PS3503 
 
Silken Thomas 
 
 Copyright, 1918, By 
 Samuel Byrne. 
 

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 Published by the Author at 
 420 North Highland Avenue,. 
 Pittsburg, Pa. 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 An Irish Historical Drama. 
 
 Period: 1535-37 
 
 By Samuel Byrne. V/ 
 
 Ye Geraldines ! Ye Geraldines ! 
 
 When Silken Thomas flung 
 King Henry’s sword on council board 
 The English Thanes among; 
 
 You never ceased to battle brave 
 Against the English sway 
 Till axe and brand and treachery 
 Your proudest cut away. 
 
 Thomas Davis. 
 
 BOSTON COLLEGE LIBRARY 
 CHESTNUT HILL, MASS. 
 

fS'a ?t3 
 
 Y f s-r 
 
 PERSONS REPRESENTED. 
 
 Silken Thomas, who at the age of twenty-one was 
 appointed by his father, the Earl of Kildare, and Lord 
 Deputy of Ireland, to fill the latter office during the 
 Earl's absence in England, whither he has been sum- 
 moned by King Henry VIII to answer political charges 
 which had been made against him by his enemies in 
 Dublin. 
 
 Monsignor MacHugh, an Irish prelate, who has 
 returned from Spain. 
 
 The O’Byrne, an Irish Chieftain in Wicklow. 
 
 O’Donnell, an Irish Chieftain in Tyrconnell. 
 
 Sir James De La Hide, member of the Council of 
 State in Dublin; a friend of Lord Kildare. 
 
 Lord Radley, aged about fifty, a titled Englishman, 
 charged with a secret mission. 
 
 Allen, Secretary to the Council of State, Dublin, 
 and nephew to Archbishop Allen, who was for- 
 merly Lord Chancellor of Ireland. 
 
 Taunton, Governor of Newgate Jail, Dublin. 
 
 Gerard, a jailor in the secret pay of Radley. 
 
 Two English Workmen. English Soldiers who 
 escort Silken Thomas to the gallows. 
 
 Moira, bride of The O’Byrne, and sister of 
 O’Donnell. 
 
 Councillors oe State, courtiers, soldiers, O’Don- 
 nell’s Clansmen, armed with muskets, swords and 
 pikes. 
 
 Jerry, Barney, and Mike, Strolling Minstrels. 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2016 
 
 https://archive.org/details/silkenthomasiris00byrn_0 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 7 
 
 ACT I. 
 
 Scene I. — Rural landscape, the grounds adjoining the 
 Castle of The O’Byrne in Imail, in the County of 
 Wicklow. 
 
 [Enter tzvo of O’Donnell’s Soldiers.] 
 
 First Soldier (looking around him) : I felt sure it 
 was Larry O’Donovan who was coming this way. 
 It looked very like him, anyhow. 
 
 Second Soldier: It was Larry, allright. I could tell 
 him from his walk if he was half a mile away. He 
 must have turned into that wood over there. 
 
 First Soldier: I am anxious to see him because I 
 
 have a pleasant surprise for him. This morning I 
 met a cousin of his who has been living here for 
 years, and who would like to hear some news about 
 his kinsmen up in Tyrconnell. 
 
 Second Soldier: He’ll certainly be glad to see that 
 
 cousin ; for he was talking to me about him not 
 long ago, and he said he had not heard from him 
 for years. Isn’t this Imail a fine country? 
 
 First Soldier: Indeed, it is a fine country, as you say, 
 
 this Imail. 
 
 Second Soldier: We haven’t any scenery like it up in 
 
 our Northern land of Tyrconnell, but ours is fine, 
 too. It’s of a different style. Sure, we have all 
 sorts of scenery in Ireland — a variety that doesn’t 
 exist in any other clime. And I’m not saying that 
 because you and I are natives. I’ve heard members 
 of our clan who traveled all over Europe say so. 
 Just think of all the different kinds we’ve passed 
 through in our long but leisurely and very pleasant 
 march to this place, escorting our beloved chieftain, 
 
:8 
 
 SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 The O’Donnell, Prince of Tyrconnell, and his beau- 
 tiful and only sister, the Princess Moira, who this 
 morning was wedded to The O'Byrne, the Prince 
 of Imail. 
 
 First Soldier: And the historic spots that we've seen 
 — especially the battlefields. I can’t recall half that 
 the Shannakee told us. We saw the ruins of the 
 Sassenah castle at Clones that was destroyed by the 
 victorious soldiers of The O’Neill in 1212; Drumliff, 
 where Godfrey O’Donnell conquered the allied 
 armies of the Viceroy and Fitzgerald; Kilmainham 
 and Killechin ; Knockvoe, where the Sassenah’s 
 superior numbers defeated our dauntless native 
 forces; and Monabraheer, where the defeat of 
 Knockvoe was grandly avenged. 
 
 Second Soldier: Ay; grandly avenged, as you rightly 
 say. Your mentioning of those battles makes me 
 long to be engaged in one. 
 
 First Soldier: And I too. When they called us the 
 “Fighting Race” they made no mistake. We're 
 born soldiers, every one of us ; and when we haven't 
 an opportunity of fighting the common enemy we 
 fight a little amongst ourselves, just to keep in 
 practice. 
 
 Second Soldier: I hope we'll soon get a chance to 
 
 have a whack at the Sassenah. 
 
 First Soldier: So do I, with all my heart. 
 
 [Exeunt] 
 
 [Enter Jerry , a bagpiper . He looks around as if 
 seeking somebody .] 
 
 Bagpiper: What's keeping my two fellow-artists? I 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 9 
 
 thought I was a little late, but I find I am the first 
 at the rendyvoo. 
 
 [Looking to the right.] 
 
 A fine castle he has indeed, The O’Byrne, the 
 young chief who got married this morning. I wish 
 them joy all their lives, which I hope will be long 
 ones. I’ll play a tune to pass away the time till my 
 colleagues come. 
 
 [Sits down on rustic seat and plays a jig. 
 
 If the audience applauds at the end, he says] : 
 
 Oh ! wait till by-and-bye, when we all play 
 together. Ah, here’s one of them. 
 
 [Enter, Mike, a Harpist .] 
 
 Harpist: So you’re here already, Jerry? 
 
 Jerry: What’s the use of asking me such a question 
 
 as that? Don’t you see I’m here? 
 
 Harpist: You’re always ready with an answer, Jerry. 
 
 Jerry: What did the Lord give me a tongue for? 
 
 Harpist: Did yeh hear the latest news? 
 
 Jerry: About what, Mike? 
 
 Harpist: I’m told that all the clans are going to be 
 
 united at last. 
 
 JERRY: That’s good news, if it’s true. Is there any 
 
 special reason? 
 
 Mike : Special reason ! Why, there’s every reason why 
 
 they should be united. How can we ever beat the 
 Sassenah if we’re quarrelling among ourselves all 
 the time? 
 
 Jerry: True for yeh, Mike. It’s time they were driven 
 out of the country. Talking about the Sassenah, 
 did yeh hear what happened to Patcy Brogan’s 
 Sassenah landlord in the County Dublin? 
 
10 
 
 SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 Mike: I didn’t. 
 
 Jerry: The very day he evicted Patcy and his family 
 
 and took possession of his farm, he fell sick, and 
 I hear he's getting worse all the time. 
 
 Mike : The divil’s skewer to him ! Here’s Barney 
 
 Donovan with his fiddle. 
 
 [Enter Barney, a Fiddler .] 
 
 Jerry: Late as usual, Barney, for our rehearsal. It’ll 
 
 soon be time to go into the castle. 
 
 Barney : It wasn't my fault, I tell you. I met Tim 
 
 Hoolahin and his colleen ; and he begged of me, like 
 a cripple at a cross-roads, to play them a dancing- 
 tune. And she said to me : “Ah ! Barney, do.” 
 
 And how could I refuse her, with that sweet voice 
 and coaxing look of hers that would soften the 
 heart of an anchorite? 
 
 JERRY : Did anybody tell yeh how Tim’s grandmother 
 
 won a gold coin by her ready wit the other day? 
 Mike: No. 
 
 Barney: I didn’t hear of it. 
 
 Jerry: They’re so poor, yeh know, after so much sick- 
 
 ness in the family and a bad crop, that she sits in a 
 chair in the road on fine days, and offers to pray 
 that the good wishes of people passing by may be 
 granted, if they give her a little alms. That close- 
 fisted Jim McMullen and his wife were passing. 
 They got married a few weeks ago, you know. The 
 woman beckoned to them, and they went over to 
 her and asked her what she wanted. She told them. 
 Miserly Jim, who’s as crooked as a dog’s hind leg, 
 bad cess to him ! tried to avoid giving her a little 
 money, although his wife urged him. He’s a bit 
 clever, you know ; and so he says : “How could I 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 II 
 
 have a wish to make? Am’n’t I married to Kath- 
 leen, and so am the happiest man in the world ?” 
 She was more than his match. She answered him 
 right away: "But could yeh not wish to be always 
 as happy as y’are now?” That fixed him. He 
 opened his purse, and as there happened to be noth- 
 ing there but gold coins, that he had just taken out 
 of the bank, he gave her one of them. 
 
 Barney: Did you ever hear how the Irish jig was 
 
 originated, and where? 
 
 The Others: No. 
 
 Barney : In the Garden of Eden. 
 
 JERRY: Whisht, you omadhawn; how could the Irish 
 
 jig have been invented in Paradise? 
 
 Barney: I’ll tell yeh. As soon as Adam saw Eve he 
 
 felt interested in her, and no wonder; for she was 
 a pretty colleen, by all accounts. He smiled at her, 
 and she smiled back at him. Then they stepped 
 away from each other a little, to have a good look 
 at each other. They fell in love with each other 
 right away. Then they kissed each other. No; Pm 
 wrong: He kissed her and she returned the com- 
 pliment; and to show how happy they were they 
 danced fornist each other, in jig style. And that’s 
 when and where the Irish jig began. 
 
 Mike : That beats all. 
 
 Jerry : Now that we’re all here, let’s proceed with our 
 
 practice. 
 
 [They play several tunes.] 
 
 Jerry : They may be ready for us now. Let us not 
 
 wait to be called. Come on. 
 
 [As they are going off Phelim, one of The 
 O’ Byrne's soldiers , enters .] 
 
12 
 
 SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 Phelim: What a beautiful day it is for a wedding! 
 
 One would think that nature had purposely put on 
 her festival attire for the occasion. And the lovely 
 Princess Moira deserves all the honors that can be 
 bestowed upon her on this joyful day, when she 
 joins her sweet young life to that of our noble Chief. 
 ( Looking upward) Her eyes are more prettily blue 
 than that sky above; and the love-light that gleams 
 and glitters in them to-day makes the sun look like 
 the moon in comparison with it. 
 
 [Exit] 
 
 [Enter Moira. The sounds of the minstrels' 
 music come from the castle . She listens to them 
 with a smile; and then sings the following song] : 
 
 My heart with joy is overflowing, 
 
 And all around is bright and gay ; 
 
 Love’s perfumes rare 
 Suffuse the air; 
 
 For, Oh, this is my wedding day ! 
 
 My wedding day ! 
 
 My wedding day ! 
 
 No sweeter words a maid can say. 
 
 The leaves in brightest emerald glisten ; 
 
 The flow’rs their daintiest tints display; 
 
 Each passing breeze 
 Laughs through the trees ; 
 
 For Oh, this is my wedding day! 
 
 My wedding day ! 
 
 My wedding day ! 
 
 No sweeter words a maid can say. 
 
 The lark his merriest notes is warbling; 
 
 The throstle chants his softest lay; 
 
 Love’s light outgleams 
 The sun’s best beams ; 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 13 
 
 For Oh, this is my wedding day ! 
 
 My wedding day ! 
 
 My wedding day! 
 
 No sweeter words a maid can say. 
 
 [Exit into the castle. Pheum re-enters . Suddenly 
 looking to the right] : 
 
 What's that? It looks like the body-guard of 
 a Prince. Who is he, I wonder? And they are 
 coming in this direction. I must tell The O’Byrne 
 about it. 
 
 [Exit] 
 
 [Re-enter Minstrels ] 
 
 Jerry: What’s that? Oh, bedad! here’s the young Lord 
 
 Deputy, Silken Thomas, the noble son of the great 
 Earl of Kildare. I know him by his rich costume, 
 his youthfulness, and his guards. He’s a fine fel- 
 low, I’m told — puts on no airs because of his posi- 
 tion or his aristocratic family, but makes free with 
 all alike. 
 
 Mike: I’m glad to hear that. I don’t like those mem- 
 
 bers of high families who act as though they be- 
 longed to a superior order of beings altogether. 
 
 [They play ] 
 
 [Enter Silken Thomas in a resplendent white 
 costume , a white silken fringe on his helmet and 
 the same on the helmets of the soldiers who follozv 
 him , preceded by pages.] 
 
 Silken Thomas : Good morrow, boys ; I hope you are 
 
 well. You look as if you were. 
 
 Jerry: Good morrow and joy! my lord. We are all 
 
 well, God be praised ! 
 
14 
 
 SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 Silken Thomas: I am glad to hear it. You have 
 
 come, I suppose, to furnish music at the wedding 
 feast which, I understand, is going on in The 
 O’Byrne’s Castle? 
 
 Barney: Yes, my lord. 
 
 Jerry: We’ve just had a little rehearsal; and we’re all 
 
 in good fettle, as you will soon find out. They tell 
 me, my lord, that you like to sing a song yourself 
 once in a while. 
 
 Silken Thomas: Yts; I try to sing sometimes. 
 
 Mike: I hope you’ll kindly favor us with one at the 
 
 wedding feast. I’ve never heard a lord sing, and, 
 Faith ! I’d like to hear one. It must be fine. 
 
 Mike : Ay, indeed ; it must be great. 
 
 Silken Thomas: Not at all. It is nothing of the kind. 
 
 Music and song — all the arts, in fact — place all of 
 us upon the same level ; and as to proficiency in any 
 of them, the peasant oftentimes surpasses the prince. 
 In bestowing gifts like these Nature makes no dis- 
 crimination, or, if she does, she invariably favors 
 the humble and lowly. I would wager that each 
 of you is a better singer than I. 
 
 Musicians: No, no. 
 
 Silken Thomas: Now, don’t be too sure. You may 
 
 be disappointed. 
 
 [Exeunt Silken Thomas and his escort ( to left) fol- 
 lowed , after a pause, by the Musicians .] 
 
 [Enter O’Byrne and O’Donnell from right, 
 conversing . ] 
 
 O’Byrne: I am glad that you are fond of hunting and 
 
 fishing, for we can provide you with lots of both 
 in this district during your stay, which I hope will 
 not be short. 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 15 
 
 [Enter Piielim] 
 
 Pi-iEum (to O’ Byrne) : A distinguished visitor has 
 
 arrived at the castle — the young Lord Deputy, Lord 
 Thomas Fitzgerald, the son of the Earl of Kildare* 
 
 O’Byrne : What can be the purpose of this unexpected 
 
 visit of Silken Thomas? 
 
 O’Donnell: Silken Thomas/ Is that what you call 
 
 him here? 
 
 O’ByrnE: That is the name they give him in Kildare 
 and Dublin. 
 
 O’Donnell: Why? 
 
 O’Byrne : His mother, who has been dead for some 
 
 years, was so fond of him that she always insisted 
 upon his wearing rich silken garments; and now 
 that she is no more he continues to do so out of 
 respect for her memory. His personal guards, too, 
 wear a white silken fringe in their caps. As you 
 know, his father, the Lord Deputy of Ireland, the 
 personal representative of the English King in this 
 country, appointed him in his own place, notwith- 
 standing his youth — he is only 21 years of age — 
 during his absence in London, where he has been 
 suddenly summoned by King Henry to answer 
 serious charges that have been made against him by 
 the Sassenah members of his Council of State. 
 
 O’Donnell : I did not know he was so young. Such a 
 
 lofty and responsible position requires not only some 
 statemanship, but also some knowledge of men and 
 of political affairs. 
 
 O’Byrne : You may depend upon it — his father knew 
 
 what he was doing when he appointed him. He has 
 trained the youth well. A fault of Silken Thomas 
 is that he is impulsive and is inclined to be rash.. 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 s6 
 
 That disposition he inherits from his father. But, 
 apart from that, he is, they tell me, clever and wise 
 beyond his years. He is a scholar, a patriot, and a 
 good swordsman. 
 
 O’Donnell : I shall be glad to make the acquaintance 
 
 of so picturesque a personality. 
 
 O’Byrne: Come on, then; and I shall introduce you to . 
 
 him. But here he comes in search of me. 
 
 [Enter Silken Thomas, Moira and 
 Monsignor MacHugh.] 
 
 O’Byrne: ( Shaking Silken Thomas' hand). I am 
 
 delighted to see you, Lord Thomas. To what cir- 
 cumstance do we owe the honor and pleasure of 
 your presence? 
 
 Silken Thomas: I was travelling in this vicinity, and 
 
 I heard that this was your wedding-day; so I have 
 come to offer you and your bride my felicitations 
 and best wishes. For I remember having seen you 
 in my father's house, Earl's Court, near Dublin, and 
 I have heard him mention your name several times. 
 
 O’Byrne: I am grateful for your kind thoughtfulness. 
 
 This is the bride ( presents Moira to him). This is 
 her brother, The O'Donnell, the Chief of Tyrconnell 
 ( presents O’Donnell to him). And this is Mon- 
 signor MacHugh, lately returned from Spain, who 
 married us this morning, and whose parents were 
 friends of mine ( presents the Monsignor to him). 
 
 [ Enter Peasant , running.] 
 
 Peasant: I beg a thousand pardons, gentlemen. I've 
 
 been told there's a priest here. (O’Byrne points to 
 Monsignor MacHugh) Father, an uncle of mine 
 who has been sick for some time has taken a turn 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 1 7 
 
 for the worse. Our own Soggartfi Aroon has just 
 gone on a sick call that came from the other end 
 of the parish ; and as I heard there was a priest 
 staying at the Castle I hurried here. 
 
 Monsignor: I must leave you for a while, my friends. 
 
 [Exeunt Monsignor and Peasant.] 
 
 Moira: I hope you will not be detained long. (Look- 
 
 ing to left ) Somebody is calling me. 
 
 [Exit] 
 
 O’Byrne: (To Silken Thomas) Your kindly visit 
 
 is a new departure. Hitherto the authorities in 
 Dublin have shown scant courtesy to us native 
 Chiefs. 
 
 Silken Thomas: That is true; and I am very sorry 
 
 to say so. But my father has resolved to put an end 
 to the wrongful system under which the official 
 recognition and honor that are due to the princely 
 heads of our native clans have been withheld from 
 them. And why should he not do so? Are we not 
 all peers in rank and lineage — brother-patriots ? 
 The foes of Ireland are our common foes, and the 
 welfare of Ireland is our common aim. 
 
 O’Donnell : I am very agreeably surprised to hear you 
 
 speak like that 
 
 O’Byrne: (To O’Donnell). Then you have not yet 
 
 heard about his father’s grand project — the estab- 
 lishment of a National League of Patriots, whose 
 one aim will be to make our country prosperous and 
 happy ? 
 
 O’Donnell: Oh, that was what my uncle was going 
 
 to tell me about before I started from home. Pie 
 had been visiting Dublin ; and while there had called 
 
i8 
 
 SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 to see the Earl of Kildare. As I was in a hurry 
 to begin my long journey here, he told me that it 
 would be time enough to speak to me about it when 
 I came back, especially as it was a matter that 
 required careful consideration. And he added that 
 perhaps you would discuss it with me. 
 
 O’Byrne : It was certainly my intention to do so, 
 
 although it is a little premature to talk about it yet. 
 
 Silken Thomas: Before my father set sail for 
 
 London, he spoke to me enthusiastically about it. 
 (To O’Byrne) I know that he has been consulting 
 you and other Chieftains about it, and has also men- 
 tioned it to friends and relatives of those whom he 
 has not yet seen personally. 
 
 O’Byrne : And what, may I ask, do you think of his 
 great design, Lord Thomas? 
 
 Silken Thomas : My father’s views, purposes, and 
 
 hopes are also mine. 
 
 O’ByrnE: Those manly, patriotic words do honor alike 
 
 to your head and your heart. 
 
 O’Donnell: Your father can count with the utmost 
 
 confidence upon the hearty and active support of 
 my clan; and I know that he may also rely upon 
 that of the Clan O’Neill. 
 
 O’Byrne : Tvrconnell and Tyrowen have always been 
 
 staunch and true. 
 
 O’Donnell: And always will be. 
 
 Silken Thomas: The gallant and ever faithful North? 
 
 O’Donnell: (aside) Who would have suspected-such 
 
 warm patriotism in these Geraldines? 
 
 O’Byrne: Your father’s predecessors held very differ- 
 
 ent opinions from his in connection with the govern- 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 19 
 
 ment of Ireland. They did their best, in fact, to 
 crush the patriotic spirit in our breasts. 
 
 Silken Thomas: Alas, that is true. They were mis- 
 
 taken and misguided. Otherwise they would never 
 have undertaken so futile, nay, so hopeless as well 
 as so unpatriotic a task. 
 
 O’Byrne : Hopeless and unpatriotic — yes. In vain 
 
 they and the heads of other houses have waged war 
 upon our devoted clans, and have expended much 
 money in efforts to corrupt our followers. But the 
 dauntless spirit of our nationality has never drooped 
 and never shall droop; for it is incorporated with 
 our blood, glowing with an unquenchable flame in 
 our hearts and souls, the very core and fibre of our 
 being, like our old Faith. 
 
 Silken Thomas: Let us forget those evil deeds and 
 the evil days when they were done. 
 
 O’Donnell: Ay, let us forget them, and forgive them 
 
 too, in view of the era of peace, liberty and pros- 
 perity that will soon begin. 
 
 O’Byrne: To hasten on the dawn of that bright day a 
 
 great, popular and trusted leader is required — a 
 patriot, a warrior, and a statesman, all in one. Such 
 a man is your noble father. But the question is : 
 Will the King permit him to come back? His 
 majesty is known to be fickle; and I have heard that 
 he is jealous of your father’s growing popularity 
 and influence with our people. 
 
 Silken Thomas: Oh, there need be no doubt whatever 
 
 as to his early return. Whatever charges have been 
 made against him cannot be serious. Whether they 
 are, or are not, however, I feel certain that he will 
 clear himself. 
 
20 
 
 STI.KEN THOMAS 
 
 O’Byrne: I hope so. But pardon me if I say that I 
 
 have my doubts as to his getting a fair hearing with 
 the King and his Councillors. 
 
 Silken Thomas: {with energy, and placing his hand 
 
 on the hilt of his sword) If my father is treated 
 with unfairness, injustice, or indignity by the Royal 
 Council — yea, or by the King himself. — (He smiles ). 
 But there is no ground for alarm. My father’s life 
 has always been dominated by a passionate devotion 
 to his King and his country. 
 
 O’Donnell: (aside) How can he really love his 
 
 native land if he is loyal to its usurping King? 
 (Aloud) His King and his country! Does not the 
 English King account it treason for us to love our 
 native land? 
 
 Silken Thomas: Surely not. If that were so my 
 
 father and I would be regarded by him as a pair of 
 traitors. 
 
 O’Donnell : Some of his representatives do certainly 
 
 look upon us native chiefs as traitors — or, at least, 
 as rebels. 
 
 Silken Thomas: Yes, I know that. But the King is 
 not to blame for that. His majesty desires that we 
 should all be peaceable, prosperous and contented. 
 
 O’Donnell: (aside) Moryah! 
 
 [O’Byrne smiles.] 
 
 O’Byrne : But come, Lord Thomas, and be our 
 
 honored guest at the wedding feast. 
 
 O’Donnell: (looking to the right) A battalion of 
 
 my clansmen is approaching. 
 
 [Exeunt] 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 21 
 
 ( Music is heard in the distance , growing louder 
 as it comes nearer — the March , “O’ Donnell Aboo !” 
 Enter Soldiers , some armed with swords, some with 
 pikes, and some with muskets . They continue 
 marching for a minute or two, entering the stage at 
 one side and leaving it by another, and returning on 
 the other side, thus conveying the idea that they are 
 much more numerous than they are . 
 
 [Curtain.] 
 
 Scene II. — The same at night. Moonlight. 
 
 [Enter Moira, bride of O’Byrne, looking around her as 
 if expecting to see somebody .] 
 
 Moira: What can my brother mean by sending me a 
 
 message by one of his men asking me to see him 
 here alone about something very important? Surely 
 he has not had a quarrel with my husband ? Heaven 
 forbid ! Men of our impulsive race are swift to get 
 angry, even over a fancied slight or insult, just as 
 they are swift to forgive and forget. 
 
 [Enter Lord Radley, his sword in his belt.] 
 
 What ! You dare to come here again, after the 
 impudent remark you made to me yesterday! I 
 should have told my brother about it, or my hus- 
 band ; but I forgot all about it today. 
 
 Radley: Your husband? Oh, yes; you were married 
 today. What a winsome bride you are ! That word, 
 “husband,” coming from your lips, makes me 
 jealous. 
 
22 
 
 SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 Moira: Begone, insulting stranger! ( looking anxiously 
 
 to the right and then to the left). But my brother 
 will soon be here; and when I tell him that you, 
 a Sassenah, have been trying to force your unwel- 
 come acquaintance upon me; that you have been 
 rude to me — nay, insulting to me — he will give you 
 the thrashing that you deserve. 
 
 Radley : Rude to you ! Insulting to you ! I am incap- 
 
 able of being either to any lady, and least of all 
 to you, for whom, although this is only the second 
 time that I have seen you, I have great respect, 
 deep regard, sincere admiration, and — do not chide 
 me for its hasty growth — genuine affection. When 
 I saw you walking alone here yesterday I said to 
 myself : “There is the prettiest and most charming 
 
 woman I have ever seen.” I at once made inquiries 
 about you, and got all the information I desired. 
 I have a proposal to make to you 
 
 Moira: How dare you talk like that to me? 
 
 Radley: Wait a moment, Lady Moira — you see, I 
 know your name; and a sweet one it is (Aside:) I 
 shall first try to touch her imagination with a few 
 poetical phrases that I memorized this morning 
 when I devised this scheme for having a private 
 interview with her. (Aloud:) If you grant my 
 request you will find my castle across the sea to be 
 a veritable palace-bower of love, where gorgeous 
 garments, costliest jewels, and gold in profusion 
 shall be yours ; with vassals to do your bidding, 
 accomplished musicians to fill the air with rapturous 
 melodies and choicest flowers to suffuse it with 
 dreamy perfumes ; where yours shall be halcyon 
 days and ambrosial nights. 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 23 
 
 Moira: {Aside) Is he a lunatic? or is he sane and 
 
 serious? {Aloud:) If you are in your right 
 senses 
 
 Radley: I am, I assure you. Why do you ask me 
 
 such a question? 
 
 Moira : Then I say that you know little about the 
 
 daughters of Erin if you think that the poorest, the 
 lowliest, of them could be thus lured from the path 
 of virtue. Love may tempt them. Gold can not. 
 
 [Enter O’Byrne unobserved.] 
 
 O’Byrne: That sounds like Moira's voice. {Sees 
 Moira and Radley.) What! Can I believe my 
 eyes? Moira, my bride of this morning, talking 
 here in the dark to a strange man ! What does it 
 mean? I’ll try to be patient. 
 
 Radley: Nicely spoken, fair champion of your coun- 
 
 trywomen. But you forget that women are the 
 same all the world over. Sex and passion have no 
 nationality. I am a noble 
 
 Moira: Noble! — in an ironical sense. That princely 
 
 word has no application to men like you. 
 
 Radley: {Irritably) Don’t interrupt me, please. I amr 
 
 a member of the nobility 
 
 Moira: Nobility can never be allied with dishonor. 
 
 Radley : I am prominently connected with King 
 
 Henry’s court, and have been charged with a special 
 mission in this country at present. The important 
 work which I was specially sent here to do is 
 finished; and I shall soon set sail for home. If you 
 are wise you will avail yourself of the magnificent 
 opportunity that I offer you ; you will come with 
 me 
 
24 
 
 SILKEX THOMAS 
 
 Moira: ( Looking to the right and left ) What keeps 
 
 my brother ? Oh, that he or my husband were here ! 
 
 Radley : Your brother is not coming. It was I who 
 
 arranged this romantic rendez-vous by having a note 
 sent to you purporting to come from him. 
 
 Moira : Dishonorable trickster ! Scoundrel ! Reprobate ! 
 
 Nobody with a spark of manliness left in him would 
 stoop to so mean, cowardly and despicable a subter- 
 fuge as this. 
 
 O’Byrne: (Aside) Good! God bless you, Moira! 
 
 (D razes his szvord .) 
 
 Radley: It was a lover’s stratagem. All things, they 
 
 say, are fair in love and war. Now, listen to me, 
 and be sensible. What prospects have you here? 
 A rebel’s wife; a rebel’s home — what a precarious 
 life and lot! I can send your husband to a dungeon 
 or to the headsman’s block whenever it pleases me 
 to do so. So you see, your destiny and his are both 
 in my keeping. Yield to my desire, then — with 
 feigned reluctance, if you will — but 
 
 Moira : Our destinies are in the hands of God. Begone, 
 
 you loathsome Sassenah! 
 
 Radley: You spurn and defy me, eh? Then I shall 
 
 change my methods. I have given you a chance 
 to yield with grace and dignity. Now, goaded by 
 your insolence, I shall use force. Come; I’ll stand 
 no further trifling. My carriage is waiting for us 
 close by. (Advances to Moira) You shall be mine! 
 (Puts his arm aroicnd her) You are mine! 
 
 [Moira Screams.] 
 
 O’Byrxe : Stand aside, Moira acushla, lest by accident 
 
 my sword should touch you. (To Radley. ) Villain ! 
 You shall expiate this outrage with your life. 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 25 
 
 Radley: ( defending himself with his sword.) What! 
 
 Listening all the time! Foolhardy lout! You are 
 courting death, and you shall win it. 
 
 [They Fight.] 
 
 Radley: ( Warding off O’Byrne’ s attacks with diffi- 
 
 culty and retreating step by step ) — This rascal 
 fights like a fiend. I did not bargain — Ho, men! 
 draw near ! Haste ! Haste ! 
 
 (O’Byrne by a skillful turn of his sword 
 wrenches Radley's from his hand. Radley quickly 
 jumps back ; four soldiers in red coats rush on the 
 scene with drawn swords and attack O’Byrne). 
 
 O’Byrne: ( Fighting them furiously ) Come on! Come 
 
 on ! a dozen of you Sassenah — ay, a hundred ! 
 
 Moira: ( Clasping her hands in distress ). Help him, 
 
 O Heaven ! in this unequal struggle. 
 
 Radley: ( Examining his clothes and feeling his body). 
 
 No blood! No wounds! I could have sworn I felt 
 his blade prod me somewhere. How lucky it was 
 that I had my men near! ( To his men) Disarm him. 
 Do not kill him. His time has yet to come. 
 
 [O’Byrne is Overpowered.] 
 
 Good ! Now hold him fast and take him to the 
 carriage. I’ll take his bride along. ( Puts his arm 
 around Moira again.) 
 
 Moira: ( Looking to the right.) Thank God! My 
 
 brother, accompanied by some of his men, is coming. 
 
 Radley: ( Looking in the same direction) — Quick, 
 
 quick ! A lot of rebels are approaching. 
 
 (Moira escapes from his grasp and runs to the 
 left.) Curses on them! She has escaped from me. 
 But I shall catch her soon. 
 
26 
 
 SIUCEN THOMAS 
 
 O’ByrnE: You old profligate! If you ever hurt a hair 
 of her head Til run my sword through your evil 
 heart. 
 
 [Exeunt] 
 
 ( Enter O’Donneee with several of his followers.) 
 
 O’Donneee: ( to Moira.) I heard angry voices and 
 
 the clash of swords in this direction; and hastened 
 hither. What was the fight about and who took part 
 in it? And what brings you here, Moira dear? 
 
 Moira: ( Excitedly ) — A middle-aged man who claims 
 
 that he belongs to the English nobility was in this 
 neighborhood yesterday, and had the impudence to 
 try to get into a conversation with me. I repulsed 
 his rudeness and walked on. A little while ago he 
 lured me here by sending me a message supposed 
 to have come from you, asking me to meet you here 
 in reference to an important subject. Foolishly un- 
 suspicious, I came. He had arranged to abduct me. 
 A carriage and several armed men were waiting 
 close by, concealed in the darkness. O’Byrne hap- 
 pened to be near when he seized me. They fought ; 
 but his men rushed to his assistance, overpowered 
 O’Byrne, and took him to the carriage. He had 
 begun to drag me along when I fortunately tore 
 myself from his grasp ; and then, thank Heaven ! 
 I saw you coming. But you must hurry and catch 
 up to them. 
 
 O’Donneu, : My dear sister, when you received that 
 
 strange message you ought to have doubted its 
 authenticity. But there is no time to talk about it 
 now. I’ll take half a dozen of my horsemen and 
 start immediately in pursuit of those Sassenah ruf- 
 
CHESTNUT HILL, MASS. 
 
 SILKEN THOMAS 2 ? 
 
 fians; and it will go hard with me if I don’t soon 
 overtake them. 
 
 [End oe First Act.] 
 
28 
 
 SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 ACT II. 
 
 Scene I. — Rural landscape, the grounds adjoining May- 
 nooth Castle, the ancestral home of the Earls of 
 Kildare. 
 
 [Enter Monsignor MacHugh.] 
 
 Monsignor: ( Looking around him , smiling ) How I 
 do love this dear old land of mine! Nowhere else 
 is the sky so tenderly blue or the grass so refresh- 
 inglv green, or the flowers so varied and beautiful. 
 Land of pure and lovely womanhood and of brave 
 and virtuous manhood ! I esteem myself highly 
 privileged to be numbered amongst your sons. 
 There is hardly a mountain of yours that has not its 
 mystery, a valley that has not its legend, a castle 
 or a cabin that has not its romance. Prosperity and 
 happiness should always be your portion. 
 
 [He advances a few steps.] 
 
 [Enter Silken Thomas, attended by pages . On seeing 
 
 Monsignor he pauses and listens unobserved by him.] 
 Oh, what pure joy it is to be alone 
 With Nature in her kindliest mood, as now 
 She is, suffused with summer’s noon-day warmth, 
 And canopied in fleckless blue, uplifting 
 The heart that is responsive to the spell 
 Of Beauty, Poesy, and Music, as 
 The mystic glamor of a starry night, 
 
 By Cynthia’s subtile radiance solemnized, 
 
 Fills with a sad-sweet ecstasy the mind 
 Whose brighter gleams have passed through Pas- 
 sion’s prism. 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 29 
 
 ( He pauses , and looks towards the castle .) 
 There stands Maynooth, the castle of Kildare, 
 Whose noble son with honor fills his post, 
 
 Till to his native country he returns. 
 
 I come to sue for justice. 
 
 Silken Thomas {Aside ) : 
 
 Justice thou 
 
 Shalt have, and generosity as well. 
 
 Monsignor {gazing upward ) : 
 
 In casual currents of our highest thoughts 
 We sometimes catch a momentary glimpse 
 Of the Almighty’s plans; and our rapt minds 
 Rise from our bodies and, in awe sublime, 
 
 Sense dimly some of Life’s great mysteries. 
 
 [He pauses and reflects ] 
 
 Silken Thomas {Aside ) : 
 
 I shall be glad to make a bosom friend 
 Of this philosopher. And willingly 
 I shall comply with his request at once. 
 
 Monsignor : 
 
 O holy, changeless and undying Church! 
 
 Whose only aim is man’s true welfare here 
 And everlasting bliss beyond the tomb ! 
 
 Benignant mother, whose most gladsome task 
 Is timely rescue of the outcast souls 
 That, shipwrecked, famished, aimless, hopeless, roam 
 The bleakest shores of life’s uncharted seas. 
 
 Heaven speed the destined day when all mankind 
 With grace-illumined vision shall behold 
 The light divine that marks thy mystic way 
 Athwart the ages ! — that same sacred light 
 Of which wise Socrates, that pagan saint, 
 
30 
 
 SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 While vaguely yearning for the coming Faith, 
 
 Once saw a far-off foregleam. Had he lived 
 Till Christ, the Keystone of the Arch of Time, 
 Humanity’s Expectance and Desire, 
 
 Arrived on earth, as had been prophesied, 
 
 How joyed he would have been ! But I must go 
 To see Lord Thomas. 
 
 Silken Thomas ( stepping forward ) : 
 
 He is here. 
 
 (Monsignor starts ) Surprised 
 
 At this, my sudden apparition? Well, 
 
 Anon I shall explain it. 
 
 ( Holds out his hand to Monsignor) 
 
 Welcome here! 
 
 Monsignor : 
 
 This condescension, this politeness, fill 
 My heart with gratitude, Lord Deputy. 
 
 Silken Thomas: 
 
 No condescension this. As man to man, 
 
 Or, if thou wilt, as friend to friend, I greet thee. 
 Monsignor : 
 
 Friendship! Ennobling, Heaven-born sentiment! 
 Surpassing woman’s tenderest, truest love, 
 
 And more enduring! May it not be said 
 That friendship is the better part of love? 
 
 Silken Thomas : 
 
 It may, I think, with truth. But let’s postpone 
 This philosophic conversation till 
 A more appropriate time encourages 
 Us to pursue it farther. I assure 
 Thee that, thine obvious scholarship aside, 
 
 The sacred office that thy garb proclaims 
 Commands my deep respect. 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 31 
 
 Monsignor : 
 
 Thou hast the mien 
 
 Of one who recently hath felt the pang 
 That smites the fresh and glowing heart of Youth 
 When from his dreamy height he must descend 
 To Manhood’s prosy plain, mayhap to dwell 
 With minds o’er which bright Fancy never flung 
 Her opalescent glamor — souls whose thoughts 
 Ascend no higher than their sordid selves, 
 
 Whose aims and aspirations are confined 
 Within the stinted scope of their dull view. 
 
 To have much wealth, to have much pleasure — these 
 Their life-ambitions are. With that base kind 
 ’Twill chill thine ardent nature to consort. 
 
 Silken Thomas: 
 
 But I meet nobler minds — just now thine own, 
 
 That with the gems of highest knowledge gleams. 
 (Smiling.) I overheard thee but a moment since 
 Robing in simple but becoming words 
 Some rare and holy thoughts. 
 
 Monsignor : 
 
 Amongst our chiefs. 
 
 And their devoted clansmen, there are men 
 Who with the virtues that exalt a race, 
 
 And nurture heroes, richly are endowed. 
 
 Our Irish peasants are a race apart : 
 
 The fervor of their Faith e’er keeps them true, 
 Through all her trials, to their motherland; 
 
 Their Keltic ardor makes their Faith sublime — 
 Untitled nobles in their humble lives, 
 
 And saints uncanonized when they are dead. 
 
 Silken Thomas: 
 
 That generous eulogy they well deserve. 
 
32 
 
 SILKEN THO&AS 
 
 Monsignor: 
 
 My lord, to crave a favor at thy hands 
 I have come hither. 
 
 Silken Thomas: 
 
 What is thy request? 
 
 [Enter Radley, unobserved; he hides behind a 
 tree and listens .] 
 
 Monsignor : 
 
 A royal courtier, from across the sea, 
 
 Made an audacious effort to abduct 
 
 The bride of The O’Byrne, the gallant chief 
 
 Of Wicklow, on their very wedding day. 
 
 Silken Thomas: 
 
 O’Byrne’ s fair bride! Why, I called there myself 
 To wish them joy that day. 
 
 Monsignor : 
 
 I saw you there. 
 
 Silken Ti-iomas: 
 
 A very pleasant time we had. I am 
 Amazed to hear that such a happy day 
 Was closed with such a grievous incident. 
 Monsignor: 
 
 He trapped her by a letter falsely signed 
 As written by her brother, who had come 
 Down from the trusty North. The Wicklow chief 
 Arrived in time to baffle his design. 
 
 They fought; and The O’Byrne disarmed the 
 wretch, 
 
 But soon was overpowered by his men, 
 
 Bound, and forthwith to Dublin carried off. 
 
 In Newgate Jail he is imprisoned now. 
 
 Silken Thomas ( Angrily ) : 
 
 And has it come to this : That in our land 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 33 
 
 No longer Innocence and Virtue may 
 In the broad light of day go forth without 
 Incurring risk of insult at the hands 
 Of titled ruffians? 
 
 Monsignor : 
 
 Outrages like this 
 
 Should not occur in our old motherland, 
 
 That has for many centuries enjoyed 
 A high repute in Christendom — a nation 
 Meant by the Almighty to be pure and free, 
 Contented, prosperous, and progressive; where 
 Justice and wisdom should harmoniously 
 Blend in enlightened statesmanship; and where 
 Both peasant and patrician equal rights 
 Should have before the law, just as they have 
 In Holy Church’s eyes. 
 
 Silken Thomas: 
 
 And such a country 
 
 Ours soon will be, if God will only spare 
 My father to achieve the purposes 
 He has so close at heart — unless, alas ! 
 
 Another period of destructive strife 
 And widespread, cruel suffering remains 
 In store for her. There is a prophecy 
 Of which I heard some time ago, which said 
 That after being for an age the home 
 Of ripest scholarship and brilliant minds, 
 
 She would pass through an era of distress 
 And fearful persecution. — 
 
 Monsignor : 
 
 I recall 
 
 That prophecy. It is by Malachy, 
 
 The Irish saint who, for all future time, 
 
34 
 
 SICKEN THOMAS 
 
 Foretold, in mottoes brief yet clear, the fate 
 And personality of every Pope. 
 
 It was recorded by a brother-saint 
 
 Who knelt beside him when he passed away. 
 
 These are his words — I well remember them : 
 
 “This prophecy, upon his dying bed, 
 
 He made with tearful eyes; and I have writ 
 His words exactly as he uttered them : 
 
 ‘Island of Saints and Teachers in the past, 
 
 Island cf Martyrs in the time to come 
 For several hundred bitter years; and then 
 Island of missionaries who shall spread 
 The Faith through mighty nations yet unknown; 
 
 . Peace, unity, contentment thine at iast.’ ” 
 
 Silken Thomas: 
 
 Let us devoutly hope those years of woe 
 That he predicts have now all run their course. 
 Monsignor : 
 
 God grant thy hope ! And now the favor I 
 Have come to ask of thee today. 
 
 Silken Thomas: 
 
 A strict 
 
 Investigation shall at once be made 
 Into this villainous outrage. Rest assured 
 Tomorrow The O’Byrne shall be released. 
 Monsignor : 
 
 Say not : “Tomorrow.” That day ne’er shall come.. 
 In yonder fuller, endless life today 
 Shall be tomorrow for eternity, 
 
 And yesterday shall ever be today. 
 
 Silken Thomas: 
 
 At once, then, I shall send a messenger 
 To Taunton, Governor of Newgate Jail. 
 
SIDKEN THOMAS 
 
 35 
 
 The Wicklow Chief his freedom shall regain 
 Before the setting of another sun. 
 
 [Enter Page] 
 
 My Lord, an officer with urgent mien 
 Awaits thee at the Castle. 
 
 Silken Thomas : 
 
 Who is he? 
 
 Page : 
 
 Fegrus O’Donnell. 
 Monsignor : 
 
 Brother of the bride 
 
 Of Chief O’Byrne. 
 
 Silken Thomas: 
 
 Go tell him his request 
 Is granted ere he gives it verbal form. 
 
 Ask him to stay and be my guest. 
 
 [Exit Page] 
 
 Before 
 
 My father went to London, he convened 
 His councillors at Drogheda, and there 
 He gravely handed me his sword of state. 
 
 “Wear thou this sword till I return,” he said, 
 
 “The symbol of the King’s authority. 
 
 Upon the path of justice keep thy feet. 
 
 Be guided by my council. Thou art young, 
 
 Though wise, and needest their mature advice. 
 
 I am now in the eventide of life. 
 
 And thou art in its forenoon. Act thy part 
 So that thy day, howe’er at times o’ercast, 
 
 In honor’s mellow sunset shall decline. 
 
 Farewell, my son. We nevermore may meet 
 This side the grave, May God thy footsteps keep!” 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 36 
 
 Monsignor : 
 
 A dignified farewell, with sorrow tinged, 
 
 As if the shadow of impending woe 
 O’ercast his thought. 
 
 Silken Thomas: 
 
 His voice was trembling, too. 
 
 As though his heart, that stout and fearless heart, 
 Quailed at the prospect of approaching doom. 
 
 My own is troubled since he went away. 
 
 Monsignor : 
 
 But is there aught to fear? 
 
 Silken Thomas: 
 
 Naught that I know. 
 
 Monsignor : 
 
 Then let the buoyancy of early youth, 
 
 Which still is yours, assert itself again. 
 
 Silken Thomas: 
 
 The stately functions that I now discharge 
 O’ertax my limited capacity. 
 
 They are, besides, quite foreign to my taste. 
 Monsignor : 
 
 That thou possessest all the needed gifts 
 Which could distinction bring to one who fills 
 The post that now is thine, oft have I heard 
 Since I arrived from Spain, a brief sojourn 
 To make amongst my relatives; and that 
 Thou art not only wise beyond thy years, 
 
 But that thou hast already given proof 
 That thou art motived, in thy public acts. 
 
 By that rare intuition which, combined 
 With something of the science and the art 
 Of higher politics, proclaims the statesman. 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 37 
 
 Silken Thomas: 
 
 If such a good report of me is current 
 Amongst our people, 'tis not merited. 
 
 'Tis to my father that the credits due. 
 
 A born aristocrat, of lineage long, 
 
 His sympathies, his heart, have ever been 
 With that democracy which still persists 
 Since classic Greece's ancient, golden age ; 
 
 And shall persist, I do believe, throughout 
 The future ages of humanity. 
 
 Monsignor : 
 
 Thou art acquainted, then, with classic lore? 
 
 Shaken Thomas: 
 
 Yes; I have read much, and have studied, too, 
 
 The volumes which I thought were worth the pains. 
 But though no small amount of time I've spent 
 Acquiring knowledge, wisdom, culture, from 
 The silent voices of the lettered dead, 
 
 Yet they are not congenial to a man 
 With such a temperament as I have. Spain ! 
 
 Didst thou assert thou hast arrived from Spain, 
 That land with which we Irish have so long 
 Had friendly and commercial intercourse? 
 Monsignor : 
 
 Yes ; in that country now my duties lie. 
 
 What other portion of the Master's field 
 I next must labor in, I know not yet. 
 
 Sieken Thomas: 
 
 Each has his own appointed course to run. 
 
 There is at times a tumult in my heart 
 That bodes for me a course of noisy strife. 
 
 The battlefield is my ancestral home ; 
 
 The measured tramp of troops, the clash of steel, 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 8 
 
 The musket's rattle, and the cannon’s roar, 
 
 The groans of dying foes — these martial sounds, 
 And these alone, make music in my ear. 
 
 But thine, my friend, is bloodless warfare; thine 
 The peaceful conquests of rebellious souls, 
 
 Who, in thy triumph, and their own defeat, 
 Unfeignedly rejoice. 
 
 [ Taking Monsignor’s arm\ 
 
 Come; be my guest. 
 
 [Exeunt] 
 
 Radley: ( Leaving his hiding-place .) I have a two- 
 fold object in paying this brief visit to Maynooth. 
 In the first place, I want to make this serious-minded 
 and highly-gifted youth believe that I am a loyal 
 friend of his father ; and in the second, I want to 
 study him a bit, for my own satisfaction. His char- 
 acter perplexes me. He is only a boy in years ; but 
 in demeanor and also, I have been told, in conversa- 
 tion, he is a man. How lucky I was to come at the 
 moment I did, when that prelatical friend of the 
 Wicklow rebel was asking him for an order for his 
 release! I must intercept that order by all means. 
 
 [Enter Allen, Secretary of the Lord Deputy's 
 Council , Dublin .] 
 
 Allen: You here, Lord Radley! This is an unex- 
 
 pected meeting. 
 
 Radley: Now that our plot against his father is near- 
 
 ing success I thought it advisable to have a pleasant 
 chat with Lord Thomas, with the object of disarm- 
 ing any suspicion he may have entertained about 
 me, and of giving him the impression that I am one 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 39 
 
 of the best friends and sincerest admirers his father 
 has. 
 
 Allen : ( smiling ) It won’t take you long to make him 
 
 believe that. 
 
 Radley : What pressing business brings you here ? 
 
 Allen : It is urgent, but not very important. I mislaid 
 
 an order-in-council which I should have presented 
 to him with others for his signature after the last 
 meeting; and as I don’t expect him back in Dublin 
 this week I came here with it. I went to your 
 residence a couple of days ago to have a talk with 
 you, but was informed that you were out of town. 
 Another amorous adventure, I suppose? 
 
 Radley: Your supposition is correct. 
 
 Allen : Anything special ? 
 
 Radley: Very special — a young woman who is more 
 
 attractive to me than any I have ever met before. 
 
 Allen : You are in luck. 
 
 Radley : I am, and I am not. 
 
 Allen : A dubious phrase. 
 
 Radley: It is a dubious case. 
 
 Allen : She is young, you say. Is she married or 
 
 single — maid, wife or widow? 
 
 Radley: She is all three. 
 
 Allen : You are trying to humbug me. 
 
 Radley : I’m not. Let me explain. I was after some 
 
 other game when I accidentally saw her alone. I 
 tried to engage her in conversation ; but she repulsed 
 me with that exasperating, frigid air which the 
 vicious as well as the virtuous can put on. Her dis- 
 dain made her all the more charming, all the more 
 desirable, to me. 
 
 Allen : That is only natural. 
 
40 
 
 SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 Radley: But there is an indefinable something about 
 
 her that has thrown a passionate spell over me. To 
 possess that Irish Diana would be for me the very 
 acme of pleasure. You can ’help me to accomplish 
 my purpose. 
 
 Allen : I ! How ? 
 
 Radley : I learned that she was to be married the fol- 
 
 lowing day. I made arrangements to carry her off. 
 The plan I adopted failed of success by a mere acci- 
 dent. Her bridegroom, a rebel chief, happened to 
 come along just as I was about to carry her to the 
 coach that I had waiting nearby. There was a sharp 
 scuffle; and we made a prisoner of him. He is in 
 Newgate Jail, Dublin, now, charged by me with 
 treason against his majesty the King. As you know, 
 we can imprison any number of these Irishmen, 
 high or low, on that charge, and keep them in jail 
 as long as we like without any trial at all. This, 
 however, is an exception. He is a personal friend 
 of Lord Thomas. 
 
 Allen : But what can I do to help your amorous 
 
 enterprise along? 
 
 Radley: If this Irish chieftain were out of my way 
 
 I feel confident that I would succeed. 
 
 Allen: How do you propose to get him out of your 
 
 way? 
 
 Radley: By having him hanged or beheaded, of course. 
 
 All you have to do is to send an order as coming 
 from the Council to the Governor of the Jail, and 
 he will be sent to the block or to the gallows. 
 
 Allen : The thought of taking a human life in such a 
 
 cold-blooded way makes me shudder. 
 
 Radley: But he's only an Irishman. 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 41 
 
 Allen : Even so. It would be — murder. 
 
 Radley: You are too scrupulous for these hardy times. 
 
 Allen : I have a conscience. 
 
 Radley : An inconvenient thing for an ambitious 
 
 statesman to have. Since you are so chicken- 
 hearted, Til shoulder all the blame and the guilt. 
 
 Allen : But I would be morally responsible neverthe- 
 
 less. Hire an informer to swear his life away, and 
 then you alone will be responsible. 
 
 Radley: As I have said, he is a personal friend of 
 
 Lord Thomas, who will order his release if he hears 
 that he is locked up. I want to have him put out 
 of the way as soon as possible. We can easily 
 get up an excuse to satisfy Lord Thomas — if he 
 is still at liberty then himself. You know what I 
 mean. 
 
 Allen: Yes, yes. If things go our way in London 
 
 it will not be long before he, too, finds himself in a 
 dungeon in the Tower. But can you not hit upon 
 another way of carrying out your plan in regard to 
 this Hibernian Hebe? 
 
 Radley: There is absolutely no other way than to get 
 
 rid of her husband without delay. I am really 
 astonished at your hesitation. In view of our 
 intimate relations of late, I had fully counted upon 
 your friendly aid. 
 
 Allen : It is my friendship for you, as well as my 
 
 respect for human life, that makes me so reluctant 
 to accede to your request. Let me earnestly advise 
 you to desist from this evil purpose of yours — to 
 curb your reckless passion — before it is too late. 
 Reflect upon the folly, the peril — 
 
 Radley : It is no use to talk to me like that. The cup 
 
42 
 
 SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 that holds the blissful draught lies within my reach, 
 and I am determined to drink it, no matter what 
 may be the consequences to myself. 
 
 Allen : I am sorry to hear you say that. Since, how- 
 
 ever, you are fully resolved upon taking this course, 
 I shall give you the order you require — on one con- 
 dition; and that is, that you give this unfortunate 
 man a chance to save his life; that you try hard 
 to devise a less desperate plan to gain your end. 
 
 Radley : I shall gladly comply with that condition. An 
 
 idea has just occurred to me — a scheme which, I 
 think, will succeed. But I want to be armed with 
 that order to the Governor of Newgate in case it 
 should fail. 
 
 Allen: You shall have it; but I sincerely hope you 
 
 will not use it. 
 
 (Allen starts to go off , bat turns around ) 
 Have you seen Skeffington or Butler of late? 
 
 Radley: Yes; both of them. 
 
 Allen : Have they received any news from London ? 
 
 Radley: They have been furnished with some infor- 
 
 mation that I have received, but from another 
 source. 
 
 Allen : Then the Earl of Kildare is really imprisoned 
 
 in the Tower? 
 
 Radley: Yes; and his death sentence, I have further 
 
 heard, is expected to be pronounced in a day or two. 
 
 Allen : Good ! Then Skeffington will soon be restored 
 
 to the position of Lord Deputy. 
 
 Radley: He will; and he is very anxious to hold that 
 office again. Butler is highly pleased at the pros- 
 pect; for, although he is a nephew of Lord Kildare, 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 43 
 
 he remembers that Kildare was his father’s bit- 
 terest foe. 
 
 Allen : It will do my heart good when this proud and 
 
 haughty Earl of Kildare has been laid low. But 
 I tell you frankly I don’t feel very sanguine as to 
 the success of our plot against him. 
 
 Radley: You have been pessimistic all along. 
 
 Allen : How can I help it when I know that for years 
 
 the Earl of Kildare has enjoyed the friendship of 
 the King and the good opinion of his majesty’s coun- 
 cillors, in spite of his traitorous truckling to the 
 native chieftains, to two of whom — O’Connor and 
 O’Carroll — his two daughters are married with his 
 full consent — nay, with his open encouragement. 
 
 Radley : But the King has been made aware of all the 
 
 facts. Besides, his majesty, I have been told on 
 good authority, not satisfied with being “Lord” of 
 this country, wishes to acquire a loftier title; and 
 when next parliament meets in Dublin City it will 
 proclaim him King of Ireland. Such a change, you 
 know as well as I do, Kildare would have vigor- 
 ously opposed; and the King has been informed, 
 they say, that the reason he would oppose it is this, 
 that he has long desired to make himself King of 
 Ireland — which is not true. 
 
 Allen : That must have touched the King in a raw 
 
 spot. 
 
 Radley: How could it do otherwise? 
 
 Allen: I feel more confident now than before. Had 
 
 you not better come along with me? 
 
 Radley: No. It is better that we should not appear 
 
 to be on very friendly terms with each other. When 
 
44 
 
 SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 men enter into a great conspiracy they should be 
 careful to shun alert Suspicion’s furtive glance. 
 
 Allen: ( going off) You are right You are an ideal 
 
 conspirator. 
 
 Radley : “Old Reprobate” that rebel chief called 
 
 me ! Old ? Do I indeed look old ? Ha ! Let me see. 
 [He produces a pocket mirror, and scans his 
 reflected features eagerly, turning his face from 
 right to left, and vice versa . Then he holds the 
 mirror at arm’s length and soliloquizes] : 
 
 That Irish rascal spoke the truth — the simple, 
 bitter truth. How is it that I have not noticed it 
 before? Is it because nobody has had the — bad 
 taste — the audacity — the impudence — to tell me that 
 I look as if were — growing old. (He looks into 
 the mirror again , smiles at himself first , and then 
 frozvns). I see it now. Whenever I have looked 
 at myself in a mirror I have smiled, by force of 
 habit; and thus those accursed wrinkles and other 
 facial deformities caused by relentless Time have 
 escaped my notice. (Looks at himself again) Why, 
 the very wrinkles which are caused by our smiles 
 serve to emphasize our frowns ! When did age be- 
 gin to tell upon me — upon my face, I mean, for I 
 am as young in heart and feeling now as I was 
 twenty-five years ago? (He returns the mirror 
 abruptly to his pocket with a frown) It’s too late 
 now to inquire into that. The sad fact remains : I 
 am getting old. And youthful beauty, of which I 
 am so ardent an admirer, seldom accords its favors 
 to the middle-aged, and never to the old, without 
 being influenced by the possession of wealth by the 
 recipient. (He starts as he gazes at some distant 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 45 
 
 object ). That looks like a messenger with Lord 
 Thomas's order for the lease of O'Byrne. If he 
 is, gold may buy the message he is carrying, as it 
 has often bought such things before. 
 
 [Exit] 
 
 [ Enter Musicians.] 
 
 Barney ( the Fiddler) : What a grand place this estate 
 
 of Mavnooth is ! 
 
 JERRY ( the Bagpiper ) : And it's a grand man that 
 
 owns it, too. 
 
 Mike ( the Harpist ) : Faith, it's true for you. And 
 
 the Earl of Kildare, when he is called to his reward 
 in the next world, will have a worthy successor in 
 Lord Thomas, by all accounts. Just think of a boy 
 like that being Lord Deputy — holding the most 
 powerful position in the land. 
 
 JERRY: He's well able to fill the position, they say. So 
 
 it appears that the Earl of Kildare knew what he 
 was doing when he put Lord Thomas in his place 
 before he went to London. 
 
 Barney: Didn't Lord Thomas enjoy our playing at the 
 
 O’Byrne wedding? 
 
 JERRY : He did indeed. That's why he sent for us to- 
 
 day, no doubt. And we may be sure that he'll treat 
 us well. 
 
 Mike: I hear that Shawn O'Dwyer is going to marry 
 
 Bessy O’Toole. He's a lucky gorsoon. Bessy's father 
 will give him that fine farm near the woods with 
 her. 
 
 JERRY: That fine farm near the woods! That's not a 
 fine farm at all. It's a wilderness on a little 
 
46 
 
 SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 scale. Why, you couldn’t raise enough on it to 
 feed a goat. If a rabbit wanted to spend half a 
 day there he’d have to take his lunch with him. 
 
 Barney : It’s a very poor bit of ground, but with per- 
 
 severance and time, — 
 
 Jerry: With perseverance and time an Irish snail 
 
 would reach Jerusalem. Did you hear what hap- 
 pened to Old Flint-Heart, the Sassenah landlord, 
 after he died? 
 
 Barney: No. 
 
 Jerry: He had the brazen impudence to knock at the 
 
 gate of Heaven. St. Peter recognized him, but 
 would not condescend to talk to him ; so he sent one 
 of his clerks to the gate to ask Old Flint-Heart what 
 he wanted there. He answered that he wanted to 
 get into Heaven. St. Peter said : “Ask him if he 
 ever did a good deed in his life.” The clerk obeyed. 
 Old Flint-Heart could remember only one good 
 deed that he had done. He bought a basket of 
 apples from a poor farmer’s son; and as the boy 
 had no money in his pocket he couldn’t give him 
 his change, which was only a very small sum. 
 “Keep it,” said Old Flint-Heart. “And that’s the 
 only good deed he has to his credit during his long 
 life on earth?” said St. Peter, with indignation. 
 “Ask him how much the change was; give it back 
 to him ; and let him go to — Purgatory.” 
 
 Barney: That reminds me of what I heard about old 
 
 Shawn Duffy and Father McGrah. Shawn got very 
 sick; his condition became so bad that they sent for 
 the priest to give him the last Sacraments. He was 
 never any good, the same Shawn. When he was 
 hard up he would steal the pennies off a dead man’s 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 47 
 
 eyes or the cross from an ass's back, if he could. 
 Well, after he received the Sacraments he said to 
 Father McGrah: "Father, I wish you had the key 
 of Heaven with you." "Why?" asked the priest. 
 "So that you could let me in," said Shawn. 
 "Faith," said Father McGrah, "it might be better 
 for you if I had the key of the other place." "How 
 is that, Father?" asked Shawn. The priest said to 
 him quietly : “So that I could let you out." 
 
 [ They play ] 
 
 JERRY : Sing us a song, Barney, for a change. 
 
 Mike : Yes, do, Barney. 
 
 [Barney sings\ : 
 
 For pretty girls, as true as they are charming, 
 
 The Emerald Isle has always been renowned. 
 
 None fairer, purer, or more tender-hearted, 
 
 In all the world can e'er be found. 
 
 But there is one who to my heart is dearest, 
 
 Who more than all the rest of them I prize: 
 
 She whom it is my fondest hope to marry, 
 
 Linking my life to hers for evermore, 
 
 Making our home an earthly paradise, 
 
 The colleen with the laughing eyes. 
 
 Her glossy hair is darker than the raven, 
 
 Her neck and arms are whiter than the swan; 
 
 Her sweet, moist lips are crimson like ripe cherries ; 
 
 She walks as graceful as a fawn. 
 
 Blit — best of all — her goodness far surpasses 
 Her beauty, as the sun, in mid-day skies, 
 
 Outclasses, in its everlasting radiance, 
 
 The stars that every night above us rise, 
 
 Oh, I am longing to my breast to clasp her, 
 
 My colleen with the laughing eyes. 
 
48 
 
 SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 Scene II. — In Newgate Jail. Door in center. When 
 this door is opened, the iron bars of a dungeon are 
 disclosed, O’Byrne behind them. Governor Taunton 
 of the Jail is slowing pacing to and fro, his head 
 bowed in meditation. 
 
 [Enter Lord Radley] 
 
 Radley : Has any letter or message been delivered 
 
 here for O’Byrne, the rebel Chief? 
 
 Taunton: No, Lord Radley. But I have received 
 
 from the council an order to have him beheaded. 
 
 Radley: I have just had a conference with the Lord 
 
 Deputy about the unfortunate man; and I want to 
 talk to him in private. Will you please unlock this 
 door, and retire for a few minutes? 
 
 Taunton: Certainly, Lord Radley. 
 
 [Taunton unlocks the door in the center, dis- 
 closing the iron-barred door of a dungeon. O’Byrne 
 is seen behind the iron-barred door.] 
 
 > [Exit Taunton, saying, aside:] 
 
 There’s something about Lord Radley that I 
 don’t like. He seems to be gloating over this pris- 
 oner’s awful doom. What is his reason, I wonder? 
 
 Radley: (to O’Byrne) You know that you have been 
 
 condemned to die, and have only a few hours to 
 live? 
 
 O’Byrne: The Governor of the Jail has so informed 
 me. When I asked him what is the crime that I 
 am charged with, he said “high treason.” That is 
 a ridiculous charge. When Lord Thomas hears 
 about it 
 
 i 
 
 Radley: He knows all about it now. 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 49 
 
 O’Byrne: Why, his father and I are friends. 
 
 Radley: Were friends, you should say. Lord Thomas 
 
 is even more scrupulously loyal to King Henry than 
 his father is, and he loathes the very name of 
 treason. (Taunton peeps in at one side of the 
 stage and listens ). As I have said, you have but a 
 few hours more of life. You surely realize that 
 there is absolutely no hope for you. The decree has 
 been issued by the Council of State, and ratified by 
 Lord Thomas. The headsman is already preparing 
 to exercise the sentence. (O’Byrne groans). But 
 it happens to be in my power, as your accuser 
 
 O’Byrne: My false accuser! 
 
 Radley: To save your life — ay, and to set you free. 
 
 All you have to do is to listen to the proposition I 
 am going to make. It is this. If, when I bring 
 your bride, Moira, here, you will tell her that you 
 give up all claim to her and bid her place herself 
 under my protection. — 
 
 O’Byrne: Stop, you ruffianly Sassenah! You must 
 
 be a devil in human shape ; otherwise you could not 
 come to me at such an hour with such a request. 
 Oh for a moment of freedom! If I had I would 
 pluck that vile, black heart from your breast and 
 throw it to the dogs ! Good Heaven ! Could there 
 be a bitterer death than this? 
 
 Radley: Death! But you can easily avoid it. If you 
 
 do not take this opportunity to save your life and 
 regain your freedom, you are a fool and a suicide 
 as well. 
 
 O’Byrne: You cursed, hell-bent scoundrel, go away! 
 
 ( Turning his back to Radley) I’ll listen to you no 
 longer. 
 
50 
 
 SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 Radley: Fret, and fume, and rage as you will, Moira 
 
 will be mine. She is in my house now — not as a 
 captive, mark you, but as a willing guest. 
 
 O’Byrne: ( quickly turning his face to Radley) It is 
 
 as false as hell! 
 
 Radley: This bravado will leave you after I go, and 
 
 you will be very sorry that you did not accept my 
 offer. But it will be too late. Die, you Keltic rebel, 
 die ! 
 
 O’Byrne: ( shaking his fist at Radley) Death! Yes, 
 
 a thousand deaths before Moira's honor or my 
 manhood should be stained by such a diabolical 
 bargain. 
 
 [Enter from the side of the stage opposite to 
 that from which Taunton is peeping and listening , 
 Gerard, a jailer in the secret pay of Radley, who 
 motions to him not to speak.] 
 
 Taunton: {aside) What! Gerard here? He should 
 
 be at his post elsewhere. Is he, too, in this hellish 
 plot? 
 
 Radley: {to Gerard) Close this door. 
 
 [Gerard closes it] 
 
 Radley: {speaking to Gerard) That pretty wench 
 
 should soon be here, with the letter that she has 
 obtained from the Lord Deputy ordering Taunton 
 to liberate O’Byrne. What his youthful excellency 
 will think or say when he finds out that his previous 
 order to Taunton was not delivered, I do not 
 know. He will doubtless be very angry. Now, 
 don’t forget what I told you. Open this door now 
 and call O’Byrne to the bars. Tell him that you 
 are a special messenger from the Lord Deputy, 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 51 
 
 who offers him his freedom on the condition to 
 which his wife has agreed in order to secure his 
 immediate liberation. The condition is that, since 
 the Lord Deputy has resolved to give the whole 
 country a just government, O’Byrne must pledge 
 his word of honor that he will not join in any upris- 
 ing against it, so long as it continues to be fair to 
 all the people. Assure him that his wife is anxious 
 that he should accept the proposal; then close the 
 door. He is sure to accept it. When his wife 
 comes — you must hurry up, for she may be here at 
 any moment — she will have a letter which she has 
 received from Lord Thomas, whom she has visited 
 in reference to her husband’s imprisonment. It will 
 be addressed to Taunton. 
 
 Gerard: I hope she won’t come before I talk to him. 
 
 I’ll have to be quick about this business ; for I must 
 hasten back to my post. If the Governor finds that 
 I am absent from my post he will want to know the 
 reason. He may dismiss me on the spot; for he 
 has a quick temper. 
 
 Radley : Don’t worry over that. I shall take care of 
 
 you. Well, take the letter from her, and assure her 
 that you will at once give it to the Governor. You, 
 of course, are to appear not to know who she is. 
 Then tell her, as a simple matter of Jail gossip, that 
 an Irish Chieftain, named The O’Byrne is to be 
 released tomorrow, having agreed, as the condition 
 of regaining his freedom, to hand over his wife to 
 an English nobleman who is in love with her. 
 
 Gerard: Yes, yes. I have got off by heart the words 
 
 you wrote for me to say. She will refuse to believe 
 what I tell her. Then I’ll call O’Byrne to the bars, 
 
52 
 
 SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 and in her hearing ask him : “Do you accept that 
 condition about your getting released? Your wife 
 wants you to accept it. She is here.” He will, of 
 course, say that he accepts it. After that I am to 
 close the door immediately, so as not to give them 
 a chance to talk to each other. 
 
 Radley: Exactly. You will play your part perfectly. 
 
 Now I shall go to Governor Taunton and keep 
 him in conversation until you have had time to carry 
 out the scheme. 
 
 [Exit Radley on the side opposite to that 
 where Taunton is listening] 
 
 Taunton : (aside) He will not be able to find me. 
 
 HI stay here and see this devilish plot carried out 
 so far that it will become necessary for me to inter- 
 fere. Then HI place these two villains in cells and 
 keep them there until I communicate with the Lord 
 Deputy. 
 
 [Gerard opens the door, calls O'Byrne, and 
 zvhispers to him for a few minutes.] 
 
 O’Byrne: (in an audible tone.) I accept the condition. 
 
 [Enter Moira with a letter in her hand] 
 
 Moira: (breathlessly to Gerard) This is a letter from 
 
 the Lord Deputy to Governor Taunton. Place it 
 in his hands, please, without delay. 
 
 Gerard: (bowing) There will be no delay. And as 
 
 he is likely to be busy now, you may have to wait a 
 little while for his reply. There is a parlor here 
 in which you can be seated. 
 
 [Exeunt Gerard and Moira. In a minute they 
 return ♦] 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 53 
 
 Moira : ( Excitedly to Gerard) Insult me not, I warn 
 
 you! If you dare 
 
 Gerard: Heaven forbid that I should insult a fair and 
 
 noble lady like you ! Stand there a minute. 
 
 [He leads her to a part of the stage some dis- 
 tance from the outer door of O’Byrne' s cell.\ 
 Then he opens the door and calls the prisoner to 
 the bars. 
 
 {To O’Byrne) : Do you agree to the condition named? 
 Your wife is present. She may like to hear from 
 your own lips your answer. Speak out clearly. 
 O’Byrne: Yes; I accept it. 
 
 [Gerard hastily closes the door.] 
 
 Gerard: You have heard his words? 
 
 Moira {pressing her hands to her eyes) : 
 
 O kindly Heaven ! have pity on me now. 
 
 But have I really heard those words aright? 
 
 Alas, I have. It surely was his voice. 
 
 [throwing up her hands.] 
 
 O God! that I should ever live to hear 
 That awful proposition from the man 
 To whom I gave my hand and heart. O Heaven ! 
 Gerard: He told me to tell you that, as he would be 
 
 willing to give his life to save yours, you ought to 
 make the same sacrifice to save his. The headsman 
 is already here. Your husband’s life depends on 
 your decision. 
 
 Moira: Then it is true. Oh, horror, it is true! 
 
 [she pauses] 
 
 To save my life he freely would give his; 
 
54 
 
 SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 And should I pause to make the sacrifice 
 He bids me make to save his life? Shall I 
 Less generous, less self-sacrificing, be 
 For his sake than he surely would for me? 
 
 But would it be a fair exchange? His life 
 Bartered against — I shudder at the thought 
 Of what such bargain would entail to me. 
 
 [ Enter Taunton and Radley] 
 
 The degradation of my womanhood, 
 
 The forfeit of my honor — dearer far 
 To me than life itself. It shall not he; 
 
 My honor as a woman and a wife 
 To me is far more precious than the life 
 And liberty of him who won my heart. 
 
 [Taunton walks to where Gerard is standing ; 
 places himself beside him , and eyes him angrily.] 
 
 Radley (to Taunton) : This woman is a lunatic. I 
 
 know her well. Her late hallucination, under which 
 she is now laboring, is that she is married, and that 
 her husband is the rebel Chief O’Byrne. 
 
 Moira : 
 
 This is a fiendish lie ! Ha ! I recognize you now. 
 
 It is you who tried to abduct me. 
 
 [To Taunton] 
 
 Tell me, sir, his name. 
 Radley: Heed not her ravings. Place her in a room 
 
 whence she can not escape. Tonight I’ll come for 
 her, and safely reconduct her to her home. 
 Taunton: Lady, you are the victim of a plot as vile 
 
 as was ever concocted bv the basest scoundrel that 
 ever walked the earth. Your husband is as faithful, 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 55 
 
 true, and loving as he ever was. He has rejected 
 with scorn the condition these two cunning scoun- 
 drels would make you believe he has accepted. I 
 have foiled their plot. 
 
 Moira: Thank Heaven for that! Oh, let me speak to 
 
 him. 
 
 [Enter Silken Thomas, with four body- 
 guards and Monsignor.] 
 
 Moira ( To Silken Thomas) : 
 
 My husband still is here. 
 
 Silken Thomas: 
 
 Ha ! Treachery ! 
 
 [To Taunton] 
 
 Upon whose order is he here confined? 
 
 Taunton: Upon Lord Radley^s. 
 
 Silken Thomas ( drawing his sword): Radley! Is 
 he here? 
 
 [Radley averts his face and walks stealthily 
 towards the door . Monsignor converses inaudibly 
 with Moira.] 
 
 Silken Thomas ( excitedly to Taunton) : 
 
 What does this rpean ? My orders set at naught ! 
 Twice have I written you, with my own hand, 
 Commands to liberate the Chief O’Byrne. 
 
 Taunton : They did not reach me, my Lord, I swear 
 
 to you. 
 
 Moira, ( pointing to Radley, zvho is crouching near the 
 door , at which two body-guards of Silken Thomas are' 
 standing) : 
 
 There stands the ruffian who insulted me, 
 
 And with his minions brought my husband here 
 
56 
 
 SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 And even now gave orders to this man 
 [Pointing to Taunton] 
 
 To lock me in a cell until tonight, 
 
 When he would come and bear me to his home. 
 O'Donnell (To Moira) : 
 
 Are you quite sure ’tis he? 
 
 Moira : 
 
 How could I eir 
 
 In such a case as this? 
 
 Monsignor (To Taunton) : 
 
 Have you not heard 
 
 What the Lord Deputy has said to you? 
 
 Give The O’Byrne his liberty at once. 
 
 [Taunton opens the outer door and proceeds 
 to open the inner, iron-barred one; Monsignor 
 converses with Moira.] 
 
 O’Donnell (drawing his sword and addressing 
 Silken Thomas) : 
 
 Pray, pardon me, my lord. 
 Soil not your sword with his base, hag-bred blood. 
 Let me dispatch him. To my sister he 
 Offered the worst of insults. 
 
 Silken Thomas (drawing back a little ) : 
 
 Let him die 
 
 The death he merits. Headsman, ax and block 
 Shall be his portion — 
 
 [To jailer , who has the key to the iron-barred door ] 
 
 Quick; release O’Byrne, 
 And let this bawdy miscreant take his place 
 Until the headsman comes. 
 
 Taunton : 
 
 The headsman’s here. 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 57 
 
 Lord Radley had him summoned for this man. 
 
 [ Opens the cell door , through which O'Byrne 
 steps forth, and, seeing Moira, embraces her.] 
 Silken Thomas: 
 
 It was his own beheading he arranged. 
 
 And let him die at once. You hear? At once! 
 Monsignor (To Silken Thomas) : 
 
 Accord this wretched sinner ample time 
 For penitence and the Sacraments, my lord. 
 
 Silken Thomas : 
 
 Such timely mercy he does not deserve; 
 
 But he shall have it. Taunton, see to this. 
 
 [Taunton and O'Donnell seize Radley, and 
 push him into the cell. Taunton locks the doors.] 
 
 [Exit Taunton] 
 
 O'Byrne (To Silken Thomas): 
 
 Accept my gratitude. — 
 
 Silken Thomas: 
 
 Nay, thank me not. 
 It was my simple duty to prevent 
 The shedding of a guiltless brother's blood; 
 
 For brothers we are now in patriotism. 
 
 [Shakes O'Byrne's Hand] 
 
 O'Byrne: Ay! And the brotherhood of patriotism is 
 higher and holier than the brotherhood of blood. 
 Silken Thomas: You had better go and breathe the 
 
 pure air and otherwise refresh yourself. You need 
 it after your horrible experience here. 
 
 [Exeunt O'Byrne, O'Donnell and Moira, 
 bozving and smiling to Silken Thomas.] 
 
 [End oe Act II.] 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 58 
 
 ACT III. 
 
 Scene I. — Chamber of the Council of State, St. Mary’s 
 Abbey, Dublin. A long table in the center with 
 books and manuscripts upon it, and chairs arranged 
 at each side, with a larger one at the head, for the 
 President. Silken Thomas alone is slowly walk- 
 ing up and down, his head bowed and his hand 
 pressed to his forehead, apparently absorbed in 
 serious thought. 
 
 [ Enter Monsignor.] 
 
 Monsignor : 
 
 Thou lookest ill, my lord, or else thou art 
 Immersed in deep and solemn fneditation. 
 
 Silken Thomas: 
 
 So many rumors of my father’s death 
 Have reached my ears that I begin to fear 
 They may be based on truth. 
 
 Monsignor : 
 
 What do they say? 
 
 Silken Thomas: 
 
 That my dear father has been put to death 
 By order of the King. 
 
 Monsignor : 
 
 Whence comes the news? 
 
 Silken Thomas: 
 
 From various sources. 
 
 Monsignor : 
 
 All authentic? 
 
 Silken Thomas: 
 
 No. 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 59 
 
 Monsignor : 
 
 Such vague and unconfirmed intelligence 
 Deserves but scanty credence. Evil news 
 Spreads faster much than good. Why dost thou not 
 Send o'er to London some one thou can’st trust 
 To ascertain the truth? 
 
 Silken Thomas: 
 
 That I have done — 
 
 One of' my most intelligent body-guards, 
 
 Upon whose tact and prudence I rely. 
 
 And, with impatience 'waiting his return, 
 
 My anxious soul with dark presentiments 
 Is much perturbed. Besides, my omens say 
 That I shall never more my father see. 
 
 Monsignor : 
 
 Omens and augurs should receive no heed 
 From cultured minds like thine. The cares of state 
 Depress thy youthful spirits. Thou shouldst take 
 Some wholesome recreation that befits 
 Thy years and station and thy present needs. 
 
 Be not discomforted by gloomy news, 
 
 Or darkened outlook. Standing as thou dost 
 Upon the threshold of a manhood bright, 
 
 Confront the future with unflinching gaze, 
 
 And optimistic heart; and bear in mind: 
 
 We all must take the bitter with the sweet, 
 
 The showers with the sunshine, in this world. 
 There are no shadows where there is no light — 
 Nay, is not Life's fair landscape made complete 
 By these same shadows? Never give up hope, 
 Though even Heaven itself should seem to frown. 
 Silken Thomas: 
 
 The toils of state are irksome, it is true; 
 
6o 
 
 SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 And fain would I exchange them, if I could, 
 
 For more congenial tasks; but duty calls, 
 
 And I must execute her stern behests, 
 
 Whatever be the cost. 
 
 [Draws and brandishes his sword] 
 
 Oh, how I yearn 
 
 To lead a charge upon the battlefield ! 
 
 To rush with fury on a hated foe! 
 
 Monsignor : 
 
 But they who love the sword shall meet their death 
 By its keen thrust. 
 
 Silken Thomas : 
 
 What matters it, my friend. 
 If battling for a righteous cause they die? 
 
 [Draws nearer to Monsignor] 
 
 Should foreign hordes our native land invade, 
 
 And threatened Liberty for help appeal, 
 
 Wouldst thou advise us meekly to submit, 
 
 Like sapless cowards, to a tyrant’s yoke, 
 
 And preach the sacredness of might enthroned, 
 And the enormous crime of armed revolt? 
 Monsignor ( Solemnly ) : 
 
 Life here below is not the highest good, 
 
 To battle for the right is meritorious; 
 
 Among the virtues patriotism stands high. 
 
 Silken Thomas : 
 
 For this concession, guarded though it be, 
 
 To that pure patriotism which hazards all 
 For Freedom’s holy cause, I thank thee, friend. 
 
 [Sheathes his sword ] 
 
 [Enter one of Silken Thomas’ body-guards, 
 wearing a troubled look.] 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 $1 
 
 Silken Thomas ( eagerly and quickly) : Back from 
 
 London ? Good ! What news do you bring me 
 about my father? 
 
 Bodyguard: Be calm, my lord. I have been seeking 
 
 you for hours, and just heard that you were here. 
 
 Silken Thomas ( excitedly ) : Speak out. I am no 
 
 woman. I can hear the worst without a falter. 
 
 Bodyguard: When your father landed in London he 
 
 was at once taken to the Tower by a military escort 
 (He Pauses). 
 
 Silken Thomas: I can read in your troubled counte- 
 
 nance the ghastly message you forbear to deliver 
 to me suddenly. I appreciate your kindly considera- 
 tion of my feelings. My father lives no more ! 
 
 Bodyguard: You have surmised the awful truth. 
 
 Silken Thomas : He has been murdered by the King's 
 
 command ! 
 
 Monsignor (to Bodyguard): Is that true? 
 
 Bodyguard: Alas, it is only too true. 
 
 Monsignor (gazing upzmrd) : 
 
 Eternal rest, and light, and peace be his ! 
 
 [To Silken Thomas] 
 
 Accept my sympathy ; and bear this blow 
 With Christian fortitude, as doth become 
 A Christian soldier, as thou art. 
 
 Bodyguard: A titled English spy, who has lately been 
 
 conspiring with the foes that your father had among 
 his councillors, has been sending the King false 
 reports about him. Here is one of his concoctions 
 which, having been mislaid, came into my posses- 
 sion by mere chance. 
 
 [Hands a parchment to Silken Thomas.] 
 
6 2 
 
 SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 Silken Thomas ( reading ) : 
 
 “Our plot has been strengthened in an important 
 particular. I have forwarded to his Majesty docu- 
 . ments purporting to prove that Kildare has been 
 for years engaged in the treasonable attempt to 
 substitute his own for the King’s authority in this 
 dominion, and to induce the members of Parliament 
 to agree to proclaim him King of Ireland at their 
 next session. This ought to rouse his Majesty 
 . from his too prolonged attitude of benevolent hesi- 
 tation, and to lead him to decree the immediate 
 death of Kildare. Take special pains to ascertain 
 what his Majesty’s decision is; and, having care- 
 fully informed yourself upon this point, lose no time 
 , in letting me know what it is.” “Radley” 
 
 Radley ! The miscreant I’ve condemned to die ! 
 That lecherous minion of a murderous King, 
 
 Is, then, the real slayer of my father, 
 
 His cowardly weapon the informer’s lie; 
 
 If I could make him die a hundred deaths, 
 
 Justice would not be fully satisfied. 
 
 [He pauses and paces up and down. Then , 
 zvith a sudden start:] 
 
 Why this affliction do I calmly bear? 
 
 What stills the ’vengeful voice of injured blood, 
 That should be clamoring now? What frigid spell 
 Benumbs the impulse that should fire my breast? 
 
 [Raises both hands and looks up to Heaven] 
 Oh for thy direst thunders, Heaven ! to smite 
 The monarch guilty of this bloody deed, 
 
 And devastate the kingdom where he rules ! 
 
 [He pauses] 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 63 
 
 Monsignor : 
 
 The noblest way to wreak condign revenge 
 Is to forgive. 
 
 Silken Thomas {drily) : 
 
 A vengeance so sublime 
 Might well beseem a saint, but not a soldier. 
 
 [A slight pause ] 
 
 My father slain by order of the King ! — 
 
 [Enter De La Hide] 
 
 De La Hide : j 
 
 And thou, thine uncles, and that angel-boy, 
 
 Thine only brother, to that cruel fate 
 Have likewise been condemned, I have just learned. 
 [Monsignor and the Bodyguard speak in 
 whispers to each other,] 
 
 Recall to memory what thy father said 
 Ere on his fatal voyage he embarked; 
 
 And by the counsel of his trusted friends 
 In thy next move be guided. Give us time 
 For due reflection on this crisis grave 
 That now confronts our country. Rest assured, 
 
 In all emergencies which may arise, 
 
 That on my friendly aid thou canst rely 
 With fullest confidence. 
 
 Silken Thomas: 
 
 I needed not 
 
 This opportune assurance. Thou, Sir James, 
 
 Hast always been my father’s dearest friend 
 And truest counsellor. 
 
 De La Hide: 
 
 Now to his son, 
 
 The pride and treasure of his noble heart, 
 
 , That friendship I transfer. 
 
64 
 
 SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 Silken Thomas: 
 
 And now, my friends. 
 With my great grief I would be left alone. 
 Monsignor ( going off zvith Bodyguard and 
 De La Hide) : 
 
 Our heartfelt sympathy and condolence ! 
 
 ’Tis natural thou wouldst be now alone. 
 
 And thy desire, my lord, we shall respect. 
 
 God grant thee fortitude in this dark hour ! 
 [Exeunt] 
 
 Silken Thomas ( after a pause , zvith animation and 
 drazving his szvord) : 
 
 The murder of a father to avenge, 
 
 The lives of menaced kindred to protect, 
 
 A motherland from tyranny to free ! 
 
 A threefold mission this that should command 
 , The fervid service of a knightly heart ; 
 
 A triple cause that should transform a coward 
 
 Into a hero, and give feeble age 
 
 The dash and strength of full-developed youth. 
 
 [Bows his head in evident anguish . Then, as if 
 he has resolved upon a course of action, he raises 
 his head suddenly, and walks szviftly out.] 
 
 , [Enter Lord Chancellor Cromer, with his 
 
 wig and his ermine on.] 
 
 Lord Chancellor : H’m ! I am again the first to ar- 
 
 rive, notwithstanding all that I have been saying to 
 my brother councillors about the advisableness as 
 well as the docorum of punctuality. 
 
 [Enter a Councillor.] 
 
 Councillor ( thinking himself alone ) : Who talks of 
 
 punctuality now, I would like to know? 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 65 
 
 Cromer: I have just been saying something to myself 
 
 about it. 
 
 Councillor: Oh, I beg your pardon! I had not seen 
 
 you when I came in, but thought that I was the 
 first arrival. I hope we won’t be kept here long 
 today, as I want to go hunting. This is fine weather 
 for it, and game, I am told, is plentiful. 
 
 Cromer: The length of our proceedings will, of course, 
 
 depend upon their importance. 
 
 Councillor: I wish they always did. 
 
 Cromer : They always do. 
 
 Councillor: They never do. They are invariably too 
 
 long. 
 
 Cromer: Pardon me. You are mistaken. 
 
 Councillor: I am not. There is too much rhetoric 
 
 indulged in and too little practical business trans- 
 acted at our meetings, as a rule; and I, for one, 
 am determined to stand it no longer. I intend to 
 bring the matter up when there is a full meeting. 
 
 Cromer: You are casting a reflection upon me 
 
 [ Enter another Councillor] 
 
 First Councillor: I certainly am, and you deserve 
 
 it for your long-windedness. 
 
 Second Councillor : Come now, my friends ; let’s 
 have no squabbling. Always try to compromise, 
 and you’ll make things easier for yourself and 
 others. 
 
 Cromer: He says we take up too much time by our 
 
 deliberations at this council board ; that I am largely 
 to blame for it. I feel sure 
 
 First Councillor: He knows that I am right. 
 
 Second Councillor: You both take opposite views of 
 the subject, I see. It is therefore a case for com- 
 
66 
 
 SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 promise. Let us postpone the discussion of it until 
 some other time, so that we may be able to approach 
 the consideration of it in a calmer and a more 
 conciliatory spirit. 
 
 [Enter Sir James De La Hide and several 
 other Councillors, followed by Allen, Secretary 
 of the Council , with a bundle of manuscripts under 
 his arm . All sit at the table , Allen's seat being 
 next to that of Cromer, the Lord Chancellor .] 
 
 Cromer ( reading a small manuscript after talking pri- 
 vately with Allen) : Since we met together here 
 
 before, several important things have happened. 
 The cause of law and order has made great 
 progress; the mutterings of discontent and disloyalty 
 are seldom heard ; and a wave of loyalty to our 
 illustrious King is sweeping over the land. 
 
 De La Hide: That is not true. 
 
 Cromer: Do not interrupt me while I am making a 
 
 speech. 
 
 De La Hide: You are not making a speech; you are 
 
 reading a prepared address. If you had made those 
 assertions while you were being carried away by an 
 oratorical torrent, I might feel inclined to overlook 
 your prevarications. But since you have written 
 them with cold deliberation in your private cham- 
 bers, I must in the name of truth protest against 
 them. 
 
 Cromer ( reading ) : In addition to these gratifying 
 
 circumstances, I am glad to be in a position to say 
 that 
 
 De La Hide: I insist upon your withdrawing the false- 
 hoods that you have uttered 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 6 7 
 
 Cromer : Falsehoods ! Dare you to accuse me of hav- 
 
 ing uttered falsehoods? 
 
 De La Hide : I do. And you know they are falsehoods. 
 
 [Several Councillors speak lowly to each 
 other zvith gestures of excitement.] 
 
 Second Councillor: This is eminently a discussion 
 
 where a compromise is in order. I respectfully sug- 
 gest that you, my Lord Chancellor, re-state in a 
 modified form what you have said, and that you, 
 Sir James De La Hide, do likewise. 
 
 A Councillor ( solemnly ) : Let us not forget who we 
 
 are and what we are : the members of this exalted 
 body — this Supreme Council of State — appointed 
 by his most gracious majesty the King. We should 
 uphold the dignity of the noble lord who is the 
 President of this Council. Let him continue his 
 important and interesting speech, and I appeal to 
 all present not to allow him to be interrupted again. 
 
 Another Councillor: Why, you are jeopardizing the 
 chance of a compromise being agreed to. 
 
 Cromer: Well, in order to expedite matters and to 
 
 promote harmony, I accept the suggestion of a 
 compromise. 
 
 A Councillor ( solemnly ) : No; no. I object to your 
 
 making that concession to disloyalty. 
 
 De La Hide: Withdraw that insinuation and apologize 
 
 for it. 
 
 Several Councillors: Withdraw! Withdraw! 
 
 A Councillor: I will not withdraw it. 
 
 Cromer: I must rule against you. You will have to 
 
 withdraw it. 
 
 A Councillor ( pulling a sheet of manuscript from his 
 pocket and reading it) : “Baffled in my conscienti- 
 
68 
 
 SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 ous efforts to promote a policy which, I feel assured, 
 would, if adopted, have the effect of tranquilizing 
 the masses of the rebellious natives of this dis- 
 tracted country, I resign my membership in this 
 council.” 
 
 De La Hide : You brought that written statement in 
 your pocket. It has nothing to do with what we 
 were discussing. You prepared it for use in some 
 eventuality which has not yet occurred. 
 
 A Councillor ( muddled and angry) : How do you 
 
 know? ( Rising ) 
 
 Cromer: I hope we shall continue to have the benefit 
 
 of your wisdom and counsel. 
 
 De La Hide : His what ? 
 
 A Councillor: My decision to resign is unalterable. 
 
 Cromer: I am sorry. 
 
 [Exit, hastily, Councillor.] 
 
 Cromer: Let us proceed quietly. ( Lays down his 
 manuscript) 
 
 De La Hide : I desire to say that it would be a mistake 
 
 to regard the seeming quietude that prevails in this 
 country for contentment. When a sensitive, quick- 
 witted, and deservedly renowned people are smart- 
 ing from grievances, what looks like serenity may be 
 the sullen brooding that preludes a fierce revolt. 
 
 One oe the Councillors : But our people have no 
 cause for revolt. 
 
 De La Hide: No cause! You must be jesting. Does 
 long continuance justify a cruel wrong or lapse of 
 many years condone a crime? 
 
 Cromer: Peace reigns throughout the land. 
 
 De La Hide: Apparent peace is oftentimes a state of 
 war that has not yet been formally declared. 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 69 
 
 One oe ti-ie Councillors: War! Rebellion, you mean. 
 If there are any more attempts at rebellion they will 
 be promptly crushed. I am in favor of having large 
 numbers of soldiers sent here from England with- 
 out delay. A big army fills the people with fear, 
 and fear is the best preservative of peace. 
 
 De La Hide: Justice is a much better preservative of 
 
 peace than fear. 
 
 Cromer : Before we take up routine business I consider 
 
 it my duty to inform you officially of what you all 
 have doubtless already heard unofficially — namely, 
 the fact that the Earl of Kildare, the Lord Deputy, 
 has been beheaded by order of the King's council. 
 
 De La Hide : By order of the King. 
 
 Cromer: The young man, Lord Thomas Fitzgerald, 
 
 who has been temporarily acting as Lord Deputy 
 during his father's absence in London, loses that 
 position, of course, by the removal of the Earl. 
 Since you, Sir James De La Hide, are a confidential 
 friend of Lord Thomas Fitzgerald, tell us how he 
 acted when he received the news of his father's 
 death. 
 
 De La Hide: He had already learned the fatal news 
 
 when I saw him last. 
 
 Cromer: When you spoke of it, did he fume and rage 
 
 and threaten vengeance on the King? 
 
 De La Hide: No. His anguish found expression only 
 
 in the silent eloquence of grief. His Spirit drooped 
 beneath the cruel blow; and as he desired to be left 
 alone with his keen sorrow I came away. 
 
 Cromer: Grief lingers not long with youth. 
 
 De La Hide: It will with him; for he is exceedingly 
 
 sensitive. Have you received any news about Lord 
 
70 
 
 SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 Thomas himself having incurred the displeasure of 
 the King? 
 
 Cromer: Unofficially I have. I am told the King is 
 
 angry with the whole family. Lord Thomas sent 
 us word that he would meet us here at this hour. 
 
 De La Hide: Then he will soon be here. 
 
 A Councillor: I am surprised at the fate that has 
 
 befallen the Earl of Kildare; for he was a great 
 favorite with his Majesty for many years. 
 
 Cromer: His Majesty must have had weighty reasons 
 
 for sanctioning capital punishment in his case. 
 
 De La Hide : Capital punishment ! The murder of that 
 
 great warrior-statesman cries aloud to Heaven for 
 retribution. 
 
 Cromer: It is not for us to sit in judgment upon our 
 
 gracious King. I am afraid of some violent or 
 seditious outbreak on the part of young Lord 
 Thomas, who has an impulsive and fiery disposition. 
 
 De La Hide: Who could justly blame him? 
 
 Cromer : Would you palliate disloyalty, that odious 
 crime ? 
 
 De La Hide: Is disloyalty in a subject a more odious 
 
 crime than that of a King who has murdered that 
 subject’s father? 
 
 Cromer: You must not speak like that about the King, 
 
 whose authority is sacred and supreme. 
 
 De La Hide: Then you would extenuate the worst of 
 
 crimes because the culprit wears a crown? The 
 mightiest monarch that rules in Christendom may 
 be less than the lowest of his subjects in the sight 
 of the angels. 
 
 Cromer: I am amazed to hear you talk like that. 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 71 
 
 De La Hide: Did Almighty God make one moral law 
 
 for Kings and another for their subjects? Surely 
 the Golden Rule of Christ is for all mankind. 
 
 Cromer: We shall proceed to take up the usual busi- 
 
 ness. (To Allen) Have you any communications 
 for us? 
 
 [Allen places several letters before Cromer.] 
 
 De La Hide: Before we leave this tragic subject I 
 
 suggest that we give formal expression to our regret 
 at the death of the Earl of Kildare, whose sterling 
 virtues and patriotic deeds have added a bright 
 page to the history of his country, and who has 
 bequeathed to his countrymen the fragrant memory 
 of a noble life. 
 
 Cromer : I do not think that we should take such a step 
 
 as that. 
 
 A Councillor : I am strongly opposed to it. 
 
 Another Councillor: Let us compromise. Let us 
 take up this question later. There is something to 
 be said on both sides. 
 
 Cromer: We shall consider it later. (After a brief 
 whispered conversation zvith Allen). Reports 
 which were received a few minutes before we came 
 into this room show that the condition of the coun- 
 try is not at all so satisfactory as I had been led 
 to believe that it was. These reports are from 
 trusty English spies. Johnson, for instance, who is 
 making observations in the North, and who has been 
 liberally supplied with money by us to bribe unsus- 
 pecting members of the Clans, gives us a rather 
 gloomy account of the outlook up there. He says : 
 
 (Reading one of the dispatches ) “I have secured the 
 information that the followers of O’Neill and 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 /- 
 
 O'Donnell have recently received new and large 
 supplies of arms and ammunition, and have been 
 ordered to be prepared to fight at short notice. 
 There is something in the air that I cannot find out ; 
 for these men know nothing of it themselves.” 
 
 A Councillor: That is serious news. 
 
 Another Councillor: What can be the reason for 
 
 the action of those two powerful northern chieftains ? 
 
 Cromer : We must send some extra spies without delay 
 
 to assist Johnson in making his investigations. 
 Some grave event is impending. ( Taking up an- 
 other dispatch and glancing at the signature) . Ah, 
 this report is from Dalby. He is the cleverest 
 
 De La Hide: Scoundrel we have. 
 
 Cromer: Please do not interrupt me. He says: “Some- 
 
 thing very serious is afoot. The clansmen meet in 
 groups in different parts of this district, and hold 
 debates in whispers. They place sentries at certain 
 distances from them, so that no strangers may 
 approach. I have some clues, however, on which 
 I am working, and which, I feel confident, I will 
 follow up with success. Please send me more 
 money.” 
 
 De La Hide : That fellow is always asking for money. 
 
 A Councillor: I have been told that he is a gambler. 
 
 Cromer : He is one of the most reliable of our secret 
 
 agents. 
 
 De La Hide: Hired reformers, you mean. 
 
 Cromer ( continuing to read) : “There is a fine estate 
 here adjoining mine. The present possessor is dis- 
 loyal to the King. It is much more valuable than 
 the one that has been confiscated to me. I want to 
 take possession of it.” — 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 73 
 
 De La Hide: The covetous scoundrel — the thief. 
 
 A Councillor: But all the estates in this country be- 
 
 long to the King. 
 
 De La Hide : They do not. They belong to their right- 
 
 ful owners. 
 
 Cromer: He covers that very point correctly himself. 
 
 He goes on to say: “These native Irish have no 
 right to own any properties in the realms of our 
 gracious King. Kindly send me at once the requisite 
 written authority to seize it.” 
 
 A Councillor: What audacity! What villainy! 
 
 Cromer : Hush ! That language is too strong. 
 
 The same Councillor : Too strong ! Could any 
 
 words of denunciation be too strong for a man who 
 wants to steal the property of another, and who 
 desires to obtain from this council an official letter 
 which would legalize his pillage? It is outrageous. 
 
 De La Hide: He should.be sent to jail for having in- 
 
 sulted the members of the Council. 
 
 [Several Councillors hold a brief whispered 
 conversation, some nodding their heads in assent, 
 and others quickly turning their heads from right 
 to left as a sign of dissent.] 
 
 Cromer: Some members of this honorable Council evi- 
 
 dently forget that this country belongs to King 
 Henry, and also that this estate is at present in the 
 hands of one who is disloyal to his Majesty. 
 
 De La Hide : This country belongs to the Irish people. 
 
 Cromer: No, no. Pope Adrian IV gave it to King 
 
 Henry II, in order that his Majesty 
 
 De La Hide : It was not his to give. 
 
 A Councillor: Certainly not. How could it be his? 
 
74 
 
 SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 Cromer: Please do not interrupt me. The Pope, in a 
 
 solemn Bull, gave Ireland to the English King in 
 order that his Majesty, being the supreme master 
 of it, might suppress the lawlessness and the vice 
 which prevailed in it at the time. 
 
 De La Hide {hotly) : That is not true. 
 
 A Councillor : Order ! Order ! Do not insult the 
 
 Lord Chancellor. 
 
 Another Councillor {To De La Hide): Withdraw 
 that offensive epithet. 
 
 A Councillor: Truth is neither offensive nor insult- 
 
 ing. 
 
 De La Hide: That papal Bull was spurious. It was 
 forged in England. 
 
 Cromer: I am astonished to hear you say so. Your 
 
 allegiance to the Sovereign Pontiff is very weak. 
 
 De La Hide : It is stronger than yours, prelate though 
 
 you are. 
 
 Cromer: What shall we do about this letter of Dalbv’s? 
 I suggest that we comply with his two requests — 
 to send him more money to enable him to continue 
 and to enlarge the scope of his loyal work; and 
 to authorize him to annex that estate which he 
 mentions. 
 
 De La Hide: Most emphatically I protest against such 
 
 a scandalous injustice. I know that the majority of 
 my colleagues at this council board — several of them 
 beneficiaries of the generosity and magnanimity of 
 the great Earl of Kildare — are ready to approve of 
 whatever you suggest. But 
 
 [Enter Silken Thomas, hurriedly , with sev- 
 eral of his followers , his helmet on , and holding the 
 gold-scabbarded sword of state in his two hands,] 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 75 
 
 Silken Thomas: 
 
 Friends, Councillors, and worthy gentlemen, 
 
 The evil news from London you have heard: 
 
 My father to the headsman sent, because 
 He loved his country better than his King. 
 
 No longer will I keep this sword of state, 
 
 The emblem now of slavery. Here and now, 
 
 Like the allegiance I have borne the King, 
 
 I cast it from me with contempt. 
 
 [He flings the sword of state on the Council 
 table. The Councillors rise, with murmurs of 
 amazement.] 
 
 Several Councillors : My lord ! 
 
 Silken Thomas ( drawing his sword) : 
 
 Against this foreign tyrant’s bloody rule 
 I am a rebel! And I dedicate 
 
 [Waving aloft his sword] 
 
 My sword, my mind, my heart, my very life, 
 
 To one supreme and all-engrossing purpose: 
 
 To banish from my country every trace 
 And vestige of the Sassenah invader ! 
 
 [End oe Act III.] 
 
76 
 
 SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 ACT IV. 
 
 Scene I. — Tent of Silken Thomas on a battlefield. 
 Camp table and chair. Occasional rifle shots heard 
 outside. 
 
 [Enter Jerry the Bagpiper.] 
 
 Jerry: I thought our brave young Commander-in- 
 
 Chief was here in his tent. They told me he was. 
 Maybe he'll be back soon. I'll wait awhile, any- 
 how. I want to see him very particularly; for Fve 
 a great favor to ask of him; and he's such a fine, 
 noble-souled young gentleman — a soldier, every inch 
 of him, to his finger-tips — that I'm almost sure he 
 won't have the heart to refuse. I'd far rather be 
 fighting the enemy than be playing these bagpipes 
 of mine, much as I like to play them. 
 
 [Enter Mike the Fiddler .] 
 
 Mike: Why, it’s Jerry with his bagpipes, as true as 
 I'm alive. What the mischief brings you here, 
 JERRY, may I ask? 
 
 Jerry : The same things that brought you here, Mike 
 — a pair of shanks. 
 
 Mike: Oh, I mean: what object had you in view in 
 
 coming to the tent of the Commander-in-Chief? 
 
 Jerry: Business of a private, personal and pressing 
 
 nature. 
 
 Mike: Faith! that's what I'm here for myself. 
 
 Jerry: But isn't it presumptious for you to call upon 
 
 The Commander-in-Chief by yourself, without any- 
 body to introduce you to his lordship? Have you a 
 letter of introduction from your superior officer? 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 77 
 
 / 
 
 Mike: No. Have you? 
 
 Jerry: I haven’t. 
 
 Mike: Then why don’t you practice what you preach? 
 
 What do you mean by asking me if I have one? 
 
 JERRY : I think it’s bad enough for me to come by my- 
 
 self without you doing the same. Besides, to tell 
 you the truth, Mike: I was afraid that if I did ask 
 my superior officer for a letter of introduction to 
 Lord Thomas, he’d want to know what I wished 
 to see him for; and I feel certain that if I told him 
 why, he wouldn’t let me come here at all. So I’m 
 taking French leave. 
 
 Mike : Begorra ! It’s exactly the same with me. I’m 
 
 running a risk, I know, in doing it. But the Lord 
 Deputy, I know now, is a .splendid character and 
 is free and easy, with nothing stuck-up about him; 
 and so I made up my mind to see him about it. 
 
 Jerry: About what? 
 
 Mike: I don’t mind telling you, Jerry; but you must 
 
 promise me that you won’t let anybody else know in 
 case I don’t get the permission Lm after. 
 
 JERRY: You may depend upon me, Mike. I won’t give 
 
 your secret away. 
 
 # [Enter Barney the Harper ♦] 
 
 Mike ( confidentially ) : It’s to fight with the soldiers 
 
 I want, instead of playing my bag-pipes to them. 
 
 JERRY: Why, man alive! that’s just what I’m after, too. 
 
 I’d rather fight than play, any time. But now that 
 there’s a grand opportunity to set our dear old 
 motherland free for ever, I want to be in the thick 
 of the closing fight. 
 
 Barney : That’s fine ! boys ; fine ! I’m with you. I’m 
 
 anxious to fight for Ireland’s freedom too. 
 
73 
 
 SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 Mike: Our men have had the Sassenah on the run 
 
 lately. The final victory is already in sight. 
 
 JERRY: But I hear that the enemy are determined to 
 
 win this coming battle. They’ve been getting a lot 
 of reinforcements and provisions. 
 
 [Enter Silken Thomas, Unnoticed.] 
 
 Barney: That’s all the better. It’ll be a hard strug- 
 gle — just what I’m aching for. I want to fight for 
 Ireland’s freedom — ay, and to die for it, too, if 
 that’s God will. 
 
 Jerry and Mike: So do I. 
 
 Silken Thomas : Brave boys ! I am delighted to hear 
 
 you say that. You express the spirit that should 
 animate us today — and that does animate us all, I 
 believe. 
 
 JERRY: Strange to say, my lord, we three have taken 
 
 the liberty to come to beg the same favor at 
 your hands. We didn’t come here together, and \ve 
 hadn’t talked to one another about it. 
 
 Silken Thomas: The same favor! What is it, boys? 
 
 Jerry: We implore your permission, my lord, to fight 
 
 with the soldiers, instead of playing our musical 
 instruments. 
 
 The Other Three: Yes, yes, Lord Thomas. Kindly 
 allow us to take part in the fighting. 
 
 Silken Thomas: But by playing your musical instru- 
 
 ments you really take part in the battles. You risk 
 your lives the same as the soldiers do; and your 
 martial tunes not only keep up but intensify the 
 courage and the fighting spirit of the troops. Your 
 instruments are, in your hands, as effective weapons 
 as are the blades and the muskets in the hands of 
 the soldiers. 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 79 
 
 Mike : But we're convinced, my lord, that we could do 
 
 more for Ireland with swords and guns than with 
 our music. There are minstrels enough with the 
 troops without us. Kindly grant us the favor we 
 humbly beg of your lordship. 
 
 Silken Thomas: Yours is such as unusual request 
 that I readily comply with it. 
 
 The Three : Thank you, Lord Thomas ; thank you. 
 
 [Exit Silken Thomas] 
 
 Jerry: Before we part with our instruments let us play 
 
 a few tunes. 
 
 Barney: We've played enough with them already. 
 
 We're 'soldiers now and not musicians. Let’s stick 
 to our new profession. 
 
 Mike: You're right. We've got leave to change our 
 
 instruments, and the sooner we take advantage of 
 the permission the better. It will take us some 
 time to get used to our new ones. 
 
 Jerry: But, God save us from all harm! this may be 
 
 the last time that we will have an opportunity to 
 play together. One of us, two of us — ay, the whole 
 three of us — may be killed. 
 
 Barney: Or crippled. You're right, Jerry. This may 
 
 be the last tune any of us will ever play. Say r 
 boys, can you tell me how it is that the ladies of 
 all civilized countries are so fond of Irishmen? 
 
 Jerry : Because they — there are so many reasons that 
 
 I can’t hit on the principal one. Let me see. 
 
 ( reflects ) 
 
 Mike: Because we’re such a fine lot of fellows. 
 
 Barney : In what particular way ? 
 
 Mike : In every way. 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 ‘So 
 
 Barney : That would be going a little too far and, be- 
 
 sides, it would be too general. I’ll tell you why. It 
 is because Irishmen do everything the ladies tell 
 them to do and lot of things the ladies don't ask 
 them to do. And what more could they do for the 
 ladies ? 
 
 Jerry: Nothing more, indeed. Was I telling you 
 
 about the narrow escape I had recently from the 
 bullet of a cowardly Sassenah? 
 
 Mike: You didn't say anything about it to me. 
 
 Barney: Nor to me. How did it happen? 
 
 Jerry: He was a spy and was skulking behind the 
 
 trunk of a big oak-tree when I happened to pass 
 by. As soon as my back was turned and I had 
 walked about twenty feet he fired at me. The bullet 
 knocked my caubeen off, and when I looked behind 
 me I saw him running along a boreen through the 
 woods as if the Dheeowl himself was after him. 
 
 Mike: Faith, you had a narrow escape, Jerry. Some 
 
 poor old woman that you befriended, or a young 
 one that likes you, must have been praying for you. 
 
 Barney : Did you follow him ? 
 
 Jerry: I did. 
 
 Barney: Did you overtake him? 
 
 Jerry: I did. 
 
 Mike: What happened then? 
 
 JERRY : He’ll never sin again. 
 
 f They play several tunes and go off] 
 
 [Enter Silken Thomas hastily zvith a dispatch 
 in his hand , followed by a soldier . He sits at the 
 little camp table and reads the dispatch . Then he 
 writes a reply and hands it to the soldier, who 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 8l 
 
 salutes him and goes out ♦ Silken Thomas rises 
 and quickly walks from right to left and back.] 
 
 [Enter a soldier with a dispatch which he hands 
 to Silken Thomas after the usual military salute . 
 Exit Soldier . Silken Thomas reads the dispatch , 
 and then rises quickly to his feet.] 
 
 Silken Thomas: 
 
 What evil news is this? Mavnooth has fallen; 
 
 Less through the overwhelming force of those 
 Who my ancestral stronghold had besieged 
 Than through the treachery of some Sassenah louts 
 Amongst its brave defenders; Skeffington, 
 
 The new-appointed Deputy, ensconced 
 
 Within its grudging walls, from which there hang 
 
 The bodies of slain, consecrated priests, 
 
 Friends of my house, and, more important still, 
 
 My suffering country’s cause. But very soon 
 Maynooth shall be re-captured, and the heads 
 Of Skeffington and his chief officers 
 Shall on its turrets be enspiked. 
 
 [Enter an Irish Oeeicer] 
 
 Irish Oeeicer: My lord, those disaffected Sassenah 
 
 soldiers who were so fond of boasting of their 
 ardent loyalty to you and the noble cause in which 
 we are engaged, have run away — deserted — in a 
 body; ample proof of preconcerted treachery. 
 
 Silken Thomas: 
 
 Traitors here, 
 
 In my own camp ! The fault is mine. I should 
 Their fealty have mistrusted from the first, 
 
 Since they are Sassenahs. But there yet remain 
 Enough of my own countrymen to win 
 
82 SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 The patriotic triumph that we seek, 
 
 And shall achieve if we this battle win. 
 
 O’Connor's and O’Connell's men are here, 
 
 Bold soldiers every one; and now O’Byrne, 
 O’Donnell and O’Neill, with forces strong. 
 
 Are marching hither. With such brave allies 
 The sacred purpose which inflames my heart 
 With patriotic fire, and unto which 
 My life is consecrated — to destroy 
 The domination of the alien foe, 
 
 To banish every vestige of his power — 
 
 Will be accomplished soon. 
 
 [Enter O’Byrne, accompanied by Moira] 
 Silken Thomas ( shaking him by the hand ) : 
 
 The brave O’Byrne ! 
 
 The O’Byrne: 
 
 Who with his clan has hastened here to join 
 Your valiant followers in striking down 
 The invading Sassenahs' power; in setting free 
 Our motherland from his despotic grasp. 
 O’Donnell and his men are not far off ; 
 
 O’Neill is coming also, with the flower 
 Of his intrepid army. 
 
 Silken Thomas (to Moira) 
 
 Thou too here ! 
 
 [To the O’Byrne] 
 
 But why expose this gentle spouse of thine 
 To war’s rude perils? 
 
 O’Byrne : I could not keep her back. She has organized 
 
 A corps of nurses for the wounded. 
 
 Silken Thomas: That 
 
 Is strongest, clearest proof that could be given 
 Of noblest patriotism. Self-sacrifice 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 33 
 
 The patriot's brightest mark must ever be. 
 
 Still; I would rather see this post of honor, 
 
 So fraught with danger, filled by some one else. 
 Moira : 
 
 We Irishwomen always are prepared 
 To risk our lives for our dear country’s cause. 
 Silken Thomas: 
 
 Fair heroine! Devotion such as thine 
 Trebles our courage, fortifies our hope, 
 
 And adds fresh ardor to our high resolve 
 To be successful in this final stage 
 Of our great, patriotic enterprise. 
 
 Moira ( Going out) : 
 
 We shall succeed! 
 
 The O’Byrne: Let me congratulate you on the vic- 
 tories you have won. They have struck terror to 
 King Henry’s heart. 
 
 Silken Thomas: 
 
 Have you heard any tidings from Dublin? 
 
 The O’ByrnE: Sir William Skeffington, who fills 
 
 again the office of Lord Deputy, has returned to 
 Dublin, and has announced that in the Castle he 
 will henceforth stay, leaving to younger men the 
 task of leading the campaign against us. But it 
 is known that he has been superseded as Lord 
 Deputy by another. 
 
 Silken Thomas : I may perhaps once more lay siege 
 
 to Dublin. 
 
 The O’Byrne: It was a daring feat — your capture of 
 
 that city at the head of but a few retainers. Now 
 the King, petitioned by the Sassenahs of the Pale, 
 has sent across Lord Leonard Grey 
 
84 
 
 SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 Silken Thomas: My kinsman; and no mean soldier. 
 O'Byrne: In supreme command of military matters in 
 
 this country and Lord Deputy in everything but 
 name, he's advancing here with re-enforcements. 
 Silken Thomas: 
 
 He'll get a warm reception when he comes! 
 
 [Sound of musketry. The March ‘‘O'Donnell 
 Aboo” is heard in the distance .] 
 
 O'Byrne : O'Donnell's force is here. 
 
 Silken Thomas: 
 
 That fighting tune 
 
 Reminds me of the war-cry of my house, 
 
 That has been heard on many a battlefield, 
 
 But never yet in such a righteous cause 
 As this for which we are struggling. 
 
 O'Byrne: “Crom Aboo!” 
 
 A battle-cry that pledges victory! 
 
 [Enter O'Donnell’s clan marching to “O’Don- 
 nell Aboo,” as in Act I. The march “Garryowen” 
 follows , O'Byrne exclaiming : " These are my men.” 
 When they have passed on, O'Donnell enters the 
 tent and greets Silken Thomas and The 
 O'Byrne.] 
 
 Silken Thomas: 
 
 This coming battle with the Sassenah hordes 
 Will be decisive. Therefore, let our plans 
 Be thoroughly discussed and carried out 
 With vigor and precision. Let us survey 
 Out actual position, and take note 
 Of what advantages it offers us. 
 
 O'Donnell: An excellent location we have here, with 
 
 scope for admirable strategy’. 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 85 
 
 O’Byrne (to O’Donnell) : Moira is here, with nurses 
 for our men. 
 
 O’Donnell : Good ! I would like to see her. 
 
 O’Byrne: Come along. 
 
 [ To Silken Thomas] 
 
 We shall return anon. 
 
 [O’Byrne and O’Donnell going off.] 
 
 Silken Thomas: 
 
 Pray, wait while. 
 
 Bad news has reached me from Maynooth. That 
 great 
 
 And storied stronghold of our hardy house 
 Has just surrendered to old Skeffington. 
 
 He must have captured it ere he returned 
 To Dublin. Sassenah traitors were, it seems, 
 Within its walls, unknown and unsuspected. 
 
 They helped my enemies when it was besieged. 
 
 I counted on their loyalty. 
 
 O’Byrne : Grave mistake ! Experience has, in more 
 
 than one event, proved that the Sassenah never 
 should be trusted. 
 
 O’Donnell: Ay — sad experience too. 
 
 Silken Thomas: 
 
 I know that well. 
 
 I always have distrusted them, although 
 My father counted on their faithfulness. 
 
 Another instance of their treachery 
 Occurred within this hour. A small brigade 
 Composed of them entirely, who have fought 
 With me in many a recent battle, have 
 Deserted in a body. 
 
86 
 
 SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 O’Donnell: Happy riddance! Our ranks are now 
 
 made up of our own men, whom we can trust with- 
 out the least misgiving. 
 
 O'Byrne : On native arms the patriot must rely. 
 
 [ Enter an Irish Soldier.] 
 
 Soldier (to Silken Thomas) : Our scouts have 
 
 finished reconnoitering. They report that we have 
 a marked advantage over the enemy in position ; but 
 he is somewhat superior in respect of numbers. 
 
 [Silken Thomas motions to the Soldier to 
 retire . Exit Soldier, after saluting .] 
 
 Silken Thomas: 
 
 But dash and bravery always did outpoint 
 Superiority in numbers. 
 
 O’Byrne : 
 
 When 
 
 A nation’s freedom is at stake. 
 
 [“Parley” bugle sounds.] 
 
 Silken Thomas: 
 
 What’s that? 
 
 A bugle sound of parley. What is up? 
 
 [Enter an English Officer in red uniform 
 with a flag of truce.] 
 
 English Officer: Lord Thomas, I presume? 
 
 [Silken Thomas nods assent.] 
 
 English Officer: 
 
 Lord Leonard Grey, 
 
 Who of King Henry’s army in this land 
 Is now supreme commander, sent me here 
 To tell thee, as a kinsman and a friend, 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 87 
 
 That he requests a parley, with the view 
 Of ending further, useless strife. He prays 
 That, facing sure defeat, disgrace and death, 
 
 Thou shouldst lay down thine arms. 
 
 Silken Thomas ( with animation ) : 
 
 Lay down my arms ! 
 
 Give up this righteous struggle ! Yield ! Have I 
 Thy message heard aright? He is distraught, 
 
 Or much misunderstands me. Sassenah, go ! 
 
 Tell Grey this war for Ireland’s freedom shall 
 Go on till victory has been achieved, 
 
 Or my brave, faithful followers and myself 
 Have on the altar of our country’s cause 
 Our mingled life-blood poured. 
 
 English Oeeicer : Lord Leonard Grey has written 
 thee this letter. 
 
 [He hands a document to Silken Thomas.] 
 
 Silken Thomas ( reading ) : “Beloved Cousin: It were 
 
 impossible not to admire the rare courage, high 
 military ability, and consummate strategy with 
 which you have hitherto conducted this insensate 
 and, so far as you are personally concerned, foolish 
 and unprovoked rebellion against your King. I am 
 charged, however, by your noble father, who is 
 suffering from a dangerous sickness, brought on 
 by grief, humiliation, and shame at your disloyal 
 conduct, to beseech you to lay down your arms and 
 to disperse your men, not only as an act of loyalty 
 and submission to your sovereign, but as the sole 
 condition upon which he — your noble father — can 
 be released from the Tower and be permitted to 
 return to his native land. The King empowers me 
 
88 
 
 SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 to offer you, in return, full pardon for your heinous 
 crime of high treason against his Majesty. 
 
 Leonard Grey" 
 
 [O’Byrne and O’Donnell whisper to each 
 other excitedly .] 
 
 Silken Thomas: 
 
 My father living still ! Thank Heaven for that ! 
 And, by desisting from all further strife, 
 
 I can restore him liberty and health 
 
 For, by this time, he must prostrated be 
 By my rash-seeming conduct, unaware 
 Of what my motives and my reasons were. 
 
 [He pauses] 
 
 Yet what a sacrifice this means to me! 
 
 To lay down arms upon the very eve 
 Of that bright, happy day for which I’ve yearned 
 And fought with all my might — the glorious day 
 On which, my country ! I had hoped to place 
 The diadem of Freedom on thy brow. 
 
 My father living still ! His future fate 
 In my own hands ! 
 
 English Officer: 
 
 Lord Grey will hither come 
 When thou thy men hast ordered to return 
 A league from hence. He craves an interview 
 For this sole purpose — that he may excite 
 Enough paternal love within thy breast 
 To end thine ailing father’s sore suspense. 
 
 His life is now imperilled. Thy reply? 
 
 Silken Thomas: . 
 
 My men are ready to advance; they now 
 Await my orders. But this fateful news 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 89 
 
 Upsets my plans. They shall retire at once 
 The stipulated distance. How I yearn 
 To see my valiant father once again! 
 
 O’Byrne and O’Donnell ( together ) : No, No, No! 
 Silken Thomas ( to English Oeeicer) : 
 
 Thou wilt retire until I summon thee. 
 
 [Exit English Officer] 
 
 O’Byrne {hotly) : 
 
 It would be worse than folly, — nay, a crime — 
 
 A base betrayal of our country’s cause — 
 
 To let this splendid opportunity 
 Of crushing, once for all, our Sassenah foe 
 Pass unavailed of. 
 
 O’Donnell: It were very madness! And traitorous 
 
 also. 
 
 Silken Thomas: 
 
 Listen, friends, 
 
 Before you both so bitterly condemn me. 
 
 My father’s life is to his native land 
 As precious as it is to me, his son. 
 
 That life is hanging in the balance now. 
 O’Donnell : So, too, is Ireland’s liberty. 
 
 O’Byrne : Reflect. 
 
 Through thee we pledged our honor and our swords 
 To Ireland’s national cause. 
 
 Silken Thomas {placing his hand upon his forehead) : 
 I thought him murdered. 
 
 O’Donnell: 
 
 Then it was rather to avenge his death 
 Than try to liberate thy country from 
 The invaders’ cruel and despotic yoke, 
 
 That thou didst organize this armed revolt? 
 
9 o 
 
 SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 Silken Thomas: 
 
 Hush! Speak not thus to me. ( Looking upward.) 
 
 Great God! Thou knowest 
 It was my father’s rumored taking off 
 That, for the first time, made me realize 
 My solemn duty to my native land. 
 
 A moment since, I faltered; quite upset 
 By the assurance that my father lives. 
 
 I shall receive Lord Grey ; and to his face 
 Refuse with his conditions to comply, 
 
 Even at the awful price that he exacts — 
 
 My much-loved father’s death. Retire, my friends, 
 Retire the stipulated distance with 
 My army ready at a moment’s call 
 To give quick battle to our enemy. 
 
 O'Donnell: Thy order I obey, but under protest. 
 
 O'Byrne: And so do I, and with a troubled heart. 
 
 [Exeunt O’Byrne and O’Donnell.] 
 
 Silken Thomas: 
 
 I’ll tell that Sassenah officer I consent 
 To hold a parley with Lord Leonard Grey. 
 
 [Exit] 
 
 [Enter one of Silken Thomas’ soldiers .] 
 
 Soldier ( looking around him) : Musha, where is our 
 
 great leader, Silken Thomas? I could have sworn 
 I saw him a minute ago. Well, of course, he’s giv- 
 ing orders about the great battle that will soon be- 
 gin. I believe it will be sharp and short; and then 
 we’ll bid farewell to the cursed Sassenah. Oh, but 
 this will be a grand day for Old Ireland ! All the 
 murders and all the massacres that we have been 
 the victims of, will be avenged today! Thankful 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 91 
 
 am I that I have been spared to take part in this 
 fight. If I’m mortally wounded I’ll be happy, with 
 your name, Green Erin! agra machree! upon my 
 dying lips. 
 
 [Enter another of Silken Thomas’ soldiers] 
 
 Second Soldier: What do you think of this latest 
 mysterious move, Shamus? 
 
 First Soldier: What move do you mean, Terry? 
 
 Second Soldier: Our army is slowly retreating — to 
 
 what part I don’t know. There’s only a handful 
 of us left here to act as body-guard over Silken 
 Thomas. 
 
 Second Soldier: But I heard both these chieftains, 
 
 before they mounted their horses, to lead their fol- 
 lowers towards our retreating forces, say strange 
 things. “I doubt the wisdom of Silken Thomas 
 in ordering this temporary retreat,” said one. “I 
 doubt it also, as you know,” said the other. And he 
 added: “But since he’s the Commander-in-Chief 
 
 there’s nothing for us to do but to obey.” I think, 
 Shamus, there’s something wrong somewhere. 
 
 First Soldier: Ah, what’s the use of worrying? It’s 
 
 time enough to bid the divil “good morning” when 
 you meet him. 
 
 [Terry gazes out through the entrance to the 
 T ent\ 
 
 Terry : Come and look, Shamus. I’m afraid I can’t 
 
 believe my eyes. See! Here’s a company of the 
 enemy approaching us, holding aloft flags of truce. 
 What do they want? 
 
 [Shamus looks out] 
 
 Shamus : Why, it’s as plain as a pike-staff. They are 
 coming to ask Silken Thomas to give them easy 
 
92 
 
 SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 terms if they surrender. They’re afraid to fight us. 
 I’m very sorry. I never felt more anxious to kill 
 half a dozen red-coats than I do now. 
 
 Terry: I share your anxiety in that line. 
 
 [Re-enter Silken Thomas] 
 
 Terry: My lord, I can’t understand 
 
 Silken Thomas: 
 
 ’Tis simply this : Lord Grey, in chief command 
 Of all the Sassenah forces here, desires 
 To hold a parley with me. Please withdraw. 
 
 [The two soldiers withdraw ] 
 
 [Enter Lord Leonard Grey, with numerous 
 followers, who slowly surround Silken Thomas] 
 
 Lord Grey: 
 
 Impetuous, traitorous, and unwary youth! 
 
 Upon a triumph with such ease achieved 
 I had not counted. Seize the traitor, — quick ! 
 Silken Thomas ( struggling ) : 
 
 What infamy is this ? 
 
 Lord Grey: 
 
 A simple trap 
 
 That I prepared for thee, and into which 
 Thou hast with crass credulity now fallen. 
 
 To London Tower thou shalt at once proceed, 
 
 To share thy father’s fate. 
 
 Silken Thomas: Then he was slain? 
 
 Lord Grey: 
 
 He only paid the penalty incurred 
 By treachery to his King. A similar doom 
 Thou hast much more deserved than he, and soon 
 Wilt suffer. 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 93 
 
 Silken Thomas ( after again vainly trying to release 
 himself ) : 
 
 ’Tis too true. I am entrapped. 
 
 Perfidious Sassenah ! Hell has never held 
 A falser, viler miscreant than thou! 
 
 Lord Grey (to his men) : Take him along. We have 
 
 no time to lose. 
 
 [End oe Act IV.] 
 
 ACT V. 
 
 Scene I. — Tyburn, near London. Morning. The old 
 gallows, “TybunTs triple tree/’ close by. A year 
 and a half are supposed to have elapsed since the 
 Fourth Act. 
 
 [ Enter De La Hide, disguised as an English 
 peasant.] 
 
 De La Hide (peering around him) : 
 
 Is this the place? (Sees the gallows) Ay, there 
 the gallows stands — 
 
 The ghastly instrument by which man’s law 
 The calls of justice executes or thwarts, 
 
 And murder oft by murder is avenged. 
 
 [Enter O’Donnell, also disguised as an 
 English peasant.] 
 
 O’Donnell (to De La Hide) : 
 
 A cold and gloomy day. Thou hast come here 
 To see the Irish rebel leader hanged ? 
 
94 
 
 SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 Dk La Hide ( eyeing hint suspiciously) : 
 
 What boots it if I have? And yet, methinks, 
 
 It were a satisfaction to behold 
 
 A traitor expiating with his life 
 
 His horrid crime. I'll stay to see him die. 
 
 They say that he is noble, young and brave, 
 
 And battled like a hero. 
 
 O’Donnell : 
 
 So I heard. 
 
 A rumor adds : it was his father’s death 
 Upon the block, by order of the King, 
 
 That drove him to rebellion. Dost thou know 
 If that is true? 
 
 De La Hide: 
 
 I heard that story, too; 
 But whether it is false or true, is more 
 Than I can tell. Of these affairs of state 
 Men of the class ’mongst whom my way of life 
 Is laid can know but little. 
 
 O’Donnell : 
 
 I have asked 
 
 About his father’s crime, but have not learned 
 The nature of his guilt. 
 
 De La Hide: 
 
 If innocent 
 
 His father was, then what a pity ’tis ! 
 
 O’Donnell: 
 
 Ay, what a pity! Is it possible 
 
 That guiltless men can such an awful doom 
 
 In silence suffer? 
 
 De La Hide: 
 
 In this wicked world 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 95 
 
 Few things repugnant to the moral law 
 Can surely be declared impossible. 
 
 O’Donnell : “All things are possible,” they say in 
 
 France. 
 
 De La Hide ( eagerly ) : Then thou hast been in France? 
 O’Donnell: A little while. 
 
 De La Hide: I, too, have been in France. 
 
 O’Donnell: 
 
 A sprightly lot 
 
 Those Frenchmen are. Politeness, elegance, 
 
 And wit seem with them born. 
 
 De La Hide: 
 
 I think they are 
 
 A trifle too polite. 
 
 O’Donnell: 
 
 Politeness gives 
 
 The grace and dignity that social life 
 Derives its charm from ; and it seems to be 
 A happy fault indeed to have too much. 
 
 De La Hide: 
 
 More oft it is assumed than felt. At best, 
 
 ’Tis artificial. 
 
 O’Donnell : 
 
 That I do not grant. 
 But even if it were so, is it not 
 An aspect of the beauty of the mind? 
 
 De La Hide: 
 
 From motive only every merit springs. 
 
 In what a strange direction have our thoughts 
 Begun to drift! (He furtively scans O’Donnell) 
 (Aside) He is not what he seems. 
 
 I must be guarded in my speech with him. 
 
g6 SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 O’Donnell (Aside ) : 
 
 A polished gentleman is here disguised. 
 
 Is it through adverse fortune or design 
 He wears that lowly garb? I am afraid 
 I’ve been imprudent saying what I said. 
 
 (Aloud) 
 
 Thou hast the air and tone of one whose breast 
 Smarts with a sense of wrong or grief. 
 
 De La Hide: Of both. 
 
 O’Donnell: 
 
 Thou hast my sympathy. Command my aid 
 If aught it may avail thee, and thy cause 
 Is square with justice. 
 
 De La Hide : 
 
 Truth and honesty 
 
 Such frank and generous impulses denote. 
 
 But we are strangers. 
 
 O’Donnell : 
 
 In my native land 
 
 A stranger holds a passport to our hearts. 
 
 De La Hide : Thy birthplace, then, is Ireland. 
 O’Donnell: So is thine. 
 
 De La Hide : Whence this conclusion ? 
 
 O’Donnell : 
 
 By thy promptitude 
 In ascertaining where I first saw light. 
 
 A strange encounter this, at such an hour, 
 
 In such a place ! 
 
 De La Hide : 
 
 Perhaps a kindred thought 
 
 Has led us hither. 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 97 
 
 O'Donnell : 
 
 Memory whispers me 
 
 That we have met before. 
 
 De La Hide : 
 
 It speaks the truth. 
 I am not unfamiliar with thy voice. 
 
 Already have I recognized thee. (O'Donnell starts ) 
 Thou 
 
 Amongst his friends wert numbered, so was I. 
 
 Thou art O’Donnell ( They shake hands) of the 
 faithful North. 
 
 O’Donnell : 
 
 And who art thou? 
 
 De La Hide : 
 
 My name is De La Hide. 
 
 O’Donnell : 
 
 Sir James, this meeting to an aching heart 
 Brings welcome balm. 
 
 De La Hide : 
 
 The grief we know is shared 
 Stings less than that which we alone must bear. 
 
 Of this encounter I am doubly glad. 
 
 Immured in prison since young Lord Kildare, 
 
 At the beginning of his just revolt, 
 
 O’er captured Dublin raised his Silken flag, 
 
 And only yesterday released, I thirst 
 For information touching the events 
 Of the remainder of the brief career 
 That ends this morning here. 
 
 O’Donnell : 
 
 That bright, sad tale, 
 Admits of brief narration. Forth he went 
 And battled fiercely with his country’s foes ; 
 
9 §. 
 
 SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 And triumph after triumph he achieved. 
 
 Week followed week, and month succeeded month; 
 And still he fought, relentless, tireless, till, 
 
 His strong-hold at Maynooth by treachery lost, 
 And he campaigning in the south, betrayed 
 By alien plotters in his chosen ranks, 
 
 An easy victim to a cunning plot, 
 
 Having confided in the solemn pledge 
 His false-tongued, sinuous kinsman, Grey, had given, 
 He stopped hostilities, and from the field 
 Retired, as in his candor he believed, 
 
 With all the honors of the righteous war. 
 
 What followed ? He was captured, chained, and sent 
 To London, where in jail he has been kept 
 Until this hour. His uncles share his fate. 
 
 De La Hide : 
 
 What? Silken Thomas ceased to battle ere 
 He gained the end for which he bravely fought: 
 To bless with liberty his native land? 
 
 That is astonishing. I would have sworn 
 He had preferred to die. 
 
 O’Donnell : 
 
 He did not yield 
 
 To force superior or through lack of will 
 To keep on fighting, as thou hast surmised. 
 
 Tyrants may kill — they cannot conquer — men 
 Of his heroic parts. He was deceived. 
 
 Lord Grey assured him that his father lived, 
 
 And that the rumor that he was beheaded 
 Was fabricated by the men who schemed 
 His aged father's ruin and his own. 
 
 De La Hide (gazing in the distance) : 
 
 Now starts the sad procession. In its midst 
 
SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 99 
 
 Walks, firm of step and calm of visage, he 
 Whose bosom once enclosed a nation's fate. 
 O’Donnell ( gazing in the same direction ) : Death 
 
 holds no bitterness for such as he. 
 
 De La Hide: 
 
 How could it? To the virtuous and the brave 
 Death is the only portal that admits 
 To real life. Beyond that sombre gate 
 LTnconscious worth its guerdon will receive, 
 Surprised at merits of desires and deeds 
 So seeming trivial that they were forgot. 
 
 [He pauses] 
 
 Let us avert our faces when he comes, 
 
 Lest he should recognize us. If he did, 
 
 His mind, now tranquil with its sense of right, 
 Might with emotion be disturbed. 
 
 O’Donnell : 
 
 If we 
 
 Could rescue him by giving up our lives 
 For his, how happy both of us would die ! 
 
 De La Hide : 
 
 Alas ! ’Twere worse than useless to essay 
 To help him now. Our lives would wantonly, 
 
 In fatuous, hopeless, and inglorious strife, 
 
 Be thrown away. But to the sacred cause 
 For which he dies — the cause which is our own — 
 We also can devote our lives. 
 
 O’Donnell : 
 
 I see, 
 
 Beside the hero, keeping step with him, 
 
 The patriotic prelate, brave MacHugh, 
 
 His post of double duty occupying 
 As priest and friend. 
 
IOO 
 
 SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 De La Hide: 
 
 His presence now will soothe 
 The final moments of our youthful chief. 
 
 O’Donnell : 
 
 How sad, humiliating, is our sense 
 Of abject helplessness, when on our ears 
 The plaintive and emergent voice of need 
 Must, as it were, unheeded fall ! My soul 
 Is wrung with bitterness, as well as grief. 
 
 {with sudden energy ) 
 
 Oh, for a squadron of Tvrconnell’s men ! 
 
 De La Hide: 
 
 ’Tis difficult to check a pitying tear 
 When thinking of the death he now must die 
 On yonder cursed gibbet, in the spring 
 And primal fragrance of his manhood’s years. 
 
 In vain will chivalry’s emblazoned scroll 
 Be scanned for knightlier life or death than his. 
 
 O’Donnell : 
 
 It is a wonder that he has survived 
 The treatment that the brutal Sassenah 
 Have made him undergo since his arrest. 
 
 In foulest dungeon they have kept him chained 
 For many agonizing months, as though 
 He were the vilest malefactor born, 
 
 Instead of being a prisoner of war. -V 
 
 To him, so gently murtured, so refined, 
 
 That daily, nightly, torture must have brought 
 As dreadful pangs as could the flames of hell. 
 
 This morning’s hangings will exterminate 
 The famous family of the Geraldines. 
 
SIEKEN THOMAS 
 
 IOI 
 
 First went the Chieftain, murdered in the Tower; 
 And now his brave, young, patriotic son. 
 
 [points to the gallows] 
 
 De La Hide: 
 
 On one important point thou art mistaken. 
 
 This most atrocious butchery will not 
 Accomplish its foul purpose. There remains 
 The brother of Lord Thomas, twelve years old, 
 For whom they now are searching, with the view 
 Of also putting him to death. 
 
 [lowers his voice ] He is 
 
 Concealed in France — and thus the noble line 
 Of valorous Kildares will be preserved 
 Despite the murderous wishes of the King. 
 
 O’DonneUv : 
 
 A brother but a dozen years of age ! 
 
 I had not heard of him before. God grant 
 Him safety, health, and vigorous manhood, till 
 He shall, returning to his native land, 
 
 Wreak vengeance on the slayer of his kin, 
 
 The vile oppressors of his native land ! 
 
 [Enter two English Workmen.] 
 
 First Workman ( looking up at the gallows) : The 
 
 gibbet prepared again ! Who’s to be hanged this 
 time, I wonder? 
 
 Second Workman: Didn’t you hear about it yet? 
 
 Why, a whole half dozen of those low Irish rebels, 
 all belonging to the same disloyal family. The 
 troublesome brood will now be all wiped out. 
 
 First Workman: A good riddance! Let’s wait to see 
 
 them dangle. 
 
102 
 
 SILKEN THOMAS 
 
 Second Workman : But I've some work to do. I must 
 
 be off at once. Business before pleasure, you know. 
 
 First Workman: Away with work this forenoon. I’d 
 gladly lose two days’ wages to see these Irish hang- 
 ings. It is something that doesn’t happen every day. 
 
 Second Workman: I’ve a half mind to stay. Yet — 
 
 First Workman ( looking ) : Why, one of them is 
 coming now. 
 
 Second Workman ( looking in the same direction ) : He 
 is indeed. I’ll wait to see the sport. 
 
 First Workman: When this Irish rebel has been 
 
 hanged, and his head has been cut off and stuck 
 on that spike up there, I’ll throw stones at it. 
 
 Second Workman: I’ll join you in the fun. 
 
 De La Hide (to O’Donnell) : 
 
 List to those Sassenah rascals. How they gloat 
 O’er an approaching massacre, like fiends. 
 
 Because the victims are all Irishmen 
 They call it sport. 
 
 O'Donnell : 
 
 The heartless ruffians! I 
 Shall make them eat their words, or send them 
 sprawling 
 Upon the ground. 
 
 De La Hide: Nay, don't be rash, I pray. 
 
 O’Donnell: No longer can I stand their brutish glee. 
 
 [O’Donnell rushes at the two workmen , and 
 knocks one dozen after the other. One rises, and is 
 knocked down again . The other rises and runs 
 away, followed by his companion .] 
 
 De La Hide: 
 
 Thus unconsidered action may attract 
 
SIEKEN THOMAS 
 
 103 
 
 To us attention that may culminate 
 In our arrest, and speedy deathly doom. 
 
 O’Donnell ( looking ) : 
 
 There is no danger. Those two curs are running 
 In opposite direction to the gang 
 Of Sassenah soldiery that hither come. 
 
 [Enter O’Byrne and Moira, both disguised .J 
 Moira (to O’Byrne) : That is my brother’s voice. 
 O’Byrne : 
 
 I hope it is. 
 
 He promised he would meet us here, so that 
 We three might take a final, farewell look 
 Into the youthful patriot-martyr’s face, 
 
 Ere death released the soul that through it shined. 
 Moira: And his companion — who is he, I wonder? 
 
 O’Byrne : If ’tis your brother I shall quickly know. 
 
 [He addresses a greeting in Gaelic to 
 O’Donneel, who rushes to him zvith out-stretched 
 hand.] 
 
 O’Donneee : 
 
 I feared that you had lost your way, or had 
 Been misinformed as to the fatal hour 
 When Sassenah vengeance will once more allay 
 Its newly whetted thirst for Irish blood. 
 
 O’Byrne: 
 
 We missed our way, indeed; and were afraid 
 That we should reach here when ’twould be too late. 
 And your companion yonder, who is he? 
 O’Donneee : 
 
 Kildare’s most faithful friend, James De La Hide* 
 [To Moira] 
 
 Moira asthoreen, it’s a perilous trip 
 That you have taken. 
 
104 
 
 silken Thomas 
 
 O’Byrne: 
 
 Nothing could prevent 
 
 Her coming here. 
 
 [De La Hide goes over to O’Byrne, O’Don- 
 nell and Moira.] 
 
 Moira : 
 
 Could I remain away 
 
 When this intrepid Knight, this noble-souled, 
 Pure-hearted patriot bows his youthful head, 
 Undaunted, to receive the martyr’s crown? 
 
 [Orchestra plays u Savourneen Dheelish ,} ) 
 
 [Enter procession , Silken Thomas, in chains , 
 and looking ghastly and pale, accompanied by 
 Monsignor MacHugh, and preceded and followed 
 by soldiers .-] 
 
 [Knell rings] 
 
 Silken Thomas : 
 
 The individual dies ; the race lives on 
 Till Time his course has ended. It is thus 
 With Freedom’s holy cause. When they are gone 
 Whose every thought and action were for her, 
 
 The spirit that inflamed their hearts and minds 
 Glows brighter still in those they leave behind 
 To carry on the noble fight; and so 
 No patriot ever lived or died in vain. 
 
 [Knell tolls again] 
 
 [Curtain] 
 
 End OE DRAMA 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
BOSTON COLLEGE 
 
 3 9031 01441006 2 
 
 * .»■ 
 
 BOSTON COLLEGE LIBRARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS 
 CHESTNUT HILL, MASS. 
 
 Books may be kept for two weeks and may 
 be renewed for the same period, unless re- 
 served. 
 
 Two cents a day is charged for each book 
 kept overtime. 
 
 If you cannot find what you want, ask the 
 Librarian who will be glad to help you. 
 
 The borrower is responsible for books drawn 
 on his card and for all fines accruing on the 
 same. 
 
 ( 7 ?\