The importance which was given in Scotland to the Irish troubles made me almost fear to set foot again in the country, but at Donaghadee I was happily reassured, and welcomed by Mr. Smith with the same hospitality which I had experienced at the time of my first crossing. Although the country was 'out of the King's peace,' it seemed to me that everybody was perfectly calm. During the two or three days which I stayed in the little town, I had opportunity to take note of a custom which had hitherto escaped me. In spite of the facilities for marriage-making in Scotland, since a single word there is sufficient to make a contract valid, there are not a few illegitimate children. The minister of Portpatrick, a holy man of God, not being able to punish the guilty parties as they deserve, makes the chastisement pass to the unfortunate child, and absolutely refuses to him the rite of baptism. The parents, however, sinners though they may be, do not like to have their children deprived of this benefit, which perhaps they have more need of than others, and so they send their children over to Ireland, where it is not difficult to find an Anglican minister who is more reasonable.

            On the other hand, the Anglican minister is extremely reluctant to marry persons who are not known to him, and requires all the formalities of banns, &c. And so, for the purpose of avoiding delay and ceremony, the marriageable people go over to Scotland, and if the couple, with the fathers and mothers, present themselves to the minister at Portpatrick, he questions none and says, 'You men and women I declare you married.' As a matter of fact, his refusal, if he made it, would not amount to anything, for in Scotland, as I have already stated elsewhere, a word before witnesses, even in joking, or a letter by way of joking, suffices to render a marriage valid.<46>

            I learned here something of a trade of which I had previously no knowledge, the trade in rags. I had indeed seen, at Edinburgh, different houses with the inscription—

RAG WAREHOUSE
OR
MONEY FOR RAGS

but I always thought that the rags were intended for paper making. I have since ascertained that there are people who go about buying from the lower classes the clothes which they think not good enough to wear (the Scotch peasant is always well clad), and these they send to Ireland, where they are sold with a large profit.

            Feeling partly reassured as to the danger to which a traveller on foot might be exposed in proceeding through a country where the Government were obliged to act rigorously, I slung my small baggage over my shoulder and started for Newtownards. About halfway on the road I found a man who had a car laden with turf, and who seemed to be in some embarrassment. He called out 'Pray, Sir, will you push my cash.' My head still full of the terrible stories which the Scotch had told me about poor wretches in Ireland, I took this to be an Irish way of asking me to push my cash; that is to say, I interpreted his saying as a demand for my purse. Taking care, then, to stand at a respectful distance, I asked him what he meant. 'I want you to help me up with my turf cash,' he said, and then I learned that the basket or pannier which carried the turf is called a 'cash.' 'With all my heart,' I answered, and with a lift and shoulder-push, the pannier was placed in proper position.

            Entering the inn I saw a notice fastened to the door which read, 'If there is another shot fired over the sentinels, orders will be given to burn the town.' 'The devil!' I said.

            I was received with much kindness by Mr. Birch, whom I had seen on my first arrival, and I proceeded again to Belfast, where I arrived in time for the celebration of the King's birthday, and heard the volleys fired by the garrison in honour of His Majesty. The people of this town, who were represented some time ago as about to rise, appeared now in a sort of stupor hardly distinguishable from fear. In the evening the town was illuminated, and the soldiers ran through the streets armed with sticks, breaking the windows of those who had not lit up their houses, and of a great number also who had done so. They went into all sorts of holes and corners breaking back-windows and the fanlights of doors. They seized their officers and bore them, in turn, on their shoulders through the streets. The yells, coming from the soldiers, and the huzzas were simply terrible. Three weeks earlier it was the people who assembled tumultuously and made a racket. If I may say it, I think a crowd of soldiers and a crowd of people differ very little in point of the danger to be expected; in the former case, however, if the officers have their soldiers well in hand there is less danger, as by the terror they inspire they are able to prevent the excess to which the populace might give way.

            I imagine that the people of Belfast will not for long forget the terror in which I found them. General Lake, however, walked the streets the whole night and arrested some soldiers who were becoming unruly; he dispersed the crowd, too, as soon as the time fixed for the illumination was past. The row was so agreeable and entertaining to the soldiers that they would have been very glad to begin it again; a report was, indeed, circulated that there would be a second illumination next day. In every country soldiers are delighted with the chance of making a rumpus, than slashing and cutting they like nothing better, and it required all the activity of General Lake to keep them within bounds.

            The next day, desiring to see the Sovereign, as the first Magistrate or Mayor is here called, his house was pointed out to me by a poor woman who was near the door. 'There it is,' said she, 'but he is not in, and I am waiting,' she added, 'to make him pay for my broken panes.'

            On the same day a man with whom I dined, and who was in a state of alarm, said to me: 'France is in great trouble, Italy is ravaged, a revolution is coming in Spain, Germany is ruined, Switzerland is about to declare war, Holland no longer exists; here we are breaking our windows, and we shall finish, perhaps, with slaughter;—where is peace to be found?' 'Faith,' said I, 'I know one sovereign who has not been troubled, and to whom anyone can go very quickly.' 'And who is he? tell me, Sir.' 'The big Devil in Hell,' I answered.

            The troubles, however, having made Belfast a somewhat disagreeable resting-place, I provided myself with passports and started out. I was much surprised to see that the soldiers had taken the trouble to break windows as far as two or three miles from the town. I travelled by coach, thinking it not desirable to risk myself on foot, on the road, after what I had seen. I passed successively through Lisburn, Hillsborough, and Dromore; the two first-named are situated in beautiful and perfectly-cultivated country. Hillsborough, where is the castle of the Marquis of Downshire, is on a height dominating a most fertile and rich country. It was at Lisburn that the French refugees first established the linen manufacture which has become the principal industry in Ireland, especially in the north. The three towns were full of soldiers and volunteers. Although I regretted that I could not stop in them a little while, the thought that my stay here might be very far from agreeable, made me push on to a place which I thought might be more settled, or, at any rate, to the place of residence of someone to whom I had a letter of recommendation. Influenced in this way, I came to Banbridge, and was there received at the house of Mr. Ross Thomson.

            This country is entirely occupied in the manufacture of linen, but the late troubles have made trade to languish. The mills, however, are still going, and it is hoped that a year of peace will restore order and prosperity. Military law was rigorously enforced here on the inhabitants; they were not permitted to have lights in their houses after nine o'clock, and any person found in the streets after that hour was in danger of being arrested. A fair was held during the time I stayed in this little town, and it passed over quite peacefully; the soldiers promenaded through the market-place and obliged women who wore anything green, ribbon or otherwise, to take it off.<47> Had one-fourth of the precaution taken here been observed in France, there would certainly have been no Revolution, I was much struck here by the thought of the different results which different characters in government may produce. It is remarkable how in France a weak government and foolish ministers have led a people entirely Royalist to slay a King they loved, and whose good qualities they respected, and to destroy a flourishing monarchy for whose prosperity they had been enthusiastic; while here, surrounded by enemies, a vigorous government in Ireland has been able to repress, and hold in the path of duty, a people discontented and seduced by the success of the French innovations.

            The boldness of the United Irishmen increased each day as long as the Government did not interfere; many who had joined them had done so out of fear, and there were with them a number of weak, undecided people ready to range themselves on the winning side, and so immediately on the Government's determination to act vigorously, it was only necessary to let the soldiers appear upon the scene, and the difficulties disappeared.

            The poor peasant on this occasion, as in so many others, was the dupe of rogues, who put him in the front, and were very careful themselves to stay behind the curtain. The troops went through the country, burning the houses of those who were suspected of having taken the 'Union' oath, or of having arms, and on many occasions they acted with great severity.

            On the way to Armagh I passed through a superb country; there is a charming valley, and well-wooded, near Tandragee. Between this town and Armagh I met a company of Orangemen, as they are called, wearing orange cockades, and some of them having ties of the same colour. The peasantry seemed very much afraid of them. I went into one or two cabins to rest myself, and was offered, certainly, hospitality in the ordinary way, but it did not seem to be with the same air as before, and at last, near the town, a good woman said to me, 'You seem to have come from far, my dear Sir, I hope that your umbrella or the string of it will not bring you into trouble.' I laughed at the good woman's fears, but, on reflection, I felt that since she had remarked that my umbrella was greenish, and the cord of a bright green, soldiers might make the same observation, and that in any case it would be very disagreeable to have any trouble over such a silly thing, and I cut the green cord off my umbrella.

            Arriving in the town of St. Patrick, I went immediately to pay my duty to his metropolitan church. The foundations of this, they say, were laid by the Saint himself on the ruins of a Druidic establishment. History relates that there was here a lively passage at arms between the Saint and the Druids in presence of the great monarch who was then King of Ulster, and the Saint, having convinced his Majesty, baptised him and all his court, and afterwards sent missionaries into the other kingdoms of Ireland. The old cathedral has been destroyed and burned several times, and has been rebuilt always on the same spot.

            The city had been reduced to the miserable state of a little country town, but the last Archbishop, the Rev. —— Robertson, being a man of learning and friend of the public welfare, liberal, and without family, set himself to improve and increase it, so that at present it is really a very handsome little city. The cathedral is situated on a rocky height (as the name Ard indicates), and here, a few years ago, among some ruins was found an ancient cross of stone in one piece, with strange looking figures thereon carved, and appearing to be a representation of a man baptising converts. It has been erected in the market-place.

            Primate Robertson has built at his own charge an observatory, and has furnished funds to give it an annual income of £300 sterling, which is paid to the person in charge. He has also established, at great cost, a well-furnished library, which is open to the public four hours every day. He has erected a hospital and several other edifices, and certainly merits as much gratitude from the inhabitants of the diocese as may be considered due to St. Patrick himself.

            The revenues of the Archbishop amount to eight or nine thousand pounds sterling per annum, but it is known that the estates belonging to the seat bring in to those who have farmed them £150,000 (3,750,000 francs). If the Archbishop had such an income, it might well excite the jealousy of the Government, as well as the discontent of the rent-farmers, who regard these estates as heritages belonging to their families, thus, prudently, the leases are renewed every year at the same price, plus a considerable pot-de-vin.<18> The demesne of the Archbishop is superb; the Palace, although very large and well built, does not seem too magnificent for the embellishments of the park surrounding. There is in it a chapel, brilliant in architecture, in which there is some very fine stained glass.

            There are four Archbishops in Ireland, who all take the title of Primate. He of Armagh is called Primate of All Ireland, the Dublin Archbishop is called Primate of Ireland, that of Cashel, Primate of Munster, and that of Tuam, Primate of Connaught. This is pretty well for Primates. In England there are only two: the Archbishop of Canterbury, Primate of All England, and that of York, Primate of England. I am sorry I cannot remember how many there were in France; but perhaps the reader is pleased to be without the information.

            The country in the neighbourhood of Armagh is charming, full of little hills and plains and pretty little lakes. Among the places I saw I remarked, especially. Castle Dillon and Drumilly, where I was received by Colonel Spencer, whose acquaintance I had made at Westport in the summer. Certainly there could not be a more agreeable quarter; the country is a little paradise, it is impossible to conceive anything better cultivated or more romantic. What a pity then, that the spirit of discord and fury has laid hold of the inhabitants to a point that might well make one fear to live among them. Every morning there is news of crimes committed during the night. Not a day passes without murders or the burning of houses. For the sake of a walk I accompanied one of the officers who was going to verify information by visiting a man who had been beaten. We found the man with one eye punched in, it is true, but I thought the injury might just as well have been the result of a private dispute with which politics had nothing to do. The house of one good woman had certainly been 'wrecked,' as they say, by some armed men, but that was all we were able to learn.

            I think it my duty to give here a little information on the subject of the troubles, which for so long have desolated this beautiful country. The quarrel between Catholics and Protestants of this county began with a private dispute between two peasants at a fair. The one was Catholic and the other Protestant. During the fight ill-advised words passed from one side to the other, and these had the effect, as is unfortunately the custom at most fairs, of ranging the friends of the two combatants into parties who fought each other with sticks. That day the Protestants were beaten, but at another fair they took their revenge, falling, armed, on the Catholics, and a number were killed. The animosity between the parties manifested itself for a long time before the Government appeared to take any notice; in the end, however, the magistrates, although not very energetically, took certain proceedings, and put into execution a part of the law which at that time forbade Catholics to have possession of arms. It followed that, as there was no power to disarm the other side, the former were entirely at the mercy of the latter.

            I have been assured that there were certain persons who thought it their duty to take the Protestant side in order not to lose their votes in the parliamentary elections. This unfortunate partisanship increased the audacity of the triumphant side, who formed a military corps, to which they gave the name of 'Orange Boys,' in memory of the Prince of Orange (King William) and of the Revolution. The other side took, correctly enough, the name of 'Defenders,' for it is true that, at first, they only thought of defence. The Orange Boys had the advantage over their adversaries, seeing that they were armed, and the others were not. Matters came to such a point that Defenders, who were obnoxious, received letters in these terms:

            'Peter —— or James ——, you have time to sell your things and go to Connaught, or you will go to Hell.'

            Some disdained to submit to these barbarous orders, and during the night their cabins would be overturned or demolished over their heads, or a dozen of shots would be sent into a bedroom. These horrors started the Defenders to commit excesses no less cruel. The atrocities were not repressed with the necessary vigour to put an end to them, in fact it seemed as if very little attention was given to them. Peaceful families of both religions, frightened at these disorders, hastened to sell their effects at loss, and retired to the province of Connaught, where I have seen a number of them welcomed by Colonel Martin and Lord Altamont.

            While, here, matters were in this distressing state, it is very singular that troubles of a totally different character appeared in the neighbouring counties. Those of Armagh really belonged to a religious war, those of the Counties of Down, Antrim, and Londonderry had, for pretext, the reform of Parliament, and the discontented affected to speak with indifference of all religions. I have known cases of men who, having practised the most barbarous cruelties on their compatriots on religious pretexts, affected, in the name of United Irishmen, to say that all religions were equal, while they appeared not to believe in any.

            They assembled, appointed chiefs, announced republican opinions, and declared that they only waited the arrival of the French to join them.

            It is certain that this new spirit of dissension by throwing ridicule at, and treating with contempt, the troubles of Armagh succeeded in settling these to a great extent. But the new ideas, by their immediate connection with the revolution in France, were likely to become much more dangerous than the first. It is well known to what indefensible excesses the United Irishmen proceeded. I have mentioned some of them which happened before I reached Scotland. I was convinced then, by the knowledge I had of the people of this country, that this frenzy would calm down, and that unless there were really an invasion on a large scale, there was absolutely no fear about the surety of the Government. Such was the situation of the country at the time I started for Scotland. Perhaps on my return I would have found things in the same state, if the arrival of the French Fleet in the bay of Bantry had not opened the eyes of the Government as to the dangers they ran, and convinced them of the necessity for rigorous methods in dealing with the dissatisfaction.

            Before the French appeared off the coast of Ireland, although the project of the invasion had been much talked about, little or no precaution against it had been taken. After the disorder occasioned by the first moment of alarm had commenced to disappear, the Government set themselves, seriously, to take efficacious measures for putting Ireland into a respectable state of defence. Volunteer corps were formed in all the different towns. Many troops were sent over from England, and these were quartered particularly in places in the North where there had been any manifestation of seditious inclination. These troops were commanded by active and experienced men, and it was only at last, after the Government had wisely and prudently taken all the steps necessary to ensure success, and not before, they set themselves to act with severity against the discontented.

            Orders were issued by all the generals to the peasants in the districts under their command to deliver up their arms and take the oath of allegiance. The United Irishmen, who for long had been accustomed to obey no orders but those of their leaders, and to despise the soldiers and the Government, paid no attention at first to these commands; but finding soon that the Government had serious intentions, and seeing that their houses were burned and that imprisonments followed illegal assembling, they broke up immediately, passing, it may be said, in the winking of an eye, from audacity to fear, most of them hurrying to make submission and to do what was required of them.

            It is an extraordinary thing that just at this moment the troubles at Armagh recommenced, and the religious quarrels helped powerfully to neutralise the political troubles caused by the United Irishmen, as these latter some months earlier had almost made the religious difficulties of Armagh to disappear.

            The renewal of religious strife at Armagh was followed by frightful excesses on both sides. The Orangemen accompanied the magistrates when these went on an expedition, and some of these having been previously of the Society of United Irishmen, they knew where to discover arms, and often committed such excesses as may always be expected in the action of the lower classes of people when they are allowed to have arms and to feel themselves under protection. The Catholics could not be received amongst the Orangemen, even if they were willing to take the oath of fidelity. The greater number of the inhabitants of this faith swore that they had never been United Irishmen, and that they would not become such; perhaps they spoke truly, for their quarrel was entirely of a different nature, and it could be understood that they had not abandoned one trouble in order to take up another. I knew one brave commandant who tried to steer clear of favouritism in any shape or form, and who was always ready to succour the oppressed or weakest, without regard to party. This was very good in him, but it was necessary for him to have a strong force in command to deal with the mutinous, for otherwise there was a risk of the two parties joining against him. Although such divisions are a great misfortune, they are, in certain circumstances, of value to a clever government which knows how to manage them, and to make use of these animosities to keep different parties in check through their own action, and to prevent them from combining against the Government.

            Although I did not hear, this time, that the Orangemen used the old menace of Connaught or Hell, it was easy to see that their dominating idea was still the expulsion of the Catholics, but their manner of action was no longer so terrible. Trade was at the time, in the North, in a very bad state, and many of the workers, being idle and exposed to the fury of their opponents, they circulated adroitly among the peasants an old prophecy of St. Columba which warned the faithful that 'A time will come when war and famine will destroy in this part of the country all those who have not embraced the new errors,' but, adds the prophecy, 'the massacre will not extend beyond the Shannon, where the faithful shall prosper.'

            It was also stated that everything was very cheap in the neighbourhood of Limerick, Galway, and Westport, and that the workers would there find all the industries they could desire, and at good wages. The poor folk, who are after all the most timid and credulous of the universe, with their families and small remains of furniture, started in crowds to put themselves in safety on the other side of the Shannon. I myself have met often these wandering families moving to the line of safety; the father and mother carrying, with their few effects, the children unable to walk, and followed by others carrying part of the baggage, and accompanied by the faithful pig and often a few fowls. It was in talking to some of these on the road that I learned of the prophecy of St. Columba, and the tempting reports which had been circulated about the country to which their faces were turned.

            The inhabitants of the city of Armagh were so accustomed to hear, in the morning, of excesses committed during the night, that they spoke about them in a very indifferent manner. The neighbouring country had very little information about them, and I imagine that not a hundredth part of the knowledge filtered to Dublin. Revenge was always the motive where the crimes were committed by one party or the other, and the complaints that the peasants came into the city to make were always presented in the way least effective to excite interest. I saw a man, absolutely drunk, coming to complain that his brother-in-law had been murdered by a party of four or five hundred men who were marching into the city. His brother-in-law had indeed been killed, but it was in a private quarrel, and the troops found no one to oppose them. It happened also, at times, that through sheer wickedness, the peasants sacked and burned their own houses, to throw the blame on their enemies. The following story may appear incredible. I am told that a peasant, who had been obliged by the magistrate to come to terms with another, returned the next day, accusing his adversary of having torn his ear off with his teeth, and in proof of his story he produced, from his pocket, the ear, which he showed to the Judge, who, as may be imagined, was much shocked, and who, without asking proof, sent at once and seized the offender and put him in prison. The poor man denied all that had been alleged against him, and a surgeon being called, it was proved that the ear had been cut off with a razor, and not torn by teeth. In the end it was proved that the man to whom the ear belonged had cut it off himself, in order to get his opponent punished. This country, which is, certainly, the most beautiful in Ireland, is also that in which the inhabitants are the least tractable, and approach nearest to the character which the English call 'Wild Irish.' The animosity between the different sects certainly contributes to this savagery, but if this pretext for it were not available, another would soon be found. The real reason is that the fertility of the country attracted a great many strangers, who, having multiplied exceedingly, have become too numerous to allow of equitable division of the land with the descendants of the ancient stock, and therefore wish to expatriate these, and to remain alone the occupiers. The others, naturally, wish to see the expulsion of the colonists or settlers, and the land remaining in their sole possession. Hence the continual quarrels between neighbours, such as are not found elsewhere. Sides are taken, disputes multiply, the sticks rattle, and the side which the Government for the moment favours profits by the sense of protection, and does its best to inflict the greatest possible injury on the other.

            Charlemagne conceived the idea of transplanting a part of his subjects from a too-populous area, in which he feared the spirit of insurrection, to another insufficiently peopled, and where he had nothing to fear, and without ceremony he ordered the inhabitants of the one part to leave their country and proceed to another indicated. This method of dealing with subjects would seem very cruel and arbitrary in a country governed by the British Constitution; it would, however, spare a great many rows, and would prevent the interminable quarrels which will end in ruining this beautiful country.

            I have hesitated for some time in deciding whether I should publish these details, but as the Armagh troubles have excited the most lively public curiosity, I have thought it my duty to explain the situation frankly and freely. An honest man may keep silent, but if he speaks, he should tell the truth.

            It is somewhat strange that these animosities, being such as I have described, have not however destroyed the safety of the roads for the traveller, nor indeed for anyone during the daytime. Being assured of this, I resolved to continue my travels, on foot, in my accustomed manner, and made my way to Newry. I spoke to several peasants on the way, and went into one house on the road where they gave me milk and potatoes in the same frank way as they are offered in other parts of the island. If I had not known of the night troubles I would have taken the country to be in a perfectly peaceful state. I fell in with a car returning empty to Newry, and the driver offered me a seat. He told me that his business was the carrying of goods from one end of the kingdom to the other, and that he was returning from Westport at the moment. When this good creature caught sight of the Newry clock-tower, he took off his hat and cried 'Huzza! I have been fifteen days away from my folk and it revives me to see the steeple of my place.' It was impossible not to see that the man was really happy.

            When we had nearly reached the town, following usual custom, he asked my name and what was the country to which I belonged. I following my usual custom told him I was Scotch, and that my name was MacTocnaye.

            Newry is situated among high mountains, and nevertheless enjoys all the advantages of the plain. The sea is only at three or four miles distance, and vessels reach the town easily by the river mouth and the canal, which is continued from here to Lough Neagh. There is here a very considerable trade in linen, but the late troubles have reduced it.<48>

            The divisions here have very little connection with those of Armagh; they were more like those of Belfast, being entirely political. Some time before my arrival, the military had used severe measures, and once, unfortunately, on false information and inconsiderately. On this occasion eighteen men were killed. Some story-tellers came to the town saying that a troop of the United Irishmen were encamped in a little wood, that they had committed various depredations, and had attacked the militia. On this information the troops took horse, and going to the place indicated, sacked several houses and shot a few unfortunates, who fled before them. The gathering in the wood turned out to be merely a number of people who from fear had there sought shelter. They were neither armed nor provisioned, but before this was discovered eighteen were shot.

            The cavalry regiment then at Newry was Welsh, a newly raised troop. When they came to Ireland they came with all the English prejudices, expecting to find the Irish to be half-savages, in complete insurrection. In consequence, they disembarked with the idea that they were in an enemy's country, and at the commencement of their stay made themselves much to be feared by the inhabitants. With all that, it is to be admitted that the terror which they inspired was perhaps in many cases salutary, and I have no doubt that the inhabitants of Newry for a long time will remember the ancient Bretons.

            I left these parts, and although I had been politely received, it was with pleasure, for I hate quarrels. Mr. Pitt and Mr. Fox had tormented me enough during the winter. In politics it must be said that the people are fairly reasonable in Ireland, and little division from this cause is found in the middle classes of society, among whom everyone is supposed to be of the same opinion. There is not much talk about the troubles, certainly there is less than in Great Britain. My letter of recommendation to Newry was addressed to a man who had been arrested some time before, and was now out on bail. Far from wishing me ill because I had accepted the hospitality of his house, persons of entirely different opinions said to me, 'It's all right; when you get the chance to take anything from the devil, take it.'

            I crossed the narrow chain of mountains near Newry, and perceived with sorrow that the inhabitants had there suffered much more than their neighbours. I saw many houses which had been burned in order to force the owner to give up his arms. The peasant conducted himself in a peculiar way on these occasions. First of all he would deny that he had any; then he would be threatened with the burning of his house and unshrinkingly he would stand by to see the act performed; but when it was really burned his courage would abandon him, and it has happened more than once that he has gone quietly to unearth from the ruin a gun, which he would hand over to the magistrates. One would think it would have paid him much better to have found it before the fire.

            It cannot but be true, however, that many innocent people have suffered through false information supplied by rascally enemies; these destructions of the property of the innocent are very regrettable, but it is absolutely impossible that there should not be some such cases in such time. It seemed to me that the peasant made the difficulty about giving up arms simply because he feared to lose their intrinsic value. If they had offered to pay him even half the cost, there would have been no trouble.

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