time, having some very fine pictures, for which he got good prices, on
the walls of the Liverpool Academy Exhibition. Richards supplied all the
trappings for the part that Ryan was playing, and also sent him letters
of a somewhat humorous character, which he sometimes read to me before
sending off. In these he was anticipating all sorts of adventures for
his friend in the then disturbed state of Ireland. As John Ryan had much
artistic taste, and was himself a fair draughtsman, and well up in all
the necessary technicalities, and as Richards' letters, which he always
carried for emergencies like this, were strong evidences in his favour,
he had not much difficulty in convincing the Dublin police he was what
he represented himself to be.

Some of Jack Ryan's reminiscences had their droll sides, for he had a
keen sense of humour. One of his stories was in connection with the
well-known old tradition of the Gaels--both Irish and Scottish--that
wherever the "_Lia Fail_" or "Stone of Destiny" may be must be the seat
of Government. There is some doubt, as is well known, as to where the
real stone now is. At all events, the stone which is under the
Coronation Chair in Westminster Abbey is that which was taken from
Scone by King Edward, and that on which the Scottish monarchs were
crowned, having been originally brought from Ireland, the cradle of the
Gaelic race. The tradition is still, as it happens, borne out by the
fact that Westminster is _now_ the seat of Government.

Now two of John Ryan's Fenian friends, Irish-American officers, stranded
in London--a not unusual circumstance--just when affairs looked very
black indeed, conceived the brilliant idea of _stealing the stone_,
bringing it over to Ireland, and, once for all, settling the Irish
question. This, notwithstanding their oath to "The Irish _Republic_ now
virtually (virtuously some of our friends used to say) established," for