Monarch the continuance of his Lordship in the administration, and to draw the petition for this purpose, and the address to his Lordship. On the month of April following, soon after his return, the trial and death of Jackson took place. It nobly redeemed his previous errors.

With the Vice Royalty of Lord Camden began the triumvirate of those three noble Earls, Camden, Carhampton, and Clare, who, by a series of increasing persecutions, succeeded at length in driving the people to madness, and open and general insurrection. But towards the beginning of his administration, my father put in execution his agreement with the Government to leave Ireland. The votes of thanks which he received from the Catholics of Dublin, on resigning his appointment as their Secretary and Agent, are subjoined in the Appendix, and the honors which were paid to him, there and in Belfast, his last secret instructions to follow up the negotiation begun with Jackson, and the events which occurred between his departure from Ireland and his arrival in France, are contained in the following brief continuation of these memoirs, which he wrote before embarking in the Bantry Bay expedition.

CONTINUATION

Of the Life of THEOBALD WOLFE TONE, written by himself.

RENNES, September 28, 1796.

As my time is growing shorter, I pass over a very busy interval of my life, all the important events of which are detailed in different diaries among my papers, and I hasten to the period, when, in consequence of the conviction of William Jackson, for high treason, I was obliged to quit my country, and go into exile in America. A short time before my departure, my friend Russell being in town, he and I walked out together, to Rathfarnham, to see Emmet, who has a charming villa there. He showed us a little study, of an elliptical form, which he was building at the bottom of the lawn, and which he said he would consecrate to our meetings, if ever we lived to see our country emancipated. I begged of him, if he intended Russell should be of the party, in addition to the books and maps it would

naturally contain, to fit up a small cellaret, which should contain a few dozens of his best old claret. He showed me that he had not omitted that circumstance, which he acknowledged to be essential, and we both rallied Russell with considerable success. I mention this trifling anecdote because I love the men, and because it seems now, at least possible, that we may yet meet again in Emmet's study. As we walked together into town, I opened my plan to them both. I told them that I considered my compromise with Government to extend no further than the banks of the Delaware, and that the moment I landed, I was free to follow any plan which might suggest itself to me, for the emancipation of my country; that, undoubtedly, I was guilty of a great offence against the existing Government; that, in consequence, I was going into exile; and that I considered that exile as a full expiation for the offence; and, consequently, felt myself at liberty, having made that sacrifice, to begin again on a fresh score. They both agreed with me in those principles, and I then proceeded to tell them that my intention was, immediately on my arrival in Philadelphia, to wait on the French Minister, to detail to him, fully, the situation of affairs in Ireland, to endeavor to obtain a recommendation to the French Government, and, if I succeeded so far, to leave my family in America, and to set off instantly for Paris, and apply, in the name of my country, for the assistance of France, to enable us to assert our independence. It is unnecessary, I believe, to say, that this plan met with the warmest approbation and support from both Russell and Emmet; we shook hands, and, having repeated our professions of unalterable regard and esteem for each other, we parted; and this was the last interview which I was so happy as to have with those two invaluable friends together. I remember it was in a little triangular field that this conversation took place; and Emmet remarked to us that it was in one exactly like it in Switzerland, where William Tell and his associates planned the downfall of the tyranny of Austria. The next day Russell returned to Belfast.

As I was determined not to appear to leave Ireland clandestinely, whatever might be the hazard, I took care, on the day of Jackson's trial, to walk up and down in the most public streets in Dublin, and to go, contrary to my usual custom, into several of the most frequented coffee houses, and to my bookseller's, which was

still more frequented. In this last place I was seen by Lord Mountjoy, who gave himself the pains to call on the Attorney General* the next day, and inform him that I was to be found, for that he had seen me in Archer's the day before. The Attorney General gave him, however, no thanks for his pains, and so the affair ended; my obligation, however, to his Lordship, is not the less for his good intentions. Having made this sacrifice to appearances, I set, with all diligence, to prepare for my departure; I sold off all my little property of every kind, reserving only my books, of which I had a very good selection of about six hundred volumes, and I determined to take leave of nobody. I also resolved not to call on any of my friends, not even Knox or Emmet, for, as I knew the part I had taken in Jackson's affair had raised a violent outcry against me, with a very numerous and powerful party, I resolved not to implicate any of those I regarded in the difficulties of my situation. Satisfied as I was of the rectitude of my own conduct, and of the purity of my motives, I believe I should have had fortitude to bear the desertion of my best friends; but, to their honor be it spoken, I was not put to so severe a trial. I did not lose the countenance and support of any one man whom I esteemed; and I believe that I secured the continuance of their regard by the firmness I had shown all along through this most arduous and painful trial; and, especially, by my repeated declarations, that I was ready to sacrifice my life, if necessary, but that I would never degrade myself by giving testimony against a man who had spoken to me in the confidence that I would not betray him. I have said that after Jackson's death I visited nobody; but all my friends made it, I believe, a point to call on me; so that for the short time I remained in Dublin after, we were never an hour alone. My friends M'Cormick and Keogh, who had both interested themselves extremely, all along, on my behalf, and had been principally instrumental in passing the vote for granting me the sum of £300, in addition to the arrears due me by the Catholics, were, of course, amongst the foremost. It was hardly necessary, to men of their foresight, and who knew me perfectly, to mention my plans; however, for greater certainty, I consulted them both, and I received, as I expected,

* Wolfe, afterwards Lord Kilwarden.

their most cordial approbation, and they both laid the most positive injunctions upon me to leave nothing unattempted on my part, to force my way to France, and lay our situation before the Government there, observing, at the same time, that if I succeeded, there was nothing in the power of my country to bestow, to which I might not fairly pretend. It has often astonished me, and them, also, that the Government, knowing there was a French Minister at Philadelphia, ever suffered me to go thither, at least without exacting some positive assurance on my part that I should hold no communication with him, direct or indirect; so it was, however, that, either despising my efforts, or looking on themselves as too firmly established to dread any thing from France, they suffered me to depart, without demanding any satisfaction whatsoever on that topic-a circumstance of which I was most sincerely glad: for had I been obliged to give my parole, I should have been exceedingly distracted between opposite duties; luckily, however, I was spared the difficulty: for they suffered me to depart without any stipulation whatsoever. Perhaps it would have been better for them, if they had adhered to their first proposal of sending me out to India, but as to that, the event will determine.

Having paid all my debts, and settled with every body, I set off from Dublin for Belfast on the 20th May, 1795, with my wife, sister, and three children, leaving, as may well be supposed, my father and mother in very sincere affliction. My whole property consisted in our clothes, my books, and about £700 in money and bills on Philadelphia. We kept our spirits admirably. The great attention manifested to us, the conviction that we were suffering in the best of causes, the hurry attending so great a change, and, perhaps, a little vanity in showing ourselves superior to fortune, supported us under what was certainly a trial of the severest kind. But if our friends in Dublin were kind and affectionate, those in Belfast, if possible, were still more so. During near a month that we remained there, we were every day engaged by one or other; even those who scarcely knew me were eager to entertain us; parties and excursions were planned for our amusements; and, certainly the whole of our deportment and reception at Belfast very little resembled those of a man who escaped with his life only by miracle, and who was driven into exile to avoid a more

disgraceful fate. I remember, particularly, two days that we passed on the Cave hill. On the first, Russell, Neilson, Simms, M Cracken, and one or two more of us, on the summit of M-Art's fort, took a solemn obligation, which, I think I may say, I have, on my part, endeavored to fulfil-never to desist in our efforts, until we had subverted the authority of England over our country, and asserted her independence. Another day we had the tent of the first regiment pitched in the Deer Park, and a company of thirty of us, including the family of the Simms's, Neilson's, M'Cracken's, and my own, dined and spent the day together deliciously. But the most agreeable day we passed during our stay, and one of the most agreeable of our lives, was in an excursion we made with the Simms's, Neilson, and Russell, to Ram's Island, a beautiful and romantic spot in Loch Neagh. Nothing can be imagined more delightful, and we agreed, in whatever quarter we might find ourselves, respectively, to commemorate the anniversary of that day, the 11th of June. At length the hour of our departure arrived. On the 13th June, we embarked on board the Cincinnatus, of Wilmington, Capt. James Robinson, and I flatter myself we carried with us the regret of all who knew us. Even some of my former friends, who had long since deserted me, returned on this reverse of my fortune, struck, I believe, with the steadiness with which we all looked it into the face. Our friends in Belfast loaded us with presents on our departure, and filled our little cabin with sea stores, fresh provisions, sweetmeats, and every thing they could devise for the comfort of my wife and children. Never, whilst I live, will I forget the affectionate kindness of their behavior. Before my departure, I explained to Simms, Neilson, and C. G. Teeling, my intentions with regard to my conduct in America, and I had the satisfaction to find it met, in all respects, with their perfect approbation; and I now looked upon myself as competent to speak fully and with confidence for the Catholics, for the Dissenters, and for the defenders of Ireland.

We were now at sea, and at leisure to examine our situation. I had hired a state room, which was about eight feet by six, in which we had fitted up three births; my wife and our youngest little boy occupied one, my sister and my little girl the second, and our eldest boy and myself the third. It was at first grievously