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CHARLES STEWART PARNELL
CHARLES STEWART PARNELL
His Love Story and Political Life BY KATHARINE O'SHEA (Mrs. Charles Stewart Parnell) " No common soul was his; for good or ill There was a mighty power " HAWKSHAW— Sonnet IX CASSELL AND COMPANY, LTD London, New York, Toronto and Melbourne 1921 First published in Two Volumes 1914 One Volume Edition 1921 DEDICATED TO LOVE Had the whole rich world been in my power, I should have singled out thee, only thee, From the whole world's collected treasury."
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CHAPTER I MY EARLY LIFE
CHAPTER I MY EARLY LIFE
" Go forth; and if it be o'er stoney way Old Joy can lend what newer grief must borrow, And it was sweet, and that was yesterday. And sweet is sweet, though purchased with sorrow. " F. THOMPSON. My father, Sir John Page Wood, was descended from the Woods of Tiverton, and was the eldest of the three sons of Sir Matthew Wood, Baronet, of Hatherley House, Gloucestershire. He was educated at Winchester and at Tri
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CHAPTER II VISITORS AT RIVENHALL
CHAPTER II VISITORS AT RIVENHALL
" A chiel's amang you takin' notes, And, faith, he'll prent it! "—BURNS. Among other visitors to Rivenhall was Lieut.-Colonel Steele, of the Lancers, a dark, handsome man, who married my sister Anna. I remember looking at Anna consideringly when I was told this was to be, for, as children do, I had hitherto merely regarded Anna as a sister too "grown-up" to play with on equal terms, and yet not as a person sufficiently interesting to be married to one of the magnificent beings who, like Evelyn's
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CHAPTER III MY FATHER'S DEATH AND MY MARRIAGE
CHAPTER III MY FATHER'S DEATH AND MY MARRIAGE
" Fair shine the day on the house with open door; Birds come and cry there and twitter in the chimney, But I go for ever and come again no more. " —STEVENSON. The following autumn my father, mother, and I went to stay at Belhus on a long visit, my father going to Cressing each week for the Sunday duty, and returning to us on Monday morning. We all enjoyed spending Christmas at Belhus. My mother and my sister Emma
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CHAPTER IV A DAY ON THE DOWNS
CHAPTER IV A DAY ON THE DOWNS
" A son to clasp my finger tight. "—NORMAN GALE. When we had been in Spain for nearly a year, there was some dispute about the business arrangements of Willie's partnership in his uncle's bank, and Willie withdrew altogether from the affair. We then decided to return to England. Though glad to go home, I parted from my Spanish relations with regret, and have always since my visit to them thought that the admixture of Irish and Spanish blood is most charming in its result. On our return to Englan
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CHAPTER V MORE FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES
CHAPTER V MORE FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES
" Thus while Thy several mercies plot And work on me, now cold, now hot, The work goes on and slacketh not. " —VAUGHAN. Willie was away more than ever after this, and I became so bored and lonely that I told him that I must join him in London if he meant to be there so much. He then proposed to give up the Patcham house and move the small household to Harrow Road, London, temporarily, till we had time to find something less depressi
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CHAPTER VI CAPTAIN O'SHEA ENTERS POLITICAL LIFE
CHAPTER VI CAPTAIN O'SHEA ENTERS POLITICAL LIFE
" D'un coeur qui t'aime, Mon Dieu, qui peut troubler la tranquille paix? Il cherche, en tout, ta volunté suprème, Et ne se cherche jamais. Sur la terre, dans le ciel même, Est-il d'autre bonheur que la tranquille paix D'un coeur qui t'aime? "—RACINE. Willie was too busy to come down to Ventnor again, and I became so depressed by the relaxing air and by the sight of the many poor consumptive people I met at every turn, veritable signposts in their different stages of disease of the ro
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CHAPTER VII MR. PARNELL AND THE IRISH PARTY
CHAPTER VII MR. PARNELL AND THE IRISH PARTY
" I loved those hapless ones—the Irish Poor— All my life long. Little did I for them in outward deed, And yet be unto them of praise the meed For the stiff fight I urged 'gainst lust and greed: I learnt it there. " —SIR WILLIAM BUTLER. "The introduction of the Arms Bill has interfered with Mr. Parnell's further stay in
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CHAPTER VIII THE FIRST MEETING WITH MR. PARNELL
CHAPTER VIII THE FIRST MEETING WITH MR. PARNELL
" One evening he asked the miller where the river went. " " 'It goes down the valley,' answered he, 'and turns a power of mills.' "—R. L. STEVENSON. Willie and The O'Gorman Mahon had been returned at the General Election, and many and varied were the stories The O'Gorman Mahon told me subsequently of their amusing experiences. How they kissed nearly every girl in Clare and drank with every man—and poor Willie loathed Irish whisky—how Willie's innate fastidiousness in dress brought gloom into the
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CHAPTER IX AT ELTHAM
CHAPTER IX AT ELTHAM
" But then—I supposed you to be but a fellow guest? " " Ah, no" he answered, he in that cold, unshaken voice, "I have but come home. "—(THE BAGMAN) HONORA SHEE. Whenever I went to town, or elsewhere, I always returned at night to see that my children were all right and to be ready to go to my aunt as usual every morning. One day, on my return from a drive with my aunt, I found that my old nurse Lucy, who still lived with me, was very ill, having had a stroke of paralysis while I was away. She li
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CHAPTER X THE LAND LEAGUE TRIALS
CHAPTER X THE LAND LEAGUE TRIALS
" The surest way to prevent seditions is to take away the matter of them. "—LORD BACON. Through the whole of 1880 Parnell was determinedly organizing the Land League throughout Ireland, and during the winter, doubtless encouraged by the enormous distress that prevailed over the whole country, the force and power of the League grew with a rapidity that surpassed even the expectations of Parnell and his party. All through the vacation Parnell and his followers held meetings in carefully calculated
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CHAPTER XI PARLIAMENTARY ASSOCIATIONS
CHAPTER XI PARLIAMENTARY ASSOCIATIONS
" Live to-day—the past is registered—the future is unguessed—the instant ours. "—MORTIMER COLLINS. Forster's Coercion Bill was introduced on January 24th, 1881, and on the 25th Mr. Gladstone moved that it should have precedence of all other business before the House. Mr. Parnell fiercely opposed this motion, and kept his followers hard at work in opposition—thus forcing the House to sit from 4 p.m. on Tuesday until 2 p.m. of the next day. The details of these sittings have been recounted ad naus
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CHAPTER XII HOBBIES AND A CHALLENGE
CHAPTER XII HOBBIES AND A CHALLENGE
" Admire, exult—despise—laugh, weep—for here There is much matter for all feeling: Man! Thou Pendulum betwixt a smile and tear. " —BYRON. In the early summer of 1881 my aunt had one of her old friends to stay with her, and I seized the opportunity of freedom to take my children to Brighton for a month, after settling the old ladies together. I had gone down before the children to take rooms for them, and was walk
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CHAPTER XIII ASTRONOMY, "SEDITION," AND ARREST
CHAPTER XIII ASTRONOMY, "SEDITION," AND ARREST
" —and there is one stirring hour ... when a wakeful influence goes abroad over the sleeping hemisphere.... Do the stars rain down an influence? "—ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON. During his leisure moments at Eltham Mr. Parnell took up the study of astronomy with the vigour that always characterized him when he was interested in a subject. He had picked out from my bookshelf a book of stars—one of Sir Robert Ball's, I believe, that I had bought at random one day, and became at once interested. From the
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CHAPTER XIV KILMAINHAM DAYS
CHAPTER XIV KILMAINHAM DAYS
" Love is not a flower that grows on the dull earth; Springs by the calendar; must wait for the sun. * * * * * * * E'en while you look the peerless flower is up Consummate in the birth. "—J. S. KNOWLES. At the news of the arrest a wave of indignation swept through Ireland. In Dublin there were riots. In many places shops were closed and towns and villages went into mourning as if for the death of a king. Five days later the Land League countered the arrest by issuing the No Rent
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CHAPTER XV MORE KILMAINHAM LETTERS
CHAPTER XV MORE KILMAINHAM LETTERS
" The soul of a philosopher will consider that it is the office of philosophy to set her free. "—SOCRATES. January 3, 1882. MY OWN DARLING QUEENIE,—Many happy New Years, my own love, with your husband to make you happy. My Queenie must take great care of herself, and must be sure to have at least one doctor in February. It will never do to let it trust to chance. There is every prospect of my being able to see my darling soon, but it does not do to be too sure, as things change so much from day
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CHAPTER XVI THE "KILMAINHAM TREATY"
CHAPTER XVI THE "KILMAINHAM TREATY"
" Shall I say stipulation, King? " " No, Queenie, he prefers 'suggestions desirable to be entertained! '"—EXTRACT FROM AN OLD DIARY. Parnell, in accordance with his "parole," returned to Kilmainham at the end of the term of leave and immediately formulated the conditions of the arrangement it was proposed to make with the Government. The draft of this historic document was as follows:— "KILMAINHAM, April 25th, 1882. "We think in the first place that no time should be lost in endeavouring to obta
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CHAPTER XVII THE PHOENIX PARK MURDERS AND AFTER
CHAPTER XVII THE PHOENIX PARK MURDERS AND AFTER
" The blood more stirs To rouse a lion than to start a hare. " —SHAKESPEARE. On Parnell's release from Kilmainham he returned to me at Eltham, and on May 6, 1882, went to Weymouth to welcome Michael Davitt, who came out of Portland prison on that day. He returned to Eltham that Saturday evening, and the next morning, Sunday, I drove with him to Blackheath Station, as he had to go to London to see Davitt and others. At the statio
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CHAPTER XVIII ENVOY TO GLADSTONE
CHAPTER XVIII ENVOY TO GLADSTONE
" Good Cinna, take this paper, and look you, lay it in the praetor's chair, where Brutus may but find it! " —SHAKESPEARE (JULIUS CÆSAR). Negotiations concerning the Crimes Bill were broken off, but before the end of June, 1882, I was once more acting as envoy to Gladstone. The following is a characteristic memorandum drafted by Parnell for transmission by me to the Prime Minister:— Although the Coercion Bill as likely to pass into law i
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CHAPTER XIX THE FIRST HOME RULE BILL
CHAPTER XIX THE FIRST HOME RULE BILL
" Memories, images and precious thoughts That shall not die, and cannot be destroyed. " —WORDSWORTH. Before forming his Cabinet Mr. Gladstone enunciated the necessity for an examination whether it was practicable to establish a legislative body to sit in Dublin, and to deal with Irish, as distinguished from Imperial affairs. Five of the members of his last Cabinet—Lords Hartington, Derby, Northbrook, Selborne and Carling
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CHAPTER XX MR. PARNELL IN DANGER—FOUNDING OF THE NATIONAL LEAGUE
CHAPTER XX MR. PARNELL IN DANGER—FOUNDING OF THE NATIONAL LEAGUE
" He who for winds and clouds Maketh a pathway free, Through waste or hostile crowds Can make a way for thee. " —PAUL GERHARDT. One morning in 1882 I saw in the morning papers a cable message announcing the death of Miss Fanny Parnell. Mr. Parnell was at my house at the time, but asleep. After an all-night sitting I would never allow him to be roused until four in the afternoon, when he would have breakfast and chat with me until it
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CHAPTER XXI A WINTER OF MEMORIES
CHAPTER XXI A WINTER OF MEMORIES
" Feeling is deep and still, and the word that floats on the surface Is as the tossing buoy, that betrays where the anchor is hidden. " —LONGFELLOW. Mr. Forster made his notorious attack upon Mr. Parnell in February, 1883, accusing him of encouraging and conniving at murder, outrage, and treachery. On his return home Parnell showed, as he would not deign to show in the House, a fierce
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CHAPTER XXII HORSES AND DOGS
CHAPTER XXII HORSES AND DOGS
" Amid all the forms of life that surround us, not one, excepting the dog, has made an alliance with us. "—MAURICE MAETERLINCK. In 1885 I had a new room built on to my house at Eltham, adjoining my sitting-room and leading into the greenhouse, and thence to the garden. Parnell and I took the greatest interest in the building of this room; he superintended every detail, saw that the cement was laid to the proper depth under the flooring, and sent to Avondale for sufficient sweet-chestnut wood to
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CHAPTER XXIII SEASIDE HOLIDAYS
CHAPTER XXIII SEASIDE HOLIDAYS
" Green leaves a-floating, Castles of the foam, Boats of mine a-boating, Where will all come home? " —STEVENSON. In May, 1886, I took my children to the Queen's Hotel, Eastbourne, for a change, and, after a few days spent in looking for lodgings, I settled them in St. John's Road. Parnell enjoyed the bathing at Eastbourne greatly, and was much distressed that the weakness of my heart prevented my joining him in his swims, and that boating had m
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CHAPTER XXIV LONDON REMEMBRANCES
CHAPTER XXIV LONDON REMEMBRANCES
" My true love hath my heart and I have his. " —SIR PHILIP SIDNEY. Once when Parnell had to go to Ireland by the morning mail, after a late sitting of the House, I went up to the St. Pancras Hotel, where he had a room that night, and made the waiter bring up a tray into the bedroom, with a cold bird, some tomatoes and materials for salad dressing, adding a bottle of still Moselle (Parnell always drank still Moselle by his do
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CHAPTER XXV THE PARNELL COMMISSION
CHAPTER XXV THE PARNELL COMMISSION
" For none on earth so lone as he Whose way of thought is high and free, Beyond the mist, beyond the cloud, Beyond the clamour of the crowd. " I had long since had a high paling put round my garden to screen it from the inquisitive eyes of persons who had, until this was done, the impertinence to lean over the short stone wall and railings to watch Parnell as he went in and out. This new paling was seven feet high. On the carriage gates there was bronze ornamental work, thick and heavy. Once thi
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CHAPTER XXVI BRIGHTON HAUNTS
CHAPTER XXVI BRIGHTON HAUNTS
" We went as children joyous, or oprest, In some absorbing care, or blest, In nodding conversation—hand in hand. " —HONORA SHEE (THE LOVER'S DIARY). My aunt appeared to me to be failing in health a good deal at the beginning of 1888, and, though she sometimes seemed to be stronger, and chatted with all her old interest in the things of the past, there were days when she was so quiet and drowsy that I feared to rouse her by talking. At other times she w
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CHAPTER XXVII THE DIVORCE CASE [1]
CHAPTER XXVII THE DIVORCE CASE [1]
" Papel y tinta y poca justicia. " (" Paper, ink, and a little justice. ") —OLD SPANISH PROVERB. In November, 1890, Parnell was served with a copy of the petition in the divorce case, O'Shea v. O'Shea and Parnell, by Wontner at Messrs. Lewis and Lewis's. I was served with the petition in the same month at 10, Walsingham Terrace, Brighton. Mr. George Lewis and his confidential clerk came down, and took some evidence for the case from me, but Parnell
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CHAPTER XXVIII A KING AT BAY
CHAPTER XXVIII A KING AT BAY
" Vulneratus non victus. " In December a vacancy occurred in Kilkenny, and, on December 9th, my King started for Ireland, and stayed with Dr. Kenny for the night in Dublin. Of the great meeting in the Rotunda I give Miss Katharine Tynan's description, because of all the eye-witnesses' accounts of it that I have kept, none gives the true glimpse of Parnell as she does. "It was nearly 8.30 when we heard the bands coming; then the windows were lit up by the lurid glare of thousands of torches in th
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CHAPTER XXIX PARNELL AS I KNEW HIM
CHAPTER XXIX PARNELL AS I KNEW HIM
" If I must speake the schoole-master's language, I will confess that character comes of the infinite moode [Greek: charázo], which signifieth to ingrave or make a deep impression. "—(CHARACTERS) OVERBURY. When I first met Mr. Parnell in 1880 he was unusually tall and very thin. His features were delicate with that pallid pearly tint of skin that was always peculiarly his. The shadows under his deep sombre eyes made them appear larger than they were, and the eyes themselves were the most strikin
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CHAPTER XXX MARRIAGE, ILLNESS AND DEATH
CHAPTER XXX MARRIAGE, ILLNESS AND DEATH
" O gentle wind that bloweth south To where my love re-paireth, Convey a kiss to his dear mouth And tell me how he fareth. " —OLD BALLAD. " He that well and rightly considereth his own works will find little cause to judge hardly of another. "—THOMAS À KEMPIS. On June 24th, 1891, Mr. Parnell drove over to Steyning to see that all the arrangements for our marriage at the registrar's office there on the next day were complete. Mr. Edw
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