Chapter 19: In Search of a Family.
On the following day, Desmond left the brigade, and, followed byMike, rode for Madrid, where was still lying a letter which hadarrived, some months before, from England. He had not asked for itto be forwarded, for if he had been killed, and it had been foundon him, it might do his memory a great disservice, as it wouldseem that he had been in correspondence with the British. Theletter, which contained an enclosure, was, to his surprise, fromLord Godolphin. It ran:
Dear Captain Kennedy:
Partly at the request of the Earl of Galway, and still more frommy own remembrance of your conduct, in that affair you know of,and of the silence that you maintained concerning it, I havepleasure in sending you a safe conduct to visit Ireland on privateaffairs. The earl tells me that you have rendered him the greatestof services, and this alone should cancel the fact that you havebeen serving against us in Flanders and Spain. For this, and yourconduct to myself, I can promise you that should you, at any timewhile I am in power, decide to remain in Ireland, I will obtainfor you a full and complete pardon, and a restoration to all yourrights as an Irish subject of the queen. I will also obtain areversal of any attainders or acts of confiscation that may havebeen passed against your family, on your giving your promise thatyou will not take part in any secret plots or conspiracies againstthe reigning family, though, in the event of a general rising inIreland, with the assistance perhaps of a French army, you wouldbe at liberty to choose your own course of action, withoutincurring more pains and penalties than those which might befallany native of Ireland waging war against the queen.
As both Godolphin and Marlborough were known to be by no meansunfavourably disposed to the cause of the Stuarts, Desmond washardly surprised at the latter part of this intimation. Though hehad but small hopes of being enabled to remain permanently athome, it was yet very welcome to him. Certainly, if he remained inIreland he would consider himself bound to hold himself aloof fromall Jacobite plots, although, if the country rose and a Frencharmy landed, he would, unless he considered the cause a hopelessone, draw his sword on behalf of him whom he considered as hislawful sovereign.
"It is not sorry I am, your honour, to be turning my back on thiscountry," Mike said, as they rode out from the gate. "The wine isgood, which is more than I can say for anything else in it, exceptthat the people are good Catholics."
"I am starting a longer journey than you think, Mike. I am onlygoing to the duke, now, to ask for a year's leave; though I do notthink that I shall be absent more than a few months."
"And where are you going, your honour, if I may make so bold as toask?"
"I am going to Ireland, Mike."
Mike looked at him with astonishment.
"To Ireland, your honour? Sure they will hang you, before you setyour foot a week in the country."
"I have obtained a safe conduct, Mike, from Lord Godolphin. Youremember him, the nobleman we kidnapped?"
"Sure I remember him, your honour; and he has given you a safeconduct? It is in luck you are, to be going back to Irelandagain."
"It is not a visit of pleasure, Mike. I am going over to try toascertain to which branch of my family I belong."
"And what can it matter, your honour? It's a good name you havemade for yourself out here."
"I have done well enough, Mike, but I am tired of being asked, byalmost every officer I meet, about my family, when in fact I knownothing myself."
"Well, Captain, it does not seem to me worth troubling about, forif you don't know who they are, it is little they can have donefor you."
"It would seem so, Mike. There is a mystery about the wholeaffair, and I want to get to the bottom of it."
He rode silently for some distance. He knew that Mike would gothrough fire and water for him, and that, simple as he seemed, hehad no ordinary amount of shrewdness; and he determined to tellhim all he knew, especially as he intended to take him to Irelandwith him.
"Mike," he said at last, "I suppose you would like to pay a visitto Ireland, also?"
"I should that," Mike said, emphatically. "I was but eighteen whenI came out here to enlist in the brigade--that is twelve years agonow, and it is few people would be likely to know me again."
"Well, I am thinking of taking you with me, Mike; and, as possiblyyou may be of use in my search, I will tell you my story."
And he related the history of his youth.
"He must be an unfeeling baste, to treat you like that," Mikeexclaimed indignantly. "Sure I know the name, and have heard himspoken of as a traitor who had gone over to the enemy, and turnedProtestant to save his estate."
"That is how you would hear him spoken of, Mike, for it is true;but as to his treatment of me, it all depends whether I was forcedupon him by threats, or was taken by him out of friendship to myfather. If it were the first of these reasons, he cannot be blamedfor keeping me at a distance. If the second, he certainly ought tohave behaved differently. But neither explains why he, a supporterof the usurper, should have sent me out to France to fight againstthe English. It is a hard nut to crack."
Mike agreed. "Mighty hard; but your honour will get to the bottomof it, never fear. And why are we going to the duke, master?"
"To get leave of absence. I cannot disappear suddenly, withoutasking for leave. I shall, of course, tell the Duke of Berwickexactly why I am going, and I feel sure he will grant my request,without hesitation. There is no fighting to be done, just atpresent, and even if there were, one officer more or less wouldmake no difference.
"Have you any relations in Ireland, Mike?"
"None that I know of, sir, barring a sister, who was twelve yearsolder than myself; and it is little I saw of her, for she marriedwhen I was a bit of a gossoon. Her husband was killed in the siegeof Limerick, and I heard that after it was over, she went tosettle with some cousins in Cork. Whether she is there now, ismarried again, or is dead years ago, is more than I can say,seeing that I have never heard of her since."
"Was she with her husband in the siege of Limerick?"
"She was that. I heard about her from some men who knew herhusband. They said, after he was killed, she went as a servant inthe family of an officer and his wife for a bit, but the officerwas killed, and the lady died of grief and trouble; and it washard work she had to live till the place surrendered. That is allI know about it, your honour. It might have been true, and itmight not. I was but a boy, and maybe I bothered the man withquestions, and he just told me what came into his head to keep mequiet."
"Well, at any rate, Mike, as we shall most likely land at Cork,you might try to find your sister out. If she went through thesiege, she will know the names of many of the officers. She mayhave heard of a Kennedy."
"Maybe of half a dozen, your honour. As loyal gentlemen, theywould be sure to be there."
"What was her name, Mike?"
"Sure it was the same as my own before she married, just NorahCallaghan."
"So I suppose, Mike," Desmond said with a laugh; "but what was thename of the husband?"
"Rooney. I have not thought of it this many a year, but it is sureI am that it was Rooney; and now I think of it, a message came tome from her, just before I left the country, saying that should Iever be in the neighbourhood, it is glad she would be to see me;and I was to ask for Mrs. Rooney, who lived with her cousin, LarryCallaghan, a ship's carpenter, in Middle Lane, which I should findby the river bank."
"Well, that is something to go by, Mike. Of course, she may havemoved away long since; but if her cousin is a ship's carpenter, itis not likely that he would have left the neighbourhood."
"I wonder your honour never asked about the Kennedys from some ofthe officers who were at the siege?"
"I did not like to do so. The colonel came to the conclusion thatI must be the son of Murroch Kennedy, who came out soon afterLimerick surrendered, and was killed at Breda two or three monthsafter he joined the brigade. The officers agreed with the colonelthat this gentleman was probably my father, and of course I wascontente
d that it should be supposed so, and therefore I asked noquestions about other Kennedys. Of late, however, I have beenworried over the matter. In the Irish regiments in Spain, aselsewhere, were a number of officers belonging to good old Irishfamilies, and though I have got on well enough with them--in thefirst place as Berwick's aide-de-camp, and afterwards as on thestaff of the generals here--I could see that when, in answer totheir question, it was evident I knew little or nothing of myfamily, there was a sort of coolness in their manner which I couldquite understand, counting back their ancestors, as they did,pretty nearly to the flood. At present, it does not make anydifference to me personally, one way or the other, but I amconvinced that if, by chance, when I get older, I should fall inlove with the daughter of an officer of one of these old families,he would not for a moment listen to me, until I could give himsome proofs that I had a right to the name I bear, or at any ratecame of a good family. Certainly, at present, I could not assurehim on either point. I only know that I have always been calledKennedy, and that it was under that name that I was committed tothe care of Father O'Leary. That proves nothing more than that itis the name by which John O'Carroll wished me to be called; and itis as likely as not--indeed a good deal more likely--that it wasnot the true one."
"Well, at any rate, your honour, you have made the name of DesmondKennedy well known and liked, both among the Irish and Frenchofficers, for it is no slight thing that an officer in an infantryregiment should be taken on the staff of the Duke of Berwick."
"All that is very well, Mike; but it will not satisfy me more thanit satisfies others. So I am resolved to try to get to the bottomof the affair, even if I have to go direct to John O'Carroll,though I know that the chance of his telling me anything is butslight. The only way, indeed, that seems likely to lead toanything is to call upon as many of the Kennedys as I candiscover, and ask whether Murroch Kennedy, who left Ireland afterthe siege of Limerick, married and left a child of two years oldbehind him. If so, and that child suddenly disappeared when hisfather left for France, there would be every reason for assumingthat I was the child in question; though why he should havecommitted me to the charge of John O'Carroll, instead of to one ofhis own family, is not easily seen; unless the whole of theKennedys were in such ill favour, with the English Government,that he thought it better to trust me to one who was in good odourwith the supporters of Dutch William, and was therefore safe fromdisturbance in his estates."
"Sure, your honour, you are arguing it out like a counsellor, andthere is no gainsaying what you have spoken. I have no doubt youwill ferret it out. With such a head as you have on yourshoulders, it is hard if you cannot circumvent that ould rascal atKilkargan."
"At any rate we will try, you and I. While I am visiting theKennedys, you can be finding out people who were at Limerickduring the siege, and gather all they can remember about theKennedys there."
As Desmond had expected, the duke, as soon as he heard his story,at once granted him leave of absence.
"I hope you may succeed, Kennedy," he said. "It is a poor lookoutto be risking death continually in the service of a foreign king.I grant that we have the knack of making ourselves at home,wherever we may be, and there are Irish officers in every army inEurope; but, however successful Irishmen may be, they cannot butlong to be among their own people in their own land. And if, asyou tell me, Lord Godolphin will befriend you, I for one shallthink no worse of you if you settle down at home when you havefound your family. I know that if the sword should be again drawn,with a fair prospect of success, you will declare for the rightfulking."
"That I should certainly do, sir; and will assuredly give nopromise, or undertaking, to abstain from joining any royal armythat may be raised in Ireland. But it is not with any intention ofsettling at home that I am going there, but simply, as I have toldyou, to discover to what family I belong, so that I can have aright to the name I bear."
"At what port will you embark?"
"I intend to pay a visit, for a few days, to the Baron dePointdexter and Monsieur de la Vallee, after which I shall crossinto Italy. I have no doubt that I shall be able to find somefishermen, at Toulon, who will undertake to land me somewhere nearGenoa, where I shall be able to take a passage in a ship bound forEngland."
"And I suppose you take your servant with you?"
"With your permission, Duke. He has been my companion for threeyears. He is shrewd as well as brave, and will give me valuablehelp in my enquiries."
After remaining a couple of days with Berwick's army, Desmondstarted with Mike, and received the warmest welcome from the Baronde Pointdexter, and afterwards from Philip and his wife. Then theytravelled on to Toulon, where Desmond sold the horses andequipments. He left his uniform and Mike's there, and procured twocivilian suits. As he anticipated, he experienced no difficulty inarranging to be landed near Genoa. There he found several shipsbound for England or Ireland, and took a passage in one that wouldtouch at Cork, on its way to Dublin. The voyage was uneventful,and the ship, which had no great draught of water, proceeded upthe river to the city.
"The first thing to do, Mike," Desmond said, as they steppedashore, "is to get rid of these clothes, whose French cut will atonce attract attention. I shall get a suit such as is worn by anIrish gentleman. You had better equip yourself as my servant. Nolivery is worn here, but any quiet dress will be suitable."
They put up at a small inn, and remained there until a suit suchas Desmond desired was made for him, and Mike found no difficultyin purchasing ready-made clothes suitable to his new position.Desmond had taken rooms as Mr. Kennedy, and had asked carelesslyif there were any families of that name living in the neighbourhood.
"There is one who lives a short distance out of the town. It is asmall house, and shame it is that one of the old family shouldcome down so; but most of their estates were stolen from themafter the war. Still, the old man holds his head as if he wasstill lord of broad acres, and he is mightily respected among thegentry."
The next day, Desmond hired a horse and rode out to the house ofMr. Kennedy, which was some three miles from the town. He sent inhis name, and was shown into a room, where a tall man, with asomewhat haughty air, received him not unkindly.
"Your name is the same as my own," he said, "though I do notrecognize the name of Desmond Kennedy among such members of thefamily as I am acquainted with."
"I have but just landed from France, and my object in coming hereis to obtain some information as to my father's family. Hearingthat a gentleman of the name lived here, I came first to you. MayI ask if you were acquainted with a Murroch Kennedy?"
"Surely I was. He was my first cousin. We fought side by side atLimerick. I was not one of those who cared to enter foreignservice. My estates were confiscated, and I have ever since livedhere on the wreck of my fortune, taking no part in politics.
"My cousin was of a different mind. He did not, indeed, go out atonce with the greater part of the army of Limerick, but still,hoping that the cause was not altogether lost, he lived for somemonths among the mountains, and took part in a rising which waspromptly suppressed, and then joined the Irish Brigade; and Ireceived a notification, from one of his brother officers, that hehad fallen at the battle of Breda. And now may I ask, in turn,what Murroch Kennedy's relationship was to you?"
"I will tell you, sir. But first, will you kindly inform mewhether your cousin left a child about a year old behind him?"
"Certainly not, sir. My cousin was an unmarried man, at any rateup to the time when he left Ireland."
"Then, sir, my questions are at an end. I may tell you that, aboutthe time your cousin left Ireland, I was sent as an infant to thecare of John O'Carroll, the traitor, of Kilkargan, and was broughtup under the name of Desmond Kennedy. He showed me but littlekindness, and, nearly three years ago, I went abroad and obtaineda commission in one of the regiments in the Irish Brigade, and nowhold the rank of captain. For many reasons, I am anxious to findout what family I belong to. It was assumed, by my colonel andfellow officers, that I was
the son of Murroch Kennedy, and Iwished to ascertain whether this was true, and with that objectobtained leave of absence, and made my way back."
"I am sorry that I can give you no assistance, sir. Assuredly youare not the son of my cousin, Murroch Kennedy; and had you been,John O'Carroll, the traitor, would have been the last man to whomhe would have entrusted you. I know well the history of all themembers of my branch of the family, and can answer, withcertainty, that no child was lost, or missing, or unaccounted forat the time he went out; and as all were loyal gentlemen, nonewould have had any dealings with John O'Carroll, who betrayed thecause for which his brother died fighting at Limerick. I will,however, jot down, for your information, the other branches of thefamily of Kennedy and their places of residence, though I fearthat there is but little probability of your search beingsuccessful, as, during the years that have elapsed since the latewar, many must have died. Others, like my cousin, have takenservice in one or other of the continental armies. Moreover, thereis also a possibility that the name by which you are known is notyour own."
"I feel that myself, sir, and fear that my enquiries will not meetwith success. Still, I shall pursue them until I have at leastproved that I cannot belong to any well-known branch of thefamily. I am much obliged to you, for having so courteouslyanswered my questions, and for your offer to give me a list of thevarious branches of the family."
For the next few minutes, Mr. Kennedy was engaged in making outthe list, which he then handed to Desmond.
"And now, sir," the former went on, "that we have finished what wemay consider business, will you tell me a little more aboutyourself? Your story naturally interests me, and I own that I amsurprised that a young gentleman who, from what you have told me,cannot be much more than twenty years old, has risen to the rankof captain, in a brigade where so many officers have signallydistinguished themselves. Your story, too, is an interesting one,and seems to me in many respects remarkable; and possibly, when Ihear more of how you came to be brought up by John O'Carroll, itmay throw some light upon the subject."
Desmond gave a detailed account of his life as a boy, and a shortsketch of his subsequent adventures.
"A romantic story, young sir," Mr. Kennedy said, when he hadfinished, "and to whatever family you belong, they should be proudof possessing so gallant a member. You tell me that you have asafe conduct, but you did not mention how you obtained it."
Desmond had abstained from making any allusion, either to theaffair with Lord Godolphin, or to that with the Earl of Galway,and he replied:
"Sir, this is a secret that concerns other people, as well asmyself, consequently I am not at liberty to explain it. I may say,however, that it was given to me on my engagement that my visit toIreland was one of a private nature only, and that I would in noway meddle with politics. When I tell you that the Duke ofBerwick, himself, granted me the necessary leave of absence, itwill prove to you that he, on his part, was well satisfied thatthe safe conduct had been issued to me without any unworthyoffers, on my part, to the Princess Anne's ministers."
After chatting for some time longer, Desmond took his leave andreturned to Cork.
Mike was standing at the door of the inn.
"I have had no success, Mike. Have you fared better?"
"I have not found her yet, your honour, but I have great hopes ofdoing so. Larry Callaghan died four years ago, and the woman ofthe house she occupied said that Mrs. Rooney moved, with his widowand children, to some other part of the town. She knew littleabout them, seeing that she only went into the house after theyhad left; but her husband worked in the same yard as Larry did,and she thought that he would be able to find out, from some ofthe old hands, where the widow Callaghan had moved to. She saidshe would ask her husband when he came home to his dinner, andmaybe he would be able to give her some news.
"And so, your honour has learned nothing about yourself?"
"Nothing, Mike, except that I am certainly not the son of MurrochKennedy, who was a cousin of the gentleman I called on. I wasassured that he was a single man, when he went to France. However,he gave me a list of the principal branches of the Kennedy family,but there is no hurry about starting to see them, and I willcertainly wait here till you find your sister, which should not bemany days, for some of Callaghan's fellow workmen are almost sureto know where his widow lives."
Mike went out, at seven o'clock that evening, and returned half anhour later.
"I have got the address, your honour. She and the widow Callaghanhave got a little place outside the town, and take in washingthere, and are going on nicely."
"I am pleased to hear it, I am sure, Mike. I have but small hopethat she will be able to give any useful information, but for yoursake, I am glad that you have found a sister whom you have notseen for so many years. I suppose you will go up there, at once."
"I will that. They will have done their work, and we shall have acomfortable talk, whereas she would not thank me if I were to dropin when she was busy at the washtub."
"Well, you might ask her to come down, tomorrow morning, to seeme. Of course, she shall not be a loser by giving up her morning'swork."
"Whisht, your honour! When she knows how much you have done forme, and how you have treated me, she would willingly lose a week'swork to give you pleasure. Well, I will be off at once."
It was eleven o'clock before Mike returned.
"We have had a great talk, your honour, me and Norah. She wouldnot believe at first that I was her brother, and in truth, I foundit hard to credit that she was Norah, who was a purty colleen whenI saw her last; but when we had convinced each other that we wereboth who we said we were, matters went on pleasantly. I told hersome of my adventures with you, and that, by the same token, I hada hundred gold pieces that the Baron of Pointdexter had given me,sewn up in a belt round my waist, where it has been ever since Igot it, except when we went into battle, or on that expedition toScotland, when, as your honour knows, I always put it in with theagent in your name, seeing that I would rather, if I was killed,know that your honour would have it, instead of its being taken bysome villain searching the dead. I told her that, if she and Mrs.Callaghan wanted to take a bigger place, I would share it withher, and that quite settled the matter, in her mind, that I washer brother. She said, as I knew she would, that she would comeand talk to you for a week, if you wanted it; and she will be heretomorrow, at nine o'clock."
"That is very satisfactory. I am afraid nothing will come of ourtalk; but still, one may get a clue to other Kennedys who werepresent at the siege of Limerick."
Punctually at nine o'clock, Mike ushered his sister into Desmond'ssitting room.
"I am glad to see you, Mrs. Rooney. Your brother has been with mefor three years, and has rendered me very many services, and Iregard him as a friend, rather than as a servant. I am glad thathe has found his sister, from whom he had been so long parted."
"Mike has been telling me how good you have been to him, and thathe would go through fire and water for you, and that you have hadsome wonderful adventures together. He said you wanted to speak tome about the siege of Limerick. If there is anything that I cantell you, your honour, I will do so gladly."
"What I want to know is, what Kennedys were at the siege?"
"There was Murroch Kennedy, and Phelim, who was always called 'RedKennedy', on account of his colour; and James and Fergus. I knewall those, because they were friends of my master's. It may bethat there were many others, but they were unbeknown to me."
"Am I like any of them?"
The woman looked at him searchingly.
"You are not, sir; but you are mighty like my master, barring, ofcourse, that he was a man ten years older than yourself. But themore I look at you, the more I see the likeness."
"I did not know that you had a master, Mrs. Rooney. I thought thatyou were there with your husband."
"So I was, your honour; but when he was kilt I was left alone,saving for a child that had been born a fortnight before; and whatwith the bad smells of the pla
ce, and the sound of the cannon, andthe fact of my grief, he pined away all at once, and died a weekafter me husband. It is well-nigh starving we all were. Even thefighting men had scarce enough food to keep their strength up, anda lone woman would have died from hunger. So I was mighty glad,when a friend of mine told me that there was an officer's lady whohad had a baby, and, being but weak and ailing, wanted a fostermother for it; so I went at once and got the place, and was withher for a month.
"Her husband was killed three weeks after I went there, and theblow was too much for her, and she died a week later. A fortnightafter that came the peace, and as everything was in confusion,what wid our soldiers all going away to France, and thepersecutions and slaughterings, I took the child with me and wentdown to my cousin Larry's here. Av course, I could not part withit, and I could not make my way alone across the country, so Icame down here with the troops. I was not strong myself, and itwas a year later before I was able to take it to its friends."
"What was the name of your master?" Desmond asked eagerly, for herlast words had excited a sudden train of ideas in his mind.
"He was Mr. James O'Carroll, a great gentleman, and the head ofhis family."
Desmond sprang to his feet.
"That explains it all!" he exclaimed. "Mrs. Rooney, I have nodoubt that I am your foster child."
"Why, how can that be, your honour, seeing as your name isKennedy? Though, except for that, you might well be so, seeingthat you are so like my master."
"At any rate, Mrs. Rooney, I was reared at Kilkargan, at theexpense of John O'Carroll, and was, as I heard, brought there by awoman when I was a year old. O'Carroll said that my name wasDesmond Kennedy, but I had only his word for it."
"Then how is it that you are not master of Kilkargan, for if youare Mr. James O'Carroll's son, it is you that ought to be? I havealways thought of you as there. I have not been in the way ofgetting news. I left my address with Mr. John, but I never heardfrom him, or you. I thought, perhaps, that he might have lost theaddress, but I never dreamt that you had been kept out of yourown."
"I don't know that I can say that, altogether," Desmond said;"for, if it had been known that James O'Carroll had left an heir,his estates would certainly have been confiscated; whereas, owingto his brother's turning Protestant, and joining the Williamites,he was allowed to keep possession of them. I can understand nowwhat seemed so strange, namely, that he feared I might somehowlearn that I was his nephew, and heir to the estates. Therefore,he behaved as if I was the son of a stranger, and when I was oldenough, sent me off to join the Irish Brigade, in hopes that hehad seen the last of me; for, even if not killed, I should neverbe able to set foot in Ireland again after fighting for France.'Tis strange that none of my father's brother officers ever madeany enquiries about it."
"They all went with the army to France, sir. They knew, of course,that the child was born, though they may never have seen you, forthe mistress never left her bed after you were born. Naturally,after her death they lost sight of me, and might well havebelieved that the child had died."
"You must give me the names of all the officers who came to thehouse, Mrs. Rooney. Many of them may be alive still, and theirtestimony that a child was born would be most important, for atpresent there is only your word against John O'Carroll's."
"There is more than that, sir. You were baptized on the day shedied. My mistress gave me the paper the priest had given to her,saying that it was of the greatest importance to you, and that Iwas to give it to Mr. John O'Carroll when, as I promised, I tookthe child to him."
"And did you give it him?" Desmond asked eagerly.
"No, your honour. I took it with me to the castle, but from thereception I got, I thought it best to say nothing about it, but togive it to yourself when you were old enough. I have got it athome now. There it is, certifying that Gerald O'Carroll, the sonof James O'Carroll and his wife Elizabeth, was baptized by him onthe 6th of September, 1692."
"That is fortunate, indeed," Desmond exclaimed. "And now, tell mehow this uncle of mine received you."
"Faith, your honour, he was mightily put out, at first. He saidthat I was an impostor, and that he would have me given in charge.I told him that I had proofs that what I said was true, and thatthere were many gentlemen, brother officers of Mr. James, whowould speak for me, and say in court that a son was born to hisbrother before he died. He wanted to get out of me what proofs Ihad, and who were the officers; but I told him that was mybusiness. Then he cooled down, and after a time he said that, ifhe were to let it be known that Mr. James had left a son, theestate would surely be confiscated, seeing that his father died asa rebel fighting against the king; but that, as soon as thepersecutions had ceased, and it would be safe to do so, he wouldsay who the child was, and give him his rightful place. Thatseemed reasonable enough, and so I left you with him, and havealways supposed that he kept his word; and that, as soon as it wassafe, he acknowledged you to be master of your father's estate."
"And now, Mrs. Rooney, I must think matters over, and see how Ihad best proceed. I feel how much I owe to you, and, if I recovermy estates, you shall see that I am not ungrateful. Will you comeagain tomorrow morning, and bring with you the certificate of mybaptism, and all the names that you can recollect of the officerswho were intimate with my father?"
Chapter 20: Gerald O'Carroll.
Mike, who had remained silent during the conversation between hissister and Desmond, returned to the room after seeing her out.
"Well, Mike, you have rendered me many services, but this is thegreatest of all. Little did I think, when you said you had foundyour sister, and that she was coming to me this morning, that shewould be able to clear up the mystery of my birth, and to place mein a position to prove myself a son of James O'Carroll. I do notsay that I shall regain the estates. My having been in the Brigadewill certainly render it difficult for me to do so, thoughpossibly, with the patronage of Lord Godolphin, I may succeed. Forthat, however, I care comparatively little. My object, in cominghere, was to obtain proof that I belong to a good Irish family,and that I have no doubt I shall be able to establish."
"And what am I to call you, your honour, now that I know you areCaptain Gerald O'Carroll, and not Desmond Kennedy, at all?"
"At any rate, I must remain Desmond Kennedy at present, Mike. Itis under that name that my safe conduct was made out, and if Iwere arrested as Gerald O'Carroll, it would be no protection tome. However, I shall not want to use it long, for it seems to methat my first step must be to return to France, and to see some ofthe officers who knew my father, and were aware of my birth. Theirtestimony would be of great value, and without it there would belittle chance of your sister's evidence being believed."
"But there is the paper, your honour."
"Yes; that will show that a child was born, but the proof that Iam that child rests entirely with your sister. It might have diedwhen its mother did, and they would say that your sister wastrying to palm off her own child, or someone else's, as his. Ofcourse, Mrs. Callaghan would be able to prove that your sisterarrived immediately after the surrender of Limerick, bringing achild with her, and that she said it was the son of JamesO'Carroll; and that she went a year later to Kilkargan, and leftit there with John O'Carroll. Moreover, I could get plenty ofevidence, from those on the estate, that I was the child so left."
"The likeness that Norah saw between you and your father might betaken as a proof, sir."
"I did not think of that, Mike. Yes, if some of these officerswill also testify to the likeness, it will greatly strengthen mycase. The chain of evidence seems pretty strong. First, there isthe certificate of my baptism, your sister's declaration that Iwas entrusted to her by my mother on her deathbed, supported byMrs. Callaghan's declaration that three weeks later she arrived inCork with the child, which she told her was that of JamesO'Carroll; your sister's declaration that she took me to Kilkarganand handed me over to my uncle, which would be supported by theevidence of the woman he first placed me with; while the servantsof the
castle could prove that I was brought by a woman who, anhour later, left the castle without speaking to anyone but myuncle.
"John O'Carroll will find it difficult to explain why he took mein, and who is the Kennedy of whom I was the son, and what servicehe had rendered for him, a Protestant and a Williamite, to haveundertaken the charge of the child of a rebel. There is no doubtthat the weight of evidence is all on my side, but whether thejudges would decide in favour of the son of a rebel, as against afriend of the English party, is doubtful. Possibly LordGodolphin's influence might be exerted in my favour. He promisedin his letter to me to do me any service in his power. Still, evenif I lose the estate, which I may well do on the ground of myfather having fought and died for the cause of James the Second, Ishould still have the satisfaction of establishing my name, whichI consider of more importance than the estates."
"Sure, your honour, it's a grand thing to belong to a good oldIrish stock; but for myself, I would rather be Mike Callaghan andhave a fine estate, than Mike O'Neil without an acre of land."
Desmond smiled.
"There is common sense in what you say, Mike, but there is nothingmore unpleasant than, when you are with a number of Irishgentlemen or Spanish grandees, who are equally proud of theirancestors, to be unable to give any account of your family, oreven to be sure that you have a right to the name that you bear."
"Well, your honour, it is a matter of taste. As for myself, if thewhisky is good, it makes no differ to me whether they call it Corkor Dublin, or whether it is made up in the mountains and has sorraa name at all."
The next morning, Mrs. Rooney returned with the certificate ofbaptism, and a list containing some twenty names of officers whohad been frequent visitors at James O'Carroll's. Among theseDesmond, to his satisfaction, found Arthur Dillon, Walter Burke,Nicholas Fitzgerald, and Dominic Sheldon, all of whom now held therank of general in the French service, and to all of whom he waspersonally known, having met them either when with Berwick or inSpain.
"Those names are good enough," he said. "And if they can testifyto my likeness to my father, it will go a long way towardsfurnishing proof, when required. All of them entered the serviceunder the provisions of the treaty of Limerick, and thereforetheir testimony cannot be treated as that of traitors; and theirnames must be as well known in England as in France.
"Now, Mike, our business here is, for the present, concluded. Ishall at once return to France, see all these officers who arestill alive, and obtain, if possible, their recognition. As I havea year's leave, I can travel about as I choose. Then I shalldecide whether I shall commence an action in the courts, orwhether I shall first go over to England, see Lord Godolphin,explain the circumstances to him, and ask for his protection andpatronage.
"I suppose the case would be tried at Dublin, where the judges areall creatures of England, and there can be no doubt that anotification, from Godolphin, that he considered my claim to be agood one, and was favourable to it, would have no slight influencewith them; and would counteract, to some extent, the fact of myuncle's being a Protestant, and what they would consider a loyalman. Before beginning an action, I should certainly communicatewith my uncle, and call upon him to resign in my favour; for Iwould avoid the scandal of proving an O'Carroll to be a scoundrel,as well as a traitor. As it has turned out, the step which hethought would disembarrass him of me has had the other effect,for, if I had not gone out to France, I should never have beentroubled by questions about my family; and should not have metyou, Mike, or known of the existence of your sister, the onlyperson who could clear up the matter.
"I shall begin to think what O'Neil and O'Sullivan used to say,that my luck would carry me through anything; and certainly, atpresent, it has been marvellous."
"Which way will we go back, your honour?"
"Not the way we came, if we can help it. We were nearly a monthcoming from Genoa, and might have been twice as long, if the windhad not been fairly favourable. I think our best plan will be totake passage by sea to London. There we shall have no difficultyin finding a vessel bound for Rotterdam, or the Hague. Then wewill buy horses, and ride along by the Rhine. If we can getthrough Luxembourg into France we will do so, but I think it willperhaps be best to go on through Switzerland, and pass thefrontier somewhere near Lyons, where we shall be but a shortdistance from Berwick's headquarters in Dauphiny."
A month later, they rode into the duke's camp. They had, onleaving Toulon, packed up their uniforms and sent them to the careof a friend on the general's staff. To his quarters they firstwent, and having changed his civilian costume for a military one,Desmond waited on the duke.
"Why, Captain Kennedy," the duke said, in surprise; "I did notlook to see you again, so soon. Have you been over to Ireland?"
"I have, sir, and though there only a few days, gained informationthat necessitated my return here. I have found out that the name Igo by is not mine, and that my proper name is Gerald O'Carroll."
"The son of Major James O'Carroll, who fought by my side at theBoyne, and was through the first siege of Limerick with me! Thatexplains it. Your face has often puzzled me. It seemed to me thatI recognized it, and yet I could not recall whose face it was thatit resembled so strongly. Now you tell me, I know at once. Yourfather, when I first knew him, was a few years older than you are;but he had the same figure, face, and expression.
"And so, you are his son! By what miracle have you discovered yourrelationship to him?"
Desmond, or as he should now be called, Gerald, related as brieflyas possible the manner in which he had discovered his parentage.
"Your uncle must be a thorough villain," the duke said, hotly."That he was a traitor we all knew, but that he should thus robhis brother's son of his inheritance is monstrous and unnatural."
"I am glad, indeed, sir, that you have thus recognized me. Yourtestimony will go for much, even in an English court, and I hopeto receive a similar recognition from the officers who wereintimate with my father in the second siege, and whose names Ihave here."
The duke glanced down the list.
"Well-nigh half of them are still alive," he said, "and all ofthem are men of rank and repute, whose word would be taken even byan enemy. How do you mean to proceed? Because I am afraid that,even if we could spare them, there would be some difficulty abouttheir making their appearance in a court, in either England orIreland."
"I quite see that that is out of the question. All I can hope foris, that such of them as recognize my likeness to my father willdraw up a paper saying so, and will attest it before a notary,having as witnesses men of weight and honour equal to their own.The production of such certificates could not but have a stronginfluence in my favour."
"I will most willingly sign such a document," the duke said, "andfour of my best-known generals can sign as witnesses to mysignature."
"I thank you most heartily, sir. Such a document should, initself, be considered as ample proof of my strong resemblance tomy father."
"That may or may not be," the duke said, "but do not be contentwith that. Get as many of the others as possible to make similardeclarations. One man may see a likeness where another does not,but if a dozen men agree in recognizing it, their declarationsmust have a great weight. Certainly no Irish judge would doubt thetestimony of so many men, whose families and whose deeds are sowell known to them."
From Dauphiny, Gerald travelled first into Spain, and the threeIrish officers there whose names were on his list all recognizedthe likeness, even before he told them his name. He put thequestion to them in a general way.
"I have learned, sir, that the name I bear is not my own, that Iam the son of an officer who was killed in the siege of Limerick.May I ask you if you can recognize any likeness between myself andany officer with whom you were well acquainted there?"
In each case, after a little consideration, they declared that hemust be the son of James O'Carroll. All remembered that theircomrade's wife had borne a son, shortly before the end of thesiege. They remembered her death, but none ha
d heard what becameof the child, for in the excitement of the closing scenes, and ofthe preparation for the march immediately afterwards, they had hadlittle time on their hands, and it was hitherto supposed that ithad, like so many other infants, perished miserably. Theywillingly signed documents, similar to that which he had receivedfrom Berwick.
He met with almost equal success on the northern frontier, onlytwo out of eight officers failing to identify him by his likeness;until he mentioned his name, when they, too, acknowledged that,now they recalled James O'Carroll's face, they saw that thelikeness was a striking one.
Having obtained these documents, he resumed civilian attire, and,riding by crossroads, passed through Flanders to Sluys, withoutcoming in contact with any body of the allied troops. There he hadno difficulty in obtaining a passage to London, and on his arrivalcalled upon Lord Godolphin, who received him cordially.
"So you have utilized your safe conduct, Captain Kennedy. I amglad to see my former captor, and I am as grateful as ever to youfor the silence you maintained as to that affair. If it had beenknown to my enemies, I should never have heard the last of it.They would have made me such a laughingstock that I could scarcelyhave retained office.
"Now, what can I do for you?"
"It is a long story, my lord."
"Then I cannot listen to it now; but if you will sup with me here,at nine o'clock this evening, I shall be glad to hear it. I am soharassed by the backstair intrigues of my enemies, that it wouldbe a relief to me to have something else to think of."
Gerald returned at the appointed time. Nothing was said as to hisaffairs while supper was served, but after the table had beencleared, decanters of port placed on the table, and the servantshad retired, Godolphin said:
"Now, Captain Kennedy, let us hear all about it."
Gerald related the history of his younger days, and of the mannerin which he had discovered his real parentage, producing thecertificate of his baptism, a statement which had been drawn up atCork and signed by Norah Rooney, and the testimony of the Duke ofBerwick and the other Irish officers.
"There can be no doubt whatever, in the mind of any fair man,"Lord Godolphin said, after listening attentively to the wholestory, and examining the documents, "that your uncle, JohnO'Carroll, is a villain, and that you have been most unjustlydeprived of your rights. I know him by name, and from the reportsof our agents in Ireland, as one of the men who turned his coatand changed his religion to save his estates. Those men I heartilydespise; while those who gave up all, and went into exile inorder, as they believed, there to serve the cause of theirrightful sovereign, are men to be admired and respected. Beassured that justice shall be done you. Of course, you will takeaction in the courts?"
"I shall first summon him to give up the estate, shall let himknow that I have indisputable evidence to prove that I am the sonof his elder brother, and shall say that, if he will give uppossession peaceably, I will take no further steps in the matter,for the sake of the family name. If he refuses, as I fear isprobable, I must then employ a lawyer."
"Yes, and a good one. I will furnish you with letters to the lordlieutenant, and to Lord Chief Justice Cox, strongly recommendingyou to them, and requesting the latter to appoint one of the lawofficers of the crown to take up your case. I should say that,when this John O'Carroll sees that you have such powerful friends,he will perceive that it is hopeless for him to struggle in so bada cause, and will very speedily accept your terms, though methinksit is hard that so great a villain should go unpunished.
"Now, it will be as well that you should have something strongerthan the safe conduct that I sent you. I will therefore draw out adocument for Her Majesty to sign, granting you a full and freepardon for any offences that you may have committed against herand the realm, and also settling upon you the estates to which youare the rightful heir, in and about the barony of Kilkargan; beinginfluenced in so doing by the great services rendered by you, bothto Her Majesty's well-beloved and faithful minister andcounsellor, myself, and to her trusty general, the Earl of Galway.
"The queen is not very likely to ask the nature of the service.Unless it be something that concerns herself, she asks but fewquestions, and signs readily enough the documents laid before her.If she asks what are the offences for which she grants her pardon,I shall say, when but a boy you were maliciously sent abroad tojoin the Irish Brigade by your uncle, who wished thus to ridhimself of you altogether, and who had foully wronged you bywithholding your name, from you and all others. I shall also addthat you have distinguished yourself much, and have gained thefriendship of her half brother, the Duke of Berwick; and you knowthat the queen, in her heart of hearts, would rather that herbrother, whom you Jacobites call James the Third, should succeedher than the Elector of Hanover, for whom she has no love."
"I thank you greatly, indeed, my lord. Never was a man so amplyrewarded for merely holding his tongue."
"It was not only that, sir. It was your conduct in general to me.You might have left me tied up in that house, to be found in themorning, and to be made the jest of the town; instead of which,you yourself conducted and guarded me hither, and so contrived itthat no whisper spread abroad that I had been carried off betweenSaint James's and my own house. You trusted to my honour, in notcausing a pursuit of you to be set on foot, and behaved in allways as a gallant young gentleman, and certainly gained my highesteem, both for the daring and ingenuity with which you carriedout your plans for obtaining a passage to France, and for yourpersonal conduct towards myself.
"Where are you lodging?"
"At the Eagle, hard by the Abbey."
"Remain there, until you hear from me. Do not be impatient. I mustchoose my time, when either the queen is in a good temper, or isin such a hurry to get rid of me, in order to plot and gossip withMistress Harley, who is now her prime favourite, that she is readyto sign any document I may lay before her."
Feeling that his cause was as good as won, Gerald returned in highspirits to his inn, where he delighted Mike by relating how thegreat minister had promised to forward his suit.
"Ah, your honour, it will be a grand day when you take possessionof Kilkargan--bonfires and rejoicing of all sorts, and lashings ofdrink. Won't all the boys in the barony be glad to be free fromthe traitor, and to have the true heir come to be their master.None the less glad will be my sister."
"You must fetch her from Cork, Mike. It is owing to her that I amalive, and it will be owing to her if I recover the estate. Sheshall have the place of honour on the occasion, though all thegentry in the neighbourhood are there. When I tell them what shehas done for me, they will say that she well deserves the honour!"
"And you will go no more to the wars, Captain O'Carroll?"
"No, Mike. I have been but three years in the French army, but Ihave seen enough of fighting, and, worse still, of fightingagainst men of our own nation. Besides, if the queen grants me theestates of my father, I shall consider myself bound in honour notto draw my sword against her, or to mix myself up in any plot orconspiracy, but to remain strictly neutral whatever may be goingon. Indeed, the more I think of it, the more I doubt whether itwould be for the good of Ireland did the Stuarts return to thethrone. It could only be done at a further cost of blood andmisery. The old religious quarrels would break out more fiercelythan ever, there would be risings and civil wars, confiscationsand massacres, whichever side happened to get the upper hand. ThatJames the Third is the lawful sovereign of the three kingdoms, Ishall always uphold, but there are cases when it is to the benefitof the country, at large, that there should be a change in thesuccession."
"Sure that may be so, your honour; and yet, it is hard that a manshould be kept out of his own."
"No doubt it is hard; but it is far harder that thousands ofpeople should be killed, and tens of thousands ruined, for thesake of one man."
"So it is, sir. So it is, sure enough, when one comes to think ofit. Ireland has suffered mightily in the cause of the Stuarts, andI don't suppose that, if King James succeeded t
o the throne, hisEnglish ministers would let him turn out all the men who havetaken the places and lands of the old families."
"That they certainly would not, Mike. When Charles the Secondreturned from exile, all those who had fought and suffered for himthought that they would recover their estates, and turn outCromwell's men, to whom they had been granted. But they weredisappointed. The king found that he could not make so great achange, without upsetting the whole country, and that an attemptto do so would cost him his crown; and you may be sure that Jameswould find an equal difficulty, were he to come to the throne."
"Well, well, your honour, you know more of such matters than I do;but I have no doubt that you are right. I am sure we don't wantthe bad times to come over again, in Ireland."
Three days later, Gerald received a message from Lord Godolphin,saying that he wished to see him; and, on going to his house, theminister handed to him the paper with the full pardon, and theconfirmation of his ownership in his father's estates; togetherwith a letter to the lord lieutenant, and the Lord Chief JusticeCox.
The next day, he took ship for Dublin, and on arriving therepresented his letters, and was well received by those to whom theywere directed.
The lord lieutenant said:
"It is enough for me, Mr. O'Carroll, that Lord Godolphin speaks ofyou in such high terms, and I question not that he has thoroughlysatisfied himself as to your right to these estates. At the sametime, I should be glad if you will give me a brief outline of howit is that you never claimed them before, though perhaps it is aswell that you did not do so, for, until the passions excited bythe war had somewhat subsided, a friend of the Government wouldhardly have interposed for the benefit of the son of one who haddied fighting for James."
Gerald had drawn up three copies of a statement containing aprecis of the case, and he handed one of these to the lordlieutenant, saying:
"As the story is a somewhat long one, my lord, I have written itdown, in order that you might read it at your leisure."
"I will certainly do so, Mr. O'Carroll. I should like to bepersonally acquainted with the details of the matter. It willdoubtless excite a considerable stir. It is, I believe, the firsttime that a supporter of the Government has had to defend histitle against one of the family that fought on the other side."
"It is hardly a case of royalist and rebel, sir, but thedeliberate action of a man suppressing all knowledge of theexistence of his own nephew, in order that he might himself obtainthe property of his dead brother.
"I have no doubt that, had it been known that I was in existence,I should still have been thrust aside in order to reward hisadhesion to the cause of William, but that would have made hisposition intolerable. As one who has changed his religion and hispolitics, he is regarded as a traitor by the people of the barony,and avoided by all the gentry round; but the feeling would havebeen infinitely stronger, if it had been known that he was keepinghis own nephew out of his inheritance. My father was, as Iunderstand, immensely popular, and I doubt whether his brotherwould have dared to show his face within fifty miles of Kilkargan,had it been known that not only was he a traitor, but a usurper."
The lord lieutenant smiled.
"I am not surprised at your warmth, Mr. O'Carroll; but,unfortunately, your case is not a solitary one. There arethousands of men in Ireland who have suffered for the deeds oftheir fathers. However, I shall understand the case better when Ihave read your statement."
It was evident to Gerald that the lord chief justice, who hadtaken a leading part in the prosecution and punishment of personsknown to be favourable to the Jacobite cause, was not altogetherpleased with Lord Godolphin's letter.
"A strange affair," he said. "A strange and, as it appears to me,an unfortunate business.
"However, sir," he went on, with a changed tone; "I shallcertainly do my best to see justice done, in accordance with hislordship's request. I will read carefully through this statementof your claim, and, after considering it, place it in the hands ofthe crown lawyers.
"But it seems to me that your own position here is a strange one,and that you yourself are liable to arrest, as a member of afamily whose head was one of the late king's strongest adherents."
"My own position, sir, is regulated by this document, bearing thesignature of the queen and her chief minister;" and he laid theofficial paper before Cox.
"That certainly settles that question," the latter said, afterperusing it. "Of course I shall, for my own satisfaction, readyour statement; but I do not wish to see any documents or proofsyou may possess in the matter. These you must, of course, laybefore your counsel. I think I can't do better than give you aletter to Mr. Counsellor Fergusson, with whom you can go into allparticulars, and who will advise you as to the course that you hadbest take."
Mr. Fergusson, although one of the crown lawyers, enjoyed a widereputation, even among the Jacobite party, for the moderation andthe fairness with which he conducted the crown cases placed in hishands. He had less employment than his colleagues, for only casesin which the evidence of acts of hostility to the crown wereindisputable were committed to him, it having been found that hewas unwilling to be a party to calling doubtful witnesses, or tousing the means that were, in the majority of cases, employed toobtain convictions.
The lord chief justice's letter to him was as follows:
Dear Mr. Counsellor Fergusson:
I have been requested, by Lord Godolphin, to place the case of thebearer of this letter in good hands, and cannot better carry outhis request than by asking you to act in the matter. LordGodolphin has expressed himself most strongly as to the justnessof his claim. The bearer's father was, he states, James O'Carroll,a noted rebel who was killed at the siege of Limerick. This alonewould, it might have been thought, have proved a bar to any actionon his part against the present possessor of the property; but heis the bearer of a document, signed by the queen herself,reinstating him in all rights he may possess, notwithstanding theactions of his father or of himself. It is not for me to make anycomment upon the royal document, though I may say that I fear itmay give rise to other suits, and alarm many loyal subjects whohave become possessed of confiscated estates. However, we musthope that this will not be so, as it is expressly stated that, inthis instance, the pardon and restoration of rights are given inconsideration of services rendered by this young gentleman to LordGodolphin himself, and to the Earl of Galway. What the nature ofthese services may have been does not concern me.
Gerald carried this letter to the address indicated, and on sayingthat he was the bearer of a letter from the lord chief justice, hewas at once shown into the counsellor's room. The latter, a man ofsome fifty-five years old, with features that told of his Scottishextraction, with keen eyes and a kindly face, took the letterwhich Gerald presented to him, and begged him to be seated whilehe read it. As he glanced through it, a look of surprise cameacross his face, and he read the letter carefully, and then lookedat Gerald keenly.
"You are fortunate in having such good friends, Mr. O'Carroll," hesaid. "Before I go into the case, will you let me know somethingabout yourself? You are, I take it, some twenty years of age?"
"I am but a few months past nineteen."
"By your figure, I should have put you as three years older; byyour face, two years. You must have been fortunate, indeed, tohave gained the protection both of Lord Godolphin and the Earl ofGalway. No less than this would have sufficed to gain for you thisrescript of Her Majesty.
"And now, sir, please to give me an outline of your case, as tothe nature of which I am, at present, entirely ignorant."
"I have put it down in writing, sir," Gerald said, handing him thethird copy of his statement.
"It will take me some time to read this, Mr. O'Carroll, and Iwould rather do so alone, and ask you any question that may occurto me afterwards. Will you therefore call upon me again, in anhour's time?"
Upon Gerald's return, the counsellor said:
"It is a strange story, Mr. O'Carroll, and a very disgraceful one.Yo
u allude, I see, to testimonies of Irish officers in the Frenchservice as to your likeness to the late Mr. James O'Carroll. Willyou please let me see them?"
"Here they are, sir, together with a sworn statement by my nurse."
The lawyer read the documents through carefully.
"The testimony of the Duke of Berwick, and of the other honourableand well-known Irish gentlemen, as to the striking likenessbetween yourself and Mr. James O'Carroll, cannot but carry immenseweight in the minds of all unprejudiced persons. They prove too,conclusively, that James O'Carroll left an infant boy behind him,and the statement of the nurse goes a long way to prove you arethat son; and I think that this is substantiated by the conduct ofJohn O'Carroll; first in receiving you and undertaking your care;secondly, in the neglect, and I should almost say the dislike, hemanifested towards the child he had sheltered; and thirdly, in theextraordinary step that he, a professedly loyal subject of HerMajesty, took in sending you off to enlist in the brigade composedof the devoted adherents of the son of James the Second.
"No doubt, at any rate, can arise that you are the child broughtby this Mrs. Rooney to Kilkargan. That can be proved beyond allquestion; and the fact that your nurse was sent off without havingany conversation save with John O'Carroll himself, would show howanxious he was that no one but himself should know her errand.
"I must say that you have shown great acumen in musteringevidence, of all kinds, that would bear upon the question. I sayfrankly that, without this royal rescript, and the influence ofthese two noblemen, your chance, as James O'Carroll's son, ofwresting your patrimony from the hands of your uncle would besmall indeed. Politics have, much more than facts, to do withdecisions here; but with such powerful credentials, and with thechief minister of England interfering on your behalf, I think thatthere is no great doubt that you will secure a judgment in yourfavour. When the facts are known, the feeling of the greaterportion of the population will run strongly with you, and againstthis unnatural uncle of yours."
"I should be desirous, if possible, sir, of avoiding a publictrial that would bring discredit upon the name of my family, andwould, in the eyes of the supporters of the present Government,act prejudicially to myself."
"You are quite right. How do you propose to proceed?"
"I was thinking, sir, of sending a statement to my uncle, similarto that which I laid before you, going somewhat further intodetails, and promising that, if he would surrender the property tome and publicly acknowledge me as his nephew, giving what reasonhe chose for having so long concealed his knowledge of the fact, Iwould take no proceedings against him, and would do my best toprevent any discredit falling upon him."
"That would do very well," the lawyer said, "but I should abstainfrom making any allusion to the protectors you have gained. Hewill learn that soon enough, and it will be well to see what hisfirst impulse is. Do not mention the names of the Duke of Berwickand the others, who have testified to your likeness to your latefather. Simply say that many of his comrades have recognized yourlikeness to him. It is of no use showing him all the cards we haveto play. I should not send the letter by post, but by hand. If youlike, I will despatch one of my own messengers down with it, withinstructions to bring back an answer, but not to say anything, ifquestioned, as to his being in my employment."
The next morning, the messenger started by coach for Kilkargan. Hereturned four days later, bearing John O'Carroll's answer. It readas follows:
Sir:
I have received your audacious letter, and proclaim you to be animpostor, worthy of the severest punishment for attempting topersonate a son of my late brother. However, for the sake of myfriendship for Mr. Kennedy, your father, I give you twenty-fourhours to leave the country, before laying any information againstyou, both as an impostor and as a rebel who has served against thearmies of Her Majesty. I shall, however, at once apply for a writordering your arrest, which will be served upon you withintwenty-four hours of your receipt of this communication. I shallalso have this woman, your pretended nurse, arrested for perjuryand conspiracy.
Gerald took this letter to the counsellor.
"That is exactly what I expected," he said, after reading it. "Itshows the man in his true colours. We shall see what he says whenhe learns who are employed against him, and what protection youhave obtained. My opinion is that, before many hours have passed,you will receive a letter in a different strain. I consider it byno means improbable that the lord chief justice will have writtento him privately, warning him that you have received a fullpardon, and are restored to all your rights, and that you arestrongly supported by Lord Godolphin, who has written to him andthe lord lieutenant in your favour; that you have also theprotection of the Earl of Galway, an officer who possesses theconfidence of Her Majesty; and that the Duke of Berwick, and manyof the best-known Irish officers in the service of France, haveall given their testimony, in the most positive manner, of yourlikeness to James O'Carroll, whom they knew intimately; and willsay that, at the request of Lord Godolphin that the matter shouldbe placed in the hands of one of the crown lawyers, it has beensubmitted to me; and that in my opinion, which I wrote him afterour interview, a decision in your favour is inevitable; andstrongly advising him to make the best compromise with you in hispower."
The same evening, indeed, a mounted messenger, who had riddenposthaste from Kilkargan, arrived with another letter from JohnO'Carroll. It began:
My Dear Nephew:
I wrote yesterday in haste, on the receipt of your communication.It seemed to me that you were rushing on destruction, by avowingyourself to be the son of my brother James; and that you would beliable to be arrested as a Jacobite agent in the service ofFrance. Therefore, I wrote the letter that I did in hopes that youwould leave the country, for the time had not yet arrived when youcould safely be recognized by me as the rightful owner ofKilkargan. I have heard, however, that you have received a fullpardon for past offences, and a restitution of your rights, and Iam only too glad to be able to retire from the false position inwhich I was placed, and by which I incurred the hostility anddislike of my neighbours and tenants. As you know, I have lived analmost solitary life here, and have spent far less than the incomeof the estate. I am well aware that, acting as I have done as yourtrustee, you have a right to demand from me an account of therents I have received; but I trust that you will not press thismatter, as you'll at once come in for the receipt of the rents;and I shall be enabled to live in comfort, in Dublin, upon thesavings I have effected, and a small property I received as ayounger brother's portion.
You will, of course, understand why, during your stay here, Irefrained from any outward demonstrations of affection for you. Ifelt that suspicions might have arisen, had I not done so, thatyou were my brother's son, in which case the estate would surelyhave been confiscated. Seeing that the bent of your inclinationswas for an active and stirring life, and as the English army wasbarred to you, I thought it best that you should go abroad, and sobe out of the way until the time should come when matters would soquieten down, in Ireland, that my influence might avail to securean indemnity for you for serving in France, and enable me to handover your estate to you.
Your affectionate uncle, John O'Carroll.
Gerald laughed aloud as he read the letter.
"Is it good news, your honour?" Mike, who happened to be busy inthe room, asked.
"Nothing could be better. My dear uncle has heard that LordGodolphin and the Earl of Galway have become my patrons, that thequeen has restored to me my rights, and Mr. Counsellor Fergussonhas taken up my case. He therefore declares that, as it was alwayshis intention to restore the estate to me, as soon as I couldsafely return, he is now ready to do so, and only hopes that Iwill not insist upon his handing over the back rents; which,indeed, I question whether I could do, as the estate was grantedto him, personally, by the Government.
"However, of course I shall not press that. I shall be only tooglad to obtain possession without the scandal of having to show,in the public courts, that m
y father's brother was a villain."
"The ould fox!" Mike exclaimed indignantly. "I felt sure, when youtold me what the counsellor had said, that he would wriggle out ofit somehow. I would give all the gold pieces I have in my belt forhalf an hour's talk with him, with a good shillelah!"
"Well, we can afford to let bygones be bygones, Mike. And afterall, he did me a service, unwittingly, in sending me over toFrance. In the first place, I had three years of stirring life; inthe next, I have made many good friends, and have gained thepatronage of two powerful noblemen, without which I should haveassuredly never come in for Kilkargan at all."
"That is true for you, your honour. And without it, I might bestill a private in O'Brien's regiment, instead of being yourhonour's body servant."
"And friend, Mike."
"Yes, sir, as you are good enough to say so."
Mr. Fergusson put John O'Carroll's letter down, with a gesture ofdisgust, after he had read it.
"It is what might have been expected from such a man," he said. "Atraitor to the cause he once adhered to, false to his religion,and a usurper of his nephew's rights.
"At any rate, Mr. O'Carroll, I congratulate you. It has preventeda grievous scandal from being made public, and the largeexpenditure entailed by such a case. You have now only to go downand take possession."
"I shall write to my uncle, and give him a week to clear out, andto make what explanation he chooses of the change."
Gerald wrote at once to his uncle. It was coldly worded, andshowed unmistakably that he was, in no way, deceived by theprofessions in his letter. He told him that he considered it fairthat he should retain the savings he had made, as he hadpersonally been confirmed in the ownership of Kilkargan, theGovernment being ignorant that his brother had left a son. He saidthat he thought it would be more pleasant, for both of them, thatthey should not meet, and wished, therefore, that he would leave,before his arrival to take possession.
John O'Carroll at once summoned the tenants, and astonished themby informing them that, he was glad to say, he was free at last tolay down the position he had held as owner of Kilkargan. That hisbrother James had left a son, whom they all knew as DesmondKennedy, but whom he had been obliged to treat with coldness, lestsuspicions should be excited as to his identity. Had this beenknown, he would assuredly have been proscribed as the son of arebel, and debarred by law from any inheritance. He was delightedto say that the time had come when he could publicly acknowledgehim, and place him in possession of the estate, as Her Majesty hadgranted him a special indemnity against the pains and penaltiesincurred by his father's act of rebellion and treason, and hadrestored to him his full rights.
A burst of cheering, such as had not been heard in Kilkargan sinceJames O'Carroll rode out, at the head of a troop raised among histenantry, to fight for King James, greeted the announcement; and,for the first time since that event, John O'Carroll was, for themoment, popular. Subsequent reflection, and their knowledge of hischaracter, soon dissipated that feeling; but in their joy at theannounced approaching arrival of their new master, John O'Carrollrode away, with his followers, without the manifestation ofhostility that would otherwise have attended his departure.
Bonfires blazed all over the barony when Gerald rode in,accompanied by Mike. The tenants, and a number of the gentry whohad known him when a boy, assembled at the castle to meet him; andeven his father could not have met with a more enthusiasticwelcome than that which was given him.
The next day, Gerald wrote to the Duke of Berwick, telling himwhat had taken place, and resigning his commission in the IrishBrigade.
"I intend," he said, "to abstain from all part in politics.Although no condition was made, in my pardon for serving abroadand in the restoration of my estate, I feel that, having acceptedthese favours, I must hold myself aloof from all plots againstQueen Anne, though my heart will still be with him whom I hold tobe my lawful sovereign. Unless a large army from France was landedhere, I believe that any attempt at his restoration would onlybring down fresh misery upon Ireland. But, should a force landthat would render success almost a certainty, I should then, withthe great bulk of my countrymen, join it."
In due time he received an answer, approving the course he hadtaken.
"I myself," the Duke said, "am under no delusions. With the tenregiments of the Irish Brigade, twenty thousand French troops, andarms sufficient to distribute to the whole country, I believe thatIreland and Scotland might again come under the rule of theStuarts; but nothing short of such a force would be of any avail.So convinced was I of this that, in 1691, after the successfuldefence of Limerick, I saw that the cause was for the time lost,and that further resistance would only prove disastrous toIreland. I therefore resigned my command, and went over to Franceto serve as a volunteer, and took no part in the war at home.Therefore, I think that you are fully justified in the course youhave taken. When the present war, which I think is approaching itsend, terminates, and you can again visit France, I trust that Ishall see you; and I am sure that you will receive the heartiestof welcomes from your comrades in the Brigade."
Gerald followed out strictly the line he had laid down forhimself, and kept aloof from the plots and conspiracies that, foryears, agitated the country, entailing disaster upon all concernedin them. Mike was installed as his body servant, and majordomo ofhis household; and Norah Rooney as housekeeper at the castle.
Three years later, in 1713, the treaty of Utrecht brought the warto an end. Communications being restored between the twocountries, Gerald wrote to the Baron de Pointdexter, and told himof the changes which had taken place in his position. He receiveda warm letter in reply, urging him to go over and pay him and hisson-in-law a visit.
But Gerald had had enough of travelling, and wrote to say that hecould not leave his estate, as there was much to look after.Letters were, however, frequently exchanged between them, andwhen, three years later, Gerald married the daughter of the Mr.Kennedy he had visited near Cork, a present of a superb set ofjewels, the joint gift of the baron and Monsieur de la Vallee,arrived for the bride.
After the conclusion of the peace, some of the Irish regimentswere disbanded, and as the British Government, wiser than before,offered a free pardon to all men and officers who would return,many availed themselves of it; and among these was O'Neil, whodelighted Gerald by riding up, one day, to the castle.
"You did not expect to see me again, Kennedy; or, as I hear weought to call you, O'Carroll. Not knowing where I should find you,I took the liberty of writing to Baron de Pointdexter, and heinformed me of your good luck, and your change of name."
"And you have left the French service altogether, O'Neill?"
"Yes, and glad enough I am that I shall be able to end my days athome."
"And what are you thinking of doing?"
"Anything I can get."
"Well, O'Neil, I have some interest with the lord lieutenant. As Iam no longer regarded as one likely to join in plots, I thinkthat, were I to ride with you to Dublin after you have been herefor a time; and speak to him for you, as one who had seen theerrors of his ways, and was anxious to live peacefully, he wouldprocure you some appointment."
O'Neil stayed there for three weeks, and they then rode to Dublin.The lord lieutenant granted Gerald's request, and gave O'Neil anappointment which would enable him to live in comfort; knowingthat there is nothing, for keeping a man peaceable, like givinghim something to do; and that an idle man is a dangerous man,while one who has a comfortable position can be trusted to holdhimself aloof from any business that might imperil his place.
O'Neil thoroughly justified Gerald's recommendation of him, and, acouple of years after his return, married a young and well-endowedwidow; and, to the end of his life, abstained carefully frommixing himself up, in any way, in politics.
Gerald saw the failure of Prince Charlie's expedition to Scotland;and the terrible disasters, that befell all who had taken part inthe movement, showed him the wisdom of the course he hadadopted--of standing aloof from all intr
igues in favour of thedescendants of James the Second.
THE END.
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