332 IRELAND. 



ously murdered them with their pikes. The delay which the per- 

 petration of this atrocious act occasioned, has been supposed (so little 

 were government apprised of their designs) to have saved the castle, 

 by affording time for the Liberty Rangers, and some regular troops, 

 to collect, who attacked and dispersed them, but not till lieutenant- 

 colonel Brown, of the 21st regiment, and six or seven others of the 

 military had unfortunately lost their lives. Many persons were ap- 

 prehended and tried, and several suffered death, for this feeble and 

 frantic attempt at rebellion. Among those executed was Emmet, the 

 son of the counsellor of that name, who, it is probable, was the prin- 

 cipal director and leader of the misguided rabble. Government has 

 since taken the necessary precautions to guard against the danger of 

 any similar attempts, and the country now appears to be in a tolerable 

 state of tranquillity. r 



