he should one day use for the benefit of
his countrymen.

One of the most important instances in which O'Connell's legal acumen
saved the lives of his countrymen, is known as the "Doneraile
Conspiracy;" and as all the facts are eminently illustrative of the
history of Ireland at that period, and of the character and abilities of
one of her most distinguished sons, I shall relate the circumstances.
Several Protestant gentlemen in the neighbourhood of Doneraile, had been
making those abortive efforts to "convert" their tenants from Popery,
which usually end in no small amount of ill-feeling on both sides;
another of these gentlemen, with equal zeal and equal want of common
sense and common humanity, had devoted himself to hunting out real or
supposed rebels. This gentleman had at last brought on himself an armed
attack, for which he deserved little pity. He contrived, however, to
capture one of his assailants, who, of course, was hung. The gentlemen
having thus excited the unfortunate peasantry, pointed to the results of
their own folly as though these results had been the cause of it; and an
informer came forward, who, with the usual recklessness of his atrocious
class, accused some of the most respectable farmers of the district of
having entered into a conspiracy to murder the Protestant gentlemen,--a
cruel return certainly had it been true, for their earnest efforts to
convert the natives from "the errors of Popery to those of the
Protestant Church." A special commission was sent down; the wildest
excitement prevailed on all sides; and, as was usual in such cases, the
bitterest prejudice against the unfortunate accused. The
Solicitor-General led for the crown: the defence was a simple denial. In
such cases the examination of the approvers is the great point for the
accused, and should be confided to the ablest counsel. One of the
unfortunate prisoners was a respectable farmer, aged seventy, of whom
the highest character was given. But it was all in vain; after five
minutes' deliberation, the jury gave in the verdict of guilty. As the
men were to be made an "example of," they were sentenced to be hanged in
six days. This was on Saturday. The next lot of prisoners was to be
tried at nine o'clock on Monday morning. There was one universal cry for
"O'Connell," from the great multitude who knew these poor victims were
perfectly innocent. On Saturday night a farmer mounted the best horse
that could be found in Cork, and, a