New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1872-11-28
Death Of an Irish Smuggler.
BY JAMES ANTHONY FRouDE.

By JAMES ANTHONY FRoUDE.
| In Sc7ibner's for December there is the fol-
lowing graphic description, by Mr.. Froude,
OF the death of n famous Irish smuggler of
the eighteenth century:
1t was strange wild place, close to the
sea, amidst rocks and boys and utter DESC
| lation. Near it stood the wreck of a roohess
church, and the yet older ruin of some Dam
| lsh pirates nest. The shadowy form of the
| brigantne was visible through the gray sheet
OF falling rain, at anchor in the harbor, and
from the rocks in the entrance came the
moaning of the Atlantic swell. Morty,
looking :Or no visitors on such night, had
neglected to post sentinels. The house was
surrounded, and the wolf was trapped The
dogs inside were the first to take alarm. A
| violent barking was heard, and then suddenly
the door was thrown open. Morty appeared
in his shirt, fired blunderbuss ut the men
who were nearest to him and retired A
volley of small arms followed from the win
dows and Sits in the wall. One soldier was
killed and three others wounded. The
strctest orders had been given to take Morty,
if possible, alive, and the fire was not at
first returned. The house was evidently full
of men eighteen of them bolted, one after
| the other, in the hopes of drawing off the
troops into pursuit. Each, however, was
caught and examined, and, when found not
to be the man whom the party came in search
OF, was let go. At last there was but five
lett IN the house. Morty saw that his time
was come. He did not choose to be taken,
and determined to die like man. He sent
out his wife and child, who were with him,
with request that their lives might be
saved: The officer in command received
them kindly, and gave them such protection
as he could. Morty himself refused to sur
render; it was determined to set fire to
the thatch, and wild-fre was thrust under
the caves. The straw was soaked with the
wet, and long refused to catch. At last it
blazed up; the flames seized the dry rafters
the roof fell in, and amidst the burning
ruins MOrty and his four remaining COM
panions were seen standing at bay, blunder-
buss in hand. He was evidently desperate.
and to save life it was necessary to shoot
him. The soldiers fred; MOrty fell with
ball through his heart. Two of his COM
rades fell at his side the other two were
taken; the same two, it so happened, who
had been Morty's companions at the murder
OF PuXley. One of them, Little John Sullivan
he was called, was perhaps Morty's kins-
man; the name of the other was Daniel
Connell. The barony Of Iveragh and Dairy
name Abbey, where the Councils, or O'Con-
nells, of later celebrity had already estab-
lished themselves, was but seven miles dis
tant across the water; and it is thus poss-
who had assisted at Puxley's murder, and
escaped the bullets at Cleinderry, was a
scion OF the same family which, In the next
generation, produced the Liberator.
The weather making it impossible to carry
off the brigantne, she was sunk when day
light came at her anchorage. The fire was
extinguished; the ruins of the house were
searched; and Morty's account-books, Che
was punctual as Dirk Hatteraick himself in
his money transactions his bills, notes, and
papers were found uninjured. Among them
were found letters from many persons Of con-
sequence in the country, showing that they
were accomplices in the ASSASSINATION of the
revenue officers. Twenty ankers of brandy
and some chests of tea had been destroyed
by the fire.
Morty's body was carried to Cork. His
head mouldered upon spike over the gate
of the south Jail. The rest of him was buried
in the Battery. The prisoners canbe traced
to the Jail there is no mention that either
of them were hanged, but of their further
fate the records are silent.
So ended one of the last heroes of Irish
imagination, on whose character the histo-
rian, who considers that he and such as he
were the natural outgrowth of the legislation
to which it was thought wise and just to SUBJ
init his country, will not comment unchari-
tably. He had qualities which, had Ireland
been nobly governed, might perhaps have
reconciled him to its rulers, and opened for
him an honorable and illustrious career. At
worst he might have continued tie serve with
his sword Catholic sovereign, and might
have carved his way with it to rank and dis
tinction. He was tempted home by the OPP
portunities of anarchy and the hopes of re-
venge. In his own adventurous way he
levied war to the last against the men and
the system under which Ireland was OPP
pressed. When he fell he fell with courage
which made his crimes forgotten, and the
ghost of his name still hovers about the wild
shores of the Kenmare river, of which he
was so long the terror and the pride.