To hang Allen, O'Brien, and Larkin now, on the broken-down verdict,
would, it was judged, be a measure of outrage which even the fiercest
hater of England would frankly declare too great for her.
A few there were, however, who did not view the situation thus. They
read in the respite of Shore, _fear_; and they gloomily reflected that
justice or magnanimity towards the weak seldom characterizes those who
exhibit cowardice towards the strong. _Shore was an American._ By this
simple sentence a flood of light is thrown on the fact of respiting
him alone amongst the four men admittedly concerned in the rescue.
Shore was an American. He had a country to avenge him if legally
slaughtered on a vitiated verdict. To hang _him_ was dangerous; but
as for Allen, Larkin, and O'Brien, _they had no country_ (in the same
sense) to avenge them. America was strong, but Ireland was weak. If
it was deemed dangerous to sport with the life of the American, it was
deemed safe to be brutal and merciless towards the Irishmen. On these
the full arrear of British vengeance might be glutted.
But there were not many to discern, in the first flush of its
proclamation, this sinister aspect of Shore's respite. The news
reached Ireland on Friday, 22nd November, and was, as we have already
said, generally deemed conclusive evidence that the next day would
bring like news in reference to Allen, Larkin, and O'Brien.
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