Among the characters introduced to the readers of "N. & Q.," under the name
of _prophets_, there are few that deserve so distinguished a place as Mr.
Francis Dobbs. Not only has he a claim to that title, in the derisive sense
in which it is applied to all modern enthusiasts, but also on the higher
grounds of political sagacity and practical wisdom. Some men have exhibited
this double character successively, and at different periods of their
lives; but none have displayed it in such happy union as Mr. Dobbs. Indeed,
in that respect, he is perhaps one of the most striking instances on record
of what is called the "duality of the human mind."
The information I am able to furnish respecting this remarkable man, is
derived from a pamphlet, published "by authority" (probably himself), by J.
Jones, Dublin, 1800, and entitled, _Memoirs of Francis Dobbs, Esq.; also
Genuine Reports of his Speeches in Parliament on the Subject of an Union,
and his Prediction of the Second Coming of the Messiah, with Extracts from
his Poem on the Millennium_.
Mr. Dobbs was born on April 27, 1750; and was the younger son of the Rev.
Richard Dobbs, who was the younger brother of Arthur Dobbs of Castle Dobbs,
co. Antrim, formerly Governor of North Carolina. His ancestor, an officer
in the army, came from England in the reign of Queen Elizabeth; and by a
marriage with the great-granddaughter of Hugh, Earl of Tyrone, got the
estate of Castle Dobbs, with other estates in the co. Antrim. His
great-grandfather was Mayor of Carrickfergus at the time King William
landed, and was the first subject in Ireland that paid him allegiance.
Mr. Dobbs devoted himself for some years to literary pursuits. In 1768 he
purchased an ensigncy in the 63rd Regiment, in which he continued till
1773. Having sold his commission, he turned his attention to the study of
the law, and was called to the bar. He then married Miss Stewart of
Ballantroy, in the county of Antrim, the daughter of a gentleman of
considerable property, niece of Sir Hugh Hill, and descended from the Bute
family. He afterwards joined the _Volunteers_ under Lord Charlemont, was
appointed Major to the Southern Battalion, and acted as exercising officer
at the great reviews held at Belfast in 1780, 1781, and 1782. He took an
active part, in conjunction with Lord Charlemont, Mr. Grattan, Mr. Flood,
and others, in the political agitation of that period; was the mover of an
address to the King, approving of the proceedings of the Irish Parliament,
and was a member of the deputation appointed to present it to his Majesty,
on which occasion he refused the honour of a baronetcy. At a later period,
the Earl of Charlemont brought him into the Irish Parliament and it was
while occupying a seat in that assembly, that he delivered the "Speeches"
already referred to.
Mr. Dobbs's Speech on the Legislative Union is one of the most remarkable
ever pronounced then or since, on that fertile topic. He descants in
forceful language on the evils, real or imaginary, likely to arise from
that measure; and points out, with a striking minuteness of detail, some of
the consequences which have actually resulted therefrom. Indeed, the
repealers of a subsequent period did little more than borrow Mr. Dobbs's
language; nor were they able, after thirty years' experience of the
practical working of the Union, to add a single new grievance to the
catalogue of those so eloquently expatiated upon by him in the year 1800.
As, however, we have to deal with Mr. Dobbs chiefly as a _religious_
prophet, I shall confine my extracts from his speeches to the illustration
of his character in that capacity.
The speech on the Legislative Union was delivered on February 5, 1800. On
June 7 following (the Bill having been carried in the mean time), Mr. Dobbs
pronounced in the Irish Parliament a speech in which he predicted the
second coming of the Messiah. This speech, the most extraordinary that was
ever made in a legislative assembly, presents a singular contrast to the
sagacity which characterises his political performances. A few short
extracts will show the change that had come over his prophetic vision:
"Sir, from the conduct pursued by administration during this Session,
and the means that were known to be in their power, it was not very
difficult to foresee that this Bill must reach that chair. It was not
very difficult to foresee that it should fall to your lot to pronounce
the painful words, 'That this bill do pass.' Awful indeed would those
words be to me, did I consider myself living in ordinary times: but
feeling as I do that we are not living in ordinary times--feeling as I
do that we are living in the most momentous and eventful period of the
world--feeling as I do that a new and better order of things is about
to arise, and that Ireland, in that new order of things, is to be
highly distinguished indeed--this bill hath no terrors for me.
"Sir, I did intend to have gone at some length into history, and the
sacred predictions; but as I purpose, in a very few months, to give to
the public a work in which I shall fully express my opinion as to the
vast design of this terrestrial creation, I shall for the present
confine myself to such passages as will support three positions:--The
first is, the certainty of the second advent of the Messiah; the next,
the signs of the times of his coming, and the manner of it; and the
last, that Ireland is to have the glorious pre-eminence of being the
first kingdom that will receive him."
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After dwelling, at some length on his first two positions, he thus
proceeds:
"I come now, Sir, to the most interesting part of what I have to say;
it is to point out my reasons for thinking this is the distinguished
country in which the Messiah is now to appear. The stone that is to be
cut out of the mountain without hands, is to fall on the feet of the
image, and to break the whole image to pieces. Now, that would not be
true, if Christ and his army was to appear in any country that is a
part of the image; therefore, all the countries that were comprised in
the Babylonish and Assyrian empire, in the Medo-Persian empire, in the
Greek empire, and in the Roman empire, are positively excluded. There
is another light thrown on this question by a passage in the 41st
chapter of Isaiah: 'I have raised up one from the north, and he shall
come; from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name, and he
shall come upon princes as upon mortar, and as the potter treadeth
clay.' This is manifestly the Messiah; and we are therefore to look for
a country north of Judea, where the prophecy was given. The New World
is out of the question, being nowhere a subject of prophecy; and as the
image is excluded, it can only be in the Russian empire, or in the
kingdoms of Denmark, Sweden, or Ireland.
"The army that follows the Messiah, we are told, amounts to 144,000;
and there are a few passages in the Revelation of St. John, that denote
the place where they are to be assembled. One is, 'I saw them harping
with their harps.' Another, 'I saw them standing on a sea of glass,
having the harps of God.' Another is, 'That they were clothed in fine
linen, white and clean.' Another is, 'And he gathered them together in
a place, in the Hebrew tongue, called Armageddon.' Now, what respects
the harp and the fine linen, peculiarly applies to Ireland; and not at
all to Russia, Denmark, or Sweden. The sea of glass I think must be an
island. And I believe the word Armageddon in the Hebrew tongue, and
Ardmah or Armagh in the Irish, mean the same thing. At all events,
there is great similitude in their sounds; and St. Patrick thought
proper to make the city of Ardmagh, which is the old name, the seat of
the church government of Ireland. But besides these sacred passages of
Scripture, there are some very particular circumstances attending
Ireland. She has never had her share in worldly prosperity, and has
only since 1782 begun to rise; and I know no instance in history of any
nation beginning to prosper, without arriving at a summit of some kind,
before it became again depressed. The four great empires rose
progressively west of each other; and Great Britain made the last toe
of the image, being the last conquest the Romans made in the west. Now,
Ireland lies directly west of it, and is therefore in exactly the same
progressive line, and it never was any part of the image, nor did the
Roman arms ever penetrate here. The arms of Ireland is the harp of
David, with an angel in its front. The crown of Ireland is the
apostolic crown. Tradition has long spoken of it as a land of saints;
and if what I expect happens, that prediction will be fulfilled. But
what I rely on more than all, is our miraculous exemption from all of
the serpent and venomous tribe of reptiles. This appears to me in the
highest degree emblematic, that Satan, the Great Serpent, is here to
receive his first deadly blow."
I had an idea of sending you some extracts from Mr. Dobbs's poem on _The
Millennium_, but I fear I have already trespassed too far on your valuable
space.