300 
true to each other and their cause. 
Mr. Emmett is said at one period to 
have counted upon 80 persons with 
whom he was in strict contidence, 
eminent for zeal, steadiness and re- 
solution. All those, though not ac- 
quainted with the particulars of the 
intended enterprize, must assuredly 
have been sufficiently entrusted, to 
have made their information of the 
utmost value; yet it does not ap- 
pear that any such was received by 
government through the more obyi- 
ous channels. And the latter was 
solely apprized of the undertaking 
by some intelligent men, conversant 
with the manners and habits of the 
common Irish, who were conscious 
that some unusual bustle prevailed, 
and that mischicf was to be appre- 
hended from the unusual resort to 
the capital of suspicious persons, 
Mr, Emmett continued still in 
Dublin,. feeding his vanity and his 
bapes, with the pompous projects of 
afounder of constitutions; and lurk- 
ing inall the mysterious varieties of 
conspiracy. Ife lodged in several 
different houses, passed in various 
places by distinct appellations, and 
what was of mere consequence to 
his grand object, established his 
agsenal and magazines in two tene- 
ments, hived in the names of other 
persons, in obscure parts of the 
town, in one of which some small 
quantity of gunpowder was manu- 
jactured ; in the other, timber was 
provided for constructing pikes and 
those already made, and his other 
_ armsand stores were there deposited, 
Here again we must remark that the 
depositaries of those secrets, were 
the liostler of aninn, and others 
of the meanest and most indigent 
stamp, whom yet neither levity, nor 
the certainty of an ample reward, 
ANNUAL REGISTER, | °1803. 
nor the wavering instability commom 
to men engaged in danger and dan- 
gerous designs, could draw the dis- 
covery from the impenetrable re- 
cesses of their fidelity! To account 
for this we must suppose, that the 
hearts of the people were with the 
project; or perhaps it was, that the 
departments of the police of Dublin, 
were all filled by men, who had 
been deeply engaged in the severities 
of the late rebellion, and who being 
on that account stigmatised and 
detested by the people, even those 
who had secretly returned to reason, 
were not willing to unbosom them- 
selves to men, whom they regarded 
with so much horror ! 
By the month of June however, 
government had seen or heard suffi- 
cient to induce it to quicken its dili- 
yonce, and the officers of the police 
appeared thenceforward more alert 
and vigilant; notwithstanding which 
it was difficult to bring the public to 
believe, that the project of insurrec=)__ 
tion was on foot; especially as the 
chief governor of the island, lord 
Hardwicke, and his family, had ex- 
erted themselves with uncommon 
condescension to acquire the publie 
approbation, ‘This state of delusion 
continued, until the 14th of July the 
anniversary of the French revolution, 
opened the eyes of many, and excit- 
ed a considerable degree of alarm. 
Bonfires were publicly made in 
commemoration of that event, and 
collections of people, though not 
numerous, yet apparently strenuous 
and decided, formed and partook in 
the festivity. A day ortwo after, an 
explosion took place in the house 
where, as we have already stated, 
gunpowder was stored or manufac- 
tured. This circumstance tended 
to create an universal sensation of 
distrust 
