_Tuesday, April 25th._
DEAREST G.,--I am afraid by this time you will have seen a
good deal in the papers to cause you alarm, and as it is impossible
to get a letter or telegram through, I will write you a detailed
account of what we are going through and post it to you at the first
opportunity.
To begin at the beginning, the Sinn Fein movement, which is now
frankly revolutionary and which must not be confounded with Redmond's
Nationalist Party, has been in existence for years, but has always been
looked on as a small body of cranks who were thirsting for notoriety.
Redmond's policy has always been to treat them with utter contempt, and
the Government adopted his view.
Since the outbreak of war this movement, encouraged no doubt by German
intrigue and German money, has grown by leaps and bounds, and about
eighteen months ago a large number broke away from Redmond's National
Volunteers and formed a volunteer force which they called the Irish
Volunteers. They are frankly and openly revolutionary, and when it
became known some months ago that they were obtaining large quantities
of arms and ammunition various persons did all they could to open the
eyes of the authorities to the dangerous situation that was growing up.
But as the explanation was always given that the force was for national
defence only, the Government failed to take any steps to put down the
movement.
During the past six months the body has grown enormously, as many as
seven hundred recruits being enlisted on one night, and of course
doing enormous harm to recruiting for the Army. On St. Patrick's Day
they held a large review of several battalions, armed, and the trams
were all held up for about an hour in College Green. Up to the last
moment there was hope that this would be stopped, but protests were
like a voice crying in the wilderness. Another time they held a full
dress rehearsal of what has actually taken place when they "took" the
Castle, St. Stephen's Green, and various buildings. About a month ago
one of their meetings in the country was broken up and the two leaders
arrested and deported to England. A huge meeting of protest was held
at the Mansion House, almost opposite this hotel, and attended by the
Volunteers, all armed, who marched in procession. After the meeting
they marched down Grafton Street, singing "Die Wacht am Rhein" and
revolutionary songs; a slight disturbance with the police took place
and some shots were fired. People began to ask anxiously what next? but
the Government looked on and smiled and H. tore his hair.
On Saturday we were going to tea with friends at Bray, when just as we
were starting H. got an "official" from the Castle, so I went alone and
he went to the Castle. News had come that a boat had been taken off the
Kerry coast, landing ammunition, and a very important arrest had been
made. Easter Sunday passed off in absolute calm, and yesterday (Easter
Monday) morning H. said he had a lot of letters to write and he would
go and write them at his club, almost next door to the Sackville Street
G.P.O. He found he wanted to answer some letters that were in his desk
at the G.P.O., so he walked over to his room and was just sitting down
when his 'phone went, an urgent message to go at once to the Castle.
He had only just arrived there, and was in consultation with Sir M. N.,
when suddenly a volley of shots rang out at the Castle gate, and it
was found armed bodies of men were in possession of the City Hall and
other houses that commanded the other gates to the Castle, and anyone
attempting to leave the Castle was shot. All the officials in the
Castle were prisoners.
News quickly came that the magazine in the Park had been taken, the
G.P.O., two stations, and all the houses that commanded O'Connell
Bridge had been stormed and taken, and the rebels had taken St.
Stephen's Green, where they were entrenching themselves.
Meantime, knowing nothing of this, N. went for a country motor bike
ride, and I did some sewing and wrote letters, etc., and when N. came
in about 12.30 I said I wanted a walk before lunch and we would walk
down to the club and meet H. The streets were quiet and deserted till
we crossed O'Connell Bridge, when N. remarked there was a dense crowd
round Nelson's Pillar, but we supposed it was a bank holiday crowd
waiting for trams. We were close to the General Post Office when two
or three shots were fired, followed by a volley, and the crowd began
rushing down towards the bridge, the people calling out "Go back, go
back; the Sinn Feiners are firing." N. said, "You'd better go back,
Mother; there's going to be a row; I'll go on to the club and find
Dad"; so I turned and fled with the crowd and got back safely to the
hotel.
Here was excitement and consternation. Every moment people were
coming in with tales of civilians being shot in the streets, and
houses commanding wide thoroughfares and prominent positions being
taken possession of by the Sinn Feiners, whose method was to go in
detachments of four or six armed men, ring the bell, and demand to see
the owners of the houses. In many instances they were away for the
Easter holidays, when the frightened servants were just turned into the
street to go where they would; but if the master or mistress were at
home they were told with a revolver at their heads that the house was
required by the Irish Republic for strategic purposes, and the owners
were given the option of leaving the house or remaining as prisoners
in the basement. A few elected to do this in preference to leaving all
their household goods to the mercy of the rebels; but most thought
"discretion the better part of valour" and cleared out to friends,
in some instances only to be hunted out from their house of refuge
a second time. The windows of the houses were then barricaded with
a reckless disregard to valuable furniture, which in many cases was
turned into the street to form barricades.
You remember my nice housemaid Mary, gentle as a dove and timid as a
hare. I had got her a very nice place with a lady who had taken a large
house in Leeson Street close to the bridge and commanding Fitzwilliam
Place. She went this morning by appointment to meet the lady at the
house and found the Sinn Feiners on the steps, who pointed their
revolvers at her and told her to clear out. She was so scared she
nearly fell into the area, and came to the hotel looking like a ghost.
But to return to our own adventures. Directly I got back to the hotel
I rang up the club and was told by old MacDermott, the hall-porter,
that H. had left the club at 11.30 to go to the G.P.O., saying he
would be back shortly; but he had not returned, and since then the Post
Office had been stormed and the guard shot or overpowered, and the Sinn
Feiners were in possession of the whole building, and firing volleys on
the police from the windows! Imagine my feelings!
About 1.30 N. returned, having failed to find any trace of H., but he
had seen some cavalry shot coming out of Talbot Street into Sackville
Street. The first three or four were just picked off their horses and
fell wounded or dead, and the horses were shot. He said the scene of
excitement in Sackville Street was indescribable. We were just going
in to lunch when a telephone message came through saying H. was at the
Castle but could not leave.
This relieved our minds as to his fate, and after lunch I was kept
busy at the telephone answering distracted messages from Post Office
officials who were wandering about looking for H. At about 4 p.m.
N. returned from a tour of inspection, and told me all was quiet in
Sackville Street, and begged me to go out with him and see the G.P.O.