Island of Saints was at the time of their descent covered with churches and monasteries, the Scandinavian barbarians found in these a rich harvest which induced them to return again and again. The first expedition consisted of only a few boats and a small body of men. Nevertheless, as their irruptions were unex- Eected, and the people were unprepared for resistance, many oly edifices suffered from these attacks, and a great number oi priests and monks were murdered. We read that Armagh with its cathedral and monasteries was plundered four times in one month, and in Bangor nine hundred monks were slaughtered in a single day. The majority of the inmates of those nouses fled with their books and the relics of their saints at the approach of the invaders, but, returning to their desecrated homes after the departure of the pirates, gave cause for those successive plunderings. But the Irish did not always fly in dismay, as was the case in England and France. A force was generally mustered in the neighborhood to meet and repel the attack, and in numerous instances the marauders were driven back with slaughter to their ships. For the clans rallied to the defence of the Church. Though the chieftains and their clansmen might seem to liave failed fully to imbibe the spirit of religion, though in their insane feuda THE IRISH A^D TlIE DANES. 119 they often turned a deaf ear to the remonstrances and reproaches of the bishops and monks, nevertheless Christianity reigned supreme in their inmost hearts. And when they beheld pagans landed on their shores, to insult their faith and destroy the mon- uments of their religion, to shed the blood of holy men, of conse- crated virgins, and of innocent children, they turned that bravery which they had so often used against themselves and for the satisfaction of worthless contentions into a new and a more fitting channel — the defence of their altars and the punishment of sacrilegious outrage. The Clan system was the very best adapted for this kind of warfare, so long as no large fleets came, and the pirates were too few in number and too sagacious in mind to think of venturing far inland. When but a small number of boats arrived, the inva- ders found in the neighborhood a clan ready to receive them. The clansmen speedily assembled, and, falling on the plundering crews, showed them how different were the free men of a Celtic coast, who were inspired by a genuine love for their faith, from the degenerate sons of the Gallo-Romans. So the annals of the country tell us that the " foreigners " were destroyed in 812 by the men of Umhall in Mayo ; byCor rach, lord of Ballamey, in the sameyear ; by the men of ulidia and by Carbry with the men of Hy-Kinsella in 827 ; by the clans- men of Hy-Figeinte, near Limerick, in 834, and many more. But the hydra had a thousand heads, and new expeditions were continually arriving. In the words of Mr. Worsaae, a Danish writer of this century : " From time immemorial Ireland was celebrated in the Scan- dinavian north, for its charming situation, its mild climate, and its fertility and beauty. The Kongspell — mirror of Kings — which was compiled in Norway about tne year 1200, says that Ireland is almost the best of the lands we are acquainted with although no vines grow there. The Scandinavian Vikings and emigrants, who often contented themselves with such poor countries as Greenland and the islands in the north Atlantic, must, therefore, have especially turned their attention to the * Emerald Isle,' ]>articularly as it bordered closely upon their colonies in England and Scotland. But to make conquests in Ireland, and to acquire by the sword alone permanent settlements there, was no easy task. . . . When we consider that neither the Romans nor the Anglo-Saxons ever obtained a footing in that country, although they had conquered England, the adjacent isle, ana when we further reflect upon the immense power exerted by the English in later times in order to subdue the Celtic population oi the island, we cannot help being surprised at the very considerable Scandinavian settlements which, as early as the ninth century, were formed in that country." 190 THE IRISH AND THE DANES. These are the words of a Dane. We shall see what the " very considerable Scandinavian settlements " amounted to ; tlie quota- tion is worthy of note, as presenting in a few words the motives of those who at any time invaded Ireland, and the stubborn resistance which they met. The Irish were not dismayed by the constant arrivals of those northern hordes. They met them one after another without considering their complexity and connection. They only saw a troop of fierce barbarians landed on their shores, chiefly intent upon plundering and burning the churches and holy houses which they had erected ; they saw their island, hitherto protected by the ocean from foreign attack, and resting in the enjoyment of a constant round of Christian festivals and joyful feasts, now desecrated bv the presence and the fury of ferocious pagans ; they armed for the defence of all that is dear to man ; and though, perhaps, at first beaten and driven back, they mustered in force at a distance to fall on the victors with a swoop of noble birds who fly to the defence of their young. This kind of contest continued for two hundred years, with the exception of the periods of larger invasions, when a single clan no longer sufl&ced to avenge the cause of God and humanity, and the Ard-Kigh was compelled to throw himself on the scene at the head of the whole collective force of the nation in order to oppose the vast fleets and large armies of the Danes. The country Buffered undoubtedly ; the cattle were slain ; the fields devastated ; the churches and houses burned ; the poets silenced or woke their song only to notes of woe ; the harpers taught the national instrument the music of sadness ; the numer- ous schools were scattered, though never destroyed ; as centuries later, under the Saxon, the people took their books or writing materials to their miserable cottages or hid them in the mountain fastnesses, and thus, for the first time in their history, the hedge school succeeded those of the large monasteries. So the nation continued to live on, the energetic fire which bunied in the hearts of the people could not be quenched. They rose and rose again, and often took a noble revenge, never disheartened by the most utter disaster On three different occasions this bloody strife assumed a yet more serious and dangerous aspect. It was not a few boats only which came to the shores of the devoted island ; but the main power of Scandinavia seemed to combine in order to crush all opposition at a single blow. Wlien the knowledge of the richness, fertility, and beauty ot the island had fully spread throughout Denmark and Norway, a large fleet gathered in the harbors of the Baltic and m\t to sea. The famous Turgesius or Turgeis — Thorgyl in the IN orse — was the leader. The Edda and Sagas of Norway and Denmark havt THE IRISH AND THE DANES. 121 been examined with a view to elucidate this passage in Irish history, but thus far fruitlessly. It is known, however, that many Sagas have been lost which might have contained an account of it. The Irish annals are too unanimous on the subject to leave any possibility of doubt with regard to it ; and, whatever may be the opinion of learned men on the early events in the history of Erin, the story of the eighth, ninth, and tenth centuries rests entirely on historical ground, as surely as if the facts had happened a few hundred years ago. Turgesius landed with his fleet on the northeast coast of the island, and straightway the scattered bands of Scandinavians already in the country acknowledged his leadership and flocked to his standard. McGeoghegan says that " he assumed in his own hands the sovereignty of all the foreigners that were then in Ireland." From the north he marched southward ; and, passing Armagh on his route, attacked and took it, and plundered its shrines, monasteries, and schools. There were then within its walls seven thousand students, according to an ancient roll which Keating says has been discovered at Oxford. These were slaughtered or dispersed, and the same fate attended the nine hundred monks residing in its monasteries. Foraanan, the primate, fled ; and the pagan sea-kong, enter- ing the cathedral, seated himself on the primatial throne, and bad himself proclaimed archbishop. — (O' Curry.) He had shortly before devastated Olonmacnoise and made his wife supreme head of that great ecclesiastical centre, celebrated for its many con- vents of holy women. The tendency to add insult to outrage, when the object of the outrage is the religion of Christ, is old in the blood of the northern barbarians ; and Turgesius was merely setting the example, in his own rude and honest fashion, to the more polished but no less ridiculous assumption of ecclesiastical authority, which was to be witnessed in England, on the part of Henry VlII. and Elizabeth. The power of the invader was so superior to whatever forces the neighboring Irish clans could muster, that no opposition was even attempted at first by the indignant witnesses of those sacrileges. It is even said that at the very time when the N"orthmen were pillaging and burning in the northeast of the island, the men oi Munster were similarly employed in Bregia ; and Conor, the reigning monarch of Ireland, instead of defending the invaded territories, was himself hard at work plundering Leinster to the banks of the river Lifley. — (Haverty.) But, doubtless, none of those deluded Irish princes had yet heard of the pagan devastations and insults to their religion, and thus it was easy for the great sea-kong to strengthen and extend his power. For the attainment of his object he employed two pow- 122 THE IRISH AND THE DANES. erful agents which would have effectually crusl ed Ireland for* ever, if the sprmgs of vitality in the nation had not been more than usually expansive and strong. The political ability of the Danes began to show itself in Ire- land, as it did about the same period (830) in England, and later on in France. Turgosius saw that, in order to subdue the nation, it was necessary to establish military stations in the interior and fortify cities on the coast, where he could receive reinforce- ments from Scandinavia. These plans he was prompt to put into practice. Ilis military stations would have been too easily destroyed by the bravery of the Irish, strengthened by the elasticity of their clan-system, if they were planted on land. lie, therefore, set them in the interior lakes which are so numerous in the island, where his navy could repel all the attacks of the natives, unused as they were to naval conflicts. He stationed a part of liis fleet on Lough Lee in the upper Shannon, another in Lough Neagh, south or Antrim, a third in Lough Lughmagh or Dundalk bay. These various military positions were strongnolds which secured the supremacy of the Scandinavians in the north of the island for a long time. In the south, Turgesius relied on the various cities which his troops were successively to build or enlarge, namely, Dublin, Limerick, Galway, Cork, Waterford, and Wex- ford. This first Scandinavian ruler .could begin that policy only by establishing his countrymen in Dublin, which they seized m 836. Up to that time the Irish had scarcely any city worthy of the name. A patriarchal people, they followed the mode of life of the old Eastern patriarchs, who abhorred dwelling in large towns. Until the invasion of the Danes, the island was covered with farm-houses placed at some distance from each other. Here and there large awm or raiha^ as they were called, formed the dwell- ings of then* chieflains, and became places of refuge for tbe clans- men in time of danger. Churches and monasteries arose in great numbers from the time of St. Patrick, which were first built in the woods, but soon grew into centres of population, correspond- ing in many respects to the idea of towns as generally understood. The Northmen brought with them into Ireland the ideas of cities, commerce, and municipal life, hitherto unknown. The inti'oduction of these supposed a total change necessary^ in the customs of the natives, and strmgent regulations to which the people could not but be radically opposed. And strange was their manner of introduction by these northern hordes. Keating tells us how Turgesius understood them. They were far worse than the imaginary laws of the Athenians as recorded in the "Birds" of Aristophanes. No more stringent rules could be devised, whether for municipal, rural, or social regulations ; and, THE miSfl AND TUE DANES. 123 as the Northmen are known to have been of a systematic mind, no stronger proof of this fact could be given. Keatmg deplores iri the following terms the fierce tyranny of the Danish sea-kong : " The result of the heavy oppression of this thraldom of the (laels under the foreigner was, that great weariness thereof came upon the men of Ireland, and the few of the clergy that survived had fled for safety to the forests and wildernesses, where they lived in misery, but passed their time piously and devoutly, and now the same clergy prayed fervently to (rod to deliver them from that tyranny of Turgesius, and, moreover, they fasted against that tyrant, and they commanded every layman among the faithfiil, that still remained obedient to their voice, to fast against him likewise. And God then heard their supplications in as far as the delivering of Turgesius into the hands of the Gaels." Thus in the ninth century the subsequent events of the six- teenth and seventeenth were foreshadowed. The judicious editor of Keating, however, justly remarks, that this description, taken mainly from Cambrensis, is not supported in its entirety by the contemporaneous annals of the island ; that the power of the Danes never was as universal and oppressive as is here sup- posed ; and that though each of the facts mentioned may have actually taken place in some part of the country, at some period of the Danish invasion, yet the whole, as representing the actual state of the entire island at the time, is exaggerated and of too sweeping a nature. It is clear, nevertheless, that the domination of the Northmen could not have been completely established in Ireland, together with their notions of superiority of race, trade on a large scale, and a consequent agglomeration of men in large cities, without the total destruction of the existing social state of the Irish, and consequently something of the frightM tyranny just described. But the people were too brave, too buoyant, and too ardent in their nature, to bear so readily a yoke so heavy. They were too much attached to their religion, not to sacrifice their lives, if necessary, in order to put an end to the sacrilegious usurpations of a pagan king, profaning, by his audacious assumptions, the noblest, highest, purest, and most sacred dignities of holy Church. A man, stained with the blood of so many prelates and priests, seated on the primatial throne of the coimtry in sheer derision of their most profound feelings ; his pagan wife ruling over the city which the virgins of Bridget, the spouses of Christ, had honored and sanctified so long ; their religion insulted by those who tried to destroy it — ^how could such a state of things be endured by the whole race, not yet reduced to the condition to which so many centuries of oppression subsequently brought *t down I 124 THE IRISH AND THE DANES. Hence Keating could write directly after the pas8a<;e just quoted: "When tiie nobles of Ireland saw that Turgesius liad brought confusion upon their country, and that he was assuming supreme authority over themselves, and reducing them to thral- dom and vassalage, they became inspired with a fortitude of mind, and a loftiness of spirit, and a hardihood and firmness of purpose, that urged them to work in right earnest, and to toil zealously in battle against him and his murdering hordes." And hereupon the faithful historian gives a long list of engagements in which the Irish were successful, ending with the victory of Malachi at Glas Linni, where we know from the Four Masters that Turgesius himself was taken prisoner and after- ward drowned in Lough Uair or Owell in West Meath, by order of the Irish king. This prince, then monarch of the whole island, atoned for the apathy and the want of patriotism of his predecessors, Conor and the NiaUs. He was in truth a saviour of his country, and the death of the oppressor was the signal for a general onslaught upon the " foreigners " in every part of the island. " The people rose simultaneously, and either massacred them in their towns, or defeated them in the fields, so that, with the exception of a few strongholds, like Dublin, the whole of Ireland was free from the Northmen. Wherever they could escape, they took refuge in their ships, but only to return in more numerous swarms than before." — (M. Haverty.) It is evident that their deep sense of religion wag the chief source of the energy which the Irish then displayed. They had not yet been driven into a fierce resistance by being forcibly deprived of their lands ; although the Danes, when they carried their vexatious tyranny into all the details of private life — not allowing lords and laaies of the Irish race to wear rich dresses and appear in a manner befitting their rank — when they went so far as to refuse a bowl of milk to an infant, that a rude soldier might quench his thirst with it — could have scarcely permitted the apparently conquered people to enjoy all the advantages accruing to the owner from the possession of land. Yet in none of the chronicles of the time which we have seen is any mention made of open confiscation, and of the survey and division of the territory among the greedy followers of the sea-kong. We do not yet witness what nappened shortly after in Normandy under Eiollo, and what was to happen four hundred years later in Ire- land. The Scandinavians had not yet attained that degree of civilisation which makes men attach a paramount importance to the possession of a fixed part of any territory, and call in surveys, title-deeds, charters, and all the written documents necessitated by a captious and over-scrupulous legislation. The Irish, conse- quently, did not perceive that their broad acres were passing mto THE IRISH AND THE DANES. 126 the control of a forei^ race, and were being taken piecemeal trom them, thus bringing them gradually down to the condition of mere serfs and dependants. What they did see, beyond the possibility of mistake or deception, was their religion outraged, their spiritual rulers, not merely no longer at liberty to practise the duties of their sacred m^inistry, but hunted down and slaughtered or driven to the mountains and the woods. They saw that pagans were actually ruling their holy isle, and changing a paradise of sanctity into a i>andemonium of brutal passion, presided over by a superstitious And cruel idolatry. For surely, although the Irish chronicles fail to speak of it, the minstrels and historians being too full of their own misery to think of looking at the pagan rites of their enemies — those enemies worshipped Thor and Odin and Frigga, and as fiurely did they detest the Church which they were on a fair way CO destroy utterly. This it was which gave the Irish the courage of despair. For this cause chiefly did the whole island fly to arms, tall on their foes and bring down on their heads a fearful retribution. This it was, doubtless, which breathed into the new monarch the energy which he displayed on the field of Glas Linni ; and when he ordered the barbarian, now a prisoner in his hands, to be drowned, it was principally as a sign that he detest- ed in him the blasphemer and the persecutor of God's church. Thus did the first national misfortunes of this Celtic people become the means of enkindling in their hearts a greater love for their religion, and a greater zeal for its preservation in their midst. Ireland was again free; and, although we have no details concerning the short period of prosperity which followed the overthrow of the tyranny we have touched upon, we have small doubt that the first object of the care of those who, under God, had worked their own deliverance, was to repair the ruins of the desecrated sanctuaries and restore to religion the honor of which it had been stripped. The Danes themselves came to see that they had acted rashly in striving to deprive the Irish of a religion which was so dear to their hearts ; they resolved on a change of policy, as thev were still bent on taking possession of the island, which Mr. Worsaae has told us they considered the best country in existence. They resolved, therefore, to act with more prudence, and to make use of trade and the material blessings which it confers, in order to entice the Irish to their destmction, by allowing the Northmen to carry on business transactions with them and so gradually to dwell among them again. Father Keating teUs the story in his quaint and graphic style : " The plan adopted by them on this occasion was to equip three captains, sprung from the noblest blood of Norway, and to 126 THE IRISH AND THE DANES. Bend tLeni with a fleet to Ireland, for the object of obtaininc some station for purpose of trade. And with them they accord- ingly embarked many tempting wares, and many valuable jewela — with the design of presenting them to the men of Ireland, in the hope of thus securing their friendship ; for they believed that they miglit thus succeea in surreptitiously fixing a grasp upon the Irish soil, and might be enabled to oppress the &ish people again. . . . The three captains, therefore, coming from the ports of Norway, landed in Ireland with their followers, as if for the purpose of demanding peace, and under the pretext of estab- lishing a trade; and there, with the consent oi the Irish, who were given to peace, they took possession of some sea-board places, and built three cities thereon, to wit : Waterford, Dublin, and Limerick." We see, then, the Scandinavians abandoning their first pro- ject of conquering the North to fall on the Soutn, and confining themselves to a small number of fortified sea-ports. The first result of this policy was a firmer hold than ever on Dublin, once already occupied by them in 830. " Amlaf, or Olaf, or Olaus, came from Norway to Ireland in 851, so that all the foreign tribes in the island submitted to him, and they ex- tracted rent from the Gaels." — (Four Masters^ From that time to the twelfth century Dublin became the chief stronghold of the Scandinavians, and no fewer than thirty- five Ostmen, or Danish kings, governed it. They made it an important emporium, and sucn it continued even alter the Scan- dinavian invasion had ceased. McFirbis says that in his time — 1650 — most of the merchants of Dublin were the descendants of the Norwegian Irish king, Olaf Kwaran ; and, to give a stronger impulse to commerce, they were the first to coin money in the country. The new Scandinavian policy carried out by Amlaf, who tried to establish in Dublin tlie seat of a kingdom which was to extend over the whole island, resulted therefore only in the establishment of five or six petty principalities, wherein the Northmen, for some time masters, were gradually reduced to a secondary position, and finally confined themselves to the opera- tions of commerce. Since the attempt of Turgesius to subvert the religion of the country, they never showed the slightest inclination to rej)cat it ; hence they were left in quiet possession of the places which they occupied on the sea-board, and gradually came to embrace Chris tianitv themselves. Little 18 known of the circumstances which attended this change of religion on their ]mrt ; and it is certain that it did not take i)lace till late in the tenth century. Some pretend that Christianity was brought to them from their own country, where IRISH AND THE DANES. 137 it had already been planted by several missionaries and bishops. But it is known that St. Ancharius, the first apostle of Den- mark, could not establish himself permanently in that country, and had to direct a few missionaries from Hamburgh, where he fixed his see. It is known, moreover, that Denmark was only truly converted by Canute in the eleventh century, after his conquest of England. As to Norway, the first attempt at its conversion hj King Haquin, who had become a Christian at the court of Athelstan in England, was a failure ; and although his successor, Harold, appeared to succeed better for a time, pagan- ism was again reestablished, and flourished as late as 995. It was, in fact, Olaf the Holy who, coming from England, in 1017, with the priests Sigefried, Budolf, and Bernard, succeeded in in- troducing Christianity permanently into Norway, and he made more use of the sword than of the word in his mission. With regard to the conversion of the Danes in Ireland, it seems that, after all, it was the ever-present spectacle of the workings of Christianity among the Irish which gradually opened their eyes and ears. They came to love the country and the people when they knew them thoroughly ; they respected them for their bravery, which they had proved a thousand times ; they felt attracted toward them on account of their geniality of tem- perament and their warm social feelings ; even their defects of character and their impulsive nature were pleasing to them. They soon sought their company and relationship ; they began to intermarry with them ; and from this there was but a step to embracing their religion. The Danes of Waterford, Cork, and Limerick were, however, the last to abandon paganism, and they seem not to have done so until after Clontarf. It is very remarkable that, during all those conflicts of the Irish with the Danes, when the Northmen strewed the island with dead and ruins ; when they seemed to be planting their domination in the Orkneys, the Hebrides, and even the Isle of Man, on a firm footing ; when the seas around England and Ire- land swarmed with pirates, and new expeditions started almost every spring from the numerous harbors of the Baltic — the Irish colony of Dal Riada in Scotland, which was literally sur- rounded by the invaders, succeeded in wresting North Britain from the ricts, drove them into the Lowlands, and so com- pletely rooted them out, that history never more speaks of them, BO that to this day the historical problem stands unsolved — What became of the Picts ? — various as are the explanations given of their disappearance. And, what is more remarkable still, ifl, that the Dal Riada colony received constant help from their brothers in Erin, and the first of the dynasty of Scottish kings, in the person of Kenneth Mc Alpine, was actually set on 128 THE IRISH AND THE DANES. the throne of Scotland by the arms of the Irish warriors, who not satisfied apparently with their constant conflicts with the Danes on their own soil, passed over the Eastern Sea to the neigiiboring coast of Great Britain. During the last forty years of the tenth century the Danee lived in fieland as though they belonged to the soil. If they waged war against some provincial king, they became the allies of others. When clan fought clan, Danes were often found on both sides, or if on one only, they soon joined the other. They had been brought to embrace the manners of the natives, and to adopt many of their customs and habits. Yet there always re- mained a lurking distrust, more or less marked, between the two races ; and it was clear that Ireland could never be said to have escaped the danger of subjugation until the Scandinavian element should be rendered powerless. This antipathy on both sides existed verv early even in Church affairs, the Christian natives being looked upon with a jealous eye by the Christian Danes ; so that, toward the middle of the tenth century, the Danes of Dublin having succeeded in obtaining a bishop of their own nation, they sent him to Eng- land to be consecrated by Lanfranc, the Archbishop of Canter- bury, and for a long time the see of Dublin was placed under the jurisdiction of Lanfranc's successors. This grew into a serious difficulty for Ireland, as the capital of Leinster began to be looked upon as depending, at least spiritually, on England ; and later on, at the time of the inva- sion under Strongbow, the establishment of the English Pale was considerably mcilitated by such an arrangement, to which Rome had consented only for the spiritual advantage of her Scandinavian children in Ireland. And the Irish were right in distrusting every thing foreign on the soil , ^or, even after becoming Christians, the Danes could not resist the temptation of making a last effort for the subjugation of the country. Hence arose their last general effort, which resulted in their iiiial overthrow at Clontarf It does not enter into our purpose to give the story of that great event, known in all its details to the student of Irish history. It is not for us to trace the various steps by which Brian Boru mounted to supreme power, and su- perseded Malachi, to relate the many partial victories he had already gained over the Northmen, nor to allude to his splendid administration of the government, and the happiness of the Irish under his sway. But it is our duty to point out the persevering attempts of the Scandinavian race, not only to kee]) its footing on Irisn soil, but to try anew to conquer what it had so often failed to con- quer. For, in describing their preparations for this last attempt THE IRISH AND THE DANES. 129 on a great scale, we but add another proof of that Irish stead- fastness which we have already had so many occasions to admire. In the chronicle of Adhemar, quoted by Lanigan from Labbe {Nova BiU.^ MSS.y Tom. 2, 2?. 177), it is said that " the North- men came at that time to Ireland, with an immense fleet, con- veying even their wives and children, with a view of extirpating the Irish and occupying in their stead that very wealthy country in which there were twelve cities, with extensive bishoprics and a king." Labbe thinks the Chronicle was written before the year 1031, so that in his opinion the writer was a contemporary of the facts he relates. The Irish Annals state, on their side, that " the foreigners were gathered from all the west of Europe, envoys having been despatched into Norway, the Orkneys, the Baltic Islands, so that a great number of Yikmgs came from all parts of Scandinavia, with their families, for the purpose of a permanent settlement." Similar efforts were made about the same time by the Danes for the lasting conquest of England, which succeeded, Sweyn having been proclaimed king in 1013, and Canute the Great becoming its undisputed ruler in 1017. It is well known how the attempt failed in Erin, an army of twenty-one thousand freebooters being completely defeated near Dublin by Brian and his sons. From that time the existence of the Scandinavian race on the Irish soil was a precarious one; they were merely permitted' to occupy the sea-ports for the purpose of trade, and soon Irish chieftains replaced their kings in Dublin, Limerick, Waterford, and Cork. The reader may be curious to learn, in conclusion, what signs the Danes left of their long sojourn on the island. If we listen to mere popular rumor, the country is still ftdl of the ruins of buildings occupied by them. The common people* in pointing out to strangers the remains of edifices, fortifications, raths, duns, even round-towers and churches, either more ancient or more recent than the period of the Norse invasion, ascribe them to the Danes. It is clear that two hundred years of devas- tations, burnings, and horrors, have left a deep impression on the mind of the Irish ; and, as they cannot suppose that such power- ful enemies could have remained so long in their midst without leaving wonderful traces of their passage, they often attribute to them the construction of the very edifices which they de- stroyed. The general accuracy of their traditions seems here at fault. For there is no nation on earth so exact as the Irish in keeping the true remembrance of facts of their past history. Not long ago all Irish peasants were perfectly acquainted with the whole history of their neighborhood ; they could tell what 9 130 THE IRISH AND THE DANES. cians bad succeeded each other, the exact spots where such a party had been overthrown and such another victorious ; every village had its sure traditions printed on the minds of ita in- habitants, and, by consulting the annals of the nation, the coin- cidence was often remarkable. How is it, therefore, that they were so universally at fault with respect to the Danes ? A partial explanation has been given which is in itself a proof of the tenacity of Irish memory. It is known that the Tuatha de Danaan were not only skilftd in medicine, in the working of metals and in magic, out many buildings are gener- ally attributed to them by the best antiquarians ; among others, the great mound of New Grange, on the banks of the Boyne, which is still in perfect preservation, although opened and pil- laged by the Danes — a work reminding the beholder of some Egyptian monument. The coincidence of the name of the Tuatha de Danaan with that of the Danes may have induced many of the illiterate Irish to adopt the universal error into whicn they fell long ago, of attributing most of the ancient monuments of their country to the Danes. The fiict is, that the ruins of a few unimportant castles and churches are all the landmarks that remain of the Danish domi- nation in Ireland ; and even these must have been the product of the latter part of it. But a more curious proof of the extirpation of every thing Danish in the island is afforded by Mr. Worsaae, whose object in writing his account of the Danes and Norwegians in England, Scotland, and Ireland, was to glorify his own country, Denmark. He made a special study of the names of places and things, which can be traced to the Scandinavians respectively in tlio three great divisions of the British Isles ; and certainly the lan- guage of a conquering people always shows itself in many words of the conquered country, where the subjugation has been of -sufficient duration. In England, chiefly in the northern half of the kingdom, a very great number of Danish names appear and are still pre- served in the geography of the country. In Mr. Worsaae' s book there is a tabular view of 1,373 Danish and Norwegian names of places in England, and also a list of 100 Danish words, selected irom the vulgar tongue, still in use among the people who dwell north of Watling Street. In Scotland, likewise — in the Highlands and even in the Lowlands — a considerable number of names, or at least of ter- minations, are still to be met in the geography of tlie country. Three or four names of places around Dublin, and the ter- minations of the names of the cities of Waterford, Wexford, Longford, and a few others, are all that Mr. Worsaae could find in Ireland. So that the language of the Irish, not to speak of THE IRISH AND THE DANES. 131 their government and laws, remained proof against the long and persevering efforts made by a great and warlike Northern race to invade the country, and substitute its social life for that of the natives. As a whole, the Scandinavian irruptions were a complete failure. They did not succeed in impressing their own national- ity or indiviauality on any thing in the island, as they did in England, Holland, and the north of France. The few drops of blood which they left in the country have been long ago absorbed in the healthful current of the pure Celtic stream ; even the lan- guage of the people was not affected by them. As for the social character of the nation, it was not touched by this fearful aggression. The customs of Scandinavia with respect to government, society, domestic affairs, could not influ- ence the Irish ; they refused to admit the systematic thraldom which the sternness of the Northmen would engraft upon their character, and preserved their free manners in spite of all ad- verse attempts. In this country, Turgesius, Amlaf, Sitrick, and their compeers, failed as signally as other Scandinavian chief- tains succeeded in Britain and Normandy. The municipal system, which has won so much praise, was scomfuUy abandoned by the Irish to the Danes of the sea-port towns, and they continued the agricultural life adapted to their tastes. Towns and cities were not bidlt in the interior till much later by the English. The clan territories continued to be governed as before. The " Book of Eights " extended its enactments even to the Danish Pale ; and the Danes tried to convert it to their own advantage by introducing into it false chapters. How the poem of the Gaels of Ath Cliath first found a place in the " Book of Eights " is still unknown to the best Irish antiquarians. John O'Dono- van concludes from a verse in it that it was composed in the tenth century, after the conversion of the Danes of Dublin to Christianity. It proves certainly that the Scandinavians in Ire- land, like the English of the Pale later on, had become attached to Erin and Eriir s customs — ^had, in fact, become Irishmen, to all intents and purposes. Not succeeding in making Northmen of the Irish, they succumbed to the gentle influence of Irish manners and religion. As for the commercial spirit, the Irish could not be caught by it, even when confronted by the spectacle of the wealth it conferred on the i^ foreigners." It is stated openly in the annals of the race that their greatest kings, both Malachi and Brian Boru, did not utterly expel the Danes from the country, in order that they might profit by the Scandinavian traders, and receive through them the wines, silks, and other commodities, which the latter imported from the continent of Europe, i82 THE IRISH AND THE DANES. The samfc ib true of the sea-faring life. The Irish could never be induced iv adopt it as a profession, whatever may have been their fondnesa for short voyages in their curraghs. The only oaneful effects which the Norse invasion exercised on the Irisn \fere : 1. The interruption of studies on the large, even universal, scale on which they had previously been con- ducted; 2. The breaking up of the former constitution of the monarchy, by compelling the several clans which were attacked by the " foreigners " to act independently of the Ard-Kigh, so tnat from that time irresponsible power was divided among a much greater number of chieftains. But these unfortunate effects of the Norse irruptions affected in no wise the Irish character, language, or institutions, which, in fact, finally triumphed over the character, language, and in- stitutions of the pirates established among them for upward of two centuries. OHAPTEE VI. THE miSH FBBB 0LAN8 AlfD ANaLO-NOHlCAN FEUDAUEdf. Thb Danes were subdued, and the Irish at liberty to go on weaving the threads of their history — though, in consequence of the local wars, they had lost the concentrating power of the Ajd-Righ — when treachery in their own ranks opened up the way for a far more serious attack from another branch of the great Scandinavian family — the Anglo-lSTorman. The manners of the people had been left unchanged; the clan system had not been altered in the least ; it had stood the test 01 previous revolutions ; now it was to be confronted by a new system which had just conquered Europe, and spread itself round about the apparently doomed island. Of all places it had taken deep root in England, where it was destined to survive its destruction elsewhere m the convulsions of our modem history. That system, then in full vigor, was feudalism. In order rightly to understand and form a correct judgment on the question, and its mighty issues, we must state briefly what the chief characteristics oi feudalism were in those countries where it flourished. The feudal system proceeded on the principle that landed property was all derived from the king, as the captain of a con- quering army ; that it had been distributed by him among his wUowers on certain conditions, and that it was liable to be for- feited if those conditions were not fulfilled. The feudal system, moreover, politically considered, supposed the principle that all civil and political rights were derived from the possession of land ; that those who possessed no land could pos- sess neither civil nor political rights— were, in fact, not men, but villeins. Consequently, it reduced nations to a small number of land- owners, enjoying all the privileges of citizenship; the masses, deprived of all rights, having no share in the government, no opportunity of rising in the social scale, were forever condemned to villeinage or serfdom. 134 CLANSHIP AND FEUDALISM. Feudalism, in our opinion, came first from Scandinavia. The majority of writers derive it from Germany. The question of its oriffm is too extensive to be included within our present lim- its, and indeed is unnecessary, as we deal principally with the fact and not with its history. When the sea-rover had conquered the boat of an enemy, or destroyed a village, he distributed the spoils among his crew. Every thing was handed over to his followers in the form of a gift, and in return these latter were bound to serve him with the greatest ardor and devotedness. In course of time the idea of settling do\^Ti on some territory which they had devastated and depopulated, presented itself to the minds of the rovers. The sea-kong did by the land what he had been accustomed to do by the plunder : he parcelled it out among his faithful followers — Jideles — ^giving to each his share of the territory. This wafe called /om this time forward, then, we must not be surprised to find England welcoming to her bosom unworthy sons of^Treland, whom she wished to make her tools. There was always, either in Dublin or London, a sufficient supply of materials cut of which CTOwrCs chiefs might be manufactured ; the government made it part of its policy to hold in its hands and train to its purposes certain members of each of the ruling families — of the O'lNeills, O'Eeillys, O'Donnells, O'Connors, and others. It was no longer, therefore, the rootvng out and extermi- nating policy which prevailed, but one as fatal in its results, which would have utterly destroyed Irish national feeling, to set up in its place, not only English manners, language, and cus- toms, but also English schism, heresy, philosophical speculations — as the Four Masters have it — ^finally, materialism and rdhil- But, in real sober fact, the scheme proved almost an utter failure, owing to the far-seeing good sense of the people. The national spirit revived among the upper classes, both native and of English descent — owing to the decided stand taken by the in- ferior clansmen. The Desmonds and Kildares, in the south, the O'Donnellsj Maguires, and others, in the north, soon showed themselves ani- mated b^ a new spirit of ardent Catholicism ; created, in fact, a new nation, quite apart from, or rather embracing, clanship, well- nigh destroyed the English power, kept Elizabeth, during the whole of her reign, in constant agitation and fear, and would have succeeded in recovering their independence, and securing freedom of worship, had not their good-nature been imposed upon by the hypocrisy and faithlessness of the Stuarts, to whom they always looked for freedom in the practice of their religion, without ever obtaining it. Thus did the people, the Irish race, thwart the policy of Henry, who sought to gain over the nobility. Their stubborn re- sistance to the vastly-increased and constantly-increasing English power, grew at last to such proportions, and became so discour- aging to their oppressors, that the old policy of utter extermina- tion was resumed by Cromwell and the Orange party of the fol- lowing age. The refusal of the people, that is to say, of the bulk of the nation, to submit to the ]>olicy of their chieftains, and the deter- mination to repudiate that policy by deposing its supporters and choosing others in their stead, was most happy in its effect on their whole future history. The leaders, by accepting the new titles bestowed on them by the English kings, by taking their seats in Parliament, and 18C BmTH OF A PEOPLE. concurring in tlie various measures there passed, subjected them- selves to a foreign rule, surrendered to this rule the tribe-lands, which it was not in their power to surrender of themselves, gave up, in fact, their nationality, and became English suljjecU. The action of the clansmen reversed all the fatal consequences result- ing from those acts. They remained a nation distinct from the English, whose laws they had never either admitted or accepted. And, as the clan spirit declined, under the policy of England, it only made way for a new and a greater spirit — religious feeling, the bond of a common religion assaulted — which, henceforth, lay at the bottom of the whole struggle — which, for the first time in their history, blended into one whole the broken clans, gave them a unity ana a consistency never known till then, and thus the real nation was born. They might boast, therefore, not only of not having lost their autonomy, but of being more firmly tnan ever knit together ; thev could conclude treaties of alliance with foreign powers, without committing treason, and they soon began to use that power ; they could even declare war against England, and it was not rebellion. The successors of Henry YIII. acted constantlv as though the Irish nation had really subjected itself to Eng^sn kings and English rule, as though the acceptance of a few titles by a few chieftains (who were deposed by their people as soon as the fact was known) signified an acknowledgment on the part of the Irish people of their absorption by the English feudal sys- tem ; they appeared " horrified " when they saw the successors of those chieftains reject those titles ana resume their own names ; and they called the Irish " rebels '^ and " traitors " for going to war with England — a country they had never acknowl- edged as their ruler — and introducing into tneir country Spanish, Italian, and French troops as allies. The explanation of the whole mystery consisted in the simple fact that the people, the nation, had steadily refused to sanction the act of their leaders ; and all the pretensions of English kings, statesmen, and lawyers, were valueless. Those Irisnmen wno subsequently entered into the various Geraldine and Ulster con- federacies, and summoned foreign armies to their aid, were neither rebels nor traitors, but citizens of an independent state, possessing their international rights as citizens oi any indepen- dent country. This we have seen in a previous chapter, and Sir John Davies has been obliged to confess its truth, admitting the difierence between a tributary and a sxihject nation. A glance shows us the importance of the almost unanimous outcry of the clansmen of Tyrone, Tvrconnell, and of other parts of Ireland. Owing to the patriotic feeling of these, nothing re- mained for the English but to punish the Irish people for their resolve of holding to their religion, and to declare a religious BIRTH OF A PEOPLE. 187 war against tliera, tliougli they called them all the time rebels and traitors. This is the view an impartial historian should take of those mighty events. Bat, it IS well to look more closely at this new element, which then showed itself for the first time in Irish national life, the people^ irrespective of clanship ; the people, as influencing the leaders, and thus becoming a living — nay, a ruling power in the state. And, lest any of our readers should not be convinced that such really was the case, we mention here a fact, which will come more prominently before . us in the next chapter, that, at the end of Elizabeth's reign, the efforts of all her large armies and her tortuous policy for changing the religion of the country, resulted in the grand total of sexty converts to Protestantism jfrom the nolle class, not one of the clansmen turning apostate ! Bridget of Kildare would not have been surprised at this, to judge by what we have previously heard from her. In order to find the explanation of this wonderful fact, we must compare the Irish people with other nationalities, and we may then easily distinguish its peculiar features, so persistent, so enduring, we may say, indestructible. We shall find that what this people was three hundred years ago, it is to this day, with a greater unity of feeling, devotedness to principle, and higher aims than any people of modern times. In antiquity, the people, in the Christian sense of the word, never appeared in the field of history. In the despotic countries of Asia and Africa, there was and could be no question of such a thing ; it was an inert mass used at will by the despot. The Phoenician states, and Oartha^e in particular, were mere oli- garchies, with commerce for tneir chief object, and slaves for mercantile or warlike purposes. In the republics of Greece and Italy, the aristocracy ruled, and when, after centuries of bloody struggles and revolutions, the subjects of Rome were finally granted the rights of citizenship, the despotism of the empire suddenly appeared, crushing both plebs and patricians. Whenever in those ancient governments we find the lower classes unable longer to bear the heavy yoke imposed upon them, revolting against a despotism which had grown insupportable, and claiming their natural rights, it was merely a surging of waves raised to mountain-height by the fury of a sudden storm, but soon allayed and subdued beneath the inflexible wUl of stem rulers. The people was a mere mob, whose violence, when suc- cessful, fatally carried destruction with it ; and, though it is seemingly full of a terrible power which nothing can resist, its power lasts but for a very short time. Could it only outlast the destruction of all superior rulers, it would end by destroying itself. If we would meet with the people, such as we conceive it to 188 BIRTH OF A PEOPLE. be in accordance with our Christian ideas, we must come down to that period of time which followed close upon the organization of Christendom, namely, to the much-abusea middle ages. Feu- dalism, it is true, withstood its expansion for a long time, kept alive the remnants of slavery which it had found in Europe at its birth, or at best invented serfdom as a somewhat milder sub- stitute for the former degradation of man. But feudalism itself was not strong enough to prevent the natural consequences of the vigorous Christianity which at that time prevailed ; and kings, dukes, and feudal bishops, were compelled to grant char- ters which insured the freedom of the subject. Then the people appeared, in the cities first, afterward in the country, where, however, the peasants had still to drag on for a weary time tlie chains of secular serfdom. Thus the people lived in Spain, where they fought valiantly under their lords for centuries against the Crescent, so that in some provinces all classes were ennobled, and not a single plebeian was to be found, which simply means that the whole mass of the citizens formed the people. Thus the people had an early exist- ence in Italy, where every city almost became a centre of freedom and activity, notwithstanding strife and continual feuds. Thus the people had its life in France, where the learned men of Cath- olic universities determined with precision the limits of kingly power, and where the outburst of the Crusades brought all classes together to fight for Christ, forming but one body engaged alike throughout in a holy cause. Thus, finally, the people had its life even in Germany and England, where real liberty, though of later birth, afterward remained more deeply rooted in social life. In all those countries, it was called papvlus ChrisUcmnia ; it had its associations, its guilds, its Christian customs, its privi- leges, its rights. Its existence was acknowledged by law, and it possessed everywhere either Christian codes, or at least local cus- toms for its safeguards. It gradually grew into a great power, and took the name of the " Third Estate," ranking directly after the clergy and nobility. Its members knew and respected the gradations of the social hierarchy as then existing. The mon- archs in most countries, in France chiefly, sided with it whenever the nobles sought to oppress it, and its deputies were heard in the Parliaments of the various nations of Christendom. How many millions of human beings lived happily during several centuries imder these great institutions of mediaeval times 1 And if the members of the people at that time could sel- dom rise above their order, except through the Church, this unfortunate inability often prevented dangerous and subversive ambitions, and was thus really the source and cause of happiness ko all. Governments at that period lasted for thousands of years ; BIRTH OF A PEOPLE. 189 men could rely on the stability of things, and great enterprisei could be undertaken and carried to a successful termination. But throughout all Europe, with the single exception of Ire- land, the people had to contend against the feudal power ; and it was only very gradually, and step by step, that it could creep up to its rights, in Ireland, as we have seen, feudalism had failed to strike root ; so that the clansmen who represented there what the people did elsewhere, never having been subject to slavery or serfdom, possessed all the liberties which the ordinary class of men can claim. Thev had always borne their share in the aifairs of their own territory, at least by the willing help they afforded to their leaders, during the Danish wars chiefly, and afterward throughout the four hundred years of struggle with the Anglo-Normans. The people were the real conquerors under the lead of their chieftains, and the perpetual enjoyment of their beloved customs was the privilege oi the least among them as much as of the proudest oi their nobles. They themselves were well aware of tnis, and to their own efforts no less than to the heads of the clans they attributed the advantages which they had gained. Thus, when the conduct of their chieftain was not in accord- ance with what the clansmen considered the 7'ight, they were ready to express their disapproval of his actions by deposing him, and placing their allegiance at the service of tne man oi their choice. But though this course of action is true of the whole period of their history, more especially from the date of their becoming Christian up to the time when the blows of religious persecution welded them into one people, yet they were divided and often at war among themselves. But no sooner did the work of perver- sion make itself felt among them, than we behold the clansmen exhibiting a unity of feeling on many points which never marked them before. So that thenceforth the separated clans gradually began to merge into Irishmen, This unity of feeling showed itself, above all, in the deep love for their religion, which at once became universal and all-per- vading. This love had undoubtedly existed before, as it could icarceiy have originated and swollen to such proportions all at once ; but as the stroke of the hammer reveals the spark, so the force of opposition enkindled the flame and caused it to buret forth into view. At the first blow it showed itself throughout the island, and thus the people became once and forever united. This unity of feeling was displayed likewise in an ardent love for their country in contradistinction to the special locality of the tribe. Thus arose a true fraternal union with all their country- men of whatever county or city. The old antagonism between family and femily only appeared at fitful and unguarded inter- IW) BIRTH OF A PEOPLE. vals ; but in general each one grasped the liand of another onlj as a Catholic and an Irishman. This is clearly attributable to their religion. Catholicity knows no place ; its very name is opposed to restrictions of this character. Could it carry out its purjjose, which is that of its Divine founder, it would make one of all nations ; and, to a cer- tain extent, it has achieved this task. Differences of character, which are deeply impressed in the nature of various branches of the human family, are indeed never totally obliterated by it ; but such differences disappear when kneeling at the same altar and receiving the same sacraments. The Catholic religion is the only one which is, has ever been, and must ever claim to be, univer- sal ; the religions of antiquity were purely local. Since the coming of our Lord, no heresy, no schism has ever pretended to the reality of a catholic existence, and, if the word is self- applied by certain sects, the world laughs at it as a mean- ingless thing. The Catholic Chui'ch alone has truly claimed and possessed such a character. But if of all men it makes one family with respect to spiritual matters, what unanimity of feeling must it not create in a single nation truly imbued with its spirit, which is attacked for its sake ? Until the reign of Henry YIII., the Irish, in their struggle with England, could summon no religious thought to their aid, since England was Catholic also, and the Norman nobles established among them followed the same calendar, possessed the same churches, the same creed, the same sacraments. But as soon as the English power was stamped with heresy, the opposition to that power assumed a religious aspect, and no longer restricted itself to the clans immediately attacked, but spread throughout the whole nation. To bring the case down to some particular point, in order to render our meaning more clear, a priest or monk, who was hunted down, was no longer sure of refuge in his own district, and among men of his own sept merely, but he was equally wel- comed in the castle of the chieftain or the hut of the peasant through the length and breadth of the land. Any Irishman, sub- ject to fine, imprisonment, or torture, for the sake of his religion, id not find sympathy restricted to his own circle of friends or acquaintances, but, even if tried and prosecuted in a comer of the island, far away from his own home, he could count upon the sympathy of as many friends as there were Irish Catholics to wit- ness his sufferings. This state of things was certainly unknown before. Religion, when deep, is the strongest feeling of the human heart, and endows the nation steeped m it with an unconquerable strength. To judge of the intensity of religious feeling in the Irish, it should be remtmbered that it was the only legacy left I BIRTH OF A PEOPLE. 1^1 them after every tiling else had been taken away, and, though it was the special object of attack, they were to be stripped one by one of their old customs, their own chieftains, their houses of study and of prayer, their religious and secular teachers, nay, of the chance even of educating their children, of the right to pos- sess not merely their own soil, but even to cultivate a few acres of it, nay, of their very language itself, in a word, of all that makes a country dear to man. For ages were they destined to remain outcasts and strangers on the soil which was their own, abject and ignorant paupers, without the faintest possibility of rising in the social scale. One thing only did they keep in their hearts, their faith, though stripped of all the exterior circumstances which adorn it, and reduced to its simplest elements. But at least it was their religion, to deprive them of which, all the wealth, resources, ar- mies, laws of a powerful nation, were to be strained to the utmost during long ages. How, then, could they fail to love and cher- ish it, to cling fast to it, as to an inestimable treasure, the only real one indeed they could possess on earth, where all else passes away? Here, then, always presupposing the paramount influence of the grace of God, lay the secret of that indestructible strength and un vvearied energy manifested by Irishmen, from the middle of the sixteenth century down, and we are enabled thus to ap- preciate the value of that unity which persecution alone fastened upon them. To the love of religion, which was the origin of that unity, love of country was soon added, and by love of country we here understand the love of the whole island, not merely of the par- ticular sept to which the individual belonged, or of the particular spot in which he happened to be born. Such had been the divis- ions among the people and the chieftains hitherto, that England could attack one sept without fearing the revolt of the otners, nay, was often assisted by an adverse clan. And so thoroughly had the Anglo-Normans adopted the native manners, that the Kildares were frequently at war with the Desmonds, though both belonged to the same Geraldine family ; and the Ormonds kept up a constant feud with both the Geraldine branches. When Henry YHI. almost destroyed the Kildares, we do not find that the Desmonds felt their loss at first ; perhaps they even rejoiced at it. It was the same with the natives, particularly with the O'Neills and the O'Donnells, in the nortL The whole island and its general interests seemed the concern of no one, so taken up were they by the affairs of their own particular locality. And this state of feeling had existed from the beginning, even among holy men. The songs of Columba, of Cormac McUullinan, even 192 BIKTH OF A PEOPIJE. of the Fenian heroes of old, all celebrated the victories of one sept over another, or the beauties of some one spot in the island, in preference to all others. Nay, so prevalent was this clannish spirit, even at the begip- ning of the religions troubles, that Henry YIII., and Elizabeth after him, gained their successes by directing their attacks against particular places, so certain were they that the other districts would not come to the rescue. The feeling of nationality, of what we call patriotism, wrestled a long time in the throes of birth, before coming forth, and it was only during the latter half of Elizabeth's reign that those confederacies were formed, which included the whole coim- try and called in even foreign aid. But this feeling began to appear as soon as religion was at- tacked ; and therefore do we call this epoch the true birth of a people. And as it is with the people chiefly that we are concerned, it is to our purpose to remark here that they gradually lost sight of their petty quarrels and local prejudices in losing their chief- tains ; they began to look for leaders among themselves, and, understanding at last that the whole island was threatened by the invading policy of England, they were to fight for the whole, and not for any special district. Then, for the first time, did Ireland become a reality to them, an existing personality, a desolate queen weeping over the fate of her children, calling, with the voice of a stricken mother, those wlio survived to her aid, and worthy, by her beauty and misfor- tunes, of their most heroic and disinterested efforts. Religious feeling, then, first made the Irish a nation, and gave them that unity of thought which they now exhibit every- where, even in the remotest quarters of the globe, wherever they may choose their place of exile. And if there still exists among them something of that former predilection for the place where they first saw me light, the other parts of Erin are at least in- cluded in their deep love, and they would shed their blood for their country, irrespective of prejudice of place. Thus have they come at last to love each otlier as men of no other nation ever did. In order to understand this thoroughly, wc must remember that for ages they, as a people, have oeen oijpressed and held in bondage by a stem and powerful nation. They had to defend themselves in turn against the most open and the most insidious attacks. Bereft in many cases of all the means of defence, they had nothing left them, save their religion, and the support they could aftbrd each other. If, by any stretch of imagination, we could place ourselves ii* their position, understand Uieir language when they met each other m their huts, in their morasses and bogs, in their mountain BIRTH OF A PEOPLE. 193 fastnesses and desolate moors, could we only enter into their feel- ings and see the working of their minds, we might catch a faint conception of the affection which they must have felt for brothers waging the deadly fight against the same enemies, and contend- ing in a seemingly endless and hopeless struggle against the same terrible odds. Union, affection, devotedness, are words too weak to serve here. For this reason, also, do we find the Irish people stamped with peculiarities which we find in no others. In antiquity, as we have said, the people could never rise to any thing greater than a mob ; in modern times such has also often been the case. With the Irish it is not, and could not be so. Their aim has al- ways been too lofty, their struggle of too long duration, their mo- rality too genuine and too pure. For their aim has constantly been to rescue their country; their struggle has lasted nearly three hundred years ; their morality has ever been directed by the sweetest religion. Extreme cases of oppression such as theirs may have occasionally given rise to violent outbreaks inevitable in human despair ; but, on the whole, it may to their honor be fearlessly said, that they have preserved, almost throughout, a due regard for social hierarchy and all kinds of rights. Many of them have died of hunger, rather than touch the property of a rich and hostile neighbor. Where else can we find such an ex- ample ? This union of the people, which was thus brought about by religious persecution, included not only the natives of the old race, but the Anglo-Irish themselves, who were brought by de- grees to a unanimity of feeling which they had never known be- fore, although they had previously adopted Irish manners — a unanimity which the Lutheran Archbishop Browne had foreseen and openly denounced beforehand. This was the man who had unwittingly borne testimony to the Irish that " the common peo- ple of this isle are more zealous in their blindness than the saints and martyrs were in the truth at the beginning of the Gospel ; '' the same George Browne, of Dublin, had also been the first to r>erceive that the religious question was beginning, even under Henry YIIL, to unite the native Irish and the descendants of Strongbow's followers, until that time bitterly opposed to each other. In a letter, dated " Dublin, May, 1538," to the Lord Privy Seal, he said : " It is observed that, ever since his Highness's an- cestors had this nation in possession, the old natives have been craving foreign powers to assist and raise them ; and now both English race and Irish begin to oppose your lordship's orders" (about supremacy), "and do lay aside their national old quarrels, which, I fear, if any tiling will cause a foreigner to invade thi? nation, that will." 13 194 BIRTH OF A PEOPLE. This man, who was altogether worldly and without faith, dig played in this a keen political foresight far above that of tlio or^nary coimseilors of England's king. He openly annoimced what actually came to pass only toward the middle of Elizabeth's reign, and what the horrors of the Cromwellian wars were to complete — the thorough fusion of Irish and Anglo-Norman Cath- olics, both transplanted to Connaught, perishing under the sword of the soldier, the rope of the hangman, or dying of starvation in the recesses of their mountains — united forever in the bonds of martyrdom. The " birth of the Irish people " was to be insured by an- other measure of the English Government — the suppression of religious houses. We must, in conclusion, turn to this. In the annals of the Four Masters, under the year 1537, wc read : " A heresy and a new error broke out in England, the effect of pride, vainglory, avarice, sensual desire, and the preva- lence of a variety ot sowntific and philosophical speculations, so that the people of England went into opposition to the Pope and to Rome. " At the same time, they followed a variety of opinions ; and, adopting the old law of Moses, after the manner of the Jewish people, they gave the title of Head of the Church of God, dur- ing his reign, to the king. They ruined the orders who were permitted to hold worldly possessions, namely, monks, canons regular, nuns, and Brethren of the Cross, etc. . . . They broke into the monasteries, they sold their roofs and bells ; so that there was not a monastery from Arran of the Saints to the Iccian Sea that was not broken and scattered, except only a few in Ire- land.'' And, under 1540, they say : " The English, in every place throughout Ireland, where they established their power, perse- cuted and banished the nine reliojious orders, and particularly they destroyed the monastery of Monaghan, and beheaded the guardian and a number of friars." We may add that, at the restoration of the old faith under Queen Mary, nothing had to be restored in Ireland save the monasteries. These establishments had, almost without excep- tion, been ruthlessly destroyed. In our previous considerations, we have spoken of no other religious houses in Ireland, save those of the old Columbian order of monks, as it was called, which was a growth of the country, and bore so manv marks of Irish peculiarities. This continued until, communications with Rome becoming more frequent, the various orders established in the West were successively introduced into Ireland. Our purpose is not to write a history of monasticism, and therefore we do not intend entering into details on this point, interesting though they are. But we may add that, gradu- BIRTH OF A PEOPLE. 195 ally, the old monasteries — from the ITorman invasion chiefly — aa well as the new ones which were established, were placed under the rule of the various congregations, acknowledged by the Holy See. It seems that the monasteries founded by St. Columba him- self afterward submitted to the rule of St. Benedict, the others, for the most part, embracing that of the canons regular of St. Au- gustine ; but the precise epoch of these changes is not known. It is certain, however, that the Benedictines, Cistercians, and Ber- nardines, were introduced into the country at a very early date, together with the four mendicant orders of Franciscans, Domini- cans, Carmelites, and Augustinians. The pretext for their destruction was, of course, the same in England as in all the other countries of Europe — their need of reformation ; but it does not appear that even this pretence was put forward in the case of the Irish monasteries. The fact was, the breath of suspicion could not rest upon those stainless estab- lishments in the Isle of Saints. In the idea of the natives, their very names had ever been synonymous with holiness and all Christian virtues, and so they contmued to enjoy the most un- bounded popularity. The fact of the English Government select- ing them as a special point of attack is in itself sufficient to vin- dicate their character from any aspersion. Two measures were deemed necessary and sufficient for the purpose of detaching Ire- land from its allegiance to the Holy See, and of introducing schism, if not heresy, into the country. One, and certainly the most efficacious of these, was thought to be the destruction of convents for both sexes. This, we affirm, is ample apology for their inmates. But this general reflection is not enough for our purpose, which is, to delineate and bring out the true character oi the nation. It is, therefore, fitting to give an idea of the extent to which the monastic influence prevailed, and of the nature of the people who cherished, loved, and accepted it at all times. It may be said that the Christian Church, as established in the island by St. Patrick, rested mainly for its support on the religious orders. In many cases the abbots of monasteries were superior to bishops, and, as a general rule, the hierarchy of the Church was, as it were, subordinate to monastic establishments.' At the time we speak of, indeed, such was no longer the case ; but the previously-existing state of reciprocal subordination between abbots and bishops during several centuries, in Ireland, had left deep traces in the nature of the institutions and of the people itself. It may be said that in the mind of an Irishman the existence of Christianity almost presupposed a numerous array of convents and religious houses. And this idea of theirs * Vide Montalembcrt's " Monks of tlie West : Bollandists, Oct," tome lii., p. 888. 196 BIRTH OF A PEOPLE. can scarcely be called a wrong one, nor did they exaggeiate the value of religious orders, since their estimate of them was no higher than that of Christ himself and his Church. If with justice it was said that the French monarchy was established by bishops, with equal justice may it be said that the Irish people had been educated, nay, created by monks. The monks had taken the place left vacant by the Druids, and thus they became for the Christian what the others had been for the pagan Irish. For a long period the Irish monks formed a very considerable portion of Uie population. In their body were con- centrated the gifts of science, art, holiness, even miracles without number, unless we are to suppose that the hagiography of the island was intrusted to the care of idiots incapable of ascertaining current facts. The vast literature of the island, greater indeed than that of any other Christian country at the time, was either the product of monastic intellect and learning, or at least had been translated and preserved by monks. The gifted Eugene O'Ciirry could fill numbers of the pages of his great work with the bare titles of the books which are known to have issued from the Irish monasteries, of which but a few fragments remain ; and no sensible man who has read his book can affect to despise establishments which could produce so many proofs of fancy, intellect, and erudition. The scattered fragments of that rich literature, which had escaped the fury of the Scandinavian, the ignorance and rapacity of the early Anglo-Norman, the blind fanaticism of the Puritan, could still in the seventeenth century furnish materials enough for the immense compilations of the Four Masters, Ward, wadding. Lynch, and Colgan. What we have here stated is the simple, unvarnished truth ; yet it is but yesterday that the subject has really begun to be studied. But what is chiefly worthy our attention is, that the monas- teries were not only the seats of learning and literature in Ire- land, but they constituted and comprised in themselves every thing of value which the nation possessed. As they were found everywhere, there was not room for much else in the department they filled in the island. Take them away, and the country is a blank. So well were the crafty counsellors of Henry YIII. and Elizabeth satisfied of this, that they insisted on the destruction of the monasteries, and turned all their efforts to carry their purpose into effect. Feudalism had failed in its endeavor to cover the country with castles ; the native royalty and inferior chieftainship being engaged in constant bickerings with each other and with the common foe, had been unable to enrich the country with monu ments of art and wealthy palaces ; the Church alone had accom- plished whatever had been effected in this way, and in the BIRTH OF A PEOPLE. 197 Church the monks rather than the bishops had for a long time exercised the preponderating influence. Hence, it may be truly said that Ireland was essentially a monastic country, more so than any other nation of Christendom. This fact explains how it happened that the monastic institu- tions could not be destroyed. The convent-walls might be bat- tered down, the more valuable edifices might be converted into dwellings for the new Protestant aristocracy, their property might go to enrich upstarts, and feed the rapacity of greedy con- querors, but the institution itself could not perish. It is true that in all Catholic countries this seems also to be the case ; but wide is the difference with regard to Ireland. In all places religious establishments have frequently been the object of anti-Christian fury and rage. They have often been destroyed, and seem to have utterly disappeared, when the world has been surprised by their speedy resurrection. The fact is, the. Church needs them, and the practice of evangelical counsels must forever be in a state of active operation upon earth, since the grace of God always inspires with it a number of select soulg. God is the source ; consequently the stream must flow, since the life-spring is eternal and ever-running. But in other countries besides the one under our consideration religious houses and institutions have sometimes been effectually rooted out, at least for a time. When the French Constituent As- sembly, by one of its destructive decrees, closed those establish ments all over France, such of them as by their laxity deserved to die, ceased at once to exist, and poured forth their inmates to swelJ the ranks of a corrupt society, and add religious degradation to the immoral filth of the world. Those religious houses, within whose walls the spirit of God had not ceased to dwell, were indeed closed and emptied ; but their inmates endeavored to livo their lives of religion in some unknown and obsciire spot, until the madness of the Convention, and the Eeign of Terror which soon followed, rendered the continuation of the holy exercises of any community absolutely impossible. But mark this well : the holy aims of the monks and nuns found no response in the nation, and, finding themselves almost entirely rejected by a faithless people, with no resting-place in the whole extent of the country, a sudden and total interruption of religious ascetic life in the once most Catholic nation of Europe was the result. The same may soon come to pass in our days in Italy and Spain, until better times return to those now distracted conn- tries, and the extremities of evil bring them back to something of their primitive faith. Not so in Ireland ; the communities could continue to exist even when turned out-of-doors, because the nation wanted them, and could afford them asylum and peace in the worst periods of 8 198 BIRTH OF A PEOPLE. pereecution. Aiid this great fact of the mutual love between monks, priests, and people, contributed also in no small degree to that union among all, wliicb henceforth became the charac- teristic feature of a people hitherto split up into hostile clans. Nothing probably tended so much toward effecting the birth of the nation as the deep attachment existing between the Irish and their religious orders. The latter had always preached peace and often reconciled enemies, and brought furious men to the practice of Christian charity and forbearance. We have seen instances of this when the clans were all pow- erful and the chieftains thought of nothing but of "preyings," as they called them, compelling their enemies to give " hostages " and devastating the territories of hostile clans. Then the voice of the monk came to be heard in the midst of contending passions, and real miracles were often performed by them in changing into lambs men who resembled roaring lions or devouring wolves ; but their action became much more efficacious when nothing was left to the people save their religion and the "friars. These, it is true, could no longer reside within the walls of theii convents, but on that very account their life became more truly one with that of the people. Sometimes they found refuge in the large, hospitable dwell- ings of the native nobility, where, during the latter part of the reign of Henry YIII. and the whole of that of Elizabeth, the al- most indepenaent power of the chieftains could still afford them succor. Sometimes also the humbler dwelling of tlie farmer or the peasant offered them a sure asylum, wherem they could prac- tise their ministry in almost perfect freedom, owing to the sure and inviolable secrecy of the inmates and neighbors. For a great distance around, the Catholics knew of their abode, were often visited by them, even without mueh danger of the fact becom- ing known to spies and informers. And this brings naturally before us a new feature of the Irish character. Their nature, which was so expansive and passionate on all other subjects, so that to keep a secret w^as an impossible feat to them, wore another character when danger to their religion or its ministers required of them to set a seal on their lips. For years frequently, large numbers of priests and religious could not only exist, but move and work among them, without their place of abode becoming known to the swarms of enemies who sur- rounded them. The nation was trained to prudence and dis- cretion by centuries of oppression and tyranny. Many facts of this nature are known and recorded in tlie dark annals of those times ; but how many more will be known never ! Thus, in the year 1588, during the worst part of Elizabetli'g reign, "John O'Malloy, Cornelius Dogherty, and Walfried Fer- rall, of the order of St. Francis, fell iinally victims to the malice BIRTH OF A PEOPLE. 199 of the heretics. They had spent eight years in administering the eonsolations of religion throughout the mountainous districts of Leinster. Many families of Carlo w, Wicklow, and Wexford, had been compelled to take a refuge in the mountains from the fury of the English troops. The good Franciscans shared in all their perils, travelling about from place to place, by night ; they yisited the sick, consoled the dying, and offered up the sacred mysteries for all. Oftentimes the hard rock was their only bed ; but they willingly embraced nakedness, and hunger, and cold, to console their afllicted brethren." — {Morrni^ s Archlmhopa of Dublin.) In these few words, we have a picture of the mountain mon-! astery. During those eight years, how many Irish were consoled \ and comforted by those few laborers, who, driven from their holy home, had chosen to live in the wilderness, and practise their rule among the wandering people of three large counties, re- ceiving in return the substance, the love, and loving secrecy of their nock I We have only to figure to ourselves this scene, or similar, repeated in every comer of the land, and we may then easily understand how the Irish people were brought to the unanimous resolve of standing by each other, and now, from the state of complete division which formerly prevailed, the elements of a compact, solid, and indestructible body, began to form. We attribute this " birth of a nation " to Henry YIII., be- cause the change which he tried to introduce into the religion of the island constituted the occasion and origin of it ; and, although his reign never witnessed that perfect union of the people which came later on, nevertheless, it is true that then it surely began, and its origin was the attempt to establish his spiritual suprem- acy in Ireland. This feeling of union and strength in love went on growing, and showed itself more and more, during the two centuries which followed, when so many scenes similar to the one described were enacted in the remotest parts of the island. God, in his mercy, provided it with many high mountains, difficult of access, whose paths were known only to the natives. In these fastnesses, the holy men, who had been driven from their dwellings and their churches, could rest in peace and attend to the duties of their office. They could even recruit their shattered forces, admit novices, and train them up ; and thus their rule continued to be observed, and their existence as a body protracted, long after their enemies imagined that they had perished utterly. As soon as quiet was restored, when persecution abated, and breathing- time was given them, so that they could show themselves, with some safety, more openly, they visited their old abodes, often found some portions of the rums which admitted of repair, and aOO BIRTH OF A PEOPLE. dwelt again in security where their predecessorfl had dwelt foi centuries. The peasant's hut would also often afford them shelter ; some solitary larm-house on the borders of a lake, or near a deep morass, took the name of their monastery ; some crcmogue in the lake, or dry spot in the thick of the morass, which they could reach by paths known to themselves only, was their asylum in times oi extraordinary danger. In ordinary times, the ferm-house, to which they had given the name of their lost monastery, was their convent. It was thus the brothers O'Cleary, and their compan- ions, lived for years, editing the work of the " Four Masters," until, at length, they succeeded in publishing their extraordi- nary " Annals. " The manuscripts which, in spite of the raging persecution, and the " penal laws," they traversed the wnole island to collect, were preserved, with a reverend care, in a poor Irish hut. Literary treasures whieh have since unfortunately perished, but which they saved for a time from the reach of the enemy, and which they perpetuated by having them printed, fiUed the poor presses and the old furniture of their asylum, and, owing purely to the friendly help of thiose who had given them shelter, they were enabled to enrich the world with their marvel- lous compilation. From the mountain and the hut, on the river-side, the monks were sometimes allowed to move to their former dwellings, at the risk, nevertheless, of their liberty and lives. What their an- cestors had done during the Scandinavian invasions, when the monasteries were so often destroyed and rebuilt, that did the monks of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries likewise in many parts of the island. Thus, Father Mooney, a Franciscan, relates that his monas- tery — that of Multifarnham — having been totally destroyed by Sir Francis Shean, and many monks having been killed, he, with a few others, after long and extraordinary adventures, came back to the spot, then abandoned by the enemy, and " before the feast of the Nativity of our Lord, we built up a little house on the site of the monastery, and there we dwelt who were left after the flight Afterward, Father Nehemias Gregan, the father guardian, begfin to build a church, and to repair tne monastery, and for this purpose caused much wood to be cut in the terri- tory of Deabiina McLochlain ; and when they had roofed a chapel and some other buildings, there came the soldiers of another Sir Francis Eiufftia, and they burned down the mon- astery again, and carried off some of the brethren captive to Dublin.'^ This convent of Multifarnham was raised a third time ; and, in fact, remained in possession of the Franciscans tliroughout the persecution, so that to this day the old church has been restored BIRTH OF A PEOPLE. 201 oy tLeui, and tlie modem liouse, which now forms their convent, 18 built on the site of the old monastery. Such for a long time was the case with many other religioug establishments ; for the same Father Mooney, writing as late as 1624, says : " When Queen Elizabeth strove to make all Ireland fall away from the Catholic faith, and a law was passed proscrib- ing all the members of the religious orders, and giving their monasteries and possessions to the treasury, while aU the others took to flight, or at least quitted their houses, and, for safety' sake, lived privately and singly among their friends, and receiv- ing no novices, the order of St. Francis alone ever remained, as it were, unshaken. For, though they were violently driven out of some convents to the great towns, and the convents were pro- fanely turned into dwellings for seculars, and some of the fathers suffered violence, and even death ; yet, in the country and other remote places, they ever remained in the convents, celebrating the divine office according to the custom of religious, their preachers preaching to the people and performing their other ranctions, training up novices and preserving the conventual buildings, holding it sinful to lay aside, or even hide, their reli- gious habit, though for an hour, tnrough any human fear. And, every three years, they held their regular provincial chapters in the woods of the neighborhood, and observed the rule as it is kept in provinces that are in peace." Thus, when the Cromwellian persecution began, the religious orders were again flourishing in Ireland. They had obtained from the Stuarts some relaxation in the execution of the laws, and, as all at the time were fighting for Charles I. against the Parhamentarians, it was only natural that the authorities did not cariT out the barbarous laws to their fall extent in the island. it is no matter of great surprise, therefore, that, in 1641, more than one hundred years after the decree of Henry YIII., the Franciscan order still possessed sixty-two flourishing houses in Ireland, each with a numerous community, besides ten con- vents of nuns of the order of St. Clare. The acts of the General Chapter of the Dominicans, held in Rome in 1656, referring to the same persecution of Cromwell, state that, when it began, there were forty-three convents of the order, containing about six handred inmates, of whom only one-fourth survived the calamity. The Jesuits were eighty in number, in 1641, of whom only seventeen remained when the storm had passed away. From a petition presented to the Sacred Congregation, in 1654, we learn that all the Capuchins had been banished, except a few who remained on the island, where they lived as " shepherds," "herdsmen," or "tillers of the soil." All the decrees of the Parliaments of Henry YIII. and Eliza- beth had not succeeded, in the space of a century, in destroying 302 BIRTH OF A PEOPLE. monasticism ; tlie Cromwellian war alone seemed to have done BO, as it left the entire nation almost at the last gasp, on the veiKe of annihilation. Nevertheless, a few years saw the orders agam revive and prepare to start their holy work anew. Henry VIII. then, and his vicar, Cromwell, deceived themselves in thinking that they had put an end to monasticism in the land which had heen the cradle of so many families of religious. They succeeded only in intensifying the determination of Irish- men not to allow their nationality to he absorbed in that of Eng- land. If any thing was calculated to nourish and keep alive that sentiment in their hearts, it was their daily communing with the holy men who shared their distress, their mountain-retreats, their Eoverty in the bogs, their wretchedness in the woods and glens. f monasticism had created and nurtured the nation on its first becoming Christian, it gave to the people a second birth holier than the first, because consecrated by martyrdom. Henceforth, divided clans and antagonistic septs were to be unknown among them : only Catholic fiishmen were to remain ranked around the successors of " the saints " of old, all determined to be what they were, or die. But as laws, edicts, and measures of fanatic frenzy cannot destroy a nation, the new people was destined to survive for better ana brighter days. "We have anticipated the course of events somewhat, in order to pass in review the chief facts connected with the designs of the English Government upon the religious orders. These few words will suffice to give the reader an idea of the new character which such events impressed upon the Irish nation. Every day saw it more compact ; every day the resolve to fight to the death for God's cause, grew stronger ; the old occasions of division grew less and less, and that unanimity, which suffering for a noble cause naturally gives rise to in the human heart, showed itself more and more. A nation, in truth, was being born in the throes of a wide-spread and long-continued calamity ; but long ages were in store in times to come to reward it for the misfor- tunes of the past. It is a remarkable thing that, when England, through fear of civil war, was compelled to grant Catholic emancipation in 1820, when Irish agitators succeeded in wrenching it from the enemy, and obtaining it, not only for themselves, but likewise for their English Catholic brethren, the British statesmen, who finally con- sented to such a tardy measure of justice, steadily refused, never- theless, to extend the boon to the religious orders. These re- mained under the ban, and so they remain still. The *' penal laws " were never repealed for them, and, even to this day, they are, according to law, strictly prohibited from " receiving^ nov- ices" under all the barbarous penalties formerly enacted and never abrogated. BIRTH OF A PEOPLE. 208 But the nation has constantly considered tliis exception as not to be taken into account. The religious orders now existing are under the protection of the people, and England has never dared to use even a threat against the open violation of these " laws." Dr. Madden, in his interesting work on " Peoal Laws," gives prominence to this fact by warmly taking up the old theme of thorough-going Irish Catholicity, by asserting, with force, that " religious orders are necessary to the Church," and that to deny their right to exist, even though it be only on paper in the stat- ute-book, is none the less an outrage against so thoroughly Catholic a nation as the Irish. The only fact which appears to clash with our reflections is the one well ascertained and mentioned by lis, that some native Irish lords occupied certain monasteries and took their share in the sacrilegious plunder. But a few chieftains cannot be said to constitute the nation, and doubtless many of those who yielded to the temptation, listened later to the reproving voice of their conscience, as in the following case, given by Mfles O'Reilly, in his " Irish Martyrs : " " Gelasius O'CuUenan, born of a noble family in Connaught . . . joined the Cistercian order. Having completed his studies in Paris, the monastery of Boyle was destined as the field of his labors. On his arrival in Ireland, he found that the monastery, with its property, had been seized on by one of the neighboring f3ntry, who was sheltered in his usurpation by the edict of lizabeth. The abbot . . . went boldly to the usurping noble- man, admonishing him of the guilt he had incurred, and the malediction of Heaven, which he would assuredly draw down upon his family. Moved by his exhortations, the nobleman re- stored to him the full possession of the monastery and lands ; and, some time after, contemplating the holy life of its inmates, ... he, too, renounced the world and joinea the religious insti- tute," CHAPTER IX. TBM TBOSR AND THE TDDORS. — ELIZABETH. — THE CVDAUnTKD NOBILITY. THE SUFFERING CHUEOH. ^ On January 12, 1559, in the second year of the reigD of Elizabeth, a Parliament was convened in Dublin to pass the Act of Supremacy ; that is to say, to establish Lutheranism in Ire- land, as had already been done in England, under the garb of Episcopalianism. But the attempt was fated to encounter a more determined opposition in Dublin than it had in London. Sir James Ware says, in reference to it : " At the very begin- ning of this Parliament, her Majestie's well-wishers found that most of the nobility and Commons — they were all English by blood or birth — were divided in opinion about the ecclesiastical government, which caused the Earl of Sussex (Lord Deputy) to dissolve them, and to go over to England to confer with ner Ma- jesty about the affairs of this kingdom. " These differences were occasioned by the several alterations which had happened in ecclesiastical matters within the compass of twelve years. " 1. King Henry YIII. held the ecclesiastical supremacy with the first-fruits and tenths, maintaining the seven sacramenta with obits and mass for the living and the dead. " 2. King Edward abolished the mass, authorizing the book of common prayers, and the consecration of the bread and wine in the English tongue, and establishing only two sacraments. " 3. Queen Mary, after King Edward's decease, brought all back again to the Cnurch of Rome, and the papal obedience. " 4. Queen Elizabeth, on her first Parliament in England^ took away the Pope's supremacy, reserving the tenths and first- fruits to her heirs and successors. She put down the mass, and, for a general uniformity of worship in her dominions, as well in England as in Ireland, she establisned the book of common pray- ers, and forbade the use of popish ceremonies." Such is the very lucid sxetch furnished by Ware of the THE SUFFERING OHUROH. 205 fthaiigL'6 which hud taken place in religion in England within the brief space of twelve years. The members of the Irish Parliament, although of English descent, could not so easily reconcile themselves to these rapid changes as their fellows in England had done ; in fact, they laid claim to a conscience — a thing seemingly unknown to the Eng- lish members, or, if known at all, of an exceedingly elastic and slippery nature. Here lay the difficulty : how was it to be over- come ? The conversation between Elizabeth and Sussex must have been of a very interesting character. Returning with private instructions from the queen, the Earl of Sussex again convened the Parliament, which only consisted of the so called representatives of ten counties — Dublin, Meath, West Meath, Louth, Kildare, Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford, Tip- perary, and Wexford. We see that the almost total extinction of the Kildare branch of the Geraldines had extended the Eng- lish Pale. The other deputies were citizens and burgesses of those towns in which the royal authority predominated. " With such an assembly," says Leland, " it is little wonder that, in de- spite of clamor and opposition, in a session of a few weeks, the whole ecclesiastical system of Queen Mary was entirely re- versed." It is needless to remark that the people had nothing whatever to do with this reversal ; it merely looked on, or was already organizing for resistance. 'N"evertheless, even in that assembly the queen's agents were obliged to have recourse to fraud and deception, in order to carry her measures, and it cannot be said that they obtained a majority. " The proceedings," according to Mr. Haverty, " are involved in mystery, and the principal measures are believed to have been carried by means fraudulent and clandestine." And, in a note, he adds : '^ It is said that the Earl of Sussex, to calm the protests which were made in Parliament, when it was found that the law had been passed by a few members assembled privately, pledged himself solemnly that this statute would not be enforced gener- ally on laymen during the reign of Elizabeth." ' Whatever the means adopted to introduce and carry out the new policy, it was certainly enacted that " the queen was the head of the Church of Ireland, the reformed worship was rees- tablished as under Edward YI., and the book of common pray- ers, with further alterations, was reintroduced. A fine of twelve pence was imposed on every person who should not attend the new service, for each offence ; bishops were to be appointed only by the queen, and consecrated at her bidding. All officers ana Dr. Garry, in h\» '* Givil Wars," has collected some ourious facts in illustratiov •f this point. 206 THE SUFFERING OHUROH. ministers, ecclesiastical or lay, were bound to take the oath of eupremaey, under pain of forfeiture or incapacity ; and any one who maintained the spiritual supremacy of the rope was to for- feit, for his first oflTence, all his estates, real and personal, or be imprisoned for one year, if not worth twenty pounds ; for the second oiFence, to be liable to praemunire; and for the third, to be guilty of high-treason." It was understood that those laws would be strictly enforced against all priests and friars, though left generalljr inoperative for lay people ; and, with certain exceptions, mentioned by Dr. Curry, such was the rule observed. Thus, the reign of ElizjA)eth, which was such a cruel one for ecclesiastics, produced few mar- tyrs among the laity in Ireland. And, for this reason, Sir James Ware is aole to boast that, in all the "rebellions" of the Irish against Elizabeth, thev falsely complained that their freedom of worship was curtailed, as though they could worship without either priests or churches. But the law was passed which made it " high-treason " to assert, three times in succession, the spiritual supremacy of the Pope ; and, henceforth, whoever should suffer in defence of that Catholic dogma, was to be a traitor and not a martyr. The woman, seated on the English throne, speedilv disco v- ered that it was not so easy a matter to change the religion of the Irish as it had been to subvert completely that of her own people. Deprived of religious houses and means of instruction, de- prived of priests and churches, no communication with Rome save by stealth, the Irish still showed their oppressors that their consciences were free, and that no acts of Parliament or sen- tences of iniquitous tribunals could prevent their remaining Catholics. By promising to deal as lightlv with the laity as severely with the clergy, Elizabeth felt confident that the Catholic reli- gion would soon perish in Ireland, and that, with the disappear- ance of the priests, the churches, sacraments, instruction, and open commimion with Rome, would also disappear. To all seeming, her surmises were correct ; but the people were silently gathering and uniting together as they had never done before. The whole of Elizabeth's Irish policy may be comprised un- der two headings : 1. Her policy toward the nobles, apparently one of comj)romise and toleration, but really one of destruction, and so rightly did they understand it that they rose and called in foreign aid to their assistance ; 2. Iler church policy, one of blood and total overthrow^ which priests and people, now united forever in the same great cause, resisted from the outset, and finally defeated ; and the decrees of liigh-treasou, which were carried out with frightful barbarity, only served to confirm tho THE SUFFERING CUUKOH. 207 Irish people in that unanimity which the wily dealings of Henry yill. had originated. I. With the nobility Elizabeth hoped to succeed by flattery, cunning, deceit, finally by treachery, and sowing dissension among them ; but all her efforts only served to knit them more firmly one to another, and to revive among them the true spirit of nationality and patriotism. She did not state to them that her great object was to destroy the Catholic Church ; neverthless they shoula have felt and re- sented it from the beginning ; above all, ought they to have given expression to the contempt they entertained for the bait held out to them that the " laws " would not be executed against them, but against Churchmen only. Had they been truly animated by the feelings which already possessed the hearts of the people, they would have scomfuly rejected the compromise proposed. But she appeared to allow them perfect freedom in religious matters ; she subjected them to no oath, as in England ; the new laws were a dead letter as far as regarded the native lords, who lived under other laws and remained silent, as with the lords of the Pale. Yet nothing was of such importance in her eyes as the enforcement of those decrees ; consequently, she could only accomplish her designs by deceit. George Browne, the first Protestant Archbishop of Dublin, had predicted that the old Irish race and the Anglo-Irish chieftains would unite and com- bine with Continental powers in order to establish their inde- pendence. The whole policy of Elizabeth's reign would give us reason to believe that she rightly understood the deep remark of the worldly heretic. Hence, although (or, rather, because) the north, Ulster, was at that time the stronghold of Catholic feel- ing, and the O'Xeills and O'Donnells its leaders, she flatters them, has them brought to her court, pardons several " rebel- lions " of Shane the Proud, and afterward loads with her favors the young Hugh of Tyrone, whom she kept at her own court. She would dazzle them by the splendor of that court, by the royal presents she so royally lavishes upon them, and by the prospect of greater favors still to come. Meanwhile on the south she turns a stern eye, and makes up her mind to destroy what is left of the Geraldine family. This was to be the begin- ning of the war of extermination, and the nobility which at the time was disunited became firmly consolidated shortly after. It is needless to go into the glorious and romantic history of the Geraldine family. Elizabeth chose them for the first object of her attack, because they, as Anglo-Irish Catholics, were more odious in her eye than the pure Irish. She knew that the then Earl of Desmond had escaped almost by miracle from the island with his younger brother John, when the rest of the noble stock had been but3iered at Tyburn. She i: 208 THE SUFFERING OHUROH. knew that Gerald, after many wanderings, had finally reached Rome, been educated under the care of his kinsman, Cardinal Pole, cherished as a dear son by the reigning Pontiff, had subse- quently appeared at the Tuscan court of Cosmo de Medici ; that consequently, since his return to Ireland, he might be considered the chief of the Catholic party there, although, to save himself froni attainder and hold possession of his immense wealth in Munster, he displayed the greatest reserve in all his actions, ap- eaied to respect the orders of the queen in all things, even in er external policy against the Church ; so that if priests were entertained in his castles, it was always by stealth, and they were compelled to lead a life of total retirement. But, despite all this outward show, Elizabeth knew that Ger- ald was really a sincere Catholic, that he considered himself a sovereign prince, and would consequently have small scruple about entering into a league against her, not only with the northern Irish chieftains, but even with the Catholic princes of the Continent. She resolved, therefore, to destroy him. Sidney was sent to Ireland as lord-lieutenant. He travelled first through all Munster, and complained bitterly that the Irish chieftains were destroying the country by their divisions, though perfectly conscious that those divisions were secretly encouraged by England. He appeared to listen to the people, when they com- plained of their lords, and yet at the holding of assizes he hanged this same people on the flimsiest pretexts, and had them exe- cuted wholesale. In one of his dispatches to the home govern- ment, he makes complacent' allusion to the countless executions which accompanied his triumphant progress through Munster : " I wrote not," he says, " the name of each particular varlet that has died since I arrived, as well by the ordinary course of the law, and the martial law, as flat fighting with them, wheii they would take food without the good-will of the giver : for I think it is no stun worthy the loading of my letters with ; but I do assure you, the number of them is great, and some of the best, and the rest tremble. For the most part they fight for their dinner, and many of them lose their heads before they are served with supper. iJown they go in every corner, and down they shall go, God willing." — (Sidney^s Dispatches^ Br. M.) This was the man who announced nimself as the avenger of the people on their rulers. He complained chiefly of Gerald of Desmond, and, without any pretext, summoned him with his brother John, carried them prisoners to Dublin, and afterward sent them to the Tower of London. The shanachy of the family relates that then, and then only, Gerald sent a private message to his kinsmen and retainers, appointing his cousin James, son of Maurice, known as James Fitzmaurice, the head and leader in his family during his own absence. THE SUFFERING CHURCH. 209 " For James," says the shanacliy, " was well known for his attachment to the ancient faith, no less than for his valor and chivalry, and gladly did the people of old Desmond receive these commands, and inviolable was their attachment to him who was now their appointed chieftain." James began directly to organize the memorable " Geraldine licague," upon the fortunes of which, for years, the attention of Christendom was fixed. This, the first open treaty of Irish lords with the Pope, as a sovereign prince, and with the King of Spain, calls for a few remarks on the right of the Irish to declare open war with England, and choose their own friends and allies, without being rebels. The English were at this very time so conscious of the weak- ness of their title to the sovereignty of Ireland, that they were continually striving to prop up their claims by the most absurd pretensions. In the posthumous act of attainder against Shane O'Neill in the Irish Parliament of 1569, Elizabeth's ministers afiected to trace her title to the realm of Ireland back to a period an- terior to the Milesian race of kings. They invented a ridiculous story of a " King Gurmondus," son to the noble King Belan of Great Britain, who was lord of Bayon in Spain — they probably meant Bayonne in France — as were many of his successors down to the time of Henry II., who possessed the island after the " comeing of Irishmen into the same lande." — {Ha/verty^ Irish Stalmtes^ 2 Eliz., sess. 3, cap. i^ These learned men who nourished in the golden reign of Elizabeth must have thought the Irish very easilv imposed upon if they imagined they could give ear to such a fabrication, at a time when each great family had its own chronicler to trace its pedigree back to the very source of the race of Miledh. The title of conquest, at that time a valid one in all countries, hacf no value with the Irish who never had been and never admitted themselves to have been conquered. Had they not preserved their own laws, customs, language, local governments ? Had the English ever even attempted to subject them to their laws ? They nad openly refused to grant their pretended bene- fits to those few " degenerate Irishmen " who m sheer despair had applied for them. This policy of separation was adopted bv England with the view of " rooting out " the Irish. The EngHsn Government could therefore only accept the natural consequence of such a system — that the Irish race should be left to itself, in the full enjoyment of its own laws and local governments. The very policy of Henry YIII. and Elizabeth, as displayed In their attempt to break down the clans by favoring " well-dis- posed Irishmen " and setting them up, by fraudulent elections, as U 210 THE SUFFERING CHURCH. chiefs of tlie various septs, proves that the English theniselvea admitted the clans to be real nations — nationes — as they were called at the time by Irish chroniclers and by English writers even. It was an acknowledgment of the plain fact that the na- tives possessed and exercised their own laws of succession and election, their own government and autonomy. The disappearance of the Ard-Kigh, who nad held the titular power over the whole country, is no proof that the Irish pos- sessed no government : for they themselves had refused for sev- eral centuries to acknowledge his power. The island was split up into several small independent states, each with the right of levying war, and making peace and alliance. Gillapatrick, of Ossory, dispatched his ambassador to Henry YIII. to announce that if he, the English king, did not prevent his deputy, Kufus Pierce, of Dublin, from annoying the clans of Ossory, Gillapat- rick would, in self-defence, declare war against the Kmg of Eng- land. And the imperious Henry Tudor, instead of laughing at the threat of the chieftain, was shrewd enough to recognize its significance, and prevented it being carried into execution by admitting the cause as valid, and su omitting the conduct of his deputy to an investigation. Moreover, the principles by which Christendom had been ruled for centuries, were iust then being broken up by the ad- vent of Protestantism ; and novel theories were being introduced for the government of modern nations. What were the old principles, and what the new ; and how stood Ireland with re- spect to each ? In the old organization of Christendom, the key-stone of the whole political edifice was the papacy. Up to the sixteenth cen- tury, the Sovereign Pontifi" had been acknowledged by all Christian nations as supreme arbiter in international questions, and if England did possess any shadow of authority over Ireland, it was owing to former decisions of popes, who, being misin- formed, had allowed the Anglo-Korman kings to establish their power in the island. Whatever may be thought of the buU of Adrian lY., this much is certain : we do not pretend to solve that vexed historical problem. But, by rebelling against Rome, by rejecting the title of the Pope, England threw away even that claim, and by the bull of excommunication, issued against Elizabeth, the Irish were re- leased from their allegiance to her, supposing that such allegi- ance had existed, solely built upon this claim. So well was this understood at the time, that the Roman Pontifi*s, as rulers of the Papal States, the Emnerors of Ger- many, as heads of the German Empire, and the Kings of Spain and France, always covertly and sometimes openly received the envoys of O'Neill, Deumond, and O'Donnell, and openly di^* THE SUFFERING OHUROfl. 211 pa-tclied troops and fleets to assist the Irish in their struggle for their de facto independence. All this was in perfect accordance, not merely with the an thoritj which Catholic powers still recognized in the Sovereign Pontiff, but even with the new order of tnings which Protestant- ism had introduced into Western Europe, and which England, as henceforth a leading Protestant power, had accepted and eagerly embraced. By the rejection of the supreme arbitration of the Popes, on the part of the new heretics, Europe lost its unity as C/hristendom, and naturally formed itself into two leagues, the Catholic and the Protestant. An oppressed Catholic nationality, above all a weak and powerless one, had therefore the right of appeal to the great Catholic powers for help against oppression. And the pretension of England to the possession of Ireland was the very essence of oppression and tyranny in itself, doubly aggravated by the fact of an apostate and vicious king or queen making it treason for a people, utterly separate and distinct from theirs, to hold fast to its ancient and revered religion. Who can say, then, that Gregory XIII. was guilty of injustice and of abetting rebellion when, in 1578, he furnished James Fitz- maurice, the great Geraldine, with a fleet and army to fight against Elizabeth ? The authority greatest in Catholic eyes, and most worthy of respect in the eyes of all impartial men — the Pope — thus endorsed the patent fact that Ireland was an independent nation, and could wage war against her oppressors. Here we have a stand-point from which to argue the question for future times. The rash or, perhaps, treacherous share taken by a few Irish chieftains, in the schismatical and heretical as well as unpatriotic decrees of the Parliament of 1541, and in the subsequent ones of 1549, could compromise the Irish nation in nowise, inasmuch as the people, being still even in legal enjoyment of their own government, their chieftains possessed no authority to decide on such questions without the full concurrence of their clans, and these had already pronounced, clearly enough and unmistakably, on the return of their lords from their title-hunting expedition in England. All the chroniclers of the time agree that " the people " was invariably sound in faith, siding with the chieftains wherever they rose in opposition to oppressive decrees, abandoning them when they showed signs of wavering, even ; but, above afl, when they ranged themselves with the oppressors of the Church. The English Protestant writers of the period confirm this honorable testimony of the Irish bards, by constantly accusing the natives of a " rebellious " spirit. The history of the Geraldine struggle is known to all readers of Irish history, and does not enter into the scope of these pages. We have, however, to consider the foreign aid which 212 The suffering ohuroh. the chieftains received, from Spain chiefly, and tlie causes of these faihires, wliich at first would seem to argue a lack of firmness on the part of the Irish themselves. Durmg the Gcraldine wars, and later on in what is called the rebellion of Hugh O'Neill and Hugh O'Donnell, the King of Spain sent vessels and troops to the assistance of the Irish. All these expeditions failed, and the destruction of the natives was far greater than it might other- wise have been, in consequence of the greater number of English troops sent to Ireland to face the expected Spanish invasion. The same ill success attended the French fleet and army dis- patched to Limerick by Louis XIY. to assist James H., and, later still, the large fleet and well-appointed troops sent by the French Convention to the aid of the " United Irishmen," in 1798. In like manner, the Yendeans, on the other side, those French " rebels " against the Convention itself, received their death-blow in consequence of the English who were sent to their succor at Quiberon. It seems, indeed, a universal historic law that, when a nation or a party in a nation struggles against another, the almost in- variable consequence of foreign aid is failure ; but no conclusion can be deduced from that fact of lack of bravery, steadfastness, even ultimate success, on the part of those who rise in arms against oppression. Of the many causes which may be assigned to that apparently strange law of history, the chief are : 1. The difficulty of effecting a joint and simultaneous effort between the insurgent forces and the distant friendly power. Help comes either too soon or too late, or lands on a point of the coast where aid is worse than useless, and where it only throws confusion into the ranks of the struggling native forces, whose plans are thus aU disarranged, disconcerted, and thrown into confusion. Add to this the dangers of the sea, the possibly insufficient knowledge of the soundings and of the nature of the coast, the differences of spirit, customs, and language, of the two coalescing forces, and it may be easily concluded that the chances of success, as opposed to those of failure, are but scanty. 2. The forces against which the coalition is made are alwavg immeasurably increased for the very purpose of meeting it, its purport being always known beforehand. In the case under con- sideration, it were easy to show that Elizabeth was prompted by the fear of Spain to be speedy in crushing the attempted " re- bellions " in the south and north. Historians have made a com- putation of the troops dispatched from England by the queen, and of the treasure spent in these expeditions during her reign, and the result is astonishing for the times. In fact, the whole strength of England was brought into requisition for the purpose of overpowering Ireland. In our own days, the successful insurrection of Greece against THE SUFFERING CBUROH. 218 Turkey seems at variance with these considerations. But the independence of tlic Greeks was brought about rather by the unanimous voice of Europe coercing Turkey than by the few troops sent from France, or by the few English or Poles who vol- unteered their aid to the insurgents. The remarks we have made may be further corroborated by the reflection that the successful risings of oppressed nationalities, recorded in modem history, were wholly effected by the unaided forces of the insurgents. Thus, the seven cantons of Switzerland succeeded against Austria, the Yenetian Kepublic against the bai'barians oi the North, the Portuguese in the Braganza revolu- tion against Spain, and the United Provinces of the Low Coun- tries against Spain and Germany. The only historical instance which may contravene this gen- eral rule is found in the Revolution of the United States of America, where the French cooperation was timely and of real use, chiefly because the foreign aid was placed entirely under the control and at the command of the supreme head of the colonists, General Washington. These few words suffice for our purpose. The policy of Elizabeth toward the Irish nobility is well known to our readers. The fate of the house of Desmond was, in her mind, sealed from the beginning. It is now an ascer- tained fact that she drove the great earl into rebellion, who, for a long time, refused openly to avow his approbation of the con- federates' schemes, and even seemed at first to cooperate with the queen's forces in opposition to them. It was ordy after his cousin Fitzmaurice and his brother John had been almost ruined that, convinced of the determination of the English Government to seize and occupy Munster with his ^ye or six millions of acres, he boldly stood up for his faith and his country, and perished in the attempt. It was then that " Protestant plantations " began in Ireland, The confiscated estates of Desmond — which, in reality, did not belong to him but to his tribe — were handed over to companies of " planters out of Devonshire, Dorsetshire, and Somersetshire, out of Lancashire and Cheshire, organized for defence and to be supported by standing forces." — {jrrendergast.) Then the work set on foot by Henry 11. in favor of Strong- bow, De T^acy, De Courcy, and others, was resumed, after an in- terval of four hundred years, to be carried through to the end ; that is to say, to the complete pauperizing of the native race. Among the " undertakers '' and " planters " introduced into Munster by Elizabeth, a word may not be out of place on Ed- mund Spenser and Walter Kaleigh, the first a great poet, the second a great warrior and courtier. They both united in advo- eating the extermination of the native race, a policy which Henry 914 THE SUFFERING OHUROH. VIII. was too liigli-minded to accept, and Elizabeth too great a despiser of " tlie people " to notice. To Henry and Elizabeth Tudor the people was nothing ; the nobility every thing. Spen- ser, Raleigh, and other Englishmen of note, who came into daily contact with the nation, saw very well that account should be taken of it, and thought, as Sir John Davies had thought before them, that it ought to be " rooted out." That great question of the Irish jpeople was assuming vaster proportions every day ; the people was soon to show itself in all its strength and reality, to be crushed out apparently by Cromwell, but really to be pre served by Providence for a future age, now at hand to-day. Spenser and Raleigh, being gifted with keener foresight than most of their countrymen, were for the entire destruction of the people, thinking, as did many French revolutionists of our own days, that " only the dead never come back." The author of the " Faerie Queene," who had taken an active part in the horrible butcheries of the Geraldine war, when all the Irish of Munster were indiscriminately slaughtered, insists that a similar policy should be adopted for the whole island. In his work " On the State of Ireland," he asks for " large masses of troops to tread down all that standeth before them on foot, and lay on the ground all the stiff-necked people of that land." He urges that the war be carried on not only m the summer but in the winter ; " for then, the trees are bare and naked, which use both to hold and house the keme ; the ground is cold and wet, which useth to be his bedding ; the air is sharp and bitter, to blow through his naked sides and legs ; the kine are barren and without milk, which useth to be his food, besides being all with calf (for the most part), they will through much chasing and driving cast all their calf, and lose all then- milk, which should relieve him in the next summer." Spenser here employs his splendid imagination to present gloatingly such details as the most effective means for the de- struction of the hated race. All he demands is, that " the end should be very short," and he gives us an example of the effec- tiveness and Deauty of his system "in the late wars in Mun- ster." For, " notwithstanding that the same " (Munster) " was a most rich and plentiful country, full of come and cattle, . . . yet ere one yeare and a half they " (the Irish) " were brought to fiuch wretchednesse as that any stony heart would have rued the same. Out of every corner of woods and glynnes, they came creeping forthe upon their hands, for their leggcs could not beare them ; they looked like anatomies of death ; they spoke like ghosts crying out of their gi-aves .... that in short space there were none almost left, and a most populous and plentiful country fttiddenly left void of man and beast." Such is a picture, horribly graphic, of the state to which I THE SUFFERING CHURCH. 215 Mimster had been reduced by the policy of England as carried out by a Gilbert, a Peter Carew, and a Cosby ; and 'to this pass the " gentle " Spenser would have wished to see the whole coun- try come. Even Mr. Froude is compelled to denounce in scathing terms the monsters employed by the queen, and his facts are all de- rived, he tells us, from existing " state papers." Writing of the end of the Geraldine war, he says : " The English nation was at that time shuddering over the atrocities of the Duke of Alva. The chDdren in the nurseries were being inflamed to patriotic rage and madness by the tales of Spanish tyranny. Yet, Alva's bloody sword never touched the young, defenceless, or those whose sex even dogs can recognize and re- spect. " Sir Peter Carew has been seen murdering women and chil- dren, and babies that had scarcely left the breast ; but Sir Peter Carew was not called on to answer for his conduct, and remained in favor with the deputy. Gilbert, who was left in command at Kilnallock, was illustrating yet more signally the same ten- dency." Nor " was Gilbert a bad man. As time went on, he passed for a brave and chivalrous gentleman, not the least dis- tinguished in that high band of aaventurers who carried the English flag into the western hemisphere .... above all, a man of "special piety.' He regarded himself as dealing rather with savage beasts than with human beings (in Ireland), and, when he tracked them to their dens, he strangled the cubs, and rooted out the entire brood. " The Gilbert method of treatment has this disadvantage, that it must be carried out to the last extremity, or it ought not to be tried at all. The dead do not come back ; and if the mothers and babies are slaughtered with the men, the race gives no further trouble ; but the work must be done thorouAly ; partial and fitful cruelty lays up only a long debt of deserved and ever-deepening hate. " In justice to the English soldiers, however, it must be said that it was no fault of theirs if any Irish child of that generation was allowed to live to manhood." — {Hist, of Engl,, vol. x., p. 507.) These Munster horrors occurred directly after the defeat oi the Irish at Kinsale. Cromwell, therefore, in the atrocities which will come under our notice, only followed out the policy of the " Yirgin Queen." And it is but too evident that the Eng- lish of 1598 were the fathers or grandfathers of those of 1650. Both were inaugurating a system of warfare which had never been adopted before, even among pagans, unless by the Tartar troops under Genghis Khan ; a system which in future ages should shape the policy, which was followed, for a short time, by the French Convention in la Vendee. . 216 THE SUFFERING CHURCH. Kalcigh, as well as Spenser, seems to have been a vigorous advocate of this system. It is true that his sole appearance on the scene was on the occasion of the surrender of omerwick by the Spanish garrison ; but the Saxon spirit of the man was dis- played in his execution of Lord Grey's orders, who, after, accord- ing to all the Irish accounts, promising their lives to the Span- iards, had them executed ; and Raleigh appears to have directed that execution, whereby eight hundred prisoners of war were cruel- ly butchered and flung over the rocks in the sea. From that time out the phrase " Grey's faith " {Grcda fides) became a proverb with the Irish. After having succeeded in crushing Desmond and " planting " Munster, the attention of Elizabeth was directed to the O'jNeills and O'Donnells of Ulster. That thrilling historv is well known. It is enough to say that O'Donnell from his youtt was designedly exasperated by ill-treatment and imprisonment ; and that as soon as O'Neill, who had been treated with the greatest apparent kindness by the queen, that he might become a queervs man^ showed that he was still an Irishman and a lover oi his country, he was marked out as a victim, and all the troops and treasures of England were poured out lavishly to crush him and destroy the royal races of tne north. In that gigantic struggle one feature is remarkable — that, whenever the English Government felt obliged to come to terms with the last asserters of Irish independence, the first condition invariably laid down by O'Neill and O'Donnell was the free exercise of the Catholic religion. For we must not lose sight of the well-ascertained fact that the English queen, who at the very commencement of her reign had haa her spiritual supremacy ac- knowledged by the Irish Parliament under pain oi forfeiture, praemunire, and high-treason, insisted all along on the binding obligation of this title ; and though at first she had secretly prom- ised that this law should not be enforced against the laity, she showed by all her measures that its observance was of paramount importance in her eyes. Had the Irish followed the English as a nation, and accepted Protestantism, Elizabeth would scarcely have made war upon them, nor introduced her "plantations." All alon^; the Irish were " traitors " and " rebels " simply because they chose to re- main Catholics, and McGeoghegan iias well remarked that, " not- withstanding the severe laws enacted by Henry VIII., Edward TI., and Elizabeth, down to James I., it is a well-established truth that, during that period, the number of Irishmen who em- braced the * reformed religion ' did not amount to sixty in a country which at the time contained two millions of souls." And McGeoghegan might have added that, of these sixty, not one belonged to the people ; they were all native chieftains who THE SUFFERING OflUROH. 217 Bold their religion in order to hold their estates or receive favorg from the queen. Sir James Ware is bold enough to say that, in all her dealings with the Irish nobility, Elizabeth never mentioned religion, and their right of practising it as they wished never came into the question. She certainly never subjected them to any oath, as was the case in England. Technically speaking, this statement seems correct. Yet it is undeniable that Elizabeth allowed no Catholic bishops or priests to remain in the island ; permitted the [rish to have none but Protestant school-teachers for their chil- dren ; bestowed all their churches on heretical ministers ; closed, one by one, all the buildings which Catholics used for their wor- ship, as soon as their existence became known to the police ; in fact obliged them to practise Protestantism or no religion at all. In the eyes of Elizabeth a Catholic was a "rebel." Whoever was executed for religion during her reign was executed for " re- bellion." The Roman emperors who persecuted the Church dur- the first three centuries, might have advanced the same pretences And indeed the early Christians were said to be tortured and executed for their " violation of the laws of the empire." This point will come more clearly before us in considering the second phase of the policy of Elizabeth, her direct interfer- ence with the Church. II. If the policy of England's queen had been one of treach- ery and deceit toward the nobility, toward the Church it wa^ avowedly one of blood and destruction. Well-intentioned and otherwise well-infortned writers, among" them Mr. Prendergast, seem to consider that the main object of the atrocious proceedings we now proceed to glance at was " greed," and that the English Government merely connived at the covetous desires of adventurers and undertakers, who wished to destroy the Irish and occupy their lands ; for, as Spenser says : " Sure it was a most beautiful and sweete country as any under heaven, being stored throughout with many goodly rivers, re- plenished with all sorts of fish most abundantly ; sprinkled with many very sweete islands, and goodly lakes like little inland seas ; adorned with goodly woods ; also full of very good ports and havens opening upon England as inviting us to come into them." Such, according to those writers, was the policy of England from the first landing of Strongbow on the shores of Erin, and even during the preceding four centuries, when both races were Catholic, and the conversion of the natives to Protestantism could not enter the thoughts of the invaders. This, to a certam extent, is true. Still, it seems very doubtful to us that Elizabeth should have undertaken so many wars in Ireland, which lasted through her whole reign, and on which she employed all the strength and resources of England, merely to 218 THE SUFFERING OHUROH. please a certain number of nobles who wished to find foreign e» tates whereon to settle their niimerons offspring. The chief importance, in her eyes, of the conquest was clearly to establish her spiritual superiority in that part of her domin- ions. She would have left the native nobles at peace, and even conferred on them her choicest favors, had they only consented^ as English subjects, to break with Rome. Home had excommu- nicated her ; rius V. had released her subjects from their alle- giance because of her heresy, and Ireland aid not reject the bull of the Pope. This in her eyes constituted the great and unpar- donable offence of the Irish. And that, for her, the whole ques- tion bore a religious character, will appear more clearly from her conduct toward the Catholic Church throughout her reign. Into this part of our subject the examination of the step taken by Pius Y. naturally enters, and, in examining it, we shall see whether, and how far, the Irish can be called rebels and " trai- tors." In his history of the Reformation, Dr. Heylin says of Eliza- beth : " She knew full well that her legitimation and the Pope's supremacy could not stand together, and she could not possibly maintain the one without discarding the other." This is perfectly true, and furnishes us with the kejr to all her church measures. She pretended to be a Catholic during Mary*s reign ; but it was merely pretence. To persevere in Catholicity required of her the sacrifice of her political aspirations ; for the Church could not admit of her legitimacy, and consequently her title to the •crown of England. Hence, upon the death of Mary Tudor, the Queen of Scots immediately assumed the title of Queen of England ; and although the Pope, then Pius lY., did not immedi- ately declare himself in favor of Marv Stuart, but reserved his decision for a future period, nevertheless, the view of tlie case adopted by the Pontiff could not be mistaken. Elizabeth's legitimacy, or, as Heylin has it, " legitnnation and the Pope's supremacy could not stand together. " No course was left open to her, then, than to reject the pontifical authority, and establish her own in her dominions, as she did not possess faith enough to ,9et her soul above a crown ; and the success of her father, Henry YIII., and of her half-brother, Edward YI., encouraged her in this step. This fully explains her policy. It became a principle with her that, to accept the Pope's supremacy in spirit- uals, was to deny her legitimacy, and consequently to be guilty of treason against her. Tliis made the position of Catholics in Eng- land and Ireland a most trying one. But their moral duty was clear enough, and every other obligation had to give way before that. In the persecution which followed they were certainly martyrs to their duty and their religion. That the question of the succession in England was an oi)en THE SUFFERING CHTDKOH. 219 one, must be admitted by every candid man. Who was the legitimate Queen of England at the death of Mary Tudor ? The Queen of Scots assumed the title, and, as the legitimate ofi- epring of the sister of Henry YIIL, she had the right to it as the nearest direct descendant in the event of Elizabeth's pretensions not being admitted by the nation. The nation at the time was in fact, though not in right, the nobles, who enriched themselves at the expense of the Church, and were therefore deeply interested in the exclusion of Catholic principles. A Parliament composed of the nobles had already acknowledged Elizabeth to the exclusion of the Queen of Scots, and the former decision was reaffirmed as against a " female pretender " supported by a foreign power, namely, France. England, that is to say, the corrupt nobility of the kingdom, by taking upon itself that decision, refused to submit the question to the arbitration of the Pope ; and thus, for the first time, the prin- ciples which had ffuided Christendom for eight hundred years, were discarded, i et, under Mary, the Catholic Church had been declared the Church of the state ; at her death, no change took place ; the mass of the people was still Catholic. It took Elizabeth her whole reign to make the English a thoroughly Protestant people. The great mass of the nation came consequently then, even legally, under the law of mediaeval times, which surrendered the decision of such cases into the hands of the Roman Pontiff. Again, when we reflect that our present object is the consid- eration of who was the legitimate Queen of Ireland, the question becomes clearer and simpler still. The supremacy of Henry VIII. had never been acknowledged in the island, even by those who had subscribed to the decrees of the Parliament of 1541 and 1569. The Irish chieftains had not only never assented, but had always preserved their independence in all, save the suzerainty of the English monarchs, and they were at the time, without exception, Catholics. For them, therefore, the Pope was the expounder of the law of succession to the throne, as, up to that time, he had been generally recognized in Europe. Elizabeth, consequently, as an acknowledged illegitimate child, could not become a legitimate queen without a positive declaration and election by the true re- presentatives of the people, approved by the Pope. Her assump- tion, then, of the supreme government was a mere UEurpation. The theory of governments de facto being obeyed as quasv-lQgiii- mate had not yet been mooted among lawyers and theologians. With respect to the whole question, there can be no doubt as to the conclusion at which any able constitutional jurist of our days would arrive. Could usurped rights such as these invest Elizabeth with authority to declare herself paramount not only in political but also in religious matters ? And, because she was called queen, 220 THE SUFFERING CllUKOU. can it be considered treason for an Irishman to believe in the spiritual supremacy of the Pope ? Yet, unless we look iipon aa martyrs those who died on the rack and the gibbet in Ireland during her reign, because they refused to admit in a woman the title of Yicar of Christ, to such decision must we come. The policy of the Englisli queen toward Catholic bishops, priests, and monks, presents the question in a still stronger light. Its chief feature will now come before us, and will show how aU of these suffered for Christ. "We say all, because not only those are included in the category who held aloof from politics and confined themselves to the exercise of their spiritual functions, but those also who, at the bidding of the Pope, or following the natural promptings of their own inclinations, favored the so- called rebellion of the Geraldine and of the Ulster chieftains. The lives and death of both are now well known, and to both we award the title of heroes and Christian martyrs. As it would be too long to present here a complete picture of those events, and trace the biography of many of those who suf- fered persecution at that time, we content ourselves with two faithful representatives of the classes above mentioned — Richard Creagh, Archbishop of Armagh, and Dr. Hurley, Archbishop of Cashel. The case of the great Oliver Plunkett, who suffered tmder Charles II., and who was the victim of the entire English nation, is beyond our present discussion. The biography of the first of these has been written by several authors, who, agreeing as to the main facts of his history, differ only in their chronology. Dr. Roothe's account is the longest of all, and is intricate, and subject to some confusion with regard to dates ; but a sketch of that life, which appeared in the Karribler of April, 1853, is the most consistent and easily reconciled with the well-known facts of the general history of the period, and therefore we follow it : Richard Creagh, proposed for the See of Armagh by the nuncio, David Wolfe, arrived at Limerick in the August of 1560, at the very beginning of the reign of Elizabeth. Pius IV., who was then Pontiff, had not come to any conclusion respecting the sovereignty of England, and did not openly declare himself in favor of the right of Mary Stuart to the crown. The Pope, not having given any positive injunctions to Archbishop Creagn, with regard to his political conduct, the latter was left free to follow the dictates of his conscience. He came only with a letter, to Shane OTSTeill, who, at the time, was almost independent in Ulster. Kot only did the archbishop not take any part in the political measures of the Ulster chieftain, who was often at war with Elizabeth, but he soon came to a disagreement with him on purely conscientious grounds, and finally excommunicated him. in the midst of the many difficulties which surrounded him, he THE SUFFERING OHUROH. 221 resolved to inculcate peace and loyalty to Elizabeth throughout Ulster, asking of Shane only one favor, that of founding colleges and schools, and thinking tnat, by remaining loyal to the queen, he might obtain her assistance in founding a university. The good prelate little knew the character of the woman with whom he had to deal, imagining probably that the decree of her spirit- ual supremacy would remain a dead letter for the priesthood, as had been falsely promised to the laity. But he was not left long to indulge in these delusions ; for, in the act of celebrating mass in a monastery of his diocese, he was betrayed by some informer, and was arrested by a troop of sol- diers, who conducted him before the government authorities, by whom he was sent to London and confined in the Tower on Jan- uaiy 18, 1565. He was there several times interrogated by Cecil and the Kecorder of London, who could easily ascertain that the prelate was altogether guiltless of political intrigue. He escaped miraculously, passed through Louvain, went to Spain, at the time at peace with England, and, wishing to return to Ireland, wrote, through the Spanish ambassador, to Leicester, then all-powerful with the queen, to protest beforehand that, if the Pope should order him to return to his diocese, he intended only to render to Caesar what is Csesar's and to God what is God's. Even then, after his prison experience of several months, he thought that, if he could persuade Elizabeth that he was truly loyal to her, she would forgive him his Catholicity. Keceiving no answer, he set sail for his country, where he landed in August, 1566, and shortly after wrote to Sir Henry Sidney, then lord-deputy, in the very terms he had used with Leicester, and proposing in addition to use his efforts in inducing Shane dSTeill to conclude peace. What Sidney and his masters in London, Cecil and Leicester, must have thought of the simplicity of this good man, it is impos- sible to say. They condescended to return no answer to his more than straightforward communication, save the short verbal reply concerning O'lSTeill : " We have given forth speach of his extermination by war." , The good prelate, after having so clearly defined his position, thought he might safely follow the dictates of his conscience, and govern his flock in peace ; but he was soon taken prisoner, in April, 1567, by O'Shaughnessy, who received a special letter of thanks from Elizabeth for his services on this occasion. By order of the queen, he was tried in Dublin ; but, so clear was the case before them, that even a Protestant jury could not convict him. The honest Dublin jurors were therefore cast into prison and heavily fined, while the prelate was once again transferred to London, whence he a second time escaped by the connivance of his jailor. 222 THE SUFFERING OnUROH. Retaken in 1567, he was handed over to the queen's officers, under a pledge that hie life would be spared. And, in conse- quence of this pledge alone, was he newer brought to trial, but kept a close })risoner in the Tower for eighteen years, until in 1585 he was, according to all reliable accounts, deliberately poi- soned. This simple narrative certainly proves that in Ehzabeth's eyes the mere sustaining the Pope's spiritual supremacy was trea- son, and every Catholic consequently, because Catholic, a traitor deserving death. True, the Irish prelates, monks, and people, might have imi- tated the majority of the English nobles and people in accept- ing the new dogma. In that case, they would have become truly loyal and dutiful subjects, and been admitted to all the rights of citizenship ; the nobles would have retained possession of their estates, the gentry obtained seats in the Irish parliament ; while the common people, renomicing clanship, absui'd old traditions, the memory of their ancestors, together with their obedience to the See of Kome, would not have been excluded from the bene- fits of education ; would have been allowed to engage in trades and manufactures ; would have been permitted to keep their land, or hold it by long leases ; would have enjoyed the privi- lege of dwelling in walled towns and cities, if they felt no inclina- tion for agriculture. They would have become no doubt " a high- ly-prosperous " nation, as the English and Scotch of our days have become, partakers of all the advantages of the glorious British Constitution, cultivating the fields ot their ancestors, and con- verting their beautiful island into a paradise more enchanting than the rich meadows and wheat-fields of England itself. On the other hand, they would have obtained all those tem- poral advantages at the expense of their faith, which no one had a right to take from them ; in their opinion, and in that of mill- ions of their fellow-Catholics, they would have forfeited their right to heaven, and the Irish have always been unreasonable enough to prefer heaven to earth. They have preferred, as the holy men of old of whom St. Paul speaks, " to be stoned, cut asunder, tempted, put to death by the sword, to wander about in sheep-skins, m goat-skins ; being in want, distressed, afflicted, of whom the world was not worthy ; wandering in deserts, in mountains, in dens, and in the caves of the earth, being approvea by the testimony of faith : " that is to say, having the testimony of their conscience and the approval of God, and considering this better than worldly prosperity and earthly hanpiness. Turning now to those prelates, monks, and priests, who dur- ing Elizabeth's reign took i)art in Irish politics against the queen, can we on that account deny them the title of martvrs to tueir faith ? THE SUFFERING OlIUROH. - 223 Dr. Hurley, Arclibisliop of Casliel, whose memoirs were pub- lished by Miles O'Reilly, may be taken as a type of this class. Suppose, as well grounded, although never proved, the suspicion of the English Government with regard to his political mission. Prelates and priests, generally speaking, were put to death under Elizabeth, or confined to dungeons on mere suspicion, and, as we have seen in the case of the Archbishop of Armagh, even clear proofs of their innocence would not save them. On his father's side. Dr. Hurley was naturally in the interest of James Geraldine, Earl of Desmond ; and, on his mother's, he belonged to the royal family of O'Briens of Munster. Consecrated Archbishop of Cashel at Eome in 1580, under Gregory XHl., during the Geraldine rebellion, he was compelled to use the utmost precaution in entering Ireland. The police of Elizabeth was particularly active at that time in hunting up priests and monks throughout the whole island, but particularly in the south. The archbishop escaped all these dangers, and he avoided the certain denunciation of Walter Baal, the Mayor of Dublin probably, who was then actually persecuting his mother. Dame Eleanor Birmingham ; he fled to the castle of Thomas Fleming, who concealed him in a secret chamber in his house and treated him as a friend. But when everybody thought the danger past, and that it was no longer imprudent for him to mix in the society of the castle, he was suspected by an Anglo-Irishman of the name of Dillon, denounced by him, and finally surrendered by Thomas Fleming, and conveyed to Dublin, where proceedings were set on foot against him by the Irish Council and the queen's ministers in England. His imprisonment was coincident with the suppression of the rising in Munster, and the Earl of Desmond was beginning that frightful outlaw-life which only ended with his miserable death. The object of the archbishop's accusers was to connect him with the designs of Rome and the Munster insurrection ; and the state papers preserved in London have disclosed to us the cor- respondence between Adam Loftus, the Protestant Archbishop of Dublin, on the one side, and Walsingham and Cecil on the other. The only proofs of the Archbishop's having joined the south- ern confederacy were : 1 . Suspicions, as he was consecrated in Rome about the time of the sailing of the expedition under James Fitzmaurice ; 2. The information of a certam Christopher Barn- well, then in jail, who was promised his life if he could furnish proofs enough to convict the prelate. The value of the testimony of an " informer " under such circumstances is proverbial ; yet all Barnwell could allege was, that "he was present at a conver- sation in Rome between Dr. Hurley and Cardinal Comensis, the Pope's secretary, and the result of the whole conversation was, 224 THE SUFFERING OHUROH. "that the doctor did not know nor believe that the Earl of Kildare had joined the rebellion of Fitzmaurice and Desmond^ and he was rebuked by the cardinal for not believino; it." This was considered overwhelming proof against him, in spite of his positive denial. Torture was applied, but the most awful sufferings could not wring from him the acknowledgment of having taken part in the conspiracy. Yet Loftus and Wallop were of opinion that he was a " rebel " and ought to be put to death. The only difficulty which presented itself to the " Lords Justices " of Ireland was, that there was no statute in Ireland against " traitors " who had plotted beyond the seas, and they asked that the archbishop should either be sent to be tried in England, or tried in Ireland by martial law, which would screen them from responsibility. This last favor was granted them ; and the holy archbishop was taken from prison at early dawn, on a Friday, either in May or June, 1584. He was barbarously hanged in a withey (withe), calling on God, and forgiving his torturers with all his neart. Our purpose is not to inveigh against this judicial murder, and, by further details, increase the horror which every honest man must feel at the narrative of such atrocious proceedings. "We will suppose, on the contrary, that the cooperation of tiie Archbishop of Cashel with Fitzmaurice and Desmond, and even with the rope and King of Spain, had been clearly proved — as it is certain that, if not in this case, at least in some others, during the reign of Elizabeth, the bishops or priests accused had really taken part in the attempt of the Irish to free themselves from such tyranny — and insist that, even then, the murdered Catholic ecclesiastics really died for thair religion, and could be called '^ rebels " in no sense whatever. First, the question might arise as to how far the Irish were subject to the English crown. We have seen how, a few years before, Gillapatrick, of Ossory, asserted his right of making war on England, when he felt sufficient provocation. Under Elizabeth the case was still clearer, at least lor Catliolics, after the excom- munication of the queen by Pius Y. As we have seen, the chief title of England to Ireland rested on two pretended naml bulls : another Pope could and did recall the grant, whicn liad been founded on misrepresentation. Up to that time, there had been no real subjection by conquest, outside of the Pale, which formed but an insignificant part of the island. Under such circumstances, it must at least be admitted that a radically and clearly unjust law, imposed by a foreign though perhaps suzerain power, could be justly resisted by force of arms. And such was the case in Ireland. The Queen of England — the Irish Parliament of 1539 had no other authority than that of the queen, and represented no part of the people — had made it THE SUFFERING CHURCH. ^5 rebellion for the Irish to remain faithful to their religion. What could prevent the Irish from resisting such pretension, even at the cost of effusion of blood ? The early Christians, under the Roman Empire, it is true, never rose in arms against the bloody edicts of the Caesars or the Antonines ; but the cases are not parallel. Suppose that Greece or Asia Minor had never succumbed to the Roman power, and had become entirely Christian : no one would refuse to admit their right to offer armed resistance to the extension of the edicts of persecution into their territory On the contrary, it would have been their duty to do so : and every one of their inhabitants, who was taken and executed as a rebel, would have been crowned with the martyr's crown. At this point, indeed, comes in tne consideration of the special motive which animated each belligerent, even when fighting on the right side. We are far from saying that all the Irishmen, particularly the leaders and chieftains who at that time ranged themselves under the banners of the Desmonds or the O'Neills, fought purely for Christ and religion. Many of them, no doubt, engaged in the contest from mere worldly mo- tives, perhaps even lor purposes unworthy of Christians ; and in this case, those who fell in the struggle were in no sense sol- diers of Christ. But how many such are to be found among the bishops, priests, or monks, who perished under Elizabeth ? May it not be said of them that, to a man, they fell for the sake oi religion ? We may even be bold enough to say that the majority of the common Irish people who lost their lives in those wars may be placed in the same category as their spiritual rulers, being in reality the upholders of right and the champions of Catholicity. Let it be remembered that, at the period of which we speak, the only real question involved in the contest was gradually as- suming more and more a religious character. Henrv VIII. and his deputy, St. Leger, had struck a fatal blow at clanship and Irish institutions in general, by bestowing on and compelling the chieftains to accept English titles, and by investing them with new deeds of their lands under feudal tenure. By Elizabeth, the same policy was steadily and successfully pursued, her court being always graced by the presence of young Irish lords, edu- cated under her own eyes, and loaded with all her royal favors. All she asked of them in return was that they should become QueevbS men. The repugnance once felt by Irishmen for that gilded slavery was each day becoming less marked. But, while every thing was seemingly working so well for the attainment of Elizabeth's object at tne commencement of her reign, a new feature suddenly shows itself, and grows rapidly into prominence — the attachment of the Irish to their religion, and the violent 15 226 THE SUFFERING OHUROH. oppositiou to the change always kept foremost in view by the queen, namely the substitution of her spiritual supn^macy for tnat of the Pope. Thus we find the Irish leaders, when proclaiming their griev- ances, either on the eve of war, or the signing of a treaty of peace, always giving their religious convictions the first place on the list. The religious question, then, was becoming more and more the question, and, notwithstanding all her fine assurances that she would not infringe upon the religious predilections of the laity, Elizabeth's great purpose, in Ireland and in England, was to destroy Catholicity, by destroying the priesthood, root and branch. The nobles showed how fully convinced they were of this, when they came to adopt a system of concealment, even of du- plicity, to which Irishmen ought never to have been weak enough to submit. Not only were the practices of their religion confined to places where no Englishman or Protestant could penetrate, but gradually they allowed their houses — those sanctuaries of freedom — to be invaded by the pursuivants of the queen, search- ing for priests or monks " lately arrived from Home." Secret apartments were constructed by skilful architects in noblemen's manors ; recesses were artfully contrived under the roofs, in roomy staircases, or even in basements and cellars. There the unfortunate minister of religion was confined for weeks and months, creeping forth only at night, to breathe the fresh air at the top of the house or in the thick shrubbery of the adjoining park. All the means of evading the law used by the Chris- tians of the first centmies were reproduced and resorted to in Catholic Ireland by chieftains who possessed the " secret promise " of the queen that their religion should not be interfered with, and that her supremacy shoind not be enforced against them. Not thus did the people act : their keen sense of injustice took in at once all the circumstances of the case. It was a religious persecution, nothing else ; and this the nobles also felt in their mmost souls. The people saw the ministers of religion hunted down, seized, dragged to prison, tried, convicted, barbarously executed ; they recognized it in its reality as a sheer attempt to destroy Catholicity, and as such they opposed it by every means in their power. They beheld the monks and friars treated as though they had been wild beasts ; the soldiers falling on them wherever they met them, and putting them to death with every circumstance of cruelty and insult, without trial, without even the identification required for outlaws. Mr. Miles O'Reilly's book, " Irish Martyrs, " is full of cases of this kind. Hence the people frequently ofiered open resistance to the execution of the law ; the soldiers had to di8})erse the mob ; but the real mob was the very troop commanded by English ofliceri. THE SUFFERING CHURCH. 227 When at length the Irish lords no longer dared offer asylum to the outlawed priesthood in tlieir manors and castles, the hut of the peasant lay open to them still. The greater the quantity of blood poured out by the executors of the barbarous laws, the greater the determination of the people to protect the oppressed and save the Lord's anointed. Then opened a scene which had never been witnessed, even imder the most cruel persecutions of the tyrants of old Kome. The whole strength of the English kingdom had been called into play to crush the Irish nobility during the wars of Ulster and Munster ; the whole police of the same kingdom was now put in requisition for the apprehension and destmction of church- men. JS'ay, from this very occupation, the great police system which since that time has flourished in most European states, arose, being invented or at least perfected for the purpose. Then, tor the first time in modern history, numbers of '' spies " and " informers " were paid for the service of English ministers of state. Not only did the cities of England and Ire- land, harbor cities chiefly, swarm with them, but they covered the whole country ; they were to be found everywhere : around the humble dwelling of the peasant and the artisan, in the streets and on the highways, inspecting every stranger who might be a friar or monk in disguise. They spread through the whole European Continent — along the coast and in the interior of France and Belgium, Italy and Spain, in the churches, convents, and colleges, even in the courts of princes, and, as we have seen in the case of Dr. Hurley, in the very halls of the Vatican. The English state papers have disclosed their secret, and the whole history is now before us. To support this army of spies and informers, the soldiers of that other army of England, who were employed either in keeping England under the yoke or in crushing freedom and religion out of Ireland, did not disdain to execute the orders which converted them into policemen and shim. And it may be said, to their credit, that they executed those orders with a ferocious alacrity unequalled in the annals of military life in other countries. If, during the most fearful commotions in France, the army has been employed for a similar purpose, it ra ist be acknowledged that, as far as the troops were concerned, they performed their unwelcome task with reluctance, and soft- ened down, at least, their execution, by considerate manners and respectful demeanor. But these soldiers of Elizabeth showed themselves, from first to last, fuU of ferocity. They generally went far beyond the letter of their orders ; they took an inhuman delight in adding insult to injury, uniting in their persons the double character of preservers of public order and ruffianly executioners of innocent victims. Many and many a record of 228 THE SUFFERING CHURCH. their barbarity is kept to this day. We add a few, only to jus- tify our necessarily severe language : " The Eev. Thaddeus Donald and John Hanly received their martyr's crown on the 10th of August, 1580. They had long labored among the suffering faithful along the southwestern coast of Ireland. When the convent of Bantry was seized by the English troops, these holy men received their wished-for crown of martyrdom. Being conducted to a high rock impending over the sea, they were tied back to back, and precipitated into the waves beneath." " In the convent of Enniscorthy, Thaddeus O'Meran, father- guardian of the convent, Felix O'Hara, and Henrv Layhode, un- der the government of Henry Wallop, Viceroy of Ireland, were taken prisoners by the soldiers, for five days tortured in various ways, and then slain." " Eev. Donatus O'Riedy, of Connaught, and parish priest of Coolrah, when the soldiers of Elizabeth rushed into the village, sought refuge in the church ; but in vain, for he was there hanged near the high altar, and afterward pierced with swords, 12th of June, 1582." " While Drury was lord-d^uty, about 1577, Fergal Ward, a Franciscan, . . . fell into the hands of the soldiery, and, being scourged with great barbarity, was hanged from the branches of a tree with the cincture of his own religious habit." In order to find a parallel to atrocities such as these, w^e must go back to the record of some of the sufibrings of the early mar- tyrs — St. Ignatius of Antioch, for instance, who wrote of the guards appointed to conduct him to Italy : " From Syria as far as Rome, I had to fight with wild beasts, on sea and on land, tied night and day to a pack of ten leopards, that is to say, ten soldiers who kept me, and were the more ferocious the more I tried to be kind to them." Instances of such extreme cruelty are rare, even in the Acts of the early martyrs, but they meet us every moment in the memoirs oi the days of Elizabeth. Both the police-spies and the soldier-police were animated with the rage and fury which must have possessed the soul of the queen herself ; for, after all, the cruelty practised in her reign, and mostly under her orders, was not necessary in order to secure her throne to her, during life ; and, as she could hope for no posterity of her own, it was not the desire of retaining the crown to her cnildren which could excuse so much bloodshed and sufiering. She evidently foUowed the promptings of a cruel heart in tnose atrocious measures wliich constitute the feature of the home policy of her reign. The per- secution which raged incessantly throughout her long career, in Ireland and England, is surely one of the most bloody in the annals of the Catholic Church. CHAPTEK X. nrOLANP PEKPAEED FOR THE RECEPTION OF PR0TB8TANTIHM IRELAND NOT. It cost Elizabeth the greater part of her reign in time, and all the growing resources of a united England in material, to establish her spiritual supremacy in Ireland ; and jet, when, at her death, Mountjoy received orders to conclude peace on honor- able terms with the Ulster chieftains, her darling policy was abandoned, and failure, in fact, confessed. On the 30th of March, 1603, Hugh O'l^eill and Mountjoy met by appointment at Mellifont Abbey, where the terms of peace were exchanged. O'Neill, having declared his submission, was granted amnesty for the past, restored to his rank, notwith- standing his attainder and outlawry, and reinstated in his dignity of Earl of Tyrone. Himself and his people were to enjoy the " full and free exercise of their religion ; " new letters-patent were issued restoring to him and other northern chieftains almost the whole of the lands occupied by their respective clans. O'Neill, on his part, was to renounce forever his title of " O'Neill, " and allow English law. to prevail in his territoiy. How this last condition could agree with the full and free exercise of the Catholic religion, the treaty did not explain ; but it is evident that the new acts of Parliament respecting religion were not to be included in the English law admitted by the Ulster chiefs. Meanwhile, the descendants of Strongbow's companions had been completely subdued in the south, Munster having been devastated, and the Geraldines utterly destroyed. Yet, even there, Protestantism was not acknowledged by such of the inhab itants as were left. It may be well to compare here the different results which attended the declaration of the queen's supremacy in England and Ireland : At the commencement of Elizabeth's reign, England was still, outwardly at least, as Catholic as Ireland. Henry vTII. had 230 IRELAND UNPIiEPAEED FOR PROTESTANTISM. only aimed at starting a schism ; the Protestantism established under Edward had been completely swept away during Marj'a short reign. Could Elizabeth only have hoped to be acknowl- edged queen by the Pope, there can be little doiibt that, even for political motives, she would have refrained from disturbing the peace of the country for the sake of introducing heresy. Religion was nothing to ner — the crown every thing. It was not so easy a matter for her to establish neresy as for Henry to introduce schism. All the bishops of Henry's reign, with the exception of Fisher, had renounced their allegiance to Rome, in order to please the sovereign ; all the bishops of Mary's nomination remained faithful to Rome ; and so difficult was it to find somebody who should consecrate the new prelates created by Elizabeth, that Catholic writers have, we believe, shown be- yond question that no one of the intruding prelates was really consecrated. Nevertheless, at the end of Elizabeth's reign, there is no doubt that the English people, with a few individual exceptions, were Protestant, and Protestants they have ever since remained. In Dr. Madden's " History of the Penal Laws," we read : " Father Campian was betrayed by one of Walsingham's spies, George Eliot, and found secreted in the house of Mr. Yates, of Lyford, in Berkshire, along with two other priests, Messrs. Ford and Collington. Eliot and his officers made a show of their prisoners to the multitude, and the sight of the priests in the nands of the constables was a matter oi mockery to the unwise multitude. This was a frequent occurrence in conveying captured priests from one jail to another, or from London to Oxford, or vioe versa^ and it would seem, instead of finding sympathy from the populace, they met with contumely, insult, and sometimes even brutal violence. This is singular, and not easily accounted for ; of the fact, there can be no doubt. " Dr. Madden probably considered that, within a few years after the change of religion, the English people ought to have shown themselves as firm Catholics as did the Irish. But the explanation of the contumely and violence is easy : it was an English and not an Irish populace. The first had altogether forgotten the faith of their childhood, the second could not be brought to forsake it. The difficulty, in accounting for the dif ference between them, is in getting at its true cause ; and to us it seems that one of the chief causes was the difibrence of race. The English upper classes, as a whole, were utterly indif- ferent to religion ; the one thing which affected them, soul and body, was their temporal interests, and, to judge by their ready acquiescence in all the changes set forth at the commencement of the last chapter, they would as soon have turned Mussulmen as Calvinists, Tne lower classes, at first merely passive, became IRELAND UNPREPARED FOR PRO TEST ANTISM. 231 afterward possessed by a genuine fanaticism for the new creed established by the Thirty-nine Articles ; so that, from that period until quite recently — and the spirit still lives — an English mob was always ready to demolish Catholic chapels, and establish- ments of any Kind, wherever the piety of a few had succeeded in erecting sucn, however quietly. It is evident from the facts mentioned that, prior even to that extraordinary religious revolution called the Reformation, the Catholic faith did not possess a firm hold upon the English mind and heart, whatever may have been the case in previous ages. It is clear that even "the people " in England were not ready to submit to any sacrifice for the sake of their religion. There is small doubt that Elizabeth foresaw this, and expect- ed but little opposition on the part of the English nobility and people to the changes she purposed eflfecting. Had she imagined that the nation would have been ready to submit to any sacrifice rather than surrender their religion, she would at least have been more cautious in the promulgation of her measures, even though she had determined to sever her kingdom from Home. She might have rested content with the schism introduced by hei father, and this indeed would have sufficed for the carrying out of her political schemes. But she knew her countrymen too well to accredit them with a religious devotion which, if they ever possessed, had long ago died out. She saw that England was ripe for heresy^ and the result confirmed her worldly sagacity. How came it, then, that the change which was absolutely impossible in Ireland, was so easil}^ effected in the other country ? Or, to generalize the question : How is it that, to speak generally, the nations of Northern Europe embraced Protestantism so readily, while those of Southern Europe refused to receive it, or were only slightly afi'ected by it ? Ranke has remarked that, when, after the first outbreak in the North, the movement had reached a certain point in time and space, it stopped, and, instead of advancing further, appeared to recede, or at least stood still. Many Jrrotestant writers have attempted a weak and flippant solution of the question, and we are continually told of the su- perior enlightenment of the northern races, of their attachment to liberty, of their higher civilization, and other very fine and very easily-quoted things of the same kind, which, at the present moment, are admitted as truths by many, and esteemed as unanswerable explanations of the phenomenon. According to this opinion, therefore, the southern races were more ignorant, less civilized, more readily duped by priestcraft ana kin^ craft ; above all, readier'to bow to despotism, and indifierent to freedom. Catholic writers, Balmcz principally, have often given a sati* 232 IRELAND DNPliEPARED FOR PROTESTANTISM. factory answer to tlie question ; yet, the replies which they have made to the various sophisms touched upon, have seemingly produced no effect on the modern masses, who continue steadmst in their belief of what has been so often refuted. It would be presumptuous and probably quite useless, on our part, to enter into a lengthened discussion of the question. But, when confined to England, it is a kind of test to be applied to all those subjects of civilization and liberty, and is so clear and true that it cannot leave the least room for doubt or hesitation : moreover, as it necessarily enters into the inquiry which forms the heading of this chapter, it cannot be entirely laid aside. All that we purpose doing is, discovering why the northern nations fell a prey more readily to the disorganizing doctrines of Protestantism than the southern. The general JtMeness of the human mmd^ which is so well brought out by the great Spanish writer, does not strike us as a sufficient cause ; for the mind of southern peoples is certainly not less fickle, on many points at least, than that of other races. ' In our comparison between the North and the South, we class the Irish with the latter, although, geographically, they be- long to the former, and, indeed, constitute the only northern na- tion which remained faithful to the Church. First, let us state the broad facts for which we wish to assign some satisfactory reasons. After the social convulsions which attended the change of re- ligion had subsided somewhat, it was found that Protestantism had invaded the three Scandinavian kingdoms, to the almost total exclusion of Catholicism, to such an extent, indeed, that, until quite recently, it was death or transportation for any per- son therein to return to the bosom of the mother Church. The same statement is true, to almost the same extent, of Northern Germany, where open persecution, or rather war, raged until the establishment of "religious peace" toward 1608. Saxony, whence the heresy sprang, was its centre and stronghold in Germany ; and the Saxons were Scandinavians, having crossed over from the southern borders of the Baltic, where, for a long time, they dwelt in constant intercourse with the Danes, Nor- wegians, and Swedes. Saxon and Norman England was found to be, at the end of the sixteenth century, almost entirely Protestant, and the perse- cution of the comparatively few Catholics who survived flour- ished there in full vigor. A singular phenomenon presented itself in the Low Coun- tries. That portion of them subsequently known as Holland, which was first invaded and peo])led by the Northmen of Wal- cheren, became almost entirely Protestant, while Belgium, which was originally Celtic, remained Catiiolic. iKEl.i^^D UNPREPAKED FOR PROTESTANTISM. 233 Bavaria, Austria, and Switzerland, were divided between Protestantism and Catholicity, and the division exists to this day. In France a section only of the nobility, which was originally Norman as well as Frank, and under feudalism had become thoroughly permeated by the northern spirit, was found to have embraced the new doctrines, which were repudiated by the peo- ple of Celtic origin. It is true that, later on, the Cevennes moun- taineers received Protestantism from the old Waldenses ; but we are presenting a broad sketch, and do not deny that several minor lineaments may not fall in with the general picture. In Italy only literary men, in Spain a few rigorist prelates and monks, showed any inclination toward the " reform " party. On the whole, then, it is safe to conclude that the Scandina- vian mind was congenial to Protestantism. We say the Scandinavian mind, because the Scandinavian race extended, not only through Scandinavia proper, but also through Northern Germany, along the Baltic Sea and Germar Ocean ; through Holland by Walcheren ; through a portion of Central and Southern Germany, as far down as Switzerland, which was invaded by Saxons at the time of Charlemagne, and after him, until Otho the Great gave them their final check, and subdued them more thoroughly than the great Charles had sue ceeded in doing. Common opinion traces the Scandinavians and Germans back to the same race. In the generic sense, this is true ; and all the Indo-Germanic nations may have originally belonged to the same parent stock ; but, specifically, difierences of so striking a nature present themselves in that immense branch of the hnman family, that the existence of sub-races of a definite character, presuppos- ing difierent and sometimes opposite tendencies, must be ad- mitted. Who can imagine that the Germans proper are identical with the Hindoos, although by language they, in common wit> the greater part of European nations, may belong to the same parent Btock ? In like manner, the Germanic tribes, although pcasess- ing many things in common with the Scandinavian race, differ from it in various respects. The best ethnographic writers admit that the Scandinavian race, which they, in our opinion improperly, name Gothic, dif fered greatly in its language from the Teutonic. The language of the first, retained in its purity in Iceland to this day, soon be- came mixed up with German proper in Denmark, Sweden, and even in Norway to a great extent. The languages difiered there- fore originally, as did, consequently, the races. Even at this verv moment an effort is being made by Scandinavians to establish the difference be^ween themselves and the Teutons with respe<;t to language and nationality. 234 IRELAND UNrREPARED FOR PROTESTANTISM. flow far the religion of botli was identical is a diflScult quea- tion. Wc believe it very probable that the worship of Thor, Odin, and Fi'igga, was purely Scandinavian, and penetrated Ger- many, as far as Switzerland, with the Saxons. Hertha, accord- ing to Tacitus, was the supreme goddess of the Germans. She had no place in Scandinavian mythology. Ipsambul, so re- nowned among the Teutons, was quite unknown in Scandinavia. The Germans, in common with the Celts, considered the build- ing of temples unworthy the Deity ; whereas, the Scandinavian tempi OS, chiefly the monstrous one of Upsala, are well known. Many other such facts might be brought out to show the difier- enco of their religions. The Germans showed themselves from the beginning attached to a country life ; and we know how the Frankish Merovingian kings loved to dwell in the country. The Scandinavians only cared for the sea, and manifested by their skill in navigation how they differed from the Germans, who were less inclined even than the Celts for large naval expeditions. All this is merely given as strong conjecture, not as proof positive amounting to demonstration, of the real difference be- tween the two races — the Germanic and Scandinavian. But how was Protestantism congenial to the Scandinavian mind? This second question is of still greater importance tlian .the first. In the earlier portion of the book, we passed in review the character of the tribes, once clustered around the Baltic, with the exception of the Finns, who dwelt along the eastern coast ; and, grounding our opinion on unquestionable authorities, we found that character to consist mainly of cruelty, boldness, ra- pacity, system, and a spirit of enterprise in trade and navigation. When they embraced Christianity, it undoubtedly modified their character to a great extent, and many holy people lived among them, some of whom the Church has nmnbered among the saints. But the conquest of these ferocious pirates was un- doubtedly the greatest triumph ever achieved by tne holy Spouse of Christ. Yet, even after becoming Christian, they preserved for a lone time — we speak not now of the present day — deep features of their fonner character, among others the old spirit of rapacity, and that systematic boldness which, when occasion demands, is ever ready to intrench upon the rights of others. They soon displayed, also, a general tendency to subject spiritual matters to individual reason, and the great among them to interfere and meddle with religious affairs. The Dukes of Normandy, the Kings of England, and the Saxon Emperors of Germany, seldom ceased disputing the rights of spiritual authority ; and the Icjirned ftraong them were forward to question the supremacy of Rome IRELAND UNPREPARED FOR PROTESTANTISM. 28i m many things, and to argue against what other people, more religiously inclined, would have admitted without controversy. That sjyi/rit of speculation^ to which the Irish Four Masters part- ly ascribed the introduction of Protestantism into England, wa? rampant in the schools of tJiese northern nations, when a superior civilization gave rise to the erection of universities and colleges in their midst. But over and above that systematic philosophical spirit, their character was deeply imbued with a material rapacity which, after all, has always constituted the great vice of those northern tribes. It is unnecessary to remind the reader that, in England chiefly. Protestantism was particularly grateful to the avaricious longings of the courtiers of Henry VIII. and Elizabeth. The confiscation of ecclesiastical property and its distribution among the great of the nation was the chief incentive which moved them to adopt the convenient doctrines of the new order, and subvert the old religion of the country. This rapacious spirit showed itself also in Germany, though not so conspicuously as in England ; and certainly, in both countries, the universal confis- cation of the estates or religious houses, and the robbery of the plate and jewels of the churches, are prominent features in the history of the great Reformation. William Cobbett has written eloquently on this subject, and marshalled an immense array of facts so difficult of denial that the defenders of Protestantism were compelled to resort to the petty subterfuge of retorting that the great English radical was a mere partisan, who never spoke sincerely, but always sup- ported the theory he happened to take up by exaggerated and distorted facts, which no one was bound to admit on his respon- sibility. Such was their reply ; but the awkward facts remained and remain still unchallenged. But, since Cobbett, men who could not be accused of par- tisanship and exaggeration have published authentic accounts of the unbounded rapacity of the Reformers of the sixteenth cen- tury, in England particularly, which all impartial men are bound to respect, and not attribute to any unworthy motive, since they are supported even by Protestant authorities. We quote a few, taken from the " History of the Penal Laws " by Dr. R. R. Madden : " The Earl of "Warwick, afterward Duke of N'orthumber- land, was the first of the aristocracy in England who inveighed publicly against the superfluity of episcopal habits, the expense of vestments and surplices, and ended in denouncing altars and the ' mummery ' of crucifixes, pictures and images in churches. " The earl had an eye to the Church plate, and the j^recioui jewels that omamentea the tabernacles and ciboriums. Manj 336 IRELAND UNPREPARED FOR PROTESTANTISM. coartiers soon were moved by a similar zeal for religion — a lust for the gold, silver, and jewels of the churches. In a short time, not only the property of churches, but the possessicn oi rich bishopries and sees, were shared among the favorites of Cranmer and the protector (Somerset) : as were those of the See of Lincoln, ' with all its manors, save one ; ' the Bishopric of Durham, which was allotted to Dudley, Duke of Northnm oer- land ; of Bath and Wells, eighteen or twenty of whose manors, in Somerset, were made a present of to the protector, with a view of protecting the remainder." A number of similar details are to be found in the pages of the 8an:e author. Dr. Heylin, a Protestant, says : " That the consideration of profit did advance this work — of the Reformation — as much as any other, if .perchance not more^ may be collected from an inquiry made two years after, in which (inquiry) it was to be interrogated : ' What jewels of gold, or silver crosses, candle- sticks, censers, chalices, copes, and other vestments, were then re- maining in any of the cathedral or parochial churches, or, other- wise, had been embezzled or taken away ? \ . . The leaving," adds Dr. Heylin, " of one chalice to every church, with a cloth or covering .for the communion-table, being thought sufficient. The taking down of altars by command, was followed by the substitution of a board, called the Lord's Board, and subsequent- ly of a table, by the determination of Bishop Ridley. ^ " Many private persons' parlors were hung with altar-cloths, their tables and beds covered with copes, instead of carpets and coverlets, and many made carousing cups of the sacred chalices, as once Belshazzar celebrated his drunken feasts in the sanctified vessels of the Temple. It was a sorry house, not worth the naming, which had not something of this furniture in it, though it were only a fair large cushion made of a cope or altar-cloth, to adorn their windows, and to make their chairs appear to have somewhat in them of a chair of state." Could such scenes as these have been surpassed by what took place during the ninth, tenth, and eleventh centuries, in the rude towns of Norway and Denmark, at the return of a powerful sea- kong, with his large fleet, from a piratical excursion into South- em Europe, when the spoils of many a Christian church and wealthy nouse went to adorn the savage dwellings or those barbarians ? Adam of Bremen relates how he saw, with his own eyes, the rich products of European art and industry accumulated in the palace of the King of Denmark, and in the loathsome dwellings of the nobility, or exposed for sale in the public markets of the city. But rapacity formed only one characteristic of the Scandint- vians ; the mind of the people, moreover, showed itself notwith- IRELAND UNPREPARED FOR PROTEST ANTISM. 237 «taii(Jiug the intricate and monstrous mythology which it had created when pagan, of a rationalistic and anti-supernatural tendency. Their mind was naturally systematic and reasoning ; it discussed spiritual matters in all their material aspects, and thus gave rise to those speculations which soon became the source of heresy. Hence, in England and the north of Germany, the power of Home was always called in question ; and as the English mind was altogether Scandinavian, while that of the Germans was mixed with more of a southern disposition, the chief trouble in Germany, between the empire and the Roman Church, lay in the question of investitures, which combined a material and spiritual aspect, whereas, in England, the quarry was almost invariably of a pecuniary nature, as, for instance Peter's pence. Even in the most Catholic times, the English made a bitter grievance of the levying of Peter's pence among them, and of the giving of English benefices to prelates of other nations, which also resolved itself into a question of revenue or money. And so characteristic was the grievance of the whole nation that it was restricted to no class, churchmen and monks being as loud in their denunciations of Rome as the king and the nobles; and thus the theological questions of the papal supremacy and of ecclesiastical authority generally took with them quite a mate- rial form. The diatribes of the Benedictine monk Matthew Paris are well known, and their worldly spirit can only excite in us pity that they should have been the chief cause of the destruction of his own order in England and Ireland, and of the total spoli- ation of the religious houses in whose behalf he imagined that he wrote. K the harm done by those contemptible wranglings about Peter's pence and benefices had been confined to depriving the pontifical exchequer of a revenue which was cheerfully granted by other nations to aid the Father of the Faithful, the result was to be regretted ; but, after all, Christendom would not have suf- fered in a much more sensible quarter. But in England the question passed immediately to the election of bishops and abbots, and thus the opposition to Rome gradually assumed much vaster proportions. The nation, also, in the main, sided with the kings against the popes. Every burgher of London, York, or Canterbury, got it into his head that Rome had formed deep designs of spohation against his private property, and purposed diving deep into his private purse. In such a state of public opinion, respect for 6piritual authority could not fail to diminish and finally die out altogether ; and, when the voice of the Pontifi" was heard on im- portant subjects in which the best interests of the nation were involved, even the clearest proof that Rome was right, and d©- B38 IRELAND UNPREPARED FOR PROTESTANTISM. sired only the good of the people, could not entij-elj dispel the suspicious fears and distrusts wliich must cv(ir hirk in the mind of the miser against those he imagines wish to rob him. It is not possible to enter here into ftirther details, but, if the reader wish for stronger proofs of the " questioning spirit," " rea- soning mistrust," and " systematic doggedness," natural to the Scandinavian mind, he has only to reflect on what took place in England at the time of the Reformation. Every question re- specting the soul, every supernatural aspiration of the Christian, every emotion of a living conscience, appears to be altogether ab- sent from all those English nobles, prelates, theologians, learned university men, even simple priests and monks often, save a very few who, with the noble Thomas More, thought that " twenty years of an easy life could not without folly be compared with an eternity of bliss." The reasoning faculty of the mind, nourished on " speculations," had replaced faith, and, every thing of the supernatural order being obliterated, nothing was left but world- ly wisdom and material aspirations for temporal well-being. By reviewing other characteristics of the Scandinavian race, we might arrive at the same conclusion ; but our space forbids us to go into them. After what has been said, however, it is easy to see how well prepared was the English nation for accept ing the change of religion almost without a murmur. There was, indeed, some expression of indignation on the part of the people at the beginning of the reign of Edward YI. when the desecration of the churches began. " Various commo- tions," says Dr. Madden, ** took place in consequence of the re- viling of the sacrament, the castmg it out of the churches in some places, the tearing down of altars and images ; in one of which tumults, one of tne authorities was stabbed, in the act of demolishing some objects of veneration in a church. " The whole kingdom, in short, was in commotion, but par- ticularly Devonshire and Xorfolk. In the former county, the in- surgents besieged Devon ; a noble lord was sent against them, ana, being reenforced by the Walloons — a set of German mer- cenaries brought over to enable the government to carry out their plans — his lordship defeated these insurgents, and many were executed by martial law." But this remnant of affection for the religion of their fathers seems to have soon died out, since at the death of Edward the people appeared to have become thoroughly converted to the new doctrines. At the very coronation of Mary, a Catholic clergyman having prayed for the dead and denounced the perse- cutions of the previous reign, a tumult took place ; the preacher was insulted, and compelled to leave the pulpit. What wonder, then, that, at the death of Elizabeth, England was thoroughly Protestant ? IRELAND 0NPIiEPAKED FOE • PROTESTANTISM. ^39 We are very far from ignoring the noble examples of attacli< mcnt to their religion displayed by Christian heroes of every class in England during those disastrous days. The touchino^ biogra- pliies of the English martyrs, told in the simple pages oi Bishop Challoner, cannot be read without admiration. The feeling pro- duced on the Catholic reader is precisely that arising from a perusal of the Acts of the Christian martyrs under the Roman emperors, which have so often strengthened our faith and drawn tears of sorrow from our eyes. At this moment, particularly when so many details, hitherto hidden, of the lives oi Catholics, religious, secular priests, laymen, women, during those times, are corning to light in manuscripts religiously preserved by private families, and at last being published for the edification of all, the story is moving as well as inspiring of the heroism displayed by them, not only on the public scafwld, but in obscure and loath- some jails, in retreats and painful seclusion, continuing during long years of an obscure life, and ending only in a more obscure death, when the victim of persecution was fortunate enough to escape capture. There is no doubt that, when the whole story of the hunted Catholics in England shall be known, as moving a narrative of their virtues will be written as can be furnished by the ecclesiastical annals of any people. Nevertheless, what has been said of the nation, as a nation, remains a sad fact which cannot be doubted. Those noble ex- ceptions only prove that the promptings of race are not supreme, and that God's grace can exalt human nature from whatever level. How different were the nations of the Latin and Celtic stock ! With them the attachment to the religion of their fathers was not the exception, but the rule, and it is only necessary to bear in mind what the Abbe McGeoghe^an has said — that, at the death of Elizabeth, scarcely sixty irishmen, take them all in all, had professed the new doctrines — in order at once to comprehend the steady tendency toward the path of duty imparted by true nobility of blood, Nor did the Irish stand alone in this stead- fastness ; it is needless to call to mind how the people generally throughout France, and particularly in Paris, acted at the time wlien the Huguenot noblemen would have rooted in the soil the errors planted there before, and already bearing fruit in Ger- many, Switzerland, and England. It looks as though we had lost sight of the interesting ques- tion proposed at the outset, and of which so far not a word has been said — whether Protestantism spread so readily in the North, l)Gcause it found that region peopled with races better disposed for civilization, if not taking the lead already in that respect, and men ardent for freedom and impatient of servitude of any kind. We stated that the solution of this question, particularly in the 240 IKELAiNl) UNPREPARED FOR PROTESTANTISM. case of England, is clear, and consequently not to be discarded on account of previous solutions of the same question, which have scarcely met with any attention from the adverse side. One thing certainly undeniable is, that neither in its origin, nor even in its consequences, can Protestantism be esteemed as in any sense the promoter of freedom and civilization in the British islands. It has always struck us as strange that sensible men, ac- quainted with history, could maintain that an aspiration after freedom and a higher civilization gave to Germany and England a leaning toward Protestantism. We can understand how the state of Europe in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries may give a coloring to the statement of a partisan writer, desirous oi explaining in these modem times the greater amount of freedom ■ really enjoyed in England, and the advanced material prosperity visible generally among Protestant Northern nations. So mucn we can understand. But, to make Protestantism the origin of freedom and civilization, and ascribe to it what happened subse- quent to its spread indeed, but what really resulted from very different causes, passes our comprehension. As far as freedom goes, the most superficial reader must know that there was not a particle of it left in England when Protestantism commenced ; and it were easy to show that there was less of it in Germany than in Italy, Spain, and even France. Who can mention English freedom in the same breath with Henry and Elizabeth Tudor ? How could the actions of those two members of the family advance it in the least degree, and was it not precisely the slamsh disposition of the English people at the time which prepared them so admirably for the reception of German heresy ? The people were treated like a set of slaves, and stood for nothing in the designs of those great political rulers. In the very highest of the aristocracy, tnere fingered not a spark of the old brave spirit which wrung Magna Vharta from the heart of a weak sovereign. The king or queen could fearlessly trample on every privilege of the nobility, send the proudest lords of the nation to the block, almost without trial, and confiscate to the swelling of the royal purse the immense estates of the first English families. There is no need of proofs for this. Tlie proofs are the records, the headings, as it were, of the history of the times which one may read as he runs ; it con- stitutes the very essence of their history ; and events of the six- teenth century in England scarcely present us with any thine else. This state of things was the natural result of the general anarchy which prevailed during the " Wars of the Roses. A more interesting and intricate question still might be raised here : how to explain the appearance of such a phenome- non in so proud a nation ? Had the Catholic religion, which, up IRELAND ITNPPwEPARED FOR PROTESTANTISM. 241 to that tim»% had heen the only religion of the country, any thine to do with the matter ? These questions might furnish material for a very animated discussion. But, with regard to the fact itself — the slavish disposition of Englishmen at that time under Iviiigly and queenly rule — ^no doubt can possibly exist. To show that Catholicity had nothing to do with the intro- duction of such a despotism, would give rise to a dissertation too long for us to enter upon. We merely offer a few suggestions, which, we think, will prove sufficient and satisfactory for our purpose to every candid reader: I. Catholic theology had certainly never brought about such a state of affairs. In all Catholic schools of the day, in England as on the Continent, St. Thomas was the great authority, and his work, " De Regvrmne PrvnGipum^'^ was in the hands of all Catholic students. Luther was the first to reject St. Thomas. In this book, all were taught that, if, among the various kinds of government, " that of a king is best," in the opinion of the author, " that of a tyrant is the worst." And a tyrant he de- fines as " any ruler who despises the common good, and seeks his private advantage." In that book of the great doctor, all may read : " The farther the government recedes from the common weal, the more unjust is it. It recedes farther from the common weal in an oligarchy, in which the welfare of a few is sought, than in a democracy, whose object is the good of the many. . . . But farther still does it recede from the common weal in a tyrannous government, by which the good of one alone is sought." The general consequence which St. Thomas draws from this doctrine is, that, " if a ruler governs a multitude of freemen for the common good of the multitude, the government will be good andjust as becomes freemen." Such was the political doctrine taught in the Catholic univer- sities of Europe until the sixteenth century ; but, in all proba- bihty, this golden work, '^ De Regimine Princijp^im^'' was no longer the text-book in the English schools of the time of Henry Tudor. But, when, entering into details, the holy and learned author ffoes on to contrast the contrary effects produced by freedom and aespotism on a nation, how could Henry willingly permit the circulation of such words as the following % " It is natural that men brought under terror " (a tyrannical government) " should degenerate into beings of a slavisn disposi- tion, and become timid and incapable of any manly and daring enterprise — an assertion which is proved by the conduct of coun- tries which have been long subjected to a despotic government. Solomon says : * When the imperious are in power, men liid« away ' in order to escape the cruel tv of tvrants, nor is it astonish- 16 ^2 IRELAND UNPREPARED FOR PROTESTANTISM. ing ; for a man governing without law, and according to liis own caprice, differs in nothing from a beast of prey. Hence, Solomon designates an impious ruler as ' a roaring lion and a ravenous bear.' " Because, therefore, the government of one is to be preferred — ^which is the best — and because this government is liable to degenerate into tyranny — ^which has been proved to be the worst — ^nence, the most diligent care is to be taken so to regulate the establishment of a king over the people, that he may not fall into tyranny." Finally, St. Thomas epitomizes the doctrines of this whole book in his " Summa^^^ as follows : " A tyrannical government is unjust, being administered, not for the common good, but for the private good of the ruler ; therefore, its overthrow is not sedi- tion, unless when the subversion of tyranny is so inordinately Eursued that the multitude suffers more from its overthrow than 'om the existence of the government." The subject might be illustrated by any quantity of extracts from the writings of other great theologians of the middle ages ; but what we have said is enough for our purpose. It is manifest that Catholic doctrine cannot have brought about the state of England under the Tudors. II. Another, and a very important suggestion, is the folio w- img : it certainly was not the Cfatholic hierarchy, least of all the pontifical power, which produced it. Whatever may have been written derogatory to the institu tions existing in Europe during the mediaeval period, several great facts, most favorable to the Catholic religion, have been commonly admitted by Protestant writers, from which we select two. The first of these was originally stated by M. Guizot, in his " Civilization in Europe," namely, that the kingdom of France was created by Christian bishops. Since that first admis- sion, other non-Catholic writers have gone further, and have felt compelled to admit that, as a general rule, the modern European nations have all been created, nurtured, fostered, by Catholic bishops, and that the first free Parliaments of those nations were, in fact, " councils of tlie Church," either of a purely cleri- cal character and altogether free from the intermixture of lay elements, such as the Councils of Toledo, in Spain, or acting in concert with the representatives of the various classes in the na- tions. The clergy, as all readers know, the clerks^ were the first to take the lead in civil affairs, being more enlightened than the other classes, and holding in their body all the education of the earlier times. It is unnecessary to add to this fact that, among a really Christian people, the voice of religion is listened to be- fore all others. And is it not to-dav a well-ascertained fac^ IRELAXD UNPREPARED FOR PROTESTANTISM. 243 that, in the main, the influence exerted by the clergy on the for- mation of modem European kingdoms was in favor of a well- regulated freedom based on the first law — the law of God — that primal source of true liberty and civilization ? To the clergy, certainly, and to the monks, is chiefly due the abolition of sla- very ; and the bishops took a very active and prominent part in the movements of the communes, to which the Third Estate owes its birth. A malignant ingenuity has been displayed by many writers, in ransacking the pages of history, in order to fasten on certain prelates of the Church charges of despotism and oppression. feut, apart from the fact that the narratives so carefullv compiled have, in many cases, turned out to be perversions of the truth, and granting even that all these allegations are impartial and true, the general tenor and tendency of the history of those times is now admitted to be ample refutation of such accusations, and impartial writers confess that the ecclesiastical influence, during those ages, was clearly set against the oppression of the people, and finally resulted in the formation of those represent- ative and moderate governments which are the boast of the present age ; and that the principles enunciated by the great schoolmen, led by Thomas Aquinas, founded the order of society on justice, religion, and right. The more historv is studied honestly, investigated closely, and viewed impartially, the more plainly does the great fact shine forth that the Catholic hierarchy, m the various European nations, constituted the vanguard of true freedom and order. "With regard to the papal power, it is a curious instance of the reversal of human judgment, and a very significant fact, that those very Popes who, a hundred years ago, were looked upon, even by Catholic writers, as the embodiment of super- cilious arrogance and sacrilegious presumption, namely, Gregory Yn., Innocent III., and Boniface VIII., are now aclmowleaged to have been the greatest bene&ctors to Europe in their time, and true models of supreme Christian bishops. But, if these two facts be admitted, the question recurs. How is it that the governments of several kingdoms, and that of England in particular, had, during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, merged into complete and unalloyed despotism ? As our present interest in the question is restricted to England, we confine ourselves to that country, and proceed to treat of it in a few words. . Under the Tudors, the government grew to be altogether irresponsible, personal, and despotic, chiefly because under pre- vious reigns, and constantly since the establishment of the 1> or- man line of kings, the authority of Kome, which formed the only great counterpoise to kingly power at the time, had been gradn 24A: IRELAND UNPREPARED FOR PROTESTANTISM. ally undermined, while the bishops, being deprived of the aid of the supreme Pontiff, had become mere tools in the hands of the monarchs. The particular shape which the opposition to Kome took in England, compared with a similar opposition in Germany, has been already touched upon ; it was found to be involved chiefly in the question of tribute-money and benefices, the latter being also reduced to a money difficulty. It was seen that the monks and the people sided generally with the kings, and gradually took a dislike and mistrust to every thing coming from Eome ; the authority of the monarch, though not precisely strengthened thereby, was left without the control of a superior tribunal to direct him, and consequently the kings, if they chose, were left to follow the impulse of their own caprice, which, according to St. Thomas, forms the characteristic of tyranny. Other causes, doubtless, contributed to pave the way for and consolidate the despotism of the Kings of England. Among such causes may be mentioned the extraordinary successes which attended the English arms, led by their warrior kings in France, and the frightful convulsions subsequently arising from the Wars of the Roses ; but we doubt not the one mentioned above was the chief, and, of itself, would in the long-run have brought about the same result. Protestantism, therefore, was neither the growth of freedom in England, nor did it plant freedom there at its introduction, inasmuch as the royal power became more absolute than ever by its predominance, and by the first principle which it laid down, that the king was supreme in £)hurch as well as in state. Can its origin in England, then, be accounted for by the existence of a higher civilization, anterior to it in point of time, out of which it grew, or, at least, by a true aspiration toward such. This question is as easy of solution as the first : There can be no doubt that the nations which remained either entirely or in the main faithful to the Church, in point of learning and civilization, ranked far beyond the Northern nations, where her- esy so early found a permanent footing, and that in the South also the tendencies toward a higher civilization were at that time of a most marked and extraordinary character, so much so that the reign of Leo X. has become a household phrase to express the penection of culture. England, as a nation, was at that period only just beginning to emerge from barbarism, and in fact was the last of the European nations to adopt civilized customs and manners in the political, civil, and social relations of life. In politics she was, until that epoch, plunged in frightfal dynastic revolutions, and as yet had not learned the first prin- maples of good government. In civil affairs, her coda was th'' Jl^ELAND UNPREPARED FOR PROTESTANllSM. 246 most bg,rbaroiis, lier feudal customs the most revolting, her whole history the most appalling of all Christendom. In social habits, she had scarcely been able to retain a few precious fragments of good old Catholic times ; and the fearful scenes through which the nation had passed, which, according to J. J. Rousseau, for once expressing the truth, render the reading of that period of her history almost impossible to a humane man, had sunk her almost completely in degradation. The reader will understand that the England here spoken of is the England of three centuries ago, and not of to-day. K by civilization is understood learning and the fine arts, what, in general phrase, is expressed bv culture and refinement, how could England compare at the time with Italy, Flanders, Spain, France, all Latin or Celtic nations ? How can it be pre- tended that she was better fitted for the reception of a more spirit- ual and elevating religion than any of the countries mentioned ? Two great names may be brought forward as proving that the expressions used are harsh and ill-founded — Shakespeare and Milton ; a third. Bacon, we omit for reasons which our space forbids us to give. Shakespeare, whose name may rank with those of Homer and Dante, was not a product of those times. He was a gift of Heaven. At any other epoch he would have been as great, per- haps greater. What he received from his surroundings and from the " civilization " with which he was blessed, he has handed down to us in the uncouth form, the intricacy of plot and adventures, which would have rendered barbarous a poet less naturally gifted. And, although the question has never been definitely settled, it is probable that he was bom and lived a Catholic ; and it is strange how Elizabeth, who, tradition tells us, was present at some of his plays, could endure his faithful portrayal of friars and nuns, while she was persecuting their originals so barbarously at the time ; strangest of all, how she could bear to look upon the true and noble image of Katherine of Aragon, whom Henry in his good moment pronounces " the queen of earthly queens," contrasted with her own mother, to whom the shrewd old court lady tells the story : " There was a lady once ('tis an old story). That would not be a queen, that would she not, For all the mud in Egypt : — Have you heard it ? " Thus did Shakespeare contrast Elizabeth's wanton mother with the noble woman whom Henry discarded for a toy. And some critics can only find a reason for the composition of the " Merry Wives of Windsor " and the " Sonnets '' as an ofi^erinir to the lewd queen. Nothing more did he owe to his time. f46 IRELAND UNPREI ARED FOR PROTESTANTISM. And Milton, who, though his father was a Catholic, was him- self a rank Puritan, »onr4ething of what we have said of Shake- speare may be said of him. At all events, all his cultivation and taste came from Italy. The poets of that really civilized country had polished his uncouth nature, as it were in spite of itself, and added to the depth of his wonderful genius the beauty and soft harmony of verse that ever flowed freely, and the strength of a nervous and sonorous prose. * !N^ow comes the question : If the origin of Protestantism in England cannot be attributed to freedom and civilization, may it not, at least, be maintained that the natural result of Protestant- ism was the acquisition of true freedom and of a higher civiliza- tion ? Is it not true that to-day Protestant nations are in ad- vance of others in both these respects? And to what other cause can such advancement be ascribed than to the " reformed religion ? " Is it not the freedom which has come to the human mind, after the rejection of the yoke of spiritual authority, and the proclamation of the rights of individual reason, that has brought about the present advanced state of afiairs ? We know all these fine-sounding phrases which are so con- tinuously dinned into our ears, and republished day after day in a thousand forms. The question, we admit, is not so easy of solution as the first, and might, indeed, without suspicion of evasion, be discarded as not coming under the head of this chap- ter, which spoke of origin and not of consequences. Neverthe- less, a few words may be devoted to the subject, to prove that the answer must still be in the negative. The first result of Protestantism was undoubtedly to extin- fuish as completely as possible the remaining sparks of truly beral thought promulgated in Europe by the Catholic doctors of the middle ages. Wherever the new doctrines spread, secular rulers were not only freed from pontifical control, but were themselves invested with supreme ecclesiastical power. The effective check which the paternal and bold voice issuing from the Vatican had exercised on kines and princes was in a mo- ment taken away. In Germany. lliigland, and Scandinavia, the kings and petty princes, and dutes even, became each bo many popes in their own dominions. And this took place with the consent and frequently at the earnest request of tiie Eeformers. Even the European states which dia not fall away from the old faith of Christendom took advantage, it might almost be said, of the difficult position in which the Holy Father found himself, to countenance new doctrines with respect to the limits of the authority of the Supreme Pontiff; ana the new errors which so suddenly appeared in France and elsewhere, during the prevalence and at the extinction of the great schism, limiting the fower of the Popes in many matters where it had been conBi<^ IRELAND UNPREPARED FOR PROTESTANTISM. 2*7 ered binding, broKe out a^ain, in France [ Hncipally, under the lead of Protestant or Erastian parlianientaraij? and legists, undei the name of Gallican liberties — pretended liberties, wLSh would really make the Church a subordinate adjunct of the State, in- stead of what it is, a spiritual living body ruled exclusively by a spiritual head. How could the cause of true liberty in Europe be promoted by such altered circumstances as these?- -to say nothing of the disastrous imprudence with which those blind rulers and so- called theologians took away the key-stone of the European social edifice, which grew weaker from. that day forth, until now we see it tottering to its fall. The introduction of Protestantism, then, was one of the chief causes of the change by which a much greater personal power was transferred to the hands of the sovereign than he had ever before held, and it is no surprise to see the absolutism of emperors and kings, in Christian Europe, date from its coming. As time passed on, the cause acting on a larger scale, em- bracing a wider circumference, and drawing within its circle vaster territories, the world saw absolute rule established in England, France, Spain, and Germany. Previous to the six- teenth century, the word " absolutism ^' was unknown in Chris- tendom, as was the doctrine of the " divine right of kings " understood and preached as it has since been in England. But, to furnish details which should render these reflections more striking, would require an unravelling of the whole tangled skein of history during those times. Nevertheless, we must come to consider the last refuge of • Protestant liberalism. Did not the Reformation really eman- cipate modern nations, and gradually bring about the whole system of representative governments, which, starting from Eng- land, have now, in fact, become, more or less, general through- out Europe ? Our answer is, Yes and l^o. It may be granted that Prot- estantism did give rise to a certain kind of liberalism very prevalent in our days; but such liberalism is very far from bestowing on nations true liberty and stability ; hence their constant agitation, and the perils of society which threaten all, even the specially favored Protestant nations themselves as much as any. It was indeed the new doctrines which brought about the " Commonwealth " in England, and the subsequent Revolution of 1688 ; between which two events, however, gi^eat differences exist. The destruction of monarchy under and in the person of Charles I. was the just retribution dealt by Providence to the English kings, who nad been the first openly to shake off from a 248 IRELAND UNPREPARED FOR PROTESTANTISM. great nation the wise and beneficent yoke of Rome. At alJ events, one thing is certain, that under the " Protector," the child of the Revolution, as little as under the Protestant Tudors. could the English scarcely be regarded as freemen. Cromwell banished from their hall the representatives of the people. He could scarcely find epithets opprobrious enough, for Maana Charta^ which the people considered, and rightly, as the palladium of English liberty. In his scornful order to " take away that bawble," though the " bawble " immediately referred to was the Speaker's mace, the word meant the freedom of the nation. He was as absolute a monarch as ever ruled England. The liberty enjoyed under his regime was as mean- ingless for every class as for the Catholics, whom he more im- mediately oppressed, and was ill compensated for by the material prosperity wnich his genius knew so well how to secure. It was his despotic rule, in fact, and the fear of anarchy which affrighted the minds of the people at his death — the dread of a government of rival soldiers — wnich rendered so easy the triumphant restoration of the worthless Stuarts, in the person of the most worthless of them all, Charles II. The true constitutional liberty of which England may fairly boast was the work of a long series of years subsequent to the Revolution of 1688. It was the work of the whole eighteenth century, in fact, and was grounded on the fragments of old Catholic doctrines and customs. In no sense can it be called the result of Protestantism, save as coming after it in point of time. Whoever is acquainted with the state of religion and society in England, during the latter part of the seventeenth and the whole of the eighteenth century, needs not to be told that, among the ruling classes, faith in a revealed religion had ceased to exist. The yoke of Rome once shaken ofi^, the human mind was quick to draw all the consequences of the principle of entire independence in religious matters. Tindal, Collins, Hobbes, Shaftesburv, and other philosophers, had openly denounced reve- lation, and that portion of the nation whicn esteemed itself enlightened embraced their new doctrines. It would be false to imagine that, in 1700 and afterward, the English were as firm believers in the Church of England's Thirty-nine Articles as they seemed to be at the beginning of this century. The whole of tne last century was for all Europe, with the exception of the two peninsulas of Italy and Spain, a period of avowed disbelief. Even Presbyterian Scotland did not escape the contagion, and some theologians and preachers of the Kirk at that time are now praised for their liberal views of religion, that is, for their want of real faith. The influence of Wesley and his fellow- workers on the English mind, and the dread of the spread of French infidelity and jacobinism, were more extensive and IRELAND QNPREPARED FOR PROTESTANTISM. 249 -ffectual than people are apt to imagine ; and there is no doubt that, seventy years ago, England was far more of a believing country than she had been for a hundred years before. But, if even Scotch Presbyterian ministers and Church of England men, such as Laurence Sterne, were unworthy of the name of Christian, what are we to think of those who had to profess no outward faith in Christianity, because of ministerial offices ? There is no doubt that, in the mass, they were almost completely void of any faith in revealed religion. To such men as these is England indebted for the develop- ment of her constitution. If Protestantism had any share in it at all, it did not go beyond preparing the way for the destruction of Christianity in the mind and heart of the people ; or, rather, constitutional liberty in England has no connection whatever with reliffion. The English, left to their own ingenuity and skill, displayed a vast amount of statesmanlike qualities in devis- ing for themselves a system of check and counter-check, which protected the subject and defined the rights of the ruler ; and this gave the nation an undoubted superiority over their neigh- bors on the Continent. But it cannot be attributed, except in a very remote manner, to the Protestant doctrine of the indepen- dence of the human mind. Were we to examine the effect which the example of Eng- land produced on other nations, we should find that, instead of spreading liberty, it was the cause of the diffusion of an unbri- dled license under the name of liberalism. In England itself, the lower orders of society having been kept in ignorance, and consequently in subiection to the ruling classes, and the latter finding it to their interest to preserve order and stability in the state, no frightful commotions could ensue to threaten the destruction of society. In Continental countries, the middle and even the lowest classes were more readily caught by doctrines which, when kept within due bounds, may be promotive of exterior prosperity, but which, pushed to their extremes and logical consequences, may embroil the whole nation in revolution and calamities. Such has been the case in our own days, and in days imme diately preceding our own ; and England is now experiencing the recoil of those convulsions, and seems on the eve of being convulsed herself more terribly, perhaps, than any other nation has yet been. These few reflections must suffice, as to extend them would go beyond our present scope. But now comes the question. Why was Ireland unprepared for the reception of Protestantism i why did she reject it absohitely and permanently ? According to the theorists who attribute the success of Prot- estantism in the Nortli of Europe to a higher civilization and a 260 :nKLx\ND UNPREPARED FOR IROTESTNNTISM. more irdent love of freedom, the contrary cliaracteristics should distinguish those nations which remained faithful to the Church, and particularly the Irish. Was the lack of a higher civilization and more ardent love for freedom really the cause, then, for Ire- land's undergoing so many fearful sacrifices merely for the sake of her religion ? We should not dread entering upon a comparison of the Scandinavian and Celtic races in tliese two particular points, as they existed at the time of the Tudors. We are confident that a detailed survey of both would resnlt in a glorious vindication of the Irish character, although, owing to six hundred years of cmel wars with Dane and Anglo-Norman, the actual prosperity of the country was far inferior to that of England. But the out- line of so vast a subject must content us here. In judging of the elevation of a nation's sentiments, the first thing that strikes us is the motive assigned by the Irish repre- sentatives for refusing to pass the bill of supremacy. " Five or six changes of religion in twelve years were too much for consci- entious people." Such was the answer sent back to Elizabeth, and spoken as though easy of comprehension. Had they deemed that their language could, have been misunderstood, they would undoubtedly have expressed themselves in stronger terms. Strange that such an obvious and common-sense remark had never occurred to the intelligent and highly-civilized members of the English Parliament — those ardent lovers of freedom — when applied to by a new English monarch to acknowledge and confirm, as law, the religious system he had determined to establish! Apparently, then, at this time, Ireland possessed a conscience which England either laid no claim on, or made no pretensions to ; and it might not be too much to lay this down as the first reason why Ireland remained faithful to her religion. In fact, the whole history of the period bears out this general observation. The subserviency of the proud English aristocracy, of those pretended statesmen and legislators, in matters so intimately connected with the soul, its convictions and its morality, shows conclu- sively that the word " conscience " had no meaning for them, or that, if they were aware of the existence of such a thing, they made so little account of it that they were ready at all times to barter it for position, what they considered honor, and wealth. On the otlier hand, the constant, unshaken, and emphatic re- fusal of the Irish to renounce their religion for the novel " specu- lations '' of pretended theologians — in reality, heretical teachers — at the becK of king or queen ; their willingness to submit to all the rigor of extreme penal laws rather than disobey their sense of riglit, proves too well that they possessed a conscience, knew what it meant, and resolved to follow it. There is not a single fact of their history, general or particular, taking them colleo- IKELAKD UNPREPARED FOR PROTESTANTISM. 251 iivelj as a nation, when, by their actions, they spoke as one peo- ple or individually, when priest and friar, great man oi mean man, chose to lose position, property, name — life itself — rather than be false to their religion and God — which does not prove that they owned a conscience and obeyed its voice. Can a nation, deprived of this, be esteemed really free and truly civilized ? and can a nation which possesses it be consid- ered barbarous ? The answer cannot be doubtful, and is of itself a sufficient solution of the question under examination. But, to come to more special details. The Irish idea of civ- ilization was certainly of a very different character from that of the English ; but was it the less true ? From the landing of the first invasion, the Norman nobles and prelates looked down on the invaded people as barbarous and uncouth, as they previously looked down upon the Anglo-Saxons. Later on, they spoke of the Irish customs as " lewd ; " and, later still, the majority of them adopted those " lewd customs." If the question be merely one of refinement of outward man- ners, and acquaintance with the artificial code established by a society with which the Irish, up to that time, had never come in contact, the Normans may be granted whatever benefit may ac- crue to them from such, though, even here, the Irish chieftains might later on compare favorably with their foes. For instance, it IS doubtful whether Hugh O'Donnell and O'Sullivan Beare, one of whom went to Spain, and the other to Portugal — and the second, Philip II. commanded to be treated as a Spanish grandee — were not as courteous and dignified as Cecil or Walsingham, or Essex or Baleigh, at the court of Elizabeth. And, if we take the case of the descendants of Strongbow's warriors, who became " more Irish than the Irish," there is no reason why we should not prefer the manners and bearing of young Gerald Desmond, when, after leaving Rome, he appeared at the court of Tuscany, to those of the young lords who danced at Windsor, under the eyes of Henry, with Anne Boleyn. But, treating the subject eeriously, and examining it more closely, we may find a necessity for reversing the opinion which is too commonly entertained. Civilization does not consist only, or chiefiy, in refinement of manners, but in all things which exalt a nation ; and, after the " conscience " of which we have spoken, nothing is so important in making a nation civilized as the institutions under which it lives. The laws are the great index of a people's civilization, chiefly as regards their execution. Nothing can be more indicative of it than the criminal code of a people. The law of England at that time compares poorly with the Irish compilation known as the " Senchus Mor," which scholars haye only recently been able to study, and which is being printed ^52 IKELAND UNPKEi^ARED FOR PROTESTANTISM. we write, and to be illustrated with learned notes. From alJ accounts given by competent reviewers, it is clear that wisdom, sound judgment, equity, and Christian feeling, constitute the essence of those laws which Edmund Campian found the young Irishmen of his day studying under such strange circumstances arid with such ardor and application as to spend sixteen or eigh- teen years at it. And in what manner were those verv Christian enactments which lay at the foundation of the English legislation executed at the same period ? What, for instance, were the features of its criminal code ? It is unnecessary to depict what all the world knows. In extenuation of the barbarous blood-thirstiness which char- acterized it, it may be said that torture, cruel punishments, and fearful chastisement for slight offences, formed the general feat- ures of the criminal code of most Christian nations. They had been handed down by barbarous ancestors, the relics of Scandi- navian cruelty for the most part, added to the Roman slave pen- alties, which were the remnants of pagan inhumanity. This an- swer would be insufficient when comparing the English with the Brehon law, but it does not hold good even with reference to other Continental nations. In no country at that time was pun- ishment so pitiless as in England. The details, now well known, can only be published for exceptional readers ; to find a compari- son for them Dr. Madden says : " We must come down to the reign of terror in France, to the massacres of September, to the wholesale executions of con- ventional times ; to find the mob insulting the victims, and the executioner himself adding personal affi-ont to the disgusting ful- filment of his horrible office." Passing from the laws to the usages of warfare, and chiefly to domestic strife, here the most vulnerable point in the Irish cnar- acter shows itself. The constant feuds resulting from the clan system furnish a never-failing theme to those who accuse the Irish of barbarism. Yet is there no parallel to them in the hor- rors of those dynastic revolutions which preceded the Tudors in England, and which the Tudors only put an end to by the com- pletest despotism, and by shedding the best blood of the country m torrents ? The Irish feuds never depopulated the country. It is even admitted by most reliable historians that, while those dis- sensions were rifest, the land was really teeming with a happy people, and rich in every thing which an agricultural country can enjoy. The great battles of the various clans resulted often in the killing of a few dozen warriors. Such, in fact, was the manner in which chroniclers estimated the gains or losses of each of those victories or defeats. But, in the Wars of the Eoses, England lost a great part of her IKELAND U"tirPREPARED FOR PROTESTANTISM. 253 adult population ; so much so, that she was altogether incapaci- tated from waging war with any external nation. She could not even afford to send any reenforcements to the English Pale in Ireland — ^not even a few hundred which at times would have E roved so serviceable. It was in fact high time and almost a appy thing for England that the crushing despotism of the Tu- dors came in to save the nation from total ruin. Finally, can it be said that the Irish were inferior in civiliza- tion to the English by reason of their social habits, when "Danes, Anglo-Saxons and iJormans, in turn, invariably adopter Irish manners in preference to their own, after living a sufficient time in the country to be able to appreciate the difference between the one and the other ? The writers of whom we speak ascribe the spread of Protes- tantism not only to a higher civilization, or at least a special apt- ness and fitness for it, but also say that it was due to the greater love for freedom which possessed those who accepted it ; where- as the Irish, as they alle^^e, have been forever priest-ridden and V jwered under the lash. The connection between English Protestantism and freedom has been sufficiently touched upon. But in Ireland the whole resistance of the Irish people to the change of religion is the most conspicuous proof which could be advanced of their inher- ent love for freedom. What is the meaning of this word " priest-ridden ? " If, as at- tached to the Irish, it means that they have remained faithfully de- voted to their spiritual guides, and protected them at cost of life and limb against the execution of barbarous laws, this epithet which is flung at them as a reproach is a glory to them, and a true one. Are they to be accused of cowardice because they were never bold enough to demolish a single Catholic chapel — a favorite amusement of the English mobs from Elizabeth's reign to Vic- toria's — or because they could not find the courage in their b<^art8 to mock a martyr at the stake, or imbrue their hands in his blood, as did the nation of a higher civilization and a more ardent love for freedom ? The Irish cower under the lash I It could never be applied, until calculating treachery had first rendered them naked and defenceless, and removed from their reach every weapon of de- fence. And the man who in such a case receives the lash is a cowaid, while he who safely applies it is a hero ! Our observations so far have cleared the ground for the right solution and understanding of the present question. It may now be said that the Irish were not prepared for the reception of Pro^ estantism, and remained firm in their faith because— 1. They possessed a conscience. 2. There had existed no religious abuses, worthy of the nam* 254 IRELAND UNPREPARED FOR PROTESTANTISM. in their country which called for reform. Such abuses had in England and Germany furnished the pretext for a change of religion. It was a mere pretext, for the alleged abuses might all be remedied without intrencliing on the domain of faith, and un- settling the religious convictions of the whole nation. There is no greater crime possible than to introduce among people enjoy- ing all the benefits resulting from a firm belief in holy truth a simple doubt, a simple hesitating surmise, calculated to make them waver in the least in what had previously been a solid and well-grounded faith. But to consider that crime carried to the extent of so sapping the foundation of Christian belief as to bring about the inevitable consequence of opening under nations the fearful abyss of atheism and despair — there is no word sufficient- ly strong to express the indi^iation which such a course of action must naturally excite. And that the ultimate result of the new heresy was to carry men to the very brink of the abyss is plain enough to-day, and was foreseen by Luther himself. In all probability he had a clear perception of it, since the latter half of his life was devoted to propping up the crumbling walls of his hastily-erected edifice by whatever supports he could steal from the old faith, and fighting hard against all those who had already drawn the ultimate conclusions of his own principles. For those, then, who in the sixteenth century set in motion the chaos which threatens to overwhelm us to-day, the religious abuses existing at the time can ofifer no excuse for their destruc- tion of Religion, because stains happened to sully the purity of her outward garment. But in Ireland no such abuses existed; and consequently there was there not even a pretext for the introduction oi Prot- estantism, and by the very reason of their sense of good and right the Irish were unprepared for heresy. 3. Even had it entered into their minds to wish for a reforma- tion of some kind, they were certainly unprepared for the one oftcred them. The first reform of the new order was to close tlie religious houses which the people loved, which were the seats of learning, holiness, and education. Their Catholic ancestors had founded those religious houses ; they themselves enjoved the spiritual and even temporal advantages attached to them, for they constituted in fact the only important and useful establishments which their country possessed ; they had been consecrated by the lives and deaths of a thousand saints within their walls ; and thev suddenly beheld pretended ministers of a new religion of which they knew nothing, backed by ferocious "Walloon or English troopers, turn out or slay their inmates, close them, set them on fire, pillage them, or convert them into private dwellings for the convenience of an imported aristocracy. This was the first act of the " introductiou " of the " Refonnation " into Ireland. The IRELAND UNPKEPAEED FOR PROTESTANTISM. 255 T3eopIe were enabled to judge of the sanctity of the new creed at its first appearance among them. And this alone, apart from their firm adherence to the faith of their fathers, was quite enough to justify them in their resistance to such a substitute. But, above all, w^hen they beheld how the inmates of those holy houses were treated, when they saw them cast out into the world, penniless, reduced to penury and want, persecuted, de- clared outcasts, hunted down, insulted by the soldiery, arrested, cruelly beaten, bound hand and foot, and hung up either before the door of their burning monastery, or even in the church itself before the altar — what wonder that they were unprepared to re- ceive the new religion ? The barbarity displayed throughout England and Ireland toward Catholicism was specially fiendish when directed against religious of both sexes ; and, as in Ireland no class of persons was more justly and dearly loved, what wonder that the Irish Hterally hated the religion that came to them from beyond the sea ? Without going over the other aspects of the religious ques- tion of the time, and comparing article with article of the new and old beliefs, this single feature of the case alone is sufficient. The process might be carried out with advantage, but is not necessary. 4. The new order of things, in one word, resolved itself into rapacity and wanton bloodshed. And, despite whatever may be said of Irish outrages by those who are never tired of alluding to them, Irish nature is opposed to such excesses. If they are ever guilty of such, it is only when they have previously been out- raged themselves, and in such cases they are the first to repent of their action in their cooler moments. On the other hand, the men who first set all these outrages going never find reason to accuse themselves of any thing, are even perfectly satisfied with and convinced of their own perfection ; and, as from the first they acted coolly and systematically, their self-equanimity is never dis- turbed, they contmue unshaken in the calm conviction that they have always been in the right, whatever may have been the con- sequences of the initiative movement and its steady continuance. But we repeat advisedly — the Irish nature is opposed to ra- pacity and wanton shedding of blood, and this formed another strong reason for their opposition to the religious revolution which immersed them in so bloody a baptism. 6. Yet perhaps the most radical and real cause of their per- sistent refusal to embrace Protestantism lies in their traditional spirit, of which we have previously spoken. There is no ration- alistic tendency in their character. And all the points well considered, which, after all, is the better, the simply traditional or strictly rationalistic nature! What has been the result of those philosophical speculations from 256 IRELAND UNPREPAKED FOR PROTESTANTISM. which Protestantism sprang? Whither are men tending to-daj^ in consequence of it ? Would it not have been better lor man- kind to have stood by the time-honored traditions of former ages, independently of the strong and convincing claims which Catno- licity offers to all ? This is said without in the least attributing the fault to sound philosophy, without casting the slightest slur on those truly great and illustrious men who have widened the limits of the numan intellect, and deserved well of mankind by the solid truths they have opened up in their works for the bene- fit and instruction of minds less gifted than their own. CHAPTEE XI. THE miSH AND THE STUARTS. — ^LOYALTY AND OONFISOATIOK. Upon the death of Elizabeth, in 1603, the son of the unfor- tunate Marj Stuart was called to the throne of England, and foi the first time in their history the Irish people accepted English rule, gave their willing submission to an English dynasty, and afterward displayed as great devotedness in supporting the fall- ing cause of their new monarchs, as in defending their religion and nationality. This feeling of allegiance, bom so suddenly and strangely in the Irish breast, cherished so ardently and at the price of so many sacrifices, finally raising the nation to the highest pitch of hero- ism, is worth studying and investigating its true cause. What ought to have been the natural efiect produced on the Irish people by the arrival of the news that James of Scotland had succeeded to Elizabeth ? The first feeling must have been one of deep relief that the hateful tyranny of the Tudors had passed away, to be supplanted by the rule of their kinsmen the Stuarts — kinsmen, because the Scottish line of kings was directly descended from that Dal Riada colony which Ireland had sent so long ago to the shores of Albania, to a branch of which Co- lumbkul belonged. For those who were not sufficiently versed in antiquarian gen- ealogy to trace his descent so far back, the thought that James was the son of Mary Stuart was sufficient. If any people could sympathize with the ill-starred Queen of Scots, that people was the Irish. It could not enter into their ideas that the son of the murdered Catholic queen should have feelings uncongenial to their own. It is easy, then, to understand how, when the news of Elizabeth's death and of the accession of James arrived, the san- guine Irish heart leaped with a new hope and joyful expectation. As for the real disposition of that strangest of monarchs, James I., writers are at variance. Matthew O'Connor, the elder, who had in his hands the books and manuscripts of Charlea O'Connor of Bellingary, is very positive in his assertions on hi« aide of the question : 17 258 THE IRISH AND THE STUARTS. "James was a determined and implacable enemy to the Oatholic religion ; he alienated his professors from all attachment to his government by the virulence of his antipathy. One of his first gracious proclamations imported a general jail-delivery, except for * murderers and papists.' By another proclamation he pledged himself * never to grant any toleration to the Catholics/ and entailed a curse on his posterity if they granted any." Turning now to Dr. Madden's " History of the Penal Laws," we shall feel disposed to modify so positive an opinion. There we read : " It is very evident that his zeal for the Protestant Church had more to do with a hatred of the Puritans than of popery, »nd that he had a hankering, after all, for the old religion which his mother belonged to, and for which she had been persecuted by the fanatics of Scotland." Hume seems to support this judgment of Dr. Madden when he says that " the principles of James would have led him to ear- nestly desire a unity of faith of the Churches which had been separated." Both opinions, however, agree in the long-run, since Dr. Madden is obliged to confess that " new measures of severity, as the bigotry of the times became urgent, were wrung from the timid King. He had neither moral nor political courage." Still, on the day of his coronation, the Irish could little imagine what was in store for them at the hands of the son of Mary Stuart ; hence their great rejoicing, till the first stroke of bitter disappointment came to open their eyes, and awaken them to the hard reality. This was the flight of Tyrone and Tyrcon- nell, which had been brought about by treachery and low cun- ning. These chieftains were, as they deserved to be, the idols of tlie nation. They were compelled to fly because, as Dr. Anderson, a Protestant minister, says, " artful Cecil had em- ployed one St. Lawrence to entrap the Earls of Tyrone and Tyr- connell, the Lord of Devlin, and other Irish chiefs, into a sham plot which had no evidence but his." The real cause of their flight was that adventurers and " un- dertakers " desired to " plant " Ulster, though the final treaty with Mountjov had left both earls in possession of their lands. That treaty yielded not an acre of plunder, and was consequent- ly in English eyes a failure. The long, bloody, and promising wars of Elizabeth's reign had ended, after all, in forcing coronets on the brows of O'Neill and O'Donnell, with a royal deed added, securing to them their lands, and freedom of worship to all tlie north. James was met by the importunate demand for land. O'Neill, O'Donnell, and several other Irish chieftains, were sacrificed to THE IRISH AND THE STUARTS. 359 meet this demand ; they were compelled to fly ; and they had Bcarcely gone when millions of acres in Ulster were declared to be forfeited to the crown, and thrown open for " planting." And here a new feature in confiscation presents itself, which was introduced by the first of the Stuart dynasty, and proved far more galling to irishmen than any thing they had yet encoun- tered m this shape. In the invasion led by Strongbow, in the absorption of the Kildare estates by Henry YIII., in the annexation of King's and Queen's Counties under Philip and Mary, even in the last *' plan- tation " of Munster by Elizabeth's myrmidons at the end of the Desmond war, the land had been immediately distributed among the chief officers of the victorious armies. The conquered knew that such would be the law of war ; the great generals and courtiers who came into possession scarcely disturbed the tenants. A few of the great native and Anglo-Irish families suifered sorely from the spoliation ; the people at large scarcely felt it, except by the destruction of clanship and the introduction of feudal grievances. Moreover, the new proprietors were inter- • ested in making their tenants happy, and not unfrequently identified themselves with the people — becoming in course of time trae Irishmen. But, with the accession of the first of the Stuarts to the English throne, a great alteration took place in the disposal of the land throughout Ireland. The Tyrone war had ended five years before, and those who had taken part in the conflict had already received their portion ; the vanquished, of misfortune — the conquerors, of gain. James brought in with him from Scotland a host of greedy followers ; and all, from first to last, expected to rise with their king into wealth and honor. England was not wide enough to hold them, nor rich enough to satiate their appetites. The puzzled but crafty king saw a way out of his difficulties in Ireland. He no longer limited the distribution of land in that country to soldiers and officers of rank chiefly. He gave it to Scotch adventurers, to London trades companies. He settled it on Protestant colonies whose first use of their power was to evict the former tenants or clansmen, and thus effi3ct a complete change in the social aspect of the north. Well did they accomplish the task asferli^ed them. Ulster became a Protestant colony, and the soil of that province has ever since remained in the hands of a people a2en to the country. Yet the Ulstermen had been led to believe that James pur- posed securing them in their possessions ; for, according to mr. Prendergast, m his Introduction to the "Cromwellian settle- nent : " 260 THE IRISH AND THE STUARTS. " On the 17th of July, 1607, Sir Arthur Chichester, Lord^ Deputy, accompanied by Sir John Davies and other commis- sioners, proceeded to Ulster, with powers to inquire what land each man held. There appeared before them, in each county they visited, the chief lords and Irish gentlemen, the heads of creaghts, and the common people, the JBrehons and Shanachies, who knew all the septs and families, and took upon themselves to tell what quantity of land every man ought to have. They thus ascertained and booked their several lands, and the Lord- Deputy promised them estates in them. * He thus,' says Sii John Davies, * made it a year of jubilee to the poor inhabitants, because every man was to return to his own house, and be restored to his ancient possessions, and they all went home rejoicing.' " Notwithstanding these promises, tne king, in the following year, issued his scheme for the plantation of Ulster, urged to it, it would seem, by Sir Arthur Chichester, who so largely profited by it It could not be said that the flight of the earla gave occasion for this change, inasmuch as the king, immediately after, issued a proclamation — which he renewed on taking pos- session of both earls' territories — assuring the inhabitants that they should be protected and preserved in their estates." It looks, indeed, as thougn the whole transaction, including the promises and the call for ascertaining the quantity of land occupied by each inhabitant, as also the sham plot into which the earls were inveigled, was but a cunning aevice to bring about the plantation, in which manors of one thousand, fifteen hundred, and three thousand acres, were offered to such Eng- lish and Scotch as should undertake to plant their lots witli British Protestants, and engage that no Irish should dwell upon them. Meanwhile, all who had been in arms during Tyrone's war were to be transplanted with their families, cattle, and fol- lowers, to waste places in Munster and Connaught, and there set down at a distance from one another. Over and above this, the Irish were indebted to James for a new project — a most ingenious invention for successful plunder. He was the real author of the celebrated " Commission for the investigation of defective titles." It would seem that the province of Ulster was too small for the rapacity of those who were constantly urging upon the king a greater thoroughness in his plans. It was clear, moreover, that the English occupation of the other three provinces had hitherto proved a failure. The island had failed to become An- glicised, and it was necessary to begin the work anew. The new commission was presented to the Irish people in a most alluring guise. That political hypocrisy, which to-day stands for statesmanship, is not a growth of our own times. Th* THE IRISH AND THE STUARTS. 261 intenhon of James confined itself to putting an end to all uncer- tainty on the subject of titles, and bestowing on each land-owner one which, for the future, should be unimpeachable. But the result went beyond his intention. This measure became, in fact, an engine of universal spoliation. It failed to secure even those who succeeded in retaining a portion of their former estates in possession, as Strafibrd made manifest, who, despite all the un- impeachable titles conferred by James, managed to confiscate to his own profit the greater part of the province of Con naught. It is fitting to give a few details of this new measure of James, in order to show the gratitude which the Irish owed the Stuarts, if on that account only. In "Ireland under English Rule," the Rev. A. Perraud justly remarks : " Most Irish families held possession of their lands but by tradition, and their rights could not be proved by regular title-deeds. By royal command, a general inquiry was instituted, and whoever could not prove his right to the seat of his ancestors, by authentic documents, was mercilessly but juridically despoiled of it ; the pen of the lawyer thus making as many conquests as the blade of the mer- cenary." The advisers of James — those who aided him in this scheme — were fully alive to its efficiency in serving their ends. A few years previously, Arthur Chichester and Sir John Davies had only to consult the Brehon lawyers and the chroniclers of the tribes, whose duty it was to become thoroughly acquainted with* the limits of the various territories, and keep the records in their memory, in order to procure from the Ulster men the proofs of their rights to property. Up to that time the word of those who were authorized, by custom, to pronounce on such subjects, was law to every Irishman. And, indeed, the verdict of these was all-sufficient, inasmuch as the task was not overtaxing to the memory of even an ordinary man, since it consisted in remem- bering, not the landed property of each individual, but the limits of the territory of each clan. The clan territories were as precisely marked ofi* as in buj European state to-day ; and, if any change in frontier occurred, it was the result of war between the neighboring clans, and there- fore known to all. To suppose, then, under such a state of land tenure, that the territory of the Maguire clan, for instance, be- longed exclusively to Maguire, and that he could prove his title to the property by legal documents, was erroneous — in fact, such a thing was impossible. Yet, such was the ground on which the king based his establishment of the odious commission. The measure meant nothing less than the simple spoliation of all those who came under its provisions at the time. Matthew O'Connor has furnished some instances of its workings, which may bring into stronger light the enormity of such an attempt • 10 2^ THE IRISH AND THE STUARTS. " The immense possessions of Bryan na Murtha CRonrkt had been granted to nis son Teige, by patent, in the first year of the king's reign, and to the heirs male of his body. Teige died, leaving several sons ; their titles were clear ; no plots or con- spiracies conld be urged to invalidate them. By the raediam of those inquisitions, they were found, one and all, to be bastards. The eldest son, Bryan O'Rourke, was put off with a miserable pension, and detained in England lest he should claim his inher- itance. Yet, in this case, the title was actually in existence. " In the county of Longford, three-fourths of nine hundred and ninety-nine cartrons, the property of the O'Farrells, were granted to adventurers, to the undoing and beggary of that princely family. Twenty-five of the septs were dispossessed of tneir all, and to the other septs were assigned mountainous and barren tracts about one-fourth of their former possessions. " The O'Byrnes, of Wicklow, were robbed of their property by a conspiracy unparalleled even in the annals of those times ; fabricated charges of treason, perjury, and even legal murder, were employed ; and, though the innocence of those victims of rapacious oppression was established, yet they were never re- stored." With regard to the Anglo-Irish, and even such of the na- tives as had consented to accept titles from the English kings, those titles, some of which went back as far as Strongbow's invasion, were brought under the "inquiry" of the new com- mission — with what result may be imagined. An astute legist can discover flaws in the best-drawn legal papers. In the eye of the law, the neglect of recording is fatal ; and it was proved that many proprietors, whose titles had been bestowed by Henry YIII. and Elizabeth, were not recorded, simply by bribing the clerks who were charged with the ofiBce of recording them. This portion of our subject must present strange features to readers acquainted with the laws concerning property which ob- tain among civilized nations. In making the necessary studies for this most imperfect sketch, the writer has been surprised at finding that not one of the authors whom he has consulted has spoken of any thing beyond the cruelty of compelling Irish land- owners to exhibit title-deeds, which it was known they did not and could not possess. Not a single one has ever said a word of " prescription ; " yet, this alone was enough to arrest the pro- ceedings of any English court, if it followed the rules of law which govern civilized communities. Most of the estates, then declared to be escheated to the king, had been in possession of the families to which the holders belonged, for centuries ; we may go so far, in the case of some Iriflh families and tribes, as to say for thousands of years. But, THE IRISH AND THE 6TUARTS. 263 to disturb property whicli lias been held for even less than t century, would convulse any nation subjected to sucb a revolu- tion arv process. No country in the world could stand such a test ; it would loosen in a day all the bonds that hold society together. If the commission set on foot by James did not go to the extreme lengths to which it was carried by those who came after him, he it was who established what bore the semblance of a legal precedent for the excesses of Strafford, under Charles I., which reached their utmost limits in the hands of Cromwell's parliamentary commissioners. James set the engine of destruc- tion in action : they worked it to its end. The Irish might justly lay at his door all the woes which ensued to them from the principles emanating from him. Even during his reign they saw, with instinctive horror, the abyss which he nad opened up to swallow all their inheritance. The first commission of James commenced its operations by reporting three hundred and eighty- five thousand acres in Leinster alone as " discovered," inasmuch as the titles " were not such as ought " (in their judgment) " to stand in the way of his Majesty's designs." Hence, long before the death of James, all the hopes which his accession had raised in the minds of the Irish had vanished ; yet, strange to say, they were not cured of their love for the Stuart dynasty. They hailed the coming of Charles, the husband of a Catholic princess, with joy. His marriage took place a year previous to the death of his father ; and, to know that Henrietta of France was to be their queen, was enough to assure the Irish that, henceforth, they would enjoy the freedom of their religion. The same motive always awakes in them hope and joy. Men may smile at such an idea, but it is with a profound respect for the Irish character that such a sentence is written. Hope of religious freedom is the noblest sentiment which can move the breast of man ; and if there be reason for admiration in the motive which urges men to fight and die for their firesides and families, how much more so m that which causes them to set above aU their altars and their God ! This time their hope seemed well-founded ; for the treaty concluded between England and France conferred the right on the Catholic princess of educating her children by this marriage till the age of thirteen. And, in addition, conditions favorable to the English Catholics were inserted in the same treaty. But people were not then aware of the reason for the inser- tion of those conditions. Hume, later on, being better ac- quainted with what at the time was a secret, states in his history that " the court of England always pretended, even in the me- moriuls to the French court, that all the conditions favorable to ^e English Catholics were inserted in the marriage treaty merely 664 THE IRIS^ AND THE STUARTS. to please the Pope, and that theu* strict execution was, by an agreement with France, secretly dispensed with." The Irisli rejoiced, however ; and Charles and his ministers encouraged their expectations. Lord Falkland, in the name oi the king, promised that, if the Catholic lords should present Charles, who needed money, with a voluntary tribute, he would in return grant them certam immunities and protections, which acquired later on a great celebrity under the name of " graces." The chief of these were — to allow " recusants " to practise in the courts of law, and to sue out the livery of their land, merely on taking an act of civil allegiance instead of the oath of suprem- acy ; that the claims of the crown should be limited to the last sixty years — a period long enough in all conscience ; and that the inhabitants of Connaught should be allowed to make a new enrolment of their estates, to be accepted by the king. A Par- liament was promised to sit in a short time, in order to confirm all these " graces." The subsidy promised by the Irish lords amounted to the then enormous sum of forty thousand pounds sterling, to be paid annually for three years. Two-thirds of it was paid, according to Matthew O'Connor, but no one of the "graces" was forth- coming, the king finding he had promised more than he could perform. Instead of enabling the land-owners of Connaught to obtain a new title by a new enrolment, Strafford, with the connivance of Charles, devised a project which would have enabled the king to dispose of the whole province to the enriching of his exchequer. This project consisted in throwing open the whole territory to the court of "defective titles." To legalize this spoliation, the pa/rchment grant, five hundred years old, ^ven to Roderic O'Connor and Richard de Burgo, by Henry II., was set up as rendering invalid the claims of immemorial possession by the Irish, although confirmed by recent compositions. In the counties of Roscommon, Mayo, and Sligo, juries were found for the crown. The honesty and courageous resistance of a Galway jury prevented the carrying out of tiie measure in that county. Strafford resented this rebuff deeply ; and the brave Galway jurors were punished without mercy for their " contu- macy,'' for they had been told openly to find for the king. Com- pelled to appear in the Castle chamber, they were each fined lour thousand pounds, their estates seized, and themselves im- prisoned until their fines should be paid ; while the sheriff, who was also fined to the same amount, not being able to pay, died in prison. Such were a few of the " graces " granted the Irish on the accession of Charles I. Meanwhile, the king's difficulties with his English subjecti drove him to turn for liope to the Scotch, upon whom he had THE IKISH AKD THE STUARTS. 266 attempted to force Episcopalianisui. The resistance ol the Scotch, and the celebrated Covenant by which they bound them- selves, are well known. Charles, finally, granted the Covenanters not only liberty of conscience, but even the religious supremacy of Presbyterianism, paying their army, moreover, for a portion of the time it passed under service in the rebellion against him- self. The example of the Scotch was certainly calculated to in- flame the Irish with ardor, and drive them likewise into rebel- lion. What was the oppression of Scotland compared to that under which Ireland had so long groaned ? Surely the final attempt of the chief minister of Charles to rob them of the one province which had hitherto escaped, was enough to open their eyes, and convert their faith in the Stuart dynasty into hatred and determined opposition. Yet were they on the eve of car- rying their devotion to this faithless and worthless line to the height of heroism. The generosity of the nature which is in them could find an excuse for Charles. " He would have done us right," they thought, " had he been left free." From the rebellion of his subjects, in England and Scotland, they could only draw one conclusion — that he was the victim of Puritan- ism, for which they could entertain no feeling but one of horror ; and it is a telling fact that their attachment to their religion kept them faithfiil to the sovereign to whom they had sworn their allegiance, however unworthy he might be. Thus m the famous rising of 1641, when in one night Ireland, with the exception of a few cities, freed herself from the oppress- or (the failure of the plan in Dublin being the only thing which prevented a complete success ; the English of the Pale still refus- ing to combine with the Irish), the native Irish alone, left to their own resources, proclaimed emphatically in explicit terms their loyalty to the king, whom they credited with a just and toler- ant disposition, if freed from the restraints imposea upon him by the Puritanical faction. A farther fact stranger still, and still more calculated to shake their confidence in the monarch, oc- curred shortly after, which indeed raises the loyalty of the nation to a height inconceivable and impossible to any people, unless one whose conscience is swayed by the sense of stem duty. When the Scottish Covenanters, whose rebellion had secured them in possession of all they demanded, heard of the Irish movement, they were at once seized with a fanatical zeal urging them to stamp out the Irish " Popish rebellion." King Charles, who was then in Edinburgh, expressed his gratification at their proposal, and no time was lost in shipping a force of two thou- sand Scots across the Channel. They landed at Antrim, when they began those frightful massacres which opened by driving into the sea three thousand Irish inhabitants of the island Magee. 7 jee THE IRISH AND THE STUARTS. When, according to M. O'Connor's ^^Irisli Catholics," " letters conveying the news of the intended invasion of the Scots were intercepted ; when the speeches of leading members in the Eng- lish Commons, the declaration of the Irish Lord-Justices, and of the principal members of the Dublin Council, countenanced those rumors ; when Mr. Pym gave out that he would not leave a Pa- pist in Ireland ; when Sir W illiam Parsons declared that within a twelvemonth not a Catholic should be seen in the whole coun- try ; when Sir John Clotworthy affirmed that the conversion of the Papists was to be effected with the Bible in one hand and the sword in the other," and the King all the while seemed to allow and consent to it, the Irish were not in the least dismayed by those rumors, but set about establishing in the convulsed island a sort of order in the name of God and the king I Then for the first time did native and Anglo-Irish Catholics take common side in a common cause. This was the union which Archbishop Browne had foreseen, which had shown itself in symptoms from time to time, but which had often er been broken by the old animosity. But, at last, convinced that the only partv on which they could rely, and the party which truly supported the reigning dynasty, was that of the Ulster chiefs, the Catholic lords of the Pale threw themselves heart and soul into it, and, under the guidance of the Catholic bishops who then came forward, together they formed the celebrated " Confedera- tion of Kilkenny " in 1642. Had Charles even then possessed the courage, honesty, or wis- dom to recognize and acknowledge his true friends, he might have been spared the fate which overtook him ; but all he did was almost to break up the only coalition which stood up boldly in his favor. A circumstance not yet touched upon meets us here. Prot- estantism was at this time effecting a complete change in the rules of judgment and conduct which men had hitherto fol- lowed. In place of the old principles of political morality which up to this period had regulated the actions of Christians, notions of independence, of subversion of existing governments, of rev- olutions in Church and state, were for the first time in Christian history scattered broadcast through the world, and beginning that series of catastrophes which has made Europetm liistorv since, and which is far from being exhausted yet. The Irish stood firm by the old principles, and, though they became victims to their fidelity, they never shrank from the consequences of what they know to be their duty, and to those principles they remain faithful to-day. To return from mis short digression : The Irish hierarchy, the native Irish and the Anglo-Irish lords of the Pale, had combined together to form the *' Confederation of Kilkenny," in THE IRISU AND THE STUARTS. 267 which confederation lay the germ of a truly great nation. Early in the struggle the Catholic hierarchy saw that it was for them to take the initiative in the movement, and they took it in right earnest. They could not be impassive spectators when the ques- tion at issne was the defence of the Catholic religion, joined this time with the rights of their monarch. They met in provincial synod at Kells, where, after mature deliberation, the cause of the confederates, " God and the king," freedom of worship and loyalty to the legitimate sovereign, was declared just and holy, and, after lifting a warning voice against the barbarities which had commenced on both sides, and ordaining the abolition and oblivion of all distinctions between native Irish and old English, they took measures for convoking a national synod at Kilkenny. It met on the 10th of May, 1643. An oath of association bound all Catholics throughout the land. It was ordained that a general assembly comprising all the lords spiritual and tem- poral and the gentry should be held ; that the assembly should select members from its body to represent the different provinces and principal cities, to be called the Supreme Council, which should sit from day to day, dispense justice, appoint to offices, and carrv on the executive government of the country. Meanwhile the Irish abroad, the exiles, had heard of the movement, and several prominent chieftains came back to take part in the struggle ; while those who remained away helped the cause by gaining the aid of the Catholic sovereigns, and sending home all the funds and munitions of war they could procure. Among these, one of the most conspicuous was the learned Luke Wadding, then at Rome engaged in writing his celebrated works, who dispatched money and arms contributed by the Holy Father. John B. Rinuccini, Archbishop of Fermo, sent by the Pope as ISTuncio, sailed in the same ship which conveyed those contribu- tions to Ireland. The Catholic prelates thus originated a free government with nothing revolutionary in its character, but combining some of the forms of the old Irish Feis with the chief features of modern parliamentary governments. Matthew O'Connor makes the fol- lowing just observations on this subject in his " Irish Catholics : " " The duty of obedience to civil government was so deeply impressed on the Catholic mind, at this period, in Ireland, that it degenerated into passive submission. These impressions ori- ginated in religious zeal, and were fostered by persecution. The spiritual authority of the clergy was found requisite to soften those notions, and temper them with ideas of the constitutional, social, and Christian right of resistance in self-defence. The no- bility and gentry fully concurred in those proceedings of the clergy, and the nation afterward ratified them in a general con- vention held at Kilkenny, in the subsequent month of October. S68 THE IRISH AND THE STUARTS. The national union seemed to be at last cemented by the wishee of all orders, and the interests of all parties." The fact is, the nation had been brought to life, and took its stand on a new footing. When the general assembly met, in October, eleven bishops and fourteen lay lords formed what may be called the Irish peerage ; two hundred and twenty- six commoners represented the large majority of the Irish constituencies ; a great lawyer of the day, Patrick Darcy, was elected chancellor ; and a Supreme Council of six members from each province constituted what may be called the Ex- ecutive. This government, which really ruled Ireland without any in- terference until Ormond succeeded in breaking it up, was obeyed and acknowledged throughout the land. It undertook and car- ried out all the functions of its high office, such as the coining of money, appointing circuit judges, sending ambassadors abroad, and commissioning officers to direct the operations of the na- tional army. Among these latter, one name is sufficient to vouch for their efficiency : that of Owen Roe O'Neill, who had returned, with many others, from the Continent, in the July of that year, and formally assumed the command of the army of Ulster. Owen Roe O'Neill was grand-nephew to Hugh of Tjrrone. Unknown, even now, to Europe, his name still lives in the memory of his countrymen. "The head of the Hy-Niall race, the descendant of a hundred kings, the inheritor of their virtues, without a taint of their vices, he would have deserved a crown, and, on a larger theatre, would have acquired the title of a hero." — (M. (/Connor,) Had Charles recognized this government, which proclaimed him king, discharged from office the traitors, Borlase and Par- sons, who plotted against him, and not surrendered his authority to Ormona, Ireland would probably have been saved from the horrors impending, and Charles himself from the scaffold. Wliat- ever the issue might have been, the fact remains that the Irish then proved they could establish a solid government of their own, and mat it is an altogether erroneous idea to imagine them incapable of governing themselves. it is impossible to enter here upon the details of the intricate complications which ensued — complications which were chiefly owing to the plots of Ormond ; but, it may be stated fearlessly that, the more the history of those times is studied, the more cer- tainly is the " national " party, with the Nuncio Rinuccini for head and director, recognized as the one which, better than any other, could have saved Ireland. At least, no true Irishman will now pretend that the " peace party," headed by Ormond, which w^as pitted against the " Nuncioiiists," could bring good to the THE IRISH AND THE STUARTS. 269 ijountry ; ou the contrary, its subsequent misfortunes are to be ascribed directly to it. To stigmatize it as it deserves, needs no more than to say that among its chief leaders were Ormond, its head and projector, and Murrough O'Brien, of Inchiquin, to this day justly known as Murrough of the burnings. These two men were the product of the " refined policy " of England to kill Catholicism in the higlier classes by the operation of one of the laws that governed the oppressed nation — wardship. Both Inchiquin and Ormond were born of Catholic fathers, and all their relations, during their lives, remained Catholics. But, their fathers dying during the minority of both, the law took their education out of the hands of the nearest kin, to give it to English Protestant wardens, in the name of the king, who was supposed by the law to be their legitimate guardian. This was one of the fruits of feudalism. They were duly brought up by these wardens in the Protestant religion, and received a Prot- estant education. They grew up, fully impressed with the idea that the country which gave them birth was a barbarous coun- try ; the parents to whom they owed their lives were idolaters ; and their fellow-countrymen a set of villains, only fitted to be- come, and forever remain, paupers and slaves. There is no exaggeration in these expressions, as anybody must concede who has studied the opinions and prejudices enter- tained by the English with regard to the Irish, from that period down almost to our own days. At anv rate, to one acquainted with the workings of the " Court of ^ards," there is nothing surprising in the fact that Ormond, the descendant of so many illustrious men of the great Butler family — a family at all times so attached to the Catholic faith, and which afterward furnished so many victims to the transplantation schemes of Cromwell — should himself become an inveterate enemy to the religion of his own parents, and to those who professed it ; and that he should employ the great gifts which God had granted him, solely to scheme against this religion, and prevent his native countrymen from receiving even the scanty advantages which Charles at one time was willing to concede to them, through Lord Glanmorgan. It was Ormond who prevented the execution of the treaty between that lord and the confederates, the provisions of which were — 1. The Catholics of Ireland were to enjoy the free and public exercise of their religion. 2. They were to hold, and have secure for their use, all the Catholic churches not then in actual possession of Protestants. 3. They were to be exempt from the jurisdiction of the Prot estant clergy. But, thanks to his education, such proviwons were too much ii70 THE IRISH AND THE STUARTS. for Ormond, the son of a Catholic father, and whose mother, at tlie very time living a pious and excellent life, would have re- joiced to see those advantages secured to her Church and herself, in common with the rest ot her countrymen and women. In like manner, Murrough O'Brien, the Baron of Inchiquin, the descendant of so many Catholic kings and saints, w hose name was a glory in itself, and so closely linked to the Catholic glories of the island, was converted, by the education which he had re- ceived, into a most cruel oppressor of the Church of his baptism. His expeditions, through the same country which his ancestors had ruled, were characterized by all the barbarities practised at the time by Munro, Coote, and all the parliamentary leaders of the Scotch Puritans, and w^ould have fitted him as a worthy compeer of Cromwell and Ireton, who were soon to follow. The name of Cashel and its cathedral, w^here he nmrdered so many priests, women, and children, around the altar adorned by the great and good Cormac McCullinan, would alone suffice to hand his name down to the execration of posterity. Ormond and Murrough being the two chiefs of the "peace f)arty," what wonder that the prelates, who had so earnestly abored at the formation of the Kilkenny Confederation, and the Kuncio at their head, refused to have aught to do with projects in which such men were concerned, w4ien it is borne in mind also that several provisions of that " peace treaty " w^ere directly opposed to the oath taken by the Confederates ? But, unfortu nately, Ormond was a skilful diplomat, had been dispatched by the king, and was supposed to be carrying out the ideas sug- gested to him by the unhappy monarch. His i-epresentations, therefore, could not fail to carry weight, princimlly with the Anglo-Irish lords of the Pale, many of whom, innuenced by his courtly manners and address, declared openly for the proposed " peace." Thus did the peace sow the germs of division and even war among the Irish. The unity among the Catholics, so full of promise, was soon broken up ; and those who had met each other in such a brotherly spirit in the day when the native chiefs and Anglo -Irish loi*ds assembled together at Tara, who swore then that the division of centuries should exist no longer, began to look upon each other again as enemies. Without going at length into the vicissitudes of those various contentions, it is enough to say that in the end war broke out between those who had so recently taken the oath of confederation togetlier. Owen Eoe O'Neill, the victor of Benbui-b, and the only man who could direct the Irish armies, was attacked by Preston and other lords of the Pule, and died, as some historians all^e, of poison administered to him by one of them. This was tlie result of the intrigues of Ormond ; neverthe THE IRISH AND TUE STUARTS. 271 less, Cliarles continued to place confidence in him, and though he had been twice obliged to resign his lieutenancy, and once to fly the country, the infatuated sovereign sent him back once more. It was only at the end of the struggle, when the ill-fated king was at length in the hands of his enemies, that Ormond could be brought to consent to conditions acceptable to the national party. But then it was too late ; the parliamentary forces had carried every thing before them in England ; England was already republican to the core ; and the armies which had been employed against the Cavaliers, once the efforts of the latter had ceased with the death of the king, were at liberty to leave the country, now submissive to parliamentary rule, and cross over to Ireland, with Cromwell at their head, to crush out the nation almost, and concentrate on that fated soil, within the short space of nine months, all the horrors of past centuries. By the death of Owen Eoe O'lSTeill just at that time, Ireland was left without a leader fit to cope with the great republican general. The country had already been devastated by Coote, Munro, St. Leger, and other Scotch and English Puritans ; but the massacres which, until the coming of Cromwell, had been, at least, only local and checked by the troops of Owen Koe, soon extended throughout the island, unarrested by any forces in the field. The Cromwellian soldiers, not content with the character of warriors, came as " avengers of the Lord," to destroy an " idolatrous people." That their real design was to exterminate the nation, and use the opportunity which then presented itself for that purpose, there can be no doubt. It was only after a fair trial that the project was found to be impossible, and that other expedients were devised. Coote had previously acted with this design in view, as is now an ascertained fact, and had been encouraged in the course he pursued by the Dublin government.* The same might be shown of St. Leger, in Munster, toward the beginning of the insurrection. At all events, all doubt in the matter, if any existed, ceased with the landing of Cromwell in 1649, when the real object of the war at once showed itself everywhere. The result of this man's policy has been painted by Yille- main, in his " Histoire de Crorrvwell^'^ in a sentence : " Ireland became a desert which the few remaining inhabitants described by the mournful saying, * There was not water enough to drown a man, not wood enough to hang him, not earth enough to bury him.' " The French writer attributes to the whole island what was said of only a part of it. To this day, the name of Cromwell is justly execrated in Ireland, and " the curse of Cromwell " is one » See Matthew O'Connor's " Irish Catholici." 272 THE IRISH AND THE STCARTS. of the bitterest which can be invoked upon a person's head. But, at present, tlie fidelity of the Irisli to the Stuarts concerns us, and a few reflections will put it in a strong but true light before us. Ever since the restoration of Charles II., many Englishmen have professed great reverence for the memory of the " martyr- king." Even the subsequent Revolution of 1688 left the monu- ment erected to him untoucheid. Many British families con- tinued steady in their devotion to the Scotch line, and the name of Jacobite was for them a title of honor. Yet what were their sufferings for the cause of the king during his struggle with the Parliament, and after his execution ? A few noblemen lost their lives and estates; some went into exile and followed the fortunes of the Pretenders who tried to gain possession of the throne. But the bulk of the nation — England — may be said to have suf- fered nothing by the great revolution which led to the Common- wealth. On the contrary, it is acknowledged that the adminis- tration of Cromwell at least brought peace to the country, and raised the power of Great Britain to a higher eminence in Europe than it had ever known before. As usual, the English made great profession of loyalty, but, as a rule, were particu- larly careful that no great inconvenience should come to them from it. Treated with contempt and distrust by Charles and his advisers, so insulted in every thing that was dear to her that it is still a question for historians i:^ in many instances, the king and the royalists did not betray her, Ireland alone, after having taken her stand for a whole decade of years for God and the kmg, resolved to face destruction unflinchingly in support of what she imagined to be a noble cause. After the landing of Cromwell, when to any sensible man there no longer remamed hope of serving the cause of the king, when the desire which is natural to every human heart, of saving what can be saved, might, not only without dishonor, but with justice and right, have dictated the necessity of coming to terms with the parliamentarians, and of abandoning a cause which was hopeless, " on the 4th of December, 1649, Eber McMahon, Bishop of Clogher, a mere Irishman by name, by descent, by enthusiastic attachment to his country, exerted his great abili- ties to rouse his countrymen to a persevering resistance to Cromwell, and to unite all hearts and hands in the support of Ormond's administration. . . . All the bishops concurred in his views, and subscribed a solemn declaration that they would, to the utmost of their power, forward his Majesty's rights, and the good of the nation. . . . Ormond, at last, either sensible that no reliance could be placed on them, or that the treachery of Inchiquin's troops was, at least, on the part of the Irish, a THE IRISH AND THE STUARTS. 273 fair ground of distrust and suspicion of the remainder, consented to their removal." — (" Irish CatholicsP) " At last ! " will be the reader's exclamation, while he won- ders if another people could be found forbearing enough to wait eight years for the adoption of such a necessary measure. And the only reward for their fidelity to King Charles I. could under the circumstances be destruction. They waited with resignation for the impending gloom to overshadow them. Ter- rible moment for a nation, when despair itself fails to nerve it for further resistance and possible success! Such was the posi- tion of the Irish at the death of Charles. Who shall describe that loyalty? After Ormond had met with the defeat he deserved in the field ; after the cities had fallen one after another into the hands of the destroyer, who seldom thought himself bound to observe the conditions of surrender ; after the chiefs, who might have protracted the struggle, had dis- appeared either by death or exile, the doom of the nation was sealed ; yet it shrank not from the consequences. The barbarities of Cromwell and his soldiers had depopulated large tracts of territory to such an extent that the troops march- ing through them were compelled to carry provisions as through a desert. The cattle, the only resource of an agricultural country, had been all consumed in a ten years' war. It was reported that, after every successful engagement, the republican general ordered all the men from the age of sixteen to sixty to be slaughtered without mercy, all the boys from six to sixteen to be deprived of sight, and the women to have a red-hot iron thrust through their breasts. Rumors such as these, exaggerated though they may be, testify at least to the terror which Cromwell inspired. As for the captured cities, there can be no doubt of the wholesale niassacres carried out therein by his orders. Of the entire popu- lation of Tredagh only thirty persons survived, and they were condemned to the labor of slaves. Hugh Peters, the cnaplain of Fairfax, wrote after this barbarous execution : " We are masters of Tredagh ; no enemy was spared ; I just come from the church where I had gone to thank the Lord." The same fate awaited Wexford, and, later on, Drogheda. Cromwell, when narrating those bloody massacres, concluded by saying, " People blame me, but it was the will of God." The Bible, the holy word of God, misread and misunderstood by those fanatics, persuaded them that it would be a crime not to exterminate the Irish, as the Lord punished Saul for having spared Agag and the chief of the Amalekites. Whoever wishes for further details of these sickening atrocities, committed in the name of God, may find them in a multitude of histories of the time, but chiefly in the " Threnodia " of Friar Morrison. Certain modern Irish historians would seem not to under- 18 974 THE IRISH AND THE STUARTS. stand the heroism of their own coimtryraen. " Bitterly," sayi A. M. O'Sullivan, " did the Irish people pay for their loyalty to an English sovereign. Unhappily for tlieir worldly fortunes, if not for their fame, they were high-spirited and unfearing, where pusillanimity would certainly have been safety, and might have been only prudence." But the verdict of posterity, always a justpne, calls such » high-spirited and unfearing attitude true hermsm, and spurns pusillanimity even when it insures safety and may be called pru- dence, if its result is the surrender of holy faith and Christian truth. Safety and prudence characterized the conduct of the English nation under the iron rule of Cromwell, as under the tyranny of the Tudors. Can the reader of history admire the nation on that account ? Who shall affirm that the result of the craven spirit of the English was the prosperity which ensued, and that of Irish heroism destruction and gloom ? The history of either nation is far from ended yet ; and bold would be the man who dare assert that the prosperity of England is everlasting, and the humiliation of Ireland never to know an end. However that may be, this at least is undeniable : the opinion current of the Irish character is demonstrated to be altogether an erroneous one by the incontrovertible facts cursorily narrated above. Determination of purpose, adherence to conscience and principle, consistency of conduct, are terms all too weak to convey an idea of the magnanimity displayed by the people, and of their heroic bearing throughout those stirring events. At last, after a bloody struggle with Cromwell and Ireton, on May 12, 1652, "the Leinster army of the Irish surrendered at KilKenny on terms which were successively adopted by the other principal bodies of troops, between that time and the September following, when the Ulster forces came last to composition." Then began the real woes of Ireland. Never was the mgenuity of man so taxed to destroy a whole nation as in the measures adopted by the Protector for that purpose. It is necessary to pre- sent a brief sketch of them, since all that the Irish suffered was designed to punish them for their attachment to their religion, and, be it borne in mind, their devotion to the lawful dynasty of the Stuarts. First, then, to render easy of execution the stem and cmel resolve of the new government, the defenders of the nation were not only to be disarmed, but jput out of the way. Hence Crom- well was gracious enough to consent that they bo permitted to leave the country and take service in the armies of the foreign powers then at peace with the Commonwealth. Forty thousand men, officers and soldiers, adopted this desperate resolution. " Soon agents from the King of Spain, the King of Poland, and the Prince de Cond6, were contending for the service of the THE IRISH AND THE STUARTS. 275 frifih troops. Don Hicardo White, in May, 1652, shipped seven thousand in batches from Waterford, Kinsale, Galway, Limerick, and Bantrj, for the King of Spain. Colonel Christopher Mayo got liberty in September to beat his drums, to raise three thou- sand more for the same destination. Lord Muskerry took with him five thousand to the King of Poland. In July, 1654, three thousand ^Ye hundred went to serve the Prince de Conde. Sir Walter Dungan and others got liberty to beat their drums in different garrisons for various destinations." — (JPrendergast.) To prove that the desperate resolution of leaving their coun- try did not originate with the Irish, notwithstanding what some have written to the contrary, it is enough to remark that their expatriation was made a necessary condition of their surrender by the new government. For instance. Lord Clanrickard, according to Matthew O'Connor, "deserted and surrounded, could obtain no terms for the nation, nor indeed for himself and his troops, except with the sad liberty of transportation to any other country in amity with the Commonwealth." To prove, if necessary, still further that the expatriation of the Irish troops was part of a scheme already resolved upon, it is enough to remember the indisputable fact that from the sur- render at Kilkenny in 1652, until the open announcement in the September of 1653, that the Parliament had assigned Con- naught for the dwelling-place of the Irish nation, whither they were to be "transplanted" before the 1st of May, 1654, the va- rious garrisons and small armies which had fought so gallantly for Ireland and the Stuarts were successively urged (and urged by Cromwell m^ant compelled) to leave the country ; and it was only when the last of the Irish regiments had departed that the doom of the nation was boldly and clearly announced. But these forced exiles were not restricted to the warrior class. "The Lord Protector," says Prendergast, "applied to the Lord Henry Cromwell, then major-general of the forces of Ireland, to engage soldiers .... and to secure a thousand young Irish girls to be shipped to Jamaica. Henry Cromwell answered that there would be no difficulty, only that force must be used in taking them ; and he suggested the addition of fifteen hundred or two thousand boys of from twelve to fourteen years of age. . . . The numbers finally fixed were one thousand boys and one thousand girls." The total number of children disposed of in the same way, from 1652 to 1655, has been variously estimated at from twenty thousand to one hundred thousand. The British Government at .ast was compelled to interfere and put a stop to the infamous traffic, when, the mere Irish proving too scarce, the agents were not sufficiently discriminating in their choice, but shipped ofiP English children also to the Tobacco Islands. i76 THE IRTSn AND THE STUARTS. At last the island was left utterly without defenders, and snf ficientlj depoinilated. It is calculated that, when the last great measure was announced and put into execution, only half a mill- ion of Irish people remained in the country, the rest of the resident population being composed of the Scotch and English, introduced by James I., and the soldiers and adventurers let in by Cromwell. The main features of the celebrated " act of settlement " are known to all. It was an act intended to dispose quietly of half a million of human beings, destined certainly in the minds of its projectors to disappear in due time, without any great violence — to die off — and leave the whole island in the possession of the " godly." Connaught is famed as being the wildest and most barren province of Ireland. At the best, it can support but a scanty population. At this time it had been completely devastated by a ten years' war and by the excesses of the parliamentary forces. This province then was mercifully granted to the unhappy Irish race ; it was set apart as a paradise for the wretched remnant to dwell in — ^all Connaught, except a strip four miles wide alongthe sea, and a like strip along the right bank of the Shannon. This latter Judicious provision was undoubtedly intended to prevent them from dwelling by the ocean, whence they might derive sub- sistence or assistance, or means of escape in the event of their ever rising again ; and, on the other hand, from crossing the Shan- non, on the east side of which their homes might still be seen. This cordon of four miles' width was drawn all around what was the Irish nation, and filled with the fiercest zealots of the ** army of the Lord " to keep guard over the devoted victims. Surely the doom of the race was at last sealed ! But let all justice be done to the Protector. The act was to the effect that, on the first day of May, 1654, all who, through- out the war, had not displayed a constant ^ood affection to the Parliament of England in opposition to Charles I., were to be removed with their families and servants to the wilds of a poor and desolated province, where certain lands were to be given them in return for their own estates. But, who of the Irish (jould prove that they had displayed a " constant good affection " to the English Parliament during a ten years' war ? The act was nothing less than a proscription of the whole nation. The English of the Pale were incluaed among the old natives, and even a few Protestant royalists, who had taken up the cause of the fallen Stuarts. The only exception made was in favor of " husbandmen, ploughmen, laborers, artificers, and others of the inferior sort." The English and Scotch — constituted by this act of settlement lords and masters of the three richest provinces of Ireland — eonld not condescend to till the soil with their own THE IRISH AND THE STOARTS. 277 hands and attend to the mechanical arts required in civil society. Those duties were reserved for the Irish poor. It was hoped that, deprived of tlieir nobility and clergy, they might be turned to any account by their new masters, and either become good Protestants or perish as slaves. Herein mentita est miqtdtas The heart-rending details of this outrage on humanity may be seen in Mr. Prendergast's " Cromwellian Settlement." There all who read may form some idea of the extent of Ireland's mis- fortunes. It is a wonder which cannot fail to strike the reader, how, after so many precautions had been taken, not only against the further increase of the race, but for its speedy demolition, how, reduced to a bare half million, penned off on a barren tract of land, left utterly at the mercy of its persecutors, without priests, without organization of any kind, it not only failed to perish, but, from that time, has gone on, steadily increasing, until to-day it spreads out wide and far, not only on the island of its birth, but on the broad face of two vast continents. In the space at our disposal, it is impossible to satisfy the curiosity of the reader on this very curious and interesting topic. A few remarks, however, may serve to broadly indicate the chief causes of this astonishing fact, taken apart from the miraculous intervention of God in their favor. First, then, Connaught became more Irish than ever, and a powerful instrument, later on, to assist in the resurrection of the nation. In fact, as will soon be seen, it preserved life to it. Again, the outcasts, who were allowed to remain in the other three provinces as servants, or slaves, rather, were not found manageable on the score of religion ; and, although new acts of Parliament forbade any bishop or priest to remain in the island, many did remain, some of them coming back from the Continent, whitner they had been exported, to aid their unfortunate coun- trymen in this their direst calamity. As Matthew O'Connor rightly says : " The ardent zeal, the fortitude and calm resignation of the Catholic clergy during this direful persecution, mi^t stand a comparison with the constancy of Christians during the first ages of the Church. In the season of prosperity they may have pushed their pretensions too far " — ^this 18 M. O'Connor's private opinion of the Confederation of Kil- kenny — " but, in the hour of trial, they rose superior to human infirmities. . . . Sooner than abandon their fiocks altogether, they fled from the communion of men, concealed themselves in woods and caverns, from whence they issued, whenever the pur- suit of their enemies abated, to preach to the people, to comfort them in their afflictions, to encourage them in their trials ; . . . their haunts were objects of indefatigable search ; bloodhoimda tr8 THE IRISH AND THE STUARTS. the last device of human cruelty, were employed for the purpose^ and the same price was set on the head of a priest as on that of a wolf." — {Irish Catholics.) But, the expectation that the Irish of the lower classes, bereft of their pastors as well as of the guidance of their chieftains, would fall a prey to proselytizing ministers, and lose at once their nationality and their religion, was doomed to meet with disap- pointment. Perhaps the cause more effective than all others in pre- serving the Irish nation from disappearing totally, came from a quarter least expected, or rather the most improbable and wonderful. No device seemed better calculated to succeed in Protestant- izing Ireland than the decree of Parliament which set forth that not only the officers, but even the common soldiers of the par- liamentary army should be paid for their services, not in money, but in land ; and that the estates of the old owners should be parcelled out and distributed among them in payment, as well as among those who, in England, had furnished funds for the prosecution of the war. Although many soldiers objected to this mode of compensation, some selling for a trifle the land allotted to them and returning to their own country, the great majority was compelled to rest satisfied with the government offer, and so resolved to settle down in Ireland and turn farmers. But a serious difficulty met. them : women could not be induced to abandon their own country and go to dwell in the sister isle, while the Irish girls, being all Catholics, a decree of Parliament forbade the soldiers to marry them, unless they first succeeded in converting them to Protestantism. After many vain attempts, doubtless, the Cromwellian soldiers soon found the impossibility of bringing the " refractory " daughters of Erin to their way of thinking, and could find only one mode of bridging over the difficulty — to marry them first, without requiring them to apos- tatize, and secure their prize after by swearing that their wives were the most excellent of Protestants. Thus while perjury became an every-day occurrence, the victorious army began to be itself vanquished by a powerful enemy which it had scarcely calculated upon, and was utterly unprepared to meet, and finally resting from its labors, enjoyed the sweets of peace and the fat of the land. But woman, once she feels her power, is exacting, and in course of time the Cromwellian soldiers found that further sacrifices still were required of them, which they had never counted upon. Their wives could, by no persuasion, be induced to speak English, so that, however it might go against the grain, the husbands were compelled to learn Irish and speak it habit- ually as best they might. Their difficulties began to multiply THE IRISH AND THE STUARTS. 279 with tlieir cliildren, when they found them learning Irish in the cradle, irresistible in their Irish wit and humor, and lisping the prayers and reverencing the faith they had learned at their mothers' knees. So that, from that time to this, the posterity of Cromwell's " Ironsides," of such of them at least as remained in Ireland, have been devoted Catholics and ardent Irishmen. The case was otherwise with the chief officers of the parlia- mentary army, who had received large estates and could easily obtain wives from England. They remained stanch Protestants, and their children have continued in the religion received with the estates which came to them from this wholesale confiscation. But the bulk of the army, instead of helping to form a Protestant middle class and a Protestant yeomanry, has really helped to perpetuate the sway of the Catholic religion in Ireland, and the feeling of nationality so marked to-day. This very remarkable fact has been well established and very plainly set forth, a few years ago, by eminent English reviewers. Meanwhile, Ireland was a prey to all the evils which can afflict a nation. Pestilence was added to the ravages of war and the woes of transplantation, and it raged alike among the con- querors and the conquered. Friar Morrisson's ^'Threnodia " reads to-day like an exaggerated lament, the burden of which was drawn from a vivid imagination. Yet can there be little doubt that it scarcely presented the whole truth ; an exact reproduc- tion of all the heart-rending scenes then daily enacted in the unfortunate island would prove a tale as moving as ever har- rowed the pitying heart of a reader. And all this suffering was the direct consequence of two things — ^the attachment of the Irish to the Catholic religion, and their devotion to the Stuart dynasty. Modern historians, in considering all the circumstances, express themselves unable to understand the constancy of this people's affection for a line of kings from whom they had invariably experienced, not only neglect, but positive opposition, if not treachery. In their opin- ion, only the strangest obliquity of judgment can explain such infatuation. Some call it stupidity ; but the Irish people have never been taxed with that. Even in the humblest ranks of life among them, there exists, not only humor, but a keenness of perception, and at times an extraordinary good sense, which is quick to detect motives, and find out what is uppermost in the minds of others. There is but one reading of the riddle, consistent with the whole character of the people : they clung to the Stuarts because they were obedient to the precepts and duties of religion, and labored under the belief, however mistaken, that from the Stu- arts alone could they hope for any thing like freedom. Their spiritual rulers had insisted on the duty of sustaining at aL 280 THE IRISH AND THE STUARTS. hazard the legitimate authority of the king, and they were firmly convinced that they could expect from no other a relaxation of the religious penai statutes imposed on them by their enemies. The more frequent grew their disappointments in the measures adopted by the sovereigns on whom they had set their hopes, the more firmly were tney convinced that their intentions were good, but rendered futile by the men who surrounded and coerced them. Keligion can alone explain this singular affection of the Irish people for a race which, in reality, has caused the greatest of their misfortunes. The subsequent events of this strange history are in perfect keeping with those preceding. A few words will suffice to sketch them. On the death of Oliver Cromwell, his son Richard, being unable and indeed unwilling to remain at the head of the English state, the nation, tirecl of the iron rule of the Protector, fearful certainly of anarchy, and preferring the conservative measures of monarchy to the ever-changing revolutions of a commonwealth, recalled the son of Charles I. to the throne. But a kind of bargain had been struck by him with those who disposed of the crown ; and he undertook and promised to disturb as little as possible the vested interests created by the revolution, that is to say, he pledged himself to let the settle- ment of property remain as he found it. In England that promise was productive of little mischief to the nation at large, though fatal to the not very numerous families who had been deprived of their estates by the Parliament. But, in Ireland, it was a very different matter ; for there the interests of the whole nation were ousted to make room for these " vested interests " of proprietors of scarcely ten years' standing. The Irish nobility and gentry, at first unaware of the exist- ence of this bargain, were in joyful expectation that right would at hist be done them, as it was for loyalty to the father of the new king that they had been robbed of all their possessions. They were soon undeceived. To their surprise, they learned that the speculators, army-officers, and soldiers already in pos- session of their estates, were not to be disturbed, short as the ])Ossession had been ; and that only such lands as were yet unappropriated should be returned to their rightful owners, provided only they were not papists, or could prove that they liad been " innocent papists." The consequences of this bargain are clear. The Irish of the old native race who had been, as now appeared, so foolishly ardent in their loyalty to the throne, were to be abandoned to the fate to which Cromwell had consigned them, and could expect to recover nothing of what they had so nobly lost. So flagrant- THE IRISH AND THE STUARTS. 281 ly unjust was the whole proceeding, that after a time many Englishmen even saw the injustice of the decision, and lifted up their voices in defence of the Irish Catholics who alone could hope for nothing from the restoration of royalty. To put a stop to this, the infamous " Gates " fabrication was brought forward, which destroyed a number of English Catholic families and stifled the voice of humanity in its efforts to befriend the Irish race ; and so sudden, universal, and lasting, was the effect of this plot in closing the eyes of all to the claims of the Irish, that when its chief promoter, Shaftesbury, was dragged to the Tower and there imprisoned as a miscreant, and Gates himself suffered a punishment too mild for his villany, nevertheless no one thought of again taking up the cause of the Irish natives. It is almost impossible in these days to realize what has oc- cupied our attention in this chapter. The unparalleled act of spoliation by which four-fifths of the Irish nation were deprived of their property by Cromwell because of their devotion to Charles L, for the alleged reason that they could not prove a con- stant good affection for the English regicide Parliament, that spoliation was ratified by the son of Charles within a few years after the rightful owners, who had sacrificed their property for the sake of his father, had been dispossessed, while the parliamen- tarians, who by force of arms had broken down the power of Charles and enabled the members of the Long Parliament to try their king and bring him to the block, those very soldiers and officers were left in possession of their ill-gotten plunder, at a time when many of the owners were only a few miles away in Connaught, or even inhabiting the out-houses of their own man- sions, and tilling the soil as menial servants of Cromwell's troopers. The case, apparently similar, which occurred in after-years, of the French emigrant nobility, cannot be compared with the result of this strange concession of Charles II. In fact, it may be said that the spoliations of lY92-'93 in France would probably never have taken place but for the successful example held up to the eyes of the legislators of the French Kepublic by the English Revolution. As for the share which Charles II. himself bore in the meas- ure, it is best told by the fact that the work of spoliation was car- ried on so vigorously during the reign of the " merry monarch," that when a few years later William of Grange came to the throne there was no land left for him to dispose of among his followers save the last million of acres. All the rest had been portioned off. Well might Dr. Madden say : " The whole of Ire- land has been so thoroughly confiscated that the only exception was that of five or six families of English blood, some of whom had been attainted in the reign of Henry Vill., but recovered 282 THE IRISH AND THE STUAET8. tlieir possessions before Tyrone's rebellion, and had the good for- tune to escape the pillage of the English republic inmcted by Cromwell ; and no inconsiderable portion of iho island has been confiscated twice, or perhaps thrice, in the course of a century. The situation, therefore, of the Irish nation at the revolution, stands unparalleled in the history of the inhabited world." A few words will suffice to show what the Irish owe to the Stuarts. James I. established a colony on Irish soil, which had nothing in common with the native inhabitants, and which, ow- ing to the altered state of affairs in the island, could never hope to coalesce with them. All races of men, which had landed on the island and endeavored to conquer it, had gradually yielded to the sociability of the Irish nature and ended by adopting the native manners, disposition, and language. The Protestant col- ony of Ulster has never showed the least inclination to follow these repeated examples, except partially and for a short time at the end of the last century, on the occasion of the insurrection of 1798. But soon after, with a few honorable exceptions, the same colony became more bitter than ever against every thing Irish, boasted of being only Irish-Scotch, and, under the name of Orangemen, adopted the most revolting principles against the other inhabitants of the common soil. At all times, except during the brief interval of the civil war of '98, the Ulster colony has looked to England for its support against its " enemies," the Catholics ; and, in order to gain that support, it has surrendered every prerogative dear to the lovers of freedom ; as far as possible it subiected the Irish Parliament, as long as such existed, to that of England ; by packing juries, it has contributed to render that so much-vaunted free institu- tion, the British jury, a mockery ; it has helped materially to cripple native trade and industry, and ruined the country com- mercially to please England ; in all which it may be said to have proved itself more English than the English. Such are a few of the blessings imported into the unfortunate country with the colony of James I. ; so that what the Plantage- nets and Lancasters could never effect, what the Tudors did not .even attempt, that did the Stuarts ; thev divided the island into two permanent camps opposed among tnemselves, always at war more or less, and altogether irreconcilable even after many gen- erations have been bom, passed away, and died, in contact one with the other. The effect of that long and seemingly eternal division is cer- tainly far more deplorable than were ever the insane feuds of the clans, with all their petty warfare and bloody conflicts. But to come to the grand spoliation, which throws all previouB ones into the shade, and is cnous^h in itself to set the English na- tion under Cromwell on a par w^ith the most devastating hordes THE IRISH AND THE STUARTa 383 that ever set Siiil on a voyage of piracy under the sea-kon^ of old. The measure had the merit at least of being radical and thorough. By a single act of Parliament three whole provinces, the richest in the island, were confiscated at once and without more ado ; and, if the poorest and most desolate province waa still left to the Irish, it was evidently in the minds of the humane legislators intended as a temporary expedient to get rid of a wretched half-million of people. It threw a show of humanity over the measure. They might have driven them at once into the sea ; but it looked better to pen them off like so many cattle on a bleak land, to encircle them with a cordon of bitter foes, and, in the devout hope that so it would speedily come to pass, there let them starve and die out at their ease. Strange to say, this spoliation must be laid altogether at the door of the Stuarts. Every writer on Irish history has been careful to note how many hundreds of thousands or millions of acres were successively confiscated by Henry YIII., Edward YI., Mary, Elizabeth, James I., and afterward William of Orange. But no one has ever been able to ascertain how much Cromwell appropriated except by coming to the decisions of the Court of Claims under Charles II. So that this monarch has literally kept the books for the robbing firm, Cromwell and Parliament, and given the only legal title accompanied with vouchers, which the Uromwellian adventurers and " undertakers " ever received. It is said, in a general way, that the Protector took three en- tire provinces, and this statement is certainly true in the main. But, until the establishment of the Court of Claims at the Resto- ration, there was really nothing sure and finally settled, so that many of the decisions of the Loughrea commissioners and Ath- lone judges of claims, "under the Commonwealth, might have been reversed, and were expected to be reversed by the new Court of Claims established by Charles II., although that mon- arch had pledged himself to disturb as little as possible the " vested interests " created by the revolution. The Protector's reign lasted only nine years, and the legal and judicial operations required by the Cromwellian act of settle- ment began several years subsequently to his taking in his hands the reins of government, thus supposing many years of investi- gation, discussion, and hearing of cases, with the possibility of appeal and reversal of judmient, before a final decision could be arrived at. So that the Restoration came about while a multi- tude of those questions were still pending, and it was only nat- ural to expect that, with the new order, many of them might have been stopped, many decisions reversed, since they had been invariably given in favor of a revolution now reprobated. Had Charles II. onlv felt the slightest inclination to serve hia f-eal friends and the defenders of his father, the Irish, how many 284 THE IRISH AND THE STUARTS. of those Cromwellirai measures would have remained ? Let a skilful and cautious lawyer, gifted with ready pen and glib tongue, and accustomed to such intricate questions, respond. Even granting that the king had been compelled to promise not to disturb the " vested interests," such promise could only be held to refer to vested interests which stood well-grounded, fixed, decided, clear, and without any doubt or counter-claim of what- ever description. With a little trouble, and a judicious use of the royal prerogative, it is very safe to assert that the Cromwell- ian act of settlement would have been reduced to slender pro- portions, and assumed a very different aspect from that whicli it now assumes in history. For, to come to the point, in the enumeration of the various confiscations in Ireland, given by Dr. Madden, in his " Connec- tion," etc., that of Cromwell is laid entirely at the door of Charles II., under the following heading : " Set out by the Court of Claims at the Restoration, seven million eight hundred thousand acres." Thus, nearly eight million acres of Irish soil have actu- ally — that is to say, legally and without hope of reversal of sen- tence — ^passed from the hands of the rightful owners into those of foreign adventurers and robbers under the reign of the second Charles Stuart. And, as the whole island contains only about eleven million ^ve hundred thousand acres, it is clear that the three entire provinces were included in that act of spoliation. In his speech on the " Union," which he so strongly advo- cated in 1800, Lord Clare puts the case in the strongest and clearest light : " I wish gentlemen, who caU themselves the dicrni- fied and mdependent Irish nation, to know that seven million eight hundred thousand acres of land were set out, under the au- thority of this act — passed under Charles II. — to a motley crew of English adventurers, civil and military, nearly to the total ex- clusion of the old inhabitants of the island, many of whom, who were hmocent of the rebellion, lost their inheritance, as well for the difficulties imposed upon them by the Court of Claims, in the proofs required of their innocency, as for a deficiency in the fund to English adventurers, arising principally from a profuse ^rant made by the crown to the Duke of York," afterward James II. Charles 11., therefore, took upon himself to be, in his own person, the executor of the CromweUian settlement, and we have seen how far his duties extended. In the last revolution, of 1688, William of Orange had only left a poor fragment of a million of acres wherewith to complete the extensive operations of James I. and Charles 11. And still, even at the death of this last-mentioned monarch, the Irish displayed toward his brother, James II., an affection to the extent of resolving to perish with the dynasty to which he THE IRISH AND THE STUARTS. S86 belonged. This time, however, their attachment cannot be said to have been altogether misplaced, as far as the sentiments and designs of the new king in their regard went. James had the honest desire of granting to them, as to all his subjects, real liberty of conscience. He was the first of the English monarchs to proclaim what in modem times is called " religions freedom," and he lost his crown merely because the majority of his subjects were determined to preserve intact to themselves the preponder- ance they had gained over the Catholics, and the right they had already made such good use of for so long a time, of oppressing them at will. Few pages of Irish history are so full of interest as the three years' war which ended with the surrender of Limerick. Ath- lone, Aughrim, Limerick, even the Boyne, are glorious fields for the Irish race, though they culminated in defeat. Often was it the sheer courage oi despair which filled the heart and nerved the arm of those heroic Irish warriors. To describe the vicissi- tudes of that short but gigantic struggle would be to overstep our limits. A general remark, however, which seems to have escaped the observation of many writers, is pertinent to the sub- ject in hand. At the Boyne, where the campaign began, the Irish army found itself in the midst of the country which had been stripped of its native inhabitants by Cromwell and, it may be said, by Charles II. Therefore was^the contest short, because, after the first reverse, no resistance could come from the sur- rounding districts. This was doubtless the reason why many- officers advised James, at the opening of the campaign, to fall back on the line of the Shannon. It was when James gave up the contest and fled to France, that the war really began with the siege of Athlone, before whose walls the victors of the Boyne suffered a repulse. After this, the entire war was confined to the frontiers of Connaught from north to south ; for there was the Irish nation enclosed and packed together. If Louis XIY., in place of sending officers and a few troops, had dispatched arms and munitions of war in quan- tity sufficient, it is now evident that a hundred thousand men would have straightway started up from the wilds of desolate Connaught to save Ireland to James, and, in all probability, England also, at the time dissatisfied with the uncouth manners of the usurper and the greed of his Dutch followers. One thing only is certain : James may have failed to perse- vere a sufficient time at the head of his Irish subjects ; Louis may have failed to see and avail himself of the right moment of enccess ; but the Irish, all that was left of them, failed in none of the heroic qualities of the soldier, and in falling then forever, to all seeming, they fell as soldiers care to fall when struggle is useless, with honor saved and duty nobly done. $86 THE misn and the stuarts. Even then their resistance would have been prolonged to the last had not honorable and fair conditions been tendered them at Limerick, only to be sbamefally violated when the capitula- tion was effected. The conditions of that surrender were, that they should obtain for themselves and their countrymen the threat boon of religious liberty, security for all who had served King James, by merely taking an oath of future allegiance to William and Mary, and the privilege to every nobleman and gentleman en- gaged in the war to possess and carry arms for the protection of their persons. Allured by these solemn engagements of the enemy, believing in the promise and plighted word of a king and a soldier, the Irish consented to surrender their last stronghold. The world knows how faithfully the solemn engagement, the royal promise, the soldier's word, was kept. Sarsfield sailed away with the newly- arrived French fleet, containing nearly twenty thousand men, and the Irish were left completely at the mercy of their masters. Then began the century of gloom which will be described in the next chapter. But, before closing the present, the reader will pardon a few reflections on the strange fascination which the Stuart name possessed for the Irish, the spell it held over them, a spell which lasted until the surrender of Limerick, where it was at last broken, never to weave its magic meshes again between them and the person or the cause of any British kmg or government. Irish faith in English honor of any shape or form fell with Limerick, never to be built up again. It is a mistake to pretend, with Dr. Madden, that Queen Anne, the last of the throned Stuarts, enjoyed the allegiance of her Irish subjects. The frightful penal laws enacted during her reign were scarcely calculated to evoke such a feeling, and, if they did not organize for open resistance to such tyranny just then, it was owing to the sheer impossibility and despair of the success of such a movement. Bereft of all means wliereby a nation can manifest its will, there appeared to be no will left to them, beyond the abject submission and apathetic resignation of the Eastern slave. Numerous secret societies soon began to spring up among them, however, showing clearly enough that the native determination never to yield was as strong in them as ever ; but the illusion, which had so long borne them up, that in the Stuart line lay their last hope as a nation, was gone forever, and no longer inspired them with that heroic feeling which had ennobled their last struggle. We hope that the reader has seen with us that the secret of that heroism wag their religion. All who have written on this eventful period seem to have failed to take into suflScient account THE IRISH AND THE STUARTS. 287 tliis feeling, which is always uppermost in the Irish heart, and confess themselves unable to explain this singular haUu cination. But, as we have seen, too cursorily perhaps, it was the re membrance of his Catholic mother, Mary of Scotland, whict fave rise to their chief reason for hope on the accession of ames I. ; it was the supposed good disposition of his son Charles, and, further still, the knowledge of the Catholic piety of that monarch's queen, Henrietta, which revived those hopes when James died. Then the Confederation of Kilkenny, headed by their bishops and a nuncio of the Holy See, induced them to continue firm in their allegiance to the king. TJnder Charles H. they suffered ; they had no cause to fight for him, though, had there been, it is certain that they would have embraced it, as under his rule they really enjoyed a kind of religious liberty, in spite of existing laws. j3ut for James II. their feeling rose into enthusiasm. In him they beheld a sincere Catholic, sufiering for his religion as they themselves suffered ; and this fact alone explains their wonderful attachment to his cause, and the invin- cible determination to fall with him or rise again with the rising of his power. It is doubtful if, in the whole course of their history, they ever displayed a greater attachment to their religion than they did under the Stuarts. The fearful trials they were subjected to by Cromwell were as a fierce furnace-blast threatening to consume them utterly, but without eliciting from them a sign :3f regret for having taken their stand boldly for God and the king, in the face of the extremities which they braved in conse- quence. But it may be said that at this very time of the apparent de- struction of all their hopes, God was preparing the way for the events which were to lead up to their future resurrection. The fact previously touched upon of the uprising of the true Irish nation, after the destruction of clanship, came more and more into prominence, and grew silently under the subsequent period of gloom. Day by day they became more united, more firm in their resolve never to coalesce with their persecutors, and never to relinquish their great distinctive badge — the faith. It parted them off from their oppressors by an impassable line ; and, as their utter destruction was impossible, their existence as a nation, apart from those who deprived them of all that was theirs, grew more marked than ever, and was brought into stronger relief. In their very attachment to the Stuarts lies a proof of this last remark. For there is in their support of that dynasty a fact which deserves to be set forth : the uiianinnity oi the feeling which sprung up simultaneously in their hearts, which was only bitensified by difficulties and misfortunes, which survived even 288 THE IRISH AND THE STUARTS. the Cromwell ian calamity, and which was extinguished in all, as suddenly, simultaneously, and unaccountably, as it rose. Never before, as never after, did the Irish show a sign of true allegiance to the British crown ; but, treated as aliens and enemies, they felt themselves at liberty to acknowledge or not the English monarchs as they chose. On a sudden, a silent, spontaneous feeling rises through the whole nation in favor of a new line of British sovereigns. This feeling was as utterly un- expected as it was universal. It was emphatically what is now called public opinion. Yet no meetings of citizens had been convoked, no books or pamphlets written, no periodical reviews or newspapers had advocated it ; none of those means now used for the manufacture of pubKc opinion were known or called into play at the time. Nevertheless, not only every one of the noble- men remaining in the country, every individual of the educated classes, as they are now called — and they were by no means few — every well-to-do farmer and grazier, but even the humblest cottagers, the poorest artisans and laborers, are at once so capti- vated by the new feeling, that disappointment following disap- pointment, ingratitude succeeded by greater ingratitude, calamity neaped upon calamity, all possible obstacles and discouraging circumstances cannot dissipate the fatal illusion, and turn into other and worthier channels the heroic efforts of the people. Surely this is public opinion, if such a thing as public opinion exists. But public opinion cannot exist without a nation from which to spring, and, in proportion as it is strong or weak, so is the nation compact and efficient or feeble. It is therefore an error to suppose that the Irish nation ended with the destruction of clansliip. Not only did it subsist, but it really sprang from that destruction into new life and new activity, under Henry YIII. : an activity and a life peculiar to the Irish people. There was nothing to compare with it in any other race. Nor was the fact exempKfied only in the single instance now under consideration. It may be said that it has ever since formed a characteristic of them, and is still frequently manifested in the same strange and unaccountable manner. Among other people, when a fact that calls forth general attention is reported, the opinions with regard to it diner with the individuals who discuss it, and tht expressions of their opinions are as various almost as their faces , but among Irishmen, as a rule, the same fact, if of great impor- tance, will be judged on alike by all ; all are unanimous to denounce or admire it ; there is no difference of opinion among them ; and yet, even to-day, they have, comparatively speaking, few newspapers and reviews whereby to fonn their opinions on men and things. They do not seem to require the common helps of ordinary people to think, reflect, judge, and pronounce • THE IRISH AND THE STUARTS. 2d9 a sort of electric current runs through the whole mass, and the first expression on the lips of any one of them on a subject of importance meets with an immediate response in the minds of all the rest, because all have been impressed by it in like manner. Individual exceptions, of course, are to be found ; cavillers might quote facts to prove that this view is unfounded ; never- theless any one acquainted with this remarkable people will know that such is the case in general, and that few things are more remarkable among them, notwithstanding the universal rei> utation they enjoy for constant quarrelling and internal feuds. The difficulty which may be raised by such cavillers can be satisfactorily explained. On matters of faith, of religion, the Irish are unanimous ; and this fact is rendered the more striking by the acknowledgment that in matters of minor importance in life, their feelings are as various and changeable as a most impul- sive nature can make them. With regard to the first point, no two opinions are to be found among them. What the humblest and rudest will express humorously, rudely if you will, the more refined will only echo in language better attuned to the educated ear. This unanimity of feeling in the Irish people, as displayed in their attachment to the Stuart dynasty, wrought them up on one occasion at least to a pitch of real heroism, because religion, ns was shown, lay at the bottom of it. The whole history of the nation bears out this solemn fact : that religion constitutes with them the strongest as the holiest feeling of all. What others fondly believe, they know to be a fact, that their religion is inde- structible and must triumph in the long-run, and that the triumph of their nation is one with the triumph of their religion. Can a nobler motive than this fire the human heart ? Where the wonder, then, that souls, ever swayed by such ennobling emo- tions, can be lifted up to do deeds gigantic and heroic ? One other circumstance still renders their unanimity on that occasion more remarkable and admirable. Their devotion was to the Stuarts, not to the English people ; to the dynasty, not to the nation over which it was set. Nevertheless, in bending to the yoke of the Stuarts, they bent to England also. They were perfectly conscious that it was to the kings of England that they tendered their true allegiance. They knew that, in accepting the dynasty, they accepted with it such English officials as Borlase, Parsons, and Ormond; that with the official government they would have to accept colonists who detested them, and that those colonists would be preferred before them ; that in the lower ranks they would have to bow to English judges, sheriffs, informers even and spies. Something has been said of the police which the genius of Elizabeth invented, and which haa 19 290 THE IRISH AND THE STUARTS. flourished ever since. Yet did thej not refuse the accessory with the principal. Deluded men they may be called by many ; but people cannot ordinarily understand the high motives which move men swayed only by the twofold feeling of religion and nationality. Nothing in our opinion could better prove that the Irish were really a nation, at the time we speak of, than the remarks just set forth. When all minds are so unanimous, the wills so ready, the arms so strong and well prepared to strike together, it must be admitted that in the whole exists a common teeling, a national will. Self-government may be wanting ; it may have been suppressed by sheer force and kept under by the most un- favorable state of affairs, but the nation subsists and cannot fail ultimately to rise. In those eventful times shone forth too that characteristic which has already been remarked upon of a true conservative spirit and instinctive hatred for every principle which in our days is called radical and revolutionary. Had there existed in the Irish disposition the least inclination toward those social and moral aberrations, productive to-day of so many and such wide- spread evils, surely the period of the English Revolution was the fitting time to call them forth, and turn them from their steady adherence to right and order into the new channels, toward which nations were being then hurried, and which would really have favored for the time-being their own efforts for indepen- dence. Then would the Irish have presented to future historians as stirring an episode of excitement and activity as was furnished by the English and Scotch at that time, by the French later on, and which to-day most European nations offer. The temptation was indeed great. They saw with what suc- cess rebellion was rewarded among the English and Scotch. They themselves were sure to be stamped as rebels whichever side they took ; and, as was seen, Charles II. allowed his commissioners in his act of settlement so to style them, and punish them for it — for supporting the cause of his father against the Parliament. Would it not have been better for them to have become once, at least, rebels in true earnest, and reap the same advantage from rebellion which all around them reaped ? Yet did they stand proof against the demoralizing doctrmes of Scotch Cove- nanter and English republican. Hume, who was openly adverse to every thing Irish, is compelled to describe this Cathohc peo- ple as " loyal from principle, attached to regal power from reli- gious education, uniformly opposing popular frenzy, and zeal- ous vindicators of royal prerogatives.^' All this was in perfect accord with their traditional spirit and historical recollections. Revolutionary doctrines have always been antagonistic to the Irish mind and heart. This will appear THE IRISH AND THE STU.APTS. 291 more fully when recent times come under notice, and it may be a surprise to some to find that, with the exception of a few indi- viduals, who in nowise represent the nation, the latest and favorite theories of the world, not only on religion, science, and Philosophy, but likewise on government and the social state, ave never found open advocates among them. They, so far, constitute the only nation untouched, as yet, by the blight which is passing over and withering the life of modern society. Thus, it may be said that the exiled nobility still rules in Ireland by the recollection of the past, though there can no longer exist a hope of reconstructing an ancient order which has passed away forever. The prerogatives once granted to the aristocratic classes are now disowned and repudiated on all sides ; in Ireland they would be submitted to with joy to-morrow, could the actual de- scendants of the old families only make good their claims. It must not be forgotten that the Irish nobility, as a class, deserved well of their country, sacrificed themselves for it when the time of sacrifice came, and therefore it is fitting that they should live in the memory of the people that sees their traces but finds them not. The dream of finding rulers for the nation from among those who claim to be the descendants of the old chieftains, is a dream and nothing more ;. but, even stiU to many Irishmen, it is within the compass of reality, so deeply ingrained is their con- servative spirit, and so completely, in this instance, at least, are they free from the influx of modern ideas. The Stuarts, then, were supported by the Irish, not merely from religious, but also from national motives, inasmuch as that family was descended from the line of Gaelic kings, and, how- ever unworthy they themselves may have been, their rights were upheld and acknowledged against all comers. But, the Stuarts gone, allegiance was flung to the winds. The success of Cromwell and his republic was the doom of all prospects of the reunion of the two islands ; and the subsequent Revolution of 1688, which commenced so soon after the aeath of the Protector, left the Irish in the state in which the strug- gles of four hundred years with the Plantagenets and Tudors had placed and left them in relation to their connection with Eng- land — a state of antagonism and mutual repulsion, wherein the Irish nation, the victim of might, was slowly educated by mis- fortune until the time should come for the open acknowledg- ment of right. CHAPTER Xn. A OENTURT OF GLOOM.-^-THE PENAL LAWS. William III., of Orange, was inclined to observe, in good faith, the articles agreed upon at the surrender of Limerick, namely, to allow the conquered liberty of worship, citizen rights, BO much as remained to them of their property, and the means for personal safety recognized before the departure of Sarsfield and nis men. The lords justices even issued a proclamation commandmg " all officers and soldiers of the army and militia, and all other persons whatsoever, to forbear to do any wrong or injury, or to use unlawful violence to any of his Majesty's subjects, whether of the British or Irish nation, without distinction, and that all persons taking the oath of allegiance^ and behaving themselves according to law, should be deemed subjects under their Majes- ties' protection, and be equally entitled to the benefit of the ]aw."--(^«77^, ''Ufe of WiUmm:') This first proclamation not having been generally obeyed, an- other was published denouncing " the utmost vengeance of the law against the offenders ; " and the author above quoted adds that " the satisfaction given to the Irish was a source of lasting grati- tude to the person and government of William." It is even asserted that, not only did the new monarch thus latify the treaty of Limerick, but that '* he inserted in the ratifica- tion a clause of the last importance to the Irish, which had been omitted in the draught signed by the lords justices and Sarsfield. That clause extended the benefits of the capitulation to " all such as were under the protection of the Irish army in the counties of Limerick, Clare, Kerry, Cork, and Mayo. A great Quantity of Catholic property depended on the insertion of this clause in the ratification, and the English Privy Council hesitated whether to take advantage of the omission. The honesty of the king declared it to be a part of the articles." The final confirmation was issued from Westminster on Feb- ruary 24, 1692, in the name of William and Mary, A CENTURY OF GLOOM. 293 But the party which had overcome the honest leanings of James I., if he ever had any, and of his son and grandson, was at this time more powerful than ever, and could not consent to extend the claims of justice and right to the conquered. This party was the Ulster colony, which Cromwell's settlement had spread to the two other provinces of Leinster and Munster, and which was confirmed in its usurpation by the weakness of the second Charles. The motives for the bitter animosity which eaused it to set its face against every measure involving the scantiest justice toward its fellow-countrymen may be summed ip in two words — greed and fanaticism. Until the time when the first of the Stuarts ascended the English throne, all the successive spoliations of Ireland, even the last under Elizabeth, at the end of the Geraldine war, were made to the advantage of the English nobility. Even the younger sons of families from Lancashire, Cheshire, and Dorset- shire, who " planted " Munster after the ruin of the Desmonds, had noble blood in their veins, and were consequently subject more or less to the ordinary prejudices of feudal lords. The life of the agriculturist and grazier was too low down in the social scale to catch their supercilious glance. The consequence of which was, that the Catholic tenants of Munster were left undis- turbed in their holdings. Instead of the "dues" exacted by their former chieftains, they now paid rent to their new lords. But the rabble let loose on the island by James I. was afflicted with no such dainty notions as these. To supercilious glances were substituted eyes keen as the Israelites', for the " main chance." The new planters, intent only on profit and gain, thought with the French peasant of an after-date, that, for landed estate to produce its full value, " there is nothing like the eye of a master." The Irish peasant was therefore removed from at least one-half the farms of Ulster, and driven to live as best he might among the Protestant lords of Munster. And in order to have an entirely Protestant " plantation," it became incumbent on the new owners so to frame the legislation as to deprive the Irish Catholics of any possibility of recovering their former possessions. Thus, laws were passea declaring nml and void all purchases made by " Irish papists." Who has not witnessed, at some period in his life, the eJffect produced on the people in his neighborhood by one avaricious but wealthy man, intent only on increasing his property, and profiting by the slavish labor of the poor under his control? Wlio has not detested, in his inmost soul, the grinding tyranny of the miser gloating over the hard wealth which he has wrung from the misery and tears of all around him, and who boasts of the cunning shrewdness, the success of which is only too visible in the desolation that encircles him? Imagine such scenef 11 294 A CENTURY OF GLOOM, enacted throughout a large territory, beginning with UUter, Bpreading thence to Munster and Connaught, and finally through the whole island, and we have an exact picture of the effects of the Protestant " plantation." Each year, almost, of the seven^ teenth century witnessed fresh swarms of these foreign adven- turers settling on the island, interrupted in their operations only by the Confederation of Kilkenny, but multiplying faster and faster after the destruction of that truly national government, until at the time now under our consideration, ^^ Scotch thrift," as it is called, had become the chief virtue of most of the owners of land — Scotch thrift, which is but another name for greed. It were easy to show, by long details, that this great charac- teristic of the new " plantation " would suffice to explain that general and terrible pauperism which has since become the striking feature of once-happy Ireland. But only a few words can be allowed. It is the fanaticism of the new "planters" which will chiefly occupy our attention. These were composed, first, of the Scotch Presbyterians of Knox, whom James I. had dispatched, and after- ward of the ranting soldiers and officers of Cromwell's army, more Jew than Christian, since their mouths were ever filled with Bible texts of that particular character wherein the wrath of God is denounced against the impious and cruel tribes of Palestine. It is doubtful whether the ideas of God and man, Promulgated and spread among the people by Calvin and Knox, ave ever been equalled in evil consequences by the most super- stitious beliefs of ancient pagans. Let us look well at those teachings. According to tliem, God is the author of evil : he issues forth his decrees of election or reprobation, irrespective of merit or demerit ; inflicting eternal torments on innumerable souls which never could have been saved, and for whom the Son of God did not die. What any rational being must consider as the most revolting cruelty and injustice, these men called acts of pure justice executed by the hand of God. God saves blindly those whom he saves, and takes them home to his bosom, thoiign reeking with the unrepented and unexpiated crimes of their lives — unexpiable, in fact, on the part of man — merely because they persuade themselves that they ai'e of " the elect." in that system, man is a mere machine, unendowed with the slightest symptom of free-will, but inflated with the most over- bearing pride ; deeming all others but those of his sect the necessary objects of the blind wrath of God, cast off and repro- bate from all eternity in the designs of Providence ; for whom " the elect " can feel no more pity or affection than redeemed men can for the arch-fiend himself, both being alike redeemlesi and unredeemed. No system of pretended religion, invented by the pervert^ A OENTURY OF GLOOM. 395 tnind of man, under the inspiration of the Evil One, coiild go further in atrocity than this. Yet such was the pure, undiluted essence of Calvinism in its beginning. In our times its doctrines have been radically modified, as its adherents could not escape the soothing opera- tions of time and calm reason. But, at the period of wnicn we speak, its absurd and revolting tenets were fresh, and taken religiously to the letter. The new colonists, therefore, believed, and acted on the belief, that all men outside of their own body were the enemies of God and had God for their enemy. What a convenient doc- trine for men of an " itching palm ! " The papists, in particular, were worse than idolaters, and to "root them out" was only to^ render a service to God. In the event of this holy desire not ' being altogether possible of execution, the nearest approach to the goodly work was to strip them of all rights, and render the life of such reprobates more miserable than the death which was to condemn them to the eternal torments planned out for them in the eternal decrees, and so give them a foretaste here of the life destined for them hereafter. The reader, then, may understand how the Scotch Presby- terians of the time, overflowing as they were with free and republican ideas as far as regarded their own welfare, when it came to a question of extending the same to their Catholic fellow-men, it they would have admitted the term, scouted such a preposterous and ungodly idea. These latter were unworthy the enjoyment of such benefit. And thus the hoot of Protestant ascendency, " Protestant liberty and right ! " came up as war-cries to stifle out all efforts tending to extend even the most ordinary privileges of the liberty which is man's by nature, to any but Protestants of the same class as themselves. Here a curious reflection, full of meaning, and causing the mind almost to mock at the type of a free constitution, presents itself. The eighteenth century witnessed the development of the British Constitution as now known. It embraced in its bosom all British citizens, raising up the nation to the pinnacle of material prosperity, while at the same time and all through it, whole classes of citizens of the British Empire, both in Great Britain and Ireland, were openly, unblushingly, legally^ without a thought of mercy or pity — ^not to mention such an ugly word as logic — denied tne protection of the common charter.and the common rights. Under Cromwell the doctrines of Galvm and Knox did not show themselves quite so obtrusively. The officers and soldiers of his armies, in common with their general, thought the Pres- byterian Kirk too aristocratic and unbending. They formed a aew sect of Independents, now called Congregational ists. But ^96 A oentuhy op gloom. the chief feature of the new religious system became as produc tive of evil to Ireland as the stern dogmas of Calvin ever could be. The principle that the Scriptures constituted the only rule of faith was beginning to bear its fruits. It is needless to remark that Holy Scripture, when abandoned to the free interpretation of all, becomes the source of many errors, as it may be tne source of many crimes. The historian and novelist even have ere now frequently told us to what purpose the " Word of God " was manipulated by Scottish Covenanter and Cromwellian freebooter. The Covenanter, or freebooter, saw in the antagonists of his " real rebellion " and opposers of the designs of his dark policy, only the enemies of God and the adversaries of his Providence. He believed himself divinely commissioned to de- stroy Catholics and butcher innocent women and children, as the armies of Joshua were authorized to fight against Amalek, and possess themselves of a country occupied by a people whose cruel idolatry was ineradicable, and rendered them absolutely irreconcilable. Thus to the stem and odious tenets of Calvinism the new invaders joined the fanaticism of self-deluded Jews, never having received any commission from the God whom they blasphemed, yet bearing themselves with all the solemnity of his instruments. There is consequently nothing to surprise us in the atrocities committed by the Scotch troops in 1641, when they first invaded the island from the north, as little as there is in the numerous massacres which first attended the march of the troops of Crom- well, Ireton, and other leaders, and which were only discontinued when the voice of Europe rose up in revolt at the recital, and they themselves became thoroughly convinced that the complete destruction of the people was impossible, and the only next best thing to be done was to export as many as could be exported and reduce the rest to slavery. Thus did the new colony commence its workings, and it is easy to comprehend how such intensely Protestant doctrines, remaining implanted in the breasts of the people who came to make Ireland their home, could not fail to oppose an insur- mountable barrier to the fusion of the new and the old inhab- itants, and impart a fearful reality to the theory of " Protestant ascendency " and " Protestant liberty and right " — the liberty and right to oppress those of another creed. Thege watchwords form the key to the understanding of all the miseries and woes of Irishmen during the whole of the eigh- teenth century. "We now turn to contemplate the commence- ment of the workings of this fanatic intolerance which ushered in the century of gloom. The lords justices had just returned, after concluding the treaty of peace with Sarsfielq, when the first mutterings of the A CENTURY OF GLOOM. 297 thunder were heard that presaged tlie coming storm. Dr. Dop- \)ing, the Protestant Bishop of Meath, while preaching before them on the Sunday following their return to Dublin, reproached them openly in Christ Church for their indulgence to tne Irish, and urged that nofcuiih was to he kept with such a cruel andjper- fidious race. This sort of doctrine has been heard before, and from men of the stamp of Dr. Dopping ; it is still heard every day, but it is generally thrown into the teeth of Catholics and saddled on them as their doctrine, however frequently refuted. The doctor stated broadly that with such people no treaties were binding, and that therefore the articles of Limerick were not to be observed. William and his Irish government endeavored to check this intemperance ; but the feelings of the sectarians were too ardent to be thus easily smothered, and the greater the opposition they encountered, the more they insisted on proclaiming their views, o which naturally they gained many adJierents among the colo- nists of the Protestant plantation. The Irish Parliament soon assembled in Dublin. The major- ity, imbued with the gloomy Calvinism of the times, and fearing to face the opposition of the respectable minority of Catholic members, who had come to take their seats, passed an act impos- ing a new oath, in contradiction to one of the articles of the treaty. That oath included an abjuration of James's right dejure, a renunciation of the spiritual authority of the Pope, and (as though that were not enough to exclude Catholics) a declaration against the doctrine of transubstantiation and other fundamen- tal tenets of their creed. Persons who refused to take this oath were debarred from all offices and emoluments, as well as from both Houses of the Irish Parliament. The Catholic members were compelled to withdraw at once ; and no Catholic ever took part in the legislation of his own country from that day until the Emancipation in 1829. After this withdrawal, which in the times of the French Con- vention would have been called an epuration, the Irish Parlia- ment became the bane of the country. In fact, it only repre- sented parliamentary England, and subjected Ireland to every measure required by English ultraists for the attainment of their selfish purposes. Possessed by a gloomy fanaticism, its main ob- ject was to root out of the island every vestige that remained of the religion which had once flourished there. All its legisla- tive spirit was concentrated in the two questions : Are the laws already in existence against the further growth of Popery rigid- Iv enforced ? and, cannot some new law be introduced to fiirtlier tne same object ? Many a time were these two questions put in the assembh called the Irish Parliament, until near the end of the eighteen tn 398 A CENTURY OF GLOOM. century ; and every time some zealous Protestant member wai found endowed with the fertile ingenuity reqiusite to invent some new scheme of persecution, and move for some new meas- ure which had escaped his less-gifted predecessors. So furious grew this spirit that in 1704, in the Augustan age of " our good Queen Anne," at the very beginning of tliis epocli, when the whole House of Commons, their Speaker at their head, went to present an address to the lord-lieutenant, then the Duke of Ormond, petitioning an increase of the penalties against Catholics, it is said that the party in the House which stood in favor of the persecuted Irish, ashamed of the spirit of oppression then raging, moved for measures of unexampled atrocity in order to defeat the bill. Among such measures was the clause which provided that the son oi a Catholic, by " conforming," might render his father a mere tenant for life. But, instead of pro- ducing the desired effect, and opening the eyes of all to the ex- cess of persecution, members were only too eager to accept every thing proposed, whatever might be the extravagance of the measure, and thus what had been intended as an ironical jest be- came a bitter and cruel reality. Henceforth the two parties contending for power in England, the Whigs and Tories, came to look upon the Irish as a fit sub- ject for party intrigue, and the only purpose which they could nnd the much-abused nation capable of serving politically was %s a handle for their selfish ambition. With perfect justice could Matthew O'Connor say, in speak- ing of Somerville's " Queen Anno : " " Tlie Tories had been undermined by the Duke of Marlborough, and their successors, the "Whigs, combining transcendent talent for mischief, with an implacable hatred to the exiled family and their supposed ddher- ents in Ireland, exerted all their abilities to rivet the chains of Catholics, and to guard against all evasion of the existing laws. To this party belonged the famous Earl of Wharton, immortal- ized in infamy by the prose of Swift and the poetry of Pope. . . . The outlines of his character, his sarcastic malignity, his eager- ness for persecution, his delight in the misery of others, may all be traced in his speech to the Irish Parliament of 1709 : " * I am obliged,' said he, * and directed to lav before you an- other consideration of infinite consequence, and that is, to put you in mind of the great inequality there is, in point of numbers, between the Protestants and Papists in this kingdom, and the melancholy experience you have had of the good nature of this sort of men'* (the Irish) ^whenever theij had it in their power to distress arid astray you. This reflection must necessarily lead you to think of two things : the first is, seriously to consider whether any new bills are wanted to explain and enforce those good laws which you have already for preventing the ^oMTth of A CENTURY OF GLOOM. -299 Poperj, and, in tlie next place, it makes evident the necessity there is of cultivating and preserving a good understanding among all Protestants in this Kingdom.' " Let the reader bear in mind that language such as this, and its result in the shape of atrocious legislation, continued through- ont the whole of the eighteenth century in Ireland, and he will find no difficulty in understanding the meaning of Edmund Burke's words when he said : " The code against the Catholics was a machine of wise and elaborate contrivance ; and as well fitted for the oppression, impoverishment, and degradation of a people, and the debasement in them of human nature itself, as ever proceeded from the perverted ingenuity of man." And, elsewhere : " To render men patient under the deprivation of all the rights of Imman nature, every thing which could give them a knowledge and feeling of those rights was rationally forbidden. To render humanity fit to be insulted, it was fit that it should be degraded." But it is very pertinent to our purpose to give a sketch of those good lav/s, as Wharton calls them, before seeing how the Irish preferred to submit to them rather than lose their faith by " conforming." The subject has been already investigated by many writers, and of late far more completely than formerly. But the authors never presented the laws as a whole, contenting themselves, for the most part, by transcribing them in the' chro- nological order in which they were enacted, or, if occasionally they endeavored to combine and thus present a more striking idea of the eflfect which such laws must have produced on the people, they were never, as far as is known to the writer, reduced to a plan, and consequently fail to bring forth the effect intended to be produced by them. It is impossible here to give the text of those various laws — impossible even to give a fairly accurate idea of the whole. They shall be classified, however, to the best of our ability, and a« fully as circumstances permit. Mr. Prendergast seems to consider their ultimate object always t«: have been the robbing of the Irish of their lands, or securing tha plunder if already in possession. That this was one of the great objects always Kept m view in their enactment, we do not teel inclined to contest ; but that it was their only or even chief cause, we may be allowed to question, with the greatest deference to the opinion of the celebrated author of the often-quoted *' Cromwellian Settlement." We believe those laws to have been produced chiefly by sec- tarian fanaticism ; or, if some of their framers, such as Lord Wharton, possessed no religious feelings of any kind, and could uot be called fanatics, their intent was to pander to the real fanaticism of the English people, as it existed at the time, and 800 A CENTURY OF Gl.OOM. particularly of the colony planted in li-cland, wliieh hated Poperv to the death, and would have given all its possessions and lanag for the destruction of the Scarlet Woman. In order to attain the great residt proposed, the aim of the " penal statute " was one in its very complexity. For it had to deal with complex rights, which it took away one after another until the unity of the system was completed by the suppression of them all. We classify these under the heads of political, civil, and hu- man rights. The result of the whole policy was to degrade the Irish to the level of the wretched helots under Sparta, with this difference: while the slaves of the Lacedaemonians numbered but a few thousands, the Irish were counted by millions. The system, as a whole, was the work of time, and, undej- William of Orange — even under Queen Anne — it had not yet at- tained its maturity, though the principal and the severest meas- ures were carried and put in force from the very beginning. The ingenious little devices regarding short and small leases, the possession of valuable horses, etc., were mere fanciful adjuncts which the witty and inventive legislators of the Hanoverian dy- nasty were happy enough to find unrecorded in the statute- booKs, and which they had the honor of setting there, and thus adding a new piquancy and vigorous flavor to the whole dish. Toward the middle of the eighteenth century, the system may be said to have reached its perfection. After that time it would, in all likelihood, have been impossible to improve further, and render the yoke of slavery heavier and more galling to the Irish. The beaiity and simplicity of the whole consisted in the fact that the great majority of these measures were not decreed in so many positive and express terms against Catholics in the fonn of open and persecuting statutes. It was merely mentioned in the laws that, to enjoy such and such a particular right, it was necessary that every subject of the crown should take such and Buch an oath, which no Catholic could take. Thus, the entire Irish population was set between their religion and their rightf^ and at any moment, by merely taking the oath, they were at lil) erty to enjoy all the privileges which rendered the colonists liv- ing in their midst so happy and contented, and so proud of their " Jrrotestant ascendency. It was hoped, no doubt, that, if at first and for a certain time, the faith of the Irish would stand proof and prompt them to sac- rifice every thing held dear in life, rather than surrender that faith, nevertheless, worn out at length, and disheartened by wretchedness, unable longer to sustain their heavy burden, they would finally succumb, and, by the mere action of such an easy thing as recording an oath in accordance with the law, thougn •gainst their conscience, become men and citizeui. It was what A OENTURY OF GLOOM. 301 the French Conventionalists of 1793 called " desoler la paiietice^^ of their victims. This unholy hope was disappointed ; and, with the exception of a comparatively few weak Christians among their number, the nation stood firm and preferred the " ignominy of the cross of Christ " to the enjoyments of this perishable life. Their political rights were, as was seen, the first to be taken away. The Parliament of 1691 required of its members the oath referred to, and for the repudiation of which, all the Catholic members were compelled at once to withdraw. But the con- trivance of swearing being found such an excellent instrument to use against men possessed of a conscience, the ruling body — now reduced to the former Protestant majority — required that the same oath be taken by all electors, magistrates, and ofl&cers of whatever grade, from the highest to the lowest in the land. The oath itself was an elastic formula, capable of- being stretched or contracted, according to circumstances, so that, by tlie addition of an incidental phrase or two, it might be framed te meet new exigencies, and give expression to the lively imagina- tion of ingenious members of Parliament. It would be curious to collect an account of the variety of shapes it assumed, and to comment on the different occasions which gave rise to these different developments. A long history of persecuting frenzy might thus be condensed into a commentary of a comparatively few pages. Even at the so-called Catholic Emancipation it was not abolished ; on the contrary, it was sacredly preserved, and two new formulas drawn up, the one for the Protestant and the other for the Catholic members of the legislature, Lords and Commons, and so it remains, to this day, except that the most offensive clauses of the last century have disappeared. Imagine, then, the spectacle offered by the island whenever an election for representatives, magistrates, or petty officers, took place ; whenever those entitled to select holders of offices which were not subject to election, made known the persons of their choice. This vast array of aristocratic masters was chosen from the ranks of the English colonists, and had for its avowed object to preserve the Protestant ascendency, and consequently grind under the heel of the most abject oppression the whole mass of the population of the island. There was no other meaning in all these political combinations and changes, recurring peri- odically, and heralded forth by the voice of the press and the thunder of the hustings. Politics in Ireland was nothing else than the expression given to the despotism of an insignificant minority over almost tlie entire body of the people. For, despite all their repressive measures, the enemies of the Catholic faith could never pretend even to a semblance in point of numbers, much less to a majority, over the children of^ the creed taught a02 A OENTURY OF GLOOM. by Patrick. Ireland remained Catholic tlirongliout ; and it« oppressors could not fail to feel tlie bitter huiuiliation of their constant numerical inferiority. Hence the words quoted in the speech of Wharton, the lord-lieutenant. This has always been the case, in spite of the combination of a multitude of circumstances adverse to the spread of the Cath- olic population. It may not be amiss to give room for the statis- tics and remarks of Abbe Perraud on this most interesting Bubject, contained in his book on " Ireland under British rule," "In 1672, the total population of Ireland was 1,100,000 (it is to be remembered that this was after the massacres and tran»- portations of Cromwell's period). Of that number " 800,000 were Catholics. 50,000 " Dissenters. 150,000 " Church-of-Ireland men. " In 1727, the Anglican Primate of Ireland, Boulter, Arch^ bishop of Armagh, wrote to his English colleague, the Arch- bishop of Canterbury, that * we have, in all probability, in this kingdom, at least five Papists for every Protestant.' Those pro- portions are confirmed by ofiicial statistics under Queen Anne. "In 1740, according to a kind of official census, confirmed by Wakefield, the number of Protestant heads of families did not exceed 96,067. " Twenty^six years later, the Dublin House of Lords caused a comparative table of Protestant and Catholic families to be drawn up for each county. The result was the following: Protestant families 130,263 Catholic " 305,680 " In 1834, exact statistical returns bein? made of the members of each communion, the following was the result : The total population being estimated at 7,943,940, the Church-ofJreland members amounted only to the number of 852,004. The remain- ing 7,091,876 were thus divided : Presbyterians 642,350 Other Dissenters 21,808 Catholics 6,427,718 "The censuses oi 1841 and 1851 contained no information Qpon this important question. Thirty years had therefore elapsed since official figures had given the exact proportions of eacn Church. " This silence of the Blue Books had given rise, among the Protestant press of England and Ireland, to the opinion, too hastily adopted on the Continent by publicists of great weight, that einigration and famine had resulted in the equalization of A CENTURY OF GLOOM. 303 the numbers of Protestants and Catholics in Ireland. The evident conclusion lojfullj drawn from this supposed fact bj the defenders of the Anglican Church was, that the scandal of a Protestant establishment in the midst and at the expense of a Catholic people was gradually dying away. " The forlorn hope of the Tory and Orange press went still farther. They boldly disputed Ireland's right to the title of Catholic. So, although, ten years and twenty years before, these same journals furiously opposed the admission of religious de- nominations into the statistics of the census, yet, when the census of 1861 drew near, they quite as loudly demanded its insertion. They made it a matter of challenge to' the Catholics. *'The ultramontane journals accepted the challenge. The Catholics unanimously demanded a denominational census. The results were submitted to the representatives of the nation in July, 1861. No shorter, more decisive, or more triumphant answer could have been given to the sarcasms and challenges of the old Protestant party." "We confine ourselves here to the total sums, leaving out minor details : Catholics 4,490,583 Establishment 687,661 Dissenters 595,577 . Jews 322 Thus in this century, as throughout the whole of the century of gloom, the island is truly and really Catholic. By way of contrast, a few words on the same subject may not be out of place with reference to England. We have already stated, and given some of the reasons for so doing, that, at the death of Elizabeth, England was already Protestant to the core. In his " Memoirs," vol. ii.. Sir John Dalrymple has pub- lished a curious official report of the numbers of Catholics in England, in the reign of William of Orange, found after his death in the iron chest of that vigilant monarch. From this authentic document we take the following extract : Nurriber of Freeholders m Englcmd,^ Conformists. Non-ConformiBl«. Papists. Province of Canterbury, 2,123,362 93,151 11,878 Province of York, . 353,892 15,525 1,978 Totals . . 2,477,254 108,676 13,856 It is known also that, under George III., the number of Cath- olicft in the whole of Great Britain did not exceed sixty thou- • Dr. Jiadden'g " Penal Uwt." 304 A OENTUKY OF GLOOM. Band, 80 thorough had been the separation of England from the true Church. To return to the ostracism of a whole nation from its politi- cal rights. No individual really belonging to it could take the slighte&t share in the administration of its affairs. They were all left to the control of aliens, whose boast it was that they were English, and whose chief object was to secure English as- cendency, and subject every thing Irish to the rule of force. Yet all this while a new era was dawning on the world ; a multitude of voices were proclaiming new social and political doctrines ; all were to be free, to possess privileges that might not be intrenched upon — to wit, a voice in the affairs of the na- tion, trial by their peers, no taxation without due representation, and the like — while a whole nation by the unanimous consent of the loudest of these freedom-mongers was excluded from every benefit of the new ideas, was literally placed in bondage, and left without the possibility of being heard and admitted to the enjoyment of the common rights, because the one voice which would have declared in their favor, which in former times had so often and so loudly spoken, when so to speak was to offend the powers of this world, was deprived of the right of be- ing heard. The doctrine that the rapal supremacy was a usurpation, and the Pope himself an enemy of freedom, was laid down as a cardinal principle. After such public renunciation of former doctrines, all these new and so-called liberal theories were a mere delusion and a snare. There was no possibilitv of effect- ually securing freedom, in spite of so much promised, to all and granted to some ; no possibility of really protecting the rights of all. The public right newly proclaimed ended finally in might. Majorities ruled despotically over the minorities, and, as the des- potism of the multitude is ever harsher and more universal than that of any monarch, the reign of cruel injustice was let in upon Ireland. And in her case the injustice was peculiarly aggravated, inasmuch as it was a small alien minority whicn trampled under foot the rights of a great native majority. But, although the deprivation of political rights is perhaps more fatal to a nation than that of any other, on account of what follows in its train, particularly in the framing of the laws, never- theless the deprivation of civil rights is generally more acutely felt, because the grievances resulting from it meet man at every turn, at every moment of his life, in his household and domestic circle. In fact, the penal laws stripped Catholics of every civil right which modern society can conceive, and it was chiefly there that the ingenuity of their oppressors labored during the greater part of a century to make a total wreck of Irish welfare. Those rights may be classified generally as the right of |x>8- •essing and holding landed property, the right of earning an A CENTURY OF GLOOM. 306 honorable living by profession or trade, the right of protection against injustice bj equal laws, the right of fair trial before con- demnation : such are the chief. It is doubtful if there is any thing of importance left of which a citizen can be deprived, un- less indeed he be openly and unjustly deprived of life. It has been already indicated how the policy of England, with regard to Ireland, from that first invasion, in the time of Henry IL, was prompted by the desire of gaining possession of the soil, and how after seven hundred years of struggle it suc- ceeded in attaining its object ; so that the whole island had been confiscated, and in some instances two or three times over. The object of the penal laws, therefore, could not be to deprive the Irish of the land which they no longer possessed, but to prevent them acquiring any land in any quantity whatever, and from re- entering into possession, by purchase or otherwise, of any por- tion of their own soil and of the estates which belonged to their ancestors. So harsh and cunning a design, we doubt not, never entered the minds of any former legislators, even in pagan an- tiquity. The great stimulus to exertion in civil society consists of the acquisition of property, chiefly of land. In feudal times seigno- rial estates could be purchased by none but those of noble blood ; but with allodial estates it was difierent all through Eu- rope. Yet just at the time when feudal laws were passing into disuse the Irish were prevented, by carefuUy-drawn enactments, from purchasing even a rood of their native soil. " The prohi- bition had been already extended to the whole nation by the Commonwealth government, and when the lands forfeited by the wars of 1690 came to be sold at Chichester House in 1703, the Irish were declared by the English Parliament incapable of pur- chasing at the auction, or of taking a lease of more than two acres." — {Prendergast.) The same author adds in a note : " But it was when the es- tate was made the property of the first Protestant discoverer, that animation was put into this law. Discoverers then became like hounds upon the scent after lands secretly purchased by the Irish. Gentlemen fearing to lose their lands, found it now neces- sary to conform — namely, to abjure Catholicism. Between 1703 and 1709 there were only thirty-six conformers in Ireland; in the next ten years (after the Discovery Act), the conformists were one hundred and fifty." But the full object was not onlv to prevent the Irish from be- coming even moderately rich in land ; they were to be reduced to actual pauperism. Hence the prohibitory laws did not stop at this first outrage ; almost impossible occurrences were supposea and provided for, lest there might be a chance of their realization lit some time. It was actually provided that, if the produce of 20 805 A OENTUBY OF GLOOM. tlieir farms brought a greater profit to the Irish than was ex- pected, notwithstanding all these measures against the possible occurrence of such an evil, the lease was void, and the " discov- erer " should receive the amount. There was no loop-hole by which the people might escape from this degradation. But there was still the cliance loft of en- gaging in trade, acquiring personal property by its practice, and becoming the owners of a sum of money in bank, or of a dwell- ing-house in the city. The English law of succession was un» derstood to be a law for all, and consequently, in some out-of^the^ way cases, a stray Irish family might be found in course of time with an elder branch possessed of a fair amount of property, and able to emerge from the dead level of the common misery. Such a possibility could not of course be permitted by the English coI» onists who ruled the land. So the law of gavelkind, to which the Irish had at one time been so attached, was now to be forced upon them, and upon them alone of all the British subjects. It was decreed that, upon the death of every Irishman, whatever of personal property he left behind him was to be divided equally among all his children, who, being generally numerous, would 0a(?h receive but a trifle, and so perpetuate the pauperism of the Fuce, Where the surprise, then, in finding the whole nation reduced flince that time to a state of the most abject poverty ? It was the will of the rulers that so it should be, and their scheme, guarded ^nd enforced by so many legislative acts, could not fail to succeed in producing the effect intended. Granting even the smallest amount of truth in what is so often flung at the Irish as a reproach — their carelessness and want of foresight>--how could it be otherwise, to what c^use can such failings, even if they exist, be assigned, save to the utter impossibility of succeeding in any efibrt which they chose to make* The true origin of the state in which the Irish at home now appear to the eyes of foreign travellers, is the deliberate intention, sternly acted upon for more than a century, to make the island one vast poorhouse. The wretched situation in which they have ever since re- mained, confessed by all to be without parallel on earth, is cer- tainly not to be laid at the door of the present population of England, nor even to the colony still intrenched on Irish soil ; but with what right can it be brought forward as a reproach against the Irish themselves, when its real cause is so evident, and when history speaks so plainly on the subject ? All sensible Englishmen of our days will readily acknowl- edge that, without indulging in mutual recrimination, the duty of all is to repair the injuries of the i)ast, and to do away witn the last remnants of its sad consequences. Wounds so deep and \ A CENTURY OF GLOOM. S07 many in a nation cannot be healed by half-measures ; and it ia only a thorough change of system, and a complete reversal of legislation, that can leave the English of to-day without reproach. Pauperism, then, is the necessary misfortune, not the crime of Ireland ; we may even go further, and assert that, if millions of Irishmen have lived and died paupers, owing to the barbarous laws enacted for that special purpose, few indeed among them have been reduced even by hard necessity and the extreme of misery to manifest a pauper spirit and a miserly bent. There is no doubt that the almost invariable result of suffering and want is to create selfishness in the sufferer, and cause him to cling desperately to the little he may possess. Self-preservation and self-indulgence, in such a case, form the law of human na- ture, and no one even expects to find a really poor man gener- ous, when he can scarcely meet his bare necessities and the im- perious wants of his family. It is the peculiarity of the Irish to know how to combine generosity with the deprivation almost of the common necessaries of life. When masters of their own soil, a large hospitality and a free-handed " bestowing of gifts " — such, we believe, was the Irish expression — was universal among them ; the poorest clansman would have been ashamed not to imitate, in his degree, the liberal spirit of his prince. They often gave all they had, regardless of the future ; and, when their chieftains demanded of the clansmen what the Book of Rights imposed upon them, their exclamation was, " Spend me but defend me." Though the people of Erin have been reduced to the sad necessity of forgetting that old proverb of the nation, the spirit which gave rise to it lives in their hearts and is proved by their deeds. What other nation, even the richest and most prosperous, could have accomplished what the world has seen them bring to Eass during this century ? The laws which, so long ago, for- ade them to be generous, and prohibited them from providing openly for the worship of their God, for the education of their children, for the help of the sick and needy among them, have at last been made inoperative by their oppressors. Sut, when they were at length left free to follow the freedom and generosity oi their hearts, they found — what ? In their once beautiful and Christian country, a universal desolation ; the blackened ruins of what had been their abbeys, churches, hospitals, and asylums ; the very ground on which they stood stolen away from them, and the Protestant establishment in full enjoyment of the revenues of the Catholics. They found every thing in the same state that they had known for centuries. Nothing was restored to them. They were at liberty to spend what they did not possess, since they were as poor as men could be. Every thing had to be done by them tow- ard the reestablishing of their churches, schools, and various asy- lums, and they had nothing wherewith to do it. 808 A CENTURY OF GLOOM. « There is no need of going item by item over what they did The present prosperons state of the Irish Catholic pu})lic fastitu- tions — churches, scliools, and all — is owing to their pooWy-filled pockets. God alone knows how it all came about. We can only see in them the poor of Christ, rich in all gifts, " even alnis-doeda most abundant.' It is only too evident that the degradation which the English wished to msten upon thera forever, could not be accomplished even by the measures best adapted to debase a people. The Celtic nature rose superior to tne dark designs of the most in- genious opponents, and continued as ever noble, generous, and open-hearted. Nevertheless, the sufferings of the victims were at times unutterable ; and one of the inevitable effects of such tyrannical measures soon made itself fearfully active and destruc- tive in the shape of those periodical famines which have ever since devastated the island. In the days of her own possession, there was never mention of famine there. The whole island teemed with the grain of her fields, consumed by a healthy population, and was alive with vast herds of cattle and flocks of sheep. What were the heca- tombs of ancient Greece compared with the thousands of kine prescribed annually by the Book of Rights ? Who ever heard of people perishing of want in the midst of abundance such as this ? Even during the fiercest wars, waged by clan against clan, we often see the image of death in many shapes, but never that of a large population reduced to roots and grass for food. When, later on, the wars of the Reformation transformed Munster into a wilderness, and we read for the first time in Irish history of people actually turning green and blue, according to the color oi the unwholesome weeds they were driven to devour in order to support life, at least it was in the wake of a terrible war that famine came. It was reserved for the eighteenth cen- tury to disclose to us the woful spectacle of a people perishing of starvation in the midst of the profoundest peace, frequently of the greatest plenty, the food produced in abundance by the labor of the inhabitants being sold and sent off" to foreign countries to enrich absentee landlords. Nay, those desolating famines at last grew to be periodical, so that every few years people expected one, and it seemed as though Ireland were too barren to produce the barely sufficient supply of food necessiiry for her scanty population. The people worked arduously and without inter- mission ; the land was rich, the seasons propitious ; yet they almost constantly suffered the ])angs of hunger, which spread sometimes to wholesale starvation. This was another result of those laws devised by the English colonists to keep down the native population of the island, and prevent it from becoming troublesome and dangerous. Such was the effect of the humane A CENTURY OF GLOOM. 809 measures taken to preserve the glory of Protestant ascendency, and secure tlie rights and liberties of a handful of alien masters. It is proper to describe some of those awful scourges, which have never ceased since, and at sight of which, in our own days, we have too often sickened. For the Emancipation of 1829 was far from removing all the causes of Irish misery. On the 17th of March, 1727, ^boulter, the Protestant Archbishop of Armagh, wrote to the Duke of Newcastle : " Since my arrival in this country, the famine has not ceased among the poor people. The deamess of corn last year was such that thousands of families had to quit their dwellings, to seek means of life elsewhere ; many hundred perished." At the same period Swift wrote : " The families of farmers who pay great rents, live in filth and nastiness, on buttermilk and potatoes." The following is a short and simple description of the famine of 1741, given by an eye-witness, and copied by Matthew O'Con- nor from a pamphlet entitled " Groans of Ireland," published in the same year : " Having been absent from this country some years, on my return to it last summer, I found it the most miserable scene of distress that I ever read of in history. Want and misery on every face, the rich unable to relieve the poor, the roads spread with dead and dying bodies ; mankind the color of the docks and nettles which they fed on ; two or three, sometimes more, on a car, going to the grave for want of bearers to carry them, and many buried only in the fields and ditches where they perished. The universal scarcity was followed by fluxes and malignant fevers, which swept on multitudes of all sorts, so that whole villages were laid waste. If one for every house in the kingdom died — and that is very probable — the loss must be up- ward of four hundred thousand souls. If only half, a loss too great for this ill-peopled country to bear, as they are mostly working people. When a stranger travels through this country, and beholds its wide, extended, and fertile plains, its great flocks of sheep and black cattle, and all its natural wealth and conven- iences for tillage, manufacture, and trad©, he must be astonished that such misery and want should be felt by its inhabitants." At the time these lines were written, the astonishment was sincere, and the answer to the question " How can this be ? " seemed impossible ; the phenomenon utterly inexplicable. In our own days, when this same picture of woe has been so often presented in the island, the reasons for it are well known ; and what seems inexplicable is that, the cause being so clear, and the remedy so simple, the remedy has not yet been thoroughly applied. In 1766 and 1757, the same scenes were repeated, with the 910 A CENTURY OF GLOOM. same frightful results. Charles O'Connor, at that time the cbftin- pion of his much-abused countrymen, wrote thus, in his letter to Dr. Curry, May 21, 1756: " Two'thiras of the inhabitants are perishing for want of bread ; meal is come to eighteen -pence a stone, and, if the poor had money, it would exceed by — I believe — double that sum. Every place is crowded with beggars, who were all liouse-keepera a fortnight ago, and this is the condition of a country wnich boasts of its constitution, its laws, and the wisdom of its legis- lature.'' These words, although sweeping enough, and universally applicable, are far from conveying to our mmds, to-day, the real picture of the state of the country. When the writer speaks of " meal," it must be understood to mean rye, oats, and, barley ; and even this coarse and heavy food being, as he remarks, in- accessible to the poor, potatoes had become the only hread of the country, and the inhabitants were perishing for the want of it. For the first time in the history of the two nations, the Eng- lish Government thought of relieving the distress of the people, and to this purpose applied the magnificent sum of twenty thousand pounds. Such was the generous amount granted by a wealthy and prosperous country to procure food for the inhabi- tants of an island as large as Ireland is known to be. As to effecting any change in the laws, which were really the cause of this unutterable misery, such an idea never entered into the heads of the legislators. Hence it is not surprising to hear that " the distress in the interior of the country revivea the frightful image of the miseries of 1Y41, nor did the calamity cease, until the equilibrium between the population and the means of subsist- ence was restored by the aecumulated waste of famine and pestilence J^" that is to say, until all those had been destroyed whom the 'laws of the time could, as they had been designed to do, destroy. These details appear calculated only to shock the feelings of the reader, already sufficiently acquainted with the lot of the Irish cottier and laborer, from the be^nning of the last century. Keverthelesft, We cannot close this part of our subject without giving publicity to the fallowing description of the mass of thiLblico exitio repertumy While on this subject, it has been remarked that most of the Irish informers amassed wealth by their bills of " discorerr '* whereas those of the days of Tiberius generally fell victims* to their own artifices. The eagerness for blood-money tracked the clergy to theif A OENTUKY OF GLOOM. 317 loneliest retreats, and dragged them thence before persecuting tribunals, by whose sentence they were doomed to perpetual banishment. They must all have finally disappeared from the island, if the people, at last grown indignant at such baseness and cruelty, had not, by the loudness of their execrations, checked the activity of the priest-hunters. Wherever they dared eliow themselves, they were pelted with stones, and exposed to the summary vengeance of a maddened people. The detestable " profession " became at last so infamous and unprofitable that foreign Jews were almost the only ones found willing to undertake this " honorable service ; " and it is stated in the " Historia Dominicana," that one Garzia, a Portuguese Jew, was the most active of those human blood-hounds, and that, in 1718, he contrived to have seven of the proscribed clergy detected and apprehended. "We cannot speak of the most revolting measure ever in- tended to be taken against Catholic priests ; namely mutilation, so long and with such energy denied by Protestants, who were themselves indignant at the mere mention of it, but now clearly proved by the archives of France, where documents exist show- ing that the non-enactment of such an infamy was solely due to the severe words of remonstrance sent to England by the Duke of Orleans, regent of France during the minority of Louis XY. As late as the middle of the century, in 1744, a sudden in- crease of rigor took place ; intentions of conspiracy were as- cribed to Catholics as usual, and without any motive whatever, unless it was caused bv the sight of some religious houses, which had been quietly and unobtrusively reopened during the few years previous. All at once the government issued a proclama- tion for " the suppression of monasteries, the apprehension of ecclesiastics, the punishment of magistrates remiss in the execu- tion of the laws, and the encouragement of spies and informers by an increase of reward." It was a repetition of the old story ; a cruel persecution broke out in every part of the island. From the country priests fled to the metropolis, seeking to hide themselves amid the multitude of its citizens. Others ned to mountains and caverns, and the holy sacrifice was again offered up in lone places under the bare heavens, with sentinels to watch for the " prowling of the wolf," and no other outward dignity than that the grandeur of the for- est and the rugged mountains gave. In the cities the Catholics assisted at the celebration of the divine mysteries in stable-yards, garrets, and such obscure places as sheltered them from the pursuit of the magistrates. On one occasion, while the congregation (assembled in an old building) was kneeling to receive the benediction, the flooj aj8 A OENTURY OF GLOOK. fftve way, and all were buried beneath the ruin ; many were illcd, the priest among others ; some were maimed for life, and remainenfedera- tion of Kilkenny first gave them a real constitution, better adapted for the nation than the old regime of their Ard-Righs. JBut it was chiefly under the English Commonwealth, when they were so mercilessly crushed down by Cromwell and hia brutal soldiery, when there seemed no earthly hope left them, that the solid union of the old native with the Anglo-Irish fami- lies, which had already been attempted — and almost successfuUv by the Confederation of Kilkenny — yet never consummated, was finally brought about once for all ; their common misery uniting them in the bonds of brotherly afibction, blotting out forever their long-standing divisions and antipathies whicn had never been quite laid aside. It was thus that the nation was formed and prepared by mar- tyrdom for the glorious resurrection, the greater future kept in store for it by Providence ; the people all the while remaining undebased under their crushing evils. Lastly, the intensity of the suffering produced by the penal laws, during the eighteenth century, linked the nation in closer bonds of union still, and this time gave them a unanimitv which became invincible. Their final motto was then adopted, and will stand forever unchanged. In tlie clan period it was " Our sept and our chieftain ; " under the Tudors, " Our religion and our native lords;" under the Stuarts it suddenly bectime "God and the King;" — it changed once more, never to change again : it was embraced in one word, the name of Him who nad never deserted them, who alone stood firm on theii «d^-" OuB God I " CHAPTER XIII. BESUREECnON. — ^DELUSIVE HOPES. By delusive hopes are liere meant some of the various schemes in which Irishmen have indulged and still indulge with the view of bettering their country. This chapter will aim at showing that, for the resurrection of Ireland, the reconstruction of her past is impossible ; parliamentary independence or "home rule," insufficient ; physical force and violent revolu- tion, in conjunction with European radicals particularly, is as unholy as it is impracticable. The resurrection of the Irish nation began with the end of iast century. As, to use their own beautiful expression, " 'Tis always the darkest the hour before day," so the gloom had never settled down so darkly over the lana, when light began to dawn, and the first symptoms of returning life to flicker over the face of the, to all seeming, dead nation. Its coming has been best described in the " History of the Catholic Association " by Wyse. On reading his account, it is impossible not to be struck: with the very small share that men have had in this movement ; it was purely a natural process directed by a merciful God. As with all natural processes, it began by an almost imperceptible movement among a few disconnected atoms, which, by seeming accident approaching and coming into contact, begin to form groups, which gather other groups toward them in ever-in- creasing numbers, thus giving shape to an organism which defines itself after a time, to be finally developed into a strong and healthy being. This process difi'ered essentially from those revolutionary uprisings which have since occurred in other na- tions, to the total change in the constitution and form of the latter, without any corresponding benefit arising from them. Before entering upon the full investigation of this uprising, it may be well to dispel some false notions too prevalent, even in our days, among men who are animated with the very best intentions, who wish well to the Irish cause, but who seem to fail in grasping the right idea of the question. Re- construction, say they, is impossible — at least as far as the 328 DELUSIVE HOPES. past history of the ccimtir goes. Where are her leaders, hei chieftains, her nobility ? Feudalism broke the clans, persecution pu t an effectual stop to the labors of genealogists and bards. Where, to-day, are the O'Neill, the O' Brien, the O'Donnell, and the rest ? Until new leaders are found, offshoots, if possible, of the old families, more faithful and trustworthy than those who so far have volunteered to guide their countrymen, how is it possible to expect a people such as the Irish have always been, to assume once more a corporate existence, and el i joy a truly national government ? I. That the Irish nobility has disappeared forever may be granted. In giving our reasons for believing in the impossibility of connecting the present with the past through that class, and thus restoring a truly national government, and in strengthening this opinion by what follows, we shall show at the same time that, in that regard, Ireland is on a par with all other national- ities, among whom the aristocratic classes have quite lost the prestige that once belonged to them, and can no longer be said to rule modern nations. The question of nobility is certainly an important one for the Irish — nay, for all peoples. Up to quite recently, profound thinkers never imagined it possible for a people to enjoy peace and happiness save under the guidance of tnose then held to be natural guides with aristocratic blood in their veins, who were destined by God himself to rule the masses. We are far from falling in with the fashion, so common nowadays, of deriding those ideas. Men like Joseph de Maistre, who was certainly an upholder of the theory, and who could not suppose a nation to exist without a superior class appointed by Providence to guide those whose blood was less pure, have a right to be listened to with respect, and none of their deliberate opinions should be treated with levity. And, in truth, no nobility ever existed more worthjr of the title, as far as the origin of its power went, than the Irish. Its last days were spent, like those of true heroes, fighting for theij country and their God. It is a remarkable fact that they, t^e truest, were the first of the aristocratic classes to fill. After them, all the aristocracies of Europe, with the exception perhaps of the English, which still exists at least in name, gradually saw their power wrested from them, so that, to-day, it may be said with truth that the " noble " blood has lost its prerogative of rule. Various are the theories on these superior classes ; a few words on some of them may be as appropriate as interesting. Of all those advanced, Pico's arc the least defensible, thouo:h they seem to rest on a deep knowledge of anti(]uity. No Chns- tian can accept his view of a universal savage state of society aftei DELUSIVE HOPES. 329 the Flood ; and Ids explanation of the origin of aristocratic races, and of the plebeians, their slaves, is purely the work of imagina- tion, however well read in classic lore may have been the author of " Scienza NuovaP To suppose w^ith him that the primeval " nobles " reached the first stage of civilization by inventing language, agriculture, and religion, and by imposing the yoke of servitude on the "brutes" who were not yet possessed of the first characteristics of humanity, is revolting to reason, and contradictory to all sound philosophy and knowledge of history. His aristocracy is a brutal institution which he does well to doom to extinction as soon as the plehs is sufficiently instructed and powerful enough to seize upon the reins of government, before it, in its turn, is brought under by the progressive march of monarchy, with which his system culminates. Th6 feudal ideas concerning "noble" blood rested 'on an entirely different basis. The feudal monarch is but the first of the nobles, and the possession of land is the true prerogative and charter of nobility. The inferior classes being excluded from that privilege, are also excluded from all political rights, and are nothing more nor less than the conquered races which were first reduced to slavery. Christianity was the only power which efiected a change, and a deep one, in the relations of these two classes to each other ; the rigorous application of the sys- tem by the Northmen being entirely opposed to the elementary teachings of our holy religion. From the change thus brought about resulted the Christian idea of aristocratic and monarchical government which had the support of some gifted writers of the last and present centuries. It was in fact a return to the old system realized by Charlemagne in the great empire of which he was the founder — a system whose glorious march was interrupted by the invasion of feudal- ism in its severest form, which, according to what was before said, came down from Scandinavia in the time of Charlemagne's immediate successors. Under the regime of the noble emperor, the Church, the Aristocracy, and the People, formed three Estates, each with its due share in the government. This mode of administering public afi*airs became general in Europe, and stood for nearly a thousand years. But is it the particular form of government necessary for the happiness of a nation, as it was held to be by some powerful minds ? If it is, then are we born, indeed, in unhappy times ; for the corner-stone of the edifice, the aristocratic idea, has CTumbled away, and is apparently gone forever. Any one, looking at Europe as it stands to-day, must feel constrained to admit that its history for the last hundred years may be summed up in the one phrase : admission of the middle claeseo of society to tbe cjiief seat of government. Bussia noTi 330 DELUSIVE HOPES. makes the solitary exception to this mle ; for in England, which seems the most feudal of all nations, the middle classes have attained to a high position, and, through their special represent- atives, have otlen taken the chief lead in public affairs, ever since the Revolution of 1688, a lead which is now uncontested. And as individuals of the middle class are often admitted into the ranks of the aristocracy, it would indeed be a hard thing to find purely " noble " blood in the vast majority of aristocratic families now existing in Great Britain. The history of the gradual decline of what is called the no- bility in the various states of Europe would require volumes. In many instances it would certainly be found to have been richly merited, in France particularly, perhaps, where the corrujv tion of that class was one of the chief causes which led to the first French Revolution. But in Ireland the original idea of nobility was different from that entertained elsewhere ; the action of the institution on the people at large was peculiar in its character ; and if, in early times, those rude chieftains were often guilty of acts of violence and outrage against religion and morality, they atoned for this by that last long struggle of theirs, so nobly waged in defence of both. But the destruction of the order was nnal and com- plete, and seems to have left no hope of resurrection. In our first chapter, when treating of the clan system, the origin of chieftainship among the Celts was referred back to the family : all the chieftains, or nobles, were each the head of a sept or tribe, which is the nearest approach to a family; all the clansmen were related by blood to the chieftain. The order of nobility among the Celts was therefore natural and not artificial ; being neither the result of some conventional understandinf^ nor of brute force. Nature was with them the parent of nobility and chieftainship ; and the ennobling, or raising a person by mere human power to the dignity of noble, was unknown to them : a state of things peculiar to the race. In Yico's system, aristocracy sprang from physical force or skill ; consequently, nobility was founded on no natural right, although the author does his best to prove the contrary, chiefly by ascribing to the aristocratic class the discovery or invention of right {jtis) which thus becomes a mere derivative of force. In feudalism, pure and unmixed, after it had penetrated farther south, under the lead of the Scandinavians, nobility was derived from conquest and armed force. It is true that, by this system, the viking, monarch, or sovereign lord, was the one who distributed the territory, won from conquered nations, among his faithful followers, and thus land and its consequence, nobility, were apparently the award of merit ; but the merit in question being equivalent to success in battle, it again resolved DELUSIVE HOPES. 331 itself into armed force. In fact, the power of feudalism proper rested in the army ; the chief nobles were duces or cormtes (dukes or counts), the inferior nobles were equites (knights) and vvilites (men-at-arms). All power and title began and ended with force of arms, which was the only foundation of right : jus cajptionis et possessionis — the right of taking and of keeping. Eventually feudal ideas underwent considerable change among the aristocracy of Christendom, by the gradual spread of Christian manners ; and the first establishment of nobility by Charlemagne, which was anterior to pure feudalism, afterward revived, and lasted a thousand years. Then it was conferred by the monarch on merit of any kind, and it was understood that those whom superior authority had raised to the dignity had won their title by their deeds, which were sufficient to prove their noble blood, and that they were empowered to transmit the title to their posterity. The idea was a grand one, and gave proof of its vast political and social usefulness in the immense benefits which it brought upon Europe during so many ages. Unfortunately, the inroad of the Scandinavians, following close- ly on the death of its great founder, introduced feudalism as bet- ter known to us, interfered with the institution which Charle- magne had established in such admirable equipoise, and added to it many barbarous adjuncts, which for a long time entered into the idea of nobility itself. Thus the titles of feudal lords were retained — duces, comiUs, equites, milites— with all the parapher- nalia of brute force which the harsh mind of northern despotism had made divine. Thus was the holding of landed property al- lowed to the nobles alone ; the great mass of the population be- ing composed of men — ascripti glebce — who were incapable from their position of rising in the social scale ; so that all were duly impressed with the idea that the mass of the people had been conquered and reduced, if not to slavery, to what greatly resem- bled it — serfdom. From this order of things arose that fruitful source of all modern revolutions, the division of Europe into two great classes antagonistic to each other and separated by an al- most impassable gulf — the lords and the " villeins." To be sure, tlie supreme lord had the power to raise even a villein to the rank of noble, after he had proved his superior ele- vation of mind by heroic achievements ; but what superhuman exertions did not those achievements call for ; what a concourse of fortuitous circumstances rarely occurring, so as to render al- most illusory the hope of rising held out by the feudal theory ! The Church alone opened her highest grades to all indiscrimi- nately ; and, in her, true merit was really an assurance of ad- vance. Further details are not needed. The difierence between the idea of the nobihty entertained in Celtic countries, and 332 DELUSIVE HOPES. that held by the rest of Europe, is already in favor of the former. For this reason the action of the Irish aristocracy on the peo- ple at large was happily altogether free from those causes of irritation so common in teudal countries. A close intimacy and personal devotion naturally existed between the chieftain of a clan and his men — an intimacy manifested by the free manners of the humblest among them, and that ease of social intercourse between all classes of people, which was a matter of so much surprise to the Norman barons at their primitive invasion. At first sight, the Celtic system appears, in one respect at least, inferior to that which prevailed throughout the rest of Europe : the simple clansmen could never indulge in the hope of attaining to the chieftainship, being natm^aUy excluded from that high office. Only the actual members of the chieftain's own family could hope to succeed him after his death, by election,, and take the lead of the sept ; thus nobility was entirely exclu- sive, and ]-egulated by the very laws of Nature. The office was really not transferable, and no degree of exertion, of whatever nature, could win it for any person born out of the one family. But the difference was scarcely one in fact ; and we know how illusory often was that ambition which the system of merit in- spired in the man born of an inferior class in other races than the Celtic. The broad assertion, that no man could rise from the condition in which he happened to be bom, remains true foi nearly all cases. But, on the other hand, there were motives of ambition be- sides that of becoming chieftain, or entering on the road thereto, by being admitted into the ranks of the nobility, which lay open to the Celt ; and if the desire of a mere clansman to become a chiettain lay within the bounds of possibility, the social state of Celtic countries would have been broken up and become intoler- able, and society would have been dissolved into its primitive elements. Two considerations of importance. The whole of Irish history teaches one lesson, or, rather, impresses one fact : that every member of a clan took as much pride in the sept to which he belonged, and labored as zealously tor its head, as he could have done liad the advantage turned all to himself. The peculiar features engendered by the system were such that each man identified himself with the whole tribe and particularly with its leader ; and this is easily understood, as we see the same sort of feeling existing to-day among families. It is in the very essence of natural ties to merge the individual in the community to which he belongs, as in questions which affect the whole family to merge self in the whole, to forget one*i own identity, to be ready for any sacrifice, particularly when the sacrifice is called forth iu defence of a beloved parent. DELUSIVHE HOPES. 333 To judge bj the ancient annals of Ireland which are acces- sible, this was undoubtedly the sentiment pervading Celtic clans, and it is easy to conceive how, under such conditions, ambitious thoughts of the chieftainship or nobility could not well enter there. Moreover, we repeat, had such ambitious thoughts been within the compass of realization, the whole system would have been destroyed. The greatest source of quarrels, feuds, wars, and general calamities among the Irish people, was the insane aspiration among the inferior members of a chieftain's family after supreme power. The institution of Tanist, or heir-apparent, particularly, which was general for all offices, from the highest to the lowest, was a constant source of trouble and contention to septs which, without it, would have remained united and in harmony. Mon- talembert has well said that it seems as if an incurabJe fatality- accompanied the Irish everywhere, and condemned nearly all the highest among them to have their blood shed either by others or by their own hand, and that few indeed are those re- nowned chieftains and kings who died quietly in their beds. Their annals are filled throughout with tales of blood ; and, when we know of their strong attachment to religion, of their tender- heartedness for women, children, old and feeble men, it is hard to conceive how they came tb shed blood so often, and show themselves proof against the simplest claims of humanity. But the difficulty is sufficiently explained by their own annals and the state of society under which they lived. The Tanistry was the great source of all those evils. ' The position of a chief- tain was so honorable, so influential, and powerful, that all natu- ral sentiments, even those of family affection, were often ex- tinguished by the insane ambition of attaining to it, in those whom Nature had set on the road toward it. It looks like a contradiction, yet nothing is so well established as their deep affection for their near relatives and the fury engen- dered against their nearest of kin when allured by the prospect of the chieftainship. What the case might have been, had all the inferior clansmen been influenced by the same motive, one sKud- ders to think. Happily the possibility of such a position was denied them, and thus were they spared all the crime and hor- rors which it entailed. Let us now turn to the fall 'of the Irish nobility, in order to see how that fall was final and decisive, leaving little or no room for the hope of their resurrection. The great wars of Henry YIIL and Elizabeth upon the isl- and often drove some of the Irish chieftains to quit their coun- try for a time ; a thing scarcely ever kno^sni before, where the Pale was so contracted and the power of the English kings so dmited. But those first voyages of Irish lords to foreign coun- tries had generally no other destination than England itself 334 DELUSIVE HOPES. whither they sometimes repaired to justify themselves in the presence of the sovereign against the imputations of tlieir ene- mies, or to pay court to him for the purpose of obtaining some coveted object. Occasionally their children were brought up at the English court, either with the view of instilling Protestant- ism into their artless minds, or to make them friends of England, so that many of them thus became king's or queen's men. In this manner the Irish nobility first came to look out beyond their own country. Wlien, as events went on, some great family was crushed or nearly so, as were the Kildares by Henry Tudor and the Geral- dines by Elizabeth, the outraged nobility began to think of for- eign alliances, and cast their eyes abroad over Spain, Belgium, or France, above all toward Rome, which was the centre of their religion, attachment to which was one of their chief crimes, where the Holy Father was ever ready to encourage and receive them with open arms. Thus history tells us of the narrow es- cape of youn^ Gerald Desmond. He was still a child of twelve years, and the sole survivor of the historic house of Kildare, when his life was sought after with an eagerness which resembled that of Herod, but the devotion of his clansmen defeated all attempts at his capture. "Alter- nately the guest of his aunts, married to the aau DELUSIVE HOPES. 353 plicated one. The modern Parliament is a very different thing from the old assemblies of the representatives of various orders in any state. With the Church originated those ancient institu- tions, which in certain parts of Europe partook at once of the twofold nature of councils and political assemblies. This order has passed away, and no one thinks to-day of re- viving those time-honored institutions, however much political writers may be inclined to favor despotism on the one hand, or anarchy on the other. What, then, is the origin of the modern Parliament ? It grew into being in England during the seven- teenth and eighteenth centuries, emanating as it were, slowly, out of the decomposition of the old Parliaments ; the aristocracy, and the Church chiefly, losing more and more the influence once belonging to them, which, in old times, made them paramount in those state deliberations. This is one of the chief features of the newly-modelled British Constitution, which is of very recent growth, and became fixed and settled only after the downfall of the Stuart dynasty, receiving additional modifications in the con- test of parties under the Brunswick and Hanover lines of kings. It is, consequently, an altogether British growth of recent date, particularly well adapted for England, whose prosperity since its establishment has ever been on the increase. But it is very doubtful whether other countries have derived equal benefit from its adoption. Toward the end of last century, some few Frenchmen of note attempted, Avith Mounier at their head, to reproduce a feeble copy of it in France. Their failure is too well known to the world : how their English ideas were scouted by the people, while a far more radical revolution swept away every vestige of the old French Constitution, without substituting in its stead any thing save crude and infidel ideas, which resulted in anarchy. The lamentable failure of the first attempt was no discourage- ment to other political theorists ; and the century has witnessed and still witnesses every day essays at English legislation, as em- bodied in the constitution of its Parliaments chieiiy, all over Eu- rope ; and all, as sanguine writers would have us believe, to serve as the stepping-stone for the " Universal Republic," which is to regenerate the world. The great questions in all those assemblies are of material interests, material prosperity, material projects. Of the moral well-being of the people seldom or never a word is heard ; and, whenever a moral question does come up for discussion, the vague- ness of the theories advanced and discussed, the indecision of the measures proposed, the want of unity in the views developed, show how unfit are modern legislators for even touching on what concerns the soul of man. The legislators themselves feel that their character is far from being a sacred one, and that the spirit 23 854: DELUSIVE HOPES. ual element is not comprehended in their world. And they are certainly right. Even the measures of external policy are not universally suc- cessftil in securing the material well-being of the people. In France, at least, the various legislatures which have succeeded one another have perhaps been productive of as much harm in that regard as the liberty of the press and freedom of public discus- sion, which have always had and always will have their ardent advocates, and the existence of which is compatible with public order in some countries, but not in others. The same, with certain reservations, is true of the Spanish- American republics, Brazil, and now of Spain, Italy, and other European nations. The legislative machme which is found to work so well in England, and what were or still are her colonies, seems to get out of order in climates and among nations unac- customed to it, even as far as material prosperity is concerned. But it is neither our object to write a history of Parliaments, nor absolutely to condemn those modern institutions by the few words devoted to them. All we wish to insist upon is, that all the evils of nations are not cured by them, and that they should not be taken as in themselves absolutely desirable and all-suflS- cient. As to their probable fate in the future, their modern dress is not yet two centuries old, and the seeds of decay already ap- pear in many places. A few questions are sufficient to demon- strate this : Can a Parliament, as understood to-day, last for any length of time and work successfully, when composed for a great part of cornipt legislators who have been returned by corrupt electors? Has not the progress of corruption on both sides, elected and electors, been of late alarmingly on the increase ? What space of time is requisite for legislation to come to a stand- still, and prove to modern nations the impossibility of carrying on even material affairs with such corrupt machinery ? It requires no great foresight to reply to these questions. And yet it is on this tottering institution that the Ireland of our days has set her hope. She imagines that, this once gained, prosperity and happiness are insured ; that, without it, she can- not but be discontented, as she is and must he if she possesses anv feeling. And such is the anomaly of her position that, with this conviction firmly set before us, we believe she is right in demanding home-rule, and that by insisting upon it she will eventually attain it ; yet are we convinced that, having obtained it, her evils will not be cured, nor her happiness served. We prize her highly enough to think her worthy of something better, which " something " we are sure God keeps in reserve for her. Suppose her earnest wish granted, and a home Parliament ^ven her. Suppose even the old question of her relations with DELUSIVE HOPES. 866 the English Legislature determined. A great difficulty lias been settled satisfactorily, tliough it is difficult to see how this may come about. But supposing the questions for her discussion and free determination being clearly defined, home-rule becomes pos- sible without exciting the opposition of the rival Parliament of Great Britain. What is likely to be the composition of her state institution ? and what the programme of its labors ? In the composition of her two Houses, if she have two, the Catholics will not be excluded as they were in 1782 ; a great change certainly, and fraught no doubt with great benefit to the country. But will the English element cease to predominate ? The native race has been kept so long in a state of bondage that few members of it certainly will take a leading part in the dis- cussions. How many even will be allowed to influence the elec- tion of members by their votes or their capacity ? Universal suf- frage can scarcely be anticipated, perhaps even it would not be desirable. The question is certainly a doubtful one. Of one thing are we certain regarding the composition of an Irish Par- liament : it would not really represent the nation. For the nation is Catholic to the core ; the sufferings of more than two centuries have made religion dearer to her than life ; all she lias been, all she is to-day, may be summed up in one word — Catholic. Nothing has been left her but this proud and noble title, which of all others her enemies would have wrested from her. The nation exists to-day, independently of parliamen- tary enactments, in spite of the numberless parliamentary de- crees of former times ; she is living, active, working, and doing wonders, which shall come under notice. See how busy she has been since first allowed to do. Her altars, her religious houses, her asylums, every thing holy that was in ruins — all have been restored. Not satisfied with working so energetically on her own soil, she has crossed over to England, where the great and unex- pected Catholic revival, which has struck such awe and fear into the hearts of sectarians, is in great measure due to her. Cross the broad Atlantic, and even the vast Southern Ocean, and the contemplation of Irish activity in North America, Australia, and all the English colonies, the intense vitality dis- played by this so long down-trodden people is amazing. But all this activity, all this vitality, is employed in establishing on a firm and indestructible basis everywhere the holy Catnolic Church. Looking on all this, say then whether Ireland is truly Cath- olic, whether the nation is any thing but Catholic. But can her new Parliament be Catholic ? No I No one imagines such a thing possible,; no one thinks, 356 DELUSIVE HOPES. no one di'eams of it. It is clear, then, that it cannot represent the nation. Who will go to compose it ? Men who will discard — such is the modem expression — discard their creed, and leave it at the door. Nothing better can be expected. It is true that the bitter feeling engendered for so long a time by religious questions is not likelj^ to show itself again ; or though, to speak more correct- ly, a rehgious question never was raised in Ireland, the whole people being one on that subject ; but it may be hoped that the bitter persecution against every thing Catholic is not likely to recur, whatever may be the composing elements of the new Houses of Parliament. In the impossibility of even guessing at the probable opinions of the men who are to have the future fate of Ireland in their hands, it may be fairly predicted that, within their legislative halls, religious and consequently moral questions will only be approached in the spirit of liberalism. Probably, the only thing attempted will be the rendering of the people externally happy and prosperous, supposing the majority of the members animated by true patriotic principles ; and indeed the aspirations of all who wish well to Ireland are limited to external or material prosperity ; and, for our own part, we do not consider this of slight moment. But is this aU that the Irish people require ? They have been brought so low in the scale of humanity that every thing has to be accomplished to bring about their resurrec- tion ; and the " every thing " is comprised in substituting flesh- meat for potatoes and good warm clothing for rags. Whoever says that the Irish people can be contented with such a restora- tion as this, knows little of their noble nature, and has never read their heart. Assuredly, they have a right to those worldly blessings of which they have been so long deprived ; and we would not be understood as saying that one of the primary objects of good government is not to confer those material blessings on the people ; nay, it is our belief that, when a whole nation has been BO long subjected to all the evils which not only render this life miserable, but absolutely intolerable, it is incumbent on those intrusted with the direction of affairs to remedy those evils instantly, and endeavor to make the people forget their misfor- tunes bv, at least, the enjoyments of this life's ordinary comforts. Forgettulness of the past can be obtained by no other means. And this is a very simple, but, at the same time, very satisfactory answer to the question so often put and so often replied to in such a variety of ways, " Wliy is Ireland discontented ? " But, while adndtting the truth, nay, the necessity of all this, the government of a Catholic people has not fulfilled its whole duty when it has exerted itself to the utmost to procure, and DELUSIVE HOPES. SSI finally succeeded in procuring, tlie temporal happiness of the nation. In addition to this, it must consult its moral and reli- gious wants, or a great part of its duty remains neglected. This, indeed, does not nowadays occur to the minds of the majority of men, who have, it would appear, agreed among them- selves to consider it an axiom of government that the rulers of a people should have no other object in view than the material comfort and welfare of the masses. They do not reflect that the wants of a nation must be satisfied in their entirety, and that its moral and religious needs are of no less importance, to say the least, than the temporal. This is evident in all those countries where, in imitation of England, or at her instigation, parliamen- tary governments are now in operation — countries which include not only Europe, without excepting Greece and her chief islands, but Southern Africa at the Cape, America, North and South, Australia, and the large islands of Jamaica, Tasmania, New Zealand, and several groups of Polynesia, preparing Asia for the boon which, probably, is destined to show itself in Japan first, spreading thence all over the largest continent of the world. Wherever modern Parliaments flourish, there material inter- ests alone are consulted. This is a new feature of Japhetism ; and God alone knows how long nations will be satisfied with such a state of things ! But if non-Catholic nations thus limit their aspirations, there is all the more reason why a Catholic people cannot imitate them in such a course, particularly if that people has for cen- turies submitted to every evil of this life in order to preserve its religion, showing that, in its eyes, religious blessings rank far above all imaginable material advantages ; and we all know such to be the case for Ireland. But, it may be asked, what are those religious wants which must be satisfied, and how are we to know them ? The answer, to a Catholic, is plain, and nothing is easier of recognition. What the spiritual guides of the nation consider of paramount importance and of absolute necessity, is of that character, and the government which neglects to listen to remonstrances coming from such a quarter, shows thereby that it is ignorant of, or slights, its plain duty. Ever since the load of tyranny, which weighed down the Irish people, has been removed, if not entirely, lit least sufiered a very appreciable reduction, since the rulers of the Church in that unhappy country have been able to lift up their voice, and proclaimed what they considered of supreme importance to those under their charge, is it not a strange truth that their voice has never ceased remonstrating, and that, at this very moment, it is as loud in protestation as ever? Wlien has it been listened to as it should be? Is it likely to meet more regard if Ireland obtains home-rule ? It grieves ufi tn say that 358 DELUSIVE HOPES. the only answer wliich can be given to this last question is still an emphatic " No 1 " And for the very simple reason, already given, that Ireland cannot have a truly Catholic Parliament, and that all the great measures which would occupy the attention of the Catholic members, in the event of then* meeting at Dublin, would be shemes for the advancement of manufactures, trade, the con- struction of ships, tenant-right laws, etc. ; all very excellent things in their way, and to which Ireland has an undoubted right, which will be strongly contested, and in the struggle for which she may again be worsted ; which, even if she obtains, will not enable her to compete with England, and which, after and above all, do not correspond to the heart-beat of the nation — the res- toration complete and entire of the Catholic Church all over her broad land. It may be well to remark that the broad assertion just laid down involves no reprisals against the rights of the minority. That minority, backed by the English Government, has enjoyed nearly three centuries of oppression and tyranny, has taxed hu- man ingenuity to the utmost for the purpose of concocting schemes of destruction against the majority : it has failed. The majority, which at last breathes freely, can well afford not to raise a finger in retaliation, and to leave what is called freedom of conscience to those who so long refused it. The result may be left to the operation of natural laws and the holy workings of Providence. But their religious rights ought, at least, to be secured to them entire ; the riglits ot their Church to be left forever perfectly free and untrammelled. But, how much has been done against this, even of late ! Wliy has a Protestant university so many privileges, while a similar Catholic institution is refused recognition ? To answer what purpose have the Queen's Colleges been established ? The Catholic bishops certainly possess rights with regard to the edu- cation of their flocks ; with what persistence have not those rights been either attacked or circumvented I If the Protestant Establishment has been finally abolished, have not its ministers obtained by the very act of abolition concessions which give them still great weight, morally and materially, in the scale opposed to Catholic proselytism, nay, preservation ? Is it not a stain even yet, if not in the eye of the law, at least in that of the English colonized in Ireland, to be a " Roman Catholic ? " Is "souperism" so completely dead that it never can revive? How many means are still left in the hands ot the Protestant minority to vex, annoy, and impoverish the supposed free majority ? Whoever considers the matter seriously cannot but acknowl- edge that in Ireland there exists still a vast amount of open or silent opposition to the Church of the majority, and a Church DELUSIVE HOPES. 359 which the majority loves with such deep affection that, so long as the least remnant of the old oppression remains, so long must Ireland remain discontented. And it is more than doubtful whether home-rule would be a sufficient remedy for such a state of things, owing to the fact, already insisted upon, that the new Parliament could not be a Catholic Parliament. Tke reader may easily perceive what was meant by sayins that the entire restoration of the Catholic Church in the islana does not suppose the consequent extirpation of heresy ; but it clearly supposes the perfectly free exercise of all her rights by the Church. I^othing short of this can satisfy the Irish people. m. We pass on to the consideration of a third delusive hope, that of the peo])le regaining all their rights by the overwhelming force of numbers and armed resistance to tyranny — the advocacy of physical force, as it is called ; in other words, the right and necessity of open insurrection, or underhand and secret associa- tions, evidently requiring for success the cooperation of the numerous revolutionary societies of Europe : a criminal delusion, which has brought many evils upon the country, and which is still cherished by too many of her sons. Though we purpose speaking freely on this subject, we hope that our lauguage may be that of moderation and justice. To a Catholic, who has either witnessed or heard of the frightful evils brought on modern nations by the doctrine of the right of insurrection, of armed force, of open rebellion, against real or fancied wrong, that doctrine cannot but be loathsome and detestable. True, there is for nations, as for individuals, something re- sembling the right of self-defence. No Catholic theologian can assert that a people is bound to bow under the yoke of tyranny, when it can shake that tyranny off ; and it is this truth which affords a pretext to many advocates of what is called the right of insurrection. Moreover, there is no doubt that, in the case of Ireland particularly, the Irish had for many centuries a legiti- mate government of their own, and when attacked by foreigners, who landed on their shores under whatever pretext, they had a perfect right, nay, it was the duty of the heads of clans, the pro- vincial kin"js and })rinces, to protect the whole nation, and the part of it mtrusted to their special care in particular, against open or covert foes. The name of " rebels " was given them by the invaders, with no shadow of possible pretext, and the name was as justly resented as it was unjustly applied. Under the Stuart dynasty the state of the case is still more clear : for then they were fighting on the side of the English sov- ereigns to whom they had submitted ; and, in waging war against the enemies of their kiug and country, they were not only 360 DELUSIVE HOPES. enforcing their right, but performing a highly-meritorious and ii, some cases heroic duty. Yet the name of " rebels " was agaiu applied to them, and its penalty inflicted upon them, as has been seen. After their complete subjugation, the right of retaliating on their oppressors, eyen if justifiable in theory, was often illusory and indefensible in fact, because of the impossibilitv of successful resistance ; and the secret associations known under the names of "Tories," "Eapparees," "White Boys," " Ribbonmen," were, with the exception of the first, condemned by the Church. But in modern times the right of insurrection cannot possibly be defended, if, as can scarcely be avoided, the cause of a Catho- lic nation is linked with the various revolutionary societies and conspiracies which disgrace modern Europe, endanger society, And liave all been condemned by the sovereign Pontifi". An extensive discussion of both cases — the stubborn resistance made after the fall of the Stuarts, and some of the attempts at independence of later times — would show at once the difference between the two cases, and prevent thinking men from ranking the " Tories " of ancient times w^ith the avowed revolutionists of our days. Mr. Prendergast has given a fair sketch of the former in the second edition of his " Cromwellian Settlement." The reader who may peruse this very interesting account can notice a remarkable coincidence ; one, how^ever, which to our knowledge has not yet been pointed out : the very scenes enacted in Ireland, during the long resistance offered to oj^pres sion after the downfall of the Stuart dynasty, were reenacted in France during the Reign of Terror, and for some time after, throughout the districts which had risen in insurrection against the tyranny of the Convention, and both cases were certainly examples oi right warring against might. In fact, to a person acquainted witli the history of the violent changes which, during the last century, modern theories, meta- physical systems, and, above all, the working of secret societies, have caused, the reading of the history of England and Ireland, from the Reformation down, offers new sources of interest, by showing how the last frightful convulsion in France was merely a copy of the first in England, at least as far as the means em pioyea in eadi go, if not in the ultimate object. In England the revolution was begun by the monarch him- self, with a view of rendering his power more absolute and uni- versal bv the rejection of the papal supremacy, and, consequent- ly, the destruction of the Catholic Church. In France the revo- lution was begun by the leaders of the middle classes, who made use of the immense j[)ower given them by the secret societiea which then flourished, and the influence ot an unbridled press, to destroy royalty and aristocracy, that they might themselvei DELUSIVE HOPES. 361 obtain the supreme power and rule the country. The object of the two revolutions was therefore widely difterent ; but the means employed in bringing them about, when considered in detail, are found to have been perfectly identical. In both countries, on the side of the revolutionary party or of the National Assembly, various oaths were imposed and en- forced, troops dispatched, battles fought, devastating bands rav- aged the country while in a state of insurrection, the same bar- barous orders in La Yendee as in Ireland, so that the language even enaployed in the second case is an exact counterpart of that in the first. There is destruction resolved upon ; then the au- thorities desisting and resolving on a change of policy, though with a rigid continuance of the police measures, including in both cases " domiciliary visits," inquests by commissioners, courts-martial in the first case, revolutionary tribunals in the second — consequent wholesale executions on both sides. There were the decrees of confiscation carried out with the utmost bar- barity, resulting in sudden changes of fortune, the class that was aristocratic being often reduced to beggary, while its wealth was enjoyed by the new men of the middle classes: The peasants derive very little benefit from the revolution in France — none whatever, or rather the very reverse of benefit, in Ireland. And, to go into the minutest details, there are the same inform- ers, spies, troops of armed police, or adventurers on the hunt to discover, prosecute, and destroy the last remnants of the insur- gents in France as well as in Ireland. In considering the religious side of the question, the parallel would be found still more striking, as the proscribed ministers of religion were of the same faith in France as in the British Isles, while the means adopted for their destruction were ex- actly similar. On the side of the insurgents the. same comparison holds good. In both cases there is the first refusal to obey unjust de- crees, the same stubborn opposition to more stringent acts of legislature, the emigration of the aristocratic classes, the devoted ness of the clergy, with here and there an unfortunate exception, the same mode of concealment resorted to — false doors, traps, secret closets, disguise, etc. ; the flying to the country and con- cealment in woods, caves, hills, or mountains ; and, when the burden grows intolerable, and open resistance, even without hope of success, becomes inevitable, there are the same resources, method of organization, attack, call to arms, call to Heaven, the same heroism : yes, and the same approval of religion and ad- miration of all noble hearts throughout the world. The only difference consists in the fact that in Frv\nce the struggle lasted a few years only ; in Ireland, centuri s. In France the fury of the revolution soon spent itself in horrors ; 362 DELUSIVE UOPES. in Ireland tlie sternness of tlie persecuting power stood gnni and unrelaxing for ages, adding decree to decree, army to army. In France, numerous hunters of priests and of "brigands," as they were called, flourished only for a short decade of years ; in Ire- land similar hunters of priests and of " Tories " carried on their infamous trade for more than a century. In the case of the latter country, too, the confiscation was much more thorough and permanent, the emigration complete and final ; but, in both cases, the Catholic religion outlived the storm, and lifted up her head more gloriously than ever as soon as its fury had abated. Finally, to come to the point, which calls now more immedi- ately for attention, if the campaigns of Owen Roe O^Neill, of Brunswick, and Sarsfield, were the models of the great insurrec- tion of La Vendee and Brittany, the bands of "Tories" and " rebels," scattered through Ireland at the time of the Cromwell- ian settlement, gave an example for the " Choiian " raids which in France followed the blasted hopes of the royalists. How ought both cases to be considered with reference to the general rules of morality ? How w^ere they considered at the time by religious and conscientious men ? There is no doubt that excesses were committed by Tories in Ireland, and Chouans in France^ which every Christian must condemn ; but there can also be little doubt that such of them as were not deranged by passion, but allowed their inborn reli- gious feelings to speak even in those dreadful times, were re- strained, either by their own consciences or by the advice of the men of God whom they consulted, from committing many crimes which would otherwise have resulted from their unfor- tunate position. All this, however, resolves itself into a con- sideration of individual cases which cannot here be taken into account. Our only question is the cause of both Tories and Chouans in the abstract. From the beginning it was clearly a desperate cause, and, admitting that the motive which prompted it was generous, honorable, and praiseworthy, nothing could be ex- pected to ensue from its aavocacy but accumulated disaster and greater misfortunes still. Of either case, then, abstractly con- sidered, religion cannot speak with favor. But, when an impartial and tair-minded man takes into con- sideration all the circumstances of both cases, ])articularly of that presented in Ireland, as given by Mr. Prendcrgast, with all the glaring injustice, atrocious proceedings, and barbarous cruelty of the opposing i)arty taken into account, who will dare say that men, driven to madness by such an accumulation of misery and torture, were really acccKin table before CJud for all the conse- (^uences resulting n'om their wretched position ! DELUSIVE HOPES. - 363 In the words quoted by the author of the " Cronnvellian Set- tlement : " " Had they not a riglit to live on their own soil ? were they obliged in conscience to go to a foreign country, with the indelible mark left on them by an atrocious and originally illegitimate government ? " And^ if the simple act of remaining in their country, to which they had undoubtedly a right, forced them to live as outlaws, and adopt a course of predatory warfare, otherwise unjustifiable, but in their circumstances the only one possible for them, to whom could the fault be ascribed ? Are they to be judged harshly as criminals and felons, worthy only of the miserable end to w^hich ah of them, sooner or later, were doomed ? Is all the reproach and abuse to be lavished on them, and not a breath of it to fall on those who made them what they were ? Who of us could say whether, if placed in the same po- sition, he would not have considered the life they led, and the hievitable death they faced, as the only path of duty and honor ? We are thoroughly convinced that the first Irish *' Tories " deemed it their right to make themselves the avengers of Ire- land's wrongs, and consider themselves as true patriots and the heroic defenders of their country, and that many honorable and conscientious men then living agreed with them. And the peo- ple, who always sided with and aided them, had after all certain- ly a right to tneir opinion as the only true representatives of the country left in those unfortunate times. Thus far we have considered the right of resistance on the part of the old " Tories ; " we now come to what has been called the second case — the right of insurrection advocated by modern revolutionists, chiefly wnen connected with the unlawful organi- zations so widely spread to-day. This, indeed, is the great delu- sive hope of to-day, which must be gone into more thoroughly, in order to show that Ireland, instead of encouraging among her cliildren the slightest attachment to the modern revolutionary spirit, ought to insist on their all, if faithful to the noble princi- ples of their forefathers, opposing it, as indeed the great mass of the nation has opposed it, strenuously, though it lias met with the almost constant support of England, who has spread it broad- cast to suit her own purposes. Ireland's hope must come from another quarter. Let us look clearly at the origin and nature of this revolution- ary spirit, so different from the lawful right of resistance always advocated by the great Catholic theologians. The nature of this spirit is to produce violent changes in government and society by violent means ; and it originated in nrst weakening and then destroying the power of the ropes over Christendom. Two words only need be said on both these in- teresting topics — words which, we hope, may be clear and con- yiucing. 364 - DELUSIVK HOPES. The very word rcvolnluniHry indicafos violence; and it iB ho understood by all who use it with a knowledge of its meaning. A revolutionary proceeding in a state, is one which is sanctioned neither by the law nor tlie constitution, but is rapidly carried on for any purpose whatever. Violence has always been used in the various revolutions of raodem times, and, when people talk of a peaceful revolution, it is at once understood that the term is not used in its ordinary significance. On this point, probably, all are agreed ; and, therefore, there is no need of further explanation. On the other hand, many will be inclined to controvert the second proposition ; and, there- fore, its unquestionable truth must be shown. That the position held by the Popes at the head of Christen- dom for many ages was of paramount influence, and that to them, in fact, is due the existence of the state of Europe, known as Christendom, is now admitted almost by all since the investiga- tions of learned and painstaking historians, Protestants as well Catholics, have been given to the world. But had the Popes any particular line of policy, and did they favor one kind of govern- ment more than another ? This is a very fair question, and well worthy of consideration. Any kind of government is good only according to the cir- cumstances of the nation subjected to it. Wliat n^ay suit one people would not give happiness to another, and democratic, aristocratic, or monarchical governments, have each their respec- tive uses, so that none of them can be condemned or approved absolutely. No one will ever be able to show that the Roman Pontiffs held any exclusive theory on this subject, and adopted a stern policy from which they dici not recede. But a positive line of policy they did hold to, namely, the insuring the stability of society by securing the stability of gov- ernments. Whoever reads the life of Gregory VII. side by side with that of William the Conqueror, is at first astonished to find Hilde- brand, who, though not yet Pope, was already ])owerful in the counsels of the Papacy, favoring the Norman king, although William eventually proved far from grateful. But, wlien tlie reader comes to inquire what can have moved the great monk to take up this line of action, he will find that a deep political motive lay at the bottom of it, which throws a flood of light over the policy of the Popes and the history of Europe during the middle ages. He finds Hildebrand persuaded that William of Normandy possessed the true hereditary right to tlie crown of England, and the policy of the Popes was already in favor of hereditary right in kingdoms, thereby to insure the stability of dynasties, and consequently that of society itself. Harold, son of Godwin, belonged in no way to the royal race DELUSIVE HOPES. 365 of Anglo-Saxon kings. The Dukes of Normandy had contracted alliances by marriage with the Anglo-Saxon monarchs, and were thought to be more nearly related to Edward the Confessor than Harold, whose only title was derived from his sister. What had been the state of Europe up to that time? Since the establishment and conversion of the northern races, a con- stant change of rulers, an ever-recurring moving of territorial limits, and consequently an endless disturbance in all that secures the stability of rights, was common everywhere : in Eng- land, under the heptarcW ; in France, under the Carlovingians ; in the various states of (rermany ; everywhere, except, perhaps, in a part of Italy, where small republics were springing up from municipal communes, which were better adapted to the wants of the people. The great evils of those times were owing to these perpetual changes, which all came from the undefined rights of succession to power, as left by Charlemagne ; a striking proof that a mon- arch may be a man of genius, a great and acceptable ruler, and still fail to see the consequences to future times of the legacy he leaves them in the incomplete institutions of his own time. Well has Eossuet said, that " human wisdom is always short of some- thing." Those rapid, and, to us, wonderful partitions of empires and kingdoms ; those loose and ill-defined rules of succession in Ger- many, France, England, and elsewhere ; productive of revolution at the death of every sovereign, and often during every reign, showed the Popes that hereditary rights ought to be clear and fixed, and confined to one person in each nation. From that period, date the long lines of the Capetians in France, the Plan- tagenets in England ; while rights of a similar kind are intro- duced into Spam and Portugal ; likewise into the various states of Northern Germany, or Scandinavia ; and Southern Italy, or Norman Sicily — the rest of Italy and Germany are placed on a difi^erent footing, the empire and the popedom being both elective. Such was the grand policy of the Popes inaugurated by Hilde- orand, which came out in all its strong features, at the same time, under his powerful influence. Such was the policy which insured the stability of Europe for upward of six hundred years ; a set of views to which a word only can be devoted here, but on which volumes would not be thrown away. In consequence of it, for six hundred years dynasties seldom cnanged ; the territorial limits of each great division of Europe remamed, on the whole, settled ; and an order of society ensued, of such a nature that any father of a family might rest assured of the state of his children and grandchildren after him. In this respect, therefore, as in many others, the papacy waa the key-stone of Christendom. i^Q DELUSIVE HOrES. But as soon as Protestantism came to contest, not only the temporal, but even the spiritual supremacy of the Popes ; when, taking advantage of the trouble of the Church, the so-called Catliolic sovereigns, while pretending to render all honor to the spiritual supremacy of the sovereign Pontiffs, refused to acknowl- edge in them anv right of lifting their warning voice, and calling on the powers of the world to obev the great and unchangeable laws of religion and justice, then did the long-established stabili- ty of Europe begin to give way, while the whole continent en- tered upon its long era of revolution, which is still in full way, and, as yet, is far from having produced its last consequences. England, the most guilty, was the first to feel the eli'ect of the shock. The Tudors flattered themselves that, by throw^ing aside what they called the yoke of Rome, they had vastly increased their power, and so they did for the moment, while the dynasty that succeeds them sees rebellion triumphant, and the head of a king fall beneath the axe of an executioner. She is said to have benefited, nevertheless, by her great revo- lution, and by the subsequent introduction of a new dynasty. She has certainly chanted a loud paean of triumph, and at this moment is still exultant over the effects of her modern policy, from the momentary success of the new ideas she has dissemi- nated through the world, and above all from that immense spread of parliamentary governments which have sprung into ex- istence everywhere under her guidance, and mainly through her agency. And the cause of her triumph was that, after a few years of commotion, she seemed to have obtained a kind of stability which was a sufficiently good copy of the old order under the Popes, and won for her apparently the gratitude of mankind ; but that stability is altogether illogical, and cannot long stand. There is an old, though now trite, saying to the effect that when you " sow the wind you must reap the whirlwind," and no one can fail to see the speedy reahzation of the truth of this adage on her part. Over the full tide of her prosperity there is a mighty, irresistible, and inevitable storm visibly gathering. At last she has come to nearly the same state of mental anarchy which she has been so powerful to spread in Europe. After reading ** Lo- thair," the work of one of her great statesmen, all intel%ent readers must exclaim, " Babylon I now hast thou fallen 1 " With- in a few years, possibly, nothing will remain of her former great- ness but a few shreds, and men will witness another of those awful examples of a mighty empire falling in the midst of the highest seeming prosperity. When a nation has no longer any fixed principle to ^ by, when the minds of her leaders are at sea on all great religious and moral questions, when the people openly deny the right of DELUSIVE HOPES. HI fche few to rule, when a fabric, raised altogether on aristocracy, finds the suhstraturn giving way, and democratic ideas seated even upon the snininit of the edifice, there must he, as is said, " a rattling of old hones," and a shaking of the skeleton of what was a body. How long, then, will the mock stability established by the deep wisdom of England's renowned statesmen liave stood? A century or two of dazzling material prosperity succeeded by long ages of woe, such as the writer of the " Battle of Dorking," with all his imagination, could not find power enough to de- scribe ; for no Prussian, or any other foreign army, will bring that catastrophe about, but the breath of popular fury. But our puii:>ose is not to utter prophecies — rather to re- hearse facts already accomplished. England, then, was the first to feel the shock of the earth- fpiake which was to overthrow the old stability of Europe. It is known how Germany has ever since been a scene of continual wars, dynastic changes, and territorial confusion. What evils have not the wars of the present century brought upon her ! Yet, owing to the phlegmatic disposition, one might call it the stolidity oi the majority of Germans, the disturbances have been so far external, and the lower masses of society have scarcely been agitated, except by the first rude explosion of Protestant- ism, and the sudden patriotic enthusiasm of young plebeians, in 1814. But mark the suddenness w^ith which, in 1848, all the thrones of Germany fell at once under the mere breath of what is called " the people ! " It is almost a trite thing to say that, where religion no longer exists, there no longer is security or peace. Impartial travellers, Americans chiefly, have observed of late that, in certain parts of France, there is, in truth, very little religious feeling, while in all Protestant Germany, part,icu- larly in that belonging to Prussia, there is none at all. How long, then, is the '^ new Germanic Empire," so loudly trumpeted at V ersailles, and afterward so gloriously celebrated at Berlin, without the intervention of any religion whatever, likely to stand ? How long ? Can it exist till the end of this century ? He would be a bold prophet who could confidently say, "Yes." As to France, formerly the steadiest of all nations, so deeply attached to her dynasty of eight hundred years, although some of her kings were little wortny true affection ; many of whose citizens have been born in houses a thousand years old, from families whose names went back to the darkness of heroic times; which was once so retentive of her old memories, living in her traditions, her former deeds of glory, even in the monuments raised in honor of her kings, her great captains, her illustrioua •inzens; which was chiefly devoted to her time-honored religion, mindful that she was borii on the day of the baptism of Clovis ; 868 DELUSIVE HOPES. tliat slio grew up during the Crusades ; that a virgin sent b} Heaven saved her from the yoke of tlie stranger ; that, on attain- ing her full maturity, it was religion which chiefly ennobled her; and that her greatest poets, orators, h'terary men, respected and honored religion as the basis of the state, and, by their immortal masterpieces, threw a halo around Catholicism — France, which still retains in her external appearance something of her old steadiness and immutability, so that to the eye ot a stranger, who sees her for the first time, solidity is the word which comes naturally to his mind, as expressive of every thing around him, has only the look of what she was in her days of greatness, ami on the surface of the earth there is not to-day a more unsteady, shaky, insecure spot, scarcely worthy of being chosen by a no- mad Tartar as a place wherein to pitch his tent for the night, and hurry off at the first appearance of the rising sun on the morrow. Can the shifting sands of Libya, the ever-shaking vol- canic mountains of equatorial America, the rapidly-forming coral islands of the southern seas, give an idea of that fickleness, con- stant agitation, and unceasing clamor for change, which have made France a by-word in our days ? Who of her children can be sure that the house he is building for himself will ever be the dwelling of his son ; that the city he lives in to-day will to-mor- row acknowledge him as a member of its community ? Wlio can be certain that the constitution of the whole state may not change in the night, and he wake the next day to find himself an out- law and a fugitive ? It is a lamentable fact that for the last hundred years a great nation has been reduced to such a state of insecurity, that no one dares to think of the future, though all have repudiated the past, and thus every thing is reduced for them to the present fleet- ing moment. And what is likely to be the future destiny of a nation of forty million souls, wlien their present state is such, and such the uncertainty of their dearest interests? They are unwilling to quit the soil ; for they have lost all power of expansion by sending colonies to foreign shores ; it is diflBcult for them to take a real interest in their own soil, for the great moving spiing of interest is broken up by the total want of security. May God open their eyes to their former folly ; for the folly was all of their own making ! They have allowed themselves to be thus thoroughly imbued with this revolutionary spirit — the first revo- lution they hailed with enthusiasm ; when they saw it become stained with frightful horrors, they paused a moment, and were on the point of acknowledging their error; but scribblers and so- phists came to show them that it failed in being a glorious and happy one only because it was not complete ; another and then another, and another yet, would finish the work and make them a DELUSIVE HOPES. 369 threat nation. Thus have they become altogether a i-evolutionar^' people ; and they must abide by the consequences, unless they come at last to change their mind. But the worst has not been said. This terrible example, in- stead of proving a warning to nations, has, on the contrary, drawn nearly all of them into the same boiling vortex. England and France have led the whole European world captive : people ask for a government different to the one they have ; revolution is the consequence, and, with the entry of the revolutionary spirit, good-by to all stability and security. Let Italy and Spain bear witness if this is not so. And the great phenomenon of the age is the collecting of all those revolutionary particles into one compact mass, arranged and preordained by some master-spirits of evil, who would be leaders not of a state or nation only, but of a universal republic embracing first Europe, and then the world. So we hear to-day of the Internationalists receiving in their " congresses " deputies not only from all the great European centres, not only from both ends of America, which is now Europeanized, but from South Africa, from Australia, New Zealand, from countries which a few years back were still in quiet possession of a comparatively few aborigines. To come back, then, to the point from which we started, it is in this revolutionary spirit, in those conspiracies for revolutions to come, that some irishmen set their hopes for the regeneration of their country. It would be well to remind them of the say- ings of our Lord : " Can men gather grapes from thorns ? '' " By their fruits ye shall know them." Let the Irish who are truly devoted to their country reflect well on the kind of men they would have as allies, what has Ireland in common with these men ? If they know Ireland at all, they detest her because of her Catholicism ; and, if Ireland knows them, she cannot but distrust and abominate them. , It has seemed a decree of kind Providence that all attempts at rebellion on her part undertaken with the hope of such help, have so far not only been miserable failures, but most disgrace- fully miscarried and been spent in air, leaving only ridicule and contempt for the originators of and partakers in the plots. If the vast and unholy scheme which is certainly being or- ganized, and which is spreading its fatal branches in all direc- tions, should ever succeed, it could not but result in the most frightful despotism ever contemplated by men. Ireland in such an event would be the infinitesimal part of a chaotic system worthy of Antichrist for head. But we are confident that such a scheme cannot succeed and come to be realized, unless indeed it enter for a short period into the designs of an avenging God, who has promised not to de- 24 S70 DELUSIVE HOPES. Btroy mankind again by another flood, but assured us by St. Peter that he will puniy it by fire. As a mere design of man, intended for the regeneration of humanity and the new creation of an abnormal order of things, it cannot possibly succeed, because it is opposed to the nature of men, among whom as a whole there can be no perfect unity of external government and internal organization, owing to the in- finite variety of which we spoke at the beginning, which is as strong in human beings as elsewhere. No other body than the Catholic Church can hope to adapt itself to all human races, and govern by tlie same rules all the children of Adam. The decree issued of old from the mouth of God is final, and will last as long as the earth itself. It is contained in Moses' Canticle : " Wlien the Most High divided the nations, when he separated the sons of Adam, he appointed the bounds of each people, ac- cording to the number of the children of Israel," or, as the He- brew text has it, " He fixed the limits of each people." On this passage Aben Ezra remarks that interpreters understand the text as alluding to the dispersion of nations (Genesis xi.). Those in- terpreters were clearly right, although only Jewish rabbles. When God deprived man of the unity of language, he took away at the same time the possibility of unity of institutions and government ; and it will be as hard for men to defeat that design of Providence as for Julian the apostate to rebuild the Temple of Jerusalem, of which our Saviour had declared that there should not remain " a stone upon a stone. " But, though the monstrous scheme cannot ultimately succeed, it can and will produce untold evils to human society. By alluring workmen and other people of the lower class, it draws into the intricate folds of conspiracy, dark projects, and univer- sal disorder, an immense array of human beings, whom the revo- lutionarv spirit had not yet, or at least had scarcelv, touched ; it undermmes and disturbs society in its lowest depths and widest- spread foundations, since the lower class always has been and still is the most numerous, including by far the great majority of men. It consequently renders the stability of order more difficult, if not absolutely impossible ; it opens up a new era of revolutions, more disastrous than any yet known ; for, as has already been remarked, and it should be well borne in mind, in order that the whole extent of the evil in prospect may be seen, so far, all the agitations in Europe, all the convulsions which have rendered our age so imlike any previous one, and produc- tive of so many calamities, private as well as public, have been almost exclusively confined to the middle classes, and should be considered only as a reaction of the simple houraeoi^ against the aristocratic class. Those agitations and convulsions are only the necessary consequence of the secular opposition, existing from DELUSITE HOPES. 371 the ninth and tenth centuries and those immediately following, between the strictly feudal nobility, which arrogated to itself all prerogatives and rights, and the more numerous class of burgh- ers, set on the lower step of the social ladder. These latter wanted, not so much to get up to the level of their superiors, as to bring them down to their own, and even precipitate them into the abvss of nothingness below. They have almost suc- ceeded ; and the prestige of noble blood has passed away, per- haps forever, in spite of Vico's well-known theory. But the now triumphant burgher in his turn sees the dim mass, lost in the darkness and indistinctness of the lowest pool of humanity, rising up grim and horrible out of the abyss, hungry and fierce and not to be pacified, to threaten the new-modelled aristocracy of money with a worse fate than that it inflicted upon the old nobility. And, to render the prospect more ajjpalling, the chief means which so eminently aided the bourgeoisie to take their position, namely, the wide-spread influence of secret societies, whose workings even lately have astonished the world by the facile and apparently inexplicable revolutions effected in a few days, are now in the fiiU possession of the lower classes, who, no longer rude and unintelligent, but possessed of leaders of experience and knowledge, can a£o powerfully work those mighty engines of destruction. In the presence of those past, present, and coming revolu- tions, the face of heaven entirely clouded, the presence of God absolutely ignored, his rights over mankind denied, the designs of his Providence openly derided, and man, pretending to decide "his own destiny by his own unaided eflbrts, scornfully rejecting any obligation to a superior power, not looking on high for assist- ance, but taking only for his guide his pretended wisdom, his un- bounded pride, and nis raging passions ; such is now our world. Is Ireland to launch herself on that surging sea of wild im- pulse, in whose depths lies destruction and whose waves never kiss a peaceful coast ? When she claimed and exercised a policy of her own, she wisely persisted in not mixing herself up with the troubles of Europe, content to enjoy happiness in her own way, on her ocean-bound island, she thanked Grod that no portion of her little territory touched any part of the Continent of Europe, stretching out vainly toward her shores. So she stood when, under God, she was mistress of her own destiny. If ever she thought of Europe, it was only to send her missionaries to its help, or to receive foreign youth in her large schools which were open to all, where wisdom was imparted witnout restriction and without price. But to follow the lead of European theorists and vendors of so-called wisdom and science, to originate new schemes of pretended knowledge, or place herself in the wake of 872 DELUSIVE HOPES. bold adventurers on the sea of modem inventions, she was ever steadfast in her refusal. And now that her autonomy is almost once again within her grasp, now that she can carve out a destiny of her own, would she hand over the guidance of herself to men who know nothing of her, who have onlv heard of her through the reports of her enemies, and who will scarcely look at her if she is foolish enough to ask to be admitted within their ranks ? Every one who wishes well to Ireland ought to thank God that so far few indeed, if any, of her children have ever joined in the plots and conspiracies of modem times, and that in this last scheme just referred to, not one of them, probably, has fully engaged himself. In the late horrors of the Paris Commune^ no Irish name could be shown to have been implicated, and, when the contrary was asserted, a simple denial was sufficient to set the question at rest. Let them so continue to refrain from sullying their national honor by following the lead of men with whom they have nothing in common. After all, the great thing which the Irish desire is, with the mtti/re possession of their rights, to enjoy that peace and security in their own island, which they relish so keenly when they find it on foreign shores. But no peace or security is possible with the attempt to subvert all human society by wild and imprac- ticable theories, in which human and divine laws are alike set at naught. Further words are unnecessary on this subject, aa the simple good sense and deep religious feeling of the Irish will easily preserve them from yielding to such temptation. Yet, a last consideration seems worthy of note. When, later on, we present our views, and explain by what means we con- sider that the happiness of the Irish nation may be secured, and its mission fulfilled, a more fitting opportunity will be presented of speaking of the ways by which Providence has already led them through former difficulties, and the consideration of those holy designs and past favors may enable us better to understand what may be hoped and attempted in the future. Here it is enough to observe that, in whatever progress* the Irish have made oi late in obtaining a certain amount of their rights, insurrection, revolution, plots, and the working of secret societies condemned by the Church, have absolutely gone for nothing, and the little of it all, in which Irishmen have indulged, really formed one of the main obstacles to the enjoyment of what they had already obtained, and to the securing of a greater amount for the future. There is no doubt that' revolutions abroad and dangers at home have been the greatest inducements to England to relax her grasp and change her tyrannical policy toward Ireland. The success of the revolt of the North American colonies was the DELUSIVE HOPES. 373 main cause of the volunteer movement of 1782, and of the con- cessions then temporarily granted. Thefearfal upheaval of rev- olutionary France, which filled the English heart with a whole- some dread, was also a great means of obtaining for Ireland the concession of being no longer treated as though it were a lair of wild beasts or a nest of outlaws. The act of Catholic Eman- cipation in 1829 was certainly granted in view of immediate revolutions ready to burst forth, one of which did explode in France in the year following. But, in all those outbursts of popular fury, Ireland never joined ; and if she found in them new ground for hope, if she awaited anxiously the anticipated result turning in her favor, she never took any active part what- ever in them. She only relied on God, who always knows how to draw good from evil ; she, however, profited by them, and saw her shackles fall off" of themselves, and herself brought back, step by step, to liberty. But so soon as anj body of Irishmen entered into a scheme of a similar nature, imitating the secret plottings and deeds of European revolutionists, Ireland never gained a single inch of ground, nor reaped the slightest advantage from such attempts. On the contrary, ridicule, contempt, increase of burdens, penal- ties, and harsh treatment, were the only result which ever came from them, and, worst of all, no one pitied the victims of all those foolish enterprises. There is no need of entermg here into details. The first of those attempts failed long ago ; the last is Btill on record, and cannot be yet said to belong to past history. CHAPTER XIV. RBBUBBBCrnOK. — EmOBATTOV. To the eye of s keen beholder, Irelaiid to-day presents the appearance of a nation entering upon a new career. She is emerging from a long darkness, and opening again to the free light of heaven. Whoever compares her present position with that she occupied a century ago, cannot fail to be struck with won- der no less at the change in her than at the agencies which brought that change about. And when to this is added the further re- flection that she is still young, though sprung from so old an origin — ^young in feeling, in buoyancy, in aspirations, in purity and simplicity — the conclusion forces itself upon the mind that a high destiny is in store for her, and that God proposes a long era of prosperity and active life to an ancient nation which is only now beginning to live. In such cases, whether it be a people or an individual, which is entering upon its life, crowds oi adVisers are ever to be found ready to display their wisdom and lay down the plans whose adoption will infallibly bring prosperity and happiness to the in- dividual or people in qiiestion. Ireland, to-day, suffers from do lack of wise counsellors and ardent well-wishers. Unfortunately, their various projects do not always harmonize ; indeed, they are sometimes contradictory, and, as their number is by no means small, the only difficulty is where to choose which road the nation should take in order to march in the right direction. In entering upon this portion of our work, where we have to deal with actual questions of the day, and if not to draw the horoscope of the future, at least to give utterance to our ideas for the promotion of the welfare of the nation, we shall appear to come under the same catalogue of advisers, fully persuaded, with the rest, that our advice is the right, our voice the only one worthy of attention. Our pui-pose is far humbler ; our reflections take another shape ; we merely say ; EMIGRATION. 375 During the last hundred years, Ireland has changed wonder- Rilly for the better ; and although the old wounds are not yet quite healed up, though they still smart, though she is still poor and disconsolate, and her trials and afflictions far from being ended ; nevertheless, though sorely tried. Providence has been kind to her. Many of her rights have been restored, and she is no longer the slave of hard task-masters. When she now speaks, her voice is no longer met by gibe and snoer, but with a kind of awe akin to respect, her enemies seeming to feel instinctively that it is the voice of a nation which no longer may be safely despised. This fact being indisputable, the conviction forces itself upon us that her improved condition is mainly, perhaps solely, due to Providence ; and that the career upon which she has entered, and which she is now pursuing with a clear determination of her own, has been marked out, designed, and alreadv partially run, under the guidance of that God for whom alone she has suffered, and who never fails in his own good time to dry up the tears shed for his sake, and crown his martyrs with victory. Our task is merely to examine the progress made, the manner of its making, the direction toward which it tends, with the aim, if possible, of adding to its speed. We have no new plan to offer, no gratuitous advice to give. The plan is already sketched out — God has sketched it ; and our only aim is to see how man may cooperate with designs far higher than any proposed by human wisdom. The first thing that strikes us, standing on the verge of this new region, opening out dimly but gloriously before our eyes, is one great fact which is plain to all ; which is greater than all England's concessions to Ireland, more fruitful of happy conse- quences, not alone to the latter country itself, but to the world at large ; a fact which is the strongest proof of the vitality of the Irish race, which now begins to win for it respect by bringing forth its real strength, a strength to astonish the world ; which began feebly when the evils of the country were at their height, but has gone on constantly increasing until it has now grown to extraordinary proportions ; and which instead of, as their enemies fondly supposed, wresting Ireland fi'om the Irish, has made their claim to the native soil securer than ever, by spreading strong supporters of their rights through the world. This great fact is emigration. At this moment, Irishmen are scattered abroad over the earth. In many regions they have numbers, and form compact bodies. Wherever this occurs, they acquire a real power in the land which they have made their new home. That power is certainly intended by Almighty God to be used wisely, prudently, but ac- tively and energetically, not only for the good of those who have been thus transplanted in a new soil, but also for the good of the 376 EAaGRATION. mother-country which they cannot, if they would, forget. Ho\i can they utilize for such a purpose the power so recently acquired, the wealth, the influence, the consideration they enjoy, in their new ccuntry ? How may such a course benefit the land of their nativity as of their origin ? These are important questions ; they are not airy theories, but rise up clearly from a standing and. stupendous fact. The turning their power of expansion to its right use, the reproduction with Christian aim of that old power of expansion peculiar to the Celtic race three thousand years ago, is what we call the first true issue of the Irish ques- tion : — Endgrat/ion amd its Possible Effects. In order to judge with proper understanding of the prospec- tive efiects of Irish emigration, it is fitting to study the tact in all its bearings ; to examine the origin and various phases of tlie mighty movement, the religious direction it has invariably taken, the immediate good it has produced, and the special considera- tion of the vast proportions which it has finally assumed. The task may be a long one ; but it is certainly important and inter- esting ; and it is only after the details of it have been thoroughly sifted that one may be in a position to judge rightly of the aid it has already fiimisned, and which it is destinea to furnish in a still greater degree, to the uprising of the nation. Tlie movement originated witn the Reformation. It began with the fiight of a few of the nobility in the reign of Henry VIII. ; their number was increased under Elizabeth, and grew to larger proportions still under James I. ; but a far greater number, sufficient to make a very sensible diminution in the population of the country, was doomed to exile by Cromwell and the Long Parliament. It then became a compulsory banish- ment. The next following movement on a large scale occurred after the surrender of Kilkenny, when the Irish commanders. Colonel Fitzpatrick, Clanricard, and others, could obtain no better terms than emigration to any foreign country then at peace with Eng- land. The Irish troops were eagerly caught up by the various European monarchs, so highly were their services esteemed. The number that thus left their native land, many of them never to return, amounted, according to well-informed writers, to forty thousand men, of noble blood most of them, many of the first nobility of the land, and almost all children of the old race. The details of this first exodus are to be found in the pages of many modern authors, particularly in Mr. Prendergast's " Cromwellian Settlement." The example thus given was followed on many occasions. The Treaty of Limerick, October 3, 1691, gave the garrison under Saarsfield liberty to join the army of King William or enter the service of France. >f r .\ . ^f. O'Sullivan has given a spirited UNIVERSITY 11 \^ OF ^ %; gAUFOgg >^ EMIGRATION. 377 sketcli of the making of their choice by the heroic garrison as it defiled out of the city : " On the morning of the 5 th of October the Irish regiments were to make their choice between exile for life or service in the armies of their conqueror. At each end of a gently-rising ground beyond the suburbs were planted on one side the royal standard of France, and on the other that of England. It was agreed that the regiments, as they marched out with all the honors of war, drums beating, colors flying, and matches lighted, should, on reaching the spot, wheel to the left or to the right, beneath that flag under which they elected to serve. At tlie head of the Irish marched the Foot Guards, the finest regimen ^> in the service, fourteen hundred strong. All eyes were fixed on this splendid body of men. On they came, amid breathless silence and acute suspense ; for well both the English and Irish generals knew that the choice of the first regiment would power- fully infiuence all the rest. The Guards marched up to the critical spot, and in a body wheeled to the colors of France, barely seven men turning to the English side ! Ginckle, we are told, was gi'eatly agitated as he witnessed the proceeding. The next re gim ent, however (Lord Iveagh's), marched as unanimously to the williamite banner, as did also portions of two others. But the bulk of the Irish army defiled under the Jleur-de-lys of King Louis, only one thousand and forty-six, out of nearly four- teen thousand men, preferring the service of England." From that time out a large number of the Irish nobility and gentry continued to enlist under French, Spanish, or Austrian colors ; and the several Irish brigades became celebrated all over Europe until the end of the eighteenth century. It is said by Vdbbe McGeohegan that six hundred thousand Irishmen perished in the armies of France alone. The abb6 is generally very ac- curate, and from his long residence in France nad every means at his disposal of arriving at the truth. Some pretend that double the number enlisted in foreign service. There is no doubt that in all a million men left the island to take service under the banners of Catholic sovereigns, and it is needless to dwell on the bravery and devotion of those men whom the per- secution of an unwise and cruel Protestant government drove out of Ireland during the eighteenth century — it is needless to dwell upon it, for the record is known to the world. Without following the fortunes of the Irish brigades, the history of one of which, that in the service of France, has been ^iven us in the very interesting and valuable narrative of John C. O'Callaghan — its various fortunes and final dissolution at the breaking out of the French republic, when the English Gov- ernment was glad to receive back the scattered remnants of it — the question which bears most on our present subject is : What 379 EMIGRATION. was the occupation of those Irishmen on the Continent when not actually engaged in war? What service did their voluntary or compulsory exile do their native countir? Was that long emi- gration of a century productive of something out of which Frovi dence may have drawn good ? The first departure of a few under Hugh O'Neill and Hugh O'Donnell had already spread the name of Ireland through Spain, Italy, and Belgium. The reports of the numerous Eng- lish spies, employed to dog their steps and watch their move- ments, reports some of which have been finally brought to light, conclusively prove that most of the exiles held honorable posi- tions in Spain and Portugal, at Yalladolid and Lisbon, where the O'Sullivans and O'Driscolls lived ; at the very court of Spain, or in the Spanish navy, like the Bourkes and the Cavanaghs. In Flanders, under the Austrian archdukes, were stationed the McShanes, on the Groyne; the Daniells at Antwerp; the posterity of the earls themselves with that of their former reti- nue. All held rank in the Austrian army, and even in times of peace were occupied in thinking of possible entanglements where- by they might serve their coimtry, while they made the Irish name honored and respected all over that rich land. In Italy, at Naples, Leghorn, Florence, and Bome, in the great centres of the peninsula, the same thing was taking place, and there, at least, the calumnies, everywhere so industriously circulated about Ireland, could not penetrate, or, if they did, only to be received with scorn. But, when the next emigi-ation, at the end of the Cromwell- ian and Williamite wars, landed forty thousand soldiers, and twelve thousand more a few years afterward, on the European Continent, these armed men proved to the nations, by their bravery, their deep attachment to their religion, their perfect honor and generosity, that the people from w^icli a persecuting power had driven them forth could not be composed of the outlaws and blood-thirsty cutthroats which the reports of their enemies would make them. How striking and permanent must have been the eff*ect produced on impartial minds by the con- trast between the aspect of the reality and the base fabrications of skilfully-scattered rumor ! And be it borne in mind that those men founded families in the countries where they settled, as well as those who con- tinued to flock thither during the whole of the eighteenth cen- tury. They carried about with them, in their verv persons even, the history of Ireland's wrongs ; and the mere siglit of them was enough to interest all with whom they came in contact in favor of their country. Hence the esteem and sympathy which Ireland and her people have always met with in F'rance, where the calumnies and ridicule lavished on them could never find an entrance. EMIGRATION. 379 It would be a great error to imagine tliat they were to be found only in the camp or in the garrisons of cities. Thev ma le themselves a home in their new country, and their chil- dren entered upon all the walks of life opened up to the citi- zens of the country in which they resided. Thus, at least, the name of Ireland did not die out altogether during that age of gloom, when their native isle was only the prison of the race, where it was chained down in abject misery, out of the sight of the world, the life of it stifled out in the deep dungeon of oblivion. In all honorable professions they became distinguished — in the Church and in trade, as in the army. Thus, speaking only of France, an Irishman — Edgeworth — was chosen by Louis XYI. to prepare him for death and stand by him during his last ordeal of ignominy; another — Lally Tollendal — would have wrested India from England, if his ardent temperament had not brought him enemies \vnere he ought to have met with friends ; another yet — "Walsh — during the American War, employed the wealth acquired by trade, in sending cruisers against the English to American waters. It would take long pages to record what those noble exiles accomplished for the good of their country and religion, quite apart from the heroism they displayed on battle-fields, and their fidelity to principle during times of peace. Their very presence in foreign countries was, perhaps, the best protest against the enslavement of their own. They showed by their bearing that they owed no allegiance to England, and that brute force could never establish right. By identifying themselves ^vith the nations which offered them hospitality and a new right of citi- zenship, they proved to the world that their native isle could be governed by native citizens. Their honorable conduct and suc- cessful activity in every pursuit of life showed that, as they were capable of governing themselves, so likewise could they claim self-government for their country. The moral condition of France during the eighteenth century, and the depths of corruption into which the higher class sank m so short a time, are known to all. To the honor of the Irish nobil- ity and gentry then in France, not a single Irish name is to be met with in that long list of noble names which have disgraced that page of French history. Kot in the luxurious bowers and pal- aces of Louis XY. were they to be found, but on the battle-fielda of Dettingen and Fontenoy. It was a Scotchman — Law — who infected the higher circles oi the natives with the rage for specu- lation, and the folly of gambling in paper. It was an Italian — Cagliostro — who traded on the superstitious credulity of men who had lost their faith. It was an Englishman — Lord Derwent- water — and another Scotchman — Kamsay — who, by the introduc- 380 EMIGRATION. tion of the first Masonic Lodge into France, opened the flood gates of future revolutions. Among those of foreign birth, no Irishman was found in France to contribute to the corruption of the nation, and give his aid to set agoing that long era of woe not yet ended. And needless is it to add that never is one of them mentioned, among those who were so active in propagating that broad in- fidelity peculiar to that age. If a few of them shared to some extent in the general delusion, and took part with the vast mul- titude in the insane derision, then so fashionable, of every thing holy, their number was small indeed, and none of them acquirea in that peculiar line the celebrity which crowned so many others — the Grimms, the Gallianis, and later on the Paines, the Cloots, and other foreigners. As a body, the Irish remained faithful to the Church of their fathers, honoring her by their conduct, and their respectful de- meanor toward holy names and holy things. Eventually they, in common with all Frenchmen, had to share in the misfortunes brought on by the subversion of all the former guiding princi- ples ; but, though sharing in the punishment, they took no part m the gi*eat causes which called it down. These few words will suffice for the emigration of the Irish nobility, and its efiects on foreign countries, as well as Ireland it- self. But another class of noblemfien had emigrated to the Continent side by side with those of whom we have just spoken ; namely, bishops, priests, monks, and learned men. England would not suffer the Catholic clergy in Ireland ; she was particularly care- ful not to allow Irish youth the benefit of any but a Protestant education. Irish clergymen were compelled to fly and open houses of study abroad. Their various colleges in Spain, France, Belgium, and Italy, are well known ; they have already been re- ferred to, and it is not necessary to enlarge on the subject. But, though mention has been made of the renown thus acquired by Irishmen then residing on the Continent, it is fitting to speak of them again in their character of emigrants. They took upon themselves the noble task of making the literature and tl^ history of their nation known to all people ; and in so doing they have preserved a rich literature which must otherwise have perished. What was their situation on the Continent % They had been driven by persecution from their country, sometimes in troops of exiles to be cast on some remote shore; sometimes escaping singly and in disguise, they went out alone to end their lives under a foreign sky. Behind them they left the desolate island ; their friends bowed down in misery, their enemies triumphant and in full power. The convents, where they had spent theii EMIGRATION. 381 happiest days, were either demolished or turned to vile uses ; their churcnes desecrated ; heresy ruling the land, truth com- pelled to be silent. All the harrowing details given by the ^' Prophet of Lamentations " might be applied to their beloved country. True, they could j&nd peace and rest among those who offered them their hospitality ; at least, the worship of God would be free and untrammelled there. But it was not the place of their birth, where they had received their first education ; it was not the mission intrusted to them when they consecrated their lives to God. They would hear another language, see aroimd them different manners, begin life anew, perhaps, in their old age. What a contrast to their former hopes ! What a sad ending to the closing days of their life ! Nevertheless, they might be of use to their countrymen. It was not for them now to convert Europe, and preach Cnristianity to barbarous tribes, as did their ancestors of old. The world which received them was languishing with excess of refined civil- ization ; corruption had entered in, and was fast destroying it ; and they could scarcely hope to hold it back from its downward career. But, at least, they might open houses for the reception of the youth of their own country, where they should receive an education according to the teachings of the true Church, which was denied them at home. So they went to Salamanca, to Yal- ladolid, to Paris, Louvain, Douai, liheims, Eome, wherever there was hope or possibility of directing Irish youth in the ways of truepiety and learning. The labors to which they devoted themselves, though un- known to posterity, were of great utility at the time. They saw the youth they educated grow up under their care ; when their studies were concluded, they sent them to labor in the ministry among their countrymen ; they heard of them from time to time — of their arduous life, the dangers they braved, the many per- secutions they underwent, their imprisonment when captured, their conviction, torture often, and death by martyrdom. And thus, through the exertions of those emigrant monks and priests, the true Gospel was preached in Ireland, and the faith of the people kept alive and strong. A few of them chose another path, and consecrated the re- mainder of their days to literary labors, which have shed down on their persecuted country a halo of immortal glory. Some Franciscan friars (two of them the brothers O'Cleary) had already begun this work in the island itself, when driven from their quiet homes to take refuge in the obscure " convents,'* that is, out-of-the-way farm-houses mentioned before, where they were received and hidden away from the world. The literature of Ireland was fast perishing ; the rage of their enemies being 382 EMIGRATION. as violently directed against their boolvs as against their houses and chnrches. Precious manuscripts were every day given to the flames and wantonly destroyed, seemingly for the mere pleas- ure of destruction. A very few years would have sulBSced to render the former history oi the country a perfect blank. In no spot of the same size on earth had so many interesting books ever been written and treasured up ; but before long there would remain no friars on the island to preserve them, no library to contain them, no one to care for them in the least. The brothers O'Cleary saw this with dismay ; and they, with two companions, became known as the "Four Masters." They interested in their work the faithful Irish who still retained possession of a farm, or a cabin with a few acres of ground attached ; the men, and women even, were to search the country round for every volume concealed or preserved, for every parchment and relic, for vellum manuscripts, even a stray solitary page, did one re- main alone. The annals of Ireland were thus saved by the literary patriotism of poor and unknown peasants. All that re- mains of Irish lore was collected together in the rural convent of the O'Cleary s, and an ardent flame was enkindled which lasted the whole of the seventeenth century. To this iuitiative must be referred the subsequent labors of Ward, Colgan, Lynch, and others ; herculean labors truly, which have enabled antiquarians of our days to resume the thread, so near being snapped, of that long and tangled web of history wherein is woven all that can interest the patriot and the Chris- tian of the island. Knowing the position in which the writers found themselves, it is astonishing to see what they wrote. It was not a work of fancy to which their pens were devoted. A strong, feeling heart and an active imagination were certainly theirs ; but of little service could either prove to them in the ungrateful task of col- lecting manuscripts, classifying, reading them through, ascertain- ing their age and authenticity, and iinally using them for the pur- pose of preserving the annals and hagiography of the nation. The large libraries they found in the various cities which re- ceived them could be of little use to them. They had first to collect their own libraries, to summon their authorities from dis- tant lands ; many books were to be procured from Ireland itself. With what precautions I It was real, (though lawful^ smuggling; for the export of Irish books was not only under tariff, but strict- ly prohibited ; the mere sight of them was more hateful to a British custom-house officer of those days than the sight^ of a crucifix to a Japanese official of Nagasaki. It would be inter- esting to know the various stratagems devised to conceal them, carry them away, and convey them triumphantly to Louvaio, Pans, or Rome. EMIGRATION: 383 But Ireland was not the only repository of Irish Looks. Many letters, official documents, copies of old MSS., interesting relics of antiquity, had been gathered a^es before and during aU the intervening time, in convents, churches, houses of education, on the Continent, along the Rhine chiefly. It is said that even to-day the richest mines of yet unexplored lore of this character are scattered along both sides of the great German river. The frequent movements of various armies, the sieges of cities, the horrors of war which have raged there constantly from the days of Arminius and Yarro down, have not destroyed every thing, could not exhaust the rich deposit of Irish manuscripts there concealed. But the labor of striking the mine ! — of opening those musty pages falling to pieces between the fingers and leav- ing in the hand nothing but illegible fragments of half-blackened parchment ; and the further labor of deciphering them, of dis- covering what they speak about, and if they are likely to prove useful to the purpose 1 It is needless to descant on such a theme. It is impossible to give any true idea of the literary labors of those men, without having seen and perused their huge folios, many of which have not yet been published to the world. Poor Colgan could give us little more than his ''Trias Thavrniaturga^^^ and that was only destined to form the portal of the edifice he purposed erect- ing as a shrine to the memory of the whole host of saints nurt- ured in the island — the ''Acta Sanctorum HibemicBP The grand idea, which first germinated in the minds of those men, expanded afterward in others under circumstances more favorable. Did they not suggest to BoUandus and his feUows the thought whose realization has immortalized them ? In tasks such as these were the Irish emigrant monks of the time employed. There was yet another class of involuntary Irish exiles : those shipped to the " plantations " of America, to the " tobac- co" and "sugar" islands, to Yirginia and Jamaica, but princi- pally to the Barbadoes. The origin of this new kind of emigra- tion, already touched upon, is worthy of the times and of the men who called it forth. After forty thousand soldiers had been allowed, or rather compelled, by Cromwell to enlist in foreign armies, it was found that many had left behind them their wives and children. What was to be done with these "widows" whose husbands and nu- merous ofispring were still living \ They could not be sent to Connaught, as women, with children only, could not be ex- pected to " plant " that desolate province ; they could not be allowed to remain in their native place, as the decree had gone furtli that all the Irish were to "transplant" or be transported; 't would have been inconvenient and inexcusable to do what had 384 EMIGRATION. been so often done in the war — massacre them in cold blood- the war was over. To relieve the government of this difficulty, Bristol mer- cliants, and merchants probably from other English cities, trad- ing with the new British colonies of North America, thought it a providential opening for a great profit to accrue to the souls of the benighted Irish women and children, and likely at the same time to add something to their own purses and those of their friends, the West India planters. It was only under Elizabeth that permanent colonies were sent out from England to the continent and islands of the New World. The Cavaliers of "Virginia are as well known in the South as the Puritans of New England in the North. This last colony dated only from the time of the Stuai-t dynasty. The great question for all those transatlantic establishments was that of labor ; but in the South it was more difficult of solution than in the North, where Europeans could work in the fields, a thing scarcely possible in the tropics. The natives, as we know, were first employed in the South by the Spaniards, and soon suc- cumbed to the demands of European rapacity. In the West Indies, natives of two different races existed : the soft and delicate Indian of Hayti and Cuba, and the fero- cious Caribs of many other islands. The first race soon disap- peared ; the other continued refractory, indomitable, choosing to perish rather than labor ; and some remnants of it still remain, saved by the Catholic Church. As yet, African negroes had not been conveyed there in sufficient numbers. A brilliant thought struck the minds, at once pious, active, and business-like, of those above-mentioned Bristol merchants — a thought which was the doom of thousands of Irish women and children. The names of a few of those Bristol firms deserve to be handed down. Those of Messrs. James Sellick and Leader, Mr. Kobert Yeoman s, Mr. Joseph Lawrence, Dudley North, and John Johnson, are furnished by Mr. Prendergast, who tells us that— " The Commissioners of Ireland under Cromwell gave them orders upon the governors of garrisons to deliver them prisoners of war. . . . upon masters of work-houses, to hand over to them the destitute under their care, ^ who were of an age to labor,' or, it' women, those *who were marriageable, and not past breeding;' and gave directions to all in authority, to seize those who had no visible means of livelihood, and deliver them ^ to these agents of the Bristol merchants; in execution of which latter directions, Ireland must have exhibited scenes in every part like the slave-hunts in Africa." A contract was signed on September 14, 1653, by the Com EMIGRATION. 386 missioners of Ireland and Messrs. Sellick and Leader, " to supply them (the merchants) with two hundred and fifty women oi the Irish nation, above twelve years and under the age of forty-five." The fiite reserved for the human cattle, as they must have been looked upon by the godly gentlemen who bartered over them, may be well imagined. It is calculated that, in four years, those English firms of slave-dealers had shipped six thousand and four hundred Irish men and women, boys and maidens, to the British colonies of North America. The age requisite for the females who were thus shipped off may be noted ; the boys and men were not to be under twelve or over fifty. These latter were condemned to the task of tilling the soil in a climate where the negro only can work and live. As all the cost to their masters was summed up in the expense of transportation, they were not induced to spare them, even by the consideration of the high price which, it is said, caused the modern slave-owners of America to treat their slaves with what might be called a commercial humanity. It is easy to imagine, then, the life led by so many young men forced to work in the open fields, under a tropical sun. How long that life lasted, we do not know ; as their masters, on whom they entire- ly depended, were interested in keeping the knowledge of their fate a secret. It is well understood that, when the unfortunate victims had once left the Irish harbor from which they set sail, no one ever heard of them again ; and, if the parents still lived in the old country, they were left to their conjectures as to the probable situation of their children in the new. Sir William Petty says that " of boys and girls alone " — ex- clusive, consequently, of men and women — " six thousand were thus transplanted ; but the total number of Irish sent to perish in the tobacco-islands, as they were called, was estimated in some Irish accounts at one hundred thousand." The " Irish accounts " may have been exaggerated, but the English atoned for this by certainly falling below the mark, as is clear from the fact that, according to them, the Commissioners of Ireland required the " supply for New England alone to come from " the country within twenty miles of Cork, Youghall, Kinsale, Waterford, and Wexford ; " that " the hunt lasted four years," and was carried on with such ardor by the agents of many English firms that those men-catchers employed persons " to delude poor people by false pretenses into by-places, and thence they forced them on board their ships ; that for money sake they were found to have enticed and forced women from their husbands, and children from their parents, who maintained them at school ; and they had not only dealt so with the Irish, but algo with the English." For this reason, the order was revoked, and the " hunt " forbidden. 26 886 EMIGRATION. Wlien agents were reduced to such straits after the govern ment had used force, as Henry Cromwell acknowledged, the large extent of country mentioned above must have been wuU scoured and depopulated ; and certainly a far greater number of victims must have been secured by all those means combined than is given in the English accounts. We believe the Irish. One other source of supply deserves mention. Not only women and children, but priests also, were hunted down and shipped off to the same American plantations ; so that persons of every class which is held sacred in the eyes of God and man for its character and helplessness, were compelled to emigrate, or rather to undergo the worst possible fate that the imagination of man can conceive. In 1656 a general hatt/ue for priests took place all over Ire- land. The prisons seem to have been filled to overflowing. " On the 3d of May, the governors of the respective precincts were ordered to send them with suflicient guards, from garrison to garrison, to Carrickferffus, to be there put on board of such ships as should sail with the first opportunity to the Barbadoes. One may imagine the sufferings of this toilsome journey by the Eetition of one of them. Paul Cashin, an agea priest, appre- ended at Maryborough, and sent to Philipstown, on the way to Carrickfergus, there fell desperately sick; and, being also ex- tremely aged, was in danger of perishing in restraint from want of friends and means of relief. On the 2Tth of August, the com- missioners having ascertained the truth of his petition, they or- dered him sixpence a day during his sickness, and (in answer, probably, to this poor prisoner's prayer to be saved from trans- plantation) their order directed that the sixpence should be con- tinued to him in his travel thence (after his recovery) to Carrick- fergus, in order to his transplantation to the fiarbadoes." — {CrornAJoellicm Settlement) In that burning island of the West Indies, deprived of all means, not only oi exercising their ministry among others, but even of practising their religion themselves, of fulfilling their holy obligation oi prayer and sacrifice, these victims of such an atrocious persecution were employed as laborers in the fields : their transplantation had cost money, and the money had to be repaid a hundred-fold by the sweat of their brow. Ship-loads of them had been discharged on the inhospitable shore of that island ; each with a high cauing which he could no longer carry out ; each, therefore, tortured in his soul, with all the sweet or bitter memories of his past life crowding on his mind, and the dreary prospect spreading before him, to the end of his life, of no change from his rude and slavish occupation un- der the burning sun, hearing no voice but that of the harsh task- master ; his eyes saddened and his heart sickened by the open EMIGRATION. ag7 and daily spectacle of immorality and woe, with no ending bnt the ffrave. It seems, however, that these holy men found some means of fulfilling their sacred duty as God's ministers, for the inhuman traffic in such slaves as these to the Barbadoes lasted but one year. In 1657 it was decreed that this island should no longer be their place of transportation, but, instead, the desolate isles of Arran, opposite the entrance to the bay of Galway, and the isle of Innifiboffin, off the coast of Connemara. Mr. Prendcrgast thinks that this change of policy in their regard may have been caused by the price of their transportation, which probably mounted to a high aggregate sum. JBut he must be mistaken. They certainly cost no more than women and children, and their labor in the West Indies surely covered this expense. The rea- son for the change is more plainly visible in the nature of the site substituted for the Barbadoes as their place of exile. The " holy isles " of Arran and the isle of Innisboffin were then, as now, bare of every thing — almost of inhabitants. The priests could be there kept as in a prison, and, though they might be of no profit to their masters, they could not hear a voice or see a face other than those of their fellow-captives. In the "West In- dia islands there existed an already thick population, and the very women and children who had been transported thither be- fore them would be consoled by their ministry, though prac- tised by stealth, and strengthened in their faitn, which might thus have not only been kept aKve among them, but spread over the whole country. Who can say if the faith, preserved among the many Irish living in the island until quite recently, was not owing to their exhortations ? " The first Irish people who found permanent homes in Amer- ica," says Thomas D' Arcy McGee, " were certain Catholic patri- ots banished by Oliver Cromwell to Barbadoes. ... In this island, as in the neighboring Montserrat, the Celtic language was certainly spoken m the last century,* and perhaps it is part- ly attributable to this early Irish colonization, that Barbadoes became * one of the most populous islands in the world.' At the end of the seventeenth century, it was reported to contain twen- ty thousand inhabitants." Although Barbadoes is the chief island concerned in the present considerations, nevertheless nearly all the British colo- ' The Oeltio language — ^that sure sign of Catholicity — was not only spoken there last century, but is still to-day. The writer himself heard last year (1871), from two young American seamen, who had just returned from a voyage to this island, that the negro porters and white 'longshoremen who load and unload the ships in the harbor, know scarcely any other language than the Irish, so that often the crews of English yesaels can only communicate with thom by signs. 388 EMIGRATION. nies then "existing in America, received their share of thig emigration. Several ship-loads of the exiles were certainly sent to New England, at the very time that New-Englanders were earnestly invited by the British Government to " come and plant Ireland ; " Yirffinia, too, paid probably with tobacco for the young men and maidens sent there as slaves. The *' Thurloe State Papers " disclose the fact that one thousand boys and one thousand girls, taken m Ireland hy force, were dispatched to Jamaica, lately added to the empire of England by Admiral Penn, father of the celebrated Quaker founder of Pennsylvania. Thus, then, began the first extensive emigration of the Irish to various parts of British America — a movement quite compul- sory, which in our days has become voluntary, and is productive of the wonders soon to claim our attention. The involuntary emigration of soldiers and clergymen to the Continent of Europe during the seventeenth and eignteenth cen- turies, was, as has been seen, the cause of great advantages to Ireland, and became, in the designs of a merciful Providence, a powerful means of drawing good from evil. At first sight, it seems impossible to discover a similar advantage in this other most involuntary emigration to the plantations of America. A pagan has declared that " there is no spectacle more grate- ful to tne eyes of God than a just man struggling with adversity ; " and where, except in the nrst ages of Cnristianity, could more innocent victims, and a more cruel persecution, be witnessed ? After the horrors of a civil war, horrors unparalleled perhaps in the annals of modem nations, the children and young people of both sexes are hunted down over an area of several Irish counties, dragged in crowds to the seaports, and there jammed in the holds of small, uncomfortable, slow-going vessels. What those children must have been may be easily imagined from the specimens of the race before us to-day. We do not speak of their beauty and comeliness of form, on which a Greek writer of the age of Pericles might have dilated, and found a subject worthy of his pen ; we speak of their moral beauty, their sim- plicity, purity, love of home, attachment to their family, and God, even in their tenderest age. We meet them scattered over the broad surface of this country — boys and girls of the same race, coming from the same counties, cniefly from sweet Wexford, the beautiful, calm, pious south of Ireland. Who but a monster could think of banning those pure and afibctionate creatures, so modest, simple, and ready to trust and confide in every one they meet ? Ana what could be said of those maidens, now so well known in this New World, of whom to speak is to praise, whom to see is to admire ? Such were the victims selected by the Bristol firms, by '* Lord " Henry Cromwell, Governor-General of Ireland, or by Lord Thurloe, secretary and mouth-piece of the EMIGRATION. 389 * Protector." They were to be violently torn from their parents and friends, from every one they knew and loved, to be con- demned, after surviving the horrible ocean-passage of those days, the boys to work on sugar and tobacco plantations, the girls to lead a life of shame in the harems of Jamaica planters I Such of them * as were sent Korth, were to be distributed among the " saints " of 'New England, to be esteemed by the said "saints" as "idolaters," "vipers," "young reprobates," just objects of " the wrath of God ; " or, if appearing to fall in with their new and hard task-masters, to be greeted with words of dubious praise as " brands snatched from the burning," " ves- sels of reprobation," destined, perhaps, by a due imitation of the " saints," to become some day " vessels of election," in the mean time to be unmerciftdly scourged by both master and mis- tress with the " besom of righteousness " probably, at the slight- est fault or mistake. Such was the sorrowful prospect held out to them ; there was no possibility of escape, no hope of going back to the only coun- try they loved. In the South they soon, very soon, sank into an obscure grave. In the IsTorth a prolonged life was only a pro- longation of torment. For, who among them could ever think of becoming a "convert?" They had been taken from their island-home when over twelve years of age ; they had already received from their mothers and hunted priests a religious educa- tion, which happily could never be effaced ; they were to bury m their hearts all their lives long the conviction of their holy faith, supported by the only hope they now had, the hope of heaven. Could the eyes oi God, looking down over the earth, and marking in all places with deep pity his erring children, find souls more wortlw of his vast paternal love ? Can we imagine that the ears of Heaven were deaf to their prayers poured out un- ceasingly all those long days and nights of trials and of tears ? Can we read in the designs of Providence the blessed decrees which such scenes called forth ? Blind that we are, unable often to judge rightly of our own thoughts, often an enigma to our- selves, how shall we dare to judge of what is so far above us ? No Christian at least can pretend that all those miseries, accumu- lated on the heads of so many innocent victims, had no other object than to make them suffer. Ireland will yet profit by all the merits, unknown and untold, gained by so many thousand human hearts and souls and bodies given over to misfortunes which baffle expression. And as yet we have said nothing of those cargoes of priests shipped from Carrickfergus to Barbadoes, and afterward to Arran and Innisboffin. Deprived of all means of making their new country in America a witness of Catholic prayer and worship — 14 390 EMIGRATION. not one of them probably being able to offer the holy sacrifice even for a single day, nor administer any sacrament unless per haps that of penance — by stealth ; not one dared open his mouth and preach the truth publicly to all. What could they do ? They offered the sacrifice of themselves ; the very sight of them pos- sessed almost the virtue of a sacrament, and their lives preached A sermon n^ore eloquent than any of those which entrance the vastest audience of a solemn cathedral. No 1 the first emigration of the Irish to America was not un- fruitful in its results. And were we to attribute the great prog- ress made by Catholicity on the American Continent in the present age to the merits of those numerous victims of persecu- tion, who could prove us to be in error, and say that between the sufferings of innocence in the seventeenth and the glorious suc- cess of tneir countrymen in the nineteenth century there is no connection ? The old phrase of Tertullian, ^'Scmguis TnartyruTn^ semen Christimwrum,^^ has been proved true too often in the an- nals of the Catholic Church to be falsified in this one instance ; yet, if what our days witness be not the result of former suffer- ings and sacrifices, those trials were barren, and are consequently inexplicable. Every cause must have its effect ; and it is a truth which no Christian can hesitate to admit, that the most efficacious source of blessings is the tear of the innocent, the anguish of the pure of heart, the humble prayer of the persecuted servant of God. "When we come to speak of the emigration of the race to the American Continent, which is now in progress, the stupendous facts which will make our narrative and excite our admiration must be regarded and accounted for from a religious and Catho- lic stand-point, and we shall then be able to refer to this first and apparently barren emigration. Many losses, spiritual as well as temporal, may stagger the unreflecting, particularly when the whole designs of Providence are as yet scarcely in their inceptive stage; but the more they are developed before our eyes, the more the truth is made clear ; every dimculty vanishes ; and the soul of the beholder exclaims " Yes, God is truly wise and mer cifull*' But it is time at last to enter on the consideration of what we esteem the first great issue involved in the resurrection of Ire- land, namely, all the probable consequences of the present emi- gration, which is the true point we are aiming at, as our purpose is to show the benefit that Ireland has already derived, and is sure to derive later on, from that incessant flow of the great human wave starting from her shore to oversweep vast continents and islands of the sea. What aid will it affora to her own res- urrection at home, in order to render that complete and lasting \ This mav be said to have been our main object in writing these pages ; for, although it may be impressive enough for those who EMIGRATION. 391 regard tlie subject attentively, and althongli it will certainljr be a source of wonder to those who come after us, nevertheless it fails to strike as it ought the great mass of beholders. Often in the history of nations, while the mightiest revolu- tions are in progress, they are scarcely perceptible to the actors in them ; all their circumstances, their most active and effective operations, being lilce the silent workings of Mature, scarcely sen- sible to those around, until the end comes and the great result is achieved ; then history records the event as one fraught with the greatest blessings, or misfortunes, to mankind. So will it be, we have no doubt, with that strange concatenation of small domestic facts which now form the universal phenomenon of all English-speaking countries : the spread of the Irish everywhere. . What were its beginnings? Nothing at all. What^ood^ effects followed it ? None perceptible for a long time. Tliese two reflections claim our attention first, for we must study the phenomenon, in all its circumstances and bearings. This new emigration we call voluntary, to distinguish it from the first, which was forced upon large portions of the Irish race. But, in reality, the Irish undertook it at the beginning with reluc- tance ; the intolerable state of existence which they were com- Eelled to undergo in their own land acting upon them with a ind of moral compulsion amounting to an almost irresistible force. For it was either the famine or persecution of the century preceding which first drove them to emigrate. Necessity of expansion is a great characteristic of their race, an instinctive impulse which three thousand years ago carried a part of it into the heart of Asia. But this particular branch had been rooted to the soil for so many centuries, by the stem neces- sity of repelling a series of successive invasions, that this great characteristic appeared for a long time to be totally extinct m it. They seemed neither to know nor care any more for foreign coun- tries ; and no race in Europe, from the ninth to the eignteenth century, showed itself so completely wedded to the soil, and in- capable of the thought of spreading abroad. At last they began to move. And what was the first origin of the new movement ? No one can say preciselj^. Only, in various accounts of occurrences taking place m the island during the last century, we occasionally meet with such entries as the following by Matthew O'Connor, in his " Irish Catholics : " " The summer of 1T28 was fatal. The heart of the politician was steeled against the miseries of the Catholics ; their number excited his jealousy. Their decrease by the silent waste of fam- ine must have been a source of secret joy ; but the Protestant interest was declining in a proportionate degree by the ravages of starvation. . . " Thousands of Protestants took shipping in Belfast for the 39^ EMIGRATION. West Indies. . . . Tlie policy that would starve the Catholic* at home would not deny them the privilege of flight." This is the first mention of emigration, on any extensive scale, which we could find in the records of last century ; and, at the time when the Protestant Irish went to America, where they doubtless met with congenial minds in the Puritans of New Eng- land, the Catholics still turned, as before, to Spain and France. But a new entry in 1762 unfolds a new aspect. This time Catholics alone are spoken of : "No resource remained to the peasantry but emigration. The few who had means sought an asylum in the American plantations ; such as remained were al- lowed generally an acre of ground for the support of their fami- lies, and commonage for a cow, but at rents the most exorbitant." This is the first instance we meet with of Irish Catholics emigrating to America, at least in comparatively large bodies. They were no doubt encouraged to take this step by the accounts which reached them of the success of the Ulster Protestants who had gone before, and whose posterity is now to be found in the South chiefly, as low down as Carolina and Georgia. But the relative prospects of the Protestants and Catholics were at that time far from being equally good. The first, driven from home by famine, found a land of plenty awaiting them, a genial climate, perfect toleration of their religious tenets every- where, and in some districts they gained real political influence. They were received with open arms by the colonists, who were unable to occupy the land alone, and ready to welcome new fel- low-citizens, wno would aid them in their contests with the Indi- ans, and add materially to their prosperity and resources. All persons and all things then smiled on the new-comer, and with- in a very short time he found himself possessed of more than he had ever expected. Thus others were induced to follow from the north of Ireland, and famine was no longer the only motive power which impelled them to leave their native land. Mr. Bancroft tells us they were called Scotch-Irish. On the other hand, the Irish Catholics found a fertile soil and an inviting climate ; Nature welcomed them, but man re- coiled, inflamed by a bitter hostility against their faith and their very name. This feeling of opposition, on both accounts, was already fast wearing away in Europe ; but the " liberality " spring- ing up in the Old World, owing to a variety of circumstances, had not yet penetrated into the British colonies of North Amer- ica. They were still, in this respect, in the state in which the Kevolution of 1 688 had left them : Catholicity was proscribed everywhere, and the penal laws of the Old World were attempted to be enforced in the New, as far as the difl'erent state of the country would permit. A few details, taken mainly from Mr. Bancroft's history, will give us a tolerablv exact idea of the EMIGRATION. 393 t-ituation in which tlie newly-arrived Irish Catholic found him- self' in that future land of liberty. The consequences of the downfall of James II. were soon fully accepted by the British colonies, throughout which changes of greater or less degree took place in the laws, not only without any great opposition, but in the main with the full applause of all parties. The Stuart dynasty was thrown over more easily in America than it had been in the British Isles. It is universally admitted that one of the greatest consequences of that downfall was the renewed persecution of Catholics in England and Ireland. In the words of Mr. Bancroft : ^* The Kevolution of 1688, narrow in its principles, imperfect in its details, frightfully intolerant toward Catholics, forms an era in the liberty of England and of mankind." It will be no surprise, then, on coming to review the various colonies, to find the oppression of the Catholic Church common to all without one exception. Beginning with the South, we find the new governor of South Carolina, Archdale, a Quaker, and, on that account, personally well disposed toward all, desirous of showing that a Quaker could respect the faith of a " Papist," commencing his administra- tion by sending back to the Spanish Governor of Florida four Indian converts of the Spanisn priests, who were exposed as slaves for sale in Carolina. He likewise enfranchised the Hugue- nots of South Carolina, who, up to this time, had been kept under by the High Church oligarchy. Yet, when he came to urge the adoption of liberal measures toward all in the state, the colonial Legislature consented to confer liberty of conscience on all Christians, with the exception of " Papists." In North Carolina, the Church of England was actually made the state Church, in 1704, and the Legislature enacted that "no one who would not take the oath prescribed by law should hold a place of trust in the colony." Of Virginia, Spotswood, the governor, could write to Eng- land, in 1711 ; " This government is in perfect peace and tran- ((uillity, under a due obedience to royal authority, and a gentle- manly conformity to the Church of England." Of Maryland, Mr. Bancroft writes that the English Revolu- tion was a rrotestant revolution. " A convention of the associates * for the defence of the Prot- estant religion' assumed the government, and, in an address to King William, denounced the mfluence of the Jesuits, the prev- alence of popish idolatry, the connivance by the previous gov- ernment at murders of I*rotestants, and the danger from plots with the French and Indians." Hence, a little farther on, we read : " The Roman Catholics alone were left without an ally, exposed to English bigotry and 394 EMIGRATION. colonial injustice. They alone were disfrauchised on the soil which, long before Locke pleaded for toleration, or Penn for religious freedom, they had chosen, not as their own asyhim only, but, with Catholic liberality, as the asylum of every per- secuted sect. In the land which Catholics had opened for Prot- estants, the Catholic inhabitant was the sole victim to Anglican intolerance. Mass might not be said publicly. No Catholic priest or bishop might utter his faith in a voice of pei^suasion. No Catholic might teach the young. If the wayward child of a Papist would but become an apostate, the law wrested for him from his parents a share of their property. The disfranchise- ment of the proprietary related to his creed, not to his family. Such were the methods adopted ^ to prevent the erowth of Popery.' " Mr. Bancroft adds with much truth and force : " Wlio shall say that the faith of the cultivated individual is firmer than the faith of the common people? Who shall say that the many are fickle, that the chief is firm ? To recover the inheritance of authority, Benedict, the son of the proprietary, renounced the Catholic Church for that of England ; the persecution never crushed the faith of the humble colonists." Pennsylvania appears to form an exception to that univer- sal animosity against Catholics. It is said that, owing to Wil- liam Penn, ^' religious liberty was established, and every public employment was open to every man professing faith in Jesus Christ. ... In Pen^ylvania human rights were respected : the fundamental law of William Penn, even his detractors concede, was in harmony with universal reason, and true to the ancient and just liberties of the people." Such may have been the written law — the theory ; but the law as executed — the fact — was far from realizing those fine promises. As late as the end of the Revolutionary War, the Cath- olics of Philadelphia were compelled to hide away their worship in a small chapel, surrounded by buildings whose only access was a dark and winding alley still in existence a few years back. It is known, moreover, that Vonn himself, in 170S, forbade mass to be celebrated in the colony. According to T. D. McGee, Governor Gordon, in 1734, prohibited the erection of a Catholic church in Walnut Street ; and, in 1736, a private house having been purchased at the corner of Second and Chestnut streets for the same object, it was again prohibited. New Jersey showed ner liberality in the fonn sacred to all the other colonies : " Liberty of conscience was granted to all but papists." There was as yet no homogeneity in New York, the Dutch still preserving great power, and, consecmontly, ** the idea of toleration was still impertect in New Netherlands; equality EMIGRATION. 395 arnon^ religious sects was unknown." If this was tlie case with several Protestant organizations, what must it have been with tlie Catholics ? It is well known that no one dared openly avow his faith in the true Church, and that John Ury was hanged in 1 741 for being a priest, though whether he was a priest or not is still a question. Rhode Island had proclaimed in the beginning " entire free- dom of mind ; " but, after the Revolution of 1688, the colony " interpolated into the statute-book the exclusion of papists from the established equality " The spirit of Connecticut is well expressed in the words of the address sent by the colony to King "William of Orange, on his acces- sion : " Great was the day when the Lord who sitteth upon the floods did divide his and your adversaries like the waters of Jor- dan, and did begin to magnify you like Joshua, by the deliverance of the English dominions from popery and slavery." We wonder how the taciturn Hollander received this effusion of Connecticut ? There is nothing more to add on the situation of the Catholics in the land of the " blue laws." In Massachusetts it will be no surprise to hear that " every form of Christianity, except the Roman Catholic, was enfran- chised." This short sketch is eloquent enough with reference to the position in which the poor Irish immigrant found himself on land- ing on the shores of the 'New "World. His faith he found pro- scribed as severely almost as in his own country. He was com- pelled to conceal it ; and, even had he been free to make open })rofession of it, he could find no minister of his creed tolerated anywhere. The country was a perfect blank as far as the cere- monies of his religion went. In his native land he knew where to find a priest ; he was advised of the day and of the precise place where lie might assist at the sacred mysteries of his reli- gion ; and, were it in the cave or on the mountain-top, in the bog or the morass, he knew that there he could adore and receive his God as truly and as worthily as in the magnificent domes looking {)roudly to heaven under Catholic skies. But in British North America, except in a few counties of Maryland, where the true faith had once been openly planted and taken root, where some clergymen of his own creed were even still to be found, though forced to conceal, or at least not expose themselves too freely, he knew that elsewhere it was useless for him to inquire, not only for a sacred edifice where he might go to thank his God on landing, but even to look for a priest should he find himself at the point of death. At the present day it is almost impossible to give any details and move the reader by a picture of the complete spiritual desti- tution of the Irish immigrant in his new home. Here and there, 396 EMIGRATION. however, we meet, in reading, facts apparently insignificant in themselves, which at first sight seem to have no connection whatever with the subject on hand, yet which, with the aid of reflection, throw quite a flood of light on it, as convincing as it is unexpected. Take, for instance, the following : " In the last year of the administration of Andros in Massa- chusetts," says Mr. Bancroft, " the daughter of John Goodwin, a child of thirteen years, charged a laundress with having stolen linen from the family. Glover, the mother of the laundress, a friendless immigrant, almost ignorant of English, like a tnie woman, with a mother's heart, rebuked the false accusation. Immediately, the girl, to secure revenge, became bewitched. The infection spread. Three others of the family, the youngest a boy of less than five years old, soon succeeded in equally arresting public attention. . . . Cotton Mather went to pray by the side of one of them, and, lo I the child lost her hearing till prayer was over. What was to be done ? The four ministers of Boston and the one of Charlestown assembled in Goodwin's house, and spent a whole day of fasting in prayer. In consequence, the youngest child, the little one of five years old, was * delivered.' But, if the ministers could thus by prayer * deliver ' a possessed child, there must have been a witch. Tne honor of the ministers required a prosecution of the afifair ; and the magistrates, Wil- liam Stoughton being one, with a * vigor ' which the united min- isters commended as *just,' made *a discovery of the wicked in- strument of the devil.' The culprit was evidently a wild Irish- woman, of a strange tongue. Goodwin, who made the com- plaint, * had no proof that could have done her any hurt ; ' but the * scandalous old hag,' whom some thought * crazed in her intellectuals,' was bewildered, and made strange answers, which were taken as confessions, sometimes, in excitement, using her native dialect. . . . It was plain the prisoner was a Roman Cath- olic ; she had never learned the Lord's Prayer in English ; she could repeat the Pater Nosier fluently enough, but not quite correctly; so, the ministers and Goodwin's family had the satisfac- ti)n of getting her condemned as a witch and executed." The position of this poor woman, who had never openly de- clared herself a Catholic, but which fact the people were led to infer from various circumstances, expresses the condition of all Irish immigrants at the time. A further fact recorded by the same historian shows what the feeling toward Catholics was at the time in Massachusetts : "The girl, who loiew herself to be a deceiver, had no re- morse, and to the ministers it never occurred that vanity and love of power had blinded their judgment." The reason was plain : Glover was a Catholic. How conld the girl be expected to feel remorse for having brought about her EMIGRATION. 397 death 'i How could the ministers feel the least concern because tlieir " vanity and love, of power" had effected the hanging of such a creature ? — '' sl vessel of wrath/' in any case ; a '' predes- tined reprobate," beyond doubt, whose ignominious death on earth and eternal punishment afterward were " a true source of joy in heaven and an increase of glory for the infinite justice of God," if there was any truth in Calvinism. Another fact, as suggestive as the above, is found in McGee's '* Irish Settlers in America : " " The first Catholic church that we find in Pennsylvania, after Penn's suppression of them in 1708, was connected with the house of a Miss Elizabeth McGau- iey, an Irish lady, who, with several of her tenantry, settled on land on the road leading from Nicetown to Frankfort. Near the site of this ancient sanctuary stood a tomb, inscribed, ' John Michael Brown, ob. 15th December, a. d. 1750. R. I. P.' He had been a priest residing there incognitoy Miss E. McGauley was not poor, like Glover. On coming to America with some of her tenantry, she secured herself before- hand against the difficulty of practising her religion ; and, know- ing well that no priest was to be found in the country, she brought one with her. All the remainder of his life did this minister of God reside in her house incognito^ keeping the min- istry intrusted to him for the service of all a profound secret. He never attempted, probably, to enlighten his prejudiced and ignorant neighbors ; the knowledge of his character and the ben- efits arising from his presence were confined to the lady of the house and her faithful tenantry. Even after his death the secret was still kept, and only the cabalistic characters " R. I. P." remain to tell an intelligent reader that he was neither Quaker nor Protestant ; and, probably, tradition alone, preserved doubtless in the neighborhood, could assure us that he was a priest. How many Catholics scattered over the broad colony of Pennsylvania, immigrants like Miss McGauley, but unlike her in their poverty, and therefore unable to hire a clergyman, never knew that they might unburden their consciences and enjoy the consolations of their religion, by travelling a hundred miles or so to the house " on the road leading from Kicetown to Frank- fort ? " How many lived and died within a short distance, and never knocked at the door, owing to their ignorance of the class of inmates ? Thus, although there were some ministers of God in the country, their number was so small, and they were so far distant from each other, that their labors were utterly unavail- ing for the great body of the Catholic immigrants, who would have rejoiced to throw themselves at their feet, and ease their hearts and purify their souls by confession. Some Irishmen, it is true, had emigrated before such conceal- ment was requisite, in Maryland at least, where an asylum for 308 EMIGKATION. all Lad been oi)cncd by Lord Baltimore, a Catholic. Thus, the Carrolls had settled in Prince George County. They were at liberty to make open use of the services of the English fathers of the Society of Jesus, who for a long time officiated undis- guisedly among their English Catholic m>cks ; but, as was seen, after the Revolution of 1688, Catholics were disfranchised in Maryland even, their religious rites proscribed, and penalties enacted against the open profession of their worship. Thus, concealment became a necessity there also ; the policy of keeping the existence of clergymen and the celebration of the holy mvsteries secret had to be adopted there as in other colo- nies, the Carroll family, like Miss Elizabeth McGauley, gave refuge in their house to a minister of their own religion, and it was m such a chapel-house that John Carroll was born, on the 8th of January, 1735 — the first Bishop and Archbishop of Balti- more. It is therefore no matter for wonder that the number of chil dren of the Church in Korth America did not increase in propor- tion to the number of Catholic immigrants ; on the contrary, the posterity of the majority of those who chose the British colonies tor their home was lost to her. The immigrants themselves, we are confident, never lost their faith. Although living for years without any exterior help, without receiving a word of instruc- tion or advice, without the celebration of any religious rite what- ever, or the reception of any sacrament, yet, faith was too deeply rooted in their minds and hearts to be ever eradicated, or shaken even. But, though they themselves clung fast to their faith in the midst of so many aaverse circumstances, what of their children ? There is no doubt that many of them did, individually, every thing possible to transmit that faith to their children ; but all they could do was to speak privately, to warn them against dan- fTS, and set up before them the example of a blameless life, ot only was there no priest to initiate them into the mysteries granted by Christ to the redeemed soul ; there was not even a Catholic scliool-master to instruct them. Even the " hedge school " could not be set on foot. Books were unknown ; Cath- olic literature, in the modern sense, had not yet been born ; there was no vestige of such a thing beyond, perhaps, an occa- sional old, worn, and torn, yet dearly-prized and carefully-con- cealed prayer-book, dating from the happy days of the Confed- eration of Kilkenny. There is no reason, then, for surprise in the fact that, although the families of those first Irish settlers were numerous and scat- tered over all the district which afterward became the Middle and Southern States, only a faint tradition remained among many of them that they really belonged to the old Church ana EMIGRATION. 399 *'* ought to be Catliolics." How often was this the case thirty? years ago, particularly in the South I It would not be right to conclude that all this was a pure and unnntigated loss to the Church of Christ. Later on, we shall have to speak of more numerous and serious losses : but a few words on this first one may not be thrown away. As in the material world an infinite number of germs are lost, and quantities of seeds, wafted on the breeze from giant trees and humble plants, fall and perish on a barren rock, in the eddies of a swift-running brook, or, oftener still, on the hard and unkind soil on which they have happened to alight ; so that, out of a thousand germs, a few only find eveiy thmg congenial to their growth, and attain to the full size allotted them by Nature — nevertheless, despite this loss, the species is not only preserved, l)ut so multiplied as to produce on the beholder, in after-time, the impression that, not only no loss has been sustained, but that much has been gained. So is it with the Catholic Church in general, and in particular with the momentous events now being considered. The cultivated field of the " father of the family " was about to be extended over a new and vast area. A whole continent was to be " fenced around," and " olive-trees," and " fig-trees," and all plants useful and ornamental, were destined to flourish in that vast garden to the end of time. The great and eternal Father was, by his providence, directing the mighty operation from above, and marking the various points of the compass to Avhich the floating germs were to be wafted. He knew that he was planting a new garden for his Son, who would, as usual, be the first husbandman, and employ many workmen to help him. How could it be expected that all would be gain without loss, when the harvest-time had not yet arrived, and the "enemy" was busy sowing " tares " in all directions ? Was not the work human as well as divine ? and, as human, did not the work par- take of the imperfection of human things? The continent had evidently been predestined to form one of the strongest branches of the great Catholic tree. Discovered before the modern heresies of Protestantism had shown them- selves, it was to bring into the fold of Christ new nations, when some old ones were to be cut ofi' and wither away. This has long ago been pointed out ; but another mighty design of Provi- dence there was which only now begins to snow itself. Columbus was in search of Asia and the holy sepulchre when he stumbled on the New World. Nor was the idea of his great mind altogether a delusion. The new continent was in mture ages to be used as the highway from Europe to the Orient ; China, Japan, India, vast regions filled with innumer- able multitudes of human beings, had, so far, scarcely been 400 EMIGRATION. touched, (•()uld scai-cely be touched, })y Catholicism coming from Europe. In tact it was too far away, and the means of intercom- munication were too inadequate. The holy Catholic Church increases as " tilings wliich grow ; " a few husbandmen — mission- aries — are required to set the first seedlings and plants in the soil, to water them, watch over them, and see that they thrive and flourish ; the rest of the process is a matter of seeds wafted by the wind, falling and taking root in a fertile soil, which has been already prepared for their reception. If there were no other means of propagation than the toil and sweat of the hus- bandman, how long would it take to cover the whole earth with vegetation ? The first propagation of Christianity was done in this way ; hence it took more than ten centuries to Christianize Europe. In the fifth century, Kome was still thoroughly pagan. Were the vast regions of that dim, far-away East to undergo a similar slow and painful process, necessitating an immense amount of labor, centuries and centuries in duration ? God hast- ened the process by adding to it the wafting of seeds, and Amer- ica was to be the vast nursery from which those seeds were to come. It was from that long and alternately widening and narrowing belt of land, running down the sea from north to south, that the Japhetic race was to invade the " tents of Sem." Thus was the dream of Columbus to be realized. Asia would be reached by Europe, of which America would form a part. The east of Asia would become contiguous to a real European population, large masses of which would easily come in contact with the Mongolian and Malay races of their immediate neigh- borhood, steam and modern improvements in travel reducmg the intervening distance to a matter of a few days. Thus the Japhetic movement could be carried out on a large scale, and European civilization come to supersede the obsolete manners of those old and effete races of Eastern Asia. The unity of man- kind would be vindicated against its blasphemers ; and, to crown the whole, Christianity would find its way back to the cradle of man, then, to its own birthplace. Calvary and the sepulchre of Christ. Thus would the conjectural vision of the great Genoese become only an explanation of the old prophecy of the second father of mankind.' Thus would the Church at last become rigorously Catholic, and not as some theologians imagined, in their desire to make actual, incomplete facts coincide with a far wider theory, only Catholic by approximation. If it were allowed us to read the designs of Providence rever- ently, we might say, without presumption, that it seems such is to be fiiture history, althougn simple conjecture may produce * The reader will understand that all this is merely **a riew," and not given as a tare interpretation of Scripture or past history. EMJGKATION. 401 ixjo strong an impression on our minds. But, at the period of which we speak, shortly after the middle of the last century, any one who would have spoken thus would have been justly deemed a visionary. The south of America, though possessed of the true religion, seemed inert ; the North was already showing signs of an intense future activity, but all opposed to the truth. God was about to change those appearances, and, by infusing the Irish element into the iTorth, produce, in a comparatively short space of time, the wonderful phenomenon which we witness. Yet, so short-sighted are we, that some are almost staggered in their faith, because the children of the earliest Irish emigrants to this country were apparently lost to the Church. Nevertheless, several circumstances might be brought forward to show that a real gain accrued to the Church from these lost children of the first Irish settlers. How many prejudices, so deeply rooted in the country as to seem ineradicable, owe their destruction to them I How many harsh and uncharitable feel- ings against Catholics were smoothed away or softened down by their instrumentality ! Those men who, in after-life, remembered that they " ought to be Catholics," were not ready to accept, on the word of a " minister," all the absurd calumnies spread against the Church throughout those vast regions. They had heard, by a kind of tradition, kept alive in their families, of what their ancestors had formerly suffered, and they at least were not inclined to join in the universal denunciation of a creed which they were conscious " ought to be " their own. Who shall say whether it is not the old Catholic blood, run- ning in the veins of these children of Irish Catholic parents, which has been mainly instrumental in creating that spirit of true liberality which inspires the honorable conduct of the ma jority of the American people, and in which the Church has at all times found her safety ? It is certain that there is a vast difference between that American spirit and the atmosphere of distrust pervading other countries, and that the rapid spread of the Church throughout the broad regions of the union has been singularly favored by the soft breeze of a liberal and kindly feeling so common to those even who are not bom within tlie fold. And that the children of Irish parents, themselves lost to the Church, have ex- ercised great innuence from the start, in that regard, cannot, we think, be denied. But, perhaps, too much space has been devoted to that first emigration from Ireland ; it is time to come to a more recent period of which there are more certain and positive accounts. There is no need to speak of the happy change effected in the position of the Catholic Church in America by the tlevolu- 26 402 EMIGRATION. tion ; Washington, in liis reply to the address of the Catholici of the country, has given expression to the feelings of the nation in terms so well known that they require no comment. From that date commences the real history of the Catholic Church in North America, outside of the provinces origiually settled by the French and Spaniards. The influx of Irish immi- grants now attracts our chief attention. From the year 1800, when the " Union " was effected be- tween England and Ireland, the number of immigrants increased suddenly and rapidly, and the situation of the new-comers on their arrival was very different from that of their predecessors. They found liberty not only proclaimed, but established ; few churches indeed, but, such as there were, known and open, and a bishop and clergymen already practising their ministry. Before entering upon the extent, nature, and effects of this second Irish immigration — which may be studied from documents existing — it will be well to say a few words on the elements which constituted the Catholic body when first organized. We are concerned, it is true, with the new element introduced by the great movement of which we begin to speak ; but we are far trom undervaluing other sources ot life, which not only affected the Church at its oirth in the United States, but have continued to act upon her ever since with more or less of energy. The reader should not imagine that, by not speaking of them, we are unjust or blind to their efficiency ; they simply lie without the scope of our plan. In the North the French, and in the South the Spanish mis- sionaries, had imparted to Catholicity a vitality which could not be extinguished ; but its operations were almost entirely confined to limits outside those which circumscribe the field of our inves- tigations. The French element, however, grew into prominence even at the outset within those limits, either through the acquisi- tion of Louisiana, or in consequence of the French immigration durii '^r the terrible revolution of last century. It is only neces- sary to open the pages of Mr. K. H. Clarke's recently -published '' Lives of the American Bishops," to be struck with the impor- tance of that element. It may be said that, for the first twenty- five years of the republic, French prelates and clergjnnen, together with several American Mary landers, were intrusted witli tlie care of the infant Church. Ireland seems to have had scarcely any office to fulfil in that great work, save through the humble exertions of a few devoted but almost unknown missionaries ; so that, when bishops of Irish birth were first chosen, tliey were either taken from Ireland itself, as was Dr. England, ftishop Kelly, of Richmond, or Con well, of Philadelphia, or from the monasteries of Eomc, as were Bishops Connolly and Concanen, of New York. Bishop Egan, of Philadelphia, can scarcely be called EMIGRATION. 403 an exception, as lie bad only spent a very few years in this coun- try when he was elevated to the episcopal dignity. The German element showed itself only in Pennsylvania. It was under circumstances such as these that that stream of desolate people began to flow, spreading gradually through im mense regions, and bringing with it only its unconquerable faith. From the " mustard-seed " a noble tree was to spring up ; but as yet it was only a weak sapling. In 1785, Bishop Carroll made an estimate of the Catholic population of the States : " In Maryland, seventeen thousand ; in Pennsylvania, over seven thou- sand ; and, as far as information could be obtained, in other States, about fifteen hundred." 'New York City could not yet boast of a hundred Catholics. Like all things dui*able and mighty, the first swelling of that great wave was slow and silent, and scarcely perceptible, until little by little the ripple spread over the vast ocean. The first apparent causes have been well expressed by T. D. McGee, in his "Irish Settlers : " " The breaking out of the French War in 1793, and the degrading legislative Union of 1800, had deprived many of bread, and all of liberty at home, and made the mechanical as well as the agricultural class embark to cross the Atlantic. " Hitherto the Irish had colonized, sowed and reaped, fought, spoken, and legislated in the New "World, if not always in pro- portion to their numbers, yet always to the measure of their edu- cational resources, ^ow they are about to plant a new emblem — ^the Cross — and a new institution — the Church — throughout the American Continent. For, the faith of their fathers they did not leave behind them ; nay, rather, wheresoever six Irish roof- trees rise, there you will find the cross of Christ reared over all, and Celtic piety and Celtic enthusiasm, all sighs and tears, kneel- ing before it." Let us look at a few particular signs of the coming of this great wave in its first scarcely perceptible movement. " John Timon was bom at Conewago, Pennsylvania, Febru- ary 12, 1797, and baptized on the 17th of the same month ; his parents, Jkmes Timon and Margaret Leddy, had quite recently arrived in this country from Ireland, and were from Belturbet, County Cavan. A family of ten children, of whom John was the second son, blessed the Catholic household of these pious parents." — {Lives of Americcm Bishops,) " Francis Xavier Gartland was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1805 ; he came to America while yet a child, and made hia studies at Mount St. Mary's, Emmettsburg." — {Tbid.) " John B. FitzpatricK was born in Boston, November 1, 1812. His parents emigrated from Ireland, and settled iu Bos- ton in 1805/'— (/^.) 404 EMIGRATION. Wliat did the parents of the future bishop find on their arri* val at Boston 'i In the year previous, the first Catholic congro- fition was assembled in that city by the Abbe La Poitre, a rench navy- chaplain, who had remained in America after the departure ot the French fleet, which rendered such powerful as- sistance in the struggle for American independence. In 1808, four years before the birth of him who was destined to wear the mitre, the Catholics had obtained the old " French Church " in School Street, which was probably a Calvinist meeting-house. Another wavelet of a precious kind was the following : "Bishop Lanigan was meditating" (in Ireland) "the establish- ment of a religious community in the city of Kilkenny, and de- signed Miss Alice Lalor for one of its future members. But, in 1797, her parents emigrated from Ireland and settled in Amer- ica, and she felt it to be her duty .... to accompany them. But she promised the bishop to return in two vears. On arriv- ing at Philadelphia, she became acquainted with the Reverend Leonard Keale. . . . Feeling convinced that it was not the de- sign of Providence that she should abandon America for Ireland, Father Neale released her from her promise to return to Kil- kenny, in order that she might become his cooperator in the founaation of a religious order in the United States (the Yisita- tion l^unsy-^Ibia.) Already was the young church robbing the old of some of its best members, who were to give some weight to the Irish ele- ment in this country. " George A. Carrell was bom at Philadelphia. . . . He was the seventh child of his Irish parents, and the house they occu- pied, and in which he was bom, was the old mansion of W illiam Penn, at the comer of Market Street and Letitia Court." — {lUd.) Two short observations naturally present themselves here. Philadelphia is the city oftenest mentioned whenever foreigners are spoken of as landing in^NTorth America at that time. It was then the great harbor of the country, New York not having at- tained the preeminence she now enjoys. Hence, the Church counted seven thousand children in Pennsylvania, but very few north of that city. Thither came the German Catholics, also, in treat numbers to spread themselves chiefly West and South, uch was the direction then taken by the Catholic wave. Our second remark only concerns the house in which he who became Bishop Carrell was born. It seemed only fitting that an Irish Catholic family should thus early take possession of the very dwelling-place of the founder of the colony, as the Catholic Chiwch was destined, through the Irish element chiefly, to sup plant and outlive the little church of the " Friends." All the facts, however, just quoted are exceptional, and re EMIGRATION. 405 gard only the select few. What became of the mass, mean- while 'i As usual, history for the most part is silent with regard to it. A very few words constitute the only record which can afford us a glimpse of the real situation of the vast majority of those poor, friendless, obscure immigrants, on whom, neverthe- less, the great hopes of the future were built. We have, happily, some means left us of forming an opinion ; and it will be seen that their situation was much the same as that of their earlier compatriots. For instance, in the " Lives of American Bishops " we read the following startling story : " The Abbe Cheverus very frequently made long journeys to convey the consolations of religion or perform acts of charity. About this time (1803) he received a letter from two young Irish Catholics confined in Northampton prison, who had been con- demned to death without just cause, as was almost universally believed, imploring him to come to them and prepare them for tlieii' sad and cruel fate. He hastened to their spiritual relief, and inspired them with the most heroic sentiments and disposi- tions, which they persevered in to the last fatal moment of their execution. According to custom, the prisoners were carried to the nearest church, to hear a sermon preached immediately be- fore their execution ; several Protestant ministers presented themselves to preach the sermon ; but the Abbe Cheverus claimed the right to perform that duty, as the choice of the pris- oners themselves, and, after much difficulty, he was allowea to ascend the pulpit. His sermon struck all present with astonish- ment, awe, and admiration." Here, in 1803, we have almost a repetition of the death of the poor woman Glover ; and, had it not been for the high character of th-e admirable man who hastened to their assistance, those two young Irish Catholics would have had for their only religious preparation before death a sermon from one or more Protestant ministers ; and, as the great and good Cheverus could not be everywhere in 'New England, there is little doubt but that such was the fate of more than one of the newly-arrived immigrants. • In 1800 and the following years a comparatively large num- ber of Irishmen landed at !New York, and the futui*e terrible scourge of their race, ship-fever, soon broke out among them. Dr. Bailey, the father of Mrs. Seton, was Health Physician to the port of In ew York at the time, and he allowed his daughter to visit and do good among them. She was .deeply impressed by the religious demeanor of the Irish just landed. The Rev. Dr. White relates in her " Life : " " ' The first thing,' she said, ' the poor people did when they got their tents was to assemble on the grass, and all, kneeling, adore our Master for his mercv ; and every morning sun finds them repeating their praises. In a 406 EMIGRATION. letter to her sister-in-law slie describes their snfEerings under the ' plague ' in the following golden words : " * Eebecca, I cannot sleep ; the dying and the dead possess my mind — babies expiring at the empty breast of their mother. And this is not fancy, but the scene that surrounds me. Father says that such was never known before ; that there are actually twelve children that must die from mere want of sustenance, unable to take more than the breast, and from the wretchedness of their parents deprived of it, as they have laid ill for many days in the ship, without food, air, or changing. Merciful Father ! Oh, how readily would I give them ea3i a turn of my child's treasure, if in my choice 1 But, Rebecca, they have a provider in heaven, who will soothe the pangs of the suffering innocent.' " When she wrote the above, Mrs. Seton was not yet professedly a Catholic ; but how truly animated with the spirit of the Church of Christ 1 Happy would the poor immigrants have been had they only met with Protestants of her stamp on landing, and of her father's, who, although he prevented her becoming foster- mother to those poor children, as . her first duty regarded her own child, died himself, a victim to his charity toward their parents, contracting, in the fulfilment of his office, the fever they had brought with them, which he was striving to allay I The followmg fact, which will conclude this portion of our inquiry, happened a little later, but, on that very account, will serve as a connecting link with the considerations which are to follow, and will open our eyes to the real position of that already swelling mass of immigrants. "During the year 1823, Bishop Connolly (of New York) made the visitation of his entire diocese. . . . He extended his journey along the route of the Erie Canal, which was commenced in 1819, where large numbers of Irish laborers had been attract- ed, and among whom the bishop labored with indefatigable zeal." At that time the clergy of the whole diocese consisted of eight priests with their bishop. At last we find* the " Irisn people " at work. The spectacle is full of sadness ; and the only emotion which can fill the heart is one of deep pity. In that vast wilderness of the West, for such it then was, along public works extending hundreds of miles, large gangs of men — such is the expression we are com- pelled to use — are hard at work along that dreary Mohawk River ; blasting rocks, digging in the hard clay, uprooting trees, clearing the ground of briars, tangled bushes, and the vast Quantity of delyns of animal and vegetable matter accumulated during cen- turies. This was the work which " attracted " large numbers of Irish laborers. They had left their country, crossed the ocean under circumstances that should come under our notice, and EMIGRATION. 407 landed on tliese (at tliat time) inhospitable shores, to find work ; and they found the occupation just mentioned. We can picture the " shanties " in which they lived, the harpies who thrived on them, the innumerable extortions to which they were subjected. Bearing in mind that, in the immense State of New York and in one-hafi* of New Jersey, there were just eight priests with their bishop, we may form some idea of the way in which they lived and died. How they must have blessed this bishop, who had left Kome, his second country, and the noble associations which surrounded him in the Eternal City, to come to the succor of his unfortunate countrymen scattered away in a New World I And well did he deserve that blessing ! But his passage along the Erie Canal could be nothing more than a veritable passage — a transient sojourn of a few days or weeks at most. What became of those gangs of men after, what had happened to them before, no one has said, no one has told us, no one now can ascertain ; we are only left to conjecture, and the spectacle, as we said, is too sad to dwell upon. But, hidden within this melancholy view, lies a great and glorious fact. It was the beginning of an " apostolic mission " on the part of a whole people, a mission which will form one of the most moving and significant pages of the ecclesiastical his- tory of the nineteenth century. Every Christian knows that apostolic work is rough work ; the brunt of the battle must be borne by the earliest in the field, that it may be said of their successors in the words of the Grospel : " Vos m labores eorum Such being the hard lot of the immigrants in the interior of the country, was that of those who remained in the cities much more enviable ? On this point we are enabled to judge, at least as regards New York. In a letter written by Bishop Dubois, and published in vol. viii. of the "Annals of the Propagation of the Faith," we meet with the following exhaustive description : " At the beginning of this century, the newly-arrived immi- grants were employed as day-laborers, servants, journeymen, clerks, and shopmen. Now, the condition of this class here is precisely the same as its condition in England ; it is entirely de- pendent upon the will of the trader: not because by law are they forced thereto, but because the rich alone, being able to ad- vance the capital necessary for factories, steam-engines, and workshops, the poor are obliged to work for them upon the mas- ters' own conditions. These conditions, in the case of servants especially, sometimes degenerate into tyranny ; they are frequent- ly forced, to work on Sundays, permission to hear even a low mass being refused them ; they are obliged betimes to assist at the prayers of the sect to which their masters belong, and they 408 EMIGRATION have no other alternative than either to do violence to their con science, or lose their place at the risk of not finding another. Add to this the insults, the calumnies against Catholics, which the^ are daily forced to hear— a kind of persecution at the hands of their masters, who do every thing to turn them away from their religion ; consider the dangers to which are exposed numbers of orphans who lose their fathers almost immediately upon landing ; add to this the want of spiritual succor, a necessary consequence of the scarcity of missionaries ; and you will have a feeble idea of the obstacles of every kind which we have to surmount. . . . Supposing an immigrant, the father of a family, to die, the widow and orphans have no other resources but public charity ; and if a home is found for the children, it is nearly always among Prot- estants, who do every thing in their power to undermine their faith." This picture of immigrant-life in New York was certainly repeated through all the other large cities. Under such a combi- nation of adverse circumstances it is most probable that men and women of any other nation would have entirely lost their taith. Such, then, was the dreary prospect for the new-comers. Who at that time would have dared hope to witness the consoling spectacle which followed soon after ? To begin with the dawn oi that bright day, we must pass on to a new period of immigra- tion, commencing in 1815 or shortly after, and continuing down to the " exodus '^of 1846. It may be well, before entering upon it, to look at the causes which drove so many to leave the shores ^'f Ireland. From the year 1815 the number of immigrants increased considerably and kept on a steady increase until it swelled to the startling propor- tions of 1850 and the following years. It is easy to demonstrate that the causes were twofold : 1. The wretched state of the vast majority of the Irish at the best of times. 2. The periodical famines which have regularly visited the island since the beginning of last century. At any time it was in the power of the English to remedy both causes by effect- ing certain changes in the existing laws. The first of these is evidently the necessary result of the penal laws which had converted the Irish, designedly and with tlie wilful intent of the legislators, into a nation of paupers. The second can only be the result of the laws affecting the ten- ure of land and the trade and manufactures of the country. To attribute the pauperism which now seems a part and par- cel of the Irish nation wliile in their own country to the indo- lence and want of foresi^^ht on tlie part of the natives themselves, as it is a fashion with Lnglish writers to do, is wilfully to close the eyes to two very important things : their past history in their own land, and their present history outside of it. EMIGRATION. 409 As to their past history in their own land, it is an established fact that pauperism was unknown in the island, until Protestant legislators introduced it by their conliscations and laws with the manifest intent of destroying, rooting out, or driving away the race. What has been previously stated on this point cannot be gainsaid ; and it suffices for the vindication of a falsely-accused people. There might be some hope for a speedier and happier solution of the vexed " Irish difficulty " did the grandsons of those who wrought the evil only honestly acknowledge the faults of their ancestors — the least tnat mi^ht be expected of them ; and it would not be too much to imagine them honest enough to repair those faults in these days of severe reckoning and self- scrutiny. As to the present history of the race outside their own land, now that it has been scattered, by these grievous calamities, all over the world, whatever characteristics its children may present, indolence and want of foresight can scarcely be numbered among them, in view of the success which attends their march every- where. And if these qualities would seem to be rooted in the native soil, they are only " importations " like the men who fast- ened them there, and due only to the cramped position in which their legislators so carefully confined them. Where should there be energy, when every motive that could urge it has been taken away? How is it possible to improve their condition, when every improvement only imposes an additional burden upon them in the shape of rack-rent or eviction ? In his work on " The Social Condition of the People," Mr. Kay quotes from the Edinburgh Review of January, 1850, the evidence on this point given by English, German, and Polish witnesses before the Committee of Emigration, and the proofs gathered from every source as to the rapid improvement of the Irish emigrant, wherever he goes, are certainly convincing. As for the foolish (for it is nothing else, unless it be wicked) assertion that those frightful famines referred to are to be at- tributed to the sufferers themselves, it is only necessary to say in refutation that in the very years when thousands were being swept away daily by their ravages in Ireland — 1846 and 1847 — the harbors of the island were filled with English vessels, loaded with cargoes of provisions of every kind to be transported to England m order to pay the rents due to absentee landlords : and all these provisions were the product of the famine-stricken land, won by the toil of the famine-stricken nation. This has invariably been the case »when famine has swept over the island: tne island's riches were in her harbors, stored in the holds of foreign vessels, to be carried away and converted into money that these noble Anglo-Irish landlords might be enabled to " sustain " life 41() EMIGllATION. OthcrB have ascribed these periodical visitations to a surpliu popuhition ; but, without entering into a discussion on the sub- ject, Sir Robert Kane, in liis *' Industrial Resources of Ireland," shows that, taking the island in her present state and under the existing system ot cultivation, she could support with ease eigh- teen million inhabitants ; that, if the best methods of farming were generally adopted, the soil, by double and even triple crops, could feed without difficulty, not only twontv-five million, the figure stated by Mr. Gustave de Beaumont, a French publicist of eminence, but as many as from thirty to thirty-live million in-r habitants. But, as the- same judicious writer observes, " the enormous quantity of cattle annually shipped off from Ireland to England would, in that case, be consumed in the country which produces it." It is clear, therefore, that the pretended surplus population of Ireland is, as Sir Robert Kane says, a piece of pure imagina- tion, perfectly ideal, and that it is its unequal and not its aggre- gate amount which is to be deplored. But no one has presented the question more clearly and solved it more precisely than Mr. Gustave de Beaumont in his admirable work on Ireland, from which we quote one or two tellin^passages, as given in Father Perraud's " Ireland under English Rule." " The celebrated French publicist, who was the first to pre- sent to us (in France) a complete picture of the condition of Ireland, examining in 1829 how emigi*ation might or might not do away with all tne misery ho had witnessed, proposed to him- self the following questions : " I. To what extent ou^ht emigration to be carried, in order to bring about a material change in the general state of Ire- land? namely, by taking away the pretendca surplus population. " II. Would it be possible to carry it out to the proposed ex- tent? " III. Supposing it practicable, would it bo a radical and final solution of existing difficulties ? " The advocates of emigration replied to the first question by estimating at a minimum of two million the number of individ- uals who would have to leave Ireland, at one time, in order to produce there that kind of vacuum which would improve the conditions of labor and the existence of the rest of the agricul- tural population. " Upon these data the solution of the second question was easy. It was by no means difficult to prove that the system wai impracticable on so large a scale ; impracticable on account of the insufficiency of the means of transport at disposal ; impractica- ble on account of the enormous sums required to carry it out. " In fact, supposing an emigrant-ship to carry a thousand pa*- EMIGRATION. 4H sengers — a very high figure— two thousand vessels would bo re- quired to attain the end in view, namely, the sudden and univer- sal emigration of the whole so-called surplus population. That is to say, the whole merchant navy of Great Britain would have to be drawn off from the commerce of the world, and chartered for the execution of this very chimerical plan. Where was the Bum required for the most necessary expenses and urgent wants of two million passengers to be got ? And what country in the world would have submitted to a monster invasion like those of barbarous times ? Unless, indeed, these two million individuals were beforehand coldly devoted to death by hunger, was there a single country in which it could be hoped they would immedi- ately find work or the means of subsistence ? " ' All those impossibilities, genuine indeed and at the time, 1829, of unforeseen solution, became, under Providence, possible by extending the period of transportation from one year to twenty ; so that, instead of two, in reality three million and a half were thus transported. But, where M. de Beaumont displayed all his talent for appre- ciation and keen reasoning was, when he came to consider the third and most embarrassing question of all. "Was it certain that, the system of renting and cultivating land always remain- ing the same, emigration would suffice to heal those inveterate sores, and effect, in conformity with the wishes of its partisans, a social transformation ? On this point, he showed, in a manner admitting of no reply, that the emigration of a third or even of half the population would not radically put an end to the misery of the country. The difficulty with Ireland does not consist in being unable to produce wherewith to feed her population ; it lies in the manner in which landed property is managed, a system which no amount of emigration can possibly modify ; for, *' if one of the first prin- ciples of the landlord be that tne farmer should gain by tilling no more than is strictly necessary to support him — if, in addition, this principle is, as a general rule, rigidly followed out, and all economical means of living resorted to by the farmer necessarily induce a rise in the rent — what, upoii this supposition (of the sad reality of which every one knowing Ireland is perfectly con- scious), can be the consequence of a decrease of population ? " Always obliged to live as sparingly as possible, in order to escape a rise in the rent, and forced to undergo daily privations, m order to meet his engagements, how is the Irish farmer to gain by the departure of his neighbor ? " Thus, after millions of Irish- men have disappeared, the fate of the population which remains is in no wise changed ; it wiU forever be equally wretched." Then, glancing at the past, making a sad enumeration of Ireland's losses during the last three centuries, and evoking from 412 EMIGIIATION. these too eloquent figures the accents of a touchmg eloquence, the writer asks himself how far so much bloodshed, such armiea of individuals, stricken down by deatli, or hurried out of the country by transportation — so many families extinct, and tlie like: — had contributed to restore and save Ireland ? " Open the annals of Ireland, and see the small amount of influence which all those violent enterprises and all those ex- traordinary accidental causes of depopulation have had upon the social state of the country. Calculate the number of souls that perished during the religious wars ; count the thousands of Irishmen that perished under the sword of Cromwell ; to all that the victor massacred add the myriads that he transported ; think of the hundreds of thousands who sank under famine, the number of whom exceeded in one year, 1741, forty thousand ; do not over- look the formerly considerable number who yearly died by the hand of the executioner ; in fine, to this add the twenty-five or thirty thousand individuals who emigrate from the country every year " (this was written before 1830) ; " and, having laid down these facts, you look for the consequences : when, in the midst of these different crises, you see Ireland always the same, always equally wretched, always crammed with paupers, always bearing about with her the same hideous and deep wounds, you will then recognize that the miseries of Irelana do not arise from the number of her inhabitants ; you will conclude that it is the nature of her social condition to generate unmitigated indi- gence and infinite distress ; that, supposing millions of poor swept out of her by a stroke of magic, others would be seen rising up in abundance out of a well-spring of misery, which in Ireland never dries up ; and that the fault does not lie in the number of her population, but in the institutions in force in the country." The celebrated French writer had certainly pointed out what were the real causes of the distress in Ireland. He had shown how false were the pretended causes then assigned for it bv Englishmen ; he touched the key-note — the land tenure ; and, as a well-wisher to Ireland, deprecating any new calamities, he was firmly opposed to those various fancy projects of emigration en masse, suggested by numerous British writers, many of whom, such as the editors of the London Times^ were induced to pro- mulgate them by their deep hatred for the old race, which led them to represent under a modern garb the old Norman and Puritan philanthropic desires of rooting out and sweeping off the Irish from the lana. The projects of emigration, therefore, were most eagerly ad- vanced by the enemies of the Irish, their real friends being, on the whole, opposed to the movement at the time. But, the true causes of Irish misery being either unseen or unappreciated, or, if known, studiously fostered, with a view of bringing about the EMIGRATION. 413 one aim which ran all through the English policy, of emptying the island and destroying the race, eventually it did actually be- come a dire necessity for the people to fly ; and therefore, from 1815 to 1845, the wave of emigration began to rise fast, and go on swelling m volume and widening in extent from year to year. Midway between the two extreme points, about 1830, it amount- ed to between twenty -five and thirty thousand. M. de Beaumont could not see how two millions could be transported at once. Kor were they. But he did not foresee that in the twenty years succeeding that in which he wrote more than three millions and a half would actually be shipped from the island ; and all the difficulties that he anticipated — the number- of ships requisite, the immense amount of money needed, the countries where such numbers might be received — were furnished by Providence for the spread of the Irish in many lands. But these considerations can only be briefly touched upon here ; they will form the inter- esting subject of the next chapter. What we have now to con- sider is the commencement of the great exodus, confined so far to Canada and the United States, but already working wonders over the vast stretch of country which spreads away between the St. Lawrence and the Gulf of Mexico. According to the official records of emigration from the "United Kingdom,'* from 1815 to 1860 inclusive, we find that, in general, the greater number emigrated to Canada up to 1839 ; from that epoch, but chiefly after 1845, the greater number went directly to the United States. Let us first look for a reason for this change of destination, and afterward for its result. Homer, wiser than many modern philosophers, tells us that " there are beings which have a certain name among men and an- other quite diflTerent among the gods." What is true of names, is true likewise of what they represent, motives and things in general. Men often assign to actions motives far diflerent from those known to God ; and, in like manner, the motives of men, visibly impelled by the Spirit of God, are often far beyond the comprehension of " philosophers." We are far from presuming to dive into the divine thoughts with the certainty of bringing to the surface what lies hidden in their mysterious depths ; but every Christian should endeavor humbly to penetrate them, and modestly set forth what he gathers from them. What object can be assigned for the Irish emigrating in such large numbers to Canada tor a quarter of a century, from 1815 to 1840 ? It cannot be because Canada is, as it then was, a British colony : the English Emigration Commissioners had the honesty to confess, later on, that the rush to the United States was in consequence of their desire to avoid dwelling under the English flag. It was not because, in Canada, a greater facility opened up for obtaining good land ; for, in Lower Canada, ili EMIGRATION. whei'e they tarried for a long time, the land was already occupied by French-Canadians, and, m that severe climate, the soil is not over-productive. It cannot have been the facility for transporta- tion — durin<^ about six months of every year, the mouth of the St. Lawrence is closed to ships, and travel through a frozen land is not the most desirable thing, particularly to homeless and moneyless immigrants. Last or an, it was not the similarity of climate and language with those of their own island. What, then, can it have been ? In our own opinion, the human motive of the Irish can have been no other than a religious one ; in the Divine mind, the motive was of a still higher and more merciful character. The Irish had heard, from the few of their countrymen who had already emigrated to the United States, of the great diflSculty they experienced in practising their religion. On the other hand, they knew that, throughout Lower Canada, there was not a village without its Catholic church and priest, and that Quebec and Montreal were important and entirely Catholic cities. This great fact blinded them to the many disadvantages they would have to undergo in emigrating to such a country ; or, rather, they saw the disadvantages, but the thought that their religion and that of their children would be safe in Canada was enough for them. It is the same people ever, in the nineteenth century as in those which preceded it, and all noble minds must respect them for thus first looking to the supernatural. But, had the Almighty a design in directing them to the north of the continent, and establishing so great a number of them permanently in that country? We are fully persuaded that the Irish race is now, and ever has been, predestined to ful- fill a high mission on this earth. What is aow transpiring under our eyes is too clear to be denied by any Christian ; and admitting the general fact that the race nmst be an instrument in the hands of God to spread his Church throughout, in English- speaking countries particularly, to correct, by their iiresence and influence in every quarter of the globe, the evil eftects of the spread of what we call Japhetism among Oriental races — ^let us endeavor to see how their coming to settle in Canada served for that great end. The Gospel of our Lord was first i)reached in those dreaiy regions bj' religious of the Gallic race. The labors of Catholic missionaries in Canada, of the members of the Society of Jesus particularly, are now well known and ajuireciated. The French colony in Canada was from the iirst a Catholic colony. It was not a coufjuest ; it was not n commercial enterprise ; it was not a transatlantic garden for luxurious Frenchmen : it was what Mr. r>ancro1Y liVis well called it, *' a mission." The desire ol winning souls to Christ had begun the work, bad run all through EMIGRATION. 415 it almost to the end. The blood of martyrs had consecrated it; that of Easles, shed by heretics ; of Lalleraant, Br^beuf, and Jognes, by pagans. But, after the surrender of the colony to England, although the terras of the cession were as favorable to religion as could be desired, and the British power could not introduce there any of the penal laws still pressing so hard on English and Irish Catholics, nevertheless, a great danger arose in consequence, which is particularly visible now after more than a century has passed away. Though Catholicity could not bo persecuted, and, for once, England faithfully observed the terms of a capitulation which involved a religious side, as little could heresy be excluded or denied some of the privileges which it enjoys in the mother country. The government was to be admmistered mostly by Protestant officials ; the new-comers from England would be composed, for the greater part, of Prot- estant merchants and artisans. The Anglican Church would soon gain the prestige of wealth and influence. The country in the east, it is true, thickly settled by Catholic farmers, would long remain Catholic ; but in the large towns, Quebec and Mon- treal chiefly, an influx of Protestants of every sect was to be expected ; while in the west, where the French had scarcely occTipied the country, the numerical majority would soon lean to the side of the new arrivals from England and Scotland. The English tongue would gradually supersede the French, and it might have been foreseen from the beginning that, within a given time, notwithstanding the rapid increase of French-Cana- dians by birth, Catholicity would lose first its preeminence, and, perhaps, after a while, occupy a very inferior rank. The religion professed by the many millions connected with the centre of unity has never shrunk n*om an equal contest, and Is sure of victory when left free and untrammelled ; but in Cana- da it should be observed that, had it not been for the coming of the Irish, the whole of the Catholic population would have spoken French, being surrounded and absorbed almost by sec- tarians of every hue, all speaking English. The strange spectacle would there have shown itself— a spectacle, perhaps, never wit- nessed hitherto — of a Catholic and Protestant language. The separation of the two camps would have rested chieny upon this peculiar basis ; and there can be no doubt that, with tne vigorous youth of the United States, developing so rapidly in the South, and destined to carry with it the English tongue over all the Northern continent, together with the spread of the English and Scotch North and West, the French language was destined to become circumscribed within narrower and narrower limits, and its final disappearance in America would be probably only a work of time. If it is permitted us to study, love, and admire the designs 4ie EMIGRATION. of Providence among men, who shall say that it is presumption to assert that God's was the hand which directed the Irish exiles and set them in their place, in order to prevent the sad spectacle of a land settled by holy people, belonging almost exclusively to God and to Christ, endearea to the true Church by so many labors endured for the spread of truth, and memorable by so many heroic virtues practised in those frozen wilds and dreary forests, from falling sooner or later into the hands of the most unrelenting enemies of the papacy ? It cannot be presumptuous to attribute it to the designs of Providence, as otherwise it is impossible to discover any reason whatever which might influence the Irish in selecting that deso- late spot for their place of exile. They came, therefore, in great numbers, to set themselves under the spiritual control of priests unable to understand either their native language or the bor- rowed English they brought with them ; they came, confident that all the Catholic churches built prior to their coming would be open to them, and that the pastors of those French congrega- tions would receive them, not as strangers, but as long-lost children, at last let loose from a land of bondage, come to share the freedom secured by the settlers. The statistics of immigration having been accurately kept since 1815, it is easy to ascertain the number of Irish people who landed in Canada during the precise period under investigation. And, although a certain number, whicn increased with the years, did not remain in the country where they first landea, but pushed on immediately, or shortly after, south to the United States, still, a large proportion settled permanently in the country. Half a million English-speaking persons arrived in Canada between the years 1815 and 1839. At that time there was no distinction made between the three different classes coming re- spectively from England, Scotland, and Ireland ; but, when this classification afterward came to be made, the Irish formed a steady three-fourtlis of the whole. Applying this proportion to the time under consideration, we have the large amount of three hundred and seventy-five thousand. The number was afterward considerably increased, although a greater number still went directly to the United States ; so that it is ascertained that within ten years, from 1839 to 1849, four hundred and twenty-eight thousand Irish people arrived in Canada ; that is to say, at a rate of fifty thousand a year. The country in which they settled was certainly large, as it comprised not only Canada proper, but also the British provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and the large islands in the vicinity. But, as the Irish, contrary to their former custom, now prefer to dwell in large towns and assemble together rather EMTGllATION. 417 tlian find themselves, as it were, lost in a sparsely-peopled dis- trict, the population of important cities, such as Quebec and Montreal, and of the growing western towns of Toronto, Kings- ton, and others, was very sensibly affected by their arrival. The English was no longer to be an exclusively Protestant tongue ; and, as the more rapid increase of the Irish by birth would soon equalize numbers, and give them eventually the preponderance, it was clear that the country would ultimately remam Catholic, even supposing that the French tongue should be finally for- gotten. The first extensive emigration to the large cities of Canada was also owing to the fact that, the eastern provinces not having come under the stipulation of the capitulation treaty, the pen^ laws were still unrepealed in that district. Towara the begin- ning of this century we find Father Burke, wishing to open a school for Catholic children at Halifax, Kova Scotia, threatened with the enforcement of the law by the then governor of the province, if he persevered in his attempt, a threat which was only prevent- ed from being carried into execution by the liberal spirit of the Protestant inhabitants. The flow of emigration to the colonies south and east of the St. Lawrence was, consequently, of a much later, in fact, for the most part, of quite recent date. In Newfoundland the case was still worse. That region had been ceded to Great Britain by France, in 1713, at the Treaty of Utrecht ; and, although that treaty stipulated that freedom of worship should be guaranteed, nevertheless, the country re- mained closed to Catholic clergymen, the stipulation being nul- lified by the treacherous clause " as far as the laws of England permitted." Hence, the French Catholics with their clergy were soon obliged to leave the colony, and as late as 1765, ac- cording to Mr. Maguire (" Irish in America "), the governor of the island was issuing orders worthy of the reign of Queen Anne. In the words of Dr. Murdock, Bishop of St. John's, I^ewfound land, " the Irish had not the liberty of the birds of the air to build or repair their nests ; they had behind them the forest or tlie rocky soil, which they were not allowed, without license diffi- cultly obtained, to reclaim and till. Their only resource was tlie stormy ocean, and they saw the wealth they won from the deep spent in other lands, leaving them only a scanty sub- sistence." The Irish had therefore to fall back on the cities of Lower Canada, where, moreover, they found numerous churches and priests. Hence, Quebec was their first place of refuge, and they soon formed a large percentage of the population. Montreal was their choice from the first, where they arrived in crowds, at- tracted by the intense pleasure they felt at the happy chance of living and dying in a really Catholic city, where, turn in what 27 il8 EMIGRATION. direction tliey would, their eyes were gladdened by the sight of magnificent churches, colleges, convents, hospitals, with the cross, the symbol of their faith, surmounting nearly all the pub- lic eaifices of the city. Western Canada was as yet an uninviting field for the Irish. A larffe number of Scotchmen and* " Orangemen " had already settled there, when the British Government, having adopted the scheme of emigration for Ireland, ofiered them favorable condi- tions for transport and settlement. It was on the west chiefly that an invasion of English Protestantism threatened, and the Catholics of Ireland were, in the dispensation of Providence, to meet that danger. It is no surprise, then, to find the English Government itself made subservient to designs very different from its own, offering in 1825 to bear the whole expense of establishing large bodies of Irishmen on these wilds — wilds then, but full of promise for the future. Among other colonies trans- ported bodily, Mr. Maguire tells of four hundred and fifteen families, comprising two thousand individuals, all from the south of Ireland, genuine " Irish in birth and blood," transported from Cork harbor to Western Canada, on board British ships, under the auspices of the government. Their story will well repay the reading, and above all their remonstrance to the goveraor of the province, after they had surmounted the first oiflSculties of their new position : " We labor under a heavy grievance, which, we confidently hope, your Excellency will redress, and then we will be completely happy, viz., the want of clergymen to admin- ister to us the comforts of our holy religion, and good school- masters to instruct our children." In spite, however, of the efforts made by British statesmen to direct the flow of Irish emigration to the northern part of the American Continent, the number of those who voluntarily crossed the Atlantic to settle directly in the United States was steadily increasing. Not only did they find there perfect free- dom of religion, but the absence of clergymen was bemg gradual- ly less felt, and each new bishopric created became a centre of religious life and vigor. Moreover, the new republic had turned out to be the most energetic and enterprising nation which the world had yet seen. A whole continent lay before it to subdue, and at once the yoxmg giant prepared to grapple with the truly gigantic difficulty. With tne arrival of every " packet-boat," Europe was astonished to hear of the amazing vitality displayed by a nation of yesterday, composed of a few millions of individuals, who had already spread their frontiers as far north as the whole line of the great lakes, as far west as the Pacific coast, and southward to the Gulf of Mexico. Louisiana fell in, and, from a state of torpidity in which it had slumbered, the vast territory which then went by EMIGRATION. 419 tliat iiiuiie waked suddenly into a prodigiously active life. At tiie very beginning of tlie century, the Missouri had been navi- gated to its source, and Lewis and Clarke, crossing tlie high ridge cf the Rocky Mountains, had descended the Columbia to its mouth, and settled the boundary of the United States along the far-spreading Pacific. The mighty Mississippi, in tne midst of that splendid domain, belonged from source ^.o mouth to the re- public, and, with its tributaries, was already alive with numerous steamboats, passing up and down, bearing their life and all its belongings with them, and the (at that time more numerous still) flatboats, carried down the stream, to reach, in due time, New Orleans. There was small thought of hindering " foreigners " from coming to take a share in the giant enterprise. All the inhab- itants were in fact foreigners to the soil ; and the new-comers, no matter from what country they came, had just as good a right to sit at the common board as the first-landed. It was felt and wisely acknowledged to be the real interest of the young nation to welcome as great a number as Europe could send. Thus have we already seen large numbers of Irishmen labor- ing along the Erie Canal. There was not a public work under- taken at the time in which they did not bear a welcome hand. And what race of men could be found better fitted for such work? It would indeed be interesting to show from good statistical tables what share Irishmen have really had in building up the prosperity of the Union by their labor, skilled and un- skilled. At the period we have now come to, they were already crowd- ing in at the harbors of the Atlantic, so astonishing to the newly- arrived European by the extraordinary activity which character- izes them ; they were numerous in the factories just starting into life, from the desire of not depending on England for all manu- factured goods ; they were multiplying in large hotels, in private families, in the fields outside the large cities. Above all, the buildings erected at the time, in such great numbers, employed many of them as mechanics and laborers ; and whenever some grand undertaking, which looked to the future welfare of the coun- try, demanded a large draft of men, there were they to be seen as they had never been seen before, even in their own country, where all labor was reduced to the individual efforts of each, just sufficient to eke out a miserable life. At this time, about 1820, the Irish immigrants settled, for the most part, on the Atlantic seaboard ; few had yet crossed even the ridge of the AUeghanies. In the Eastern States they found occupation enough, and the steady growth of the country required their willing aid. From that time the North formed their chief point of attraction, and the States of Pennsylvania, Kew Jersey, 1:20 EMIGRATION. and New York, were their great resorts. Even New England was no longer forbidden ground to them, and they began to spread themselves over its rocky and unpromising surface, to effect there a greater moral change than probably anywhere else in the coun- try . In 182Y, during the first pastoral visitation of Bishop Fen- wick, when he erected, on the spot made memorable by the apos- tolic labors of Father Rasles, a monument to the memory of that saintly man, we read that "he then went in search of some Irish Catholics living at Belfast, Maine, whom he found suffering both for the necessaries of life and for the sustenance of the soul! He relieved both their temporal and spiritual wants, and imparted them his blessing, and some wholesome advice." Ife was enabled to do more for them in the following year at Charlestown, Massachusetts. On the 15th of October, 1828, ac- cording to the Boston Gazette^ " he laid the corner-stone of a Catholic church near Craigie's Point, designed to accommodate the Catholics of that place and of Charlestow^n, who were said to be already numerous." There is no doubt that the several churches built about that time in Maine, New Hampshire, Mas- sachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, were filled rather by Irish immigrants than by American converts, although not a few consoling examples of this latter method of the Church's increase took place about this period. But New York was taking the lead as the landing of predi- lection for th6~7teOiate children of Ireland. Thus, at the mstal- lation of Bishop Dubois, in St. Patrick's Cathedral, November 9, 1826, he addressed himself particularly to the Irish portion of his congregation, observing that " he entertained for them the liveliest feelings of affection. He reminded them of the per secutions they had undergone in defence of their religion, of the sacrifices many of them had made on leaving their native coun- try, and conjured them always to manifest that attachment to the religion of their forefathers which had hitherto so promi- nentlv distinguished thein among their brother Catholics. The whole State was beginning to swarm with new arrivals from the Green Isle. This detacliment, however, only formed the scarcely perceptible head of the great army which was to fol- low. We shall soon return to see its masses steadily treading their way on toward the West, and never halting till they reachea the Pacific coast ; we will see for what purpose. Meanwhile, it is fitting to look at another wing of this army taking its position directly south of Asia, the great continent which holds the first dwelling of man on earth, and toward which all the tendencies of modem civilization seem to turn. An immense island, to which geographers have now given the name of the fifth continent, from the dawn of creation lay sleeping between the seas known as the Indian and Pacific Oceans. EMIGRATION. 421 A. few thousand savages, said to be the lowest type of the human family, roamed aimlessly over its extensive wilds. Out of the ordinary route of circumnavigating explorers, few European ships had reached its coast, when the Dutch attempted to form estab- lishments on its southern and western sides, giving it the name of New Holland. At the end of last century the English Cap- tain Cook formed the first successful European settlement — Botany Bay — in what he called New South W ales, at the south- eastern extremity of the island. The French surveyed a consid- erable portion of the western coast at the beginning of this cen- tury. But finally, as has so far generally been the case with other colonies, the English remained in possession of the whole, and, though their first thought was to use it merely as a penal settlement, they soon saw the importance of removing their con- victs to Yan Diemen's Island, and now no less than four or five distinct British colonies embrace the entire coast-line of the con- tinent, the interior still remaining an unknown desert. Immigration, other than the transport of criminals, began only in 1825 ; and the white population of New South Wales, which in 1810 was only eight thousand three hundred, in 1821 only thirty thousand, increased rapidly after the discovery of the gold-fields in 1851, so that in 1861 more than seven hundred thousand free colonists had been landed from British ships on the continent and large islands of Yan Diemen and New Zea- land, notwithstanding their enormous distance from Great Britain. The importance of this vast colony, or, rather, of this ag- glomeration of colonies, should not be estimated from their extent and productions alone, but chiefly from their proximity to Asia toward the north, and to America toward the east. Already lines of steamers connect the new continent with China on the one side and San Francisco on the other ; and when we reflect that the English tongue is the only one spoken through- out that vast territory ; that English political institutions, with all their attendant machinery of parliaments, elections, municipal governments, and liberties, toleration, a free press and free dis- cussion, are day by day becoming more deeply rooted in the habits of the people, it is easy to perceive how soon the pecu liarities of Japhetism, starting from that centre, will invade the whole line of Southern and Eastern Asia and the countless island- f roups oi Polynesia. The Catholic reader will at once perceive ow the true religion must have been left to struggle, hopelessly almost, in its mission of enlightenment and mercy, surrounded as it was by so many adverse circumstances, had not the Irish element been at hand to fall back on. Our information on this important branch of the subject is unfortunately not extensive ; nor is this to be wondered at, since 4S3 EMIGRATION. It ifi only from 1851 that Irish immigration really began to shoiw itself in Australia, and take an active part in the European msb toward that quarter of the world, or, rather, to use tne phrase of Holy Writ, " to dwell in the tents of Sem." When Great Britain seii I out her first cargoes of convicts to Australia, it never entered into the ideas oi that enlightened power that such an attendant as a minister of religion might be wanted, and, as Mr. Marshall says in his book on " Christian Missions : " " The first ship wluch bore away its freight of despair, of bruised hearts, and woful memories, and fearful expectations, would have left the shores of England without even a solitary minister of religion, but for the timely remon- strance of a private individual. The civil authorities had deemed their work complete, when they had given the signal to raise the anchor and unloose the sails ; the rest was no concern of theirs." He adds something more extraordinary and more to our purpose still : " Among the emigrants to the new continent, soon some of those children of Ireland, whom Providence seems to have dispersed through all the homes of the Saxon race, that they might one day rekindle among them the light of faith, which their own long misfortunes have never been able to quench, were carried as the first fruitful seeds of the ever-blooming tree of the Church." To these exiles it was necessary to convey the succors of religion. The first Catholic priest who arrived in Australia on his mission of charity, and whom the policy of self-interest, at least, might have prompted the authorities to greet with eager welcome, was treated with derision, and " was directed," as one of his most energetic successors relates, " to produce his permis- sion," or " hold himself in readiness for departure by the next ship." He was alone, and consequently a safe victim ; and though, as the latest historian of the colony observes, "his ministrations would have been not less valuable in a social than in a religious point of view," he was seized, put in prison, and finally sent back to England, because his presence was irksome to men who seem to have felt instinctively that his proffered ministry was the keenest rebuke to their own cruelty and pro- faneness. This first Catholic priest was the Rev. Mr. Flynn, on whom the Holy See had conferred the title of archpriest, with power to administer confirmation. Arrived at Sydney in 1818, he did much good there in a short time. Mr. Marshall has told us how the colonial authorities treated him. But a circumstance, not mentioned in this clever author^fl work on "Missions," shows who and what were those Irish exiles whom the priest had come to serve and direct in his spirit- EMIGRATION. 428 nal capacity. When suddenly carried off to prison, he left the Blessed Sacrament in their httle church at Sydney. There the faithful frequently assembled during the two years which fol- lowed his departure, as large a number as could muster, to offer up their prayers to God, and look for consolation in their afflic- tion. The visible priest had been violently snatched away from them ; the Archpriest of souls, Christ, remained. The Rev. W. Ullathorne, now Bishop of Birmingham, Eng^ land, was afterward made Yicar-General Apostolic of that desolate mission by the Holy See. He informs us, in a letter published among the " Annals of the Propagation of the Faith," how these poor Irish people were treated by their " masters " in Australia. " It was forbidden them to speak Irish, under pain of fifty strokes of the whip ; and the magistrates, who for the most part belonged to the * Protestant clergy,' sentenced also to the whip and to close confinement those who refused to go hear their ser- mons, and to assist at a service which their consciences dis- avowed." In 1820 two fresh missionaries replaced Mr. Flynn. They found the little church where their predecessor had left our Lord two years before still in the same state ; and soon the insignifi- cant flock, which ever multiplies under persecution, began to increase wonderfully, so that twelve years later, out of the whole population of the colony — one hundred thousand — there were from twenty to thirty thousand Catholics. Meanwhile, their emancipation in England had secured their rights in the British colonies. There was no longer the threat of the whip hanging over those who refused to hear Protestant sermons ; there was no longer fear of their missionan^ being sent back by the first ship to England. Hence the Holy See immediately established the hierarchy of the Church, on a reg- ular and permanent basis, there. Dr. Polding being the first bishop. This may be called an era in the history of the Catholic Church. A hierarchy, independent of the state in heretic and even infidel countries, is a modern thought inspired by the Hol^ Spirit to the rulers of the flock of Christ to meet modem re* quirements. By this new system the long list of so-called Prot- estant countries was at once swept away. For no country caD be called Protestant which has its regularly-established bishops of Holy Church, with their authority permanently securedo Their dioceses cover the land, and the land consequently belongs to the Church, however gi-eat may be the number of heretics or infidels, and however powerful the organizations antagonistic to Catholicity. The " people of God" is there, to multiply with the years, and finally absorb all heterogeneous bodies. Th« 424 EMIGRATION. Church, as we saw, is a growth ; other bodies are crystallized and do not grow ; more, they become materially and necessarily dis- integrated by the action of time and the friction of surrounding bodies, of spreading roots and living organisms. This plain, unmistakable, eventual truth was the real cause which brought about the violent explosion of fear and hatred following directly the reestablishing of the Catholic hierarchy in England. The opposing forces felt that their hour was come, and they could not but shiver at their approaching annihilation, small as was the body of the English Catholics at the time. But it is not for us to enter here on these considerations, which would call for long developments, and which belong more fittingly to the general history of the Church than to Irish emigration to Australia. The few facts glanced at above afford ample grounds for pict- uring the state oi the first Irish exiles who set foot on that broad island of the Antipodes. It was only a repetition of the scenes witnessed at the same time wherever the Irish strove to propagate the true faith. Later on it will be our pleasure to come back to this field and wonder at the growth of a blooming garden which has replaced the old sterility. Of the other British colonies wherein a certain number of Irishmen began to settle at the time of the present investigation, no details can yet be furnished. It is easy to suppose, however, without fear of mistake, that the spiritual destitution and state of more or less open persecution which we have found existing in America and Australia, prevailed also at the Cape Colony, at Natal, in Guiana, Labuan, Ceylon, etc. A very different spec- tacle is about to be unfolded before our eyes, and we hasten on to behold its wondrous development and splendor — a splendor, however, ushered in by scenes of extreme woe. CHAPTEE XV. THE "exodus" and ITS EFFECTS. The stream of Irish emigrants, starting from the one source, separated now and continued flowing to the four quartej's of the flobe, and, at length, its influence was beginning to be felt in Ingland itself, the last of the lands whither the Irish exiles could think of turning. The poorest, unable to pay their pas- sage-money to North America, began to show themselves among the thick populations of the great manufacturing centres of Great Britain. More than fifty thousand departed annually to settle in other climes and plant Catholicity in regions that, from a religious point of view, were wildernesses. in 1846 came an awfal calamity, to impart to the movement an impetus of which no one could have dreamed, and which went very far to realize what M. de Beaumont had a few years before declared to be an impossibility — the almost sudden trans- portation of millions of starving Irish. This was the great Famine, still so fresh in memory, and now appearing to Siose who witnessed its effects like that terrible passage of the destroy- ing angel in the night. There is no better mode of accoimting for this visitation than that given by T. D. McGee, in his " Irish Settlers in America : " "The famine (of 1846) is to be thus accounted for : The act of Union in 1800 deprived Ireland of a native legislature. Her aristocracy emigrated to London. Her tariff expired in 1826, and, of course, was not renewed. Her merchants and manufac- turers withdrew their capital from trade and invested it in land. The land 1 the land I was the object of universal, unlimitable competition. In the first twenty years of the century, the farmers, if rack-rented, had still the war prices. After the peace, they had the monopoly of the English provision and produce markets. But in 1846 Sir Robert Peel successfully struck at the old laws imposing duties on foreign corn, and let in Baltic wheat and American provisions of every kind, to compete with and undersell the Irish rack-rented farmers. " High rents had produced hardness of heart in the ' middle- 426 THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFECTS. uum/ extravagance in tlie land-owner, and extreme poverty in the peasant. The poor-law commission of 1839 reported that two million three hundred thousand of the agricultural laborers of Ireland were ^paupers;' that those immediately above the lowest rank were * the worst-clad, worst-fed, and worst-lodged ' peasantry in Europe. True indeed 1 They were lodged in styes, clothed in rags, and fed on the poorest quality of potato. " Partial lailures of this crop had taken place K)r a succession of seasons. So regularlv did those failures occur, that William Cobbett and other skilml agriculturists had foretold their final destruction years before. Still, the crops of the summer of 1846 looked fair and sound to the eye. The dark-green, crispy leaves, and yellow-and-purple blossoms of the potato-fields, were a cheer- ful feature in every landscape. By July, however, the terrible fact became but too certain. From every town-land within the four seas tidings came to the capital that the people's food was blasted — utterly, hopelessly blasted. Incredulity gave way to panic, panic to demands on the Imperial Government to stop the export of grain, to establish public granaries, and to give the peasantry such productive employment as would enable them to purchase food enough to keep soul and body together. By a re- port of the ordnance-captain, Larcom, it appeared there were grain-crops more than sufiicient to support the whole population — a cereal harvest estimated at four hundred millions of dollars, as prices were. But to all remonstrances, petitions, and propo- sals, the imperial economists had but one answer : * They could not interfere with the ordinary currents of trade.' O'Conn ell's proposal. Lord George Bentinck's, O'Brien's, the proposals of the society called *The Irish Council,' all received the same answer. Fortunes were made and lost in gambling over this sudden trade in human subsistence, and ships laden to the gun- wales sailed out of Irish ports, while the charities of the world were coming in. ^ • " In August, authentic cases of death by famine, with the verdict, * starvation,' were reported. The first authentic case thrilled the country, like an iU wind. From twos and threes they rose to tens, and, in September, such inquests were held, and the same sad verdict repeated, twenty times in a day. Then Ireland, the hospitable among the nations, smitten with famine, deserted by her imperial masters, lifted up her voice, and uttered that cry of awful anguish which shook the ends of the earth. " The Czar, the Sultan, and the Pope, sent their rubles and their pauls. The Pacha of Egypt, the Shah of Pei-sia, the Em- peror of China, the Kajahs of India, conspired to do for Ireland what her so-styled rulers refused to do — to keep her young and old people livm«j in the land. America did more in this work of mercy than all the rest of the world." THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFECTS. 427 The sudden effect of this fearful trial was to increase the total emigration from the British Isles from ninety-three thousand in 1845 to one hundred and thirty thousand in 1846 ; to three hun- dred thousand in 1849 ; to nearly four hundred thousand in 1852. In ten years from 1846, two million eight hundred thousand had fled in horror from the country once so dear to them. From May, 1847, to the close of 1866, the number of passengers dis- charged at New York alone amounted to three million six hun- dred and fifty-nine thousand I Those immense fleets of transports, which M. de Beaumont thought necessary, but not to be found, were found. On such a sudden emergency, every kind of tub afloat was thought suitable for the purpose ; and, all being sailing-vessels, the voyage was proportionately long, the provision made for such numbers in- sufiicient, and the emigrants, already weakened by privations, were fit subjects for the plague which, under the form of ship- fever, rapidly spread among those receptacles of human misery, so that, when the great caravan arrived in the St. Lawrence, whither that first year all seemed to tend, the following was the picture presented : "On the 8th of May, 1847, the Urania, from Cork, with several hundred immigrants on board, a large proportion of them sick and dying of the ship-fever, was put into quarantine at Grosse Isle, thirty miles below Quebec. This was the first of the plague-smitten ship? ■)(" Ireland which that year sailed up the St. Lawrence. But, beiore the first week of J une, as many as eighty-four ships, of various tonnage, were driven in by an east- erly wind ; and of that enormous number of vessels there was not one free from the taint of malignant typhus, the offspring of famine and of the foul ship-hold." The effects of that awful misfortune may be found vividly described in Mr. Maguire's book, from which the above extract is taken, on the long line of march of that desolate army of im- migrants, leaving its thousands of victims at Grosse Isle, near Quebec, at Pointe St. Charles, a suburb of Montreal, in Kings- ton, in Toronto, Upper Canada, and, finally, at Partridge Island, opposite St. John's, ISTew Brunswick. America was thus destined to witness some of those scenes so often enacted on the soil of Ireland, to compassionate the people of the holy isle, to open her friendly bosom for the reception of the unfortunate beings, who in return gave her all they pos- sessed — their faith. But what M. de Beaumont so emphatically insisted upon, although at first seemingly contradicted by the event, was never- theless true. England, the mighty mistress of the seas, did not possess ships enough for the purpose of transportation ; and her entire navy added to all her merchant- vessels would scarcely have 428 THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFECTS. suflBced. Ships had to be built, Bteainers chiefly, in order to efiect the transportation speedily, and dimimsh the dangers of the passage. Then Providence worked upon the ingenuity of worldly-wise men, and set them planning and studying the question in all its bearings, to devise new schemes of transportation on a scale not dreamed of hitherto. Watt, the Stephensons, Brunei, A. Maury, and others, rose up to perfect the various steam-machines already known and in use ; to investigate the currents of the ocean, the different qualities of its waters, its depth and soundings, in order to make the paths of the deep easier and surer to navigators. The ingenuity of ship-builders effected a revolution in naval ar- chitecture, and rendered possible the construction of vessels of from ten thousand to twenty-five thousand tons burden. Mer- chant companies and capitalists arose to embrace the whole world in their mighty speculations, studying the capabilities of all countries for trade, the most desolate as well as the most in- viting, the meanest as keenly as the mightiest, linking the whole world in one vast commercial circle, that the European race might be borne on to the mercantile conquest of the universe ; and all this came about, doubtless, to effect its deeper and more permanent moral conquest by the despised, down-trodden, starv- mg, dying Irishman, who laid claim to one arm, one possession only— -his faith and the blessing of the Church. Was not the Irish exodus intimately connected with all those events ? Was it not one of the mightiest causes of all those gigantic enterprises? But where were the funds to be found for such immense un- dertakings ? The treasury of nations is continually drained of vast sums at home, and dare not draw away a part of its metallic basis suflScient for such a purpose. Moreover, it is limited, and needs the precious metals as a solid foundation whereon to rest, or the fabric built upon it will be the fabric of a dream, as was that of Law in France at the beginning of the eighteenth century. The gold and silver mines of Mexico and Peru seem exhausted ; ;he new ones of the Ural Mountains in Northern Asia, of the Atlantic coast of North America, were not adequate to meet the demands of such mighty operations. Suddenly, in the year 1846, a Swiss captain, transformed into a California settler, while endeavoring to turn a water-fall in his new home to some account, discovers gold-dust in the sand. As if by jnagic, the coast of California, hitherto neglected, difficult of access at the time, and consequently ignored by mankind, notwithstanding its wealth in mineral and vegetable productions, becomes at once the cynosure of all eyes, the hope oi all hearts, the most renowned of all countries. Thither they flock in crowds from all parts of Europe and America, and a steady flow THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFECTS. 429 jf seventy inillion dollars annually is secured as a basis for the new designs of capitalists and merchants. Other gold-fields are soon discovered all along the American coast, on the Pacific, from Lower California to Alaska, inviting men to go thither and settle, just opposite to the Asiatic Con- tinent, separated from it only by the broad but easily-navigated Pacific Ocean. Soon also, far away south in the antipodes, opposite to anoth- er portion of Asia, rich gold-fields are opened up in the newly- discovered Continent of Australia, attracting immigration toward another spot, whence the Asiatic nations may also be reached with greater facility and dispatch. Whoever believes that Providence has something to do with the affairs of men ; whoever is wise enough to see that this uni- verse is not the result of chance, and that its destinies are ruled by a superior power, must admit that when events as unexpected MS they are unprepared by man come to pass — events which are so connected together as to reveal the workings of a single mind and a great object at once, foreshadowed if not positively fore- told, God is the designer, and a stronger hand is at work than the combined power of men and devils could successfully oppose. This is a truth which was not unknown to Homer, centuries ago, when he described Jove holding our globe suspended in space at the end of a chain, and defying all the inferior ^ods to move the world in a direction contrary to that given by his mighty arm. The hnage, striking and poetical as it is, for a Christian is too material. We speak more correctly when we say that Mind — the Divine Mind — is the great invincible and invisible Force of which all material forces are but the created agents, and bv which all inferior minds must stand or fall, conquer or fail. A man must be blind with that incurable blindness — of will — who cannot see it acting in and on the universe, and even controlling the lower designs of puny intellects. The reverent eye which sees the vastness of the plan, the multitude of its agents, aiding and seconding it consciously and unconsciously, recognizes it, and the supreme object of its workings. Love, infinite Love. And we distinguish with gratefiU surprise all those circum- stances visibly appearing in the great fact which has just been so imperfectly stetched, and which will come home to us still more forcibly wnen the workings of its lesser details come to be exam- ined. Here, for instance, at the moment of writing these lines l^March, 1872) we learn from the morning newspapers of the re- cent arrival of the Japanese embassy at San Francisco ; that its members had been dispatched to this country to study European, or, as we call them, Japhetic institutions, for the purpose of copy- ing and adapting them to their own wants. The embassy, de* tained at Salt Lake City by the snow-blockade on the Pacific Rail- 480 THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFECTS. road, refused to go back, temporarily, to California, and made up their mind to wait in Utah, until it is possible for them to jproceei Pacific Railroad, Salt Lake City, San Fraiicisco, Japanese embassy, adoption of European manners by the Mikado and daimios — who can fail to gather from these words and details the conception of means to an end, and that end the one we now begin to study ? The first circumstance coming under our review and indica- tive of a loving design on the part of Providence, a circumstance not marked sufficiently at the time, is the preservation by the English themselves of the poor remnants of the Irish race, which the first working of the plan had so frightfully decimated and left in danger of being utterly wiped out. Had they disap- peared, would J aphetism have become a blessing to the Asiatic nations ? The Catholic, looking abroad and casting his mind's eye over the vast European field, to all seeming so rich in every production, yet in reality so sterile morally, peering with awe and horror into the Japhetic caldron — for such it is — seething and bubbling to the brim, full .of the most deadly poisons and noxious substances, ready at any moment to overflow in infected waves and sweep over the unfortunate countries which look to it 80 anxiously for blessings, a torrent of black destruction, spread- ing around naught but desolation and barrenness — the Catholic eye, seeing all this, can find but one answer to our query. The Asiatic races cannot hope to be benefited by the introduction of European manners among them, unless the same great move- ment carries in its train the holy Catholic Church : and as that introduction must be brought about by English-speaking leaders, the only English-speaking Catholics of numerical significance must be the instruments of the adorable designs of Providence. That this assertion may not appear too sweeping, it is only enouffh to instance the example of India, which England has held long enough to convert, at least in part, had she so desired and been moved by the Spirit of God, yet to-day India stands in a worse relation toward Protestantism than when Protestantism in the name of Christianity, but in the person of a British trader, settled down in its midst. What good has Ilindostan derived ? But, at this very moment, the whole Irish race is at the mercy of the English Government and people. Only let the same kind of vessels continue to be dispatched filled with Irish emi- grants, and the whole race must disappear within a short period, or become so reduced in numbers tnat its operations as a race, on a large scale, will be unproductive of sufficient results. And it is well to mark that at the time of this outpouring of the race, as long before, and almost constantly since, there were Englishmen rejoicing at the glorious result which death by plague and famine was ^bout to produce. It were easy to quote THE "EXODUS" AKD ITS EFFECTS. 431 many a barbarous passage from the London Times, expressive of *,be most satanic joy, not only at the departure of the Irish from the " United Kingdom," but at the prospect of their ultimate, or rather proximate disappearance out of the world altogether. Yet it was the same English Government and people which, feeling, let us hope, some com])assion at the sight of this new woe of the " Niobe of nations," determined to try and save her children, as, if they must cast them out, at least it should be alive and full of health on a foreign shore. Laws, therefore, were passed, regulating the quantity and quality of provisions, particularly of drinkable water, the num- ber of the crew and working-men, the ventilation of the vessel, the number of passengers to be received, etc. Still, these first attempts at humanity seem to have been rather faint-hearted, as the following passage from Mr. Maguire's " Irish in America," showing how they were carried out, and how inadequate was the remedy applied in 1848, will explain : " The ships, of which such glowing accounts were read on Sunday by the Irish peasant near the chapel-gate, were but too often old and unseaworthy, insufficient in accommodation, not having even an adequate supply of water for a long voyage, and, to render matters worse, they, as a rule, were shamefully under- handed. True, the provisions and the crew must have passed muster in Liverpool ; . . . but there were tenders and lighters to follow the vessel out to sea ; and over the sides of that vessel several of the mustered men would pass, and casks, and boxes, and sacks would be expeditiously hoisted, to the amazement of the simple people who looked on at the strange and unaccount- able operation. And, thus, the great ship, with its living freight, would turn her prow toward the West, depending on hei male passengers, as on so many impressed seamen, to handle her ropes or to work her pumps in case of accident. "What with bad or scanty provisions, scarcity of water, severe hardship, and long confinement in a foul den, ship-fever reaped yet a glorious harvest between-decks, as frequent splashes of shot-weighted corpses into the deep but too terribly testified. Whatever the cause, the deaths on board the British ships enormously exceeded the mortality on the ships of any other country. According to the records of the Commissioners of Emigration for the State of New York, the quota of sick per thousand stood thus in 1848 : British vessels, 30 ; American, 9| ; German, 8|. It was yet no unusual occurrence for the survivor of a family of ten or twelve to land alone, bewildered and broken-hearted, on the wharf at New York ; the rest, the family, parents, and children, had been swallowed in the sea, their bodies marking the course of the ship to the New World." It would seem, then, that those first English regulation «. M 432 . THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFECTS. which British ships were to ])ass muster at Livcqwol before Bail- mg, were not very efficient ; the figures of mortality quoted by Mr. Maguire are too eloquent ; and it would bo a pleasure to lie to be able to say with certainty tliat the more stringent and bet- ter executed laws afterward enforced did not proceed from the Commission of Emigration, which originated in New York with some generous-hearted Irish-Americans. Our readers will have noticed that, even in 1848, with all the apparent desire on the part of England to save the remnants of the Irish nation, the mortality on board British ships was more than three times that on board American vessels, and nearly four times greater than that on board German ships. Why this dif- ference ? And why should it be so enormous ? It is possible that to the Legislature of New York Stat^ chiefly, and soon after to the Congress of the United States ai Washington, which enacted stringent laws for the protection of immigrants at sea, belong the chief honor of saving hundreds of thousands of Irish lives, and that England, whether urged by the effects of good example, or for very shame, soon followed in their wake. But, whatever the cause may have been, it is a heart-felt pleasure to record the fact that from 1849, when an act of Par- liament, entitled the "Passengers Act," imposed on ship-owners cind captains of vessels strict conditions for the welfare of emi- grants, government control on this subject became every year more immediate and severe. Not only were the vessels, provisions, water, medicine chests, etc., more carefully examined, but the passengers themselves were compelled to undergo a careful inspection as to their health and wardrobe. And, a thing which had never been done before, the space allotted to each emigrant on deck and between-decks was deter- mined and subjected to serious control, so that no overcrowding of passengers should take place. The penalties, also, on delin- quents became even severe ; heavy fines were imposed, and in gome cases transportation to a penal settlement was decreed against the more offensive outrages on humanity. If all abuses failed to be corrected by such laws, it is because the most stringent enactments can, to a greater or less extent, always be evaded by those desirous of evading them ; but there is every reason to believe that the legislators were honest in their intent of remedying the- glaring evils which previously obtained, and, to a great extent, their efforts met with success, as is evidenced by the fact that the mortality on board of British vessels has shown yearly a remarkable diminution since that time. According to the " Twenty-fourth General Report," the mortality was: In 1854, 0.74 per cent., already a very remark- THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFECTS. 433 able diminution on previous averages ; in 1800, it was reduced to 0.15 per cent. This was the percentage for vessels going to North America onlv. The first operation of the missionary people was to ])]ant the living tree of Catholicism in the United States, and so power- fully forward its growth, that other spiritual plants of a noxious kmd, and weeds that go by the name of creeds, should gradually be choked up^ finally, let us hope, to disappear. While speaking on this subject, and laying before the reader the necessary details, we desire not to be held forgetful of the efforts made in a like direction by Catholic immigrants of other nationalities. A word has already been said of the early influence of the French in the North and of the Spaniards in the South, in establishing the Church in North America. The German children of the true Church, though at first not so conspicuous, have for a long time taken, and are now particularly taking, an active part m the dissemination of the faith, and there can be no doubt that, with the daily increase of German immigration, their large numbers must in course of time make a lasting impression on the terri- tory where they settle. But the French, the Spaniards, and the Germans, must forget their language before they become widely useful in the great work before them ; and thus the Irish form the only English-speaking people on whom the brunt of the battle must fall. Moreover, we treat only of the Irish race. The wonderful history of the spread of Catholicity in North America by the Irish, in the northern part of the United States particularly, would call for an array of details which it would be impossible to furnish here m extenso. An imperfect sketch must suffice. First comes the consideration that, when the wave of immigra- tion touched the continent, it might have been feared that, by its absorption into a dry and parched soil, the aggregate loss would have reduced to a mere nothing the ultimate gain. There were QO churches for the new worshippers, no priests to administer to them the sacraments of Christ, no Catholic school-teachers to train their children. That is to say, these means of preservation and of propagation were so few and so far between, that many of the newly-arrived immigrants were forced to establish them- selves in places where they could find none of those, to them, priceless advantages. The spiritual dearth was not indeed so great as that pre- viously described. The zeal of bisliops and priests, and teachers from regular orders, had been so active in its labors, that, aided by the liberty which the institutions of the country afforded, results, astonishing indeed, had already rewarded their efforts. But, after all, what were these compared with the demands so suddenly laid upon them by such a rapid increase of numbers ^ 28 i34 THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFECTS. It might be saidwitli truth of multitudes of immigrantSj that the position in which they then found themselves was very little different from that of their predecessors at the beginning of the century. As late as 1834, Archbishop Purcell, of Cincinnati, wrote : " There are places in which there are Catholics of twenty years of age, who have not yet had an opportunity of performing one sin^e public act of their religion. How many fall sick and die without the sacraments I How many children are brought up in ignorance and vice 1 How many persons marry out of the Church, and thus weaken the bonds that held them to it I " — - {Annals of tlie Propagation of Faith^ Yol. viii.) To the same annals, three years later, Dr. England, of Charles- ton, sent the long letter in which he detailed the innumerable losses sustained by the Church in America in consequence of the want of spiritual assistance. The letter was, in fact, a cry of anguish wrung from him by the sight he witnessed. Such was the universal feeling among those who could right- ly appreciate the fatal consequences of the rush of Catholics to the JNew World without any provision prepared for their recep- tion. And yet all these laments and apprehensions preceded the vast inpouring of immigi*ants siibsequent to the year 1846. What must have been the consequent losses then ? Yet, looking now, in 1872, at the present state of the Church in the Union, who can say that this inpouring and rush, unprepared as the country was for its reception, was not one of the greatest means devisea by Providence, not only for establishing the Catholic Church in this country for all time, but likewise as a prepara- tion for further developments, not only on this continent, but on the part of many a nation now sitting m ** the shadow of death ! " Deplorable, indeed, were the losses, but permanent and wonder- ful the gain. The first effect of the great calamity which occun*ed along the St. Lawrence and its tributaries, in 1847, was to reduce the immigration to Canada to insignificant numbers, and propor- tionately increase that to the United States in a quadruple ratio. Massachusetts and Connecticut, in New England, and tne great States of New York and Pennsylvania, were now the chief places of resort for the new-comers ; and from New York, principally, they began to pour, in a long, steady stream, away by the Erie Canal, westward to the great lakes. All along these lines, congregations were, providentially, already formed ; and, in the passage of the stream, they were immeaiately, as by magic, increased, in some instances, to a ten fold proportion. The labors of the clergy were correspondingly multiplied, and efforts were immediately made to obtain new recruits for its ranks. Then appeared a very strange fact, whicli, THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFECTS. 435 at the time, was remarked upon by everybody, but has never been satisfactorily explained. Wherever tne number of worship- pers in a church induced the chief pastors to have another con- structed in the neighborhood, upon the completion of the new edifice, the old one seemed to suner no diminution in attendance, and the congregation attending the new one gave no evidence of having hitherto been un cared for. This very remarkable fact was of such frequent occurrence that it could not be a delusion, or an exceptional case having its origin in some extraordinary cause ; it was evidently a providential dispensation, akin, in a spiritual sense, to the miraculous multiplication of loaves, twice mentioned in the Gospel. There have certainly been numerous examples of this, in the sity of iN'ew York particularly, for more than twenty years ; and probably the same thing is occurring at the time of the present writing. Then, another fact occurred, deplored by many, chiefly by Mr. Maguire, in the interesting work already quoted from, yet, evidently of a providential character also,* and consequently eminently fruitful, and, it may be said, adorable in its depth. The Catholic immigrants, although in their own country agricul- turists for the most part, forgot the tilling of the soil as soon as they reached their new home, and settled down in great numbers in all the large cities, on the Kne they pursued toward the West. Many special evils resulted from this, detailed at length by those whose wonder it excited, and who strove, for excellent motives, to thwart this providential movement. But the immense good which immediately followed from it, and which, within a snort time, was to be greatly increased, was never mentioned in reply to the reasons advanced by these well-meaning complainants. The first result of it was the sudden and necessary creation of many new episcopal sees in all large cities, where churches were being rapidly built, or had alreacfy been erected in astonishing numbers. Suppose the Catholics had, following the old bent, turned them- selves cniefly to the tillage of the soil, and buried themselves away in scattered country villages and farms, how long would the crea- tion of those new sees have been delayed ? Wno is ignorant of the ejffect of a new see on the propagation of Catholicity ? Cities which otherwise would have numbered among their population only a few hundred Catholics, scarcely sufficient for the nlling of one small edifice, saw at once one-third, one-half, or even the larger portion of their population clamoring for a Catholic bishop, and all the institutions a bishopric brings in its train. It is unnecessary to furnish examples of this ; they are around us. Yet one difficulty seems to cast some doubt on this view of the subject, and strengthen the opposition of those who ardently 436 THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFECTS. advocated the country as the true home for Irish Catholics ; and, as the point involves a universal interest, it is better to discus? it at once in its chief bearings. At the time when those wonderful events were being enacted, any one opening a copy of those general State Directories, with which New England is particularly blessed, wherein not only the great commercial and industrial enterprises of each State are enrolled, but also correct lists of the educational establishments and various churches of all cities, towns, and villages, are given — a cursory glance, even, would show him the striking fact that, as far as the great centres of population were concerned, Catholic churches, educational establishments, and primary schools were found in respectable numbers ; but many a page had to be turned when the reader came to places of lesser importance, to rural populations chiefly, before he met with any indication of the Catholic Church entering yet upon that large country do- main. This experience was encountered by the writer at the time, and caused him a moment of doubt. But beyond the reflection that, in matters of this kind (of the propagation of a doctrine or a creed), the first thing to be looked to is tne centre, and that this, once mastered, will in course of time draw under its influence the outer circles ; that all things cannot be effected at once, and the best thing to be done is to begin with the most important ; that, moreover, those statistics are often incorrect with respect to Catholic matters, whether from malicious design, or inadvertence, or want of knowledge, on subjects to which the compilers attached very little impor- tance, so that, if their statements be compared with Catholic official intelligence with regard to the same places, it will be found that many towns and villages which, according to the State Directories would seem to have been altogether torgotten by the Church, were actually in her possession, at least by periodical or occasional visits; apart from all these considera- tions, there is one more important remark to be made, which includes in its bearing not only the present point of considera- tion, but, it may be said, the whole life of the Church from the beginning ; so that it is really a law of her birth, existence, and propagation. To illustrate our meaning, let us see how the Christian re- ligion first forced its way in heathen lands, throughout the whole Itoman Empire, whether in its Oriental division where Greek was spoken, or among its Western, Latin-speaking populations. All the apostles fixed their sees in the largest or most im- portant cities of the ancient world • St. Peter, under the special guidance of God, taking possession of the capital and mistress of Bie whole. AJl the bishops ordained by the first apostles did the tame by their direction ; and it is needless to add that the like THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFECTS. 437 law has l^een followed down to our own times whenever the Churcli has had to spread herself in a new country. In accordance with this plan, the cities of the Roman world were the first to be evangelized, and their populations were con- verted with greater or less difficulty, accordmg to the dispositions of the inhabitants, before almost an effort had been made for the con^^ersion of the rural populations, except as they happened to come in the way of the "laborers in the vineyard." Hence the result, so well known : heathenism remained rooted in the country for a much longer time than in the cities, so that the heathen were generally called pagans— ^agani — as if it were enough, when desiring to convey the intimation that a man was a worshipper of idols, to designate him as a dweller in the country.'* And if the word " pagans " became synonymous with hea- thens in all European countries, it is a proof that the fact under- lying the name was universal wherever Christianity spread. It is known, moreover, that the dissemination of the Gospel in those rural districts was a work of centuries, and that, for nearly a thousand years after Christ, pagans were to be found in vil- lages of countries already Christian. The fundamental reason which governs and regulates these strange facts is that already given, namely, that Christianity — that IS, Catholicity — is a growth, and follows the laws of every thing that grows. True, its first increase is from without, by the conversion of infidels or erring men ; but even in that first stage of its existence, its growth is the faster where the numbers are greater ; hence its establishment invariably in large cities. But when it has passed beyond this first stage, it increases from within, like all growths, and the work is accomplished by the increase of families agglomerated in the same large towns. How true is it that the Church, once firmly planted in the midst of one of those agglomerations of men called cities, is sure in the end to invade the whole as " the yeast that leavens the whole 1 " How easy is it to see that in the course of time those cities of the Union, among which a large proportion of Catholics is found, will belong almost exclusively to the true Church, if for no other reason by the births in families, even supposing that the flow of immigration should finally cease ! If any one entertains some doubt on this point, he nas only to consult the records containing the number of children baptized in her bosom, and compare it with the corresponding number in families still outside her. Hence the really astonishing fact, whose truth is recognized to-day in all the Northern States along the Atlantic coast, that suddenly almost in the cities of Now England, for instance, where * Another meaning is given to the word paganns by some writers ; but the old •nd common interpretation is the surest, and is confirmed by the b«8t authorities. 438 THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFECTS. the number of Catholics was simply insignificant, they took an apparently unaccountable prominence, and in the course of a few years, increasing steadily by birth as well as by immigration, the fact became the most curious though evident of the times, com- pletely changing the moral and social aspect of the country, and foretelling still greater changes to come. For, in the face of this wonderful increase to the ranks of Catholicity, appears anothei significant fact, but very difierent as to direction and energy — the gradual disappearance of names once prominent in tnose parts, and the daily narrowing area of Protestantism in the nu- merous sects of which it is composed. At the same time a great danger was averted (or at least won- derfully lessened and modified), from the whole country, by the settlement of those immigrants in the large centres of population. The manufacturing enterprises, which at that time assumed such vast developments in North America, received among their work- ers, men and women, a large proportion of Cathohcs, and the fear of future political and social peril to the peace and security of society at large could never, on this continent, reach the ex- treme point witnessed in Europe to-day. The great danger ot the European future nestles prmcipally in those vast hives of in- dustry with which that continent abounds. Our eyes have wit- nessed, our ears have been affrighted at those stupendous plans and projects in which, not only the great questions of capital and labor are involved, but the whole fabric of society is threatened with downfall. Keligion, government, property, the family, the state — all those great principles and facts on which the security of mankind depends, enter now into the programme of artisans and laborers enlisted in gigantic and many-ramified secret socie- ties, while the whole world trembles at the awful aspect of this unwelcome phantom, that no government, however powerful, can lay. Suppose that on this continent the numerous bands of work- ing-men, so actively engaged everywhere in developing the re- sources of the country, should aim at extending their solicitude beyond their immediate and material welfare to the reformation and reorganization of mankind on a new basis ; and suppose that, with this aim in view, they should combine with those of Europe, and enter into an unholy compact with them, what hope or ref^e would remain in the whole world for harmony, peace, justice, and happiness? And when the great upheaval, so generally ex- pected m Europe, and which sooner or later must take place, shall come to pass, where could those men fly, who cannot but look upon those satanic schemes with horror ? Where on thii earth would be found a spot consecrated to the acknowledgment *'f the only social principles which can secure the real good of mankind, by rendering safe the stability of society f THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFECTS. 439 It is our firm belief that the vast niiinber of true children of the Church, occupied honestly and actively in the many factories of the North, will, when the contest commences, even before it commences, when the question of connecting the " unions " of this country in a band of brotherhood with those of Europe shall be gravely mooted, make their voices loudly and unmis- takably heard on the right side. Enough has now been said on the locality chosen by prefer- ence as the dwelling-place of the Irish immigrants at the period under consideration. Let us now see those armies of new-comers at work. They have been called a missionary people ; let us see how they understand their *' mission." In this new country every thing had to be done tor the estab- lishment of religion, education, help for the poor, the aged, the infirm, on a lasting and sufficiently broad basis. And, strange to remark, it was found that the previous persecutions they had undergone fitted them admirably for their work, not only by giving them a strong faith, the true foundation ot Christian energy, but in a manner more curious, if not more efi'ective. It fitted them to give money freely and abundantly, poor as they were ! One may smile incredulously at the conceit ; but it has become a most powerful and incontestable fact. Suppose the Irish never to have' been persecuted in their own country : suppose that they had found there a benevolent gov- ernment to supply them with churches, schools, hospitals — ^homes for the poor — every thing that they, as Catholics, could desire. Suppose them to have been in a similar position with the French- men, Spaniards, and Italians, of those days, how bitterly would they have felt the inconvenience of building all these tnings up for themselves in their new homes with the labor of their own hands, by their own individual efforts, unaided by the govern ment! Their ardor would have been damped, their energy cramped, their inclination to give would have fallen far below the necessities of the time : for money was sorely nteded — ^no nio:o:ard offerin2:s, but immense sums. But happUy — happily in the result, not in the fact — ^not only had the British Government never done any thing of the kind for them in their old home ; not only, on the contrary, had it been particularly careful to rob them of all the buildings and es- tates left by their ancestors for those great objects ; but, until very recently, the passing of the Emancipation Act of 1829, it had studiously and most persistently hindered them from doing voluntarily for themselves what it refused to do for them. There were numerous penal statutes enacted, in the course of two cen- turies, to prevent them from building churches, opening schools, erecting asylums and hospitals of tlieii* own, nay, from possess- ing consecrated graveyards for their dead. Tnus did fanatic 440 THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFECTS. hatred pursue them even to the grave, and, as far as it could, be yond the gates of death. Every one had to surrender the mor- tal remains of his relatives to the Protestant minister for burial ; as though what the government called its religion would snatch from them whatever it could lay hands on- the body at least since the soul had escaped and passed beyond its reach. But in their new country they found every thing altered. Not only was prohibition of this kind utterly unknown, but there existed there the greatest amount of liberty ever enjoyed by man for acting in concert with a religious, educational, or charitable object in view. No law devised by the old Greek republics, by the Roman fisc, by modem European intermeddling was ever attempted in the country which with justice boasted o being the " asylum of the oppressed." Thus as the liberty Bt long denied to the Irish was at last opened up, as no barrier ex- isted to cramp and confine the natural generosity of their hearts, no sooner did they find that they might contribute ae they chose to those great and holy objects, than they rushed at the chances oflfered them with what looked like recklessness. We hope that the reader may understand, from this, oni meaning in saying that persecution had admirably fitted them for the mighty work that lay before them. It was the first time for centuries that they were allowed to give for such sacred pur- poses. Another thing which disposed them toward it was, the linsrer- ing fondness for the old customs of clanship, still harbored in their inmost soul, never entirely dead and ready to revive wheneve? an opportunity presented itself. There can be no doubt of this ; the great adjuration of the clansman to his chieftain — " Spend me, but defend me " — tended wonderfully to consecrate in theii eyes the act of giving and giving constantly, as though theii purse could never be exhausted. The chieftain has been replaced by the bishop, the priest, the educator ; the nobility has gone, but these have come ; and unconsciously perhaps, but none the less really, does .this feeling lie at the bottom of their hearts, which are ever ready to burst out with the old expression, though iji other form: "Spend me, eat me out, but help my soul, and save my children." This feeling has always run in the blood of the race. St. Paul long ago detected it in the Galatians, a branch of the Cel- tic tribes, when he wrote to them : " You received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus. ... I bear you witness fhn*, if it could be done, you would have plucked out your own eyes, and given them to me." — EpisUe to the GalaUans^ iv. 15. Few, perhaps, have reflected seriously on the large sums re- quired for the establishment of the Catholic Church m so vast a country, with all her adjunct institutions ; therefore the stupen THE ^'EXODUS" AND ITS EFFECTS. 441 «lons result has scarcely struck those who have witnessed and lived in the midst of it. The same is the case, though on a much smaller scale, with respect to the money sent back to Ireland by newly-arrived immigrants. People were aware that the Irish, women as well as men, were in the habit of forwarding drafts of one, two, or three pounds to their relatives and friends, but in such small amounts that the whole could not reach a very high figure. But when it came to be discovered that many banking associations were drawing large dividends from the operation, that new banks were continually being opened which looked to the profit to be derived from such transmission as their chief means of support, some curious people set to work collecting in- formation on the subject and instituting inquiries, when it was found that the aggregate sum amounted to millions, and would have become a serious item in the specie exports of the country, if what was transmitted did not in the main come back with those to whom it had been forwarded. So was it, but in much larger proportions with respect to the amounts annually spent in the purchase of real estate, the build- ing of churches, schools, asylums, hospitals, for the support of clergymen, school-teachers, clerks, ofificials, servants, which were called for all at once, over the surface of an extensive territory, for the service of hundreds of thousands of Catholics arriving yearly with the intention of settling permanently in the country. Could the full statistics be furnished, they would excite the sur- prise of aU ; the few details which we would be enabled to gather from directories, newspapers, the reports of witnesses, and other sources, could give but a faint idea of the whole, and are conse- quently better omitted. One single observation will produce a more lasting impres- sion on the reader's mind than long statistics, and the enumera- tion of buildings and other undertakings. It is a fact, without the least tinge of exaggeration, that in the States of Pennsylva- nia, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, "Wisconsin, and several other Western States, nearly every clergyman, who had the care of a single parish before 1840, if alive to-day, could show in his for- mer district from ten to twenty parishes, each with its own pas- tor and church, now flourishing, and attached to each a much larger number of useful educational and charitable establishments than he could have boasted of in his original charge. Let one reflect on this, and then imagine to himself the sums requisite to purchase such an amount of real estate, for the erection of so many edifices, and for placing on an efficient footing so many different establishments. It is true that, to-day, a number of these institutions are stiU in debt ; but, if the list of what is actually paid for be made out^ ^2 THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFECTS. and separated from wliat still remains indebted, the result would stand as a most wonderful fact. The question will naturally present itself, "How was it possi- ble for newly-arrived immigrants, who often landed without a penny in their pockets, to become all at once so easy in their circumstances as to be enabled to contribute, so generously and enormously, to so gigantic an enterprise ? " The details in reply ♦■o this might be given very simply and satisfactorily ; but, as it is a real work of God, who always acts simply and satisfac- torily, though in a manner worthy of the (deepest attention and gratitude, it is proper to examine the question in all its bearings, and then even those who have seen, and can account for it very easily, will wonder, admire, and thank, the infinite Providence of God. First, it is certain that nowhere else in this world could it have been accomplished at all ; and nowhere else in this world has any thing like it been accomplished in a like manner. This may appear strange, but it is so ; let us see. All know how, in infidel countries, every thing necessary for the material help of Catholic missions must be supplied by the missionaries themselves ; that, in fact, they have not only their own support to consider, but, often also, the feeding, clothing, and education of the natives at their own expense. It is thus in all the barbarous countries of Asia, Africa, and the new conti- nent and islands in the South Sea. It is thus in the old, effete, but once civilized countries of Asia, such as Syria, Hindostan, China, and others. In all those countries, money must come from without, not only to begin, but to continue, the work of evangelization, even when it has been going on for centuries. Details on this subject are unnecessary, the truth of what haa just been said is so well known. In Christian countries, as in Europe, the various govemmenta have so far contributed to the aid of the mission of Christianity, or have been gracious enough to allow such of the wealthy classes as were willing to take this task off" their shoulders and set it up on their own, the lower classes being scarcely able to help toward it. Wliat the case will be when the halcyon days come of the separation of Church and state, and the latter succeeds in the object at which it seems so earnestly striving now, of making the people godless like itself, when the rich will no longer be willmg to undertake this work, God only knows. But in those countries, as is well known, the government, formerly, and lat- terly up to quite recent times, or rich families by large contribu- tions laid down at once, have built churches, founded universities, colleges, and schools, erected hospitals and asylums ; founded — such was the expression — all the religious, charitable, or literary institutions in existence. The " people " have scarcely effected THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFECTS. 448 any thing in this direction, for the very good reason that they were unable to do so. In the United States alone, and among Catholics alone, it is " the people," the poor, who have taken and been able to take this matter into their own hands. That they — the Irish particularly — have done this, redounds *.o their honor, and it will receive its reward from God ; nay, has already in a great measure received it, by filling the land with the templei of their faith, with schools where their children are <3tiU taught to believe in God and grow up a moral race, and with the various Catholic asylums and institutions established for the glory of religion, or the comfort of those who are comfortless. That they have been able to do this is owing to the unique, ex- ceptional, marvellous prosperity of the country which offered them an asylum. And let us add with reverence that the coun- try owes this singular prosperity, which has been the source of so many blessings, to the designs of a loving Providence, who looks to the welfare of the whole of mankind, and has therefore endowed this young and gigantic nation with the necessary qual- ities of energy, activity, " go-aheaditiveness," as it is called, added to the fixed principle that every individual throughout these vast domains shall enjoy liberty, facility of acquiring a competency, and the right to make what use oi it he pleases, as well as gen- erosity enough to applaud the one who devotes his surplus earn- ings to useful public undertakings. In no other country of the world has this been the case, and in no other coimtr3 ^'s it the case at the present moment. And, as the fact is mighty in its results, unprepared by man, unlooked for a hundred years ago, requiring for its fulfilment a thousand agencies far beyond the control of any man or inferior mind, fol- lowing the line of reasoning previously indicated, we ascribe, are constrained to ascribe, it all to the great infinite Mind, to God himself, and to him alone I And now we turn to the workings of the Irish, and to a con- sideration of a few of the details. The first crying need was churches and orphan asylums : churches for the all-important worship of God ; orphan asylums to receive the numbers of chil- dren left homeless by the death of immigrants soon after their arrival, and who were immediately snatched up by the prose- lytizing sects. The style of architecture displayed in those first temples of the great God was homely indeed and humble. Nevertheless, it might favorably compare with similar buildings erected by wealthy Protestant congregations. This fact alone is sufficient to convict Protestantism of want of faith, namely, that its ad- herents have never been struck by the thought that the majesty of God, if really felt, calls for a profusion of gifts on the part of 444 THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFECTS. those who have superabundant means. Not that man can by his feeble exertions in that regard give adequate honor to the divine Omnipotence, but that love and gratitude are naturally profuse in their demonstrations, and whoever loves ardently is ever ready to give all he has for the object of his love, even to the sacrifice of nimself. The reflection that God is too great, and that it is useless, even presumptuous, to offer to him what must seem so infinitely mean in the light of his greatness, is but the flimsy pretext of an avaricious soul, and can be nothing but a lie, even in the eyes of those who utter it. From the beginning all truly religious nations have endeavored to make their external worship correspond with their internal feeling, and give expres- sion, as far as man can do, to their idea of the worth and majesty of God ; and that thought is a true measure of a religion ; for, when the external is but a cold and sordid worship, we may be sure that the internal corresponds ; and, when little or nothing is done in that way, it is clear that the heart feels not, and the mind is empty of true convictions and of faith. And what has been the invariable conduct of Protestant na- tions in this regard ? They became possessed of splendid churches built by their Catholic ancestors, and, after stripping them of all their beauty, they retained them as "preaching- halls " or " meeting-houses." The number of those who remained attached to a frigid and unattractive service gradually dimin- ished ; the edifices were found to be too large, and in many in- stances what had been the sanctuary, where art had exhausted itself in embellishment, partitioned off from the rest of the church, was kept for their dwindling congregations, while the vast aisles and roomy naves went slowly to ruin, or became deserted solitudes. As lor the idea of builaing new religious edifices, the old ones were already too numerous for them, or if, as was not unfrequent, a . new sect started into spasmodic life, and its vo- taries found it necessary to open a new " place of worship," the temple they erected to God generally took the form of a hired hall. Let the floor be carpeted and the benches covered with soft, slumber-inviting cushions, the room wear a general air and aspect of comfort, tne " acoustics " duly considered, so that the voice of the preacher might reach to the door and half-way to the galleries, ana nothing more was required. The man who asked for something more solemn, and answering better to the craving of a religious heart, would be laughed at as a visionary, if his person did not distil, to the keen-scented organs of these reli- gious folk, a strong flavor of " popery " and of " the man of sin." So that in the United States at the time spoken of, although the number of churches was extraordinary, because of the num- ber of sects, they were mere shells of buildings, capable of ac- commodating from three to eight hundred people (very few of THE "EXODUS** AND ITS EFFECTS. 446 the latter capacity) ; and, although many of the members of the congregations who built them were rich men, adding to their wealth daily, one seldom encountered any of the structures, then common, showing much more than four walls, enclosing four lines of clumsy pews. Consequently, the Catholic Church had no reason to blush by comparison at the poverty of her children ; nay, the extreme simplicity of the edifices raised by them was in keeping with every thing around, and what they did in the hurry of the moment, with the scanty means at their disposal, at least might vie with what wealthy JProtestants had done deliberately with all the leisure and wealth at their command. Already, even at that epoch, in the centre of Catholicity in this country, the love of the true worshipper of God began to display something of that feeling which is naturally alive in the heart of the sincerely religious man ; and the Cathedral of Baltimore, long since left so far behind by other monuments of true devotion, created throughout the country a genuine excite- ment and admiration, when its doors were first opened for the worship of God. It was clear, from the universal acclaim of the people, non-Catholics included, that at least one class of men in the country had a true idea of what was worthy of God in his worship, and what was worthy of themselves in their worship of him. But, though, with some rare exceptions, the architecture dis- played in those edifices constructed by the children of the true Church was poor indeed, the number of those which were com- menced and so speedily completed and devoted to their holy use was so extraordinary, that it is doubtful if the annals of Catholi- city have ever recorded the same thing occurring on the same scale, in the same extent of country. K the ecclesiastical history of the United States ever comes to be written, it is to be hoped that, in the archives of the various episcopal sees, authentic docu- ments have been preserved, which may fiimish future writers with comprehensive statistics on the subject, that the posterity of the noble-hearted men and women who undertook and carried out, with such a wonderful success, so arduous a task, may be stimulated to religious exertion of the same kind by the memory of what their forefathers have accomplished. The reflection al- ready suggested by another idea may serve here likewise, and be usefully repeated. If, in the course of twenty-five years, over the surface of at least ten of the largest Korthern States, every clergyman who, at the beginning of that period, oflBciated in a very small church, is, to-day, supposing him living, gladdened by the sight of ten to twenty collaborators, with a corresponding number of newly-built churches, it is easy to judge of tne vast ness of the efibrt made by the greatness of the undertaking and ae THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFECTS. the unexampled success vvitli wliicli God hag been pleased to crown it. The other States of the Union are omitted here, not b^ecause the Catholics residing in them were then idle, but because, their growth beinff less remarkable, the external result could not be so striking. Nevertheless, the actual increase among them would compare favorably with that of other growing Catholic countries. Could details, at this present time, only be gathered from all the States, in the area referred to, the vast diftusion of Catholi- city by the influence of immigration would come home to us with far greater force, as would the conception of the corre- sponding work demanded of the immigrants for the creation of all the objects of worship, charity, and education. Let the reader look to what is related in the " Life of Bishop Loras," who was at that time charged with the founding of religion in Iowa and Minnesota. It will at the same time bring under our notice the march of the Irish toward the West, after having seen them solidly established in the Atlantic States. " lie was consecrated at Mobile by Bishop Portier, assisted by Bishop Blanc, of New Orleans, on December 10, 1837. His diocese was a vast region unknown to him. The unfinished Church of St. Raphael, at Dubuque, was the only Catholic church in the Territory, and the Rev. Sam. Mazzuchelli, its pastor, was the only Catholic priest. The Catholic population ot Dubuque was about three hundred. . . . But there must be, thought the new bishop, some members of the flock in distant, isolated, and unfrequented localities, who were in danger of wandering from the faith ; besides, the future waves of population would certain- ly set in toward this fine expanse of meadow, prairie, and forest. . . . With prudent foresight he purchased land .... three acres at Dubuque; later, St. Joseph's Prairie, one mile square, near the same city. . . . A valuable property was acquired in Davenport, on the Mississippi, with the view oi applying the revenue from it to the support of the missions. " To his regret he saw large numbers of the European immi- grants tarrying in the Atlantic cities, where want, sickness, and crime, beset their path, and he became deeply interested in giv- ing to this worthy population the more healthful and vigorous direction of the West. . . . Articles were prepared and published, setting forth the attractions of the country. . . . An immense correspondence, with persons in this country and in Europe, re- sulted from the well-known interest Bishop Loras took in these subjects. . . . He undertook the settlement of colonies. . . . Ger- mans in New Vienna, in 1846 . . . Irish on the Big-Maquokety . . . He organized them in congregations, and commenced m person the work of building for them churcnes. . . . establishing schools and academies, laboring for the temporal and eternal wel fare of the people." THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFECTS. U7 Thus did the tide of Catholic population begin to flow into Iowa and Minnesota, to be brought under the influence of the Church as soon as it arrived. Meanwhile associations were being formed in the East, in New York chiefly, for the purpose of inducing Irishmen to go west as far as Illinois, and the Territories west of the Mississippi. Several zealous clergymen placed themselves at the head of the movement. Their main object was to rescue the Catholic immi- grants from the dangers surrounding them in large cities, and to make farmers of them. We have seen why these plans, though prompted by the best intentions, failed to succeed ; their imme- diate eflfect was to give a fresh impetus to the great movement westward, and, by relieving the Atlantic coast of a sudden excess of population, to extend the Church along the line marked out by Providence toward the coast of the Pacinc. At the same time, on the very shores of that vast ocean, CslH- fornia was receiving directly from Europe large detachments of the voluntary exiles who were then leaving Ireland in a compact body in the full tide of the " Exodus." The Catholic Church was thus early taking up a commanding position at the extreme point whither the main " army '' was tending, and soon to arrive with the completion of the great Pacific Railroad. The following extract, talien from the "Life of Bishop Loras," will be sufficient to give an idea of the rapid increase of the Catholic population in the West, in consequence of the workings of so many agencies employed by God's providence for his own holy ends : "In 1855, the Catholic population of Iowa increased one hundred and fifty per centum in a single year. It seems almost incredible to relate, that the churches and stations, provided for their accommodation, increased in the same time nearly one hun- dred per centum. The Catholic population reported in 1855 was twenty thousand, and the churches and stations fifty -two ; the Catholic population in 1856 was rated at forty-nine thousand, and the churches and stations at ninety-seven. " Bishop Loras commenced his episcopate (in 1837) with one church, one priest, and the only Catholic population reported, that of Dubuque, was three hundred. In 1851, Minnesota was taken from his diocese, yet in 1858, the year of his death, the diocese of Dubuque alone possessed one hundred and seven priests, one hundred and two churches and stations, and a Catho- lic population of fifty-five thousand." There can be little doubt that, if similar statistics were drawn up for all the Western States of the Union during a correspond- ing period, they would give very similar results ; and it is only by reflecting and pondering over such astonishing facts as these, that the mind can come to grasp the idea of the magnitude of 448 THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFECTS. the work assigned by Providence to the Irish race. This, we have no hesitation in saying, will form one of the most remark- able features of the future ecclesiastical history of the age, and will appear the more clearly when all the consequences of this stupendous movement shall stand out fully developed, so as to strike the eyes of all. It may be well to reflect a moment upon the activity di»- played by that zealous hive of busy immigrants, who, soon after landing, when the thoughts of other men would have been exclu- sively and, as men would think, naturally, occupied by the thou- sand necessities arising from a new establishment on a foreign soil — while not neglecting those necessities — found time to enter heart and soul into projects set on foot everywhere for buying up landed property, making contracts with builders, supervising the work already going on, attending above all to the collection of money, forming lists of subscribers to that end, Wsiting round about for the same purpose, and attending to the fulfilment of promises sometimes made too hastily, or with too sanguine an expectation of being able to accomplish what in the future was never realized to the extent expected. But, much sooner than might have been hoped, the desire, so congenial to the Catholic heart, of beholding more suitable dwellings erected to the honor of God and to the reception of his Divine presence, was fulfilled, or aroused, rather, in a quar- ter least expected, and consequently more in accordance with the (to man) mysterious ways of Providence. The sudden increase of the Church in England, in consequence of remarkable conversions and principally of the little-remarked flow of emi- grants thither from the sister isle, induced some pious and wealthy English Catholics, now that they found themselves free to follow their inclinations unmolested, to devote their means to the construction of churches worthy of the name. The splendid structures, now the lifeless monuments of the old faith, which their fathers had raised, rested in the hands of the spoiler, and they could not worship, save privately and inwardly, at the shrine of Thomas of Canterbury, or before the tomb of Edward the Confessor. Yet were their eyes ever afilicted with the pres- ence of those noble edifices, that resembled the solemn tombs of a buried faith, yet still cast their lofty spires heavenward, while the structure beneath them covered acres of ground with the most profuse and elaborate architecture. They looked around them for a builder, who might raise them such again. But there was none to be found capable of conceiving, much less building such vast fabrics as the old churches, which owed their existence not to the ingenuity of a designer, but to the inspired enthu- siasm of a living faith. Nevertheless, a man, full ot energy and reverence and love for the beauty of the house of God, came THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFECTS. 449 forward at the very moment he was wanted. Welbv Pugin soon became known to the world, and was still in the full vigor of his enterprising life, when all over the American Continent the im- migrants were engaged in satisfying the first cravings of their hearts, and covering the country with unpretending edifices crowned, at least, by the symbol of salvation. Among them arrived pupils of Pugin, who speedily found Irish hearts to re- spond to theirs, and Irish purses ready to carry their designs into execution. There is no need of going into details. Puritan New Eng- land even has seen its chief cities one by one adorned with true temples of God, and its small towns embellished by stone edifices devoted to Catholic worship, their form pleasing to the eye, and their interior spacious enough, at least temporarily, for the constantly-increasing congregations. But perhaps the most remarkable result of all has been the sudden zeal which sprang up among the sectarians themselves, who had hitherto expressed such contempt for any thing of the kind, of outstripping the Catholics in Christian architecture. They have even gone so far as to discover that the cross, the emblem of man's salvation, is not such a very inappropriate ornament, after all, to the summit of a Christian temple, and that the statues of angels and of saints are possessed of a certain beauty. So that what in their eyes hitherto had borne the semblance of idolatry — such, accord- ing to themselves, was their way of looking at it — suddenly/ became an aesthetic feeling, if not an act of true devotion. And, singularly enough, it was just at the time when the erection of so many episcopal sees necessitated the building of cathedrals, that the thought, natural to the Catholic heart, of making the house of God a place of beauty and magnificence, comd begin to be realized by the arrival of true artists and the increasing wealth of the Catholic body. It is in the true Church only that the meaning of a cathedral can be fully grasped. Those sects which acknowledge no bishops and deride tne title certainly can form no conception of it, and even those who imagine that they have a bishop at their head, have so little idea of what are true episcopal functions, of the greatness of the position which a see occupies, of the importance of the place where it is established, that in their eyes the pretended dignitary can scarcely rank much higher, either in position or degree, than a wealthy parish minister, and the church wherein " his lordship " officiates is very much the same as an ordinary parish church. If in England a show of dignitaries is attached to each of those establishments, it is merely a form well calcu- lated to impress the solemn Anglo-Saxon character ; but even that very form would scarcely have existed were it not one of those few semblances of the Catholic reality which the wily 29 460 THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFECTS. founders of the Protestant religion found it convenient to retain for the purpose hinted at. The Catholic Church alone can under stand what a cathedral ought to be. This is not the occasion to enter upon an explanation of all the meanings and uses of a cathedral, least of all to penetrate the sublime mystical signilicance embodied in its conception. Here it is enough to insist upon the least important, yet most sensible and more easily-recognized object of the building, which is, not simply the seat of honor of the first pastor of the diocese, who is a successor of the apostles, but likewise the place of adoration and sacrifice common to all the faithful of the diocese. Strictly speaking, no special congregation is attached to it ; but it is the spiritual home of all the mithful ; its doors are open to all the congregations of that part. There the common father resides and ofiiciates ; there his voice is generally to be heard ; there he is to be found surrounded by all those whose duty it is to assist him in his sublime functions. When he appears in any parish church, the clergy of that special temple are his only attendants, unless others flock thither to do him honor. But the cathedral is his fixed seat and permanent abode ; there the appointed dig- nitaries of the diocese find their allotted places, ana there alone are his officers permanently attached to him by their functions. Hence it is the cardinal church upon which the whole spirit- ual edifice called the diocese is hinged. Therefore is it the nat- ural resort of the whole flock, as well as of the pastor himself. This will explain the vastness of those edifices which strike us with wonder in old established Catholic countries. In accord- ance with their primitive intention and purpose, there should be in them standing and kneeling room for all who have a right to enter there ; and it is purely on account of the impossibility of exactly fulfilling this intent that the edifice is allowed to be built smaller. We are thus enabled to understand why the great temple which is the centre-spot of Catholic worship can contain only fifty thousand worshippers at a time, and why many other sacred edifices consecrated to episcopal functions can find room for no more than twenty or thirty thousand. But even those structures, which strike with wonder the pim^* minds of this " advanced " age, have consumed centuries in their construction, and the number and the faith of those who raised them were, we may say, exceptional in the life of the Church. There were no dissenters in those days ; and, as all were pos- sessed of a finn faith, all labored with a common will and con- tributed with a common pleasure to their construction. Times having changed for the worse, the same ardor and generosity could not be looked for ; but something at least waa required which should give some idea of the old splendor and vastness. So, throughout all the now dioceses piojects were set THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFECTS. 451 on foot for raising real cathedrals, which should quite overshadow the buildings hitherto known by that name. Thus, a cathedral was promised to !N'ew York City, three hundred and thirty feet in length, and one hundred and seventy- two in breadth across the transept ; while that of Philadelphia was soon completed, and all might gaze on the massive and ma- jestic edifice, by the side of which every other public building in a city containing eight hundred thousand souls appeared dwarf- ish and unsubstantial. Boston was soon to behold within its walls a Catholic cathedral, three hundred and sixty-four feet long, and one hundred and forty broad in the transept, though the same diocese was already filled with large stone churches, built solely by the resources of the immigrants. The Archbishop of New York, when preaching the sermon at the laying of the foundation-stone of this edifice in 1867, was able to say m the presence of many who might have borne per- sonal testimony to the truth of his words : " There are those most probably within the sound of my voice who can remember when there was but one Catholic church in Boston, and when that sufficed, or had to suffice, not alone for this city, but for all New England ; and how is it now ? Churches and institutions multiplied, and daily continuing to multiply on every side, in this city, throughout this State, in all or nearly all the cities and States of New England ; so that at this day no portion of our country is enriched with them in greater proportionate number, none where they have grown up to a more flourishing condition, none where finished with more artistic skill, or presenting monu- ments of more architectural taste and beauty." Had any one predicted this to the good and gifted Bishop Cheverus, when leaving America for France, he might perhaps have not refused altogether to believe or hope for it, but he would certainly have pronounced it a real and undoubted miracle of God, to happen within a century. But the Archbishop of New York, in that same sermon, pointed out the true cause, when he attributed it to " God's olessing," and to " the never-ceasing tide of immigration that has been and still continues to be setting toward the American shores." The history of the Church certainly contains many a page where the traces of the finger of God are clearly marked ; nay, we may say that such traces are apparent throughout, as we know that God alone could have originated, spread out, sup- ported, multiplied, and perpetuated the Church through all the centuries of her existence ; but it is doubtful if in all her annals a single page shows where the action of Providence is more clearly visible, as it was least expected, than in the few fects just cursorily and briefiy enumerated. 452 THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFECTS. Yet have we mentioned only a part of the work to which the poor immigrants were called to contribute immediately after their arrival, and at the vastness of which they never murmured nor lost heart, as though a greater burden had been laid upon them than human slioulders could endure. The worship of God and the care of souls were the first things to be attended to, and, with- these, other necessary objects were not to be neglected. There was the care of the poor, whom the Church ot Christ was the first public body to think of relieving ; the tending of the sick in hospitals, where their own clergy might not only have access, but where it should be made sure that the management be one of true Christian charity and tenderness ; the orphan children, always so numerous undei circumstances like those of the present, were to be saved from falling into the hands of sectarians, and being educated by them, as were formerly the Catholic wards, in hatred of their own faith, and of the customs, habits, and modes of thought of their ancestors. This last great and incalculable source oi loss to the Church was to be put a stop to at once, if not completely — for that was then impossible — at least as perfectly as zeal, gener- osity, and true love of souls, could effect. All these works required money, an incalculable amount ; as it was not in a single city, not in a small particular State, but throughout the whole Union, through as many cities as it contains, that the undertak- ing was to be straightway set on foot and simultaneously acted upon. Nor was the question one of the erection of buildings merely, but also of the support of an immense number of inmates, and of their constant support without a single day's intermission. Who can calculate the sums required for such immediate and most pressing needs ? In a nation where Christianity has been long established, taxes imposed upon all for the constructing, repairing, maintain- ing, and carrying on so many and such large establishments are easily collected. For all are bound by law to contribute to such purposes, and the question generally reduces itself merely to a continuance of the support of institutions long standing, and which can be no longer in need of the large disbursements necessary at the first period of their existence. But here it waa a question of providing, without any other law than that of love, without the help of any other tax-gatherer than the vohmtary collector, for all those necessities at once, including the vast out- lays requisite for the first establishment of those institutions, and imposing, by that very act, the necessity and duty of sup- porting forever all the inmates gathered together at the cost of BO much care and expense, witliin those walls consecrated to religion and charity. The government had no share whatever THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFECTS. 453 \n it ; too happy were thev at the government interposing no obstacle to its carrying out I That was all they asked for on it» part— non-in t erferen ce. On this subject, Mr. Ma^ire remarks justly, without, how- ever, bringing the matter 0? expenditure mto sufficient promi- nence : " For the glorious Church of America many nations have done their part. The sacred seed first planted by the hand of the chivalrous Spaniard has been watered by the blood of the gen- erous Gaul ; to the infant mission the Englishman brought his steadfastness and resolution, the Scotchman, in the northeast, his quiet firmness, . . . the Irishman his faith, the ardor of his faith. And, as time rolled on, and wave after wave of immigration brought with it more and more of the precious life-blood of Europe, from no country was there a richer contribution of piety and zeal, of devotion and self-sacrifice, than from that advanced outpost of the Old World, whose western shores first break the fury of the Atlantic ; to whose people Providence appears to have assigned a destiny grand and heroic — of carrying the civilization of the Cross to remote lands and distant nations. Wliat Ireland has done for the American Church, every bishop, every priest, can tell. Throughout the vast extent of the Union there is scarcely a church, an academy, a hospital, or a refuge, in which the piety, the learning, the zeal, the self-sacrifice, of the Irish — of the priest or the professor, of the Sisters of every order or denomina- tion — are not to be traced ; there is scarcely an ecclesiastical seminary for English-speaking students in which the great ma- jority of those now preparing for the service of the sanctuary do not belong, if not by birth, at least by blood, to that historic land to which the grateful Church of past ages accorded the proud title, Insula SanetoruTnP To this may be added the remark that it is still further be- yond doubt that all the establishments mentioned, almost with- out one exception, owe their existence, at least partially, and very often entirely, to the generous and never-faiung contribu- tions of the Irish. The Eev. C. G. White, in his " Sketch of the Origin and Progress of the Catholic Church in the United States of h meri- ca," which is appended to the translation of Darras's " History of the Catholic Church," says still more positively : " In recording this consoling advancement of Catholicity throughout the United States, especially in the North and West, justice requires us to state that it is owing in a great measure to the faith, zeal, and generosity of the Irish people who have immi- grated to these shores, and their descendants. We are far fron: wishing to detract from the merit of other nationalities ; but the vast influence which the Irish population has exerted in extend 16 1^ TOE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFECTS. ing the domain of the Church is well deserving of notice, because it conveys a very instructive lesson. The wonderful history of the Irish nation has always forced upon us the conviction that, like the chosen generation of Abraham (previous to their rejec- tion of the Messiah, of course), they were destined, in the designs of Providence, to a special mission for the preservation and prop- agation of the true faith. This faith, so pure, so lovely, so gen- erous, displays itself in every region of the globe. To its vitality and energy must we attribute, to a veiy great extent, the rapid increase m the number of churches and other institutions which have sprung up and are still springing up in the United States, and to the same source are the clergy mainly indebted for their support in the exercise of their pastoral ministry. It cannot be denied, and we bear a cheerful testimony to the fact, that hun- dreds of clergymen, who are laboring for the salvation of souls, would starve, and their efforts for the cause of religion would be in vain, but for the generous aid they receive from the children of Erin, who know, for the most part, how to appreciate the ben- efits of religion, and who therefore joyfully contribute of their worldly means to purchase the spiritual blessings which the Church dispenses." To this we may add that what Mr. White so expressly states of the generous support given by the Irish people to the clergy is equaUy true when extended to the thousand inmates of orphan asylums, reformatories, schools, convents, and of all the charita- ble institutions generally which are specially fostered by the Chnrch for the common good of humanity. To quote only one fact recorded in a note to Mr. Maguire's book, a Sister of Mercy tells us what the Irish working-class has done for the order in Cincinnati : " The convent, schools, and House of Mercy, in which the good works of our Institute are progressing, were pur- chased in 1861 at a considerable outlay. This, together with the repairs, alterations, furnishing, etc., was defrayed by the work- ing-class of Irish people, who have been and are to us most de- voted, and by their generosity have enabled us up to the present time to carry out successfully our works of mercy and charity." It may be stated, without fear of contradiction, that the same thing might be asserted by the superior of almost every Catholic establishment in the country, were an opportunity afforded them of coming forward in like manner. All this is well known to those who are in the least ac- quainted with the history and workings of those institutions ; but very little noise is made about it, according to the nile of the Gospel which recoin mends ns to do good in such a manner that " the left hand may not know what the riglit hand doeth." Nothing is more Christian than such silent approval, and the eternal reward, which must follow, is so overwhelmingly greal THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFECTS. 465 that tlie applause of the world may well be disregarded. But as constant good offices are apt to beget indifference in those who benefit most bj them, there are not wanting some good people who seem to labor under the impression that really the Irisn deserve scarcely any thanks ; that every thing which they do comes so naturally from them, it is only what one could expect as a matter of course, and that, it being nothing more, after all, than their simple duty, it becomes a very ordinary thing. It may be superfluous to say that if all this was expected from them, and if it be, as it really is, after all only a very ordinary thing on their part, this fact is precisely what makes them a most extraordinary people, as expectations of this nature which may be most natural are of that peculiar kind of " great expectations " magnificent in prospect, but very delusive in fact ; and certainly they would not be looked for as a matter of course ' in any other nation. Let any one reflect on the few details here furnished, let him add others from his own information, and the whole thing will appear, as it truly is, most wonderful, and only to be explained by the great and merciful designs of God, as Dr. White has just indicated — designs intrusted on this occasion to faithful servants whose generous hearts and pure souls opened up to the mission intrusted to them, to its glorious fulfilment so far, and to a greater unfolding still in time to come. In order to understand, as ought to be understood, more fully the weight of the burden they so cheerfully undertook to bear, a few refiections on the subject of religious and charitable institutions wiU not be considered out of place. The Romans — those master-organizers, who reduced to a perfect system every branch of government, legislation, war, and religion — ^never abandoned, never intrusted to the initiative of the people, the care of providing the means for any thing which the state ought to supply. The public religious establish- ments were all endowed, the colleges of the priests enjoyed large revenues, and the expenses of worship were supplied from the same source. To the fisc in general belonged the duty of supporting the armories, the courts of law, and the large estab- lishments provided for the comfort and instruction of the peo- ple, the baths, libraries, and regular amusements. The private munificence of emperors, great patricians, and conquerors, under- took to supply occasional shows of an extraordinary character in the theatres, amphitheatre, and the circus. There was no room left for charity in the whole plan. In- deed, the meaning of that word was unknown to them ; for it cannot be properly applied to the regular distribution of money or cereals to the pleos : as this was one of those generosities which are necessary, and was only practised in order to keep thje (56 THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFECTS. lower orders of citizens in idle content and out of mischief, a» you would a wild animal which you dare not chain : you must feed him. The really poor, the slaves, the maimed, the helpless, were left to their hard fate, they being apparently unworthy of pity because they excited no fear. Yet the system was fruitful in its results. As soon as Chris- tianity was seated on the throne, nothing was easier than to transfer the immense sums contributed oy regular funds, or which were the product of taxes, from one object to another ; and thus the Christian clergy and churches were supported as had been the colleges and temples of the pagan priests, by the revenues derived from large estates attached to the various corporations. Thus did Constantine and his successors become the munificent benefactors of the Church in Rome and through- out the whole empire. Meanwhile, the " collections of money " among the faithful, which were first organized, as we read in the epistles of the apostles, and afterward systematized still better in Rome under tne first popes, soon grew into disuse, at least to the extent to which they once prevailed ; the new charitable institutions, such as the care of the poor, of widows and orphans, being under- taken by the Church at large, while the expenses of the whole were defrayed by the revenues accruing from the donations of princes, or the bequests of wealthy Christians. The consequence was that, throughout the whole Christian world, all religious, literary, and charitable institutions enjoyed large revenues, and there was no need of applying to the gen- erosity of the common people for contributions. After the successful invasion of the barbarians, the same sys- tem held good ; and history records how richly endowed were the churches built, the monasteries founded, the universities and colleges opened, by the once ferocious Franks, Germans, or Nortnmen even, tamed and subdued by the precepts and prac- tices of Christianity. We know how the immense wealth, which had been devoted to such holy purposes by the wise generosity of rulers or rich nobles, became in course of time an eyesore and object of envy to the worldly, and that the chief incentive to the "Keformers" for doing their work of " reformation " thoroughly was the pros^ pect of Sie golden harvest to be reaped by the destruction of the Catholic Church. But the very large amounts required to satisfy the aspirations introduced into the neart of humanity, by the religion of Christ, may give us an adequate idea of what Christian civilization really costs. It is foolish to imagine a sane man really believine that those generous founders of pious institutions, who devoted, by gift or bequest, such large estates and revenues to the varioua THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFECTS. 457 objects of religion, science, and charity, lavished their wealth to no purpose, and literally deprived themselves and their posterity of what was their own tor the purpose of supporting in idleness useless drones and corrupt people. Despite all that their de- spoilers have said, all those great public establishments worked an infinite good to society, and their sudden disappearance at the time of the Reformation created a void which has never since been filled by all the poor-laws and state institutions ever de- vised. That mismanagement may have crept into some of those funded charities is very possible ; gross mismanagement is not unknown in many of the public charities in England, particularly, even in these sharp days ; a reform, if properly carried out, would doubtless have done good in many cases ; but destruction is a poor mode of reform, and appropriating to one's self what had been solemnly devoted to the good of all is scarcely generosity, and cannot well be styled even just retaliation. But when we reflect further, that in all European states, pre- vious to the Reformation, a large percentage of all lands and real estate, in addition to tithes, was consecrated to the service of reli- gion, science, and charity, we may form some idea of what lay before the immigrants when they began their work in right ear- nest, but with almost empty hands. It may be objected that they undertook too much ; that good, substantial, but not too expensive churches, would have sufficed, as they were required, inasmuch as the new Constitution of the country had decreed the total separation of Church and state : but, as the people on all sides contributed by tax to educational and charitable purposes in the shape of public schools, asylums, and hospitals, the new-comers would have done well to fall in with the spirit of the country, and take in common with all others their due share of the public bounty, particularly as they were called upon to contribute toward them by duties and taxa- tion. The question of churches, expensive or inexpensive, may {.ass : what has been said on the subject of cathedrals may suf- fice to show that " good, substantial church-edifices," as they are called, do not and ought not satisfy the aspirations of the Catholic heart. A word only is required on those other exten- sive and expensive establishments, without, however, entering upon the " school question," which by this time may be consid- ered settled for all true and intelligent Catholics. As usual, we merely confine ourselves to a few desultory remarks, some of which may tend to give a new direction to a discussion which our present purpose does not allow us to enter upon at length. It is time for all to know, and know sufficiently, why it wag 458 THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFE0T8. impossible for Catholics to be satisfied in conscience with what the country did and provided for all in the shape of schools, asylums, refuges, hospitals, etc. ; but, as the great bulk of non- Catholics in this country can scarcely form a right idea of th^ true Catholic feeling on this point, and as, even among church- members, all do not seem to have thoroughly understood the sub- ject and grasped the difficulty, we step aside a moment to devote a few words to it ; without, however, losing sight, for a single instant, of the question which really occupies us — the incredible expense undergone by the Catholic body in the United States under the initiative and guidance of their regularly-appointed pastors. At the moment of making a few reflections on this point, it is for the writer an agreeable duty to state his conviction that, as far as the great majority of the legislators and simple citizens are concerneu, it was never their intent to drag, whether by fair means or foul, the posterity of Irishmen into the ranks of heresy or infidelity. Unhappily, all cannot be acquitted of that intent, and it is well known that extensive organizations did and do exist for that very purpose ; yet, assuredly, the great majority of the nation never joined in that unholy conspiracy, ana hon- estly meant to be fair and impartial to all. !But events anterior to the Constitution, and a long-established order of things of which they were not sufficiently aware, and which had probably never attracted their attention, rendered necessary the step taken by the priests and people, and com- pelled them to cnarge themselves with a burden, whose weight can only be fully known to those who are well versed in the whole subject. With regard to anterior events, it is needless to remark that the English colonies of Korth America were subject to the gen- eral laws of the mother-country, and thus tlie penal enactments against Catholics were, as previously seen, in full force on both sides of the Atlantic. The country was thoroughly Protestant, and all establishments of city, county, and State, were undei Protestant rule, which, as was also seen, was duly enforced Catholics, who were thrown upon their charity, had either to conceal their religion or to " conform." When, with the independence of the country. Catholics re- gained their rights, it may be said that those rights did not ex- tend beyond the theory, and that, as has been justly remarked and proved, the Federal Government alone adopted "liberal" principles, the States being left with full power to adopt other rules for State establishments. Hence, " disabilities " still con- tinued in many places, and are not yet even entirely abolished. At all events, the anterior state of things could scarcely be ex- pected to disappear in a day ; and it was clear, at first sight, that THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EJ^TECTS. 459 A very long time would be required for it to, as it were, wear itself away, and drop out of sight altogether ; so that, the Cath- olics being so few at the end of last century, and at the begin- ning of this, many individual cases of oppression could not fail to be of daily occurrence, in places, particularly, where the popu- lation remained ardently, that is, fiercely, Protestant. It is not an easy thing, indeed it is utterly impossible, to change sud- denly the ideas, traditions, customs of a whole country. Such a change must be left to the wearing friction of time, and the slow progress of justice, which, like Prayer, in Homer, is lame at first, and slow to reach the footstool of Jove's throne. Again, the poor immigrants, who were accustomed, nay, com- pelled, to bow down under such tyranny at home, could not be expected suddenly to stand up and insist boldly on their just claims to the privileges of citizens, when, as yet, they scarcely knew what those precise privileges were. The ear of his priest, his chief, his only organ, in fact, could not often be reached ; and, even if he could pour his grievances into it, the voice of his protector was too often powerless in prejudiced communities, which were ruled for the most part by prejudiced officials, accus- tomed to esteem as their chief nght what in reality was only the, power of oppression. Thus, if an Irishman on his arrival was compelled through sickness to seek refuge in a hospital, or, worse still, in a poor- liouse, he knew that for him there were no rites of religion, his religion, to console him, even at the hour of death ; and, that in the event of his dying there, his children would be brought up in hatred of the religion of their baptism, and, if young enough, their verv name would be changed, so that they should not know even their own family.* We can only look upon this as perfectly natural, and liable to occur wherever a long-established order of things has favored it, an order which it is impossible to abolish all at once. The denial of justice and right, which that rooted custom entailed, became a crying evil when the question was no longei confined to a few isolated cases, though bad enough there, but scarcely perceptible in the general contentment of the happy and prosperous citizens of the young republic. * The writer remembers the time when, only about a quarter of a century ago, a CathoUc clergyman had never been allowed to enter a poor-house distant a few miles from New York City, and that the first who did enter by stealth, for the purpose of administering the last consolations of religion to a dying Irishman, was shame- fully abused by the head of the establishment. It is true that, on an appeal made to the supervisors of the county, the clergyman's remonstrance met with fair consid- eration, and the injustice was prohibited for tlie future. But would this reparation have taken place at a greater distance from New York ? And, did not the head of the establishment dare to act as he did, because assured by the former state of things that he would be sustained ? i60 THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFECTS. But when that vast wave of immigratiou suddenly rose and east upon its shores hundreds of thousands of Oathohcs yearly, then did the injustice show itself in the most flagrant and bitter form. Wherever that wave spread and left the large floating population described in almost every town, city, village, and hamlet of the country, North and West, the Catholic immigrants were often denied the rites of their religion in the various charita- ble establishments whither they were driven to seek admission ; their children were often taken from them and sent to Protestant refuges and reformatories ; or, if the parents died, they were given in charge to people thinking it a duty they owed to God, to bring them up in hatred of the faith for which their ancestors had suffered and died. It became an absolute necessity for Catholics to adopt meas- ures for the protection of themselves and their children. How long will this necessity continue ? It is impossible to say ; for those old customs have run so deeply in the grain of some of the American people that they are yet far from being eradicated, and it would be hard to foretell when the public establishments of the country will be entirely safe for the dearest interests of the chil- dren of the Church. In a few localities, they may already be so ; but, in general, they certainly are not. Justice is lame, and can- not yet run swiftly. Thus, nothing was done but what was absolutely needed ; and the heavy burdens imposed on the shoulders of the Cathodes, as soon as they arrived, had to be borne with patient ardor and blind confidence in God. Let us now turn our eyes to another tributary of that Irish stream. The Australian colony of this missionary people pos- sesses special features well worthy attentive study, as they will ultimately offer a very powerful aid to the resurrection of the mother-country. Throughout the previous narratives, this has been the great thought before our mind, and every thing tended to the elucidation of it, and the conclusion of this chapter will show that nothing inappropriate has been advanced, nor with out due reference to the starting-point. It is our hope that the few words already said, on the position of Australia with respect to Asia, may have convinced our readers of the design, on the part of Providence, with respect to the future conversion of many nations to Catholicity over that ^ast Asiatic Continent ; and that this design was made clear by the very fact of the possession taken by Europeans of that great and almost deserted island to which our eyes now turn. Aus- tralia is evidently destined before long to oe inhabited only by men of Japhetic blood, and so to aid in the sj^read of Japhetic manners and institutions among the dense and long-removed populations of the dim Orient. America, now completely En- THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFECTS. 461 ropeaiiized, in blood, language, and customs, lias taken the lead ; Australia must follow. As was previously remarked, those densely-peopled districts of Eastern Asia have, as yet, scarcely been touched by Christian ity, owing principally to their distance from Europe. Hence, it is the great boast of infidels that, after all, Christianity, as far as numbers go, enrolls only a minority of the human race among its adherents. The worshippers of Buddha are more numerous than the worshippers of Cnrist, not to speak of the followers of Mohammed. This, we belive, is a scandal and a stumbling-block in the eyes of many, who are not children of the Church, or who, if born within her bosom, have, through education, or association, or both, almost lost their faith, and who are only too happy to catch at any paltry motives for disbelief of apparent difficult solution. Is Buddhism, especially, long to retain its superioritv in point of numbers over Catholicity ? We believe not, we nope not ; and our hope rests principally on the near approach of the time when the " sons of Japhet will dwell in the tents of Sem." Catholicity, as has been shown, is a growth. Once fairly planted on the soil of Asia, by men of the blood of Japhet and of the faith in Jesus Christ, and the result is to us settled, for the growth of the tree is infallibly destined to choke up the weeds. And one of our chief motives for entertaining that firm hope is not the success which has so far attended the efibrts of the Catholic Church in those distant lands, remarkable as it has been, with so many difficulties in the way and so little help tendered by governments or wealthy men ; nor is it the success which, so far, has attended the Catholic Church, in contradistinc- tion to the miserable failure which has greeted the effi)rts of the numerous and wealthy Protestant sects, with all the favor lav- ished upon them by Protestant governments, and even our own of America, as was so convincingly proved in that most interest- ing work of Mr. Marshall — " Christian Missions." No, our hope rests on entirely difterent grounds. One of the most powerful causes which led to the final triumph of Christianity in the Roman Empire was, the conttancy exhibited by the martvrs to the admiration and conviction of unbelievers, which could only come as a source of grace from Heaven. Tertullian's words have been admitted by all Christian writers as an axiom : " The blood of martyrs is tne seed of the Church I " All the coasts of Eastern Asia, and of the adjoining islands composing the empire of Japan, have for nearly three hundred years been sanctified by the blood, almost ceaselessly poured out, of as true martyrs as ever were the founders of Christianity, whether in the Roman or the Persian Empire. All the govern- 462 THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFECTS. riieiits of those countries — witli a single exception, that of Siam —have been guilty of the crime whose punishnieiit was visited 80 heavily on the lloman emperors and Persian kings. The emperors of China, the rulers of Japan, the kings of Corea and of Anam, have shown their liatred of the CJiristian name to be as deadly, have shed Christian blood with as great and evident a zest as ever did Decius, Diocletian, Galerius, and their fel- lows in Rome, or the Sapoi^s in Persia. The kings of Siam have been the only Eastern rulers who have not imbrued their hands in Christian blood, and yet, strange to say, Christianity is apparently less firmly rooted m the peninsula of India beyond the Ganges, in Siam particularly, than in any other region of Eastern Asia. This truly confirms Tertullian's axiom. Taking all things into account, we consider the Oriental persecutors of the Church in modern time to have sui-passed in cruelty and systematic atrocity the persecutors of old. This persecution has now lasted for three hundred years : a number consecrated in the first annals of our holy religion, and which, it may be hoped, will in the future ages be to the Catholics of Eastern Asia the consecrated nimiber of their ecclesiastical history, after which another " peace of Constantino " will follow — a peace perhaps due to no great ruler received into the fold, but to the unconscious aid aftbrded by the spread of the race of Japhet on those shores, an aid as unconscious in its influence on Catholicity as the " liberalism " of North America, now repro- duced in Australia and Ocean ica, but none the less efiectual on that account. True, these are merely conjectures ; but conjectures, it may be observed, for which there are very fair grounds in the present shapinff of events and the direction taken by public opinion. That the Irish will play a prominent part in those glorious events, at least by preparing the soil and planting Catliolicity finnly in those nearly Europcanized countries, is our firm hope ; and the reasons for entertaining this hope w^ll be seen in the details of the new emigration. In 184:8, the government and people of Australia refused to receive any more convicts from the mother-countiy, and even went »:> far as to send back to England a ship-load recently arrived. Just about that time, England, having come to look with favor on the policy of Irish emigration, held out induce- ments to those willing to go to the antipodes ; in many cases their i)as8age was paid ; or, if money was asked of them, the full value was returnea in ^and-certificates, which they could realize on their arrival in the new country. The British government at hist saw the wisdom of reserving for her own colonies those hardy adventurers who flocked in such numbers to the shores of the United States. THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFECTS. 463 This coming at a time when the " great famine " was still raging, large numbers accepted the offer of the government, and the Catholic population began to increase rapidly in Australia. There, at least, were the Irish at liberty to devote themselves to an occupation which had been peculiar to Ireland from time immemorial, that of grazing and cattle-raising. The new con- tinent turned out to be the best adapted for the breeding of sheep, perhaps in the whole world ; and wool immediately be- came one of the most profitable exports of the country. But, though many Irish settled there as farmers, that provi- dential rush to the cities which we saw in North America was also one of the features of this new Irish immigration. Hence, as in America, bishoprics were soon foimd necessary in aU the large towns ; and Australia was in 1846 formed into an ecclesias- tical province, including the archbishopric of Sydney and the episcopal sees of Adelaide and Hobart Town. In 1862, the Metropolitan Church of Sydney counted five suffragan bishops, beside those of Auckland, in New Zealand, and ]3risbane, in Queensland. And the few hundred oppressed Catholics who, forty years before, formed the entire Church in Australia, had already increased to more than two hundred thousand souls. The tree had been planted, and its growth was a matter of necessity. To speak of all the religious, educational, and charitable in- stitutions which grouped themselves around the newly-established episcopal centres, and to refer to the astonishing liberality dis- played by the poor immigrants, would be a source of new won- der, but only a repetition of what has gone before. The only remark that here suggests itself to our mind, struck as it is with admiration, is one which but tends to increase that admiration, the reflection, namely, that the generosity of the Irish people, not content with the wide field opened up to its workings in North America, chose also the Continent of Australia whereon to pour forth the inexhaustible treasures of its charity. There was, however, a feature exhibited on this new soil which was altogether unknown in the United States, and scarce- ly possible in Canada, but which will place in the hands of the Irish in Australia a far greater facility for helping their native country. In the United States every inducement is held out to them to forget their former life, and, by becoming citizens of a republic which has long been separated from England, to merge themselves into a people to whom Ireland is a foreign country ; not so in Australia. Whatever the future of this new continent may be, within whatever period, of greater or less length, it may seek and secure its independence from the British Empire, at present it is not, and for some time to come will not be, independent. In those 464 THE *' EXODUS" AND ITS EFFECTS. numerous and rising colonies, therefore, Englishmen remain English, Scotchmen Scotch, and Irishmen Irish. The three na- tionalities have never been fused into one at home ; they can- not consequently in the colonies ; and here a word of remark is called for. The British Empire, which in our second chapter we have shown from a sketch of Cesare Cantu to be spread all over the world, is very weak at its centre. There it is called the United Kingdom ; formed, that is, of three States, which so far have never so combined as to produce a perfect moral union. Their union is altogether political. One king, one Parliament, one general system of laws — such constitute the main elements of its unity. Even the Scotchmen, who inhabit the very soil of Great Britain, are almost as strongly Scotch as they were imder their native kings. Not one of tncm will call or allow himself to be called an Englishman, and will scarcely consent even to the title British. Yet, ever since the accession of the Stuarts to the British throne, Scotland has never claimed tor herself an in- dependent Parliament ; and she certainly does not dream of ask- ing for it now. The feelings of Irishmen on this point are pretty generally known ; the idea of union with England is to-day as distasteful as when it was first foisted on them. Moreover, their antipathy to union is far from being restricted to parliamentary unity ; it runs through all things — religion, political leanings, material interests, social manners, natural disposition. Even language has not yet become universally common ; and, though Divine Providence has bent the Irish to accept the English tongue, that it might serve them in their great mission, yet there are thou- sands of Irish people still who do not understand a word of it. It is clear, therefore, that the unity of the United Kingdom is altogether external and political in its significance, consisting merely in all three comitries having the same Parliament ana living under the same constitution. So palpable is this that John Bright, the great advocate of reform and liberalism, can- not be persuaded to side with the Irish in their petition for " home-rule," because he considers that it would be a disruption of the British Empire. But the great result of that want of moral unity is that, even with the one Parliament, the distinctions of nationality, on the part of tjie Irish and English at least, exist as strongly as they did three hundred years ago, when each country haa its own Parliament. And so they remain wherever they may be, with- out any reproach as to their loyalty ; so that an Irishman in Australia may be as loyal as any British subject, and yet remain strongly Irisn in his sympathies, views, language, acts, and boasts. Thus, when the Australian colonies become, as they THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFECTS. 465 promise to do, strongly imbued with Irish blood, they will lorm a powerful ally to the mother-country of iall Irishmen — their native island. It is not thus in the United States. Having sworn allegiance to their new country, their very religion impresses on them the obligation to be faithful to her, to identify themselves with her, and their interests with hers ; to tender her, as a country, their first affection, and the claim to their very blood, if necessity de- mands it. And, to put the case in its strongest light — though love and attachment to their former country is allowed them, and it would be monstrous, were it possible, to forget her en- tirely — supposing the true interests of both were to come in con- flict, they would be compelled to side with the country of their adoption, however painful it might be to their feelings. They are Americans, and no longer Irishmen ; and all know that this fact is very clear before their eyes, and that the Union numbers among her citizens none truer or more zealous than those who once were Irishmen. In Canada, as was said, the case is not altogether the same as in Australia. There Irishmen are not at liberty to show the same feeling for their native country, and prove equally useful to her. True, Canada is only a colony of the British Empire, whatever may be thought of the new " Dominion ; " and Irish- men may there remain as true Irishmen as at home, and yet be loyal to the empire ; but they seem almost paralyzed in their actions as Irish people. Strange as this may seem, it is a state of things felt by every one who looks at it in the right way. The only explanation that can be given is that, in Canada, the duel of mterests is, so to speak, " triangular," and the intermingling of the French-Canadian element, which is strongly enlisted on the side of the Catholic Church, but which, for many reasons, cannot altogether fuse with the Irish eltoent, deprives the Irish of much of that spontaneity with which they love, whenever free, to act. Whatever the cause may be, the fact is, we believe, as here stated. The position of Irish colonists in Australia is therefore excep- tional, and productive of most happy results for Ireland herseli ; on which account the progress of the Irish people on Australian soil ought to be looked to by Catholics with an extraordinary de- gree of interest. It bears a twofold aspect, religious and politi- cal. Of the religious side we have already declined to speak, because of its perfect similarity with what we have witnessed in North America. However, a new consideration, fall of interest, touches the hierarchy, on which we were not positively called upon to speak in the former case, so that a word on the subject may now be permitted. The fact nas already been touched upon, that the Catholic 30 466 THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFECTS. Church, particularly of late, has adopted as a universal policy, what was once much more restricted in its limits, to wit, the ap- pointment of regular bishops throughout the world almost, and the division of the soil, it may be said, of the whole earthly globe, into regular dioceses. A certain number of places still remain as apostolic vicariates, or even as prefectships ; but the tendency to bring all those districts under regularly-appointed bishops as soon as possible is now universal, even in Protestant countries. Thus, as we said, is possession taken of the soil. This is, we believe, the great final step to impart to the catho- licity of the Church a strict meaning, which it had not abso- lutely before. Whoever wishes to study the result of this difference has only to consult the respective lists of the bishops who assisted at the Council of Trent, and that of those who sat but yesterday in the Vatican, keeping under his eye a map of the world on Mercator's projection. Limiting ourselves to the consideration of Australia, it is now an established fact that this, the latest continent discovered and settled upon, is a Catholic field occupied by Catholic dioceses, whose number and efficiency will increase with the increasing population ; and this fact is owing mainly to Irish immigration. And it must not be forgotten that the future benefits which are to arise from this are not limited in extent to the confines of the continent itself, but will pass over to the vast regions of the neighboring Asia, where bishops also are waging but a help- less struggle in the midst of infidel nations and oi the poorest flocks, who look to them for even material help, which must come chiefly from Australia and America. But, beyond material help, where are the future missionaries to be found for those vast fields now ripe for the harv^est ? Is it too much to imagine ere long the establishment of a seminary for China, Japan, and even India, in Sydney or Adelaide ? it would be a great surprise to us to know that the thought has not already struck some of the bishops now living, of the day when so great an enterprise may be possible, or even set on foot. It is true that their first solicitude is to plant the tree on the soil marked out for them by Providence ; but, as good husbandmen, they must be aware that there is no tree from which numbers of seeas are not detached every autumn and borne away on the four winds of heaven, to multiply ten or twenty fold wherever they fall ; and those winds fill the sails of vessels, or play about the steamships already starting in regular lines northward and to the northeast, fit bearers of the attddx Japeti genus. Passing from religious to political considerations, a new source of future blessings to Ireland will be found in the Irish emigration to Australia. Of the local politics of those new colo- THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFECTS. 46t aies the writer knows nothing, and, even if he did, they would not find a place here. But the question now is not one of petty municipal or colonial afiairs, so much as of the position in gen- eral that the Irish are occupying in this new neld ; a position which renders them capable of taking an active part in the poli- tics of their native country, the connection with which has never been broken off. They are and remain, as they ought to remain, Irishmen still in their new destination. In the mean time they grow in wealth, intelligence, and social standing, on that vast neld, as to-day we see tnem in America. The past misfortunes of Ireland, which at home still press heavily on the population, and hinder it from rising to its just level as speedily as it would if enjoying perfect liberty, have no withering effect upon their future in Australia. Hence, the British Government is com- pelled to respect them, and a great portion of that respect is re- flected upon the island of their origin. The Irish at home now possess influential allies in their own countrymen scattered the wide world over, but chiefly in those of Australia. The time is long ago past when they had to look for allies among the self- interested nations of Europe. They no longer need feed their imagination on dreams of Spanish aid or French intervention ; they have more ardent, disinterested, and powerful friends in their own coimtrymen now scattered by millions over foreign lands ; and the help they look to from them consists not in fleets, munitions of war, or armed troops. The dramas of Kinsale, of Smerdick, of Aughrim, and Limerick, will, let us hope, never be acted again. The hopes of to-day are of another character, and infinitely more certain and sure of accomplishment. Their coun- trymen now enjoy high positions in British colonies, and in countries which once were British, but are now detached from the parent stem and standing high among the nations of the world. These moral alliances carry witn them far greater weight and are much more efficacious in our days than armies and fleets ; for the influence of opinion is outweighing more and more every day any other influence. Is it not wonderful, for instance, to see Mr. Gavan Duffy, once of the Nation^ and an ex-rebel, now, or recently, premier in the Australian cabinet ? — the right direction of a young and growing people resting in the hands and under the guidance of a mere Irishman. Something will be shortly said of the true impulsion to bo given to that influence in order to complete and render thorough the resurrection of Ireland. For to this end have we been marching step by step all along, and are on the point at last of arriving with our whole array of considerations marshalled be- fore us, that the last step may be rendered telling and all-effi- cient. 468 THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFECTS. It is only since the discovery of the gold-fields in 1850, that khe population took a rapid increase and the importance of the Australian colonies became at once evident. Hence every thing there is still of yesterday, and documents of interest are yet wanting on many subjects. Details as convincing in character as those of the immigrant labors in North America cannot conse- quently be furnished. Nevertheless, we are fain to believe that many things happened in the new continent with respect to Irishmen which would also display the designs of God regardiug that people. One circumstance at least, drawn from the history of those colonies, seems to us to be so unmistakably of this char- acter that its mention may be a pleasure. The land system first established by the mother-country dif- fered totally from that adopted in the IJnited States and Canada, and would, if persisted in, have hindered the Irish immigi-ants from acquiring the competency requisite to enable them to con- tribute adequately toward the religious and charitable establish- ments in the country. Our readers will remember our pointing out the striking fact that it was in the United States alone the people was able to eftect what it did efibct in this matter. The LFnited States would have continued to this day in the undis- puted enjoyment of this great blessing, had the original policy sketched out by England lor Australian settlers held good : and the marvel of its not still holding good consists in the fact that the vast majority of Australian colonists themselves willed it to continue. At first the government lands, which in fact included the whole country, were disposed of by grants from the crown. Then an Australian land company was incorporated by England, and received for starting its operations a million acres. Several circumstances, apparently of small importance, which cannot here be detailed, showed a tendency in fact to establish a landed aristocracy in Australia from the outset. The system advocated by Edward Gibbon Wakefield being adopted oy the governor of the colony, the new statesmen strove hard to dam up the stream of immigration by fictitious land prices, and by the concen- tration of labor for the special interest of capitalists. At first they were completely successful, and the new country was fashion- ing its social state after that of aristocratic England. This was only natural, as Australia ofiered a magnificent vent for those troublesome younger sons of aristocratic families who have been brought up to pretensions which the feudal laws, by the right of primogeniture, forbid to be realized. It is needless to add that the colonial policy of Lord Grey smoothed every thing for the accomplishment of their purpose. Worse still, the capitalists and great wool-growing squatters of Australia thought that the creation of a class of independent THE "EXODUS'' AND ITS EFFECTS. 469 settlers would be prejudicial to tlieir interests. It heightened the price of labor which they were so anxious to keep down. The country seemed destined more and more to become a second England ; and land, land, the blessed land, which, according to the London Times^ the Saxon loves so ardently, was to become the possession of the few, while the labor of the many would be as niggardly rewarded as at home. There was indeed great dangei that the liberal policy of the United States would remain with- out imitators, and North America still continue the only home of the poor and of the artisan. The pet policy then in vogue was to encourage only the immigration of mere laborers, who could not well rise liighei than the grade of " hewers of wood and drawers of water." The sheep-farming capitalists would possess immense estates, which they could improve after their own fashion, receiving from Eu- rope a full supply of laborers, fitted by their former life for menial, agricultural, and pastoral occupations. No one was al- lowed to buy land at a lower price than one pound per acre, nor in smaller quantity than three hundred acres. This enactment in itself would at once exclude from possession of land nearly all the Irish immigrants. Such was the enlightened colonial policy encouraged by British statesmen and supported by the majority of the early Australian settlers. We are not acquainted with all the details of the events which brought about the change of policy in 1853, and, even were we, we should certainly recognize and admire in them the work of God rather than of man. It must be acknowledged, however, that the Duke of Newcastle, who succeeded Lord Grey, manifested from the first a desire of introducing a complete reversal of policy toward the new continent. The control of the land revenues was handed over to the colonists themselves, and consequently withdrawn from the " Australian Land Company," a free constitution with legislative houses granted, and a new era opened upon the country. By this happy revolution, Australia placed her colonists on almost an equal footing with those of the United States, and it is Mghly probable that the Duke of Newcastle's object was solely to prevent the emigration of the Irish to America only, and mduce many of them to settle in ti "" -glish colony. If this view be true, then does the United KD....ori possess the honor of being, under God, the true cause of the change of policy referred to, which enabled Irishmen to do in Australia what they had already been a long time doing in America. The two great streams of emigration which we have so far traced, gave rise to a last and most important one, namely, the Irish emigration to England. Had they foUowed their natural inclinations, few indeed of 470 THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFEOTa them would ever have thought of making England their home. We confess to our surprise on first learning that London con- tained nearly three hundred thousand of them, and that all the large manufacturing cities of Great Britain were crowded with them, and our inability to scarcely understand how^ they could have consented to rush in such numbers to a country for which the poor among them particularly entertain such an instinctive repugnance. That a few might be driven to it by absolute starvation and the lack of means to go farther, was easy to imagine ; but that such vast numbers of them could take that direction, remained a mystery to us until we began to study the details of this process mmished by Mr. Henry Mayhew, in his " London Labor and London Poor." " It was," he tells us, " into Liverpool that the tide of immi- gration flowed the strongest, in the calamitous year of the famine -— 1847-'48. ' Between the 13th of January and the 13th of December, both inclusive,' writes Mr. Rushton, the Liverpool magistrate, to Sir George Grey, *two hundred and ninety-six thousand two hundred and thirty-one persons landed in this port ' (Liverpool) ' from L-eland. Of this vast number, about one hundred and thirty thousand emigrated to the United States ; some fifty thousand were passengers on business ; and the re- mainder — over one hundred and sixty-one thousand — were pau- pers, half naked and starving, landed, for the most part, during the winter, and became, immediately on landing, applicants for parochial relief. You already know the immediate result of this accumulation of misery in tne crowded town of Liverpool ; of the cost of relief at once rendered necessary to prevent the thousands of hungry and naked Irish from perishing in our streets ; and also of the cost of the pestilence which ordinarily follows in the train of famine and misery, such as we then had to encounter. . . . Hundreds of patients perished, notwithstanding all efforts made to save them, and ten Rortian Catholic and one Protestant clergymen, many parochial officers, and many medical men, who devoted themselves to the task of alleviating the suffer- ings of the wretched, died in the discharge of this high duty.' *' Great numbers of these people were, at the same time, also conveyed from Ireland to Wales, especially to Newport. They were brought over by coal-vessels, as a return-cargo — a living- ballast — two shillings and sixpence being the highest fare, and were huddled together like pigs. The manager of the Newport * tramp-house ' has stated concerning these people : ^ They don't live long, diseased as they are. They are very remarkable : they will eat salt by basins full, and drink a great quantity of water after.' " Many, there is no doubt, tramped their way to London^ deeping at the casual wards of the unions on their way. THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFECTS. 471 " Of the immigration direct, by the vessels trading from Ire- land to London, there are no returns, such as have been collected by Mr. Kushton for Liverpool ; but the influx is comparatively small, on account of the greater length and cost of the voyage. During the year 1863, 1 am informed that fifteen or sixteen thousand passengers were brought from Ireland to London direct, and in addition to these, five hundred more were brought over from Cork, in connection with the arrangements for emi- gration to the United States, and consigned to the emigration agent here." Another proof that all human calculations are likely to be falsified with respect to such enormous calamities as that which then overwhelmed the Irish people. Their only thought was to fly — no matter where, no matter how thev would be received and treated, or how their condition might be bettered. As Wales and Lancashire were the nearest places to them out of their own country, thither they were carried by hundreds of thousands and cast upon the shore. What became of the survivors, and what part are they now playing on that great theatre — England? The same answer comes back to us : there also they are a missionary people ; they are, in fact, converting England, and likewise aiding in and pre- paring for the resurrection of their own country. Many, we know, have taken a difierent view of their work in that busy hive of English industry amid the scramble for the goods of this life ; but, fortunately, there are other competent and disinterested witnesses, whose testimony is as valuable as it is unexceptional, from whom we select Mr. Henry May hew, an Englishman, a non-Catholic, a cool-headed statistician, as his book shows, but gifted with a heart that moved him from the beginning to tell the plain truth, and the truth contained in his book is almost one long-continued praise of the character of the lowest among the Irish. And it may be remembered, as evi- dence of his trustworthiness, that truth of this character was particularly unpalatable to the English stomach, and calculated, from a mercantile point ot view, to injure rather than favor the sale of his book. The praise results chiefly from the contrast between the English and Irish poor. For, when the author speaks of the London poor, they are mainly English. They are the chief subject of his theme, and whenever m his rambles among them he comes across the Irish, who are lost in the midst of that fright- ftd moral wretchedness, his testimony is always loud, sincere, and unmistakably expressed. Bis first investigations were among the costermongers, of whom there are thirty thousand in London, one-third of .them being Irish. The two classes often live together; but there 172 THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFE0T8. ig a wide moral bridge dividing them. The following will show the main results of his observations : I. As regards religion. " An intelligent and trustworthy man, until very recently actively engaged in costermongering, computed that not three in one hundred English costermongers had ever been in the vnterior of a churchy or of any place of worship, or knew what was meant by Christianity. The same person gave me the following account, which was confirmed by others : " * The costers have no religion at all, and very little notion, or none at all, of what religion or a future state is. But I am satisfied that, if the costers had to profess themselves of some religion to-morrow, they would all become Roman Catholics, every one of them. This is the reason : London costers live very often in the same courts and streets as the poor Irish, and if the Irish are sick, be sure there come to them the priest, the Sisters of Charity — they are good women — and some other ladies. Mauy a man that is not a Catholic has rotted and died without any good person near him. ... It is still the stranger that the regular costermongers, who are nearly all Londoners, should have such respect for the Eoman Catholics, when they have such a hatred of the Irish, whom they look upon as iatruders and underminers.' " Is not this statement enough m itself to show that the very presence of the Irish in their midst is already working the slow conversion of the Londoners? Now, for a word of Mr. Mayhew's on the religion of the Irish costermongers. It may be superfluous, but the contrast cannot fail to make it interesting : " Almost all the street Irish are Eoman Catholics. During my inquiries I met with only two who said they were Prot- estants, and, when I came to converse with them, I found out that they were partly ignorant of, and partly indifferent to, any religion whatever. " I found that some of the Irish Roman Catholics — but they had been for many years resident in England, and that among the poorest classes of the English — had become indifferent to their creed, and did not attend their chapels, unless at the great feasts and festivals. One old stall-keeper, who had been in London nearly thirty years, said to me ; * Ah, God knows, sir, I ought to attend mass every Sunday, but I have not for many a year, barrin' Christmas-day and sucn times. But I will thry and go more re<^ul;ir, plase God.' This man seemed to resent as a sort of indignity my question if he had ever attended any other Elace of worship : * At coorse not 1 ' was the reply." Mr. May- ew fell into a verbal mistake when he said that this man wag indifferent to his religion. THE "EXODUS" Am) ITS EFFECTS. 473 We cannot afford to transfer any more of liis experiences iinong the Irish. From all his accounts, they are the same in London as everywhere else, most firmly attached to Catholicitj^, and, as a general rule, most exemplary in the performance of their religions obligations. It is fitting, however, to give the conclusion of a long de- scription of what he saw among them while visiting them in the company of a clergyman : " The religious fervor of the people whom I saw was intense. At one house that I entered, the woman set me marvelling at the strength of her zeal, by showing me how she continued to have in her sitting-room a sanctuary to pray every night and morning, and even during the day when she felt weary and lonesome." II. Passing from religion to morality, let us look at this writer again : '* Only one-tenth, at the outside, of the couples living together and carrying on the costermongering trade (among the English) are married. ... Of the rights of legiti- mate or illegitimate children, the English costermongers under- stand nothing, and account it a mere waste of money to go through the ceremony of wedlock, when a pair can live together, and be quite as well regarded by their fellows without it. The married women associate with the unmarried mothers of fami- lies without scruple. There is no honor attached to the married state and no shame to concubinage. " As regards the fidelity of these women, I was assured that in any thing like good times they were rigidly faithful to their paramours ; but that, in the worst pinch of poverty, a departure from this fidelity — if it provided a few meals or a fire — was not considered at all heinous." Further details may be read in the book quoted from, which would scarcely come well in these pages, though quite appro- priate to the most interesting work in which they appear. From the whole, it is only too clear that the class of people referred to is profoundly immoral and corrupt, their very poverty only hindering them from indulging in an excess of libertinism. On the other hand, when Mr. Mayhew speaks of the street Irish in London, he is most emphatic in his praise of the purity of the women in particular, and the care of the parents in general to preserve the virtue of their daughters, in the midst of the frightful corruption ever under their eyes. The only remark he passes of a disparaging character is the following : " I- may here observe " — referring to the statement that Irish parents will not expose their daughters to the risk of what they consider corrupt influences — " that, when a young Irish woman does break through the pale of chastity, she often becomes, as I was assured, one of the most violent and depraved of, perhaps, the most depraved class." 474 THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFECTS. It is evident, from the mere form in which this phrase is put, that such a tiling is of very rare occurrence, and that the vio- lence and depravity spoken of offer all the stronger contrast to the general purity of the whole class, and are merely the result of the open and unreserved character of the race. But the whole world knows that chastity is the rule, and perhaps the most special virtue of the Irish, a fact which their worst enemies have been compelled to confess. In this same work of Mr. Mayhew's a still more surprising fact than the last — for that is acknowledged by all — is brought into astonish- ing prominence ; a fact opposed to the general opinion of their friends even, and yet supported by incontrovertible evidence. It relates to another contrast between the English and Irish costermongers on the score of temperance. III. The result arrived at by his inquiries among liquor- dealers in that part of London inhabited by about equal num bers of both nationalities, Mr. Mayhew gives us as twenty to one in favor of the Irish with respect to the consumption of liquor. In most "independent," that is to say, "not impoverished" Irish families, water is the only beverage at dinner, with punch afterward ; and estimating the number of teetotallers, among the English at three hundred, there are six hundred among the Irish, who constitute, it may be remembered, only one-third of the whole costermonger class, and those Irish teetotallers, having taken the pledge under the sanction of their priests, look upon it as a religious observance and keep it rigidly. The number of Irish teetotallers has been considerably increased since Mr. May- hew made his returns, in consequence of the energetic crusade en- tered upon against drink by the zealous London clergy, under the powerful lead of Archbishop Manning. It is true that an innkeeper told Mr. Mayhew that " he would rather have twenty poor Englishmen drunk in his tap-room than a couple of poor Irishmen, who will quarrel with anybody, and sometimes clear the room." But this remark, if it shows any thing, shows only how and why the Irish have obtained that reputation of being a nation of drunkards, which is slanderous and false. lY. Yet another, and perhaps as surprising a result as any, is the contrast between both classes of people with respect to economy and foresight. The English street-sellers are found evervwhere spending all their income in the satisfaction often of brutish appetites ; the Irish, on the contrary, save their money, either for the purpose of transmitting it to tlieir poor relatives in Ireland, or bringing up their children properl f , or — if they are young — to provide for their marriage-expenses and home. Such cares as these never seem to afflict the English costermonger. So strongly did Mr. Mayhew find these characterietics marked THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFECTS. 475 among the Irish, that he is at times inclined to accuse them of carrying them too far, even to the disphiy of a sordid and parsi- monious spirit. According to him, they apply to the various "unions,'* or to the parish, even when they have money, or sometimes go with wretched food, dwelling, or clothing, in order to have a small fund laid by, in case of any emergency arising. But the general result of his observations is clear : that the Irish are most provident and far-seeing ; a surprising statement, doubtless, to the generality of Mr. Mayhew's readers, but one which, after all, only accords with the testimony of many unex- ceptionable witnesses of their life in other countries. And, if in England, in London especially, they at times appear sordid in their economy, is not this the very natural result of the misery they had previously endured in their own impoverished land, and therefore a proof that, at least, they have profited by the terrible ordeals through which they were compelled to pass ? We have spoken only of the Irish in London ; the same facts are most probably true of them in all the large cities of Great Britain. Unfortunately, Mr. Mayhew's most interesting work has found no imitators in other parts of the kingdom. F. Per raud's remarks, however, in his " Ireland under English Rule,'" extend almost over the whole country. After giving his own experience, and that of many others whom he had consulted, or wnose works he had read ; after hav- ing set forth the dangers which beset the Irish in that (to them) "most foreign country" — England — and also the success which had attended the labors of many proselytizing agents among them, and even in some eases the progress of immorality in their midst resulting from the innumerable seductions to which they were exposed, a success and a progress which Mr. Mayhew's per- sonal observation would lead us to think the good father has ex- aggerated, he concludes as follows : " We must not overlook the fact that the Irish emigration to England and Scotland produces in many individual cases results which cannot be too deeply deplored. " But there, also, as well as in America and Australia, through the economy of an admirable providence, God makes use of those Irish immigrants for the propagation and extension of the Cath- olic faith in the midst of English and Scotch Protestantism. What progress has not the Catholic religion made within the last thirty years in England ? And mi^ht not the Catholics say to their sepa- rated brethren what Tertullian said to the Caesars of the third century : * Our religion is but of yesterday ; and behold, we fill your towns, your councils, your camps, your tribes, your decurim^ the palace, the senate, the forum. . . . You have persecuted us during centuries, and behold, we spring up afresh from the blood of martyrs I ' 476 THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFECTS. "At the beginning of the reign of George IIL, England and Scotland scarcely contained sixty thousand CathoUcs who had re- mained true to the faith of their fathers. Their number in 1821 was, according to the official census, five hundred thousand. In ^842, they were estimated at from two million to two million five hundred thousand. At present (1864) they number nearly four million, and of this totai amount the single city of London figures for more than two hundred and fifty thousand." In a note he adds the following figures, furnished him by Dr. Grant, the late Bishop of South wark: Total No. of Catholics. No. of Irish. Manchester . 80,000 . . 60,000 Liverpool . . . 130,000 . 86,000 Birmingham . . . 30,000 . . 20,000 Preston .... 24,000 . 4,300 Wigan .... . 18,000 . . 16,000 Bolton .... 12,000 . 4,000 St. Helen's (Lancashire) . . 10,000 . . 6,000 Edinburgh .... 60,000 . 36,000 Glasgow . 127,000 . . 90,000 " Finally, we must not forget that about one-half the army and navy is composed of Irish Catholics. " In 1792 England and Wales counted no more than thirty- five chapels ; in 1840 the number amounted to five hundred, among which were vast and splendid churches, such as St. George's, Southwark, and the Birmingham Cathedral. At pres- ent (1864) the number is nearly one thousand. " In connection with the movement of individual conversions, which yearly brings within our ranks from those of Protestant- ism the most upright, the sincerest, the best-disposed souls, the Irish immigration in England is then destined to play an impor- tant part in the so desirable return of that great island to the faith which she received in the sixth century from St. Gregory tlie Great and St. Austin of Canterbury," and, let us add, from Aidan and his Irish monks of Lindisfame and lona, as Montii- lembcrt has shown. If we examine closely the figures iust furnished by F. Per- raud, and consider that the number of Catholics in Great Brit- ain was only five hundred thousand in 1821, which, following his calculation, mounted to four million in 1864, if we look closely into the gradations of the increase marked in the various censuses taken between those dates, we shall find that the Irish immigra- tion has indeed played a most important ])art in the return of England toward Catholicity. We are surprised to find that he seems to estimate the number of Irish in England at only one million ; there can be no doubt that they and their ofi^spring THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFECTS. 477 eompose the majority of Catholics there, and that many of the Englishmen who coine back to the true faith are induced by their example and influence, particularly among the lower or- ders, and that the real work of the conversion of the English na- tion rests in the hands of the Irish immigrants. Mr. -Mayhew has informed us of the disposition of the English costermongers on religious matters. "We have now examined the three great waves which bore the Irish to foreign countries ; the lesser streamlets, which wan- dered away into other English colonies, may be dismissed, as to trace and follow up their course would involve more time and trouble than they really call for. We now see the Irish race dis- seminated in large groups over many and vast territories ; and, although the home population has been considerably diminished by that great exodus, and is now reduced to about five millions, nevertheless, to count them as they are dispersed throughout the world, their number is far higher than it has ever been before ; and we now proceed to offer some considerations tending to show the effects of that vast emigration on the resurrection oi the race, and on the future progress of the country from which the race comes. First, then, emigration has given Ireland and Irishmen an importance in the eyes of the world which they and it would never have acquired unless that emigration had taken place ; so that England, on whom in a great measure their future fate de- fends, is now compelled to respect and render them justice ; and justice is all that is wanting to bring about their complete resur- rection. In order to form a true idea on this point, it is necessary to consider them in their twofold aspect, as emigrants to the United States, residing under and citizens of a government dis tinct from that of England ; and, secondly, in countries which are under the control oi Great Britain, one of these being Eng- land itself. In the Union they become for the greater part citizens of the 30untry which they have made their nome, and the first condi- tion necessary for the obtaining of this right of citizenship is the renunciation of all allegiance to their former English rulers. The readiness and joy even with which they perform this task need no mention. But, as Christians, the new obligations under which they bind themselves involve something more than the mere oath of allegiance ; the spirit no less than the letter of the oath prescribes that they acknowledge no other country as theirs than that which offered them a refuge, and consequently, by the very fact of becoming American citizens, they cease to be Irish- men. But their oath does not bind them to forget their formei ^78 THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFEOTS. country, as little as it forbids tliem to benefit it as far as lawfully lies in their power. Far otherwise. Their new allegiance would indeed be a poor thing if, in its very conception, it could only bind hearts so cold as to renounce at once all affection for the land of their birth, and banish in a day memories that the day before were saci-ed. This is not reqmred of them ; and, were it, they could never so understand their allegiance. They remain, and justly, firmly attached to Ireland, and look anxiously for any lawful occasion on which they may manifest their anection by their acts. Meanwhile, in their new country, position, influence, wealth, consideration, often fall to their lot ; their numbers swell, and they become an important factor in the republic. Something of the power wielded by the great nation of which they are now citizens attaches to them, and shows them to the astonished gaze of England under a totally new and unexpected aspect. In war, the enect is most telling, and, even so far back as 1812, the part played by " saucy Jack^' Barry, for instance, already gave rise to very grave considerations and forebodings on the part of British statesmen. But, even in time of peace, the higli position held by many Irishmen in the United States, and the aggregate voice of a powerful party, where every tongue has a vote, cannot fail to tell advantageously on questions referring to their former country. Can it be imagined that this exercises no influence on the treatment of Ireland by the ruling power? To afford a true conception of the alteration brought about by Irish emigration, suppose for an instant the ruling power using again its old reck- essness in abusing Ireland — not that we imagine the English statesmen of to-day capable of such a thing and anxious to restore what, happily, has passed away forever — but merely to show the utter impossibility of such a contingency again arising, suppose one of tlie old penal laws to be again enacted and sanctioned by a British sovereign, what would the eff*cct be on the multitude of Irishmen now living in America? Wliat, independently of the Irish, would be the effbct on all the organs, worthy of the name, of public opinion in Amenca ? How would the great majority of the members, not of Congress only, but of the Legis- lature of each State, speak ? Public opinion is now the ruler of the world, and when public opinion declares against a flagrant and crying injustice, its voice must be heard, its mandate obeyed, and lawlessness cease. This extreme and, as wq believe, impos- sible example, is merely adduced as a proof of the advantage which Ireland has reaped from the dispersion of her scattered children— an advantage filling back on lier own head, in return, perlia])s, for the mission they are working. But, over and above the supposition of such an oxtrome case, THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFECTS. 479 there is surely a silent power in tlie mere standing of millions of free men who would resent, as done to themselves, a recurrence of an attack on their old country. And there are, beyond ques- tion, three millions of fonner Irishmen, citizens to-day oi the United States, on whom the glance of many an English states- man, with any just pretension to the name, must fall. Therefore do we say that now England must respect Ireland. That respect is daily heightened by the greater comfort and easier circumstances, though still far too wretched on the whole, of the Irish at home, which have been mainly brought about by the help received from their exiled countrymen. As was seen, the old policy of their oppressors had for chief object the pauper- ization of the country, and, as was also seen, that policy was eminently successful. We know how deeply the effects of that former policy are still felt, and how far from completion still is I'ustice in that regard ; how they still complain, and with only too much reason, of many laws which are as so many gyves still binding them down in their old degradation ; but, oi thi^ the following chapter will speak. Yet, it is undeniable that their situation is considerably im- proved, and that the excessive sufferings which formerly seemed their privilege, are scarcely possible in our days. This change in their circumstances for the better may be ascribed to a variety of causes, one of which, we acknowledge, has been the repairing of many previous injustices. But we must acknowledge also that the main lever in a nation's resurrection, once the ground is cleared round about — her treasury — has, as far as Ireland is concerned, been chiefly replenished from abroad. Absentee land- ords still drain the country ; but the money which has gone mto it has been certainly owing greatly to the immense sums transmitted yearly from America by the exiles, all of which has certainly not returned to the place from which it went out. It is impossible to estimate the amount which was kept in Ireland and that which floated back, but the balance must be consider- ably on the side of what remained, as the distress at home was 80 great, and in millions of instances immediate relief came from the distant friends who had acquired a competency in their new country, and, knowing the dire distress of their relatives at home, sent generally what they could spare, by the speediest means at their command. There is no doubt that thousands of families have thus been benefited by that first sad emigration of their friends, and that the visible improvement in the condition of the Irish at home is in a great measure due to it. We hear, moreover, that the working of the new " Encumbered Estates Court " has already placed in the hands of native Irishmen many parcels of the lands of their fathers, and prol)ahly many of the ample estates 480 THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFECTS. belonging to what was the Irish Church Establishment, which are to be sold, will find their way back in the same manner. The Irish are thus being slowly reinstated in possession of their own soil, and, that once accomplished, the respect of Eng- land is secured — respectability in England being in its essence equivalent to real estate. Thus is the uprising of the nation being gradually, silently, but surely brought about by the emigration to the United States ; and this effect is considerably heightened when the emigration to countries under English control is taken into consideration — Canada, Australia, England itself. In those places the same results followed which we have just witnessed in the United States, but another and far greater result remains for them. Not only did they slowly aid in awakening the respect for their countrymen at home in the English breast by their own rising importance and improved condition, but in Canada and Australia they possess a privilege which, in the British Isles, is theirs only in theory, but abroad becomes a very powerful fact. Ever since the Union of 1800, the Irish are supposed to form a part and parcel of the empire at home, and to have fair repre- sentation of their native country in the members they return to the Imperial Parliament. But it is well known that the Irish influence in that Parliament is almost null, and that their presence there frequently is productive of no other result than to countenance laws injurious to their own country. Does, can Ireland hope to derive any political or social benefit from her representatives in London beyond whatever may accrue to her from their vain remonstrances and ineffective speeches ? But in the colonial Parliaments the case is very different. It is not our desire to be understood as saying that Irishmen, by meddling with politics, can effect a certam improvement in their condition and that of their country, beyond giving tokens of the life which is in them. We believe, on the contrary, that too great an eagerness in such pursuits has injured them on many occasions ; and they ought to beware of nattering themselves that they are rising, because their votes are clamored for, and they themselves exhorted to enter into the contest as fierce par- tisans. This, too often, leads them into making themselves the mere tools of shrewd men. But, in the colonies, they muster in considerable force, and, with prudence and sagacity, may have their desires and measures fairly considered and conceded ; for, unfortunately, the style of measures fair and favorable to them as Irishmen and Catholics, is completely at variance with that of those opposed to them, whom, go where they will, they encounter, and always in the Bame form. In Ireland, they are at liberty, apparently, to do the THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFECTS. 481 game by reason of their superiority in point of numbers ; the result of the late Galway elections proves what a farce is this show of liberty, and even the members whom they would and do sometimes elect possess a very feeble influence, or none, in what is called the Imperial Parliament. But, in the colonies, if they, as electors, outnumber their political opponents, they can and must return the majority to the House of Representatives and of officers to the various departments of the colonial administration. Such is the law of election in really representative governments which are truly free ; the majority of electors returns the major- ity to the government; and rightly so. Of course, there is room here, particularly where the majority happens to be Irish, for a vast quantity of frothy bluster about drilled and intimidated voters, and all that sort of thing. With that we have no con- cern at present, and merely remark enpasscmt that it is a pity a little more of it was not wasted on the recent Galway elections, already alluded to, on both sides ; and for the rest, that the world has not yet been apprised of Irish majorities in the Australian Parliament abusing their power by either accidental or system- atic misrule ; and it may, therefore, be safely conceded that, on the whole, the government has rested in safe hands. However, what concerns us at present is the state of Canada and Australia, where, among the highest public dignitaries, are found men who are Irish, not simply by birth, but in feeling and in truth. And the conclusion which we wish to draw from that fact is, that Ire- land is greatly benefited by the high positions which her sons assume m those distant colonies ; and probably no one will be rash endligh to deny or controvert in any way tjfiis point. The truth is, that by emigration Ireland has suddenly ex- panded into vast regions formerly ignorant of her name ; regions which swell the power and wealth of England, and which are destined to play a very important part in her fature history. In these districts Irishmen have found a new country ; something of the ubiquity of the English belongs to them, and the influ- ence, power, and weight, thus thrown into their hands, need no further comment. To show this m extenso would be only to travel over ground already trodden in previous pages, enumer- ating the various countries they have touched upon in their Exodus. Thus have our seemingly long digressions had a very direct object in view, and served powerfully to solve our original question. "We may now see that the resurrection of Ireland was intimately involved in the epaigration of her children ; that much of what has already taken place to aid in that resurrection may be ascribed to thi-s emigration, and that much brighter days are yet in store for the nation, resulting mainly from this constant and powerful cause. Let no one, then, lament the perseverance of those hardy wanderers who, though their country has already 31 482 THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFECTS. been depleted by millions, still leave her to the figure of seventy thousand annuallj. It seems that in Ireland much surprise is expressed at the movement never ceasing. Providence will end it m its own good time ; if God still allows it, it is surely for the accomplishment of his own mighty and benevolent designs. To conclude, then, this long chapter, there is only one ques- tion to be put, which demands a few words, but words, in our opinion at least, of vast importance, and which we would give all that is ours to give, to see promptly and energetically attend- ed to : Has Ireland profited by this so-often mentioned emi- gration to the extent she should have profited? And what ought Irishmen to do in order to increase the advantages de- rived from it ? "We must confess that, up to the present, the benefit is far from what it ought to have been, and the cause of this lies in want of organization and association. They have seemed to let God work for them without any cooperation on their part ; for God's, as we saw, was the plan, and he forced them, as it were, to carry out his design. They went at the work blindly, merely following the impmse of circumstances, with no preparatory organization, and less still of association. And even now, when thev are spread out over such vast territories in such mighty multitudes, as yet they have given no sign of the least desire of attempting even something Rke a combmed efibrt to accelerate the work of Providence. The only signs of life so far given have been violent and spasmodic, directly opposed to the genius of the race, which, as we have endeavored to prove, has nothing revo- lutionary in its character, and is not given to dark plots and godless conspiracies. Unfortunately, also, they do not seem naturally adapted to a spirit of steady and long-continued or systematic association. In this, chiefly, does their race difter from the Scandinavian stock, which is grafted on system, combination, and steadiness, in pur- suit of the object in hand. But why not begin, at least, to make an effort in that direc- tion ? The Latin races, in which runs so much Celtic blood, are powerful to organize, as the Romans of old, and the French and Spaniards of to-day, have so often proved. The Irish have been infused with plenty of foreign blood, after their many national catastrophes, although we believe that their primitive charac- teristics have always overcome all foreign elements introduced among them ; and, what the race could scarcely attempt ages ago, is possible now. Moreover, tho-re is nothing in the leanings 01 race which may not be overcome, and sure without anj^ radi cal change a nation can adapt itself to the necessities of the time, and to altered circumstances. Let the Irish see what they might effect toward the resurrection of their native country, if imr THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFECTS. 483 only seriously began at last to organize and associate for that purpose. They would thus turn the iinnieiise forces of their nation, now scattered over the world, to the real advantage of their birthplace. In union is strength ; but union can only be promoted by association, particularly when the elements to be united are so far apart. For such an object do we believe that God gave man in these late days the destroyers of space — the steam-engine and the elec- tric telegraph. Those powerful agents of unmcation were un- known to mankind until God decreed that his children dispersed through the earth should be more compactly united. To the Catholic they were given, in the first place, to serve God's first purpose by making the Church firmer in her unity and more efiective in the propagation of truth ; but, after all, the mission of the Irish to-day is only a branch of the mission of the Church, and, if only on that account, are the missionaries deserv- ing of all honor and respect. If in the designs of Providence the time has at last arrived for the dwelling of the children of Japhet in the tents of Sem, and for putting an end to the terrible evils dating from the dis- persion at Babel and the confusion of tongues, the object of these ^reat scientific discoveries is still more apparent. At all events, organization and association are clearly needed for the resurrec- tion of Ireland, and the sooner a step is taken in that direction the better. But, what association would we propose ? What should be its immediate and most practicable objects? These questions we do not feel competent to answer. Let Irishmen be once con- vinced that organization is the great lever to work for the rais- ing up of their down-trodden nation, and they will know best how to use this powerful instrument. The leaders of the nation in that holy enterprise should, in our own opinion, be its spirit- ual leaders. They know their country, and they love it ; they undoubtedly possess the confidence of their countrymen : they, then, should be the natural originators of those great schemes. And what other leaders does Ireland possess, what body like them, acceptable to the nation, and neither to be bought by money nor office ? This first remark naturally presupposes another : that the object of those associations, being approved of by the religious guides of the people, cannot be other than holy, and consequent- ly require no secrecy of any kind. They must be patent to the world, as not being antagonistic to any established law or au- thority. Every man desirous of becoming a member of the asso- ciation should Know beforehand what is proposed to be done, and how far his consent is to be given. One other important point strikes us : the centre ot organ iza 484 THE "EXODUS" AND ITS EFFECTS. tion should be in Ireland. Ireland is to be benefited by it, and there the effort should naturally begin, where its results will tall. As for the particular direction which those efforts should take, the detail of the whole enterprise, the plan of the cam- paign — all this lies beyond us, and a sketch of it would most probably be a mere chimera. One concluding word may be said, however, on a subject which has often been present to the writer's mind : The fearful oppression of the nation began by robbing the people of their lands and making them paupers : one of the first aims of associa- tion, then, should evidently be the raising of the people up by the restoration, in great part at least, of the soil to the native race. It is not our purpose to propose a new confiscation now, by way of remedying the old ones ; but England has allowed them to buy back the land of their fathers in the '^ Encumbered Es- tates Courts," and by the law recently passed which disestablished the Irish Protestant Church ? Is there no room for a plan whereby Irishmen, who have grown rich in foreign countries, may become purchasers of the land thus offered for sale ? And, in reply to the natural and powerful objection to such a plan on the score of distance from their native land, and the natural re- pugnance to return and live there, and break up new ties, which are now old, and have made them what they are, could not the fathers spare one son at least, whom they might devote to the noble purpose of becoming Irish again, and settling on an Irish estate, ana marrying there ? This would seem an easy and sim- ple manner of recreating a Catholic gentry in the island. This is merely a hint thrown out to exemplify what we mean by associations for the purpose of raising Ireland up again ; the many possible objects of national organization will occur to any mind giving a moment's reflection to it. This subject will occu- py our attention at greater length in the next chapter. CHAPTEE XYI. ICOBAL FOKOB ALL-SUFFICIENT FOE THE RESUERECTION OF IRELAND, This chapter will be devoted to the island itself. For many centuries it was happy in its seclusion and separation from the rest of Europe : in these days it necessarily forms a part of the whole mass of Japhetic races ; its isolation is no longer possible ; and, in the opinion of many, it is destined once again to become a spot illustrious and happy. The consideration of how that lus- tre and happiness are to come upon it is the only task still left us. Whoever takes into consideration the advantages it already enjoys, and compares its present situation with that of a hundred years back, cannot fail to be struck with the remarkable change for the better which has taken place between the two periods. Ireland still suffers,, and suffers sorely, and the world still speaks with justice of her wrongs ; but, in whatever light they may appear to those who love their country, no one can pretend that it still groans under the weight of tyranny which has formed the bur- den of her history. And, while acknowledging this beneficial change in her condition, they must wonder at the same time how small was the share which the natives themselves had in bring- ing it about, although their activity never relaxed, and they had great and good men working for their cause. What, in truth, did it ? The first point which claims our attention is how effectually the moral force of what is called liberal thought dealt a death- blow to the penal laws half a century before any of them were erased from the statute book. Liberal thought may be said to have originated in England, whence it passed over to France, to be disseminated and take root throughout Europe by means of the mighty influence then exercised by the great nation. The chief object which animated the minds of those who first labored for its admission into mod- ern European principles is not for us to consider here. There is no doubt that this chief object was of a loosening and delete- rious nature : namely, to ruin Christian faith, to change all the 17 i86 MORAL FORCE. old social and political axioms held by Christendom, and to create a new society imbued with what now goes by the name of mod- em ideas. It is not necessary to point out the frightful impru- dence as well as criminality of many of those who were the pioneers of the movement. We must only take the new princi- ples as a great fact, destined yet to effect a radical change in the ideas of men of all races, a cnange already begun in Europe. Liberal thought, we say, originated in England; and it would be easy to show that there it was the result partly of Prot- estantism, partly of indifferentism, the ultimate consequence of the great principle of private judgment. This became manifest in Great Britain, from the beginning of the eighteenth century, and, as was previously shown, what is called the British Constitution was the result and outgrowth of deep political thought matured in minds indifferent to religion, of men who were as little ProtestcmU as any thing else. But they were deeply possessed by a sense of conservatism and mod- eration in the application of the most radical principles, which later on the fiery Grallic mind carried to their final and most di* astrous consequences. But, in whatever garb it may have appeared, liberalism was clearly the essence of the British Constitution, as established after all the civil and dynastic wars of the sixteenth and seven- teenth centuries. The leaders of the English nation happened at the time to be fully wedded to aristocratic ideas, and accord- ingly they refused to recognize all the consequences of their prmciples, and to see them carried out to the full. It was admitted that the king reigned, but did not govern ; that the nation governed by its representatives ; that those rep- resentatives were created by election ; that a nation could not be taxed without its free consent ; that thought, religious thought chiefly, was free ; that toleration, therefore, could admit of no exception in point of religious doctrine ; and all the other mod- em principles which have at length been admitted, though not always observed, as governmental axioms by all European na- tions. As long as those axioms were in the close keeping of English patricians, some of their consequences were far trom being lully evolved ; but certain Frenchmen, Voltaire among others, hap- pening to cross the Straits of Dover, returned with them, and, the wretched government of Louis XV. being not only too weak to withstand, but even conniving at, the boldness of the new phi losophers, the French language, which was then spoken all over Europe, carried with it from mouth to mouth the new and fasci- nating doctrine of the emancipation of thought. None of those writers, indeed, undertook to plead the cause of unfortunate Ireland. Voltaire threw tlie whole of France int<> MORAL FORCE. 487 agitation, nay, all Europe, to the wilds of Russia, by taking up the case of the Protestant Galas, who was condemned to death and executed unjustly, as it seems, for the supposed murder of a son who was inclined to embrace Catholicity ; but never a word did he speak of the suffering which at that time had settled down over the whole Irish nation solely for the crime of its religious convictions. Nevertheless, toleration became the catch- word with all. It rang out loudly from a thousand French pamphlets and ponder- ous tomes ; it was caught up and echoed back from England ; it penetrated the unkindly atmosphere of Russia even, and was si- lently pondered over under the rule of an unbelieving despot. It was impossible for Ireland not to derive some benefit from all this. It took a long time, indeed, for emancipation of thought to cross that narrow channel which divided the "sister" islands; for, at the precise period when the doctrine was loudest in France, the most atrocious penal laws were being executed in Ireland, and there seemed no hope for the suffering nation. But, toward the end of that eventful eighteenth century, the breath of that magic word, toleration, at last was felt on the shores of Erin. When it was in the mouths of all Europe, when English clergymen had thoroughly imbibed the new doctrine, when even Scotch ministers began to thaw under its genial in- fluence, and become " liberal theologians," how could an Irish magistrate think of hanging a friar, or transporting a priest, or imposing a heavy fine on a Catholic who committed the heinous offence of hearing mass, or absenting himself from the services of the Established Church ? At last, the " Mass-rock " was no longer the only spot whereon the divine victim of expiation could be offered up ; and it soon came to be known that, to by- lanes and obscure houses in the cities numbers of persons flocked on Sundays, presided over by their own Sogarth Aroon, On one occasion, already noticed, the floor of a rickety house, where they were worshipping, gave way, to the killing and maiming of many ; thenceforth. Catholics were allowed to assemble in public to the knowledge of all, and, though " discoverers " were still legally entitled to denounce and prosecute them, there was small chance of a verdict against them. Thus was it owing to a great moral force — whether good or bad is not the question now — that the penal laws first became obsolete ; and Irishmen had absolutely nothing whatever to do in the matter. "Not a single pamphlet, demanding toleration, and proclaiming the rights of^ religious freedom, ever, to our knowledge, issued from the Irish press at the time. No book, written by an Irish author, advocating the same, was ever print- ed clandestinely, as were so many French books, at first appear ing in Holland, or covertly in France, with a false title-page. 488 MORAL FORCE. When tlie Volunteer movement took place, toleration was ii full sway in Ireland. As was seen, the question debated in the Dungannon Convention referred solely to the extension of the elective franchise to Catholics ; and, though this was unjustly denied them by the majority of the Volunteers, under the guid- ance of the leaders of the movement, there was no question of any longer refusing to the native Irish Catholics the right of practising their religion freely. This the moral sense of tne cen- tury had secured to them. ' The attainment of the political franchise was also the result of purely moral force, though it required a much longer time in its acquisition, as it was a question, not merely of a right indi- vidual in its nature, as all natural religious rights are, but one affecting external society, and productive of material results of great import. In this the Irish were not merely passive ; they launched them- selves heart and soul on the sea of political agitation. From 1810 to 1829, the Catholic Association, which embraced men of all classes of society, was incessant in its clamor for emancipa- tion. The chief object of this association being the political franchise, it was felt by all that, sooner or later, that privilege must be granted. Meanwhile, the secular enemies of Ireland were not idle. Emancipation — that is the political franchise — they called a " Utopian dream," which they asserted England could not grant. Was it not directly opposed to the coronation- oath, nay, to the English Constitution ? The king himself was, and publicly declared himself to be, of this opinion. According to your thorough-bred Englishman, the state would rather spend its last shilling, and sacrifice its last man, than suffer it. How many spoke thus, even up to the very day on which Wellington, changing his mind perforce, at last proposed the measure I All this opposition was perhaps only to be expected ; but the strange thing was that many excellent patriotic Irishmen, Cath- olics, laymen as well as clerics and prelates, were opposed to the agitation set on foot by O'Connell and his friends ; they also thought it a " Utopian dream," likely only to bring new calami- ties upon their country. They seemed not to see that the refusal of emancipation meant in fact the continuance of the small Prot- estant minority as the ruling power — the state — in Ireland, which, owing to moral force, was no longer so, save in theory. In fact, already the majority, that is, almost the whole of Ireland, was an immense power. Its members were at liberty to combine openly, to show themselves, to speak, to write, to agitate ; they were, in a word, a people, and the Protestant minority no longer really constituted tne state. It is true that the majority of Irishmen had for centuries con- tinued to act unanimously in their resistance to oppression ; as MORAL FORCE. 48y was seen, tnej had been a people from the moment that the English kings and Parliaments strove to coerce their religious faith, and more particularly from the destruction of clanship. The J were truly a nation^ though without a government of their own, and for the greater part of the time bending under the most intolerable tyranny. jReligion had given them one thought and one heart. And now that, owing to the mighty, the irre- sistible moral force of liberalism, they could no longer be openly persecuted for wishing to remain Catholics, the question arose : W ere they still to be absolutely nothing in the state % This was the real demand of the Catholic Association, and every one ought to have seen its importance and the certainty of success. Nevertheless, a great number of sincere Irishmen did not see the question in this light, and were covertly or openly opposed to the agitation. Ireland appeared to be divided just at a mo- mentous crisis. The leaders of the association were not themselves altogeth- er agreed as to the best mode of putting their question. Some were for armed opposition, thinking they could beat England in the open field. But the great originator and leader of the move- ment sternly opposed so mad a proposition. He was for moral force, seeing how clearly and irresistibly, even if unwittingly, it was working for their cause. In spite of all adverse circum- stances, although the English party and the English nation stood up en masse against him, although many Irishmen refused to join in the agitation, while some of his best friends wished to risk all in a desperate venture, he stood calm, firm, and so confi- dent of success, that he caused himself to be returned as member for the County Clare to the English Parliament, before even emancipation had given him the right of candidature. It was immediately after this " unconstitutional " election that the boon of emancipation was suddenly granted, contrary to all expectation and probability, and O' Conn ell proudly took his ^eat among the representatives of Ireland in the Imperial Parlia- f.nent. If this measure was not carried by a purely moral force, it is hard to see how that phrase can be applied to any thing in this world. This is not the place to write a history of that memo- rable struggle. It is still fresh in the memory of many living men. We merely draw a conclusion from what has happened in our own time, and one which may be said to be a clear inference from the circumstances of the case, and to which no one can offer any serious objection. This conclusion is, the omnipotence of moral force in gaining for Ireland so much of liberty, of po- litical and social privileges, as was finally granted her. This victory won for the Irish Catholics the acknowledgment on the part of England that they were a factor in the state. The i90 MORAL FOKOE. next question which naturally presented itself was, " What wftf to be their exact position in the state 'i " There are many answers to this, even in modem ideas. In purely democratic countries suffrage is universal, all have a po- litical vote, and the majority is supposed to rule. In countries where the government is oligarchical or aristocratic, rank, wealth, and position, are " privileged ; " the great mass is de- prived of a vote. Yet, even in those countries, in accordance with the modern idea, blood is not every thing ; a certain num- ber of plebeians are admitted to a share in public affairs, and their number is greater or smaller as the struggle, which is al- ways going on between the few and the many, wavers to this side or to that. Thus, in the English Parliament there is often an " electoral " or " reform " question discussed and agitated. But the leaders of the Catholic Association boldly advocated a question prior to those — what at the time was called the repeal of the Union, and is now known as " home-rule." Must Ireland continue to be governed by laws enacted in England ? The number of her special representatives is com- paratively so small, her Catliolic aspirations meet with such deaf ears in the majority of the members, that, as long as Ire- land is without her own Parliament, she cannot be called a free country. Moreover, according to modern ideas, self-government seems to be admitted as an axiom ; all countries have a right to it, under the limitation of constitutional enactments, either in " con- federacies " or in " imperial states." Why should Ii-eland alone be deprived of such a boon ? It is known how O'Connell suddenly grasped the question and mastered it. His first repeal association was suppressed on the instant by a proclamation of the Irish Secretary. O'Connell bowed to the proclamation, and for the first organization substi- tuted another called " the Irish Volunteers for the Repeal of the Union." This met with the same fate as the first. The great a^tator then took refuge in " repeal breakfasts," and dechired his intention, if the governmont " thought fit to proclaim down breakfasts, to resort to a political lunch, and, if political luncheon be ecjually dangerous to tne peace of the viceroy, he would have political dinners ; if the dinners be proclaimea, we must, said lie, like certain sanctified dames, resort to tea and tracts." The "breakfasts" were 8up])rcs8ed, and O'Connell was ar- rested. The prosecution, however, was soon abandoned, and for the moment, desmiring of success in advocating repeal, he came down to the " lleform party," from which he obtained at first some great advantages for treland — the adtninietration of Lord Mulgrave, the best the island had known for centuries, and the appointment of many Catholics to high oflices in the state. MORAL FORCE. . 491 It is not necessary to relate the circumstances which finally drove O'Connell back upon his original plan, and the formation, in April, 1840, of the " Loyal National liepeal Association." Within a short time three million associates were contrib- uting annually to the national fund, and a scene was witnessed which the most devoted lover of Erin could never have antici- pated. It would be useless to search the annals of mankind for a more startling exhibition of purely moral force. The causes of its failure will appear causes altogether of a temporary and unexpected character, when we come to examine them. But the stupendous spectacle itself was enough to impress the beholder with the irresistible effect which it could not fail to ]jroduce. A whole nation obedient to the voice of one man I — and that a man who had never been invested with a state dig- nity, proud only of having once represented a poor Irish county in the English Parliament ; who was eminently a man of the people, identified in every way with the people, speaking a lan- guage they could all understand, speaking to hundreds of thou- sands who had come at his call to listen to him : at one time nearly a million of them surrounded him on the hill of Tara. Had a demagogue stood in his place, how could he have re- sisted the temptation of using such power to effect a thorough revolution ? O'Connell had only to utter the word, and those immense masses of men would have swept the whole island as with a besom of destruction. The impetuosity of the Irish character when placed in such circumstances is well known, and O'Connell knew it better than any man living at the time. He showed himself truly heroic in the constant moderation of his words, even in scenes the most exciting, when a look from him might have lashed the nation into madness. To bring out more clearly the stamp and greatness of the man, compare his conduct with that of the leaders in the great French Revolution of 1793. IS'ot one of them ever possessed a tithe, not merely of the great Irishman's honesty of purpose, but even of his real authority over the people ; yet, what frightful convulsions did they not bring upon the state in the days of their brief popularity ? Throughout the whole repeal movement, when millions of people obeyed implicitly one leader, ready to do his will at any moment, there was never a single breach of the peace, never an attempt at outrage, never a threat of retalia- tion. The only difficulty is where to bestow the greater admiration, on O'Connell or the people ; for, if O'Connell towered almost above humanity in his never-varying moderation, with sucli a powerful engine in his hands, the people offered a spectacle which would be looked for in vain elsewhere in the history of man, that of a whole nation swayed by the most excited feelings, 492 . MORAL FORCH.. one in thought, in aims, in the bitter memory of tlic past, con Bcious of their irresistible power in the present, yet never yield- ing to passion, but dispersing quietly after listening to the im- passioned harangues of their leader, to return to their homes and resume their ordinary occupations. Any impartial man, who has read history at all, must acknowledge that this spectacle is unexampled, and in itself vindicates the Irish character from the foolish aspersions so lavishly cast upon it, and so thoughtlessly repeated still. One great fact was brought out by those demonstrations which afterward appeared so barren of result, namely, the exist- ence of a nation full of life and energy, of a surprising vigor, and at the same time governed by stern principles as well as swayed by emotion. It would be idle to pretend that they were a non-entity, save as forming a part of the British Empire, existing on sufferance as it were, merely to add to the greatness and the glory of the English nation. They possessed a life of their own. That life had, as was seen, been instilled into them by their religious convictions alone ; it had lain dormant for more than a century ; and now it burst forth in the view of the world, to proclaim that the Irish nation still existed. And this wonderful resurrection was due to moral force alone. Though the Irish people then appeared so different from that humbled, crushed mass of oppressed beings, who, a hundred years before, lay so completely at the mercy of their masters, it was, nevertheless, the same people, and the difference was purely one of circumstances. Had they been allowed in the previous century to manifest their feelings, as a happy change in the state of affairs now permitted them, they would assuredly have acted in exactly the same manner. And this reflection tends to confirm the opinion, several times here expressed, that the Irish people existed all along, and that the most adverse circumstances had never succeeded in destroying it. Meanwhile, O'Connell was the sovereign of that nation, and one whose power over his subjects w{ls greater than that of any of the kings or emperors who occupied the various thrones of Euro])e at the time. Later events proved how precarious was the autliority of all those who appeared to hold the fate of mill- ions in their hands ; the authority of O'Connell alone was deeply rooted in the heart of his nation. From the humble position of a Kerry lawyer, he had gradually risen to the proud preeminence which he occupied in the eyes of Europe, and he owed it solely to that moral force of whicli he was so sincere an advocate, and which he knew so well how to wield. But how came all the high hopes then so ardently enter- tained by the friends of Ireland to be so suddenly dashed to the ground, and O'Connell to die of a broken heart i MORAL FORCE. 493 It seems, indeed, to be the opinion of Irishmen even, that O'Connell's theory was faulty ; tliat moral force alone could not restore Ireland to her lawful position among nations ; that, in fact, he failed by his very moderation, and that the bitterness which clouded his last days was the natural consequence of his false and delusive expectations. Such seems now to be the almost universal opinion. Yet, in all his wonderful career, only one fault can be brought against him. Yielding, on one occasion, in 1843, to the exu- berance of his feelings, "he committed himself to a specific promise that within six months repeal would be an accom-. plished fact." This promise, rashly given, and showing no result, is said to have cooled down the enthusiasm of the people, who, from that time, lost confidence in their leader ; and to this alone is the utter failure of the great agitation ascribed. But there is so little of real truth in this assertion that, when, on his well-known imprisonment, after the law lords, in the British House of Peers, declared that the conviction of O'Con- nell and his colleagues was wrong, he was restored to liberty, the writer just quoted confesses that " overwhelming demon- strations of unchanged affection and personal attachment poured in upon him from his countrymen. Their faith in his devotion to Ireland was increased a hundred-fold." It is true that the same writer, Mr. A. M. O'Sullivan, adds that " their faith in the efficiency of his policy, or the surety of his promise, was gone ; " but to reconcile this phrase with what precedes it, it must not be taken absolutely. The want of faith here spoken of was restricted to the members of a new party, which had been organized chiefly during the imprisonment of the great leader, the " Young Ireland party," the new advocates of pnysical force against England, composed of the ardent and, most surely, well-intentioned young men, who failed so egre- giously a few years later. This party was the chief cause of O'Connell's failure, coupled with the awful famine which followed soon after, and left the Irish small desire for political agitation with grim Death staring them in the face, and the main question before them one of avoiding starvation and utter ruin. Both causes, however, were purely of a temporary nature, and the efficacy of moral force remained strong as ever, and, in fact, the only thing possible. The Young Ireland party could not exist long, as its avowed policy was so rash, so ill-founded, and poorly carried out, that the mere breath of British power was enough to dissipate jt hopelessly in a moment. Moreover, it placed itself in open antagonism to the mass of the Catholic clergy, and appearea to 494 MORAL FORCE. have so ill studied the history of the country that its members did not know the real power which religion exercised over their countrymen. They could not but fail, and their futile attempt only served to render worse the condition of the country they were ready to die for. It would be enough to add here, of other subsequent attempts of the same nature, tnat no real hope for the complete resurrec- tion of Ireland could be looked to from such abortive and still- bom conspiracies ; especially when the alliance entered into by some of them with the revolutionary party of European socialists and atheists is taken into account, men from whom nothing but disorder, anarchy, and crime, can be expected. Thus, those who wish well to the Irish cause have only moral force to fall back upon. It is needless to do more than mention the passing nature of the frightful calamity of famine and consequent expatriation, which nave been sufficiently dwelt upon. The Irish race has passed through ordeals more trying than either of these ; it has survived them, and increased in numbers after all previous calamities, as it doubtless will after this last, when Goa thinks proper to abate in the people the eagerness they still feel for leaving their native country. All the progress made by Ireland, so far, is due, therefore, solely to the Kind action of Divine Providence, which is generally called the "logic of events," aided by men endowed with pru- dence and energy. It would be superfluous for our purpose to detail at length several other progressive steps made subsequent- ly, which the mad attempt of the party of physical force would have eifectually prevented if open tyranny were as easy a thing in these days as it once was. The establishment of the " Encum- bered Estates Courts," and the disestablishment of the Irish Protestant Church, are the chief measures alluded to : the first so fruitful of good to Ireland since its adoption, and the second destined to be no less so. It is useless to remark that physical force had nothing to do with their introduction, and that the British statesmen who advocated and carried them through were swayed only by that unseen power which is said by Holy Script- ure to " hold the heart of kings in its hands." Let the Irish do their part, and Heaven will continue to smile on them. Since it is to this unseen power that all the improvement now visible in the condition of the Irish nation is due, it is only natural to expect from it every thing that is still wanting. For we are far from thinking that nothing more is to be done, and that all to be desired has been obtained. That the nation is still dissatisfied, is plain enough ; and it must be right in not feeling contented with the various measures for its improvement ten- dered it sp fan The voice of its natural leaders — of the prelateg MORAL FORCE. 495 and clergy — proclaims that there are many things to change, and many new measures to be introduced. the first and foremost of these is a thorough remedy for the disgraceful state of pauperism to which the great majority of the Irisli nation is yet reduced. That pauperism was wilfully estab- lished, and this national crime of England stands unatoned for still. It would be unjust to say that the policy which produced it is pursued to-day by the English Government ; we sincerely believe, on the contrary, that the state of things which has existed for the last two centuries is seriously deplored by many of those w^ho, under God, hold in their keeping the destiny of millions of men. But it is surprising that so many projects, so many attempts at legislation, the writing of so many wise books, dis- cussions so many and so exhaustive of the evil, should all result in leaving the evil almost as it stood. If we listen to those who know Ireland perfectly, who have either spent their lives in the country, or traversed its surface leisurely and intelligently, it would seem as though the old de- scriptions of her in the time of her greatest misfortunes would still be appropriate and true. " No devastated province of the Roman Empire," said Father Lavelle, but yesterday, in his " Irish Landlord," " ever presented half the wretchedness of Ireland. At this day, the mutilated Fellah of Egypt, the savage Hottentot and New-Hollander, the live chattel of Cuba, enjoy a paradise in comparison with the Irish peasant, fhat is to say, with the bulk of the Irish nation." But, as this short passage deals only in generalities, and as there may be some suspicion of the warm nature of the waiter having given a higher color to his words than was warranted by the facts, let us listen to the less impassioned utterances of trav- ellers who have recently visited the island : let us see the Irish at home in their towns and in the country. I. In towns and cities : The most Rev. Archbishop of Dub- lin, writing in 1857 to Lord St. Leonards, on the state of his flock in Dublin, says : " "Were your lordship to visit some of the ruined lanes and streets of Dublin, your heart would thrill with horror at the picture of human woe which would present itself." And in a pastoral letter, November 27, 1 861, he spoke of " tens of thousands of human beings, destitute of all the comforts of life, who are to be met with at every step in all great towns and cities. If you enter the wretched abodes wdiere they live, you will find that they have no fuel, that they are unprovided with beds and other furniture, and that generally they have not a 'sin- gle blanket to protect them from the cold.'^ Abbe Perraud, after a thorough examination of the subject, wrote, in 1864, in " Ireland under English Rule : " " The poor quarters of Cork, Limerick, and Drogheda, present 490 MORAL FORCE. ilie sMinc Kpoetacle as Dublin, and justify the sad proverbial celeb rity of 'Irish rags.' Dirt, negligence, and want of care, doubt less, go a long way in giving to destitution in Ireland its repul- sive and hideous form ; bat who is unaware that continued and hopeless destitution engenders, as of necessity, listlessness and carelessness, and that, to enter into a struggle witli poverty, there must be at least some chance of carrying oif the victory ? " A German Protestant, Dr. Julius Rodenberg, writing in 1861, expressed his astonishment at the sight of Ireland's pov- erty, as he saw it in the streets of Dublin, although he had doubtless read a great deal about it previously. " You are in a country," he says, " whence people emigrate by thousands, while fields, of such an extent and power of production as would sup- port them all, lie fallow." And with respect to the progress already made, M. de Beau- mont had remarked many years before that in Ireland a certain relative progress was quite compatible with the continued exist- ence of pauperism among the lower classes. " One single cause," he remarks, " sufiices to explain why the agricultural population becomes poorer, while the prosperity of the rich is on the in- crease : it is that all improvement in the land is profitable solely to the proprietor, who exacts more rent from the farmer in pro- portion as he works the land into a better state." Since M. de Beaumont wrote, the pauperism in the cities has assumed a more wretched and repulsive form, in consequence of the crowding there of poor peasants who had been evicted from their small farms and ned to the nearest city or town with the uope of finding there at least charity. "For the last ten years," wrote Abbe Perraud, in 18<)4, ** there has been taking place in the large cities an accumulation of poor as fatal to their health as to their morality. They are mostly country people whom eviction has driven from the coun- try, who have been unable to emigrate, and who were unwilling to shut themselves up immediately in the workhouses. The resources they procure for themselves, by doing odd work, are so completely insufficient, that it is impossible to be surprised at their destitution." Dr. Rodenberg, describing the state of the poor country peo- ple crowded in the " Liberties of Dublin," says of the rooms in which they live : " In those holes the most wretched and pitiable laborers imaginable live ; they often lie by hundreds together on the bare ground." "Such citations might be sadly multiplied, but those given are sufficient as descriptive of the state of the poor Irish in the cities. Let us now see how the peasants live in the country in many parts of Irpl^^n'^ : Lx, ** The destitution of the agricultural classes," writes Abb6 MORAL FORCE. 497 Perraud, from personal observation, "in order to be rightly appreciated, must be seen in the boggy and mountainous regions of Munster, of Connaugbt, and of the western portion of Ulster. " The ordinary dwelling of the small tenant, of the day-labor- er, in that part of Ireland, answers with the utmost precision the description of it twenty years ago given by M. de Beaumont : *Let the reader picture to himself four walls of dried mud, which the rain easily reduces to its primitive condition ; a little thatch or a few cuts of turf form the roof; a rude hole in the roof forms the chimney, and more frequently there is no other issue for the smoke than the door of the dwelling itself. One solitary room holds father, mother, grandfather, and children. JS'o furniture is to be seen ; a single litter, usually composed of frass or straw, serves for the whole family. Five or six half-na- ed children may be seen crouching over a poor fire. In the midst of them lies a filthy pig, the only inhabitant at its ease, because its element is filth itsen.' " Into how many dwellings of this kind have we not ourselves penetrated — especially in the counties of Kerry, Mayo, and Done- gal — more than once obliged to stoop down to the ground, in order to penetrate into these cabins, the entrance to which is so low that they look more like the burrows of beasts than dwell- ings made for man ! " Upon the road from Kilkenny to Grenaugh, in the vicinity of those beautiful lakes, at the entrance of those parks, to which, for extent and richness, neither England nor Scotland can prob- ably offer any thing equal, we have seen other dwellings. A few branches of trees, mterlaced and leaning upon the slope in the road, a few cuts of turf, and a few stones picked up in the fields, compose these wretched huts — ^less spacious, and perhaps less substantial, than that of the American savage." At the time of Abbe Perraud's visit, a correspondent of the Dublin Saunders Wews-Letters^ who was commissioned to inquire into the condition of the peasants, gave the following reply, which, as the abbe justly remarks, is but the faithful echo of all the de- scriptions made within the last half-century : " The inhabitants of Erris appear to be the most wretched of all human beings. Their cabins, their patched and tattered clothes, their broken-down gait — every thing bears witness to their poverty. Their beds consist of a few bits of wood crossed one upon the other, supported by two heaps of stones, and cov- ered with straw; their whole bedi3lothes a miserable, worn-out quilt, without any blankets. . . . But there is nothing in Ireland like the habitations which the people of the village of Fallmoi*e have made for themselves, who have been evicted by Mr. Palmer. They are composed of masses of g**anite, picked up on the shore, 52 498 iiORAL FORCE. and roiiglilj laid one by the other. These cabinB are bo low that a man cannot stand upright in them ; so narrow tliat they can hardly hold three or four persons." After all, F. Lavelle was guilty of no exaggeration in stating that the hut of the Hottentot was better than that of the Irish peasant. But, in the district of Gweedore, northeast of County Donegal, the state of the peasantry is more deplorably wretched still than in any other part of Ireland. At the time of a cele- brated parliamentary inquiry into the matter in 1858, a London- derry newspaper stated that " there are in Donegal about four thousand adults, of both sexes, who are obliged to go barefoot during the winter, in the ice and snow^ — pregnant women and aged people in habitual danger of death from the cold. . . . It is rare to nnd a man with a calico shirt ; but the distress of the women is still greater, if that be possible. There are many hun- dreds of families in which five or six gi'own-up women have among them no more than a single dress to go out in. . . . There are about five hundred families who have but one bed each — in which father, mother, and children, without distinction of age or sex, are crowded pell-mell together." if from the dwellings and clothing of the peasantry we pass to their food, there is no need of addmg any thing to what was said on this point when describing the periodical famines. One detail, however, not yet mentioned, deserves to be recorded ; " In the district of Gweedore," says Abb6 Perraud, " our eyes were destined to witness the use of sea-weed. Stepping once into a cabin, in which there was no one but a little girl charged with the care of minding her younger brothers, and getting ready the evening meal, we found upon the fire a pot full oi doulamaun ready cooked ; we asked to taste it, and some was handed to us on a little platter. " This weed, when well dressed, produces a kind of viscous juice ; it has a brackish taste, and savors strongly of salt water. We were told in the country that the only use of it is to increase, when mixed with potatoes, the mass of aliment given to the stomach. The longer and more difiicult the work of the stomach, the less frequent are its calls. It is a kind of compromise with hunger ; the people are able neither to suppress it nor to satisfy it ; they endeavor to cheat it. We have also been assured that this weed cannot be eaten alone ; it must be mixed with vegeta- bles, since of itself it has no nutritive properties whatever." How long is such a state of things likely to continue \ It has already existed long enough to be a disgrace to the much- vaunted benevolence of the nineteenth century. A sure and radical remedy must be found for it ; and, as it has been already so long delayed, it should be found the more promptly. It seems that the tenure of land lies at the bottom ot the question, MORAL FOROE. 499 and that respect for what are called " established rights " offers the main difficulty. Those rights, indeed, were founded on the cruellest wrong and the most flagrant injustice ; but as posses- sion is " nine points of the English law," and so long a time has passed since the land changed hands, prescription must be ad- mitted and let them be called rights ; nor can any man in his senses ask for a violent subversion of society for the sake of lighting an old wrong. But it has ever been a maxim of jurisprudence that sumrmim jus, sv/imna injuria ; and this axiom finds its full explanation m the present case, when it is considered that the jvs is on the side of a comparatively small number of mqn, for the most part absentee landlords, while the injuria leans to the great mass of the primitive owners of the soil. The time-honored policy of the English Government, that all the open abuses of landlordism should be watched over and protected with the most jealous care, while, on the other hand, the wretched farmer and cottier is supposed to have no rights to defend and guard, should be abandoned at once and forever, with a firmness that can leave no room for doubt or equivocation, if the restoration of confidence on the part of the Irish is esteemed any thing worth. But, if for no other motive, at least for the sake of securing peace and order in Ireland, a remedy must be found. There is no reason, why the Irish should longer remain a nation of pau- pers ; and, although some may still pretend that the fault and its remedy lie with themselves, unprejudiced men will readily acknowledge that the fault lay first, at least, at England's door — a fact wliich the London Timea has conceded often and pro- claimed loudly enough. Let British statesmen, then, devise proper means for such an end without social commotion, with as little disturbance of pri- vate rights as possible ; for the object is an imperious necessity. It seems that the latest law enacted with this view is not the measure that was required; is totally inadequate in its pro- risions, scope, and extent. In such a case it is always open to legislators to introduce a new and more satisfactory measure ; and moral force will surely bring this about, provided it is tme to itself. We confess to having no scheme of our own to set forth ; but Irishmen are free, nay entitled, to speak, to write on, and discuss the subject ; and a serious, steady, but lawful agita- tion of the question will surely find its true and final solution. The last Galway election, notwithstanding the temporary triumph of Judge Keogh, was a beginning in the right direc- tion. There is no need here of revolution, of what the French call une jaqyueme^ of arming the populace for the purpose of violently electing the great laud-owners. Ko Irishman has ever stood foi 500 MORAL FOROE. BO calamitous a remedy. The aid of the Internationalists wiL certainly never be callea in by the true children of Erin for any purpose whatever. It seems that the great and holy Pontiff, rius IX., made this remark to the Prince of Wales, at their last interview at the Vatican, and, according to the report, the prince fully admitted its truth as far, at least, as he, by any out- ward sign, could show. The question is one of pure justice, to be settled within the limits of order and law ; and surely, when all admit that the evil ifl so crying, that a remedy must be found, one will be found, which, while it does no real injury to any person, will bring comfort and . relief to the most deserving and suffering race of men — the Irish peasantry. We will soon see how. But the Irishman is not only physically destitute ; he is also destitute mentally ; and, if the first case calls for a prompt remedy, the second is no less urgent. Pauperism and ignorance were the two terrible engines so long worked by England for the degradation and final destruction of the Irish race. Our readers have seen how persistently was education, of any kind, refused to the natives. The Universities of Dublin and Drog- heda in the fourteenth century, the cathedral schools, founded by the Anglo-Normans, in the same age, carefully excluded the Irish from their benefits. And, when the Keformation set in, with its long series of oppressions, no Catholic could share in the new foundations of the Tudors and the Stuarts without first abjuring his religion. Penal statute after penal statute made of all the shifts, to which the Irish were driven in order to educate their children, so many crimes, punishable by death or transpor- tation. That, under such a state of things, they could remain Catholics without becoming idiots is one oi the most remarkable instances on record of buoyancy of spirit and soundness of mind on the part of a whole nation. From the end of the last century the policy of England changed completely in appearance. The foundation and endow- ment by the state of the great college of Maynooth, destined for the education of the Irish clergy, in 1795, was certainly a step on the right road, and if only primary schools for the people had, at the same time, been spread aU over the island on tne same prin- ciple of true liberality, the old injustice on the matter of eauca- tion would have been atoned for and remedied, to a great extent. But the Kildare Peace Society and the Church Education Society, founded in 1839, showed that the antagonism to the Catholic Church in Ireland was far from being dead ; nay, was as rife as ever. Lord Stanley's National Education System, in 1831, at first seemed of a character altogether above Protestant or infidel proselytism But, the composition of the various boards under MORAL FORCE. 501 that system, and some of the measures adopted, gave evidence el early and soon enough that the education proposed for the Irish was not in accordance with the true spirit of the nation, so emi- nently Catholic and religious as it is. Hence, the total failure — for such it is now admitted by all to have been — of that system ought to have opened the eyes of all impartial Englishmen to the necessity of starting from the principle that Ireland is Catholic, and that the Irish are true children of the Catholic Church. But this fact seems not yet recognized or acknowledged by those who rule the nation, since, at this very moment, a biU lies before Parliament against which all the bishops of Ireland have united in raising their voice. The queen's colleges all confess to be a wretched failure. The injustice of centuries, then, is not, even in these free days, when there is such a talk about educating the masses, repaired by the English Government ; and this sad fact seems to militate against the power of moral force. However, it is but right to remember that only those establishments are here spoken of which are supported by state aid, and that complete freedom of education, independent of such assistance, does actually exist in Ireland. Have not the bishops all necessary power to open schools of their own ? Have they not even founded a university ? Does the state dare to interfere in whatever educational establish- ments they think proper to set on foot ? They are now, in that regard, as free as the CJatholic bishops in the United States ; and if the degrees granted by the faculties under their control have no value in the eyes of the state, they can easily dispense with a concurrence, which is certainly unjustly denied, but which, even if granted, would not, in the eyes of the Church, increase in the slightest the real value of the diplomas they themselves approve. They can afford to wait for the time when complete justice will be done ; meanwhile they are freer than Catholic bishops at this moment are in all Catholic countries of Europe ; and the freedom they enjoy is entirely owing to that moral force which, we allege, is sufficient to insure, sooner or later, all the advantages that can be desired. When the present situation of the native Irish, from an educational point of view, is compared with the oppression under which they lay a hundred years ago, one cannot but wonder how so much has been obtained, and the hope, that every thing still wanting is sure to come by the agency of the force that has already won so much, cannot be deemed vain and illusory. Let not, however, what is here said be construed as advising Ireland to stand still while schemes of education, evidently god- less, are concocted, matured, and passed into laws for their special benefit. On the contrary, they must not only continue but increase their efforts to cryjhem down, till they compel a blind 502 MORAL FORCE. and deaf government to open its eyes and ears to a national want and a national voice. This is what is meant by the use of moral force. But, can the complete remedy for pauperism and the solid establishment and endowment of truly Catholic schools be ex- pected to come from any hands but those of an Irish Legisla- ture ? Can they be hoped for as long as the destiny of Ireland rests in the hands of an Imperial Parliament whose great major- ity can have no real sympathy with the long-oppressed ruL-e 'i In a word, is home-rule necessary to bring about those two great measures, which seem absolutely indispensable for the complete resuiTection of the nation ? Our readers already know that, in our opinion, an Irish Par- liament would not be a sure panacea for the evils of the country, particularly those of pauperism and ignorance, even though that Parliament sat in Dublin, and was composed of Irishmen bred and bom. The evils would not be struck out promptly and utterly, although many great improvements would immediately follow. Some of our reasons for being chary of confidence in the success of home-rule have been already given. But we have also insisted on the necessity of leaving the question open, and admitted that Irishmen have a right to discuss it, and take whatever side they may think proper, provided always they stand, as they are standing, within the limits of law and order. Surely, the Irish have a right to be fairly represented ; mod- ern doctrines, as far as they can go, consecrate that right ; and, if fair representation is an impossibility in the present state of affairs in Ireland, that state should be so altered as that the Irish nation might obtain all the advantages which a truly representa- tive government bestows. It is clear that the diflSculty consists in the paramount im- portance of the union — of the empire ; and this is not the place to discuss so large a question. It may be said, however, that the union of the British Empire does not and cannot consist in the absorption into one whole of the three integral parts which com- pose it. England, Scotland, and Ireland, are still three distinct national entities, each inhabited by a peculiar race, and each race cannot, in such a political organization, be in justice ignored, for a mere abstraction called the state. Certainly the Question is a very complicated one; and to offer a dogmatic solution of it would be pretentious. It is bet- ter to leave it to a future which is not far distant. What may be insisted on is, that moral force is strong enough to bring about a satisfactory decision, and that to resort to revolution for •uch a purpose would be as fatal as it is criminal. A right discwssiou of the question must make clear the fad MORAL FORCE. 608 that Ireland is entitled to fair dealing as a component ])art of the empire. Many other political organizations embraced within the vast limits of the British power are allowed to discuss and decide on questions peculiar to themselves, and which they aro at full liberty to pronounce upon for themselves by a wise adjust- ment and concession on tl>e part of the mother-country as necca- sary to tlieir well-being. Canada is almost entirely independent ; the Australian colonies have all their own legislatures ; it is the same more or less with all the distant dependencies of England, yet there have been no complaints heard so far of these late con- cessions threatening the union of the Empire. But the objection is urged : " If such a concession be made to Ireland, where can you stop ? The Scotch may ask the same, and the Welsh ; one has as much right to home-rule as the other ; where can you draw the line?" An easy answer to this is, that the Scotch have never asked for home-rule, for the very good reason that they never had to complain of unfair treatment at the hands of the English Govern- ment ; their special wants and desires having been always duly considered from the moment of their union with Englana. But the union of Ireland with England is not yet a century old, was brought about perforce, and by chicanery and fraud, and from the moment of its enactment to the present has been loudly pro- tested against by the Irish nation — the nation, that is, which we have followed all through, joined in this instance by numbers of their Protestant fellow-countrymen. A long list of pamphlets and books might be drawn up, as showing tlie fact that mul- titudes of Irish writers, not of a revolutionary but of a truly conservative character, who cannot be accused of disloyalty to England, have deplored, protested against, and clamored for the repeal of, the Union of 1800.* Such is not the case with Scotland. But suppose it were, and proofs furnished showing that Scotland is not fairly repre- sented in a Parliament which meets at Westminster, then that country would have just as much right to see itself fairly repre- sented, its special wants satisfied and met, as all the other branch- es of the great British organization. Certain it is that the empire cannot be sound when an im- portant, a vital part of its political frame is incurably sore. Let that sore be healed by justice, large, generous, and complete ; let Ireland be truly and really represented, in whatever manner her representation may be carried out, and the sudden rise of the little western isle in wealth, contentment, true prosperity, and happiness, will redound to the general good of the whole. As it now stands, its still miserable condition is as great and constant a danger to Great Britain as it is a reproach and a shame upon the maternal government which suffers the child, for whose poe- 604 MORAL FORCE. eession it would stake its all, to continue in a stale ui' ahnobl hopeless poverty, materially and intellectually, and tt) struggle unaided in its efforts to rise. If home-rule be the measure which is to heal Ireland's wounds, it must be granted, and the voice of reason and right must rise above the stupid clamor which savs that it cannot, must not, shall not be granted ! Such expressions were common in inflammatory pamphlets which flooded the country on the eve of Catholic Emancipation, in 1829 ; and possibly many were issued even after the granting of this (from a certain English point of view) suicidal act of justice to Catholics. But whatever may be the ultimate issue of the home-rule movement, the question of education, which is so closely allied to, as to seem dependent on it, is of such importance that it brooks no delay. Ireland is, as it may be hoped it will ever continue, a truly Catholic nation, and for such education must be special, and cannot be left to the direction of a n on Catholic state, not to use a worse expression. The result of the so-called national system, as exhibited by the Queen's Colleges and the rest, ought to be enough to open the eyes of real statesmen. But non-Catholic legislators need a sense which they do not possess, to appreciate the blunders they must fall into when pro- posing to touch such delicate interests as spiritual things. Thirty years ago, when those Queen's Colleges and schools were estab- lished in Ireland, the Catholic hierarcliy raised up their voice to warn the British Government against so rash an attempt ; for the very few who appeared willing to give the system a trial had their own doubts and forebodings. The warning, as usual, was not heeded, and the consequence is, that the partisans of the system now confess that their darling scheme has turned out a complete failure. Yet, strange to say, they do not in the least seem to have changed their ideas on the subject. On the con- trary, they wish to secularize education more completely than ever, and to extend their project to the whole British Empire ; though at this moment the warning comes to them also from the Presbyterians of Scotland, who renise to submit to the scheme, universal in its scope, of educating the yoimg according to state notions and worldly ideas. In this the British Government only follows the lead of all European cabinets and legislatures ; for tin's great iniquity is not iionfined to the British Isles, but is attenij^teS everywhere, with the evident design of taking the government of souls out of the hands to which Jesus Christ confided it — the Church. The Sovereign Pontiff was compelled to protest, and, as is the custom in these days, his protest fell unheeded. It remains to be seen whether men, who call themselves Christians, will consent to see their children educated by secular bodies, which are not onlv void MORAL FORCE. 605 A all authority over the souls of men, but imbued, as all know, with doctrines the most pernicious and disorganizing. The just complaint made by the Irish hierarchy is unfortunately not restricted to their own body ; their complaint is one with that of all the rulers of the Church throughout the w^orld. It seems to us that there is greater hope of establishing a thorough Christian system of education in Ireland than in any other country, be- cause the Irish nation will always take a more determined atti- tude, and gather in a more compact and united body around her natural leaders, the bishops and priests of God, than any other modern Catholic nation ; and, in this age, where there are una- nimity and a fixed purpose among any body of men, they can- not fail to result in a victory over all obstacles and opponents. Of one thing England may be sure, that the Irish bishops would never submit to the project now on foot in England, as to do so would be to fail in their most sacred duty ; and the mass of the Irish people is at their back. The Catholic hierarchy is always ready to support the secular power so long as that power remains within its province and does not step out of it to encroach on their unquestionable domain ; but, when duty calls on them to resist, the experience of centuries is before the world, in Ireland at least, to show how far they can carry their resistance. In this they will stand united as one man, and it is vain for the English Government to flatter itself that it will find tools among them, should it foist on them the Birmingham scheme. But a more threatening fact still is the compact union of all Irishmen in support of their bishops, against schemes which have already excited such bitter opposition on their part, and on which chey have already pronounced and given their solemn verdict in unmistakable tones. If in our days Irishmen have been so eager to uphold many projects of a doubtful character, because those projects were opposed to England ; if they have shown in the most emphatic manner that the memory of the past is still fresh, and that they are not yet prepared to accept the British Govern- ment as a friend ; if they have seized every occasion, the most trifling as well as the most important, to show that the union with England was distasteful to them — what will be their atti- tude when the question admits of no doubt, and can give rise to no apprehension in a Christian conscience ; when, indeed, they know that they stand where their dutv to God bids them, urged at the same time by their natural feelings of opposition to a power which they detest and to which they are n-reconcilable ? We do not say that we altogether approve of their dogged oppo- sition to England ; it is only alluded to as a fact which it would be folly, in treating of questions between England and Ireland, to shut one's eyes to or doubt. When such is the state of feeling, how can a scheme of god 606 MORAL FORCE. less cducatic»n hope to succeed, which, after all, requires the con sent of fathers and mothers of families ? It is only natural to suppose that the English Government, in the event of its success, is scarcely prepared to employ such a numerous, watchful, and determined police as shall march the children off to school every day by force — to schools which to them would be prisons, pre- sided over by jailers in the shape of instructors. Nevertheless, the scheme now agitated by British statesmen must culminate in some such measure, if they would have their schools attended ; and the inference is natural that education viewed from such a stand-point becomes a design criminal and oppressive in its na- ture, as well as a sheer impossibility in its carrying out. Once again the whole British power would launch itself in vain against tlie unyielding rock of as stubborn a will as ever animated hu- man beings, as durable and unshrinking almost as the inner rock upon which it is built — Catholic faith. Much space has already been devoted to the consideration of what are here considered as the two great measures necessary and sufficient for the complete resurrection of the Irish race — the lifting of the load of pauperism under which they have so long labored, and the establishment among them of a sound and thorough Christian education ; and that those measures will un- doubteuly be carried without any attempt at social convulsions, without anv violation of law and order. But, as, unfortunately, many side-issues have been raised in Ireland of very inferior im- portance, but of a nature almost exclusively to engage the atten- tion of Irishmen, to the great detriment of real progress, it may be well to dwell a little longer on the consequences which must infallibly follow from a higher state of physical comfort and men- tal culture among them : I. A higher state of physical comfort will naturally produce a stronger attachment to their native soil and a corresponding reluctance to leave it, as they now do by wholesale emigration. The thought has been dwelt upon that emigration was a design of Divine Providence, and even the first step in the resurrection of the nation and in the establishment of its power within as well as without. That the object of emigration is not yet fully at- tained may be inferred from the fact that it still contmues on so large a scale ; that it must ultimately dwindle to much smaller proportions, if not cease utterly, is pretty certain. Tliis is our wisii and hope ; for the home population of the island must be large enough to invest it with deserved importance in the eyes of foreigners. Our title-page sets forth the words of Dr. New- man, expressive of the firm belief that the time will come when the Catholic popidation of Erin will be as thick and prosperous as that of Belgium ? Why should it not be so ? Pauperism alone prevents it. Let their existence be one of comfort — mere comfort, MORAL FORCE. 507 / .ot luxury — and there is no limit to the increase of their num- i>er8. In such an event Protestantism would contract into such narrow limits that in Ireland it would become a thing uuknowTi ; the few sectarians still abiding there would themselves share in the general prosperity, and would possibly of their own accord return to the bosom of the common mother of Christians. The question, then, of increase of physical comfort for Irish men is one of the utmost importance, and, as the tenure of land is so closely connected with it, not to this question is the term side-issue applied. The land-question should be thoroughly exhausted until the true solution, the real measure, which has not yet appeared, may be brought to the surface and carried out to the full. The land-question in all its bearings lies beyond our competence ; not so, certain reasons for believing that the possession of land is necessary for the complete restoration of the nation. Manufactures and commercial pursuits are of sec- ondary importance in a country like Ireland, which is eminently agricultural. This should not be taken to mean that such matters are to be neglected, and the Irish to be discouraged in engaging in them, particularly in their home manufactures ; nor in calling for better laws to help them, at least for fair dealing as far as legislation goes. But supposing them completely inde- pendent and masters of themselves ; supposing not only the repeal of the Union, but even the separation from the British organization effected, how could they hope to compete in manu- facturing skill, and science, with the inventive genius of the American, the systematic comprehensiveness of the Englishman, or the artistic taste of the French ? Goods are manufactured (or the markets of the world, and the Irish are not yet prepared for such extensive enterprises ; and, taking the characteristics of the race into consideration, it is doubtful whether they will ever be successful in such ventures. The same may be said of commerce. When are they likely to have a navy of their own ? They are still Celts, and would it be weU for them to cease to be Celts ? The oceans of the §lobe are covered with ships bearing the flags of many nations, uppose them to unfurl a national flag to the breeze, which is saluted, wherever met, by the crafts of other civilized nations, when would it become perceptible among the crowded fleets which already hold possession of the seas ? The broad thorough- fares of the ocean know two or three national colors ; all the others are so seldom seen, that their presence or absence is alike unnoticed by the world at large. Among these would the Irish be numbered, if they engaged in commerce on their own account, and sailed no longer under British colors. It is for them, then, to turn their attention to the land, which is their chief source of wealth. Let them buy it up, or gain it 508 MORAL FORCE. by long leases, inch by inch and acre by acre, until not only the bleak bogs and wild mountains of Connaught are again their own, but the rich meadow-lands and smiling wheat-fields of Munster and Leinster. Let tlieir brethren in America and Australia associate with them in this, and thus will they build up again a true Irish yeomanry and nobility — for nobility has a new meaning to-day — more glorious, perhaps, than the old one. Poverty and rags will give place to prosperity and comfort, even in the lowliest cottages, and mirth and glee will be heard again in the country from which they have so long been banished. Is such a picture a dream, and its realization an impossi- bility ? It is our belief that, to make it a reality, only requires steadiness of purpose, perseverance, energy, and association. Fifty years ago it would certainly have seemed a dream ; but matters have advanced within the last half-century, and every thing is now prepared for such a hoped-for consummation. 11. Together with physical comfort, the culture produced by a sound and thorough education is the second thing absolutely necessary for the resurrection of the nation. Education has, at all times, been of the utmost importance ; in our age it is more so than ever. It may be said that, in the opinion of man- kind, it tends more and more to replace blood. The privileges that once belonged to rank and birth are now everywhere freely accorded to a truly-educated man. And here, wealth, whicn is almost worshipped by many, cannot altogether take the place of education. Consequently, a great effort should be made in Ireland to raise the standard of the intellectual scale of society. Owing to former tyranny and oppression, the rising must begin at the lowest grade. But the first impulse has already been given by the Church of God, and that impulse must continue and increase with a constantly-accelerated wrce. Unfortunately, a false direction has been given it by the state. The means which will surely defeat this action of the state have been seen. ^Nevertheless, it works mischievously for the general result ; and the money paid by the nation has been and still ia squandered for a most unholy purpose, when, if properly applied, it would be so fruitful of good. Should th« government persevere in its project, one course only lies open before all true Irishmen ; and that is, to ignore the action of the government, and follow a plan of their own. They have only to do what the Catholics in France would most willingly do if the state allowed them ; what Catholics in the United States have been doing for some time, and will have to do for some time longer — not murmur too loudly at the taxes paid by them for educational purposes and used so la\'ishly by the state without any profit to them ; but with steady purj^ose raise funds which tne state cannot touch, devoted to an object MORAL FORCE. 609 with which the state cannot interfere, namely, the solid Christian education of their children under the eyes and chief control of the Church, with competent and truly religious masters. Let them reflect that until recently education in Christian countries was always imparted by the Church of Christ, and that its secularization is but a work of yesterday ; that the effect of that secularization is manifest enough in the mental anarchy which grows more prevalent in Europe every day ; that the na- tion which comes back to the old system, and places again the care of youth in the hands of religious teachers, is sure to obtain a far sounder and more effective education than those who take for teachers of their children men void of faith and remarkable only for a false and superficial polish, which sooner or later will be reckoned by all at its true value, and meet only with well- merited neglect and contempt. No one will deny that moral training, the first and most im- portant part of education, is far surer and safer in the care of religious teachers than in that of mere laymen, whose morality is often doubtful, and whose reputation is not of the bes-t. With regard to scientific teaching, the mind of the religious is not, to say the least, lowered by the holy obligations which he has con- tracted : and it is an awkward fact for those who in a breath up- hold secular education and abuse the religious, that in former ages the men who excelled in arts and sciences, the geniuses whose works will live as long as the earth, were either them- selves monks or the pupils of monks. A list of them would fill many pages, and their names are not unknown to the world. For the mass of the people, the common level of primary education with which so many are now satisfied may at least be as satisfactory in its results when imparted by religious, male and female, as when under the direction of young men and women who have received every possible diploma which is at the disposal of school commissioners or boards of gentlemen invested with an office, worthy of the gravest attention, but to which they can devote but very little time. But the subject may be said to have passed beyond discussion The true and authorized leaders of the Irish in such matters, the Catholic bishops, have already taken the matter into their own hands ; and in a very short time have covered the island with their schools, with every prospect of a university. It rests with tbo government to give or refuse its aid in imparting a true national education to a nation which is Catholic ; but, with or without this aid, the Irish will have the means of educating their chil- dren rightly ; and the culture they receive will favorably com- pare with that imparted by rival establishments fostered by the state, whose pupils will not know a word even of their own na- tional history, since, in the authorized books, Ireland has no exist- 610 MORAL FORCE. ence other tlian that of an unworthy subject of the great British Empire. It was necessary to give prominence to what is here consid- ered as the most effective means of bringing about the great result which engages our attention in this chapter. There are secondary objects which might be treated, but which, in the final working of the divine will, may be insignificant. For, to repeat what has been said before, the restoration of the nation which is now progressing so steadily almost unaided by any action of man, however much he may indulge in agitation, is tne work of God, and before long will so manifest itself to all. Meanwhile it is enough to assert in general terms that Ireland is entitled to all those things which render a people happy and contented. That wished-for state is not far oft ; let them continue to be ac- tive in its pursuit. A previous chapter has already touched upon the great means to be employed in bringing this about : associa- tion, whose centre should be Ireland, and whose branches should spread wherever Irishmen have established themselves ; whose guides should be the clergy, but its chief workers, intelligent and energetic laymen. On this point it is desirable particularly to be ri^tly understood ; it is not our puq^ose to say that in such a work laymen ought not to cooperate, or even to lead ; with the memory of O'Conncll before us, such a thing would be impossible ; on the contrary, the external working ol the whole scheme should be placed in the hands of good, active, and intel- ligent laymen. They are the proper instruments for canying on such a work actively and eflScaciously ; they form, at least nu- merically, the principal part of the moral power of the nation, and that power should be developed on a larger scale than it has ever yet been. But the first impulse should be given by the moral leaders, rulers of the Church. Let the nation work under the guidance, the leadership of the men who alone stood by them when all else had been lost, who, in fact, by preserving their religion, preserved to them their nationality ; let them work under their eyes and with their sanction, and assuredly their labor will not be labor in vain. Wliat will the final result be of such a cooperation of work- ers? The formation or rather consolidation of a truly Chris- tian and Catholic people ; a most remarkable phenomenon in this wonderful nineteenth century I It would seem that they have thus far been deprived of a government of their own only to win a government at last which shall be, what is so sadly wanted in these days. Christian and Catholic. Modem govern- ments have broken loose from Christianity ; they have declared themselves independent of all moral restraint ; they have pro- nounced themselves supreme, each in its own way ; and, to be consistent, they have become godless. Donoso Cortes has showD MORAL FORCE. 611 this admirably in his work on "Catholicism, Liberalism, and Socialism." The sad spectacle which in our age meets the eye of the Christian, is universal ; there is no longer a Catholic na- tion ; Christendom has ceased to exist. This is held by the statesmen of to-day to be a vast improvement on the old social system. Mediaeval barbarism, as they term it, has, according to them, met with just condemnation ; and to return to it now, would be to drag an advanced age centuries backward, a horror which no sane man could contemplate. Undoubtedly there were many abuses under the old regime^ which the most sincere Christian regrets, and could not wish to see restored, or again attempted. But, its great feature, the inner link which bound the system together, its unity under the guidance of the universal Church, was the only safeguard for the general happiness of mankind. This admirable unity has been broken into fragments ; each part does for itself, and thus the world lies at the mercy of Might, and each nation goes about like " a strong man armed, keeping his house." Even Heeren, a writer who is strongly Protestant and liberal, is driven to confess in his " History of the Political System of Europe," that the reign of Frederick the Great, in Prussia, was " immediately followed by those great convulsions in states, which gave the ensuing period a character so different from the former. The contemporary world, which lived in it, calls it the revolutionary ; but it is yet too early to decide by what name it will be denoted by posterity, after the lapse of a century." After a brief review of the various states as they existed toward the middle of the last century, he adds : " The efforts of the rulers to obtain unlimited power had overthrown the old national freedom in all the states of the Continent ; the assem- blies of the states had disappeared, or were reduced to mere forms; nowhere had they been modelled into a true national representation." He does not see that, in order to obtain that " unlimited power," the rulers had thrown off the yoke of Church authority everywhere, and that Christendom disappeared with the " old national freedom " as soon as the key-stone of the edifice, the papacy, was ejected from its place. Nevertheless, he was keen enough to perceive it necessary to call in armed force to uphold that usurped power of rulers : " For the strength of the states no other criterion was known than standing armies. And, in reality, there was scarcely any other. By the perfection which they had attained, and which kept pace almost mth the growing power of the princes, the line of partition was gradually drawn between them and the nations; *?iey only were armed ; the nations were defenceless." This great German historian carries his views further still, 512 MORAL FORCE. and confesses that, " if the political supports were in a tottering condition, the moral were no less shattered. The corner-stone of every political system, the sanctity of legitimate possession, without which there would be only one war of all against all, was gone ; politicians had already thrown off the mask in Poland ; the lust of aggrandizement had prevailed. . . . The indissoluble bond connecting morals and politics being broken, the result was to make egotism the prevailing principle of public as well as private life." Admirable reflections, doubtless, but incomplete ; the Prot- estantism of the writer not allowing him to perceive that, the only sure defender of morality having been discarded, egotism could not but prevail. Therefore does he complain, being blind to the true cause of the disorder, that " democratic ideas, trans- ported from America to Europe, were spread and cherished in the midst of the monarchical system — ready materials for a conflagration far more formidable than their authors had antici- pated, should a burning spark unhappily light upon them. Others had already taken care to profane the religion of the people; and what remains sacred to the people when religion and constitution are profaned?" This last observation, thrown in at the end of some very sound considerations, would have made them far more striking, had it appeared at their head as the great source of all the catas- trophes which ensued. But it requires a Catholic ej^e to take in the whole truth, and a Catholic tongue to give the right explana- tion of history, as of all things else. Many reflections similar to those above quoted have been made by non-Catholic writers, and the defenders of the Church liMve spoken with clearness and energy throughout. Neverthe- less, the evil has continued to grow more universal and more alarming, until, to-day, no principle on which the social fabric can securely stand is acknowledged by those who rule the exterior world. And of what Heeren calls the violation of " the sanctity of legitimate possession," let Poland and many other states speak, nay, tliose of the Father of the faithful himself, to whose warning voice rulers have now so long persistently turned a deaf ear. Wliere are now even the fragments of that " comer- stone" of the old "political system?" Such is the state of affairs, not only in Europe, but generally throughout the world, so that the Catnolic Church has at length entered fully upon that stage of her existence when she possesses i/ndi'vidiial subjects full of tender affection and devotedness, whose number, thank God I increases every day, but not a single State which acknowledges her as its director and teacher. Ireland may be destined to become the first one which sliall acknowledge ner, and set an example to the rest. If ever she MORAL FORCE. 613 enjoys self-government, she will surely do so, for Catholic she is to the core, and Catholic she cannot but remain. When it was said that home-rule would not serve as a sure panacea for all her evils, it w^ill be understood as applying to the actual moment and nothing else. That it would not be a good thing for her ever to enjoy real self-government was never in oui- mind. Moral force is bringing this nearer to her ; and step by step she is learning how to wait without support. Already, she possesses something of political franchise, and enjoys muni- cipal government more truly than Frenchmen do after all their social convulsions. There are men. Irishmen even, who pretend that she would subside into anarchy if her destiny were confided to her own pare. They point to the constant wranglings which have been aer bane for centuries, and the "prophet" who wrote the "Battle of Dorking" represents her, as soon as the humiliation of England left her free, struggling painfully in the throes of anarchy. That this general opinion of men witli regard to Ire- land is but too true, was conceded in another place, yet only so far as concerned interests which were trifling, or, at best, of no high character ; that when the object at stake is one of great importance, there was more steadiness, unanimity, energy, and true heroism in the Irish people, than in any other known to history in modern times. And this reflection is certainly borne out by the issues of all the secular struggles of the Irish with Scandinavianism, feudalism, and Protestantism. Surely is tha e in them the right material for a nation ; and, when the day comes for the country to take in hand, under Providence, her own destiny and work it out, the "prophet" will find himself sadly mistaken when, freed forever from the degradation of pauperism, she is at liberty to raise her thoughts above food and raiment; when her children, lifted by a solid Christian education to the high level of intellectual foresight, ehall be able to discuss the great objects of their national in- terests, with no question of clan and clan ; then wrangling will ;'(5ase, as far as public questions are concerned, and be merelv left to matters of minor importance, or private afikirs, as witKi all other nations. But that concentrated energy which has marked the race throughout that long fight of centuries against such overwhelming odds, will still continue as their distin- guishing characteristic, but turned now to the question of their own national welfare, and no longer to the aversion of doom Then will Europe see what a truly Christian people is, for then there will be no other left ; and the superiority of principles, of strength of mind, energy of character, naturally fostered by deep religious convictions, will aflord another proof of Montes- quieu's reflection, that " the Christian faith, which seems to have 33 ftl4 MORAL FOROE. for its object only the future life, is likewise the best calculated to make people happy and prosperous during this." K ever men are brought to acknowledge the fatal error they made in rejecting the sacred safeguard which Christ left them in his Church, it will be by looking on the example of a nation actually existing, governed by the great principles which alone can insure the happiness of the individual and the prosperity of the whole people. In all the foregoing considerations Ireland has been looked upon as a nation full of vigor and energy ; but, as this vital point is denied by some, who bear the reputation of thoughtful writers, it is well to establish it clearly before our minds. Is Ireland a nation ? Some say, No ; others, among them Mr. Froude, say she is divided into two nations. The first of these assertions, that she is not a nation, is in appearance so self-evident and true that it seems folly to deny it. She has no government of her own ; her destinies seem to be altoojether in the hands of a hostile race, which rules her by a Parliament, where her voice is scarcely heard. She has no army nor navy, no commerce, no treasury, not the lowest prerogative of sovereignty. There is a green flag still somewhere with a harp on it and a crown above the harp, reserved for state occa- sions, and unfurled now and again, when a show of loyalty and a little enthusiasm is called for ; but that flag never waves the Irish to battle, not even when fighting for l^ngland. There is no Irish standard-bearer for it, as there was under the Tudors, when the flag of Ulster was seen amid the armies of Elizabeth. The name of Ireland is never mentioned in any treaty with foreign powers ; and, when the sovereign of England, Scotland, and Ireland, signs a treaty, a convention, nay, a poor protocol, with any foreign state, the name of Ireland is not to be seen on the parchment, save at its head, among the titles of the monarch. There is no Irish seal even to aflix to the document : the country is a national non-entity. But other men, and wise men too, discover a strange anomaly m this curious countrv. They hold that it is composed of two distinct nations, and furnish excellent reasons in support of their theory. They talk in this fashion : " Look at the people ; travel the country north and south, and converse with them as you go. What do you find ? Unity of feeling, aims, agreement of opm- ion on all possible subjects ? Just the opposite 1 You find Ja- cob and Esau on every side struggling in the womb of their mother. The quarrel between Sassenach and Gael still goes on. What two figures cau be found more antagonistic than the Orangeman of Ulster and the Milesian of Connaught i Yet they are both children of the same country." MORAL FORCE. 516 Ajid so deep-grained is the difference between them tha^, al- though they have lived side by side for centuries, they are still as hostile to each other as wnen they first met in battle array. The Danes, after a struggle of a little more than two centuries, gave up the contest and became Celts. Strongbow's Normans soon adopted the manners of the old inhabitants, intermarried with them, and, after a lapse of four centuries, though quarrels often broke out between the one and the other, they were to all intents and purposes Celts, the old race, as it were, absorbing the Norman blood, and always showing itself in the children. But, when will the children of James's Scotchmen or Crom- well's Covenanters coalesce with the descendants of the Mile- sians ? The longer they dwell together, the farther they seem apart, the more they seem to hate each other ; and every 12th of July, 5th of November, ITth of March, or even 15th of Au- gust, brings danger of bloodshed and strife to every city, ham- let, and town. Surely, this fact speaks of two nations in the country. The question here presented is indeed a complicated one, requiring solid distinctions in order to elucidate it ; and, strange to say, this last difficulty of the presence of two nations in Ire- land offers greater obstacles to the firm establishment of our opinion than the first assertion, so clear and undeniable in ap- pearance, that there is no Irish nation ! If true nationality existed only in the externals of govern- ment, in an army, navy, commerce, a public seal and flag, and recognition by foreign powers, further discussion would clearly be useless, and the subject might as well at once be dropped. But the true idea oi a nation embraces much more than this ; there is such a thing as a national soul, and all the array of acci- dents alluded to above constitute only the body, or, more truly, the surroundings. As a writer in the North American lieview (vol. cxv., p. 379) has well expressed it, a nation is " a race of men, small or great, whom community of traditions and feeling binds together into a firm, indestructible unity, and whose love of the same past directs their hopes and fears to the same fu- ture." In this sense nationality assuredly belongs to Ireland. More, perha])S, than among any other people on earth, is there for the great bulk of them " community of traditions and feeling," binding them together into " a firm and indestructible unity ; "• and who shall say that they feel no love for their past, because that past has been clouded with sorrow ? Nay, this fact makes the past dearer, and tends all the more to direct their hopes and fears to the same future ; a future, indeed, still dim and uncer- tain, and not to be named with perfect certainty, but wrapped in mists like the mom in": ; vet the faint flui^h of the dawn is 616 MORAL FORCE. already there that shall pale and die away when the fall orb of the sun appears. The reader may remember what was said of the unanimity so striking in all irishmen, wherever they may be found ; that, though private disputes may be taken up among them with such ardor that their quarrels have become proverbial, when the question refers to tneir country or their God, in a moment they are united, suddenly transformed into steady friends, ready to shed their blood side by side for the great objects which entirely absorb their natures. This feeling it is which forms the soul of a nation. Wher- ever this is to be found, there is an indestructible nationality ; wherever it is absent, there is only a dead body, however strong may seem its government, however vast its armies, however high its so-called culture and refinement. These reflections being kept in view, judicious men will agree that, among Europeans at least, there is scarcely any other nationality so strong and vigorous as the Irish. Their tradi- tional feeling keeps their past ever present to their eyes ; their ardent nature hopes ever against hope ; misfortunes which would utterly break down and dishearten any other people, leave them still full of bright anticipations, and, as they seem to weep over the cold body of a dear mother — Erin, their country — they think only of her resurrection. But are there not two nations among them — two nations radically opposed to each other and incapable of coalescing? Supposmg a resurrection of the people, which of the two is to prevail — the numerical majority, or the so far influential mi- nority ? In either event, it is fair to suppose a new state of helotism for the one party or the other. Is this the spectacle which the regenerated nation is likely to present ? In speaking of the resurrection of Ireland, the old, massive, compact body of the people, the venerable race, Celtic in its aspirations and tendencies, if not altogether in its origin, has always been kept in view ; and that anomalous, foreign excres- cence which has so steadily refused to assimilate with the mass, and has until our days remained " encamped " in Ireland, as the Turks are justly said to have remained " encamped " in Europe, has never entered into our reckoning. The true Irishman has ever been catholic — the word is used •in its grammatical and not in its religious sense — in fellowship. The race, as now constituted, is assuredly of mixed origin, and large drafts of foreign population have been added from time to time to the primitive stocK, which has always been kind to admit, absorb, and make them finally Celtic. Strongbow's Normana were not the last who submitted to that process ; as was seen, many Cromwellians becaines the fathers, or grandfathers at least, MORAL FORCE. 7 517 of as sturdy an Irish branch as ever flourished in the strong air of the country. But a comparatively small body of men has doggedly reftised to submit to tJiis process, and continued to this day an English or Lowland Scotch colony on the Irish soil. The future of Ire- land does not take them in, for the very simple reason that they are not of her, they do not belong to her, they are as much for- eigners to-day as they ever were. Therefore do we admit the existence of two nations, if people are pleased to call them so, in Ireland, but of one nation only have we written. The only ques- tion in regard to this second " nation " is : What will become of them in the future ? Are they, in their turn, to become helots, after having vainly striven so long to make helots of the others t God forbid ! Ko true Irishman nourishes in his soul such feel- ings of retaliation or revenge. Assuredly, they will be prevented from disturbing any longer the public order, and forced at length to respect the majority, or rather, the mass of their countrymen. No one can object to having such a necessary measure imposed upon them. In the many civil discords which, for more than a century and a half, have disgraced the north of Ireland, they have almost invariably been the aggressors. The government openly taking their part for a long time, they had the whole field to themselves, and what use they made of their privilege, and how they improved their opportunity, is known to all. When, at last, the public author- ities could no longer pretend to ignore their hateful spirit, and began to show some signs of protecting the hitherto much-abused majority, by forbidding those odious processions to which the others always attached such importance, they gave themselves the airs of a persecuted body of men, and pretended that hence- forth their lives, and those of their wives and children, were no longer safe. The province of Ulster being closed to them as a field of operations, they transferred to Upper Canada the exhibition of their blood-thirsty hatred, and on several occasions the Catholic population of the country had to protect their churches, mus ket in hand. Even in the United States they have rendered themselves odious to the people by foisting their spirit of strife on a land where they cannot but be strangers, and by staining some of the streets of New York with blood, in order to gratify their senseless animosity. It is surely time that an end be put to such absurd and dan- gerous antics, not abroad only, but at home. In the new order of things now dawning upon Ireland, there can no longer be room for them ; and the very name of Orangeman must disap- pear forever from the vocabulary of the new nation, to the joy of all peaceful and law-abiding citizens. 18 518 MORAL FORCE. That is all the persecution they need expect. Not only will there be room for them still in the country of tlieir birth, but of course they will have their due share in all the privileges of citi- zenship. Political distinctions between themselves and the old race will be unknown ;. social distinctions will be a question for themselves to settle. Should they show the slightest desire of combining with the majority of their countrymen, these latter will be generous enough to forget the past, and perhaps the others may imitate their predecessors, the Danes, the Normans, and even some of their Cromwellian kin, and become, at last, Ilibemis hihemiores. What is said of political and social distinctions will hold good also for religious tenets. Let them, if they choose, continue to stand by their Presbyterian dogmas, provided they do not quar- rel with the majority for professing what they love to believe ; but that belief must come to an external and public profession. They will often hear the bells of Catholic churches ; as they pass outside, if they do not enter, the strains of the glorious music and noble anthems, resounding within, will fall on their ears ; they will see the statue of the Blessed Virgin borne through the streets on the 15th of August, amid showers of snowy blossoms, falling from the innocent hands of children ; all this they must endure, if it be so hard to endure it ; but this is not persecution. Even to their eyes, if their heart be not frozen by a cold belief, the sight will bear some attractions. And if they come to think, that what is oldest in Christianity is the best, and that, after all, Catholicity has something in it which makes life sweet and pleas- ant, it can scarcely be held a crime in the universal Church to open her arms and receive back to her bosom those wandering and so long obstinate children. When will all this come to pass ? Who can tell ? But stranger things than these have alreaay taken place in Ireland, and wo are confident that future historians of the race will have to record greater wonders still, and facts more stubborn and difficult of explanation. At all events, should the inflexible Puritanism of the Scotch colony stand proof against the allurements of a motherly and tender-hearted Church, they must at least become subject to the iron laws of population and absorption. When the public statutes are no longer drawn up for their special benefit, when no new swarms of brethren come to swell their ranks, when they are abandoned to the merciless laws of loss and gain in numbers, then will people soon see on which side is true morality, and by which the ordinances of God are really respected ; then will many vapid accusations against the holy Catholic Church of themselves disappear, and tiie eyes of men will open to the great fact that Ireland must be and remain one in race, feeling, and. MOPwAL FORCE. 519 above all, in religion. The foreign element will have dwindled to insignificance, if it shall not have utterly disappeared. Indeed, it may be safely predicted that the day will arrive when the an- nouncement of the natural demise of the last Puritan in Ireland will appear in the daily newspapers as a curious piece of intelli- gence, not devoid of a certain interest. Though moral force, as the agent of the regeneration of Ire- land, has been our theme all through, we would not have our readers infer that Irishmen should adopt the do-nothing policy, and leave to God alone the work of raising them up. The moral force spoken of is that of human beings endowed with activity and determination, steady and persevering in the pursuit of well- organized plans of their own conception. Let Irishmen lift up their eyes and behold what they might do, did they only appreciate their strength and husband it. Dire calamities, which God designed from tne first to convert into blessings, have scattered them over the world, and brought out that power of expansion which was always in their nature, but lay dormant and cramped under the pressure of terrible circum- stances. They again show themselves as that old race which three thousand years ago spread itself all over Europe and Asia. They now bear in their hands an emblem which they had not then — the cross of Christ I And the cross is the sign of univer- sality in time and space. To that sign, since the triumph of the Saviour on the day of his resurrection, is given the rule of the world till the end of time, l^ow that our globe is known at last, the cross must be planted all over its surface, and in this great work the Irish race is clearly destined to bear a conspicuous part. In the fulfilment of that divine vocation they are dispersed, and whatever is dispersed is deprived of a great part of its strength. How can the disjecta mewhra^ scattered far and wide by Typhon, become again Osiris ? Under the guidance of God, by that great instrument of modem times, the power of associa- tion and organization, aided by a stead v, energetic will. Ezekiel has admirably described the process in his thirty- seventh chapter. The Lord must first speak : " Ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. . . . Behold, I will send spirit into you, and ye shall live ; and I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to grow over you, and will cover you with skin ; and I will give you spirit, and ye shall live." All this seems to be the work of God alone, yet, in the very words of the prophet, the dry bones have their part to perform : " As I prophesied, there was a noise, a commotion, and the bones came together, each one to his joint." There is the whole process ; it supposes a noise, a commo- tion, a rising, an assemblmg together, and a fitting each one into 520 MORAL FOROE. his own joint. Tliey possess an activity of their own, whicli they must use. And the phenomenon is to take place in the midst of " a vast plain " — two sreat continents — over the surftice of which the " bones " are found on every side, appearing " ex- ceeding dry." With what a power will that army be invested when it rises up and stands upon its feet I "We may form some faint idea of it, when in our large cities any thing occurs to excite the interest and warm up the feeling of that apparently inert Celtic mass. The largest halls constructed cannot contain the multitudes who have onlv read the announcement of a meeting, a lecture, or a charitable undertaking. Such scenes are witnessed every day along the banks of the St. Lawrence, the Hudson, and the Delaware Rivers ; by the shores of Chesapeake Bay ; in all the freat centres of population dotting the Atlantic coast ; in the eart of the contment along the winding course of the Missis-. sippi and Missouri ; and already, even in the far West, on the spreading shores of the Pacific Ocean. The same is occurring all over the inhabited portion of Australia and the adjacent islands. What power, then, would be theirs did those " bones " know how to come together each in his own joint ! How is it that we hear of no concerted action among them for their country's sake ? Is each man so busy, and lost in his own little sphere of interest and speculation, that he cannot spare a moment's thought for the claims of his native country ? Who can say this ? Moreover, the best means of promoting their own private interests would be to raise before the eyes oi all the status of the country with which they are naturally identified. The truth is, eacn one waits for another to set the example, the mass being ever ready to follow a lead and show its good-will. Association is needed. When they turn their eyes to the incessant struggle going on in the mother-country, when they read in their own news- papers the discussions of the Irish press, of the questions de- bated on the soil most dear to them, and the agitation of the momentous interests pending and awaiting a final decision among their former countrymen, no doubt their feelings are strongly moved ; the hopes and fears of their youth, before they left their native shores, are revived with renewed force, and their love for their green island is as ardent as ever. But is this all ? Is it enough that the heart ot each one is stirred within him ? Is it not for them to see that the influence of their new name, new position, and bettered circumstances, be brought to bear, however far away they may be, upon the great home questions of land-tenure, education, the elective franchise, a native Parliament, commerce, manufactures, and all matters touching on the general welfare of Ireland f K, having become MORAL FOROE. 521 adopted citizens of a new country, they can no longer act a8 cjitizens of Erin, they may and ought at least to interest them pelves in these matters as far as true loyalty to their adoptea country may allow them ; and this they can best do by asso- ciation. The bonds of a wise organization would give firmness and compactness to the whole moral force of the dispersed nationality. By association, the scattered "dry bones" would be speedily changed into a solid array of living warriors standing upon their feet, and the startling spectacle would astonish the whole world, and win for the race the involuntary respect of all who should witness or hear of it. Nothing would be easier than to set such a thing on foot, for, although so far apart in appearance, the ma- jority of Irish families, from the very fact of emigration, have fialf of their members at home and half abroad, jomed together by an active correspondence and a constant transmission of lunds. The managers of the movement would only have to organize for a general object, what already is organized in fact, and direct to the common good what is now done privately. A word has already been said on the possible management of such an organization : that the movement should begin at home, in the island ; that its supervision should be left to the true leaders of the nation ; and that all the workings, details, and executive part, may be safely intrusted to the active mem- bers of the association. The class here designated as leaders of the nation is already known to the reader. The old nobility having been destroyea, there is^ no other body which truly represent the Irish people to- day save the clergy. This is,' no doubt, a misfortune, but none the less a fact. It offers the anomaly of clergymen meddling to a certain extent in politics ; but, in Ireland, tfiis is unavoidable. How does the whole body of the European Catholic clergy understand its position in all those Catholic congresses and unions, which are now, thank God ! starting up in all Christian countries ? How do the laymen, on their side, appreciate the share they have to take in those various movements? How do tliey act under the lead of their spiritual advisers ? Are any odious distinctions oyer known in those associations ? Can any misunderstanding arise among men animated with a true love for religion ? And why should not the same be true of Ireland, among a people so full of love for country ? This is what is meant when the terms leaders and followers, clergy and laity, are here used. Another consideration will show still more forcibly the impor- tance of the great measure here proposed. One circumstance must have struck those who read the detailed reports of the Catholic congresses mentioned above — the sudden appearance 522 MORAL FORCE. of a large array of laymen, illustrious by tlieii* birth, wealthy political power, or literary attainments ; but, for the most part, not so well known for their deep attachment to the cause of the Church. A new channel of activity was suddenly opened up to them ; they threw themselves into it, and became the bold cham pions of a cause to which, undoubtedly, they had been individu ally attached, but of which they now became the ptcblio men. And there is little doubt that many young men, lukewarm be- fore, and perhaps with nothing more than the remembrance of the Christian education they had once received, suddenly revived in spirit and made a solemn profession of a cause which, perhaps, they would not have had the courage openly to advocate, did not the number and names of the first originators of the movement encourage them to join in it heart and soul. Now, it is said, perhaps too truly, that the warm religious feeling which has been all along claimed as the most striking characteristic of the Irish race, is no longer shared alike by all classes of Irish Catholics; that, too oiten, when individuals among them rise in the social scale, and reach a step in the social ladder from which they imagine that they can look down upon the despised mass below, they no longer feel that deep reverence for their religion which had characterized their youth, and, after all, are not very different from the mass of non-Catholics among whom they prefer to move. This class of men has been well described by Moore in his own person, in various passages of his " Irish Gentleman in search of a Keligion." The fact is, indeed, too true ; but what is the chief cause of it? One of the most active means of bringing about such a result we take to be the complete isolation in which young men of the class referred to find themselves in their own sphere of life. There is, in fact, no motive for displaying their attachment to their religion, and no respectable means of doing so. They do not feel their souls moved by sufficient proselytic ardor to induce them, of their own accord, to originate any thing of that kind, and the generality of them have, probably, not received from Nature the talents requisite to make them leaders in any cause whatever. No one around them moves in that direction ; hence their apathy and consequent liikewarmness in the practice and outward profession of their faith. But change all the surroundings ; present them an influential body to which it is an honor to belong — a body marching openly under the banner of the true Church of Christ and of their coun- try, bound together as of old — and then will it be seen whethei or not they indeed are the degenerate sons of martyred ancestors they now appear to be. It is indeed very remarkable that, of all countries, Ireland seems to make the least show in those Catholic unions and con- MORAL FORCE. 523 gresses now so widely spread throughout Europe. The reason for this, perhaps, is, that there seemed less cause for their exist- ence in Ireland than elsewhere. But, as, in Ireland, their object would not only embrace the interests of religion, but likewise those of the country itself, it seems natural to think that there they are particularly wanted. Let the leaders of the nation, then, bestir themselves. Long ages of oppression unfortunately have rendered them somewhat timid and seemingly afraid of jeopardizing the important inter- ests confided to their care. Let them lift up their eyes and see that the time for timidity has passed away : the enemy is reckless and open in his attacks ; their resistance must be equally undis- guised and fearless. The people themselves understand this and occasionally display a boldness which shows that the old heroism still lives in them; but they want leaders, and, if the right ones are not fast to take hold of them, they may fall into the hands of wrong-headed guides. Let the true guides look out and see how broad are the lines which divide the good from the evil, and that victory is sure to the stout of heart, when backed by the serried masses of a united people. The principle of association and the machinery of organiza- tion must be applied to all subjects connected with the resurrec- tion of the country. "WTiat has been done so effectually for the cause of temperance must be done likewise for education, for the purchase or tenure of land, for the development of agriculture, manufactures, and commerce, for the true representation of the nation, for free municipal government, for the securing of a truly Irish yeomanry and gentry, for a thousand objects on which the future welfare of the nation depends. All classes of society, persons of every age and of either sex, yes, women and children, ought to be induced to take an interest in what concerns all alike. Every possible occasion should be taken advantage of to insure the attainment of the ultimate object. Wlien such a work is really entered upon in earnest, the results will be astonishing. This is the complete development of moral force, and, until all these means have had fair trial, no one can say that mcral force has been fully tried and has failed. Such a system would, we firmly believe, result in the ultimate restoration of Ireland's rights and would surely culminate in her final resurrection at no distant date. That the Irish would enter with spirit into those various associations has been sufficiently demonstrated by previous examples, particularly under O'Con- nell ; and it is impossible to see how surer, greater, and speedier results could be obtained bv any amount of physical force of which Ireland is capable. What array of physical force can the Irish muster to compete at all with their powerful rivals, situated as they are with the chains of centuries still binding them down, 524 MOKAL FORCE. for, though the shackles may be actually removed, their effect is still there. The very statement of tne terms, Ireland vereiu England, is enough to show the hopelessness of such a combat. It is a very easy thing to magnify the old heroism of the Irish, and cast opprobrium on the present bearers of the name, as did several newspaper writers recently, for not displaying the " pluck " of their ancestors who fought against Elizabeth, Crom- well, and William of Orange. It is forgotten that circumstances have altered considerably since those days when the Irish pos- sessed a regular army led by experienced generals : restore those circumstances, and the Irish of to-day might outdo their ancestors ; at all events, there is no reason for supposing that they would be inferior. However, there is such a thing as impossibility, and any attempt of such a nature, with such surroundings, must bo deemed by all sensible men not merely rashness, but folly. In concluding these pages, the author begs to be allowed a word as to their general character, in reply to a dogmatic and comprehensive criticism which it is easy to foresee will be passed on them. It will undoubtedly be asserted that an undue promi- nence has been given to the religious side of the Irish question, while its many political aspects have been left in the background. This charge will be laid at the door of the clerical and religious character of the writer, and may give rise to the notion that the view here taken of the subject is not the right one, but a radical failure. The answer to this objection is, in brief, that no one can treat seriously and properly of the Irish race without taking a religious view of it. Whoever adopts a different method of treating the matter would, in our opinion, go completely astray ; would take in only a few side-views ; would, in fact, pretend to have made a serious study of it, which he offered to the public as such, while ignoring the chief and almost only feature. The Irish is a religious race, and nothing else. It seems that such was its character thousands of years ago, even when pagan. At the time when Hanno was sent by the Carthaginian senate bevond the Pillars of Ilercules to explore the western coast of Africa, toward the south — of which voyage the short narrative is still left us — Ilimilco, brother to Hanno, was similarly com- missioned to form settlements on the European coast, toward the north. The account of this latter expedition, which was extant in the time of Pliny the Elder, is unfortunately lost ; but, in the poem of K. Festus Avionus, entitled "Ora Maritima,'' there are copious extracts from it, in which, at least, the sense of the original is preserved. Avienus, afler speaking of the " InsuUe CEstrimnides," which Ileeren thinks must bo the Scilly Islands, goes on to say : MORAL FORCE. 526 " Ast hiuc duobus in Sacram (sic insularn Dixere prisci) solibus cursus rati est. Haec inter undas niultam csespitem jacet, Eamque late gens Hibernorum colit." The passage runs almost into literal English as followi : " Thence in two days, a good ship in sailing Reaches the Holy Isle ' — so was she called of old — That in the sea nestles, whose turf exuberant The race of Hibernians tills." In the time of Himilco, therefore, five hundred years before Christ, Ireland was called the Holy Isle, a title she had received long before : Sic insularn dixere prisci. In what that holiness may have consisted precisely, it is impossible now to say ; all we know is, that foreign navigators, who were acquainted with the world as far as it was then known, whose ships had visited the harbors of all nations, could find no more apt expression to de- scribe the island than to say that, morally, it was "a holy spot," and physically " a fair green meadow," or, as her children to this day call her, " the green gem of the sea." But we have better means of judging in what the holiness of the people consisted after the establishment of Christianity in their midst ; and the description of it given in the fourth chapter of this book, taken from the most trustworthy documents, show^s how well deserved was the title the island bore. From that day forth the religious type was clearly impressed on the nation, and has ever remained deeply engraven in its character. The race was never distinguished for its fondness for trade, for its manufactures, for depth of policy, for worldly enlightenment ; its annals speak of no lust of conquest among its people; the brilliant achievements of foreign invasion, the high political and social aspirations which generally give lustre to the national life of many a people, belong not to them. But religious feeling, firm adherence to faith,, invincible attachment to the form of Christianity they had received from St. Patrick, formed at all times their striking characteristics. From the day when their faith was first attacked by the ' Dr. Lingard, evidently perplexed by this expression, asks himself, " What might its origin have been?" and suggests that the name of lerne — the same as Erin — hav- ing been given to Ireland by the ancients, and the Greek Upa — holy — bearing a great resemblance to it, Avienus might have thus fallen into a very natural mistake of con- founding the one with the other. But, in the first place, Ilimilco's report was cer- tainly not written in Greek, but in Phoenician, and Avienus seems merely to have translated that report. Moreover, the word Upa begins with a very strong aspirate, equivalent to a consonant, while there are few vowels softer in any language than the first in Erin or leme. Heeren does not attempt such an explanation, but concedes ttmi ine Carthaginians, as well as the Phoenicians before them, called Ireland the Holj Ul» 526 MORAL FOliOE. Tiidors did it chicdj blaze forth into a si)ccial s})lcndor, which these pages have striven faintly to represent. Befoi'e taking up the pen to write, after the serious study of documents, only om great feature struck us — that of a deep religious conviction ; and, after having seen what some writers have had to say recently, the same feature strikes us still. We will not deny that this fact moved us to write, and the task was the more grateful, probably, because of our own personal religious character ; but we are confident that any layman, whatever might be his talent and disposition for describing worldly scenes, who took up Irish history, could find nothing else in it of real importance to render the annals of the race attractive to the common run of readers. And is not religion more capable of giving a people true greatness and real heroism than any worldly excellence ? ' Men of soimd judgment will always find at least as much interest attached to tiie history of the first Maccabees as to that of Epaminondas ; and the self-sacrifice of the Yendean Cathelineau, with his " beads " and his ^^ sacred heart," will always appear to an impartial judge of human character more truly admirable than that of any general or marshal of the first Napoleon. Re- ligious heroism, having for object something far above even the purest patriotic fervor, can inspire deeds more truly worthy of human admiration than this, the highest natural feeling of the human heart ; and, for a Christian, the most inspiring pages of history are those which tell of the superhuman exertions of devoted knights to wrest the sepulchre of our Lord from the polluted, hands of the Moslem. But religion did not confine her infiuence over Irishmen to the bravery which she breathed into them on the battle-field. Religion truly constituted their inner life in all the vicissitudes of their national existence ; it was the only support left them in the darkest period of their annals, during the whole of the last century ; and, when the da\vn came at last with the flush of hope, religion was the only halo which surrounded tliem. Their emigration even, their exodus chiefly, was in fact the sublime outpouring of a crucified nation, carrying the cross as their last religious emblem, and planting it in the wilds of far-distant con- tinents as their only escutcheon, and the sure sign which should apprise travellers of the existence of Irishmen in the deserts of North America and Australia. Truly, those men are very ignorant of the Irish character who would abstract the religious feature from it, and paint the nation as they would any other European people, whoso great ahn in these modern days seems to be to forget the first fervor of their Christian origin. With the Ii-ish this cannot be. The vivid warmth of their cindlo has not yet cooled down ; and, if it would be indeed ridiculous to represent the English of the nineteenth MORAL FORCE. 527 century as the pious subjects of Alfred or Edward, it would be equally foolish to depict the Irish of to-day as the worldlings and godless of France, Italy, or Spain. The Irish patriot could not be like them, without deserting his standard and the colors for which his race has fought. The nation to which he has the honor of belonging is still Christian to the core ; and, if some few have really repudiated the love of the religion they took in at their mother's knee, the only means left them of remaining Irishmen, at least in appearance, is not to parade their total lack ot this, the chief characteristic of their race. CHAPTER XVII. ENGLISH EFFORTS TO DO JUSTICE TO IRELAND. The year 1868 marks the beginning of a series of agita- tions and reform movements which indicated a desire, on the part of many Englishmen, most of them Protestant*, to relieve Ireland of some of the intolerable burdens and outrages to which reference has been made in these pages. In the course of a Parliamentary discussion on the con- dition of Ireland, Mr. W. E. Gladstone, a member of the Opposition (the Derby-Disraeli ministry being in power), declared that in his opinion the Irish Church — that is, the English Church in Ireland — must cease to exist. As Mr. Gladstone was known to be a devout member of the English Church, his statement made a profound impression upon both parties. Mr. Disraeli made haste to announce that he should resist with all his power — which meant all the power of the government — any proposition having fo^ its purpose the over- throw of the English Church in Ireland. Hebrew though he was by birth, and only a generation or two removed from the religion of his race, he was politically a believer in the Church as a co-ordinate branch of the government. There are times in the history of the world when a single word fitly spoken seems to hasten the coming of a crisis. In the course of his early remarks on the subject of the English Church in Ireland, Mr. Gladstone used the word ** disestab- lishment"; it was loudly cheered by the Liberal members, most of whom were Protestants, and from that moment "dis- establishment" became a war-cry which ceased only when victory had been gained. The government brought fo?:ward, through Lord Mayo, (628) ENGLISH EFFORTS TO DO JUSTICE. 629 Chief Secretary for Ireland, a counter-plan, which came to be called **levelling-up," and which consisted in a proposi- tion to place all denominations in Ireland under government control, and to extend to the State Church, the Catholic Church, and the Dissenters, an equal degree of considera- tion, patronage and support. In a Parliamentary body, consisting principally of Protestants, many of whom were members of dissenting sects, it was supposed that this plan would secure a majority of the votes ; for Dissenters were quite as indignant as Catholics at being obliged to con- tribute largely to the support of a Church to which they were opposed. But Mr. Gladstone was neither dismayed nor perplexed by the government's proposition. He admitted that to at- tain religious equality in Ireland would be difficult, and he did not hesitate to name the many details that would require delicate readjustment should his proposed effort be made; but he placed himself on the statesmanlike ground of the necessity of promoting Irish loyalty to the legal union with Great Britain, and he declared that it was useless to expect this loyalty until Ireland's causes of dissatisfaction were removed. Finally, he made the following appeal to the nobler sentiments of his fellow-members and fellow-country- men: *'If we are prudent men, I hope we shall endeavor as far as in us lies to make some provision for a contingent, a doubtful and probably a dangerous future. If we be chivalrous men, I trust we shall be able to wipe away all those stains which the civilized world has for ages seen, or seemed to see, on the shield of England in her treatment of Ireland. If we be compassionate men, I hope we shall now, once for all, listen to the tale of woe which comes from her, and the reality of which, if not its justice, is testified by the continuous migration of her people; that we shall endeavor to " 'Raze out the written troubles from her brain. Pluck from her memory the rooted sorrow.' But above aU, if we be just men, we shall go forward in the ^ame of truth and right, bearing thi^ in mind— that when 34 630 ENGLISH EFFORTS TO DO JUSTICE. ^ the case is proved and the hour is come, justice dela/ed is justice denied." The government reply, made through Mr. Disraeli, was entirely characteristic of the speaker himself and of the Con- servative party; for it was a shifty plea for delay, on the ground that the subject was of appalling magnitude and had been suddenly introduced at the beginning of a new administration (Disraeli having just succeeded Lord Derby, who was nevertheless of his own party). He pleaded that the Liberal course was unfair ; he declared that he person- ally was in favor of religious endowments, some of which might be devised for the Catholic Church in Ireland ; but as he neglected to propose any such endowments, he left his party without any plan but that of sullen opposition. Mr. Gladstone then made haste to offer three resolutions, which, viewed in the light of their results, seem remarkably temperate in tone. They were as follows : First : That, in the opinion of this House, it is necessary that the Established Church in Ireland should cease to exist as an establishment, due regard being had to all personal interests and to all individual rights of property. Secondly : That, subject to the foregoing considerations, it is expedient to prevent the creation of new personal inter- ests by the exercise of any public patronage, and to confine the operations of the ecclesiastical commissioners of Ireland to objects of immediate necessity, or involving individual rights, pending the final decision of Parliament. Thirdly: That a humble address be presented to her Majesty, praying that with a view to the purposes aforesaid her Majesty will be graciously pleased to place at the dis- posal of Parliament her interest in the temporalities, in arch- bishoprics, bishoprics, and other ecclesiastical dignities and benefices in Ireland and in the custody thereof. To give the Conservatives something definite upon which to vote, Mr. Disraeli put forward Lord Stanley, who an- nounced that he would move the following resolution : **That this House, while admitting that considerable modifications in the temporalities of the United Church in Ireland may, after pending inquiry, appear to be expedient, is of the opii^- ENGLISH EFFORTS TO DO JUSTICE. 531 ion faat any proposition tending to the disestablishment or disendowment of that Church might be reserved for the decision of a new Parliament." Then followed a series of remarkable speeches, most of which were made by Mr. Gladstone and other Liberals. The proceedings scarcely reached the dignity of a debate, for while the Liberals argued the Conservatives merely as- serted. To the statement that the Established Church was doing missionary work, by converting Catholics from an erroneous faith, Mr. Gladstone offered statistics proving that at the past rate of progress it would take at least two thousand years to convert Ireland to Protestantism. He deprecated haste, saying "what we had and have to do is to consider well and deeply before we take the first step in an engagement such as this, but having entered into the controversy, there and then to acquit ourselves like men, and to use every effort to remove what still remains of the scandals and calamities in the relations which exist between England and Ireland, and to make our best efforts at least to fill up with the cement of human concord the noble fabric of the British empire." Other strong speeches in favor of disestablishment were made by John Bright, by religion a Quaker, and by Mr. Lowe, a member of the English Church. Mr. Lowe de- clared that the Established Church in Ireland was "a body of death ... a thing monstrous, lagging superfluous on the stage." Mr. Bright said that the English Church in Ireland was a failure, if its mission had been to convert Catholics, for under it the Catholics had become more Eo- manist than ever; indeed, they were the most intensely Eo- manist of all the Catholics of Europe. The general effect of the maintenance of the Established, Church in Ireland had been to foster anarchy to such an extent that force was now required to subdue it. Even Lord Cranborne, now the Mar- quis of Salisbury, roundly denounced the government's pro- posed substitute for the Gladstone resolutions, and declared the government's method in the matter was intolerable, un- worthy and degrading. When finally a vote was ordered, Lord Stanley's amend- §32 ENGLISH EFFORTS TO DO JUSTICE. ment was defeated by about sixty votes, and the confedera- tion of the Gladstone resolutions was ordered by a jnajority of fifty-six. According to precedents, the ministry shouM have re- signed at once; but Mr. Disraeli was loth to go out of power, and he was supported by the whob body of En- glish bigots, for to these it seemed that the foundations of religion were being undermined. Thus izpheld, Mr. Disraeli attempted to negotiate with some of the Catholic prelates in Ireland, to the honor of whom it must be said that they declined to be parties to any attempt at temporizing. The Conservatives also endeavored to create public feeling against the Gladstone resolutions by insinuating that Mr. Gladstone himself had long been at heart a Roman Catholic, and that he had entered into confidential relations with the Pope. One by one the Gladstone resolutions were passed by the House. On the last day of July Parliament was prorogued, and the two parties prepared for the general election that was to be held in the autumn. Never had a political cam- paign been distinguished by greater activity on both sides, but the English sense of fair play had become thoroughly aroused ; as the prominent workers on the Liberal side were all Protestants, there was no ground for religious suspicion on the side of the Conservatives; yet there was general amazement throughout the nation and unspeakable joy in Ireland when the election returns showed a Liberal majority of more than one hundred. The Disraeli ministry at once resigned, Mr. Gladstone became Prime Minister, and in his cabinet were Mr. Bright, Mr. Lowe, and other champions of disestablishment. Although defeated, the Conservatives did not cease fight- ing. Whether through machinations of the retiring Cabinet or merely because of apprehensions born of ignorance, and the hatred inseparable from bigotry and arrogance in spirit- ual matters, *'the old order in England was shaken to its profoundest depths," says a Protestant biographer (Ridpath) of Gladstone. "There was an outcry on every hand. The organs of the Church (Enghsh), both men and newspapers. ENGLISH EFFORTS TO DO JUSTICE. 633 were vociferous in their denunciations. Resolutions were passed; public assemblies were harangued; synods debated, and high ecclesiastics stooped to vituperation. All the bot- tles of clerical wrath were poured out on those who had challenged the further existence of the Church EstabUshment in Ireland. One said that such a proposition was an offence against Almighty God. A bishop declared it to have been framed in a spirit of inveterate hostility to the Church. . The Earl of Carrick thought it the greatest national sin that ever was committed. An archdeacon told his hearers to trust in God and keep their powder dry. Another of the same rank denounced the great national sin. One doctor of divinity was not able to utter his detestation of the ungodly, wicked and abominable measure. Still another wanted the queen to prevent the destruction of the Church, even if she had to jeopard her crown in doing it. To all this tirade of ecclesi- astical bitterness the political speakers and newspapers added other bitterness of their own. The name of the waters was Marah ! Orangemen of Ireland were as furious as the most furious of all the army. They said that the Liberal ministry was a cabinet of brigands. Mr. Gladstone was a traitor to his queen, his country, and his God, and so the anathemas rolled on in ever-increasing volume." The new Parliament met in February, 1869, and the first important bill brought before it was that of Mr. Gladstone for the disestablishment and disendowment of the Irish Church. So full, and necessarily, was this bill with details that Mr. Gladstone's explanation of it consumed three hours, although Mr. Disraeli, leader of the Opposition, declared that the speech did not contain a single superfluous word. The speaker declared that the government would not propose half-way measures; its purpose was to take action that should be final and complete. The bill provided for the appointment of a new ecclesiastical commission, to which all the properties of the Irish Church were to be intrusted, subject to all equitable Hfe interests already held by individ- uals. From these properties the bishops and clergy should receive annuities. Irish bishops should no longer sit in the House of Lords, to assist in the political governing of Ireland. 534 ENGLISH EFFORTS TO DO JUSTICE. Opposition to the bill was unexpectedly mild in quality; between the masterly manner in which the bill had been prepared, and the enormous majorities by which the coun- try had favored disestablishment, the Conservatires were constrained to see that the contest was one in which defeat was a foregone conclusion, and therefore to be accepted with the least possible sign of anger or other excitement. The bill finally passed the House by a majority slightly in ex- cess of what had been expected, for six Conservatives voted for it, while only three Liberals voted against it. In the House of Lords it was passed by a majority of thirty-three, although all of the bishops but one — the Bishop of St. Davids, better known as Dr. Thirl wall the historian — were against it. The present Marquis of Salisbury voted for the bill, largely through impatience with the incapacity his own party had displayed by not itself taking the matter in hand. The Irish people were slow to believe in the sincerity of the Liberal promises, and slower still to believe that the dis- establishment bill had passed, and that they were no longer to be compelled to maintain materially a Church with which they were spiritually at enmity. Only when they were as- sured by their own priests that the good news ^was really true did they begin to believe that their troubles were to end. If a people as proud, arrogant, and self-satisfied as the English could concede so much, from motives of honor, or policy, or both, why might not all of Ireland's remaining grievances be redressed? '*In 1873 a new national movement began to make itself felt : this was the Home Rule movement. It had been grad- ually formed since 1870 by one or two leading Irishmen, who thought the time was ripe for a new constitutional effort. Chief among them was Mr. Isaac Butt, a Protest- ant, an eminent lawyer, and an earnest politician. The movement spread rapidly, and took a firm hold of the pop- ular mind. After the general election of 1874, some sixty Irish members were returned who had stood before their constituencies as Home Rulers. The Home Rule demand is clear and simple enough ; it asks for Ireland a separate government still allied with the imperial government, on the ENGLISH EFFORTS TO DO JUSTICE. 535 principles which regulate the alliance between the United States of America. The proposed Irish Parliament in Col- lege Green would bear just the same relation to the Parlia- ment at Westminster that the Legislature and Senate of every American State bear to the head authority of the Congress in the Capitol at Washington. All that relates to local business it was proposed to delegate to the Irish Assembly; all questions of imperial policy were still to be left to the imperial government. There was nothing very startling, very daringly innovating, in the scheme. In most of the dependencies of Great Britain, Home Rule systems of some kind were already established. In Canada, in the Australasian colonies, the principle might be seen at work upon a large scale ; upon a small scale it was to be studied nearer home in the neighboring island of Man. At first the Home Rule party was not very active. Mr. Butt used to have a regular Home Rule debate once every session, when he and his followers stated their views, and a division was taken and the Home Rulers were of course defeated. Yet, while the English House of Commons was steadily rejecting year after year the demand made for Home Rule by a large majority of the Irish members, it was affording a strong argument in favor of some system of local government, by consistently outvoting every proposition brought forward by the bulk of the Irish members relating to Irish ques- tions. Mr. Butt and his followers had proved the force of the desire for some sort of national government in Ireland, but the strength of the movement they had created now called for stronger leaders. *'A new man was coming into Irish political life who was destined to be the most remarkable Irish leader since O'Connell. Mr. Charles Stuart Parnell, who entered the House of Commons in 1875 as member for Meath, was a descendant of the English poet Parnell, and of the two Parnells, father and son, John and Henry, who stood by Grattan to the last in the struggle against the Union. He was a grand-nephew of Sir Henry Parnell, the first Lord Congleton, the advanced reformer and friend of Lord Grey and Lord Melbourne, He was a Protestant and a member 530 ENGLISH EFFORTS TO DO JUSTICE. of the Protestant Synod. Mr. Pamell set himself to form a party of Irishmen in the House of Commons, who should be absolutely independent of any English political party, and who would go their own way with only the cause of Ireland to influence them. Mr. Parnell had all the qualities that go to make a good political leader, and he succeeded in his pur- pose. The more advanced men in and out of Parliament began to look upon him as the real representative of the popular voice. In 1878 Mr. Butt died. The leadership of the Irish Parliamentary party was given to Mr. William Shaw, member for Cork County, an able, intelligent man, who proved himself in many ways a good leader. In quieter times his authority might have remained unquestioned, but these were unquiet timeS. The decorous and demure atti- tude of the early Home Rule party was to be changed into a more aggressive action, and Mr. Parnell was the cham- pion of the change. It was soon obvious that he was the real leader recognized by the majority of the Irish Home Rule members, and by the country behind them. *'Mr. Parnell and his following have been bitterly de- nounced for pursuing an obstructive policy. They are often written about as if they had invented obstruction ; as if ob- struction of the most audacious kind had never been prac- ticed in the House of Commons before Mr. Parnell entered it. It may perhaps be admitted that the Irish members made more use of obstruction than had been done before their time. The times undoubtedly were unquiet ; the pol- icy, which was called in England obstructive and in Ireland active, was obviously popular with the vast majority of the Irish people. The land question, too, was coming up again, and in a stronger form thaii ever. Mr. Butt, not very long before his death, had warned the House of Commons that the old land war was going to break out anew, and he was laughed at for his vivid fancy by the English press, and by English public opinion; but he proved a true prophet. Mr. Parnell had carefully studied the condition of the Irish tenant, and he saw that the Land Act of 1870 was not the last word of legislation on his behalf. Mr. Parnell was at first an ardent advocate of what cam^ to be kngwn as the ENGLISH EFFORTS TO DO JUSTICE. 537 Three F's— Fair Rent, Fixity of Tenure, and Free Sale. But the Three F's were soon to be put aside in favor of more advanced ideas. Outside Parliament a strenuous and earnest man was preparing to inaugurate the greatest land agitation ever seen in Ireland. Mr. Michael Davitt was the don of an evicted tenant. When he grew to be a young man he joined the Fenians, and in 1870, on the evidence of an informer, he was arrested and sentenced to fifteen years' penal servitude; seven years later he was let out on ticket-of -leave. In his long imprisonment he had thought deeply upon the political and social condition of Ireland and the best means of improving it. When he came out he had 3,bandoned his dreams of armed rebellion, and he went in for constitutional agitation to reform the Irish land system. The land system needed reforming ; the condition of the ten- ant was only humanly endurable in years of good harvest. The three years from 1876 to 1879 were years of successive bad harvests. Mr. Davitt had been in America, planning out a land organization, and had returned to Ireland to carry out his plan. Land meetings were held in many parts of Ireland, and in October Mr. Parnell, Mr. Davitt, Mr. Patrick Egan, and Mr. Thomas Brennan, founded the Irish National Land League, the most powerful political organization that had been formed in Ireland since the Union. The objects of the Land League were the aboli- tion of the existing landlord system and the introduction of peasant proprietorship." — J. H. McCarthy, "Outline of Irish History." Americans who accepted unquestioningly the Irish news reprinted from English newspapers were wrong in their estimates of the quality of Parnell's following. Says McCarthy, from whom we have just quoted : "The new Irish party which followed the lead of Mr. Parnell has been often represented by the humorist as a sort of Falstafl&an 'ragged regiment.' From dint of repe- tition this has come to be almost an article of faith in some quarters. Yet it is curiously without foundation. A large proportion of Mr. Parnell's followers were journalists. Those who wer9 not journalists in the Irish party were generally 538 ENGLISH EFFORTS TO DO JUSTICE. what is called well-to-do. ... At first there seemed no reason to expect any serious disunion between the Irish members and the Liberal party. The Irish vote in Eng- land had been given to the Liberal cause. The Liberal speakers and statesmen, without committing themselves to any definite line of policy, had manifested friendly senti- ments toward Ireland ; and though indeed nothing was said which could be construed into a recognition of the Home Rule claim, still the new ministry was known to contain men favorable to that claim. The Irish members hoped for much from the new government; and, on the other hand, the new government expected to find cordial allies in all sections of the Irish party. ''The appointment of Mr. Forster to the Irish Secretary- ship was regarded by many Irishmen, especially those allied to Mr. Shaw and his following, as a marked sign of the good intentions of the government toward Ireland. The queen's speech announced that the Peace Preservation Act would not be renewed. This was a very important announcement. Since the Union, Ireland had hardly been governed by the ordinary law for a single year. . . . N"ow the government was going to make the bold experiment of trying to rule Ire- land without the assistance of coercive and exceptional law. The queen's speech, however, contained only one other ref- erence to Ireland, in a promise that a measure would be in- troduced for the extension of the Irish borough franchise. This was in itself an important promise. But extension of the borough franchise did not seem to the Irish members in 1880 the mo&t important form that legislation for Ireland could take just then. The country was greatly depressed by its recent suffering; the number of evictions was begin- ning to rise enormously. The Irish members thought that the government should have made some promise to consider the land question, and above all should have done something to stay the alarming increase of evictions. Evictions had increased from four himdred and sixty-three families in 1877 to nine hundred and eighty in 1878, and to one thousand two liundred and thirty-eight in 1879; and they were still on the increase, as was shown at the end of 1880, when it was found ENGLISH EFFORTS TO DO JUSTICE. 539 that two thousand one hundred and ten families were evicted. An amendment to the Address was at once brought forward by the Irish party, and debated at some length. The Irish party called for some immediate legislation on behalf of the land question. Mr. Forster replied, admitting the necessity for some legislation, but declaring that there would not be time for the introduction of any such measure that session. Then the Irish members asked for some temporary measure to prevent the evictions, but the Chief Secretary answered that while the law existed it was necessary to carry it out, and he could only appeal to both sides to be moderate. ''Matters slowly drifted on in this way for a short time. Evictions steadily increased, and Mr. O'Connor Power brought in a bill for the purpose of staying evictions. Then the gov- ernment, while refusing to accept the Irish measure, brought in a Compensation for Disturbance Bill, which adopted some of the Irish suggestions. On Friday, June 25, the second reading of the bill was moved by Mr. Forster, who denied that it was a concession to the anti-rent agitation, and strongly denounced the outrages which were taking place in Ireland. . . . This was the point at which difference between the Irish party and the government first became marked. The increase of evictions in Ireland, following as it did upon the widespread misery caused by the failure of the harvests and the partial famine, had generated — as fam- ine and hunger have always generated — a certain amount of lawlessness. Evictions were occasionally resisted with vio- lence ; here and there outrages were committed upon bailiffs, process-servers, and agents. In different places, too, injuries had been inflicted on the cattle and horses of landowners and land agents. There is no need, there should be no attempt, to justify these crimes. But, while condemning all acts of violence, whether upon man or beast, it must be remembered that these acts were committed by ignorant* peasants of the lowest class, maddened by hunger, want, and eviction, driven to despair by the sufferings of their wives and children, con- vinced of the utter hopelessness of redress, and longing for revenge. . . . The Compensation for Disturbance Bill was carried in the Commons after long debates in which the Irish 540 ENGLISH EFFORTS TO DO JUSTICE. party strove to make its principles stronger. It was sent up to the Lords, where it was rejected on Tuesday, August 3, by a majority of two hundred and thirty-one. The gov- ernment answered the appeals of Irish members by refusing to take any steps to make the Lords retract their decision, or to introduce any similar measure that session. From that point the agitation and struggle of the past four years (1880-84) may be said to date." Early in 1881, the government arfiaed itself with new powers for suppressing the increased lawlessness which showed itself in Ireland, and for resisting the systematic policy of intimidation which the Nationalists appeared to have planned by the passage of a measure known as the Coercion Bill. This was followed, in April, by the intro- duction of a Land Bill, intended to redress the most con- spicuous Irish grievance by establishing an authoritative tribunal for the determination of rents, and by aiding and facilitating the purchase of small holdings by the peasants. The Land Bill became law in August; but it failed to satisfy the demands of the Land League or to produce a more or- derly state of feeling in Ireland. Severe proceedings were then decided upon by the government. The Prime Minis- ter, during his visit to Leeds in the first week of October, had used language which could bear only one meaning. The question, he said, had come to be simply this, ** whether law or lawlessness must rule in Ireland"; the Irish people must not be deprived of the means of taking advantage of the Land Act by force or fear of force. He warned the party of disorder that *Hhe resources of civilization were not yet exhausted. ' ' A few days later Mr. Gladstone, speaking at the Guildhall, amid enthusiastic cheers, was able to an- nounce that the long-delayed blow had fallen. Mr. Parnell was arrested in Dublin under the Coercion Act, and his ar- rest was followed by those of Mr. Sexton, Mr. Dillon, Mr. O'Kelly, and other prominent leaders of the agitation. The warnings of the government had been met at first with de- rision and defiance, and the earlier arrests were furiously denounced; but the energy and persistence of the govern* ment soon began to make an impress^ion. A Parthian shot ENGLISH EFFORTS TO DO JUSTICE. 541 was fired in the issue of a manifesto, purporting to be signed, not only by the "suspects" in Kilmainham, but also by Michael Davitt (from Portland Prison), which adjured the tenantry to pay no rent whatever until the government had done penance for its tyranny and released the victims of British despotism. This open incitement to defiance of legal authority and repudiation of legal right was instantly met by the Irish Executive in a resolute spirit. On the 20th of October a proclamation was issued declaring the League to be "an illegal and criminal association, intent on destroying the obligation of contracts and subverting law," and an- nouncing that its operations would thenceforward be forcibly suppressed, and those taking part in them held responsible. Says Pimblett, in his "English Political History": "In the month of April (1882) Mr. Parnell was released from Kilmainham on parole — urgent business demanding his presence in Paris. This parole the Irish National leader faithfully kept. "Whether the sweets of liberty had special charms for Mr. Parnell does not appear; but certain it is that after his return to Kilmainham, the member for Cork wrote to Captain O'Shea, one of the Irish members, and in- directly to the government, intimating that if the question of arrears could be introduced in Parliament by way of re- lieving the tenants of holdings and lessening greatly the number of evictions in the country for non-payment of rent, and providing the purchase clauses of the Land Bill were discussed, steps might be taken to lessen the number of out- rages. The government had the intimation conveyed to them, in short, which gave to their minds the conviction that Messrs. Parnell, Dillon, and O' Kelly, once released, and having in view the reforms indicated to them, would range themselves on the side of law and order in Ireland. Without any contract with the three .members the release of Messrs. Parnell, Dillon, and O' Kelly was ordered, after they had been confined for a period bordering on three months. Michael Davitt had been released Hkewise, and had been elected for Meath; but the seat was declared vacant again, owing to the conditions of his ticket-of -leave not permitting his return. Much has been said, and much 512 ENGLISH EFFORTS TO DO JUSTICE. has been written, with regard to the release of the three Irish M.P.'s. The *Kilmainham Treaty' has been a term of scorn addressed to Mr. Gladstone and his colleagues. As a fact there was no Kilmainham Treaty. Mr. Forster (the Secretary for Ireland) resigned because he did not think it right to share the responsibility of the release of Messrs. Parnell, Dillon, and O' Kelly. The government had de- tained the queen's subjects in prison without trial for the purpose of preventing crime, not for punishment, Mr. Fors- ter said in vindication. Mr. Forster contended that the un- written law, as promulgated by them, had worked the ruin and the injury of the queen's subjects by instructions of one kind and another — ^biddings carried oat to such a degree that no power on earth could have allowed it to continue without becoming a government not merely in name, but in shame. Mr. Forster would have given the question of the release of the three consideration, if they had pledged themselves not to set their law up against the law of the land, or if Ireland had been quiet, or if there had been an accession of fresh powers on behalf of the government ; but these conditions were wanting. What Mr. Forster desired was an avowal of a change of purpose." Mr. Forster, Chief Secretary for Ireland, resigned in April, 1882, and was succeeded by Lord Frederick Caven- dish, brother of the Marquis of Hartington and son of the Duke of Devonshire. Earl Spencer at the same time be- came Viceroy, in place of Lord Cowper, resigned. On the night of Friday, May 5th, Earl Spencer and Lord Fred- erick Cavendish crossed over to Ireland, and arrived in Dublin on the following day. The official entry was made in the morning, when the reception accorded by the popu- lace to the new officials was described as having been very fairly favorable. Events seemed to have taken an entirely prosperous turn, and it was hoped that at last the long winter of Irish discontent had come to an end. On Sunday morning there spread through the United Kingdom the in- telligence that the insane hatred of English rule had been the cause of a crime, even more brutal and unprovoked than any of the numerous outrages that had, during the last three ENGLISH EFFORTS TO DO JUSTICE. 543 years, sullied the annals of Ireland. Lord Frederick Caven- dish, having taken the oaths at the Castle, took a car about half -past seven in order to drive to the Viceregal Lodge. On the way he met Mr. Burke, the Permanent Under- Secretary, who, though his life had been repeatedly threat- ened, was walking along, according to his usual custom, without any police escort. Lord Frederick dismissed his car, and walked with him through Phoenix Park. There, in broad daylight, and in the middle of a public recreation ground, crowded with people, they were surrounded and murdered. More than one spectator witnessed what they imagined to be a drunken brawl, saw six men struggling together, and four of them drive off outside a car, painted red, which had been waiting for them the while, the car- man sitting still and never turning his head. The bodies of the two officials were first discovered by two shop-boys on bicycles, who had previously passed them alive. Lord Frederick Cavendish had six wounds, and Mr. Burke eleven, dealt evidently with daggers used by men of considerable strength. Lord Spencer himself had witnessed the struggle from the windows of the Viceregal Lodge, and thinking that some pickpockets had been at work sent a servant to make inquiries. A reward of ten thousand pounds, together with full pardon to any one who was not one of the actual mur- derers, was promptly offered, but for many long months the telegrams from Dublin closed with the significant informa- tion — "No definite clew in the hands of the police. " All parties in Ireland at once united to express their horror and detestation at this crime. Early in 1887, the English people, always suspicious of the Irish, were shocked by the appearance, in the "Times," of a letter in fac-simile, implying that Mr. Parnell himself was privy to the Phoenix Park murders. ''After many bitter debates in Parliament, a commission w;as appointed (1888), consisting of three judges, to inquire not only into the authenticity of this and other letters attributed to sev- eral persons as their authors, but into the whole course of conduct pursued by many of the Irish members of Parlia- ment, in reference to the previous agitation in Ireland and 544 ENGLISH EFFORTS TO DO JUSTICE. their connection with an extreme faction in America, who tried to intimidate this country by dastardly attempts to blow up our public buildings on several occasions between the years 1884 and 1887. The court sat from the winter months of 1888 until the summer of the following year, and examined dozens of witnesses, including Mr. Parnell and most of the other accused members, as well as dozens of the Irish peasantry who could give evidence as to outrages in their several districts. One of the witnesses, a mean and discarded Dublin journalist named Pigott, turned out to be the forger of the letters; and, having fled from the aveng- ing hand of justice to Madrid, there put an end to his life by means of a revolver. Meantime, the interest in the in- vestigation had flagged, and the report of the commission, which deeply implicated many of the Irish members as to their connection with the Fenian Society previous to their entrance to Parliament, on their own acknowledgment, fell rather flat on the public ear, wearied out in reiteration of Irish crime from the introduction of the Land League until the attempt to blow up London Bridge by American filibus- ters (1886). The unfortunate man Pigott had sold his forged letters to the over-credulous 'Times' newspaper at a fabu- lous price ; and even experts in handwriting, so dexterously had they been manipulated, were ready to testify in open court to the genuineness of the letters before the tragic end of their luckless author left not a particle of doubt as to their origin." — R. Johnston, *' Short History of the Queen's Reign." The following comprehensive review of the Nationalise movement is from the pen of Prof. James Bryce, himself a member of Parliament, and author of *'The American Com- monwealth": **A11 through the Parliament which sat from 1880 to 1885, the Nationalists' party, led by Mr. Parnell, and including at first less than half, ultimately about half, of the Irish members, was in constant and generally bitter opposition to the government of Mr. Gladstone. But dur- ing these five years a steady, though silent and often uncon- scious, process of change was passing in the minds of En- glish and Scotch members, especially Liberal members, due ENGLISH EFFORTS TO DO JUSTICE. 545 to their growing sense of the mistakes which Parhament committed in handHng Irish questions, and of the hopeless- ness of the efforts which the executive was making to pacify the country on the old methods. First, they came to feel that the present system was indefensible. Then, while still disliking the notion of an Irish Legislature, they began to think it deserved consideration. Next they admitted, though usually in confidence to one another, that although Home Rule might be a bad solution, it was a probable one, toward which events pointed. Last of all, and not till 1884, they asked themselves whether, after all, it would be a bad solu- tion, provided a workable scheme could be found. But as no workable scheme had been proposed, they still kept their views, perhaps unwisely, to themselves, and although the language held at the general election of 1885 showed a great advance in the direction of favoring Irish self-government, beyond the attitude of 1880, it was still vague and hesitat- ing, and could the more easily remain so because the con- stituencies had not (strange as it may now seem) realized the supreme importance of the Irish question. Few ques- tions were put to candidates on the subject, for both candidates and electors wished to avoid it. It was dis- agreeable ; it was perplexing ; so they agreed to leave it on one side. *'But when the results of the Irish elections showed, in December, 1885, an overwhelming majority in favor of the Home Rule party, and when they showed, also, that this party held the balance of power in Parliament, no one could longer ignore the urgency of the issue. There took place what chemists call a precipitation of substance held in solu- tion. Public opinion on the Irish question had been in a fluid state. It now began to crystallize, and the advocates and opponents of Irish self-government fell asunder into two masses, which soon solidified. This process was hastened by the fact that Mr. Gladstone's view, the indications of which, given by himself some months before, had been largely overlooked, now became generally understood. ... In the spring of 1886 the question could be no longer evaded or postponed. It was necessary to choose between two courses; 35 546 ENGLISH EFFORTS TO DO JUSTICE. the refusal of the demand for self-government, coupled with the introduction of a severe Coercion bill, or the concession of it by the introduction of a Home Rule bill. . . . How the Government of Ireland Bill was brought into the House of Commons on April 8, amid circumstances of curiosity and excitement unparalleled since 1832; how, after debates of almost unprecedented length, it was defeated in June, by a majority of thirty ; how the policy it embodied was brought before the country at the general election, and failed to win approval ; how the Liberal party has been rent in twain upon the question; how Mr. Gladstone resigned, and has been succeeded by a Tory ministry, which the dissentient Liberals, who condemn Home Rule, are now supporting — all this is well known. But the causes of the disaster may not be equally understood. '* Firsts and most obvious, although not most important, was the weight of authority arrayed against the scheme. . . . The two most eminent leaders of the moderate Lib- eral, or, as it is often called. Whig, party. Lord Hartington and Mr. Goschen, both declared against the bill, and put forth all their oratory and influence against it. At the op- posite extremity of the party, Mr. John Bright, the veteran and honored leader of the Radicals, and Mr. Chamberlain, the younger and latterly more active and prominent chief of that large section, took up the same position of hostility. Scarcely less important was the attitude of the social mag- nates of the Liberal party all over the country. . . . As, at the preceding general election, in December, 1885, the Lib- erals had obtained a majority of less than a hundred over the Tories, a defection such as this was quite enough to 'involve their defeat. Probably the name of Mr. Bright alone turned the issue in some twenty constituencies, which might otherwise have cast a Home Rule vote. The mention of this cause, however, throws us back on the further ques- tion. Why was there such a weight of authority against the scheme proposed by Mr. Gladstone? How came so many of his former colleagues, friends, supporters, to differ and depart from him on this occasion? Besides some circum- stances attending the production of the bill, . . . which told ENGLISH EFFORTS TO DO JUSTICE. 547 heavily against it, there were three feehngs which worked upon men's minds, disposing them to reject it. The first of these was disUke and fear of the Irish Nationalist members. In the previous House of Commons this party had been uniformly and bitterly hostile to the Liberal government. Measures intended for the good of Ireland, like the Land Act of 1881, had been ungraciously received, treated as con- cessions extorted, for which no thanks were due — inadequate concessions, which must be made the starting-point for fresh demands. Obstruction had been freely practiced to defeat not only bills restraining the liberty of the subject in Ire- land, but many other measures. Some members of the Irish party, apparently with the approval of the rest, had systematically sought to delay all English and Scotch legis- lation, and, in fact, to bring the work of Parliament to a dead stop. . . . There could be no doubt as to the hostility which they, still less as to that which their fellow-countrj^- men in the United States, had expressed toward England, for they had openly wished success to Russia while war seemed impending with her, and the so-called Mahdi of the Soudan was vociferously cheered at many a !N'ationalist meeting. *'To many Englishmen, the proposal to create an Irish Parliament seemed nothing more nor less than a proposal to hand over to these men the government of Ireland, with all the opportunities thence arising to oppress the opposite party in Ireland and to worry England herself. It was all very well to urge that the tactics which the Nationalists had pur- sued when their object was to extort Home Rule would be dropped, because superfluous, when Home Rule had been granted; or to point out that an Irish Parliament would probably contain different men from those who had been sent to Westminster as Mr. Parnell's nominees. Neither of these arguments could overcome the suspicious antipathy which many Englishmen felt. . . . The internal condition of Ireland supplied more substantial grounds for alarm. . . . Three-fourths of the people are Roman Catholics, one-fourth Protestants, and this Protestant fourth subdivided into bodies not fond of one another, who have little community of senti- 548 ENGLISH EFFORTS TO DO JUSTICE. ment. Besides the Scottish colony in Ulster, many English families have settled here and there through the country. They have been regarded as intruders by the aboriginal Celtic population, and many of them, although hundreds of years may have passed since, they came, still look on themselves as rather English than Irish. . . . Many people in England assumed that an Irish Parliament v^ould be under the control of the tenants and the humbler class generally, and would therefore be hostile to the landlords. They went further, and made the much bolder assumption that as such a Parliament would be chosen by electors, most of whom were Roman Catholics, it would be under the con- trol of the Catholic priesthood, and hostile to Protestants. Thus they supposed that the grant of self-government to Ireland would mean the abandonment of the upper and wealthier class, the landlords and the Protestants, to the tender mercies of their enemies. . . . The fact stood out that in Ireland two hostile factions had been contending for the last sixty years, and that the gift of self-govern- ment might enable one of them to tyrannize over the other. True, that party was the majority, and, according to the principles of democratic government, therefore entitled to prevail. But it is one thing to admit a principle and an- other to consent to its application. The minority had the sympathy of the upper classes in England, because the minority contained the landlords. It had the sympathy of a large part of the middle class, because it contained the Protestants. There was another anticipation, another forecast of evils to follow, which told most of all upon En- glish opinion. This was the notion that Home Rule was only a stage in the road to the complete separation of the two islands.'* In this frank statement lies the explanation of all of Ireland's wrongs; England cannot bear to lose any territory over which she has ever exercised control. "When Mr. Gladstone became Prime Minister again, in 1886, he promptly introduced a Home Rule bill and a Land bill, the latter providing for buying out the Irish landlords. Perhaps one or other of these bills might have become a law had it alone been proposed, but the suggestion at one and ENGLISH EFFORTS TO DO JUSTICE. 54^ the same time of two measures so radical frightened the more timid of the Liberals. The House voted against Mr. Gladstone's measures, although by a very small majority. A general election followed, and the enemies of Ireland were victorious (by the ridiculously small majority of eighty thou- sand in the entire United Kingdom), and Mr. Gladstone went again into retirement. After a Kent bill, proposed in 1886 by Mr. Parnell, was defeated, the Irish leaders devised, for the relief of Irish suffering, a measure which became famous under the name of *'The Plan of Campaign," the full text of which is too long to reproduce in these pages. In brief, the tenants were to meet by estates. The priest was to be asked to take the chair, or some tenant remarkable for firmness of character. A committee was to be appointed, consisting of the chair- man and six other members, to be called the managing com- mittee. This committee was to gather a half year's rent from the tenants. Every one of the tenants was to pledge himself; first, to abide by the decision of the majority; sec- ondly, to hold no communication with the landlord or his agents, except in the presence of the body of the tenantry; and, thirdly, to accept no settlement which was not given to every tenant on the estate. "On the gale day," went on the Plan, *'the tenantry should proceed to the rent-office in a body. If the agent refuses to see them in a body, they should on no account confer with him individually, but de- pute the chairman to act as their spokesman, and acquaint him of the reduction which they require. If the agent re- fused the half-year's rent with the reduction which the ten- ants thought fair and proper, then the half-year's rent was to be handed to the managing committee, and placed at the disposal of this committee absolutely for the purpose of con- ducting the fight. No money was to be spent in law costs. When the landlord agreed to settle, the law costs were to be deducted from the rent." Sir Michael Hicks-Beach, Chief Secretary for Ireland, was obliged, in common honesty, to testify to the justice of the Plan of Campaign, to admit that Irish rents were too high, that many landlords were volimtarily making great 19 550 ENGLISH EFFORTS TO DO JUSTICE. reductions, and that the Land Commissioners were making great reductions. In 1887 the people of Ireland learned that nothing definite was to be expected from the promises of the Conservatives and Unionists that there should be extension of local self- government. Ireland was soon in a ferment of dissatisfac- tion, and Mr. Balfoiu*, the new Chief Secretary, noting this, introduced the most savage, brutal coercion act that Parlia- ment had seen in a century. Some of its provisions could not be endured even by the most mahgnant of the Tories, but the bill as passed was an insult to Ireland and a disgrace to England. It was put in . practice at once, and the first victim of its malice was the National League, which was * 'proclaimed" a dangerous association, and its members be- came Hable to imprisonment. Arrests followed rapidly, some of the prisoners being Irish members of ParHament. These gentlemen were actually cast into prison cells, com- pelled to don convict's garb and to do menial service 1 Mr. Gladstone declared it to be * 'a shameful, an inhmnan, and a brutal proceeding," and laid the blame upon the Liberals, who by refusing to vote for Home Rule had made the co- ercion act possible. To add to the misfortunes of the Irish at this particular moment, Mr. Parnell fell in public estimation through a private sin which was contrary to the laws of God and man, and Mr. Gladstone insisted on his resigning the leadership of the Irish Nationalists. Mr. Parnell refused, and the En- glish Liberals, as a body, parted company with the Irish Home Rule party. Several efforts were made by the Con- servatives to pacify the Irish people by promises of legisla- tion in the direction of reform, and some highly elaborate bills were introduced, but they came to no more than the Irish had expected ; for on all of them was the print of the cloven hoof of Mr. Balfour — a man who believed that the Irish were a subject race, and should be kept in subjection. Immediately after the opening of the Parliamentary ses- sion of 1893 Mr. Gladstone, again Prime Minister, offered a bill providing for Home Rule in Ireland, and this measure remained the leading subject of poUtical interest in the ENGLISH EFFORTS TO DO JUSTICE. 551 United Kingdom until it was finally disposed of. The bill itself was very long, its framers having endeavored to give proper attention to every detail that long previous agitation of the general subject had suggested. Provision was made for a legislative body, to consist of two houses — a Council, or Upper House, and an Assembly — to make laws on all matters pertaining exclusively to Ireland, such laws to re- ceive the approval of the Crown, through the Lord Lieuten- ant, before becoming operative. The legislature was not to have power to restrict personal or religious liberty, nor with- out due process of law to disturb personal or corporate rights in property. The Council was to be elected for eight years and not to be subject to dissolution; the Assembly to be elected for five years and be subject to dissolution in the same manner as the British House of Commons. All ap- propriation and tax bills were to originate in the Assembly. Ireland was still to be represented in the imperial Parlia- ment, and the existing qualifications of electors were not to be changed. There was to be a Judiciary Committee of the Council, which should have power to construe and de- termine the law, the duties of this body being somewhat analogous to those of the Supreme Court of the United States, and the political position of Ireland toward the re- mainder of the empire was to be very like that of a State of the American Union toward the general government. The customs revenues were to go to the imperial treasury, but the excise, postal revenues, the income taxes, stamp duties and license fees were to go into the Irish treasury, and with these the proposed government was to maintain the constabulary, postal, internal revenue and civil admin- istration expenses. It soon became evident that a very large minority of the Commons would not consent to this or any other measure of Home Rule. Obstructive tactics were resorted to on every possible occasion, and when finally the ministry insisted on the closing of the debate there were some disgraceful per- sonal altercations on the floor of the House. The bill was finally passed by a full vote of the government party, but when it reached the Lords it was defeated by a vote of about 552 ENGLISH EFFORTS TO DO JUSTICE. ten to one — a vote which renewed popular protest against the House of Lords as a bit of obstructive machinery which was not in sympathy with the great body of the people and should therefore be abolished as a legislative body. When Mr. Gladstone retired from the Ministry and from political leadership (in 1894), Lord Rosebery became Prime Minister. In announcing his policy he made a sensible and statesmanlike statement regarding Home Rule, saying that he viewed it not from Ireland's standpoint alone, for the subject had to him a triple aspect. He believed Ireland never would be contented until Home Rule was granted, that the nation had not merely to satisfy the people in Ire- land, but for the continuity of pleasant relations with Eng- land's cousins across the Atlantic there should be an Irish policy that would satisfy members of the Irish race, and that the maintenance of the nation required decentralization, so that an overburdened Parliament could attend properly to its general duties. Since that time, however, nothing has been done to en- courage Ireland's hopes, nor does the present condition of the Liberals promise action in the near future. As to the Conservatives, it is entirely unlikely that they will ever de- part from their traditional policy of opposing change of any kind. Fortunately, however, nothing has been done in re- cent years to give new annoyance to the Irish people and thus to provoke new insurrections, nor have there been in Ireland any factional differences that could weaken the pa- triotic bands which have held the Irish people together ever since the Home Rule movement began. Because of the willingness and wish of millions of Englishmen that Ire- land shall be treated at least as fairly as Canada or any other British colony, it would seem that the time should not be long distant when Ireland's last disabilities shall be removed and her people shall enjoy the civil and religious freedom for which they have so long suffered, hoped and fought. IKDEX OF SUBJECTS, ixGLo-NoRMANS. {See Feudalism.) Antiquity of the Irish race, Preface, viii. Ard-Righ, importance of the, in Celtic countries, 25 ; authority of the, 27, 28. Association, needed for the uprising of the Irish race, 482-484 ; how, is to be understood, 519-523. Attacotts, were not slaves, 30. Australia, position of, 420, 421 ; im- portance of the position of, 421 ; situa- tion of the Irish at first in, 422 ; subse- quent status of the Irish in, 463-465 ; land-system in, at first, 468, 469 ; how it was altered subsequently, 469. {See Hierarchy and Prophecy op Noah.) Barbarism, the refusal of the Irish race to follow Europe, no proof of, Preface, xiii. ; no, but real civilization in Ireland, 250-253. Bards, number of, in Ireland, 15 ; patriot- ism of the, 16 ; preservation of the, by Columba, 16, 16. CiU.7iNi8M of the first Ulster Protestants, 294. Cathedrals, the, of Baltimore, 445 ; erec- tion of, promoted by the example of English Catholics, 448, 449; meaning of a, 449 ; vastness of, 450 ; under- taken, 451. Catholic, the majority of Irishmen al- ways, 301-803. Charitable Institutions, origin of, 466, d seq, ; history of, 466 ; number of, in the United States, 452-465 ; necessity of all those, 467-460 ; in Australia, 463. Churches, Schools, Asylums, sums re quired for building, 440-446 ; archi- tectural style of, 443, et seq. ; nurabei of, in the Western States, 446, et seq. Cities, chosen by the Irish for dwelling in, in the United States, 435 ; chosen from the beginning for centres of Christian- ity, 436 ; reasons for choosing, 43*7, et seq, ; dangers averted by choosing, 438, et seq. Clanship, origin of, 22 ; territory in, 22, etseq. ; opposed to feudalism, 135, 137, 139, 144, 153 ; conquers feudalism, 146, 148. Communes, origin of, 170 ; no need of, in Ireland. Confiscation of land the object of Anglo- Noi-man invasion, 138, 151 ; new feat- ure in, under the first Stuart, 256 ; not arrested by prescription, 252 ; in Connaught, under Charles I., 264 ; un- der Cromwell, 276, 282-284 ; of Crom- well, perpetuated by Charles II., 280- 283. Congregationalism, of Cromwell, 296. Crom Cruagh, character of the worship of, 72. Crusades, not preached in Ireland, 159 ; heresies brought by the, to Western Europe, l&O. Danes. {See Scandinavians.) Dkath, a punishment dreaded by Irish- men, 87 ; an object of desire, 87 ; res- ignation to, of the Irish, 88. Despotism, neither Catholic theology nor the Catholic hierarchy the cause of, in England, 243 ; causes of the, of the Tudors, 243, 244. Dublin, stronghold of the Danes, 126. INDEK OF BUBJE0T8. Education, laws against, in Ireland (see Penal Laws) ; still of an inferior kind in Ireland, 600 ; means of raising the level of, 501 ; projects of godless, 504- 606 ; necessary for the uprising of the nation, 508, et seq. Emigration and Emigrants, originated by the Reformation, 376 ; of the soldiers under Cromwell, 274, 376 ; after the Williamite war, 376 ; through the eighteenth century, 377 ; effects of those, 378-380 ; of clergymen, 380, 886, et seq. ; of women and children, 275, 383-387 ; effects of those, 388- 890 ; beginning of the voluntary Irish, 391, et seq. ; position of Irish, in Amer- ica during the eighteenth century, 392- 398 ; losg to the Church by this, not so complete as it is supposed, 399-401 ; beginning of the last, 403-405 ; situa- tion of Irish, 405-408 ; immediate causes of this, 408-418 ; to Canada, 413-416 ; to the eastern provinces, 416-418 ; to Australia, 422, el seq. ; to Australia, beneficial to Ireland, 466, et seq. ; to England, 469, et seq. ; char- acter of Irish, compared to the English, 471-474 ; in general, 475, et seq. European Thought, the Irish refuse to follow, Preface, vii., and passim through the first half of the volume-; England, the actual leader of, 54-56 ; the Irish opposed to, 56. Exodus, causes of the, 425 ; first results, 427-430 ; England repairs the first effects of the, 430-433 ; first fruits of the, 434, et seq. ; further favorable re- sults, 477-479 ; greater results of the, in Australia, 480-482 ; results of the, to be secured and increased by asso- ciation, 482, et seq. {See Churches, Ca- thedrals, Charitable Institutions.) Famine, no, among the ancient Irish, 808 ; after the Munster wars of Elizabeth, 214 ; periodical, from the beginning of the eighteenth century, 808-312; of 1846, description of, 425 ; of 1846, cause of the exodus, 412, 413, 427 ; perma- nent in Ireland, 409, et seq. Feudalism and Feudal, character of, 133 ; in England, 134 ; opposed to clanship, 185, 187, 189, 144, 158; occupation of land by, 138-140; castles, 139; laws rejected by the Irish, 148 ; conquered by clanship, 146-148. FlLi. (See Bards, 14, et wg.) 84 France and French, modem instability of the, 867, 368 ; reason why, has changed since last century. Preface, iv. ; Vendeans compared to Irish Tories, 260-263. Government (Representatite), is, due to Protestantism ? 243 ; origin of, 353 ; not successful out of English-speaking countries, 353, 364 ; results of, in other countries, 367. Greece, philosophy of, an obstacle and danger to the primitive Church, 64, 65 ; philosophy of, the origin of many here- sies, 66, 67. Harp, antiquity of the, 18 ; successful de- velopments of the, 19 ; universality of the use of the, in Ireland, 20, 21. Heresy, emanating from Greek philo* sophy, 66, 67 ; brought to Western Eu- rope by the Crusades, 160 ; mentioned in Ireland only once, 160; how, waa put down in Ireland, 164 ; races in- chned to, 165, 169 ; the Irish untouched by the spirit of, 167. (See Rational- ism.) Hierarchy, In Australia, 428 ; developed in the United States by the exodus, 486 ; developed in Australia, 465, 466. Historians in Ireland. (See Literature.) Homage, as understood by the Irish, 188; meaning of the word, among feudal nations, 138. Home-Rule, the Irish have a right to. 342 ; would not heal all the wounds of Ireland, 348 ; would not give a suflfi. cient scope to representative govern, ment in Ireland, 356 ; what, would produce, 366 ; would not satisfy all th« wants of the nation, 867. {See laiaa Parliament.) Kilkenny (/8lta portance of, in feudalism, 188, 18S, 158 ; the object f Norman inva8ion« INDEX OF SUBJECTS. 161 ; gained by the Irish, 154 ; acts of the Irish Pariiament with respect to, 155 ; pressure for, the cause of the flight of the earis, 258. {See Confisca- tion.) Laws, feudal, contrasted with the Brehon, 143 ; opinion of Edmund Burke on the penal, 299 ; fanaticism, more than greed, the cause of the penal, 299 ; unity of the penal, 300 ; the penal, took the political rights away, 301, 304 ; took civil rights away, 304-306, 309 ; took, away human rights, 313, 314, 318, 319 ; effects of the penal, on the people, 320- 824 ; cause of the strength of the Irish in resisting the penal, 325, Liegeman, as understood by the Irish in opposition to the feudal meaning of the word, 144. Literature, Celtic, 10-17 ; peculiarities of Celtic, lY, et seq. ; Irish, saved by the monks of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, 381-383. Manicheism, prunitive, 65, 66 ; Mediseval, 161. Martyrs, under Elizabeth, 224-228 ; un- der the penal laws, 314-318 ; in Eastern Asia, 461, 462. Mind, peculiarities of the Irish, 34, 80, 81. Missions, old Irish, 100. Monasteries, the Irish attached to, 93, 195, 197; building of, 94, 97, 98; mul- titude of, 94, 95 ; literature of, 196 ; all the island occupied by, 196 ; rules of the primitive, 96 ; out of Ireland, 101 ; destruction of, 194, 200-203. Monotheism of the Celtic nations, 69 ; the pagan Irish inclined to, 74. Moral force, of liberalism, 485, 488 ; of agitation, 488-494 ; was, defeated in the repeal agitation ? 492-494 ; objects of, 495 ; the proper means of restoring a proper system of education to Ireland, 600-502, 504, 506. Through the last chapter, passim. Morality, Irish, pure, 35. Music, Irish, 18. Nation, are the Irish a, and do they in- clude two ? 514-518. {See People.) Nature, view of, in the Irish mind, 85, 91 ; united to grace, 96. Nobility, Henry VIII. tries to gain over the Irish, 178, 181 ; Elizabeth first tries duplicity on the Irish, 207, 225; de- struction of the Anglo-Norman, in the south, 213 ; in the north, 216 ; Jamea I. destroys the Irish, in the north, 268 ; Cromwell destroys the, all ov^er the isl- and, 274, 275 ; Vice's ideas of, inde- fensible, 328 ; feudal ideas of, 329 ; mediaeval ideas of, 329 ; Irish notions of, compared to other systems, 330- 332 ; fall of the Irish, 333-335 ; what Englishmen thought of the fall of the Irish, 336 ; means employed to bring on the fall of the Irish, 336, 337 ; pol- icy of Cromwell toward the Irish, 338, 339 ; destruction of the Irish, finaL 339-341. Ollamh. {See Literature, 10, «i aeq,) Oath, as a religious test, 297-301. Pale (English), how far the, was reduced under the Tudors, 145, 176. Parliament (Irish), origin of the, 147 ; corrected by 344 ; the Iri'sh race ex- cluded from, 148, 345 ; of Kilkenny, 148 ; acts of, to wrest the land from the Irish, 155 ; Irish, in the eighteenth century, 297, 298 ; record of Irish, 343, et seq. ; general object of Irish, 344, 345 ; of 1782, 352 ; prosperity from the Irish, of 1782, reduced to Protest- ants, 349-351. {See Government, rep- resentative.) Pauperism, effect of the penal laws in Ire- land, 306-308 ; actual, 495-498 ; can be remedied by moral force, 498-500; to be removed chiefly by a new land- tenure law, 507. Peace Party, opposed to the Nuncionisti^ 268 ; leaders of the, 269 ; results of the, 270. People, first mention of the Irish, in the English state papers, 178, 179 ; Irish, opposed to Protestantism, 183 ; Irish, born of the opposition to the new here- sies, 186 ; history of the, in general, 187, et seq. ; the, growing stronger in Ireland, 189 ; the Irish, created and nurtured by religion and love of coun- try, 190, et seq., 287-289; the Irish, in- eluding both the old race and the An- glo-Normans, 193 ; the Irish, united by the love of the religious orders, 199, et seq. ; policy of the destruction of the, 213, et seq.; the Tudors ignoring the, 335 ; what a Christian, can do in out days, 500 ; the Irish can form a strong, 513. INDEX OF SUBJECTS. PsBSECirriON, itedei Elizabeth, 226 ; spies used for, 227 ; secret police for, 227 ; invention of secret police by Elizabeth for, 337 ; under the penal laws, 314- 818. Philosophy, of history, what it ought to be. Preface, v. ; Greek, 64 ; Eastern, ob- stacle to Christianity, 65 ; Greek, source of heresy, 66. Priesthood, nature of the Christian, 88 ; the Irish attached to the, 89, et seq. ; power of the, 92. Prophecy op Noah, text of the, 39 ; ful- filment of the, gradually prepared, Chapter ii., passim ; the Irish mission in the fulfilment of the, 56, 57 ; details of the fulfilment of the, 400 ; situation of Australia favorable to the fulfilment of the, 420, 421 ; further detaUs of, 128-430, 460, 461 ; with respect to Australia, 466 ; steam and electricity helping the fulfilment of the, 483. Protestantism, how, was first introduced into Ireland, 180, et seq. ; the people opposed to, 183 ; the nobility soon aroused against, 185 ; second attempt to introduce, by Elizabeth, 204 ; easily accepted by England, 230 ; easily re- ceived by Scandinavians, 232, 233 ; helped by Scandmavian rapacity, 235 ; not promotive of freedom and civiliza- tion in England, 240, ei seq. ; not the result of a higher civilization in Eng- land, 244 ; effects of, on England and other nations, 246 ; as to representative government, 247 ; Ireland not prepared for, 249-253. Raob, what is understood by, 2, 8 ; power of expansion of the Celtic, 4-6 ; Celtic, with respect to a sea-faring life, 6-9 ; literature of the Celtic, 9-18 ; music and art of the Celtic, 18-21 ; govern- ment in the Celtic, 21-24 ; social state in the Celtic, 24-88 ; Asiatic and Afri- can, formerly full of energy, 89 ; de- generacy of the same, 41 ; first appear- ance of the Japhetic, 41 ; its develop- ments in Rome, 43 ; Christianity renders , the Japhetic, able to fulfil its mission, 45 ; spread of the Japhetic, in modem times, 47-60 ; means furnished to it for expansion, 60. Rationalism, nature of, 81 ; no trace of, among the Irish, 81 ; of John Scotus Erigena, 82 ; alibi passim. Rkbkllion and Rkbkls, were the Irish ? 141, 186,209,«/«e9., ^^^^ ^^^ general, 144 ; a Catholic a, in the eyes of Queen Elizabeth, 217, et seq. ; bishops and monks martyrs, not, 220, ei seq. Religious Orders, old, replaced by more modern institutions, 199; the Church in Ireland created by, 196, 196 ; could not be destroyed in Ireland, 197. Resistance {right of), nature of the, 359, 360-863 ; of Tories in Ireland, 860-362. Revelation, primitive, 68. Revolutionary Spirit, the Irish, from the beginning, opposed to the, 266, 290, 291 ; the Irish opposed to the, in mod- em times, 872, 373 ; nature of the 363, 864 ; origin of the, 864-366 ; his tory of the, 866-868 ; its actual form, 369-371 ; idem, 438. Rome, utilitarianism of, 60; civilization of, an obstacle to the Christian ideal, 61 ; idolatry of, a greater obstacle, 62, et seq. ; philosophy of, the source of great evils to Christianity, 64-67. Scandinavia and Scandinavians, de- scription of, 107 ; the people of, differs from the Teutons, 107 ; religion of, 108-110 ; social state of, 110 ; warfare of. 111, 112; characteristics of the mind of, 114; success ot the, in Eng- land and on the Continent, 117-121 ; aptitude of, for commerce and munici- pal life, 122; conversion of, in Ireland, 126, 127 ; the, adopt Irish manners, 128 ; no trace left of, in Ireland, 129, 180; aptitude of, for Protestantism, 282. et seq. Sqakacht. {See Litkraturk, 13.) Slavery, in Ireland, domestic, not social, 88. Social Feelings, Irish, 84-89. Sovereign Rights, left to the Irish by the Anglo-Normans, 141, 146. Spies and Informers, operations oF, \n Ireland, 226, 227 ; system of, invented by Elizabeth, 836, 887; some Irishmen found among, 388. Statutes op Kilkenny, object of the, 148 ; inoperative, 149, 160. St. Patrick, mission of, 76, el teq. ; su. peraatural teaching of, 86.*"- St. Thomas, doctrine of, on government, 241, e< seq. Supernatural, the Christian religion emi nently, 84 ; Irish love of the, 86, 87, et seq. INDEX OF SUBJECTS. Tanistrt, 'nature of, 25, 27; disadvan- tages of, 38S. Titles (defective), commission for, 260, 261. Ulster Protestant Colony, character of the, 259, 260 ; the, could not coa- lesce with the Irish, 282 ; the, under William III., 293 ; the, reduced by the volunteer movement, 349 ; the, as it exists to-day, 516-519. United States, energy of the, 418, 419 ; the, promote the mission of Irishmeo, 440, 443. Universities, old, in Ireland, 178 ; dan- gers from European, 174. Volunteers (Irish), origin of the, 845 ; history of the, 846 ; the, exclude the Catholics from the franchise, 346- 848. THE END. RETURN TO nit?^^ USB "ook IS due on the last ^o* - ""'ect to immediate reoll. *t.^M l'\ I \%\, i * f\