“The same true widow’s son nobly guarded his mother’s homestead and that of others from the foul hands of the exterminators.  This is the same widow’s son who bravely reinstated the evicted, and helped to rebuild the levelled houses of many; for this he was persecuted and convicted at Cork Assizes, and flung into prison to sleep on the cold plank beds of Cork and Limerick gaols.  Many other manly and noble services did he which cannot be made known to the public.  At that meeting you were appointed collector with other Nationalists of Clare at home and abroad.  This is the widow’s son, Austen Mackay, whom we, the Committee to this testimonial, hope and trust every Irishman in Clare will cheerfully subscribe, that he may be enabled in his present state of health to get into some business under the protection of the Stars and Stripes, where he is a citizen of.”

“Subscriptions to be sent to Henry Higgins, Ennis.

“Treasurers:  Daniel O’Loghlen, Lisdoonvarna; James Kennedy, Ennistymon.”

Then follow, with the name of the Society, the names of the committee.

In behalf of the Stars and Stripes, “where he is a citizen of,” I thanked Colonel Turner for this interesting contribution to the possible future history of my country, there being nothing to prevent the election of any heir of this illustrious “widow’s son,” born to him in America, to the Presidency of the Republic.  The use of this phrase, the “widow’s son,” by the way, gives a semi-masonic character to this curious circular.

One officer says in his report upon this Committee:  “All the persons named are well known to their respective local police, and, except one, have little or no following or influence in their respective localities.  They are all members of the National League.”  The same officer subjoins this instructive observation:  “I beg to add that I find no matter how popular a man may be in Clare, start a testimonial for him, and from that time forth his influence is gone.”

Can it be possible that the “testimonial,” which, as the papers tell me, is getting up all over Ireland for Mr. Wilfrid Blunt, can have been “started” with a sinister eye to this effect, by local patriots jealous of any alien intrusion into their bailiwick?  I am almost tempted to suspect this, remembering that a Nationalist with whom I talked about Mr. Blunt in Dublin, after lavishing much praise upon his disinterested devotion to the cause of Ireland, moodily remarked, “For all that, I don’t believe he will do us any good, for he comes of the blood of Mountjoy, I am told!”

EDENVALE, Monday, Feb. 20.—­This morning Colonel Turner called my attention to the report in the papers of a colloquy between the Chief Secretary for Ireland and Mr. J. Redmond, M.P., in the House, on the subject of last week’s trials at Ennis.  In speaking of the boycotting at Milltown Malbay of a certain Mrs. Connell, Mr. Balfour described the case as one of barbarous inhumanity shown to a helpless old woman.  Mr. Redmond denying this, asserted that he had seen the woman Connell a fortnight ago in Court, and that so far from her being a decrepit old woman, she was only fifty years of age, hale and hearty, but disreputable and given to drink; he also said she was drunk at the trial, so drunk that the Crown prosecutor, Mr. Otter, was obliged to order her down from the table.