CHAPTER VIII.

"'Tis morning; and the sun, with ruddy orbAscending, fires th' horizon.——The season smiles, resigning all its rage,And has the warmth of May. The vault is blueWithout a cloud, and white without a speck."

"'Tis morning; and the sun, with ruddy orb

Ascending, fires th' horizon.——

The season smiles, resigning all its rage,

And has the warmth of May. The vault is blue

Without a cloud, and white without a speck."

The duke looked—but he saw not, he spoke not, he heard not. No!—the serenity of the season was not in accordance with the sorrow of his heart. At once the chaplain saw it all, for the duke was deadly pale; but the cause of this despondence he did not know, nor did he dare to inquire.

But while he was about to ask the duke if he was unwell, the door opened, and the duchess re-entered; and bursting into a flood of tears, she flung herself into a chair. In so doing, a dagger fell from her apron on the ground. She fainted, and it was some time before she came to herself. When she did, she then said: "It is all involved in darkness and mystery; I cannot unravel the clue. Adelaide cannot—will not tell. She has sworn on the dagger's point never to reveal it until placed upon her death-bed. She has sworn upon this."

Here the chaplain took up the dagger; it was incrusted with blood. He examined the handle; it was of silver, and upon it was engravedFuimus. It likewise fell from his hand, and trundled on the ground. Here he fearfully and involuntarily repeated, and in a sepulchral tone,

"fuimus non sumus!"

The duke sternly said: "In the name of heaven, I charge you, Reverend Sir, that you will forthwith explain what all this may mean? Although the days of superstition still exist, yet nevertheless I must protest against supernatural agency."

Doctor M'Kenzie said: "Permit me to ask one question of the duchess, and then I will, as far at least as I can, throw some light on this dark mystery. May I be permitted to ask your Grace, if Sir David Bruce will return?"

"Never—oh, never! Reverend Sir," was the reply; "I just have heard so from my daughter."

"Then," said the chaplain, "I am at liberty to explain, without any violation of promise. I have no doubt that your Graces both recollect the narrative of my voyage from Scotland, from the port of Ayr, and of my having been shipwrecked on the coast of Austrian Flanders."

The duke and duchess nodded assent.

"You may also recollect the mysterious passenger who appeared so deeply overpowered by grief—Colonel Davidson."

They both remembered.

"You may also doubtless recollect the words of that terrific song—that was pronounced by no earthly voice—that was sung to no earthly sound! To the last solemn hour of my existence I never can forget it. The words and tune are in my ears when I awaken in the morn—they ring their horrid vespers in my ears at night, and dirge me in my sleep. Can your Graces remember some of the words?—namely the voice of the Spirit of the Storm, and

the awful dirge.

Once we held fair Scotland's throne,Ay, once we claimed that realm our own,Fuimus non sumus!

Once we held fair Scotland's throne,

Ay, once we claimed that realm our own,

Fuimus non sumus!

We were—have been—were crown'd—are not;Dispers'd, forsaken, and forgot!Fuimus non sumus!

We were—have been—were crown'd—are not;

Dispers'd, forsaken, and forgot!

Fuimus non sumus!

Behold! the last of all our raceIs forced to fly his natal place!—He bears the vengeful, fatal knife,Deep stain'd by bloody feudal strife!Fuimus non sumus!

Behold! the last of all our race

Is forced to fly his natal place!—

He bears the vengeful, fatal knife,

Deep stain'd by bloody feudal strife!

Fuimus non sumus!

"Know then, may it please your Graces, that when I was introduced by the duke to Sir David Bruce, I recognised him at once to be——"

"Colonel Davidson!!" vociferated the duke in a tremendous voice, without waiting for the chaplain to finish.

"Yes, my lord," replied the chaplain, "another, and yet the same."

The duchess fell back in her chair, overpowered with grief.

When the duchess had become somewhat calm, after a pause the chaplain continued: "Little indeed at that time did I ever dream that my fellow-passenger was destined at a future day to become your Graces' son-in-law, and under such unhappy auspices. But the will of heaven must be done, and it is for some wise purpose it is done, although not revealed to mortal eyes."

The duchess now returned to the unhappy Adelaide, in every respect, from her virtues, talents, and accomplishments, worthy far of a better fate.

The duke, when breakfast was taken away—for the duke eat not—-proposed to the chaplain to proceed to the little room which had been occupied by Sir David Bruce as his library during his stay at Tyrconnel Castle, in order to ascertain if there had been left there any letter or document explanatory of his very sudden and unaccountable departure. The duke, accompanied by his chaplain, entered Sir David's little library,taking a melancholy survey of the chamber. They at last, upon approaching a writing-table, found thereon the following song in manuscript:—

song,

written on my bridal-day—to an old irish air.

I ask'd my Adelaide what was her wish?She replied, "Oh, ever love me kindly!"Again I ask'd my love what was her wish?She answer'd, "Oh, ever love me kindly!"Again I ask'd my love what was her wish?And she said, "Oh, love me not too blindly!"My love I ask'd once more what was her wish?(While her fond, lovely arms, did entwine me,And down trickling tears rapidly did gush,)"'Tis—may my husband's dear hands yet enshrine me,And to the silent grave, with sad and solemn stave,He in years far remote may consign me!"D. B.

I ask'd my Adelaide what was her wish?

She replied, "Oh, ever love me kindly!"

Again I ask'd my love what was her wish?

She answer'd, "Oh, ever love me kindly!"

Again I ask'd my love what was her wish?

And she said, "Oh, love me not too blindly!"

My love I ask'd once more what was her wish?(While her fond, lovely arms, did entwine me,And down trickling tears rapidly did gush,)"'Tis—may my husband's dear hands yet enshrine me,And to the silent grave, with sad and solemn stave,He in years far remote may consign me!"

My love I ask'd once more what was her wish?

(While her fond, lovely arms, did entwine me,

And down trickling tears rapidly did gush,)

"'Tis—may my husband's dear hands yet enshrine me,

And to the silent grave, with sad and solemn stave,

He in years far remote may consign me!"

D. B.

The duke felt extremely affected. The pathos of the Irish air, the feeling expressed in the song, and the mournful moment in which it was perused, all most powerfully conspired to operate upon those noble feelings which he too acutely possessed. And as he brought away the MS. the chaplain observed that the duke secretly brushed away the silent tear which trickled down his manly cheek.

The surprise occasioned by the very sudden and extraordinary departure of Sir David Bruce, afforded a topic of conversation and altercation among the gossips andquid nuncsof the vicinage, for at least a fortnight.—By that time the novelty appeared to melt away; but while it lasted all various changes were rung with endless interpolations, until they could not possibly be interpreted.—Some were inclined to throw the entire blame to the account of Adelaide, as the sole cause of her husband's departure. But others, both male and female recriminators, would entirely (if in their power) fling the whole balance of censure against Sir David Bruce. At length the parish and the county became quite sick and weary of such peevish conjectures;—until "cormorant-devouring Time" put an end to them, at least fulfilling his part, inasmuch showing that he isthe destroyer of prejudice and of party, and of all sublunary things:—

"Tempus edax rerum."

But it is in vain to disguise, and it would be highly culpable, if it were within the power of human ingenuity, to deny it, that often, too often,human passion, or it should be called brutal rage, assails the noblest minds and the most generous dispositions; those who are but too inflammably alive to whatever they conceive to be base, grovelling, or unjust—such are probably the most liable to "the sin that easily besets them." It is indeed to be lamented how suddenly passion in the moral, like the whirlwind in the physical world, can rend up by the roots all that graced and adorned human life, boldly and rudely usurping the seat of reason, and leaving only to cool and repentant reflection the unavailing sighs and sorrowing tears of self-crimination!

The foregoing story, tragical as it is true, incontestibly proves that "trifles light as air" assumed in the commencement, subsequently, if encouraged, increase and multiply in aratioand amount of accession and aggression, until recrimination is produced; then follow mutual hatreds, quarrels, and bickerings, until awakened and aroused at a fatal moment and at a savage period, as we have described, all these bad passions burst forth resistless into a fatal blaze, which was only to be quenched by the shedding of fraternal blood!

A dramatic poet has so beautifully expressed our meaning, that we cannot resist quoting his language, and with the passage concluding this chapter:—

——"O, be obstinately just!Indulge no passion, and betray no trust;Let not man be bold enough to say,Thus, and no farther, shall my passion stray!The first crime past, compels us on to more,And guilt proves fate, that was but choice before!"

——"O, be obstinately just!

Indulge no passion, and betray no trust;

Let not man be bold enough to say,

Thus, and no farther, shall my passion stray!

The first crime past, compels us on to more,

And guilt proves fate, that was but choice before!"

CONCLUSION.

Oh, thou wert lovely!—lovely was thy frame,And pure thy spirit as from heaven it came!And when recalled to join the blest above,Thou diedst a victim to exceeding love!Human life.

Oh, thou wert lovely!—lovely was thy frame,And pure thy spirit as from heaven it came!And when recalled to join the blest above,Thou diedst a victim to exceeding love!

Oh, thou wert lovely!—lovely was thy frame,

And pure thy spirit as from heaven it came!

And when recalled to join the blest above,

Thou diedst a victim to exceeding love!

Human life.

Our story rapidly hastens to a close, parts whereof had hitherto been purposely thrown into the back ground of our painting,—or, touseanother simile, adopting the policy of a wary general, who makes a feint retreat with the intent of concentrating his forces, next to return with renovated vigour and alacrity to the charge; thus sagely saving his videts from being shot, his cannon from being spiked, and his reinforcements from beingkilled off. In like manner too, most gentle reader, we have adopted the "parva componere magnis;" and accordingly, as we felt it incumbent upon us, have hitherto thrown some facts and events, since developed, and deeply connected with our story, into the back ground of our picture, with the hope that aught of circumstance or of interest that we hitherto fain would hide in the shade, and cloak under the veil or umbrage of mystery and obscurity, might chance to escape the penetration of the reviewing critic, and of thee too, reviewing reader! until we found it sage and pertinently expedient to develope the same.

However we may have failed or succeeded in this attempt, we have nevertheless endeavoured, with all our means, to give a faithful and impartial portraiture of the different events as they actually occurred, and of the various characters presented in our tale, as they severally made "their exits and their entrances," and "bustled their busy hour" in "this strange and eventful history." And now, courteous reader, we gratefully takeleave, and greet thee with ourultimum vale, for we shall never meet again!—then accept our last adieu!

Of the future fate and fortunes of Sir David Bruce, nothing, with any certain portion of historic authenticity, could for a vast length of time be traced or ascertained. It is true, however, as usually consequatory upon such doubtful occasions, that rumour, with her hundred tongues, was not found sleeping at her post, but was, on this occurrence, alert and busy as the tattling goddess is ever wont to be, in spreading and disseminating through the oracular organs of all the gossiping old women in, about, and around all the adjoining baronies, various, yet contradictory reports. One story-teller reported that Sir David had retired to the continent, and had once more visited his favourite Brussels, and had there taken up his abode. But that city, instead of yielding all its former charms, when hope was buoyant, and love successful, only served to demonstrate the mournful contrast, and recall more potently his misery! He too well rememberedwhat he had been, and what the treasure was that he had for ever lost! He felt but too well that "such things had been, and were most dear to him." But alas, then he knew, and most acutely felt too, the wretched man he was! What was he now?—a forlorn fugitive—a self-outcast—his peace destroyed—his hopes decayed—and in a word, a wretch, by his own condemnation! Unhappy man! he knew but too well what hehadbeen—what hemighthave been—what heoughtto have been—and, oh! whatthenhe was! These were no consoling reflections to an acute and sensitive mind like his. The rumour then concluded by asserting, that finding only aggravated sorrow, vexation, and a painful recollection of that happiness that he had lost for ever, in his former once favourite city of Brussels, that Sir David had thence retired, in complete disgust with all the world, where "man delighted him not, nor woman neither," into the Monastery ofSancta Maria de Camberone, near to Mons, where he became a Carthusian friar; long continued to lead a life of piety and peace;died a beatified saint, and bequeathed all his worldly estate to the holy brethren of that pious establishment.

This idle and unfounded rumour was, however, at variance completely with positive and stubborn facts; and truth was clearly elicited from the high and honourable testimony of Lord Glandarah, who had been engaged in a tour upon the continent; and while occupied in visiting foreign courts, among others had sojourned at the court of the Elector Palatine, to whom, upon his arrival at Berlin, he was presented; and in the suite and service of this prince he recognized Sir David Bruce. Both were mutually rejoiced at the meeting, but remained wholly silent as to the events that had passed at Tyrconnel Castle.

Sir David Bruce was habited in a black hussar uniform; much changed in appearance, and his spirits completely broken down; his manly form and figure were sadly altered. However mournful and depressed appeared the Bruce, yet the story of his life, from the time of his departure from Tyrconnel Castle,was well told in the scar on his manly cheek, and the still deeper one which he bore upon his noble brow; while the brilliant star of Brandenburgh that sparkled on his breast, and the cross which hung appendant to his neck, gave proofs that his deeds of valour had not passed by unregarded and unrewarded by the grateful prince he served.

In the course of some few years subsequent to the period which we notice, the Berlin Gazette, in giving an account of the siege of Namur in the year 1690 and ——, thus notices the death of this truly valiant hero. After a long military detail the statement ran to this effect:—"That in boldly attempting to carry the fort of Coehorn by al'epee à la main, the gallant Sir David Bruce had fallen, overpowered by wounds; when his lamented remains were borne from the trenches by his brave Brandenburghers, whom he had so often led on to victory; and were by them most honourably interred, with all the pomp and regret that await the brave."

Such was the gallant termination of the brilliant, transient, and unhappy career of thevaliant Bruce. His amiable lady, the poor, disconsolate Adelaide, did not long survive her lord, who in every respect was deserving of a happier fate than that sad one which unhappily fell to her lot. She died, as she had lived, a Protestant, although the duke and duchess were strict Catholics; a striking proof of the superiority of her understanding, considering all local circumstances, and the tone and temper of the times with which she had to contend; living under a Catholic king, whose whole conduct and administration were arbitrary—whose royal career propitiously set out with the title of "James the Just," but fatally terminated in that of "James the Tyrannical;" oppressing both the consciences and the personal liberty of his subjects, whom he only considered as his slaves.

But let it be understood, and handed down to posterity, that Lady Adelaide was no bigot, her feelings and her religion were by far too Christian to permit her to be one. Piety, charity, toleration, and benevolence, accompanied withal a mild, gentle, and conciliatory temper, adorned her character; andwith a truly devout feeling softened the asperities and disappointments which she had to encounter in her mournful passage and pilgrimage through the thorny vale of life. Pure, unaffected piety, and the slow hand of time, united to the kind attentions of her relatives, especially of her mother the duchess, and Lady Lucy, gradually succeeded in mitigating her grief. While humbly and cheerfully submitting to the will of heaven, and occupied in the exercise of the mild and tolerant spirit of the Christian faith, she found that internal comfort and consolation that was denied her in the world.

Adelaide did not long survive her husband, and upon her death-bed made a confession, previous to which disclosure none but the confidential ear of her beloved mother had heard. In this she disclosed all those events which have been already developed by the extraordinary and affecting interview and separation which we witnessed to have passed between Bruce and Adelaide. Having received the last rites of the church, Adelaide surrendered her last breath, withhope and humble resignation, to Him who gave it!

Lady Adelaide Bruce was born the 31st of October, 1600 and ——, uponthe Eve of All-Hallows; was married the 31st of October, 1600 and ——; and died the 31st of October, 1600 and ——, upon theEve of All-Hallows!

Upon the demise of the Lady Adelaide the following verses were found in her escritoir by her afflicted mother, which had been written evidently subsequent to the death of Bruce:

He is gone!——I'm ne'er to behold him!And, oh! never more to enfold himWithin these widowed arms!The spring shall bloom, the summer glowWith all their brilliant charms;For my poor heart, too well, I trow,No peace nor pleasure waits below;But cold neglect, like winter snow!Each blast my breast alarms!My soul is sad, my spirits fail,It much relieves me to bewail!My only rest lies inHIStomb!—My hope—a better world to come!When wafted to blest realms on high,Where pain and sorrow come not nigh;May thus a contrite Christian die!(Signed)Adelaide.

He is gone!——I'm ne'er to behold him!And, oh! never more to enfold himWithin these widowed arms!

He is gone!——I'm ne'er to behold him!

And, oh! never more to enfold him

Within these widowed arms!

The spring shall bloom, the summer glowWith all their brilliant charms;For my poor heart, too well, I trow,No peace nor pleasure waits below;But cold neglect, like winter snow!Each blast my breast alarms!

The spring shall bloom, the summer glow

With all their brilliant charms;

For my poor heart, too well, I trow,

No peace nor pleasure waits below;

But cold neglect, like winter snow!

Each blast my breast alarms!

My soul is sad, my spirits fail,It much relieves me to bewail!My only rest lies inHIStomb!—My hope—a better world to come!When wafted to blest realms on high,Where pain and sorrow come not nigh;May thus a contrite Christian die!

My soul is sad, my spirits fail,

It much relieves me to bewail!

My only rest lies inHIStomb!—

My hope—a better world to come!

When wafted to blest realms on high,

Where pain and sorrow come not nigh;

May thus a contrite Christian die!

(Signed)Adelaide.

It had been inadvisedly reported that our early acquaintance, Captain Heaviside, had fallencum multis aliis ignotis, at the battle of the Boyne. However, the last accounts from the pump-room at Bath put it beyond all dispute that the gallant captain was still in the land of the living; and whether at the card-table or in the ball-room, the ladies actually considered Captain Heaviside as the very cream of gentility, and the flower of ceremony; and he very soon set his affections on a prudent spinster, who had arrived at a discreet age, a Miss Barbara Golightly. And the mutual attentions of these worthies to each other, reminded the gossipers in the pump-room of the deep affection which Cid Hamet records to have existed betwixt those sage personages, Sancho and Dapple; of whom it was difficult to pronounce whether Sancholoved Dapple, or Dapple loved Sancho, the best!—Sic itur ad astra!

The arrival some weeks after of "The London Intelligencer"[16]set this matter completely at rest, and plainly told thequid-nuncstheirerratum, that for "killed" they ought to have read "married." The paragraph in the Intelligencer was worded to the following effect:—"Married, at the Abbey church of Bath, on Thursday last, by the Honourable and very Reverend Dean P—l—y, Captain Harry Heaviside, late of the —— regiment of foot, to the amiable and affable Miss Barbara Golightly of that city, whose merits will not be diminished by bestowing upon the brave captain, in conjunction with her fair hand, a fortune of ten thousand pounds!"

Lady Lucy had several proposals of marriage made to her by persons of high rankand fortune, but she invariably refused them all; whether it was that Lady Lucy was fastidious in her choice of a companion for life, or that she preferred a state of "single blessedness" to the marriage state, we shall not aver, but simply state her amiable, and disinterested, and generous conduct, to her unhappy niece, to whom she was indeed most unremitting in her attentions; and seemed most assiduous and well pleased in dispensing those nameless acts of kindness to her niece, in thought, in deed—nay, in her very looks, a countenance beaming with goodness and philanthropy; all of which were gratefully and duly acknowledged on the part of Adelaide.

Lady Letitia, after a long continued siege of courtship, took final compassion on Sir Patricius Placebo; whom she was now not unwilling to admit as her true knight, and actually gave him her noble hand as hisguerdon; for inasmuch that during the continuation of a long acquaintance, and that too under the same roof withal, yet that her ladyship had never, in any one recorded instance, heard the baronet to pronounce the truly portentous word—perhaps! No, never, in that long continued course.

It was, however, it must be confessed, maliciously asserted by some, yet still contradicted by others, that this being leap year that the lady availed herself of acknowledged privileges belonging and immemorially pertaining to this gifted year. But this we shall not vouch for.

"Non nostrum inter tantas componere lites."

We merely state the fact that her Ladyship duly and legally became Lady Letitia Placebo. Upon the consummation of the marriage Sir Patricius sported a handsome new chariot, with the arms of Placebo quartered agreeably to all the tenor of the rules and laws of arms and blazonry, in the same shield with those of the noble house of Tyrconnel; and he did not forget his own motto, which was a kind of pun (at that time in vogue) upon his own name—

placebo, semperque placebo!

From which said motto one may fairly infer that the baronet's opinion of himself was by very many degrees removed above mediocrity!

Mrs. Judith Brangwain, now far advanced in years, and somewhat splenetic in her remarks, expressed much serious displeasure and vexation at this matrimonial event; she said: "It truly calls forth my marvel and wonderment. For surely my Lady Letitia must have been bewitched, any how; and that is faith, sure enough, the only razonable way for counting it. And, in troth, any how my lady is a deal too good for the ould midwife, to be sure, that is sartain. Who, after all in all, is the very Carrick on Suir [caricature] of a defunct fop! Better—aye, far better, would it have been for Lady Letitia to have eloped with her riding switch to the continent; aye, and to have passed seven long years and a day in taking the tower of Europa in search of a husband, sooner nor domain herself by giving the hand of a princess of a right ould Irish stock to an upstart quack doctor!"

The duke and duchess, although they did not encourage, much less approve of the match, yet they did not prevent the solemnization of the marriage. Lady Letitia had indeed arrived at the due years of discretion, that is to say, if ever they were to arrive; and Sir Patricius Placebo, with all his peculiarities and eccentricities, was, in the main point, a man of worth and respectability.

Upon the event of the marriage the duke presented Sir Patricius and his sister with the gift of Lætely Lodge, where the happy, happy pair, soon departed for, intending there, without a dissentient "perhaps," to pass the honey-moon.

In little more than the space of nine months Lady Letitia presented the doctor with a chubby malePlacebo. This proved very agreeable to Sir Patricius, who really had, or affected to have, a rooted dislike to all children of the feminine gender.

And here it must be incontinently confessed, that this event took place to the no small astonishment and disappointment of all the surrounding gossips in the adjoining parishes and baronies, as these sapient folks had somewhat too hastily assumed the fact that Lady Letitia Placebo had passed by the time and season when ladies wish, and may expect to be inthat state, "who love their lords!" They, in sooth, considered her ladyship too ancient to proveenceinte.

Sir Patricius, upon this most desired and happy event, raised his stately head somewhat higher than he was wont to do; and with all due discretion, gravity, emphasis, and mellow intonation of voice, addressed his auditory—his countenance, meanwhile, as he spoke, being lighted up by the important smile of self-applause, and having consequentially put his Carolus snuff-box in requisition—"I did," said he, "it must be confessed, form some hopes and expectations upon this much wished for occasion, which have been now so happily realized; as verily, my Lady Letitia Placebo hath not disappointed me. For as the learned and justly celebrated Archimedes was accustomed to observe—

"ΔΟΣ ΜΟΙ ΤΕΝ ΣΤΙΤΜΗΝ," &c. &c.

It now becomes our melancholy duty to record that the noble and highly gifted Duchess of Tyrconnel did not many years survive the deplored death of her deeply beloved daughter—her adored Adelaide; and ere long was followed to the grave by her brave and illustrious duke, who directed that the following inscription should be placed upon his tomb:—

patriæ infelici, fidelis.

"Faithful to the last to his unhappy country!"

&c. &c.

In which are given four original Letters of King James II. never before published; accompanied with fac-similes of his royal Signet and Signature. Likewise, an original Letter from the Duke of Berwick; the fac-simile of the Duke's Seal and Signature are also given, copied critically from the original Letters in the Manuscript Closet of Trinity College, Dublin.

CHAPTER I.—Vol. i., p. 17.

"Ailsa, about fifteen miles from the coast, [of Ayrshire,] is a vast rock of a conical form, 940 feet in height, two miles in circumference, accessible only on the north-east, and uninhabited. Its summit is covered with heath and a little grass. It is the property of the Earl of Casilis, who obtains a rent from it, paidfrom the sale of feathers, Solan geese, and rabbit-skins. On its acclivity are the ruins of a chapel and fort, and near these there is a spring of fresh water."—Playfair'sGeographical and Statistical Description of Scotland, vol.I. p. 179.

In the summer of 1811, and likewise in that of 1824, the author of these volumes sailed past this stupendous rock, and the Scotch sailors on board informed him, that the rent received from the produce of this rock by Lord Cassilis, amounted to upwards of £30 per annum.

CHAPTER VII.—Vol. i., p. 169.

Grace O'Malley, formerly better known in Ireland by the name (in popular parlance) of Grana Uile; and so called from the Castle of Carrick Uley, the ruins of which are stationed at the extremity of an inlet in the bay of Newport, in the county of Mayo. The proper name isCarrick a Uile, or, "the rock in the elbow;" in allusion to the impending mountain which crowns it, the strength of the castle, and the recess in which it is situated.

In this castle resided Grace O'Malley. Her family were from time immemorial considerable on the north-west coast of Ireland, their principality extending from the lake called Lough Corrib, in the county of Galway, to Croagh Patrick, in the county of Mayo, and from thence to the borders of the town of Sligo, a considerable tract of which is still called "the Uisles of O'Malley;" a fine fertile country, chiefly skirted by the sea; the bays and harbours excellent, and beautifully interspersed with verdant islands, many of which are inhabited. For aptness of local situation for maritime affairs and naval exploits, the lords of the territory became early conspicuous; in attestation of which the motto to the family name is, "Terra marique potens,"—Powerful alike by land and sea.

Grace O'Malley was daughter of Owen O'Malley, and widow of O'Flaherty, two Irish chieftains who flourished in that country. Upon the death of O'Flaherty Grace married Sir Richard Bourke, who died in 1585, leaving three sons and one daughter the fruits of this marriage. Upon the death of her husband and of her father, from necessity Grace O'Malley (then Bourke) undertook the management of family concerns, acting with firmness and resolution, keeping up her fleet for the protection of her castles and estates, so essentially necessary in stormy and turbulent times, and from thiscircumstance many considered her, and in popular belief to this day she is still considered, as a pirate!

Grace, or Grana Uile, was a high-spirited lady, and became fond at an early age of the watery element, accompanying her father and his sept, or clan, in many naval exploits. The coast was plundered of cattle and other property, and many people were murdered in these predatory expeditions.

Grana was ever foremost in danger. Courage and conduct secured her success; and the affrighted natives along the north-west shore trembled at her name.—Many hardy and daring mariners from distant parts sought her service, attracted by her fame. Her vessels of the largest description were kept moored in Clare Island, where she possessed a large castle, and her smaller craft were kept stationed at Carrick a Uile.

Tradition relates that her piracies became so notorious, and her power so dangerous, that Grana was proclaimed, and a reward of five hundred pounds offered for her apprehension. Resolving to make her peace with England's Queen, she attended the court of Elizabeth, accompanied with a large retinue, a guard of gallo-glasses bearing partisans, and clad in saffron robes, who attracted great and universal attention.

The Queen received her in great state. Grana was arrayed in the costume of her country:—a long Irish mantle covered her head and person; her hair gatheredà la Grecque, and fastened with a gold bodkin inlaid with jewels; her bosom was bare; and her dress a yellow silk boddice and petticoat. The court were struck with infinite surprise at her singular appearance. However, Grana succeeded in the object of her visit, and having made her peace with Elizabeth, returned to Ireland.

The castle belonging to Grana in the island of Clare, which boasts a fine harbour and quay, was so much considered by Oliver Cromwell, that he there erected a fort and barrack, in which he maintained a garrison.

Grana endowed a monastery on it, in which she lies interred; her arms and motto, carved on the tomb with those of her husband, are still to be seen. This island still continues an estate in the family who bear the name of O'Malley; and until of late years had been the family burial place.

The celebrity of Grana Uile has been the theme of bards for many years. In the year 1753, during the political contests which occurred in the administration of the Duke of Dorset, a very popular song appeared, to an old Irish air, and the burden of the song was Grana Uile. It is too long for insertion in this work.

CHAPTER VIII.—Vol. i., p. 195.

Pastry Fortifications.

——"I have framed a fortificationOut of rye paste, which is impregnable;[17]And against that for two long hours together,Two dozen of marrow-bones shall play continually.For fish I'll make you a standing lake of white broth,And pikes come ploughing up the plums before them,Arion-like, on a dolphin, playing Lachrymæ;And brave king herring, with his oil and onion,Crown'd with a lemon peel, his way preparedWith his strong guard of pilchers."

——"I have framed a fortification

Out of rye paste, which is impregnable;[17]

And against that for two long hours together,

Two dozen of marrow-bones shall play continually.

For fish I'll make you a standing lake of white broth,

And pikes come ploughing up the plums before them,

Arion-like, on a dolphin, playing Lachrymæ;

And brave king herring, with his oil and onion,

Crown'd with a lemon peel, his way prepared

With his strong guard of pilchers."

[The Bloody Brothers, or Rollo Duke of Normandy, byBeaumontandFletcher, vol.VII. actII. sceneII. p. 151.]

CHAPTER VIII.—Vol. i., p. 200.

"Primero."

This game is noticed byShakespeare, in "The Merry Wives of Windsor:"—

"I never prospered since I foreswore myself at primero."

And likewise in Henry VIII.:—

"And left him at primero, with the Duke of Suffolk."

InBeaumontandFletcheralso, mention is made of this celebrated and once fashionable game—in vol.ii. p. 185, in "The Scornful Lady," and likewise in "The nice Valour," in vol.iv. p. 273.

Primero too is noticed inStrutt's"Sports and Pastimes of the People of England," p. 291. There is a poem by the celebrated Sir John Harrington, the translator ofAriosto, which affords an admirable illustration of the game: it is entitled, "The Story of Marcus' Life at Primero." But as it amounts to upwards of forty lines, it is considered as too long for insertion here.

CHAPTER XII.—Vol. i., p. 287.

"Riding the Franchises."

Extract from Harris's "History of the City of Dublin," (now become a very scarce work,) chap.vi. p. 114:—

"We shall have little here to do but barely to transcribe the several forms used by the citizens in riding their franchises at different periods, as the same has been transmitted to posterity either by authentic records or ancient manuscripts, whose evidence is not to be controverted at this day; more especially as the reader will readily perceive, by comparing each form, how little variance there has been therein from the beginning to the present times, except in the names of places, which yet are but few. It would indeed be a difficult task for the citizens to have at any time stretched their rights beyond the just limits within the city or suburbs, as they were surrounded on most parts by vigilant neighbours, namely, the ecclesiastics of St. Mary's Abbey, Kilmainham, Thomas-court, and St. Sepulchre's, or the liberties of the Archbishop of Dublin, who were upon all occasions ready to procure papal anathemas and censures against those who offended them in less momentous matters than the loss of their lands. Several of the instruments we shall have occasion to cite are written in Latin; but to show our fidelity, we shall transcribe them verbatim, and for the sake of the English reader, translate them literally into our own language.

"The earliest instrument that occurs is one of John Earl of Morton, and Lord of Ireland, dated at London, the 14th day of May, in the third year of the reign of his brother, King Richard I. (A. D. 1192,) which refers to a former charter of local franchises, granted by King Henry II., now lost. The charter of King John is to be seen in the black book of the Archbishops of Dublin, called "Alan's Register," being collected by Archbishop Alan, in the reign of Henry VIII.,and as it containeth other liberties besides their metes and bounds, we shall here give only so much thereof as is pertinent to the subject before the reader:—

"'CHARTA JOHANNIS,

"'Domini Hiberniæ, de metis et franchesiis civitatis Dublin, et de libertatibus concessis.

"'Johannes dominus Hiberniæ, Comes Morton, omnibus hominibus et amicis suis, Francis et Anglis, Hiberniensibus et Wallensibis, præsentibus et futuris salutem.

"'Sciatis nos dedisse et concessisse, et hâc mêa chartâ confirmasse civibus meis de Dublin, tam extra muros, quam infra muros manentibus, usque admetas villæ quod habeant metas suas sicut probatæ fuerant per sacramentum bonorum virorum de civitate istâ per præceptum regis Henrici, patris mei; scilicet, ex parte orientale de Dublin, et australi parte, pasturam quæ ducit usque ad portam ecclesiæ sancti Keivini, et sic per viam usque ad Kylmerckargan, et sic per divisam terræ de Donenobroogi usque ad Doder, et de Doder usque ad mare scilicet at Clarade juxta mare, et de Clarade usque ad Ramynelan. Et in occidentale parte de Dublin ab ecclesia S. Patricii per Wallam usque ad Farnan-Clenegimethe et deinde usque ad divisam terræ de Kylmainam et ultra aquam de Kylmainam juxta Aven-Liffey usque ad vada de Kilmastan et ultra aquam de Aven-Liffey versus boream per Cnocknogannoc et deinde usque ad horrea S. Trinitatis, et de horreis illis usque ad furcas, et sic per divisam inter Clonlic et Crynan usque ad Tolecan et deinde usque ad ecclesiam sanctæ Mariæ de Ostmanby. Hæc etiam eis concessi, salvis tenuris et terrâ omni eorum, qui terras et tenures habent, et chartam meam inde extra muros usque ad prædictas metas; et quod non possit civitas de terris illis, sicut de aliis disponere, sed faciant communes consuetudines civitatis, sicut alii cives. De illis autem dico hoc, qui chartam meam habuerunt de aliquibus terris infra easdem metas extra muros antequam civitati prædictas libertates, et hanc chartam concesserim.'

TRANSLATION.

"The Charter ofJohn, Lord of Ireland, concerning the bounds and franchises of the City of Dublin, and of the liberties granted thereto.

"John, Lord of Ireland, Earl of Morton, to all his subjects and friends, French, English, Irish, and Welch, present and to come, greeting.—Know ye, that I have given and granted, and by this my charterconfirmed, to my citizens of Dublin, as well those who inhabit without the walls, as to those who dwell within them, as far as the boundary of the town, that they may have their limits as they were perambulated, by the oaths of the honest men of the city itself, in pursuance of a precept sent to them by King Henry, my father; namely, on the east and south sides of Dublin, by the pasture-grounds which lead as far as the port of St. Keivin's church, and so along the road as far as Kylemerekangan, and from thence, as they are divided from the lands of Donenobroogi,[19]as far as the Doder, and from the Doder to the sea, namely, to Clarade, close to the sea, and from Clarade as far as Ramynelan. And on the west side of Dublin, from St. Patrick's church, through the valley as far as Farnan-Clenegimethe; and from thence, as they are divided from the lands of Kylmainam, near Aven-Liffey, as far as the ford of Kilmastan; and beyond the water of Aven-Liffey, towards the north by Cnocknogannoc; and from thence as far as the Barns of the Holy Trinity; and from those Barns to the gallows; and so asthe division runs between Cloulic and Crynan, as far as Tolecan, and afterwards to the church of St. Mary of Ostmanby. These things we have also granted to them, that their tenures and land be secure who have any granted to them in our charter; from thence without the walls, as far as the before-mentioned limits; that the city may not dispose of those lands as of other lands, but that they observe the common customs of the city, as other citizens do. But this we declare of those who have had our charter of certain lands, within the said limits, without the walls, before we had granted the aforesaid liberties and this charter."—The History of the City of Dublin, byWalter Harris, 8vo. Dublin, 1766, pp. 118, 119, 120.

The franchises of the city of Cork, according to Doctor Smith, in his celebratedHistory of Cork, vol.i. p. 49, were perambulated in "an handsome manner" [he says no more] on October 20, 1714; and the night concluded with fire-works and illuminations in honour of his Majesty King George I., whose coronation was that day celebrated in the city. By an order of the D'oyer Hundred, the Mayor was ordered to ride round the liberties and franchises of the city of Cork every third year.

Mr. Hardiman, in hisHistory of Galway, mentions a similar procession at Galway. And something similar occurred in the town of Drogheda; but wholly divested of the splendid pomp and display which shed such a lustre on the Dublin pageant.

The ceremony of riding the franchises in the city of Dublin was one so peculiar and remarkable, that it certainly appeared to the author worthy of being handed down as a curious historical record, no similar ceremony of such pomp, circumstance, and pageantry, was known in Britain. There was, no doubt, something extremely oriental in this splendid pageant, which, if the reader will take the trouble to peruse the Letters of Lady Mary Wortley Montague, from Adrianople, he will find a striking similarity between the spectacle of riding the Dublin franchises and the grand pageant which takes place when the Grand-Signior leads his army in person. The account is as follows:—

"I took the pains of rising at six in the morning to see the ceremony, which did not, however, begin till eight. The Grand-Signior was at the Seraglio window to see the procession, which passed through the principal streets. It was preceded by anEffendi, mounted on a camel richly furnished, reading aloud the Alcoran, finely bound, laid upon a cushion. Hewas surrounded by a parcel of boys in white, singing some verses of it, followed by a man dressed in green boughs, representing a clean husbandman sowing seed. After him several reapers with garlands of ears of corn, as Ceres is pictured, with scythes in their hands, seeming to mow. Then a little machine drawn by oxen, in which was a windmill, and boys employed in grinding corn, followed by another machine drawn by buffaloes, carrying an oven and two more boys, one employed in kneading bread, and another in drawing it out of the oven. These boys threw little cakes on both sides among the crowd, and were followed by the whole company of bakers, marching on foot two by two, in their best clothes, with cakes, loaves, pasties, and pies of all sorts, on their heads; and after them two buffoons, or jack-puddings, with their faces and clothes smeared with meal, who diverted the mob with their antic gestures. In the same manner followed all the companies of trade in the empire; the noble sort, such as jewellers, mercers, &c., finely mounted, and many of the pageants that represent their trades perfectly magnificent; among which that of the furriers made one of the best figures, being a large machine, set round with the skins of ermines, foxes, &c., so well stuffed, that the animals seemedto be alive; and followed by music and dancers," &c.Works of Lady Wortley Montague, London, 1805, vol.ii.pp. 181, 182.

The Chief Magistrate of Dublin was formerly called Provost, and the Sheriffs were styled Bailiffs, from the year 1308 until the year 1409, when the title of Mayor was given. In the year 1547 the name of Bailiff was changed into that of Sheriff. And in the year 1665 the title of Mayor was elevated to the rank of Lord Mayor, Sir David Bellingham being the first appointed.—SeeHarris'sHistory of Dublin, Appendix, pp. 491 to 506.

"The city of Dublin anciently consisted," says Harris, "of twenty corporations, to which five have been in latter times added.

"An ancient custom prevailed for a long time in the city of Dublin, always against the great festivals of the year, to invite the Lord Deputy, the nobility, and other persons of quality and rank, to an entertainment, in which they first diverted them with stage plays, and then regaled them with a splendid banquet. The several corporations also, upon their patron's days, held themselves obliged to the like observances, which were for a long time very strictly kept up and practised.

"Thomas Fitzgerald, Earl of Kildare, and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in the year 1528, was invited to a new play every day in Christmas; Arland Usher being then Mayor, and Francis Herbert and John Squire Bailiffs; wherein the Taylors acted the part of Adam and Eve; the Shoemakers represented the story of Crispin and Crispianus; the Vintners acted Bacchus and his story; the Carpenters that of Joseph and Mary; Vulcan, and what related to him, was acted by the Smiths; and the comedy of Ceres, the goddess of Corn, by the Bakers. Their stage was erected on Hoggin-Green, now called College-Green, and on it the priors of Saint John of Jerusalem, of the blessed Trinity, and of All-Hallows, caused two plays to be acted, the one representing the Passion of our Saviour, and the other the several deaths which the apostles suffered."

It is stated in a manuscript in the library of Trinity College, Dublin, "That in the parliament of 1541, wherein Henry VIII. was declared king of Ireland, there were present the Earls of Ormond and Desmond, the Lord Barry, Mac-Gilla-Phadrig Chieftaine of Ossory, the sons of O'Brien, Mac-Carthy-More, with many Irish lords; and on Corpus Christi Day they rode about the streets with the procession in their parliament robes; and the nine worthies was played, and the Mayor bore the mace before them on horseback. The Sunday following King Henry was proclaimed king of Ireland in Saint Patrick's church; and the next Sunday they had tournaments on horseback, and running at the ring with spears on horseback."

Sir James Ware briefly alludes to these entertainments in the following words: "Epulas comædias, et certamina ludicra, quæ sequebantur, quid attinet dicere?" "It is needless," he remarks, "to relate what banquets, comedies, and sports followed."

We now return to Harris's History of the City of Dublin.

"Among other days of solemnity the festival of Saint George was celebrated with high veneration. In the choir-book of the city of Dublin are several entries to that effect:

I.—It was ordered, in maintenance of the pageant of Saint George, that the Mayor of the foregoing year should find the emperor and empress, with their train and followers well apparelled and accoutered; that is to say, the emperor attended with two doctors, and the empress with two knights, and two maidens, richly apparelled, to bear up the train of her gown.

II.Item.—The Mayor, for the time being, was tofind Saint George a horse, and the Wardens to pay 3s.4d.for his wages that day. The Bailiffs; for the time being were to find four horses, with men mounted on them well apparelled, to bear the pole-axe, the standard, and the several swords of the emperor, and Saint George.

III.Item.—The elder Master of the guild was to find a maiden well attired, to load the dragon, and the clerk of the market was to find a golden line for the dragon.

IV.Item.—The elder Warden to find for Saint George four trumpets; but Saint George himself was to pay their wages.

V.Item.—The younger Warden was obliged to find the king of Dele and the queen of Dele, as also two knights to lead the queen of Dele, and two maidens to bear the train of her gown, all being entirely clad in black apparel. Moreover, he was to cause Saint George's chapel to be well hung in black, and completely apparelled to every purpose; and was to provide it with cushions, rushes, and other necessaries, for the festivity of that day.

No less was the preparation of pageants for the procession of Corpus Christi Day, on which the Gloverswere to represent Adam and Eve, with an angel bearing a sword before them.

The Curriers were to represent Cain and Abel, with an altar, and their offering.

Mariners and Vintners, Noah, and the persons in the Ark, apparelled in the habits of Carpenters and Salmon-takers.

The Weavers personated Abraham and Isaac, with their offering and altar.

The Smiths represented Pharoah with his host.

The Skinners the camel with the children of Israel.

The Goldsmiths were to find the king of Cullen.

The Coopers were to find the Shepherds, with an angel singingGloria in excelsis Deo.

Corpus Christi guild was to find Christ in his passion, with the Marys and Angels.

The Taylors were to find Pilate with his fellowship and his wife, clothed accordingly.

The Barbers, Ann and Caiaphas.

The Fishers, the Apostles.

The Merchants, the Prophets.

And the Butchers, the Tormentors.

These interludes and representations carried with them the appearance of the superstition of the times, which John Bale, Bishop of Ossory, afterwards laboured to reform, by writing, with more sobriety, several comedies and tragedies in the reign of King Edward VI., and, during his banishment, in that of Queen Mary, upon religious subjects. Several of those pieces are yet extant, printed in black letter; and though they show the taste of the age, they would by no means please the present."—The History of the City of Dublin, byWalter Harris, Esq.8vo. Dublin, 1766, pp. 142, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9.

CHAPTER III.—Vol. iii., p. 36.

"Running Footmen."

Mr. Weber, in a note to "The Knight of the Burning Pestle," in his edition of the works of Beaumont and Fletcher,Vol. i. p. 194, Edinburgh, 1812, observes, that "the running footmen were a fashionable piece of splendid folly prevalent at that time. They were still kept by some noblemen in Scotland about the middle of the last century, and are yet to be met with occasionally upon the continent. Like the jockeys, they are put upon a particular diet; and in order to prevent cramps, the calves of their legs are greased."

CHAPTER V.—Vol. iii., p. 87.

"Turnberry Castle."

"The ruins of Turnberry Castle are on a promontory of the sea coast, two miles west of Kirkoswald, and five south-west of Maybole. This castle belonged to Alexander Earl of Carrick, who died in the Holy Land, and left an only daughter, named Martha, who married Robert Bruce, Lord of Annandale. In the expedition of Edward I. the English were in possession of this castle. At present nothing more than the foundation of the building, and some vaults beneath it, remain."—Playfair'sGeographical and Statistical Description of Scotland, vol.i.pp. 178, 179.

CHAPTER V.—Vol. iii., p. 92.

"Caerlaverock Castle."

"Caerlaverock Castlewas founded in the sixth century by the son of Lewarch Hen, a famous British poet; it was the chief seat of the family of Maxwell in the days of King Malcolm Canmore. It stood on thenorth shore of Solway Firth, nine miles from Dumfries, between the Nith and Locher; and was deemed impregnable before the use of fire-arms. In the reign of King Robert Bruce the proprietor of it demolished all its fortifications, lest it should fall into the hands of the English. It was, however, again fortified, for in 1355 it was taken by Sir Roger Kirkpatrick, and levelled with the ground. Its materials were employed to erect a new building, which was demolished by the Earl of Essex, A. D. 1570. The fortifications of this place were once more renewed by Robert, the first Earl of Nithisdale, in 1638, who nobly supported the cause of Charles I., and maintained a considerable garrison at his own expense."—Playfair'sGeographical and Statistical Description of Scotland, vol.i.pp. 107, 108.

In closing the notes to the foregoing volumes, we are here desirous of presenting the reader with a few historical documents of King James II. who has stood forth so prominent a figure in the foregoing wild story, as well as four original letters of that monarch, which heretofore have never yet met the public eye.

In a small curious volume, which was published at Paris soon after the decease of the Duke of York, thenJames II., edited byFather Francis Sanders, of the Society of Jesus, and Confessor to his late Majesty, the following passage occurs:—

"This exiled prince made several campaigns under the Marshal de Turenne, and he showed every where so much courage and bravery, that he gained mighty commendations from that general. The testimonies of the Prince de Condé were no less glorious, who was often heard to say, that if ever there was a man without fear, it was the Duke of York; and he kept his character for intrepidity at all times, and upon all occasions."

Lord Clarendon too in his "History of the Civil Wars in England," vol.iii.p. 370, thus speaks of King James II. when Duke of York, and engaged at the battle of Dunkirk: "There was a rumour spread in theFrencharmy that the Duke of York was taken prisoner by theEnglish, some men undertaking to say that they saw him in their hands. Whereupon many of theFrenchofficers and gentlemen resolved to set him at liberty, and rode up to the body ofEnglish, and looked upon their prisoners, and found they were misinformed; which if they had not been, they would undoubtedly, at any hazard or danger, have enlargedhim. So great an affection that nation owned to have for His Highness."

It is worthy of observation to mark the manner in which King James expressed himself respecting the Abbé de Rancé, during his residence in France; and likewise the Abbé's opinion of the abdicated monarch:

"I really think nothing has afforded me so much consolation since my misfortunes, as the conversation of that venerable saint, the Abbé of La Trappé. When I first arrived in France I had but a very superficial view of religion; if, indeed, I might be said to have any thing deserving that name. The Abbé de La Trappé was the first person who gave me any solid instruction with respect to genuine Christianity.

"I formerly looked upon God as an omnipotent Creator, and as an arbitrary governor; I knew his power to be irresistible, I therefore thought his decrees must be submitted to, because they could not be withstood. Now my whole view is changed: the Abbé de La Trappé has taught me to consider this great God as my father, and to view myself as adopted into his family. I now can look upon myself as become his son, through the merits of my Saviour, applied to my heart by his holy Spirit. I am now convinced, not only that we ought to receive misfortunes with patience,because they are inevitable, but I also feel assured that death, which rends the veil from all things, will probably discover to us many new secrets of love and mercy in the economy of God's providence, as in that of his grace. God, who gave up his only Son to an accursed death for us, must surely have ordered all inferior things by the same spirit of love."[20]

Such were King James's sentiments respecting M. de Rance. The Abbé, on the other hand, entertained as high an opinion of him. The following passage, concerning the unfortunate king of England, occurs in one of M. de La Trappé's Letters to a Friend:—

"I will now speak to you concerning the king of England. I never saw any thing more striking than the whole of his conduct; nor have I ever seen any person more elevated above the transitory objects of time and sense. His tranquillity and submission to the divine will are truly marvellous. He really equals some of the most holy men of old, if indeed he may not be rather said to surpass them.

"He has suffered the loss of three kingdoms; yethis equanimity and peace of mind are undisturbed. He speaks of his bitterest enemies without warmth; nor does he ever indulge in those insinuations which even good men are too apt to fall into when speaking of their enemies. He knows the meaning of two texts of Scripture which are too much neglected: 'It is given you to suffer,' and, 'Despise not the gift of God.' He therefore praises God for every persecution and humiliation which he endures. He could not be in a more equable state of mind even if he were in the meridian of temporal prosperity.

"His time is always judiciously and regularly appropriated. His day is filled up in so exact a manner, that nothing can be well either added or retrenched from his occupations.

"All his pursuits tend to the love of God and man. He appears uniformly to feel the divine presence. This is, perhaps, the first and most important step in the divine life.—It is the foundation of all which follow.

"The queen is in every respect influenced by the same holy desires.

"The union of these two excellent persons is founded on the love of God.

"It may be truly termed an holy and a sacred one."

"Such were M. de Rance's opinions of King James. It is impossible to doubt but that the venerable Abbé de La Trappe was sincere in his expressions."[21]

FOUR

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