father, Herbert de Huse, were land-owners of some importance in Kerry in
1307. Stirring times they must have been, of which we have no fiction
under the guise of history, though then men had to fight hard to
preserve their lives and maintain their dignity. We can imagine the
tussle, even in these degenerate days when no challenge follows the
exchange of insults, even in the House of Commons, and when the
perpetration of the most cowardly outrage in Ireland has to be induced
by preliminary potations of whisky. Of course, those old times were bad
times, but the badness was at least above board and the warfare pretty
stoutly waged. There is some sense in fighting your foe hand to hand,
but to-day when a battle is contested by armies which never see one
another, and are decimated by silent bullets, the courage needed is of a
different character, and the wicked murder of such combats is obvious.

But let us quit war and confiscation for the equally stormy region known
as politics, wherein it may be noted that in 1613 Michael Hussey was
Member of Parliament for Dingle.

Now for a coincidence in Christian names.

Only two Husseys forfeited in the Desmond Rebellion, and they were John
and Maurice.

In the Irish Parliament of James II., when Kerry returned eight members,
two of them were Husseys, and their names were John and Maurice.

My grandfather's name was John, and his father before him was Maurice,
and I christened my two surviving sons John and Maurice.

We do not go in for much variety of nomenclature in our family.