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diff --git a/old/60895-8.txt b/old/60895-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 5939d5f..0000000 --- a/old/60895-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,13482 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Charles Stewart Parnell, by Katharine O'Shea - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Charles Stewart Parnell - His Love Story and Political Life - -Author: Katharine O'Shea - -Release Date: January 9, 2020 [EBook #60895] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHARLES STEWART PARNELL *** - - - - -Produced by Al Haines - - - - - - - - -[Frontispiece: CHARLES STEWART PARNELL Taken in the sitting-room at -Wonersh Lodge, Eltham by Mrs. Parnell] - - - -CHARLES STEWART PARNELL - -His Love Story and Political Life - -BY - -KATHARINE O'SHEA - -(Mrs. Charles Stewart Parnell) - - - - "_No common soul was his; for good or ill - There was a mighty power_" - HAWKSHAW--_Sonnet IX_ - - - - CASSELL AND COMPANY, LTD - London, New York, Toronto and Melbourne - 1921 - - - - - First published in Two Volumes 1914 - One Volume Edition 1921 - - - - - DEDICATED TO - LOVE - - Had the whole rich world been in my power, - I should have singled out thee, only thee, - From the whole world's collected treasury." - MOORE - - - - -_PUBLISHERS' NOTE_ - -_Of all the love stories in history possibly none had more intense -reactions upon politics than that of Charles Stewart Parnell and -Katharine O'Shea, which is unfolded with candour so compelling in -this record of their life._ - -_The engrossing interest in Ireland has demanded a new and popular -edition of Mrs. Parnell's book. No real comprehension of the Irish -question is possible without a thorough knowledge of Parnell's life -and his part in the creation of the modern Home Rule movement; and no -intimate knowledge of Parnell's character and the springs of his -policy during the critical decade of the 'eighties can be had without -studying the revelations of his correspondence with his wife._ - -_In this edition some abridgment has been necessary to bring the book -within the compass of a single volume. The less material parts of -Mrs. Parnell's narrative of her own girlhood have been curtailed, and -the long correspondence of Captain O'Shea has been summarised in a -note appended to Chapter xxvii. One or two omissions are indicated -in footnotes. The text has been subject to no other interference._ - - _La Belle Sauvage, - September_, 1921. - - - - -{ix} - -MRS. PARNELL'S PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION - -On October 6th, 1891, nearly twenty-three years ago, Charles Stewart -Parnell died in the arms of his wife; nearly twenty-three years ago -the whole of the civilized world awoke to laud--or to condemn--the -dead chief. It ranked him with the greatest heroes, or with the -vilest sinners, of the world, because he had found and kept the haven -of her arms with absolute disregard of that world's praise or blame, -till death, the only power greater than the love that held him there, -tore him from them. - -And then the hate that followed him to the grave turned to the woman -he had loved, to vent upon her its baffled spleen; not considering -that such a man as he would keep the heart of his wife as closely in -death as he had kept it in life, so closely that none could come near -it, so secretly that none could find the way to plant therein a -sting. And so for these more than twenty-two years, I, his wife, -have lived upon memories so happy and so precious that, after time -had brought back some meaning to my life, I took a certain pleasure -in reading all men had to say of him whom they so little knew. Never -in all the "lives," "articles," or "appreciations" I read had there -been one that could say--or one that desired to say--that Parnell was -not a man who stands out sharp and clear from other men for good or -ill. - -But now, after all these years, one of Parnell's erstwhile followers -has arisen to explain to another generation that Parnell was not -really such a man as this, that he {x} was one of Ireland's eternal -failures. One who held her dear indeed, but one who balanced her -welfare against the clutches of a light o' love with all the -foolishness of callow degeneracy, so fondly imagined chivalry by the -weak. Not a man who gave his country his whole life, and found the -peace and courage of that life in the heart of the woman he loved. -No, that is how a man lives and loves, whether in secret or before -the whole world. That is how Parnell lived and loved, and now after -these long years I break my silence lest the unmanly echo of excuse -given forth by Mr. O'Brien in an age that loves excuse may cling -about the name of the man I loved. It is a very poignant pain to me -to give to the world any account of the sacred happiness of eleven -years of my life and of the agony of sorrow that once seemed too -great to bear; but I have borne it, and I am so near him now that I -fear to leave near the name of that proud spirit the taint of excuse -that he loathed. - -Parnell never posed as "rather the victim than the destroyer of a -happy home," as Mr. O'Brien suggested in the _Cork Free Press_ of -last year, and he maintained to the last day of his life that he -suffered no "dishonour and discredit" in making the woman he loved -his own. - -And because Parnell contravened certain social laws, not regarding -them as binding him in any way, and because I joined him in this -contravention since his love made all else of no account to me, we -did not shrink at the clamour of the upholders of those outraged -laws, nor resent the pressing of the consequences that were -inevitable and always foreseen. The freedom of choice we had -ourselves claimed we acknowledged for others, and were wise enough to -smile if, in some instances, the greatness of our offence was loudly -proclaimed by those who he {xi} knew lived in a freedom of love more -varied than our own. For the hypocrisy of those statesmen and -politicians who, knowing for ten years that Parnell was my lover, had -with the readiest tact and utmost courtesy accepted the fact as -making a sure and safe channel of communication with him, whom they -knew as a force to be placated; for those who, when the time came to -stand by him in order to give Ireland the benefits they had promised -him for her, repudiated him from under the cloak of the religion they -thereby forswore, he, and I with him, felt a contempt unspeakable. - -In this book I am giving to the public letters so sacred to my lover -and myself that no eyes other than our own should ever have seen -them, but that my son was jealous for his father's honour, and that I -would not my lover's life should seem in these softer days a lesser -thing, beset with fears and indecisions that he did not know. I -have, lived in those eleven years of Parnell's love so constantly -that nothing has been lost to me of them, and the few details of them -that I give will show a little of what manner of man he was, while -still I keep for my own heart so much that none shall ever know but -he and I. - -In regard to the political aspect of the book those who know the -Irish history of those days will understand. My lover was the leader -of a nation in revolt, and, as I could, I helped him as "King's -Messenger" to the Government in office. It has been erroneously said -by some of the Irish Party that I "inspired" certain measures of his, -and biased him in various ways politically. Those who have said so -did not know the man, for Parnell was before all a statesman; -absolutely convinced of his policy and of his ability to carry that -policy to its logical conclusion. Self-reliant and far-seeing, the -master of his own mind. - -{xii} - -I was never a "political lady," and, apart from him, I have never -felt the slightest interest in politics, either Irish or English, and -I can honestly say that except for urging him to make terms with the -Government in order to obtain his liberation from prison, I did not -once throughout those eleven years attempt to use my influence over -him to "bias" his public life or politics; nor, being convinced that -his opinions and measures were the only ones worth consideration, was -I even tempted to do so. In my many interviews with Mr. Gladstone I -was Parnell's messenger, and in all other work I did for him it was -understood on both sides that I worked for Parnell alone. - -KATHARINE PARNELL. - -_Brighton, April_, 1914. - - - - -{xiii} - -CONTENTS - -CHAPTER - -1. MY EARLY LIFE - -2. VISITORS AT RIVENHALL - -3. MY FATHER'S DEATH AND MY MARRIAGE - -4. A DAY ON THE DOWNS - -5. MORE FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES - -6. CAPTAIN O'SHEA ENTERS POLITICAL LIFE - -7. MR. PARNELL AND THE IRISH PARTY - -8. THE FIRST MEETING WITH MR. PARNELL - -9. AT ELTHAM - -10. THE LAND LEAGUE TRIALS - -11. PARLIAMENTARY ASSOCIATIONS - -12. HOBBIES AND A CHALLENGE - -13. ASTRONOMY, "SEDITION," AND ARREST - -14. KILMAINHAM DAYS - -15. MORE KILMAINHAM LETTERS - -16. THE "KILMAINHAM TREATY" - -17. THE PHOENIX PARK MURDERS AND AFTER - -18. ENVOY TO GLADSTONE - -19. THE FIRST HOME RULE BILL - -20. MR. PARNELL IN DANGER--FOUNDING OF NATIONAL LEAGUE - -{xiv} - -21. A WINTER OF MEMORIES - -22. HORSES AND DOGS - -23. SEASIDE HOLIDAYS - -24. LONDON REMEMBRANCES - -25. THE PARNELL COMMISSION - -26. BRIGHTON HAUNTS - -27. THE DIVORCE CASE - -28. A KING AT BAY - -29. PARNELL AS I KNEW HIM - -30. MARRIAGE, ILLNESS AND DEATH - -INDEX - - - - -{1} - -Charles Stewart Parnell - - - -CHAPTER I - -MY EARLY LIFE - - "_Go forth; and if it be o'er stoney way - Old Joy can lend what newer grief must borrow, - And it was sweet, and that was yesterday. - And sweet is sweet, though purchased with sorrow._" - F. THOMPSON. - - -My father, Sir John Page Wood, was descended from the Woods of -Tiverton, and was the eldest of the three sons of Sir Matthew Wood, -Baronet, of Hatherley House, Gloucestershire. He was educated at -Winchester and at Trinity College, Cambridge, and after entering into -holy orders, before he was twenty-four years of age, was appointed -private chaplain and secretary to Queen Caroline, performing the last -offices for her at her death in 1820, and attending her body to its -final resting-place in Brunswick. He then became chaplain to the -Duke of Sussex, and in 1824 was appointed by the Corporation of -London to the rectory of St. Peter's, Cornhill. - -In 1820 my father married Emma Caroline, the youngest of the three -daughters of Admiral Michell (and my father's uncle, Benjamin Wood, -M.P. for Southwark at the time, married the second daughter, Maria, -the "Aunt Ben" of this book). She was eighteen. My father was still -at Cambridge. The improvident young pair found it difficult to live -on the small allowance that was {2} considered sufficient for my -father at college. They appear to have been very happy -notwithstanding their difficulties, which were augmented a year later -by the birth of a son; and while my father became "coach" to young -men of slower wit, my mother, who was extremely talented with her -brush, cheerfully turned her beautiful miniature painting to account -for the benefit of her young husband and son. She soon became an -exhibitor of larger works in London, and the brothers Finden engraved -several of her pictures. - -She and my father seem to have idolized their first child, "Little -John," and his early death, at about four years old, was their first -real sorrow. The boy was too precocious, and when he was three years -old his proud young parents were writing "he can read well now, and -is getting on splendidly with his Latin!" - -Constable, the artist, was a friend of my mother's, who thought -highly of her work, and gave her much encouragement, and the young -people seem to have had no lack of friends in the world of art and -letters. Of my mother, Charles Sheridan said he "delighted in her -sparkling sallies," and the young Edwin Landseer was "mothered" by -her to his "exceeding comfort." - -My mother was appointed bedchamber woman to Queen Caroline, and -became very fond of her. The consort of George IV. appears to have -taken the greatest interest in "Little John," and I had until a short -time ago--when it was stolen--a little workbox containing a -half-finished sock the Queen was knitting for the little boy when her -fatal illness began. - -My parents then lived in London for some years while my father did -duty at St. Peter's. In 1832 my father became vicar of Cressing, in -Essex, and he took my {3} mother and their (I think three) children -there, leaving a curate in charge of St. Peter's. Thirteen children -in all were born to my parents (of whom I was the thirteenth), and of -my brothers and sisters there were seven living at the time of my -birth. - -There was little room for all these young people in the vicarage at -Cressing, and it was so extremely damp as to be unhealthy; so my -parents moved to Glazenwood, a charming house with the most beautiful -gardens I have ever seen in a place of moderate size. I think my -brother Fred died here; but my first memories are of Rivenhall, where -my parents moved soon after my birth. Rivenhall Place belonged to a -friend of my father's, Sir Thomas Sutton Weston, of Felix Hall. The -beautiful old place was a paradise for growing children, and the -space and beauty of this home of my youth left me with a sad distaste -for the little houses of many conveniences that it has been my lot to -inhabit for the greater part of my life. - -In politics my father was a thoroughgoing Whig, and as he was an able -and fluent speaker, and absolutely fearless in his utterances, he -became a great influence in the county during election times. I -remember, when he was to speak at a political meeting, how he laughed -as he tied me up in enormous orange ribbons and made me drive him -there, and how immensely proud of him I was (though, of course, I -could not understand a word of it all) as he spoke so persuasively -that howls and ribald cries turned to cheers for "Sir John's man." - -When he went to London to "take duty" at St. Peter's Cornhill, he and -I used to stay at the Green Dragon, Bishopsgate Street. There was a -beautiful old courtyard to this hotel with a balcony, overhung with -creepers, {4} running all round the upper rooms. I loved this place, -and when I was too young to care much for the long service and -sermons, I was quite content that my father should tuck me up safely -in bed before going to evensong at St. Peter's. - -Sometimes I was not well enough to go to London with him, and on -these occasions comforted myself as much as possible with a -compensating interest in the habits of the Rev. Thomas Grosse, who -took my father's place at Cressing. He was very good and kind to me, -and in the summer evenings, when he knew I was missing my father, he -would take me out to look for glow-worms, and show me the stars, -teaching me the names of the planets. Years afterwards the knowledge -I thus gained became a great happiness to me, as I taught Mr. Parnell -all I knew of astronomy, and opened up to him a new world of -absorbing interest. - -Friends of my brother Evelyn frequently stayed at Rivenhall, and one -of them, a colonel of Light Dragoons, was engaged to one of my elder -sisters. This gentleman appealed to my youthful mind as being all -that a hero should be, and I used to stick a red fez on my golden -curls and gallop my pony past the dining-room windows so that he -might see and admire the intrepid maiden, as the prince in my fairy -book did! - -I loved the winter evenings at Rivenhall when my brothers were not at -home. My father used to sit by the fire reading his _Times_, with -his great white cat on his knee, while I made his tea and hot -buttered toast, and my mother and sister Anna read or sketched. I -used to write the plots of tragic little stories which my "Pip"[1] -used to read and call "blood-stained bandits," owing to the {5} -violent action and the disregard of convention shown by all the -characters concerned. - -However, these childish efforts of mine led to greater results, as -one evening my mother and sister laughingly offered to buy my "plot" -in order to "write it up" into a novel. I was, of course, very proud -to sell my idea, and thenceforth both my mother and sister wrote many -successful novels, published by Chapman and Hall--and, I believe, at -prices that are rarely realized by present-day novelists. - -I was thus the unwitting means of greatly relieving my parents' -anxiety of how to meet, with their not very large income, the heavy -expense of educating and maintaining my brothers, and the -responsibilities of their position. - -My brothers loved to tease me, and, as I was so much younger than -they, I never understood if they were really serious or only laughing -at me. Evelyn was specially adroit in bewildering me, and used to -curb my rebellion, when I was reluctant to fetch and carry for him, -by drawing a harrowing picture of my remorse should he be killed "in -the next war." The horror of this thought kept me a ready slave for -years, till one day, in a gust of temper, I burst out with: "I shan't -be sorry at all when you're killed in a war cos' I didn't find your -silly things, and I wish you'd go away and be a dead hero now, so -there!" I remember the horrified pause of my mother and sister and -then the howl of laughter and applause from Evelyn and Charlie. -Evelyn was very good to me after this, and considered, more, that -even little girls have their feelings. - -As a matter of fact, my mother was so entirely wrapped up in Evelyn -that I think I was jealous, even though I {6} had my father so much -to myself. My mother was most affectionate to all her children, but -Evelyn was her idol, and from the time when, as a mere lad, he was -wounded in the Crimean War, to the day of her death, he was first in -all her thoughts. - -Of my brothers and sisters I really knew only four at all well. -Clarissa had died at seventeen, and Fred when I was very young; Frank -was away with his regiment, my sister Pollie was married and away in -India before I was born, and my sister Emma married Sir Thomas -Barrett-Lennard while I was still very young. She was always very -kind to me, and I used to love going to visit her at her house in -Brighton. Visiting Sir Thomas Barrett-Lennard's country seat, -Belhus, I did not like so much, because, though Belhus is very -beautiful, I loved Rivenhall better. - -My mother was a fine musician, and as I grew older, I began to long -to play as she did. There was a beautiful grand piano in the -drawing-room, and I used to try to pick out tunes upon it. My mother -had spent much money on her eldest daughter's--Maria's -(Pollie)--musical education. At the end of this Pollie said she -detested it, and would never play a note again if she could help it. -When I asked that I might be taught to play my mother said, "No. -There is the piano; go and play it if you really want to learn." In -time I could play very well by ear, and began to compose a little and -seek for wider knowledge. My love of music led me to try -composition, and I used to set to music any verses that took my -fancy. Among these I was much pleased with Longfellow's "Weariness," -and was so encouraged by my mother's praise of the setting that I -sent the poet a copy. I was a very happy girl when he wrote to thank -me, {7} saying that mine was the best setting of his poem he had ever -heard. - -Armed with the manuscript of this music and some others, the next -time I went to London with my father I went to Boosey's, the musical -publishers, and asked their representative to publish them. - -"Quite impossible, my dear young lady," he answered at once. "We -never take beginners' work!" I plaintively remarked that even Mozart -was a "beginner" once, and could not understand why he laughed. -Still, with a smile, he consented to look at the manuscript, and to -my joy he ceased to laugh at me and tried some of it over, finally -agreeing, much to my joy, to publish "Weariness" and a couple of -other songs. - -I remember my father's pleasure and the merry twinkle in his eye as -he gravely assented to my suggestion that we were a very gifted -family! - -While my brother Frank (who was in the 17th Foot) was stationed at -Aldershot he invited my sister Anna and myself down to see a review. -He was married, and we stayed with him and his wife and children in -the married officers' quarters, which appeared to us to be very gay -and amusing. - -I greatly enjoyed seeing the cavalry, with all the officers and men -in full dress. - -Many of the officers came over to call after the review, and among -them was Willie O'Shea, who was then a cornet in the 18th Hussars. -There was a small drama acted by the officers in the evening which my -brother's wife took us to see, and there were many of the 18th -Hussars, who paid us much attention, though, personally, I found the -elderly and hawk-eyed colonel of the regiment far more interesting -than the younger men. - - - -[1] Sir John. - - - - -{8} - -CHAPTER II - -VISITORS AT RIVENHALL - - "_A chiel's amang you takin' notes, - And, faith, he'll prent it!_"--BURNS. - - -Among other visitors to Rivenhall was Lieut.-Colonel Steele, of the -Lancers, a dark, handsome man, who married my sister Anna. - -I remember looking at Anna consideringly when I was told this was to -be, for, as children do, I had hitherto merely regarded Anna as a -sister too "grown-up" to play with on equal terms, and yet not as a -person sufficiently interesting to be married to one of the -magnificent beings who, like Evelyn's friends, wore such beautiful -uniforms and jingly spurs. But my sister had soft brown hair and a -lovely skin, blue eyes that were mocking, gay, or tender in response -to many moods, and a very pretty figure. And I solemnly decided that -she was really pretty, and quite "grown-up" enough to be loved by the -"beautiful ones." - -Anthony Trollope was a great friend of my father and mother, and used -to stay with us a good deal for hunting. He was a very hard rider to -hounds, and was a cause of great anxiety to my mother, for my sister -Anna loved an intrepid "lead" out hunting, and delighted in following -Trollope, who stuck at nothing. I used to rejoice in his "The Small -House at Allington," and go about fitting the characters in the book -to the people about {9} me--a mode of amusement that palled -considerably on the victims. - -I was always glad when our young cousin George (afterwards Sir -George) Farwell (Lord Justice Farwell) came to see us. A dear lad, -who quite won my childish admiration with his courtly manners and -kind, considerate ways. - -The Hon. Grantley-Barkley (who was seventy, I believe) was a dear old -man who was very fond of me--as I was of him. I was but a child when -he informed my parents that he wished to marry me when I was old -enough! He was a dear friend of my father's, but, though the latter -would not consider the matter seriously, my mother, who was an -extraordinarily sympathetic woman, encouraged the idea. - -Grantley-Barkley was always called the "Deer-slayer" by his friends. -A fine old sportsman, his house, "The Hut," at Poole, Dorset, was a -veritable museum of slain beasts, and I used to shudder secretly at -the idea of becoming mistress of so many heads and horns. - -The dear old man used to write long letters to me before I could -answer them in anything but laborious print, and he wrote sheets to -my mother inquiring of my welfare and the direction of my education. -I still have many of the verses he composed in my honour, and though -the last line of the verse that I insert worries me now as much as it -did when I received it, so many years ago, I still think it very -pretty sentiment: - - "Then the Bird that above me is singing - Shall chase the thought that is drear, - When the soul to _her_ side it is winging - The limbs _must_ be lingering near!" - - -This little one-sided romance died a natural death as {10} I grew up, -my old friend continuing to take the kindest interest in me, but -accepting the fact that I was no exception to the law of youth that -calls to youth in mating. - -My brother Frank suggested to my brother-in-law, Sir Thomas -Barrett-Lennard, that Willie O'Shea, who was a first-class -steeplechase rider, would no doubt, if asked, ride the horse Honesty -that Tom was going to run in the Brentwood Steeplechase. He had -already ridden and won many races. Willie readily agreed to ride, -and came to stay at Belhus for the race. - -I was staying there at the time, and though I was considered too -young to be really "out," as a rule I had my share in any festivities -that were going on. I remember my brother-in-law saying casually to -my sister Emma, who was giving a dinner party that evening: "Who is -Katie to go in with, milady?" and she answered promptly, "Oh, she -shall go in with O'Shea." A mild witticism that rather ruffled my -youthful sense of importance. - -My first sight of Willie then, as a grown-up, was on this evening, -when I came rather late into the hall before dressing for dinner. He -was standing near the fire, talking, with the eagerness that was not -in those days bad form in young men, of the steeplechase he had -ridden and won on Early Bird. - -I had been so much the companion of older men than he that I was -pleased with his youthful looks and vivacity. His dress pleased me -also, and, though it would appear a terrible affair in the eyes of a -modern young man, it was perfectly correct then for a young officer -in the 18th Hussars, and extremely becoming to Willie: a brown velvet -coat, cut rather fully, sealskin waistcoat, black-and-white check -trousers, and an enormous carbuncle and diamond pin in his curiously -folded scarf. - -{11} - -When introduced to me he was most condescending, and nettled me so -much by his kindly patronage of my youthfulness that I promptly -plunged into such a discussion of literary complexities, absorbed -from my elders and utterly undigested, and he soon subsided into a -bewildered and shocked silence. - -However, in the few days of that visit we became very good friends, -and I was immensely pleased when, on parting, Willie presented me -with a really charming little poem written about my "golden hair and -witsome speech." - -Of course, as usual, I flew to show my father, who, reading, sighed, -"Ah, too young for such nonsense. I want my Pippin for myself for -years to come."[1] - -In the summer at Belhus I met Willie again. Unconsciously we seemed -to drift together in the long summer days. The rest of the household -intent on their own affairs, we were content to be left together to -explore the {12} cool depths of the glades, where the fallow deer ran -before us, or the kitchen garden, where the high walls were covered -with rose-coloured peaches, warm with the sun as we ate them. What -we talked about I cannot remember, but it was nothing very wise I -should imagine. - -Week after week went by in our trance of contentment. I did not look -forward, but was content to exist in the languorous summer -heat--dreaming through the sunny days with Willie by my side, and -thinking not at all of the future. I suppose my elders were content -with the situation, as they must have known that such propinquity -could have but one ending. - -There was a man by whom I was attracted and who had paid me -considerable attention--E.S., stationed at Purfleet. He was a fine -athlete, and used to fill me with admiration by jumping over my -pony's back without touching him at all. I sometimes thought idly of -him during these days with Willie, but was content to drift along, -until one day my sister asked me to drive over with a note of -invitation to dinner for the officers at Purfleet. - -In the cool of the evening I set out, with Willie, of course, in -attendance. Willie, on arrival, sprang out of the pony cart to -deliver the note, and as he was jumping in again glanced up at the -window above us, where it happened E. S. and another officer were -standing. Without a moment's hesitation Willie leant forward and -kissed me full on the lips. Furious and crimson with the knowledge -that the men at the window had seen him kiss me, I hustled my poor -little pony home, vowing I would never speak to Willie again; but his -apologies and explanation that he had only just wanted "to show those -fellows that they must not make asses of themselves" seemed so funny -and in keeping with the dreamy sense I had of belonging {13} to -Willie that I soon forgave him, though I felt a little stab of regret -when I found that E. S. declined the invitation to dinner. He never -came again. - -Willie had now to rejoin his regiment, and in the evening before his -going, as I was leaving the drawing-room, he stopped to offer me a -rose, kissing me on the face and hair as he did so. - -A few mornings after I was sleeping the dreamless sleep of healthy -girlhood when I was awakened by feeling a thick letter laid on my -cheek and my mother leaning over me singing "Kathleen Mavourneen" in -her rich contralto voice. I am afraid I was decidedly cross at -having been awakened so suddenly, and, clasping my letter unopened, -again subsided into slumber. - -So far nearly all my personal communication with Willie when he was -away had been carried on by telegraph, and I had not quite arrived at -knowing what to reply to the sheets of poetic prose which flowed from -his pen. Very frequently he came down just for a day to Rivenhall, -and I drove to meet him at the station with my pony-chaise. Then we -used to pass long hours at the lake fishing for pike, or talking to -my father, who was always cheered by his society. - -At this time Colonel Clive, of the Grenadier Guards, was a frequent -visitor. I was really fond of him, and he pleased me by his pleasure -in hearing me sing to my own accompaniment. I spent some happy hours -in doing so for him when staying at Claridge's Hotel with my sister, -and I remember that when I knew he was coming I used to twist a blue -ribbon in my hair to please him. - -Once, when staying at Claridge's, my sister and I went to his rooms -to see the sketches of a friend of my brother Evelyn's, Mr. Hozier, -the clever newspaper {14} correspondent, afterwards Sir H. Hozier, -and father of Mrs. Winston Churchill. The drawings were, I believe, -very clever, and I know the tea was delicious. - -It was some time after this that the 18th Hussars were stationed at -Brighton. Willie loved early morning gallops on the Downs, and, on -one occasion, he rode off soon after daybreak on his steeplechaser, -Early Bird, for a gallop on the race-course. At the early parade -that morning Willie was missing, and, as inquiries were being made as -to his whereabouts, a trooper reported that Early Bird had just been -brought in dead lame, and bleeding profusely from a gash in the chest. - -He had been found limping his way down the hill from the race-course. -Willie's brother officers immediately set out to look for him, and -found him lying unconscious some twenty yards from a chain across the -course which was covered with blood, and evidently the cause of the -mishap. They got him down to the barracks on a stretcher, and there -he lay with broken ribs and concussion of the brain. - -He told us afterwards that he was going at a hard gallop, and neither -he nor Early Bird had seen the chain till they were right on it, too -late to jump. There had never been a chain up before, and he had -galloped over the same course on the previous morning. - -I was at Rivenhall when I heard of the accident to Willie, and for -six unhappy weeks I did little else than watch for news of him. My -sister, Lady Barrett-Lennard, and Sir Thomas had gone to Preston -Barracks to nurse him, and as soon as it was possible they moved him -to their own house in Brighton. For six weeks he lay unconscious, -and then at last the good news came that he was better, and that they -were going to take him to Belhus to convalesce. - -{15} - -A great friend of Willie's, also in the 18th--Robert Cunninghame -Graham--was invited down to keep him amused, and my sister, Mrs. -Steele, and I met them in London and went down to Belhus with them. -Willie was looking very ill, and was tenderly cared for by his friend -Graham. He was too weak to speak, but, while driving to Belhus, he -slipped a ring from his finger on to mine and pressed my hand under -cover of the rugs. - -Robert Cunninghame Graham, uncle of Robert Bontine Cunninghame -Graham, the Socialist writer and traveller, walked straight into our -hearts, so gay, so careful of Willie was he, and so utterly _bon -camarade_, that we seemed to have known him for years. In a few days -Anna and I left Belhus, and Willie's father came over from Ireland to -stay with him till he was completely recovered. - -Before Willie left I was back at Belhus on the occasion of a dinner -party, and was shyly glad to meet him again and at his desire to talk -to me only. - -While the others were all occupied singing and talking after dinner -we sat on the yellow damask sofa, and he slipped a gold and turquoise -locket on a long gold and blue enamel chain round my neck. It was a -lovely thing, and I was very happy to know how much Willie cared for -me. - - - -[1] Captain O'Shea's family, the O'Sheas of Limerick, were a -collateral branch of the O'Sheas of County Kerry. William O'Shea had -three sons, Henry, John and Thaddeus, of whom the first named was -Captain O'Shea's father. John went to Spain (where a branch of the -family had been settled since 1641, and become the Duges of -Sanlucas), founded a bank and prospered. Henry found the family -estate (Rich Hill) heavily mortgaged, entered the law, and by hard -work pulled the property out of bankruptcy and made a fortune. He -married Catherine Quinlan, daughter of Edward Quinlan, of Tipperary, -a Comtesse of Rome, and had two children, Captain O'Shea and Mary, -afterwards Lady of the Royal Order of Theresa of Bavaria. The -children had a cosmopolitan education, and the son went into the 18th -Hussars, a keen sporting regiment, where he spent great sums of -money. Finally, a bill for £15,000 coming in, his father told him -that his mother and sister would have to suffer if this rate of -expenditure continued. Captain O'Shea left the regiment just before -his marriage to Miss Wood. The Comtesse O'Shea was a highly educated -woman, assiduous in her practice of religion, but valetudinarian and -lacking a sense of humour. Mary O'Shea's education had left her -French in all her modes of thought and speech. Both ladies -disapproved of the engagement between Captain O'Shea and Miss Wood. - - - - -{16} - -CHAPTER III - -MY FATHER'S DEATH AND MY MARRIAGE - - "_Fair shine the day on the house with open door; - Birds come and cry there and twitter in the chimney, - But I go for ever and come again no more._" - --STEVENSON. - - -The following autumn my father, mother, and I went to stay at Belhus -on a long visit, my father going to Cressing each week for the Sunday -duty, and returning to us on Monday morning. - -We all enjoyed spending Christmas at Belhus. My mother and my sister -Emma were devoted to one another, and loved being together. We were -a much larger party also at Belhus, and there were so many visitors -coming and going that I felt it was all more cheerful than being at -home. - -Among other visitors that winter, I well remember Mr. John -Morley--now Lord Morley--as he was told off for me to entertain -during the day. He was a very brilliant young man, and my elders -explained to me that his tense intellect kept them at too great a -strain for pleasurable conversation. "You, dear Katie, don't matter, -as no one expects you to know anything!" remarked my sister with -cheerful kindness. So I calmly invited John Morley to walk with me, -and, as we paced through the park from one lodge to the other, my -companion talked to me so easily and readily that I forgot my rôle of -"fool of the family," and responded most intelligently to a really -very interesting conversation. - -With the ready tact of the really clever, he could already {17} adapt -himself to great or small, and finding me simply ready to be -interested, was most interesting, and I returned to my family happily -conscious that I could now afford to ignore my brother Evelyn's -advice to "look lovely and keep your mouth shut!" - -John Morley, so far as I remember him then, was a very slight young -man with a hard, keen face, the features strongly marked, and fair -hair. He had (to me) a kindly manner, and did not consider it -beneath him to talk seriously to a girl so young in knowledge, so -excessively and shyly conscious of his superiority, and so much awed -by my mission of keeping him amused and interested while my elders -rested from his somewhat oppressive intellectuality. I remember -wondering, in some alarm, as to what topic I should start if he -suddenly stopped talking. But my fear was entirely groundless; he -passed so easily from one thing interesting to me to another that I -forgot to be self-conscious, and we discussed horses and dogs, books -and their writers--agreeing that authors were, of all men, the most -disappointing in appearance--my father, soldiers, and "going to -London," with the greatest pleasure and mutual self-confidence. And -I think that, after that enlightening talk, had I been told that in -after years this suave, clever young man was to become--as -Gladstone's lieutenant--one of my bitterest foes, I should perhaps -have been interested, but utterly unalarmed, for I had in this little -episode lost all awe of cleverness as such. - -My father died in February, 1866. The vexed question of ways and -means--always a vexed question in a clergyman's household when the -head of the house dies--pressed heavily on my mother, who was left -almost penniless by my father's death. - -My mother and sisters were discussing what was best {18} to be done, -and my mother was speaking sadly as I went into her room. "We must -sell the cow, and, of course, the pig," my eldest sister (Emma) -replied in her sweet, cheerful voice, which produced a little laugh, -though a rather dismal one, and our sorrow was chased away for the -moment. - -My mother's sister, Mrs. Benjamin Wood, on hearing of her troubles, -settled a yearly income on her, thus saving her from all future -anxiety, most of her children being provided for under our -grandfather's--old Sir Matthew Wood's--will. - -During that year we lived chiefly at Rivenhall. It was a very quiet, -sad year, but we had a few pleasant visitors. Sir George Dasent, of -the _Times_, and also Mr. Dallas, who wrote leading articles for the -same paper, were frequent visitors, and Mr. Chapman (of Chapman and -Hall, publishers), with pretty Mrs. Chapman, Mr. Lewes, and many -other literary people were very welcome guests. My mother and sister -Anna (Mrs. Steele) were writing books, and much interested in all -things literary. At the end of the year we joined my eldest sister -and her husband at Brighton, and soon after this Willie returned from -Spain and called on us at once, with the ever-faithful Cunninghame -Graham. I now yielded to Willie's protest at being kept waiting -longer, and we were married very quietly at Brighton on January 25, -1867. I narrowly escaped being married to Mr. Cunninghame Graham by -mistake, as Willie and he--the "best man"--had got into wrong -positions. It was only Mr. Graham's horrified "No, no, no," when -asked whether he would have "this woman" to be his wife, that saved -us from many complications. - -My mother, brothers and sisters gave me beautiful {19} presents, and -my dear sister Emma gave me my trousseau, while Willie himself gave -me a gold-mounted dressing-bag. My old Aunt H. sent me a gold and -turquoise bracelet. Willie saw this after I had shown him what my -sister Mrs. Steele had given me--a carbuncle locket with diamond -centre. Aunt H. was a very wealthy woman, my sister not at all well -off, though in any case her present would have been much more to me -than that of Aunt H. However, Willie merely remarked of Anna's gift: -"That is lovely, darling, and this," taking up Aunt H.'s bracelet, -"this will do for the dog," snapped it round the neck of my little -Prince. - -Long afterwards he and I went to call on Aunt H., and as usual I had -Prince under my arm. I noticed Aunt H. break off in a sentence, and -fix a surprised and indignant eye on my dog. I had forgotten all -about Prince's collar being Aunt H.'s bracelet, and only thought she -did not like my bringing the dog to call, till I caught Willie's eye. -He had at once taken in the situation, and became so convulsed with -laughter that I hastily made my adieu and hustled him off. - -Sir Seymour Fitzgerald lent us Holbrook Hall for our honeymoon, a -kindness that proved unkind, as the pomp and ceremony entailed by a -large retinue of servants for our two selves were very wearisome to -me. There was little or no occupation for us, as the weather was too -bad to get out much; our kind host had naturally not lent us his -hunters, and we were, or Willie was, too much in awe of the -conventions to ask anyone to come and relieve our ennui. Indeed, I -think that no two young people were ever more rejoiced than we were -when we could return to the life of the sane without comment. - -Willie had sold out of the army just before his marriage, {20} and -his Uncle John, who had married a Spanish lady and settled in Madrid, -offered Willie a partnership in his bank, O'Shea and Co., if he would -put the £4,000 he received for his commission into it. This was too -good an offer to be refused, so I said good-bye to my people, and -bought some little presents for the servants at home, including a -rich silk dress for my old nurse Lucy, who had been in my mother's -service since the age of sixteen, and who was much upset that her -youngest and dearest nursling should be taken away to such -"heathenish, far-off places." - -Before leaving England Willie and I stayed for a few days in London, -and his mother and sister Mary called on us. They had not attended -the marriage, as they would not lend their countenance to a "mixed" -marriage, though once accomplished they accepted the situation. They -were very nice and kind, and so gently superior that at once I became -politely antagonistic. They brought me some beautiful Irish poplins -which were made into gowns to wear in Madrid to impress the Spanish -cousins, and a magnificent emerald bracelet, besides £200 worth of -lovely Irish house-linen. My mother-in-law and sister-in-law were -most generous indeed, and I then, and always, acknowledged them to be -thoroughly good, kind-hearted women, but so hidebound with what was -to me bigotry, with conventionality and tactlessness, that it was -really a pain to me to be near them. They admired me, and very -plainly disapproved of me; I admired them for their Parisian -finish--(for want of a better term)--and for their undoubted -goodness, but, though I was rather fond of Mary, they wearied me to -death. - -That week we crossed over to Boulogne, and there we had to stay for a -few days, as I was too ill from the crossing to go farther. The -second morning Willie, seeing I {21} was better, wanted to go out to -_déjeuner_, and told me to lie still in bed, and he would tell them -to send a maid with my food, as he knew that I, not being used to -French customs, would not like a waiter to bring it. To make sure of -my not being disturbed he locked the door. To my horror half an hour -after he had gone there was a tap at the door, and a manservant -opened it with his key, and marched in, despite my agitated protests -in very home-made French. Once in, however, he made me so -comfortable by his deft arrangement of a most tempting meal and -paternal desire that "Madame should eat and recover herself," that I -was able to laugh at Willie's annoyance on his return to find the -waiter once more in possession and removing the tray. - -We then went to Paris to stay with my mother-in-law and Mary for a -few days, while they found me a French maid and showed me the sights. -I had a great quantity of very long hair in those days, and Willie -insisted on my having it very elaborately dressed--much to my -annoyance--in the latest French fashion, which I did not consider -becoming to me. My maid was also much occupied in making the toilet -of my little dog. He was a lovely little creature, and Caroline -would tie an enormous pale blue bow on him as a reward for the -painful business of combing him. From the time Willie gave me this -little dog to the day it died, about six years afterwards, it went -everywhere with me. He was as good and quiet as possible when with -me, but if I ever left him for a moment the shrill little howls would -ring out till the nearest person to him would snatch him up, and fly -to restore him to his affectionate, though long-suffering, mistress. - -At Paris there was trouble with my mother-in-law and Mary at once -because of him. They took me to see Notre {22} Dame, and as a matter -of course Prince was in my arm under my cloak. As we came out I let -my little dog down to run, and the Comtesse nearly fainted. "You -took the dog into the _church_! Oh, Katie, how wrong, how could, -you! Mary! what shall we do? Do you not think----?" and turning a -reproachful glance on me, Mary responded, "Come, mother," and, -leaving me amazed and indignant on the steps, they passed into Notre -Dame again. With some curiosity I peeped in after them, and beheld -them kneeling at prayer just inside the door. They came out almost -at once, and the old Comtesse looked happier. "You did not -understand, dear," said Mary kindly, "it is better not to take the -little dog into a church." I was young enough to resent being told I -did not understand, and promptly returned, "I understand, Mary, that -you and the Comtesse consider it wicked to take Prince into Notre -Dame. Well, I don't, and you must excuse me if I remind you that God -made the dog; and I seem to remember something about a Child that was -born in a stable with a lot of nice friendly beasts about, so you -need not have gone back to pray about me and Prince, I think!" And, -scooping up Prince, I stalked off with a dignity that was rather -spoilt by my not having sufficient French to find my own way home, -and having to wait at the carriage for them. We drove home with much -stiffness, and only thawed sufficiently to assure Willie how much we -had enjoyed ourselves! - -While I was abroad I often used to get away by myself to spend many -happy hours in the beautiful churches with Prince tucked under my -arm, and often a friendly old priest would give us a smile as he -passed on his way about the church, so it was apparently not a very -deadly sin to take him with me. - -{23} - -Willie's mother and Mary became more reconciled to the little dog -when they found how much admired he was in Paris. An old Frenchman, -after seeing him one evening as Willie and I were leaving table -d'hôte, made inquiries as to where we were staying, and called on -Willie to offer £100 for "madame's pet" if at any time she wished to -sell him. Willie was too wise to approach me with the offer, and -assured monsieur that madame would consider the offer an insult only -to be wiped out in monsieur's blood! - - - - -{24} - -CHAPTER IV - -A DAY ON THE DOWNS - - "_A son to clasp my finger tight._"--NORMAN GALE. - - -When we had been in Spain for nearly a year, there was some dispute -about the business arrangements of Willie's partnership in his -uncle's bank, and Willie withdrew altogether from the affair. We -then decided to return to England. Though glad to go home, I parted -from my Spanish relations with regret, and have always since my visit -to them thought that the admixture of Irish and Spanish blood is most -charming in its result. - -On our return to England we lived in Clarges Street, London, for some -time, while Willie was looking for a place in the country where he -could start a stud farm. Willie was very fond of horses, and -understood them well, and I was delighted at the idea of his getting -some really good brood mares and breeding race-horses. We knew, of -course, nothing of the enormous expense and many losses such an -undertaking was certain to entail. - -At last we decided to take Bennington Park, Hertfordshire, and on -going there Willie bought some good blood stock, among the pick of -which were Alice Maud, Scent, and Apricot. Soon we had all the boxes -tenanted, and I spent many happy hours petting the lovely -thoroughbred mares with their small velvety noses and intelligent -eyes. - -The chief form of social intercourse in the county was the giving of -long, heavy, and most boring dinners. People thought nothing of -driving eight or even ten miles {25} (and there were no motor-cars -then) to eat their dinner in each other's houses, and this form of -entertainment used to produce such an absolutely painful boredom in -me that I frequently hid the invitations from Willie, who wished to -"keep up with the county." - -Willie and I were a good-looking young couple, and people liked to -have us about. Willie, too, was a good conversationalist, and had a -ready wit that made him welcome, since an Irishman and wit are -synonymous to the conventional mind. That his witticisms pertained -rather to the France of his education than the Ireland of his birth -was unrecognized because unexpected. - -I was--rather, I fear, to Willie's annoyance--labelled "delightfully -unusual" soon after our going to Bennington, the cause being that I -received my guests one evening with my then abundant hair hanging -loosely to below my waist, twisted through with a wide blue ribbon. -To Willie's scandalized glance I replied with a hasty whisper, "The -very latest from Paris," and was rewarded with the mollified though -puzzled expression very properly awarded by all men to the "latest -fashion" of their womenkind. - -I put off the queries of the ladies after dinner in the same way, and -was rewarded by them by the general admission that it was a fashion -for the few--who had the hair. Never did I admit that I had been out -with the horses so late that I had had just time for Caroline to -hurry me into a gown and shake down my hair as my first guest -arrived. So little do we deserve the fame forced upon us. - -Willie was never good at dunning friends for money owed, and as we -had many brood mares, not our own, left with us for months at a time, -the stable expenses, both for forage and wages, became appallingly -large. It was always difficult to get the accounts in, and while -Willie {26} did not like to worry the owners even for the amount for -the bare keep of the animals, he was himself perpetually worried by -forage contractors, the shoeing smith, and the weekly wage bill, -besides the innumerable extra expenses pertaining to a large stable. - -As I urged against the sale of the mares, which he so often -threatened, their happy, peaceful maternity, in the long lush grass -and shade of trees by day, their comfortable boxes at night, and -their fondness of me, he used to stare gloomily at me and swear -gently as he wished there were more profit than peace in their -maternity and my sentimentality. But he could forget his worries in -the pleasure of schooling the yearlings, and we agreed always to hold -on as long as possible to a life we both found so interesting, and -with the facile hope of youth we thought to get the better of our -expenses in time. - -In this year (1869) my eldest (surviving) brother, Frank, became very -ill, and Willie and I went to Rivenhall to see him. He wanted me to -nurse him, so I stayed on in my old home while Willie returned to -Bennington. - -Frank had consumption, and very badly; he suffered intensely, and I -think I have never longed for the presence of a doctor with more -anxiety than I did for Dr. Gimson's at that time. My perpetual fear -was that the effect of the opiate he gave to deaden poor Frank's pain -would wear off before he came again. When it grew dusk Frank desired -me to put candles in every window, that he might not see the -shadows--the terrifying shadows which delirium and continual doses of -morphia never fail to produce. - -Frank's very dear friend, Captain Hawley Smart, the novelist, came to -Rivenhall in the hope that he could cheer poor Frank's last hours; -but he was too ill to know or care, {27} and Hawley Smart could, like -the rest of us, only await the pitying release of death. - -We went on at Bennington in very much the same way until the end of -that year. Willie had been betting very heavily in the hope of -relieving the ever-increasing difficulty of meeting our heavy -expenses, and now, in view of his losses in racing added to the cost -attendant on keeping up such a large stud, the kind-hearted bank -manager insisted that the large overdraft on his bank must be -cleared. Hitherto, whenever he had become very pressing, Willie had -sent him "something on account," and we had given a breakfast for his -hunt, as Willie said such a good fellow "could not eat and ask at the -same time." Now, however, Mr. Cheshire sorrowfully declined to eat, -and maintained that his duty to his firm necessitated his insisting -upon the clearing of the overdraft. - -When Willie was made bankrupt, Mr. Hobson--a gentleman living near us -with his very charming wife, who afterwards became Mrs. A. -Yates--very kindly took my little old pony across the fields at night -to his own place and kept him there so that he should not go into the -sale of our goods. This defrauded no one, as the pony (my own) was -beyond work, being my childhood's pet. - -I was now nearing my first confinement, and my aunt, Mrs. Benjamin -Wood, took a house for me at Brighton close to my sister's, Lady -Barrett-Lennard. There my son Gerard was born. - -I was very ill for some time after this, and my mother, Lady Wood, -stayed with me, employing her time in making a lovely water-colour -sketch for me. - -Willie's affairs were now settled, and I had to give up all hope of -returning to my dearly loved country home and all my pets; but I had -the consolation of my beautiful babe, {28} and I forgot my sorrow in -my greater possession. He was very healthy, so I had no trouble on -that score. - -A young solicitor who took Willie's affairs in hand, Mr. Charles Lane -(of Lane and Monroe), very kindly took upon himself to call on my -Uncle William, who was then Lord Chancellor of England, and ask him -to assist us in our financial difficulties. Uncle William was much -astonished at the application of this obviously nervous young -solicitor, who with the courage born of despair went on to suggest -that Lord Hatherley might give Willie a lucrative appointment. - -Strangely enough it had never occurred to me to apply to Uncle -William for anything, and when Mr. Lane called on us and solemnly -presented me with a substantial cheque and a kind message from my -uncle, Willie and I were as surprised as we were pleased, even though -Mr. Lane explained that "the Lord Chancellor had no post suitable" -for Willie's energies. - -We then moved into a house on the Marine Parade, as the one we were -in was very expensive, and though I was glad to be next door to my -sister, I felt it was not fair to my aunt, Mrs. Wood, who was paying -the rent for us. - -My faithful French maid Caroline stuck to us all through our fallen -fortunes, as also did our stud-groom, Selby, and though we could no -longer pay them the high wages they had always had, they refused to -leave us. - -My aunt now took a cottage for me at Patcham, just put of Brighton, -and I was able to have my pony there. The house at Patcham was a -dear, little, old-fashioned place right against the Downs, and there -I used to walk for miles in the early morning, the springy turf -almost forcing one foot after the other, while the song of the {29} -larks and scent of the close-growing, many-tinted herbage in the -clear bright air filled me with joyous exhilaration. - -Willie went to town, and often was away for days, on various -businesses, and I was very lonely at home--even though I daily drove -the old pony into Brighton that I might see my sister. - -I had a cousin of Willie's, Mrs. Vaughan, to stay with me for some -time, but she was perpetually wondering what Willie was doing that -kept him so much away, and this added irritation to loneliness. I -had had such a busy life at Bennington that I suffered much from the -want of companionship and the loss of the many interests of my life -there. I felt that I must make some friends here, and, attracted by -a dark, handsome woman whom I used to meet riding when I walked on to -the Downs, I made her acquaintance, and found in her a very congenial -companion. Quiet and rather tragic in expression, she thawed to me, -and we were becoming warmly attached to one another when Willie, in -one of his now flying visits, heard me speak of my new friend. On -hearing her name--it was one that a few years before had brought -shame and sudden death into one of the oldest of the "great" families -of England--he professed to be absolutely scandalized, and, with an -assumption of authority that at once angered me, forbade me to have -any more to do with her. He met my protests with a maddening -superiority, and would not tell me why she was "beyond the pale." I -explained to him my own opinion of many of the women he liked me to -know and almost all the men, for I had not then learnt the hard -lesson of social life, and that the one commandment still rigorously -observed by social hypocrisy was, "Thou shalt not be found out." - -{30} - -When I met Mrs. ---- again she soothed my indignation on her behalf, -and as we sat there, high on a spur of a hill, watching the distant -sea, she smiled a little sadly as she said to me: "Little fool, I -have gambled in love and have won, and those who win must pay as well -as those who lose. Never gamble, you very young thing, if you can -help it; but if you do be sure that the stake is the only thing in -the world to you, for only that will make it worth the winning and -the paying." - -It was nearly ten years afterwards that I, feeling restless and -unhappy, had such a sudden longing for the sea, that one morning I -left my home (at Eltham) very early and went down to Brighton for the -day. I was alone, and wished to be alone; so I got out of the train -at Preston, for fear I should meet any of my relations at Brighton -station. A fancy then seized me to drive out to Patcham, about a -mile farther on, to see if my former little house was occupied. -Having decided that it was I dismissed my fly and walked up the -bridle path beyond the house out on to the Downs, where, turning -south, towards the sea, I walked steadily over the scented turf, -forcing out of my heart all but the joy of movement in the sea wind, -with the song of the skylarks in my ears. - -I sang as I walked, looking towards the golden light and sullen blue -of the sea, where a storm was beating up with the west wind. -Presently I realized that I was very tired, and I sat down to rest -upon a little hilltop where I could see over the whole of Brighton. -The wind brought up the rain, and I rose and began to descend the -hill towards Brighton. I wondered apathetically if my sister was in -Brighton or if they were all at Belhus still. Anyhow, I knew there -would be someone at her house who {31} would give me something to -eat. Then I turned round, and began deliberately to climb up the -hill on to the Downs again. After all, I thought, I had come here to -be alone, and did not want to see my sister particularly. The family -might all be there, and anyhow I did not want to see anybody who -loved me and could bias my mind. I had come down to get away from -Willie for a little while--or rather from the thought of him, for it -was rarely enough I saw him. If I went down to see Emma and Tom they -would ask how Willie was, and really I did not know, and then how -were the children. Well, I could thankfully answer that the children -were always well. Why should I be supposed to have no other -interests than Willie and my children? Willie was not, as a matter -of fact, at all interesting to me. As to my children, I loved them -very dearly, but they were not old enough, or young enough, to -engross my whole mind. Then there was dear old Aunt Ben, who was so -old that she would not tolerate any topic of conversation of more -recent date than the marriage of Queen Victoria. What a curiously -narrow life mine was, I thought, narrow, narrow, narrow, and so -deadly dull. It was better even to be up there on the Downs in the -drifting rain--though I was soaked to the skin and so desperately -tired and hungry. I paused for shelter behind a shepherd's hut as I -saw the lithe spare form of my brother-in-law, Sir Thomas, dash past, -head down and eyes half closed against the rain. He did not see me, -and I watched him running like a boy through the driving mist till he -disappeared. He had come over from Lewes, I supposed. He was a -J.P., and had perhaps been over to the court; he never rode where he -could walk--or rather run. - -I waited, sheltering now from the rain, and through the {32} mist -there presently came a girl riding. On seeing me she pulled up to -ask the quickest way to Brighton, as the mist had confused her. As I -answered her I was struck by a certain resemblance, in the dark eyes -and proud tilt of the chin, to my friend of many years ago, whose -battles I had fought with Willie, and who had told me something of -her life while we sat very near this place. The girl now before me -was young, and life had not yet written any bitterness upon her face; -but as she thanked me, and, riding away, laughingly urged me to give -up the attempt to "keep dry," and to fly home before I dissolved -altogether, I had the voice of my old-time friend in my ears, and I -answered aloud, "I am afraid; I tell you, I am afraid." But she was -dead, I knew, and could not answer me, and I smiled angrily at my -folly as I turned down the track to Preston, while I thought more -quietly how the daughter whose loss had caused such bitter pain to my -dear friend, when she had left all for love, had grown to happy -womanhood in spite of all. - -I was now feeling very faint from my long day of hard exercise -without food, but there was a train about to start for London, and I -would not miss it. - -On the platform for Eltham, at Charing Cross, stood Mr. Parnell, -waiting, watching the people as they passed the barriers. As our -eyes met he turned and walked by my side. He did not speak, and I -was too tired to do so, or to wonder at his being there. He helped -me into the train and sat down opposite me, and I was too exhausted -to care that he saw me wet and dishevelled. There were others in the -carriage. I leant back and closed my eyes, and could have slept but -that the little flames deep down in Parnell's eyes kept flickering -before mine, though they were closed. I was very cold; and I felt -that he took off {33} his coat and tucked it round me, but I would -not open my eyes to look at him. He crossed over to the seat next to -mine, and, leaning over me to fold the coat more closely round my -knees, he whispered, "I love you, I love you. Oh, my dear, how I -love you." And I slipped my hand into his, and knew I was not afraid. - - - - -{34} - -CHAPTER V - -MORE FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES - - "_Thus while Thy several mercies plot - And work on me, now cold, now hot, - The work goes on and slacketh not._" - --VAUGHAN. - - -Willie was away more than ever after this, and I became so bored and -lonely that I told him that I must join him in London if he meant to -be there so much. He then proposed to give up the Patcham house and -move the small household to Harrow Road, London, temporarily, till we -had time to find something less depressing. - -In going we also hoped to shake off an acquaintance who haunted us at -Brighton and Patcham, a Mr. D., but he soon found us out, and, -realizing that I was determined to be "not at home" to him, he took -to leaving gifts of beautiful Spanish lace at the door, directed to -me, and only the words "from Romeo" inside. - -This man had lived most of his life in Spain, and was a remarkably -good judge of Spanish lace, and I must confess I was tempted to keep -the rich creamy-white stuff that arrived anonymously. This "Romeo" -was more than middle-aged, and, when he wrote that for "safety's -sake" he would address messages to me through the "agony" column of -the newspapers, Willie's wrath was unbounded. - -He wrote to poor "Romeo" in sarcastic vein, alluding to his age and -figure, his insolence in addressing "a young and beautiful" woman -with his "pestilent" twaddle. He told him, too, that he withdrew -from all business transactions {35} with him, and would have much -pleasure in kicking "Romeo" if he dared call at the house again. I -was almost sorry for the foolish old man; but that was wasted on him, -for he continued, undeterred by Willie's anger, to address "Juliet" -in prose and verse in the daily papers. As he said, the "Daily Press -was open to all, and the Captain could not stop that!" I used to -laugh helplessly as Willie opened the morning paper at breakfast, -and, first gravely turning to the "agony" column, would read the -latest message to "Juliet" from her devoted "Romeo," becoming so -angry that breakfast was spoiled to him. The sudden cessation of our -acquaintance prevented our making that of Mme. Adelina Patti though -"Romeo" had arranged a dinner in order that I should meet her. - -A few weeks after we arrived in Harrow Road Willie began to complain -of feeling ill, and a swelling that had formed on his neck became -very painful. He was confined to bed, and after great suffering for -weeks, Mr. Edgar Barker, who was constantly in attendance, said he -must operate to save Willie's life. I had no nurse, as at this time -we were in such financial straits that I really did not know which -way to turn, and Willie was too ill to be asked about anything. Mr. -Barker said to me, "You must hold his head perfectly still, and not -faint." So he operated, and all went well, in spite of my -inexperience in surgical nursing. Mr. Barker, for whose kindness at -this time I can never be sufficiently grateful, helped me in every -way, and would not allow even Willie's mother and sister to do so, as -their presence irritated the patient so intensely. - -During this time of trouble a Mr. Calasher, a money-lender, called to -have some acceptances of Willie's met. I left Willie's bedside for a -few minutes to see him, and he was kindness itself, agreeing to a -renewal on my signature {36} alone, and most kindly sending in some -little delicacies that he thought Willie might fancy. When Willie -had recovered and went to see Mr. Calasher about the bills, it being -then more than ever impossible to meet them, he (Mr. Calasher) would -not consent to a further renewal, but tore the bills across and gave -them back to Willie, saying, "Don't worry yourself, Captain O'Shea, -but pay me when you can, and add six per cent. interest if you are -able." I am glad to say we did this within the year. His courtesy -about these bills was a great relief to me, as Willie was far too ill -to be spoken to about business, and I was at my wits' end for money -to meet everyday expenses. The accommodating Jew who lends the -indiscreet Christian his money--naturally with a businesslike -determination to increase it--has so much said against him that I am -glad to be able to speak my little word of gratitude of one who was -considerate and chivalrous to Willie as well as myself, to his own -detriment. - -Better circumstances arising on Willie's recovery of health, we were -anxious to get away from the depressions of Harrow Road, with its -constant procession of hearses and mourners on the way to Kensal -Green Cemetery. After a weary hunt we finally decided upon a house -in Beaufort Gardens. My French maid rejoiced in returning to her -light duties as lady's maid, and reigned over a staff of maids in -unison with the butler. Selby, at last convinced that race-horses -were out of the question with us, left us, with mutual expressions of -esteem, to seek more congenial surroundings. - -We went to Beaufort Gardens in 1872, and Willie insisted upon my -making many new acquaintances. We soon found ourselves in a social -swirl of visits, visitors and entertainments. I had always disliked -society, as such. {37} Willie, however, thoroughly enjoyed this -life, and as he was always worrying me to dress in the latest -fashion, and would have a Frenchman in to dress my hair before every -party, I became very rebellious. - -Here my eldest daughter was born, and I was glad of the rest from -parties and balls--even though so many people I did not care to see -came "to cheer me up!" As soon as I was about again the life I found -so wearisome recommenced. After escorting me home from a dance or -reception that I had not wanted to go to, Willie would go off again -to "finish up the night," and one night, when in terror I was seeking -for burglars, I found a policeman sitting on the stairs. He -explained genially that the door was open, and he thought it better -to come inside and guard the door for the Captain's return! - -Alfred Austin--not then Poet Laureate--was a great friend and -constant visitor of ours at that time. He had been at school--at -Oscott--with Willie, and he was, I remember, extremely sensitive to -criticism. "Owen Meredith," Lord Lytton, was also a frequent -visitor, especially when my sister Anna was with us--she being -sympathetic to his genius. - -I think Willie and I were beginning to jar upon one another a good -deal now, and I loved to get away for long walks by myself through -the parks of London. Kensington Gardens was a great solace to me in -all seasons and weathers, and I spent much of my time there. I often -turned into the Brompton Oratory on my way home for a few minutes' -peace and rest of body and soul, and these quiet times were a comfort -to me when suffering from the fret and worry of my domestic life. - -I first made my way to the Oratory when my daughter Norah was -baptized, and some little time afterwards one {38} of the Fathers -called on me. Finally Father ---- undertook to call regularly to -instruct me in the Catholic religion. He and the other priests lent -me any books I wanted, and "The Threshold of the Catholic Faith," and -one other I have now. That I never got beyond the "Threshold" was no -fault of these good Fathers, who taught me with endless patience and -uncompromising directness. But I had before me two types of Catholic -in Willie and his mother and sister, and both were to me -stumbling-blocks. The former was, as I knew, what they call a -"careless Catholic," and I thought that if he who had been born in -that faith that means so much made so little of it, perhaps it was -more of a beautiful dream than a reality of life. Yet when I turned -and considered those "good Catholics," his mother and sister, I found -such a fierce bigotry and deadly dullness of outlook, such an immense -piety and so small a charity, that my whole being revolted against -such a belittling of God-given life. Now, I know that Mary and the -Comtesse disliked me personally, and also that my temperament was -antagonistic to theirs, as indeed to Willie's, though the affection -he and I had for one another eased the friction between us; but youth -judges so much by results, and my excursion into the Catholic -religion ended in abrupt revolt against all forms and creeds. This -feeling was intensified when my second little girl, Carmen, was born -and christened at the Oratory. I would not go in, but stood waiting -in the porch, where I had so often marked tired men and women passing -in to pray after their hard and joyless day of toil, and I felt that -my children were taken from me, and that I was very lonely. - -My Uncle William, Lord Hatherley, was Lord High Chancellor at this -time, and we were a good deal at his house, both at "functions" and -privately. His great {39} friend, Dean Stanley, was very kind to me; -Dean Hook came, too, and many other Churchmen were continually in and -out in their train. My cousin, William Stephens, who afterwards -became Dean of Winchester, was then a very good-looking and agreeable -young man; he followed my uncle about like a shadow, and my uncle and -Aunt Charlotte were devoted to him. But my uncle gathered other -society than that of Churchmen about him, and it amused me to watch -for the pick of the intellectual world of the day as they swarmed up -and down the stairs at the receptions, with the necessary make-weight -of people who follow and pose in the wake of the great. - -Willie insisted upon his wife being perfectly gowned on these -occasions, and as he so often got out of going to those functions and -insisted on my going alone, certain other relations of Lord -Hatherley's would hover round me with their spiteful remarks of: -"Dear Katie, alone again I poor dear girl, where does he go? How odd -that you are so often alone--how little you know!" I was fond of my -old uncle and he of me, but these little amenities did not make me -like these social functions better, especially as his wife, my Aunt -Charlotte, had a most irritating habit of shutting her eyes when -greeting me, and, with her head slightly to one side, saying, "Poor -dear! Poor lovely lamb!" - -This winter, following the birth of my second girl, was bitterly -cold, and my health, which had not been good for some time before her -birth, caused much anxiety. After a consultation between Sir William -Gull, Sir William Jenner, and my usual doctor, it was decided that we -should go to Niton, Isle of Wight, as I was too weak to travel far. -My dear old aunt, Mrs. Benjamin Wood, sent her own doctor to me, and -he recommended me to inject opium--an {40} expression of opinion that -horrified Sir William Jenner into saying, "That man's mad, or wants -to get rid of you!" - -Our pecuniary affairs were again causing us considerable anxiety, but -my dear aunt played the fairy godmother once more, and sent Willie a -cheque so that we could go to Niton without worry or anxiety, and -stop there until my health should be re-established. We were -delighted with the summer warmth of the sun, and spent a happy -Christmas basking in it. Since the hotel was very expensive, Willie -established me in lodgings with the children and nurses in Ventnor, -and, finding the place decidedly dull, returned to London. - -The local doctor at Ventnor, who had been put in charge of my -shattered health, was not satisfied that it was in any way improving, -and, finding one day that I was in the habit of taking sleeping -draughts, he snorted angrily off to the chemist and returned with a -large tin of meat extract, with which he presented me, adding the -intimation that it was worth a dozen bottles of my draught--which -happened to be a powder--and that my London doctors were bereft of -intelligence. I was too tired to argue the point and contented -myself with the observation that all doctors save the one in -attendance were fellows in intelligence--a sentiment he considered -suspiciously for some moments before snorting away like the amiable -little steam engine he was. His specific for sleeplessness was much -more wholesome than drugs, and I have always found it so since then. - - - - -{41} - -CHAPTER VI - -CAPTAIN O'SHEA ENTERS POLITICAL LIFE - - "_D'un coeur qui t'aime, - Mon Dieu, qui peut troubler la tranquille paix? - Il cherche, en tout, ta volunté suprème, - Et ne se cherche jamais. - Sur la terre, dans le ciel même, - Est-il d'autre bonheur que la tranquille paix - D'un coeur qui t'aime?_"--RACINE. - - -Willie was too busy to come down to Ventnor again, and I became so -depressed by the relaxing air and by the sight of the many poor -consumptive people I met at every turn, veritable signposts in their -different stages of disease of the road I had been warned that I was -on, that I decided to go nearer home. My doctor suggested Hastings, -and there I went, taking my small family under the kindly escort of -one of my nephews. - -Willie soon came down, and, as my health improved rapidly, we stayed -on for some time, making frequent visits to my Aunt "Ben" at Eltham, -who was making our stay at the seaside possible. This was -practically my first introduction to my aunt, as my former visits -were when, as a little child, I was only allowed to sit by her side -in the "tapestry room" trying to do some needlework under her -supervision, and assisting her in the consumption of the luscious -peaches she always had on the table. In those days I would have been -wild with terror at the idea of being left alone with this aunt, who -always wore the fashions of her early Victorian youth, and who would -not tolerate the slightest noise in the house. I now found her {42} -of fascinating interest, and even the painful sense of "hush" in her -house, the noiseless stepping of the servants and the careful -seclusion of sunlight had attractions for me. My uncle, Benjamin -Wood, had died very many years before, and my aunt never alluded to -him. She herself had never left Eltham since his death, and had only -once been in a railway train, living in complete seclusion in her -fine old Georgian house, only "taking the air" in the grounds -adjoining or emerging forth in her chariot to drive for an hour daily. - -She lived in the intellectual world of the Greek poets, and of -Addison, Swift and Racine; and there was a leisure and a scholarly -atmosphere about her life that seemed to banish the hurry and turmoil -of the modern world at her gate. She was extremely generous in -subscribing to what she termed "Organizations for the better conduct -of charitable relief," and, though of no particular religious belief, -she subscribed to the various objects of local charity when asked to -do so by the clergyman of the parish. The latter gentleman once made -the mistake of offering to read the Scriptures to her on the occasion -of an illness, and I well remember his face of consternation when she -replied: "I thank you, Mr. ----, but I am still well able to read, -and the Scriptures do not interest me." Yet during the many years I -spent in constant companionship with her the quiet peace which -reigned by her side gave me the most restful and soothing hours of my -life. - -After we had paid her several visits in this way she informed me that -she had ascertained that I was much alone, that she was very tenderly -attached to me, and would wish to provide for me and my children if I -would come to live near her so that I could be her constant -companion. She added that she considered that this arrangement would -{43} be more "seemly" for me, as Willie was obliged to be away from -home so much. - -After consultation with the (county court) judge, Gordon Whitbread, -her nephew and my cousin, who always transacted her business for her, -she bought a house for me at the other side of her park, and arranged -to settle a regular income on me and to educate my children. In -return she asked that her "Swan"--as she always called me--should be -her daily companion. This I was until her death, at the age of -ninety-four, about fifteen years later. - -My aunt lived a life of great seclusion, and, with the exception of -George Meredith (the author), and the Rev. ---- Wilkinson, who each -came down once a week to read to her, her oculist and great friend, -Dr. Bader, and two old ladies, friends of her youth, she rarely saw -anyone. Her house--"The Lodge," Eltham--was fine old Georgian, -spoilt inside by the erection of mock pillars in the hall. She was -very particular that no one should tread upon the highly polished -floors, and, as the two large halls had only rugs laid about on the -shining surface, one had either to make many "tacks" to reach the -desired door or seat, or take a short cut on tiptoe and risk her -"displeasure." - -It was amusing to watch George Meredith on his excursion from the -front door to the dressing-room at the foot of the stairs, where my -aunt kept three pairs of slippers for the use of her "gentlemen -readers" lest their boots should soil the carpets. To reach this -little room he had--if in a good mood and conforming to his old -friend's regulations--to walk straight ahead past the room, and make -a detour round a pillar of (imitation) green marble and a table, back -to the door. On days of rebellion against these forms and ceremonies -he would hesitate for {44} a moment just inside the door, and, with a -reckless uplifting of his head, begin a hasty stride across the -sacred places; a stride which became an agitated tip-toeing under the -scandalized gaze of the footman. Before he began to read to my aunt -the following dialogue invariably took place:-- - -"Now, my dear lady, I will read you something of my own." - -"Indeed, my dear Mr. Meredith, I cannot comprehend your works." - -"I will explain my meaning, dear Mrs. Wood." - -"You are prodigiously kind, dear Mr. Meredith, but I should prefer -Molière to-day." - -While Willie and I were still living in London we went down one day -to see a furnished house we wished to rent for a few weeks, and, -remembering my Aunt Ben's injunction to convey her "felicitations to -her dear Mr. Meredith," we called on him. - -I had not before met George Meredith, and had only read one of his -works--and that "behind the door" when I was very young, owing to -some belated scruple of my elders. I remember, as we neared the -house, asking Willie the names of Meredith's other works, so that I -might be ready primed with intelligent interest, and Willie's -sarcastic little smile, as he mentioned one or two, adding, "You need -not worry yourself; Meredith will soon enlighten us as to his books. -They say it's the one thing he ever talks about." But we spent a -delightful afternoon with Mr. Meredith, who showed us all his -literary treasures and the little house at the end of the garden -where he wrote. While we sat in the lovely little garden drinking -tea our host descanted on the exquisite haze of heat that threw soft -shadows about the house and gave the great trees {45} in the -background the appearance of an enchanted forest. George Meredith -was "reader" to Chapman and Hall in those days, and he spoke to me -appreciatively of the work of my mother and sister, who published -with Chapman and Hall. - -In these days at Eltham I learnt to know George Meredith very well, -as I saw him almost every week when he came down to read to my aunt. -The old lady did not like triangular conversation, so as soon as they -were fairly launched in reading or conversation, I would gladly slip -away to my own occupations. To Aunt Ben, Meredith appeared to be a -very young man indeed, and in her gentle, high-bred way she loved to -tease him about his very great appreciation of his own work--and -person. Meredith took her gentle raillery absolutely in good part -and would hold forth upon what the literary world "of all time" owed -him in his books, and also upon what Lady This-or-that had said in -admiration of his good looks at such-and-such a gathering. My aunt -used to delight in these tales, which were delivered in the mock -serious manner of a boy telling his mother of his prowess, real or -imagined; and after a time of listening to him, with only her gently -modulated little bursts of laughter to encourage him, she would say, -"Oh, my dear Mr. Meredith, your conceit is as wonderful as your -genius!"--bringing forth from him the protest, "My dear lady, no! -But it is a pleasure to you to hear of my successes and to me to tell -you of them." And so I would leave them to their playful badinage -and reading. - -Meredith was very fond of his old friend, and always treated her with -the chivalrous and rather elaborate courtesy that he well knew she -delighted in. His weekly visits were a great pleasure to her, and -although she would not {46} allow him to read anything modern and -never anything of his own work, I think he must have enjoyed his -reading and talk with this clever old lady, for often the stipulated -two hours of the "classics and their discussion" lengthened into the -three or four that caused him to miss all the most convenient trains -home. - -One evening as I was going into the house I saw him standing on the -terrace gazing after the retreating form of my little girl Carmen, -then about six years old. As I came up he pointed at the stiff -little back and said, "She was flying along like a fairy Atalanta -when I caught her, and said, 'What is your name?' 'Miss -Nothin'-at-all!' she replied, with such fierce dignity that I dropped -her in alarm." - -I called the child to come back and speak politely to Mr. Meredith, -but, to his amusement, was only rewarded by an airy wave of the hand -as she fled down a by-path. - -As I sometimes chatted to Mr. Meredith on his way through the grounds -to the station, he would tell me of "that blessed woman," as he used -to call his (second) wife, already then dead, and of how he missed -her kind and always sympathetic presence on his return home and in -his work. Sometimes the handsome head would droop, and I thought he -looked careworn and sad as he spoke of her, and in doing so he lost -for the moment all the mannerisms and "effectiveness" which were -sometimes rather wearisome in him. As my aunt grew very old she--in -the last few years of her life--became unequal to listening and -talking to her "gentlemen readers," and to me she deputed the task of -telling them so. In the case of George Meredith it was rather -painful to me, as I feared the loss of the £300 a year my aunt had so -long paid him for his {47} weekly visits might be a serious one to -him. But he, too, had aged in all these years, and perhaps his -visits to his old friend were becoming rather irksome to him in their -regularity. Curiously enough, I shared my aunt's inability to enjoy -his work, and to the last I met his mocking inquiry as to my -"progress in literature" (i.e. his novels) by a deprecating "Only -'Richard Feverel.'" - -The house my aunt bought for me was just across her park, and she had -a gate made in the park fence so that I might go backwards and -forwards to her house more quickly. My house was a comfortable villa -with the usual little "front garden" and larger one in the rear. -There were excellent stables at the end of this garden. The house, -"Wonersh Lodge," had the usual dining-room and drawing-room, with two -other sitting-rooms opening severally into the garden, and a large -conservatory, which I afterwards made over to Mr. Parnell for his own -use. My aunt furnished the house, and we were most comfortable, -while my children rejoiced in having the run of the park and grounds -after the restraint of town life. - -Willie was very much in London now, and occupied himself in getting -up a company to develop some mining business in Spain. He always -drew up a prospectus excellently; on reading it one could hardly help -believing--as he invariably did--that here at last was the golden -opportunity of speculators. Some influential men put into the -Spanish venture sums varying from £1,000 to £10,000. Our old friend -Christopher Weguelin took great interest in it, and eventually Willie -was offered the post of manager, at La Mines, at a good salary. It -was a very acceptable post to Willie, as he loved the life in foreign -countries. There was a very good house, and he had it planted round -with eucalyptus trees to keep off the {48} fever so prevalent there, -and from which the men working the mines suffered greatly. - -Willie was, however, immune to fever, and never had it. He was away -in Spain for over eighteen months this time, and did not come home at -all during the period. - -My son now, at eight years old, proved too much for his French -governess, so we arranged for him to go to a school at Blackheath, -though he was two years younger than the age generally accepted -there. The little girls were started afresh with a German governess, -and on Willie's return from Spain he stayed at Eltham for a time. - -We were pleased to see one another again, but once more the wearing -friction caused by our totally dissimilar temperaments began to make -us feel that close companionship was impossible, and we mutually -agreed that he should have rooms in London, visiting Eltham to see -myself and the children at week-ends. After a while the regularity -of his week-end visits became very much broken, but he still arrived -fairly regularly to take the children to Mass at Chislehurst on -Sunday mornings, and he would often get me up to town to do hostess -when he wished to give a dinner-party. I had all my life been well -known at Thomas's Hotel, Berkeley Square, as my parents and family -had always stayed there when in London. So here I used to help -Willie with his parties, and to suffer the boredom incidental to this -form of entertainment. - -On one occasion Willie, who always said that even if only for the -sake of our children I ought not to "drop out of everything," worried -me into accepting invitations to a ball given by the Countess ----, -whom I did not know, and for this I came up to town late in the -afternoon, dined quietly at the hotel by myself, and dressed {49} for -the ball, ready for Willie to fetch me as he had promised after his -dinner with some friends. I was ready at half-past eleven as had -been arranged, and the carriage came round for me at a quarter to -twelve. At twelve the manageress, a friend from my childhood, came -to see if she could "do anything for me" as Captain O'Shea was so -late. At 12.30 the head waiter, who used to lift me into my chair at -table on our first acquaintance, came to know if "Miss Katie" was -anxious about "the Captain," and got snubbed by the manageress for -his pains. At one o'clock, white with anger and trembling with -mortification, I tore off my beautiful frock and got into bed. At -nine o'clock the next morning Willie called, having only just -remembered my existence and the ball to which he was to have taken me. - -Willie was now longing for some definite occupation, and he knew many -political people. While he was on a visit to Ireland early in 1880 -he was constantly urged by his friends, the O'Donnells and others, to -try for a seat in the next Parliament. A dissolution seemed -imminent. He had often talked of becoming a member for some Irish -constituency, and now, on again meeting The O'Gorman Mahon in -Ireland, he was very easily persuaded to stand in with him for County -Clare. He wrote home to me to know what I thought of the idea, -saying that he feared that, much as he should like it, the expenses -would be almost too heavy for us to manage. I wrote back strongly -encouraging him to stand, for I knew it would give him occupation he -liked and keep us apart--and therefore good friends. Up to this time -Willie had not met Mr. Parnell. - - - - -{50} - -CHAPTER VII - -MR. PARNELL AND THE IRISH PARTY - - "_I loved those hapless ones--the Irish Poor-- - All my life long. - Little did I for them in outward deed, - And yet be unto them of praise the meed - For the stiff fight I urged 'gainst lust and greed: - I learnt it there._" - --SIR WILLIAM BUTLER. - - -"The introduction of the Arms Bill has interfered with Mr. Parnell's -further stay in France, and it is probable he will be in his place in -the House of Commons by the time this is printed." - -This paragraph appeared in the Nation early in 1880. On the 8th -March of that year, the Disraeli Parliament dissolved, and on the -29th April Mr. Gladstone formed his Ministry. - -In the Disraeli Parliament Mr. Parnell was the actual, though Mr. -Shaw had been the nominal, leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party -since the death of Mr. Isaac Butt in 1879. Shaw continued the Butt -tradition of moderation and conciliation which had made the Irish -Party an unconsidered fraction in British politics. Parnell -represented the new attitude of uncompromising hostility to all -British parties and of unceasing opposition to all their measures -until the grievances of Ireland were redressed. He carried the -majority of his Party with him, and in Ireland he was already the -people's hero. - -Born in June, 1846, Parnell was still a young man. {51} He came of a -fine race; he was a member of the same family as the famous poet, -Thomas Parnell, as Lord Congleton, Radical reformer and statesman, -and, above all, Sir John Parnell, who sat and worked with Grattan in -Ireland's Great Parliament and shared with him the bitter fight -against the Union. On his mother's side he was the grandson of the -famous Commodore Charles Stewart, of the American Navy, whose bravery -and success in the War of Independence are well known. It was -natural that a man of such ancestry should become a champion of the -rights of his native land. - -Yet though in 1879 he was the virtual chief of the Irish Party, eight -years before he was an Irish country gentleman, living quietly on his -estates at Avondale in County Wicklow. - -It is a mistake to say that his mother "planted his hatred of England -in him," as she so seldom saw him as a boy. He was sent to school in -England at six years old, and he used to tell me how his father--who -died when he (Charles S. Parnell) was twelve years old--would send -for him to come to Ireland to see him. His mother, Mrs. Delia -Parnell, lived chiefly in America, going over to Avondale that her -children might be born in Ireland, and returning as soon as possible -to America. After her husband's death she only visited the place -occasionally, and altogether saw very little of her son Charles. He -often told me how well he remembered being sent for in his father's -last illness to go to him at Dublin, and the last journey with his -dying father back to Avondale. His father had made him his heir and -a ward of Court. - -In reality Parnell's hatred of England arose when he began to study -the records of England's misgovernment {52} in Ireland, and of the -barbarities that were inflicted upon her peasantry in the name of -England's authority. - -For years before he left the seclusion of Avondale this hatred had -been growing. He followed the Fenian movement with the liveliest -interest, and he often accompanied his sister Fanny when she took her -verses to the offices of the _Irish World_. The sufferings of the -Fenian prisoners, so courageously borne, stirred his blood and -awakened his imagination. It can be imagined with what inward anger -the young man heard of the detective raid on his mother's house in -Temple Street, Dublin--when they found and impounded the sword he was -privileged to wear as an officer of the Wicklow Militia. - -But it was the Manchester affair of 1867 and the execution of Allen, -Larkin and O'Brien which crystallized his hatred of England. From -that moment he was only biding his time. Yet he was slow to move, -and loath to speak his mind, and, until he went to America in 1871, -he was better known for his cricketing and his autumn shooting than -for his politics. When he returned to Avondale with his brother John -in 1872 the Ballot Act had just been passed, and it was the -consciousness of the possibilities of the secret vote as a weapon -against England that finally persuaded him to be a politician. - -But, though he joined the newly formed Home Rule League, it was not -until 1874 that he stood for Parliament in Dublin County. He came -out at the bottom of the poll. The election cost him £2,000; the -£300 which he had received from the Home Rule League he handed back -to them. In April, 1875, he stood for Meath and was placed at the -top of the poll. - -When he entered Parliament the Irish Party, as I have said, was of -little account. The case for Ireland was {53} argued by Isaac Butt -with fine reasonableness and forensic skill, but it produced -absolutely no effect. The English parties smiled and patted the -Irish indulgently on the head. In Ireland all the more resolute and -enthusiastic spirits had an utter contempt for their Parliamentary -representatives; from the machine nothing was to be hoped. It was -the mission of Parnell to change all that, to unite all the warring -elements of the Nationalist movements into one force to be hurled -against England. - -But still he waited and watched--learning the rules of the House, -studying the strength and weaknesses of the machine he was to use and -to attack. He found it more instructive to watch Biggar than Butt, -for Biggar was employing those methods of obstruction which Parnell -afterwards used with such perfect skill. From June, 1876, he took a -hand in affairs. Side by side with Biggar, he began his relentless -obstruction of Parliamentary business until the demands of Ireland -should be considered. Already in 1877 he was fighting Butt for the -direction of the Irish Party. On September 1st of that year Parnell -became President of the Home Rule Confederation of Great Britain in -place of Butt, and the victory was really won. Thenceforward Parnell -was the true leader of the Irish movement inside Parliament and out -of it. He attracted the support of Fenians by his uncompromising -tactics and his fearless utterances, and when the New Departure was -proclaimed by Michael Davitt (just out of prison) and John Devoy, and -the Land League was formed in 1879, Parnell was elected president. - -The objects of the League were "best to be attained by defending -those who may be threatened with eviction for refusing to pay unjust -rents; and by obtaining such reforms in the laws relating to land as -will enable every {54} tenant to become the owner of his holding by -paying a fair rent for a limited number of years." The League was -meant by its founders, Davitt and Devoy, to work for the abolition of -landlordism in Ireland, which, in turn, should pave the way for -separation. Though Parnell was himself working for Home Rule, the -League became a tremendous driving power behind his constitutional -demands. For some months Disraeli's Government did nothing, while -the agitation spread like wildfire. Then in November three of the -leaders were arrested, on December 5th a fourth--and in a few days -released! Ireland laughed, and the League grew. On December 21st -Parnell and Dillon sailed for New York to appeal for funds to save -the tenant farmers and to tighten the bond between the new movement -and the revolutionary societies of America. His triumphal progress -through the States and Canada, his reception by the Governors of -States, members of Congress, judges and other representative men, and -finally his appearance before Congress to develop his views on the -Irish situation, are well known. It was on this journey--at -Toronto--that he was first hailed as the "Uncrowned King." - -The unexpected news of the dissolution summoned him home. In going -out Disraeli tried to make Home Rule the issue of the election, but -Lord Hartington--who was then leading the Liberal Party--and Mr. -Gladstone refused to take up the challenge. All the English parties -were united in hostility to Home Rule. - -But the violent manifesto of Disraeli threw the Irish voting strength -in England into the Liberal scale. The Liberals swept the country. - -Curiously enough, even in Ireland the issue of the election was not -Home Rule. There it was the land, and {55} nothing but the land. -For the harvest of 1879 had been the worst since the great famine; -evictions were in full swing, and the Land League had begun its work. - -The demand was for a measure securing the "three F's": Fixity of -tenure, fair rents determined by a legal tribunal, and free sale of -the tenant's interest. But in many constituencies the demand was for -the extinction of landlordism. - -Parnell carried the election on his back. He was fighting not only -the Liberals and the Tories, but the moderate Home Rule followers of -Mr. Shaw. His energy seemed inexhaustible; from one end of Ireland -to the other he organized the campaign, and addressed meetings. The -result was a triumph for his policy and for the Land League. Of the -61 Home Rulers elected, 39 were Parnellites. - - - - -{56} - -CHAPTER VIII - -THE FIRST MEETING WITH MR. PARNELL - - "_One evening he asked the miller where the river went._" - "_'It goes down the valley,' answered he, 'and turns a power - of mills.'_"--R. L. STEVENSON. - - -Willie and The O'Gorman Mahon had been returned at the General -Election, and many and varied were the stories The O'Gorman Mahon -told me subsequently of their amusing experiences. How they kissed -nearly every girl in Clare and drank with every man--and poor Willie -loathed Irish whisky--how Willie's innate fastidiousness in dress -brought gloom into the eyes of the peasantry until his unfeigned -admiration of their babies and live stock, scrambing together about -the cabins, "lifted a smile to the lip." - -The O'Gorman Mahon was then a tall, handsome old man with a perfect -snowstorm of white hair, and eyes as merry and blue as those of a -boy. He could look as fierce as an old eagle on occasion, however, -and had fought, in his day, more duels than he could remember. A -fine specimen of the old type of Irishman. - -When he came down to Eltham to see us, Willie and I took him over to -Greenwich and gave him a fish dinner. We sat late into the night -talking of Irish affairs, and The O'Gorman Mahon said to me, "If you -meet Parnell, Mrs. O'Shea, be good to him. His begging expedition to -America has about finished him, and I don't believe he'll last the -session out." - -{57} - -He went on to speak of Mr. Parnell; how aloof and reserved he was, -and how he received any inquiries as to his obviously bad health with -a freezing hostility that gave the inquirers a ruffled sense of -tactlessness. - -Willie broke in to say that he and I were going to give some -political dinners in London and would ask Parnell, though he was sure -he would not come. The O'Gorman Mahon paid some idle compliment, but -I was not interested particularly in their stories of Parnell, though -I mentally decided that if I gave any dinners to the Irish Party for -Willie I would make a point of getting Parnell. - -On the 26th of April the members of the Irish Party met in Dublin to -elect a chairman, and the meeting was adjourned without coming to a -decision, but in May Mr. Parnell was chosen as leader. Willie voted -for him, with twenty-two others, and telegraphed to me to say that he -had done so, but feared that Mr. Parnell might be too "advanced." -The fact was that many people admired steady-going William Shaw, the -then chairman, as being very "safe," and doubted whither their -allegiance to Mr. Parnell would lead them. Years after, when their -politics had diverged, Mr. Parnell said: "I was right when I said in -'80, as Willie got up on that platform at Ennis, dressed to kill, -that he was just the man we did not want in the Party." - -After the meeting of Parliament Willie was insistent that I should -give some dinner parties in London, and, as his rooms were too small -for this purpose, we arranged to have a couple of private rooms at -Thomas's Hotel--my old haunt in Berkeley Square. There were no -ladies' clubs in those days, but this hotel served me for many years -as well as such a club could have done. - -{58} - -We gave several dinners, and to each of them I asked Mr. Parnell. -Among the first to come were Mr. Justin McCarthy (the elder), Colonel -Colthurst, Richard Power, Colonel Nolan, and several others; but--in -spite of his acceptance of the invitation--Mr. Parnell did not come. -Someone alluded to the "vacant chair," and laughingly defied me to -fill it; the rest of our guests took up the tale and vied with each -other in tales of the inaccessibility of Parnell, of how he ignored -even the invitations of the most important political hostesses in -London, and of his dislike of all social intercourse--though he had -mixed freely in society in America and Paris before he became a -politician for the sake of the Irish poor. I then became determined -that I would get Parnell to come, and said, amid laughter and -applause: "The uncrowned King of Ireland shall sit in that chair at -the next dinner I give!" - -One bright sunny day when the House was sitting I drove, accompanied -by my sister, Mrs. Steele (who had a house in Buckingham Gate), to -the House of Commons and sent in a card asking Mr. Parnell to come -out and speak to us in Palace Yard. - -He came out, a tall, gaunt figure, thin and deadly pale. He looked -straight at me smiling, and his curiously burning eyes looked into -mine with a wondering intentness that threw into my brain the sudden -thought: "This man is wonderful--and different." - -I asked him why he had not answered my last invitation to dinner, and -if nothing would induce him to come. He answered that he had not -opened his letters for days, but if I would let him, he would come to -dinner directly he returned from Paris, where he had to go for his -sister's wedding. - -{59} - -In leaning forward in the cab to say good-bye a rose I was wearing in -my bodice fell out on to my skirt. He picked it up and, touching it -lightly with his lips, placed it in his button-hole. - -This rose I found long years afterwards done up in an envelope, with -my name and the date, among his most private papers, and when he died -I laid it upon his heart. - -This is the first letter I had from Mr. Parnell:-- - - - LONDON, - _July_ 17, 1880. - - MY DEAR MRS. O'SHEA,--We have all been in such a "disturbed" - condition lately that I have been quite unable to wander further - from here than a radius of about one hundred _paces allons_. And - this notwithstanding the powerful attractions which have been - tending to seduce me from my duty towards my country in the - direction of Thomas's Hotel. - - I am going over to Paris on Monday evening or Tuesday morning to - attend my sister's wedding, and on my return will write you again - and ask for an opportunity of seeing you.--Yours very truly, - CHAS. S. PARNELL. - - - -On his return from Paris Mr. Parnell wrote to me, and again we asked -him to dinner, letting him name his own date. We thought he would -like a quiet dinner, and invited only my sister, Mrs. Steele, my -nephew, Sir Matthew Wood, Mr. Justin McCarthy, and a couple of others -whose names I forget. On receiving his reply accepting the -invitation for the following Friday, we engaged a box at the Gaiety -Theatre--where Marion Hood was acting (for whom I had a great -admiration)--as we thought it would be a relief to the "Leader" to -get away from politics for once. - -On the day of the dinner I got this note:-- - - -{60} - - - HOUSE OF COMMONS, - _Friday._ - - MY DEAR MRS. O'SHEA,--I dined with the Blakes on Wednesday, and - by the time dinner was over it was too late to go to the - meeting--the Post Office is all right here. - - I cannot imagine who originated the paragraph. I have certainly - made no arrangements up to the present to go either to Ireland or - America or announced any intention to anybody.--Yours, CHAS. S. - PARNELL. - - - -He arrived late, but apologetic, and was looking painfully ill and -white, the only life-light in his face being given by the fathomless -eyes of rich brown, varying to the brilliance of flame. The depth of -expression and sudden fire of his eyes held me to the day of his -death. - -We had a pleasant dinner, talking of small nothings, and, avoiding -the controversial subject of politics, Mr. Parnell directed most of -his conversation to my sister during dinner. She could talk -brilliantly, and her quick, light handling of each subject as it came -up kept him interested and amused. I was really anxious that he -should have an agreeable evening, and my relief was great when he -said that he was glad to go to the theatre with us, as the change of -thought it gave was a good rest for him. - -On arrival at the theatre he and I seemed to fall naturally into our -places in the dark corner of the box facing the stage and screened -from the sight of the audience, while my sister and the others sat in -front. - -After we had settled in our seats Mr. Parnell began to talk to me. I -had a feeling of complete sympathy and companionship with him, as -though I had always known this strange, unusual man with the thin -face and pinched nostrils, who sat by my side staring with that -curious {61} intent gaze at the stage, and telling me in a low -monotone of his American tour and of his broken health. - -Then, turning more to me, he paused; and, as the light from the stage -caught his eyes, they seemed like sudden flames. I leaned a little -towards him, still with that odd feeling of his having always been -there by my side; and his eyes smiled into mine as he broke off his -theme and began to tell me of how he had met once more in America a -lady to whom he had been practically engaged some few years before. - -Her father would not dower her to go to Ireland, and Parnell would -not think of giving up the Irish cause and settling in America. The -engagement therefore hung fire; but on this last visit to America he -had sought her out and found himself cold and disillusioned. - -She was a very pretty girl, he said, with golden hair, small features -and blue eyes. One evening, on this last visit, he went to a ball -with her, and, as she was going up the stairs, she pressed into his -hand a paper on which was written the following verse: - - "Unless you can muse in a crowd all day - On the absent face that fixed you, - Unless you can dream that his faith is fast - Through behoving and unbehoving, - Unless you can die when the dream is past, - Oh, never call it loving." - -He asked me who had written the lines, and I answered that it sounded -like one of the Brownings (it is E. B. Browning's), and he said -simply: "Well, I could not do all that, so I went home." - -I suggested that perhaps the lady had suffered in his desertion, but -he said that he had seen her, that same evening, suddenly much -attracted by a young advocate {62} named A----, who had just entered -the room, and decided in his own mind that his vacillation had lost -him the young lady. The strenuous work he had then put his whole -heart into had driven out all traces of regret. - -After this dinner-party I met him frequently in the Ladies' Gallery -of the House. I did not tell him when I was going; but, whenever I -went, he came up for a few minutes; and, if the Wednesday sittings -were not very important or required his presence, he would ask me to -drive with him. We drove many miles this way in a hansom cab out -into the country, to the river at Mortlake, or elsewhere. We chiefly -discussed Willie's chances of being returned again for Clare, in case -another election was sprung upon us. Both Willie and I were very -anxious to secure Mr. Parnell's promise about this, as The O'Gorman -Mahon was old, and we were desirous of making Willie's seat in -Parliament secure. - -While he sat by my side in the meadows by the river he promised he -would do his best to keep Willie in Parliament, and to secure County -Clare for him should the occasion arise. Thus we would sit there -through the summer afternoon, watching the gay traffic on the river, -in talk, or in the silence of tried friendship, till the growing -shadows warned us that it was time to drive back to London. - -Soon after my first meeting with Mr. Parnell, my sister, Mrs. Steele, -invited Mr. Parnell, Mr. McCarthy and myself to luncheon. We had a -very pleasant little party at her house. During lunch Mr. Parnell -told us he was going to his place in Ireland for some shooting, and -Mr. McCarthy and my sister chaffed him for leaving us for the lesser -game of partridge shooting, but he observed {63} gravely, "I have the -partridges there, and here I cannot always have your society." - -I had to leave early, as I was anxious to return to see my aunt; and -Mr. Parnell said he would accompany me to the station. When we got -to Charing Cross the train had already gone; and Mr. Parnell picked -out a good horse from the cab rank, saying it would be much -pleasanter to drive down on such a beautiful afternoon. We did so, -but I would not let him stay, as I was not sure what state of -confusion the house might be in, left in my absence in the possession -of the children and governess. I told him I had to hurry over the -park to my aunt, as really was the case, and he reluctantly returned -to London. - -On the next Wednesday evening Mr. Parnell was to dine with me at -Thomas's Hotel. He met me at Cannon Street Station as the train came -in, and asked me to have some tea with him at the hotel there and go -on to Thomas's together. We went to the Cannon Street Hotel -dining-rooms, but on looking in he saw some of the Irish members -there and said it would be more comfortable for us in his private -sitting-room. I was under the impression that he lived at Keppel -Street, but he told me he had just taken rooms in the Cannon Street -Hotel. We had tea in his sitting-room, and he talked politics to me -freely till I was interested and at ease, and then lapsed into one of -those long silences of his that I was already beginning to know were -dangerous in the complete sympathy they evoked between us. - -Presently I said, "Come! we shall be late!"; and he rose without a -word and followed me downstairs. There were some members of his -Party still standing about in the hall, but, as he always did -afterwards when I was {64} with him, he ignored them absolutely and -handed me into a waiting cab. - -He and I dined at Thomas's Hotel that evening, and after dinner I -returned home to Eltham. Mr. Parnell left for Ireland by the morning -mail. - -From Dublin he wrote to me:-- - - - _September_ 9, 1880. - - MY DEAR MRS. O'SHEA,--Just a line to say that I have arrived - here, and go on to Avondale, Rathdrum, this evening, where I hope - to hear from you before very long. - - I may tell you also in confidence that I don't feel quite so - content at the prospect of ten days' absence from London amongst - the hills and valleys of Wicklow as I should have done some three - months since. - - The cause is mysterious, but perhaps you will help me to find it, - or her, on my return.--Yours always, CHAS. S. PARNELL. - - -Then from his home:-- - - - AVONDALE, RATHDRUM, - _September_ 11, 1880. - - MY DEAR MRS. O'SHEA,--I take the opportunity which a few hours in - Dublin gives me of letting you know that I am still in the land - of the living, notwithstanding the real difficulty of either - living or being, which every moment becomes more evident, in the - absence of a certain kind and fair face. - - Probably you will not hear from me again for a few days, as I am - going into the mountains for some shooting, removed from post - offices and such like consolations for broken-hearted - politicians, but if, as I hope, a letter from you should reach me - even there, I shall try and send you an answer.--Yours very - sincerely, CHAS. S. PARNELL. - - - - -{65} - -CHAPTER IX - -AT ELTHAM - - "_But then--I supposed you to be but a fellow guest?_" - "_Ah, no" he answered, he in that cold, unshaken voice, "I - have but come home._"--(THE BAGMAN) HONORA SHEE. - - -Whenever I went to town, or elsewhere, I always returned at night to -see that my children were all right and to be ready to go to my aunt -as usual every morning. One day, on my return from a drive with my -aunt, I found that my old nurse Lucy, who still lived with me, was -very ill, having had a stroke of paralysis while I was away. She -lingered only a couple of days before she died and left a great void -in my heart. My children missed their admiring old confidante sadly. -She had always been devoted to me as the youngest of her "own -babies," as she called my mother's children, and had shared in all my -fortunes and misfortunes since I returned from Spain. She was always -very proud, and so fearful of becoming a burden to anyone, that she -rented a room in her sister's house so that she should feel -independent. So often, when "times were bad" with us, she would -press some of her savings into my hand and say that "The Captain must -want a little change, Dearie, going about as he does!" - -In her earlier life she had had her romance, and had spent some years -in saving up to marry her "sweetheart," as she called him; but -shortly before the wedding her father's business failed, and she -immediately gave him {66} all her little nest-egg, with the result -that her lover refused to marry her. So then, at the great age of -ninety, after her blameless life had been passed since the age of -sixteen in unselfish devotion to us all, we laid her to rest by the -side of my father and mother at Cressing, Willie taking her down to -Essex and attending the funeral. - -As she lay dying I got this note from Mr. Parnell:-- - - - DUBLIN, - _September_ 22, 1880. - - MY DEAR MRS. O'SHEA,--I cannot keep myself away from you any - longer, so shall leave to-night for London. - - Please wire me to 16, Keppel Street, Russell Square, if I may - hope to see you to-morrow and where, after 4 p.m.--Yours always, - C. S. P. - - -Owing to the piteous clinging to my fingers of my old Lucy I was -unable to go to London even for an hour to meet Mr. Parnell, so I -telegraphed to that effect, and received the following letter:-- - - - EUSTON STATION, - _Friday evening, September_ 24, 1880. - - MY DEAR MRS. O'SHEA,--On arriving at Keppel Street yesterday I - found that your wire had just arrived, and that the boy refused - to leave it as I was not stopping there. Going at once to the - district postal office I asked for and received the wire, and - to-day went to London Bridge Station at 12.15. - - The train from Eltham had just left, so I came on to Charing - Cross and sent a note by messenger to you at Thomas's, with - directions to bring it back if you were not there, which turned - out to be the case. I am very much troubled at not having seen - you, especially as I must return to Ireland to-night--I came on - purpose for you, and had no other business. I think it possible, - on reflection, that the telegraph people may have wired you that - they were unable to deliver your message, and, if so, must - reproach myself for not having written you last night.--Your very - disappointed C. S. P. - - -{67} - -From Dublin he wrote me: - - - _Saturday morning, September_ 25, 1880. - - MY DEAR MRS. O'SHEA,--In my hurried note to you last night I had - not time to sympathize with you in this troublesome time you have - been going through recently; how I wish it might have been - possible for me to have seen you even for a few minutes to tell - you how very much I feel any trouble which comes to you. - - I am just starting for New Ross, where there is a meeting - to-morrow. - - If you can spare time to write me to Avondale, the letters will - reach me in due course.--Yours always, C. S. P. - - - - _September_ 29, 1880. - - MY DEAR MRS. O'SHEA,--I have received your wire, but not the - letter which you say you were writing me to Dublin for Monday. - - I suppose then you may have sent it to Rathdrum instead, whither - I am going this evening, and that I may soon have the happiness - of reading a few words written by you. - - I am due at Cork on Sunday, after which I propose to visit London - again, and renew my attempt to gain a glimpse of you. Shall - probably arrive there on Tuesday if I hear from you in the - meanwhile that you will see me. - - On Friday evening I shall be at Morrison's on my way to Kilkenny - for Saturday, and shall be intensely delighted to have a wire - from you to meet me there.--Yours always, CHAS. S. PARNELL. - - -Meanwhile Willie was in communication with Mr. Gladstone, Mr. Tintern -(one of the Liberal agents) and others, in reference to a meeting -held by him. - -Mr. Tintern wrote from Tenby commenting with satisfaction on the -report of Willie's successful meeting, on Willie's kind mention of -the Government, and on the good the meeting must do by promoting -orderly progress and better feeling between one class and another. -But he {68} expressed surprise that Willie should think the -Government had not treated him and West Clare well. He at least...! -Mr. Gladstone wrote from Downing Street on the 21st September about -the meeting in much the same terms. He expressed himself as -gratified to think that the important local proceedings with regard -to the land question showed the union of people and pastors against -the extremists. - -Life at Eltham went on in the same routine. My aunt was well, and -would sit for long hours at the south door of her house--looking away -up "King John's Chase"--the ruins of King John's Palace were at -Eltham, and my aunt's park and grounds were part of the ancient Royal -demesne. In these summer evenings she loved to sit at the top of the -broad flight of shallow steps with me, and tell my little girls -stories of her life of long ago. - -Sometimes her favourite Dr. Bader would bring his zither down from -London and play to us; or my aunt and I would sit in the great -tapestry room with all of the seven windows open, listening to the -song of the æolian harp as the soft breeze touched its strings and -died away in harmony through the evening stillness. - -Sometimes, too, she would sing in her soft, gentle old voice the -songs of her youth, to the accompaniment of her guitar. "We met, -'twas in a crowd," was a favourite old song of hers, half forgotten -since she used to sing it to the music of her spinet seventy years -before, but Dr. Bader found the words in an old book, and the dear -old lady crooned it sentimentally to me as we sat waiting for the -hooting of the owls which signalled to her maid the time for shutting -her lady's windows. - -And I was conscious of sudden gusts of unrest and revolt against -these leisured, peaceful days where the {69} chiming of the great -clock in the hall was the only indication of the flight of time, and -the outside world of another age called to me with the manifold -interests into which I had been so suddenly plunged with the power to -help in the making and marring of a destiny. - -In the autumn of 1880 Mr. Parnell came to stay with us at Eltham, -only going to Dublin as occasion required. Willie had invited him to -come, and I got in some flowers in pots and palms to make my -drawing-room look pretty for him. - -Mr. Parnell, who was in very bad health at that time, a few days -later complained of sore throat, and looked, as I thought, mournfully -at my indoor garden, which I industriously watered every day. It -then dawned upon me that he was accusing this of giving him sore -throat, and I taxed him with it. He evidently feared to vex me, but -admitted that he did think it was so, and "wouldn't it do if they -were not watered so often?" He was childishly touched when I at once -had them all removed, and he sank happily on to the sofa, saying that -"plants were such damp things!" - -His throat became no better, and he looked so terribly ill when--as -he often did now--he fell asleep from sheer weakness on the sofa -before the fire, that I became very uneasy about him. Once, on -awaking from one of these sleeps of exhaustion, he told me abruptly -that he believed it was the green in the carpet that gave him sore -throat. There and then we cut a bit out, and sent it to London to be -analysed, but without result. It was quite a harmless carpet. - -During this time I nursed him assiduously, making him take -nourishment at regular intervals, seeing that these day-sleeps of his -were not disturbed, and forcing {70} him to take fresh air in long -drives through the country around us. At length I had the -satisfaction of seeing his strength gradually return sufficiently to -enable him to take the exercise that finished the process of this -building-up, and he became stronger than he had been for some years. -I do not think anyone but we who saw him then at Eltham, without the -mask of reserve he always presented to the outside world, had any -idea of how near death's door his exertions on behalf of the -famine-stricken peasants of Ireland had brought him. - -Once in that autumn, after he came to us, I took him for a long drive -in an open carriage through the hop-growing district of Kent. I had -not thought of the fact that hundreds of the poorest of the Irish -came over for the hop-picking, and might recognize him. - -After driving over Chislehurst Common and round by the lovely Grays, -we came right into a crowd of the Irish "hoppers"--men, women, and -children. In a moment there was a wild surge towards the carriage, -with cries of "The Chief! The Chief!" and "Parnell! Parnell! -Parnell!" The coachman jerked the horses on to their haunches for -fear of knocking down the enthusiastic men and women who were -crowding up--trying to kiss Parnell's hand, and calling for "a few -words." - -He lifted his cap with that grave, aloof smile of his, and said no, -he was not well enough to make the smallest of speeches, but he was -glad to see them, and would talk to them when they went home to -Ireland. Then, bidding them to "mind the little ones," who were -scrambling about the horses' legs, to the manifest anxiety of the -coachman, he waved them away, and we drove off amid fervent "God keep -your honours!" and cheers. - -These Irish hop-pickers were so inured to privation {71} in their own -country that they were very popular among the Kentish hop-farmers, as -they did not grumble so much as did the English pickers at the -scandalously inefficient accommodation provided for them. - -Often before Parnell became really strong I used to watch for hours -beside him as he slept before the drawing-room fire, till I had to -rouse him in time to go to the House. Once, when he was moving -restlessly, I heard him murmur in his sleep, as I pulled the light -rug better over him: "Steer carefully out of the harbour--there are -breakers ahead." - -He now had all the parcels and letters he received sent on to me, so -that I might open them and give him only those it was necessary for -him to deal with. There were hundreds of letters to go through every -week, though, as he calmly explained, "If you get tired with them, -leave them and they'll answer themselves." - -Often among the parcels there were comestibles, and among these every -week came a box of eggs without the name and address of the sender. -I was glad to see these eggs as the winter came on and with it the -usual reluctance of our hens to provide us with sufficient eggs, but -Mr. Parnell would not allow me to use them, for he said: "They might -be eggs, but then again they might not," and I had to send them a -good distance down the garden and have them broken to make sure of -their genuineness, and then he would worry lest our dogs should find -them and poison themselves. - -On his visits to Ireland he wrote to me continually:-- - - - DUBLIN, - _Tuesday._ - - MY DEAR MRS. O'SHEA,--I have just a moment on my return from - Ennis to catch the late post and reply to your wire. - - {72} - - I received your two letters quite safely, and you may write me - even nicer ones with perfect confidence. I blame myself very - much for not having written you on my way through Dublin on - Saturday, as you were evidently anxious about your notes, but I - hope you will forgive me as there were only a few minutes to - spare. - - I trust to see you in London on Tuesday next. Is it true that - Captain O'Shea is in Paris, and, if so, when do you expect his - return? ... I have had no shooting, weather too wet, but shall - try to-morrow, when you may expect some heather. - - - - DUBLIN, - _Friday evening, October_ 2, 1880. - - Have just received your wire; somehow or other something from you - seems a necessary part of my daily existence, and if I have to go - a day or two without even a telegram it seems dreadful. - - I want to know how you intend to excuse yourself for telling me - not to come on purpose if I must return. (To Ireland.) Of - course, I am going on purpose to see you; and it is also - unhappily true that I cannot remain long. - - Shall cross Monday evening, and shall call at Morrison's for a - message. - - Please write or wire me in London to 16 Keppel Street, Russell - Square, where I shall call on Tuesday. - - - - DUBLIN, - _Monday night, October_ 4, 1880. - - Just arrived.... I write you on the only bit of paper to be - found at this late hour (a scrap taken from one of your own - notes), to say that I hope to reach London to-morrow (Tuesday) - evening and to see you on Wednesday when and where you wish. - Please write or wire me to Keppel Street. This envelope will - present the appearance of having been tampered with, but it has - not. - - - - DUBLIN, - _Tuesday evening, October_ 5, 1880. - - A frightful gale has been blowing all day in Channel and still - continues. - - {73} - - Under these circumstances shall postpone crossing till to-morrow - evening. - - Can meet you in London at 9 to-morrow evening anywhere you say. - - - - DUBLIN, - _Monday evening, October_ 17, 1880. - - MY OWN LOVE,--You cannot imagine how much you have occupied my - thoughts all day and how very greatly the prospect of seeing you - again very soon comforts me. - - On Monday evening I think it will be necessary for me to go to - Avondale; afterwards I trust, if things are propitious on your - side, to return to London on Tuesday or Wednesday.--Yours always, - C. - - - - AVONDALE, RATHDRUM, - _October_ 22, 1880. - - I was very much pleased to receive your wire this morning, - forwarded from Dublin, that you had received my note of last - Saturday. I was beginning to fear that it had gone wrong. - - After I had finished at Roscommon and received your message in - Dublin on Monday I decided upon coming here where I have been - unexpectedly detained. - - If all goes well you will see me in London on Monday evening - next.... I send you enclosed one or two poor sprigs of heather, - which I plucked for you three weeks ago, also my best love, and - hope you will believe that I always think of you as the one dear - object whose presence has ever been a great happiness to me. - - -Meanwhile the Government had been temporizing with the land question. -They had brought in a very feeble Compensation for Disturbances Bill -and they had allowed it to be further weakened by amendments. This -Bill was rejected by the House of Lords, with the result that the -number of evictions in Ireland grew hourly greater and the agitation -of the Land League against them; outrages, too, were of common -occurrence and increased in intensity. - -{74} - -Speaking at Ennis on September 19th Mr. Parnell enunciated the -principle which has since gone by the name of "The Boycott." - -"What are you to do," he asked, "to a tenant who bids for a farm from -which another tenant has been evicted?" - -Several voices cried: "Shoot him!" - -"I think," went on Mr. Parnell, "I heard somebody say 'Shoot him!' I -wish to point out to you a very much better way--a more Christian and -charitable way, which will give the lost man an opportunity of -repenting. When a man takes a farm from which another has been -unjustly evicted, you must shun him on the roadside when you meet -him; you must shun him in the shop; you must shun him on the -fair-green and in the market-place, and even in the place of worship, -by leaving him alone; by putting him into a sort of moral Coventry; -by isolating him from the rest of the country, as if he were a leper -of old--you must show him your detestation of the crime he has -committed." - -Forster, the Irish Secretary, who had some amount of sympathy for the -tenants, was, however, a Quaker, and the outrages horrified him more -than the evictions. Nor, strangely, was he able to connect the one -with the other. Undoubtedly the evictions almost ceased, but, said -he, they have ceased because of the outrages, and the outrages were -the work of the Land League; and he pressed for the arrest of its -leaders. This was unwise, considering that it was Parnell who had -advocated the abandonment of violence for the moral suasion of the -boycott. - -On November 3rd Forster decided to prosecute the leaders of the Land -League, and among them Parnell, Dillon, Biggar, Sexton and T. D. -Sullivan. Two days {75} later, in a speech at Dublin, Parnell -expressed his regret that Forster was degenerating from a statesman -to a tool of the landlords. Biggar when he heard the news exclaimed, -"Damned lawyers, sir, damned lawyers! Wasting the public money! -Wasting the public money! Whigs damned rogues! Forster damned fool!" - - - DUBLIN,[1] - _November_ 4, 1880. - - MY DEAR MRS. O'SHEA,--I take advantage of almost the first moment - I have had to myself since leaving you to write a few hasty - lines. And first I must again thank you for all your kindness, - which made my stay at Eltham so happy and pleasant. - - The thunderbolt, as you will have seen, has at last fallen, and - we are in the midst of loyal preparations of a most appalling - character. - - I do not suppose I shall have an opportunity of being in London - again before next Thursday, but trust to be more fortunate in - seeing Captain O'Shea then than the last time.--Yours very truly, - CHAS. S. PARNELL. - - - - DUBLIN,[1] - _Saturday._ - - MY DEAR MRS. O'SHEA,--I hope to arrive in London on Tuesday - morning, and trust to have the pleasure of seeing you before I - leave. Do you think you shall be in town on Tuesday? - - Kindly address 16, Keppel Street.--Yours very truly, CHAS. S. - PARNELL. - - -On November 5th that year the village was great on the subject of -"gunpowder, treason, and plot," and during dinner that evening there -was such a noise and shouting outside my house that I asked the maid -who was waiting what all the excitement was about. - -She answered breathlessly that "the procession, ma'am, {76} have got -Miss Anna Parnell in a effigy 'longside of the Pope, and was waiting -outside for us to see before they burnt 'em in the village." - -This electrifying intelligence was received with grave indifference -by Mr. Parnell till the disappointed maid left the room; then with a -sudden bubble of laughter--"Poor Anna! Her pride in being burnt, as -a menace to England, would be so drowned in horror at her company -that it would put the fire out!" - -The cheering and hooting went on for some time outside the house, -but, finding we were not to be drawn, the crowd at last escorted the -effigies down to the village and burnt them, though with less -amusement than they had anticipated. - - - DUBLIN,[2] - _November_ 6, 1880. - - MY DEAR MRS. O'SHEA,--You can have very little idea how - dreadfully disappointed I felt on arriving here this evening not - to find a letter from either you or Captain O'Shea. I send this - in hope that it may induce you to write in reply to my last - letter and telegram, which would appear not to have reached - you.--Yours very sincerely, CHAS. S. PARNELL. - - - - AVONDALE, - _Monday._ - - MY DEAR MRS. O'SHEA,--I enclose keys, which I took away by - mistake. Will you kindly hand enclosed letter to the proper - person[3] and oblige,--Yours very truly, CHAS. S. PARNELL. - - - - DUBLIN, - _Wednesday night, November_ 11, 1880. - - MY DEAREST LOVE,--I have made all arrangements to be in London on - Saturday morning, and shall call at Keppel Street for a letter - from you. It is quite impossible for me to {77} tell you just - how very much you have changed my life, what a small interest I - take in what is going on about me, and how I detest everything - which has happened during the last few days to keep me away from - you--I think of you always, and you must never believe there is - to be any "fading." By the way, you must not send me any more - artificial letters. I want as much of your own self as you can - transfer into written words, or else none at all.--Your always, - C. S. P. - - A telegram goes to you, and one to W.,[4] to-morrow, which are by - no means strictly accurate. - - - - DUBLIN, - _December_ 2, 1880. - - MY DEAR MRS. O'SHEA,--I succeeded in getting the train at Euston - with just ten minutes to spare, and, arriving here this morning, - found that my presence to-day was indispensable. - - I need not tell you how much I regretted leaving Eltham so - suddenly; but we cannot always do as we wish in this world. - - My stay with you has been so pleasant and charming that I was - almost beginning to forget my other duties; but Ireland seems to - have gotten on very well without me in the interval. - - Trusting to see you again next week on my way to Paris.--Yours - very sincerely, CHAS. S. PARNELL. - - I have been exceedingly anxious all day at not receiving your - promised telegram to hear how you got home. - - - -[1] These letters were really written from London. - -[2] Sent to Dublin to be posted. - -[3] Myself. - -[4] Captain O'Shea. - - - - -{78} - -CHAPTER X - -THE LAND LEAGUE TRIALS - -"_The surest way to prevent seditions is to take away the matter of -them._"--LORD BACON. - - -Through the whole of 1880 Parnell was determinedly organizing the -Land League throughout Ireland, and during the winter, doubtless -encouraged by the enormous distress that prevailed over the whole -country, the force and power of the League grew with a rapidity that -surpassed even the expectations of Parnell and his party. All -through the vacation Parnell and his followers held meetings in -carefully calculated areas of Ireland, and in his speeches Parnell -explained the meaning and wide-reaching scope of the League's -agitation, i.e. that tenant farmers were to trust in their own -combination alone and "should give no faith to the promises of the -English Ministers." - -During the early session that year Parnell had introduced a Bill -called "Suspension of Ejectments Bill," and this first pressed upon -the House the necessity of dealing with the Irish landlord troubles. -Parnell's party urged this Bill with so united a front that Mr. -Gladstone was obliged to consider the main substance of it, and he -agreed to insert a clause in the "Relief of Distress Bill" which -would deal with impending evictions of Irish tenants. But the -Speaker of the House held that the interpolation of such a clause -would not be "in order," and the Chief Secretary for Ireland (Mr. -Forster) then, by Mr. Gladstone's direction, brought in his -"Disturbances Bill," {79} which was to all practical purposes -Parnell's Bill under another name. - -In the course of the debate on this Bill Mr. Gladstone himself said -that "in the circumstances of distress prevalent in Ireland (at that -time) a sentence of eviction is the equivalent of a sentence of -death." These absolutely true words of Gladstone's were used by -Parnell very many times during his Land League tours both in speeches -and privately, and many times he added--as so often he did to me at -home--bitter comment upon the apathy of the English Government, upon -the curious insensibility of the English law-makers, who knew these -things to be true in Ireland and yet were content to go on in their -policy of drift, unless forced into action by those who saw the -appalling reality of the distress among the Irish poor that was so -comfortably deplored in London. - -In this connexion Parnell used to say that the fundamental failure in -the English government of Ireland was: First, the complete inability -of the Ministers in power to realize anything that was not before -their eyes; and, secondly, their cast-iron conviction that Ireland -was the one country of the world that was to be understood and -governed by those to whom she was little but a name. - -In all this time of trouble and eviction Parnell went backwards and -forwards between England (Eltham) and Ireland as occasion required, -and so successful were his efforts in spreading the agitation and -linking up the League that the Government became uneasy as to the -outcome of this new menace to landlordism. Finally Parnell and -fourteen of his followers were put on trial, charged with "conspiracy -to impoverish landlords." Parnell, of course, went over to Ireland -for these "State trials," but he considered the whole thing such a -farce, in that it was {80} an impotent effort of the Government to -intimidate him, that he could not take it seriously in any way. No -jury (in Ireland) would agree to convict him he was well aware, and -he attended the trials chiefly, he said, for the "look of the thing," -and to give the support of his presence to his colleagues. -Incidentally he told me on one occasion that he had considerably -hurried the jury when he was very anxious to catch a train in time -for the night mail to England (Eltham) by "willing" them to agree (to -disagree) without the long discussion of local politics with which -all self-respecting Irish jurors beguile the weary ways of law. He -observed that here, in the question of how far an unconscious agent -can be "willed" into a desired action, he had discovered another and -most entrancing study for us when we had more time to go into it -thoroughly. - -Talking of the Land League's procedure against the interests of the -Irish landlords, I may, I think, here pertinently remind those who -have, among so many other accusations, brought against Parnell the -charge of self-seeking in regard to money matters, that Parnell -himself was an Irish landlord and of very considerable estates, and -that this land campaign (really, of course, directed against -eviction), meant, to all practical purposes, the loss of his rents, -and that not only for a time, as in other cases, but, with the very -generous interpretation put upon his wishes by the "Chief's" tenants, -for all time--or rather for all his lifetime. Captain O'Shea also -had certain estates in Ireland, and naturally, not being in sympathy -with Parnell's policy, but being at heart a thorough Whig and a -strong advocate for Mr. Shaw, the ex-leader of the Irish party, he -was furious at the League's anti-landlord work, and refused to have -any hand in it. He considered {81} that hapless as was the plight of -those who had to pay in rent the money they did not possess, that of -the landlord whose rent was his all was but little to be preferred. - -During this period the stories of the evictions brought home to me by -Parnell himself made my heart sick, and often he sat far into the -night at Eltham speaking in that low, broken monotone, that with him -always betokened intense feeling strongly held in check, of the -terrible cruelty of some of the things done in the name of justice in -unhappy Ireland. How old people, and sometimes those sick beyond -recovery, women with the children they had borne but a few hours -before, little children naked as they had come into the world, all -thrust out from the little squalid cabins which were all they had for -home, thrust out on the roadside to perish, or to live as they could. -I in my English ignorance used to say: "Why did they not go into the -workhouse or to neighbours?" and Parnell would look wonderingly at me -as he told me that for the most part such places were few and far -between in Ireland, and "neighbours," good as they were to each -other, were in the same trouble. There were instances where a wife -would beg, and with none effect, that the bailiffs and police should -wait but the little half-hour that her dying husband drew his last -breath; and where a husband carried his wife from her bed to the -"shelter" of the rainswept moor that their child might be born out of -the sight of the soldiers deputed to guard the officials who had been -sent to pull their home about their ears. And, remembering these and -so many other tales of some of the 50,000 evictions that he -afterwards calculated had taken place in Ireland, I have never -wondered at the implacable hatred of England that can never really -die out of the Irish heart. - -{82} - -On December 4th, 1880, he wrote to me from Dublin: - - - I was exceedingly pleased to receive your letters; to say the - truth, I have been quite homesick since leaving Eltham, and news - from you seems like news from home. - - The Court refused our application to-day for a postponement of - the trial (of the Land League), but this we expected, and it does - not much signify, as it turns out that we need not necessarily - attend the trial unless absolutely directed to do so by the Court. - - You will also be pleased to hear that the special jury panel, of - which we obtained a copy last night, is of such a character as in - the opinion of competent judges to give us every chance of a - disagreement by the jury in their verdict, but we cannot, of - course, form an absolute conclusion until the jury has been - sworn, when we shall be able to tell pretty certainly one way or - the other. - - Since writing Captain O'Shea it does not look as if I could get - further away from Ireland than London, as Paris is inconvenient - from its distance. - - I have no letter from him yet in reply to mine. - - -And again on the 9th:-- - - - I returned from Waterford last night, and shall probably get - through all necessary work here by Saturday evening so as to - enable me to start for London on Sunday morning. I do not know - how long I can remain in London, but shall run down and see you - on Monday, and perhaps my plans will be more fixed by that time. - - I have decided not to attend any more meetings until after the - opening of Parliament, as everything now can go on without me. - - Kindly inform Captain O'Shea that the meeting of Irish members - will be in Dublin on the 4th January. - - -On December 12th of that year Mr. Parnell wrote from Avondale to say -that the jury panel was to be struck on the following Monday for the -prosecution of the Land League. - -{83} - - - ... And it will be necessary for me to see it before giving final - directions. - - I have consequently postponed my departure till Monday evening. - - I have come here to arrange my papers and find a number which I - should not like to destroy, and which I should not like the - Government to get hold of in the event of their searching my - house in the troublous times which appear before us. May I leave - them at Eltham? - - -And the next day:-- - - - I have just received a note from Healy, who is to be tried at - Cork on Thursday, saying that his counsel thinks it of the utmost - importance I should be present. - - This is very hard lines on me, as I had looked forward to a - little rest in London before my own trial commences; but I do not - see how it can be helped, as Healy's is the first of the State - trials, and it is of the utmost importance to secure an acquittal - and not merely a disagreement. I shall leave Cork on Thursday - night and arrive in London Friday evening, and shall call to see - you at Eltham Saturday. Your letters, one directed here and the - others to Morrison's, reached me in due course, and I hope to - hear from you again very soon. - - -Parnell, now, always made my house his headquarters in England, and -on his return from Ireland after the trials came down at once as soon -as he had ascertained that I was alone. - -There were times when he wished to keep quiet and let no one know -where he was; and, as it became known to the Government that Mr. -Parnell frequented my house a good deal, it was somewhat difficult to -avoid the detectives who were employed to watch his comings and -goings. - -On one occasion in 1880 he was informed privately that his arrest for -"sedition" was being urged upon the Government, and that it would be -well to go abroad for a short time. I think his enigmatic reply, "I -will {84} disappear for a few weeks," must have puzzled his -informant. He came down to me at night, and when I answered his -signal at my sitting-room window, and let him in, he told me with a -deprecating smile that I must hide him for a few weeks. As I sat -watching him eat the supper I always had ready for him at 3 a.m. I -felt rather hopeless, as he was a big man, and I did not see how he -could be hidden from the servants. He said the latter must not know -he was there, as they would talk to the tradespeople, and they to the -Government men. He did not wish to be arrested until later on, when -it might be more useful than not. - -Then he awaited suggestions, and at length we decided that a little -room opening out of my own must be utilized for him, as I always kept -it locked and never allowed a servant into it--except very -occasionally to "turn it out." It was a little boudoir -dressing-room, and had a sofa in it. - -Mr. Parnell was then still feeling ill and run down, and enjoyed his -fortnight's absolute rest in this room. None of the servants knew -that he was there, and I took all his food up at night, cooking -little dainty dishes for him at the open fire, much to his pleasure -and amusement. He spent the time very happily, resting, writing -"seditious" speeches for future use, and reading "Alice in -Wonderland." This book was a favourite of his, and I gave it to him -with the solemnity that befitted his grave reading of it. I do not -think he ever thought it in the least amusing, but he would read it -earnestly from cover to cover, and, without a smile, remark that it -was a "curious book." - -In all this fortnight no one had the least idea that he was in the -house, and the only comment I ever heard upon {85} my prisoner's diet -was that "the mistress ate much more when she had her meals served in -her sitting-room." - -At the end of this fortnight he had arranged to go to Paris on some -Land League business, and wanted me to go to see him off. He had -brought certain political correspondence from Avondale and London and -placed it in my charge, and this I kept in a box in this little -private room, where I hid them. But there were two papers that he -did not wish left even here, and, fearing arrest, could not carry on -him. For these he had a wide, hollow gold bracelet made in Paris, -and after inserting the papers he screwed the bracelet safely on my -arm; there it remained for three years, and was then unscrewed by him -and the contents destroyed. - -The winter of 1880 was terribly cold, and as I let him out of the -house in the bitterly cold morning I wished he did not consider it -necessary to go to Paris by such a roundabout route as he had chosen. - -However, we drove off to Lewisham that morning, quite unobserved; -from thence we went by train to New Cross, and drove by cab to London -Bridge. At Vauxhall we started for Lowestoft; for Mr. Parnell had -arranged to go to Paris via Harwich. I was anxious about him, for -the cold was intense, and the deep snow over the large dreary waste -of salt marshes seemed reflected in his pallor. Our train slowly -passed through the dreary tract of country, feet deep in its white -covering, and we could see no sign of life but an occasional seagull -vainly seeking for food, and sending a weird call through the lonely -silences. - -I wrapped Parnell up in his rugs as he tried to sleep. I loathed the -great white expanse that made him look so ill, and I wished I had him -at home again, where I could {86} better fight the great fear that so -often beset my heart: that I could not long keep off the death that -hovered near him. A lady and gentleman in the carriage remarked to -me--thinking he slept--that my husband looked terribly ill, could -they do anything? And I noticed the little smile of content that -flitted over his face as he heard me briskly reply that, No, he had -been ill, but was so much better and stronger that I was not at all -uneasy. It was the cold glare of the snow that made him look so -delicate, but he was really quite strong. He hated to be thought -ill, and did not see the doubt in their faces at my reply. - -Arrived at Lowestoft I insisted upon his resting and having a good -meal, after which he felt so cheered up that he decided to return to -London with me, and go to Paris by the usual route the next day! - -We had a new Irish cook at this time, from County Tipperary, and her -joy exceeded all bounds when she learnt that the Irish leader was -really in the house and she was to cook for him. I had to ask Mr. -Parnell to see her for a moment, as she was too excited to settle to -her cooking. Directly she got into the room Ellen fell down on her -knees and kissed his hands, much to his horror, for, although used to -such homage in Ireland, he disliked it extremely, and he told me with -some reproach that he had expected to be quite free from that sort of -thing in my house. - -At Christmas he tipped my servants generously, and indeed Ellen and -the parlourmaid Mary vied with each other in their attention to his -comfort. The enthusiasm of the cook was so great that she bought an -enormous gold locket, and, having inserted a portrait of Mr. Parnell -in it, wore it constantly. Mary, not to be outdone, thereupon bought -a locket of identically the same design, and {87} wore it with an air -of defiance, when bringing in tea, on New Year's Day. - -This was against all regulations, and I said laughingly to Mr. -Parnell that he was introducing lawlessness into my household. He -answered, "Leave it to me," and when Mary appeared again he said -gently to her, "Mary, that is a magnificent locket, and I see you are -kind enough to wear my portrait in it. Mrs. O'Shea tells me that -Ellen has bought one also, but I just want you and Ellen not to wear -them outside like that, for Mrs. O'Shea lets me come down here for a -rest, and if people know I'm here I shall be worried to death with -politics and people calling." So Mary promised faithfully, and Ellen -came running in to promise too, and to threaten vengeance on "the -others" if absolute silence was not observed. The lockets went -"inside," and only a tiny bit of chain was allowed to show at the -throat in evidence of homage continued, though hidden. - -Meanwhile, events were fusing in Ireland. Parnell had gone over -there immediately after Christmas. From Dublin he wrote:-- - - - DUBLIN, - _Monday evening, December_ 27, 1880. - - MY DEAR MRS. O'SHEA,--I have been exceedingly anxious all day at - not receiving your promised telegram to hear how you got home; - trust I may have something to-morrow morning that it is all - right.[1]--Yours in haste, C. S. P. - - - - MORRISON'S HOTEL, - _Tuesday, December_ 28, 1880. - - MY DEAREST WIFE,--You will be delighted to learn that everything - is proceeding first-rate so far. - - The jury sworn to-day cannot possibly convict us, and there is a - very fair chance of an acquittal. I do not think {88} the - Government will attempt to prevent me from being present at the - opening of Parliament, though I am not quite sure yet whether it - will be prudent for me to leave until Wednesday evening. So far - as I can see there is no necessity for the presence of any of the - Traversers; one of them, Gordon, who has broken his leg, has not - appeared at all, and his absence has not been even mentioned or - noticed. - - I was immensely relieved by your letter this morning. You must - take great care of yourself for my sake and your and my - future.--Yours always, C. S. P. - - I have wired and written to Madrid[2] explaining situation lest - my observations at yesterday's meeting as to doubt of my being in - Parliament, intended to throw dust in eyes of Government, might - be literally interpreted. - - - - DUBLIN, - _Thursday, December_ 30, 1880. - - MY DEAREST LOVE,--Your letters have reached me quite safely, and - you cannot tell how much pleasure they give me. I fear I was - very foolish to allow you to come with me the day of my - departure; I felt sure it would do much harm, and until your - first letter arrived I was in a continual panic lest some - dreadful disaster had happened. - - That my poor love should have suffered so much makes my heart - very sore, and she must take great care of herself for the sake - of our future.... - - I enclose letter from W.S.[3]--Yours always affectionately, C. S. - P. - - Will send you photo to-morrow. - - - - DUBLIN, - _January_ 3, 1881. - - MY DEAREST WIFIE,--Was most delighted on return this morning from - Avondale to find your three letters and telegrams. I think it - would make you happy and more contented during my absence if you - knew how I watched for your letters, and how often I read and - re-read them. - - I felt very much tempted to run over and spend the New Year and - Sunday with you, but feared you might not be alone. - - {89} - - It pains me very much that my own love was unhappy about that - stupid thing in the _Freeman_ on Thursday. An old and ugly woman - with whom I was very slightly acquainted, but who wanted to put - herself _en evidence_, perched herself just behind me, and got a - gentleman sitting next to her to hand me down a slip of paper, on - which was written some message of congratulation. I only - rewarded her with a stare, did not even bow or smile, and - certainly sent no communication of any kind in reply. That was - all. I will ask my own dearest to believe in me while I am away, - and never again to feel unhappiness from want of confidence. - - I have made all arrangements to leave by mail on Wednesday - morning, and shall be with my own wifie on Wednesday evening - about eight.--Yours, C. S. P. - - -Mr. Parnell held the Party meeting in Dublin on January 4th, and -returned to me on January 5th, in time for the meeting of the House -(on 6th January, 1881), not having thought it necessary to remain in -Ireland till the termination of the trials--a circumstance which, -curiously enough, was not publicly remarked upon. We spent some days -together at Eltham, and I took Mr. Parnell to see my aunt, who was -much charmed with him. His quiet manners and soft, clear voice -pleased her greatly, as also did his personal appearance. She took -his arm, and paced up and down the tapestry room with him, while she -told him how she was introduced to O'Connell in the old days, when -her husband, Benjamin Wood, was M.P. for Southwark. She had met -O'Connell at the House, and heard what was said to have been one of -his greatest speeches. She said, "I much prefer your voice, Mr. -Parnell, for Daniel O'Connell's enunciation was startling to me." - -Though such a great age, my aunt had still a very pretty round arm, -and as she always wore the net sleeves of her youth, fastened with -old-fashioned bracelets, Mr. Parnell noticed this, and commented upon -the fact to me. {90} The old lady was much gratified when I told her -of this. She enlisted his sympathy by telling him that she had to -pay £500 a year in order to keep her beautiful old grounds intact, as -the Crown desired to sell the place for building lots, and she was -determined to die in the old house she had lived in for over fifty -years. - -The State trial ended on January 25th, 1881, the foreman of the jury -stating: "We are unanimous that we cannot agree," as Mr. Parnell had -assured me they would. He was in Court and loudly cheered as he -hastened off to catch the boat to England. - - - -[1] That Captain O'Shea had left Eltham for Madrid. - -[2] To Captain O'Shea. - -[3] Captain O'Shea. - - - - -{91} - -CHAPTER XI - -PARLIAMENTARY ASSOCIATIONS - -"_Live to-day--the past is registered--the future is unguessed--the -instant ours._"--MORTIMER COLLINS. - - -Forster's Coercion Bill was introduced on January 24th, 1881, and on -the 25th Mr. Gladstone moved that it should have precedence of all -other business before the House. Mr. Parnell fiercely opposed this -motion, and kept his followers hard at work in opposition--thus -forcing the House to sit from 4 p.m. on Tuesday until 2 p.m. of the -next day. The details of these sittings have been recounted ad -nauseam, and I need not repeat them here, but only record Parnell's -fierce joy in these political fights, and my pride in him as I -watched him from the Ladies' Gallery. Sometimes Willie would wish to -give the seats he secured in the Ladies' Gallery to friends of his, -and on such occasions I always knew that Mr. Parnell would ballot one -for me. Of course, later on I could always secure a seat without -ballot, if one was vacant, as I had to wait to receive messages from -Mr. Parnell and Mr. Gladstone, and it was made known to the -attendants that on any important occasion I held priority of place. - -As a rule, after an all-night sitting he used to drive down to Eltham -in order not to become well known on the Eltham railway, and come -through the conservatory into my sitting-room, where I would have -supper ready for him before the fire, with his smoking-jacket and -slippers ready to put on. He seldom spoke after his first {92} -greeting. He would take off his frock-coat and boots, and, when I -slipped on the others for him, he would eat his supper quite -silently, thinking over the events of the night. I never worried him -to talk. Supper finished, he would light a cigar and sit down in his -own arm-chair, saying, "Well, Queenie, the Old Man spoke to-night," -or "So-and-so spoke," and then slowly tell me of all that had passed -during the sitting, and his opinion of the present and future, so far -as politics were concerned. - -Sometimes when he had spoken himself he would say: "I did not speak -well to-night," and sometimes it was: "I lost that quotation you gave -me and brought it out sideways, and there it was all the time crushed -up in my hand! Then I forgot the fellow's name and called him 'the -poet.'" - -"Well, Shakespeare can be called 'the poet,'" I would return -soothingly. - -"Yes? Is that so? It seemed to worry some of the reporters; one -came and asked me what I meant! You must make me learn it better -next time." - -Once he began to talk he confided all his thoughts to me -unreservedly, and the more freely that he had not been worried to -talk when he came in cold or tired. He used to say that it was such -a relief to get right away from the House when a sitting was over, -and he enjoyed the drive down to Eltham in a hansom cab every night -or early morning. It was only an eight-miles drive, but part of it -was then very pleasant, through country lanes and over a common. Now -London has swallowed up most of these pretty bits. - -After relieving his mind of all political affairs of the day he would -talk of things that were of home interest to us--of his stone -quarries at Arklow, his saw-mills, etc., {93} of what Kerr, his Irish -agent, was doing at Avondale; or of some of his hobbies at home. So -we would talk till daylight sent pale gleams of light under the -window curtains, and he would say: "I am really sleepy, Queenie; I'll -go to bed," and as a rule he would sleep soundly until about four -o'clock in the afternoon, when he would come down to breakfast in my -sitting-room. - -Parnell was always generous in letting any members of his Party speak -when they had a chance of distinguishing themselves, and he would at -once give way when he thought any member could speak better on any -subject than himself. This most of his Party, if not all, -acknowledged at one time. I mention the characteristic because I -have noticed in more than one of the so-called "Lives" written by -those strangely ignorant of the man's real character, that -considerable stress is laid upon Parnell's jealousy. He was jealous, -abnormally so where his affections were concerned, but not in -political life. - -Gladstone once said that "Parnell always knew what he wanted to say, -and said it," but he was not a ready speaker, and his constitutional -nervousness, hidden though it was under the iron mask of reserve he -always wore in public, rendered public speaking very painful work to -him. He was extremely modest about his own speeches, and frequently -would say to me that So-and-so "would have put that much better to -the House, but I could not have trusted him to say it and leave it." -He considered that most Irishmen spoilt things by over-elaboration. -Here also I may record a protest at the tales of gross discourtesies, -spoken utterly without motive, recorded in some of these "Lives." - -The Parnell I knew--and I may claim to have known him more intimately -than anyone else on earth, both in {94} public and private life--was -incapable of such motiveless brusqueries. That Parnell could crush -utterly and without remorse I know; that he could deal harshly, even -brutally, with anyone or anything that stood against him in the path -he meant to tread, I admit; but that he would ever go out of his way -to say a grossly rude thing or make an unprovoked attack, whether -upon the personal appearance, morals, or character of another man, I -absolutely deny. Parnell was ruthless in all his dealings with those -who thwarted his will, but--he was never petty. - -Parnell had a most beautiful and harmonious voice when speaking in -public. Very clear it was, even in moments of passion against his -own and his country's foes--passion modulated and suppressed until I -have seen, from the Ladies' Gallery, his hand clenched until the -"Orders of the Day" which he held were crushed into pulp, and only -that prevented his nails piercing his hand. Often I have taken the -"Orders" out of his pocket, twisted into shreds--a fate that also -overtook the slips of notes and the occasional quotations he had got -me to look out for him. - -Sometimes when he was going to speak I could not leave my aunt long -enough to be sure of getting to the Ladies' Gallery in time to hear -him; or we might think it inexpedient that I should be seen to arrive -so soon after him at the House. On these occasions, when I was able, -I would arrive perhaps in the middle of his speech and look down upon -him, saying in my heart, "I have come!"; and invariably I would see -the answering signal--the lift of the head and lingering touch of the -white rose in his coat, which told me, "I know, my Queen!" - -This telepathy of the soul, intuition, or what you will, was so -strong between us that, whatever the business {95} before the House, -whether Parnell was speaking or not, in spite of the absolute -impossibility of distinguishing any face or form behind the grille of -the Ladies' Gallery, Parnell was aware of my presence, even though -often he did not expect me, as soon as I came in, and answered my -wordless message by the signal that I knew. - -Sometimes he would wish to speak to me before I went home, and would -signal by certain manipulations of his handkerchief to me to go and -await him at Charing Cross, or another of our meeting-places, and -there he would come to me to tell me how things were going, or to -chat for a few minutes, or get from me the replies to messages sent -through me to Mr. Gladstone. - -* * * * * * - - - DOVER, - _Wednesday, February_ 23, 1881. - - MY DEAR MRS. O'SHEA,--Am just starting for Calais. - - Kindly send on my portmanteau with my letters and other things in - my room or in the wardrobe to me at Hotel Brighton, Rue de - Rivoli, Paris.--Yours always, C. S. P. - - - - _February_ 25, 1881. - - MY DEAREST KATIE,--I have just received your three letters, and - am so delighted to read them hurriedly before sending you this - line in time for post. - - I never had the slightest doubt of my darling, and cannot imagine - why she should think so. - - Did not know I was going when leaving here, but was induced to - leave by private information, the nature of which I will send you - in my next. - - Am not yet sure whether I shall return, but shall manage to see - you in any case.--Yours, C. - - - - HOTEL BRIGHTON, 218 RUE DE RIVOLI, PARIS, - _Sunday evening, February_ 27, 1881. - - MY DEAR MRS. O'SHEA,--I cannot understand your {96} telegram - received to-day at all, although I have been thinking it over all - the evening. I wired back as you appeared to request in it, "All - right." - - There was no letter for me from you at the usual address, so I - enclose another, as I fear something may have gone wrong. You - can write me freely in my own name under cover to this address: - Thomas Adams and Co., Limited, 33 Rue d'Hauteville, Paris, and - they will forward the letters safely to me. - - I have been warned from Dublin that there is some plot on foot - against us which has been originated by information received from - Cork, and you will guess the original source. - - I am expecting further information to-morrow in reference to it. - I have received five letters in all from you since my arrival in - Paris. Best not post your letters at Eltham. - - I did not know when leaving you that I was going my departure was - influenced by information of reliable kind that my arrest was - intended for passage in Clare speech, and that bail would be - refused, and I should be left in jail until Habeas Corpus was - suspended, when I could have been again arrested. I think, - however, they have now abandoned this intention, but will make - sure before I return. - - This is my third letter to you since my arrival here.--Yours, C. - S. P. - - - - HOTEL BRIGHTON, 218 RUE DE RIVOLI, PARIS, - _Tuesday, March_ 1, 1881. - - MY DEAREST LOVE,--To-day I have received your four letters, the - earliest of which was written on Saturday. You do not seem to - have written on Friday, as there was nothing for me on Saturday - or Sunday. - - I propose returning to London on Thursday morning, leaving here - Wednesday evening, but it is just possible I may not leave till - Thursday morning, in which case I shall not be able to see my - Katie until Friday. - - If I return Thursday morning, my Queen may expect to see me about - one o'clock. - - Your letters make me both happy and sad, happy to hear from my - own, but sad when I see how troubled you are.--Always yours, - CHARLES. - - -{97} - - - GLASGOW, - _Tuesday, April_ 19, 1881. - - DEAREST KATIE,--I send you authority for letters. They are in - two forms, one authorising delivery to you, and the other to' - bearer. - - To-night I leave by boat for Dublin, arriving to-morrow morning. - I trust my own wifie has not permitted herself to be too unhappy, - and that she has not been worried. I am writing with her own - beautiful face before me, and have just kissed it.--Always your - husband. - - Please write me to Morrison's. - - - - - -{98} - -CHAPTER XII - -HOBBIES AND A CHALLENGE - - "_Admire, exult--despise--laugh, weep--for here - There is much matter for all feeling: Man! - Thou Pendulum betwixt a smile and tear._" - --BYRON. - - -In the early summer of 1881 my aunt had one of her old friends to -stay with her, and I seized the opportunity of freedom to take my -children to Brighton for a month, after settling the old ladies -together. I had gone down before the children to take rooms for -them, and was walking across Brighton Station when I was suddenly -joined by a tall man whom I did not recognize for a moment until he -said quietly, "Don't you know me?" It was Mr. Parnell, who had -slipped into the train at Clapham Junction, knowing that I was going -to Brighton, and had cut off his beard with his pocket scissors in -the train in order to avoid being recognized at Brighton. He had -wrapped a white muffler round his throat, and pulled it as high as -possible over the lower part of his face, with the result that the -manageress of the hotel he stayed at was certain that he had an -infectious illness of the throat, and rather demurred at letting him -in. It was only by the expedient of complaining loudly at being kept -waiting in the draught with his "raging toothache" that "Mr. Stewart" -was reluctantly admitted. I could not bear his appearance neither -bearded nor shaven--so he went off soon after arrival, was properly -shaved, and relieved the {99} hotel staff by discarding the muffler -and assuring them that he was free from pain now his "tooth" was out. - -He went to Cork soon after this and, to please me, was photographed -without his beard and with the ring I had given him on his finger. -We had had a little quarrel, and were very unhappy until we had made -it up again, and he had this photograph done to remind me that he -wore my ring. He also gave sittings to Henry O'Shea (no relation of -Captain O'Shea) for a portrait (pencil) at this time, and this was -sent to him while he was in Kilmainham. He liked this sketch much, -and wrote to the paper for which it was done to this effect. When he -left the prison he brought this sketch home to me, and I have it now. -It hung in our dining-room till he died, and he always liked it, but -I still think it a little hard and expressionless; the eyes are too -large and empty. There was a painting done of Parnell years -afterwards, and here also the artist failed with the eyes. This -latter portrait was not, I think, done from life, but from -photographs, so there was reason for the failure in this respect, -photographs making unsatisfactory studies. The artist who painted -this last picture gave Parnell blue eyes; presumably following the -idea that Parnell was an Irishman, and must therefore have blue eyes, -whereas the facts were that Parnell was not an Irishman, but the son -of an Englishman resident in Ireland and his American wife, and had -brown eyes, not large, but with the smouldering fires in them that -gave character to his cold, high-bred face. - -Parnell had so many hobbies and interests in his home life that it is -difficult to enumerate them all. He once said rather wearily that if -he had not "taken off his coat" in the Irish cause and for the Irish -people he could have been {100} always happy at home working at -things so much more congenial to him. - -At one time he took up all the intricacies of bookkeeping in order -that he might check his Irish agent's accounts, and many weeks he sat -immersed in double entry, estate accounts keeping, commercial -booking, etc., in the evening, while I sat near him typing replies to -his letters ready for his signature. He used to threaten me with -lessons in book-keeping, so that I might be ready to help him with -the estate management at Avondale when we went to live there; but I -felt that my duties as his extra and most private secretary were -sufficiently arduous, and declined instruction in account-keeping. - -Many hours were also spent in architectural drawings, which -interested him greatly. At that time Brighton Station was being -rebuilt, and Parnell was intensely interested in getting the "span" -of the roof. He spent hours at odd times pacing the station, -measuring distances, heights, depth of roof, etc., etc., and in -drawing up plans in order that he might build a cattle shed on the -same lines at Avondale. These plans he afterwards submitted to a -well-known architect for his opinion on them, and they were returned -as absolutely correct in every detail. He then reduced the whole -thing to scale and had the cattle shed made from these plans at -Avondale. - -I well remember his look of reproach at me when I laughed while -reading him a letter from his agent at Avondale the following winter. -The agent said that Mrs. Delia Parnell (Parnell's mother) had arrived -unexpectedly at Avondale, and, after seeing the new cattle shed, had -at once decided to give an entertainment in it. This she had done, -having the cattle shifted from their comfortable {101} quarters, the -place boarded in, and a temporary floor laid down. - -Parnell did not see that this expensive and troublesome eviction of -his cattle for so frivolous a reason was in the least funny, and was -very greatly annoyed at the whole proceeding. He was always most -chivalrously kind to his mother, however, and his protest on this -occasion was very gentle, though coupled with firm insistence, on the -instant restoration of the cattle-house to its tenants. - -Another of his hobbies was the "assaying" of small pieces of quartz -from the stream at Wicklow, and I used to help him for hours at this, -keeping his blow-pipe constantly at work, while he, silent and -absorbed, manipulated the crucibles. When we went to live at -Brighton, after my aunt's death, he had a furnace fitted up in one of -the rooms so that he could work on a larger scale. His endeavour to -obtain gold from this quartz was rewarded to a certain extent; but -the working was, of course, far too laborious and expensive to be -profitable otherwise than as a hobby. However, Parnell for five -years worked at it in various odd hours till he had extracted -sufficient gold to line my wedding ring, even though his hope of -getting enough for the whole ring was not fulfilled. - -When working at these things Parnell was absolutely oblivious to the -passing of time, and it was with difficulty that I prevailed upon him -to take sufficient exercise, or even to take his meals before they -were spoiled by waiting. He would order his horse, "President," to -be taken to a certain place about a half-mile from the house, at the -hour he wished to ride, and then become so absorbed in the particular -hobby of the moment that even I could get nothing from him but an -abstracted smile and a gentle {102} "Is that so?" in answer to the -intimation that his horse had been waiting some two hours or more for -him. - -Many a day I have let him work up to the last possible moment, and -then literally pulled off the old "cardigan" jacket he worked in, and -forced him into his frock-coat for the House; and it happened more -than once that he was due to attend a meeting in Ireland, and when I -had packed his things and had the carriage at the door ready for him -he would throw himself into a chair and with his slow, grave smile -say, "You are in a hurry to get rid of me; I will not go yet. Sit -down and let me look at you a bit, my Queen." I would protest that -he must go, that he would lose the mail train. "Then I'll be no use -at the meeting, for it will be over!" he would mockingly reply; and -so, when the last possible chance of his being in time had vanished, -he would sit opposite me through the evening talking of politics, -Avondale, the assaying--of anything that came into his head always -watching me with that intent, considering gaze that was my -bewilderment and my joy. - -When he failed a meeting like this, where hundreds of people were -waiting for him--or other appointments, private or public--I -sometimes would want him to telegraph, or write, apologizing or -excusing his non-attendance, but this he would never do, saying, "You -do not learn the ethics of kingship, Queenie. Never explain, never -apologize"; adding, with his rare laugh: "I could never keep my -rabble together if I were not above the human weakness of apology." - -When Parnell came home from Ireland after these meetings he would sit -smoking and watching me as I went through the pockets of the coats he -had worn while away. It was a most interesting game, and he enjoyed -it {103} as much as I when I brought out a new trophy from the depths -of the deepest and most obvious side pocket. It was a point of -honour that he should not "feel or look" till he got home to me, and -I have a dear little collection of souvenirs now from these -pockets--little medals with the images of various saints, scapulars -and badges, slipped in by the deft, modest fingers of sweet-faced -nuns, in the crowds, whose startled, deprecating blushes when he -turned and caught the delinquent in the act always won a courteous -bow and smile from the heretic "Chief" whose conversion their -patriotic hearts so ardently desired. I found also odds and ends -pressed upon him by the hero-worshipping peasants, some gruesome -scrap of the rope that had hanged some unknown scamp and hero, so -"aising to the bone-pains, an' his riv'rance not looking, a bit of a -twisht roun' yer honour's arrm!" or perhaps a flattened old bullet -that had gained some fancied power in its evil journey through a -man's heart. Then there were the brand-new kerchiefs of most vivid -green, most beautifully embroidered by the clever fingers of -"herself," and so many four-leaved, and therefore "lucky," shamrocks -from the "colleens," who went singing all the year if they thereby -earned a smile from the Chief. Even the little children used to make -sudden, shy offerings to their hero; a "quare bit ave a stone," a -"farden me mither giv me," or some uneasy looking fragment of what -might once have been a bird's egg. Of sticks, blackthorns and -others, I once had an enormous collection brought back to me at -various times by Parnell, but these, together with the two -riding-whips I had myself given him, were stolen from me some ten -years ago, when I was moving from one house to another. The two -riding-whips I prized very highly, for Parnell was so pleased {104} -when I gave them to him. One was gold-mounted, the other -silver-mounted, and each had "C.S.P." engraved upon it. - -Among my stick collection was one made of horn--a curious thing, -carved and inlaid with ivory, sent him by some unknown American -admirer. He used this stick on his last journey upstairs from the -sitting-room to the bed where he died. - -In January of 1881, Willie, who had rooms then in Charles Street, -Haymarket, came down to Eltham suddenly, very angry indeed with me -because he had seen some men watching his lodgings, and imagined that -I had engaged a detective to do so. As I had never had an idea of -doing anything of the sort I was extremely annoyed, and a violent -quarrel was the result. As a matter of fact, the men were watching -the upper floor, where a friend of Willie's lived, and this friend's -wife afterwards divorced him. - -All these months, since my first meeting with Mr. Parnell, Willie -knew at least that I frequently met him at the House. He had invited -him to Eltham himself, though when the visit was first proposed I -said my house was too shabby, the children would worry so nervous a -man and we had better not break the routine of our (Willie's and my) -life (which by then was tacitly accepted as a formal separation of a -friendly sort) giving any and every excuse, because of the danger I -knew I was not able to withstand. - -But Willie was blind to the existence of the fierce, bewildering -force that was rising within me in answer to call of those -passion-haunted eyes, that waking or sleeping never left me. Willie -then, as always, was content that what was his, was his for good or -ill. He knew {105} that men, in our past life together, had admired -me, even that some had loved me; but that was to their own undoing, -an impertinence that had very properly recoiled upon their own heads. -His wife could not love anyone but himself; perhaps unfortunately she -did not even do that, but after all "love" was only a relative -term--a little vulgar even, after girlhood had passed, and the mild -affection of his own feelings towards her were no doubt reciprocated, -in spite of the unfortunate temperamental differences that made -constant companionship impossible. - -So Parnell came, having in his gentle, insistent way urged his -invitation, and from Willie. And now Willie and I were quarrelling -because he, my lawful husband, had come down without the invitation -that was now (for some years) understood as due to the courtesy of -friends, and because he had become vaguely suspicious. Flying -rumours had perhaps reached his ears; and now it was too late, for he -dared not formulate them, they were too vague; too late, for I had -been swept into the avalanche of Parnell's love; too late, for I -possessed the husband of my heart for all eternity. - -I had fought against our love; but Parnell would not fight, and I was -alone. I had urged my children and his work; but he answered me: -"For good or ill, I am your husband, your lover, your children, your -all. And I will give my life to Ireland, but to you I give my love, -whether it be your heaven or your hell. It is destiny. When I first -looked into your eyes I knew." - -When Willie arrived so suddenly at Eltham Mr. Parnell was not there, -but Willie went into his room, and finding his portmanteau, sent it -to London, and left my house, declaring he would challenge Parnell to -fight a duel and would shoot him. - -{106} - -"My dear Mrs. O'Shea," wrote Parnell from London on the 7th of -January, "will you kindly ask Captain O'Shea where he left my -luggage? I inquired at both parcel office, cloak-room, and this -hotel at Charing Cross to-day, and they were not to be found." - -Willie later challenged Parnell, sending The O'Gorman Mahon to him as -his second; but the duel was not fought. My sister, Mrs. Steele, -came down to see me, and patched up a peace between myself and -Willie; and Mr. Parnell, while making arrangements to go abroad to -meet Willie, explained to him that he (Parnell) must have a medium of -communication between the Government and himself, that Mrs. O'Shea -had kindly undertaken the office for him, and, as this would render -negotiations possible and safe, he trusted that Willie would make no -objection to his meeting her after the duel. - -"I replied to Captain O'Shea's note yesterday," writes Parnell, "and -sent my reply by a careful messenger to the Salisbury Club; and it -must be waiting him there. - -"He has just written me a very insulting letter, and I shall be -obliged to send a friend to him if I do not have a satisfactory reply -to a second note I have just sent him." - -Willie then thought he had been too hasty in his action, and, knowing -I had become immersed in the Irish cause, merely made the condition -that Mr. Parnell should not stay at Eltham. - -From the date of this bitter quarrel Parnell and I were one, without -further scruple, without fear, and without remorse. - -The following are "cypher" letters of private messages to me bearing -upon the matter of the threatened duel:-- - -{107} - - - _July_ 20, 1881. - - MY DEAR MRS. O'SHEA,--Just a line to say that I am very well and - wondering when I shall see you again. - - I hope that your cold is better.--Your very truly, CHAS. S. - PARNELL. - - - - HOUSE OF COMMONS, - _Thursday night, July_ 22, 1881. - - MY DEAR MRS. O'SHEA,--I have received both your very kind letters - quite safely, and am looking forward to seeing you somewhere or - somehow to-morrow. - - I am very much troubled at everything you have to undergo, and - trust that it will not last long.--Yours always, CHAS. S. PARNELL. - - I am still quite well. Thank you very much, for enclosure. - - - - WESTMINSTER PALACE HOTEL, - VICTORIA STREET, LONDON, S.W. - _Sunday evening, July_ 25, 1881. - - MY DEAR MRS. O'SHEA,---I write to ask you to send my travelling - cap, if it is at Eltham, to me here, as I may have to go over to - Paris or Boulogne some day this week. - - I hope your eyes are quite well again and that you are enjoying - these cool times. - - I have been very lonely all to-day and yesterday. Have not seen - anyone that I know.--Yours always, CHAS. S. PARNELL. - - - - _July_ 26, 1881. - - MY DEAR MRS. O'SHEA,--I am still staying at the same address, and - have postponed going to France, so you need not send my - cap.--Yours always, CHAS. S. PARNELL. - - - - - -{108} - -CHAPTER XIII - -ASTRONOMY, "SEDITION," AND ARREST - -"_--and there is one stirring hour ... when a wakeful influence goes -abroad over the sleeping hemisphere.... Do the stars rain down an -influence?_"--ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON. - - -During his leisure moments at Eltham Mr. Parnell took up the study of -astronomy with the vigour that always characterized him when he was -interested in a subject. He had picked out from my bookshelf a book -of stars--one of Sir Robert Ball's, I believe, that I had bought at -random one day, and became at once interested. From the teaching of -an old friend of my father's I had a fairly good knowledge of -astronomy, and, though by no means well up in the latest research and -discoveries, I was able to tell him much of the stellar systems that -was new to him. Finding how he devoured the little book of Sir -Robert Ball's, I got several of the latter's interesting works for -him, besides Herschel's. - -Then Mr. Parnell told me of a magnificent telescope he had at -Avondale, and sent for it. When this arrived he sent for a few sacks -of Portland cement, with which he made a pedestal in my garden, and -himself mounted the telescope upon it. He made an ingenious -arrangement whereby the slightest touch would tilt the telescope to -the desired angle, and we spent many nights, he and I, watching the -stars and following the courses of the planets till they faded in the -dawn. Then he thought of how near to us was the Observatory at -Greenwich, and got a permit to {109} go over the Observatory. After -that, on the days when my aunt had her readers with her, I used to -accompany him to the Observatory, where we spent many hours. - -He could always absorb very quickly any knowledge that appealed to -him, and he soon had the pleasure of teaching me much about the -latest discoveries, and about a subject intensely interesting to -him--the wonderful way in which the telescopes used in the great -observatories of the world are made. - -In time this study of the stars began to worry him too much, and he -reluctantly gave up all serious work on the subject. He said it was -all too immense and absorbing to think about in a life that was -primarily concerned with politics. But the pedestal remained, and -still we occasionally mounted the telescope and kept vigil with the -stars through the summer night. - - -On April 7, 1881, Mr. Gladstone had introduced his Land Bill into the -House of Commons. It was a better Bill than the Irish Party had -reason to expect, but it had grave defects, and the Irish had not -been consulted; while the Government's policy of coercion and -Forster's attitude towards Parnell and his followers made -co-operation between the Liberals and the Irish impossible. -Parnell's policy was to hold aloof and press for amendments. After -being crippled in the House of Lords the Bill became law. At a Land -League Convention held in Dublin on September 14 a resolution was -adopted, on the suggestion of Parnell, that the Act should be tested -by selected cases. "Nothing," said Parnell, "could be more -disastrous to our cause or our organization, and to your hopes of -getting your rents reduced, than an indiscriminate rush of the -tenantry into the Land Courts." - -{110} - -A few days later Parnell was drawn in triumph through the streets of -Dublin. The same day Forster wrote to Gladstone suggesting that -Parnell should be arrested under the Coercion Act. - -He suggested, moreover, that in his next speech at Leeds, on October -7, Mr. Gladstone should impeach Parnell and his policy. Gladstone -obeyed. The people of Ireland, he cried, wished to use the Land Act -and Parnell would not let them, but "the resources of civilisation -were not yet exhausted." - -Parnell retorted with passion and scorn in his famous Wexford speech -delivered on October 9.[1] - -"Suppose they arrest you, Mr. Parnell," asked an Irish member, who -dined with the Leader on the evening of the speech, "have you any -instructions to give us? Who will take your place?" "Ah!" he said, -deliberately, looking through a glass of champagne which he had just -raised to his lips. "Ah, if I am arrested Captain Moonlight will -take my place."[2] - -All through 1881 Parnell was constantly paying flying visits to -Ireland, and also to various parts of England, working up the -"League," addressing meetings and privately ascertaining for himself -how far the temper of the "reactionaries" could be trusted to do the -work he wished without becoming too greatly involved in the tactics -of the "Invincibles" proper. He came home to me now always between -the times of his journeyings up and down {111} the country, and if it -was not certain that I should be alone he would write me a formal -though friendly note or letter that anyone could have been shown, in -which was given some word or sign that let me know a place or time of -meeting him, either in London or nearer my home. On some of these -occasions my duties to my aunt would keep me, so that I might be an -hour or more late in arriving at the place where he awaited me; but -never once in all those years did he once fail me or leave the place -of appointment before I came, even though it might be at the loss of -the mail train to Ireland, and leaving some thousands of people -waiting in vain for the speech he was too far away to make. -Sometimes I would become conscience-stricken on such an occasion, but -he would only comment that one speech more or less was a little -matter, and what was lost by a speech not made was amply compensated -for by the deepened impression of his mystery and power gained by the -people. "For it is the strange thing I found out early in political -life," he would say, "they think I'm much more wonderful when I do -nothing than when I'm working hard." - - - MORRISON'S HOTEL, DUBLIN, - _September_ 10, 1881. - - MY DEAR MRS. O'SHEA,--Will you kindly address and post enclosed. - - I am quite recovered from my attack, and the doctor says that I - shall be able to travel in a few days.--Yours very truly, CHAS. - S. PARNELL. - - -The enclosure was the following letter:-- - - - MORRISON'S HOTEL, DUBLIN, - _September_ 10, 1881. - - MY OWN WIFIE,--I know that you must have been much {112} worried - yesterday by my failure to send you a few words, but my Beauty - will forgive her own husband. - - Your wire has been put into my hand as I write, and shall have an - instant answer. - - It gives me so much pleasure to know that your trouble has not - returned since I left, and that my wires give you pleasure. Your - King thinks very very often of his dearest Queen, and wishes her - not to be sad, but to try and be happy for his sake. Everything - is going on very well here, and your King is much satisfied. - - - - MORRISON'S HOTEL, DUBLIN, - _September_ 25, 1881. - - MY OWN LOVELIEST,--I send you these few words to assure Wifie - that her husband always thinks of her and hopes that she is well - and happy. YOUR OWN KING. - - - - _October_ 4, 1881. - - MY OWN WIFIE,--I have satisfied myself, by two separate tests - to-day, that there is a good deal of silver in the dark stone of - which there is so much in the old mine. In fact nearly the whole - lode consists of this (the miners are working in it in the North - Level). I cannot say how many ounces there will be to the ton - until I get it assayed, but if there should be six or eight - ounces to the ton it ought to pay to work. - - YOUR OWN KING. - - - - MORRISON'S HOTEL, DUBLIN, - _October_ 7, 1881. - - MY OWN WIFE,--I called to-day to see him[3] on my return from - Dungarvan, but he was out, and I waited for him three hours. - Calling again at eleven to-night, he was again out, but returned - just as I was writing to make an appointment for the morning. He - says that he leaves to-morrow (Friday) evening, and stops to - shoot on Saturday in Wales, and goes on Tuesday to Paris to see - the Papal Nuncio, who he says has requested him to come. This, - then, is the last letter I can send you for the present through - Eltham, so I hope to have the other address from you to-morrow - morning. - - My dearest Katie must have been very lonely ever since. {113} - Did she get my three letters? Her husband has been so busy he - has not even had time to sleep, but he has never been too busy to - think of her. - - I can go over to London early next week if I may see you. Should - I remain in London or go down to you? - - With numerous kisses to my beautiful Queenie. - - C. S. P. - - - - _October_ 8, 1881. - - MY DEAREST LITTLE WIFIE,--Your husband has been very good since - he left you, and is longing to see you again. He has kept his - eyes, thought, and love all for you, and my sweetest love may be - assured that he always will. - - To-morrow I go to Avondale, thence to Wexford on Sunday, whence I - return Monday morning and hope to be with my Queenie on Tuesday - or Wednesday at latest. - - Everything in Dublin has been settled up pretty satisfactorily, - and I trust only to have to make an occasional appearance in - Ireland during the rest of the autumn and winter. ALWAYS YOUR - KING. - - -On October 11th, Forster crossed to England, having first arranged -with Sir Thomas Steele, Commander-in-Chief in Ireland, that, should -the Cabinet agree to arrest Parnell, Forster would wire the one word -"Proceed." - -The same day Parnell returned to Avondale, and on the next night was -back in Dublin. - - - MORRISON'S HOTEL, - _October_ 11, 1881. - - MY OWN KATIE,--I found two letters and two wires from your King's - Queen here on my arrival an hour ago. Your telegram this morning - took a great weight off my mind, as your silence made me almost - panic-stricken lest you had been hurt by that ---- and had not - been able to get to town. - - To-morrow I go to Kildare,[4] and shall try and start for London - Friday morning; but I cannot be sure of this, as "something"[5] - may turn up at last moment, and there is {114} also a meeting of - the Executive on Saturday, which they want me to stay for. - - However, Wifie knows I will do the best I can, and she will get a - wire from me on Friday, soon after or as soon as she receives - this, telling her what I have done. If I arrive London Friday - night shall go to same hotel and shall wait for my darling. - - Will she mind asking for my number? - - ALWAYS YOUR OWN KING. - - - -On October 12th, 1881, I was in London on Mr. Parnell's business--to -ascertain the movements of the Government. He, of course, was in -Ireland and had warned me that it would be impossible for him to keep -out of prison much longer, and that any further effort to avoid -arrest would be inexpedient on all counts. I was much depressed -about this and urged him to put it off as long as possible. - -My health was then delicate, and I felt an unreasonable fear and -loneliness when he was away from me. He was very tender and -considerate to me, but pointed out that the turmoil and rebellion he -had brought to a head in Ireland must be very carefully handled to be -productive of ultimate good, and that he could "mark time" with the -Land League better in Kilmainham than out, thus rendering this force -more useful to the Home Rule campaign and less wanton in destruction. -Parnell used, but never abused, the weapons of political strife he -forged. - -He desired immediate information of the decision of the Government to -arrest him, that he might destroy any papers that, found on him, -might frustrate his plans and cause unnecessary difficulty to those -working with him. So when on October 12th information was sent to -me, at the house where I waited in London in the neighbourhood of -Piccadilly, that a Cabinet Council had been hurriedly {115} summoned, -I wired in code to Parnell and directly after the Cabinet Council I -was able to inform him that Forster had left for Ireland with the -warrant for his arrest. - -I could not bear the thought of his arrest, and after writing to him -under cover to a person in Ireland who would, I knew, get my letter -to him, whether in or out of prison, I telegraphed to Parnell again -to know if he could meet me at Holyhead if I started at once. I had -so much of his business in hand now, and he had expected to see me at -least once more before the inevitable separation of his imprisonment. -I felt almost unable to cope with the situation; I was not strong and -I was full of anxiety as to the probable effects upon Parnell's -health of life in Kilmainham Gaol. In addition to my anxiety, the -deception I had to practise towards Captain O'Shea, seldom as I saw -him, told upon my nerves just now. However, Parnell's message in -reply, written in our private code, reassured me. While he still -thought it better to suffer arrest at once, he would not go out of -his way to meet it, and would be careful when in Kilmainham so that -his imprisonment should be of short duration. He would not allow me -to go to the fatigue of a journey to Holyhead, nor would he go abroad -to avoid arrest, and I went home comforting myself as I could with -his confident spirit and loving messages. - -On October 13th there was a terrible gale throughout the South of -England, and at Eltham, after a sleepless night, I was up early--far -too early to disturb my old aunt--and wandered out through her park -in the gale. The battling with the wind lifted a little the load of -restlessness and anxiety as to what was happening in Ireland from my -heart. - -I was with my aunt as usual all that day, and was {116} glad of the -quiet and rest. The old lady gazed out at the still raging storm and -told me tales of her youth, while I listened to the voice I loved in -the wind outside, saying to me again and again what he had said -before he left me, "Be brave, Queenie. I cannot stay outside while -all these others are arrested, and it is bound to be soon now." - -Towards evening, when the storm had cleared a little, and my aunt had -fallen asleep before the fire, I went home to get the evening papers -I always had sent over from Blackheath before Willie came down from -London to dinner, as he had written to say he would do. However, on -my return home I found Willie already there, extremely pleased to be -able to announce to me that Parnell had been arrested that morning. -I knew his news directly I saw his face, and as I was really prepared -for it I did not flinch, but replied languidly that I had thought -Parnell "couldn't keep out of gaol much longer, didn't you?" - -But Willie was so fiercely and openly joyful that my maids, who were -ardent Parnellites, were much shocked, and I, being terribly -overwrought, laughed at their disgusted faces as I went to dress for -dinner. It was really the laugh of tears, but that laugh of jangled -nerves and misery did me good service with Willie, and we got through -dinner amicably enough, while he descanted upon the wickedness and -folly of Parnell's policy and the way the Irish question should -really be settled, and would be if it could be left to him and those -who thought with him. He observed me closely, as he criticised -Parnell and his policy, and reiterated his pleasure in knowing he was -"laid by the heels." - -I was now quite calm again, and smiled at him as I reminded him that -I was now as ardent a Parnellite as {117} Parnell himself, and had -already done so much hard work for "the cause" that my politics were -far more reactionary that when he had introduced Parnell to me: -unlike his (Willie's) own, which were less so. My heart being in -Kilmainham Gaol with my lover, I was momentarily at peace, and could -ask Willie questions as to the mode of life and prison discipline of -political prisoners. Willie, as are so many men, was never so happy -as when giving information. - -The next day I received my King's letter, written as he was -arrested:-- - - - MORRISON'S HOTEL, DUBLIN, - _October 13_, 1881. - - MY OWN QUEENIE,--I have just been arrested by two fine-looking - detectives, and write these words to wifie to tell her that she - must be a brave little woman and not fret after her husband. - - The only thing that makes me worried and unhappy is that it may - hurt you and our child. - - You know, darling, that on this account it will be wicked of you - to grieve, as I can never have any other wife but you, and if - anything happens to you I must die childless. Be good and brave, - dear little wifie, then. YOUR OWN HUSBAND. - - Politically it is a fortunate thing for me that I have been - arrested, as the movement is breaking fast, and all will be quiet - in a few months, when I shall be released. - - -Speaking at the Guildhall on the day of Parnell's arrest Mr. -Gladstone said: "Within these few minutes I have been informed that -towards the vindication of the law, of order, of the rights of -property, and the freedom of the land, of the first elements of -political life and civilization, the first step has been taken in the -arrest of the man who has made himself pre-eminent in the attempt to -destroy the authority of the law, and substitute what {118} would end -in being nothing more than anarchical oppression exercised upon the -people of Ireland." - -When he uttered the word "arrest" he was stopped by the audience -rising en masse and cheering frantically. "Parnell's arrest"--I -quote from the "Life of Forster"--"was hailed almost as though it had -been the news of a signal victory gained by England over a hated and -formidable enemy." - -Sexton, O'Kelly, Dillon, O'Brien, and J. P. Quinn, secretary of the -League, were quickly arrested, while warrants were issued for Biggar, -Healy, and Arthur O'Connor. Healy was in England, and Biggar and -O'Connor managed to join him there. - - - -[1] Parnell in this speech vigorously attacked Gladstone's policy, -calling him a "masquerading knight-errant" and a champion of the -liberties of every nation except Ireland. He pointed out that -Gladstone had a good word for the late Isaac Butt, and added -scornfully that "in the opinion of an English statesman no man was -good in Ireland until he was buried." By implication he challenged -the Government to arrest him under the Coercion Act. - -[2] "The Life of Parnell," by Barry O'Brien. - -[3] Captain O'Shea. - -[4] He was to have addressed a meeting at Naas. - -[5] Possibility of arrest. - - - - -{119} - -CHAPTER XIV - -KILMAINHAM DAYS - - "_Love is not a flower that grows on the dull earth; - Springs by the calendar; must wait for the sun. - * * * * * * * - E'en while you look the peerless flower is up - Consummate in the birth._"--J. S. KNOWLES. - - -At the news of the arrest a wave of indignation swept through -Ireland. In Dublin there were riots. In many places shops were -closed and towns and villages went into mourning as if for the death -of a king. - -Five days later the Land League countered the arrest by issuing the -No Rent manifesto. - -Parnell was really opposed to it. Dillon openly so, but the majority -of the leaders then in Kilmainham Gaol approved of it, and it was -signed and published in _United Ireland_ on October 17th. The -signature is interesting, it runs thus:-- - - -"Charles S. Parnell, President, Kilmainham Gaol; A. J. Kettle, -Honorary Secretary, Kilmainham Gaol; Michael Davitt, Honorary -Secretary, Portland Prison; Thomas Brennan, Honorary Secretary, -Kilmainham Gaol; Thomas Geston, Head Organizer, Kilmainham Gaol; -Patrick Egan, Treasurer, Paris." - - -Meanwhile arrests and evictions went on all over Ireland, and the -Coercion Act was used mercilessly and unscrupulously on behalf of the -landlords. The Ladies' Land League and its president, Miss Anna -Parnell, became very busy. - -* * * * * * - -{120} - -From the time of Parnell's arrest onward until the birth of his child -in the following February I lived a curiously subconscious existence; -pursuing the usual routine of my life at home and with my aunt, but -feeling that all that was of life in me had gone with my lover to -prison, and only came back to me in the letters that were my only -mark of time. I had to be careful now; Willie became solicitous for -my health, and wished to come to Eltham more frequently than I would -allow. He thought February would seal our reconciliation, whereas I -knew it would cement the cold hatred I felt towards him, and -consummate the love I bore my child's father. - - - _October_ 14, 1881. - - My OWN DEAREST WIFIE,--I have found a means of communicating with - you, and of your communicating in return. - - Please put your letters into enclosed envelope, first putting - them into an inner envelope, on the joining of which you can - write your initials with a similar pencil to mine, and they will - reach me all right. - - I am very comfortable here, and have a beautiful room facing the - sun--the best in the prison. There are three or four of the best - of the men in adjoining rooms with whom I can associate all day - long, so that time does not hang heavy nor do I feel lonely. My - only fear is about my darling Queenie. I have been racked with - torture all to-day, last night, and yesterday, lest the shock may - have hurt you or our child. Oh, darling, write or wire me as - soon as you get this that you are well and will try not to be - unhappy until you see your husband again. You may wire me here. - - I have your beautiful face with me here; it is such a comfort. I - kiss it every morning. YOUR KING. - - - - KILMAINHAM, - _October_ 17, 1881. - - MY DEAR MRS. O'SHEA,--I was very much pleased to receive your two - letters, which reached me safely after having {121} been duly - perused by the Governor. I am also writing to Captain O'Shea's - Paris address to acknowledge his. - - The last letter which you directed to Morrison's also reached me. - - If you have not done so already, please inquire in London about - the messages you were expecting, and about any others that may - arrive in future, and let me know in your next whether you have - received them. - - This prison is not at all damp, although the air on the north - side is rather so, but I am on the south side, and am so far - exceedingly comfortable and not in the slightest degree dull. We - are allowed to play ball, and you will be glad to hear that I won - my first game against one of the best and most practised players - in the place, although I have not played for twenty years. - - I have received the _Times, Engineer, Engineering, Mining - Journal, Pall Mall Gazette, Universe_, from a London office, also - the _Engineer_ directed in your handwriting. - - Shall be delighted to hear from you as often as you care to - write.--Yours always, C. S. P. - - When you write again, please let me know how you are. I have - been very anxious for news on that point. - - - - _October_ 19, 1881. - - MY OWN DARLING QUEENIE,--I have just received your charming - little letter of Tuesday, which I have been anxiously expecting - for the last week. It has taken an enormous load off my mind. I - shall send you a long letter to-morrow or next day, but for the - present you had better not come over, as there are five or six - other men in rooms adjacent to mine who find out about everybody - who visits me. Besides, you would not be permitted to see me - except in presence of two warders, and it might only make you - more unhappy. - - You must not be alarmed about rumours that the Government have - evidence that we are involved in a treasonable conspiracy. There - is absolutely no foundation whatever for such a statement, and it - is only made to defend their own proceedings. - - Dearest little Queenie, keep up your spirits. I am very {122} - comfortable and very well, and expect to see my darling before - the New Year. - - Don't put my name in inner envelope in future, as if opened it - might implicate others. - - - - _October_ 21, 1881. - - MY OWN DARLING WIFIE,--I wrote you a short note this afternoon, - which I succeeded in getting off safely. Now after we have been - all locked up safely for the night, and when everything is quiet - and I am alone, I am going to send my own Queenie some news. But - first I must tell you that I sleep exceedingly well, and am - allowed to read the newspapers in bed in the morning, and - breakfast there also, if I wish. - - I want, however, to give you a little history from the - commencement of my stay here. - - When I heard that the detectives were asking for me a terror--one - which has often been present with me in anticipation--fell upon - me, for I remembered that my darling had told me that she feared - it would kill her; and I kept the men out of my room while I was - writing you a few hasty words of comfort and of hope, for I knew - the shock would be very terrible to my sweet love. - - I feared that I could not post it, but they stopped the cab just - before reaching the prison and allowed me to drop the letter into - a pillar-box. My only torture during those first few days was - the unhappiness of my queen. I wired Mrs. S. to know how you - were, but the wire was sent back with a note that it could not be - delivered as she had gone to R. Finally your first letter came, - and then I knew for the first time that you were safe. You must - not mind my being in the infirmary. I am only there because it - is more comfortable than being in a cell, and you have longer - hours of association, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., instead of being - locked up at 6 and obliged to eat by yourself. The infirmary is - a collection of rooms, and each has a room to himself--Dillon is - in a cell, but he is allowed as a special privilege to come over - and associate with us during the daytime. I am obliged to invent - little maladies for myself from day to day in order to give Dr. - Kenny an excuse for keeping me in the infirmary, but I have never - felt better in {123} my life. Have quite forgotten that I am in - prison, and should very much miss the rattle of the keys and the - slam of the doors. The latest discovery is heart affection. - - The only thing I don't like is that the Government insist upon - sending a lot of police into the gaol every night, two of whom - sleep against my door and two more under my window. Just at - present we are all in great disgrace on account of the manifesto, - and the poor warders have been most of them dismissed and fresh - ones brought in. A very strict watch is kept, and I have been - obliged to exert my ingenuity to get letters out to you and to - get yours in return. If Wifie is very good and becomes strong - and happy again I may let her come over and see me after a time, - but for five days more I am not to be allowed to see any visitor, - but I will write you again about your coming. They have let us - off very easily. I fully expected that we should have been - scattered in different gaols through the country as a punishment, - but they evidently think no other place safe enough for me. - Indeed, this place is not safe, and I can get out whenever I - like, but it is probably the best policy to wait to be released. - And now good-night, my own dear little Wifie. Promise your - husband that you will sleep well and look as beautiful when we - meet again as the last time I pressed your sweet lips. YOUR OWN - HUSBAND. - - - - _October_ 26, 1881. - - MY DEAR MRS. O'SHEA,--Many thanks for your kind letter. I am - anxiously waiting for another note from you to say that you have - quite recovered from the indisposition you speak of. - - I was in hopes that time would pass mote slowly in prison than - outside, but it seems to pass quite as quickly as anywhere else - except those hours at Eltham.--Yours always, C. S. P. - - - - _October_ 28, 1881. - - MY DEAR MRS. O'SHEA,--Not having heard from you this week, I - write this to say that I hope you are better, and that the - absence of a letter from you is not to be attributed to any - increase in the indisposition of which you spoke in your last. - {124} - - I am glad to be able to tell you that I am exceedingly well. - Health and spirits never better.--Yours very truly, CHAS. S. - PARNELL. - - - - _November_ 1, 1881. - - MY DEAR MRS. O'SHEA,--Thanks very much for your letters and - telegram. - - I was rather indisposed yesterday, but am very much better - to-day. I am told that everybody gets a turn after they have - been here for three or four weeks, but that they then become all - right. I write you this lest you and other friends should be - troubled by exaggerated reports in the newspapers. - - My esteemed friend Mr. Forster has become very disagreeable - lately. He refuses to allow me to see my solicitor except in - presence and hearing of two warders, so I have declined to see - him at all. He also refuses to allow me to see visitors except - in the cage, which I have also declined to do, but probably - things may be relaxed again after a time.--Yours very truly, C. - S. P. - - -Parnell had a certain visitor who was permitted to see him in -Kilmainham on his "necessary and private" business, though not alone, -and this gentleman was able to take his letters out, and bring them -to him, unobserved, and after putting them into another outer -envelope address them to "Mrs. Carpenter" at an address in London, -whence I fetched them. Or sometimes he would send a formal letter to -me at Eltham enclosing one addressed to some political or other -personage. If Willie were at Eltham I would show him this note -asking me to post enclosure on a certain date. The enclosure was, of -course, to me--sent thus to keep me from the fatigue of going to town -so often. The Governor of Kilmainham for some reason became -suspicious of Parnell's visitor, and forbade his interviews except in -the close proximity of two warders selected by himself, and Parnell -refused to see him at all {125} under these restrictions. He wrote -me a friendly letter then, telling me this, and other little news of -his prison life, as to an ordinary acquaintance, and addressed it -direct to Eltham, sending it to be approved by the Governor and -posted in the ordinary way. In this letter, that anyone might have -seen, there was a message by a private sign to go to the house in -town for a letter within a few days. On doing so, I found my letter -as usual, posted by a friendly warder, and contained in it was a -recipe for invisible ink, and this ink could only be "developed" by -one particular formula, a combination known only to one chemist. We -were saved an infinity of trouble and anxiety, as we could now write -between the lines of an ordinary or typewritten letter without -detection, and it was no longer essential to get a third person to -direct the envelopes. In time the Governor again became suspicious, -and the friendly warder was dismissed--or Parnell was told so. -However, this was only a temporary inconvenience, as Parnell was able -in a couple of days to reorganize his communications with me, and -this time they were not broken. - - - _November_ 2, 1881. - - I have just succeeded in having my communications, which were cut - for a while, restored, and have received your letter of Friday - night. In writing me please always acknowledge receipt of my - letters by their date. I have quite recovered. My illness did - me good, and I have a first-rate appetite. - - You must not mind reports about my health. In fact, our "plots" - have been completely disarranged by the necessity of writing and - wiring my Queenie that there is nothing the matter with me. - - I hope to be able to arrange to see you as soon as I hear that W. - is firmly fixed. - - I look at my beautiful Queen's face every night before I {126} go - to bed and long for the time when I may be with you again. Only - for that I should be happier here than anywhere else. - - - - _November_ 5, 1881. - - MY DARLING WIFIE,--When I received your dear letter to-day I had - just time to send you a few hasty lines in acknowledgment; now - when everything is quiet and with your own sweet face before me I - can give my thoughts up entirely to my Queen, and talk to you - almost as well as if you were in my arms. It seems to me a long, - long time since our hasty good-bye, although the first three - weeks of my present life--which term will have been completed - to-morrow morning--has seemed only a moment. I often feel very - sad when I think of poor, unhappy Katie waiting for her husband - who does not come any longer as he used to come, but who will - come again to her and will not again leave her. - - I am trying to make arrangements that my own Queenie may come to - me this time. I shall ask my ruler here if I may see my cousin, - "Mrs. Bligh, who is coming from England to see me," in his - office, and with only himself present. After all, darling, the - only way in which I could have escaped being here would have been - by going to America, and then I could not have seen you at all, - and I know I should not have been so happy or so comfortable in - America as here, and, besides, I should have been beset by so - many dangers there. - - I admire supremely my life of ease, laziness, absence of care and - responsibility here. My only trouble is about your health and - happiness and this has been my only trouble from the first. - Queenie, then, will see that she also must try not to be so - unhappy, especially as her husband's love is becoming stronger - and more intense every hour and every day. - - You will be anxious to know what my short illness was about. It - was of a very unromantic kind--not the heart, but the stomach. I - had not much appetite for some days, and was tempted by a turkey - to eat too much, thence very severe indigestion and considerable - pain for about an hour. However "our doctor," by means of - mustard and chlorodyne, got me all right again, and my appetite - is now as good as ever. In fact, I have gotten over very quickly - the "mal du prison" {127} which comes on everybody sooner or - later more or less severely. - - One of the men in this quarter who has been here for nearly nine - months, poor fellow, looks after me as if he was my--brother, I - was going to say, but I will substitute Mary.[1] He makes me a - soda and lemon in the morning, and then gives me my breakfast. - At dinner he takes care that I get all the nicest bits and - concocts the most perfect black coffee in a "Kaffee Kanne" out of - berries, which he roasts and grinds fresh each day. Finally, in - the evening, just before we are separated for the night, he brews - me a steaming tumbler of hot whisky. He has marked all my - clothes for me also, and sees that the washerwoman does not rob - me. Don't you begin to feel quite jealous? - - I am going to ask Katie to put her proper initials upon the inner - envelope of her next letter---thus, K. P. Your writing on the - outside envelope of the one which came to-day will do splendidly. - - I do not think there is the least probability of my being moved; - this is the strongest place they have, and they are daily trying - to increase its strength according to their own notions, which - are not very brilliant. My room is very warm and perfectly dry. - They wanted me to go to another, which did not face the sun, but - I refused, so they did not persist. - - With a thousand kisses to my own Wifie, and hoping soon to lay my - head in its old place. - - Good-night, my darling. - - - - _November_ 7, 1881. - - I did not advertise in _Standard_. - - MY DARLING QUEENIE,--Your two letters received, and King is very - much troubled about you. - - I am very warm--have fire and gas in my room all night if I want - it. - - Dearest Wifie must try and get back her spirits and good looks - for her own husband's sake. C. S. P. - - - - _November_ 12, 1881. - - MY DARLING WIFIE,--I have received my darling's letter {128} of - the 9th quite safely, also the enclosure in the previous one, - which I will keep as you wish it; but I shall not want it, my own - love. - - The statement about the food was only to prepare the way to get - up a collection in the country so as to save the American money - for other purposes. - - We think of announcing by and by that we have gone on Government - food, and then start the subscription, as there is no other way - of getting money from the country. In any case, this could not - affect me, as I am in the infirmary, and should be entitled to - get whatever Dr. Kenny orders for me. Wifie may depend upon it - that whatever happens we shall take good care of ourselves; at - present we are living upon all the good things of the - world--game, etc. The authorities have intimated to me twice - that I may go out if I will say that I will go abroad, but I have - replied that I am not in any hurry, and that when I go out I - shall go or stay where I please. In fact, I much prefer to wait - here till the meeting of Parliament. - - Will write Wifie a long letter to-morrow. - - YOUR OWN KING. - - - - _November_ 14, 1881. - - MY OWN QUEENIE,--Your husband continues very well, and very much - contented with the position of things outside. - - I am told the Government don't exactly know what to do with us - now they have got us, and will take the first decent excuse which - presents itself of sending us about our business. - - Queenie's letters give me great comfort, as I think I see by them - she is not quite so unhappy as she was, and has more hope of - seeing her King soon again. I am in a continual state of alarm, - however, lest something may hurt you. - - ALWAYS YOUR KING. - - - - _Saturday._ - - MY OWN QUEENIE,--I hope my darling will not hurt herself going - after those letters. I have got some paper to write direct to - you, and shall try one on Monday. I do not use it for writing to - anybody else, so that Queenie need not be afraid {129} of that, - but she should write very lightly, and with a gold pen. - - My own little Wifie, I so wish I could be with you to comfort and - take care of you, but will you not try to care for yourself, my - darling, for my sake? - - YOUR OWN LOVING KING. - - - - MY DEAREST QUEENIE,--I write hastily to say that I am receiving - your darling letters all right, though the watch is very close, - and it is difficult to get them either out or in. - - I am exceedingly well, sleep very well, go to bed at ten or - eleven, or whenever I like, get up at nine, or whenever I like. - - Do, beautiful Wifie, take care of yourself and your King's child. - - - - _November_ 18, 1881. - - Use thinner letter paper in future, as envelopes are suspiciously - bulky. - - Your own King continues very well, and has received your two - letters safely. - - Our mutual friend is waiting for me at present, and probably has - some more for me and will take this. I have just heard on good - authority that they intend to move me to Armagh the end of this - week or beginning of next in order to give me an opportunity of - escaping while there. However, they may change their mind, and - in any case it will make no difference to me personally. Armagh - is healthier and nicer in every way, I am told by our Chief W., - who comes from there. I am also told, on the same authority who - informed me of projected move to Armagh, that we shall be - certainly all released before Christmas. - - I am disposed to think I have got heavier, but shall know - to-morrow when I weigh. - - Best love to our child. - - YOUR LOVING HUSBAND. - - - - _November_ 21, 1881. - - MY OWN QUEENIE,--Yours of the 18th has reached me safely, and - though I am relieved to know that my darling is {130} a little - less miserable, yet I am still very much troubled and anxious - about you. Has he[2] left yet? It is frightful that you should - be exposed to such daily torture. My own Wifie must try and - strengthen herself, and get some sleep for her husband's sake and - for our child's sake, who must be suffering much also. - - I am convinced that if it had not been for the unfortunate result - of Tyrone I should not be here. I hope that Stafford may be - followed by another success in Derry, and that it may open their - eyes to the danger of their present proceedings. I can really - honestly tell Wifie that my health is not only as good, but - better than it has been at any time for the last twelve months. - - I don't know who it was sent me the quilt; I am sending it to - Wicklow, as it is green--a colour I detest. I don't want it here - at all, as there are too many things on my bed as it is. - - EVER YOUR OWN KING. - - The Woolwich or Charlton post offices will do very well when you - recommence writing. - - - - _November_ 29, 1881. - - MY OWN QUEENIE,--I was very happy in receiving my darling's - letter of yesterday to-day. My messenger was looking very - frightened, and fears his letters may be opened any day. So - perhaps it will be safest for Wifie not to write again for a few - days, until I see further, or until I can manage another address. - I can manage, however, to write my Queenie two or three times a - week. You must not be frightened if you see we have all gone on - P. F.[3] It will not be so as far as we are concerned here, and - will only be for a week as regards the others, but Wifie must not - tell anybody that I have not done so, as it would create - discontent amongst the others. The man who has been taking care - of me is going out to-morrow, and will be a loss to me. He has - been very ill during the last week from bad sore throat, and was - very nearly suffocated the night before last, so I sent O'Gorman - Mahon to Forster about him, with the desired effect of getting - his {131} discharge. One of the others will supply his place to - me, but not so well. - - Have not been weighed yet, but will to-morrow. I think Wifie has - my last weight. After eight at night I read books, newspapers, - and write until about twelve or one, when I go to bed. I also - think a good deal of my own darling during that time when - everything is quiet, and wonder how soon I shall be with you - again. - - The time is passing rather more slowly this month than the first, - but still it is not yet monotonous. - - With best love. - - - - _Thursday._ - - MY OWN QUEENIE,--I have just received your two letters, one of - Tuesday, the other 25th, and am enormously relieved to find you - are well. You can direct the next envelopes in a feigned hand; - it is safer than sending you any more. The outside envelope of - yours of the 25th appears to have been tampered with, but the - inside one is all right. I am trying to arrange that you may see - me as soon as he[4] is gone to Madrid, and you become quite - strong, and will write you more fully about it to-morrow. ALWAYS - YOUR KING. - - Gum your inside envelopes well. There is no risk of my being - moved. - - - - _December_ 3, 1881. - - MY OWN QUEENIE,--Your letter of the 1st has just reached me. - - You ought to have had a note by the 1st explaining about P. fare, - and suggesting caution until another means of communication can - be found, as my messenger fears his letters may be opened any day. - - I am exceedingly well, and am not really on prison fare, as we - can get anything we want here. - - Am rejoiced to learn that Wifie hopes our child will be strong--I - think it ought to have a good constitution. - - All my pains and aches have quite disappeared, and I have become - quite acclimatized, I expect to be so fresh when I {132} get out - that even Wifie won't be able to hold me, although her bonds are - very strong and pleasant. - - ALWAYS YOUR KING. - - - - _Tuesday, December_ 6, 1881. - - MY QUEENIE,--I have not yet been able to arrange other means of - communication for my own darling, but hope to do so shortly. - - Her dear letter of the 1st has reached me quite safely, but it - would be a risk for her to write again to the same place. In any - case I will send you in my next a prescription which will enable - you to write ordinary letters with something added. - - Your King never felt nearly so well in his life before. The - strong exercise, ball-playing, which I have missed very much - during the last few years of my life, is improving me immensely, - as strong exercise always agreed with me. - - YOUR OWN KING. - - - - _Wednesday, December_ 7, 1881. - - MY OWN QUEENIE,--You may see a paragraph about my health in the - _Freeman_ of Friday which may worry you, so write to say that it - is very much exaggerated for the purpose of preventing a change - in our rooms to some which are not in any way so nice. - - I have caught a slight cold, which the doctor thinks will pass - off in a day or two. - - I will write you direct to-morrow with the secret ink of which - the prescription is on the other side. No. 1 is for writing, No. - 2 is for bringing it out. Wifie may write me with this to the - same address as usual and in the same way, but she should write - also with ordinary ink on the first page of the letter something - as follows: - - - DEAR SIR,--I have yours of ---- inst., and will pay attention to - the directions given.--Yours truly, R. CAMPBELL. - - -The secret handwriting should be with a clean quill pen, and should -be written lightly. - -I feel much better this afternoon than I did this morning. - -ALWAYS YOUR LOVING HUSBAND. - -{133} - -You had best test the No. 1 solution by attempting to bring it out -with No. 2. If it does not come out well increase the strength of -both solutions. Use unglazed rough paper. Do not be worried, -darling, and take good care of our child. - - - - _Friday, December_ 9, 1881. - - MY OWN QUEENIE,--I wired you yesterday as I was dreadfully - frightened about the effect the par in _Freeman_ would have on - you, and hope you did not get into overmuch trouble about - telegram. - - The feverish cold quite passed away yesterday after one night, - and I am up to-day but keeping a poor mouth, so as to try to - baulk a pretty scheme for moving us from our present rooms into - others where they think we will be safer. You must not pay any - attention to O. D.'s account, as it was carefully got up. - - I don't eat bread, only for breakfast, but D. and I have each two - raw chops smuggled in daily which we do for ourselves, and we - also make our own tea. - - We also always have a cold ham in stock--Queenie must not think I - am deceiving her about anything--I never felt as well in my life - as when I wrote to tell her so the evening before I was taken - ill, and next morning I woke with a hot head. - - At present I am getting all my food from the Governor's kitchen, - and it is excellent. - - We hope by the row we are making to compel Government to make the - food sufficiently good to satisfy the men and take expense of - their keep off our resources. - - In future you had best brush any letters I write you to E. with - No. 2 solution, as, unless you desire me not to do so, I will - write you for the future alternately to E. and W. Place so as to - save you the trouble and fatigue of going to London so often. - ALWAYS YOUR OWN HUSBAND. - - - - _December_ 13, 1881. - - MY OWN QUEENIE,--Your two letters have reached me quite safely - and are all right. - - I am quite well again now, and could go out were it not that the - weather is so cold that the doctor does not think it prudent. - - {134} - - I hope my darling is well and has not been hurt by the anxiety. - My mind has been in the utmost distress about my Wifie and her - child all the week, and you do not know what a relief your - telegram from London was. - - - - _December_ 14, 1881. - - MY DARLING QUEENIE,--Your second letter reached me all right, and - I can read them perfectly. But, my darling, you frighten me - dreadfully when you tell me that I am "surely killing" you and - our child. - - I am quite well again now, my own, and was out to-day for a short - time, and will take much better care of myself for the future. - It was not the food, but a chill after over-heating myself at - ball. But I do not intend to go back on prison fare, even - nominally, again, as the announcement that we were on it has - served the purpose of stimulating the subscription. - - Rather than that my beautiful Wifie should run any risk I will - resign my seat, leave politics, and go away somewhere with my own - Queenie, as soon as she wishes; will she come? Let me know, - darling, in your next about this, whether it is safe for you that - I should be kept here any longer. - - YOUR OWN HUSBAND. - - There can be no doubt we shall be released at opening of - Parliament, but I think not sooner. - - Dr. K. was allowed to be with me at night while I was ill, and we - are not to be changed from our rooms. - - - - _December_ 15, 1881. - - MY OWN DARLING QUEENIE,--Nothing in the world is worth the risk - of any harm or injury to you. How could I ever live without my - own Katie?--and if you are in danger, my darling, I will go to - you at once. - - Dearest Wifie, your letter has frightened me more than I can tell - you. Do write, my darling, and tell me that you are better. I - have had nothing from you for several days. I am quite well and - strong again. - - We have made arrangements so that everybody will be allowed to - feed himself for the future, the poorer men getting so much a - week. YOUR OWN HUSBAND. - - - {135} - - - _December_ 16, 1881. - - MY OWN QUEENIE,--I think it will be best to make the change you - suggest in yours of yesterday, but you need not trouble or - fatigue yourself about it immediately. - - I am going on all right, darling, and expect to have another game - of ball to-morrow, but shall take care not to heat myself. - - I could not very well make any arrangement or enter into any - undertaking with Government unless I retired altogether from - politics. - - Your letter has relieved me very much. I have been dreadfully - frightened about you for the last week. Do take care of - yourself, my own darling, and I will also take good care of - myself for the future. - - We have both to live for each other for many happy years together. - - You need not write near so heavily or use so much ink, and it - would be also better to have a softer paper, more like blotting - paper. YOUR OWN KING. - - - - _December_ 22, 1881. - - Many happy returns of Christmas, my own darling. Though your - husband cannot be with you this time, he looks forward to very - many happy returns with you. - - I am very, very happy that my own Wifie is better, and that she - has been relieved from some of the intolerable annoyance for a - time. - - Your husband is quite well. We have succeeded in getting our new - exercise ground. - - ALWAYS YOUR LOVING KING. - - - - _Xmas Eve._ - - Letters of 22nd and 23rd arrived safely. - - MY OWN QUEENIE,--Just as the coming day is approaching I send my - own love what she has asked me for, and trust that it will make - her forget our squabble of last Xmas Day, as I had long since - forgotten it. - - My darling, you are and always will be everything to me, and - every day you become more and more, if possible, more than - everything to me. - - {136} - - [Illustration: FACSIMILE OF LETTER ON p. 134] - - {137} - - {138} - - Queenie need not be in the least anxious about me. I have been - getting my meals from the Governor's kitchen up to the present, - but to-morrow we return to the old arrangement of being supplied - from the outside. Nominally we are to get only one meal a day - from the outside, but in reality they will permit those who wish - and can afford it to get the other two meals as well from - outside, at their own expense, of course, and those who are with - me in these quarters intend to do this. I do not receive any - letters from any ladies I know, except one from Mrs. S., shortly - after I came here. She wrote to sympathize, and said she had - been ill. I replied after a time, asking how _you_ were, but - forgot to ask how _she_ was, and she has not written since. Am - glad to say that none of my "young women" have written. - - Let me know as soon as he goes and I will write you home. - - Government are not likely to go out for a while, but they will - scarcely go out without letting me out first. - - YOUR OWN KING. - - - - _December_ 30, 1881. - - MY OWN QUEENIE,--Your two letters just received but not read yet. - I hope Wifie is sleeping better and getting stronger like her - husband. - - I am very nervous about the doctors, and you should at all events - tell one of them the right time, so that he may be on hand, - otherwise you may not have one at all. It will never do to run - this risk. - - I will write Queenie a long letter to-night. - - - -[1] My parlourmaid. - -[2] Captain O'Shea was staying at Eltham for some days. - -[3] Prison fare. - -[4] Captain O'Shea. - - - - -{139} - -CHAPTER XV - -MORE KILMAINHAM LETTERS - -"_The soul of a philosopher will consider that it is the office of -philosophy to set her free._"--SOCRATES. - - - - _January_ 3, 1882. - - MY OWN DARLING QUEENIE,--Many happy New Years, my own love, with - your husband to make you happy. - - My Queenie must take great care of herself, and must be sure to - have at least one doctor in February. It will never do to let it - trust to chance. - - There is every prospect of my being able to see my darling soon, - but it does not do to be too sure, as things change so much from - day to day. - - - - _January_ 7, 1882. - - MY OWN QUEENIE,--If Queenie could see her husband reading her - letters over and over again every night she would have more faith - in their readable quality and power for giving her husband - happiness than she can have in looking at the blank paper as the - result of her work. The paper of that of the 6th, which reached - me to-day, is exactly suited; but Wifie, in sending two sheets, - one of them quite blank, makes a bad conspirator, but I must - forgive her, as the result is by no means blank to me. - - I do feel very anxious about you, my darling, and cannot help it. - You must tell the doctor, and never mind about ----. Could you - not go to London or Brighton about the beginning of February? - London would be best, if you could get him away on any pretext; - but if you could not, Brighton would leave you most free from him. - - It is perfectly dreadful that Wifie should be so worried at - night. I had hoped that the doctor's orders would have prevented - that. - - I am being fed very well. Chops or grilled turkey or eggs {140} - and bacon for breakfast, soup and chops for luncheon, and joint - and vegetables, etc., for dinner, and sometimes oysters. The - "one meal a day" is only a pretence. Each man gets £2 when - arrested, and 15s. a week, and can feed himself as he likes. - Most of them pocket the money and make the Government feed them. - You can understand the unwillingness of W.'s friend to leave - under these circumstances. The Government food is much better - now after the row about it, so most of the men can manage very - well with it, and send the 15s. home or put it in bank. I expect - the majority of the Irish people will be here after a time, the - pay is so good and it is quite a safe place. I am very well, - dearest Queenie, and enjoying our new exercise yard very much. - - YOUR OWN KING. - - - - _January_ 11, 1882. - - MY OWN QUEENIE,--Yes, I will go to you, my love, immediately I am - released. There is nothing in the world that I can do in - Ireland, nor is it likely that I shall be able to do anything - here for a long time to come. Certainly until the Coercion Act - has expired I will not speak here again, so Queenie need not be - afraid that when she gets me again she will lose me. - - I am disposed to think that Government at present intend to - release me shortly before opening of Parliament, but, of course, - they may change their mind and hasten or postpone my release. - Anyhow, let Queenie's mind be quite at rest, I am very well and - am growing more vigorous every day, the air and exercise in the - new yard suiting me exactly. - - I long very, very much to be with my own Wifie again, and wish I - could take care of and comfort her in the time that is - coming--Queenie has been very good and very loving to her husband - to give him this child, and to take such care of it during this - long, sad interval, but she must remember that she is far more to - me than all the world beside, and that she must specially take - care of herself, as her King cannot now live without her. - - I had forgotten to tell you that the jacket and other things you - gave me have been very useful and comfortable. During my illness - I wore it all the time, and wear it now in the {141} mornings to - read the newspapers. It has quite cured pain in shoulder. - - I do trust you have been now relieved for a time by his - departure, and that you are getting a little sleep. It is enough - to have killed you several times over, my own Queenie. - - ALWAYS YOUR OWN HUSBAND. - - - - _January_ 17, 1882. - - MY OWN QUEENIE,--The large paper is very good, the best for the - purpose of any you have tried yet. - - Your husband is so happy that you have at last been left free for - a time. - - Queenie may send her letters from any place about that she likes, - but she had best not write direct, as there is a very sharp-eyed - man over the letters. - - Very much lighter writing will do, and it might be written - between the lines of the ordinary ink, but it is best not to risk - anything just now. - - I think Brighton will do very well if Wifie likes it, and if it - would be safe for her to be so far from London. Her King could - be there quite well, as he intends to take a holiday when - released, and will not go to work at once. - - Have just received formal and usual notice of further detention, - first three months being up. The other two have also received - theirs. This has no significance one way or the other, as nobody - has ever been released at the end of the exact period. My own - Wifie must try and keep herself well and strong. Does she feel - so? I wish I could be with my poor darling. - - It is really the only reason why I wish for a change, and my - Queenie's loneliness and weariness makes me very unhappy. - Yesterday and to-day as three of us were exercising in our yard - the gates in adjoining yard leading into the outer world were - opened twice to permit some carts to come in and go out. A low - wall only separated the two yards, across which we could have - easily sprung; there was no warder in our yard, and only one in - the next, with his back turned to us. So, you see, we can get - out whenever we want to. Trying to escape is six months with - hard labour, so we have nothing {142} to gain by it, even if they - keep us till end of Act in October, which they are not at all - likely to do. - - YOUR OWN LOVING HUSBAND. - - - - _January_ 21, 1882. - - MY OWN QUEENIE,--On further consideration I think it would be - much too risky for my darling to go to Brighton, as you would be - too far from the doctor, so let it be London or home. I shall - find means to see my Wifie wherever she is. - - It looks like our release shortly. - - Yours of 19th received. - - - - January 23, 1882. - - We have got an air-gun and practise every day. - - MY OWN QUEENIE,--Your letter of the day before yesterday makes me - very nervous about my own love again, as I fear from it that you - are going to distress and worry yourself about me again. I can - assure you, my own, that I am exceedingly well, and am likely to - remain so. - - Notwithstanding the newspapers, it is most unlikely they will - keep us here till the commencement of session. D., indeed, will - probably go out in a day or two on account of his health; but in - any case my Queenie must not think of worrying about her husband, - as he is very comfortable and happy where he is, if he might only - see his own Wifie sometimes. I should feel quite lonely now in - London without being able to see my darling, and I should very - much prefer to stay here than to be all alone in London while - Wifie is suffering, except that I know it would comfort her to - have me even so near her. - - I hope you have received my letter saying that I think London or - home the best for you, and not Brighton; the latter would be much - too far from the doctors. Does Wifie feel strong and well? I - fear my poor Queenie has had a dreadful time of it, and our poor - little child also. - - YOUR OWN LOVING KING. - - - - _January_ 28, 1882. - - MY OWN DEAREST QUEENIE, I did not like to write direct, lest - there should be any mistake, especially as my paper is not very - suitable. It looks as if they were going to keep me here {143} - for a while longer, probably till a month or so after the opening - of session, in order that they may get their new rules more - easily. - - I do not know what to say, my darling, about your going to - Brighton, but Queenie will decide best for herself. I hope Wifie - will not feel much worried about not seeing me so soon as she - hoped. Her husband is very well indeed, and in the best of - spirits. - - I do not like your going to London so often, it may hurt you. Is - there any address you could get nearer home, so that you would - not have to go so far? - - My poor little Wifie, I wish I could be with you, but Queenie - must be good and take care of herself. - - It looks to-day as if D. would go out soon; in that case it would - facilitate our release. YOUR OWN KING. - - - - _January_ 31, 1882. - - Have received your two letters postmarked E. Be cautious about - writing for a few days. I am very well, and trust my darling is - well. - - Rumours about legal adviser being arrested, but will send you - another address to-morrow. - - - - _February_ 2, 1882. - - MY OWN QUEENIE,--Have just received your third letter with E. - postmark--shall write you to-morrow direct so as to avoid for you - the fatigue of going to London. The writing between the lines - comes out perfectly, and you need at no time write more heavily. - - With best love and urgent request that my darling will take care - of herself. YOUR OWN KING. - - - - _February_ 3, 1882. - - MY OWN QUEENIE,--You really must try and sleep properly at night - and stop worrying yourself about me. I can assure my darling - there is nothing to feel unhappy about so far as my health goes. - I really cannot remember when I have ever felt so well in my life. - - It is very very hard not to be able to see each other, and that - my poor Wifie should not have her husband with her {144} now--I - think after this letter I shall be able to write you a few lines - occasionally home, so as to save Wifie going to London, but if - she writes to me in the same way she must be very careful and - write very lightly and between the lines. A gold pen is, I - think, better than a quill. - - The alarm about the legal adviser has blown over, so Queenie may - direct as usual. - - The Paris failures don't concern us in any way, as everything is - secure.[1] - - Give my best love to our little child, and take good care of - yourself and it for my sake. YOUR OWN HUSBAND. - - - - _February_ 10, 1882. - - MY OWN QUEENIE,--I have received your note postmarked 7th, but - have not had time to read it yet. - - I hope my darling will take better care of herself; that journey - to London in the fog was most dangerous for her. - - I think that we shall probably be released by the middle of - March, as it will be known then which way the tenants intend to - go, and we shall be able to decide whether it is worth our while - remaining here any longer. - - How does Queenie intend letting her husband know how she is? - - YOUR OWN LOVING KING - - - - _February_ 14. - - MY OWN DARLING QUEENIE,--To-day I have written you direct, - sending a few words between the lines, just to see how it will - answer. I find that rubbing with blotting paper after the words - are dry takes away any glistening or appearance of letters. My - own Wifie had best not try writing direct here, but send all her - letters as usual, and continue to do so. - - The note I have just written goes out through a warder, and I - think I shall always be able to manage in that way, but in case - Queenie should get a letter from me through the Governor she will - see it marked with his initials on the top left-hand corner, and - in that case she might write me a commonplace letter direct here, - but nothing between the lines. - - Wifie is very good indeed to write her husband such beautiful - {145} letters; if she only knew what a pleasure and happiness - every word from her is to her husband it might make her feel a - little less unhappy. I am very much troubled about my darling - having become so thin, and fear that you have suffered a great - deal more than you have ever told me, and that you are not - strong. I often reproach myself for having been so cruel to my - own love in staying so long away from her that time, which has - led to such a long, long separation. I was dragged into that - Kildare engagement, otherwise I should have been safe with Wifie. - Until then I had settled that I should leave Ireland after - Wexford. It would, however, have been very difficult for me to - have kept out of the country even if I had left then, and on the - whole I hope it will turn out all for the best. At least, I am - very glad that the days of platform speeches have gone by and are - not likely to return. I cannot describe to you the disgust I - always felt with those meetings, knowing as I did how hollow and - wanting in solidity everything connected with the movement was. - When I was arrested I did not think the movement would have - survived a month, but this wretched Government have such a - fashion for doing things by halves that it has managed to keep - things going in several of the counties up till now. However, - next month, when the seeding time comes, will probably see the - end of all things and our speedy release. - - I hope Wifie has got her house in London; I am exceedingly - anxious about those long journeys to London for you, my own. - Your husband is very well indeed, and is, I think, actually - beginning to grow fat! - - I think Queenie ought to congratulate me at being away from the - House instead of pitying me. - - When I get out I hope to have a good long rest with my own little - Wifie somewhere, and to listen to the waves breaking as we used - those mornings of spring last May. - - YOUR OWN LOVING HUSBAND. - - - - _February_ 17, 1882. - - MY OWN QUEENIE,--I had written my Queenie a nice long letter - which she should have liked very much, but an alarm came before - my messenger arrived that we were all going to be searched, and I - was obliged to burn it. - - {146} - - I intend to try and send you a letter direct, written between the - lines--I find that by rubbing the words after they are dry it - removes all the glistening appearance. - - Queenie had best not write me direct at any time, but she can - send me a word in the usual way as soon as she is able to tell me - how she is. Your King will wait very anxiously for that word. - Oh, my Queenie, do take care of yourself, and do not run any risk - by remaining at E. - - It is exceedingly likely that we shall all be released about the - end of March, as then the lading time comes, and the tenants will - have to decide whether they will pay or not, and as the majority - have decided to pay already it is most likely the minority will - then follow suit. YOUR OWN KING. - - - - _February_ 17, 1882. - - MY OWN DARLING QUEENIE,--I cannot describe to you what a relief - your little note was that everything was quite right. Oh, my - Wifie, when I had your two short messages of the 14th your poor - husband burst into tears and could not hold up his head or think - of anything until my darling's note arrived that everything was - right. - - My own, you must be very good and quiet until you are quite - strong again, and do not be in a hurry to get up. - - I have only just a minute to close this as my Mercury is waiting. - YOUR OWN LOVING HUSBAND. - - -My baby was born on February 16th, 1882. I was very ill, but the joy -of possessing Parnell's child carried me through my trouble. She was -a beautiful baby, apparently strong and healthy--for the first few -weeks--and with the brown eyes of her father. This child of tragedy -rarely cried, but lay watching me with eyes thoughtful and searching -beyond the possibility of her little life. I used to seek in hers -for the fires always smouldering in the depths of her father's eyes, -but could not get beyond that curious gravity and understanding in -them, lightened only by the little smile she gave when I came near. - - -* * * * * * - -{147} - - - _March_ 5, 1882. - - MY DEAR MRS. O'SHEA,--It is so long since I have heard from you - that I sometimes wonder whether you have quite forgotten me. - - In case you see any of my friends who may inquire after me, will - you kindly tell them that I am very well, and that there is no - truth in the stupid rumour which appeared in some of the London - papers about the seven days' solitary confinement--I was merely - prevented from receiving or sending letters for a week; the - latter portion of the sentence did not trouble me much, as I am - an even worse correspondent in here than when I was outside. - - I think you will scarcely know me when you see me again, I have - become so fat. - - I have not heard from your sister for a great many months; in - fact have only had one letter from her since I have been here. - - Believe me, yours very truly, CHAS. S. PARNELL. - - - - _March_ 16, 1882. - - MY OWN DARLING QUEENIE,--You are very good to your husband in - writing so often and so lovingly to your King, even when you must - have been suffering terribly. I cannot describe to my little - Wifie how hopeless and utterly miserable I felt until your little - note came that all was quite right. I am very happy, my own, - that our little daughter pleases you, and that you are not too - much disappointed, and that she is strong and good-tempered. - Does Queenie think she will be too big? I shall love her very - much better than if it had been a son; indeed, my darling, I do - love her very much already, and feel very much like a father. - What do you intend to call her? - - Will you not give her papa's best love and innumerable kisses? - - I have been arranging a little happiness, I hope, for Queenie, as - soon as she is strong and well enough to come over here and can - manage it. I have been training up Captain Barlow, the chairman - of the Prisons Board, to allow me to see my married sisters in - private. To-day I got him to give {148} me a private visit with - one of them, Mrs. Dickinson, for the first time, and I did so - with the intention of passing Queenie off as another married - sister after a time. Wifie will then be able to come and see for - herself how well her husband looks, and how happy and comfortable - he is. I don't know whether they intend to move me or not, and - do not like to guess, but wherever I go I shall be probably very - well off. The dusting they got in the House the other night - about treatment of the rank and file will do them good. I am - told that all the police in the King's County were drafted into - Tullamore and put into plain clothes to form an audience for - Forster. Shall send Wifie my weight to-morrow with certificate - of chief warder so that you may believe it. - - Do you remember what it was the last time? I think Wifie has the - ticket, and that it was about twelve stone. - - I hear from all over the country that the tenants are everywhere - settling, so we shall be probably out in a couple of months, - unless we are kept to make sure that they pay the next time. - - I hope my own love will take good care of herself and not try to - go to London too soon. I want Queenie when I see her to be an - even younger little Wifie than when I gave her that last kiss. - - The idea of nursing our little daughter was too preposterous. - Do, my own darling, think of yourself and take great, great care - of your husband's own little Wifie. - - Good-night, my own darling Queenie. - - YOUR LOVING HUSBAND. - - - - _March_ 23, 1882. - - MY OWN DARLING WIFIE,--I have only just got an opportunity of - sending my Queenie a few lines, and will write a nice long letter - to-night. - - No letter came to me from you between that dated March 14 and the - two of March 20. A reference to his[2] return from Paris makes - me think that you may have sent me one between, informing me that - he had gone, which I did not receive. If you think one has been - intercepted write in {149} future to Mr. W. Kerr, Casino, - Rathdrum, and they will reach me safely, otherwise no change need - be made. - - The letter written between the lines, of which I spoke, was that - refused by the warder, and I did not send it. - - Mrs. S. has written me that she has "seen you recently," and that - you "have not left your room," assuming that I know all about it. - What am I to say to her? - - I have not been weighed yet, but shall try to-day and send my own - darling the true weight. It must be considerably more than 12-5. - - My beautiful little Wifie must continue to take great care of - herself and not go too often to town. - - YOUR OWN LOVING KING. - - - - _March_ 24, 1882. - - MY OWN QUEENIE,--Since writing you yesterday have received your - letter dated 17th, which had accidentally gone astray, so if - there is no other letter which I ought to have got you can send - to the same address as usual. - - YOUR OWN KING. - - - - _March_ 27, 1882. - - MY OWN DARLING QUEENIE,--I am very anxious about our little - daughter. Is it dangerous? - - Was weighed yesterday--12 st. 7 lb. Have certainly gained five - or six pounds since I have been here. - - How did Wifie find out I had grown a beard? - - YOUR OWN LOVING KING. - - I don't think we shall be moved. - - - - _March_ 29, 1882. - - MY OWN DARLING LITTLE WIFIE,--I am very much relieved to hear - that our little child is better, and is likely to be all right - soon; but fear my poor Queenie must have been exhausted by all - that hunting about for nurses. I cannot consent to Wifie turning - nurse even when brown eyes do come. She is much too good and - beautiful for anything of the kind. - - Do you remember a small pair of scissors with fine points that - Queenie once gave me in London? I have got them still, and cut - my cigar with them every morning. - - {150} - - Shall write Mrs. ---- as you suggest, and say how sorry to hear - you had not left your room, and that I had seen the event in the - _Times_ and hoped you would soon be quite well again. If my own - can make an arrangement now for him[3] to keep away, I think she - ought to do so. It will be too intolerable having him about - always. When I see Wifie again or am released, I can consider - the situation, but until then, if you can you had best make some - arrangement. - - Wifie must not be frightened at the vapourings of the Government - yesterday; they amount to nothing, and they know perfectly well - that neither I nor any of my friends outside have sanctioned in - any way certain recent deplorable occurrences. They are simply - the result of leaving the people without guidance and appear to - be quite spontaneous. In any case the country is likely to quiet - down as the days get longer and the crops commence to spring up. - D. is to be released immediately the House adjourns for Easter, - and after a time, when they find nothing happening as a - consequence of his release, they will probably take courage and - let me out also. Anyhow this Government are going down the hill - very fast, and are not likely to last more than another session, - and we will take care that if they once go out they shall not - come in again very quickly. My own loveliest Wifie, I do not - think they intend moving me. YOUR LOVING HUSBAND. - - - - _March_ 30. - - The London correspondent of _Freeman_ is very ignorant. - - - - March 30, 1882. - - MY OWN LITTLE WIFIE,--The letter posted at Bexley reached me all - right after it had gone astray for two or three days. Queenie's - of 28th has also reached me. - - I suppose you did not address one to Casino, as I have had none - from there. I wrote yesterday to say that I think you had best - make some arrangement about him pending my release, and when that - takes place we can consider further. - - I will let my darling see me any time as soon as she is quite - strong again. We are going to have a weekly biography {151} of - doubtful Irish members in _Irishman_ or rather _United Ireland_ - which will come out again shortly in such a form as to save it - from seizure. - - If Queenie sends me some of our daughter's hair I will put it in - the locket I have with Wifie's. Would Sophie make a nice second - name? It was the name of one of my sisters whom I was said to be - most like of the family; but possibly it might make suspicions. - - I am very anxious about my darling going to London so often; it - must be very bad for you. You may try your next letter upon - ordinary paper, unglazed, and do not crowd what you write in - ordinary ink into one little space in the middle of the sheet. - After the solution has dried if you rub over the letters with an - ink eraser it will remove all the glistening and appearance of - letters. I wonder they have never opened any of them, but they - may do it at any time. It would not hurt me in any way as I do - not use it for any other purpose. Unless, indeed, they sent it - to a certain person. - - Queenie must not be alarmed about stupid rumours in the papers. - You know what these liners are, and the _Freeman_ agent in London - is singularly stupid and badly informed. - - YOUR LOVING HUSBAND. - - - - _April_ 5, 1883. - - MY OWN DEAREST WIFIE,--I think it very likely that something will - be done by the Government shortly on the arrears question. If - this be so, things will undoubtedly quiet down a great deal, and - it will give us an opportunity of coming to some arrangement. I - do not in the least apprehend that any further steps will be - taken against me in any case, though, of course, they would - eagerly grasp at the slightest thing in order to try and throw - discredit on me. - - So far as I can judge, the number of outrages has diminished very - materially during the last two or three weeks, and is likely to - continue decreasing. - - My own Wifie must remember that I was only 12 st. 2 lb. when I - came here, as I had fallen away very much after I left her, and - that I have got back 5 lb. since, notwithstanding my illness, - which left me very thin indeed. Poor little Queenie {152} must - be greatly troubled and anxious at all the rumours she hears, but - she need not regard any of them; she knows what newspaper men are. - - Give my best love and ever so many kisses to our little daughter. - I am very much troubled about her health, and hope it will not - make her permanently delicate. - - I am longing very very much to see my own Wifie. I love you, my - darling, more and more every day, and I should feel quite - reconciled to giving up politics for ever and living with my - sweet Katie all by ourselves away from everybody and everything. - I do not think anything will ever induce me to speak from a - platform again. I always disliked it excessively, but I should - loathe it now. Wifie must not, however, suppose that I am - annoyed with the way things have gone. On the contrary, - everything has succeeded remarkably, and much better than anybody - could have expected. - - It is thought that D.[4] will be released to-morrow.--Good-night, - my own Wifie. YOUR LOVING HUSBAND. - - - - _April_ 7, 1882. - - MY OWN DEAREST WIFIE,--I am so happy from receiving your letter - of the 5th to-day, although part of what you say about our - daughter makes me very anxious indeed. - - I hope the poor little thing will soon get over it. Her hair is - absolutely lovely. I am so glad it is more like Queenie's than - mine, although there is enough of mine in it to spoil it somewhat - and render it less beautiful than Wifie's. Still, there is a - splendid golden tint in it which is quite exceptional. - - Wifie need not feel at all anxious about me or anything which the - Government are likely to do or be able to do. Although there - have been one or two bad events things are getting much quieter - every day. D. is going abroad and will not even appear in the - House for a couple of months. My mother's health has, I fear, - become very much broken latterly, and after a time I think of - applying to go over to see her, but I must try and get O. K.[5] - out first. - - I am still keeping very well, although have missed the - ball-playing very much for the last three weeks, as O. K., {153} - who used to play with me, has been ill. I think my weight is - very good considering the hard exercise I have been taking and - the good condition I am in. I hope my precious one is getting - strong again and that she will have some good news to tell me of - our little daughter when she writes next. - - YOUR OWN LOVING HUSBAND. - - -I will not speak of my anguish when I found that the child of my love -was slowly dying, and that the doctors I called in could do nothing -for her. Slowly she faded from me, daily gaining in that -far-reaching expression of understanding that dying children have so -strongly, and my pain was the greater in that I feared her father -would never see her now. - -Willie was very good; I told him my baby was dying and I must be left -alone. He had no suspicion of the truth, and only stipulated that -the child should be baptized at once--urged thereto, I think, by his -mother and sister. I had no objection to this. Parnell and I had -long before agreed that it would be safer to have the child -christened as a Catholic, and he had no feeling at all against the -Catholic religion, considering, indeed, that for those who required a -religion it was an admirable one. I made an altar of flowers in my -drawing-room, as the child was much too ill to be taken to church, -and there the priest, Father Hart, came and baptized Sophie Claude. -Sophie, after Parnell's sister, Claude, after Lord Truro, an old -friend of mine. - -A few days before the death of my baby I had the unspeakable comfort -of knowing that Parnell could come to me for a few hours and perhaps -see his child while she lived. His nephew, son of his sister Delia -(Mrs. Thomson), had died in Paris, and the authorities gave Parnell -leave on "parole" to attend the young man's {154} funeral. A -brilliant, handsome fellow, great sympathy was felt with the parents -of this only son. - -Spring was very early that year, and in the April morning when the -air was fragrant with the sweet freshness of the spring flowers and -the very breath of life was in the wind, Parnell came to me and I put -his dying child into his arms. - -That evening he had to go on to Paris. - - - GRAND HOTEL, - 12 BOULEVARD DES CAPUCINES, PARIS. - _Thursday, April_ 13, 1882. - - MY OWN QUEENIE,--I hope to leave Paris on Saturday morning. The - doctor says the fever is not infectious, but I doubt it very - much, as a great many people amongst the American colony are - having it just now. I am staying here, but I am obliged to go to - the house, which has been well disinfected, to see my sister, who - is very much cut up. The risk to me is a minimum, as I had this - fever very badly when I was young, and they say people very - rarely have it a second time, and then only slightly. - - At all events it is the ordinary typhoid, which doctors say is - not catching. - - I shall take a Turkish bath every day I am here, and adopt other - precautions. YOUR OWN LOVING KING. - - - - GRAND HOTEL, - 12 BOULEVARD DES CAPUCINES, PARIS, - _Saturday, April_ 15, 1882. - - MY DEAR MRS. O'SHEA,--I think of leaving Paris to spend a few - days in the south or elsewhere on Monday morning. Had intended - starting this evening, but caught a slight cold coming over, - which the doctor, whom my sister insisted on seeing me, says is - nothing, but think I had best not travel till Monday. - - I am very glad that I came over, as my sister is in a very low - state, and my coming has picked her up very much, believe me, - yours always truly, CHARLES S. PARNELL. - - -{155} - - - GRAND HOTEL, - 12 BOULEVARD DES CAPUCINES, PARIS, - _Sunday, April_ 16, 1882. - - MY DEAR MRS. O'SHEA,--Having fallen into the hands of the doctor, - he informed me to-day that he was coming again to-morrow morning, - and upon my saying that I wished to commence my journey to the - country to-morrow he said he would let me go on Tuesday morning. - Perhaps it is better so, as I might catch fresh cold if I started - so soon as to-morrow. - - I was out a good deal yesterday by the doctor's orders, and dined - with my sister in the evening. She is much better. - - To-day a north wind is blowing, and I shall not go out much, - although my cold is quite gone. I think I caught it from leaving - off a flannel jacket which I used to wear when asleep in prison. - It would have been a bad chest cold had I not taken two Turkish - baths immediately I felt it coming on. - - I am staying here under the name of Stewart, and have not been - found out yet.--Yours very sincerely, - - CHARLES S. PARNELL. - - -After his nephew's funeral he returned to Eltham, having, before, -telegraphed to Willie to say that he was coming. He wished to -conciliate Willie as much as possible, and believed that his politics -might now prove useful. - -All that night of the 21st April Parnell and Willie sat up in my -dining-room discussing the Irish question, and bit by bit working out -the "Kilmainham Treaty." Willie wanted me to join them, but I would -not leave my baby, and when the daylight came and they went to lie -down for a few hours' rest before Parnell left for Ireland, my little -one died as my lover stole in to kiss us both and say good-bye. - -Overlooking the valley in the Catholic churchyard at Chislehurst is -her little grave, headed by a granite cross {156} and wreathed about -with clematis and white roses; and often as we drove past on our way -home through the summer evenings Parnell would go in to scatter the -wild flowers he had gathered for me over little Sophie's -resting-place. - -The following letter from my sister-in-law, Mary O'Shea, I insert, as -proving, I think very conclusively, that my little one's paternity -was utterly unsuspected by the O'Sheas. - - - PARIS, AVENUE WAGRAM 137, - _Sunday, May_ 21, 1882. - - DEAREST KATIE,--We are very pleased to be able to hope that you - are better. How is your dear aunt? We trust she is better. I - cannot express our feelings of affectionate regard for her, nor - can I say adequately how truly we desire her happiness here and - for all eternity in Heaven. She has been so sweet a friend and - so charming in all her ways towards your dear children, "the - butterflies"--most attractive designation. Dear Lady O'Donnell - wrote a rapturous description of the little creatures. She loved - your dear little Claude, and shared your grief at losing her, but - happy child, how glorious is her existence! What a contrast to - ours, we who must struggle on, working out our salvation in fear - and trembling!..." - - - -[1] An allusion to political funds banked in Paris. - -[2] Captain O'Shea. - -[3] Captain O'Shea. - -[4] Dillon. - -[5] O'Kelly. - - - - -{157} - -CHAPTER XVI - -THE "KILMAINHAM TREATY" - - "_Shall I say stipulation, King?_" - "_No, Queenie, he prefers 'suggestions desirable to be - entertained!_'"--EXTRACT FROM AN OLD DIARY. - - -Parnell, in accordance with his "parole," returned to Kilmainham at -the end of the term of leave and immediately formulated the -conditions of the arrangement it was proposed to make with the -Government. The draft of this historic document was as follows:-- - - -"KILMAINHAM, April 25th, 1882. - -"We think in the first place that no time should be lost in -endeavouring to obtain a satisfactory settlement of the arrears -question, and that the solution proposed in the Bill standing for -second reading to-morrow--Wednesday--would provide a satisfactory -solution, though the Church Fund would have to be supplemented by a -grant from Imperial resources of probably a million or so. - -"Next as regards the permanent amendment of the Land Act, we consider -that the rent-fixing clauses should be amended to as great an extent -as is possible, having in view the necessity of passing an Amending -Bill through the House of Lords; that leaseholders who have taken -leases either before or since the Act of 1870 should be permitted to -apply to have a fair rent fixed, and that the purchase clauses should -be amended as suggested by the Bill, the second reading of which will -be moved by Mr. Redmond to-morrow. - -{158} - -"If the Government were to announce their intention of proposing a -satisfactory settlement of the arrears difficulty as indicated above, -we on our part would make it known that the No Rent manifesto was -withdrawn, and we should advise the tenants to settle with their -landlords; we should also then be in a better position than we ever -occupied before to make our exertions effective in putting a stop to -the outrages which are unhappily of late so prevalent. - -"If the result of the arrears settlement and the further ameliorative -measures suggested above were the material diminution of outrages -before the end of the session, and the prospect of the return of the -country after a time to something like a normal condition, we should -hope that the Government would allow the Coercion Act to lapse, and -govern the country by the same laws as in England." - - -Willie wrote to Gladstone on April 13th, and two days after Gladstone -replied promising to communicate with Forster. The rest of the -letter was taken up with compliments to Willie, and some -carefully-worded phrases which really meant that Gladstone was -prepared to go to very great lengths indeed to quiet Ireland and to -keep her quiet. - -Willie sent to Chamberlain a copy of his letter to Gladstone. -Chamberlain was impressed and guarded. He welcomed negotiations, but -pointed out that if the Government were going to smile on the Irish -Party the Irish Party must smile on the Government. With some amount -of exaggerated fervour he mooted the possibility of an anti-Irish -movement comparable with the anti-Semitic movement abroad. That, he -pointed out, would be bad for everybody, and accordingly he welcomed -the {159} olive branch. In the sequel, of course, Chamberlain took a -very active part in pressing for the release of Parnell. While on -"parole," and after his return from Paris, Parnell entered into -communication with Mr. Justin McCarthy with regard to the proposed -"Treaty," and the following letter was written from Eltham:-- - - - _Saturday, April_ 22, 1882. - - MY DEAR MCCARTHY,--I have arrived in England, and will call to - see you to-morrow afternoon some time. I cannot at present give - you the exact hour, but would it be too much to ask you to remain - at home after three o'clock? I trust you will have some news of - result of Cabinet to-day.--Yours very truly, C. S. P. - - -This letter was followed up by one from Kilmainham. - - - (_Confidential._) - - KILMAINHAM, - _April_ 25, 1882. - - MY DEAR MCCARTHY,--I send you a letter embodying our - conversation, and which, if you think it desirable, you might - take the earliest opportunity of showing to Chamberlain. - - Do not let it out of your hands, but if he wishes you might give - him a copy of the body of it.--Yours very truly, - - CHARLES S. PARNELL. - - (Enclosure.) - - -The enclosure was identical with the draft treaty--apart from a few -verbal alterations of which the chief was the substitution of "an -Amendment Bill" for an "Amending Bill" in the second paragraph. - -* * * * * * - -_Tuesday, April_ 25, 1882. - -MY OWN QUEENIE,--I enclose you a letter. What do you think I had -best say to it?[1] - -{160} - -I told my friend in Jermyn Street what steps to take, so that the -matter referred to in enclosed will probably go on all right without, -or with, the further participation of the writer. I thought of -writing him that I had received his note too late to reply for -Wednesday, but that in any case my letter from Paris ought to be -sufficient indication of confidence. - -I missed nine train on Sunday and came on by twelve, sleeping at -Crewe and getting on board mail boat before mail train arrived. -Everything went off very nicely and quietly, and I have not caught -any cold this time. O. K. had aired my bed very carefully, etc., and -they were all very glad to see me again, with the exception of the -authorities. - -I have been thinking all day of how desolate and lonely my Queenie -must be in her great sorrow. I wish so much that I might have stayed -to comfort her, but I have indeed every hope and confidence that our -separation will not now last very long. It is too terrible to think -that on this the saddest day[2] of all others--and, let us hope, the -saddest that we both shall ever see again--my Wifie should have -nobody with her. - -Good-bye, my own darling, YOUR LOVING KING. - - -Mr. Parnell wrote as follows to Captain O'Shea:-- - - - KILMAINHAM, - _April_ 28. - - I was very sorry that you had left Albert Mansions before I - reached London from Eltham, as I had wished to tell you that - after our conversation I had made up my mind that it would be - proper for me to put Mr. McCarthy in possession of the views - which I had previously communicated to you. I desire to impress - upon you the absolute necessity of a settlement of the arrears - question which will leave no recurring sore connected with it - behind, and which will enable us to show the smaller tenantry - that they have been treated with justice and some generosity. - - The proposal you have described to me as suggested in some - quarters, of making a loan, over however many years the payment - might be spread, should be absolutely rejected, {161} for reasons - which I have already fully explained to you. If the arrears - question be settled upon the lines indicated by us, I have every - confidence--a confidence shared by my colleagues--that the - exertions which we should be able to make strenuously and - unremittingly would be effective in stopping outrages and - intimidation of all kinds. - - As regards permanent legislation of an ameliorative character, I - may say that the views which you always shared with me as to the - admission of leaseholders to the fair rent clauses of the Act are - more confirmed than ever. So long as the flower of the Irish - peasantry are kept outside the Act there cannot be any permanent - settlement of the land question, which we all so much desire. - - I should also strongly hope that some compromise might be arrived - at this season with regard to the amendment of the tenure - clauses. It is unnecessary for me to dwell upon the enormous - advantages to be derived from the full extension of the purchase - clauses, which now seem practically to have been adopted by all - parties. - - The accomplishment of the programme I have sketched would, in my - judgment, be regarded by the country as a practical settlement of - the land question, and would, I feel sure, enable us to - co-operate cordially for the future with the Liberal Party in - forwarding Liberal principles; so that the Government, at the end - of the session, would, from the state of the country, feel - themselves thoroughly justified in dispensing with further - coercive measures.--Yours very truly, - - C. S. PARNELL. - - - - _Saturday, April_ 30, 1882. - - MY OWN QUEENIE,--He[3] came over to see me, so I thought it best - to give him a letter, as he would have been dreadfully mortified - if he had had nothing to show. - - Everything is going very well, and I hope will continue straight. - - Received two letters from my own lovie yesterday. Do, my own, - keep up as much as you can. - - YOUR OWN KING. - - -{162} - -I had reason to know, from various sources of information kept open -by me on Parnell's behalf during his imprisonment, that the -Government would liberate him with considerable relief if given any -surety of conciliatory policy on his part. Parnell at liberty was a -disturbing force, and the culminating embarrassment of English -government in Ireland, but Parnell in prison had become merely a -concentrated embarrassment in that there was now no governmental -possibility of dealing with the reactionary spirit he had let loose -in Ireland--a spirit that was at least better controllable as a -weapon in Parnell's hand than as the scattered and absolutely -irresponsible fulminations, unreasoning and motiveless, of lawless -desperadoes. - -With Parnell as her chief the Ireland he had roused might indeed be a -scourge of whips to the British Government, but without him this -Ireland was undoubtedly a scourge of scorpions. - -So Parnell came out of Kilmainham on the treaty arranged at Eltham, -and as Willie was to be the official bearer of the olive branch to -the Government, he went over to see Parnell on his return to -Kilmainham and to get from him a letter for his own satisfaction, as -he said Parnell was "so shifty" he could not be trusted to carry out -any agreement that was not in writing, and the letter was to set -forth the various modifications of his policy of obstruction that he -would undertake to observe on his (immediate) liberation and -assurance of future concessions to Ireland. This letter had in -substance been written at Eltham, but Parnell had stipulated for a -few days to consider the matter further and would not give Willie his -final decision then. On the other side he had to consider that any -treaty with the Government would place him in {163} a very awkward -position with the Land League and would certainly affect the -financial aid to the Irish cause so generously contributed by -America. It was also certain, he knew, that the Government would be -obliged, in either case, to liberate him with the other Irish -political prisoners at no distant period, and this without his -placing himself under any obligation at all to the Government. This -would please the extreme party of his followers far better, even -though it would keep open the way to further outrage and crime in -Ireland. - -I had never before ventured to influence Parnell in any way -politically; but now I greatly dreaded for him this latter policy of -the extremists and the perpetual strain of watchfulness and control -it engendered--with the Coercion Laws such a policy must, in the long -run, inevitably produce, unless, indeed, England was prepared to -yield to force; an unthinkable proposition. - -So now I threw the whole strength of my influence on the side of the -treaty of conciliation and urged upon him the greater good for -Ireland likely to accrue in the making by him of immediate peace. I -was very anxious that he should "reign" by constitutional means, and -had every hope of establishing such amicable communications between -him and the Government as would lead to that end. But he had this -great force now to reckon with--the force of centuries of cruelty, -wrong, and oppression that had bred an irresponsibility and callous -disregard of suffering, nay, rather a vindictive madness and lust of -destruction in Ireland. In his seeking for a weapon to use for the -betterment of England's government of Ireland Parnell had discovered -this underlying force of hate, and, using the influence of his -personality, he strove to direct it into the service of the Ireland -that he loved. But he afterwards {164} stood appalled at the -intensity of the passion of hate that he had loosed, and no one but -he--and I with him--knew the awful strength of that force of -destruction that was only held in subservience by the sheer dominance -of his will. He replied to my pleadings: "Yes, I hold them now with -my back to the wall, but if I turn to the Government I turn my back -to them--and then----?" - -But my great fear for him won his decision for peace, and he wrote -and signed the "letter" that Willie wanted to take to the Government. - -The Prime Minister had been prepared for its coming, and made known -that such a treaty of peace would be acceptable. Willie took this -letter to Forster, who knew of no understanding with the Prime -Minister, and was absolutely against any such negotiations. He -scoffed at the letter, at its terms, and at Willie for bringing it, -but the latter pointed out that the matter was one for the Prime -Minister's consideration alone, and Mr. Forster was bound to submit -it to him without delay. He of course did so, but with confidence as -to its rejection and, on its immediate acceptance and the liberation -of Parnell, resigned his office as Chief Secretary for Ireland. - -Lord Cowper resigned with him. This was on the 2nd of May. On the -26th of April discussion on Mr. Redmond's Land Bill was started in -the House of Commons. This Bill, which had been drafted by Parnell -in Kilmainham, proposed to amend the Land Act of 1881 in four main -particulars: (1) Arrears of excessive rent; (2) admission of -leaseholders to the benefit of the Land Court; (3) amendment of -tenure clauses; (4) extension of purchase clauses by the advance from -the State of the whole of the purchase money. Mr. Gladstone -applauded the Irish Party and opposed the Bill. He practically {165} -admitted that recent decisions of the Irish judges were nullifying -the effect of the tenure clauses, but he did not want yet to reopen -the question. He recognized, however, the necessity of dealing with -"Arrears." - -When, on May 2nd, he announced to the House the resignation of Lord -Cowper and Mr. Forster and the decision of the Cabinet to release the -three Irish M.P.'s who had been in Kilmainham since October, he -definitely promised an Arrears Bill, and stated that there was no -present intention to renew the Coercion Act. So, with this public -promise of Mr. Gladstone, and with the tacit understanding that -Parnell would "slow down the agitation" Parnell came out of gaol. -"It is an act," averred Mr. Gladstone, "done without any negotiation, -promise, or engagement whatever." - -Two days later Forster denounced the action of the Cabinet. He -believed that the unconditioned release of the Irish leaders would -tend to the encouragement of crime. As he went on to justify the -arrests Parnell entered the House and took his seat. The Irish -cheered wildly. Then Forster continued: "The real reason why these -gentlemen were arrested ... was because they were trying to carry out -their will--'their unwritten law' ... by working the ruin and the -injury of the Queen's subjects by intimidation of one kind or -another. If Mr. Parnell had not been placed in Kilmainham he would -very quickly have become in reality what he was called by many of his -friends--the King of Ireland." He did not say Parnell and his -friends had directly incited, what they had done was far more -dangerous. They had established a system of intimidation.... They -should have been released after a public promise had been given, or -when Ireland was quiet, or fresh powers had been granted {166} to the -Government. "A surrender is bad, a compromise or arrangement is -worse.... If all England cannot govern the Member for Cork then let -us acknowledge he is the greatest power in Ireland to-day." - -Mr. Gladstone, in reply, said he had no right to humiliate Parnell by -demanding a penitential confession of guilt, and once more he -disclaimed that the release was the result of a bargain. Parnell, -following him, asserted--what was the truth--that no mention of his -release was made by him in any written or oral communication with his -friends. - -The same night, May 4th, was announced the appointment of Lord -Spencer as Lord-Lieutenant and Lord Frederick Cavendish as Chief -Secretary. The post had first been offered to Sir Charles Dilke, but -he had refused the offer. It is stated that in certain quarters the -name of Mr. Chamberlain had been mentioned, and that he had signified -his willingness to accept the offer if it were made. Apparently it -was not made. We cannot avoid speculating what would have happened -had he gone to Ireland. He had taken a leading part in the release -of Parnell; would that have saved him--since the Phoenix Park -murderers did not intend to kill Lord Frederick? And if Mr. -Chamberlain had been killed in May, 1882, what other course might -British politics have taken? Would Tariff Reform ever have been a -Tory election cry? Would there have been no Boer War? Would the -Tories not have enjoyed that long term of office which for years kept -the question of Home Rule in abeyance? It were foolish to say yes or -no to any of these questions, but at least we may say that the fact -Mr. Chamberlain was not asked to become Irish Secretary in 1882 is -one of the most momentous in British politics. - -{167} - -While in Kilmainham Parnell had found it absolutely impossible to -control in any way the incitements to crime and the wild expenditure -of the Ladies' Land League. His sister, Anna Parnell, was at the -head of this marvellous organization which she spread in well-ordered -ramifications throughout the country. Her generalship was -magnificent and complete, and there appeared to be no detail of this -revolutionary army with which she was not completely familiar and -completely determined to control. Parnell wrote to her again and -again from prison, pointing out the crass folly of the criminality -for which the Ladies' League, now, solely existed. He even urged the -Governmental representations made to him for the suppression of this -league of anarchy, and the hopeless financial position it was -creating--the estimated weekly expenditure of these ladies running -into thousands of pounds; money contributed chiefly by America for -the fighting policy of the Irish Party--but to no purpose. - -The fanatic spirit in these ladies was extreme; in Anna Parnell it -was abnormal, and Parnell saw no way of saving her, or the country, -from her folly but by fulfilling his threat of vetoing the payment of -another penny to the Ladies' Land League. This he then did, and thus -automatically broke up this wild army of mercenaries. Anna Parnell -never forgave her brother for this act, and to the last day of his -life refused to hold any communication with him again. Parnell had -much family affection, and many times made overtures of peace to his -sister, of whom he was really fond, and for whose strength of mind -and will he had much respect. On two occasions he met her -accidentally and tried to speak to her, but she resolutely turned -from him and refused any reply to the letters he wrote her. - - - -[1] From Captain O'Shea _re_ "Kilmainham Treaty." - -[2] The day of our little daughter's funeral. - -[3] Captain O'Shea. - - - - -{168} - -CHAPTER XVII - -THE PHOENIX PARK MURDERS AND AFTER - - "_The blood more stirs - To rouse a lion than to start a hare._" - --SHAKESPEARE. - - -On Parnell's release from Kilmainham he returned to me at Eltham, and -on May 6, 1882, went to Weymouth to welcome Michael Davitt, who came -out of Portland prison on that day. He returned to Eltham that -Saturday evening, and the next morning, Sunday, I drove with him to -Blackheath Station, as he had to go to London to see Davitt and -others. At the station I asked him to get me a newspaper before he -left, and waited for it in the carriage. - -From where I sat in the carriage I could see Parnell's back as he -stood just inside the station door. I was watching him, and he half -turned and smiled at me as he opened the paper--the _Sunday -Observer_--to glance at the news before he brought it to me. He told -me afterwards that he wanted to see what was said about Michael -Davitt. He had now come to the top of the steps and, as he suddenly -stopped, I noticed a curious rigidity about his arms--raised in -holding the newspaper open. He stood so absolutely still that I was -suddenly frightened, horribly, sickeningly afraid--of I knew not -what, and, leaning forward, called out, "King, what is it?" Then he -came down the steps to me and, pointing to the headline, said, -"Look!" And I read, "Murder of Lord Frederick Cavendish and Mr. -Burke!" - -{169} - -I heard the train coming in, and tried to pull myself together, for -the awful significance of the horrible thing to my lover, just -released from Kilmainham on the Treaty, came home to me with a rush -of pain. His face was ashen, and he stared, frowning heavily, before -him, unconsciously crushing the hand I had slipped into his until the -rings I wore cut and bruised my fingers. - -I said to him, "Quick, you must catch this train. See Davitt and the -others as arranged and as many more as you can find. Go, you will -know what to do, but you must meet them all at once." He turned -heavily away, saying, "I shall resign," and I answered as I ran -beside him to the platform, "No, you are not a coward." - -Before I left Blackheath I wired to Willie to bring Parnell to dinner -at Eltham if he could possibly manage it, and spent one of the most -terrible days of my life considering the effect this awful crime -would probably have upon my lover's career. - -Willie came down that evening, Parnell with him. They were both very -gloomy and depressed, and Parnell, after his greeting of me--as -though this were our first meeting since he came out of prison--sat -gazing stonily before him, only glancing across at Willie with the -stormy flare in his eyes when the latter--who was really sorry for -Parnell, as well as shocked at the murders--said something that -jarred upon him. During dinner Willie told me of what had been done -during the day, of the absolute horror and consternation of the Irish -Party, of what Mr. Chamberlain had said on hearing of the murders, -and of Parnell's continuous threat, throughout that awful day, of -retiring from public life altogether. - -Willie said to me: "I wish you would urge Parnell not to talk so, -Dick; he can't resign his seat now, the {170} thing's impossible; he -must show that it simply does not touch him politically in any way." - -I turned to Parnell and said: "I do absolutely agree with Willie -about it, Mr. Parnell. It would be throwing the whole country over -and a reflection upon all who joined in that Treaty." - -Parnell at last roused himself and said: "Well, I will write to the -G.O.M.[1] and offer to resign, and abide by his decision; the thing -makes me feel hopeless of doing any good." - -On the wall of the dining-room where we sat hung a large engraving of -the "House" of 1880. All the members of that Parliament were in the -picture, and among them, of course, Mr. Parnell and Captain O'Shea. -As the maid turned to leave the room, after placing the coffee tray -on a little side table, this picture, which hung immediately behind -Parnell, fell to the floor with a crash that, in the state of nervous -tension we were all in, brought us to our feet in alarm. Willie's -chair overturned as he jumped up; but Parnell's was steady, held in a -grip that showed his knuckles white as he held it slightly raised off -the floor, while he stood, half turned, staring at the picture as it -lay among the splintered glass. - -Willie laughed, and, coming to help the parlourmaid to pick up the -picture, exclaimed: "There goes Home Rule, Parnell!" But he also had -in him a slight dash of the superstition that was so highly developed -in Parnell's fatalistic nature, and his smile turned to gravity as he -glanced at Parnell's tense expression and listened to my hasty -explanation of the fall: "Perhaps the wire was rotten, or the maid -had shaken the picture as she passed!" Parnell took the loose end of -the wire in both hands and {171} tried to break it. He could not. -Willie said: "Mary (the parlourmaid) was the other side of the room, -so she could not have shaken it." Parnell said nothing, and we began -to speak of other things. - -Afterwards I said to him: "You did not really mind about that -picture, did you? It was only a rotten wire!" and he answered: "It -was an omen, I think, darling, but for whom? Willie or me?" and when -I told him I wished he would not talk such nonsense, and that I did -not believe in omens or want any falling pictures to be "omens" for -either of them, he smiled and said no more. - -The immediate consequence of the Phoenix Park murders was the -introduction of a Crimes Bill by Sir William Harcourt on May 11th. -Parnell was not approached on the subject. He was given no -opportunity of criticizing the proposals and of suggesting any more -moderate measure which might have appealed to that great body of -Irish Nationalists who viewed the murders with horror. The new Bill -went roughshod over Irish opinion, and the conciliatory effect of the -Arrears Bill, introduced a few days later, was altogether marred. - -The second reading of the latter measure was moved by Mr. Gladstone -on May 22nd. In the course of his speech he said: "Eviction in the -exercise of a legal right may be to the prejudice of your neighbours, -may involve the highest reprehension, may even imply deep moral -guilt. There may be outrages which--all things considered, the -persons and the facts--may be less guilty in the sight of God than -evictions." - -The Bill was bitterly opposed by the Tory Party. - -I had written to Mr. Gladstone expressing a wish that {172} he should -see Mr. Parnell. He wrote in answer from Downing Street on May 25th, -1882, declining to do so in private, though in public he was more -than ready to co-operate with Parnell. - -I suggested in reply that we should meet and talk the matter over, -and it was arranged that he should come to see me at Thomas's Hotel -on June 2nd. He arrived punctually at three o'clock. We had a long -talk about Parnell and about politics--chiefly, of course, as -referring to Ireland. He was extremely agreeable and courteous, and -I remember very well the great charm of manner he possessed, a charm -that struck me afresh at each subsequent meeting. A natural charm -and, no doubt, a natural insincerity, but one which is such an -immense asset in the career of a great man: that of making others -believe--or wish to believe--that they are on the same plane of -intellect and diplomacy as himself! He was a very great old man, I -thought, as his wonderful eagle's eyes showed just sufficient -admiration in them to savour of homage without offence. And I may -say here that, with all the perfect courtesy of which, when he chose, -he was past master, he knew before the conclusion of our interview, -and allowed me to know that he knew, what I desired that he should -know--that my personal interest in Parnell was my only interest in -Irish politics. - -Mr. Gladstone having agreed that it would be of considerable -convenience to the Government to be in private and amicable -communication with Mr. Parnell, and that I, whose interests were -inseparable from those of the Irish leader, would be confidently -accepted as such intermediary by him, we parted satisfied, I think, -on both sides with the afternoon's compact. - -After this first interview with Mr. Gladstone I had {173} frequently -to see him at Downing Street--taking him drafts, clauses, and various -proposed amendments (of Bills affecting Ireland) that Parnell -proposed, altered, and suggested privately to Gladstone before -putting them before the House. Parnell, of course, always intent on -the betterment of the law as affecting Ireland; Gladstone bargaining -for the Irish vote, when without it he would have lost his majority. - -Parnell would sometimes write the rough draft of what he wished -Gladstone to know, or sometimes write what he had to say in the form -of a letter (often dating it from my house!), but occasionally he -would do neither, as, on more than one important occasion, he said: -"I don't trust that Grand Old Spider farther than I can see him. -Sweetheart, learn this by heart, and let it off at him yourself." -Then I had to take down in my own handwriting what he wished proposed -to Gladstone, and at the subsequent interview "let it off" at him. -Very often letters were sufficient, and in this case I almost -invariably wrote them, or, if the letter was in Parnell's handwriting -addressed to me, under cover of my envelope, I would request its -return, and this was done; letters intended for Parnell by Gladstone -being invariably addressed to me. - -It was by my suggestion Mr. Gladstone opened these private -negotiations with Mr. Parnell, and I was myself much amused to find -that both these great statesmen were of one mind as to the danger of -such a trusting of one another as such negotiations necessitated. -When I said to Parnell, "Why not see Gladstone yourself privately, -and get what you can from him, in return for the Irish vote?" he at -once replied that such a proceeding would be fatal to the "cause," -and when I said much the same thing to {174} Gladstone at our first -interview--which latter was a brilliant inspiration of Parnell's -own--he replied that "such a proceeding" would be fatal to his -position, but, he added, "it might be advantageous to the Irish -leader and myself if you, Mrs. O'Shea, would accept the thankless -office of go-between, as you suggest. A safe and secret intermediary -might well prove to be of the greatest assistance to us both in our -efforts for the welfare of the country." I have wondered since which -country the G.O.M. had in his mind as he spoke. - -On June 17 and 18, 1882, Gladstone wrote to me. The letter of the -17th was little more than a formal acknowledgment, but in his note of -the following day he referred me to something which had passed at our -last interview. He had on that occasion directed my attention to the -proposal to amend certain severe clauses of the Crimes Act. - -Meanwhile the Irish were fighting the Crimes Bill inch by inch. It -had been read a second time on May 25 after three nights' debate. -The most drastic clause, from the legal point of view, was the -suspension of the right of trial by jury in all grave cases of -agrarian crime, which (and the Government would decide when) would be -tried by a Court of three judges, in such district as the -Attorney-general might decide. Public meetings could be proclaimed -and newspapers suppressed. The police were vested with power to -search private houses and arrest night wanderers. Finally, and -against this the Irish Party especially protested--magistrates were -empowered to convict summarily on charges of incitement, boycotting, -and membership of a secret society. - -This was the iron heel with a vengeance; it took from the Irish the -last vestige of citizen right. Parnell opposed, {175} yet not -violently; the remembrance of the Phoenix Park murders held him back. -But the speeches of his followers were bitter in the extreme. "What -profit," cried Dillon, "can you ever expect from governing a nation -which nothing conciliates, and nothing can subdue?" Of all the fifty -Coercion Acts passed in the eighty-eight years since the Union this -was the worst. - -The second reading was carried by 383 votes against 45. - -Parnell expressed a desire that Gladstone should have his (Parnell's) -views distinctly put before him by me--not in writing. This did not -suit Gladstone. He had no intention of giving away his hand in -regard to the Crimes Bill, and, in the then temper of his own Party -and of the Conservatives, was not at all desirous of making any -further private concession that would certainly place him in a too -favourable light (as regards this Bill) in the eyes of the Irishmen. - -He was determined not to see me again with reference to the Crimes -Bill, and on June 23 he wrote me to that effect. It was obvious from -the tone of his letter that he was annoyed by the continued -opposition of the Irish Party, which, from his point of view, only -served to impede the progress of the Arrears Bill. - -On one of my visits to Downing Street I told Gladstone of the inner -working of the Ladies' Land League, about which he was curious. I -mentioned to him the enormous sum these Lady Leaguers had expended -and the great difficulty Parnell had had in suppressing them. When -he heard the sum of their estimated weekly expenditure a grim smile -flitted over his face. "Very satisfactory," he remarked, "as the -ladies have evidently put these large sums beyond the power of--of -the Land League's expenditure!" - -{176} - -Gladstone would not sit still when he talked to me, but liked to pace -up and down the long room with me. On my entry he would rise from -his desk to greet me and, solemnly handing me a chair, would walk -down the room to the door at the end, which was always open when I -entered, close it firmly and, pacing back to the door of my entry, -push it. These preparations always made me smile--a smile in which -he joined as, coming up to me and offering me his arm, he said: "Do -you mind walking up and down the room, I talk better so." So we -paced up and down while I voiced Parnell's instructions and listened -to the G.O.M.'s views, intentions, and tentative suggestions, always -on my part keeping to "It is considered that, etc.," in giving -Parnell's point, and always receiving "your friend should, etc.," or -"I am prepared to concede to your friend, etc., in return." - -He was so careful in this regard that one day I said: "What is it you -shut up in that room, Mr. Gladstone, when I come to see you?" - -"Persons, or a person, you do not come to see, Mrs. O'Shea. Only a -secretary or so, and occasionally, in these times of foolish panic, -detectives. No," in answer to my look of inquiry, "no one can -overhear a word we say when we pace up and down like this, and, as -you do not mind it, it refreshes me." - -Always as I stood face to face with this Grand Old Man on leaving, -and looked into his slate-coloured eyes, so like those of an eagle, I -experienced a sudden uneasy feeling, in spite of his gracious -courtesy, of how like to a beautiful bird of prey this old man was: -with the piercing, cruel eyes belying the tender, courteous smile, -and how, relentless as an eagle, men like this had struck and torn -their victims. But to me, personally, he always showed {177} the -marvellous charm of manner which sent me away feeling that I was at -least a compelling force in the great game of politics and worthy of -the place I held. - -The political history of this time has been written many times, and -from various points of view, and in this book I do not propose to -repeat it, but only to record such point or detail as at the time -affected my King in his home life. - - - -[1] Gladstone. - - - - -{178} - -CHAPTER XVIII - -ENVOY TO GLADSTONE - - "_Good Cinna, take this paper, and look you, lay it in the - praetor's chair, where Brutus may but find it!_" - --SHAKESPEARE (JULIUS CÆSAR). - - -Negotiations concerning the Crimes Bill were broken off, but before -the end of June, 1882, I was once more acting as envoy to Gladstone. -The following is a characteristic memorandum drafted by Parnell for -transmission by me to the Prime Minister:-- - - -Although the Coercion Bill as likely to pass into law is of such a -character as to render it impossible for him to take any further part -in the Irish Land movement, yet he trusts that the administration of -the Act by the Government will be of such a moderate character as to -enable him to co-operate generally with Mr. G. in Parliament and in -the English constituencies in carrying to a successful end that land -legislation the foundations of which were so broadly laid in the Act -of last session, and in gaining those other measures of general -reform for the benefit of the peoples of both England and Ireland -which now constitute the programme of the Liberal Party. - -Since his (Parnell's) release he has taken steps to secure that no -portion of the invested surplus of the fund shall be drawn without -his signature, and he will endeavour to provide that future -remittances from the offices of the central organization in America -shall be added to this fund; the remittances through the _Irish -World_, however, he has no hopes of being able to control in any way. - -The Bill[1] to go through all its stages in six days--Supply to be -facilitated. - -{179} - -Duration to be limited to three months after assembly of a new -Parliament if present Parliament is dissolved within three -years--treason felony struck out on report. - -Centres of disturbance are being rapidly created throughout Ireland, -owing to loss by tenants of legal interest in their holdings through -sale or expiry of period of redemption. The formation of the new -Landlord Corporation accompanied by a harsh administration of the -Coercion Act will tend to encourage landlords to resist reasonable -concessions. - -He has placed new clauses on the notice paper for the Arrears Bill -which will go far to meet these difficulties, and will do what he can -to facilitate Supply and the passage of that Bill, also to prevent -obstruction to other Government business. - - -These notes were submitted a second time to Mr. Gladstone, with the -addition of the following paragraphs:-- - - -This danger might be met by insertion of clauses in Arrears Bill -having compulsory retrospective effect as far back as June, 1880, and -making provision for payment of costs. - -It is most desirable that Parliament should reassemble after short -holiday to make whatever permanent amendments the Government think -necessary in the Land Act. - - -On June 29th Mr. Gladstone wrote thanking me for my letter and -returning "the enclosure."[2] Reference was made by him to the -murders of Mr. Walter Bourke and Corporal Wallace in Galway; and -though I have no doubt he did not suspect Parnell of the least shade -of complicity, it was plain that he did not completely acquit the -extremists of the _Irish World_. - -The progress of the Crimes Bill was more hotly contested than ever in -the committee stage, which extended over twenty-four sittings of the -House. Clauses were {180} fought word by word, sentence by sentence. -The Bill was read a third time on July 8th, and was passed by the -Lords four days later, receiving the Royal Assent on the following -day. In less than a week 17 counties were proclaimed; and by the -beginning of August 170 suspects were in custody. - -On July 21st the Arrears Bill passed the Commons by 169 to 98. Lord -Eversley (Mr. Shaw Lefevre) rightly observes that instead of -appealing to justice Mr. Gladstone based his support of the Bill on -expediency. For years tenants had been burdened with excessive rents -on land which their efforts had raised from prairie value. The -wiping out of the accumulated arrears of these unjust rents could -hardly be termed a mere act of expediency. - -On July 31st the Lords returned the Bill to the Commons cut to -pieces. Certain minor concessions were made, and the Bill was sent -back otherwise in its original form. When next it appeared in the -Lords the Irish landlord peers revolted. The Bill promised them part -payment of what they had looked upon as a bad debt; and so--not for -the sake of justice, but for the sake of that bait of two years' -rent--they supported the Bill, which was passed by the Lords on -August 10th. On or about August 18th, when it became law, fifty -suspects were released. - -I had addressed an appeal to Mr. Gladstone against the death sentence -passed upon a young Irishman on very doubtful evidence. On September -14th he wrote saying that he would certainly bring the appeal under -the notice of Lord Spencer. I was in correspondence with Mr. -Gladstone throughout November of this year. - -Ireland did not figure largely in the Parliamentary legislation of -1883, though a number of minor Irish Bills, on tramways, fisheries -and so forth, which received the {181} support of Parnell, were -carried. Parnell's position in Ireland was impregnable, but the -extremists in America were exasperated by his constitutional -agitation. Early in 1883 Patrick Ford started a dynamite crusade -against England in the _Irish World_, and attempts were actually made -to blow up public buildings in London, while a nitro-glycerine -factory was discovered in Birmingham. Immediately an Explosives Bill -of the most drastic character was introduced by Sir William Harcourt -and rushed through the Commons in a single sitting. The Irish Party -offered no opposition. - -It is significant of the tactics of Mr. Gladstone that he was -secretly striving to influence the Vatican against Home Rule. A Mr. -Errington, an Irish Catholic, but a Whig member of Parliament, had -been sent to Rome with a letter of recommendation from Lord -Granville. Mr. Gladstone had also written about him through Cardinal -Manning, who was opposed to the mission. His business was at first -to work for a Papal reprimand of priests who engaged in Land League -agitation. He succeeded finally in engineering a rescript, dated May -11th, 1883, calling upon bishops to restrain priests from taking part -in the Parnell testimonial. - -Willie was very anxious that Mr. O'Hart (O'Hart's Irish Pedigrees) -should be granted a pension from the Civil List. Mr. Gladstone had -already declined to include him in the List of Beneficiaries. Now at -Willie's urgent request I most reluctantly asked Mr. Gladstone to -reconsider his decision as to Mr. O'Hart, and on September 19th, -1884, received a snub for my pains. I had told Gladstone that Lord -Spencer was credited with having expressed the opinion that Parnell -had some connexion with the Phoenix Park murders. Gladstone {182} -now said he was sure that Spencer did not really believe this. - -In October, 1884, Mr. Trevelyan ceased to be Irish Secretary and -entered the Cabinet as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. The -vacant post was offered to Mr. Shaw Lefevre, but on hearing that Lord -Spencer intended to seek for the renewal of the Coercion Act when it -expired in September, 1885, he refused the offer. Mr. (afterwards -Sir Henry) Campbell-Bannerman became Chief Secretary on October 24th. - -During 1884 Parnell kept quiet, and my negotiations on his behalf -with Gladstone were intermittent. - -In the early part of the year, however, a document of tremendous -import was submitted--none other than "A Proposed Constitution for -Ireland," drawn up by Parnell, which was as follows:-- - - - - An elected Chamber with power to make enactments regarding all - the domestic concerns of Ireland, but without power to interfere - in any Imperial matter. - - The Chamber to consist of three hundred members. - - Two hundred and six of the number to be elected under the present - suffrage, by the present Irish constituencies, with special - arrangements for securing to the Protestant minority a - representation proportionate to their numbers; the remaining 94 - members to be named in the Act constituting the Chamber. - - The principle of nomination regarding this proportion of members - to last necessarily only during the duration of the first Chamber. - - The number of elected members, suffrage, and boundaries - constituencies for election of succeeding Chamber to be capable - of alteration by the preceding Chamber, excepting those special - arrangements for securing to the Protestant minority a - proportionate representation, which arrangements shall be fixed - and immutable. - - The first Chamber to last for three years, unless sooner - dissolved by the Crown. - - {183} - - The Chamber shall have power to enact laws and make regulations - regarding all the domestic and internal affairs of Ireland, - including her sea fisheries. - - The Chamber shall also have power to raise a revenue for any - purpose over which it has jurisdiction, by direct taxation upon - property, by Customs duties, and by licences. - - The Chamber shall have power to create departments for the - transaction of all business connected with the affairs over which - it has jurisdiction, and to appoint and dismiss chief and - subordinate officials for such departments, to fix the term of - their office, and to fix and pay their salaries; and to maintain - a police force for the preservation of order and the enforcement - of the law. - - This power will include the constitution of Courts of Justice and - the appointment or payment of all judges, magistrates, and other - officials of such Courts, provided that the appointment of judges - and magistrates shall in each case be subject to the assent of - the Crown. - - No enactment of the Chamber shall have the force of law until it - shall have received the assent of the Crown. - - A sum of one million pounds sterling per annum shall be paid by - the Chamber to the Imperial Treasury in lieu of the right of the - Crown to levy taxes in Ireland for Imperial purposes, which right - would be held in suspense so long as punctual payment was made of - the above annual sum. - - The right of the Imperial Parliament to legislate regarding the - domestic concerns and internal affairs of Ireland will also be - held in suspense, only to be exercised for weighty and urgent - cause. - - The abolition of the office of Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and all - other offices in Ireland under the Crown connected with the - domestic affairs of that country. - - The representation of Ireland in the Imperial Parliament might be - retained or might be given up. If it be retained the Speaker - might have the power of deciding what questions the Irish members - might take part in as Imperial questions, if this limitation were - thought desirable. - - Such Naval and Military force as the Crown thought requisite from - time to time would be maintained in Ireland out {184} of the - contribution of one million pounds per annum to the Imperial - Treasury; any excess in the cost of these forces over such sum - being provided for out of the Imperial Revenue (i.e. by Great - Britain). - - The Militia would also be levied, controlled, and paid by the - Crown, and all forts, military barracks, posts, and strong places - of the country would be held and garrisoned by the Crown forces. - - No volunteer force to be raised in Ireland without the consent of - the Crown and enactment of the Imperial Parliament, and, if - raised, to be paid for and controlled by the Crown. - - - On May 11th, 1884, Lord Richard Grosvenor wrote a non-committal - acknowledgment of the receipt of this memorandum. - - The Government was then devoting its attention to the Franchise - Bill and the Redistribution of Seats Bill, and it had been - decided to incorporate Ireland in the scheme. This Parnell - considered to be of tremendous importance. Speaking in December, - 1883, at the Dublin banquet held in his honour, he alluded to the - force which had then been gained for Ireland. The change was, in - fact, enormous. Instead of the franchise being confined - practically to the farmers, it would now include the labourers - and the cottier tenants, and the number of voters in Ireland - would go up from 200,000 to 600,000. How would those labourers - and cottier tenants vote? Lord Randolph Churchill (who supported - the Bill against his Party) and Mr. Chamberlain thought, - strangely enough, that their inclusion would help the landlord - interest. Parnell knew better, and when the Bill became law, in - December, 1884, he leapt into action. This was the weapon for - which he had been waiting. From December to March of the - following year he went through Ireland organizing for the - imminent General Election. - - {185} - - In the early months of 1885 the Liberal Government was in a bad - way. It had narrowly escaped defeat on the vote of censure for - its failure to relieve Gordon at Khartoum. The Cabinet was - divided against itself. Many of the Liberal members were - inclined to rebel, and the Irish were working with the Tory - Opposition. Ireland was the rock upon which the Government was - to come to a wreck. The majority of the Cabinet was in favour of - continued coercion. Mr. Chamberlain, Sir Charles Dilke, and Mr. - Shaw Lefevre were strongly opposed to it. But on the subject of - local government for Ireland the difference of opinion was even - more dangerous. Chamberlain submitted a scheme for an elective - National Council in Dublin, with control over administrative - Boards and Departments, but not over the police and the - administration of the law. It had been ascertained indirectly - that Parnell would accept this scheme, and would not oppose a - moderate Coercion Act. Gladstone was prepared to go a step - further and give the National Council control over the police. A - vote was taken in the Cabinet. All the Peers, with the exception - of Lord Granville,[3] were against, and the Commoners, with the - exception of Lord Hartington, were in favour of the scheme. - Therefore "for the present" the scheme was abandoned. This was - in May. The battle over coercion remained to be fought. In less - than four weeks the Government was out of office. - - Gladstone had not been able to make up his mind to abandon - coercion altogether, though he had endeavoured to sweeten the - draught with the promise of a Land Purchase Bill, and Parnell had - been able to arrange privately {186} with the Conservative - Opposition that if they came into power coercion would be dropped. - - On June 8th the Government was beaten on the second reading of - the Budget. The ostensible question, which concerned nobody, was - that of a tax on wine and beer. The whole of the thirty-nine - Irish members voted for the Opposition, and the Government was - beaten by twelve. Thereupon Gladstone resigned and Lord - Salisbury formed his first Ministry. Parnell held the key of the - position. He had put the Tories into power; at his will he could - put them out again. - - Lord Carnarvon became Lord Lieutenant, Sir Michael Hicks-Beach - Chief Secretary, and the intention was expressed to govern - Ireland by constitutional methods. Coercion for the time being - was abandoned, Lord Carnarvon had thought much on Irish - questions, and his rule was in marked contrast to that of his - immediate predecessors. - - On July 14th Lord Richard Grosvenor suddenly remembered Parnell's - draft Constitution for Ireland which I had submitted to - Gladstone. Did it still hold good? To this letter I replied, - and on July 23rd Lord Richard wrote again asking for a plain - answer. But this at the moment it was impossible to give, for - the attitude the Tories would take up with regard to Home Rule - was not yet certain. Lord Carnarvon, the Lord Lieutenant, was - believed to be very favourably disposed to the Irish demands, and - Lord Randolph Churchill seemed willing to go far. On July 28th - Lord Richard wrote again, imploring us to show our hand. - Evidently the Irish vote was worth securing. - - It is interesting to note that on July 17th Mr. Chamberlain, - speaking at Holloway, urged that the pacification {187} of - Ireland depended on the concession to her of the right to govern - herself in the matter of purely local business. - - At the end of July Parnell met Lord Carnarvon in London. The - Lord Lieutenant had already been in communication with Sir - Charles Gavan Duffy and Mr. Justin McCarthy upon the subject of - Home Rule, and there can be little doubt he was in earnest in his - agreement with the principle. How far he was used by his Party - as a cat's-paw to play for the Irish vote is another question. - At least Lord Salisbury knew of the proceedings of his colleague - and was perhaps not averse from using Lord Carnarvon's - convictions to win Parnell's support at the forthcoming elections - without giving a definite Party pledge. The conversation between - Lord Carnarvon and Parnell led the latter to believe that the - Tories were prepared to support a measure of local government for - Ireland. But how far were the Liberals prepared to go? - - On August 4th Mr. Gladstone wrote to me further with reference to - the proposed constitution for Ireland. Did this represent - Parnell's views now? He was urgent in asking for an answer. In - one of my notes I had spoken of the suggestion that a proposition - of his son, Mr. Herbert (now Lord) Gladstone, should be - substituted for it. Mr. Gladstone now assured me on the best - authority that no such proposition had been made. I gathered, - however, that his son had made some suggestions. - - To this a long and comprehensive reply was sent--apparently too - long and comprehensive. No doubt he wanted a definite and - limited scheme to be set before him. I had referred in my letter - to certain changes which had occurred since the draft was sent. - I knew that Gladstone knew what those changes were, for the - frantic appeals for {188} a definite statement were precisely the - counter-bidding against the heightened biddings of Lord Randolph - Churchill and the Conservative Party in which Gladstone declared - he would not engage. He was obviously disinclined to make an - offer until Parnell had pinned himself down to a final demand. - If only he could know what the Home Rule Party wanted! - - The following day Mr. Gladstone set out on a yachting expedition - (to Norway), and a few days later, on August 11th, Parliament was - prorogued. - - Parnell opened his campaign in Dublin on August 11th, when he - announced that he and his Party would stand for an Irish - Parliament and nothing else. There was no talk now of a National - Council. Lord Hartington replied declaring Parnell's proposals - to be fatal and mischievous, and on September 9th Lord Richard - wrote, on behalf of Mr. Gladstone, who was back in England, - pleading for details. - - On October 7th Lord Salisbury, speaking at Newport (Mon.), made a - diplomatic statement about Ireland which suggested much and - promised nothing. - - Later in the month I sent Mr. Gladstone a paper containing the - views of Mr. Parnell, and on November 3rd Lord Richard Grosvenor - replied, referring me to the Government of the day, but thanking - me for the information. There was some mention in the letter of - Willie's prospects for Mid-Armagh. Apparently that affair was - off, since Willie had himself written to such an effect. Willie - was given a gentle rap on the fingers for having in Ireland - talked over the plans for his election with another person.[4] - - {189} - - On November 9th, at Edinburgh, Mr. Gladstone made a speech which - rivalled Lord Salisbury's in elusiveness. The constitutional - demands of Ireland must not be disregarded, but it would be a - vital danger if at such a time there was not a Party politically - independent of the Irish vote. - - Parnell desired precisely the contrary, and on November 21st, the - eve of the General Election, a manifesto was issued calling upon - Irish voters in Great Britain to vote against the Liberal Party. - - Before Parnell's interview with Lord Carnarvon I had sent - Gladstone Parnell's suggestions for a new Home Rule Bill. Mr. - Gladstone wrote expressing satisfaction at the news of the - intended interview, but he would not be drawn. Nevertheless - Parnell made another attempt, {190} and on December 14th, 1885, - addressed the following letter from my house at Eltham:-- - - - - NORTH PARK, ELTHAM, KENT. - _December_ 14th, 1885. - - MY DEAR MRS. O'SHEA,--It appeared to me from Mr. Gladstone's - utterances in Scotland that he would admit the justice of - Ireland's claim for autonomy, and also the expediency of soon - endeavouring to satisfy it provided the result of the General - Election went to show an overwhelming preponderance of the - opinion of the representatives of Ireland in favour of this - claim. A very proper reservation was also made regarding the - maintenance of the supremacy of the Crown in Ireland and all the - authority of Parliament necessary for this supremacy. - - We now know that more than five-sixths of the Irish members - elected by household suffrage have been returned, mostly by very - large majorities, as supporters of the institution of an Irish - Parliament, that a clear majority, seventeen out of thirty-three, - from the Ulster constituencies have been so returned, and that - only one county and one city in Ireland, Antrim and Belfast - respectively, are without Nationalist representation. - - Under these circumstances does it not seem that the question has - now resolved itself firstly into a consideration of the details - of the proposed settlement, and secondly, as to the procedure to - be adopted in obtaining the assent of Parliament, and if needful - of the British electorate to this settlement? As regards the - first matter, the rough sketch, which I sent you some weeks back, - appeared then, and still appears to me, the smallest proposal - which would be likely to find favour in Ireland if brought - forward by an English Minister, but it is not one which I could - undertake to suggest publicly myself, though if it were enacted I - would work in Ireland to have it accepted bona fide as a final - settlement, and I believe it would prove to be one. - - -[Illustration: FACSIMILE OF A PORTION OF LETTER ON pp. 190, 192-3.] - - - This proposal was carefully designed with a view to propitiate - English prejudice, and to afford those guarantees against hasty - legislation, interference in extraneous matters, and unfair - action against particular classes, apprehended by {192} many - persons as a result of the establishment of an Irish Parliament. - It did not involve a repeal of the Act of Union, an irrevocable - step, and the Imperial Parliament having conferred the privilege - by statute would thus always be in a position to recall it by a - similar method, if the privilege was abused. - - It provided for a special proportionate representation for the - large Protestant minority of Ireland. It also left to the - Imperial Parliament the practical decision from time to time as - to the matters which did or did not come within the province of - the local legislature. These are all important concessions and - guarantees, and some opinion must surely have been formed by now - upon these and other details. - - As regards the question of procedure, I am desirous of knowing - after a time whether the solution of the Irish question would be - made the first and only business by a Liberal Government till the - question was settled. The reform of procedure would probably be - found not so necessary or pressing if the Imperial Parliament - could get rid of its Irish work. It appeared to me that the best - way to turn out the present Government would be by a general vote - of censure without special reference to Ireland, or by a vote - directed against some act of policy other than Irish, for which - occasion may shortly arise. We might then either abstain or vote - for the censure as might be deemed best. I have not seen Lord - C.,[5] and shall probably not arrange to do so for a week or two, - as I wish to know how the other side is disposed first. I have - always felt Mr. Gladstone is the only living statesman who has - both the power and the will to carry a settlement it would be - possible for me to accept and work with. - - I doubt Lord C.'s power to do so, though I know him to be very - well disposed. However, if neither party can offer a solution of - the question I should prefer the Conservatives to remain in - office, as under them we could at least work out gradually a - solution of the Land question. You will see from this letter - that I am very much in the dark, except as to my own mind and - that of Ireland, that I want information as to whether Mr. - Gladstone has, as I suppose, accepted the principle of a Chamber - for Ireland with power over her domestic and {193} internal - affairs, and, if so, which, if any, of the details contained in - sketch he objects to or is in doubt about. Further, it is - important that I should be advised before the meeting of - Parliament what procedure would in his judgment be best for - bringing about that change of Government which would enable Mr. - Gladstone to deal authoritatively with the Irish question.--Yours - very truly, CHAS. S. PARNELL. - - -I sent this letter to Gladstone, and on December 16, three days -before the completion of the General Election, he dispatched from -Hawarden a long reply; but he said nothing more than he had already -said in public at Midlothian and elsewhere and in private letters to -me. Throughout this period the one fact apparent was that he would -pledge the Liberal Party to nothing until he was in office and -supported by the Irish Party. While there was a Tory Government in -alliance with Parnell he would do nothing. Whether or no he was -sincere in his advice to us to take Home Rule rather from the Tories -than the Liberals if possible--because many Liberals would support a -Tory Home Rule Bill, while all Tories would oppose a Liberal -measure--this I cannot say. He offered it constantly, though he -urged that a trafficking with both Parties for the purpose of getting -the best terms possible, when, as in the end it must be, avowed, -would injure a Tory measure and kill a Liberal one. - -The result of the election was that the Tories in alliance with the -Parnellites outnumbered the Liberals by four. The Liberals in -alliance with Parnell would have outnumbered the Tories by 167. -Parnell had swept the board in Ireland, and in the House of Commons -he was dictator. - -Immediately after the General Election the Salisbury Cabinet met to -consider its Irish policy, and Lord Carnarvon at once tendered his -resignation. The conclusion {194} to be drawn is obvious. Compact -or no compact, Lord Carnarvon had reason to believe that the Cabinet -were prepared to pursue a certain line of policy which it now -appeared they had no intention of pursuing. The reason for the -_volte face_, too, is plain. Tories plus Parnellites formed too -narrow a majority of the House for Governmental purposes. The Irish -were no longer of any use, and they were abandoned. - -Correspondence with Mr. Gladstone continued, and his letters were -still cautious. He seemed to fear the soreness of certain Liberals -over the Parnellite opposition at the polls, but he confessed to be -very willing to co-operate with the Tory Government in the matter of -Home Rule, and he stated that he had acquainted the Government with -his disposition. Letters of December 19th, 22nd, and 24th are all -more or less to this effect. He harped on the word "bribe." - -As a matter of fact, Mr. Gladstone had approached the Cabinet through -Mr. Balfour, both personally and by letter, urging that it would be a -calamity if this great question were to fall into the lines of Party -conflict. The Cabinet seem to have treated Mr. Gladstone's letter -with scant respect. In spite of Lord Carnarvon's tendered -resignation, Lord Salisbury was resolved to make no concession to -Home Rule. Lord Carnarvon agreed not to resign until the opening of -Parliament. - -A statement in the Press inspired by Mr. Herbert Gladstone to the -effect that Mr. Gladstone was prepared to concede an Irish Parliament -in Dublin was declared by the latter to be "inaccurate and not -authentic." But on December 26 he issued a memorandum to certain of -his more reliable followers to the effect that he would support the -Tories in a Home Rule policy which should satisfy {195} him and the -Irish Nationalists, and that if he were called upon to form a -Government the preparation of a scheme of duly guarded Home Rule -would be an indispensable condition. - -On December 29 I wrote to Gladstone, forwarding a memorandum from -Parnell. On the last day of the year he sent me a memorandum marked -"Secret," in which he summarized the position between Parnell and -himself. It amounted to this: Parnell wanted a definite pledge that -there should be no more coercion before throwing the Tories out of -power and putting the Liberals in. Gladstone, while realizing the -gravity of O'Brien's statistics in the _Nineteenth Century_ as to the -result of exceptional legislation, refused to give this pledge. He -alluded philosophically to the probable course of events if the -Address went through unamended. Mr. Parnell wrote to me to the -following effect embodying the points I was to pass on to Gladstone. - - - - DEAR MRS. O'SHEA,--In reply to your query it would be inexpedient - that the Government.... But, in any case, we should move a - series of separate amendments to the Address--one asking for a - suspension of the support by the naval, military and constabulary - forces of the Crown of ejectments, pending the consideration by - Parliament of the proposed Land measure; another praying the - Crown to remove Chief Justice May from the Bench; a third - condemning the practice of jury packing, resorted to by the Crown - in all the recent trials; a fourth asking her Majesty to fulfil - the promise contained in the Speech of last year for the - equalization of the borough franchise in Ireland to that in - England; a fifth condemning the proclamation of the meetings at - Brookeboro' and Cullohill; and a sixth protesting against the - proclamation and additional police force sent to several of the - counties. - - This would be an assault along the whole line of English - misgovernment in Ireland, and should, in my opinion, be {196} - delivered before we allow the Address to leave the House. The - first fortnight or so of the session would thus be occupied while - the Government were making up their minds as to their proposed - Land Bill. - - At the meeting of the Party I think of proposing a resolution - recommending the minority to pay more deference to the opinion of - the majority than they did last session, and urging all the Irish - members to sit together in opposition. - - Kindly let me know what you think of these proposals.--Yours - truly, CHARLES S. PARNELL. - - - -These blanks were left in the letter as the phrases omitted were too -confidential to be written. I learnt them and quoted them to -Gladstone. - -On January 21 Parliament met to transact business, and the -resignations of Lord Carnarvon and Sir W. Hart Dyke were announced. -Notice was given of a new Coercion Act, and on the 26th the -Government was defeated by 331 to 252 votes--not, however, on an -Irish amendment, but on the motion of Jesse Collings raising the -question of "three acres and a cow." - - - -[1] The Coercion Bill - -[2] The enclosure was a letter from a notorious Invincible in America -who had written to Parnell assuring him of his support and protesting -against the anti-Parnell pro-Davitt agitation got up by Ford in the -_Irish World_. Gladstone had expressed a wish to see one of his -letters. - -[3] Lord Morley has stated that Granville voted for the scheme, and -Lord Eversley that all Peers voted against it. - -[4] Captain O'Shea had made himself unpopular with the Irish Party, -and when in 1885 he wanted their co-operation in his re-election for -County Clare, only Parnell was ready to help him. He had always -refused to sit with the Party, had taken a place on the Government -benches, and thence kept up a running fire of sarcastic comment on -the speeches and mannerisms of his fellow-countrymen. His intimacy -with Chamberlain was also a cause of suspicion, and he would not take -the Party pledge. Mrs. O'Shea was anxious for him to remain in -Parliament, as his political interests left him little time for -visiting Eltham. The need for watchful diplomacy when he was there -was irksome to her. Especially since the February of 1882 she could -not bear to be near him. Parnell had great doubt of the possibility -of getting Captain O'Shea returned for Clare or any other Irish seat -without the pledge. O'Shea, under the impression that he himself had -been the chief negotiator of the "Kilmainham Treaty," accused Parnell -of ingratitude and treachery. Mrs. O'Shea then got into touch with -Lord Richard Grosvenor, and a scheme was put on foot for getting -Captain O'Shea nominated for the Exchange Division of Liverpool as a -Liberal. The united strength of the Liberal Party, exercised by Lord -Richard Grosvenor and through him by Mr. Gladstone, and of Parnell's -influence on the Irish vote, failed to carry him in. The retirement -of the English Liberal candidate, Mr. T. E. Stephens, even after -nomination and the concentration of the Liberal forces on O'Shea's -election did not suffice. Mr. L. R. Baily, the Conservative, -defeated him by 55 votes. Captain O'Shea then returned to the demand -for an Irish seat, and persisted in being nominated at the -by-election pending in Galway. He still refused to take the Party -pledge. Parnell, therefore, at first refused to countenance his -candidature, but finally gave way, and he was elected. - -[5] Lord Carnarvon. - - - - -{197} - -CHAPTER XIX - -THE FIRST HOME RULE BILL - - "_Memories, images and precious thoughts - That shall not die, and cannot be destroyed._" - --WORDSWORTH. - - -Before forming his Cabinet Mr. Gladstone enunciated the necessity for -an examination whether it was practicable to establish a legislative -body to sit in Dublin, and to deal with Irish, as distinguished from -Imperial affairs. - -Five of the members of his last Cabinet--Lords Hartington, Derby, -Northbrook, Selborne and Carlingford--signified their absolute -opposition to Home Rule. Two--Mr. Chamberlain and Mr. -Trevelyan--agreed to the inquiry provisionally. Two--Sir Charles -Dilke and Mr. Shaw Lefevre--had been defeated at the General -Election. Seven--Lords Granville, Spencer, Kimberley, Ripon and -Rosebery, Sir William Harcourt and Mr. Childers--agreed absolutely. -Four new men--Mr. Morley, Mr. Campbell-Bannerman, Mr. Mundella and -Lord Herschell--came into the Cabinet. Mr. Morley became Irish -Secretary. A scheme was drafted by Mr. Gladstone and Mr. Morley. It -consisted of two Bills, a Home Rule Bill and a Land Bill. On the -scheme being laid before the Cabinet Mr. Chamberlain and Mr. -Trevelyan resigned.[1] - -{198} - -On April 8th, 1886, the evening of the introduction of the Home Rule -Bill, Mr. Gladstone sent his private secretary down to Eltham with a -letter to me asking me to telegraph one word, "Yes," if he was to -introduce the Bill that night. In this case he was to speak shortly -after four o'clock. Mr. Parnell had not given him the required -answer earlier, as he had up to the last moment been trying to induce -Mr. Gladstone to give the Bill wider and more comprehensive clauses -than the G.O.M. would assent to. Now, however, he had said to me, as -he started that evening for the House: "This Bill will do as a -beginning; they shall have more presently. If the Old Man wires to -know if it is all right answer 'Yes.'" Mr. Gladstone had previously -arranged with me that I should be at home waiting for his message in -order that I might let him know that Parnell and the "Party" were -ready. - -His messenger was so late that I simply snatched Gladstone's letter -from him and, scribbling my "Yes" on the enclosed Government form, -sent my waiting servant flying to the telegraph office with it. -After which I had time to join in the regrets of Mr. Gladstone's -secretary that his master had made it impossible for me to get up to -the House in time for his introduction of the Bill. The secretary -told me that he would have "derived considerable interest" from the -proceedings, but I felt much {199} more keenly than that about this -Bill that I had taken so often in its swaddling clothes from parent -to foster parent, and I was very much disappointed at not being -present at its introduction to a larger life. - -The debate on the first and second readings lasted sixteen days. It -is to be remembered that in his attack on the Bill Mr. Chamberlain -did not oppose Home Rule, but only this particular scheme. - -A great wish of Willie's was to be appointed Under-secretary for -Ireland. I had on various occasions made the suggestion to Mr. -Gladstone, but without successful issue. Gladstone had a perfect -manner of refusing appointments when personally asked for them; it -was always an apparent pain to him; nothing but the knowledge of his -duty restrained him from interference, and though I was not really -anxious that Willie should receive this appointment I was willing to -please him by asking for it, and it might have excited suspicion if I -had not asked. I must admit that Mr. Gladstone never to my knowledge -of him all those years made an appointment from motives of private -favour. Here once more, when he wrote regretting he couldn't poach -on his colleagues' patronage preserves, his manners were perfect. - -On May 8th an urgent letter from Gladstone at Downing Street was -delivered at my house. Mr. Morley had lost track of Mr. Parnell, and -wanted to know where he was. It was apparently the most natural -thing in the world to ask me where was Parnell. A form of Government -telegram was enclosed for my reply. - -In view of the fact that Mr. Gladstone and his colleagues were so -pained, surprised, and properly shocked when Mr. Parnell was publicly -arraigned as my lover, the frantic way in which they applied to me, -when they were {200} unable to find him, was, afterwards, a source of -considerable amusement to us both. - -From the time of my first interview with Mr. Gladstone onwards, no -time was lost in "failing to trace him here" before hurried -application was made to me at my--and Parnell's--permanent address. -I did not choose that the Irish Party should have his private -address--nor did Parnell choose it--but I was most particular that -the Government should know it. Governments--especially Liberal -Governments--are before all things simple-minded and of childlike -guilelessness. - -I remember when on one occasion the Government desired to know -Parnell's views on certain matters before elaborating a Bill shortly -to go before the House, a special messenger was sent to Eltham with a -letter. I had gone to the seaside with my children, and my servants -had standing orders that they knew nothing of Mr. Parnell or of his -whereabouts. So the nonplussed Governmental messenger meditated upon -my doorstep for one moment only, then, armed with "_Mrs. O'Shea's -address_" at Hastings, came straight on to receive Mr. Parnell's -reply, and safely deliver it within the stipulated time. But there -can be no doubt, of course, that Mr. Gladstone's "Poor fellow, poor -fellow, what a terrible fall," subsequent to the hounding, at his -word, of his gallant opponent to death by the Irish sycophants, -alluded to the breaking of the eleventh commandment of social life: -"Thou shalt not be found out" (publicly), rather than to the seventh -of orthodox Christianity. - -On June 7th Mr. Parnell spoke on the Home Rule Bill. It was the last -night of the debate, and he had carefully prepared his speech. - -The rejection of the Bill by a full House--343 against {201} 313 -votes--was immediately followed by the dissolution of Parliament. -Thus in July, 1886, the Liberals went out in alliance with the Irish -leader, whom, only twelve months before, they had gone out -_denouncing_ with all his followers. - -So ends the most important period of my negotiations with Gladstone. -The subsequent course of them may be sketched briefly. - -In July, 1886, Gladstone replied to certain suggestions of Parnell -recommending perseverance with the Home Rule scheme, with the -objection that he was unable to carry the Gladstonian Party beyond a -certain point. - -There were times when Mr. Gladstone became somewhat uneasy in regard -to the possible consequences of so many interviews with me. Also -someone said once to him, "Supposing Mrs. O'Shea told Parnell you -said so and so, and it was more than you meant to say?" On June -15th, 1887, for example, he wrote asking with utmost politeness for a -letter instead of an interview. - -However, on August 22nd of the same year I find him writing from -Hawarden thanking me for some gift (of game or fruit) and expressing -hope of the future. - -Gladstone now told me that he wished to meet Parnell in order to talk -over the political situation, and I suggested that a visit to -Hawarden by Parnell would have a good effect politically. Gladstone -then asked Parnell to Hawarden to discuss the outlook in politics, an -invitation which Parnell did not answer at once, as he first wished -to ascertain the tactics of the Conservative Party. - -On August 30th, 1889, Mr. Gladstone wrote to Parnell a most private -letter, lamenting that he had not heard from him and his friends with -reference to a visit to Hawarden. The fact was that since Parnell -had received {202} Gladstone's invitation the Tories had been making -advances, and had just proffered a Roman Catholic University for -Ireland. Gladstone was right in supposing that here was the cause of -Parnell's silence. He was not angry, but he threatened Parnell with -the effect of this new proposal on Nonconformist and Presbyterian -Liberals. - -In October the air was clearer, the Government's Irish University -scheme had gone awry, and Gladstone was jubilant. He wrote on the -16th renewing the invitation. With regard to the Home Rule Bill he -was all for reserve; with regard to Parnell's action against the -_Times_ all for dispatch. - -It was two months later, however (on December 19th), that Parnell, on -his way to Liverpool, visited Gladstone at Hawarden. It was a short -but agreeable visit, and at dinner Mr. Parnell sat next to Miss -Gladstone. The conversation turned upon actors and acting, and Miss -Gladstone said, "Who is the greatest actor you have ever seen, Mr. -Parnell?" "Your father, undoubtedly!" he promptly returned, much to -her delight. - -As Parnell became moderate in politics Gladstone became more extreme. -I remember one evening in April or May, 1888, driving with Parnell to -Morley's house in Elm Park Gardens where Parnell and Morley had a -quiet conversation together. - -I waited in the hansom cab a little way off the house for a -considerable time, and at last Parnell came out with an amused -expression on his face. As we were driving home he said: - -"We can never satisfy English politicians! They imprisoned me for -causing agitation in Ireland, and now they want agitation, if not -outrage. Morley said to me: 'The people must be made to wake up a -bit; can't you {203} do anything to stir them up?'" Then with a -laugh: "If they knew how easy it was for me to stir Ireland up, and -how confoundedly difficult I have found it to quiet her down again, -they would be very careful before giving me such an invitation!" -And, with the experience of the past to give force and conviction to -his words, he had shown Mr. Morley the extreme danger of Mr. -Gladstone's suggestions. - - - -[1] The letters of Captain O'Shea preserved by Mrs. Parnell throw -some light on Mr. Chamberlain's mind. In December, 1884, Chamberlain -dealt at length with the Nationalist movement and the sentiment -behind it, and unfolded his plan for a "National Board" for Ireland. -In March, 1885, he was discussing the possibility of an arrangement -with the Irish Party to get the Redistribution Bill and the Crimes -Bill quickly into law on condition that the Government brought in -Local Government Bills, including one for Ireland. In May, Captain -O'Shea wrote that Gladstone was strongly in favour of this solution, -and that, to Chamberlain's surprise, Lord Hartington did not reject -the proposal off-hand, as expected. He added that the Cardinal had -power to assure Parnell and the Government of the full support of the -Catholic Church. Captain O'Shea's personal interest in the abortive -scheme is revealed in the following passage from a letter of May 4, -1885: "The reason I am anxious about the Local Self-Government scheme -is that if Chamberlain has power, which I think he will in the next -Parliament, he will offer me the Chief Secretaryship, or the -equivalent post if the name is abolished, if the boys will let me -have it." - - - - -{204} - -CHAPTER XX - -MR. PARNELL IN DANGER--FOUNDING OF THE NATIONAL LEAGUE - - "_He who for winds and clouds - Maketh a pathway free, - Through waste or hostile crowds - Can make a way for thee._" - --PAUL GERHARDT. - - -One morning in 1882 I saw in the morning papers a cable message -announcing the death of Miss Fanny Parnell. Mr. Parnell was at my -house at the time, but asleep. After an all-night sitting I would -never allow him to be roused until four in the afternoon, when he -would have breakfast and chat with me until it was time to go to the -House. On seeing the newspaper cable from America about his sister I -thought it better to wake him and tell him of it, lest he should read -it while I was away with my aunt. I knew that Fanny Parnell was his -favourite sister, and he had told me that she was the cleverest and -most beautiful woman in his family. This I knew was high praise, as -Willie had met Mrs. Thomson--another of Parnell's sisters--and had -told me that she was the most strikingly beautiful woman he had ever -met. - -I woke him and told him of his sister's death as gently as I could, -but he was terribly shocked, and I could not leave him at all that -day. For a time he utterly broke down, but presently a cable arrived -for him--sent on from London--saying that his sister's body was to be -embalmed and brought to Ireland, and his horror and indignation {205} -were extreme. He immediately wrote out a message for me to cable -from London on his behalf, absolutely forbidding the embalmment of -his sister's body, and saying that she was to be buried in America. - -The idea of death was at all times very painful to him, but that -anyone should be embalmed and taken from one place to another after -death was to him unspeakably awful. For this, amongst other reasons, -I could not bear to have him taken to Ireland--to Glasnevin -Cemetery--after his death. My desire was to have him near me and, as -he would have wished, to have taken care of his grave myself. But I -gave way to the longing of the Ireland he had lived for, and to the -clamour of those who had helped to kill him. How they dealt with him -alive is history now, but how they dealt with him in death is not so -well known; and I give an extract from the message of a friend, who -had gone to see his grave a few short years after his death: "Your -husband's grave is the most desolate and neglected spot in the whole -cemetery, and I grieve to tell you of the painful impression it made -upon me." - -I then sent over a servant, with some flowers, and his report was -even worse. Fragments of glass from the broken artificial wreaths, -placed there years before; trampled, neglected grass, and little of -that but weeds; and the bare untidy backings and wires of the wreaths -I had been sending for the greeting of so many days marked only in -the calendar of our love. - -Poor Ireland--a child in her asking, a child in her receiving, and so -much a child in her forgetting. - -When Mr. Parnell first came to Eltham he told me that he had had, -since his boyhood at school, a habit of sleep-walking whenever he was -at all run down in health. {206} When he was in America he used to -lock the door of his room and put the key into a box with a spring -lock that he had bought for the purpose. He feared he might wander -about the hotel in his sleep. Also he warned me, when he first came, -that he was subject to "night terrors," very much as a highly strung -child is, and in these he would spring up panic-stricken out of deep -sleep, and, without fully awaking, try to beat off the imaginary foe -that pressed upon him. It was a species of nightmare; not apparently -excited by any particular cause other than general want of tone. -After a few years of careful dieting I succeeded in freeing him of -these painful and most wearing attacks. - -When the attacks came on I went into his room and held him until he -became fully conscious, for I feared that he would hurt himself. -They were followed by a profuse perspiration and deep sleep of -several hours. He was terribly worried about these nightmares, but I -assured him that it was only indigestion in a peculiar form. "You -really think so?" he would reply, and when I told him that they would -pass off with careful dieting he was reassured, and he followed my -directions so implicitly as to diet that he soon proved me right. - -He became very much run down again after his sister's death, but -recovered perfectly, and had no recurrence of these attacks until -some years after, when he suffered from a nervous breakdown brought -on by overwork. Sir Henry Thompson treated him then, and he quickly -recovered. - -Soon after I met Mr. Parnell I sent to Worcester for some white roses -in pots to keep in my hothouse in order to provide my exigeant lover -with buttonholes. He loved white roses, he told me, and would not be -content with any other flower from me; nor would he wear a rose from -{207} my garden, as he said anyone could have those who asked me for -them. So I had to keep a constantly blooming company of white roses -in my conservatory to provide a buttonhole of ceremony on his speech -days, or on other occasions when I wished him to look particularly -well. Sometimes we would drive out miles into the country. Keston -Common was a favourite resort of ours, and, as we rarely took a -servant with us, we would either put up the horse I drove (Dictator, -given to me by Mr. Parnell) at some inn, or tie him to a tree while -we wandered about or sat under the trees talking. - -He would do his best to learn the names of the wild flowers he picked -for me--with uncomfortably short stalks!--but, beyond being at last -able to name a dandelion or buttercup at sight, he did not shine in -any branch of botany. "What did you call this fine plant?" he would -ask with a glimmer of fun in his eyes. "It is not a plant you have, -but a single flower branch, and it is called a king-cup--picked much -too short!" I would answer severely, and he laughed as he tumbled his -trophies into my lap and insisted that the ferns ruthlessly dug and -cut out with his pocket-knife would grow all right, in spite of their -denuded roots, if I "made them do it, in the greenhouse!" - -When it was too wet to go out, or if he was not well, he used to -amuse himself at home in my sitting-room practising shooting with an -air-gun. He used a lighted candle for target, and became so expert -in putting out the light this way that it became too troublesome to -light the candle so often, and we substituted other targets. - -Sometimes he would go to the farther end of my aunt's park, where -there was a pond basin, dried up long before, {208} and many happy -hours were spent there, shooting in turn, with his revolvers. - -I remember on one Sunday afternoon my aunt's bailiff came down, -having heard revolver shots, though the sound was deadened by the -high banks. The bailiff was much perturbed by our Sunday sport, -chiefly because it was Sunday. He did not dare press his opinion -upon me, as he knew my position in my aunt's household was -impregnable, but he had always been jealous of my coming to Eltham, -where he had served her for over forty years, and he was now so -plainly antagonistic that Mr. Parnell, who did not particularly wish -his presence with me talked about, rose to the occasion with the tact -he could exert when he considered it worth while. - -"Oh, is that you, Mr. ----?" rising from an absorbed examination of -his last bull's-eye. "Mrs. O'Shea was telling me when we started -this match of your being such a good shot with a gun. Do have a shot -with my revolver; see here, I've got a bull's-eye five times running -against Mrs. O'Shea's one. Now let us see what you can do." - -Mr. ---- hesitated; he was a fine shot and had won prizes in his -youth, and was susceptible to flattery. - -Mr. Parnell said dryly: "I don't suppose you have had so much -practice as I lately, but--" The bailiff turned a wary eye on his -wife, who was waiting for him at the gate of a rookery some way off, -and Mr. Parnell smiled as he said: "The lady will not see you," in -such a gently sarcastic manner that Mr. ---- was nettled, and picking -up the revolver shot so wildly that he missed the little target -altogether. - -I said: "Mr. ---- _can_ shoot, really, Mr. Parnell, as I told you, -but he is nervous!" So Mr. ---- went on, making shot after shot with -varying success till {209} Mrs. ---- appeared on the scene dressed in -her best and Sunday virtue, which was resplendent in Eltham. She -gazed with pain upon Mr. ----, who, to appear at ease, entered into a -discussion of revolver patterns with Mr. Parnell. I talked -cheerfully to her for a few moments, and introduced Mr. Parnell, -which gratified her immensely, and the two went off happy, but so -conscious of the enormity of having given countenance to such -desecration of the Sabbath, in Sunday shooting, that we knew we were -safe from their perhaps inconvenient chatter. - -Mr. Parnell was always interested in cricket, and I had a private -pitch laid out for him at Eltham in a two-acre field. As a young man -he had been an enthusiast, and the captain of his eleven. He never -went to matches, however, after he entered Parliament. - -He talked to me much about Avondale. He loved the place, and was -never tired of planning the alterations and improvements he meant to -make in the old house when we could marry. He often went over to -Ireland expressly to see how things were going there, but after 1880 -he could never stay even a few days there in peace. The -after-effects of the awful famine, in such terrible cases of poverty -and woe as were brought to his notice the moment he arrived in his -old home, made it impossible for him to remain there at all. No one -man could deal charitably with all these poor people and live, and as -time went on Mr. Parnell's visits became necessarily shorter, for the -demands were so many, and the poverty so great, that he could not -carry the burden and continue the political life necessary to their -alleviation. He told me that he despaired of ever having a penny in -his pocket when he took me there, as he always hoped to do. - -He was very fond of the old woman he kept at {210} Avondale in charge -of the house, and who attended to his few needs when he was there; -and whenever he went there he would get me to go to Fortnum and -Mason's to buy a pound of their 4s. a pound tea for the old dame, who -much appreciated this delicious tea, though she of course stewed it -into poison before drinking it. - -This old servant of his had the most curious ideas on "first aid to -the injured," and when on one occasion Mr. Parnell had his hand -crushed in some machinery at his Arklow quarries, she dressed the -injured fingers with cobwebs from the cellar walls. To my -astonishment he asked for cobwebs at Eltham once, when he had cut his -finger, to "wrap it in." My children, with delighted interest, -produced cobwebs (and spiders) from the cellar, and I had the -greatest difficulty in preventing a "cure" so likely to produce -blood-poisoning. He accepted the peasant lore of Ireland with the -simplicity of a child, and I still remember his doubtful "Is that -so?" when I told him it was most dangerous to put anything so dusty -as a cobweb on an open wound. "Susan Gaffney said cobwebs would stop -the poison. They all do it," meaning the peasants. - -On August 16th, 1882, he was presented with the freedom of the City -of Dublin. He wished to avoid a public demonstration, but the -Corporation insisted on making the most of the occasion. - - - - MORRISON'S HOTEL, DUBLIN, - _Saturday, August_ 20, 1882. - - MY OWN QUEENIE,--Your two letters have given me the greatest - pleasure, and I am so much obliged to Wifie for the trouble she - has taken about the request I made to her. - - The two D.'s[1] have quarrelled with, me because I won't {211} - allow any further expenditure by the ladies and because I have - made arrangements to make the payments myself for the future. - They were in hopes of creating a party against me in the country - by distributing the funds amongst their own creatures and are - proportionately disappointed. - - I hope to have everything settled by Tuesday evening so as to - enable me to leave town then, and after a week in the country - propose to return to Wifie. - - YOUR OWN HUSBAND. - - - -In October, 1882, was founded the National League, which was to fill -the gap caused by the suppression of the Land League. A Convention -had been called for the 17th of the month. - - - - _October_ 10, 1882. - - MY OWN QUEENIE,--I hope to be able to start for London on - Thursday evening. - - The doctor says it was an attack of dysenterical diarrhoea, but - not of a severe character, and very little fever. It is now - quite over. He says my stomach must have been getting out of - order for some time. - - I hope Wifie has been taking good care of herself, and that she - has not been alarmed. - - Her husband will go right back to her, and will not return to - Avondale for the shooting. - - With ever so much love, my own Queenie, - - YOUR LOVING HUSBAND. - - - - - _Friday evening, October_ 14, 1882. - - My OWN DARLING WIFIE,--I have been so longing to be with you - during all these dreary hours, still more dreary as they have - been made by the knowledge that Wifie has been unhappy and - anxious all the time. Her letters came to me quite safely and - were a great pleasure, and I want some more. On Tuesday or - Wednesday, I forget which, I left my room for the first time and - caught a slight cold, which threw me back somewhat, but I have - more than regained my lost ground to-day, and am to leave my room - again to-morrow, and if I {212} don't over-eat myself or catch - cold again, shall go on all right. - - The Conference will most probably last two days, but I hope to be - able to leave on Wednesday, or at latest on Thursday evening, to - be with my Queenie until the end of the Session. - - Do please write me a nice letter, my darling. - - YOUR OWN HUSBAND. - - - - - _October_ 17. - - MY DEAREST WIFIE,--I have arrived all right, and got through the - first day of the Convention successfully. - - You will be glad to hear that the telegrams which I missed were - of no importance, and I received them this morning unopened, as - well as yours also unopened. - - With best love to my own Katie. - - - -The Convention duly met, Parnell presiding, and the National League -was formed, with Home Rule and peasant proprietorship as the two main -articles of its creed. - - - - _Sunday._ - - MY OWN DARLING WIFIE,--I have been so delighted to receive both - your letters quite safely; you have no idea how much I long for a - letter or a wire from you, and how frightened and nervous I feel - when, as sometimes happens, a whole day goes by without any news. - - I was very much afraid that my little wife would not have - approved of all my speech, and so much relieved to find that you - did not scold me. - - Has anything been done about the monument yet? I hope there will - not be any hitch. - - Am trying to get together a meeting of directors in Dublin for - next Saturday, which I can take on my way back to you, and which - I trust may afford the desired relief. I have been doing a good - deal of healthy and necessary work since my arrival here, out - riding or driving in the open air all day long. I ride a horse - called Tory, a splendid thoroughbred of my sister's, though he - has now seen his best days. He goes just {213} like an - india-rubber ball. I have been very successful in that part of - the business which I came over for that I have been able to - attend to thus far; having already discovered several quarries on - my own land, much nearer to the railway station than the one we - are working on, and for which we have to pay a heavy royalty. I - have every confidence that one and all of them will be found - suitable upon trial. Kerr is rather a duffer about anything - except book-keeping. He ought to have found these out for - himself long since, as I gave him the clue when leaving here last - September. - - My brother-in-law's funeral takes place to-morrow. I am going in - a closed carriage, and shall be careful not to expose myself or - stand about in the churchyard. - - I am certain of being able to finish up everything here so as to - leave Ireland on Saturday or Sunday at the latest, and shall soon - have my only and best treasure in my arms again. - - YOUR LOVING KING AND HUSBAND. - - I shall be in Dublin on Tuesday evening, and shall sleep at - Morrison's that night, returning here next day. - - - -From these quarries at Arklow Parnell supplied the Dublin Corporation -with "setts" for many of the streets in Dublin. These setts -(granite, pavement kerbing) were not turned out quickly enough by his -men at first, so he tried the experiment of giving the men a share in -the profits, and this he found answered well in keeping the supply up -to the demand of the corporation. - -Some of the polished granite work turned out by his men was -beautiful, and a heavy granite garden vase and a Celtic cross -appeared in the London (Irish) Exhibition and also in the Cork -Exhibition. - -1882-83 was a very anxious time for me, and the nervous tension -caused by the agitation in the political world and the continual -threatenings of violence, intrigue, and physical force, made -privately to Parnell, against him and others, was so great that, by -the end of '83, if I had not {214} had my lover's health to care for -I should myself have broken down altogether. As it was, there were -days when the slightest sound or movement was an agony to me in the -throes of neuralgia brought on by the overstrain of the nerves. But -for his sake I concealed my misery of pain as well as I could, and in -so doing won back a measure of health for myself, which would perhaps -have been lost to me had I been able to give way to my "nerves." - -During this time I attended the sittings of the House as often as I -was able, going up to town as soon as I could leave my aunt for the -night, so that I might hear Parnell if he spoke, and in any case -drive home with him. We always drove home in a hansom cab, as we -both loved the cool of the night or of the early morning air. - -During these anxious days I did not let Parnell have one-half of the -threatening and other worrying letters he received. He brought me -his letters and parcels from the House, and from a London address he -had, to be sorted out. I gave him those for his secretary's -answering, any personal ones I thought he would wish to see, and just -as many "threats" as I thought would make him a little careful of -himself for my sake. The bulk of the "warnings," threats of murder, -and invitations to murder I kept to myself, fearing that he would -worry himself on my account and object to my continual "shadowing" of -him, which I considered his chief protection. He always carried a -revolver in his pocket during this time, and insisted on my being -similarly provided when I drove home with him at night. - -These precautions may appear fantastic in these later sober times, -but they were very necessary during that time of lawlessness and -unrest in Ireland, when the prophecy made by Parnell to me ere he -finally decided to leave {215} Kilmainham on the Treaty had become -fact: "If I turn to the Government I turn away from them--and then?" - -The force of his personality was carrying him through the seething of -the baffled hatred he would not use, but not without a danger so real -and so acute that many a time I was tempted to throw his honour to -the winds and implore from the Government the protection he would -have died rather than ask for himself. But I held on to the end till -the sheer force of his dauntless courage and proud will broke down -the secret intrigue of spleen that, held by him back from England's -governance, would have revenged itself upon the holding hand, had it -dared. - -There was a lonely part of the road between London and Eltham after -going through Lee, over a common where, to the right, was a deep -ditch, and, beyond, the land of (the late) Mr. Blenkiorn, breeder of -racehorses. There were no houses near in those days, and on -moonlight nights we could see a long way on each side of a rather -desolate bit of country. The moon which gave light also gave -shadows, and more than once from some way off we saw the shadow of a -man running behind the hedge on the way we had to pass. I always -took the side of the hansom near the park, as I thought it would -conceal to some degree the fact of Parnell's being there. I knew, -too, that the fact of my being a woman was still some little -protection, but I took the precaution of telling the driver to drive -quickly and not stop for anyone at any lonely point in the road. -Once, to my horror, when we were nearly over the common, I saw a man -rise from the ditch and the glint of steel in the moonlight. The man -driving saw it, too, and, with a lurch that threw us forward in the -cab, he lashed his horse into a gallop. I could just see that the -man threw up his arms as he staggered {216} backwards into the ditch -and a shot rang out; but nothing dreadful had happened after all. -The man had obviously slipped as he sprang up the bank, and, in -throwing up his arms to recover his balance, his pistol had gone -off--for neither of ours had been discharged. So this exciting drive -had no more serious consequences than the rather heavy price of the -cabman's putting up in the village till day brought him renewed -confidence in the safety of the London road. - -Sometimes after a late sitting Parnell and I would get some coffee at -the early coffee stalls for workmen on the way from London. In the -early morning half-light, when the day was just beginning to break, -we loved to watch drowsy London rubbing the sleep from her eyes, -hastening her labouring sons upon their way to ease the later waking -of their luxurious brothers. Parnell was always interested in manual -labourers; he loved to watch them at work, and he liked to talk to -them of their work and of their homes. A man with a hammer or a -pick-axe was almost an irresistible attraction to him, and he would -often get me to stand and watch the men engaged on a road or harbour -work. - -About this time (it was in 1883) Mr. (afterwards Sir) Howard Vincent, -head of the Detective Department of Scotland Yard, sent a note to the -House of Commons asking Parnell to see him for a few minutes, as he -had an important communication to make to him. Parnell was just -going to speak, so he brought me the note up to the Ladies' Gallery, -and, hastily putting it into my hand, said: "See to this for me." - -It was a morning sitting, and I hurried off to Scotland Yard hoping -to get back in time to hear Parnell speak, and yet anxious to hear -what the note meant. I was shown {217} into Sir Howard Vincent's -private room directly I arrived, and he expressed great pleasure, as -well as great surprise, at seeing me. I showed him his note to -Parnell, and asked him to what it referred. He answered that the -"officials" all considered the matter serious, and that the -Government were prepared to give Mr. Parnell protection if he wished -it. - -I told him that Mr. Parnell would, I was sure, not like that at all, -and, after a long conversation of no particular definiteness, Sir -Howard said: "I do not think you believe in this particular threat -against Mr. Parnell, do you, Mrs. O'Shea?" - -I replied: "Well, it does seem rather like a hoax to me. Would you -mind letting me see the 'letter of warning'?" He laughed and said: -"Not at all, but I've torn it up and flung it into the waste-paper -basket." - -I promptly picked up the basket in question and turned it over on his -table, saying: "Let us piece it together." He pretended to help me -for a few moments, as I neatly put together various uninteresting -documents, and then, with a deprecating smile, swept them all -together, saying: "It is your game, Mrs. O'Shea; you are too clever. -Why didn't you send Mr. Parnell round?" and we parted with laughing -expressions of goodwill and amusement on his part that we had not -been taken in. - -The Government, of course, were bent on forcing "police protection" -on Parnell as a convenience to themselves and a means of ascertaining -the extent of his influence over the Invincibles. The Government did -not trust Parnell, and they wished to frighten him into care of -himself and thus weaken the trust of the Irish in him. - -One evening in 1882 or 1883, when Parnell and I were waiting at -Brighton station to catch the train to London, {218} we noticed that -there was much crowding round the book-stall placards and much -excitement among buyers of newspapers. Parnell did not wish to be -recognized, as he was supposed at that time to be in Ireland; but, -hearing Gladstone's name mentioned by a passer-by, our curiosity got -the better of our caution and we went to get a paper. Parnell, being -so tall a man, could see over the heads of the crowd, and, reading -the placard, turned back without getting a paper to tell me that the -excitement was over the report of "the assassination of Mr. Parnell." -I then asked him to get into the train so that we should run no risk -of his being known, and managed to get through the crowd to buy a -paper myself. How the report arose we never knew, but at that time, -when every post brought Parnell some threat of violence and my nerves -were jarred and tense with daily fear for him, it took all my -fortitude to answer his smile and joke at the unfounded report which -left me sick and shaken. - - - -[1] Dillon and Davitt. - - - - -{219} - -CHAPTER XXI - -A WINTER OF MEMORIES - - "_Feeling is deep and still, and the word that floats on the surface - Is as the tossing buoy, that betrays where the anchor is hidden._" - --LONGFELLOW. - - -Mr. Forster made his notorious attack upon Mr. Parnell in February, -1883, accusing him of encouraging and conniving at murder, outrage, -and treachery. On his return home Parnell showed, as he would not -deign to show in the House, a fierce joy in the false move of his -enemies and the scorn and contempt of the lack of control which could -lead a politician of Forster's experience into such a _faux pas_ as -this personal attack on him. Here, then, he had what he wanted; in -this attack was the repudiation of those charges, made by the -"extremists" in Ireland and America, of pandering to the -Government--made by them ever since he left Kilmainham on the -Treaty--here was another cord to bind the Nationalist forces together -without in any way repudiating that Treaty. Here was a fresh weapon -given into his hand by an ex-Government official who could not govern -his personal spleen by political intelligence. - -"No," he said to me, when I asked him if he did not mean to answer -Forster at all, "I shall not answer. I shall let him hang himself -with his own rope." - -But the Party would not have this, and urged him so strongly that he -did--not answer--but show his contempt of the whole thing and of the -English politicians who had played their hand so badly. He said to -me before he started {220} for the House: "By the judgment of the -Irish people only do I, and will I, stand or fall," and this he -repeated in the House. - -The astonishment of the House was unbounded. It had been prepared -for anything but this scornful repudiation of the right of the -English to judge him--for a downright denial of the charges made, for -a skilful fencing with the arguments. The speech of Parnell was a -challenge to war. Impassive as ever, betraying no slightest sign of -emotion, he tore up the accusations and threw them scornfully in the -face of his accuser.[1] - -Some time afterwards, in an interview I had with him, Mr. Gladstone -referred to this declaration of Parnell's--that he would stand or -fall only by the judgment of the Irish people. - -He said: "You know Mr. Parnell's inmost feelings better than others; -does this truly represent his mind, Mrs. O'Shea?" - -I answered, as I could truly do: "Yes, Mr. Gladstone, that is his -only and absolute ideal. I may say Ireland's is the only voice he -regards as having any authority over him in the whole world." - -"Yet Mr. Parnell is so much an Englishman in his coldness and -reserve?" - -"He is a paradox, Mr. Gladstone, the enigma of genius herself, a -volcano capped with snow. Englishman himself, at least he is -descended from Englishmen, he hates England and the English and does -not understand them; he loves Ireland and her people through and -through, {221} understands them absolutely, and is in nature as apart -and aloof from the Irish nature as you are yourself." - -The hard, flint-like eyes softened a little in the eagle face as the -G.O.M. answered with a little sigh: "I have much sympathy with his -ambitions for Ireland, Mrs. O'Shea. His is a curious personality; -you are right, I think--yes, a paradox indeed, but a wonderful man!" - -At the end of June, 1883, Parnell went over to conduct Mr. Healy's -election at Monaghan (an Ulster stronghold), for which division he -was returned a month after he had quitted Richmond Prison. - -He immediately afterwards (on July 4) attended the Cork banquet given -in his honour. He wrote the following letter to me to allay the -fears I had expressed in regard to certain political actions which he -here repudiates and which had reached my ears from other sources:-- - - - - MORRISON'S HOTEL, DUBLIN, - _Tuesday night._ - - When I received your note I at once determined to go over to you - to-morrow morning and to give up my engagement to speak at the - Cork banquet to-morrow night, as I knew my own was very much - troubled about something, and felt sure that I could comfort and - reassure her. I have since been besieged the whole evening by - entreaties and threats not to throw over Cork, and it has been - represented to me, and with truth, that half the result of the - Monaghan victory will be lost if I leave Cork to the Whigs and my - enemies. I have been very much perplexed and dragged in - different ways, but have at this hour (2 a.m.) made up my mind to - ask my own Wifie to suspend her judgment for another twenty-four - hours about whatever is tormenting her, to place some little - confidence in her husband's honour and fidelity for that short - time, and to believe that he now swears to her, and that he will - repeat the same oath to her on Thursday evening, that whatever - statement has been made about him which is calculated to {222} - lower him in his wife's opinion in the slightest degree is a foul - lie. - - I feel that I can ask this of my own Wifie, and that she will not - withdraw her confidence and love from her own husband until he - can return and defend himself. - - I shall leave for Cork by to-morrow morning's train at nine - o'clock, speak at banquet, and return by night mail the same day - to Dublin, and be in time to leave Dublin by mail train for - London on Thursday morning. Let me know at Palace Chambers where - I shall see you on Thursday evening. - - Trust your husband, and do not credit any slander of him. - - - - - AVONDALE, RATHDRUM, - 2 _a.m., July_ 4, 1883. - - MY DEAR MRS. O'SHEA,--I seize a vacant moment to write you a few - words, as it does not look as if Irish affairs would permit me to - see you for some time longer. Perhaps even a week or ten days - may pass by before I can see Eltham again. I also wish you to - forward enclosed to Captain O'Shea, as I have not got his address. - - I have had several conversations with Fr. White, who is a very - superior man, and has impressed me very much. - - I intend to make it my first business to look up West Clare, and - trust that Captain O'Shea may be able to meet me there.--With - best regards, yours always sincerely, - - C. S. PARNELL. - - - - - MORRISON'S HOTEL, DUBLIN, - _Tuesday._ - - MY DEAREST WIFIE,--Your letters received, and always give me the - greatest happiness to read. - - Please continue writing. I will make arrangements to have them - kept out of sight here. - - Shall see him[2] Wednesday evening or Thursday morning, and do - what I can. I fear his position in Clare is irretrievable.--With - best love, YOUR HUSBAND. - - - -{223} - - - AVONDALE, - _Sunday._ - -MY DEAR MRS. O'SHEA,--Will you kindly direct, enclose, and post -enclosed. - -Many thanks for your letter, also for two from Captain O'Shea, which -I will reply to shortly.--Believe me, in haste, yours very truly, -CHAS. S. PARNELL. - - -Just before Christmas in 1883 I took a furnished house in Brighton -for three months for my children. I had arranged to go into a house -in Second Avenue, which both Parnell and I liked, but Willie came -down and insisted on my taking one facing the sea in Medina Terrace; -so I (with difficulty) got out of my former agreement, and certainly -the house Willie chose was very much pleasanter, owing to its close -proximity to the sea. - -Willie undertook to stay here to be with the children while I went -back to my aunt (coming myself to Brighton for one or two days in the -week). - -Willie asked Parnell to come and stay. He did so, and Willie and he -discussed the Local Government Bill at all hours, as Parnell wished -to find out what the views of Mr. Chamberlain and the Tories -were--better ascertainable by Willie than others. - -I went back to my aunt for Christmas Eve. It was bitterly cold, and -as the old lady never cared for festivities, she was soon glad to -shut herself up in her warm house and "forget in slumber the foolish -junketings I permit in my domestics, my love." - -There was snow that Christmas, very deep at Eltham; and Parnell, who -had joined me there, walked round the snowy paths of my aunt's place -with me in the moonlight. Now and then he moved with me into the -shadow of the trees as a few lads and men, with the inevitable cornet -and {224} trombone of a village "band," plunged through the drifts on -their short cut to the old house. There they sang Christmas carols -to their hearts' content, knowing they were earning their yearly -bonus, to be presented with a polite message of her "distaste" for -carol singing by "Mrs. Ben's" (as she was affectionately called in -the village) man-servant the next morning. - -Parnell and I enjoyed that pacing up and down the wide terrace in the -snowy moonlight. The snow had drifted up against the old urns and -the long, low balustrade that divided the north and south lawns; and -the great shadows of the beech trees looked unfamiliar and -mysterious--pierced here and there, where the blanket covering of -snow had dropped off, by the cold glitter of moonlight on the -whiteness. - -Right away to the south lay the "Chase," leading away to Chislehurst, -wide, cold, and lonely in the moonlight, and I told Parnell that the -cloud shadows that flitted over the glistening whiteness were the -phantoms of the hunters of King John's time, who used to hunt over -this ground, renewing their sport in the moonlight. - -Parnell loved to hear these little imaginations, and I loved to tell -them to him for the sake of seeing the grave smile come, and of -hearing the naïve "Is that so?" of his appreciation. - -We walked up and down in the moonlight till the carols died away, and -we heard the church clocks strike twelve. Then we stood together to -listen to the Christmas bells sound clear and sharp from many -villages on the frosty air, while Parnell again spoke to me of his -belief that the soul after death resumed life in the planet under -whose influence it was born. He spoke of his belief in a personal -destiny and fate, against which it was useless {225} for mortals to -contend or fight, and how he believed that certain souls had to meet -and become one, till in death the second planet life parted them -until the sheer longing for one another brought them together again -in after ages.[3] - -I said, "But it seems so lonely like that!" and he answered, "It is -lonely; that is why I am so afraid always of death, and why I hope -with every bit of me that we shall die together." - -The next day I went to Brighton to see the children for Christmas, -and in the New Year Willie went to Ireland, returning to Brighton to -stay with the children for a short time before they came home in -February and he went to Lisbon. - -The following telegrams and letters show the development of affairs -during the course of this year:-- - - -(Telegrams.) - - - _Feb._ 29, 1884. - - (Handed in at the House of Commons Office.) - - _From_ PARNELL. - - _To_ MRS. O'SHEA, ELTHAM, KENT. - - Thanks. Happy to accept your invitation to dinner this evening - for seven o'clock. - - - _May_ 30, 1884. - - _From_ PARNELL, AVONDALE. - - _To_ MRS. O'SHEA, ELTHAM. - - Captain and I arrived safely. - - - -(Willie went to stay at Avondale for a couple of days.--K. P.) - -{226} - - - _May_ 31, 1884. - - (Rathdrum Office.) - - _From_ PARNELL. - - _To_ MRS. O'SHEA, ELTHAM. - - Captain leaves here to-morrow (Sunday) morning, and leaves - Kingstown to-morrow evening. - - - - DUBLIN, - _Sept._ 10. - - Willie is looking very well indeed, in fact much better than I - have ever seen him before. - - I hope soon to be through pressing business here and in country, - and to be able to leave on Saturday.--Yours, C. S. P. - - - - _Friday, Oct._ 28, 1884. - - MY DEAR MRS. O'SHEA,--I shall be at Dover for a few days longer, - and afterwards propose visiting the Netherlands and returning - through Paris. If I thought that Captain O'Shea would soon be in - England I should wait for him, but if not should take my chance - of meeting him in Paris on my return. - - My stay in the Netherlands will not exceed three days, but I - shall remain in Paris for at least a similar period. I say "the - Netherlands" because I don't yet know whether I shall have to go - to Holland or Belgium or both. Kindly let me have a line or wire - to former address.--Always yours, - - CHAS. S. PARNELL. - - -I was ill at the time the following letters were written, and Captain -O'Shea was coming to Eltham a good deal. - - - ELTHAM, 1884. - - Should have come sooner, but could not get away. There was an - explosion of a bomb at the Home Office just before I left; it - blew down a large piece of the front wall and did a great deal of - damage, they say. - - I will not go near the hotel to-night if I see a crowd there, - {227} and will leave early in the morning and come down here to - breakfast. - - - - ELTHAM, - _Friday,_ 4 p.m. - - I came down here late last night and was immensely relieved to - hear that you were better. - - I slept very comfortably here last night, and had an excellent - breakfast this morning, which Phyllis brought me. - - Am now going up to London to settle the report of Labourers' - Committee, which had not time to attend to yesterday, and hope to - be back about eleven o'clock.--Yours, C. S. P. - - - - ELTHAM. - - Do you think I had best wait here or go up to London and wait for - a telegram from you? - - We finished our committee yesterday, so if he[4] goes early I - could return perhaps early enough to see you this evening for a - few minutes. - - I felt very much relieved by your letter last night. However, it - is evident you must take great care. - - If you think I had best not wait, will you telegraph? Otherwise - see me later, when I will wait.--Yours. - - - - ELTHAM. - - Many thanks for kind note. - - I am going to London now, and hope to return reasonably early, as - the debate is not likely to last long. I do not feel the cold at - all. - - There ought to be no difficulty in my seeing you to-morrow, and I - will manage it. - - I do not like your having a headache, and you must really take - care of yourself and not get up too soon.--Yours always. - - - I am obliged to go up early to attend Labourers' Committee, which - meets at eleven to-day to consider its final report. - - Please send me telegram to House if you can, as I ought to be - able to return early this evening. - - Phyllis is looking after me first rate.--Yours. - - - - -{228} - -Parnell was always unselfish and most considerate when I was ill, and -once when I was very weak after an illness of some duration he -returned home to Eltham in broad daylight in a hansom cab, -triumphantly supporting one end of a large couch, the other end of -which spread its upholstered length over the roof. This invalid's -chair he with the help of my maids, arranged in my sitting-room, -adjusting its complicated "rests" with earnest abstraction, after -which he led the procession up to my room, and in spite of my amused -protests carried me down and placed me on the couch amid cushions and -shawls, and spent a happy evening in "watching me" as I lay -comfortably on my new possession. - -In 1884 we ran down to Hastings for a few days in the middle of the -Session, when my aunt's old friend came to stay with her and gave me -freedom. Parnell delighted in these sudden "run-away" visits to the -sea when the House was in full swing of business, and said they -braced and freshened him up more than anything else could do. We -stayed at the Queen's Hotel, and Parnell revelled in the sudden -freedom from politics--casting all thought and care from him as we -walked by the sea and gave ourselves up to the enjoyment of the fresh -salt air. - -He was hugely pleased, on going into a shop in Robertson Street for -notepaper, to find some embossed with the monogram "K.P." in blue and -gold. He declared it was a good omen, and bought me more boxes of it -than I could use for many years. He also bought me a little red -diary, after long and earnest efforts in selection. Red he did not -like much, as he said it was the sanguinary hue of English -oppression; but diaries can apparently only be bound in red, green, -or purple, and purple was the {229} colour of sorrow, and green the -most painful expression of all ill-luck! - -This diary was to make up to me for my natural indignation at, -nearly, his first act on returning to me from some absence. He had -gone over to the fire and caught sight of my diary, bound in green, -that I had inadvertently left on the mantelpiece. With an -exclamation of horror he had thrown it straight into the fire, -holding me back from the rescue I struggled to attempt, and only -replying to my indignant protests that he was sorry if the contents -were really so valuable as I said, but anything between green covers -was better burnt! - -In these short visits to the seaside we always looked about for a -house that Parnell could buy later on, but as he always kept a -regretful eye upon Brighton, where it was inexpedient that we should -be seen much together, we never really settled on one for purchase, -though he rented one in Eastbourne with that idea, only to discover -that a brother of his was living there. When we had a few hours to -spare we had very happy times hunting round Sussex in the -neighbourhood of Brighton (Brighton air did him so much good), hoping -to find a suitable country house, but the train service was always a -difficulty, except in the town itself. - - - -[1] "The time will come," said Parnell in this speech, "when this -House and the people of this country will admit that they have been -deceived, and that they have been cheered by those who ought to be -ashamed of themselves, that they have been led astray as to the right -mode of governing a noble, a brave, a generous and an impulsive -people." - -[2] Captain O'Shea. - -[3] On the day of Parnell's death, October 6, 1891, a new planet was -discovered. - -[4] Captain O'Shea. - - - - -{230} - -CHAPTER XXII - -HORSES AND DOGS - -"_Amid all the forms of life that surround us, not one, excepting the -dog, has made an alliance with us._"--MAURICE MAETERLINCK. - - -In 1885 I had a new room built on to my house at Eltham, adjoining my -sitting-room and leading into the greenhouse, and thence to the -garden. Parnell and I took the greatest interest in the building of -this room; he superintended every detail, saw that the cement was -laid to the proper depth under the flooring, and sent to Avondale for -sufficient sweet-chestnut wood to have the room panelled half-way up -and to make beautiful, heavy double-doors, window settings and the -mantelpiece and fittings. It was a very comfortable and warm room -when finished, and, to celebrate its completion--it was to be -Parnell's own study and workroom--I photographed him in it, sitting -in his own special easy chair, surrounded by his assaying -paraphernalia and holding his pestle and mortar. This photograph was -published years ago without permission or acknowledgment by one or -other of two persons to whom I had given it, after my husband's -death, as a very private and special memento of him. It hurt me much -when I first knew of it--but people do these things. - -Early in 1885 Parnell bought a new horse in Ireland which he arranged -to bring to England, and subsequently brought others over. The two -letters which follow refer to these matters, and were written to me -in case the horses {231} should be noticed arriving in Eltham and the -fact reported to Captain O'Shea. - - - - AVONDALE, - _January_ 14, 1885. - - MY OWN QUEENIE,--A word to say that your promised letter has not - yet reached me, and I suppose it may turn up to-morrow. The - parcel came safely to Dublin, and the hamper here. Mary and I - unpacked it with fear and trembling, lest there should have been - no tea and sugar, as I had forgotten to say anything to you about - them; but they were all right. - - The new horse is very quiet and a very fine one; strong and short - legs, with plenty of bone, a splendid fore-quarter, and a good - turn of speed. I suppose I may bring him back with me. The - telegram I sent you on Day of Convention was found late at night - posted in a letter box, and was returned to bearer, who never - said anything to me about it, otherwise you would have heard - result about six o'clock.--With best love to my little wife, YOUR - KING. - - - - - MORRISON'S HOTEL, DUBLIN. - _February_ 3, 1885. - - MY DEAR MRS. O'SHEA,--I have sent two horses to London to-day - (Euston) and should feel very much obliged if you would allow - them to stand in your stables for a few days, until I can make - other arrangements. - - They will reach Euston about 1 p.m. to-morrow. Could you find - two careful men to meet them? One saddle is gone with the - horses, so another saddle would be necessary. They should be - walked carefully through London, as one of them specially is very - shy and unused to town. - - I am going over to Liverpool to-night. I enclose order for the - horses.---Yours very truly, CHAS. S. PARNELL. - - - -Parnell rented some stables fairly near my house for his horses, and -took much interest in their welfare. He was not a man who had very -much knowledge of horses, but he was a fine horseman, and on his -hunter President, a beautiful horse of sixteen hands and a -weight-carrier, {232} he looked remarkably well. He took a -scientific interest in the shoeing of the horses and, to the great -annoyance of his grooms, would constantly try new methods of shoeing -in order to deaden the "jar" of the contact of the road. This trial -of new methods proved a boon to my horse Dictator--given me by -Parnell--for the tenderness of his feet was completely cured when -Parnell, dead against the conservative ideas of my stableman, -insisted on his having leathers inserted between Dictator's foot and -shoe. - -This horse Dictator was a great pleasure to us, though he pulled -rather badly. He was very fast and extraordinarily sure-footed, -keeping his feet in the worst frost, even when driven on the slippery -London paving in hard night frosts. He would trot away to London in -much less time than Parnell could get there by any other means. -Parnell did not drive well, leaving the reins slack upon the horse's -back, so that he had no control over it in any emergency. My -nervousness in this was so great that he very good-naturedly left all -the driving to me, saying: "Well, that's how the jarveys drive in -Ireland!" in answer to my plaintive "I've never seen anyone drive -like that." - -President was a very solid horse, in mind as well as in body, and -once when Parnell had ridden him up to New Cross in a frost President -sat down violently and was so impressed with the safety of his -position that he refused to get up again until Parnell--who was of -immense muscular strength--with the help of a couple of stalwart -policemen, literally lifted him to his feet. - -Parnell then went into an adjacent saddler's shop to buy a "rubber" -to give President a rub down and, finding a rather original make of -pocket-book on the counter, with beautifully-sewn leather covers, -became so immersed in the selection of one for me that at length an -irate policeman {233} looked in to order him to remove his horse at -once, as it was causing "an obstruction!" Parnell, recalled to the -problem of how to get President and himself to Westminster Bridge, -where his servant was waiting to take the horse, proceeded to rub him -down while considering the matter, thereby delighting the crowd of -onlookers. - -The policeman besought him to "get on the 'orse, sir, and ride hoff," -before the whole street got "'eld hup," but Parnell gently declined, -as he knew that President had now no chance of keeping his feet on -the ice-coated pavement. After fully considering the matter he found -the chief thing was to get himself out of the crowd as quickly as -possible, and, slipping a little comfort into the constable's hand, -he ordered him to put the horse up at the nearest stables and drove -off, ignoring all queries and protests. - -He sent me a telegram from the House to assure me of his safe -arrival, but forgot all about his waiting servant, who, after some -hours, not daring to return home, telegraphed to me to know what he -was to do, as his master had not arrived. The whole thing amused -Parnell intensely, but unfortunately he had given the policeman the -name of Prescott, and, in absence of mind, sent his groom the next -day to find and bring back the horse of "Mr. Stewart." It was a most -expensive trial of President's utility. The pocket-book I still use -daily, and prize very highly; it is as perfect, though much worn, as -when he bought it, some twenty-six years ago. - -After my old collie Elfie died, Parnell offered to get me another -dog, and, as I wanted an Irish wolf-hound, he and I went to see one -that was advertised for sale. It was a magnificent animal, but we -had much doubt as to {234} its true breed, and decided that Mr. -Parnell should not buy it. - -He then suggested bringing me an Irish setter the next time he went -to Ireland, and, as the idea pleased me, he brought a half-grown -setter given him by Mr. Corbett, M.P., who said this dog, Grouse, was -the very best he had ever had. Grouse became at once the constant -companion and pleasure of his master and myself. He was a beautiful -dog, and most faithful and affectionate. Mr. Parnell would tease him -by pretending to be jealous when Grouse lay at my feet with his head -on my foot, and when the dog rose with the dignity that always -characterized him, and went over to Parnell, resting his head on his -knee and assuring him of his absolute devotion, I would in my turn -despair at having no dog to love me. - -After a few moments of this game poor Grouse would sit exactly -between us, looking from one to the other, and whining at the -impossibility of pleasing us both at once. Then Parnell would move -to my side on the sofa so that Grouse could rest his chin on our -clasped hands, to his great contentment. The dog always slept in -Parnell's room, and, in his last illness, when the doctors wished to -have Grouse removed, Parnell would not allow it. - -Mr. Corbett was very sad when he heard that Grouse had become a -lady's pet, as the old sportsman considered it a sin to "spoil" a gun -dog; but I think that if he had known the pleasure Grouse gave "the -Chief" he would have been glad that the dog should have exchanged the -Wicklow Mountains for the hated Saxon's home. Parnell took Grouse -over for the grouse-shooting one season and telegraphed to me that he -had done very well, but he soon brought him back to me. - -Another dog that Parnell brought home to me from {235} Ireland was a -mongrel Irish terrier that he had found wandering in the streets of -Killaloe. He had been dreadfully starved and ill-used, and was quite -savage when handed over to me at Brighton with muzzle and chain on, -but with kindness and good feeding he soon became as devoted to us as -Grouse was, and with him used thoroughly to enjoy following Parnell -when he rode over the Downs for his daily exercise. - -After we went to Brighton Parnell would give the dogs a swim in the -sea every day, and Grouse's strong swimming was a great delight to -his master. Pincher, the terrier, was the cause of much anxiety, as -he used to swim right out to sea--so far that we lost sight of the -little dark head--and Parnell had very often to get a boat out and -fetch the exhausted little beast back. This little dog lived for -many years after his master's death (Grouse only two years), but he -would never allow another man to touch him without trying to bite -him. He was fond of Parnell, but always on guard with other men, -though quite good-tempered with women. Parnell used to say that -Pincher must have been so badly treated by some man that he had -learned distrust of all males. Many a time he came home from his -rides with rueful amusement at the exaggerated value placed upon -their legs by shepherds or labourers he had met on the Downs who had -been bitten by Pincher with a careless indiscrimination that at last -earned him a muzzle. - -Parnell also brought to Eltham a very old setter, Ranger. He had -been a splendid dog, and now his limbs were too feeble to follow his -faithful heart in his master's sport. So Mr. Parnell took pity on -him, and asked Mr. Corbett to let him have the dog for a lady who -would care for his old age, and Ranger came to us, spending the {236} -evening of his life in basking on the sunny lawn at Eltham, wagging a -dignified tail of appreciation and greeting to those of us he met on -his stiff walks about the place or dreaming his doggie dreams of the -sport of the past, happy and cared for till he died. - -* * * * * * - -The following letter was sent to _United Ireland_ on April 11, 1885, -in regard to the proposed visit of the Prince of Wales to Ireland:-- - - - - You ask for my views regarding the visit of the Prince of Wales. - In reply, I desire to say that if the usages of the Constitution - existed in Ireland as they do in England there would, to my - judgment, be no inconsistency in those who believe in the limited - monarchy as the best form of government taking a suitable part in - the reception of the Prince. But in view of the fact that the - Constitution has never been administered in Ireland according to - its spirit and precedents, that the power of the Crown as wielded - by Earl Spencer and other Viceroys is despotic and unlimited to - the last degree, and that in the present instance the Royal - personage is to be used by the two English political parties in - Ireland for the purpose of injuring and insulting the Irish - Nationalist Party, and of impeding, if possible, their work, I - fail to see upon what ground it can be claimed from any lover of - constitutional government under a limited monarchy that the - Prince is entitled to a reception from the independent and - patriotic people of Ireland, or to any recognition save from the - garrison of officials and landowners and place-hunters who fatten - upon the poverty and misfortunes of the country. Let me suggest - a parallel. Would it be tolerated in England for a moment if the - Government, for their own party purposes, on the eve of a general - election, were to use the Prince of Wales as an electioneering - agent in any section of the country, and were to send him upon a - Royal progress in order to embarrass their political opponents? - The breach of constitutional privilege becomes still graver when - we consider that it is the march of {237} a nation which is now - sought to be impeded--the fruition of a long struggle and of many - sacrifices which the adventitious aid of this Royal visit is - enlisted to injure. I have, however, every confidence that our - people, having been suitably forewarned, will not allow their - hospitable nature and cordial disposition to carry them into any - attitude which might be taken as one of condonation for the past - or satisfaction with the present state of affairs. - - CHARLES S. PARNELL. - - - -This letter was written at Eltham, and there was a laughing battle -between us over the writing of it. I threatened to make him hang out -"Union Jacks" from every window of Avondale if he made things -unpleasant in Ireland for the Prince, and he, in pretended horror, -wrote the above, and tossed it to me for the alterations (which I, of -course, did not make) that my "English prejudices" demanded. But he -seriously believed that this visit of the Prince to Ireland was timed -by the advisers of his Royal Highness with singular and malicious -advertence to the State of the political situation, and he commented -most strongly upon the poverty of imagination and chivalry of a great -country such as England who could find no better use for her Prince -than that of an electioneering agent. - - - - -{238} - -CHAPTER XXIII - -SEASIDE HOLIDAYS - - "_Green leaves a-floating, - Castles of the foam, - Boats of mine a-boating, - Where will all come home?_" - --STEVENSON. - - -In May, 1886, I took my children to the Queen's Hotel, Eastbourne, -for a change, and, after a few days spent in looking for lodgings, I -settled them in St. John's Road. Parnell enjoyed the bathing at -Eastbourne greatly, and was much distressed that the weakness of my -heart prevented my joining him in his swims, and that boating had -most disastrous effects on me. - -He was boyishly determined that I should at any rate join him in some -way in his sea "sports," and one warm May evening he insisted that if -I went into the sea fully dressed it could not hurt me. I thought it -would at any rate be most uncomfortable, but to please him I held -tightly to his arm while we waded far out to sea till the waves came -to my shoulder and threw me off my feet. - -He held me tightly, laughing aloud as the ripple of waves and wind -caught my hair and loosed it about my shoulders; and, as I grew cold -and white, my wonderful lover carried me, with all my weight of -soaked clothing, back to the shore, kissing the wet hair that the -wind twisted about his face and whispering the love that almost -frightened me in its strength. Luckily the dusk of evening had come -down upon us, and I was able to get back {239} to the house in my wet -things, half-walking and half-carried by Parnell, without unduly -shocking Eastbourne's conventions. - -As I thought I should be able to be away from my aunt, with -occasional flying visits to her, for about two months, Parnell had -two of our horses brought down to Eastbourne. He had during that -time to go to London and Ireland, but it was on the whole a peaceful -little interlude in his strenuous political life, and we were very -happy. He rode his horse President in the morning, and afterwards I -drove him far out into the country around Eastbourne with Dictator in -my phaeton. - -We often drove out to Birling Gap--a favourite haunt of ours--and -there we selected a site for the ideal house of our dreams; a place -where one could hear nothing but the beating of the surf on the rocks -below and the wild call of the sea-birds. He loved that place, where -we could be absolutely alone save for the coastguardsman along the -cliff, who never intruded his interesting conversation, but who was -always ready for a chat when we cared to hear his stories of the sea. - -It was impossible to drive near the place, so we had to leave -Dictator and the phaeton far off on the last bit possible to drive -upon. Parnell had an easy method of "hitching" a horse to something, -in the firm faith that he would find it there on return a few hours -later, and this made me very uneasy where my far from patient -Dictator was concerned. Parnell would settle the horse with a feed, -in charge of his groom, well sheltered behind a hill, and take a -fantastic pleasure in observing the sulky gloom of the young man's -face after an hour or so of this isolated meditation. - -Parnell had a great love of sea-storms, and when there {240} was a -gale blowing from the west, and rough weather assured, he loved to -get me out to Birling Gap to listen to the roar of the sea and the -screaming of the wind as it blew around us, nearly carrying us off -our feet. He would tie his coat about me, and hold me firmly against -the wind as it tore about us, and while we gazed out at the raging -waves he would exclaim: "Isn't this glorious, my Queen? Isn't it -alive?" - -Our coastguardsman friend always seemed somewhat pleased to see us, -though undoubtedly he thought us odd in our amusements. I have often -thought since that if we had built our house in that isolated -loveliness, where the sound of the sea and moan of the wind were -incessant, there would have been some truth in what was said -afterwards as to our house in Walsingham Terrace, that it was so -"terribly dreary." - -On one occasion we drove to Pevensey, and, passing the station on our -return, a crowd from some local train came pouring out. Parnell -asked me to pull up to let the crowd go by; but to his consternation -this attracted the attention of some young men in the crowd, who at -once recognized him, and, waving their hats, cried "Parnell, -Parnell!" with that horrible emphasis on the "nell" that is so -prevalent. Parnell, lifting his hat, urged me in an agonized tone to -drive on, but it was too late. The crowd clustered about us, -insisting on shaking hands with him, and throwing covertly interested -glances at his companion. They would not let us go on till he had -made a little impromptu speech on current affairs, after which we -drove off amid cheers. - -Parnell never swore, and "Goodness gracious!" learned from his nurse -in extreme youth, was the strongest expression he ever used, but the -dull, quiet anger such a {241} contretemps as this caused him would, -I felt, have been relieved could he have acquired the habit of -"language." This little incident at Pevensey would lead to newspaper -paragraphs, and it was hard we could not have a few days' quiet -amusement without having it boomed through the country. However, a -brilliant thought struck me. If we were to be bothered by paragraphs -let them be our own! So we drew up by the wayside, and concocted a -paragraph which told an over-interested world that "Mr. Parnell had -been staying at Hastings with his sister, and on visiting Pevensey -with her had," etc., etc. This, forwarded to the Press Association, -left us in peace at Eastbourne to complete our little holiday. - -Apropos of Parnell's "Goodness gracious," he was at first quite -unconscious of his use of the words, and it was only on Willie's -plaintive query as to why he did not d---n like other men, instead of -using "that foolish and vulgar expression," he became aware of it. -He then admitted with some amusement that he liked the homely old -expression and did not d---n merely because it never occurred to him -to do so. - -On the cliffs towards Beachy Head is a house that at that time was -built but not quite finished. Parnell took me up to see it, and -suggested that it might be a charming seaside retreat for us, even -though not the ideal we always had in our minds. This house then had -a beautiful and wide outlook over the sea, and I liked it so much -that he arranged to take it on a three years' agreement directly it -was finished. He wanted to have all the walls distempered instead of -papered, and we spent many hours over this and the selection of the -Minton tiles for the hall. The details of the house interested him -greatly, and one day when the men working there had gone to dinner -Parnell {242} showed me how to lay the tiles with so much energy that -we had finished their work by the time the men returned. He then -insisted upon my writing "Heatherbell Cottage" on a tile, which he -proceeded to inlay over the front door, earning the comment from the -men working there that he seemed to know as much about the "job" as -they did. - -He then turned his attention to making a smooth lawn in our little -garden, spending hours pulling a roller up and down, while I sat on -the steps writing from his dictation "A Proposed Constitution for the -Irish and the English Peoples"--a production that excited the -greatest wrath in the minds of some of the Irish Party at a -subsequent meeting. I do not think that the English members of -Parliament were ever made acquainted with the benefits proposed for -their consideration under this "Constitution." - -This Constitution was more fun than anything else. Parnell -undoubtedly put it before certain members of the Irish Party instead -of one drafted by his own hand. He told me afterwards that they -looked "absolutely ill" when they saw my handwriting, so he would not -withdraw it in favour of his own--till later. - -I was sitting on the doorstep of our new house one day, idly watching -Parnell build a bank that was to be turfed over to keep us from -prying eyes, when he stopped suddenly and, leaning on his spade, -said: "I am a poet! And descended from the poet, Thomas Parnell." - -"Not a poet," I answered gently, "even though descended from one." - -"I am a poet myself; give me a pencil and paper." And, throwing -himself down beside me, he wrote down the following verse proudly. -"It came to me while I was digging," he said as he tossed it over to -me, "and it is a {243} real poem, and makes me a real poet. It's as -good as any of Tom Parnell's stuff!" - -I was forced to confess that I agreed with him, as I do now, that it -was and is as good as, and better to me than, any of Thomas Parnell's -stuff, or "the stuff" of any poet who ever graced the world with -song. This is it:-- - - "The grass shall cease to grow, - The river's stream to run, - The stars shall ponder in their course, - No more shall shine the sun; - The moon shall never wane or grow, - The tide shall cease to ebb and flow, - Ere I shall cease to love you." - CHAS. PARNELL. - - -One evening in 1886, on his return from town, Parnell told me about -Mr. O'Brien's Plan of Campaign. He did not approve of it, and said -that he did not wish to have anything to do with the working of it, -adding: "I shall let O'Brien run it by himself." - -Parnell was looking and feeling very ill at this time, and when Mr. -O'Brien took upon himself to call at my house to see him, entirely -uninvited, Parnell was not really well enough to see him. He was -suffering from nervous breakdown, chiefly brought on by gastric -trouble, which in its turn was produced by overwork and the strain of -political life. All through his life Parnell was delicate. From -1880, when I first met him (and nursed him into health) to 1891, when -he died, it was only by incessant watchfulness and care that I was -able to maintain his health at all. It is certainly the fact that -only his indomitable will and power of mind rendered him capable of -enduring the strain of his public life and of the feats {244} of -strength that few men of far greater physique would have attempted. - -It was in allusion to this illness at the time of the visit of Mr. -O'Brien that Parnell said in his speech at the Eighty Club (May 8, -1888): "I was ill, dangerously ill; it was an illness from which I -have not entirely recovered up to this day. I was so ill that I -could not put pen to paper, or even read the newspaper. I knew -nothing about the movement until weeks after it had started, and even -then I was so feeble that for several months--absolutely up to the -meeting of Parliament--I was positively unable to take part in any -public matter, and was scarcely able to do so for months afterwards. -But, if I had been in a position to advise, I candidly submit to you -that I should have advised against it." - -Mr. O'Brien called again to see Parnell during the time he was so -ill, and he left his room for the first time to go down to the -sitting-room to see him. They had a long talk over the Plan of -Campaign and other matters, and the interview left Parnell so -exhausted that he was very ill again for some days afterwards. - -Long after he told me, "All I got for getting up to see O'Brien was -that he went about telling people that I was insane." - -Mr. Parnell had been feeling low and depressed all through the summer -of this year, and towards the autumn I became very much worried about -his lassitude and general feeling of illness. I tried different -diets without effect, and, thinking it might be better for him to go -straight to bed after "the House," I took a house in London for him -and settled him there, but he could not bear the loneliness and came -back to Eltham as usual after a few nights. In November he became -worse, and I insisted {245} upon his consulting a doctor, suggesting -Sir Henry Thompson, as I had heard he was very clever. I took him to -London on the afternoon of November 6, in a closed carriage, and he -was feeling so weak and nervous that he asked me to go in and see Sir -Henry first for him. His nerves had completely broken down and I -felt terribly worried about him. He stayed in the waiting-room while -I went into the consulting-room. Here Sir Henry hurried in from -dinner, extremely irritable at being disturbed at such an unseemly -hour for a "Mr. Charles Stewart," whom he did not know. "Look, look, -_look_! Look at the clock! What's the matter? I have a -consultation in a few minutes!" - -I was very glad that the door between the rooms was shut, as I felt -that such a reception in his state of nerves would have caused -Parnell to leave the house without waiting for an interview. I began -to point out that "my" patient could not, in such a low state, face -such an ungenial reception. So he permitted me to explain a little -about Mr. Stewart's ill-health, and as he was kindness itself, losing -every trace of impatience, he helped Parnell into his room, where, -after receiving a smile of assurance from Parnell, and having seen -the relief in his face, I left them together, feeling what an -inestimable blessing it was to have placed Parnell's health in such a -haven of security in so far as human skill could aid it. - -The knowledge, throughout the rest of Parnell's life, of being able -to obtain Sir Henry Thompson's advice was a great comfort to this -overwrought man. - -Sir Henry Thompson warned me that it was most important for Mr. -Parnell's health that his feet should be kept very warm, as his -circulation was bad. When his feet became cold it upset his -digestion, and this so {246} disorganized his general health that he -was then laid up for several days. I always insisted upon his -frequently changing his shoes and socks when he was at home, and gave -him a little black bag containing a change whenever he was sure to be -away for a few hours, as I found that the trouble of the frequent -changing was amply compensated for in warm feet and therefore better -health. - -So curiously inquisitive were some of the Irish Party about its -contents that the little bag with the change of socks and shoes -became an obsession with them till one of them made the brilliant -discovery that "Parnell had boots and socks in it to save him from -wet feet!" Parnell used to complain to me when he handed it over to -me that I might see by the different coloured socks that he had kept -his promise of "changing" in town, that ----'s eyes seemed to be -boring holes in the bag, and he was really thinking it would be -better to hang the other shoes and socks round his neck if he must -take them about with him! - -When Parnell had to go over to Ireland he desired his secretary, Mr. -Campbell, to bring his correspondence down to me at Eastbourne in -order that I might deal with one or two matters on which he desired -immediate intelligence telegraphed to him in our private code. He -had long since registered the telegraphic address of "Satellite" for -me that he might be able to telegraph with more privacy, and this -arrangement had proved its usefulness many times in political and -private matters. He had himself put together the code words we used, -and insisted on my learning them by heart, to obviate the risk of any -misunderstanding in case of loss. - -Most of the words used were taken from his assaying operations, -though not all, and were sent as from one {247} engineer to another -about work in hand. In the code Willie appeared as "Tailings" and -with Middlings, Crude, Gas, Overseer, Slag, Concentrate, Deposit, and -a few other such words for Gladstone, Chamberlain, and other -politicians, our code was an excellent working medium of private -communication. - -Before we took the house in Eastbourne we made a flying visit to -Bognor, but this, though in those days a pretty, fresh, little place, -was very difficult to get at, and impossible from a politician's -point of view. We went there on a gloriously stormy day, and -thoroughly enjoyed it. In our search for houses we even got as far -as Selsey, but when, on our going into the house we had come to see, -the caretaker carefully double-locked the door, Parnell turned with a -horrified gesture to me, and insisted upon leaving at once without -going over the house at all. It was an omen of misfortune, he said, -and we could never be happy in such a house. - -I have always thought that one of the greatest charms of Parnell's -personality was the extraordinary simplicity of his outlook on -ordinary life allied to the extremely subtle trend of his intellect. - -A man of moods, he never permitted a mood to blind him to probable, -or possible, issues in political matters. A keen judge of character, -he summed up, mentally docketed, and placed in the pigeon-hole of -memory, each and every man who came into his political vision, and -could thus at any time place, sort, and direct any pawn of the Irish -political game. Yet in things having no political significance his -simplicity was almost absurd in its naïveté. - -An amusing instance of what I mean occurred while we were at -Eastbourne in '86. There was a boy I {248} employed about the house -at Eltham, who was growing too fast, and looked as though he would be -all the better for a little sea air. As I was taking my own servants -down to Eastbourne I took this boy down also for a holiday, since it -made little difference as to expense. This child was, I suppose, -about fourteen years old, and once as I sat at the window, sorting -Parnell's letters, and enjoying the morning air, I was suddenly -struck with consternation to see my protégé, Jimmie, escorted up the -road between two of Eastbourne's largest policemen. I said to -Parnell, "Look!" and, following the direction of my horrified -forefinger, he gazed sadly out at Jimmie, and replied, "Throwing -stones, I'll wager. _More_ paragraphs, sweetheart! You shouldn't -have boys about." - -But the large policeman insisted upon an interview with "the -gentleman," with "Mr. Stewart," and, on my having the whole party in -to hear the worst, we were informed that poor Jimmie had been caught -trying to change a £50 note at the grocer's shop! "Mr. Stewart's" -cold gravity of expression changed to one of deprecating amusement as -I glanced indignantly at him. "I had no change, constable, so of -course sent the boy to change the note," explained Parnell. "Told -'em so," threw in Jimmie, now feeling fairly safe and the centre of -interest. But Eastbourne policemen are far too unimaginative to -believe that boys of Jimmie's age are to be sent for change for £50 -notes, and it was with the utmost difficulty we got rid of these -stolid guardians of our pockets. - -Parnell, after sending the boy for change, had temporarily forgotten -the matter, and no explanation could convince him that it was the -obvious thing that the boy should be "arrested" on trying to change -so large a note. {249} "Jimmie's a nuisance, but anyone can see that -he is honest," was his conclusion. - -On one of our excursions, ostensibly to look for a house, but really -as much as anything for the purpose of getting away for a few hours -to the sea, we went to Herne Bay. This was a charming and lonely -little place then; a cluster of houses set in green fields and a -fresh sea dashing over the little pier. It was always on days when -the wind was high that the longing for the sea came over us, and thus -we generally found the sea responding to our mood. - -At this little village of Herne Bay the house we saw was unsuitable, -but the day is a memory of salt wind and rough waves, followed by a -picnic dinner at the little inn, where Parnell ordered a fowl to be -roasted, and was momentarily saddened by my refusal to eat that -murdered bird, which had been so pleasantly finding its own dinner -when he gave the order. - - - - -{250} - -CHAPTER XXIV - -LONDON REMEMBRANCES - - "_My true love hath my heart and I have his._" - --SIR PHILIP SIDNEY. - - -Once when Parnell had to go to Ireland by the morning mail, after a -late sitting of the House, I went up to the St. Pancras Hotel, where -he had a room that night, and made the waiter bring up a tray into -the bedroom, with a cold bird, some tomatoes and materials for salad -dressing, adding a bottle of still Moselle (Parnell always drank -still Moselle by his doctor's, Sir Henry Thompson's, orders, and no -other wine). I knew he would be rushed to catch the train when he -returned in the early morning, and that he would miss the little meal -I always had ready for him, and this missing a meal was very bad for -him. - -When I had prepared the supper table to my liking I sat down by the -open window and watched the flare of light in the sky and the wide -panoramic view of mean streets and wide spaces I had from this -window, of one of the rooms highest up in this high building; and the -shrieks and oaths of men and women came up to me as they quarrelled, -and the drunken brawls of some past semblance of humanity floated up -to me till dawn brought peace to the city, as these poor dregs of -life slunk back to their dens to seek the oblivion of sleep. I shall -never forget the sights and sounds of that night, for never before -had the horror of a great city's streets at night been so forcibly -brought before me. - -{251} - -In the early dawn Parnell came, and, seeing his supper there, sat -down to eat it without question, as I had known he would. He ate in -a preoccupied way as he thought over his speech, and after telling of -various points in it, suddenly said, "Ah, I was really hungry; and -you found some tomatoes. I'll make the salad if you'll eat some." -So he made a delicious salad, and we feasted upon it before I left -him to go down to Eltham by the early train, and to give him time for -a short rest before catching the mail train for Ireland. - -* * * * * * - -"There is one great comfort about this," I used to say to myself, -after two hours' walking up and down that most uncomfortable station, -Waterloo Junction, "and that is that he always comes at last." I had -often to comfort myself with that reflection as I waited about at -various stations for Parnell. - -When he had to be late I often went up to the House to fetch him out -to dinner at a restaurant. He hated dining in the House, and there -were one or two points in the diet ordered him by Sir Henry Thompson -that I insisted upon for him where he would not take the trouble to -insist for himself. After dinner I would drive him nearly back to -the House. There he got out, and if he felt lonely at the idea of -driving down to Eltham by himself as he sometimes did, or if he -thought he would want to talk to me again before he came home (as he -very often did!) I would promise to wait for him at some station, so -that he could find me without observation. It would have been much -more comfortable, of course, for me to have waited in a house or -rooms somewhere, but people were so extraordinarily curious about -Parnell that it would have been {252} impossible so to get any peace -unless we changed the address every week, and this would have been -decidedly too expensive. As it was, he was often followed to the -station by a detective or some private busybody who could not realize -that even a public man may possible prefer to keep a little of his -life to himself. - -So very many hours I waited for him at various stations! The -officials (at each and all) were most kind and considerate to the -lonely lady who had to be driven, by sheer force of regulations, from -one waiting-room to another as the lights were put out, and who -finally would take to a steady tramp up and down the station platform -till at length (such a long length sometimes!) she was joined by her -husband and almost lifted into the hansom-cab they invariably drove -off in. - -When I felt that he really wanted me to wait I could not bear to go -home, and though Waterloo was the most uncomfortable station of all -to keep vigil in I often chose it, as, owing to the early morning -trains at the Junction, I could always be sure that it would not be -altogether shut up. - -I think the officials must have known who Parnell was, as I always -had a free pass (from him) for all these lines, but they never -intruded, and, in spite of my pass, received and kept his telegrams -for me (he often telegraphed from the little office near the House, -in the name "Preston") with perfect tact. The porters were very good -to me also, and many a scuttle of coal was recklessly emptied on a -waiting-room fire after hours as "reg'lations 'gainst keepin' on gas -strong, but it will be fairly cheerful like with the firelight, -ma'am." The railway men are a kindly race, for I rarely tipped these -men. - -* * * * * * - -{253} - - - HOUSE OF COMMONS, - 12.30. - - I arrived here to-night. - - I fear I may be detained till rather late to-night, so hope you - will not wait up for me. I expect to return home about 3.30. - - -The above is a note, one of very many, sent down to me at Eltham, so -that I should, if I wished, go to bed before Parnell came home. I -did this only once or twice, as I fancied I heard him directly I -closed my eyes, and would go down, only to find a dreary blank of -disappointment. So I made him agree to my staying in my -sitting-room, where from the open window I could hear for miles the -regular trotting of the cab-horse bringing him home. - -He only stipulated that I should not go out along the roads to meet -him at night. In March, 1887, I thought my King was looking tired -and worried. There had been various annoying happenings owing to new -reports of his life at Eltham having been put about. I had had -unpleasant letters from Willie, and the latter and I were not now on -speaking terms. With this and his hard work Parnell was looking -fagged and worn. His health, always an anxiety to me, seemed to -fail, and the languor that grew upon him frightened me. I determined -that he should be spared the long cold night-drive down to Eltham, -and suggested his having a house near the House of Commons to which -he could return and get immediate rest after a night sitting. He had -a little house at Brockley, which he had taken in the name of -"Clement Preston," and furnished, and here he had a man and wife to -look after him. I had never lived there, but used to drive over to -see him for a short time when it was inexpedient that he should be at -Eltham. He never liked this house, and hated the way the people used -to hang about to see him go in and {254} out, "Clement Preston" -apparently being but a poor protection in keeping off curiosity as to -Parnell's habits. He wearily said he did not want to live in London -unless I would live there too, but, as I pointed out, that was -impossible, and I took a house in York Terrace, Regent's Park -(furnished), for him. Here I installed him with two servants, who -absolutely worshipped the ground he walked upon, and, having placed -various books about, books that he considered of pleasant relaxation, -such as engineering and mining treatises, with a couple of Dickens' -works that he had always been "going to read," and a few technical -journals, I went home haunted by his grave, considering eyes and his -sad "You must not leave me here by myself; I don't want to be here -without you!" hoping that after a day or two he would settle down and -feel the benefit of getting more quickly to bed. - -The house was charming, with, on one side, a lovely outlook over -Regent's Park. It was very pretty and comfortable, and I used to -make flying visits to him, to sit with him while he ate his breakfast. - -For three weeks I congratulated myself on having been self-denying -enough to earn him better rest, even at the cost to myself of not -having him so much with me; then, on my return from my aunt, whose -great age was now beginning to tell upon her, late one evening, I -felt anxious and worried about my lover, even though my good-night -telegram was awaiting me. He always telegraphed "good-night" if he -was away from me. I tried to shake the feeling off, but after dinner -I found myself mechanically making up the fire in my sitting-room as -I did when sitting up for Parnell after a late sitting of the House. -I felt amused at my absent-mindedness, and sat down before the fire, -thinking that I would take advantage of {255} the beautiful blaze I -had made. I sat there idly, thinking of Parnell, wondering what -exactly he was doing at that moment, and presently, hearing the -servants go to bed, and feeling disinclined for bed myself, I got a -book. - -I could not settle to reading, and began to feel very lonely and to -wish I were really waiting up for Parnell, as I used to. I thought -of my aunt, of how very old she was, of her immense goodness to me -ever since I had lived at Eltham, and of what a great blank there -would be when she died--her life seemed to be like a flame flickering -in the wind now, and it might go out any day. I got up to shake off -my sad thoughts, and, throwing open my window, leant out and listened -to the wind in the trees. - -I heard the clock strike two, and listened, as I had always done, -about this time, for the regular beat of the horse's hoofs that would -bring my King home. I could hear nothing, and my longing for his -presence was so great that I called out under my breath, "I wish you -would come. I do wish you would come." Then I think I became -drowsy, for I started up from the window, suddenly hearing three -o'clock ring out from the village and the steady trot-trot of a horse -in the distance. - -I held my breath to listen, my heart beating with an eager joy. I -could hear the beat of the hoofs round the corner into the village as -they came from the Common, then lost as they went up the High Street, -and suddenly clearer with the jingle of the cab bells as they turned -the top of the road and stopped. I knew now, and opened the door -quickly as my love came up the little side-walk past the window, -giving the familiar signal as he went up the two steps; and I was in -his arms as he whispered, "Oh, my love, you must not leave me alone -again." - - - - -{256} - -CHAPTER XXV - -THE PARNELL COMMISSION - - "_For none on earth so lone as he - Whose way of thought is high and free, - Beyond the mist, beyond the cloud, - Beyond the clamour of the crowd._" - - -I had long since had a high paling put round my garden to screen it -from the inquisitive eyes of persons who had, until this was done, -the impertinence to lean over the short stone wall and railings to -watch Parnell as he went in and out. This new paling was seven feet -high. On the carriage gates there was bronze ornamental work, thick -and heavy. Once this was cut through by someone unknown and fell, -the next time the gate was opened, upon the head of the groom, as he -stooped to unbolt it. - -This little "accident" was no doubt intended for Mr. Parnell's or for -my benefit, and the fact that the young man's arm was pushed against -the gate, above his head, as he stooped to ease the bolt, doubtless -saved him from a cracked skull. As it was, he was badly bruised and -cut, some fifty pounds of bronze work falling partly upon him. After -this he examined the work on the other gate, and, finding that this -also had been cut through, with the help of the gardener lifted it -off before further damage was done. This pointless and malignant -spite might easily have had far more serious consequences, since my -children were going out by these gates driving their ponies, and it -was quite by chance that they had called {257} the groom to open the -gates for them, for one or other of them generally played at being -the "footman" on these occasions. The police could not trace the -perpetrators of the little pleasantry. - -I then made a beautiful, thick rose-hedge at one side of this garden, -and the roses grew and flourished to such an extent that it proved an -effectual screen from the too-pressing attention of persons, who had -not, I suppose, very many interests of their own. - -On the morning that the (so-called) Parnell letters appeared in the -_Times_ (March 7, 1887), they were cut out and pasted on the gate by -a person or persons unknown; and here also the perspicacity of our -local police failed to find the merrymaker. - -On that day I did not give Parnell the _Times_ opened as usual for -his glance over the political reports while he breakfasted. He asked -for it, but I wanted him to finish his breakfast first, and replied: -"The _Times_ is unusually stodgy; do eat your breakfast first." - -He said he must finish a bit of assaying he had left over-night -before going to London, and would not have time for papers -afterwards, so I told him of the letters, and propped the _Times_ -against the teapot as usual. - -He read the whole thing; meditatively buttering and eating his toast -the while. I supplied him with marmalade, and turned over the folded -paper for him so that he could read more easily. - -He made no remark at all till he had finished breakfast, and -carefully clipped the end off his cigar; then, with a smile, he -tossed the paper at me, saying, "Now for that assaying I didn't -finish! Wouldn't you hide your head with shame if your King were so -stupid as that, my Queen?" - -{258} - -I helped him to set his chemicals right, urging on him that the thing -was very serious, and that he must attend to it; but he only replied: -"You think about it for me while I am finishing this. Now don't -spoil this for me. It will do presently!" and I subsided with the -_Times_ while he worked at his crucibles, and jotted down -results--absolutely absorbed for more than two hours, and only -brought back to politics by my call of "You absolutely must start -now." - -He had a wonderful little machine--a balance that gave the weight of -almost infinitesimal parts of a grain--and this might be touched by -no one but himself. He now reluctantly covered it with its glass -case and lovingly padded it round with a cloth, lest a rough movement -in the room should put it out of balance. - -I said, "Now, my King, you must attend to the _Times_. You must take -an action against them." - -"No. Why should I?" struggling into his coat as I held it for him. -"I have never taken any notice of any newspapers, nor of anyone. Why -should I now?" - -However, he promised me he would consult the "Party" about the -letters, and left assuring me that the English _Times_ was a paper of -no particular importance, after all. - -He got home before I did that evening, and I found him on my return -weighing the infinitesimal specks of his morning's extraction of gold -with the utmost accuracy. He gave me a smile and the fire-flame of -his welcoming eyes as usual, but murmured, "Don't speak for one -moment; I'll tell you the moment I have finished this," and I had to -sit with as much patience as I could muster while he finished his -calculations. Then, coming over to me in triumph, he informed my for -once uninterested ears {259} that he had now completed the extraction -of something or other of a grain of the gold for my wedding ring. - -On my firmly recalling his attention to the matter of the letters he -said wearily--all the interest and buoyancy gone--"They want me to -fight it, but it will be a terrible nuisance, my Queenie; I have seen -Lewis, and he is going to see Russell--Sir Charles, you know--and -then I am to see him again." - -He was very undecided about the necessity of taking the action -against the _Times_, and more than once pointed out to me that the -opinion of that paper and its readers did not really interest him; -but, on my refusing to accept this at all, and urging that Ireland -required that he should defend himself in this, and that my view was -that of the Irish Party, he promised to take the matter seriously, -merely remarking with an amused cynicism that if Ireland wanted him -to cudgel a clean bill of health out of England she would find work -for all the blackthorns she grew. - -Soon my absorbed study of the forged letters caught Parnell's -interest, he shook off his apathy, and joined my study of his -handwriting of many years, and those of the various possible (and -impossible) imitators. Once he became interested he threw himself -into it as wholeheartedly as he did into any other hobby. We spent -hours in this study of calligraphy, and made some interesting and -amusing discoveries. - -After a couple of interviews with Mr. Lewis and Sir Charles Russell, -Parnell one evening asked me if I would mind seeing Lewis, as he had -expressed a wish to see me. I went therefore to Ely Place, and had -an interview with Mr. (Sir George) Lewis. After we had talked over -the situation he gave me tea, and made an appointment for another -interview in a few days' time. I put before {260} him my various -conclusions as to handwritings, one of which he considered might be -useful. - -We had frequent consultations after this, and, as the time of the -trial drew near, Lewis's offices and the passages leading to it, with -the waiting rooms, were filled with the witnesses from Ireland -concerned in the trial. The case did not worry Parnell much--except -that it took up so much of our all too little leisure time, which was -so precious to us. - -The following letters, written from Avondale during the anxious time -preceding the trial, will serve to show how little the matter -affected his ordinary interests. - - - - _August_ 30, 1887. - - MY OWN WIFIE,--I have been exceedingly anxious about you ever - since I left. You seemed so very ill that it has been haunting - me ever since that I ought to have stayed in London. My own - darling may write to me whenever she pleases. I was so longing - for a telegram all day yesterday, but not getting one came to the - conclusion that you had not been able to go to London. - - I have been round the place here, everything going on well. The - new mine is improving, so I have been tempted to continue it for - a short while longer. - - It will not be necessary for me to remain here longer than a few - days, so that whenever you are ready for me I can return. - - YOUR OWN LOVING HUSBAND. - - I am very well indeed. - - - - _January_ 4, 1888. - - I finished will before going to bed on Monday, and will execute - it and send it north to-morrow. Am pretty sure to be able to - return next Monday or Tuesday at latest. - - MY OWN DARLING QUEENIE,--I got off all right yesterday morning, - forgetting the lamp, however, until I was in train, when I - decided upon telegraphing them from Chester to send it on at - once, which I did. I am having the carpenter to fix {261} a - strong hook in the ceiling joist for it to hang upon, and it will - be a great improvement on the present state of affairs, as the - consumption of candles is enormous, while giving very little - light. They are undoubtedly the best and safest lamps out; in - fact, absolutely safe. - - One of the little lamps here was broken since, so I have - suspended the other one also, as it was no use by itself. - - The room will be very nice for a large suspended lamp; it is - about 13½ feet high, by 24 feet by 20 feet. - - I had only half an hour to wait at Kingstown for the train, which - I spent in the waiting-room, and a quarter of an hour at Bray. - - The sea was rather rough, but not too rough for me. I studied - the swinging of a lamp minutely during the passage, and derived - valuable lessons for the new ship.[1] - - Am going to Arklow in the morning. Everything going on here very - well, notwithstanding which I have been advising and admonishing - K.[2] all day. - - E.[3] is here all by herself, mother being expected to-night. - - Miss B. B. was very old, very ugly, and very vulgar; in fact, E. - says the worst sponge that ever got hold of my mother. She drank - nothing but whisky, and took it to bed with her. - - There was dancing after theatricals till six in the morning.[4] - - I am very anxious about my own love, and so glad to get telegram - to-day; expect letter to-morrow. Raining torrents all day. YOUR - OWN HUSBAND. - - -A couple of weeks before the action came on Parnell came home in -great amusement. Lewis had written asking him most particularly to -call, as he had had a consultation with Sir Charles Russell and -wished to report the result to Parnell. On Parnell's calling, -thinking some {262} new phase of the case had been evolved, Mr. Lewis -had "hoped he would not be annoyed," but Sir Charles and he were -rather worried about his (Parnell's) clothes, and would he very much -mind having a new frock-coat from Poole's for the trial! Parnell had -great fun with me over that Poole coat, and when it came home we -tried it on with great ceremony, Parnell stroking its silk facings -with pride, and insisting upon a back view of it in the long mirror -in my room. - -Mr. Lewis inspired me with the greatest confidence, and his -charmingly deferential manner fascinated me, while the keen brown -eyes seemed to read the hidden secrets of the soul. He was always -exquisitely dressed, and, when I made some playful remark about -Parnell's new coat, he told me in confidence that Parnell's Irish -homespuns were a great trial to him--this with such earnestness that -I tried to suppress my laughter, as I explained to him what a -pleasure it was to me to be possessed of a man who was above clothes; -not below them in slovenliness, but above them and unconscious of his -coverings. - -Very many years after this, long after my husband's death, this -acquaintance with Sir George Lewis served me in good stead. -Circumstances arose which rendered me very doubtful and uneasy in -regard to the probity of my trustee and solicitor, who had charge of -my whole income and the capital thereof. I had had no communication -with Sir George Lewis for very many years; but then the happy thought -struck me that he would advise me privately and disinterestedly. My -son went to him on my behalf, and it is entirely owing to the prompt -action taken by Sir George that any part of my little income was -saved to me. - -{263} - -My trustee had been speculating wildly, and, among that of other -clients, every penny of my small fortune had been misappropriated. -Sir George compelled the repayment of what was possible by the -discredited and ruined man, and thus saved me by his kind and -energetic intervention from absolute destitution. Apart from the -very serious loss it entailed upon me, the downfall of my trustee, -clever, good-looking and altogether charming, was a great blow to us -all. He had been so much a friend, and I and my son and daughters -had trusted him so completely. - -The result of the Parnell Commission is well known. I continued to -see Mr. Lewis regularly before the case came on, and on one occasion -he asked me if I would mind going to Wood's Hotel, close by Ely -Place, to meet him on a matter that had to do with the case. This I -did, and, being early, awaited him in the coffee room. When he came -we had a long business talk about the case, and he assured me that -the issue was now completely secured. People were passing in and out -as we talked, and several I noticed passed very close to us, and -stared curiously at me before going out. - -Suddenly, on observing this, I asked Mr. Lewis why he had arranged -our interview in this place instead of at his office as usual. He -made some evasive reply about a client of his who occupied a very -distinguished position--and he mentioned this personage by -name--having an appointment at the office, and disliking the fact of -any other person being received during the same hour of his visit. - -I pointed out to Mr. Lewis that he was surely speaking at random, as -the person he mentioned could not be left about at his office like a -nobody while he talked to {264} me at an hotel. At this he laughed, -and asked that I should be satisfied with his reply until he saw me -again, and with this I had to be content, though I was somewhat -ruffled at his not offering a sufficient explanation of his odd place -of appointment, and I curtly refused to make another at the office -for the following week. - -Our interview had ostensibly been for the purpose of discussing -certain letters I had given into his care at a former interview, but, -as he afterwards told me, he had asked those persons, who had, I -thought, stared at me in the hotel, if they could identify me with -someone who had been impersonating me with the hope of better -entangling Parnell, and of preventing him from publicly protecting -his honour for fear of dragging me into the case. The "gentlemen -from Ireland" who had had so good a look at me were forced to admit -that they had never seen me before in their lives. - -Shortly before the case came on I asked Mr. Lewis if he would mind my -going to see Mr. Soames (solicitor for the _Times_). He answered, "I -do not see why you should not do so if you wish it," and to Parnell, -who had just come in, "It will be quite safe for her to see Soames." -"Yes, of course, she knows best," answered Parnell, and off I went, -pursued by Mr. Lewis's "You must come straight back here, Mrs. -O'Shea," as he put me into the waiting cab. - -My waiting cab was always an acute irritation to Lewis. Alter his -first greeting of me he invariably asked me if my cab was waiting. -"Yes, of course, how else should get home?" "You are not going to -drive home!" with horror. "No, but to the station." "Pay him off, -my dear lady, and I'll send for another when I have given you some -tea," encouragingly. "But I _like_ this horse, he {265} has such -good legs." Then dear Mr. Lewis used to get intensely irritated, and -send someone flying to pay my cab to go away at once. I never dared -at this stage to tell him that I always made a compact with the -cabman that "waiting did not count." - -On my arrival at Mr. Soames's office he saw me at once without any -pretence of being "too busy." In fact his office appeared almost -deserted, and he welcomed me as his "cousin." He took some time in -arranging the exact collateral degree of our relationship, but beyond -this our interview behind his closely shut glass-panelled door led to -nothing. I was desirous of finding out which way his suspicions -tended--as obviously he did not really think that Parnell had written -the letters; he, on his part, was trying to find out why I had come. - -On the 1st of March, 1889, Pigott shot himself in Madrid. It was a -painful affair, and Parnell was sorry for the poor creature. - -When Parnell attended the House for the first time after the result -of the Parnell Commission was made known, I was not well, and could -not get to the Ladies' Gallery, as I had hoped to do, but long before -he came I had had reports of the tremendous ovation he received; how -every section of the House--Ministers, Opposition--all rose at his -entry as one man, cheering themselves hoarse and shouting his name. -I asked him afterwards if he had not felt very proud and happy then, -but he only smiled, and answered, "They would all be at my throat in -a week if they could!" I thought of that speech a little later on. - -Soon after the death of Pigott Mr. Parnell met Mr. and Mrs. Gladstone -at Mrs. Sydney Buxton's[5] "at home." {266} Almost the only comment, -when he got home was: "That's over; thank goodness!" - -On May 28th, 1889, Sir Charles and Lady Russell gave a reception in -honour of the hero of the fight. Parnell hated these affairs, but, -as I pointed out to him, it would be very sad if all those people -assembled to meet him and he was not there. The reception was a time -of adulation for him from first to last, I afterwards heard, but when -Parnell came home and told me all about it he remarked, "It was all -very kind and just as troublesome as usual--or would have been had I -not discovered a pretty little brown head with friendly eyes that -looked as shy as I felt." - -I answered, "Dear me, who was this charming lady? I should like to -know!" - -"That is just what she was, a charming little lady, an Irishwoman. -You know, Queenie, you are the only Englishwoman I can bear! This -was Katharine Tynan; you read some of her things to me," and he went -on to speak of others at the reception, afterwards reverting to the -pleasure he had felt in meeting Katharine Tynan, who he believed -genuinely felt what all "those others" were saying. - -Presumably "those others" were perfectly sincere in their -appreciation of him, but Parnell, so English in his own nature, had a -constitutional distrust of English people, and, curiously enough, he -did not understand them well, while the Irish character was an open -book to him. At a reception like this where the guests were, of -course, mostly English, Parnell would retire behind his coldest, most -aloof bulwark of exquisite courtesy, and, to use his own simile about -Katharine Tynan, "I felt as though a little friendly bird had made a -song for me in {267} an unfriendly land." We often afterwards spoke -of the "little friendly bird," and, should Mrs. Hinkson (Katharine -Tynan) ever see this book, she will know that the "Chief" appreciated -both her loyalty and her song. - -Directly the result of the Parnell Commission was made known Mr. -Parnell was elected a life member of the National Liberal Club; an -election which afforded him a certain grave amusement at the time and -a query later on, when the "National Liberals" wished to depose him, -as to whether a "life member" can dare be so illogical as to continue -life without the membership. - -On the 8th March, 1889, he was entertained for the second time at the -Eighty Club, and, a few days later, at a great meeting at St. James's -Hall. At both meetings the enthusiasm was so great that the whole -body of people present rose en masse as he entered, cheering, waving -handkerchiefs, and shouting his name for some time before they -allowed him to sit down. - -Naturally these ovations of my hero gave me the greatest pride and -joy, but he would never allow me to say much about them. - -"You see, my dear, these people are not really pleased with me," he -would say. "They thought I had written those letters, and now they -are extolling their own sense of justice in cheering me because I did -not write them. I might as wisely shout myself hoarse if a court of -law decided that Gladstone had not told somebody to rob a bank!" And -I would reply: "Well, I love to hear and read about your being -properly appreciated," only to get a reproving "You are an illogical -woman. These people do not appreciate me, they only howl with joy -because I have been found within the law. The English make a law and -bow down and worship it till they find it {268} obsolete--long after -this is obvious to other nations--then they bravely make another, and -start afresh in the opposite direction. That's why I am glad Ireland -has a religion; there is so little hope for a nation that worships -laws." - -And when I persisted, "But don't you feel a little excited and proud -when they all cheer you, really you?" and the little flames showed in -his eyes as he said, "Yes, when it is really me, when I am in the -midst of a peasant crowd in Ireland. Then I feel a little as I do -when I see you smile across the street at me before we meet, but for -these others it is then I know how I hate the English, and it is -then, if I begin to feel a little bit elated, I remember the howling -of the mob I once saw chasing a man to lynch him years ago. Don't be -too pleased with the clapping of these law-lovers, Queenie. I have a -presentiment that you will hear them another way before long, and I -am exactly the same, either way!" - -At the National Liberal Club, at which Sir Frank Lockwood presided, -Mr. Parnell and Lord Spencer shook hands for the first time. When -Parnell rose to speak he received a perfect ovation. He said: - -"There is only one way in which you can govern Ireland within the -Constitution, and that is by allowing her to govern herself in all -those matters which cannot interfere with the greatness and -well-being of the Empire of which she forms a part. I admit there is -another way. That is a way that has not been tried yet.... There is -a way in which you might obtain at all events some present success in -the government of Ireland. It is not Mr. Balfour's bastard plan of a -semi-constitutional, a semi-coercive method. You might find among -yourselves some great Englishman or Scotsman, who would go over to -Ireland--her Parliamentary representation having been taken away -{269} from her--and would do justice to her people notwithstanding -the complaints of Irish landlordism. Such a man might be found who, -on the other hand, would oppose a stern front to the inciters of -revolution or outrage, and on the other hand would check the -exorbitant demands of the governing classes in that country, and -perhaps the result might be successful. But it would have to be a -method outside the Constitution both on the one side and on the -other. Your Irish Governor would have to have full power to check -the evil-doer; whether the evil-doer were a lord or a peasant, -whether the malefactor hailed from Westminster or New York, the power -should be equally exercised and constantly maintained. In that way, -perhaps, as I have said, you might govern Ireland for a season. -That, in my judgment, from the first time when I entered political -life, appeared to me to be the only alternative to the concession to -Ireland of full power over her own domestic interests, and her -future. In one way only, I also saw, could the power and influence -of a constitutional party be banded together within the limits of the -law; by acting on those principles laid down by Lucas and Gavan Duffy -in 1852, that they should hold themselves aloof from all English -political parties and combinations, that they should refuse place and -office for themselves or for their friends or their relations, and -that the Irish constituencies should refuse to return any member who -was a traitor to those pledges." - -In July Parnell was presented with the freedom of the City of -Edinburgh. In his speech of acknowledgment he said: - -"In what way could Ireland, supposing she wished to injure you, be -more powerful to effect injury to your Imperial interests than she is -at present? If you concede {270} to her people the power to work out -their own future, to make themselves happy and prosperous, how do you -make yourselves weaker to withstand wrongdoing against yourselves? -Will not your physical capacity be the same as it is now? Will you -not still have your troops in the country? Will you not still have -all the power of the Empire? ... In what way do we make you weaker? -In what way shall we be stronger to injure you? What soldiers shall -we have? What armed policemen shall we have? What cannons shall we -have? What single means shall we have, beyond the constitution, that -we have not now, to work you injury?"[6] - - - -[1] He studied the balance of the lamp for the "new ship" he was -inventing--the one he was always trying at Brighton. (See p. 277.) - -[2] Kerr, Mr. Parnell's agent and bailiff. - -[3] Emily Dickinson, Parnell's sister. - -[4] Mrs. Delia Parnell was giving the theatricals and dance in the -great new cattle-shed he had had built from his own plans, modelled -on the plan of the new station at Brighton. - -[5] Now Viscountess Buxton. - -[6] A letter of this period from Parnell to Cecil Rhodes, dealing -with the Imperial aspect of Home Rule, is unfortunately the only -important document left of the correspondence between the two, the -rest having been accidentally destroyed. Parnell had been greatly -interested in the political tactics of Rhodes in South Africa. When -in London Rhodes sought an interview, which took place at the -Westminster Palace Hotel. In the letter of June 23, 1888, Parnell -expresses his gladness at knowing that Rhodes considers that the -measure of Home Rule to be granted to Ireland should be -"thoroughgoing," and adds: "I cordially agree with your opinion that -there should be effective safeguards for the maintenance of Imperial -unity." The two men had been discussing the question of the -exclusion or inclusion of Irish representation at Westminster. -Parnell judged exclusion to have been a defect of the Bill of 1886, -and shared Rhodes's view that inclusion would facilitate the larger -measure of Imperial federation. - -Parnell returned to this point in 1891 in the course of his -correspondence with Dillon and O'Brien on the question of the -leadership of the Nationalist Party. He asserted in a letter to -Gill, one of the intermediaries in these discussions, that he could -prove "by documentary evidence" that the second reading of the 1886 -Bill was lost "because the Liberal leaders declined till too late to -agree to the retention of any Irish Members in any shape or for any -purpose." - - - - -{271} - -CHAPTER XXVI - -BRIGHTON HAUNTS - - "_We went as children joyous, or oprest, - In some absorbing care, or blest, - In nodding conversation--hand in hand._" - --HONORA SHEE (THE LOVER'S DIARY). - - -My aunt appeared to me to be failing in health a good deal at the -beginning of 1888, and, though she sometimes seemed to be stronger, -and chatted with all her old interest in the things of the past, -there were days when she was so quiet and drowsy that I feared to -rouse her by talking. At other times she would like me to talk and -read to her as usual, but was so languid and tired that a little -smile and pressure of the hand I held was the only response she made. -In April she had a slight attack of bronchitis, and her doctor -ordered her opium to ease her lungs. She much objected to all -opiates, but her doctor's treatment seemed to ease her. She would -not let me sleep in her house, as she thought, as usual, that it -would "disorganize the household," but I went now nearly every night -across the park in the fragrant spring nights to inquire, under her -maid's window, if Mrs. "Ben" was asleep. - -The owls had nested for years in a great tree by my aunt's bedroom -windows, and I loved to watch them in the moonlight hawking for the -food they had to supply in such abundance now to the screeching -owlets in the nest. The old birds used to sit on Aunt Ben's -window-sill, and hoot, and had done so, much to her pleasure, for the -sixty {272} or seventy years of her residence in the house; but now -her maid shook her head sadly, as she leant out of the window to tell -me of her mistress's condition, saying "That's an omen, m'am; the -dear mistress must be going soon." I answered irritably that the -owls had hooted there since Mr. Benjamin's time, as her mistress had -often told her, but felt her "Time will show, m'am," to be -unanswerable. - -On these May nights, if he was at home, Parnell would walk across the -park with me and wait on a seat for me till I had obtained the latest -bulletin. - -One morning, very early, when her night had been restless, I made -Mary Ann (my aunt's personal maid) come down and let me in. On going -up to the great four-post bed where the dear little old lady lay, -looking as small and frail as a child, she put out one, now feeble, -white hand, and held mine. I told the maid she could go and rest a -bit, and I would call her if my aunt wanted her. - -When she was gone, my aunt, who was breathing with difficulty, -whispered as I bent down to kiss her hand, "You do believe, do you -not, my Swan?" I answered, "Yes, auntie, of course I do believe, most -firmly." She said, "I am glad. I wish you could come with me, my -darling!" and I sobbingly told her that I wished I could too. - -I stayed by her side and smoothed her hand till she ceased to -breathe, and then waited by her as all her servants who had been with -her for many years filed past the bed, and took a last look at their -stern but just and much-loved mistress. - -She left a great void in my life, and the sensation of being always -wanted and tied to one place that I had sometimes felt so keenly hard -I would now have given {273} much to feel again. With this old lady -died, so far as my acquaintance went, the last of the old world--that -old world of leisure and books and gentle courtesy of days when men -might wear their gallantry without foolishness, and women knew the -value of their sex. - -Through all those years in which I waited on my aunt I never heard -her use a clipped word, or use a sentence not grammatically perfect -and beautifully rounded off, and although in the hurry of modern life -I sometimes felt impatient when chided for some swallowed -pronunciation or ignored g's, I look back upon the years of my life -spent in that old-world atmosphere as a very precious memory. - -After my aunt's death Eltham became intolerable to me, and I took a -small country house near Mottingham till I could let my own house. -Directly we left Eltham the pretty garden was devastated by -relic-hunters, who pulled the place to pieces in obtaining mementoes -of "the house where Parnell had lived." - -The house at Mottingham was damp, and we longed for the sea. - -For various reasons we had been obliged to relinquish any idea of -living in the little house we had finished, with so much pleasure, at -Eastbourne, and at last we had removed the few things we had stored -there, and in 1887 had finally decided to take the end house of -Walsingham Terrace (No. 10), Brighton. Shortly after my aunt's death -we went down to live there. The position then was attractive to us: -cornfields from one side of the house away up to Shoreham basin and -harbour, a waste of hay at the back of the house, an excellent train -service and a sufficient distance from Brighton proper to enable us -to avoid the crowd. While we were living there people used to walk -and drive out to see "Parnell's house," but this was not {274} -particularly annoying, as when he was at home we went out early, or -late--anyhow, at a time when the average person is kept at home by -appetite. Personally, if it was not glaringly inconvenient, I was -always rather proud and interested in the popular attention Parnell -attracted wherever he went. - -Here Parnell had the dining-room as his own sitting-room, where he -kept the roll-top desk I had given him for all his papers and -political work, while down in the basement there was a room in which -he had a furnace fitted up, and where we used to burn the crushed ore -before assaying it. We spent many hours down there, and I sometimes -feared the excessive heat must have been bad for him; but he did not -think so, and would become so absorbed in this work that I used to -have the greatest difficulty in getting him out for the gallop on his -horse President across the Downs, which did him so much good. - -I found at length the only way was to get his cap and whip and show -them to the dogs. Immediately I did this they would begin to bark -wildly and jump up at him to make him start for the run they loved so -much. Parnell would then say reproachfully, "Oh, Queenie, how can -you deceive the poor dogs like that?" and I would answer that the -only way to keep them believing in us was to go at once for that -belated ride. Once started none of the party, dogs or horses, -enjoyed it more than he. - -In this house we had from the side windows of Parnell's and from my -room in which he afterwards died, a view of the most wonderful -sunsets I have ever seen in England. Then the whole west was a -veritable fairyland of gold and crimson, and the harbour and Shoreham -town, with the little country church of Aldrington against the -setting of the Downs, were touched with a pearly mist of {275} light -that lifted them far out of the prosaic ugliness we knew by the blank -light of midday. Parnell used to say to me as we walked away to the -golden harbour, "Is it really like this, my Queen, or as we see it at -noon?" I could only reply that it was both--the both that made life -at once so interesting and so difficult. - -Often in the following spring my King and I would drive out as far as -the foot of the Downs near the training stables beyond Southwick; and -then, climbing to the crest of the hills, go for long walks, away -over the Downs, walking or resting as we felt inclined, returning as -night fell, to drive home. - -One sunny morning, lengthening into a brighter day, I especially -remember, when the south-west wind sent the flickering shadows across -the Downs where its sea-scents mingled with the sweet pungency of the -young herbage. As we walked along hand in hand we were gay in the -glorious spring of the year, feeling that while love walked so -closely with us youth could not lag too far behind, and in the wide -expanse of the South Downs, which appealed so much to both our -natures, we forgot all care and trouble. - -Very far away, standing clear against the skyline, there was a figure -of a shepherd, his flock a little lower showed grey against the dull -green distance. He stood motionless, as these lonely Down shepherds -do. The tumbled heap by him, we said, was his dog. So we watched -him some miles away for more than an hour. We wondered what he -thought of, and whether all this lonely loveliness meant anything to -him, or if he would be glad to change his quiet life for the rush and -hurry of a town. - -Presently, from where we sat, at the highest point of the hills, we -saw some horses going at full gallop over the training ground, the -horses straining at the bit, and {276} seemingly glad to be alive. -The dull thud of the hoofs came up to us to mingle with the incessant -trilling of the skylarks and the bleating of the distant sheep. Now -we turned seaward, overlooking Shoreham Harbour, and watched the -vessels going out to sea on voyages fraught with unknown -possibilities. - -In spite of the excessive beauty of the scene, in the region of -thought it had a saddening effect on us; and, as the last gleams of -sunlight fell across the sea, lightly touching the sails as they -slipped out of the light into the wider darkness of the leaden waves, -we turned and retraced our steps, I leaning on his arm as we went -down to the valley again. - -A favourite haunt of ours at Brighton was a little shop in Pool -Valley altogether devoted to the sale of pebbles and crystals of -various sorts, also of jet. Parnell did not like the jet, but was -greatly interested in the pebbles and the polishing of them. - -He spent much time after we had found this shop in watching the -process of cutting crystals and polishing the pebbles. Onyx ball -beads he selected in sizes with the greatest care, and had a long -chain of them made for me with a gold ball between each two onyx -beads. To these he had added a locket composed of crystal and onyx, -and was much pleased with the result. - -The chain, when finished, was a little heavy, but he had had such a -happy time in selecting each bead and so carefully matching the -markings that I wore it with a light heart till he noticed it was -rubbing my neck, and insisted upon my taking it off there and then -for ever. - -Another favourite haunt of ours was Smith's second-hand bookshop in -North Street, where he would stand for an hour at a time poring over -old books on mechanics, {277} or mining, while I dug out "bargains" -amongst the poets of a bygone age, and discussed books with the -proprietor. - -Parnell always tried to get a few days' shooting every year in -Ireland on the grouse moors he hired at Anghavanagh, and I had much -pleasure in getting together hampers of provisions for him in London -to take over with him, as the arrangements he had been used to before -I met him were decidedly primitive and very trying to his health. I -always found that a good supply of hams and tongues, with the very -best tea that I could procure, a new spirit kettle (every year) and a -goodly supply of rugs and blankets rendered him sufficiently -comfortable, and returned him to me without the acute attacks of -indigestion that had formerly rendered these holidays among the -mountains so little gain to him in health. - -I had to insist upon his learning to make his own tea to save him -from the "stewed" tea made by his servant in Ireland, and I found it -better to label the tea I got for his personal use: "For presents," -and that which he might give away: "For Mr. Parnell's own use," as he -said plaintively, "They seem to like my tea best!" - -He used to love these shooting expeditions, but would never stay more -than a few days, as he could not bear to be away from me longer. I -used to wish it were possible for me to go to Ireland with him in -order that he might enjoy his shooting to the full, but that was -impossible, and he always declared that "Three or four days broke the -back of that little shoot, anyhow!" - -For many months Parnell tried to invent a vessel which would so cut -through the water as to obviate any sensation of the motion of the -waves. When he had done this the ship was to be built, and I would -be enabled to cross the Atlantic as comfortably as I now made the -journey {278} to Brighton! Incidentally this invention was also to -make our fortunes. Although the building of the ship had to be -indefinitely postponed, the models made and tested by Parnell were -really wonderful. He had had no training in mechanics, nor did he -know anything of shipbuilding or engineering, except such information -as he obtained from the various books he read for amusement at rare -intervals--but these models he made, and tried off the underdeck of -the Chain Pier at Brighton, were extraordinarily ingenious. - -I do not venture to record this on my own authority, for I know -absolutely nothing of such matters, but the firm, who cast the copper -"floats" for him from his plans, and continually altered and -corrected the models after trials, came to the conclusion that Mr. -"Smith" was on the verge of a very useful invention; though, to his -annoyance, they would not dissociate the torpedo-like structure from -Portsmouth and the Admiralty. I frequently took my children down to -Brighton for a few days' change, and on these occasions Mr. Parnell -would stay at a place near the Chain Pier, and we would spend most of -the day on the underdeck of the pier-head trying the "invention." - -Once a hobby like this got hold of him he could think of nothing else -in his leisure time, and this note is a specimen of many sent round -from his hotel:-- - - - - Am making new float, which will sink five feet, and shall have it - ready to try to-morrow at 12.30. Will meet you on Chain Pier at - that hour. Am anxious to make this trial before returning, and - we will take Hassocks and Burgess Hill in afternoon on way back - to look at houses to let. - - - -This new model we tried in all weathers, and, as at last it seemed to -answer perfectly, with the exception of its lack of speed, he said he -would patent it, and get {279} someone who had more knowledge than he -to overcome the speed difficulty. To my uninitiated mind the thing -looked like a treble torpedo-boat. Had he lived I think he would -have gone further into the matter, but, by the time this was -finished, one thing after another occurred with such rapidity that it -was perforce laid aside. - -I remember one rough, stormy day when we had been much worried and -were wondering whether the time of waiting we had imposed upon -ourselves (that Ireland might not risk the leadership which seemed -her only hope) till the way could be opened to our complete union -before the world, was not to be too long for our endurance. It was a -wild storm, and Parnell had to hold me as we slowly beat our way to -the pier-head. The chains were up to prevent anyone going on to the -lower deck, but Parnell lifted me over, and we tried the "float," -though it was useless to do so, as the waves shattered the slight -thing against the pier before Parnell could sink it to the required -depth. - -Then we stood looking out at the great waves--so near, and shaking -the whole pier-head in their surge. Parnell remarked that the old -place could not last long, and as I turned to get a fresh hold on -him, for I could not stand against the wind, and the motion of the -sea sickened me, the blazing fires in his eyes leapt to mine, and, -crushing me roughly to himself, he picked me up and held me clear -over the sea, saying, "Oh, my wife, my wife, I believe I'll jump in -with you, and we shall be free for ever." - -Had I shown any fear I think he would have done it, but I only held -him tight and said: "As you will, my only love, but the children?" -He turned then, and carried me to the upper deck, hiding my eyes from -the horrible roll and sucking of the sea beneath our feet. - - - - -{280} - -CHAPTER XXVII - -THE DIVORCE CASE [1] - - "Papel y tinta y poca justicia." - ("Paper, ink, and a little justice.") - --OLD SPANISH PROVERB. - - -In November, 1890, Parnell was served with a copy of the petition in -the divorce case, O'Shea _v._ O'Shea and Parnell, by Wontner at -Messrs. Lewis and Lewis's. I was served with the petition in the -same month at 10, Walsingham Terrace, Brighton. Mr. George Lewis and -his confidential clerk came down, and took some evidence for the case -from me, but Parnell declined to instruct any solicitor from the -first to last. He, however, accompanied me when I went to town to -consult Sir Frank Lockwood, my counsel, a junior counsel being also -present. - -"The consultation broke up in peals of laughter," said one of the -less important of the evening papers of the time. This was quite -true, but it had no bearing on the case at all, for the laughter was -caused by the extremely funny stories told us, in his own inimitable -way, by Sir Frank Lockwood. The two or three times I saw him stand -out in my memory as hours of brilliant wit and nonsense, that cheered -and invigorated us far more than the advice we did not ask for could -have done. Parnell would not fight the case, and I could not fight -it without him. The last time I saw Sir Frank Lockwood, the day -before the case came on, he begged me to get Parnell to let him fight -it. I was suffering acutely from neuralgic headache at the {281} -time, but I did my best to get Parnell to defend the case, though to -no purpose. - -We left Sir Frank Lockwood with a promise to telegraph to him by -eight o'clock the next morning if we would go up and appear in Court -at all, as he had to be there by ten o'clock. - -We had to return to Brighton in the Pullman car, as we could not get -a carriage to ourselves. It was crowded, and Parnell was known; it -was therefore very difficult to talk without being overheard. -Parnell appeared absolutely unconscious of the eyes furtively -watching him from behind every newspaper, or, indeed, openly in the -carriage, and he had the power of putting himself absolutely beyond -and above self-consciousness. This is what rendered him so -completely impervious to criticism. But to me, with a splitting -headache, the gleam of so many eyes, seen through a mist of pain, had -the most uncanny effect. They seemed like animals watching from -their lair. Parnell gave me a cheerful little smile now and then, -and directly we got home he insisted upon my going to bed. There he -fed me himself with the tiny amount I forced myself to take to please -him, and held the glass to my lips while I sipped the sparkling -Moselle I had been ordered to take for the bad attacks of neuralgia. - -After he had had his own dinner he came up and smoked by my bedside. -I tried to persuade him to go up with me in the morning to the Court -and make some fight in the case, but he said: - -"No, Queenie. What's the use? We want the divorce, and, divorce or -not, I shall always come where you are. I shall always come to my -home every night whatever happens. Now I'm going to read you to -sleep." - -He was always the most gentle and tender of nurses, {282} and would -sit by my side for hours without moving when I was ill, reading or -thinking. After a short sleep I lay awake wondering what it would be -best to say to Lockwood in the morning. I had told him that anyhow I -would go up; but, as my lover said, what would be the use of it? And -whatever I could make of Captain O'Shea's desertion--or practical -desertion--of me, I knew absolutely nothing of his private life, and -cared less. Our position would be worse if we were not enabled to -marry, for we were inseparable while life lasted. - -Then, after going over the pros and cons till my brain felt on fire, -I said irritably, "I don't believe you are listening to what I say!" -He replied, "I am not, beloved; here is the telegram all written out -for you while you slept. We have been longing for this freedom all -these years, and now you are afraid!" - -I broke down and cried, because I feared for him and for his work, -and he soothed me as one would a child as he told me that his -life-work was Ireland's always, but that his heart and his soul were -mine to keep for ever--since first he looked into my eyes that summer -morning, ten years before. - -"Queenie," he went on, "put away all fear and regret for my public -life. I have given, and will give, Ireland what is in me to give. -That I have vowed to her, but my private life shall never belong to -any country, but to one woman. There will be a howl, but it will be -the howl of hypocrites; not altogether, for some of these Irish fools -are genuine in their belief that forms and creeds can govern life and -men; perhaps they are right so far as they can experience life. But -I am not as they, for they are among the world's children. I am a -man, and I have told these children what they want, and they clamour -for it. {283} If they will let me, I will get it for them. But if -they turn from me, my Queen, it matters not at all in the end. What -the ultimate government of Ireland will be is settled, and it will be -so, and what my share in the work has been and is to be, also. I do -wish you would stop fretting about me. We know nothing of how or -why, but only that we love one another, and that through all the ages -is the one fact that cannot be forgotten nor put aside by us." - -He spoke slowly, with many silences between sentence and sentence, -and presently I said: "But perhaps I have hurt your work." - -"No, you have not. I sometimes think that is why you came to me, for -I was very ill then and you kept the life in me and the will to go on -when I was very weary of it all; you have stood to me for comfort and -strength and my very life. I have never been able to feel in the -least sorry for having come into your life. It had to be, and the -bad times I have caused you and the stones that have been flung and -that will be flung at you are all no matter, because to us there is -no one else in all the world that matters at all--when you get to the -bottom of things." - -Late next morning I awoke from the deep sleep of exhaustion to find -him sitting by me superintending the arrangement of "letters, tea and -toast," and to my anxious query as to the time I was answered by his -quiet laugh, and "I've done you this time, Queenie; I sent the -telegram long ago, and they must be enjoying themselves in Court by -now!" - -That was Saturday, November 15th, and on Monday, the 17th, my -Brighton solicitor brought me down a copy of the "decree nisi." We -were very happy that evening, and Parnell declared he would have the -"decree" framed. We made many plans for the future that evening of -where {284} we should go when the six months had passed and the -decree made absolute. I even ventured to suggest that he might marry -someone else once I was set completely free, but my lover was not -amused and scolded me for suggesting such disgusting ideas. - -Sir Frank Lockwood was terribly distressed about us and his inability -to "save Parnell for his country," but he was very kind to me, and -did all he could to help me in certain legal matters. - -On November 26th there was a meeting of the Irish Party, which my -King attended. The meeting was adjourned until December 1st. When -my lover came home to me that evening I would not let him speak till -he had changed his cold boots and socks; then he came over to me, and -took me into his arms, saying, "I think we shall have to fight, -Queenie. Can you bear it? I'm afraid it is going to be tough work." - -I said, "Yes, if you can." But I must confess that when I looked at -the frail figure and white face that was so painfully delicate, whose -only vitality seemed to lie in the deep, burning eyes, my heart -misgave me for I very much doubted if his health would stand any -prolonged strain. - -I burst out passionately, "Why does it matter more now? They have -all known for years," and his rare, low laugh came out with genuine -amusement as he replied, "My sweetheart, they are afraid of shocking -Mr. Gladstone." - -"But Gladstone----" I began, bewildered. - -"Just so, but we are public reprobates now, it just makes the -difference. He is a 'devout Christian,' they tell me." - -While Parnell sat down at work at his manifesto I {285} deliberated -for hours as to whether I ought to let him go on. Should I urge him -to come abroad with me? I knew he would come if I said I could not -bear the public fight. I looked at him as he sat now absolutely -absorbed in what he was writing, and now looking across at me when he -had something ready to be pinned together. He did not speak, only -the smoulder in his eyes grew deeper as he wrote. - -I loved him so much, and I did so long to take him away from all the -ingratitude and trouble--to some sunny land where we could forget the -world and be forgotten. But then I knew that he would not forget; -that he would come at my bidding, but that his desertion of Ireland -would lie at his heart; that if he was to be happy he must fight to -the end. I knew him too well to dare to take him away from the cause -he had made his life-work; that even if it killed him I must let him -fight--fight to the end--it was himself--the great self that I loved, -and that I would not spoil even through my love, though it might -bring the end in death. - -I looked up feeling that he was watching me, and met the burning -fire-flame of his eyes steadily, through my tears, as he said, -closing his hand over mine, "I am feeling very ill, Queenie, but I -think I shall win through. I shall never give in unless you make me, -and I want you to promise me that you will never make me less than -the man you have known." I promised it. - -He was feeling very ill. November was always a bad month for his -health, and the cold and damp gave him rheumatism. His left arm -pained him almost continuously all this winter. I used to rub it and -his shoulder with firwood oil, in which he had great belief, and pack -his arm in wool, which seemed to be some relief. - -{286} - -On Saturday morning, November 29th, his manifesto appeared in all the -papers.[2] - -War was now declared, and the first battle was fought in Committee -Room 15, where all the miserable treachery of Parnell's -followers--and others--was exposed. The Grand Old Man had spoken, -and his mandate must be obeyed. Ever swift to take advantage of a -political opportunity, he struck at the right moment, remorselessly, -for he knew that without giving away the whole of his policy Parnell -could not point to the hypocrisy of a religious scruple so suddenly -afflicting a great statesman at the eleventh hour. For ten years -Gladstone had known of the relations between Parnell and myself, and -had taken full advantage of the facility this intimacy offered him in -keeping in touch with the Irish leader. For ten years. But that was -a private knowledge. Now it was a public knowledge, and an English -statesman must always appear on the side of the angels. - -So Mr. Gladstone found his religion could at last be useful to his -country. Parnell felt no resentment towards Gladstone. He merely -said to me, with his grave smile: "That old Spider has nearly all my -flies in his web," and, to my indignation against Gladstone he -replied: "You don't make allowances for statecraft. He has the -Non-conformist conscience to consider, and you know as well {287} as -I do that he always loathed me. But these fools, who throw me over -at his bidding, make me a little sad." And I thought of that old -eagle face, with the cruel eyes that always belied the smile he gave -me, and wondered no longer at the premonition of disaster that I had -so often felt in his presence. - -For the Irish Party I have never felt anything but pity--pity that -they were not worthy of the man and the opportunity, and, seeing the -punishment that the years have brought upon Ireland, that their -craven hearts could not be loyal to her greatest son. I have -wondered at the blindness of her mistress, England; wondered that -England should still hold out the reward of Home Rule to Ireland, -whose sons can fight even, it is said, their brothers, but who fight -as children, unknowing and unmeaning, without the knowledge of a -cause and without idea of loyalty. - -How long the Irish Party had known of the relations between Parnell -and myself need not be here discussed. Some years before certain -members of the Party opened one of my letters to Parnell. I make no -comment. - -Parnell very seldom mentioned them. His outlook was so much wider -than is generally understood and his comment on members of the Party -was always, both before and after the split, calm, considerate, and -as being impersonal to himself. - -He regarded the Catholic Church's attitude towards him as being the -logical outcome of her profession. He was not, even in the last -months, when the priests' veto to their people turned the fight -against him in Ireland, bitter against them, even though I was. His -strongest comment was:--"They have to obey their bishops, and they -Rome--and that's why the whole system of their interference in -politics is so infernal!" - -{288} - -Mr. Gladstone sent the following letter to Mr. Morley on November -24th:-- - - - - ... While clinging to the hope of communication from Mr. Parnell - to whomsoever addressed, I thought it necessary, viewing the - arrangements for the commencement of the Session to-morrow, to - acquaint Mr. McCarthy with the conclusion at which, after using - all the means of observation and reflection in my power, I had - myself arrived. It was that, notwithstanding the splendid - services rendered by Mr. Parnell to his country, his continuance - at the present moment in the leadership would be productive of - consequences disastrous in the highest degree to the cause of - Ireland. - - I think I may be warranted in asking you so far to expand the - conclusion I have given above as to add that the continuance I - speak of would not only place many hearty and effective friends - of the Irish cause in a position of great embarrassment, but - would render my retention of the leadership of the Liberal Party, - based as it has been mainly upon the presentation of the Irish - cause, almost a nullity. - - - -Thus Mr. Gladstone signed the death-warrant of Home Rule for Ireland. - -On November 18th, 1890, there was a meeting of the National League in -Dublin. On the same day the following paragraph appeared in the -London letter of the _Freeman's Journal_:-- - - - - "I have direct authority for stating that Mr. Parnell has not the - remotest intention of abandoning either permanently or - temporarily his position or his duties as leader of the Irish - Parliamentary Party. This may be implicitly accepted as Mr. - Parnell's firm resolution, and perhaps by learning it in time the - Pigottist Press may be spared the humiliation of indulging in a - prolonged outburst of useless vilification. In arriving at this - determination, I need not say that Mr. Parnell is actuated - exclusively by a sense of his responsibility to the Irish people, - by whose suffrages he holds his public position, {289} and who - alone have the power or the right to influence his public action. - The wild, unscrupulous, and insincere shriekings of the - Pigottists on the platform and in the Press can and will do - nothing to alter Mr. Parnell's resolve." - - - -Parnell wrote to me from London after the meeting in Committee Room -15. - - - - MY OWN DARLING WIFIE,--I have received your letter through - Phyllis, and hope to return to Brighton to-night per last train - and tell you all the news. Meanwhile I may say that I am - exceedingly well, having had twelve hours' sleep last night. - - The meeting adjourned to-day till to-morrow at 12 or 1 to - consider an amendment moved by one of my side that Gladstone, - Harcourt, and Morley's views should be obtained as to their - action on certain points in my manifesto. - - YOUR OWN KING. - - December 3, 1890. - - -The following letters speak for themselves:-- - - - - PARNELL _to_ MR. WILLIAM REDMOND. - - MY DEAR WILLIE,--Thanks very much for your kind letter, which is - most consoling and encouraging. It did not require this fresh - proof of your friendship to convince me that I have always justly - relied upon you as one of the most single-minded and attached of - my colleagues.--Yours very sincerely, - - CHAS. S. PARNELL. - - - - - PARNELL _to_ DR. KENNY. - - MORRISON'S HOTEL, DUBLIN, - _Saturday._ - - MY DEAR DOCTOR,--I shall be very much obliged if you can call - over to see me this afternoon, as I am not feeling very well, and - oblige, yours very truly, - - CHARLES S. PARNELL. - - Don't mention that I am unwell to anybody, lest it should get - into the newspapers.---C. S. P. - - - -To all his brothers and sisters, and, most of all, to his mother, -Parnell was most generous and affectionate, {290} and of that -generosity and affectionate regard I have abundant proof. - -One of the last letters he wrote was to his mother:-- - - - - I am weary, dear mother, of these troubles, weary unto death; but - it is all in a good cause. With health and the assistance of my - friends I am confident of the result. The statements my enemies - have so often made regarding my relations with you are on a par - with the endless calumnies they shoot upon me from behind every - bush. Let them pass. They will die of their own venom. It - would indeed be dignifying them to notice their existence! - - ------------------- - - - NOTE.--Mrs. Parnell preserved a long series of letters from - Captain O'Shea, dating from 1882 to 1891. The earlier ones are - mainly concerned with tactical political movements, the most - important of which are the conversations between O'Shea and - Chamberlain, noted on page 197. Those of the 1885 period deal - chiefly with O'Shea's grievance against Parnell in connexion with - the Clare election. In one he complains of the "absolute - baseness" of Parnell's conduct. To all who spoke to him of it he - says, "I replied, 'Poor devil, he is obliged to allow himself to - be kicked to the right or the left and look pleasant. But he has - the consolation of having been well paid for the pain--£40,000, - the tribute of the priests and people of Ireland!'" The - reference was to the great Irish subscription, headed by the - Archbishop of Cashel, made in order to enable Parnell to clear - his estates from the mortgages which oppressed them. - - The later letters, from the end of 1886 onwards, reveal the - violent strain in the relations of Captain and Mrs. O'Shea. - Beginning with a private letter to Mr. Stead, objecting to a - statement in _The Pall Mall Gazette_ that Parnell was staying on - a visit with him, O'Shea went on to write to his wife's - solicitor, Mr. H. Pym, suggesting that she should, for her - children's sake, "declare her renunciation of communication with" - Parnell, and then consulted Chamberlain on his difficulties. - - Finally, as a Catholic, he turned to Cardinal Manning for advice. - His first interview with the head of the Roman Catholic {291} - Church in England was on October 19th, 1889, when the question of - separation as against divorce was discussed. A long - correspondence followed. Manning was reluctant to agree to the - proceedings for divorce, and delayed his decision till December - 4th, when he laid down the course to be pursued, viz., (1) to - collect all evidence in writing; (2) to lay it before the Bishop - of the Diocese and ask for trial; (3) the latter would appoint a - day for hearing; (4) judgment having been given, the case would - go to Rome with a full report of the proceedings. O'Shea had - already become impatient, and when, in another interview, Manning - described to him the constitution of the Ecclesiastical Court - which would report to Rome, he declared that he hesitated to - approach a tribunal not having the right to administer the oath, - and respectfully intimated his intention to take the case into - the English Divorce Court. - - The letters close in 1891 with a correspondence between Captain O - Shea and the Primate of Ireland in which the former repudiates a - suggestion made by the Bishop of Galway (Dr. MacCormack) in - February of that year that "in 1886 after having failed to foist - Captain O'Shea upon a neighbouring county, the then leader had - the effrontery of prostituting the Galway City constituency as a - hush gift to O'Shea." Describing this as a "grotesquely false" - libel, Captain O'Shea details the course of events before the - election, his refusal to take the Nationalist pledge, and his - support by the then Bishop of Galway (Dr. Carr) and his clergy. - - Mr. Healy, in a speech at Kilkenny, had made an attack on Captain - O'Shea on the same lines. O'Shea was defended by Lord Stalbridge - (formerly Lord Richard Grosvenor) and also by Chamberlain. The - former related the part he played in the promotion of O'Shea's - candidature at Liverpool as a supporter of Mr. Gladstone and the - latter quoted a letter in which on January 22, 1896, he had urged - O'Shea to "get Mr. Parnell's exequatur for one of the vacant - seats" in Ireland, as "it is really the least he can do for you - after all you have done for him." "Surely," wrote Chamberlain, - "it must be to the interest of the Irish Party to keep open - channels of communication with the Liberal leaders." The point - was clinched by a letter addressed by Mr. Timothy Harrington to - the _Freeman's {292} Journal_, stating that "Mr. Parnell, during - the Galway election in 1886, explained to his followers that he - had only adopted Captain O'Shea as candidate for Galway at the - special request of Mr. Chamberlain.... The strongest - confirmation was given to it immediately after the election, when - Captain O'Shea followed Mr. Chamberlain out of the House of - Commons, and refused to vote on the Home Rule Bill." On this - aspect of the question, O'Shea himself says, in his letter to the - Primate: "If I were such a man as Dr. MacCormack insinuates--a - man who would buy a seat in Parliament at the price of his - honour--I need only have given a silent vote for Mr. Gladstone's - Home Rule Bill and my seat was as safe as any in Ireland." - - - - [1] See Note, page 290. - - [2] Parnell dealt in detail with the question of the - Parliamentary independence of the Irish Party, and repudiated the - right of any English party to exercise a veto on the Irish - leadership. He described his conversations at Hawarden with - Gladstone in the previous November on the details of the scheme - to be fathered by the Liberal Party when it returned to office, - related the circumstances of Morley's suggestion to him that he - should become Chief Secretary for Ireland, and referred - scornfully to "the English wolves now howling for my - destruction." He thought the Irish people would agree with him - that even if their threats of the indefinite postponement of a - Home Rule scheme were realized, postponement would be preferable - to a compromise of Irish national rights. - - - - - {293} - - CHAPTER XXVIII - - A KING AT BAY - - "_Vulneratus non victus._" - - - In December a vacancy occurred in Kilkenny, and, on December 9th, - my King started for Ireland, and stayed with Dr. Kenny for the - night in Dublin. Of the great meeting in the Rotunda I give Miss - Katharine Tynan's description, because of all the eye-witnesses' - accounts of it that I have kept, none gives the true glimpse of - Parnell as she does. - - "It was nearly 8.30 when we heard the bands coming; then the - windows were lit up by the lurid glare of thousands of torches in - the street outside. There was a distant roaring like the sea. - The great gathering within waited silently with expectation. - Then the cheering began, and we craned our necks and looked on - eagerly, and there was the tall, slender, distinguished figure of - the Irish leader making its way across the platform. I don't - think any words could do justice to his reception. The house - rose at him; everywhere around there was a sea of passionate - faces, loving, admiring, almost worshipping that silent, pale - man. The cheering broke out again and again; there was no - quelling it. Mr. Parnell bowed from side to side, sweeping the - assemblage with his eagle glance. The people were fairly mad - with excitement. I don't think anyone outside Ireland can - understand what a charm Mr. Parnell has for the Irish heart; that - wonderful personality of his, his proud {294} bearing, his - handsome, strong face, the distinction of look which marks him - more than anyone I have ever seen. All these are irresistible to - the artistic Irish. - - "I said to Dr. Kenny, who was standing by me, 'He is the only - quiet man here.' 'Outwardly,' said the keen medical man, - emphatically. Looking again, one saw the dilated nostrils, the - flashing eye, the passionate face; the leader was simply drinking - in thirstily this immense love, which must have been more - heartening than one can say after that bitter time in the English - capital. Mr. Parnell looked frail enough in body--perhaps the - black frock-coat, buttoned so tightly across his chest, gave him - that look of attenuation; but he also looked full of indomitable - spirit and fire. - - "For a time silence was not obtainable. Then Father Walter - Hurley climbed on the table and stood with his arms extended. It - was curious how the attitude silenced a crowd which could hear no - words. - - "When Mr. Parnell came to speak, the passion within him found - vent. It was a wonderful speech; not one word of it for - oratorical effect, but every word charged with a pregnant message - to the people who were listening to him, and the millions who - should read him. It was a long speech, lasting nearly an hour; - but listened to with intense interest, punctuated by fierce cries - against men whom this crisis has made odious, now and then marked - in a pause by a deep-drawn moan of delight. It was a great - speech, simple, direct, suave--with no device and no - artificiality. Mr. Parnell said long ago, in a furious moment in - the House of Commons, that he cared nothing for the opinion of - the English people. One remembered it now, noting his passionate - assurances to his own people, who loved him too well to ask him - questions." - - {295} - - During this meeting the anti-Parnellites took the opportunity to - seize Parnell's paper, _United Ireland_, and the offices. A - witness's account of the incident contained in Mr. Barry - O'Brien's "Life of Charles Stewart Parnell" appealed to me - immensely, because this little affair was of intense interest to - me, and all, or nearly all, I could get out of Parnell himself on - the subject was a soft laugh and, "It was splendid fun. I wish I - could burgle my own premises every day!" - - Something like this appears to have happened. The - anti-Parnellite garrison was strongly entrenched in the offices - of the newspaper--doors and windows all barred. The streets were - filled with a crowd of Parnellites crying death and destruction - on the enemy, and pouring in faster from the side streets. Men - threading their way through the mass were distributing sticks and - revolvers. - - Parnell had been apprised of the event at the meeting, and a - pony-trap was waiting for him outside the Rotunda. He got into - it with Dr. Kenny, and they dashed off to the scene of action. - At the sight of their Chief the crowd went wild; cheers for - Parnell and curses for his enemies filled the air. At full - gallop the pony-trap dashed through the mass of people (which - gave way as if by magic), and was brought up before the offices - with a jerk that sent the horse sprawling on the ground. Parnell - jumped out of the trap, sprang up the steps, and knocked loudly - at the door of the offices. There was a dramatic moment of - silence--the crowd hushed and expectant. Then Parnell quietly - gave some orders to those nearest him. In a brief space they - were off and back again with pickaxe and crowbar. Parnell wished - to vault the area railings and attack the area door, but he was - held back. So several of his followers dropped into the area, - while Parnell {296} himself attacked the front door with the - crowbar. The door yielded, and he and many others rushed into - the house. A second party came from the area, and the united - force dashed upstairs. The rest was a Homeric struggle between - garrison and besiegers, fought from staircase to staircase and - story to story. At length the garrison was downed to the last - man. A window of the second story was removed, and Parnell came - out to his people. He had lost his hat, his hair was tumbled, - his face was quite white, his eyes were filled with the wild joy - of the battle. His face and clothes were powdered with dust and - plaster. For a moment again the crowd was silent; then it burst - into a roar. - - Parnell made a short speech, came down, got into the trap, and - drove to the railway station. - - On the 11th, when he nominated Mr. Vincent Scully, he stayed at - Kilkenny. That day he wrote to me that he was feeling ill, and - his telegram of "good night" was weary in tone. But the next day - he wrote that he was feeling far better, and his letter was very - hopeful of success. He insisted on returning to me every - Saturday, if it was in any way possible, during these months of - fighting, and going back to Ireland on the next evening, Sunday. - I begged him to spare himself the fatigue of this constant - journeying, but he could not rest away; so, in despair, I gave up - the fight against my own desire to have him at home for even - these few hours. This election lasted ten days. Polling took - place on December 22, and that morning he telegraphed to me not - to expect victory, so I knew he was sure of defeat long before - the poll was declared. He returned to Dublin that night, and - addressed a meeting outside the National Club. - - {297} - - It was during one of these last meetings that someone in the - crowd threw lime in the Chief's face. It has been said that the - thing was a hoax, and that the substance thrown was flour. It - was not flour, but lime, and had not Parnell shut his eyes in - time he would undoubtedly have been blinded. As it was his eyes - were not injured, and but for a tiny scar on the outer edge of - his right eye he was not hurt. I well remember the awful hours I - passed pacing up and down my room at Brighton waiting, waiting - for news after seeing the morning paper. He had telegraphed to - me directly after the cowardly assault was made, but he could not - send it himself as he could not leave his friends. The man to - whom he gave the telegram for dispatch boasted to his fellows - that he had a message from Parnell, and in the crowd and scuffle - it was taken from him; so it was not until midday, when my own - telegram of inquiry reached him, that Parnell knew that I had not - received his; and by the time his reassuring message arrived I - was nearly out of my mind. The newspapers had made the very most - of the affair, and I thought my husband was blinded. - - At the end of December Mr. William O'Brien returned from America, - but, as a warrant was out for his arrest, he could not enter - Ireland. Much against his own wish Parnell went over to Boulogne - to see him, as the Party were so anxious that he should go. He - did not think that it would do any good, and, feeling ill, he - hated undertaking the extra fatigue. He felt, too, that he would - have to fight "all along the line" in Ireland, and continued the - war without cessation, although he went over to Boulogne several - times to hear what Mr. O'Brien had to say. He was, however, on - good terms with O'Brien, and suggested him as leader of the Party - in the {298} event of his own resignation. The suggestion did - not prove acceptable to the Party.[1] - - Throughout this time he occasionally attended the sittings of the - House, and, on returning home one sad evening, he did not speak - much after his first greeting. I felt that something had - troubled him unusually, but forbore to worry him, knowing that he - would tell me presently. After a while he turned to me, and all - he said was, "O'Kelly has gone too." - - I did not answer in words, for my heart bled for him in this the - only personal sorrow he had suffered in the disloyalty of his - Party. Anger, scorn, and contempt, yes! but this was the first - and only blow to his affections. For the first time since that - miserable and most cowardly exhibition of treachery in Committee - Room 15 there was a little break in his voice. They had been - friends for so long, and had worked with each other in American - and Irish politics so intimately. He had loved him, and now - O'Kelly had "gone too." - - When Mr. Gladstone gave the word, and the insecure virtue of the - country obeyed it, because it is a very shocking thing to be - found out, the anti-Parnellites were {299} extremely ingenious in - inventing new forms of scurrility in connexion with my supposed - name. From one end of chivalrous Ireland to the other--urged on - more especially by a certain emotional Irish member of - Parliament--the name of "Kitty" O'Shea was sung and screamed, - wrapped about with all the filth that foul minds, vivid - imaginations, and black hatred of the aloof, proud Chief could - evolve, the Chief whom they could not hurt save through the woman - he loved! - - They hurt him now a little, it is true, but not very greatly. My - husband said to me after the Kilkenny election, "It would really - have hurt, my Queen, if those devils had got hold of your real - name, my Queenie, or even the 'Katie' or 'Dick' that your - relations and Willie called you." And then I was glad, so very - glad that the gallant company of mud-slingers had with one accord - leapt to the conclusion that those who love me called me "Kitty" - because my name was Katharine. For me it was a little thing to - bear for the man who loved me as never woman has been loved - before, and the only thing that I could not have borne would have - been the thought that one of those who hated him had pierced the - armour of his pride and touched his heart. - - * * * * * * - - On 22nd April, 1891, Mr. Frederick Kerley wrote from 10, Broad - Court, Bow Street, W.C., to Mr. Thomson, to say that he had - succeeded that day in serving Mr. Parnell with a copy of the - Judge's Order, which Mr. Thomson had handed to him on the evening - of the 20th instant. He saw Mr. Parnell at 7.5 p.m. pass through - the barrier on to the Brighton platform at Victoria Station. He - walked by his side and, addressing him, {300} said, "Mr. Parnell, - I believe?" Parnell replied, "Yes." He said he was desired to - hand him that paper, at the same time handing him the copy, when - the following conversation ensued: - - Parnell: "What is it?" - - Kerley: "It is a Judge's Order." - - P.: "Oh, it is the costs." - - K.: "Yes, it is. That is a copy, this is the original, and the - signature of Mr. Justice Butt," and Kerley showed the original to - him. - - P.: "Oh, very well." - - K.: "This is Mr. Wontner's card, who is the solicitor in the - matter." - - Mr. Parnell took the card and said, "Thank you." - - It had all been clone very quietly. No one saw what was done, - and Parnell was not subjected to the slightest annoyance, and he - did not appear to be the least annoyed. Kerley did not enclose - the original, as he was afraid to trust it through the post, but - would hand it to Mr. Thomson personally. - - - WONTNERS, 19 LUDGATE HILL., E.C. - _Wired_ 10 _a.m.,_ 23 _April,_ '91. - - Copy Order costs P. served personally last evening. Letter - follows. - - - - -[1] The conversations with O'Brien and Dillon in France and the -correspondence which followed were concerned with the attitude of the -Irish Party towards the details of the Home Rule Bill to be -introduced when the Liberals came into power. Mr. Justin McCarthy -had been elected leader of the party, but Parnell insisted on his -traditional right to a predominant voice in its decisions. At the -beginning of 1891 there were anxious discussions about Gladstone's -intentions as to the number of Irish Members to be retained at -Westminster and as to the basis of a public declaration of Liberal -policy. The proposals made to him were not satisfactory either to -Parnell's political judgment or to his _amour propre_. They came to -nothing, however, and both O'Brien and Dillon were arrested on their -return to Ireland and put "out of the way for a bit," as Parnell -said. He complained of the "depressing effect" these two colleagues -had upon him; it was "so hard to keep them to the difficulties of the -moment while they were so eagerly passing on the troubles of -to-morrow." - - - - -{301} - -CHAPTER XXIX - -PARNELL AS I KNEW HIM - -"_If I must speake the schoole-master's language, I will confess that -character comes of the infinite moode_ [Greek: charázo], _which -signifieth to ingrave or make a deep impression._"--(CHARACTERS) -OVERBURY. - - -When I first met Mr. Parnell in 1880 he was unusually tall and very -thin. His features were delicate with that pallid pearly tint of -skin that was always peculiarly his. The shadows under his deep -sombre eyes made them appear larger than they were, and the eyes -themselves were the most striking feature of his cold, handsome face. -They were a deep brown, with no apparent unusualness about them -except an odd compulsion and insistence in their direct gaze that, -while giving the impression that he was looking through and beyond -them, bent men unconsciously to his will. But when moved by strong -feeling a thousand little fires seemed to burn and flicker in the -sombre depths, and his cold, inscrutable expression gave way to a -storm of feeling that held one spellbound by its utter unexpectedness. - -His hair was very dark brown, with a bronze glint on it in sunlight, -and grew very thickly on the back of the shapely head, thinning about -the high forehead. His beard, moustache and eyebrows were a lighter -brown. His features were very delicate, especially about the -fine-cut nostrils; and the upper lip short, though the mouth was not -particularly well shaped. His was a very {302} handsome, -aristocratic face, very cold, proud and reserved; almost all the -photographs of him render the face too heavy, and thicken the -features. - -He had an old-world courtliness of manner when speaking to women, a -very quiet, very grave charm of consideration that appealed to them -at once in its silent tribute to the delicacy of womanhood. I always -thought his manner to women, whether equals or dependents, was -perfect. In general society he was gracious without being familiar, -courteous but reserved, interested yet aloof, and of such an -unconscious dignity that no one, man or woman, ever took a liberty -with him. - -In the society of men his characteristic reserve and "aloofness" were -much more strongly marked, and even in the true friendship he had -with at least two men he could more easily have died than have lifted -the veil of reserve that hid his inmost feeling. I do not now allude -to his feeling for myself, but to any strong motive of his heart--his -love for Ireland and of her peasantry, his admiration that was almost -worship of the great forces of nature--the seas and the winds, the -wonders of the planet worlds and the marvels of science. - -Yet I have known him expand and be thoroughly happy, and even boyish, -in the society of men he trusted. Immensely, even arrogantly proud, -he was still keenly sensitive and shy, and he was never gratuitously -offensive to anyone. In debate his thrusts were ever within the -irony permitted to gentlemen at war, even if beyond that which could -be congenial to the Speaker of the House or to a chairman of -committee. - -He was never petty in battle, and all the abuse, hatred and -execration showered upon him in public and in private, whether by the -opponents of his political life or by the {303} (self-elected) judges -of his private life, caused no deviation in the policy that was his -or on the path that he meant to tread. His policy was the outcome of -long, silent deliberation, with every probable issue considered, -every possible contingency allowed for, and then followed up with -quiet, unwearying persistency and determination. When he succeeded -in forcing his will upon the House it was well, but he was not -elated, passing on to the next point to be gained. When he failed, -he had done his best; but "the fates" willed otherwise than he, and -again he passed on to the next thing without perturbation. No one -could flatter Parnell, neither could anyone humiliate him. "What I -am, I am, what I am not I cannot be," was his summing up of his own -and of every other man's personality. - -His cold, scientific way of sorting out and labelling his own Party -at first made me hesitatingly complain, "But, after all, they are -human beings!" and his characteristic answer was "In politics, as in -war, there are no men, only weapons." - -In regard to "Nationalization," he declared that, while there must be -growth, there could be no change, and when I would point out in -friendly malice that his "nationalism" of one year need not -necessarily be that of another, and could very easily be less -comprehensive, he would answer with smiling scorn, "That only means -that lack of judgment is righted by growth in understanding!" - -Parnell went into nothing half-heartedly, and was never content till -he had grasped every detail of his subject. For this reason he gave -up the study of astronomy, which had become of engrossing interest to -him, for he said that astronomy is so enormous a subject that it -would have demanded his whole time and energy to satisfy him. He -{304} was constitutionally lazy, and absolutely loathed beginning -anything, his delicate health having, no doubt, much to do with this -inertia, of which he was very well aware. He always made me promise -to "worry" him into making a start on any important political work, -meeting or appointment, when the proper time came, and often I found -this a very sad duty, for he was so absolutely happy when working at -one of his many hobbies, or sitting quietly in his chair "watching" -me, and talking or keeping silent as the mood possessed him, that it -was misery to me to disturb him and send him off to do something that -was not interesting to him. He used to comfort me by assuring me -that it was only the "beginnings" he hated, and that he was all right -when he was "once started." - -He was extraordinarily modest about his own intellectual ability, and -decidedly underrated the wonderful powers of his mind, while he had -the utmost admiration for "brain," whether of friend or foe. -Frequently he would say that that "Grand Old Spider" (his private -name for Mr. Gladstone) was worth fighting because he was so -amazingly clever. His own followers he picked with careful -consideration of their usefulness to his policy, and appreciated to -the full the occasionally brilliant ability some of them showed. His -mind, in politics at least, was analytical, and he would sift, and -sort, and mentally docket each member of the Irish Party, in company -with the more prominent of the Liberal Party, till the whole assumed -to him the aspect of an immense game, in which he could watch and -direct most of the more important moves. The policy of the -Conservatives he considered to be too obvious to require study. - -In character Parnell was curiously complex. Just, {305} tender and -considerate, he was nevertheless incapable of forgiving an injury, -and most certainly he never forgot one. His code of honour forbade -him to bring up a wrong of private life against a public man, and he -had the subtle love of truth that dares to use it as the shield of -expediency. - -Physically Parnell was so much afraid of pain and ill-health that he -suffered in every little indisposition and hurt far more than others -of less highly strung and sensitive temperament. He had such a -horror of death that it was only by the exercise of the greatest -self-control that he could endure the knowledge or sight of it; but -his self-control was so perfect that never by word or deed did he -betray the intense effort and real loathing he suffered when obliged -to attend a funeral, or to be in any way brought into contact with -death or the thought thereof. Whenever we passed, in our drive, a -churchyard or cemetery he would turn his head away, or even ask me to -take another road. The only exception to this very real horror of -his was the little grave of our baby girl at Chislehurst, which he -loved; but then he always said she did not die, "she only went to -sleep." - -Oppression of the weak and helpless, or any act of cruelty, filled -him with the deep hatred and indignation that had first led him to -make the cause of his hapless country his own, and he would spend -hours in silent, concentrated thought, altogether oblivious of his -surroundings, working out some point or way to lift a little of the -burden of the wronged. - -Parnell was very fond of animals, and was their very good friend -always, taking every care himself to see that his horses and dogs -were properly looked after. During one of the last meetings he -attended in Ireland he jumped {306} off his car in the midst of a -hostile crowd to rescue a terrier that was being kicked and run over -by the mob. - -His will was autocratic, and once he had made up his mind to any -course he would brook no interference, nor suffer anything to stand -in his way. Yet, in his home life, he would come to no decision -without seeking my approval, and was absolutely unselfish and -considerate. I have known him deadly white, with the still, cold -passion that any deliberate thwarting of his will produced in him, -sweep aside out of "the Party" and out of all further recognition in -any capacity a man who had done useful work, and who, thus thrown -out, might have been--and was--dangerous to Parnell's political -policy in many ways. He had gone against Parnell's explicit -instructions in a certain matter. I ventured to point out that this -man might be dangerous as an enemy, and he answered: "While I am -leader they (the Party) are my tools, or they go!" From his servants -also he exacted prompt, unquestioning obedience always, but he was -the most gentle and considerate of masters, and they, as a rule, -almost worshipped him. - -He had much pride of family and family affection, but he was utterly -undemonstrative and shy. Even when he nursed his brother John -through a long and painful illness, caused by a railway accident in -America when they were both very young men, the wall of reserve was -never broken down, and I do not think his family ever realized how -strong his affection for them was. - -Parnell was not in the least a well-read man. His genius was natural -and unaided; he was a maker of history, not a reader of it. He took -no interest in literature as such, but for works on subjects -interesting to him--mining, mechanics, or engineering and (later) -astronomy--he {307} had an insatiable appetite and such a tremendous -power of concentration that he absolutely absorbed knowledge where he -chose. I have known him to argue some intricate and technical point -of engineering with a man of thirty years' practical experience (in -America and India), who at length admitted Parnell to be right and -himself mistaken, though on this particular point Parnell's -deductions were made from a two hours' study of the subject some -three years or more before. - -For pictures he cared not at all, and music he absolutely disliked; -though to amuse me he would sometimes "sing," in a soft undertone and -with much gravity, funny little nursery rhymes and snatches of the -songs of his college days. - -His dislike of social life was so great that he would never accept -any invitation that could be in any way avoided; and if sometimes I -absolutely insisted upon his going to any reception or dinner party, -he would go with the grim determination of one fulfilling a most -unpleasant duty. He often told me that it was because he hated -"Saxons" (a hatred which years of tradition had fostered) so much, -and felt ill at ease in any gathering of English people. - -He certainly did not feel this with the working classes, with whom he -would constantly converse and watch at work when we were out -together. Agricultural labourers did not interest him so much, but -he used to spend hours talking to mechanics of all classes, seamen, -road-menders, builders, and any and every kind of artisan. To these -he always spoke in an easy, friendly way of their work, their wages, -and the conditions of labour, and I never remarked that -suspiciousness and reserve, characteristic of the English wageworker, -in these men when Parnell talked {308} with them. They seemed to -accept him, not as one of themselves, but as an interesting and an -interested "labour leader," who had the unusual merit of wishing to -hear their views instead of offering them his own. - -Parnell was intensely superstitious, with all the superstition of the -Irish peasant, and in this he was unreasoning and unreasonable. This -trait was evidently acquired in earliest childhood and had grown with -his growth, for some of these superstitions are the heritage of ages -in the Irish people, and have their origin in some perfectly natural -fear, or association, that has, generation by generation, by -alteration of habit or circumstance, lost its force while retaining, -or even adding to, its expression. - -Parnell would agree perfectly that this was a fact, nevertheless to -do so-and-so was "unlucky," and there was the end of it--it must not -be done. Certain combinations of numbers, of lights or -circumstances, were "omens," and must be carefully avoided. -Evidently, as an intelligent child will, he had eagerly caught up and -absorbed all and every suggestion offered him by the converse of his -nurse and her associates, and the impressions thus made were -overlaid, but not erased, as he grew up isolated, by the very -reticence of his nature, from his fellows. His dislike of the colour -green, as being unlucky, he could not himself understand, for it is -certainly not an Irish feeling, but it was there so decidedly that he -would not sit in any room that had this colour in it, nor would he -allow me to wear or use any of the magnificent silks or embroideries -that were so often presented to him, if, as was generally the case, -they had green in their composition. - -Parnell had no religious conviction of creed and {309} dogma, but he -had an immense reverence, learnt, I think, from the Irish peasantry, -for any genuine religious conviction. He personally believed in a -vast and universal law of "attraction," of which the elemental forces -of Nature were part, and the whole of which tended towards some -unknown, and unknowable, end, in immensely distant periods of time. -The world, he considered, was but a small part of the unthinkably -vast "whole" through which the "Spirit" (the soul) of man passed -towards the fulfilment of its destiny in the completion of -"attraction." Of a first "Cause" and predestined "End" he was -convinced, though he believed their attributes to be unknown and -unknowable. - -As I have said before, he was not a man who read, or sought to -acquire the opinions or knowledge of others, unless he had some -peculiar interest in a subject. He considered, and formed his own -beliefs and opinions, holding them with the same quiet, convinced -recognition of his right of judgment that he extended to the judgment -of others. - -Parnell's moral standard was a high one, if it is once conceded that -as regards the marriage bond his honest conviction was that there is -none where intense mutual attraction--commonly called love--does not -exist, _or where it ceases to exist_. To Parnell's heart and -conscience I was no more the wife of Captain O'Shea when he (Parnell) -first met me than I was after Captain O'Shea had divorced me, ten -years later. He took nothing from Captain O'Shea that the law of the -land could give, or could dispossess him of, therefore he did him no -wrong. I do not presume to say whether in this conviction he was -right or wrong, but here I set down Parnell's point of view, with the -happy knowledge that never for one moment have I {310} regretted that -I made his point of view my own in this as in all things else. - -Parnell's political life was one single-minded ambition for the good -of his country. He was no place or popularity hunter. Stung to the -quick in early manhood by the awful suffering of the Irish peasantry -and by the callous indifference of the English Government, he, with -all the pure chivalry of youth, vowed himself to their service, and, -so far as in him lay, to the forcing of the governing country to a -better fulfilment of her responsibilities. In the course of years -the gaining of Home Rule for Ireland became for him the only solution -of the problem. To this end he devoted all his energies, and for -this end men became as tools to him, to be used and thrown aside, so -that he could carve out the liberation of Ireland from the great -nation whom he declared could "rule slaves as freemen, but who would -only rule free men as slaves." - -Some have said that Parnell was avaricious. He was not. In small -matters he was careful, and on himself he spent the very smallest -amount possible for his position. He indulged himself in no luxuries -beyond the purchase of a few scientific books and instruments, on -which indulgence he spent many moments of anxious deliberation lest -he should need the money for political purposes. His own private -income was spent in forwarding his political work, in the "relief -funds" of Ireland's many needs, and on his estates in Ireland, where -he did his utmost to promote industries that should prove to be of -real benefit to the people. To his mother and other near relations -he was always generous, and to the many calls upon his charity _in -Ireland_ he was rarely unresponsive. - -In temper Parnell was quiet, deep and bitter. He was {311} so -absolutely self-controlled that few knew of the volcanic force and -fire that burned beneath his icy exterior. - -In the presence of suffering he was gentle, unselfish and helpful. -Indeed, I may say that at all times at home he was the most unselfish -man I have ever met. - -Of his moral courage all the world knows, yet no one, I think, but -myself can know how absolute it was; how dauntless and unshaken, how -absolutely and unconsciously heroic Parnell's courage was. Through -good report, or ill report, in his public life, or in his private -life, he never changed, never wavered. Hailed as his country's -saviour, execrated as her betrayer, exalted as a conqueror, or judged -and condemned by the self-elected court of English hypocrisy, he kept -a serene heart and unembittered mind, treading the path he had -chosen, and doing the work he had made his own for Ireland's sake. - -And there are those who can in no way understand that some few men -are born who stand apart, by the very grandeur of Nature's plan--men -of whom it is true to say that "after making him the mould was -broken," and of whom the average law can neither judge aright nor -understand. In his childhood, in his boyhood, and in his manhood -Parnell was "apart." I was the one human being admitted into the -inner sanctuaries of his soul, with all their intricate glooms and -dazzling lights; mine was not the folly to judge, but the love to -understand. - - - - -{312} - -CHAPTER XXX - -MARRIAGE, ILLNESS AND DEATH - - "_O gentle wind that bloweth south - To where my love re-paireth, - Convey a kiss to his dear mouth - And tell me how he fareth._" - --OLD BALLAD. - -"_He that well and rightly considereth his own works will find little -cause to judge hardly of another._"--THOMAS À KEMPIS. - - -On June 24th, 1891, Mr. Parnell drove over to Steyning to see that -all the arrangements for our marriage at the registrar's office there -on the next day were complete. Mr. Edward Cripps, the registrar, had -everything in order, and it was arranged that we should come very -early so as to baffle the newspaper correspondents, who had already -been worrying Mr. Cripps, and who hung about our house at Brighton -with an inconvenient pertinacity. We had given Mr. Parnell's servant -elaborate orders to await us, with Dictator in the phaeton, at a -short distance from the house about eleven o'clock on the 25th, and -told him he would be required as a witness at our wedding. This -little ruse gave us the early morning of the 25th clear, as the -newspaper men soon had these instructions out of the discomfited -young man, who had been told not to talk to reporters. - -On June 25th I was awakened at daybreak by my lover's tapping at my -door and calling to me: "Get up, get up, it is time to be married!" -Then a humming and excitement began through the house as the maids -flew {313} about to get us and breakfast ready "in time," before two -of them, Phyllis Bryson, my very dear personal maid--who had put off -her own marriage for many years in order to remain with me--and my -children's old nurse, drove off to catch the early train to Steyning, -where they were to be witnesses of our marriage. Phyllis was so -determined to put the finishing touches to me herself that she was at -last hustled off by Parnell, who was in a nervous fear that everyone -would be late but the newspaper men. Phyllis was fastening a posy at -my breast when Parnell gently but firmly took it from her and -replaced it with white roses he had got for me the day before. -Seeing her look of disappointment he said, "She must wear mine -to-day, Phyllis, but she shall carry yours, and you shall keep them -in remembrance; now you must go!" - -He drove the maids down the stairs and into the waiting cab, going -himself to the stables some way from the house, and returning in an -amazingly short time with Dictator in the phaeton and with a -ruffled-looking groom who appeared to have been sleeping in his -livery--it was so badly put on. Parnell ordered him in to have a cup -of tea and something to eat while he held the horse, nervously -calling to me at my window to be quick and come down. Then, giving -the groom an enormous "buttonhole," with fierce orders not to dare to -put it on till we were well on our way, Parnell escorted me out of -the house, and settled me in the phaeton with elaborate care. - -As a rule Parnell never noticed what I wore. Clothes were always -"things" to him. "Your things become you always" was the utmost -compliment for a new gown I could ever extract from him; but that -morning, as he climbed in beside me and I took the reins, he said, -{314} "Queenie, you look lovely in that lace stuff and the beautiful -hat with the roses! I am so proud of you!" - -And I was proud of my King, of my wonderful lover, as we drove -through that glorious June morning, past the fields of growing corn, -by the hedges heavy with wild roses and "traveller's joy," round the -bend of the river at Lancing, past the ruined tower where we had so -often watched the kestrels hover, over the bridge and up the street -of pretty, old-world Bramber into Steyning, and on to the -consummation of our happiness. - -Parnell hardly spoke at all during this drive. Only, soon after the -start at six o'clock, he said, "Listen," and, smiling, "They are -after us; let Dictator go!" as we heard the clattering of horses far -behind. I let Dictator go, and he--the fastest (driving) horse I -have ever seen--skimmed over the nine miles in so gallant a mood that -it seemed to us but a few minutes' journey. - -Mr. Cripps was in attendance, and Mrs. Cripps had very charmingly -decorated the little room with flowers, so there was none of the -dreariness usual with a registry marriage. As we waited for our -witnesses to arrive--we had beaten the train!--my King looked at us -both in the small mirror on the wall of the little room, and, -adjusting his white rose in his frock-coat, said joyously, "It isn't -every woman who makes so good a marriage as you are making, Queenie, -is it? and to such a handsome fellow, too!" blowing kisses to me in -the glass. Then the two maids arrived, and the little ceremony that -was to legalize our union of many years was quickly over. - -On the return drive my husband pulled up the hood of the phaeton, -and, to my questioning look--for it was a hot morning--he answered -solemnly, "It's the right thing to do." As we drove off, bowing and -laughing {315} our thanks to Mr. Cripps and the others for their kind -and enthusiastic felicitations, he said, "How could I kiss you good -wishes for our married life unless we were hooded up like this!" - -Just as we drove out of Steyning we passed the newspaper men arriving -at a gallop, and we peered out doubtfully at them, fearing they would -turn and come back after us. But I let Dictator have his head, and, -though they pulled up, they knew that pursuit was hopeless. My -husband looked back round the hood of the phaeton, and the groom -called out delightedly, "They've give up, and gone on to Mr. Cripps, -sir." - -On our return to Walsingham Terrace we had to run the gauntlet -between waiting Pressmen up the steps to the house, but at my -husband's imperious "Stand back; let Mrs. Parnell pass! Presently, -presently; I'll see you presently!" they fell back, and we hid -ourselves in the house and sat down to our dainty little wedding -breakfast. Parnell would not allow me to have a wedding cake, -because he said he would not be able to bear seeing me eat our -wedding cake without him, and, as I knew, the very sight of a rich -cake made him ill. - -Meanwhile the reporters had taken a firm stand at the front door, and -were worrying the servants to exasperation. One, a lady reporter for -an American newspaper, being more enterprising than the rest, got -into the house adjoining ours, which I also rented at that time, and -came through the door of communication on the balcony into my -bedroom. Here she was found by Phyllis, and as my furious little -maid was too small to turn the American lady out, she slipped out of -the door and locked it, to prevent further intrusion. - -Then she came down to us in the dining-room, found {316} on the way -that the cook had basely given in to bribery, having "Just let one of -the poor gentlemen stand in the hall," and gave up the battle in -despair--saying, "Will Mrs. O'Shea see him, Mr. ---- wants to know?" - -"Phyllis!" exclaimed my husband in a horrified voice, "what do you -mean? _Who_ is Mrs. O'Shea?" - -Poor Phyllis gave one gasp at me and fled in confusion. - -Then my King saw some of the newspaper people, and eased their minds -of their duty to their respective papers. The lady from America he -utterly refused to see, as she had forced herself into my room, but, -undaunted, she left vowing that she would cable a better "interview" -than any of them to her paper. They were kind enough to send it to -me in due course, and I must admit that even if not exactly accurate, -it was distinctly "bright." It was an illustrated "interview," and -Parnell and I appeared seated together on a stout little sofa, he -clad in a fur coat, and I in a dangerously _décolleté_ garment, -diaphanous in the extreme, and apparently attached to me by large -diamonds. My sedate Phyllis had become a stage "grisette" of most -frivolous demeanour, and my poor bedroom--in fact, the most solid and -ugly emanation of Early Victorian virtue I have ever had bequeathed -to me--appeared to an interested American State as the "very utmost" -in fluffy viciousness that could be evolved in the united capitals of -the demi-mondaine. - -I showed this "interview" to my husband, though rather doubtful if he -would be amused by it; but he only said, staring sadly at it, "I -don't think that American lady can be a very nice person." - -After he had sent the reporters off my King settled into his old coat -again, and subsided into his easy chair, smoking and quietly watching -me. I told him he must {317} give up that close scrutiny of me, and -that I did not stare at him till he grew shy. - -"Why not?" he said. "A cat may look at a king, and surely a man may -look at his wife!" - -But I refused to stay indoors talking nonsense on so lovely a day, -and we wandered out together along the fields to Aldrington. Along -there is a place where they make bricks. We stood to watch the men -at work, and Parnell talked to them till they went off to dinner. -Parnell watched them away till they were out of sight, and then said, -"Come on, Queenie, we'll make some bricks, too. I've learnt all -about it in watching them!" So we very carefully made two bricks -between us, and put them with the others in the kiln to burn. I -suggested marking our two bricks, so that we might know them when we -returned, but when we looked in the kiln some hours later they all -appeared alike. - -Then we got down to the sea and sat down to watch it and rest. Far -beyond the basin at Aldrington, near the mouth of Shoreham Harbour, -we had the shore to ourselves and talked of the future, when Ireland -had settled down, and my King--king, indeed, in forcing reason upon -that unreasonable land and wresting the justice of Home Rule from -England--could abdicate; when we could go to find a better climate, -so that his health might become all I wished. We talked of the -summer visits we would make to Avondale, and of the glorious days -when he need never go away from me. Of the time when his hobbies -could be pursued to the end, instead of broken off for political -work. And we talked of Ireland, for Parnell loved her, and what he -loved I would not hate or thrust out from his thoughts, even on this -day that God had made. - -Yet, as we sat together, silent now, even though we {318} spoke -together still with the happiness that has no words, a storm came -over the sea. It had been very hot all day and a thunderstorm was -inevitable; but, as we sheltered under the breakwater, I wished that -this one day might have been without a storm. - -Reading my thoughts, he said: "The storms and thunderings will never -hurt us now, Queenie, my wife, for there is nothing in the wide world -that can be greater than our love; there is nothing in all the world -but you and I." And I was comforted because I did not remember death. - -The news of our marriage was in all the evening papers, and already -that night began the bombardment of telegrams and letters of -congratulation and otherwise! The first telegram was to me, "Mrs. -Parnell," and we opened it together with much interest and read its -kind message from "Six Irish Girls" with great pleasure. The others, -the number of which ran into many hundreds, varied from the heartiest -congratulation to the foulest abuse, and were equally of no moment to -my husband, as he made no attempt to open anything in the -ever-growing heap of correspondence that, for weeks I kept on a large -tray in my sitting-room, and which, by making a determined effort -daily, I kept within bounds. - -"Why do you have to open them all?" he asked me, looking at the heap -with the indolent disgust that always characterized him at the sight -of many letters. - -"Well, I like reading the nice ones, and I can't tell which they are -till they're opened," I explained. "Now here is one that looks the -very epitome of all that is good and land outside-thick, good paper, -beautiful handwriting--and yet the inside is unprintable!" - -Parnell held out his hand for it, but I would not give {319} anything -so dirty into his hand, and tore it across for the wastepaper basket, -giving him instead a dear little letter from a peasant woman in -Ireland, who invoked more blessings upon our heads than Heaven could -well spare us. - -Little more than three months afterwards the telegrams and letters -again poured into the house. This time they were messages of -condolence, and otherwise. And again their message fell upon -unheeding ears, for the still, cold form lying in the proud -tranquillity of death had taken with him all my sorrow and my joy; -and as in that perfect happiness I had known no bitterness, for he -was there, now again these words of venom, speaking gladness because -he was dead, held no sting for me, for he was gone, and with him took -my heart. - -The very many letters of true sympathy which reached me after my -husband's death were put away in boxes, and kept for me till I was -well enough for my daughter to read them to me. Among these were -many from clergymen of all denominations and of all ranks in the -great army of God. As I lay with closed eyes listening to the -message of these hearts I did not know I seemed to be back in the -little church at Cressing, and to hear my father's voice through the -mists of remembrance, saying: "And now abideth faith, hope, charity, -these three; but the greatest of these is _Charity_." ... - -Among our many wedding presents was a charming little alabaster clock -from my husband's sister, Emily Dickinson. It was a ship's "wheel," -and we were very gay over its coming, disputing as to which of us -should henceforth be the "man at the wheel." Parnell's mother also -was very sweet and kind to me, sending me several much prized -letters. Other members of my husband's family also wrote very kindly -to me, and I can still see {320} his tender smile at me as he saw my -appreciation of his family's attitude. - -The presents we liked best, after Mrs. Dickinson's clock, were the -little humble offerings of little value and much love sent by working -men and women, by our servants, and by others of far countries and -near. Parcels arrived from the four quarters of the globe, and many -were beyond recognition on arrival, but the fragments were grateful -to me as bearing a message of true homage to my King. - -Of other feeling there was little among these wedding gifts, though -one evening my eldest daughter who was with me, remarked casually to -me that she had confiscated a newly arrived "registered" parcel -addressed to me. "Oh, but you must not," I exclaimed, "I want them -all!" But she answered gloomily that this parcel had contained a -mouse, and "not at all the kind of mouse that anyone could have -wanted for days past." So I subsided without further interrogation. - -Once when Parnell and I were staying at Bournemouth we became very -fond of some old engravings hanging in our hotel sitting-room, -illustrating "The Dowie Dens of Yarrow," and now, through these -fighting months in Ireland, we used this old ballad as a medium for -private telegrams, as we could not be sure they would not fall into -other hands. The idea took root when he first left me to attend what -I feared would be a hostile meeting in Ireland. He had wired the -political result to me, but had not said how he was feeling. I -telegraphed to him: "O gentle wind that bloweth south," and promptly -came the reply to me: "He fareth well." - -All through these fighting months in Ireland he telegraphed to me -always in the morning and also in the {321} evening of every day he -was away from me, and whenever he could snatch a moment he wrote to -me. He was in no way unhappy in this last fight, and had only the -insidious "tiredness" that grew upon him with such deadly -foreshadowing of the end we would not see given him a little respite, -he could, he said, have enjoyed the stress and storm of battle. To -bend these rebels in Ireland to his will became but a secondary -driving force to that of gaining for Ireland the self-government to -which he had pledged himself for her, and I think it gave that zest -and joy in hardness to the battle that all the great fighters of the -world seem to have experienced. - -I am not giving all his letters of this time; just a few of the -little messages of my husband's love in these last days I must keep -for my own heart to live upon; but the two or three that I give are -sufficient to show the high, quiet spirit of the man who was said to -be "at bay." Letters, I think, rather of a king, serene in his -belief in the ultimate sanity of his people and of the justice of his -cause. - - - - BALLINA, - _March_ 24, 1891. - - The reception here yesterday was magnificent, and the whole - country for twenty-five miles from here to the town of Sligo is - solid for us, and will vote 90 out of 100 for us, the priests - being in our favour with one exception, and the seceders being - unable to hold a meeting anywhere. I am to keep in this friendly - district, and to hold meetings there, and shall not go outside of - it. - - The town of Sligo, and the district from there to Cliffony, is - hostile, the priests being against us, and I shall not go into - it, but we have a good friendly minority even in this district, - whom our agents will canvass privately. You will see the - situation on the map. - - Wire me to Ballina, every day, which will be my headquarters; - also write particulars if any news. - - -{322} - - - BIG ROCK QUARRIES, ARKLOW, Co. WICKLOW, - _August_ 15, 1891. - - MY OWN WIFIE,--Your telegram only received this evening, in - consequence of my being at the mine. - - I think you might fix the end of the year as the time you and I - would guarantee the payment of the costs.[1] If Wontner accepts - this or any modification of it which would give me, say, three - months to pay, telegraph Pym as follows: "No." If he declines to - accept, or you cannot come to any definite arrangement with - Wontner by Tuesday at midday, telegraph Pym "Yes." I have - written Pym advising him accordingly about the appeal, and - sending the lodgment money, but it would be better if possible - that you should telegraph Pym on Monday afternoon. I trust to be - able to cross on Tuesday morning or evening at latest. It is - very fine here, but I have had no shooting, and do not expect - any, as I have to be in Dublin all day Monday arranging about new - paper.---With best love, YOUR OWN HUSBAND. - - You should ask Wontner to telegraph you definitely as early as - possible on Monday. - - - - MORRISON'S HOTEL, DUBLIN, - _September_ 1, 1891. - - MY OWN WIFIE,--I have received Magurri's letter safely, and hope - to be able to leave here on Wednesday (to-morrow) evening, - sleeping at Holyhead, and visiting the place in Wales[2] next - morning on my way back to London. - - MacDermott says he does not think I can get the loan from - Hibernian Bank concluded within a fortnight, but will hasten - matters as much as possible. The bank and their solicitors - approve the security and proposal generally, but it will take a - little time to make the searches and go through other formalities - which lawyers always insist upon in such cases. - - By to-morrow I expect to have done as much as I possibly can for - the present in the matter of the new paper. It has been a very - troublesome business, as a dispute has arisen between different - sections of my own friends as to who shall {323} have the largest - share in the management of the new organ. This dispute somewhat - impedes progress and increases the difficulties. However, the - matter is not so pressing, as the _Freeman_ question is again - postponed for another fortnight. I expect to make a satisfactory - arrangement about my _Freeman_ shares, under which I shall lose - nothing by them. Kerr is making progress in getting up a small - company to buy a steamer, and I think he may succeed. - - I have been very much bored, as I am obliged to remain in the - hotel all day every day, waiting to see people who may call about - the different undertakings. I wonder whether you have been - driving at all, and how the eyes are, and how you have been - doing. You have not written to tell me.--With much love, - - MY OWN LITTLE WIFIE'S HUSBAND. - - - - MORRISON'S HOTEL, DUBLIN, - _Monday, September_ 7, 1801 - - MY OWN WIFIE,--I have told Kerr that he cannot have any of the - first thousand, so he is going to manage without it for the - present, so you may reckon on that amount - - The bank was to have given me that sum to-day, but a hitch - occurred on Saturday which I removed to-day, and the board will - meet to-morrow and ratify the advance. - - YOUR OWN HUSBAND. - - In great haste. - - The trouble about the jealousies of would-be directors on the new - board still continues, and have postponed selection till next - week--crossing to-morrow night. - - -On my husband's return home from Ireland in September, after having -established the _Irish Daily Independent_, he was looking so worn out -and ill that I was thoroughly alarmed about his health. He was very -cheerful and happy while he was at home, and I had much difficulty in -keeping him quietly lying down to rest on the sofa. But, though he -protested while following my wishes, I saw as I sat watching him -while he slept that {324} the tired, grey shadows were growing deeper -upon his beautiful face, and that in sleep he had that absolute -stillness which one only finds in very healthy children or in the -absolutely exhausted sleep of adults. - -I tried to induce him to see Sir Henry Thompson in town, but he would -not consent--saying that he could not waste a moment of his little -time at home, and that, though he did feel tired, that was all. - -"I am not ill," he said, "only a little tired. Queenie, my wife, you -do not really think I am ill, do you?" - -Knowing the one weakness of his brave heart, his anger and terror at -the idea of illness and of the far-off death that might divide us, I -answered only that I thought he was too tired, that nothing, not even -Ireland, was worth it, and I besought him now at last to give it all -up, and to hide away with me till a long rest, away from the turmoil -and contention, had saved him from the tiredness that would, I -feared, become real illness if he went on. - -He lay watching me as I spoke, and, after a long pause, he answered, -"I am in your hands, Queenie, and you shall do with me what you will; -but you promised." - -"You mean I promised that I would never make you less than-----" - -"Less than your King," he interrupted, "and if I give in now I shall -be less than that. I would rather die than give in now--give in to -the howling of the English mob. But if you say it I will do it, and -you will never hear of it again from me, my love, my own wife." And -as I gazed down into the deep, smouldering eyes, where the little -flames always leapt out to meet mine, I knew I could not say it, I -knew that in the depths of those eyes was more than even my love -could fathom, that in the martyrdom of our love was to be our -reparation. - -{325} - -I sent him off bright and happy to the last meeting at Creggs. As he -drove off to the station and Dictator rounded the corner of the -house, he turned, as usual, to wave to me, and raised the white rose -in his buttonhole to his lips with an answering smile. - -He sent me a telegram from London as he was starting from Euston -Station, one from Holyhead, and another from Dublin. For the Creggs -meeting he stayed with Mr. and Mrs. Mahoney, and his telegram from -their house was cheerful, though he said he was not feeling very well. - -In the few lines I had from him here I knew he was in much pain again -from the rheumatism in his left arm. He always told me exactly how -he was feeling, as he knew that unless he did this I would have -suffered untold misery from apprehension while he was away. From -Creggs he telegraphed that he was about to speak, and it was -"terrible weather." I thought with satisfaction that I had put a -special change into a bag for him, and he had promised not to be -parted from it, so I knew he would find means of changing his things -directly after the meeting. His "good night" telegram did not -reassure me; he was in bad pain from the rheumatism, but hoped to get -it out with a Turkish bath on the way home. - -He stayed in Dublin to see about the new paper which though "going" -well, was a perpetual trouble to him owing to the petty jealousies of -the staff. He crossed over from Ireland feeling very ill, with -violent pains all over him; he was implored to go to bed, and remain -there for a few days till he felt better, before starting for -England; but he only replied: "No, I want to get home; I must go -home!" - -He telegraphed to me from Holyhead as usual, and {326} directly he -got to London, and before coming on to Brighton he had a Turkish bath -in London. - -He seemed to me very weak when he got out of the buggy. I had sent a -closed fly to meet him, as well as the buggy, but as a forlorn hope, -for he would always be met by Dictator in the buggy at the station - -I helped him into the house, and he sank into his own chair before -the blazing fire I had made, in spite of the warm weather, and said: -"Oh, my Wifie, it is good to be back. You may keep me a bit now!" - -I was rather worried that he should have travelled immediately after -a Turkish bath, but he said it had done him much good. I did not -worry him then, but after he had eaten a fairly good dinner I told -him that I wanted him to have Sir Henry Thompson down the next day. -He laughed at the idea, but I was very much in earnest, and he said -he would see how he felt in the morning. - -He told me that he had had to have his arm in a sling all the time he -was away, but that he thought he had become so much worse because the -change of clothes I had packed separately in a small bag (which he -had promised not to be parted from) in case he had to speak in the -rain, had been taken home in error by his host, and he had had to sit -in his wet things for some hours. - -I was much vexed when I heard this, for I always made such a point of -his not keeping on damp things, and provided against it so carefully -when starting him off. - -He said: "It is no matter, really, I think, and I won't go away again -till I'm really well this time. They were all so kind to me, but I -was feeling so ill that I had to point out that breakfast was made -for me, not I for breakfast, when I was expected to come down quickly -for it. {327} I do hate being away from home, especially when I feel -ill." - -After dinner that night he sat before the fire trying to smoke a -cigar, but he did not care for it as usual, and presently threw it -away half smoked. He wanted to "feel" I was there, he said, so I sat -by his feet on the rug, and leant my head against his knee while he -stroked my hair. I stopped his hand because I feared the pain might -come on again, and held it while he smiled assent to my suggestion -that he should try to sleep a little. Grouse and Pincher, our setter -and terrier, had to come close by us, and, as they settled by his -feet, he said: "This is really a beautiful rest." - -He dozed now and then, and I could see how wan and exhausted the -still, clear-cut face was, and I vowed to myself that he should not -again leave my care until his health was completely re-established. - -Presently he asked for his stick and wanted to go into the other room -for a while, but he could not walk without my assistance, his legs -were too weak to support him. I was terribly worried now, but did -not let him see it, and only said: "Now you are up you must let me -help you to bed, so that you can get all the rest you need--and you -are not going to leave home again till you take me for a real -honeymoon in a country where the sun is strong enough to get the cold -out of your bones. We will get out of England this winter." And he -answered: "So we will, Wifie, directly I get that mortgage through." - -Then, as we made our painful way up the stairs--for the last time--he -laughed at the Irish setter, who was trying to help him lift the -stick he used, and said: "Grouse thinks we are doing this for his own -special benefit." I undressed him, and got him into bed, and he -said: "Come {328} and lie down as quickly as you can, Wifie," but I -rubbed him with the firwood oil, and packed his arm in the wool he so -much believed in, before I lay down. - -He dozed off, but woke shortly, and could not sleep again. He asked -me if I thought the champagne Dr. Kenny had made him take in Dublin -had made him worse, but I reassured him, for he had been so exhausted -he had required something, and no doubt Dr. Kenny had known that it -would do him good, although in a general way it was bad for him. - -During the night I made him promise he would see a doctor in the -morning. Presently he said: "I would rather write to Thompson, as he -understands me." I said I would telegraph to him to come down, but -this excited my husband, who said, "No, the fee would be enormous at -this distance." I pointed out that his health was more precious than -the quarries and saw-mills at Arklow, on which he was just proposing -to spend some hundreds of pounds, but he put me off with, "We'll make -it all right in the morning, Wifie." - -Finding he still did not sleep, I gently massaged his shoulders and -arms with oil, and wrapped him in wool again. - -He talked a good deal, chiefly of the Irish peasantry, of their -privations and sufferings, the deadly poverty and the prevalence of -the very pain (rheumatism) from which he was suffering, in their case -aggravated by the damp, insanitary cabins in which they lived. And -he murmured under his breath: "There are no means at hand for -calculating the people who suffered in silence during those awful -years of famine." That was what J. H. Mohonagy said of the famine, -from '79 to '80. And he went on: "I wish I could do something for -them--the Irish {329} peasantry--they are worth helping. I have -always wished it, but there is so much between--and they 'suffer in -silence,' Wifie." - -In the morning he felt better, and was much happier about himself. -He absolutely refused to let me send for Sir Henry Thompson, and, -sitting up in bed after a good breakfast, smoked a cigar while he -wrote notes for a speech. During his last absence I had bought a -large engraving of Lord Leighton's picture "Wedded," and, seeing this -hanging in the room, he made me bring it and put it up at the foot of -the bed for him to see. He was very much amused at the muscular -young couple in the picture, and waving his cigar at it said: "We are -a fine pair, Wifie; hang us up where I can look at us." - -I had ready for him to sign an agreement to rent a house near -Merstham, Surrey, that we had arranged to take so that he could get -to London more quickly, and have a change from the sea. It was a -pretty little country house, and he had taken great interest in it. -I would not let him sign it now, or do any business, but he made me -read the agreement over to him, and said that part of our real -"honeymoon" should be spent there. He later insisted upon writing to -his solicitor (his brother-in-law, Mr. MacDermott) about a mortgage -he was raising on his estate, as he wished to have the matter -completed quickly. (It was not completed, owing to his death.) - -On Sunday he was not so well, but insisted that what he had written -to Sir Henry Thompson was enough, as he would answer at once. My -persistence seemed to fret him so much that I desisted, and told him -that I had sent for a local doctor, as I could not bear to be without -advice about the pain. - -He was a good patient in one way, scrupulously {330} following his -doctor's directions, but in another a very difficult patient, as he -was so very easily depressed about himself, all the fatalism that was -natural to him tending to overcome his immense desire for health. A -short talk with the doctor who saw him seemed to inspire him with -confidence, and he said he felt better. - -That night (Sunday) he did not sleep, and this worried him a great -deal, as he had a superstition that if he did not sleep for two -consecutive nights he would die. I tried at first to reason him out -of this idea, but he said he had always "felt" this, and had never -before failed to sleep. I besought him to let me telegraph for Sir -Henry Thompson now, but he would not allow it, and became so feverish -at the idea that I did not press the point, though I determined to -consult the doctor in attendance about this in the morning. Towards -morning he became very feverish, and it was difficult to keep his -skin in the perspiration that he desired. - -That morning Sir Henry Thompson telegraphed recommending me to call -in Dr. Willoughby Furner, but as Dr. Jowers was already in -attendance, and my husband liked him, there was no reason to change. -That day he was in much pain, afraid to move a finger because of it. -He heard from Sir Henry Thompson and, after I read the letter to him, -he said: "You see, sweetheart, I was right; Thompson says just what -Jowers does; there's no need to have him down." - -After my husband's death I received the following letters from Sir -Henry Thompson:-- - - - 35 WIMPOLE STREET, W., - _October_ 7, 1891. - - DEAR MRS. PARNELL,--I am indeed shocked and distressed by the - news which the afternoon journals announce here to-day. - - {331} - - So little did I think when I received the letter written by my - old esteemed patient, dated October 3, that his end was so near. - - With the feelings which this shock have aroused I cannot do - otherwise than ask permission to express my sincere sympathy and - condolence in the terrible and, I imagine, even to you who must - have known more of his health than anyone else, this sudden - affliction. The more so as I think you accompanied him once, if - not more than once, in his visits to me in Wimpole Street. Of - such expression of feeling towards you in this great trial you - will at least find multitudes ready to join, and may find some - slight consolation in the knowledge that sympathy with you will - be widely felt both here and in America. - - Under present circumstances I cannot expect or wish to trouble - you to communicate with me. But I should be deeply interested in - knowing (for my private interest in him and in what befell him) - what followed the communication I made to you, whether you had - attendance (professional) on the spot before my letter arrived, - and what was said, or supposed, to have been the cause of the - fatal result, or any details which some friend could send me. - - With renewed assurance of my deep sympathy,--Believe me, yours - truly, HENRY THOMPSON. - - I think I must have received one of his very last letters, if not - his last. - - - - - 35 WIMPOLE STREET, W., - _Saturday afternoon, October_ 10, 1891. - - DEAR MRS. PARNELL,--I am very glad you have written me, if the - doing so, or if the reply I may be able to send you, can in any - way help to mitigate any one of the numerous and infinitely - painful circumstances, or their influence, rather, on your mind - just now. - - Such inquiries as those which suggest themselves to you are so - natural that it is impossible to repress them. - - One never knows exactly what might have happened in any incident - of life had some other course been taken. But whatever course - may be supposed, it is useless to pursue it, {332} since only one - can ever be taken in this life, namely, that one which is chosen - by the individual in every case. - - In reference to that asked by you, I feel very strongly that the - sad catastrophe was by no means the outcome of any one act--or - omission to act--and is far more truly indicated in that passage - in yours which describes him as saying to Dr. Jowers, "had he - only been able to follow my advice during the last few months," - etc. There is the gist of the matter! I doubt whether anything - would have saved him when passing through London. A blow had - been struck--not so heavy--apparently a light one; but his - worn-out constitution, of late fearfully overtaxed by a spirit - too strong for its bodily tenement, had no power to resist, and - gave way, wholly unable to make any fight for itself against the - enemy. Hence what would in a fairly robust state of health have - been only a temporary conflict with a mild attack of - inflammation, developed into a severe form, overwhelming the - vital force with great rapidity and rendering all medical aid - powerless. I don't believe that any medicine, any treatment, - could have enabled his weakened condition to resist successfully. - He wanted no medicine to combat the complaint. He wanted - physical force, increased vitality to keep the attack at bay. I - have nothing to say of the prescription, except that it appears - to me quite appropriate under the circumstances and these I have - learnt from the public Press. Dr. Jowers is an experienced and - most capable man, and I think you may rest assured that he could - scarcely have been in safer hands. - - If I were to regret anything it would be that he had not found a - spare half-hour to come and see me _some time ago_. Let me see - then how his strength was and whether he could not be fortified a - little for the wearing life he was leading. But then these are - acts of prudence and foresight which very few ardent men of - action ever find time to take. Nevertheless, it is then that - advice is really efficient. It is in nine times out of ten - sought too late; when it is indeed a matter of little consequence - what prescription is written, or, indeed, who has written it, - provided only that it does no mischief. - - I should very much have liked to see him again at any time. - After the first visit I always knew my patient, and felt much - interested in him, although I never showed any {333} reference to - the fact, preferring to follow his own lead in reference to name, - a matter he refers to in the letter of the 3rd inst. - - By the way, you know, of course, I received that letter only on - Monday morning, and lost not an instant in replying, telegraphing - that I was doing so. - - You ask me to return it--"_his last letter_"--as I suspected. I - cannot tell you how I was valuing it, and that I intended to - place it among my most treasured souvenirs, of which I have many. - But I cannot refuse it to his suffering and heart-broken widow, - if she desires me to return it, and will do so. It consists only - of a few professional words, a patient to his doctor--nothing - more, and it is addressed by yourself--as I believe. It is not - here--I am writing at the club; but if you still ask me I cannot - hesitate an instant, and will send it to you. - - Come and see me any time you are able, by and by. I will answer - any inquiries you may wish to make. I am at home (only let me - know a day beforehand, if you can) every morning from 9.30 to - 12--not after, except by quite special arrangement. - - With sincere sympathy, believe me, dear Mrs. Parnell, yours - truly, HENRY THOMPSON. - - -My husband was in great pain on the Monday, and seemed to feel a -sudden horror that he was being held down by some strong unseen -power, and asked my help--thank God, always my help--to fight against -it. He tried to get out of bed, although he was too weak to stand, -and I had to gently force him back, and cover him up, telling him how -dangerous a chill would be. He said: "Hold me tight, then, yourself, -till I can fight those others." Then he seemed to doze for a few -minutes, and when he opened his eyes again it was to ask me to lie -down beside him and put my hand in his, so that he could "feel" I was -there. I did so, and he lay still, quite happy again, and spoke of -the "sunny land" where we would go as soon as he was better. "We -will be so happy, Queenie; there are so many things happier than -politics." - -{334} - -He did not sleep that night, and the next morning (Tuesday) he was -very feverish, with a bright colour on his usually white face. I -wanted to send the dogs from the room, because I feared they would -disturb him, but he opened his eyes and said: "Not Grouse; let old -Grouse stay, I like him there." - -His doctor said that for a day or two we could not look for much -improvement. After his medicine that afternoon he lay quietly with -his eyes closed, just smiling if I touched him. The doctor came in -again, but there was no change, and he left promising to call early -the next morning. During the evening my husband seemed to doze, and, -listening intently, I heard him mutter "the Conservative Party." - -Late in the evening he suddenly opened his eyes and said: "Kiss me, -sweet Wifie, and I will try to sleep a little." I lay down by his -side, and kissed the burning lips he pressed to mine for the last -time. The fire of them, fierce beyond any I had ever felt, even in -his most loving moods, startled me, and as I slipped my hand from -under his head he gave a little sigh and became unconscious. The -doctor came at once, but no remedies prevailed against this sudden -failure of the heart's action, and my husband died without regaining -consciousness, before his last kiss was cold on my lips. - -There is little more to add. All that last night I sat by my husband -watching and listening for the look and the word he would never give -me again. All that night I whispered to him to speak to me, and I -fancied that he moved, and that the fools who said he was dead did -not really know. He had never failed to answer my every look and -word before. His face was so peaceful; so well, all the tiredness -had gone from it now. I would not open {335} the door because I -feared to disturb him--he had always liked us to be alone. And the -rain and the wind swept about the house as though the whole world -shared my desolation. - -He did not make any "dying speech," or refer in any way at the last -to his "Colleagues and the Irish people," as was at the time -erroneously reported. I was too broken then and too indifferent to -what any sensation-lovers put about to contradict this story, but, as -I am now giving to the world the absolutely true account of the -Parnell whom I knew and loved, I am able to state that he was -incapable of an affectation so complete. The last words Parnell -spoke were given to the wife who had never failed him, to the love -that was stronger than death--"Kiss me, sweet Wifie, and I will try -to sleep a little." - - - -[1] Of the Divorce Case. - -[2] We had an idea of renting a house in Wales. - - - - -{337} - -INDEX - - "AGONY" column advertisements, 35 - - Aldershot, a review at, 7 - - Allen, Fenian leader, 52 - - Arklow, quarries at, 213 - - Arms Bill, the, introduction of, 50 - - Arrears Bill, a promised, 165 - becomes law, 180 - introduction of, 171 - - Astronomy, Parnell's study of, 303 - - "Aunt Ben" (_see_ Mrs. Benjamin Wood) - - Austin, Alfred, friendship with, 37 - - Avondale, Parnell's estates at, 51 - Parnell's love of, 209 - - - BADER, DR., 43, 68 - - Baily, L. R., 189 (note) - - Balfour, Rt. Hon. A. J., 194 - - Ballina, Parnell's reception at, 321 - - Ballot Act, the, passing of, 52 - - Barker, Edgar, 35 - - Barlow, Captain, 147 - - Barrett-Lennard, Lady, 10, 14, 16, 19 - Sir Thomas, 6, 14, 31 - - Beaufort Gardens, 36 - - Belhus, visits to, 6, 16 - - Bennington Park, Hertfordshire, 24 - - Biggar, J. G., 74 - obstructs Parliamentary business, 53 - warrant for arrest of, 118 - - Birling Gap, visits to, 239 - - Bognor, visit to, 247 - - Book-keeping, Parnell's studies in, 100 - - Boulogne, Parnell meets O'Brien at, 297 - - Bourke, Walter, murder of, 179 - - Boycott, principle enunciated, 74 - - Brennan, Thomas, 119 - - Brighton, a day on the downs at, 30 _et seq._ - life at, 28 - - Brighton, Local Government Bill discussed at, 223 - Mrs. O'Shea's house at, 273 - railway station rebuilt, 100 - visits to, 229 - - Brompton Oratory, 37 - - Bryson, Phyllis, 313, 315, 316 - - Burke, Mr., murder of, 168 - - Butt, Isaac, 50, 53 - - Butt, Mr. Justice, 300 - - Buxton, Mrs. Sydney, 265 - - - CALASHER, MR., 35 - - Campbell, Mr. Parnell's secretary, 246 - - Campbell-Bannerman, Sir Henry, accepts Irish Secretaryship, 182 - enters the Cabinet, 197 - - Canada, Parnell's reception in, 54 - - Carlingford, Lord, opposes Home Rule, 197 - - Carnarvon, Lord, becomes Lord Lieutenant, 186 - meets Parnell, 187 - resignation of, 193, 196 - - Carr, Dr., Bishop of Galway, 291 - - Cavendish, Lord Frederick, becomes Chief Secretary, 166 - murder of, 168 - - Chamberlain, Joseph, 158, 184 - and Healy's speech, 291 - and the Chief Secretaryship, 166 - opposes coercion, 185 - proposes National Board for Ireland, 185, 197 (note) - resignation of, 197 - - Childers, Mr., supports Home Rule, 197 - - Churchill, Lord Randolph, 184 - - Clare, Capt. O'Shea returned for, 56 - - Clive, Colonel, 13 - - Coercion Bill, the, introduced, 91 - memorandum on, from Parnell to Gladstone, 178 - - Collings, Jesse, 196 - - Colthurst, Col., 58 - - Committee Room Fifteen, momentous meeting in, 286 - - Compensation for Disturbances Bill, 73 - - Congleton, Lord, 51 - - Constable and Mrs. Wood, 2 - - Corbett, Mr., 234 - - Cork, banquet at, in honour of Parnell, 221 - - Cowper, Lord, resignation of, 164 - - Creggs, Parnell goes to his last meeting at, 325 - - Crimes Bill, becomes law, 180 - introduced by Sir W. Harcourt, 171 - negotiations on, 199 - second reading of, 174 - - Cripps, Edward, 312, 314 - - - DALLAS, MR., 18 - - Dasent, Sir George, 18 - - Davitt, Michael, 53, 54, 119 - quarrels with Parnell, 210 - release of, 168 - - Derby, Lord, opposes Home Rule, 197 - - Devoy, John, 53, 54 - - Dickinson, Emily, 261 (note), 319 - - "Dictator," horse named, 207, 232, 313, 314, 339 - - Dilke, Sir Charles, 166 - defeated at General Election, 197 - opposes coercion, 185 - - Dillon, John, arrest of, 118 - quarrels with Parnell, 210 - sails for New York, 54 - - "Disturbances Bill," debate on, 78 _et seq._ - - Dublin, freedom of, presented to Parnell, 210 - Land League Convention at, 109 - Parnell defeated in, 52 - Parnell's meeting at, 293 - - Duffy, Sir Charles Gavan, 187 - - Dyke, Sir W. Hart, resigns, 196 - - - EASTBOURNE, holiday at, 238 _et seq._ - - Edinburgh, freedom of, presented to Parnell, 269 - - Egan, Patrick, 119 - - Eighty Club, ovation for Parnell at 267 - Parnell's speech at, 244 - - Eltham, a snowy Christmas at, 223, 224 - fifth of November celebrations at, 75 - life at, 30, 43 _et seq._, 68 _et seq._, 223, 228 - new room built at, 230 - Parnell at, 69, 79, 83, 223, 228 - - Errington, Mr., 181 - - Eversley, Lord (_see_ Lefevre, Shaw) - - Evictions in Ireland, 81 - Gladstone on, 171 - - Explosives Bill, introduction of, 181 - - - FARWELL, GEORGE (Lord Justice), 9 - - Fenian movement, the, 52 - - Finden, the brothers, 2 - - Fitzgerald, Sir Seymour, 19 - - Ford, Patrick, starts dynamite crusade against England, 181 - - Forster, W. E., and the Land League, 74 - attacks Parnell, 219 - becomes "disagreeable," 124 - Coercion Bill of, 91 - denounces the Cabinet, 165 - introduces "Disturbances Bill," 78 - resignation of, 164 - suggests Parnell's arrest, 110 - - Franchise Bill, 184 - - _Freeman's Journal_, announcement as to Parnell's intentions in, 288 - letter from Timothy Harrington to, 291 - - - GAFFNEY, SUSAN, and "first aid," 210 - - Galway, Bishop of, 291 - O'Shea returned for, 291 - - Geston, Thomas, 119 - - Gill, Mr., 270 (note) - - Gimson, Dr., 26 - - Gladstone Herbert (Lord), 187, 194 - - Gladstone, Rt. Hon. W. E., 158 - a tribute to Parnell, 93 - a yachting expedition, 188 - action after divorce case, 286 - an elusive speech of, 189 - and Capt. O'Shea, 68 - and evictions, 171 - and Parnell's Home Rule draft, 187 - and the Coercion Bill, 91 - announces arrest of Parnell, 117 - approaches Tory Party on Home Rule, 194 - forms a Ministry, 50, 54 - interviews Mrs. O'Shea, 172 - introduces his Land Bill, 109 - letter to Morley on overthrow of Parnell, 288 - on Parnell's character, 220 - perfect manners of, 199 - promises an Arrears Bill, 165 - resignation of, 186 - speech on "Disturbances Bill," 79 - summarizes position between Parnell and himself, 195 - - Glasnevin Cemetery, Parnell's grave in, 205 - - Glazenwood, life at, 3 - - Graham, Robert Bontine Cunninghame, 15 - - Graham, Robert Cunninghame, 15, 18 - - Grantley-Barkley, the Hon., 9 - - Granville, Lord, 185 - supports Home Rule, 197 - - Greenwich Observatory, visits to, 109 - - Grosse, Rev. Thomas, author and, 4 - - Grosvenor, Lord Richard, 184, 188 - and Capt. O'Shea's candidature for Liverpool, 189 (note), 291 - asks for Home Rule draft, 186 - - "Grouse," dog named, 234, 327, 334 - - Gull, Sir William, 39 - - - HARCOURT, SIR W., introduces Crimes Bill, 171 - introduces Explosives Bill, 181 - supports Home Rule, 197 - - Harrington, Timothy, and O'Shea's candidature, 291 - - Hartington, Lord, 54 - opposes Home Rule, 188, 197 - - Hastings, visits to, 41, 228 - - Hatherley, Lord Chancellor, 28, 38 - - Hawarden, Parnell's visit to, 202 - - Healy, Timothy, attacks Capt. O'Shea, 291 - returned for Monaghan, 221 - State trial of, 83 - warrant issued for arrest of, 118 - - Herne Bay, a day at, 249 - - Herschell, Lord, enters the Cabinet, 197 - - Hertfordshire, social customs in, 24 _et seq._ - - Hicks-Beach, Sir Michael, becomes Chief Secretary, 186 - - Hinkson, Mrs. (_see_ Tynan, Katharine) - - Hobson, Mr., 27 - - Holbrook Hall, honeymoon at, 19 - - Home Office, explosion of bomb at, 226 - - Home Rule Bill, the first, 197 _et seq._ - - Home Rule League, the formation of, 52 - - Home Rule scheme submitted to Gladstone, 182 - - Hood, Marion, actress, 59 - - Hook, Dean, 39 - - Hozier, Mr. (Sir H.) 12, 13 - - Hurley, Father Walter, 294 - - - IRELAND, evictions in, 81 - fundamental failure in English government of, 79 - how news of Parnell's arrest was received in, 119 - State trials in, 79 _et seq._ - - _Irish Daily Independent_ founded by Parnell, 323 - - Irish Party, the, Parnell and, 50 _et seq._ - Parnell elected chairman of, 57 - treachery of, after divorce case, 287 - - _Irish World_, Patrick Ford's crusade in, 199 (note), 181 - - - JENNER, SIR WILLIAM, 39, 40 - - Jowers, Dr., 330, 332 - - - KENNY, DR., 122, 289, 293, 294, 328 - - Kent, hop-pickers' reception of Parnell in, 70 - - Kerley, Frederick, serves Parnell with Judge's Order, 299 - - Kerr, Mr., Parnell's agent, 93, 261 - - Kettle, A. J., 118 - - Kilkenny, a vacancy in, 293 - Healy's speech at, 291 - - Kilmainham Gaol, Parnell in, 99, 119 _et seq._ - - Kilmainham Treaty, the, 157 _et seq._ - - Kimberley, Lord, supports Home Rule, 197 - - - LABOURERS' COMMITTEE, the, 227 - - Ladies' Land League, 119, 167, 175 - - Land Bill, Gladstone's, 197 - introduction of, 109 - - Land League, the, amazing growth of, 78 - formation of, 53 - Forster and, 74 - "three F's of," 55 - - Land Purchase Bill, 185 - - Landseer, Edwin, 2 - - Lane, Charles, 28 - - Larkin, Fenian leader, 52 - - Lefevre, Shaw, defeated at General Election, 197 - opposed to coercion, 180, 185 - refuses Irish Secretaryship, 182 - - Lewes, Mr., 18 - - Lewis, Sir George, and divorce case, 280 - and the "Parnell letters," 259, 261, 262 - - Liberal Government in 1885, 185 - - Lime thrown in Parnell's face, 297 - - Liverpool, Capt. O'Shea's candidature for, 189 (note) - - Lockwood, Sir Frank, 268, 280, 284 - - London remembrances, 250 _et seq._ - - Lords, House of, and the Arrears Bill, 180 - - Lytton, Lord, 37 - - - MACCORMACK, DR., BISHOP OF GALWAY, 291 - - MacDermott, Mr., 329 - - Madrid, Pigott's suicide in, 265 - - Manchester, the Fenian movement in, 52 - - Manning, Cardinal, and O'Shea's divorce, 290 et seq. - opposes Mr. Errington's mission, 181 - - Mary (parlourmaid), 86, 87, 127 - - McCarthy, Justin, 58, 59, 187 - and Kilmainham Treaty, 159 - leader of Irish Party, 298 (note) - - Meath, Parnell M.P. for, 52 - - Meredith, George, reminiscences of, 43 - - Michell, Admiral, 1 - - Michell, Caroline, 1 - - Michell, Maria, 1 - - Mohonagy, J. H., 328 - - Monaghan, election at, 221 - - Morley, John (Lord), 16, 17, 185 (note) - enters the Cabinet, 197 - Parnell and, 202 - - Mundella, Mr., enters the Cabinet, 197 - - - NATIONAL LEAGUE founded, 211, 212 - - National Liberal Club, Parnell elected a life member of, 267 - Parnell's speech at, 268 - - Nationalism, Parnell's conception of, 303 - - Niton, a visit to, 39-40 - - Nolan, Colonel, 58 - - No Rent manifesto, issue of the, 119 - - Northbrook, Lord, opposes Home Rule, 197 - - - O'BRIEN, Fenian leader, 52 - - O'Brien, William, arrest of, 118 - chats with Parnell, 244 - meets Parnell at Boulogne, 297 - - O'Connell, Daniel, 89 - - O'Connor, Arthur, 118 - - O'Gorman Mahon, The, 49, 56, 106 - - O'Hart and Civil List pension, 181 - - O'Kelly, arrest of, 118 - deserts Parnell, 298 - - O'Shea, Capt. ("Willie"), 18 - a forgotten appointment, 49 - an accident to, 14 - and Kilmainham Treaty, 159-160 - and Land League's policy, 80 - and Mid-Armagh election, 188 - and Phoenix Park murders, 169 - and "Romeo," 34-5 - and the Irish Party, 188-9 (note) - as actor, 7 - candidate for Liverpool, 189 (note) - challenges Parnell to fight a duel, 106 - desire for Under-Secretaryship, 198 (note), 199 - divorce case against Mrs. O'Shea, 280 _et seq._ - enters 18th Hussars, 11 (note) - enters political life, 49 - financial difficulties of, [25 _et seq._, 34 _et seq._ - his ancestry, 11 - illness of, and operation on, 35 - leaves his regiment, 11 (note), 19 - love of social life, 24, 37 - marriage of, 18 - returned for Parliament, 56 - strained relations with his wife, 104, 253, 290 - stud-farming, 24 - takes Parnell's letter to Forster, 164 - week-end visits to Eltham, 48 - - O'Shea, Carmen, birth of, 38 - George Meredith and, 46 - - O'Shea, Comtesse, 11 (note), 20, 21 _et seq._, 38 - - O'Shea, Gerard, 27 - - O'Shea, Henry, 11 (note) - pencil portrait of Parnell, 99 - - O'Shea, John, 11 (note), 20 - - O'Shea, Katharine, 29 - a dinner to Parnell, 59 - a prized pocket-book, 233 - an afternoon with George Meredith, 44 - and Longfellow, 6 - as companion to "Aunt Ben," 43 - as intermediary between Government and Parnell, 91, 95, 172, - 174, 178 _et seq._ - assists at an operation, 35 - astronomical studies, 108 - birth of Parnell's child, 120, 146 - children of, 27, 37, 38, 46 - death of "Aunt Ben," 272 - death of Parnell's child, 155 - dinner parties in London, 57 _et seq._ - dislike of society, 24, 37, 48 - early life of, 3 _et seq._ - family life, 5 _et seq._ - first letter from Parnell, 59 - first literary success, 5 - first meeting with Parnell, 58 - friction with Capt. O'Shea, 104, 253, 290 - her love of music, 6 - her name abused by anti-Parnellites, 299 - hides Parnell at Eltham, 84 - instructed in the Catholic religion, 38 - interview with Gladstone on Parnell's feelings, 220 - interviews Mr. Soames, 265 - interviews Sir G. Lewis, 259, 262, 263 - intimate knowledge of Parnell's character, 301 _et seq._ - leaves Eltham, 273 - letter from Parnell formulating Irish policy, 190 - letters from Capt. O'Shea, 290 - London remembrances, 250 _et seq._ - marries Capt. O'Shea, 18 - marries Parnell, 314 - meets Capt. O'Shea, 10 _et seq._ - nurses Parnell, 69 - overstrained nerves, 214 - parliamentary associations, 91 - refuses to fight divorce case, 282 - reminiscences of Gladstone, 174 _et seq._ - removes to Brighton, 273 - "Romeo" and, 34-5 - seaside holidays, 338 _et seq._ - served with petition in divorce case, 280 - wedding presents, 19, 20, 31 - with Parnell at his death, 334 - - O'Shea, Mary, 11 (note), 20, 21 _et seq._, 38, 156 - - O'Shea, Norah, 46 - - O'Shea, Thaddeus, 11 (note) - - O'Shea, William, 11 (note) - - "Owen Meredith" (_see_ Lytton, Lord) - - - PARIS, a visit to, 21 - - Parliament, a long sitting of, 91 - - Parnell, Anna, 119 - and the Ladies' Land League, 167 - burned in effigy, 76 - - Parnell, Charles Stewart, a love avowal by, 33 - a poem by, 243 - a warrant for his arrest, 115 - aim of his political life, 310 - and Cecil Rhodes, 270 (note) - and death of his sister Fanny, 204 - and O'Shea's candidature, 189 (note) - and the Irish Party, 50 _et seq._, 284 - arrested for sedition, 116 - as autocrat, 306 - assaying work of, 101 - astronomical studies of, 108 - at Brighton, 98, 100, 223, 229, 273 - at Eltham, 69, 79, 83, 223, 228 - attends banquet at Cork, 221 - attends nephew's funeral on parole, 153 _et seq._ - birth of his child, 120 - buys dogs for Mrs. O'Shea, 234, 235 - complex character of, 304 - conducts Healy's election, 221 - consults Sir Henry Thompson, 245 - death of his daughter, 155 - death of his father, 51 - deserted by O'Kelly, 298 - dictator in the Commons, 193 - discusses Local Government Bill with Capt. O'Shea, 223 - dislike of green bindings, 229 - dislike of social life, 307 - distrust of Gladstone, 110 (note), 173 - elected life member of National Liberal Club, 267 - entrusts political correspondence to Mrs. O'Shea, 85 - family affection of, 306 - fatalism of, 170 - founds _Irish Daily Independent_, 323 - freedom of City of Dublin presented to, 210 - freedom of City of Edinburgh for, 269 - general appearance of, 301 _et seq._ - generosity of, 310 - great meeting at Rotunda, Dublin, 293 - hatred of oppression, 305 - his ancestry, 51 - his fear of death, 225, 305 - his hatred of England, 51, 81 - his love of animals, 305 - hobbies and interests of, 99 _et seq._ - holiday at Eastbourne, 238 - Home Rule scheme submitted to Gladstone, 182 - illness of, 243 - in danger, 204 et seq. - interest in the working classes, 216, 307 - interviews newspaper men after his marriage, 316 - interviews Sir Geo. Lewis, 261 - Irish subscribe to pay off mortgages on his estates, 290 (note) - joins Home Rule League, 52 - Kilmainhain days and letters, 119 _et seq._, 139 _et seq._ - last hours and death of, 319, 333 _et seq._ - learns of Phoenix Park murders, 168 - leaves for Ireland, 320 - letter to his mother, 290 - letters in invisible ink, 125, 132, 133 - letters of congratulation (and otherwise) on his marriage, 318 - love of white roses, 206 - makes bricks, 317 - makes model ships, 278 - manifesto to people of Ireland, 284, 286 - marries Mrs. O'Shea, 314 - meets Katharine Tynan, 266 - meets Lord Carnarvon, 187 - meets O'Brien at Boulogne, 297 - modesty of, 304 - moral standard of, 309 - nightmares and sleep-walking, 205-6 - nominates Vincent Scully for Kilkenny, 296 - on trial for conspiracy, 79 - opens Home Rule campaign, 188 - organizes for General Election, 184 - ovation in Parliament after trial, 265 - ovations at Eighty Club and St. James's Hall, 267 - picks wild flowers, 207 - President of Home Rule Confederation, 53 - President of the Land League, 53 - puts Tories in power, 186 - quarrying at Arklow, 213 - reads forged letters in the _Times_, 257 - reads report of his assassination, 218 - recognized at Pevensey, 240 - refuses to defend divorce case, 280, 281 - release of, 165 - religious beliefs of, 309 - replies to Forster's attack, 219 - retakes offices of _United Ireland_, 295-6 - return home and beginning of last illness, 323 - sails for New York, 54 - sees his dying child, 154, 155 - sends horses to Eltham, 231 - served with Judge's Order, 299 - shaves his beard, 98 - shooting in Ireland, 277 - shooting practice of, 207 - speech at Eighty Club, 244 - speech at National Liberal Club, 268 - speech on first Home Rule Bill, 200 - stands for Parliament, 52 - superstitious nature of, 247, 308 - takes house at Brockley, 253 - takes house in Regent's Park, 254 - takes house near Beachy Head, 241 - telegraphic code with Mrs. O'Shea, 246 - temper of, 310 - threats against, 214 - unselfishness of, 311 - views on proposed visit of Prince of Wales, 236 - visits "Aunt Ben," 89 - visits Gladstone, 202 - visits Morley, 202 - wedding presents, 319 - Wexford speech of, 110 - with Mrs. O'Shea at Hastings, 228 - - Parnell, Fanny, 52 - death of, 204 - - Parnell, Mrs. Delia, 51, 100, 261 (note), 319 - - Parnell, John, 306 - - Parnell, Sir John, 51 - - Parnell, Thomas, poet, 51 - - Parnell Commission, the, 256 _et seq._ - - Patcham, life at, 28 - - Pevensey, Parnell recognized at, 240 - - Phoenix park murders, 166, 168 _et seq._ - - Pigott, suicide of, 265 - - "Pincher," dog named, 235 - - Power, Richard, 58 - - "President," Parnell's horse, 231, 239 - - "Preston, Clement," 253 - - Pym, H., 290, 322 - - - QUINLAN, CATHERINE, 11 (note) - (_see also_ O'Shea, Comtesse) - - Quinlan, Edward, 11 (note) - - Quinn, J. P., arrest of, 118 - - - "RANGER," dog named, 235 - - Redistribution of Seats Bill, 184 - - Redmond, William, letter from Parnell to, 289 - - Redmond's Land Bill, 164 - - Rhodes, Cecil, Parnell's letter to, - on Home Rule, 270 (note) - - Ripon, Lord, supports Home Rule, 197 - - Rivenhall, life at, 3 _et seq._, 18 - visitors at, 8, 26 - - "Romeo," 34, 35 - - Rosebery, Lord, supports Home Rule, 197 - - Russell, Sir Charles, 259 - a reception to Parnell, 266 - - - ST. JAMES'S HALL, ovation for Parnell at, 267 - - St. Peter's, Cornhill, 1 - - Salisbury, Lord, diplomatic statement about Ireland, 188 - first Ministry of, 186 - - Scully, Vincent, nominated for Kilkenny, 296 - - Selby, stud-groom of Capt. O'Shea, 28, 36 - - Sexton, Mr., arrest of, 118 - - Shaw, William, and the Irish Parliamentary Party, 50, 57 - - Sheridan, Charles, and Mrs. Wood, 2 - - Sleeplessness, a specific for, 40 - - Sligo, hostility of, to Parnell, 321 - - Smart, Capt. Hawley, 27 - - Soames, Mr., interview with, 265 - - Spain, Capt. and Mrs. O'Shea in, 24 - Capt. O'Shea's managerial post in, 47 - - Spencer, Lord, and Phoenix Park murders, 181 - appointed Lord-Lieutenant, 166 - shakes hands with Parnell, 268 - supports Home Rule, 197 - - Stalbridge, Lord (_see_ Grosvenor, Lord Richard) - - Stanley, Dean, 39 - - "State trials" in Ireland, 79 _et seq._ - - Stead, Mr., O'Shea and, 290 - - Steele, Lt.-Col., 8 - - Steele, Mrs., 18, 58, 59, 60, 106 - - Steele, Sir Thomas, 113 - - Stephens, T. E., retirement of, 189 (note) - - Stephens, William, Dean of Winchester, 39 - - Stewart, Commodore Charles, 51 - - Steyning, Parnell's marriage at, 312 - - Sussex, Duke of, 1 - - - TELEGRAPHIC CODE, Parnell's, 246 - - Thomson, Mrs., 204 - - Thompson, Sir Henry, consulted by Parnell, 245 - letters to Mrs. Parnell, 330, 331 - treats Parnell for nervous breakdown, 206 - - "Three acres and a cow," 196 - - _Times_, the, "Parnell letters" in, 257 - - Tintern, Mr., and Capt. O'Shea, 67 - - "Tory," Parnell's horse, 212 - - Trevelyan, Mr., ceases to be Irish Secretary, 182 - resignation of, 197 - - Trollope, Anthony, 8 - - Tynan, Katharine, on Parnell's Dublin meeting, 293 - Parnell's meeting with, 266 - - - _United Ireland_, and proposed visit of Prince of Wales, 236 - publishes No Rent manifesto, 119 - seized by anti-Parnellites, 295 - - United States, Parnell in the, 54 - - - VAUGHAN, MRS., 29 - - Ventnor, a visit to, 40 - - Vincent, Sir Howard, and police protection for Parnell, 217 - - - WALES, Prince of, a proposed visit to Ireland, 236 - - Wallace, Corporal, murder of, 179 - - Weguelin, Christopher, 47 - - Weston, Sir Thomas Sutton, 3 - - Werford speech, Parnell's, 110 - - Whitbread, Judge, 43 - - Wilkinson, Rev. Mr., 43 - - Wonersh Lodge, Eltham, 47 - - Wontner, Mr., and the costs of divorce case, 322 - - Wood, Anna, 4, 7, 15, 37 - marriage of, 8 - - Wood, Benjamin, death of, 42 - marriage of, 1 - - Wood, Charlie, 5 - - Wood, Clarissa, 6 - - Wood, Emma, 6 - - Wood, Evelyn, 4 _et seq._, 17 - - Wood, Frank, 6, 7, 10, 26 - - Wood, Fred, death of, 3, 6 - - Wood, Katharine (see O'Shea, Katharine) - - Wood, Lady, 1 _et seq._, 27 - - Wood, Maria (Pollie), 6 - - Wood, Mrs. Benjamin ("Aunt Ben"), 1, 18, 27, 28, 31, 39, 40, - 41 _et seq._, 68 - and carol singers, 224 - and George Meredith, 43 _et seq._ - and O'Connell, 89 - and Parnell, 89 - death of, 43, 272 - - Wood, Sir Matthew, 1 - - Wood, Sir Matthew (grandson of preceding), 59 - - Wood, Sir John Page, 1 - appointed rector of St. Peter's, Cornhill, 1 _et seq._ - becomes vicar of Cressing, 2 - birth of a son, 2 - death of, 17 - political views of, 3 - - - YATES, Mrs. A., 27 - - - - PRINTED BY CASSELL & COMPANY, LIMITED, LA BELLE SAUVAGE LONDON, E.C.4 - F35.621 - - - - - - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Charles Stewart Parnell, by Katharine O'Shea - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHARLES STEWART PARNELL *** - -***** This file should be named 60895-8.txt or 60895-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/0/8/9/60895/ - -Produced by Al Haines -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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