Mr John Tyndall | Ordnance Survey Office | Youghal
Leighlin Bridge | Dec. 8th. 1840.
My dear John
I send you the glorious intelligence of Col. Bruen’s triumphant victory over his Radical opponent,1 after a tremendous conflict of five days. They commenced the battle on Monday the 30th of Nov. and ended on Saturday the 5th, of Dec. Ponsonby, the Priests’ darling, sent in his resignation on Friday, bid goodbye to the mendicants of the Radical Club2 and left the Colonel in possession of the field with a majority of one hundred and sixty seven amidst the roars and huzzas of the Conservatives. I was in Carlow three times during the contest. Monday, Thursday, and Saturday. I would not have went so often but Mr Steuart brought me with him in the Gig.3 The Priests are really out of their reason and the Roman Catholics equally so. They threaten us with slaughter, but we laugh at their nonsense. John, you would be delighted to see the noble Band of Protestants that filled the Court House of Carlow on Saturday evening when the Colonel was declared.4 Their shouts with ‘hear him, hear him,’ and the playing of a Kent Bugle5 ‘The Conquering Hero Comes,’6 was truly gratifying. I wont bother you with more at present, as your mother, who, is in good health, expects you home at Christmas, but conclude
Your affectionate Father | John Tyndall
P.S. | Jim Walsh desires you to let Mrs Payne know that the person who promised to put up the partition7 has not done so, he sent word to George8 about it but received no answer. If she allows him in the rent he will have it done himself | J.T.
RI MS JT/1/10/3197
LT Transcript Only
triumphant victory over his Radical opponent: The voting to Thursday night was 586 for Colonel Bruen and 443 for the Honorable Frederick George Brabazon Ponsonby; as of Friday night the votes were 719 and 555 respectively. Contemporary accounts claim that intimidation was practiced by the supporters of both candidates.
Radical Club: The Radical Club was founded in London in 1833. Although Tyndall, Snr, claimed that Ponsonby was a Radical, contemporary newspapers generally described him as a Liberal. Daniel O’Connell considered that Ponsonby lost the election because he refused to align himself with the Repealers: ‘It proves that the Whigs cannot prosper without the Repealers’. (O’Connell to P. V. FitzPatrick, 8 December 1840: M. R. O’Connell, ed., The Correspondence of Daniel O’Connell, 8 vols (Tallaght, Dublin: Blackwater, 1972–80), vol. 6, p. 389. See also O’Connell letters 2762, 2765 and 3775.)
Gig: a light two-wheeled one-horse carriage (OED).
the noble Band … was declared: The final stage of the election and Henry Bruen’s triumphant speech after he had been declared the winner are reported in CS, 12 December 1840, pp. [1–3].
a Kent Bugle: A curved bugle, having six finger keys or stops, by means of which the performer can play upon every key in the musical scale. Also known as the keyed bugle, it was probably named after the Duke of Kent.
The Conquering Hero Comes: The chorus and march ‘See the Conqu’ring Hero Comes!’ is sung to mark the victory of the Jewish people in George Frederic Handel’s oratorio Judas Maccabaeus.
put up the partition: presumably at Mrs Payne’s house in Bagenalstown.
George: George Payne.
Please cite as “Tyndall0026,” in Ɛpsilon: The John Tyndall Collection accessed on 24 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/tyndall/letters/Tyndall0026