And plant our ancient laws again beneath our lineal throne!
The name Donegal has a significance to the Royal Navy that is all its own. It was designated by the Admiralty as a county cruiser name, for one of the ships of the Kent and Monmouth group; but there is more than that behind the name. Donegal lettered on the stern of a man-of-war has its own traditions—associations of a yet wider interest to the British fleet. The name, as a fact, owes its appearance on the Navy List to a very special occasion. H.M.S. Donegal, in its origin, is only incidentally connected with County Donegal. The cruiser through her name stands, in fact, to remind the world that the Royal Navy does not “fear to speak of ’98.”
It is quite a little drama how this particular man-of-war name first came to make its appearance on the roll of the British fleet; and in that form, perhaps, one may most effectively tell the story—as a sort of pageant, bringing the details forward in, as it were, a series of tableaux.
First we have the opening scene, in bustling Paris, in the month of August, 1798, something after this fashion:
The Marseillaise is pealing! the crowds are mad with joy,
With flags and failtë fêting the gallant Paris Boy,
Who leads the bright procession of Frenchmen gay and bold?,
The Students of the Quarter, the Latin Quarter Old;—
They’re girt with dainty rapiers, they’re gloved with gloves of white,
The knightly Gallic Swordsmen who love the People’s Right!