Mr. McClure to Mr. O’Bierne
Kind Friend: Pardon me for requesting your services again in “behalf of my brother, who is at present confined in Millbank prison, England.
He appears (from a letter received from him lately) to be suffering greatly in his mental organization, produced by confinement, and I am fearful that it will affect his mind, which is not of the living-within-itself type, but requires association to make it active. In his composition he wanders, and some of the lines are erased, I presume by the British officials.
I received about a month ago assurances from Secretary Seward that my brother would be discharged from custody on the subsidence of the Fenian agitation in Ireland. If you will please see Mr. Seward and narrate to him the condition of my brother, and the injurious effect prison confinement produces on his mind, the sympathies of the Secretary may suggest further exertions on the part of the United States government for the prisoner’s release. I do not think he can bear imprisonment long, as my father informs me that he complained of a head affection during his incarceration at Cork, where he was treated quite leniently.
Trusting that you and family are blessed with health, and praying for your happiness,
I am yours, most sincerely and gratefully,
Colonel J. R. O’Bierne, Washington, D. C.