The times., 1897-06-20

| they fancied they could continue 10 run
| away with W hatsoeyer girls they pleased.
But in this they were cruelty mistaken. A
determined lord lieutenant was at the
| helm, and he had no sympathy with the alb
| duction clubs.
| In 1878 two young ladies made their
| appearance upon the Irish social horizon
| who combined in themselves the rare at
| tributes of considerable wealth and great
| beauty They were Katherine and Anne
| Kennedy, daughters of a county Waterford
| squire or large estate, Mr. Kennedy, Of
| Rathmeathan manor. A meeting OF the
| South Leinster Abduction Club was called,
/ and lots were drawn for the heiresses.
| The lucky Tor, as it afterwaTd proved,
| hidcOusly unluckyb members were Lieut..
| James Strange brother Co the Baron of Dun
= Kilt and collateral ancestor of the present
| Lord Bellew, and Mr. Gerald Byrnc, cousin
| of the Earl Of 0rnonde. Both were OF ex-
| cellent families and exceptionally well con
! nected. Mr.. Byrne was an easy-going,
| rather stupid person, renowned as hard
rider to hounds and fine athlete. Mr..
| Strange pronounced Strangl, on the con-
| trary, was u young man OF violent, head
| strong disposition, endowed with fair
| share Of brains, and an ex-officer in the
| French service. They were both twenty
| five years OF age, and neither had laid
| eyes upon the young ladies who had fallen
to them by lot.
The abduction clubs had spies in every
| parish; and it was soon ascertained that, on
a certain day, the Misses Kennedy would
drive from Lord Desart's country place.
where they had been staying, to attend a
performance in Kilkenny, given lay the
famous Samuel Foote. A meeting OF the
conspirators was held in Kilkenny, and on
the appointed day the approaches to the
| theater were guarded by over 100 gen.
| tIemen, armed with swords. and by twice
that number of peasants with shilalahs
| The fair Kennedys attracted great at
| tention as soon as they sat in a stage box
during Mr.. Foote's performance of The
Mayor of Garratt;'' and there, for the
first time, Strange and Byrne saw their
destined heiresses. The result was an i'm
| mediate voluntary exchange on the part
of the young men Strange, to whose lot
Katherine Kennedy had fallen, fell in
love with Anne at first sight; and Byrne
became equally with Katherine. In the
| theater they agreed to swap sweethearts.'
IS the ladies left the theater, they We're
escorted by their cousin, Mr.. Loughnan
tNIOSt StSltI dDuuCtiUH 'petfl aHuutQ
to-, Sir Charles Cuffe and Col Ielsham.
They We're in the act of stepping into a
coach, when four gentlemen with WARS
over their faces attacked them. Col. Hels
ham and Mr.. Lougbnan instantly drew
theirswords, but the firstnamed gentleman
was struck down with shiIlalah, while
Mr.. Loughnan fell pierced through the
shoulder with rapier. Sir Charles Cuffe
th. 81,
swarmed down upon him, aud he was final
ly stunned by blow from the butt end Of
pistol. Then the Kennedys Were carried
rapidly to the other end Of the Parade IA
fashionable street,, where two coaches
each with four horses and postillions were
in waiting. ''Crack went the Whips, round
went the wheels" and away through the
dusk of summer evening went The un-
fortunate heiresses, one in each roach,
and guarded as carefully as though They
were desperadoes.
The first stop was made at Knocna
doge, the shooting lodge of a Mr.. B,
strange's cousin, in the Castlecomer Hills
Here the young ladies were allowed to
alight. Two peasant girls, in the pay
of the Abduction Club, We're ASST gned
to them as maids; and, during the night,
was a member of the club and bound
and informed his sisters that they must
marry those daring SWANS.
Katherine Kennedy was of a gentle,
timorous nature, and soon consented TO
wed Bryne-whom, indeed, she seemed
to like very much. But Anne Kennedy
held out resolutely, and only the threat
of haipp INN 10 dar
depths Of one Of the neighboring coal
mines caused her to give way Event
uaIly, clergyman, real or mock, made
his appearance, and the weeping girls
were forced, at the pistol point, into
matrimony. Then the niadcap flight was
continued, with fresh horses, across the
hills Toward morning. the coast Of Wex-
ford was reached, and the entire party
embarked on a fishing smack with the
intention Of making for France.
But in the meantime a courier had reached
Dublin, and the lord lieutenant was moving
heaven and earth to capture the abductors.
A fleet sloop-of-w put out of Dublin Bay
and sped down the Irish Sea. An unfor-
tunate delay on the part of the abductors'
skipper gave the pursuing vessel its oppor-
tunity, and in midchannel the fishing
their servants were all captured, heavily
iToned and taken To Waterford, where they
Were transferred to Kilkenny jail.
Katherine Kennedy positively refused to
give evidence against Byrne, but the other
sister, whose affections Strange had rot
succeeded in gaining, went on the witness
stand and swore her husbands life away.
Roth the young men were found guilty
and sentenced TO death-tbe forced mar
riages being at the same time declared null
and void.
Then began an earnest struggle to save
Byrne and Strange. The machinery and
influence of the abduction associations were
set in motion. Every available string was
pulled. Petitions for clemency poured in
upon the lord lieutenant fromeyery quarter,
the Prince OF Wales tafterwards George
Iv) being one OF the intercessors. Among
the enotabIe people who prayed for u pardon
or at least Communication of sentence were
many famous soldiers and Statesmen In