8. One suit of Antwerp hangings, containing five peeces, the story of Aswerus and Hester, nine foote deepe. Foure peeces of these in the roome over my Lord's closet in the Tower.

9. One suite of Antwerp hangings, containing five peeces of Land Skippe, tenne foote deepe.

10. One suite of Antwerp hangings, containing foure peeces of the story of Cyrus, eleaven foote deepe.

11. One suite of ould Brussells hangings, conteining five peeces of very small figure, eleven foote deepe.

12. One suite of Antwerp hangings, containing five peeces of the story of Diana and her Nymphs, nine foote deepe.

13. One suite of Ordinary Dutch hangings, conteining five peeces of Land Skipp worke, nine foote deepe, whereof one peece without silk.

14. Two peeces of Dutch Landskipp hangings, nine foote deepe. These in my Ld. Arran's Dressing Roome.

15. Seaven peeces of ould scoured imagery hangings, eleaven foote deepe. Six peeces of these in my Lord John's chamber.

16. Fower peeces of ould scoured imagery hangings, eleaven foote deepe, and one other peece of the same sort, tenne foote deepe. All these in Mr. Lowe's chamber.

17. Five peeces of ould scoured Landskipp hangings, nine foote deepe. All these for Clonmell Dining Roome.

18. Five peeces of ould scoured imagery hangings, nine foote deepe. All these for the Drawing Roome at Clonmell.

19.a One ould peece of Imagery hangings, five ells, ten foote deepe.

19.b One suite of ordinary Dutch hangings, conteineing five peeces, the story of the Cobler, eight foote deepe. These are in Mr. fferris' chamber.

20. Three Tapestry Sumpture Cloths.

21. One suite of New Tapestry hangings, eight foote deepe, conteineing five peeces. The story of Don Quixott.

22. Three peeces of new Tapestry hangings, about eight foote deepe, made for my Lord Duke's new Dressing Roome.

Belonging to Dunmore.

23. Five fine peeces of English hangings, the story of Palidore, nine foote deepe. For ye Drawing Roome.

24. Three fine pieces of English hangings, Baiorells, nine foote deepe. For my Lady's chamber.

25. Three peeces of ffine Antwerpe hangings, Landskipp, small imagery, eight foote deepe. The upper alcove chamber.

No. 11 in this curious list, "the ould Brussells hangings, of very small figure," is probably that mentioned in an "Inventory of the goods of Richard, earl of Desmond, and his wife Elizabeth, daughter and heir-general to Thomas, earl of Ormonde, in their mansion house of Donnington, Parish of Shaine, County Berks, March 6, 1628," and valued very highly. "Item sixteene peeces of little, in hangings which were in pawne to Mr. William Pearse, wch Mr. Patrick Weemes redeemed from him for the some of 48. 10s. Od.” The " peeces of Don Quixott," no longer in existence, exhibit, I believe, an early instance of the popularity of Cervantes' immortal work in England: the Dutch series of "the story of the Cobler" would no doubt be curious did we possess it; of most of the remainder are extant several fragments in a very decayed state, but still curious. I have been informed by the last occupant of Carrick Castle, Mr. Wogan of Carrick, that when his tenancy ceased one of the rooms was hung with tapestry representing the story of Sampson, which he states was taken down and removed to Kilkenny.

The tapestry hangings containing the history of Decius were subsequently placed in the room still called "the Tapestry Chamber," situate in the north-eastern tower of Kilkenny Castle, overhanging the river, where they remained till taken down in the year 1824, preparatory to the remodelling of the structure, and were stored away until removed from their concealment last autumn by the marquis of Ormonde. The six remaining pieces of "the story of Decius" have been repaired and re-lined, and bid fair to last for many years to come. Besides this series there are five other pieces in a state of servation, more or less perfect, making, with one very much injured, twelve in all. The six last alluded to comprise some landscapes, into which many birds and beasts are introduced, Vulcan forging the arms of Achilles, with modern fire-irons, guns, pistols, and cannon lying about the god's forge, and the scene from Sampson's History already mentioned.

pre

I shall conclude this hurried sketch, which might be considerably extended without exhausting the materials, by subjoining a transcript of an original letter, also preserved in the Evidence Chamber, which both proves the high value set on these adornments in the days of the Second Charles, and shows that in consequence of their expensive nature they were carried about from house to house by even the noble and wealthy families of the day:

SIR-You will pardon this troble which is to acquaint you by my ladi's order that my Lord having bought the House he lives in till the 25th of March with some furniture that must then be returned, which must agen be supplyed by you for theyr Grases use, the byeing or hireing of tapestry hangings being expensive: my lady beleeves it much better to send for som of those hangings that lye by unused at Kilkenny and has ordered Hoskins to send 3 suits of tapestry hangings which are the whole suet of Decius, the suet of Akiles, the suet of hors hangings; allso all the silver sconses, which ar all redy packt up and set up in the waiting room, if they are not well and secure for caridg Hoskins is desired to pack them beter, and to convey all that is sent for to Dublin, where Captain Backstar has orders to receav them, and send them to London. My lady desires you will take notis what is sent, that so there may be no mistake in the Inventory. By all this you will judg there are no resolutions of a sudden return, but tis but erly days for that; but tis thought if ther Grases stay but to the end of the somer tis worth the sending for the hangings.

Sir I should be very glad if during our stay hear I could be capable of any manner of servis for you, if so let me receav your comands which shall be most faithfully performed by her who is

Sr. your friend and servant

ELIZA LOWE.

My servis to Mrs. Smith and your son and daughter. I thank God my Lord and Lady and all their children hear are well. I beg you will convey this to Mrs. Blundle, for I know not where she is.

Address" These for Mr. Valentine Smith at his House at Kilkenny." Endorsed" My Lady Dutchess and Mrs. Lowe for things to be sent to England and answer, 28 Feb. 1682."

Since the above lines were written, the following communication has been received from John Ward Dowsley, Esq., M.D., Clonmel, in answer to inquiry as to the fate of the ancient tapestry of Carrick Castle :

Clonmel, 5th July, 1853.

MY DEAR SIR-I received yours of the 29th ult., and am sorry to say that I have not the tapestry you allude to. I think about twelve years since, I saw it in Carrick Castle. There were two large pieces, one was "Sampson killing the Lion," the subject of the other I do not now recollect. It was very much faded, as it was lying there I suppose for a couple of centuries, and going fast to decay. I got a friend of mine to enquire of Lord Ormonde's agent (I do not remember his name) if it would be sold he would not sell it, and a short time after I heard it was sent to Kilkenny Castle. I have four pieces of Tapestry-1st "Hercules and Omphale;" this is 10 feet by 12, colouring very brilliant. 2nd, "Rebecca at the Well," 9 feet by 18, rather faded. The two others are sporting subjects, very old and much faded. I had two other pieces, one

a "Merry-making," after Teniers, 10 feet by 18, containing fifty-two figures, colours very good. The other, "Jupiter and Leda," 10 feet by 12; these I parted with to a gentleman in Carrick-Mr. Wogan.

Rev. James Graves.

I am, dear Sir, yours very truly,

JOHN W. DOWSLEY.

The second piece of tapestry which was originally at Carrick Castle, and the subject of which Dr. Dowsley was not able to remember, is probably Sampson pulling down the Philistine temple, already alluded to as being at present at Kilkenny Castle.

AN AUTHENTIC ACCOUNT

OF

THE DEATH OF WALLENSTEIN,

WITH A VINDICATION OF THE MOTIVES OF COLONEL WALTER BUTLER.

BY FRANCIS PRENDERGAST, ESQ., BARRISTER-AT-LAW.

THE death of Wallenstein, the principal figure in the Thirty Years' War, has always been enveloped in a mystery never entirely explained, even to the present day. Schiller's tragedy, his masterpiece, "The Death of Wallenstein," has given the subject a world-wide renown, and invested the character of the hero of the drama with a grandeur which has not only caused posterity to deal leniently with his errors or his crimes, but to pass even a harsher judgment than usual, on those who are supposed to have betrayed him to his death. Our object here, however, is to show that the most recent researches have placed the whole transaction in a very different light from that in which it has been hitherto viewed, and to prove that Butler, the author of Wallenstein's death, does not deserve the obloquy that has been heaped upon his name by the great poet and historian, as well as by writers of later date. Butler was one of the family of Paulstown, a cadet branch of the great house of Ormonde, and it ought not to be a matter of indifference to the county of Kilkenny, or, in

deed, to Ireland, whether the name of one of her sons, which must remain on the page of history, should stand there in its proper character as that of a soldier of fortune, who had won his way to honours and estates by fidelity and valour, or, as it has hitherto appeared, as that of a base and hired assassin, incited by sordid motives to execute the behests of an ungrateful sovereign.

The usual story of the close of Wallenstein's career runs to the effect that he had grown too powerful with the army under his command, and that the emperor Ferdinand, fearing to attempt to remove him from it or deprive him of the extraordinary powers with which he had been invested, meditated his ruin, and even his assassination. That Wallenstein, apprised of the intrigues of his enemies at the Imperial court, and aware of his danger, entered into treasonable communications with the Swedes and Saxons, and tampered with the loyalty of the army-endeavouring to secure its fidelity to himself by means of a written bond or pact, which the principal officers, and among them Walter Butler, the commander of an Irish dragoon regiment, voluntarily subscribed their names to, and thereby entered into a traitorous conspiracy against the emperor. That a proclamation was issued against Wallenstein, offering rewards for his arrest alive or dead, and that he retired, accompanied by some of his troops, and among them Butler's regiment, to the fortified place of Eger, and was there, with his principal officers, treacherously assassinated by Butler, aided by Lesley, Gordon, Devereux, and other Scotch and Irish officers. That Butler was the instigator of this assassination, and as such received honours and rewards from the emperor.

Such are the outlines of the account given by Schiller in his tragedy, and in his "History of the Thirty Years' War," by Förster, by colonel Mitchell, and other authors, who, however their opinions may vary as to Wallenstein's innocence or guilt, are unanimous in considering the deed of Butler as base and unworthy of a man of honour. "We must strive," says Mitchell, p. 106, alluding to the officers from these kingdoms in the Imperial service, "to find in their military glory some compensation for the foul blot which we shall see British hands inflicting on the name and fame of our country."

But the position of Butler and his conduct towards Wallenstein appear very differently in the excellent History of the Austrian Empire, lately published by John count Mailàth.' He has had access to and examined very carefully the public archives at Vienna and Prague; it is not necessary here to bring forward the evidence by which Wallenstein's treasonable intrigues with France are made manifest, it is sufficient to state that it is difficult to doubt that he engaged in such, and that the emperor, who had long harboured suspicions, was suddenly informed of Wallenstein's dealings with France through the channel of the duke of Savoy.

1 Geschichte des Östreichischen Kaiserstaates, von Johann Grafen Mailàth. Hamburgh, 1850.

Mailath states that the efforts of Wallenstein's enemies at the Imperial court suddenly acquired great force by an entirely unexpected communication from the court of Savoy, by which the emperor was fully and completely informed of Wallenstein's negotiations with the French court. At the same time, intelligence was received from various quarters of the written agreement subscribed by the colonels of the Imperial army at Pilsen. This was the last drop in the cup, and determined the Imperial court to take decided steps against Wallenstein. The emperor signed a proclamation by which he withdrew the chief command from Wallenstein and conferred it upon Gallas, but apprehensive of Wallenstein's influence over the army they did not venture to publish the proclamation till its fidelity could be ascertained. When Wallenstein called the officers to a second meeting at Pilsen, Gallas thought it time to come forward, and issued a public notice to the army not to obey in future any orders from Wallenstein or his officers, but only from himself and other generals named in the proclamation. It is necessary here to observe that this proclamation is stated by most authors to have been a proclamation of outlawry, offering rewards to whomsoever should take Wallenstein alive or dead. But this is not true, it was only to remove him from the command of the army, and went no further. It appears quite clearly, from the correspondence between the Imperial generals who superseded Wallenstein, that their object was to drive him out of Bohemia, and that his death, in the manner in which it took place, was quite unexpected by them. When Wallenstein, who was at Pilsen, was informed that a proclamation deposing him from the command had been posted publicly in Prague, he endeavoured to collect his army and retire to form a junction with the Swedes. But the greater part of the troops abandoned him, and he entered Eger with only ten companies of two regiments and 200 dragoons of Butler's regiment. Mailath says, "immediately about him were his brotherin-law Kinsky, Illo, Terzka, and Butler. This last, Wallenstein had, to his own destruction, compelled to accompany him to Eger. He was a Catholic Irishman, a colonel in the Imperial army, commanding a regiment of dragoons, consisting chiefly of Irishmen." Hitherto little more has been known about Butler during the last days of Wallenstein, than what is stated by Förster, and in the "Austrian Military Journal." It is to this effect: Gallas informs the emperor, "colonel Butler has let me know that he will remain true, and endeavour to do his duty to your majesty, which will be no slight impediment to prevent the traitors from executing their designs." Gallas writes further, on the 27th of Feb. 1634, to Maradas: "Butler sends word to me that, if Arnim comes within two miles of Eger, he will arrest, or slay, the traitor (Wallenstein)." But Diodati wrote to Gallas: "that the poor cavalier (Butler) had only gone to Eger upon compulsion, and that he had already written to him (Diodati) that he would withdraw himself." Up to this time we have had no other