other forts, by other bodies of conspirators; and

answered; and the pretended dying confession of O'Neil is one. Hume, Carte, and others, who so strenuously deny Charles' participation in this affair, also, in the face of the clearest evidence, deny the army-plots, the incident, the commissions to Glamorgan, &c. But his commissions to the last, which he disclaimed, as well as the petition signed C. R., afford a strong presumption against him in this instance. Indeed, it has been well observed that he never very pointedly denied the commission. The case of the marquis of Antrim too is very strong, if not conclusive, as to his being concerned; and from all circumstances, we may safely presume that even though Lord Costlelough did not carry the commission, he did instructions. The lately published correspondence between Charles and Secretary Nicholas, corroborates the other proofs. Though anxious to please the city of London, he was keen about the plantation of Londonderry, while he conceded every thing to the Irish. The following is an apostyle of the 16th September. "I command you to draw up anie such warrant as my wife shall direct you, for the disposing of the great collar of rubies that is in Holland, and tell her how I have directed you to wait her commands in this; and that I am confident of your secrecie in this, and anie thing else that I shall trust you with. C. R." App. to Evelyn's Mem. p. 19. see again p. 23. Nicholas answers thus: "Yesterday Sir Job Harby and I attended the Queene about yo" collar of rubies, vpon whch he saith there is alreddy 25mo.," &c. His Majesty apostyles his wonder, &c. at this. See also p. 32. These are dated prior to the incident, and therefore may be supposed to apply to them; but see again p. 39. Apostyle, 20. 8bris. See again, 29. Sbris. p. 50. The merchants had declined, through fear of parliament I presume, to engage the collar. P. 39.

It appears also from the same source, that Charles had some secret ground of confidence in his own resources. See p. 28, already quoted. See an apostyle to a passage in a letter, dated 3d October, and apostyled the 9th, regarding a report about Argyle's being made chancellor, which was incorrect. "You may see by this," says Charles, " that all ther desyres hit not, and I hope before all be done, that they shall miss of more." p. 29. See farther on the same page about elections to offices. See again, p. 30. See also, other letters about episcopacy, &c. On the 6th of November, this apostyle occurs, "when ye deliver this inclosed to my wyfe, desyre her not to open it but when she is alone." p. 51. The English protestants in Ireland were almost all puritans, and had offended Charles by petitioning for the abrogation of episcopacy. Rawdon papers, p. 82. The Earl of Essex told Bishop

the insurgents in Ulster were to move towards the capital for arms *.

It has been frequently remarked, that barbarous nations are generally characterised by an extraordinary capacity for dissimulation, so that the widest, as well as the deepest laid schemes are frequently conceived by them without the slightest indication of their purpose; and the present case affords a striking proof of the justness of the observation. Though the conspiracy was so widely spread, scarcely one of the number engaged betrayed the design, or gave an unnecessary hint of the plot; and it was only on the evening of the 22d that any thing like precise information was first communicated to the government. Sir William Cole had, on the 11th, dispatched a letter from Enniskillin, to the Lords Justices, in which he stated that he had observed a great resort of several suspected persons, fit instruments of mischief, to Sir Phelim O'Neil's, in the county of

Burnett," that he had taken all the pains he could to inquire into the original of the Irish massacre, but could not see reason to believe the king was accessary to it; but he did believe that the queen did hearken to the propositions made by the Irish, who undertook to take the government of Ireland into their own hands, which they thought they could perform, and then they promised to assist the king against the hot spirits of Westminster. With this the insurrection began, and all the Irish believed the queen encouraged it." Hist. of his own Times, vol. i. p. 41. I cannot distinguish between the king and the queen, considering their dark correspondence and joint plots; and late discoveries of original letters, in regard to the transactions of Glamorgan, have thrown much light on Charles' character since Burnett's time. See Birch's Inquiry. Neal, vol. ii. p. 503. et seqq. Harris's Charles I.

* Temple, p. 93, 121. et seq. M'Guire's Relation in Nalson, vol. ii.

Discovery of the conspiracy made to the Lords

Tyrone, and also to Lord McGuire's, in the county of Fermanagh; and that Lord M'Guire had made several journeys of late within the Pale and other places, and spent much of his time in writing letters and sending dispatches; but this intelligence was so dark, that the lords justices did not imagine themselves warranted in proceeding farther upon it, than to require him to be very vigilant and industrious to discover the cause of those meetings, and inform them immediately. Indeed it has been well remarked, that, had they upon such grounds laid M'Guire and O'Neil fast, the rebels would have asserted with some colour that they had been driven to arms by the causeless suspicion of the government. It afterwards appeared that Sir William Cole was successful in obtaining information from some of the conspirators; but his letters had either miscarried or were intercepted t.

It was reserved for one Owen O'Conally, who had formerly been in the service of Sir John ClotJustices on the worthy, but had fixed his residence in the county 22d of October, of Londonderry, to make the disclosure on the by O'Conally, with the seizure evening of the 22d, which saved Dublin, and truly of conspirators, first alarmed the executive. He was a gentleman of pure Irish extraction, but had been brought up in the Protestant faith, and had lived much with the English. One of the conspirators, Colonel Hugh Oge M'Mahon, wishing to draw him,

&c.

* See the letter in the third volume of Carte's Ormonde, p. 35. + Temple, p. 32. Borlace, p. 19.

as a native, into the conspiracy, wrote to him to meet him in Connaught, in the county of Monaghen, about business of importance. Thither the other went: but on his arrival found that McMahon had gone to Dublin, and he followed him to the capital. There they met on the 22d, and M'Mahon, after what he deemed proper precautions, revealed the design; but O'Conally protested against it, using every argument to divert him from his purpose, and induce them to disclose the conspiracy to the executive. This, as it did not prevail on M'Mahon to abandon his object, necessarily alarmed him; and, for his own safety, he resolved to detain O'Conally for the night, while he also threw out a threat of murdering him if he attempted to escape or turn informer. O'Conally resolved to disengage himself, yet aware that he could only succeed by stratagem, drank deep, and then, affecting to have occasion to retire, left his sword with McMahon as a pledge for his return. Not satisfied with this, M'Mahon desired his servant to accompany his guest; but O'Conally having leapt a paling, got safely off, and went directly to the Lord Justice Parsons, with the dreadful intelligence. Partly, however, owing to what he had drunk, partly, as he afterwards said, to the horror produced by the disclosure which had just been made to him, his narration of the design against the castle, &c. was so broken and confused, that his lordship gave it little credit; and dismissed him with orders to rejoin M'Mahon, in order to discover as much more of the plot as possible, and

return with his information. But the lord justice, though he almost entirely disbelieved the story, did not so despise it as to neglect the precautions necessary for the common safety. He issued strict commands to the constable of the castle to place strong guards upon its gates, and to the mayor and sheriffs to set watches in all parts of the town, and arrest all strangers, while he himself went straight to the residence of Lord Justice Borlace, a little way out of town, to consult with him and others of the council, upon the intimated danger. In the mean time an accident had nearly deprived them of O'Conally's testimony, now that he had recovered his recollection; for the watch had seized him, and was carrying him to prison, when one of Lord Borlace's servants who had been sent to walk the streets, and particularly to attend O'Conally's motions, came critically to his rescue, and conducted him to his master's house. Having now recovered from the effects of fear and intoxication, he gave a distinct account of all the particulars which he had learned from McMahon.

The Lords Justices sat up all night in deep consultation, and being joined next morning with more of the council, they ordered the apprehension of M'Mahon, whose lodgings had, in the interim, been strictly watched. He and his comrades at first attempted resistance with drawn swords; but finding it useless they surrendered themselves prisoners. Put to the rack, a proceeding at all times indefensible, yet more excusable now than