faith. His mother, a good pious Catholic, whose warmest aspiration was
to see her children in the fold of the true church, encouraged this
disposition by all the means in her power, and the result of her pious
care shortly became apparent. A mission, opened in the town by some
Catholic order of priests, completed the good work, which the prayers
and the example of an affectionate mother had commenced; and young
Allen, after regularly attending the religious services and exercises
of the mission, became so much Impressed with the truth of the
lectures and sermons he had listened to, that he formally renounced
the alien religion, and was received by the respected parish priest
of the town into the bosom of the Catholic Church. His only sister
followed his example, while his brothers, four in number, remained in
the Protestant communion. The subject of our sketch was apprenticed
to a respectable master carpenter and timber merchant in Bandon,
but circumstances highly creditable to the young convert induced the
severance of the connection before his period of apprenticeship was
expired, and we next find him working at his trade in Cork, where he
remained for some six months, after which he returned to Bandon. He
next crossed over to Manchester, at the request of some near relatives
living there. Subsequently he spent a few weeks in Dublin, where he
worked as builder's clerk; and finally he revisited Manchester, where
he had made himself numerous friends. It was in the summer of '67
that Allen last journeyed to Manchester. He was then little more than
nineteen years old, but there is reason to believe that he had long
before become connected with the Fenian conspiracy. In his ardent
temperament the seeds of patriotism took deep and firm root, and the
dangers of the enterprise to which the Fenians were committed served
only to give it a fresh claim upon his enthusiastic nature. When
Colonel Kelly quitted Dublin, and took up his quarters in Manchester,
Allen was one of his most trusted and intimate associates; and when