| Title: | John Mitchel, Van Diemens Land, to Miss Thomson, [Dublin?]. |
|---|---|
| ID | 1781 |
| Collection | Irish Emigration Database |
| File | Mitchel, John/33 |
| Year | 1852 |
| Sender | Mitchel, John |
| Sender Gender | male |
| Sender Occupation | unknown |
| Sender Religion | Protestant |
| Origin | Van Diemen's Land, Tasmania, Australia |
| Destination | Dublin, Ireland |
| Recipient | Miss Thomson |
| Recipient Gender | female |
| Relationship | friends, relatives? |
| Source | T 413/3: Obtained From Mrs Florence Dawson, 26 Windsor Park, Belfast #TYPEEMG John Mitchel, Van Diemens Land, to Miss Thomson, [Dublin?], c.1852 - 1853. |
| Archive | Public Record Office, Northern Ireland |
| Doc. No. | 9005207 |
| Date | 01/01/1852 |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | EMG |
| Log | 22:05:1990 JMR created 22:08:1991 MB input 22:08:1 |
| Word Count | 769 |
| Genre | |
| Note | |
| Transcript | Fragment of letter of John Mitchel to Miss Thomson from Van Diemen's Land about 1852-3. _____________________ see Father Kenyon again - And now, if this dark suspicion be true, dear lady, my friend will be worse than dead. I would he were dead, and in his grave where (in the words of Swift's epitaph) "bitter indignation could no longer gnaw his heart". For believe it my dear Miss Thompson, if John Kenyon be indeed a ruin, it is the desolation of his country and his despair of help and of vengeance that have given the foul fiend this power over him. And believe further that Oppression which has driven many a wise man mad, never yet stung to death a more priceless genius. I hope you will write soon again, & let us know anything further that is to be known about him. He I am sure will write to me, but his written words though sad & hopeless will probably still be wise. Jenny wishes me to write to him & urge him to come out HERE, but this is wild. All are well here, except Jenny herself who is indeed very ill just now - if she were able to hold a pen she would certainly write to you - and soon she will. The additional trouble of a household where there is a young baby, especially as servants are so bad & troublesome, weighs heavily upon her, but if the dismal influenza were once over she would get on better. She has not been much on horseback of late - only once or twice this summer, to return visits. We leave this part of the country in six weeks & have not yet settled on a place to live in. Your letters, however, which I hope will long flow in a regular stream, if addressed to Hobart town will be forwarded to us anywhere. In the mean time those which may have been addressed to Bothwell will also be forwarded. I was not aware till Jenny read me your last letter, that she had communicated to you our doubts & dissatisfaction about Mr. Meagher's escape. All we can say here is that he has left a DOUBT & a QUESTION, - by no means that he has violated his parole. We do not (that is O'Brien, Martin O'Doherty & myself do not) put the same interpretation on our parole which he seems to have done - and would not gain our liberty on the same terms. There ought to be no doubt & no question in such a case. And with the opportunity he had there was no occasion to leave one word in the mouth of any enemy. For the rest of us, though a chance may possibly arise, there seems very little probabilty of our escaping alive, especially after the experience of Mr. Meagher's escape to guide the convict authorities. Besides we should feel it necessary to place ourselves in their hands on giving up our parole, or at any rate to give them a full & unquestionable opportunity of taking us - I am glad that you refuse to give up your faith in Mr. Meagher. The QUESTION about his escape is a question that will be solved in his favour by his friends & the friends of his cause. I am glad to see the Americans have no doubt about it, & trust that his high talents may be long available to his country. I spent a day lately with Mr. Smith O'Brien, & went with him in the evening to the house of an acquaintance of his, named Major Lloyd, who has a very agreeable family circle. He read me letters from relatives in Ireland, all urging him to make SOME KIND OF SUBMISSION, to "subdue that pride which ruins so many men" & so on. This is very hard to bear - especially as all his friends seem to think his release is a matter that depends solely on himself. "Contrition" is all his enemies want. O'Brien studies much & exercises a good deal, but is often gloomy & miserable - indeed but for the kind solicitude & attention of a few friends whose society is always made pleasant to him I believe HE would run mad. May Heaven help us! We are all crossing this gulph [gulf?] on the sword-edge bridge of the prophet - or we are sailing through a dark stormy sea with one plank between us & the ravening midnight waves. Mr. Martin is well, & proof against influenza. The children all send their love to you, especially Henrietta who has grown strong & healthy. Many thanks for the newspapers and Farewell J. Mitchel. |
