SEC RET S O C IE T IE S

TH E E U R O PE A N R E V O L U T IO N .
 In t h e a t t emp t to c o n du c t t h e g ov e n men t r o f r
t h is w o ld, t here ar e

ne w el e m e n t s t o b e c on s id er e d w hi h c o ur p r c
e d e e s so r s h ad not to d ea l
w ith . We h av e not t o de al o n bg w it h Emp er o r s , Pri n c e s , an d Mini s
te rs , bu t t h e r e ar e t he se cr et so ci e t i e s— o n e l e men t w hi c h w e m u st t a k e
into c o n s i d e r at i o n , w hi h c at th e l a s t m o m en t m ay b afile a l l o u r a rr a ng e
m en t s , w hi ch h av e t h e i r ag n t e s c
ev er w h er e , w hi h h av e r e k les s a en t s ,
y g c
w hi h c c
c o u nt en an e a ss ass i n a t i o n , a n d w hi h, c ifn e c e ss ar
y , c o u ld p r o d u c e

m a ss a cr e c Ay l e sb u ry , S e pt 2 ot h ,
”— ’
a . L ORD B E A C ON SFIE LD S S pe e h at .

1 87 6 .

Th e c
s e re t so ci e t i es o f t h e w o r l d, t h e e x i s t en e o c f w hi c h m e n l au g h
a t an d d en y i n t h e pleni t u de of t h e i r s e lf c o nfide nc e , a s m e n l a u g h a t -

a nd d e ny t h e ex i s t e n e of c
a t a n hi m s e lf — S
t h e s e r e t s o i e t i e s a re fo r ing c c c
t h ei r e x i s t en c e an dy p t h e ir r e a li t u f on the c o n cis o u s n e ss o t h os e w h o ,

un t i l t h e o t h e r
d ay , w o u l d n o t b e li e ve t h a t t h e y e x is t e d In t h e y e a r .

c
1 8 4 8 t h e y s h e d i nn o en t b l o o d i n t h e c i t y of om e i n t h e y e ar 1 8 7 1 R
t h ey sh ed i nn o c en t b l oo d i n t h e c i ty of P a i s e
y a r e g r
a ai n . Th as wi d e
r c C ARDINAL MAN N IN G
”—
sp e a d a n d a s a t iv e a t t hi s m o men t . .
S E C R ET SOC IE T IE S

T H EflE U R O PE A N R E V O L U T KHT
'

1 7 76 —1 8 6
7 .

T H O M A S F R O S T ,

”
A U THOR TH E L IF E T H O MA S L O RD
'

OF OF L Y IT E L T O N , E TC .

IN T WO V O L UME S

VO L . I .

LO N DO N

T IN S L EY B R O T H E R S, 8 , C A T H E R IN E S T R E ET , S T R A N D .

1 8 76 .

[A 11 fi
g h t; f
o Tr a m /a no n a nd R epro d uc t io n a re r ese rv ed ]
 LO NDON

8 A VILL, E D WA RDS A ND CO .
,
PR I NTE R S , C H ANDOS S T R E E T,

C O V E NT G A RD E N .
 PREF A CE .

HE
T
poli t ical his t ory of E urop e during t he last
hundred years has been m ade ,
to so considerable
an extent by the various secret associations by which
,

revolutions and ins urrections have been prepared that ,

o ur knowledge of i t is incomplete and unsatisfactory

without som e acquain t ance with the agencies which ,

during that period have been incessantly at work

,

beneath the s urface . The great European conv ulsio n

of the last cen t ury was foreshadowed by the I lluminati ;
the seeds of the m ovement w h ic
h/ s k il full
y directed
by the m os t able statesman of the a
g e, has resulted
in the establish ment of the new German E mpire t w e re
/

sown by the T ug e ndb un d the inde pendence of Greece

is due to the H etairia ; and the exten t to which the
yo ung I talian State owes i t s existence to the Carbonari
and Young I taly is simply incalculable .

Much h as been wri tten concerning some of the

v i PRE F A CE .

associations forming the s ubj ec t of these volumes but ,

there is no single work dealing with the whole of

them in the careful and impartial manner w hich such

a subj ect requires ; and the writers who have a t ,

various times undertaken to relat e the history of

,
the

I llu m inati the United I rishmen and the Carbonari

, ,

have been far too di ffuse for t he general reader while , ,

in mos t cases thei r narratives exhibit t he bias

,
of

party prej udice to an ex t ent which envelopes all t heir

statements in the mists of doubt . To penetrate these
mists has been a work of considerable difficulty for the
author and in some instances he has been obliged
, ,

a ft er the most careful research and in the case , of the

m ore recent Societies ,
the best direc t ed inquiries ,

to leave doub t ful or di sputed points as he found

them .

Before the work could even be commenced it was ,

necessary t o have a clearly defined vie w of the ele

ments which constitute a Secre t Society . If we under
stand b y the words an
y combination of individuals
whose proceedings are conducted in secret the ,
de fini

tion will include organ i sat ions as Widely separated

from each other by their character and obj ects as th e
Privy Council the frat erni ties
, of Comical Fello w s and
 PR E F A CE . v ii

I ndependen t Bu ffaloes which combine conviviality,

with social economy and the societies known t o

,
o ur

detective police as the Long Firm and the Fo rt y

Thieves . Nor will it su ffice for t he purpos e to add
t o secrecy the further definition that the obj ect of the
combination m ust be p oli t ical . As there are Secret
Societies which are not political so also th ere have ,

been poli t ical associations which t hough under secre t ,

d irection are s eparated b y broad and well m arked

,
-

distinctions from s uch organisations as t he Carbonari

and the H etairia .

As an illustratio n of th es e distinc t io n s the Nat ional ,

Charter A s s ociation and the Chartist conspirators of

1 83 9 and 1 84 8 m ay b e quoted most advantageously ,

especially as attentio n has been drawn by Mr David .

Urquhart in an article on the Chartis t movement

, ,

which appeared in July ,

1 87 3, in the D ip lo ma tic

R e vie w ,
to the grea t similarity which he alleges to

h ave existed between the Chartis t org anisation to ,

wards the close of 1839 , and that of the H etair i a .

Aft er showing that the Greek association was based

on t he profoundes t secrecy and tha t its mechanis m ,

was admirably ad apted to the end which it h ad in

vie w M r Urquhart sta t es t hat
, .
, in principle and in
v iii PREF A CE .

form the Chartist confederacy in its revolutionary

,

aspect was substan t ially t he same ; fo r ,

like the

H etairia it was composed of di fferen t grades — mor e

,

numerous indeed and having fu nctions more minute

, ,

and comple x than are t o be found in i t s prototype

all of who m in their several degrees were subordinat e
, ,

to a secret committ ee of five individuals in whos e ,

hands the supreme po w er over t he organisatio n w as

concentrated fI t s members were d ivided into divisions

.
r

and subdivisions and again into districts and sub

,

districts wh ile these last in t heir t ur n branched o ut

into cl asses and sub -

classes — each sub class being
-

composed in the metropolis , of five and in the pro

,

vinces of ten persons . Like t he H etairia also the , ,

constitution and arrangement of the several parts of

the confederacy were such t ha t each of these di fferent

grades or circles was kept in ignorance of the kno w
le dge which had b een communicated to the o ne ne xt
above it ; the connec t ing line of information could no t
be traced upwards while ,
to the secre t committee ,

wh o concerted and directed th e conspiracy ,

all

its ramifica t ions down w ards were perfec tly well

known .

It will b e seen fro m t he chap t er ,

on t he He t airia ,
 PR EF A CE . ix

t hat there is scarcely any resemblance between the

organisation of t ha t Society an d th e syste m described
by Mr Urquhart which probably was C opied by the
.
,

directors of t he Chartist conspiracy of 1 839 from that

of the Uni t e d I rishmen which it resembles very ,

closely . A similar system was ad o p t ed by t he

National Charter As sociation under the infl uence of

t he revolutionary excitement of 1 8 4 8, the m embers

being divided into classes wards and districts , ,

. Ten
m embers forme d a class and ten classes a ward t he , ,

number of wards in a district varying with local

circums t ances . B ut these divisions did not exist in
1 84 2 ,
when the writer made his earlies t acquaintances
amongst the Chartists nor at any tim ethenceforward ,

un t il the sp r ing of 1 84 8 ; and neither a t the latter

date nor in 1 83 9 was there any o fficial connexio n
between the National Charter Associa t ion and the
revolu t ionary m ovemen t carried on withi n it not a
,

single m ember of the E xecutive Council of the Asso

c iat io n havi ng at either p eriod been
, , on t he com
mit t e e o f insurrection .

Bu t if Mr Urqu h art had discrimina t ed betwee n the

.

Na t ional C ha rter As sociation the obj ects,

of whic h
we r e perfectly legal and cons t it utional and t he con ,
 PR EF A CE .

s
pi rac
y to attain t hose obj ects by an insurrec t io n ,
he

co uld not h ave sustained the Vl e W that Chartism and

revolution were synonymous ; and if he had liken ed
the Chart ist organisation of 1 83 9 to that of the United
I rishmen which it very cl osely resembled instead
, ,
of

that of the H etairia which i t ,

did no t resemble ,
he

co uld not have m aintained the theory of a Russian

origi n on the ground that B e nio w ski ,
whom he assert s
to have been a secre t agent o f the Cabinet o f St .

P etersburg and ,
o ne o f the secret co m mittee o f the

C hartist conspirac y was ,

a m em b er of the H etairia .

That B e nio w ski was affi liated to the G reek A ssocia

tion is very probable ; that he was a secret age nt of
the R ussian Government is doubtfu l and , ,
as the
writer thinks improbable ; tha t he was
, o ne of the fiv e

directors of the C hartist insur r ectionary m ovem en t o f

1 83 9, i s disproved by the fact tha t he was appoin t ed

W ales
/

by the secret com mitt ee to a co mm an d in ,

and tha t t he appoin t men t was subsequently re

vo k ed .

The National Charter Association was no t , at any

time a Secre t Society
, nor did t h ose me mbers of the
Association wh o conspired in 1 83 9 an d 1 848 to e ffect ,

by force of ar m s certain con stitutio nal reform s mos t

, ,
 PR E PA CE .
xi

of which have since been adopted by Parliament con ,

st it ut e a Secre t Society in the sense in whi ch that

character at t ach es to the Socie t ie s whose history is

related in the present work . The au thor was

acquainted m ore than a quar t er
, of a cen t ury ago with ,

men who had participated in the m o vement of 183 9 ,

and t hough informed by them

, of the obj e cts and
plans of the conspirators never heard the slightest
,

allusion to an oath of secrecy and fidelity an initiatory ,

cerem ony symbols pass words grips

, ,
-
, ,
or any o t her of
the distinctive m arks of a Secret Society and he can
a ffirm from personal knowledge t hat nothing of the
k ind existed among t he Char tist conspirators of

1 848 .

I f we accept as t h e !fi st by which a Sec ret Socie ty ,

as the ter m is generally used and understood may be ,

distinguished from other combinations the ad t ion of

,
q p ’

an oath of secrecy an d fide lit y ,

an initiatory ceremony ,

associations to which this charac t er pplies m ay be

a

divided into three classes which are separated from ,

g

each other by well -

de fine d lines of demarcation They .

m ay be b r
oadly characterise d as political
—
agrarian w m fi
, ,

and provident societies ; the I lluminati , Ph il ade l

xii PR EF A CE .

ph ian s ,
an d Carbonari bei ng types of the firs t class ,

the Defenders ,
VVh it e b o y s ,
and R ib b o n me n of the
'
second and th e Odd Fellows Fores t ers and
, , ,
Druids o f

the third . O f these three classes o f Secret Socie t ies the ,

first alone can be reckoned among the forces which

h ave produced the E uropean revolution which has been
in progress during the last hundred years and is still ,

incomplete .

Th e author has endeavoured to m ake t he presen t work

as comple t e as the nature of the subj ect renders p os

sible and believes tha t it includes every Secret Society

,

of the political class which has existed d uring the las t

hundred yea r s . H e has not in the performance o f his
,

task relied solely u pon the published

,
m emoirs of the
I lluminati t he United I rishmen the Carbonari and
, , ,

the H etairia which with a few exceptions have been

, , ,

written b y men who were n ot affiliated to those Socie

ties but
, h as drawn to a consider able extent upon the
store of m ater i als which he s ucceeded in collecting
’
from private sources during m ore than thirty years
e x perience of political agi t ation and j ournalism which ,

brought him into connexion especially during ,

the

earlier years of that period with political refugees

,

from almost every par t of E urope . In t he use o ft h e

 PR EF A CE . x iii

k no w l e g e thus acquired so m e cau t ion was necessary ,

and nothing has been admi t ted withou t a careful

e x amina t ion by t he ligh t of ascert ained fac t s Though
.

by such t es t s he has somewha t reduced t he amo un t o f

m a tt er whi ch less care would h ave enabled him to

produce t he writer has the satis faction

, of knowing
tha t he has admi t ted no s t at emen t which he has no t

every r eason to regard as t he tru t h .

 C O N TE N TS

T H E F I R S T V O

1 . TH E

11 . TH E U N ITE D IR IS H ME N

III THE PH I L AD E LPH IAN S

.

IV . TH E TUG E ND B UN D

V . TH E C A RB O NA R I

VI TH E A S S O C IATE D PA TRIOTS
.

V II TH E C O MMU N ERO S
.
 TH E

EG RET S O C IE T IE S

THE E U R O PE A N R EVO LU T IO N .

I N T ROD U C TI ON .

H E descen t claimed by for cer t ain of t he sec r e t

or

societies which have exercised so m uch influence

upon t he political progress o f E urope during the last
hundred years from similar associations o f a m uch
earlier date constitutes one o f the most in t eres t ing o f
,

the problems which engage the attention o f th e

s t udent o f history Starting from the earliest secret
.

association o f medi aeval times that o f the Assassins

,

o f the E ast ,
we find society a fter society claiming
descen t from o ne o r other o f its predece s sors and in, ,

compara t ively recent times an unbroken series of such

,

societies appearin g under di fferent names but having

, ,

the same obj ects and consisting in many instances o f

,

the same individuals This latter state o f things

.

will be explained in i t s proper place ; in t hese intro

d uc t o ry pa g es I desire only t o sho w how the medi aeval
societies are supposed to have been connected and ,

h o w those of the eighteenth and nineteen t h centuries

2 IN TR O D UC TION .

have connec t ed themselves wi t h the associations o f t h e

Middle Ages .

Freemasonry which has furnished the organisat ion

,
—
and t he syfiib ais m of m any o f t h e secret societies o f
— ’

modern times c l aims t o be descended from and t o

, ,

h ave continued those o f the Middle A g es

, This claim .

ha s been made fo r the Order in respec t both o f t h e

Te m plars and the R osicrucians and t he alleged

affil i ation of the T e mpl ars t o the Assass ins completes
the genealogical tree by indicating t h e q u arter in
which we are t o seek its roo t s Leaving fo r future .

consideration t he question o f the relationship o f the

I lluminati t o t h e Freemasons I propose in this place ,

t o s t a t e th e evidence that exis t s o f the al leged descen t

o f the former from the Templars and o f t h e connexion ,

o f the last named Order with the Assassins ; and i t

-

will be n ecessary to preface this s t atement with a brief

account of the origin and developmen t o fthe mysterious
association which arose at Cairo in the eleventh cen

t ury and a t o ne t ime t hrea t ened t o domina t e t he

,

Moslem world .

A t th e time when the Visigothic monarchy in Spain

was succumbing t o the growi n g power o f the Saracens ,

t here lived a t Ahwaz in t he south o f Persia o ne , ,

Abdallah who had conceived the idea o f subverting

,

the rule of the Khalifs by secretly disseminating

amon g the faithful the pantheistic t enets which see m
t o underlie both the theology o f the Z end Avesta and
that o f the Vedas There is n o t however much
.
, ,

known o f this Abdall ah D H e rb e l o t does not notice .

’

*
him and Von H am mer s accoun t o f him was derived
,
’

3“ c c
G e s hi h t e d er A ss ass inen .
 IN TR OD UC TION . 3

from Mac risi a w ri t er o f the fifteen t h century whose

, ,

Oriental authorities are n o w inaccessible C armat h .

,

a native o f Syria in which country Abdallah died is

, ,

said t o have exten ded h is views and continued their ,

propagation ; and some historians regard him as t h e

founder of the sy stem H e main t ained t ha t the pre
.

c e t s o f the Koran should be understood in a fi ura

p g
tive sense ; thus prayer signified obedience to the
I maum MaaSso o m an ideal spotless prince whose
, ,

follo w ers were to hurl al l the princes o f the earth

fr om thei r t hrones fasting was keeping the secrets o f
the Society ; al m sgivi ng was au g menting its funds .

F o r a whole century war was waged wi t h varying ,

success be t ween t h e C armat hit e s and the t roops of

,

the Kh alifs the former being at length vanquished

, ,

and their n am e extin g uished .

They were not yet stamped o ut however when a , ,

secre t association the members o f which adop t ed the

,

di stinctive whi t e garments o f the C arm at h it e s in their

ass emblies was formed at Cairo for the propagat ion
,

of the sam e t enets According to the accounts pre

.

se r ved by Mac risi aspiran t s were in these asse mblies

,

conducted through n i ne degrees of m ental il lumina

tion the la tt er o f which remind u s in some degree o f
,

the revelations m ade to the initiat ed in t h e mysteries

of E leusis I n the firs t degree they w e re perplexed
.
"

by c apt io n s questio n s which seemed designed to e x

,

pose the absurdities o f the Koran when literally ,

understood and t o prepare the mind fo r interpreta

,

tions more conso n ant with reason They were then f .

-

required to bind the mselves to the Society by a solemn

oath of obedience and secrecy after which the recog ,

B 2
 4 IN TR OD UC TION .

nit io n o f the I maums appointed by God as t he sou r ces

of all knowledge was inculcated .

To s t udents o f the third de g ree t he number o f the

I mau m s the mystic seven was revealed I n the
— — .

fourth t hey were taught t hat G o d had sent seven law

givers to man the mission o f each being to improve
,

the syste m o f his predecessor and adapt i t to the ,

altered conditions o f society ; and that each o f thes e

had seven helpers who had appeared in t he in t ervals
,

bet w een t he eras o f the lawgivers The seve n .

divinely commissioned legislators were Adam Noah

-
, ,

Abrah am Moses Jesus Mahomed and I smael the

, , , , ,

son o f Jaaffe r ; the se v e n helpers were Seth Shem , ,

I sh m ael Aaron Simon Ali and Mahomed t he son

, , , , ,

o f I smael . Von H ammer observes that as the last ,

named persona g e had no t been dead more than a

century the teacher was enabled to fix upon whom
,

he would as the prophet t o be believed in and obeyed

by all who had not got beyond this de g ree Studen t s .

/ in the fifth degree were tau g ht that each o f t h e

helpers had twelve apostles to assis t him and the ,

appropriateness o f t hat number was shown by m ystical

analo gy .

The six t h degree carried the illuminat ion o f the

aspiran t s a step furt her They were now taught .

t h at no t h ing in the Koran was positive that was um

supported by philosophy and a lon g course o f in ,

I Il C t
S lD in the s y stem s o f Pl ato and Aristotle was
‘
J Il

g one throu g h .I n the seventh degree instruction was

given in the m ystic pantheism of the S o o fe e s There .

would seem to have been no need to carry the inc ul

cation of subversive doctrines further than this and
t h e system o f Abdallah is said indeed to have been , ,
 IN TR O D U C TIO N . 5

comp rised in seven degrees B u t Mac risi affi rms that

.

there was an eighth degree in which the initiated ! ,

were told that prophets and teachers were nothing ,

and heaven an d hell an idle dream and a ninth still ,

more superfluous which tau g ht that nothing was to

,
! '

be believed and that everything might b e done

, .

De S ac y was of opinion however that t he Ar ab ic

ii
, ,

words tale el and i bahat will not bear the construction

put o n them by Mac risi and Vo n H amm er The .

former he says signifies only t hat God is a merely

, ,

specul a t ive being ; an d t h e latter emancipat i on fro m ,

t he inj unctions concerning prayer fasting & c but , ,

.
,

not fro m moral obligations .

It is unnecessary to t he presen t purpose that t he

history of the remarkable Society tha t arose fro m
these beginnings should be related even in a merely ,

cursory manner I t is su ffi cient to say o f the Society

.

at Ca ir o tha t the initiated multiplied rapidly and in ,

1 0 5 8 were S t rong enough t o seize Bagdad and hold it ,

for more t han a year Fro m that time however

.
, ,

it declined and in 1 1 2 3 it was forcibly suppressed

,
.

I n the meantime however H assan Sabah had orga

, ,

nise d a similar society i n Syria rej ecting the last t w o ,

degrees o f the I smaelite Society at Cairo and institut ,

ing an O rder o f F e dav e e (devoted ) the members o f ,

which do not appear to have participated in the mystic

pantheism o f the h ig her order o f the initiated but t o ,

have remained s ubj ect to the positive precepts o f the

Koran To these was assigned the task o f murdering
.

those wh o were denounced to the m by their chief ; and

hence t he name o f Assassins by which t he ini t iat ed ,

Jo u rn al de s S avant s, 1 8 1 8 .
6 IN TR OD UC TION .

became known in E urope though in Asia they wer e ,

cal led Oriental I smaelites t o dis t inguish the m fro m

,

t hose o f E gypt .

H assan Sabah cap t ured by s t rat age m the strong

fort ress o f A l amo o t in t he nort h west o f Persia in
,
-
,

1 0 9 0 and o ne o f his lieu t e nan t s seized the fortress o f

,

Mo o minab ad soon afterwards D uring o ne o f t h e .

frequent civil wars o f that per i od t he Order cont inued ,

t o seize fort r ess after fortress and t o ex t end and c o n ,

solidate its power I n vai n wer e ana themas ful

.

m inat e d agains t the As sassins and t h e sword o f j us ,

tice invoked for their extermination Strong in thei r .

secret organisation they defied alike ecclesiastical

,

censures and civil processes and the daggers of the

'

F e dav e e avenged those who m t h e sword o f j us t ic e

struck down Agains t such enemies even ar mies wer e
.

n o protection and e very r ul er in Asia t rembled o n

,

his thron e .

Within thir ty year s aft er t h e cap t ure o f A l amo o t by

t h e Assassins t h e O rde r o f the Knigh t s Templars was
,

founded and be t ween these t wo Orders a secre t con

,

n e x io n has been alleged t o have exis t ed V o n H am .

mer no t only traced in the latter a resemblance t o t h e

former but asserted t hat t w o o f the knights w h o
,

formed the nucleus o f t h e Temple O rde r were secretly

a ffiliated t o the A ssassins Absolute proof o f thi s
.

connexion neve r has been add uced but it must be ,

remembered tha t the Assassins were a secre t associa

tion and as the Templars undoubtedly had a similar
, ,
-

organisation as well as similar aims p ositive evidenc e

, ,

is no t to be expec t ed All that can be done towards

.

the solution o f an undoubted historical puz z le is t o

relat e those points in t h e his t ory o f t he t wo O r ders
 IN TR O D UC TI ON . 7

which afford grounds fo r t h e conclusion a rr ived a t by

Vo n H ammer x
.
ae

The Order o f t he Temple o riginat ed wi t h nine

knigh t s t hen in Syria who took upon them m onastic
, ,

vows and engaged also t o defend the Temple of Jeru

,

salem against the Moslems H ugh de Pay e ns t he .

,

founder o f the O rder re t urned t o E urope t o enlis t sup

,

po rt and reappeared in Syria t en years later at t h e

, ,

head o f three hundred kni g h t s o f t he noblest families

o f E urope They wore whi t e m antles wi t h a red cross
.

o n the breas t It m ay b e no m o re than a coincidenc e

.

t hat the Assassins also w e re whi t e garments with a r ed

gi rdle The banne r o f t he Templars was first nu
.

furled in that unfort unat e expedition t o Damascus in ,

which they ac t ed in alliance with t he Assassins and ,

o f which Vo n H amm er accuses H ugh de Pay e ns o f

being the chief ins tigat or The Assas sins were a t .

tha t time desirous o f securing a position o n the coast ,

and a secret trea ty was concluded be t ween Abu al -

We fa the ir agent a t Damascus and Baldwin II

, ,
.
,

King o f Jerusalem b y which the former engaged t o

,

be t ray Damascus t o the Crusaders and t he latter to ,

place Tyre in the hands o f t he Assassins The Cru .

s ade rs were to assemble secretly and appear before ,

Damascus o n a Friday when the E mir and his o fficers ,

would be a t prayers in the mosque The treachery of .

Abu al We fa was opportunely discovered however

- -
, ,

and the E mir having p ut t o death both his vizier

,

( h o was in t he plot ) and t he I sm aelite agent and

w ,

m as sacred all t he Assassins in Da mascus t o the ,

n um b e r o f si x t ho usand sallied fro m t he ci ty at tacked

, ,

Fun dg r u ben de r O ri ent .

8 IN R O
T D UC TION .

the Crusaders and completely routed t he m I n con

, .

sequence o f this defeat the I smaelite governor o f t h e

,

Castle o f Banias pla c ed it in t h e hands o f the Crusaders ,

in order to avail o f the protection o f the latter and ,

thus esc ape the fate o f his bre t hren in Damascus .

That the Templars and t h e Assassins more t han

once co operat ed and t hat t h e former purs ued their
~

s ecret purpose with as little re gard for Christians as

Moslems is undenia b le The raising o f t he siege o f
, .

Damascus b y the Crusaders has been a tt ributed t o

the treachery of the Temp l ars and a t the s iege o f ,

Ascalon which also miscarried thro ugh the opposition

,

o f the latter t o the o t her forces engaged i n it the ,

Templars act ually held the breach against the Chris

tians in order to mo no polise the spoil Tw o years
, .

l ater when the I smaelite Khalif o f E gypt was

,

slain by his vizier and the latter was flying across

,

the desert from the ve ngeance o f the people a ,

body o f Templars attac k ed and routed his escor t nea r

Ascalon slew him seized his t rea sure and sold his
, , ,

son to the family o f the murdered Khalif for sixty

t housand pieces o f gold tho ugh he had expressed a
,

desire t o become a Chris t ian and tor t u r es and deat h

,

awaite d hi m in E gypt .

D uring the Grand Mas t ership o f Philip o f N apl o o s ,

the Templars again evi nced their sympathy wit h the

E gyptian Khalifat e by pro t esting against the expedi
tion against it o f Almeric King o f Jerusalem and , ,

refusing t o take par t in i t ; and in 1 1 6 7 when ,

Almeric en tr usted t o t he m t he defence o f a strong

posi t ion o n the Jor dan t hey capit ulated t o t he
,

Moslems though t h e king was has t ening t o t heir

,

relief .
—
This treachery fo r w e c anno t suppos e it
 IN TR OD U C TION . 9

cowardice — led Vo n H am mer t o the conclusion that

the annual tribute which the Assassins paid t o the
Templars a t this perio d was really secret service
m oney applied to the reward o f the latter Order fo r
t heir assistance o n this and other occasions .

The power and influence o f the Assassins reache d

their zenith at the beginning of the thirteenth century ,

when t h e Christian power in t h e E ast was wani ng

fast ; and it is j ust at this time that we find the
struggle c om mencing between t h e Templars w h o ,

n o w had precep to ries and es t ates in every E uropean

country and the princes of the West I n 1 2 0 8 Pope

,
.
,

I nnocent I I I passed a public censure o n the O rder

.
,

in an epistle to the Master in which he said that

, ,

though they bore th e Cros s o n their breas t s they ,

cared not to follo w Chris t ian doctrine and that they

admitted to t he Order scoundrels o f every degree ,

who when they died received honourable burial in

, ,

their cemeteries t hough they might be under eccle

,

sias t ic al interdict for ad ultery and other o f

fences The .

Papal censure was disregarded by the Templars and , ,

t hough t hey profes sed obedience t o t h e Pope s legate ’

in 1 2 1 9 when he hea ded the expedi tion against Da

,

m ietta it was really they who directed the l egate

, .

When the E mperor Frederic I I undertook a crusade

.

in t o E gypt they exerted all their influence t o render

,

it a fail ure and even be t rayed his plans to the E g y p

,

tian Sultan The E mperor reven g ed himself upon the

.

Or der by seizing all their estat es in I taly an d Sicily ,

and the Templars r etaliat e d b y dispossessing t h e Teu

tonic knights o f t heir possess i ons in Syria .

About this time the Templars entered in t o an alli

ance wi t h the E mir o f Damascus agains t t he H ospi
10 IN R O
T D UC TION .

t all e rs
and in 1 2 5 9 a bat tle was fought b etween t h e
,

t wo Orders in which the former were completely

,

routed They seem at this time t o have been medi

.
~

tating a final retreat from Syria where the Turk s ,

were bearing down all opposition ; and after t h e ,

sto rming o f Acre the last s t ronghold o f the Chris

,

t ians in Syria t hey carried t he design into exec ution

,
.

Bu t in E urope they were already in odium with t h e ,

princes becaus e the Order menaced their absolu te

power with the clergy o n account o f their inde pen
,

dence and their suspected heresies with th e masse s ,

for their licentiousness Their oppo sition t o t he pro

.

posi tion o f Pope Clement V for a new crusade and .

,

their amalgamation with the H ospitallers swelled the ,

stor m that was rising against them Charges were .

made against t hem that they were a secret society ;

,

that they repudia t ed and reviled t he doctrines o f

Christiani ty ; t hat they held the heresy o f the
Gnostics and contemned the au t hority o f t he Church
,

that t heir lives were licentiou s and abominabl e .

Thereupon al l the Templars in France were arrested ,

and all the property o f the Order in t hat country was

confiscated by anticipation The same course w as
.

taken shortly afterwards in almos t e very country

where t hey h ad preceptories .

The depositions that w ere t aken in t he course o f

t he p r oceedings that were foll owe d by t h e suppre s
sion o f the Order are far from satisfactory The art i .

cles o f accusation were absurd and contradictory Th e .

confessio n attribute d to Molay the last Grand Mas t er , ,

was disowned by him ; and though the Bull o f Cle

m ent V in w hich it was cited is d ated Augus t 1 2 t h
.
, , ,

1 3 0 9 t h e confession is said t o hav e b e en m ade o n t h e

,
 IN R O
T D UC TION . 11

festival o f t he Assumption which was four day s ,

“
later l The confessions of the knigh t s were extracted
a

by tor t u re and many o f the m retrac t ed

, O f the .

charge o f being connec t ed with the Assassins nothing ,

was said ; for t h e power o f that Order had been

crushed in Persia by the Mongol Khans an d in Sy ria !
, ,

by the Mameluke S ultan o f Egypt B e ib ars and , ,

E urope had nothing to fear from it The ch arges .

t ha t we r e made were supported by evidence tha t

would not be considered su fficien t for conviction by
any modern j ury and even Clement V acknowledged .

t h at it amounte d only t o suspicion .

W i lcke though he acquits t he Templars o f being

,

an o ffshoot o f t he Assassins regards the m as a secre t

,

Order and believes t ha t t hey held the mys t ic doc

,

trines o f the Gnostics O pinion seems to b e evenly

.

balanced upon the point o f secrecy b u t t heir his t ory ,

a ffords abundant evidence that wh et h er o r not they ,

were bound to secrecy by an oath t hey had secret ,

aims to which they were moved by sprin g s o f action

,

unknown t o the outer world They man i feste d upon

.

several occasions contemp t fo r the authority and fo r

t he rites o f the Church and a general indi fference t o
,

religion and there is evidence enough o f their trans

actions with the Assassins and their alliances at a
,

later period wit h Mosle m princes to sho w that their ,

aim was less the defence o f Christianity than the

advancement and glorification o f their o w n Orde r .

Like t h e A ssassins they aimed at independent power

, ,

at the erection o f a State within a State and they / ,

s e emed t o ha ire fail ed to achieve their purpose only

H e nry , His t E
. ccl es , lib . xc i.
 12 INTR OD UC TION .

because their schemes were too vas t and their forces ,

too m uch di ffused for their accomplishment .

The evidence o f the descent o f the Masonic Order

from the Templars is vague an d mis ty The clai m .

f
was first advanced in 1 7 4 0 by Andrew R am say f a
Sc otchman d omiciled in France and an adherent of ,

the Chevalier St George There has always been

. .

cherished by the Freemasons some tradition assign

ing to their Order extreme antiqu ity o ne o f these ,

carrying back the date of its origin to the buildin g o f

’
Solomon s Temple ; an d R amsay without adducing any ,

evid ence in support o f the hypothesis sug g ested that ,

t he Order originated at the time o fthe Crusades The .

idea assumed a tangible form in the higher degrees o f

Mas onry which were founded by R amsay an d thus ,

received the encouragement necessary for its develop

men t We next mee t with it in what is known as
.

the S w edish syste m o f Masonry descri b ed by Findel ,

as a mixture o f the Masonic R os icrucian and , ,

Templar systems and the foundation o f which is

,

fattributed to Gustavus II I w h o is said to ha v e been

.
,

actuated in its introduction and disseminat ion by

op po l it ic al motives .

Most if not all secre t societies have a discourse o n

, ,

t heir origin and obj ects which is read o r orall y de

livered to members o n their initiation o r prefixed t o ,

their printed rules and t his applies to such Orders as

the Freemasons and t h e Foresters as well as t o ,

political societies like the I lluminati and the Car

,

bonari . That o f the Swed i sh system o f Masonry

sets fort h that there h ave been from the beginning o f ,

F indel Hi st o ry o f F reem aso nry

’
s .
 IN T RO D UC TION . 13

the world m en who have worshipped t he one God in

,

spirit and truth and preserved that esoteric doctrine

,

as a mys t ery handed down fr om one generation t o

,

another I n the time o f the Crusades seven Syriac

.
,

Christians who had inherited that truth from th e

,

E ssenes flying from t he Saracens were rescued near

, ,

B ast rum by a troop o f Templars and received pro ,

t e c t io n fro m the Order At their own re quest they

.

were allowed t o reside with the chap l ains of the Orde r

at Jerusalem amongst whom the y were afterwards
,

admit t ed and to who m they impar t ed t heir secr e ts

,
.

These remained with the Templars ever afterwards ,

the existence of t he priestly members o f the Order n o t

bei ng a ffec t ed by its suppression as they could not be ,

reached by t he secular arm S ome o f them proceeded .

to Scotland and founded a chapter o f the O r der a t

,

Aberdeen of which Pe t er o f B ologna was the firs t

,

prior From thence the revived O rder was extended

.

to the E uropean Continent where it existed in several ,

countries in secre t unt il i t was merged in the

Masonic O rder .

When t h e Masonic conven t ion was held at Wil

h e l msb ad in 1 7 8 1 Dit furth the delegate of the
, , ,

W etzlar lodges pronounced the evidence o f t h e deri

,

vation o f the Order fro m the Templars per fectly satis

fac tory ; and after much discussion it was res olved
, ,

“
That the connexio n with the Order o f the
Temple was ma intaine d by m ean s o f historical in
struction imparted in a special class o f the Order
, ,

which at the sa me time w as char g ed with the reg ul a

tion o f the inferior degrees and had the name of ,

B e ne fic e nt Kni g hts besto w ed on them ; and tha t all

Prefects and Provincials had it entirely at their o wn
14 INTR OD UC TION .

discretion should special circum stances dem and it and

, ,

if it could be done withou t prej udice t o the w h o ld

confederation t o leave this de g ree entirely o n one side
, ,

”
and m ake no use o f it at all .

The tradition o f t he perpetuation o f Templ arism in

the Masonic O rder has been repeated in various forms ,

all agreei ng however in the statement that a remnant

, ,

o f the Temple Order fou n d a refuge in Sco t land One .

version is that seven knights eluded t h e persecution

o f the Order and escaped t o the isle o f Mull where
, ,

they found ano t he r o f the brethren n amed H a rris ,

.

These formed t he nucleus o f the revived Order the ,

members of which worked as masons ; bu t t he story

does n o t m ake i t clear whether they communicated
t heir secrets t o t heir fellow craftsmen and thus -
,

originated the Masonic Order o r grafted them upo n ,

a secret system already existing The early history .

o f Masonry is so m isty and dim t h a t t he separation

o f the facts fro m the fic t ions in which t hey are em

bedded is no t only a very di fficult tas k bu t o n e that ,

canno t be performed with a perfec tly sat is factory

r esult
.

Wilcke relat es t he s t ory m ore in detail bu t only ,

for the purpose of demol i shing it As it is thus told .

,

Pe t er o f Bolo g na the chief chaplain o f the T emple

,

Order escaped from prison and found refuge with

, ,

H u g h Wildgrave of S al m who was a Commander o f

, ,

the Order This asylum being insecure he fled to

.
,

Scotland accompanied by Silvester of Grumbach and

, ,

found there H arris a Grand Commande r and Au m ont

, , ,

the Mars h al o f the Order These four committed the

.

secrets of Templarism to the Freemasons A gainst .

the credibility o f this story i t is urged by Wilcke that

 IN R O
T D UC TION. 15

no thing is known concerning the movemen t s o f Pe t e r

o f Bologna after his escape from prison ; t hat tr adition

—
h as m ade two knights o f o n e namely Comes Silves t er
, ,

Wildgrave o f th e Comman dery o f Grumbach t ha t

H ugh o f Sal m Wildgrave and Com m ander of Grum
,

bach died a prebend of the Cathedr al o f Mentz that

,

the names o f H arris and Aumont do no t occur in any

authen t icated history o f the Templars ; and that the
last Marshal o f the Order whose name is u nknown was
, ,

left by Mo l ay infi ypruw h e re the Order was no t

disturbed .

These obj ec tions do no t e ffec t ually dispose o f t he

s t ory We must expect t o find discre pancies and im
.

perfec t ions in relations o f the kind however solid may

,

be t he fo undation upon which t he t radition has been

built up Tha t Peter o f Bologna did escape from
.

priso n is admitt ed ; t he fac t tha t nothing is well

at t ested concerning his subse quent movements does
not prove t hat he did no t find a refuge in Sco t land .

The m y stery in which his after life is enveloped m ay

j ust as fairly be urged in support o f the tradition ,

since as it is not known where he found a refu g e i t

, ,

is as reasonable to assum e that he went to Scotland

as th at he did n o t On the same principle the fact
.
,

that the names o f H arris and A umont are unknown

m ust not be regarded as a proof that they were no t
o n the roll o f t h e Temple Order a t the time o f its s u
p
pression About ei g ht hundred names are mentioned
.

in t he records o f the j u dicial proceedings against the

Te mpl ars and the greatness o f the number h as bee n
,

re g arded by Masonic authors wh o rej ect the t radi t io n

as evidence o f the no n existence o f H arris and A umon t ;
-

bu t it would be j us t as fair in view o f the many

,
16 IN TR OD U C TION .

thousands whom the Temple Order numbered in i t s

ranks to argue that because certain names are not o h
, ,

the muster roll o f the Guards there are no soldiers o f

-
,

those names in t h e British army .

Neither as it seems to m e should the t radi t ion o f

, ,

the perpetuation o f the Temple Order in Freemasonry

be discredited o n the ground o f there being a secret
Order o f Templars whose chief sea t is in Paris and
, ,

whose preceptories exis t in m any towns o f France and

o ther countries including E ngland claiming t o hav e
, ,

preserved the statutes archives and banners o f t h e

, ,

Order and to ha v e had an unb roken series of Grand

,

Master s from the t ime o f Molay I t must b e born e .

in mind that the knigh t s remained as individuals

,

when they were suppressed as an Orde r and that , ,

though m any o f the m were received into o t her Orders

o n the same foo t ing as they had s t ood in that o f the

Temple a considerable n umber were refused this

,
‘

favour o r declined to avail of it Some o f these m ay

,
.

have formed the nucleus o f the secretly continued and

u nau t horised Order the Grand Mastership o f which is
,

said t o have been h eld by Bertrand d a G ue sc lin and ,

several o f the Montmorencies and Bourbons whil e

others who did not consider themselves safe in France
, ,

m ay have sought refuge in such r emote corners o f

E urope as the island o f Mull .

Accordi ng to the Manuel des Templiers Molay , ,

j ust before his execution nominated as his successor

,

o ne L arm e niu s who mustered the scattered m e mbers

,

o f the Order and secretly reorganised them

,
Finding .

that the refugees in Scotland had deviated from

—
the rules o f the Order which m ay be understood as
,5 °

a pl y in g t o t h e ir r o c e e din g s in conn e xi O n WIt h t h e

p p
 IN TR OD UC TION . 17

Freemasons h e excommunicat ed t hem

— In 1 3 2 4 .

he committed the office o f Grand Maste r t o Francois

T hom as Ale x an drinu s by deed and this documen t ,

has been the subj ec t o f much con t roversy It is .

writ t en in three columns o n a large sheet of parch

,

f
ment and according to G re g o ire fi has the appearance
, ,

o f such extreme antiquity that there can be no doub t

o f i t s ge n uineness I il c k e says o n the other hand

V
.
’
, ,

that the Latin is no t that o f the four t een t h century ,

and that such an appo intmen t would have been con

t rary to the Temple rules The former obj ection is
.

entitled t o more weight than the latter ; for though ,

the deed i s u ndoubte dly at variance wi t h the statutes

o f the O rder t he illegali t y or rather irregularit y is no
, , ,

m ore proof tha t the d ocument is a forgery t han t h e

absence o f attesting signatures to a will would be a
proof that t he testament was a forgery .

I t must eq ually be ad mitted tha t th e alleged nomi

nation o f L arm e n iu s by Molay would h ave been
invalid ; but som e allowance m ay be made for the
di fli c ul t ie s o f t he situation which would accoun t for
,

som e other circumstances which hav e been re g arded

as evidence of the fraudulent char acter of the clai m
which the m odern Templars have advanced I t is .

obvious that an election according to the st atutes of

the Order was impracticable and though the executio n , ,

o f Mo l a s will has been considered e qually s o the

’

y ,

manner in which despatches have been conveye d in o ur

o wn time — in I ndia durin g the revolt o f 1 8 5 7 fo r ,

instance — m ay b e referred to as o ne only o f m any

modes in which si mil ar difficulties have been over

c
H is t o ir e d e s S e t e s Re l ig e u s e s .

VO L . I . C
18 IN TR OD U C TION .

co m e The obj ec tion tha t the name o f L arm e nius is

.

u nknown is s t ro n ger than in the cases o f H arris an d

Aumon t because the names recorded in t h e p ro c es

,

v e rb a ux may be supposed t o incl ude those o f all t he

most n o t able o f t he French Templars but L arm e nius

m ay no t have been a Frenchman o r he m ay have been
,

selec t ed for the very r eason t ha t he was beyond t he

reach o f t he prosecution .

Very lit tle weigh t seems t o m e t o att ach t o t he

obj ec t ion tha t the adherents of H ugo o f Peyraud ,

grand prior t o the O rder in Franc e were very nume

,

rou s and woul d n o t hav e acquiesced in the

,

n omination o f L arm e nius by Molay H ugo was

.

suspected of hav ing precipitated the downfall o f the

Order by disclosures concerning it t o which he was,

impelled by disappointed ambition ; and i t m ay readily

be conceived that h e did not acquiesce in Mo l ay s ’

cho i ce o f a successor and also that L arme nius did

,

no t succeed in rall y i ng around him all t he kni g hts

w h o were not received in t o other Orders The story

.

only requires u s t o believe tha t the O r der con t inued

to exis t in secret aft er t h e exec ution o f Molay I t is .

a m uch more serio u s obj ec tion that t he roll o f the

grand m asters from Molay to the presen t time bears
suspicious m arks o f forge ry The signatures before
.

’
B rissac s in the eighteenth cen t ury appear to have been
w ritten by the same h an d and they include one pur
,

porting t o b e tha t o f Bertr and du G ue sc lin w h o ,

co uld n o t write .

The di fficulties which surround the investigation

o f th e ori g in and history o f the secret societies of the

last hundred years are so much greater in respect o f

those which clai m to date fro m the Mi ddle Ages when ,
 INT ROD UC TI ON . 19

records were more liable t o be los t o r destroyed t hat ,

no s urprise o r disappointment can be felt a t t he

absence o f conclusi v e e vidence of the conne x ion
al leged t o have exis t ed be t ween the Templars and the
Freemasons and between the lat t e r and the Ro sic ru
,

e iau s
, o r Bre t hren of t he R osy Cross Masonic .

wri t ers of the presen t day repudiat e the connexio n ,

but there is abundant evidence that i t was an article

o f faith with the Continental Masons during at leas t

t he latter half o f t he last century Findel asserts .

that the Templars sneaked into the Order like t he

“
,

Jesuits and the I lluminati and asks why th ey m ain

,

t ain e d a separa t e existence for fo ur hundred years by ,

the side o f the Masonic Order before they claimed

,

kinship The q uestio n is evidently intended to

.

throw discredit o n the alleged descen t o f Masonry

from Templarism but t he previo us ass er tion weakens
i t s force by admit t i ng the existence o f the latt er sy s
t ems in the middle o f the eighteenth century while ,

it ignores the impo rtant di fference be t w een the Tem

l ars and the other Orders m entioned t hat the lat t er
p ,

neither claimed kinship with t he Freemasons nor ,

were admitted to form higher degrees in that Order as ,

the Templars were .

The separate exis t ence o f Templaris m canno t be

received as evidence aga inst t he connexion o f the t w o
Orders in view o f the like S tate of things in respect o f
,

the Freemasons and t he R osicrucians Fin d e omits .

t o e x plai n th e exis t ence of the R osicrucia n de g ree in

the Masonic Order ; he does not tell us that t he
Rosicrucians sneaked into the Order Yet the lat ter
.

Order equally w ith the Templars h as m aintained a

, ,

separate existence by the side o f Freemason ry for

o 2
20 IN R O
T D UC TION .

nearly four centuries Chris tian Ro se nc re ut z died in

.

1 4 8 4 and a periodical publication devoted t o astrol ogy

,

and other occult lore o f t h e like ki nd and which had ,

a brief existence about t hirty years ago stat ed tha t ,

the Order o f the R osy Cross was no t wholly extinc t even

then and had many members in E ngland as well as
, ,

o n the Conti n ent I t w o uld se e m therefore that t h e

.
fl

Freemasons o f the present day repudiate the Templar s

only o n accoun t o f the alleged a ffiliation which clai m ,

has no t been set up o n behalf o f t he R osicruc ians ,

though Freemasonry is no t g enerally credited with a

g reater antiquity than the seventeen th cen t ury at the ,

b e g inning of which the Order o f t he Ro sy Cross firs t

became known .

The Carbonari claim descen t from t he Kohlen

Brenners o f Germany ; but it m ay be regarded as
certain tha t no Carbonaro ever kne w any t hing more
of t h e genealogy t h an the dim traditions which are
known to all who have studied the under currents o f -

political progress I t is said that the ch arcoal burners

.

o f Germany formed themselves into an association fo r

mu t ual assistance and recognised each other by secre t

,

s i ns
g and pass words -
Their secrets and
. t he oa t h ,

w hich bound them to each other were called t he Faith ,

o f the Kohlen Bren ners

-
I mportant services rendered
.

to t h e Order sometimes ob t ained admission into t h e

society for persons o f rank The organisation must .

have had an early origin for Theobald de Brie w h o , ,

is said t o h ave been o ne o f the honorary members ,

d ied in 1 0 6 6 and bei n g canonised became the patron

, , ,

—
saint of the society a circu m stance which led t o
his adoption in the same capacity by the modern
Carbon ari .
 INTR O D UC TION . 21

The as sociation in the course of time ac q uired more

consis t ency and extended its ramifications into France
, ,

Flanders and H olland Francis I is said to have

, . .

been initiated into its secrets when being separa t ed ,

fro m his company in the chase and benighted in an ,

extensive forest he shared the hospi t ality o f some o f

,

i t s members The French branch is al leged to have

.

existed in the m ountains of the Jura do wn to t h e

close o f the las t century and s everal m embers o f the
,

provincial parliaments are said to have been enroll ed

in i t be t w een t he years 1 7 7 0 and 1 7 9 0 The member s .

were called Good Cousins as the Carbonar i afterward s

,

called each other in their lo dges .

Whatever may be thought o f the evidence o f t he

a ffiliation o f the modern secret societies to those o f
the Middle Ages there is no reason for doub ting that
,

the descent o f the Freemasons from t he Templars and ,

o f t he Carbonari from the Kohlen Brenners h as been -

,

honestly believed by at least past generations of the

modern societies I t is rarel y if ev e r that m ore
.
, ,

than a few o f the members of a secret society are

acquainted with the true date and circums t ances of it s
origin H ence the Freema sons though claiming in
.
,

the seventeenth century an origin for their Order among

the m asons employ e d in the building o f Solomon s v ’

temple received with avidity in the first half o f the

,

eighteenth century the suggestion of R amsay that it

dated from t he time of the Crusades and the state ,

ments o f adheren t s o f the S wedish system that it w as

a con t inuation o f the Temple Order I t is obvious .

tha t the Masons as a body kne w n othing at th at

, ,

’
time o f the Order s origin beyond the fac t t hat it had
been grafted a t an unknown pe riod upon the g uild o f
 22 IN TR OD UC TIO N .

Maso ns from which it is equally obvious i t did no t

, , ,

derive its rites and mysteries .

W hence t hen were t h e Masonic rit es and mys t eri e s

d erived ? I t is a t leas t as probable tha t they hav e
descended from the Templars as that they should hav e
be en insti t uted no lo nger ag o th an the seven t eenth
cen t ury and yet no t hi n g be k nown concerning th eir
,

origin Masonic writers wh o rej ec t the hypothesis o f

.

descent from the Templars throw no light upon t h e

m atter ; in cas t i n g from them t ha t theory they s ee m
t o have left t hemselves entirely in t h e dark Th e "

vague allusions o f the initiatory discourse used in t h e

Swedish sys t em t o t he E ssenes are as little to b e
regarde d as the reference t o the mysteries of E leusis
in an address used by the Carbonari o r t he s t atement
,

in the disser t at ion prefixed t o the rules o f the A O F . . .

t hat Fores t ry originated in the garden o f E den .

Tho ugh the Masonic Order is at the present day

, ,

coun t ed am ong t he secre t forces o f the E uropean

revolution only by t h e Pope and the Ul tram ontan e
s ec t ion o f t he pries t hood o f R ome so much o f t h e
,

organisation and the symbolism o f the secret societie s

o f the las t hundred years h as been derived from it ,

a nd it forms so i m por t an t a link o f t h e co nnexio n

between the m edi aeval and t he modern societies o f a

secret charac t er tha t t he foregoing cons iderations are
,

strictly in place It may be t hat the Freemasons o f

.

the nine t een t h cen t ury have no secre t doctrine n o aim s ,

a
w h ic h d i s t i n guish them from the Foresters and t h e
Odd Fellows bu t this was no t always t he case and I ,

sh all now proc e ed t o sho w h o w they have served t o

link the Templars o f the four t een t h cen t ury wi t h t h e
Ill uminati o f t h e eigh t e e n t h
.
 C H A PT E R I .

TH E I L L U MI N AT I .

T the time when a varie ty o f causes the respec t ive

A
,

shares o f which in producing the great E uropea n

co nvulsion o f the las t century have formed the theme
o f hundreds o f volumes were operating t owards the
,

rc d uc t io n of t hat t remendou s p olitical and social

p
t or nado the professorship o f canon l aw in the univer
,

s it of I ngolstadt in Bavaria was held by Dr Adam

y , ,
.

We ishaupt a man p o ssessi ng moral and in t ellectual

,

q ualities o f a rare order but who h ad no t in the firs t

, ,

ear o f the p eriod under rev iew made an y m ar k in

y ,

t he world . H e had been educa t ed in a seminary o f

t he Jesuits and m ay have owed to his t raini n g by
,

p riests of that Order the abhorrence of sacerdotal in

flue nc e which he displaye d in after life as well as ,

much of his skill in the organisation of s ocieties and

h is aptitude in availing of t he capaci t ies o f t hose
ar ound him fo r t he fur t herance of his aims He .

quitted the seminary animated by an invetera t e

h ostility to the Jesuitical sys t em and though b e
, ,

devoted him s elf to the s t udy o f th e canon law t he ,

influence o f such works as the Contrat S ocial o f

Rousseau is distinctly percep t ible in the t one o f h is
le tters t o his friends Z w ac k h and Knigge .

T he t im e a t which he conceived t h e ide a o f

24 THE ILL UMINATI .

founding a secre t Order tha t should be a counter

poise to t he formidable organisation o f Loyola canno t
be fixed with any degre e o f precision The dat e .

given by R obison as tha t o f t he insti t ution o f t h e

*

I lluminati is 1 7 7 5 when the founder was in h is

,

t wenty ei g h t h year ; but I am disposed t o regard

-

this as an error as Weishaupt i s said t o have found

,
'

h is first disciples in the lodges o f t he Masonic

o f which he was no t a brother until t w o years

w hen he was initiated in the Lodge Theodore o f G

Counsel held a t Munic h xi Findel w h o denies
,
'

sta tement o f R obison that the first m embers o f

I lluminati were Masons says that Weishaup t ,

the rites o f Masonry and the rules o f the S

Jesus to the purposes w i t h which he founded
Order which he could not have do n e unless
, ad
been himself initiated pr i or to the commence of

the w ork with whic h his name is associated I t is .

probable t h e i e fo re t hat t he Order o f the I lluminati

was not founded o r at least not defini t ely constitu t ed
,

until two o r t hr ee years later than t he dat e assigne d

by R obison
N o evidence is adduced by Findel in s uppo rt o f h is
denial t hat the firs t members o f t he I ll uminati wer e
Masons thou g h t h e fact t hat Weishaupt was a
,

brother o f the lat t er Order r enders it probable tha t

he would seek recruits among the Masonic brethren ,

and it is well know n that spec ulation o n questions o f

religion and government and t he organisation o f ,

Pr o o f s of a C i r acy ag ainst G o v e rnme nt and R el ig io n b y

o n sp ,
t he
Il lu min at i and t h e F r e e m aso n L o nd o n 1 7 98
s .
, B arruel fix e s
. t he
d at e a y ear l at e r t h an R o biso n doe s .

1 F in d e l s Hi
’
s t o ry o f F r e e mas o n ry .
 TH E ILL UMIN ATI . a
s

society were rife at that period in the Masonic

,

lodges though s uch discussions were said to be for

,

bidden by their rules Findel while contending t hat .

,

the Masonic Order before the seventeenth century

, ,

’
was simply an organisation of the Masons guilds o r ,

trade unions o n some such sys t em as t hat o f the

,

Foresters and Odd Fellows of the present day ac k no w ,

ledges t hat it under w ent a change during the last

quarter o f tha t cen t ury and the first o f t he
eighteenth .

“
Th e most decisive agen t in accomplishing t he
”
t ransformation o f Masonry was he says tha t in , ,
“

t e l le c t ual m ovement kno w n under the n am e of

E nglish Deism which boldly rej ected all re velation
,

and all religious dogmas and under the victorious , ,

banner o f reaso n and criticism broke down all b ar ,

ri e rs in its path Peers o f the realm fo ught in the

.

ranks o f the D eists as w ell as the simple a rtisan

,
.

E verything th at civilisation and learning sagacity ,

and fert i lity of thou g ht could o fle r was at that t im e

,

employed in t h e struggle fo r and against Deism its ,

chief supporters bei n g Toland Collins & c and the , ,

.
,

period when it flourished t h e m ost is exactly pointed

o ut by the Act o f Toleration passed in the year 1 6 8 9 ,
.

I t ca n not be denied that there is to be found a cert ain

spiritual connexion bet w een this movement and t h e
”
Fraternity of Freemasons as it afterwards appeared , .

This connexion he ad d s struck him with great

, ,

” ’
force in the perusal o f Toland s Pant h e ist ic o n “
,

especial ly in the description of the Socratic Society ,

and he quotes as p r oof and illustration the opening

, ,

o f the liturgical form o f t he O r de r ima ined by t h e

g
author as follows
, .
26 TH E ILL UMINATI .

Q ues t io n . H ave t he unin itiated been removed ?

A nswer . The doors are closed and everything ,
is
in due order .

Q U nder
. wha t auspices do we O pen this Society ?
A Under the auspices o f Philosophy
. .

Q T o. wha t m ust this assembly to what must ,

all o ur thoughts words and actions be continually

, ,

devoted ?
“
A To t h e t hreefold aim o f t he wis e
.
— t ru th ,

”
freedom and virtue
, .

“
This intellectual revolution Findel adds mus t , ,

necessarily have exercis ed an impor t ant influence o n

t h e Fraternity o f Masons and we cannot doubt that ,

it contrib uted essentially to i t s final trans formation

”
from an operative t o an universal speculative Society .

I quo t e Fin del o n this point in preference to express

ing any opinion o f my own because he is himself a ,

brother o f the Mason i c Or der and regarded as an ,

authori ty o f the highest order o n all matters con

cerning it Let u s now see what was the condition
.

o f the Order a t the time o f W e ish au pt s initia t ion

’

first glancing at a society whose operations explai n

’
the allusion in F inde l s assertion that the Templars
“
sneaked into t he Order like the Jesuits and the ,

”
I ll um inati .

A n attemp t was m ade during the second quar t er o f

t he eighteenth cen t ury to graft u pon the Masonic
Order t h e rites and mysteries o f the G o rmo g o ne s said ,

to have been b rought from China and to have bee n ,

practised in tha t country for centuries Ve ry little .

informat ion concerni ng this socie ty is accessible It .

is said t o have been i ntroduced in t o E ngland by a

C h inese manda r in wh o w as suspe c t e d o f b eing a
,
“
 THE ILLUMIN ATI . 27

Jesui t missionary ; but i t is no t known whether t he

supreme chapter o f t he Order had it s seat in Paris o r
in R ome Masonic au t hors though they have very
.
,

li tt le t o tell us concerning t h e G o rm o g o ne s agree in/ ,

regarding it as a J es uit enterprise Kloss conj ectures .

that it was an attempt o f the disciples of Loyola t o

promo t e Ro m anism and regain their influence in ,

E ngland ; and Findel surmises that R am say w h o ,

was an adherent o f the J acobi t e faction h ad some ,

t hing t o do with the experiment which was however , , ,

a failure The Or der was dissolved in 1 7 3 8 having

.
,

been in existence thirteen years ; and it is a curious

coincidence if nothing m ore that the first P apal bull
, ,

against the Freemasons w as ful minat e d in the sam e

’

year .

The I lluminati were m ore successful The lat t er .

half o f the last century was a period of great activi ty

and incessant agitation in the Masonic Order H igher .

degrees and new rites and cerem onies were intro duced ,

and thos e which were practise d in o ne country were

unknown in anoth er This was especially t h e case .

o n the Continen t where the E n g lish brethren of the

,

O rder were surprise d an d perplexe d by finding in the

lodges they vis i ted degrees doctrines and ceremonies , ,

entirely novel and S trange to t h e m fi The Parisian

“

Lodge Les Am is R e unis practised the ritual o f the

’

, ,

Ph ilale t h e an s a Masonic sec t o r section founded i n

,

1 7 7 3 and which excluded fro m i t s chapters e ven the

,

o fficers o f the Grand Orient At Met z t here was the .

R o b is o n . Th e s e c i t i w h i ch
so e es , in E ng l and h ad no po lit i al c
be ari ng b e c au e e
,
s lib rt y t h r c n pir d
e e s o e O pe nl y in Par l ia me nt a nd t h e

p r ss ,
e h a d a e r y d
v iffe r e n t m e a n ing o n t h e C o nt i n nt T h e . e
y w e re the
se c r e t c o nv e nt i c l e s o f ind e p e nd e nt t h o g t
u h — L amar tine . .
28 THE ILL UMIN ATI .

chapter o f St Theodore in which the revi sed ritual o f

.
,

St Martin was used At Montpelier there was t h e

. .

chapter o f t he R osy Cro s s Fro mthe Pyrenees t o .

the Oder Masons o f rank and means travelled from

,

lod g e to lodge to learn new doc t rines ; and e very

sch emer and charlatan a Ram say o r a Balsam o w h o , ,

pro fessed to t each a m ystery o r doctrine till then un

kno w n was received with honour and listened to with
,

avidity .

This fermen t o f ideas was a sui t able preparation o f

m en s minds for the enterp rise contemplated by the
’

I n g olstadt professor o f can o n l aw H e found ab l e .

and earnest coadj utors in a Bavarian advocate named ,

Z w ac k h who was a brother of the Masonic O rder and

, ,

an I talian noble the M arquis o f Costan z a ; and pro

,

c e e d e d t o propaga t e h is sy te m in the Masonic lodges

s ,

o f Munich and A ugsburg O bj e c t ing to the Masonic

and R osicrucian syste m
,

s in the latter o f which he ,

seem s t o have been initia t ed that they leave u s ,

“

under the do m inio n o f political and religious prej u ,

dices and are as ine ffectual as the so po rific dose o f an

,

ordinary sermon Weishaupt u nfolded a system ,

”

which h e explains as follows in a work published at a

later period at R atisbon and the in t roduc t o ry portion ,

o f which is said to h ave been the discourse read t o

aspirants o n their admis sion into the Order .

I have contrived a system which possesses every ,

advan t age It att r acts Christians o f every c o mmu

.
,

nion gradually frees t h e m fro m all religious prej u

, u

d ices cultivates the social virtues and animates them

, ,

by a great feasible and S peedy pr ospect o f uni versal

, ,

happiness in a state o f liberty and moral equality ,

fr e e d fr o m t he o b stacles which s ub o rdinat io n and t h e ,

 THE ILL UMIN A TI . 29

i ne q ualities of
rank and wealth con t inually throw in ,

o ur way My system is accurate and complete ; my

.

means are e ffectual and irresistible Our Association .

works in a way that nothing can wi t hstand and m an ,

s hall soon be fre e and happy .

This is the great obj ect held ou t by this Associa

t ion and t he m ea n s o f at t aining it is I l lumination
,

e nlightenin g the unders t an di ng by the sun o f reason ,

which will dispel the clouds of supersti t ion and prej u

dice The pro fic ie nt s i n this Order are therefore
.

j ustly called the I lluminate d And o f all I ll umina .

tion which hum an reason can g ive n one is co m parable

to the discovery of wha t we are our nature our obli , ,

a t io n s what de g ree o f happiness we are capable of

g ,

enj oying and wha t are the m eans of attaining it I n

, .

comparison with this the m ost brillian t sciences are

,

bu t amusements for the idle and luxurious To fit .

man by I llumi nation for ac t ive v ii t ue to engage him ,

to it by the s t ronges t m otives to render the attain ,

m ent o f it easy and certai n by finding e mploymen t

fo r every talent and by placing every t alent in its
,

proper sphere of action s o that all without any ex , ,

t rao rdinary e ffort an d in co nj unction with their ordi

,

nary busines s shall urge forward with united po w ers

, , ,

the general tas k this indeed will be an employmen t

—

suited to noble natures grand in its aims and delight, ,

”
ful in their pursuit .

The lofty aims pr e posed in this discourse fore

shado w the grand schemes of social amelior ation
propounde d at a later period by St Simon Fourier .
, ,

O w en Cabet and W eitli ng I t is one o f the m os t

, ,
.

irrational ideas ever promul g ate d tha t either Weishaup t

o r t he social re formers by whom he was s uccee ded
30 THE ILL UMINA TI .

were actuated by the motive which some authors t o o ,

hastily expressing the conclusions o f a shallow j ud g e

ment o r intent only upon t he v ilific at io n o f opponents

,

and the misleadin g o f the popular mind have at t ri ,

bu t ed to t hem o f bringing about universal anarchy

,

and demoralisation Such an aim could exis t only in

.

the diseased brain o f a lunatic N o enth usiast of this

.

class ho wever wrong headed he may have been h o w

,
-
,

ever far he m ay have oversho t his mark can be shown ,

t o have been actuated by other than t he pures t and

m ost laudable moti v es They longed to flood t h e
.

—
world with light to raise the masses o f t h e human
race from the depths of misery and degradation to the
loftiest heights o f happiness by the cultivation o f t he
m oral and intellec t ual faculties S uch aims could no t.

be pursued or proposed a hundred years ago without

exposing those w h o propounded and followed them to
the ris k s o f being exco m municated by the Church and
prosecuted by the State I t was necessary to work.

as s i lently and invisibly as the mole .

The A ssociation con tinues Weishaup t

, mus t ,

be gradual Its first task mus t be to form the young

.

m embers . As these m ultiply and advance they ,

becom e the apos tles of b e ne fic e nc e and the work is ,

now o n foo t and advances w i th a speed increasing

,

every day The slightest observatio n s h ows t hat

.

nothing will so much con t ribute to increase the zeal

o f the members as secre t union We s e e with what .

keenness an d zeal the frivolous business o f Free

m asonry is conducted by persons knit together by the
secrecy o f t heir union I t is needless t o inquire into
.

the causes o f the zeal which secrecy produc es I t is .

an universal fac t confirmed by t he his tory o f every

,
 THE ILL UMINA TI . 31

age Let this circums t ance of o ur Constitution

.
,

therefore be directed to t his noble purpose and all

, ,

the obj ections urged agains t i t by j ealous tyranny

and a ffri ghte d supers t ition will vanish The Order .

will work silently and securely ; and thou g h the

g enerous bene factors of t he human race are thus
dep rived o f the applause o f the world t hey have the ,

noble pleasu r e o f seeing t he work prosper in t heir

hands .

I t w as probably for the be t ter concealm en t o f their

operat ions in the event of their corresp ondence fallin g
,

into hands for which it w as not intended that the ,

Illuminati adopted the Persian reckonin g o f t ime ,

and gave feigned names to persons and places derived ,

from ancient history and geography W eishaupt .

assumed the name of Spartacus Z w ac k h that of Cato , ,

and Baron Knigge was called Philo Bavaria becam e .

Acha ia and Austria E gyp t ; Munich was known as

, ,

Athens I ngolstadt as E leusis Vienna as R ome and

, , ,

s o o n t hrough all the countries and ci t ies o f Central

E urope .

The ex t ent t o which I llumi nism borrowed fro m the

Masonic system is shown in the following cl assification
o f degrees as given by the best authorities
,

I S E MI NA R IE S
.
— 1 Probationary ; 2 Novitiate ; , ,

3 Minerval ; 4 Illuminat us mino r ; 5 M agistrate

, , , .

II F R E EMAS O N R Y
.
— l S y m b o l ic A Apprentice ,
: ,

—
B Fellow Craftsman C Master ; 2 Scotch A Ill umi
-
:
, , , ,

na t us maj o r or Scotch novice — B l umina t us dirig ens

, , ,

o r Scotch knight .

I I I MY S TE RIE S . l I nferior : A Presbyter o r : , , ,

—
Pries t B P rinc ep s o r R e g en t ; 2 Superior : A
, , , ,

l
I fa us— B R e x
g ,
.
32 THE ILLUMINATI .

The o nly ostensible memb ers o f the Order were t h e

Minervals who were found in most of the Masoni c
,

lodges and t o whom ca ndidates for I lluminat i on had

,

to make known their wishes The Minerval to who m .

they applied intimated their desire t o a superior w h o ,

re ported it t o a council N 0 notice was taken o f t h e

.

application for some time b ut the candidate was kep t

,

u nder observation in or d er that a sound j udgment

,

migh t be formed as t o his fi t ness Upon this poin t .

W e ish aupt s instructions respecting the initiat io n s

’

were W hoever does no t close h is ears t o t h e

lam entatio n s o f the miserable nor his heart t o ge ntle ,

pity ; whoever is the friend and brother o f t he

unfortunate ; whoever has a heart capable o f love a nd
friendship ; whoever is steadfast in adversity unwearied ,

in the carryi ng o ut o f whatever has been once en g aged

in und au nted in the overcomin g o f di fficulties ; who
,

ever does no t mock and despise the weak ; whoever

has a soul susceptible o f conceivi n g great designs ,

de sirous o f rising superior to all b ase motives and o f ,

distinguishi n g itself by deeds o f benevolence ; w h o

ever shuns idlenes s whoever considers no k nowledge
as unessential which he may h ave the O pportuni ty o f
acquirin g regarding the knowledge o f m ankind as his
,

chief study ; whoever when truth and virt ue are in

,

question is sufficiently courageous t o follow t he

,

dictates o f h is own heart despisi ng the approbation

,

o f the m ulti t ude

— such a o n e is a proper candi date .
”

I f the candidate was deemed inel ig ible fo r admission

i nto the Order no notice was ta k en of his application ;
,

if the results of t h e obs ervation were favourable he ,

received an invitation to a conference with a s uperior

of the Order who was always unknown t o him and
, ,
 TH E ILLUMINA TI . 33

by whom he was required t o read and sign the

following obli g ation
, I A B he reby bind myself by my honou r and
. .
, ,

good name forswearing all mental reservation never

, ,

t o reveal by hint word writing o r in any manner , , ,

whatever even to my most trusted friend anythi ng

, ,

t hat shall be said o r done to me respec t ing my wished

fo r reception and this whether my reception shall ,

follow o r not I being previously assured that i t shall

,

contain nothing inj uriou s to religion t he Stat e o r to , ,

good m anners I promise that I will m ake n o in .

t e l l ig ib l e extract from any papers which shall be

shown to m e now or during my novitiate All this , .

I swear as I am and as I hope t o continue a m an o f

, , ,

”
honour .

H e was t hen in t roduced t o an I llumznat us dzrzyens

' '

who perhaps was known to him and whom he was ,

directed to r egard as his ins t ructor in the doctrines

and mysteries o f the Order A register called The .
,

Table was produced in which h e en t ered the par

, ,

t ic ul ars o f his n ame age birthplace rank residence , , , , ,

profession and favourite studies ; after which his

,

preceptor read to him the discourse up on the nat ure

and obj ects o f the Order from which extracts have
been gi v en in the foregoing p ages H e was then .

required to answer in writing the following

questions
“
What advantages he hopes to derive from being
a member o f th e Order ? IVh at he m ost particul arly
wishes t o learn ? W hat quest i ons relative to the life ,

prospects and duties o f man as an individual and as

, ,

a cit i zen he wi shes to have discussed wi t h him ? In

,

what respects he thinks he c an be o f use to the Order ?

V O IJ . I . D
34 THE ILLUMINA TI .

Wh o are his paren t s relatives friends and c o rre spo n

, , ,

dents ? Whom h e dee m s proper persons t o b e

received in t o the Order or whom he thinks unfit for
,

”
i t with the reasons in bot h cases P
,

W hen the Min erval was deemed eligible for ad

vancem ent to the next grade that o f Illumina tus 772237 0 7 , ,

he was informed tha t t he aim o f the Order was t o “

m ake of t he hu m an race without distinc t ion o f na tion

, ,

”
condition o r profession one good and happy family
, ,
.

I f he assented to the desirability o f this result he was ,

required t o sign a new obligation in the following

term s
I A B pro t es t before y o u t he worthy Plenipo
,
. .
, ,

t e nt iary o f the venerable Order into which I desire to

be admitted tha t I acknowled g e my nat ural weakness
,

and inability and that I with all my possessions

, , ,

rank honours and titles which I hold in political

, ,

socie ty am only a m an ; I can enj oy these things

,

only through my fellow men and through them also -

,

I may lose them The approbation and considera t ion

.

o f my fellow men are indispensable and I must try

-
,

to preserve them by all my talents These I will .

n ever u s e to the prej udice o f the universal goo d but ,

wi l l O ppose with al l my m ight the enemies of t h e

human race and o f political society I will embrace .

every oppor t unity o f sav i ng m ankind by cultivat i ng ,

m y understandi ng and my a ffections and by imparting ,

all important knowle dge as t h e statutes of this Order ,

require of m e I bind m y sel f to perpetual silenc e

.

and unshaken loyalty and submission to the Order ,

in the persons o f my superiors here makin g a faith ful

and comple t e surrender o f my private j udgment my ,

o w n will and every narro w minded employment o f

,
-
 THE ILLUMINA TI .
3
0

my p o w er and influence I pledge myself t o account .

the good o f the Order as my own and am ready t o ,

s erve i t with m fortune my h onour and my blood

y , ,
.

Should I through omission neglect passion o r

, , , ,

wickedness behave contrary t o the goo d o f the O rder

, ,

I subj ect myself to w h at ever reproof o r punishment

my superiors shall enj oin The friends and enemies .

o f t he Order shall be my friends and enemies and ,

with respect to bo t h I wi ll conduct myself as directed

by the Order and am ready i n every lawful way to
,

devote myself to its increase and prom otion and ,

therein to employ all my ability All this I promise .

and pro t es t without secret reservation according to

, ,

the intention o f the Society which requires from m e

this e ngagement This I do as I am and as I hope
.
,

”
t o continue a m an o f h onour
,
.

’
A drawn sword was then pointed a t the aspiran t s
breast an d he was threatened wi th unavoidable
,

vengeance from which no potentate he was warned

, , ,

could de fend him if he should ever betray the Order

,
.

—
H e was next a sked 1 What aim he wished the .

Order to have ? 2 What means he would use t o .

advance that aim ? 3 Whom he wished to exclude .

from the Order 4 What topics he desired should not

? .

b e discussed in it ? R obison says that the ceremony

o f initiation resembled that o f the Chev aliers d u
Soleil
,
“
known to every o ne much convers ant in
”
Masonry ; b ut I believe that this degree is not so
generally known as he assumed it to be .

The next sta g e of instruction w as designed equally

to inculcate veneration for the superior s o f the Orde r ,

and excite desire fo r adv ancement to the hi g her

degrees The superiors were described as men w h o
.

D 2
36 THE ILLUMINA TI .

h ad great O p por t uni ties fo r observat ion o f the m oral

world and whose habit o f constan tly occupying th eir
,

minds with the great obj ects o f t h e Order had e n

l arg e d t heir views far beyond the n arro w l imit s o f .

n ations and ki n gdo m s which would o n e day coalesc e

,

int o o ne great Society in which t he consideratio n

,

given in the o l d world to rank and wealth would

attach only t o wor t h and talent As the initiated .

advanced in the Order they would become acquainted

with these great and good men and share with them ,

t h e grand work o f illuminat ing the world To whet .

t heir zeal they were introduced to t w o o r three o f

,

the s uperior m embers an d se v eral o f their o w n grade ,

an d m ade instructors o f some Minervals u pon whose ,

progress an d conduct t hey were requir e d t o report t o

their superiors .

Thus far the progress o f the I llumin at i m ay be

traced from the wor k s published by W eishaupt in
vin dication o f the Order and from the evidence taken
,

when an inves tigation into its nature and obj ects w as

institu t ed by the E lector o f Bavaria No information .

was g iven by W ei shaupt concerning the higher

d egrees and the witnesses summoned by the E lector
,

were not in a position to make any satisfac tory state

m en t o n t h e subj ect Some i nformation concerning
.

t hem m ay be gleaned h owever from the c o rre spo n

, ,

dence and documents seized o n the suppression of the

Order and from the account subsequently published
,

by Baron Knig g e Among the papers was a discourse

.

which R obison says w as delivered o n reception into

the de g ree of priest o r presbyter but which according
, ,

to the o fli c ial account was u sed in the recept i on of an

,

Illumznat us dirqy ens I n the cri t ical narrative appended

' ’

.
 THE ILLUMINA TI . 37

to po rtion o f the published papers and letters

o ne *6

d ifferences are poin t ed o ut be t w een t he t wo discourses ,

o r rather between t he two forms in which it was

used fo r it see ms to have been u sed with variations

,
, ,

fo r both occasions Kings are descr ibed in this dis

.

course as uni t ed by a tacit convention to keep the

nations in subj ection t o their will nobles as the ,

retainers o f despotism pat rio t ism as a narrow minded ,

-

prej udice A su fficient idea o f its general p urpor t

.

may be gleaned fro m the follo wing extract

“
Men originally l e d a patriarchal life in which ,

every father of a family was t he sole lord o f his hous e

and his property while he himself possessed general
,

freedo m and e quali ty B ut they su ffered themselves .

t o be oppressed — gave t hemselves u p to civil societies ,

and formed Sta t es By this they fell and th i s is the

.

fall o f m an by which they were thrust into unspea k

,

able misery To get o ut o f this state to be freed and

.
,

born again t here is no other means than the u s e of

,

pure R eason by which a general morality may b e

,

establishe d which will pu t man int o a conditio n to

govern himself regain his original worth and dispense
, ,

with all political supports and particul arly wit h ,

rulers This can be done in no other way but by

.

secret associa t ions which will by degrees and in , ,

silence pos sess themselves o f the government o f th e

,

States and ma k e use o f those means fo r this p urpos e

,

which the wicked use for attaining their b ase ends .

P rinces and Priests are in particular and E X nu ,

xa r e o ,

the wi c ked whose hands we must t i e up by means o f

,

Ne u e st e A rb e it ung d e r S p rtacu
a s un d Ph i la
38 TH E ILLUMINA TI .

these associations if we canno t roo t them o ut al t o

,
”
gether .

Q uestions in poli t ics and e t hics were required t o b e

answered in wr iting and the replies be i ng sat isfac

, ,

tory the candidate put o n a tunic o f white linen wi t h

, ,

a girdle o f crimson silk and was received into the ,

priestly degree with ceremonies in which crowns and

sceptres were trea t ed as symbols o f degradation .

The white tunic and the crimson girdle recall t h e

Assassin s o f t he E as t fro m whom the idea may hav e
,

b een derived .

Candidates fo r the degr ee o f re gen t were requi re d

to be perfectly independent o f t he ruling powers and ,

o nly those I lluminated pries t s o r presbyters who were

known to be dissatis fied wit h the political institu t ions

o f the country and desirous o f reforming them were
, ,

advanced t o that
g rade The candidate for.this d e

ree w as introduced in t h e garb o f a slave and bound

g ,

with chains and was n o t admi t ted until on be ing told

, ,

by a voice fro m within that only free men could enter ,

his conductors answered for him that his will was t o b e

free that he h ad been illumina t ed and fled from t hos e
, ,

w h o had enslaved him to seek a refuge among t h e

free More questions relating t o government and
.

s ociety had t o be a n swered in wri t ing and t hen a ,

h uman skeleton was revealed with a cro wn and a ,

s word laid at its fe e t The candidate was asked

.

whether this g r im r elic o f humanity had b een a nobl e

o r a peasant and o n h i s expressing his inability t o
,

determine t h e poin t was told t hat t h e quality o f man

,

hood was the only o ne tha t was importan t .

The t wo hi g hes t degrees were con ferred only by

Weishaupt and t he discou r ses delivered o n t hose o c
,
 THE ILL UMIN ATI . 9

c asion s have no t been printed According to t he .

account given in t h e appendi x to t he papers and cor

respondence seized b y the Bavarian authorities o n the
s uppressio n of the Order but wh i ch cannot be re
,

g arded as a tru s tworthy authority on the subj ect ,

the doctrines del i vered in the degree of Magus o r

Ph il o so ph us are the same with thos e o f Spinoza ;
where all is material God and the world are the same
,

t h ing and all rel i gion is without foun da tion and the
, ,

”
contrivance of am b it i ous m en The deg r ee of R ex
.
,

according to the same doubt ful authority taught ,

that every peasant citizen and householder is a

, ,

sovereign as in the patriarchal state and that nations

, ,

m ust be brought back to that state by whatever

m eans are conducible ; peaceably if it can be done so ; ,

—
but if not the n by force for all s ubordination must
, ,

”
vanish from the face o f the earth .

Such was t h e system whic h Weis h aup t b uil t upo n

the Masonic foundation and strengthened as he
, ,

thought with as much of Je s uit ic precept an d prac

,

tice as could b e made subs er v ient t o his purpose .

The constitution of the Order has aflo rde d a m odel

'

for the numerous secret societies by whic h it has been

succeeded The head o f the Order was styled th e
.

general as in the Society o f Jesus H e was to be

,
.

elected by the Areopag us from among themselves and ,

was known only to that body w i th which he was i n,

constant communication and correspondence and t o ,

the secretaries and confiden t ia l a g ents whom he em

ployed in the transaction o f the busines s o f the Order .

The Areopagus was a council o f twelve lead i n g mem

bers o f the Order who received report s fro m the
,

national directors and digested the m for the general

,
.
40 THE ILLUMINA TI .

There was a national director fo r each St ate in which

t he Ord e r obtained a foo ti ng each presiding l ike t he
, ,

general over a council o f twelve Subordina t e t o t h e

, .

national directors were t h e provincials who h ad also ,

their councils o f twelve selec t ed from the regents o f

,

t h e province ; and the organisa t ion was comple t ed by

the prefects o f whom there was o ne over every group
,

o f eigh t lodges These were also chosen from t he

.

r e gents and reported to the provincial councils

,
.

The new Order p r ogressed slowly at first and w as ,

unkno wn beyo nd Bavaria until 1 7 80 when the Mar ,

quis o f Costanza m ade the tour o f Northern Germany ,

visiti ng all the Masonic lodges fo r t h e purpose o f in

t ro d uc ing i t. I n the course o f his trav els h e becam e
acquain t ed wi t h Baron Knigge who had long been a
,

brother o f the Masonic O rder i n which he was init i

,

ated at Cassel bu t regarded it as a system o f absurd

,

”
j uggling t ric k s and was meditating innovatio ns in i t
,

when he became acquainted with Cos t anza Th e .

lat t er was soon convinced tha t Knigge would prove a

valuable member o f the Order and having initiated
, ,

him reported o f him to Weishaup t so favou rably tha t

,

a correspondence was originated between the I ngol

s t ad t professor and the H essian baron and t ended ,
’
great ly t o increase Knigge s zeal and enthusiasm .

The se qualities combined wi t h the influence which

,

he derived fro m his social position m ade Kni g ge a ,

valuable c o worker wi t h Costanza and during 1 7 8 1

-

the i nitiations multiplied rapidly The new M i nervals .

were men o f good repute for learning and probity

’
and as each initiation widened the circle o f the Order s
i n fluence applications fo r ad missio n wer e made by
,
 THE ILL UMIN A TI .
41

hundreds from all parts o f the Saxon and R henish

circles .

I n the au t umn o f 1 7 8 1 Knigge m ade a j ourney

t hro u gh Bavaria m aking the acquaintance o f the
,

superior m embers of the Orde r as he went and had a ,

conference with W eishaupt in which i t was arranged ,

that he should use all his opportunities and influence

to procure the ascendancy o f I llumin ism in t h e
Masonic lodges A great oppor t unity was a fforded
.

shortly afterw ards by the Masonic con vention at

Wil h e l msb ad in w hich Kni g ge had a seat So eager
, .

were the Freemasons o f that period for ne w rites an d

doctrines that the m aj ori ty o f the delegates wished to
be initiat ed into the secrets o f I l luminism which ,

they regarded as a hi g her developm ent o f Masonry .

Many o f them were deterred however b y finding , ,

that Knigge h ad no credentials from any high

Masonic authori t y and knowing that knavish pre
,

te nders to higher m ysteries had b een among the m

befor e ; and the initiations were fa r less numerous
than the applications .

Among the delega t es w ho m Knigge succeeded in

at t racting within the influence o f I lluminism how ,

ever was Bode the t ranslator o f the E n g lish

, ,

humorists and the representative in the convention

,

o f the Duke o f Saxe Gotha Bode was a man o f the

-
.

most upri g ht character high social p osition and c ul

, ,

t iv at e d understanding an earnest s e eker a fter t ruth

, ,

and an uncompromising enemy o f sacerdotalism and

superstition H e had to be convinced that I llu
.

m inis m was free from priestcraft or any idiotic

“
,

influen c e o f that kind befo r e he would conne c t

,
 42 THE IL LUMINA TI .

himself wit h it ; but once convinced that the ne w

Order aim ed at ove rthrowing priestcraft and w as ,

antag onistic t o the Jesuits who were the obj ects o f

,

his special aversion he advanced zealously t o the

,

degree o f I [lumina ms dimlyezzs im parted t o Knigge all

,

that he k n ew concerning the Freemasons and the

R osicr u cians and exerted himsel f to obtain recruits
,

for the I lluminati in the Masonic lo dges .

B ut while Knigge and Bode were working earnes tly

and successfully in extending the strength and in
flue nc e o f t he Order in the co untries nort h o f the
Maine a cloud was gathering over t he m ovement in
,

Bavaria The syste m was no t complete w hen Knigge

.

w as introduced to Weishaupt and its elaboration was ,

entrusted to the former and in this arrangement

,

the seeds o f dissension were sown W eishaupt made .

alterations and additions in the rules & c witho ut ,

.
,

consulting Knig g e and though it was reasonable that

,

he as the founder o f the Order should have a veto in

, ,

such mat t ers the manner in which it was exercised

,

irritated h i s colleague and the divergence o f their

,

views concerning the ritual and government o f the

’
O rder which the contro ver sy disclos e d led to K nigge s
W ithdrawal This s ecession though it hindered for a
.
,

time the pro gress o f I llumi nism was a less serious ,

drawback than the result o f the adaptation o f the

J e suit ic system to the purposes of a society aiming at
m ent al illumination and a social democracy The .

\
ate r nal syste m o f gover nment proved as unworkable
p
in I lluminism as i t was found to be in the R ational
S oc i ety founded by Owen ; and t h e perpe t ual
e spiona g e to which t he members we r e subj ect ed ,
.

and t he accou nt whi c h t hey w e r e r e q uired t o r e nde r

 THE ILLUMINA TI . 43

periodically o f their moral and in t ellectual progress ,

engendered distrust on o ne side and hypocrisy o n the

a
Ot h e r.
ie

These evils would have bro ugh t about t h e disrup

tion o f the Order soo ner o r la t er even if it had not ,

been exp o sed t o attacks fro m without But from .

,

some cause o r other the existence o f the Order was

,

suspected by the Jesuits and they immediately ,

e x erted them selves to discover i t I nformation was .

given to the E lector o f Bavaria that desi g ns inimical

to religion and government were formin g in the
Masonic lodges with which he immediately com
,

m unicated reminding the brethren that the discus

,

sion o f religious and political questions w as forbidden

by the statutes o f the Order and informing the m ,

that if this had not been th e case he would not ,

have allowed them to establish themselves in his

dominions The Freemasons protesting their inno
.

cence o f the designs imputed to them while fresh ,

r um ours to the contrary reached the E lector a j udi ,

c ial inquiry was ordered ; but the results were s o

imperfect and unsatisfactory as to leave the m atter
nearly as it was found The I lluminati were sup .

posed by the commissioners o f the E lector to be a

higher degree o f t h e Masonic Order but no I llu ,

minati could be found and the Masons protested ,

that they knew no s uch degree Some o f them had .

heard of persons called Minervals but whether these ,

were connected with the unknown I lluminati they

knew no t .

Th e r e is c
e vi de n e of t h e s e pr a t c ic es in t h e pub li sh e d co rr e
spo nde nc e o f We is h a up t and Z w ac kh .
44 THE ILL UMIN A TI .

Some o f the Minervals who were indicat ed by ,

their Masonic brethren were privately examined by ,

the E lec t or but they revealed none o f t he secret s o f

,

the Order and ass ured him t hat its aim was in t h e
,

highest degree praiseworthy R umours o f the e x is .

tence o f a secret society th at was o ne day to rule t h e

world continued t o reach the E lector howeve r and , , ,

perplexity giving way to alarm he issu e d an edict ,

forbidding the hold i ng o f Masonic lodges through o ut

h is dominions Th e Munich lo dge The od ore o f
.
,

Good Counsel con t inued t o mee t ho w ever and it s

, , ,

members openly reprobated the decree as absurd and

j
u n ustifiable .

The Jesuit s made an a tt ack in their o w n way .

Tw o o r t hree o f the m contri v ed to o b tain ad missio n

into the Order in which they disting ui shed them
,

selves by their seeming i nveterate hostility t o the

Society o f Jesus and when they had learned enoug h
, ,

for their purpose revealed the existence o f I ll uminis m

,

to the E lector I n 1 7 8 3 the commissioners o f t h e

.

E lect or summoned before t hem o n information sworn ,

by Canon Danzer Professor We st e nrie de r and a book

, ,

seller named Strobl four professors o f the Mariane n ,

Academy named Ut s c h neide r C o ssandey R enner

, , , ,

and G runb e rg e r who had been initiated several years

,

previously but had withdrawn from the Order and

, ,

m anifested personal rancou r agains t several o f their

lat e associates They were not unwilling witnesses
.
,

therefore an d they told all that they kne w concernin g

,

the constitution and principles o f t he Order admitt ing , ,

however tha t t here was m uch o f which they wer e

,

ignorant none o f them having ad vanced bey ond t h e

,

degre e o f M ag is trate and t wo b ei ng only Mine r vals ,

.
 THE ILL UMINA TI . 45

Their statements t ha t the O rder abj ured religion ,

co untry and property and tha t addresses were

, ,

delivered in the lodges o n liberty and equality as the

inalienable rights o f m ankind m ade a profound im ,

pression o n the mi n d o f the E lector and he privately ,

examined a yo u ng Bavarian n oble wh o was an I llu

nant o f s uperior grade in the hope o f el i citing some
,

further i nformation concerning a society that seemed

so dangerous and whose operations were veiled in so
,

much mystery The witness m aintained however

.
, ,

that the obj ects o f the Order had been misrepresented ,

and expressed his conviction that there would be no

obj ection to submit its consti t ution and statutes to
the E lector .

The m easures t hereupon directed agains t the I llu

minati were n ot taken with m uch j udgm ent The .

authorities first published the evidence o f the four

professors o f the Marianen Academy some o f which ,

the I lluminati declared to be false and the rest inac ,

curate o r perverted representations of the truth .

Then t h e E lector issued an edict against all secret

societies followed by another expressly suppressing
,

the I lluminati ; and having thus placed the Order o n

,

its guard h e next directed a search to be made for its

,

papers Of course none were found The I llum i nati

. .

said that they had been burne d the suppression of ,

the O rder havin g rendered them u seless ; but it is

more probable tha t the failure to discover them w as
the result o f the very simple cause that t hey were ,

not sought for in the right pl aces .

Subsequently the house o f the advoca t e Z w ac k h w as

searched and letters and documents were found which
,

revealed t h e authors and directors o f the mysterious

46 THE ILL UMINA TI .

system w hich caused so much anxiety and alarm .

Weishaupt being found to be the head and founder of

,

the Order w as deprived o f his professorship and

,

banished fro m the E lec t or s dominions H e was ’

.

O ffered a pension o f e ight hundred flo rins but refused ,

to accep t it and re m oved only to R atisbon which

, , ,

being a free city o f the empire was not within the ,

j urisdiction o f the Bavarian electorat e The Marquis .

of Costanza and another I talian Count Saviola were , ,

al so banished with pensions of the amount o ffered t o

,

Weishaupt which t h ey accepted Z w ac kh incurred

,
.

the sam e penalty an d found an asylum with t h e ,

Prince o f Salms Canon H ertel was deprived o f his

.

b e ne fic e and B aron Mag g e nh o ff su ffered a month s

’
,

imprisonment in a m on astery .

These events occurred in 1 7 8 5 .

Weishaupt removed from R atisbon t o Go tha o n ,

the invit ation o f the Duke o f Saxe Gotha who was -

,

an I llumin ée as well as a brother o f the Masonic Order ,

and whose friendship and protection he e nj oyed until

’
the duke s de at h fi H is connexion wit h the Il lum i
“

nati s ubsequent to his departure from I ngolstadt

cannot be traced and it has been surmised t hat,

changes in the generalship and the n ational and pro

v inc ial directorships o f the Order were m ade imme

diat e ly after its suppression in order that t h e work ,

migh t be carried on with less risk o f attracting s uspi

cion The alarm which the discovery o f the obj ects
.

o f the Order had excited in the mind o f the E lector o f

Bavaria had comm unicated itself to his brother princes

We ish au pt l iv e d u n t il 1 8 3 0 , w h e n h e w as in h is ei gh t y t hi rd y e ar
-
,

h av ing b ee n b o rn in 1 74 8 .
 THE ILLUMINA TI . 47

of Germany and both ,

th e
Duke o f Saxe Gotha and -

the D uke of Saxe W eimar withdrew from it though

-

the former continued t h e protection and pension which

h e had accorded t o W eishaup t to whom however , , ,

the duchess would never speak .

According t o the witnesses examined at Munich in

1 7 8 3 the Order had then six hundred lodges in
Bava ri a and had been extended to A us t ria S axony
, , ,

H olland and I taly but they admitted that they had

,

n o personal knowledge o f the matter and merely ,

repea ted the information which they had received

from I lluminati whom they believed to be well
informed The statement was imper fect and I am
.
,

disposed to consider it in some respects i naccurate .

The Order appears to have been extended all over

Germany and to have penetra t ed into Alsace and
,

Lorraine som e o f the delegates o f those provinces to

,

the Masonic convention at Wilh e l m sb ad h aving been

initiated by Baron Knigge ; and among them was
Dietrich mayor o f Strasburg who a fe w years later
, ,

figured somewhat prominently in t h e sanguinary

events o f the French R evolution There are traces in .

the correspondence of Weishaupt with Z w ac k h and

ot hers o f the Order having obtained a footing i n
Poland and R obison asserts that lodges o f I llum inati
,

were es t ablished in E ngland as early as 1 7 8 4 ; but it

seem s to have been connected with I taly and H olland
only through n atives o f those countries who resi ded
i n Germany and the assertion that there were E ngli s h
,

I lluminati is unsupported b y evidence .

"
S O much o f the statements o f R o b ison and B urruel

Me mo ir s o f t he Jac o b ins .
48 THE ILLUMINA T I .

is mere in ference that they must be received with

caution and accepted only when they are suppor t ed
,

by evidence They were both so violently opposed

.
,

n o t merely t o the acts o f the French revolutionists ,

but t o the principles o f the revolution that t heir ,

sentim ents received a shock from the discovery o f

I lluminis m which disposed the m to see t hat sys t e m
in whatever resembled it ; j ust as amongst the pre ,

sent generation there are som e who see the finger o f

,

the Jesuits others that o f the Cabinet o f St Peters

, .

burg in every political event R o b ison persis t ed t ha t

, .

I lluminism was revived immediat ely aft er i t s sup

,

pression under ano t her nam e and in ano ther form

, , ,

all over Ger m any ; and that though again de t ected , ,

and a g ain bro k en up it spread all over E urope Th e

,
.

evidence which he adduces in suppor t o f t hese asser

tions must be examined before relating the true history
o f the I lluminati after t he suppression o f t he Order

in Bavaria .

Weishaupt is said t o have O b served when he left ,

I ngolstadt tha t the rej oicin g o f the Court o f Munich

,

would soon b e turned into sorrow ; and also t h at he

would restore the Order with t enfold energy in t w elv e
m onths . I t is very probable t ha t these menacing re
marks were real ly m ade and the inquiry may be nar
,

rowed to the m ode in which VVe ish aupt s threats were ’

carried into execu tion According t o R obison I llu

.
,

minism was revived in an association called the

—
Ge rman Union the history o f which o r rather of the
,

circ um stances connected with its supposed detection

is as i n struct ive as it is curious N ic h o l ai the cele .
,

b rat e d Berlin publisher had a profound horror an d

,

detes t a t ion o f the Jesui t s ; and in the course of an ,

investiga t ion which he m ade in t o their practices all
over Germany cam e into collision with Stark famous
, ,

in M asonic annals who m he accused o f being a Jesuit , ,

and o f having even submi t te d t o the tonsure Star k .

retor t ed by denouncing Nicholai as an I lluminant ,

and a paper war ensued in the course o f which th e ,

former announced th at he h ad discovered the c o n

tinned existence o f I l luminism in the for m o f a pre
t ended literary so cie ty cal le d t he German Union
‘

This startl ing announcement w as followed by the

publication o f a series o f papers which it was alleged ,

had been received partly printed and partly in manu,

script by a publisher w h o pro fessed that h e did n o t

, ,

kno w whe nce they had come The first o f the series .

was a prospe c tu s o f a R eading Socie t y t h e second a

form o f oath binding those w h o sign ed it to secrecy
,

concerning th e society which was called t he German ,

Union I t was inferred by Stark that thi s w as sent

.

to those who forwarded subscriptions t o the promoters

of the society and tha t those who signed it received
,

the third document o f the series whic h w as headed ,

“
The Plan o f t h e X X I I and began as fo l lo w s ,

We have united in order to accomplish the aim o f the

n —
exal t ed Founder of Christia ity v ia the enli g h t ening ,

o f mankind and the dethronement of superst i t ion and

fanaticism by means o f the secre t fraternisation o f al l

,

who love t he work of God ”

This it was c o n t e nde d l .
,

by Stark could m ean nothing less th an I lluminism

,
.

The attention o f the authorities and t h e polic e

being given t o the m atter the concoction o f the ,

Germ an Union was tr aced to D r B ah rdt an Ill u .

,

m i nant of abandoned character who m Baron Knigge ,

m entions in his latest pamphle t o n t he I lluminist

,

VO L . I . E
50 THE ILL UMINA TI .

con t roversy in terms of the utmost contempt and

,

abhorrence R obison acknowled g es that t h e Union

.

“
aimed at the entry mo ney and annual subscriptions ,

and at the pu b lication and profitable sale o f Dr .

’
B ah rdt s b ook s ; and in his eagerness to aflix the
stigma of every thin g evil upon e v e rv o ne connected
with the I llu m inati fails to perceive that such an,

obj ect could not be that o f the Order to which he

ascribed it B ah rdt o n being arrested con fessed by
.
, , ,

impl i cation at least that the enlightening o f m an ,

“

”
k ind ,
& c was a mere pretence and there seems no
.
, ,

doubt that the sole obj ect o f the scheme was to prey
u pon the public Unfo rtunately for him self he had
.
,

taken into his employment a young m an na med

R oper who had been expelled from h is college fo r
,

immoral conduct and su b sisted b y vending m anu,

script C opies o f obs cene poems u nt i l he was found by ,

B ah rdt destitute and alm ost starving This wretched .

fellow stole fro m Bah rdt the papers relating t o the

German Union and took them to a priest named ,

S c h ii t z whose character was little better than his

,

o wn ,
and who arran g e d the m for pu b lication after
.
,

wards givin g inform ation t o the police .

But the I lluminati conti nued to exist tho ugh not ,

i n the form assigned t o it by R obison Some light .

is thrown upon the history o f the Or der after the

retirem ent o f Weishaupt t o Gotha by a c o mm u nic a ,

t i on t hat w as m ade th i rteen years a fterwards to an

E nglish magazine that from the b e g inning o f 1 7 9 0
,
‘

every co n cern o f the I lluminati has cease d and no ,

l od g e o f Freem aso n s in German y has si nce t h at period

t aken the least notice o f them The proo fs o f this .

as sertion are found amo n g the papers o f M r Bode .

,
 THE ILLUMINA TI . 51

late Privy Councillor a t Weimar who was a t the head ,

o f the Order in this par t of Germa ny and died in ,

The article from which this passage is quoted

was wri tten by B o e t ig e r director of the Weimar ,

Gym nasium who was a frequent contributor to the

,

periodical literature o f the period and who appears to ,

’ ’

have had access to Bode s papers after the latter s

decease The doubt expressed by B arruel as to the
.

accuracy of the statement that I lluminism ceased to

exist in Germany in 1 7 9 0 arose from his seeing like, ,

R obison I lluminism in every movem ent that savoured

,

o f revolution and regarding J ac o b inism as its con

,

t inuat io n I shall presently g ive re asons for believing

.

B o e t ig e r s state m ent to be correc t ; but there is a

’

point in the r eference t o Bode which requires prior

attention .

The p osition assigned to Bode appears to be that

of National Director o f Upper Saxony in which he ,

would have been subordinate to the Areopag us but

he was a m ember of that Council t wo o r three years
be fore the date given by B o e t ig e r as that at which
the I lluminati ceased to e x ist or as it would perhaps , ,

b e m ore correc t t o s ay to have an active ex i stence

,
.

W as Bode then the successor o f Weishaup t in the

, ,

generalship o f the Order ? The fact m ay have been

un k nown to B o e t ig e r but it seems more probab l e
,

that Bode s h ould have held that o ffi ce t han that

B o e t ig e r should have m ade the mistake of assigning
him a lower position than that which he is known t o
h ave held in l 7 8 8 .

Th e introduction o f I llumin is m in t o France w as

Mo nt h ly Ma g az i ne , 1 79 8 .

s 2
52 THE ILLUMINA TI .

e ffe c ted a t that date by Mirabeau who duri ng his , ,

residence in Germ any was initia t ed by Mauv ill o n a

, ,

professor o f the Caroline C ollege a t B runswick ,

.

Mauv ill o n wh o had been initiat ed by Knigge is said

, ,

t o have assiste d Mirabeau in the production o f t h e

curiou s w ork o n Illuminismf the obj ec t o f which
‘ e

constituted o n e o f the literary puzzles o f the last

century t h e pic t ure presented bei ng very di fferen t
,

from the reality I llu minism is m ad e t o appear in

.

its pages as a compound o f the R osicrucian syste m

and t h e doctrines o f Swe denborg with what obj ec t ,

n o t clear the surmise o f B arrue l that it was intended

,

to deceive the French as t o the actual aims o f t h e

I llu m i n ati not being supported by the circum stances .

Wh y should it have been deemed necessary th at the

French should be deceived on t his point any more
than the Germans ? The French brethren o f the
Masonic Or der were as eager fo r novelties as t hose o f
Germany and it was in France as in Germany upon
, , ,

the Masonic system that I llu minis m was grafte d .

Mirabeau rose high in the Order and o n his return ,

t o France in September 1 7 8 8 initiated the D uke o f

, , ,

Orlean s who w as Grand Master o f the Freemasons o f

,

that country and Talleyrand Correspondence with the

,
.

Areop agus concerni n g the introductio n o f the syste m

into France led to t w o members o f tha t body Bode ,

and Baron Busche the latter a lieutenant colonel in

,
-

army o f th e Grand Du k e o f H esse Darmstadt

th e
-

being dep uted for that purpose B arrue l assert s th a t .

the whole o f the Masonic lodges comprised in the

Grand Orient t w o h undred and sixty six in number
,
-

l e s Ill um in e e s
'

E s s ai s ur .
 TH E ILLUMIN A TI . 53

were illumi n at ed by the end o f March 1 7 8 9 ; and ,

there is no doub t t hat with the ground so well ,

prepared by the works o f Voltaire and R ousseau ,

D A l e m b e rt and Diderot and with the exa m ple and ,

influence o f the Duke o f Orle ans and the exertio n s o f ,

men such as Mirabea u Talleyrand Si eyes and C o n , , ,

d o rc e t the system spre a d with rapidity

,
.

I t penetr ated into Switzerland abou t the sam e

time and was grafted o n the Masonic lodges o f
,

Berne and Geneva as w as discovered in 1 7 9 4 when

, ,

som e political arrests were made and patents as the , ,

certificates o f applica t ions were called fo und among ,

the papers o f the accused .

Such was the position o f I lluminism within t w o

years o f the time when according to B o e t ig e r it , ,

ce ased to have any influence in Germany B arrue l .

attempts t o connect the J ac o b in Cl ub with the O rder ,

b ut he adduces n o ot h er evidence than the similarity

o f the princi les o f the two organisations and the
p ,

fact that Mira b eau and Si ey es were mem b ers o f the

Breton Co m mittee S uch reasonin g is c o mm o n t o w
‘

the O pponents o f what is va g uely called in R evo lut io n ,

fro m the Popes who have fulminated Bulls condemn ,

ing in o ne ca t egory Freemasonry J ac o b inis m J an , ,

s e nis m and Carbonarism t o the A b b é D e fo urny who

, , ,

asserts that the Commune and t h e I nternationa l were

k nown in E ngland in 1 8 3 9 under the name o f ,

*
Cha rtism .

Th e tr uth is that the R evolution had in 1 7 9 0

, , ,

A dd re ss d e li ve r e d at t h e C rcl C
e e at h o l i q ue in 1 8 7 3 , inse rt
a nd ed

in t h e pam ph le t L e s T ro i
s Q ue s t o ns i C ap1t al e s : O b é is sa nce Dr ,
o 1t

cl e s G e ne , R e van h ec .
54 THE ILLUMINA TI .

pla c ed France and in a less de g ree the neighbouring

, , ,

countries in the situation wh i ch L amartine describes

,

as placi ng Free m asonry in a di fferen t position in

E ngland t o tha t w hich the Order occupied o n the
Continen t Constit u tional government and a free
.

press leave n o room for secret societies to work in ;

and in 1 7 9 0 France spoke so O pen ly i n the National
Assembly in the J ac o b in Club and in the columns
, ,

o f a score o f j ournals all breathin g revolution

,
that ,

t h e occupat i on o f the I lluminati was gone We are .

“

all Freemasons no w a j ubilan t revolutionis t of t hat

,

p eriod is said to have remarked ; and he mi g ht have

substituted Illuminati for Freemasons and increased ,

the force o f the observ ation The Bastille had fallen

.
,

and with it the prestige of abso l ute power ; t h e peo ple

were o n their feet armed with vote and m u sket ; the
,

in spi rm g strains o f the Marseillaise Hymn filled the

air What need then o f t h e I lluminati ?
.
, ,
 C H APT ER II .

TH E I
U N TED IRIS H ME N .

ZH IL E the sun of liberty was rising in France

‘N fro m a blood red horizon and the n ation s
-
,

around were watching its advent with m ingled hope

fulness and apprehension a fe w ardent spirits among
,

the Protestants o f I reland becam e inspired with th e

idea tha t since all men love freedom the desire to
, ,

obtain it would cause I rishm en to forg et the dif

fe re nc e s of race and creed among them and unite for ,

the furtherance o f the co m mon obj ect At this dis .

tance o f t i me when the field i n which those pioneers

,

o f civil and reli g ious freedom in the sister island h ad

to labour can b e surveyed w ith cal m deliberation the ,

prospect of the political harvest whic h they hoped to

garner appears t o have bee n far fro m brilli ant Social .

and relig i ou s discords were never more rife in I relan d ,

o r mani fested with greate r fie rc e n e s s and violence ,

than whe n Samuel N e il s o n a Belfast draper co n ceived

, ,

the idea of an association which should unite Protes

tants and Catholics for the promotion o f Parl iam e n
tary reform and Catholic em ancipation Lawless as .

sociations spread over the country and filled it with ,

violence and t error The Peep o f Day Boys burned

.
- -

the houses and maimed the cattle o f the Catholics ,

and the Defenders retaliated by similar o utrages u pon

56 TH E UNITED IRIS HMEN .

the prope rty o f t he Protestan t s The Catholic C o m .

mit t e e represen t ing the aristocracy and the clergy o f

,

the o ld faith rather than t h e nation evinced n o sym ,

pathy with the movement for Parli amentary reform .

Th e Governmen t looked coldly upon both and main ,

t aine d an atti t ud e o f i n action refrainin g alike fro m ,

m easures o f amelioratio n and endeavours at pac ific a

tion and regarding t h e an t agonistic bands o f no c
,

t urn al ravage rs wit h less disapprobation than would

hav e been shown to w ards a resolution o f a public
m eeting o r an arti c l e i n a newspaper con d emnatory
, ,

o f its policy .

I n the province o f Uls t er political fee l ing was more

prominent than the religiou s strife whic h h as since
caused blood t o flo w in its towns o n so m any n u
happy occasions The O range lodges were no t then
.

in exis t ence Th e Parliamentary reformers had b e

.

come in 1 7 9 1 convinced that they coul d not conduct

, ,

their agitation t o a successful conclusion without a

previous union o f t h e Catholic and Protestant sec
tions o f the n ation t h e former consti t uting at least
,

t w o thirds o f the I rish population

-
N e il so n w h o .
,

was a m ember o f the volunteers from t h e formation ,

o f which so muc h had been expected propounded this ,

idea t o t w o o f his friends Mac rac k e n and R ussell the

, ,

la tter an o fficer in the army in the beginnin g o f O c ,

”
t ober 1 7 9 1
,
O ur e fforts for re form he said hav e
.
“
, ,

hitherto been ineffect u al and they deserved t o b e so

, ,

fo r they have bee n se l fish and unj ust as no t includ ,

ing the rights o f the Catholics in the claim we put

forward fo r ourselves R ussell suggested that they
.

should communicate their views to his friend Tone ,

whose pamphlet o n t h e claims o f t h e Catholics had

 THE UNITED IRISHMEN . 57

j ust been p ublished and w as attracting much atten

,

tion Neilso n assented and R ussell went t o D ubli n

.
,

t o invi t e Tone t o a conference .

Theobal d Wolfe To ne who was brought promi ,

u ently o n the field o f I rish politics by this inv i tation ,

w as at that tim e a b rie fle s s barrister i n his twenty ,

eighth year with a greater inclination fo r politics

,

than for the law H e had before this time founded

.

a club w h ich combined political discussions with con

v iv ialit and which though it soo n broke up made
y , , ,

h im acquainted with the elder E mmet whom he de ,

scribes as a m an completely after my own heart of ,

a great and com prehensive mind o f th e warmest and ,

sincerest afle c t io n for his friends and o f firm and ,

steady adherence t o his principles to which h e has ,

sac rificed m uch as I know and would I am sure if

, , , ,

necessary s acrifice his

,
H e was intimate also
with Keogh and through him became acquainted wit h
,

the m ore liberal members o f the Catholic committee .

H e readily accompanied R ussell to Belfast where , ,

’
after three weeks conferences and correspondence the ,

A ssocia t ion of Uni t ed I rishmen w as organised o n the

basis o f the follo w ing resolut i ons wh i ch were drawn ,

up by himself
1 That the wei g ht of E nglis h influence in the
“
.

government of this country is s o g re at as to requ i re a

cordial union among all the people o f I reland t o ,

m aintain th at b alance which is essential to the preser

vation o f o ur libertie s and the extension o f o ur com
merce 2 That the sole constit utional mode by which
. .

this infl uence can be opposed is by a complete and

Me m o ir s o f Th eo b al d Wo lfe T o ne .
58 THE UNITED IRIS HMEN .

r adical reform o f the representation o f the people in

Parliament 3 Th at no re for m is practicable e ffic a
. .
,

cio ns o r j u st which shall n o t inclu de I ris h me n o f

,

e v ery religious persuasion .

Tone then returned to D ublin with instructions to ,

cultivate relations with pro minent m en of the popular

party and if possi b le to for m a branc h soc i ety o f
, , ,

United I rishmen in that city H e contr ived to b e .

come acquainted w it h Napper Tandy an active ag i ,

tator and through him w i th others ; and in a wee k

, ,

o r two a branch soc i ety w as formed the H on

, ,
.

Simon Butle r being its cha i rman and N appe r Tandy , ,

secretary The resolutions o f the B el fast society

.

were unanimous ly adopted and correspondence opened ,

with the United I rishmen o f t h e northern city .

The United I rishmen of that day w ere not a secret

s ociety the co ntrary statement o f Cli fford l n the note
,

’
appended to his translatio n of B arru e l s Memoirs of
”
the Jacobins proceeding from his attri b uting the
,

constitution of the assoc i ation o f 1 7 9 8 t o the earlier

society They were not even imbued with repu b lican
.

sympat h ies o r aims .

“
A t this time says Wolfe Tone th e establish
,
”
,

men t o f a republic was not the immediate obj ect O f

my speculations My obj ect was to secure the inde
.

e nde nc e o f my country under any for m o f govern

p
ment to which I was led by a hatred o f E ngland so
,

deeply rooted in my n ature that it was rather an in

s t inc t than a principle I le ft to others be t ter quali .
,

fie d for the inquiry the investigation and merits o f ,

the d i fferent forms o f government and I con t ented ,

myself wi t h labourin g o n my o w n sys t em wh i ch was ,

luc k ily in perfect coincidence as t o its operatio n with

 THE UNITED IRIS HMEN .
59

that of those m en who v iewed the question on a

broader and j uster scale than I did at the time I men
tion The club w as scarcely formed before I lost all
.

pretensions to anything li k e influence in their m ea

sures a circumstance which at first mortified me not
,

a little and p erhaps had I retained more weight in

,

their councils I m ight have prevented as o n som e

, ,

occasions I laboured unsuccessfully to prevent their ,

running into indisc retions which gave their enemies

but too great advanta g es over them I t is easy to b e .

wise after the event So it was ho w ever that I soo n

.
, ,

sunk into O bscurity in the club which however I , , ,

had the satisfaction to see daily increasing in numbers

“

and consequence .

A s soon as the society was fairly in opera ti on t h e ,

e fforts of Neilson and Tone were directed to the re

conciliat i on O f t h e Defenders and the Peep o f D ay - -

Boys and the latter made a tour through the country

,

for that purpos e his j ournal o f which abo unds with

,

v i vid illustra t ions of the moral and social condition o f

the I rish people at that period The endeavou rs o f
.

the United I rishmen to bring about t h e pac ific at io n

o f the coun t ry were unsuccessful o n the whole , ,

though some good was effected here and the re ; bu t

the associ ation ra pidly gre w stronger and m ore i n
flue nt ial the supinene s s with which the Government
,

viewed the disorders o f the country and the arbitrary ,

and often lawless proceedings o f the magistrates ,

c ausing adhesions to m ult i ply faster than the greatest

e fforts o f the leaders could have done .

A s their numbers incre ased their views ceased t o b e

bounded b y Catholic emancip ation and Parliamentary
re form They bega n to think o f th e pos s i b ility o f
.
60 THE UNITED IRISHMEN .

achieving t h e independence o f I reland to cultivate ,

clos er relations with the Defenders and t o entertai n ,

the idea o f assis t ance fro m France The association .

,

pervaded by a n e w spirit assumed a n e w or g anisation

,
.

I n the spring o f 1 7 9 5 it was reconstitute d on a syste m

closel y resembling that o f the I lluminati and charac ,

t e rise d by H arwood as a sort o f pyramidical hier

“

arch y o f sedition with an infinite n u mber o f small

,

local societies fo r the base and gradually towering up

, ,

th rough the nicely fitted gradations O f baronial county , ,

and provincial commi t tees t o the apex o f a national

,

executive
The local societies were formed by the union Of
twelve members living in the same s t reet o r neigh
b o urh o o d and o ne o f whom was elec t ed t o the post o f
,

secretary The secretaries o f fiv e local societies c o n

.

stituted a lower baronial committee and delegates ,

from ten such committees formed an upper baronial

com m ittee Delega t e s from the committees o f the
.

latter class constituted the county committees each o f ,

which returned t w o o r three delegates t o t h e pro

v inc ial committees By and from these last five
.

members were ele c ted by ballo t to form the natio nal

executive directory which had the suprem e and
,

u ncontrolled com m and o f the whole bo dy The .

election was so con ducted th a t only the secretaries o f

the provinc i al committees k new w h o had been e l ected ,

and the instructio n s o f the execut i ve were transmitted

by o ne o f the number t o the secretaries o f the pro
v in c ial committees and thence downward through t h e
,

secretaries o f the county and baronial committees t o

H ist o ry of the I ri sh R eb ell i o n o f 1 7 98 .

 THE UNITE D IRISHME N . 1

the local societies the whole o f the proceedings being

,

enveloped in the utmost secrecy and presenting a ,

rem arka b le combination o f democrac y belo w with

abs olutism a t the top .

Secrecy w as declared to be necessary for rendering

t he bond o f union m ore cohesive and the spirit o f
union more ardent t o envelop the pl an wit h ambi
,

guity to facili t ate its o w n agency and to confound

, ,

and ter rify its e nemies by ignorance o f its design ,

extent and direc tion

,
A n oath o f secrecy and
fidelity too k the place o f the simple declara t i on
formerly m ade by members o n j oinin g the Associa t io n ,

and th e confession of p olitical faith was so modified

that it migh t be m ade equally by republicans and by
con stitutional re form ers As thus m odified the t est .
,

stood as follows
I A B do voluntarily declare tha t I will perse
, . .
,

vere in endeavouring to form a brotherhood of afle c t io n

among I rishmen of every reli g ious persuasion and ,

that I will also persevere in my endeavours to obtai n

an equal full and adequate representation o f all the
, ,

people o f I reland I do further declare that neither

.

h opes nor fears rewards n or punishments shal l ever

, ,

induce me directl y o r indirectly to i n for m or give

, ,

evidence against any m ember or m embers o f this o r

similar societies for any act or expression o f theirs
done o r made collectively or individually in o r out o f
, ,

this society in pursuance of the spirit of this obliga

,

”
tion.

Cli fford says t ha t the Society assumed from the first

the secrecy and somewhat o f the ceremonial o f Free
m asonry but this I S a mis t ake There w as no .

secrecy until the Society was reconstitu t ed in 1 7 9 5 ,

62 THE UNITED IRIS HMEN .

and very little o f t h e Masonic element at any t i me .

H e adds the rather ridiculous statement that t h e ,

m embers wore constantly abo ut the neck an amulet ,

containing the g reat principle which unites the

brotherhood in letters o f gold o n a ribbon striped with
all the ori g i nal colours enclosed in a sheath o f white
,

sil k so as t o represent t h e pure union of the min gled

,

rays and the abol i tion o f all superficial distinctions

, ,

and all colours and shades of difle re nc e for the sake ,

”
o f o ne illustrious end I can find n o trace o f the
.

wearin g o f such an amulet in any o f the me m oirs

which I have consulted The only symbols in u se .

a m ong the United I rish m en we re the I rish harp with ,

o r without a star over it the shamroc k and clasped , ,

h ands which appear o n their seals and w ere at a

,
.
, ,

later period displayed o n their flags There were no

,
.

ceremonies resembling those o f Freemasonry used in

the ini t iation o f members The ca ndi date fo r ad m is .

s i on into t h e Society w as m erely taken into a roo m

apart from th at in which t h e m embers were assembled ,

an d sworn u pon the New Testam ent There was n o .

grip in u se but w h en a m ember desired t o t es t a

,

stranger he said I know U to which t h e o t he r if

, , ,

initiated responded I know N

,
and t he dialogue
,

w as if it was thought necessary continued in that

, ,

m anner all through the letters composi n g the words

U nited I rishmen .

Accordin g to the memoir drawn u p in 1 7 9 8 by

’
A rthur O C o nno r Macnevin and the elder E mmet i t
, , ,

was long before the skeleton o f this organisation was

filled up W hile t h e formatio n o f these societies was
.

in ag itation the frien ds o f l i ber ty were grad ual ly but

, ,

with a timid step advanci n g towards republicanism

, .
 THE UNITED IRISHMEN . 3

They began to be convinced that i t would be as easy

t o obtain a revolution as refor m so obstinately w as,

the latter resisted ; and as the conviction impressed

itself o n their minds they were inclined not to give
u
p the struggle ,
but to extend their views I t was .

fo r this reason that in their test the words are an ,

’
equal representation of all the p eople o f I reland ,

w ithout inserting t h e word Parlia m ent This test .

embr aced both the republicans and the r eformers and ,

left to future circum stances to decide to which point

the common strength should be directed ; b ut still
t h e whole body we are convinced wou l d rej oice to
, ,

stop short at reform Another consideration how

.
,

ever led reflec t ing United I rishmen t o look t owards a

,

rep ublic and separation from E n g la n d This was th e .

war with France They clearly perceive d that t h e i r

.

stre ngth was not likely to become speedily equal to

wrestin g fro m the E nglish and b o ro ug h interest in
~

I reland even a reform ; foreign assistance would ,

there fore perhaps become necessary But fore ig n

,
.

assistance could only be hoped for in proportion as th e

obj ect to which it would b e appl i ed w as impo rt ant t o
t h e party g iving it A reform in t h e I rish Parliament
.

was n o obj ect to the French a separation o f I reland

from E ngla nd was a mighty o ne indeed Thus they .

reasoned — Shall we between two obj ects confine

, , ,

ourselves to the least valuable eve n thou g h it is

,

equally di ffi cult to be obtained i f we con s ide r the

,

rela t ions of I reland with the res t o f E urope

The formation o f the Orange association g ave a new
impetus to the United I rishmen and the afli liat io n s
,

m ulti plied r apidl y I t is evident from Tone s Journal

.

that the leaders had already be g un in 1 7 9 5 t o discuss

64 THE UNITED IRIS HMEN .

the q uestion o f revolt and the French alliance ; but

t h e first step in that directio n was taken by the
French Government as t he agent o f wh i ch a Pro , ,

testan t clergyman named Jackson who had been ,

some time resident in Paris visited E ngland and ,

I reland in order t o ascertain the views and feeli n gs

,

o f t h e people Jackson w h o was far t o o si m ple for

.
,

such a mission con fided his obj ec t t o a solicitor n amed

,

Cockay ne w h o notwithstandin g the lo ng friendship

, ,

bet w een them b e trayed h i m to the British Govern

,

ment . Jackson had obtained an introduction to

To n e who thou g h he suspected h im t o be a spy o f
, ,

the Governme nt entrusted h i m w ith a p aper o n the

,

state o f I re l an d and the probabilities o f the succe ss o f

,

a French invasion ; and this criminato ry document

was found u pon Jackson when he w as arrested .

On learn ing that Jackson was in prison (where he

com m itted suicide ) and that this paper h ad been
found upon h im Tone adopted a course so m uch to
,

his o w n advant age and that o f the United I rishmen

that it is di fficult to unders t and the motives o f the
Governm ent in acceding to it Through a friend he .
,

n egotiated with the Governm en t for his safety stip a ,

lating that h e should be allowed t o leave I reland ,

m aking no disclosures and g iving no ple dg e fo r the

,

future The assent of the G overnment being obtaine d

.
,

it was arranged bet w een h imself and the other leaders

o f t h e United I rishmen that he should proceed to

Philade l phia and there open a c o mmunic at ion with

,

the French Governm ent with a view to obtaining it s ,

assistance On arrivi ng in th at city he waited upon

.
,

Adet the French Minister w h o gave him no definite

, ,

encouragemen t b u t desired him t o draw up a memoi r

,
 THE UNITED IRIS HME N . 65

on the s t at e o f I reland t o be s ubmitted to the French

,

Government .

S evera l months had elap sed withou t any response ,

and he was preparing t o se t tle in Am erica when he ,

receive d letters fro m R ussell Keogh and other friends , ,

in I reland acquainting him w ith the rapid progress

,

o f t he Society an d urging him in the strongest manner

, , ,

to go t o Paris and e n deavour t o obtain a promise o f

,

materia l aid in support o f an insurrection H e con .

s ul t e d his wife and his sister both o f who m urged h i m ,

to go t o Paris and then he visited Adet who having , ,

j ust received despatche s from the Directory entere d ,

heartily into the plan and gave him credentials to ,

Delacro ix the Fre nch Minister o f Foreign A ffairs

, .

’
Ton e s b ro t h e r re t urne d to I reland co n veying to the
'

executive committee o f the United I rish men the ia

t e ll ig e nc e o f wha t was being done and to everybody ,

else the announce m ent that he had quie t ly set tled

down as a farm er in New Jersey and in the beginning ,

o f 1 7 9 6 Tone himself crossed the A t lantic again and

, ,

procee ded to Par i s bearing a le t ter in cipher fro m

,

Adet to Delacroi x .

H e found the French Minister well disposed t o

entertain the proposal of an invasion of I reland but ,

totally ignorant o f I rish politics and the state o f the

country ; an d General Clarke then Minister o f War , ,

unprepare d to render assistance to the requisite extent ,

and e qually ignorant o f the country of which his father

w as a native Only two thousand m e n and twenty
.

thousand muskets were promised and Tone insisted ,

that le s s than five thousand men would be useless .

H e w as becoming discoura g ed and anxious when ,

M onroe then ambassador of the Uni t ed States in

,

VO L . I . F
66 TH E UNITED IR ISHMEN .

Paris advised him t o O btain an audience o f Carnot

,
.

”
The organiser o f victory listened to him attentively ,

and sho w ed by his remarks that he had tho ught o f

the matter before H e gave no defini t e assurance o f
.

support however and Tone lingered o n in Paris

, , ,

alternately sanguine and depressed until May when , ,

Carno t informed him that an agent had been sent t o

I rela n d to ascertain t he ac t ual stat e o f a ffairs and ,

report t hereon t o the Directory .

I n con n exion with these nego t iations t he memoir ,

’
drawn up b y O C o nn o r E mmet and Macnevin in , ,

1 7 9 8 shows that in May an important meeting o f t h e

, ,

directorate o f the United I rishmen was held in con ,

“

sequence o f a letter from o ne o f the Society who had

” ’
emi g rated o n account o f h is political opinions Tone s .

Memoirs h ave shown who that emigrant was At t h is .

meeting it was contended says the memoir

“
,
tha t , ,

even according to the constitution and example o f 1 6 8 8 ,

when the protection o f the cons t ituted authorities was

withdrawn from the subj ec t alleg i ance t he reciprocal , ,

duty ceased t o b i nd ; when the wrongs o f the people

,

were no t redressed they had a right t o resist and were

, ,

free to seek for allies w h erever they were to be found .

The E nglish revolutio nists o f 1 6 8 8 called in the aid o f a

foreign republic to overthrow their O ppressors There .

had sprung up in o ur o w n time a m uch more mighty

republic which by its offers o f assistance to brea k the
, ,

chains o f slavery had drawn o n itself a war with the

,

enemies o f o ur freedom and no w particul arly tendere d

,

us its aid These arg uments prevailed ; and it was

.

resolved t o employ the pro ffered assistance for the p ur

p ose o f separation We were aware i t was suspected
.

that n e g o t l at io ns between t he United I rishmen and

 THE UNITED IRIS HMEN . 67

the French were carried on at an earlier p eriod than

that now alluded t o ; but we solemnly declare that
such suspicion was ill founded I n consequence o f
-
.

this determination of th e executive an age nt was ,

d espatched to the French Directory who acquainted ,

them with it stated the dispositions of the people

, ,

”
and the measures w hich caused t hem .

The agent referred to was Lord E dward Fi t zgerald ,

a youn g er son of t h e Duke o f Leins t er and t hen in ,

his thirty fourth y ear H e had entered t h e army when

-
.

seventeen years o f age and served with distinction

,

in A merica ; bu t reti red from the profession of ar ms

in 1 7 9 0 on being told that he h ad barred h is way t o
,

further promotion by declining to support the Govern

ment as member for Kildare At the period referred t o .

in the memoir he went to Swi t zerl an d accompanied ,

by Arthur O C o nno r a g entleman of his own age w h o

’

, ,

had been called to the bar but having a large estate , , ,

h ad never exercised his profession Fitzgerald and .

O C o n n o r h ad an interview near t he French frontier

’

wi t h General H oche who had been selected by the

,

Directory for t h e command of the expedition which i t

had at len g th been determined to despatch to I reland ,

and fully satisfied him t h at Tone and his views were

t rustworthy . At the end of June Tone w as in formed ,

th at the expedition would shortly be undertaken that ,

H oche would conduct it and th at he should himself

,

ha v e the position o f general o f a b rigade A regular .

communication h ad no w been establ i shed bet w een

Fr ance and I rel and and Tone received letters fro m
,

the directorate o f the United I rishmen in forming h i m ,

that fourteen counties includin g the whole o f the

,

nor t h of I reland were completely o rg anised fo r the

,

r 2
68 THE UNITED IRISHMEN .

purpose o f t h ro w m g o ff t h e E nglish yo k e and that ,

the organisation of t h e remainder was rapidly adv anc

ing .

On t he 1 2 t h o f July Tone h ad an in t erview with ,

H oche at the Luxembourg Palace and was informe d ,

tha t the expedition would be in great force and ,

accompanied by a large quantity o f arms amm uni ,

t io n stores and artillery and that the general woul d

, , , ,

fo r th e sake o f his o w n reputation take care that all ,

the arrangemen t s should be m ade o n a proper scale .

I t consisted in fact when it sailed from Brest o n the

, ,

1 6 th o f December o f forty three vessels c arrying

,
-
,

fifteen thousand men forty one t housand muskets ,

-
,

twenty nine can non si xty o n e thousand barrels o f

-
,
-

gunpowder and seven millions o f cartri dges The

,
.

British Government had got scent o f the enterprise

by some m eans and o ne o f the spies in Brest e ndea
,
.

v o ure d to obtain from the printer a copy o f the

pro

clam ation intended to be circulated in I reland in the ,

even t o f a landin g being effected but the printer gave

infor m ation o f the endeavour t o tamper with him t o
H oche who desired him to print a special edition o f a
,

single copy in which Portugal an d Por t uguese should

,

be substituted fo r I reland and I rishmen wherever ,

they occurred This was done and Sir John C o lpoy s

.
,

who had been watching the fl eet in Brest harbour for

some time bein g dece i ved by t his spurious proclam a
,

tion sailed away with the Channel fleet at the critical

,

moment leaving the sea open t o the French expedi

,

tion .

Bantry Bay w as no t origin ally in t ended to be the

place o f disembarkation and it s selection aft er the ,

dispersion o f the fleet by a stor m had disconcerted

 THE UNITED IRISHMEN . 69

’
H oche s plans was an aft er t hough t The original -
.

intentio n has never transpired and was said to have ,

’
been known only t o H oche and O C o nn o r The latter .

d i d not divulge it when under ex amination two years

later but h e appears to have s ubsequently communi
,

c at e d i t to o t her persons havi n g t old Madden in 1 8 4 2

,

"
t h at t h e secret w as known to two persons then living .
e

W h y it should h ave been withheld from the world

when nearly half a century h ad elapsed since the
failure of the expedit i on and the United I rishmen ,

had b eco me a part of t h e pa st history of their co untry ,

and their secre t s o f no more consequence than those

o f the I lluminati h as not bee n explained and cannot
, ,

n o w even be conj ectured .

The leaders of t h e United I ris h men were deceived

’
concerning H oche s expedition as much as th e British
G overnm ent A messenger arrived fro m France in
.

the latter part o f November with the intelligence ,

t h at their allies might be expected very shortly and

a few days after w ards when the messenger was on his
,

way back to France they received a letter from an

,

apparently tru stworthy source informing them that ,

the expedition had been deferred and would no t sail ,

until the spring This threw the directorate o ff their

.

guard an d pre v ented measures being ta k en to prepare

,

the people o f the sout h of I rela n d fo r the coming

d escent upon the coast There is some mystery a b out
.

t h e source of this false intell i gence unless we assume ,

that there were reservations amon g the m embers o f

the G o vernment and th at all the secrets o f Downing
,

Street were not confided to Dubli n Castle for E mmet ,

Madd e n s Me mo i r s
’
o f t he U ni t e d Iri s h me n .
70 THE UNITED IRISHME N .

when under examination in 1 7 9 8 w as interrogated ,

conc erning the cause o f the popular quietude whil e

the Frenc h were in Bantry Bay which seemed to have ,

somewhat puzzled the secret comm i ttee by which t h e

examination o f t he United I rishmen was conducted .

I n view o f the impending invasion the organisation ,

o f t he United I rishmen had r eceived an importan t

m odification in October I t was already admirably

.

adapted fo r the assembling o f large bodies of men at a

very brief notice and t he change whic h it then under
,

went t hough significant exte n ded only t o the nomen

, ,

c l at ure
. The local secretaries became sergeants ,

the lower baronial delegates w ere transformed into

cap t ains and the del e g ates o f the upper baronial c o m
,

mit t e e s into colonels The colonels o f each county

.

recommended three o f their number fo r the post o f

adj utant general and from those names the directorate
—
,

selected o ne The generals were appointed by the

.

directora t e H arwood attributes this change from a

.

civil to a military constitut ion to the formation o f

Yeomanry Corps in which the Catholics though no t
, ,

excluded were received with such evident suspicio n

,

and dislike that very few o f the farmers o f that c o m

munion j oined the ne w force I t is obvious ho w ever.
, ,

that the Catholics m i g ht have outnumbered the Pro

t e st an t s in the Yeomanry Corps if they had been so ,

disposed ; and t he resolution o f the United I rishmen

to resort to arms sufficiently expl ains the conversio n
o f the Society into an army wi t hout the suppositio n
,

of other and minor motives .

A rming and drilling went o n throughout t h e

autumn o f 1 7 9 6 those who were un able to buy a
,

musket o r bay onet b ein g p ro v id e d wit h nikes M en .

 THE UNITED IRISH MEN . 71

were drilled by twelves in t h e houses o f members and ,

in larger numbers o n lonely wastes by the light o f ,

the moon The number o f United I rishmen enrolled

.

a t this tim e in t he province o f Ulster alone was about

a hundred thousand and there were probably nearly
,

as m any in the province o f Munster and more than ,

hal f that number in the province o f Leinster H ow .

m any m en o f t his large force were armed with m uskets

is unknown ; b u t there can be n o doub t that the
m aj o rity had only pikes with the additi o n in som e
,

cases o f a pistol They are said to have p ossessed

.

w
“
some art ill e ry bu t the guns were probably fe w
,
e

and small .

’
The failure o f H oche s expedi t ion disposed the
leaders o f t he Uni t ed I rishm e n to m ore moderate
co urses and the concession o f Catholic emancipation
,

and Parliamentary refor m wou l d have been receive d

with satisfaction and been followed by the disarming
,

and dissolution of the Society Such a settlem ent of .

t he I rish difficulty was thought probable in the b e

ginning o f 1 7 9 7 but the illusion soon faded o ut and
, ,

the de t ermina t ion o f the Government to adopt wit h

vigour a policy o f repression left the or g anisers of the
m ovement no other course than resistance I ns a r .

rection could be in the existing condi t ion o f th e

,

country only a question o f time and they could no t

, ,

withdra w from its direction without bringin g eter nal

dishonour on their names .

All through the winter troops were poured in t o

the country the yeomanry armed and trained
, ,

hundr eds o f arrests m ade s uspected persons ba ni shed

,

Harw o o d .
72 THE UNITED IRISHMEN .

without t rial and outrages commit t ed by the t roop s

,
”

and the yeom anry which rivalled those o f the De

fenders and the Peep o f Day Boys The o ffice o f t h e - -
.

No mi/re m S tar a Bel fas t j ournal conducted by N eilson

,

and representing the Unite d I ri shmen was o ne day

attacked by soldiers who broke O pen the doors de , ,

stroyed the printi n g presses and threw the type int o ,

the stree t No redress fo r suc h ou t ra g es could b e

.

obtained t he authorities seemi ng to regard persons

,

sus pected o f disaffection to the Governme nt as beyond

the pale of the l aw Landowners and substantial .

farmers who fell under the suspicion of the authorities

~

had soldiers q uartered upon the m often in numbers ,

and for periods which m ade the visitation a heavy

tax upon their means This practice seems not to .

have been without disadvantages to the Government ,

for o n o ne occasion when a lar g e par ty o f soldiers

, ,
’
was billeted upon R oger O C o nn o r the brother o f ,

Arthur and father o f F e arg us O C o nno r the officers

,
’

s at over their wine u ntil they were all more o r less

intoxicated wh en their host proceeded to the servan t s

’

h all where the rank and file were revelli ng and in

, ,

d uc e d the w hole o f them t o take the oath o f the

U nited I rishm en Tw o o r three o f them were after
.

w ards sho t o n susp icion o f disloyalty but none o f them ,

* ’
informed against O C o nno r .

Under these circum stances arming and dril ling ,

were ac t ively proceeded with among the United I rish

m e n and by the spring t he system was in its fulles t
,
.

vigour The organisation was extensive and e fli c ie nt

.
,

t h e zeal and confidence o f the people unbounded and ,

a
s
u
A t o bio g r aph y of F e argu s O C o nno r
’
.
 THE UNITED IRISHMEN . 73

t he t emper o f a large proportion o f th e militia such

that their c o op eration in an insurrection was deemed
-

certain Some changes took place in the direc t orate

.

which ten ded to give additional vi g our to t he m ove

ment A rthur O C o n no r had been elected i n the pre
.
’

ceding November and Thomas A ddis E mmet and ,

Oliver Bond a barrister and a wholesale woollen draper

,
-
,

became his co l leagues early in 1 7 9 7 Mad den says .

that Bond declined to act officially b ut continued in ,

the confidence of his c o (l ire c t o rs and w as consulted -

,

by them on all important occasio n s As the instru o .

t ions sent t o the pro vincial com mittees were signed

by only one member of the directorate it seems that ,

this m ust be underst o od t o mean only that Bond

never signed such instructions I t is not certai n who .

the other m embers o f t h e directorate were at this

tim e the preca ution j ust referred to rendering it
,

difficult and in some instances impossible to deter

, ,

m ine who compo sed the execut i ve at any particular

period . Madden s ays that Mac o rm ic k a D ublin ,

m anufacturer was one though not ostensibly or by

, , ,

”
specific appointment belong i n g t o it This is unin
,

t e ll ig ib l e as Mac o rm ic k could not h ave sat 0 11 the

,

directorate acc o rding to the constitution of the Society

, ,

witho ut having b ee n elected Lord Cloncurry is said .

to have been a mem b er of the directorate at o ne ti me ,

*
but took no active part in the proceedin g s .

The new directorate had scarcely been constituted

’

whe n O C o nno r was arrested apparently on a v ague ,

suspicion only since he was li b e rated a fter an inc ar

, ,

ceration of six months o n undertaking to s urrender ,

Madd e n .
74 THE UNITED IRISHMEN .

for t rial whenever called upon and Lord E dward ,

Fitz g erald and Oliver Bond becoming bail for him .

O C o nn o r afterwards stated that shots were t wice fired

’

at the window o f his roo m while he was in prison ,

his inference being that the authorities having n o

evidence against him wished to remove him by as
sinat io n The accusation would be too dre adful for
.

belief if a warder named H asset had not deposed o n ,

’
O C o nn o r s t rial in the following year tha t the shots
’

’
were actually fired by a sol dier O C o nn o r added in .
,

a le t ter to L ord Castlereagh t hat a third attempt , ,

’
an d a pay m en t o f money to the soldier by a King s

messenger could have been deposed t o by the wife of

,
-

the g aoler if she had no t b een ill at the time

,
.

Througho ut this year the condition o f I reland was

terrible The De fenders and the Peep o f Day Boys
.
- -
,

the United I rishmen and the co nstituted au t horities ,

the t roops and the yeomanry vied with each other in ,

deeds o f lawlessness The re port o f a secret com

.

m it t e e sittin g at D ublin Castle states that in order ,

to deter the well affe cted from j oinin g t he Yeomanry

-

Corps and to render t h e administration altogether in

,

e fle c t ual the most active syste m o f terror was put in

,

opera tion Persons enrolled in t h e yeomanry mag i s

.
,

t rates witnesses j urors — in a word every class and

, , ,

distinction o f people w h o ventured to support the laws

— became obj ects of the most cruel persecution in thei r

persons property and even in the line o f their busi

, ,

ness ; and multitudes were compelled to take ille g al

oaths and profess adherence to the party as a m eans
,

o f secur i ty I n the latt e r end of 1 7 9 6 and b e g innin g

.
,

of 1 7 9 7 the loyal inhabitants o f Ulster su ffered most

,

severely from the depredation s of t h e U nited I r i s h

 THE UNITED IRISHME N . 75

men T hroughout the province t h ey were stripped o f

.

their arms The most horrid murders were pe rpe

.

t rat e d by large bodies o f m e n in open day ; and it

became nearly impossible to brin g the o fle nde rs to
j ustice from the inevitable destruction that awaited
,

”
witnesses o r j urors who dared to perform their duty .

There is no evidence whatever that the m urders

com mitted by o r attributed to the United I rishme n
were ordered by the chiefs of that Socie ty as part of a
syste m o f terror ; b ut that s uch crimes were co mmitted
by members of t hat organisation is undeniable The .

Government m ade no earnest endeavours to repress

crimes proceeding from the antagonis m o f race and
creed until as the outrages o f the Peep o f Day Boys
,
- -

set in motion the Defenders those o f t h e Orangemen

,

ro v o k e d re t al iat io n o n t h e part of the United I rishmen

p .

Then they endeavoured to fix on t h e latter the odiu m

o f all the outrages which could not be traced to the

Orangemen o r the military and pointed to the adv o

,

c ac v o f assassinatio n by t he U nio n S ta r a D ublin

,

j ournal pro fessing to emanate from the Unite d I rish

m en as proof o f the j ustice of the accusation This
, .

j ournal the
, publication o f which commenced in 1 7 9 7 ,

was n o t supported by the United I rishmen whose ,

leaders repudiated it and wh o se or g ans denou nced it

, ,

and it was never prosecuted by the Government as ,

the Press (conducted by O C o nno r) and the Nari/re m

’

S far w ere I f an y further e vidence of its being s ub

.

s idis e d by the Go vern m e nt fo r the basest p urposes is

req uired it is to be found in the fact that Cox its

, ,

proprietor and editor was subsequently re warded with

,

a pension .

The Gove r nment which had fo r years r egarded t h e

,
76 THE UNITED IRISHMEN .

ro w th o f anarchy and crime wi t h supineness had n o w

g ,

commenced a course o f vigorous and systemati c

re pression ; and as every day confirmed their appre
h e nsio ns o f the extent and power o f the United I rish
men power was O btained from Parl i ament to disar m
,

t h e people and to disperse b y force assemblages which

,

might be deem ed to have a tendency t o riot without ,

waiting for t h e authorisation of a m agistrate I t was .

easier ho w ever t o determine upon t h is policy than to

, ,

realise it A s Arthur O C o nno r aft erwards reminded

.

Lord Clare they could not frame a bill o f indictment

,

against a whole people and the United I rishmen had

n o w assumed a formida b le extent and consistency .

Very l i ttle progress could be made in disarming the

people who w ere exasperated rather tha n subdued by
,

the proclamation o f martial law and m eet i ngs were ,

heard of only after they had been held Br i bery an d .

e spiona g e were therefore resort ed to o n an extensi v e

, ,

scale and o n the 1 4t h o f April information was

,

obtained b y these means that two committees o f

United I ris h men were sitting in Bel fast Troops .

thereupon surrounded the house where the committees

met and fift een persons wer e arrested and papers
, ,

seized which were referred to a secre t committee

,

sitting at D ublin Castle .

”
“
I t appears says t h e repor t of t his committee
, ,

from a variety o f evidence that no m eans are ,

ne glected for es t abl i shing their constitution and

enforcing obedience to the i r laws ; that contr i butions
are levied to d efray the expenses o f the society that
threats and int i m i dat i ons are employed a g ainst
w i tnesses and j urymen as a means to prevent their
,

associates from being brough t t o j ustice and that a ,

 THE UNITED IRISHMEN . 77

com mitt ee is appoin t ed to defray t he expenses o f de

fending such as are brought to trial or are in prison ; ,

that the assistance of the French is expected and held ,

forth as negotiated for ; that at Belfast al one exist

eigh ty societies at least and that emissaries are em
,

ploye d t o extend these socie t ies that arms and am

m unition are procured pikes bo ug ht o fficers
, ,

appointed military discipline recommended and e u

, ,

forced by oaths to be taken by o fficers and men pro

vision for the families o f their S ociety during their
exertions i n t he field that suspected persons are
brought to account for their actions ; and it has been
s t a t ed in evidence that a tribunal is appointed for this
purpose who try the o ffe nders in their absence and
, ,

”
de t ermine their punishment e v en to the death
, .

H arwood pronounces the latter pas sages false and ,

no evidence was adduced in support of the allegation ,

which m ay have been fabricated by the spies and ih

formers upon who m the Government depended in a ,

great measure fo r their in formation Tha t suc h

, .

horri b le m eans o f earning their blood money were re -

sorted to b y those infamous wretches is established by

the subsequent confession o f o ne o f them a scoun drel ,

named Newell an artist b y profession and a traitor b y

, ,

inbor n disposition who betrayed the secrets o f the

,

United I rishmen to the Government and then sold ,

t h e secrets o f the Government t o h is former associates .

This m an n o t only declared that Cooke the secret ary ,

o f the I rish Gove rnment made additions to his a ff

, ida
v it s and prompted h im to denounce m e n whom he did
,

not k no w but confessed that when giving evidence

, ,

before the secret committee he improved largely o n

,
“

the hints and instr uctions M r Cooke had given pro

.
,
78 TH E UNITED IRIS HMEN .

a
p g at e d
circumstances which never had nor I sup ,

pose ever will h appen increased the n umber o f ,

United I ri shmen and the qu antit y o f arm s and am

,

m unition and fabricated stories which helped to terrify

,

them and raised m e high in their estimation as a m an

,

whose perfect k nowle dge o f this business m ade his

”
information o f the hig h es t im por t ance A fter ten .

”
m onths o f a life fraught as he con fesses with
“ “
, ,

every sce n e o f infamy luxury and debauchery during , , ,

which I m ust ha ve cost the Governmen t no less than

”
two thousand pounds this execrable wretch left ,

Dublin and m ade the confession from which the fore

,

going passages h ave been quoted .

The Government alarmed by the extent and ,

e fficiency o f the organisation o f the United I rish m en ,

n ow o ffered t h e R oyal pardon t o all who su rrendered

and took the oath o f allegiance on or before the 2 4 t h
o f June excepti n g persons guilty of felony and those
, ,

already in custody : The directorate awa r e that the ,

m easures o f the Government would no t allow th em to

be i n active sent Lewins a Dublin attorney t o Paris
, , ,

in M arch 1 7 9 7 t o ur g e the French Government to

, ,

m ake ano t her e ffort in support o f t h e cause o f re v o l u

tion in I reland Th e communication was difficult at
.

tha t time and Lewins h ad t o travel v ia H amb urg

, ,

under the assumed nam e o f Tho m pson R h e y nh art .

,

t h e French Minister at H am bur g fur n ished him with ,

credentials to H oche with whom he had a conference ,

at Frankfort whence he proceeded to Paris Neither

,
.

Lew i ns nor Dr Macnevin who followed him in June

.
, ,

with an elabora t e m emoir o n the state o f I reland ,

coul d at first obtain from the Directory more than

professions o f sy mpath y and promises o f the vag uest
 TH E UNITE D IRIS H MEN . 79

character ; bu t in July t he direc t ora t e received a le tt er

from the former informing them that an expedition
, ,

i ntended for the invasion o f I reland would shortly be ,

d espatched from t h e Texel The Du t ch fleet being

.

encountered and defeated by Admiral Duncan the ,

h opes which the United I rishmen based on forei g n

aid were again frustrat ed ; but towards the clos e o f
the year Lewins who h ad remained in Paris as the
, ,

accredited agent o f the Society after the return o f ,

Macnevin to I rel and in October informed the dirce ,

t o rat e that the attempt to land a French force in

I re l and would b e renewed in t h e followi ng s pri ng and ,

their hopes were raised o nce m ore to a h i gh pitch .

Macnevin was elected to the directorate shortly

a fter h is return from Paris and in February 1 7 9 8 a
, , ,

military committee was appointed with instructions ,

to prepare a plan for t h e c o opera tion o f the United

-

I rishmen with their French allies and for an insur ,

rect i on without foreign aid in the event of the invasion

failin g o r an outbreak bei ng precipitated by the
,

m easures o f the Government before the invaders

arrived Th i s contin g ency t h e directorate no t w it h
.
,

sta nding the large force at their comman d were ,

anxious to avoid I t was estim ated by Lord E dward

.

Fitzgerald t hat the armed force o f the United I rish

men w as nearly two hundred and ei g hty thousand
m e n but the funds in ha n d amounted to less than
,

fifteen h undred pounds The greatest strength of the

.

association was in Ulster where it numbered about

,

o ne hundred and t e n thous and mem b ers Munster .

came next with about a hundred thousand I n Con

,
.

nau g ht it h ad not obtained a footing Na t ural ly a .

lar g er deduction mus t be made from t he nu mbers

80 THE UNITE D IRISHMEN .

shown o n paper from a force o f revolutionary origi n

than from the regular forces o f a lawfully constituted
Stat e and Madden states t hat he h ad reason t o kno w
-

that Lord E dward Fitzgerald did no t calcu l ate u pon

placing more t han a hundred thousand e ffectives in
the field .

The explanation o f this large deduction is found in

t h e fact that the Associ ation was at this time in a less
v igorou s condition than it h ad been a year before .

Disappoin t ment and de l ay t reachery and the sus , ,

ic io n o f treachery h ad sapped its stre ngth The

p ,
.

n umbers had increased for it is rarely that m embers

,

o f a secret socie t y withdraw their names ; but the

spiri t o f the men was evaporating the subscriptions ,

had fallen o ff and fewer m embers atte nded the

,

m ee tings whether o f local societies o r committees

,
.

They were as ready to take the field as they had eve r

b een but like raw soldiers who will charge the ene my
, , ,

with boldness bu t cannot be kep t steady under a fire

,

which th ey cannot return they were s h a k en by the,

knowledge that treachery was am o n g them and t hat ,

they had yet m onths to wait for the French .

The full extent o f that treachery will neve r b e

k nown .There is a fearful s ug gestiveness in the
guarded stateme nt o f Madden t hat t h e betrayers o f
the Society were no t the poor o r inferior me mbers o f
it ; some o f the m were high in the confidence o f t h e
Directory ; others not sworn in but trusted with i t s ,

co n cerns learned in the law social in their habits

, , ,

liberal in politics prodigal i n their expenses needy in

, ,

their circumstances and therefore covetous of money ;

,

loose in their p ubl i c and private principles and there ,

”
fore open to t emptation A copy o f the memoi r
.
 THE UNITED IRIS HME N . 81

drawn up for the French Government in 1 7 9 7 found

its way into the possession of Cooke the I rish secre ,

tary through unknown hands Macnevin told the

,
.

secret committee when u nder examination o n th e ,

subj ect of the nego t ia t ions in which h e took part tha t ,

it could have been obtained only by some person in

”
the pay of E n g land and in the confidence o f France .

That person h as not been named unless by implica ,

tion M ad den seems disposed to i m pute treachery t o

.

som e m ember o f the French Government ; but while ,

the moral character o f more than one m ember o f the

Directory did not rank high there were others t o ,

whom t h e rem ark o f Macne v in equally applied and ,

who being in an inferior position were m ore

, ,

accessible and likely to have proved corruptible at a

,

cheaper rate .

There was t reachery amo ng the partis ans of the

Government h owever as well as among the United
, ,

I rishmen O C o nno r told the secret committee that

.
’

minute information o f every act of t h e Government

was ob t ained by the directorate R elations wer e .

m aint ained between O C o nno r an d Cox which are ’

i n explicable unless by the hypothesis that the latter

,

betrayed such secrets o f the C astle as became know n

to him in the course o f h is communications wit h
Cooke There were m e n too in a much higher soci al
. , ,

—
position than Cox members o f the upper classes o f
I rish society o n terms o f confidence wi t h Lord Clare
,

—
and with L ord Castlereagh who had frien ds o r rela
—
t iv e s among the United I rishm en Lord E dward
Fitzger ald Lord Cloncurry and A rthur O C o nno r
’

, , ,

for instances to whom in confidence as a proof of

, , ,

the i r friendsh i p or in the u nguarded hours o f con

,

VO L . I .
G
82 THE UNITED IRIS HMEN .

v v ial it
i they imparted their knowledge o f the
y ,

Governmental desi g ns an d intentions .

This is n o t mere in ference o r surmise Madden .

asserts o n the authority o f Macnevin that members o f

, ,

the Privy Coun c il and general o fii ce rs t hen servin g in

I reland were am ong those privately known to be
favourably disposed towards t h e United I rishmen .

That the costs of the defence o f the leaders were borne

by o fficers o f distinction there can be no doubt .

Ber n ard Duggan who was deeply implicated in t h e

"

conspiracy told Madden that he should h ave been

,

hanged if ample means o f obtaining legal assistance

had not been t imeously supplied by o fficers servi ng
in the distric t in which he was confined and to whom ,

he was utterly unkno w n There was more th an .

private friendship in this more i t may reasonably be ,

inferred than the ordinary promptings of humanity

, .

Some of these military friends of the movemen t may

be traced Dugga n named Colonel L umm as the
.

o fficer by whom the m oney for his defence was sent .

This o fficer and Maj or Plunkett were among the

friends who visited Lord E dward Fitz g erald in his
ris o n fi
g
p Teeling speaking of persons who from
,
the ,

position in which they stood towards t h e Government ,

m ust have m ade great sacrifices and incurred con

side rab l e risk in communicating with the leaders o f

the United I rishmen says that he was conversing o ne ,

even i ng with Lord E dward Fitzger ald when Colonel ,

Lumm entered accompanied b y t wo other g entlemen

,

u n k n ow n to him b ut whom he believed were members

,

of the I rish Parliament Lum m embraced Fitzgerald .

Mo o r e L fei an d D eat h of L o rd E d w r d F it rl d
’
s a z
g e a .
 TH E UNITED IRISHMEN . 83

with fraternal warm t h of a ffection and said placing a , ,

heavy bag o f gold be fore him There my lord is ,

“
, ,

provision for Teeling does not appear to have

h eard the concluding wo rds of the sentence but he add s , ,

A fe w h ours would have p l aced Lord E d w ard at the

head of the troops of
“

To these statements
I need add only that Colonel L um m w as arrested in
E ngland in May 1 7 9 8 and taken to Dublin in t he
, ,

’
cus t ody of a Kin g s messenger .

I reland towards the close o f 1 7 9 7 resembled a fire

, ,

which has apparently been extinguished bu t th e ,

embers of w h ich still glo w and m ay be fanned into a ,

blaze by t h e lightest breeze There was an appearance .

o f quietude which led s uperficial observers to believe

t hat the people had b een coerced into submission .

But beneath this seeming cal m discontent was sti ll

rife and the elements o f revolt were draw i ng rapidly
,

t o a head The organisation of the United I rishmen

.

was being extended in Munster and pushing its rami ,

fic at io ns into Connaught where it had previo usly ,

been unkno w n E missaries fro m D ublin and Belfast

.

traversed those provinces in every d i rection frater ,

n isin g with the De fenders who were absorbed into ,

the United I rish sys t e m during the autumn and

winte r by the skilful m ani pulat i on of these a g ents ,

who adapted their lan g uage to their listeners and , ,

while refrainin g from descanting o n t h e ri g hts o f man ,

were eloquent o n the question of the land and the

tithes .

The views and aim s o f these new adherents naturally

p r esented a wide d i vergence from those o f the chiefs

Pe rso nal N arr at i v e o f t he Ir is h Re be llio n .

G 2
84 TH E UNITED IRIS HMEN .

of the consp i racy As observed by H arwood t h e “

.
,

ideas o f the E mmets Neilsons and Mac ne v in s were

, ,

n o t their ideas The United I rish system was t o

.
,

them little else than the o l d system o f D e fe nde ris m

'

, ,

o r Whiteboyism u nder a new na m e m ade efficient and

’

, ,

respectable by an unlooked for accession o f allies fro m

—

the middle and higher classes o f society But h o w .

ever defective t heir theory o f republican government ,

t hey were per fectly well versed in t he practice o f re

bellion ; and this union o f the intellectual with the
—
physical force o f the country this alliance o f the “

s peculative republicanism o f the Presby t eri an nort h

with the practical wron g s and wretchedness o f the

—
C ath olic south boded for the coming year a con
v ul sio n desperate and deadl y .

The execution o f Orr which foreshadowed the c o m

,

ing terror sho w ed the anxiety o f the Government

,

concerning this mysterious organisation and filled the ,

minds o f the disaffected wit h th oughts o f r evenge .

Orr who was a man o f the hi g hest character and

, ,

respected by all who kne w him was charged wi t h ,

a dministering the oath o f t he United I rishmen to a

soldier of the S c o t ch Fencibles who was the only wi t

,

ness against h i m and was shown to be a man of in

,

famous life and repute H e was convicted however

.
, ,

a n d condemned to death The j ury had recommen ded

.

him to m ercy and the mos t strenuous e fforts were

,

m ade to procure a commutation o f the s entence .

Three o f the j ury m ade affidavits that whisky was

given to the m during t h eir deliberations ; that some
o f the m were threatened with the vengeance o f the

Governmen t if they acquitted the prisoner and others ,

as sured that the Governmen t wi shed only t o obtain a

 THE UNITED IR ISHMEN . 85

c onviction and t ha t t he life of t he accus ed was safe

,

and that the verdict was given under the in f luence o f

d rink intimidation and the physical exhaustion o f a
, ,

d eliberation o f thirteen hours I n such circumstances .

the Govern m en t might well hesitat e O r r w as three .

times respited and was o ffered his life if he would ,

c onfess his guil t H e refused and his execution .

,

follo w ed H is last w ords

. R emember Orr
dwelt long in the m emory of his countrymen and were ,

o ft en repeated during the follo w ing year as the watc h

words of conspiracy and the battle cry o f revolt -
.

The execution o f Orr w as follo w ed b y the arrest o f

sixteen United I rishmen o n information given by
’
O B rie n o ne o f t h e infamous wretches who had lately
,

been taken into the service o f the I rish Governm ent ,

and who achieved an unenviable notoriety as the Bat -f

talion o f Testimony This man w h o was the chief .

,

wi t ness against the accu sed had been a common in ,

;

former a g ains t persons who infringed the excise

r egulations and who would not purchase his silence
,

by submitting to h is extortions and had also as he ,

confessed under cross exam ination bee n concerned i n -

,

the fabrication of spurious coin The prisoners were .

defen ded b v Curran and M acnally two o f t h e most ,

e minent members o f the I rish bar f

'
During the tri al s

C u rran w as n e v e r fil iat e d
af r
t o t h e U nit e d I is h m e n , t h o u h h e g
s y mpat h i se d d e e pl y w it h t h e m o v e m e nt , an d w as int im at e w it h the
l e ad e r s H e t h o ug h t h e o uld s e rv e t h e a u s e b e t t e r by k e e ping al o o f
. c c
f ro m t h e S o ie t y Ma c na ll y w a s a m e m b e r a s w as G r a t t a n als o
c .
,
.

F r o m t h e s u b s e q u e nt a a r d o f a pe ns io n t o Ma c nall y and t h e a c t o f
w , f
t h e ini ial s L N , s u ppo s e d t o m e a n L e o na r d N a lly o cc u rr ing in t h e
t . .
,

I rish se c r e t s e r vi e a c o u nt s Madd e n c o nc l ud e s Mac nall y t o h a v e b ee n

c c ,

an in fo r m e r a g ai ns t t h e U n it e d I ri s h m e n ; b ut t h e e v i de nc e is e ak w
and ins u ffi i e nt c .
86 TH E UNITED IRISHMEN .

the de fending counsel received information that p8 1 “

j ury on t he part o f O B rie n could be proved if ti me

’

was allo w ed fo r the j ourney t o D ub l in o f an importan t

witness Knowi ng that no indul g ence was t o be ex
.

e c t e d from the Crow n Macnally protracted his cross

p ,

examination of the witnesses for the pros e cu t ion until

’
the wi tness arri v ed when O Brie n s perj ury was
,
’

proved and the prisoners w e re acqui t ted O Brie n

, .
’

was han g ed t w o years afterwards fo r a brutal murder ,

an immense concourse o f people hailing his well

deserved fate with shou t s o f exultation Wheatley .
,

the soldier who had in formed against Orr confe s sed ,

afterwards that he also h ad committed perj ury .

Th e e x ecution o f Orr the n arrow escape o f F inney ,

and his companions the irritation excit ed by the,

search fo r arms t h e general presenti m ent o f an im

,

pendi ng convulsion all tended at this time to produce

,

in the eastern and southern countie s a condition b o r

dering closely u pon anarc h y During the m onths o f .

February and March many par t s o f the provinces o f

Leinster and Munster were overrun by la wless bands ,

w hich by confini ng their incursions and ravages t o

,

t h e hours o f darkness rendered their operations more

,

di ffi cul t t o be repressed by the regular troops and

yeo manry N o t a nigh t passed withou t murders and
.

incendiary fires Several districts had been proclaimed

.

u nder the extraordinary powers given by Parliamen t

to the Lord Lieutenant and Council ; but thes e

-

m easures proved ine ffectual Very m any o f the loy al .

inhab i tants o f the counties o f Cork Limerick Tippe , ,

’
r ary Kilkenny Carlo w Kin g s Co unty Q ueen s
, , ,
’

County Kildare and Wicklow were in the cours e of

, , ,

o ne month s t ripped o f their arms and in many place s

‘

, ,
 T HE UNITED IRISHMEN . 87

obli g ed to fly for shelter in t o t he garrison towns ; and

as one inst ance among m any o f the dari ng lengths t o
which the consp i rators at this time had proceeded ,

eight hundred insurgents principally m ounted in , ,

vested the town of Cahir in the county of Tipperary , ,

in open day held possession of it until they had made

,

a regular search t h rough every house and carried o ff ,

in triumph all the arm s and ammunition they could

*
find .

Fear engenders cruelty and the G overnm ent ,

ba ffled in their endeavours to s uppress the United

I rishmen by the firmness of Orr and the failure o f the
’
perj ury of O B ri e n sanctioned if they did not initiate
, , ,

a system of terrorism over the whole island I wi ll .

n o t harro w the feelings o f th e reader by reproducing

the terrible scenes of torture and murder the floggings , ,

t h e pitch c appings the hangings and the bu rnings

-
, , ,

whic h have been related by Madden and Pl o w de n r , ,

’

and H arwood and which Sir R ichard Mu sg rav e i has

,

attempted to j ustify but which no writer has denied

,
.

I wi ll merely remark that these horrible outra g es

tended to precip i tate the re b e l lion of which Arthur ,

O C o nno r deposed before t h e secret com mittee the y

’

were the cause and that their e ffect o n the mind o f

,

Sir John Moore who held an important command in

,

I reland at that time was s uch th at he once declared,

to a friend that if he had been an Irishman he shou l d

have been a rebel .

There is no doubt that the G overnment havin g ,

succeeded nei t her in disarming the United I rishmen ,

Re po rt o f th e Se cr t C
e om m it te e .
1 H ist o ry of d
Ir e la n .

I H is t o ry o f t h e Re be lli o n.
88 TH E UNITED IRIS HME N .

no r in discovering their leaders wished a t this tim e ,

to b ring the conspiracy to a head and crus h it at once ,

.

The leaders o f t he Society saw no other means o f

bringing to an end t he prevailing sys t em o f anarchy
and t error ; the rank and file were burning for action
and fo r reprisals E very thing tended therefore t o
.
, ,

precipitate an outbreak The hope of aid from Franc e

.

grew fainter every day H oche was now dead Carnot

.
,

poli t ically proscribed Buonapar t e in E gy pt Emme t

,
.

and som e oth ers th e more clear headed o f the leaders

,
-

o f the United I rishmen h ad always been o f the ,

opinion that dependence o n France was a fatal mis

take ; and the j ournals of the Society show that t h e
French allia nce had kept t he m always waiting and
expecting alternately el ated by delusive hopes and
, ,

cas t do w n by disappointment .

The executive co m mittee consis t ed at t his time

o f Lord E d w ard Fitzgerald Oliver Bond Arthur , ,

’
O C o nn o r Dr Macnevin and t he elder E mme t
, .
,
At .

a me eting o f the provincial com mi t tee o f Leins t er ,

he l d i n February Fitzgerald proposed an immedia t e

,

rising which was obj ected to by some o f the mem b ers

, ,

o n the ground t hat i t would be better t o wai t for the

arrival o f the promised expedition from France .

Fitzgerald told them tha t no aid was t o be expected

from tha t quart er ; and after some discussion it was
, ,

resolved to t ake i mmedia t e measures fo r a general ia

surrection .

As a last e ffor t to ob t ain aid fro m France howeve r , ,

’
O C o nno r le ft Dublin at this time and proceeded t o ,

Lon don where h e remained some time while Binns

, , ,

o n e of four other United I rishmen who accompanied

him visited Whi t stable Deal and Mar g a te e n

, , , ,
 THE UNITED IRIS H MEN . 89

de av o uring to hire a small vessel to conve y the m to

’
France During his stay in London O C o nno r was
.
,

fre quently the guest o f Fox and in close and con ,

fide nt ial communication with him concernin g the

state o f I reland and the organisation of the United
,

I rishmen with whose views and obj ects Fo x was pro

,

bably well ac q uainted On the 2 7 t h his servant .

, ,

O L e ary accompanied a priest named C o ig ly and

’

, ,
.

another United I rishman n amed Allen to Margate , , ,

where t hey were j oined the same day by O C o nno r ’

and Binns under the assumed names of Morris an d

,

Williams The previous m ovem en t s o f Binns having

.

been trac k ed by police o ffi cers o f the B o w Street-

e stablishm ent a pa rty of thos e red veste d j anizarie s

,
-

followed th e m from London and arrested the whole ,

party nex t morning at their h otel I n O C o nn o r s .

’ ’

trunks a green military uniform was found t ogether ,

w i th nine hundred pounds in gold and som e papers ,

amon g which was a key to a c i pher correspondence

w ith Lord E dward Fitzgerald .

The chief evidence agains t the prisoners however , ,

w as a paper purporting to be a m emoir prepared by a

,

”
“
secret committee of E ngland for the French G o
v e rn m e nt inviting the enemy t o invade E n g land
, ,

which was found in a pocket book in the poc k et o f -

,

an overcoat belonging to C o ig ly This document .

formed the groundwork o f the prosecution when the

prisoners were brou g ht t o trial at Maidstone o n th e
Q i st o f May but there was no evidence t o connect
,

the United I rishmen with i t s purpose and with the , ,

exception o f C o ig ly they were acquitted On this

,
.

occasion Fo x E rs k ine and Sheridan w h o had known

, , , ,

O C o nn o r three year s and Gra t t an w h o had been

’

, ,
90 THE UNITED IRIS HMEN .

intimately acquainted with him for six years t estified ,

to h is being a man o f the strictest honour and in

”
tegrity ,
highly enlightened and firmly attached to ,

the principles which had seated t h e reigning family o n

”
the throne .

’
O n th e conclusion o f the trial a t t en o clock at ,

night a scene ensued w hich has been variously

,

described b y the di fferent writers whose narrations

o f the events o f the period hav e been publi shed .

Madden says tha t the verdict was no sooner delivered

than an attempt was m ade by Bow Street o fficers to
’
arrest O C o nno r o n anothe r charge before he could
leave the d ock and that o n O C o nn o r breaking fro m ,
’

them and rush i ng into the body o f the Court a body

, ,

o f Bow Street o fficers appeared and a scene o f great ,

confusi o n ensued swords being drawn and sever al

, ,

persons knocked down before O C o nno r was over ,

’

powered and dragged back to t he dock

, .

F e arg u s O C o nno r related t h e incident very dif

’

”
fe re nt ly The trial as he told the story l asted
“
, ,
“

all day and a considerable portion o f the night The

,
.

Government felt satisfied that h is death wo uld be

insured ; bu t lest they should be disappointed there
, ,

was another indictm en t prepared ag ains t him in case

he should b e acquitted H e was acquitted and when .
,

the verdict was pr o nounced Lord Thanet and C ut l ar ,

Ferguson subsequently a member o f Parliament and

, ,

o ne o f the Ministers s t ood o n each side o f the ,

doc k ; they blew o ut the candles and my uncle be ing ,

a very act i ve man he put o ne hand u pon the shoul der

,
’
o f Lord Thanet and t h e other upon C ut l ar Ferguson s
, ,

w hen he j umped o ut o f the dock and m ade his escape ,

.

H owever as he was r unni ng down a street h e w as

, ,
 THE UNITED IRIS HMEN . 91

tripped up by a constable an d again take n into ,

custody Of course he was perfectly aware tha t the

.

Governmen t would use its every influence to secure

his death and therefore he entered into a condition to
,

*
b e transported for life Lord Thanet was sentenced .

to twelve m onths imp risonment and C ut l ar F e rg u’

”
son to six for assis t ing him to m ake his escape
,
.

The version given by the brother o f Binns makes

C o ig ly t h e central fi g ure of this strange scene He .

says : Sentence o f death was passed o n C o ig ly at

night The Court house was lit with lamps C o ig ly
.
-
.

was near escaping ; the terror in the Court was

extreme ; the cry o f put out the lights was heard ;
there were swords drawn in Court and in the sc uffie , , ,

O C o nno r received some blows ; Lord Thanet was

’

arrested for rioting in court The fact i s prepara .

,

’
tions were made for e ffecting th e prisoner s escape ,

and fast horses were engaged and in readiness on t h e ,

”
road to facilitate C o ig ly s flight
,
’

There are similar discrepancies as t o t h e c rimina

tory document found i n the pock et boo k supposed to -

’
be C o ig ly s The priest asserted that he kne w
.

nothing abou t it and even upon the sca ffold repeated

,

the assertion in the most solemn m anner This .

statement has been contradicted however both by , ,

O C o nno r and the brother of Binns in the i r c o m

’

m unic at io ns to Mad den and the account o f t h e pa per

given by Binns agrees with the statement made a fter
C o ig ly s execution
’
by the counsel who de fended ,

O L e ary namely th at C o ig ly received the memoir

’
—
,

from Dr C ro ss fie l d a member o f the London Corre

.
,

F e arg us O C o n nor was

'
no t w e ll info r me d on th i po int
s .
92 THE UNITED IRISHMEN .

s o n din Society w i th ins t ructi ns t o procure it s

p g o ,

inse rtion in the Mo nize ur for the purpose of alarmi n g

‘
,

and distracting the Britis h Gover n ment and that ,

C o igly went t o the scaffold rather than betray Cros s

field .

One of the m em b ers of the L einster provincial c o m

mit t e e a t this time was Tho m as R eynolds who had ,

been a silk man ufacturer in Dublin but had retired ,

from business and purchase d the castle an d estate o f

,

Kilkea H e had been initiated into the Society by

.

B ond early in 1 7 9 7 and advanced quick ly to t h e ,

grade o f captain o r lower baronial delegate I n

,
.

November he succeeded Lord E dward Fitzgerald ,

at the l atter s request as colonel o f the barony o f

’

Kilkea F i tzgerald having reason at that time t o b e

,

lieve that he was suspected by the Government H e .

seem s seldom to have attended the m eeti ngs o f the

baronial com mittee however and if his o w n account
, , ,

is to be believed had no knowledge of the co n spiracy

,

until February 1 7 9 8 when he attended a county com

, ,

m it t e e held at the Nineteen Mile H ouse on the road

, ,

to Dublin and was elected delegate to t h e provincial

,

committee Alarm ed by what he then heard he

.
,

failed to attend t he m eeting o f the Leinster com

m it t ee on the following day and proceeded to Dublin ,

to remonstrate with the leading c o nspirators .

Warned by Neilso n that they would have no “

”
hal f measure m en and laughed at for his fears by
-
,

others b e resolved to with draw from the Society and

, ,

take measures which he hoped would so neutrali se

t h e plans of the United I rishmen as to stop them ,

without comp romis i ng their perso nal safety and at ,

once save his country his friends and his own , ,

 THE UNITED IRIS H JI E N . 93

While consideri n g the means o f realising

—
this intention s o often indulged in similar circum
stances but never accomplished h e encoun t ered an
,
—

o l d friend a m erchant named C O e w h o in the course

, p , ,

o f a conversation o n the state o f the country per ,

s uade d h i m t h at wealth and honours would be

liberally bestowed by the Government upon any o ne
w h o would betray the secret organisation wh i ch t hey
had vainly expended so m uch money and taken so ,

m uch pains to unearth R eynolds s aid that he knew

, .

a person who was disposed to do so but protested ,

that he was ac t uated by higher motives than the hope

o f reward ; and at length took Cope into his c o n fi

dence revealed the pl an o f the co n spiracy and

, ,

inform ed him that the final m eeting wo uld be held

’
at Bond s house on the 1 2 t h of March .

Bon d was the only one o f the conspirators who m

R eynolds h ad named ; b ut knowing th at fe w i f any
, , ,

o f the leaders wo ul d esc pe if they attended the meet

a

in g and wishing to save Lord E dward Fitzgerald he

, ,

v isited him on the day before that fixed for the

mee t ing and showed him a paper contain i n g secret
,

orders for the Yeomanry Corps of a t enour indicating ,

that the authorities were o n the ale rt to meet and

suppress some impending commotion The m anner .

in which this paper came into the informer s

po ssession is one o f t h e m any singul ar circums t ances
c onn e cted wi t h this consp i r acy wh i c h seems explicable
,

only by the supposition o f the double tre achery o f

w hich there were several in s t ances R e y nolds s up .

posed it s production to h ave had the desired e ffect .

L ife h o m as Re
ofT yn
o l ds , by h is S o n .
94 THE UNITED IRISHMEN .

Fitzgerald becam e agitated and Reynold s inferred ,

fro mhis absence from the m e e t in g o n t he following

day that he took t he alarm and resolved no t to a t t end
, .

The infere nce is unwarranted eithe r by reason o r , .

fac t s
. I f F itzge rald h ad resolved not t o attend t h e
meeting he would have communicated with his col
,

leagues which he did not d o ; and the re al cause o f

,

his absence was that having reached t he corner o f t h e

,

’
stree t in which Bond s house was situa t ed he saw ,

Maj or Sirr and his party en t er and imm edia t ely re ,

traced h is s t eps .

’
O n t he following day Bond s ho us e was sur
rounded by soldiers and himself and thirteen others
, ,

forming the provincial committee o f Leins t er wer e ,

arrested and their j ournals and correspondence seized

,
.

E mmet and Macnevin were arrested a t their homes

about the same time The prisoners were t aken t o
.

the Castle for a preliminary examination after whic h ,

they w ere all com mi t ted t o N e w g at e gaol on the charge

o f treason .

These arres t s did no t da m p the ardo ur o r weaken

the resolves o f the U n ited I rishmen The Leinster .

provincial committee was reconstituted be fore night ,

and probably the exec utive also though only John ,

Sheare s is k nown to have im m ediately taken t h e

place o f one of the arrested directors o f the move
ment The new chief was a barrister o f g ood repute
.
,

loved and respected b y all who kne w him and wit h , ,

his brother had been in the society almos t from its

,

commencement A letter was received shortly after

.

wards from Teeling who was then in Paris informing

, ,

the Leinster provincial com mittee that a new ex

e di t io n would be despa t ched from F rance in April ;
p
 THE UNITED IRISHMEN . 95

but it was resolved t hat the rising should take place

this time whether the French ca m e or not and arm
, ,

ing and drilling and the formation o f de pfit s o f

, .

military stores went o n actively

, .

E arly in May t h e plan of the insurrection was fully

arranged and the day fixed for i t s execution The
, .

United I rishmen o f the counties of Dublin Wicklow , ,

and Kildare were to advance simultaneously upon the

capital under t h e direction of Lord E dward Fitz
g erald surprise the c amp at Loughlinstown and the
,

artillery dep ot a t Chapelizod and seize Lord Camden

, ,

Lord Clare Lord Castlereagh an d other m embers of

, ,

the I ris h Government who were t o b e held as ,

hos t ages The detention of the m ails was t o be the

.

signal for the rising o f the Unite d I rishmen all over

the island .

Lord Camden had in the mean t ime issued a pro

, ,

clamation announcing that a conspiracy against the

Cro wn and Government had been discovered ; that
acts of violence and rebellion had been committed in
divers parts o f the co untry ; and that all the forces at
his disposal would be employed with the utmost
rigour and decision to suppress the rebellion and ,

disarm all disa ffected persons by the m ost summary

and e ffectu al meas ures All the spies and informe rs
.

attached to the Castle were at the same time employ ed

in endeavouring to discover the hid i ng place of Lord -

E dward Fitzgerald for who se arrest a reward o f o ne

,

thousand pounds was o ffere d and to ascertain w h o ,

h ad succeeded the men in cu s tody in the direction o f

the consp i racy Lord Castlere ag h h ad found it ne c e s
.

sary to o b t ai n the services fo r such purposes o f men

in a hi g he r social position than O B rie n and secret
’

,
96 THE UNITED IRISHMEN .

ser v ice m oney found its way in to the pocke t s o f such

’

men as Sir George H ill and Captain Armstron g The .

accounts o f Coo k e secretary to Lord Clar e record

, ,

several payments o f secret service m oney to the

former between the autumn o f 1 7 9 7 and t h e close o f
1 7 9 9 ; and the latter earned indelib l e infamy as t h e
betrayer o f the brothers Sheares whose friend h e ,

had prete n ded t o be and whose hospitality he had

,

shared .

One o f the pri n cipal booksellers in Dublin at that

time w as Byrne who had j oined the United I rishmen
, ,

and whose shop was a favourite lounge o f liberal

minded men o f all professions Among those w h o
.

resorted to it fo r the literary and political gossi p

o f the day was Captain A rm strong w h ose c o n ,

v e rs at io n s with Byrne led th e latter t o regard h im as

what the present g eneration calls an advanced

Liberal . The political vie w s which he expressed
were so far advanced that Byrne o n the l 0 t h o f May
, ,

did not hesitate to introduce him to John Sheares as

a t rue brother and to usher them into a private
,

room behind the shop in order tha t they might con

,

verse at their ease Armstrong at once declared

.

himself in favour o f the national movement and ,

o ffered his aid and She ares natural ly open hearte d

,
-
,
’
and thrown o ff his guard by By rn e s spons o rship of
’
A rmstrong and the latter s well assum ed enthusiasm
,
-
,

informed him that the rising was at hand and that he ,

m ight assist it by seducing the sold i ers in the cam p

at L e h aun st o wn An appointment was made for the
.

1 8 t h at the house o f H enry Sheares in Bagot Street , ,

where the conversation was ren ewed John Sheares ,

becomin g more and more confidential On returning .

 TH E UNITED IRIS HME N . 97

to the camp a t L e h aunst o w n Arm s t rong comm uni ,

c at e d to Colonel Lestrange t he com mandant all that , ,

he had heard and also m ade a co mmunication o n

,

the subj ect to Lord Castlereagh D uring the fo llow .

ing week he was a frequent visi t or a t t h e house o f

H enry Sheares and o n the 2 0 t h he gleaned from t he
,

brothers all the details o f the conspiracy which he ,

immediatel y communicated to the Castle .

The crisis was now at hand the 2 3 rd having been ,

fixed for the rising Lord E dward Fitzgeral d was

.

arrested on the day preceding the final intervie w of

Armstro ng with t h e unsuspecting brot h ers Sheares .

H e had frequently changed his lodging since the

arres t s o f the 1 2 t h of March and his various pla ces of ,

hiding were k n own only t o the leaders o f th e United

I rishmen D uring this period of anxiety and excite
.

ment h e had some narro w escapes On o ne occasion .

,

about the middle of May when he and Neilson had ,

ridden from D ublin to the borders o f Kildare t hey ,

were stopp ed at Palmers t own by the patrol and ques ,

t io ne d as to their business Neilson pretended in .

toxication to avoid answering and Fitzgerald w h o , ,

described himself as a s urgeon gave an account o f ,

the purpose o f his j ourney wh i ch was accepted as

sa t isfactory I n his walks about D ubl i n on the busi
.

ness o f the conspiracy he was always attended by

ha lf a dozen friends o f t ried courage who w alked in ,

advance o f him fo llowed in t h e rear and w atched

, ,

from the opposite side o f the street Colonel Lumm .

and Maj or Plunkett were amo ng the friends who

formed this escort .

H e w as tracked however to a house in Thom as

, ,

Street and arrested there by a party o f soldiers led

, ,

VO L . I . H
98 THE UNITED IRIS HMEN .

by Maj or Sirr Maj or Swan and a yeomanry captai n

, ,

named Ryan The circumstances o f the arrest have

.

been variously related Murphy the occup i er o f the .

,

house who was arrested at the same time says that

, ,

Lord E dward Fitzgerald was lying o n the bed partly ,

u n d ressed when Maj or S w an entered the room and

, ,

that he im m ediately spran g from the bed dre w a ,

dagger and struck Swan in flicting a slight wound

, ,
.

Swan then discharged a p istol but missed his aim , ,

and thereupon retreated The Duke of Portland in .

,

a private letter q uoted by Madden says that Lord , ,

E dward who was armed with a case of pistols and a

,

dagger stood o n his defence shot Mr Ry an in the

, ,
.

sto m ach and wounded Mr S w an with the dagger in

,
.

two places Maj or Sirr o n enteri ng the room and

.
, ,

observi ng Lord E dward w i th the dagger upli fted in

his hands fired a t h im and wounded him in the arm
, ,

o f the hand that held the weapon upon which he was ,

”
secured The Duke o f Portland must have been
.

m isled by unfounded statements received from o thers .

Fitzgerald h ad no pistols : t he dagger which h ad a

.

horn hilt and a zigzag blade was o n e o f several t ha t ,

were m ade for the leaders o f the U nited I rishmen by ,

a cutler in Bri dge Street named Byrne But the ,

.

concluding portion o f this stateme nt agrees with the

’
accounts given by Sirr himself in a letter to Ryan s ,

son which appeared in the London j ournals in 1 8 3 9

, ,

and by the y ounger Ryan who in an account pub , ,

l ish e d at t h e same time states that Maj or Swan first ,

’
entered Lord E dward s apartment and o n finding , ,

his lordsh i p cried out You are my prisoner upon

, ,

w hich the latter aimed a blow with h is dag ger

at Swan w h o parried it with his han d
, The .
 THE UNITED I RI S H JIE N . 99

blade after pas sing t he fin g ers glanced alo n g the

, ,

s ide inflicting a superficial wound o f which h e reco

, ,

vered in about a fo rtnight S wan t hu s wounded .

,

e xclaim ed R yan Ryan I am basely murdered !

, , ,

Captain Ryan who had been searching another part of

,

t he h ouse o n hearing t his exclamation immediately

, ,

ran in an d seizing Lord E dward thre w him back o n

, , ,

the bed where a violent struggle ensued in which

, ,

Captain Ryan received an awful wound in the stomach .

H e instantly star t ed up and attempted to use a ,

sword cane A m ost u nequal contest followed and

-
.
,

lasted for abou t ten minutes in the course o f which ,

Captain R yan u n armed resol utely m aintained his

, ,

grasp of his prisoner who with desperate ferocity , , ,

inflicted woun d after wound to the numbe r o f four ,

’
teen Captain Ryan s hands being disabled he clung
.
,

roun d Lord E dward wit h his legs and tho u gh , ,

drag ged throu g h the room towards the door e ffe c ,

’
t u al l y prevented Lord E dward s escape to the stair
case A ll this time Lord E dward was unhurt his
.
,

opponent defenceless ; nevertheless he recklessly ,

wounded and bran dishe d his awfu lly cons t ructed -

double edged dagger worn for the e x press purpose o f

-
,

carrying death to any a s sailant This horri fying .

scene lasted until the arrival o f the soldiers and w as ,

terminated by Maj or Si rr dischargin g a pist o l at Lord

E dward the ball entered h is shoulder ; but eve n
:

then s o outrageous was h e that the military had to

, ,

cros s their m uskets and force him do wn to the floor

, ,

”
be fore h e could be s ecured .

According to the surgi c al evidence g iven o n the

inquest o n F i tzgeral d t w o shots m ust have been fi red, ,

u nless Sirr had put two bullets into h is pistol ; fo r

n 2
100 THE UNITED IRIS HMEN .

tw o w ere extracted from his shoulder the inflamma ,

tion and fever resulting from the wound thus inflicted

resulting in his death a fe w days after his arrest .

N o ne o f h is relatives and friends were allowed t o se e

‘

him until a few hours before Lord C l are in refusing .

,

permission t o Lord H enry Fit z gerald o ne of the dying ,

’
pr i soner s brothers s aid I f I could explain t o y o u
,

the grounds fo r this restriction even y o u would ,

hardly be induced to condemn i t as unnecessarily

”
h arsh . The mystery that lurked under these words
has never been cleared up E ven Leeson the soli .
,

’
c it o r who m ade the prisoner s will was not allowed t o ,

enter the prison b ut communicated with his clien t

,

throu g h t h e sur g eon general o f prisons Just before

-
.

his d eath however he was seen by Lord H enry Fi t z

, ,

gerald and an aunt Lady Lo uisa Conno lly H is ,

.

remai ns were interred in the vaults o f St We rb urg h s .

’

Churc h the only persons allo w ed to at tend being

,

Lieutenan t Stone o f the Derry militia w h o had at

, ,

tended him while in prison by order o f the au t hori t ies, ,

an d an old servant o f the Fitz g erald family named ,

Shiel .

The betray er o f Lord E dward Fitzgerald is un

known N e il so n R eynolds and Murphy have been
.
, ,

indicated as the probable sources o f the information

ac t ed upon by Maj or Sir r N e il s o n had dined with .

his fellow conspirator and left him some w hat abruptly

-

,
.

Sirr said he received the information immediately b e

’
fore pr o ceedin g to Murphy s house and that he found ,

the door open I t has been surmised that the doo r

.

w as i ntentionally le ft open by N eilson but there are

really n o reasonable g rounds for suspecting either
Neilson or Murphy and this disposition o f I rishmen
,
 THE UNITE D IRIS HMEN . 1 01

to suspec t each oth er o f treachery u pon the very

sligh t est g r oun ds is o ne of the least pleasant features
o f the n ational character which the history of t h e

U nite d I rishmen develops That the information .

was given by R eynolds is doubted even by Madden .

”
Re ynol ds he says had a kind o f regard and re
, ,
“

spect fo r Lord E dward ; for we find even the greates t

villains frequently m anifest an invo l untary appre c ia
tion o f very exalted heroism o r virtue The y feel as .

if they were compelled in spite o f themselves to reve

, ,

r ence great and generous qualities like those whi c h

Lord E dward possessed But tho ugh R eynolds pro .
,
~

bably woul d not denounce him himself no r think it

, ,
’
decen t to sell a m an s blood from whom i t was k no wn
he had received great and substan t ial acts of k indness ,

Re ynolds could have reconciled i t to his very peculiarly

constituted m ind and perverted m oral sense to put an
acquaintance in whose welfare he fel t an interest in
the way o f doing a stroke o f business in his own line ,

and to enable his p ro zéy é to pocket a thousand ‘

pounds for a little bit of information concernin g Lo r d

’
E dward s hidin g place on a particular occasion
-
.

The secre t service accounts o f the Castle contain an

en t ry which sho w s that the informer w as neither
Neilson R eynolds nor Murphy Under date J une
, ,
.

2 0 t h 1 7 9 8 is the entry—
, ,
F H Discovery o f L E F “
. . . . .
,

1 0 0 0! Madde n su pposes these init i als t o mea n

John H ughes and Lord E dward Fitzgerald ; and there
is no doubt th at the latter portion o f the interpreta .

tion i s correct H u g hes was a boo k selle r at Bel fast

.
,

w h o gave evidence be for e the secret committee b ut ,

suppressed the fact th at h e h ad been arrested fo r

t reason a t Newry in October 1 7 9 7 and w as libe r ate d
, , ,
.
 THE UNITED IRISHMEN .

on bail the same evening H e became bankrup t .

shortly afterwards and early in June 1 7 9 8 was ar

, , ,

rested again Of co urse those who believ e that in

.
, ,

the secret service accounts N means Macnally m ay ,

.
,

believe that F stands therein for John ; b ut if the F

.
,
.

i s a m istake for J the informer may have been Joel

.
,

H ulbert a carver and g ilder and afterwards a toll

, ,

col l ector on t h e Mo nast e re v e n Canal who in August , , ,

1 8 0 3 informed Maj or Sirr o f an intended m eeting o f

,

disaffected persons at a house at Kilmain h am .

By rne and the brothers S heares were arres t ed o n

the Q i st o n the information o f the man w h o had
,

enj oyed the hospitality o f H enry Sheares o n the pre

ced i ng evening and for w h ose entertainment the
,

d aughter o f his unsuspecting host had played the

harp The only paper of any conse q uence that was
.

seized was an unfinished proclamation to the people o f

I reland very violent in its tone which was found o n
, ,

the writing desk o f John Sheares and appeared t o

-
,

have been written by him .

For several days before the ou tbreak o f t he rebellio n

there was an unusual movement a m ong all classes o f
the inhabitants of Dublin E very day clerks wer e .

m issed fro m t heir desks shop assistants from their ,

-

counters workm en from their places of labour The

,
.

air gre w thick with rumours o f consp i rac y and re

bellion An u neasy feeling a presentiment o f im

.
,

pend i ng dan g er pervaded al l classes On the 2 3 rd

,
.

Neilson was arrested in front o f Ne w gate while re ,

c o nn o it rin
g that prison with a view to an attack
,

for the purpose o f liberating the United I rishmen

confined there amo ng whom was Lord E dward
,

Fitzgerald A large b ody o f c onspi r at o rs w as in

.
 THE UNITED IRISHMEN . 1 03

readiness for t he attack at a place called the Barley

Fiel d s ; but o n recei ving inform ation o f Neilson s
’

arrest they dispersed .

During the evening and the early hours of t h e

night the prevailing uneasiness of the inhabitants o f
Dublin c ul minated in the wildest excitement as ,

persons whose business had calle d them into the

country brough t into the city the news that all the
roads were intercepted by armed rebels large bodies ,

o f whom we r e said to b e gatheri ng at Santry o n the

north and R ath farnham o n t he south D rums beat
,
.

t o arms t rumpets and bugles sounded t r 0 0 ps were in

, ,

mo t io n t h e who l e population in a state o f i ll suppressed

,
-

excitement I t was a dark night and the lamp s re

.
,

mained unlighted the m en whose duty it was to light

,

t hem having disappeared with thousands of others t o , ,

join t h e rebel gatherings at Santry and R athfarnham .

The m ilitary arra ngements for the defence o f the

city were so ill contrived that an attack in force
-
,

un der able leaders could scarcely have failed t o be

,

successful The greater pa rt of the troops and

.

y eomanry were massed in S mit h fie ld a lo ng and ,

wide stree t ending o n the quays of the L i ffe y and

, ,

intersected b y n u merous n arrow lanes Sir Jonah .

Barrington who was an eye witness o f the scene and

,
-
,

observes that t h e rebels lost a fine opportunity to cove r

the field with distinguished corpses says that the ,

troops were in some places s o com pletely i nterwoven

that a dragoon could not wield his sw o r d without cut
ting down a foot soldier ; nor a foot sol dier disch arge
his musket without knocking down a troope r Five .

hundred rebels with long pi k es coming o n rapidl y

, ,

in the dark might wi thout diffic ulty have as s ailed

,
1 04 THE UNITED IRISHMEN .

the yeom e n a t once from five di fferen t points .

All the barristers at t orneys m erchants bankers , , , ,

revenue o fficers shopkeepers s t udents o f t he uni

, ,

versity doctors apothecaries and corporat ors o f an

, , ,

immense metropolis in red coats with a sprinkling o f , ,

parsons all doubled up t ogether amid bullock stall s

,
-

and sheep p ens awaiting in profou nd darkness (no t

-

with impatience ) fo r invisible execu t ioners t o despatch

them without mercy was not abs t rac t edly a situa , , ,

tion t o engende r m uch hilarity Sco t ts no w and .

then came only t o report t heir ignorance A running

,
.

buzz wen t roun d t h at t h e vedettes were driven in an

the reports o f distant musketry li k e a t witch , ,

electrici ty g ave a slight but perceptible m ovem

,

’
to m en s mu scles A fe w faintly heard shots o n
.
-

north side also seemed t o announce that t he vang uar

o f the San t ry men w ere approaching .

The night passed without an att ack however an , ,

a t daybreak it became k nown t h at the plan o f the

United I rishmen had failed The m ail coaches had .
-

been stopped some houses burned and some small

, ,

military posts attacked o r t hrea t ened but the rebel s

had n o t been able to gather in force either at Santry
o r R athfarnham Lord Camden took the precaution
.
,

however o f palisading and guarding t he bridges and

, ,

issued another proclam atio n comm anding all w h o ,

had unregistered arms in their possession t o surrender

them immediately under the penalty o f being sent
,
’
o n board the King s ships and no t to leave their ,

houses be t ween t h e hours o f nine in t he evening and

five in the morning .

H i st o ri c al Me m o ir s of t h e Iri sh Re b el l io n .
 THE UNITED IRIS HMEN . 105

The m ovemen t s o f the United I rishmen during the

hours o f darkness bore traces o f the original plan ,

thoug h they had n o t accomplished its execut io n .

W ithin a circle o f thirty miles around the capital

they had gathered in small bodies armed chiefly with ,

pikes and att empted to surprise the m ilitary s t ation s

,

and advance u pon Dublin About an hour afte r .

midnight a small body surprised the little barrack at

Prospero u s seven t een miles from Dublin slaughtered
, ,

i t s fe w defenders an d burned the building A fe w

,
.

ho urs later a larger force was attacked at Kilcullen

,

by a regiment o f dragoons comm anded by General ,

Dund as and stood so firmly that the ass ailants were

,

three times rep ulsed and at length forced t o re t rea t

, .

A still larger body nu mbering about a thousand m e n

, ,

entered Naas without O pposition ; bu t b eing after

wards surprised by Lord Gosford at the head o f th e
Armagh m ilitia and a tr 0 0 p o f yeomanry were ,

driven o ut o f the to w n with great slaughter and ,

pursued by the yeomanry until they dispersed over

t h e country Many prisoners were take n by the
.

victors and were immediately hanged

, .

O n the follo w ing day about two hours after m id

,

night a body o f t welve hundred United I rishmen

,

entered Carlow thinking they had surprised the

,

garrison but were received with such a d es t ructive

,

fire o f musketry that they recoiled and at t empted t o ,

retreat Colonel Mahon who commanded there had

.
, ,

been warned o f the attac k by an intercepted letter ,

and had posted a portion o f h is force s o as to cut o fl

’

the retreat o f the rebels who finding them selves , ,

between two fires sough t refuge in the houses The

, .

to wn was t hereupon fired by the troops and ei g hty ,

106 TH E UNITED IRIS HMEN .

houses were burned about a hundred persons perish ,

ing in t he flam es and s uffocating smoke Tw o .

hundred m ore were made prisoners all o f whom were ,

h anged o r shot upon the spot .

Sir E dward Crosbie in whose groun ds the rebels ,

had mustered was arrested after the m assacre o n the

, ,

charge o f having favoured t heir design and tried by ,

court martial -
Though he was a member o f the
.

United I rishmen he had tak en n o part in the ,

rebellion ; but little evidence was re quired to con

v ince his j u d ges that he ought to be s h ot and while , ,

some prisoners were tortured into giving evidence

against h im those whose testimony would have been
,

*
in his favour were forcibly excluded fro m the Cour t .

H e was conde m ned to death and t he sentence was ,

immediately executed H is fate exci t ed much sym .

pathy among all classes of the people .

Small detachments o f Fencibles at Dunboyne and

B arre t st o w n were routed by the rebels about t h e same
t ime but in m ost cases the des ul t ory attacks o n
,

s mall t owns were rep ulsed Their numbers increased .

rapidly h owever and o n the 2 6 t h a strong po sitio n

, ,

o n Tara H ill in the county o f Meath w as occupied

, ,

by a body o f four thousand who o n a regiment , ,

advancing a g ainst them rushed down with such im ,

p e t u o sit
y that the troops gave way be fore the m and
fle d . T he charge o f the rebel pi k emen was quickly
changed into a disorderly retreat when they e n
counte red the fire o f artillery ; an d the in fantry then
ral lie d charged up the hill and drove the m from
, ,

their position This defeat b roke the rebe l c o m

.

9‘ G o r do n s H i st ory of t h e I ri sh Re b el l i o n
‘ ’
.
 THE UNITED IRIS HMEN . 107

m unic at io n between Dublin and the north and the ,

Meath insurgents wi t hdre w into Kildare .

As yet the rebellion had not ex t ended beyond the

four counties nearest to the c apital but o n t h e , ,

evening o f the fight at Tara H ill the flame was ,

spread to Wexford by t he cruel and sacrilegious

violence o f a troop of yeomanry who rode into the ,

village o f B o o l av o y n e near E nniscorthy and burned

, ,

’
the Catholic church the priest s house and several
, ,

farmhouses The villagers fled in terror to O ul ard

.

H ill an eminence ten miles fro m Wexford and were

, ,

j oined d uring the night by most of the peasants o f

the neighb ouring co unty This m ovement being .

re g arded as an act o f rebellion Colo n el L eh unt e , ,

with the yeomanry and a company o f Cork militia ,

marc h ed t o C ul ard H ill o n the following morning ,

posting his cavalry i n the rear o f the position to

prevent th e flight of the peasants m os t of whom ,

were armed wi t h pikes while his infantry advanced ,

u
p the ascent The . rebels were disposed for fli g ht ,

but finding their retreat cut o ff attacked the militia

, ,

with such vigour that they were driven down the

hi ll in disorder and with fearful slaughter
,
The .

yeomanry thereupon fled also and d i d not stop until ,

they reached Wexford .

The rebels elated with their unexpected victory

, ,

m arched northward receiving constant au g mentations

,

o f their fo rce and encamped o n C arrig re w H ill

,
On .

th e following mornin g continuin g their march they , ,

en t ered Camolin where they seized ei g ht hundred

,

mus k ets the possession o f which inspired them with

,

the idea o f att acking E nn i scorthy They tu rned .

s outhward there fore s w e lled t o a for c e o f seven

, ,
1 08 THE UNITED IRIS HMEN .

th ousand men flushed wi th s ucces s and burning for

, ,

revenge The defenders o f the town m ade a vigorou s

.

defence b ut they were overpowered by numbers and

, , ,

after a hot fight of four hours t hey were driven o ut , ,

and retired t o Wexford Th e y ic t o rio u s rebels e n

.

camped o n Vinegar H il l an eminence overlooking ,

t he town ; but they were n o w satisfied with their

exploits and bei n g destitute o f leaders worthy o f
, ,

dist i nction all owed the troops to reoccupy E nnis

,

c o rt h and began t o disperse The authorities had

y , .
,

in the meantime become alarme d and after arresting

, , ,

three gentlemen o f t h e neighbourhood o n suspicion

o f be i n g concerned in the rebellion l iberated the m ,

o n bail and sent t w o o f them to Vine g ar H ill

,

to parley with the rebel leaders The resul t o f .

this polic y was that the rebels flocked back t o

,

t heir camp and B ag e n al H arvey o n e o f the ne

, ,

o t iat o rs from Wex ford assumed the command of

g ,

them .

A sally m ade from E nniscort hy by the t r0 0 p s w as

repulse d the colonel of t he mili tia be ing am ong t h e
,

slain and the military again retreated to Wexford

, .

R einforcements advancing from Duncannon were sur

prised an d r outed with great slaughter near a spur ,

o f the Forth m ountains called the Three R oc k s , ,

where the rebels captured t w o guns and made

prisoners o f an o fli c e r and sixteen privates The .

re mn ant fled to Wexford increasing the alarm created ,

by the defeat at E nniscorthy and the town was

im me diat e l v evacuated the retreating troops shooti ng
,

the peasantry and plundering an d burnin g the farm

,

houses and cottages alon g their line o f march VVe x .

fo r d was immediately occupied b y t h e rebels w h o ,

 THE UNITED IRISHMEN . 1 09

made the town their head quarters a t the same time

-
,

maintaining the i r camp on Vinegar H ill .

On the 3 1 s t t wo bodies o f rebels marched fro m

,

Vinegar H ill o n e going northward and the other

, ,

taking t he road to N e w R oss The form er occupied .

Gorey o n the 4 t h o f June after driving o ut the ,

tr0 0 ps by whom the town was defended and on the ,

evening o f the same day the western division , ,

co mmanded by H arvey encamped on Corbe t H ill

, ,

within a mile o f N e w R oss which was held by ,

General Jo h nson with twelve hundred infantry and

,

a troop o f yeomanry At daybreak on the 5 t h

.
,

H arvey sent a flag o f truce with a su m mons to ,

surrender the town the possession o f which wou ld

,

open to the rebels the counties o f Waterford Carlow , ,

and Kilkenny The plan was defeated however b y

.
, ,

the in di scipline o f the rebels who infuriated by the , ,

shooting o f the b earer o f the white flag charged ,

wildly down t he hill and into the town driving the

, ,

de fenders befo re them at point o f pike and chasing ,

them over the bri dge into the county of Kilkenny ;

but on the troops rallying were surprised while
, ,

plundering and drinking and driven out in confusion

,

towards Corbet H ill Abo ut three thousand o f the m

.

were rallied by a brave lad n amed L tt who h ad run e ,

from home to j oin the green flag under which he led ,

the m towards the to w n under a heavy fire o f artillery ,

which made fearful havoc in their close ranks .

Utterin g wild cries the rebels ch arged into the to w n

, ,

captured the guns and a g ai n d rove the defenders

,

over the b rid g e This second victory was succeeded

.
,

li k e the fo rmer o ne by plunderin g and drinking ; and

,

with the same consequ e nce The troops were agai n .

1 10 THE UNITED IRIS HMEN .

rallied and charged into the town w hich was now in

, ,

flames in several places and after a desperate conflict , , ,

drove the rebels o ut once more .

H arvey withdre w his defeated followers to a hill

five miles distant where they bivouacked amo n g th e
,

furze and saw the greater part o f N e w R oss reduced

,

to a heap o f blac k ened ruins Defeat produced dis .

sensions among them and H arvey be i ng unj ustly , ,

blam ed for the failure o f the enterprise resigned t h e ,

command and withdre w from the camp Fearing to

,
.

return home he prowled for som e tim e about the

,

hills and w oods and was at len g th discovered by

,

som e soldiers in a cave and executed H e was suc ,

.

c e e d e d in t h e comm and by a Catholic priest named

R oche who resolved to m arch into Wicklow form a

, ,

j unction with the bands o f United I rishmen who had

collected in the hilly districts of that county and ,

advance in force upon D ublin On t h e 9 t h the

rebels numbering thirty thousand were be fore Ark
, ,

l o w the garrison o f which consisting of a thousand

, ,

militia and a troop of yeomanry with four guns had , ,

been hastily re inforced by regular troops com m anded ,

by Ge neral Needham The rebel attack was ma de .

with more mil i tary ski ll than could have been ex

p e ct ed about ,
fifteen hundred s k irmishers advancin g
under cover and keepi ng up a well sustained fire
,
-

from behind low hedges while t h e pike m en kept o ut ,

of sight in the rear Their ammunit i on soon b e c o m.

ing exhausted a charge w as m ade t h e outposts driven

, ,

in the yeomanry forced into the river Avoca and a

, ,

gun dismounted The p i kemen the n made a gallant

.

ch ar g e led by a priest named Murphy an d t h e

, ,

tr 0 0 ps began to waver At tha t m oment Murphy .

 THE UNITED IRIS HMEN . 1 11

w as killed by a cannon shot and th e rebels aban -

,

do n e d the att ack and retired in good order t o

,

Gorey .

The rebellion was in the m eantim e dying o ut in

, ,

the counties in which it had commenced On the .

sam e day tha t the Wexford i nsur g ents m arched to

t he at t ack of Gorey and N e w R o ss t w o thousan d ,

rebels laid down their arms at K n o c k arv l in on the ,

border of the Curragh on the conditions of a full ,

pardon and unmolested return to th eir homes Three .

days later several hundreds m ore proceeded for the

,

same purpose and on similar terms under agreement

, ,

with General D undas to the Gibbet R ath o n the , ,

Curragh where a body o f regulars and yeomanry was

,

drawn up under the command o f Sir James Du ff

,
.

According t o one version of this affair o n e o f the ,

rebels be fore surre n dering h i s m usket fired it into

, ,

the air whereupon Du ff ordered the troops to fire

, ,

and a volley being discharged into their crowded

ranks the insurgents fled prec i pitately over the plains
, .

A ccording to another version the tr 0 0 p s consisted ,

entirely of cavalry and Du ff after the arm s had bee n

, ,

s urrendered ordered the rebels to k n eel down and

, ,
’
ask the King s pardon and then while they were o n
, ,

”
their knees cried o ut Charge and spare none
,
'
,
“
,

Whether this version or th e other is the co rrect o ne

"

is a question o f little consequence The fact remains .

that the cavalry the dragoons led by General H unt

, ,

and th e yeomanry by Lord R oden and Captai n

Bagot pursued the rebels cuttin g them down with
, ,

o ut mercy The number slain h as been variously

.

estimated at from t w o hu ndred to three hundred and

fifty General Dundas expressed the utmost abhor
.
1 12 THE UNITED IRISHMEN .

rence o f this treacherous and inhuman massacre bu t ,

the I rish Parl i ament vo t ed thanks to Sir James Du ff

almos t unani m ously and Dundas w as vehemently
,

censured during t he debate fo r treating with armed

rebels .

There were no m ore o ffers to surrender after this

atrocity The scattered ban ds o f rebels fled into the
.

woods and h ills and fo r some weeks maintained a

,

g uerilla warfare in Kildare under a leader named

,

A y lmer who proved him self a skilful general and in

, ,

Wic k lo w under a young farmer named H olt .

The failure of the insurrection around Dublin dis

concerted the arrangemen t s and damped the ardour o f
the United I rishmen o f Uls t er w h o though more , ,

numero us than those o f Lei n ster never took the fi eld ,

in numbers one fourth of those o f the coun ty of V e x

-
V

ford alone It was not until after the rising in the

.

south that the northern leaders resolved t o move and ,

the n three days before the day fixed for the outbreak
, ,

Dr Dickson a Presbyterian minister who had suc

.
, ,

c e e de d R ussell in 1 7 9 6 as a dj utan t general o f Down -

,

was arres t ed with two o f his sta ff The county c o m

, .

mit t e e o f Down thereupon urged the advisabili ty o f

deferring ac t ion ; and when the county committee o f
,

Antri m resolved t o raise t he United I rishmen o f that

coun ty o n the 7 t h o f J une the adj utant general at
,
-
,

the last mo m ent resigned his post Mac rac k e n ac

, .

c e t e d the vacant appointment however and was

p , ,

nominat ed to t he command o f the Ulster forces by

the executive com m i ttee .

On the morn i ng o fthe 1 7 th a new discour agement ,

presented itself in t h e insubordination o f the o fli c e rs ,

m any of whom deserted their posts and Mac rac k e n ,

 THE UNITED IRISHMEN . 1 13

com menced t h e rebellion in the no rt h with only a

hun dred men With this slender force b e marched
.

upon Antrim receivi ng augmentations on the way

, ,

until it was raised to five hundred m e n m any o f ,

whom h ad served in the Volunteers and t wo small ,

brass fie l d guns The small garrison of A ntrim made

-
.

a vigorous defence but after a sanguinary conflict , , ,

the troops and yeomanry were driven o ut Lord ,

’
O N e il l being amo n g the slain Five hundred United .

I rishmen who had marched from Kells and Connor

, ,

were approaching Antri m from the north when they

perceived the yeomanry and mistaking their fli ght , ,

for a charge were seized with a panic and pre c ipi

, ,

t at e l y retreated The troops then rallied and ch arged

.
,

into t h e town when Mac rac k e n s force also became

,
’

panic stricken and fled in disorder purs ued by the

-
,

yeomanry Mac rac k e n was made prisoner with many

.
,

more and imme diate ly tried by court m artial and

,
-

executed .

The Down insurgent s took the field on the 9 th ,

assembl i ng near S aint fie l d where t h ey were att acke d ,

by the York Fe ncibles commanded by Colonel Staple ,

ton . A sa nguin ary conflict ensued with heavy lo ,

on both sides resulting in the occup ation of Saint

,

fie l d by th e United I rishmen and the r etreat o f t h e ,

troop s to Comber O n the following day the r i sing

.

became g eneral in t h e count i es of A ntri m and Down ,

a nd the rebels occupied N e w t o w narde s an d m ad e an ,

unsuccess ful attac k on Port a fer ry On the l l t h they .

entered Bal lynahinch the g arr i son flyin g o n the i r,

approac h bu t o n the followin g d ay a re b el force o f

, ,

about s i x thousand comm anded by a le ade r n amed

,

Monr o e was attac k ed b y G eneral Nug e n t and forced

, ,

VO L . 1 . I
1 14 THE UNITED IRIS HMEN .

to etreat The evacuation of Ballynahinch was the

r .

consequence o f this de feat and the town was re o c c u ,

pied by the tr 0 0 ps .

At day brea k o n the 1 2t h th e rebels advanced un der ,

cover o f the fire o f their fie ld guns and encountered -

,

the troops who m they drove into the town They

, .

then charg e d and entered the town under a heavy

,

fire ; but o n the retreat bein g sounded by order o f

,

G eneral Nugent they mistook the notes fo r a charge

, ,

an d retreated The troops then rallied and pursued

.

them with grea t slau ghter Monroe in vain endeavour

, ,

ing to stay their fli g ht The victoriou s troops pl un .

dered the town and set fire to the ho uses many o f

, ,

w hic h were b urned ; and when two days a fter w ards , ,

Monroe was captured tried by court mart i al and ,

-
,

executed before his o w n house his head was cut o ff , ,

and displayed o n a pike on the roof o f the m arket

, ,

house in sight of his d i stressed family

,

The rebellion in Ulste r ended with this defeat and ,

o n the 2 0 t h Lord Cornwallis

- who had j ust before ,

succeeded Lord Camden in the vice royalty issued a -

,

proclamation assurin g protection to al l w h o bein g ,

g uilty o f rebell i on on ly shoul d within fourteen days , , ,

lay down t heir arm s abj ure all unlawful enga g ements
, ,

and take the oath o f allegiance .

The insurrection was no w reduced to a g uerilla war

fare in the counties o f W exford W ic k low and K i l , ,

d are and in the two latter the rebels concealed

themselves by day in the woods and amon g the wild ,

fast nesses of the hills whence they iss ued by night to

,

harry the lo y al inhabitants I n the more southern .

Te e l ing .
 THE UNITED IRISHMEN . 15

co un ty the y held the t o w ns of Wexford and E nnis

c o rt h
y ,
and m aintained their posi t ion o n Vinegar

H ill
. O n the 2 0 t h a body o f rebels among whom ,

were a priest and m an y women crossed the long ,

wooden bridge a t Wex ford and demanded the e x e c u

,

tion o f the prisoners detained th e re b y way of reprisal ,

for the almost daily shootin g and hanging o f captured

rebels by the regular troops and t h e yeomanry .

Nearly a h undred ca ptives are said to have been

piked and thrown from the bridge into the Slaney ;
,

but the m assacre was stayed by the arrival of a

m ounted messenger who announced that the camp
,

at Vinegar Hi ll w as beset by the enemy .

General Lake had moved all the force at his

disposal t o the nei g hbourhood of E nniscorthy with ,

the intent i on of m aking a combined at t ack o n the

town and the camp At dayb reak o n the 2 1 s t
.
,

General Johnson attacked the former position which ,

was ob t i nately de fended by a lea der named Fitz

s

g erald ; while General Lake with the m ain b ody o f ,

troops in four columns attempted to storm the camp

,
.

Duri n g two hours the reb els stood firm under a fur i ous
c annonade and their pi k emen made severa l g a ll ant
,

charges by which the assa i lants were driven down

,

the hil l ; b ut the latter gradually g ained groun d and ,

at le ngth reached t h e summit whe n the re b el s b roke ,

and fled E dward R oche brother o f the priest

.
,

general came up wit h rein forcements from Wex ford

, ,

only in time to cover the retrea t by interposing h is

force between the fl y in g rebels and the pu rsuing
cav alry General Johnson entered E nnisco rthy at
.

the s ame t i me m a k in g a fear fu l slaughte r o f the

,

rebels the H e s sian mercenarie s e ven shooting t h e

,

1 2 .
1 16 THE UNITED IRIS HME N .

sick and wounded in t heir beds in the hospital which

,

was set o n fire by the burni ng wads ignit i ng the b e d

clothes Those who had escaped the shots o f the
.

"
H essians expired by su ffocation .
e

Wexford had been invested at the same time and ,

escape b y sea c ut o ff by a blockading force o f gun

boats The s uccessful defence o f the place being
.

hopeless Lord Kingsborough who had been captured

, ,

by the rebels while crossin g the harbour in a sa i ling

boat was releas e d fro m prison and an o ffer made t o
, ,

surrender the town to him on condition o f protection ,

to life and proper ty Lord Kingsborough accepte d

.

the surrender o n those terms b ut General Lake ,

refused to ratify the capi t ulat i on and the inhabitan ts ,

were dreading a m assacre and the b urning o f the

to wn when Sir John Moore m arched in from Taghmo n
,

with a large force and relieved them from their fears

, .

The rebels who had been driven from Vinegar H ill

bivouacked at Three R o cks and on the following day ,

div ided into two bodies one o f which marched north ,

ward in t o Wicklow and the other wes t w ard i nto

,

Carlo w and thence into Kilkenny

,
On the 2 4 t h the .

western divis i on captured and burned Castlecomer ,

an d then turned back and encamped o n K il c o mn e y

,

H ill On t h e 2 6 t h the i r camp was surro unded

.
,

during a thick fog by a strong body of troops but

, ,

some o f them being better acquainted than their

pursuers with the country they escaped throug h ,

S c o ll o g h Gap and re entered W ex ford

,
They then
-
.

d i spersed a few j oining the band of H olt in Wicklo w

,
.

The northern division led b v Fitzgerald and E dward

,

3“ G o r do n .
 THE UNITED IRISHMEN . 1 17

R oche roamed about the hills for a few weeks longer

, ,

when m ost o f them j oined Ay lmer in Kildare .

The skill which A ylm er and H olt displayed in

eluding the troops t h e difficulty which the latter
,

experienced in tracking their bands through the

lonely passes o f th e m ountains and the harassing ,

nature o f a service which threatened to be int e rmi

nable at length induced the Government to pardon
,

t hem and their followers and allo w t h e latter to ,

return unmolested to their homes o n the condition ,

o f their laying down their arms and the chiefs leaving ,

the country This arrangemen t was negoti ated o n

.

the 1 2 t h o f July b y which t ime the rebellion was

,

completely suppressed and the trials o f the leaders of

,

the United I rishmen were commencing Aylmer .

entered th e military service o f Aus t ria in which his ,

soldierly qualities procured h im rapid promotion .

Many years afterwards o n an application being made

,

to the Austrian G overnment for the assistance o f an

able o ffice r in the reorganisatio n o f the Bri tish
cavalry Aylmer was reco mmended for the serv i ce ;
,

but o n his antecedents being m ade known to the

,

War O ffice the offer was decl i ned H e after wards

,
.

serve d unde r Bolivar in the War o f I ndependence i n

South America and died in the service of Colombia
,
.

The first o f the cons pi rators who were brought to

trial in D ublin were the brothers Sheares a g a i nst ,

whom the chief witness was Captain A rmstro n g the ,

on ly ot h er evidence of any i m portance being the pro

clamatio n found o n John s writing desk I t was pas t
’
- .

midni g ht however be fore the examination o f t he

, ,

witnesses was concluded and Curran who defended , ,

the prisoners with his us u al ability applied fo r an ,

118 THE UNITED IRISHMEN .

adj ournment o n the ground o f physical inability t o do

,

j ustice to his clients after standing thirteen hours in a

crowded court o n a h o t day in July The j ud g e con
,
.

s ul t e d the attorn ey general Toler afterwards Lord

-
, ,

Norbury w h o wit h character i stic bru t a lity refused

, , ,

’
his as s ent Between seven and eight o clock o n the
.

followin g morni n g when t hey had been nearly twenty

,

three hours in their box the worn o ut j ury ret i red t o

,
-

consider their verdict and in seventeen minutes pro

,

n o un c e d a conviction John Sheares made an earnest

.

appeal o n behalf o f his brother pleading that at least , , ,

the executio n o f the sentence might b e de ferred fo r a

few days and that he mig h t in the mean time be per
,

mit t e d t o s e e his wife and children ; but the inhu m an

Toler interposed with a demand t hat execution be “

done upon the prisoners to morrow Bot h the -

.

condemned m e n were accordingly execut e d o n the

following day without any m ember o f the family
,

being allowed to see the m Their remains were.

’
interred in the family va ult in St Michael s Ch urch .
,

Dublin .

Macan u the secretary o f the Leins t er provincial

,

committee was t ried four days aft erwards convicted

, ,

o n the evidence o f the informer R eynolds and exe ,

o uted o n the 1 9 t h though accord i ng t o R ey nbl d s

, ,

the inform ation upon which all the arrests o f the 1 2 t h

o f March were m ade was g iven o n the co n dition o f

the lives o f the accused bein g spared Byrne and .

t w o o f the Leinster delegates were tried o n the day

a fter Mac ann s ex ecution and Bond o n the 2 3 rd
’
.
,

Curran w h o de fended them all with unswerving

,

courage was fre q u ently in t errupted while addressing

,

the j ury by the soldiers w h o guarded the cou rt c l anging

 THE UNITED IRIS HMEN . 1 19

their m uskets on the floor and n o t a day p assed ,

without his receiving anonymous letters threatening ,

him with death if he said anythin g to the discredit o f

t h e Government All the prisoners were convicted
.
,

chiefly o n the evidence o f R eynolds and sentenced to ,

death ; but the execution of t he sentences was de

ferred and it has been su g gested th at R eynolds may
,

have insisted upon the Government adhering to the

c o ndition on whic h he h ad given informat ion and ,

thus caused them to hesitate T h ere is no e v idence .

of th i s howe ver and no other evidence than R ey

, ,

n o ld s s o w n assertion as recorded by his son that

’

, ,

su c h a s t ipulation was m ade On the other hand .

,

th ere is the evidence o f Arthur O C o nn o r in his lette r ’

to Lord Castlereagh that i t was intimated to him to

, ,

induce him to m ake a statement tha t the Privy ,

Co uncil was divided in sentiment o n the subj ect of

’
the executions and that Bond s life would be spared
,

if the required statement was m ade .

On the day preced i ng Bond s trial a gentleman ,

named Dobbs a Liberal member o f the I rish Par

,

l iame nt and formerly an officer o f the Volunteers

, ,

attempted to mediate with the Government on behal f

o f the p riso n ers Lord Castlereagh consented to st ay
.

’
the further exercise o f the han g m an s o ffi c on the e
,

condition that the prisoners should ma k e a ful l dis

closure o f th e conspiracy w i th the names o f all the ,

parties concerned An underta k ing in this sense w as

.

drawn up and submitted to Ne i lson who re fused to

, ,

s i gn it b ut expressed will in g ness on t h e part o f h i m

, ,

se l f and ot h ers to give full in form at i on concernin g

,

the arms ammunition a nd schemes o f war fare o f the

, ,

Un it ed I rishm e n and t o cons e n t to leav e I reland

, ,
12 0 THE UNITED IRISHMEN .

provided t h e lives o f Bond and Byrne should be

spared Lord Castlereagh accep t ed this al t ernative
.
,

and an agreement was prepared in accordance with

’
N e il so n s proposition and signed by all the United ,

’
I rishmen in custody with t he exception o f O C o nn o r , ,

E mm et and Macnevin who o n its being submitted

, , ,

to them o n the 2 4 t h by Dobbs and the Sheri ff o f ,

Dublin refused their adhesion no t only from u

,
‘

willi ng ness t o enter into any condi t ions with

Governmen t but because they thought no 0 ,

which was no t general could j ustify them in ent .

in t o s uch a compact and because the probability o f t s

j ,

being attributed to a desire to save their o w n l ivle s

constituted an insu pera b le obj ection i f there had b een ,

no ot h er They thought t o o th at t o sa v e the liv e slo f

.
, ,

Bon d and Byrne enough had si g ned their self sac rifc e
j
'
-

to induce the Ministers already sated with b l o o d as , ,

|

Lor ds Cas t lereagh and Clare had declared themsel es

to be to dispense with their signatures
,
.

The refusal o f t he chiefs to sign the amen ded

document was followed by Byrne s execution a fter ’

wh ich O C o nno r anxious t o save Bond wh o was his

’

, ,

intim ate friend and had been led b y him into t h e,

co nspiracy and learning tha t the Council had b een

,

d ivided i n se n t i ment and tha t h is compliance would ,

’
save Bond s life consen t ed t o m eet L ord Castlereagh, ,

for the purpose o f arrangi ng terms with the Govern

Th e se iv e s assig ne d by O C o nno r h i m s el f in t h e le t t e r
are t h e mo t
’
,

t L o rd C ast l e r e ag h w h ic h w as t ak e n fr o m h im in pri o n b u t w h ic h
o , s ,

fo u nd it s w ay int o O C o nno s j o u rn al an d sub q ue nt ly in t o a

’ ’
r , se

vo l um e o f e t r act s t h e r f r m pub l ish e d wit h t h e t it l e o f B e au t ie s o f

x e o ,

t h Pr e F a g u O C nn o h ad a c o py o f t h is w o rk wh i c h h e
” ’
e ss . e r s o r ,

b elie ve d t o b e t h e o nly o ne in e ist e nce x .

 THE UNITED IR ISHMEN . 12 1

ment A s a precaution against misrepresen t ation he

.
,

stipulated tha t E mmet and Macnevin should b e

present during t he interview and that the y should ,

have the right of publishing whatever took place .

This was assented to and Lord Clare and Cooke ,

acco m panied L ord Castlereagh o n the part o f the

Government .

When they were all assembl ed O C o nno r demanded ,

’

that he should not be required to sign any conditions ,

bu t that he should be brought to trial To this .

Castlereagh would not assent and O C o nno r then

’

endeavoured to m ake the terms as wide as he could .

H e observed that as the information he could give

,

m ight be made t h e g round o f a charge o f constructive

treason he should withhold it unless he was assured
,

t hat n o m ore liv e s would be sacrificed L ord Clare .

observed that if his advice had been followed every

, ,

United Irishman would have been prosecuted for

treason ; to which O C o nno r replied th at he must then
’

have prosecuted the people of I reland to extermination ,

as nearly the whole o f them were afl i liat e d to the asso

c iat io n Lord Castlereagh assured him th at no m ore
.

lives should be taken for any acts hitherto done in the

Union excep t for murder ; and to that exception
,

O C o nn o r assented Castlereagh th en asked if i t was

.

to be u nderstood tha t the information to be given ,

under t he compact to be entered into w as t o be g ive n ,

as th at of the accused present o r whether they insisted

,

upon its bein g general without their names being ,

men t ioned ; to whic h the reply w as that they insisted ,

u pon the right of publishing the whole of the in forma

tion g iven and of refuting any misrepresentations

,

which migh t be made .

12 2 THE UNITED IRIS HMEN .

’
O C o nn o r
wished t o complete the t ra nsaction in
the prese nce o f Lord Cornwallis but Castlereag h ,

obj ected assuri ng him at the same tim e that the

,

h onour o f the V i ceroy was pledged for the per

fo rm anc e o f t he agreement and Lord Clare said ,

I t comes t o this e i ther y o u must trust the G overn

,

ment or the Go v ernment m u st t rust y o u A G overn

, .

m ent which wou l d violate e n g ageme n ts thus solemnly

m ade n either could stand nor would d eserve t o stand .

Upon the faith o f these representations the following ,

agreemen t was drawn up and signed by seventy ,

’
three prisoners incl uding O C o nno r E mmet and
, , ,

Macnevin
T h at the undersigned State prisoners in the
“
,

prisons o f Newgate K i lmainham and Bridewell , , ,

engage to give every infor m ation in t h e ir po w e r o f '

the w hole o f the internal transactions o f the United

I rishmen and tha t each o f the prisoners shall give
,

detailed information o f every transaction that has

pass e d between the United I rishmen an d foreign
States ; but that t h e prisoners are no t by naming ,

o r describi ng to implicate any person whatever an d

, ,

that they are ready t o emigrate t o such co u ntry as

shall be agreed o n between them and Government ,

and g ive security n o t to return to t his country with

o ut the permission o f the Govern m en t and no t t o ,

’
pass into an enemy s coun t ry ; if o n their s o doing , ,

they are t o be freed from prosecution and also Mr ,

.

Ol i ver Bond be permitted to ta k e the benefi t o f t h i s

proposal The State pr i soners also hope that the
.

benefit o f this proposal may be exten ded to such per

sons in custody o r n o t in cus t ody as may choose t o
benefit by it .
 THE UNITED IRIS HMEN . 123

The last sentence was added to m ark that more

w as stipulated for than could be expressed Pursuan t .

’
t o this agreem ent O C o n no r E mmet and Macnevi n
, , ,

dre w u p a mem oir giving an account o f the ori g in

, ,

principles conduct and views o f the U nited I r i s h

, ,

m e n which they signed and delivered to Lord Castle

,

reagh o n the 4 t h of August Two days after w ar d s .

Coo k e went to the prison and after acknowledging , ,

that the m em o ir was a perfect performance o f th e

a g reement o n the part o f the accused said t hat Lord ,

Cornwallis obj ected to it that it was a vindication o f

the United I rishmen and a condemnatio n of the
Government o n wh i ch account he could not receive
,

it and wished it to be altered Th i s the prisoners

, .

refuse d saying that it was all true and it was the

, ,

truth they were pledged to deliver Cooke then .

asked them whether i f the Government published ,

only po rtions o f the m emoir they woul d re frain fro m

.
,

pu b lishing it entire ; t o whic h t h ey replied that ,

having st i pulated fo r the liberty o f p ublica t ion they ,

should use tha t ri g ht when and in t h e m anner they

deemed proper Cooke observed tha t in tha t case
.
, ,

the Government w o uld have to hire persons to

ans wer them and b e supposed the Un i ted I ri s hme n
,

would reply so that a paper war would be carried on

,

without end .

Finding that the prisoners would not allo w the

m emoi r to b e garbled the Government determined t o,

exam i ne the m b e fore a secret committee and thus ,

att ain the o bj ec t in the report W hen the i nqui ry .

was complete and a lter M acnevin had twice com

,

pl ai ned o f the del ay o f the G overnment to carry o ut

t h e ag reemen t Coo k e v i sited the pr i soners and told
,
1 24 THE UNITED IRIS H MEN .

the m t hey were at liberty to go where they pleased ,

provided they left the British dominions and that ,

whatever concerned them aft er w ards woul d be secured

by an Act o f Parliament adding that nothing re ,

m ained bu t to settle the nature o f the acco m modation

w hich they required t o enable them to dispose o f

their property prior t o their departure The com .

m it t e e had no t t hen reported but the Ministerial ,

j ournals h ad anticipat e d the report by publishing

statemen t s concerning the disclosures made by t he
prisoners which the latter asserted t o be scurrilous
,

falsehoods and the Bill referred to by Cooke set fort h

in its preamble that they had confessed t h em selves
conscious o f flag rant and enormous guilt expressed ,

contrition and humbly implored mercy o n conditio n

, ,

o f being t ransporte d banished o r exiled t o such

, ,

foreign country as t o his Maj esty in his royal

”
wisdom shall seem fit .

Neilson immediately wro t e t o L ord Castlere agh ,

protesti ng a g ainst these terms and at the sam e time ,

sent to the Co urier a c opy o f the compact with a ,

l etter declaring tha t he and his fellow prisoners had -

neither ac k nowledged a crime retracted an O pinion , ,

n o r implored pardon adding th at their obj ec t was t o

,

stop the e flusio n o f blood Two h ours after th e letter

’

to Lord Castlereagh which enclosed a C opy o f t h e

,

other had been sent Cooke and another Castle

, ,

O fficial en t ered his cell and the former told h i m h e

,

had lost his j udgment and that Lord Cornwallis,

would consider the publication o f the le t ter as an

infraction o f t h e agreement and that e x ecutions
would go o n as b e fo re s Neilson refused t o retract ,
 THE UNITED IRIS HME N . 125

’
and Cooke after repea t ing t he L ord Lieu t enant s
,
-

threat left him

,
.

Notwithstandi n g the assurance given by Cooke o n

the 1 8 t h o f A ugust the prisoners were not released ,
.

’
O n the 2 5 t h o f September O C o nnOr wrote to Lord
Cornwallis demanding the fulfilment of the engage
,

m ent to which Lord Castlereagh had ple dged him ;

and on th e 2 1 st of October he received a letter from
Coo k e informing him t hat the prisoners w ould be
,

required to emigrate to America and to give security ,

n o t to return to E urope This was a direct violatio n .

of the written compact which Lord Clare had said no

Government could violate and sta nd o r deserve to ,

stand but even this modification of the terms was

,

not carried o ut Si x weeks more pas s ed and a

.
,

memorandum was received in the handwriting of

’
Lord Castlereagh stating t hat O C o nno r E mmet, , ,

Macnevin Neilson an d ele v en others could not then

, ,

be liberated owing t o a lamentable change of circu m

,

stances ; but that the rest of the prisoners named i n

th e Ban i shment Act would be permitted to retire to
an
y neutral State giving secur i ty not,to pass into an
’
enemy s country and that the li k e indul g ence would
,

be extended to the exce pted prisoners as soo n as

regard for t he p ublic sa fety rendered that course
possible .

I n the meantime a t ar dy attempt had been made ,

t o fan the dyin g embers o f the rebell i o n into a flame .

W olfe Tone was called e arly in July t o a con , ,

s ul t at io n wit h the French Ministers o f War and

Marine and it w as a g reed to des patch several smal l
,

exped i t ions to I rel and as ra pidly as they could be

126 THE UNITED IRISHMEN .

pre pared t o revive the rebellion and distract t he

,

British Government pending the sailing o f a larger

,

force under G eneral K i l m aine I n accordance with .

this arra ngement General H umbert landed at Killal a

,

o n the 2 2 nd o f Au g u st at the head of a thousand ,

men and a few light guns and acco mpanied b y ,

M atthew Tone Teelin g and another I rishm an

, , ,

named Sullivan Killala was occupied wit h ou t re

.

sist anc e and o n the following morning t h e i nvaders

,

m arched t o Ballina a fe w miles southward ,

The .

garrison fled after a very sl i gh t resistance and H um

, ,

bert left a small force in t h e town and returned t o ,

Killala .

The peasants o f t he district flocked to H umbert s ’

standard and a t housand o f them were armed wit h

,

m uskets brought from France for the p urpose With .

this augmented force he marched o n the 2 6 t h to

Castlebar where Genera l L a k e had arrived in haste
, ,

with six thousand m en well provided with artillery , .

E arly o n the following m ornin g the rebels and the i r ,

French allies found themselves after a fat i guing ,

m arch of fifteen hours confronted with the British ,

troops stron gly pos t ed before Castlebar After a

,
.

’
half hour s s k irmishing the British though m ore
-
, ,

than three times as num erous as the force O pposed to

them fled i n disorder abandoning their art i llery and
, ,

a large qu an t ity o f arm s am m unitio n and m i l i tary , ,

stores and bagga g e of e v ery descript i on The cause .

o f Lak e s defeat seem s to be revealed in the fact that

’

a l ar g e proportion o f h i s force consisted o f I ris h

m i lit i a who m ade a feeble resistance throwing do w n
, ,

their arms and bei ng m ade prisoners by hundreds

,
.

Nearly the whole of these prisoners b elonging chiefly ,

 THE UNITED IRISHMEN . 12 7

to t h e Lout h and Kilkenny militia i m mediately j oi ned ,

the forces of H umbert .

Lord Corn w allis took t he field a fe w days aft er

wards with a large force and all the disposable troops ,

in I reland m oved towards Connau g ht O n the d t b .

of September H umbert ev acuated Castlebar to avoid ,

being hemmed in and m ade a ra pid march t owards

,

Leitrim influe nced by a rumour o f an insurrectionary

,

m ovement in Long ford H e was s urrounded b y Lord .

’
Cornwallis s forces thir t y thousand strong howe v er
, , ,

at Ballinamuck in the county of Longford and after

, , ,

a slight resistance surrendered S ullivan w h o had

, .
,

li v ed some years in France saved himself by ass umin g ,

the character of a French o fficer ; but Tone and

Teeling were sen t h andc uffed to Dublin where , , ,

they were tried by court martial an d executed Most -

, .

of the I rish prisoners experienced the same fate .

Napper Tand y and bet w een twenty and thirty

,

oth er I rish refugees in France embar k ed about the ,

same t i m e i n a small fast sailing vessel for the

,
-

nort h o f I reland to share the fortunes of those

,

who had preceded them They landed o n the .

island of Rat h lin but on hearing o f H umbert s

, ,
’

surrender re embarked and shaped the i r cou rs e fo r

,
-

Norway O n t h e 2 0 t h the news o f the fai lure o f

.
,

’
H umbert s exped i tion not hav i ng reached France ,

General H ardy s ai led fro m B rest with three thousand

m e n an d aft er a lon g and ted i ous voya g e o w i n g to
, ,

adverse winds anchored O ff the entrance of Lou g h

,

S w illy on the l 0 t h o f October W ol fe T o ne w h o .

,

with three other Uni t ed I rishmen accompan i ed the ,

expedition h ad no fai th in these desulto ry and ine ffi

,

cie nt enter prises but seeing no hope O f K il maine s

, ,
’
1 28 THE UNITED IRIS HMEN .

expedition being ready in time t o be o f any service to

the I rish caus e threw himself in t o this final e ffort as a
,

forlorn hope I t was in tr uth a desperate enterprise

.
, , .

The abortive m ovement in Uls t er had been crushed ,

and the dawn o f the 1 1 t h showed a superior naval

force u nder the command o f Sir John Borl ase Warren
, ,

b earing down u pon the French ships as they were ,

prep ari ng to sail up the Lough E scape was im po s .

sible unless by v ic t ory ; the French m ade a gallant

,

resis t ance fighting u ntil their ship s were dismasted

,

and riddled with s h ot when the tricolour was at ,

len g th lowered and the survivors became prisoners

,

o f war .

Tone escaped observation in t h e uniform o f a French

o ffi cer until some day s after the action when Sir ,

George H ill who had been his fello w student at

,
-

Trinity College and was now a secret a g en t of t h e

,

Gover nm ent accompanied some police O ffic e rs t o the

,
-

n orth and pointed Tone o u t w h ile breakfasting with

,

t h e E arl of Cavan H e was immediately handcu ffed

.
,

and hurried O ff to Dub l in where after being kep t in , ,

suspe n se as t o his fate for nearly a month he was ,

tried b y court m ar t ial and con demned to death H e

-
.

delivered an eloquen t speech in vindication o f his

conduct without any hope o f averting his fate and
, ,

made an earnest appeal to the court to be spared the

de g rading contact o f the han g man Lord Cornwallis .
,

in co nfirming the sentence disregarded this appeal , ,

an d To n e was ordered for e x ecution o n the 1 2 t h o f

November being the second day after the trial

, .

The prisoner had many influential fr i en ds an d a ,

g reat e flo rt was m ade to save h im On the morn ing

'

fixed for h i s execution Curran his early and constan t, ,

 THE UNITED IRIS HMEN . 129

friend applied to Lord Kilwarden sitting in the Court

, ,

’
of King s Bench for a writ o f Iza ée as c o rp us on t he
, ,

ground that the rebellion having been suppressed

, ,

and Tone holdin g no commis sion in t he British army ,

the application of martial law was in h is case illegal .

Lord Kil w arden issued the writ which w as imme ,

diat e ly co n veyed to the barrack in which Tone was

confined it being feared that the prisoner would be
,

hanged before execution could be stayed Some delay .

w as occasioned by the refusal o f the provost and

Maj or Sandys the com mandant to obey t h e w rit ;

, ,

upo n which the j udge ordered the sheriff to take

Maj or S and y s and the provost into custody and bring ,

up the prisoner by force The excitem ent in and .

around the Cour t now became terrible Another brief .

period of painful suspense intervened and then the ,

sheri ff returned with the announcement tha t he had

’
been refused admission into the prisoner s cell but w as ,

informed that he had cut h is throat at an early ho ur

that morning and could n ot be m oved Dr Len
, . .

t aig ne a French em i grant o f the medical profession

, ,

accompanied the she ri ff to the C ourt and supple ,

m e nt e d the announcement o f that o ffic i al w i th th e

further informat i on t hat he had been c alled at four
’ ’

O clock to Tone s cell and found t hat he had severed ,

h is windpipe with a penknife There w as he added .

, ,

l i ttle hope o f the prisoner s recovery an d i n the mea n’

, ,

time a sentry had been placed over h im to prevent

,

h i m from S peaking .

The sensation p roduced by this announcement w as

most pa i nful the s u s picions wh i ch arose upon it dar k
,

and terri b le I t w as bel i eved b y m any th at Tone had

.

bee n m urdered and the con d uct of t h e mili t ary aut h o

,

VO L . 1 . x
130 THE UNITED IRIS HMEN .

rit ie s went far to j ustify them So m any atrocities .

h ad been perpetrated by the ruling faction in I reland

that the people m ay be excused their belief that Tone
was slai n to pre v ent his surren der t o the ci v il power .

But where there is only a suspicion o f guilt t h e ac ,

c u se d m ust have the benefit o f the doubt Tone was .

known t o have h ad an intense horror o f the perso nal

indignity attendi ng death at the hands o f the han g
m an and Dr L e nt aig ne asserted that he remarked as
, .
,

well as he was able to articulate whilst receiving his ,

assist ance that he had found that he was a bad anato

,

m is t . It is probable therefore that he committed

, ,

suicide to avoid being ha nged .

Thou g h h e hovered between life and death until

t h e 1 9 th he could not be moved from his cell and
, , ,

according to H arwood was see n o nl v b y Dr L e nt aig ne

,
.

and the soldier who guarded him but Madden

states that a gentleman nam ed F i t zpa t rick was allowed
to see him On ly two persons were allowed to attend
.

h is funeral the authorit i es n ominatin g for that sad

,

d uty a rela t ive n amed D unb av in and a Dublin brazier , ,

n amed E bbs H is remai n s were interred in t h e old

.

cemetery o f Bodenstown c l ose by the wa ll o n the

, ,

south side o f the ruined abbey in the fami ly vault , ,

which had so short a time before closed over those o f

h is brother Matthew Man y years after his death a
.

s l ab was pl aced n ear th e grave bearin g the insc rip ,

tion Sacred to the m emory O f Theobald Wol fe

Tone w h o died for I reland o n the 1 9 th o f November
, ,

17
now re e stablishe d in I reland such order
O r der w as -
,

at least as can exist when t h e foun dations O f the

 THE UNITED IRISHMEN . 131

social edifice are cemen t ed with blood I t was not .

,

however un t il the 1 8 t h o f Marc h 1 7 9 9 that any

, , ,

change was m a de in the cond i tion of the political

prisoners whose com pact with Lord Castlereagh h ad
been so basely violated b y the Governme nt They .

then received notice that they were to go o n bo ard

’
o n e of the King s ships early on the follo w i n g m orn

in g wheth er t o be conveyed to a foreign port o r to ,

Botany Bay o r to be thrown overboard at s e a th e y

, ,

were not told N e il s o n w h o was prostrated by inter

.
,

mittent fever p rotested but in vain Bond to save

,
.
,

whose li fe th ey had consented to expatriate them

selves was now dead and his mortal remains lyin g
, ,

near those o f the brothers Sheares I n the g rey daw n .

of an early S pring m orning they were removed as

privately as possible to a vessel ly ing in t he Li ffey ,

which i m medi ately put to se a On the 1 4 th o f A pril .

they arrived at Fort George o n the southern shore of ,

t h e Moray Firth where they were d etained in cap

,

t iv it y more than three years longer — na m ely u ntil ,

the 3 0 t h of June 1 8 0 2 when the y were li b erate d

, , ,

and allowed to pr o ceed to the Continent .

On their arr i va l at Cuxhaven they separ ated ,

O C o nno r go i n g d i rect to P ari s an d E mmet to Brus

’

sels while Macnevin m ade the tour of G ermany an d

,

Sw i tzerland proceeding to Par i s in the autu m n

,
.

Commun i cati ons bet w een Macnev i n and Talle y ran d ,

with a v i e w to another French i nv as i o n o f I relan d ,

commenced almost imm e d iat e l v but we re no t ap ,

proved by E mm et as pe ace then exi s ted between

,

France and Brit ain ; but the l att r s obj e c t i o n seem s e

to have applied only to the time being as he exp ressed ,

x 2
1 32 THE UNITED IRISH MEN .

to a friend h is inten t ion o f going to America wi t h

Macnevin unless some ch ange shall take plac e t hat
,

”
would in both cases reverse all o ur calculations .

E mmet proceeded to Paris in the S pring o f 1 8 0 3 ,

where h is brother R obert then in his twenty fift h ,

-

year with Macnevin and R us sell had alrea dy be g un

, ,

d raw ing t o g e t h e r the broken threads o f the conspiracy

Of 1 7 98 .

O C o nn o r informed Madde n in 1 8 4 2 tha t there

’ “

were persons who were opposed to him who had c o m

m unic at io n s with France and this party was reorganised
,

in Paris in 1 8 0 3 Their p l ans were connected with

.

’
R obert E mme t s plot bu t were not comm unicated to
,

him t hey were divul g ed to him by the

French Government The person in th i s party in

.

Paris who had most influence was R ussell Buonaparte .

,

in conver s in g with General O C o nno r expressed h i m ’

,
'

self unfav o urably o f the at t empt and o f those engag ed

”
in it . The desi g n of this new conspiracy was based
on the antic i pation o f a speedy r u pture between
Fr an ce and Britain and the impressio n derived from
, ,

an intervie w with Buo n aparte and frequent communi

catio n s w ith Talleyran d that an invasion o f E ngland

,

would be atte m pted in the summer o f 18 0 3 A ssurances .

o f support were received from influential persons in

I re l and and as early as October 1 8 0 2 R obert E m met

, , ,

proceeded to that country v iaH oll and , .

On his arrival in Dublin ostensibly o n private ,

bus i ness you n g E m met co m m unicat ed with t h e

,

United I r i shmen who were st i ll at large and w h o had

tak en an act i ve part in the rebellion and so m e very ,

influent i al perso n s who were cogni a nt o f all the pro s

c e e ding s of the lea ders and who pro m oted their views
,
 TH E UNITED IRIS H ME N . 133

an d directed their move m ents behind t h e cur t ain .

Among the former were Colonel Lumm Bernard ,

Duggan and an a t torney n amed Gray who had been

, ,

’
H arvey s aide de camp at the b attle of N e w Ro s s an d
- -
,

o ne o f the Wicklow rebels named Dwyer and ,

amon g the latte r Madde n ind i c ates by initials Fitz

gerald brother o f the Kni g ht o f Gl i n and Lord
, ,

Wycombe eldest s o n of th e Marquis o f Lansdo w ne

,
.

War between Britain and France was rene w ed in

March 1 8 0 3 and E mmet imm ediately commenced
, ,

his preparations for revolt Money was suppl i ed fo r .

ar ms am munition & c by a provision m erchant

, ,
.
,
-

named Long a m ember of the Dublin firm o f R och e

,

and C o who was intim ately acqu ain t ed with the

.
,

E mmets and probably by some o f the influent i a l

,

persons alluded to by Madden H ouses were take n .

in Thom as Street P atr ic k Street W ine Tavern S t reet

, , ,

and Marshalsea Lane for the m an ufacture and storage ,

o f arms and am munitio n and forty men employed in ,

ma k ing p ik es cartridges grenades and roc k ets The

, , ,
.

—
rockets miss iles t h en almost unkno w n were made—
by a dyer named Macdon nell who had some kno w ,

ledge of chemistry but was so careless that he sm ok ed ,

while at work and o ne day while s o eng ag e d i g n i ted

, , ,

some fuses causin g an e x plosion wh i ch at t racted the

,

a t tention o f the authorities an d cau s ed the h o use to ,

be searched b y Maj or S i rr wit h out however any , , ,

discovery be i ng made .

The o ld d ifle re nc e o f op i nion as to the expediency

’

o f an 1 ns urre c t io n un ai ded b Fr ance ag ai n d i strac t ed

y
t h e co uncils o f the conspi rators o n it s becomin g

Mad de n .
1 53i THE UNITED IRIS HME N .

doubtful whether aid would be given an d t here were ,

also dissensions at this time as t o whether I relan d ,

in t h e event o f success should be declared a separate

,

an d independent republic o r become a dependency o f

,

France B uonaparte recommended the appointm en t

.

of a co mmission to m ake provisional arrangements ,

’
and wished O C o nno r and E mmet to be members ;
but the latter had little faith in the First Consul an d ,

h e and O C o n n o r already re g arded each other with

’
reserve and distrust O C o nn o r seems t o have been
.

stil l dis posed t o rely upon French aid while E mmet ,

retained t he con t rary vie w S anguine reports o f pro.

gress were received from Robert E m m et and R ussell ,

went over to I reland t o t ake part in the organ i sation

o f the revolt .

R obert E mm et con t inued ho peful o f success un t il

within an hour o f the collapse o f the enterprise H is .

de pOt s were fille d with arms and ammunition and he ,

had no doub t that men to use them w ould be forth

comi ng whe n the signal was given fo r action H is .

strateg i cal arra ngements were ably designe d and he ,

had in store nine t housand pikes and thoug h m uskets , ,

were fe w sixty t wo thousand cartrid g es besides

,
-
,

rockets and g renades There would have been more

.

muskets but for the dishonesty o f a man w hom h e

sent for some c ase s which had been contracted fo r ,

and who absconded with the m oney entrusted t o him

to pay for them There were no t many m en enrolled
.

in Dublin fo r the enterprise b ut his lieu t enants were ,

t o bring in thousands from Wicklo w Kildare and , ,

W ex ford and he had no doubt that the masses o f t h e

,

capital would rise at the first shot .

On t he 2 3 rd o f July a council was held a t Long s ’

 THE UNITED IRIS HME N . 135

house mounted m essengers having previously bee n

,

despatched to warn the leaders o f th e expected con tin

gents that the rising would ta k e place that night .

But the resolution w as no sooner taken than eve ry

thing seemed to conspire against its execu tion The .

messenger who was sent to warn D wyer lost heart ,

and proceeded no farther th an R ath farnham The .

Kildare m en came in but being informed by a traitor

,

t o the caus e that the rising had b een postponed ,

returned t o their homes Between t w o and three .

hundred Wexford men also reached the post assigned

t o them and a large body o f Dublin men assembled
,

at the Broadstone awaiting the signal rocke t ; but the

’
signal fo r action was not given At nine O clock .

E mmet seem s to h ave become dou b tful o f success ,

only eighty m en havin g j oined him at the rendez vous

in Marshalsea Lane ; but at th at moment a man
r ushed in with the intelligence which proved to be ,

false that a large body o f troops was advancing

,

towards the place and this caused E mm et to decide

,

upon instant action at all risks .

H e put on his green un iform and ordered t he arms ,

to b e distributed and a signal rocket fired The

,
.

stores were all in confusion however and the fuses , ,

fo r the rockets cou ld not be found The scaling .

ladders were also invisible only o ne b ein g discovered

,
.

E mmet sall ied into Thomas Street wit h h i s ei g hty

followers however and at Bicker Street w as j oined
, ,

by about ei g hty more many o f whom were more o r

,

less intoxicated .They proceeded in a disorderly

manner towards the Ca stle but they we re not clea r o f ,

Thomas Street when the strag glers in t h e rear began

riotin g and pl undering E mme t c al led a hal t for the
.
13 6 THE UNITED IRIS HMEN .

purpose o f endeavour i ng to restore order and being , ,

’
i nformed that Lord K il w arde n s carria g e w as stopped
by the rear g uard and that t h e aged j udge and his ,
-

nephew were being murdered he hastened to the ,

rear Lord Kil warden and his nephew were stretched

.

in their blood o n the road and the j u dge s d a ughter ,

’

was t rembling in a corner o f the carriage E mmet .

imm ediately conducted the young lady t o a place o f

safety and hurried t o th e head o f t h e column where
, ,

all was no w no i se and confusion The obj ect o f the .

en t erprise seemed to have become lost si ght of by all ,

but the leaders in the desire to dr i nk shout and

, , ,

p lunder W hile a vain at tempt t o attain som e de g ree

.

o f order and d i scipline was bein g m ade a company o f ,

infantry appeared at the corner o f Cutpurse R ow and ,

’
fired a volley in t o the rioters broken ranks The .

l atter immediately fled in all directions a second ,

volley acceleratin g their fli g ht .

E mmet dis appeared in t h e confusion and with , ,

s everal more r eached the house o f a d airyman named

,

Devlin w h o was related to Dw y er and implicated in

, ,

t h e plot On the following night they fled into the

.

Wicklo w m ounta i ns where they found D wyer and ,

his contingent eager fo r revolt but E mmet was n o w

convinced o f the hopelessness o f success and resolved ,

to ret urn t o France H e was unwilli n g t o leave .

’
I reland however without an intervie w with C urran s
, ,

sister whom he was en g a g ed t o m arry and wit h this

, , ,

O bj ect in view he returned t o a former hid i ng place

,
-

’ ’
at H arold s Cross Devlin s house had been sur .

rounded by the military o n the m orning after his

d ep arture and searched by a brutal mag i strate w h o
, ,

ordered t h e dairyman s daughter t o b e tortured until ’

 THE UNITE D IRIS HMEN . 13 7

’
she revealed the p l ace o f E mmet s concealment The .

hapless young woman w as pricked with bayonets

until s h e was covered with blood threatened with ,

instant death and hanged until she became insensible ,

when sh e was lowered to the ground and the noose

relaxed Still refusing to betray E mmet she was
.
,

rem oved to Dublin and lodged in gaol ,

.

On the 2 5 t h o f August Maj or Sirr presented him ,

self at the house at H arold s Cross in which E mmet

still lingered and enterin g the roo m in which the
, ,

rebel chief who was unknown to him was sitting

, , ,

in q uired his name E mmet ga v e the n ame o f Cun .

n ing h a m upon which Sirr a fter takin g the precaution

, ,

o f leavi ng a m an to g uard him proceeded to question ,

’
the occupier who gave the g uest s n am e as H ewitt
,
.

The discrepancy conv inced Sirr that he had found t h e

m an he was seeking and E mm et strengthened the ,

conviction by attempting t o escape H e was knocked .

d own however by the m an who w as guarding him , ,

and Sirr having procured a military guard proceeded

, ,

to question E mmet s hostess W h ile thus eng aged ’

.
,

a scu ffle w as heard and o n rushing to the back o f , ,

the house he s aw E mmet flyin g across the fields

,
.

Sirr gave chase and E mm et fin din g th at he would , ,

be run down surrendered H e was then t ak en to the

, .

Castle where he adm i tted his identity with the leader

,

o f the abortive insurrect i on .

A n attempt t o procure h i s esc ape by b ribing one of

the warders o f the prison i n wh i ch he was confined
failed escape being found i m practicable wit h out the
,

connivance o f a l ar g e num b e r o f persons and he w as ,

tr i ed convicted and s entenced to de ath o n the 1 9 t h

, ,

o f September H is eloquent speech is we ll known

.
,
138 THE UNITED IRISHMEN .

having been reprinted frequently and probably read ,

more extensively tha n any other production o f it s

kind Strenuous e fforts w ere made t o procure a c o m
.

mutat ion o f the sentence but the Govern ment was ,

inexorable and h e was exec uted o n the following

,

morning .

R ussell also su ffered death and then t h e leaders of ,

’
the Uni t ed I rishmen were r e duced t o O C o nn o r ,

Macnevin and the elder E m met

,
N eilson long .
,

suffering from ill health had gone t o America only to

-
,

die his death taking place at Poughkeepsie a little

, ,

t own o n the H udson while Robert E mme t was in ,

hiding at H arold s Cross Tandy died the same year

’
.

at Bordeaux H e had had som e n arrow escapes

.

since his adventure o f 1 7 9 8 On landi ng in Norway .

,

he set o ut t o re t urn t o Paris bu t was arrested at ,

H amburg o n the demand o f the British Minis t er

there and sen t t o Dublin where he was held i n
, ,

custody until the 1 2 th o f Febr uary 1 8 0 0 H e was ,

.

then tried and had the rare good fortune t o be

,

acqui t ted Fourteen months afterwards however h e

.
, ,

was re arrested at Li fford and t ried fo r landing in

-
,

arm s o n the island o f Rat h l in in 1 7 9 8 Of this he .

was convic t ed and he would h ave been hanged if

,

Buonaparte had not interposed o n the ground o f his ,

’
holding a G eneral s commission in the French army ,

wit h the threat o f breaking o ff the negotiations fo r

peace unless he was pardoned The British G overn .

ment was fain t o y ield bu t some pretext was found ,

to retain Tandy in custody until Lord Cornwallis was

succeeded in the vice royalty o f I reland by Lord -

H ardwicke w h o con t ended that h e was no t bound by

,

the promis e o f h is predecess or and det e rmin e d t o ,

 THE UNITED IRIS HMEN . 13 9

’
send the prisoner to Botany Bay Tandy s so n .

threatening to publish the O ffi cial correspondence on

the subj ect the Government O ffered to let the prisoner
,

escape o n the way ur g ing that they merely desired

, ,

as a matter of policy t o create the belief that he had,

n o t been pardoned This o ffer being rej ected they

.
,

pro posed that he should undert ake to reside ei t her in

Portugal o r the United St ates ; but young Tandy
would conse n t to nothin g les s than the literal ful fil
m ent of the condition and his father was at length ,

liberated and allo w ed to return to France .

E mme t l e ft France in t he autumn o f 1 8 0 4 and ,

commenced a lo ng and s uccessful career a t the b ar o f

the United States H e was a ppointed to the Attorney
.

Generalship o f the State o f N e w York in 1 8 1 2 and ,

died in 1 8 2 7 A monument t o his memory stands in

.

the principal street o f N e w York Macnevin o b tain e d .

h igh repute as a physician and resided in N e w York ,

’ ’
un t il his death w h i ch t ook place in 1 8 4 1 O C o nno r s
,
.

career subsequently to his expatriation I will tell in

, ,
’

t he words o f his nephew the late F e arg u s O C o n no r , ,

s ome tim e Parliamentary re presentative o f Not

t ing h am .

My uncle he says became General of a Division

, ,

under Napoleon and some short t ime a fter when

, ,

Napoleo n wished to divert the E ngl i sh mind he sent ,

an immense number o f troops to Calais of w hich my ,

uncle was commander in ch i ef The impression upon - -

.

my uncle s mind was that those troops were to i nvade

’

I reland H oweve r upon one occasion M arshal Soult

.
, ,

arrived a t Calais and told my uncle that the army he

,

commanded w as sent there fo r the mere pur pose o f

’
alarming E ngland while Napoleon s inten t ion w as
,
1 40 THE UNITED IRIS HMEN .

not to invade I reland Upon he aring this an nounce

.

m ent my uncle started fo r Paris and threw his

, ,
’
commission in Napoleon s face Subsequently Napo .
,

leon o ffered him the command o f the army which

to invade Spain and which was com manded by ,

Massena M y u ncle however re fused the com m is

.
, ,

sion s tating that as he had stru gg led fo r the liberty

, ,

o f his o w n country he would not be a party t o

,
-

destroyi n g the liberty o f any other people .

’
H e subsequently proposed fo r Napoleon s sister ,

w h o married Murat Napoleon gave h i s consent

.
,

b ut w hen the fact was announced to Carnot then t h e ,

Prime Minister o f Napoleon Carnot t old him that ,

’
O C o n no r was too ambitious a m an and that he had ,
’
better retract his consent ; an d C arno t s desire was
complied with Some short tim e after Napoleon had
.

w i thdrawn his conse n t David the c e l ebrated French , ,

artist o f that d ay was taking a full length li k eness of

,
-

my uncle in his General s uniform

,
When the like ’
.

ness was nearly completed the March ioness o f C o n ,

d o rc e t took her only child a g i rl o f abou t twelve ,

y ears o f a g e t o hav e her li k eness taken b y the same

,

artist My uncle was o ne o f the han d som es t men in

.

the kingdom and when the you ng girl saw his like
,

ness she fell desperately in love with it and said she ,

sho uld like t o see the original David told them .

that if the y cam e next day at a particular hour they ,

would see the original The Marchioness and her .

-

d aughter kept the appointment and when she s aw ,

my uncle she fell desperately in l o ve with him The .

M archioness invited h i m to her soirées an d in a short ,

t i me told him that her daug h ter was so desperately

in love with him that sh e did no t know what t o do ;
 THE UNITED IRIS HME N .
14 1

whereupon t h e General recomm ended her to sen d her

to school t o some foreign coun t ry for a few years ,

and then she would g et over her a ffection She w as .

accordingly sent to school for fou r o r five years and ,

o n her ret urn when sh e m e t my uncle at her

,

m other s sh e w as if possible more attached to h im

, , ,

than ever ; and to m ake a l on g story short t hey

, ,

were m arried and up to this hour though he is in

, ,

his ninetieth year I do not suppose that any n e w ,

m arri ed couple were ever m ore devotedly attached to

”
each other than they are .

This was written in 1 8 5 0 I t is I believe sub .

, ,

s t ant iall correct thou g h it m ay be d oubted that

y ,

Arthur O C o nno r l i terally threw his com m ission in

’

’
Napoleon s face and was afterwards o ffered the com
,

mand o f the army destined for Spain and promised ,

the hand o f t h e E mperor s youngest sister H e re ’

.

sign ed h is command however under th e circu m stances , ,

related and devoted him self to rural pursuits farmin g

, ,

the estate O f B e g no n for merly th e property of ,

Mirabe au O C o nn o r purc h ased it in 1 8 0 8 and s ub

.
’

se q uently succeeded to the estates o f the Condorcet

family.
 C H APT ER III .

TH E PH IL AD E LPH IA N S .

V
H ILE
‘
Buo naparte was n egotiating wi t h the
chiefs o f a secret society which aimed at the
dismemberment o f the Brit i sh E mp i re an association ,

was be i ng org anised in France with the obj ect o f

hurlin g him from the proud height t o which he h ad
climbed and when c e the imperial crown seemed almos t
,

w ithin his grasp At t h e time when t h e authority of

.

the Directory passed in t o his hands as First Consu l ,

there existed at Besan con an assoc i ation called the

Ph il ade l ph ic Society consisting o f abo u t sixty
,

members who without ha v in g any political obj ect

, ,

in view were united by the simila rity o f their dis

,

positions and tastes A mon g the m embers w as

.

G eneral Male t an able o fficer o f restless and enter

, ,

p ris ing character w h o had entered the army at an

,

early ag e and comm anded the first b attalion formed

,

in the department O f J ura at the commencement o f

the wars of the R evolution The Philadelphians had
.

existed for some time as a quiet reading and debating

soc i ety when Malet who h ad late ly been removed by
, ,

Buonaparte from the command at R ome conceived ,

t h e idea o f m ak i n g it instrumental in e ffect i ng t h e

res t orat i on o f the Bourbo n s an obj ect which h e was
,

led to contemplate par t ly from resentment at havi ng

 THE PHILADE LPHIAN S . 143

been s upersede d and part ly as a m eans o f coun t er

,

acti n g the despotic tendencies o f the First Consul s ’

disposition H e did not however possess the tact

.
, ,

and skill in organisation which such an enterprise

require d and he sought amo ngst his friends and
,

acquain tances for an associate who possessed those

qualities and in whom he co uld confi de
, .

The friend whom b e selected for this di ffi cult and

dangerous task was an o fficer named O ude t who , ,

though only twenty fiv e years o f age h ad attained a

-
,

h i gh m ilitary reputation and the rank o f lieutenant

colonel H e was the son of respec t able parents in th e
.

department of the Jura and h ad served with distinction

,

in the Vend e an war i n the numerous skirmishes o f

,

which he had several times bee n severely wounded .

H e had received only an ordinary education but h is ,

m ind was ferti le in resources quick in estimating the

,

v alue o f circum stances s k ilful in combination and

, ,

daring and reso l ute in the execution of h is p urposes .

Bein g a Freemason and intimately acquainted with

,

the Masonic system he resolved to ap ply his k no w

,

ledge o f it s mysterie s to th e reorga nisation o f the

Philade l ph ic Society i n conformity with t h e views
entertained by Malet and himself ; for O ude t though ,

a decided republican h ad discerned t h e ten d ency of

,

every change in the con stitution of the executive bo dy

since the fall o f R obesp i erre to culminate in an
absolute dictatorship and s aw in a co n stitutio nal
,

m onarch y on the b asis of a nation al compact wit h the

,

Bourbo n s the o n
,
ly m eans o f counteracting them .

In order to conce al the re al desi g n of the new

org anis ation the bette r to insure e v entual succe s s
, ,

O ude t invested it with an air o f mystery and g ave t o ,

144 TH E PH I AD L ELPHIANS .

i t s e xternal aspect something o f I lluminism The .

ostensible and avowed obj ects o f the Society under

went lit tle cha ng e t h e pretext o f the new org anisation
,

being the production o f a type o f moral per fection the ,

realis ation o f a grand idea of society and of humanity .

O ude t be g an by inducin g all the members to take an

oath o f secrecy and fideli ty and divi ding the m into
,

t hree classes to each o f which he assigned certain

,

duties defined and regulated by fixed rules E ach

,
.

class was com pletely u nac q u ainted with the functions

o f the class above it w h ile the whole was so or g anised
,

as to be rea dy for action whenever the opportunity

for striking a blow should be presented O ude t as .
,

the founder and chief wielded an absolute authority

, ,

and h ad the power t o conce ntrate the who l e force o f

the Society upon any given point at will whenever its ,

g rowth in numbers should give 1 t the power in the

State wh ich he contemplated .

As soon as the reorganisat ion o f the Society at

Besan con w as co m plete O ude t undertook the more
,

difficult and dangerous task o f introduci ng the Phila

delphic system into the army in which h e succeeded ,

so well that in a very shor t time th ree re giments o f

, ,

the line two o f light infantry and o n e o f dra g oon s

—

were initiated wit h out d i stinct i on o f rank ; and with

, ,

a view t o preventi ng any suspicion of their co n nexion

with the Society at Besan con in t h e event of dis ,

c o ver
y ,
they were formed into the a f
fi liated Society o f
the F reres B le w E missaries started at the same
.

t i me for the west and south east to introduce the -

Ph il ade l ph ic system amo ng the peasantry numbers ,

o f whom were i nitiated with the s ame precaution and

,

fo r t h e same re ason into the a ffi liated societies o f the

,
 THE PHILAD ELPHIANS . 1 45

Miquele t s in t h e Pyrenean depar t men t s the Barbe t s ,

in the departmen t s o f the Alps and t he Bandoliers in

,

Jura and Savoy .

The first res ult of the military a ffiliations was the

conspiracy of September 1 8 0 0 concerning which
, ,

B uonaparte never could obtain any certain info r

m ation ; and fo r an obvious reaso n O ude t was t h e .

centre o f m any circles which though links o f o n e

, ,

chain exhibited no apparent connexion so that all

, ,

the e fforts o f the astute and unscrupulous Fo uch e

coul d never discover m ore than a few triflin g rami
fi c at io ns O ude t had no direc t com m unication with
.

Arena and F o uc h é could not obtain t h e slightest

,

evidence against h im ; but he seems t o have been

suspected by the Firs t Cons ul thou g h probably only,

because he was known t o be a decided R epublican .

H e was ordered t o j oin his regiment then in garrison ,

at St Martin in the I sle o f R h é where he was

.
, ,

received with a burst of enthusias m which excited

rene w ed di s trus t b ut led to no discovery
, .

Amon g the arre sted Philadelphians was a captain

n amed Morgan again st who m the only evidence was
,

that of a m an not belonging to the Soc i ety w h o ,

asserted that he had seen among the trinkets of the

accused some o f a remark ab le form These were .

seized and it was contended b y the counsel fo r the

,

prosecution that they were t h e in s ign i a o f some

secret confederacy d angerous to the S t ate Morgan .

w as subj ected to a r ig orous imprisonment closely ,

interro g ated and threatened with perpetu al imprison

,

ment unless he m ad e the fullest d i sclosures H e .

re fused to g ive an v expl anat i on but becomin g we ary

,

o f confinement and hopeless o f liberation

,
he it was , ,

VO L . I . L
146 THE PHILAD ELPHIANS .

sup posed committ ed suici de H e was found dead in

, .

his cell with his breas t bare and having t at t o o e d upo n

, ,
‘

it t h e sam e design as tha t displayed o n the j ewe l s

which had led t o his arres t This emblem after .

wards became t hat o f t h e Legion o f H onour the ,

head an d device being changed with which e x c e p ,

tions t he symbol o f the Philade l phian s became a

decoration which every Frenchman was soon t o be
”
proud t o wear My brothers said O ude t w hen
.
“
, ,

h e heard o f the circum stance w h o could have anti ,

c i at e d such a result ? Buonaparte is o u r accomplice ;

p
and it is t he Legion o f H onour that will destroy t he

The conspiracy o f Are na was closely followed by

that o f Carbon and St B ej ant On the evening o f
. .

the 2 4 t h o f December Paris was throw n into con

,

st e rnat io n by the repor t o f a t remendous explosion ,

and the rumour that an att empt had been m ade t o

assassinate the First Co n sul o n his way t o the opera , .

I t soon became known that a cart containing a barrel

h ad been d raw n across the R ue de Nicaise a narrow ,

street which t h e First Consul had to pass through o n

his way from the Tuileries with the view o f obstruct
,

ing the progress o f his carria g e ; but that the coach

m an h ad contrived t o pass the obstacle at a fast trot ,

and thus baffled t h e murderou s design wi t h which it

h ad been p l aced t here At the nex t m o m ent the
.

b arrel expl o ded shatteri n g t h e gl ass o f the Consular

,

carriage striki ng down the last m an o f the escor t

, ,

w rec k ing between forty and fi fty h ouses destro ing

y ,

H ist o ir e d e s S o iét é s S e r et e s d e l A rm é e
c c ’
et de s C o ns pi r at i o n s
Mil it air e s , at t rib ut e d t o h ar le s N o di e r
C .
 THE PHILAD ELPHIANS . 147

t he live s o f eigh t persons and inj uring nearly t hirty ,

o the rs who we r e in the stree t a t the ti m e o f the

,

e x plosion .

On his r eturn t o t he Tuileries B uonapart e m et a ,

crowd o f public functionaries who congra t ulated h im ,

o n his es cape and to whom he vehemently declared

,

t ha t t he attemp t o n his li fe was the work o f the

Jacobins N ei t her t he nobles nor t he priests no r
.
, ,

t he Chouans had any hand in it ,

It is the Sep .
“

”
t e mb rise rs he loudly asse rted with imp assioned
, ,

gestures tho s e wretches s t eeped in crim e who are

,
“
,

in a stat e o f permanent revolt in close column , ,

against every form o f g overnm ent I t is the assassins .

o f Versailles the brigands o f the 3 1 s t o f May t h e

, ,

authors o f all the crimes against governments w h o ,

are again at their h ellish work I t is the artisans an d .

t h e j ournalists w h o m ingle their passions with their

,

o w n violent imaginations w h o are the authors o f all ,

those atrocities I f you cannot chain them you must .

,

exterminate them ; th ere can be no truce with s uc h

w retches France must be p urged of s uch an ab o mi
.

n able crew .

F o uc h é stood duri ng this tirade in the recess o f a

, ,
'

window silent and pale On being asked why he

, .

did not de fend his party h e replied : Let them g o ,

“

o n ; I will speak when the proper time arrives He .

”
l aughs securely who lau gh s l ast On the following .

day in the Council o f S t at e B uo napart e held the

'

, ,

same language as he had done o n the night o f the

event H e obj ecte d t o the proposition o f a special
.

commission for the tr i al o f suspected persons that ,

t he process would be t o o slow and urged that fiftee n ,

o r twen t y o f the leading J ac o b ins should be executed ,

L 2
1 48 THE PHILADELPHIANS .

and about two hundred m ore depor t ed t o Cayenn e

-

without trial Trug u e t h inte d that the priests no t

.
,

the Jacobi n s might be the authors o f the plot but

, ,

Buonaparte per si sted that it was the work o f t h e

R epu b licans The Council y ielded t o his representa
.

tions but be fore any m easures were taken against

, ,

the obj ects o f h is hatred F o uc h é dis covered that the ,

plot h ad bee n concocted by the R o y alists B uona .

parte there u pon commanded tha t no allusion shou l d

be made in F o u c h é s report t o the affair o f the R ue
’

d e Nicaise in order that the actio n he had de t e rmined

,

t o ta k e mi g ht be based o n the n um e rous ac t s o f the

Jacobins against the publ ic peace .

I n this sense F o uc h é made his first report o n ,

which t h e First Consul bas e d h is d em and fo r the

t ransportation o f more than a hundred o f the leadi n g

Republicans without trial I t was in v ain t hat .

Thibaudeau and R oe de re r u rg e d in the Council o f ,

State th at there was no evidence o f the complicity in

,

the plot o f the men of whom he desired t o b e rid and ,

that it would be unj ust t o condemn them u nheard

and without trial I t m atters not said the in
“
,

e x o rab l e d e s o t ;
p . they will be transpor t ed for their
share in the massacres in the prisons for their acces
'

sion to the revolt o f th e 3 1 s t o f May for the con ,

s irac o f Babeuf for all tha t they have done s i nce

p y , ,

and for all they m a still do The Council yielded

y ,

’
and a hundred an d thirty o f the First Consul s ‘

ene m ies were transported without trial t o the pesti , ,

lent swamps of Cay enne A month afterwards F o u c h é .

m ade a second report an nounci n g that the horse ,

attached to the infernal machine had furnished a clue

to the authors o f the plot o f the R ue de Nicaise who ,
 THE PHILAD ELPHIAN S . 1 49

had been arrested and prove d to be emissaries of the ,

Chouan chief Georges C ado udal named Car b on St

, , ,
.

B ej ant and L imo l an w h o were subse quently tried

, ,

an d executed .

Though th ere was n o evidence t o conne c t O ude t

with this plot and he was not impli c ated in t h e con
,

s irac ie s for which the J ac o b ins had been d eported

p ,

he was too able a man b eing also an earnest R epub ,

lican not to be feared ; an d Buonaparte de prived h i m

,

o f his rank and ordered him to reside at Menale a

, ,

vill age in J ura until he received permission to l eave

,

that retirement O ude t obeye d and from among the

.
,

general o fficers who were affiliate d to the Ph il ade lph ic

Society and who in addition to Malet included
, , ,
.

Moreau L ah o rie and Guidal he chose Moreau to

, , ,

s ucceed him as chief o f the Society and un folded t o ,

him all the ramifications o f his policy and o f the

Ph iladelphian system .

The motives whic h induced Moreau to engage in

this conspiracy were n o t s u fficiently known b y his
conte m poraries to ins pire the hope that they will ever
become m atter o f authent i c history That the hero .

o f H ohenlinden o n e o f the most promine nt in s t r u

,

ments by whic h the R evolutio n h ad been m ainta i ned .

against the anta g onis m o f all the Cou rts o f E urope

.
,

should at this moment have become a Le gi tim i st ,

p repared to use all his in fluence i n aid o f a counter

revol ution is scarcely cre di b le I t is m ore probable
,
.

that he was ac t u ated by the sam e motive as O ude t

and Malet and foresee i ng the ext i nct i on of t h e
, ,

R epu b lic and fe arin g the consequences to France o f

,

a mili t ary dictator s hi p i n the pe rson o f one s o am b i

tious and so unscrup ulous as B uonaparte w is h ed t o ,
1 50 TH E PH ILADE LPH IAN S .

r estore the Bourbons with cons t itu t io nal guarantee s

for l i berty A numerou s par ty in t h e Senat e had
.

pri v ately o ffered t o suppo rt him as a rival t o Buona ~

parte ; he possessed the confidence o f four t housand

o fficers m embers o f t he Phil ade l ph ic Society and a
, ,

lar g e portion o f the army would have hailed with

accla m ations his accession t o powe r I t is obvious .
,

therefore tha t he held a t his command all t h e

,

elements o f a counter revolu t ion ; but h e was un -

willing to undertake an enterprise o f so m uc h

importance withou t being assured o f the concur
rence o f the Bourbon princes an d obtaini n g from ,

the m guaran t ee s fo r t h e establishmen t o f liberal

institutions .

General Male t fell unde r the su spi c l o n o f plotting

against the First Con s ul in 1 8 0 2 as the ch ief agent ,

i n the conspiracy o f which F o uc h é says Bernadotte

was the mover and Madame de S t ae l t h g ge nt re but
, ,

which has escaped the notice o f historians F o uc h é .

was himself suspected o f complicity in t he plot and ,

was denou nced by Dubois then Prefect o f Police ; ,

b ut with h is u sual adroitness he contrived t o retain

, ,

his free dom Malet less fort unate was arrested and
.
, ,

su f fered t wo years imprisonm e nt

’
.

The rela t ions between the Ph il adelph ic leaders and

the R oyalists are involved in so me mystery but ther e ,

i s no doubt that t he connecting link was Pic h ég ru ,

who had be e n a sso ciat e d with Moreau in the army o f

the R hin e and w h o o n his escape fro m Cayenn e pro
, , ,

c e e d e d t o E ngla n d where he entered into c o m m u nic a

,

tion with the brothers o f Louis X VI wit h members ,

o f the Bri t is h Government and wi t h Moreau Th e

,
.

caution and t he moderat e principles o f t h e lat te r w e re

 TH E P HILA DE L PH IAN S . 1 51

averse t o the uncondi t ional res t ora t ion o f the Bour

bons as proposed by Pic h ég ru after interviews wit h
,

t he Count o f Provence and the Count o f Artois .

’
Pic h ég ru s scheme was indeed impracticable for the ,

number of Bourbonists was very s mall and C ado udal , ,

though he ass umed s uch a prominen t position in t he

a ffair had no other weight than was derived from his
,

personal courage and his unqualified loyal t y to the

deposed dynasty H e had no national o r eve n
.

Par i si an reputation and was countenanced by Morea u

,

only because he might be made useful The Chouan .

element became a source o f e mbarrassment however , ,

and notwi thstanding the prudence and sagacity o f

,

Moreau his pro found and skilfully devised comb i na

,

tions were p ushed forward rashly and prematurely by

C ado udal L aj o l ais and the Po l ig nac s
, ,
These chiefs .

were e ager to extinguish th e Consu l ate and Moreau ,

was frequently and impatiently u rged by the m to

seize Buonaparte alive o r dead and proclaim the ,

restoration o f the monarchy ; but deeming the time ,

not yet favourable for the execution of so h o ld a

design h e constantly refused H e could not how
, .
,

ever enforce from Pic h ég ru and C ado u dal the

,

obedience rendered t o him by the Philadelphians ;

and as he persisted in refusing to participate in any
,

movement agains t the Consulate withou t first o b tain

ing a guarantee for a constitution al basis fo r the
monarchy they determined t o p ro ce ed with their
,

measures without him .

E arly in June 1 8 0 3 Lord Pelha m told the E arl

, ,

o f Malmesbury as private in t elligence fro m France

, ,

“
that the R epublicans and the R oyalists were very
numerous and t ha t if they co uld b e b r ought t o tr ust
,
1 52 THE PHILADELPHIAN S .

each o ther and be convinced t hat if either gained

,

possession o f t he power they would not persecute the

”
other a revolu t i o n might be operated
, A month .

later Pelham t old h im that Pic h ég ru was the man

,

confided in by Prove nce and that he thought More au ,

migh t be had I t was n o t however until the b e

.
, ,

ginning o f February 1 8 0 4 tha t t he details o f the , ,

conspiracy were communicated t o him Abou t thi s .

”
time he says in the beginning o f February t h e
, ,
“
,

m easures concerted by Pic h ég ru Moreau &c wer e , , .

,

confided t o m e They were represented as immangua éle

. .

The idea was the restoration of the monarchy under

a Bourbon prince Their plans were extensive and.
,

as they thought well and secretly arranged Pic h ég ru

, .

left E n gland abou t the middle o f Jan uary As soon .

as anything li k e a successful step had t aken place ,

and whenever the even t becam e cer t ain and t h e ,

m omen t arrived that a more conspicuous character

was necessary Lord H ertford was to appear in t h e
,

double character o f m akin g peace and restoring the

o l d dynasty The Duc d A ng o ulé me was t o hav e ’
.

gone to France o n due notice b eing given h im Th e .

event proved it was a very wide and deep laid plot -

,

but i t als o proved improper persons had been c o n

”
fid e d in o r imprudent language held .

Abou t t h irty o f the R oyalist leaders including ,

C ado u dal L aj o l ais St Victor and the Po lig nac s

, , .
, ,

were in London a t this time conspiring with the

British Government t he Bourbon princes and , ,

Gene r al Pic h ég ru agains t t he established order o f

,

things in France L aj o l ais m ade more than o ne

‘

D i ary of th e r
Ea l of Mal m e sb ury .
 THE PHILADELPH IANS . 1 53

j ourney be t ween London an d Paris and was de t ected ,

by Fouch e t o who m he is supposed to have revealed

,

the plo t R egnier who h ad at this t i m e succeeded

.
,

Fouch e in the Minis t ry o f Police asserted however , , ,

that an agen t o f the conspirators was detected a t

Calais an d papers found upon hi m which disclosed a
,

corresponden ce between Pic h ég ru and Moreau This .

agent who m R egnier did no t name in his report

, ,

m ay have been L aj o l ais who perhaps procured by his ,

disclosures immunity from arrest Whatever Fouch e .

learned at this time he kept to him self being in dis ,

grace an d feeling confident that his aid would be

,

required in t he unra v elli n g o f the plot though it is ,

certain that he n ever t horoughl y understood it him

self
.

Pic h ég ru and the Chouans passed over t o France in

small parties in the middle o f January and landed o n ,

the coast of Norm andy whence they proceeded t o ,

Paris travelling only by night in order to avoid

, ,

observation and selecting t h e least frequented roads

, .

On their arrival in Paris Pic h ég ru at once sought an ,

inte rview with Moreau without whom it w as cle ar t o

,

him if not to h is associates t hat nothi ng could be

, ,

done The t wo General s had a conference o n the

.

Place de la Madelaine and afterwards at the house of

,

Moreau ; b ut n othi ng came o f thei r consultation .

Pic h ég ru was in t h e hands o f the Bourbon princes ,

who were as impracticable as they showed themselves

after the R estoration ; and Moreau would not consent
to aid in restoring the monarchy without a guarantee
for liberal institutions The Chouans reluc t antly
.

abandoned t heir pl an o f attac k ing Buonaparte o n

hi s way to Malmaison o r St Cloud overth r owin g .
,
1 5 4, TH E PH ILAD ELPHIANS .

h is guards and slaying him an d prepared t o leave ,

Paris .

F o u c h é wh o had had the m watched since their

,

arrival in Paris n o w saw that the tim e had come fo r

,

him t o act H e revealed the plot to the First Consul

.
,

w h o he says reco g nised in t h e n ature of the con

“
, ,

s irac and espec ially in the implication f Moreau

p y , o ,

a stroke o f fortun e which secured h im the possession

o f the E mpire H e thou g h t t hat t o sho w Moreau as
.

a conspirator would s u ffice t o destroy his popularity .

Th i s mis t ake and the assassination o f the Duke o f

,

E n g hien very nearly caused his

,
Buonaparte
imm e diately summoned R egnier to his presence and ,

"
demanded t o know h o w it was that Pic h ég ru was in
Paris and that he the Minister o f Police was unaware
, , ,

o f the fac t R e g nier a ffirmed with an air o f con

.
,

fide nc e that Pic h ég ru was still in London ; but

,

Fouch e produced such incontrovertible evidence o f

his presence in Paris that Buonaparte confided t o
him the further conduct o f t h e measures fo r unravel
ling the conspiracy The wily ex minister accepted .
-

the commission with a zest sharpened equally by his

late exclusion from o ffice and favour and by his ,

hatred of the R oyalists ; and all the Chouans wit h ,

the e x ception o f C ado udal were promp tly arrested to , ,

the n umber o f fo r ty t w o and lodged in the Temple -

,
.

Among t h e prisoners was o ne nam ed Oz ier who ,

attempted suicide and made disclosures which led to ,

t h e arrest of Mo r eau A general order to the troops .

in Paris announced his arrest in the following terms ,

and spread constern ation throughout t h e capi t al .

Memo ir s of t he D uk e of Ot r ant o .
 THE PHILAD ELPHIANS . 1 55

Fifty brigands have penetra t ed into the capital !

Georges and General Pic h ég ru were at their head .

Their coming w as occasioned by a man who is ye t

—
numbered among o ur defenders b y General Moreau ,

who was yesterday consigned to the hands o f the

national j ustice Their design was after having
.
,

assassinated the First Consul t o have delivere d ,

over France to t h e horrors of a civil war an d all the

terrible convulsions o f a counter revo lution
”
— .

’
R egnier who had been unaware o f Pic h égru s
,

presence in Paris unti l it was announced by F o uc h é ,

no w preten d ed to have known all about the con

s irac from the first and made a report to the First

p y ,

Consul in which the knowle dge gleane d aft er the

,

eve nt was paraded as the res ul ts o f his o w n vigilance

”
and acuteness Last year he reported a criminal
.
, ,

reconciliatio n took place bet w een Pic h ég ru and

Mo r eau two m en bet w een who m honour should
,

have placed an eternal barrier The police seized .

at Calais one o f their agents at t h e m oment whe n

he was preparing to return for the second time to
E n g land I n his possession were found all the docu
.

m ents which proved t h e reality o f any accomm odation

inexplica b le o n any other princip le than the bond
which crime creates Meanwhile the plot advanced
. .

L aj o l ais the friend and confidan t o f Pic h ég ru passed

, ,

over secretly from Par i s to London and from London ,

to Paris com municatin g to Moreau the sen t i ments

,

o f Pic h é ru and to Pic h é ru thos e o f Moreau The

g , g .

brigands of Georges were all t h i s time secre tly pre

p aring at Paris the exec ut ion of t heir j oint proj ects .

A pl ace was fixed o n between Dieppe and Tre fo rt at ,

a di stance fr o m obs erva t ion wh e r e the b rigand s o f

,
1 56 THE PHIL ADELPHIANS .

E ngland brou g ht th ither in E nglish s hips o f war

, ,

disembarked without being perceived and th ere m et ,

e rsOns corrupted to receive the m — men paid t o guid e

p
them during t h e night from one station to another ,

as far as Paris There they found rooms ready hired

.

for the m by trusty guardians ; they lodged in dif

fe re nt quarters — at Cha i l l ot in the R ue du Bas in
m

, ,

t h e faubourg St Marceau in the Marais. George s ,

.

and eigh t brigands first disem b arked ; then Coster

St Victor and t en other s ; and in the first days o f
.

this month a third par ty arrived consisting o f ,

Pic h ég ru L aj o l ais and others

,
The conspirators
, .

met at the farm o f La Po tt erie ; Georges and

Pic h ég ru arrived in Paris They lo d ged in the s ame .

h ouse surrounded by thirty bri g ands whom Georges

, ,

com manded They met with General Moreau ; th e

.

day the hour the place w here the first confere nce
, ,

was held were known ; a second was fixed but not ,

accomp lished ; a thir d and a fourt h took pl ace in the

h ouse o f Moreau himself The traces o f Georges .

and Pic h ég ru have been followed from house t o

house ; those who aided in th eir debarkation t h o se — m

w h o under cover o f nigh t conducted them from

—
post to post those who g ave them an asylum in
—
Paris their c o nfidant s their accomplices L aj o l ais
—
, ,

the chief g o between and General Moreau have

- —
,

been arrested .

Pic h ég ru and C ado u dal were still a t large but o n ,

the 2 8 t h o f February a fortnight aft er the arrest o f

,

Moreau a bribe o f a hundred thousand cro wn s

,

induced a s t ockbroker n amed Leblanc in who se house ,

,

the former w as concealed to betray h im t o the p o l i c e

,
.

A numerous and well armed party wen t t o the hou s e

-
 THE PHIL AD ELPHIANS . 1 57

at nigh t ; for Pic h ég ru like C ado udal was a m an o f

, ,

powerful frame immense strength and tried courage

, ,
.

Pic h ég ru had retired to rest and the doo r o f his ,

chamber was l ocked Lebl anc prod uced a key which

.

unlocked it and t h e G eneral was seen sleeping with

, ,

pistols by h is side and a lamp burning on a table

between the door and the bed The police overturned .

the table extinguished the lamp and thre w them selves

, ,

upon him A violent struggle ensued ; but numbers

.

prevailed and Pic h ég ru was overp o wered and taken

,

to the Temple .

C ado u d al evaded arrest until the e vening o f t he 9 t h

of March when he was surrounded by the police
,

while crossing the Place de la Od éon in a cab Without .

’
an instant s h esit ation h e shot dead the man who had
’
seized the horse s head and with a second pistol ,

severe ly woun ded the first man who attemp t ed to

seize h im ; b ut h e was o verpowered by numbers ,

han dcu ffed and hurried o ff to the Temple These

,
.

successive arres t s created an extraordinary sensation ,

n o t only in Paris but throughout Fran ce ; and t h e

,

excitement was increased by the startling an

n o u nc e m e nt m ade on the mornin g of t h e l 0 t h o f

April that Pic h ég ru had been found dead in h is cell

t rang le d — but whether by h is o w n ac t or by that
o f his gaolers has never been clearly established .

Suspicio ns of fo ul play were rife and assertions that ,

he had b een assassinated received wide credence .

T h e sailing master o f the Br i tish shi p Vinc ry o c ap

-
,

t ure d in the Bay o f Q u i b eron and w h o afterwards ,

published a n arrative o f h is imp ris onment and escape ,

say s I w as at v ari o us times and b y di fferent pe r ,

sons shown the d ung eon in which he w as said t o

,
1 58 TH E P H ILADE LPH IAN S .

have been s t rangled ; and o ne man w h o pretended ,

t o be well acq u ainted with all t he circumstances o f

that mysteriou s business declared t o m e t h at t h e
,

u nfort unate General was found dead with his hands ,

tied behind h im and a stick twis t ed in t he hi nde r

,

par t o f his neck

It is scarcely credible however t hat assassin s
, ,

would have left their victim s hands bo un d and t h e ’

,

circu m stance was no t m entioned in t h e report o f t h e

s urgeons w h o examined t he corpse and w h o stat ed ,

that i t was found with a black silk handk e rchief

“

t ightly twisted round the neck by m eans o f a small

stick about five inches long which kept close o n t h e
, ,

left cheek o n which it rested by o n e end t hus pre

, ,

ventin g it unwinding and producing the strangulation

,

” ’
which had t erminated in death The gens d armes .
-

w h o were o n d uty n ear the General s cell deposed that

’

t h ey heard n o noise during t h e night excep t a s ound ,

which they though t was cou g hing but which was ,

”
described as like a person breathing with di fficulty
“
,

and las t ed for som e time There was no o th e r

.

evide nce and the Firs t Consul and his Minis t ers may
,

b e allowed t he benefit o f the doub t ; bu t t h e impres

sion was created very generally a t the time that
Pic h ég ru was m urdered t o preven t the revela t ions
which h e had threatened to make o n t h e t rial and ,

which i t was feared would e x cul pate Moreau and

incriminate F o uc h é Buonapar t e was bent upon
.

havi ng Moreau co nvi c t ed and h e was as unscrupulous

,

as Fouch e in the m eans which he used t o a tt ain his

N arr at i v e of C al e b H i ll e r .
 THE PHILADEL PHIANS . 1 59

ends ; there were strong grounds therefore for t h e , ,

’
suspicion which the s t range ci r cu m stances of Pic h ég ru s
death threw upon him while the remark o f R eal the ,

lieu t enant o f F o u c h é at th e m oment h e was told of

,

t he even t t hat they (the police ) would be suspected

,

o f having m urdered th e prisoner seem s t o reveal the ,

consciousness o f guilt .

The conn e x ion o f O ude t with this plot b eing unsus

e c t e d all the ramifica t ion s o f Philadelphianism no t
p ,

hav i n g been traced by the police it was a t this time ,

that Buonaparte t erminated his enforced residence at

Menale and gave him the commission o f m aj or H e
, .

arrived in Paris im m ediately aft er the arrest o f the

conspirators resu m ed his functions as chief o f the
,

Philadelphian s and proceeded im m ediately t o concert

,

a plan fo r the liberation o f Moreau in the event of ,

h is being capitally convicted It is this co n spiracy .

tha t is referred t o by Beauchamp w h o was not h o w , ,

ever full y acquainted with the circum s t ances

,
The .

disgraceful vi ctory which Buonapart e obtained over

an ench ained enemy he rela t es nearly cau sed his
, ,
“

o w n ruin During the trial o f Moreau t here was a

.

conspiracy formed to l i berate him by force in the ,

event o f his being conde mned t o d eath The authors .

o f this scheme were for the m ost pa rt o f fi cers o n fur

l ough from the arm y The police were apprised o f
.

the fact and the Palace o f Justice was surrounded

,

with troops and cannon I t seems certain that this .

military conspir acy w as anterior to the pretended con

s irac o f Moreau and m oreover that it w as no t the
p y , , ,

h esitation o f Moreau which caused the failure o f the

conspiracy o f Pic h ég ru but the rash precipitancy ,
1 60 TH E P HILADELPHIANS .

of Pic h ég ru which defeated t he real plans of

The precaution o f surrounding the t ribunal and

lining the approaches with troops would no t have
re v e n t e d an ou t break if Moreau had been condem ned ;
p
'

for as the prisoners were each evening led back t o

,

the Te mple t h e files o f soldiers between which they

,

were conducted grounded their arms as the pop ular

General passed and whispered General do y o u
, ,
“
,

” ”
want us 8 No Moreau replied ; I do n o t like
“
,
“

bloodshed 1 B u t if he had give n t h e word the

.
“
,

Consulate would have been at an end and Buonaparte ,

a prisoner in the Te mpl e b e fo re the dawn o f ano t her day , .

I n order t o ensure the conde mnation of the c o n

s irat o r s the Senate at the i n stigation of Buonaparte
p , , ,

suspended trial by j ury for attempts on the life of the

First Consul o r against t h e security o f t h e R epublic
, .

H ad this precaution no t been a dopted i t is probable ,

th at Moreau w ould have been acquitted ; and it was

h e w h os e conviction w as deemed necessary to the
’
success o f B uo napart e s ambitious proj ects All t he .

prisoners forty fi v e in number were brought t o trial

,
-
,

at once the proceedings commencing o n the 2 8 t h of

,

May and lasting fourteen days C ado u dal admitted

,
.

h is share in the conspiracy and gloried in it ; but ,

Morea u decl ared t h at he h ad h ad n o relatio n s with

the Cho uans and had declined to listen t o th e propo
,

s it io n s o f Pic h ég ru I t was a ffi rme d on the other .

,

hand by L aj o l ais and another prisoner named Picot

, , ,

t h at he had had interviews wi t h C ado udal during the

3“ V ie Pri v ée de Mo r e au .

T Se cr et H is t o r y of the C bi n
a e t o f B uo n apa rt e .
 THE PHILAD ELPHIANS . 1 61

’
la t ter s soj ourn in Paris D uring the trial he wrote .
.

t o the First Consul a le t ter whic h was read t o the

Cou rt and in which he explained as follows his rela
,

t ions with Pic h ég ru

“
I n the cam paign of 1 7 9 7 we took the papers of
the Austrian sta ff A mongst the m were several w hic h
.

seemed to implicate Pic h ég ru i n a correspondence with

the French princes this disco v ery g ave us both g rea t
pain b ut we resolved to bury it in oblivion as
, ,

Pic h ég ru being no lon g er at the head of the army

, ,

was not in a s ituation to do inj ury to the R epublic .

The events o f the 1 8 th Fructidor succeeded ; dis

quietude became universal an d t w o officers who were , ,

acquainted wit h the correspondence represen t ed t o ,

m e the necessity of making it p u b lic I was the n a .

public functionary and could no longer preser v e ,

silence *
D ur i ng the two last ca m paigns in Germany
.
,

and since the peace he has occasionally made remote ,

and circuitous o vertures to me as to the possi b ility o f

entering into a correspondence wit h the Frenc h
princes b ut I considered them so ridiculous tha t I
,

n ever m ade any answer A s to the present conspiracy .

,

I can equally assure you that I have not had the

smallest sh are in it Whatever proposition may have .

been made to m e I rej ected i t at once in my o w n ,

”
mind and regarded it as the most absurd o f proj ects
,
.

I t w as not to be expected th at this explan ation and ,

the absence o f any other evidence against the writer

than that o f prisoners who hoped to save their lives
by serving the ends o f the prosec ution would save ,

Mo r e a u c o m m u ni c at e d the c o rre S po nde nc e r

t o B a t h ele m y at t h at

VO L . I .
1 62 THE PH ILADELPHIANS .

Moreau any m ore t han the admission o f the prisoner

,

whose disclosures implicated the Duke o f E n ghien ,

that he had m i s t aken Pic h ég ru fo r the Duke saved ,

that unfortunate scion o f the house o f Bourbon The .

pro fo und sensation wh ich Morean s arrest had creat e d

’

and the s y mpathy m anife sted by the arm y con ,

v inc e d the Firs t Consul that h e had bee n m istaken in

believi n g that the accusation o f t reason would su ffice

t o deprive him o f his pop ularity ; but he n o w feared
’
equally his enemy s acquittal and his conviction .

Vague rumours of fresh conspiracies seditious p l acards ,

posted about Paris during the hours o f darkness ,

ano nymous letters of a me n aci ng character and s o ,

n um erous as to alarm the authorities excited in th e ,

mind of Buonaparte the m ost vivid fears tha t if ,

Moreau should be co n demned to death t h e ann o unc e ,

m ent would be the signal for a serious com m otion .

Fouch e had fa i led to penetrate the secre t s o f Phila

d e l ph ianism and t o discover all t he hidden ramific a
,

t i ons o f the plo t and t he Firs t Consul felt that he

,

m ight be standing upon a mine ready t o explode b e

n eath h i s fee t . H e wished to rem ove Mo r eau from
the path o f his ambition ye t feared t hat h is c o nde m
,

nation to death would occasion an outbreak w hich it

m ight be difficult to repress and that t he m,
emory o f
his fate wo ul d tend t o keep al i ve l n t h e army that
s piri t o f ins u bordination which he knew was already

far t o o prevalent .

I n his perplexity he sough t co unsel o f F o uc h é ,

who from his relatio n s with the R epublican party

‘

, ,

was unwilling that Moreau should b e sacrificed while ,

the possibility o f the s u cces s o f t h e P h ila delphians in

disposed him to harshnes s eve n towards the partisans
 THE PHILAD ELPHIANS . 163

of the Bourbons I am not o f O pinion he said as

.
, ,

he t ells us himself that Moreau should die and I do

, ,

no t approve o f violent m easures at all in this c ase .

I t is necessary t o t emporise ; for violence has t oo

great an a ffini ty to weakness and an act o f clemency ,

o n your pa rt woul d produce a better e ffect than s c af

folds.
”
Murat also suggested that Mo re au s life ’

should be spared u rging that t he le niency o f his

,

treatmen t would reduce him t o in sig nific anc e I n .

accordance with this suggest i on Moreau with Jules , ,

’
Polignac and three others was sentenced to t wo years ,

imp risonment only while C ado udal L aj o l ais Armand

, , ,

Polignac S t Victor Picot and eleven others were

, .
, ,

condemned to death H aving determined t o spare .

M oreau the First Cons ul could a fford to regard more

,

favourably than he was a t first disposed t o do the

appeals that were m ade o n behalf o f the other con
S irat o rs
p The
. P o l i nac s belonged to an aristocratic
g
family that h ad recovered some of i t s former in fluence ,

and B uonaparte thought it politic not to incur their

resentm ent o n the eve o f his assumption o f the impe

rial d i gnity A rmand Polignac and eight others
.
,

including L aj o l ais and Picot were accord i ngly re ,

spited .

For the same reason and also becau se the Chouan ,

leader s indomitable courage inspired him with inv o

'

l unt ary admiration h e would even have spared the

,

li fe o f C ado udal On the night precedin g the e x e c u

.

tion o f the Chouans he sent a confident i al agent to

the Temple t o o ffer the prisoners their lives o n cert ain
,

conditions The officer found them at prayers and

.
, ,

addressin g C ado udal told him that he came em , ,

powered by the First Consul t o o ffer him his li fe and ,

n 2
1 64 THE PHILADELPHIANS .

a commiss i on in t h e army with the lives o f all those

,

inclu ded in the indic t ment o n the sole condition o f

,

th e i r earni ng such clemency by an u nreserved renun

c iat io n o f the hopeless cause o f the Bourbons .

”
That does n o t concern m e alone said C ado udal
“
,
.

Permit me to communicate your pro posal to my

”
comrades that I may receive their opinions o f it
, .

’
H e then repeated the First Consul s message up o n ,

which o ne o f the Cho u ans whose name was Burban , ,

”
rose immed i ately and cried Vive l e roi 1 The cry
, ,

was repeated by all the prisoners as wit h o ne voice ,

.

”
Y o u hear I s aid C ado u dal turning to the o fficer
, .

We h ave only o ne thou g h t and o ne cry Vive l e ,

’
ro i ! H ave the go o dness t o report faithfully what
you have heard .

The officer sighed and left t he cell and on t he fol ,

lowing morni ng the brave C ado udal and his associat es

were exec ute d o n the Place de Gr eve .

The rem oval o f Moreau fro m t h e Templ e was

e ffected at night in o rder to prevent a popular
,

demonstration in h is behalf ; b ut in avoiding o ne ,

c ause o f disquiet t h e Firs t Co n sul encountered

,

another .The re was a rumour that he had bee n

“

assassinat ed and t h e excitement created by it threat

,
”
ened t o reach t o tumul t The whole prison says
.
,

Caleb H iller whose narrative I here quote again

'

, ,

was o ne morning thrown into great co nfusion in

consequence o f General Moreau hav i ng disappeared
during the night E very person in the Temple
.

n aturally co ncluded that he had fallen a sacrifice to

the j ealous fears o f Buo n aparte The news o f his .

departure quic k ly sp read through the city o f Paris ,

and as Moreau was much be l oved by the soldiery

, ,
 THE PHILADELPHIAN S . 1 65

towards evenin g the w alls of o ur prison were sur

rounded by thousands o f people vociferating the ex
’
general s nam e w i t h dreadful denunciations o f ven
,

g e an c e agai nst his persecutors D uring the whole o f .

the next day o fficers o f all ranks w ere crowding t o

the g ate demandi ng to kno w what had become o f
,

General Moreau I n deed t here were such m arked

.
,

demons t rations o f a ffection exhibited by the troop s

and citizens that 1 am fully convinced Napoleon
,

acted the m ost politic par t in banishin g Morea u

s e cre l l
y from Paris The populace would have risen
.

”
in a body had he been carried o ff by daylight .

Buonaparte did not venture e ve n to enforce the

sentence passed upon Morea u thou g h so lenient in ,

comparison with that which he had at first m edi

t at e d . H aving obta i ned his promise to quit Fra nce ,

never to return he boug h t of him his es t ate o f G ros

,

Bois near P aris and permitted him to leave privately

, , ,

the expenses o f his expatriation being defrayed fro m

the public treasury Moreau proceeded at once to .

Cad i z from which port he embarked for the Unite d

*
,

Sta t es .

C a det remained the directing chief of the Phila

d e l ph ians whose secret organisation F o u c h é made
,

great e fforts to unravel wit h only partia l success ,

.

H e obtained a clue b ut was immed i ate ly ba ffl ed and ,

prevented from follow i ng it b y the trans formation o f

t h e Soc i ety into the Olympians who under the ne w , ,

name and with ne w sy mbols and p as s words held the

,
-
,

same pri nciples and pur sued the same o bj ects Severa l .

Th e m e m o ir wr t i e rs of t h e pe r io d d iffe r a s t o t h e S pa n s h po r t i
wh cen e Mo r e a u sa il e d , so me y
s a ing B a r e lo na
c 1 h a v e fo llo ed
. w
F o uc h é , w h o w a s l k e l i y t o h a ve be e n we ll info r me d on t h e po nt i .
1 66 THE PHILADELPHIANS .

of the diplomatic representatives o f Britain at Con

t inent al Courts were strenuou sly labouring at this
time t o exc i te a R oyalist outbreak in France and the ,

correspondence which arose o ut o f these i ntrigues was

at le ngth detected b y F o uc h é who immedia t ely set a ,

snare to entrap Drake t he British envoy at Munich , ,

whom he actually decoyed into a direct correspondence

with a secret agent o f the French police The letters
*
.

were dictated by Buonaparte himself in his o w n

cabinet and Drake replied to them in the most im
,

l ic it conviction o f their aut h enticity I t is a curious

p .

’
circum stance that though F o u c h é discredits Oudet s ,

connexion w i t h the Philadelphians and Olympians a ,

passage occurs in o ne o f these l e tters w h ich indicates

that O ude t was the person referred to .

The chief o f whom y o u desire particulars wrote ,

Méh ée de la Touche is a man o f a rem ark able and ,

“

d i stinguished figure and t w enty eight years o f age ,

-
.

H is bravery exc e eds all praise h e speaks with grace ,

and writes with talent The R epublicans have such .

entire confidence in him that they see without the , ,

leas t inquietude his visits t o the Fi r st Consul when

,

he leaves the army t o com e t o Paris and pay his ,

court t o the ladies who grace the saloons o f the C o n

sular Palace I f you desire my personal O p i nion o f him
.
,

“
Méh ée d e l a To u h e , t h e c F r n ch m
e an wh o i mpo se d on an d

b t r ay e d
e rak e and S S mit h publ i h e d a e ry am u sing t h o ugh
D .
, s v ,

pr b abol y e r y l y in g a c c u nt o f t h e w h o l e t r an a c t i n
v , o It c e rt ainl y s o .
,

a s h e s t at it m ak e s t h e d upe ry and t e rr o r o f u t w o Minist e r

es , o r s

e q u al t h is o w n r as c al it y and h e s e e m t o t ak e pains t o m ak e b o t h
o , s

a ppe ar a s c l e a r an d a s no t o ri o u s a s ib l e T h e a cc o u nt i s w ll
p o e ss .

a nd c l e ar l y w r it t e n H a mm o n d Jo h n K ing an d D rak e a e e ry w e l l
.
, , r v

d e cr ib e d
s n d al o B rt r an d d e Mel ill e o n w h o m h e al s o imp
, a s e v ed , os

m t e g r g i u sl y
os e Th is b o o k w as l e nt m e b y t h e g fii
o . Un re er .

f rt un at l y I l e nt it t o Pit t (w h e n I d in e d w it h h im ) an d Pi t t n ev e r
o e ,

r et urne d it t o me — D£ a y of t h e E arl of Mabmes bwry

.
” f
r .
 THE PHILADELPHIANS . 1 67

it is this his ambition is unbounded and he p l ays w it h ,

both R epublicans and R oyalists using bot h to ga i n ,

his o w n ends I flatter myself with having gained

.

h is confidence .The First Consul does all he can to

conciliate h im but there is only o ne m ode of success
— to yield u his o w n place in his favour
p .

O ude t left P ari s as soon as he was assured o f t h e

sa fety o f Moreau and proceeded to the south ; and
,

about the time when the Philadelphians were trans

formed into the O lympians the Marq uis o f J o uffro y ,

appears o n the scene as the agent of the B o u rbo n

princes in negotiat i ng with th e Society for the re st o ra
t ion of the Monarchy There does not ap pear h o w
.
,

ever to have been at any time a clear and defined

,

unders t anding between the t w o parties E ach was .

endeavouring to m ake use o f the other the Bour ,

bon i sts being willing only to use the Olympians as a

stepping stone t o power and the latter resolved to
-

work o ut their ends in their o w n way and in the , ,

event of success to o ffer the crown and a constitutio n

,

to the Co unt o f Provence ma k i ng h i s acceptance o f

,

t h e latter the conditio n of his being allo w e d to grasp

the forme r .

I t was ascertained at this time that Buonaparte

was a b out t o pass t hrough Jura with an escort o f ,

only a hundred Guards and it was resolved to wayla y

,

a nd capture him if he were not slain in the a f

,
fray A .

Provisional G overnment was then to be established ,

and the Crown o f France offered to the C ou nt o f

Provence the conditio n of whose elev ation to the
,

throne w as to be the establ i shment o f a constitutio n

similar t o that of E ngland A pic k ed fo rce o f 1 8 0
.

men w as to ma k e the attack under the direction o f a ,

young o fficer named B ug ne t full o f z e al and c o urage , ,

1 68 THE PHILADEL PHIAN S

and whose valour and conduc t h ad been proved in

m an y hard fou ght battles A secluded spot betwee n
-
.

t h e villages o f Tas se nie n e and Colonne was to be the

scene o f the attack the success of which would have
,

cha nged t h e course of French history though it would ,

be va in to specul ate upon the precise results which

would have accrued from i t .

Th e dar i ng scheme was frus t rated by F o uc h é

obtaining a clue t o the plot a t the eleventh hour in
'

conseq uence o f wh ich the route o f the First Consul

was chan g ed when he had reac h ed the post house -

n earest to the spot where the conspirators awaite d

h im . The Olympian s dispersed o n findi n g their plot

de feated ; but B a gnet was arrested with t w o o t h e r , ‘

o fficers na m ed Py rault and L éc h anc h é No furt h er

, .

d iscovery w as made at that time and the entire ,

organi sation o f the Olympian s never b ecame fully

k n own to F o u c h é ; but so many o f the secrets o f t h e
Society were learned by him throu g h the treachery o f
,

an o fficer i nstructed b y him for the purpose th at the i r ,

designs were rendered abortive Dra ke h aving at .

the same time completely compromised b Ot h himself

and the British G overnment all his correspondence ,

w i t h Méh e e de la Touche was pub l ished by o rder o f

’

Buonaparte who thus sought to cover h i s enemies

,

wit h confusion and at the same tim e to show a

,

colourable excuse for the i llegal seizure and execution

o f t h e Duke o f E nghie n .

A mong those political prisoners who shortly aft er

wards , on t h e occasion o f B uo napart e s elevation to ’

the i mperial dignity , received an amnesty was General ,

M alet who was at the same time restored to his rank

,

in the army I n 1 8 0 5 he was employed in I tal y b ut

.
,
 THE PHILADELPHIANS . 1 69

i n the following summ er he was placed under arrest ,

and ordered to Paris The grounds upon which this

.

step was taken n ever transpired and h i stori ans infor m ,

us vaguely th at he h ad engaged in som e illegal

transactions at Civita Vecchia ; but there are good
reasons fo r supposin g that he was arrested merely on
suspicion o f a plot o f which n o e v ide nc e c o uld be
,

obtained H e was detained without being brou ght

.
,

to tri al for nearly a year w h e n a military court of

, ,

inquiry was instituted to investigate the charge

against him whateve r it was and it w as determined
, ,

to retain him in confinement un t il the a ffair should

h ave blown I n 1 8 0 8 when he had been t w o
,

years in pri son h e conceived the bold desi g n o f over

,

turning the Government by S preading a fal se repor t

o f the death o f Napoleon who was the n in Spain and
, ,

corr upting o r arresting the chief civil and mil i tary

authorities of the capital ; but the schem e w as fr a s
t rat e d by the sudden return o f th e E mperor and ,

Malet remained a prisoner in the citadel of Vincennes

four years longer .

Moreau in exile Malet in prison the fortunes o f

, ,

the Olympians were d arkened by a heavy cloud .

O ude t was st i ll at liberty in deed but N apoleon

, , ,

though the utmost e fforts o f the police c i vil and ,

military h ad failed to connect the Olympian chie f

,

w ith any of the n umerous conspir ac i es a g a i nst him ,

feared and h ated the R epubl i c ans so m uc h t hat his

suspicions continu ally pursue d him So impervious .

was the mystery in which the Olympians shrouded

their proceedings that F o uc h é could never be con

Ali s o n .
1 70 THE PH I LAD E LPH IAN S .

v inc e d that O ude t w as

connected with them ; but
Savary w h o perhaps as chief o f the secret pol i ce o f
, ,

the army had g rounds fo r his suspicions whic h were

,

unknown t o the Min i ster was so strongly impressed ,

w i th the idea o f danger to the E mpire fro m O ude t ,

without having any positive evidence that he resolved ,

to destroy him with as many more o f the Olympians

,

as could be reached The precise share of the atroci t y .

which must be assigned t o Napoleon cannot be

determ i ned but he canno t escape the odi um of having
,

at least been accessory after its accomplishment .

Shortly befor e the battle o f Wagram O ude t was ,

promoted t o the command o f a brigade and ordered ,

t o organise a supplementary regiment the o fficers o f ,

*
which h e was all owed t o selec t himself F o uc h é .

does not m ention this seeming favour thoug h his ,

account o f t h e a ffair a g rees in every other respect

wit h that o f the memoir attributed to N o die r I f
'

t h e latter is a uthentic the e v ent proves that O ude t ,

was allowed to select his o fficers in order that as

m any as possible o f the Olympians m ight be b rought
’
togethe r H owever this m ay be O udet s bri g ade
.
,

was assigned a posi t ion at Wagram in which it

su ffered terribly several o f the o fficers being killed
, ,

and mos t o f them wounded O ude t received three .

lance wounds and in tha t condition received orders

,

to pursue the enemy three leagues and then leaving , ,

h i s brigade to repair to he ad quarters wit h all the

,
-

o ffi cers that could be S pared from regimental duties .

The tw i l i ght of a summer n i ght had commenced

H ist o ir e d e s S o c i ét é s Se c ret es de l A rm é e
’
et d es C r i
o n spi at o ns

Mili t air e s .
 THE PHILADELPHIANS . 171

when the defeated A ustrians r e treated north w ard

along the roads leading t o Bohemia ; and it was
’
eleven o clock o n a mo onless night when O ude t and
, ,

h is o fficers returning towards Vienna were startled

, ,

by the rat tle o f musketry cl o se at hand and the

wh i zzin g o f bullets amongst them Most o f them .

fell and another volley from their unseen assaila nts

,

stretched the remainder upon the road Twenty .

three dead o r dying m en were found next morning

wel t ering in their blood O ude t still breathed b ut
.
,

h e died o n t he third day F o uc h é hints plainly that

.

the perpetrat o rs o f this horrible massacre were the

milit ary police under t h e direction of Savary ; but
the m y stery in which it was shrouded h as never been
revealed I t created a painful sensation throughou t
.

the army and added another inc i dent to the black

,

chapter which records the dea t h o f Pic h ég ru an d the

exec ution o f the D uke of E nghien .

The surviving leaders o f t h e Olympians with the ,

exception o f Moreau were all at this time in prison

, ,

Malet at Vincennes L ah o rie and Guid al at La Force

,
.

But prison doors sometimes open mysteriously to the

leaders o f secret societies and in the subtl e b ra i n o f
,

Malet the abo rtive proj ec t o f 1 8 0 8 was st i ll wor k ing

.
.

The absence o f Napoleon durin g the disastrous cam

ai n o f 1 8 1 2 a ffor d ed even a b etter opportunity fo r
p g
its execution th an that presented b y the war in Spain .

I f he could only escape from pr i son he mi g ht release ,

La b orie and G uidal corrupt or arrest the o fficers w h o

,

exercised au t hor i ty in the na me of t h e E mperor over ,

throw the edifice which Napoleon had reared upon t h e

ruins o f the R epublic and establish a Provisional
,

Gove r nmen t pending negotiations with the Count o f

,
1 72 THE PHILADELPHIANS .

Provence The first blow would give the victory and

.
,

Napoleon would be startled amid st the snows o f

R ussia by the an n ouncement of his outlawry by the
enemies whom he had been stri k in g do w n t o such
little purpose since the days o f the Directory .

Such an en t erprise m ight well have bee n deemed

worthy only o f be i n g conceived in the brain of a
madman ; but there was method in it and it was very ,

near succeeding Malet took into his confidence a

.

fellow prisoner an o l d priest named La fon ; and suc

-

c e e de d in corrupting a oung corpora l n amed R ateau

y ,

who g uarded his cell Then the forgeries were

.

executed which were required to smooth the way t o

the success o f the plot The conspirators prepared a
.

document purpor t ing to b e a decree o f the Senate ,

annulling the I mper i al Government appointing a ,

‘

Provisional Government in the perso ns o f Moreau ,

Talleyrand Tro c h o t Prefec t o f t h e Seine and t h e

, , ,

Counts o f Noailles and Montmorenci and nominatin g ,

Malet governor of Paris Fouch e who was again

.
,

’
u nder the cloud o f Napoleon s displeasure and had ,

been succeeded in the Minist ry o f Police by Savary ,

was to ac t in the pl ace o f Moreau until the latter could

arrive from A merica ; and t h e command o f the troops
was to be o ffered t o M assena who was also in d isgrace , ,

an d might it was thought be induced to j oin a

, ,

m ovement against the E mperor when it had obtained

its preliminary success Se v eral forged warrant s for
.

the promotion o f certain o ffi cers and orders o n t he ,

treasury fo r considerable sums o f money completed ,

the preparat i ons for the proj ected revolut i on .

A l l bei ng prepared Malet o ne night walked o ut of

,
’
prison weari ng his G eneral s uniform and proceeded
, ,
 THE PHILA D ELPHIAN S . 1 73

to the barracks o f a re g imen t o f in fan t ry commanded

by Colonel Soulier to whom he showed the for g e d,

decree informi ng him at t he same time that th e

,

E m peror had been killed before Moscow o n t he 7 t h

of October The signa t ures to the decree were s uch
.

excellent im itations of the handwr itin g of the person s

who s e names were thus unwarrantably used that
Soulie r was imposed upon ; and o n Malet giving h im ,

a w arrant appointing him to the comm and o f a brigade

and an order o n t h e treasury for four thousand pounds ,

he o ffered no oppositi o n when the audacious conspira

t o r ordered the gates to be opened and the troops to ,

be mustere d by torchlight c o mm anded the d rums to ,

beat and read the decree Malet then or dered a guard

,
.

to accompany him to the prison o f La Force whe re ,

he liberated Lab orie and Guidal .

The troops were t hen divided into three bodies and ,

m arched into Paris by di fferent routes One led by .

,

Lab orie a bold and ener g etic officer direc t ed its

, ,

m arch to the Minist ry o f Police wh ere the General ,

forced the doors surprised Savary in bed arrested

, ,

him and after a v ain altercati o n lodged him safely i n

, , ,

L a Force Gu i dal led ano t her body o f troops to t h e

.

Pre fecture where he arrested Pasquier Pre fect o f

, ,

Police as easily as h is coll eague had e ffected the

,

capture of Savary an d hurried him off to j oin the

,

M i nister Malet too k possession o f the Place V e n

.

d ome and detached Soulier to seize the H otel de

,

Ville and post a stron g force o n the Place de Gr eve

,
.

I t was now eight o clock in the mornin g and Tro c h o t

’

, ,

who h ad ridden into Paris from his country house -

,

found the H otel de V i lle in the possession o f Soulier ,

who gave him a desp atch from Ma let ordering him t o ,

1 74 THE PHILAD E LPHIANS .

prepare the principal apartmen t fo r the sittin g s of the

Prov isional Gov e r nmen t The Prefec t bowed t o t he .

force arrayed agains t an or der o f things which seemed

to be subverted and t h e roo m was pr e pared ; but t he
,

individuals named in t h e forged decree did n o t deem

t h e move men t ripe enough as yet t o be encouraged to
assemble there .

Malet had in t h e mean t im e sen t forged orders t o

, ,

the colonels o f t w o regiments similar t o those given ,

t o Soulier w hose example was immediately followed

,
.

By these means t he conspirators ob tai n ed possession

o f all the barriers w hich were immediately closed to , ,

prevent any o ne leaving the city until the s uccess o f

the m ovement was assured Other bodies o f troops .

occupied the principal public o fli c e s including the ,

Treasury and th e Bank o f France where t here was a ,

large amount o f m oney While these measures were .

being taken Male t proceeded at the he ad o f fifty

, ,

men t o the office o f t h e E tat Maj or where h e gave

,
-
,

Doucet t h e A dj u t ant General o n e o f the forged orders

, ,
"

which he had found so e fficac ious in promot i ng the

success o f the m ovemen t and direc t ed h im t o arrest ,

Laborde the Adj utan t o f the Commandant o f Paris

,
.

Leaving half his guard be fore t he o ffice o f the

E tat M aj or he procee ded t o the house o f General
-
,

H ulin Com m andant o f Paris and showed t he forged

, ,

decree o f the Se n ate H ulin refused t o obey the .

man date and Malet ordered his arres t The Com

'

.
,

man dant resis t ed and Malet dischar g ed a pis t ol at

,

his head and wounded him so severely that he was

,

tho u ght dead The conspirator then returned t o the

.

A dj utant General s o fli c e and was conversing with

-
’
,

Doucet when Laborde en t ered and having seen him

, , ,
 THE PH IL ADE L PH IAN S . 1 75

in prison o nly t h e day be fore at once denounced h im

’

,
.

Malet was about to d raw a pistol from the pocket o f

his coa t when Laborde seeing the movem ent reflected
, ,

in a mirror behind him seized him and w ith the , ,

assistance o f Doucet disarmed and arrested him .

The soldiers o n being informed by Laborde that

,

they had been deceived raised a cry of Vive l E m

,
’

”
percur l and returned to their barracks .

The attempted revolution was now at an end By .

’
nine o clock Malet La b orie and Guidal were again in
,

prison and Savary and Pasquier were at liberty A

,
.

military commission was appointed for the immediate

trial of the conspirators with eleven other persons, ,

regarded as their accomplices Malet b ehaved with .

great firmness during the last hours of his restless

and eventful life H e exculpated all h i s fellow
.

prisoners and o n being as k ed by De jean the presi

, ,

dent o f the commission who were h is accomplices , ,

replied with st artlin g significance All France if I , ,

had succee ded ; and you amon g the first When .

m en openly attack a Government by force the palm

is theirs i f they succeed ; if n o t d eath
,
Dej e an ,
.

"
turned pal e and asked no m ore question s
,
L ah o rie .
6

and G uidal protested that they k n e w nothing o f the

conspiracy until they were released from prison ; but
all the priso ners were condemned to death and shot ,

o n the follo w in g m orn ing at G renelle Malet pre ,

servin g his herois m to the last and w arnin g the ,

authori ties that he was no t the las t o f the “

”
R omans .

F o uc h é says that Male t carried with h i m to the

Mé mo i re s d e l a D ue de Ro v ig o .
1 76 THE PHILADELPHIAN S .

grave t h e s e cre t o f o ne o f the boldes t con spiracie s

“

w hich the grand epoch o f the R evolution has b e

u e at h e d to h ist O 1 The precise meaning o f this
q y .

passa g e can only be conj ectured F o uc h é may have .

alluded to the secrets o f t h e Oly mpl ans o r t o the ,

connexion w i th the co n spiracy of persons a g ai nst

whom no evidence could be obtained Olympianism .

was supposed to have disappeared wit h the victims o f

the mys t erious tra g edy of the n ight after Wagram ,

an d there are no trac es o f any relations between the

imprisoned Olympians and t hose who remained at

l arge uns u spected but it is unli k ely t h at Thibaude au
,

would have stated that t h e cons piracy of M alet had

ramificatio n s in the provinces if h e h ad not had s ub,

s t an t ial grounds for the statement The complicity .

o f F o uc h é in the plot w as suspected but no evidenc e ,

was procurab l e aga inst h im an d the investigation

,

m ade by order o f Napoleon i n to the whole o f the

circu m stan ces con nected with it resulted in the dis
c o v e ry o f nothin g t h at w as n o t already known .

The news o f t h is a ffair a ffected Napoleon m ore

than his m i litary disasters in R u s sia H e set out .

imme diat ely for Pa ris and duri ng the j ourney w as

,

alternately depressed and moody and irritable and ,

savage H e reached the capital on the nigh t o f the

.

1 8 t h of December so unexpectedly and at such a l ate

, ,

h our that o n presenting himself at the Tuileries he

, , ,

experie n ced some di fficulty in gaining admission O n .

the following day he called for reports o n the c o n

spirac y and convened the Council o f State
,
.

”
“
Gentlemen said he ,
we must no longer dis
,

bel i eve m iracles ; attend to the report o f M R eal o n .

”
this affair .
 THE PHIL ADELPHIAN S ’
. 1 77

The repor t having bee n read he expatiated at con ,

s ide rab l e length on the ev i ls o f the loo se ideas o f

d uty prevalent in France and which he attributed to ,

”
the R evol ution At the first word of my death
.
“
,

h e continued a t the firs t command of an u nkno w n

,
“

individual o fficers lead their re g iments to force the

,

gaols and make prisoners of the highest authorities

, .

A gaole r quietly en closes the M i nisters o f State

within his doors A Prefect o f the capital at the .
,

command o f a few soldiers lends himself t o the pre ,

arat io n of his great hal l for the as sembly of I know

p
not what fac t io ns wretches And all this while t h e
E mpress is o n the spot while the King of R ome is ,

living while all my Ministers and all the great

,

O fficers o f State are at hand I s a man then .

, ,

everything here ? the instit utions nothing ? oath s

”
nothin g ?
N o discovery being made he was fain t o content ,

himself with the dismissal o f Pas quier the re pri ,

m anding o f Tro c h o t and the s uppres s ion o f the ,

Municipal Guards o f P aris The prosecution o f the .

war demanded t h e imme diate exercise o f all his

powers but even t he insensate dreams o f conquest
,

whic h he still indulged cannot have rendered h im

wholly oblivious in h is hours o f repose o f the pre, ,

carious tenure by which as Malet s conspiracy h ad ,

’

shown him he held the throne That extraordin ary

,
.

a ffair occupies fewe r o f the p ages of A lison and

Thiers tha n many o f the m i l i tary conflicts o f the
period ; but that it nearly cost Napoleon the E mp ir e
is acknowledged equally by S av ary and by F o uc h é .

But fo r his reco g n i tion b y L aborde Malet s ays t h e , ,

former wo uld in a few moments have been m as t e r

,
“

VO L . I .
1 78 THE PH ILADELPHIANS .

of almost everyth ing ; and in a country so m uch ,

influenced by the contag ion o f example there is n o ,

saying where his success wo uld have stopped H e .

would have h ad po s session o f the treasury then ,

extremely rich the post o fli c e the tele g raph and

,
-

, ,

t h e com m and o f t he h undred cohorts o f the National

Guards H e would soon hav e learned by the intel
.

l ig e nc e bro u ght by the es tafe t zes the alarming situation

‘

o f a ffa i rs in R us s ia ; an d nothi n g could h ave pre

vented him m ak i n g prisoner the E mperor himself ,

if he h ad returned alone or fro m m arching to mee t

,

”
h im if he had com e at the head o f his Guar d s .

The Gre n elle executions left Moreau then in the ,

n inth y ear o f h is exile the s ole survivor o f the

,

G enerals a ffi li ated to t h e secret society proj ected by

M alet and organised by O ude t I t is a si ngular .

c oincidence there fore if it is nothi ng m ore t hat

, , ,

More au should h ave prepared t o return to E urope

immed i ately after that even t After a tour through .

the United States h e h ad p u rchased the estat e o f

,

Morrisville belo w t h e Falls o f the Delaw are where

, ,

he re S 1 de d quie tly with his fam ily until the spri ng o f

1 8 13 . The os tensible and av o w e d motive o f his '

r eturn t o E urope was the o ffer o f a com m and in the

R ussian army which w as m ade to h im throu g h

,

D ash k o ff the R ussian Minister at Philadelphia

, .

Colonel Rappat e l who h ad been h is aide imme

'

, ,

diat e ly s e t o ut for St Petersburg v ia E n g l a nd and

.
, ,

o n his arrival w rote to Moreau w h o at the end o f ,

May quitted his retreat and e mbark ed on board an

,

Americ an vessel bound for Gothenb urg H e arrived .

at that port o n t he 2 6 t h o f J uly and proceeded ,

 THE PHILADELPHIA NS . 1 79

immediately t o Y st adt when ce a S wedish war brig

,
-

conveyed him to Stralsund .

Bernadotte who was t hen a t Berlin se t o ff for

, ,

Stralsund to meet him and concert with him the ,

plan o f the campaign about to open ; and he was m et

also by Colonel R a at e l and a gentleman in t he civil
pp
service o f R ussia named S v inine On the nigh t o f .

t he l 0 t h of A ugus t he reached Berlin where on the ,

following morning he was visited by all the Prussian

princes and generals then in the city H e s t arted .

in the evening fo r Prague w here he arrived o n the ,

l 6t h and was cordially received by the Czar who

, ,

two days afterwards introduced him to the E mperor

o f Austria E vide n ce was soon aflb rde d tha t O lym
.

pianism s t ill existed in the French army The .

officers o f the garrison of Dresden drank h is health

at their mess for which they escaped arrest only
,

through the intercession o f Berthier Two officers .

o f the garrison of Dantzi g deserted their colours and ,

j oined h im at the head quarters o f the allied armies

-
.

Moreau was fated however soon to follow Pic h ég ru

, , ,

and O ud e t and Malet L ah o rie and Gui dal to a bloody

, , ,

grave O n the terrible 2 7 t h of A ug ust while con

.
,

v ersing with Alexander he was struck by a c annon

,

ball which shattered b oth his le g s R emoved from

,
.

the field by som e Cossac k s on a litter formed o f the i r

l ances he s uflere d amputatio n of both limbs The
,
.

s nfle ring consequent on removal wit h the retreati n g

ar my to the frontier o f Bohemia borne by R ussia n ,

soldiers in a litte r amidst torrents o f rain caused

, ,

fever to supervene and recovery soon became hope

,

less Death rele ased h im from s u ffering o n the 2 n d

.

N 2
1 80 TH E P HILAD ELPHIANS .

of Sep t ember and his rem ains were removed by the

,

’
Czar s order t o St Petersbur g where they were
.
,

in t erred with the honours which had been accorded

t o thos e o f K u t u so ff .

The sad news o f his dea th w as communicated t o

h is wife by an a ut ograph let t er from t he Czar whose ,

eulogy o f his h igh c h aracter was as unqualified as it

seem s to have been sincere Th e Count o f Provence.
,

o n hearing o f his dea t h said that he had lost the

,

crown again and t ha t h e h ad in t ended t o make him

,

Constable o f France in the event o f his res t oration

’
t o the throne Bu t it was well fo r Morea n s fame
‘

.
,

perhaps that he never lin k ed his for t unes with those

,

o f t he Bourbons more closely .

Th e Olympians were avenged when within a few ,

months after the death o f Moreau the Se nate pro ,

n o u n c e d the deposi t ion o f Napoleon and carried o ut ,

t h e programme o f Malet by appointing a Provisio n al

Governmen t wi t h Talleyran d as President ; and
,

Fouch e becam e so completely master o f the s ituation

that Carnot told Napoleon o n his resu m ption o f the ,

imperial di g nity Y o u m ay shoot F o u c h é t o day

,
“
-
,

but to morrow you will cease t o re ign The men o f

-
.

the R evolution permit y o u t o re tain the throne only

”
o n the condition tha t y o u re spec t their libe rtie s .
 C H APT E R I V .

TH E TU G E N D B U N D .

U R I N G t he early years o f the presen t cen t ury ,

when nearly all th e peoples o f th e E uropea n

Con t inent were trodden under the feet o f Napoleon ,

none su ffered great er hum iliations o r more severe ,

exactions than the Germ ans The upper classes

,
.

writhed under the political degrada tion t o w hich

t heir country was subj ected by the co n queror the ,

merchants and shopkeepers were reduced t o poverty

by the forced contributions levied by French armies ,

the peasantry yearly saw their fields laid waste by the

O perations o f contend i ng forces an d their flocks and
,

he rds driven o ff to feed the invaders These e vi l s .

they su ffered in common with other nations ; but in

their c ase there was added the irritating and insul t in g
m anner in which they were transferred at the will o f ,

N apoleon from o ne ruler to ano t her as if they

, ,

were droves o f sheep o r cattle and the galling con

,

s c io usne s s that their princes were utterly devoid o f

patriotis m and would o ne and all declare for peace

, , ,

o r for war as France o r E n g land o f

,
fered them the
heaviest bri b e .

The feelings with which the Germans r egarded the

domination o f Napoleon were ag g ravated among the ,

e du c ated s ections o f the people by the r estrain t s

,
1 82 THE T UG E NDB UND .

which i t imposed upon t h e free dom o f s peech an d t h e

pres s The confl ic t o f ideas o ut o f w h ich t he R evo
.

l a tion had arisen had be e n felt in Ger many m or e

deeply than in any other country and it s da w n h ad
,

been haile d wit h enthusiasm by all w h o could appre

ciate the b l e ssm g s of civil and religious freedom Th e .

principles o f t he R evolution had prepared t h e way

for the French ar mies and the t ricolour o f t h e
,

R epublic w as welco m ed by th os e w h o had indu l ged

t he day dre am o f t he I lluminati as the sacred stand ard
-

o f the e m ancipation o f humanity from t he despotism

o f kings an d priests . But with the chan ge fro m t h e

,

R epublic t o the E mpire followed as it was by t h e

,

cru s h ing disaster s o f Jena and E ylau and Friedlan d ,

and the humiliating Treaty o f Til sit a heavy and ,

ominous cloud settled upon the na tio nal mind Th e .

execution o f Palm the arrest o f the Prince o f H atz

,

feld the insults hurled at the Q ueen o f Prussia and

,

the Duke o f Brunswick roused in a painful degree

, , ,

feelings which could find no vent and the imbecility

and m eanness o f t he King o f Prussia and t h e ,

m ise rab ] y unpatrio t ic conduc t o f the minor Sovereigns ,

increased their bitt erness .

Under t he influence of the galling h u miliation

inflic t ed upon his country by t h e treaty o f Tilsit by ,

which the greater part o f the Pruss i an dominions was

divided between Saxony and Wes t phalia Stein t he , ,

Prussian Prime Minister conceived the idea o f

,

spreading over Germany a ne t work o f secre t societies ,

by the agency o f which the people should be prepared

fo r a struggle when the time should seem oppor t une
, ,

for the liberation o f the Fatherland H e saw no hop e

.

for t he coun t ry unless a new spiri t could be i nfused

 THE T UG E ND B UND . 1 83

into the people no means so sure as th at which he

:

contemplated for accomplishing that work The .

country was exhausted the spirit o f the people ,

crushed o ut o f them Resuscitation might be possible

.
,

but a m ore potent charm would h ave to be de vised

for the purpose than the poor shado w o f liberty whic h
gave only a c h oice o f despo t s Stein bethought him .

of a sp ell we l l suited to the constitution of the

German mind and to th e national temper at tha t
,

period H e resolved to make constitutional govern

.

ment an d a free press the prize to be w o n by the

expul sion o f the French not doubting that the ,

Sovereigns wh o owed their independence and the

restoration o f the old boundaries to the patriotic
exertions o f the people would cheerfully and u n
grudgingly award it .

The nucleus o f the Associa t ion which Stei n devised

for this purpose and which received the name of the
,

Tu g e ndb un d o r Lea g ue of Virtue was formed during

, ,

the latter months of 1 8 0 7 H is co l leagues H arden .

,

berg and Scharnhorst ; Generals W ittgenstein and

Blucher ; Jahn a Professo r o f the Berlin Gymnasium ;
,

and Arndt the pop ular author were amongst the

, ,

earliest m embers The init i ations multiplied rapidly

.
,

and the Le ague soon numbered in its ranks most o f

the Councillors of State many officers o f the army , ,

and a considerable number o f t h e professors o f

literature and science By the active and zeal ous
.

exertions o f Stein H ardenberg and Jahn its rami

, , ,

fic at io ns spread quic k ly fro m the Baltic to t h e E l b e ,

and all cl asses were drawn within its influence A .

central directorate at Berl i n presided over by S t ein , ,

had the supreme control o f the movement and ,

1 84 THE T UGE N DB UND .

exercised thro ugh provincial commi t tees an authority

, ,

all the m ore potent for emanating from an unknown

source and w hich was obeyed as implicitly as t h e
,

decrees of E mperor o r King .

The promises o f representat ive g overnmen t and a

free press which were secre t ly made to the initiat ed
by leaders o f th e Tug e ndb und caused a low murmur o f
smothered patrio t ism to rise through all the north o f
Germany The youth o f Prussi a o f Saxony o f West
.
, ,

— —
phal ia students clerks artisans burne d with patri
, ,

otic ardo ur t o earn liberal insti t utions for their country

by the expulsion o f the French I t was a dream which .

their rulers never intended t o realise ; but i t served

the ex i gency o f the period A l l through 1 80 8 t h e
.

leaders o f the movement were active and the outpos t s ,

o f the T ug e ndb und were pushed wes t ward and south

ward until all Germany was in a ferment o f patriotic

e xcitement .

The Society h ad been in e x is t ence lit tle more t han

a year howeve r when its organisation and aims nar
, ,

ro w l
y escap e d discovery One day .towar d s the clos e ,

o f 1 8 0 8 Stein who had d ined with a frien d and par

, , ,

taken freely of wine found o n his return home a

, , ,

m essenger w aiting t o carry despatches t o Berlin t h e ,

Governmen t being then carried o n at Konigsberg .

H e wrote hurriedly a despat ch t o Prince Wittgenstein ,

and the messenger departed A few days afterward s

.

it was discovered t h at the despatches o f the Ministers

had not reached their destinat ion the messe nger ,

having been waylaid and deprived o f t hem by Frenc h

troopers Count Gol z the M i nis t er fo r Foreign A ffairs
.
, ,

heard the news with dismay fo r he remembered , [

having written some passages in whic h Napoleon w as

 THE T UG E N DB UND . 1 85

referred t o in a m anner which he could scarcely fail to

resent Stein admonished him that he had acted n u
.

wisely as for his own despa t ch there was nothing in ,

it he said whic h he need m ind Napoleon reading

, , .

Great was his surprise and consternation therefore , ,

when he read his desp atch in the Mo nzt e ur and s aw

’

h o w seriously he had compromised the interes t s of t h e

G overnm en t H e immediately resigned and was
.
,

s ucceeded by H ardenberg ; b ut so little was b e im

pressed with the idea o f personal d anger from the
sentiments which he had expressed to W ittgenstein
that he proceeded to Berlin whe r e he learned t hat ,

Napoleon had issued a decree dated from Madrid , ,

December the l 6 t h in the following terms — A

“
,

ce rt ain S t e in wh o is attempting to create disturbances

, ,

is here w ith declared the enemy o f France ; his pro

pe rty is t o be placed under sequestration and his ,

person secured Stein thereupon left Berlin and ,

to ok refuge in Prague wel l knowing that Napo l eon ,

w as q uite capable o f h aving him seized by h is secre t

police and shot in the fosse o f the nearest French
,

fo rtress .

The illegal decree fo r his arrest was followed b y

deman d s from the same quarter for th e dismissal of
S charnhorst who held the Ministry o f War and
, ,

Gruner the chief o f the Berl i n police

,
Frederick .

complied and G rii ne r who was an active m ember o f

, ,

the Tug e ndb und followed Stein to the Bohemian

,

capital The secret pol i ce of Savary were at that time

.

spread all over the territories o f the R henish C o nfe de

ration and the League w as agitated by suspicion and
,

dismay Deeming them selves betraye d the members

. ,

burned their papers changed their res idences and

, ,
1 86 THE T UG E N DB UN D .

adop t ed more secre t m eans o f communicat ion Th e .

mys t ery remained unre vealed ho w ever and S tein , , ,

from his retrea t in Prague directed the Society as ,

secretly and as e fli c ie nt ly as if he had been in Berlin .

The Bohemian capital was well suited for h is purpose ,

being beyo nd the reach o f Napoleon and yet near ,

enough to the German frontier for the m aintenanc e

o f correspondence with the provincial committees .

H ardenber g s connexion with the Tug e ndb und

’

being unsuspected the organisation of t h e movement

,

was still carried o n ; while Stein secure from t h e ,

agents o f Savary corresponded in t h e interest s o f th e

,

cause with Count Munster formerly Prim e Minister of

,

H anover and the ambassador o f Britain at the Cour t

,

o f St Petersburg
. and with Arndt compelled t o seek ,

re fuge in R ussia fro m Napoleonic persecution Lite .

rary m en were the special obj ects o f B uo napart e an

aversion tolerated only when they prostituted their
,

talents to the support of his schemes o r the defenc e ,

o f his crimes ; and to Prague came Bran a bookseller ,

o f H amburg who ordered by D av o ust to be a r rested

, ,

and sho t his sole o ffence being the translation and

,

publication o f a work by the Spanish Minister ,

Cevallos owed his life to a mistake o f the police w h o

, ,

arrested instead a boo k seller named B rand .

Savar y kept to his wor k by his rancorous and

,

suspicious master was inde fatigable in his exertions

,

to obtain further traces o f a movement to which o nly

the faintest clue had been found to be lost again ,

immediately H is spies penetrated where he could

.

not introduce his armed police Varnhage n von E ns e .

m entions a Frenchman who limped about TOplit z

“

fo r several weeks and who had been o r dered as he

, ,
 THE T UG E ND B UND . 187

said t o use t he bat hs for his wounds

, H e was .

anxious t o make acquaintances and tried t o worm ,

himself into socie ty Nevertheless he w as not liked

.
,

and was looked upon as a spy ; and so he probably

w as for t h e Duke o f R ovigo mentions in h is memoirs
,

that he had a spy in Bohemia durin g that summer .

I can only say that if this was t he man the D uke o f

R ovigo was ill served No one would receive him
-
. .

The Aus t rian o ffi cers t o whom h e wished t o attach

himself t urned him into ridic ule ; one o f them a cer ,

tain Baron v o n Knorr remarkable for humour and

,

courage and alway s ready to use either made it his

, ,

business t o tease this m an and was incessantly play

,

ing all m anner o f tricks upon him H e once seriously .

represented to the Frenchman that i t had a bad

appearance firs t to limp with the righ t leg and t hen
wit h the left ; he ough t to make up his mind at once
as to which foo t had been wounded and in future ,

only t o limp with that o ne for that he and o t hers

,

were determined t o look closely to this and not to ,

bear any more ch anging about The Frenchman was .

wise enough to take all this banter very well vowing ,

that it was quite a mistake to suppose that the

Germans did not understand a j oke The man w as .
,

however by no means without taste o r knowledge and

, ,

w as n o t ill natured ; only he did not succeed well in

-

a part for which he w as sin g ularly unfit I do not .

believe that he did any one a mischief but I cannot ,

but think that he d i d little honour to the choice of

”
those who sent h im .

The Austrian declara tion o f war a g ainst France at ,

c
S ket h e s o f th e Wa r o f L ib e rat io n .
1 88 THE T UGE N DB UND .

the beginning o f 1 8 0 9 precipitated t he conflict for

,

which the Tug e ndb und was preparing the na tion .

Though t h e King o f Pr ussia could no t be induced

t o ally hims elf with th e Kaiser t here were bet t er ,

patriots and bolder S pirits among his subj ects and ,

t h e blood o f the w hole nation was at boiling point .

Katt an o fli c e r in the Prussian service rai sed the

, ,

standard o f independence in the valley o f the E lbe ,

and m ade an a t tempt to surprise Magdeburg whic h ,

was garrisoned by only t w o companies o f Frenc h

infantry and three o f Westphalians I f he had suc .

c e e de d he would have o btained possession o f five

hundred cannon a h undred and twenty thousand
,

muskets and an immense quantity o f ammuni ti on ;

,

and his success would have been the si g nal fo r the

fiery cross to be carried with whirlwind speed fro m
the E lbe t o the Baltic and the R hine But t h e .

enterprise failed and Katt and his followers narrowly

,

escaped capture .

About three weeks la t er an abor tive insurrectio n

a g ains t the rule of Jerome Buonaparte broke o ut in
H esse ; and Colonel Dornberg ordered t o march ,

against the rebels abandoned the B uo napart e an stan

,

dard and j oined the soldiers o f the League R iding

, .

at their head he led them against Cassel and e nc o un

, ,

t e re d the troop s o f King Jerome H e endeavoured .

to open a parley but the at tempt was vain ; the artil

,

lery opened fire upon the insurgen t s who i mmediately ,

fled in confus ion leaving som e o f their number dead

,

o n the field Do r nberg l e d his b ro k en band in t o t h e

.

H artz M o untai ns and waited for the p atriotic flame

,

to spre ad H e waited in vain ; only in Berli n was

.

there any response T h er e the brave Colonel Schil l

. ,
 THE fl UG E N DB UND . 1 89

an ardent m ember o f the Tug e ndb und compromised ,

by p apers fo und by the pol i ce in the house o f Dorn

berg and denounced to the King o f Prussia by Jerom e
, ,

led o ut his regimen t o f H ussars six hundred strong , ,

amidst t he plaudits o f the people with t he heroic ,

‘

r esolve o f raising all Germany against Napoleo n or ,

perishing in the a t temp t .

The audacity of this m ovem en t and the enthusiasm

which it crea t ed in Berlin and wherever Schill made
,

his appearance caused Napoleon more uneasiness than

,

t he opera t ions o f the A ustrian army The Prussian .

m onarch proved subservient e n ough however to dis , ,

arm h is rage ; a cour t o f i n quiry w as held and a ,

reprimand pronounced upon Schill t he Ministers

L e st o c q and T aue nz ie n were arrested and brought t o
’
t rial o n the charge of complicity in S c h ill s enterprise ,

bu t acquitted there being no evidence t o connect

,

them with it .

Schill in t h e m eanwhile had move d upon W1 t t e n

, ,

berg with a force augmented t o twelve hundred m e n ,

o ne four t h of the number having j oined him duri n g

-

the ni g ht after he rode o ut of the c apital I n W i tten .

berg there was a large s t ore o f a rms and ammu nition ;

b ut the commandant refused to admit Schill who ,

thereupon led his little army towards M agdebur g .

The guns o f th at fort ress m en aced him and he crossed ,

—
th e E lbe in the direction of D Ornit z b y that m ove
m ent undoubtedly an error o fj u dg m e nt missing the
, ,

opport u n ity of e ffecting a j unction with Dornberg .

Finding himself u nable to e ffec t any operation of im

po rt ance and threatened by the enemy he retired
, ,

u pon Stra l sund where he found h imsel f enclosed

,

between the Baltic waves and the bayone t s o f a

1 90 THE T UG E NDB UND .

heterogeneous force o f French D u t ch and Danish , ,

troops collected by General G ratien On t he 3 1 st o f

,
.

May the last sparks o f the abortive m ovemen t o f

the Tug e ndb und w ere quenched in blood by these
assailants who outnumbered the force led by Schill
,

in the proportion o f five to o ne True to his m axim .

,

“
Better an end with terror t han terror without an
”
end he animated his followers to a desperate resist
,

ance ; and the c Onflic t t hat ensued in t he streets o f

S t ralsund was fierce and sanguinary Schill fell .
,

fi g hting to the last and his head hacked from his

, ,

bleeding t runk by a Dutch soldier was carried away ,

as a trophy .

E leven o fli c e rs o f this pioneer corps o f libera t ion ,

m embers of t h e leading families o f the Prussian aris

t o c rac y were made p risoners an d sent to Verdun
, ,

h aving claimed to be treated as prisoners of war .

But as there was peace be t w e en Prussia and France

, ,

this claim was not admitted and they were sen t t o

,

Wesel to be th ere tried by a military commission

,
.

There could be no doubt as to their fate which never ,

t h e l e ss excite d a thril l o f horror throughout Germany

when it became known that t hey had been sentenced
to death at noon and shot next morning in the fosse
o f the citadel They wen t to the place o f execution
.

singing a p atriotic h ym n and died w ith the fortitude

,

o f heroes and m artyrs .

Darker n o w grew the night o f the Germ an people ,

and more than three years elapsed b efore any signs o f

the dawn could be descried o n the political horizon .

The hopes o f Austria were crushed at Wagram and ,

once m ore the Fatherland was parcelled o ut by the

will of Napoleon and a million o f Germans made t o
,
 TH E T UG E ND B UND .
191

change their al l egiance like sheep m arked wi t h t he

,

symbol of a n e w owner The Tug e ndb und alone kept

.

alive the hopes of th e p eople Stein found i t necessary .

to seek an asylum in R ussia b u t he s t ill direc t ed the

,

m ovement from h is retreat H ardenberg thou g h .

,

forced to discountenance it in public secretly con ,

tinned t o support i t Jahn fostered it with untir ing

.

z eal in the Gymnasia Wittgenstein who had

.
,

accepted a com mand in the R ussian army maintained ,

relations with the League which he regarded as the ,

only m eans by which his country could be raised

from the slough in t o which she had been plunged by
the incapacity o f her rulers either to u nderstand t he
R evolution o r t o resist the encroachments of its
military sp awn . Fichte t h e philosopher imbued t he
, ,

Berliners with his idea of a righteous war and ,

organised a fund fo r the widows and orphans of the

patriots destined t o fall in the battles yet to be fought .

K Orne r th e poet breathed all his soul into his in

, ,

spiriting lyrics which were sung whereve r Germans

,

could assemble without fear o f the secret police o f their

oppressor .

The wearily w aited for hour at length arrived

-
.

The flames that drove Napoleon fro m Moscow were

the beacon fire s that we re to light the Germans to
-

their reve nge ; the snow flak e s that whitened the road
-

along which he retreated bore each an assurance o f

v ictory t o the down t rodden people who m he had left
-

fettered in h is rear when he m arched to t h e hoped for -

acco m plishment o f his insensate dream of universal

d omination . Stein A rndt and Witt g ens t ein were in
, ,

R ussia t he l ast in command of a R ussian army and

, ,

the provincial committees o f the Tug e ndb und received

1 92 THE T UG E NDB UND .

from them with daily increasing eagerness in t elligenc e

o f the progress o f the war in that coun t ry T he y .

heard about the middle o f November tha t the Frenc h

, ,

ar my was in full retrea t and that their coun tryman

,

was hurrying towards t h e Dwina to intercept it ; and

their hopes rose higher wi t h the news tha t Victor and
O udin o t had fal len back before Wi t tgenstein who ,

’
had followed u p his advan t ag e by cuttin g o ff Victor s
r earguard and inflictin g upon the main body that
,

crushing defea t at the B e re sina which comple t ed t h e

ruin o f the French army .

E arly in 1 8 1 3 a proclamat ion signed by S t ein

, , ,

was secretly circulated by the Tug e ndb und through

the provinces which had been torn fro m the Prussia n
kingdom by the Treaty o f T i lsit calling upon the ,

inhab i t ants to take arms and t hro w o ff the foreig n

,

’
tyrant s yoke They were read with avidity and t h e
.
,

whole nation burne d fo r the day of uprising for which ,

Frederic k William could not a t first be prevailed upon

to give the legal sanction of a declaration o f war .

S t ein H ardenberg and Scharn h ors t did t h eir utmost

, ,

t o eman cipate his m ind from the selfish reasonings

which withheld him from responding to the patriotic
a rdo ur o f his subj ec t s ; but for some time he with
stood both the exhor t ations of his counsellors and the
promp ti ngs o f Alexander even o fferin g to take the
,

field against R ussia if Napoleon would relieve him

from pecuniary obligations and restore a portion o f
the territory o f which he had been despo iled I t was .

only when Napoleon with characteristic pride and

,

stubbornness rej ected h is o ffer that he at leng th o n

, , ,

the 1 st o f March fo r med at Kalisch an alliance with

,
 THE T UG E N DB UND . 193

Ale x ander and ven t ured t o declare war against

,

France .

The wild enthusiasm which was immediately mani

fe s t e d throughout Germany is without a p ara llel in
history The m embers of t he Tug e n db und formed
.

volunteer corps un i formed in black and s w ore to

, ,

liberate their country or fall in the at t empt Wealthy

,
.

patriots gave large su ms fo r the provision o f clothing ,

arms and accoutremen t s women despoiled them selves

,

o f their ornaments for the same p urpose I ron c rosses .

were distributed to these patriots bearing the ins c rip ,

tion We g a ve g old fo r iro n 1 8 1 3 Jahn and Fichte

, ,
.

fanned the patriotic flame with their lectures Arndt ,

an d Ko rner with their inspiring lyrics .

I t was at the close of a day o f grea t excitem ent in

Berlin that Fichte lec t ured for the last tim e before
the comm encem ent of the war o f liberation The .

subj ect was o n e which the Berliners would have voted

dry and didactic if they had not known the lecturer
so w ell and been so deeply imbu ed with the S pirit o f
,

the times As it was the h all was crowded and

.
, ,

Fichte w as listened t o with pro found attention thoug h ,

interrupted at intervals by the tramp of feet in the

neighbourin g stree t an d the rolli n g thunder o f the
martial drum Gradually he led his hearers from the
.

subj ect o f their private duties to that o f the duty

which they owed t o their country and grew eloquent ,

’
as he reminded them o f Germany s woes and wrongs .

H e concluded amids t a burst o f applause and after , ,

pausing to allow it to subside announced that the ,

lectures wou ld b e suspended for t h e p resent T h ey .

”
wi ll be resumed i n a free land he added o r we , ,
“

VOL . I . O
1 94 THE T UG E ND B UND .

'

w il l pe rish in the atte m p t t o re g ain o u r liberties .

Then w hile the hall echoed with the cheers o f his

,

aud i ence he went forth and enro l led himself as a

,

privat e in o ne o f t h e Berlin volu nteer corps .

“
Ger m any is u p ! Korn er wrote to his father o n
the l ot h o f March The Prussian eag l e awakens .

in all h earts t h e great hope o f Germ any at least —

—
Northern Germany freedom My mu s e s ighs fo r her .

Fatherl and ; let m e be her worthy disciple Yes .

,

dearest father I have m ade U p my mind t o be a

,

soldier ! I am r ea dy to cas t away the gi fts t hat

Fortun e has showere d u pon m e her e t o win myself a
”
Fatherland were it with my blood
, .

The poet hurried f1 om Vienn a where he had been ,

fo r som e time 1 e sid e n t and follo w ed the ex ample o f ,

”

Fichte J ah n Ste ffen A r ndt the Prince o f K aro l at h

.
, , , ,

did the sam e The intensity and earnestness of the

.

enthusiasm o f th e volunteers are finely d epicted by

K Orne r in a letter to Caroline Pichler wri t ten at ,

”
the comme nc ement o f the war We m arched he .
“
,

s ays ,
in p arade fro m Z oblen to R ogau a Lutheran
“
,

villa g e w here the ch u rch with great simplicity but

, , ,

also with g reat taste had been decorated for the c o n ,

v e nt io n o f the volunteers After si n gin g a hymn o f .

m y co mpos i tion the cl erg y m an of th e parish delivered

,

an address full o f manly v i gour and public en t husiasm

,
.

Not a dry eye was to be seen in the whole assembly .

A fter the service h e pronounced the oath before us , ,

fo r the cause of h uman i ty o f the Fatherland o f , ,

rel i gion to spare n e i ther substance nor soul to —

,

c o n quer o r die fo r the r i g ht We swore ! H e then .

fell o n h i s k nees and besou g ht God for a blessing o n

,

H i s champions I t w as a moment when t h e presen t

.
 THE T UG E N DB UND . 195

t hought of death kindled flam e in every eye and ,

awok e heroism in every heart The oath solemnly .

,

repeated by al l and swor n on the s w ords of the

,

o fficers and Luther s hy mn A stronghold is our God

,
’

,
‘
,

concluded the ceremony ; upon which a thundering

cheer burst from t h e congregation of cha m pions fo r
Germ an freedom while every blade leaped from its
,

scabbard and gleams o f w arlike light shone through

,

the sanctuary The h our was so m uch the more

.

impressive that most o f uS wen t with th e conviction

”
that it w as the last tim e we should ever mee t .

Varn h agen von E nse is of opinion that there were

too m any men fit to be officers in this corp s and th at , ,

with a less proportion o f princes phil o sophers and , ,

poet s it would have done more real service R ichte r

, .
,

ho w ever with a j uster perception of the truth says

, ,

that in L iit z o w s vol unteer corps lived the ide a o f

“

the war . The unive rs al enthusias m elevated i tsel f

here t o a noble sel f consciou ness I n the other corps
-
s .
,

this and that individual might attain t h e sa me h i g h

i nte llectual position that was h ere the dist i n t i on f c o

the whole bo dy ; ev e ry soldier entered with full

symp athy into the di g nity of h is personal m i ssion ,

and fought from a clear conviction not fro m a bl i nd ,

imp ul se . Those loose and roving adventurers who ,

t o a certai n extent w ill al w ays mix them sel v es u p

,

with a volunteer corps were kept in check here by the

n umber o f high and noble spirits with who m they
found themselves in d ai ly comm union H ere all who .
,

glowed with holy reven g e ag ain s t the recklessness o f a

forei g n tyranny all who in o t her p arts o f E urope
—
, ,

h ad shown themselves to be animated by a spirit o f

a —
un y ield i n g nimosity to Napol e on s des potis m al l
’

O
1 96 THE T UG E N DB UN D .

who had learned under long conqueri n g banners to

,
-
,

curse the conquests and to despise the conqueror ,

were gathered together in o n e knot o f m any c o l o ure d ~

but o n e hearted friendship

-
,
These men were all .

p enetr ated by the convictio n that in the nature of ,

t hings no power merely military no cun n i n g of the

, ,

m ost refi n ed despotis m can in the end triu m ph over

, , ,

native freedo m o f thou g ht and tried force o f will .

These men looked upon them selves as chosen inst ru

m ents in the hand o f the divi n e Nemesis and bound ,

the m selves b y a so l emn oath to do o r to die These .

m e n were virtually free while Ger m any ye t l ay in

chai n s ; and for t hem th e n am e o f fr ee c orps had a
d eeper si g ni fi cancy than that o f volun t eer soldiers .

H ere the deed of the individu al was heralded by the

thought that measured inwardly and rej oiced in the ,

”
percep t ion of its capability .

The Berlin volunteers were t erribly cu t up at

L utzen where Schar nhorst received a m ortal wound
,

an d Goethe said to K orner and Arndt when he met , .

them shortly a fterwards at Dresden Y o u m ay shake ,

your chains bu t the m an [Napoleon] is too strong

,

for y o u ; y ou will not break But the heroic

resolve o f the L e aguers was t o o firm to be shaken b y
a first de feat and though the Allies were again
,

defeated at Bautzen wh ere a disas t er was only averted

,

by the indomitable valour o f Blucher a lea der o f ,

the Tug e ndb un d their courage rose wi t h the occasion

, .

The A llies r etrea t ed in go od order and made a stand ,

at Sch w eidnitz in Silesia b ei ng induced t o re tire

, ,

G e s h i h t e d e s D e u t s h e n r e ih e it s k r i e g e s
c c c F v om 1 81 3 .

T A r nd t s E r inne r ng u
’

.
 THE T UGE N DB UND . 197

to ward s the Bohemian front i er rather tha n in the ,

directio n of Berlin or Warsa w their proper l i nes o f ,

communication b y the expectation that A ustria would

,

j oin the Al liance Napoleon being at the sa me t im e

.

’
apprehensive of the conse quences of A ustria s ultimate

decision and haras sed in h is communications with

,

the R hine by the volunteer cor ps of the T ug e ndb und ,

an armistice was signed at Pl e s w it z on t h e 4 t h of

June according t o which the Frenc h were to retire

,

beyond t h e E l b e while negotiations fo r peace were to

,

be carried on at Prag ue .

Ten days afte r the conclusion of the armistice the ,

volunteer cavalry corps of M aj or L iit z o w im —

mortalised in Horner s stirring poem

’ ’
L ii t z o w s
“
,

W i ld Chase ”
was at t ac k ed at Ke t z ig near Z eitz i n
—
, ,

Saxony by a force of three thousand French c o m

, ,

m and e d by General Fournie r under the pretence ,

that the armis t i ce did not apply to irregulars .

L ii t z o w and K orner advanced to parley w i t h Four

nier and represent to him tha t they rel i ed upo n the
,

armistice whe n the French General cut do w n the

,

laureate of the people before he cou ld draw his s w ord .

The Germ an s char g ed heroically to the re s cue o f

L ii t z o w and Korner a nd succeeded in savin g them ;
,

b ut they were overpo w ered by nu mbers the French ,

be i ng s i x to o ne and the g re ater part o f the force

,

fell on the field o r were m ade pr i soners

,
K orner .

was borne by t h e remnant o f t h e corps to the cot t age

of a peasant and a ft e rwards to the house of D r
,
.

Windler at Le i pz i g where he remained for some

, ,

time in a precario us condition So m uc h excitement .

was crea t ed i n Leipzi g b y this event that only the

presence of a lar g e Fr e n c h g ar ri s on preve nt ed an
198 THE T UG E N D B UND .

ins urrection and th roughout Germany the cry w as

, ,

”
“
N o peace t ill Korner is aven g ed I
O n t h e very d ay that the s k irmish of K e t z ig w as
fought Austria already in secret com m unication with
, ,

Prussia R ussia and Britain concluded a treaty of

, , ,

all iance with those Powers at Reichenbach ; and ,

thou g h the ar m ist i ce o f Pl e s w it z w as prolo n ged until

the l 0 t h of Au gu st in t h e h ope th at Napoleon would
,

m ake the territori al restitutions required o f h im t h e ,

Congress o f Prague w as dissolved at midn ight on

that day and on the following morning Austria fo r
,
.

m ally d ec l ared w ar The determination o f Napoleon

.

to renew the conflict in Saxony was o pposed by his

Ma rshals who recommended h im to ret i re upon t h e
,

R hine in co nsequence of the popular excitement

,

stimulated by the Tug e ndb und which was stirring up ,

all Germany in his rear and ur g in g the Princes o f ,

the R henish Confederation to declare a g ainst him .

The E mperor was obstinate however and di s posed , ,

h is forces alo ng the l i ne o f the E lbe stretching fro m ,

the Bohem i an front ier to H amburg wit h his head ,

quarters at Dresden .

On t h e fourt h day aft er the resumption o f h o st ili

t i es Blucher crossed the Katzbach and compelled
, ,

Macdonald to fall back ; but Napoleon desirous to ,

ravage Berlin moved a g ainst the Ge neral o f t h e

,

Tug e n db un d in g reat force and forced him t o re lin ,

uis h his adv anta g e The Austrians an d R uss i ans

q .

were now advanc i ng from Bohem i a however and , ,

thr e aten i n g Dresden u pon which St Cyr had re ,

.

tre ated ; and General W al m o de n to whose d i v i sion ,

the volunteer cavalry of Maj or Lutz o w was attached ,

was operating in the north west Napoleon bent o n -

.
,
 THE T UG E N DB UND . 1 99

punishing t he defectio n o f the Kin g o f Prussia ,

ordered Davoust to move fro m the w est and O udino t ,

fro m the s o ut h in order to occ upy Berlin ; and

,
.

L ut z o w s volunteer corp s be i n g d ri ven out of Lauen

’

burg at t h e same ti me \Val mo de n fell back to w ards

,

Gra b ow O udino t being chec k ed Davoust he s it ated

.
,

to adva nce and o n being attacked and defeated by

, ,

Wal mo de n at Ve l lahn on the 2 1s t o f August , ,

retired into H amburg Wal m o de n s light cavalry .

’

then scoured the left bank o f the E lb e and inter ,

c e t e d a despatch fro m Davoust to the Go vernor o f

p
Magde b urg anno uncing that t h e d ivision of General
,

Péc h e ux would be sent to reinforce the garrison o f

that to w n Wal m o d e n t h ereupon le ft the Me c k l e n
.

burg L a mdwc /zr in the ne ig hbourhood of Schwerin to

watc h the movements of Davoust m arched to D ornitz , ,

and crossing the E lbe o n a hast i ly constr uc t ed br i dge

,

o f boats c am e up wit h Pé e h e ux at G erda an d de feate d

, ,

him c apturing all his art i llery an d taking e i ghteen

, ,

hundred p risoners includ i ng the whole o f the rear

,

g uard . The v i ctors then recrossed t h e E l b e and ,

again con fronted Davoust before he was aware tha t

they had moved .

The balance o f vic t ory still oscillated ho w ever , ,

n o w i nclining to the i nvaders n o w to t h e li b erator s ,

.

While VVal m o de n held D avoust in chec k at H am b ur g ,

Napoleon gai ned a g rea t vic t o ry ove r the A ustr i ans .

The adv antage did not lon g rem ai n w i t h t h e victors ,

ho w ever fo r on the 2 6 t h B l ucher surpri sed M acdon ald

,

o n the Katz b ach and in fl i cted u po n h im a severe

,

chastisement while O ud ino t w as d e fea t ed at Gros s

,

Beeren and Ney at Dennewitz

,
.

\ Vh ile the n e w s o f the s e victories was encoura ging

2 00 TH E T UGE NDB UND .

the people Wes t ern Ger m a ny t o chant m ore e nt h u

of

s iast ic all than ever the war songs o f t heir warrior

y
-

bards Korner and Arndt the former fell in an

, ,

’
ambuscade o f the enemy near G ade sb u sc h L ut z o w s ,
.

a e rs h ad wa laid some wa g go n s o f ammunition and

y g y
provisions intended for the army o f Davoust and
, ,

dispersed the escor t ; but in returning to the head

quarters of Wal m o de n with t h e i r spoil they were ,

fired upon while passing t h rough a wood and Korner ,

dropped dead from the saddle shot through the spine ,

.

Count H arde nberg a relative o f t h e Tug e ndb und ,

statesman o f that name was ki lled by the same ,

volley Both were buried o n the spot beneath an

.
,

o ld oa k the ba k o f which w as afterwards inscribed

,
r

with K e rner s name Thou g h the poet s spirit h ad

’ ’
.

p assed aw ay the spell o f his name remained undis

,

solved The battle of G ohrde was fou g ht a few day s

.
'

’
afterwards and L iit z o w s cavalry were again in the
,

hottest o f the fight distin g ui shable everywhere by ,

their b l ack uniform I n charging a s qu are o f French .

in fantry an o fiic e r n a m ed B e re nh o rst received a ball

in his s i de Folding his cloa k round h im
,

.
, he cried ,

”
“
K orner aft er the e ! and galloped o n until another
,

ball pierced his breast and he roll ed upon the g round ,

a corpse But Davoust w as checkmated and Napo

.
,

’
leon s left was laid open to the advance o f Blucher .

Though N apoleon had again compelled that Ge n eral

to recross the Katzbach and barred t h e de fil e s o f ,

the Bohemian mo un tains agains t the Austrians and

R ussians the indomitable General o f the Tugend
,

bund advanced as soon as Napoleon left the way

O pen while he m oved against S c h w art z e nb e rg and
, , ,
 THE T UGE NDB UND . 201

at the end o f September Napoleon finding himself, ,

unable to m aintain any lo ng er a combat s o unequal ,

abandoned the right bank of th e E lbe and retreated ,

upon Leip z ig The end w as drawing ne ar for which

.

the Tug e ndb und had s o patiently prepared Volunteer .

corps harassed the F rench communications with the

R h ine and rendered Napoleon s position every day
,
’

m ore precarious . Po pular pressure bore wi t h con

s t an t l increasing force upon the Soverei g ns f the
y o

mino r German States until it became as dangerous

,

for them to adhere to Napoleon as to declare against

h im . The King o f Bavaria j oined the A llies ; the
King o f Saxony surrounded b y French troops
, ,

remained in unpatriotic irresolution despite the in ,

dignation of his s ubj ects ; the Ki n g of Westphalia

fled from his capital and his kingdom w as declared
,

dissolved .

'

A t the firs t b at t l e o f Leipzig Blucher held a position

,

o n the north of the city where he defeated N e

, y w ith
g reat loss and drove him across the Partha I t w as
, .

time the n for Na poleon to be gone for more R uss i ans ,

were comi ng under B e nning s e n and the S we des unde r ,

Bernadotte ; but he lingered t w o d ays lon g er in the ,

hope o f the enemy co m mitting some blunder which

m i g ht enable h im to retr i eve h is fast fall i n g fortunes -
.

I n the de cis i ve battle of the 1 8 th o f October the

Saxon troops refused any lon g er to fi g ht on hi s side .

and the French were dri v en i nto Le i pzig with app al

ling slaughter Not there however could the y rest
.
, , .

Germany was henceforth to be to them what R ussia

h ad been . Their artillery captured their ammunition ,

e x hausted they str ug g led through the darkness o f

,
2 02 THE TUG ENDB UN D .

t h at terr i ble night across the narro w bridges o f the

E lst er with the furious enemy ha n ging close upon
,

t heir rear One o f t h e bridges bro k e d o w n t h e other

.
,

was prem aturely fired by the retreating troops and ,

h u ndreds were drowned in cro s sing the river prisoners ,

t ak en by thousands .

’
The pursuit was entrusted to Bluch er s Division
and the Cossac k s who from that tim e harassed the
,

retreating foe without intermiss i on As they ad .

v an c e d a Provisional Government was appointed for

,

W estern Germany w i t h Stein the chief of the Tugend

, ,

bu n d at its head ; and when o n the l st o f November

, , ,

the remnant o f t h e might y army which N apo le o n h ad .

l e d to the invasion o f R ussia a year before had crossed

the R hine the administration o f t h e R henish provinces
,

w as entr u sted provisio nally t o G rii n e r .

The firs t part o f the programm e o f the Tug e ndb und

w as n o w accomplished Germany was free from the
.

heavy and ex acti ng gras p o f a forei g n foe and the ,

ancient federation o f h er pri nces dissolved by Napo

,

leon was restored

, Those potentates great and
.
,

l i t tle had not evinced m uch pat rio t is m d uring the

'

struggle ; but the leaders of the Tug e ndb und and st i ll ,

less the thousa nds who co n stituted the m ass o f that

Society could not have sus pected tha t the hopes which
,

h ad animated the people of Germany durin g the

stru g gle would be d as h ed to the ground as soon as
the Fatherl and w as liberated from foreign domination .

In the flush o f their pride and j oy they deemed that ,

their ru lers could not meditate the ran k ingratitude

of refusin g t o give e ffect t o t h e second p art o f t h e
programm e o f t h e Le ague by conferring u pon the i r
 THE T UG E N D B UN D . 2 03

country representative institutions To the people .

,

to the Tug e n db und more especially the Sovereigns of ,

Germany owed t h eir thrones ; surely then it was ,

thought they would not re fuse to fulfil the promises

,

which they had allowed to be m ade in their names .

Stein and G r uner w h o were the chief advisers o f

,

the King of Prussia dur i ng th e period i m mediate ly

following the liberation of the territory urged upon ,

him t h e views o f the Tug e ndb und concerni n g the poli

tical future of Germany : but though the realisation
o f those v i e w s wo u ld have g i ven him the h eadship o f

the Fatherland he tho u ght far more at that tim e of

,

absorbing the dominions of the Ki n g o f Saxony than

o f the greatne s s an d g lory of Germ any o r even o f t h e ,

true interests o f h i s o w n realm and dy nasty So .

st o utly d i d he co ntend for what he regarded as his

du e share o f th e spo i ls o f war that a n e w war with
, ,

A ustria France and Englan d un i ted ag ainst Prussia

, ,

and R uss ia w as prevented o nly by the return o f

,

N apoleon from E lba and the flight of Loui s X V III .

from Paris Then the bone of contention w as dropped

.

the King o f Prussia trem b ling l est his hopes o f te rri

,

t o rial aggrandisem ent should be frustrated hastened ,

to assure his subj ects that the promises ma de to them

in his name should be honourably ful filled ; and the
A llies again united their forces in order to expel
Napoleon from France as an incorrigible disturber o f
the public peace .

O n the fi nal down fall of Napoleon the q uestion o f

the future constitution of the German Con federation
was ag ain discussed H ar denberg combined the pro
.

p osition o f representative institutions wit h the o ld

20 4 THE T UGE N DB UND .

relatio n s o f t h e sovereign princes t o each oth er Stein

w ished to modify t h e se relations by transferr i n g the

headship o f the Confede ration to t h e Ki ng of Prussia ,

and at the sam e time to make the Federal Diet a

representation of the peo ple and not m erely o f the
,

princes N either cou l d obtain the endorseme n t o f

.

their propositions The rights o f the people were as

.

completely ignored by the German Sovereigns as they

had been by Napoleon ; and that potentate n ever
carved out the soi l o f Germany transferr i ng the frag
,

m ents from o ne prince to another at his w i ll wit h ,

greater disregard for the feelings and interests o f the

people living upon them than did the diplomatists
,

assem b led at V i enna in 1 8 1 5 There was much .

wranglin g over Saxony with one th i rd o f wh i ch the

,
-

King of Prussia was at length fain to be content ;

but he obtained also the D uc h y o f Lauenbur g which ,

he bartered for Po merania which was at first ceded

,

by Sweden to Denmar k as compensation t o the latter

for the loss o f Nor w ay Another slice o f Saxony was
.

awarded to E ngland as an addition to the E lectorate

of H anover in exchange for Lauen b urg This pro
,
.

fit ab l e political huc k stering was much more congenial

to the narro w mind and grasping disposition o f
Frederick Wil liam than the ideas o f the Tug e ndb und .

The unity o f Germany as devised by Stein seemed

, ,

to require the restoration o f A lsace and Lorraine ; and

this idea was w armly s upported by G orre s in the
R/zc ms/e Merc ury and by the Crown Prince o f Wur
’

t e mb urg .Austria and Prussi a urged it in the C o n

gress the former having a design t o bestow the
,

provinces o n t he Archdu k e Charles who had lately ,

 THE TUG E N DB UN D . 2 05

married the Princess H enrietta o f Nassau ; but

E ngland and R ussia su pported France in her opposi
tion and Austria firs t and then Prussia abandoned
, , ,

it Wi t h the exception therefore o f certain re , ,

parcellings o f territory the German Con federat ion

,

w as restored in its former limits and constitution .

Stein was great ly disappointed My desire for .

“

”
the aggrandiseme nt o f Prus sia h e wrote to Baro n ,
.

Gagern ,
proceeded n o t fr om a blind part iality to
“

t h at State but from the conviction that Germany

,

is weakened by a system of partition r ui nous alike to

h e r national learning and national feelings It .

is no t for Prussia but fo r Ger m any that I desire a

, ,

—
closer a firmer internal combination a wish that will
,

accompany m e to th e grave The division of our .

nation al streng t h m ay be gratifying to some ; it c an

”
never be so to m e The King o f Prus sia was ani
.

m ated by n o sueh patriotic ai m s ; he dism i ssed Stein

from h is councils a second time and removed G riine r ,

from t h e administration o f the R henish provinces .

Stein retired to his estate of K appenber g and G rii ne r ,

received a diplo matic appointment at Berne where he ,

d i ed
.

H aving got rid o f his a b lest and m os t patriotic

advisers Frederic k William entered upon a course o f
,

repression involving the blackest ingratitude and the

,

m ost shameless disregard o f the requirements of

honou r . G orre s was warned to discont i nue h is
demand fo r representative government and o n h is , ,

disregarding the warning his j ourn al was suppressed, .

Me n ze l s Hi s t o ry of Ge rman y
’
.
20 6 THE T UGE NDB UND .

All the o t he r liberal newspapers shortly a fterwar ds

me t the sa m e fate The professors w ere ad mo nished
.

to moderate the tone o f their discourses and were ,

successively reduced to submission Oken and L uden .

at Jena and the younger Wieland at Wiemar c o n

, ,

t inue d to speak freely an d nobly for a time ; but all

were at len g th silenced The Gymnasia were sup.

pressed t hrough fear of the influence of Jahn Free

,
.

—
dom had no lon g er a voice so hateful w as i t t o the
Ki ng o f Prussia to be reminded o f his broke n
promises .

The five years followin g the fin al downfall of Napo

leon inste ad o f being mar k ed b y the es t ablishment of
,

free ins t itutions in G ermany as the nation had e x ,

e c t e d were a period o f polit i ca l retro g ression towards

p ,

the worst times of absolutism Th e organi sa tion of .

the Tu g e n db und would have sufficed for a revolt

a g ainst the native despots but the popular feeling
,

was restrained by the k no wled g e t h at these were but

the executors o f the decrees o f the H oly Alliance .

Tho ugh the Con g ress o f Aix la Chapelle was osten sibly
- -

convened t o consider the a ffai r s of France S to urdz a , ,

a R ussian Councillor o f St ate who pres i ded over its ,

sitti ngs abused his position by d enouncing the Ger

,

man universities as hot b eds of revolution ; an d

Kotzebue a German litt é rateur in the secre t serv i ce
,

of R ussia sent to St Petersburg reports filled wit h

,
.

suspicions and invecti v es against professors and

students au t hors and j ournalists The spiri t o f the
,
.

n atio n writhed un der a st ate o f things that recalled so

forcibly the domination o f N apoleon to shake o ff ,

which so m uch blood had been shed and t h e pent u p -

 THE T UG E N DB UND . 207

feelings tha t cou l d find no vent b y voice o r pen

prompted to reven g e men whose minds had g ro w n
m orbid by dwelling incessantly upon the nation s ’

wrongs .

Kotzebue fell beneath the kni fe of Sand a st uden t ,

o f the university of Jena Ib e l l another instrument

.
,

o f R ussia n arrowl y escaped a simil ar fate at the ha nd

,

o f L onin g Sand was execu t ed ; L dnin g com mitted

.

suicide in pri s on Thou g h the y both denied that

.

they had any accompl i ces o r were affili ated to the

,

T ug e db u nd or any other secret ocie t y

n ,
s — and there
was no evidence to prove the contrary t heir crimes —

were made the pretext fo r the persec ut ion o f all w h o

were known to entertai n liberal opinions The Ger .

m an Sovereigns assembled at Carlsbad and the i r ,

rising was the signal for a rei g n of terror The uni .

v e rsit ie s were placed under t he strictest supervision ,

and a commission was inst i t uted at Mayence whic h

w as re ally a political I nquisition Jahn was arrested ;
.

A rndt w as suspen ded at Bonn and Frie s at Je n a ; ,

De VVe t t c pro l e s so r o f theo l og y at Berlin w as de

, ,

riv e d o f his c h ai r fo r wr i tin g a lette r o f condolence

p
to the m other of the student Sand O k en the eminent ,

n aturalist threatened with the same severity took

, ,

refu g e from persecution in S witzerland ; G orre s ,

h avin g p u b l i shed a pam phlet repro achin g the K i ng o f

Prussia with the viol at i on o f h i s promises w as fo rced ,

to a dopt the sam e course Many o f the y oun g e r pro

.

fe s s o rs and literary m e n fled fro m a country whic h

seemed the g rave o f liberty and fo und an as y lum in,

the Un i te d St ates H undreds of studen t s were im

.

prisoned .
208 THE T UGE NDB UND .

But the degradation o f German royalty was not yet

complete There was a lower depth yet t o be reached
. .

I t was attained o n the day when the nat ional tricolour

was declared a symbol o f revol ution when the festival
,

w hich commemorated the liberatio n o f t h e country

was forbid de n and the m on um ent o n t h e field o f
,

Leipzig was levelled with t he ground .

 C HAPT E R V .

TH E C A R B O N A R I .

HE
T
origin of t h e remarkable Socie t y whose n ame
appears a t the head o f this chapter is involved
in no s m all amount o f obscurity The traditions
.

noticed in the I ntroduc t ion and which assign it to

,

the ac t ual Charcoal burners of the M iddle A ge s are

-
,

t o o misty and intangible for investigation ; and th e

various statements which have received publicity since
the Society forced itself upon the attention o f th e
world serve only to show that the writers who have
professed to know all about the m atter and some o f ,

whom were affiliated to the Society were themselves ,

ignorant o f the circum stances in which it had it s

origin I ts institution has been ascribed t o Q ueen
.

C aroline o f Naples to an unnamed French o flic e r o f

,

the garrison o f Capua to an unknown Neapol i tan

,

o fficer who is said to have brought the system from

Spain t o spont aneous generation in the bosom o f an
,

as sociation formed for the cultivat ion of politic al

science There is no evidence h owever by which
.
, ,

e ither of these an t ago nistic statements can be sup

po rted . They m ust be regarded as mere guesse s ,

hazarded by their propoun ders in the absence o f

knowledge .
2 10 THE CARB ONA RI .

forma tion there wer e no mys t eries to conceal no form s ,

t o celebrate no dogma n o secre t

, ,
Th e lea g u e w as
.

that o f in t ellec t o f spirits arden t in the cause o f

,

liber ty and t ru th This e x pression o f opinion m ay

be safely ven t ured upon with regard t o every secre t
society ; and we are brough t by it s enunciat ion in
respect t o t h e Carbonari n o nearer t o the time place , ,

and circu m stances o f t he Society s origi n o r t o t h e

’

persons by who m it was ins t ituted and organised

'
.

N othi ng authentic in connexion with t h e Carbonari

c an be discovered earlier t han 1 8 1 4 when t he firs t ,

lodges o f the Society w e re opened in t he N eapolitan

provinces by Mag h e ll a a native o f Gen o a who at the
, , ,

t i m e when Joachim Murat becam e Kin g o f t he Two

S ic ilie s was a subordinate o f Salice t i t he Ne apolita n
, ,

M inister of Police .

I n estimating t he clai m o f Mag h ella t o be re garded

as the founder o f Carbonarism w e must t ak e into
account his charac ter and antecedents That h e was .

a man o f gre a t poli tical fores i gh t and considerable

administrative ability there can be n o doub t H e .

had previously t o his appoin t men t at N aples held a

, ,

similar o ffice in t h e Ligurian R epublic and then b e ,

came acquain t ed with Mura t w h o o n t he deat h o f

, ,

Saliceti appoin t ed him t o the vacan t pos t with a

, ,

seat in the Counci l o f State I n that new capacity

.

he laboured s t renuously and ably in t he cause o f

I talian independence and constitutio nal g o v ernment ,

e arnestly endeavouri n g to de t ach M u rat from t he

fortunes o f Napoleon and to induce him t o proclai m

,

the independence o f I taly and place him self at the

,

head o f the movement which he assured him would

,

be made for tha t end The reali sation o f t he proj e c t

.
 THE CARB ONAR I . 211

w as at t ha t t ime feasible The idea was broached in

.

the Congress o f Prague and was no t opposed t he

, ,

Allies being disposed t o welcome every means o f re

s ist an c e to the overgrown power and intolerable
domina t ion o f Napoleon The small French garri
.

sons could easily have been expelled and the s uccess ,

o f the national m ovement at Mil an in 1 8 1 4 de , ,

m o nst rat e d t h e soundness o f the grounds o n which

Magh e ll a based the confidence with which he
u nde rtook t o raise Lombardy in revolt and expel ,

B eauharnais .

Mura t could not be moved however and Magh e ll a s

, ,
’

representations were m ade t h e m eans o f his ruin The .

French party in the Council o f State betrayed their

trust an d sen t infor m at ion to Napoleon o f the propo
sit io n s submi tt ed by Ma h e ll a who was thereupo n
g ,

claime d as a French subj ect an d sent under arrest t o

Paris After a vain endeavour t o win him t o his o w n
.

in t eres t s Napoleon placed him under the strictest

,

police surveillance ; but t owards the end o f 1 8 1 3 he

, ,

e ffecte d his escape in a daring and romantic manner ,

returned to Nap l es and again urged Mura t to declare

,

against his imperial brother in law and raise the - -

,

standard of I talian indep endence The star o f .

Napoleon was now so plainly in its declination that

Murat in t h e hop e of preserving his dominions cast
, ,

in h is lot with th e Allies and assisted in t h e expulsion

,

o f t h e French from the Peninsula H av ing acquired .

m ili t ary possessio n o f the Pap al territories he hoped ,

to retain them an d entrusted Mag h e lla with the

,

organisation of the secular g overnment in them .

I t was at this time th a t Mag h e lla obviously with ,

the vie w o f revolutionising I taly in the interes t s o f

P 2
2 12 THE CAR B ONARI .

the national independence and constitutional gov ern

m ent u nder what ever circum stan ces mi g ht arise
, ,

introduced t he s y ste m o f Carbo n arism Both t h e .

c h aracter and the position o f Murat precluded re

l ianc e upon him and t h e Carbonaro organ isation was
,

an instrument which could be u sed t o mould to t h e

purposes of its d i rectors o r to over t urn ei ther a
, ,

Buonaparte o r a Bourbon .

Mag h e ll a began by proposing a consti t ution fo r the

kingdom by which the royal power would be li m ited ,

and an induceme n t given to the population o f the

other I talian St ates to t ake part in the contemplated
movement . The nobility and the higher classes
generally regarded his endeavours with favour and ,

t h e n ames o f the first families in the kin g dom were

am ong the signat ures to the address soliciting from
Murat t he o ft promised cons t itution They saw their
-
.

ancient privileges disappearing and their revenues

diminishing and they hoped by means of a Parlia
, ,

m ent to transfer a portion o f the royal au thority t o

,

their own order From this class and from t he army

.
,

which saw with j ealousy and indignation Fre n ch

o fficers o f all ranks e m plo y e d in great numbers and ,

often in preference t o their o w n coun t rym en the first ,

members of the Carbonari were drawn The inferior .

gentry o f t h e provinces and the rural classes generally

, ,

were hostile o r indi fferen t t o the Consti t ution ; and it

was to remove their prej udices against i nn ovations ,

and to gain the en t ire people by degrees to the cause

which he had at heart that Magh e lla resolved to
,

introduce among th em t he sys t em o f Carbo n arism .

W hile Murat was amused with the idea o f becomi ng

the sovereign head of the I talian League the upper ’

t w d

f ft ) )
/
Q
n wr
it /
 TH E CARB ONARI . 2 13

classes were a tt rac t ed by t he hope o f recovering t heir

waning influence and the middle and lower grades o f
,

society had their patriotism t heir devotion and thei r

, ,

pecu niary interests by turns appealed to as the Ca r ,

bouar e lea d ers dep i cted the future glories o f an inde

pendent I taly upheld the im i t ation of Jesus as the
,

religious obj ect of the Society an d represented a large ,

diminution o f t axation as the inevitable res ult of the

politic al changes whic h they were workin g to bring
about .

The organisation of t h e Carbonari was more simple

than that o f the I lluminat i there being only two ,

—
grades Apprentices and Masters The former con .

sisted of the newly initiated m embers w h o at the , ,

expiration of six m onths were admitted to the h i gher

,

gr ade All the initiated were c alled Good Cousins

.
,

and those who did not b elo ng to the Society were

termed Pag ans Admission to the lower grade was
.

easily obtained for as n othing was trusted to t h e

, ,

A pprentices nothin g was risked by mult i plying

,

them The chief obj ect was to secure a numerous

.

and well organised body o f men ready to obey the

-

comm ands o f invisible superiors and enter at a word , , ,

upon any enterprise Those who obj ecte d to being

.

initiated in a ful l lodge were allowed to go through

the ceremony before three Grand Masters in private .

Freemasons were admitted by ballot without b e ing J ,

subj ected to the init i atory ceremonies and p robations

to which ordinary candidates had to con form .

The interior aspect o f a Carbonaro lodge was as

plai n and unadorned as the m eet i ng room o f the -

Jacobin Club as described by Lamar tine N o car

,
.

pet covered the floor the wall s and ceiling we r e

,
2 14 TH E CAR B ONARI .

merely whi t ewashed and candles stuck in i r on

,

sconces agains t the walls di ffused a dim light through

t he apartment Wi t h t he excep t ion o f the o fficers
.
,

who were sea t ed upon plain rush bottomed chairs -

,

the mem b ers sa t upon r ud e benches ranged along the

sides o f th e room t h e Masters o n the left and t h e
, ,

Appre ntices o n t he righ t The Grand Master sat at.

the upper end with the lower portion o f t he unhewn

,

s t em o f a tree before h im t o serve as a table H is .

right hand res t ed e handle o f an axe and ,

b efore h im was a O n his righ t an d left ,

behind similar blo seated the Secre t ary and

the Orator whose business it was t o reci t e t he dis
,

courses delivered t o n ewly initiat ed members after ,

the manner o f the I llu m inati At the lower end .

o f t h e room a Master o f the Ceremonies an d t w o

assistants were seated the lat t er havin g blocks o f

,

timber before t hem and being provided wi t h axes

, ,

like t he Grand Mas t er and his supporters a t the

upper end The axes were used fo r striking upon
.

the blocks t o command silen c e and for mak i ng

signals . O n t he block o f the Grand Master lay
various articles used in t he ceremony o f initiation .

S uspended fro m t he ceiling at the head o f t h e room, ,

were five t riangular tr ansparencies ; that over t he

Grand Master s table containing the ini t ials o f the
’

a s wo r ds o f the second grade that o n the left various

p
-
,
,

Carbonaro symbols and the three o n the right the

,

initials o f the sacred words o f t he first grade pre ,

s e nt l to be explained Over the head o f t h e Grand

y .

Mas t er there h ung ag ains t t he wall a pain ting o f

, ,

St Theobald rep r ese nt ed as a venerable looking man

.
,
-
 THE CARB ONAR I . 2 15

s eat ed o n a block of t imber be fore a rude b ut sur

rounded by trees .

The c andidate fo r initiat ion was brough t in blind

folded and when t he Secretary had taken down his
,

n ame occupation or profession and residence he was

, , ,

questioned by the Grand Master as to his knowledge

o f the duties of humanity and his capacity to perfor m

them H is replies being sa t isfactory the Grand

.
,

Master directed that he should make the firs t j ourney ;

upon which he was led o ut b y the two assistants o f
the Mas t er of the C e remonies and impressed by the , ,

rus tling o f branches o f trees and the simulated howl

ing o f wolves with t he idea that he was traversin g a
,

forest O n being led back to t h e p resence o f the

.

Grand Mas t er he w as informed that the j ourney h e

,

had made was symbolical o f the pgo g re ss o f humanity :

t owards v irt g e The sounds he h ad hear d and the

.
,

o bs t ac les he had encountered were intended to indi ,

cate that virtue can be attained o nl y by perseverance

in good works unde r t h e guid ance o f reason The
i
‘

.
,

Grand Master then directed that he should make the

second j ourney in whic h he heard t h e crac k lin g of
,

flames and felt their fiery glo w upon h i s counte nance

,

as he seemed to be urged throug h them by h is con

du c t o rs Then he w as again led b ac k to the lo dge
.

room and in formed that the fire throug h whic h h e

,

had passed w as sy mbolical o f th e persecutions whic h

virtue has t o endure and of the sacrifices w hic h are
,
7

necessary to efface from the heart the stains o f the

seven capital sins .

I f the aspira nt did not shrink from this preparatory

ordeal and was wi llin g to take the oath of secrecy
,
2 16 THE CARB ONAR I .

the violation o f which he was forewarned wo uld b e

—
punishe d with de ath h e was made t o kneel upon a .

w hite lin en cloth in which position and amidst

, ,

solem n silence t he oath was administered by t he

,

Grand Master .

I swear upon this s t eel the avenging instr ument ,

of the perj ured he was made t o say with his right

, ,

hand resti ng upon an axe scrupulously to keep the ,

secrets o f this Society and neither t o writ e print o r

, , ,

e ngrave an y thing concernin g i t without h aving ,

obtained the permission o f t h e Gran d Master I .

s wear t o help m y Goo d Co u sins even with my blood , ,

if necessary and n o t to att empt anything against the

,

honour o f their famil i es I consent if I perj ure .

,

myself to have my body cut in pieces and then

, ,

burne d and that my ashes may be scat t ered to the

,

winds and my nam e held u p to the execration o f

,

al l the Good Cousins throughou t the world So help .

”
me G o d 1
To which all pres e nt responded Amen Th e ,
“
.

aspiran t was then com m anded to rise and asked ,

w hat h e wished fo r t o which prompted by t h e

, ,
”
assis t ants he replied Light
, The Grand Maste r
,
“
.

then s t ruck the block with his axe the bandage was ,

removed from t he candidate s eyes and the axes o f ’

the assist ants gleamed be fore them .

”
T h ese axes said the Grand Master will surely
, ,

put yo u t o deat h if you become perj ured On t h e .

other hand they will strike in your defence should

, ,

need be if y o u remain faithful I n the n ame o f t h e

, .

Great and Divine Grand Master o f the Universe and ,

o f St . Theobald o ur pro t ector I declar e y o u a

, ,

membe r o f t he Society o f t h e Car b onari ”

.
 THE CARB ONAR I ’
. 217

He was t hen ins t ructed in the se cre t s and symbol s

o f the Society H e was told that the axes were the
.

implements with which t h e Carbonari purs ued their

labours in the forests The tricoloured scarves worn
.

by t he Masters e x pressed the red fire t he blue smoke , ,

and the black charcoal ; and were also emblematical

o f the three cardinal virtues t h e black representing ,

F a d /z the blue H op e the red

, ,
whi ch were the
sacred words of th e firs t grade The white linen
u pon which he had been received had been blanched

by maceration and labour as by self denial and good ,

works hu m anity is purified and ennobled Again as .

,

linen envelops u s when the natural light first shines

upon us so did it receive the aspirant at the moment
,

o f his mental illumina t ion The crucifix foreshadowed

.

the labours the persecutions the dea t h that threaten

, ,

those who aspire to virtue I t was a m emorial al so .

o f the death o f Christ the s piritual Grand Master

, ,

who willingly su ffered deat h for the salvation o f man ,

and whose example all Good Cousins woul d endeavour

to imitate There w as no pass word in the first grade
.
-

the grip w as given by pressing the middle finger upon J

the right thumb o f the Good Cousin sal uted .

As among the I lluminati an in itiatory discours e ,

was then delivered the general teno ur o f which is

,

probably expre ss ed in o ne that was found upon o ne

”
o f the conspirators o f Macerata in 1 8 1 7 Nature .
,

it was set forth in this discourse when sh e created ,

man intended him to be free The earliest societies

,
.

o f men hoping for incre as ed happiness and s ecurity

, ,

entruste d the command o f their forces t o o ne person

for t he ir common de fence H e instead of protecting
.
,

and defending t hem b e c ame thei r opp r ess or Free

,
.
2 18 THE CARB ONARI .

do m disappeared and t he rights o f m an were dethroned

,

by despotism The laws o f truth and j ustice wer e

.

subverted and t he j ust and good were persecu t ed and

,

oppressed Bu t a fe w wise and good m e n who still

.
,

cherished in t heir hear t s that morality the principle s ,

o f which are immu t able and eternal while they wep t ,

over these evils in secre t imparted their principles

,

and views t o a few persons worthy o f t he distinction .

Their m axims t ransmitted from generation to gene

,

r ation became the source o f that true philosophy

,

which never can be altered o r corrupted ; and it is

in the school founded upon them that men are taugh t
equally to main t ain t heir own ri g hts and to respec t
those o f others The mys t eries o f Mithra in Persia
.
,

o f I sis in E gyp t o f E leusis in Greece o f t h e t e mples

, ,

ye t to be built and the light yet to be di ffused are

, ,

all so many rays proceeding from the same cen t re ,

and moving in an orbi t whose field is the immensity

o f wisdom . Carbonarism is not the last o r the least
o f the var ou s societies tha t have proceeded from this
i
school H
. t presents itself without mystery to t hos e
who know how to unders t and it receives them into ,

its peaceful bosom and elevates them to the con

,

t e mpl at io n o f Na t ure t o t he love o f m an co l lectively

, ,

to t he hatred o f oppression and despotism to the ,

knowledge o f good and o f all that is useful t o society

,

and confirmatory o f the principles o f truth and j ust ic ej

I t teaches in its lod g es the true end o f existence and ,

gives rules o f conduct fo r social life I t points o ut .

t h e means fo r di ffusing the light o f truth and o f ,

disseminating t h e principles o f political equality I t .

is to the sacred rights o f equality that the Good

Cousin mus t especial ly att ach himself .
 T here is co nsiderable similarity be t ween the pri
c i l e s set fo rth in this discourse and those taugh t in
p
the orations m ade o n like occasions in the lodges o f
the I lluminati ; while the idea o f their descent fro m
the early ages o f the world through successive gene ,

rations o f wise and good men forcibly recalls to the ,

m ind the t raditions o f t h e Freemasons I t seem s .

probab l e indeed from the exemption from initiation

, ,

and probation whic h was accorde d to Freemasons

who desired to become Carbonari t h at Magh e lla was ,

a Freemason as the founders of the I lluminati and

,

the Philadelphians are kno w n to have been .

The ceremony of closing a lodge was performed by

t h e Grand Master in quiring the hour and the Secre ,

tary in forming him that the sun no longer lighted the

forest The Grand Master then rose and announcin g
.
, ,

that the hour h ad arrived when t he Carbonari rested

from their labours called upon t he Good Cousins to
,

per form a triple salutation To the Divine G rand

—
Master o f the Universe to St Th eo b al d o ur patron and
.
,

”
—
protector to m e This being done he g ave the signal
.
,

for dispersing in these words I declare o ur labours

”
ended ret i re in peace to your huts in the great forest .

The certificate of affiliation whic h w as furnished t o

every member was an oblong document embell ished ,

o n the margin with Car b onaro symbols such as axes , ,

faggots & c and ran as follows the blan k s being fil led

,
.
, ,

up wit h the date and the name & c o f the m ember ,

.
,

In the n ame o f the G reat and Divine G rand

“

Master of the Unive rse and o ur protecto r St Theo

, , .

bald B eing met together this

. day o f in
the year of true li g ht in a stron g ly illuminated
place fa r fro m the eyes o f Pagans
,
was duly ,
22 0 THE CARB ONARI .

i nitiat ed and received as a [kere App re nt ic e or Mast er

w as inser te d
] Carbonaro in the Lodge [
o f it e re w as

a s s e rt e d Me flame of Me Zo c alifpj To this was .

”

affixed the names of the o fficiat ing Grand Mas t er ,

Mas t er A dep t (or Master o f the Cere m onies ) Assist ,

ants and Secretary

,
Above t h e certific ate was a
.

female figure representing Liberty treadin g upon a

,

serpent and holding in her right hand a spear s ur

,
i
,

mounted by the Phrygian cap w h il e her left rested ,

upon the R oman fasces and axe On one side of the .

certificate were figures emble m a tic o f Faith H ope , ,

and Charity and o n the other those o f H onour

, ,

Virtue and Prob i ty

, .

A fter a probation o f six m o nths t he Apprentice ,

underwent a new e x aminat e social d uties

'

and was 1 n1 t 1 at e d i nto t h e s econd Th l s second

-

initiation consisted o f a dram atic representation o f the

trial and exposure o f Jesus as recorded in the Gospels ,
.

The Appre ntice was made t o pray to drink o f the cup ,

o f bitterness to wear a white robe to be crowned

, .

w ith thorns to hold a reed in his hand and t o bear a

, ,

cross Then the Grand Master and the t w o assist

.

a nt s w h o represented Pilate Caiaphas and H erod

-
, , , ,

par doned him at the intercession o f the assembled

,

Car b onari ; and h e was m ade t o kneel down o n his

left k nee w ith h i s r ig ht ha n d o n the G rand Master s
,
’

ax e and t ake the following oath which is a re c apit u

, ,

lation o f that o f t h e A pprentices with addit i ons ,

“
I promi s e and swear before the Gra n d Master of ,

the Universe upon my word of honour and upon this

, ,

steel the aven g i ng instrument for the perj ured t o

, ,

keep scrup ulo us ly and inviolably t he secrets of Car

b o narism and never t o talk o f t hose o f the Appre n
,
 THE CARE ONARI . 221

tices before P agans nor t hose of t he Masters before

,

the Apprentices Also not to ini t iate any person

.
,

nor to establish a lodge witho ut permission and in a , ,

j ust and perfect manner ; not to write print o r , ,

en grave the secre t s ; to help even with m y blood if , ,

necessary the Good Cous i n s Carbonari and to at tempt

, ,

nothing a g ainst the honour of their families I con .

sent if I p e rj ure myself to h ave my body cut in

, ,

pieces t hen burned and the ashes scattered to the

, ,

wi nd that my nam e m ay remain in execration with

,

all t h e Good Cou sins Carbonari spread over the face

”
o f the earth So help me Go d 1 H e was then girde d
.

with the tricoloured scarf and instructed that the ,

sacred words of the second grade were H onour ,

Vi rtue and Probity t he pass word F e rn and the

, ,
-
,

countersign N e ttle .

The Grand Lodge of the Carbonari was composed

o f the m ore distinguishe d members and of deputies

from t he p my j nc ial l o dg e s and was formed in the city ,

o f Nap l es where it was intended t o be pe rm an e nt l v

,

esta b lished as a ffordin g the most e fle c t ual means o f

,

concealment I t was the function o f the Grand

.

Lodge to grant patents o r charters of organisation , ,

to n e w lodges to m ake ne w laws and regula t ions and

, ,

to confirm o r rej ect such as were submitted by pro

v inc ial lod g es for its approval I t was also a court of .

appeal in all disputes between lod g es or members and ,

formed fo r some time the centre from which radiated

all the revolutionary movements o f w h ich I taly w as
the scene Two registe rs were kep t by the Secretary
.

o f the G rand Lod g e c al led respectively the Go lden

,

Book and the Black Book l n the first were re g is .

t e re d all the la ws and regu l ations of the Society the ,

222 TH E CARB ON ARI .

election s o f all the officers the ope ning o f all ne w

,

lodges and the mi nutes o f such debates as were o f

,

g eneral interest t o t he Society The Black Book was

.

divided into t w o par t s : in the first were inscribed the

names ages professions o r occupat ions and residences
, , ,

o f all rej ec t ed candidates fo r admission into the

Society with the na m es o f the lodges in which they
,

had been proposed and the number o f votes by which

,

t hey were rej ec t ed ; the second par t contained t he

like particulars o f every member w h o had been e x
e l l e d from the Socie ty for be t raying i t s secrets
p .

When a Carbonaro was guilty o f perj ury a slip o f ,

paper bearing his nam e was burned in t h e presence

o f all the members o f the lod g e to which he belonged ,

his memory solemnly devoted to general execrat ion ,

and notice o f his expulsion sent to every lod g e where ,

it w as affixed t o the wall after bei ng read by the

,

Grand Master t o the assembled Good Cousins Per .

j ury however was n o t the only o ffence o f which the

, ,

penal code o f the Carbonari too k cognisance H abi .

tual associa tion with vicious charac t ers gambling , ,

drunkenness abandonment of family and general dis

, ,

s o l ut e n e s s o f morals were severally punished by su s

,

pension for a period o f from two m on t hs t o a year ,

according as t h e o ffence was aggravat ed o r co mpara

t iv e ly venial . Any a t t empt upon the h onour o f
female relatives o f Carbonari was punished by e x pul
sion from the Society ; the seduction o f female servants
o f Carbonari by suspension fo r a t erm o f fro m twelve

mon t hs to three years ; and adul t ery by suspension

for a period o f fro m t wo t o six years N o o t her .

society with members so widely dis t ri b u t ed ever

, ,
 THE CARB ONAR I . 223

sought to detach t he m so compl e t ely from t he S t at e

by means o f a code o f laws so distinc t in its form an d ,

so much a t variance with that in legal force I ts .

members were even for b id den to refer cases o f li t iga

tion to the ord inary t ribunals un t il t he y h ad bee n
brough t b efore t he Grand Lodge and reasons assigned ,

for permitti ng a further investi g a t ion in a Pagan

court .

Such being t he con s t i t u t ion and code o f this formi

dah le Society let us no w see in what manner and
, ,

with what success it s operations were conducted ,

.

N e x t to t h e n obles and t h e m ilitaryL gt prie st s s eem

r
’
_ _ _

atwfirs t t o have be e ii enro e inthe larges t numbers

w

,
“
—
order be i ng ac tuat ed b y t h e same feel
ti ngs and v i e w s as certai n o ft h eF fen—ch a—nd G e rman
‘ “

“ ' '
”

— —

clergy at w l at e f date and pro ih ulg at in

-b _

g
"
'
‘ '
“
' i

, ,

means iri th ei r n
I

ch L
p p h i C a b
I

ri ci les w r o
—

stit ut ed t o uph o l d an d a
i

n aris m was i n d v an c e Among

'

all c l asses however t h ea ffiliations soon increased with

, ,

astonishing rapidity I n a fe w months from t he .

opening o f the Grand Lodge the Carbonari n umbere d ,

m ore than t wenty fiv e thousand I n some of the

-
.

F
d "
I
_ ,

t owns of Calabria and the A bruzzi the whole o f the ,

The feeling o f devo t ional ardour diffused among the

Carbonari an d t h e c i rc u lati o n o f a document purport
i
fi

ing to be a Bull o f Pius V II encouraging them .

,

induced a belief t h a t —the y wer e protect ed by that - ~

”

Pontiff ; and s o convinced was Mur at of the truth o f

the repor t that one o f his first requests w hen he met ,

Me mo ir s o f t he C rb
a o na ri .
2 24 THE CARB ONARI .

the Pope at Bologna was that he woul d rescind t he

, ,

obnoxious Bull Pius assured him that the docu m ent

.

was a forgery and o n his ret urn to R ome fulminat ed

, , ,

a Bull against secret societies i n cluding in that c ate,

g ory the Freemasons and the J ac o b ins .

I t was clearl y the policy o f Murat t o support the

Carbonari o r rat her t o t ake away from the Society t h e
,

reason o f its existence by gra nting the boon o f cons ti

t ut io nal government but he hesitated and the Grand ,

Lodge sen t emissaries t o Palermo t o treat with Ferdi

n and o n such a basis as was submit t ed to the Count

o f Provence b t he Philadelphians The Cavaliere de

y .

Medici accepted those terms o n behalf of his royal ,

master and Bourbonist emissaries visited Calabria

and the Abruzzi where they succeeded by m eans o f
,

re mises in the name o f Ferd i nand and mone y fur

p ,

nish e d fo r the purpose by Lord William B e nt inc k 1

L
,

in in ducing some o f t he Carbonari t o raise the stan

dard o f revolt and pronounce for Ferdinand
,
the ,
“

”
Cons t it utional King These desultory ou tbrea k s
.

were suppressed withou t bloods h ed however the , ,

le niency o f Murat on the occasion proceeding probab ly

from the fear o f rous ing the resentmen t o f an associa
tion already formidable and t o which he migh t yet
,

be indebted for the maintenance o f h i s throne .

H ad Murat possessed the qualities r e q uisite fo r

successful government in t h e circumstances in which
he was placed he would first have secured the supp o rt
,

o f the Carbonari by granting a constitutio n and t hen ,

N arr at iv e o f A ffair s at N apl e s in 1 8 2 0 2 1

’
Pe pe s -
.

1
“

M e m o ir s o f t h e D uk e o f O t r ant o .
 THE CARB ONARI . 22 5

raised t he s t andard o f It al ian unity and inde pe nd

ence B ut he reve rs ed the proper order o f action and
.
,

by tha t bl under sacrificed his last chance o f retaining

t he cro w n On the re t urn o f Napoleo n fro m E lba
.
,

he marched upon R ome forced the Po pe to fly and , ,

commenced hos tilities against the Aus t rians by a

sudden attack o n Cesena H e s ucceeded in advancing .

t o the Po seeking by procla m ations to rouse the

,

I talians in the cause o f national independence ; bu t

the Carbonari h ad read h is doom and his precipitate ,

retreat after th e battle o f Tolentino was a necessity

brough t about by their infl uence as much as by the
arms o f the Austrians On the 1 st o f May Ferdi .
,

nand I V had i ssued from Palermo a proclamation t o

.

the Neapolitans promising a Consti t ution and an

, ,

n o unc ing that t he People will b e t h e Sovereign

“
,

and the Monarch only the depos i tary o f the laws

which shall be decided by the Consti t ution This .

example was with fatal tardiness followed by Murat

, , .

O n the 1 3 th o f May when he was retreatin g rapidly

,

before B i anchi and Nugent he sent to Naples the ,

de sired and long deferred Constitution date d R imini

-

, ,

—
March the 3 0 t h the date o f his att ack o n the
Austrian s at Cesena a tardy and ridiculo us ao
”
k no w l e dg me nt o f long persisted in mis g overnment -
,

says Maceroni who adds that if t h e Constit ution had

,

been granted a year before the throne o f Mur at ,

would have been sa fe inasmuch as a Parli ament would

,

have prevented the I t was no w t o o late ; the

proclamation fell dead ; and s o rapid was t he cou r se

Me mo i r s of F ran ci
s Mac e r o ni .

VO L . I
.
Q
,
226 THE CARB ONARI .

of events tha t the Aus trians en t ered Naples o n

the 2 2 nd Ferdinand was restored and Murat forced
, ,

t o fly .

By a secre t ar ticle o f t he trea ty which had been

concluded between Ferdinand and t he E mperor o f
*
Austria it w as stip ulated that the former should no t
,

“
introduce in t o his Government any principles irre
c o n c il ab l e with those ado t ed by H is I mperial Maj esty
p
”
in the governmen t o f his It alian provinces Absolute .

government was the condition t herefore upon which , ,

Ferdinand held his throne and his te n dencies and ,

affinities were en tirely in accordance wi t h tha t system .

Agitated as the So uth o f I taly was a t t hat time by

t he operations o f t he Carbonari t h e res t orat ion of the ,

Bourbon dynasty under such con ditions could not fail

, ,

to be the signal for a rei g n o f terror Magh e ll a was .

arrested and hurried o ff by the Aus t rians t o a fortres s

,

in H ungary ; and though he was claimed as a subj ec t

o f Piedmont under the new t erri t orial arrangeme nt s
, ,

i t was only t o be i m prisoned twelve mon t hs in t h e

fortress o f F e ne st re ll e s H e was s ucceeded in t h e
.

inist ry o f Police by t h e Prince o f Canosa whose ,

s t act o f o ffice w as the revival under the nam e o f ,

th e C al de rari (braziers ) o f t he Associa t ion o f th e H ol y

,
,

Fai th instituted by Cardinal R u ffo and recruited

, ,

from the brigands and lazzaroni w h o had been con

cerned in the sanguinary scenes o f 1 7 9 9 Th e .

m embers o f t his horrible association swore to obey

the or ders o f t he founder t o defend the Catholic faith
, ,

and t o exterminat e all J anse nist s Molinists I llu , ,

minat ist s Freemasons and Carbonari

, , Be t ween t h e .

C o ll et t a, H i st o ria di N p a o li.
 THE CARB ONARI . 227

las t mentioned and t he C al de rari therefo r e an im

-
, ,

placa b le ha t red arose Disturbances ensued and the .

,

public tranquillity was oft en endangered by tumults

and a ffrays arising o ut o f t he relentless hostility o f
“
the rival s o c iet ie s fi
The Prince o f Canosa distribu t ed among the
C al de rari t wenty thousand m uskets procured from the ,

Stat e arsenals o r purchased fo r the pu rp ose and the

, ,

lives and proper ty o f the inhabitants o f Naples were

thus place d completely at the m e rc y of the viles t
horde that a fflic t ed any E uropean city Murders and .

robberies were o f almost daily occurrence the victims ,

invariably being persons known t o hold liberal

’
political views Tw o o f Canosa s colleagues in the
.

A dmi nistration horrified and disgusted by the o ut ,

rages perpetrated by th e C al de rari ur g ed t heir ,

suppression ; bu t t he Minister openly a v o w e d th e

policy o f pro t ecting and favouring them as a means ,

o f exterminating the Carbonari The latter took .

additional precautions for their safety dre w the bands ,

o f their union closer and renewed their oaths o f ,

mutual assistance and defence The terror inspired .

by the C al de rari the dread o f a t errible retaliation by

,

Th e P in r ce of C an o sa, c al le d to t h e Mini st ry o f Po lic e no so o ne r ,

b e c am e p o s se s se d of a po w r w h ic h m
e ay b e c o m e a s dang e r o us as it is
u se ful , t h an h e c nc i o e ve d t h f t l id
e a a ea of a b and o nin g the s y st e m of

m o d e r at io n w h ic h h d b a e e n so pr u d e n t l y ado pt e d . He g r ant ed to the

w
l o e st c la s s of the pe o pl e the r igh t c arry ing a m
of r s, w h ic h h ad be fo r e

be e n stric tl y pro hib ite d H e arm . t ing f b l d and

e d m e n w h o w e re t h ir s or oo ,

al w ay re ady t o e nrich t h m l e w it h t h p il f t h e m re c i il i d
s e se v s e s o s o o v se .

B ut h e l oo k e d u po n t h e l at t e r a e ne m ie b e c au e t h y po e d s n s, s e ss s se se

t im e nt d iff r nt fr m h i
s e e wn o A p r t y man h im l f h pr t e c t e d
s o . a se , e o

p a rt i esB . n d a f a rsm od b ig nd rr n th
e c u nt ry g i ing
r a ut s o ve a e o ,
v o

t h at t h e y w e r e t h e ag n t f t h e Mini t r o f P l ic e a nd u nde r h is
e s o s e o ,

s pe c ial r c — C ofl M m i
”
o y a ume
"

p o t e t io n o u nt
. O l u l R r d , e o re s s r e c

N ap le s .
2 28 THE CARB ONARI .

the Carbonari and the repre se n t ations of some o f h is

,

Ministers at leng th induced the King t o depriv e

,

C anosa o f h is o ffic e and banish him from his

‘

dominions .

The Prince left Naples in June 1 8 1 6 and Fer , ,

din an d about the same time gave General Nunzian t e

, , ,

t he m ilitary co m mandant o f Calabria a secre t com ,

mission to collect informatio n resp e c t i ng the numbers

and organisation o f t he Carbonari with a view t o ,

their suppression Nu nz iante succeeded in corrupting

.

a member o f the Socie ty ; but shor t ly aft erwards the

c orpse o f the m an was foun d pierced wi t h several ,

w ounds and with a paper a ffixed t o it addre ssed t o

, ,

the General warning h im to relinquish the under

,

t a k ing unless he desired to sh are t he fate o f the

,

perj urer and traitor Nunzian te thereup on report ed

.

to the Ki ng that the means a t his disposal were

wholly inade q uate for the supp r ession o f the Car
bonari whose number in Cal abria alone he es timated
,

at be t ween fifty and sixty t h ousand .

During the period be t ween the restora tion through

o ut I taly o f the o l d r
eg ime and the revolu t ion o f 1 8 2 0 ,

s everal secret socie t ies sprung u

p in d i f
f eren t par t s of
t h e Peninsula which as t hey all pursued t he same
, ,

o bj ec t m ay be conveniently inclu d ed in this chapter

, .

The first o f these seem s t o have been the Guelphs ,

which in 1 8 1 6 had its Cen t ral Council a t Bolo gna and ,

Provincial Councils at Fermo Mace ra t a and Ancona , , .

I n the autumn o f that yea r a deputation from the ,

Central Council h ad an interview With the o fficers o f

t h e Carbonaro Lodge at Ferm o a t which a plan was ,

submitted and approved fo r the union o f all t he secret

s ocieties in the Papal Sta t es which we r e divided fo r ,
 THE CAR B ONARI . 2 29

t ha t purpose into three namely Bolognadivisions —

, ,

Forli and Ancona

, These were subdivided in t o
.

primary an d secondary centres Bologna was a .

p rimary centre in itself ; the Forli division was

divided into the primary centres of Forli R avenna , ,

and Ferrara and the A ncona division into those o f -

Ancona Macerat a and Fermo

, ,
E ach Society pre .

s erved i t s own constitution and organisatio n ; but

eac h lodge w as required to send to the Central Council
at Bologna a monthl y state men t of its members their ,

names ages and ran k profession o r occupation The

, , , ,
.

Carbonari were ad mitted without initiation into the

lodges o f the G uelphs as the Freemasons were t o
,

those o f the Carbonari A system o f secret corre .

s o nd e n c e was invented by the substitution of certain

p ,

mystical words for others o f real meaning and was ,

used for the communication of the orders of the Cen

tral Council at Bologna to the Divisional Councils at
Forli and Ancona and thence to the o fficers o f the
,

primary and secondary ce ntres .

N o connexion can be traced a t this time be t ween

t he Carbonari of Naples and those o f the Pap al
States whic h had a distinct organisat i on The Grand
,
.

Lodge o f the R oman Carbonari was established at

A ncona ; t he device o n their seal w as a hand grasping
a dagger ; and in the initiation o f members daggers
were substituted for the axes u s d by the Neapol i tan e

Society . That they were i n communicatio n se ems

probable ho w ever fro m the renewed ac t ivity o f bot h
, ,

all throu g h the spring and summer o f 1 8 17 It .

seems too fro m an allusion in the correspondence

, ,

be t ween Monti t he Grand Master of the Carbonaro

,

Lodg e a t Fe r rar a and Count F at t ib o ni t o t he gra nd

, ,
2 30 TH E CA RB ON ARI .

dignitaries o f Milan that either the Carbonari o r ,

the Guelphs o r both had the n ex t ended t heir organi

, ,

sation into Lombardy

During the spring mon ths o f 1 8 1 7 t he lodges o f ,

the Guelphs and the R oman Carbonari rang with

denunciations o f the temporal po w er o f t he Pope with ,

calls to arms and threats o f death agains t those w h o

,

should becom e perj ured The Pope was seriously ill .

,

and his expected death was t o be the signal for a

revolt the plan o f which h ad been drawn up by
,

Monti and approved by the Central Council at

,

B ologna The movement was t o commence at

.

Macerata where the Guelphs and Carbonari o f the

,

district were to assemble in the night whe n the ,

barracks were to be attacke d t h e troops who refused ,

to j oin them disarmed and confined the prison broke n ,

open and all the prisoners able to bear arms m ade to

,

j oin them R ocke t s discharged from the public

.

square o f Macerata and four cauldrons o f pitc h ,

blazi n g o n t he summi t o f a tower were t o hav e ,

announced t o the other towns o f the district t h e

success o f the enterprise and flaming beacons o n ,

appoin t ed heights were t o have co m municated t h e

result to the Central Council at Bologna The pe a .

santry were t o have been drawn in t o the town on t h e

following morni ng by the t olling o f all the bells and ,

t hen the establishment o f the R epu b lica n for m o f

g overnment with Count Gallo as consul was t o b e
, ,

solemnly proclaimed .

The recovery o f the Pope disconcer t ed the schem e

g

o f t h e conspira t ors but it was not abandoned ; and

,

the 2 4 t h o f June was finally fixed for the enterprise .

A proclamation c alling upon t he R omans t o arm fo r

,
 TH E CAR B ONAR I . 231

t he recovery o f thei r ancien t liber t ies ,was e x tensively

circula t ed and a t midn igh t o n t he 2 4t h the Guelphs
,

and Carbonari o f the distric t began t o assemble within

and without the town The incautious discharge o f
.

two muskets a t a sentry nea r the walls who observed ,

them ga v e the alar m to the authorities and the

, ,

troop s immediately turned o ut The contin g ents of .

Fermo and A ncona not having arrived the insurgents ,

deemed it advisable to separate an d reserve the e x e c u ,

tion of the plo t for another occasion The police lost .

no time in i nstitutin g a stric t inquiry into the events

o f t he night and some o f the conspirators were imme
,

diat e l y arres t ed Owing however to the desire of

.
, ,

the Papal Governmen t to become acquainted with all

the ramifications of the conspiracy in order to crush ,

fu t ure attempts at revolution the m ore easily the ,

arrest of the principal p ersons implicated was delaye d

until Novembe r when they were seized simult aneously
,

in their respective localities and confined in the Castle ,

o f St Angelo
. .

Simultaneously with thes e m ovements in t h e Papal

Stat es the proj ect o f a revolution in Naples w as con
c e iv e d by the Carbonaro leaders o f that kingdom .

Ga g liardi the Grand Master of the Salerno lodge

, ,

conferred o n this subj ect in May with h is coadj utors

, , ,
!

Ferdinando A rc o v it o (a re l ative o f the General o f that

name ) Michele B l asiis and the brothers A batemarco ;
, ,

and afterwards went in t o Calabria to con fer w i th

R inaldi a Carmelite m onk and ascertain h o w far the
, ,

Carbonari o f that province were pre pared for an insu r

rection The brothers Abatemarco went to Naples
.
,

and had an intervie w a midst the r ui ns o f Pompeii

, ,

with a le ading Carbonaro o f the capi t al R osario ,

2 32 TH E CARB ONARI .

Masc h iaro li Circular le tt ers were a t the same tim e

.

despatched t o all the lodges throughout the kingdom .

These conferences and inquiries resulted in the dis

c o ver
y that the province o f Principato Citra alon e

was su fficiently organised fo r a rising and the o ut ,

break was deferred until the provinces should b e

better pre pared .

'

I n the mean time t h e Carbonari h ad e x ci t ed t h e

ap prehension s o f the Neapolitan Governmen t by an
extensive distribution o f printed papers in which ; ,

th ey demanded a cons t itution fro m the King and : ,

incited W e fuse
— —
a m e nt e f al l t axes in
p y
’

the e v e n t ni h i a re fu sal I ntonti w h o had been an

.
j
/ ,

attorney at Foggia the chief t own o f the C apit inat a

, ,

i n which province the Carbona r i were then mos t

active was despat ched by the Governmen t to that
,

place with unlimited j udici al powers even t o t h e ,

extent o f executing suspected persons wit h ou t trial .

Fortunately h e preferred milder and more moderate

m easures and he did not eve n ac q uaint the local
,

authorities with the nature o f his co mmission Being .

known to m any o f the leading Liberals o f the district ,

he invited them t o a c onference and represented t o

,

them that it was impossible for the Ki ng to gran t a

constitution as neither t he E mperor o f Austria whos e
, ,

troops were still o n t he frontier no r the other Powers

,

o f the H oly A lliance would consen t t o such a measure

,
.

’
I t was supposed to be owi ng t o Int o nt i s moderate
and pacific measures that tranquillity was prese r ved ,

bo t h the proj ected revolt and the reasons for its pos t
p o n e m e n t remaining a profound secre t .

I n Calabria and the Abruz z i however three ne w

, ,

associations o f a secre t nat ure appeared at this t im e

as o ffshoo t s from Carbonarism namely the Ph ilade l
—
,

p h ian s ,
the R eformed E uropean Patriots and the ,

Decisi The organisation of the two former Societies

.

was military The Philadelphians were divided into

.

c am s o f from three to four hundred men the R

p e ,

formed E uropean Patriots into sq uadrons each con ,

taining from forty t o sixty members There were .

no fewer than a hundred and seventeen camps and

s quadrons o f t hese t wo Societies in the district o f
Lecce alone Their mee t ings were held by night in
.
,

solitary houses o r s uppressed and deserted monas

t e rie s which were carefully guarded by sentries ; and
,

there t oo t hey were drilled until gro wing bolder by

, , ,

degrees they p erformed their military exercises and

,

evolutions by daylight and in the open air The .

seal u sed by both these Socie ties bore the figure of

Liberty holding the Phrygian cap o n a pike and ,

leanin g upon the R oman fasces and axe The Re .

formed E uropean Patriots had also a second seal ,

with the device o f a sun enclosed within t w o

tria ngles .

The Decisi o r Decided were less numerous but

, , ,

their desperate and fanatical character inspired with

terror all who were brou g ht into collision with them .

Their de c isio ns as their l ocal a ffiliate d Societies were

,

termed embraced m e n who had been expelled from

,

the Carbonari for their crimes and those who were ,

pu rsued with unrelenting vigour by the Government ,

and could find safety only in uniting themselves to

others o f equally desperate fortunes The symbols .

which appear upon their patents and their ce rtificates

o f af —
filiat io n lightning dar t ing from a cloud and
s triking a crown and a m itre the Phrygian cap upon
2 34 THE CARB ONARI .

a s k ull between t w o axes ; a skull and cross bones

,
-

su ffi ciently characterise this terrible Association whos e ,

m embers maintained the m selves by plundering the

houses o f those who were obnoxio us t o them and ,

used the dagger and t h e torch to avenge their wrongs

upon their e nemies . Among their officers was a
R egistrar o f the Dead and a register o f t h e n ames
,

and conditions o f t heir victim s is said t o have actually

"

bee n k e pt fi
e ‘

E mboldened by t heir numbers and the apat hy of

t he local authorities t hese three Societies began
, ,

towards the close of 1 8 17 to send o ut armed bands

to wreak their vengeance upo n their enemies and ,

plunder their houses Som e o f the less wealthy

.

proprietors and even of t he inferior nobility secretly

, ,

aided and abe t ted them actuat ed by t h e double

,

m otive o f hatred o f the Govern m en t and the desire

o f pre serving their own property As the superior .

n obility and the opulent proprietors were regarded by

t he Government wi t h d i strust these were exposed ,

to plunder and outrag e equally from the secre t

societies and the bands o f ru ffian s organised b y
General Pastori commandant o f Calabria and the
, ,

Marquis of Pre dic at e l l i intendant of Lecce in accord

, ,

anc e with the example o f the Prince o f Canosa and

t h e C al de rari
. The condition o f Calabria was thus
rendered m ost deplorable At the beginning o f 1 8 1 8
.
,

when the number o f persons affiliated to these three

Societies was estimated at twenty thousand robberies ,

were daily committed by armed bands and assassi ,

nation was a crime o f frequent perpetration The .

3“ Mem o ir s of th e Ca rb o nari .
 THE CARB ONARI . 235

au t horities were powerless even when they were no t ,

timid o r corrup t ; for t he secre t societies had many

members among the military and the police and ,

neither force could a t al l t imes be relied upon fo r

the performance of its duty .

The evil at length increased t o such an ex t ent

that the Government roused to the imperative n e c e s
,

sit o f doing something dismissed Pastori and Pre

y ,

dic at e lli and replaced the former by an E nglishman

, ,

General Church to whom power was given to raise

,

a Foreign Legion and act with v igour a g ains t the

,

armed bands o f the secret societies The new .

commandant divided h is force composed chiefly o f ,

Germans Swiss and Albanians into three columns

, , , ,

which scoured the country in all directions gradually ,

narrowing the circle of their O perations until the

insurgent bands were s urrounded in and around the

towns o f G ro t t agl ia Santo Marzano and Francavilla
, ,
.

Their numbers lessened as some were shot down by

,

their pursuers and others found means to return to

,

their homes ; but a remnant still held together under

a bold and able leader Ciro A nnichiarico a priest
, , ,

’
who had been condem ned to fifteen years imprison ~

m ent for m urder but had escaped from prison after

,

’
undergoing fo ur years confinement and was a mem ,

ber o f bo t h the Decisi and the R eformed E uropean

Patrio t s .

On finding themselves be t w een their pursuers and

t he sea the desperate band turned at Santo Marzano
, ,

and attacked a detachment of the Forei g n Legion ;

b u t was repulsed and compelled to fly into the
,

intricacies o f the eastern s pur o f the Apennines .

There they took up a s t rong posi t ion and twice ,

2 36 THE CARB ONARI .

repulsed the company o f Captain Montori ; but at

length they were again pu t to flight and five o f t h e ,

band being captured were executed at Francavilla

, ,
.

The black flag o f t h e band also fell into the hands o f

Captain Monto r i and was presen t ed t o the King ,
.

The execution o f the prisoners provoked a tumult

a t Francavilla which was n o t suppressed witho ut
,

bloodshed ; and at Santo Marzano t he militia refused

t o c o operate with the Legion until General Church
-

threatened t o give the t own up t o pillage H un t ed .

from place t o place Annichiarico with the remnant , ,

o f his band at last took refuge in a farmhouse ten

,

m iles fro m Francavilla where after a desperate and , ,

protracted resis tance he surrendered to Maj or Bianchi ,

.

H e was execu t ed at Franc av ill a in the presence o f all

t h e inhabitants who preserved a gloomy silence and
, ,

evidently accorded him their sympathy Ten mor e .

o f the band were execu t ed at t h e same place o n the

following day ; and a military commission presided ,

over by Gen eral Ch urch afterwards t ried t w o hun ,

dr ed and t w enty seven persons nearly half o f whom

-
, ,

being convicte d of murder o r robbery with violence ,

were exec uted and their seve r ed heads exposed befor e

,

the churches .

The conspirat ors o f Macerat a were no t brough t t o

trial unt il October 1 8 1 8 when Coun t Gallo an , , ,

advocate named Castellano a merchan t named Papis , ,

an ex gen darme named R ivas and a soldier named

-

C asl e t t i w ere condemned to death ; and Count Fatti

,

boni a notary nam e d S ampao l e si and C o t t o lo ni t h e

, , ,

Carbonaro secretary a t Macerata t o imprisonment ,

’

fo r life These sentences were commuted by Pius V II

. .
,

however into imprisonment fo r life and for t en years

, ,
 THE CARB ONAR I . 23 7

the accused being like w ise condemned t o pay the

cos t s o f the j udicial proceedings .

It appears from the rep ort o f these proceedings ,

pu b lished by order o f the P apal Government t hat all ,

the secre t societies o f I taly were supposed to be de

rived from Free m asonry We had become full y
.

acquain t ed says t he repo rt with the Masonic sect

, ,

during past calamities which owe their origin t o it

,
.

That o f the Carbonari was called forth j ust as those

calam it ies were about t o cease as if to increase and
,

perpetuate them I t had i t s origin and principal sea t

.

at Naples whence it spread into some provinces of the

,

Papal States and its inauspicious influence had bee n

pa rticularly felt in the Marches While in t he midst .
,

o f general peace this So ciety was mak i ng progress in

,

several cities o f Dalmatia other secret associations no

, ,

less audacious establ i shed themselves The Guelphs

,
.

extended themselves into Lombardy from the northern

provinces of the States of the Church ; the R epublican
Brother Protectors of French and Lombard origin in
, ,

sinuated themselves in t o some par t s o f the Ma rches

the Adelphi lurked in great secrecy throughout Pied
mont ; and lastly the Society o f the Black Pin
, ,

attempted to introduce itself into I taly from Fran c e .

These did e re nt denominations which succeeded each ,

other were artfu lly continued not only for the pur
, ,

pose o f deepening their secrecy but to enable their ,

chie fs whenever it s uited their purpose to get rid o f

, ,

such members as change o f times o r circumstances

had rendered obnoxious to suspicion They also .

served t o inform all the in itiated at once o f whatever

w as going o n in the w ay o f innovation o r reform and ,

to keep the m in cons t an t ac tivity in order that they ,

238 TH E CARB ONARI .

m igh t be ready and arden t t o support o n t he firs t ,

oppor t unity a political chan ge agreeable to thei r

,

wishes I n fac t t he adherence o f any individual t o

.
,

o ne of the secre t societies suffices to ensure his recep

tion wi t h a corresponding rank in t o all t hose t hat

, ,

may b e formed afterwards so t ha t o n e s ec t is always ,

merging in ano ther while procuring new prosely t es .

Tha t t hey are all h owever n o other t han so m any

, ,

r a mifications o f Masonry some o f the bes t informed ,

sec t aries t hemselve s allo w ; and none o f t he m di ffer

essentially as t o t he obj ect which they have in
view namely i ndependence and cons t itu tional g o
—
,

”
v e rn m e nt .

Durin g the t wo years following t he abortive c o n

s irac o f Macera t a and the commission of I ntonti in
p y
t h e C apit inat a the Carbonari were active throughou t
,

the whole o f the Peninsula and by the spring of 1 8 2 0 ,

their lodges were es t ablished in all t he cities o f Lom

bardy and Piedmon t as well as in the kingdo m o f,

Naples and the dominions o f the Pope The Spanish .

r e volution raised t heir enthusiasm t o t h e high est

degree o f fe rvour and measures were immediately
,

t aken fo r revolutionising the principal o f the States

in t o which I taly was u nh appily divided Conferences .

were held at Naples in March and April a t which it ,

w as resolved to concen t rate a large force o n the capi

tal sei z e the King an d his family and hold them as
, ,

hostage s until Ferdin and consen t ed to grant a consti

t u t io n similar to tha t which h ad been wru n g from his
namesake o f Spain Little resistance was anticipat e d
.

from the army in wh ich t he Carbonari counted b e

,

tween t w o and three thousand m embers o f all ranks ,

 THE CAR B ONA RI . 239

including a troop o f dragoons and a bat tery o f the

’

Q ueen s regiment of artillery .

I n order to be assured o f the support o f t he pro

vinces Gagliardi went to Aversa and had a con ference
, ,

with Acerbo a captain of the Q ueen s dragoons and

,
’
,

F o rfant i a captain o f mili t ia both o f whom embraced

, ,

the proposition with the utmost ardour Bologna a .

,

z ealous and intrepid lieutenant o f dragoons visited ,

Nocera and Salerno and received th e assurance that

,

the Carbonari o f these towns would m arch upon the

capi t al w h enever t h ey received the orders of the Grand
Lodge D uri n g May t h e greatest activity prevailed
.

amo n g the Carbonari and fre quen t m eetings were,

’
held at G ag l iardi s lodgings in Naples On the 2 3 rd .

a fi nal consultation was held at the house o f one

Padula a member of the Society when a com mittee
, ,

o f seven w as appointed to arrange the mode of action ;

an d o n th e following day the com mittee met at

G ag l iardi s lodgings and fixed the risi n g for t he night
’

o f th e 2 9 t h Unfortunately however fo r their im

.
, ,

m ediate success a newly initiated m ember w h o had

, ,

been presen t at the meeting of the 2 3 rd r evealed the ,

plot to the police and on the night of the 2 6 t h nine

,

teen o f the conspira t ors including Bologna were , ,

arreste d Gagliardi and some others those who were

.
,

m ost deeply implicated fled on learning the arrest o f ,

their associates owing t h eir escape however to the

, , ,

circums t ance of their names havin g escaped the

m emory of th e man who betrayed them .

The conspirators n o w made Nocera their head

quarters an d fixed the night of the 1 0 t h of June for
,

the e x ecution of their enterprise Gagliardi had a .

2 40 THE CARB ONARI .

conference with Me n e c h ini a pries t and Morelli and , ,

S ilv at i lieutenants o f a cavalry regimen t stat i oned at

,

Nola all able and active mem b ers o f the Society ; and
,

these accompanied h im t o Aversa where they con ,

ferred with Acerbo and other officers o f the Q ueen s

,
’

dr agoons Circular let t ers were sent to all the lodges

.
,

t o prepare them for the movement ; and Morell i wen t

*
t o Naples t o m ake the final arrangem ents there It .

had been a great point with the conspir ators t o secure

the leadership o f a General and General A rc o v it o had ,

at o ne time been expec t ed to put him self at their head .

They w ere n o w h e pi ng for the adhes i on o f General

Vairo and their disappointment in that respect was
,

the cau se o r o ne o f the causes o f the furt her post

, ,

o ne m e nt of their enterprise until the l s t o f July

p .

General Pepe in whom Ferdinand and his Minis

,

ters h ad unbounded confidence was a Carbonaro bu t , ,

had been careful n o t to commit himself prematurel y ,

o n the principle laid down by him in his m emoirs ,

that a m an w h o finds himself a t the head o f a party

ought carefully t o avoid exposing his life in every
”
passing skirmish H e held himself always prepared
.
,

however and he was at th is time in communication

,

w ith Morelli and S il v at i but waiti ng until the success ,

o f the movement was assured On the l st o f July .

the t roop o f cav alry in which More l li and Salvati held

commissions left Nola and w as j oined at Monteforte ,

by Me ne c h ini who there r aised the standard o f revolt

, ,

with the cry o f God the King and t h e C o nst it u

“
, ,

tion ! The National Guards fraternised with the

C e nn o S t o ri c o su i at t i c h e h an no pr o
F c dut
e o e r o do t t o il Mov i
p
m e nt o del B at t ag l io n e S a r o di N o l a
c .
 THE C ARE ONARI . 241

d ragoons and they m arche d t o Ave llino w h ere the

, ,

local militia j oined them ; and t h e Constitution was

proclaimed amidst t he acclam ations o f the inhabitants .

The news o f this m ovemen t crea t ed the utmost con

s t e rnat io n in the minds o f Ferdinand and his Minis

ters General Campana was despatched imm e diately

.

t o Salerno upon which the insurgents were sa i d to

,

be m archin g ; and G eneral C arasc o sas foll owed with

all the troops t ha t could be co l lected As soon h o w .
,

ever as the troop s saw the symbols of the Carb onari

,

o n the fla g s o f the insurgents it became evident that

,

they could no t be depended upon and they were led ,

back t o the capital .

There the Court an d its suppor t ers were smitten

with co n fusion and dismay while the greater part of
,

the inhabitants received the ne w s of the revolt with

t h e utmost en t husias m A num erous deputat i on of
.

o fficers waited upon General Pepe and besou g h t him ,

to head t h e m ovemen t for the Constitution assuring ,

him o f the s uppor t o f the entire army The General .

consented put himself at the head o f a cavalry re g i

,

ment which had already pronounced for the C o ns t it u

tion and s e t o ut for Avellino where he was received
, ,

with enthusiasm and voted Generalissim o by acclama

tion Naples continued in a state o f ferment and
.

d isorder from the 2 n d till the 6 t h the e ntire military

,

force declaring for the Constitution crowds s ur ,

rounding the royal palace voci ferously demandin g it ,

and t h e m unicipality and th e pro fessors o f the uni

versity urging the King to yield to the pop ular voice .

On the 6 t h Ferdinand executed a secret conventio n

with Pepe and resi g ned the functions o f sovereignty
,

to his so n the D uke o f C alabria as Vicar G eneral o f

, ,
-

V OL . I . R
2 42 TH E CAR B ONARI .

t he kingdom ; and the Duke issued a proclama tion

conced ing with certain reservations a Constitu tion
, ,

similar t o tha t which had been promulgated in

Spain .

The unce rt ain a t ti tu de o f t he King and t he reser

v at io n s o f the D uke o f Cala b ria inspired uneasiness

an d dissatis faction and this feeling was no t appeased

by Ferdinand s ra tificatio n o f the D uke s undertaking
’ ’

with t h e reservat i on o f such m odificat ions o f the

Spanish Consti t ution as m ight be m ade by a le g ally
’
c onvoked assembly of the p eople s represen t atives .

O n the fo llowing day however the Duke accepted , ,

th e Constitution unconditional ly and o n the 9 th ,

General Pepe returned t o Nap l es at the head o f the

troops the National Guards and the ar m ed Carbonari ;
, ,

a nd the King swore in t he presence o f all t he chief

,

civil and mili t ary authorities o f the ki ngdom t o m ain ,

tain the n e w orde r o f things All authori ty imme .

d iat e ly passed in t o t h e hands o f the Carbo nari The .

Min isters resigne d an d were succeeded by arden t

,

L i berals General Pepe replaced the Austrian General

.
,

Nugent in t he com m and o f the army A Carbonaro

,
.

g uard was organ i sed and was o f great service in

,

m aintaini ng order which was seriously me n aced o n

,

m ore than o n e occasion These ch anges gave general

.

satis faction which the inhabitan t s o f Napl es testified

,

b y great rej oicings and a general illumination .

Me ne c h ini becam e t he most popular and influential

m an in the king dom So ngs in his praise were sung
.

in the streets and his l ith o g raphed portrait was sold

,

by thousands H i s popularity enabled him t o inter

.

pose with success o n m ore than o ne occ asion o n

, ,

behalf o f the King and the ex Ministers whose con -

,
 THE CARB ONARI . 2 43

d uc t was regarded wi t h suspicion When several .

persons were killed in an aflray which was supposed

to have been ins t igated by the Court and a furious ,

mob thr eatened the palace Me ne c h ini calm ed the ,

rising storm Agai n when the Carbonari m enaced

.
,

t he ex Ministers Medi ci an d Tommasi o n t he Field

-
, ,

o f Mars it was h e who disarmed their resentmen t

,
.

H is influence declined rapidly however an d he retired , ,

t o Messina General Pepe was shortly aft erwards

.

superseded by General Colle tt a o n the g round of his ,

h aving when sent t o res t ore order at Palermo encon

, ,

raged the S epara tist party in Sicily t o hop e that t heir

deman d woul d b e conceded .

Though the in t ervention o f A u stria was t o have

been calculated upon from th e first and it was the ,

m ore import ant therefore that the Carbonari who ,

had had th e en t ire direction o f t h e revolution should ,

be united it soon became eviden t that there were two

,

parties in the Society di ffering as t o t he ulterior

,

results to b e obtained The maj ority considered that

.

their mission was accomplished w hen the C o nst it u

tion was proclaim ed ; bu t there w as an energ etic
minori t y desirous o f e stablishing a R epublic Tumults .

and dissensions agitated the Basilicata throughout

July and A ugust and the R epublicans threatened to
,

march upon the capital The cry of imbecility and .

treason was r aised against the Constitutional party ,

and the R epublicans sent emissaries to Naples t o

excite the Car b onari against the G overnment They .

w ere unsuccessful and Pal ad ini Vecchiarelli and

, , ,

Maenza — the leaders o f the ultras o f the capital

—
believ i ng their stren gth t ?) be
Salerno on the 2 ud o f September and Avellino o n t h e ,

R 2
2 44 THE C ARB ON AR I .

5th, t o concer t a R epublican rising ; and re t urning t o ,

Naples o n the nigh t o f the 6 t h were immediate ly ,

arre sted They had des t ro y ed their papers and c o n

.
,

sequently after an i m prisonment o f more t h an t w o

,

m onths in the Ca s tle o f St E lmo they were discharged

.
,

for want o f evidence t o criminat e t hem .

These di fferences had probably some influe nce o n

the ques t ion which at this time agitated t he lodges o f
Principato Citra as t o whether they should continue
,

t heir connexion with t he Grand Lodge a t Naples A .

com m ittee was a ppointed t o consider the question ,

an d it was decided t ha t delegates should be sent t o

the Grand Lodge t o demand a m ore ex t ensiv e repre

se nt at io n o f t he provincial lodges ; and that if t his ,

w as not acceded to the y should n egotiate with other

,

dis t ricts fo r the election o f a provinc i al Grand Lod g e .

T he latter course was ultimately adopted and the ,

provincial Grand Lodge fixed at Salerno .

During th e autumn robberies with violence were so

frequen t in Naples notwiths t anding all the exertions
,

o f the Government to prevent disorder that R icciardi , ,

the n e w M inister of J ust ic e proposed t o the Parlia

,

m en t which had been elec t ed under the Constitu t ion

to su spend t he guar antee for the liberty o f the subj ect ;
and as the enemies o f the Constitution attributed
,

these o ffence s t o the Carbonari a proclamation was ,

issued calli n g upon all m embers o f t he Society to aid

, ,

w ith all their m igh t in t he m aintenance o f or der and

,

the repression o f crim e .

Your coun t ry your h onour they were reminded

, , ,

demand from you n o t regret alone but exertion and ,

energy ; and t he Assembly invites you to employ

them Let r obbers and those wh o commit excesses
.
,
 TH E CARB ONARI . 2 45

in the publi c ways b e incessan tly wat ched and arrested

,

by such o f you as b elong t o t he public force and l e t ,

your calumniators know t ha t y o u do no t approve o f

crime but eradicate it wherever it is found B e
, .

careful however to preser v e the strictest order a mong

, ,

y ourselves when you oppose disorder ; the slightest

inattention the most triflin g want of discipline the
, ,

leas t opposition t o the public authorities m ay destroy ,

the meri t o f the good intentions you m ay have and ,

bring upon you blame instead of honour Above all .

,

let there b e no distinction o f persons when it is your

business t o u nite for the repression o f excesses Fra .

t ernal lov e places all the Good Cousins o n t he same

level.

Aust troo s were at t his t ime on

the o f ab se l e t ism wve 1 e

*
-
-
-

t hus smooth the way t o a coun t er revol ution O ne fl

-
.

o f these was t h e c ii c uIat B n of the Bull which the

'

Pope had fulminated against secret societies in 1 8 1 4 ,

the e ffect of which the Grand Lod g e o f Sal erno

endeavoure d t o counteract by the issue of a notice ,

stating th at the Grand Master being informed that ,

some supers t itious fanatics in order to discour age the ,

Goo d Cousins and to prevent the increase o f their

,

numbers are c i rculating old Bulls of excommun i cation

,

and other follies disgraceful to an enlightened ag e

, ,

d eclares that such things should be regarded w ith

contempt especi ally as these Bulls are w icked fabri
,

cations o f a par t y hostile to the country I t is .

,

n evertheless n ecessary to keep an eye u pon suc h

,

fanatics towards wh om the vi g ilan ce recommended in

,

”
o ur second article shall be directed .
2 46 THE CARE ONARI .

As t he Bull was a hard fact however the Grand , ,

Lodge addressed a remons trance t o the Pope o n the

subj ect in the hope o f pro c url ng the withdrawal o f
,

the docume nt This m emorial was a very able and

.

te mperate production .

5 ”
“
E very society it set forth
,
has i t s li t urgy,
“
.

o f the Carbo nari breathes only the religion o f

s Christ The cross the sign o f o ur religion

.
, ,

s a pri ncipal symbol o f i t s rites Faith H ope .

, ,

and Charity the dis t inctive signs o f the Catholic

,

Church accordi ng to the Apostle St Paul form t h e

, .
,

language which distinguish es the Society and by ,

m eans o f which i t communicates The conduc t .

which is inculcated in the initiation o f the Car b onari

is precisely the practic e o f the morality o f the Gosp e l .

The greatest among the precepts o f this divin e

morality that o f u niversal charity no t only binds
, ,

them together but obliges t he m t o prac t ise i t even

, ,

to w ards those who do no t belong to the Society I t .

is true that the Socie ty has a pol itical obj ect ; b ut

this is not in the sligh t es t degree contrary t o the
m axims o f reli g ion I t preserves that respec t fo r
.

sovereignty which the A postle requires from Chris

—
t ians it loves t he Sovereign it preserves the State
, ,

an d even t he principle o f hereditary succession ; but

it supports Democracy which i n stead o f attacking
, ,

Monarchy forms that happy addition to it which

,

endears it m ore t o the nation and which alone can ,

render the righ t s o f the S o vereign and those o f the

citizen less fluc t uating and whic h therefore prevents
,

political disorders by constitutional means and con ,

s olida t es t he t r ue basis o f national felicity a felicity ,

t o which t he C h ristia n religion directly leads t h e se
na tions whose glory it is t o profes s i t .

S uch most blessed Fat h er is the sta t e the obj ect

, , , ,

and the secret o f the Society of the Carbonari Fa r .

fro m that s e cret now no longer such be e very sus

, ,

p ic io n as t o its dogmas o r morals I f it separates

.

its elf from the p ublic if it holds i t s meetin g s apa r t

, ,

if it has i t s peculiar rites it is because all t h is is n e c e s

,

sary to preserve t h e spirit that distinguishes it Man .

is in a manner s ubj ec t to the senses Truth veiled

, ,
.
,

in rite s which are its s y mbols insinuates itself m or e

,

d e e ply int o th e mind ; and a cere mony which inspires t h e

newly initiated wit h a sacred aw e is warranted even by
,

t hat once imposed upon the proselytes of the Church .

The rite which i s still preserved i n the administratio n .

o f baptis m is respected because it i s figura t ive although ,

it does n o t correspond wit h the actual condi t ion o f the

infant Christian B ut the ceremonies o f the Society
.

o f the Carbonari are in no w ise O ppo sed to the pro

fe ssio n of the Cath olic and Apostolic religion wh ich ,

”
its mem b ers j ealo usly maintain .

After arguing that nothing adverse to the Society

w as to be inferred fro m the conduct o f ind i vidual
members any more than the conduct o f indivi d ual
,

p riests could be held to a ffect the charac t er o f t h e

Church the remonstrance proceeded as follo w s
,

The Society o f the C arbonari therefore pro fessin g

, ,

t h e dictates o f the Ch urch o f Jesus Christ the R om an ,

Catholic and A postolic reli g ion whose visi b le head it

,

acknowledges in your H ol i ness

— practisin g a mora l
discipline entirely modelled o n the precepts o f the
Gospel — no lon g e r having a secret whic h le ave s
2 48 TH E CARB G VARI 1

room fo r suspicion now that i t has revealed i t s grea t

,

obj ect and the Sovereign has adopted it with sin

,

c e rit — using a ceremonial whose symbols are only

y
fig ura t ive o f tha t which has been executed w ith so
muc h applause ; your H oliness neither has n o r c an ,

have reason t o suspec t this Society ei ther as t o

, ,

r eligion o r morals o n which account it is time n o w

,

that yo u r mind is d isabused freed from those sus ,

p ic io n s which provoked against the Society the

t hunders o f the Vatican that y o u cease to cla ss it ,

among equivocal secret societies re n dered public and ,

g e neral as it is in this kingdom under t he auspices o f

o ur most religious Sovereign and o f his m ost pious ,

V i car General the heredi t ary Prince Francis ; and

-
, ,

consequen t ly that you declare it free from the spiritual

,

penalt ies which y o u pronounced against it by yo ur

Bull o f the year 1 8 1 5 when neither its disposition, ,

profession nor obj ect were known

, .

The appeal t o the Pope was unsuccess ful and the ,

Grand Lod g e consulted t he Carbonaro pries t s as to t he

m eans o f comb ating t he Bull which were fo u nd in ,

the argument that the Papal edicts had al ways been

held to require the eneq nai or o f the King t o render ‘

the m valid in t he kingdom o f Naples and t hat t h e ,

royal authorisation had not been given in that

i ns t ance Murat having then been o n the throne and
, ,

more desirou s o f the support o f the Carbonari t han o f

the g oodwil l of the Pope Troy se the Minister o f .
,

Worship seeing a p ossible danger in this view o f t he

,

case issued a circular t o the superior clergy through

,

o ut the kingdom arguing that the Carbonari were n o

,

longer a secret society and that t he B ull no longer ,

'

applied t o them .
 THE CARB ONARI 24 9

so

they are so widely extended that no class o f citi

c an no w be ignorant o f the purposes o f their meeti n gs .

They laboured t o obtain that Constitution which h as

been solemnly acknowledged and sworn to by his
Maj esty that Constitu t ion which ; by its Twelfth
—

A rticle ac k nowle dges no other religion than that o f

,

the R oman Catholic and Apg st o l ic professed

b y our shall al ways be ours I s it .

n o t then wilfully diminishing the respect due to the

, ,

H oly See when we attri b ut e to it power in m atters

,

merely polit i c al and completely foreign to its province ?

A ll mystery being n e w laid aside and the obj ec t of ,

the Carbonari openly avowed th e Society is no longer

,

subj ect to the Bulls in an y way but is amenable only ,

”
to the la w s o f the realm .

Th e success with which the effor ts of the Carbonari

h ad been crowned i n the k l ng do mo f N apl es h ad in ,
-

t h e m e ant im e caused a thr i ll of hope to pervade the

_
,

hearts of the patriots throughout the P en i nsula and ,

p roduced a corresponding uneasines s at Vienna .

Several as sassinations in the R omagna were attri b uted

to the Carbon ari who with the kindred soc ieties o f
, ,

the Guelphs and the Adelphi were suppos ed to b e , _

plotting u nl imited mischief in Lom b ardy and -

m e nt . Th e E mperor o f A ustria accordingly in ,

m onth o f August promulgated a decree denoun

,

Carbonaris m as a co nspiracy fo r the subversion

destruction of all governm ents and m en ac in g all ,

initiated with the pains and pen alties o f treason

namely death and confis c ation All persons awar e o f
,
.
2 50 THE CARB ONARI .

the exis t ence o f Carbonaro lodges and neglec t in g t o,

den ounce them t o the police were declared a e com

,

p l ic e s in t he treason and as such liable o n c o nvic t ion

, , ,

to imprisonment for life .

The E mpero r o r Prince Metternich w as no t c o nten t

, ,

wi t h this warning t o the patrio t s o f Lombardy and

Venetia H e and h is royal brother o f Prussia w h o
.
,

was equally uneasy o n account o f the agitation pro

moted by t h e Tug e ndb und j oined in an earne st appe al
,

t o the Czar t o meet them that they might deliberat e

,

u pon the impending dan g er t o autocratic rule Th e .

three Sovereigns o f the H oly All iance met at Troppau .

in the au t umn an d pledged the m

,
selves t o support
each other l n any eme 1 gen e y that might b e created b

by the secretly working enemies w h o m they so m uch

-

dre aded The Neapolitan revolution was the chief

.

subj e c t o f their deliberations which r es ulted in a

,

resolution t o en force the secret co m pact between

Ferdinand and the E mperor o n the plea that t h e
,
“

Soverei g ns o f t he H oly Alliance exercised an inc o n

testable righ t in taking common measures of security
against States whi c h the overthrow o f authority by
revol t placed in a hos t ile at t it ude towards every
”
legitim ate Government . This pretension w as too
outrageous even for Lord Castlereagh who expre s sed ,

his dissen t from it in a circular despatch addressed by

him t o the representa t ives o f Britain at all t h e
E uropean Courts ; but with this prote st t h e British
Government was content and the H oly A l li ance was
,

left at liberty to deal with I taly as the interests o f

au t ocracy might seem t o require .

The system o f espionage maintained by the Austria n

Government in t h e It alian prov in c es o f t h e E mpire
 THE CAR R ONARI 2 51

caused the existence o f Carbonaro lodges in Lombardy

t o be suspected very soon after they were opened .

N o traces of their e x is t e n c e c an b e found ea rli e r t ha n

the spri ng of 1 8 2 0 when Count L ade rc h i and Pietro
,

Maro n c el li a poe t of risin g fame and a most amiable

, ,

m an were sent into Lombardy by the Grand Lodge

,

o f A ncona for the purpose o f disseminati n g the syste m

,

in t hat province Once introd uced it spread rapidly ;

.
,

all the active intellect o f Lombardy was soon e m

braced in it The talen t ed Sil v io Pellico whos e
.
,

p athetic n arrative o f his persecutions and sufferings

afterwards won for him the sympathy of the wo rld
Count C o nfalio nie ri a member of a family illus t rious
,

in the annals o f Milan a man o f immense intellect

,

and dauntless courage and a zealous promoter o f ,

—
popular education Count Porro remarkable fo r his ,

zeal and liberality in promoting the cultivation o f

—
literature and the arts Gioj a o n e o f the mos t pro ,

found thinkers amongst t he literary men o f I taly ,

and the author o f several works on political economy

— Pecchi e a m an of similar p ursuits and mental
,

—
calibre S c al in the translator o f Goethe were
v i —
,

amongst the earliest o f the initiated .

into the A
w
S im ul t ane
u s t n an ro v i nc e s the secret society o f the ,
mw e fe arb o naris m

I talian Federa ti was formed aEdTas wel l as that o f ,

—
the Adelphi was c e nn e ct ed Vvit h t he C arb o nari o n a
‘ ' ' ‘ ’

plan similar to that which bound the Guelphs with the

ori g inal Society in the Papal States The obj ects o f .

al l these societies were the same and measures were ,

taken during the autumn o f 1 8 2 0 to concert a com ~

b ine d plan o f action t li ro u h o ut rt h e rn and C e nt ral

cr

I tal y JNit h a vie w to this end C o nfalio nie ri wen t

.
,
2 52 TH E CAR B ONARI
.

to Florence and Pecchi e to Turin ; and an arrange

,

ment was m ade fo r the union o f Piedmont with

Lombar dy and Venetia and a federal union with the
,

States o f the centre and the south when the revo ,

l uti e n should be accomplished and the Aus t rian s

expelled .

I n the mean t im e t h e m ental vision o f t he leaders

,

was turned anxiously towards t h e south where e vents ,

were n o t progressin g so favourably for t h e cause o f

liberty as had been hoped Thou g h the Spanish
.

Constit ution had been accep t ed by the Duke o f

Calab ria in t h e name o f the King unconditional ly
, , ,

the Ministers deemed it ad v isable to submit it to the

Parliamen t ; and certain modifications relative t o
religio n being made a g ainst which Cardinal R u ffo
,

and twenty t w o d i gnitaries of the Church vehemently

-

protes t ed the royal veto was pronounced

,
Naples .

thereupon again became a scene o f excitement an d

disor der O n the 1 5 th of January a mob of several
.
,

hundreds o f men invaded the hall of the Assem b ly ,

and took possession of the tribunes fro m which their,

leaders demanded the arrest o f Cardinal R u ffo t h e ,

adoption o f t he modificat ions in defiance o f the veto ,

and the reduction of the R oyal Guard By the .

Absolutis t s these rio t ers were said to be R epublican

,

Carbonari ; the Liberals o n the other hand denounced

, ,

t h em as the hirelings o f a foreign Po w e r paid t o ,

foment disorders and discredit the constitu tional

cause Several deputies o f the lat t er pa rty reproached
.

them in that sense and their l e aders thereupon beca me

,

silent and withdre w from t h e tribunes

,
The hall .

was then cleared but sev er al a ffrays took place during

,

t h e ni g ht bet w een p arties o f t h e N ational G uard and .

 THE C ARR ONAR I 2 53

the Carbonaro Gu ard in which the latter were gene ,

ral ly wors t ed .

These d issensions and dis t urbances m ade t h e mode

ra t e Carbonari desirou s o f e flac ing from t h e S o die t y its
secret character and impre ssing it w ith t hat o f an
, _ _ _

association for t he maintenance of the Constitution ,

view the stat utes of t h e Society were revised t h e

, ,

patents o f m any o f the lodges w Fre w it hdraw n

m

j aiid
the more viol ent m ast ers o f the R epu b lica nsedt ib n
“ -

everywhere expelle d
F
-‘J '
The expelled ultras formed .

t h emsel ves i n t o a new Soc i ety u n de r t h e nam e of

o 0
‘

‘ - “

y ag o re ansg b ut t h e intendant o f Teramo ord ered

u " fl

~
t he ir lodges to be close d and in N aples they were ,

placed un der th e sur veilla nce o f the police The .

Carbonaro Guard was at the same time reorganise d , , ,

and subj ec te d to a weeding process in order to remove ,

from i t m e n who held the poli t ical creed of the ultras .

I t may b e doub t ed wh e t her the Society w as n o t

i

w eakened rather than strengthened by this p olicy ;

, ,

but the leaders n o w they were invested legally with

,

suprem e power were anxious for the m ainten ance o f

,

order and the avoidance of any pretext fo r foreign

intervention and they were unaware that they were
,

bein g betrayed t o their ruin by a pe rfidio u s King .

Ferdinand had attended the Con g res s o f L ay b ac h ,

t o which place the m eeting o f the Sovereigns o f the

H oly Alliance h ad bee n a dj ourned ostensibly to ,

obtain the sanction of that crowned triumvirate to the

re v olu t ion a mission in which the Prince of Cariati
,

h ad already failed H e did no t succeed and proba b ly

.
,

d id no t desire success A counter revolution w as .

-

decreed by the northern despots and an A u strian ,

2 54 THE CARB ONARI

army crossed the Po traversed the dominions o f t he

,

Pope and prepared to inv ade t h e Neapolit an territory

,

at R ieti I n the m eantim e Ferdi n and and the Duke

.
,

o f Calabria in whom the suprem e command o f t he

,

army was ves t ed by the Constitutio n were t aking ,

m easures to render the national resistance una v ailing .

Ge n eral Pepe was despatched towards the frontier

with only ten thousand men m os t o f whom wer e ,

m ili tia to oppose t he advance o f sixty tho u sand

,

Austrians R ei nforcem ents were promised him and

.
,

also supplies o f clo thing and boots which were m uch ,

needed ; but they were not sent and whilst he was , ,

hastening towards the frontier t o resis t the invasion ,

secret emissaries o f the Kin g were spreadin g false

reports that a R ussian army was o n the Po prepared ,

t o support the A u strians and the British and French ,

fleets o n their way to t h e Bay o f Naples t o c o operat e -

with the invaders .

Pepe reach ed Aquila o n the 2 0 t h o f February s t ill ,

re lyi ng u pon the promises o f the Du k e o f Calabria ,

who at the end o f the month assured him that

, ,

C arasc o sas was o n his way t o suppor t him On the

. .

3 rd o f March when the Austrians were preparing to

,

cross the fro ntier and C arasc o sas was still far distant
, ,

the m il i tia began to disband the intend an t o f Aquila ,

being eng aged in the dissemin ation o f false reports in

the interest o f the enemy with whom he was in com ,

m unic at io n while two adj utants were indicated to

,

Pepe by Colonel Pisa an officer o f his sta ff as , ,

employed by a person of high r ank t o e ffect the

d i spersion o f th e army O n the 7 t h the Aus t rians .

crossed the frontier and Pepe at t acked them at ,

Civita Ducale but after a comba t o f seven hours

, , ,
 THE CA RB ONAR I . 2 55

was forced t o retire t o Aquila The Austrians .

fo l lowed and t he Neapolitan mili tia continuing to

, ,

deser t until their defection and his losses at Civita

D ucale left him scarcely a thousand men Pepe re ,

tre ated t o I sernia H e then found t hat C aras c o sas

.
,

ins t ead o f advancing t o his support had fallen b ac k ,

as the Aus t rians advanced and o n reachi ng t h e Vol

, ,

turno had traitorously disbanded his troop s

, .

Pepe immediately has t ened to Nap l es and made ,

energ etic e fforts t o collect troops ; bu t he was para

lysed by t h e discovery t h at secre t orders h ad been
given to the regimental officers not t o advance beyo nd
Capua and o n receiv i n g a h in t from the Spanish
,
’
A m bassador the Cavaliere d O ni s to provide for h is
, ,

personal safety he embarked for Barcelona t w o days

,

after his arrival in the capital The Duke of Calabria .

wrote to him afterwards o ffering him a diplomatic

,

appointment ; but Pepe declined to accep t it inform ,

ing t h e Neapolitan Minister at Madrid that he recog

n is e d neither the Austrian military government at

Naples nor the absolute ru l e of Ferdinand I V to .

,

which it w as preliminary W hat would have been

.

his fate if h e h ad returned to Naples o r h ad remained ,

there m ay be inferred from that of Morelli and Sil

,

vati who were arres t ed on the entry of the Austrians

, ,

tried by a military commission an d condemned to ,

death .
The y m et their f ate with calmness and
courage never once swerving from the principles for
,

the assertion of wh ich they su ffered Morelli wished .

to speak at the place of execution and began a bold ,

profession o f h i s political faith ; but the A ustrian

drums drowned h is voice so fearful were Bourbons
,

and H apsburgs alike that the Carbonaro creed should

2 56 THE CAR R ONA RI
.

be reci ted in t he hearing o f t heir subj ec t s even by a ,

bound prisoner whom only a few moments divided

from death .

h i le these even t s were in progress in the sou th

aly the exci t ing drama of revolution was being
duc e d in Piedmont The Carbon aro system h ad
.

spread rapidly especially since the revolution in

,
-

and at the close o f 1 8 2 0 the Piedmontese

lo dges embraced all the in t ellect and pa t rio tism o f

younge r m embers o f t h e nobilit nior

o fficers f t he arm formed the 7
move
ment and c ommunicat ed to it —t h e 4 rre pre ss tb lea i do ur
,
- -
°

o f t h eir age Th e Prince o f Cari g nano lent the c o n

.

s irat o rs the influence o f his name an d his exalted

p
position and as the presumptive heir to t he throne
, , ,

was nat urally regarded as the leader o f the move

m ent . H is adhesion proved however a s erious m is , ,

fortune duplici ty b ei ng an ineradicable vice of his

,

character which h as caus e d his name t o be h anded

,

down t o posterity with the odium o f the blackest

treachery o f which h istory a ffords an example .

Passing from the lodges o f t he Carbonari t o the

saloons o f the R ussian Ambassador he betrayed the ,

secrets o f the Society knowin g that they would be

,

immediately communicated t o the Aus t r i an Minister ,

and by him t o Metternich ; and he returned to the

counci l s o f the conspirators to assist by hypocrisy ,

and deceit in the weaving o f a web o f i niquity by

,

which he would be advanced a step nearer t o the

throne while the cause o f freedo m would be in
,

definitely thrown back .

Arra ngemen t s were made for a rising o n t he 1 2 t h

 THE CARB ONARI 2 57

of January bu t the movement was postponed by t he

,

Prince o f Carig nano About the end of February the

.

King was inform ed by t h e Austrian Ambassador that

the Carbonari were plo t ting the expulsion o f the
Austrians ; and the resol ution o f the Congress o f
Troppau m ust have impressed Victor E mmanuel very
d eeply w ith t he conviction that he held h is throne
by s u fferance o f Austria the condition being th at h e
,

m ust neither grant the C onstitution which his sub

j e c t s were clamouring for nor evince the faintest
sympathy with the patriotic aspirations o f the
I talians for the indep endence o f their country .

Several o f the nobility were arrested therefore o n , ,

suspicion o f being concerned in the conspiracy de

n o u nc e d by t h e Austrian Minister and imprisoned ,

in the fortress o f F e ne st re lle s .

The Prince of Cari g nano whose treachery had been ,

t he ca u se o f these misfortunes at le ngth on the 8 t h , ,

o f March gave the order for an immediate rising ;

,

but h e countermanded this order on the following day ,

and the revolution would not have been e ffected if

Count Parma had not resolved to disregard the re
vocation o f the order and act o n the instructions o f
,

the 8 th '
On the l 0 t h o f March a Constitutio n
ae

similar to that o f Spain and Naples was openly pro

claimed at Alessan dri a by Count Parma and Colonel
R egis who supported by the greater part o f the
, ,

garrison and the students o f the university seized ,

the cita del and hoisted the I t ali an tricolour green—

,

red and blue O n the following day when the news

,
. ,

o f this event re ached Turin great excitement pre ,

Li fe and Wri t i ng s o f Jo se ph Maz z ini .

VO L . I . S
 2 58 THE CAR R ONARI .

vailed an d t he Carbonari o f the garrison and t he

,

u niversity paraded the principal st ree t s shouti n g fo r ,

the Constitution E arly o n the morning o f the 1 2 th

.

Captain L e sio set o ut from Turin for Pig ne ro l where ,

a li g ht c av al rv regim ent pronounced for the C o n st it u

tion and was led by him to the capital The attitude
, .

o f the army renderi n g i t evident that i t could n o t be

relied upon as a m eans o f resisting t he popular move

m ent the Governor o f Turin t he Cavaliere Varas
, , ,

mee k his departure with t he few troops who re m aine d

loyal ; an d t h e Carbo nar1 1 mm e diat e ly t ook possession
o f the citadel hoisted the na t ional tricolour and pro
, ,

claimed the Cons t itution amids t general and fervent

enthusiasm .

Victor E mmanuel who was residing a t this t ime

,

at the royal c h fit e au o f Monte C al v e ri in t he neigh ,

b o urh o o d o f the capital hastene d t o Turin o n learning

,

what had occurred at Alessandria and convened the ,

Cou ncil o f Ministers the momen t he arrived Finding .

a repor t current t hat the Austrian Government had

d emanded the disbandm en t o f t h e Piedmon t ese army ,

and the occupa t ion o f the for t resses by Austrian

troops h e immediately issued a proclamat ion denying
, ,

that such demands had been m ade and t hen proposed

to put himself a t the head of the R oyal Guards and ,

march t o Alessandria to supp r ess th e revolt He .

was evidently very imperfec t ly acquain t ed with t h e

situation and seem s to have fai n tly realised i t e v en
,

when farther enli g htened The idea o f going to .

Alessandria was abandoned o n its being found that

the troops h ad pronounced for t he Constitution and ,

coul d n o t be depended upon for t h e defence o f

absolutism N 0 other presented itself however and
.
, ,
 THE CARR ONAR I . 2 59

the roar of the m ultitude withou t shou t ing for t he ,

Constitution warned h im that something m us t be

,

done o r it would soon be too late to do anything

, .

The Guards ordered to disperse the crowd before

the pa lace j oined in the cry for the Constitution but ,

otherwise remained inactive I t was th en proposed .

in the Council that a Constitution similar to tha t of

France should be proclaimed ; but before t his coul d
b e done the boomin g o f three guns fro m the ramparts
,

o f the citadel announced t hat the fortress was in the

possession of the conspirators Startled and dismaye d .

,

the King desired the Prince o f Carignano to hasten

to the citadel and ascertain the demands o f the
,

Carbonaro leaders The Prince departed and re

.
,

turned with the in t elligence that he had found a

grea t crowd on the glacis shouting for the C o n
,

s t it u t io n
,
and the troops on the ramparts echoing
the cry and poin ting with exul t ation to the tri
,

coloured flag H e had been received with m ilitary

.

honours and t reated with respect and courtesy by

,

the Carbonaro leaders who demanded the pro c l a

,

m ation o f the Spanish Constitution and w ar with

Austria for the independence o f I taly .

The Council sat all night and Victor E mmanuel, ,

finding that he m ust yield or retire at len g th resolved ,

to follo w the example o f his roy al brother of N aples ,

an d abdicate the throne E arly o n the foll o wing

.

morning therefore he left Turi n wit h his family

, , ,

and retired to Nice ; and the Prince of C ari g nano ,

assumin g the functions o f R e g ent o f the Kin g dom ,

issued a proclamation announcin g the chan g e which

had been resolved upon notified the event t o the
,

Ministers of fore ig n P o wers and entered upon the

,

s 2
2 60 THE CA RR ONARI .

exercise o f the full po w ers o f sovereignty The .

Spanish Constitution was proclaimed ami ds t the

acclamatio n s o f t h e people who saw th e future
,

through a rosy medium tha t e ffaced the r esolution

of the H oly Alliance and the impending Austrian
intervention l n Naples .

The crown devolved by t he resignation o f Vic t or

E m manuel upon his brother Charles Felix who w as
, ,

at th at time residing at Modena and known to be,

a decided absolutist Th e double treachery o f the

.

Prince of Carignano was n o t long in displayi ng i t self .

On t h e evening o f t he 2 3 rd only eleven days after

,

h e h ad accepted the R e g ency o f the kingdom he left ,

Turi n at the head of the R oyal Guards the light ,

artillery and two re g i me nts o f cavalry ; and Count

,

L atour w h o com m anded a co n siderable force at

,

No v ara and at first seemed disposed to recognise

,

the revo l ut i on invited Count B ub na the General

, ,

comm an di n g the Austr ian army o n the frontier t o ,

enter Piedmont and e ffect a counter revolution

,
-
.

The se defect ions not only prevented the Carbonari

o f Piedm ont from aiding their Good Cousins o f L o m

b ardy but crushed their hopes o f establishing c o n

,

st it ut io n al government in the former State On the .

h o f the loyalists and the Aus t rians to

they retired to Alessandria and thence t o ,

which h ad pronounced fo r the Constitution

’
o n the day o f C arig n an o s flight Charl es Felix
.

entered the c apital an absolute sovereign but o win g ,

h is throne to foreign bayonets and t h e revolutionary

leaders embarked at Genoa for Barcelo na .

This deplorable coll apse o f the Pied m ontese revo

luti e n left no hope for the patriots o f Lombardy ,
 THE CARB ONARI . . 2 61

whose movemen t s depended o n i t s success Co un t .

C o nfalio nie ri was seriously ill a t t he time and o n ,

t he eve o f its outbreak he wrote to Count St Marsan .

,

advising its postponement on the g round that Lom

bardy w as not prepared H e received at the s ame
.

time a warning fro m C o unt B ub na that the m ove

ment w as hopeless and would ruin all who engaged
,

i’s
in it ; b ut he disregarde d the hint and his let t er ,

to St Marsan was either unheeded or w as received

.

too late A plan o f c o operation with the expected

.
-

Piedmontese army had been arrange d at the end of

February by Pecchi e and S c al v ini in conj unction ,

with Count Giovanni Ar riv ab e ne Borsieri Cler k to , ,

the Court o f A ppeal at Milan and two o t her Car ,

bonari Bo ssi and Castiglia Count A rriv ab e ne was

,
.

not a C a1 b o naro holding that the independence of

,

I taly co ul d be ac c o mfi h e d without secret societies ;

but he sympathised wa 1 n1 ly wit h the m ovement and ,

o n l e ai nin that funds were required for its success

g
in Piedmont furnished the cons pirators with a c o n
,

s ide rab l e s um Count C o nfalio nie ri was to be the

.

head of t h e Provisional G overnment that was to be

proclaimed in Milan on the entry of the P i edmontese ,

which movement would have cut o ff the Austrian

army o n the Po ; but his illness removed a check o n
the impulsive enthusiasm o f the s ubordinate con
s irat o rs who hurried o n the m o v e ment i n Piedmont
p ,

before they were prepared to c o operate wi t h it -

.

Casti g lia and the M arquis of P alla vicini we nt t o

Turin for that purpose and another emiss ary w as
,

s ent t o the C arbonaro lodge at Brescia where it w as ,

Arrivab e ne A n E
, p
o c h o f my L ife .
2 62 THE OAR B ONARI .

de t ermined t o muster all the Carbonari o f t he district

as soon as t he Pie dmon t ese crossed t he frontier and , ,

simultaneously with an outbreak in Mila n to disar m ,

the garrison seize t he treasury and surpris e t he for

, ,

tresses o f Pe schiera an d R occa d A ufo The c o nc e n ’

.

t rat io n o f A ustrian t roops o n the fron t ier and the

collap se o f the Piedm onte s e revolut i on defeated this
proj ect and when ab so l ut 1 sm had been re es t ablished
,
-

at Naples and Turin the Austrian police proceeded

,

t o gather t he leaders o f the secre t societies o f Lo m

bardy into the I m perial prisons .

Pellico suspected o n account o f t he liberalism o f

,

—
his articles in th e Uo nc zlza iore L ade rc h i and Maron
’ ’

celli accus e d o f propagating Carbonarism — Gioj a

, ,

suspected o f a secret corre spon dence with the abettors

o f revolution — were already in prison and acommis
sion was appointed to examine them and others w h o ,

might be caught in the meshes o f the police Under .

the rigorous and daily repeated interrogatori e s o f the

-

chief commissioner the execrable S al v o t t i L ade rc h i

, ,

admitted tha t he had told Professor R essi that he was

a Carbonaro and Pellico made a similar admission
,

concerning Count A rriv ab e ne R essi and A rriv ab e ne .

were immediately a rres t ed and hurried o ff to Venice , ,

where with the other prisoners they were lodged in

, ,

the prison o f S t Michele situate o n t he little island

.
,

o f that name Co un t A rriv ab e ne felt confident that

.

his detention would be brief as he was not a Carbo ,

naro and there was no evidence to connect him with

,

the conspiracy ; but he had forgotten that Pellico had

sugges t ed the Carbonaro system t o h im in the aut u m n
”
of 1 820 Pellico said S al v o t t i when he found that
.
,
,

he could ex t ract from him no thing criminatory con ,

 TH E CARB ONA RI . 2 63

fide d to you that he was a Carbon aro it was your :

duty t o deno unce him to the Gove rn m e nt ; yo u have

no t done so — therefore y o u are guilty o f t h e cri me o f
,

no n revelation
-
.

The nex t arres t was t hat of S c al v ini accused o f ,

having two years previously written a letter in which

, ,

h e had spoken irreverently o f the Et n pe ro r Then .

cam e the turn o f Count C o nfal io nie ri who had in ,

e

d ul g e d t h e delusive dream that he was unsuspect ed ,

and that even i f suspected the Government would

, ,

n o t arres t a man of h is hi g h rank and illust r ious

l in eage . H e was arrested in Dece m ber together with ,

Ca stiglia and the Marquis o f Pallavicini j ust after ,

Co ant A rriv ab e ne obtained his freedom The police .

h ad n o w g o t a cl ue to the conspiracy and mino r ,

ofl ende rs were of less conseq uence Gioj a was also .

’
liberated after s u ffering nine months imprisonment ;
,

and Sc al vini having su ffered a similar period of de

,

tention was discharged from custody at the end of

,

Fe b ruary .

The liberated becam e the lions o f the saloons o f “

Venice the noblest o f the kingdom including the

, ,

Princess o f Gonzaga an d the Countes s A l b riz z i who m ,

Byron cal led the De Sta el o f I taly vying with each ,

other in doing them honour B ut they were not y e t .

safe Count A rriv ab e ne on goin g t o Milan called

.
, ,

upon t h e Countess C o n falio nie ri who adv i sed him to ,

leave the country as quic k ly as he could H e neglected .

t he warning and o n learning that S c al v in i was free

, , ,

went to Brescia to welcome him bac k to liberty T h e .

poet advised that they should le av e I taly t ogether ;

but t h e Coun t was hard to convince that he was in
any danger and eve n the circums t ance o f his no t
,
2 64 THE C AR E ON A RI

being allowed to proceed from Brescia to Vero n a t h e ,

police requiring him t o return to Mantua in t h e ,

v icinity of which he resided failed t o i mpress h im/

,

with a due sense o f the consequences o f disre g ar

the warning o f the Countess C o nfal io nie ri w h o ,

probably good reason fo r her advice the fami l y b ,

o n friendly term s with the Aus t rian G eneral Coun t ,

Bub u a .

The arres t o f Borsieri and Mo mpian i o n th e 8 t h

April roused him at length t o consciou snes s o f dang
and he hurried to Brescia whence he S c al v ini
, , ,

Baron U g o ni fled to Switzerl and Count Porro .

patria ted himse l f at the sa m e time and with the o , ,

refugee s was ordere d to surren d er within sixty

,

under the penalty o f the sequestration o f their

perty in default and o n their failing to return
, ,

estates were placed under sequestration and t ,

selves finally condemned to death as c o nt uma

o ffenders .

The trials o f t he Carbonari were pro t rac t ed

t h e beginning o f 1 8 2 2 when C o nfal io nie ri Pelli co
, , ,

Maro nce lli and some others were condemned to

, ,

death ; and R essi and m any m ore t o imprisonme nt

, ,

for life R essi w as released shortly after w ards by

.

death however ; and the sentences o n the others

,

were com muted by t he E mperor at t he intercession ,

o f the E mpress and the Viceroy supported by pe t itions,

from t h e nobles o f L o m bardy an d Venetia and t h e ,

Archbishop o f Milan and his clergy C o nfalio nie ri .

was ordered to be exposed in the pillory and then t o ,

be imprisoned fo r life in the fortress of Spielberg ; and

the others were to su ffer an incarceration o f fift ee n
ye ars in that dreaded prison .
 THE CARB ONARI . 2 65

Though C o nfal io nie ri had fo r some time been s o

ill and weak that he coul d scarcely stand h e was ,

dragged loaded with chains to undergo the degrada

, ,

t ion o f the pillory ; and shortly afterwards though

, ,

declared by physicians to be in a dying state was ,

co m pelled to s e t ou t for Spielberg with the rest H e .

fell fro m one fainting fit into another however and , ,

had to be left by the way O n h is recovery he was .

re m oved t o Vienna where Count S e dl e w it sk y Director

, ,

General of t he Police and Prince Metternich visi t ed

,

him in turn each u sing every argument that sug

,

g ested itself in the endeavour to obtain disclosures

fro m him The prisoner was firm however in his
.
, ,

refusal and w as sent o n to Spielber g still su ffering

, ,

from fainting fits to wear o ut h is li fe u n der the sy s

,

t e m at ic cruelty by which the Au strian Government

s t rove to unravel the secrets o f the Carbonari and
s t rike terror into every I ta lian heart .

The E mperor m ust b e re g arded at this time as the

head gaoler o f h is dominions H e h ad a plan o f the .

fortress and seemed to be constantly studying the

,

means o f isolating the captives m ore completely and ,

increasing the rigour and t h e irksomeness o f their

confinement No one unconnected with the prison
.

was allowed to s e e them ; the mean s of reading and

writin g were strictly prohibited W hen they peti .

t io ne d for permission to labour in the open a ir wit h

the felons they were ordered to m ake lint in the ir
,

cells ; and when they comp l ained of this ag g ravation

o f their punishment he sai d with a sneer ,
A re they
, ,

not philanthropists ? The g ao le rs and g uards were o

frequently changed lest hum anity should assert itself

,

and t h e prisoners ob t ain some alleviation o f the ir

2 66 THE OARB ONARI .

punishment o r even be enabled t o escape Priests

, .

were sen t to w ork upon their minds and hea rts and ,

endeavour t o extrac t from them political secrets unde r

the plea o f performing the o ffices of religion The .

commandant o f the fortress was directed to keep t h e

strictest watch over the prisoners the gaolers and , ,

the gu ards and m ake a daily report t o the E mperor ;

'
,

and l e st h e should fail in the performance o f his duty ,

t he assistant hangm an o f Vienna was sent to Spielberg

t o be a spy upon the comman dant The direc t or.

general o f t h e po l ic e visited t he fortress monthly and

‘

repo rt ed upon its condition and man agement the

governor general was ordered to report upon t h e con
-

duct o f the direc t or general o f the police and the com

-

m andant of t h e fortress ; and an A ulic Councillor o r ,

a Minister o f Sta t e visited Spielberg every year; with

,

instructions to take everybody by s urprise and as o er ,

’
tain whether the E mperor s orders were stric tly
execu t ed .

Several o f the political prisoners o f 1 8 2 0 2 1 perished -

prematurely in their du ngeons ; and when in 1 8 3 0 , ,

an amnes ty was gran t ed by the E mperor C o nfalio nie ri ,

w as prematurely aged and infirm Pellico had los t a ,

limb Maro nc e ll i was in t he last stage o f disease and

, ,

there was not one o f the survivors whose su ffer i ngs

and long confinement had not shortened his remaini n g
years o f life C o n falio nie ri was liberated even then
.
, ,

only on the condition o f n ot returning to I taly H e .

proceeded to the United Stat es where he remained

,

un t il 1 8 4 1 when he received perm i ssion to reside in

,

the land o f his birth ; bu t he sur vived the indulgenc e

only five years .
 C H APT ER V I .

TH E S O CIA TE D
A S I S
PA TR O T .

R ANC E on t he fall o f Napoleon experienced the

, ,

h u m iliation which she h ad in flicted on Germany

during his supremacy The dynasty which she had
.

subverted by s o trem endous an e ffort was restored by

.

the might of foreign armies ; her long conquering -

legions were disbanded and the tricoloured flag

,

under which i t had fought at Marengo and A uster

litz an d Jena replaced by the white ensign o f the
ancient m onarchy ; her fortresses were held by forei g n
troops whose iron grasp w as felt as that o f a g aoler
,

an indemnity o f sixt y m illions sterlin g had to be

raised by the i mposition o f fresh taxes upon a people
whose commerce and industry were already prostrated
by the exactions in blood and money o f their late
, ,

despot .

E ven this terrible amount of sacrifice and humiliation

did not procure for the French people either liberty
o r inter n al peace
. The Ch arter limited the possession
b f political power to t h e l arge landowners and the upper
grades of the middle cl ass ; the press was bound in the
fetters o f the censorship ; the free dom o f speech w as
stifled by the enactmen t o f the severest penalties fo r
the faintest utterance that could be disple asing t o the
exultant partisans o f the res t o red dynasty The .
2 68 THE AS S O CIA TED PA TRIOTS .

nobles who had fled from France o n t he fall o f th e

monarchy and had since been enga g ed in a cons t ant
,

conspiracy against their country flocked back breath , ,

ing fire and sla ughter against R epublicans and B uo n a

art ist s alike Their emissaries stirred up the rabble
p .

to the co m mission o f crimes and outrages against

the persons and property o f the proscribed parties
which vied in atrocity with those o f the San F e dist s
o f Naples R oyalist m obs murdered Marshal Brune
.

a t Avi g non with circumstances o f horrible barbarity ;

,

threatened the life o f Masse n a at Marseilles and cut ,

to pieces his friend Angles C ape fiq ue a near relative -

,

o f the historian o f tha t n ame burst into the house o f

General R amel at Toulouse and murdered him in his ,

bed ; shot Ge neral Legarde at Nismes while he was ,

endeavouring t o protect the O pening o f a Protestan t

chapel ; an d at Marseilles Nis m es and Toulouse pil , ,

l ag e d and burned the houses o f several persons who

were obnoxious to them These atrocities were ne v er .

punished o r even inquired into ; a R oyal ist reign o f

,

terror prevailed all through the sou th and the pre ,

feets were either u nable o r u nwilling to do t heir d uty .

The R epresenta t ive Chamber elected as it was by ,

the more wealthy classes whose in t eres t s prompt ,

them t o suppor t order at wha t ever sacrifice o f free

dom consisted o f a large m aj ority o f partisans o f the
,

o l d ré zmc and a minority which was n o t an Oppo

'

y ,

sitio u since it was more in accordance wi t h the

,

Ministry than t he m aj ority The B uo napart ist s and .

the R epublicans who now j ointly assumed the name of

,

the Patriots were represented only by F l aug e rg ue s

,

and A rg e ns o n There sa t in the Chamber of Depu t ies

. ,

t he r efore only t hos e w h o suppo r ted a Cons ti t u t io n

,
 THE AS SOCIA TED PA TRIOTS . 2 69

which excluded t h e people from political power and ,

those who w ould gl adly have torn up t h e Charter ,

and dispensed with even the s h adow o f representative

government which it established .

The first acts o f the Chambers in t he session o f

1 8 1 5 1 6 were t h e establishment of the censorship
—
, ,

the imposition o f heavy t axes for the purpose o f

paying the indemnity and a measure for the re pre s
,

sion of sedition which when its provisions became

,

k no wn whiten e d with dismay every cheek that did

,

not redden with indignation By t h is Draco nian .

stat ute it was enacted that all person s accused o f

o ffences agai nst the person or authority of the Ki ng ,

o r any m ember o f the royal family or the security o f ,

the State might be arrested and detained in prison

,

u ntil t he end of t he n ext session o f the Chambers ,

without being brought to trial ; and all person s con

v ic t e d of uttering seditious cries uttering o r writing ,

any threat against the Ki ng o r any member o f the ,

royal family stimulating to resistance o f the royal

,

auth orit y provok i ng directly o r indirectly the over

,

throw o f the Government o r a change i n the order o f

,

succession to the throne or exhibiting an y other fl ag

,

than the white fl ag whether o r not any consequences

,

should follow such o ffences and whether or not they,

should be connected w i th any actual conspiracy ,

s h ould b e transpor t ed to Cayenne Terms o f im .

prisonment varyi ng from three months to five year s

, ,

together with pecuniary fines were assi g ned fo r a ,

m ultitude o f minor o ffences which ren dered it difficult

,

in the extreme fo r any person who m i ght be obnoxious

to the Government to avoid falling in t o the meshes
o f the police .
2 70 THE AS S OCIA TED PA TRIOTS .

L est even this severe m easure should leave any

loophole o f e scape for those who might infringe its
provisions provostal courts which were a revival in
, ,

s ome measure o f the o ld tribunals o f the provost

m arshals were instituted for their more certain

,

condemnation E very depart ment had its provostal

.

cou rt the j udges o f which were nomina t e d by the

,

chancellor and were untrammelled by t he interven t ion

,

o f a j ury and every such court had attached to i t a

provost who was appoin t ed by t h e M inister fo r War
, ,

an d was almost invariably an o l d military o fficer o f

the era preceding the Revolution The function o f .

this o fficer was t o arrest and bring before the court all
persons whom he believed t o be disaffected to the
Government o r engaged in any plot against the
,

Crown o r the Stat e ; and he was assisted in i t s exercise

by self constituted commit t ees in all the towns and
-
,

t h e members o f which were in constan t co m munication

with the Pavillon Marsan as the co t erie o f the Coun t,

o f Ar t ois was called These royalist committees and

.

the provostal courts soon cam e in t o active operat ion ,

and be t wee n them they di ffused over France a feeling

o f dread which recalled t he mos t terrible period o f

the R evolution .

I t was under t hese circums t ances t hat the secre t

society o f the Associated Patriots w as formed with ,

the obj ect o f e ffecting a revolu t ion before the army

could be reorganised and establishing a R epublic,
.

I ts direction was in Paris but there were branch ,

societies in several provi nc i al towns The organisation .

o f the Socie t y seems never to have become thorough l y

known to the police but the suspicions o f the Govern

,
'

m ent poin t ed t o Lafayette as t he secre t direc t or o f the

 THE A SSO CIA TED PA TRIOTS . 2 71

m ovement tho ugh h is connexion with i t could n o t

,

be d i scovered The houses of the ve t eran revolutionist

.

and his friends Manuel and A rg e n so n were the

,

nigh t ly reso rt o f disa ffected persons e spe c 1 ally of men

,

who had sat in the National Convention or held com

missions in the armies of the R epublic an d t he
E mpire Many of th e latter class weeded out of the
.
,

army since the restoration o f the Bourbons and ,

displaced civil functionaries superseded under the

,

R ichelieu administration by partisans of the new order

o f things belonged to the Associa t ed Patriots ; and
,

with these were j oined many non commissioned -

o fficers and privates of the disbanded army and a

considerable number o f workm en The composition .

o f t he Society was similar it will be s een to that of the

, ,

Carbonaro organisation in France a few years later .

The operations o f the Society commenced before the

close o f 1 8 1 5 and were rapidly extended to places so
,

far apart as Amien s and Grenoble The p l an o f t h e .

conspirators is said to have embraced the blowing up

o f the Tuileries in the middle o f the night by m eans ,

o f twenty b arre l s o f gunpowder deposited in a s ub

terranean gallery wor k ed from an o l d sewer ; but as ,

this statement rests upon the unsupported testimony

of t h e spies o f t he R ue d e Jerusalem it m ust be ,

received wi t h cau tion The establishment o f a

.

Provisional Government and the convening o f a

,

Na tional Assembly were to follow,

Paris w as .

slenderly garrisoned at the time and chiefly by ,

British re g iments and there can be l i ttle doubt that ,

if the con spirators had ca rried o ut their design an d ,

triumphed in the c apital the provincial towns would

,

have immediately pronounced fo r the new revolution .

2 72 THE AS SOCIA TED PA TRIOTS .

The nightl y assemblages at the houses o f La fayett e ,

Manuel and A rg e nso n did no t escape the observation

,

o f the Government an d the police and t he chief o f ,

the es t ablishme nt in the R ue de Jerusalem did no t

hesi t ate to denounce those gentlemen to De c az e s w h o ,

had succeeded F o u c h é as Minister o f Police as t h e ,

chiefs o f som e hidden conspiracy The restored .

monarchy was however too youn g as yet for an

, ,

experiment upon t h e securi ty o f its foundations to b e

t ried by the arres t o f s o impor t an t a personage as
La fayette ; and it would n o t have been possible to have
prosecuted Manuel and A rg e n so n with o ut implicat ing
that veteran revolutionist The Ministers hesitated t o
.

proceed against either o f the dep uties t herefore though , ,

the arrest o f Manuel was specially urged upon t hem .

No bolder m easure could be resolved upon by the

R ichelieu Ministry than the arrest o f some obscure
individuals whose execution would i t was h oped
, , ,

strike terro r into the hearts of t he actual o r probable

conspirators o f every degree .

The means that were adop t ed fo r drawing the

desired victims into the m eshes o f the police were so
horrible that the story would be scarcely cre dible if it
were n o t confirmed by the tes t imony o f t h e famous
detective Vidocq and similar atrocities had no t bee n
, ,

recorded in the secre t registers of Downing Street .

The infamy wh i ch attaches to the names of R ey nolds

and A rmstrong t h e betrayers o f the U nited I r i shmen
, ,

is of a mild type compared with that o f the H ome

O ffice emissaries who concocted and then be t rayed the
, ,

Barley Mow plot for which Colonel Despar d su ffered

,

who reported to Lord Sidmouth day by day the , ,

 THE A SS OCIA TED PA R T IOTS . 2 73

t reasonable proj ec t t hat t hey were assis t ing t o concert

in that Cato Stree t garret which Th ist l e w o o d stained
with t he blood o f the poli ce o ffi cer Smithers and — -

who sugges te d t he darkest fea tures o f t he Cha rtist

c onspiracy o f

At the time when th e Associat ed Patrio t s were

c onspiring t he overthro w o f the m onarchy there were ,

in Paris a gr ea t number o f singing clubs called ,

”
uifi ue tt es This species o f political rat trap says
g y
-
.
,

Vidocq was at first formed under th e auspices o f

,

t he po lice who peopled it with their agents There

,
.

it was tha t whilst d rinking with m echanics and

,

perso n s composing the inferior class these spies o f ,

the G overnm en t worked u pon them in order t o

involve them in false conspiracies I have witnessed .

s everal o f these mock patriotic meetings at which ,

those w h o pretende d t o t he greatest s h are o f e n

t h usias m were t h e to ols o f the police and were easily ,

Po w ll l i
e , a as the Wel sh N o vi c e, w h o in s in uat e d h im se l f in t o t h e
c o nfi d e nc fC
e o u ffe y an d r s u nde r t h e as s um e d nam e
h is c
c o - o n s pi at o r
o f Ja c k so n a n d t h e fal se c h a r a c t e r o f a w o r k m an g aine d h is li v in g by ,

w al k ing fo r w ag e r s and spo ng ing in so c all e d s po r t ing public h o u se s - -

.

I t w as h e w h o s ugge st e d t h e s t r e w ing o f c al t r o ps in t h e st r e e t s t o
l am e t h e c av al ry h o r s e s D u ring t h e t r ial o f t h e c o n s pir at o rs h is
.

l o d gi ng w as w at h e d c by
t h e po l i e a nd h e w as e s o t e d ct hem to
, c r by
an d fr o m t h e O ld B ail e , l e s t h is ar e e r sh o ul d b e e nd e d h e f! t e b e
y c
h ad s e u r e d t h e o nd e m n at io n o f t h e a us e d
c c H e h ad h o e v e r a cc .
, w ,

na orr w c p
es a e of e in s h o t in t h e ib
t n g
e ss b o x — a fa t n o w r e v e al e d w -
c
fo tr h efir s t t im eT h e in
. t e n d in a s sa s s in w a gs t h e s h oe m a e r
p oe t k -
,

J am e s B l a a , o ne o f h o s e e ff us io n s a ppe ar e d in Re g/ na e s Mas
c k by w m ’ '

ce ll a n y, a nd a n o t h e r ( s u e s t e d t gg
h e d e a t h by o f L o r d A in e ) w a s b g r
p ub l ish ed at r C y
o do n H e d ie d s o m e
.
e a r s a g o a t H e r t fo r d
y Po e l l . w
h ad h i s p a s s a e t o gA u s t r a l ia p a id t h e G o v e r n mby
e n t b ut o l o nial , c
l ife w a s no t t o hi s t as t e and h e a me a , c b ck
a di s o n t e nt e d m a n c o m c ,

p l ai n ing t h at h e h a d s av e d so
“
cie t y ,
”
an d t h at so c ie t y h ad no t

a de q uat e l t e s t ifie d it s g rat t ude

y i .

VO L . I .
T
2 74 TH E A SSO CIA TE D PA R T IOTS .

dist i ngu i shedby t he g ross and vulg ar hat red ex presse d

in their so ngs agains t the royal family Thes e in .

temperate rhapsodies were the produc t ions o f t h e

same authors as the hymns o f S t Louis and St . .

Charles an d were paid for o ut o f the secret funds o f

,

the R ue de Jerusalem Three heads wer e by .

—
these machinations brough t to t he scaffold those o f
Carb onneau Pl e ig nie r and To lle ro n ; after which t h e
, ,

ifl ue zzes were closed There was o furt h er occasio n

‘‘
g u
g n .

fo r them ; su fficient blood had been shed ” .

The m e n n amed by Vidocq wer e res pec t ively a

w riting master a leat h e r cutter and an e n graver w h o
-
,
-
, ,

w ere arrested o n the charg e o f preparin g and c irc ul at

ing a t reasonable circular Pl e ig nie r was represen t ed .

by t h e police as t he os t ensib le chief o f the conspiracy ,

and he adm i tted his responsibility for t h e circulars ,

which with cards showing the a ffiliation o f th e accused

,

to the Associated Patriots was t h e chief evidenc e ,

a g ainst them in addition to tha t o f the police

,
.

Seven t een other persons were arres t ed including som e ,

w omen and were sentenced t o various t erms o f im

,

prisonment Pl e ig nie r C arbonneau an d To ll e ro n

.
, ,

were convic t ed o f treason and co n demned t o death ; ,

and the sentence was executed with every detail t ha t

w as calcula t ed to excite in the public mind a horror
o f their doom The unfortunat e men were conduc t ed
.

to the place o f execution with their faces concealed by

black veils after the m an ner in which parricides wer e
,

formerly led to t h e scaffold ; and before they were

s trapped to the plank and their necks placed beneath
,

the knife o f the guillotine each o f the conde m ned me n ,

3“ Au t o bi o g r aph y of c
Vi do q .
 THE AS S OCIA TED PA TRIOTS . 2 75

was m ade t o place his righ t hand upon a block where , ,

in the sight o f the horrified crowd i t was severed fro m ,

the arm b y the axe of the executioner The attempt . .

t o impress upon the specta t ors the idea that the Kin g
stood towards the people in the relation of a father to
his children w as simply puerile b u t the re v i val of the
barbarous practice o f mu t ilation before the infliction o f
t he capital sentence was a superadded horror tha t could
excite no other feeling than indignation and disgust .

There w as living in Paris at this time an old man

nam ed D i dier who had been educated with a view to
,

the priesthood but had adopted the profess i on of the

,

advoca t e as more congenial R estless and fickle he .

,

had several ti m es changed his political creed and been ,

by turns a R epublican a R oyal ist and an I mperialist

, ,
.

Under the E mpire h e h ad lived quie t ly o n the fortune

he had amassed by the practice of his pro fession and ,

he seems to have taken no part in the agitations which

attended the fall o f Napoleon his re t urn from E lba , ,

and his final abdication About the time when the .

conspiracy o f the As sociated Patriots collapsed h e was ,

observe d t o mix m u ch with t h e disa ffected o f al l deno

m inat io ns but especially with the partisans o f the
,

D uke o f Orleans ?
I n a short time aft er wards he left
P aris ostensibly on h is private business and proceeded
, ,

to Lyons where h e held communication with several

,

persons known to be disaffected to the G o ve rnment .

Thence he returned to Paris but in a fe w days agai n ,

departed leaving no trace o f h is route

,
.

H is destinat i on th i s time w as G renoble in the ,

v icinity of which town he w as born and where he w as ,

L a m art inc H is t o ry o f t he Re s t o rat io n

'

s .

T 2
2 76 THE AS S OCIA TED PA TRIOTS .

well known Making the house o f a friend an o l d

.
,

o ffi cer o f the I m perial army his head quart ers h e ,

-
,

assembled a number o f discharged officers n o n com ,

-

missioned o fficers and privat es and acquainted them

, ,

with a proj ect for the expulsion o f t he foreign gar ri

sons and the declaration o f the na t ional independence .

There w as no mention o f Napoleon II o f t h e Duke

o f Orle ans o r o f a R epublic
,
-
and t h e vagueness o f t h e
m anifesto produced dissatisfac t ion F o r the m oment .

i t fell dead bu t Didier passed from villa g e to village ,

and from farmhouse t o farmhouse between and ,

around Grenoble and Chamb ery addressi ng nocturnal ,

assemblies and enrolling partisa n s some in the n ame ,

o f Nap oleon II o thers in that o f a R epub l ic and in

.
, , ,

fewer instance s in that o f the D uke o f O rleans

,
.

The aim which he proposed to himself is not clear ,

his vague and contradictory ut t erances leaving nothing

d efined beyond an endeavour to overthro w the restored
dynasty o f Bourbon Lamartine inclines to the belief
.

that he was worki n g in the interests o f the Duke o f

Orleans but h is last words were an emphatic warning
to the K i ng against that prince and the m e n who m ,

he associated with hi m in his abor t ive enterprise were

all B uo napart ist s On the other hand n o connexion
.
,

could be traced between Didier and the R epublicans .

The Assoc iated Patriots o f Grenoble were a w are o f

his proceedings in the vill ages o f D auph iny and Savoy ,

but they distrusted him and declined to participat e

,

in t h em L i ke him they aimed at the subversion of

.
,

the Bourbo n s b ut they were as averse to the re st o ra

,

tion o f t h e E mpire as to t h e prolo ngation o f t h e

ancie nt Monarchy and the vague n ess o f his desi g ns
,

and h is B uo napart ist associations pointed in the

 THE A SSOCIA TED PA TRIOTS . 277

former direction They would not betray him but

.
,

they left h im to pursue his dange rous cours e alone .

On the night o f the 1 4 th of May Didier m arched,

against Grenoble at the head of about two hundred

d i schar g ed soldiers and peasants of the district ; b ut
General D onnad i eu the commandant o f the town
, ,

was on the alert having bee n warned by the police

, ,

who had tracke d Didier to Lyons back to Par i s and

, ,

thence to Grenoble A t the head o f the garrison he

.

attacke d and repulsed the insurgents kill i ng eigh t ,

and taking sixty prisoners H e immediately sent t o

.

Paris a grossly exaggerated report o f the affair re pre ,

s enting that the insurgents numbe red t w o thousand ,

and that the road leading from Grenoble to Chamb ery

w as covere d with the dead and wounded the former ,

alone numbering m ore than a hundred These e x ag .

e rat io ns created in the mind o f the King the fear

g
that invariably engenders cruelty ; orders were sent
to G renoble that none o f the convicted insurgents
were to be spared and a reward o f eight hundred
,

pounds was o ffered for the arrest o f Di dier who had ,

escaped into the mountains of Savoy Before the in .

human order o f Louis X VI II reached Greno b le the

.

p risoners had been tr i ed and convicted by the Pro

vostal Court and three o f them shot Twenty one
,
.
-

others had obtained a tempora ry respite but the roya l ,

orders were peremptory and the whole o f the m were

,

executed Didier himself was betrayed by a peasan t

.

who had sheltered him until the reward was o ffered ,

and b eing given up to the Sard i ni an authorities

, ,

was surrendered by them to the French police and

e x ecuted
.

T hi s ou t break was followed o n t he 8 t h o f J une by

, ,
2 78 THE A SS OCIA TED PA TRIOTS .

a similar affair a t Ly ons which had n o connexion

,

with the r isi n g around Grenoble and ye t was no t ,

traced t o the Associate d Patriots O n the eveni ng .

o f the day m entio ned the alarm bells were r ung in -

several villages around Lyons and a body o f armed,

m e n approached the city bu t they were dispersed by

,

the troops without muc h di fficulty and t en o f t he m ,

captured . Subsequent arres t s raised the number o f

prisoners t o m ore than two hundred and this move
m ent regarded in con n e x ion w ith the recen t c o n
,

s irac
p y i n Paris t he insurrec
,
t ion at Grenoble t h e ,

disturbances that occ urred abo ut t h e same time at

N ismes and Tarrasc o n and the discovery o f a branch
,

o f the Associated Patriots at Amiens excited the most ,

serious u neasiness in the minds o f Louis and his

Ministers D e c az e s w h o as Minister o f Police had
.
,

the best m eans o f forming a sound j ud g men t o f t h e

wide spread discon t ent which they indica t ed had h is
-
,

ey e s opened to the con v iction that the sys t em o f

governmen t which had s uffered such a t remendou s
collapse a generation before could not be m aintained
without ano t her crash and his influence with t h e
,

King e nabled h i m to im press his o w n vie w s o n t h e

r oyal mind Marshal Marmont was h astily sent t o
.

Lyons t o avert the possible danger o f another j udicial

massacre and the result o f this t imely interposi t ion
,

was tha t no blood was shed there and only the most ,

deeply implicated o f t he accused were imprisoned .

This danger averted D e c az e s conferred with Pas

,

uie r and Mol e the leaders o f the Cons t itutional

q ,

Monarchists or m oderate party and arrived wit h ,

them at the conclusion that the dynasty would no t

be safe without an e xt ension o f the fr an c h ise and t h e
 THE A SSOCIA TED PA TR IOTS . 2 79

r es t oration of t h e sys t em o f direct e lection R ichelieu .

was brought to concur in t hi s vie w and the King , ,

U on an elaborate m emorial being laid before him

p ,

s et ting forth the necessity o f the m easure acknow ,

l e l g e d the corr e ctness o f his Minister s views and

’

c o nsen t ed t o adopt them . The Chambers were dis

s o lved,
and by that manip ulation o f the electoral
m ec h ine ry which se em s inse parable fro m the syste m
o f epresentative ins t itutions in France the R oyalists
r

as t he partisans o f the o l d re im e were ca l led were

g ,

re duced to a minori ty and a m aj ority was obtained t o

,

s u port the comparatively liberal vie w s o f a Ml nist r

p y
in which Coun t Mo lé Marshal St Cyr and B aron
,
.
,

Pa squier displaced men of absolutis t tendencies .

Th e modification o f the electoral law and o f the ,

la ws a ffecting the press and individual liberty gave ,

the people little t o be thank ful fo r ; however the ,

nu mber o f persons p aying the amount o f direct taxes

wh ich qualified the m to vote bei ng still little more
th an nine ty thousand But the collap se o f the con
.

s irac
p y of the A s sociated Patriots had rendered the
R ep ublican leaders cautious and disposed them t o
,

defer aggressive operations u nt i l they coul d com

m ence the m unde r better auspices and with an
improved and extended organisation The H oly
.

Allianc e loomed darkly over the whole o f the Conti

nen t ; t he hope o f liberty whic h h ad inspired the
heroic e ffo rt s of the Germans for the liberation o f
t hei r country fro m foreign domination had been
c rushed ,
and the cells o f Spandau were filled with
the men t o whom Frede rick William o w ed h is
throne ; Britain was w r ithing under the heels o f
S idmouth and Castle reagh ; the I n q uisi t ion h ad been
28 0 THE A SSOCIA TED PA TRIO TS .

re - es t ablished in Spain the Soverei g n s o f I t aly ruled

by s u fferanc e o f Aus t ria It was t he w in t er 0
.

and t h e men w h o s t ood o n the wa t ch to -

o f an exal t ed pa t rio t i s m e v e rywhe r e l o oked we

abroad u nkn o wing the poin t o f the horizon o n w h i

,

t h e firs t r ed s t reaks would herald freedo m s dawn

’
.

S h el l ey R evo l t of Isl am
’
s .
 C HAPT ER V II .

TH E C O MMU N E R O S .

L I G H T t hat seem ed t he first glimme r o f t he

dawn at length rose beyond the Pyrenees One .

o f those outbursts of indignant patriot ism which have

s o fit full and to s uch little purpose brightened the

y , ,

m elancholy pages o f Spanish history produced t he ,

o verthro w o f despotis m ; and Ferdinand V II in wild .

,

alarm for his t hrone ,proclaimed t h e Constitution

which had been established by t he Cortes in 1 8 1 2 ,

and swore most solemnly to uphold it This h opeful .

e ven t was followe d by similar revolutions in Portugal ,

Naples and Piedmont t he collapse o f which in the

, ,

I talian kingdoms o n the application of Austrian

‘

b ayone t s has been related Spain and Portu g al were

,
.

t o o far distant for the legions o f t h e H oly A llianc e

i

t o o v e rru n i t s soil and t rample its Constitution unde r

,

thei r fee t ; and the monarchs w h o as sembled at

Tropp au in t h e autumn o f 1 8 2 0 were obliged to c o n
tent themsel v e s fo r the time at least by proclaimin g
, ,

the i r displeasure at the audacity whic h the n ation s o f

t h e I berian Peni nsul a had displayed in recovering t h e
liberties which they h ad won when their native r ul e rs
h ad desert ed them .

A s h m happened in every similar m ovem e n t t h e ,

me n w h o made t h e Sp an is h revo lu t ion s ep ar ate d in t o

2 82 THE C OIIM UNE R OS .

t wo parties as soon as it was accomplished The re

’

were the Consti t utionalists w h o simply desired to put

an e nd t o despoti s m royal and ecclesiastical and wer e
, ,

con t ent when the power o f the Sovereign was limited

and defined and their leaders were installed as h is
,

Ministers ; and there were the Constitutionalists w h o

aimed at giving the fullest re ali t y and a practical
applicatio n t o t h e ins t rum ent to w hich Ferdinand had
set his hand and the third article o f whic h was as
,

follows The sovereignty is vested in t h e nation ,

to which t here fore the right o f making its funda

, ,

m ental laws exclusi vely pertains The t wo parties .

,

united in the accomplishment of the rev o lution natu ,

rally therefore b ecame as wide ly separated fro m each

, ,

other afterwards as t he Whigs and the R adicals o f

Britain becam e after 1 8 3 2 .

T he arres t o f R iego was t he signal for t he with

draw al o f these two parties in t o hostile camps That .

event produced an immense excitement all ove r Spain ,

and provoked demonstrat ions o f an t agonis m t o t h e

Government in most o f t he l arg e t owns I n Madrid .

the bust o f R iego was carried thro u gh the stree t s in

a procession with flags and banners ; the Liberal
,

j ournals defended him ; the hall o f t h e L an dab urian

Society rang wit h his praises and with invect ive s ,

against the Governmen t The Ministe r s censured t h e

.

attitude o f the ultras and resolved to suppress t h e

,

demonstrations The ultras persis t ed in m akin g

.

another m ani fes t ation in the capital in which ther e ,

was borne in the procession a large picture represen t ,

ing R iego holdin g in his hand the Constitution and ,

overthrowin g figures symbolical o f Despotis m and

I gnorance The R oyal Guard s we r e posted in t h e
.
 THE C OM UNER O S . 2 83

Puerto del Sol with orders to stop the procession ;

,

but o n its approach they presented arms and raised

, , ,

”
a cry o f R iego and the Constitution l Another
“

regiment excited by the cries o f the Guards and the

,

processionists poured o ut from its barrac k s and j oined

,

in the demonstration I n vain did the officers o f the

.

Guards command them to charge and disperse the pro

cession They refused to obey and the processionists
.
,

and their m ilitary sympathisers shouted Viva R ieg o !

unt il they were hoarse Murill o the C apt aim G e n e ral
.
,

o f Madrid at length brou ht u the National Guards

, g p ,

who charged the processionists with the bayonet and ,

dispersed the m in every direction .

The breach be t ween the two sec t ions o f t he C o n

st it ut io nal party no w became comple t e and the ultras ,

or g anised themselves under the direction o f Balesteros ,

Morales Pal are a and others as the Society o f the

, , ,

C o mm une ro s The name was derived fro m the c o m

.

munes and had no reference as asserted by A lison

, , ,

t o the doctrine of com mon property A s the mode .

rate Constitutionalists were all Freemasons and had ,

used the Masonic system as a means of concerting

in secre t the m ovemen t which brought about t h e
re v o l ut io nfi the ultras thought they could best pro i
“

m ote their aims by adop t in g a similar organisat i on .

”
“
The esse nt i al obj ect o f the Con federation the ,

s t atutes o f the Society set forth is to sup port at ,

“

any sacrifice the rig h ts and liberties o f the Spanis h

people as l aid down in the Pol i tica l Constitutio n o f
,

Q un si '

Vi s i t t o S pain .
2 84 TH E C OMMUNE R OS .

statutes the oaths the initiatory discourses contain

, ,

no other professio n o f political faith than this There .

were no grades in the Society all the members being ,

o n the same level The members o f each province .

constituted a co mmune and eac h commune was divided ,

into an indefinite number of local socie t ies des ignated ,

l o wers A tower comprised any number o f me mbers

.

over seven and n o t exceeding fifty except in the case ,

o f m ilitary corps I n places where the number o f .

members was less than seven the initiated form ed a

, ,

o r t which was subordinate to t he near e st tower

f ,
.

The constitution o f th e Society was representat ive ,

and essentially democratic The ape x w as formed by .

the Suprem e Assembly in which each commune was ,

represented by a si ngle delegate and whose functions ,

were the direction of the a ffairs o f the Society in

accordance with its institutions and conformably t o ,
i

the po lit ic al c irc um st anc e s of the nation t h e enforce ,

men t o f the s t at utes the constituting o f communes , ,

the communication o f resolutions and instructions t o

the j untas the r eceipt and application o f t he funds
,

accruing from the contribu t ions o f t h e members and ,

t he changing o f the pass words signs and counter -

, ,

s igns The o ffi cers o f the Assembly comprised a

.

commander lie utenant commande r alcaid treasurer

,
-

, , ,

and four secre t aries The place o f m ee t ing was called .

t he A lcazar Th e al c aid was charged wit h its secu

.

rity the cus t ody o f the seal and t he audit o f t h e

, ,

accou nts The delegates we r e divide d into three

.
‘

c ommittee s whose r espectiv e functions were j ustice

, ,

v igilance and administration ,

.

The s t at utes provided that t here should be in t h e

Al caz ar variou s inscriptions t o r e cord t he gloriou s
,
“
 THE C OMM UN ER OS . 2 85

actions o f the heroes o f th e Confederat i on I n t he .

front there shall b e placed a sepulchral urn in which ,

shall be deposited the ashes of the most illustrious

C o mm un e ro s if they can be ob t ained as well as the
, ,

documen t s relating t o their deeds o f heroism ; and

m defect o f the former a statue shall be substituted .

At a sh ort distance from the urn shall be pl aced a

ta b le covered with a purple cloth o n which shall be ,

placed a shield painted with t h e arms o f the Con

federation and also the seal o f the Society ; chairs
,

fo r the Presiden t and o fficers shall be arranged at

its extremity and benches along t h e sides At the
, .

e nd o f the benches shall be p l aced three circular

towers with battlements o f a hei g ht pro portioned
,

to the chamber equidistant fro m each other and in a

, ,

line On the middle o ne shall be inscribed 7 67 8 Co n

.
,

s zit u/i o n of
‘
Kiizy do m ; o n t he right h and one the -

Third Article o f the Cons t itution o f t h e Ki ngdom ; and

o n the left hand o n e T/i e Co a e de m zio n s ust a ins a t ( m
f
’
y
-
,

s a c ri c e l /ze R
fi ig /Ms a nd L iée r l ie a o
f M e Sp a nis /i P eep /e .

On each tower shall wave a flag o f the Confederation ,

purple with a white cas tle in the centre The door

,
.

shall be fortified by a port cullis and drawbri dge which ,

shall be raised during the sittings and g uarded by ,

”
five lancers .

The a ffairs o f a commune were administered b y a

j unta composed o f the dele g ates o f t he towers and
, ,

having fo r its officers a governor lieuten ant governor ,

-
,

alcaid treasurer and two secretaries The d ele g ates

, ,
.

to a j unta were div i ded into two c o mmi t tees whose ,

attributes were j ust i ce and vi gi l ance The j un t as .

were charged with the en forcement o f the statu t es

in the communes the adoptio n o f measu res of urgency
,
2 86 THE C OMM UN E R OS .

when t her e was n o t im e to comm unicat e with t h e

Supreme Assembly the constituting o f t owers and
, ,

the com munication to the towers o f the resolutions

and instructions o f t h e Supreme Assembly
g The .

place o f mee ting was called the Castle o f Liberty .

Th e o fficers o f a tower were an alcaid a treasurer , ,

a secretary and o ne called th e captain o f the keys

, ,

who combined t h e duties o f a doorkeeper wi t h those o f

a m aster o f the ceremonies o f initiation Besides .

carrying into effect the reso l u ti ons and ins t ruct i ons o f
the S uprem e Assembly and t h e comm unal j untas t he ,

towers occupied them selves in di ffusing a knowle dge

o f the Constitution discussi n g i t s provisions and
, ,

proposin g t o the j untas whatev e r they considered

would be conducive to its improvement o r to the ,

welfare o f the country The forts might a l s odiscuss

.

such matters and communicat e the esults t o t h e

,
r

towers t o which they were subordina t e .

The candi dates for initiation were called re cruits ,

and the ceremo ny o f their reception c aliszmc ii i The ‘ ‘

.

statutes provided that I n order t o be enlisted under

,

the standard o f the Confederation i t is necessary that

,

the candidate should be in complete possession o f the

rights o f a Sp aniard ; that he should be above nine
t een years o f a g e that he should be o f correc t h abits ,

and have t h e reputation o f an honourab l e man among

his companion s that he should follow some trade o r
profession o r should have an incom e su fficient fo r his
,

subsistence ; that he should be attached to the C o n

st it ut io n al system o f the ki n gdom an d sho uld abhor
,

tyran ny in every form that he sho uld take the oa t hs

o ft h e institution ,
and subj ect himself t o the proofs
and formalities requi r ed by the regulations for t his
 THE C OMMUN E R OS
'

. 287

ac t . re crui t h ad t o be proposed by a Com

Th e
m un e ro who w as required to inform himself as t o the
,

aspirant s political O pinion s and appris e him o f t he

’

ob jects o f t he Confederation but in a v ague m anner , ,

w ithout discovering its n ature o r circumstances or ,

”
the pe rso n s of who m it is co mposed The obj ect of .

this precaution i s obvious I f the recrui t was re .

e c t e d he was not in a position to give any informa

j ,

t i on t o persons who might m ake use o f it to t he

inj ury of the Society ,

Proposals for the admission of n e w members had to

be ma de in writing and signed by the proposer , ,
’
se t ting forth the candidate s name age occupation or , ,

profes sion birthplace and residence

, ,
Neither the .

towers n o r the co m mu n es had the authority to admit

m embers all proposals being s ubmitted to the
,

Suprem e Assembly I n q uiries c o nc e rnm g the c h a

.

rac t e r and antecedents o f the candidate were m ade by

the com m ittee o f vigi l ance and if the results were , ,

s atisfactory the question o f admitting the aspi rant

,

was decided by ballot A maj ority of s ix sevenths of

.
-

t he delegates present w as required and even then the ,

d ecision was not co n clusive a second ba llot t aking ,

place in th e j unta of the commune in which the can

d idat e resided I f a maj ority of t w o thirds w as then
.
-

obtained th e candida t e w as admitted in the t owe r in

,

which he h ad been proposed .

Previous to the initiation the cap tain o f the keys ,

impressed the recruit with a d ue sense of the grave

o bligations which h e w as about to contract and ad ,

m inistered the followin g oath

I swear to keep secret duri ng my li fe wha t ever I
, ,

have heard o r unde rstood fro m the t ime that I deter

2 88 TH E C OMMUNE R OS .

mined to o ffe r myself fo r admissio n t o this assembly ,

and also what ever I m ay see o r understand hereafte r

”
r ela t ing to it The recruit was t hen le ft alon e fo r a
.

short t ime t ha t he m igh t read t h e statutes o f t h e

,

Society aft er which he was required to answer in

,

wri ting the following queries 1 What are t h e .

mos t sacred obligat ions a citizen o w es t o his country ?

2 Wha t punishmen t would y o u inflic t o n him w h o
.

failed in t hos e obligations ? 3 H o w wo u ld y o u .

reward him w h o sacrificed everything t o a stric t c o m

p l ian c e with them The answers being con f ormabl e

to the principles o f the Society the recruit was led ,

into the meeting room o f the tower where he t ook

-
,

and signed the oath o f t he C o mm un e ro s in the fol

lowing for m .

I swear before G o d and upon my honour be fore

, ,

this assembly o f C o mmu nero s tha t I will guard and ,

defend at every hazard and by every means in my

, ,

power wherever I shall b e whether alone o r in

, ,

company with confederates t he rights and liberties o f ,

t h e Spanish nation as they are se t forth in t h e

,

political Constitution of the ki ng dom recognising as , ,

an unalterable basis tha t t he soverei g nty reside s

,

essentially in the n ation and that therefore t o i t , , ,

exclusively belongs the right o f making its funda

m ental laws as is literally expressed in the third
,

article o f the same I swear also to guard and obey

.

the statutes and regulation s o f the Confederation and ,

such orders co nformable with the m as m ay be given

to m e b y the o fficers of the said Co nfederation I .

swear likewise t o preserve during my li fe the mos t

inviolable secrecy with respect to all the a ffairs o f t h e
said Confede r at ion and to main t ain unal t erab l e u nio n
,
 THE C OMM UN E R OS . 2 89

and fraternal friendship wi t h all confe dera t es assis t ing ,

them with my person and proper ty in all dangers and

n ecessities and submitting t o amicable concili ation
,

any complaint o r grievance which I m ay h ave a g ainst

o n e o r m ore O f t hem And lastly I swear to main
.
, ,

tain and defend a t every hazard the aforesaid and

, , , ,

imitating t he illus t rious Padilla an d Lanuza t o die ,

with arm s in my hands r ather t han s ub mi t t o ,

tyranny And if I should fail t o perform t hese

.

solemn oa t hs I declare myself a t rai t or and perj urer

,

t o t he Confederation and deserving t o b e ig no ,

m inio usly expelled from i t and subj ec t t o such other

penal t ies as it m ay inflict .

Then all the m embers presen t rose from t heir sea t s ,

sword in h and and t he President t hus addressed the

,

r ecrui t Y o u are now a C o mm une ro ; and in proof

o f it all the C o m m un e ro s wi l l defend you from all
,

the strokes which m aligni ty m ay aim at y o u if y o u ,

comply with t he obligations o f your oath ; b ut if no t ,

o u will su f fer the penalties which are prescribed in

y
the code fo r O ffences against t he Confedera t io n The
recrui t w as t hen invested with a scarf and t he captain ,

O f the keys placed t he flag o f the Con federation in his

left han d say ing ,
This is the invincible and
glorious standard o f the Confederation O f the C o m mu
neros dyed in the blood o f Pad i lla Your country
,
.

and the Confederation hope that you will imitate

that hero by m eeting death rather than se e this
,

glorious standard outr aged by a tyran t The alcaid .

nex t placed a s w ord in his hand saying This is ,

“

the sword o f your country I deliver it t o y o u that :

you m ay defend t h e l i berties g uaran t eed by t h e Con

s t it ut io n o f the king dom and the s acred prin c iple
,

v OL . 1 .
U
2 90 THE C OMM UN E R OS .

tha t the s overeignty resides essen t ially in t he nation .

The Confederation confides in your honour ; bu t if

o u fail in your O bligations may t he Supreme Bein g
y , ,

”
wh o sees your heart p ursue y o u to your destruction
,
.

The penalt ie s prescribed by t he p e nal code O f the

Confede ration fo r O ffences agains t its principles and
sta t utes were expulsion which might be ig no mi ,

nio us forced o r t acit ; separation public o r priva t e

, , , ,

ce n sure public o r private ; warning ; and fines the

, ,

last varying in amount from four t o forty reals

v ellon By the fift h article any m ember w h o c o n
.
,

spired directly and overtly to destroy o r alter

those sta t utes o f the Confederation which were iden
t ifie d with the Constitution of t he kingdom was con
sid e re d a traitor and a perj ur e r and condemned to be ,

ignominiously e x pelled and deprived O f his scarf and

card ; hi s nam e was to be erased and his sentence ,

commu nica ted t o all the towers so that he m ight be ,

shunned by all the members as a dangerou s perso n

and an enemy t o t he wel fare and interes t s of t h e
Society and the nation Minor o ffences were punished
.

by m inor penalties and special tribu n als were con

,

sti t uted as among the Carbonari fo r t rying the

, ,

O ffenders and awarding the due punishment o f their

o ffences Members m i g ht withdraw fro m t he Society
.

a t pleasure b ut before terminatin g their connexio n

,

with i t were re quired t o give up all dis t inctive deco

,

rations and documents tha t might be in their posses

sion t o m aintain secrecy with regard t o t he a ffairs o f
,

the Society and to abstain from doing anything c o n

,

t rary t o its institutions The privat e and social duties

.

o f the m embers were prescribed by statutes similar t o

those adopted by t h e Carbonari for t he sam e pu r pose .

 THE C OMJI UN E R OS . 291

The me e tings of the C o m mune ro s were O pened by

the commandant o r governor with th e following
formula
Companions ! A fatality defeated the endeavours
of o ur heroic predecessors 0 11 the field o f V i llal ar .

Three ages o f despotis m and sla very followed that

unfortunate event ; and al t hough the n ation con ,

ducted to the bro w of the precipice recovered it s ,

li b e rty in 1 8 0 8 at th e expense of such great sacrifices

, ,

yet in 1 8 1 4 o ur want o f prudence and energy plunged

u s afresh into the deep abyss of slavery Six y ears .

of blood and desola t ion passed over us and then we ,

saw a g ain o ur liberties re established in the code o f

-

o ur rights — the Spanish Constitution Let us be on .

the alert and let u s resolve t o die rat her th an consent

,

to the privation O f this deposit O f o ur libert i es which ,

has consecrated the national sovereignty as an im m u

table principle D O you swear it C o mm une ro s
.
,

All the members present with their ri g ht hands on

,

their swords responded Y e s we swe ar it !

, ,
“
The ,

formula fo r closin g t h e session w as m ore brief it w as :

as follows Let us retire C o mm u ne ro s to g ive

, ,

rest t o o ur minds and t o repair the stren g th o f o u r

bodies that we m ay return w ith fresh vigour to the
,

’
defence o f o u r country s liberties .

O n being elected to any o ffice in the Societ y a ,

C o m m un e ro was required to t ak e an d subsc ri b e an

oath in the follow i ng terms I swe a r to O bserve
~

the m ost profound secrecy concernin g wh atever m ay

be confided to m e relati v e to the exerci s e o f m y o ffice ,

however d an g erous the ci rcum s t ances in which I may

be pl ac ed and to fai th fully transmit t o my s ucce s o r
,
s
”
such in formation as m ay be entrusted to me .

U 2
2 92 THE C OMMUNE ROS .

Th e
m os t impor t ant of t he com m un e s were t hos e
o f New Castile Arra g on Catalonia Valencia and
, , , ,

M urcia the strength o f the S ociety b eing in the bar

,

racks an d workshops o f Madri d Saragossa Barcelona , , ,

Valencia and Carth agena R iego was suspected o f

,
.

being a m e mber o f the Saragossa t ower and he is ,

sa i d to hav e j us t returned from a tour o f prop agandis m

when he was arrested .

The electio n s o f 1 8 2 2 t h e res ults o f which were

,

g reatly influenced by t he e fforts o f the C o m mune ro s ,

placed the Cortes in a position o f an t agonism to the

Government the ultras constituting a large maj ority
, ,

so that the Ministers were in a similar situation to

that occu pied in France by the R ich elieu Minis t ry in
1 8 1 6 with the difference that t h e m aj ority opposed
,

to the lat t er consis t ed o f Absolutis t s while in the ,

Spanish Cortes the maj ority was composed o f t he

Democratic party compri i n g a great m any C o m
,
s

m u ne ro s T he only n oble was the Duke O f Pasque

.
,

who was a member O f the Corresponding Socie ty o f

E uropean Pa t riots instituted by General Pepe
, .

t iego was chosen for Presiden t and an at t i t ude ,

assumed by the maj ority which foreboded o ne o f t hose

stru g gles for power which occ ur only in countries
w here the principles of constitutional governmen t are
imperfectly understood I n E ngland a general elec
.
,

tion resulting in the return o f a l arge maj ority opposed

,

to t he par ty admi nistering the Government would be ,

immed i ately follo w ed by a change o f Mi nistry ; but

continental statesmen have not recognised the n e c e s
s it of this course even yet as w as shown in the
y ,

earlier y e ars of the administratio n o f Bismarck and ,

the M i nisters o f Ferdinand V II followed the example .

 THE C OMMUN E R OS . 293

fu rnished on t he o ther side of the Pyrenees by

R ichelieu .

The di fficulty of the si t uation was increased by the

ab solutist tendencies o f the King and t h e atti t ude o f
,

foreig n Po w ers I t had bee n proposed by Prince

.

M etternich tha t t h e resol ution adopted by the H oly

Alliance at the Congress of Troppau agai ns t States
, ,

which the overthrow o f authority b y revolt had placed

i n a hostile att itude to w ards every legitimate Govern
”
m ent should b e enfo r ced by the landing of an A ustro
R uss ian army on the coast o f Spain ; but t h e proj ect
was so emphatical ly condemned by th e British Govern
m ent that it was abandone d and replaced by anothe r
,

s chem e also emanating fro m Me t ternich by which

, ,

France was to be used fo r the purpos e R iche l ieu .

having died a fe w month s before the assembling o f

t he Con g ress o f Verona and the O ffice O f Presi dent
,

O f t h e Council having been allo w ed t o remain in abey

ance the Fre nch Ministry was left without a hea d

, ,

an d Montmorency its chie f representative at Verona

, ,

committed his Go v ernm ent t o in t ervention in Spain ,

b efore Vill e le who was tardily chosen by Louis X V III

,
.

t o fill the vacant chair in the Council was a w ar e O f ,

t he nefarious proj ect which the Austrian Ministe r

had devised .

On the 3 0 t h o f November t h e represent ative s of

R ussia Austria Prussia and France at the Con g ress
, , ,

o f Verona signed a protocol by which it w as agreed

,

t hat a separate note should be presente d by e ach to

t he Court of Madrid declaring it s abhorrence o f the
,

o ut rages alleged to have bee n committed by t h e

G overnmen t O f the revolution and the thr aldom im ,

posed upon the Sovereig n ; and intima t ing that it

2 94 THE C OMM UN E R OS .

w as impossible for t hem to regard wi t h indi ffere n c e

the existing con dition o f Spain or t o refrain from ,

i nsisti n g tha t the Government should be restored t o

harm ony with that o f the Great Powers Three Of .

the Power s the exception being France— presented

—

notes to the Cour t O f Madrid in this sense ; and not ,

receiving satis factory replies withdrew their A mbas

,

s ado rs and became imp o rt unate with t h e French

,

Government that i t should ade pt a similar course ,

ac c O rdin t o the engage m ent entered into at Veron a

g .

Vill e l e shrank from the possi b le dan g er to the

Governmen t o f Louis X V III o f forcible int e rv e n
.
.

tion and accepted an o ffer o f m ediation from the

,

Brit i sh Government in t he hope o f aver ti ng a war .

The Br i t i sh and French Ambassadors at Madrid

fa i led however in their e fforts t o in d uce the Spa n is h
, ,

Government t o u n dertake such a modification of the

Constit ut ion as would pare down the liberties O f
Spain to the standard established in Britain and
France E ven if t he Cabinet O f Madrid had bee n
.

dispo sed to yield to the demand the Cortes would ,

h ave rej ec t ed it with t he utmost indigna t ion .

The final determina t io n o f the French Governmen t

t o invade Spain and e ffec t a co u nter revolu t ion pro -

d uc e d g reat agitati on o n both sides o f the Py renees .

As will be shown in t he next chapter the C ar b on ari ,

m ade comm on cause with the C o m mune ro s and their ,

leaders s t rove by inciti ng the French troops t o revol t

, ,

n o t O nly to preserve the Spanis h Consti t ut ion b ut ,

to e ffect a revolution in France The C o mm une ro s .

aided their efforts by sending over the Pyrenees fo r ,

dis t ribu t ion among the French t roops concen t rated a t

 THE C OMM UN E R OS '

. 295

T oulouse ,
ad dresses penned by Mon t arlot a refug ee ,

re t ained by R iego inciting the m to revolt

, .

The impendin g intervention intensi fied the patriotic

ardour o f the C o mm un e ro s and embitt ered the i r
,

antagonism to the Gov e rnment Their or g an the .

,

P a l rio ta E ty mii ol maintained a vigorous and per

,

sistent opposition t o the Ministry of the minority and ,

missed no O pportunity o f creating pol i tical capital fo r

their leaders o ut o f the failures and mistakes of the
p arty in power The Z urriay afi a sm aller pape r e dit e d
.
,

by Morales attac k ed the King and the M inisters wit h

,

relentless irony and the bitterest acrimony The .

disturbances which occurred d uring the winter in

Madrid Pampeluna Barcelona and Valencia and
, , , ,

which w ere attri b uted to the p riests increased the ,

prevailing discord and were made the subj ect o f

,

inquiry by a committee o f the Cortes re s ulting in ,

a farther discredit O f a King who was longing for h is

e x trication by foreign bayonets from Constitution al
trammels and Ministers who however good the i r
, ,

inte ntions were rendered powerless o n the o ne hand

, ,

by their loyalty to a faithles s King o n the other by ,

want o f harmony with the m aj ority .

R e pea t ed e fforts were made to reco ncile the d iffer

e n c e s bet w een the t w o sections into which the
Constitutiona lists were unhappily divided ; but they
al l failed and the state O f the country becam e eve ry
,

d ay m ore d eplorable Tumults broke o ut at Cad iz

.

and other places and o n the 2 5 t h o f February 18 2 3

, , ,

a C o m m un e ro deputation consisting o f two militar y

,

i
S pa n s h fo r s ouc rg e .
2 96 THE C OMM UNE R OS .

O fficers and a priest the for m er re pre s e nt ing re spe c t iv el y

,

t he regulars and t h e militia O btained an audience o f ,

the King and warned him o f a design t o brin g abou t

,

a new revolu t ion o n t he l st Of March fo r the purpos e ,

O f deposing him and establishing a regency,

They .

assured him that the C o mm u ne ro s whom they re re

p ,

sented as numbering forty fiv e thousand were o n t h e -

,

alert and would frustrate the design being resolved t o

, ,

defend t he Con stitu t io n and t h e Crown against all

a tt acks .

Ferdinand had no par tial ity for his Ministers Con ,

s t it u t io n alis t s O f all shades being equally t he obj ec t s

O f his aversion an d distrust ; an d he was easily

induced t o dismiss them in the hope that an infusion
O f ultra Liberalis m in the Ministry would avert the
-

ga t hering stor m until t he French crossed t h e Pyre n ees .

I n t his h ope he called E strada t o his councils and ,

associa t ed with h im General Torrij os a zealous Com ,

m un e ro as Minister fo r War and Moral w h o h ad

, , ,

t he repute o f belonging to tha t Socie ty as Ministe r ,

O f the I n t erio r These concessions did not satisfy the

.

C o mmune ro s and the Cortes by a Parliamentary

, ,

m an oeuvre p reven t ed t he ne w Ministers from assuming

,

t he functions O f governm en t E stra da and his .

colle agues wi t h the exception o f Torrij os thereupon

, ,

r esigned ; and Ferdinand accepte d t heir resignation as

a body bu t decline d to part with E strada

,
.

The experience o f the fift y years which h ave

elapsed since that critical period o f Spanish histor y
r enders it very doubtful whethe r t he Constitution .

could h ave been long m aintained even if a counter ,

revolution had no t b een e ffec t ed by French arm s .

Th e King was fai t h l ess bigo t ed and incapable almos t

, ,
 THE C OMM UN E R OS . 297

to t he point O f imb ecility and therefore a m ere pup

,

pet in t h e h ands of the priests The Constitution

.
,

which b e regarded as a degradation of the m onarchical

O ffi ce allowed him power enough to clog its working
,

fo r the welfare o f the State and the Ministers nomi

,

n ated in conformity with i t had not the confidence

of either him self or the Cortes The priests reg arded

.

t h e Constitution w ith a b horrence and the m asses ,

were too ignoran t and demoralised to understand i t

and to appreciat e the lib erties w h ich it con ferred .

The Constitutional cause was not therefore regarded , ,

as the popular cause ; it was supported only by the

better educat ed and more intelligent o f the people ,

whose enlightenment and enthusiasm prevented them

from conceiving the idea that the m aj ority of the
nation w as too ignoran t and bigoted to regard it
otherwise than with indi fference or d i slike
Under such a Sovereign as Ferdinand representa t ive
insti t ut i ons could only result in a stru g gle between
the Crown and the Cortes w hich w as averted temp o
,

r aril by the i nt erposition o f Ministers w h o were

y
theoretically the representa t ives of the latter But .

if the struggle h ad been prolonged it must have ,

ended in either the triumph O f the C o mm une ro s o r

a c o u nt e n re v o l ut io n in the interest O f absolutism ;
and the experience O f the l ast fifty y ears renders
it almost certai n that the latter event would have
followed the former .

The faithlessness o f the King and the incapacity

o f the Ministe rs bec ame evident when the French
armies poured t h rou g h the p asses o f the Pyrenees
in the early days o f Apr i l Ferdin and became an x ious
.

t o leave Mad rid and sc arcely any preparati o ns wer e

,
298 THE C OMM UN E R OS .

m ad e by the G overnment t o resist an invasion which

h ad been impendi n g since the d eliberations o f Troppau .

Of the Generals u nder w hom the inadequate and ill

provided armies o f Spain t ook the field only R ieg o ,

an d Mi n a displayed ei ther courage o r capacity for

comm an d As the French advanced the Spanish
.
’

forces retired and the Governm ent proposed that

,

the King and the Cort es should remove to Seville .

The C o m mun e ro s O pposed th is des i gn and a plan ,

t o prevent its execution was concerted ; but dissen

sions arose amo n g them in the hour o f trial and ,

when the invaders drew near Madrid the seat o f ,

the Court and the Legislature was transferred t o

the Andalusian capital .

On the 2 3 rd o f M ay the va n guard o f the French

army entered Madrid and o n the 2 5 t h t h e Duke of
,

Angoul eme m ade his public entry into the capital ,

the inhabitan t s o f which were assured by a pro c l a

m ation that he came amongst them with the m ost
benevole n t designs This announcement was followed
.

by the establ i sh m ent o f a Provisio n al Governme nt at ,

the h ead o f which the Duke o f I n fantado was pl aced .

Som e desultory e fforts were m ade to oppose t h e

m arch O f t h e French t owards Seville but in the ,

’
end Balesteros O D o nne ll and Morillo who held
, ,

the chief co mm ands capitulate d and resistance in

, ,

the field ceased The Cortes when the Constitutional

.
,

cause becam e desperate declared the Ki n g i ncapable

,

o f rei g n i ng through m ental imbecility and appointed ,

a Provisional Government under the preside n cy of

Valdez They then re moved to Cadiz holding the
.
,

Kin g under restraint The French occupied Seville

.

o n the 2 1 s t o f June an d the n m arched upon Cadi z

, ,
 THE C O M MUN E R OS . 2 99

having in less than t hree mon t hs traversed the whole

e xt ent o f Spain .

The Duke o f Angoul eme o ffered to guarantee a

ge neral amnesty and the concession o f a Constitution
,

that would assimilate the political i n stitutions of the

king dom t o t hose o f France ; but the Provi s ional
Governm en t installed by the Cortes refused to submit ,

and Cadiz was subj ected in consequence to the , ,

horrors o f a siege The defenders prolonged their

.

resistance for three m o nth s surrenderi ng on the l st o f

,

Oc t ober when t he Provisional Governmen t w as dis

,

solved and Fer dinand restored to the exercise o f

,

absolute sovereignty The first u se which the exe

.

crable despot m ade by his liberty was to order the

arrest and execution o f R iego who was hanged in a ,

m os t barbarous m anner though Ferdinand h ad pre,

v i o u sl
y professed to regard him as a frien d and t o ,

admit him to his inmost confidence Thus en ded the .

earthly career o f o n e o f the most heroic men who m

Spain h as ever produced .

Torrij os escaped to Gibraltar o r he would probably ,

have shared the fate o f R iego H e avoided it only .

for the time I n 1 8 3 1 when the downfall O f the

.
,

Bourbons in France h ad revived t h e hopes o f the

friends o f liberty in every part o f E urope he entered ,

into correspondence with some o ffi cers of t h e Spanish

'

army w l1 o treacherously lured him with several

, ,

m ore re fugees to Span i sh territo ry and then betrayed

, ,

him Torrij os and his comp anions were surrounded

.

and captured tried by cou rt martial and condemned

,
-
,

to death which sentence was executed with b arbarou s

,

haste upo n the whole o f the p ris o ners .

All t h e acts o f the Constitution al G overnment were

3 00 THE C OMMUNE R OS .

declared n ull and void and despo tis m r es t ored upon

,

its O ld b asis The Duke o f Angoul em e was urgen t

.

with Ferdi n and fo r the grant o f a general amnesty ,

but he prevailed only so far as t o induc e t he tyrant

t o pardon a fe w o f those w h o had taken very s m all
parts in t h e exciti ng even t s o f the t w o years preceding
the French intervention Th e amnesty proclaimed
.

by Ferdinand was nominally ge neral but there were ,

s o m any exceptions ,
incl uding nearly t he W hol e o f
those w h o had worked in t h e Consti t utional cause ,

fro m the revolt a t Leon t o the deposi t ion at Seville ,

that it rese mbled rat her an act o f proscrip t ion .

E ND OF VO L . I .