After many obstacles, a force was finally collected of fortythree sail, with 15,000 troops, the flower of the French army, a force in the opinion of General Tone, which many circumstances go to confirm, more than sufficient to effect their purpose. This was a critical period in the history of the British empire. On the 17th of December, 1796, this fleet put to sea; but from the first hour till the last of its ill omened proceedings, the elements conspired with treason, or something as ruinous, to protect England from the consequences of an administration, which boasted of strong measures against its own exasperated subjects, and was utterly powerless and defenceless against the foreign enemy. For more than a fortnight this fleet kept the seas. During a part of that time, the greater portion of it was in the very bay of Bantry, the destined place of landing, but the admiral, with the commander in chief detained on board, never joined; and Grouchy, the second in command, could not be persuaded, till it was too late, to disembark the troops. The long continued storms and violent gales drove the ships from their anchors, and rendered all communication by boats impracticable. The signal being at length given to steer for France, they again entered the waters of Brest, without having seen an enemy.

Those who take pleasure in military histories, will find in the diary of General Tone, during this expedition, a full and particular relation of every occurrence as it arose. In the midst of the disasters that hung upon this enterprise, under circumstances of such agitation, tantalized by the sight of his native land, for which he had done and suffered so much, often within hail, and close by the destined spot of disembarkation, stung with indignation at the misconduct of the admiral, and grief for the absence of Hoche, who was the life of all his hopes, on the rack for the fate of his family and friends, still present to his thoughts, amidst the tempests and the rocking of the stormy waves, we find him firm and self possessed, observing all that passed, and noting it down, with his own comments and reflections, composing new manifestos in place of those remaining with the absent commander, forming plans, making estimates of the still disposable means and force, assisting at councils of war, and swaying, by his discreet and unassuming persuasion, the judgments of his seniors and superiors.

The absence of the blockading squadron, under Admiral Gardner, from before Brest, during the whole time of this VOL. XXIV.-No. 55.

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expedition, may perhaps be accounted for by a stratagem of General Hoche. Having learned that his printer was to be bribed for a copy of his anticipated proclamation, he had one addressed to the Portuguese, translated with great show of mystery and secrecy by a priest, who understood their language.

For a month after his return to France, Tone remained in a state of depression, and discontinued his journal, having nothing to say and little inclination to write; but he was soon roused from this stupor by two events, the best calculated to revive his sensibilities, and call forth his energies. The one was a letter from his wife, announcing her arrival with her children at Hamburg, and the other an assurance from General Hoche, that the affair of Ireland was only suspended, and would soon be resumed with new spirit and determination. Having received his arrears of pay, and leave of absence, he proceeded through Holland to join his family and conduct them into France. He met them at Groningen.

The next attempt for the liberation of Ireland was from a quarter not before thought of or suspected. General Hoche had persuaded the government of the Batavian republic to undertake an expedition, and with great generosity, although he had looked to this object as the ground of future fame, he conceded to the Dutch general, Daendels, and to Admiral De Winter, the honor of conducting it. Whatever England had to dread, or Ireland to hope, from the expedition of Bantry bay, this seemed still more formidable, and the circumstances more auspicious to the undertaking. The Irish administration had persisted in what were called strong measures, which are stated to have equalled the worst horrors of the revolution in France; and we fear that we cannot altogether refuse to credit the assertion, that tortures were mercilessly used to extort confessions and denunciations, or to execute punishment or revenge. To believe this without strong evidence would be wrong, but we must doubt too many respectable authorities before we can question these appalling facts. Among the rest we must doubt the veracity of the statements, laid by the Earl of Moira before the English and Irish house of lords, in which these excesses were not denied but justified. They were indemnified by bills of indemnity, as acts of vigor beyond the law. These measures had it seems greatly added to the strength of the revolutionary party, and driven into its ranks

men of high character and great talents. It may justly give us some confidence in any leaning we may have to the side of the rebels, as they were then called, that, fortune having brought many of them to our shores, who, whilst their friends and country lay prostrate, were branded with opprobrious names, and held up to the world as very miscreants, they have since become our fellow citizens and resided amongst us for a quarter of a century, presenting examples of purity, honor, and loyalty, in every action of their lives. If, at a time when their hands and tongues were tied, whilst they lay in dungeons, and every organ of communication was denied, and none dared to vindicate them, advantage was taken of their situation, it is but a fair and honorable duty now to let their true story be told and promulgated far and wide. This is no more than the demand of truth and justice.

It was stated about this time, by a committee of the Irish house of Commons, that there were in the north of Ireland, 100,000 United Irishmen, all of whom were then declared felons by the law, and liable to be hanged and shot. They had eight pieces of cannon, at the least, concealed, one mortar, and a great quantity of other arms. The mutiny in the Eng

lish fleet had reached the army, and was with time and difficulty appeased by increase of pay to both seamen and soldiers. The public funds were at the lowest state of depression ever known. Hoche pressed the directory; and the minister of the marine in France was now entirely favorable. The Dutch executive council, the generals and admiral, warmly adopted the design, as a means of reviving the drooping honors of their name by an act of high eclat. Stipulations were renewed for the independence of Ireland. The line of battle was appointed, nearly fourteen thousand troops were on board, in high spirits and condition, and the anchors were already weighed. But the fortune of England again prevailed. The wind, which had before been fair, suddenly changed to the southwest, where it continued without intermission for about two months, till the opportunity was lost. The mutiny at Plymouth, Portsmouth, and the Nore was quelled. Admiral Duncan's fleet was augmented by a large reinforcement, and now much exceeded. that which was to transport the army to Ireland. The provisions shipped for the use of this army were nearly exhausted. At length the great enterprise was abandoned; minor projects were talked of, and afterwards, in the month of October, the

Dutch fleet was ordered to sea, for what reason, or upon what principle, still remains doubtful. The brave De Winter, after one of the most desperate and hard fought actions of modern times, was defeated by the more fortunate Duncan.

Tone's ensuing journals are written in a spirit of great despondency. The news of the death of Lord Edward Fitzgerald, the death or danger impending over others of his friends, and the terrible sufferings of his country, weighed heavily upon his heart, till his hopes were for a time revived by the formation of a new army, to which he was attached, professedly for the invasion of England, to be commanded by General Bonaparte, then just returned from a victorious campaign in Italy. But in his first conference with that extraordinary personage, he discovered that his design was not to benefit his country. That ambitious chief, the editor and son of Tone observes, had already formed his plan for the conquest of Egypt, and used the name of Ireland and of the Army of England' to conceal it. 'He disliked the causes both of Ireland and Poland, as too much connected with the spirit of republicanism and revolution, which he did not wish to encourage; yet the one would have proved the weak point of England and the other of Russia, and he might have kept both powers in check by a frank support of those two oppressed and unfortunate countries. His final downfall, effected by the efforts of England and Russia, seems a kind of retributive justice, and it is remarkable that an Irish minister and an Irish general effected his final overthrow.'

A few months before embarking in the last fatal expedition, there are passages in our hero's journals of a melancholy and prophetic cast.

'The conduct of the English government,' he observes, 'though atrociously wicked, is by no means deficient in system and arrangement. They have begun by seizing almost all the chiefs of the people, and now they draw the sword to anticipate the possibility of resistance, or render them incapable of profiting by it.' 'What miserable slaves are the gentry of Ireland! The only accusation against the United Irishmen is, that they wish to break the connexion with England; in other words, to establish the independence of their country; an object in which surely the men of property are most interested. Yet the very sound of independence seems to have terrified them out of all sense, spirit, or honesty. If they had one drop of Irish blood in their veins, one grain of true courage or genuine patriotism in their hearts, they should have been the first to support this great object. The peo

ple would have supported them; the English government would never have dared to attempt the measures they have since triumphantly pursued, and continue to pursue; our revolution would have been accomplished without a shock, or, perhaps, one drop of blood spilled.' 'If the United Irishmen succeed, there is no rational man can doubt but that a very short period will suffice to do away the evils inseparable from such a contest; and that in seven years or less, after the independence of Ireland is established, when she can apply all her energy to cultivate her natural resources, her trade, agriculture, and manufactures will be sufficient to indemnify her for the sacrifices with which she will be obliged to purchase her liberty. The example of America is an evidence of this truth.' The best that can be said in palliation of the conduct of the English party is, that they are content to sacrifice the liberty of their country to the pleasure of revenge, and their own personal security. They see Ireland only in their rent rolls, their places, their patronage, and their pensions.' 'At least the United Irishmen have a sublime object in view. Their enemies have not yet ventured, in the long catalogue of their accusations, to insert the charge of interested motives. They may be feared and abhorred, but they can never be despised.'

Vol. 11. pp. 481-484.

Towards the end of May, Tone was ordered to join General Bethencourt, at Havre, which place the English were bombarding, and he served a month there. His journal closes with bitter reflections upon the sad condition of his country, which had been purposely goaded into open resistance, without any means of supporting the war against the power of the oppressor, except the arms that indignation and despair supplied. Remorseless massacres and bloody executions were sweeping away the lives of the brave, who ventured into the field, and still more of those who remained through terror passive and inactive. Such were the views, such the principles of Theobald Wolfe Tone. That he was honest and sincere, never can be doubted; that he was highly gifted, can be as little questioned; and no true patriot or lover of liberty can contemplate his story with indifference.

The last and most tragical period of his existence is now, after nearly thirty years, given as a sequel to his own autobiography by his son; his materials, as he says, being derived from the public papers, his mother's correspondence, and a few private letters. He draws an imposing picture of the history and character of the times. Refugees from Ireland, of various