oung convert induced the
severance of the connection before his period of apprenticeship was
expired, and we next find him working at his trade in Cork, where he
remained for some six months, after which he returned to Bandon. He
next crossed over to Manchester, at the request of some near relatives
living there. Subsequently he spent a few weeks in Dublin, where he
worked as builder's clerk; and finally he revisited Manchester, where
he had made himself numerous friends. It was in the summer of '67
that Allen last journeyed to Manchester. He was then little more than
nineteen years old, but there is reason to believe that he had long
before become connected with the Fenian conspiracy. In his ardent
temperament the seeds of patriotism took deep and firm root, and the
dangers of the enterprise to which the Fenians were committed served
only to give it a fresh claim upon his enthusiastic nature. When
Colonel Kelly quitted Dublin, and took up his quarters in Manchester,
Allen was one of his most trusted and intimate associates; and when
the prison door grated behind the Fenian leader, it was Allen who
roused his countrymen to the task of effecting his liberation. Allen
had by this time grown into a comely young man of prepossessing
appearance; he was a little over the middle height, well shaped,
without presenting the appearance of unusual strength, and was always
seen neatly and respectably dressed. His face was pale, and wore
a thoughtful expression, his features, when in repose, wearing an
appearance of pensiveness approaching to melancholy. His eyes were
small, the eyelids slightly marked; a mass of dark hair clustered
gracefully over a broad pale forehead, while the absence of any beard
gave him a peculiarly boyish appearance. Gentle and docile in his
calmer moments, when roused to action he was all fire and energy. We
have seen how he bore himself during the attack on the prison van, for
he it was whom so many witnesses identified as the pale-faced young
fellow who led the attack, and whose prophetic assurance that he would
die for him, greeted Colonel Kelly on regaining his freedom. During
the magisterial investigation he bore himself firmly, proudly, and, as
the English papers would have it, defiantly. His glance never quailed
during the trying ordeal. The marks of the brutality of his cowardly
captors were still upon him, and the galling irons that bound his
hands cut into his wrists; but Allen never winced for a m