Manders' family; and he was tried before a courtmartial at Carlow.

It appeared on the evidence of Mrs. Margaret Mc. Ivers, the niece, who efcaped through a back window, that, when the houses were fet on fire, Black Top stood at the door with a mufket and bayonet, to prevent any of the proteftant part of the family from efcaping: That fhe applied to him to take the young infant fhe held in her arms out of the flames, and that he would take her chance; but he replied, No, you damned heretick bitch! you may burn together; nits will become lice."

Immediately Howard, a traitorous yeoman, who had been often hofpitably entertained in the house, entered it with a mufket and bayonet; on which Mrs. Manders was overjoyed at feeing him, fuppofing that he came as her deliverer; and fhe expreffed a hope that he would not murder her; but the obdurate ruffian replied, by knocking her down with the but-end of his mufket, and transfixing her aged body to the floor.

An old fuperannuated fifter, who had not left her bed for many months, crawled into the garden, and endeavoured to conceal herself in a fquare of cabbages; but fhe was purfued and piked, and her body was thrown into the flames.

Black Top and Fitzpatrick (the murderer of Thomas Young at Narraghmore,) were convicted, and executed where they had committed these horrid crimes.

In the fpring of 1800, one of the villains became an approver, and gave captain Rawfon full information. Shortly after, Howard was taken in the county of Carlow, by a fon of the captain's; and Kean and Bryan, two more of the affaffins, were also apprehended. These three were brought to trial at the ' affizes, and fully convicted, to the fatisfaction of a crowded court, and of the very humane judge Kelly, who, in paffing fentence, declared, "That it was the firft cafe that ever came before him in which

he

he did not feel diftreffed; but that he felt great fatis faction at being the inftrument, under Providence, of ridding the world of fuch monsters."

On the trial it was proved, that captain Rawfon's house and out-offices were burned in revenge for his loyal exertions; and that the Manders' family was affaffinated merely because they were hereticks. *

On this trial Mrs. Margaret Mc. Ivers, Mrs. Manders's niece, corroborated the teftimony of the approver against Howard, in what has been before ftated; and he, Keane and Bryan, were hanged and beheaded at Glaffealy.

All the cottagers contiguous to that place, to whom captain Rawfon had acted with fingular humanity for above twenty years, were among the foremost in plundering his houfe.

POISONING AT RATHCOOL.

Though the efforts of rebellion were crushed at Rathcool, on the general rifing, yet the rebels, indignant at the difappointment, endeavoured to accomplish their nefarious defigns on the twenty-fecond of June, by poifoning the garrifon there. On that day, captain Joseph Hewan of the Angusfhire regiment, was ordered to march from Tallagh to Hazel Hatch, with twenty of his men, to reinforce the party there; and having halted his men at Rathcool, the head quarters of his regiment, to refresh them, fome of them, after having been there about an hour, were reported to be very ill. On enquiry, it appeared, that after having eaten fome bread and milk they were feized with a great fickness in their ftomachs, accompanied with a head ach, and a violent vomiting and griping; and they faid, that they thought they had a ball of fire in their breafts.

Mr. Irwine, furgeon of the regiment, communi cated thefe fymptoms to colonel Hunter, who commanded there, and his fufpicion, that the bread

which

This was acknowledged by the approvers on the trial

which they eat, had been poisoned. On which the colonel ordered the baker and his man into cuftody.

The men of both parties began now to be taken ill with the fame fymptoms, by five or fix at a time; the commanding officer then ordered the baker and his boy, and one Doyle, who was ftrongly fufpected, to eat some of the bread; but more of the men becoming fick, and the malignity of their disorder increafing, he ordered the two former to be shot. The latter grew as fick as any of the foldiers; but nobody doubted of his innocence, and his wife and children were affected in the fame manner, as they had eat of the bread. Doyle kept a low publick house, in which fome of the foldiers had been entertained. Many of them would have died, but that they were relieved by medical affiftance. The fymptoms were fometimes abated by an emetick, but they often returned with redoubled violence; and then oil or melted butter, as a substitute, afforded them relief. Some of them were feized with fuch ftrong convulfions, that two or three men could not hold them, but with difficulty.

Mr. Robinson, a proteftant clergyman, his wife and feven children, who were paffing through Rathcool, were affected exactly in the fame manner, in confequence of having eaten fome of the bread.

Next day the officers of the Angusshire regiment were well informed that the roads, fields, and ditches near Rathcool, were crowded on the preceding night with men well armed, and that they dispersed when the bakers were fhot, and reinforcements came from Dublin, Tallagh, and Hazel Hatch. They intended to have furprised the garrifon, when debilitated by poison.

Some of the bread which had produced fuch dreadful effects in thofe who had eaten of it, was given to a cat and a dog, and they died of it. Some hours after the baker and his boy were fhot, his houfe was fearched, and a paper, containing two ounces of yellow arfenick, was found in his bake

house;

houfe; which, being fent to Dublin to a furgeon, proved, on the analyzation of it, to be that kind of poison.

ATTACK UPON MAYNOOTH.

From the fuppofed fanctity of this town, as a college had been recently erected there, and endowed at a very great expence by the proteftant state, for the education of popish priests, it was hoped that it would not have been molested by the rebels; how-' ever, the proteftant inhabitants of it and its vicinity were as much the object of the fanguinary rage of the rebels, as in any other part of the county of Kildare.

About twenty of the Carton cavalry, of which his grace the duke of Leinfter was captain, and Thomas Long and Richard Cane, efquires, were lieutenants, did permanent duty there, for fome time, previous and fubfequent to the twenty-fourth of May; and ten of them were conftantly ftationed on the different avenues leading into the town: the duke was absent at that time in England.

About one o'clock in the morning of the tenth of June, 1798, two men approached the town and addreffed one of the corps, who was at an outpoft; and pretending to be travellers, and that they had loft their way, begged admittance into the town, to get a lodging, but on being refufed, they drew back a few paces, and both fired at the fentinel at the fame time; on which, he galloped with the utmost speed to the guard-room, and alarmed his fellow-foldiers; and was pursued by about five hundred rebels, headed by William Aylmer their commander.

Such was the difaffection of the corps, that, though they were alarmed in due time, only feven mounted their horses to face the rebels; and of thofe feven, but four fired at him; and they were under the neceflity of retreating, left they fhould be overpowered by the great fuperiority of numbers.

Lieutenant

Lieutenant Cane made his efcape; but a young gentleman of the name of Nugent, who had been on a vifit with the lieutenant, and whose youth and innocence fhould have preferved him from their fanguinary difpofition, fell into their hands, and was led to their camp and fhot there next day. They took eleven yeomen prifoners, fome of whom returned the day following, and the remainder continued with the rebels. Three days after, a party of the fame rebels entered the town of Maynooth, and plundered fome houfes; and at the fame time, they feized Mr. Wilkinson, a proteftant, and a master carpenter, much efteemed for his probity; and conveyed him to their camp, where they next day piked him to death. As they conveyed him out of the town, he implored them to put an end to him immediately, that his body might fall into the hands of his friends, for the purpose of being interred; but they refufed his request.

Afterwards lieutenant Cane, and about thirteen of the corps, joined the yeomanry at Leixlip, and continued to do duty with them, most of the remainder having joined the rebels.

Mr. John Brown, a gentleman farmer, much efteemed for his probity, lived at Barropftown, near Maynooth; and had three fons who ferved in the Carton yeomanry. He and his family, being natives of England, and proteftants, were fo much the object of rebel vengeance, that they were obliged to leave their house, and retire to Leixlip for fafety.

In the beginning of September, Mr. Brown, his wife, daughter and fon, went to pafs the day at Barrapftown. In the evening Mr. Brown, having rode out to fee fome hay-makers whom he employed, perceived, about forty perches from his houfe, twelve ruffians, armed and mounted, galloping furioufly towards him; and on feeing him, they fhouted and encreased their fpeed. Mr. Brown galloped to his houfe, alarmed his family, and proceeded towards Leixlip. Part of the ruffians pursued him; the others