No sooner did I find myself in possession of even limited means than I took the old track once more. I left Dublin on the 31st of May, and have since visited the counties of Kildare, Carlow, Kilkenny, Tipperary, Waterford, on to Cork. I could not now do justice to the firmness of all our friends; but such is my faith in them that I can surely defy, not only the clique but all influences whatever. Our position here is all that heart of man could wish. I speak for what I have already seen, and doubt not that my whole course shall give the same results. Much new ground has been broken, and the old soil is being tilled to its best. Here in Cork I cannot help saying a few words about O’Carroll. I can find no extenuating circumstances in his case; at least, I have been unable to find any, up to this.
Yours fraternally,
J. Mason.
Well, I don’t know; I only know that William O’Carroll, of Cork City, and James O’Mahony of Bandon were two of the first men in the south of Ireland that Mr. Stephens got into the organization; that it was through them he got introduced to Dan McCartie and O’Donovan Rossa in Skibbereen, and that they worked hard in the organization for some time. They might have cooled down a little after the arrests; I know they felt as if they had been deserted, or left to themselves, the time that I and my companions were in Cork Jail. In the Australian letter of James O’Mahony from which I quoted before, there is another passage I may quote. He says “You know my funds were always at the command of ‘Seabhac’—(Shouk—the Hawk,) and that as long as I had a red cent, it was forthcoming. The amount was large as you may know.” I know, that in the first years of the organization, many men in many counties of Ireland, spent their own money organizing. I don’t like to see a bad word said of any one of them, who might have broken down under the work.
James Mountaine is dead. In honor to the memory of one of the Protestant National Irishmen of Cork City, I will publish this letter of introduction that he brought from James Stephens to John O’Mahony:
Dublin, Oct. 27, 1863.
Brother—The bearer, Mr. James Mountaine, is a friend, though paying but a flying visit to America (he is going to see his son, a surgeon in New York, and will stay but six weeks or so in the States), it would grieve him to leave, without taking your hand in his. When in yours, you should grasp that hand firmly, for it is that of as brave and true an Irishman as you know. He is one of the few who, with a good deal to lose, as the saying is, still clings to the cause as of old—nay, as years and prospects increase, they but add to his zeal and devotion. He is one of the few, too, who are sure to rally round me in times of trial—whose friendship is shown at need, in better coin than words. It is now some time since I asked you for a favor. In the present instance I do so, and request that you will show Mr. Mountaine all the consideration in your power. All that he expects and would accept, is that you should receive him as a brother, and speak of him as a man who is at all times ready to fight or die for Ireland. For my part, I would gladly go out of my way, to meet and welcome, and be a brother to such a man. Mr. Mountaine would, I am sure, be delighted to see some of our military friends in their element; and, should an opportunity offer, I bespeak for Mr. Mountaine every attention you can pay him. Yours as ever, fraternally,
J. Power.
This extract of a letter from Stephens to O’Mahony, April, 1862, is interesting:
The Dublin organization has nearly trebled within the last three months. And as it is in Dublin, so it is elsewhere. Our doctrine alone has life in it. The very class we found it so hard to reach till this year—the farming class, are now craving for our approach. But with all this, there is so strong a desire for intelligence—for frequent communication with me—that whatever the risk and inconvenience, I must go amongst them. In England and Scotland as well as at home, I am called for clamorously. In the name of God and of Liberty, will our friends yonder ever rise to a sense of duty, and the want of the hour. I should forget everything did they give me but three months uninterrupted work now. What might I not do! Then, as already said, I could go to America with such credentials as no Irishman ever brought there before me. The results produced here, together with my knowledge—or belief—of what is in me, lead me to the conviction that my toil yonder shall produce necessary fruits. I have never heard, nor can I ever conceive, anything to shake this faith in myself, and in my countrymen in America.