as reinforcements were wanting." This express had a wonderful effect: the assassins instantly closed the bloody scene, and fled in all directions, leaving three of the prisoners on their knees, namely, William Hamilton, William O'Connor, and Charles Jackson. Some of the rebel guard returned soon after, and conveyed the prisoners back to gaol, who had still continued on their knees without making the least effort to escape, being stupified with terror. But that sanguinary monster, Thomas Dixon, returning, he soon evinced that his thirst for blood was not yet satiated, by ordering out the remainder of the prisoners from the gaol and prison-ship, the greater part of whom were tortured to death in like manner as the former. He then proceeded to the markethouse, and having fixed his vulture-eye on others, dragged them to the fatal bridge for execution. After butchering these, a lot of ten more was brought forth, and barbarously murdered. The third time they took out eighteen, and were massacring them, when Dick Monk* rode into town from Vinegar-hill, with his shoes and stockings off, and shouted "D-n your souls, you vagabonds, why don't you go out and meet the enemy that are coming in, and not be murdering in cold blood?" Some Protestant women followed him, and asked him, "What news?" he replied, "Bad news, indeed; the King's forces are encamped round Vinegar-hill." He then rode towards the convent, and perceiving the women (who were anxious to be more fully informed of this matter) following him, he drew out a pistol, and swore "that if they came any farther he would blow their brains out." Shortly after, Priest Corrin was seen running towards the bridge. There were six of the poor Protestants killed out of the last party that were taken down before he arrived, and it was with great difficulty he prevailed upon them to spare the rest. After using all the arguments he could, without effect, he at length took off his hat, and desired them to kneel down and pray for the souls of the poor prisoners before they put them to death. They did so—and having thus got them in the attitude of devotion, he said, "Now pray to God to have mercy on your souls, and teach you to shew that kindness towards them, which you expect from HIM, in the hour of death, and in the day of judgment."-This had the desired effect; he led them off the bridge without opposition, and they were sent back to confinement. The massacre of that day ceased about eight o'clock in the evening. Out of forty-eight prisoners who had been confined in the market-house, nineteen only escaped.+

* Richard Monaghan, alias Dick Monk, a rebel captain, was born of obscure parents, having formerly been a shoe-black in Wexford: but being a fellow of great wit and humour, he was taken notice of, and afterwards obtained a livelihood by buying corn for the merchants; he had also been a recruiting serjeant part of his life, and on the rebellion breaking out, he was appointed a captain in the rebel army, and considered during that period a generous and well-minded man. After the rebels were driven out of the county, he received a wound in an engagement, and was going to Newtown-barry to surrender himself to Colonel Maxwell, of the Cavan militia, when he was met by a party of yeomanry, and shot.

"They thus continued, till about seven o'clock, to convey parties of prisoners, from ten to twenty, from the gaol and the market-house, where many of them were confined, to the bridge, where they butchered them. Every procession was preceded

Nor were these dreadful cruelties confined to the town alone. In their camps, and on their marches and retreats, the same execrable Darbarities were constantly committed.* No exaggeration can be imputed to those who escaped death, and afterwards detailed the sufferings they had undergone-for the dying confessions of many who were actors in these scenes of blood, and afterwards paid the penalty of crime, corroborated the statements of those who had been their prisoners, and confirmed their truth.

"It is said that not less than four hundred Protestants were massacred in Enniscorthy and on Vinegar-hill, the bodies of whom lay unburied during several days; and such was the cruelty of the rebels, that they would not suffer their female friends to perform the last act of humanity, nor even look at them, on pain of death. To increase the horror of this scene, the swine were suffered to prey upon the bodies —and several, through the heat of the weather, were reduced to such a state of putrefaction, that at length they became offensive to the murderers, who drew them to the water-side, where they covered some

by the black flag, and the prisoners were surrounded by ruthless pikemen, as guards, who often insultingly desired them to bless themselves.

"The mob, consisting of more women than men, expressed their savage joy on the immolation of each of the victims, by loud huzzas.

"The manner, in general, of putting them to death, was thus: Two rebels pushed their pikes into the breast of the victim, and two into his back; and in that state (writhing with torture) they held him suspended, till dead, and then threw him over the bridge into the water.

"After they had massacred ninety-seven prisoners in that manner, and before they could proceed further in the business, an express rode up in great haste, and bid them beat to arms, as Vinegar-hill was beset, and reinforcements were wanting. There was immediately a cry, 'To camp! to camp!' The rebels got into great confusion, and the massacre was discontinued."—Jackson's Narrative.

*"After taking possession of Enniscorthy, they planted the Tree of Liberty, with shouts of Vive la Republique,' and 'Erin go Bragh.' Here the work of blood immediately began, and continued every day more or less for twenty-five days; a dreadful specimen of what might be expected from such a government. One day they were so diabolical as to murder all the Protestants they had; and not satisfied with this, they sent to Wexford for more, and every day parties ranged the country, dragging forth all they could find, to satiate their thirst for blood. On the 1st of June, a Protestant, who afterwards escaped by the interposition of a rebel captain, being in an old wind-mill (where all the condemned were placed), saw a man sitting on the ground, with only a piece of blanket covering him-his eyes were picked out of their sockets, his tongue cut out, his head and body swelled to an enormous degree, and covered with ulcers. Not thinking he was alive, till the poor sufferer gave a heart-piercing groan, the prisoner was startled, and exclaimed Good God! what miserable object is that!' He was answered by one of the guards, that he was under slow punishment!! This was verified on oath.

"As the Protestants grew scarce, they kept them the longer in torment before they despatched them, by scourging them with lashes made of brass wire, and twisted in whip-cord. George Stacy, who received two hundred and fifty lashes, and a Mr. Whitney, with several others, bore witness to the truth of this. But they did not stop here; piking them, but not mortally, was frequently done, for the purpose of keeping them in misery. Sometimes they used a stone, with one end small and the other large-and putting the small end into the mouth of the expiring victim, they would stamp on it with the heel of the shoe, till his jaws were extended to the utThis barbarity was inflicted on Henry Hatton, deputy Portrieve of Ennis-Appendix to Musgrave's Memoirs.

most.

corthy, and ma

with sand, and threw others into the river, in which, for a long time after, they floated with the tide.”*

If the cruelties occurring during this reign of terror were many and revolting, the singular escapes of victims, not only doomed, but apparently "done to death," are so miraculous, that were not their authenticity established beyond disbelief, they scarcely could be credited.

"The recovery of Charles Davis, of Enniscorthy, was extraordinary. After having remained four days concealed, during which time he had no other sustenance than the raw body of a cock, he was taken at some distance from the town, brought to Vinegar-hill, shot through the body and one of his arms, violently struck in several parts of the head with thrusts of a pike, which, however, penetrated not into the brain, and thrown into a grave on his back, with a heap of earth and stones over him. A faithful dog having srcaped away the covering from his face, and cleansed it by licking the blood, he returned to life after an interment of twelve hours, dreaming that pikemen were proceeding to stab him, and pronouncing the name of Father Roche, by whose interposition he hoped to be released. Some superstitious persons hearing the name, and imagining the man to have been revivified by the favour of heaven, in order that he might receive salvation from the priest, by becoming a Catholic, before his final departure, took him from the grave to a house, and treated him with such kind attention that he recovered, and is now living in apparently perfect health."†

I have previously remarked that the Roman Catholic clergy, although many of them were notoriously disaffected, and deeply culpable in concealing the progress of treason from the authorities, when they were perfectly acquainted with the objects of the conspirators, still generally, held back from an overt display of rebellion-and, while some pretended, others truly exerted themselves to save property and life, and soften down the savage spirit of the times. That the priestly leaders were infinitely more sanguinary than the lay commanders, has never been denied-and the following detail, given by Taylor, presents a picture of savage ferocity and providential deliverance, which gives the transaction unusual interest:

"After Wexford was recovered, and the loyalists were obliged to retreat from Gorey to Arklow, very many failed in their attempt to get away, and were savagely put to death. One of the fugitives overtaken by the rebels was a man named Rowsome-and "knowing who he was, they were on the point of piking him, but Perry desired them to forbear, and leave him for those who were coming after. Priest Kearns came up with another body of rebels, and asked him his name; he told him, and then Kearns desired him to lie down till he should

* Musgrave.

† Jackson's Narrative.

"From the most unbiassed accounts that I have seen, the number of Roman Catholic priests, who gave in to the rebellion, fell considerably short of a score, which, out of two thousand and upwards in the kingdom, is a very small proportion. Amongst those few no prelate or ecclesiastic of consequence and respectability was to be found"-Plowden's Historical Review.