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By-and-by the flames slackened; the fire smouldered with fetid smoke; all was still within. The three hundred innocent women and children had been consumed as a holocaust on the altar of his majesty King George; who, large-minded man, was consistently without mercy for the Isle which God had given to his keeping; who was pitiless for the professors of a faith which did not agree with his own fancy; who, by reason of his policy regarding Ireland, must be held accountable for the tragedy which took place on that fifth of June within the barn at Scullabogue.
CHAPTER XIV.
[VÆ VICTIS!]
After all, Scullabogue was but a retaliation for the eccentricities of the Gibbet-Rath, where the upper class had given the lower a harsh lesson in the amenities of warfare. The effect of any great breach of the law of order is always to throw out of gear the minds of those who come within its influence, which disturbance varies in form according to the mental state of the individual affected. The sensitive shrink appalled; those whose latent propensities to violence are usually kept within bounds by the law of order escape from its trammels. A large part of the community is kept to decent courses by fear of social regulations. It needs but the disturbing force of war, aided by the example of crime in superiors, to weaken this compelling sense of discipline and let loose the natural passions.
But let us hurry on; the tale is distressing still, though time has masked it with a veil of ninety years.
A body of insurgents succeeded in taking Wexford, whose garrison evacuated it, retiring to Duncannon in disorder. The loyalists there who had howled over the loss of Enniscorthy, and were still in the dark as to the tactics of the Executive, grew furious. What was this? The Helots were ousting their lords and masters, were daring to be successful; even presumed to follow the example of the squireens, who had set the fashion of practical jokes. What is fun in one person may become impudence in another. Pitch-caps and half hangings were met by carding--a bit of genuine humour, whereby the rebels proceeded to tear the backs of their prisoners with boards stuck full of nails. So long as the loyalists had it their own way the conceit was amusing; now it became revoltingly vulgar. Retaliations and reprisals followed thick on one another. It was no longer a struggle of man against man, but of beast against beast--worse, of savage against savage.
Murphy's detachment, which, it will be remembered, fled precipitately at sight of a cloud of dust, rallied, and hung about the neighbourhood watching the moment to attack. They got horses how they could; sacked and burned private dwellings, whose rare spoils in the way of books were converted into saddles, with hay-ropes for stirrups. For ammunition they used pebbles or hardened balls of clay, and by pounding the necessary materials in mortars, fabricated a kind of gunpowder which, while fresh, served its purpose well enough. Two or three cannons which they had captured were mounted on jaunting-cars, and exploded in awkward fashion by means of wisps of straw in guise of matches. Strange men, in half priestly garb, arose among the dragons' teeth, wearing one a helmet, another a clerical head-piece or discarded bearskin; vying one with the other in ferocious recklessness. It was now a religious crusade indeed, Protestant against Catholic, Catholic against Protestant, to the very death. Theological quibbles were forcibly disentangled.
The little garrison of Gorey, which had done such good service by sallying out and frightening the rebels, begged for reinforcements. Such a deed of prowess as was theirs may not, without serious hazard, be repeated twice. It would be awkward for Gorey to fall just now, for it was on the high road to the capital, and an accident might produce fatal riots there. Therefore, although it was not in accordance with the plan laid down, it was resolved at the Castle to assist Gorey. One Walpole, a carpet-knight, connected by blood with my lord Camden, was sent out to try his wings; and he caracoled upon his excursion as, in a non-hunting district, one might go out to exterminate a batch of fox cubs. Carelessly he led his reinforcements, enlivening the way with buoyant jest, as if the enemy was too contemptible to be really dangerous; neglecting the commonest precautions, though warned of his rashness by his officers. At a spot called Tubbineering the aspect of the landscape, flat hitherto, changes. The road leaves the open, and plunges between high banks, with wide ditches at their bases, and rows of close bushes on their tops. Dense hedges intersect the fields, which (in the month of June) are thick with luxuriant foliage, while the ground is occupied by rich potato-crops, standing corn, and waving grass, affording ample concealment for such as may choose to lurk in it.
Through this defile Walpole led his men towards Gorey, carolling his stave, piping his little song, in close column, without flanking parties or skirmishers. The infantry were well advanced. As the road narrowed the progress of the column became slow and difficult. Suddenly, from the enclosures, a wild yell burst forth, accompanied by a rain of musketry. The carpet-knight fell on the first fire. The confusion was tremendous; to fight or to retreat impossible. The height and mazy number of the fences made the ground most favourable for bandit warfare, as the long pikes of the insurgents reached well-nigh across the narrow road, and those who escaped the first fire were perforated from behind by invisible assailants. The surprise of the troops was complete. Dragoons and infantry rolled in hopeless confusion one on the other. They were butchered to a man. The victorious rebels followed up their advantage, and hastened to occupy Gorey, but alas! cajoled by whisky the men of Father Murphy were no more tractable than the men of Father Roche. Vainly he set mattrasses against the cellar-doors, in hopes that these would escape their scrutiny. But the instinct of Pat would find out a cellar-door on the pitchiest night. Regardless of the father's exhortations, Pat hurried to put that in his mouth which should steal away his brains--aye, and his hopes too--and remained in a frantic paroxysm of drunkenness for five whole days and nights.