He did more than this. He sacrificed his feelings, as a Catholic, in

order to conciliate the Ascendency party. Intent on conciliation, he

even dined with the Dublin Corporation, and drank their charter toast of

intolerance,[18] "The pious, glorious and immortal memory." Concession

was vain. The leopard would not change his spots; and, throwing away the

scabbard, O'Connell drew the sword, and threw himself, body and soul,

into the stormy battle of Agitation.

[18] This celebrated toast, the drinking or refusal of which, for

many years, was the great test of (political) Protestantism in

Ireland, was drank on the knee, and ran thus: "The glorious, pious,

and immortal memory of the great and good King William, Prince of

Orange, who saved us from Pope and Popery, brass money and wooden

shoes. He that don't drink this toast, may the north wind blow him

to the south, and a west wind blow him to the east; may he have a

dark night, a lee shore, a rank storm, and a leaky vessel to carry

him over the ferry to hell; may the devil jump down his throat with

a red-hot harrow, that every pin may tear out his inside; may he be

rammed, jammed, and damned into the great gun of Athlone, and fired

off into the kitchen of hell, where the Pope is roasted on a spit,

and basted with the fat of Charles James Fox, while the Devil

stands by pelting him with Cardinals!"

In 1823, O'Connell, finding how little was to be anticipated from George

IV. (who, as king, forgot the promises he made when Prince of Wales),

organized a great plan for uniting his Catholic countrymen into an array

against the laws which excluded them from the enjoyment of their civil

and rights. He had great difficulty in arousing the languid energies of the

Irish people, so hopeless had they been for a long time. At last, the

Catholic Association assumed a "local habitation and a name." The

subscription to the somewhat aristocratical Catholic Board had been five

pounds a year--one fifth of that amount was the payment to the

Association; and, at last, the Catholic Rent was instituted on the basis

of admitting contributions of a shilling a-year. Every subscriber to

this small amount thereby became a member of the Association, and crowds

eagerly joined it, on these terms, from all parts of Ireland. Here were

agitation and combination. Here was money, the very sinews of war. Here

was a fund, large in amount, annually augmenting, applicable to a

variety of purposes connected with the assertion of the Catholic claims

and the defence of Catholics, who thought themselves individually

wronged or injured by their Orange masters. Here, with O'Connell at

their head, was a band of leaders, most of them in the practice of the

law, who had station, influence, audacity, courage, integrity, and the

art of moving the multitude by voice or pen. The Government speedily

feared, and felt, it to be an _imperium in imperio_.

Armed with a vast numerical combination, strong in the possession of

large funds, headed by able and fearless men, the Association assumed

the duty of standing between the people and the mal-administration

of the law. Every local act of tyranny, intolerance and oppression was

exposed, if it were not visited with exemplary punishment. The

complaints of the people were heard, through the influence of the

leaders, within the very walls of the Imperial Parliament. A brilliant

arena was opened for Catholic talent, for the Association held its

discussions like a regular legislative assembly, and its debates were

spread abroad, all over the kingdom, on the wings of the press. Of the

whole system O'Connell was the motive power--the head--the heart. His

influence was immense.

Such an array could not be beheld by any government with indifference.

It was determined to put down the Association by act of Parliament. In

1825, O'Connell formed one of a deputation to England, to make

arrangements for an adjustment of the Catholic claims--committed the

error of consenting to take Emancipation clogged with "the wings" (that

is, to State payment for the Catholic clergy, and confiscation of the

40s. elective franchise), but finally admitted his mistake, and his

error of judgment was forgiven by his countrymen. The Association was

suppressed. O'Connell, whose policy was to baffle rather than to

contest, and whose boast ever was that he agitated "within the law,"

allowed the Catholic Association to dissolve itself, but continued the

agitation by "aggregate meetings" in nearly every county of Ireland, and

by the establishment of a new Catholic Association, formed ostensibly

for purposes of charity alone. The Government could do nothing against

this.

In 1826, when a general election took place, O'Connell brought into

unexpected operation the forces which he commanded. He started popular

candidates in several Irish counties, and defeated the former members,

who had always voted against the Catholics. The lesson was a striking

one, but the Executive in Downing-street heeded it not, and declared

unmitigated and perpetual enmity against the Catholics. On the other

hand, the Association pledged itself to oppose every candidate connected

with the government. In 1828, a vacancy occurred, by Mr. Vesey

Fitzgerald (who himself had always voted for Catholic Emancipation)

having accepted a seat in the Duke of Wellington's Cabinet, and then

O'Connell ventured the bold experiment of contesting the representation

of Clare. He was returned after a most severe contest--forced

Wellington, by that election to concede Emancipation--claimed his seat

under that concession--was refused by Manners Sutton, the Speaker--was

re-elected for Clare[19]--since sat for Waterford, Kerry, Dublin,

Kilkenny, and Cork--made the best speech upon the Reform Bill--supported

the Melbourne ministry when the contest between them and Peel came

on--invariably maintained the most liberal principles, and supported the

most liberal measures--diminished, if he did not conquer, the dislike

which England and Scotland felt towards him as a Catholic and Irish

agitator--and had a parliamentary influence greater than any man ever

before possessed, being able to count on the votes of _forty_ members,

who formed what is called the joints of his "tail."

[19] Mr. Grattan says, at an expense of £20,000--an amount which

seems incredible, as there was only a brief shadow of opposition.

Had O'Connell's labors as an agitator ceased when they achieved

Emancipation, no reputation could have stood higher. But, from 1829, he

attempted to make "Repeal" his party-cry. In April, 1834, he moved for

the Repeal of the Union. Thirty-eight members voted _with_, and five

hundred and twenty-three _against_ him. Only _one_ English member

supported him--Mr. James Kennedy, who sat for the small borough of

Tiverton.

The influence of O'Connell continued great, with the Government, as well

as in Ireland, while the Whigs were in office. But the Melbourne

ministry broke up in the autumn of 1841, and "Othello's occupation" was

gone when they went over to the opposition benches. In 1843, it is true,

he made renewed, important and remarkable attempts to excite Ireland--to

agitate (within the law) against the government of which Sir Robert Peel

was the head, but he was prosecuted, and the Monster Trials, lasting

twenty-five days, and ending in his conviction and imprisonment, first

taught his countrymen that he was not infallible nor invulnerable. His

conviction was subsequently annulled by the House of Lords, on appeal,

but the iron had entered into his soul, and when he resumed his seat in

Parliament he evidently was breaking. Then followed the revolt against

his supremacy by the vigorous and more decided "Young Ireland" party,

and, with failing health and defeated aims, he went to the

Continent--his desire being to visit that imperial and Papal Rome of

which he had long been the energetic and obedient servant. He died

before he accomplished his pilgrimage; but his heart rests in the

Eternal City.

Here it can scarcely be out of place to glance at O'Connell's success as

a Parliamentary orator.

In the British Parliament, where oratorical success is usually very

difficult, Irishmen have generally shown themselves not merely good, but

even eloquent speakers. Edmund Burke may challenge mention alongside of

the great Chatham--and will have a more permanent place of honour,

because his speeches, admirable even as compositions, now belong to the

standard classics of the Anglo-Saxon race. Sir Philip Francis (the

reputed author of "The Letters of Junius") was not inferior, in power

and effect, to the younger Pitt. Richard Brinsley Sheridan and George

Canning nobly maintained the national credit, as transcendently eloquent

men. Lord Wellesley and Henry Grattan occupy a first position as great

orators. In later days, assuredly Daniel O'Connell and Richard Lalor

Sheil have not been surpassed by any of their rivals. Whenever Irish

parliamentary eloquence is spoken of, William Conyngham Plunket cannot

be overlooked. He was, perhaps, the very best speaker in the British

Parliament at any time. He had few of the ordinary characteristics of

Irish eloquence. Wit he possessed in a high degree, but was chary in its

use. Pathos he rarely ventured upon--though there are some incidental

touches at once tearful and tender. He relied on clear arrangement of

facts, logical closeness of reasoning, strong earnestness, remarkable

sagacity, and the exercise of tact and common sense which a spirit at

once strong and ardent had disciplined and exercised. His manner, also,

grave and almost austere, added weight to his words of power. He

succeeded Grattan in the leadership of the Catholic party in Parliament,

and his speech (in 1821) converted nine votes from hostility to justice.

It was on this occasion, alluding to the great departed who had joined

in the discussions relative to Ireland's claims for civil and religious

liberty, that he said--"Walking before the sacred images of the

illustrious dead, as in a public and solemn procession, shall we not

dismiss all party feelings, all angry passions, all unworthy prejudices?

I will not talk of past disputes; I will not mingle in this act of

national justice anything that can awaken personal animosity."

It was not, however, in the English legislature, but during the last

twenty years of the Irish Parliament, that Irish eloquence was in its

zenith. On one hand were Fitzgibbon and Scott (afterwards Lords Clare

and Clonmel), Connolly, Cavendish, and Arthur Wolfe. On the other side

was such an array of talent, patriotism, and eloquence as, in the same

period of time, has never been surpassed--never equalled. There were

Hussey Burgh and James Fitzgerald, Flood and Grattan, Curran and Barry

Yelverton, Plunket and Saurin, Parnell and Denis Daly, Brownlow and

Saxton Perry, Foster and Ponsonby, Goold and Peter Burrowes,

silvery-tongued Bushe and honest Robert Holmes. Most of these were

lawyers, and made an exception to the general rule that the eloquence of

the Bar and of the Senate are so different in character as to seem

almost incompatible in practice. In Ireland, during her last days of

nationality, the great cause for which they were contending, appeared to

have animated the members of the bar with a spirit which disdained all

narrow limits of conventionality, and elevated them above the ordinary

routine of common life. We read, in Holy Writ, how one of the seraphim

touched Isaiah's lips with fire, and, with little effort of the

imagination, we may well believe that Patriotism, in like manner,

touched the lips of Irishmen, during that hard struggle for the very

existence of their nation, at once hallowing and purifying the words

which fell from them. But such eloquence was only a flash amid darkness,

too brilliant to stay, and force and fraud were evil spirits superior,

at that time, to Truth, Virtue, and Eloquence. The day may come when

Ireland shall once again be a nation,--may the Past then and forever be

a lesson and a warning.

It is singular that, in the Irish Parliament, nearly all the great

speakers have been lawyers. With few exceptions, men of law have not

succeeded in the English Parliament. Lords Mansfield, Lyndhurst and

Brougham, with Romilly and Follett, are the chief exceptions. Camden,

Thurlow, Eldon, Gifford, Cottenham, Truro, St. Leonards, Erskine,

Scarlett, Stowell, Tenterden, Best, and a great many more did not

maintain, in Parliament, the reputation they had won at the bar. Three

Irishmen, however, albeit members of the legal profession, have taken

the lead in the British Senate, even in our own time. These were

Plunket, O'Connell, and Sheil.

Of Plunket and Sheil there may be another occasion and opportunity of

speaking. It is of O'Connell that I would record a few impressions now.

It must be remembered that when he entered Parliament, in 1829, he had

entered into his fifty-fifth year. Plunket was at least ten years

younger when he too entered the British House of Commons. Sheil was

little more than thirty-six when he took his seat. It was feared by his

friends and hoped by his enemies that, like Erskine and other great

advocates, O'Connell would fail in Parliament. True it was that Grattan

was fifty-nine before he first spoke in the English House of

Commons--but Grattan was one in ten thousand. Besides, he was all his

life a parliamentary speaker, which is very different from being a

lawyer in full practice also--the essentials for success at the bar and

in the Senate being far apart. Grattan himself, speaking of his great

rival, Flood, who had greatly distinguished himself in the Irish, and as

greatly failed, in the English Parliament, said "he forgot that he was a

tree of the forest, too old and too great to be transplanted at fifty."

O'Connell's opponents confidently anticipated his failure. He is too

much of a mob-orator, was the cry of one set. He will never please so

refined an assembly as the British House of Commons; he is too much of a

lawyer, said another section of ill-wishers, and we know how perpetually

lawyers fail in the House. His accent is dead against him, lisped a few

others, and will be laughed at as vulgar. One of his most violent

antagonists was Lord Eldon, before whom he had appeared, in an appeal

case before the Lords, when he visited London in 1825 (on the memorable

occasion of "the Wings"); but this Chancellor, inimical as he was,

turned round to Lord Wynford (then Sir W. D. Best), when the speech was

ended, and said, "What a knowledge of law!--how condensed, yet how clear

his argument!--how extremely gentlemanly, and even courtierly is his

manner. Let him only be in the House once, and he will carry every thing

before him." Many even of O'Connell's own friends doubted whether he

could accommodate himself to the manners, fashion, habits, and

restrictions of that very artificial assemblage, presumed to contain

"the collective wisdom of the nation," but the slightest doubt on the

subject does not appear to have cast its shadow into his own mind. To

him, as to Lady Macbeth, there was no such word as--fail! Like Nelson,

he did not know what fear was.

His putting up for Clare Election, in 1828, was one of the boldest

measures ever ventured on--short of raising the banner of revolt against

the government. It compelled Wellington and Peel to concede Catholic

Emancipation--a concession ungracious and ungrateful, since it was

clogged with a clause, the result of personal spite, prohibiting

O'Connell, because he had been elected in 1828, from taking the oaths

contained in the Relief Bill of 1829. That prohibition sent him back to

Clare for re-election, and he entered Parliament with his mind not

unnaturally angry at the injustice for which _he_ had been singled out

as a victim.

He took his seat, and, almost immediately, it was perceived that he was

not to be trifled with. Nature had been bountiful to him. In

stature tall, and so strongly built that it was only by seeing, when a

man of ordinary height was by his side, how much he over-topped him.

Physical vigour and mental strength were well combined in him. Then, his

voice--a miraculous organ, full of power, but not deficient, either, in

mellow sweetness. His glance told little--but his lips were singularly

expressive, as much so as the eyes are to ordinary mortals. Add to this,

a full consciousness of power--a conviction that he had been the main

agent for opening Parliament to his hitherto prohibited

co-religionists--that Ireland looked to him, and not without cause, for

a great deal more--that he virtually represented, not the men of Clare

only, but was "Member for all Ireland,"--that he was a tactician,

trained by thirty years of public life,--that he had also the practiced

skill in handling all the available points of an argument which his

professional career had given him,--and that he then looked upon

Emancipation only as an instalment. Put all these together, and it will

be seen, at once, that the man in whom they were embodied could scarcely

fail to make himself felt, dreaded, and much observed.

In the first twelvemonth--that is, from his re-election in 1829, until

the meeting of the new Parliament in November 1830--O'Connell

disappointed a great many by playing what may be called a waiting game.

It was expected that he would be perpetually speaking, upon all

occasions, and, in that case, attempts would have been made to laugh, or

cough, or clamor him down. He voted regularly, and always on the right

side. In 1831, when the Grey ministry were in power, O'Connell, now

strengthened by a strong and compact body of Irish members pledged to

work with and under him (their return was the result of the General

Election), took the station in the Legislature which he maintained for

nearly fifteen years. During the prolonged struggle for Parliamentary

Reform, one of the most impressive speeches in advocacy of the measure

was O'Connell's. On all great occasions his voice was heard and his vote

given. It cannot be asserted that he invariably spoke and voted as now,

when we read the events of those days as history, it may dispassionately

be thought he should have done; but he was undoubtedly an indefatigable,

earnest, eloquent member of Parliament, through whose pertinacity and

tact many concessions were made to Ireland which were calculated to

serve her. The geniality of his nature was as unchecked in the Senate as

it had been at the Bar, or in the Catholic Association. He was eminently

a good-tempered man, and this availed him much in the House of Commons,

where, if it so please him, a man can readily make himself and others

uncomfortable by the exhibition of even a small portion of ill-temper.

Sometimes he laughed at his opponents, but so good-naturedly that they

also enjoyed the jest. Such was his cut at John Walter, proprietor of

the _Times_, who had remained on the ministerial benches after his Tory

friends had quitted them. He removed, speedily enough, when O'Connell

pointed to him as--

"The last rose of summer, left blooming alone."

So, when Lord Stanley (now Earl of Derby) separating from the Whigs,

started a party of his own, which was lamentably small, O'Connell quoted

against him a couplet from a familiar poet--

"Thus down thy side, romantic Ashbourne, glides

The Derby dilly, carrying six insides."

And so, pre-eminent over all was his parody on Dryden's celebrated

comparison. Three Colonels (Perceval, Verner, and Sibthorpe) represented

Sligo, Armagh, and Lincoln. The two first were smooth-faced and

whiskerless as a maiden. Sibthorpe is "bearded like a bard." O'Connell,

alluding to them in the House, thus hit them off, amid a general roar,

in which the victimized trio could not refrain from joining--

"Three Colonels in three distant counties born,

Sligo, Armagh, and Lincoln did adorn.

The first in matchless impudence surpassed,

The next in bigotry--in both the last.

The force of nature could no further go,

To beard the third she shaved the other two."

Like other politicians, O'Connell did not escape without occasional

personal passages at arms. In one of these, with Mr. Doherty, then Irish

Solicitor-General, in May, 1830, O'Connell may be said to have come off

second-best. He had attacked Doherty for his conduct as Crown lawyer in

what was called the Doneraile conspiracy. The whole of the Tory party

sided with Doherty, who made a forcible defence, attacking his assailant

in turn, and the Whigs did not very warmly support O'Connell, who had

then only been a few months in Parliament. This _rencontre_, which took

place while "The Duke" was Premier, raised Doherty to the Chief

Justiceship of the Common Pleas in Ireland--and led to Peel's offering

him a seat in the Cabinet in 1834, and a Peerage in 1840. O'Connell used

to say, and with truth, that _he_ had placed Doherty on the Bench.

On another occasion O'Connell was far more successful. This was the

celebrated Breach of Privilege case.

Victoria ascended the throne in June, 1837. Shortly after there was a

General Election, and a great many of the members returned were

petitioned against. The Tories had raised a large fund to defray the

cost of these proceedings, and it was called "The Spottiswoode

Subscription," as Spottiswoode, the Queen's printer (a patent

life-office of much emolument), acted as its treasurer. Angry debates

arose in the House of Commons on this subject, and personalities were

so much and so tumultuously bandied to and fro, that Mr. Abercrombie,

the Speaker, threatened to resign if they were repeated,--as if,

grasping Scotchman as he was, he _could_ ever have brought himself to

resign the £6,000 a-year attached to the office!

The controverted elections were duly referred to the usual Election

Committees, ballotted for out of the members then in the House. These

committees were duly sworn, as juries are, to do justice between man and

man. But it was unhappily notorious that when the majority were Whigs,

they almost invariably decided against Tory members, and _vice versâ_.

As ill luck would have it, the majority of the decisions went to unseat

Liberal members. As parties were nearly balanced in Parliament, at that

time--indeed the Whigs remained in office merely because there was a new

and inexperienced sovereign who would have been puzzled how to act on a

change of ministry--the Liberals complained of the decisions of the

Election Committees.

On February 23, 1838, Lord Maidstone, who had been elected for

Northamptonshire, and was the eldest son of the intolerant Earl of

Winchelsea, who fought a duel on the Catholic Relief Bill, with

Wellington, in 1829, drew the attention of the House of Commons to a

Breach of Privilege. He complained that, two days before, at a public

dinner given at the Crown and Anchor Tavern, Mr. O'Connell had declared

that in the Election Committees "Corruption of the worst description

existed, and above all there was the perjury of the Tory politicians."

Also, that he "was ready to be a martyr to justice and truth; but not to

false swearing, and therefore, he repeated, that there was foul perjury

in the Tory Committees of the House of Commons."

What followed I saw, and can never forget. O'Connell, who had been

reading (or appearing to read) a newspaper while Lord Maidstone was

accusing him, keenly arose, sternly looked around the House, folded his

arms, and, in his deepest tones and most impressive manner, said, "Sir,

I did say every word of that--every word of that; and I do repeat that I

believe it to be perfectly true. Is there a man who will put his hand on

his heart and say that it is not true? Such a man would be laughed to

scorn."

Maidstone then gave notice of a motion condemnatory of O'Connell, and

the discussion was adjourned until the following Monday. Maidstone moved

that O'Connell's speech was an imputation on the whole House, and that

he be censured for it as a breach of privilege. O'Connell replied in a

speech of great power, in the midst of which he was self-designated "The

pensioned servant of Ireland," and plainly declared that whenever an

Election Committee was appointed, it was known that the decision would

be exactly according to the political majority of its members; and

repeating that he had spoken only the truth, and would stand by his

words. The Agitator then retired.

A great many members spoke,--the Whigs making a lukewarm defence for

O'Connell, instead of admitting and lamenting the truth of his remarks.

The Tories clamoured for a heavy censure. In a House of 517 members, out

of 658, a majority of _nine_ were for the censure. Next Daniel

Callaghan, member for Cork city, Edmund Burke Roche, member for Cork

county, W. D. Gillon for Falkirk, and J. P. Somers for Sligo, severally

and seriously declared that, each and all, they adopted Mr. O'Connell's

words and sentiments! It was then carried by 298 to 85 (Lord John

Russell voting in the majority) that the words were "a false and

scandalous imputation on the House."

Next, on the motion that O'Connell be reprimanded in his place, an

exciting debate ensued. Mr. Callaghan repeated his endorsement of

O'Connell's imputation, and his words were taken down by the Clerk of

the House, on the motion of Mr. Hume, who called on the Speaker to

notice his contumacy. But the Speaker was mute. Next day, Mr. Roche also

repeated his full adherence to O'Connell's charge. The vote of censure

was carried by a majority of twenty-nine.

O'Connell duly attended in his place, was gravely reprimanded by the

Speaker (his own particular friend!), and said, when the farce was

over, "Galileo remarked 'the world does move, after all.' And so,

despite the censure of this House, I repeat all I said before. The

system I condemn reminds one of the Judge in Rabelais who decided cases

by throwing three dice for the plaintiff and two for the defendant. I

had rather take the dice-box and say 'seven's the main,' than take my

chance on an Election Committee of this House. I express no regret for

what I have said. I have retracted nothing. I will retract nothing. I

have told the truth."

So saying, having bearded the House by strongly repeating his

accusation, he sat down. It was considered that he had gained a victory,

and the conclusion of all was a total change and reform in the system of

Parliamentary election committees.

But it was in Ireland--whether in the Catholic Association, at an

Aggregate Meeting, at a public dinner, or in a court of law--that

O'Connell was to be seen "in all his glory." In Ireland his influence

was extraordinary--not only for its vast extent, but for its

continuance. No other public man, no matter what the country or the age,

has maintained his popularity, as O'Connell did, for nearly forty years.

I think that this may be partly attributed to the belief, long and

widely entertained by his followers, almost unbroken to the last,

encouraged by himself, and generally borne out by circumstances, that he

was above the law, that the law could not reach _him_, that he "could

drive a coach and six through any Act of Parliament."

In February, 1831, he was indicted and tried (with Tom Steele and

Barrett, of _The Pilot_ newspaper) for holding political meetings which

the Viceroy's proclamation had forbidden. They pleaded guilty, but as

the law under which they were tried was allowed to expire before they

were brought up for judgment, his prophecy, that the law could not reach

him, was fulfilled. In 1843 he was less fortunate. Three months in

prison!--_that_ destroyed the _prestige_.

This man was eminently endowed by nature with the bodily and mental

qualifications for a Tribune of the People. In stature he was lofty, in

figure large. His bold, good-natured face was an advantage--as were his

manly appearance and bearing. His voice was deep, musical, sonorous and

manageable. Its transitions from the higher to the lower notes was

wondrously effective. No man had a clearer or more distinct

pronunciation--at times, it even went to the extent of almost

syllabizing long words. How lingeringly, as if he loved to utter the

words, would he speak of "Cawtholic E-man-cee-pa-tion!" He rather

affected a full Irish accent, on which was slightly grafted something of

the Foigardism which, in his youth, had attached itself to him when he

studied in France. No one who noticed his capacious chest could wonder

that O'Connell was able to speak longer than most men without pausing

to take breath. When making a speech, his mouth was very expressive; and

this has been noticed as the characteristic of that feature, in Irish

faces. In his eyes (of a cold, clear blue) there was little speculation,

but the true Irish expression of feeling, passion and intellect played

about his lips. Looking at him, as he spoke, a close observer might

almost note the sentiment about to come from those lips, before the

words had utterance--just as we see the lightning-flash before we hear

the thunder-peal.

His eloquence was eminently characteristic. Irishmen, in general, have

"the gift of the gab,"--that is, the power of expressing their

sentiments in public with ease to themselves and to their hearers. It

gives them little trouble to make a speech; and this faculty and this

facility arise, very probably, from the political circumstances of their

country as much as from anything else. In England there is no necessity

why a man should have decided political opinions. In Ireland no man dare

be neutral. Persons may disagree, and do; but they unite in despising

and condemning the unhappy wight who does not belong to any party. An

Irishman, in Ireland, _must_ be a partisan. Being so, there is no

earthly reason why, attending any public meeting, he should not be

induced to take part in the proceedings, and make a speech. Oratory is a

very catching thing,--listening begets the desire to be listened to, in

turn; and, once that a man has heard his own voice in public, depend on

it, he will be anxious to hear it again.

Self-possession, which is "half the battle" in public life, is an

essential in public speaking. However, it is not _the_ essential. There

must be a copious flow of words--a happy and rapid selection of

language--an earnestness of manner--a knowledge of human character--and,

above all, a considerable degree of information, with a certain portion

of the "imagination all compact," which breathes fervour and poetry into

the spoken speech. Great is the orator's power. He can touch the human

heart--he can move the secret springs of action--he can sway the popular

will as he pleases--he can comfort the afflicted, infuse hope into the

oppressed, alarm the oppressor, and make ill-directed Power and Might

tremble on their lofty thrones.

Ireland has been particularly profuse in her contribution of eminent

orators. Burke, Canning, Plunket, Grattan, Sheil, Wellesley and Curran,

stand pre-eminent on the roll; but I doubt whether O'Connell, when the

length of his reign is considered, as well as the great extent of his

influence, derived chiefly from his power as a speaker, was not greater

than any of these great orators. He had less wit than Canning--less

imagination than Curran--less philosophy than Burke--less rhetoric than

Sheil--less pure eloquence than Plunket--less classical expression

than Wellesley--less pathos than Grattan; but he had more power than any

of them. There was wonderful force in his language. And when addressing

an Irish audience, there was such an alternation of style--now rising to

the loftiest, and now subsiding to the most familiar--that he carried

all hearts with him, and those who listened seemed as if under the spell

of an enchanter, so completely did he move them as he pleased. Judging

by their _effect_, O'Connell's speeches must be considered as among the

best, if not the very best, of the time and country.

O'Connell's versatility as a speaker was wonderful. He was "all things

to all men." In a Court of Law he would often joke a jury into his view

of the case, and when this did not succeed, would convince them by

subtle argument, bold declamation, and a natural eloquence. At a

political meeting, where he had to address a multitude, they would

alternately smile or get enraged, as he jested with or excited their

feelings. In Parliament, which he did not enter until he was fifty-four

years old, he generally was more calm, more careful, more sudued, more

solicitous in his choice of words, and more vigilant in restraining the

manner of delivering them.

The great secret of his power, as a speaker, was his earnestness. He

ever had a great object in view, and he always applied himself, with a

strong and earnest mind, to achieve that object. Whenever he pleased,

he could rise to the greatest height of eloquence; but he preferred,

when speaking to the people, to use language which each of them could

understand. He varied his speeches, too, with badinage and jokes, which,

though merely humourous, made his audience smile, and keep them in good

temper with each other, with themselves, and with him. The Irish, who

thronged to listen to him, went to be amused as well as to be harangued.

Nor did he disappoint them. I may illustrate what I mean by giving an

example of one of his familiar illustrations.

In 1827, during the time of what was called "The New Reformation," in

Ireland, O'Connell made a speech at the South Chapel, in Cork. It

contained the following passage, after a very elaborate denial of the

assumed conversions which the "New Reformation" gentry had boasted

of:--"They remind me, gentlemen, of a Frenchman who waited on Lord

Kenmare, and offered to drain the lakes of Killarney, which would

restore a great quantity of arable land. Lord Kenmare happened to think

that he had land enough, and civilly declined having his property

deprived of the beautiful lakes, its proudest ornament. The Frenchman,

however, being one of those who

'Do good by stealth, and blush to find it fame,'

persisted in his fancy, and accordingly rose at break of day to drain

the lake. And, boys, how do you think he was doing it? Why, he was

baling it out with his hat! (Great laughter.) Now, there are seven

millions of Catholics in Ireland--the New Reformation folk do not boast

of more than six or seven conversions, or perversions, in the week--so

that, allowing (which is impossible, where there are bright eyes and

warm hearts such as flash and throb around me, in this large assembly)

that the Catholics of Ireland will not increase in the meantime, there

must, at this rate, be a million of weeks elapse before all of them are

drained out by conversion. (Cheers.) Boys, these Reformation gentry

remind me mightily of the Frenchman baling out the Lake of Killarney

with his hat!"

It was with pleasant, homely jokes like this--yet each having a tendency

to work out the argument--that O'Connell was wont to amuse the Irish. In

point of wit, I doubt whether O'Connell's little Frenchman be not as

original a character as Sydney Smith's far-famed Mrs. Partington.

O'Connell's friends lamented, and with ample cause, at his aptness to

abuse the license of public speech. He was very fond of bestowing

nicknames on his opponents, and of applying offensive epithets to

them.[20] As early as July, 1808, at a meeting of the famous Catholic

Board, he had commenced that sort of speaking--which lowers him who

adopts it rather than those against whom it is levelled. He then said

"the present administration are the personal enemies of the Catholic

cause; yet if the Catholics continue loyal, firm, and undivided, they

have little to fear from the barren petulence of the ex-advocate,

Percival, or the frothy declamations of the poetaster, Canning--they

might with equal contempt despise the upstart pride of the Jenkinsons,

and with more than contempt the pompous inanity of that Lord

Castlereagh, who might well be permitted to hate the country that gave

him birth, to her own annihilation." In the same vulgar spirit he spoke

of Cobbett as "a comical miscreant," and declared that the Duke of

Wellington was "a stunted corporal," and maintained that Disraeli, whose

Jewish descent is well known, must be a lineal descendant of the

impenitent thief who was crucified, when the great sacrifice of

Salvation was consummated at Calvary.

[20] O'Connell had high judicial authority for the use of bad

language. Sir Archibald Macdonald (who was Chief Baron of the

English Court of Exchequer, from 1793 to 1813) once told Mr.

Fletcher Norton, afterwards Speaker of the House of Commons, that

he was a "lazy, indolent, evasive, shuffling, plausible, artful,

mean, confident, cowardly, poor, pitiful, sneaking, and abject

creature."

Once only, as far as my memory serves, O'Connell gave a nickname, with

point and wit in the application. He was denouncing the present Earl of

Derby, who was then a member of the House of Commons, and filled the

office of Chief Secretary of Ireland. In some way Stanley had taken

official notice of the "sayings and doings" of O'Connell, whereupon the

Agitator declared that, from that time, he must be called "Shave-beggar

Stanley." Amid roars of laughter (for this was at a public meeting in

Dublin), O'Connell proceeded to justify the _nom de guerre_. It was the

custom, he said, that barbers' apprentices should learn their business

by shaving beggars, who, as the job was done for nothing, could scarcely

complain if a blunt razor gave them pain, or an unskilful hand cut the

skin, as well as the beard. So, he added, with British statesmen. They

were first sent over to Ireland, to get their hand in, and when that was

accomplished they were considered to have sufficient dexterity to be

placed in office in England. He argued, by analogy, that the political,

like the actual "shave-beggar," gave a good deal of pain, and inflicted

many cuts, which the Irish, like the pauper shavelings, were compelled

to submit to, without complaint. From that day until the day he left

Ireland, Lord Stanley was always spoken of, by the Irish Liberals, with

the prefix of "shave-beggar" to his surname!

Two things, through life, O'Connell strenuously affirmed and inculcated.

First, that the man who committed outrage supplied the enemy with a

weapon to be used against the country. Second, that Ireland would never

be prosperous until the Union was repealed.

He did not join the United Irishmen in 1798,--not because he, like them,

had not an aspiration for the political independence of his country,

but because he disapproved of _their_ mode of striving for it, by force.

From first to last he was opposed to violence. The "Young Ireland"

schism, at Conciliation Hall, which so much annoyed him, during the last

eighteen months of his career, was caused by his resistance to the

doctrine of "physical force."

As to the Union--it is only just to say, that O'Connell's first public

effort was against that measure. His maiden speech, delivered on January

13th, 1800, at a Catholic meeting, in Dublin, unequivocally condemned

the Union. The Resolutions adopted by the meeting, drawn up by

O'Connell, declared the proposed incorporate Union to be, "in fact, an

extinction of the liberty of Ireland, which would be reduced to the

abject condition of a province, surrendered to the mercy of the Minister

and Legislature of another country, to be bound by their absolute will,

and taxed at their pleasure by laws, in the making of which Ireland

would have no efficient participation whatever!" During the struggle for

Emancipation, as well as from that era until his death, O'Connell always

declared that he would not be satisfied with less than "the Repeal." He

never cushioned, never concealed that such was his object. I mention

this, because it has been said that, "having got Emancipation, he ought

not to have gone for Repeal." As a matter of _policy_, perhaps, Ireland

would now be better off if the Repeal agitation had not taken place;

but it is indisputable that from 1800 to 1846, O'Connell declared that

he would not be satisfied with less than "the Repeal."

Here it may be well to notice the _questio vexata_ of the famous

"O'Connell Rent." The amount has not been exactly ascertained, but it is

believed to have varied from 10,000_l._ to 20,000._l_ a year. It

commenced after Emancipation was granted, and was continued until 1846,

when, from the pressing wants of the Irish, it was announced that Mr.

O'Connell wished it to be discontinued until they could better afford to

pay it. Here it may be best to give Mr. O'Connell's own apology, in a

letter to Lord Shrewsbury, in 1842. He said, "I will not consent that my

claim to 'the Rent' should be misunderstood. That claim may be rejected,

but it is understood in Ireland. My claim is this:--For more than twenty

years before Emancipation, the burthen of the cause was thrown upon me.

I had to arrange the meetings--to prepare the resolutions--to furnish

replies to the correspondence--to examine the case of each person

complaining of practical grievances--to rouse the torpid--to animate the

lukewarm--to control the violent and inflammatory--to avoid the shoals

and breakers of the law--to guard against multiplied treachery--and at

all times to oppose, at every peril, the powerful and multitudinous

enemies of the cause. To descend to particulars: At a period when my

minutes counted by the guinea--when my emoluments were limited only

by the extent of my physical and waking powers--when my meals were

shortened to the narrowest space, and my sleep restricted to the

earliest hours before dawn; at that period, and for more than twenty

years, there was no day that I did not devote from one to two hours

(often more) to the working out of the Catholic cause; and _that_

without receiving, or allowing the offer of any remuneration, even for

the personal expenditure incurred in the agitation of the cause itself.

For years I bore the entire expenses of a Catholic agitation, without

receiving the contributions of others to a greater amount than

seventy-four pounds in the whole. Who shall repay me for the years of my

buoyant youth and cheerful manhood? Who shall repay me for the lost

opportunities of acquiring professional celebrity; or for the wealth

which such distinction would ensure?"

There is considerable force in this. But O'Connell's character, out of

Ireland, would have stood higher, had he not received "the Rent." It was

often alleged, by his adherents, as a set-off, that Grattan had also

been remunerated by his countrymen. But the cases were not parallel. In

1782, Grattan, almost single-handed, had achieved the Independence of

Ireland, by obtaining the recognition of the principle that "the Crown

of England is an Imperial Crown, but that Ireland is a distinct Kingdom,

with a Parliament of her own, the sole Legislature thereof." He had

accomplished a bloodless Revolution. He had thrown himself into

political life, abandoning the profession on which rested nearly his

whole worldly dependence. A grant of £100,000 was proposed to him in the

Irish Parliament, "to purchase an estate, and build a suitable mansion,

as the reward of gratitude by the Irish nation, for his eminent services

to his country." It was intended as a mark of national gratitude to a

nation's Liberator. So unanimous was the feeling that, on the part of

the Viceroy, a member of the Government offered "as part of the intended

grant to Mr. Grattan, the Viceregal Palace in the Ph[oe]nix Park

[Dublin], to be settled on Mr. Grattan and his heirs for ever, as a

suitable residence for so meritorious a person." Grattan's own impulse

was to refuse the grant. His services had been rendered without

expectation or desire of reward. But his private fortune was so

inadequate to his public position that he must retire from politics or

become a placeman under the Crown. The grant would give him an

independent position. He consented to accept half of the proffered

amount (£50,000), and determined under no circumstances to take office.

He was, ever after, the retained servant of the nation. Yet, high as he

stood, he did not escape contumely. Even Henry Flood, his rival,

publicly said, in a Parliamentary controversy, "I am not a mendicant

patriot, who was bought by my country for a sum of money, and then sold

my country to the Minister for prompt payment."

O'Connell's "Rent" was estimated as yielding from £10,000 to £20,000 a

year--thrice the amount, probably, that he could have realized at the

bar, had he not devoted his time to politics. It was duly paid for

nearly twenty years. Thus O'Connell received, in this annuity from his

party, about five times as much as the Irish Parliament had given to

Grattan. Besides, since 1825, when Derrynane became his by the death of

his uncle, O'Connell's landed property was not less than £4,000 a year.

The most potent objection to "the Rent" was that, collected year after

year, it rendered its recipient liable to the imputation of keeping up

Agitation in order to collect the Rent.

When O'Connell's uncle died, in 1825, at a very advanced age, (he was

several years past ninety,) the news reached O'Connell when he was on

circuit, at Limerick. He hastened to Kerry, to attend the funeral, and

did not again appear in court until the trials were proceeding in Cork.

I had taken my seat, as a reporter, on the very day he made his

appearance, attired in full mourning. Setting immediately under him, I

heard one of the counsel congratulate him on his accession to his

uncle's large estate. "I had to wait for it a long time," said

O'Connell. "If this had happened twenty years ago, what would I now have

been? A hard-living, sporting, country gentleman, content with my lot.

As it is, I have had to struggle. I have succeeded; and look how bright

are now the prospects of Ireland! I thank God that I had to struggle,

since it has placed them as they are now."

To sum up the character of O'Connell's _political_, essentially

different from his _forensic_, eloquence, I need not say more than that

he put strong words into fitting places. No man had a greater or more

felicitous command of language; no man cared less how his words were

marshalled. Many of his speeches are models of the truest eloquence, and

perhaps he was the first Irishman, of modern days, who made a decided

hit in the Commons, as a sound and eloquent speaker, entering that House

at the mature age of fifty. Powers such as his commanded

attention;--but, in general, he spoke better in Ireland, among his own

people, than in England. Yet who can forget his magnificent oration in

favour of the Reform Bill? Who can forget the later, and briefer, but

not less stirring speech, which he delivered, as a member of the

Anti-Corn-law League, on his first visit to London, after the reversal

of the Monster-Meetings' sentence of imprisonment.

In sarcasm O'Connell was unequalled. I shall give an instance of quiet

sarcasm which I think inimitable. In his domestic relations O'Connell

was peculiarly happy. His marriage with his cousin Mary, was one of pure

affection on both sides, and their love continued to the last, as warm

as it had commenced in their youthful days.[21] John O'Connell, in 1846,

writing of his mother, who was not long dead, said, with as much beauty

as truth, "We can say no more than that doubting, she confirmed

him--desponding, she cheered him on--drooping, she sustained him--her

pure spirit may have often trembled, indeed, as she beheld him exposed

to a thousand assaults, and affronting a thousand dangers; but she

quailed not, she called him not back. She rejoiced not more in his

victories over them, than she would have heartily and devotedly shared

with and soothed him in the sufferings, in the ruin, that might have

come upon him had he failed and been overthrown." On the other hand, the

Marquis of Anglesey, in 1831, as Viceroy of Ireland, had O'Connell

prosecuted for an imputed breach of the law. The Marquis had seduced the

first wife of the late Lord Cowley, and married her after he was

divorced from his wife, and Lady Cowley (then Mrs. Henry Wellesley) from

her husband. O'Connell, commenting, at a public meeting in Dublin, on

Lord Anglesey's conduct to him said, "This prosecution has cost my wife

what none of _my_ transactions ever cost her--a tear for me. Does Lord

Anglesey know the value of a _virtuous_ woman's tear?"

[21] In 1802, O'Connell married his cousin, the daughter of Dr.

O'Connell, of Tralee. By this lady he had four sons and three

daughters. Two of the sons are now [1855] in Parliament. Maurice,

the eldest, was a barrister, but never distinguished himself either

as a lawyer or a politician. Morgan was for some time in the

Austrian service, and distinguished himself as a gallant officer.

His "affair of honour" with Lord Alvanley showed cool determination

and honourable feeling. Mr. John O'Connell, who tried to take his

father's place in Conciliation Hall, as Repeal Leader, has

displayed little of the talent and tact which distinguished the

Liberator. The youngest son, Daniel, is a very commonplace person.

It is usually said, that the children of a great man rarely arrive

at eminence, and the limited talents of O'Connell's sons keep up

the proverb in full force, as far as he and they are concerned:

'Few men achieve the praise of their great sires, But most their

sires disgrace.'

O'Connell's attempts at authorship were not very successful. His letters

to the "Hereditary bondsmen" were diffuse and declamatory. They were

full of repetitions, putting the points of a case in a variety of

phases, but they were by no means equal to the force, power, and nervous

eloquence of his speeches. He was eminently an extemporaneous speaker,

and, like Fox, appeared to more advantage as an orator than a writer.

Yet many of his letters contain true eloquence. He hit hard, and could

be terse when he pleased. Who can forget the alliterative satire of the

three words "base, bloody, and brutal," as applied to the Whigs?

His only substantive and independent work was Vol. I. of "A Memoir on

Ireland, Native and Saxon," published early in 1843. This book was

dedicated to the Queen, in order, as the Preface stated, "that the

Sovereign of these realms should understand the real nature of Irish

history; should be aware of how much the Irish have suffered from

English misrule; should comprehend the secret springs of Irish

discontent; should be acquainted with the eminent virtues which the

Irish have exhibited in every phasis of their singular fate; and, above

all, should be intimately acquainted with the confiscations, the

plunder, the robbery, the domestic treachery, the violation of all

public faith, and of the servility of treaties, the ordinary wholesale

slaughters, the planned murders, the concerted massacres, which have

been inflicted upon the Irish people by the English Government." This

one sentence will sufficiently indicate the character of the work.

O'Connell further stated, in his preface, that "there cannot happen a

more heavy misfortune to Ireland than the prosperity and power of Great

Britain." He endeavoured to justify this assertion, by adding that

"justice to Ireland" had never been granted except when Great Britain

was in difficulties. The work brought the "proofs and illustrations" of

British misrule in Ireland down to the Restoration. A second volume was

to have carried them down to the present period, but it never was

published. Nor has Literature nor History sustained any

loss,--unless it was much superior to the first volume. The seven

opening chapters, rapidly sketching the history of English dominion in

Ireland from 1172 to 1840, are not devoid of a certain degree of

eloquence, but is anti-English to a degree. The historical "proofs and

illustrations," are simply statements from partisan writers, with

connecting comments by O'Connell.

It was as a lawyer that O'Connell achieved his first distinctions. His

success at the bar was assurance to his countrymen of his general

ability. But, of late years, Mr. O'Connell was so exclusively before the

public as a legislator, that he was forgotten as a barrister. Yet, in

the opinion of many, (among whom are those who have known him long and

well,) it was in the latter character that the peculiar idiosyncrasy of

the man was fully developed--that his very rare and peculiar talents

were fully displayed.

Many men have obtained eminence at the Irish bar, but it has been for

some one peculiar merit. Thus, Harry Deane Grady was remarkable for the

knowing manner in which he conducted a cross-examination. By that he

alternately wheedled and frightened a witness into admissions which were

as opposite to his evidence in chief as light is from darkness. Thus,

Chief Justice Bushe, while at the bar, was distinguished for that

classic eloquence by which admiring juries were seduced, and admiring

judges were delighted. Pity that his elevation to the bench should have

extinguished this noble oratory. Thus, Curran was renowned for "that

sarcastic levity of tongue" which solicited a contest with those

elevated in rank above himself. Thus, Shiel was remarkable for

introducing a style of speaking--full of antithetical

brilliancies--which reminds us of the flashing speeches of the most

distinguished advocates of France. Thus, Serjeant (now Judge) Perrin was

almost unrivalled in threading through the intricacies of an excise

case. Thus, George Bennett won fame by his clear and plausible method of

stating a case. Thus, Devonshire Jackson (now a Judge) was excellent in

taking exceptions to the form of an indictment. Thus, the late Recorder

Waggett (of Cork) put that seeming of right into a case, by which

trusting jurymen are so often deceived. But there was only one man at

the Irish bar who, more or less, united the excellencies of all whom I

have named. He was as good at cross-examination as Harry Grady--he could

rise with the occasion, and be eloquent as Bushe--he could sport the

biting sarcasm of Curran--he even ventured on the antitheses of Shiel

(though he seldom meddled with such sharp-edged weapons)--he was a match

for Perrin in the excise courts--he could state a case plainly and

plausibly as Bennett--he was as good a lawyer as Jackson, and could

appeal to "the reports" with as much success--and, like Waggett (against

whom, in the Munster Courts, he was often pitted), he could show his

case to be one of the utmost _seeming_ right, his client, like the late

Queen, of virtuous memory, to be clear as "unsunned snow." The man who

combined all these apparently dissimilar qualifications--the man whom

universal consent named as the best general lawyer in Ireland--the man

to whom Orange clients invariably ran with their briefs (a confidence

equally honourable to clients and lawyer), was O'Connell.

By far the best account of O'Connell, in his different phases as a

lawyer, is that in the "Sketches of the Irish Bar." Its essence is

contained in the little sentence--"Every requisite for a barrister of

all work is combined in him; some in perfection, all in sufficiency."

An anonymous writer in an English paper has given this reminiscence of

O'Connell: "I recollect at the spring assizes of I think it was '27,

walking into the county court-house of Limerick. O'Connell was retained

in a record then being heard, and with him on the same side was his son

Maurice, who was bred to his father's profession, though he has since

ceased to follow it. It was a cold day, and both wore huge cloth cloaks:

the Agitator's right arm was thrown very affectionately round his son's

neck, who, seemingly used to these public exhibitions of paternal

fondness, took it very composedly. There was a rough-and-ready looking

peasant at the moment under examination: in lieu of the ordinary box

used in most English courts, he was seated in a chair in the centre of

the table between the fires of the counsel on either side; his shaggy

hair and unshorn beard, his shirt collar open, the knees of his small

clothes in the same free and easy state, and one stocking fallen so as

to leave a portion of his embrowned and hirsute leg bare; he had the

chair partially turned round, so as to present a three-quarter front to

O'Connell, who was _raking_ him with a cross-examination, which elicited

laughter from every person in the court, including the witness himself,

who, with his native freedom, impudence, and humour, was almost a match

for the Agitator. The Agitator's face was beaming with fun, and he

seemed very well disposed to show off, as if conscious that his auditors

expected something from him. The country fellow, too, appeared to think

there were laurels to be earned in the encounter, for he played away

with all his might, and though he failed repeatedly in his attempts to

be witty, he was always sure to be impudent. He waxed gradually more

familiar, until at length he called the learned counsel nothing but

'Dan;' it was, 'Yes, Dan,' or 'No, Dan,' or 'Arrah, you're not going to

come over me so easily, Dan.' Dan, to do him justice, enjoyed the joke,

and humoured the witness in such a manner as at length to throw the

fellow off his guard, and lead him into a maze of contradictions

notwithstanding his shrewdness. O'Connell showed the utmost

adroitness, and a thorough knowledge of the Irish peasant character,

which is perhaps in no place so well acquired as in a provincial court.

I cannot this moment recollect any single repartee which is worth

repeating, but it was the manner, the brogue, the laughing eye, the

general and humourous tone of the whole examination, and perhaps the

very spectacle of O'Connell himself trying legally to entrap and upset

the veracity of one of his own "fine peasantry," which gave that

peculiar interest and pleasantry to the scene. Nothing could surpass the

seeming enjoyment which the country people took in the examination; and

as the Agitator would throw off now and again one of his broad flashes

of humour in the "keen encounter of their wits," and the witness would

fire back some jocular effort at equivocation, you'd hear buzzed around,

'Bravo, Dan,' 'Dan's the boy,' or some such phrase of approbation, which

it was out of the question to suppress. Blackburn,[22] then, I think, the

Attorney-General, was on the bench, having taken the circuit for some

judge who was unwell; and though a dark and stern man, he was compelled

to give way to the general fit of pleasantry in which the whole court

indulged."

[22] Afterwards Chief-Justice of the Queen's Bench, whence, in

1852, he was raised to the Chancellorship of Ireland, which he

retained during the nine months of the Derby Administration.

O'Connell's business, on circuit as well as in the Dublin, was very

great. On circuit, it was so overpowering that, except on very important

cases, he could not read his briefs, when employed to defend prisoners.

The attorney for the defence used to condense the leading facts, and set

them down on a single sheet of foolscap; and O'Connell would peruse and

master this abstract during the speech of the counsel for the

prosecution, relying on his own skill in cross-examination of witnesses,

and his own power with the jury. Like Belial, he "could make the worse

appear the better reason," as many an acquitted culprit had cause to

know and thank him for.

Let me close this sketch with a glance of O'Connell, as I have often

seen him, in an Irish Court of Law. _There_ he was to be met "in all his

glory." As I write, the shadows of long years roll away, and every thing

appears as vivid and life-like as it was at that time.

To have seen O'Connell in the Law Courts of Dublin, was to have seen him

not exactly as himself. Before the judges, and in the capital of the

kingdom, a certain _etiquette_ is preserved, very decorous and proper,

no doubt, but very chilling also. It is on circuit that you best can see

the Irish bar, as they really are, and it is on circuit, also, that an

observer may advantageously study the character of the Irish people.

Leave the chilling atmosphere of the Four Courts, give the reins to

imagination, and sit, with me, in the Crown Courts of Cork, as I have

sat in bygone years. To give something like reality to my sketch, I

shall write as if I still were in the year 1827, when O'Connell and the

rest whom I have to name were alive and flourishing.

What a difference between this court and that of a circuit court in

England! Look around you:--there stands not a single female in the Irish

court. To attend there, with the chance of having it ever hinted that

delicacy requires their absence, would ill suit the modest precision of

the fair dames of Ireland. Nor do I think that the course of justice

suffers from the absence of the fair sex. What business have ladies in a

court of justice? Do they want information as to the trials?--they can

see them reported in "those best possible instructors," the newspapers.

Do they want to see the manner in which justice is administered?--if

they _will_ be so curious, and if that curiosity must be gratified, let

them come once and no more. As it is, the English courts have female

stagers, who attend day after day, and listen to arguments which they

cannot comprehend. I suspect that their chief design is to show off;

they come to see, but they also come "to be seen." The only preventive

would be to enforce their attendance; when, if they be true women, the

spirit of opposition will make them remain at home!

Whatever be the cause, there is a non-attendance of females at the Irish

courts of law. The galleries are filled with rough-coated and

rough-faced folks; some, who have not visited the city since the last

assizes--some, who have relatives to be tried--some, out on bail, and

honourably come to take their own trial--all, even to the mere

looker-on, deeply interested in the proceedings; for the Irish, from the

highest to the lowest degree, are fond of the _forms_ of justice. Of the

_reality_ they have hitherto got but little; but they like to see that

little administered with the due formalities of the law.

The judge enters the court, and takes his seat on the bench. You ask,

with astonishment, "When will the barristers come?" Why, _there_, do you

not see his lordship rise, and make an obeisance to the gentlemen who

sit in the box above us? These are the barristers. You may seem as

unbelieving as you choose, but such is the case. The fact is, and I

should have mentioned it before, when Irish barristers go on the

circuit[23] they do not burthen themselves with wigs or gowns--forensic

paraphernalia, to which their legal brethren on the English side of the

Channel attach such infinite importance, that you might fancy they

thought all wit and wisdom[24] to be attached to _them_. You can scarcely

imagine a more unformal or unceremonious court than that to which I have

introduced you. The attorneys sit round the table, mingled with the

"gentlemen of the press," the barristers are in the boxes immediately

over the attornies, and the audience sit or stand where and how they

can.

[23] I write of 1827. I know not what may be the practice now.

[24] "The wisdom's in the wig."--_Old Song._

There is a pause--for a great murder trial is to come on--O'Connell has

just been engaged for the defence--is occupied in the other court, and

the judge must wait until he can make his appearance. During this pause

you see a familiarity between the bench and the bar which seems strange

to your English eyes. Yet, after all, what is it? Will the laws be a

whit less honestly administered or advocated because the judge and one

of the lawyers (Chief Baron O'Grady and Recorder Waggett) are laughing

together? Depend on it, that, if the opportunity comes, the judge will

fling out one of his bitter sarcasms against the barrister, and I know

little of the barrister if he does not retort--if he can!

A bustle in the court. Does O'Connell come? No; but a message from him,

with the intimation that the trial may go on, and he will "drop in" in

half an hour. The clerk of the peace reads the indictment--the murderer

pleads "Not Guilty," stands in the dock with compressed lips, and

bursting veins, and withering frown, and scowling eyes--a fit subject

for the savage pencil of Spagnaletto.

While the indictment is reading, a very dandified "middle-aged young

gentleman," attired in a blue coat, with enormous brass buttons, a

crimson silk neckcloth, and a most glaring pair of buckskins, jumps on

the table, makes way across it with a "hop, step and jump," and locates

himself in a box directly under the judge. You inquire, who is that

neophyte?--the answer is, Carew Standish O'Grady, the registrar[25] of

the circuit, barrister-at-law, and nephew to the judge. You turn up your

eyes in wonder--the prothonotary of an English court would scarcely

sport such a fox-hunter's garb.

[25] It may be noticed that, in New York, the Registrar is called

the _Register_--the name of the _book_ being applied to the man who

has the _office_ of keeping it.

The trial commences. Serjeant Goold states the case--advantageously for

the prisoner, for the learned Serjeant has so defective an utterance

that he is scarcely audible even to the reporters below him. But his

serjeantcy gives him that precedence at the bar, on account of which the

chief conduct of Crown prosecutions devolves to him. Meanwhile the Chief

Baron turns to the High Sheriff, and cracks jokes; his hopeful nephew,

less ambitious, produces a bag and some salt, and merely--cracks nuts.

The opening is over--the chief witness (probably an approver or King's

evidence) is brought on the table--he is sworn, and attempts to baffle

justice by kissing his thumb instead of the book. There is a dead

silence in the court; for it is felt that the moment is awful with the

fate of a fellow-creature.

He has just been successful _for_ an Orangeman _against_ a

Catholic; but what does that matter? The people do justice to his merit;

so _he_ succeeds, what care they against whom?

Another pause--a buzz in the court--"quite a sensation," as a dandy

might exquisitely exclaim--the prisoner's eyes brightens up with the

gleam of hope--he sees O'Connell, at last, seated among the barristers.

What! is that O'Connell? that stalwart, smiling, honest-looking man? The

same. Never did a public man assume less pretension to personal

appearance. Yet, if you look closely, you may observe that he does

anything but neglect the graces. His clothes are remarkably well made,

the tie of his cravat is elaborate, his handsome eye-glass is so

disposed that it can be seen as well as used, and his "Brutus" (for

'twould be heinous to utter the word "wig") gives an air of juvenility

which his hilarious manners fully confirm.

Until this moment of his entering the court, he knows nothing of the

case--he has not yet received a brief. Mr. Daltera (you will remember

that the scene is in Cork--the time 1827), the lame attorney, hands him

a bulky brief, (which he puts, unread, into the bag,) and an abstract of

the case, written on one sheet of paper. His blue eyes calmly glance

over this case--he takes in, at that glance, all its bearings, and he

quietly listens to the evidence of the accomplice. The

cross-examination commences. Every eye is watchful--every ear on the

_qui vive_--every man in court stretches forward to see the battle

between "the Counsellor" and "the witness." You may see the prisoner

with an eager glance of expectation--the witness with an evident sense

of the coming crisis. The battle commences with anything but

seriousness; O'Connell surprises the witness by his good humour, and

instantly sets him at ease. He coaxes out of him a full confession of

his own unworthiness,--he tempts him, by a series of facetious

questions, into an admission of his "whole course of life,"--in a word,

he draws from his lips an autobiography, in which the direst crimes are

mingled with an occasional relief of feeling or of fun. The witness

seems to exult in the "bad eminence" on which his admissions exalt him.

He joins in the laugh at the quaintness of his language,--he scarcely

shrinks from the universal shudders at the enormity of his crimes. By

degrees he is led to the subject of the evidence he has just given, as

an accomplice,--the coil is wound round him imperceptibly; fact after

fact is weakened, until, finally, such doubt is thrown upon _all_ that

he has said,--from the evident exaggeration of _part_,--that a less

ingenious advocate than O'Connell might rescue the prisoner from

conviction on _such_ evidence. The main witness having "broken down,"

(as much from the natural doubt and disgust excited in the minds of an

Irish jury, by the circumstance of a _particeps criminis_ being evidence

against one who may have been more sinned against than sinning,--who may

have been seduced into the paths of error by the very man who now bears

testimony against him,) the result of the trial is not very difficult to

be foreseen. If there is any doubt, the matter is soon made clear by a

few _alibi_ witnesses--practiced rogues with the most innocent aspects,

who swear anything or everything to "get a friend out of trouble." The

chances are ten to one that O'Connell brings off the prisoner. If he is

not acquitted, he may, at least, be only found guilty on the minor plea

of "manslaughter."

But the chances are that he will be acquitted, for few juries ever

resisted the influence of O'Connell's persuasive eloquence.

Such is the scene exhibited by one glance backward:--such,

five-and-twenty years ago, was constantly occurring in the Irish courts

of law when O'Connell practiced at the bar.

Even at the risk of being accounted tedious, I cannot conclude this

sketch without mentioning another anecdote, which, even better than a

lengthened disquisition, may show that I do not overrate the

extraordinary ingenuity and quickness for which I give O'Connell such

ample credit. One of the most remarkable personages in Cork, for a

series of years, was a sharp-witted little fellow named John Boyle,[26]

who published a periodical called _The Freeholder_. As Boyle did not see

that any peculiar dignity hedged the corrupt Corporation of Cork, his

_Freeholder_ was remarkable for severe and satirical remarks upon its

members, collectively and personally. Owing to the very great

precautions as to the mode of publication, it was next to impossible for

the Corporation to proceed against him for libel;--if they could have

done so, his punishment was certain, for in those days there were none

but "Corporation juries," and the fact that Boyle was hostile to the

municipal _clique_, was quite enough for these worthy administrators of

justice. It happened, on the occasion of a crowded benefit at the

theatre, that Boyle and one of the Sheriffs were coming out of the pit

at the same moment. A sudden crush drove the scribe against the Sheriff,

and the concussion was so great that the latter had two of his ribs

broken. There could be no doubt that the whole was accidental; but it

was too lucky not to be taken advantage of. Mr. Boyle was prosecuted for

assault. O'Connell was retained for the defence. The trial came on

before a Corporation jury. The evidence was extremely slight; but it was

an understood thing that on _any_ evidence, or _no_ evidence, the jury

would convict Boyle. Mr. O'Connell (who was personally inimical to the

Corporation) scarcely cross-examined a witness and called none in

defence.

[26] Boyle died at Limerick, in 1833, of cholera.

He proceeded to reply. After some hyperbolical compliments on the

"well-known impartiality, independence, and justice of a Cork jury," he

proceeded to address them thus:--"I had no notion that the case is what

it is; therefore I call no witnesses. As I have received a brief, and

its accompaniment--a fee--I must address you. I am not in the vein for

making a speech, so, gentlemen, I shall tell you a story. Some years ago

I went, specially, to Clonmel assizes, and accidentally witnessed a

trial which I never shall forget. A wretched man, a native of the county

of Tipperary, was charged with the murder of his neighbour. It seemed

that an ancient feud existed between them. They had met at a fair and

exchanged blows: again, that evening, they met at a low pot-house, and

the bodily interference of friends alone prevented a fight between them.

The prisoner was heard to vow vengeance against his rival. The wretched

victim left the house, followed soon after by the prisoner, and was

found next day on the roadside--murdered, and his face so barbarously

beaten in by a stone, that he could only be identified by his dress. The

facts were strong against the prisoner--in fact it was the strongest

case of circumstantial evidence I ever met with. As a matter of

form--for of his guilt there could be no doubt--the prisoner was called

on for his defence. He called, to the surprise of every one,--_the

murdered man_. And the murdered man came forward. It seemed that

another man had been murdered,--that the identification by dress was

vague, for all the peasantry of Tipperary wear the same description of

clothes,--that the presumed victim had got a hint that he would be

arrested under the Whiteboy Act,--had fled,--and only returned, with a

noble and Irish feeling of justice, when he found that his ancient foe

was in jeopardy on his account. The case was clear: the prisoner was

innocent. The judge told the jury that it was unnecessary to charge

them. But they requested permission to retire. They returned in about

two hours, when the foreman, with a long face, handed in the verdict

'Guilty.' Every one was astonished. 'Good God!' said the judge, 'of what

is he guilty? Not of murder, surely?'--'No, my lord,' said the foreman;

'but, _if he did not murder that man, sure he stole my gray mare three

years ago_!'"[27]

[27] Mr. Love has "conveyed" this incident into his romance of

"Rory O'More."

The Cork jurors laughed heartily at this anecdote, but, ere their mirth

had time to cool, O'Connell continued, with marked emphasis, "So,

gentlemen of the jury, _though Mr. Boyle did not wilfully assault the

Sheriff, he has libelled the Corporation,--find him guilty, by all

means_!" The application was so severe, that the jury, shamed into

justice, instantly acquitted Mr. Boyle.

It is time to hurry this sketch to a conclusion.

Some words about the man. In person, Mr. O'Connell was well made,

muscular, and tall. He looked the man to be the leader of a people. He

was fond of field sports, and while at Derrynane Abbey, for four months

in the year, lived like a country gentleman, surrounded by his numerous

relatives, and exercising the wonted hospitality of Ireland. His

features were strongly marked--the mouth being much more expressive than

the eyes. His voice was deep, sonorous, and somewhat touched with the

true Kerry _patois_.

He was seen to much advantage in the bosom of his family, to whom he was

greatly attached, a feeling which was reciprocated with veneration as

well as love. His conversation was delightful, embracing a vast range of

subjects. He was a great reader--and, even in the most busy and exciting

periods of his political life, found (or made) time to peruse the

periodicals and novels of the day.

He was well acquainted with modern poetry, and was fond of repeating

long passages from Byron, Moore, Scott, Crabbe, Tennyson, and others. He

was a good classical scholar, though I have heard him say that he

doubted whether, after the age of twenty-one, he had ever opened a Latin

or Greek book from choice. French he spoke and wrote extremely well.

Many of his classical hits, in Court, were good--but few are remembered.

I shall give one as a sample. In a political trial he charged Saurin,

the Attorney-General, with some official unfairness, and Burke, his

colleague, chivalrously assumed the responsibility. "If there is blame

in it," said Burke, "I alone must bear it.

'Me, me, adsum qui feci, in me convertite ferrum.'"

"Finish the sentence, Mr. Solicitor," said O'Connell; "add

'Mea _fraus_ omnis.'"

When at home, he lived in the good old Irish style. He kept a

well-spread table, and was idolized by the peasantry. His residence,

Derrynane Abbey, is built on a bold situation, next the Atlantic, and

commands a view of the Skelligs. The "Abbey," as it is called, is a

comparatively modern edifice, which has received various additions from

successive residents. It is irregularly built; so much so, indeed, as to

be any thing but a model of architecture. It is convenient, and, in the

wilds of Kerry, that should suffice; for who expects a Grecian dome in

such a place? The real Derrynane Abbey (or rather its ruins) stands on a

little island in the Atlantic.

There is little statute-law about Derrynane, and nearly all the disputes

in the neighbourhood were allowed to rest until O'Connell could decide

on them. He used to sit, like a patriarch, upon a huge rock, in view and

hearing of the tumultuous throbbing of the Atlantic, and there give

judgment, against which no one presumed to appeal. Already that rugged

seat is called "O'Connell's Chair."

On the 15th day of May, 1847, having nearly completed his seventy-second

year, Daniel O'Connell departed this life. He had quitted the land of

his birth to seek for renewal of health beneath more clement skies,--so,

before him, had Sir Walter Scott. But the great novelist was happier

than the illustrious orator; and died, at least, in his own country, and

in his own house. From the first, it seems that O'Connell entertained no

hope of completing his pilgrimage. He feared, and I think he felt, that

he was not destined to reach Rome, the Eternal City.

The account of his last days, as given, at the time, by _Galignani's

Messenger_ (the English journal published in Paris), is full of deep

interest. It is from the pen of Dr. Duff, the English physician who

attended him at Genoa. This gentleman first saw him on the 10th

May--just five days before he died. On the first visit, he found that

the patient had chronic bronchitis, of some years' standing. The next

day it was found that congestion of the brain had commenced. On the

12th, the illness increased; for the patient, like Byron, had almost an

insuperable objection to take medicine. Then, for the first time, the

mind began to waver. On the 13th he became worse, slept heavily during

the night, breathed with difficulty, fancied himself among his friends

in London, and spoke as if among them. On the 14th the words fell,

half-formed, from his lips. Thus he lingered until the next night,

unable to move or speak, but conscious of the presence of those around

him. At half-past nine on that night he died. Had he taken nourishment

and medicine, he might have lived a few days longer. But not all of him

is dead--his memory remains, and will long be kept green in the hearts

of his countrymen.

Had O'Connell lived until the 6th of August, he would have completed his

seventy-second year. He enjoyed excellent health through the greater

part of his life, and had every chance of living to extended old age.

His family are proverbially long-lived; his uncle Maurice, from whom he

inherited Derrynane Abbey, was 97 when he died; and O'Connell repeatedly

said that he intended to live quite as long, _if he could_, nor was it

unlikely that he also might approach the patriarchal age of one hundred

years.

His last words to his physician conveyed a request that, as he was sure

he would present the appearance of death before he actually breathed his

last, they would not suffer the grave to be closed too promptly over his

remains. His strong hope was to die in Rome, his last moments soothed

and sanctified by the blessing of Pope Pius IX. He repeatedly expressed

a desire that his heart should rest (as it does) in one of the Churches

of the Eternal City. This wish was suggested, it has been said, by the

recollection that Robert Bruce had desired his heart to be conveyed to

the Holy Land and deposited in the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem. He died

without pain, gently as an infant sinks into repose, calmed by the

consolations of religion; and, it seemed to his attendants, not only

content to quit mortality, but even anxious to be released. His body was

embalmed, and is deposited in the Cemetery of Glasnevin near Dublin.

As to the ability, the mental resources, the vast power of O'Connell,

there can be no dispute. Unquestionably he was the greatest Irishman of

his time. In estimating the conduct and character of public men, two

things, it appears to me, should be considered: the value of their

labours and their motive. O'Connell, on starting into life, found that

his religion debarred him from many privileges and advantages enjoyed by

persons of another creed, and he applied himself, earnestly, to remove

these disabilities. He succeeded, and in the long and persevering

struggle which he headed, acquired vast influence, and a popularity

which helped, with the aid of his own legal knowledge and skill, to

place him in the foremost rank of his profession. At the age of

fifty-four--in spite of the saying that an oak of the forest rarely

bears transplanting--he entered the British Parliament, where he soon

took a prominent position. Thenceforth his constant aim was to coax or

frighten the Government into the concessions which were included in the

demand for "Justice for Ireland." The threat of Repeal was used for

this purpose.

The question whether he really desired to carry Repeal is difficult to

be answered. That Ireland should have laws made for herself, by her own

legislature, may or may not have been a desire with O'Connell. But that,

when agitating for the Repeal of the parchment union between Ireland and

Great Britain, he had the remotest intention or wish to effect the

_separation_ of the two countries, no thoughtful observer can imagine.

Separation, in O'Connell's eyes, meant a Republic, and O'Connell was

essentially a Monarchist. He had an antipathy, also, to the exercise of

physical force to procure the restitution of a people's rights. In all

probability, had he lived during the struggle of the American colonies,

O'Connell would have sided with those who condemned the Americans as

"rebels to their King." Truth to say, he was rather an ultra-loyalist.

This appeared, in 1821, when, kneeling on the shore, at Dunleary, he

presented a crown of laurel to George IV.,--in 1832, when he glorified

William IV. as the "patriot King"--in 1837, when he appealed (at the

elections) in favor of Victoria as "a Virgin-Queen," forgetful that this

distinctive epithet, belonging to all unmarried girls of eighteen, would

be forfeited, of course, _when she became a wife_!

It may be conceded, however, that though O'Connell would have shrunk

from seeing Ireland actually separated from England, he was sincere in

his exertions to obtain Emancipation, and, subsequently, to wrest other

rights and privileges from successive administrations. "Ireland for the

Irish" was his favourite cry; but it meant little when uttered by a man

who feverishly feared all _real_ agitation, tending to assert and secure

the actual independence of the country. With him, "Repeal," if it meant

anything, meant continuance under the rule of the British Sovereign.

"Repeal" was a capital party cry, but he dreaded it when it was taken up

by men not less patriotic, though a little less "loyal" than himself,

who thought that boldness, courage, union, and talent could raise

Ireland from a provincial obscurity into a national independence.

Great good was undoubtedly performed by O'Connell. His course was often

eccentric, capricious, inexplicable. His abilities were great. He made

much of opportunities. He wielded all but sovereign power over his

countrymen for years. He naturally became impatient of contradiction,

and very impracticable. But, with all his faults, O'Connell was

essentially a great man.

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=THE NOCTES AMBROSIANÆ;=

WITH PORTRAITS OF WILSON, LOCKHART, MAGINN, HOGG, AND FAC-SIMILES.

EDITED, WITH MEMOIRS, NOTES, AND ILLUSTRATIONS,

BY DR. SHELTON MACKENZIE,

EDITOR OF SHEIL'S "SKETCHES OF THE IRISH BAR."

5 _Vols._, 12_mo._, _cloth_. _Price_ $5.00.

The Noctes were commenced in 1822, and closed in 1835. Even in England,

the lapse of years has obscured many circumstances which were well known

thirty years ago.

DR. SHELTON MACKENZIE, already favorably known as editor of Sheil's

"Sketches of the Irish Bar," has undertaken the editorship of THE NOCTES

AMBROSIANÆ, for which a familiar acquaintance, during the last

twenty-five years, with the persons, events, and places therein noticed

may be assumed to qualify him. He has been on terms of intimacy with

most of the eminent political and literary characters treated of in the

"NOCTES," and his annotation of the text will include personal

recollections of them.

Besides this, Dr. Mackenzie has written for this edition a "History of

the Rise and Progress of Blackwood's Magazine," with original memoirs of

the principal accredited authors of the "NOCTES," viz:--Professor

Wilson, The Ettrick Shepherd, J. G. Lockhart, and Dr. Maginn.

He will also give the celebrated "Chaldee Manuscript," published in

1817, instantly suppressed, and so scarce that the only copy which the

editor has ever seen is that from which he makes the present reprint.

There will also be given the three articles, entitled "CHRISTOPHER IN

THE TENT," (in August and September, 1819), never before printed, in any

shape, in this country. The interlocutors in "THE TENT," include the

greater number of those afterwards introduced in the "NOCTES."

The "Metricum Symphosium Ambrosianum,"--an addendum to No. III. of "THE

NOCTES," (and which notices every living author of note, in the year

1822), will be incorporated in this edition. This has never before been

reprinted here.

* * * * *

_Nearly Ready, in Two Volumes._

THE ODOHERTY PAPERS,

FORMING THE FIRST PORTION OF THE MISCELLANEOUS WRITINGS OF THE LATE

DR. MAGINN.

WITH AN ORIGINAL MEMOIR AND COPIOUS NOTES, BY

DR. SHELTON MACKENZIE.

* * * * *

For more than a quarter of a century, the most remarkable magazine

writer of his time, was the late William Maginn, LL.D., well-known as

the Sir Morgan Odoherty of _Blackwood's Magazine_, and as the principal

contributor, for many years, to _Fraser's_ and other periodicals. The

combined learning, wit, eloquence, eccentricity, and humor of Maginn,

had obtained for him, long before his death, (in 1843), the title of THE

MODERN RABELAIS. His magazine articles possess extraordinary merit. He

had the art of putting a vast quantity of animal spirits upon paper, but

his graver articles--which contain sound and serious principles of

criticism--are earnest and well-reasoned.

The collection now in hand will contain his Facetiæ (in a variety of

languages), Translations, Travesties, and Original Poetry, also his

prose Tales, which are eminently beautiful, the best of his critical

articles, (including his celebrated Shakspeare Papers), and his Homeric

Ballads. The periodicals in which he wrote have been ransacked, from

"Blackwood" to "Punch," and the result will be a series of great

interest.

DR. SHELTON MACKENZIE, who has undertaken the editorship of these

writings of his distinguished countryman, will spare neither labor nor

attention in the work. The first volume will contain an original Memoir

of Dr. Maginn, written by Dr Mackenzie and a characteristic Portrait,

with fac-simile.

_Published by_ J. S. REDFIELD,

110 & 112 _Nassau-street, New York_

_PREPARING FOR PUBLICATION._

THE CONCLUDING VOLUMES OF

DR. MAGINN'S MISCELLANEOUS WRITINGS,

CONTAINING

THE SHAKSPERE PAPERS--HOMERIC BALLADS--FRASERIAN PAPERS, ETC.

ANNOTATED BY

DR. SHELTON MACKENZIE

EDITOR OF "SHEIL'S SKETCHES OF THE IRISH BAR"--"THE NOCTES AMBROSIANÆ,"

ETC.

* * * * *

_Nearly ready, in Two Volumes_,

THE LIFE

OF THE RIGHT HONORABLE

JOHN PHILPOT CURRAN,

MASTER OF THE ROLLS, IRELAND,

BY HIS SON.

Edited, with Notes, Illustrations, &c.

BY SHELTON MACKENZIE, D.C.L.

The Life of Curran is identified with the latest years of Ireland's

nationality. He was known, tried, and trusted as a true Patriot. During

the Reign of Terror, in 1798, got up by the Government of that day in

order to betray the Irish Parliament into a parchment Union with Great

Britain--sinking the country from a Kingdom to a Province--Curran

manifested an independence and fearlessness, as advocate for the

accused, during the State Trials, which endeared him to the people from

whose ranks he sprung. To use the words of Thomas Davis (who resembled

him in many things) he was "a companion unrivalled in sympathy and wit;

an orator, whose thoughts went forth like ministers of nature, with

robes of light and swords in their hands; a patriot, who battled best

when the flag was trampled down; and a genuine earnest man, breathing of

his climate, his country, and his time."

He was the centre of the flashing wits, the renowned orators, the

brilliant advocates, and the true patriots of Ireland's last days of

independence. The Biography by his Son, rich as it is in personal

details, is capable of great improvement by the addition of numerous

facts, anecdotes, and traits of character, relating to Curran and his

contemporaries, which have transpired since its publication in 1819. Dr.

Shelton Mackenzie, who has long been preparing for this task, undertakes

to enrich the present edition by collecting and introducing these

desirable illustrations. The work, thus completed, will in truth be a

record not only of Curran and his eminent associates, but of the

stirring and troublous times in which they lived. It will thus combine

Biography and History, with Anecdote, unusually copious and "racy of the

soil."

Transcriber's Notes:

Variations in spelling, punctuation and hyphenation have been retained

except in obvious cases of typographical error:

"...making a cave look as insignificant as a

rabbit-(burrrow -->) burrow."

"...but his feelings might thus be (embod ed -->) embodied in

words:"

"...he was so very plausible in (manmer -->) manner,..."

"...when the Bard showed (himslf -->) himself in the north,..."

"...Marquis of (Congynham -->) Conyngham..."

"...more careful, more (sudued -->) subdued..."

Bold printed text has been formatted as =text=.

The oe ligature is represented with [oe] in this text.