The Express.
London, England, 1868-01-01 00:00:00

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stone, Howe, Kendal, aeon, Braid. Weatheraby, de. ; sad lila
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BRIOAND.--Commence at 7.

VILINCOWS.
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Insets lilsworthy. E. Harnett. Sachet Sauter, and Mrs. Addle.

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LONDON, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 1,

THIS Fenian capture of the Martell° Tower at
Foaty was neither bold, nor desperate, nor dan-
gerous, as most of us had supposed. As we read
the fuller accounts of the adventure we feel
that it could have taken place in no country
in the world but Ireland, and that Boxing-
night was appropriately chosen for the perfor-
mance of au extravaganza which in preposterous-
ness was not surpassed by anything represented
that evening on the pantomimic stage. The
narrative as given by the local journals leaves on
the mind not so much an impression of sove-

reignty defied and war levied, as of an unex-
pected visit to two sequestered households, open-
ing certainly with alarming appearances, but soon
putting on a friendly character, enlivened in its
progress with mutual converse and ending with
adieux and presents to the children.
It appears that of the two gunners who formed
the garrison of the Tower, the ono who happened to
have the honour of receiving the guests was sitting
at tea with his wife and children in all the laths-
.

faction of a well spent Christmas, the open door

. _
- .
of the fort denoting his sense of perfect security,
when his privacy was suddenly invaded. We
read that " a party of men entered ;" but as the
_ _ .

door was not on the level of the ground, hut con-

siderably above it ; as it could only 13e reached by
a ladder or some equivalent means of ascent ; and
as, therefore, not more than one man cold enter at
a time, the facility with which the intruders
got in may be thought to require explanation. The
gunner saw five men, and reserve their right to
imagine a supporting party of unlimited numbers
—which, however, nobody seems to have seen—
to have remained outside. The leader
and spokesman of the strange visitors advanced
to the gunner who was sitting at the table, and,
presenting a revolver at his head, told him not
to stir, and that he was perfectly safe on the sole
condition of letting the party make a thorough
exploration of the tower, as they only wanted the
arms and anununiiion that were there. In these

trying circumstances the gunner appears to have
acted like a prudent husband and father. Sur-
rounded by his children, he saw that a theatrical
non possuoius would be entirely out of place.
His wife entreated the raiders to spare his
life, but was told that her intercession was quite
unnecessary—the strangers were not seeking the
lives of the QUEEN'd loyal subjects or soldiers, but
only appropriating her war material ; and with
this assurance the good woman was tranquil-
lised. Sentries were then placed over the tint
gunner, and over his companion, who had
made an attempt to join him, and the
search proceeded. " During their stay in the
" tower," says one of the local journals, " the
" greatest courtesy was extended to them, and in
"no case was their request denied. " It was,
hoverer, somewhat shabby of the gunners, after
pretending to give their visitors a hospitable
reception and the run of the tower, to keep back
a number of cartridge that had been hidden Away
as a reserve. However, the latter had not much
to complain of, for they appropriated between two
and three hundred weight of powder and shot, and
if they were disappointed in the number of rides
and small arms, they at all events took the whole
contents of the armoury. When these had been
removed the serious part of their work was done,
and the five men sat down and had a friendly
conversation with the artillerymen and their
wives. One of them, probably gifted with a
livelier imagination than the others, told the
gunners the story of his military adventures
in America, while another took Ms twel 7e-shooter
revolver to pieces and explained its construction.
Having relieved the rigour of toil with these ame-
nities, the men left as leisurely as they had
arrived. After their departure a happy thought
struck the gunners : they would call the police.
It was easier, however, to summon the police
than to bring them to the spot. The men fired
round after round from the great gun on the
top of the tower, but it was many hours before
their signal brought asaistauoe. However,when the
constabulary arrived the tower was safe. Such is
the story. C'est Neu comique. This occurrence will
I probably lead to a reconsideration of the utility of
these Martello towers. It is not much consolation to
know that this particular tower commanded Foata
Bay and the Queenstown Railway when it was
itself for • couple of hours commanded by the
Fenian, ; and the Government must have more
soldiers to spare than the public suppose if it
can afford men to garrison as many of them as
are exposed to this kind of violation.
A much more important, if less melodramatic
affair, is the visit paid by Fenian' on Monday
morning to the shop of Mr. ALrosr, a gunsmith
of Cork. This exploit evinces a vigour of daring
and self-confidence which, after all that has
been done to quell Fenianism, is by no
means pleasant to contemplate. The details
of this depredation will be found in the letter
of our Cork correspondent. It was in breed
daylight, at nine o'clock in the morning, when the