Ireland -- History -- Rebellion of 1798; Women -- Ireland -- Biography
Tone was spending a pleasant musical evening with a friend of his in
Merrion Square, when a servant was introduced bearing a letter which he
had strict orders to deliver only into Mr. Tone’s hands. The latter read
the letter and then said quietly to his friend, “Phil, we must finish
this duet; I must go when it is done.” It transpired afterwards that the
letter had come from Tone’s good friend of the old Temple days in
London, Hon. George Knox, Lord Northland’s son, and its purport was to
warn Tone that the Government had information of his connection with
Jackson, the emissary of the French Government, and that it would be
advisable for him to get out of the country as quickly as possible.
We know, now (what poor Tone went to his grave without suspecting) that
the horrible treachery of Cockayne, the spy who had been set by Pitt to
lead Jackson to destruction, was being outmatched by the treachery of
Leonard MacNally, who had spared no trouble to implicate Tone and others
with Jackson. Urged on by MacNally, though, as it appears, against his
own instincts, Tone drew up a paper on the state of Ireland, “the
inference from which was, that circumstances in Ireland were favourable
to a French invasion.” Of this paper MacNally obtained possession, and
there is no doubt at all that through him it fell into the hands of
Government.
The friendship of two persons, with considerable influence in Government
circles, saved Tone. These were George Knox—and of all persons in the
world—Marcus Beresford! Through the powerful machinery which they were
able to put in motion Tone escaped the consequences of his indiscretion,
on the condition that he should leave the country.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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