John Mitchel | Autograph letter signed, to Thomas Carlyle, on Irish independence, 19 May 1848

John Mitchel, Irish Patriot

Autograph letter signed, to Thomas Carlyle

written while awaiting trial for treason in Dublin Gaol, containing a fierce and eloquent appeal for Irish independence and a bitter denunciation of England, explaining that the Government will stop at nothing to destroy him, asserting that he will probably never see Carlyle again, bids Carlyle farewell and sends his kindest regards to Mrs Carlyle, 8 pages, 8vo, Newgate gaol, Dublin, 19 May 1848, light stain from a wafer-seal on last page

"...I am to be tried for my life [...] because transportation would be speedy death to me, & worse than death till death comes. But then British dominion in Ireland is also to stand trial, on the same day, for its life. A deep stake on both sides, but the adversary has all the cards in his hand, and cheats like a blackleg..."

John Mitchel was the editor of the United Irishman, which called for Irish independence in the bitter aftermath of the Great Hunger. Carlyle had met him on a visit to Ireland in September 1846, and Mitchel was deeply influenced by Carlyle's "great man" theory of history. On 25th and 26th May 1848 Mitchel was tried for seditious libel and sentenced to 14 years transportation. After his conviction, Mitchel was transported to Ireland Island, Bermuda, to work on the construction of the British naval dockyard, then to Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania), from where he escaped in 1853. He spent much of the rest of his life in America, editing radical Irish Nationalist newspapers, but returned to Ireland to stand for election to Westminster in 1875. He won the election but was disqualified from sitting since he was a convicted felon. A second election was likewise decreed null.

PROVENANCE:

Sotheby's, London, 17 December 1981, lot 79