IXTY YEARS OF 
 SOLDIER'S LIFE


 
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 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE
 
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 SIXTY YEARS 
 
 OF 
 
 A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 BY 
 MAJOR-GENERAL 
 
 SIR ALFRED E. TURNER 
 
 K.C.B., C.B. 
 
 COLONEL COMMANDANT, ROYAL ARTILLERY 
 
 *' Ce n'est pas I'immensite de la voute etoilee, 
 qui donne le plus completement I'idee de 
 I'infini. Mais bien c'est la betise humaine " 
 
 Kenan 
 
 WITH A PORTRAIT AND A FACSIMILE LETTER 
 
 METHUEN & GO. LTD. 
 
 36 ESSEX STREET W.G. 
 
 LONDON
 
 First Published in rgi2
 
 SfiLf 
 
 
 TO 
 
 " Thou, first great cause, least understood ' 
 
 Pope
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 PAGE 
 
 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS AND EDUCATION .... I 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 A JUNIOR OFFICER OF ARTILLERY, 1860-1880 ... 28 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 WITH LORD SPENCER IN IRELAND, 1882-1884 ... 54 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE GORDON EXPEDITION, 1884-1885 .... 85 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 THE MAHDI II4 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 END OF THE SOUDAN CAMPAIGN 144 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 IRELAND IN l886. THE FIRST HOME RULE BILL . . 176
 
 viii SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 PAGB 
 
 CHIEF COMMISSIONER IN KERRY AND CLARE . . . 202 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 THE NATIONAL LEAGUE AND THE COERCION ACT, 1887 . 225 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 1889 TO 1892. PARNELL's triumph and FALL , , 257 
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 AT THE WAR OFFICE 294 
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 PRIVATE LIFE 314 
 
 INDEX 337
 
 LIST OF ILUSTRATIONS 
 
 The Author Frontispiece 
 
 From a photograph by Claude Harris, Ltd. 
 
 FACING PAGE 
 
 Autograph Letter from Lord Nelson to the Rev. 
 
 Richard Turner 8 
 
 From the original in the possession of the Author.
 
 SIXTY YEARS 
 OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS AND EDUCATION 
 
 Earliest recollections — My family and home — My great grandfather 
 and Lord Nelson — Lady Hamilton — The Chartist rising of 1848 — The 
 Duke of Welhngton — Baroness Burdett Coutts — The Duke's death and 
 funeral — The army then and now — Early Victorian funerals — The old 
 Princess's Theatre— Charles Kean — Ellen Terry — My first school — 
 Rioting in Belgra\da and Hyde Park — Westminster School — Dr 
 Liddell — Punishments — Bullying — ^Home boarders — Rowing — Cricket 
 — Dean Wilberfcrce — Napoleon III. — The Westminster Education — 
 Addiscombe — The sanctity of " sealed patterns " — Military punish- 
 ments in i860 
 
 A GERMAN author has asserted that the most fitting 
 age for people to write their reminiscences is 
 fifty, or, at the latest, sixty, as the memories 
 of their past life will then be comparatively bright and 
 fresh, while after sixty the natural decay of the faculties 
 will lessen the retentive power of the memory, which will 
 become less and less able to produce from its life's store 
 accurate and unconfused recollections of events worthy 
 of being recorded. 
 
 This may be the case with many people, but it is not so 
 with a large proportion of the thinking and educated, 
 who, if they are fortunate enough to preserve their health, 
 and remain in the enjoyment of a mens sana in corpora 
 sano, retain their full mental faculties, including their 
 I 1
 
 2 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 memory, to a very advanced age, and often only suffer 
 from forgetfulness of names and contemporary trifles. 
 
 It would seem that the best age at which to write one's 
 memoirs should depend upon the period at which a 
 person closes his or her active career, " when hopes and 
 fears of boyhood's years " exist no longer, and when the 
 passions of love, hate, and ambition are dulled or dead, 
 and when one can calmly contemplate the past, and the 
 manner in which one has acted in it, by the light of 
 experience which is "by industry achieved and per- 
 fected by the swift course of time " ; and conclude how 
 one would have acted had one been endowed with this 
 experience and the light of the wisdom of maturer age. 
 
 I have been requested to write my reminiscences after 
 reaching an age which is some distance on the shady 
 side of sixty, a time of life when hardly a week passes that 
 one does not read of the departure beyond the bourne of 
 a contemporary whom one remembers in the health and 
 strength of youth and manhood ; and I am beginning 
 to feel like " one who treads alone a banquet-hall 
 deserted." Though I have to dive into a past of seven 
 decades, my recollection of events which occurred in the 
 earliest sensate days of my life is as vivid as if they were 
 occurrences of yesterday or to-day, I do not pretend 
 that these memoirs ^ will be of any great importance or 
 general interest, and I should certainly not have recorded 
 them on my own initiative. I have indeed lived through 
 some stirring periods, and I have been associated with 
 many more or less eminent and remarkable personalities, 
 some of whom have occupied " the seats of the mighty " 
 more to their own advantage than to that of the country, 
 
 ^ I only naturally vouch for the truth, as far as my actual experience 
 goes, not of all the narrations related to me.
 
 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS AND EDUCATION 3 
 
 especially in the case of those whose rise and position 
 have been due only to hereditary advantages. What I 
 do undertake to produce are facts as hard and un- 
 varnished as those wanted by Mr Gradgrind, and which 
 may not be in all cases quite palatable ; I shall, however, 
 do my utmost to avoid hurting the susceptibilities of 
 those who have not yet crossed the border. 
 
 I was bom in 1842, in London. I am not certain as to 
 the exact locality, but the house to which my earliest 
 recollections carry me was in the west corner of what 
 was then known as Queen's Square, Westminster, the 
 residence of my grandfather, Francis Turner, probably the 
 most eminent conveyancing barrister of his time, and 
 brother of Lord Chief- Justice Turner, and Sir Charles 
 Turner, senior master of the Queen's Bench. Both Sir 
 George Turner and his brother, Joseph Richard Turner, 
 fellow of Gonville and Caius College, who disappeared 
 when travelling in France during the first Bourbon restora- 
 tion in 18 14, were wranglers, while their uncle. Rev. 
 Joseph Turner, D.D., was senior wrangler in 1767. Three 
 wranglers in two generations, and one a senior, is no mean 
 record for a family. The last-named was fellow and tutor 
 of Pembroke Hall, where he was instructor of William 
 Pitt, as mentioned by Lord Rosebery in his " Life of Pitt." 
 Pitt afterwards presented him with the Deanery of 
 Norwich in 1791, which he held till his death in 1828. 
 This eminent ecclesiastic was bom in 1745, and his son, 
 who was many years rector of Banwell in Somersetshire, 
 died in 1893, the Uves of father and son thus extending 
 over a period of a hundred and forty-eight years — from 
 the time of the second Pretender to nearly the sixty-year 
 jubilee of Queen Victoria. My great-grandfather was 
 rector of St Nicholas, Yarmouth, for thirty years, and his
 
 4 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 father was vicar of old St George's Church, Yarmouth, 
 for no less than fifty years. We cannot claim the honour 
 of a bishop in the family, ^ which seems, however, to have 
 enjoyed a large share of ecclesiastical loaves and fishes. 
 My ancestors were churchmen of churchmen, Tories of 
 Tories, who thought that a Whig, or a Liberal, let alone a 
 Radical or Socialist, were not fit even to be subjected to 
 the fate that befell the Church of the Laodiceans. 
 
 My grandfather bought the freehold of Nos. 14 and 15 
 Queen's Square, now Queen Anne's Gate, two beautiful 
 but highly uncomfortably arranged Queen Anne houses, 
 in the beginning of last century for ;^50oo. In 1867 his 
 executors sold them to a northern plutocrat M.P. for 
 £10,000, a ridiculously low price. They were not con- 
 sidered good enough for his residence, and he had them 
 demolished, and in their place erected two most unsightly 
 and lofty red-brick houses, which destroyed the sym- 
 metry of the surroundings, only to be matched by the 
 disfigurement worked by the hideosity known as Queen 
 Anne's Mansions. These two houses have now dis- 
 appeared, and in their place have been erected the sub- 
 stantial and stately offices of the Petrol octopus, which, 
 not content with making corners in his own country, 
 has extended his operations into the heart of London. 
 
 Here I may perhaps mention another much more re- 
 markable instance of the enormous rise in the value of 
 London property. In 1821 my wife's grandfather bought 
 a house called Lavender Lodge, with about twelve acres 
 of grounds, close to where Clapham Junction now stands. 
 As time went on, and the population increased, the land 
 
 ^ We can, however, boast of a Colonial Bishop, James Francis Turner, 
 son of Lord Justice Turner, who was Bishop of Grafton and Armadale 
 in Australia, 1869-92.
 
 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS AND EDUCATION 5 
 
 was gradually sold, part now being covered by the Free- 
 masons' school. The house with three acres remained 
 till 1903, when my wife's uncle, Mr Noel Whiting, a well- 
 known and highly respected Mincing Lane broker, and 
 member of the Ironmongers' Company, died, when it 
 was sold for £50,000 — over £16,000 an acre, or ten times 
 the amount that the whole property had cost eighty-two 
 years before. 
 
 Through the female line I can trace ray descent to the 
 Nauntons and Wingfields, and on through several kings, 
 to Viscount Aurancia in Normandy, who married a sister 
 of William the Conqueror, and also through another line 
 to Strongbow, and various Irish kings or kinglets. Sir 
 Bernard Biuke writes in his " General Armoury " under 
 the heading of Naunton, that I am entitled by descent 
 through heiresses to the numerous quarterings of the 
 Nauntons and Wingfields. The most distinguished of this 
 family was Sir Robert Naunton, author of " Fragmenta 
 Regalia," a copy of which has come down to me ; he was 
 Secretary of State to James I., and is said to have had no 
 smaU part in the intrigues which led to the execution of 
 Sir Walter Raleigh, I do not allude to my ancestry and 
 pedigree because I am in the smallest degree proud of it, 
 but because it is usual to do so in an autobiography. ^ It 
 is an evident fact that everybody must have had a father, 
 a grandfather, a great-grandfather, and so on ad infinitum, 
 and whether a man knows who his father is, and whether 
 his knowledge of his ancestry is perfect, is a mere matter 
 of chance ; the existence of an ancestry is common to all. 
 
 ^ Rochefoucauld writes in his " Les Pensees, Maximes et Reflexions 
 Morales" : "On s'etonne tous les jours de voir des personnes de la lie 
 du peuple s'elever et s'ennoblir, et Ton en parle avec mepris ; comme 
 si les grandes families du monde n'avaient pas en un commencement 
 semblable a les rechercher jusque dans le fonds de leur origine."
 
 6 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 I owe my pedigree to the circumstance of a great Naunton 
 succession lawsuit in the eighteenth century, for the 
 purposes of which the pedigree of the family was made 
 the subject of most careful research. I possess the 
 document which was then prepared as the result of the 
 investigations, and since then it has been carefully kept 
 up by succeeding generations. It is therefore fair to 
 conclude that it is as accurate as pedigrees can be, and 
 it is naturally considered by the family to be of much 
 interest and value. 
 
 Another recollection of my childhood was the intense 
 veneration of my family for Lord Nelson, which, for many 
 reasons, was natural, not only owing to the greatness of 
 the man and to his unequalled services to his country, but 
 to the circumstances that the two families, Lord Nelson's 
 and our own, were acquainted one with the other. Lord 
 Nelson's father was rector of Burnham Thorpe in Norfolk, 
 while my great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather 
 were, as I have before stated, rectors in Yarmouth for 
 very many years ; and it was only natural that the friends 
 of Nelson's father should watch with intense interest the 
 brilliant and earnest career of the youth who was destined 
 to save Great Britain and give a blow to the greatest 
 power of modern times, a power which otherwise would 
 have throttled this country and forced it into the manacles 
 in which the great Napoleon held the rest of Europe. 
 
 I have letters of Lord Nelson's father, my great-grand- 
 father's cards of admission to St Paul's Cathedral on the 
 day of the hero's funeral on 9 January, 1806, and a 
 letter from Lord Nelson himself to my great-grandfather 
 on his landing at Yarmouth after the battle of the Nile 
 and his sojourn in Naples. 
 
 I may perhaps be pardoned for giving in extenso
 
 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS AND EDUCATION 7 
 
 the account of this visit, written by my ancestor on 
 6 November 1800. 
 
 " On Thursday morning, Nov. 6th, Lord Nelson, Sir 
 William and Lady Hamilton, arrived at Yarmouth in the 
 ' King George ' Packet, Captain Deane, from Cuxhaven, 
 under convoy of a small ship of war. They were landed 
 at the haven's mouth, and as soon as the carriage which 
 was bringing them to the town had passed the Bridge, 
 the population took out the horses and drew it with great 
 acclamations to the Wrestlers, where his Lordship and 
 party took up their residence. Great demonstrations of 
 joy were immediately shown upon their arrival, and the 
 town was in a considerable bustle from the ardor of 
 all ranks of people to see the Hero of the Nile and to 
 welcome him, after so many services and dangers, to his 
 native kingdom and his native country. Admiral Dickson, 
 who commands on this station, and the Captains of the 
 Fleet, who were on shore, immediately paid their com- 
 pliments to him. The Mayor (Mr Barker) and the 
 corporation waited upon him in their formalities to 
 present him with the freedom of the Town, which had 
 been unanimously voted to him directly after the splendid 
 and most important victory of Aboukir ; and in the 
 afternoon the Mayor and Captain Paget, who commanded 
 each of them a volunteer corps, marched with their band 
 to the space before the Inn, and fired three excellent 
 voUies in honour of the noble Lord, who very politely 
 came forward into a balcony with Sir W. and Lady 
 Hamilton to receive the testimony of respect. 
 
 " The following morning they attended divine service, 
 having previously announced to Mr Turner, the minister 
 of the Parish, their wish that their thanks should be 
 publickly offered to God, for the mercies they had
 
 8 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 experienced for several years ; the Mayor and corporation 
 also attended at church, and after service Lord Nelson 
 and Sir W. Hamilton accompanied the corporation and 
 some of the principal persons of the Town to the house 
 of the Mayor, who had provided a very handsome 
 cold collation for the noble stranger and his friends. 
 About 3 o'clock on Friday afternoon his Lordship, and 
 Sir W. and Lady Hamilton and their suite, left Yarmouth 
 on their way to Town, and were escorted to Lowestoft by 
 the troop of Yarmouth cavalry under the command of 
 Lieut, W. Palgrave. 
 
 " His Lordship was pleased to express himself much 
 gratified by the attentions which he received from the 
 Mayor, the corporation, the navy, the inhabitants, and 
 very benevolently left £50 with the Mayor to be distri- 
 buted among the poor, and 10 guineas to the minister 
 of the Parish for the same charitable purpose ; he con- 
 descended to show other marks of his liberality and 
 politeness, and by the great affability of his manners 
 impressed the town with an high degree of personal 
 regard for him, in addition to the veneration in which 
 they and every Englishman must long have regarded 
 him as one of the most gallant, and under providence one 
 of the most glorious and successful defenders of his 
 country." 
 
 Lord Nelson's autograph letter to my ancestor, of which 
 I am the possessor, ran thus : 
 
 " Nov. 6, 1800. 
 " Dear Sir, 
 
 " Sir William, Lady Hamilton and myself, 
 intend to attend Divine service to-morrow in order to 
 return thanks to the Deity for the many mercies 
 vouchsafed unto them for several years past, and we
 
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 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS AND EDUCATION 9 
 
 request that our Thanks may be expressed in the service 
 of the Day. — And I beg, Rev. Sir, to express myself, 
 
 " Your obhged servant, 
 " Bronte Nelson of the Nile. 
 " Rev. Mr Turner." 
 
 I feel that I need not apologize to my readers for giving 
 these two documents in full, though the events recorded 
 took place long before I entered upon life ; from my 
 earliest childhood these notes of my great-grandfather 
 and Lord Nelson's letter to him have been objects of 
 intense interest to me, not only as to the events them- 
 selves, which are perhaps not generally known, but also 
 as showing in no doubtful terms the true piety and 
 humility and sublime simplicity of one of the greatest 
 of men. People have talked and will talk with the 
 tongue of scandal about his relations with Lady Hamilton, 
 who had for some time been at Naples with her husband, 
 and whose influence at the Court there enabled the British 
 fleet to be revictualled, through which Nelson was able 
 to sail to Egypt and defeat the enemy at the great battle 
 of the NUe. Other invaluable services she rendered to 
 her country, and Nelson, who above all things loved 
 England, venerated her for this. We need not consider 
 whether the relationship which existed between them 
 was more than one of intense admiration and affection 
 founded upon this. The way in which Nelson's last 
 request to the British nation to care for Lady Hamilton 
 when his spirit was on the eve of leaving its earthly 
 chrysalis was carried out forms one of the most unsavoury 
 incidents in our history. She was left to pine and almost 
 to starve in wretched lodgings at Calais, the woman whose 
 tact and diplomacy enabled the battle of the Nile to be
 
 10 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 won. If even the scandal rested upon truth, I doubt if 
 any other nation would have behaved with such ingrati- 
 tude ; many of the greatest women in history, who are 
 admired and held up to the veneration of posterity, have 
 not been conspicuous for strict morality, England is a 
 very great country, but the margin between greatness 
 and littleness has always seemed to me to be as narrow 
 as that between sanity and insanity, between intense 
 love and bitter hatred, and I fear there is much truth in 
 the scornful assertions of foreign nations, that hypocrisy, 
 a relic possibly of Puritan prudery, was then and still is 
 flourishing in Great Britain, and that on occasions it 
 enables us, as in the case of Lady Hamilton, to shirk 
 our obligations, under the pious pretext of shocked 
 propriety. 
 
 As an instance of the distance of time to which my 
 memory carries me, I remember distinctly the Chartist 
 rising in 1848, which fortunately fizzled out without 
 bloodshed. The alarm in London was great, special 
 constables were enrolled by thousands, and I have in my 
 mind's eye the picture of the numerous " bons bourgeois " 
 in black coats and tall hats, with badges on their arms, 
 parading along the Belgrave Road with their batons in 
 their hands, assuming a good deal of swagger, which in 
 many cases I could perceive was predominated by fears 
 lest the Chartists should come, and hopes that they would 
 not come into the purlieus of respectable Pimlico, which 
 was soon after to bloom into pretentious Belgravia. 
 
 I have a perfect recollection of the Duke of Wellington, 
 Lord Combermere and other Waterloo and Peninsular 
 warriors, who were pointed out to my awe-stricken eyes 
 — ignotum pro magnifico. One day I was walking with 
 my father past Friary Court, St James's Palace, towards
 
 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS AND EDUCATION 11 
 
 Pall Mall, when an elderly gentleman, rather bowed, 
 rode past, followed by a groom. He wore a tall black 
 hat, a long black coat, and white duck trousers tightly 
 strapped down. As he went out of the gate into Pall 
 Mall he pulled up beside a brougham that was waiting 
 there, out of which skipped a lady, and the two remained 
 conversing till people began to gather round the pair, 
 who were none other than the Iron Duke and Miss, 
 afterwards Baroness, Burdett Coutts, who even at that 
 early age was renowned for her philanthropic work, the 
 memory of which will long be green in Great Britain. I 
 was told afterwards that a matrimonial alliance between 
 the two was on the tapis, which never came to pass, as 
 the duke shortly after departed this life at Walmer 
 Castle. The duke was a most dignified, stately old man, 
 who had no recourse to means for rejuvenating face or 
 figure, which was not the case with some of his veteran 
 coevals, who, with their hair dyed black, their cheeks 
 painted red, and their collapsing figures straightened with 
 the help of stays, or even of iron supports, often rode past 
 me in the Park and elsewhere, and filled me with unutter- 
 able dislike of an old age, which though disguised and 
 disfigured will not be denied, and which takes revenge 
 by giving to its shirkers the appearance of dressed-up 
 and animated mummies. I was at the duke's lying-in- 
 state, which was in the great haU of the Royal Hospital, 
 Chelsea. Vast crowds flocked to see the ceremony, and 
 a few persons were crushed to death. The great funeral 
 took place very many weeks after the decease. The 
 funeral procession was a very magnificent one, and 
 stamped itself upon my memory indelibly. The soldiers, 
 dressed in what now would seem to us quaint and 
 ridiculous garments, consisting as they did of tail coats
 
 12 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 and very lofty head-dresses, high collars, and stiff leather 
 stocks, were magnificent men of mature age, and whiskered 
 in that strange fashion then enjoined upon the military. 
 They were mostly in the prime of life and very different 
 from the youthful men who fill the ranks of the army 
 to-day. Man for man they were, as a matter of course, 
 better fighting entities than the soldiers of to-day, but 
 under modem conditions it would be impossible to 
 maintain a long service army which could furnish no 
 reserve, the possession of which is as essential as the 
 first line itself, as has now been recognized by every 
 civilized country, following the example of Prussia, 
 whose statesmen saw, at a time that she was lying in the 
 dust under the iron heel of Napoleon, that there was 
 safety from a recurrence of Jena only by creating a 
 national army, and compelling every sound man to take 
 part in the defence of his fatherland. This prescience of 
 one or two eminent statesmen and thinkers in Prussia in 
 the early part of the last century has been the cause of 
 the formation and ever-growing greatness of the German 
 Empire, which is doubtless a cause of envy and appre- 
 hension in some quarters, but which it is no more possible 
 to check or forestall than it is within the power of man to 
 stem the incoming tide. 
 
 I well remember how in my childhood's days nothing 
 was left undone to terrify people as to the horrors of 
 death, who was depicted as something quite as repulsive 
 and wicked as Satan himself. Skeletons, death's-heads, 
 the former as a rule represented as alive and on full 
 purpose bent against mankind, were the favourite and 
 fashionable ornaments of tombs, and the higher the rank 
 of the departed the more terrible were the concomitants 
 of his sepulchre, perhaps to show how hard it is for the
 
 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS AND EDUCATION 13 
 
 rich man to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. And, oh ! 
 the gruesomeness of the funerals. I have one especially 
 in my mind's eye, at which I was present, at Queen 
 Anne's Gate. From early morn the door-step was 
 occupied by two grotesque persons called mutes, in the 
 deepest garbs of mourning, their hats draped with long 
 scarves, which partly veiled their bloated features and 
 blue gin-tinted noses. They carried black banners, and 
 when anyone approached, they endeavoured to assume a 
 look of sympathy and woe. The guests were assembled 
 in the dining-room, all being of the male sex, and were 
 attired in tail coats and white chokers. A master of the 
 ceremonies, with all the appearance of intense grief in his 
 face then handed, as a gift, to each of those present a 
 pair of the best black kid gloves, and a very long and 
 costly black silk scarf, wherewith to drape his hat. Many 
 people who had httle connexion with the departed were 
 wont then eagerly to seek for invitations to attend 
 funerals, for the purpose presumedly of acquiring black 
 gloves and large pieces of the best black silk, for when it 
 became no longer the fashion to bestow these gifts on the 
 mourners, the numbers of the latter fell off to a remarkable 
 extent. The attire of the guests was made complete with 
 long black cloaks which reached to the knees, and which 
 the master of the ceremonies eagerly collected when the 
 last rites had been paid to the dead, lest any of their 
 wearers should appropriate them with the gloves and 
 scarves. Matters have improved much in this respect, 
 and death is now regarded by sensible and thinking 
 persons as a means of transition to a better and higher 
 state. So it was with sick nurses : Sairey Gamp and 
 Betsy Prig were no overdrawn characters. I remember 
 one especially, whose attendance at the house in which
 
 14 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 I lived was for some years pretty regular. Her offices 
 were three-fold : to bring into the world, to nurse the 
 sick, and to lay out what Mrs Gamp called " handsome 
 corpses." The very aspect of the woman — corpulent, red- 
 faced, wheezy, waddling and generally unwholesome — was 
 enough of itself to turn her patients into corpses, hand- 
 some or otherwise. No possible comparison can be 
 imagined between these dreadful creatures, who were 
 generally supposed to be closely allied by way of business 
 with undertakers, and the perfectly trained, comely, 
 kind and gentle nurses of to-day. We are far better off 
 than our forebears at our birth, during sickness and in our 
 last hours on earth. As Dean Hole wrote in his " Then 
 and Now," we owe this blessing to Florence Nightingale, 
 and also in no small degree to Charles Dickens, the great 
 philanthropist, who, with as great a power of description 
 as was ever possessed by mortal, laid bare the abuses 
 from which people high and low suffered, and forced 
 reforms by means of that powerful weapon which he 
 possessed and wielded so well — scathing ridicule. 
 Grey wrote in his " Elegy " : 
 
 " On some fond breast, the parting soul relies, 
 Some pious drops the closing eye requires." 
 
 Heaven help the parting soul whose last vision on earth 
 was the bloated face and rheumy eyes of the gin-drinking 
 nurse of the fifties ! 
 
 I was very fond of the theatre in the days of my child- 
 hood, as I have been ever since, and I have a charming 
 recollection of Ellen Terry, at the old Princess's Theatre 
 in Oxford Street, now no more, then under the manage- 
 ment of Mr Charles Kean. It was one of her first appear- 
 ances ; the play was " Midsummer Night's Dream," in
 
 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS AND EDUCATION 15 
 
 which she as Puck, a little sylph-like form in a blue gauze 
 frock, descended from above and gracefully lit upon the 
 stage. Two years ago I was present at a banquet given 
 under the chairmanship of Mr Winston Churchill, to 
 celebrate the fifty-year jubilee of the theatrical career 
 of, and to do honour to one of the greatest actresses of 
 all times. 
 
 The first school I went to, in 185 1, was at Esher in 
 Surrey. It stood on the high road behind the plantation 
 and rising ground on which now appear the stands and 
 paddocks of Sandown, I believe the school buildings 
 still exist. I cannot say that the school was a Dotheboys 
 Hall, but it approached nearer to such an establishment 
 than to the luxurious private schools of to-day. The 
 discipline was rigorous, the food of the plainest, the 
 application of the rod not infrequent, but the educational 
 training was decidedly good, even in those days. I always 
 look back with gratitude to the time which I spent under 
 the tutelage of the Rev. Dr Brown, an old-fashioned 
 parson, who devoted all his spare time, which was not 
 much, to his garden, which he loved and tended as 
 Countess Elizabeth did her German garden. It was at 
 this period, when I was at home for the holidays, that a 
 very remarkable event occurred, which showed what the 
 power of the people of this country was, even in the early 
 fifties, when attempts were made to ciurtail or encroach 
 upon their rights, A band used to play every Sunday 
 afternoon in Kensington Gardens, which drew a very 
 large audience. Some of those well-meaning but self- 
 righteous and interfering Sabbatarians, whose desire is to 
 force everybody to follow their narrow system of thought, 
 prevailed upon the authorities to stop the band playing 
 on the Lord's Day. No widespread notice of this was
 
 16 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 published, and the people assembled as usual and were 
 greatly surprised to find no music. When they learnt 
 the cause of their disappointment, a roar of indignation 
 went up, consultation took place, and off the mass 
 marched into Knightsbridge, being recruited as they 
 went along by all the unruly elements they met, wheeled 
 to the right down Lowndes Square, and broke every 
 window in it, and then rushing south, did the same as 
 far as Chester Square. Belgravia presented a curious 
 spectacle indeed ; not an unbroken pane of glass in any 
 of the lower stories between Knightsbridge and Chester 
 Square. The authorities were thoroughly taken by 
 surprise, and the mischief, which was worked with great 
 rapidity, was accomplished before the police could be 
 assembled in strength. I happened to be in Belgrave 
 Square, in which the damage was especially great. Im- 
 pelled by curiosity I joined the mob, but, as far as I can 
 remember, I did not break any windows. The next 
 Sunday the band did not play, and the people assembled 
 and tried to repeat the performance, but the police were 
 prepared, and all the streets leading south from the Park 
 were barred. One effort only was made ; some of the more 
 determined endeavoured to force their way past St Paul's, 
 Knightsbridge, where I was standing to see what took 
 place ; the police charged with batons drawn, and the 
 people promptly fled. No one was hurt, but the usual 
 description of questions were put to the Home Secretary, 
 in the House of Commons, by those worthy members, 
 who always grasp the opportunity of palUating lawless- 
 ness, and blackening the authorities who have the difficult 
 task of suppressing it. All, however, that they arrived 
 at was that the Chief Constable, who was mounted and 
 opposite St Paul's Church, was heard to say to the poUce
 
 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS AND EDUCATION 17 
 
 as the mob, well armed with sticks, approached, " D 
 
 your blood, men, drive them back ! ' ' This severity of 
 expression was related and censured with pious dis- 
 approbation in the august assembly, in which the sense 
 of humour and proportion appears to have been wanting 
 in the fifties as much as it is to-day, except in the quarter 
 of the House occupied by the Irish members. 
 
 On the above occasion the people obtained what they 
 desired, but this would not have been the case if they 
 had quietly submitted, and asked their Parliamentary 
 representatives to interfere. Such was also the case in 
 1867, when a meeting in favour of household suffrage 
 was announced to take place in Hyde Park on a Sunday 
 afternoon. The meeting was proclaimed, but the only 
 precaution apparently taken was to close the Park. The 
 people would not be denied ; they laid hold of the Park 
 railings, from Hyde Park corner to some distance towards 
 Albert Gate, and with a mighty and combined exercise 
 of strength pulled them down, rushed into the Park, and 
 held their meeting in defiance of the powers that were. 
 This result, combined with huge processions and open-air 
 meetings in most of the large populous centres, often 
 consisting of from 200,000 to 250,000 persons, showed 
 the Government that the workmen of Great Britain were 
 not to be litled with, and household suffrage was won, 
 to the infinite disgust of that portion of the ruling 
 classes who ever fear but never trust the people. I 
 was preseni it the destruction of the Park railings, and 
 was imme.; Ay impressed by the quiet determination 
 of the crowd, which consisted for the most part of 
 respectably dressed artisans, with very few roughs or 
 criminals. 
 
 All violence and lawlessness is deplorable, but when
 
 18 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 the House of Commons or other authority, through 
 timidity or reaction, opposes, or fails to carry out, the 
 will of the people, the latter can only seek to gain their 
 ends through forcible demonstration, as was the case in 
 the two instances related. 
 
 In 1854 I went to Westminster School, then under 
 the headmastership of Dr Liddell, afterwards for many 
 years Dean of Christchurch, a most lovable and learned 
 gentleman in every sense of the word, whose departure 
 from the school caused deepest and most genuine regret. 
 I cannot say the same of the under master, who was the 
 most cruel man I ever came across. A few centuries 
 earlier he would have been a good second to Torquemada. 
 One could see him gloating when inflicting corporal 
 punishment, into which he put the full force of his brawny 
 arms. He invented two highly ingenious methods of 
 torture, of both of which I have a lively and painful 
 remembrance. The first was to make a boy place his 
 hand, palm downwards, on his desk, and then to take up 
 a strongly bound book, which he brought down with the 
 hard edges on the back of the hand of his victim, till 
 parallel crimson lines were visible on the boy's injured 
 member. Another delight of this amiable Christian 
 minister was to twine his fingers into the hair of a boy and 
 to bring his head down to an inch or so of his desk, and 
 then, with all his strength, to strike the desk with the 
 chin of the sufferer. So hated was he that he was twice 
 " booked " by the Queen's scholars, whom he had driven 
 to exasperation by his petty cruelties and bullying. On 
 his entering the room, every one of the scholars threw a 
 book at him ; he was, of course, forced to fly, and as no 
 notice whatever was taken of the flagrant mutiny, one 
 can well conclude that the cause of it did not bear in-
 
 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS AND EDUCATION 19 
 
 vestigation. He was afterwards appointed to a presum- 
 ably fat " cure of souls," which, it is to be hoped, he 
 tended with more feeling than he showed to the bodies 
 of his unfortunate alumni. 
 
 Fagging was then in full swing, but was very rarely 
 accompanied by bullying, while the latter was vigorously 
 suppressed by Dr Liddell, a firm and humane man, who 
 would have none of it, as the following incident shows : — 
 
 One morning, before early school, a few boys were 
 already " up school," in Westminster vernacular, or, in 
 other words, in the great school-room, where all the 
 classes were then held, for Ashburnham House was not 
 acquired till some years later, while the captain of the 
 Queen's scholars, a very high personage — in fact, the highest 
 in the school — was standing by the monitors' table with 
 a rod in his hand. A boy, big and strong for his age, 
 approached the table and stooped over it, on which the 
 captain twisted the twigs of the rod into his somewhat 
 luxurious hair, and commenced to give a succession of 
 tugs, which naturally caused much pain. The boy stood 
 it for a time till personal suffering got the better of his 
 awe, and, turning round, he seized the rod, freed it from 
 his locks, and — horresco referens — grappled with the 
 exalted personage, and belaboured his sacred back. At 
 that moment school began, and the masters as usual 
 knelt one behind the other, while short prayers in Latin 
 were gabbled by a monitor. Needless to say, the event 
 had stirred the seniors to " pious anger and holy grief," 
 and, what made it worse, the delinquent was a home 
 boarder, or a boy who lived at home, and was neither a 
 Queen's scholar nor a boarder at Grant's, Rigaud's or 
 Scott's houses. These home boarders were regarded with 
 dislike and contempt by the rest of the school as pariahs
 
 20 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 and as belonging to a lower social position than that 
 occupied by themselves. A short time before the 
 assembly of the second school a number of the seniors 
 and third election youths assembled in Little Dean Yard 
 " to tan Wheeler," for such was the audacious youth, 
 now a highly respected County Court Judge and author. 
 He, however, did not appear, but in his place came to 
 the headmaster his father, Serjeant Wheeler, LL.D., 
 who lived close by in Old College Street. His appearance 
 must have caused some qualms to the vengeance-seeking 
 group, for the interview with Dr Liddell lasted long, and, 
 at its termination, the captain was sent for. The end of it 
 was that the former at once held an inquiry in his private 
 house ; one after another all the boys who had witnessed 
 the occurrence, myself included, were examined, with the 
 result that in the afternoon Wheeler reappeared, and was 
 unmolested, while the faces of the captain and seniors 
 betrayed a chastened if not a contrite expression for some 
 time, and a decided check was thus put to bullying on 
 the part of the seniors. Wheeler was long regarded by 
 us small boys as a hero ; I have looked upon him as such 
 ever since. It really was an act of no ordinary courage for 
 a boy low down in the school to retaliate upon the praetor 
 or captain, who was invested in those days almost with 
 " the attribute of awe and majesty, wherein doth sit the 
 fear and dread of kings." Doubtless his bold act saved 
 the hide of many a small boy from being tanned. ^ 
 
 I have already mentioned that the home boarders were 
 few in number, and were regarded by the rest of the 
 school de haul en has. It is a curious psychological 
 feature that the impressions formed in childhood, how- 
 ever silly and narrow they may be, are not to be eradicated 
 
 ^ Westminster School parlance.
 
 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS AND EDUCATION 21 
 
 by education, experience of the world, and mature age. 
 I was a year or two ago seated at the annual election 
 dinner beside a contemporar}^ of mine at the school. He 
 is an eminent Divine and holds a high position at one 
 of the universities. In the course of conversation he 
 referred in the most superior and contemptuous tones to 
 " home boarders and that sort of persons." As I had 
 been a home boarder myself, I was greatly amused and 
 struck with this one more instance of the priggish pride, 
 not to call it snobbery, and the narrow views, which 
 characterize a large number of those who are looked upon 
 as the spiritual pastors and masters of those who profess 
 the tenets of the Church of England. 
 
 Rowing, or " water " as it was called, was at a rather 
 low ebb, for the Eton and Westminster Boat Race, which 
 had created and fostered keen competition, had been 
 stopped since 1847, and the London Thames had been 
 growing more foul and more thronged by steamers. The 
 race was renewed in i860 and continued till 1864. Need- 
 less to say, with their enormous advantages as to numbers 
 and home water, Eton nearly always won ; but not always, 
 for Westminster, to its great credit, was the winner in 
 1837, 1842, 1845 and 1846. 
 
 At cricket, in my day, the school did not particularly 
 shine, though there were some excellent and afterwards 
 distinguished cricketers in the eleven — for instance, 
 Charlton Lane, F. W. Oliver, W. Fellows, the demon 
 bowler of his day. I remember a disastrous match. My 
 school aspired to play Rugby, then very strong. The 
 result was that Westminster made 19 runs in the first 
 innings and 11 in the second, and Rugby won by 
 213 runs. Funk seemed to possess the Westminsters, 
 who went to the wickets like sheep to the slaughter.
 
 22 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 W. Fellows took 17 wickets, and had it not been for his 
 magnificent and rapid bowling, Rugby would never have 
 been put out at all. It must be remembered that the 
 school was then only recovering from the decline which 
 set in in the first half of the last century. In 1818 there 
 were 324 boys ; this number fell to 100 in 1835, and to 
 its lowest, almost 80, in 1841. At the time I was there, 
 it was, if I remember rightly, about 130. It is manifest 
 that, with such small numbers to select from, West- 
 minster had little chance of competing in rowing and 
 cricket with such schools as Eton and Rugby, with their 
 many hundreds. 
 
 The revival of the school was due to Dean Samuel 
 Wilberforce, afterwards Bishop of Oxford, who, when he 
 went to Westminster in 1845, was horrified at the state 
 of the school and the boys. He wrote that " the school 
 is in a dreadful state, and very much, I feel sure, from the 
 need of greater comforts, cleanliness and attendance, 
 which we ought to supply ; if you treat boys as savages, 
 they will be savages." 
 
 To Dr Liddell, who was appointed headmaster in 1846, 
 belongs the credit of carrying out the reforms which 
 infused new life into what appeared to be almost a 
 moribund body. 
 
 I remained at Westminster till 1856, and one day 
 that year, from the bottom of College Street, I saw the 
 Emperor and Empress of the French driving towards 
 Buckingham Palace, on their visit to England at the 
 close of the Crimean War ; she appeared to us boys to be 
 very beautiful, and her kindly response to our schoolboy 
 salutations filled us with delight. We were not, I re- 
 member, equally impressed with Napoleon's appearance. 
 
 On the whole I received an excellent education of the
 
 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS AND EDUCATION 23 
 
 t5^e of those days. I acquired a good knowledge of Latin 
 and Greek ; of modern languages none at all. There was 
 a French master, but very little attention was paid to 
 him, and any proficiency in the language was looked upon 
 as equivalent to unpatriotism and effeminacy ; one boy 
 who had been brought up in France and spoke French 
 well was known as Froggy, and was subjected to much 
 chaff and occasional bullying. The standard of mathe- 
 matics was extremely low, as may be gathered from the 
 fact that, in a term school-report on the proficiency of the 
 school, it was stated, with pardonable pride, that two of 
 the boys, the head town boy and another, had given 
 proofs of some knowledge of the higher subjects of 
 Algebra and of the elements of trigonometry. At present, 
 the school under Dr Gow is flourishing in all respects ; 
 nmnbers, especially those of the formerly despised home 
 boarders, have greatly increased, a thoroughly good, 
 sound modern side has been instituted ; and I doubt if 
 any school in England, for its numbers, can show a better 
 record or impart a more all-round useful education than 
 Westminster. I never look back but with pleasure to 
 my days there, 1854-6, and I know that the sense of 
 discipline acquired then has lasted the rest of my life. 
 
 After leaving Westminster I went under private 
 tuition to prepare for the East Indian Army, and, in 
 i860, passed successfully by competition into the Military 
 College at Addiscombe, the seminary of the East India 
 Company. I cannot speak too highly of the training, 
 mental and physical, of that most excellent institution 
 to which I, like many others, feel that I owe, to a great 
 extent, any success to which I may have attained. 
 Addiscombe has long been a thing of the past ; it is half 
 a century since it was abolished. The annual dinner.
 
 24 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 always, so far, since its institution, presided over by Lord 
 Roberts, is still held, but naturally the ranks of the 
 veterans who attend it are growing thinner and thinner 
 year by year, and, like all such institutions, when no young 
 blood arises to renew vitality, the dinner must soon 
 become, like Addiscombe itself, a memory. 
 
 The closing years of such banquets must be tinged with 
 melancholy, for one instinctively looks round year after 
 year to see who is missing owing to death or increasing 
 infirmities. " Mon frere il faut mourir," which is asserted 
 to be the only announcement that a Trappist monk makes 
 to another, would be a fitting aphorism to place on a 
 scroll over the Chairman's head, or the following words 
 of Richard the Second : 
 
 " Of comfort no man speak ; 
 Let's talk of graves, of worms, of epitaphs. 
 Make dust our paper, and with rainy eyes 
 Write sorrow on the bosom of the earth. 
 Let's choose executors and talk of wills." 
 
 The amalgamation of the British and Indian armies 
 took place about i860, and the College and its beautiful 
 grounds were sold, and became the prey of the speculative 
 builder. No greater mistake was ever committed, for the 
 institution was most admirably adapted to the purpose 
 of a college. I remember well that, at the time, there 
 was intense eagerness on the part of the authorities to 
 obliterate every trace of the existence of John Company, 
 which had done its work and fulfilled its mission admir- 
 ably ; and perhaps, as was freely suggested at the time, 
 had not the Company disposed of such an immense 
 amount of patronage, loaves and fishes, it would have 
 been allowed to live, and then it might have been in 
 existence to-day. Be that as it may, we Indian cadets
 
 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS AND EDUCATION 25 
 
 were all transferred to the Royal Artillery and Engineers, 
 but the assurance was given us that the privileges held 
 out to us for the future as to pension, if we entered the 
 Artillery or Engineers of the East India Company, 
 should not be cancelled. This promise was given us 
 who joined the Artillery in February 1861 ; towards the 
 close of the century, when the question of those privileges 
 was raised upon the retirement of some of our number, 
 every opposition was at once offered, and the decision 
 of high authority was that there was no record of any 
 such privilege, and it could not be granted. Had we been 
 more experienced in the ways of the world and the War 
 Office, we should, no doubt, have asked for a record at 
 the time ; and, for the want of this, we have suffered 
 some loss of pension and gained lasting distrust in certain 
 directions. 
 
 When we Addiscombe cadets joined at Woolwich our 
 uniforms were subjected to a very close scrutiny, in order 
 that our superior officers might satisfy themselves that 
 they were correct according to sealed pattern, a departure 
 from which was in those days regarded as little less than 
 a military crime. I recollect well the hauling over of my 
 new clothes, in the presence of seniors, in great awe of 
 whom I stood. All went well till my dress pouch was 
 examined, on which a startled exclamation, " Good 
 Heaven, he's got wire lace," was heard. This referred 
 to the gold lace which covered the edges of the article, 
 and which was about half an inch wide. Wire lace was 
 far superior and more durable than the other description, 
 and therefore not popular with the noble army of tailors, 
 who settled patterns. I had, through my ignorance, 
 allowed my tailor to sin against regulation, and was 
 sternly ordered to have the lace changed. When this
 
 26 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 was done the offending pouch was again inspected by 
 the Adjutant (now Sir Henry Brackenbury) , who, after 
 remarking that it was still rather too gaudy, passed it to 
 my great relief. 
 
 The severity of the punishment inflicted on soldiers 
 at that time was terrible. Fifty-six days' imprison- 
 ment with hard labour was considered next to nothing, 
 even for a man of hitherto good character. Floggings 
 were administered nearly every Monday morning with 
 a cat-o'-nine-tails, the victim being lashed to a triangle- 
 shaped frame with his back and shoulders bared. My 
 first experience of flogging was as follows : I went at 
 7 a.m. to the upper riding school to ride with the 
 recruits, but I found the place occupied, and preparations 
 being made to flog a sturdy respectable-looking gunner 
 who was dressed in blue hospital clothing, in preparation 
 for his removal to hospital to be treated for the woimds 
 inflicted on him through licensed brutality. The punish- 
 ment of fifty lashes was then considered quite merciful, 
 as formerly many hundred strokes of the cat fell on a 
 poor soldier's shoulders. I have not the least doubt that 
 when the legal amount of barbarity was reduced, the 
 military clubs resounded with the same bitter cry which 
 arose when this disgusting form of punishment was 
 abohshed, viz., " the service is going to the devil." 
 
 Men who deserted were branded on the breast with a 
 big D, if convicted ; and with B.C. if discharged for bad 
 conduct. This was done, I presume, to deprive soldiers 
 so discharged of any chance of reforming and succeeding 
 in after life. Such were the good old times to which I 
 cannot apply the words : " Glim meminisse juvabit." 
 A man found asleep on his post as sentry and convicted 
 never got off with less than fifty-six days with hard labour.
 
 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS AND EDUCATION 27 
 
 More than once, after a long day's march or field-day, 
 when going round the stable sentries at night, I found 
 a driver who had sunk upon a bed of straw and gone to 
 sleep. If the man was a good soldier and sober, I used to 
 awake him by making a noise on the ground or throwing 
 a stone at him, and then approaching him, give him a 
 strong jobation, swearing freely no doubt, as was the 
 custom then, for his want of alacrity. This was no doubt 
 very wrong, and if it had been known by my superiors, 
 I should have suffered severely. I have always had an 
 abominably practical way of looking at things, and I 
 considered that the country would be better served by 
 not causing her to lose the services of an excellent soldier 
 for several weeks, because he became overpowered by 
 sleep after a hard day's work, than by sending him to 
 prison, probably to the detriment and even to the 
 degradation of his whole life's career.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 A JUNIOR OFFICER OF ARTILLERY, 1860-1880 
 
 I join at Woolwich — Strange incident at mess — The Duke of 
 Cambridge — A princely field-day — Salutary advice — Puritanism in the 
 army — A conventicle in confusion — Idiosyncrasies of general officers — 
 The " Alabama " and the " Kearsage " — India — InvaUded home — 
 Visit to St Helena — Alpine climbing — Ireland — Fenians capture a 
 tower- — Lord Strathnairn — Terror inspired by Fenians — Irish inns — 
 India again — The Peshawar Vale Hunt — Murder of Lord Mayo — Death 
 of Sir Henry Durand — Pathan thieves — Back to Woolwich — Visit of 
 the Czar — Great Artillery review — A fatal field-day — The Imperial 
 German manoeuvres — German hospitality. 
 
 IN February 1861 1 joined the Royal Artillery at Wool- 
 wich. Coming as we did from Addiscombe, we were 
 regarded with no favourable eye, as was the case with 
 the officers of the Bengal, Madras, and Bombay Artilleries, 
 who joined for duty with the depot at the same time. 
 However, we were treated with civility and were in no 
 way boycotted. I, of course, knew nothing of Woolwich 
 and its ways, and I was struck with awe at the splendour 
 of the Artillery mess. All was ignotum pro magnifico to 
 me. A very remarkable incident happened at the mess, 
 about the time I joined. On a certain guest night the 
 officers were assembling before dinner in the ante-room, 
 when a well-dressed, but rather over-bejewelled stranger 
 was remarked, who had apparently no host. One of the 
 mess committee accosting him and asking him whose 
 guest he was, he gave the name of an officer belonging to 
 the garrison, who he said had not yet arrived. The other, 
 dinner being just announced, asked him to accompany 
 
 28
 
 A JUNIOR OFFICER OF ARTILLERY 29 
 
 him, and sit down by him, leaving a vacant chair on the 
 other side for the tardy host. Dinner had not proceeded 
 far when the mess steward, who was a character and a 
 most admirable guardian of the mess, came to the mess 
 president, and said softly in his ear, " Please, sir, there 
 is a gentleman here who is not quite a gentleman " ; and, 
 by the president's direction, he indicated the well-dressed 
 stranger, whose appearance struck the officer as unusual 
 and suspicious. He therefore scribbled a few words 
 asking the officer next to the stranger who the latter 
 was. He replied that he did not know, he was so-and- 
 so's guest, who had not come to dinner. The mess 
 president happened to know that the absentee was on 
 leave. His suspicions being aroused, he sent word to 
 the police station, and in due course a serjeant and a 
 constable came and were stationed outside the outer 
 door of the ante-room. When he knew they were ready 
 he got up, asked another officer to take his chair, and 
 went into the ante-room. He thence sent a mess servant 
 to desire the stranger's presence there. The man came, 
 looking a little disturbed, and when asked by the president 
 who was his host, gave the same name as before. Being 
 asked how that officer could be so, seeing he was absent 
 from Woolwich, he saw the game was up, and made hastily 
 for the door, on opening which he rushed into the arms 
 of the police serjeant, who, recognizing him, said, " Hullo, 
 Charlie, you here ? We have wanted you for some time 
 for so-and-so." The handcuffs were swiftly put on, and 
 our guest was marched off to the police station. The 
 mess steward on being asked how he had perceived that 
 the gentleman was not quite a gentleman, replied that he 
 did not quite like his looks, so he watched him, and saw 
 him picking his teeth with his fork ! Great results often
 
 30 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 follow unimportant causes ; and in this case the unusual 
 and vulgar use of a fork caused the arrest of a dangerous 
 criminal, and probably saved the mess from burglary, as 
 the man had evidently come to take stock of the premises 
 and of the magnificent plate which is displayed there on 
 guest nights. 
 
 The same year the late Duke of Cambridge was 
 appointed Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Artillery, and 
 he accepted an invitation to dine at the mess ; the place 
 was crowded, and among those present were several old 
 officers with Waterloo and Peninsular medals. The next 
 day a field-day was held, the duke commanding one half 
 of the garrison, and Sir Richard Dacres, the commandant, 
 who had commanded the Artillery in the Crimean War, 
 the other half. The latter took up his position on the 
 high ground, near the Academy. The duke advanced 
 his force straight at the enemy's position, no cover was 
 utilized, and when the position was near, a magnificent 
 battalion of marines, without taking the trouble to 
 deploy, charged and captured it, having heroically dis- 
 regarded the fire of three batteries, which slated them for 
 some hundreds of yards across the open. Little atten- 
 tion was paid to tactical considerations and taking cover 
 in those days. 
 
 The decision arrived at by the Umpire, or whoever 
 filled the place now occupied by such official in those 
 distant days, was that the duke had been entirely successful 
 in his entirely direct attack, and that the honours of the 
 day rested with him. We, on the opposing side, who had 
 poured artillery and infantry fire for half an hour into 
 the serried masses of His Royal Highness, were of an 
 opposite opinion. Since those days I have been fortunate 
 enough to acquire a large and varied experience as regards
 
 A JUNIOR OFFICER OF ARTILLERY 31 
 
 manoeuvres in other countries than my own, and I can 
 recall no single instance in which a prince of the blood 
 royal, who happened to be in command on one side, was 
 not adjudged to have been successful. Whether this 
 has been due to " the divinity which doth hedge a king," 
 or to the especial ability of the royal personage in question, 
 I do not presume to offer an opinion. 
 
 When I joined at Woolwich I brought a letter of intro- 
 duction from a learned judge to a distinguished, capable, 
 and very smart officer of Horse Artillery, Captain, after- 
 wards General Booth, whom I approached with some 
 trepidation, for in those days senior officers, especially 
 those of the Horse Artillery, were objects of awe to us 
 youngsters. He received me with great kindness, and 
 gave me the best and soundest piece of advice I ever 
 received, which I have never forgotten, and up to which 
 I have endeavoured to act all my life. It was as follows : 
 " Whatever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might. 
 Do your prescribed amount of daily duty most scrupul- 
 ously, neglect no detail, and further make a point of 
 doing every day something more in the way of professional 
 work, than you are compelled by regulation to do, and 
 every night think over your day's work, and satisfy your- 
 self that you have done this. If you accomplish this, if 
 you remain in good health and if you keep out of debt, 
 you are sure to succeed in the army." It would be impos- 
 sible to devise and formulate better counsel than this for 
 young people entering into life in any profession, trade or 
 calling. I followed it to the utmost of my ability, and to 
 my great advantage, but as I had only £bo a year in 
 addition to my pay, it was no easy matter to carry out 
 the last condition. 
 
 In those days at Woolwich a considerable number of
 
 32 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 officers had formed themselves into a sort of rehgious 
 sect, which was irreverently called " Blues," or Abdeli. 
 They were thoroughly well-meaning but rather trouble- 
 some. They professed the lowest of Low Church prin- 
 ciples, and held that there was no possible path leading 
 to salvation except the one which they had elected to 
 tread. Sunday was with them a day of deepest gloom : 
 the theatre was the sink of all immorality and impurity. 
 All amusements except those of tea-drinking and prayers 
 were to be eschewed, while they regarded anything 
 Catholic or High Church as anathema maranaiha, as sin 
 itself, and the clergymen who represented those religious 
 bodies as men who were like to parsons described by 
 Shakespeare : — 
 
 " Do not, as some ungracious pastors do, 
 Show me the steep and thorny path to heaven, 
 While, hke a puffed and reckless libertine. 
 Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads, 
 And recks not his own read." 
 
 These officers no doubt derived much enjoyment from 
 their narrow views as regards others, and their extreme 
 self-complacency in the certainty of their own salvation. 
 They certainly did no harm, except perhaps that they 
 promoted hypocrisy among the men under them, who, in 
 hope of gleaning terrestrial advantage, professed them- 
 selves eager for spiritual enlightenment. 
 
 It was quite a usual thing in those days to be greeted 
 with the words, " How is your soul this morning ? " 
 instead of the familiar " How do you do ? " To show how 
 far they went, a brother subaltern and myself, shortly 
 after joining at Woolwich, were invited after mess to the 
 rooms of a senior officer ; we accepted the invitation 
 expecting something of a social entertainment. When
 
 A JUNIOR OFFICER OF ARTILLERY 33 
 
 we arrived in the room we found the centre of it occupied 
 with a round table, with chairs round it, in front of each 
 of which was a Bible. We all sat down, and one officer 
 of the Horse Artillery, who shortly after left the army 
 because he found it wicked to belong to it, took up his 
 text and gave a discourse upon the Redemption of Man. 
 I remember his appealing to his hearers, and asking 
 them earnestly if they thought any mortal was capable 
 of equalling the self-sacrifice of the Father in giving up 
 his Son ; and, in order to make his point, he came out 
 with the extraordinary question as to whether we thought 
 the queen would give up the Prince of Wales as a sacrifice 
 for the sins of the generation. This singular proposition 
 was received by the assembled circle with a deep gasp of 
 supreme admiration, which concealed a half suppressed 
 guffaw from my companion on my right. Certainly the 
 extension of analogy was original and somewhat startling ; 
 the idea that it would be necessary in all probability to 
 consult the feelings of the suggested sacrifice, and that 
 difficulties might possibly arise therefrom, did not 
 appear to enter into the calculations of those latter-day 
 saints. 
 
 Then came a high trial ; each person present was 
 asked to read a text from a selected chapter, and give a 
 short exposition of his text. The turn of my brother 
 subaltern arrived ; he looked very sulky, and said nothing. 
 Several appeals were made to him, and then the owner of 
 
 the room said in a soft, persuasive tone, " S , we are 
 
 all waiting for you, won't you say something ? " This, 
 with the consciousness that some dozen pairs of expectant 
 eyes were fixed upon him, was too much for my choleric 
 friend, who, laying aside all feeling of respect for senior 
 officers, and forgetting the solemnity of the occasion, 
 3
 
 34 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 exclaimed, " No, I'm if I do ! " The holy anger 
 
 and pious grief of the circle may be imagined. The 
 meeting broke up in confusion, and we were never, 
 needless to say, invited again ; nor were even our lost 
 souls considered worth inquiring for in future as to the 
 condition of their health, by any of the select circle who 
 happened to meet us and exchange morning greetings, 
 and who, I am sorry to say, strongly reminded one of 
 the man of old who went up into the temple to pray, 
 and thanked the Deity that he was not as other 
 men. 
 
 In those days most general officers were noted for 
 idiosyncrasies, which came to light especially at their 
 inspections. Sir Richard Dacres, commandant at 
 Woolwich in 1861, abhorred dust, which he diligently 
 hunted for, and if he found it in a barrack room there was 
 tribulation. He had a way of springing upon a bedstead 
 and passing his gloved hand along the shelf, to see 
 if his white gloves showed any signs of the hated 
 compound. 
 
 At one inspection he asked a young and not long- 
 joined subaltern if he knew the way to find out whether 
 his barrack rooms were properly clean or not. The cheeky 
 youngster immediately hopped up on the nearest bed, 
 and, imitating exactly the general's usual procedure, 
 passed his finger along the shelf, and held it out spotless 
 before his eyes. A low titter went round, in which, 
 after a moment's hesitation, the general joined, and 
 passed on. 
 
 At another inspection at Umballa, by Sir W. Fitzmayer, 
 whose i8-pounder battery had played such havoc among 
 the Russians at Inkerman, and whose wish was that 
 the battery officers should have at their fingers' ends the
 
 A JUNIOR OFFICER OF ARTILLERY 35 
 
 next of kin of those under them, as entered in the 
 " Soldiers' Pocket Ledger," asked a subaltern of Horse 
 Artillery who was the next of kin of a driver in his division, 
 now called section. Knowing the general's thirst for 
 information in this direction, we had told our men to 
 confirm our assertions as to their nearest relation. The 
 lieutenant replied, " His father " ; the general turned to 
 the man, who corroborated the statement. The former 
 took the ledger from the man's hand, and, looking through 
 it, said to him, " I don't see your father here ! " On 
 which the driver answered with a strong brogue, " No, 
 sorr, he's in Dublin ! " Tableau ! The general, who 
 did not possess the sense of humour of Sir Richard 
 Dacres, failed to see that there was any joke in the 
 matter, and the result was reprimand and warning all 
 round. 
 
 In 1862 or 3, I think, when the North and South 
 American War was in full swing, I took some horses from 
 Shorncliffe to Dover for the purpose of removing the 
 smooth-bore guns which were being replaced by the new 
 rifled ordnance. The "Alabama," a warship of the 
 Southern States, had captured or sunk many vessels of the 
 mercantile marine of the Northerners, who had sent the 
 " Kearsage," a larger and much more heavily armed ship, to 
 deal with the " Alabama." The latter had put into Dover 
 harbour for the time permissible, and the officers were 
 invited to dine with the officers of the Royal Artillery at 
 Dover Castle. I was told that they were a quiet, deter- 
 mined body of men, of very much the same class as the 
 officers of our navy. The "Alabama " went forth, and, a 
 short time after, the " Kearsage " put into Dover, and its 
 officers received and accepted a similar invitation from 
 the Royal Artillery. I was present at mess on this
 
 3C SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 occasion. They became very merry, to say the least, 
 and between one or two o'clock, suggested that they 
 would like to stay till 4 a.m. when they had to go and 
 report themselves on board. Their wish of course was 
 given effect to, and supper was ordered for 3 a.m., at the 
 close of which an artillery officer rose and proposed the 
 health of the guests, to which one of them responded. 
 He thanked his hosts in warm, but somewhat over-profuse 
 terms, broken by hiccups and emotion, for their kindness 
 and hospitality to the officers of the " Kearsage," and 
 wished us long life and prosperity, concluding in this 
 very remarkable style : " But make no mistake, in 
 less than three years the Stars and Stripes will be floating 
 over this b old castle of yours ! " 
 
 The sense of hospitality precluded any reply to this 
 significant and minatory prophecy, and we parted the 
 best of friends. A few days later the "Kearsage" en- 
 countered the " Alabama," and after a tough fight sunk 
 her. Had the result of the naval conflict been otherwise, 
 we should not have felt poignant regret. 
 
 I served in the Field Artillery in Woolwich, Canterbury 
 and Shorncliffe, and then went to India. The then 
 Inspector-General of Artillery was General Sir John 
 Bloomfield, and the officer commanding the Artillery of 
 the south-western district was Colonel Burke Cuppage, 
 both very distinguished officers with Waterloo and 
 Peninsular medals. Both were present on a parade of 
 our batteries on a certain occasion. At the conclusion 
 of the inspection the ofiicers' call was sounded, and we 
 galloped up to the place occupied by the Inspector-General 
 and the Staff. The former made some critical remarks 
 upon what he had seen. The batteries had only lately 
 been armed with Armstrong guns, the first rifled guns we
 
 A JUNIOR OFFICER OF ARTILLERY 37 
 
 had, and Colonel Ormsby, who commanded the Artillery 
 at Shorndiffe, asked Sir John Bloomfield what he thought 
 of them. He replied to our infinite delectation, " I do not 
 like them at all ; we did not have them at Waterloo, and, 
 besides, they are a change, and every change is an innova- 
 tion, and every innovation is to be deprecated." A fine 
 old crusted Conservative dogma, but one which might 
 be considered sometimes, with considerable advantage to 
 the public, by some of those British statesmen who take 
 advantage of their transitory investiture of power to 
 change all they can, whether for the good of the country 
 or not ; their principles on the subject of change being 
 an antithesis of those of the gallant old Waterloo 
 general. 
 
 When I was a child, my parents lived near the Royal 
 Hospital, Chelsea, to the grounds of which I was often 
 taken. A large number of the pensioners then wore 
 Peninsular and Waterloo medals. These have of course 
 long disappeared, to be replaced by holders of Crimean 
 and Indian mutiny medals. Very few pensioners are now 
 to be seen with these, and shortly they also will be of the 
 past, to be replaced by men with Egyptian and later with 
 South African medals. This succession of medals has 
 marked a succession of generations in my mind, and is a 
 visible realization of the meaning of "Sic transit gloria 
 Mundi." 
 
 In 1865 I sailed in the " Durham " of the Marshall Line 
 from Gravesend for Calcutta, which we reached in one 
 hundred and ten days without touching land. I employed 
 my time studying Hindustani and Persian, to such advan- 
 tage that I passed the lower and higher standard examina- 
 tions in Hindustani within a year of arrival, and that of 
 high proficiency in Urdu before I had resided eighteen
 
 38 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 months in India. The voyage was most dull and unevent- 
 ful, the only thing that I remember of it was a barbarous 
 slaughter of beautiful albatrosses during a calm. They 
 were paddling about the ship like swans ; strong lines 
 with hooks baited with a small piece of pork were let 
 down, and one after another the birds were hauled up 
 and their throats cut by the sailors for sheer amusement, 
 for the carcases served for no useful purpose. I thought 
 of the ancient mariner and felt that our crew more than 
 deserved his fate for their wanton cruelty. 
 
 My stay in India, which was with a Field Battery at 
 Hazareebagh in Bengal, was quite uneventful, and in 
 January 1867 I was invalided home and again was sent 
 round the Cape in a troop-ship. Green's Malabar ; the 
 voyage lasted eighty-nine days, and we landed at Dover. 
 We touched at St Helena, and visited Longwood, and 
 what had been the grave of that mighty genius, who rose 
 from the shambles of the French Revolution, and soared 
 high above the heads of all men, like a resplendent meteor ; 
 " planait aux voutes eternelles " as Victor Hugo described 
 it. His splendour for a time dazzled the world by its 
 effulgence, and France was raised to the highest pinnacle 
 of earthly greatness, but only to be left after a few short 
 years, wounded, bleeding and prostrate at the feet of the 
 many foreign hosts which trod its soil and occupied its 
 capital. The modern Attila, the " scourge of God " who 
 scattered his enemies like chaff before the wind, who 
 spread his conquering armies from end to end over the 
 face of Europe, who upset ancient dynasties, and made 
 and unmade kings and princes, did so, only to end his days 
 as a captive exile on a rocky tropical island from which 
 there was no escape but death. These thoughts, I remem- 
 ber, ran through my mind, as I stood regarding the little
 
 A JUNIOR OFFICER OF ARTILLERY 39 
 
 fenced enclosure and lowly grave, once tenanted by the 
 remains of the great emperor, and I recalled as specially 
 applicable the lines of Claudian : 
 
 " Jam non ad culmina rerum 
 Injustos crevisse queror : toUuntur ad altum 
 Ut lapsu graviore ruant." 
 
 Being on sick leave in 1867 I went to Switzerland, and 
 there commenced my Alpine climbing, which I have 
 pursued ever since up to last year, when, in spite of 
 three score and ten years, I ascended without difficulty 
 up to 14,000 feet. To me now this is the only form of 
 sport worth living for, especially when " far from the 
 madding crowds' ignoble strife " one finds oneself alone 
 with one's guides, in the upper world of snow peaks, 
 passes and glaciers, in the midst of a silence which can be 
 felt, with the mighty face of undisturbed nature sur- 
 rounding one, and making one feel acutely with the 
 psalmist, " Lord, what is man that Thou art mindful of 
 him, or the son of man that Thou so regardest him." 
 
 I was transferred to a Field Battery in Ireland, at 
 Kilkenny, and in a few months the Battery marched to 
 Clonmel. Troops were not, as now, left for two or three 
 years in the same quarter : they were shifted every year, 
 and the reasons for this expensive and most inconvenient 
 move was that if troops were left more than one year in 
 the same place they would, both officers and men, marry 
 in numbers. The reason was silly and groundless, but 
 quite characteristic of the War Office of those days. From 
 Clonmel I went on the Artillery Staff at Ballincollig, 
 where I had some little experience of Fenians and 
 Fenianism, though the movement was nearly at an end. 
 A remarkable event in that connexion had taken place 
 shortly before. Some of the rebels had pulled across the
 
 40 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 river after nightfall and captured a Martello tower, from 
 which they removed all the stores and ammunition that 
 were portable and sunk them in the water. This created 
 far more excitement than was warranted, as there were 
 only two soldiers with their families in the tower, who had 
 neglected to draw up the ladder which gave access to it. 
 
 Next day Lord Strathnairn, the dreaded Commander- 
 in-Chief in Ireland, came from Dublin to Cork to investi- 
 gate the audacious capture of one of Her Majesty's forts. 
 The general commanding the Cork district and his Staff, 
 including Colonel Mackay, who commanded the Royal 
 Artillery, and who was one of the most capable and con- 
 scientious officers I ever served under, were all present 
 at the inquiry. The Commander-in-Chief was in a terrible 
 temper and evidently determined to make a scapegoat of 
 somebody, and he turned his special attention to Colonel 
 Mackay, and demanded his explanation of the dire affair. 
 He was simply told that the two gunners who occupied 
 the tower had neglected to obey the order, that the ladder 
 should be drawn up at sunset. 
 
 " Were these orders put up in writing ? " asked Lord 
 Strathnairn. 
 
 The colonel replied in the negative. 
 
 " Why not ? " said the chief in a voice of thunder, 
 thinking that he had nailed his victim. The colonel 
 quietly replied that the old gunners of the Coast Brigade 
 were very illiterate, and it was no use putting up written 
 orders for men who could not read. Lord Strathnairn 
 looked suspicious, gave a hyena-like smile, and said no 
 more. Probably he admired the readiness in reply of 
 the colonel. 
 
 It is hard now to believe that in those days a very 
 large proportion of men in the army, and especially
 
 A JUNIOR OFFICER OF ARTILLERY 41 
 
 among the older soldiers, could neither read nor write, 
 nor even sign their names, and that the sign, " Bill 
 Stumps X his mark " witnessed by a serjeant, was a 
 constant occurrence at the monthly signing of the soldiers' 
 small account books. Tempora mutantur ! 
 
 One had only to look at Lord Strathnairn to realize 
 the terrors of his march, as Sir Hugh Rose, through 
 Central India. It was commonly rumoured that he was 
 heard to express regret that he could not repeat the per- 
 formance in Ireland, and stamp out the Fenians — which 
 would probably have furnished the spectacle of an Irish 
 peasant hanging from every tree that could be found ; for 
 there are not many of them in Ireland. It is astounding 
 what alarm these poor half- and often unarmed Fenians 
 produced throughout the United Kingdom. The retalia- 
 tion, when possible, was brutally severe. The case of Allen, 
 Larkin, and O'Brien, for instance — these three young men 
 made a mad attempt to rescue a comrade from a prison 
 van. Nothing could have been more silly or foolhardy. One 
 of them, Allen, fired his revolver at the lock of the door 
 of " Black Maria," and unfortunately the bullet passed 
 through and killed Police-Serjeant Butt, who was behind 
 the door, unknown to Allen. The three men were put on 
 their trial for murder, convicted, and executed. I hardly 
 think that the annals of civilized law-giving present a 
 more cruel and vindictive instance than this, and it is 
 not to be wondered at that the three men are, and always 
 will be, regarded by the Irish as victims of Saxon panic 
 and cruelty. 
 
 Another curious incident of that time was that a poor 
 nondescript force of Fenians was taken prisoner at 
 Tallaght, a little north of Dublin. There were many 
 captives and but few troops to guard them. There was
 
 42 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 no fear of the prisoners rising, as they were half starved 
 and in a miserable condition, but it was probable that, 
 under the circumstances, some of them would try to 
 escape, so Lord Strathnairn, Commander-in-Chief in 
 Ireland, ordered all the trowser buttons, to which the 
 braces are attached, to be cut off, so that the unfortunate 
 prisoners were compelled, in the face of a very unpleasant 
 alternative, to use their hands as braces, under which 
 circumstances anything like the rapidity essential for 
 effective flight was impossible. 
 
 The billets which were assigned to us in Ireland were 
 often of the plainest, not to say the dirtiest. The battery 
 to which I belonged was once billeted in Carrick-on-Suir. 
 The officers were lodged in the only inn — no table linen 
 was produced at dinner, it being considered a needless 
 superfluity ; we did not complain of the deficiency, and 
 being tired, went early to our beds, the numerous tenantry 
 of which did not disturb us much, owing to our fatigued 
 condition. 
 
 Early next morning, the maid knocked at the door of 
 our doctor, and asked him in suppliant tones if he would 
 spare her one of the sheets off his bed. He asked her why. 
 She replied : " Sure, your honour, one of the gentlemen 
 has come down with a terrible proud stomach to his 
 breakfast, and he says he must have a table-cloth. The 
 master has none, and he will be much obliged to your 
 honour if you will let me have one of your sheets, which 
 are the best in the house and the only ones that have no 
 holes in them." The good-natured doctor complied, and 
 the presence of the sheet, with its nocturnal experiences, 
 on his breakfast table appears to have calmed the sus- 
 ceptibilities, and satisfied the cravings for comfort, of the 
 exacting guest.
 
 A JUNIOR OFFICER OF ARTILLERY 43 
 
 It is a curious fact, which I have often noticed, that 
 many men, after enjoying a festive evening, go to rest 
 in the most roseate of moods, but arise next morning 
 morose, disagreeable, exacting and discontented ; Hke 
 my brother-officer, who hardly noticed the absence of a 
 table-cloth in the evening, but next morning furiously 
 raged and upset the house till the deficiency was 
 made good in the way related by me. With him, 
 it was then fortunately a case of " Where ignorance is 
 bhss ! " 
 
 In October 1869 I again went to India, this time from 
 Cork Harbour, in H.M.S. " Serapis," one of those five follies 
 which were built at a huge cost to take the place of hired 
 transports to carry men to India and back, in which they 
 proved immeasurably more costly and infinitely less 
 satisfactory than the latter. After a few years they were 
 abolished as transports, and the old system of hiring ships 
 was readopted. What became of the costly five, I am 
 not sure, but I believe they were stationed as coaling 
 hulks in different ports. 
 
 I was posted to the Horse Artillery at Umballa and 
 from thence to Peshawar. While I was there two great 
 tragedies occurred ; Lord Mayo, the Governor-General, 
 was murdered by a convict when visiting the Andaman 
 Islands, and Sir Henry Durand, Lieutenant-Governor of 
 the Punjab, who had just left us at Peshawar, was killed 
 at Tonk, through a fall from his elephant, which bolted 
 and ran through an arch only just large enough for the 
 passage of the beast itself. Sir Henry Durand was one 
 of the finest specimens of the Anglo-Indian official, who 
 is second to none in powers of administration. Judging 
 from his sons, there is truth sometimes in the words of 
 Horace : Fortes creantur fortibus et bonis.
 
 44 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 Peshawar was then a very favourite station. The hot 
 weather was short, while there was no rainy season, and 
 the winter chmate was admirable. Numerous orchards 
 of standard peach-trees surrounded the town, and when 
 they were in full blossom, they vied in beauty with the 
 cherry blossom display in Japan. 
 
 The place was not healthy, and Peshawar fever was 
 rampant from time to time. This was due to its lying 
 low and being surrounded by rising ground, in which for 
 generations the dead had been deposited. There is now, 
 I believe, a proper water supply and much improved 
 health. 
 
 The Horse Artillery to which I belonged kept a pack 
 of foxhounds under the mastership of that universal 
 favourite, Ben Roberts. The meets were large, and 
 among those invariably present was the celebrated 
 General Sam Brown, V.C, one of the finest officers India 
 ever produced. In spite of his having lost an arm, he 
 went across country second to none. 
 
 Foxes would not run, but jackals went well, and rarely 
 fell victims in the chase. One day a long-legged animal 
 broke from a sugar khet (field) and lolled away heavily 
 in front of the hounds. We soon saw that it was a large 
 wolf, and we were anxious to head and whip off the 
 hounds, as he would have mauled and killed some of them, 
 and foxhounds were costly by the time they reached 
 Peshawar. The animal's gait was remarkable. Appar- 
 ently going with the greatest ease, he completely out- 
 paced the hounds, and from time to time, he turned 
 round, sat down, and looked at them with apparent 
 contempt, till he thought it time to canter another 
 distance. At last, to our great relief, after a wild chase 
 and many falls into nasty double and treble ditches, called
 
 A JUNIOR OFFICER OF ARTILLERY 45 
 
 gridirons, we stopped the hounds, and brought them 
 home. 
 
 Peshawar was noted for thefts of horses by the Pathans, 
 but only one was taken away while I was there, and that 
 was a case of derision — for the horse was a poor, broken- 
 down old animal, belonging to the parson, not worth 
 fifty rupees. It was taken through the wall of its mud 
 stable, and returned two days later by an unseen hand. 
 We all had to pay a tax for the safety of our possessions 
 — only five or six rupees a month. For this trifling sum 
 a huge Pathan with his talwar used to watch the premises, 
 and one was quite secure. Woe be to him who would 
 not submit to this system of blackmail, as the following 
 incident will show. 
 
 An officer of the 15th Sikhs, then quartered at 
 Peshawar, had a chaukidar (watchman). Another officer 
 of the same regiment came back from leave from England 
 and shared his brother-officer's quarters. The day after 
 his arrival, the chaukidar came to his master and said 
 that the new Sahib must engage a chaukidar. His master 
 replied that this was all nonsense — he could well take 
 care of such a small house himself. He said that that was 
 not the dastur (custom) and that he would only be respon- 
 sible for his own master's property. The latter abused him 
 according to custom, and the next evening, when the two 
 officers returned from mess, they found the half of the 
 house occupied by the new arrival stripped and cleared 
 of every single article, nothing being left. The chaukidar, 
 when examined, shrugged his shoulders and said : "I 
 told you so " — the most annoying answer one can 
 receive. 
 
 Nothing could be done, and nothing was recovered 
 except the officer's tunic, which, with the buttons and
 
 46 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 facings cut off, was found next morning thrown into the 
 verandah. The Pathans are the most calm, audacious, 
 and clever thieves I ever came across or heard of. 
 
 I went back to England in 1873, and shortly afterwards 
 was posted to a Field Battery at Newcastle, from which 
 we shortly marched to Woolwich. In the summer of 
 1874 the Czar visited Woolwich and saw a Field Day on 
 the common, in which one hundred guns took part. The 
 last occasion on which a Czar had visited Woolwich was 
 1828, when all the artillery that could be displayed was 
 three Horse Artillery Batteries of two guns each ! A 
 few days after His Majesty had visited us at Woolwich 
 he paid a similar visit to Aldershot. In the meantime a 
 large number of the Woolwich Batteries had gone to the 
 former station, so that the Czar saw over a hundred guns 
 there also. The object was to convince him, that though 
 the British army was very small, it was at least enormously 
 strong in artillery. Whether the Czar of all the Russias 
 was hoodwinked by the nisa or not, it is impossible to 
 say, but one cannot but admire the cunning plan of the 
 authorities to make a number of their batteries count 
 twice over ; it reminds one of the processions on the 
 stage, which march round and round and count for large 
 numbers. 
 
 I hunted the Royal Artillery Draghounds the winter 
 of 1874-5. Except on one annual occasion when we went 
 to Farningham, some ten miles distant, the meets were 
 comparatively close to the barracks, and they were held 
 in the afternoon. Now nearly all the land over which 
 the lines were laid has been transformed, owing to the 
 growth of the population and the hand of the speculative 
 builder, into populated areas. The Drag Hunt, however, 
 still flourishes owing to the tact and energy of the officers
 
 A JUNIOR OFFICER OF ARTILLERY 47 
 
 of the Royal Artillery, in spite of the long distances which 
 have to be travelled in order to reach suitable country 
 for the hunt. I go, as a veteran ex-master, from time to 
 time to the old-fashioned Drag Hunt Dinner, which is given 
 in the Artillery Mess to the owners and farmers of the 
 lands, who welcome the Draghounds ; and I find that the 
 sporting instincts and the generous hospitality of these 
 gentlemen are as pronounced now as in my time thirty- 
 four years ago. Long may this useful institution flourish. 
 To it very large numbers of artillery officers owe the fact 
 that they are the excellent horsemen for which their corps 
 is renowned. 
 
 From Woolwich my battery went to Colchester, where 
 I remained till 1877, when I was posted to the Staff at 
 Dover, and in 1879 to the adjutancy of the Horse Artillery 
 at Aldershot, which appointment, combined with the 
 mastership of the Aldershot Draghounds, was the most 
 agreeable one I ever held. 
 
 The officer then commanding the Royal Artillery at 
 Aldershot was Colonel T. Reilly, known as Tim Reilly, a 
 persona grata in the highest quarters. He was very fond 
 of a certain drill movement, which was that the batteries, 
 after marching past in close column, should regain their 
 distances, and, deploying, should wheel into line opposite 
 the inspecting officer, and fire a round from every gun 
 with the utmost despatch. The manceuvre had been 
 executed time after time without accident and with great 
 precision. Unfortunately, as we heard afterwards, a 
 feeling of emulation arose among the gunners as to firing 
 the first round, and bets were laid on the subject in the 
 canteen. One day the whole of the batteries were ordered 
 to parade in the Long Valley. I accompanied Colonel 
 Reilly as brigade -major, in place of my old friend, school-
 
 48 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 fellow and brother officer Captain (now Sir Henry) 
 Knollys, who was on leave. The above manoeuvre was 
 executed, and when the smoke from the discharge of a 
 large number of guns had cleared off, I saw at once that 
 something had gone wrong. I galloped to the batteries 
 and a horrible sight met my eyes. Three men lay on the 
 ground, writhing, the face of one was partly blown away, 
 the forearm of another had been torn off, while the whole 
 of the front of the Horse Artillery jacket of the third was 
 burnt into tinder. The first man expired in a few hours, 
 the second was maimed for life, but the third was not 
 badly burnt, and recovered. The Coroner's verdict was 
 death by misadventure ; and the dangerous and useless 
 manoeuvre was forbidden for the future. In each case 
 the lanyard was pulled and the gun fired, before the 
 sponge was withdrawn, with the above disastrous result. 
 At that time we had for some extraordinary reason 
 retrograded to muzzle loaders, one of the most unintel- 
 ligible and costly steps taken even by the War Office 
 authorities. 
 
 Early in September, 1880, I was selected by Sir Garnet 
 Wolseley as a member of his Staff to attend manoeuvres 
 of the German army in the neighbourhood of Berlin. No 
 less than sixty-two foreign officers had been invited. 
 They were all lodged in the Kaiserhof Hotel, and enter- 
 tained in the most lordly, I might say, royal style. Special 
 trains, royal carriages, banquets, boxes at the opera, in 
 fact, every possible thing was done for our comfort and 
 delectation, in a manner which I have never before nor 
 since experienced. 
 
 Two officers — Count Liittichau of the Guard Cuirassiers 
 and Lieutenant H. de Graaff of the Guard Uhlans — were 
 appointed as our guides and tutors ; and nothing could
 
 A JUNIOR OFFICER OF ARTILLERY 49 
 
 exceed their kindness and eagerness to make our visit 
 agreeable to us. 
 
 The manoeuvres were between the Guard Corps, con- 
 sisting of 27,398 of all ranks, 5701 horses and 72 guns, 
 and the 3rd Army Corps (Brandenburgers) with 18,056 
 of all ranks, 4390 horses and 68 guns. The scene of the 
 operations was the sandy track of country south of 
 Berlin about Marienfeld, Lichtenrade and Gross Ziethen 
 on the north, and Konigs-Wusterhausen, Mittenwalde and 
 Gross Machnow on the south. The Guards Corps were 
 defending Berlin from the 3rd Army Corps, which was 
 advancing on it from the south. 
 
 The scheme was drawn up by Von Moltke himself, and 
 my military readers will recognize the ground as that 
 selected by him to illustrate many of his admirable 
 tactical problems, which have been studied with so much 
 advantage by soldiers of many countries. The Emperor 
 William and the Empress Augusta, the Crown Prince 
 Frederick and the Crown Princess, the present Emperor, 
 (who was then a lieutenant in the first foot-guard regi- 
 ment), were present daily at the manoeuvres, as well as a 
 host of foreign royalties, including the Duke of Connaught 
 and the late Duke of Cambridge. 
 
 Von Moltke, to whom I was introduced, acted as 
 umpire-in-chief. Count Capri vi commanded a division, 
 and a large number of generals and other officers, whose 
 names had become famous through the wars of 1863, 
 1866, 1870-71, were present. 
 
 I was enormously struck by the appearance and training 
 of these two army corps, and by the knowledge of their 
 profession in all its details evinced by the officers. For it 
 must be borne in mind that in 1880 the professional 
 attainments of, and the work done by the majority of 
 4
 
 50 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 our officers was incomparably below what it is to-day. I 
 was, of course, specially interested in the artillery, which 
 was admirably handled, especially that of the Guard 
 Corps under General Schwarzhoff. I saw that, magnifi- 
 cent as our artillery was, it had much to learn in tactics 
 from the Germans. I spoke to the British military 
 attache. Lord Methuen, on the matter, and he advised 
 me to procure a book called " The Tactics of Field 
 Artillery," by Colonel A. von Schell, Chief of the Staff of 
 the Inspector-General of the Prussian Artillery, which was 
 then the standard work on the subject in the German 
 army. I accordingly bought a copy, obtained the right 
 to translate it from Colonel von Schell for 300 marks 
 (£15), and when the translation was completed, I took it 
 to the Deputy Adjutant-General of Artillery, General Sir 
 Charles Arbuthnot, who, after reading it, adopted it at 
 once ; and it was published and distributed to every 
 unit of the Royal Artillery. In fact, for a time, it was 
 a standard work with our artillery ; but to this day 
 the War Office has never refunded to me the £15 which I 
 paid for the copyright to the author ! — another instance 
 of sic vos non vobis ! 
 
 The day before we left Berlin to return to our respec- 
 tive countries, the sixty-two foreign officers were enter- 
 tained at a huge lunch at the Kaiserhof, when some 
 cosmopolitan speech-making took place. After lunch, 
 some officials entered the room carrying trays on which 
 were piles of small leather-cases. One of these was 
 handed to every officer, except the British and the 
 Greeks. 
 
 Next to me was seated a Bavarian Uhlan officer who 
 had attended the manoeuvres as orderly officer to the 
 Crown Prince Frederick, and with whom I had become
 
 A JUNIOR OFFICER OF ARTILLERY 51 
 
 on very friendly terms. When the bearers of the caskets 
 had finished their task, and he saw that nothing had been 
 presented to me, he said : " Was ist dann los, Sie hahen 
 keinen Or den hekommen ? " I explained that we were 
 not allowed to accept or wear foreign decorations by our 
 queen. This did not altogether satisfy him, especially 
 when he learned that the Greeks and the British were 
 coupled in the exclusion from the honours bestowed by 
 the German Emperor ; and he regarded me with some 
 suspicion. Fortunately, this insular exclusiveness and 
 false pride exist no more — tempora mutantur et nos 
 mutamur in illis. Orders and other decorations may be 
 regarded as vanities and vexations by certain professedly 
 superior persons, but I must say that I never yet met 
 anyone who was not prepared to accept one with joy and 
 avidity if offered to him. 
 
 The lessons I learnt and the impressions I formed 
 during this official visit to Germany have been of no small 
 advantage to me ; and the latter have been strengthened 
 at every one of the numerous visits, official and 
 private, which I have paid to Germany in the last 
 fifteen years. On this I shall say more in a subsequent 
 chapter. 
 
 I wrote and published a long report of these 
 manoeuvres, the like of which were then unknown in 
 Great Britain. This report was submitted, of course, to 
 the War Office, but I received no acknowledgment, and 
 heard no more of it. Doubtless it went, unhonoured 
 and unread, to the waste-paper basket ! From German 
 authorities, however, I received prompt and flattering 
 acknowledgment ; and the report was there officially 
 published. 
 
 Before I went to Berlin to join Sir Garnet Wolseley's
 
 52 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 Staff, I obtained a month's leave to go to Hanover ^ for 
 the purpose of learning German, which I had hitherto 
 only acquired as English translated into German. My 
 instructor was a retired Rittmeister or captain of a 
 Hanoverian Dragoon Regiment, who had fought gallantly 
 at Langensalza against the Prussians, whom he cordially 
 detested with a holy hatred. 
 
 I made great progress in colloquial German during the 
 month, and have cause to be grateful to Rittmeister 
 Friedrichs, for, towards the end of the month, I was 
 taken for a German with a southern accent. 
 
 The feeling against Prussia in Hanover was very acute, 
 and was very like that which I found to exist at Nancy 
 when I was there for manoeuvres two years ago, against 
 Germany, because of the annexation of part of fair 
 Lorraine in 1871. In other parts of France that are 
 familiar to me this feeling does not exist, or, at all events, 
 is dormant ; in Nancy and along the frontier I do not think 
 that the bitterness will ever die out. In Hanover no such 
 feeling now remains, as far as I can judge. 
 
 I left Berlin with Lord Wolseley by the Ostend express 
 which halted at Hanover at midnight. There on the 
 platform stood the tall, slender, soldier-like figure of my 
 friend, the Rittmeister, who had come to wish me God- 
 speed. The first thing he asked me was what I thought 
 of the Prussian army ; I said that it was magnificent, 
 forgetting for the moment his sentiments towards the 
 Prussians. His face assumed a deep melancholy, and he 
 exclaimed almost inaudibly : " Das thut mir Icid " (" That 
 is grief to me"). 
 
 ^ At Hanover I was the guest of a very charming and gifted German 
 lady, Frau Siemens, mother of the celebrated electrical engineer, 
 Alexander Siemens.
 
 A JUNIOR OFFICER OF ARTILLERY 53 
 
 The older Hanoverian families were very bitter against 
 Great Britain, of which they considered themselves a 
 part, for having allowed Prussia to annex their country. 
 William IV. was king of Great Britain and Hanover, and 
 it was the Salic Law that separated the two kingdoms on 
 his death. Had it not been so, it is hard indeed to imagine 
 what would have occurred in 1866, for Hanover would 
 hardly have been amicably handed over to Germany, as 
 was Heligoland.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 WITH LORD SPENCER IN IRELAND, 1882-1884 
 
 Promoted Major — The Phoenix Park murders — Sir H. Brackenbury 
 appointed Under-Secretary of State for PoHce and Crime in Ireland — 
 I go as his assistant — Panic in Dubhn — Outbreak of the Arabi revolt — 
 Circumstances of Sir H. Brackenbury's resignation — Mr Jenkinson 
 takes his place — The Maamstrasna murders — Lord Spencer — " United 
 Ireland " — Murders in Galway — Escorts — Strike of the Dublin police — 
 Discovery and trial of the Phoenix Park murderers — Dubhn car-drivers 
 — Patrick's Ball — Irish wit — The Irish people and the Crown — Henry 
 Mapleson — Marie Roze — Am appointed to Lord Wolseley's staff on the 
 Gordon Rehef Expedition — Some letters from Lord Spencer — Unin- 
 vited guests at the Vice-Regal Lodge. 
 
 IN 1882 I was promoted major, and sent to Sheerness, 
 and from thence to Fort Hubberstone near Milford 
 Haven, where, one Sunday morning, 7 May, 1882, 
 the telegraph wire to London was " tapped " and the 
 news spread abroad that the Lord-Lieutenant, Lord 
 Spencer and the Chief Secretary had been murdered in 
 Dubhn the day before. It was not correct as regarded 
 the Lord-Lieutenant, the victims being the Chief Secretary 
 and Under-Secretary, Mr Burke, who were butchered in 
 broad dayHght in a much-frequented part of the Phoenix 
 Park, just opposite the Viceregal Lodge. This dire event 
 was to cause a great change in my future life. 
 
 About a fortnight later I was at Aldershot on leave 
 for a few days, when, one afternoon, I received a telegram 
 from Lord Wolseley desiring me to go to the War Office 
 at once. There he told me that Colonel, afterwards 
 General, Sir Henry Brackenbury, had been sent to Ireland 
 
 64
 
 WITH LORD SPENCER IN IRELAND 55 
 
 to fill an important post in connexion with police ad- 
 ministration, and that he had applied for me to assist him. 
 I, of course, accepted, and two or three days later was in 
 Dubhn. Here I found that the greatest state of panic 
 and apprehension existed. All important, and some very 
 unimportant officials were day and night under police 
 protection, which took up the services of a vast number 
 of police, and extra men in the shape of army and navy 
 pensioners. The thing was greatly overdone, for there 
 were very few who were in the slightest danger, and the 
 fact of a constable stalking after a person was the one 
 thing which showed that he was a public official. 
 
 Colonel Brackenbury with his vast ability and untiring 
 energy at once set to work, and with great success, to 
 organize. He had been intended for the position of 
 Inspector-General of the Royal Irish Constabulary, but 
 he saw at once that the powers of this official were much 
 too restricted to enable him to work any general good ; 
 he therefore in a long and very masterly paper, which he 
 wrote on the general state of the existing machinery for 
 police and crime, represented that, besides the Constabu- 
 lary, the Dublin Metropolitan Police and the Resident 
 (Stipendiary) Magistrates should be placed under him. 
 After a good many pourparlers between the Irish Govern- 
 ment and the Cabinet had been carried on, his terms with 
 slight modifications were acceeded to, and he was nominated 
 to the newly created post of Assistant Under-Secretary of 
 State for Police and Crime. He set to work with redoubled 
 energy, and all was going well and to the complete satis- 
 faction of the Viceroy and the Government when suddenly 
 all was upset and a cataclysm occurred. The Arabi 
 revolt had taken place, and was spreading alarmingly ; 
 and the Government determined to send out an army
 
 56 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 under Lord Wolseley. Brackenbury, who had been 
 much on the Staff of the latter, would doubtless have been 
 one of the first officers selected by him, but he was tied to 
 Ireland. He himself was most eager to accompany and 
 help his old chief, but before speaking to the Lord-Lieu- 
 tenant on the subject he determined to go to London to 
 see Lord Wolseley, He went over on a Thursday and 
 found that the former had filled up all the places on his 
 Staff, but he told him that if Lord Spencer would give him 
 permission to resign his appointment in Ireland, he would 
 try to find a place for him. On the Saturday morning I 
 received a letter from Colonel Brackenbury that had been 
 sent over in the Irish Office bag, with a note to me, in which 
 he told me to copy his letter to the Viceroy and send it to 
 the Viceregal Lodge. The purport of the letter was that 
 he was first a soldier, and only, in the second place, a civil 
 servant, and as a war was impending, he felt it to be his 
 first duty to serve in it under his old chief. He asked the 
 Viceroy whether, in the event of Lord Wolseley finding a 
 place for him on his Staff, he would allow him to resign his 
 appointment in Ireland. He added that he had put the 
 new organization into working order, and suggested the 
 names of one or two officials, Mr Clifford Lloyd and Mr 
 (afterwards Sir Edward) Jenkinson, as perfectly capable 
 of carrying out his work. I feared, for Colonel Bracken- 
 bury was one of those unusually able and dauntless 
 officials who are full of energy and who shirk no responsi- 
 bility, but who are not always regarded with too favour- 
 able eyes by the average cut and dried and timid politician 
 and government official. I knew, too, that there was a 
 good deal of petty jealousy about the great powers which 
 had been accorded to him and the confidence placed in 
 him by Lord Spencer. I, however, had no alternative
 
 WITH LORD SPENCER IN IRELAND 57 
 
 but to do as I was told, so the letter was sent. I heard 
 nothing till the next morning, when Mr Jenkinson came 
 to the castle, where I was living, came to my room, and 
 asked whether the private telegraph line to the Irish Office 
 in London was open. I replied in the affirmative and 
 offered to send the telegram, which was in cypher. He 
 said he would send it himself, and did so. He told me 
 nothing of its contents. Early the next morning 
 Brackenbury, who had come over by the night mail, 
 came into my room and showed me the telegram, which 
 stated that His Excellency had no objection to his going 
 to Egypt, but that he took his letter as carrying his 
 resignation under any circumstances. He at once wrote 
 a letter to the Lord-Lieutenant, in which he stated that 
 he had no intention of resigning if Lord Spencer did not 
 approve of his doing so, and that he only asked if His 
 Excellency would have any objection to his doing so if 
 Lord Wolseley found a place for him on his Staff — which, 
 at present, he had not been able to do — and that he would 
 not, in any case, do so, if it did not meet with approval. 
 This letter he told me to take out myself to Lord Spencer 
 at the Viceregal Lodge. 
 
 I found the Viceroy and his Staff at breakfast, and gave 
 him the letter. He read it, and passed it to the Private 
 Secretary, Mr Courteney Boyle, and told him to telegraph 
 for Sir Robert Hamilton, the Under-Secretary. They 
 then left the room, and a few minutes later I received a 
 message that I could return to the castle after breakfast 
 and that a reply would be sent to Brackenbury in the 
 course of the day. 
 
 I returned, and found my chief at work, as usual, as 
 if nothing had happened to upset him. In the late 
 afternoon, after a long consultation and frequent com-
 
 58 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 munications with the Irish Office and the Government, 
 a reply was received by Brackenbury, from the private 
 secretary, to the effect that His Excellency regretted that 
 he could not rescind his decision. Brackenbury made no 
 further attempt to induce him to do so, and left next 
 morning for London, leaving me behind to wind up matters 
 for him. 
 
 Nearly thirty years have gone by since these events 
 occurred, and nearly all the principal actors in them have 
 passed the border. They are as clear in my memory as 
 if they had occurred last week. 
 
 I think that every unprejudiced person will come to 
 the conclusion that Sir Henry Brackenbury did nothing 
 reprehensible, and that, having regard to his distinguished 
 career and services, he was treated with great harshness. 
 He was sent to command an artillery depot as a major, 
 which was his regimental rank then, to eat out his heart 
 in comparative inaction — a terrible trial to a man of his 
 calibre. He was soon promoted to the rank of regimental 
 Lieutenant-Colonel, and posted to Gibraltar, whence he 
 was extricated by Lord Wolseley in 1884, and taken by 
 him on his Staff in the ill-fated expedition sent to save 
 Gordon. In this he did very good service, and thence- 
 forth his rise was rapid ; so that, fortunately, he did not 
 in the end suffer from the Irish incident. 
 
 Anxiety to pay a tribute to my old chief has impelled 
 me to give a full and unvarnished account of this, which 
 caused considerable flutter at the time in political and 
 official circles. 
 
 Mr Jenkinson stepped into his vacant place, and I re- 
 mained with him for a short time, during which we went to 
 Maamtrasna, on Lough Mask, in County Galway, to investi- 
 gate an awful tragedy which had taken place there. A
 
 WITH LORD SPENCER IN IRELAND 59 
 
 whole family named Joyce had been barbarously I— 'xhered 
 in their beds in the miserable hovel in which they lived, 
 in common with cattle, swine and poultry of all sorts. 
 Why such a family should have been murdered was never 
 quite clear. Joyce was a pauper, and had in no way 
 offended against the unwritten agrarian laws that pre- 
 vailed among the rough and uncultured peasantry of the 
 wild, mountainous district called Joyce's country. 
 
 It was supposed that the man had been in the habit 
 of stealing sheep on the mountains, which was, in the 
 eyes of the people, as bad a crime as removing a neighbour's 
 landmark. For some time suspicion fell on no one, and 
 the police were entirely baffled, till at last, one of the gang 
 offered to turn Queen's evidence, and an unwilling witness, 
 also named Joyce, was discovered, which led to the detec- 
 tion and conviction of the gang. 
 
 The story of the crime was most dramatic, and it 
 seemed that a higher power than man's intervened to 
 bring the murderers to justice. Joyce was sitting before 
 the fire in his cabin ; the night was pitch dark ; hearing a 
 noise like the muffled tramp of a body of men, he went 
 to the window, and could see nothing, but distinctly heard 
 the footsteps of men on the road. He was about to return 
 to his seat when the clouds broke and suddenly the moon 
 appeared, and shed her rays upon a party of, if I remember 
 rightly, a dozen men, all of whom he recognized. Immedi- 
 ately afterwards, the clouds closed again over the moon's 
 first and only appearance that night. 
 
 This eventually led to the arrest and conviction of the 
 gang, and the execution of three or four of them — mostly 
 on the evidence of the informer named Thomas Casey, who 
 is stated to have publicly confessed at Partry Church that 
 he had sworn falsely against Myles Joyce and others of
 
 60 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 the gang, being induced to do so at the instance of the 
 Crown SoHcitor ! Desperate efforts were made to save 
 Myles Joyce, but the best case that could be made for 
 him was that he was not one of those who actually 
 despatched the family — which included a father and 
 mother, an old grandmother and several little children — 
 but that he stood outside and kept watch while the 
 bloody deed was being perpetrated. 
 
 Lord Spencer declined to prevent the execution, and, 
 for the rest of his reign in Ireland, was made the object 
 of the most venomous attacks in the Press, while the 
 cartoons which appeared in " United Ireland," the paper 
 of Mr William O'Brien, M.P., were, week by week, of an 
 outrageous and libellous description — the Viceroy being 
 described and depicted not only as a murderer but as an 
 accessory to and shielder of the most horrible and dis- 
 gusting crimes. 
 
 That the proprietors of the newspaper were not prose- 
 cuted shows that an almost unparalleled liberty of the 
 Press was then allowed to exist in Ireland. 
 
 On one occasion the Viceroy was stung to the quick 
 by a cartoon which represented him as a gladiator holding 
 his shield over a Castle ofhcial who had been arraigned for 
 a heinous offence, but whose case was, if I remember 
 rightly, not proceeded with for some reason or other — 
 certainly not the one put forward by " United Ireland." 
 Lord Spencer wrote to Mr Gladstone for advice as to 
 prosecuting the paper, but the latter was of opinion that 
 the best course was to take no notice of such malignant 
 rubbish, as it would only lend increased importance to 
 " United Ireland," and increase its circulation ; so the 
 paper was left severely alone, and probably Mr Gladstone 
 was right — though this doctrine may be carried too
 
 WITH LORD SPENCER IN IRELAND 61 
 
 far. I have all the cartoons of the period, and I am 
 amazed, when I contemplate them, at the wonderful 
 forbearance of the Irish Government of that day — some 
 of them are so gross and libellous that they baffle all 
 description. 
 
 It was held, on the other side, that the Viceroy stood 
 on too high a pedestal to take any notice of the dirt thrown 
 at his feet. 
 
 This district of Galway bore a very sinister reputation 
 at that time. Lord Mountmorris had recently been 
 murdered near Cong, between Lough Mask and Lough 
 Corrib, and two bailiffs of Lord Ardilaun — Huddy, by 
 name, grandfather and grandson — had been brutally 
 butchered when serving notices of rent, in broad daylight, 
 at Cloghbrack, a village on Lough Mask, before the school- 
 children who were coming out of school. Their bodies 
 were thrust into sacks, with stones, and sunk in the 
 lake, whence they were raised some months later by 
 the crew of a gunboat sent there to aid in keeping the 
 peace. The skin of the two corpses was discoloured, 
 but they were not in the least decomposed, owing to 
 the action of the peat which formed the bottom of 
 the lake. 
 
 A wave of crime was sweeping over large portions of 
 Ireland, in which, as a rule, there is much less crime, 
 according to statistics, than in other portions of the 
 British Isles. At that time I, like most other people, 
 only considered the effect and not the cause ; the crimes 
 were a plague to be eradicated by the most forcible 
 means, but one thought little or not at all of the necessity 
 of investigating the origin and cause of the offences, or 
 of going to the root of the evil. Later and greater experi- 
 ence opened my eyes. The abscess must be healed from
 
 G2 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 the bottom and cannot be cured by mere superficial 
 treatment. 
 
 I was, shortly after this, appointed by Lord Spencer 
 to his Staff, on which vacancies had been created by the 
 departure of Colonel Herbert Stuart and Coleridge Grove 
 to join Lord Wolseley in Egypt : my appointment was 
 that of First A.D.C. and Military Private Secretary. Of 
 Lord Spencer, it is impossible to speak in too high terms. 
 He was the most perfect gentleman it ever was my lot 
 to meet, the very soul of honour, the kindest and most 
 considerate of men. On that fatal day, 6th May 1882, he 
 arrived in Ireland with Lord Frederick Cavendish to take 
 over the duties of Lord-Lieutenant : he had already been 
 such for some years, and was not forgotten : he had been 
 most popular, and now it was believed that he had come 
 to relieve Ireland from Mr Forster's hated Suspect Act, 
 under which anyone suspected by the police or reported 
 to them as dangerous, could be, without more ado, 
 arrested and locked up so long as it suited the pleasure 
 of the authorities. It was indeed a most detestable 
 and foolish act of tyranny, and even Parnell and other 
 prominent men of the Irish Party were not spared by it. 
 
 Lord Spencer's reception was most cordial, and his 
 prospects of success seemed of the brightest. In the 
 evening the Chief and Under-Secretaries were murdered in 
 the Park as they were walking home to the Under-Secre- 
 tary's lodge. This terrible crime, which was freely 
 though entirely falsely, attributed to the machinations of 
 Mr Parnell and the Irish Party, has long been a fatal blow 
 to the fulfilment of the aspirations of the Irish people. 
 Any sane person could not fail to see that it could not be 
 otherwise, and Parnell, the ablest and most level-headed 
 of men, had more reason to deplore it than anyone, for
 
 WITH LORD SPENCER IN IRELAND 63 
 
 it entirely blocked and frustrated his work. The first 
 consequences were that, owing to the terror caused by it, 
 Lord Spencer, to whom all tyranny, coercive legislation 
 and oppression were loathsome, was forced to carry out 
 measures of severity which were not only hateful to him, 
 but were, for the most part, unnecessary, and a sacrifice 
 to the panic produced in Great Britain by the crime of 
 6th May, which was regarded as a precursor of revolu- 
 tion instead of the isolated act of revenge on the part of 
 a small secret society, composed of men of excitable 
 Celtic blood, burning with suppressed fury and sense of 
 injustice under Mr Forster's coercion, the main agent in 
 giving effect to which was Mr Burke, the Under-Secretary, 
 at whose behest some of them or their relatives had been, 
 doubtless, incarcerated. 
 
 Lord Spencer strongly deprecated the amount of police 
 protection forced upon him by the authorities, which he 
 felt bound to accept. He himself was without fear, as 
 he was without reproach. Nothing could, for instance, 
 have been more superfluous or absurd than the hunting 
 escorts. The Viceroy loved hunting, and when matters 
 had a little calmed down after the Park murders and the 
 trial and conviction of the assassins, he occasionally took 
 a day's hunting with the Ward or Meath hounds. He 
 was accompanied by two A.D.C.'s, one of which was often 
 myself. As a rule, unless the distances were very long, 
 he drove to the meets. Besides two or three mounted 
 policemen, an officer's escort of cavalry guarded the party, 
 and remained out all day. When the hunt was over, the 
 escort and carriage proceeded as best they could to find 
 the Lord-Lieutenant — which done, the party returned 
 home CO the Viceregal Lodge by the nearest roads in the 
 dark.
 
 64 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 It does not require much thought to perceive that it 
 was utterly ludicrous to suppose that men wishing to 
 waylay and murder the Viceroy would conceal themselves 
 in ambush by night at the side of country roads, against 
 any one of which the chances were very considerable that 
 it would be the one selected for the return to Dublin. The 
 only danger was to the escort, whose horses constantly 
 fell on the uneven sides of the road, and I can remember 
 two instances in which men's legs were broken. This will 
 show the extent to which the protection-craze went. 
 The cost of it to the public must have been enormous, 
 for every prominent official went about escorted by two 
 huge and stalwart constables of the Dublin Metropolitan 
 Police, dressed in plain clothes and armed with revolvers, 
 though the protected were in reality as safe in Ireland as 
 they would have been in Piccadilly. 
 
 During my long sojourn in Ireland, I came across many 
 persons, both in Dublin and the West, who delighted in 
 their protection, and who relinquished their guardian 
 angels with the greatest reluctance, even when all shadow of 
 danger was over. They were often not so much influenced 
 in this by fear, but they did not relish the deprivation of 
 the temporary importance lent to them by being escorted 
 by police. 
 
 A very serious thing happened in the winter of 1882 ; 
 the Dublin police, who had been overworked, suddenly 
 struck one day ; and the city, which was supposed to be 
 in deadly danger from implacable Nationalist conspirators, 
 was soon in a state of panic. Emergency measures were 
 taken with laudable rapidity by the authorities, special 
 constables were sworn in, and a number of soldiers, 
 including marines, were placed on police duty. A ball 
 was to have been given at the Viceregal Lodge that night,
 
 WITH LORD SPENCER IN IRELAND 65 
 
 but dancing was considered too frivolous a form of amuse- 
 ment to be indulged in under the ominous circumstances. 
 It was, however, too late to stop the guests from coming, 
 and when they arrived, some from considerable distances, 
 they found to their great chagrin that it was to be a ball 
 without music or dancing. Needless to say, they did 
 not remain late. 
 
 Late in the afternoon. Lord Spencer sent for me, and 
 told me to order a brougham quietly, but no escort, and 
 to accompany him to the Castle, on the green of which a 
 large number of men were assembled, waiting to be sworn 
 in as special constables. The Lord-Lieutenant spoke to 
 the men, the swearing then proceeded, and they went out 
 in pairs, armed with batons and revolvers, to patrol the 
 streets. The night passed wholly without undue incident, 
 except that an especially obnoxious landlord, one of the 
 specials, was recognized in Sackville Street, and abused 
 and threatened, upon which he took to his heels and fled, 
 chased by a few men for a short distance, when he took 
 refuge in a house suddenly, and escaped further attention 
 from his bewildered pursuers. The notion which prevailed 
 that the Dublin police had been corrupted and that they 
 struck in order to give an opportunity for a Nationalist 
 rising proved to be entirely groundless, but it was natural 
 that, as the air of Dublin had been saturated with panic 
 since the Phoenix Park murders, the action of the police 
 should have greatly added to the terror of many people 
 in whom fear is apt to destroy reason. 
 
 At last, through the medium of informers, the identity 
 of the murderers of Lord Frederick Cavendish and Mr 
 Burke was discovered by Mr Mallon, the capable and very 
 energetic Chief Superintendent of the Dublin Police. 
 They were arrested under the Suspect Act, on no par- 
 5
 
 66 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 ticular charge, brought up at the Kilmainham pohce 
 court, and remanded. A day or two later I was present 
 in the court, as I knew that a strange drama would be 
 played. When the men, some ten in number, were 
 escorted into the dock, I saw them looking round among 
 themselves anxiously, evidently to ascertain if any of 
 their number were missing. One, indeed, was missing, as 
 they evidently perceived, for a ghastly look of appre- 
 hension settled on some of their faces. A minute or two 
 passed and the name of James Carey, leader of the gang 
 and chief organizer of the crimes, was called as a witness. 
 A deep howl of execration went up from many mouths 
 from the dock, which was enough in itself to show they 
 were guilty ; and James Carey stepped up on to the table, 
 took the oath, and sat down. 
 
 He was a respectable-looking man of about forty, 
 neatly dressed in a brown suit with a pair of the brightest 
 emerald-green gloves I ever beheld. He was evidently 
 very proud of them, for he constantly regarded his hands 
 with patent satisfaction. Examined by Mr Murphy and 
 Mr Peter O'Brien (afterwards Mr Justice Murphy and 
 Lord Justice O'Brien), Carey unfolded the tale of the 
 hideous crimes in which he had taken such a prominent 
 part, calmly, deliberately, and without hesitation. 
 
 The prisoners saw that all chance of escape was gone, 
 and despair was depicted on all their faces except in the 
 case of one — a huge stone-mason, named Brady, a man of 
 colossal strength, who stood with his arms folded over 
 the edge of the dock, and just above the passage by which 
 the witnesses went to and from the table. Something in 
 his expression warned the police of impending danger, 
 and when Carey had finished his evidence, he was taken 
 out of court from the other side. Brady stated afterwards
 
 WITH LORD SPENCER IN IRELAND 67 
 
 that his intention was to catch Carey by the neck as he 
 passed beneath him, and strangle him — which he could 
 easily have done, for he was a perfect Hercules. 
 
 Brady was no criminal in the ordinary sense of the 
 word, but a desperate fanatic, stung to madness by a 
 feeling of intense hatred of the authorities who were 
 trampling upon the liberties of Ireland, especially by 
 means of Forster's Suspect Act. 
 
 Carey, though^ released by turning King's evidence, did 
 not long escape the doom of those whom he had directed 
 and betrayed. He was secretly conveyed on board a 
 steamer bound for Australia, under a false name. The 
 man's vanity, however, was such that he disclosed his 
 identity, and was shot dead by a man named O'Donnell, 
 who, in his turn, suffered capital punishment at Newgate 
 for murder on the high seas. 
 
 The following letter, given me by the gentleman to whom 
 it was addressed, will give some insight into the character 
 of James Carey. He wrote it when a prisoner in 
 Kilmainham gaol, under Mr W. E. Forster's tyrannical 
 and irrational Suspect Act, which was responsible for 
 many of the assassinations which were committed in 
 Ireland, from the Park murders downwards, brought 
 about, as they were, through feelings of exasperation and 
 revenge born from a sense of gross injustice. Mr Forster 
 is said to have boasted that he had every dangerous 
 character in Ireland under lock and key. No doubt this 
 was partially true, but he was at the same time manu- 
 facturing criminals out of men who were often perfectly 
 harmless when they were arrested and imprisoned for 
 more or less long terms, for no stated offence, but 
 merely on a sworn information that they were open to 
 suspicion !
 
 G8 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 Carey wrote to a priest as follows : — 
 
 " KiLMAiNHAM Jail, Ml July. 
 " Rev. Sir, 
 
 " I hope you will excuse my absence on last night 
 and on Sunday morning from my place in St. Mc. Garton 
 Guild. I am near five years a member and only once 
 absent of a Sunday and six on Friday. I am charged 
 with been accessory to the murder of the man Kenny : 
 a man I never knew nor seen. Anyone that know me 
 as a resident of St. Andrew for eleven years would 
 not believe me capable of such a Heinous crime you 
 will see Rev. Sir my reason for my arrest on Monday 
 " Freeman Journal." Hoping for your prayers that 
 truth will prevail, 
 
 " I beg to remain one of your most obedient Children, 
 
 James Carey, 
 
 19 Denzile Street. 
 " I was arrested on Thursday evening." 
 
 This was written two months after the murder of Mr 
 Burke, of which Carey was one of the chief organizers. 
 
 Another of the Phoenix Park murderers, Tim Kelly, a 
 boy of nineteen, of hitherto irreproachable character, 
 was proved to have cut Mr Burke's throat when he lay 
 on the ground, after being stabbed through the back by 
 Brady. The next morning, Sunday, 7th May, he was in 
 his usual place as acolyte in his place of worship ; he had 
 always been noted for his attention to his religious duties. 
 This instance shows to what a state of exasperation men 
 had been goaded by Mr Forster's Suspect Act, the attempt 
 to introduce which, in England, would probably have 
 produced a revolution.
 
 WITH LORD SPENCER IN IRELAND 69 
 
 The prisoners were all committed for trial, tried and 
 condemned. Six, I think, were executed, the rest sent 
 for more or less long terms to penal servitude ; and so 
 the sanguinary tragedy closed. 
 
 Though Lord Spencer himself continued to be person- 
 ally very popular among the ruling classes, both on 
 account of his own personal charm of manner and sport- 
 ing proclivities, his Government, and, needless to say, 
 that of Mr Gladstone, was detested, especially by any- 
 thing that was military. 
 
 One hears a good deal of the wittiness of the Dublin 
 car-drivers, but I never came across a Joe Miller among 
 them the whole time I was in Ireland. They have no 
 sense of humour in any marked degree more than London 
 cabmen, but they are doubtless more astute as judges of 
 men and character. In this respect one made a signal 
 mistake in sizing me. I took his car outside the Castle 
 and told him to drive to the Phoenix Park ; he took me 
 for an officer, and, with a laudable desire to please his 
 fare, after going a short distance, he said : " Captain, 
 
 sure Mr Gladstone is a d d old thief." I looked 
 
 severely at him, but said nothing. I watched him out 
 of the corner of my eye, and saw he was puzzled. When 
 I arrived at the gates of the Phoenix Park, I changed my 
 mind about walking the rest of the way, and told him to 
 drive to the Viceregal Lodge. He saw then that he had 
 made a big mistake, and in order to make amends and 
 increase his chance of a pourhoire, just as we reached the 
 last gate, before coming to the Lodge, he said : " Well, 
 your honour, at any rate, Mr Gladstone is the only 
 man who has done anything for poor ould Ireland." 
 I was mollified, and gave him something extra to his 
 fare.
 
 70 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 The many stories of wittiness and repartee on the 
 part of the Dubhn car-drivers that are related are, I 
 imagine, one and all of them hen trovato. 
 
 Patrick's Ball is a great occasion. All ladies and gentle- 
 men who have attended drawing-rooms or levees have an 
 unwritten right to attend this ball, by " merely sending " 
 in their names to the Chamberlain ; and in my time 
 some very queer people used to present themselves. Not 
 contented with eating and drinking all they could, many 
 persons used to make predatory raids on the tables, and 
 carry off eatables of all sorts. On one occasion, the comp- 
 troller saw a stout elderly lady take a whole fowl, and 
 stuff it with considerable deftness into a somewhat 
 capacious silk and embroidered bag. He at once went 
 up to her and, pointing with his finger at the bag, said : 
 " Madam, won't you take some ham with that." The 
 good lady was not in the least abashed, but replied : 
 " Ah, Captain, sure, it's a joker you are," and stuck to 
 her booty. 
 
 The wits of Dublin were — Father Healy, the " Vicar 
 of Bray," and Dr Nedley ; but their hons mots have been 
 so often told and repeated that it is hard to think of any 
 which I heard from them that would not be regarded now 
 as a chestnut. 
 
 Dean Dickinson of the Chapel Royal was also a really 
 witty raconteur. On one occasion he wrote to me when 
 I was employed in County Clare to ask me what I thought 
 about a certain clergyman of the Church of Ireland, who 
 had applied to the Lord-Lieutenant for an appointment 
 as one of his chaplains. I replied that he was a, good, 
 worthy man, but that he could not preach. In a few 
 days he informed me by letter as follows : — " Lord 
 Londonderry says I may appoint him or not, as I like.
 
 WITH LORD SPENCER IN IRELAND 71 
 
 Well, I don't like, but I am going to do it, but I 
 shall take care that when his turn comes for preaching 
 in the Chapel Royal, it shall be in the dull season, 
 when his voice will be like that of one crying in the 
 wilderness." 
 
 A few days before I left Dublin to proceed to the 
 Soudan, the Channel Fleet put into Kingstown, and the 
 late Duke of Edinburgh, who was, if I remember rightly, 
 in command, paid a visit to Lord Spencer at the Vice- 
 regal Lodge, and made himself highly popular with 
 every one high and low. He was a very skilful violinist, 
 and the ever wideawake Nationalist Press did not fail 
 to utilize this. A cartoon appeared in the " Weekly 
 Freeman," depicting the Prince with his fiddle landing in 
 Ireland and being met by a beautiful young lady, Erin. 
 The Channel Squadron is seen in the distance. The Prince 
 is made to say to Erin, " I have just called round to 
 remind you of an air which somehow or other you seem 
 never to get in your ear." (He scrapes away at Rule 
 Brittannia.) Erin replies, " I do not want to be reminded 
 of that air, there are memories associated with it in my 
 mind which are horrible. If you must play something 
 let it be ' Charlie is my Darling ' and then you may go 
 on till you are tired." Still I can assert that the Duke of 
 Edinburgh, and every other member of the royal family 
 who has visited Ireland, has been well received, and has 
 left a good impression, and the last thing the Irish people 
 want is to be under any monarch than the Sovereign of 
 Great Britain ; in their wildest moments they have not 
 suggested that the crown should be kicked into the 
 Boyne, or that in case of Home Rule being granted the 
 Emperor William should be invited to become Lord of 
 Ulster. Such expressions of loyalty to the throne appar-
 
 72 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 ently are confined to that portion of Ireland. At the same 
 time I had the advantage of making an acquaintance 
 which has developed into a friendship which remains firm 
 even up till to-day. Colonel Henry Mapleson, who did 
 excellent service as a Volunteer officer for many years, 
 brought the Carl Rosa Opera Company to Dublin, and I 
 was sent by Lord Spencer to invite him and his prima 
 donna, Marie Roze, to spend an evening at the Viceregal 
 Lodge. The performances in Dublin were excellent, and 
 the Irish people were wildly enthusiastic, as they always 
 are about good music. What captured all hearts especi- 
 ally was " Carmen " as played by Marie Roze, who, in my 
 opinion, was the greatest exponent of the role I ever 
 heard ; and so evidently thought her Dublin audiences, 
 as they cheered her to the echo whenever she appeared, 
 in a manner quite unknown on this Anglo-Saxon side of 
 the Channel. The world of music owes much to Colonel 
 Mapleson, who has spared neither time, labour, or money 
 in its cause. 
 
 In September 1884, I received a summons from the 
 War Office to report myself there without delay, as I had 
 been appointed to the Staff of Lord Wolseley, who had 
 gone to Egypt to command the force destined to make 
 an attempt to reach Khartum and save Gordon ; and 
 with the deepest feelings of regret I took my leave of Lord 
 and Lady Spencer at Spencer House, London. I shall 
 never cease to think with gratitude and affection of their 
 never-faihng kindness to me during my period of service 
 on his Staff. 
 
 I will conclude this portion of my memoirs by giving 
 three letters sent me while in the Soudan, which will be 
 read with great interest : they are published by kind 
 permission of Earl Spencer : —
 
 WITH LORD SPENCER IN IRELAND 73 
 
 " Viceregal Lodge, 
 " Dublin, 
 
 I5^A December, 1884, 
 
 " My dear Turner, 
 
 " I received your Cairo letter when I was in 
 London and read it with much interest. Long before 
 this, you will have moved up the River, but there you will 
 act we do not know how. We follow the somewhat 
 meagre accounts of the expedition in the papers with 
 great care. I don't know why but I fancy the difficulties 
 of the expedition have been underrated. I don't have 
 much confidence in camels, and the river work must be 
 very tedious and slow. 
 
 " Still, I have complete confidence in your General, his 
 genius and pluck will, I have no doubt, pull you through. 
 I cannot believe in his good star leaving him. 
 
 " We have gone through a great political crisis, as if 
 the easiest thing in the world had been effected. 
 
 " It is an unheard of piece of political work, and reflects 
 great credit on all who had a hand in it, from the Queen 
 to Mr Gladstone and Lord Salisbury. 
 
 " We have had a great hubbub about the bribery com- 
 mission here, it was first intended that this work which 
 was entrusted to very distinguished commissioners in 
 England and Scotland, should have been left to three 
 R.E.'s here. This was very unpopular, and I hope we 
 have now arranged it on the Scottish model, putting on 
 Irishmen — Piers White R.C., and R. Bourke, Local 
 Government Inspector, with one R.E. to act under Sir 
 John Lambert and Sir Francis Sandford. I sent Courtenay 
 Boyle over last night and settled it, and he telegraphs 
 that he has done this. 
 
 " We had great anxiety about Bobby, he had typhoid
 
 74 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 fever in the strongest form. He went through it with 
 extraordinary strength ; the fever lasted twenty-eight 
 days, and we feared that his strength would fail ; but 
 though two or three times the doctor feared he was going 
 he pulled through without any complication, and he is 
 now, I am thankful to say, convalescent, though very 
 weak. 
 
 " Lady Spencer is still over in London, helping my 
 sister Sarah to nurse him. Though I was in London 
 three weeks, I was not allowed to see him. 
 
 " We have just been out with the stag, and had a very 
 fast and excellent gallop from the back of Ashbourne. I 
 was in rather a show, as Dingley the last time I rode him 
 pulled so hard I had to pull up in the middle of a field 
 and get a wrecker to hold him till my arms recovered and 
 my wind returned. Subsequently I changed with Wengy 
 Jones, and rode his first charger, a perfect hunter. Dingley 
 I regret to say, gave Wengy two falls, so to-day I began 
 with fear and trepidation. Luckily, he carried me 
 beautifully, though pulling harder than I liked, and he 
 flew from field to field after Wengy Jones' style. 
 
 " Alfred Byng and I then came home, having had tea 
 with Miss Isabella Butler, but poor Luttrell, who was out 
 on a new English horse, which I told him might tumble 
 down on the road and probably fall at every fence, has not 
 come in ; we thought he had ridden home. I daresay you 
 would look on the hard chops at Priesttown as delicious 
 on the Nile. 
 
 " Everybody is very sad at poor little Miss Fitzpatrick, 
 Mrs Cornwallis West's sister, dying quite rapidly after 
 a cold. 
 
 " Miss Mary Lindsay, the heiress, is to marry young 
 Fitzpatrick — Lady Sophy Forbes, Sir Henry Bellew ;
 
 WITH LORD SPENCER IN IRELAND 75 
 
 this will interest Major Goold, i8 Hussars, if you see him, 
 as I know he used to be at Castle Forbes a good deal. 
 
 " We are going to shoot at Somerville on Wednesday. 
 
 " A. C. Greville comes on the staff to recruit our rifle 
 teams. 
 
 " Give my best remembrances to Herbert Stewart, 
 Wardrop, Burn Murdoch, Brackenbury, Rhodes. I may 
 write to Wardrop and Rhodes, as I owe them a letter. 
 If you see Murdoch, tell him about his Dingley. 
 
 " Very sincerely yours, 
 
 " Spencer." 
 
 " The Castle 
 " Dublin, 26 March. 
 
 " My dear Turner, 
 
 " You have been too excellent a correspondent. 
 Your letters have been most interesting and acceptable 
 to us. Last but not least the one I found on my return 
 from Knocklofty yesterday. 
 
 " I owe you many apologies for not writing, but I have 
 been unusually busy, and I have often been very weary 
 when I had time to write letters. I hate writing when 
 out of spirits, especially to friends abroad who want a 
 cheerful letter, so that I have gone on often weeks 
 without writing. 
 
 " You may imagine how dreadfully we felt the death 
 of our dear friend, Herbert Stewart. I sent the day 
 before the last account which reached England. She 
 was struggling to hope, poor soul, but I fancy had real 
 little expectation that he could live. I heard the news 
 as I was at the station at Victoria to see little Cosmo off 
 with his General. I was very sorry for it, for I could 
 barely keep up and gave a very sad parting to the poor
 
 76 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 little fellow, who also felt the news very keenly. What 
 you tell me in your letter only adds to the loss every one 
 who knew him feels. 
 
 " He was a splendid fellow. I felt very proud of having 
 had him amongst our grand band of men who helped 
 me so well, in our first struggle here. How many of 
 them are now with you, distinguishing themselves in 
 Egypt ! It is terribly melancholy that one already has 
 gone. 
 
 " My thoughts are constantly with you all. I never 
 knew so many in the field before — it adds immensely to 
 the anxious interest one feels in the news. 
 
 " I got Rhodes' letter with yours. I shall try to write 
 to him to-morrow. I shall value very much the hunting 
 flask, which has arrived safely. Poor Rhodes must have 
 felt very deeply his chief's loss, what a comfort to 
 H. Stewart to have had one like Rhodes with him. We 
 have been very anxious about friends at Suakim. Allen 
 Charteris seems to have saved M'Neil's life. We trust his 
 wounds are slight. If M'Neil had been on Charteris' 
 horse, he could have jumped the enclosure, for Frank 
 Forster bought a clipping hunter for Charteris. 
 
 " I was dreadfully shocked at a rumour that Wengy 
 Jones was killed, but I am thankful to see it contradicted 
 to-night, I went to see John Ross off with his mounted 
 men, he is very keen. I hope he will get a chance for he 
 is a very clever fellow, full of go and activity. I will 
 leave off now, and give you some English and Irish news 
 to-morrow. 
 
 " 2yth. — Politics were very hot before the vote on want 
 of confidence. Your criticism on the action of the Tories 
 is very just. They had a fair field for a fight and plenty 
 of reasons for making a bold attempt to get rid of a
 
 WITH LORD SPENCER IN IRELAND 77 
 
 government whose action they criticized, and impeached, 
 but they did not, when they began the iight, wish to win, 
 and they so worded their motion that they will not win. 
 I know they rejected, but it was too late. 
 
 " I thought that the fall of Khartoum and the death of 
 Gordon would have turned us out — ^however well we might 
 have defended the line taken. But we have survived the 
 attack, and though I admit I pined for release, I am glad 
 that we have the handling of the Afghan affair, which is 
 very serious. I do not know how it will end. It much 
 depends on the view taken by Russia of the Government, 
 if they see that we mean to fight, they will come in : if 
 they think that Mr Gladstone is averse to war, they may 
 try it on, and seize Herat. Their conduct has been most 
 outrageous. It came when they thought we were in trouble 
 in the Soudan. 
 
 " The Seats Bill is going through, and will be passed, 
 and we shall have probably a dissolution in November 
 or October. The compromise was a great success, but 
 we shall get no other, as some of the Tories hate it. The 
 Ulster M.P.'s nearly deserted their leaders, so sulky were 
 they at what they considered their betrayal. 
 
 " Irish legislation, including the question of the 
 Renewal of the Crimes Act, is postponed till the Seats 
 Bill is through. Here all is excitement over the Prince 
 and Princess of Wales' visit. The Nationalists don't like 
 it. They are divided : few if any pronounce against the 
 Prince, but they know that it will show the existence of 
 a large loyal party, and this will weaken their influence. 
 They make their attitude one of neutrality, because they 
 cannot rejoice while their grievances are left untouched, 
 and while my hateful Government rules in Dublin Castle. 
 The whole policy of the party was a good deal influenced
 
 78 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 by a ridiculous accident to the Lord Mayor of Dublin, 
 who came up as his predecessors did, to write his name at 
 the Lodge. He intended to come to the levees, etc. ; 
 unluckily one of the horses kicked over the pole, and he had 
 to be sent back in my brougham. This raised the atten- 
 tion and wrath of the Nationalists, and they attacked 
 him so that he would not come to the levees, and now holds 
 back from the Prince. 
 
 " We have had a great Castle Season. We put off 
 the second Levee and Drawing-room on account of the 
 coming Royal visit. Fingall got through his work well : 
 I have not heard of any great mistakes, but you were 
 very much missed by everyone. It is terrible how the 
 Staff has been changed ; besides you, John Ross and 
 Cosmo Little have gone. Greville, Henry Gore, St 
 Aubyn, Roddy Owen, and Hedworth Lambton, R.N. 
 (who takes Cosmo's place) are all new since you left, as 
 well as Matthews — half the whole lot. They are a useful 
 lot, but I miss old friends sadly. 
 
 " I have got through hunting with three horses. I 
 have had very little except twice, when I got three days 
 a week. I have been unlucky in getting falls — I put my 
 shoulder out one day, but I got over it very well, and 
 have hunted since without any bad effect. One day 
 on the quays, " Raby " slipped up, my first real fall in 
 the streets, and I had a nasty fall a week ago into a road, 
 but I am all right. The Ward had very good sport. 
 In Meath a fiery priest started a crusade against my 
 hunting, but it was a hollow affair, and I have been out 
 since, but I dislike the newspaper reports such as that 
 which you saw, and have been on consequence oftener 
 with the " stag " than the Meath. 
 
 " Lord Wolseley is, of course, abused by Tories, but
 
 WITH LORD SPENCER IN IRELAND 79 
 
 I think the general pubHc have complete confidence in 
 him. 
 
 " I am very glad Brackenbury is doing well, pray 
 remember me to him, and say how glad I am to see him 
 in command. Remember me to Grove and many other 
 friends. I shall write to Rhodes. 
 
 " We have not moved to the Lodge, as we receive the 
 Prince and Princess here on arrival, and go to Lodge for 
 Punchestown week, after receiving them at Killamey. 
 It is odd to be here out of the season. 
 
 " Yours truly, 
 
 " Spencer." 
 
 " Viceregal Lodge, 
 " Dublin. 
 " May 28, '85. 
 
 " My dear Turner, 
 
 " Your letters have been deeply interesting, 
 and I have shown them to my colleagues and others, 
 who appreciated them very much. 
 
 " Your account of the Soudan and the condition in 
 which it was left when Baker and Gordon cut out all the 
 slavery on which the country thrived, without anything 
 to back them, was very remarkable, and accounts for a 
 great deal. It teaches us a lesson not to attempt a great 
 work without means to carry it out. 
 
 " The decision to leave the Soudan has been received 
 better than any one expected, it is really a relief to every- 
 one. I doubt whether we ever ought to have interfered 
 at all, or allowed Gordon to go to Khartoum, but, once 
 there, we were bound to try and get him out safely. 
 
 " It certainly was very unfortunate that poor Stewart 
 fell. I am very sorry for Wilson, for he went as a political
 
 80 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 officer and not to command troops, and whether his be 
 good or not, he seems to have lost the confidence of the 
 army out there. 
 
 " Your account of your capture of the Mahdi's family 
 was very interesting, you seem to have done it very 
 skilfully. I suppose you may stay on with the Head- 
 quarters, which will not, I suppose, leave the Upper Nile 
 until the new Headquarters are established at Wady 
 Haifa or Korosko. 
 
 " We have been through a storm of Newspaper rumours, 
 which had their usual amount of mixed truth and false- 
 hood. But I think we shali weather the storm, though 
 there will be a real storm as to the Bill which is to 
 succeed the Prevention of Crimes Act, when it comes to 
 the House. 
 
 " The Royal visit was a great success, but I was re- 
 lieved when the Prince and Princess were safe out of 
 Ireland. 
 
 " Bobby has been to Aix-les-Bains, and I think is 
 getting on very well, we hope he may come here on his 
 return. 
 
 " We have been anxious about Harry White, the 
 accounts were very bad, his strength failing after enteric 
 fever, but yesterday news was better. 
 
 " Yours very truly, 
 
 " Spencer." 
 
 I have ventured to reproduce these three letters, which 
 are eminently characteristic of a great statesman, who 
 was often judged to be somewhat cold and haughty, 
 because he was by nature very reserved, and because 
 he loathed anything like pushing and self-advertisement. 
 It has also been freely stated that the reason that he was
 
 WITH LORD SPENCER IN IRELAND 81 
 
 not called to be Mr Gladstone's successor in 1894, than 
 which a greater error was never perpetrated, was because 
 it was reported maliciously to high quarters that Lord 
 Spencer was a puppet in Mr Gladstone's hands. Any 
 one who knew Lord Spencer really well, was aware that 
 neither could Mr Gladstone nor all the powers of earth 
 force him into a position he thought wrong, or drag him 
 out of one which he thought right. 
 
 His relations \\dth his Staff and all who served under 
 him, and who simply adored him, were perfect. Without 
 in the slightest degree lowering his great natural dignity, 
 he interested himself in us and our welfare, and entirely 
 unbended in regard to us, as can be seen from his letters 
 — many of which he took the trouble to write to me 
 during the course of the campaign, when letters are 
 really a " balm of hurt minds." 
 
 He was, as has been said of Lord Nelson, sublimely 
 simple, and his example in all things was so perfect 
 and attractive that one always felt oneself better from 
 association with him. One may indeed justly apply to 
 him the words of Mark Antony uttered over the corpse 
 of Brutus : 
 
 " His life was gentle, and the elements 
 So mixed in him, that Nature might stand up, 
 And say to all the world, this was a man." 
 
 The following instance will show to what lengths it was 
 occasionally sought to carry police protection. Lord 
 Spencer was a great patron and an ardent encourager of 
 cricket. The Zingari were invited by him to the Vice- 
 regal Lodge, and a match was organized by him between 
 a selected Viceregal team and the visitors. When it 
 came to Lord Spencer's turn to go to the wicket, it was 
 6
 
 82 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 seen with surprise that he was closely followed by a 
 man in ordinary garments and carrying an umbrella, 
 with one of his side-pockets bulging considerably. It 
 was at first thought that it must be a relief for one of 
 the umpires, who did not then wear the distinguishing 
 long white coats. It soon, however, became apparent 
 that it was one of the Viceroy's personal guards, an 
 ex-Sergeant Major of the 40th Regiment and a Victoria 
 Cross man — one of those temporarily employed as police, 
 whose orders were not to let the Lord Lieutenant out of 
 his sight. He therefore thought it incumbent on him 
 to follow on His Excellency's heels from the pavilion 
 to the wicket. The bulging object was his revolver. 
 Needless to say, the incident produced much merriment 
 in which the Viceroy joined ; and the zealous protector 
 was sent back to join the spectators. 
 
 The spectacle of the Lord Lieutenant, bat in hand, 
 going to the wicket on his own ground protected by a 
 Victoria Cross man armed with a revolver, was unique 
 and remarkable. 
 
 An amusing but somewhat embarrassing incident 
 occurred about this time at the Viceregal Lodge, all the 
 approaches to which were closely guarded by soldiers 
 and police. One night a small party, consisting of the 
 late Lord and Lady Drogheda, who were constant visitors 
 at the Lodge, the Private Secretary and his wife, and the 
 two aides-de-camp in waiting — of whom I was one — was 
 assembled in one of the drawing-rooms awaiting the 
 announcement of the House Steward that dinner was 
 ready. The Viceroy and Lady Spencer were, as usual, 
 in an adjacent room, from which they joined their guests 
 when an aide-de-camp informed them that all was ready. 
 Just at the hour of dinner, a Mr and Mrs Trevelyan were
 
 WITH LORD SPENCER IN IRELAND 83 
 
 announced. No one in the room knew them, and their 
 names were not on the dinner list ; this did not, however, 
 cause much surprise, as Lord Spencer was the soul of 
 hospitality, and often invited to dinner people whom he 
 met casually without always informing the aide-de-camp 
 in waiting. A round table just large enough to seat 
 the party above-mentioned had been prepared, and 
 the arrival of the unexpected guests necessitated the 
 laying of a larger table. This caused much delay ; in 
 consequence of which Lord Spencer sent for an aide-de- 
 camp to enquire the reason. He was told that Mr and 
 Mrs Trevelyan had arrived, and as it was not known that 
 they were coming a large enough table had not been 
 provided. Lord Spencer answered with surprise that 
 he had not invited Mr and Mrs Trevelyan ; meaning 
 the Chief Secretary then in Ireland. The aide-de-camp 
 explained that it was not the Chief Secretary but a 
 Mr Trevelyan, whom no one present knew. Great 
 astonishment was expressed, and as things were then 
 still in a state of tension owing to the Phoenix Park 
 murders, everything, even the presence of these two 
 most innocent looking persons, was regarded as sus- 
 picious. The question at once arose what they had 
 come for unbidden in this way; was it in furtherance 
 of a deadly plot against the Viceroy ? Lord Drogheda 
 and the Private Secretary were called into the inner 
 room for consultation : they reported that they had no 
 idea who the strangers were, but that they appeared 
 to be quite harmless and incapable of carrying out any- 
 thing sinister. It was then decided that dinner should 
 go on, and their Excellencies appeared. Lord Spencer 
 gave his arm to the lady, who appeared somewhat per- 
 turbed, and on the way to the dining-room asked him
 
 84 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 if this was not the Chief Secretary's Lodge. On being 
 told that it was not, but the Viceregal Lodge, she be- 
 came much distressed and begged to be allowed to depart 
 forthwith. It appeared that they were relatives of the 
 Chief Secretary, who had asked them to dine en famille, 
 and that their coachman had driven them in error to 
 the Viceregal Lodge, on the way to which they had 
 passed unchallenged through all the military and police 
 posts, as supposed guests of the Viceroy. Lord Spencer 
 would not hear of their going, and both the kind-hearted 
 Viceroy and Lady Spencer did all in their power to put 
 their embarrassed and uninvited guests at their ease. 
 A message was at once sent to the Chief Secretary to 
 explain the non-arrival of his expected relatives. This 
 incident is interesting in showing how great was the 
 apprehension of danger in Ireland at that time, and also 
 how easily deadly designs against the person of the Lord- 
 Lieutenant might have been carried out in spite of the 
 most strenuous measures taken for his protection.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE GORDON EXPEDITION, 1884-1885 
 
 Malta — St Florian and its mummy monks — Cremation and the 
 Church — Cairo — Ramesis and Seti — Ahen immigration in Eg^^pt — Edfu 
 — Philae — Mr Bennett Burleigh rescued from an embarrassing situation 
 — Abu Fatmeh — Sheik Salem of the Kabbabish Arabs — A trying bonne 
 bouche — I become a medicine man — Value of Elliman's embrocation — 
 Dongola — Debbeh — The Bashi Bazouks and their atrocities — Battle- 
 fields of Debbeh and Korti — Misuse of camels — The Naval Brigade 
 puzzled — Sir WilUam Butler and the boats — Abu Klea — Gordon steamers 
 and message — The fall of Khartum and death of Gordon — Did the 
 delay at Metemnesh cause disaster ? — Sir Redvers BuUer brings back 
 the desert column — Excellent conduct of troops — Sir Wilfrid Blunt and 
 the British soldier — Summer quarters — A General's magic. 
 
 I EMBARKED on the 23rd October 1884 at Graves- 
 end on board the P. & O. steamer " Khedive," 
 which carried a number of officers for service in 
 the Gordon Expedition, Among them was Ian Hamilton, 
 then a subaltern of the 92nd Highlanders, who gave me 
 full and very interesting details of the disastrous battle 
 of Majuba, at which he had commanded an outpost ; 
 he told me that, time after time, he sent messages to 
 General CoUey that the Boers were climbing up the 
 heights which led to the British position. No notice 
 was taken, and they at length reached the crest, made 
 a bold rush, and the affair was over. Ian Hamilton's 
 hand was badly shattered, but he held out to the last 
 possible moment. 
 
 The voyage was, as most such voyages are, quite 
 uneventful. We touched at Gibraltar on October 27th, 
 
 85
 
 86 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 and reached Malta on the 31st, where we spent a day 
 on shore — a very pleasing relief to the deadly monotony 
 of a sea voyage. I visited, as I always do when at Malta, 
 the vault at St Florian, where are deposited the earthly 
 remains of the Capuchin monks — a truly ghastly and 
 grotesque sight. The bodies are dressed in thick brown 
 robes, the hoods of which are put on their heads ; and 
 they are propped up in separate niches, and remain 
 there till they drop to pieces — when gruesome ornaments 
 are made of the pick of their bones, while the rest crumbles 
 into dust which is swept away. 
 
 Our guide, a fat, comfortable-looking monk, explained 
 that the bodies were for a time placed aside, and they 
 were dried up by some process of local nature, which he 
 evidently thought miraculous. I believe that in reality 
 they are disembowelled and dessicated by a mummifying 
 process borrowed from Egypt. How sights such as these 
 make one long for general cremation of dead bodies ! 
 I am perfectly unable to understand the objections that 
 exist to this rational, wholesome disposal of the dead, 
 or to grasp the difference between rapid and clean 
 destruction of the body by fire, and the slow, filthy, and 
 loathsome process of putrefaction ; or, as a third alter- 
 native, the embalming which preserves for a longer or 
 shorter period, according to whether carried out by an 
 expert or not, the poor and insignificant remains which 
 have acted as a temporary covering for the spirit. 
 
 The reasons against it alleged by the Church seem 
 totally lacking in common sense. I remember on one 
 occasion being present when cremation was being dis- 
 cussed. Among us was a High Church parson, of ascetic 
 appearance, and an air of intense superiority and pity 
 at the inferiority of his surroundings. I said that,
 
 THE GORDON EXPEDITION 87 
 
 whether cremated or buried, the end of the body was 
 the same — complete disintegration — and it could make 
 no difference at the resurrection by what process this 
 had taken place. 
 
 The clergyman said, with a lofty and pious air, in that 
 imctuous voice adopted by certain of his cloth, that it 
 was the Lord's ^vill that we should arise on the Day of 
 Judgment in the same bodies that we had when on 
 earth. I said that I supposed those bodies would be 
 perfect ? 
 
 " Of course," replied he. 
 
 " Then," said I, " how will it be with a friend of mine 
 who lost his leg in India, and lies buried in England ? 
 Will his body go to his leg in India ; or his leg to his 
 body in England ? " 
 
 The reverend gentleman turned white with anger, 
 and gave me a look which told me clearly that he was 
 darting an Apostolic curse at my devoted head. He 
 had, however, no further argument to advance. 
 
 We arrived at Port Said on November 4th, and, going 
 through the Suez Canal, reached Suez on the 6th. The 
 next day we went by train to Cairo, lunching on the way 
 at Zagazig, close to the scene of the battle of Telel-kebir, 
 where Arabi Pasha's cause was lost in 1882. We stayed 
 at Cairo, which was then a very pleasant place ; as, 
 owing to the war, there was an almost total absence of 
 tourists and travellers — which have now turned the place 
 into a vulgar cosmopolitan inferno. 
 
 What interested me most was the Boolak Museum, 
 with its wonderful collection of antiquities of the remote 
 past : among which was the wooden figure of the Sheikh- 
 al-Balad (Headman of the Village), said to be 3000 years 
 old. Its glass eyes were perfectly made, the right differ-
 
 88 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 ing from the left as in the case of human eyes ; which 
 shows what art was so many ages ago. 
 
 What, however, impressed me most and filled me with 
 awe and wonder, were the mummies of the great Ramesis 
 (Sesostris) and his father, Seti. The bodies were in a 
 wonderful state of preservation, and one could imagine 
 perfectly, from the sharp, clear-cut features, what these 
 mighty monarchs were like when on the physical plane. 
 King Ramesis especially looked stern, grim, and com- 
 manding. It was with a strange feeling of awe that I 
 looked upon the mummy in its glass case, and thought 
 that there were the remains of the greatest of all Egyptian 
 kings, who lived 3244 years ago, and some 2000 after 
 the completion of the Pyramids. He over-ran with his 
 armies, in a campaign of nine years duration, during 
 which he personally commanded his armies the whole 
 time, Syria, Assyria, Persia, the Caucasus and Asia Minor. 
 He it was who oppressed the children of Israel, and for 
 whom they built the cities of Pithom and Raamses. 
 
 The foreign population of Egypt had at that time 
 been greatly increased by the influx of the captives of 
 the wars, and the Semitic element had probably become 
 almost threateningly preponderant in the Eastern Delta. 
 That the captives and foreigners should be put to 
 enforced labour upon the public works of Egypt was to 
 be expected : but how the natives viewed with alarm 
 the increasing numbers of Hebrews and their kindred 
 we learn from the beginning of the Book of Exodus. 
 History strangely repeats itself ! The question of the 
 alleged evils of alien immigration is not a new one ! 
 
 On the nth November we left Cairo. I had with 
 me a young officer, Henry Sclater, who had been under 
 me in the Horse Artillery at Aldershot, of which I was
 
 THE GORDON EXPEDITION 89 
 
 Adjutant. I always detected the budding of great 
 ability in him. 
 
 When I arrived at Cairo he expressed great eagerness 
 to go up the Nile with me. He was on the Artillery 
 Staff at Cairo, and it was no easy thing to obtain per- 
 mission for him to leave it. However, I stuck to my 
 point, and gained it. He did very well throughout the 
 campaign, and has done so ever since : he is now, after 
 holding the Quartermaster-Generalship of India, General 
 commanding at Quetta, and is regarded as one of the 
 best officers in the army. 
 
 We arrived at Assiout the same evening at 7 p.m., 
 and embarked at once on board the steamer " Bayadere," 
 reaching Assouan on Sunday, November i6th. The 
 journey was interesting owing to the number of temples, 
 but otherwise exceedingly monotonous. Narrow strips 
 of vegetation on both banks, endless creaking sakhiyahs 
 (water-wheels), and then rugged hills of golden-hued 
 sandstone on one bank, and white sandstone on the 
 other : and, beyond these, a vast infinite expanse of 
 desert, reaching on the east to the Red Sea, to the west 
 boundless as eternity itself. According to the belief 
 of the ancient Egyptians, the Kingdom of Death is 
 found in these deserts. The banks of old Father Nile 
 were Hned with palm-trees and acacias, and studded 
 with innumerable villages, from which, from time to 
 time, we were greeted with cries of derision and en- 
 couraging remarks that not one of us would return, as 
 the Mahdi, the prophet of Allah, was only waiting to 
 make us Mohammedans or send us to the hell of 
 infidels. 
 
 We passed the remains of the mighty Karnak and 
 Thebes, the city of the living and the city of the dead,
 
 90 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 and the next day had the advantage of stopping at Edfu, 
 and visiting the magnificent temple there. Between 
 the river and the temple runs a canal with very high 
 banks, and bridged over with very narrow beams with 
 no hand-rail. We all crossed without difficulty, except 
 one officer, who had been recommended for the Victoria 
 Cross for an act of great gallantry. He became so un- 
 nerved when he stepped on the plank, and saw the deep 
 fall to the canal, and shivered so violently, that we 
 thought he must fall. He persisted in going on, so we 
 had to blindfold him, and then, led by one Arab and 
 followed on his heels by a second one, ready to steady 
 him if he trembled too much, he managed to reach the 
 other bank in safety. He was, to use the graphical 
 German description, schwindelig ; and, to such, to look 
 down from a height is positive torture. Truly, man is 
 a strange composite ! 
 
 Nothing of its kind that I saw approached in beauty 
 and preservation the temple of Edfu, which stands alone, 
 between Luxor and Assouan. It was dedicated to 
 Horus with the hawk-head, the son of Isis and Osiris, 
 the rising sun, who at midday gives place to the Hero, 
 Ra. History relates that it took one hundred and eighty 
 years to build, and that it was dedicated to the " Hidden 
 One," to the unknown God : — 
 
 " Thou first great cause, least understood, 
 Who all my sense confined, 
 To know that this — that thou art God, 
 And I myself am blind." 
 
 Pope. 
 
 Whom all acknowledge in their inmost soul, even the 
 Atheist, though openly he enunciates rubbish about the 
 combination of particles in accordance with the laws of
 
 THE GORDON EXPEDITION 91 
 
 gravity and attraction, as being the beginning of all 
 things. 
 
 Edfu's towers are one hundred and twelve feet high. 
 It has a propylon two hundred and fifty-two feet broad, 
 and its walls are four hundred and fifty feet long. It 
 was completed 57 B.C. Many of its figures and frescoes 
 are stiU perfect ; but the hand of the iconoclast follower 
 of Mohammed is but too painfully visible. He, like 
 Cromwell's " Fight-the-good-Fight-of-Faith Barebones," 
 saw salvation from their peculiarly conceived Deity 
 in mutilating the works produced by the genius of 
 preceding generations, a curious path to take for 
 Heaven ! 
 
 It has a large outer court, with thirty-two fine pillars, 
 two smaller inner courts with twelve pillars, and then 
 the Holy of Holies, with a seat cut out of a solid block 
 of red granite. There are twenty-one large and three 
 smaller colossal figures on each entrance tower, which 
 is in the form of a truncated pyramid, one hundred and 
 eighty feet high. I have never been so much im- 
 pressed by any building or any work of man, including 
 even the Taj Mahal at Agra, raised by the Emperor 
 Shah Jehan in 1650 over the tomb of his favourite 
 wife. 
 
 On Sunday, i6th November, we arrived at Assouan, 
 whence I went to see the temples at Philae which had 
 not then suffered the fate at the hands of the late Sir 
 John Aird, Sir William Garstin, Mr John Blue and 
 Mr Fitzmaurice, which, I believe, has destroyed the 
 picturesque, and created a monstrum horrendum informe 
 ingens, which, at the cost of a million and half, has 
 produced material advantages to the fellaheen, but 
 has desecrated the sacred haunts of Isis, the Great
 
 92 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 Enchantress. However, this and the Hke are un- 
 avoidable ; in this iron age, sentiment and antiquity 
 must go down before modern invention and utiHtarian 
 improvements. 
 
 In 1884 the magnificent temples, both Greek and 
 Egyptian, and the rest of the erections, stood high and 
 dry above the river, in a wonderfully preserved condition. 
 Many of the frescoes were as vivid as if painted yesterday, 
 and it is sad to me to think of all this being slowly but 
 surely undermined by the inexorable and continuous 
 action of water. It is asserted that this is doing no 
 harm, but, on the contrary, has, by hardening and con- 
 solidating, prolonged the life of Philce. Credat JudcBUS 
 Apella ! 
 
 We proceeded by the little railway which then went 
 round the cataract, and at Shallal found Colonel Hallam 
 Parr awaiting us. We embarked at once on board the 
 S.S. " Kanoos," formerly a yacht of Ismail Pasha, the ruler 
 who made Egypt to sin. On the 20th November we 
 reached Ipsambol, where we found the 42nd High- 
 landers in bivouac. The temple, cut into the rock, 
 with four gigantic figures, one headless, outside, is quite 
 unique. 
 
 We reached Wadi Haifa next day, and were received 
 by Colonel Duncan, a distinguished artillery officer 
 attached to the Egyptian army, author of the " History 
 of the Royal Artillery " ; and Colonel Thomas Eraser, an 
 equally distinguished engineer officer, now General Sir 
 Thomas Eraser. We found there several officers of the 
 Headquarters Staff, among others Sir Redvers BuUer, 
 Sir Evelyn Wood, Lord Charles Beresford and Colonel 
 H. Brackenbury — whom I had not seen since the fateful 
 day at Dublin Castle.
 
 THE GORDON EXPEDITION 93 
 
 I left for Sarras on the 29th, and commenced my march 
 up the Nile. My small party consisted of three Europeans, 
 one native, with three horses and three camels. On the 
 evening of the ist December we halted at a place called 
 Akhashieh, on the right bank of the Nile, and were pre- 
 paring our bivouac when we heard a curious rattling 
 noise some distance away, across the water. 
 
 We soon perceived that this was a man making for the 
 bank. I sent to some natives, who lived in a group of 
 huts hard by, to see if they had a raft or a boat ; but, 
 before we could do anything to help the waif on the water, 
 he arrived safely. When he issued from the river we 
 saw that it was no less a person than Mr Bennet Burleigh, 
 the, even then, well-known war-correspondent, who 
 represented the " Daily Telegraph" during the war. His 
 boat {dahahieh) had been wrecked and sunk, and he had 
 saved himself by swimming to the bank — a considerable 
 distance — by the help of two oars which he found floating 
 by the wreck. This was one of the very many remark- 
 able escapes from death of Mr Bennett Burleigh, who 
 has been more often in close contact with that, so repre- 
 sented, horrible spectre than anyone I know. He had 
 lost everything except his money, which was, I beheve, 
 in a pocket in his belt. 
 
 I fitted him out from head to foot, and supplied him 
 with provisions, for all of which he was most grateful. 
 One rarely receives back books which one lends to friends, 
 however much one may expect and hope to do so, but 
 one certainly never expects to see again clothes which 
 one has lent. One day, towards the close of the campaign, 
 I received a parcel at Dongola, which contained all the 
 articles of apparel I had supplied him with, which were 
 not actually worn out. He had worn them on the march
 
 94 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 through the desert, and at the battles of Abuklea and 
 Metemmeh, and their appearance was somewhat seamy 
 and seedy. At that period of the campaign clothing 
 had run short, and I appreciated Mr Bennet Burleigh's 
 extreme conscientiousness. 
 
 He had run extreme danger from attacks by crocodiles, 
 with which the river swarmed at Akashieh, but he had 
 had the presence of mind continually to rattle against 
 one another the two oars, which, no doubt, frightened 
 the amphibious monsters and kept them at a 
 distance. 
 
 I had passed by temples out of number, and thought 
 that the Egyptians and Arabs must have been wonderfully 
 hard prayers. Some of these temples had evidently 
 been very large, and many remains of beauty were left. 
 But I must not weary my readers with further descriptions 
 of them ; and, moreover, they are described usque ad 
 nauseam in the numerous guide-books written for the 
 use of the globe-trotters and tourists, who, through the 
 agency and help of Cook & Son, and others, invade per- 
 tinaciously the haunts of the hippopotami and the 
 crocodiles on the banks of old Father Nile. 
 
 Sir Redvers BuUer arrived that afternoon, with his 
 aide-de-camp. Lord Frederick Fitzgerald, at Akashieh, 
 and I went on with them next day. 
 
 I reached Abu Fatmeh on 7th December, and found 
 there my old friend. Colonel (afterwards Sir Frederick) 
 Maurice. I stayed there for some days, during which 
 troops innumerable passed by in boats or on camels, 
 going to the front — among them many friends of my 
 own, several of whom, alas, were on their last earthly 
 journey. Fred Burnaby, Herbert Stewart, Lord St 
 Vincent, Atherton of the 5th Dragoon Guards, Wolfe
 
 THE GORDON EXPEDITION 95 
 
 of the Scots Greys, Carmichael of the 5th Lancers, 
 etc., etc. 
 
 On 17th December Sheikh Salem Musawi, chief of 
 the Kabubish Arabs of the Wadi Gab, came into Abu 
 Fatmeh and reported that the tribe had many camels 
 which they were prepared to sell. I was directed to 
 accompany him to his abode across the desert, and to 
 purchase any serviceable animals that were brought 
 before me at a fair price, going thence to Dongola. 
 
 The Kababish had not joined the banners of the 
 Mahdi, and were quite to be trusted. So I only took an 
 interpreter, my soldier servant and two native orderlies ; 
 the sheikh had an old, hoary-headed slave with him. 
 With our two horses, four camels and three donkeys we 
 must have appeared a somewhat queer party. The 
 station of the wells was not marked on the map, and I 
 had to trust myself entirely to the guidance of the sheikh, 
 who conducted me in two days to his village. Here I 
 was received with acclamation and escorted to a hut, 
 made of bamboo with matting walls, and containing a 
 stool and a bedstead. A kid was served up, as a special 
 mark of attention to me, and to my horror a piece of the 
 entrails was handed to me by the sheikh. I felt bound 
 to accept the loathsome titbit, which seemed to give 
 much satisfaction, for the demeanour of my hosts became 
 much less suspicious, and we conversed as freely as people 
 can do through an interpreter. 
 
 I slept the sleep of the just — with the precaution of 
 placing my loaded revolver on the stool, within grasp ; 
 for it was my first sojourn with the wild children of the 
 desert, and I had a considerable sum of money with 
 me for the purpose of buying camels. Nothing happened, 
 and next morning early I took leave of my hosts and set
 
 96 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 out again, escorted by the sheikh for Dongola. Pur- 
 chasable camels there were none, and the Arabs must 
 have driven all their full-grown animals into the desert, 
 in order to avoid being pressed to sell the means by which 
 they live — for the camel is really the transport ship of 
 the desert. All I saw were baby camels, quite unfit for 
 work. 
 
 I made a rough and rapid survey of my route and of 
 the wells, which was put later into the map. I parted 
 on the best of terms with Sheikh Salem, who gave me 
 his own ebony-shafted spear, a mark of great honour, 
 and I bought for myself his camel, a very good and 
 well-bred animal, which I rode throughout the 
 campaign. 
 
 At the wells an amusing and somewhat embarrassing 
 incident took place ; an old woman, a relative of the 
 sheikh, was brought to me for medical treatment, of 
 which I was as ignorant as the babe unborn. Her legs 
 were greatly swelled, and my interpreter said she was 
 suffering from rheumatism. It is never wise " not to 
 know how " ; and luckily I had some Elliman's Em- 
 brocation, so I rubbed her legs — to the admiration of 
 the Arabs, and to my discomfiture, for it was very hot 
 — for a considerable time, and then told my interpreter 
 to tell her she was much better. Marvellous is the force 
 of suggestion, for she agreed that she felt so. The next 
 morning the power of suggestion still remained, and I 
 gave her a final rub, and left behind me, no doubt, a 
 great reputation as a medicine man. She really did 
 seem better ; but whether this was due to the rubbing 
 in of the embrocation, of which I presented the sheikh 
 with what was left in the bottle, or to the suggestion 
 made, I cannot, of course, pretend to say.
 
 THE GORDON EXPEDITION 97 
 
 When I arrived at Dongola I found that Lord Wolseley 
 and his Staff had left for Korti, whither I was ordered 
 to betake myself with all despatch. I marched from 
 Dongola on 22nd December, and spent Christmas Day 
 at Abugusi, where foraging produced a turkey for dinner. 
 I here received an order from some officious Staff officer 
 to return to Shabadood — two days' march. As soon 
 as I arrived there I was told that the order for my 
 return had been sent in error, and I was directed 
 to resume my journey to Korti. Order, counter-order, 
 disorder ! 
 
 On my return to Abugusi I received sixty fine camels 
 with drivers, and an escort for Korti. A mutiny broke 
 out among the camel drivers, who were terribly afraid 
 of marching south towards the dreaded Mahdi. This 
 uprising was quickly suppressed. 
 
 At Debbeh there was a fort guarding the big bend of 
 the Nile. It was garrisoned by a battalion of bashi- 
 bazouks. I have rarely seen a more serviceable-looking 
 body of men, or a more motley one. One saw the 
 blackest of negroes and the fairest of Europeans. Their 
 dress was picturesque to a degree ; they were well- 
 armed, and were fine fighters, second to none. A few 
 weeks back an advanced body of the Mahdi's troops 
 made an attack upon them, only to be defeated with 
 great slaughter. I walked over the battlefield, close 
 by the fort ; it was strewn with dead bodies of the 
 dervishes, whom no one had taken the trouble to bury ; 
 the vultures, hyenas and jackals had taken their share, 
 and the sun had dried up the rest to a state of parchment, 
 while the ever-piling up sand of the desert was rapidly 
 covering over all evidence of death. 
 
 Terrible stories of oppression of the Arabs by these 
 7
 
 98 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 bashi-bazouks, who knew no laws and respected neither 
 God nor man, were retailed to us. Making raids upon 
 the Arab settlements, levying taxes on their own account 
 and carrying off their animals, was the least of their 
 misdeeds. I was informed through my interpreter — 
 and I saw in the fort much that confirmed what I heard — 
 — that, from time to time, a raid would be made by an 
 armed party of these soldiers upon an Arab village, from 
 which all the comely young women and maidens were 
 carried off to the fort. Here the pick of them were sold 
 to the officers, the remainder being kept by the men. 
 After a time the officers, having become tired of their 
 prey, sold them back at a greatly reduced price to the 
 men, who afterwards took back the whole of the 
 abducted women to their Arab husbands and fathers, 
 and made them purchase them back at the point of the 
 sword. 
 
 This villany was connived at by the officers, and 
 tacitly sanctioned by the higher officials. Is it a wonder 
 that the oppressed Arabs cried for vengeance to Allah ; 
 or that, when a strong man arose, they flocked, filled 
 with deadly purpose, to his standard ; or that they swore 
 to exterminate every Egyptian and every European, 
 the latter being regarded by them as supporters of 
 the Khedive's cruelty and grasping oppression ? This 
 was the first thing that opened my eyes to the turpitude 
 of Egyptian rule, of which I have more to say later 
 on. 
 
 I arrived at Korti on New Year's Day, 1885, and 
 handed over my charge of ninety-seven camels. I 
 passed the battlefield of Korti, where the Eg5rptian 
 troops had defeated another advanced body of 
 Mahdists, under the chief Heddai, who was slain ; his
 
 THE GORDON EXPEDITION 99 
 
 head had been cut off and sent in a bag as a trophy 
 to Lord Wolseley. 
 
 The loss of the Mahdists must have been great, for 
 the plain was well covered with heaps of slain, whose 
 white clothing with blue patches showed them to have 
 been followers of the false prophet. This battle had 
 very recently been fought, and the remains of the fallen 
 warriors had not yet been dried up by the sun, and 
 the stench was insupportable. 
 
 I heard at Korti that Herbert Stewart had gone across 
 the Baynda Desert to seize the wells at Gakdul — the 
 only extensive water-supply on the two hundred and 
 thirty-mile tract between Korti and Metemmeh. I was at 
 once appointed to the Intelligence Department, under 
 Colonel Sir Charles Wilson, whom it was intended to 
 send as political officer to Khartum. 
 
 On 4th January news came in of the seizure of Gakdul 
 by Herbert Stewart, and the establishment of a fortified 
 post there, and the next day he arrived with his force 
 at Korti. 
 
 I rode out to meet him with Lord Wolseley, Sir Redvers 
 BuUer and others, and a most depressing sight was 
 offered to our eyes. I was told that the camels were in 
 first-rate condition a few days before, when the force left 
 Korti on 30th December. A forced march of a hundred 
 miles had been made to Gakdul, which was reached early 
 on 2nd January. The column left that place the same 
 evening, and reached Korti on 5th January — that is to 
 say, two hundred miles in less than six days. There is 
 no animal living which can endure so much and last so 
 well as the camel, but he is exceedingly delicate, and 
 needs almost expert care. His pluck is great, and he 
 will go till he drops to rise no more. The camels were
 
 100 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 handed over to our men, who were quite ignorant as to 
 how they should be treated ; and this they did in the 
 last way in which it should have been done. ' I was 
 actually told myself, by a Staff officer to whom I said 
 I watered my camels twice a day, that a camel only 
 needed water every three days — the fact being that a 
 camel will survive without water, under press of circum- 
 stances, for that time. 
 
 I am sorry to say I fear that the unfortunate animals 
 were treated under the regime propounded to me, and 
 that large numbers died of thirst. Napoleon managed 
 his camel corps much more sagaciously. His camels 
 were left in charge of their Arabs, and the French soldier 
 was carried as a burden, having nothing to do with the 
 animal except when on his back. 
 
 The camels we met were drooping and dead-beat, 
 dragging themselves along with manifest difficulty — 
 every now and then one falling to rise no more, while 
 as far as the eye could reach, one saw along the track 
 of the column ominous-looking heaps, soared over by 
 foul vultures, the numbers of which were increased 
 every moment by others 
 
 " Coming through the aerial ether, 
 First a speck, and then a vulture. 
 Till the air is black with pinions." 
 
 Hiawatha. 
 
 Nearly all the transport available had been given to 
 this force — the advanced portion of the desert column 
 — and it was but too clear that it had suffered 
 irreparable damage, if not destruction, owing to this 
 forced march. 
 
 Lord Wolseley said to Sir Redvers Duller, alluding
 
 THE GORDON EXPEDITION 101 
 
 to the seizure of the Gakdul wells and his rapidity, that 
 Herbert Stewart had done splendidly. Upon which 
 BuUer replied, in his blunt, straight way, something 
 about deserving a court martial for destroying the 
 transport of the army. There was much to be said in 
 favour of a rapid march to Gakdul, in order to seize the 
 wells ; but, once seized, there was no reason whatever 
 for making an equally forced march back to Korti, as 
 there were none of the enemy within appreciable distance. 
 Indeed, an officer of the Intelligence Department, who 
 had had some experience of the country and the Arab 
 tribes, affirmed positively that no resistance would be 
 offered north of Metemmeh ; and probably when he so 
 stated, he was correct, though the result was not as 
 expected and hoped for. Probably the return march 
 was forced in total ignorance of what a camel could do 
 and could not do. 
 
 To show to what utterly untrained men in their use 
 and care the camels were handed over, I may relate that 
 the first day or two after my arrival at Korti I was 
 employed with the transport department, and I helped 
 to hand over camels to the Naval Brigade which suffered 
 such terrible loss at Abuklea. The camels were all 
 squatting in the usual manner on an open space in front 
 of the tents. The men were told off to their respective 
 camels, and they remained standing by them. Not a 
 move was made, so I asked one of them why they did 
 not mount. The man replied, with a salute and a grin, 
 " Please, sir, we don't know which end of the animal 
 gets up first." 
 
 Anyone who has ridden a camel will understand and 
 appreciate the hesitation. A soldier of the commissariat 
 was told to mount and dismount a few times before
 
 102 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 them, and then they all swarmed up, as if they had 
 been in the rigging, and, led by an officer, they departed 
 to their tents. But how I feared for the future of the 
 camels ! 
 
 Korti being the starting-point of both the river and 
 desert columns, numerous friends of mine passed 
 through. Here it was that I learnt to know Sir 
 William Butler, almost the most brilliant man it has 
 been my lot to meet. His work in connexion with the 
 boats in face of the obstruction of Nature and of the 
 Egyptians was quite marvellous ; and, considering the 
 wretchedly slow rate of progression up the Nile, and 
 the enormous distance to traverse, with three cataracts 
 to overcome, I doubt if ever a greater work of its kind 
 was accomplished. 
 
 He left Korti on i6th January, the boats then number- 
 ing two hundred and seventeen, with a hundred days' 
 provisions ; General Earle in command, Brackenbury 
 being next in seniority. This river column was intended 
 to meet the desert column, and, in combination 
 with it, to occupy Khartum, to release Gordon and 
 the many European prisoners, and to re-establish 
 Egyptian rule, appointing an Egyptian prince as Vice- 
 roy. The aim was a pretentious one, and the means 
 at Lord Wolseley's disposal for arriving at it were, 
 even under the most favourable circumstances, utterly 
 inadequate. 
 
 The desert column left Korti on 8th January, reached 
 Gakdul on the 12th, and on the 14th left it for 
 Metemmeh — expecting, from the report alluded to already, 
 to encounter no solid resistance till the Nile was 
 reached on the far side of the Bayuda Desert. Sir 
 Charles Wilson having gone with it, I was appointed
 
 THE GORDON EXPEDITION 103 
 
 head of the Intelligence Department on the Head- 
 quarters Staff. Just before starting, Sir Herbert Stewart 
 confided to me a few small articles which I undertook 
 to hand to his wife, if he did not survive the 
 campaign, and I did. He seemed to have a presenti- 
 ment of coming fate. I need not say that I faithfully 
 fulfilled my trust. 
 
 After the battle of Abu Klea on 17th January, followed 
 by that of Abu Kru (Metemmeh) on the 21st, the small 
 desert column, now greatly reduced in strength and 
 with no hope of speedy reinforcement, which had swept 
 before it huge hordes of desperate and blood-thirsty 
 dervishes who fought to the death and who gave no 
 quarter, butchering all prisoners and wounded who fell 
 into their hands, entrenched itself in a zareba at Gubat, 
 on the Nile, near Metemmeh. 
 
 On the 2ist, General Gordon's four steamers arrived, 
 bringing a message from him, bearing date 29th December, 
 1884, and to this effect : " Khartum all right. Can 
 hold out for years. Gordon." 
 
 On the 22nd a reconnaissance was made up the river 
 to Shendy, which was reported to be occupied by the 
 enemy, and which was heavily shelled, apparently with- 
 out the least effect. The 23rd was taken up in repairing 
 and refitting the steamers, and, on the morning of the 
 24th, Sir Charles Wilson, who had succeeded to the com- 
 mand of the desert column, on the fall of Sir Herbert 
 Stewart, started for Khartum — only to learn on ap- 
 proaching it that one of the greatest tragedies of the 
 nineteenth century had been consummated. Khartum 
 had been carried by assault by the dervishes, Gordon 
 had been slain, and the place had been handed over to 
 plunder and massacre, on the 24th January — two days
 
 104 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 earlier — so that the party arrived forty-eight hours too 
 late! 
 
 There has been a great amount of controversy as 
 to whether the three days' delay of the steamers at 
 Metemmeh, before the voyage to Khartum was com- 
 menced, carried with it the responsibility for the capture 
 of the city, the death of Gordon and the wrecking of the 
 object and hopes of the campaign. Sir Charles Wilson 
 has been bitterly blamed for his apparent inactivity ; 
 but when one considers the confident nature of Gordon's 
 message, it is hard to see how he was wanting in not forth- 
 with starting for Khartum, seeing that it was necessary 
 to overhaul and re-fuel the steamers — somewhat crazy 
 craft. Probably the latter might have been made ready 
 to start sooner than they did, but even this would not 
 have saved Gordon and Khartum. My. own opinion, 
 much strengthened subsequently by the reports of spies 
 employed by me and sent to Khartum to gather informa- 
 tion, was that Mohammed Ahmud, the Mahdi, could have, 
 weeks sooner, carried the place by assault, and that he 
 expected to annihilate the relief force, on which he 
 supposed Gordon would yield at once ; but that, when 
 his best fighting men were utterly defeated at Abu Klea, 
 and he heard that the British were steadily advancing, 
 he determined to act at once ; and, raising the siege, 
 depart south. One of his Emirs, in whom he especially 
 trusted, pressed him to assault the place and capture 
 Gordon as hostage ; he yielded to his persuasion, with 
 the fatal result we know. It is more than doubtful, 
 however, whether the arrival of Sir Charles Wilson 
 with the steamers and his tiny escort of twenty men 
 of the Sussex Regiment would have made any differ- 
 ence, probably that they would have shared Gordon's fate.
 
 THE GORDON EXPEDITION 105 
 
 The great difficulties of the position, in which Sir 
 Charles Wilson was placed, have hardly been fairly 
 estimated. He was well known and justly appreciated 
 as a man of scientific and historical research, and as an 
 enterprising and successful explorer in Palestine ; but 
 for a long time he had had no practical miUtary experience 
 of command. 
 
 Burnaby was sent with the desert column to take 
 command if any casualty befell Sir Herbert Stewart. 
 On the fall of both of these gallant and deeply regretted 
 officers, the command fell to Sir Charles Wilson, just 
 as a battle was imminent. He had been designated as 
 political officer only, and Lord Wolseley would not for 
 a moment have contemplated his appomtment to the 
 command of the column. No one could have supposed 
 that both Herbert Stewart and Burnaby would have been 
 killed, especially as no resistance north of Metemmeh was 
 expected. 
 
 Sir Charles Wilson did as well as anyone could have 
 done under the circumstances, and the attempts to 
 saddle him with responsibility for the failure to save 
 Gordon and Khartum were neither justified nor creditable. 
 It was at first believed that Gordon was betrayed and 
 Khartum given up by treachery into the Mahdi's hands. 
 Mr Gladstone spoke over and over again of " the be- 
 trayal." Major (now Lord) Kitchener, who was a 
 colleague of mine in the IntelHgence Branch during the 
 war, wrote the official report on the campaign, in which 
 he states he found nothing to justify the accusations of 
 treachery, but the most vague rumours, which reached 
 me constantly at Dongola. He believes that " Khartum 
 fell from sudden assaiilt, when the garrison were too 
 exhausted by privations to make serious resistance."
 
 106 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 Major Kitchener was the last man to form an over- 
 hurried conclusion, and his was arrived at after the long 
 and patient investigation which bore fruit in his very 
 able report upon this disastrous campaign. 
 
 The steamers were brought back with the greatest 
 difficulty, under fire nearly the whole way, till they were 
 wrecked, and Sir Charles Wilson and his party were 
 rescued, some twenty-five miles from Metemmeh, by 
 Lord Charles Beresford, who, after a sharp action, 
 brought them safely back to Gubat in his steamer, the 
 " Safia." 
 
 The desert column remained in their fortified zareba, 
 under the command of Colonel Mildmay Wilson, Scots 
 Guards, after the departure of Sir Charles Wilson — who, 
 with Major Stewart Wortley, went to Korti to report 
 to Lord Wolseley. The forces of the Mahdi were now 
 full on the move northwards, and were threatening in 
 many directions. It soon became manifest that the 
 Gubat position was becoming thoroughly unsafe, seeing 
 that it was some two hundred and forty miles from 
 Korti, and one hundred and forty from the nearest post, 
 the Gakdul wells. The dervishes could in a short time 
 have isolated the small British force and cut off its 
 supplies. 
 
 On the nth February Sir Redvers Buller, Chief of 
 the Staff, who, equally with Marshal Ney, deserves the 
 title of le plus brave des braves, the most gallant of soldiers, 
 the truest of friends, the kindest of men — one who was 
 as straight as a die and who hated anything approaching 
 self-glorification, advertisement and snobbery — was sent 
 by Lord Wolseley to extricate and bring back the 
 jeopardized force to Korti. 
 
 On the 14th, the retirement began ; the sick and
 
 THE GORDON EXPEDITION 107 
 
 wounded and such stores as could be transported across 
 the desert having been sent in advance, the desert column 
 marched from Gubat. Everything which could not be 
 carried, as well as the guns of the steamers, were thrown 
 into the Nile, while the engines of the latter were made 
 useless by Lord Charles Beresford. Major Willoughby 
 Vemer of the Rifle Brigade led the column, which halted 
 at Abu Klea walls. Sir Redvers Buller, whose advent 
 raised the drooping spirits and inspired all with new 
 confidence, brought with him a battalion of the Royal 
 Irish, which had just completed their tour of Indian 
 service. They were one of the finest bodies of troops I 
 ever saw ; they marched on foot from Gubat to Korti, 
 and furnished a most valuable and much-needed reinforce- 
 ment to the hard-tried and naturally discouraged force 
 in the zareba. 
 
 On the i6th the enemy came within range, and 
 opened a heavy fire on the rear of the column, causing 
 some loss. The next day the dervishes advanced 
 cautiously to attack, but were repulsed ; and when 
 Major Wardrop, with a handful of hussars, managed to 
 crawl round their flank and open fire, his party being 
 concealed from them, the enemy, fearing that their rear 
 was threatened, beat a hasty retreat, and beyond a 
 little distant sniping, they harassed the column no 
 further. 
 
 Lord Wolseley, accompanied by his Staff, rode out 
 into the desert a considerable distance to meet Sir 
 Redvers Buller and the desert column, which had gone 
 through a period of terrible strain, privation and hard- 
 ship. The troops presented a very different appearance 
 from what they did on 8th January, when they set out 
 in full confidence of saving Gordon. All were then
 
 108 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 mounted. Few camels were now to be seen, at least 
 alive, for the desert was strewn with dead ones, and 
 the soldiers plodded along on foot, almost in rags, often 
 shoeless. They seemed weary and way-worn ; but, 
 though all hopes of success had been blighted, they looked 
 hard, fit and determined — as ready as ever to fight to 
 the death, as the Mahdists knew well ; and this and the 
 great losses suffered by them at Abu Klea and Abu Kru 
 had made them very shy of coming too near the British 
 soldier. 
 
 The conduct of the men had been, as was that of the 
 army generally, throughout the campaign, quite admir- 
 able ; they bore their tremendous task unflinchingly. 
 Every soldier of the desert column we were watching 
 had behaved like a hero in the face of adversity, which 
 is the true test of courage ; and England had indeed good 
 cause to be proud of her sons. 
 
 And yet it has been an Englishman who has slandered 
 these soldiers in the following passage, culled from a 
 recent work, entitled " Gordon at Khartum." Speaking 
 of the British soldiers who fought at Abu Klea, he 
 writes : — 
 
 " These English soldiers are mere murderers, and I 
 confess I would rather see them all at perdition than 
 that a single Arab more should die. What are they ? 
 A mongrel scum of thieves from Whitechapel and Seven- 
 dials, commanded by young fellows whose ideal is the 
 green-room of the Gaiety — without beliefs, without 
 traditions, without other principle of action than just 
 to get their promotion and have a little fun. On the 
 other side, men with the memory of a thousand years of 
 freedom, with chivalry inherited from the Saracens, the 
 noblest of ancestors ; with a creed the purest the world
 
 THE GORDON EXPEDITION 109 
 
 ever knew, worshipping God and serving Him in arms, 
 like the heroes of the ancient world. It is over the death 
 of these we rejoice ! No ; I desire in my heart to see 
 their blood avenged, and every man of Stewart's 
 butchering host butchered in their turn, and sent to 
 hell." 
 
 This extraordinary rigmarole of irresponsible malignity 
 emanates from the pen of Mr Wilfred Blunt. No one 
 had a better opportunity than myself of knowing what 
 our soldiers were like in this campaign, and I can 
 affirm that a more utterly unfounded and unworthy 
 libel was never written ; it is difficult to believe that 
 such venomous rubbish ever germinated in the brain 
 of a sane person. The writer would appear to be 
 one of those individuals who detest and condemn 
 everjrthing connected with the land that gave them 
 birth. 
 
 The chivalry with which his beloved Arabs fought 
 consisted in brutally butchering every prisoner and 
 wounded man who fell into their hands. Not one was 
 spared by them. This hatred of one's own country and 
 countrymen, and admiration of their enemies, betokens 
 the presence of what the French call un esprit de travers 
 — of which Rochefoucauld writes in his " Pensees, Maximes 
 et Reflexions Morales " : " On trouve des moyens pour 
 guerir de la folic, mais on n'en trouve point pour redresser 
 un esprit de travers." 
 
 I may here say that the tribe of Kababish Arabs, who 
 were opposed to the Mahdi, did us the most signal service 
 in helping us with their camels, when ours had nearly 
 all been wiped out by over-fatigue and ignorant mis- 
 treatment. When the British force retreated down the 
 Nile, the blood-thirsty monster, the Mahdi, as vindictive
 
 110 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 as he was cruel and crafty, plundered and almost annihil- 
 ated this fine tribe, murdering their Sheikh Saleh, a 
 man with whom I had many dealings, and whom I found 
 to be trustworthy, fair and honest. 
 
 It was now decided that the army was to go into 
 summer quarters on the banks of the Nile, at Merawi, 
 Dongola, Hafir, Korti, Tani, Kurot, Abu Gus, and 
 Handak, and that, after being reinforced, it should 
 advance on Khartum the following winter. 
 
 These different stations were placed under the com- 
 mand of well-known and distinguished officers. They 
 were objects of great curiosity to the Arabs, who used 
 to travel for miles to visit them. Most of these were 
 friendly to the Mahdi, and no doubt spied freely for 
 him. 
 
 One day a small party of stately sons of the desert, 
 gorgeously attired, paid a visit to General the Hon. James 
 Dormer, who commanded, I think, at Tani or Kurot. 
 He received them in his tent, and they squatted in a 
 semi-circle before him. Coffee was served, and con- 
 versation was carried on through an interpreter. He 
 asked them if the Mahdi could do everything the English 
 could do. They shrugged their shoulders, and smiled 
 in derision at the idea of doubt being possible on the 
 subject. 
 
 " Can he do this ? " said the general ; and taking out 
 his glass eye, he tossed it in the air, caught it, put it 
 back, and fixed them with a stony stare. 
 
 For a moment the visitors remained rigid with awe ; 
 then, in wild panic, shouting out, " La Haul wa la 
 Kuwwata ilia billahi " (" There is no power, no strength 
 but in God" — the Mohammedan's appeal to Allah when 
 he is frightened), rushed out of the tent, and never
 
 THE GORDON EXPEDITION 111 
 
 stopped till a good distance lay between them and the 
 cantonment. 
 
 The fame of this was, doubtless, spread abroad ; and 
 the news reached Khartum that at least one of the 
 British generals was a great magician, and one who 
 should be avoided ; for few visitors afterwards appeared 
 at the station. 
 
 I must here say that Lord Wolseley had decided to 
 advance across the desert after Sir Redvers BuUer, with 
 his whole available force ; but, in reply to his proposal 
 to do so, the War Minister, then the Marquis of Hartington, 
 telegraphed to him that, as Gordon had fallen and 
 Khartum had been captured by the Mahdi, the Govern- 
 ment did not desire that any advance should be made 
 till the winter. 
 
 Lord Wolseley and his soldiers had done wonders in 
 the face of the most persistent and atrociously evil fate. 
 The expedition started too late, which was no fault of 
 his, and, in spite of that, he all but succeeded ; and 
 when the bitter blow fell, and the news of Gordon's 
 death and the failure of hope was announced (the last 
 thing that was expected, having regard to Gordon's 
 confident message of 29th December), he bore it heroically, 
 unflinchingly, and without a murmur, as I can personally 
 testify, as I was with him when the fatal message was 
 brought in. He at once began to modify and remake 
 his plans to suit the disastrously altered circumstances. 
 
 The army headquarters were shortly moved from 
 Korti to Dongola, and after remaining there a few days. 
 Lord Wolseley left for Suakim — the command of the 
 Nile army devolving on Sir Redvers Buller. It was for 
 some time thought that the British Government would 
 adhere to their resolve that Lord Wolseley should again
 
 112 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 advance on Khartum after the hot weather, by which 
 time his army would have been reinforced ; and we settled 
 down expectantly in our summer quarters. Sir Charles 
 Wilson remained for a few days at Dongola, in charge of 
 the Intelligence Department, and then left for Cairo — 
 on which I was appointed to succeed him ; and then 
 commenced that portion of the campaign which was to 
 me personally of, by far, the greatest interest. 
 
 I must say that I think the projected move of Lord 
 Wolseley across the Bayuda Desert to join Buller, with 
 the object of advancing on Khartum, would have been 
 fraught with the greatest danger. The transport was 
 then in a deplorable condition, and the troops, greatly 
 reduced in numbers, were dispirited ; while, on the other 
 side, the victory of the Mahdi at Khartum had brought 
 tens of thousands of waverers to his standard, all of 
 whom now believed in him as an inspired person, and an 
 apostle of Allah, only second to Mahommed himself. Why 
 we were not vigorously attacked I could not imagine, 
 till I was told by my spies that it was thought by the 
 Mahdi's Emirs that the British withdrawal was only a 
 feint to draw them on, and then serve them as they had 
 done at Abu Klea — ^where, to use their own metaphor, 
 " a sword had been driven into their hearts." There 
 is no doubt that, at one time, the situation at Korti was 
 considered very critical. The effective force was very 
 small, the number of non-combatants, sick and wounded, 
 large ; and if, as was reported to be the case, a consider- 
 able body of dervishes had succeeded in crossing the 
 desert, the chances of our annihilation would have been 
 great. 
 
 One day it was determined by Lord Wolseley to make 
 a demonstration, and a parade was held for the purpose
 
 THE GORDON EXPEDITION 113 
 
 of impressing the natives. Every man who could carry 
 a rifle, sick or sound, was ordered to attend ; and with 
 non-combatants a fairly goodly show was made. Whether 
 this ruse worked the desired impression or not, I do not 
 venture to say ; but, in any case, no attempt was made 
 to attack us.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 THE MAHDI 
 
 Capture of the Mahdi's relatives who had been supplying him with 
 information of our movements— I offer to exchange these with the 
 Mahdi for prisoners captured at Khartum — The Mahdi's reply to his 
 relatives and to me — Career and death of the Mahdi — Rumours as to 
 the Mahdi's death — I am accused of conniving at his murder by poison- 
 Father Buonomi is rescued from El Obeid — His extraordinary story — 
 Sic vos non vobis. 
 
 THE first thing to be done was the all-important 
 task of getting so far in touch with Khartum 
 that we could acquire a general knowledge of 
 the Mahdi's dispositions and doings and possible designs 
 against us. Money was not wanting, and messengers more 
 or less trustworthy were obtained for us by the Mudir 
 of Dongola, Mustawa Jawa, the Vakil Jawdat Effendi, 
 and Mr Santoni the postmaster. These messengers 
 on the whole did very good work for us, and were 
 well worth the money paid them ; some of them cer- 
 tainly did reach Khartum and El Obeid, and brought 
 very valuable information. 
 
 I soon learnt from some of them that constant 
 messages were being sent to the Mahdi, informing him 
 accurately as to all the British force was doing. Early 
 in April it was ascertained that the main source of this 
 system of information to Khartum lay in the island of 
 Labab, a few miles distant from Dongola up the Nile, 
 where lived a number of the relations of the Mahdi, who 
 had commenced his career as a schoolmaster in a village 
 
 U4
 
 THE MAHDI 115 
 
 near Dongola. Sir Redvers Buller rightly determined 
 to stop this source of information, and he thought more- 
 over that if he held as hostages the kinsmen of the Mahdi 
 the latter would purchase their release by exchanging 
 with them the European captives in his power. He 
 accordingly ordered me to seize them, for which purpose 
 he said I might have as large a force as I liked. Sir 
 Charles Wilson was strongly in favour of my taking a 
 considerable number of both mounted and dismounted 
 men. But after a long consultation with Jawdat Effendi 
 I came to the conclusion that the very appearance of 
 a large body of troops would cause the flight of 
 our quarry into the desert south of the Nile, where 
 their capture would be impossible. The only way to 
 succeed, as Jawdat Effendi, who was as cunning as a 
 fox, said, was by a coup dc main ; this I determined to 
 attempt. 
 
 Very early in the morning of the 29th April I set out, 
 taking with me in a steam pinnace a few blue-jackets 
 and a couple of Soudanese soldiers, together with Jawdat 
 Effendi, who knew the wanted men well. A nugger 
 (large sailing-boat) had been sent the night before to 
 anchor off Labab, as the appearance of such a craft, 
 with its native crew, would not be likely to excite any 
 suspicion. The intention was to get the men quickly 
 on board the nugger, and then to tow the latter to Dongola. 
 When we arrived off the island we found to my chagrin 
 that the nugger was stuck hard and fast on a sandbank, 
 and therefore useless to us for the purpose required. 
 Fortunately, a large ferry-boat, the only one, as it 
 appeared, that the islanders possessed, lay close by ; and 
 it was at once seized and made fast to the pinnace. The 
 Vakil then sent a message to Abu Degin, the chief of the
 
 116 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 Mahdi's relations, and to the others ; and shortly after- 
 wards they came down to the water's edge with a few 
 followers, who evidently had not the slightest idea what 
 we had come for. We landed, and after a somewhat 
 lengthened parley between them and the Vakil, they got 
 into the ferry-boat, which was immediately towed to- 
 wards the opposite bank where a large fair or market was 
 being held. As soon as we arrived in mid-stream, our 
 course was altered and we proceeded full steam ahead 
 down the river. It was a critical moment. In a few 
 minutes both banks were crowded with yelling natives, 
 who saw that a trick had been played them. They 
 brandished their spears, and shouted hatred and defiance 
 at us. They would have made very short work of us if 
 they could have got at us, but their only ferry-boat was 
 in our possession, and they were helpless. 
 
 By what pretence the Vakil managed to induce the 
 relatives of the Prophet to come down to the bank and 
 embark in the ferry-boat I know not and did not inquire. 
 My belief is that he represented to them that we had 
 come to purchase grain for the British army at a price 
 profitable to them, and that, as a market was being 
 held on the opposite bank at which the produce of the 
 island was being offered for sale, he persuaded them to 
 go with us to the market to arrange then and there for 
 the sale of their corn. The Vakil was evidently on very 
 intimate tenns with them, and there was no doubt that 
 the Mudirs, the Vakil and other Egyptian officials, by 
 whom we were surrounded at Dongola, had been 
 trimming their sails and making friends with the Mammon 
 of unrighteousness in the shape of the Mahdi since our 
 retreat across the desert and down the Nile, by which 
 we had lost a great deal of the prestige won at Abu Klea
 
 THE MAHDI 117 
 
 and Abu Kru, and that the Mahdi's relatives thought 
 that the Vakil had come to pay them a friendly visit ; 
 for no soldiers were with him except the two Soudanese 
 orderlies ; they had no idea who I was, and the sailors 
 were merely the crew of the pinnace. They could not 
 suppose that such a small insignificant party entertained 
 hostile intentions. Be it as it may, the stratagem of 
 the Vakil succeeded and enabled me to carry out my 
 orders and capture the whole of the men required. 
 
 It was fortunate for us that a market was being held 
 on the bank opposite the island, for a large proportion 
 of the population of the latter was there. WTien they 
 saw that their only ferry-boat was gone, and that their 
 head men were being carried away, they, men, women, 
 and children, plunged into the river and swam for their 
 homes. The distance was about a quarter of a mile. It 
 was a curious sight. The water was thronged with 
 heads, and one might have supposed that the swimmers 
 would have been afraid of the alHgators and hippopotami, 
 which haunt the Nile. These people are amphibious, 
 and appear to pay little or no regard to the animals in 
 question, which, except when attacked or wounded 
 themselves, rarely molest human beings whom they shun 
 as far as possible. 
 
 We conducted our prisoners safely to Dongola, and a 
 few days later they were sent down the Nile in a steamer 
 for Egypt, on 6th April. An Arab undertook to deliver 
 a letter written by them to the Mahdi, and one from me 
 to that august personage. In the former it was stated 
 that they were in captivity with the British army, and 
 they implored the Prophet to release the Christians in 
 his hands, and so obtain deliverance for his kinsmen. 
 My letter, written by order of Lord Wolseley, was to
 
 118 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 the same effect, and I pledged myself in Lord Wolseley's 
 name that our prisoners should be well treated, and 
 that they should one and all be released in exchange 
 for Slatin Bey (Baron Rudolf Carl), now Slatin Pasha, 
 and the other Christian captives. On 14th June the 
 messenger returned, bringing with him three very curious 
 documents. The first purported to be a letter coming 
 from and signed by the ninety-six Christian prisoners. 
 It was to the effect that they had all embraced Islamism, 
 that nothing would induce them to leave Mohammed 
 Ahmed, the Mahdi, Prophet of God and their Lord and 
 Master ; and it wound up with an exhortation to us all 
 to join and submit to the Mahdi, and so save our annihila- 
 tion by him in this world, while securing our everlasting 
 salvation ! This letter was thought at first to be 
 genuine, though doubtless signed under pressure. 
 Father Buonomi, however, who was shortly afterwards 
 rescued from El Obeid and brought to Dongola, and 
 whose signature was included with those of all the priests, 
 nuns and others, including those of Slatin Bey and 
 Lupton Bey, assured me that he had never heard of 
 and had certainly not signed any such document, and 
 he was quite sure that the signatures were all forged or 
 extorted under torture. This letter was supposed to 
 have been the work of an Italian named Cuzzi, who had 
 become a Mussulman, and was with the Mahdi. The 
 other two letters were from the Mahdi himself and bore 
 his seal. I give the translation of these two letters 
 in cxtenso, as they possess great interest in showing 
 the semi-divine position which the Mahdi held in his 
 own estimation and that of his followers. 
 
 The first letter is as follows : — 
 
 " In the name of God, the clement and merciful :
 
 THE MAHDI 119 
 
 glory be to God the Generous Ruler, and prayers to our 
 Lord Mohamed and his descendants ! 
 
 " From the slave, dependent upon his God, in whom 
 he reposes his trust, Mohamed El Mahdi, the son of 
 AbduUa : 
 
 " To Mohamed Abd El Kadir El Haj Sharifi, Mohamed 
 Nur, El Sharif Shati Ali Abd El Kadir, Abd El Karim, 
 Mohamed Ibrahim, Ahmed En Najib and Haj Sherif, 
 son of Mohamed the Kadi. 
 
 " I have received your letter, in which you complain 
 that you are captives in the power of the enemies of God, 
 Lord Wolseley's Agent and his English Band : that you 
 are held as hostages for the delivering up of the priests, 
 nuns, Europeans, Copts who are with me : and that 
 you are cruelly treated for their sakes : and you implore 
 me that they may be sent down to the English in order 
 that you may be liberated. 
 
 " In reply I say unto you : oh, people, fear God and 
 dread the day of his wrath, for his word shall be fulfilled. 
 Deceive not yourselves with delusions, and vanities of 
 earthly existence, but follow the teaching He has sent 
 down from Heaven, and repent before that day in which 
 his vengeance shall take you unawares, when you shall 
 exclaim in the bitterness of remorse : ' Had the Lord 
 guided us in the right way, we had been Believers.' Ye 
 hypocrites and rebellious of heart, hath not God Almighty 
 said : ' Nay ; but my word came to you and you refused 
 to listen, and persisted in your infidelity ' ? 
 
 " Know that those whom you demand should be sent 
 down to redeem you from captivity are more precious 
 in the sight of God than you, for they have listened to 
 His words and obeyed His call, and quitted darkness 
 for light, and are now of those elect who fight in the
 
 120 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 cause of the Lord ; they are of His holy band, under His 
 divine care and near Him. He says in His word, ' They 
 who come to Me and beHeve are My chosen ones ; I will 
 lead them from darkness into light.' 
 
 " As to you, I summoned you, but you heeded not 
 my call, you persisted in your perversity, and put your 
 trust in Infidels. They who are led from light into 
 darkness are the really wicked and evil of heart. What- 
 ever they may do to you is a much less punishment than 
 you deserve ; and does not affect me in the least. I 
 have no connection with or interest in you : for you 
 yourselves are the authors of the evil which has over- 
 taken you, and between you and the English there is no 
 difference in my sight. Pray what is your value that I 
 should exchange for you those whom God Almighty has 
 chosen for his own, guided in the right way, and made 
 joyful with the light of his salvation ? I wonder at your 
 conceit and credulity ! 
 
 " Were you possessed of common sense, you would 
 know that to exchange the precious for the worthless 
 is not the way of the wise. 
 
 " God forbid that I should act thus, or commit so 
 unworthy a deed ; for He hath said, ' Those people 
 cannot believe in Me and My Prophet, who love those 
 who go astray from their God and his Apostle, even 
 should they be their Fathers, their children, their brethren, 
 or their Tribesmen.' If therefore you rely upon the 
 ties of relationship with me, this verse will be sufficient to 
 prove to you how complete is the separation between us. 
 
 " In short I refuse to comply with your request, nor 
 do I pity you in the slightest degree for whatever punish- 
 ment the infidels inflict on you — yea, even if they torture 
 you to death, and tear you limb from limb — whilst you
 
 THE MAHDI 121 
 
 are in league with and subservient to them, and fear 
 them rather than your God. Let them do what they 
 please with you. The Prophet of God hath said : ' Those 
 who aid the wicked shall fall into their power.' Your 
 fate is due to your love of the world, and in you is fulfilled 
 the proverb : ' He who would seize the carrion must 
 risk the bite of dogs.' 
 
 " Be sure that if you and your allies do not quit your 
 evil ways and repent and turn to God, you will soon by 
 the will and power of the Almighty be in my grasp and 
 taste the bitter reward of your wickedness in quitting 
 the path of the Lord ; but if you repent you shall be 
 accepted and receive from me the security and peace of 
 God and of his Prophet and of me His chosen servant. 
 
 " Signed and sealed : 
 
 " There is but one God, and Mahommed is his Prophet. 
 " Mahommed El Mahdi Ibn Abdulla. 
 
 " Khartoum, i^th of the month Shaban 1302." 
 
 This letter must have been a bitter blow to the kins- 
 men of the Mahdi, for they were confident that he would 
 release at least the number of the prisoners in exchange 
 for them ; for although they had not left their homes 
 and given up their whole to follow him, as he had sum- 
 moned them to do, they had been very useful to him in 
 furnishing him with information as to our movements. 
 Doubtless he saw that they had been found out, and 
 could serve him no more ; so he left them to their fate ; 
 rather the way of the world ! 
 
 I do not know what became of these riverain relations 
 of the Mahdi, but I hope that when the Nile was cleared 
 of the dervishes they were sent back to their homes and 
 their water-wheels.
 
 122 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 The third letter was addressed to me as Agent of 
 Lord Wolseley, and, as it will be seen, it teems more with 
 hypocrisy and arrogance than the last one. The Mahdi, 
 it must be remembered, was then at the zenith of his 
 fleeting power, and felt himself uplifted to the greatness 
 of Mohammed himself. 
 
 My letter ran thus : — 
 
 " In the name of God, the mighty, the merciful, 
 the beneficent Ruler ; and benedictions on our Lord 
 Mohammed and his descendants : 
 
 " From the slave and firm believer in God, Mohammed 
 El Mahdi, the son of Abdulla : 
 
 " To the Agent of Lord Wolseley and all his soldiers : 
 
 " Know that God Almighty is all powerful and that 
 naught in the universe is impossible to Him. He utters 
 the word ' Be ! ' and it is. He is the King of all dominions 
 and of all glory. 
 
 " It being His will to establish and make permanent 
 the Faith of Islam, he sustained me with his angels and 
 demons, and struck terror into the hearts of my enemies : 
 and he promised me triumph over them all, and also the 
 sovereignty of the whole world, so that neither mortals 
 nor demons should ever be able to resist me in battle. I, 
 who formerly was but a poor and frail man, have been 
 chosen and anointed by God, who has rendered manifest 
 my divine mission and annihilated the Turks and other 
 enemies of the Lord who gave me the lie. 
 
 " The fate of the armies sent against me by you is 
 a matter of notoriety — how they perished by the sword 
 and fire, while the few survivors were made captives. 
 You have seen how their fortified towns have fallen under 
 my sway ; and you are witness to the might and power 
 which God has vested in me, and which will continue to
 
 THE MAHDI 123 
 
 increase until, by the permission of God, the whole earth 
 shall be brought under my rule. 
 
 " Therefore, as you understand this, I summon you to 
 become worshippers of the true God, and exhort you to 
 respond to His call, and I summon you to accept the true 
 faith : to believe in God and His Prophet and to submit 
 yourself to the decrees of the Mahdi. 
 
 " Believe and be saved : become Moslems and God 
 will give you a two-fold reward. Ye people of the Book 
 (the Bible) come, let us adopt one common motto — 
 namely : ' We will worship but one God, a God without 
 a partner.' 
 
 "If you respond by a profession of Islamism, and come 
 to your God, ye shall be my brethren in the Lord. Ye 
 shall receive what I receive, and my rights shall be your 
 rights : I will protect and preserve your lives, your 
 property and your honour : and on the great Day of 
 Judgment (which must come) ye shall receive from God 
 the great reward of the righteous. For this world shall 
 most assuredly be destroyed, but the future world — a 
 habitation possessing all the joys which the heart can 
 desire — shall remain for ever and ever. 
 
 " But if ye refuse to give ear unto my words of advice, 
 and persist in your infidelity, take warning that the 
 same woe and destruction which overwhelmed Hicks, 
 Gordon and others, shall surely be your portion. Your 
 numbers and your tricks will avail you nothing against 
 the Almighty. 
 
 " You are aware that the persons whom you have made 
 prisoners have sent me a letter (which I have duly re- 
 ceived) respecting the Priests, Nuns, Europeans and 
 Copts, begging that they may be sent down to you, in 
 exchange for them, your captives.
 
 124 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 " I comprehend your trickery and your fraud ; and 
 inform you that it is labour lost : for they, who are with 
 me, have turned to Islam : they are more precious in 
 the sight of God, and dearer to me, than those whom you 
 have seized and hold in bondage. I will never consent 
 to let those who have embraced Islamism return to the 
 land of the infidels, and they themselves refuse to do so. 
 
 " Even if you were to hack your captives limb from 
 limb, these righteous ones shall not be returned to you. 
 
 " Whatever you do to them can only be an adequate 
 punishment for you : for you and they are equal in my 
 estimation : there is not a jot or a tittle of difference 
 between you and them. 
 
 " That God's will is that you shall fall into my hands, 
 I am certain : and then shall you taste the bitterness 
 of evil for your rebellion against God unless you repent 
 and become Moslems. 
 
 " This letter is sent as a warning to you. Peace be 
 to those who follow the apostolic leadership of the Mahdi. 
 
 " Sealed : There is but one God and Mahommed is 
 his Prophet. 
 
 " Mahommed El Mahdi Ibn Abdulla. 
 " 12th of the month Shaban 1302." 
 
 I have this original letter in my small but somewhat 
 valuable collection of autographs, and I do not prize it 
 less as a curiosity than others I have of Henry VIII., 
 Elizabeth, William III., Pitt, Fox, Lord Nelson, 
 Wellington, John Locke, Samuel Pepys, Napoleon I., 
 Ney, Davoust, and many others. 
 
 The Mahdi had reason to be inflated with pride at the 
 wonderful position and power that the obscure Nubian 
 schoolmaster had attained ; his rise had been extra-
 
 THE MAHDI 125 
 
 ordinarily rapid, and the serious defeats of Abu Klea 
 and Abu Kru had been more than compensated for by 
 the withdrawal of the British down the Nile. He had 
 indeed " waded through slaughter to a throne, and closed 
 the gates of pity on mankind," but his power and might 
 were to be of " short duration, his countless victims 
 were soon to be avenged." 
 
 A few weeks later, this sanguinary, relentless monster 
 died — either from the effects of self-indulgence and 
 debauchery, to which he gave himself up after the fall 
 of Khartoum, or from poison, as many thought, ad- 
 ministered by a slave girl. He was succeeded by the 
 Khalifa Abdul Taashi, a man equally cruel and blood- 
 thirsty as the Mahdi himself, but without any of that 
 magnetic power possessed by the latter, by which he was 
 able to hold together all the Arab tribes — many of whom 
 were bitterly hostile to others, as was soon seen after 
 the Mahdi's death. 
 
 All sorts of rumours were spread as to the Mahdi's 
 death — one of which was that it was caused by the 
 machinations of the British, who bribed some one in 
 his surroundings to poison him. Curious to relate, some 
 three or four years later, when I was serving as Com- 
 missioner of Police in the West of Ireland, I received 
 a letter from Lord Wolseley with some enclosures, the 
 purport of which was that a certain Levantine, who had 
 served as one of the interpreters to the Headquarters 
 Staff at Dongola, had approached the Intelligence De- 
 partment in Cairo, and threatened that unless the 
 authorities paid him £500 he would make known a letter 
 or letters of mine by which it was clear that I had con- 
 nived at the poisoning of the Prophet, and that I had paid 
 for it. The matter was referred by Lord Wolseley to me.
 
 126 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 I at once replied, that the story was a clever fabrication, 
 that the interpreter himself had suggested to me that the 
 Mahdi might be removed by such means as poison, and 
 I told him that the British did not fight in such a way. 
 I further said that if the authorities at Cairo were weak 
 enough to submit to the demands of this would-be black- 
 mailer, I must entirely disclaim any responsibility, as 
 the story was a trumped-up one, and the man ought to 
 be prosecuted for blackmailing. Lord Wolseley ex- 
 pressed himself to be highly pleased with my reply, which 
 he was good enough to say was just what he expected 
 from me. 
 
 It is somewhat curious that this was not the only 
 instance in my life when attempts have been made to 
 drag me in as an accessory to murder, as the sequel 
 will show. 
 
 It was quite clear that — for the time being, at all 
 events — it was hopeless to make any further overtures 
 or attempts to procure the release of the prisoners at 
 Khartum. In the meantime, however, my attention 
 had been directed to El Obeid, where we knew some of 
 them were. So I called the Vakil and the Postmaster, 
 M. Santoni, to a conference — the latter being acquainted, 
 naturally, with a number of messengers employed by 
 the Post Office. The result was that one Mahommed 
 Mahmud was found willing to make the desperate attempt 
 to rescue the Head of the Mission, Father Buonomi, 
 for the sum of £ioo ; and, if he succeeded, to endeavour 
 to do so in the case of the rest, at the same rate. I paid 
 him £25 in advance, and he started. 
 
 Some weeks later, I was sleeping in the Mudiriyeh, 
 a few days before quitting Dongola, when I was awakened 
 by vociferous talking ; and I saw one of the Guard,
 
 THE ]\IAHDI 127 
 
 \vith two men whom I took to be Arabs, My interpreter, 
 Mr M'Clellan, was sent for, and it soon became apparent 
 to our awakening senses that the men who stood before 
 us were my messenger, Mahommed Mahmud, and a 
 European dressed as an Arab, and sunburnt as dark as 
 one. This was the priest, Buonomi. He was provided 
 with food and a bed — the first time he had slept on one 
 for many a long day. The next day he related to me, 
 in the presence of General Brackenbury, the Hon. Robert 
 White, my Staff Officer, M. Santoni, and Mr M'Clellan, 
 the following most extraordinary story, which I give 
 verbatim as it was taken down from his lips and heard 
 by me. 
 
 It is as strange as many of the tales in the " Arabian 
 Nights, but I do not in the least doubt its accuracy : in 
 fact, it has nearly all been corroborated by statements 
 of other subsequently released captives. I may say 
 that the Hon. R. Colbome, representing the Daily News, 
 the only Press Correspondent remaining in Dongola, 
 was allowed to be present. 
 
 Father Buonomi, then a man of about forty, related 
 to us as follows : — 
 
 " The sun had not risen when I, Luigi Buonomi, chief 
 of the Latin Mission to Central Africa, with a heart full 
 of gratitude to God who had so far preserved me 
 through perils, great and terrible, still to serve Him, fled 
 from the foul city that had been so long my prison. 
 Alas ! I left behind — and my heart was sore at it — my 
 friends, Guiseppe Orwalder (an Austrian subject), Pado 
 Rosignoli (an Italian), Regnatto, and Guiseppe Regnalo. 
 Regnatto was a layman, who belonged to our mission. 
 Perhaps I may as well state how it was that I came to 
 be at Obeid.
 
 128 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 " I was once first parish-minister in the diocese of Verona, 
 and in 1873 entered the mission of Central Africa, and 
 went to Khartoum in 1874. I was first missionary in 
 Kordofan, then at Gebel Nuba, and in 1876 superior at 
 El Obeid ; from 1877-79 superior at Gebel Nuba, and 
 from 1879 to 1881 General Vicar of Bishop Bamel Camboni 
 at Khartoum, and then General Superior of the mission 
 in the countries of Nuba. In May, 1882, I was at Gebel 
 Belim, central seat of mission, among the Nubani when 
 surrounded by the rebels 17th September, and was made 
 prisoner, as well as all the missionaries and 150 soldiers. 
 I was present at the siege of El Obeid, which surrendered 
 17th January, 1883, when all the prisoners and nuns 
 there were made prisoners. When the Mahdi marched 
 upon Khartoum I was with twelve European surviving 
 members of the mission. The priest, three nuns, and 
 one catechist died of starvation and bad treatment, I, 
 with a mission composed of Padre Yousef Orwalder, the 
 layman called Guiseppe Regnalo, a mechanic, Gabriel 
 Madiani, also a mechanic, and three nuns established a 
 church at Gebel Deli, three days' journey from Obeid. 
 We succeeded in making 30 liberated slaves embrace 
 Christianity ; these we trained to different trades or to 
 farming. We carefully tilled a large quantity of land 
 which we had purchased, and we were allowed soldiers 
 as a guard. We now established a mission at Obeid, 
 a priest was at the head, and there were laymen and five 
 sisters. When the Baggara Arabs in the neighbourhood 
 heard of Mahomet Achmet, that he had come to cast off 
 the yoke of the Turks, they at once made ready to join 
 him : they got dangerous, too, and made a fierce attack 
 on our mission. We resisted this attack, and beat them 
 back, and they could not prevail against us. The Blacks
 
 THE MAHDI 129 
 
 who were with us fought well and assisted us greatly. 
 These were the Nubi from the mountains, Aborigines 
 driven up there by the succeeding waves of Arabs that 
 flooded the country after the Crusades. They hied them 
 to the mountains, and had never been completely sub- 
 jugated. We made Christians of some of these. We 
 were environed from the 2nd of April to the end of 
 Sept. 1882. 
 
 "About this time, it will be remembered, the army, 
 under command of Yousef Pacha Shellali, marching to 
 the relief of Obeid, was annihilated. The soldiers had 
 found the wells on the previous day's march filled up. 
 On arriving at the next wells their thirst was so great 
 that they at once broke from the ranks and rushed to 
 them. The Arabs were in ambush and slaughtered them 
 all. After this success the Mahdi proceeded to lay 
 siege to Obeid. He first sent an Emir called Mek Omar 
 to attack the mission. This man had orders to put us 
 all to the sword ; not one was to escape alive. He had, 
 however, an insufficient force ; so he simply sat down 
 before the place, well knowing that thousands of Arabs 
 were on their way to help him. Day after day their 
 number increased. So we, seeing our case hopeless, 
 resolved to collect our cattle and sheep and whatever we 
 had, and leave the station, and make the best of our way 
 to Fashoda ; for it would be impossible to get into Obeid, 
 as that town was in a close state of siege. We had 
 fixed to make our move on the 14th of September, 1882 ; 
 but man proposes, God disposes ! A man called Khalel 
 Effendi, a military officer, informed the rebels of our 
 intentions. We had foolishly entrusted him with our 
 secret. Thereupon El Mek Omar completely surrounded 
 us, tightening the cordon around, and sent us a summons 
 9
 
 130 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 to surrender, stating if we did not we should be put to 
 the sword. At this juncture, to our misfortune, the 
 officer commanding the Egyptian troops, and all his 
 men, who were there to protect us, declared for Mahomet 
 Achmet. Then seizing their rifles and ammunition they 
 passed the zerebas and deliberately went over to the 
 Arabs. Our situation was now desperate — hopeless. 
 So we determined to offer to surrender on condition 
 that our lives should be spared, and that we should be 
 allowed to proceed to Egypt unmolested. These terms 
 were granted, and we became prisoners. All our cattle, 
 sheep, farming instruments, books and clothes were 
 seized. We were bound, and marched off to Mahomet 
 Achmet, who was then before Obeid. Ehas Pacha, with 
 all the notables, all the merchants, and, in fact, all the 
 inhabitants of this place, had sided with him. Elias 
 Pacha is a near relation of Zobeir Pacha, the notorious 
 slave-hunter, whom you have now a prisoner at Gibraltar. 
 When these people deserted the town the commander, 
 Mohamed Pacha Said, Governor of Eastern Soudan, 
 drew in his lines of defence. Before this Obeid was, 
 like all their towns, defended by an enormously long 
 and straggling trench and zereba nearly two miles in 
 circumference and unable to be held except by an 
 immense force. But now trenches were dug afresh, 
 simply enclosing the Government house and offices, 
 the arsenal, barracks, and mouderiah. Up till now 
 the troops had resisted all the attempts of the 
 rebels to storm the place. Whenever they had done 
 so they had been repulsed and scattered with enormous 
 loss, several hundred being shot at each assault, the 
 rebels themselves having spears. It is strange they 
 did not take the rifles of the army they had destroyed
 
 THE MAHDI 131 
 
 (Yousef Pacha's), but these they left lying about on 
 the ground. 
 
 " There were seven of us, and we were led, as I before 
 said, before Mahomet Achmet. He informed us that it 
 would be necessary for us immediately to embrace 
 Islamism. We replied firmly, ' We cannot do this 
 thing nor forsake our holy religion. God forbids it ; 
 and even were we to do this and become Moslems in 
 garb and outward form, our hearts would remain un- 
 changed.' This bold reply greatly irritated Mahomet 
 Achmet. He cried, ' Hark ye, accursed infidels ! To- 
 morrow is Friday. I give you time to reflect. If you 
 have not embraced Islamism by the rising of to-morrow's 
 sun, behold you shall be led forth and executed as a 
 punishment for your obstinacy and disobedience. So 
 have a care and repent while yet there is time. I have 
 spoken.' We were during the day visited by several 
 dervishes, v;ho adjured us to embrace Islamism, but we 
 replied, ' We give you, O dervishes ! the same answer 
 as we did to your master — we cannot do this thing.' 
 They were very wroth, and spat at us, and brandished 
 their long swords at us. But we trusted in God. The 
 next morning we were led forth from the hut built of 
 dhoora stalks, where we had been confined. We found the 
 Arabs drawn up in line. Behind them was a vast assem- 
 blage of horsemen. Thousands of spears and bright swords 
 gleamed and glistened in the rays of the morning sun ; 
 and we looked upon it as it rose and gilded the edges of 
 the few mimosa and rocks scattered about on that vast 
 yellow sandy plain — we looked upon it, as we supposed, 
 for the last time. Never again were we to see a sun rise ; 
 our race was run ; and we, as thousands had done before 
 us, were to die martyrs for the faith of our Lord. We
 
 132 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 had no fear. We rejoiced that we were worthy to die 
 for His sake. As we were led along that long line, march- 
 ing with firm step and heads upright, the Arabs brandished 
 their long two-edged swords over our heads, cursing us 
 as we passed ; and now we reached the spot where 
 Mahomet Achmet, the so-called Mahdi, was. He was 
 mounted on a magnificent dromedary. He cried aloud 
 to us, ' Oh, Christians ! are you prepared to embrace 
 Islamism or to have your heads struck off from your 
 shoulders ? ' Then we, having our trust in God, made 
 answer : ' Oh Sheikh Mahomet Achmet ! you have vast 
 powers ; you command this huge assemblage of warriors, 
 stretching as far as the eye can see. You can order them 
 to do whatsoever seems good in your eyes, and you are 
 obeyed ; and you also have power over us to slay us, 
 for God for some wise purpose has delivered us into your 
 hands. But you have not power, O Sheikh, to make us 
 embrace Islamism. We prefer death to doing this 
 thing.' We one and all made this solemn asseveration. 
 There was silence all along those dusky ranks, and near 
 us stood dervishes with long swords waiting and longing 
 to do the bidding of their master and strike off our heads. 
 But Mahomet Achmet gazed upwards and eastward for 
 some time and spoke not. He then fixed his eagle eyes 
 upon us with intensity, and, perceiving we were steadfast 
 in the faith, he cried aloud, ' O Nazarenes, may Allah, 
 the most bountiful and merciful, put your hearts right 
 and show you the right path,' and when he had thus 
 spoken he again cried aloud, ' All ye who are here present, 
 sheiks and dervishes, and every man under you bearing 
 arms, put up now your swords in their sheaths, for this is 
 the order I give you — Let these Nazarenes be conducted 
 to my hut in safety — I have said it ! ' So we were led
 
 THE MAHDI 133 
 
 off, praising God for having put it into the heart of this 
 fierce man to spare us. We were conducted to a straw 
 hut. He ordered us to sit down and to partake of food 
 with him, and he conversed freely and in an animated 
 manner with us, asking us our ideas on many subjects. 
 ' Be assured,' he said, ' of my protection. There shall 
 not be a hair of your head injured. I shall now give you 
 in charge of a Syrian of the name of Georgie Stambouli. 
 This man, praise be to Allah, has seen the error of his 
 ways, as no doubt you will shortly, and has embraced 
 Islamism. He will instruct you in all needful doctrine.' 
 It is probably this man who drew up this document, now 
 known to be forged, that was sent in to Sir R. Buller ; 
 or at any rate someone forged the signatures, knowing 
 what was in the body of the letter. We were now handed 
 over to him, and he took us to his hut. It was built 
 of dhoora stalk, and enclosed round about. We dwelt 
 here two months, keeping inside always, for we knew 
 that the dervishes sought occasion to slay us. Our 
 situation became extremely wretched, for we lay squalid, 
 dirty, and naked. Our privations were great, for the 
 Mahdi took no further care of us. We were in dirt, with 
 hardly enough to eat. One layman sank under this 
 treatment, and died of low fever ; and shortly after- 
 wards two sisters sickened and died. Poor creatures, 
 they too sank gradually, the iron had entered into their 
 soul. They succumbed under a horrible dread, they 
 were famished and naked, and when it rained they were 
 exposed to it. Poor weary souls, your troubles are over. 
 You have died for the cause as much as any holy martyr 
 of old. I performed the last rites of the Church over 
 them, but even our religious exercises we had to perform 
 in the greatest secrecy. It was hoped that by ill-treat-
 
 134 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 ment we should be forced to embrace Islamism, and we 
 would probably have been slain had we been caught at 
 Christian worship. I was horrified at the miserable 
 deaths of these poor wretches, and I resolved to betake 
 myself to the Mahdi, come what might. I entered his 
 presence and demanded that the terms of our surrender 
 should be honourably fulfilled, and that we should be 
 allowed to set off on our journey to the land of Egypt 
 ' I cannot, I regret, accede to your request,' Mahomet 
 Achmet replied. ' God will not permit it ; but take 
 now these ten thalers, buy with them whatsoever you 
 may need. Here also is raiment wherewith you may 
 clothe yourselves. It is not forbidden for you to go to 
 and fro about the market. I have given orders that 
 no man shall molest you ; but you are always, when 
 outside, to wear Moslem garments.' And now the time 
 had arrived when the garrison of Obeid, which had 
 resisted all assaults so gallantly, were compelled to 
 surrender, being on the verge of starvation. Their 
 sufferings had been terrific. The little corn there was 
 was sold at an enormous price — 2,200 dollars an arobb. 
 Eggs, though they were seldom to be got, were sold for a 
 thaler each. The men had become gaunt-looking, 
 walking skeletons, with their bones showing through 
 their skins. If one was killed or died there was none to 
 bury him. The arms of the survivors were too weak 
 to dig a grave, there the corpses lay rotting. Each day 
 lent new horrors to the scene. Men dug up buried 
 carcases of dogs, donkeys, and camels ; others stripped 
 the leather from the angeribs (native bedsteads, on which 
 the mattress is supported by thongs of leather trans- 
 versely drawn across and attached to the woodwork). 
 These thongs they would soften in water and then eat.
 
 THE MAHDI 135 
 
 The live donke5^s were killed and cut up ; even the tail 
 would fetch 20 reals, and the head and entrails much 
 more Dogs were treated in the same way. Others, 
 too, would shoot the foul carrion crows, vultures, and 
 kites that hovered around. 
 
 " The grim and ghastly sights to be seen in that be- 
 leaguered city were enough to freeze the blood, and the 
 narrative of those days is too horrible to be continued. 
 But the stem old Turk commanding, refused to sur- 
 render ; while the wretched soldiers were unable to hpld 
 their rifles, but prowled about like wolves to find some- 
 thing to eat, unable to make further defence. On the 
 i8th January 1883, the rebels walked over the trenches 
 and entered the Muderiyeh and other houses. When the 
 dervishes entered the diwan of the Muderiyeh, the large 
 hall, they found the commandant, Achmet Pacha Said, 
 sitting in a high, carved, armed-chair of stained wood, 
 bolt upright, with his arms folded, gazing at them de- 
 fiantly. They rushed at him and would have slain him, 
 but others insisted that he should be brought before 
 Mahomet Achmet. ' Back, dogs ; touch me not,' he 
 cried. ' You defile me, base rebels. I will go myself 
 before this arch rebel Mahomet Achmet. Lead on.' 
 They instinctively drew back, startled at his terrible 
 voice and fierce aspect. One is reminded of the old 
 Roman whom the gaoler was afraid to kill. ' Hold his 
 hands and search him,' ordered Mahomet Achmet the 
 moment he saw him ; and he was just in time with this 
 precaution. The old man was drawing forth from his 
 breast a revolver, and undoubtedly meant to deal death 
 to his enemy. ' Take the cursed dog of a Turk away,' 
 cried Mahomet Achmet, ' and sell him for a slave by 
 auction in the Bazaar. Away with him,' Then was
 
 136 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 the commandant led forth and exposed for sale, but 
 no man durst buy him at first — but it happened that an 
 Emir passed by that way, and, out of derision, cried out 
 ' O, auctioneer, I will surely give 680 piastres for this 
 man.' So he was knocked down to the Emir. Now 
 when this came to the ears of Mahomet Achmet he sent 
 forth an order that the commandant should be slain 
 with all speed — so some dervishes went from the Mahdi's 
 presence then and there and sought out the commandant. 
 They heard he was in the house of the Emir ; they went 
 there and ordered that Achmet Pacha should be brought 
 forth. He presented himself to them with unquailing 
 look and bold bearing as the dervishes drew their swords, 
 ' You have come to murder me, have you ? Cursed, 
 cowardly dogs, I fear you not. May your fathers' grave 
 be defiled. I curse them, you, and the foul harlots that 
 bore you. I curse your fathers and mothers back to 
 three generations. All your female relations are aban- 
 doned women, and may the graves of all your forefathers 
 be defiled. I curse you all, andjyour vile, false prophet 
 Mahomet Achmet.' They fell upon him, pouring forth 
 these maledictions, and he died like a brave man, with 
 the utmost fortitude. I forgot to mention that on the 
 entering of the town by the dervishes this gallant soldier 
 tried to blow up the magazine and destroy himself and 
 army with the rebels, but the officers prevented him. 
 The dervishes now in their rage — for they were cut to 
 the heart by the words of the Commandant — sought out 
 Ali Bey Sherrif ; him they also slew, with other officers. 
 Now the dervishes returned to Mahomet Achmet, and 
 told all these things to him. He burst into a flood of 
 tears, threw dust on his head, and upbraided them for 
 thus spilling blood.
 
 THE MAHDI 137 
 
 " ' Ye be sanguinary men, O ye dervishes. These 
 deeds do not find favour in my sight.' 
 
 " During the siege a priest named Giovanni Losi died 
 in Obeid, but two others were captured, and compelled 
 to embrace Islamism, and there were five sisters taken 
 at the same time. These were now sent as companions 
 to us, in the hopes that they should follow the example 
 of the men. The sisters refused in the most determined 
 manner to leave their religion. In what a fearful con- 
 dition these poor women were — bags of bones. They 
 never left the house. This was the state of things to 
 the 28th March, 1883. 
 
 " One day a letter was slipped into my hand ; it was 
 from Hicks Pacha, then at Khartoum, and was dated 
 2ist of April. He stated in it that he was on the point 
 of marching against Obeid with a large army, and told 
 me to be of good cheer, for he would surely deliver us. 
 While I was at Obeid I saw three men being hunted out 
 of the town : there seemed to be something unreal in 
 this chase. I have since heard they were the three sham 
 guides of Hicks. This was done for effect : they were 
 ordered to mislead him. Khalifa Abdulla El Taashi now 
 arrived at Obeid. The first thing he did was to have us 
 brought up before him. He then enjoined us to embrace 
 Islamism. We replied to him as we had to Mahomet 
 Achmet when the same demand was made. We were 
 sent back to our house, but he sent us an order to deliver 
 up to him the sisters. We replied, ' By your own Moslem 
 law, women are forbidden to visit the houses of strangers.' 
 However, on the first of April, he sent and took the nuns 
 by force, and a terrible life, if possible, was now to be 
 their lot. They were distributed as slaves among the 
 Emirs ! I and my two companions, men, were treated
 
 138 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 in the same way. I was sent to the Bert El Wal, Guiseppe 
 Orwalder to the house of Emir Abdalla, Wad en Noor, 
 and Guiseppe Regnalo to the house of Sherif Mahmoud. 
 From that day I never saw the sisters, but I know that 
 the treatment they received was horrible, most horrible. 
 They were afflicted and tormented in order that they 
 might be induced to embrace Islamism, but they were 
 steadfast in the faith, neither would they deny their 
 Saviour. Some time after this, these wretched women 
 were made to go along on foot almost nude to Rabat. 
 The Mahdi was there, and they were brought before him. 
 Alas, their frail nature could hold out no longer. Their 
 strength of mind as well as of body was gone. Driven 
 to desperation, to avoid greater degradations and 
 insults, they affected to embrace Islamism. They were 
 then taken as wives by Greeks who themselves had 
 become Mohammedans. The names of their so-called 
 husbands were Demetri, Cocorombo, Andrea, and 
 Paragioh. These men declare that they only did this to 
 save the women from a worse fate, and that the marriage 
 •is really one in name only. I therefore consider them 
 to be deserving of the highest honour, for by so doing 
 they incurred great risk of life. 
 
 " On the 20th of April, I was sent myself to Rabat with 
 my two companions, and kept there till the 30th of 
 August, when we were conducted to El Obeid with heavy 
 chains round our necks, after the manner of conducting 
 criminals in the country. We were again released, and 
 dwelt in a house of Es Sherif Mahmoud, full liberty 
 being given to go to and fro about the town, and even 
 in its neighbourhood. 
 
 "And now the day of my deliverance was at hand. 
 Little attention was paid to my ingoings and outgoings.
 
 THE MAHDI 139 
 
 Famine stalked through the town, and it was full of that 
 direst of diseases, small-pox. Men were dying — masses 
 of corruption right and left. As the Egyptian soldiers 
 had done during the siege the Arabs were doing now — 
 actually digging up the skeletons of carcases buried 
 years back. There was little corn ; it was sold at 50 
 reals an ardeb. It was found that many merchants 
 who had fled from Obeid had buried their gum in the 
 ground. This, though it had become rotten, was now 
 dug up and eaten by hundreds. Es Sherrif Mahmoud, 
 the Mahdi's Emir, had gone to Buka with an army of 
 2,000 men, half of them carrying rifles. His intention 
 was to attack Nowai, the Chief of the Howayma and 
 Homran Baggaras — the Arabs who had deserted at 
 Omdurman, and raised the standard of revolt against 
 him among the Bedouins in Gebel Kowalceb. It was the 
 15th of last Regib when he set forth to battle against 
 these men. While he thus threatens the Arabs from 
 the north, Abu Anga menaces them from the east. I 
 hear that Nowai, hearing of their approach, retreated to 
 Gebel Dinka, in the south ; but some submitted to 
 Mahmoud, while others did the same to Abu Anga. 
 Others, again, fled to their homes. As Abu Anga ad- 
 vanced from Omdurman he collected reinforcements 
 on the way, and at last, when he had ten thousand, he 
 made an attack on Gebel Lamman, one of the Tagala 
 Mountains. He laid waste all the country round, and 
 carried off the inhabitants as slaves, besides taking 
 large quantities of grain, cattle, and sheep. He now 
 advanced upon Gebel Dair, and drove El Mek Kumbo 
 to the mountains. Thus as he has possession of the 
 land at the foot of the mountains the inhabitants are 
 unable to till the land. A guerflla war is carried on
 
 140 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 there ; every now and then the brave mountaineers 
 sweep down at night and retake their cattle. This they 
 do with great success, and their raids actually extend 
 to near Obeid. On the one hand the mountaineers dare 
 nor risk an open battle ; on the other, the dervishes 
 dare not ascend the mountains. 
 
 " The story sent about Anga's defeat is utterly untrue. 
 These stories were circulated by the opponents of the 
 Mahdi to encourage the English. The Mahdi's power is 
 not on the wane, a story so briskly, it appeared, circu- 
 lated for your edification. Utterly broken, indeed ! 
 The so-called Mahomet Achmet is supreme all through 
 Kordofan, though the cruelty and oppression of his 
 dervishes have made his rule detested ; therefore the 
 unfortunate inhabitants, who have to pay higher taxes 
 than they did to the Egyptian Government, long for 
 its return. By the first June Abw Anga had arrived 
 from Gebel Tagala, and had taken up a position at Gebel 
 Dair. Terror was struck into the hearts of all the Arabs, 
 when the news of your victory at Abu Klea and at Metem- 
 meh arrived. You were looked upon as invincible, and 
 the Arabs flatly refused to appear in arms against the 
 British. The whole army, had you advanced, intended 
 flying to the mountains and deserts, so you would have 
 walked into Khartoum, or gone wherever you pleased 
 without the least opposition. But every single move- 
 ment of the British, their intentions even, were well 
 known and spied out, and swiftly reported. You were 
 surrounded by spies, they dwelt among you. So it came 
 to pass that your intention of giving up the game was 
 quickly known, and the Arabs took courage, who before 
 had been thrown into a perfect panic. ' The Inglezi 
 are retreating, are retreating,' was shouted and passed
 
 THE MAHDI 141 
 
 along all over Kordofan, from sakiyah wheel to sakiyah 
 wheel, by camel, by donkey, and swift messenger. 
 
 " Regarding Olivier Pain, I will tell you. When I was 
 in Obeid August last there entered the town one day a 
 little Frenchman, about 35 years old. His beard was 
 scrubby and carroty : his complexion a muddy red-clay 
 colour. I was ordered to examine this strange man's 
 papers. I found a passport with ' Olivier Pain. Pro- 
 fession, homme de lettres,' written on it. His Arabic 
 was very imperfect ; but he would invariably try to 
 speak in that tongue. He was dressed a la dervish. 
 He always passed us by without the shghtest recognition, 
 and even if saluted he neither returned the compliment 
 nor spoke. When addressed by a European, if he re- 
 plied at all, it was in bad Arabic. He remained at Obeid 
 ten days, and then went to join Mahomet Achmet at 
 Rabat. He then went to Shat and reached Onderoo 
 by Duem, passing down by water. Here he sickened, 
 and died of a grievous malady. The dervishes ruled 
 the country with a rod of iron — so much for these 
 people fighting for their liberty. Patriots indeed ! The 
 dervishes and the men who fight are a perfect terror 
 to the poor peaceful inhabitants who only wish to be 
 allowed to till the land, but they are forced to take arms 
 everjrwhere. If they do not, they are made slaves, their 
 villages pillaged, and their wives and maidens carried 
 off for the use of the dervishes and their officers. Often 
 these poor downtrodden villagers are massacred. And 
 this is what some people in England call 'fighting for 
 their country.' There was regular news sent between 
 Khartum and Obeid. Much of this agrees with the 
 statements of men escaped from Khartum regarding 
 the massacres at Khartum. When I fled I escaped by
 
 142 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 way of Assaf, north of Barra-Rajmar and Safia. I was 
 19 days on the road. We struck the Nile at Abu Goss, 
 and after a rest proceeded to Dongola, arriving at the 
 house of Major Turner, InteUigence Department, where 
 he and Captain Robert White received me most hospit- 
 ably. It is to the exertions of the first-named gentleman, 
 who arranged with my guide my escape, that I owe my 
 release from my cruel and savage persecutors. The 
 sum of £100, besides an advance of 100 dollars, was paid 
 by him, with General Lord Wolseley's sanction." 
 
 Two days later, 25th June, I received from Lord 
 Wolseley, then at Cairo, the following telegrams : 
 
 " Very glad you have managed the escape of this 
 priest ; give your agent the £100 promised and continue 
 to work as proposed at end of your telegram." 
 
 " You can give £150 for success. If Luigi Buonomi 
 wants money give him up to £30 the mission here will 
 repay. Cairo 26 June." 
 
 A few days later I left Dongola, taking Father Buonomi 
 with me to Cairo, whence he went to his home at Verona, 
 from which he wrote to me to renew his thanks for his 
 escape and for his treatment at my hands. I also subse- 
 quently received letters from his Order, and another in 
 which the acknowledgments of the Austrian Government 
 were conveyed to me for what I had done for him. 
 
 I was amused — I cannot say, surprised — at learning 
 later from " Ten Years' Captivity in the Mahdi's Camp," 
 from the notes of Father Ohrwalder (another of the cap- 
 tive priests) compiled by Major F. R. Wingate (now the 
 Sirdar in 1892), that the whole credit of Father Buonomi's 
 escape had been attributed to M. Santoni, who was 
 rewarded for it by the Pope Leo XIII. with the Order 
 of Gregory the Great. My management of the affair
 
 THE IVIAHDI 143 
 
 was entirely ignored. All the part that M. Santoni 
 played in it was to find me a messenger, out of whose 
 reward probably— Egyptian-official-like— he took his due 
 commission. Such is the way of the world—" sic vos 
 non vohis."
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 END OF THE SOUDAN CAMPAIGN 
 
 Mustapha Yawa Mudir of Dongola — Jawdat Effendi the Vakil— A 
 Dongola dinner-party — Decision to abandon the Soudan — Great exodus 
 of refugees to Lower Egypt— The ruin of warfare — -The villanies of the 
 Vakil — Bashi-bazouks become obstreperous — Promptly dealt with— I 
 am fired at by one of them — I respite six prisoners under death sentence 
 — Feud murders — The murder of the Mafettish — I leave Dongola — 
 Major French — Brummagem mummies — Cairo — Home — Causes and 
 policy of the Soudan Campaign — Gordon and slavery — Gladstone and 
 Gordon — Lord Cromer — The solution of the Soudan problem. 
 
 WE had not long been at Dongola when it was 
 rather more than suspected that the Mudir 
 was corresponding with the Mahdi ; and 
 though the nature of the communications which passed 
 between the two did not come to light, it was surmised 
 that he was trying to make friends with the mammon of 
 unrighteousness, in the event of an advance of the 
 dervishes down the Nile, which it was not then for a 
 moment believed the British could stop. Mustapha 
 Yawa was a remarkable man, a rabid fanatic, and not 
 more nor less tyrannical and corrupt than the rest of the 
 Khedives, Governors or Mudirs. He was most ascetic 
 in his habits, and used to pray for hours at night. When 
 I took possession of the Muderiyeh on his departure, I 
 found in one of his apartments a curiously shaped box, 
 rather like a winnowing machine ; on inquiry I was told 
 that when the Mudir said his prayers, he did so in this 
 box, in which a man could neither sit nor stand nor lie 
 down, in which position sleep was out of the question, 
 
 144
 
 END OF THE SOUDAN CAMPAIGN 145 
 
 and the continued utterance of monotonous invocations 
 to the Deity possible. 
 
 He was very extortionate, and was hated by the 
 oppressed people under his sway. I was directed to 
 escort him to the steamer, which was to take him down 
 the Nile. He was very sulky at having to leave the 
 scene of his authority and plunderings, and he told me 
 to look out, for he had ascertained from the stars that 
 a great event, which would overwhelm us, was soon 
 to take place. There was no demonstration whatever, 
 except that many women were seated on the high bank 
 watching the steamer, and when the Mudir went on 
 board, and the steamer started, they all took up dust, 
 which they threw in its direction. This action conveys 
 a pious hope, the fulfilment of which would not speed 
 the traveller safe on his way. 
 
 The Mudir was succeeded by the Vakil, Jawdat Effendi, 
 who was equally unscrupulous, but, not having any 
 religious views or fame as a holy man, was much easier 
 to deal with. Shortly after taking charge of the Intelli- 
 gence Department I was invited to dine by the principal 
 merchant left in Dongola — most of his class having 
 departed for Egypt. Maxwell (now General Sir John 
 Maxwell) and Bobby White accompanied me. 
 
 In honour of, and for the convenience of, his European 
 guests, our host, Gamaria El Haj Mahomet, had pro- 
 vided a table and three chairs. He and the rest of the 
 party squatted on the floor. A whole roast sheep was 
 served up on the table — no plates, knives or forks were 
 provided — and the feast commenced by our Oriental 
 friends digging their thumbs and forefingers into this 
 grand piece de resistance, from which they tore out titbits 
 and handed them to us. We soon learnt how to do
 
 146 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 likewise, and, accustomed as we were then to stave off 
 our hunger with commissariat rations cooked by a soldier 
 servant, the product of which often resembled leather and 
 grease more than food, we found the meal delicious. Our 
 host, though a Mohammedan, had procured an unlimited 
 supply of very sweet but not bad champagne, and this, 
 with grapes, formed the menu. After dinner, a nautch 
 was provided, which was as slow and uninteresting as 
 such dancing in India, according to my experience, 
 always is ; and then we profusely thanked our host, and 
 departed, having much enjoyed ourselves, and gained a 
 new experience. I shall never forget the hospitality of 
 Gamaria El Haj Mahomet, or my first and last dinner- 
 party on the banks of old Father Nile. I may here say 
 that the word " Haj " in a man's nomenclature implies 
 that he has made a pilgrimage to the tomb of Mohammed 
 at Mecca, and that therefore his chances of Paradise are 
 brighter than those of others less enterprising or less 
 privileged. 
 
 The British Government apparently wavered for some 
 time between the alternatives of reinforcing the army 
 in view of advancing on Khartum at the beginning of the 
 cold season, or of withdrawing and leaving the Soudan 
 to the tender mercies of the dervishes. For this " policy 
 of scuttle " as it was called, they have been sorely blamed, 
 but without any just grounds. Many months of the 
 presence of a number of troops on the Nile had exhausted 
 almost completely the supplies, and the riverain popula- 
 tion itself was threatened with shortage before the next 
 harvest. The difficulties in making such an advance for 
 such an enormous distance with adequate numbers, by 
 means of boats and camels, were but too apparent. A 
 completely new expedition must have been prepared at
 
 END OF THE SOUDAN CMIPAIGN 147 
 
 an enormous cost, and with no very certain prospects 
 of success. The Government, therefore, decided that 
 the Nile army was to be withdrawal, and that the Soudan 
 was to be evacuated. 
 
 Lord Wolseley telegraphed to me for a report as to 
 the suppHes, which could be provided locally in case of 
 an advance ; and after exhaustive inquiry, I was obhged 
 to reply that the country had been denuded of all its 
 stored grain ; and that not only would none be forth- 
 coming till the next harvest, but that a scarcity of 
 food, if not a famine, for the inhabitants was not 
 improbable. 
 
 On nth May, orders for withdrawal arrived, and the 
 retreat began immediately — commencing with the 
 garrison at Merawi, the farthest station south — the next 
 station being evacuated as soon as it became the rear 
 post of the scattered army, till all detachments, one 
 after the other, had quitted their positions on the Nile, 
 and arrived at Wadi Haifa, to be passed down at once 
 to Assouan, Assiout and Cairo. This withdrawal was 
 carried out with celerity and skill. Not a hitch occurred ; 
 and the dusky-faced enemy kept at more than a respectful 
 distance. 
 
 A difficulty of a very serious nature presented itself. 
 It was bad enough to leave the Kabbabish Arabs and 
 other tribes who had not joined the Mahdi, according 
 to his orders, and who had incurred his vengeance by 
 helping the British ; they could at all events show fight 
 or escape into the desert. The riverain settlers had 
 entirely lost their nomad nature, and were essentially 
 men of peace. It was only too likely that they would be 
 plundered and murdered by the cruel and rapacious 
 dervishes as they advanced north ; and, therefore, a
 
 148 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 safe conduct into Lower Egypt was offered to everyone 
 who desired to leave his homestead. 
 
 On 17th May I received the order to collect all these 
 refugees from the south at Dongola, to provide what 
 transport I could, and to establish food depots at the 
 places where the bands of fugitives would halt for the 
 night. The exodus began at once. Day after day, 
 crowds of these people flocked into Dongola, unfolding 
 one of the most painful pictures of warfare — the sufferings 
 of the civil population. From 21st May to 4th July we 
 forwarded 12,938 of these victims of war down the Nile, 
 on the left bank ; some of the marches were very long. 
 One took fourteen and a half hours, another eleven and 
 a half hours, and there was not a drop of water to be met 
 with on the way. 
 
 Still, there was not one casualty among this vast 
 number of men, women and children, who were, one 
 might say, fleeing to cities of refuge for their lives. In- 
 deed, there was a small, a very small, increase to the 
 number, for one of the wives of the Sultan of Darfur, 
 the Emir Abdul Shakur, " a common-looking, unintelli- 
 gent and badly dressed native," ^ who had been deposed 
 by the Mahdi, increased the population on the way ; 
 and, though the halt made during the arrival of the 
 infant was necessarily somewhat limited, both mother 
 and child did well, and reached Egypt in health and 
 safety. 
 
 One hears a great deal about the pomp and glory of 
 war, and at the conclusion of one Te Deums are sung, 
 and general congratulation and glorification take place 
 in the land of the victors. But these are as whited 
 sepulchres, or — as it has been described — resemble a 
 
 1 " Modern Egypt," by the Earl of Cromer, p. 351.
 
 END OF THE SOUDAN CAMPAIGN 149 
 
 burnished metal plate on a coffin ; for they veil the 
 horrors and sufferings of war, which John Bright de- 
 scribed as the combination and concentration of all the 
 crimes and sufferings, of all the horrors and atrocities 
 which human nature on this plane is capable of enduring. 
 These it is that are veiled by the curtain, in front of 
 which are displayed the trophies of war, and the triumph 
 of warriors who have outlived the war and come safe 
 home ; while their chiefs are feted, honoured and raised 
 in rank and dignity — sometimes for deeds the credit of 
 which was in no way due to them ; while, on the reverse 
 side of the curtain, are the rotting heaps of slain, the 
 thousands of human beings maimed, mutilated and 
 crippled for life, the infinite number of bereaved orphans, 
 widows and parents, who are often left destitute, and 
 who, like most of the killed and wounded, had no interest 
 in the war, and probably for the most part had the vaguest 
 idea as to what the cause and objects of the conflict were. 
 
 As R. G. Ingersoll has graphically put it : " No man 
 has imagination enough to paint the agonies, the horrors, 
 the cruelties of war. Think of sending shot and shell 
 through the bodies of men ! Think of the widows and 
 orphans ! Think of the maimed, the mutilated, the 
 mangled ! " Not all the torments of the material hell 
 imagined by Dante and Milton, and believed in im- 
 plicitly by our forefathers as designed to be the lot of 
 human beings hereafter, can compare to those incident 
 of war. 
 
 We now had day after day this picture, rolling itself 
 out before our eyes. Thousands were leaving their all 
 to save their lives from bloodthirsty and murderous 
 hordes, whose advance was, if slow, certain. A more 
 pitiable sight than that presented by these poor people
 
 150 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 could not be imagined. Their homes, their fields, their 
 water-wheels (sakiyahs), by means of which they live 
 by irrigating their narrow plots of land on the banks of 
 the Nile, were all left behind them : and their sole pos- 
 sessions were what they could carry with them. 
 
 Gradually, Dongola became a city of the dead ; and 
 when we left it on July 4th, with the rear guard of the 
 19th Hussars under Major (now General Sir John) French, 
 and the last batch of refugees, there was not a living 
 soul in the city — which had been one of the seats of 
 government of the Nile provinces. It was abandoned 
 to hyenas, jackals, and vultures, till it was reached by 
 the dark billows of fanaticism and barbarism, which had 
 been rolling down along the banks of the Nile, sweeping 
 away all traces of industry and civilization, and turning 
 the country into a howling wilderness, where reigned the 
 abomination of desolation. 
 
 As the time for our departure drew near, I found great 
 difficulties in giving effect to the demands received from 
 the troops for camels, when they reached Dongola : and 
 I asked Sir Redvers Buller to allow me to requisition 
 the number required for the army. He consented, and 
 the Vakil Jawdat Effendi was told to procure the animals, 
 for which a fair price was to be paid ; and a large sum 
 of money was handed to him for the purpose. He at 
 once set out with a battalion of bashi-bazouks, made 
 a descent upon every Arab village within reach, and 
 carried off all the camels he could lay his hands upon, 
 without disbursing one farthing. He then marched 
 with his booty on the Nile, which he struck many miles 
 above Dongola. His diabolical craftiness then dis- 
 played itself. He sent on half his bashi-bazouks with 
 all the camels, one day in advance. This party passed
 
 END OF THE SOUDAN CAMPAIGN 151 
 
 through the many villages on the banks of the Nile 
 between its starting-point and Dongola, and terrified 
 the inhabitants with tales about the Mahdi's advance, 
 and the terrible tortures he was inflicting on those who 
 had not obeyed his summons to leave their homes and 
 join him. By these means, supplemented with a little 
 coercion, the poor creatures were induced to buy the 
 camels, till the whole of them were sold to the people 
 of many villages. The day after, Jawdat himself arrived 
 with the other half battalion, and seized all the camels 
 a second time without payment. Thus he acquired 
 gratis the camels he was commissioned to procure, and 
 in addition pocketed their value in money twice over. 
 
 Sir William Butler states in his autobiography, page 
 310, that Jawdat not only swept up the camels of the 
 unfortunate people on the banks of the Nile, but that 
 he plundered everything that he and his bashi-bazouks 
 could lay their hands on, including all the money they 
 had earned during the British occupation, and that he 
 arrived at Dongola with many chests of piastres gained 
 by these foul means. 
 
 He was a most plausible person, but the most un- 
 principled that could be imagined. He was a Circassian, 
 and had been one of the slaves of Saduk Pasha, the 
 " Muffettish " Minister of Finance, who was, as my 
 readers will hereafter see, murdered at Dongola. Some 
 time after his death, Jawdat and others were allowed 
 to go from Cairo to Dongola, to erect a tomb to his 
 memory, and the former was retained in the Government 
 service ; and, being clever and utterly unscrupulous, 
 was soon found to be a proper subject for rapid 
 advancement. 
 
 Two days later, a battery of Artillery arrived in
 
 152 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 Dongola, with hardly any camels left. And I was told 
 by Sir Redvers Buller to get fifty for them. I went to 
 the place where I had parked the camels bought in by 
 Jawdat ; and when I arrived, I found him with a number 
 of his friends and several merchants of the place, loading 
 up all our camels, and preparing to make a start. The 
 wily Vakil had, no doubt, sold many of them again. 
 
 I was just in time ; an hour or two later, the caravan 
 would have been well on its way. I sent at once to 
 inform Sir Redvers Buller, who ordered a company of 
 infantry to the spot, and who quickly took possession 
 of the camels — which, up to then, had been left in charge 
 of the Vakil, the extent of whose audacity and dishonesty 
 was not up to then grasped by us. He was furious, of 
 course, and his looks in my direction showed that he was 
 only restrained from murder by fear of consequences. 
 
 A day or two later, his method of obtaining camels 
 for the army became known to Sir Redvers Buller, who 
 promptly dismissed him from his post, and sent him 
 after his late Chief, the Mudir, to Egypt. A fine par 
 nohile fratrum, but neither better nor worse than the 
 majority of Egyptian officials in high places, whose one 
 aim and object was to enrich themselves at the cost of 
 the wretched people over whom they were set in authority. 
 
 As I have before stated, the conduct of the British 
 had been admirable during the campaign — not so that 
 of the bashi-bazouks, one battalion of whom, on their 
 arrival at Dongola, positively refused to occupy the 
 camp which had been apportioned to them. But they 
 reckoned without their host. Sir Redvers Buller, on 
 being informed, sent a messenger to summon their com- 
 manding officer to report himself to him. He sent back 
 an impudent message to the effect that if General Buller
 
 END OF THE SOUDAN CAMPAIGN 153 
 
 wanted him, he had better come and see him where he 
 was. Sir Redvers ordered me to take some of the guard, 
 arrest him and bring him, and conduct him to the General's 
 office. I carried out the order at once, and found this 
 commanding officer a grand- looking old Turk, of lofty 
 stature, with a long white beard — Suleiman by name — 
 in the midst of his men ; I promptly arrested him and 
 placed him between two files of the guard, and marched 
 him off. For a moment it looked as if the bashi-bazouks 
 would resist their commanding officer's removal, but 
 they thought better of it, and only growled with anger. 
 
 Sir Redvers told the contumacious old man that he 
 was at once to send an order to his battalion to take 
 up the ground allotted to them, and that he himself 
 would be kept in arrest as a hostage for their good be- 
 haviour, and held personally responsible for their obedience 
 to his orders. His attitude had the desired effect, and 
 the incident closed quietly, which would certainly not 
 have been the case had a less firm man than Sir Redvers 
 BuUer been in command. 
 
 These battalions of bashi-bazouks were sent down the 
 Nile as quickly as possible, and it was reported that they 
 committed hideous excesses upon the inhabitants of the 
 villages through which they passed. The men soon 
 began to desert, and went alone, or in small groups, on 
 their own account. In one instance, a wretch shot an 
 Arab woman dead, who refused to respond to his advances. 
 Fortunately, some British soldiers were at hand, and he 
 was caught red-handed, tried, and executed. 
 
 One morning Robert White and myself were riding in 
 the desert near Dongola, when two bullets, one after 
 the other, ploughed the sand close to us. We looked 
 round and descried at a distance, a man partly hidden
 
 154 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 behind a bush. We galloped up to the place, and found 
 a bashi-bazouk who had left his battalion at Dongola, 
 and was amusing himself by filing at anything like a 
 human being whom he saw. We seized his rifle, marched 
 him to Dongola, and handed him over to his battalion. 
 He had no especial wish to shoot us, but it would, no 
 doubt, have been a great satisfaction, if he had dropped 
 one or both of us. This incident shows what entire want 
 of control and discipline existed among these soldiers of 
 the Khedive ; and one can easily imagine how terribly 
 the unfortunate people of the Soudan had suffered under 
 the Egyptian sway, bolstered up by the bayonets of 
 such freebooters, who aided the officials in their plunder 
 and extortion, and in addition carried out the same 
 unchecked on their own account. 
 
 Two days before we left Dongola, I was seated in the 
 Muderiyeh to receive reports from officials as to the 
 evacuation of the town, and I was informed that within 
 the next twenty-four hours the last of the population 
 would have departed. The superintendent of the Prison 
 was the last to approach me, and after making his report 
 he asked me what I wished done with the prisoners 
 under sentence of death — who were the only inmates 
 of the gaol left. I saw at once that he expected an 
 order to despatch them forthwith. Up to then, I had 
 not been informed about these convicts, and I called 
 for full explanation ; and was told the following extra- 
 ordinary story, which only goes further to prove how 
 revoltingly and abominably cruel and corrupt in their 
 atrocities the highest officials of the Egyptian Govern- 
 ment then were, and what worthy followers and imitators 
 of their master. I was informed that there were six men 
 under sentence of death — that one of them had been
 
 END OF THE SOUDAN CAMPAIGN 155 
 
 awaiting execution for five years, having been kept in 
 mental and bodily torture for this long period. He, like 
 the others, was in chains, and the fetters had embedded 
 themselves into his flesh. The last of them had been 
 convicted and sent to the condemned cell, six months 
 previously. They had one and all committed feud 
 murders, a crime which can be traced back to the earliest 
 ages, and which Shakespeare calls " the quarrel of a 
 true inheritor." It has always been known under the 
 name of vendetta — a time-dishonoured institution in 
 Corsica ; and it was long rife in the Highlands of Scotland 
 and in the wild west of Ireland. Wlien I was Com- 
 missioner of Police in the last country, I found traces of 
 it to my cost, for a feud murder, which was as a matter 
 of course reported, without any grounds whatever, as 
 agrarian, was committed close to the town of Ennis in 
 County Clare, where were my headquarters. This 
 deed is looked upon as one of retributive justice, and it is 
 in no way regarded as a crime. 
 
 Supposing two men of different tribes, or even families, 
 quarrel, and one kills the other ; a member of the victim's 
 tribe or family is selected — usually by lot — to slay a 
 male member of the murderer's kin. The vengeance is 
 often tardy and long-belated. It may even not be 
 effected till the next generation ; but it is inexorable and 
 sure to come, sooner or later. There was no difference, 
 therefore, in the nature of the crime of these six convicts 
 — one and all of whom had been forced to commit murder 
 in accordance with the unwritten law of the desert. 
 
 I ordered them to be brought before me, which was 
 done at once, the poor wretches dragging along their 
 heavy chains. Though they preserved that stolid look 
 of indifference and resignation so characteristic of the
 
 156 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 Oriental when faced with death, they evidently thought 
 that their last hour was come ; and they cast anxious 
 glances at me and at the executioner who was present 
 with the other prison officials. I asked the head of 
 these why the prisoners had been kept so long under 
 sentence, and why they had not been executed long ago. 
 I was informed that the Mudir, when a man was con- 
 victed and sentenced to death for a feud murder, put 
 him up, as it were, to auction between the relatives 
 of the slayer and those of the slain ; and when he con- 
 sidered that the utmost possible sum had been offered, 
 he had the prisoner executed if the murdered man's kins- 
 men made the highest offer, or released him if his own 
 relatives produced the larger bribe. Needless to say 
 that, in either case, the Mudir pocketed the money. 
 
 After a few moments' consideration, I pronounced, 
 through my interpreter, a serious discourse upon the 
 wickedness of man in taking — under any circumstances 
 whatever — a life, which is the gift of God. This natur- 
 ally did not produce the slightest effect upon their minds, 
 as the thoughts of Orientals on such subjects are not as 
 our thoughts, nor their ways as our ways ; and I then 
 ordered their chains to be taken off and themselves to be 
 released. The scene which followed, when they were 
 able to realize what had befallen them, almost beats 
 description. First, delirious joy; then reaction, in 
 tears ; then kneeling at my feet and kissing my hands ; 
 then a slow exit, one by one, to disappear, I hope, to 
 slay no more. I trust that this unusual manner of 
 administering justice will be hereafter accounted to me 
 for righteousness ! After some experience of the Oriental 
 in India and the Soudan, I learnt for the first time that 
 he can be emotional, under abnormal stress of circum-
 
 END OF THE SOUDAN CAMPAIGN 157 
 
 stances ; certainly those I have described were in the 
 highest degree abnormal and soul-stirring for the convicts. 
 
 I would, in no case, have allowed them to be executed 
 without official enquiry ; and there was no time or oppor- 
 tunity for this, as all were on the move, or on the point 
 of starting for Lower Egypt. Besides, I felt that they 
 were not hardened criminals, but merely one and all 
 slayers of a man in the carrying out of what seemed to 
 them a righteous act of justice. They had, besides, 
 in my opinion, purged their offences by long spells of 
 torture, awaiting a violent death, which might come any 
 moment — a torture far worse than death itself. 
 
 The last day of my stay at Dongola, I ordered a house- 
 to-house search to be made, in order to ascertain if any- 
 one had been abandoned and left behind who wished to 
 proceed northwards. Only one feeble old slave- woman 
 was found, who, being good for no more work, had been 
 left to starve. I had her placed on board one of the last 
 steamers, and she was highly delighted with, and proud 
 of, the attention shown her. 
 
 I made myself also a tour through the deserted 
 city, accompanied by a few officials, including the 
 native doctor of the Muderiyeh and three or four 
 Soudanese soldiers. We happened to come to a small 
 house overlooking the Nile, which had been occupied 
 by the Hon. John Colborne, who had now gone to Cairo. 
 It was a one-storied, unassuming building, consisting 
 of two rooms leading into one another — one in front, 
 the other in the rear of the house. I noticed that there 
 was a marked disinclination on the part of several of my 
 Egyptian and Soudanese companions to approach the 
 house, and I told my interpreter to ascertain what this 
 hesitation meant ; and, after a while, I was told that
 
 158 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 the house was haunted by the ghost of the Mafettish, 
 who had been done to death there. I had heard of the 
 person who bore this appellation, and who had been no 
 less a being than Saduk Pasha, the Minister of Finance 
 of the Khedive Ishmael Pasha, the most unscrupulous, 
 tyrannical, and murderous of all the Khedives, who, 
 without rhyme or reason, except his own greed, con- 
 fiscated the land and property of his people, borrowed 
 money upon them on the European Bourses, spent it in 
 riotous and wanton living for the most part, and in reck- 
 less public expenditure, which under no circumstances 
 could his country have afforded to pay, and brought 
 Egypt to the verge of bankruptcy. In this he had been 
 zealously and effectively aided by a man equally wicked, 
 greedy and unscrupulous as himself — his Minister of 
 Finance, the strange tragedy of whose murder I was 
 now to hear. 
 
 My interpreter, who was from the Foreign Office at 
 Cairo, had seen documents relating to this case, with 
 the facts of which he was well acquainted. Then and 
 there he told me as follows : — 
 
 The Finance Minister had sprung from a very humble 
 origin. He was the son of a small market-gardener near 
 Cairo, and through some interest was employed in one 
 of the Government offices in a menial capacity. He was 
 found to be very clever and industrious, and rose in 
 time to the position of clerk, in which capacity his talent 
 for figures and finance were so remarkable that they 
 attracted much attention — through which he attained 
 a comparatively high position in the Finance Department. 
 
 Before long he was brought to the notice of the 
 Khedive, who saw him and felt sure that he would find 
 in him a ready instrument to aid him in carrying out his
 
 END OF THE SOUDAN CAMPAIGN 159 
 
 extortions and robberies ; and, finding that he was not 
 mistaken, he appointed him, in due course. Minister of 
 Finance. This worthy servant of a worthy master 
 plundered on two accounts — on the Khedive's and on 
 his own ; and, in a very few years, he amassed a huge 
 fortune, said to have amounted to three milhon sterUng. 
 His style of living, his palaces and his harem rivalled 
 that of the Khedive himself, who, it was said, became 
 jealous of his power and envious of his wealth, but to 
 whom he was too indispensable to dismiss or cause to 
 disappear. The Mafettish was feared and hated as 
 much as the Khedive himself ; but no man dare raise 
 his voice, or utter more than a whisper against him, for 
 Egypt was permeated with his secret agents and spies, 
 and a hint conveyed to him against anyone, especially if 
 the person had possessions which were worth confiscating, 
 was sufficient to cause their arrest ; and for them to 
 pass within the portals of the prison was equivalent to 
 final disappearance and death — as was the case a hundred 
 years ago in England, under the penal laws which then 
 existed, when there were two hundred and twenty-three 
 offences, some of them being of a most trivial nature, 
 which were punishable by death, including the theft of 
 goods worth five shillings from a shop ! 
 
 Matters at last became so notorious, and it was clear 
 that the Khedive and his State were living far beyond any 
 possible income which could be derived from clean sources. 
 Reasonable suspicion arose that the high interest on 
 the bonds was paid out of the capital ; and the bond- 
 holders became, with good reason, seriously excited and 
 alarmed. After much consultation it was agreed that 
 Lord (then Mr) Goschen should go to Egypt, and make 
 an exhaustive inquiry into the financial situation.
 
 160 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 It was now the Khedive's turn to be alarmed. His 
 guilty conscience told him that his reign could not survive 
 the result of any deep inquiry; but he knew that only 
 one man — the Mafettish — was fully aware of his iniquities ; 
 and, as he did not for one moment trust him to hold his 
 tongue if it suited his interests best to do otherwise, he 
 determined that on no account should he meet the British 
 Envoy. 
 
 Accordingly, a few days before the latter's arrival, 
 shortly before sunset, the Khedive called at the palace 
 of Saduk Pasha and invited him, as he often did, to go 
 for a drive with him. After the worthy pair had been 
 out some time, being presumably on the best of terms, 
 darkness came on, and the Khedive ordered his coach- 
 man to drive to one of his residences, on reaching which, 
 he bade his companion to alight and enter with him. 
 The unsuspecting Minister followed his master into the 
 hall, and then into an antechamber adjoining, where 
 the Khedive spoke a few words with him and, telling 
 him to await his return, passed through an inner door. 
 He heard the key turn in the lock and, suspecting some- 
 thing, rushed to the other door by which he had entered, 
 and found that locked also. He was a prisoner, caught 
 like a rat in a trap ! 
 
 Soon after, the outer door was unlocked and opened, 
 and an Egyptian officer with two Soudanese soldiers 
 entered, and told him he was a prisoner, and that he 
 was to go with them. At the door was awaiting them 
 a closed hired carriage, into which the officer with the 
 prisoner and one of the soldiers entered, while the other 
 soldier mounted on the box beside the coachman, who 
 drove off at a rapid pace to the Bulak Dukrur railway 
 station, where a special train was in readiness in which
 
 END OF THE SOUDAN CAMPAIGN 161 
 
 the prisoner and escort were conveyed with all despatch 
 to Assiout, where the railway then ended. Here a 
 steamer with steam up was waiting to forward them to 
 Assouan where, owing to the cataract, the river had to 
 be left, and the short railway taken which led to Shellal 
 above the falls. Here another steamer was in readiness to 
 convey them to Wadi Haifa, opposite which the prisoner 
 was landed. With a refinement of cruelty almost in- 
 credible, the wretched Saduk, who had for years lived 
 a life of pomp, luxury and profligate extravagance only 
 second to that of the Khedive himself, was put on a 
 rough baggage camel, and the small caravan which was 
 awaiting the party proceeded forthwith to Dongola with 
 hardly any halts ; over eighty-seven hours' marching, 
 exclusive of any halts. At Dongola the prisoner was 
 conducted to the remote little house before which we 
 were standing, into the inner room of which he was hustled 
 in which there was nothing but a bedstead ; some food 
 was shortly after brought to him, and he was left to his 
 own reflections. 
 
 How bitter these must have been, one can well imagine. 
 Hurled from the zenith of his power, wealth and luxury, 
 he had suffered the lowest dregs of humiliation. He had 
 undergone mental torture and physical suffering almost 
 unthinkable ; and now, for the first time since the 
 Khedive left him in his ante-room at Cairo, he was alone. 
 Not inappropriate to his position are the words of Cardinal 
 Wolseley in Henry VIH., when he had been degraded 
 and plundered by the King : — 
 
 " Farewell, a long farewell to all my greatness ! 
 This is the state of man ; to-day he puts forth 
 The tender leaves of hope, to-morrow blossoms ; 
 And bears his blushing honours thick upon him.
 
 162 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 The next day comes a frost, a killing frost : 
 And while he thinks, good, easy man, most surely 
 His greatness is a-growing, nips his root ; 
 And then he falls." 
 
 Not long afterwards the door opened and the officer 
 and two soldiers entered the room. The former carried 
 a sort of sling, the latter a sheet. They at once rushed 
 upon their victim, and whilst the soldiers wound the 
 sheet round his chest and compressed his lungs with all 
 their force, the officer tried to strangle him with the 
 shng. 
 
 The Mafettish appears to have been a powerful man, 
 for he fought long for dear life ; and in the struggle 
 seized the thumb of the officer in his teeth and bit it 
 through and through, till the injured man, smarting with 
 pain, gave an order to one of the soldiers, who drew his 
 knife and drove it into the unfortunate Saduk's heart. 
 The bloody deed was accomplished, and the Khedive's 
 orders carried out. 
 
 The doctor who was with me then took up the story. 
 He said that, on the following morning, he was sent for 
 by the officer to the house where the tragedy had taken 
 place ; and when he came there, he saw a body laid out 
 on a bedstead outside it. It was covered with a sheet. 
 
 The officer said in a loud voice to him : " That man 
 died of apoplexy last night, and I want your certificate 
 to that effect." 
 
 The doctor raised the sheet, saw a gaping wound over 
 the heart and exclaimed that the man had not died of 
 apoplexy but had been murdered. The officer struck 
 him a violent blow on the head which nearly felled him, 
 and then held out to him a ready-prepared certificate, 
 stating that apoplexy had been the cause of death. He
 
 END OF THE SOUDAN CAMPAIGN 163 
 
 asked him in a threatening manner whether he would 
 sign or not, and told him that he would rue it bitterly 
 if he did not. 
 
 The doctor then signed the paper out of terror, and a 
 telegram was sent out to inform the Khedive that Saduk 
 Pasha had died of apoplexy. 
 
 In 1886 I met Lord Goschen at Killarney, when I was 
 employed in the west of Ireland, and I related the 
 circumstances of Saduk Pasha's murder, as told me on 
 the place where it occurred. He informed me that there 
 had been considerable surprise at the absence of the 
 Minister of Finance, through the inquiry and examination 
 of accounts, but that the Khedive had given explanations, 
 and no one, except the few who knew, had the smallest 
 suspicion that foul play had taken place. 
 
 Long before this tale of tragedy, to which I had 
 listened with rapt attention and from time to time with 
 bated breath, had come to an end, night had begun to 
 fall. The great red ball of the sun, now changed from 
 Ra^ to Tum, had sunk below the horizon in the west, 
 leaving nothing but a slowly vanishing line of intense 
 
 red : 
 
 " The last streak 
 Of intense beauty on the horizon's brim, 
 When night on all the rest hangs chill and dim." 
 
 Behind us lay deserted Dongola, a city of the dead ; 
 to the east the moon was rising, and had begun to cast 
 its pale shimmer on the boundless desert ; below us old 
 Father Nile, which had now assumed a dark-leaden hue 
 as if it had donned the garb of night, flowed peacefully 
 by, as it doubtless did on the night when a man who had 
 
 ^ Ra, the hero, is the midday sun. Tum, the old man, the setting 
 sun. Horus, the rising sun.
 
 164 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 risen to the highest pinnacle of power, wealth and luxury, 
 and who had felt, up to a few hours previously, that he 
 was the indispenable fidus Achates of his sovereign, was 
 dragged across the spot on which we were standing, 
 and thrust with studied ignominy into the slaughter- 
 house, to be butchered by hired assassins. 
 
 Black as his past record was, it was impossible to with- 
 hold feelings of pity when one thought of his miserable 
 end, planned by the master whom he had served so 
 unscrupulously but so well ; or to come to any other 
 conclusion than that the ruler of Egypt and not his minion 
 was by far the greater sinner of the pair. 
 
 The next afternoon, 4th July, I left Dongola with the 
 few Egyptian officials who had remained with me, and 
 the last batch of refugees — 12,938 of whom we had 
 despatched from Dongola for Wadi Haifa. The rear- 
 guard was composed of a squadron of the 19th Hussars, 
 with two guns, under the command of Major (now Sir 
 John) French, who, with his regiment, had especially 
 distinguished themselves by the excellence of their 
 reconnaissance work during the march and the hard 
 conflicts in the desert. At 10 p.m. we reached a place 
 called Bench, and settled down in our bivouacs. 
 
 A quarter of an hour later I was much perturbed by 
 receiving an order from Major French to the effect that, 
 as we were in rear of the rear-guard, we must change our 
 position and advance to another in front of it. Our 
 evening meal was in process of cooking, and many of 
 the tired refugees were already stretched out on their 
 blankets asleep ; so it may be imagined what a move 
 would have entailed. I asked Captain White to go to 
 Major French to represent the state of things and ask 
 that we might be allowed to remain where we were for
 
 END OF THE SOUDAN CAMPAIGN 165 
 
 the night — especially as there were none of the enemy 
 within appreciable distance. 
 
 I awaited the reply with considerable uneasiness, for 
 I hardly knew Major French then ; to my great relief 
 a reply came from him that I could do as I liked, but 
 that I must start the next morning in time to be in front 
 of the rear-guard, which would march at such and such 
 a time. 
 
 This is a small and unimportant incident, but I record 
 it as showing the character of the man whose capabilities 
 have raised him to the highest position in the army — 
 to the complete satisfaction of the latter, which in itself 
 says much indeed for him ; for, as in most other earthly 
 institutions, envy, jealousy and detraction are not un- 
 known in the British army, as many an officer has learnt 
 to his cost. 
 
 One of Sir John French's great qualities is that he has 
 no fear of taking responsibility on his own shoulders ; 
 another is that he has not a shred of red tape about him. 
 This narrowing attribute is the antithesis of common- 
 sense and broad independent judgment, and has been 
 well-defined as " the rigid application of hard and fast 
 rules and regulations which crush initiative, stamp out 
 all sense of healthy responsibility, and reduce the brains 
 of those who are strictly bound and guided by them to 
 the level of the instinct of a protoplasm." 
 
 At the end of my time at the War Office that establish- 
 ment was shackled with red tape, and the intense superi- 
 ority which so often accompanies hopeless inferiority. 
 Lord Haldane has, I really believe, dune what no War 
 Minister has ever before succeeded in doing — he has 
 swept the Augean stable clean of red tape with the River 
 Alpheus of Common-sense. Red tape, however, is a very
 
 166 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 hardy perennial, and it is sure to come to the surface 
 again, if a less able brain and less firm hand than those 
 of Lord Haldane are there to keep it under. 
 
 A great many officers, placed in the same position as 
 French on the 4th July, 1885, would have shirked the 
 responsibility of departing from the letter of the law, 
 and would have requested me to break up my bivouac, 
 and move my poor weary refugees to another spot in 
 the middle of the night. I was duly grateful to him, 
 and I have not been mistaken in my prognostication — 
 that, given good chances, he would go a very long way 
 indeed. 
 
 We followed the track taken by the Arab caravans 
 along the left bank of the Nile, and we arrived opposite 
 Haifa on the 12th July. Most of our route lay tolerably 
 near the Nile ; but we had two long desert marches — 
 one of thirty-five miles without any water ; these two 
 marches took ii|- and 14I hours respectively. The plan 
 was to start about 2 a.m., and march till the sun was well 
 up and very hot ; then to rest, under what protection 
 from the sun we could secure, till about 4 p.m., marching 
 till about 9 p.m. Every morning we were greeted by 
 a glorious sunrise, and every night of our march was 
 illuminated by the moon, when the desert is at its best. 
 
 I used to become desperately sleepy ; and nodding 
 led to lurching, which, fortunately, always awoke me, 
 or probably I should have fallen from my camel. No 
 incidents worth recording took place during this march, 
 except, one night, a large caravan of slave-dealers with 
 their human prey passed by our bivouac, and awoke 
 us all. They had meant, I was told, to occupy our 
 halting-place ; but, finding us there, and not liking the 
 looks of us, they hurried on like guilty things. Not that
 
 END OF THE SOUDAN CAMPAIGN 167 
 
 we could have done anything, for there were strict 
 orders that slavery was not to be interfered with by us. 
 Still, whenever I came across slave-dealers, they got out 
 of my way as quickly as possible, fearing that I might 
 release their prey.^ 
 
 Arrived opposite Wadi Haifa I found Sheikh Saleh 
 and a number of the Kabbabish Arabs awaiting in the 
 hopes of picking up camels, etc, cheap, as we could take 
 them no further. I sold my riding camel back to the 
 sheikh who was delighted to get him ; and I presented 
 him with my baggage camel, which pleased him still 
 more. I parted with the excellent animal, which I had 
 ridden every day for nearly a year, with the same regret 
 one feels at losing a favourite horse. 
 
 This was the close of the campaign for me, for, after 
 staying the day at Haifa with Colonel Duncan, during 
 which I saw General (now Lord) Grenfell, I embarked 
 next day on board the S.S. " Water Lily," which left 
 at 2.15 a.m. on the 14th. We were hurried down without 
 delay, reached Luxor on the evening of the i6th — too 
 late, I deeply regret to say, to visit Karnak and Thebes. 
 I was especially sorry not to have a day to visit the 
 latter, the city of the dead, which I knew au fond from 
 reading George Eber's charming work " Uarda." 
 
 We purchased, with the assistance of the Consul at 
 Luxor, a lot of curios, scaraboei and the like, some of 
 which were geniune ; but one of my companions, wishing 
 to have a more substantial memento, bought a mmumy 
 cat, which he was assured dated back at least to the 
 Pharoahs. The animal kept up its tradition and char- 
 
 ^ Soon after his arrival at Khartum, General Gordon had issued a 
 proclamation to the effect that slavery should in no way be interfered 
 ■with.
 
 168 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 acter till it reached Ireland, where the soft damp climate 
 proved too much for its embalmed constitution, and 
 it promptly became decomposed, in the most up-to-date 
 manner. Cats are embalmed for tourists, and scaraboei 
 are manufactured for them and despatched up the Nile 
 from Birmingham ; and I have but little doubt that, 
 when so much sacrilege has been perpetrated among the 
 tombs of the ancient Egyptians that the supply of painted 
 coffins and mummies run short, both will be manufactured 
 and sold to the more enterprising travellers who wish 
 to count among their possessions an ancient Egyptian, 
 to whom a long pedigree will be given on papyrus leaves, 
 and his last resting-place decorated in the most approved 
 and ancient style. 
 
 At Assiout railway station, just before our train for 
 Cairo was starting, a man ran up to me, knelt down and 
 kissed my hand. After a moment I recognised him as 
 one of the six men whom I had released at Dongola, and 
 who were under sentence of death. This poor man 
 showed the falsity of the belief that there is no gratitude 
 among Orientals ; for if ever I saw thankfulness ex- 
 pressed, it was in that Arab's eyes. I am convinced 
 that gratitude is no rarer in the East than in the West — 
 if so much so ; and that the following story from the 
 Persian is at least equally applicable to the West : — 
 
 " Allah once invited all the virtues to his garden. 
 They all arrived at the appointed hour, and no introduc- 
 tions were needed, as they were well acquainted with one 
 another ; except in the case of two who had never met 
 — namely, kindness and gratitude." 
 
 We reached Cairo in the morning of the loth, and went 
 to Shepherd's Hotel ; and I don't think I ever relished 
 food so much as I did the breakfast on our arrival. I
 
 END OF THE SOUDAN CAMPAIGN 169 
 
 had not been inside a comfortable room, or slept under 
 a roof, or eaten a decent meal, for many months ; and 
 the excellent coffee, the rolls and butter, served on a clean 
 table-cloth, formed food fit for the gods. 
 
 I handed over the cyphers and seals of the Intelligence 
 Department to my old friend. Sir John Ardagh, and 
 then my last shred of responsibility had disappeared. We 
 were hurried through Cairo as we had been down the 
 Nile, only being allow^ed to stay there one day, on which 
 I visited the Pyramids of Ghizeh, and the Sphinx, and 
 made some hasty purchases. The next day we w^ere 
 sent to Alexandria by rail, and embarked forthwith on 
 board the S.S. " Italy " of the National Line, and we 
 sailed next day. 
 
 The voyage to England was as uneventful as had been 
 the one out ; but there was one great difference between 
 the two — that, whereas in the case of the latter, every 
 mile travelled took us further and further from our 
 homes, now every cable's length brought us nearer and 
 nearer to our dear ones, from whom we parted in more 
 than ordinary uncertainty as to whether we should see 
 them again in this world, and to our native land. 
 
 I do not envy the man whose disposition is such that 
 his heart is not open to the influence of such emotions : 
 he doubtless suffers less in the aggregate than the sensitive, 
 affectionate man ; but, on the other hand, he fails en- 
 tirely to feel and enjoy the highest delight that can fall 
 to the lot of man — reunion with those we love and have 
 lost awhile. 
 
 " Breathes there a man with soul so dead 
 Who never to himself hath said : 
 This is my own, my native land ; 
 Whose heart hath ne'er within him burned
 
 170 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 As home his footsteps he hath turned 
 From wandering on a foreign strand." 
 
 " Lay of the Last Minstrel." 
 
 We landed at Portsmouth on the 8th August. 
 
 A soldier is not supposed to occupy himself with 
 politics, or to concern himself about the causes of a war, 
 or the motives which led the Government of his country 
 to enter into hostilities ; he is bound to carry out his 
 orders, and exercise whatever intelligence he possesses 
 only within the limitations of his instructions ; outside 
 these, he must only think in his own heart and be still. 
 As the French poet wrote : — 
 
 " Le bon soldat ne pense pas ; 
 C'est une inconsciente machine : 
 C'est un numero dans le tas : 
 Ainsi le veut le discipline." 
 
 It is quite right that it should be so, for if everyone in 
 the army were to give expression to "his thoughts and 
 feelings, discipline, that first and all-important factor, 
 which goes so far to secure success in war, would be 
 scattered to the winds, and the army which does not 
 possess it must become a rabble. 
 
 The thoughts, however, cannot be controlled, and the 
 position I occupied, which gave opportunities every day 
 of conversing with natives of more or less good position 
 and intelligence, gave me abundant food for reflection 
 as to the causes which had led us into the impasse and 
 forced us into the discreditable position of failure and of 
 retreat before the barbarous hordes of the Mahdi, leaving 
 all the inhabitants, who had not obeyed his summons to 
 flock to his banners, either to leave their all and fly for 
 refuge to Lower Egypt, or to remain to be plundered and 
 massacred by the dervishes who were as rapacious as.
 
 END OF THE SOUDAN CAMPAIGN 171 
 
 and more merciless than, even the Khedive's officials 
 and the bashi-bazouks. 
 
 While the tyrannical and utterly corrupt government 
 of the Khedive was mostly responsible for the revolt of 
 the Soudan, there were other causes, one of which was 
 the designs of Gordon to abolish slavery, and his attempts 
 to do so without any means to enforce them, or any 
 plans to supply the wants which must be created by 
 depriving the employers of labour of the means on which 
 they and their forefathers had depended, for thousands 
 of years, as supplying the necessities of their lives. It 
 was an economic question of the highest magnitude, the 
 difficulties of which General Gordon did not apparently 
 understand or appreciate, till his last ill-fated expedition 
 to the Soudan, when the Government took the ill-advised 
 step of employing him to carry out the evacuation of the 
 Soudan — a task which, under the existing circumstances 
 and having regard to the means at his disposal, was at 
 least as difficult as any of the labours of Hercules. When 
 he arrived at Cairo he urgently requested that Zobeir 
 Pasha, " the greatest slave-hunter who ever existed," as 
 he described him, should accompany him, as he thought 
 that Zobeir's influence would " end the Mahdi," which 
 shows that Gordon, in his absence from Egypt, had not 
 grasped the enormously increased power of the Mahdi 
 consequent upon the destruction of Hicks Pasha and his 
 army ; not a dozen Zobeirs would probably have sufficed 
 to upset him. No trust whatever could be placed 
 in Zobeir's loyalty, and he was animated with bitter 
 animosity against Gordon, owing to the death of his son. 
 The Government decided that Zobeir should not be 
 employed, and certainly to do so would have been " the 
 hazard of the die." Still, it must be remembered that
 
 172 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 Sir Evelyn Baring, a man possessed of singular calm 
 and level headed judgment, and who had no special 
 confidence in the possession of such qualities by General 
 Gordon, recommended Zobeir's employment ; and, as 
 he was on the spot and possessed the confidence of the 
 Government, his recommendation ought to have been 
 carried out ; if it had been, there was just an off-chance 
 of success ; in Gordon's expedition, as it took place, 
 there was none. 
 
 To the immense astonishment of most people, General 
 Gordon issued a proclamation at Khartum to the effect 
 that slavery was no longer to be interfered with, that all 
 the severe measures adopted for its suppression were to 
 be cancelled, and that the slave trade might flourish as of 
 yore. Naturally this proclamation shocked a great many 
 well-meaning people in England ; but he was undoubtedly 
 right in what he did. The step, however, was taken 
 much too late to counteract the harm that had been done, 
 and the people of the Soudan did not believe in the good 
 faith, as regards slavery, of the man who had been the 
 great advocate for its abolition. 
 
 It must not be for a moment supposed that I have 
 not the utmost abhorrence of slavery, and that my 
 fingers did not itch to release by force, if necessary, 
 the human prey, which I often met in the desert, driven 
 along by the slave dealers. As the great German phil- 
 osopher said : " He who acts on only one maxim is a 
 pedant, and spoils things for himself and others." 
 Gordon's crusade to crush out slavery without any 
 power to do so was fine, from a moral, impossible from 
 a practical, point of view. 
 
 Gordon was possessed of the qualities of fearlessness, 
 unselfishness, philanthropy and determination ; but he
 
 END OF THE SOUDAN CAMPAIGN 173 
 
 chafed under any authority, and his proceedings after 
 his arrival at Khartum showed that the last thing he 
 was prepared to do was to carry out implicitly the in- 
 structions of the British Government as to the evacuation 
 of the Soudan. One could not but see that the employ- 
 ment of Gordon on this mission was an error which cost 
 Great Britain much blood and treasure, and the temporary 
 loss of prestige which failure must always bring. 
 
 Lord Morley, in his " Life of Gladstone," vol. iii., 
 p. i68, gives the following extract from a letter of Mr 
 Gladstone, written some few years after the war, which 
 shows clearly that the Government saw the error they 
 had committed in sending Gordon to the Soudan — which 
 was done to satisfy the Press and the public, who 
 clamoured for and demanded Gordon's emplo5nnent on 
 a mission, the difficulties of which they did not in the 
 smallest degree comprehend. 
 
 That this employment was viewed with great anxiety 
 by the Cabinet and by Sir Evelyn Baring at Cairo, there 
 is not the smallest doubt, but the vox populi was yielded 
 to. Mr Gladstone wrote : 
 
 " In the Gordon case we all, and I rather prominently, 
 must continue to suffer in silence. Gordon was a hero, 
 and a hero of heroes : but we ought to have known 
 that a hero of heroes is not the proper person to give 
 effect at a distant point, and in most difficult circum- 
 stances, to the views of ordinary men. It was unfortun- 
 ate that he should claim the hero's privilege by turning 
 upside down and inside out every idea and intention 
 with which he had left England, and for which he had 
 obtained our approval. Had my views about Zobeir 
 prevailed, it would not have removed our difficulties, 
 as Forster would certainly have moved, and, with the
 
 174 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 Tories and Irish, have carried, a condemnatory address. 
 My opinion is that it is harder to justify our doing so 
 much to rescue him, than our not doing more. Had 
 the party reached Khartoum in time, he would not have 
 come away (as I suppose), and the dilemma would have 
 been worse." 
 
 The great error of the Government lay in employing 
 Gordon, as Lord Cromer shows in " Modern Egypt," and 
 this led to all the disasters which took place in connexion 
 with it. Still, the Government cannot be seriously blamed 
 for this error of judgment. It is easy to be wise after 
 an event. As the Duke of Wellington once said : " I 
 find many ready to say what I ought to have done when 
 a battle is over, but I wish some of those persons would 
 come and tell me what to do before a battle." 
 
 As Mr Gladstone further said : " I do not doubt 
 that a true and equitable judgment will eventually 
 prevail." It is to the infinite credit of Lord Cromer 
 that, to a great extent, such judgment does now prevail. 
 
 I have read many works on the Soudan imbroglio, 
 but in my judgment there is not one which can compare 
 to Lord Cromer's " Modern Egypt," which gives a com- 
 paratively concise but clear and masterly exposition of 
 the causes which led to the relief expedition of 1884-5, 
 which was pre-doomed to failure — partly because it 
 started much too late. Lord Cromer is one who does not 
 fear to call a spade a spade, and with his ability, power 
 of observation and knowledge, his work is a most valuable 
 contribution to the history of our Empire. I hold no 
 brief for him, I do not even know him by sight, which 
 of course argues myself unknown. I have not seen him 
 for just half a century, when he was Lieutenant Evelyn 
 Baring of the Royal Artillery. He was then regarded
 
 END OF THE SOITDAN CAMPAIGN 175 
 
 with awe and admiration by us young subalterns on 
 account of his superior intellect ; though I must confess 
 he was not amazingly popular, since he appeared to us 
 to be lacking in one quality, namely, that of " suffering 
 fools gladly," which is not an attribute to be despised, 
 either in public or private life. No one has had a more 
 difficult, onerous and responsible task than Lord Cromer 
 has had in Egypt, and I doubt if anyone could have 
 fulfilled it with more credit and success than he did, or 
 more to the advantage of Egypt and the British Emphe. 
 Well, indeed, does he deserve the distinctions which 
 have fallen to him ! 
 
 It is almost impossible to believe that the Soudan, 
 which was such a terrible bite noire twenty-seven years 
 ago, and which the British Government yearned to see 
 evacuated, with the inevitable result that it would lapse 
 into a state of utter barbarism, has in those few years 
 become the Soudan of to-day — happy and contented 
 and safe as to life and property. This is the result of 
 British courage and wise administration ; and it was 
 well indeed for Egypt that France stepped aside, and left 
 the sole task to Great Britain. No other country could 
 have produced the same admirable results in so short a 
 time ; and of all the great steps on the high road of 
 civilization due to British statesmen and soldiers, there 
 is none of which we are more justified in feeling proud 
 than the rapid regeneration of the land of Ramesis and 
 Cleopatra and the Soudan.
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 IRELAND IN 1886. THE FIRST HOME RULE BILL 
 
 Appointed to the staff of Prince Edward of Saxe Weimar — Maria, 
 Marchioness of Aylesbury — The Ulster problem — Tory coquetting with 
 Home Rule — Attempt to discredit Lord Spencer — His Irish policy — 
 Lord Randolph Churchill at Belfast — Appointed Private Secretary to 
 Lord Aberdeen — Lawlessness in Ireland — Defeat of the Home Rule 
 Bill, 1886 — The Crown jewels— With Sir Redvers Buller in Kerry and 
 Clare — Arrival at Killarney — Causes of crime in the west of Ireland — 
 Sir Redvers' methods—" A noted Fenian " — Sir Redvers Buller ap- 
 appointed Under-Secretary — I succeed him as special Commissioner of 
 Police in Kerry and Clare — " Pressure within the law " — The Glenbeigh 
 evictions — Irish funerals. 
 
 I REMAINED unemployed for a very short time, 
 and in September I was appointed to the Staff of 
 H.S.H. Prince Edward of Saxe Weimar as Assistant 
 MiHtary Secretary. The Prince had just succeeded Sir 
 Thomas Steele as Commander-in-Chief in Ireland. I 
 have been as a rule, except in one or two notable in- 
 stances, singularly fortunate as to those under whom 
 I have been fated to serve. Prince Edward was kind- 
 ness of heart personified, as was the Princess, and they 
 did all in their power to make the lives around them 
 happy. He was endowed with a remarkable amount 
 of shrewdness and common sense, and though not of a 
 conspicuously energetic nature, he performed all duties 
 that fell to him thoroughly and well, and I can say with 
 conviction that no highly placed officer in the army was 
 regarded with greater affection, and that deservedly. 
 
 The presence of Serene Highnesses in the capital of 
 Ireland caused considerable flutter in the dovecots of 
 
 176
 
 IRELAND IN 1886 177 
 
 society, and having, or at least showing, no poHtical 
 tendencies, the Prince and Princess soon became and 
 remained great favourites with all classes. They pos- 
 sessed the very soul of hospitality, and the Royal Hospital 
 was always filled with guests, among whom often were 
 some remarkable people, for instance, Maria, Marchioness 
 of Aylesbury, who bore a marked and singular likeness 
 to the efhgy of Queen Elizabeth in the glass case in 
 St Islip's Tower in Westminster Abbey. Her aquiline 
 nose and generally imposing and commanding appear- 
 ance were very striking, and contributed to the impression 
 that one was regarding something very like the immortal 
 Queen Bess. She was probably the most favoured and 
 favourite guest in Great Britain, a guest who could not 
 come too often, nor outstay her welcome. During the 
 time that Prince and Princess Edward were at the Royal 
 Hospital, there always appeared to be a blank when this 
 charming grande dame was not staying there, which she 
 did very frequently. She was most considerate and 
 kind-hearted towards servants, but the latter held her 
 in great awe ; for she had an extraordinarily acute eye 
 for the shghtest deviation from the correct, when they 
 were in attendance, and she drilled and trained her men- 
 servants with the greatest pains, so that any such servant 
 coming from her carried the cachet of menial perfection. 
 
 The foUowing letter addressed by her to me, when 
 I was stmgghng with considerable difficulties to carry 
 out my task in maintaining law and order in the south- 
 west and west of Ireland, will be read with interest, 
 especially at the present time when the oft debated and 
 fiercely contested question of Home Rule is about once 
 more to become that of the hour, and when sounds of 
 the coming battle already fill the air : —
 
 178 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 " Tuesday, March 19, 1889, 
 " Royal Hospital, Dublin. 
 
 " Thanks, dear Colonel Turner, for your letter and 
 enclosure. No peace for Ireland until there is * Home 
 Rule ' in some form, I say. I quite admit this cannot be 
 done unless ' Ulster ' joins. However, we differ, and 
 no wonder in such a disaffected part of Ireland where 
 you are. I read Clifford Lloyd's letter in yesterday's 
 ' Times ' ; now that he is for Home Rule, as he states, why 
 should not political powers on both sides agree on some 
 common course of action with a view to some peaceful 
 solution of this much vexed question ? My view of 
 ' Home Rule ' is not disintegration or Gladstone's 
 either. I hope you will soon have some rest, for you 
 require it after all you have gone through. Thanks for 
 your expressions to myself. I was much pleased to see 
 you again. 
 
 " I am, dear Colonel Turner, 
 
 " Yours very sincerely, 
 
 " M. E. Aylesbury." 
 
 This letter was in reply to one of mine, in which I 
 wrote that, though law and order had been restored, 
 this had only been effected through brute force, and that 
 though I could by such means keep the peace, the dis- 
 content was as great as ever, and that if the present 
 controlling power were removed or slackened, things 
 would be as difficult as ever. Lady Aylesbury was an 
 acute observer and an ardent friend and admirer, but 
 not a blind follower, of Mr Gladstone. She was con- 
 vinced as to the hopelessness of making Ireland peaceful 
 and contented under Dublin Castle Rule, but she always 
 appreciated the deadly difficulty of the irreconcilable
 
 IRELAND IN 1886 179 
 
 Ulster minority, with their intense hatred of the Pope 
 and Cathohcism, and their deep, though unfounded, 
 dread that Papish domination would take the place of 
 the much gloried-in Protestant ascendancy, to the ghost 
 of which they still cling with the bigotry of the Middle 
 Ages. If Ulster would, as Lady Aylesbury writes, join 
 with the rest of Ireland, as the latter would readily do 
 with them, the settlement of this long-standing question 
 of Home Rule would soon and surely be settled. Ulster 
 would be received with open arms, and my experience 
 of the most disturbed countries of Ireland, at a time of 
 something like suppressed revolution, convinced me that 
 there is not the smallest justification for the assumption 
 that under Home Rule Protestants would fare badly 
 at the hands of their Catholic fellow-countrymen. As 
 it is, a system of Goveriunent which is ardently desired 
 by some four-fifths of the Irish people, including even a 
 large proportion of Ulstermen, is blocked by an irrecon- 
 cilable minority, thus causing perpetual friction and 
 irritation, and making the settlement of the Irish question 
 one of insurmountable difficulty. For, as Lady Ayles- 
 bury shrewdly remarked twenty-two years ago, a solution 
 cannot be arrived at unless " Ulster joins." Otherwise, 
 under Home Rule, there would be a large discontented 
 minority, and the last state would be even worse than 
 the first. Is it too much to hope that, for the common 
 good of Ireland, Ulster will join and take her share and 
 responsibility in a new system of Government, introduced 
 to supersede the old one, which has never been satis- 
 factory, and which is hated by the vast majority of the 
 Irish people ? 
 
 The bogey of separation is surely not contemplated 
 by any sane man, and angry and foolish words spoken
 
 180 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 by orators under the influence of feelings of injustice 
 and imputed inferiority may be regarded as " trifles 
 light as air," with no real meaning. 
 
 I found many and great changes on my return to 
 Ireland. Lord Sahsbury's Government had succeeded 
 that of Mr Gladstone, Lord Carnarvon had taken the 
 place of Lord Spencer, and the air was full of rumours of 
 an agreement between Mr Parnell, the uncrowned king 
 of Ireland, and Her Majesty's Government, upon the 
 subject of Home Rule. Lord Carnarvon had had, as it 
 turned out afterwards, with the approval of Lord Salisbury, 
 a long interview with Mr Parnell, in a house in Grosvenor 
 Square, and the Irish Unionists were suspicious and 
 irritated. Shortly after my arrival I was dining at the 
 King's Inn and sat beside a judge whom I knew well. 
 He had just come from circuit in the West, and he told 
 me that he had ascertained without a doubt that confi- 
 dential orders had been sent to the police officials through- 
 out Ireland to minimize the reports of crime in their 
 districts to the utmost, for the purpose of showing that 
 there was no need for exceptional legislation, and that, 
 as he supposed, the country was ripe for Home Rule. 
 He also told me with horror that the Catholic Arch- 
 bishop of Dublin, a strong Nationahst, had actually been 
 seen driving to the Viceregal Lodge to visit Lord Car- 
 narvon. The latter was a nobleman of the broadest 
 views, the greatest experience, and the highest integrity. 
 He saw clearly, as many others have done, that it was 
 impossible to rule Ireland under the existing conditions ; 
 in these ideas he was strongly and ably supported by 
 Sir Robert Hamilton. A sorry feature of it all was that 
 Lord Spencer, who had been forced to coercion by the 
 Phoenix Park murders and many crimes, and who had
 
 IRELAND IN 1886 181 
 
 been lauded to the skies for his firmness by the Tory 
 Party, was now discredited, to the satisfaction of the 
 NationaHsts, who jumped to the conclusion that a Govern- 
 ment had now come into power which was going to 
 satisfy their aspirations and give them Home Rule. 
 Ulster was furious, and the words " treason " and 
 " treachery " were thrown about broadcast. The 
 Maamtrasna murders, to which I have before alluded, 
 and the execution of one of the convicted men, were 
 brought up, and Lord Spencer was shamefully charged 
 with having knowingly allowed an innocent man, Myles 
 Joyce, to be hanged — though he was proved without 
 a doubt to have been one of the gang. To such lengths 
 did the attempts go to discredit his administration for 
 political purposes. 
 
 It has been shown without a doubt that Lord Salisbury 
 did not contemplate giving Home Rule in any shape, 
 and that the famous interview between Lord Carnarvon 
 and Mr Parnell, though approved by him, was not an 
 official one, but was meant as a means to discover what 
 the Irish leader wanted, and whether any means could 
 be found, short of giving Home Rule, to satisfy the 
 Nationalists, and so far restore peace to Ireland that 
 exceptional coercive legislation might be abolished. 
 The intention was excellent, but it was playing with 
 fire, and it ought to have been known that under no 
 circumstances would anything less than autonomy 
 satisfy Mr Parnell and the Irish Party, and that unless 
 it was intended to give some concessions in this direction, 
 it would have been much wiser to abstain from taking 
 steps which are firmly believed to this day to indicate 
 that Lord Salisbury's Government was prepared to enter 
 into a compact with Mr Parnell and his followers. So
 
 182 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 strongly did certain great statesmen feel on the subject 
 that Mr Chamberlain denounced the conduct of the 
 Ministry in performing "a strategic movement of that 
 kind, executed in opposition to the notorious convictions 
 of the men who effected it, carried out for party purposes, 
 and party purposes alone, is the most flagrant instance 
 of political dishonesty this country has ever known." 
 While Lord Hartington used equally strong and forcible 
 language on the subject.^ 
 
 Being, as I was, in a military appointment at the time 
 of the Carnarvon Viceroyalty, I had nothing to do with 
 what was going on in Dublin Castle, or the Viceregal 
 Lodge ; but, as I had been in close and confidential 
 relations with Lord Spencer from 1882 to 1884, often 
 acting as his Private Secretary, and as I constantly 
 associated with officials and others, I may say that I 
 was to a great extent behind the scenes, and I was full 
 of indignation at the way in which Lord Spencer was 
 decried by the Tories for carrying out a system of coercive 
 administration, which he did for the maintenance of 
 law and order, and for the suppression of crime — then 
 terribly rampant in the country, and for which, and for 
 his unshaken firmness and courage, they had previously 
 lauded him to the skies. Whatever the cause of the state 
 of crime which prevailed, he rightly saw that first of all 
 crime must be repressed and order restored, and that no 
 new system of Government and administration was 
 possible while Ireland was in a state of actual turmoil 
 and disorder. 
 
 It was the habit of the Tories who stood aloof from 
 and disapproved of the rapprochc^nent of their Govern- 
 ment and the Nationalists, to accuse Lord Spencer and 
 
 ^ Lord Morley's " Life of Gladstone," vol. iii., pp. 214, 215.
 
 IRELAND IN 1886 183 
 
 Mr Gladstone with having become sudden converts 
 to Home Rule, for political ends, because they thought 
 that the Tories would take and hold the lead in settling 
 the Irish imbroglio. With regard to Lord Spencer, 
 I know from long and, I am proud to say, intimate 
 association, that he was the last man in the world to 
 subordinate his opinion to political exigencies. He 
 often and often conversed with me on the subject of the 
 system of governing Ireland. He was convinced that 
 it was all wrong, unsuited and abhorrent to the people, 
 cumbrous, and centralized to the utmost. He entirely 
 scorned the idea that separation and the formation of an 
 Irish Republic were the aims of the Irish leader and his 
 Party, who asked for no more than had done Daniel 
 O'Connell and Isaac Butt. I am absolutely certain that 
 had Lord Spencer remained in office long enough to see 
 the coming of the day when the country was in a state 
 which justified a return to the normal action of the 
 law, he would have made proposals to Mr Gladstone to 
 establish measures of self-government, and that the 
 coquetting of the Tories with Mr Parnell, and the 
 temporary treaty with the Irish Party had nothing 
 whatever to say to Lord Spencer's strong attitude on 
 the subject of Home Rule, when introduced by Mr 
 Gladstone. There is no doubt that he was stung to the 
 quick by Lord Randolph Churchill's attack upon his 
 Irish administration, but it is entirely erroneous to 
 suppose that it or any of the similar onslaughts which 
 were directed against him influenced his mind or gave 
 a bias to his calm and level-headed judgment. 
 
 As to the charge against Mr Gladstone that he adopted 
 Home Rule because the result of the elections of February, 
 1886, had placed it in the power of the Irish to put him
 
 184 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 into office or turn him out, this is, as Lord Morley points 
 out, entirely disproved by a letter he wrote to Mr Childers, 
 when the latter in September, 1885, wrote to him and 
 asked him for an expression of opinion upon an announce- 
 ment in favour of Home Rule, which he proposed to 
 make to his constituents at Pontefract. In the course 
 of his letter Mr Gladstone expressed complete approval 
 of Mr Childers' proclamation. Further, in 1885, he said, 
 with regard to Mr Chamberlain's scheme, " Subject to 
 the supremacy of the Crown, the unity of the Empire 
 and all the authority of Parliament necessary for the 
 conservation of that unity, every grant to portions of 
 the country of enlarged powers for the management of 
 their own affairs was not a source of danger, but a means 
 of averting it." 
 
 As to the legislative union — " I believe history and 
 posterity will consign to disgrace the name and memory 
 of every man, be he who he may, and on whichever side 
 of the channel he may dwell, that, having the power to 
 aid in an equitable settlement between Ireland and 
 Great Britain shall use that power, not to aid, but to 
 prevent and retard it." ^ No person unblinded by 
 prejudice could fail to see from the above that Mr Glad- 
 stone had long been convinced as to the necessity for 
 autonomy for Ireland. 
 
 The bubble of Tory-Irish alliance did not last long ; 
 at the end of January the Government was defeated by 
 seventy-nine votes, and Mr Gladstone was called to 
 form a Government, which, if supported by the Irish 
 Nationalists, who now numbered over eighty, disposed 
 of a large majority. Then came, like a thunderbolt, 
 the fighting speech of Lord Randolph Churchill, whom 
 
 ^ Lord Morley's " Life of Gladstone," pp. 236-7.
 
 IRELAND IN 1886 185 
 
 up to then the Irish Nationahsts had regarded as favour- 
 able to their cause. He incited Ulster to resist Home 
 Rule, coined the battle-cry, " Ulster will fight, Ulster 
 will be right " ; and the result was intense embitterment 
 between the Orangemen and Catholics, which led to 
 warfare with great loss of life and destruction of property. 
 
 It may be imagined with what acute interest I 
 watched the shifting course of events in Ireland, though 
 only as a passive spectator. This interest was naturally 
 not abated when one morning I received a letter from 
 Lord Spencer, informing me that Lord Aberdeen had 
 been appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and asking 
 me if I should feel disposed to accept the place of Private 
 Secretary to him. I communicated at once with Lord 
 Wolseley, asking his advice as that of a dear and old 
 friend, and he advised acceptance. I accordingly re- 
 signed my position as Assistant Military Secretary, 
 through which act, I fear, I gave considerable umbrage 
 and caused immense surprise that I should give up such 
 an easy, comfortable office under such a Chief as Prince 
 Edward. The fact was that the duties of the post 
 amounted to a sinecure, even including the management 
 of the Grand Military Races at Punchestown, which 
 tradition had attached to the office and which was not 
 in the least congenial to me. 
 
 I have always led a strenuous, fully occupied life ; 
 I had just come from a year's incessant hard work in 
 the Soudan, and I could not settle down to a vacant, 
 idle existence. I was a firm believer, moreover, in Mr 
 Gladstone and Lord Spencer, and it was therefore with 
 great joy that I entered into the duties of Private Secretary, 
 and took part, though a humble one, in the first great 
 fight for Home Rule, which was destined to be short.
 
 186 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 sharp, decisive and disastrous in its result upon the 
 Gladstonian Government, whil ■, with a short interval, 
 it brought the Tories into power for twenty years. 
 
 Lord Carnarvon had, in the meantime, resigned just 
 before the fall of Lord Salisbury's Government, on 
 28th January, 1886, and Mr Smith had been actually 
 appointed Chief Secretary to reverse his policy of con- 
 ciliation, and presumably to give poor Ireland another 
 dose of increased coercion, from which for the time 
 the country was saved by the change of Government, 
 Lord Aberdeen landed at Kingstown on loth February, 
 where I met him. He was well received, and was shortly 
 afterwards followed by Lady Aberdeen. Neither of 
 them were ever weary of well-doing, and they succeeded 
 in making themselves dear to the Irish people during 
 the short five months that the Viceroyalty and Govern- 
 ment lasted. 
 
 Naturally a certain aristocratic and soi-disant aristo- 
 cratic clique held aloof from the castle, the drawing- 
 rooms and the levees, and threw up their eyes in scorn 
 and derision at the class of people who attended at these 
 functions ; but their absence and contempt counted 
 for nothing, and nobody seemed a penny the worse. 
 Lord and Lady Aberdeen did much to conciliate people 
 of a class then considered irreconcilable, and it is deeply 
 to be deplored that the really valuable work done by 
 them, which bore much good fruit in a short time, should 
 have been nipped in the bud and suspended for nigh a 
 score of years. The change which then took place in 
 Irish Government gave probably the most remarkable 
 illustration of the old saying, that that unfortunate 
 country is the football of English political parties. 
 
 Ireland is indeed unfortunate. The most promising
 
 IRELAND IN 1886 187 
 
 situations and opportunities have often been blighted 
 by internal dissensions, which are not unknown up to 
 the present day, or by crimes which are seized hold of by 
 political enemies and dangled before the public as proofs 
 of the unfitness of Ireland for self-government. These 
 statements are greedily swallowed by those " whose 
 wish js father to the thought," and the whole country 
 and its leaders are branded as little short of criminal 
 because of the crimes of a few, which amount in Ireland 
 to far less in proportion than those committed in other 
 parts of Great Britain. To Ireland is always imputed, 
 as Mr Gladstone said, " a double dose of original sin." 
 
 At the time of which I speak, bad crimes were of 
 constant occurrence in the west and south-west of Ireland. 
 In County Kerry, the population of which is as a rule 
 law-abiding and crimeless, murders of an atrocious 
 description, committed under circumstances of revolting 
 barbarity, were frequent, in spite of the vigorous exer- 
 tions of the Bishop, Dr Higgins, and his Catholic clergy. In 
 fact, a wave of crime appeared to be passing over the 
 country, exciting to frenzy the usually courteous, kind- 
 hearted and easy-going peasantry. Castle-island and 
 the neighbourhood acquired an especially evil reputation. 
 Here it was that when Lord Spencer rode through its 
 long street, black flags with death's-head and cross-bones 
 were displayed to welcome him instead of the Union 
 Jack ; and the principal inhabitant, a small shop-keeper, 
 endeavoured to obtain advertisement and mention in 
 the Press by refusing to take the Viceroy's proffered 
 hand ! 
 
 The inception and origin of the crimes, many of which 
 were not agrarian at all, were attributed to Mr Parnell 
 and his Party, who had no more to say or to do with
 
 188 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 them than I had with the death of the Mahdi, which, as 
 I have before related, was attributed to me. Any stick 
 serves to beat a dog if you want to beat him, and no 
 charge was too impossible or mendacious to be made 
 against the Irish Party. 
 
 It can well be imagined that a strong reflection of the 
 passion-permeated political feeling in London during 
 the discussion of the Home Rule Bill was thrown upon 
 Ireland. The debates were followed, day by day, with 
 feverish attention ; hopes and fears alternated. The 
 varying moods of Mr Chamberlain, formerly regarded 
 by the Irish as a staunch friend and advocate of autonomy, 
 were closely scanned. It was believed that Mr Gladstone, 
 with the help of Mr Morley, the best and most trusted 
 of Chief Secretaries, since Mr Drummond, would just 
 carry through the Bill on the second reading. Mr 
 Gladstone exceeded himself — his speech was magnificent ; 
 but Ireland's chance was not to come yet. 
 
 On the night of 7th June, when the division was taken, 
 the Staff and some friends of the Viceroy were assembled 
 in the Viceregal Lodge, awaiting the fateful telegram 
 which was to announce the result. It came about 2 a.m. 
 on 8th June. Mr Chamberlain and ninety-two other 
 Liberals had voted against the Chief and Party. The 
 Bill was defeated by 343 against 313, and the first great 
 Home Rule phase came to an end. 
 
 After much deliberation, Parliament was dissolved, 
 and an election was fought, into which the energy of 
 both sides was fiercely thrown. The result was that, to 
 regard Ireland only, 390 were against Home Rule, 280 
 in favour of it — or a Unionist majority of no ; and as 
 a matter of course Mr Gladstone resigned. 
 
 Lord and Lady Aberdeen had a most triumphal send-
 
 IRELAND IN 1886 189 
 
 off, the streets being packed and the enthusiasm intense. 
 I was forcibly reminded of the departure of Lord Spencer 
 only a few months before, when he was assailed by the 
 hideous boos and execrations of a mob who judged of his 
 rule merely from the surface incidents which had been 
 forced upon him, and little thought that they were wit- 
 nessing the departure of one of the truest and best friends 
 that Ireland ever possessed. 
 
 When Lord Aberdeen left, the Crown jewels were given 
 to me to hand over next day for Lord Londonderry. I 
 simply locked them up in the drawer of my writing table, 
 where they remained till wanted. Familiarity breeds 
 contempt, and none of us at the Castle or Viceregal 
 Lodge had the smallest regard or idea of the value of 
 the now notorious lost jewels, which nobody took par- 
 ticular care of. Later, some official brought to notice 
 their value and the loose manner of their custody. In 
 consequence of this a safe was specially constructed for 
 their security by the Board of Works. When it arrived 
 it was found to be much too large to be passed through 
 the doorway of the room in St John's Tower, for which 
 it was intended. When this fact came to public know- 
 ledge, people exclaimed, " Just like the Board of Works," 
 which was of course an undeserved calumny ! 
 
 The result of the mistake was that the safe with its 
 precious contents was stowed in the passage, and that 
 thieves entered that passage, opened the safe and 
 abstracted the jewels, of which no trace has been dis- 
 covered — though some of the brilliants were well-known 
 and renowned. All sorts of wild theories were formed, 
 persons in the highest position were scandalously hinted 
 at as being the culprits, but the case still remains one of 
 the mysteriously undiscovered ; and the apparent haste
 
 190 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 with which the search and investigation were suddenly 
 allowed to drop added much to intensify the mystery, 
 and to create the wildest and most baseless suspicions. 
 
 It was to cope with the serious and ever-increasing 
 lawlessness in Kerry and Clare that it was determined 
 to make a special appointment, to be filled by Sir Redvers 
 Buller, who was given the full powers within the law to 
 deal with what was undoubtedly for a time a dangerous 
 state of things as regards life and property ; for the 
 action of the ordinary law was paralysed. No one would 
 come forward as a witness, and no jury would convict 
 upon even the clearest evidence given by an eye-witness 
 of a crime. It was freely stated that Sir Redvers was 
 employed because Sir Michael Hicks Beach was appre- 
 hensive of an actual rising in force in those two counties. 
 He was much too clever and level-headed a man to 
 imagine any such nonsense. A cavalry regiment and 
 battalion of infantry would have been quite sufficient 
 to deal with any uprising, and Sir Redvers Buller derided 
 the idea of such a scare, as there were neither arms of 
 any account nor leaders nor possibility of organization 
 of any kind. He was employed because he was justly 
 considered qualified to carry out successfully a task 
 which called for great resolution and firmness, coupled 
 with tact and kindness of heart, all of which qualities 
 he possessed in a very high degree. 
 
 His appointment met with considerable opposition, 
 and Mr Edward Russell made a motion for the adjourn- 
 ment of the House as a protest against the iniquity of 
 employing an officer who had only been accustomed to 
 deal with savages to carry out civil duties. Lord 
 Randolph Churchill, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, 
 in a masterly and masterful speech, shattered the argu-
 
 IRELAND IN 1886 191 
 
 ments of Mr Russell and turned them into ridicule ; 
 saying " that Her Majesty's Government entirely decline 
 to take any part in the discussion." The Motion was, 
 however, pressed to a division, and defeated by 241 
 against 146. ^ 
 
 As soon as his appointment was confirmed, Sir Redvers 
 wrote to me, to the Private Secretary's Lodge in Dubhn, 
 which I had not yet left, and asked me if I would go to 
 the west of Ireland as his assistant, as my knowledge 
 and experience of the country would be of great service 
 to him. I hesitated for a time, as I had an instinct that 
 it was not a bed of roses that lay before me ; however, 
 I knew Sir Redvers well. He was one of the few men 
 I have ever met in whom I thoroughly believed, and I 
 am sure that even if I had foreseen the difficult path, 
 strewn with thorns, that I was destined to follow for 
 the next six years, I should not have declined his offer. 
 
 When he arrived in Dublin and announced that he 
 was going to take me, very long faces were pulled, and 
 strong objections were made. A noble law-lord who 
 much fancied himself as guiding the first footsteps of 
 the new Lord-Lieutenant, Lord Londonderry, who, as a 
 matter of fact, needed no guiding beyond his own ability, 
 profound courage and common sense, declared that I 
 was " much too tarred by the Home Rule brush " to be 
 employed in such a capacity, and that it would create 
 a very bad impression among the Unionists of Ireland 
 if I was allowed to go. Sir Redvers was not the man 
 to be driven from his position, once taken up, and he 
 made a point of it that I should accompany him. At 
 last a most reluctant assent was given. 
 
 This little incident shows how intensely political 
 
 1 See "Life of Lord Randolph Churchill," by Mr Winston Churchill, 
 vol. ii., pp. 42-43.
 
 192 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 feeling runs in Ireland, and how exiguous is the mind of 
 some of its officials. The idea that a British officer is 
 incapable of doing his duty which he has undertaken, 
 and for which he is paid, because his political opinions 
 do not happen to coincide with those of the Government 
 under whom he is serving, could hardly have germinated 
 outside the circles of Irish Unionists of that day. 
 
 When we arrived at Killarney, accompanied from 
 Dublin by Mr Meldon, a Resident Magistrate and barrister 
 who had been attached to Sir Redvers' Staff as legal 
 adviser, we were received at the railway station by Mr 
 Moriarty, the County Inspector, and Mr Crane, the District 
 Inspector of the Royal Irish Constabulary, two excellent 
 officers both of whom were long associated with me in 
 my Irish work. There was a large number of police 
 present, and every part of the platform and the open 
 space between the station and the Great South- Western 
 Railway Hotel was literally packed with Kerry men, 
 who had flocked into Killarney to see what this renowned 
 soldier was like, who had been sent by the Government 
 to put fear and dread into the heart of the moonlighters. 
 Of the latter, we were told by the police that practically 
 the whole body were present. Sir Redvers was received 
 in respectful silence, and was closely scanned by all who 
 could come near him, and then the crowd quickly dis- 
 persed. We were much struck by the appearance of the 
 " Boys of Kerry " who looked the very reverse of the 
 dangerous criminals and assassins which they were then 
 represented to be ; of generally fine physique, their 
 faces were intelligent and kindly, as I always found them 
 personally to be. The undoubted existence of a simple, 
 hospitable, and most sympathetic nature, adds much to 
 the mystery that these people could commit the deeds
 
 IRELAND IN 1886 193 
 
 of cruelty which then soiled the reputation of fair Kerry. 
 It has been asserted that the priests winked at, and the 
 National Party encouraged the crimes, as a portion of 
 the wheel which was gradually to break landlordism. 
 This is a foul calumny on both. The Bishop of Kerry 
 and his priests did everything in their power to suppress 
 crime, and the Nationalist leaders did the same as far as 
 they could, without showing sympathy with a Govern- 
 ment detested by the people, and all the more so now, 
 because rightly or wrongly, they thought they had been 
 befooled and hoodwinked by the Conservative Govern- 
 ment the year before. 
 
 The only solution I can offer is this. A large number 
 of families evicted in the past had emigrated to America. 
 The memory of the cruel hardships they had suffered 
 in being turned out of their homes for the non-payment 
 of rents, which they could not possibly pay in most 
 instances, were never forgotten, and the story of them 
 was handed down from father to son. The hope of 
 vendetta was always before them. A good many of 
 the younger members of these families came from time 
 to time to see their relatives at home as they always 
 called it, and to look at the holdings out of which their 
 fathers and mothers had been driven. The sight of these 
 worked powerfully upon their emotional Celtic minds, 
 and often drove them into a state of furor. They gathered 
 round them the youths of the localities, showed forth, 
 often with wdld eloquence, the wrongs which their families 
 had suffered, and warned their hearers that they, their 
 fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters and sweethearts, had 
 all the same fate hanging over them, at the hands of 
 certain ruthless, cruel, grasping landlords and agents, 
 who were the curse of Ireland. The youth of Kerry, 
 13
 
 194 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 excited to madness by these harangues, formed them- 
 selves into gangs of moonlighters, and as it was too 
 difficult and dangerous to deal directly with the landlords, 
 who were, besides, constantly absentees and unknown, 
 and the agents, who were guarded by police, they set 
 themselves to work indirectly by intimidating and punish- 
 ing any tenants who sympathized with and were favoured 
 by the owners of the land or their often still more detested 
 representatives. 
 
 Sir Redvers BuUer quickly made himself acquainted 
 with his two counties, driving great distances every day, 
 and conversing freely with the people of all classes. He 
 was urged to take large escorts of police on cars for his 
 safety, and to impose upon the inhabitants. He absolutely 
 refused, somewhat to the consternation of some of the 
 officials, and he was accompanied as a rule by only the 
 County Inspector, myself and a police-orderly. I believe 
 we carried revolvers, as did all the Irish Constabulary 
 at that time. We also had on the car a Winchester 
 repeating rifle, but this was never loaded. Needless to 
 say we were never molested. We were as safe in Kerry 
 as we should have been in any part of England. 
 
 The appointment of Sir Redvers Duller gave great 
 satisfaction and hopes to certain classes in Ireland, 
 as opposed to the masses. They thought that Clare 
 and Kerry would soon be dragooned into abject sub- 
 mission by military procedure and brute force, but like 
 Balak they were doomed to disappointment. Sir Redvers 
 soon found out that all was not right, and that in many 
 cases rents were being extorted from the tenantry which 
 they could not possibly pay and at the same time support 
 their families. They were regarded in the light of rent 
 making automatons.
 
 IRELAND IN 1886 195 
 
 The advent of General Buller naturally caused much 
 excitement among the Nationalists, who also concluded 
 that one of the objects of his mission was to dragoon the 
 tenants. His arrival was heralded by a cartoon in 
 " United Ireland," in which he was represented in uniform 
 on a camel, which also carried Mr Sam Hussey, probably 
 then the most feared and detested land agent in Ireland. 
 The general is knocking with his revolver, labelled 
 " eviction notice " at the door of a farm house, and the 
 camel is also made to carry a sack of writs and notices 
 to quit. A fortnight later the same paper issued a 
 cartoon, showing the complete discomfiture and failure 
 of Sir Redvers. A Kerry bull is depicted tossing the 
 supposed dragooning rent collector and his bag of writs 
 high into the air. After this no hostile mention or 
 caricatures of the general appeared, for the tenants 
 had come to learn that, if he was not their friend, he was 
 no partial or one-sided official who had come to oppress 
 them, but a fair and broad-minded man, determined to 
 act according to the state of things which actually 
 existed, and not to be swayed a hair's breadth by the 
 influence of one party in Ireland or the other. As such 
 he will be gratefully remembered by the tenants of Kerry 
 and Clare. 0,si sic Omnes. 
 
 At this time the Government appointed a Royal 
 Commission, with Lord Cowper as chairman, to inquire 
 into the working of the Irish Land Acts, and to investigate 
 among other things the causes for the disturbed state 
 of things in Kerry and Clare, and further to hold out 
 hopes that a measure of local Government such as pre- 
 vailed in England and Scotland would be extended to 
 Ireland. The Commission came to Killarney and held 
 its sittings in the Railway Hotel, where were our head-
 
 196 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 quarters ; Sir Redvers was summoned as a witness as 
 to the causes of the condition of Kerry. While he was 
 giving evidence I was standing on the steps of the hotel, 
 when a representative of the Press whom I knew well 
 came rushing out of the hotel in a great state of excite- 
 ment and said to me, " What do you think he has told 
 them — that the National League is the safety of the 
 Irish people." He then ran to the post office to telegraph 
 the momentous pronouncement to the Press, and returned 
 to the Commission. A few minutes later he came out 
 looking still more pleased, and told me that Sir Redvers 
 had stated to the Commission that the law in Ireland 
 was made for the benefit of the rich and not for the poor. 
 This was also at once telegraphed all over the United 
 Kingdom, and produced enormous sensation. The anger 
 of the " classes " was supreme, and a noble lord who 
 was a member of the Commission wrote to a high official, 
 who left the letter carelessly about, and enabled it to be 
 communicated to the Press, as was very usual at that 
 time with private letters ; in it was asserted that 
 " BuUer appeared to be all right and well-intentioned, but 
 he was in the hands of a noted Fenian, and allowed him- 
 self to be led astray completely." This " noted Fenian " 
 was, needless to say, myself, who was so " tarred with 
 the Home Rule brush." 
 
 The Government was much too sensible to act with 
 regard to Sir Redvers as many persons wished them to 
 do, for they knew their man and felt that he had made, 
 if rather a blunt, a certainly true and unvarnished state- 
 ment of fact ; indeed, so far from calling him to account, 
 when they removed Sir Robert Hamilton from his 
 position as Under-Secretary, because of his feelings as 
 regards Home Rule, Sir Redvers Duller was appointed
 
 IRELAND IN 1886 197 
 
 in his place, while I succeeded him as Special Commissioner 
 of Police in Kerry and Clare, to which the Counties of 
 Cork and Limerick were added later on. 
 
 Sir Redvers was strongly impressed with the con- 
 viction that the immediate causes of the crimes and 
 disturbance were that the majority of the tenants could 
 not pay the rents demanded, that many of the landlords 
 and agents persisted irrationally in claiming their rights, 
 and that though the results of evicting on a large scale 
 would be analogous to the battle of the Kilkenny cats, 
 their attitude was such that they would, rather hit them- 
 selves hard than refrain from punishing what they held 
 to be, a contumacious, rebellious and dishonest tenantry. 
 He inquired most patiently and carefully into all such 
 cases, and either he, or I, by his directions, interviewed 
 both landlords and tenants, and endeavoured to bring 
 about a settlement between the two, pointing out that 
 it was far more to the interest of the landlord to accept 
 what his tenants could pay than to turn them out of 
 their homes and to have the farms thrown derelict on 
 their own hands — in which case they would gain nothing 
 and lose everything, for no one would take an evicted 
 farm. It was hinted in plain terms that they must not 
 rely upon receiving the help of the forces of the Crown 
 to aid them in carrying out unjust evictions. This 
 action was termed " pressure within the law." Un- 
 fortunately, many of the landlords, who were men of 
 great political influence, protested most vigorously 
 against the Government's possessing any power to dis- 
 pense with the letter of the law. They were undoubtedly 
 within their strict legal rights, and the Government was 
 not strong enough to resist or to introduce special and 
 effectual legislation on the subject ; so the miHtary and
 
 198 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 police were iinstintingly placed at their disposal, and 
 large tracts of country were cleared of their occupiers, 
 often to become derelict and a picture of desolation. 
 
 The first evictions I saw were carried out on a 
 wretchedly poor seaside estate called Glenbeigh. The 
 tenants appeared to be little better than paupers, their 
 holdings were small, and their cabins such that an English 
 farmer would hesitate about using them for cattle shelters. 
 The tenants would have been in poverty had they been 
 rent free. Sir Redvers Duller had been summoned to 
 Dublin Castle, and the task fell upon me of taking charge 
 of the proceedings so far as the protection of the Sheriff 
 was concerned. There was no resistance ; the tenants, 
 silent, sorrowful and looking half-starved, allowed them- 
 selves quietly to be ejected ; and then for the first time 
 my eyes were met by the sight of groups of men, women 
 and children thrown out of their homes on the road-side 
 with their miserable pieces of so-called furniture. I 
 must confess that the spectacle stirred my indignation 
 considerably, and made me think how very far the law 
 of man is from the law of God, since, under the segis 
 of the former, acts of cruelty could be perpetrated whole- 
 sale upon people whose only crime was that they were 
 poor. The priest of Glenbeigh, a most worthy father of 
 his flock, was present, and I asked him what would 
 become of these homeless people. He told me that the 
 neighbours, who were a little less poor than the evicted, 
 would take them into their cabins and give them shelter, 
 and that he would get up a subscription for them. To- 
 wards this I gave him £$ — ^with strict injunctions that 
 my name was not to appear on the list. He was, how- 
 ever, apparently so overcome by his feelings that he 
 could not keep the matter to himself, and when it became
 
 IRELAND IN 1886 199 
 
 known, " asinine," " sentimental," " mischievous," were 
 the mildest epithets applied to me by the " governing " 
 classes, and I was regarded with more suspicion than 
 ever. I am happy to say that before long a settlement 
 was made on the Glenbeigh estate, through which the 
 tenants were restored to their cherished but miserable 
 hovels and holdings. 
 
 I had one more set of evictions to superintend before 
 Sir Red vers Buller gave over the charge of the district 
 to me. The scene was at Ballyferriter, on the north 
 coast of Kerry, near the foot of the grand mountain and 
 headland of Brandon, close to the spot where a force of 
 Spaniards had been defeated and massacred to the last 
 man by the wild Irish in the sixteenth century. A 
 few days previously, the Sheriff, with a small body of 
 police, had arrived to carry out the evictions, but the 
 wild people of the hills, armed with blackthorns, scythes 
 and the like, had made a violent onslaught on the party, 
 and had forced them to beat a hasty retreat. I was 
 ordered to repair to the locality with a large body of 
 police, to restore order, to protect the Sheriff and enable 
 him to carry out the evictions. 
 
 When we arrived the people were all assembled on 
 the hills above the property, but I could not make out 
 whether they were armed or not. They made no hostile 
 demonstration beyond a little booing, which was at once 
 suppressed by the men in authority among them. When 
 we arrived at the first house to be evicted, the priests 
 of the locality were there, and approached me, who, 
 with the sub-sheriff and agent of the estate which be- 
 longed to Lord Cork, Mr O' Kearney, were walking at 
 the head of the column of police. A long parley and 
 explanations ensued, with the happy result that the
 
 200 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 agent, a most considerate, able and level-headed man, 
 agreed to accept what the priests assured him the tenants 
 were in a position to pay. A settlement was soon arrived 
 at, the poor people were left undisturbed in their homes, 
 law and order were restored on the spot, and the spectators 
 flocked down from the hills as soon as they heard the 
 joyful news — not to fight, but to fraternize, with the 
 police, and to congratulate their fellows on their happy 
 escape from impending suffering. I am sure Lord Cork, 
 one of the best and kindest of landlords, was delighted 
 with the result — not so certain other Kerry landlords 
 and agents, one of whom met me on my return to 
 Tralee to ask me what had happened. I told him, 
 thinking that the news would mightily please him. To 
 my surprise, for I was new at the work, he expressed 
 profound disgust, saying that a shocking bad example 
 had been set by Mr 0' Kearney, which would make things 
 very difficult for them all. 
 
 I knew then that I was going to succeed Sir Redvers 
 Buller in charge of Kerry and Clare, and from the attitude 
 of this agent, a very leading one, I received an inkling 
 of the great difficulties which loomed in front of me. 
 The next few years showed that those I anticipated 
 fell very far short of what I experienced in the most 
 difficult and responsible period of my life. 
 
 When at Killarney I saw a funeral procession of the 
 old, I believe now extinct, Irish description. In front 
 marched a number of women chanting the Keenthechaun, 
 a mournful dirge, which was very impressive. I believe 
 these keeners were paid mourners. 
 
 I saw also a wake, which was gruesome and not im- 
 pressive. The body was laid out in its grave clothes 
 on a table, and pipes, tobacco and snuff were deposited
 
 IRELAND IN 1886 201 
 
 on it likewise. As there was little room, many of the 
 above were actually resting on the corpse from which 
 they were taken up and used with perfect indifference. 
 The moods of the people present alternated between 
 merriment and grief ; and suddenly the lively and joking 
 conversation ceased, and at the signal of an old man, 
 who apparently acted as Master of the Ceremonies, the 
 whole of those present went down on their knees and 
 began to pray, prefacing their orisons with a simultaneous 
 question to the departed. " Oh, whoy did ye die ? " 
 
 One morning Dr Nedley came to my room in the 
 castle in 1886. I have already alluded to him as a wit. 
 He was chuckling, and I saw he was suffering from a 
 suppressed joke. At my request he told me that when 
 coming to the castle he asked an old sweeper woman 
 how she had enjoyed the wake, to which she had told 
 him she was going. She replied, " Oh, well enough, for 
 though the stingy woman only waked the dacent man in 
 porter, I never smoked a better screw of tobacco off 
 the stomach of a corpse." 
 
 This appears to show an absolute want of reverence 
 for the dead, but it was really not so and no more repulsive 
 than the greed for the black kid gloves and silk hat bands 
 which attracted mourners in England less than half a 
 century back.
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 CHIEF COMMISSIONER IN KERRY AND CLARE 
 
 Sir Michael Hicks-Beach — Mr A. J. Balfour — Attempted murder of 
 Mr Creagh — Story of a thumb — Mr Blood of Cranagher — An unsuccess- 
 ful eviction — -The priests and the law—" The Plan of Campaign " — 
 Monsignor Persico and the Pope — The Bodyke evictions — English 
 M.P.'s and ladies present — An interrupted lunch — Boiling water and 
 vitriol — -" Hoist with his own petard " — Desperate resistance — Colonel 
 and Mrs O'Callaghan — Mr Tuke's philanthropy — Am accused of being 
 brutal in the House of Commons and of not being brutal enough in the 
 House of Lords — -Lord Randolph Churchill defends me — Adventure at 
 Scariff — A haughty Hussar causes trouble — -Skirmish at Feakle. 
 
 I HAD hardly assumed the duties of my new office 
 when I was sent for by telegram by Sir Michael 
 Hicks-Beach, the new Chief Secretary, with reference 
 to an indignation meeting which was announced to be 
 held the next Sunday afternoon at Clonlara near Limerick, 
 in the County of Clare, to denounce the impending eviction 
 of a most respectable tenant named Lane, who had fallen 
 on bad times, which rendered it impossible for him to 
 pay the amount of rent demanded. The Chief Secretary 
 was urgently implored by the landlord or agent to pro- 
 claim the meeting as likely to have a bad effect in en- 
 couraging Lane to persist in not paying his rent, and 
 other tenants in doing likewise. The Chief Secretary 
 desired me to give my opinion as to the desirability of 
 proclaiming the meeting. I strongly recommended that 
 no interference should take place. It might be ex- 
 pedient, I represented, to prevent a meeting, especially 
 in a remote district, held to denounce an individual 
 
 202
 
 CHIEF COINIMISSIONER IN KERRY 203 
 
 who had made himself obnoxious to the community, 
 and who might be in danger from the perfervid denuncia- 
 tions of the orators who addressed the meeting ; but in 
 this case, the farm being close to the city of Limerick 
 which swarmed with police, no harm could possibly 
 come of it, while the suppression of free speech must 
 always be a dangerous expedient. Sir Michael Hicks- 
 Beach entirely concurred. The meeting was allowed, 
 and no more narm came of it than does from a meeting 
 of the Salvation Army in Hyde Park. This was my 
 first and only interview with Sir Michael Hicks-Beach, 
 and I was much struck by his common sense and calm 
 judgment. Shortly after this, he had an affection of 
 the eyes, which caused him great sufering and compelled 
 him to resign his appointment, which caused considerable 
 malicious, but mistaken, exultation in the Nationalist 
 Press. I, with many others, deeply regretted his pre- 
 mature departure from the scene of the work he had 
 commenced so well. 
 
 Nothing could have been more erroneous than the 
 impression which had apparently been formed of his suc- 
 cessor, Mr Balfour, who was represented in a caricature in 
 " United Ireland " as a soft, effeminate creature, travelling 
 to Ireland with two bandboxes in his hands containing 
 instruments of torture, which he bore with apprehension 
 and disgust, while underneath were the words, " I don't 
 like going to Dublin." In a very short time the epithets 
 applied to him v.^ere of a very different description, and 
 he soon became to Ireland almost as terrible a bogy as 
 the great Napoleon was to England in the early part 
 of last century. 
 
 I at once occupied myself in driving all over the County 
 of Clare, which then enjoyed a most unenviable reputa-
 
 204 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER S LIFE 
 
 tion, worse even than Kerry. I found much the same 
 state of things as in that County, but accentuated ; the 
 feehng between landlord and tenant was far more bitter, 
 and whereas the outward demeanour of the Kerry men 
 was always civil and agreeable, the Clare peasantry 
 appeared to be sullen, dejected and morose. As in Kerry, 
 no jury would convict, and no one would give evidence 
 in any agrarian case. Some time before a remarkable 
 case had been tried, and its result showed that law and 
 justice no longer existed in the County. Mr Creagh, a 
 small landlord at Carrahan, near Tulla, had incurred 
 desperate unpopularity seventeen years previously owing 
 to some eviction on his property. The evicted family 
 had emigrated to America, but some of their relations 
 lived in the neighbourhood, and from time to time de- 
 scendants of the evicted returned to see their relatives. 
 Mr Creagh, a quiet, kind, unassuming man, was never 
 forgiven, and three deliberate attempts were made to 
 murder him. He was under constant police protection 
 night and day, and a small police barrack had been built 
 close to his house. He was driving with his sister, an 
 artist, to church p.t Quin one Sunday morning, when a 
 volley was fired at them from behind a hedge. Both 
 were wounded in the head and face, and Miss Creagh's 
 eyesight was so impaired that she could no longer pursue 
 her profession. A subscription was made for her by 
 Mrs Fawcett, and a fair sum was collected. Not the 
 slightest trace of the would-be murderers was discovered, 
 though numbers of people were about, and must have 
 seen them with their firearms. Some time previously 
 Mr Creagh, who was very near-sighted, was walking on 
 the high road near his house, without pohce protection, 
 when he saw a man's head suddenly appear over the
 
 CHIEF COMMISSIONER IN KERRY 205 
 
 stone wall which bounded the road, followed by the 
 barrel of a gun, from which a shot was fired at him at 
 point blank range. 
 
 A loud explosion followed, but the intended victim 
 found himself unhurt to his great astonishment. Ex- 
 pecting a further attempt on his life, he ran off to the 
 police barrack at Tulla, and reported the matter. Some 
 poHce hurried to the spot, and on the other side of the 
 stone wall a thumb and a pool of blood were found. The 
 poHce, led by their suspicion and tracks of blood, ran to 
 a cabin not far off, where they found the man they sus- 
 pected in bed, and turning down the sheets they found 
 him minus a newly amputated thumb. He was arrested, 
 moved as soon as possible, and tried. The evidence was 
 absolutely clear, the fragments of the burst gun were 
 found, and the thumb fitted exactly. The man pleaded 
 not guilty, but hardly any attempt at defence was made. 
 The judge charged straight for conviction, but the jury 
 promptly acquitted the prisoner. The Judge was furious, 
 and adjourned the assizes ; but before he left the bench 
 the head constable held up a bottle of spirits of wine, 
 in which was floating a thumb, and asked his lordship : 
 " What am I to do with the thumb, my Lord ? " " Give 
 it to the owner," replied the angry Justice ; and the bottle 
 with its contents was actually handed to the would-be 
 assassin, as he was leaving the dock. 
 
 Two other attempts to murder Mr Creagh were made, 
 but failed. He seems to have possessed a charmed life 
 with immunity from murder. 
 
 The same may be said of Mr Blood of Cranagher, also 
 near Tulla, whose escapes from attempts to murder him 
 were almost miraculous, in spite of his close and constant 
 protection by police. One night a volley was fired into
 
 206 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 the room before the fire of which he was sitting with his 
 sister-in-law. The shots struck the walls close by them, 
 but they escaped scot-free. I never could ascertain the 
 reason of the animosity against Mr Blood, who was father 
 of General Sir Bindon Blood. He was a particularly 
 kind-hearted man of most engaging manner — a man 
 who would not knowingly do harm to anyone. The 
 fact is that at that time in Clare a very small cause in- 
 deed — such as the discharge of a servant or labourer — 
 could be worked up into as great a cause of offence as an 
 eviction itself. 
 
 When I first visited Clare, and for some time after- 
 wards, murders, attempts to murder, and firing into 
 houses, were of constant occurrence, and it was not till 
 1890-1 that the steady pressure of the law made itself 
 felt. Time after time the condition of the County was 
 made the subject of discussion in the House of Commons 
 — the Opposition holding that the reports made by me 
 were grossly exaggerated, while in reality the contrary 
 was the case. I overstated nothing ; the law was in- 
 operative, the landlords were obstinate and not to be 
 moved, the people were vindictive and thoroughly 
 aroused ; they felt themselves oppressed and aggrieved, 
 which in many cases they undoubtedly were. A few 
 days before my arrival an attempt had been made to 
 evict some tenants who had holdings on a wild mountain- 
 side near Scariff, at the extreme north-east of Clare. 
 The people, cheered on by a hot-headed old priest, drove 
 Sheriff, posse comitatus, and police clear out of the 
 place, as they had done at Ballyferriten in Kerry, a few 
 weeks before. I must here say that this was the only 
 instance that occurred in my Irish experience of a priest 
 inciting the people to defy the action of the law. They
 
 CHIEF COMMISSIONER IN KERRY 207 
 
 either stood aloof, or they aided me in preserving the 
 peace, and on many occasions they afforded me most 
 valuable help, and prevented bloodshed, at a time when 
 the men of Clare were little short of desperate. I may 
 here say that the greatest satisfaction that I have reason 
 to be thankful for, when reviewing the six most difficult 
 and distasteful years of my life spent in renewing and 
 maintaining law and order in the south-west of Ireland, 
 is that owing to the precautions taken, and the for- 
 bearance and discipline of the troops and police, not a 
 single death was caused among the people in the large 
 portion of Ireland under my charge, and no one moreover 
 was seriously injured. This is a complete answer to the 
 charges of blood-thirsty barbarity hurled against me in 
 Parliament by the Nationalist Press, and by speakers of 
 whom Mr William O'Brien was the most virulent and 
 vituperative, as he had been in the case of Lord Spencer, 
 whom he understood as little as he did me. Mitchelstown, 
 where three men were shot dead by the police, was not 
 in my division when the deplorable incident occurred. 
 I was, however, on the Court of Inquiry, and shall 
 refer to this later. I have often been asked why, if the 
 work was distasteful and repugnant to me, and if I was 
 working so against the grain, I did not resign, and leave 
 it to others. I reply that I had the example of my late 
 Chief, Lord Spencer before me, who, because he con- 
 sidered it his duty, stuck to his most uncongenial task 
 of maintaining law and order, in the face of the most 
 hideous and outrageous abuse ever poured on the head 
 of man by " United Ireland," other organs of the Press, 
 and Nationalist speakers ; and, parva componere magnis, 
 what he had done and what he had suffered in the cause 
 of duty, I could at least do my best to imitate. I am
 
 208 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 by no means regretful of my Irish experiences, but I 
 have no wish that they should be repeated. 
 
 In October 1886, " The Plan of Campaign " was 
 organized by Mr Timothy Harrington, M.P., and Secretary 
 of the National League. It was not a no-rent movement, 
 and was only designed to be set in action for the protection 
 of tenants against landlords who would not accept rent 
 which it was in the power of their tenants to pay. In 
 cases in which the demand on the tenants was too high, 
 a meeting of the latter was held, and it was decided what 
 sum should be offered to the landlord ; if he refused 
 their terms they joined the " Plan of Campaign," and 
 a local committee was formed, into whose hands the 
 money which had been offered to the landlord was paid 
 for the pmpose of fighting him in any action he might 
 take against the tenants, and for supporting them, 
 should they be evicted. Combination as in the case of 
 strikes was the main feature of the plan ; and it was 
 agreed that on estates where it had been adopted no 
 tenant or tenants were to make terms with their land- 
 lord unless with the consent of the others. Mr John 
 Dillon and Mr William O'Brien were the two principal 
 workers of the plan. It was a clever scheme, though 
 undoubtedly a conspiracy in the eyes of the law, as it 
 was pronounced to be in very clear terms by Chief Baron 
 Palles. Mr Parnell did not ai)prove of it, nor, it is said, 
 did Mr Davitt ; and, though it obtained many successes, 
 it was mainly responsible for the severity of the Coercion 
 Act of 1887, while it was answerable for great misery to 
 large numbers of tenants and for the ruin and temporary 
 depopulation of whole districts. It was not approved 
 of by the Pope, nor by his envoy, Monsignor Persico, 
 whom I met, and who told mo that while he had the
 
 CHIEF COMMISSIONER IN KERRY 209 
 
 warmest sympathy with the Irish people, and while his 
 inquiries had led him to believe that vast numbers of 
 the Irish tenants were crushed with the rents claimed 
 from them, which they could not pay, and at the same 
 time support their families, he could not approve of a 
 plan which had been started by a few individuals 
 which was not approved by Mr Pamell and most of the 
 National Party, and which savoured of dishonesty. 
 Monsignor Persico was possessed of wonderful shrewd- 
 ness and powers of observation, and he grasped the 
 situation in Ireland in a very short time. I fear from 
 his concluding remarks to me that he left it with very 
 little hope that the two opposite poles, landlord and 
 tenant, would be brought together in agreement ; and 
 still less that the severe coercion, which in the Jubilee 
 year of Queen Victoria was hatching for Ireland, would 
 effect anything favourable or desirable. 
 
 The first serious and anxious task which confronted me 
 was the protection of the Sheriff in carrying out the 
 Bodyke evictions, probably the most notorious of recent 
 years. Bodyke bore a very evil reputation, many murders 
 had taken place in its vicinity, and a short time before 
 there had been a skirmish with fire-arms near the village 
 between the constabulary and the people. Sir Redvers 
 Buller and myself had satisfied ourselves that the rents 
 demanded were much too high, and that the tenants 
 could not pay them. We, acting " with pressure within 
 the law," under the sanction and at the wish of Sir 
 Michael Hicks-Beach, had interviewed the landlord, 
 agents, and priests at Bodyke, and the principal tenants ; 
 but all to no purpose. On the one side was obduracy 
 and claim of legal rights, on the other side helplessness. 
 The following figures show how the rents had been 
 14
 
 210 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 raised on this estate. It is doubtless justifiable to raise 
 rents in good and prosperous times, but they should be 
 lowered again palpably in times of agricultural depression. 
 I give six instances as a sample of the whole estate : — 
 
 1. Martin Moloney, tenant. Government Valuation, 
 £46. Judicial Rent, £57. Late rent, £80. Rent in 
 1850, £31, 14s. lod. 
 
 2. Michael Hussey. Government Valuation, £18. 
 Judicial Rent, £21. Late rent, £40. Rent in 1850, £15. 
 
 3. Mary Healy. Government valuation, £11, 5s. 
 Judicial Rent, £22. Late Rent, £30. Rent in 1850, 
 £11, los. 
 
 4. Martin Macnamara. Government Valuation, 
 £8, los. Judicial Rent, £10. Late Rent, £18, lis. 
 Rent in 1850, £7, 5s. 2d. 
 
 5. Margaret Macnamara. Government Valuation, 
 £16, 15s. Judicial Rent, £22. Late Rent, £36. Rent 
 in 1850, £15. 
 
 6. Thomas Harrison. Government Valuation, £23. 
 Judicial Rent, £30. Late Rent, £43. Rent in 1S50, 
 
 £21, IDS. 
 
 The rents paid in 1850, just after the famine, were 
 doubtless very low, but the increase levied from the 
 tenants made it impossible for them to lay by anything 
 for a rainy day, so that when depression came they 
 were helpless to meet it. It will be noticed what large 
 reductions the judicial commissioners had felt bound 
 to make on this estate. At the end of May, 1887, all 
 attempts at settlement were given up as hopeless, and 
 on June 2nd I escorted the Sheriff and his men with a 
 large force of police, and 3 officers and 100 men of the 
 Welsh Fusiliers. The Irish Government were very 
 apprehensive that an attack would be made on us, and
 
 CHIEF COMMISSIONER IN KERRY 211 
 
 I was directed to proceed with " full military precautions," 
 reporting constantly to Dublin Castle. We had three or 
 four miles to march, and started in the early morning 
 up a valley between two ranges of hills ; beyond " the 
 cock's shrill clarion and the echoing horn," the latter 
 being sounded from all the small farms on the hill-sides 
 to announce our approach, no sounds greeted us, till 
 we approached the first farm that was to be attacked. 
 Round this at a little distance were assembled large 
 crowds of people, and a little booing took place. Not 
 a stone or any kind of missile was thrown and no attack 
 of any kind was made on us as was expected. It appeared 
 that Father Murphy and his curate. Father Hannen, a 
 magnificent specimen of a young Irish priest, had been 
 long and seriously warning their people against com- 
 mitting acts of violence, and it is certainly due to these 
 two gentlemen that there was no bloodshed. This to 
 their infinite credit. Near the first house stood a group 
 of spectators, including Mr Cox, M.P., for the division, 
 Mr Michael Davitt, the two priests, and three English 
 Liberal Members of Parhament, Mr S. D. Waddy, Mr 
 H. Lawson, and Mr Pease ; Mrs Lawson and Mrs Pease 
 were also present. The house was strongly barricaded, 
 and the walls, which were of solid masonry, had to be 
 broken through, which took from two to three hours. 
 During the proceedings Father Murphy, with whom I 
 was on most friendly terms, came up to me and com- 
 plained bitterly how his house had been invaded by the 
 Enghsh visitors, who had he supposed come to Bodyke 
 expecting to find a hotel. They completely filled his 
 house, he said, and sure he had not a corner left for him- 
 self. This was a case of billeting with a vengeance. 
 I fancy Bodyke was very badly suited to supply pro-
 
 212 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 visions to an abnormal number of people ; for when, 
 after the above eviction proceedings, the soldiers and 
 police were allowed an interval of time to rest and eat 
 what they had brought with them, the officers, military, 
 and constabulary repaired to a field, where a picnic 
 lunch had been laid out for them, which they brought 
 in a cart. I saw two ladies and two gentlemen, the 
 English M.P.'s and their wives standing on the road 
 close by looking both hungry and disconsolate, and I 
 suggested that they should be asked to picnic with us, 
 which they readily did. A few moments after Mr S. 
 Banks Waddy appeared, and looked with hungry eyes 
 at the party. I asked him also to lunch ; he eagerly 
 accepted, and, just as he was sitting down, up came the 
 imposing form of Michael Davitt, who started back with 
 horror and amazement, and, pointing the finger of scorn, 
 at the English visitors and sympathizers, exclaimed : 
 " What, are you sitting down to eat with that burglar 
 brigade ? " Mr Waddy, whose hunger far predominated 
 over his politics or active sympathy with anybody at 
 the time, replied, " Yes, Mr Davitt, I am going to lunch 
 with whomsoever I choose." Mr Davitt stalked away 
 in high dudgeon, and the English visitors left next day. 
 The crowd was wildly excited as the proceedings went 
 on, but no violence was offered ; but I saw that for the 
 future the spectators must, for their own sakes as well 
 as that of the Sheriff, be kept at a considerable distance 
 from the proceedings. 
 
 The next day, therefore, I formed a cordon of soldiers 
 and police completely round the houses to be evicted, 
 and allowed no unauthorised person within it. Every 
 house was fortified and barricaded, and it took a long 
 time to effect an entrance. At the house of one Michael
 
 CHIEF COMMISSIONER IN KERRY 213 
 
 Hussey, directly a hole was made in the wall and the 
 Sheriff showed himself, he was assailed with boiling 
 water and empty bottles. He was badly scalded, but not 
 seriously hurt ; the inmates were arrested. A curious 
 incident occurred ; some of the defenders of the house 
 were on the roof to hurl missiles at the Sheriff and his 
 protectors. A hive full of bees had been placed in the 
 house, and when the Sheriff and his baihffs entered the 
 hive was lifted off the bees, which it was thought would 
 go for the hated minions of the law. Instead of this, 
 however, seeing a light through a chimney or hole in the 
 roof, the whole swarm flew up to and through this and 
 settled promptly in myriads on the boys who were astride 
 the roof. When I saw this, I sent some constables, with 
 their hands and faces protected, up ladders to bring the 
 poor creatures down. One of them was terribly stung, 
 and was in a state of collapse when brought down. I 
 thought all was over with him, but the surgeon who 
 was with the military soon brought him round with 
 brandy and rubbing. It was a real case of " an engineer 
 hoist with his own petard." This incident restored 
 the peace for the day, and our prompt sending for our 
 own doctor to treat the enemy who had been hurling 
 missiles at us, seemed to the people like the touch of 
 Nature which makes us wondrous kind, and made them 
 think that we were agents only compelled to carry out 
 duties which were hateful to us. In consequence of 
 the throwing of boiling water, I had some very strong 
 and large canvas umbrellas made that night, in order 
 that the Sheriff or whoever first entered a breached 
 house might hold one before his face and escape injury. 
 It was well I did so, as the events of the next day showed. 
 An opening had been forced in the wall of a house.
 
 214 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 and a constable in front of the Sheriff was about to enter 
 the breach, when he jumped back exclaiming he was 
 burnt by a fluid under the umbrella. His hands were 
 burnt, and looking through into the house I saw a girl 
 standing by a tub, out of which she filled a jug and threw 
 the contents at us. I went forward to warn her to stop, 
 and she greeted me with a discharge of a liquid, which 
 luckily for me did not reach my face, but struck on the 
 coat, which was burnt. A policeman then, protected 
 with a strong umbrella and thick gloves, rushed in and 
 arrested the girl. 
 
 The fluid was vitriol, but much diluted; still quite 
 stronge enough to do grievous bodily harm. It was 
 rumoured that Michael Davitt, who night after night 
 held a meeting at which he counselled the tenants to 
 defend their houses in every possible way, had been the 
 means of providing the vitriol. This was mere rumour, 
 and no trace was ever discovered as to whence it came. 
 
 These exactions dragged on for some days, but I will 
 only mention one more, that of a family called O'Halloran. 
 Here the most desperate resistance was offered ; the 
 house was very well built and strong, and it took some 
 hours to break into it. Two constables who first entered 
 were attacked by the two young O'Hallorans and their 
 two sisters and badly injured, while stones and hot 
 liquids were thrown at us from the upper windows. At 
 last I told the officer in command of the troops. Major 
 Mayhew, to tell two of his men to point their rifles at 
 the windows from which the missiles were coming, and 
 to fire if they continued, having removed the bullets 
 from the cartridges. The pointing of the rifles had the 
 desired effect, and the house soon yielded to the Sheriff, 
 Needless to say we turned our backs on the scenes of
 
 CHIEF COMMISSIONER IN KERRY 215 
 
 these distressing evictions with alacrity and joy. I had 
 the misfortune to witness many others during my stay 
 in Ireland, but, except with one single instance, I never 
 saw anything to compare with the obstinacy and courage 
 of despair with which the Bodyke tenantry defended their 
 hearths and homes. 
 
 It was greatly apprehended that attempts would be 
 made on the hfe of the landlord, Colonel O'Callaghan, 
 who had long been under strong police protection. He 
 was utterly fearless, and at times, finding it naturally 
 irksome to be closely escorted, walked out alone. Had 
 it been designed to murder him, it would have been done, 
 for the men of Clare, like those in Galway, did not stick 
 at trifles, and a few years before, near Loughrea, in the 
 latter county, a landlord named Taylor, and his escort, 
 Corporal Wallace of the Scots Greys, both of whom 
 were carrying loaded rifles, were shot dead in broad 
 daylight by four men, who, after the deed, quietly walked 
 away without any attempt at concealing themselves ; 
 no one dared to give evidence against them, and they 
 were never brought to justice. 
 
 I know that the feeling of the tenants was far more 
 bitter against the agents than it was against the land- 
 lord, who was believed to be forced on by them, to a 
 great extent, against his inclination. Another circum- 
 stance that may have contributed to his safety was that 
 he was superstitiously believed to have a charmed life ; 
 a countryman, to whom I was talking about the impend- 
 ing evictions, said to me in reply to a question I asked 
 him as to whether the landlord's life was in danger, 
 " Sure, your Honour, the two eyes of the Colonel are 
 not the same colour, and the bullet that can kill such 
 a man cannot be made by hand of man." Probably
 
 216 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 the estimation in which Mrs O'Callaghan was held had 
 much to do with her husband's immunity. She was 
 brave to temerity, and when the times were at the worst, 
 and when her husband was completely boycotted, she, 
 having learned to shoot, and shoot right well, used to 
 walk to the post, three miles off, for their letters, armed 
 with a loaded rifle, which would not have saved her from 
 an ambush, had it been desired to hurt her. She was full 
 of sympathy and kindliness for her fellow-creatures, 
 and her heart and her help had ever been ready to assist 
 in any case of sorrow and distress. The most deter- 
 mined of the Colonel's enemies felt, I am sure, that it 
 would be a sin, crying to heaven for vengeance, if a 
 hand were raised to kill or injure her or hers. 
 
 In February 1888 a settlement was arrived at be- 
 tween the landlord and the evicted tenants, and the 
 latter were restored to their holdings. The sum of 
 £2100 was due to the former in rents and arrears by 
 fifty-seven tenants. Before the evictions, the sum of 
 £907 in cash was offered to clear off all debts due from 
 the tenants up to 29th September 1886. The tenants 
 could not have paid more, and actually out of this sum 
 of £907, £300 was promised by Mr Tuke, a benevolent 
 English banker from Hitchin, who offered this money 
 to save fifty-seven families from the horrors of eviction. 
 Eventually, after the evictions, the landlord offered to 
 settle up to March 1887 for ;£i5oo, to include half poor 
 rates ; the tenants offered £1000, plus half poor rates. 
 Mr Tuke again came forward, and this offer was increased 
 to £1105, plus the poor-rate allowance of £150, or £1255 
 in all. A portion of the money came from Mr William 
 O'Brien and the " Plan of Campaign." The landlords' 
 costs were £300. I give these figures to show how futile
 
 CHIEF COMMISSIONER IN KERRY 217 
 
 and fruitless these evictions were, and that the landlord 
 would have been far better off in the matter had he 
 accepted the offer of £907 made by the tenants through 
 their priests to clear them to September 1886. As it 
 was, a very large expense was caused to the landlord in 
 carrying out the evictions, a large amount of property 
 was destroyed, numerous hard-working and well-con- 
 ducted families were ruthlessly cast out of their homes, 
 and the peace of the district was preserved with the 
 greatest difficulty, and only through the presence of a 
 large numbers of military and police brought to the 
 locality and maintained there at great cost to the public. 
 As it was with the Bodyke evictions, so it was with other 
 wholesale evictions at which I had the duty of protecting 
 the Sheriff. It was always a case that would have ended 
 like the battle of the Kilkenny cats if persevered with 
 to the bitter end. 
 
 It was palpable that no one could gain, and that every- 
 one concerned must lose ; but yet such struggles and 
 scenes were re-enacted time after time, and no landlord 
 seemed able to take warning from the losses which others 
 suffered through evicting their tenants wholesale. As 
 Goethe wrote : " Gegen die Dummkeit verkampfen 
 auch die Gotter vergebens." 
 
 The conduct of the troops and police was excellent 
 throughout, and that often in the face of great provoca- 
 tions and difficulties. The orders given by the Irish 
 Government that the law must be enforced, but that 
 as much moderation and as little use of force as possible 
 should be exercised, were carried out to the letter, and 
 I received the acknowledgment of the Government for 
 the manner in which I had conducted the operations. 
 
 This, however, did not suffice to save me from being
 
 218 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 attacked, on the one side because I had not been 
 sufficiently brutal, on the other that I had been 
 guilty of brutality throughout ! 
 
 In the House of Lords, Lord Carnarvon drew attention 
 to the slackness of the Irish Executive, who allowed 
 proceedings in defiance of the law to continue day after 
 day, which should be settled and brought to an end in 
 a few hours. This furnishes an instance of the extreme 
 inexpediency of people laying down the law and giving 
 their opinion on matters which they do not understand. 
 The facts of the case were as follows : There were 
 thirty-one houses to be cleared of their unfortunate 
 inmates. Every one of these houses was strongly barri- 
 caded, and the Sheriff was compelled to effect a forcible 
 entry, which could only be effected with the weapons at 
 his disposal after some two to three hours' work. The 
 military and police were present to protect the Sheriff 
 and his officers, and to preserve order ; it would not have 
 been lawful for them in any way to assist in the operations. 
 More than one house could not be attacked simultaneously, 
 nor did time allow of more than three or four evictions 
 in one day. Unless the walls had been blown in with 
 blasting powder and unless fire-arms had been used, 
 in which case great loss of life must have ensued, the 
 proceedings could not have been carried out with greater 
 rapidity than was the case. 
 
 This attack upon me was followed by another in a 
 letter to the " Times," by Mr Clifford Lloyd, who had just 
 returned from Egypt, and who protested that more 
 arrests were not made, and that the people who attacked 
 the Sheriff and his men, and especially the vitriol-throwers, 
 were not at once arrested. He also waxed wroth, because 
 the people were allowed to assemble to witness the
 
 CHIEF COMMISSIONER IN KERRY 219 
 
 evictions. A cordon of infantry surrounded the houses 
 one after the other, and prevented the large crowds of 
 people, who had flocked from all parts of the country, 
 from approaching the buildings, and interfering with the 
 Sheriff. In this the military rendered the most invaluable 
 assistance and prevented rioting. How the people could 
 have been prevented from coming to Bodyke and assem- 
 bling near the scenes of the evictions passeth the wit of man 
 to discover. The spectators numbered many thousands, 
 and could only have been dispersed by an enormously 
 large force or by extreme measures, which would have 
 resulted in loss of life. The Irish Government, which 
 was fully cognizant of the facts of the case, took no notice 
 of these attacks upon its officials, which were emphasized 
 in a leading article in the " Times," in which it was pointed 
 out that " the force at the disposal of Colonel Turner was 
 amply sufficient to overcome at one stroke the organized 
 attempt to hold possession of the cabins at Bodyke in 
 spite of the courts and the Sheriff, the police and the 
 soldiers." How thirty-one strongly barricaded houses 
 were to be taken possession of and the law asserted at 
 one stroke, the writer of the article did not attempt 
 to explain. I wished to reply to these attacks and asked 
 for permission to do so, but Sir Redvers Buller objected, 
 saying that they were not worth noticing. 
 
 An official has often very curious experiences of the truth 
 of the proverb, quot homines tot sententicB. A few days 
 later Mr Dillon in the House of Commons rose to move the 
 adjournment of the House to condemn the evictions and 
 the brutality of the police, and to demand an official 
 inquiry into the whole matter. Relying upon news- 
 paper reports, and especially on one from the correspondent 
 of the " Times," which described the conduct of the police
 
 220 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 as scandalous and atrocious, and for which he had entirely 
 drawn upon his imagination, or on what some of the 
 excited peasantry had told him, Mr Dillon inveighed 
 eloquently against the brutality of the Executive and the 
 barbarity of the system of Government under which such 
 a state of things could be permitted. The three English 
 Liberal M.P.'s, Mr Waddy, Mr Pease, and Mr Lawson, 
 gave very fair and unvarnished accounts of what they 
 had seen, while strongly condemning the evictions. Mr 
 Morley, who had been Chief Secretary for Ireland under 
 the late Government, was not at all prepared to accept 
 the charges of brutality hurled at me and the police, but 
 he blamed the Government severely for their delay in 
 bringing forward remedial legislation which would make 
 such evictions impossible : and then a slashing attack 
 was made upon me by no less a person than Sir William 
 Harcourt, especially because I had not daily furnished 
 full and ample reports of the proceedings, which, as a 
 matter of fact, I had actually done, though apparently 
 these reports had shared the fate of many others submitted 
 to Government offices, and had not been, or had been 
 only partly, perused. Mr Balfour and Mr Matthews 
 defended the Government and the Executive, but by far 
 the most telling speech was made by Lord Randolph 
 Churchill, who completely shattered the charges of 
 brutality by the following pertinent and irrefutable 
 remarks, such as often marked him out as a debater of 
 extraordinary readiness, skill, and vigour : — 
 
 He said : — "I am not altogether without hope that 
 it might be possible for me to convince the Irish members, 
 although they might not acknowledge it publicly, that 
 they have acted with some injustice towards the Govern- 
 ment in this matter. They attack the Government for
 
 CHIEF COMMISSIONER IN KERRY 221 
 
 having supported the execution of the law on the estate 
 of Colonel O'Callaghan, and they are of opinion that the 
 police, the magistracy, and the military have acted with 
 a rigour which amounts to brutality. But if honourable 
 members have read the " Times " this morning, they will 
 have seen a strong and vigorous denunciation of the 
 Government, the police, the magistrates, and the military 
 for not having acted with sufficient rigour ; and that 
 denunciation comes from the pen of Mr Clifford Lloyd. 
 Even they might take this as a set-off against the iniquity 
 of the conduct of the Government : it might be imagined 
 that conduct denounced by Mr Clifford Lloyd for not being 
 sufficiently rigorous did not err on the side of rigour. 
 But the other night in the House of Lords the conduct 
 of the Government was criticized in an amiable manner 
 by that mildest-mannered man. Lord Carnarvon, the idol 
 of the Irishmen, the Lord-Lieutenant supposed to have 
 adopted in all their intensity Nationalist opinions, who is 
 supposed to have set an admirable example to the Tory 
 Party, which they did not follow, and who is held up by 
 friends and foes as the milk of human kindness. Lord 
 Carnarvon makes a long and detailed speech to prove that 
 the Government have not acted with sufficient rigour. 
 I appeal to the honourable member for East Mayo (Mr 
 Dillon) whether I can call a more competent witness to 
 prove that the Irish Government have not erred on the 
 side of rigour. Irish members will not be disposed to 
 treat these witnesses with contempt." 
 
 On the Sunday which fell during the eviction campaign 
 it was determined to hold a meeting in the neighbourhood 
 of Feakle to denounce the Government and the evictions. 
 This meeting was proclaimed. In what exact locality it 
 was to be held was purposely not made known, and I had
 
 222 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 to disperse the force at my disposal over a large tract of 
 country, using the cavalry which had come from Limerick 
 for reconnoitring. I went myself with the Hussars through 
 Feakle to Scariff, but found no signs of a gathering. We 
 halted for a time at Scariff, and some people assembled 
 to inspect the Hussars, the like of which they had never 
 seen before. They were perfectly friendly, and mixed 
 with the soldiers, till one of them laid his hand, out of 
 curiosity, on the bit of the officer in command. The 
 latter resented this as an impertinence, and struck the 
 man slightly with a cane he carried, saying : " You are 
 
 a d d ugly fellow." The man felt both the blow and 
 
 the reflection upon his personal appearance, and he went 
 off booing loudly. The rest of the people gathered round 
 him heard what had happened, took up the booing, and 
 began to throw stones. 
 
 There were only three policemen in the barracks, who 
 were powerless. The Hussars were mounted in a few 
 seconds, and the officer wanted to charge. But I refused 
 to allow this, as it would certainly have led to bloodshed ; 
 and we rapidly left Scariff pursued by a shower of stones, 
 which hit nobody. I requested confidentially that this 
 peppery officer should not be sent to me in aid of the 
 civil power, as his temperament was not suited to such 
 delicate duty, which above all things required tact and 
 patience. 
 
 On arriving at Feakle I found a large body of police and 
 an excited crowd, but no collision had taken place, 
 and no meeting had been held. I ordered troops and 
 police to march home, the latter in rear. As the last 
 of the column left the village the attitude of the people 
 became very threatening, and they began to boo and to 
 throw stones, which struck some of the police. I called
 
 CHIEF COMMISSIONER IN KERRY 223 
 
 a halt, and turning about, the pohce, with drawn batons, 
 had to charge twice before they could clear the village 
 and drive the people to such a distance that we could 
 pursue our homeward march unmolested. 
 
 Feeling just then ran very high. The day was one 
 of rest during the period of Bodyke evictions, and 
 people from far and wide had come to witness the effects 
 of the destruction caused by the Sheriff, and to sympathize 
 with the unfortunate ejected tenants. One can well 
 understand the indignation of the Nationalist Party, 
 and also their exaggerations, fanned as they were by highly 
 sensational accounts in the Press, of incidents which had 
 never taken place, or which were founded on the smallest 
 possible foundation of truth ; and which were magnified 
 into atrocities. I felt no resentment whatsoever on this 
 account. 
 
 I must, however, freely confess that I was considerably 
 nettled by the onslaught of Lord Carnarvon and Mr 
 Clifford Lloyd, who were far from the scene of action, 
 who could only have drawn their information from the 
 Press, and who jumped at conclusions totally in anti- 
 thesis to those formed by the Liberal and Nationalist 
 parties, and by those warm-hearted but sometimes over- 
 sentimental persons who regard the maintaining of law 
 and order under such circumstances as tyranny and 
 brutality. 
 
 At this distance of time the whole of the pictures of 
 these distressing scenes roll before my eyes as vividly 
 as if they had just occurred, and I can honestly assert 
 that, whereas on one side the Government and the 
 Executive acted with all necessary rigour, there was no 
 brutality whatsoever on the part of the magistrates, 
 police and military who were under my orders. The pro-
 
 224 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 ceedings were in the highest degree distasteful to us all, 
 but it was our duty to enable the Sheriff to carry out his 
 work, as compelled to do by the law ; and this duty was 
 performed by all ranks with firmness, and as much 
 moderation as the highly difficult circumstances of the 
 case allowed. Fortunately the wisdom of our legis- 
 lators has made the recurrence of such calamities as the 
 Bodyke evictions all but impossible for the future.
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 THE NATIONAL LEAGUE AND THE COERCION ACT, 1887 
 
 The National League proclaimed — The Mitchelstown meeting — 
 The Court of Inquiry — Use of troops in aid of the civil power — The 
 Ballycoree meeting proclaimed and prevented without bloodshed — A 
 hussar officer assaulted by an indignant lady — Admirable conduct of 
 police — Murder of Head Constable Whelehan — A reputed agent pro- 
 vocateur — The slayer slain — The Ennis meeting — Battle of the Burnt 
 Store — Invective of the Press — Adjournment of the House moved to 
 discuss my barbarities — Threatening letters — My letter to the " Times " 
 about Mr Gladstone — Mr Gladstone's reply — The Vandeleur evictions — 
 Hot porridge for the police — I am nearly charged with murder — A 
 shower of writs^-Coroner's election at Kilrush — A constable gets real 
 satisfaction at last — Mr Maguire returned as Parnellite M.P. for West 
 Clare — Rage of the Anti-Parnelhtes. 
 
 IN August, the Government took a highly important 
 step, which enormously increased the responsibility 
 and difficulties of the Executive, and wellnigh 
 exasperated the people. The National League was pro- 
 claimed as illegal, and meetings of its members were pro- 
 hibited. It had been founded in October, 1882, as the 
 result of a National Conference held on 17th October at 
 Dublin. Its objects were to promote the cause of Home 
 Rule, Peasant Proprietary, Local Self-Government, the 
 extension of the Franchise, the encouragement of Irish 
 Labour and industrial interests. 
 
 Mr Parnell was, as a matter of course, appointed 
 President ; its headquarters and central committee 
 were at Dublin, and its branches were speedily estab- 
 lished all over Ireland, and in England, America and 
 Australia. " United Ireland," a most ably edited but 
 15 "'
 
 226 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 terribly vituperative weekly, was its official organ. 
 The popularity of the League was unbounded ; the 
 people thoroughly believed in it, and its work was such 
 that, as I have already stated, a no less person than Sir 
 Redvers Buller stated in his evidence to the Cowper 
 Commission that it was the salvation of the Irish people. 
 Unfortunately, and very unjustly, all the crimes then 
 committed in Ireland were ascribed to the machinations 
 and influence of the National League. In most cases, 
 the parish priest or his curate was chairman of the local 
 branch of the League, and this was enough to show that 
 crime was not encouraged by it. It was a sort of safety- 
 valve for the expression of opinion among the people, 
 which, if forcibly suppressed, was sure to lead to crime 
 and outrage committed in retaliation. The Government 
 did not carry on its proceedings against the National 
 League de main morte. Its meetings, when discovered 
 by the police, who were employed on reconnoitring duty 
 against it every Sunday afternoon, were forcibly dis- 
 persed, its rooms and offices broken into, its papers and 
 books seized. Newspapers which reported its proceed- 
 ings were prosecuted, and their editors occasionally 
 imprisoned without the option of a fine, not by con- 
 viction of a jury but by the fiat of two Stipendiary or 
 Resident Magistrates. Looking back over the twenty- 
 five years which have elapsed since these events, it seems 
 that nuich more harm than good accrued from the sup- 
 pression of the National League. It afforded a solid 
 grievance against the Government, and rendered the 
 work of the Executive wellnigh impossible, and especi- 
 ally so the position of the constabulary, who were 
 scattered in small posts all over the counties in which 
 it had been suppressed. The police were ordered to
 
 THE NATIONAL LEAGUE 227 
 
 deal with meetings wherever it was attempted to hold 
 them, and this it was manifestly out of their power to 
 do ; they were compelled to restrict their operations to 
 taking down names and making notes ; and, needless to 
 say, had a fiftieth part of those who defied the law been 
 prosecuted, the whole judiciary of Great Britain would 
 not have sufficed to try the cases which would have arisen. 
 On the other hand, large public indignation meetings 
 were held, which might have produced and which in 
 one case did produce disastrous results. This was at 
 Mitchelstown in County Cork, on the confines of County 
 Tipperary. County Cork was not till later placed under 
 my charge, but I went there shortly after the event as a 
 member of the Court of Inquiry assembled to investigate 
 the circumstances of the case, which were as follows. 
 A meeting at which Mr Dillon, Mr Labouchere and 
 others were announced to speak was to be held on the 
 Square at Mitchelstown. It was proclaimed, and a large 
 body of police and troops were assembled to enforce the 
 decree. Seeing the impossibility of holding a meeting, 
 the leaders of the people formed a procession and marched 
 out of the town. They were not followed or watched, 
 and as it was concluded that they had given up their 
 design, the troops and police were dismissed to their 
 quarters. A couple of hours later the column reappeared 
 and proceeded to hold their meeting. The authorities 
 were taken by surprise, no force was at hand to prevent 
 the people from working out their will, and Mr Dillon 
 began to speak. A Government notetaker was sent, 
 escorted by a few police to the platform, but they could 
 not make their way through the dense wall of people. 
 A message was sent to that effect to the police barrack, 
 in consequence of which an officer with more police was
 
 228 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 sent to their assistance. On arriving at the spot they 
 endeavoured to force their way through, using some 
 roughness. This was too much for the excited people of 
 Cork and Tipperary, all of whom were armed with black- 
 thorns ; they made an onslaught on the police, who at 
 once were seized with a panic, and fled to the police 
 barrack pursued by a dense crowd, whom Mr Dillon tried 
 in vain from the platform to stop. The police rushed 
 into their barrack, closed and barred the doors, and 
 fired at the crowd from the upper windows, apparently 
 without orders, for it could not be ascertained that any 
 were given to proceed to this very extreme measure. 
 Three men who were mere spectators of the fray were shot 
 dead, and it is remarkable that more casualties did not 
 occur. The fall of the three victims maddened the mob, 
 and they were about really to attack the barrack, which 
 before they had no intention of doing, when Mr John 
 Dillon managed to push his way through and head the 
 enraged crowd. So great was his influence that they 
 halted at his command and sullenly withdrew with loud 
 imprecations. This disastrous conflict must be ascribed 
 to the mismanagement of the authorities. Unfortun- 
 ately, the Divisional Commissioner of Police was not 
 present, and a young and inexperienced resident magistrate 
 was in charge of the proceedings. A sufficiently large 
 force of police and soldiers were present to carry out 
 orders and prevent any meeting without having recourse 
 to force, as was the case when the promoters and people 
 first assembled in the town. When they moved in pro- 
 cession out of it, no attempt was made to follow and 
 watch their proceedings, and when they returned they 
 formed a surprise meeting, which there was no force at 
 hand to prevent. Then instead of waiting till a sufficient
 
 THE NATIONAL LEAGUE 229 
 
 force could be collected, it was sought to interfere with 
 the crowd by means of a handful of police, or, in other 
 words, to attempt the impossible. 
 
 The bravest men, as the Iron Duke said, are liable to 
 panic, and one cannot account for what panic-stricken 
 men, who have lost their heads and are hardly respons- 
 ible for their actions, will do. Many different accounts 
 of this unfortunate affair were given, each side attempt- 
 ing to justify itself ; the above version, formed on the 
 evidence given before the Court of Inquiry, seems to be 
 the correct one, and shows that blame was to be appor- 
 tioned pretty equally all round. Mr John Dillon alone 
 seems to have deserved credit for his bravery in forcing 
 his way through and stopping an infuriated crowd, 
 thus in all probability averting a desperate conflict and 
 saving many lives. The action of the crowd in turning 
 on the police because some of them had been hustled 
 and roughly treated by the latter was of course un- 
 justifiable ; the firing upon the crowd still more so ; 
 and worst of all were the arrangements of the authorities 
 which provoked disturbance by their ineptitude. 
 
 What I heard on the spot of the Mitchelstown affair 
 convinced me that I was right in the conclusions I had 
 formed as to the best and most merciful way of dealing 
 in aid of the civil power. No one, and least of all the 
 Government, desires that a conflict should take place, 
 that lives should be lost, or that property should be 
 destroyed. The only efficacious way to prevent such, 
 is to have such a force at the disposal of those whose 
 duty it is to preserve the peace, that those who might 
 break it will be convinced at once that resistance would 
 be useless and foolish. What is more, the force should 
 be assembled and en evidence as early as possible.
 
 230 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 Many people decry the use of troops to aid the civil 
 power, but probably such persons have had no experience 
 of the great difficulties and responsibilities of those who 
 are charged with this unpleasant duty. The presence 
 of the military has a most salutary effect even upon 
 the most unruly spirits, who would not shirk a tussle 
 with the police. I had a free hand as to requisitioning 
 troops ; Mr Balfour insisted upon this ; and I was often 
 asked why I did so so often in cases in which the police 
 would have sufficed. My invariable reply was that I 
 would not have any resistance or bloodshed, which would 
 be not only deplorable in itself, but also highly embarrass- 
 ing to the Government I served, every incident in 
 Ireland then being closely scrutinized and dished 
 up with formidable exaggerations in the House of 
 Commons. 
 
 For six years I pursued the even tenor of my way, 
 and though I had numerous riots to deal with under 
 circumstances in which lives might have easily been lost, 
 I have not to regret the extinction of the vital spark of 
 one single individual in a conflict with the people of 
 Cork, Kerry, Limerick and Clare. As a rule the prompt 
 employment of troops was the principal means of accom- 
 plishing this, to me, most happy result. I am well aware 
 that the result was not so satisfactory to every one. There 
 were those I could mention, who considered that a 
 " good example " was desirable on every occasion for 
 the Irish people of Home Rule tendencies, and that their 
 aspirations should be stamped out by brute force. This 
 I have often heard expressed, not, I need hardly say, 
 by the Government nor the Executive, with the rarest 
 exceptions. The Coroner's inquest, after sitting for 
 seventeen days, brought in a verdict of wilful murder
 
 THE NATIONAL LEAGUE 231 
 
 against the County Inspector and five of his men ; but 
 this was quashed by the Court of Queen's Bench for 
 irregularities of form. The whole affair, as Lord Morley 
 writes in his " Life of Gladstone," " seemed as if there had 
 been a conspiracy of all the demons of human stupidity 
 in this tragic bungle, from the first forcing of the reporter 
 through the crowd, down to the inquest on the slain 
 men and onwards." 
 
 The court, of which I was a member, pronounced 
 severe censure on the arrangements made for preserving 
 the peace, which had led to the tragedy, and which 
 Lord Morley might well have included as part of the 
 conspiracy of the demons of stupidity. Mr Balfour 
 was most severely blamed for not instituting a public 
 inquiry, and for defending the conduct of the police. 
 In the first place, the former would only have brought 
 to light palpable and well-known facts ; in the next place, 
 there is no doubt that the police were violently attacked 
 and in peril of having their heads broken; and it was 
 beyond the wit of man to decide who was most deserving 
 of blame among those who took part in the fray. The 
 real fons et origo mali were, first, the inadequacy of the 
 arrangements made, and, to go deeper still, the inter- 
 ference with free speech in a supposed-to-be- free country. 
 
 It was determined to hold a large meeting on 
 4th September at Ballycoree, near Ennis, County Clare, 
 where Daniel O' Council had addressed a famous meeting 
 in 1829. Mr Dillon, with Mr Phihp Stanhope, M.P. 
 (now Lord Weardale), the Lord Mayor of Dublin (Mr T. D. 
 Sullivan, M.P.), and Mr Cox, M.P., arrived in Ennis the 
 evening before, and were met at the railway station by 
 a large crowd with a band, and escorted to their hotel. 
 There they were joined by Mr William O'Brien, M.P.,
 
 232 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 and many others, including many English visitors, among 
 whom were several ladies. 
 
 Mr Stanhope and Mr Dillon addressed the people 
 from the windows of the hotel. The latter protested 
 vigorously against the Government for using its forces 
 to prevent the people from assembling in public to discuss 
 their grievances. Most of my readers will, I imagine, 
 agree with Mr Dillon, and consider with some surprise 
 the action adopted by the Government twenty-five 
 years ago, which smacks of the proceedings of the Middle 
 Ages, when the people were not represented in the 
 Government of the country. 
 
 The Ballycoree meeting had been proclaimed, and 
 I was ordered to prevent it at all costs. This proclama- 
 tion had been met by a counter-proclamation from the 
 Nationalists, inviting the men of Clare to assemble in 
 thousands, as it was the intention of the organizers to 
 hold the meeting in defiance of the Government. 
 
 I stood near at hand and heard all the speeches at the 
 meeting in Ennis on the Saturday ; but as nothing 
 flagitious, incendiary or treasonable was said, and as no 
 disturbance took place, I did not interfere. The Govern- 
 ment was very apprehensive of a serious conflict between 
 the forces of the Crown and the people, which might 
 result in bloodshed and loss of life. I was told to assemble 
 any amount of force I deemed necessary to prevent the 
 meeting, and bearing in mind Sir William Harcourt's 
 strictures with regard to the Bodyke evictions, that I 
 had not, as it was incorrectly alleged, reported the result 
 of the proceedings every day, I was ordered now to report 
 with reference to the Ballycoree affair by telegram 
 every hour, and by letter by the first post. 
 
 My force consisted of a squadron of hussars from
 
 THE NATIONAL LEAGUE 233 
 
 Limerick, three companies of the Leinster Regiment, 
 and 250 police. I had learnt how to deal quietly, but 
 firmly, with the men of Clare at the recent evictions ; 
 and as my force was composed of excellently disciplined 
 and efficient men under capable officers, I felt quite 
 confident that the meeting could be prevented without 
 any show, of violence. I sent half the hussars and some 
 police to Ballycoree to hold the ground, and to furnish 
 immediate information of any assembling of the people 
 there, while I paraded the rest of my force in Ennis by 
 way of a formidable demonstration, in column, myself 
 with the hussars being in front, then the police, and 
 in rear the infantry, to whom, it was well known, ball 
 cartridge had been served out. The array was imposing 
 and had due effect. 
 
 A consultation of the people's leaders was held, with 
 the result that while a small proportion of the masses 
 went towards Ballycoree, the remainder, with the im- 
 portant speakers, proceeded in the direction of Limerick, 
 and preparations were made to hold a meeting in an 
 open space not far from Ennis. They were followed, 
 and when they halted and formed round the speakers, 
 a report was at once sent to me. I had marched to- 
 wards Ballycoree, thinking that the crowds, which were 
 so far orderly and under perfect control of their leaders, 
 would double round and go to Ballycoree, as it had been 
 announced that at all costs the meeting should be held. 
 It was now clear that this intention had been abandoned. 
 It was, however, most unmistakably my duty to prevent 
 or disperse any meeting in the vicinity of Ennis ; so I 
 marched my force rapidly to the spot. When I arrived 
 with Captain Welch, a resident magistrate, who did 
 excellent service in those troublous times, at the head
 
 234 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 of the column, resolutions condemning the action of the 
 Government in prohibiting the meeting, for aiding 
 tyrannical landlords by means of the forces of the Crown, 
 and for suppressing the National League, had been put 
 by the chairman, Mr Philip Stanhope, and Mr John 
 Dillon had spoken. Mr William O'Brien had just com- 
 menced to speak when I summoned the leaders to 
 disperse. Mr Stanhope approached me, and, holding 
 up a paper, said that the meeting was a perfectly legal 
 one, that I should be acting illegally if I prevented or 
 dispersed it, and that he would see that I was made to 
 answer for my conduct. I replied that I was merely 
 acting as an agent for the Government, whose orders 
 I was bound to and would carry out ; and, pulling out 
 my watch, I said that I would give them five minutes to 
 disperse, and that at the end of that time, if they had 
 not moved on, I must force them to do so. 
 
 The men of Clare, whom Mr Dillon had in his speech 
 the night before termed " the most disturbed County 
 in Ireland," were very excited, and for a few moments 
 I felt somewhat apprehensive, for the fields on each side 
 of the road were crowded with stout countrymen, who 
 might have made it very warm for us, and compelled me 
 to order very regrettable steps to be taken. The M.P.'s 
 and others, however, behaved with perfect propriety 
 and calmness, and their example took effect among the 
 people, and, to my infinite relief, the cavalcade of carriages 
 containing the speakers, followed by the people, moved 
 off and reached Ennis by another road. 
 
 Thus the day which had opened with apprehension 
 and fear of possible, if not probable, consequences, 
 closed in peace. A slight collision took place in the 
 evening between some men who had been drinking, and
 
 THE NATIONAL LEAGUE 235 
 
 stoned the police, who drew their batons and charged, 
 inflicting some shght scalp wounds, but none serious, 
 and as I was marching home with some troops and police, 
 we were heavily stoned from a side street. I and several 
 of those with me were hit, so, halting my little column, 
 I was about to send police with batons drawn to disperse 
 the stone throwers, when I saw a priest, a friend of mine, 
 Father Little of Sixmile Bridge, County Clare, who had 
 much influence with the people. I went up to him and 
 told him that if he did not disperse the truculent mob 
 I would do so, upon which he, with me riding by his 
 side, went straight up to the crowd, who then stood still, 
 and, as we approached, they gave us a hearty cheer and 
 wanted to shake hands with me. So quickly can the 
 demeanour and disposition of an excitable Celtic mob 
 be changed, if they are taken in the right way. 
 
 The only other incident in connexion with the day was 
 that one of the English ladies assaulted an officer of 
 hussars with her umbrella, as he was with his men 
 quietly riding past the wagonette in which she was 
 seated. Unlike the officer of the same regiment, who 
 nearly caused trouble, as I have before told, he only 
 smiled blandly at her, which added to her fury, and 
 adjusted his busby, which her assault had somewhat 
 displaced. 
 
 There were far greater elements of danger at Ennis 
 that day than there were at Mitchelstown, and a very 
 small spark would have led to a serious conflagration, 
 which must have had most deplorable results. As it was, 
 the constant demonstration of a large force, and the 
 loyal carrying out of orders that no roughness or violence 
 of any kind was to be displayed by the police, unless 
 they were attacked, to which I must add the prudence
 
 236 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 and self-command of the Nationalist leaders and most 
 of their English friends, combined to falsify the dire 
 anticipations which had been formed by the Government 
 and many others as to what the day of the Ballycoree 
 meeting would bring forth. 
 
 A few weeks ago Lord Weardale took the chair at a 
 dinner of the Polyglot Club ; I was requested to propose 
 his health. I commenced by alluding to the difference 
 of the present meeting and our first one at Ennis twenty- 
 five years ago, when he went to County Clare to assist 
 the Nationalists and defy what was, bad or good, the 
 law ; and when I had had a hostile though short inter- 
 view with him. It is such contrasts and varying moods 
 and scenes that go to give zest to life, especially when 
 they terminate in the right way and end in friendship. 
 
 The result of the day's events was considered highly 
 satisfactory by the Government, whose thanks were 
 conveyed to me ; as, however, all the speeches delivered 
 or undelivered were reported in full in the Nationalist 
 Press, and as it was stated and believed far and wide that 
 the meeting proclaimed had been held as proposed in 
 defiance of the Government and its armed myrmidons, 
 it does not seem to have served much purpose to proclaim 
 and forcibly prevent the meeting. The voice of the 
 speaker reaches a very short way, but that of the Press 
 travels far and wide and informs millions, where the 
 former speaks to a comparatively small handful of 
 people. 
 
 The "Times" actually wrote a most eulogistic article, 
 upon the manner in which the operations for preventing 
 the meeting had been carried out, in very different 
 tenor from that of the one which, following on Mr 
 Clifford Lloyd's letter, censured the Government and
 
 THE NATIONAL LEAGUE 237 
 
 myself for slackness in carrying out the Bodyke evictions. 
 All's well that ends well ! 
 
 Very little was said in the House of Commons, contrary 
 to the custom which then prevailed, about the Ballycoree 
 meeting. The member for West Clare, Mr Cox, drew 
 attention to it, complaining of the proclamation of the 
 meeting and the evident desire of the Government to 
 provoke crime and outrage. He had nothing to say 
 against the conduct of the police, except in the case of a 
 young officer and some few constables who, he alleged, 
 had been guilty of violence to unoffending people, and he 
 said that if it had not been for the manner in which I had 
 conducted the operations of the military and police, " The 
 streets of Ennis would have run with blood." He then 
 alluded to a terrible tragic event which had occurred near 
 Lisdoonvarna, in County Clare — the death of Head 
 Constable Whelehan, who had been killed by a moon- 
 lighter, and accused another head constable named 
 Maurice O'Halloran for acting as agent provocateur in 
 arranging outrages for the purpose of procuring con- 
 victions. Head Constable O'Halloran was attached to 
 my Staff for nearly six years, and a better, more con- 
 scientious police officer could not be. He was the means 
 of the detection of several crimes, being endowed with 
 the acumen of a Sherlock Holmes, but he always had the 
 strongest sympathy with the people, and would not for 
 worlds have been guilty of any injustice towards them. 
 However, the Nationalists literally hated him, and his 
 name was time after time held up to execration in the 
 House of Commons. 
 
 One day shortly before this a man named Cullinane came 
 to the police barrack at Ennis and informed the County 
 Inspector, Mr Heard, that he was one of a gang who
 
 238 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 had determined to moonlight the house of a very obnoxious 
 farmer named Sexton, and to murder him and his whole 
 family ; and that he himself repented and wished to 
 prevent the crime. He stated the hour of the attack. 
 I made the necessary arrangements, and several constables 
 were concealed in the house and round about it under 
 Head Constable Whelehan. 
 
 At the expected hour the moonlighters arrived and 
 knocked at the door, which was opened by Sexton. 
 The men entered, and Sexton was ordered to kneel down, 
 say his prayers and await his doom, when a rush was made 
 by the concealed police upon the intruders, who, after a 
 short, sharp struggle, were overpowered and handcuffed. 
 One only managed to escape, a young Hercules named 
 Leary, who rushed into an ambush consisting of Head 
 Constable Whelehan and two men. Whelehan called on 
 the moonlighter to halt and surrender. Instead of doing 
 so he rushed at Whelehan, who had from motives of 
 humanity ordered his men on no account to fire, and 
 literally smashed his head, as I saw next morning, with 
 his clubbed gun. Leary was recognized, tried by charge 
 of venue in Wicklow, convicted and sentenced to long 
 penal servitude. He was released after four years, and 
 returned to work quietly on his farm, where a deadly 
 Nemesis pursued him, for he was soon afterwards gored 
 to death by his bull. Why he was so soon released from 
 such a long term of penal servitude I never knew ; but 
 I imagine that it was believed that the man Cullinane, the 
 informer, was an agent provocateur, and had drawn the 
 others into the outrage. 
 
 He was a Kerry man, a perambulating pedlar ; he had 
 been much in America, and was remarkably acute. I am 
 afraid that the charge made against him of inciting to
 
 THE NATIONAL LEAGUE 239 
 
 the crime and arranging it for the purpose of obtaining 
 Government reward was not unfounded. At the time I 
 had of course no suspicion of this, nor had any of the 
 poHce serving with me. CulUnane was wafted away in 
 security and was not heard of again, as far as I know. 
 
 The next notable event in which I was personally 
 engaged was the notorious Ennis meeting on 9 April 
 1888, which ended in an unforeseen and very regrettable 
 affray, accompanied providentially by no loss of life or 
 serious injury, which, having regard to what took place, 
 was almost miraculous. 
 
 A larger number of meetings were announced to be held 
 in the Counties of Clare and Kerry, to denounce the 
 action of the Government for suppressing the National 
 League and for the Coercion Act of 1887, then in full 
 swing. The Government proclaimed all these meetings, 
 which I was directed to prevent. Had they been ignored 
 and left severely alone, they would have been insignificant, 
 and no harm would have come of them. 
 
 The principal one was to be held at Ennis, where I 
 myself took charge of the operations, and as the force of 
 constabulary in the counties was entirely inadequate to 
 deal with so many meetings, eight, if I remember rightly, 
 I was compelled to ask for the services of a large number of 
 extra police from other counties, and a considerable number 
 of troops, all of whom were assembled in the respective 
 contumacious localities on the morning of Sunday, gth 
 April. I was further directed to prevent, if possible, any 
 impromptu meetings which it might be attempted to hold 
 in defiance of the Government proclamation, should the 
 principal meetings be prevented. 
 
 Mr Davitt and Mr John O'Connor were the two principal 
 representatives of the National Party at Ennis, and the
 
 240 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 whole county swarmed with members of ParHament, 
 among whom were Mr John Redmond and Mr Critty at 
 Kilrush, Mr Cox and Mr Kilbride at Scariff, Mr Jordan 
 and Mr Abraham at Miltown Malbay. I had with me at 
 Ennis three troops of hussars under Colonel Challoner, 
 three or four companies of the Berkshire Regiment, and 
 a large force of police, many of whom I saw for the first 
 time. In face of the large force the people did not attempt 
 to assemble, but dispersed quietly. All seemed to be 
 passing off well. The same orders had been issued by me 
 as on the occasion of the Ballycoree meeting, viz., that 
 no violence was, if possible, to be used. 
 
 I ordered the hussars to send scouts in all directions 
 to report any attempts to hold meetings, but none were 
 reported. Early in the afternoon a procession of cars was 
 formed, led by one occupied by Mr Davitt and some Press 
 reporters, and left Ennis at a rapid pace. This was 
 evidently either for the purpose of holding a meeting 
 outside the town, or as a feint to draw the forces of the 
 Crown away from Ennis, and so enable a meeting to be 
 held there. Leaving Captain Welch in charge, I followed 
 the cars with a troop of hussars and some mounted 
 police. Mr Davitt led his party for a round of fourteen 
 miles, and returned to Ennis by another road, passing 
 the Artillery Militia Barracks where the recruits were 
 assembled for training. As we were passing the barrack 
 we were greeted with a shower of stones by the militiamen. 
 I myself, the trumpeter and one or two troopers were 
 struck, but not hurt, and we took no notice ; but when I 
 reached Ennis, I saw Captain Craig, R.A., the very 
 efficient adjutant of the Clan Artillery, and asked him to 
 go and keep his men quiet. I thought then all was over, 
 and mightily rejoiced ; but my exultation was premature.
 
 THE NATIONAL LEAGUE 241 
 
 An orderly hurried up to me and reported that a large 
 meeting was being held in the " Burnt Store," or warehouse. 
 I went there with the hussars and sent for some infantry 
 and police. When we arrived we were stoned from the 
 upper windows, and this did not cease till some of the 
 infantry, when they arrived, pointed their unloaded rifles 
 at the windows. The hussars were drawn up in line, on 
 the farther side of the road opposite the large archway 
 leading into the yard. Under the archway were standing 
 the newspaper correspondents of the Irish "Times" and 
 " Freeman." 
 
 Then came the disaster. I sent the first body of police 
 into the yard with batons drawn to overawe the meeting, 
 but with instructions not to use them without further 
 orders. They were, unfortunately, police from another 
 county who knew not our ways, and they became excited 
 and used their batons in face of very feeble resistance. 
 One of them struck the correspondent of the " Freeman," 
 Mr Murray, as he was passing him in the archway, and cut 
 him on the head. The worst thing that happened was 
 that a hussar broke out of the ranks, drew his sword and 
 rode amok into the archway, where he cut at the tall hat 
 of Mr Hill, the correspondent of the Irish " Times," and 
 wounded his ear. This took place in a second, and before 
 Colonel Challoner could stop him, when he was promptly 
 placed in arrest. Being asked why he had attacked a 
 harmless, unarmed gentleman, he gave it, as his extra- 
 ordinary excuse, that " he thought he was a member." 
 Some forty men were wounded by the batons, none 
 seriously — and a number of persons were marched to the 
 police barracks, as prisoners charged with holding an 
 illegal meeting. They were all discharged to come up 
 on their own recognizances, but no proceedings were 
 16
 
 242 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 taken against any of them. So ended the " Battle of the 
 Burnt Store," as it was called, which was long talked 
 and written about, and formed the favourite subject 
 for the ballads of local poets for many a long day. 
 
 The account I have given of the affray at Ennis is an 
 unvarnished and literally correct one, as I can vouch, 
 having witnessed it myself. Two incidents, the breaking 
 away from the ranks of the hussar and the use of their 
 batons by the police from another county were unjustifi- 
 able, but they both occurred in the twinkling of an eye, 
 and were stopped as soon as possible by the officer com- 
 manding the cavalry and the Co-Inspector. The people 
 were acting in defiance of the Government proclamation, 
 and had been watched and pursued all day by troops 
 and police. By the evening both sides were excited and 
 mutually irritated, and I am most thankful to think that 
 no worse conflicts took place, and that no lives were lost, 
 or serious injuries inflicted. I call here to mind the 
 admirable conduct of Mr G. H. Shannon, a resident 
 magistrate, who on this as on many other occasions 
 rendered me invaluable service, and who, by his tact, 
 quiet manner and persuasive tongue, did much to prevent 
 rioting on this occasion. The affray furnished inexhaust- 
 ible copy for the Press, and as two of its representatives 
 observed matters through the blood which flowed down 
 their faces, and as the others took their colouring from 
 them, it was not surprising that hyperbole in the highest 
 marked their reports, and led the public to think that a 
 second Peterloo had been perpetrated. The placards 
 and the heads of the newspaper columns announced in 
 large letters " The Turner outrage at Ennis," " Mr Balfour 
 and the Turner outrage," " A second Peterloo," " Terrible 
 butchery of the people," and I was depicted in a then
 
 THE NATIONAL LEAGUE 243 
 
 leading comic weekly in London as a baton with my 
 portrait on the end of it, brutally and ruthlessly breaking 
 the heads of a flying crowd. A detachment of infantry 
 had sung Rule Britannia when marching through the 
 town about the time of the affray, and I was compared 
 to Nero butchering the innocent and helpless people to 
 the melody of " England's bloody red" ! The editor of 
 " United Ireland," however, far outdid them all ; his power 
 of inventing curious and envenomed epithets was almost 
 miraculous. Week after week new ones appeared, and 
 some of them were so original that I do not hesitate to 
 reproduce them. It will be seen that Mr Balfour's name is 
 often coupled with mine, and I can assert as a fact that for 
 periods more or less long, Lord Spencer, Mr Balfour, 
 and myself were the most abused men in Ireland. Among 
 "United Ireland" flowers of rhetoric, some of the most 
 remarkable were : " The man who rules over the County 
 of Clare with more powers than the powers of the Czar." 
 " The renegade Turner, the Turncoat." " The adviser 
 and instigator of Robbers." " Nature has not endowed 
 him with as much brains as malice." " The unfortunate 
 man with a large family." " A disgrace to a soldier's 
 uniform." " A disgrace to the Magistracy." " After 
 Colonel Turner has sunk into oblivion, if he does not sink 
 into worse than oblivion." "Ananias Balfour and his jackal 
 Turner." " That detested tool. Colonel Turncoat Turner." 
 " That vulgar Colonel Turner and his vile paymaster 
 Balfour." " That mean reptile Turner and his meaner 
 master Balfour." "Balfour and his official spaniel. 
 Colonel Turner." " The cowardly scoundrels, Turner 
 and Balfour." " A subject too offensive for skilful 
 dissection." " A man of revolting corruption." " A 
 vile creature with a foul tongue, a cur dog, a sneak."
 
 244 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 " A low mosstrooping scribbler." " That cowardly 
 scoundrel Balfour and his sneaky little servant, Turncoat 
 Turner." " A consummate, unmitigated liar." " The 
 renegade Turner and the Arch-tyrant Balfour," and so 
 on ad infinitum. I recollect that " Truth " and some other 
 of the Liberal papers raised their voices against this 
 uninterrupted flow of slanderous venom, but if the editor 
 of " United Ireland " had but been aware that his choice 
 invective charmed me and my fellow-workers, and that, 
 week after week, we watched eagerly for the appearance 
 of his paper, in order to cull therefrom fresh beauties 
 wherewith still further to adorn a book I was compiling, 
 entitled, " The Vocabulary of Vituperation by Sweet 
 William," he might probably have been a little more 
 reticent in casting his pearls before swine ! 
 
 I received innumerable threatening letters informing me 
 that my day of doom was at hand — of these I took no 
 notice, except that I sent a few of the best of them to 
 the Press for publication ; and a conspiracy to remove me 
 was reported, but it came to nothing, and fortunately, or 
 unfortunately, I still remain. Of a truth the Irish are a 
 curious people of varying moods, and I am by no means 
 ungrateful to Providence that I am half one of them 
 myself. The proceedings which followed ended in equally 
 futile results, but they were far more serious and trouble- 
 some. In the first place Mr Parnell in the House of 
 Commons on 13 April, 1888, moved the adjournment 
 of the House to discuss a matter of urgent public 
 importance — namely, " the attack on the people of 
 Ennis on Sunday last by the police and the military, 
 and the conduct of Colonel Turner and other officers 
 in charge, and the policy of the Irish Executive, as 
 evinced by these and other proceedings in directing
 
 THE NATIONAL LEAGUE 245 
 
 the police to assault persons taking part in alleged 
 illegal meetings instead of proceeding against such 
 alleged offenders according to law." The last lines 
 involve a rather curious proposition ; how the many 
 thousands of people who attended these illegal meetings 
 could be proceeded against according to the law beats 
 the wit of man to discover. Mr Parnell spoke, on the whole, 
 in a calm and temperate manner, but he took his facts 
 from the reports in the newspapers, and especially from 
 that of the " Times " correspondent, who had grossly ex- 
 aggerated, and he concluded by stating that I had acted 
 with incredible barbarity. Mr Balfour very ably and con- 
 clusively defended the action of the Executive, Mr Wm. 
 O'Brien made one of his most vituperative and perfervid 
 harangues against me personally, describing me, only in 
 more parliamentary language, as he had done in " United 
 ■ Ireland," and then Mr Gladstone rose, and made one of 
 his most telling attacks against the Irish Government, 
 the Executive and my much belaboured self. I am quite 
 sure he meant to be fair, but, like others, he had formed 
 entirely erroneous premises ; he said that cavalry had 
 charged into the yard. I do not wish to spare myself 
 in these memoirs, and I now reproduce a letter of mine, 
 which I wrote to the " Times " upon a speech of j\Ir Glad- 
 stone's on the subject, which was inserted with the sanction 
 of the Irish Government, but which I have ever since 
 deeply regretted, especially as to the unmeasured terms 
 in which part of it is couched. The letter was headed 
 " Mr Gladstone and the Ennis Meeting." 
 
 " Sir, 
 
 Mr Gladstone, in his speech to the Noncon- 
 formists on the gth inst., is reported to have made use
 
 246 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 of the following words. ' The other day another case 
 occurred, happily of a milder character, and so perhaps 
 it has not drawn so much attention. A meeting had 
 been held, which I assume was an illegal meeting, but 
 it was a peaceful meeting, but when an illegal but peace- 
 ful meeting is held, the legal course is to warn the people, 
 and after a certain time stronger measures may be taken 
 if they do not disperse. This meeting, which was at 
 Ennis, was in the act of dispersing, when the cavalry 
 were driven into a yard among them. Two persons were 
 injured. I am very thankful there were no more ; but 
 it was a gross piece of misconduct on the part of those 
 who directed the cavalry to adopt such a method of 
 dealing with a peaceful meeting. The Government 
 nevertheless defend the course which was taken, deny us 
 all full information, make their own ex parte statements, 
 refuse to produce their documents, and yet as I do not 
 believe there will be any more Mitchelstowns in Ireland 
 at the present time, so I am very doubtful whether any 
 more officers will order regiments of cavalry to charge 
 in among orderly and peaceful meetings.' As I happened 
 to be in charge of the forces detailed on that day to 
 prevent illegal meetings in Clare, and was present at 
 Ennis, and therefore personally responsible for the 
 proceedings of the military and police in that place, the 
 term ' gross misconduct ' must be considered as applied 
 to me, and I venture therefore to ask you to insert this 
 letter, which will, 1 trust, show how outrageously false 
 is the account of this matter given by Mr Gladstone. 
 The facts of the case have been fully stated by the Chief 
 Secretary in the House of Commons, and were sworn by 
 me during the Magisterial enquiry at Ennis on the 20th 
 ult., and yet, three weeks later, utterly regardless of
 
 THE NATIONAL LEAGUE 247 
 
 facts, Mr Gladstone thinks it not beneath his dignity to 
 thunder forth wild and reckless charges based upon the 
 gross misstatements and exaggerations uttered during 
 the debate on the subject, which have been fully and 
 publicly contradicted by me on oath in a Court of Justice. 
 
 " The facts of the case were as follows : — On the day in 
 question an illegal meeting was being held in the back 
 yard of a warehouse standing in a narrow lane. When 
 I came upon the scene stones were coming from the upper 
 windows of the warehouse, in the upper stories of which 
 a large number of these missiles had been collected. 
 Stones were also coming in showers from over the cottages 
 on the opposite side of the lane. As I had very few police 
 available, I told the officer commanding the hussars to 
 place some of his men across the archway leading into 
 the yard, while I sent a small body of police in to arrest 
 those inside, which they did. The stone throwing con- 
 tinued, and I only succeeded in stopping it by extending 
 some infantry on one side and directing some more to 
 direct their rifles at the windows of the warehouse from 
 which stones were coming. 
 
 " This is what Mr Gladstone calls a peaceful meeting. 
 The horses of the hussars became very restive under 
 the stone throwing, and some of the men were rather 
 excited. One man guarding the archway left the ranks 
 and rode forward, and unfortunately injured a news- 
 paper reporter who was present at the illegal meeting. 
 He was stopped almost immediately by his officer and 
 brought back. This is what Mr Gladstone calls ' the 
 cavalry being driven into the yard,' and regiments of 
 cavalry being ordered to charge in among orderly and 
 peaceful meetings. 
 
 " I feel confident that I shall be fully acquitted of ' gross
 
 248 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 misconduct ' by all just and fair-minded persons, and 
 that the term will be considered by them far more applic- 
 able to those who have no sense of justice and who do 
 not hesitate to pervert the truth and bring false charges 
 upon the ' ex parte ' statements of partisans. 
 
 " I have the honour to be, 
 
 " Alfred E. Turner." 
 
 There was a suppressio vert, not intentional, I hope, 
 in the statement about the police sent into the yard, 
 who, without orders, used their batons freely. One had 
 to stand up for and cover the faults of one's subordinates, 
 as long as nothing serious occurred. A commander who 
 does not so act, will never, melancholy to relate, be well 
 served when it comes to the pitch. Necessitas non habet 
 leges. 
 
 This letter was termed manly by the Unionist Press. I, 
 however, regard it now as pert, arrogant and, referring as 
 it did to a man of Mr Gladstone's position and character, 
 a lamentable production, which \ have regretted ever 
 since. It is hard to imagine how the Irish Government 
 allowed it to be published. The fact is, that men's 
 blood was up on both sides in those days, and under such 
 circumstances they do not stick at trifles. I had a short 
 time before been under three hours' chief and three hours' 
 cross-examination by Mr T. Harrington in the court- 
 house at Ennis, and I feel sure that this ordeal, the 
 nature of which can be imagined, had much to do with 
 the acrimonious tone of my letter. I regard it as one of 
 my chief faults and failures, of which I have committed, 
 like nearly every one else placed in difficult positions, 
 many. In fact, when I meditate on my long past I feel 
 inclined to throw a sheet of oblivion over my memory
 
 THE NATIONAL LEAGUE 249 
 
 like the Persian doctor who threw his mantle over his 
 head whenever he passed the cemetery of his locality. 
 His friends told him that he must be a most sensitive 
 man if he could not look at the abodes of the dead. " Oh," 
 said he, "it is not that, it is the thought of the many 
 dead whom I have been the means of laying there." The 
 brilliant and gifted author of " The Doctor's Dilemma," ^ 
 might have adopted this story as a quotation at the 
 beginning of his inimitable work. 
 
 I may, after so long a lapse of time, be justified in saying 
 that Mr Horace Seymour, whom, as Lady Spencer's 
 brother, I had often met in Dublin, and whose premature 
 passing away inflicted a grievous loss on the public 
 service and to all who had the privilege of his acquaint- 
 ance, wrote to me about this letter of mine to the " Times." 
 He justly complained of the strong language, and told 
 me that IMr Gladstone was most anxious to do justice 
 to me, but that he had been compelled to draw his con- 
 clusions from the reports in the newspapers owing to 
 the very meagre information vouchsafed by the Govern- 
 ment, and that he had especially relied upon the account 
 of the affray given by the "Times" correspondent who 
 reported that " to make matters worse some of the 
 cavalry rode into the yard and wounded the men," 
 while the Irish " Times," a strong Unionist organ, wrote, 
 " The hussars charged the people in the archway," 
 and the "Freeman" said, " Colonel Turner next ordered 
 the hussars to charge the people in the same enclosed 
 yard." He added that Mr Gladstone told him that, 
 knowing my high character, he had purposely abstained 
 from bringing my name into the debate, and that he was 
 quite ready to take an opportunity of saying what he 
 
 1 Mr G. Bernard Shaw.
 
 250 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 could to remove any sense of injustice which I might 
 fairly feel he had done me. It may well be imagined 
 that I read Mr Horace Seymour's letter with an intense 
 feeling of regret mingled with shame that I had allowed 
 myself to write the letter to the " Times " about the Ennis 
 Meeting. It is no small drawback to have the cacocthes 
 scribendi which has often landed me in difficulties. 
 Was anything truer ever written than the Oriental 
 proverb — 
 
 " Taciturnity is an ornament, and in silence is security ; 
 Therefore when thou speakest, be not loquacious, 
 For if thou repent thee of thy silence, 
 Thou wilt assuredly repent thee many times of thy speech." 
 
 All this time the evictions of no less than 114 tenants 
 were impending on the Vandeleur estate, about Kilrush, 
 West Clare. Times had been hard, and nearly all the 
 tenants were in arrears of rent for two years. Dr Dinan, 
 the vicar-general and parish priest of KiliTish, and his 
 curates, one and all excellent hard-working priests, did 
 all in their power to effect a settlement. I also did the 
 little possible for me, but all to no avail. The landlord 
 agreed to accept, and the tenants to pay, a year's rent 
 under certain conditions on either side, but each de- 
 clined to accept the other's terms. The rents on this 
 estate had been very low up to 1874, then in good times 
 they had been very greatly raised, so raised that the 
 tenants profited little and could lay nothing by for a 
 rainy day. The Plan of Campaign was then adopted, 
 and all hopes of a settlement fell to the ground. Mr 
 Davitt, and a large number of English visitors, including 
 the late Lady Sandhurst, whom I had known in India 
 as Lady Mansfield, wife of the Commander-in-Chief,
 
 THE NATIONAL LEAGUE 251 
 
 Mr S. D. Waddy, M.P., Mr Byles, M.P. (now Sir W. 
 Byles), and Mrs Byles, were present. I had a large force, 
 as the fell work before us was considerable, and there 
 was great excitement among the people at the coming 
 114 evictions and the clearing of a large country-side. 
 My force consisted of 50 of the 3rd Hussars, 70 men 
 of the Sherwood Foresters, 50 of the Berkshire Regiment, 
 and 120 of the R.L Constabulary. The officers were 
 quartered in Kilrush House, since burned to the ground, 
 and the men were encamped in the Park. The Sheriff 
 was provided with a battering ram, but the progress was 
 slow as the houses were all barricaded and the tenants 
 determined to resist to the last. Cordons were formed 
 by the infantry round the houses while the police kept 
 order. There was no disturbance, and the people were 
 much more submissive than those of Bodyke. Mr 
 Jordan, M.P., Mr Sheehy, M.P., and Mr T. W. Russell 
 added themselves to the spectators to watch the evictions. 
 Hot water was thrown at the Sheriff and his men as they 
 entered the houses, but the active resistance was not 
 great except in a few instances. The priests were very 
 indignant at being kept outside the cordon, and I was 
 very sorry to have to do this, but they were the insti- 
 gators of the Plan of Campaign and depositaries of its 
 funds. The plan had been denounced as an illegal 
 conspiracy, and it was impossible under the circum- 
 stances to show them any special favour. The eviction 
 campaign dragged on for some weeks. It was a horribly 
 trjdng ordeal to be compelled to see carried out — a series 
 of attacks on houses which were battered often into 
 ruins, while their occupants, in some cases little children, 
 were turned out of their homes, and, where the tenants 
 resisted desperately, which was not often, they were
 
 252 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 occasionally injured by the police in self-defence. It 
 was a graphic picture of the evils of unmitigated land- 
 lordism, and, as in the case of most evictions, a battle of 
 Kilkenny cats, in which all were injured and none bene- 
 fited. I do not think any unnecessary violence was used 
 by the police, and certainly none was by the troops. 
 We all loathed the work, and most of us deeply sym- 
 pathized with the poor ejected ones. The tenants were 
 fairly pressed into joining the Plan of Campaign, which 
 they did not all thoroughly appreciate, as the following 
 instances will show. It was my custom first to go to 
 the houses before the Sheriff's operations began, and to 
 try to reason with the tenants as to the folly of resistance, 
 which would damage if not ruin the houses, to which 
 they were sure to be reinstated sooner or later, while the 
 result of resistance was sure to be prison. I was nearly 
 always respectfully received and listened to, and in only 
 two instances was I the recipient of hot water or porridge ; 
 but my arguments were of no avail. In one case the 
 tenant of an apparently strongly barricaded house said 
 to me, " If I let yez in, will ye make me a prisoner and 
 put the handcuffs on me ? " I said I would, and he told 
 me to wait a minute and then make a rush at the door, 
 which was done. The latter gave way, and the occupant 
 was arrested, handcuffed and kept a prisoner for some 
 time, when he was brought before a magistrate to come 
 up for judgment when called. Naturally he never was 
 called. In the course of the day I asked him why he 
 had asked for the handcuffs, and he replied, " Sure, Your 
 Honour, if I hadn't resisted I should have got nothing 
 out of the plan." At another eviction the tenant, who 
 with his two sons was in the house, said, on being warned 
 by me not to throw hot water at the Sheriff, " Sure,
 
 THE NATIONAL LEAGUE 253 
 
 Your Honour, I am bound to throw a little, but it won't 
 be very hot." 
 
 These two instances show how right I was to keep the 
 promoters of the plan out of hearing and seeing distance, 
 otherwise the resistance and its consequences would 
 have been far worse. 
 
 There were terribly touching scenes from time to time, 
 one in particular. A man, his wife and little children 
 were evicted from a small farm on the bay, which looked 
 as if the tenants ought to have been paid to occupy it. 
 The woman and children were weeping their hearts 
 out. The difference between landlord and tenant was 
 small, and I offered to pay it myself. The man would 
 gladly have accepted, but he was bound by the conditions 
 of the Plan of Campaign not to let himself be reinstated, 
 unless all his fellow-tenants were : so out the poor people 
 had to go. 
 
 I had a very curious personal experience. Mrs Magrath, 
 the holder of a farm-house at the breaking into which 
 her son had fought desperately, was very ill, and was 
 moved to another house the morning of the eviction, 
 where the poor woman died. A day or two afterwards 
 I came across my friend, Mr S. D. Waddy, M.P., who had 
 been very friendly with me since I gave him lunch at 
 Bodyke. On this occasion, however, he seemed to wish 
 to shun me, and looked at me with half averted face. 
 I soon found out the reason. He, with some other M.P.'s, 
 were cogitating whether it would not be possible to apply 
 for a warrant to arrest me on the charge of the wilful 
 murder of poor Mrs Magrath, which would resolve itself 
 into one of manslaughter. I understand that a warrant 
 was all but applied for, but that in the end common 
 sense prevailed and the idea was dropped. I had, how-
 
 254 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 ever, sixteen actions brought against me for battery and 
 assault during the Kilrush evictions, and for a time I 
 lived in a state of being presented with writs. Of course 
 this all led to nothing, but the cases all went to 
 the High Court at Dublin, where Chief Baron Palles 
 pronounced them to be actions which were vexatious 
 and which should not have been brought. Not long 
 after this a settlement was arrived at between Major 
 Vandeleur and his tenants through the most laudable 
 exertions of Mr Henniker Heaton, M.P. All was going 
 on well when a most untoward incident occurred. 
 
 My costs in the above actions were about £ioo. I 
 applied to Dublin Castle to be repaid this amount, and 
 was told by the Law Officer of the Crown that I should 
 not be the loser, but that I must do as any ordinary 
 individual would be compelled to do, that is, levy through 
 the Sheriff upon the property of those who had been com- 
 pelled to bring the actions. I did so, and the Sheriff 
 seized cattle which were sold to the required amount. 
 The whole settlement with the tenants was all but upset, 
 and Mr Henniker Heaton and the landlord went to Mr 
 Balfour to complain of my outrageous conduct. I 
 naturally was not to blame, but if I had thought more 
 before I placed the writs with the Sheriff and nearly 
 undid the blessed work of peace, I would not have done 
 so. As for the Law Officer, I suppose he acted for the 
 best according to his lights, but one is reminded of the 
 old song, 
 
 " The wig, the wig, the wig's the thing. 
 The wisdom's in the wig." 
 
 and very often not elsewhere. 
 
 I once was at Kilrush to see the peace preserved at
 
 THE NATIONAL LEAGUE 255 
 
 the election of the Coroner, about which feehng ran very 
 high. The supporters of one of the candidates became 
 very violent, and it was necessary to order the police 
 to charge as stones were flying freely, so freely that the 
 police with batons were driven back. A charge was 
 then made by some police with carbines, used as batons. 
 This was highly irregular, but necessary, for, in the first 
 place, the constable's baton was short and light and soon 
 " wore out," as it was described by the men, and secondly, 
 the carbines were obsolete and their grooving had all 
 been smoothed out by the use of Mr Foster's notorious 
 buckshot ; they were therefore valueless as firearms and 
 dangerous, for one could never guess where the contents 
 would go, owing to the irregular and half worn-out 
 grooves. Used as batons they were formidable. 
 
 When the stone-throwing crowd saw the police coming 
 with carbines they ran like hares ; and the police ran 
 after them, and were only recalled with difficulty. One 
 constable was missing, and, fearing that he had gone 
 too far and had been surrounded and attacked and 
 perhaps killed, as the men of Clare do not stick at trifles 
 when their blood is up, the officer in charge was about to 
 send some constables to search for him when an object 
 like a scarecrow appeared approaching us. His helmet 
 was battered down, blood was trickling from his face 
 and head over the tattered remains of a tunic, his other 
 garments were much in the same state, and he carried 
 the butt end of his carbine. He staggered like a drunken 
 man, owing to the loss of blood, towards his comrades, 
 and as he joined them he was heard to say, " Begorah, 
 Boys, this is the first time I ever had rale satisfaction ! " 
 What had taken place was never exactly elucidated, 
 but he seems to have overtaken some of the flying crowd,
 
 256 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 who turned on him, with the result that he got much the 
 worst of it. As he was quite satisfied, and said that he 
 would not identify any of his foes, and as no one, as far 
 as could be ascertained, was seriously hurt, nothing but 
 amusement resulted from the affair. 
 
 I was also in charge at Kilrush when Mr Maguire was 
 elected as Parnellite M.P. for West Clare, in which 
 portion of the county the followers of Mr Parnell had a 
 large majority. At Kilrush, however, the anti-Parnel- 
 lites greatly predominated when the result of the election 
 was declared in the court-house, which is a long way from 
 the hotel in which Mr Maguire and his friends were 
 staying. A large mob of anti-Parnellites in front of 
 the court-house sent forth a terrific booing when they 
 heard that their candidate was defeated. Mr Maguire's 
 companions asked me if he and they could be safely 
 conducted to their hotel. I said certainly, if they would 
 implicitly follow my instructions. They promised to do 
 so, and I formed a column as follows : a body of police 
 with drawn batons in front, then police in single file 
 on each side of the road, leaving an open space for the 
 elected member and his friends between them ; the rear 
 being brought up by police with carbines. Mr Maguire 
 was greeted by a storm of booing and execration, and 
 then, to complete the irony of the situation, his friends 
 raised him and chaired him through the hostile crowds 
 all the way to the hotel under the closest police pro- 
 tection. The booing all the way was terrific, but beyond 
 an occasional stone no violence was offered. A strong 
 guard of police was posted at the hotel, and next morning 
 the member and his friends, who looked anything but 
 triumphant, were escorted safely out of Kilrush, to my 
 considerable relief, and doubtless to their own.
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 1889 TO 1892. parnell's triumph and fall 
 
 The Ponsonby evictions — Cork and Limerick added to my district — 
 Letter from Mr Balfour — His great qualities — Baron Dowse — Lord 
 Morris — Mr Justice O'Brien — Trial of Mr William O'Brien, M.P., at 
 Cork — Court-house burnt down — Mr Berry, the hangman — Trial of 
 Mr William O'Brien at Tralee — Mr Healy removed from court — A 
 magistrate's blackthorn — The Nationalist Press — Mr H. Whiting — An 
 unfortunate lawsuit — Law versus Justice — " Just like those Chancery 
 judges" — The Parnell Commission — Pigott and the "Times" — Mr 
 Parnell's triumph and fall — Break-up of the Irish Party — Mr Parnell 
 needs protection at Tralee — Mr John Redmond, candidate for Cork — 
 The two Redmonds — Violent scenes during the Election — Furious 
 fighting at Ennis — Mr John Dillon in danger — Lord Zetland's tour 
 through my district — Arran Islands^The Knight of Ghn — I am dis- 
 missed — Home Rule — The " rehgious intolerance " bogy — The spirit 
 of Nationalism in Ireland is unconquered and unconquerable. 
 
 I SHALL not weary my readers with the detailed 
 accounts of any more of the many evictions at which 
 the most distasteful duty of protecting the Sheriff 
 in carrying out his odious work fell to me and those under 
 me. The only extensive evictions — that is, those in which 
 a whole country-side was cleared of its occupants — were 
 those on the Ponsonby estate, in the neighbourhood of 
 Youghal, in County Cork, where the house once dwelt in 
 and owned by Sir Walter Raleigh still exists in its pristine 
 condition. 
 
 These, like the others described by me, ought never to 
 have taken place ; no one gained, but every one concerned 
 lost, by them, while the expenses to the tax-payer for the 
 protection accorded were very great. 
 
 The Plan of Campaign was instituted early among the 
 17 257
 
 258 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 tenants in this case ; and it appeared to me that the 
 landlords and agents felt it a matter of honour and duty to 
 fight " the Plan," as it was called, at all costs, and despite 
 all the suffering inflicted on the tenants and pecuniary 
 loss to themselves. No landlord should have had the 
 power of ejecting tenants wholesale, and devastating the 
 homes of large numbers of people ; while no Government 
 should be bound to furnish the forces of the Crown to 
 protect those who commit arbitrary acts of oppression. 
 It was by no means agreeable to the Government to aid 
 in such measures, and whatever may have been said by 
 the Nationalists in their natural wrath at the scenes which 
 were being enacted, Mr Balfour, Sir Redvers Duller 
 (a large landlord himself), and Sir West Ridgeway, the 
 Under-Secretary in succession to Sir Redvers, were, 
 one and all, impartial, and by no means eager to give 
 assistance to unjust and grasping landlords ; and where 
 any pressure could be brought to bear to stay their hands 
 from evicting, it was done, and done with success in some 
 cases. 
 
 The worst feature in the situation was that the landlords 
 were occasionally absentees, living in England or other 
 country, and that practically none of the rents collected 
 were spent in the locality or in Ireland, so that on the 
 tenants there was an everlasting drain of money from which 
 they obtained no benefit whatever, direct or indirect, while 
 the most of them existed just upon the margin of poverty. 
 
 The Land Acts, the Arrears Act and others have been 
 most beneficial to the country, and have tended enormously 
 to forestall agrarian crimes, which raged before their 
 introduction, committed as they were by a people sensitive 
 to a degree and exasperated through the conditions of 
 life under which they suffered.
 
 PARNELL'S TRUBIPH AND FALL 259 
 
 Eliminating agrarian crime, Ireland is, and has long 
 been, one of the most crimeless countries in the worid, 
 and even agrarian crime was not, in my time, so black 
 as it was painted — for every threatening letter which 
 reached the hands of the police was entered as an agrarian 
 offence. This was not the case with those that reached 
 me ; I made a collection of the best of them, and destroyed 
 the rest. 
 
 The Irish are very much given to write threatening 
 letters, which, in the vast majority of cases, mean nothing 
 at all, and are often written by way of a joke or to work 
 off exuberance of spirits or a fit of bile. The commanding 
 officer of a distinguished Irish regiment stationed with me 
 at Aldershot told me that he constantly received a sheaf 
 of such letters on Monday mornings, but that he never 
 took the slightest notice of them, or pains to discover the 
 writers. This shows that the devil always finds some work 
 for idle hands to do ; and, doubtless, had the Sabbath 
 been less puritanically observed, and had the men been 
 allowed to indulge in wholesome out-of-door games and 
 sports (which appear to be to Sabbatarians as a red rag 
 to a bull), there would have been no threatening letters, 
 to say nothing of the much more restricted use of public 
 houses and consumption of alcohol which the practice 
 of those sports would have brought about. 
 
 The Sabbath of the Sabbatarians is not unlike a whited 
 sepulchre ; or, as George Eliot described a certain person's 
 smile, like a burnished plate on a coffin. Verily, 
 not a few people go much for appearances, and these 
 appearances are not infrequently tinged wdth hypocrisy. 
 
 A plot to murder my humble self was discovered in 
 County Clare in 1889 ; but my amiable friends were 
 not detected, and no attempt was made on my life, though
 
 260 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 I never had any protection — my only precaution being 
 to drive home a different way from the one I took going 
 out. Such plots were, as a rule, as innocuous as the 
 threatening letters ; one was, however, forced to take 
 strong measures with regard to them ; for one could not tell 
 that there was not among the conspirators a determined 
 fanatic like Brady in the Phcenix Park case, who would 
 insist in proceeding, from words and plots, to carry out 
 murder, though most of the members had not the smallest 
 intention of risking their skins or of going beyond plotting 
 and fiery verbosity. 
 
 Captain the Honourable Thomas Plunkett, the 
 Divisional Commissioner of Police for the Counties of 
 Cork and Limerick, died towards the end of 1889. His 
 health had been failing for some time, during which the 
 charge of his two counties was entrusted to me by the 
 Government, in addition to my own division of Clare 
 and Kerry, and on his decease I was asked if I would take 
 permanent charge of the four counties, as this would save 
 to the public the cost of a divisional commissioner — £1000 a 
 year and his Staff. Of course I accepted the flattering offer, 
 and my work and responsibility were more than doubled. 
 No addition, however, was made to my pay and allow- 
 ances ; I did not grumble at this, and did not, like 
 Oliver Twist, stretch out my hand and ask for more ; 
 for I considered myself amply paid, and the increase of 
 responsibility was decidedly pleasing to me. 
 
 The Government was good enough to express its satis- 
 faction at the manner in which I carried out my work 
 in the very large amalgamated division ; and I received 
 the following letter from Mr Balfour, in his own handwrit- 
 ing,^ instead of being typewritten as was his usual custom : 
 
 Published by kind permission of the Rt. Hon. A. J. Balfour.
 
 PARNELL'S TRIUMPH AND FALL 261 
 
 " Chief Secretary's Office, 
 " Dublin Castle, 
 
 " 3. II. '91. 
 " My dear Colonel Turner, 
 
 " I have great pleasure in being able to inform 
 you that Lord Salisbury has submitted your name to the 
 Queen for a civil C.B. The excellent work you have done 
 in Ireland renders you most thoroughly deserving of the 
 honour ; and the fact that so much of that work has been 
 performed during my tenure of Irish office renders it 
 peculiarly gratifying to me to be the channel of communica- 
 tion through which the news will first reach you. 
 
 " With every good wish for your future prosperity and 
 success, 
 
 " Believe me, 
 
 " Yours very sincerely, 
 
 " Arthur James Balfour." 
 
 Mr Balfour was a Tory of Tories, an aristocrat of 
 aristocrats ; he was endowed with not only great ability 
 and judgment, but broadness of mind, and the Irish 
 Nationalists were as much in error as to the judgment 
 they formed of him as they were about Lord Spencer. 
 Not that the former has ever been a Home Ruler, though 
 I sometimes thought that he had leanings in his heart in 
 that direction. At all events, he quickly saw the evils 
 appertaining to the relations of landlord and tenant, 
 the cause of nine-tenths of the troubles that have existed 
 in Ireland, and he did all he could to ameliorate the 
 conditions of life of the tenant. He was absolutely 
 fearless, and indifferent to the fierce attacks made upon 
 him on the Nationalist platforms and in their Press ; 
 and he was as loyal a chief as one could wish to serve
 
 262 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 under. He always defended me and his other sub- 
 ordinates when they were wrongfully attacked and held 
 up to execration in the House of Commons. 
 
 If he had a fault, it was that he often contented himself, 
 when defending the Irish Executive, with a sort of sic volo sic 
 jubeo statement, without giving the full details demanded. 
 This caused intense irritation, and gave the impression 
 to those, who were often only too eager to form it, that, in 
 his eagerness to defend the police, he was veiling much 
 that was blameworthy. This was especially the case 
 with the Ennis affray, to which Mr Gladstone and others 
 took great exception ; and there certainly were grounds 
 for their complaints, though there were none for any 
 reticence or concealment on the part of the Government. 
 Of the judges with whom I came into contact, those 
 who impressed me most were Baron Dowse, Lord Morris 
 and Mr Justice WilHam O'Brien (who must not be confused 
 with Lord O'Brien). Baron Dowse was, in some respects, 
 the counterpart of Sir John Rigby — blunt, plain-spoken 
 and always to the point : at the same time, possessing 
 a very kind heart. His end was sudden and tragic. He 
 was sitting in court at Tralee. He could not bear the 
 slightest draught, and I heard him tell the usher to see 
 that a window above his head was tightly closed, saying : 
 " I am not going to leave my bones in Kerry." Very 
 late that night I was awakened by a police-serjeant, 
 who reported that the judge was dying. I got up and 
 dressed as quickly as I could, and ran to the judge's 
 lodgings, and found to my infinite regret that my friend 
 had already passed away, to the unutterable horror and 
 grief of his devoted daughter, who always accompanied 
 him on circuit. 
 
 I am here reminded of a legend that exists about the
 
 PARNELL'S TRimiPH AND FALL 263 
 
 first Assizes held, or rather which it was attempted to 
 hold, in Tralee in the time of Good Queen Bess. The 
 judges and their entourage travelled on horseback in those 
 days ; when the party arrived near the town, the judges 
 donned their robes, and a stately procession was formed. 
 The Kerry men strongly resented this innovation, and 
 wished to retain the management of their own affairs. 
 They determined that the Queen's writ should not run in 
 Tralee ; so they hid themselves in ^n ambush behind some 
 low hillocks overlooking the road, and as the procession 
 passed, they rushed out of their ambush with wild yells, 
 and massacred the judges and every man of the following. 
 The supposed spot was pointed out to me. What re- 
 tributive steps followed, history does not, I believe, 
 relate. 
 
 Lord Morris was a real wit, and he brought out his 
 wit and humour with a strong Galway brogue which was 
 quite inimitable. I was in court at Cork once when he 
 sentenced a man who had been convicted of a violent 
 assault on the police. As the man left the dock he shouted 
 at the top of his voice, " God save Ireland 1 " The judge 
 ordered him to be brought back before him. The man 
 thought then that the term of his imprisonment would 
 be increased, and began to tremble. All the judge said 
 was : " My friend, you are just one of those persons who 
 make it impossible for God to save Ireland. Remove 
 the prisoner." 
 
 Mr Justice O'Brien was a man of a very different stamp, 
 ascetic and a most devout Catholic. He, too, was dry 
 and witty in his way. He was supposed to be a bitter 
 misogynist. On one occasion, when he and Lord Justice 
 Barry were on circuit in Cork, he went in the evening 
 to some religious assembly. His colleague, on the other
 
 264 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 hand, gave a dinner-party, as was his wont, in the judges' 
 rooms. After dinner, he arrayed some of the ladies in 
 his judge's robes and those of Mr Justice Wilham O'Brien, 
 which were brought from his room. I was one of the 
 guests. Mr Justice O'Brien returned, and, not finding his 
 robes where they should have been, looked into the room 
 where we were, and saw, with the most intense indigna- 
 tion, that his robes were adorning feminine bodies. He 
 demanded that the robes should be at once given to him, 
 and, making a bundle of them, stalked out of the room, 
 uttering an exclamation half-snort, half-roar, which was 
 peculiar to him, and which will be remembered by all who 
 knew him. 
 
 I had a most remarkable experience connected with the 
 court-house at Cork. Mr William O'Brien, M.P., was 
 being tried at Middleton in County Cork under the Crimes 
 Act, some little time back. During the interval, by some 
 mysterious means, he made his escape ; and, a day or two 
 later, turned up at a meeting at which he was announced 
 to speak, somewhere in the North of England or Scotland. 
 Later, he was tried by change of venue at Cork. The 
 Irish Government were very apprehensive that an attempt 
 would be made to carry him off, and I received the most 
 solemn injunctions that I should be held personally 
 responsible if they succeeded in so doing. I took my 
 precautions without the least fear that anything of the 
 kind would be attempted. I happened, rather late in 
 the afternoon, to be standing by the dock, just facing Mr 
 Justice Munroe, who was trying the case. Above the 
 judge's seat was a false window with opaque plate glass. 
 I suddenly saw what looked like a reflection from the sun 
 behind this glass, but the next moment I saw that it was 
 increasing in volume, and that there was an outbreak
 
 PARNELL'S TRIUMPH AND FALL 265 
 
 of fire, I sent a note to the judge to inform him that the 
 court was on fire, and asking to adjourn at once quietly. 
 He did so, with great tact, and left his seat. 
 
 The fire then began to crackle. All jumped up from 
 their seats, and the police, who thickly lined the inner walls 
 of the semicircular court, shouted loudly to the people to 
 sit down, which nearly caused a panic and a rush, which 
 might have been fatal, for the court was densely packed. 
 I managed, by the aid of the police officers, to restore 
 order ; and all were safely passed out without casualty. 
 
 The last to go was the prisoner, with the warder, while 
 I, with Head Constable Brennan, stood by, ready for any 
 emergency. At last it came to our turn to leave the now 
 emptied court. Mr O'Brien remained calm, cool and 
 collected, though, by the time we were leaving, the fire 
 had greatly spread, and pieces of glass were falling on our 
 heads from the skylight. We conducted the prisoner 
 outside, whence he was conveyed to the gaol. Far from 
 a rescue being contemplated, no notice whatever was 
 taken of him, the people being for the time more excited 
 about the fire than they were by the presence among them 
 of the renowned prisoner. One or more pressmen, how- 
 ever, jumped at conclusions ; and telegrams were sent 
 all over the kingdom to this effect : — " Desperate attempt 
 to rescue Mr William O'Brien. The court-house at Cork 
 set on fire." 
 
 I was entirely ignorant of this, but an hour later re- 
 ceived an urgent telegram from Dublin Castle asking me if 
 the above was true, and why I had not reported the matter 
 to Government. Apparently, nerves were then in a 
 state of tension in Dublin Castle. I replied : " Court- 
 house set on fire owing to heated flue. Prisoner safe. 
 No rescue attempted." This, I feel sure, cooled the
 
 266 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 heated imagination of the authorities, for I heard no 
 more from them on the subject. 
 
 The fire burned all night, and next morning only the 
 walls of the court-house remained standing. 
 
 I have made some curious acquaintances during my 
 life. One was that of Mr Berry, the executioner. I 
 never saw an execution ; although, in Ireland, I was 
 responsible for preserving order during the time that 
 the fell mandate of the law was impending or was being 
 carried out, but it was no duty of mine to go to the scaffold 
 to witness " the sight to shudder at, not to see " : and 
 I left that to others. I had, however, to see that Mr 
 Berry was safely conducted from the border of my 
 district to the place of execution, and back. 
 
 On one occasion there was to be an execution the 
 following morning of a man called, " Fox Kirby " ; 
 and there was a strong feeling among the people that 
 Kirby was innocent, as there was in the case of every- 
 one convicted of an agrarian murder. Mr Berry came 
 with an escort from Dublin ; they alighted from the 
 train at Ardfert, where a covered car was sent to bring 
 him by road five miles to Tralee. When the carman 
 found out who his distinguished passenger was to be, 
 he flatly refused to drive him. No second car was to 
 be obtained, and great delay took place ; the hangman 
 being eventually driven by a policeman to Tralee. He 
 was put out of the train at Ardfert because it was re- 
 ported that an attempt on his life would be made on his 
 arrival at Tralee railway station. 
 
 Berry came in high dudgeon to the gaol where he was 
 to be lodged, as he thought that proper respect had not 
 been paid to the dignity of his high office ; and, finding 
 out by inquiry that I was the head official responsible.
 
 PARNELL'S TRIUMPH AND FALL 267 
 
 he asked to see me. I was in the gaol, and said I would 
 see him. He approached me with an aggressive manner, 
 and said : " I'm not going to do this job." I asked 
 him why. He replied that he had not been treated with 
 proper respect. I said quietly to the head jailer, " Show 
 Mr Berry out of the prison," and turned away. 
 
 Outside the prison were waiting — all day — relations, 
 friends and sympathizers of the unfortunate " Fox 
 Kirby," who would have made short work of Berry if 
 he had shown himself without an escort. After a little 
 time I was told he wished to see me again. When he 
 came he said, still haughtily : " What about my escort ? " 
 I told him that he had been brought from England at 
 great expense to the public to perform the execution, 
 and that if he chose to go away without having carried 
 out his agreement, he would have to find his own way 
 back. 
 
 After a little reflection he said, in a chastened manner, 
 " I'll do this job — sir." I hoped all the time that he 
 would persist in his refusal, for I am opposed to capital 
 punishment, except in cases of hideous depravity and 
 atrocity, which this murder was not. Neither the 
 Sheriff not the Sub-Sheriff were physically fit to attempt 
 such a duty ; no one else would have done so ; and I 
 hoped that the delay which would ensue if Berry refused 
 to execute the man might enable those who were working 
 for a reprieve to succeed in their endeavour. But it 
 was not to be. A few weeks after, when I was crossing 
 from Holyhead to Kingstown, a gentleman came up to 
 me in the cabin, and entered into conversation with me. 
 I did not identify him at first, but, after a few minutes, 
 I saw, horresco referens, that it was my friend Berry. 
 He asked me if he might introduce his wife. I assented,
 
 268 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 and he brought a good-looking, well-dressed lady ; we 
 talked together for some time, till Berry opened a leather 
 hand-bag, extracted therefrom a piece of rope, and began 
 to explain to me, if I remember rightly, the virtues of 
 a new knot he had invented. This was enough for me, 
 so I said good-night to them, and went to my berth. I 
 had an uneasy night. I dreamt that I was going to be 
 executed, and woke in a fright. 
 
 Shortly after, Mr Berry gave up his position as hang- 
 man, and delivered lectures in different parts of the 
 country against capital punishment ! He appeared to 
 be a man of considerable ability and intelligence. 
 
 The most-pronounced name in Ireland at this time, 
 next to that of Mr Balfour, was that of Mr Wilham 
 O'Brien. He was prosecuted all over the country, and 
 his trousers even were not held sacred, for they were 
 abstracted from him while in Tullamore Prison. Why 
 he was made such a victim, when so many others com- 
 mitted the same offences against the Coercion Act quite 
 as often as he did, I never could ascertain. I think, 
 however, that his vitriolic tongue on the platform, and 
 still more vitriolic writing in " United Ireland," fairly 
 exasperated the authorities, high and low, so that when 
 he did sin against the Crimes Act, he was never spared, 
 as was often the case with others. I myself had to 
 make arrangements for his trial in three places, Cork, 
 Killarney and Tralee. On the last occasion, serio-comic 
 incidents took place which could not have occurred 
 outside the Emerald Isle. 
 
 Mr William O'Brien was being prosecuted in the court- 
 house at Tralee for an offence committed in another 
 county. Mr Carson (now Sir Edward), was the Crown 
 Prosecutor ; and Mr Roche and Captain Massey, two
 
 PARNELL'S TRimiPH AND FALL 269 
 
 resident magistrates, were trying the case. Mr Tim 
 Healy, M.P., defended. 
 
 At a certain point of the proceedings my name was 
 mentioned. Mr Healy spoke of me in a very rude way 
 as " Turner." Mr Roche called him to order, and told 
 him he should refer to me as Colonel Turner. Mr Healy 
 said I was not a colonel at all, and with a want of humour 
 very unusual in an Irishman and most unusual in Mr 
 Healy, added that, if I produced my commission in 
 court, he would believe the statement. He further said 
 that, whatever I was, I was a sneak. 
 
 I was an interested and highly amused witness of this 
 singular dialogue, and hoped to cull some pearls of in- 
 vective for my vocabulary of vituperation ; but my 
 hopes came to naught. The chairman told Mr Healy to 
 apologize. He flatly refused, and Mr Roche ordered him 
 to be removed from the court . He refused to budge, 
 and a gigantic constable firmly but gently lifted him 
 over the benches, and took him out of the court-house. 
 Mr O'Brien refused to take any further part " in the 
 loathsome farce," as he plaintively termed it. 
 
 The proceedings for the day soon came to a close ; 
 and on the steps of the court-house Mr O'Brien was 
 met and greeted by Mr Healy, and they had a short 
 conversation — which I did not interfere with. A minute 
 or two afterwards, the two resident magistrates appeared, 
 and walked down the street. After going a few paces 
 they were loudly booed. This was too much for one of 
 them, who went straight for the crowd with his black- 
 thorn. The people, surprised by the majesty of the law 
 attacking them in this fashion, broke and fled, the resident 
 magistrate after them. I sent the head constable to 
 beg him to desist, which he did ; and order was restored
 
 270 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 by a company of the Derbyshires, who barred the end 
 of the street. 
 
 I expected that no end of questions in ParHament 
 would be asked about this most extraordinary incident ; 
 but fortune favoured us. It had not been observed by 
 any of the leading Nationalists, and as no one had been 
 injured by the judicial " blackthorn," no report was 
 necessary from me, and no questions were asked. 
 
 On one occasion, when an especially savage and libellous 
 speech had been made about me by one of the Irish 
 leaders, I sent a copy of it to Mr Gladstone, to whom I 
 was known when serving on Lord Spencer's Staff, and 
 asked him whether some check could not be put to such 
 vituperative utterances by prominent men, which could 
 only do harm by producing exasperation. I hardly 
 expected a reply, but it came by return of post, and was 
 as follows : — 
 
 " Dear Sir, 
 
 " I answer your question succinctly and at 
 once that I strongly condemn all such passages as those 
 to which you refer me. 
 
 " Without in the least exonerating the writer I must 
 observe that violent and bitter passions are commonly 
 engendered by long and cruel abuse of power. 
 
 " I thank you for your past approval, and I am glad 
 that there is still a link between us in our common admira- 
 tion of Lord Spencer. 
 
 " Allow me to remain, 
 
 " Your obedient and faithful, 
 
 " W. E. Gladstone. 
 " Nov. 9. 90." 
 
 Mr Gladstone had written much in the same style to
 
 PARNELL'S TRIUMPH AND FALL 271 
 
 Lord Spencer, when the latter drew his attention to a 
 particularly venomous and mendacious charge made 
 against him by " United Ireland." He was one of those 
 great broad-minded and far-seeing men of whom there 
 are not many, who seek to deal with not merely effect 
 but with the cause that produces that effect. He him- 
 self was the subject of the most virulent abuse of his 
 political opponents throughout his great career, which 
 will ever be recorded as one of the greatest in the annals 
 of history ; while the memory of those who delighted in 
 traducing him and misrepresenting his motives will 
 long have been swept into oblivion by the tide of time. 
 
 There were times when the Nationalist writers and 
 speakers exceeded aU bounds, and often the vials of their 
 wrath were turned against the long-suffering constabulary ; 
 and such opprobrious epithets and imwarrantable insults 
 hurled at them that I feared some of them might take 
 opportunities of retahating. The discipline that existed 
 among them was so perfect, and the disposition of the 
 men, with the rarest exceptions, so good, that they 
 regarded with scorn the attacks upon them, and took no 
 notice. No men could have discharged their duties, 
 most of which were as repulsive to them as they were to 
 me, with more moderation and kindness — as far as these 
 attributes were possible consistently with the due carry- 
 ing out of their duty. 
 
 It has always been a source of satisfaction and pride 
 to me that, for six years, I was one of the Royal Irish 
 Constabulary, whose usual graceful description at the 
 time was " Balfour's hireling and assassins." Their 
 behaviour did not escape notice in England, for they 
 were constantly attacked in the House of Commons by 
 the Irish members, and vigorously defended by Mr
 
 272 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 Balfour. Private individuals, moreover, in England 
 marked practically their sense of the manner in which 
 they carried out their duties. 
 
 One day I received the following letter : — 
 
 " 174 Lavender Hill, 
 " London, 
 " July 18th, 
 " Dear Sir, 
 
 " Englishmen read with pleasure Mr Balfour's 
 testimony of the valued services of the Royal Irish 
 Constabulary. He says there never was a time in recent 
 years in which there was a larger number of eligible 
 candidates anxious to join or fewer resignations from 
 any cause in the police, or a time when the police were a 
 more loyal, a more contented or a more efficient body. 
 We all know how well their arduous duties have been 
 performed by night and by day ; how their lives have 
 been constantly in peril from mobs, and how they have 
 been persistently incited to desert their colours but in 
 vain. 
 
 " As a tangible proof of my S5niipathy with them, I 
 now enclose a cheque for £1000 — to be absolutely at 
 your disposal to enable you to assist constables injured in 
 doing their duty, and to benefit those who have displayed 
 conspicuous gallantry in the discharge of their duty. 
 " Yours sincerely, 
 
 " H. W." 
 
 This letter and the donation were greatly appreciated, 
 for, at the time they were sent, the floodgates of abuse 
 were more than usually distributive. The money was 
 formed into a fund called " The Whiting Royal Irish 
 Constabulary Fund," which, I suppose, still exists.
 
 PARNELL'S TRIUMPH AND FALL 273 
 
 The matter turned out to be one of very special interest 
 to me, for, when I next went to England, I made Mr 
 Whiting's acquaintance, which soon ripened into a warm 
 friendship, only to be broken by his death. It had 
 another result of equal importance to me, for in igo2 
 his only daughter became my wife, an event which has 
 never produced the slightest difference of opinion as to 
 its results, which have been to both of us, happiness, 
 contentment and mutual satisfaction with one another, 
 in spite of the most singular and inauspicious circum- 
 stances under which our marriage took place, and which 
 are so unprecedented and remarkable, that I do not think 
 it necessary to offer an apology for intruding the narration 
 of them into these reminiscences, though they are en- 
 tirely of a personal character. 
 
 Mr Whiting, a rich man, had two sons and a daughter ; 
 he left both of his sons with considerable means, and 
 settled £32,000 or thereabouts on his daughter, with this 
 strange proviso, that if she married at any period of her 
 life without the consent of her mother and two brothers, 
 she was to forfeit the whole of her money, which was to 
 be handed over to the magistrates at Bow Street for the 
 benefit of the London police for the same purposes as 
 those for which the £1000 was given by Mr Whiting to 
 the R.LC. 
 
 The widow, Mrs Whiting, gave her consent to the 
 marriage ; one brother had unfortunately passed away ; 
 the other brother obstinately refused his consent. All 
 my wife's other relations were in favour of the union, 
 and neither of us for one moment hesitated to take the 
 step, cost what it may. 
 
 The consequences, from a financial point of view, 
 were unpleasant, for the brother held out, and handed 
 18
 
 274 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 over to the police £32,000, or every shilling that my wife 
 inherited from her rich father, leaving her, as far as the 
 latter was concerned, penniless. We went to law, and 
 judgment was given against us by Mr Justice Warrington. 
 We then appealed, and the case was heard in the Court of 
 Appeal. Our Counsel, Sir Edward Clarke, did all that a 
 man could do, and fought a magnificent battle ; but all 
 to no effect. Wrong triumphed over right, and the appeal 
 was rejected. 
 
 We were strongly urged to go to the House of Lords, 
 where Lord Halsbury and his colleagues were not, we were 
 told, timid and hidebound like Chancery judges, but we 
 were so sick of the injustice of the law that we preferred 
 to suffer the loss rather than to have anything more to 
 do with it. We could not help contrasting to its great 
 disadvantage the law of inheritance in Great Britain 
 with that of France and Germany, where such an act of 
 cruelty and injustice could not have been perpetrated. 
 
 The morning after the decision on the appeal, I met in 
 Rotten Row a judge who was a great friend of mine, now, 
 alas, no more. He asked me how the case had gone, 
 and I told him. He said : " It is just as I feared — there 
 is no doubt that a crying sin of injustice has been per- 
 petrated by the majesty of the law, and the Chancery 
 judges were not strong enough to prevent it by creating a 
 precedent, which would have satisfied and delighted every 
 reasonable being. 
 
 This opinion of a highly respected judge was like the 
 balm of Gilead to me, and confirmed what I had often heard 
 said — that one can have any amount of law in England 
 if one likes to pay for it ; and often, when one does not 
 like to pay ; but one can get little justice. In fact, law 
 and justice often appear to be as little known to one
 
 PARNELL'S TRIUMPH AND FALL 275 
 
 another as kindness and gratitude when they met by 
 invitation in Allah's garden ! 
 
 Eventually the money was handed to the police, 
 and it was, of course, found that very little use of it 
 could be made as designed by Mr Whiting ; so it was 
 diverted to other objects, such as the Police Orphanage — 
 which he certainly did not contemplate, as he had already 
 given very large sums to that institution. 
 
 As the money was thus taken from my wife, and the 
 act of spoliation a fait accompli, we are glad that it should 
 have gone to the police, for there is no one to whom the 
 public owes more than they do to this magnificent body 
 of men, to whom the security and safety of our lives and 
 property are due, to say nothing of immunity from 
 death and danger which we enjoy in the present 
 condition of our street traffic, which has been made so full 
 of peril by the motor fiend. We only trust that the money 
 is being really applied in a way which affords real ad- 
 vantage to the members of the police force, whose property 
 it now is, and who are not accountable for the manner in 
 which it was acquired. We trust, too, that, contrary to 
 what has been asserted to be the effect of the enjoyment 
 of unjustly sequestered Church property, no sinister 
 results will accrue to those who now enjoy the possession 
 of it. 
 
 Probably the two most important and far-reaching 
 events, which happened during my period of office in 
 Ireland, were the triumph of Mr Parnell and his colleagues 
 over the " Times " in the refutation of the graver charges 
 made against them through the medium of the proprietors 
 of the leading newspaper, and secondly, the unfortunate 
 circumstances in Mr Parnell's private life, through which 
 the Irish Party was rent in twain and the aspirations of
 
 276 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 the Irish people, which appeared to be at the time so bright 
 and so Hkely to be reahzed, scattered to the winds. 
 
 As will be remembered, the " Times " succeeded in 
 obtaining the services of a man named Piggott, who forged 
 a number of letters, purporting to have been written by Mr 
 Parnell, which if authentic would have convicted him and 
 the leaders of the Irish Party of conniving at such heinous 
 crimes that their cause would have been lost irretrievably. 
 A commission presided over by three English judges sat 
 for a hundred and twenty-eight days. Four hundred 
 and fifty witnesses were examined, and ninety-eight 
 thousand questions were put to them. As has been said, 
 the Irish nation itself was on trial. Witnesses were 
 brought to London from every part of Ireland, and the 
 Government was not backward in helping to produce 
 them. 
 
 The case was opened by the production of a vast number 
 of agrarian offences, some of them of the most trivial 
 nature, and the case became dreary and wearisome in the 
 extreme. The coup de grace was kept back to the last, 
 in order to enhance the dramatic and crushing finale. 
 At last came the letters, and Piggott, whose identity had 
 been most carefully concealed, stepped into the witness- 
 box and utterly broke down, being convicted out of his 
 own mouth of forgery and perjury. He managed to 
 fly, pursued by the police, and shot himself in a hotel at 
 Madrid to avoid capture. 
 
 One day when I was at Tralee I received a message that 
 Mr Soames, the well known solicitor of the " Times," was at 
 Killamey, and would be much obliged if I would give him 
 an interview. I assented, and the same afternoon he 
 arrived. In the course of conversation, I asked him how 
 the case was going to be conducted. In reply he showed
 
 PARNELL'S TRIUMPH AND FALL 277 
 
 me an enormously lengthy list of records of boycotting 
 and other agrarian offences with which they were going 
 to commence. I said that surely everybody concerned 
 would be sick to death of such repetition, and that it would 
 be more than difficult to show that any complicity in them 
 on the part of the Irish National Party existed. He said 
 that this would be only preliminary skirmishing, but that 
 they had a stone up their sleeves, and that when it was 
 thrown, Parnellism and crime would be shown to be 
 synonymous, and that Parnell and his companions would 
 go down in ignominy, never again to show their dis- 
 honoured heads. I asked him what this terrible stone 
 was. He said it was a dead secret, which he could tell 
 to nobody. 
 
 Piggott was well known to the Executive as a man 
 in very needy circumstances, who had been proprietor 
 of two Fenian newspapers, " The Irishman," and the 
 " Flag of Ireland," and as the writer of a pamphlet called 
 as " Parnellism Unmasked," and was looked upon as a 
 man who would sell anybody. Had the worthy solicitor 
 for the " Times " been a little more confiding, he would have 
 learnt much about the character of the " stone up their 
 sleeves," which would have saved his clients from defeat 
 and the expenditure, it is said, of over £200,000. The 
 eagerness, however, to crush Mr Parnell and the Home- 
 Rule cause was so intense, that all caution was thrown 
 aside and replaced by gullibility almost incredible. 
 
 Eventually the " Times " settled a libel action brought 
 against them by Mr Parnell for £5000, and the triumph 
 of the Irish leader was complete. He was loudly cheered 
 the first time he entered the House of Commons after the 
 trial, and at a dinner of the Eighty Club. He received a 
 great ovation at St James' Hall, where Mr (now Lord)
 
 278 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 Morley was with him on the platform. He received the 
 freedom of the City of Edinburgh. He had triumphant 
 receptions at great Liberal Meetings at Nottingham and 
 Liverpool, and he was Mr Gladstone's guest at Hawarden, 
 
 All looked well for the prospects of Ireland, when 
 suddenly storm clouds gathered and out of them came 
 a thunderbolt that laid the Irish leader low, undid all 
 Mr Gladstone's laborious work of four years, and post- 
 poned autonomy for Ireland for a whole generation, besides 
 giving unbounded triumph and gratification to the enemies 
 of that unfortunate country, who had been in a state of 
 depression since the vindication of Mr Parnell and the 
 exposure of the means with which it had been sought to 
 crush him. 
 
 When the decree nisi in the divorce case Shea versus 
 Shea and Parnell was pronounced, it fell like a stunning 
 blow on the Irish Nationalists, and also on the Non- 
 conformist Liberals in Great Britain ; and Mr Gladstone 
 saw that popular feeling ran so high that it was impossible 
 that Parnell should remain as leader of the Irish Party. 
 When the decree was pronounced positive, and Mr 
 Parnell married Mrs O'Shea, a proceeding looked upon 
 as no marriage at all in a Church which does not acknow- 
 ledge divorce, the Catholic bishops and clergy all pro- 
 nounced against his leadership, while fully acknowledging 
 the magnificent work he had done for Ireland. Mr Davitt 
 and others besought him to retire for a few months, 
 during which his place should be filled by a deputy. All to 
 no purpose. The vote of the Irish Party in Committee 
 Room No. 15, at the historical meeting, showed a large 
 majority against him ; elections, one after another, 
 resulted in the victory of anti-Parnellites ; but he re- 
 mained obdurate, and supported by the Redmonds and
 
 PARNELL'S TRIUMPH AND FALL 279 
 
 Mr T. Harrington, who stuck to him throughout, he threw 
 himself into the struggle with stern determination, and 
 fought to the death : and to the death it was, for his 
 superhuman efforts killed him. 
 
 My role now became a totally different one. Instead 
 of preventing forbidden meetings, it was my constant 
 duty to protect one section of the Irish Party from the 
 other. As a rule the Pamellites were the most formidable 
 fighting men. 
 
 The first encounter was at Tralee, where Mr Pamell 
 himself spoke, the last time I saw him. He presented a 
 wonderful appearance ; his long hair floating in the wind 
 and with wild gesticulations he uttered a most telling 
 speech. He appeared worn out and delicate, and I was 
 not surprised to hear soon after that the end had come. 
 His wagonette was surrounded by a large gathering of 
 Parnellites, and outside these I had a cordon of police to 
 keep the anti-Parnellites at a distance. They made but 
 little disturbance, and after the meeting Mr Parnell was 
 escorted to his lodgings, and thence to the railway by his 
 sympathizers ; the police covering the progress of these. 
 
 I felt the deepest pity for Mr Parnell, who had been 
 until lately uncrowned king of Ireland, whose word and 
 will had been law with the whole of the Nationalists, 
 and whom now the police had to guard from violence at 
 the hands of Irish men. It was indeed a tragic eposide. 
 I travelled up to Dublin in the same train as Mr Parnell, 
 and at all the principal stations small crowds were 
 assembled to greet him and hear him speak : there were 
 no hostile demonstrations. The demeanour of the people, 
 towards myself and the police, now changed completely. 
 We were no longer " Balfour's murderers and brutal 
 hirelings," but we were friends, simply doing our duty
 
 280 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 in endeavouring to prevent the grievous bodily harm that 
 one faction sought to inflict on the other. 
 
 On Mr Parnell's death Mr John Redmond came to Cork 
 to contest the election against a local candidate, Mr 
 Flavin. Mr Redmond, who was accompanied by his 
 brother, received a perfect ovation wherever he went and 
 was most popular, while the anti-Parnellites had to be 
 closely guarded by police. 
 
 I came much into contact with the two Redmonds, 
 and though they had been looked upon with the rest, as 
 enemies for the time, they always behaved as preux 
 chevaliers ; they never descended to the low gutter-bred 
 abuse of the police, that was so current at the time, and 
 they were always polite and courteous to officials when 
 they came into contact with them, which secured for them 
 their goodwill and respect. No vestige of a mistake was 
 made when Mr John Redmond was chosen as leader of 
 the Irish Party. 
 
 The preservation of the peace, during the Cork election, 
 was a very diihcult matter. The Parnellites needed little 
 or no protection, but their opponents, among whom were 
 Mr John Dillon and Wm. O'Brien, would have fared very 
 badly had it not been for the police. I used daily to visit 
 the leaders of each Party and consulted with them, and 
 then made my arrangements for securing that the meetings 
 should be as undisturbed as possible. 
 
 The Parnellites paraded the streets to the inspiriting 
 tones of " We are the boys of Wexford," and whenever 
 any of their processions came near an anti-Parnellite 
 meeting, a strong body of police, which hovered near 
 every meeting, threw themselves in front of the Parnellite 
 force and barred their progress. The canvassers also 
 needed protection ; this was given as unobtrusively as
 
 PARNELL'S TRIUIVIPH AND FALL 281 
 
 possible, and from a distance. But it was impossible to 
 please everybody, and complaints of dogging and shadow- 
 ing Mr O'Brien and Mr Dillon by police were made 
 against me. Save the mark ! I was only trying to keep 
 their skins whole, no easy matter occasionally. Fortun- 
 ately, one does not look for gratitude in this world. The 
 leaders of both parties wrote their names for me in my 
 name-book before they left Cork, and I am glad to say we 
 parted friends. 
 
 Contrary to all our expectations, Mr Flavin was re- 
 turned by a large majority, though all outward appearances 
 pointed to the contrary. It was clear that the voting 
 power was with the priests, and that their influence, 
 which was then all thrown in the scale against the 
 Parnellites, was not to be overcome. 
 
 I asked an elderly man of a humble class, after the 
 election, what he did when the canvassers visited him. 
 He said, " Sure, Your Honour, I promise my vote to them 
 all." I asked him what eventually decided him, and he 
 gave me this very candid answer : " Sure an' I give the 
 vote whatever way the priest, God bless him, advises." 
 This would thoroughly account for Mr Redmond's 
 defeat. 
 
 The next night after the election I had an anxious 
 time. Mr Redmond and his brother left by the night 
 express for Dublin. The people went literally wild with 
 enthusiasm, and the send-off given to them was more 
 like that of a great conquering hero than a defeated 
 candidate. Every corner of the station was packed, 
 and men climbed on to the roofs of the caiTiages — the 
 cheering was deafening, and in such a packed assembly 
 the police could do but little. The hour for starting the 
 train had long since passed. I forced my way to the
 
 282 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 compartment where Mr Redmond and his brother were 
 seated, and asked him to help me to get the carriage 
 roofs and edge of the platform free of people, so that 
 the train might start. He did so at once, and the excited 
 beings after a little became silent and obeyed, and the 
 train departed with safety to every one. 
 
 Owing to the admirable conduct of the police, no 
 serious casualty occurred during this most stormy election. 
 I remember that after the election I received several 
 letters from friends, asking me why on earth I did not 
 keep the police back, and let those who had been attack- 
 ing and vilifying us for so long fight it out. It is strange 
 what raw schoolboy notions men of mature age, and 
 supposed to possess sound intellects, form, and what a 
 number of them there are who are not suited to places 
 or times of responsibility. Nothing seemed more natural 
 and right to the writers than that the Nationalists should 
 be left to break one anothers' heads till the streets ran 
 with blood, and probably some lives were lost. I replied 
 simply Les affaires sont les affaires ; in the eyes of the 
 police, all people are the same and have equal rights. 
 I know, however, that I was considered an imbecile for 
 letting slip what my friends called a splendid opportunity 
 for retaliation. 
 
 Some desperate street-fighting took place at Ennis 
 on the 15 December 1891 between the Pamellites and 
 anti-Parnellites. Mr Parnell had always had a strong 
 hold there, and it remained faithful to his memory. 
 The Irish National Federation and the priests of Clare 
 arranged to hold a convention that day, and the Parnellites 
 flocked into the town to prevent it. I was present with 
 a large body of police, which turned out to be quite 
 insufficient to cope with what followed.
 
 PARNELL'S TRIUMPH AND FALL 283 
 
 The anti-Parnellites with Mr John Dillon, M.P., 
 Mr O'Keeffe, M.P., and Mr Jordan, M.P., formed a pro- 
 cession at the railway and marched to the music of two 
 bands to the O'Connell monument ; there were a few 
 attacks made upon them with sticks and stones on the 
 way, and a few people were injured. When Mr Dillon 
 essayed to addi-ess the meeting a terrific and continuous 
 booing was set up, and he could not obtain a hearing. 
 At last he gave it up in despair, and the M.P.'s, priests, 
 and their foHowers went to a disused store to hold their 
 meeting. Here they found some Parnellites already, 
 who showed fight, but they were few in number and 
 were expelled after a struggle. At the close of the 
 meeting a vast concourse of Parnellites were assembled 
 outside. I posted a large force of police in the street 
 opposite the doors of the store. Directly the people began 
 to emerge from the building, the booing was renewed and 
 stones began to fly, and I had repeatedly to charge 
 the Parnellites to keep them back. At last ]\Ir Dillon 
 appeared and was greeted with deafening howls. I asked 
 him if he would have police protection, which he some- 
 what haughtily declined, and he went alone up the street, 
 watched by me. He had not gone far, when four burly 
 men, who had apparently been watching for him, rushed 
 at him from the door of a house and proceeded to drag 
 him in. I made a run with several constables and 
 released him from his opponents. He was dazed, but 
 not hurt, and he asked me what he should do. I told 
 him that his life was quite unsafe in the streets that day, 
 and asked him, as he would not have a police escort, to 
 remain with me till I could get him into a place of safety, 
 which he agreed to, and in the evening I saw him and the 
 other M.P's. off by the train. Mr Dillon was perfectly
 
 284 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 calm and self-possessed, though he was in considerable 
 danger for a time. 
 
 Wild street-fighting took place all the afternoon, which 
 the police were by no means strong enough to prevent. 
 A large number of people were hurt, including one con- 
 stable, in fact the casualties were far more numerous 
 and severe and the fighting infinitely more bitter than 
 that at the battle of the Burnt Store in April 1887, for 
 failing to prevent which I had been held up in the Press 
 and in Parliament as such a monster of brutality. Several 
 priests were very roughly handled, and had it not been 
 for the much abused police, many lives would have been 
 lost. As may be imagined, no acknowledgment or thanks 
 were offered for the protection accorded. 
 
 During the East Clare election in 1892, Mr William 
 Redmond announced that he would hold a meeting at 
 Scariff on a certain Sunday morning. The local police 
 reported that the parish priest, Father Kenny, to whom 
 I have already alluded as the only priest I came across 
 in Ireland who incited his people to commit breaches of 
 the law, had determined to keep Mr Redmond out of 
 Scariff, and prevent him from holding any meeting. 
 When the latter with his procession of cars and men on 
 foot approached Scariff, which lies high, and attempted 
 to ascend the steep hill leading up to it, they found the 
 high ground occupied by the enemy, who commenced 
 to boo and throw stones. Mr Redmond halted his 
 column, which, after a few moments consultation, wheeled 
 about and retired. Shouts of derision and triumph were 
 hurled at the retreating foe. 
 
 The triumph, however, was of short duration ; it was 
 a case of reculer pour mieux sauter. Mr Redmond and 
 his followers had only retired to a wood, pointed out to
 
 PARNELL'S TRIUMPH AND FALL 285 
 
 them by a local Pamellite. Here they cut formidable 
 sticks, armed with which they resumed their march 
 on Scariff, and reappeared at the foot of the hill, to the 
 astonishment of Father Kelly and his bold men. Headed 
 by Mr W. Redmond, who was mounted, his party charged 
 up the hill, drove the enemy back, who soon fled, took 
 possession of Scariff and held a large and uninterrupted 
 meeting in the enemy's stronghold. No severe casualties 
 were reported, but Father Kenny, the cause of the trouble, 
 had a narrow escape from an enraged Pamellite, who 
 pursued him with a blackthorn, from which he only 
 saved himself by taking refuge in a house, the door of 
 which was barred against his assailant. 
 
 Such was the report of the police on the spot. I had 
 called on Mr Redmond at Ennis early in the day to 
 consult him as to v/hether he would like a force of police 
 sent to Scariff to keep order at his meeting. He received 
 me very civilly, but declined my offer, saying that they 
 could very well take care of themselves, and as the sequel 
 showed, he by no means underrated his power to do so. 
 
 At the end of 1890, and beginning of 1891, there was 
 very serious distress in the Counties of Clare and West 
 Cork owing to failure of the potato crop. I reported to 
 Government after visiting the districts concerned. The 
 Under-Secretary, Sir West Ridgeway, took most prompt 
 and energetic steps to meet the exigencies of the case, 
 and the spectre of hunger and starvation was exorcised. 
 The matter kept all the officials in Clare and West Cork 
 very fully occupied for some weeks, but no one of them 
 grudged giving himself up to extra work, which was 
 indeed a pleasant change from the duty of continual 
 hunting after the National League, protecting the Sheriff 
 when turning poor people out of their houses, and sup-
 
 286 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 pressing free speech. I received the thanks of the Govern- 
 ment for my share in the work of feeding the hungry. 
 
 In May 1891 the Lord-Lieutenant, the Earl of (now 
 the Marquis of) Zetland, made a tour through West Cork, 
 Kerry and Clare, and it fell to me to make the necessary 
 arrangements for his journey, his lodging and his pro- 
 tection. The latter was mere form, for no one needed 
 protection less. His kindly, simple and unostentatious 
 manner and his addresses pleased the people immensely. 
 There was a great amount of anticipation and dread 
 almost among them about this visit ; they had an idea 
 that the Lord-Lieutenant was a terrible being, who 
 lurked like a Deus ex Machind behind Mr Balfour, and 
 who really pulled the strings of coercion. They thought 
 he would come in state with a small army of horse, foot, 
 and artillery, arrayed in robes of state ; and when they 
 beheld an ordinary being dressed like anybody else, 
 and with no escort but his Staff, the officials, and a few 
 constables on cars, they were both disappointed and 
 relieved. 
 
 One day when we were on our way to Skull it poured 
 in torrents, and we managed to procure some yellow 
 tarpaulin garments, jacket, trousers, and sou'westers. 
 The amazement of the inhabitants was unbounded when 
 they saw the dreaded Governor of Ireland dressed like 
 an ordinary fisherman in bad weather. 
 
 A gunboat was in attendance, and took us to the 
 Arran Islands, where the priest, the chief inhabitant, did 
 not appear to greet the Viceroy, as his coming had not 
 been officially announced to him, and his dignity was 
 hurt. The island at which we landed abounded in blue 
 gentian and maidenhair ferns, and we visited a curious 
 prehistoric fort, wonderfully constructed with loose
 
 PARNELL'S TRIUMPH AND FALL 287 
 
 stones, its walls being of amazing thickness. It stood 
 on a high rock towering perpendicular over the sea. No 
 such fort would ever have been constructed on a little 
 island, one of three, the whole evidently once forming 
 a promontary jutting out into the Atlantic, and divided 
 into three by the continuous encroachments of the sea. 
 Prior to this it probably formed a part of the continent 
 of Atlantis, which is supposed to have been submerged 
 through a series of mighty cataclysms commencing 
 some 800,000 years B.C. Ireland is believed to have 
 been the eastern extremity of this continent. 
 
 After leaving Tralee the procession of cars proceeded 
 through Listowel towards Glin. I was on the leading 
 car with Lord Zetland. As we approached Glin we saw 
 a carriage pulled up across the road and two men stand- 
 ing in the middle of it. Lord Zetland asked me what 
 this meant and why his roadway was obstructed. I told 
 him it was the Knight of Glin. When we came up to 
 him we halted, and the knight, a tall, stately figure, 
 stepped forward, hat in hand, and with a low bow re- 
 ported himself thus : " Desmond Fitzgerald, 23rd Knight 
 of Glin, is come to welcome Your Excellency after ancient 
 custom on entering into his county." There was nothing 
 ludicrous about the proceeding. The knight bore him- 
 self with perfect dignity, and the Lord- Lieutenant tactfully 
 and kindly adapted himself to the situation. It carried 
 one back to past ages, when such knights as the Knight 
 of Glin and their dames ruled like small kings, and when 
 we hear that " Saints were many and sins were few," 
 though I must beg leave to doubt if such was really the 
 case. 
 
 The year 1892 made a great change in Ireland to me. 
 The Liberals were returned to power, Mr Morley was
 
 288 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 appointed Chief Secretary, and one of his early acts was 
 to rid Ireland of Sir West Ridgeway and myself, as being 
 removable and identified with a coercive administration. 
 Sir West Ridgeway had done especially well in Ireland ; 
 firm, keen and energetic, he never exceeded his powers, 
 and was most sympathetic towards the Irish people, 
 as was especially shown by the way in which he grappled 
 with threatening famine in the south-west. However, 
 the Tories in the most arbitrary way had dismissed Sir 
 Robert Hamilton, an equally excellent, straight and 
 conscientious public servant, and they could say little 
 when their own especially selected Under-Secretary was 
 served in the same way by the Liberals. 
 
 As for myself, I was not surprised at receiving my dis- 
 missal by letter from Mr Morley : he could hardly have 
 done otherwise. For nearly six years I had had charge 
 of some of the most disturbed portions of Ireland. The 
 Government took a certain line, and placed powers in 
 the hands of leading officials like myself, to give effect 
 to their wishes. When the people resisted, and per- 
 sisted in defying, what Parliament had made law, very 
 bad law though it may have been, one had no alternative 
 but to use force. But among the many faults and failures 
 of which I have doubtless been guilty, I do not think 
 that I exceeded my duty, or that even the Nationalists 
 who remember the events in the south-west of Ireland 
 from 1886 to 1892 will agree with Mr William O'Brien 
 who charged me with tyranny in County Clare worse 
 even than that of the Czar. 
 
 My somewhat sensational and sudden dismissal by 
 Mr Morley created a good deal of excitement at the time, 
 and was needless to say regarded in very different light 
 by Unionists and Nationalists. Among the latter arose
 
 PARNELL'S TRIUMPH AND FALL 289 
 
 a paean of jubilation, that one of Mr Balfour's chief 
 officials had been unceremoniously discharged from his 
 office. On the whole, however, there was but little 
 personal abuse of me, and many of the Cork Nationalists 
 called upon me to wish me God-speed and express their 
 regret at my leaving, which was a very flattering testimony 
 to the way I had tried to do my duty. " United Ireland," 
 true to its colours to the last, gloried in my fall and 
 dismissal, and pronounced that I was " as unnecessary 
 as I was offensive." This parting shot of my most 
 bitter and abusive enemy gave me an excellent finale 
 for my vocabulary of vituperation. It really was a 
 finale, for I have never since been the subject of public 
 invective, though I do not for a moment pretend to say 
 that I have escaped the amount of private abuse on the 
 part of my friends that falls to the lot of most men. 
 
 I am a convinced Home Ruler in so far that I am 
 positive that peace and content will never be permanently 
 established in Ireland till a form of Self-Go vernment, 
 that would give the people the management of their own 
 local affairs, is granted to them. The spectre of separa- 
 tion has long been laid, and no person with the least 
 common sense believes in such absurdity. Wild things 
 have been said in the past by hot-headed and irresponsible 
 persons on the subject of Ireland as an independent 
 nation : such words have the same value as the crackling 
 of thorns under a pot. There is no form of argument 
 weaker or more contemptible than that which throws in 
 the teeth of men sayings which they uttered in times 
 past, upon political platforms in moments of excitement, 
 and when addressing often highly excitable audiences. 
 Again, nothing is more futile and unlikely to lead to any 
 good result than a feature which is common to all sides 
 19
 
 290 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 in politics, of charging men wdth being " turncoats." It 
 is only weak, shallow beings who, if their convictions show 
 them that their past notions have been erroneous, hesitate 
 to change or modify them. 
 
 That there would be any religious intolerance, bigotry 
 or persecution on the part of the Catholics in case of Home 
 Rule, I utterly disbelieve. I never saw anything ap- 
 proaching this during my long stay in Ireland. The only 
 bigotry I discerned was that of the Orangemen, especially 
 at certain seasons. 
 
 Great Britain would doubtless be forced to pay some- 
 thing at first towards the establishment of Home Rule. 
 As said in Holy Writ, " be sure your sin will find you out," 
 and this contribution would only be just compensation 
 for the sins of forefathers, who, for their own selfish ends, 
 destroyed Irish industries and blighted her prosperity. 
 
 As I have stated in a former chapter, I do not, for a 
 moment, underrate the Ulster difficulty or deny that the 
 whole question is one, a solution of which seems to " pass 
 the wit of man to discover." The Irish Celt is a highly 
 sensitive, sharp-witted being, full of the sense of humour 
 and powers of imagination, and his aspirations must be 
 reckoned with. Unfortunately, they are not in the least 
 comprehended by the average Anglo-Saxon, who under- 
 rates entirely their importance and force. Lord Morris 
 was not far wrong when he replied to a question of an 
 English visitor to Ireland, as to why there was so much 
 difficulty with the Irish. He said it is due to the vain 
 efforts of a slow and stupid people to govern after their 
 own ideas a very quick-witted and clever one. 
 
 I left my office in the south-west of Ireland with the 
 greatest alacrity and delight. I quitted Ireland and the 
 Irish people with the deepest regret.
 
 PARNELL'S TRIOIPH AND FALL 291 
 
 I should not like to leave the record of my Irish ex- 
 periences from 1886-1892 without mentioning the names 
 of some of the admirable Irish officials who rendered the 
 most valuable aid to me in carrpng out my difficult 
 and always highly responsible task, in the accomplish- 
 ment of which we did not attempt the impossible — to 
 please everybody or anybody — but merely tried to carry 
 out our orders and instructions with strict impartiahty. 
 
 I have already spoken of Mr Shannon, a resident 
 Magistrate, who was attached to me as legal adviser ; 
 to him I owe much, and I never found his advice faulty. 
 
 Among many others, far too numerous to mention, 
 the following were of especial help to me : Mr Hodder, 
 R.M. ; County Inspectors of Constabulary, Singleton, 
 Moiarty, and Heard ; District Inspectors Newall, Hill, 
 Creaghe, Crane, Rice, Cox well- Rogers ; and, above all. 
 District Inspector Davis, who acted as my private 
 secretary. 
 
 To these officials the public owes much ; I have lost 
 sight of most of them. Some of them have doubtless 
 joined the great majority. I trust that when times 
 became still and when the NationaUst Press ceased from 
 official baiting, they were suitably rewarded. I rejoice, 
 at all events, to think that none of them received the 
 same flattering acknowledgment of their services as I 
 did — dismissal ! 
 
 I naturally concluded that \\dth the change of Govern- 
 ment and the removal from the Irish service of Sir West 
 Ridgeway and myself, a complete change of administra- 
 tion would take place, and that, above all, the blessings 
 of free speech would be unrestrictedly restored. But as 
 the leopard cannot change his spots, nor the Ethiop his 
 skin, so at that time the British Government, of whatever
 
 292 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 side, and of whatever expressed feelings towards Ireland, 
 was perfectly incapable of treating the Irish as a free 
 and civilized people, who might possibly have been dealt 
 with by other means than a constable's baton. 
 
 What was my astonishment to receive, in July 1894, 
 a report from some of my friends in County Clare of a 
 meeting held by Mr W. Redmond, M.P. for East Clare, 
 at which he addressed his constituents at a little village 
 called O'Callaghan's Mills. The meeting was not pro- 
 claimed, but when Mr Redmond arrived, he found the 
 place occupied by a large body of police, and the officer 
 in charge told him that he would allow no meeting to be 
 held that day. Mr Redmond tried to assert the right 
 of free speech, and began his address, when he was 
 assaulted by the police, while others scattered the people, 
 who were quite orderly, with their batons, with which 
 several people were struck. Allowing for a little exaggera- 
 tion, the fact remains that a Member of Parliament was 
 prevented by force from addressing his constituents in 
 his own constituency, and that his hearers were scattered 
 by police with drawn batons. The proceedings were 
 headed in one newspaper : " John Balfour M or ley in his 
 true colours ; the member for East Clare assaulted by the 
 Police. The people truncheoned." And it was pro- 
 nounced that " Morley was no better than Balfour." I 
 don't presume to offer an opinion, but it does seem a 
 somewhat remarkable thing that under a Government, 
 some of whose members were constantly denouncing 
 landlords' evictions and the brutality of the police and 
 of the officials, such a suppression of free speech by brute 
 force should have been ordered and carried out. 
 
 Mr Redmond was himself very roughly handled and 
 rudely treated by the police, which would not have
 
 PARNELL'S TRIUMPH AND FALL 293 
 
 happened under my " brutal Czar-like " regime, for 
 strictest orders were given by Mr Balfour and handed 
 down by me that priests and Members of Parliament were 
 to be treated with all the consideration possible under 
 the circumstances.
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 AT THE WAR OFFICE 
 
 Back in England — Retirement of the Duke of Cambridge — A last 
 field-day — The Cordite Vote — Appointment of Lord Wolseley as 
 Commander-in-Chief — Lord Lansdowne — German army manoeuvres — 
 Hospitality of German officers — The Kaiser sends me his thanks — 
 Secret Service — Lord Salisbury — The War Office of the 'Nineties — The 
 City Imperial Volunteers — Organization without red tape — Am 
 appointed Inspector-General of Auxiliary Forces. Numbers of 
 Volunteers serving in the South African War — Unsuccessful attempts 
 to abolish my post — Mr Brodrick — The Imperial Yeomanry — The 
 Norfolk Commission — Reversal of Mr Brodrick's policy — Sudden dis- 
 missal of Lord Roberts and the principal officers of his Stafi' — I also 
 receive my cong6 — Kindness of the late King. 
 
 THE next few years of my life were uneventful 
 in comparison with the decade 1882 to 1892, 
 which covered nearly all the remarkable and 
 stirring incidents of my career. 
 
 Shortly after my return to England, I was called upon 
 to experience that dreaded hete noire, a return to regimental 
 duty after a long period of service in Staff or civil 
 employment ; and I was posted to a Lieutenant- 
 Colonel's command at Woolwich. After a few months I 
 was appointed Assistant Adjutant-General of the Royal 
 Artillery at the War Office, and in this position I 
 remained till promoted to the rank of General Officer in 
 1898. 
 
 The most important event which took place with regard 
 to the army at home during that time was the retire- 
 ment of the Duke of Cambridge in 1895 from the post of 
 Commander-in-Chief, which he had held since 16 July, 
 
 294
 
 AT THE WAR OFFICE 295 
 
 1856, or nearly forty years. The venerable Duke felt 
 grievously this retirement, which was due to Sir Henry 
 Campbell-Bannerman ; but deeply as the army generally 
 regretted the departure of one who was so popular and 
 so kind-hearted, no one could argue seriously against the 
 step taken, seeing that the Duke was seventy-six years 
 of age, and that the inexorable weight of years was 
 beginning to tell upon him. Not that there was not still 
 much power of work in him. 
 
 A few days before his retirement he inspected the two 
 Kent yeomanry regiments, and I went as one of the Staff. 
 The day was most remarkable on account of the employ- 
 ment of an armoured train, due to the enterprise and 
 generosity of a Volunteer Artillery officer. Colonel Boxall 
 (now Sir Charles Boxall, K.C.B.). The Duke was highly 
 interested in this then uncommon machine of war. After 
 riding about all day at the inspection, he travelled up to 
 London and presided at the Royal Artillery dinner, where 
 he made a touching and affecting speech with reference 
 to his departure. 
 
 Almost concurrently with the retirement of the Duke of 
 Cambridge came a sudden change of Government. Mr 
 St John Brodrick caught the Ministers and the Whips 
 napping, and made an indictment against the War 
 Minister, that the available supplies of cordite were 
 dangerously short. The matter was pressed to a division, 
 the Government found itself in a minority, the final 
 result being that the Tories came into ofiice for about ten 
 years. 
 
 It was generally believed in the War OfQce that pressure 
 was put on Lord Salisbury to reverse the decision of his 
 predecessors with regard to the retirement of the Duke 
 of Cambridge ; and that still greater pressure was
 
 296 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 exercised upon him from a very high quarter indeed to 
 appoint the Duke of Connaught as Commander-in-Chief, 
 under similar conditions to those under which the Duke 
 of Cambridge held the office. If such was the case, Lord 
 Salisbury was obdurate. In the first instance, he could 
 not naturally have upset the measures taken by the 
 outgoing War Minister ; in the next place it had been 
 determined that the tenure of the appointment was to be 
 limited to five years, as in the case of other army appoint- 
 ments ; and further, that the advice said to have been 
 given by the Duke of Wellington to the late Queen, namely, 
 that the command of the army should always be vested 
 in the person of a member of the Royal Family, should not 
 be followed. 
 
 The Duke of Connaught would have filled the office 
 as well as anybody ; his popularity was universal, and his 
 appointment would have been hailed with joy throughout 
 the army. Something, however, was reversed by Lord 
 Salisbury, and that was the appointment of Sir Redvers 
 Buller to succeed the Duke of Cambridge. 
 
 Sir H. Campbell-Bannerman had seen much of Sir 
 Redvers Buller's work as Adjutant-General, and had 
 evidently formed a very high opinion of him, in which he 
 was not singular ; and his appointment as Commander-in- 
 Chief was only awaiting Royal assent and signature, when 
 the change of Government suddenly took place. In all 
 probability Sir Redvers was better fitted for the high 
 office than anyone, for he was possessed of all the 
 qualities necessary for it. It was felt, however, that 
 his appointment would involve the passing over of the 
 most distinguished men in the army who were senior 
 to him, and quite fitted to fill the post ; the scope and 
 powers of which had been considerably reduced. The
 
 AT THE WAR OFFICE 297 
 
 nomination of Sir Redvers was not proceeded with, and 
 Lord Wolseley was appointed. The position was not an 
 easy one, for while the authority of the Commander-in- 
 Chief was much lessened, that of the civilian Secretary 
 of State for War had become paramount. 
 
 Needless to say, the situation was one that might 
 evidently have resulted in considerable friction, to the 
 detriment of the public good. Lord Landsdowne, the 
 new War Minister, was fortunately possessed of supreme 
 tact, combined with ability and strength of purpose in 
 the highest degree. Probably no man could have been 
 better adapted to face and go through the difficult situa- 
 tion than he, and it was due to the manner in which he 
 handled matters that the system then inaugurated — 
 which consisted practically of an omnipotent War 
 Minister, and a so-called Commander-in-Chief with very 
 little independent authority, and with colleagues who 
 possessed as much power as himself, and could 
 report to the War Minister in some matters without 
 reference to him — worked at all. No small jealousy 
 of the civil side of the War Office always existed 
 on the part of the military side, so that it can well be 
 imagined that now, with increased power on the one side 
 and lessened authority on the other, matters were by no 
 means easy for the War Minister. 
 
 The " Times " took the matter up, and opened its 
 columns for weeks to the controversy as to whether the 
 new system as intended could work, and whether the 
 powers of the Commander-in-Chief should be increased 
 or not, I may now safely confess that I was one of the 
 correspondents who, time after time, by the kind indul- 
 gence of the " Times," filled its columns, over the 
 nom de plume of Senex, with arguments to show that the
 
 298 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 new system could not work, and that the Commander-in- 
 Chief should either be given more extended powers or 
 else that the office should be abolished. 
 
 Whether I was right or not, I do not presume to say ; 
 perhaps I was ; for some nine years later this high office 
 was suddenly abolished, at less than twenty-four hours' 
 notice, by a coup de theatre, the like of which was unpre- 
 cedented. To this I shall allude later. 
 
 In 1896, by permission of the German Emperor, I 
 was attached to the XIV. German Army Corps for 
 manoeuvres, and for some few years this privilege was 
 accorded to me — to my infinite benefit — and I was 
 attached to different times to the Staff of the then heredi- 
 tary Grand Duke of Baden, of General A. von Bulow 
 commanding the Army Corps, whose headquarters were at 
 Karlsruhe, of Generals von Grone, von Bissing, von Fallois, 
 and others. I shall always have the most grateful recollec- 
 tion of the courtesy, kindness and hospitality with which 
 I was welcomed and treated, as a British officer who was 
 regarded by one and all as a comrade— and this with one 
 solitary exception, for which a very bulky and tall young 
 officer on the Staff of the late Grand Duke, who was himself 
 the soul of courtesy and kindness, was responsible. 
 Whether it was that he took a personal dislike to me, or 
 because he hated all foreigners — a sentiment not unknown 
 in John Bull's Island— and resented the presence of one 
 with the German Army, I know not ; but he never lost 
 any opportunity of being rude and offensive. I forget 
 his name, and always refer to him as the exception which 
 proves the rule of the extreme kindness and thoughtfulness 
 displayed by officers of the German Army to those of the 
 British who happen to be with them. 
 
 German officers always remember that their forefathers
 
 AT THE WAR OFFICE 299 
 
 and ours have never fought against one another, and 
 that side by side and shoulder to shoulder they put a 
 final end to the iron military hegemony which for twenty ' 
 years had crushed the vitality of and impoverished 
 Europe. To think of Teutons opposed to Britons in 
 sanguinary conflict, would be to imagine a stupendous 
 and appalling crime against humanity and civilization. 
 There is, I feel confident, no real fear of this ; certain it 
 is that a portion of the Press loses no opportunity to 
 promote friction and discord ; but such utterances are 
 like the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow 
 is dried up and dead. 
 
 In 1904 a violent attack was made on the German 
 army, and especially on its officers, which made a sensation, 
 and was translated into several languages. It appeared in 
 the shape of an article in the " North American Review," 
 by one Wolf von Schierbrand, entitled, " The Degeneracy 
 of the German Army." The writer appeared to have 
 drawn his information from a scurrilous little novel 
 " Aus einer kleiner Garnison," which had lately been 
 published, and which was eagerly sought by readers of 
 prurient tendency. 
 
 I wrote an article in reply to this onslaught. It was 
 published in the " Empire Review " of October 1904 ; and 
 I offered it as a slight tribute of my gratitude to Germany 
 and her Army. Shortly afterwards I received through 
 the Germany Embassy in London a gracious message 
 from the Emperor, in which he expressed his thanks to 
 me for my defence of his officers against a mendacious 
 and cruel attack, in reply to which they were precluded 
 from speaking themselves. This incident seems to 
 indicate that little escapes the notice of his Imperial 
 Majesty. The letter was as follows : —
 
 300 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 " German Embassy, 
 
 " Nov. 2nd, 1904. 
 " My dear General, 
 
 " By command of His Majesty, my august 
 
 Master, I have the honour to convey to you His Majesty's 
 
 special thanks for your essay in the " Empire Review " 
 
 of last October. His Majesty has taken great interest 
 
 in the article and the courteous manner in which you 
 
 defended the German Army and officers. 
 
 " With kind regards to Lady Turner, 
 
 " Believe me to be, 
 
 " Yours very sincerely, 
 
 " F. V. D. SCHULENBERG." 
 
 In 1898, when a Major-General on half -pay, I was 
 employed through the medium of Mr Brodrick by Lord 
 Salisbury on secret service, and I am proud to think that 
 I gained the approval of that really great man. Of the 
 nature of that employment, I am, needless to say, pre- 
 cluded from speaking. 
 
 Like many great men. Lord Salisbury had very simple 
 tastes. One was for blackthorn sticks. I occasionally 
 sent him one, and used to seek for exceptionally good 
 ones in Ireland. I once found an exceptionally large 
 and well-cut one, which I forwarded to him ; he was 
 delighted with it, and acknowledged it as follows : — 
 
 " Hatfield House, Hatfield, 
 " Herts, Aug. 11, '95. 
 
 " My dear Col. Turner, 
 
 " I am very much obliged to you for the mag- 
 nificent blackthorn which you have had so nicely mounted
 
 AT THE WAR OFFICE 201 
 
 for me, it is a really valuable present of which I shall 
 be very proud. 
 
 " Believe me, 
 
 " Yours very truly, 
 
 " Salisbury." 
 
 When I was dismissed from my post as Divisional 
 Commissioner of Police in Ireland, Lord Salisbury wrote 
 a very kind and most sympathetic letter to me, in which 
 he said that he deeply regretted the course which the 
 then Irish Government had taken with regard to me, 
 because it was a departure from the even-handed treat- 
 ment which the members of the Civil Service had up 
 to then been accustomed to look to from both parties 
 of the State, however rapidly they might succeed one 
 another in the possession of power. ^ 
 r Lord Salisbury was about the most impressive person- 
 ality it ever was my lot to come into contact with, and 
 withal so kind, sympathetic, and simple in manner that 
 one felt at once that one might talk to him of that which 
 one had to say freely and according to one's own con- 
 ception and conclusion. He was a man who knew how 
 to make himself served to the best possible advantage 
 and C071 amove. It does not appear that the gap created 
 by his passing away has since been filled, or that there 
 exists much prospect of such a highly-to-be-desired 
 consummation. 
 
 As a result of my experiences of the War Office as an 
 official in the closing years of the last century, I should 
 say that love of change, and especially that of uniform, 
 was the leading characteristic. 
 
 ^ Note published by kind permission of the Maxquis of Salisbury, 
 Lord Lansdowne, then Viceroy of India, wrote to me most 
 sympathetically to the same effect.
 
 302 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 For the purpose of devising and carrying out variations 
 in army attire, there existed a special department — 
 the officer in charge of which usually wore a haggard, 
 worried expression, and was surrounded by patterns 
 of every description of dress and equipment. I once 
 heard a very great man in the War Office say that he had 
 found that an officer who remained long in this depart- 
 ment usually became an invalid or a monomaniac — if 
 not both. Certainly of the then War Office one could 
 say, as Cicero said of mankind, " There is nothing fixed 
 or stable among men, but all things pass and repass even 
 as the ebbing and flowing of the sea." 
 
 In 1899, soon after the beginning of the war in South 
 Africa, as to the inception of which the less said the 
 better, and after the black week in December, when the 
 British Army, split up into three far too weak bodies, 
 was hurled back, right, centre, and left, serious appre- 
 hensions arose as to how a sufficient force was to be 
 procured to bring the war against the brave burghers, 
 who were fighting desperately for their freedom, their 
 hearths, and their homes — and that, too, with great 
 advantage, owing to the nature of their country — to a 
 successful conclusion. I was sent for by Lord Lands- 
 downe to the War Office, and desired by him to represent 
 that department and to assist in organizing a body of 
 Volunteers for service in the war, as had been proposed 
 by Sir Alfred Newton, the Lord Mayor, according to a 
 plan suggested by Colonel (now Sir Charles) Boxall. 
 The offer had been accepted on December i6th ; and 
 after I had seen Lord Wolseley, I acted as a go-between 
 for the War Office ; but I interfered as little as possible, 
 for the business-like manner in which the organization, 
 in all its details, of the City Imperial Volunteers was
 
 AT THE WAR OFFICE 303 
 
 carried out was perfect ; and I certainly took care not 
 to introduce red tape from Pall Mall into the proceedings. 
 
 As to finance, the Common Council voted £25,000, 
 and large sums were contributed by the Livery Companies, 
 and by bankers, merchants, and other individuals of the 
 City of London ; while Mr C. H. Wilson, M.P. and Mr 
 Arthur Wilson at once placed one of their steamers at 
 our disposal to convey 50 officers and 500 men to South 
 Africa. The generosity, enterprise, and energy of the 
 Lord Mayor, and the City of London generally, baffies 
 all description, and would not, I think, have been equalled 
 in any other portion of the world. 1 
 
 On December 22nd I presided over a large meeting 
 of Volunteer commanding officers at the Mansion House 
 to settle the organization of the corps ; I found them 
 in the highest degree amenable and intelligent, and not 
 the slightest difficulty was experienced. Finance, 
 Transport, Organization, Clothing and Equipment, and 
 Horse and Saddlery Committees were formed ; Colonel 
 (now General) Sir H. MacKinnon, who was selected for 
 the command, was given a general supervision, and the 
 work was begun at once. 
 
 The result was the rapid formation of a really magnificent 
 body of 147 1 officers and men, comprising a battalion of 
 
 ^ Colonel Boxall, who has been mentioned already in connexion with 
 his armoured train, had prepared a scheme for organizing a body of 
 Volunteers for the war, and had succeeded in obtaining the approval of 
 the Lord Mayor, Sir Alfred Newton, and of the Commander-in-Chief, to 
 his plan, the important features of which were that the Volunteers 
 should be chosen from Metropohtan corps by their own commanding 
 officers, organized at the Mansion House, and that the City of London, 
 represented by the Lord Mayor, should be responsible for raising and 
 equipping the corps. My aid was appUed for, and after interviews \vith 
 Lord Lansdowne and Lord Wolseley, I went to the Mansion House to 
 see the Lord Mayor and Colonel Boxall, and attended there daily till 
 the corps left for South Africa.
 
 304 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 infantry, two companies of mounted infantry, and a 
 four-gun battery, equipped in the most perfect manner. 
 This force embarked for South Africa between the 13th 
 and 29th of January, 1900 ; the corps having only 
 commenced its existence on December 20th. The C.I.V. 
 did remarkably well during the War, and Lord Roberts 
 wrote of them : "I have no finer or keener material under 
 my command than the City Imperial Volunteers. 
 
 Sir Ian Hamilton, under whom a large number of them 
 served, told me that they always did admirably. It is 
 not to be wondered at that the return of the C.I.V. to 
 the City produced a scene of the wildest enthusiasm, 
 which the police told me they had never seen equalled 
 on any occasion. 
 
 Early in 1900 the appointment of Inspector-General 
 of the Auxiliary Forces was created, and I was appointed. 
 Lord Landsdowne gave me specific directions that I was 
 to do all in my power to encourage and develop the 
 Auxiliary Forces, and to visit as many of them as time 
 and opportunity allowed. I may say that I had always 
 been, as far as in me lay, a strong believer in the possi- 
 bilities of the Militia, Yeomanry, and Volunteers, and 
 had for some years been in the habit of presiding over 
 their war games and supervising their exercises ; my 
 appointment was received by them with loudly expressed 
 satisfaction. I followed out Lord Landsowne's wishes 
 to the letter, and there are few parts of the country 
 that I did not visit to inspect Volunteers in the few 
 succeeding months. At that time very large numbers 
 of the Auxiliary Forces went to South Africa, as may be 
 gathered from the following figures, which show the 
 numbers of them who took part in the war, all as 
 Volunteers, prompted by patriotism, which caused them
 
 AT THE WAR OFFICE 305 
 
 to come forward and offer themselves for active service 
 when the country was in sore straits. 
 
 
 Officers. 
 
 N.-C. Officers 
 and Men. 
 
 MiHtia . . . 
 
 . 169I 
 
 43.875 
 
 Yeomanry . 
 
 1398 
 
 34.227 
 
 City Imperial Volunteers 
 
 59 
 
 1,667 
 
 Service Companies 
 
 472 
 
 16,419 
 
 Volunteer Artillery 
 
 8 
 
 235 
 
 Volunteer Engineers 
 
 54 
 
 1,151 
 
 Total 3682 97,574 
 
 This is a fine record indeed, and shows what the country 
 may expect from her sons in time of peril. Surely it 
 would be little short of insanity to undermine, if not 
 destroy, that voluntary spirit, which has made our great 
 Empire what it is, by introducing a pseudo sort of con 
 scription which is unnecessary, and which, while it 
 would give us a large number of half-trained men, in no 
 way fit to meet the vast and highly trained armies of the 
 Continent, is contrary to the traditions and Constitution 
 of our country, and repugnant to the temper of the 
 British. The proposed system would, moreover, place 
 an addition of some £8,000,000 a year on the backs of 
 the taxpayers, which are already loaded to the limit of 
 toleration. The Navy, and the Navy only, secures the 
 British Islands from invasion ; so long as the fleet has 
 undoubtedly the command of the sea, we can be in no 
 danger. If we lost that command, no army could 
 save us, for over three-fourths of our food comes from 
 across the water, and if our sea-ways are not secure, we 
 should soon have famine and revolution. 
 
 Things went very well with my department for a 
 20
 
 306 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 time. I had three very able assistants, Major Engleheart 
 for Volunteers, Captain Merriman, R.A., for Militia, and 
 Colonel Le Roy Lewis, D.S.O., for Yeomanry. Popular, 
 however, as my department was with the Auxiliary 
 Forces, it was detested by some of the military authorities 
 as an innovation which made too much of the former, 
 which had, as a rule, been snubbed and belittled by them. 
 Unfortunately for the army. Lord Lansdowne was trans- 
 ferred to the Foreign Office, which gained what the War 
 Office lost, and that was much. Lord Wolseley also, 
 who had been strongly in favour of the creation of the 
 office of Inspector-General of Auxiliary Forces, an appoint- 
 ment analagous to one he had himself formerly held, 
 relinquished the post of Commander-in-Chief at the end 
 of his five years' tenure ; and then an opportunity 
 appeared to offer itself to my friends to abolish me and 
 my department : and I must candidly admit that the 
 energy they displayed was great and worthy of a better 
 cause. The struggle went on for some time, but eventu- 
 ally my opponents were defeated and scotched by the 
 new Commander-in-Chief, Lord Roberts, and Mr 
 Brodrick ; and matters went on, but not too comfortably 
 for me. I felt rather like Daniel in the lions' den, not 
 knowing from time to time whether one or other of the 
 apparently quiescent monsters would not go for my 
 throat. 
 
 I survived ; but needless to say, incidents of this 
 description, and inter-departmental jealousies, which 
 were not infrequent in the old War Office, did not make 
 for public advantage. 
 
 Of Mr Brodrick (Lord Midleton), I cannot speak too 
 highly : but he was by no means given a fair chance. 
 His Army Corps scheme, very analagous to the army
 
 AT THE WAR OFFICE 307 
 
 scheme of Lord Haldane which has given the army a 
 real organization which it never had before, was approved 
 by Lord Roberts and adopted by the Government, the 
 head of which, Mr Balfour, proclaimed that by it his 
 Ministry would stand or fall. A determined and gener- 
 ally unfair attack was made on the scheme, and it was 
 discredited and stifled ; and then Mr Balfour made what 
 appeared to many people the greatest mistake in his 
 career, namely, in the removal of Mr Brodrick from the 
 War Ofhce and in the appointment of his successor. 
 
 Under Mr Brodrick I had to do with the creation of 
 the Imperial Yeomanry, a most useful and efficient 
 force, now incox^orated with the Volunteers in the 
 Territorial Army. The inception of this force was 
 entirely due to Mr Brodrick and Lord Roberts, and this 
 would alone have been a great record of good service 
 for the country. The details of the scheme were worked 
 out by my assistant. Colonel Le Roy Lewis, D.S.O., 
 who had served with yeomanry throughout the South 
 African War. I have been informed that he was told 
 by the War Minister that his name should be submitted 
 to the king for a K.C.B. for his services in connexion 
 with the organization of the Imperial Yeomanry. Un- 
 fortunately for him, as for many others, Mr Brodrick 
 left the War Office, and his successor promptly cancelled 
 the recommendation. Continuity of anything was not 
 characteristic of those who occupied the seats of the 
 mighty in Pall Mall. 
 
 At the instance of Mr Brodrick, a Royal Commission, 
 presided over by the Duke of Norfolk, was appointed to 
 investigate the condition of the Militia and Volunteers, 
 and to make suggestions as to the betterment of those 
 forces. This Commission which commenced its sittings
 
 308 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 on the 19 May, 1903, dragged out its weary length, 
 with some breaks, till 11 February, 1904. An innumer- 
 able quantity of witnesses were examined, and the 
 number of questions asked was legion. I was under 
 examination for two whole days or more, and I could not 
 help comparing the similar ordeal as to time which I 
 underwent in connexion with the battle of the burnt 
 store at Ennis, at the hands of Mr J. Harrington, M.P., 
 very much to the disadvantage of the Royal Commission, 
 and the respectable dullness of whose proceedings con- 
 trasted very unfavourably with the strong sense of humour 
 displayed constantly in the Irish court-house, even under 
 most solemn circumstances. 
 
 I fear that my evidence, which was root and branch 
 contrary to the conclusion arrived at by the majority 
 of the Royal Commission, was highly unpalatable to that 
 august body ; but I had a strong testimony in favour of 
 it from the late Sir Charles Dilke, who met me in Rotten 
 Row one morning shortly after the Report of the Royal 
 Commission was issued. He told me that he had read 
 the Report from end to end, and that my evidence and 
 that of Sir William Butler were oases in a large and dreary 
 desert ! The Commission went apparently quite outside 
 the scope of their intended inquiry, their conclusion being 
 that there should be no Militia and Volunteers, but in 
 their place a home army raised by conscription ; and 
 taking about 190,000 recruits annually. As this would 
 have added £25,000,000 annually to the cost of the army, 
 the proposition, needless to say, was not adopted. Nor 
 were many of its really sound and valuable recommenda- 
 tions considered ; for a new Secretary of State succeeded 
 Mr Brodrick, and as the former had most violently 
 condemned in unstinted terms the army administration
 
 AT THE WAR OFFICE 309 
 
 of his two predecessors, it was but a natural sequence 
 that when he came into office he should sweep away, or 
 try to sweep away, all traces of it. 
 
 It has been said, " Every Secretary of State for War, 
 a new Army system," and usually to the confusion of 
 the unfortunate victim. It may really be hoped now 
 that these constant changes are at an end, and if such be 
 the case, it will be due to the recommendations of the 
 Esher Committee as regards the government of the army, 
 and to Lord Haldane for the admirable and efficient 
 organization which he has so patiently and skilfully built 
 up. The recommendation that the Commander-in-Chief 
 and the Headquarter Staff, as then constituted, should be 
 abolished and replaced by the Army Council, was perfectly 
 sound, as time has shown : but the manner in which the 
 said abolition was carried out can only be described as an 
 outrage. No previous notice was given to the officers 
 concerned ; but on a Sunday afternoon, they (including 
 the Commander-in-Chief) received a letter, one and all, 
 from the Secretary of State for War, in which they were 
 informed that their appointments ceased to exist that self- 
 same day, and that an announcement to that effect would 
 appear next morning. 
 
 We had left the War Office on the Saturday evening, 
 in complete ignorance of the existence of the tremendous 
 coup de main which had been hatched. We arrived on 
 the Monday morning to find that the shell had burst, 
 and that a number of the most distinguished war-tried 
 officers who occupied the highest posts in the army had 
 been summarily dismissed, without notice, from their 
 appointments. Many questions were asked on the subject 
 in Parliament : but no reason was ever given by the War 
 Minister for the extraordinary proceeding, except that
 
 310 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 what had been done was carried out with the approval 
 of the Commander-in-Chief : but, as the latter was himself 
 the chief victim, we venture to suppose that a " termino- 
 logical inexactitude," such as is not altogether unknown 
 in the House of Commons, was made use of. A cloud of 
 apprehension as to what would follow hung over Pall 
 Mall for some days. No one knew whether he himself 
 would not be the next lamb to be led to the slaughter. 
 
 I myself felt certain that I, as a relict of Lord Lands- 
 downe and Mr Brodrick, would be one of the next 
 castaways ; that, however, would have mattered little 
 to me, as on the 3rd March my superannuation was bound 
 to come in natural course. When, therefore, a day or two 
 subsequent to Black Monday, I received a summons to 
 betake myself to the Secretary of State, I felt sure my hour 
 was come. Judge then of my surprise when I was told by 
 him that my services were so good and so important 
 at that time of change of systems that he would be much 
 indebted to me if I would remain on in my appointment 
 after March 3rd, which could be effected by an existing 
 regulation. I rather demurred, as I had made all arrange- 
 ments for a long foreign tour. I asked how long I might 
 consider myself wanted. He said, practically as long as 
 I liked. I asked for a day to consider the matter, with 
 the result that, as I always tried to subordinate my 
 interests to those of the public service, I cancelled my 
 arrangements with much inconvenience, and next day 
 informed the War Minister that I was ready to meet his 
 wishes. 
 
 A few weeks later he again sent for me, and to my 
 infinite astonishment curtly informed me that my successor 
 was appointed ; and notified to me in so many words that 
 it was time for me to make myself scarce. I promptly
 
 AT THE WAR OFFICE 311 
 
 left his room, went next day to Leeds to make a long 
 promised inspection of Volunteers, returned for a day to 
 the War Office ; and then, with joy, shook the dust off 
 my boots as I left for ever that ill-famed establishment 
 in Pall Mall, which had of late become intolerable, and of 
 which Lord Hugh Cecil had recently said that ineptitude, 
 like leprosy, clung to its walls. I thought he had gathered 
 this idea from the fact that, previous to the reign of Henry 
 VH., the ground on which the War Office stood was, 
 tradition relates, the site of the great Leper Hospital 
 of London ; but he told me later that he had not heard 
 of this tradition— adding that if he had done so, he would 
 have made much more of his point : as can well be 
 believed ! 
 
 What induced the Secretary of State for War to treat 
 me with such scant courtesy and want of consideration 
 he did not disclose, and I did not inquire : I was not 
 made aware of any shortcomings on my part ; I never en- 
 countered him again. Questions were asked in the House 
 of Commons on the subject, but were always brushed 
 aside. For the first time I have stated what actually 
 occurred ; and thus, for the second time in my life, I 
 found myself dismissed, though in a different manner. 
 For, in 1892, Mr Morley gave me two or three months 
 warning, and sugared over the bitter pill with the con- 
 sideration and courtesy that one might have expected 
 of him, but which the most sanguine person could not 
 then look for in Pall Mall. 
 
 I relate the following incident to demonstrate the 
 thoughtfulness and kindness of heart of the late King, 
 which so endeared him to all who came into contact with 
 him. I had gone to Salisbury Plain to inspect the Wilt- 
 shire Yeomanry ; the commanding officer, the Rt. Hon.
 
 312 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 Walter Long, met me at the railway-station, and mounted 
 me on a magnificent chestnut horse of his own. We 
 proceeded to the place where the regiment was paraded 
 for inspection, when suddenly my horse stopped, reared 
 up, and fell back on me. The ground was very hard, and 
 all thought it was all over with me. I, however, extricated 
 myself and rose to my feet, as I thought, unhurt. I 
 then found that my left arm was snapped across the 
 humerus and was hanging down by my side. I was at 
 once taken to the hospital tent, where the arm was 
 skilfully set by the yeomanry surgeon. 
 
 Curiously enough, I suffered very little pain ; and when 
 the mending was over, I was able at once to go forth and 
 carry out the inspection. Nothing could exceed the 
 solicitude and kindness of Colonel Walter Long and the 
 officers of that fine and very well trained regiment. 
 
 The King was at Homburg at the time. He had heard 
 of my accident, and commanded the equerry, Colonel 
 (now Sir Arthur) Davidson, to write to me to express 
 His Majesty's regret that I had met with a serious accident, 
 and his hopes that its effects would not last for long ; 
 and further, his wishes to be kept informed as to my 
 progress. 
 
 On January 9th, 1909, I went to Southampton to speed 
 my close friend, Miss Charlotte Mansfield, the authoress, 
 on her voyage to Capetown, before making her adventur- 
 ous journey from the rail-head at Broken Hill, in Rhodesia, 
 to Tanganyika. Her goal was Cairo, but, owing to the 
 prevalence of sleeping sickness, traffic on the lake had been 
 discontinued, and her forty-nine native carriers would not 
 have been allowed to proceed with her. She had there- 
 fore to abandon her original intention, and march on foot 
 from Abercorn to Karonga, and thence by gunboat to
 
 AT THE WAR OFFICE 313 
 
 Fort Johnston. Though the aim of the enterprise was not 
 accompHshed, the journey was adventurous, and occas- 
 sionally perilous from wild beasts and natives. One track 
 of 540 miles had to be marched, with no companions but 
 some fifty dusky carriers, and the expedition was one of 
 the most remarkable ever accomplished by a woman. 
 The full account of the above has been written by Miss 
 Charlotte Mansfield in her book, " Via Rhodesia," pub- 
 lished by Stanley Paul & Co. (1911).
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 PRIVATE LIFE 
 
 My official career ends abruptly — Helpful and efficient fellow-workers 
 in Pall Mall — I commence a new life — Politics — -The Channel Tunnel 
 scheme — Unreasonable scare created — University College School 
 opened by King Edward VII. — Lord Haldane unveils the King's statue 
 at the school— Sir Edwin Durning Lawrence's munificence — I join the 
 Council of the Jewish Territorial organization — I become a Director of 
 the British North Borneo Chartered Company — Visit of a deputation of 
 the London County Council in the city of Nancy — The 20th French 
 Army Corps — Jeanne d'Arc — -Generals Pau and Langlois — Female 
 suffrage — W. T. Stead — The Stage — Psychic experiences — L'Envoi. 
 
 MY official career came thus somewhat abruptly 
 to a close in 1904, and in spite of the somewhat 
 mortifying manner in which the curtain fell 
 upon it — without any call to the front, but, on the contrary 
 with a somewhat curious snub from the War Minister — 
 I have no cause to complain ; for, with few exceptions, 
 I have been singularly fortunate as to those in high 
 stations under whom it has been my lot to serve and 
 whose approval I have been fortunate enough to 
 gain. 
 
 Entering the army as I did without money or interest — 
 as a rule the two straight paths to advancement, at 
 all events in past times — it is no small thing to have 
 retired as a General Officer with, I hope, a sound mind 
 in a certainly sound body, and to have been awarded two 
 Companionships of the Bath, one civil for service in 
 Ireland, the other military for war service in the Soudan — 
 the latter of which was exalted by the late King on his 
 314
 
 PRIVATE LIFE 315 
 
 coronation to Knight Commander on the recommendation 
 of Mr Brodrick. 
 
 As my last words with reference to the War Office, 
 I should like to mention the names of many of my co- 
 workers who did admirable work, in spite of the system, 
 or rather systems, which then prevailed. Want of space 
 precludes this ; but I cannot forbear from pointing to 
 Lord Grenfell, Sir Charles Mansfield-Clark, Sir Edward 
 Ward, Sir William Nicholson,^ Sir Ian Hamilton and 
 Major-General J. S, Cowans, Lord Stanley (now Lord 
 Derby), Sir Ralph Knox, and Sir Frank Marzials, as men 
 with whom it was a special privilege to be associated ; 
 they were possessed of great ability, and were always 
 ready to be helpful ; and were untramelled by that red 
 tape which, like the octopus, threw its feelers and tentacles 
 far and wide in the War Office, being like the monster 
 described by Victor Hugo in his " Les Travailleurs de la 
 Mer" : " Une viscosiU qui a'^une volonte, de la glu petrie 
 de haijie, quoi de plus effroyahle I " 
 
 When I first retired, I imagined that time would 
 hang heavily on my hands ; and especially did I think 
 thus as I contemplated the existence in clubs led by a 
 large number of my brother-officers — many of whom 
 had been efficient and active in their profession, but who, 
 though they had many years of good work in them, did 
 not appear able to adapt themselves to any new line of 
 life. It must be palpable that a very large amount of 
 working power and energy is wasted and lost to the nation 
 through the hard and fast rules of compulsory age- 
 retirement. Many men of sixty, and even beyond it, 
 are younger and more active in mind and body than 
 others at forty. Still, room must be made for the rising 
 
 ^ Now Lord Nicholson
 
 316 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 generation ; and the German plan of keeping their 
 officials so long as they are fit and discharging at any age 
 those who are found to be unfit, would be too hard a 
 problem to solve in a satisfactory manner under a Govern- 
 ment and system of administration such as ours, 
 
 I soon discovered, however, that there was no lack 
 of work before me ; but that, on the contrary, there 
 was infinitely more to be done than had fallen to me even 
 at the busiest times of my official career, if I consented to 
 undertake a moiety of that offered to me. There was 
 one great advantage in this new sphere of activity which 
 was opening out before me — that I was now my own 
 master instead of being servant to many masters ; and 
 that if I had been compelled occasionally to suffer fools 
 gladly (metaphorically speaking), I should only have 
 one to suffer, namely, myself. One regards one's own 
 faults, failures, and virtues in a very different light from 
 that by which others, and especially one's candid friends, 
 estimate and judge them and ourselves. 
 
 Up to my retirement from the army, I had taken 
 no part in politics ; but, having been always of Radical 
 and Socialistic tendencies, I had joined the National, 
 Liberal, and Eighty Clubs, and at the General Election 
 of igo6 I made a vast number of speeches in many parts 
 of the country, preaching about the super-excellence of 
 the social reforms, and the great economies and lowering 
 of taxation which were dangled in the eyes of the country. 
 Fortunately for me, I resolutely declined to stand as a 
 candidate for Parliament, as I was pressed to do. No one 
 past forty or forty-five should do this for the first time. 
 I was very soon disenchanted, and my zeal fell to zero. 
 
 I hope others may take warning by my experiences ; 
 bad though an idle life is, and no blessing to anybody.
 
 PRIVATE LIFE 317 
 
 it is infinitely more wholesome to do nothing than to 
 give oneself to the most thankless and the most crooked 
 occupation of working for a political party. I still do 
 so to some extent, and shall continue to do so, as I have 
 gone into the groove, and habit has become second nature ; 
 but the result of an election now neither gives me trans- 
 ports of joy nor feelings of despondency. 
 
 In 1906-7, a great effort was made by Baron Emile 
 Erlanger to carry out the Channel Tunnel project, and 
 I was invited to become a member of the Board of 
 Directors, which consisted of Baron Erlanger (Chairman), 
 Lord Burton, Mr Arnold Morley, Vice- Admiral Sir Charles 
 Campbell, and Lord Stalbridge, an old schoolfellow of mine 
 at Westminster.^ 
 
 I accepted, and at once set to work to propagate the 
 scheme, writing many articles and making many speeches 
 — chiefly tending to show that, from a military point 
 of view, there could be no danger in the existence of 
 such a tunnel between England and France, as it could 
 be rendered inoperative in many different ways at a few 
 minutes' notice. The scheme was, on the whole, very 
 well received, and there seemed to be every chance of its 
 passing through Parliament. I was ferociously attacked 
 by some military writers in the Press, but their com- 
 munications were always anonymous, and, as such, not 
 worthy of notice. 
 
 I had always taken great interest in the question of 
 such communication between France and England, and 
 believed that it would be of enormous advantage socially 
 and commercially ; and the only doubts that arose in 
 
 ^ Sir William Holland, now Lord Rotherham, brought the bill (1907) 
 before the House of Commons, and did yeoman work for the creation of 
 the tunnel.
 
 318 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 my mind were whether, having regard to the enormous 
 outlay for the construction of the tunnel — estimated at 
 £16,000,000 — it could ever be in itself a remunerative 
 affair. All seemed to be going well, when a portion of 
 the Press succeeded in raising a scare as to what France 
 might do against us if the tunnel were a fait accompli ; 
 and the Government, which was believed to favour the 
 scheme and to consider that no danger could accrue 
 from its construction, refused to support us, on the ground 
 that the population might fear, and that fear might 
 produce panic, which might be as bad in its effects as 
 war itself. The making of the tunnel could not be said 
 to be of vital importance, and doubtless the decision of 
 the Cabinet was sound. 
 
 Of late John Bull has been addicted to scares ; and 
 though the grounds for them, as a rule, have as much 
 reality in them as the flies said to torment a person in 
 delirium tremens, still they may produce very disastrous 
 effects if not allayed. The history of the various pro- 
 posals to establish underground communication between 
 France and England is a curious one. Napoleon the 
 Great was the first ruler to whose notice such a plan was 
 brought. The proposal came from a French engineer, 
 de Mathieu. Peace then reigned in Europe in conse- 
 quence of the Treaty of Amiens. Napoleon highly 
 approved, but in 1804 the great wars that lasted till 
 18 15 broke out, and all prosperity and industrial enter- 
 prise were choked, as they must be always by war — the 
 greatest curse that can befall humanity. After this, 
 from time to time, various schemes were presented, 
 and in 1856 a celebrated French engineer, de Gamond, 
 brought a new plan, the result of twenty-two years' 
 study of the depths of the Channel, to the notice of
 
 PRIVATE LIFE 319 
 
 Napoleon III. ; and through that monarch, Queen 
 Victoria and Prince Albert were made acquainted with 
 the scheme. All highly approved of the idea. The 
 difficulties were very great, but no suggestion of danger 
 was made by the various Ministers by whom the possi- 
 bilities of the scheme were discussed — Lord Clarendon, 
 Lord Granville, Lord Derby and others — till it was 
 started by a War Office Committee, whose members, 
 with the exception of two great and distinguished soldiers, 
 Sir John Adye and Sir Andrew Clarke, were apprehensive 
 as to what might ensue from the establishment of such 
 international communication. 
 
 A Channel Tunnel Bill was brought forward in the 
 House of Commons by Sir Edward Watkin in 1884 and 
 1889 without success. On the latter occasion, as Mr 
 Winston Churchill tells us in his " Life of Lord Randolph 
 Churchill," Sir Edward Watkin had explained a device 
 by which even a Minister of State could in an instant 
 blow up the entrance to the tunnel. Lord Randolph 
 made a joke out of this, and drew a funny picture of the 
 First Lord, Mr W. H. Smith, sitting with his colleagues 
 round a table, and waiting for the moment to press the 
 button. The joke was not a very profound one, but it 
 excited roars of laughter from all quarters of the House, 
 and the Bill was promptly thrown out by 307 to 165, 
 That a most serious and important project, affecting the 
 means of communication between two great nations, 
 should have been derided and defeated by the utterance 
 of a joke — which, one may take it for certain, the brilliant 
 statesman who was responsible for it did not intend — 
 seems once more to show the correctness of Carlyle's 
 judgment of the majority of the House of Commons in 
 those days.
 
 320 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 Mr Gladstone and Mr John Bright strongly supported 
 the creation of the tunnel, and derided the idea of danger 
 to England. 
 
 The matter rested for nearly twenty years ; and my 
 Board of Directors, having thoroughly satisfied them- 
 selves that there was no more danger in the creation of 
 the Channel Tunnel than there is to France or Italy 
 through the Mont Cenis Tunnel, which is yl miles long, 
 or to Switzerland and Italy from the St Gothard Tunnel, 
 which is 9 miles long, or the Simplon Tunnel, I2| miles 
 long, put forward their scheme, prepared by the eminent 
 engineers. Sir Douglas Fox and Mr Francis Fox, to the 
 Government and the nation. But it was not to be : 
 ridicule killed the first scheme, fear the second ; the 
 third attempt will probably succeed, and people will 
 wonder why the establishment of such a benefit was so 
 long postponed. 
 
 In the same year His Majesty Edward the VII. most 
 graciously consented, in consequence of my petition to 
 him through Lord Knollys, to open the new buildings 
 of University College School at Frognal, of which I am 
 a Governor. The King came, accompanied by Queen 
 Alexandra and Princess Victoria, and attended, among 
 others, by the Archbishop of Canterbury. 
 
 As was always the case, the King took all hearts by 
 storm ; and loyalty brimmed over to such an extent 
 that, when at the close of the proceedings three-times- 
 three vociferous cheers had been given for His Majesty, 
 they were repeated for the Queen and the Princess ; 
 and then, to the infinite embarrassment of the Primate 
 and amusement of the King, the boys in the gallery 
 gave " three cheers for the Archbishop of Canterbury," 
 which were taken up by the audience. The proceeding
 
 PRIVATE LIFE 321 
 
 was contrary to all etiquette, but did not damp the success 
 of the day, which was perfect. 
 
 , As the King was leaving, he spoke a few kind words to 
 each of the Governors ; and when he arrived in front of 
 me, he said that he had always looked upon me as a man 
 of very good sense, and he could not conceive how I had 
 been one of the promoters of the Channel Tunnel. I 
 answered that we all thought His Majesty favoured the 
 scheme. The King replied : " Certainly not. It is a 
 most pernicious scheme. We have been made an island, 
 so let us remain." Then, turning round to Lord Monks- 
 well, the Chairman of the Board of Governors, the King 
 said, laughing : "I have given it to him well ! " Lord 
 Monkswell promptly replied : " Serve him right, sir, 
 serve him right ! " 
 
 The Royal party then departed, evidently highly 
 pleased with their reception and the arrangements, 
 which had been made for them by Dr Spenser, the head- 
 master, and others. I wrote a few days later to Lord 
 Knollys to express profound thanks to the King for his 
 visit ; and I asked him to inform His Majesty that, in 
 consequence of what had fallen from his lips, I should 
 have no more to do with the Channel Tunnel scheme 
 so long as the King disapproved of it — which drew a 
 strong remark of approval from him. 
 
 The King appeared then to be in the most robust 
 health ; and we little thought how soon we should lose 
 one whose kind and genial face was the reflection of an 
 intensely kind heart, which was never closed to any 
 genuine case of sorrow, affliction, or distress. One looked 
 forward to many years of his reign ; and it was a bitter 
 blow indeed to the Empire when he was suddenly and 
 prematurely snatched from among us. Of all men I
 
 322 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 have ever come into contact with, he had the greatest 
 gift of inspiring affection towards himself ; and not a 
 mere transitory emotion " wherein doth sit the dread 
 and fear of kings," but one which — as far as I am con- 
 cerned — will last the remainder of my life. 
 
 One more communication with reference to University 
 College School came to me from His late Majesty. I 
 informed him, through Lord Knollys, that it was pro- 
 posed, with his approval, to ask Mr Haldane to unveil 
 the statue of the King, which had been set up in com- 
 memoration of the opening of the school by His Majesty. 
 He replied that no more appropriate person than Mr 
 Haldane could be selected for the purpose. 
 
 To the joy of the Board of Governors, Mr Haldane 
 found himself able to give effect to our wishes. After 
 performing the ceremony, he delivered in the Great Hall 
 one of the best addresses upon the functions of Royalty 
 in connexion with education that it was ever my lot to 
 listen to. 
 
 The visit of the King and the unveiling of his statue 
 are events in the annals of the school of which the memory 
 will be ever green. 
 
 Upon the much-lamented death of Lord Monkswell, 
 Sir Edwin Burning Lawrence was elected as the Chairman 
 of the Board of Governors ; and he has since performed 
 an act of remarkable munificence for the school which 
 I must not pass over in silence. The school, up to latterly, 
 occupied a portion of the buildings of London University 
 College in Gower Street. The College by degrees became 
 so expanded that the space at its disposal became much 
 too restricted. It was accordingly agreed that the 
 school should receive £60,000, and find accommodation 
 elsewhere. A site was purchased at Frognal, Hamp-
 
 PRIVATE LIFE 323 
 
 stead, and upon it were erected the present magnificent 
 school buildings. But the cost of the site and building 
 and furnishing cost over double the money received from 
 the College, and created a very heavy debt. Great efforts 
 have been made to reduce this debt ; and many former 
 pupils of the school, known as " Old Gowers," have 
 liberally subscribed to help to clear their Alma Mater 
 from the burden. Sir Edwin Burning Lawrence, him- 
 self an Old Gower, and Lady Duming Lawrence made 
 the most magnificent donation of £8,000— for which all 
 who are interested in the school and the welfare of educa- 
 tion must feel truly grateful. 
 
 Such acts of princely munificence are rare. Sir Edwdn 
 is a man of many parts, and has distinguished himself 
 as a protagonist of the Bacon versus Shakespeare theory. 
 I have heard him make out a very good case on sundry 
 occasions. I took the Chair once at a debate of the 
 Polyglot Club, when he did so ; but the opinion of 
 the meeting was overwhelmingly against him, and only 
 he and a lady, his seconder, voted for Bacon. He was 
 not, however, in the least discouraged. My own humble 
 opinion is that we possess the most magnificent book 
 ever written in any language, which has been known as 
 " Shakespeare " for over three centuries ; and that it 
 were best that it should so remain known, and not as 
 Bacon, and that it matters very little who the author 
 actually was. But chacun a son goiU. 
 
 I have always been in the deepest sympathy with 
 the Jewish race, admiring their wonderful tenacity of 
 purpose, their robust vitality and vigorous growth, 
 despite the endless persecution they have undergone at 
 the hands of Christians from time immemorial. Robbed, 
 outraged, murdered they can be ; but extirpated either
 
 324 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 by the tide of time or the cruelty of Christians, they 
 will never be. When, therefore, the atrocities or pogroms 
 were committed on the Jews in Russia in 1905, I readily 
 accepted the invitation ^ of Mr Zangwill to join the Council 
 of the Ito, or Jewish Territorial Organization, whose 
 object it was to obtain the grant of a large tract of land, 
 if possible, under the segis of the British flag, to which 
 the Jews in Russia could go as to the old cities of refuge, 
 where autonomy would be secured for them, and where, 
 in short, they would form a distinct Jewish State. I 
 thought at the time that the Jewish community at large 
 in Great Britain favoured the scheme ; but when I found 
 that this was not the case by any means, I much doubted 
 as to the possibility of realizing Mr Zangwill's ideal, 
 especially as the powerful body of Zionists were strongly 
 opposed to it. 
 
 Mr Joseph Chamberlain, then Secretary for the Colonies, 
 was most sympathetic ; but the tide of time brought 
 a change of Government, and the idea, which, it must 
 be acknowledged, was bristling with difficulties as to its 
 accomplishment, did not seem to appeal to his successor. 
 Mr Zangwill worked on with the greatest ability and 
 tenacity ; and most excellent work has been done in the 
 emigration of suffering and persecuted Jews from a land 
 of bondage — compared to which Egypt under the Pharaoh 
 was an Elysium as far as the race of Israel is concerned ; 
 on this account the Ito deserves a place in the records 
 of the greatest charities of the world ; and it is an 
 infinite satisfaction to me that I am identified with its 
 labours. 
 
 1 This invitation was conveyed to me by Miss Carmel Goldsmith (now 
 Mrs Haden Guest), daughter of Colonel Goldsmid, and, like her father, 
 an indefatigable worker on behalf of the oppressed people of her race.
 
 PRIVATE LIFE 325 
 
 From the year 1882, I have taken the greatest interest 
 in the colony of British North Borneo, which is due to 
 the enterprise of the late Mr W. C. Cowie, who was for 
 many years in Borneo, and latterly the Chairman of the 
 Company, and to Sir Alfred Dent, who was the means of 
 procuring a charter for the company from Lord Granville. 
 
 The progress of a newly opened territory must always 
 be slow, but in the case of British North Borneo it has been 
 steady, and I do not think that it has often happened 
 that such a development can be shown to have taken 
 place in thirty years as has been the case with this colony, 
 whose size is 31,000 square miles — just the same area as 
 that of Ireland. North Borneo has a great future ; and 
 though there has been hitherto much disappointment 
 as to the discovery of diamonds, gold, and other minerals 
 which undoubtedly exist in the territory, and though the 
 search for petroleum, which is found in large quantities 
 in the neighbouring state of Dutch North Borneo, has not 
 been rewarded with success, the rubber industry is growing 
 apace. Most of the plantations of the twenty-three 
 rubber companies in the territory are young and the trees 
 not yet ripe for tapping, but the soil has been found to be 
 especially favourable for their growth, and if the most 
 fair and reasonable expectations are not upset, this in- 
 dustry will be of untold value in the course of the next 
 few years. 
 
 Sir West Ridgeway, with whom I was associated up to 
 1892 in Ireland, is now the capable and energetic Chairman 
 of the Court of Directors, and has just visited the colony 
 to make himself personally acquainted with its conditions 
 and requirements, especially as to Chinese labour — the 
 interference with which appears to be one of the most 
 remarkable of the crazes of to-day. I have been for some
 
 326 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 little time a member of the Court of Directors of the 
 Chartered Company, Chairman of the North Borneo 
 State Rubber Company and member of the Board of the 
 Manchester North Borneo Rubber Company, whose 
 plantations are in an advanced stage of progression. 
 The colony thus gives me employment, responsibility, 
 and profit ; for the shares which I took in the Chartered 
 Company in 1882, all of which I hold to-day, now pay 
 5 %, a dividend likely to become much higher in the next 
 few years. 
 
 A curious circumstance took place a few years ago with 
 regard to this colony. The Governor — certainly a very 
 able man, but not, as it seems, on the best of terms with 
 the Directors — wrote to the Colonial Office to inform some- 
 body there that the affairs of the colony were not flourish- 
 ing financially, and that now was the time for the Govern- 
 ment to put down their hand and take possession of it. 
 It is presumed that the letter was meant to be strictly 
 private. Some official at the Colonial Office — it is 
 supposed by mistake — put it into a wrong envelope, 
 and addressed it to the Directors, whose righteous in- 
 dignation may be imagined. The result was the transfer 
 of the Governor to another post. On the whole the 
 dealings of the Colonial Office with the Chartered Company 
 have been marked with tact, wisdom, and consideration. 
 
 In June 1909 I received, through Monsieur A. Sire, 
 the able representative of the Chemin de Fer du Nord, 
 an invitation from the Mayor of Nancy to accompany 
 a deputation of the London Coimty Council, consisting 
 of the Chairman, Sir Melville Beachcroft, and some eight 
 members ; several ladies, including Lady Beachcroft, 
 accompanied them. Every possible arrangement for our 
 comfort was made from Charing Cross to Nancy, where
 
 PRIVATE LIFE 327 
 
 we were lodged in the principal hotel as guests of the 
 community. 
 
 Our stay in this most picturesque city, the capital 
 of the old Duchy of Lorraine, lasted a week, during which 
 we were entertained and feted with the most generous 
 hospitality. There I met General Pau, commanding 
 the 20th Army Corps, now Inspector-General of the 
 French army, who lost an arm in the war of 1870-71, 
 and General Balfourier, both of whom are most accom- 
 plished and capable soldiers. The former ordered a 
 field-day and small manoeuvre for my pleasure, and I was 
 glad indeed to have an opportunity of seeing troops of 
 this army corps — said to be the best in France. They 
 left little to be desired — smart, active, well-trained, 
 especially the artillery ; while the infantry were capable 
 of marching any conceivable distance. It would .be hard 
 indeed to surpass in quality this 20th French Army Corps. 
 
 I also had the pleasure of meeting General Langlois, 
 a Senator, and General Pau's predecessor in command 
 of this army corps. He was, for unfortunately he is 
 since dead, one of the most accomplished officers in the 
 French army ; and had served throughout the Franco- 
 German War. What was of special interest to me was that 
 he had visited a portion of our Territorial army, about 
 which he wrote a book the following year, called " L'Armee 
 Anglaise dans un Conflit Europe en." AVhile being fully 
 alive to the dilhculties connected with the force, 
 especially as to its mounted branches, he arrived at a 
 very different conclusion from those among us who are 
 constantly uttering dreary jeremiads about the Terri- 
 torial army and the forces of the Crown generally — as 
 if their object were to show their insufficiency and unfitness 
 to the world at large, and induce other nations to come and
 
 328 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 try conclusions with us. I suppose these persons would 
 be offended if they were told they were not patriotic ; 
 but it must be admitted that it is a queer sort of patriotism 
 which deprecates its own army ; and, to use an expressive 
 but vulgar saying, delights in crying, " Stinking fish at 
 home." 
 
 A great banquet was given in our honour at the Hotel 
 de Ville, presided over by the Mayor, Monsieur Bouchier. 
 I was desired to propose the toast of " L' Alliance Franco- 
 Britannique." As may be supposed, I felt a little nervous 
 in making a speech in a foreign tongue, but I believe I 
 succeeded fairly well. At all events, our hosts were 
 delighted, which was my first consideration. I give the 
 extract from the Nancy newspaper, " L'Eclair de I'Est," 
 as it was copied far and wide in the French Press and 
 gave, I am glad to say, much satisfaction : — 
 
 " Toast du general Sir Alfred Turner. 
 
 " Le general Turner, dans son brillant uniforme, se 
 dresse avec une apparence toute martiale et prononce 
 d'une voix forte et emue le beau toast suivant : ' Je 
 suis extremement touche de I'accueil si cordial et si 
 genereux que vous avez bien voulu m'accorder, surtout 
 n' ay ant pas I'honneur de me trouver parmi vous comme 
 membre du London County Council in de TAlhance 
 Franco-British, ni comme membre de parlement ou comme 
 representant de la Presse. C'est comme ofificier anglais 
 que vous m'avez donne une reception que je n'oublierai 
 jamais, et je vous off re ma plus vive reconnaissance. II 
 y a longtemps, tres longtemps, que les soldats frangais 
 et anglais se sont ranges en Hgne de bataille, I'un contre 
 I'autre. II est impossible de se figurer qu'il s'eleve des 
 questions diplomatiques ou autres qui pourraient fair 
 surgir la guerre entre deux pays dont les peuples sont
 
 PRIVATE LIFE 329 
 
 reunis par tant de liens, qui par la continuation de leur 
 Concorde, maintiendront, au plus grand degre, la paix 
 europeenne. 
 
 " ' La guerre est un crime affreux et stupide — et il 
 n'y a pas un homme possedant le sens commun qui la 
 desire — mais jusqu'a ce que la nature humaine se changera, 
 ce qui n'aura pas lieu dans ce siecle, il serait insense de 
 se desarmer, de se depouvoir, de la supreme garantie 
 de I'indepdenance. II faut done maintenir, selon les 
 circonstances, les flottes ou les armees immenses et ne pas 
 amoindrir ou affaiblir sa force defensive. Quand j'ai 
 vu aujourd'hui les troupes magnifiques de la garnison 
 de Nancy, cette ville si splendide et si pleine de memoires 
 guerrieres et de traditions glorieuses, I'esperance surgit 
 dans cceur que jamais de tels officiers et de tals soldats 
 deviendront les ennemis de mon pays. 
 
 " ' Je vous remercie encore de tout mon coeur au 
 nom de I'armee anglaise, de I'aimable, chaleureux et 
 cordial reception que vous m'avez donnee et j'ai I'honneur 
 de lever mon verre et de boire a la sante de la vaillante 
 armee qui fait I'orgeuil de la belle France.' " 
 
 These words went home to the audience, and they were 
 enthusiastically cheered for some moments. 
 
 A little later, the big square which has at its angles 
 some of the most beautiful bronze and gilt gates I ever saw, 
 was packed with troops mounted and dismounted, carry- 
 ing torches ; and when they were formed up, four large 
 bands massed played a series of airs ending with the 
 Marseillaise and " God save the King." The spectacle 
 was magnificent, and we were greatly impressed. 
 
 The next day Lady Beachcroft, who was accompanied 
 by a large number of the English visitors, paid a tribute 
 to the memory of the now sainted, once martyred, Jeanne
 
 330 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 d'Arc, by laying a wreath of flowers at the foot of her 
 statue. La pucelle d'Orleans is regarded with the deepest 
 veneration in Lorraine, and the graceful tribute rendered 
 to her was deeply appreciated by the inhabitants. 
 
 Lorraine is the only part of France familiar to me in 
 which I find still existing a strong animosity towards 
 the German Government, on account of the annexation 
 in 1781 of a large portion of the old Duchy ; against the 
 German people there is not, as it is properly felt that wars 
 are due to Governments and not to the people. From 
 what I heard I fear that it will be a very long time indeed 
 before this bitterness is abated. 
 
 In September I again went to Nancy by invitation 
 of General Pau, to witness the review of the whole 20th 
 Army Corps at the conclusion of the manoeuvres. I was 
 greatly struck with the alertness and smartness of the 
 men and the excellent condition of the horses after long 
 marches and manoeuvres. Another English officer — 
 General Bethune — was present, who, as well as General 
 Pau, had lost an arm ; and it was a subject of free comment 
 that the three generals, one French, two English, who 
 were watching the march past, had only four arms between 
 them ; a coincidence which was regarded by the super- 
 stitious as a highly auspicious omen for Lorraine. We 
 were most hospitably entertained for some days by 
 General Pau and Mme. la Generale at their official 
 residence in the Palais du Gouvernement, a beautiful 
 edifice built by Stanislaus, the last Duke of Lorraine and 
 father-in-law of Louis XV. ; it is situated close to the 
 spot where Charles the Bold of Burgundy fell in a.d. 
 1477, when his army was defeated by the Duke of Lorraine. 
 His remains were deposited in the chapel of the palace, 
 which occupied the site of the present Palais du Gouveme-
 
 PRIVATE LIFE 331 
 
 ment, but there is no trace left of the tomb of this renowned 
 fighting duke. 
 
 I returned to England on 7th June, and on the follow- 
 ing day an event occurred which has had, and which 
 will have, to the end of my life, which in the natural 
 course of things cannot be far distant, a paramount 
 influence. As this would in no way interest my readers, 
 I only make this brief allusion to it. 
 
 I have been for the last twenty years a steady worker 
 in the cause of the extension of Parliamentary suffrage 
 to women upon the same lines on which it is exercised by 
 men ; I cannot comprehend why women who employ 
 labour and pay rates and teixes, and who are considered 
 fit not only to vote for municipal elections, but to hold 
 positions in county and borough councils and on boards 
 of guardians, are not considered fit to vote for a Parlia- 
 mentary candidate I am afraid, however, that the cause 
 has been greatly injured and retarded by the insane and 
 monstrous proceedings of the members of one of the 
 suffrage societies. Nothing can justify the wanton and 
 senseless destruction of property of which they have 
 been guilty ; and the fact that they should have chosen 
 a time for the commission of the outrages against Society 
 when a dense black cloud caused by the coal-strike was 
 hanging over the nation, spreading want and distress far 
 and wide, and containing the possibilities of famine and 
 revolution, aggravated the offence to an enormous extent. 
 They have gone far to justify the contention of anti- 
 suffragists that women are destitute of self-control and 
 sense of proportion. 
 
 Still, thinking and level-headed people must see that 
 these fanatics who — as Lord Haldane has aptly said — 
 choose to immolate themselves for their cause by fighting
 
 332 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 like the " dervishes of the desert," are few in number, 
 and in no way represent the masses of women — the fulfil- 
 ment of whose aspirations would be but an act of tardy 
 justice. 
 
 No less an authority than that great statesman, Lord 
 Salisbury, has said : "I sincerely hope the day is not far 
 distant when women also will have their share in voting 
 for members of Parliament, and in determining the policy 
 of the country. I can conceive no argument by which 
 they are excluded. It is evident that they are absolutely 
 as well fitted as many who now possess the franchise, by 
 knowledge, by training and by character." 
 
 I feel confident that justice will in time be done to 
 women, though the commission of outrages is a far more 
 effective factor against it than the Anti-Suffrage Society 
 and many Lord Cromers or Lord Curzons. 
 
 One of the things which has given me most satisfaction 
 in life was my election to the Savage Club, not as an 
 honorary but as an ordinary member. The Club was 
 formed in 1857, to supply the same want which caused 
 Dr Johnson and his friends to form the Literary Club 
 which met at the " Old Cheshire Cheese." A small 
 group of authors, journalists, artists and actors met to 
 discuss the matter ; and it was determined to found a 
 club. There was some difficulty about the selection of 
 a name. " Addison " — " Johnson " — " Goldsmith " 
 were all proposed, and finally " The Shakespeare." This 
 was too much for the gravity of those present, as the 
 proposal to form the Club had no pretensions to great- 
 ness ; and one of those who was present, Mr Robert 
 Brough, said by way of a joke, " The Savage." This 
 was received with acclamation and adopted unanimously. 
 
 Every candidate for admission among the " savages "
 
 PRIVATE LIFE 333 
 
 must be able to produce literary or art qualifications, and 
 no one would be accepted as a member, " high though 
 his titles, proud his name," unless he can satisfy the 
 Committee accordingly. 
 
 Needless to say, the House of Lords is very scantily 
 represented among the " savages," who have no regard 
 whatsoever for rank or social position, and who consider 
 themselves all on an equality. The Savage Club is almost 
 the only place I have frequented where " side " and 
 snobbery are unknown, and where a duke without brains 
 is held in less estimation than a newspaper reporter who 
 is so endowed. 
 
 Among the honorary members there may be a peer 
 or two, but these members are on a different footing 
 and are few in number. 
 
 One of my best, truest, and most valued friends during 
 the last few years was W. T. Stead, who has just ended 
 his mortal life in a manner becoming the dauntless 
 champion of freedom that he was, in the appalling 
 catastrophe of the " Titanic." Our acquaintance began in 
 a very unusual manner. In October 1897 I wrote an 
 article in one of the magazines entitled " The Apotheosis 
 of Hypocrisy," in which I endeavoured to show the 
 terrible evils to which our young soldiers were subjected 
 in India, by the annulling of the Contagious Diseases 
 Act, a proof of which was to be seen in the awfully dis- 
 figured victims, who were brought home to die in agony 
 at Netley. This was due to the work of no doubt well- 
 meaning purists and narrow-minded fanatics, most of 
 whom had passed their youth, and reached an age, 
 described in the French proverb, " Quand la poitrine 
 tombe, la vertu se releve." Stead strongly condemned 
 me for so writing in the " Review of Reviews." Shortly
 
 334 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 afterwards we met, and formed a friendship, which was 
 strongly cemented by our having several interests in 
 common, especially Spiritualism. No man ever lived 
 a more strenuous life, or one more devoted to the welfare 
 of his fellow-creatures than he ; he was absolutely fear- 
 less, and tenax propositi, and no man was ever better 
 prepared or readier to cross the border than my deeply 
 lamented friend, of whom one may say that he was 
 
 " One who never turned his back, but marched breast forward. 
 Never doubted clouds would break, 
 
 Never dreamt, though Right were worsted, wrong would triumph. 
 Held we fall to rise, are baffled to fight better. 
 Sleep to wake." Browning. 
 
 The stage has been all my life my delight, and the 
 theatre my place of recreation ; and for many years 
 past the performances of my friends. Sir Herbert Tree, 
 Miss Ellen Terry and Miss Fanny Brough, have seemed 
 to me to be unmatched in their particular characteristics. 
 
 I have been a serious spiritualist for many years, and, 
 if space allowed, I could write a long chapter upon my 
 psychic experiences. I will just give one. 
 
 I was intimately acquainted with a late Lord Mayor. 
 One day I was walking along the Royal Hospital Road, 
 opposite the old cemetery. I saw my friend on the 
 other side of the road, coming from an opposite direction. 
 I crossed the road to greet him, but to my surprise he 
 took no notice but went on. I turned to watch him, 
 but he had vanished. At that same hour he had died 
 abroad. 
 
 I am quite sure that many people who read this 
 narrative will shake their heads and talk about the 
 delusions of second childhood ; but, as Rochefoucauld
 
 PRIVATE LIFE 335 
 
 wrote : " Les esprits mediocres condamnent d'ordinaire 
 tout ce qui passe leur portee." 
 
 It is time now to bring the account of my life to a close, 
 for it would be of no interest to anyone but myself to 
 enumerate the numerous societies of which I am chair- 
 man, and in whose work I have taken an active part. 
 I might, perhaps, especially allude to those who carry 
 on a crusade against what appears to me to be the cruel 
 and unjustifiable practice of vivisection. 
 
 And now the retreat has sounded, and my task is 
 over. I hope that at all events my more charitable 
 readers will not judge my life as fulfilling the description 
 of the poet Martial : — 
 
 " Nos tamen hoc agimus tenuique in pulvere sulcos 
 Ducimus, et litus sterili versamus aratro " : 
 
 which has been thus translated : — 
 
 " So we persist, plough the light sand, and sow 
 Seed after seed, where flower can never grow."
 
 INDEX 
 
 Abdeli, see " Blues " 
 Aberdeen, Lady, i86, 188-9 
 Aberdeen, Lord, author becomes 
 
 Private Secretary to, 185 ; good 
 
 influence of, in Ireland, 186 ; 
 
 triumphal send-off of, 188-9 
 Abraham, Mr, M.P., at Mil town 
 
 Malbay, 240 
 Abu Klea, defeat of Mahdists at, 
 
 104 ; gross slander on British 
 
 soldiers who fought at, 108-9 
 Addiscombe Militaxy College, 
 
 training of students at, 23 ; 
 
 annual dinner of ex-students 
 
 of, 24 
 Adye, Sir John, 319 
 Aird, Sir John, 91 
 Alabama, the. Confederate cruiser, 
 
 35. 36 
 Albert, Prince, approves plan for 
 
 a Channel tunnel, 318 
 Aldershot, tragic occurrence at a 
 
 manoeuvre in the Long Valley, 
 
 47-8 
 Alexandra, Queen, 77, 79, 80, 320 
 Allen, execution of, 41 
 Anga, Abu, Mahdist leader, 139- 
 
 40 
 Arbuthnot, General Sir Charles, 
 
 50 
 Ardagh, Sir John, 169 
 Assiout, incident at, 168 
 Atherton, officer 5th K.D.G., 94 
 Aurancia, Viscount, married to 
 
 sister of William the Conqueror, 
 
 author's descent from, 5 
 Autographs, in possession of 
 
 author, 124 
 Aylesbury, Maria, Marchioness of, 
 
 an appreciation of, 177 ; her 
 
 letter to the author, 178 ; 
 
 her views on Home Rule, 
 
 178-9 
 
 23 
 
 Baden, Hereditary Grand Duke of, 
 author attached to Staff of, 
 during German army man- 
 oeuvres, 298 
 Baggara Arabs, the, 128 
 Baker, Sir Samuel, 79 
 Balfour, Rt. Honble. A. J., an 
 appreciation of, 261-2 ; his 
 removal of Mr Brodrick from 
 the War Office, 307 ; carica- 
 tured and abused in " United 
 Ireland," 203, 243-4 ; defends 
 action of Executive at Ennis, 
 245 ; impartiality of, in dis- 
 putes between landlords and 
 tenants, 258 ; letter from, on 
 author's services, 261 ; speaks 
 in the House on action 
 of author and police at Bo- 
 dyke, 220 ; orders consider- 
 ate treatment by pohce of 
 priests and Members of Padia- 
 ment, 293 
 Balfourier, General, 327 
 Ballycoree, meeting of National 
 League at, 231-4; thanks of 
 Government given to author 
 for his conduct at, 236 
 Barker, Mr, Mayor of Yarmouth 
 
 in 1800, 7-8 
 Barry, Lord Justice, anecdote of, 
 
 263-4 
 Bashi-bazouks, Arab villages 
 plundered by, 150 ; bad be- 
 haviour of, 152-3 ; cruelty to 
 Arabs of, 97-8 
 Bayuda Desert, dangers of Lord 
 Wolseley's projected march 
 through the, 112 
 Beachcroft, Sir Melville, visit of, 
 
 to Nancy, 326 
 Beachcroft, Lady, visit of, to 
 Nancy, 326, 328 
 
 337
 
 338 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 Bellew, Sir Henry, 74 
 
 Beresford, Lord Charles, 92 ; 
 rescues Sir Charles Wilson and 
 party near Metemmeh, 106 ; 
 destroys engines of Nile 
 steamers, 107 
 
 BerUn, Imperial German man- 
 oeuvres in neighbourhood of, 
 48-50 
 
 Berry, Mr, author's meetings with, 
 266-8 
 
 Bethune, General, 330 
 
 Bissing, General von, 299 
 
 Blood, General Sir Bindon, 206 
 
 Blood, Mr, shot at, by tenants, 
 204 
 
 Bloomfield, General Sir John, 
 Inspector-General of Artillery 
 in India — conservatism of, 
 
 36-7 
 
 Blue, Mr John, 91 
 
 " Blues," name given to reUgious 
 coterie of Artillery officers at 
 Woolwich, 31-3 
 
 Blunt, Mr Wilfred, grossly slanders 
 British soldiers in his book, 
 "Gordon in Khartum," 108-9 
 
 Bodyke, the evictions at, 209-24 
 
 Boolak Museum, objects of in- 
 terest in, 87-8 
 
 Booth, General, invaluable advice 
 given to author by, 31 
 
 Bouchier, M., 328 
 
 Bourke, R., 73 
 
 Boxai*, Sir Charles, 295 ; plan of, 
 foi organization of body of 
 Volunteers for Boer War, 302, 
 
 303 
 
 Boyle, Sir Courtenay, 73 
 
 Brackenbury, Sir Henry, 75, 79, 
 93, 102, 127 ; adjutant at 
 Woolwich Mihtary Academy, 
 26 ; his appointment in Ireland, 
 55 ; correspondence of, with 
 Viceroy, 56-7 ; harsh treatment 
 of — joins expedition to rescue 
 Gordon, 58 
 
 Brady, one of Phoenix Park 
 murderers, 66-7 
 
 Brennan, Head Constable, 265 
 
 Bright, Mr John, in favour of a 
 Channel tunnel, 319 
 
 British North Borneo Colony, 
 author's interest in, 324 ; 
 area — great future of — produc- 
 tions — misdirected letter causes 
 
 a change of Governors, 
 325-6 
 
 Brodrick, Mr St John, 300 ; Army 
 Corps, scheme of, 306-7 ; crea- 
 tion of Imperial Yeomanry due 
 to Lord Roberts and, 307 ; 
 result of indictment of War 
 Minister by, 295 
 
 Brown, General Sir Sam., V.C, 44 
 
 Brown, Rev. Dr, 15 
 
 Buller, Sir Redvers, 92, 94, 99, 
 100, loi. III, 209, 219, 258; 
 cartoons of, in " United Ireland," 
 195 ; appointment of, as Com- 
 mander-in-Chief, reversed, 296- 
 7 ; commands desert column, 
 106-7 ; orders kinsmen of Mahdi 
 to be seized, 115 ; special 
 Irish appointment given to, 
 
 190 ; asks author to assist him, 
 
 191 ; reception of, in Kerry, 
 
 192 ; brings " pressure within 
 the law " to bear on landlords, 
 197-8 ; in favour of National 
 League, 226 ; his evidence be- 
 fore Royal Commission in 
 Kerry, 196 
 
 Biilow, General A. von, 298 
 
 Buonomi, Father, denounces as 
 a forgery, a letter from prisoners 
 of the Mahdi, 119 ; extra- 
 ordinary narrative of, 127-42 ; 
 acknowledges that his rescue 
 was due to the author, 142 ; 
 credit of rescue of, attributed 
 to Mr Santoni, 142-3 
 
 Burdett Coutts, Baroness, 11 
 
 Burke, Mr, murder of, in Phoenix 
 Park, 54, 62, 65-8 
 
 Burke, Sir Bernard, on Naunton 
 and Wingfield famiUes, 5 
 
 Burleigh, Mr Bennett, adventure 
 of, in the Nile, 93-4 
 
 Burnaby, Col. Fred., 94, 105 
 
 Burton, Lord, 317 
 
 Butler, Miss Isabella, 74 
 
 Butler, Sir William, on Jawdat 
 Elfendi, 151 ; work of, on the 
 Nile, 102 ; evidence before 
 Royal Commission investigat- 
 ing condition of Militia and 
 Volunteers, 308 
 
 Butt, Isaac, 183 
 
 Butt, Police-Sergeant, 41 
 
 Byles, Mr, M.P., 251 
 
 Byng, Alfred, 74
 
 INDEX 
 
 339 
 
 Cairo, 87-8 
 
 Camboni, Bishop Bamel, 128 
 
 Cambridge, H.R.H. Duke of, 
 directs attack in sham fight at 
 Woolwich — royalty invariably 
 successful, 30-1 ; retirement of 
 — ^inspects armoured train — 
 presides at Royal Artillery 
 dinner, 294-5 
 
 Campbell, Vice-Admiral Sir 
 Charles, 317 
 
 Canterbury, Archbishop of, 320 
 
 Caprivi, Count, 49 
 
 Carey, James, turns informer 
 against Phoenix Park murderers, 
 66 ; fate of, 67 ; letter of, to a 
 priest, 68 
 
 Carmichael, of&cer 5 th Lancers, 95 
 
 Carnarvon, Lord, 180 ; on Bodyke 
 evictions, 218, 221, 223 
 
 Carrick-on-Suir, the inn at, 42-3 
 
 Carson, Sir Edward, 268 
 
 Casey, Thomas, 59 
 
 Cavendish, Lord Frederick, murder 
 of, in Phoenix Park, 54, 62-3, 
 
 65-7 
 
 Cecil, Lord Hugh, sayings of, re- 
 garding the War Office, 311 
 
 Challoner, Colonel, at Ennis, 240 
 
 Chamberlain, Joseph, 182, 184 ; 
 votes agciinst Chief and party 
 on Home Rule Bill, 188 
 
 Channel Tunnel project. Board of 
 Directors of — author hotly 
 attacked for advocating, 317 ; 
 John Bull addicted to scares — 
 various plans, 318; failure of 
 the Channel Tunnel Bill — the 
 effect of a joke, 319 ; King 
 Edward's disapproval of, 321 
 
 Charteris, Allen, 76 
 
 Chartists, rising of, in 1848, 10 
 
 Childers, Mr, letter to, from Mr 
 Gladstone, on Home Rule, 184 
 
 Churchill, Lord Randolph, attacks 
 Lord Spencer's Irish administra- 
 tion, 183 ; famous speech of, 
 inciting Ulster to resist Home 
 Rule, 185 ; supports appoint- 
 ment of Sir R. Buller to special 
 post m Ireland, 190-1 ; re- 
 markable speech of, on charges 
 in connexion with the Bodyke 
 evictions, 220-1 
 
 ChurchiU, Mr Winston, presides 
 at banquet in honour of Miss 
 Ellen Terry's jubilee, 15; "Life 
 of Lord Randolph Churchill ' ' by, 
 191. 319 
 
 Clare, County, plot to murder 
 author in, 259-60 ; author re- 
 ceives the thanks of Govern- 
 ment for his work in, 285-6 
 
 Clarendon, Lord, 319 
 
 Clarke, Sir Andrew, 319 
 
 Clarke, Sir Edward, 274 
 
 Coercion Act, The, 239 
 
 Colborne, Honble. John, 157 
 
 Colborne, Honble. R., 127 
 
 Colley, General, 85 
 
 Connaught, H.R.H. Duke of, 296 
 
 Cork, election scenes in — author's 
 experiences, 2S0-1 
 
 Cork, Lord, 199-200 
 
 Cowans, Maj or-General J. S., 
 
 315 
 
 Cowie, Mr W. C, British North 
 Borneo Colony due to the enter- 
 prise of, 324-5 
 
 Cowper, Lord, 195 
 
 Cox, Mr, M.P., at Ballycoree, 231 ; 
 speech of, on Ballycoree meet- 
 ing, and death of Head Con- 
 stalsle Whelehan, 237 ; at 
 Scariff, 240 
 
 Cox well- Rogers, District Inspector, 
 291 
 
 Craig, Captain, R.A., at Ennis, 
 240 
 
 Crane, District Inspector, 192, 
 291 
 
 Creagh, Mr, attempt to murder, 
 204-5 
 
 Creagh, Miss, attempt to murder, 
 204 
 
 Creaghe, District Inspector, 291 
 
 Critty, Mr, M.P., at Kilrush, 240 
 
 Cromer, Lord, "Modern Egypt" 
 by, 148 ; employment of Zobeir 
 Pasha recommended by, 172 ; 
 on emploj^ment of Gordon — 
 correctness of judgment of, 
 174 ; value of work done by, 
 1 7 4-5 » opposed to woman 
 suffrage, 332 
 
 Cullinane, gives information 
 against Moonhghters, 237-8 ; 
 disappearance of, 238-9 
 
 Curzon, Lord, 332 
 
 Cuzzi, renegade Itahan : sup-
 
 340 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 posed author of forged letter 
 from Mahdi's prisoners, ii8 
 
 D 
 
 Dacres, Sir Richard, at Woolwich, 
 30-1 ; anecdote of, 34 ; sense of 
 humour of, 35 
 
 Davidson, Colonel Sir Arthur, 312 
 
 Davis, District Inspector, 291 
 
 Davitt, Mr Michael, M.P., at 
 Bodyke evictions, 21 1-2 ; " Plan 
 of Campaign " not approved 
 of by, 208 ; rumour regarding, 
 214 ; at Ennis, 239, 240 ; 
 watches evictions on Vandeleur 
 estate, 250 
 
 Davoust, Marshal, autograph of, 
 in possession of the author, 124 
 
 Deane, Captain, 7 
 
 Degin, Abu, I^insman of the 
 Mahdi, 116 
 
 Dent, Sir Alfred, procures Charter 
 for British North Borneo Com- 
 pany, 325 
 
 Derby, Lord, 319 
 
 Dervishes, ferocious conduct of, 
 103, 135, 136, 137 
 
 Desert column, heroic conduct of 
 the, 108 
 
 Dickens, Charles, 14 
 
 Dickinson, Dean, story of, 70-1 
 
 Dickson, Admiral, 7 
 
 Dilke, Sir Charles, 308 
 
 Dillon, Mr John, M.P., at Bally- 
 coree, 231, 232, 233 ; a principal 
 worker of the " Plan of Cam- 
 paign," 208 ; condemns con- 
 duct of police at Bodyke, 219- 
 20 ; Lord Carnarvon's appeal 
 to, 221 ; at Mitchelstown, 227- 
 9 ; police protection necessary 
 for, during Cork election, 280 ; 
 released by author from his 
 assailants at Ennis, 283-4 
 
 Dinan, Dr, 250 
 
 Dongola, a city of the dead — our 
 retreat from, 150; cruel treat- 
 ment of prisoners in, 154-5 ! 
 vendetta — Mudir's way with 
 condemned prisoners — gratitude 
 of prisoners released by author, 
 156-7 ; the murder of the 
 Mafettish in, 157-63 
 
 Dormer, General the Honble. 
 
 James, looked on by the Arabs 
 as a great magician, iio-i 
 Dowse, Baron, death of, 262 
 Drogheda, Lord, 82-3 
 Duncan, Colonel, R.A., 167 
 Durand, Sir Henry, tragic fate of, 
 
 43 
 "Durham," the, incidents during 
 voyage to India in, 37-8 
 
 Earle, General, 102 
 
 East India Company, abolition of, 
 24 ; transfer of cadets of, to 
 British Army — War Office breaks 
 promise given to transferred 
 cadets of— scrutiny of cadets' 
 uniform at Woolwich, 25 
 
 Edfu, temple of, 90-1 
 
 Edinburgh, H.R.H. Duke of, visits 
 Viceregal Lodge — popularity of, 
 in Ireland — skill of, as a 
 musician — cartoon of, 71 
 
 Edward VII., King, 77, 79, 80 ; 
 opens new buildings of Uni- 
 versity College School, Frognal, 
 320 ; his disapproval of Channel 
 Tunnel project — remark of, to 
 Lord Monkswell — death of, 321 ; 
 kindness of, on occasion of 
 accident happening to author, 
 31 1-2; confers Companionship 
 of Bath on author, 314-5 
 
 Elias Pasha, 130 
 
 Elizabeth, Queen, autograph of, 
 in possession of the author, 124 
 
 " Empire Review," author's article 
 in, replying to attack on German 
 Army, 299 
 
 Engleheart, Major, 306 
 
 Ennis, affray at, between Parnel- 
 lites and anti-Parnellites, 282 ; 
 Mr Dillon, M.P., released by 
 author from his assailants, 283- 
 4, newspaper attacks upon 
 author for his conduct of opera- 
 tions at, 242-4 ; proclaimed 
 meeting held at, 239-50 
 
 Erlanger, Baron, efforts of, to 
 carry out Channel Tunnel pro- 
 ject, 317 
 
 Escher Committee, recommenda- 
 tions of, 309 
 
 Esher, author's first school at, 15
 
 INDEX 
 
 341 
 
 Eton College, rowing competition 
 of, with Westminster School, 21 
 
 Eugenie, Empress, at West- 
 minster, 22 
 
 Fallois, General von, 299 
 
 Fawcett, Mrs, 204 
 
 Fellows, W., in Westminster 
 
 eleven, 21, 22 
 Fitzgerald, Desmond, reception 
 
 of Vicero}^ by, 2 87 
 Fitzgerald, Lord Frederick, 94 
 Fitzmaurice, Mr, 91 
 Fitzmayer, Sir W., anecdote of, 
 
 34-5 
 
 Fitzpatrick, Mr, 74 
 
 Fitzpatrick, Miss, 74 
 
 "Flag of Ireland," 277 
 
 Forbes, Lady Sophy, 74 
 
 Forster, Mr, 173-4, 255 ; bad 
 effect of Suspect Act of, 62, 67, 
 68 
 
 Forster, Frank, 76 
 
 Fox, Minister, autograph of, in 
 possession of author, 124 
 
 Fox, Sir Douglas, prepares plan 
 for Channel Tunnel, 320 
 
 Fox, Mr Francis, prepares plans 
 for Channel Tunnel, 320 
 
 Eraser, General Sir Thomas, 92 
 
 French, General Sir John, com- 
 mands rear-guard on march to 
 Wadi Haifa, 164 ; character 
 and capabilities of, 165-6 
 
 Friedrichs, Rittmeister, 52 
 
 Funerals, gruesomeness of past 
 time, 13 
 
 Gamaria, El Haj Mahomet, dinner 
 party in house of, at Dongola, 
 
 145 
 
 Gamond, de, French engineer ; 
 plan of, for a Channel tunnel, 
 318 
 
 Garstin, Sir Wilham, 91 
 
 Gladstone, Rt. Honble. Mr, 73, 77, 
 81, 105 ; in favour of a Channel 
 tunnel, 319 ; speech of, in 
 House, on the meeting at Ennis, 
 245 ; author's letter to " Times " 
 in reply to, 245-8 ; extract from 
 
 letter of, on Gordon, 173-4 ; 
 disUke in Ireland to Govern- 
 ment of, 69 ; letter from, referr- 
 ing to Nationalist attacks on 
 author, 270 ; letter of, to Mr 
 Childers on Home Rule, 184 ; 
 communications with Lord 
 Spencer regarding charges in 
 "United Ireland," 60-1, 271 
 
 Goldsmith, Colonel, 324 
 
 Goldsmith, Miss Carmel, 324 
 
 Goold, Major, 75 
 
 Gordon, General, 72, 76, 79, 123 ; 
 character of, 172-3 ; difficulties 
 of position of — his failure to 
 grasp the facts of the situation 
 in the Soudan, 171-2 ; Glad- 
 stone's letter on, 173-4 ; mes- 
 sage from, 103 ; proclamation 
 of, at Khartum, that slavery 
 should not be interfered with, 
 167, 172 ; his desire to abolish 
 slavery, 171 ; responsibility for 
 the failure to rescue, 104-6. 
 
 "Gordon in Khartum," British 
 soldiers grossly slandered in, 
 108-9 
 
 Gore, Henry, 78 
 
 Goschen, Lord, his inquiry into 
 the financial situation in Egypt, 
 159 ; author's conversation 
 with, regarding the murder of 
 the Mafettish, 163 
 
 Gow, Dr, flourishing state of West- 
 minister School under, 23 
 
 Graaf, Lieut. H. de, 48 
 
 Granville, Lord, 319 
 
 Grenfell, Lord, 167, 315 
 
 Greville, A. C, 75, 78 
 
 Grone, General von, 299 
 
 Grove, Coleridge, 62, 79 
 
 Guest, Mrs Haden, 324 
 
 H 
 
 Haldane, Lord, 309, 322, 331 ; 
 what has been effected at the 
 War Office by, 165-6 
 
 Halsbury, Lord, 274 
 
 Hamilton, Lady, accompanies 
 Lord Nelson on visit to Yar- 
 mouth, 7-8 ; relations of, with 
 Lord Nelson — her services to 
 the nation — ingratitude of the 
 country to, 9-10
 
 342 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 Hamilton, Sir Ian, 315 ; at 
 Majuba as a subaltern, 85 ; on 
 the C.I. v., 304 
 
 Hamilton, Sir Robert, 196, 288 
 
 Hamilton, Sir William, accom- 
 panies Lord Nelson on visit to 
 Yai-mouth, 7-9 
 
 Hannen, Father, 211 
 
 Hanover, former acute feeling 
 against Prussia in '52 ; Salic Law 
 separates Kingdoms of Great 
 Britain and, 53 
 
 Harcourt, Sir William, slashing 
 attack in the House upon author 
 by, 220 
 
 Harrington, Mr Timothy, M.P., 
 long cross - examination of 
 author by, regarding meeting 
 at Ennis, 248 ; gives unfUnch- 
 ing support to Parnell, 279 ; 
 organizes "Plan of Campaign," 
 208. 
 
 Harrison, Thomas, 210 
 
 Hartington, Lord, 182 
 
 Heddai, Mahdist leader, 98-9 
 
 Henry VIII., autograph of, in 
 possession of author, 124 
 
 Healy, Father, 70 
 
 Healy, Mary, 210 
 
 Healy, Mr Timothy, M.P., conduct 
 of, towards author, at trial of 
 Mr O'Brien, M.P. — removal of, 
 from court, 269 
 
 Heard, County Inspector, 291 
 
 Heaton, Mr Henniker, M.P., at- 
 tempt of, to settle Vandeleur 
 dispute — complaint of, to Mr 
 Balfour, 254 
 
 Heligoland, 53 
 
 Hicks Pasha, 123 ; letter from, to 
 Father Buonomi — misled by 
 guides from Obeid, 137 
 
 Hicks-Beach, Sir Michael, 190 ; 
 his wishes regarding the Bodyke 
 evictions, 209 ; consults author 
 as to prohibiting meeting in 
 Clare, 202-3 
 
 Higgins, Bishop, exertions of, to 
 repress crime in Ireland, 187 
 
 Hill, Di.strict Inspector, 291 
 
 Hill, Mr, "Irish Times" corre- 
 spondent, wounded at Ennis, 241 
 
 "History of the Royal Artillery, "92 
 
 Hodder, Mr, R.M., 291 
 
 Hole, Dean, on Florence Nightin- 
 gale, 14 
 
 Huddy, murder of, 61 
 
 Hussey, Michael, resists eviction 
 
 by strange means, 213 
 Hussey, Mr Sam, 195 
 Hyde Park, railings of, pulled 
 
 down in 1867, 17 
 
 India, author sent to, 36 ; his 
 studies in languages of, and in 
 Persian, 37-8 ; author invalided 
 home, 38 ; return to, in 1869 — 
 two great tragedies in, 43 
 
 Ingersoll, R. G., on horrors of war, 
 149 
 
 Ipsambol, temple of, 92 
 
 Ireland, evils of absenteeism, 258 ; 
 story of the evictions at Bodyke, 
 209-24 ; Government's acknow- 
 ledgement and thanks for services 
 rendered by author, 217, 236 ; 
 the Coercion Act, 239 ; the author 
 averred to be a " noted Fenian," 
 196 ; evictions witnessed by the 
 author, 198-200 ; a funeral at 
 Killarney, 200; a wake, 200-1 ; 
 appointed Special Commissioner 
 of Police, 197 ; and subsequently 
 Chief Commissioner of Police in 
 Kerry and Clare, 202 ; peasantry 
 in Clare and Kerry compared, 
 204 ; state of affairs in Clare, 
 206-7 ; crime in, 61-2, 187, 192- 
 3, 259 ; Crown jewels mystery, 
 189-90; popularity of royalty 
 in, 71 ; author's experiences of 
 Fenians and Fenianism, 39-40 ; 
 the case of Allen, Larkin, and 
 O'Brien, 41 ; Home Rule, 177- 
 91, 289-90; qualities and aspira- 
 tions of the Irish Celt, 290 ; 
 Irish treated alike by all English 
 governments, 292-3 ; Royal 
 Commission to inquire into 
 working of Land Acts, 195-6; 
 benefits of Land Acts and Ar- 
 rears Acts, 25S ; the Phoenix 
 Park murder, 54, 62-3, 65-8 ; all 
 bounds exceeded by Nationalists 
 speakers and writers, 271 ; the 
 National League, 225-6 ; bigotry 
 of Orangemen, 290 ; the fall of 
 Parnell, 27S-9 ; a story of 
 Patrick's Ball, 70; organization
 
 INDEX 
 
 343 
 
 of Plan of Campaign, 207-8 ; in- 
 fluence of the priests at elections, 
 281 , proclaimed meetings at 
 Mitchelstown, 227-9 ; at Bally- 
 coree, 231-6 ; and at Ennis, 239- 
 50 ; affrays at Scariff and 
 Feakle, 222-3 '• strike of Dublin 
 police in 1882, 64-5 ; bad effect 
 of Mr Forster's Suspect Act in, 
 62, 67, 68 ; the Ulster difficulty, 
 71-2, 179, 181, 185 
 
 "Irishman, The," 277 
 
 Ishmael, Khedive, character of, 
 158 ; his reasons for making 
 a-way with Saduk Pasha, 159- 
 61 ; corrupt government of, 
 responsible for Soudan revolt, 
 171 
 
 Jawdat Effendi, dismissed by Sir 
 R. Buller, 152 ; character of, 
 145; assists Intelligence Depart- 
 ment, 1 1 4-5 ; stratagem of, to 
 capture kinsmen of the Mahdi, 
 1 15-7; rascality of, 151 ; crafty 
 ruse of, 150 ; confers with 
 author and Mr Santoni regarding 
 rescue of prisoners at Obeid, 126 
 
 Jenkinson, Mr, 58 
 
 Jewish Territorial Organization, 
 author invited to join-— object of 
 — opposition of Zionists- — Mr 
 Chamberlain sympathetic — Mr 
 Zangsvill's work for, 324 
 
 Jones, Wengy, 74-76 
 
 Jordan, Mr, M.P., 240, 251, 283 
 
 Joyce, Myles, concerned in Maam- 
 trasna murders, 50-1, 181 
 
 K 
 
 Kababish Arabs, cruelty of Mahdi 
 
 towards — signal service rendered 
 
 to British by, 109-10 ; a visit 
 
 to, 95-6 
 Kean, Charles, 14 
 "Kearsage," the, dinner given to 
 
 officers of, by Royal Artillery at 
 
 Dover Castle, 35-6 
 Kelly, Tim, murderer of Mr Burke, 
 
 68 
 Kenny, Father, incites his people 
 
 to breaches of the law, 284-5. 
 
 Kensington Gardens, riot caused 
 by refusal to allow bands to play 
 on Sundays in, 15-7 
 
 Khalel Effendi, 129 
 
 Khartum, 103 ; effect of Mahdi's 
 victory at, 112 ; Gordon's pro- 
 clamation at, 167 
 
 "Khedive," P. &. O. Steamer, 85 
 
 Kilbride, Mr, M.P., at Scariff', 240 
 
 KHrush, policeman's experience 
 during affray at, 255 ; election 
 scenes at, 256 
 
 Kirby, execution of, 266-7 
 
 Kitchener, Lord, on capture of 
 Khartum, 105-6 
 
 Knollys, Lord, author's letter to, 
 respecting Channel Tunnel pro- 
 ject, 321 
 
 Knollys, Sir Henry, 48 
 
 Knox, Sir Ralph, 315 
 
 Korti, heavy loss of camels on 
 march from Gakdul to, 99-100 ; 
 critical situation at, 112 
 
 Labab, Mahdi gets information 
 from, 114; author captures 
 kinsmen of the Mahdi at, 115-7. 
 
 Labouchere, Mr, 227 
 
 Lambert, Sir John, 73 
 
 Lambton, Sir Hedworth, 78 
 
 Lane, Irish tenant, eviction of, 
 202-3 
 
 Lane, Charlton, in Westminster 
 School eleven, 21 
 
 Langlois, General, 327 
 
 Lansdowne, Lord, author ap- 
 pointed Inspector-General of 
 Auxiliary Forces by, 304 ; ap- 
 pointed Minister of War, 297 ; 
 asks author's services in organ- 
 izing a body of Volunteers for 
 South African War, 302, 303 
 
 Lax kin, execution of, 41 
 
 Lavender Lodge, 4 
 
 Lawrence, Lady Durning, munifi- 
 cence of, to University College 
 School, 323 
 
 Lawrence, Sir Edward Durning, 
 munificence of, to University 
 College School, 322-3. A pro- 
 tagonist in the Bacon v. Shake- 
 speare controversy, 323
 
 344 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 Lawson, Mr H., M.P., at Bodyke 
 
 evictions, 211 ; his account in 
 
 the House of what he saw at 
 
 Bodyke, 220 
 Lawson, Mrs, 211 
 Leary, murders Head Constable 
 
 Whelehan, 239 
 "L'Eclair de I'Est," the author's 
 
 speech at the Nancy banquet 
 
 reported in, 328-9 
 Leo Xin., Pope, grants Order of 
 
 Gregory the Great to Mr Santoni, 
 
 142 
 Lewis, Col. Leroy, D.S.O., 306, 307 
 Liddell, Dr, Westminster School 
 
 under, 18-23 
 " Life of Gladstone," quoted, 173-4, 
 
 231 
 " Life of Lord Randolph Churchill," 
 
 quoted, 191, 319 
 Lindsay, Miss Mary, 74 
 Little, Father, 235 
 Little, Cosmo, 75, 78 
 Lloyd, Mr Clifford, attacks Govern- 
 ment for want of vigour in 
 
 Bodyke evictions, 211, 223 ; 
 
 criticizes conduct of author at 
 
 Bodyke evictions, 218-9 ; views 
 
 of, on Home Rule, 178 
 Locke, John, autograph of, in 
 
 possession of author, 124 
 Londonderry, Lord, 189, 191 
 Long, Rt. Hon. Walter, kindness 
 
 of, on occasion of accident to 
 
 author, 312 
 Longwood, St Helena, visit to, 
 
 38 
 
 Lorraine, animosity against Ger- 
 man Government in, 330 
 
 Losi, Father Giovanni, 137 
 
 Lupton Bey, prisoner of the Mahdi, 
 118 
 
 Liittichau, Count, 49 
 
 Luttrell, Mr, 74 
 
 Luxor, mummified cats and scar- 
 absei manufactured by Birming- 
 ham for, 167-8 
 
 M 
 
 Maamtrasna, story of the Joyce 
 
 murder at, 58-9 
 Mackay, Colonel, 40 
 Mackinnon, Sir H., 303 
 Macnamara, Margaret, 210 
 
 Macnamara, Martin, 210 
 
 Madiani, Gabriel, 128 
 
 Magrath, Mrs, 253 
 
 Maguire, Mr, M.P., election of, for 
 West Clare, 256 
 
 Mahdi, the, oppressed Arabs flock 
 to standard of, 97 ; Father 
 Buonomi's account of, 128-40 
 defeated by bashi-bazouks, 97-8 
 our efforts to ascertain designs 
 of, 1 1 4-5 ; capture of family of, 
 80 ; informed accurately of our 
 movements, 114; forged letter 
 from prisoners of, 118 ; letter 
 from, to captive adherents of, 
 1 18-21 ; letter to author from, 
 122-4 '• author's letter to, 117-8 ; 
 cruel treatment of Kababish 
 Arabs by, 109-10; capture of 
 Khartum by, 104-6, 112 ; lays 
 siege to Obeid, 129 ; author 
 accused of conniving at poison- 
 ing the, 125-6, 188 ; reflections 
 on causes of our retreat before 
 the hordes of, 170-1 
 
 Mahmud, Mahommed, assists in 
 escape of Father Buonomi, 126-7 
 
 Mallow, Mr, 65-6 
 
 Malta, visit to vault of St Florian 
 at, 86-7 
 
 Mansfield, Lady, see Sandhurst, 
 Lady 
 
 Mansfield, Miss Charlotte, re- 
 markable expedition of — her 
 book, "Via Rhodesia," 312-3 
 
 Mansfield-Clarke, Sir Charles, 315 
 
 Mapleson, Col. Henry, 72 
 
 Marzials, Sir Frank, 315 
 
 Massey, Captain, 26S-9 
 
 Mathieu, de, French engineer ; 
 plan of, for a Channel tunnel, 
 318 
 
 Matthews, 78 
 
 Matthews, Mr, M.P., speaks in 
 the House on conduct of author 
 and police at Bodyke evictions, 
 220 
 
 Maurice, Sir Frederick, 94 
 
 Maxwell, General Sir John, 145 
 
 May hew. Major, 214 
 
 Mavo, Lord, murder of, 43 
 
 M'Clellan, Mr, 127 
 
 M'Neil, 76 
 
 Meldon, Mr, 192 
 
 Merriman, Captain, R.A., 306 
 
 Methuen, Lord, 50
 
 INDEX 
 
 345 
 
 Mitchelstown, the proclaimed 
 
 meeting at, 227-9 
 "Modern Egypt," quoted, 148, 
 
 174 
 
 Moiarty, County Inspector, 291 
 
 Moloney, Martin, 210 
 
 Moltke, General von, 49 
 
 Monkswell, Lord, 322 
 
 Moriaxty, Mr, 192 
 
 Morley, Lord, 173-4, 184, 188, 
 220, 231, 288 ; courtesy of, 
 towards author, 311 ; the sup- 
 pression of free speech, 292 ; 
 joins in ovation to Parnell, 278 
 
 Morley, Mr Arnold, 317 
 
 Morris, Lord, 262 ; anecdote of, 
 263 ; on the government of 
 the Irish by the Enghsh, 290 
 
 Mountmorris, Lord, 61 
 
 Munroe, Mr Justice, remarkable 
 experiences of, at Cork, 264-5 
 
 Murdoch, Burn, 75 
 
 Murphy, Father, 211 
 
 Murphy, Mr Justice, 66 
 
 Miarray, Mr, correspondent of 
 " Freeman " ; wounded at Ennis, 
 241 
 
 Musawi, Sheikh Salem, 95, 96, 
 167; murdered by Mahdi, no 
 
 N 
 
 Nancy, acute feeling against 
 Germany in, 52 ; author in- 
 vited to accompany L.C.C. 
 deputation on a visit to — meet 
 distinguished officers at, 327-8 ; 
 author's speech at the banquet, 
 328-9 ; a second visit to — three 
 generals with four arms between 
 them, 330 
 
 Napoleon I., Emperor, autograph 
 of, in possession of author, 
 124; sagacious management of 
 Camel Corps by, 100 ; approves 
 plan for a Channel tunnel, 318 ; 
 Victor Hugo on, 38 ; medita- 
 tions over grave of, at Long- 
 wood, 38-9 
 
 Napoleon III., Emperor, new plan 
 for Channel Tunnel brought to 
 notice of, 318 ; at Westminster, 
 22 
 
 National League, the, objects of 
 — branches of — proclaimed. 
 
 225 ; all crimes in Ireland un- 
 justly ascribed to, 226 
 
 Naunton family, descent of 
 author from, 5 ; concerned in 
 great succession lawsuit, 6 
 
 Naunton, Sir Robert, author of 
 "Fragmenta Regalia" and Sec- 
 retary of State to James I., 5 
 
 Nedley, Dr, 70 ; his story of a 
 wake, 201 
 
 Nelson, Lord, acquaintance of 
 author's family with, 6 ; visits 
 Yarmouth, 7-9 ; autograph 
 letter of, to Rev. Mr Turner, 8-9 ; 
 relations of, with Lady Hamilton, 
 9-10 ; autographs of, in pos- 
 session of author, 124 
 
 Newall, District Inspector, 291 
 
 Newton, Sir Alfred, 302, 303 
 
 Ney, Marshal, autograph of, in 
 possession of author, 124 
 
 Nicholson, Sir Wilham, 315 
 
 Nightingale, Florence, 14 
 
 Nile, voyage up the, 89-93 
 
 Norfolk, Duke of, 307 
 
 "North American Review," attack 
 on German Army and Officers 
 in the, 299 
 
 Obeid, 127, 129, 130, 142, 143 ; 
 privations of besieged garrison 
 
 of, 134-5 
 
 O'Brien, execution of, 41 
 
 O'Brien, Lord Justice, 66 
 
 O'Brien, Mr Justice Wilham, 262 ; 
 anecdote of, 263-4 
 
 O'Brien, Mr Wilham, M.P., 216, 
 231, 234, 265 ; author attacked 
 and vituperated by, 207, 245, 
 288-9 ; a principal worker of 
 the " Plan of Campaign," 208 ; 
 police protection necessary for, 
 during Cork election, 280 ; 
 trial of, under Crimes Act, 264- 
 6 ; prosecution of, at Tralee, 
 268-9 ; paper of, makes false 
 and mahgnant attack on Lord 
 Spencer, 60-1 ; abstraction of 
 trousers of, — vitriohc speeches 
 and writings of, 268 
 
 O'Callaghan, Colonel, 215, 221 
 
 O'Callaghan, Mrs, 214-5 
 
 O'Connell, Daniel, 183
 
 346 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 O'Connor, Mr John, M.P., at 
 Ennis, 239 
 
 O'Donnell, Carey, the informer, 
 shot by — execution of, 67 
 
 O'Halloran, desperate resistance 
 offered to eviction by, 214-5 
 
 O'Halloran, Head Constable, 
 accused by Mr Cox of acting 
 as an agent provocateur, 237 
 
 O' Kearney, Mr, 199-200 
 
 O'Keeffe, Mr, M.P.. 283 
 
 Oliver, F. W., in Westminister 
 School eleven, 21 
 
 Omar, El Mek, attacks mission 
 near Obeid, 129-30 
 
 Orwalder, Father Giuseppe, cap- 
 tive at Obeid, 127, 142-3 
 
 O'Shea, Mrs. 278 
 
 Owen, Major Roderic, 78 
 
 Paget, Captain, 7 
 
 Pain, Olivier, 141 
 
 Palgrave, Lieut. W., 8 
 
 Palles, Chief Baron, " Plan of 
 Campaign " pronounced to be 
 a conspiracy by, 208 ; pro- 
 nounces actions brought against 
 author to be vexatious, 254 
 
 Parnell, Mr, 62, 63 ; interview of, 
 with Lord Carnarvon, 180, 181, 
 183 ; crimes unjustly imputed 
 to, 187-8 ; effect of the divorce 
 case, 278-9 ; President of 
 National League, 225 ; " Plan of 
 Campaign " not approved of 
 by, 208-9 ; speech of, in House 
 on action of Executive at Ennis, 
 244-5 ; triumph of, over the 
 "Times," 275-8 
 
 "Parnellism Unmasked," pamphlet 
 by Piggott, 277 
 
 Parr, Col. Hallam, 92 
 
 Pathans, at Peshawar, 45-6 
 Pau, General, 327, 330 
 
 Pease, Mr, M.P., at Bodyke evic- 
 tions, 211 ; his account in the 
 House of what we saw at Bodyke, 
 220 
 
 Pepys, Samuel, autograph of, in 
 possession of author, 124 
 
 Persico, Monsignor, " Plan of 
 Campaign " not approved of by, 
 208-9 
 
 Peshawar, climate of, 40 ; jackal- 
 hunting, 44-5 ; thefts of horses 
 in — officer victimized by Pathens 
 in, 45-6 
 
 Philae, temples of, 91-2 
 
 Piggott, forgeries and fate of, 
 276-7 
 
 Pitt, Wilham, autograph of, in 
 possession of author, 124 ; Rev. 
 Joseph Turner, D.D., instructor 
 of — presents Deanery of Nor- 
 wich to Rev. Joseph Turner, 3 
 
 " Plan of Campaign," 208-9, 250- 
 I. 257-8 
 
 Plunkett, Capt. the Hon., 260 
 
 Ponsonby Estate, evictions on, 
 
 257-8 
 Pope, the, " Plan of Campaign " 
 not approved of by, 208 
 
 R 
 
 Raleigh, Sir Walter, 5 
 
 Redmond, Mr John, M.P., be- 
 haviour of, always that of a 
 preux chevalier, 280 ; great 
 demonstration at Cork in favour 
 of, 281-2 ; at Kilrush, 240 ; 
 unflinching support given to 
 Parnell by, 279 
 
 Redmond, Mr WilHam, M.P., be- 
 haviour of always that of a 
 preux chevalier, 280 ; prevented 
 by force from addressing his 
 constituents — roughly treated 
 by police, 292 ; great demon- 
 stration at Cork in favour of, 
 281-2 ; unflinching support 
 given to Parnell by, 279 
 
 Regnalo, Giuseppe, in captivity 
 at Obeid, 127, 128 
 
 Regnatto, in captivity at Obeid, 
 127 
 
 Reilly, Col. T., tragic result of a 
 manoeuvre ordered by. 47-8 
 
 Rhodes, 75, 76 
 
 Rice, District Inspector, 291 
 
 Ridgeway, Sir West, 258 ; an 
 appreciation of, 288 ; interest 
 of, in British North Borneo 
 Colony, 325 ; effective steps 
 taken by, on failure of potato 
 crop in Clare and West Cork, 285 
 
 Rigby, Sir John, 262
 
 INDEX 
 
 347 
 
 Roberts, Lord, presides at annual 
 dinner of ex-students of Addis- 
 combe Military College, 24 ; 
 on the C.I. Vs., 304 ; share of, 
 in creation of Imperial 
 Yeomanry, 307 
 
 Roberts, Ben, 44 
 
 Roche, Mr, R.M., 268-9 
 
 Rose, Sir Hugh, see Strathnairn, 
 Lord 
 
 Rosebery, Lord, 3 
 
 Rosignoli, Pado, in captivity at 
 Obeid, 127 
 
 Ross, John, 78 
 
 Royal Hospital, Chelsea, medalled 
 pensioners at, 37 
 
 Royal Irish Constabulary, author 
 one of, for six years, 271 ; con- 
 stantly attacked by Irish mem- 
 bers and defended by Mr 
 Balfour, 271-2 ; the Whiting 
 R.I.C. Fund, 272 
 
 Royal Irish Regiment, the, 107 
 
 Roze, Mme. Marie, 72 
 
 Rugby School, cricket competition 
 of, with Westminster School, 
 21-2 
 
 Russell, Mr Edward, M.P., 190-1 
 
 Russell, Mr T. W., M.P.. 251 
 
 Saduk Pasha, 151 ; story of the 
 murder of, 157-63 
 
 Said, Achmet Pasha, murdered by 
 dervishes, 135-6 
 
 Said, Mohamed Pasha, 130 
 
 St Aubyn, 78 
 
 St Vincent, Lord, 94 
 
 Salisbury, Lord, 73, 180, 295-6 ; 
 author gains approval of, 300 ; 
 letters from to author — im- 
 pressive personality of, 300-1 ; 
 in favour of women's suffrage, 
 332 
 
 Sandford, Sir Francis, 73 
 
 Sandhurst, Lady, 250 
 
 Santoni, Mr, 126, 127 ; credit for 
 Father Buonomi's escape attri- 
 buted to — order of Gregory the 
 Great conferred upon, 142-3 ; 
 assists Intelhgence Department 
 114 
 
 Savage Club, origin and name of 
 
 — qualifications of membership, 
 332-3 
 
 Saxe- Weimar, H.S.H. Prince 
 Edward of, author appointed 
 Military Secretary to, 176, 185 ; 
 qualities and popularity of, 
 175-6 
 
 Saxe-Weimar, H.S.H. Princess 
 Edward of, popularity of, in 
 Dublin, 177 
 
 Scariff, election affray at. 284-5 
 
 Schell, Col. A. von, 50 
 
 Schierbrand, Wolf von, attacks 
 German army in " North Ameri- 
 can Review," 299 
 
 Schwarzhoff, General, 50 
 
 Sclater, General Henry, 88-9 
 
 "Serapis," troopship, 43 
 
 Sexton, attached by Moonhghters, 
 237-9 
 
 Seymour, Mrs Horace, 249-50 
 
 Shakur, Emir Abdul, 148 
 
 Shannon, Mr, R. M., services 
 rendered by, 242, 291 
 
 Sheehy, Mr, M.P., 251 
 
 Shellali, Yousef Pasha, defeat of 
 cirmy of, 129 
 
 Sherif, Ah Bey, 136 
 
 Sherif, Mahmoud Es, 138-9 
 
 Siemens, Alexander, 52 
 
 Siemens, Frau, 52 
 
 Singleton, Chief Inspector of Con- 
 stabulary, 291 
 
 Sire, M. A., 326 
 
 Slatin Pasha, Baron Rudolph 
 Carl) author's letter to Mahdi 
 repectings release of, 118 
 
 Smith, Mr W. H., 319 
 
 Soames, Mr, author's interview 
 with, 276-7 
 
 Soudan, the end of the campaign 
 in, 144-74 ; changed conditions 
 in, due to British administration, 
 175 ; refugees collected at 
 Dongola by the author, 148 ; 
 decision to evacuate the, 146- 
 7 ; the truth about war, 149-50 
 
 South African War, author assists 
 in work of organization, 302-4 ; 
 miUtia, yeomanry, and volun- 
 teers who went out to, 305 
 
 Spencer, Lady, 74, 84 
 
 Spencer, Lord, 54, 56, 58 ; veno- 
 mous attacks upon, 60, 207 ; 
 bad reception of, at Castle- 
 island, 187 ; hooted by mob on
 
 348 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 his departure, i8g ; character 
 of, 80-1 ; forced into coercion, 
 63, 1 80- 1 ; author's confidential 
 relations for two years with, 
 182 ; injustice of charges against 
 1 81-2 ; letters from, to author, 
 73-80 ; misjudged by Nationa- 
 lists, 261 ; views of, on aims of 
 Parnell, 183 ; police protection, 
 63-5, 81-2 ; popularity of, 69 ; 
 uninvited guests at the Vice- 
 regal Lodge, 82-4 
 
 Spenser, Dr, 321 
 
 Spiritualism, a striking psychic 
 experience, 334 
 
 Stalbridge, Lord, 317 
 
 Stambouli, Georgie, 133 
 
 Stanley, Lord, 315 
 
 Stead, W. T., author's friendship 
 with — the " Apothesis of 
 Hypocrisy " condemned by — 
 author's common interests with, 
 
 333 
 Stewart, Sir Herbert, 62, 75, 76, 
 
 79, 94. 99, ioi> 103. 105 
 Strathnairn, Lord, 40, 41, 42 
 Strongbow, author's descent from, 
 
 5 
 Suleiman, commander of bashi- 
 bazouks, arrested by author, 
 
 153 
 SulHvan, Mr T. D., M.P., at Bally- 
 
 coree, 231 
 Switzerland, periodical visits to — 
 
 Alpine climbing — ascent to 
 
 14,000 feet, 39 
 
 Taashi, Khalifa Abdulla, succeeds 
 the Mahdi, 125 ; treatment 
 of captives by, 137-8 
 
 "Tactics of Field Artillery," trans- 
 lated by the author from the 
 German of Colonel A. von 
 Schell, 50 
 
 Tallaght, curious incident at, 41-2 
 
 Taylor, Irish landlord, shot at by 
 his tenants, 215 
 
 " Ten Years' Captivity in the 
 Mahdi's Camp," attributes whole 
 creditof Father Buonomi'sescape 
 to Mr Santoni, 142-3 
 
 Terry, Miss Ellen, 14, 15, 334 
 
 "Times, The," attacks conduct of 
 
 author at Bodyke evictions, 
 219 ; commends operations to 
 prevent the meeting at Bally- 
 coree, 236 ; author's letter to, 
 on " Mr Gladstone and the 
 Ennis Meeting," 245-8; author's 
 letters to, on the new relations 
 between Minister of War and 
 Commander-in-Chief, 297-8; 
 charges of, against Mr Parnell, 
 
 275-7 
 
 Tralee, a legend of, 262-3 
 
 Tree, Sir Herbert, 334 
 
 Trevelyan, Mr, 82-4 
 
 Trevelyan, Mrs, 82-4 
 
 Tuke, Mr, benevolence of, to- 
 wards Bodyke tenants, 216 
 
 Turner, Lady, 300 
 
 Turner, Lord Chief Justice, grand- 
 uncle of author, 3, 4 
 
 Turner, Rev. Mr^ great-grand- 
 father of author — rector of St 
 Nicholas, Yarmouth, 3 ; ac- 
 count of Lord Nelson's visit to 
 Yarmouth written by, 7-8 ; auto- 
 graph letter of Lord Nelson to, 
 8-9 
 
 Turner, Sir Charles, senior master 
 of the Queen's Bench, 3 
 
 Turner, Francis, grandfather of 
 author, 3 ; buys freehold of 
 houses in Queen's Square, 4 
 
 Turner, Sir George, wrangler, 3 
 
 Turner, James Francis, Bishop of 
 Grafton and Arundale, in 
 Australia, 4 
 
 Turner, Rev. Joseph, D.D., senior 
 wrangler in 1767 ; instructor 
 of William Pitt, 3 
 
 Turner, Joseph Richard, wran- 
 gler, and fellow of Gonville and 
 Caius, disappearance of, when 
 travelling in France, 3 
 
 U 
 
 "United Ireland," the paper of Mr 
 WilHam O'Brien, M.P. and 
 official organ of the National 
 League, 60-1, 226 ; abusive 
 epithets applied to author and 
 to Mr Balfour by, 243-4 ; 
 parting shot of, at the author, 
 289 ; caricatures in, 195, 203 ; 
 venomous and mendacious
 
 INDEX 
 
 349 
 
 attacks of, on Lord Spencer, 
 60-1, 206, 271 
 University College School, author 
 a governor of — King Edward 
 opens new buildings of, at 
 Frognal, 320-1 
 
 Vandeleur, Major, evictions on 
 
 estate of, 250-4 
 Verner, Major Willoughby, 107 
 Victoria, Princess, 320 
 Victoria, Queen, 318 
 
 W 
 
 Waddy, Mr S. D., M.P., 211, 212, 
 220, 251 
 
 Wadi Haifa, incidents on the 
 march to, 166-7 
 
 Wallace, Coporal, shooting of, 
 near Longlirea, 215 
 
 Wardrop, Major, 75, 107 
 
 Ward, Sir Edward, 315 
 
 War Office, the, needless and 
 expensive changes of station 
 ordered by, 39 ; unintelhgible 
 and costly reversion to muzzle- 
 loaders by, 48 ; leading char- 
 acteristics of, 301-2 ; Lord Hugh 
 Cecil's saying with regard to, 
 311 ; fails to refund to author 
 amount paid for right to trans- 
 late German Artillery text- 
 book, 50 ; inter-departmental 
 jealousies in, 306 ; summary 
 dismissal of Head-quarter Staff 
 and Commander-in-Chief, 309- 
 10 ; breach of courtesy and faith 
 to author, 311 ; red tape in, 
 
 165. 315 
 Warrington, Mr Justice, 274 
 Watkdn, Sir Edward, brings in 
 
 Channel Tunnel Bill, 319 
 Weardale, Lord, 231, 232, 236 
 Welch, Captain, 233, 240 
 Welhngton, Duke of, autograph 
 
 of, in possession of author, 124 ; 
 
 his advice to Queen Victoria, 
 
 296; recollections of, 11 -2; on 
 
 liability of the bravest men to 
 panic, 229 ; on wisdom after 
 the event, 174 
 
 Westminster School, recollections 
 of, 1854-6, 18-23 ; punish- 
 ments and fagging at, 18-20 ; 
 revolt of a home boarder, 19-20 ; 
 rowing and cricket at, 21-2 ; 
 educational standard and 
 methods at, 22-3 
 
 West, Mrs CornwaJlis, 74 
 
 Wheeler, County Court Judge, 
 resists bullying when at West- 
 minster School, 19-20 
 
 Wheeler, Serjeant, LL.D., 20 
 
 Whelehan, Head Constable, 
 murder of, 237-9 
 
 White, Harry, 80 
 
 White, Piers, 73 
 
 White, Honble. Robt., 127, 145 ; 
 author and, nearly shot by 
 br^hi-bazouks, 153-4 
 
 Whiting, Mr, generous donation 
 of, to R.I.C. Fund, 272 ; author's 
 marriage to daughter of, 273 ; 
 the law's injustice, 273-5 
 
 Whiting, Mrs, 273 
 
 Whiting, Mr Noel, 5 
 
 Wilberforce, Samuel, Bishop of 
 Oxford, on Westminster School, 
 22 
 
 William the Conqueror, author's 
 descent from sister of, 5 
 
 WiUiam IH., autograph of, in 
 possession of author, 124 
 
 William, German Emperor, thanks 
 author for his defence of German 
 army from aspersions, 300 
 
 Wilson, Mr Arthur, 303 
 
 Wilson, Mr C. H., M.P., 303 
 
 Wilson, Sir Charles, 79, 80, 99, 102, 
 112, 115 ; responsibility of, for 
 fall of Khartum, 104-6 
 
 Wilson, Col. Mildmay, 106 
 
 Wingate, Major F. R., 142 
 
 Wingfield Family, descent of 
 author from, 5 
 
 Wolfe, officer Scots Greys, 95 
 
 Wolseley, Lord, 54, 55. 56, 57. 
 58, 62, 97, 100, 102, 147, 185, 
 302, 303, 306 ; appointment of, 
 as Commander-in-Chief, 297 ; 
 selects author to attend German 
 army manoeuvres, 48 ; advance 
 through desert stopped by War 
 Minister, 111-2; authorizes
 
 350 SIXTY YEARS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE 
 
 exchange of prisoners with the 
 Mahdi, ii8; correspondence 
 between author and, respecting 
 allegation as to poisoning the 
 Mahdi, 125-6 ; Lord Spencer's 
 confidence in, 73 ; abused by 
 the Tories, 78-9 
 
 Wood, Sir Evelyn, 92 
 
 Woolwich, 26, 27 ; Czar's visit to, 
 46 ; the Drag Hunt and Drag 
 Hunt Dinner, 46-7 ; strange 
 incident at Royal Artillery Mess 
 at, 29-31 
 
 Women's Suffrage, reflections 
 upon — cause of, retarded by 
 action of militants, 331 
 
 Yawa, Mustapha, 114-5 144-5 
 
 Zangwill, Mr, 324 
 
 Zetland, Earl of, tour of, as Vice- 
 roy, through Cork, Kerry, and 
 Clare, 286-7, the Arran islands 
 — reception by the Knight of 
 Ghn, 287 
 
 Zobeir, Pasha, 130 ; employment 
 of, recommended by Sir E. 
 Baring, 172 ; Mr Gladstone on, 
 173-4; Gordon's desire to 
 employ — his animosity against 
 Gordon. 171
 
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