The Irish standard., 1886-05-01
LORD EDWARD FITZGERALD.
Mr.. Fitzpatrick Says That Higgins, the
''sham Squire" was the Betrayer of
His Hiding Place.
LORD EDWARD ENTERS THEARMY
hAll Sorts of Fair Women Fit Across
the Pages Of His letters to His
Mother"

In the finest and most famous OF the
speeches of Thomas Francis Meagher.
the orator appeals to 1.-The ducal palace
in this kingdom where the memory OF
the gallant and seditious Geraldine en-
hances more than royal favor the splen-
dor Of his race There is not in the
whole history of oratory a finer passage
than that from which those words are
taken. Demosthenes, from his rock
stand beholding unstable Athens
heave her stormy seas'' beneath him;
Cicero defying the menaces OF armed
men within the sacred precincts OF the
Senate House; Vergniaud, lending to
the passions of the French Revolution
a lustre it was destined soon to lose,
never uttered a more powerful appeal
to the traditions and the emotions OF a
people than that in which the enthusi-
asst Of Young Ireland conjured his
hearers and all the world to cast aside
the s'rniserable maxim" Of his adyersa-
ries. If it were permissible to suggest
any possible improvement in such a
rush of magnificent and immortal Ian
guage-and I, for one, am SO intense an
admlrer of Meagher's speeches that to
hint at any alteration OF them is scarce
II less bold than a Mussulman PROPOSE
tion to amend the Koran-it, might be
suggested that there is g. spot more in
timately connected with the gallant
and seditious Geraldine" and more ap~
propriate even than the ducal palace OF
his race, to point such an appeal to his
countrymen. That spot is the small
room on Thomas street, Where Lord
Edward fought so desperately against
arrest, and where with his capture and
subsequent death the last hopes OF the
United Irishmen were extinguished.
My thoughts have been specially
turned in the direction Of that room
and of Lord Edward Fitzgerald this
week by q letter which has just come
into my possession. and which has a
special bearing upon his story, and
most Of all upon the closing scene OF It,.
The letter, which comes from New
South Wales, was written in the De
cember Of last year by a grandson OF
the soldier named Ryan, who was
chiefly instrumental in effecting the
capture of Lord Edward, and who died
of the wounds he received i'll the strug-
gle with the Geraldine. Yeomanry
Captain Ryan's grandson objects very
strongly 20 the description given of the
scene in Mr.. Froude's English in Ire
land in the Eighteenth Century, y
wherein he represents Major Swan as
ssbeing wounded through and through,
and clinging TO Lord Edward The
MI. Ryan Of to-day appeals against
this to the statement of his father, Yeo-
lnanry Captain Ryan's son, as given IN
the memoirs and correspondence OF
V1scount Castlereagh, edited by Lord
Londonderry, and to the account given
in Haverty's History to maintain his
case, that to Captain Ryan, and to Cap
tain Ryan alone, is it due that the ar
rest of Lord Edward Fitzgerald was af-
fected. ..=...
Mr.. Murphy's account Of the arrest
goes to confirm Mr.. Ryan's case.
stOn the night Of Friday, the 18th
May, 1898, Lord Edward came to my
house 153 Thomas street, at about
seven O'Clock. On Saturday, the 10Th
Nav, [ went to Lord Edwards sleep
ing-room, and found he was in bed. l
was not in the room three minutes
when in came Major Swan and a person
following him, in soldiers jacket and
a sword in his hand. When saw
Major Swan was thunderstruck. He
looked over me and saw Lord Edward
in bed. He pushed by me quickly, and
Lo1d Edward seeing him, sprang up
instantly, like tiger; and drew dag
ger, which he carried about him. and
wounded him slightly. Major Swan
had a pistol in his waistcoat pocket,
which he fired without effect. lie I'M
mediately turned to me and gave me a
severe thrust OF the pistol under the
eye, at the same time desiring the per-
son that came with him to take me into
custody. I was Immediately taken
away to the yard; there | saw Major
Sir and about six soldiers of the Dunn
barton Fencibles. Major Swan had
thought proper to run as fast as he
could to the street. Mr.. Ryan supplied
Major Swans place; he came in con-
tact with Lord Edward, and was
wounded seriously. Major Sir at that
time came upstairs, and, keeping at a
respectable distance, fired a pistol at
Lord Edward in very deliberate man
ner, and wounded him in the shoulder.
Reinforcements coming in Lord Ed
ward surrendered, after a very hard