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THS
WORTHIES OF IRELAND.
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Mi^^vav^i^ f^fftvnit$^i
BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY
TVORTHIES OF IRELAND,
FROM TBB
EARUE9T PERIOD TO THE PRESENT TIME.
WAITTBN AND COMPILBD
y
By RICHARD RYAN.
.♦
Minks 88 the fisherman strays,
>ld eye's declining,
»wers of other days
tth him shining:
ften, in dreams snblime,
>f the days that are over;
hrough the Wfosea of time^
gloriea they cover^**
Moore's Irish Mblodibs.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. I.
LONDON:
PRINTED FOR SHERWOOD, NEELY & JONES,
PATERNOSTER ROW ;
M. N. MAHON ; R. MILUKEN ; AND HODGES & M' ARTHUR,
DUBUN.
1822.
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PrimUd bg J. BretUlU
Rupert MrttC Umjfmarkeit Und^n.
\
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preface Seiviciitor]^
TO
THE IRISH NATION.
Biography is of all narratives the most valu-
able. The revolutions of empires would be but a
fidry tale to us, if they were not capable of supplying
additional principles for our knowledge of human
nature. Biography, like all things else, becomes more
important as the influence of its subjects has been
more extensive; for the future fates of a nation are
made by its character, and its character is made by
its celebrated men. But the deepest and holiest in-
terest is thrown round Biography, when it is ^pealed
to as the vindicator of an unhappy people ; when the
fallen are forced to bring in the dead to plead their
cause, and find their only trophies in the tomb.
The History of Ireland is the most calanutous
moral document since the beginning of society. A
government of barbarism was less succeeded than
interrupted by a government of conquest ; and the *
evil of this partial subjugation was reinforced by the
subordinate mischiefs of a divided law, a divided lan-
guage, and a diviided religion. The heroic savage of
Ireland lost a share of his native virtues, and filled
up their place by the arts of a perverted civilization.
The arms and laws of England had made a sudden
burst into the country, as irresistible as the invasion
of the lava into the ocean ; but their prepress was as
suddenly checked, and they only increased the tumult
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vi PREFACE.
and the dangers of that untaihed element into which
they had plunged. Ireland was left only a place of
desperate rivalry or of desolation, a field of battle, or .
a grave.
This state of misery continued for a period with-
out example,— longer than the desolation of Egypt,
longer than the decay of the Roman empire, longer
than the dark ages, longer than any suffering brought
upon a people by misfortune or crime, but that of
God's malediction against the Jews ; it lasted for six
hundred years ! Its history might have been written,
like the roll in the Apocalypse^ within and without,
with " lamentation, and mourning, and woe." While
the knowledge of Right was advancing over the
face of Europe, like the sun, from the east, Ireland
was still in the darkness, without the quiet of the
sepulchre. Every nation, in its turn, made some
noble acquisition in freedom, or religion, or science,
or dominion. Ireland lay, like the form of the first
man, with all the rapid splendours of the new crea-
tion rising and glowing round him ; but she lay with-
out the " breath in her nostrils."
* The cause of these deplorable calamities was not
in the English l^islature; for the only crime of that
l^slature was in the slowness and unskilfulness of
their cure. The original government of Ireland was,
of all others, the. most fatal to civilization; it was the
government of tribes, the devotedness of clanship
without its compensating and patriarchal affections,
the haughty violence of the feudal system without
its superb munificence and generous achievement.
Ireland was torn in pieces by four sovereignties; the
people were kept in chains at home, that they might
be let loose on their neighbours with the ferocity of
hungry and thwarted strength. Her government
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PREFACE.
vu
was a graduated tyraiiny, in which the sovereign
stood at the highest point of licentiousnesis ; and the
people were sunk to the bottom of the scale, in chill
and deadly depression. But no man who knows the
history of Ireland, can compute the influence of
England among the elements of her depression. She
neglected, but she scarcely smote her. It was the
physician disgusted by the waywardness of the
patient, leaving disease to take its course, and not
the assassin inflicting a fresh wound — where the blow
was given, it was almost the result of necessity.
England was then fighting for her freedom; the
nations of the earth had not yet been awed into wis-
dom by the noble evidence that a people warring as
she warred, cannot be conquered. She was engaged
perpetually on her frontier ; she had no time to think
of the remote territory behind. She slept upon' a
rampart, frpm which she never cast her eyes, but to
see the banner^ of France and Spain moving against
her; or, if she turned round to look upon the dis-
sensions of Ireland, it was only with the quick and
anxious irritation of a conqueror, who, in the moment
of deciding the battle, sees an insurrection of the
prisoners in his rear.
But there are in all countries examples of great
individuals, summoned up from time to time, as if to
retrieve the standard of human nature, and raise all
men's eyes from the ground by the simple sight of
their glorious and original altitude.
The finest purpose of Biography is to draw back
the curtain of the temple, and give their images to
our wonder, for the vindication of the past, and the
lesson of the friture. The darkest periods of Ireland
have been rich in evidence of such beings — me-
teors ascending in her dungeon and mine, as if to
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▼in PREFACE.
remind the obscure dwellers there of the splendour
abroad and above them. But it is the distinction of
Ireland to have produced more of those eminent
existences than almost any other nation in its day of
misery. There seems to have been a springing and
recuperative spirit in the land that felt the slightest
removal of pressure, and rose. — The vegetation of
the national mind was always blossoming out on the
edge of winter, — ^her sunshine was always urging the
skirts of the storm. But it is of the nature of the
mighty intellect, and the saintly virtue, to pass
upward when they have fulfilled their mission, and
roused mankind to a noble emulation, or borne testi*
mony against its abuse of the munificence of heaven.
It is the task of Biography to let such be not for-
gotten ; and, if it cannot reveal them to us in their
early grandeur, at least to lead us to the spots hal*
lowed by their presence, — ^to shew us the memorials
of their hands, and point out the track by which they
ascended to immortality.
The work to which we now solicit the public
attention, contains the lives of persons who have thus
illustrated their country. Of its execution we will
not speak. No preface can supersede the judgment
of the reader ; but it has been compiled with indus-
try, and corrected with , care : the old has been
remodelled, and the new has been received upon
authority. We now recommend it to a people
whose passions and prejudices have been always
PATRIOTISM
TO THE IRISH NATION.
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BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY
or THB
TVORTHIES OF IRELAND-
JOHN ABERNETHY,
An emiaeDt presbjteriaD diyioey was born on the 19th
of October, 1680, at Coleraine, in the county of London-
derry« His father was a dissenting minister in that town,
and his mother of the family of the Walkinshaws, of
Renfrewshire in Scotland. After remaining under the
care of his parents for nine years, he was separated from
tbeoi by a chain of circumstances, which, in the end, proved
highly favorable. His father had been employed by the
presbyterian clergy to transact some public affairs in
London, at a time when his mother, to avoid the tumult
of the insurrections in Ireland, withdrew to Derry. Their
fton was at that period with a relation, who in the general
€Xinfusion determined to remove to Scotland, aod having no
opportunity of conveying the child to his mother, carried
bim off along with him. Thus he providentially escaped
the dangers attending the siege of Derry, in which Mrs.
Ab^roethj lost all her other children. Having spent some
TOL. I. B
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2 ABERNETHY.
years at a graitninar school, at the early age of thirteen
■ he was removed to the college at Glasgow, where he re-
mained till he had taken the degree of master of arts.
His own inclination led him to the study of medicine, bat,
in conformity with the advice of his friends, he declined
the profession of physic, and devoted himself sedulously
to the study of divinity, under the celebrated professor
Campbell, at Edinburgh ; and so great was his success in
the prosecution of his studies, that he was licensed to preach
by the presbytery of iRoute, J^i^fore he had arrived at the
age of twenty-one. In 1708, after having been several
years at Dublin with a view to farther improvement, he
wa$ ord«ioed at Antrim, where hU preaching was much
admired, and where his general conduct and superior
attainments were beheld with respect and esteem. His
congregation was large, and he applied himself to the
pastoral work with great diligence. His talents likewise
gave him a considerable ascendancy in the synod, so that
he had a large share in the management of public affairs.
As a speaker he was considered as their chief ornament,
^nd he m^i^taiaed lii^ character ^qd his interest in their
esteem |o the last, ootwithstandipg a change in bis neli*
gious 8en,timeot9 bad excited tlie ppposition pf omny
violeat and highlyrgifted ajitagoni^ts.
In 1716» he attempted Itp remove the pr/ejudices of the
native Irish, ip th/^ nisighbo^rhaod of Antriffi, who were
of the popish persua^ipQ^ and induce them to isiiibrace the
protestant rejigipp. H^s labpurg in this design were
attended with bi^t modert^t^ success^ for pptwitiistaoding
several, who were induced to ^^adop popery, continued
firm in their ^tUchment to protectant principles, yet others,
%q his great di^coi^agepiept ^nd ipartificatipp, reverted to
their former perspa^ioo. ^n the following year he received
tvTQ invitations, one fron^ Dublin, apd anpt^r from Bel-
fast ; and the sypod (wbpse aptihority ^^t, th^ \m^ i^^W very
j^eat) advised his ren^ov^l to {)ubliQ ; bpt ^Q Hfopg wa»
jjiis ^tJapboiep^ to hi^ QPRgi;eg^^jftn ftt A»Win? li^t iui
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ABEaNETHV- 9
r««olved to continiie there at the. peril of iDcwrrtag their
displeasure. The interference of this assembly wa&dia*
mctri^ly opposite to those sentiraeD ts of religious freedom
which Mr« Aberaelhy had been led to eutertaioy both by
the exercise of his owa vigorous faculties, and by an atten-
tion to the Bangorum controversy which prevailed in
England about this period. Encouraged by the freedom of
dispnssioo which it had occasioned, a considerable numbei
of ministers and others in the north of Ireland^ forn^ecl
tiiemselves into a society for improvement in useful know-
Mge; their professed aim was lo bring things to the test
of reason and scripture^ instead of paying a servile regard
to any humail authority* This laudable design is supposed
W have been suggested by Mr. Abernethy, and as the
gentlemen who concurred in the scheme met at Belfast, it
was called ^The Belfast Society.' In the progress of this
body, and in coosequeoce of the debates and dissensions
which were occasioned by it, several persons withdrew
from the society, and those who adhered to it were dis-
tinguished by the appellation of non-subscribers. Their
avow^ principles were these, '^ First, that our Lord Jesus
Christ hath in the new testament determined and fixed the
terms of commuaion in hia church ; that all christians who
comply with these have a right to communion, and tba^
no man, or set of men, have power to add any other ietms
to those settled in the Gospel. Secondly, that it is not
necessary as an evidence of soundness in the faith, that
candidates for the ministry should subscribe to the' Westr-
min&ter confession,' or any uninspired form of articles or
confession of faith, as the terms upon which they shall be
admitted^ and that no church has a right to impose such
a subscription upon them. Thirdly, that to call upon men
to make declarations concerning their faith, upon the threat
of cutting them off from commuaion if they should refuse
il, and this merely upon suspicions and jealousies, while the
persons required to purge themselves by such declaration*
cannot be fiurly f onvi^ted upon evidence of any error or
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4 ABERNETHY.
heresy^ is to exercise ao -exorbitaDt and arbitrary power,
and is really an inquisition/'
Mr. Abernethy was justlv considered as the bead of the
non-subscribersy And he consequently became a principal
object of persecution. In an early stage of the controversy
he published a sermon from the 14th chapter of RomanS|
the latter part of the 5th verse; ** Let every man be fully
persuaded in his own mind ;" in which he explained in a
masterly manner the rights of private judgment, and the
foundations of christian liberty. He afterwards published
a small tract, entitled ''Seasonable Advice to the contend*
iDg Parties in the North/' to which was prefixed a preface
composed by the Reverend Messrs. Weld, Boyse, and
Chappin, of Dublin. The design of this publication was
to prove that there ought to be no breach of communion
among the protestant dissenters on account of their differ-
ence of sentiment concerning subscriptii^n to the West-
minster confession. The controversy on the negative side,
of which Abernethy was a principal leader, was brought
into the general synod, and terminated in a rupture in
17^6, the synod determining that the non-sjubscribers
should no longer remain of their body, and reviving wiih
additional force the act of 1705, which required the can-
didates for the ministry to subscribe to the Westminster
confession. From that time the excluded members formed,
themselves into a separate presbytery, and encounterecT
many difficulties and hardships arising from jealousies
spread among their people.
Mr. Abernethy now found that his justly acquired
reputation, which he had uniformly maintained by a strict
and exemplary life, was little security to him against these
evils. Some of his congregation forsook his ministry, and,
under the influence and encouragement of the synod,
formed themselves into a distinct society, and were pro-
vided by them with a minister. Deserted thus by the
individuals from whom he expected the most constant
support, he received an invitation from the congregation
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ABERNETHY. 5
of Wood street^ Dublin, which he accepted, an^ removed
thither in 1730. At Dublin he prosecuted his studies with
unremitting activity, and deviated from a practice which
he had adopted in the north, by writing his sermons at
fall length, and constantly using his notes in the pulpit.
The Irish dissenters being at this time desirous of emanci*
pating themselves from, the incapacities devolved upon
them by the Test Act, Mr. Abernethy, in 1731, wrote a
paper to forward this design, with a view of exhibiting
both the unreasonableness and injustice of all those laws,
which upon account of mere difference in religious opinions,
excluded men of integrity and ability from serving their
country, and deprived them of those privileges and advan-
tages, to which they had a natural and just title as free-"
born subjects. He insisted strongly that, considering the
state of Ireland, it was in point of policy a great error to
continue restraints which weakened the protestant interest,
and was prejudicial to the government. In 1733, the
dissenters of Ireland made a second attempt for obtaining
the repeal of this obnoxious act, and Mr. Abernethy again
had recourse to the press to favour the scheme ; but the
affair miscarried.
He continued his labours in Wood street for about ten
years with a large share of reputation, and enjoyed great
satisfaction in the society and esteem of his friends ; and
while his associates, from the strength of his constitution,
the cheerfulness of his spirits, and the uniform temperance
of his life, were in hopes that his usefulness would have
beeo prolonged, a sudden attack of the gout in the head
(to which disorder he had ever been subject) frustrated aH
their hopes, and he expired universally lamented in De«
cember 1 740, in the 60th year of his age ; dying as he bad
lived, esteemed by all mankind, and with a cheerful acqui-
escence to the will of an all-wise Creator.
Mr. Abernethy was twice married ; first, shortly after
bis settlement at Antrim, to a lady of exemplary piety^
whom he lost by death in 1712; and, secondly, after his
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6 ALEXANDER.
removal f DabliQ to Another hidy, with whom he lived ia
fill the tenderness of conjugal affection til! the time of bis
decease. The most celebrated of his writings were his
two volumes of Discourses on the Divine Attributes, the
first of which only was published during hisHfe^time; they
were much admired at the period of their publication, and
were recommended by the late excellent Archbishop
Herring, and are still held in the highest esteem. Four
volumes of his posthumous Sermons have also been
published, the two first in 1748, and the others in 1767;
to which is prefixed the life of the author, supposed to have
been witten by his countryman, Dr. Duchal. Another
volume was likewise published in London, in 1751, entitled
"Scarce and valuable Tracts and Sermons,*' &c.
He also left behind him a diary of his life, commeno
ing in February 1712, a short time after his wife's de-
cease. It consists of six large quarto volumes in a very
small hand, and very closely written. His biographers
have justly termed it an amazing work, in which the tem-
per of his soul is throughout expressed with much exacts
ness. The whole bearing striking characters of a reverence
and awe of the divine presence upon his mind, of a sim-
plicity and sincerity of spirit, and of the most careful dis-
cipline of the heart; clearly evincing that however great
his worldly reputation was, his real worth was far superior
to the esteem in which he was held.
JOHN ALEXANDER,
An eminent dissenting minister, highly distinguished by
his natural abilities, and extensive acquirements^ was bom
in the commencement of 1736, in Ireland, to which coun-
try, his father who had been a dissenting preacher, and
master of an academy at Stratford upon Avon, had retired
a short period before the birth of his son. His father did
not long survive this change of country, and his mother
with her family, soon after his decease, returned to £ng«
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\§ni, mA mithd att Bifinltfgbadft. litf^ he went tBrough
the totbwoU door&e of gt&aiinatieftl rasilrtfctioir^ afid Wd^
irfterwatdi sedt to tb6 aeitd^My, i^ Diely entry, which wa^
then uttder the doperidtetiddnc^ 6( Di*. €ft{eb AdtWdi-th,
trho had been appomted ttftbr' eo the deieeaise df ilbdt emU
neDt diVioe, Dr. Philip Doddridge^ Heptramedtti^ !^ttr-
dies in thb seminaff whh c^bHai^oendtthle dfiigeiydef, and
after haring fir^ished his acadeikiical afnfd classical edi^
cation under the care of that exefdlent instructor, ^a^ pat
ttnder the taition of Di"* Benson. Thi^ gent^letean, whos^
abiKties as tt sacre^d critic dre genet^ly acknowledged t6
be ve^ ei^tensive, wad iit the habit of recehrrng a few
yonng getftlemen, who had passed through the ustiaf
coarse of educatton at the schools or id the traiversittes,
for the purpose of implanting in them a More critical ac-
quaintance with the sacred writings. It was with thi^
farcent that young Alexander was put under his care; and
so delighted was that amiaUeman with his puptPs Hterary
aequtrementSy with bis constant and eager desire f6r itn^^
provement, atid the prudence atid modesty of bia persondf
behavionr, that he gate hiitt bis board, and introddced
btm, witb paternal affectton, 16 all his partknikur acquaint-^
anee, expi^ssing the highest regard for htm on etefy
occasion.
Dating bis residence in hondaa, Mr. AleJ^mhter omitted
no opportunity of adding to his stock of kdowledge ; and,
on <^it«fng the metropolis, he retired to Bimtrngham,
where he resided fot somfe time with his mother. Me
now preached oeeasfionttlly itt that place and in its neigb^
bourbood; and afterwatids with more rc^uiarrty at Lefng^
dor, ft small vlHage ab<mt twelve miles dtstant. On
SMatyiay^ Deo. 28, 1765> he retired to rest, as usual, be^
fween eleven mid twelte o^elock, witb <be intention of
ofteiathig the next day m Longdov, but> at six on the
following morning, be was found dead in* his bea>} an
eteoc whieb was sintterdy deplored by his ilrtends, as boili
• pmftt« and public kMis.
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ft ALEXANDER.
Shortly after his decease, tome part of the produce of
bis studies was published ia London by the Rev. John
Palmer : " A Paraphrase upon the Fifteenth Chapter of the
First Epistle to the Corinthians; with Critical Notes and
Observations, and a Preliminary Dissertation. A Com-
mentary, with Critical Remarks, upon the Sixth, Seventh,
and part of the Eighth Chapters to the Romans. To which
is added, A Sermon on Ecclesiastes ix» 10; composed by
the author the day preceding his death. By John Alex-
ander." It is observed by, Mr. Palmer, that Mr. Alexander
was no less an object of admiration to his acquaintance for
the intenseness of his application, than for the native
strength of his mind ; by the united force of which he made
those advances in knowledge and literature, which are very
rarely attained by persons at so early an age. The just-
ness of this encomium is abundantly evident from the
work now mentioned, which contains indubitable proofs
of great sagacity and learning. The preliminary Disser-
tation in particular, in which he favours the opinion of
there being no state of consciousness between death and
the resurrection, may be ranked with the first productions
on the subject ; though the same side of the question has
been maintained by some of the first divines of the last
century.
Yet, though the study of religion and the scriptures,
as became his profession, was the principal object of Mr.
Alexander's attention, he found leisure for cultivating the
other departments of literature.' He had a quick turn for
observation on common life, and possessed no incon«i*
derable portion of wit and humour. He had formed his
style on the more correct and chaste parts of Dr. Swift*s
writings, and had somewhat of the cast of that celebrated
author, without his excessive severity. Of this he gave
several proofs in a monthly work, " The Library," sup^
posed to have been conducted principally by Dr. Keppis,
and which was published in London in 1761 and 176£; in
an ironical " Defence of Persecution,*' ** Essays on Dull*
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ANNESLEY. 9
Bess, Common Sense, Misanthropy, the Study of Man,
Controversy, the Misconduct of Parents, Modem Author-
ship, the Present State of Wit in Great Britain, the Index
of the Mind, and the Fate of Periodical Publications/'
In some of these he displays a genuine humour, pot infe-,
nor to that of the most celebrated of our essayists.
Had his life been spared, it has been generally believed
that he would have become one of the best scholars and
most able writers among the dissenters. H is compositions
for the pulpit were close, heartfelt, and correct; bis deli-
very clear, distinct, and unassuming; yet, with all these
abilities, he would scarcely have become a popular
preacher, though his manner and doctrine might de«
servedly obtain the approbation and esteem p( the more
judicious among his hearers.
The following is an extract from the letter of an intimate
friend of John Alexander's: ^Mndeed, his life was only
a sketch, but it was a master-piece of its kind. The
virtue, Jeaming, and knowledge, which he crowded into it,
would have done honour to the longest period of human
existence. I tliink I knew him well ; yet 1 am persuaded
half his merit was unknown even to his most intimate
friends. It was bis talent to conceal his worth.''
ARTHUR ANNESLEY,
Earl of Anglesey, and lord privy seal in the reign
of Charles II. was the son of Sir Francis Annesley,
Bart. Lord Monntnorris, and Viscount Valentia in Ireland;
and was born in Dublin on the iOth of July, 16 14. At
the age of ten years be was sent to England, and at six*
teeii was entered a feUow commoner of Magdalen Col*-
lege, Oxford; where be pursued his studies with great
diligeace for about three .or four years, and was consi**
dered a yoong man of great promise by all who knew
bim. From thence, in 1634, he removed to Lincolns Inn,
Digitized by VjOOQIC
10 ANNESLEY.
where he ftppliedi wilh great aMidaity to the study of the
law, till his father sent him to travel. He made the toar
of Europe^ and eotitinaed some time at Rome; from
whence he retamed to England in 1640^ when he was
elected bnight of the shire for the county of Radnor in
the parliament which sat at Westminster in the November
of the same year ; hot the election being contested, he lost
his seat, the votes of the House being against him, and
Charles Price, Esq. his opponent, was declared dniy
elected. At the commencement of the dispute between
King Charles I. and his parliament, Mr. Annesley in^
dined towards the royal cause, and sat in the parliament
held at Oxford in )64S; but afterwards thought proper to
abandon the king's party and reconcile hioirself to bis
adversaries, into the favour and confidence of whom he
was soon admitted. In 1645 he was appointed, by the
parliament, one of iheir commissioners in Ulster, where
he managed tl)e important business with which he was
entrusted to the satisfaction of all parties, and contributed
greatly to the benefit of the protesunt cause in Ireland.
With so much dexterity and judgment did he conclude
his affairs at Ulster, that the famous Owen Roe O'Nefl
was disappointed in his designs, and the Catholic Arch-
bishop of Tuam, who was the chief support of his party,
and whose counsels had been hitherto very successful, was
not only taken prisoner, but all his papers were seized,
and his foreign correspondence discovered, whereby vast
advantages accrued to the protestants. The parliament
had sent commissioners to the Duke of Ormond for the
delivery of Dublin without success, and the precarious
state of affairs making it necessary to renew their corres*'
pondence with him, they made choice of a second com«>
mictee^ and very wisely placed Mr. Annesley's name at the
head of this second commission. The commissioners landed
at Dublin on the 7tb day of Jane, 1647; and, by their
prttdence and temper, brought their negociations to so
bappy an issae, tbaf in a few days a treaty wa« concluded
Digitized by VjOOQIC
ANNESLEY. 11
With the Lord-Lieutenant^ which was signed on the I9th 6f
that month, and Dablin was ptit into the hands of the parlia^
met^t. It is to be lamented, that, when the commissioners
were possessed of supreme power, they were guilty of
numerous irregularities. Mr. Annesley disapproved of their
conduct, but could not prevent them from doing several
things quite contrary to his judgment; being, therefore,
displeased with his situation, he resolved on returning im«>
mediately to England, where he found all things in great
confusion. On his return to England, he seems to have
steered a kind of middle course between the extremes of
party Violence— had no concern with the king's trial or
death; and, on account of his strenuous opposition to
tomt of the illegal acts of Cromwell, he was put among
the number of the secluded members. After the death
of the Protector, Mr. Annesley, though he doubted whe-
ther the parliament was not dissolved by the death of the
king, resolved to get into the House if possible, and be-
haved in many respects, in such a manner as clearly
evinced what his real sentiments were, and how much he
bad at heart the re*settling of the constitution. In the
confusion which followed he had little or no share, being
trusted neither by the parliament or army. But, when
the secluded members began to resume their seats*, and
there were appearances of the revival of the old consti*
tution, he joined with those who determined to recal
the king, and took a decided part therein ; and entered
into a correspondence with King Charles, which unfor^
lunately occasioned the death of his younger brother, who
was drowned in stepping into a packet-boat with letters
for his Majesty.
Soon after the Restoration, he was created Earl of An-
glesey, and Baron of Newport Pagnel in Bucks : in the
patent of which notice is taken of the signal services
* Wbich luq»peiied oo Feb. SI, 1660, Mr. Annesley wif duMta Pren-
dent of the CoancU of State, having at that time opened a correipondence
with Oie exfled Charles.
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IS ANNESLEY.
reDdered by him to bis Majesty, to whom he manifested
his loyalty and attachment by sitting as one of the judges
oo the trials of the regicides. He had always a con-
siderable share in the King's favour; and was heard, with
great attention, both at the council and in the House of
Lords. In \667, he was made treasurer of the navy, and
on the 4th of February, IG^'^, his Majesty, in council, was
pleaded to appoint the Duke of Buckingham, the Earl of
Anglesey, the Lord Holies, the Lord Ashley Cooper, and
Mr. Secretary Trevor, to be a committee to peruse and
revise all the papers and writings concerning the settle-
ment of Ireland, from the first to the last; and to make
an abstract thereof in writing. Accordingly, on the 12th
of June, 1672, they made their report at large, which was
the foundation of a commission, dated ihe Ist of August,
1672, to Prince Rupert, the Dukes of Buckingham and
Lauderdale, E^rl of Anglesey, Lords Ashley and Holies,
Sir John Trevor and Sir Thomas Chicheley, to inspect
the settlements of Ireland, and all proceedings thereunto.
In 1673, the Earl of Anglesey had the office of lord
privy seal conferred upon him, which he held several
years, with the favour of his sovereign. At a time when
it was the practice to invent popish plots, he was publicly
charged, at the bar of the House of Commons, (in October
I68O,) by one Dangerfield, in an information delivered
upon oath, with endeavouring to stifle evidence concern-
ing the popish plot, to promote the belief of a presby-
terian one. Yet the suspicion he incurred from this attack
did not prevent him from being the only lord in the
House of Peers who dissented from the vote of the Com^
mons, which asserted the belief of an Irish popish plot.
On iiccount of this conduct, be was unjustly charged
with being a secret papist; though there appears to have
existed no other ground for the suspicion, than that he
was neither a bigoted nor a credulous man.
In I68O, the Earl of Castlehaven wrote Memofrs concern-
ing the affairs of Ireland, wherein he represented the general
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ANNESLEY. IS
lebelUoQ in Ireland in the lightest colours possible, as if it
bad been at the commencement far from being universal,
and at last was rendered so by the measures pursued by
those whose duty it was to suppress the insurrection. The
Earl of Anglesey having received these memoirs from the
author, thought fit to write some animadversions upon
them in a letter to the Earl of Casilehaven, wherein he
delivered his opinion freely in respect to the Duke of Or-
mond and his government in Ireland* The Duke expostu-
lated with the lord privy seal on the subject, to which
the Earl replied. In 1662, when the succession produced
a considerable degree of agitation, the Earl presented a
very extraordinary remonstrance to the King; it was very
warm and loyal, yet it was far from being well received.
This memorial was entitled, ^* The account of Arthur Earl
of Anglesey, lord privy seal, to yout- most excellent Ma-
jesty, of the true state of your Majesty's governments and
kingdoms,'' April 27, 1682. In one part whereof he says,
"The fatal cause of all our mischiefs present or appre-
hended, and which may cause a fire which may bum and
consume us to the very foundations, is the unhappy per-
version of the Duke of York (the next heir to the crown),
in one point of religion ; which naturally raises jealousy
of the power, designs, and practices of the old enemies of
our religion and liberti^,and undermines and emasculates
the courage and constancy even of those and their posterity,
who have been as faithful to, and suffered as much for the
crown as any the most pleased and contented in our im-
pending miseries can pretend to have done." He concludes
with these words : ** Though your majesty is in your own
person above the reach of the law, and sovereign of all
your people, yet the law is your master and instructor how
to govern; and your subjects assure themselves you will
never attempt the enervating that law by which you are
king, and which you have not only by frequent declara-
tions, but by a solemn oath upon your throne, been obliged,
in a most glorious presence of your people, to the main*
Digitized by VjOOQIC
U ANNESLEY.
tenaDce of; wd that therefore you will look upoo imy ib%%
shall propose or advise to the contrary as unfit persons to
be near you, and on those who shall persuade you it in
lawful as sordid flatterers, and the worst and mostdanger^
ous enemies, you and your kingdoms have. What I have
set hefore )^our majesty, I have written freely, and like a
sworn faithful counsellor, perhaps not like a wise man
with regard to myself as things stand ; but I have dia^
charged my duty, and will account it a reward if yottr
majesty vouchsafe to read what I durst not but write,, and
which I beseech God to give a blessing to."
It was not, however, thought advisable to remove him
from his high office on account of bis free style of writing
to the king, but the Duke of Ormond was easily prevailed
vpon to exhibit a charge against him on account of his
reflections on the Earl of Castlehaven's Memoirs, (in tbo
which, for his own justification, he had been obliged to
refiect on theduke): this produced a severe contest betweea
these two peers, which terminated in the Earl of Anglesey's
losing his place of lord privy seal, being dismissed from
the council, and his letter to Lord Castlehaven voted a
scandalous libel, though bis enemies were obliged to
confess he was treated with both severity and injustice*
After this overthrow he lived very much ia retirement at
bis country seat at Blechingtoa in Oxfordshire, where bq
seeipiogly resigoed all avibitious views, and devoted hi^
time to the calm ei\joyment of study ; but so well verged
wa$ he in the mysteries of court intrigues, that he got
into favour again in the reign of James 11^ and is
supposed to have been destined for the high office of
lord chancellor, if the design had not been prevented by
his death, which happened at his bouse in Drury-lane,
April 6, 1686, ia the 73rd year of his age. He left several
qhildreu by his wife, who was one of the co-heiresses of
Sir Jame^ Altbam*
He wa9 a man endowed with superior talents apd ex-«
tea3ive learning, was well v^sed i^ the Greek and Romw
Digitized by VjOOQIC
ANNESLEY. l$
history, and thoroughly acquainted wiUi the spirit wd
policy of those oatioas. The legal and constitutional
history of his country were the objects of his particular
stadyi both of which he had pursued with so much perse«-
veraoce as to be esteemed one of the first lawyers of his
age. He wrote with great facility, and was the author of
several political and religious publications and histori<^
narratives; but the largest aud most valuable of all his
worlds of this description was unfortunately lost^ or, as somf
iosinuate, maliciously destroyed ; this was " A History of
the Troubles in Ireland, from 1641 to I66O." He was om
of the first English peers who distinguished himself by
collecting 9 cboioe library, which he did with much car^
and at a great e^pi^nsei designing it to remain in his
family, but owjng to some circumstances which have not
been explained, his books, a few months after his decease^
wer^ exposed to sale by a Mr, Millington, a famous
«yctipoeer of ^at period. This sale has been rendered
memorable by the discovery of the Earl's famous memo*
random in the blank l^af of an Uwt B^Ouioit which was as
follows: ''King Charles the Second, and the Duke of York
did both (in the last session of parliament 1675), when (
shewed them in the lords' house the written copy of this,
wherein are some corrections and alterations (written with
the late King Charles the First's own hand), assure me that
this was none of the said King's cpmpiliog, but made by
Dr.Ganden, Bishop of Exeter, which I here insert for the
updeceivipg others in this point by attesting thus much
under aiy hand, Anglesey." Bpt perhaps the reader will
doubt the genuioeness of this memorandum, if be reads
''A Viadicatioo of King Charles the Martyr," published in
quarto, in 17II* Indeed Bishop Burnet, in his History of his
owa Times, vol.i. p. 50, relates pretty near the same foolish
story; bnt if the reader carefully considers that passage, he
will evidently s^ it destroys itself, for, amongst other
thiags t\kai may be J9st)y observed against the veracity of
that aceonnlt he (B«vm^) ip^^s pf the Duke of Somerset
and the Earl of Southampton, as living at a time whea it
Digitized by VjOOQIC
16 ANNESLEY.
it well known they were both dead. Hit versatility^ in
regard to hit political conduct, has been often censured ;
yet even those who have been so ready to blame, have
discovered and acknowledged strong gleams of integrity
occasionally shining through it. He certainly succeeded,
in a great degree, in ingratiating himself with men and
parties, as opposite as possible in their opinions and
politics; and, if it was true that James II. designed him
for lord chancellor at a time when he had Jefferies at his
command, nothing (as has been observed with much truth)
could throw a greater stigma on the Earl's character.
The following is a list of his Lordship's writings, pub-
lished during his life-time: — 1. "Truth Unveiled in behalf
of the Church of England ; being a Vindication of Mr.
John Standish's Sermon, preached before the King, and
published by his Majesty's Command : to which is added,
A short Treatise on the Subject of Transubstantiation,"
1676, 4to. — 2. " A Letter from a Person of Honour in the
Country, written to the Earl of Castlehaven ; being Ob-
servations and Reflections on his Lordship's Memoirs
concerning the Wars of Ireland," l68l,8vo. — S. "A True
Account of the whole Proceedings between James Duke
of Ormond, and Arthur Earl of Anglesey, before the King
and his Council,'* &c. l68£, folio. — 4." A Letter of Remarks
upon Jovian," 1683, 4to. Besides these, he wrote many
other things ; the following of which were published after
his decease : — 1. " The Privileges of the House of Lords
and Commons argued and stated in Two Conferences be-
tween both Houses, April 19 and 22, I671 : to which is
added, A Discourse wherein the Rights of the House of
Lords are truly asserted; with learned Remarks on the
securing Arguments and pretended Precedents offered at
that time against their Lordships." — 2. "The King's
Right of Indulgence in Spiritual Matters, with the Equity
thereof asserted," 1688, 4to.— 3. " Memoirs intermixed
with Moral, Political, and Historical Observations, by way
of discourse, in a Letter to Sir Peter Pett/' 169S, 8vo.
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17
Rev. MERVYN AR^HDALL,
An exemplary divi^ie and learned atitiqnaryy was descended
from John Archdall, of Norsom-Hall, in the county of
Norfolk, who came into Ireland in the reign of Qaeen
Eiizabetby and settled at Castle Arcfadall, in the county of
Fermanagh, prior to the year 169^.
The subject of the present memoir was bom in Dublin, on
the 22nd of April, 1723, and was educated in the university
in that city; after which period, his passion for collecting
coins, medals, and other antiques, and bis research into the
monastic history of Ireland, introduced him to the celebrated
Walter Harris, the learned editor of Ware's Works ; Charles
Smith, the i^uthor of the Irish County Histories ; Thomas
Prior (the celebrated patriot), whose relation he married ;
and, latterly, to Dr. Richard Pocock, Archdeacon of Dub-
lin, who, when he was advanced to the see of Ossory, did
not forget the merits of Mr. Archdall, as he bestowed on
Iiim the living of Attanah and a prebend, which not only
produced him a comfortable support, but enabled him to
pursue zealously his Monastic History of Ireland, in which
he bad already made considerable progress.
It is well known also, that the bishop frequently retired
from the incessant noise occasioned by the hurry of visits
at bis palace in Kilkenny, to Attanah ; where he found,
in the good sense, learning, and candour of Mr. Archdall,
a relaxation rardy to be met with ; and there it was that he
revised and improved some of his works, and pursued the
outline of his Tours through Ireland and Scotland, which
Dr. Ledwich informs us are in the British Museum.
Mervyn Archdall, like numberless ingenious mred, want-
ed but the enlivening and maturing warmth of patronage,
not only to be highly useful in the different departments
of learoiog, but even to attain eminence in ihem. The
excellent bishop, hit patron, whose virtues reflected honour
on his exalted station in the church, quitted this traup
VOL. 1. c
Digitized by VjOOQIC
18 ARCHDALL.
sitorj life in 1765. Mr. Archdall had, at that period,
heen so indefatigable in his researches that his collec-
tions amounted to nearly two folio volumes, and these
on a subject interesting to every man of property in
Ireland; as the records relating to the monastic foanda*
tionsyboth from the original donors, and the grants of these
by the crown to the present possessors, include more thaa
a third of all the land in the island ; and yet, invaluable as
these records were, for they were the fruits of forty yean
intense application, there was found no individual of
generosity and patriotism enough, to enable the collector
to give them to the world. He was, therefore, obliged to
abridge the whole, and contract it within one quarto
volume, which he published in 1786, under the title of
*' Monasticon Hibernicum.^ It was unlucky for the author,
that he existed thirty years ago instead of at the present
period, when a refusal of patronage is looked upon in a
worse light than heresy; as, instead of his being ^obliged
to abridge his book in a quarto, he would have had (in all
probability) to have submitted it to the world in the shape
of an elephant folio. .
The next of Archdall's literary labours was an enlarged
edition of Lodge's Peerage of Ireland, which he extended
from four to seven volumes octavo. This be printed in
1780 ; and, of this work, the following curious anecdote it
recorded : — Mr. Lodge bad left numerous additions to his
work in MS. but written in a cypher declared to be totally
inexplicable by all the short4iand writers in Dublin ; these
MSS. were about to be given up in despair, when Mra.
Archdall, (his surviving relict^) a woman of considerable
ability and ingenuity, applied to the arduous task, and after
a short time happily discovered the key, and thereby greatly
enriched the edition.
Having married his only daughter to a clergyman, he
resigned part of his preferments, in the diocese of Ossory,
to his son-in-law ; but was advanced* to the rectory of
Slane, in the diocese of Meath, which he did not long
Digitized by VjOOQIC
ARCHDEKIN. 19
enjoy, as be exchanged thii life for a better, on the 6th of
ikogast, 1791*
As an antiquary, he was profound ; as a divine, exem-
plary; as a husband and parent, affectionate; and as a
friend, liberal and communicative.
RICHARD ARCHDEKIN,
Am eminent Jesuit, was a native of the county of Kil-
kenny, and became a member of that society at Mechlin,
in Brabant, in 1642, at the age of twenty*tbree. He taught
divinity and philosophy successively at Louvain and Ant-
werp, and, at the latter place, became rector of the stu«
dents of the highest class in 1676, and afterwards professor
of divinity. Be died there about 169O. Peter Talbot
gives him the diaracter of " a good father, but an incau-
tious writer;" and the Abb^ de la Berthier, in his parallel
of the Doctrines of the Pagans and Jesuits, quarrels with
a proposition advanced by him in his under-named Theo-
logia Tripartita, viz. *' That absolution is not to be de-
ferred to ' habitual sinners,' till they are actually reform-
ed ;** to which he opposes that saying of Horace, Epist.
ii. Quo semel est imbuia rccens servabit odor em testa diu;
and of Catullus, Epigr. Ixxvii. Difficile est longum subito
deponere atnorem. And from thence humorously makes
these two, and other pagan authors, anti-jesuits. He
wrote, " Of Miracles, and the new Miracles done by the
Relicks of St. Francis Xaviers, in the Jesuiu' College, at
Mechlin.'' Louvanii, 1667, 8vo. This piece is in Eng-
lish and Irish.
^ Prascipufls Controversise Fidei ad facilem Methodum
redactae; ac Resolutiones Theologies ad omnia Sacerdo-
tis mooia, pra&sertim in Missionibus, accommodate, cum
apparatn ad Doctrinam sacram. Cui accessit summa Doc-
trinse Christians selectis Exemplis elucidata." The first
title is, " Theologia, Polemica, Practices, Sacra." Lou-
vanii, l671> 8vo.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
20 ARTHUR.
'^ Vitce tt Miraculorum S. Patricii, Hibernies Apo8t6lt>
Epitome, cum brevi Notiti& Hibernis/' LonvaDii, 1671,
8vo« printed with the former; which be afterwards re-
vised and enlarged, and published under the title of
" Theologia Tripartita Universa, sive Resolutiones Pole-
mical, Practicse, Cojntroversiarum et Questionum etiam
recentissimarum, quce in Schol^ et in Praxi per omnia usum
praecipuum habent; Missionariis, et aliis Animarum Cu-
ratoribus, et Theotogiae Stndiasis, solerter accommodatas,
Editio quinta/' AntwerpisD, 1682, 3 vols. Bvo. If we
may judge by the number of editions, this book carried a
vast reputation abroad. I have seen the eleventh edition
of it printed, Venice 1700, 4to. after the author's death,
and, for what I know, there may be others since. At the
time the eight edition was undertaken, there were sixteen
thousand of them disposed of, and a great demand for
more.
He also wrote and published, " The Lives of Peter
Talbot, Archbishop of Dublin, and of Oliver Plunket, Pri-
mate of Ireland," which are printed in the eleventh edi«
dion of his " Theologia Tripartita."
Sotvellus tells us, that he had a book ready for the press,
entitle, ** Theologia Apostolica."
JAMES ARTHUR,
Professor of divinity in the university of Salamanca,
was a native of Limerick, and professed himself a Domi*
nican friar in the abbey of St. Stephen's, at Salamanca.
After teaching for some years with great applause in se*
veral convents of his order, in Spain, he received the degree
of Doctor in the university of Salamanca, and was ap«
pointed professor of divinity. Having filled this post
' with great credit, for many years, he was requested to
take the first chair in the university of Coimbra, which
he held with general applause till the revolution in favour
^ of the Duke of Braganza rendered Portugal independent
Digitized by VjOOQIC
ASK. ai
of the throne of Spaio» But this happy diange io the
affiurs of the nation proved fatal to the risjog prospects of
Arthnr, for his great merit, having procured him many
enemies, they made a pretence of the devotion of the new
king to the immaculate conception, to prevail on that
monarch to oblige all the professors of the university to
swear to defend that doctrine, which, being a controverted
point between the disciples of Duns Scotus and Thomas-
Aqninas, the former maintaining the affirmative, and the
latter the negative, in which be was supported by the.
Dominicans, and Arthur, having, on his admission intoi
the order, sworn to maintain his doctrine, on his refusal
of the new oath, was deprived of his professorship, in
164£. He withdrew to tlie royal convent of St. Domin
nick, at Lisbon, where he died about the year 1670. He»
wrote *' Commentaria in totum fer^ S. Thorns de Aquino
Sumenem," in two volumes, one of which was published
in 1665, folio; and, at the time of his death, he was pre*
paring ten volumes more of the above learned work,
ST. GEORGE ASH,
Omcb Vice-Chancellor of Dublin university, was a native
of the county of Hbscommon, and received his education
io the university of Dublin, of which he was elected a
fellow in l679, and became provost of it in the room of
Doctor Robert Huntington, who resigned on the £nd Sep-
tember, 169^ being then in the thirty-fourth year of his
age. Shortly after this he became vice-chancellor, but^
prior to that advancement, was obliged to quit bis coun-
try, from the tyrannous acts of' Kir^ James II. He
came to England, and engaged himself in the service of
the Lord Paget, who was King William's embassador at
the court of Vienna, and to whom he was both chaplain
and secretary. In these stations he remained several
years, nor did he meditate a return to his native country,
ontiJ after the passing of the Acts of Settlement. He
Digitized by VjOOQIC
» ASH.
was promoted to the bisbopric of Cloyne, by letters
patent, dated July 15, 1695 ; and was consecrated the
same month, in Christ Church, Dublin, by Narcissus,
Archbishop of Dublin, assisted by the Bishops of Meath^
Waterford, and Lismore, and, at the same time, was called
into the privy council. On the 1st of June, 1697^ he was
translated, by the King's letter, to the see of Clogher,andy
during the period he held the bishopric thereof, expended
near the sum of nine hundred pounds, in repairing and
improving the episcopal houses and lands belonging to
that see, which, upon due proof, was acknowledged and
allowed him, on the 25th of July, 1700, by Michael, Arch-
bishop of Armagh, his metropolitan, in pursuance of
an Act of Parliament of King William, which gives a
demand of two-thirds of the sum expended, against the
next successor. From this see he was advanced to that
of Derry, by letters patent, dated the ft5th February, 1716,
and died in Dublin, on the 27th February, 17 17; and was
buried in Christ Church, in that city. By his will, he
bequeathed all his mathematical books to the college of
Dublin, of which he had been successively fellow and
provost. He was likewise a member of the Royal So-
ciety, in whose Transactions are several articles of his
writing. He published, also, four Sermons, and two
Mathematical Tracts, and several other minor produc-
tions.
It is recorded, on the authority of Mac Mahon, that, on
the death of John Vesey, Archbishop of Tuam, in 1706,
our prelate had the offer of being advanced to diat see;
but this he refused, it not being so profitable, although of
more honour than the see of Clogher, to which he was
translated.
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23
JOSEPH ATKINSON
IVas a man who folly merited the epithet" worthy;'* and
trnly sorry are we to inform oar readers, that, with almost
every particular of his life, we are wholly unacquainted.
He was a native of Ireland, and was treasurer of the
Ordnance^ under the administiation of the Earl of Moira.
He was the intimate of Moore, Cnrran, and the rest of the
galaxy of Irish genius ; and was, himself, a poet of more
than ordinary ability, as the following jeu desprU, ad-
dressed to his friend Moore, on the birth of his third
daughter, will evince: —
I'm sorry, dear Moere, there *h a damp to your joy,
Kor tkink my old strain of mytiiology stapid,
When I say, that your wile had a right to a boy,
For Voiiu is nothing without a young Cnpid.
Bat since Fate, the boon that yon wish'd for, refuses,
By granting tliree girls to your happy embraces,
She bat meant, while yo« wandered abroad with the ilfases,
Yoor wife should be circled 9t home by tiie Graces /
He died in Dublin, at the age of 75, in October 1818,
and was sincerely regretted by all who knew him ; being
admired by the young for his conviviality, and respected
Igr the aged for his benevolence and numerous good
qualities.
The following beautiful lines, from the pen of his in*
timate, Moore, are intended to be engraved on his se-
pulchre:—
If ever lot was prosperously east,
If ever life was like the lengthen'd flow
Of some sweet music, sweetness to the last,
Twas his, who, moum'd by many, sleeps below.
The sunny temper, bright where all is strife,
The simple heart that mocks at worldly wiles,
light wit, that plays along tiie cahn of life,
And stirs its languid surface into smiles.
Pure Charity that comes not in a shower,
Sadden and loud, oppressing what it feeds ;
But, like the dew, with gradual silent power,
Fdt in the Uoom It leaves along the meads.
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24 AVERILL.
The happy grateful spirit that tmproTet,
Aod brightens etery gift by Fortone given;
That wander where it will, with those it loves.
Makes every place a borne, and home a heaven !
All these were his — Oh! tfaon who read'st this stone.
When for thyself thy children, to the sky.
Thou homb^y prayest, ask this boon alone.
That ye like him may live, like him may die.
JOHN AVERILL,
A PIOUS and exemplary prelate, was born in the county
of Antrim, in the year 1713^ and received bis education
in Trinity College, Dublin, of which his nephew, Dr.
Andrews, was afterwards provost. On the 9tb of January,
177 1» be was consecrated Dean of Limerick, in Christ
phurch, Dublin, by the Archbishop of Dublin ; ^ut lived
not long to enjoy his elevation, as he died on the 14th of
September following, at [nnismore,in the county of Kerry,
being then on his visitation. He was a divine whose
worth exhibited itself more in works than words, for,
during the short^eriod he was dean, he gave two hundred
guineas to be lent in small sums to poor tradesmen ; and
likewise discovered strong proofs, that he would have ex-
pended the greater part of his income in benevolent actions.
The prifnitive church was not possessed of a more worthy
pillar than Bishop Averill, from whose precepts and ex-
amples every good consequence might rationally be ex-
pected. He was fraught with charijly, meekness, and
humanity; and laid the foundation for reviving many
good institutions in the diocese. He had no ambition
but in the service of God ; and sought not to possess those
luxuries of life which bis income would readily have pro-
cured for him, but was contented with the bare conve-
niences of living, and devoted the major part of bis afflu-
ence to the assistance of the distressed, and the relief of
those '^ that have none to help them."
His remains were interred with great solemnity on the
Digitized by VjOOQIC
AYLMER. 25
18th of September, near the commuDion table, in St.
Mary's Church; and the fonowing inscription, on a brass
plate, has been fixed over them : —
" Uic jacet recte Rev. JpHANNK Aybrill, D. D.
Epiacopiis Limericeosis, obiit 14mo. Sept. 1771 , ^tatis S8. ,
Ci^iiis si in Deura pietatem.
In regem fidem,
In ecdesiam amorem,
Si in eqiiales liberalitateniy
In omnes spectes benevolentiaiB,
Vix stas lUla tnlit parem,
" Nolla soperiorem!"
MATTHEW AYLMER,
For his senrices to his country, created Lord Ajimer,
was the second son of Sir Christopher Aylmer, of Bairath,
io the county of Meath. He was, at first, employed in
nuMDg soidiers for the service of the states of Holland,
against Lewis XIV. ; and was afterwards sent to sea by the
celebrated Duke of Buckingham. In 1678 he was madel
lieutenant of the Charles galley; and, passing through
various promotions, was made captain of the Swallow,
in October l688. He is said to have been zealously at-
tached to the principles which effected the Revolution ; yet,
when he comsianded the Swallow, he took a ship belong-
ing to the fleet of the Prince of Orange, oh board of which
were four companies of Colonel Babington's regiment*
He is praised, on this account, by Charnock, as having
sacrificed his own political principles rather than betray
his trast; but, if he had considered that he had, for many
years, been receiving the pay of his country, and bore
his commission for his country's honour and defence, he
need not have scrupled to abandon a prince, whose own
children f<Nrsook him, and whom it was judged necessary
to remove from the throne. If every one had acted like
Aylmer, his country's chains bad been riveted instead of
broken.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
26 AYLMER.
The new government, however, promoted him to the
command of the Royal Katherine, of 82 guns ; in which
he had a share in the battle off Beachy Head. In the
following year, he commanded a squadron of fourteen
ships; when he confirmed the peace with the Barbary
States, and brought home in safety the Smyrna fleet.
After this, he had a share, under Admiral Russell, in the
most glorious sea-fight in the whole reign, one which
totally annihilated all the hopes entertained by the French
of making an attack upon England. This was the battle
off Cape La Hogue, in which he greatly distinguished
himself. He was rewarded, by being promoted to be
rear-admiral of the red, and hoisted his flag on board the
Sovereign, of 100 guns.
The following year he went out, under Admiral Russell,
with the fleet to the Mediterranean, as vice-admiral of the
blue; and, as Admiral Russell fell sick at Alicant, the
chief command devolved upon him. They had, however,
done their business too effectually at Cape La Hogue, to
have any hope of the enemy coming out to meet them at
sea. He was afterwards employed in blockading the
enemy in the channel ; and, in the end of 1698, was sent
out as commander-in-chief of the squadron in the Medi*
terranean. In thu capacity he visited Algiers, Tunis, and
Tripoli; at all these places he was most honourably treated,
and was successful in his negociations. In 1699 he retired
from active service; and, in the greater part of Queen
Anne's reign, represented in parliament the borough of
Dover. In 1701 he was made governor of Deal Castle ;
on the I2th of November, 1709) on the death of Prince
George of Denmark, he was raised to be admiral and
commander-in-chief of the fleet. He held the same
rank under George I. and in 17l6 he had the honour to
bring his majesty back from Holland. In reward of his
long and faithful services to his country, he was, in 1718,
created Baron Aylmer of the kingdom of Ireland ; and, in
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AYLMER- ^7
17^1 rear-admiral of Great Britain — which honours he
did not long live to enjoy^ as he died the same year.
He was a most valaable officer^ and if he had not the
honour as commander-in-chief to gain any great victory,
it arose from the humiliation of the enemy, who dared not
encounter the British fleets, after the complete overthrow
he had contributed to give them at Cape La Hogue.
GEORGE AYLMER
AVas the third son of Sir Christopher Aylmer, of Balrath,
in Ireland. He was successively appointed lieutenant of
the Sweepstakes, and the Dunkirk ; and promoted to the
command of the Dartmouth on the llth of September,
1680. He was removed into the Ann yacht on the
14th of April; and, on the 8th of February, 1683-4, he
was appointed captain of the Foresight. James II. sup-
posing him to be an officer strongly attached to him, ap-
pointed him to the command of the Reserve; and after-
wards, on Uie £6th of October, 1688, to the Portland.
But James was certainly mistaken respecting the prin-
ciples of Captain Aylmer, for, though he had too much
integrity to quit the service of his former sovereign while
he kept possession of his throne, he would not become the
supporter of that sovereign's measures, in concert with a
foreign power who was the natural enemy of this country*,
against those whose allegiance James's tyranny had broken.
He acknowledged the Prince of Orange his lawful sove-
reigO) by the title of WiHiamlll. and that monarch con-
tiooed him in his command — a trust be highly merited.
He was soon after killed at the battle of Bantry Bay, after
haTiog eminently distinguished himself by his heroic
iotrepidity«
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as BARNEWALL.
CAPTAIN WILLIAM BAILLIE
Was an ingenious amateur, who acquired a distinguished
reputation as an engraver. He was a native of Ireland ;
was borb about the year 1736, and passed the early part
of his life in the army, from which he retired with the
rank of captain of cavalry. On quitting " the spirit-stir-
ring drum,'' &c. &c. Captain Baillie devoted his life en-
tirely to the arts, and was, for many years, considered one
of the most enlightened connoisseurs of his time.
By this gentleman there are several plates engraved in
various manners, but his most admired productions are
those he executed in the style of Rembrandt, and his
charming copies after the prints of that master. The
works of Captain Baillie consist of about a hundred plates,
a list of the principal of which is to be found in Bryan's
Dictionary of Painters.
MARY BARBER,
A POETBSS, contemporary with Cons tan tia ^Grierson and
Letitia Pilkington^ was born in Dublin about the year
1712. She married a tradesman, and was a highly esti-
mable character. She published a small volume of poems,
under the patronage of Dean Swift and Lord Orrery, which
are moral and not inelegant. She died in the year 1757.
ANTHONY BARNEWALL,
A YOUNG officer of great promise, was the youngest son
of John, eleventh Lord Trimlestown. The religion of
this family precluding all possibility of his rising to emi-
nence in his native land, be retired in his seventeenth
year into Germany, where he entered the imperial service,
in which he continued until his decease, in September
1799. The following account of him is given in a letter
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6AR0. eg
fi-om a general in tfae imperial service, to Viscount Monnt-
garrett : — " Amongst all those brave men who have lost
their lives at the battle of Crotzka, none is so much la-
mented by all as Mr. Anthony Barnewall, the Lord Tritti-
leston's youngest son : he came into Germany in General
Hamilton's regiment of cuirassiers, when hb good sense,
humility, good nature, and truly honest, worthy prin-
ciples, gained him the love and esteem of all who had the
least acquaintance with him ; we have had scarce any ac-
tion of any note with the Turks that he was not in, and
always acquitted himself with uncommon resolution* The
day before the said battle he was made a lieutenant; the
next fatal day, the regiment in which he had his commis-
sion, was one of the first that charged the enemy ; at the
very first onset, his captain and cornet were killed, when
he took up the standard, tore off theflag^ tied it round Us
waist, and commanded the troop ; he led out twice to the
charge, and was as often repulsed ; the third time, he
turned himself to his men, and said, ' Cdme on, my brave
fellows ; we shall certainly now do the work : follow me.'
He then set spurs to his horse, and pursued into the
thickest of the enemy, where be was surrounded, defend-
ing himself for a considerable time with amazing courage;'
at last he fell quite covered with wounds, and dying, left
such an example 6f true courage and bravery, as cannot
fail of being admired by all who shall hear of it/'
BONAVENTURE BARO, oe BARON,
IVas of that numerous class of men, who have reflected
great honour on Ireland, as the land ot their nativity, from
the excellence of their conduct and the splendour of their
genius, manifested in foreign countries. His original
name was Fitz*gerald, being descended from a distin-
guished family that settled in Ireland soon after the arrival
of the English. He was bom at Clonmell, in the county
ofTipperary. He had the happiness to have his early
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30 BARO.
«dacatioD directed by the care of bia mother's brotheri
Lake Waddingi a celebrated Franciscan friar, who, in tbe
seventeenth century, manifested his extraordinary talents,
and extensive information, by many works of great labour
and genius. When he was of a proper age, he got him
admitted into the Franciscan order, and brought him to
Rome, where he placed him, in order to complete his edu-
cation, under his own eye, in the college of St. Isidore.
This was a society which he himself had founded in 1625,
for the instruction of Irish students in tbe liberal arts, di-
vinity, and particularly controversies on the doctrines of
religion, from which the mission to Englandi Scotland,
and Ireland, might be supplied. Baron grew into great
repatation, and was distinguished by tbe purity with
which he wrote the Latin language. His talents were
first brought into notice from the circumstance of a car-
dinal having written a small treatise in Italian, which he
wished to get translated into Latin. Baron undertook
the performance ; but his excellency, from his ignorance,
being dissatisfied, it was referred to the learned society of
the Jesuits, who expressed themselves highly in Baron's
favour. His enthusiasm for imperial Rome, and the love
of the religious and learned society he found there* in-
duced him to settle in that city, where he lived ^together
sixty years, during part of which time he lectured on divi-
nity at St. Isidore's. He died very old and deprived of
sight, in March l6th, I696, and was buried in the church
of bis own college. His works are, 1. ^' Orationes Pane-
gyrical Saoro-Profane decern," Romas, 1643, ISmo. 2.
^ Metra Miscellanea, sive Carminum diversorum libri
duo; Epigrammatum unas; alter Silvul®; quibus addun-
tur £logia illustrium Virorum," Roms, 1645, 24mo. 3.
'^ Prolusiones Pbilosophicm," Romae, 1651, 12mo. 4.
'' Harpocrates quinque Ludius ; sen Diatriba silentii,"
RomsB, 1651, 12mo. 5. '^ Obsidio et Expugnatio Arcis
Duncannon in Hiberni&, sub Thom& Prestono." 6.^' Boe-
tius Absolutus ; sive de Consolatione Theologiae, lib. iv."
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BARRET. SI
RomflSy 1653, l^mo. 7. '* Controversiae et Stratagemata,''
Lagdoni, 1636, 8vo. 8. ** Scotus Defensus/' Coloni«|
1662, folio, 9. '^ Cursus Pbilosophicus/' Colonic, 1664^
folio. 10. ** Epistolffi Familiares Parseneticse,'' &c. These
are among -.bis 11. ^ Opuscula varia Herbipoli/' 1666,
folio. 12. *' Thcologia/* Paris, 1676, 6 vols. 13. '' Jo-
hannes Dons Scotns, ordinis minorum, Doctor subtilis de
Angelis contra adversantes defensus, nunc quoqne Novi-
tate amplificatns," FlorentisB, 1678. 14. '^ Annales Or-
dinis S. S. Trinitatis Redemptionis Captivorum, Fondato-
ribus S. S. Johanne de Matha, et Felice de Valois," in . •
vols, folio. The first volume wad printed at Rome, in
1686, and begins with the year 1 198, in which Pope In*
nocent III. gave habit to the founders, and is carried
down to the year 1297, just one hundred years. In this
volume we have an account of the foundations of their
convents, their privileges, and braeCactions, the eminent
fathers of tbdr order, their miracles and actions; as iJso,
the nnmber of slaves delivered by them from bondage.
GEORGE BARRET,
Am eminent landscape painter, was born in that part of
the city of Dublin, called the Liberty, in the year 1728.
He was a self-taught genius, and, like his countryman,
the celebrated Hugh Kelly, was apprenticed to a stay-
maker. How long he remained in this situation is not
known, but bis first attempt in art was in the humble line
of print-colouring, in which he was employed by one
Silcock, who resided then in Nicholas street, Dublin:
from this trifling commencement, he rose to considerable
powers as a landscape painter, and at a very early period
attended the drawing academy of Mr. West. He was in-
troduced by his protector, Mr. Burke, to the patronage of
the Earl of Powerscourt, where he passed the greater part
of bis yonth in studying and designing the sublime and
beautiful scenery around Powerscourt park ; and about
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Se BARRET.
this time a premiain being offered by the Dublin society,
for the best landscape in oil, Mr. Barret contended for,
and obtained it. .
In the year ITOS, be arrived in London, where he soon
distinguished himself, and, in two years after his arrival,
gained the fifty pounds premium given by the Society for
the Encouragement of Arts, &c« &c &c. For the esta-
blishment of the Royal Academy, the public mere, in a
great measure, indebted to the exertions of Mr, Barret,
who formed the plan, and became one of its earliest
members.
. He was a chaste and faithful delineator of English land*
scape, which he viewed with the eye of an artist, and
selected with the feelings of a man of taste. He had two
decided manners of painting, both with regard to colour
and touch : his first was rather heavy in both ; his latter,
much lighten Scarcely any painter equalled him in his
knowledge or characteristic execution of the details of
nature. His attention was chiefly directed to the true
colour of English scenery, its richness, dewy freshness,
and that peculiar verdure, especially in the vernal months,
which is so totally different from the colouring of those
masters who have formed themselves on Italian scenery,
or Italian pictures. This strong desire sometimes tempted
him to use colours both rich and beautiful when first ap«
plied, but which no art could render permanent, and
which, in some of his slighter works, prevailed to such a
degree as to leave scarcely any traces of the original co-
louring. This resulted from the inmioderate use of glazing.
The best pictures of this inestimable artist are to be found
in the collections of the Dukes of Buccleuch and Port-
land, and the great room at Mr. Locke's, Norbury Park,
Surrey, consisting of a large room, painted with a conti-
nued scene entirely round it ; a perforn»ance which will
ever rank among the most celebrated productions of the
art. The idea, in general, characterises the northern part
of this country; and, for composition, breadth of effect.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BARRETT. 33
tnitb of colour, and boldneks of manDer, in the execation,
has not been equalled by any modem painter. He exerted
his powers to the utmost in this work, as he entertained
the warmest sense of Mr. Locke's great kindness and
friendly patronage.
As a man, he was remarkably kind and friendly, and
was much respected, not only by his brethren in the artf
but by his patrons, who were pleased with the vivacity of
his disposition, and the urbanity of his manners. During
the last ten years of his life, he resided (on account of his
health) at Paddington, where he painted (in conjunction
with Mr. Gilpin, the celebrated animal jpainter,) some of
his best easel-pictures. He died at Paddington, in March
17B4, aged fifty-four, and was buried in the church-yard
of that parish. He left a widow and nine children. In
the latter part of bis life he enjoyed the place of master-
painter to Chelsea Hospital ; an appointment conferred
upon him by bis friend, Edmund Burke, during his short*
lived administration. Barret left some spirited etchings of
bis performances, the best of which is a view in the Dar*
gles, near Dublin. He also painted in water-colours, in
which he greatly excelled.
Rev. Db. JAMES BARRETT
Was titular Dean of Killala, and, as we cannot amend
the only sketch we have of this truly great and good man,
we shall take the liberty to subjoin it i-^^* He was," says
bis panegyrist, ** a character as near perfection as the lot
of bamanity admits of. For upwards of half a century
he cooiinued to shew to the world what a clergyman ought
to be, and how much real good a hearty lover of mankind
may do in that station. If domestic disquisition annoyed
any of bis flock, the demon was subdued by the precepts
that be instilled, and the morality which he inculcated.
The writbings of disease were mifiga^ by the balm of
bia divine counsels, and poverty never applied to him io
VOL. I. D
Digitized by VjOOQIC
34 BARRETT.
yain. Under bis protecting influeDce, youth fouDd an
asjlum from Tice and wretchedness, tod was trained up in
the paths of virtne and of truth. The shivering mendicant
was prepared to meet the severity of approaching winter^
through his bounty and his influence/'
He sunk into the arms of death, in March IdOB, at his
bouse in Chapel lane, Ennis. '' Upon his decease the
shops were all closed, and business completely at a stand
in Ennis ; while the general gloom which sat on every
countenance, more forcibly ponrtrayed die character of
departed worth, than volumes written on tbo^ subject could
possibly convey.'' Dr. Barrett was in the eighty-sixth
year of his age, for forty-six years of which he was the
faithful pastor of that parish* Some people imagined that
the dean was possessed of money ; but those who thought
so did not follow his steps into the mansions of misery
and distress ; if they had, their coffers would be like his — >
destitute of a single guinea, and, divine reflection !— their
reward, like his, would be — heaven !
Captain JOHN BARRETT
Was a brave yet unsuccessful seaman, who, to a perfect
knowledge of his profession, united an enthusiastic cou-
rage, and whose whole life was an uninterrupted tissue of
extraordinary embarrassments, terminated by a calamity,
borne with the heroic coolness of a Spartan.
He was a native of the city of Drogheda^ and waa
descended from a respectable family, resident during seve-
ral centuries in the adjoining county of Leuth. At a very
early age he exhibited a strong predilection for the naval
profession, and in compliance with his repeated solicita-
tions, he was placed under his brave countryman Admiral
Caldwell, and under his auspices he continued until his
promotion to the rttnk of lieutenant, towards the close
of the year 1793; an advance, which the interest of his
patron greatly forwarded, who, on the 1st of February
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BARRETT- 35
1793, Wis hifliaelf proaxited to the i^nk of rear-admiral
of the TThite, and was stationed as junior officer in the
Channel fleet, under Lord Howe^ haring hoisted his flag
on board the Cumberland, of seventy-fbnr guns, to which
ship Lieutenant Barrett removed with him.
lu the following year Admiral Caldwell, being promoted
to the rank of reaP4u]miral of the red, hoisted his flag
on board the Impregnable, niae^^igfat gnus, whither
Mr. Barrett again accompanied him, and 00 bo^ which
ship he served io the memorable battle of the 1st of June.
On the appointment of Admiral Caldwell to a command
in the West Indies, be removed with the admiral on board
the Majestic, of seven tyfour guns, and on the ISth of
October, sailed to join Sir John Jervis, (now Earl St. Vin-
cent) on the Leeward island station. His steady attach-
ment to bis patron, and his active services on this station,
were rewarded by a promotion successively to the ranks
of commander and post-captain, within a short time of
each other.
The next period of Captain Barrett's career which we
are to notice, will exhibit him in the strange and unmerited
condition of private distress, as a consequence of zeal ia
his public duty. While in the command, we believe, of the
Ethalion, he (independently of some captures,) detained
several American and other neutral vessels, under a clause
of our treaty with the former power, employed in a con-
traband trade with the enemy's and our islands. This
circumstance materially contributed to a series of pecu-
niary embarrassments, from which he was never altogether
relieved*
Id addition to this unfortunate occurrence, he was
vnlacky enough to become acquainted with a widow in
<me of the adjacent islands, who was said to possess a con*
aiderable fortune, and who, deceived by a rumour of our
hero's successes, favoured his advances : —
** She was jnst at the age when beauty beguis
To give o'er her reign of deUgfat :"— -
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Google
36 BARRETT.
And she was apparently rich, but not without some pri-
vate pecuniary embarrassments. — A marriage however took
place, and (like many other married couples) they were
mutually deceived; for, previous to the ceremony, the
lady being possessed of a more than ordinary share of
precaution, settled all her real property on hersdf. —
Scarcely had the honey-moon, that most delicious period
in our lives, when all is bright and fair, elapsed, when a
discovery was made, and a bitter digestion of its sweets
consequently ensued. The addition also of an immense
expense for demurrage, by some informality in the pro-
ceedings relative to the detained vessels which were cleared,
now overwhelmed him with a responsibility considerably
beyond his means. He, however, had not yet swallowed
the whole of the potion allotted him, the remainder of
which awaited him in England, where, on his return, he
was not only arrested by his own creditors, but by those
of his wife also; and by the union of both powers he speedily
became immured in a prison, where he long remained, and
thus was excluded from all active service. One circum-
stance, however, not greatly to be regretted, occurred—
a total separation from his wife; — and thus was Captain
Barrett's matrimonial bliss brought to a speedy conclusion.
In 1806, being released from his confinement, he was soon
after appointed to the Africa of sixty-four guns, at first
stationed in the Channel fleet, and afterwards in the Bal-
tic, where she was appointed to superintend the passage
of convoys through the Sound, under the immediate orders
of Admiral Sir Thomas Bertie.
While lying in the Mahnuc passage, an attack was
made on him by neariy forty Danish gun-vessels, and other
boats. It has been justly observed, that a line-of-battle
ship in a calm is like a giant struck with a dead palsy.
The African, completely immoveable, received for more
than an hour the fire of two divisions stationed a head and
a-stem, while the bulk of the ship, and comparative small-
ness of the. foe, rendered it impossible to hit them. — In
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BARRETT. 37
thk sitaatioa a dreadful slaughter eatued on board; a shot
bariDg struck the hoisting part of the ensigo halyard, the
coloors came slowlj down. The Danes perceiving this,
and not thinking it the effect of their fire, believed she had
stmcky and immediately abandoned their advantageous
position, vying with each other for the honour of uking
posseaaion. This circumstance must be considered as one
of those casual events, which occurring independent of
ourselves, should teach us never to relinquish hope even
in our greatest perplexities. The mistake being observed
by Captain Barrett, a broadside double-shotted was pre-
pared, the colours re-hoisted, and ^^ the whole** (says his
biographer) ^* poured in with so happy a direction^ that scoe*
** ral of the boats^ and near four hundred men perished.**
The Danes, mistaking that for treachery, which arose
from chance, were extremely irritated, and violent in their
threats and censures against Captain Barrett; and this
candid relauon of the circumstance is justly due to his
character, to clear it from the aspersions with which it has
in consequence been loaded. This action lasted nearly
dgfat hours ; during the time, a shell having fallen on the
lower deck of the Africa, the ship was saved from destruc-
tion by a boy, who, with great coolness, hove it out of the
port while burning, >ind the concussion caused by its ex-
plosion in the water violently shook the vessel.
In the year 1809, Captain Barrett was appointed to the
Minotaur, of seventy-four guns, celebrated for the beauty
of her model, and stationed in the Gulph of Finland. la
the different attacks on the Russian flotillas at Percola and
Aspro, the ship's company severely suffered. On this sta^
tion the services of die Minotaur were highly creditable
to the captain and his company, and under her protection
the last convoy of 1809 arrived.
In the spring of the year. 18 10, the Minotaur sailed again
fat the Baltic, aad was principally employed in escorting
the different convoys from Hamio to Deershead. At the
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38 BARRETT.
dose of the leason she again took charge of the homeward*
bound convoy, (the Pkntagenet, seveotj-four. Captain
Ellis, escorting the rear,) a charge destined to be her final
aet of service, and in which she was most lamentably to
fall bj shipwreck* The evening before she suack, the
Flantagenet telegraphed to her, and hauled to the west-
ward ; but the master and pilots of the Minotaur, too con-
fident of their reckoning, unfortunately stood on. At nine
o'clock that night she struck on the Hakes so violently,
that it was with great difiiculty the midshipmen and quar-
ter-masters gained the deck. The scene of horror that now
presented itself can only be conceived by those who wit-
nessed it.
The ship's company, almost naked, were sheltered from
the severe cold and heavy sea by the poop, and the great-
est exertions were made to get out the boats, the quarter
ones having been stove and washed away. By cutting
down the gunnel the launch was got ofi* ^e booms, into
which one hundred and ten men crowded; at this time the
appearance of the ship, nearly covered by the sea, and
having only the main«-mast standing, was truly pitiable.
The launch, with, great difficulty reached the shore. — The
yawl was next got out, but immediately sunk, from the
numbers thatrcrowded into her, with the natural desire to
avail themselves of the smallest chance of escapmg from a
state of ineviuble destruction.
Thus cut off firoa all prospect of escape, the only desire
apparent in those ihrho remained was, to dothe themsetves
IB their best suiu. The captain of mannes and surgeon
had themselves lashed in a cot that hung in the cabin, and
two of the officers Mlovred their example with the utmoat
composure.
At length came the awful stiDke^and the sea washing
thn>ugh the belfry, tolled the funeral knelt The captain
of the main-top, who was saved on the main-mast, said,
be saw Captain Barrett to the last exhorting the men to
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BARRETT. S9
|Mtfitac»; be was sUndtng on the poop, surrounded by
them, when a dreadful sea destroyed every remnant of the
ship, and dosed h\» meritorions and useful life.
Throagb the whole of this melancholy scene^ the oon«
duct of Captain Barrett did honour to his station. From
the eommencement to its fatal termination, be eriaced the
most heroic coolness ; during which time no possibility of
saving the ship bad ever existed. The pilots seem to have
been deficient in knowledge of the ship's track, for they
opposed the warning of the Plantagenet, and differed, after
the skip stmck, in opinion, whether she was on the Smith'«
Knowl or the Hakes ; Captain Barrett decided for the latter,
tad the ensuing dawn, by a distant view of land, confirmed
it. In the course of this dreadful night, an officer, in the
tageroess of exertion, occasioned some disturbance; Cap-
tain Barrett said to him, **' Sir, true courage is better shewn
by coolness and composure — we all owe nature a debt —
let us pay it like men of honour.*' •
The fate of Lieutenant Salsford was distinguished by a
•ingnlar circumstance, which we cannot forbear record-
ing >^A large tame wolf, caught at Aspro, and brought
np from a cab by the ship's company, and exceedingly
docile, continued to the last an object of general 3olicitude.
Sensible of its danger, its howls were peculiarly distress-
ing. He had always been a particular favorite of the
lientenant, who was also greatly attached to the animal,
and through the whole of their Ibufferings he kept close to
his master. Oo the bieakiag up of the ship, both got upon
the noaat.^^^At times they were washed off, but by each
other's assistance regained it.-^The lieutenant at last, be-
caose exhausted by oondnnal exertion, and benumbed witb
cold.-— 'The wolf was equally fatigued, aud both held occa^
sionallj by the other to retain his situation. When within
a short distance of the laud, Lieutenant Saltford affected by
the attachment of the animal, and tociJly unable any longer
to snpport himself, turned towards him from the mast; the
beast clapped his fore-paws round bis neck, while the
Digitized by VjOOQIC
40 BARRY.
lieuteiiaDt clasped bim in bis arms, and they sunk to-
getber.
* Sacb was tbe end of Captain Barrett, and his brave but
unfortunate sbip's company. Tbe bero wbo fialls in tbe
arms of yictoryi bas a monument raised by tbe gratitude
of bis country; but be, wbose destiny bas been a watery
grav6| overcome by tbe irresistible power of tbe elements,
sinks lamented at tbe instant, and bencefortb is forgotten.
To rescue f/om tbis unmerited oblivion tbe name and
character of Captain Barrett, bas been our object in tbe
publication of these brief memoirs; and let it be remem-
bered in tbe perusal of them, that altbougb tbe actions
they record are neither splendid or brilUani^ opportunities
alone were wanting to have made them so; and that if in
tbe battle courage is indisputable, yet in all probability
the truest touch-stone of bravery is — the storm.
DAVID FITZ-JAMES BARRY,
Viscount Buttevant, was one of the Lords of tbe Parlia*
ment, convened by Sir James Perrott, in 1585; but afters-
wards took an active share in tbe rebellion of the Earl of
Desmond, for which he received a pardon in the govern-
ment of Lord Grey. From that time bis fidelity to tbe
crown was untainted, and he was appointed one of tbe
council to Sir George Carew, president of Munster ; in
which capacity be did great service against the rebels in
that province, as may be seen by bis answer to Tyrone's
letter of invitation to join bim, and of which a full account
is given in the Pacau Hibernia. In 1601, be was made
general of the provincials, and assisted in raising the siege
of Kinsale; and, after the defeat of tbe Spaniards, his
lordship, at tbe bead of his forces, attacked OGuillevan,
and routed him with great loss ; whicb, with some pru-
dent measures employed at tbe same time, reduced the
insurgenu to complete submission. In 16 IS, tbe king,
intending to hold a parliament in Dublin, and understand-
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BARRY. 41
iDg that there might arise some debate^ whether his lord**
ship ought to have a seat in the upper house^ his elder
brother, to whom it was alleged that right belonged, being
still alite; his majesty, to prevent the delay such debate
might occasion, declared that ''' in regard the Lord Barry
bath been always hoDOurably reported of, for his dadful
behatioor to our state, and hath enjoyed, without contra-
dicuon, these many years the title of honour and living of
bis house ; and that his brother, who is said to be elder, '
is both dumb and deaf, and was never yet in possession of
the honour or living of his house ; we are pleased to com-
mand you, if this question, concerning his right to sit in
parliament, be stirred by any person, that you silence it
by our command ; and that yon do admit him, according
to his degree, to have voice and place in parliament, not
taking knowledge of , any doubt, which may be moved of
bis legal right thereunto." He was according present in
that parliament; and died April 10, lOl?, at Barry's
court.
DAVID BARRY,
The first Earl of Barry mQre, was the grandson of the
subject of the last article, and was born in 1605. On bis
grandfathers decease, he succeeded to bis estates, and in
the following year a special livery of all his possessions
was granted, notwithstanding his minority. In \69i7j the
king, to reward his fidelity and attachment to the pro-
testant interest^ created him Earl of Barrymore* He served
against the Scots in 1630; and, in 1641, when the insur-
gents offered to make him their general, he rejected the
l^oposal with the utmost disdain:— '' I will first take an
offer," said he, ** from my brother Dungarvan, to be hang-
man^eneral at Youghall." Incensed at this, the insur-
gents threatened to destroy his house at Castle Lyons, on
which be sent them word, that '' he would defend it while
one stone stood upon another;" at the same time desiring
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49 BARRY.
tbfol 16 trouble him na more with their offsrs, for that he
was resolved to live and die a faithful subject of the Eng»
lish orowo. He afterwards placed a body of Englishmen
in his castle of Shandos, near Cork^ for which service he
received the thanks of the government; and, by his care
and courage, in conjunction with JBdmund Fitzgerald,
senescfaal of Imokilty, he preserved that part of the coun*
try free from the incursions of the rebels, and thus ensured
the passage between Cork and Youghall. In 1648| his
lordship, with Lord Dungarvan, pursued the Cordons,
and took the castle of Ballymac-Patrick (now Carey^s
villa), the whole of the survivors of the garrison being exe-
cuted on the spot. In July be took Cloghlea castle, near
Kilwortb; and was joined, in commission with Lord In-
cbiquin, to the civil government of Munster. He headed
a troop of horse, and tw,o hundred foot, which he main-
tained at his own charge, at the battle of Liscarroll, on
September 3, 1649; and died on the e9th of that month.
He was interred in the Earl of Cork's tomb at Youghall,
and left behind him the character of great generosity,
humanity (notwithstanding his bloody slaughter at Bally-
mac-Patrick,) and christian charity; and we are particu-
larly informed that he had sermons at Castle Lyons twice
a day on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
JAMES BARRY,
Aftbrwards created Lord Santry, was the son of a
merchant of Dublin. He was educated for the bar, and
bjr his diligence and eminent talents, raised himself to
high offices of trust under government, and to a seat in the
upper bouse of Parliament. The family was originally
from Pembrokeshire, in Wales, descended from the princes
of the country. Several of them passed over into Ireland,
Rnumg the first adventurers, in 1169; one of these was
Robert de Barry, so highly eelebrated by Grerald Barry,
comaKmly called Oeraldns Cambrensis. The father of
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BARRY. 45
Janes Bany, whpse life we now write, aequirtd a 0K>a«if-
derable estate by oemmerce ; and filled the civic honours
of the city of Dablin, which be also represented in Parliat
sent. The son, after be was called to the bar, practised
for sereral years with reputation and success; In l6^
the king conferred upon him the office of his majesty's
seffjeaiit^t4aw for the kingdom of Ireland, with a yearly
he of twenty poinds ten shillings* Lord Wentwortb,
afterwards Earl qf Strafford, lord deputy of Ireland, soon
perceived bis talents, and took him under his protection (
accordingly, Aug. 5, 1634, be appointed him second baron
of the exchequer of Ireland, to hold during pleasure, with
such fees, rewards, and profits, as Sir Robert Oglethorpe,
Sir Lawrence Parsons, or Sir Gerard Lowther, or any
ether second baroo, did or ought to receive. He soon
after had the honour of knighthood conferred on him*
This appointment in the exchequer he obtained through
Jjord Weotwortb's friendship, in opposition to another
candidate who had powerful recommendation from £og«-
hod. Of this kindness he was ever after grateful ; and,
ia 1640, when the Parliament of Ireland were about to
send over a deputation of their body to England to Im-
peach the Earl of Strafford, he joined all his weight and
interest with Sir James Ware, and other members of the
House of Commons, to oppose that measure. The tor*
rent was too violent to be withstood; and we hear little
ame of Sir Jaaies Barry, during the civil wars, until a
little before the restoration of King Charles II. ia 1660,
when he was chairman of the convention whkb voted ^is
majetQr's restoration, without any previous cooditionsr
In obtaining this vote, his influence and talents wens
iastnimaital ; and accordingly we find him experieuoiag
the gntitude of his soveieigp, by being «iade lord obitf
JQStioa of the King's Bencb of Ireland, the l7th November
of the aaaae year. Nor was this the ooljr hooour bestowed
mt htm ; for, on the 18th of December foUowingi the king
issaed a privy seal, in ooaaideration of his epEUoent fidalif j
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44 BARRY.
and zeal shewn for bis majesty's serrice, creating him
Lord Baron of Santry of the Kiogdom of Ireland ; and
be was soon after called to the privy council.
He died in March 1672, and was buried in Christ
Churchy Dublin. He left behind him issue to inherit his
titles and estate. His only publication was, ** The Case of
Tenures upon the Commission of Defective Titles, argued
by all the Judges of Ireland; with the Resolution, and the
Reasons of their Resolution." Dublin, 1637, folio, dedi-
cated to the Earl of Strafford*
SPRANGER BARRY.
Xhis celebrated actor, who so equally divided the laurel
with the immortal Garrick, was born on the 20th Novem-
ber, 17)99 in the parish of St. Warburgh, Dublin. He
was the son of an eminent silversmith of that, city, pros-
perous in trade, and possessing good family connections^
who bred this his eldest son to the business ; but an early
intercourse with the theatres (of which there were two at
that period in Dublin) with the solicitation of a remark-
ably handsome and finely-proportioned person, melodious
and powerful voice, and pleasing address, quickly oblite-
rated every idea relative to business, which the attendance
behind the counter between two and three years, might
have enabled him to acquire, and he commeniced actor in.
the year 1744, making his first appearance in the arduous
character of Othello.
It has been observed, with some truth, that most first
appearances discover more of inclination than real genius.
The case was, however, different with Mr. Barry, for he,
like our celebrated Roscius, nearly gained the summit of
perfection at his outset, and (if we credit the accounts of
some of the best theatrical judges of that day) gave evi-
dent marks that he required nothing but. stage practice to
place him at the head of his profession. The summer of
1744 be played in Cork, and acquired fresh fame; and here *
\
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BARRY. 45
it was first suggested to him^ by his chief patron. Dr.
.(afterwards Sir) Edward Barry, to visit England, as the soil
most congenial to great abilities and superior talent.
However, prior to his making this attempt, he returned to
Dublin, and joined the company of that year, which stands
remarkable in the annals of Irish theatricals, for the finest
collection of excellence that ever was known at any one
period. Oar readers will best judge of this themselves,
when they are informed, that the imperishable names of
Garrick, Barry, Sheridan, Quin, Woffington, and Gibber,
stood first upon the list; and that there was scarce a play
that these performers did not change parts, in a praise-wor-
thy contention for rival powers. The public, it is to be
regretted, paid a dear price for this mental luxury, as the
constant and excessive fulness of the house brought on
innumerable colds and fevers, besides dislocations and
other odd kind of accidents in abundance, which, termi-
nating in the deaths of many individuals, the saying be*
came common, that Miss died of a Quin fever, but
Mr, of a Barry fever.
In 1746, Mr. Barry arrived in England, and was en-
gaged at Drury Lane, and, the next year the patent falling
into the hands of Messrs. Garrick and Lacy, Mr. Barry
took the lead as the principal performer of that house,
and here it was that Mr. Garrick and he frequently ap-
peared in the same characters, and divided the applause of
admiring audiences ; however, Barry, after a short period,
feeling an inferiority arising from the joint power exerted
against him as actor and manager, quitted Drury Lane,
and headed the forces of Covent Garden. Here his gigan-
tic powers had full play, and here he entered the lists of
competition against a man, who, till now, had thrown all
hb competitors at an immeasurable distance. They played
all their principal characters against each other with
various success, Garrick being allowed to be the best
Richard, and Barry the finest OtUello ; and remained
opposing each other till the summer of 1758, when Barry,
Digitized by VjOOQIC
46 BARRY.
in conjunction with Woodward of CoTent Oardett, under-
took a journey to the sister kingdom, where they built two
elegant and commodious theatres, one in Crow street,
Dublin, and the other in Cork ; and, as joint managers,
exerted their respective abilities, assisted by a very re-
spectable company, ' part of which they brought with
them from England* Unfortunately, however, after giving
their scheme a fair trial for some years, on account of the
expenses of the building, the great salaries, the increase
of performers, and the uncertainty of their nightly re-
ceipts, they both found, that far from benefiting them-
selves by tht exchange, they had altered their situations
lamentably for the worse. Woodward was the first to
diacover the error into which they had fallen ; and he im-
mediately made the best bargain he could with Barry, to
be paid bis share in annuities, and, bidding adieu to Ire-
land, rejoined the corps from which he had deserted; and
in a very laughable prologue (which is still well remem-
bered, and is to be found in print,) restored himself once
more to the favour of the public.
Barry staid but a few seasons behind him, for, in 1766,
both he and Mrs. Barry played at the Opera House in the
Haymarket, under Mr. Foot's management. Here it was
Mrs. Barry* made her first appearance before a London
* This lady, whose maiden name was Street, was a native of Batli,
and tiie danghter of an eminent apothecary in that city, who, unwisely
preferring temporary gratification to the future prospects of his family,
gave into all the extravagant expenses of that foshionable place ; so that,
although his practice was extensive, it was always balanced by his expen-
diture. Mrs. Barry, from her childhood, amidst several promising quali*
ficatioDS, expressed a warm and decided preference for theatrical amuse-
ments ; which, joined to a figure pleasingly feminine, great sweetness of
temper, and the fashionable station she fiUed,made her, as she grew up, an
object of general attachment When she was arrived at the age of seven-
teen, she was particularly noticed by a young genUeman of large fortune,
and the brother of a noUe lord, who was then resident at Bath. Fn»i
seeing her casually in the Rooms, he was struck with her nuumeis, dee*
and he contrived to drink tea with her at a third person's house. Here
her conversation established what her charms had begun ; and, after a few
vbits to the house, he formally asked permission of the fkther to becoiM
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BARRY. 47
BMJience. The character she chose was Desdemona, in
which, though there is little for a performer to shew forth
in, yet in this she shewed such judgment, tenderness, and
hit soD-iii-faiw. So adrantageoiiB an offer was readily omtoMied by wSk
parties t the parent was flattered with tbe idea of noble conaections ; and
the daughter with being blessed with the object of her affections. Whilst
things were in this train of mataration, an nnexpeeted letter artitred^
iafonniag the lover of the death of an ancle in Town, which required hb
iauaediate attendance. He obeyed unwillingly (of coarse), after having
pledged ins adoration for his instant retain; bat the pemidoas air of
Uodoo (Uke the hanan tonch to the sensitiTe leaf) soon diss^ntfed his
▼owsy and banished for ever from his memory all his protestatieas ; wfalltt
tke amiabie object of them, after waiting two monUis, in expectation of
hearing from him, had nothing bat sighs, tears, and painfol recollections
to comfort her. The chagrin she was thrown into on the ill-fiUed tennl-
nation of this love adyentare, so visibly impaired her health, that it was
thnoiiht advisable, by her physicians, to go into the coontry. A near rela-
tioBi, in YorksUre, made an offer of his hovse, which was accepted ; and,
as individnals sometimes rise frtmi ode extreme to another, she entered at
first vrith fictitioas gaiety mto every species of amasement, till, by degrees,
sbo caaght the sprigbtlinem of the place, and perfectiy recovered her
asnal flow of spirits. Amongst the amusements of the coanty, the Yoit-
•hire pbyhoose, which was only distant a few miles from where she
resided, was not of coarse overlooked. There it was she tint beheld Mr.
Dancer, and married him shortly after at Batii ; but, as her relations woold
aotsaier her to iadirige her theatrical passion in that city, she went, in
fte samiMr season, to Portsraon^ The ibllowfaig winter they went to
YoriL, where they solicited an engagement, aad obtained it ; and she be«
came Urn favoorite actress there until Sept. 17S8, when they tamed ^beir
thooghti towards Ireland. Messrs. Barry and Woodward having opened
Crow street theatre, they readily got engagements on genteel saktfies.
Mrs. Daneer bad played in York before several genteel audiences, and
it was then thoaght by the best provincial judges, that she would one
day beeone a great acipiisition to the stage. Her first appearance in
DnUin confirmed this opinion; and she every night proved she was fai
want ofnnthiag bat experience* There was a dancer on tiie Doblln stage,
irho,fit»m the inthnacy he had with our heroine and her husband, pro*
pesed taking an excursion bito the comtiy with tiiie former aad another
hidy for a few days, to which the hasband consanted. She bad beenaway
hat the second day^ when it was hinted to the husband by some malidoas
person, that tbey went off together ; and he, believing it, instantly pursued
thsm, and at a little viUage, about twenty miles from town, got intelligence
Ihrt they were at the principal inn. Hera he lost sight of his prudence,
aad, rashing intD the house like a madman, demanded his wife; who, with
the other bMly^and gentleman, were drinking tea bi the dhdng-room; and|
Digitized by VjOOQIC
48 BARRY.
expression, that Garrick, who was then in the pit, de-
clared her an actress gifted with superior talent; and, as
a proof that he^was serious in his assertion, he very soon
alaniied at his threats, threw herself for protection on the gentleman, who
inpradently locked her np with himself in a bed-chamber adjoining. The
husband availed the door, and threatened destruction to the parties ;
whilst the other as resolntdy defended the pass. However, the door was
at length broke open ; bnt, whetiier from beholding tiie partner of his
heart in distress, or the fears of receiving the contents of a pistol which his
antagonist held in opposition to his, he peaceably conducted her out of the
room, placed her in a post-chaise, and drove to town. This anecdote
(with a little embellishment) fed, for a while, half the Dublin tea-tables
with scandaL All the caricature painters were at work ; and every news-
paper and magazine produced a fresh pun or epigram. On the night
after her arrival in Dublin she played Sylvia, in the Recruiting Officer;
where Melissa's salutation to her, on her first appearance, Is *< Welcome
to town, cousin Sylvia f the house instantiy caught the aptness of the
allusion, and bestowed on it the applause usually given on those occasions.
Soon after this event her husband died, and left her hi the possession of
every thing but money : she had youth, beauty, and great theatrical talent.
Nor were the gallant world insensible of them, as she had many suitors in
her train ; all of whom she rejected, for the Irish Roscius (Mr. Barry) had
secured her heart; and, like a second Stella, she drank tiie delicious
poison of love by the vehicle of tuition. From this period we find her
rising to the very top of her profession. Her alliance to the manager
secured her all the firstprate parts ; and she likewise received so much
Uistmction from him in private rehearsals, that, in a short time, she added
all his fire to her own softness. In 1766 Mr. Barry, finding the Irish theatres
not answer his expectations, rented them on advantageous terms to
Mr.Mossop; and, with Mrs. Barry, arrived in London, where (as has been
stated) she made her d^but in Desdemona, and afterwards performed the
parts of Belvidera, RutUnd, and Monunia, in tragedy ; and Lady Townley,
Beatrice, and Rosalind, in comedy. Her first appearance, after Mr.
Barry's deadi, was in Lady Randolph, when she spoke an occasional
address, said to be written by Mr. Garrick ; she likewise continued to
maintain her former pre-eminence; and was supposed to have accumu-
lated such a fortune as might have rendered her independent ; but her
improvident marriage with Mr. Crawford quickly dissipated her former
savings. She performed soon after this event in Dublin ; but frequently
with such indifierence, that she could only be said to have walked through
her characters.
Her husband, in virtue of his conjugal office, became also acting pro*
prietor and manager, not only of the lady but of the theatre, which last
did not thrive under his auspices. His ewU Utt was constantly in arrear;
hit wdmttn, from the first^rates down to the scene-shifters, murmnred for
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BARRY. 49
tfter engaged Mr. Barry and herself at a very considerable
salary, and by that act he shewed his wisdom and judg*
menty for she afterwards ful^led his prediction to the very
kck of nlariea; his purveyors ont of doors relinqoished their contracts
sod withheld soppties. Ritrenchmeni became the order of the day, and
pervaded all departmeDts ; and, to oiend matters, he struck out a system
of cecoDomicks, in the banqnetting scenes, never before heard of in the
smals of mtek/eiiivUff. The stage-sappers were supplied, not by the cook
and wbttmerekaU, hot tiie propertif'tHan ; ihe viands were composed of
iMer and pofc^Mrd painted in character; and smmU Assr^and imeiund
waUr sobstitDted the cheering jnice of the grape. The mnsicians deserted
the orchestra; and, in short, the whole system of food and payment were
rapidly hastening to a state of as ** wnreal mkken/* as any of the fiibles of
the tragic mose..
In this state of thbigs an Opera was announced; the entertabimentB to
conclude with the farce of « High Life below Statn." The hannonies of
the first were entirely V9cak for the fiddlere and other mmjKtreU refused to
be imttrwmad^ to the entertahiment of the night In the/orce, the m^ptr
iceme was supplied from the pim^ of the property'mm ; and all the wines of
Pkiiip the butler, « from humble Port to imperial Tokay," were drawn
from the pmi^ or tbe bur-ciaik. My Lord Duke complained to Sir Harry,
that tbe ^tamp^ne and hurgjMdy tasted confoundedly Mtnmg of the waUr;
and the Baronet, in turn, deplored the hardness of the wooden pkeasaiUsp
and the Urngkness of the pasteboard fies^ In the mock minuet, between
Sir Harry and Mrs, Kitty, the Baronet observed, ** this vras the first time
he had the hononr ci dancing at a ball without music; but he would sing
theair.''
The^adslntheuppergallery took the hint, and called out to the staga
company to retreat a little, and they would supply the music. This was
done, and in a minute vras commenced a concert ir^Z and detrimental^
to the great terror of tbe audience, and the discomfiture of tbe manager;
lor soch a thunder-storm of benches, bottles, chandeliers, and other mis-
silea, covered the stage, that the remainder of tiie afterpiece was adjooraed
sime £^ and tbe theatre closed for several weeks. *
On Mrs,fiiddons* engagement at the rival theatre, she was ronsecl by
enralation, and played Belvidera, Isabella, See. against that kidy. The
critics, however, were divided in their opinions; in general thecompe-
titioo was thought very unequal, for Mrs. Siddons was then in the i enith,
and Mrs. Crawford in the nadir of her powers. It is but justice to her
■Kmoty to add, that she was universally acknowledged superior to her
rival hi the pathetic, and inferior to her in the terrific. Her last appear-
ance in London was at Covent Garden theatre in 1797; but the unre-
Icstiiig hand of time had destroyed those powers that fascinated so many
andiqices, and she quitted the stage for ever.
Her ntaatioD in the close of life, although retired, was by no means
roL. 1. K
Digitized by VjOOQIC
50 BARRY.
letter^ by unquestionably establishing herself the first
actress on the British stage.
In the Grecian Daughter they shone with unrivalled
lustre, the feeble and affecting part of Evander being well
adapted to the venerable figure and fine pathos of this
declining great actor, and the filial piety and towering
spirit of the Grecian daughter could not have been more
happily displayed in all their force than by Mrs. Barry.
Many characters could be mentioned, in which they
swayed, at pleasure, the feelings of their audience, and
bade sighs and tears alternate rise and flow. Amongst
others^ Jaffier and Belvidera, in Venice Preserved ; but
obscure ; as, since her retnrn to London, she had resided in the bonse of a
relative, a most amiable and respectable lady (her hasl>and, a man eminent
in the medical line), in Qneen Street, Westminster, who rendered her
CYcry attention ttie nearest connection could have afforded. A few days
previous to the last moments of this great actress, she requested her
remains to be deposited near those of Mr. Barry, and hi as private a
manner as possible. Her hut wish was strictl]L attended to, for, after
being placed in a leaden coffin, they were conveyed to Westminster Abbey
in a hearse decorated with all the mournful ornaments usual upon such
occasions. A coach likewise attended, containing the clergyman, physi-
cian, apothecary, and her executor, the only surviving son of her brother,
the late W. Street, Esq. of Bath.
Thus was obscured for ever one of the brightest planets in the theatric
hemisphere ; and thus died a woman who united talent with virtue, and
the most shinhig abUities to the most extendve goodness of heart.
It would be a difficult task to mention any station in existence which
presents so many strange vicissitudes as that of an actress, who frequently
experiences in real life all the varieties of situation which her profession
calls upon her to exhibit on the stage ; and it often lamentably happens,
that, at the close of her career, her woes are not fictitious. The youthful
days of this individual' were illumined by the sunshine of universal
admiration. Lovely herself, both in face and figure, she could not faU to
excite ttie love of others. A few years of professional exertion placed her
on the pinnacle of theatric fame, both as a disciple of Thalia and Melpo-
m(|pe ; and her bright bark was floating with the tide that ** leadeth on to
fortune," when an unfortunate marriage bhwted all her hopes, aud^
clouded a prospect seemingly destiued remain to bright for ever.
It is, however, to be hoped that the judicious and candid, whilst con-
templating with delight upon the pleasure her almost unrivalled talents
have afforded them, will bury in oblivion those failings to which human
nature is ever liable.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BARRY. 51
none can be oatned with Essex and Rutland, in Jones's
play of the Earl of Essex; in the celebrated scene in which
the ring is mentioned, they fairly " drowned the stage in
tears.^ And we have heard many a theatric veteran ac-
knowliedge, that although he had considered him%e\f stage*
hardened, and as immoveable as the bench that he sat
upon, that he could not help shedding tears at this memo*
rable scene.
Little remains now to be said of Mr. Barry, than that
aboot the year 1774, he quitted Drury Lane for Covent
Garden, and, on signing articles, procured a considerable
addition to his income. But an hereditary gout (which
occasionally attacked him from his earliest days) rendered
his performances not only unfrequent but imperfect ; yet
it is but justice to the memory of this luminary of the
histrionic art, to declare,, that even in this exhausted state
of his powers, bowed down with infirmity, and cramped
with aches, like the great Marius sitting on the ruins of
Carthage, be gave his audience an affecting picture of
what he once was. His voice, which, to the last period
of his theatric life, retained its melodious cadences, and
bis conception of the poet, being as bold and vigorous as
heretofore.
He quitted this earthly stage at the age of fifty-seven,
slain by his ancient enemy, the gout, on the lOth of Ja-
nuary, 17779 A^ hi* house in Norfolk street in the Strand,
and was interred privately in the cloisters of Westminster
Abbey.
Barry was the easiest man in the world to live with as
a companion and friend. He had a gift of pleasing in
conversation beyond most men, owing more to the man-
ner than the matter. To those who are conversant with
the domestic management of actors, it will create no sur-
prise to find that Barry did not confine himself within the
limits of his income, which, from the first, was very con*
siderable. One of his greatest pleasures consisted in
giving splendid and sumptuous entertainments ; and it is
Digitized by VjOOQIC
52 BARRY.
recorded of bim^ that no nian did the honours of the table
with more gentlemanly ease and poli^teness.
Mr. Pelhanii who was highly delighted with his style
of acting, once invited himself to sap with him, but the
profusion of elegant dishes, with the choicest and dearest
wines which Barry provided for him, so. displeased the
statesman, that he never gave him another opportunity of
exposing his want of judgment.
This gentleman, besides the splendour of his dramatic
talents, possessed, in a very eminent degree, the fasci*
nating powers of polite address and persuasive insinua-
tion. At no period of its history could the Dublin stage
boast so powerful a combination of talents as when under
the direction of Mr. Barry : and although the salaries of
the very best actors in that day bore no sort of comparison
to that of very inferior talents in this, yet his receipts were
frequently inadequate to his expenditures, and he was, in
consequence of that and his style of living, constantly
embarrassed. He had, of course, a crowded levy of im-
portunate claimants; but no man ever possessed more
eminently the power of soothing, that '' horrible monster,
hated of gods and men'' — a dun. For though most of
them were sent empty away, none departed with an ach-
ing heart; for he adorned his hnpunciualUies with such
witching politeness, and so many satisfactory reasons, and
cherished hopes with such encouraging prospects, as re*
cohciled disappointments, and silenced the most rude and
determined importunacy. Numberless are the instances
related of bis management in this respect. One or two
specimens may serve to illustrate his talents.
His stage tailor at Dublin had agreed, in order to
secure to himself all the profits of his contract, to furnish
materials as well as workmanship ; but the manager, in
process of time, had got so deeply into his books, as to
expose him to much embarrassment from his own creditors.
Unwilling to offend so good a customer, the man had wora
out all patience in the humilities of civil request and pres-
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BARRY. 53
sing remonstrance. At last, be was determined to pnt on
a bold face, and become quite gruff and sturdy in his de-
mands. But the moment he came into the manager's pre-
tence, his resolution failed him, for he was assailed by such
powers of bows, an'd smiles, and kind inquiries after his
femily, such pressing invitations to sit in the handsomest
chair, take a glass of wine, partake a family dinner, or
spend a Sunday at the manager's villa; and all that he
intended to say, ia urging his claim, was so completely
anticipated by apologies and feasible excuses for non-pay-
ment, that he could not find courage to pronounce the
object of hrs visit. And if he betrayed any symptoms of
a disposition to reply or remonstrate, the discourse was
so agreeably turned in an instant, that he could not ven-
ture to urge a disagreeable topic, and he retired under an
escort of the manager in person to the stairs' head. De-
scended to the hall, under a shower of kind expressions,
was ushered to the door by a brace of liveried footmen,
rang up for the very purpose.
On his return home from these visits, his wife, who was
of the Xanlippean school, failed not to lecture him se-
verely, as a noodle and a ninnj/, who had not the courage
to demand and insist upon his right as a inan; assevera-
ting, that ^ if she had the management of the affair, she
would soon have the money, in spite of the manager's pa*
Javering." The husband acknowledged his weakness, and
said be should cheerfully resign the business to her care,
but predicted, that, with all her fierceness,^ she would be
conquered also.
The good lady chose a morning for her purpose; ad-
vanced against the manager, attired in all her finery, and
armed with all her ferocity and eloquence, reached Barry's
hall door, where her presence was announced by a thun-
dering sonata on the knocker. The footman, guessing
the nature of her errand, and anticipating a storm, from-
die fory of her countenance, said his master was not at
home. Just at this moment, however, the voice of Mr.
Digitized by VjjOOQIC
54 BARRY.
Barry was heard oo the staircase^ calling to one of his ser*
vantSy and betrayed the ofUcisijib of the lacqoey. ''There,''
said the sphynx, " I knew you were telling me a lie ; he
is at home, and I must see him directly ;" and immediately
ran up the stairs. Mr. Barry, who had seen her before,
kenned, at a glance, the object of her mission, and met
her at the stairs' head, witl^ a smile of ineffable kindness^
welcomed her to his house, took her politely by both
hands ; led her into the drawing-room (frowning like a
bear), made a thousand kind inquiries about her good,
kind husband, and her dear little children ; shew^ her his
pictures ; consulted her judgment as to the likeness of bis
own portrait; lamented her fatigue in walking so far in
so cold a morning; rang up his senrants; ordered fcesh
coffee and chocolate; would hear no excuse, but insisted
that she should take some refreshment, after so long a
ramble. The table was spread with elegancies: preserved
fruits, honey-combs, liqueurs, and cordials, courted her
palate to fruition, and a large glass of excellent cherry-
brandy, pressed on her with persuasive kindness, banished
from her countenance all the stern array of the morning,
and attuned her heart to such kindness, that all debts wf re
forgotten, and all demands rendered quite impossible.
The lady, overwhelmed with politeness, was about to de*
part, but Mr. Barry could not suffer this in an ordinary
way, nor leave his victory incomplete. He insisted on
giving her a set-down at her house, in his own carriage.
He backed his request with another small glass of cherry-
brandy, to fortify her stomach against the cold air. The
carriage was ordered, and, after a circuit of three miles
through the principal streets of the metropolis, he set the
lady down at her own door, with the kindest expressions
of politeness and respect, and the highest opinion of his
person and character.
The husband, who awaited with eagerness the return of
his wife, drily asked, " Well, my dear, I suppose you
have got the money ?" But the lady, finding in her own
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BARRY. 55
failure a^ ample excuse for tbe fotmer weakness of her
bosband, fairly owned herself vaiK^uished, aod sud that it
was impossible to offend so sweet a gendeoMu^ by dun-
oing him for money.
The other instance was in the case ef an eminent mer-
cer, named Grogan, to whom the manager owed a large
sam for the finery of bis tragedy queens and fashionable
personages of the drama. He was admitted to be not
only an accomplished miser, but one of the most perse-
vering and inexorable dons in Europe* But his importu-
nacy with the manager having failed in Dublin^ he fol-
lowed him to London, with no other purpose than to elicit
the amount of bis debt by tbe combined forces of entreaty
and menace. Defeated in his first approaches by th^
usual iufluence of Barry's urbanity, he rallied again, and,
during the month he continued in London, renewed his
attempts by a dozen advances to the charge, but with the
like success. Mr. Barry's irresistible politeness, thecor-
dial suavity of his manners, his hospitable invitations to
dinner, his solicitude to procure for his good friend ticketi
for admission to all the places of public amusement, and
his positive determination to accommodate him on those
occasions with the use of his own carriage and servants,
rendered it quite impossible for Mr. Grogan even so much
• as once to mention the subject of his debt, and he returned
to Dublin to tell the story of his utter defeat by so con-
summate a master in the science of finesse.
We intended here to have closed this article, but can-
not resist the inclination of insertrag the following well-
written criticism, published in a pamphlet, entitled " Ef-
fusions to the Theatrical Memory of Mr. Barry."
^ Barry looked the lover better than any body ; for he
had the finest person, and smiles became him : nor did he
act it worse than be looked it, for be bad the greatest me-
lody in bis voice, and a most pleasing insinuation in his
address. To excite pity by exhibitions of grief and afflic-
tion, is one of the qiost arduous tasks of a tragedian : ^ Is it
Digitized by VjOOQIC
5« BARRY,
not monstrous (says Hamlet) that this player here, shouldi
in a fiction, in a dream of passiony so force his soul to hit
conceit, that, from bis workings all his visage warmed ;
tears in his eyes, distraction in his aspect, a broken voice,
and bis whole function suiting with forms to his conceit?'
These were Barry's excellencies, and in these he stood un-
rivalled* His mien and countenance were so expressive of
grief, that, before he spoke, we were disposed to pity; but
then his broken throb so wrung our soul with grief, that we
were obliged to relieve ourselves by tears*. In Macbeth,
Barry was truly great, particularly in the dagger-scene:
his pronunciation of the words, * There's no such thing/
were inimitably fine; he spoke them as if he felt them.
In his performance of Lear, he gave considerable marks of
his judgment, by throwing a very strong and affecting
cast of tenderness into his character: he never lost sight
of the father; but in all bis rage, even in the midst of his
severest curses, you saw that his heart, heavily injured as
he was, and provoked to the last excess of fury, still owned
the offenders for his children. His figure was so happily
disguised, that you lost the man in the actor, and had no
other idea in his first appearance, than that of a very
graceful, venerable, kingly, old man: but it was not in bis
person alone he supported the character; his whole action
was of a piece : and the breaks in his voice, which were
uncommonly beautiful, seemed the effect of real, not couo«
terfeited sorrow.
** The advantage which he bad from bis person, the
variety of his voice, and iu particular aptitude to express
the differing tones which sorrow, pity, or rage naturally
produce, were of such service to him in this character,
that he could not fail of pleasing; and his manner of
playing Lear appeared perfectly consistent with the whole
meaning of the poet. If any performer was ever bom for
one particular part, Barry was for Othello. There is a
* Of this we have emiiient instances in Essex, Jamer, and Lear; and
almost erery character he played.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BARRY. 57
length of periods, and an extravagance of passion in this
party not to be found in any other for so many snccessive
scenes, to which Barry appeared peculiarly suitable :
with equal happiness he exhibited the hero, the lovl^r, and
the distracted husband. He rose, through all the passions, >
to the utmost extent of critical imagination, yet still ap-
peared to leave an unexhausted fund of expression be*
hind. In the characters of Anthony, Varanes, and in
every other^ indeed, in which the lover is painted with
the most forcible colouring, we shall not look upon his
like again*.
** I can hardly conceive that any performer of antiquity
could have excelled the action of Barry in the part of
Othello. The wonderful agony in which he appeared
when be examined |he circumstance of the handkerchief;
the mixture of love that intruded upon his mind, upon the
innocent answers which Desdemona makes,. betrayed in
his gesture a variety and vicissitude of passions sufficient
to admonish any man to be afraid of his own heart, and
strongly convince him, that by the admission of jealousy
into it, he will stab it with the worst of daggers. Who*
ever reads in his closet this admirable scene, will find that
be cannot, except he has as warm an imagination as
Sbakspeare himself, perceive any but dry, incoherent, and
broken sentences; a reader who has seen Barry act it, ob-
serves, that there could not have been a word added;
that longer speeches would have been unnatural, nay,
impossible, in Othello's situation."
* The celel>nted Tom Davies speaking, among other characters, of
Banyft Alexasder, says, ** The TaDqiiUher of Asia nerer appeared to
■Bore adnuitage in representation,! believe, than in Uie person of Spranger ^
Barry. He looked, moyed, and acted the hero and the lover in a manner
to soperior and elevated that he charmed every audience that saw him,
and gave new life and vigour to a play which had not been seen since the
death of Delany. His address to his fiivourite queen was soft and elegant, .
and his love ardently passionate. In the scene with Clytus, in his rage
Ik was terrible ; and in his penitence and remorse excessive. In his Ust
Atiacting agongr, his delirious lan|^ was wild and frantic ; and his dying
gTMD •fleeting.''— Dramatic ]IGmSUmu», voL Ui.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
56
JAMES BARRY,
Tre historica] painter, was bom in G>rk, on October
nth, 1741. His father is reported by different biogra*
phers, to hare been a victnaller, a slop-seller, and a coast-
ing trader, whether all, or either is not very material^ the
latter however, is most probable, as James is said to
have accompanied him, during his early youth, in several
voyages across the channel; but the boy had no taste for
navigation, and the father it seems, had as little taste for
any thing else. — His son's intellectual propensities be
regarded with mortal aversion, but at length finding them
insurmountable, he submitted to an evil which could not
be resisted, and consigned him, with prudential regrets
and dreary forebodings, to the sterile pursuits of litecature
and art. To these pursuits ^e atmosphere of a trading
sea-port was not very congenial; but it was part of Barry's
unlucky fatality to subvert the beautiful theories of atmos*-
pberic influence. Genius creates its own opportunities, and
Barry, amidst the impediments of poverty and sordid society,
distinguished himself in such a degree in his scholastic
acquirements, as to excite the admiration of his rivals,
and the attention of his superiors.-^ He was constitotioD-
ally ascetic, exhibiting in early youth, a predilection for
those hardships and privations in which his subsequent
fortunes so bountifully indulged him ; he loved to sit up
all night, drawing or transcribing from books, and when-
ever he allowed himself the recreation of sleep, he preferred
the boards to his bed. Whether he ever condescended to
relax from this severity of discipline, it*is difficult to guess ;
the most particular of his biographers, indeed, informs us,
that ^' he was not behind other boys in such pastimes and
mischiefs as boys are sometimes given to," but he adds, m
the same page^ '* that his habits never resembled those of
ordinary boys, as be seldom mixed in their plays or amuse-
ments." From this species of evidence, it would be pre-
sumptuous to form a conclusion.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BARRY. 59
Barrj bad a xrhoic^ of religions; his father was a pro-
testant, his mother a catholjici and her creed he adopted,
as she had probably taken most pains to form his opinions;
yet, although this early pre-disposition was confirmed bj
his own inquiries, for he had made himself by intense
inTestigation, a profound polemic, he appears at one
period to have vaccillated, like n^ost other young men,
in bis religious opinions, and had nearly enrolled him*
self among that illuminated class of philosophers who
modestly deny every tJiing which they are unable to
comprehend; Butler's Analogy of Religion, put into his
bands by Burke, rescued him from the gulph of infiddity ;
and it had been well if be had imbibed the moderation
together with the conviction,, which breathes through that
admirable treatise; but enthusiastic in all things, he rushed
from doubt to bigotry, which in after-life, was confirmed
to such a pitch of inveteracy, that he was on/ce heard to
consign Pope to everlasting perdition, for the heterodox
liberality of his Universal Prayer.
At the age of two and twenty, Barry came to Dublin,
and exhibited, at the Society of Arts in that capital, an
historical picture which he had recently painted, on the
subject of a tradition relative to the first arrival of St*
Patrick in Ireland. This picture, it may be presumed, was
sufiiciently defective, but Achilles when brandishing the
sword in petticoats, though not, perhaps, evincing all the
masterly management, which he afterwards acquired oa
that instrum^Qti still shewed himself Achilles; and Barry,
in this his first appeal to the public, exhibited such proofb
of the divinity within him, a6 induced Bprke to take him
under his immediate patronage* — His, however, waf not
that capricious patronage, which delights its vanity with
baring caught a genius, and discards it as soonas caught,
to angle for others. Shortly afterwards, he brought
Barry with him to £ngland, provided him introductions
and employments, and in the ensuing year sent him to
Rome.
Digitized by VjjOOQIC
60 BARRY.
Barry's enthosiastic temper appears^ at might have been
expected, to have caught new ardour from the contact of
congenial min^s, during his short residence in London.
The following extract from one of his letters during tliat
period, to his friend Dr. Hugh, deserves to be inscribed in
characters of adamant, for the edification of all students in
all professions r^ — *' My hopes are grounded, in a most un-
wearied intense application; I every day centre more and
more upon my art; I give myself totally to it, and, except
honour and conscience, am determined to renounce every
thing else/'
This power of intense application, Barry did certainly
possess ; but he was very deficient in another qualification,
equally indispensable in the enterprises of genius, — he
wanted that cool, abstracted magnaminity, which, while it
absorbs the man in his pursuits, secures his temper against
petty interruptions, the clamours of enemies, the admoni*
tions of friends, hints, sneers, prognostics, and the whole
etcaeteraofins'^nificancies, which every man finds himself
beset with, who starts forth from the multitude, and marks
out for himself a career of ambition beyond their sympa-
thy or comprehension. Barry found at Rome, a set of
persons who, at that time at least, were as natural adjuncts
to the circles of art, as butterfiies and reptiles to a flower
garden; wealthy simpletons who came to purchase taste
and pictures, and needy knaves who were still more ready
to jell those articles. With this latter class of persons, it
is a professional maxim to deny merit to all living artists :
Barry received this condemnation among the rest; but in-
stead of refntinfg his calumniators by the silent energies of
his pencil, be impoliticly engaged them with their own
weapons, and became an infinite sufferer, in a warfare of
dbpute, sarcasm, and abilkse. His friends, the Burkes,indeed,
seem to have been suspicious, that Barry, even without
the spur of provocation, bad a pre-disposition to this
species of contest, and Edmund Burke addressed to him
at this time, a letter on the subject, which we subjoin, as
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BARRY. 61
an invalnable admoDition to all persoos subjected to simi-
lar infirmities: —
'' As to any reports concerning your conduct and beha-
▼iour, you may be very sure they could have no kind of
influence here ; for none of us are of such a make, as to
trust to any one^s report, for the character of a person,
whom we ourselves know. Until very lately, Thad never
heard any thing of your proceedings from others ; and
when I did, it was much less than I had known from
yourself,— that you had been upon ill terms with the artbts
and virtuosi in Rome, without much mention of cause or
consequence. If you have improved these unfortunate
quarrels to your advancement in your art, you have turned
a very disagreeable circumstance to a very capital advan-
Uge. However you may have succeeded in this uncom-
mon attempt, permit me to suggest to you, with that
friendly liberty which you have always had the goodness
to bear from me, that you cannot possibly have always the
same success either with regard to your fortune or your re-
putation. Depend upon it, that you will find the samecom-
petitions, the same jealousies, the same arts and cabals,
the emulations of interest and of fame, and the same agi-
tations and passions here, that you have experienced in
Italy; and if they have the same efiect on your temper,
they will have just the same effects on your interest, and
be your merit what it will, you will never be employed to
paint a picture. It will be the same at London as at
Rome; and the same in Paris as in Ijondon; for the world
is pretty nearly alike in all its parts; nay, though it would
perhaps be a little inconvenient to me, I had a thousand
times rather you should fix your residence in Rome than
here, as I should not then have the mortification of seeing
with my own eyes, a genius of the first rank, lost to the
world, himself, and his friends, as I certainly must, if you
do not assume a manner of acting and thinking here, totally
different from what your letters from Rome have describ-
ed to me. That you have had just subjects of indignation
jdways, and of anger often, I do no ways doubt; who can
Digitized by VjOOQIC
62 BARRY.
live in the world, without some trial of bis patience f But
believe me, my dear Barry, that the arms with which the ill
dispositions of the world are to be com bated, and thequalities
by which it is to be reconciled to us, and we reconciled to it,
are moderation, gentleness, a little indulgence to others ; and
agreat deal of distrust to ourselves, which are not qualities of
a mean spirit, as some may possibly think them ; but virtues
of a great and noble kind, and such as dignify our nature,
as much as they contribute to our repose and fortune; for
nothing can be so unworthy of a well composed soul, as to
pass away life in bickerings and litigations, in snarling
and scuffling with every one about us. Again and again,
dear Barry, we must be at peace with our species, if not
for their sakes, yet very much for our own. Think
what my feelings must be, from my unfeigned regard to
you, and from my wishes that your talents might be of
use, when I see what the inevitable consequences must
be, of your persevering in what has hitherto been your
course ever since I knew you, and which you will permit
me to trace out to you before-hand. You will come here;
you will observe what the artists are doing, and you will
sometimes speak a disapprobation in plain words, and
sometimes in a no less expressive sile.nce. By degrees
yon will produce some of your own works. They will
be variously criticised ; you will defend them ; you will
abuse those that have attacked you ; expostulations, dis-
cussions, letters, possibly challenges will go forward;
you will shun your brethren, they will shun you. In the
mean time gentlemen will avoid your friendship, for fear
of being engaged in your quarrels ; you will fall into dis-
tresses, which will only aggravate your disposition for far-
ther quarrels; you will be obliged for maintenance to do
any thing for any body; your very talents will depart for
want of hope and encouragement, and you will go out of
the world fretted, disappointed, and ruined. Nothing but
my real regard for you, could induce me to set these con-
siderations in this light before you. Remember we are
born to serve and to adorn our country, and not to contend
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BARRY. 6S
w^b our fellotw*citizeQ8, and that in particular your busi-
Btst is to paint and not to dispute/'
William Burke appears to have had less faith in the
efficacy of advice, for after venturing a little on the same
subject to Barry, he consolingly adds, he might as well
have spartd himself his labour, for if such was Barry's
nature, it would always remain soothe event proved him
the better philosopher. Barry, however, when disengaged
from these petty contentions, set in vehemently to his
studies, and investigated the great works of ancient and
modern art, with profound and indefatigable attention.
In bis modes of study, as in every thing else, he was
peculiar; his drawings from the antique were made by
means of a patent delineator, a mechanical process which
saves all trouble to the eye and hand. Barry considered
the spontaneous correctness of drawing, acquired by the
habitual exercise of those organs, a thing of small com-
parative importance; but by minutely dividing and sub-
dividing, enlarging and diminishing, the studies made by
the above-named method, he sought to establish in his
mind an abstract canon of proportion. — Barry, indeed,
delighted in the idealities of his art, and shrunk from the
grossness of executive excellence: nevertheless, he made
some copies of Titian, which satisfied his ambition, on the
subject of colour; and if he was mistaken in supposing
that the copyings of Titian alone can make a colourist,
without perpetual recurrence to nature, he by no means
stands alone in that error. But of his ardour and success
in the study of those masters, whose qualities were more
congenial to his own, Raphael and Michael Angelo, his
subsequent works furnish an illustrious evidence.
He remained in Rome five years, and was elected during
that period, a member of the Clementine Academy at Bo-^
logoa, on which occasion he painted as his picture of recep-
tion, Philoctetes in the island of Lemnos. He returned to
England in 1770, destitute of all but art, yet elate in the
consciousness of his talents and acquirements, and panting
for an opportunity of executing some great public work.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
64 BARRY.
which should serve at once as his own monument, and at
a vindication of bis country against the aspersions of me-
taphysical drivellers (Winckelman and others), who had
asserted its utter incapacity for the historical branch of
the fine arts. — A design was however formed of decorating
St. Paul's Cathedral, with the works of our most eminent
painters and sculptors, and Barry was to have been em-
ployed on the subject of, " The Jews rejecting Christ
when Pilate entreats his release;** but the scheme was
discouraged, and its probable success can now be only a
subject of speculation.
The year after his return, be exhibited bis picture pf
Adam and Eve, and in the year following, his Venus
Anadyomene; this picture is unquestionably, in all that
relates to form and character, an exquisite personification
of female grace and beauty. In 1775, he published an
Inquiry into the real and imaginary Obstructions to the
Acquisition of Arts in England; this work is equally
valuable for its research, its acuteness, and its patriotism;
but Barry hastened to the practical proof, that neither fog
norfrostcan repress the aspirations of genius. He proposed
to the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures,
and Commerce, to paint gratuitously, a series of pictures,
allegorically illustrating the culture and progress of human
knowledge, which now decorate the great room of the
Society; he persi.sted in this great work amidst poverty and
privation*, and completed it iu seven years. Whatever may
be its deficiencies in colour and execution, it exhibits a
mastery of design, a grasp of thought, and a sublimity of
conception; with such an appropriation of those powers
to the purposes of ethical utility, as secures to the Author
a triple wreath of immortality as an artist, a philanthropist^
and a philosopher. In a country like England, when an
individual was found who had devoted himself to a pro-
tracted martyrdom, in an attempt to add the last gem to
her diadem, to crown her pre-eminence in literature and
* Sobtistiiig the greater part of the time oo tnread and applet.
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BARRY. 65
mtm%9 with tbe honours of historic art, it might hare been
expected, that such an ibdividual had some slight^^laiu)
en her gratitude, and that from the plethoric superabun-
dance of her wealth, she would have dropped a mite,^^bioh,
however insignificant in itself, would have secure^d her
enthusiastic champion from future indigence and embar-
tassmoat. Bartys performance passed before the public
Tision, with as little observance as the last new pantomime,
and was certainly less productive; the profiu of the ex-
hibition amounted to 500/. to which 200/. were added by
a vote of the Society, for whose rooms they had been
painted, and this sum comprises nearly the whole produce
of Barry'^ professional career. A man of more constitutional
pladdity than Barry, might have felt irritated^ that after
having expended on a public work all the fruiu of his study,
fmd the energies of hi« youth, bis labopc^ had left him no
chance of independence, unless th#t independence should
be purchased by a sacrifice of all tbe comforts and cqnve-
piences of life. We regret to add what truth extorts frpm
IIS, that Barry's natural irritability seems to have increased
from this period, even to a degree of exasperation ; and
that his powers of mind, at least in what relates to the
exerdse of his art, seem to have sunk in a gradual declen-
tioiL His picture of Pandora, which we gladly refrain from
commenting on, is too explicit a prc^of of this last assertion;
and his disputes with tbe Academy are as strong an evi-
dence of tbe former. He had been elected professor of
painting in 1782, and almost from the period of his instal-
ment, he had been engaged in a perpetual contest with
his fellow-academicians : these dissensions became at last
so insuflTerable, that the council preferred against him a
fcrmal body of charges, and in a general assembly of the
Academics, the ofiences of the prof(^sor were considered
of such magnitude, tl^at he was divested of his office, and
expelled the Academy.
Soon after this event, the Earl of Buchan set on foot a
subscription, which amounted to about ICXX)/. with which
VOL. I. F
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66 BARRY.
kis friendi porebated an aimmty for his life ; but \m <
preyeoted his rcapii^ any benefit from tins detigfs. The
manner of his death, h dim related by his biographer :-**<'
'^ On the evening of Thursday, Feb. 6, 1806^ be w«*
seized, as he entened tbe boose where he usually dined^
with the cold ftt of a plemritie fever, of so in tense a degree^
that all his feoolties were suspended, and he unable toi
articulate or move* Soioe cordM wan adusinistered ta
htm ; and, on his coming' a little to himself, he was taken
in a coach to the door of bis twtt house*, which, the kr)r<-
hde being plugged with dirt and pebbles, ab had been
often done before by thcf malfeey or perhaps tbe rogueiy
of boys in the neighbourhood, it wais i^possibte tcyopen^
Tbe night beings dark, and he shivering under tbe pro^
gress of his disease, his friends tbought it advisable tw
drive away, without loss of tifiie, 10 the bosphabk mansion
of Mr. Bonomii. By the kindness of that good fenrily,. a
bed was procured in a neighbouring house, to which be
was immediately conveyed. Here he desired to be left^
and locked htntself up, unfortunutely, for forty boura^
whhout the least medical assistance. What took pdaee
in tbe mean tia»e, he oouM give bat lictle account o^ m
he represented himseif to be delirious, and only rearf^*
iscted bis being tortored with a b»ming pain in bis side,
and with difficulty of breatbii^. in this short time wa9
the death-blow given, whtch> by the prompt and tiaiely
aid of copious bleedings, mi^bt have been averted ; but,
with this aid, such bad been the re^actfon of the hot is
SDceeeding the rigours, and the violence of the indaoH
mation on the pleura, that aneAision of iympb had cakew
place, as appeared afterwuMh' upwk disiectifoiii. la the
a^moon of Saturday, Feb« 8, he rose and'Crawkid font*
to relate his complaint to* the writer of this account; Ho^
was pate, breathless^ and tottering, as be entered tbm
room, with a dull pain in his side^ a cougli^ short mari^
* A lyoogrsphic sketch of which, from in original drawing, we present
thsVesderMtfa.
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IM CASTLE fTRfttT - OXrom MARKKT.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BARRY. 67
ibeeaWLm^ amd « f^he qbick m4 ft^bfe. S^c^eding tt^
M^i^ pmved mf llttie Hv&iK Whb ex^cerbaeidn^ and
r«miMMs of fiet^r, he lingered to the «2nd of February,
when he «xpit^/' His remai^Si after lying in ttate in tlie
gfeat room of the Soei^ety of Arts, Adelphi^ were interred
itt Su PiDWil-B Odtbedrri^ with dtle solcimiity, And tbe at-
teniaMe of mady of hniB friends and adtidirers, among whom
was not one aHist.
When we consider Barry's style, in comparison with
other works of art^ it is difficalt to assign it a specific
pfaoe or degree. H« ifi the proselyte of no ptrticalar
master, the disciple of no part tcuiar sehool. That namp
of origfnelity wMcb ttvarked every future of his character,
is strongly conspicuous in his Woi4:s. H'fs works, iiideed,
Are bvt ah amplification of his character, for he did not
possess that praiem faculty of gentus whidh can assume
tbe form and colour of tbe objeet it creates ; that faculty
by which Shakspeare identified hhnself with Fhlstaff, Ham-
let, and Hotspar : Barry^s genius, in this particular, bore a
nearer resemblance to «4iat of Dante and Milton. The
artist is perpetually present in his Work ; but this species
of obstinate personality has an interest of its own, and is
neter iasipfd, though it wants the charm of versatility.
Bnrry, with the mmd ^f a philosopher, had little of the
feeKngs <tf a painter. He delighted to construct magni-
ficent systems of ethicB ; nnd he employed his pencil to
tttnstmte those systems, irometimes with as little reference
to the natural and intrinsic capabilities of art, as this
heratd pMrter,' wb^ arranging his quartei*ing9, gives to the
harmony of colours. The picture of " Final RetributTott*'
b a sufficient evidence of this : that composition, in
wfcatever relates to Ae philosotAy of it, is undoubtedly
ndmiiiible. Infinite judgment, and a most prolific in-
dention, are displayed in the selection, association, and
employment of its multitndiiloiis groups; but, surely,
no^Mg in painting was ever so utterly unpicHires^ sis
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68 BARRY.
this work iQ its geDenJ effect. The picture is rather an
index to the book of explanation, than the book to the
picture ; and the eye wanders in vain amidst a promiscoous
throng of kings, qoakers, legislators, and naked Indians^
for a centre of interest and a point of unity. If it be
objected that this defect was inherent in the subject, the
inference is, that the subject ought not to have been
chosen; but, even when such incongruities were no
natural adjuncts, Barry sometimes went in search of them.
He stopped at nothing in the shape of an illustration; and,
in the picture of the ^' Triumph of the Thames," consi^
dering music a necessary accompaniment on that occasion,
he has thrown a musician in his wig into the ^ater, who,
luckily for himself, being an expert swimmer, is seeo
coquetting among the naiads.
Barry's inadequacy, in the peculiar qualifications of a
painter, is still more evident in his colouring and exe«
cution. His works at the Adelphi are stained designs
rather than pictures. In a work of such extent, the artist
may, perhaps, be excused for a deficiency in some qua-
lities which are indispensable in smaller performances;
but, if the absence of tone and surface be permitted on the
score of magnitude, that extenuation cannot apply to the
want of clear and characteristic colouring. If the figures
of Rubens are said to have fed on roses, those of Barry
may be pronounced to have battened on bricks. One
frowsy red pervades his flesh tones, and, consequently,
there is little or no complexional distinction of age, sex,
or character; certainly, the eye is not offended by auy
glaring obtrusion of tints; and, so far, the pictures are
in harmony. There can be no discord where there is no
opposition.
We have particularised Barry's defects without com-
punction, because, giving them their full force, he stands
on an eminence which bids defiance to criticism. If So<-
crates had been a painter instead of a sculptor, and had
chosen to illustrate his doctrines by a graphical, rather
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BARRY. 69
tbtn k rhetorical exhibitioD, we may imagine that he would
have selected soch subjects, and have treated them pre*
cisely in the manner which Barry has done. Admitting
some trifling derelictions, he was great in every part of his
art which is abstractedly tntellectoal. The conception of
the work on *' Human Culture'' could only have originated
in a mind of gigantic order; nor is the genera) grandeur
of the design more extraordinary than the skill with which
so large a mass of components has been bent to the illus*
tratioQ of one particular idea. Nor is it to be ioferred
that he was deficient in nil the essentials of manual per*
fbrmaoce : though not a great painter, he was certainly a
great designer. He was scientifically acquainted with the
human figure, and his drawing, if not always graceful, is
invariably bold and energetic. In composition, whenever,
the subject was well chosen, he takes a still higher ground.
The picture of "The Victors at Olyropia," (his finest
production,) is at once, a personification of history,
and the vision of a poet. It is a gorgeous assemblage of
classical imagery; the whole seems inspired by one spirit,,
and that, the spirit of ancient Greece. In expression,
^ugh seldom intense, he was never inappropriate. The
Angelic Guard in the " Final Retribution'^ may be a(U
duced as an instance of accurate discrimination in this
particular. The countenance of the angel who holds the
balance of good and evil is pregnant with divine intelli-
gence; and his, who leans over the brink of Tartarus, com-
miserating the condemned, has always struck us as an
image of exquisite pathos and beauty.
Barry's deficiency in executive skill is more extraordi-
nary, since he seems to have had a strong relish, and a
keen perception of it, in the works of the old masters.
Any one who should have formed an opinion of his pic*
tures from a previous perusal of his writings, would expect
to find in them all the refinements and delicacies of surface
and of cokmr. But this disparity between the faculties of
crkicisai and performance is nQt peculiar to Barry, and it
Digitized by VjOOQIC
70 BARRY.
prav^ ai len^t c|)(e fyihfiy 9f ^bai: tbeo^j wbicb affirxuf
^' geoius" to he the OipemtiQB of ''a ppund of large geaeiral
powers accideiHally dire^it^c) ijq a particular pursuit/' —
This w«A the bypothieei« of 3ir J. Reyaoldsy who likewise
confuted it m his praqtice^; for while in bis diaooar&cf be
8|>oke With eamparatm wntBwpt pf colpuriogt he i^ade
ii in hU practice the tih^ol^tof bb anahition; and
who» though he lauded the ^7W of Mi^el Angelo with
rapAurouf eatbtt$i««9iQ^ yet oer^r atteippted a picture ia
thtt atyle. The bet is, the abstract reasonings of thi#
great urtiAt weire borne down bj the strong influence of bis
partiipular tevpemipeai. What neeident^ ipflueuceror
system of disciplii»e conU htve given B-nbeps delic^cy^ or
B^ipbraodt grace? could have made Hogarth ^a epic
painter^ or Barry a tMunocous one ?^-We do not consider
these obserrations irrelef ant> because we think the bypo->
Uiesis permcioiis ; nothing is more essential in all pursuit!
of taste and intellect than that the student should ^
oertain as speedily as possibly the exact direction of bil
powers^ that he may not be led by a o^isicoocepiion of hi^
qwfi character to waste the energies of bis appliQiytiom, in
attempting to force a passage ihpougb regions wbiob
Apollo has barricaded against him.
There have heea so maoy anecdotes told of Bmrryi nU
of which have been ^^ Ugbfy atUhatlkaed/^ that we almost
despair of presenciBg the reader with one which he has not
heard before. The following, however, has never been given
to the public in all the detttl ita merits deserve, and is.
moreover so graphicalfy charaderuiic, that we conld not
answer its omission to our conacioDce.
He resided in a little house, in Little Su Martin's Lfine,
with BO companions but a venerable cat, aod an old Irish*
wwman who served him in the capacity of facMum^ He
was too much of the stoic philosopher to he over solicitous
in the articles of furniture, or the style of neatness ; aod his
hottse-keeper was of a chanacler little ^Usposed to annoy
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BtARRY, 71
1^1% hf ib^ tfqubk»Q«ae optiiatiopf of domestic oleatilioess.
i}if tifne wh« olM^fly »pw^ '^ ^ compaay of afew t;KcdIeot
fictMTtfif and d few choice booki, chiefly biftpri^s^ eave-
Ipyedy like biai#elf> m amoke and du9t; hi3 ctiliqary ope-
l^iion» w^fe of a piece with tbe rest^ find io bis ardour for
hi^ favQpriie p^rsaitSf 90 far vas he frombeiogamao who
lived poly lo ^t» that be searoeiy ate to live.
Saoateriog 09ie day alope ip St* Jaip^s's Park, be acci^
d^tally met Bigrfce, who accosted biip 10 a most kind and
firiendJy oiaooer ; expreMPg nmob pleasure oo seeiqg him^
40d ge^Uy chiding bipA for not having called to see him
{qi so many years* Bairry, with great fireedom and cheers
falaess;^ recog^sed their oiA aoquaiotapce and friendship,
iu earlier years; bnt be aaid it was a maxim with him
when any of his old friends soared into regions so fac
above bis sphere, seldom to trouble them with bis visits
or obsolete reoolWctiona$ be considered therefore his old
friend Burke^ a« now too great a man for intercourse with
a grouoiUiog like bimself. Mr. Burke, rather hurt at this
unmerited tannt, (for no man was Ie8s proud, more kindj,
or assumed so littU on the scoro of rank and talents,)
pressed Barry to a friendly visit at bis bouse: but Barry
insisted on pieoedenoe in tbe n^arch of hospitalityi and
iuYited the statesman to come next day, and take with
bin a friendly beef^ateak, at bis house in Little St* Martin's
Lane; to which Mr* Burke agreed^ aod kept his appoint*
ment. When be rapped at tbe door, bowevc^r. Dame
Ur§mla wfao,opened it,^ at first denied that her master was
^ borne; bnt oit Mr. Burke's expressing some surprise
and ansoitiicing his name, Barry overheard his voice, and
nm down stairs in the usual trim of abstracted genius,
atierly regardlessof his personal appearance: his scanty gr<y
bair, anconscionsof tbe coittb, sported in disordered ringlets
romd biaheBd; a greasy gieen silk shade over his eyes,
served as an aaxiliaiy to a pair of horiMmounted spectacles^
to stsengtben hia visiam. His linen was none oS tbe
wbitost, ^nd a sort of foquelaure served the. parposes of
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Ti fiAllRY.
a rdbede chambre; but it wds of thecbtapokite order, for it
i^as ntixhti jockei/'<oat, surtoui^ pelh$&, dor tunic, but a
mixture of all four; aod the chronology of it might have
puzzled the Society of Antiquari&DS to develop. After a
welcome greeting, he conducted hi^ dbquent country-
man to his dweIling*room on the first floor, which served
him for kitchen, parlour, study, gallery, and painting room ;
but it was at that moment 6b befogged with smoke, as
almost to suffocate its* phthisibky owner, and was quite
impervious to the rays of visioti. Barry apologized; d d
the bungling chimney doctors; hoped the smpke would
clear up, as soon as this firls burned bright; and was quite
at a loss to account .for '' such in infernal smother," until
Mr. Burke, with ioibe difficulty convinced him he was
himself the cause': for, in order to remedy the errors of his
chimney, he had retnoved the old stove grate from the
fire-place ibib Xhi >;Vkitre of th& room, where it was sus^
tained by a large old dripping pan, by way of a platform,
to save the carpiet from ignition ; and he had been occu-
pied foi' hdf an hour with the bellows to cheer up the
coals to a h\tze. He was now prevailed on to assist his
guest in reiboving the grate to its proper situation, and
the witadoWs being thrown open, the smoke soon vanished;
He boW "proceeded to conduct his guest to see his pio^
tures in certain apartments on the higher story, where
iniany ^iquisite pieces without frames, stood edgewise oh
the flooi') with their fronts to the walls, to guard them
frbtn Injury ; and by the aid of a sponge and, water, their
boats of dust were removed, and their beauties developed,
'mbch to the delight of the guest— Having lectured con
amore upon the history and merits of the paintings, his
tijixi object was to display to his guest the economy of his
bed-room: the walls of this apartment, too^ were occupied
by framelesa pictures, veiled in perennial dust, which was
likewise sponged off, to develop their beauties, and dis-
play some first-rate gems of the art. Id a sort of recess
Wtween Uie fire-place and the wall| stood a Hump btdsietid
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BARRY. > tS
%itboat curkaiDi, and connterpaned by a rug, bearing all
die vestiges of long and ardoous serVice^ tod tinted only
by the accamqlated soil of half b century^ which no
scourer's hand had ever prophaned. *' That^ Sir/' said th^
artist, '* is my bed; I use no ctirtainSy because they are
iinwholesome^and I breathe more freely^andsleep as sound*
ly as if i reposed on down, and snored under velvet. — But
there, my friend," oontinued he, pointing to a broad shelf^
fixed high above the bed, and fortified on three sides by
the walls of the reeesa, ^ thai i^ my chef-fTauvre. — 'Ecod
I have outdone them at hist." — *^ Out^ne whom V said
Mr* Burke. — " The rats^ the d d rats, my dear friend,"
replied Barry, rubbing his palms in ecstacy, '' they beat
me out of every other security in the house — could not
keep any thing for them, in cupboard or closet; they
devoured my cold meat, and bread and cheese, and bacon:
but there th^ are now, you see, all safe and snug, in defi-
ance of all the rats in the parish/' Mr. Bqrke could not
do less than highly commend his invention, and congra-
tulate him on its success. They now descended to the
first fx>om; Barry, whose only dock was his stomach, felt it
was his dinner hour, but totally forgot his invitation, until
Mr. Burke reminded him of it: — ^' Ods-oh! my dear
friend," said he, '^ 1 beg your pardon: so I did invite you,
and it totally escaped my memory: — but if you will sit
down here and blow the fire, I'll step out and get a charming
beefsteak in a minute." Mr. Burke took the bellows to
cheer up the fire — and Barry his departure to cater for the
banquet And shortly after, he returned with a comely
beef-steak, enveloped in cabbage leaves, crammed into one
pocket; the other was filled with potatoes; undei* each arm
was a bottle of port, procured at Slaught^'s coffee-house;
and in each hand a French brick. Ad antique gridiron
was placed on the fire, and Mr. Burke performed the
office of cook ; while Barry as butler, set the table, which
he covered with a table cloth, perfectly geographical; for
the stains of former soups and gravies had given it th^
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74. RATHE;
appsartAoc pf a Map of the World* The keiv^ ain} fqrk»
were yeterana brigaded from diffcocAt sex$, for ao two of
them woire the same uoifornii id hladei^ haiidl^?^ or shapes.
Dame Ursula cooked the potatoes io Tlppermim perfec-i
tion, and by five o'clock, the hungry friends sat down liket
Eneas and Achates to make a hearty meal : after having
dispatched the ^' pinguem ferinam/' they whiled away the
time till nine o'clock^ ov^ their two flagons ^^^oeiem
Bacehi;'-^
'* A«4 jok'dy and l9fa^% W4 tidk'd of foraier ^mfsa."
Mr. Burke has often been beard to declare^ thai this was one
of the most aipusiog and delightful days of bis whole lifet
WILLIAM BATHE,
An eipinent Jesuit, was born in Dublin, in 1564. The
Bathes were fprmerly of considerable eminence in the
counties of Dublin and Meath, but by extravagance, mis-
fortunes, and injudicious intermeddling in civil dissen-
sions, tbey were so reduced that no branch of any note
remains in the country. The parents of William Bathe
were citizens of Dublin, and of the protestant religion :
but not feeiiqg a very anxious regard as to the religions
principles of their son, they put him under the tuition of
a zealous catholic schoolmaster, through whose early
instructiop his mind was imbued with such a predilection
for that persuasion, as ^tted him for the course of life he
afterwards embraced. From Dublin he removed to Oxford,
where he studied several years ; but the historian of that
university, Anthony Wood, was unable to discover at
what college or hall he sojourned, or whether he took
any university degree. Afterwards, being weary of the
heresy professed in England (as he usually called it) he
went abroad ; and, in ]590, was initiated into the society
of th^ Jesuits. After remaiqing some time in Flanders,
he was sent to Padua, in Italy; and from thence to Spain,
where he presided over the Irish seminary at Salamanca,
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BEA$D. 75'
'* ad formationem spiriiits.^* He is said to have been
actuated by a ver^ strong zeal for the propagation of the
catholic faithy and to ha^ been much esteemed for the
intagrity of his life ; but it is on record, that his natiirql
temper mau gloomyy and ftur from sociable* In I6l4 be
took a jonmey to Madrid to transact soose bqsiaess on ac*
oaamol his ordar, and died in that city, aqd was buried in the
Jesuit's coBTeoL He had a high character for learning ;
ajid one of his works proves him entitled to it^-t-^ Jaima
liagnarumy ecu Modns maarlme aocommodatus quo pa-
rehii aditDs ad omnes Linguas intelligendas/' Salamanca,
1611* It was piiblislied by the care of the Irish fatbeirs
of the Jesqiu at Sakmanca, an^ became a standard hook
for the instruction of yonth. He also wrote, in Spaniahi
'^ A Preparation for the administering of the Sacrament
wiih greater F^eUity, and Fruit of Repentance^ than bath
beea akandy done/' Milan, 1604. It was published by
Joseph Cresweil, under the name of P«ter Maurique. He
wrete in Bnglish and Latin, and published, but without
his name, ^ A Methodical Institation eonoeraing ibe chief
Myit^riM of the Christian Rdigion.^ He pnblisbed an^
other religions work, ^^ A Method for the performing of
general Confesaioo.''
In bis youth, at Oxford, he was much delightad with
the study of music; on which he wrote a treatise. It was
eolitied ^^ A Brief Introdootion to the True Art of Music^
wherein are set down exact and easy Eules» with argu-
moats and their solution, for such as seek to know the
reason of the truth,'' iiondon, 1584^^ 4to.
THOMAS BEARD,
Am ingenious engraver, was a native of Ijre)and» and flou*-
risked about tlie year 172B« He worked in meazotiiuey
and was principally employed in portraits.
The perio<) of his decease we are wholly unacquainted
Vith.
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16
RICHARD BELING,
A MAN endowed with both learning and courage, and
celebrated for bis vindication of tbe catholics of Ireland^
from the aspersions cast upon them by the historians of
the great rebellion, was descended from an old English
family long settled in Ireland; and was born at Belings-
town, in the barony of Balrothe, in the county of Dublin^
in 1613. He was the son of Sir Henry Beling, Knight, and
received the early part of his education at a grammar-
school in the city of Dublin, but afterwards was put un*
der the tuition of some priesu of the popish persuasion^
who sedulously cultivated his natural talents, and taught
him to write Latin in a fluent and elegant style. Thus
grounded in the polite parts of literature, his father trans*
planted him to Lincob's inn, where he pursued his studies
for several years, and returned home a '^ very accom*
plished gentleman;" but it does not appear that he ever
made the law a profession. His natural inclination being'
warlike, he early engaged in the rebellion of 1641 ; and>
although he had not attained his twenty-ninth year, was
then an ofiicer of considerable rank, as, in the February
of the same year, he appeared at the head of a strong
body of the Irish before Lismore, and summoned the
castle to surrender; but the Lord Broghill, who com-
manded it, having a body of a hundred new raised forceSi
and another party coming to his relief, Beling thought it
prudent to retire, and quitted the siege.
He afterwards became a leading member in tbe supreme
council of the confederated Roman catholics at Kilkenny;
to which he was principal secretary, and was sent embas-
sador to the pope and other Italian princes, in 1645, to
beg assistance for the support of their cause. He, un-
luckily, brought back with him a fatal present in the
person of the nuncio, John Baptist Rinencini| Archbishop
and Prince of Fermo, who was the occasion of reviving
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BELING. 77
tbe distinctioDft between the old Irish of blood and the
old English of Irish birth, which divided that party into
factions, prevented all peace with the Marquis of Ormond,
and finally rained the country he was sent to save. When
Mr. Beling had fathomed the mischievous schemes of
the nuncio and his party, and perceived that they had
other yiews than merely to obtain toleration for the free
exercise of their religion, nobody was more jealous than
he in opposing their measures, in promoting the peace
then in agitation, and submitting to the king's authority,
which he did with so much sincerity, that he became
very acceptable to the Marquis of Qrmond, who entrusted
him with many negociations both befpre and after the
Restoration, all of which he executed with great fidelity.
In 1647 he was commissioned %o transact the negotiation
for tbe junction of the Irish army with that of the Mar-
quis of Ormond, before the surrender of Dublin to the
parliament; and, after the Restoration, the Marquis, then
created Duke of Ormond, employed him three several
times to endeavour to prevail on the synod of the catholic
clergy assembled, by connivance, at Dublin, in I666, to
sign a remonstrance of their loyalty, which he had himself
subscribed in l66t. These negotiations, however, were
entirely fruitless, the synod abruptly breaking ofi^ before
any business was concluded.
When the parliament army had vanquished the royalists,
Mr. Beling withdrew to France, where he continued
several years; during which period he employed himself
in composing several works in Latin, in opposition to
such writings of the Rpmish party fv had been written to
clear them from being the instruments of the rebellion,
and to lay the blame thereof on the severity of the Eng-
lish government. His account of the transactions of
Ireland, during the period of the rebellion, is esteemed,
by judicious readers, more worthy of credit than any
written by the Romish party, and yet he is not free from
^ partiality to the cause he at first embarked in.
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7S BERKELEY.
H^ returned home upon the Resrt6iiltioti, and was re«
pM^eiied of his estate bj the iaVour atid interest of the
Ddke of Onnond. He died in DtibKit, hi September
1077; and w$A buried in the charch^yard of Makihidert,
Abottt fire iniies from that city, where there is a tomb
^»^ted t6 his memorjTy bat without any ins^iiHion that
is ap{Mirent or legible.
Baring bis retirement in Fraoee, h^ wrote, in Latin,
in two bodks, " Vindieiaram Catholicoram Hibemae,''
tttider the ntoie of Philopater Irenseos. The first of whidi
giye» a pretty accurate history of Irish affairs, from 1641
to 1649$ and the second is a confutation of an epi5tl6
writteti by P&at King, a Franciscan firiar sM a nnncidtist,
in fdbi^cief 6f the Irish rebellion. 1*hitf book of Mr; B^
lAng^B b«itfg answered by John Ponce, a Franeiscen friak*
alsd; and a tnost implacable enemy to the protestants of
Ireland, in a tract entitled, ** Belingi Vindiciee eversee,"
oor author made a reply, whidi he pabKshed under tht
title of ** Annotationes in Johannes Poncri Librum^ cut
tkalaii Vihdiciae Eversse r dccesserunt Belingi Vindiciie,^
Parisiis^ 1654, 8v^. He Wrote also a vkidieation of biw*
self against Nicholas Prench> tltnkir bishop of Fem^,
vnder the title of ^ Innoctotie suae impetitse per Reve**
readitisimum t^ernensem vindicisb/' Pari^, 1652, Ifimo.
dedicated to the clergy of Ireland; and is reported tb
bAve^ written a poem, called ** The Eighth Day,*' which
has e^eaped our searches. When a student, howcTer, at
Lincoln's inn, he wrote and added a sixth book to Sit
Philip Sidney's Arc^ia^ which Was prinlod with thirt
fidmance^ London^ 1635, folio, with only the initials of tnft
name*
"■ "
GEORGE BERKELEY
Is a name of which Ireland may justly boast, both for die
brtlliancybf his getiius and hid extensive stores of know-
ledge ; birt still more fbr the warmth of his benevolent
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BBRKELBY. 7»
heart, wfaidi he manifested by a life bonoorable to hinliidf
8od highly viefal to maDkiod. He was botn March It^
I664| at KilcriB^ near Tboaiaati^wo, in the cooiity 6f K\U
kenmy. His fether^ WilUaiii Berkeley of Thoma^towti^
wn the 0O& of a loyal adherent of Charlei h who, tfter
the RenoratioDi in 1060, went over to Irekild, and Wad'
made collectol' at Belfast^
Oeorge Berkeley received the eletnei^ui of his eddeatkm
at the school of Kilkenny^ vnder I>i^. Wini6iif #bey« hef
gave early proofs of his industry and daf^actty, and dlade
smh extmoitiifvaty progre», tbat> at the age of fif^dn, bcf
was. found qualHied to be adftiiued pensionisr of Tridity
College^ Dublio> under Dr. Hall. In that )eard€>d doci^ty
be ac^ired distmetioo i and^ after a tnosi rigorous ex^
aosioation, which be went through with great credH, be
was elected «o a fellbwsbrp of the OdllegCi June the 9ih,
1707, wbeti a few days older than twenty y^rs.
He did not dow relair into indolence, add ait down
qaietly to enjoy leaned ease, bdt proved to the world
his incentioii to htor^as^ bis own kdowledgie^ add to com-'
mnnicate the fhiitd of his industry to others. His first
pabiicattokl was ^ AritbideCiCa absque Algebra aat Ea^
elide demonstratav" It proves the solid foundation of
mathematical knowledge which he had laid in his mitid.
kapptans from the prefkoe to have heetk wHtten before
he was twenty yed» of age, though it did not appear till
1707^. It is dedicated to Mr. Paltiser, son to the Atoh^
bishop of Caabel; aod i» followed by a niatb^'ttiatictff
miacellmny^ eoataitiing observations and theoreiM, iti^
acribed to his pupil,^ Mr. Saftidel MoUnedx, whose 4ther
was the friend and correspondent of Mr. Loebe. This^
work is so for carious, as it shews the early vigoor of hi^
mind, his gonhfs^ for tbe n»athematics, and bi» attachobent
CO those more subtle and metaphysical stadies, in wbicb
be was peotfliarfy qualified to ibine.
lop 1709 came foi^th the ** Theory of Vision;" a work
which does infinite credit to his sagacity, being, at Dr.
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8Q / BERKELEY.
Reid observes, the first attempt that ever was made to
distiogoish the immediate and natural objects of sights
from the cooclasioos which we have been accustomed
from our infancy to draw from them. He draws a boQn<»
dary between the senses of sight and touch ; and he shews
clearly, that the connection which we form iu our minds
between sight and touch, is the effect of habit; insomuch
that a person bom blind, and suddenly made to see, would
be unable i^t first to foretel how the objects of sight would
affect the sense of touch, or, indeed, whc^ther they were
tangible or not; and, until experience had taught him,
he would not from sight receive any idea of distance, or
of external space, but would imagine all objects to be in
his eye, or rather in his nunc(. These, and other interest-^
ing positions, have since been completely verified by
actual experiment, as may be seen more particularly in
the case of a young man bom blind, who, at the age of
fourteen, was couched by Mr. Cheselden, in 1728, and
received his sight. An account of his sensations and
ideas is given in Cheselden^s Anatomy ; and has been con-
sidered sufficiently interesting to be transcribed into the
works of numerous writers on the science of the human
mind. In 1733 he published a ** Vindication of the Theory
of Vision.**
In 1710 fippeared '^ The Principles of Human Know-
ledge;" and in .1713, " Dialogues between Hj^las and
Philopous/' But of these works we cannot speak with the
same df gree of praise ; they are, indeed, one of the most
astonishing proofs how far a strong and energetic mind
may be carried away by the pursuit of an absurd and
delusive theory. The object of both works is to prove,
that the commonly received notions of the existence of
'matter are absolutely false; that there are no external
objects, no world, or any thing in it; but that all things
merely exist in the mind or ideas, and are nothing more
than impressions produced there, by the immediate net of
the Deity I according to certain rules termed laws of
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BERKELEY. 81
natare; which the Supreme BeiDg has been pleased to
obtenre^ and from which, in the ordinary course of nature,
he does not dcYiate. In justice to the author, it ought
to be recollected, that he was then only twenty-seven
years of age; that the science of metaphysics was then
niore imperfectly understood than at present ; and that
many theories and doctrines then offered to the worlds
though less singular, were as little capable of defence^
Whatever sceptical inferences may have been drawn frooi^
these works, the good intentions of the writer are un-
doubted ; and he intended them to oppose the opinions
of sceptics and atheists: and he has attempted to inquire
into the cause of error and difficulty in the sciences, with
the grounds of scepticism, atheism, and irreligion, which
cause and grounds he conceived to be the doctrines of
the existence of matter.
He seems persuaded that men would never have been
led to believe in the existence of matter, if they had not
fancied themselves invested with a power of abstracting
substance from the qualities under which it is perceived ;
and hence be is led to combat an opinion entertained by
Lock^ and by most metaphysicians since that time^ of
there being a power in the mind of abstracting general
. ideas. Other writers, of a sceptical principle, embracing
Mr. Berkeley's doctrines, and giving them a different ttn^
dency,have endeavoured to sap the foundations of natural
and revealed religion. Mr. Humi says, that '' these worka
fonn the best lessons of scepticism, which are to be found
either among the ancient or modem philosophers — Bayle
himself not excepted.'^ Dr. Beattie comments on the
sceptical tendency of these doctrines ; and adds, that if
Berkeley's argument be conclusive, it proves that to be
false which every one must necessarily believe every mo^
ment of his life to be Uue, aud that to be true, which no
man since the foundation of the world was ever capable of
believing for a single momenta Berjceley's* doctrine at-
tacks the most incontestible dictates of common sense ;
"VOL. 1. 6
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88 BERKELEY^
atid pretends to dembnitrate, that (h^ elearest priiidpl^ci
of human coaviotiopi and those which have determined
the judgment of mem in all age^, and by wbieh die jodg^
meat of. all reasonable men must be deterariBed^ are c^et*
tatoly faUacions. It may^ after all, be safely asa^ted, that.
BerkeIey^s:errors were such that none but a inai^ of the
most vigorous and independent mind oould bave> fallen
into; that they demonstrate strong original powers; that
tl^y have done no haim in society ;*^ut> on the contrary,
by -the discussion which they exoited, tended to enlarge
the boqndaries of banyan knowledge.
In 1712^ by |be perusal of Locke's two treatieea 00 Go-
vernment, Berkley >9at.teflftion wa» direoted to the doctrine
df passive obedience ; and coneemng the opposite opinion-
was at tl>e time too prevident, he preached three sermons
on the subject in the college chapel, which he committed
to the press. This at a fntare period was likely to be
injurioas to his interesU, as it caused him to be oonsidered.
a Jacobite, and hostile to the principles which diove o«t'
the Stuarts, and brought the house , of Hanover to the
throne. His friend and pupil, Mu Molineux, who*
had been secretary to the Prince of Wales, afterwards-
George II* took care to remove that impression, and was
the means of making hhn known to Queen Caroline.- In
1713 he published a defence of his System of Imma*
terialism. His amiable manners, bis highly respectable
private diaracter, aod the acuteness cf his talents, esta-
blished his reputation, and made his company sought even
by those who opposed his metaphysical speculations.'
Two men of the most opposite political sentiments intro-
duced him to the society of the learned and the great.
Sir Richard Steele and Dr. Swift. He lived on terms of
strict intimacy and friendship with Pope, during the
remainder of that poet's life. He wrote several papers for
Steele in the Gaardian, and, it is ^id, had from him a
guinea and a dipner for each. Dean Swift recommend)^
Urn to Lord Berkeley $ and procured for him the appoint-
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6BREELBY. 83
teent of ctaaj^hiti und secretary to the famous Earl of
Peterborough, who was sent out embassador to the king
of Sicily, and the Italian States in 17 13* On his return to
England in August 1714, he found his former friends, the
miniJBters of Queen Anne, now in disgrace; and men
of opposite principles forming the administration of
George I. All bbpes of prefcfm^t were therefore at an
end; and he thenefofe willingly embraced the offer of
accompanying'Mr. Ashe, the son of the Bishop of Clogher,
in a toar through Europe. Soon after his return to Eng-
land in 1714 he had a dangerous fever, which gave occa-
flioii to Dr. Arbuthnot to indulge a little pleasantry on
Berkeleyls system : — **Poor philosopher Berkeley,'* says he
to his friiend Swift, ** has now the idea of health, which
was Tery hard to produce in hira ; for he had an idea of a
istrange fever on him so strong, that is was very hard to
destroy it by introducing a contrary one."
Mr, Berkeley ^pent altogether four years on his tour,
and besides perf6rming what is called the grand tour, he
visited countries less frequented. He stopped some time
on his way to Paris, and availed himself of the leisure he
had there, to pay a visit to his rival in metaphysical spe-
culations, the celebrated Pire Malebranche. He found
this ingenious father in the eell of bis own convent, cook-
ing in a pipkin a medicine for a disorder with which he
was troubled-— an inflammation on the lungs. The conver^
satiod turning on our author's system, of which the
French philosopher had receited an account from a trans-
lation which had lately been published, a discussion took
place between them, of which the result was fatal to P^re
-Malebranche. In the course of the debate, he became
heated; raised his voice to an unnatural elevation, and
gave in to that violent gesticulation and impetuosity, so
oataral to Frenchmen; the consequence of which was, an
increase of his disorder, which carried him off in a few
days.
From Apulia Mr. Berkeley wrote an account of the
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84 BERKELEY.
Tarantula to Dr. Freind, sodi as was there usually told to
strangers, but which more accurate investigation has since
discoTered to contain much of imposition and exagge-
ration. He passed through Calabria to Sicily, which
latter country he examined with so much attention as to
collect materials for a new natural history of it; but
which were unfortunately lost in his voyage to Naples.
The loss the world has sustained by this accident may be
estimated from the interesting description of the island of
Inarime, now called Ischia, in a letter to Pope, dated
S^nd October, 177 ly published in Pope's works; and from
another letter from Naples, addressed to Dr. Arbuthnot,
giving an account of an eruption of Mount Vesuvius. On
his way homeward, as he stopped at Lyons, he drew np a
curious tract, *' De Motu," which was inserted in the M^
moirs of the Royal Academy of Sciences at Pkris, which
had proposed the subject, and which he afterwards printed
on his arrival in London in 1721* The nation was at this
time in great agitation and distress from the failure of the
famous South Sea scheme, which induced him to publish
in the same year '< An Essay towards preventing the Ruin
of Great Britain."
He now found access to the best company in the me*
tropolis. By Mr. Pope he was introduced to Lord Bur*
lington, and by his lordship recommended to the Duke
of Grafton, who being lord-lieutenant of Ireland, took
him over in 1721 as one of his chaplains, and in November
the same year he had both the degrees of bachelor and
doctor in divinity conferred upon him. A writer in the
Gentleman's Magazine, in 1776, however, denies that he
ever went to Ireland as chaplain to any lord-lientenani,
and asserts that his degree of D. D. was given by hi$
college^ in 1717, when he was in Italy. In 1722 he had
a very unexpected increase of fortune from Mrs. Van-
homrigh, the celebrated Vanessa, to whom he had been
introduced by Swift. This lady, who had so long enter-
tained a romantic passion for the Deaui and had intended
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BERKELEY. 85
making him her heir, finding herself slightedi altered her
intentions, and left about 8000/. between her two execu*
tors^ Dr. Berkeley and Mr. Marshal. In his life, in the
Biographia Britannica, it is saidi that Swift had often
taken him to dine at this lady's house; but Mrs. Berkeley,
his widow, asserts that he never dined there but once,
and that by chance. In the discharge of bis office as exe-
cutor, Dr. Berkeley destroyed as much of Vanessa's cor^
respondence as he could find ; not, as he declares, because
he had found any thing criminal in her connection with
the Dean, but because he had found in the lady's letters a
warmth and ardour of expression which might have been
turned into ridicule, and which delicacy required him to
conceal from the public. Her other executor did not act
with equal tenderness to her memory, and published the
^ Cadenua and Vanessa'^ — which Dr. Ddany asserts proved
fatal to Swift's other lady, Stella.
In 1717 he had been elected senior fellow of his col-
lege, and on 18th May, 17M| he resigned this preferment,
being appointed to the deanery of Derry, with about
nOO/.ayear.
He was now about to enter, on a new scene of life, in
which he manifested himself as the benevolent, disinterested
philanthropist, and warm supporter of Christianity, in a
manner in which he has seldom been equalled. He had
turned his attention to the miserable condition of the native
Indians on the vast continent of North America, and felt
anxious to promote their civilization, and advance their
temporal and spiritual benefits. The most likely meana
which appeared to the Dean, was to erect a college for
the education of young men, who might afterwards be em-
ployed as missionaries. He accordingly published in 17£5
^A PrqixMud for converting the Savage Americans to
Christianity, by a College to be erected in the Summer
Islands, otherwise called the Isles of Bermuda." — ^With
so much zeal did he enter into this plan, that he actually
offesed to resign all his own church preferments, and
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86 BERKELEY.
devote the r^naind^ pf hjis life in directing the studieB of
the college, for only 100/, a year. Such was the infiaeoce
of his great example^ that three junior fellows of Trinity
College^ Dublin, oopcurred with him in hifr design, an4 pro-
posed to exchange for a settlement in the Atlantic Ocean,
of only 40/. a year, all their flattering prospects in theif
own country. The proposal was enforced on the atteption
of the ministry, not merely by considerations of .natnrfU
honour, and a regard to the interests of humanity an4
Christianity, but also ^y the immediate a4vant^)?, lil^ely
to accrue from it to the gpyerpment. H9.yiqg, by diligent
research estimated the vajne of the landi^ in the Island, of
St. Christopher, in the West Indies, ceded to Great
Britain by France at the treaty of Utrecht) he proposed
' to dispose of them for the public use, apd thas to ra^e a
sum of moneyi part of which was to be applied to. the
establishment of his college. The scheme was commu^
nicated by the Abb^ Gualtieri, or Altieri, to his Majesty
King G^rge I., and by the royal command laid before
the House of Commons, by the minister 3ir Robert Wat*
pole. A charter was granted by the King, for erecting the
college, to be called " $t. PauFs College, in Bermuda,*'
and which was to eonsist of a president and nine fellows^
who were obliged to maintain and educate Indian children
at the rate of 10/. per annum each. The first president Or.
George Berkeley, and the three first fellows named in the
charter, those already noticed of Trinity College^ Dublint
were licensed to hold their preferments in these kingdoms,
for a year and a half after their arrival in Bermuda. The
Commons, in the year 1726, voted an address to his
majesty, praying a grant of such a sum, to eflfect. the
above purpose, out of the land of St. Christopher's already
mentioned, as hjs majesty might think proper. > . The
minister accordingly promised to advance 10,000/. and
considerable private subscriptions were made, to forward
so pious a purpose. With: such a iair prosp^t of com*,
pleting his undertaking. Dr. Bedkeley made preparationft
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BERKELEY; »7
ibff iMTiBg the Ifiiilgd^Di, and ibariied <on tbe let of Aiign/if^
17^ th^ dmghtm of t^km Poster, Eoq#y at>€ak^r of tile
InabUoiMd of Oonifoonl; and he aetrntUy sailtd io Set>^
teoiber f<^sl€wiiig for Rhod^ Islaad, taking with him ;fai9
wile^ aBiogfo lady, atid two geatkment of fonime, add
haTiog a large stiin of; nloney,. his ow^A prof)erty» add a
coll6Qtioii.bf booka fov the uaeofttt intetlded colleger
Vpon hi9 arriTiyi ^ Neirpon, iiv Rhode Iridod/ he crn^
tmolcdlor the pdrcbaae of laods on the ac^ceiDl 'Continent,:
^QtertaintUg a fall expMfcalioii> that, the noiiejr, aodovding
Ui the original graol^ would be immediately paid. Hi«
bopet were, boiireVer,.di8a^6intecl;^ the minister had ne^r
heartily embraced the project^ atid probably deemed it
chimerical and unlileely tor be attended with any benefit;^
The money was aooordingly turned into atkither cbaAneL
After a variety of e^mes, 1>« Berkeley was at' Iftst in*
filmed, in a letter frod Bishop Gibsoti, Who at that time
presided oter tte diocese of Iioodon, in wbicb the whole
of the West Indies is inclnded, th^t baring waited on Sir
Robert Walpole^ aad made application for the money, he
had received the fdlowiag honest answer^ ^ If you put
this question to me as a minister/' says Sir Robeit, ^* t
must and can assure ydu, that the money tfhall most un-»
do«bt)fdly be paid^ as soon ai^ suits with public ieonventence;*
but if* yon ask me as a friend, whether Dean Berkeley^
akoold cbstia«« in Ami^rice, expecting the payment of
iOfiOOi^ I advide him by all means to return to Europe^;
and to give up hit pn^sent expectations." The sch^me^
was tbercfbie necessarily abandoned. During the timfcf
of his-resideaqce in America^ when he was not empldyed-^tf
an itinerant preacher, Which wa^ impossible in wioter,'Ud
pteadwd every Sunday at Newport, where was thi^ dt&te%i
Episcopal church, and 16 that church he gave an- organ;
When the seiUMm, and his health permitted, he visited th^
neighbouring continent, and penetrated ht ihto the inte-
rior, bavmg his mind constafntly bent on forwarding (he
bcoeroleat vi6«»iirith which ^ had crossed the Attantic.
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88 BERKELEY.
The mitsioimriei from the English Society, who resided^
within a hundred miles of Rhode Island, agreed among
themselves to hold a sort of synod at Dr. Berkeley's house,
twice in a year, in order to enjoy the advantages of his
advice and exhortations. Four of those meetings were ac-
cordingly held. He was uniformly anxious to impress upon
theminds of the missionaries, the necessity and advantage of
conciliating by all means the affections of their hearers, and
persons of other religious persuasions. In his own example
he exhibited, in a remarkable degree, the mildness and
benevolence becoming a christian : and the sole bent of his
mind seemed to be, to relieve distress and diffuse happiness
to all around him. Before leaving America, he gave a farm
of ahundred acres, which lay round his house, and his house-
itself, as a benefttction to Yale and Haward Colleges ; and the
value of that land, then not insignificant because cultivated,
became afterwards very considerable. He also gave much
of his own property to one of these colleges, and to several
missionaries books to the value of 5001. To the other
college he gave a large collection of books, purchased by
others, and trusted to his disposaL He took a reluctant
leave of a country where the name of Berkeley was long
revered, more than that of any other European. On his
return to England, he restored all the private subscriptions
which had been advanced, in furtherance of his plan.
In 1732 he published his Minute Philosopher," a work
of great talent, and at once amusing and instructive. It
consists of a series of dialogues, in the manner of Plato,
in which he attacks with most complete success, the
various systems of atheism, fatalism, and scepticism. He
pursues the freethinker through the various characters of
atheist, libertine, enthusiast, scorner, critic, metaphysician,
fatalist, and sceptic, and shews in a most agreeable and
convincing manner the folly of his principles, and the
injury they do to himself and society.
Of the company which at this time engaged in the philo-
sophical conversations which were carried on in presence of
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BERKBLEY. 8d
Queen Caroline, according to a practice which had com-
nenced when she was Princess of Wales, some of the prin-
dpal persons were Doctors Clarke, Hoadlej, Berkeley, and
Sherlock. The debates which occarred were chiefly con^-
ducted by Clarke and Berkeley, and Hoadley adhered to the
£Dnner,and Sherlock to the latter. Hoadley affected to con*
sider the immaterial system of Berkeley, and his scheme of
founding a college at Bermuda as satisfactory proofs of
hu heing a visk>nary. Dr. Sherlock carried a copy of the
'' Minute Philosopher" to the Queen ; and left it to her
majesty to decide, if such a work could ha?e been pro*
dttced by a man of a disordered nnderstandmg. The
Queen honoured Berkeley by admitting him to frequent
visits, and took much pleasure in his conversation on sub-
jects relating to America. That discerning princess had
sudi a value for lum, that on a vacancy in the deanery of
Deny, he was nmninated to it; but as Lord Burlington
had neglected to give proper notice in time to the Duke
of Dorset, then lord-Ueutenant, and to obtain bis con*
cnrrence, the Duke was offended, and the appointment was
not urged any further. Her majesty, however, did not
lose sight of Dr. Berkeley's interests, and declared, that as
he could not be made a '' dean" in Ireland, he should be
made a ''bishop;" and accordingly, on a vacancy in the
vee of Qoyne, in March 1733, he was promoted by letters
patent to ths^ bishopric, and consecrated at St. Paul's
Church, in Dublin, by Theophilus Arcbbbhop of Cashel,
and by the Bishops of Raphoe and Killaloe His lordship
attended diligently to the duties of his episcopal office;
revived the useful office of rural dean, which had gone
into disuse; visited frequently the different parishes, and
confirmed in several parts of his see. He constantly
resided at his manse-house at Cloyne, except one winter
that he attended the business of parliament at Dublin*
He was anxious to promote the industry, and advance the
prosperity of the remote part of the country from which
he derived his revenues, and wonld purchase nothing for
Digitized by VjOOQIC
00 BBRKELBY.
1ms AMoily faiii what . was - boo^t within his dioosiitf,
Whea Plutarch was. asked why he lesided in hi^ natiwc
towQf so obscure aod snhJl, be replied, '5 1 stay lest it
sbould.grow less.'' Bishop Bcrkekjr was actuated by a
similar feeling^ which we could wish were Stroagly inl*
pressed on the breasts of every Irishmau of rauk a&d for^
tuneiy and that they would reside in their own couucry,
encourage it by the expenditure of their fortune^ impro^
the .morid and peaceable habits of the people by their
extiiQplc^ ^ be a terror to them thdt do erit, aod a prais'i^
lo thew Ihat do well."
The active mind of Bishop Berkeley even in this retiro*
menf I oouid not slumber : he contiuued bis studies with
udoeasing appiication : and a circumstance which occurred
bmJongst his friends engaged him in a controTursy with^^
malkeauiticiaBs. Mr. Addison had some yearn bcferu
giren hias an account of the behaviour of their commoti
friend^ Dr« Garth, in his last illness, which was e^uaUy
distressing to both these advocates of revealed r^gionr;
for when Mr Addison went to see the doctor, and begtftt
to talk to him seriously of another work! ; ** Sanely, Addi«*
son,"^ replied he, ^' I have good reason not to beU«ire these
trifles^ since my firiead Dr. Halley, who has dealt so much
isidem(pnstratk>n, has assured me, that the doctrines of
ChristiilBicy are incooprehenMble, and the religion itself
aas imposture.'* Bishop Berkeley therefore addressed to
bia^ as l» an infidel mathematician, a discourse entitled
the '' Analyst," in order to shew that mysterite in faifh
If era un}i|$tly objected to by mathematicians, since they
tbeoiselvea admitted greater mysteries in their science,
and even falsehoods, of which the bishop ' attempted to
shew that the doctrine of fluxions famished anexsmple^
Various papers were written on the subject of flaxloti9>
aod the chief answer to the bishop was by Phrhdethes
eamabrigiensis, generally sfupposed to* have been Ih.
jiurin, who published a treatise, called ^Geometry no
Friend to lofid^ty/' 1794. In reply to this apj^eared
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<'4 l>efeaoe 4»f,FjB^tJ^ipkiQg in A(ta|l)em^tic9»'* 179$»
wbicb drew fr0Bi PUlaktbes a secood work^i^' TM lyiinp^^
Matbematiciitti ; or, tbe Freetbiqk^rjpQ; Just Tfaii^c^/;
Here this cootroveraj eadod, in 'which it is clear tb^
bishc^ had < tb^ worsU Matbepiaticfd science is, boweTe^^
highly obligtd to him, as the dispute ealled ioto ^^tiixi
the taleou of M£^?lattriO| wb^sc^: treatise od flqxipqf ^^^
^na the doctt-ige wiiih morf} fMJ.i;vQSs apd pij^cjsif^^ |bM
ever it was hef^fi, or perhaps ever might bavebsfi^ if im^
attack bad b^omade upoa it. ;;,,
The iater^at which be £eljt ia ijl tbs(t cono^aed the
bafipiness of manlciiid, kept.hm mind la bis re^^mc^i^
engaged on the events occurring in the world, and indiif^fi^
him to pablisl^ in 173^, tbe ''Qaerist^' and in 1736^
" A Discourse addressed to M^rtrales/' occasion^ by.
tbeenormoos lioentiouinesa of tbe times; asalsp; varioui
smaller tcacts.
In 1 745^ daring the time of tbe reb^Koa in Scotland, he
published a letter to the Roman catholics of bis diocese;
and, in 1749i anotlier to the clergy of that persuasion in
Ireland; which letter, from its caiMilour, moderation^ pmd
good sense, bad so striking an effect on tbe gentL^mea to.
whom lit Was addressed, that they returned him their
public thanks for the same ia terms of the highest
admicatioa of bis jcbrislian charity » disoerAmenti . and
patriotism* . .
TJie disinterested spirit of Bishop Beiiceley.. would, not
allow bim to look forward to any farther pronlption in tbe
church, after he was appointed to tbe.dioceseof. Cloybe^
He declared to Mrs. Berkeley,, that bis intention was.
never to ehaoge bis see, because^as be afterwards .ooofeased
to .tbe Aidnbiabop of Tuam, and tbe late Earl of Shannoo^
be had very early in life got tbe world under bis feet^ and
be hoped to trample on it to hb last moments. He was
mnch }Nressed by his friends to think of a translation ; bot
be thought such a stefn wrong in a bishop: and it afforded
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gi BERKELEY.
an opportunity to the world (which has not much fmth in
clerical disinterestedness) to suspect him^ of mercenary
views. When the Earl of Chesterfield sought out Bishop
Berkeley, and pressed him to accept the vacant bishopric
of Clogher, of much higher annual value, and where he
was told he might immediately receive fines to the amount
of ten thousand pounds, he consulted Mrs. Berkeley, and
with her full approbation declined the valuable offer^ as
well as that which had accompanied it, of any other see
which might become vacant during Lord Chesterfield's
administration. The primacy was vacant before the expi-
ration of that period, and he said, ^ I desire to add one
more to the list of churchmen, who are evidently dead to
ambition, and to avarice.^ He had long before that time
given a decisive proof of this exalted feeling; for when
before his departure for America, Queen Caroline had
tempted him with the offer of an English mitre, he assured
her majesty in reply, that he chose rather to be president
of St. Paul's college in Bermuda, than primate of all
England.
If indeed we may consider hin^ as having any remark-
able failing, it was a want of ambition, and too great a
love of learned retirement, which prevented him from
rising to a more eminent station, where he might have
had more influence, and been of more service to mankind
in the active duties of life. This induced him in 175% to
wish to retire to Oxford to superintend the education of
his son : and having a dear sense of the impropriety of a
bisfaop'a non-residence in his diocese, he endeavoured to
obtain an exchange of his see for some canonry or head-
ship at Oxford. Failing in this, he actually wrote over to
the secretary of state, for permission to resign his bishop-
ric, worth at that time about 1400/. per annum. — Sa
exifaordinary a petition exciting the curiosity of his ma-
jesty, he made inquiry, who the man was who had pre-
sented it, and finding it was his old acquiantance. Dr.
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BERKELEY. 9fl
Berkdey, dediored be shoidd die a bishop in spite of biin*
jBalf ; but gave bim foil liberty to reude where he pleased.
His last act before he left Cloyne^ was to settle SOOJL from
the reTenues of bis lands, to be distrtbated, yearly, notil
his retara, amongst the poor hbosekeepers of Cloyne^
Youghal, and Aghadda. In July 1752, be remoTed with
his lady and family to Oxford, where he liTed highly
respected: and whare he printed in the same year, all his
smaller pieces in octavo.
He bad been, ever since 1744, troubled with a nenrous
cholic, brought on by his sedentary course of life; but
hwa which he experienced consideiable relief from drink-
ing tar-water. He wished, therefore, to impart to man-
kind a knowledge of this simple and useful medicine;
and published a curious book| entitled ** Sirb; a Chain
of Philosophical Reflections and Inquiries concerning the
Virtues of Tar-water/' This work, he has been heard to
declare, cost bim more pains than any other in which he
bad ever been ei^^ed. A second edition appeared in
1747» with additions and emendations ; and in 1752, oame
out ** Farther TThoughts on Tar-water." He brought this
medicine into extensive use, so that it became fashionable
to drink it; and many more virtues were ascribed to it
than the good bishop had ever thought of— -as, in the cure
of many diseases, the concurrence of the mind has a
wonderful and unknown mode of action; and many bene*
fidal effects may arise from the use of a medicine whidi
its physical properties could have little effect in pro*»
ducing.
The bishop did not long survive his removal to Oxford,
for,on die Sunday evening of January 14, 1733, as he was in
the midst of his fkmily, listening to the lesson on the burial
service, which bis lady was reading to bim, be was seized
with what was called a palsy of the heart, and instantly
expired. This event was so sudden, that his joints were
stiff, and his body cold, before it was observed ; as he lay
upon a couch, and seemed to be asleep, until bis daughter.
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9« BEKKELET.
pretentiiig to bioi'dl ckp of tea^ first perciiVecl' hi» iDsen*
ubility^ Whoerer leads a life like hitn^ need be the less
majdoits at how sh^rt a warning it is taken from him !
' His remaiois were interred at Christ Chforch, Oxford ;
where there is an elegant marble* moonment over hino,
wkb ia JLadn inscription by Dr. Markham, then head
master af Westminster «obool, and late Archbishop of
York. . In this inscripti(m he is said to ha^re been bom
in 1679, and his age to be 73; whereas his brother, who
famished the pairtibulari df his liCfi^ states the year of his
birtl^ to have been 16B4, and his age coofseqaently 69*
As toUs person^ he was handsome^ w4th a conntenance
fall of meaning and benevolence; he was possessed of
great orascalar stieogth, and of a robn&t constitntion
until he impaired it by his sedentary and too dose appli*
catioD to his studies.
I The almost entfaasiastie energy of his character, which
is. displayed in his public works, was also apparent in hi^
private life and in bis conversation : but notwithstanc^ng
this animation and spirit^ his manners were invariably mild,
iniaffectedi and engaging. At dojrne he generally rose
beiaieen three andfoarin the morning, and summoned bis
family to a lesson on the bass viol, fVom an Italian miEistel'
whom he liberally kept for their instraction, though he
himself did not possess an ^r for music.-**He spent the
rest of the moraiag, and often a great part of the day in
%b»4y* Pew persons were ever hek)* ib liigher estimation
by tbo^e who knew his worth, than Bishop Berkeley.
After Bishop Atterbury had been introduced to him, be
llfited up his hands in astonishment, and said, ^ So much
abderstanding,>so much knowledge, so much innocence,
ami such humility, 1 did not think had been the portion
bf Miy but angels, till I saw this gentleman.'* This testi-
mony may well excuse the Well-known Kne of his fi^iend
Mn Pope, in which be ascriber . > '^
V.I * ' ' .
*< To Berkeley ev^ry virtue ii«4sr HenTfiV
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BERKELEY. 9fl
The opinioii 4^ At 'world/ as to the Kteriarjr «titd' ^Umo*
phical character of Bishop Berkeley, has long siMe been
settled. Id metaphysical specaiatiooy hi early yoiith his
ardour led him to embrace, and to form theories ttH>re
fancifal than just. Ahhoagh he still retained, his par-
tiality for the study of Plato, yet towards the latter part
of his life, he is said to have doabted the solidity and
utility of his metaphysical studies, and tnrned his attention
towards ihose of politics and medicines, as being of more
practical advantage to oiaiikiiid. Various learned liiien, and
m particular Bishop Hoadley, have'censnred his work^ as
corrupting the natural simplicity c^ ChriBtianit^,^' by
Ueqding it with the tubtilty and obtcarity of metaphysidi
and Mr. Hume asserU, that <^^ hia writings aver ttie best
lesions of sceptioism which are to be found, either among
the ancient or modern philosophers-— Bayle himself not
exoepted;" and that ^' all Hi^ arguments against soepcicsas
well as against atheists and freethinkers, though other?^ise
intended^are in reality merely sceptical, appears from this,
that ihet/ admH of no answer, and produce no tomiiiionJ*
This remark is not correct; and the utility of his '^ Minnte
Philosopher," and several other works, is certainly very
great. That his knowledge extended to the minutest'otH
jects, and included the arts and busioess of common life,
is testified by Dr. Blackwell in his ^* Court of AugustUB.'*
The industry of his research, and the acuteness of his ob-*
servatioBs, extended not only to the mecha^ lirts, but lof
the various departments of trade, agricukure,<aind niiviga*
tion; and that be possessed poetical talents in an eminent
degree, if he had thought proper to cnhivate tbem,
appears from his animated letters, which are published in
the works of Mr. Pope, and also from several doifopositiMa.
in verse, particularly some beautiful stanzas, written on the
prospect of realising his benevolent scheme, relating to his
coUege in Bermuda. The classical romance, entitled
^ The Adventures of Signer Gaudentio di Lucca," lias been
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99 ' BERMIN6HAM.
froqnaitlj attribated to bim, but certainly was not bit
ooDiposition.
''The Workg of George Berkeley, D.D. late Bisbop of
Cloyne, to whicb is added an account of bis life, and
several letters," &c. were pablisbed in 2 vols. 4to. in
1784.
HON»^«- JOHN BERMINGHAM
Was the second son of Francis, Lord of Athnnry, in the
kingdom of Ireland, being the twenty-first who held the
rank of baron in descent from Pierce de Bermin^bamy
summoned to parliament by the title already stated, in
the reign of King Henry II. His mother was the Lady
Mary Nugent, eldest daughter of Thomas, Earl ofWesU
meath. The year of his birth we have not been informed o^
nor are we in possession of any particulars of the early
part of his life.
Being bred to the sea service, he was appointed lieu*
tenant of the Romney ; from which he was afterwards
removed to the Phoenix. In the beginning of the year
1745 he commanded the Falcon sloop of war; in which
he captured, in the month of February, close in with
Dunkirk, a French privateer, of eight guns, called the
Union ; as be did a second, of the same force, in the
month of March. On the 14th of May following, he was
promoted to be captain of the Glasgow frigate. He died,
accordiog to Mr. Hardy's account, on the 8th of May^
1746; but, in Lodge's Irish Peerage, he is said to have
been killed somewhat earlier, in an engagement with a
French privateer. This assertion is in some degree ex-
plained by the following extract of a letter from New-
castle, dated May the IStb, 1745.
** His majesty's ship the Falcon, the honourable John
Bermingham commander, of fourteen six-pounders, and
about seventy men, fell in last Tuesday, off Flamborough •
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/BERNARD. «7
Head» with a Ff^neb privat«er of eighteen i)ine*pouiiiderft,
fix six-pouoders, and about two hundred men. The
Falcon fought her several glasses ; but night coming on,
tbey both lay to, and in the morning renewed the engage-
ment ; when the privateer, having lost a great many men,
ibongfat proper to sheer off. The Fox man-of-war, of
twenty guns, soon after falling in with the Falcon, imme»
diately gave chace to the privateer, who had not got out
of sight; so that we expect shortly to have a good account
of ber. The captain of the Falcon had his leg shot off
above the knee in the engagement; but none of crew
were killed, and only two hurt."
The fact probably is, that he was promoted to the
Glasgow immediately on his arrival in port, as a reward
for his gallantry on the preceding occasion ; but did not
long survive the wounds he sustained on the event which
caused bis well-deserved advancement.
HARRIETT CATHERINE BERNARD,
Countess op Bandon: Her ladyship was the only
daughter of Richard Boyle, second Earl of Shannon, born
January 12, 1768, and married, February 12, 1784, Francis
Bernard, Earl of Bandon, by whom she had eleven chil-
dren, of whom eight survive her. This lady*s excellent
qualities threw a lustre on her high descent, and a pecu-
liar brilliancy on her surrounding relatives. In the imme-
diate neighbourhood of Castle Bernard, she will long be
gratefully and affectionately remembered for her muni-
Scent charities. Her excellent understanding directed
her to the most useful pursuits, and in the cultivation of
botanical and agricultural knowledge, she was induced to
forward many desirable undertakings, and aided most
^essentially many of the most useful establishmenu in
Dublin, as well as the Cork Institution and Farming
VOL. 1. H
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96 BCRNARD.
Soeiety in the oeighbonrbood. Her {mprovenents at
Castle Bernak'd, conducted under her immediate direction,
are lufficient evidefldes of the correctness of ber judg-
ment ; and, in the formation of her valuable library, she
has left a monum^Dt of her taste, and a declaration of the
ptire fmnciples of her heart. By her sole boufnty she
supported for many years a school for twenty-4bur young
women, now united to the general school of Bandon, of
which she was the patroness a6d foundress, and which is
conducted on such an ample scale of liberality, as would
do tredit to any place in the United Kingdom. She
** delivered the poor that cried, and the fetberkss and him
thki heA none to help him; she caused the widow's heart
to sing for joy, and the blessing of him that was ready to
perish, came upon her.'' She died itt her 48th year. —
Her death appears to have been accelerated by the sus-
ceptible feelings of maternal tenderness, in the anxiety for
the fate of a much- loved son, who fell in Portugal in the
24th year of his age. She expired before that event was
confirmed, and the following inscription to her memory
was engraved on a monument erected in the church of
Ballymodan, in the county of Cort.
'^ Near this place are deposited the mortal remains of
Harriett Catherine, Countess of Bandon, daughter of
Richard, Earl of Shannon, and wife of Francis, Earl of
Bandon, by whom this monument is erected. In her the
dignified graces of superior life were, by a rare felicity of
combination, united with the unremitting exercise of vir^
tues truly christian. May her unaffected piety, conjugal
affection, parental tenderness, and charity alive to every
call of distress, prove as beneficial in their example as
diey have been lamented in their less ! She died at Castle
Bernard, on the 7th of July, 1815, in the 48th year of her
age.''
The same monument is also destined to record the
memory of two of her sons, the Honourable Francis
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BICKERSTAFF. 09
Banardy Ii^«tenant of the 9tb Light Omgoooes, HrhiQ d«e4
10 Portugal, ID the senrice of hi8 coonlry, the 24tb of
January, 1613, id the 24th year of hit age; and the
Honourable HeDry JBoyle Beraar d, comet of the KMig>
Dragoon Guards, who gloriously feU ia the battle of
Waterloo, od the 18th of June, 1815, in the Idth year
of his age.
ISAAC BICKERSTAFF,
A DRAMATIST of oittch higentiity, was horn in Dublin
about the year 1732. His father held the situation of
groom porter in the Castle, which place was libolished
during the lord4iaii4eiiancy of Lord Chesterfield iti 1745.
The services of the father, however, were rewarded with a
pension, and the son Isaac was jaiade. a p^. After tlie
dcfarture of the Earl of Chesterfield, Bickerataff got a
coouDission in a marine corps, which it is said he left ia
disgrace. Notwithstanding, he continued to write for the
stage for several years, when in all probability the chaise
was renewed by bis enemies, which dro^re him at last into
banishment.
He was known to be living in obscurity in Lendoo in
1811, but be is supposed to have died towards the close of
the year 18 lO.
Bickerstaff 's <' Love in « Village,'* and ^ Liooel and
Clarissa," akled by the debgfatful music of Doctor Aniie,
stiU keep possession of the >stage ; but the most popular of
his producdoDS is his alteration from the Nonjuror of
Cibber, mn imiution of the Tartufie of Moli^re, enti-
tied '' The Hypocrite." This eomedy, from the adwirable
•it«ati<His it aiSbrds for the actors, independent of tbe sar-
castic humour that runs throughout it against the pntan'
ders to religion, has been, «id ever Will be^ a distingatsberi
fiiTOurite with the public
As a song writer, Bickerstaff €»Dnot be allowed to rani
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100 BIRMINGHAM.
very high ; for although possessed of the art of jingling bis
lines well together, yet they are always mawkish and
insipid ; and the following may fairly be instanced as a
proof of that assertion, and a specimen of the author's
powers of versification :—
^ Oh f had I been bj fiite decreed
Some humble cottage swain,
In fair Rosetta's aigbt to feed
My sheep upon the plain, •
What buss had I been born to taste.
Which now I ne'er must know;
Ye envioQS powers ! why have ye plac'd
My fair one's lot so low ?"
Lots ih a Villaob.
Far be it, however, from us to insinuate, that even Bick-
erstaff has been outdone in dramatic song-writing of late
years ; no, with the exception of those casual fits of good
nature with which the managers are seized, (about as often
as light occurs at the Poles,) and we are treated with one
of the heart-cheering efiiisions of Bums or Moore ; we
have just as much affectatiouy stupidity, and sickly sensi-
bility as heretofore.
SiE JOHN BIRMINGHAM,
Aftbrwards created Earl of Louth, made an important
figure in Ireland in the time of Edward II. After the
disastrous battle of Bannockburn, the Scots not only made
many irruptions into England, committing terrible devas-
tations, but also united with a party in Ireland, who chose
for their king, Edward Bruce, brother of Robert, king of
Scotland, and had him crowned at Knocknemelan, near
Dunkald* Against these Sir John Birmingham was ap-
pointed general, and by his valour and military skill, put
an end to the war, and to a civil faction, which, though
too weak to hope for complete success, might yet have
Digitized by Google
BLACK. 101
for many years dbtorbed the peace and happioess of the
Jdogdom. After the death of Edwatd Bruce^ he agaia
eocouDtered the Scots, and defeated their army with a
very great slaughter. Id reward of his services, hib was
created Earl of Loath, and had lands bestowed upon him
to support his rank* He afterwards suppressed various
faaodittiy who, with the aid of the Scots^were harassing the
kingdom. He manifested his regard for religion in the
manner of that age, by founding the Franciscan Friary of
Tbetnay, in King's CJonnty. He was afterwards mur«
dered by a combination of families, who bated his virtues^
and envied his honours and possessions.
JOSEPH BLACK.
It would be an act of flagrant injustice, not only to the
individual, but to posterity, to exclude the imperishable
name of Black, from the trivial circumstance of Ireland
not having been the spot of his birth : a chemist^ th^
mere record of whose discoveries is sufficient to entitle
him both to the admiration and esteem of all succeeding
ages.
He was born in France on the banks of the Garonne"*^,
in 1728. His father, Mr. John Black, was a native of
Belfast, and descended from a Scotch faniily which ba4
been settled there for many years. His connections with
the wine trade induced him to reside at Bourdeaux, where
he formed a matrimonial connection with a daughter of
Mr. Robert Gordon, of the family of Halhead, in Aber*
deenshire, who was also engaged in the same trade at that
place. Mr. Black was a man of considerable information^
which he communicated with so much candour and libe-
rality, that his acquaintance and conversation were eagerly
* Wakb, however (in his History of Dnblin) states, ** that it is generally
Mirred that Belfast WM the place of his birth."
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^oe BLACK.
soQgfafe dfter ky maay of the fii^t Kteralry characters of the
tonntrj id whieh he had fixed his abodei Among others
who esteeitied binl as a firieod and companion^ may be
inetitioned the celebrated president Moatesquteo, whose
itrbng piutiaiity for the laws and constitutioB of £aglatid^
wafii owing, in $ great meastire, to the information derived
firdm this gentlemah, and who^ on Mr. Black's retiring
iVoiil trade to bis native country, expressed the most
friei]idly senttmeftU of regret for the loss he was about to
sustain^ in several letters which are still preserved by that
genll«ttian's family.
The earlier years of the life of Joseph Black were
passed at his father's house at Bourdeaux, where he was
attended by proper masters to instruct him in the rudi-
ments of the usual bi;anicbea of education. His father^
however, desirous that he should be educated as a British
subject^ seht him at the age of twelve to Belfast, where
he continued till 1746. Being now required to make
choice of a profession, he preferred that of medicine,
th^ studies connected with that science being most con-
genial to bis dispo^tion. In consequence of this deter-
mination, he was sent at the age of eighteen to the uni-
versity of Glasgow, where he arrived and commenced his
studies at the tune that Dr. Cullen had just entered on his
career as professor of chemistry. The gigantic powers of
mind which that great mkn possessed, quickly became
sensible of the fow state in which chemical knowledge
then existed ; he felt conscious of his strength, and en-
tered the lists with ai) ardour which raised the attention
of the students at the university, and inspired them with
a portion of that zeal for the improvement of the science
with which himself was actuated.
Delighted with the study, which, under the auspices of
^s great man, was gradually rising to the rank of a liberal
science; yeung Black attached himself with so much
attention to the professor, that CuUb% who took grea^
Digitized by VjOOQIC
plcfsilie 10 nokioiog aod asffiaiijig tb^ effbrtf of his pi^pil?,
took Urn under bU pwitioukur 4irec(!ioo. Mr* Black w«9
iWwiUi^g W UUst to the reporu of chemical processes,
iiDtU be bad himself repeated them; the accuracy and
dextedt^y wUh which \m performed his expecioients^ toge«
tb^r wUb the aitachjneot of tb^ professor^ caused him to
be r«gar(kd as Culleo's assMtant, in which capacity he
f^equeo^dy acted, aqd bis experimeots at this early age
were often referred to as good aiUbority* His note*
books, which are s^iU preservedy point out the compre-
hensive plan of study wbi/cb he had laid down for himself,
aiMl are particularly curious, aa they exhibit the germs of
his ideasi and their after^progress, until they ripened into
(hose great discoTeriet which produced so complete a
reTolutioQ in chemical science.
The adioa of UtfumUriptic$ on the human frame, at that
tupe excited great attenlion, and the professors in the
university of Edinborgb were much divided in their
opinions on the subject. The pupils then engaged in their
studies, of course warmly entered into the. contest, and
when Black left Glasgow to finish his medical education
at Edii^bmrgfa^ in 1750, the diffierencet of opinion weie at
their bdgfau The natural bent of his inclination engaged
him in the controversy, and, during his residence at the
house of his coosin<-gejunan, Mr. Russell, . professor of
natural philosophy in the university, he entered into a
ooufse of experiments to investigate the cause otcmaUcUy,
a property in which all the lithontriptics then in use^
agreed. He at firsi adopted the doc)brine of the older
chemists, 4faa|t lime, during the burning of it, absorbe
something from the lire, which, entering inta combination
with it, renders caustic what was before mild and inno-
cuous. Hiis he attempted to separate, and collect from
the caustic lime, b«t without e£Eect ; and, in the pjnosecution
of bis eatperimei\ts, he found reason to conceive that oaus.*
deity depended on the removal, rather than the addition,
of soUM other substance. This suspicion took possession of
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104 BLACK«
his Quiad in 1752>aiid he continued his obaervations till 1 754|
when he published ^ Dissertatio Inauguralis de Humore
Acidoa Cibis Orto et Magnesia AIba«" His observations
and reasonings on the subject, were more fully developed in
** Experiments upon Magnesia Alba, Quicklime, and some
other Alkaline Substances/' which were read before the
Literary Society of Edinburgh, and afterwards inserted
in the second volume of the Essays Physical and Literary^
published by that Society.
The experiments in this paper are simple, but inge-^
niously devised ; it is concise, yet perspicuous ; and the
deductions are so Just, that it is considered a most ex-»
cellent model of composition, reasoning, and arrangement*
Thefacts it develops are now so well known to every one
as forming one of the first elements of chemistry, that it
would be unnecessary to detail them, were it not to exem*
plify the history of the science as far as it relates to the
discovery of that immense class of substances known by
the name of gasses.
Magnesia had hitherto been confounded with the other
absorbent earths, being conceived to be merely a rnodifi-
cation of lime. The experiments of Dr. Black proved,
that it was distinct from that substance ; and he then pro*
ceeded to investigate its affinity to acids.
In endeavouring to convert magnesia into quicklime
by fire, he discovered that a subtile part was extricated in
the form of air, which had been imprisoned under a solid
form. This accounted for the effervescence of magnesia
with acids before, but not after, calcination. Calcined
magnesia, by a very happily-conceived experiment, was
discovered to absorb from common vegetable alkali
(potass) as much air as it had lost by exposure to fire ;
thus the same air which was contained in magnesia, was
detected in alkali, and in limestone nnburnt. From these
discoveries the author acutely concluded, that the cause
of the causticity of quicklime was the separation of the
above air by fire from calcareops earth ; and that lime
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BLACK. 105
became mild calcareous earth bjr re-anidng with this airl
This theory was demonstrated by plain and incontro*
Yertible experiments ; and it is not to be wondered at, that
it should immediately supplant the then received hypo*
thesis, that the causticity of lime depended on the union
of igneous particles.
Lime being discoTered to take this air from alkalies^
and thereby render them caustic, the same beautiful theory
of causticity was extended to these substances, and thus
the true reason of alkalies being reiulered caustic by lime
was giveD. Lime was also observed to attract this air from
magnesia.
This air was shewn to be different from the common
atmospheric air; and he concluded that it was either
a peculiar species of elastic fluid dispersed through the
atmospherci or aa exceedingly subtle powder. Thb newly
discovered substance he named Jixed air; improperly, in*
deed, as be was himself aware, but the name was naturally
enough applied to a sutetance which he looked upon as
having been fixed in the substance of the bodies with
which it was combined.
Such is a brief sketch of the luminous experiments of
Dr. Black, by which were demonstrated the peculiar nature
of magnesia; the existence of a new species of air, in mild
alkalies, magnesia, and calcareous earth; the cause of the
effervescence of these substances with acids; the cause of
the loss of w^ght in these substances by acids or fire;
that the causticity of alkalies and lime depended on the
separation of this new air; and the relative afiinities of this
air to alkalies and earths.
Important as these fects were, considered merely as
belonging to the substance discovered and investigated by
Dr. Black, they were infinitely more so, on account of the
new field they opened to the view of chemical philosophers,
of substances of diffisrent species, in a gaseous form, of which
tbey bad no idea before; the opinion of Hales and others
beings that aeriform matter was of the same species as
Digitized by VjOOQIC
106 BLACK.
that of the ieilDiosphere, under various modi£oatioiis. These
experijnenU, at die same time opened to the view of ob-
servers, the transition of elastic fluids to a concrete state,
by uniting to different bodies, and the change from a solid
to an elastic form on their extrication; and as these elastic
fluids were probably of many species, it was begun to be
considered that aeriform bodies might possess afiioities,
and have as great a share in the composition of bodies as
acids, alkalies, &c., of which, the first instances had been
shewn by the ebofte paper of Dr. Black.
This celebrated jM'ofessor in bis lectures, afterwards
shewed that the inflammable air was totally different from
fixed air; but never having puWshed those experiments,
he has never enjoyed the honour of the discovery of this
elastic inflammable fluid.
The first offipriag o£ these discoveries was, Brownrigg's
experiments on the air of Pyrmont water, ia wfaicfa was
shewa the existence of th^ fixed air discovered by Dr.
Black* These were succeeded by the accurate and pro^
found experiments of Mr. Cavendish on fixed and inflam*
mable air, with an excellent description of the apparatus
for cbemkal experiments on aenfocm bodies. Dr. Priestley
next extended the knowledge of pneumatic phemistry;
and the investigatioti into this branch of chemical pbilo*
sophy, soon after began in Sweden, Germany, and France.
In this latter country, the knowledge resulting from the
investigation of the properties of aerilbrm bodies, suggested
the new system of chemistry, so suUiinely simple in its
theory; and the fountain &om which it sprung was ^e
above set of experiments by Dr. Black.
To return, however, from this digression, in which the
pursuit of the history of the science has led us away from
that of the individual. In J 7^5, Dr. Cullen was removed
from the chemical chair at Glasgow, to a prpfessorship at
Edinburgh; and the abilities which Black had displayed in
the assistance he had aflbrded to that great man, together
witb bis recent and splendid discoveries, pointed him out
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BLACK. 107
as tbe fittest pfenoii to socoeed bis fonner teacher. I|e
was therefore ^ppoiQted prol«saor of chemiitry and ana-
tomy, io the university of Glasgow early in the ensuing
year; but tot conceiving himself soflideotly qnalified to
^undertake pablic leclores on aaatomy, he obtained the
coDcarrence of the uniTersity to exchange that task with
tbe professor of osedkine. His time was now devoted to
delivering lectures on diemistry and the institutes of
faedicm?^ and his reputation as a professor increased every
year. Tbe situation he heU, and the anxious attention
be paid to bis patients, have been adduced to account for
the little progress he made in that fine career of experi-
mental investigation, which he bad so auspiciously com-
menced. This inactivity must be much regretted as highly
injurious to the science, and it displayed an indolence or
^arelessnt^s of repatntjon, not easily to be justified.
lie still, however, contiuned to pursue his chemical re-
searches, though tbey were directed to a different object.
He eii^aged in a series of experiments relative to heaf,
whi^ bad occupied his attention at intervals, from the
earliest peripd qS his pbilosophical investigations. On
this snl^ect he prosfecuted his inquiries with so much
success, as to lay down aome primary axioms, which he
established beyond the power of controversy to shake
them. His account of his experiments and reasoning on
this subject was comprised tn a paper drawn up with his
usual accuracy and perspicuity, and which was read,
AfxH ^, I76d, befpre a literary society, consisting of the
members of the university, and such gentlemen as mani-
fested a taste for philosophy and literature, and who met
csrery Friday in the Faculty Room of the college. His
diaoGveries ia this department of science were perhaps the
moat importalit he ever made, and may be reckoned
among ihe most valuable of the eighteenth century.
The experiments by which his opinions on this subject
w€xe established, were at once simple and decisive; but to
enter into the sabfect at sufficient length to ensure per-
Digitized by VjOOQIC
)08 BLACK.
spicuity would be improper* The axioms, however,
which he establiflhecl, were uMUtlly expressed by him in
the foUowing terms : —
1. When a solid body is cooverted into a fluid, there
enters into it, and unites with it,- a qnantity of heat, the
presence of which is not indicated by the thermometer ;
and this combination is the cause of the fluidity which the
body assumes. On the other hand, when a fluid body is
converted into a solid, a quantity of heat separates from
it, the presence of which was not formerly indicated by the
thermometer; and this separation is the cause of the
solid form the fluid assumes.
2. When a liquid body is raised to the boiling tempe-
rature by the continued and copious application of heat,
its particles suddenly attract to themselves a great quan-
tity of heat, and by this combination their mutual relation
is so changed, that they no longer attract each other, but
are converted into an elastic fluid like air. On the other
hand, when these elastic fluids, either by condensation
or by the application of cold bodies, are re-converted into
liquids, they give out a vast quantity of heat, the presence
of which was not formerly indicated by the thermometer.
Thus water, when it assumes the solid form, or is con-
verted into ice, gives out 140^ of heat; and ice, in becom-
ing water, absorbs 140^ of heat. Thus again, water in
being converted into steam, absorbs about 1000^ of heat,
without becoming sensibly hotter than 21^^ The ther-
mometer had long been considered by chemical philoso-
phers as the only method of .discovering the degree of
beat in bodies ; yet this instrument gives no indication of
the presence of the 140^ of heat which combine with ice
to convert it into water, nor of the 1000^ which combine
with water when it is converted into steam. Dr. Black,
therefore, said that the heat is concealed (laitt) in the
water ai^d steam, and he briefly expressed this fact by ap-
plying to the heat, in this case, the term of latent heat.
It may, however, be necessary to observe, that though
Digitized by'vjOOQlC
BLACK. lOD
Dr. Black's theory has been adopted by every modem
chemist, yet great difiereDces have existed with respect to
the quantity of heat thus absorbed. This doctrine was
immediately applkd by its author to the explanation of a
vast nomber of natnral phenomena, and in his experimental
investigations he was greatly assisted by his two celebrated
pupils, Dr. Irvine and Mr. Watt; the latter of these
gentlemen afterwards adding great improvements to the
steam«engine of Bolton, from the circumstance of his un-
derstanding so well the theory of that powerful agent.
This theory was explained in his lectures every year to
a vast concourse of students from all parts of Europe; y^
the criminal negligence of the author in not favouring the
world with a printed account of hb dbcovery, has caused
the credit of it to be assigned to various persons, whose
ideas on the subject were obtained from him alone.
Laplace, in his Investigations concerningHeat, published
many years after, obviously borrowed largely from Dr.
Black, and indeed exhibited little more than the experi-
ments which he had suggested. He, however, never
mentions Dr. Black at all ; every thing in his dissertation
assumes the air of originality ; he rather appears to have
tsk&i some pains to prevent the opinions and discoveries
of our celebrated cl^mist from being known or attended
to by his countrymen. The observations of Dr. Crawford
on the capacities of different bodies for heat, were also
borrowed in a great measure from Dr. Black, who first
pointed out the proper method of investigating that
subject.
The most extraordinary proceeding, however, was that
of De Luc, which exhibits an audacity unparelleled in the
annals of scientific or literary plagiarism. He expressed
to Dr. Black his unbounded admiration of his beautiful
theory of latent heat, and offered with much zeal to be*
come his editor. Averse to trouble and exertion, he after
much difficulty consented to furnish De Luc with the ne-
cessary materials to prepare the work for the public eye*
Digitized by VjOOQIC
110 BLACK.
At leiigtb^ in 1788, De Lno pablitbed \m ^I^ei snr la
Met6orok)gie;" and it was iadeed widi aitanikfamtet diat
Black and his friends p^rceiVed the doctrine claimed by
De Luc as bis own disooyery ; coolly informing the reader
diat be had great satiafactioD in nnderstanding that
Dn Black coincided with his opnions !
In 1766, his friend Dn Cullen being appointed professor
of medidne in the nniversity of Ediaborgb, a vaeaocy
occarred in the chemical chair, and Dr. Black was again
appoittted «his successor with general approbation. The
^eat concourse of pupils which the deseryedly bigh repu«
tation of that edebrated school of medicine brought to
iiis lectures^ was highly gratifying to a miud like Dr.
Bfack's, which ddighted in attracting attention to bis
AvOmite science. As the demands on his talents increased,
they became more conspicuous and more extensively
us^L Impressed with a strong sense of the importabce
of his duties as a professor, he directed his whole attention
to his lectures, and his object was to make ibem so plain,
that tbey should be comprehended by the meanest and
most illiterate capacity among bis hearers; Never did
any man succeed more completely. His pupils wene not
only instructed, but delighted, and many becMne liis
pupils merely to be amused. This pleasing s^le, and die
nmmerous and weH-conducted experiments by which he
illustrated trery point of tfate science, contributed greatly
to extend the knowledge of chemistry, and it became in
Edinburgh a necessary and fashionable part of the accom-
plishment of a gentleman.
This attention, however, to simplifying his lectures
had ao leffiect, which peilsaps was, on the wholes rather
unfortunate. The improvement of the science appears to
have been entirely laid aside by him. Perhaps also the
-delicacy of his constitution precluded his exertions. Hie
alightest coM, the most trifling approach to repletion,
-occasioned feverishness, affected his breath, and, if not
-Speedily removed by Relaxation of thought and gentle
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BLACK. Ill
exercise, bronght on a ^pitting of blood. His Daturil ten^
dency to these complaitits was materially increased by the
sedentary life to which study confined him, and he always
found them aggravated by intense thinking. In addition
to this, be was so particular in his notions of the manner
in which a work intended for publication should be exe-
cuted, that the pains he took in arranging the plan never
foiled to affect his health, and oblige him to desist. This-
completely prevented him from proceeding in what his
friends had strenuously recommended, in consequence of'
the disingenuous treatment he had met with, — an acoopnt
of his observations and discoveries. As nh authoiv he is
known only by his ** Dissertatio Inauguralis,'^ which was
the work of deity ; his ** Experiments on Magnesia,'' Sec.
meationed above, which was necessary to explain and
estabttsh what he had asserted in his inaugural disser*
tation. His ^' Observations on the more ready Freedng
of Water that has been boiled/' were extorted from him,
and published in the Philosophical Transactions for 1774;
and the '^ Analysis of the Waters of some boiling Springs
in Iceland," which exhibits much ability in explaining the
formation of siliceous earth, was written at the request of
his friend T. J. Stanley, Esq. and read before the Royd
Society at Edinburgh, and published by their Council.
These are the only works which have appeared from the
pen of Dr. Black. His lectures were published after his
death, in 1803, by his friend and pupil. Professor Robisob,
in two volumes, quarto.
His only apprehension, we are informed, was tbat of a
long-continued sick bed; less, perhaps, from any selfish
feeling, than from the consideration of the tronble and
distress which it Would occasion to his friends ; and never
wa& so generous a wish more completely gratified. On
the 26th of November, 1799, in the 71st year of bis age,
he expired without convulsion, shock, or stupor; sitting at
table with his usual fare, some bread, a few prunes, and a
measured quantity of milk diluted with water, having the
Digitized by VjOOQIC
J 12 BLACK.
cop in hh hands, and feeling the vital powers qnicklj
•ebbing, he set it down on his knees, which were joined
together, and kept it steady with his hand. In this attitude
be expired without struggle or groan^ or even a writhe in
his countenance ; and as though an experiment had been
required to prove to his friends the facility with which h^
departed, not a drop of his drink was spilled. His servant
opened the door to tell him that some friend had left his
name, but seeing him in that easy posture, supporting his
bason on his knees, he supposed that he had fallen asleep,
as he sometimes did after his meals. He therefore wen^
back and^9hut the door; but, before he went down stairs,
an anxiety, which he could not account for, induced him
to return again. He went up pretty near to his master,
and turned to go away perfectly satisfied ; but returning
again and coming close to him, he found that the vital
spark had fled.
Such was the end of Dr. Black, similar to bis life, mild,
gentle, and easy. A man, whose singular suavity of man-
ners and obligingness of disposition, ensured him the
hearts of all who knew him, and who never lost a friend,
except by the stroke of death. His appearance was inte-
resting, and his countenance exhibited that expression of
inward satisfaction, which, by giving ease to the beholder,
never fails to please. His manners were unaffected and
graceful, and he readily entered into conversation, whether
with th^ man of science, or with society in general, in
which he delighted, for he was beloved in it. He was
acquainted with all the elegant accomplishments ; his ear
was highly musical ; his voice was fine and well-managed ;
and he performed on the flute with great taste and feeling*
He had never studied drawing as an art, yet his pencil
possessed strong powers of expression, even approximating
to the talents of an historical painter. His eye, indeed^
was ever on the alert, and even a retort or a crucible, was
to him an example of beauty or deformity. In business,
every thing was done properly and correctly, every thing
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BRIEN BOIRUMHE. US
hid iU time appointed for it, and he had always leisure in
store.
As a chemist, be deservedly ranks high in the estimation
of his brethren; his discoveries were wonderful in them-
selves, and immense in the applications which have re*
salted from them. Yet we cannot avoid regretting that
his health or indolence prevented him from pursuing that
glorious experimental career which he opened to the view
of others, adapted as he was in every respect to have ex«.
tended our acquaintance with that art. His perspicuity
in his writings and lectures can never be sufficiently
admired; his principles are so clearly expressed, that they
cannot be misunderstood even by ignorance, nor mis-
represented by malice. His reputation had extended to
the continent, where he was no less esteemed than in the
country in which he resided ; and he had latterly the
honour of being appointed one of the eight Foreign
Associates of the Royal Academy of Sciences at Paris, on
the recommendation of t'he celebrated chemist, Lavoisier,
whose liberality in this respect is worthy of admiration,
when we consider the mean and heartless envy which too
frequently exists between distinguished literary and scien*
tific characters.
BRIEN BOIRUMHE.
JLBK efurlier pages of the history of Ireland teem with
so many glorious instances of distinguished heroes, com*
bining in themselves the united characters of warriors and
statesmen, that we have been desirous of passing them
over in silence, lest their number should add too much to
the bulk of our volume. In an undertaking, however^ of
this nature, it would, be. an unpardonable negligence to
omit
^* Brien— the glory aod gmce of his age."
A short sketch of whose life will no doubt be acceptable
VOL. I. 1
Digitized by VjOOQIC
114 BRIEN 50IRUMHiS.
lo ifaB r&de^^ ihoqgh Amt beyond ^ p^wer of the irr ittr
to do justice to his merits.
Brka Boirpmhe, ibe sop of Cinadii is <M>aifMited to
hava been born in th^ jrear 806; mid p^^s^d timmgh the
ttfual course of edupotioa opprpprj^ted ten tbe aMs of tbt
Iffiah kio^p m whkh war, Uterjetwe, aod fM^itiicS) foroned
the .n^^iitry basis oo vbicb j^ grouftd tb^ iostruetiotr^
tb€ fiMure nulfei;* A c^itf^^ <:tf studies «o p(?6nU«r;}y %d^\M
t9 bis /dJ^pPfiliofi^ toojc finq poAsessiosi of tb? Apttl ^ ^«r
bfroy and bi« fmure life wa^ d^v^ed tp the prm^tiee ^f
^^e eKi3$Jle9i| 1^9<ms b^ bad mbibed W bis yomh^
{iia fip|3t<^9say 19 aoA? mts in ibe q^papUy p/ geo^aJ t«i
hi^ bi^er Mahwi^ I^iing lof Mpritb M«PsOr, wbeiA b^
^t|K^y rp^t^d a nfuvieMvs ai^d uixsmt ov^vrb^o^iog
bpdy of the Danes, who had dared lo make aa iofcorsioo,
with tb^ d^igQ of pluadef iQg the oquatry iipder bis pro-*
^ectioi}. SpoD after this victory, on an insiirref^tiion among
bis ^Jibjectn^ MaM) yrm dispriv^d of bis thrpofs^ aad hasdly
murdered ; but his brother Brien U)pk 3u/pb effect^ial
pie^^r^ tb9^ be fuoceeded tg tbe tbicoaei ip wbi^ bis
grat object was to bfi reitreaged on tbe murderers of bis
brother. Tbif b^ jspeedily and completely ieffec|ed» tbpiigb
his enemies had called the Danes to their assistaaeev
Victory again sat on his sword, and peace crowned his
exertions. He became, in 968, King of both Munsters,
which he cleared frp^n thje jpv^derst aad re*established in
their former privileges. He gave new vigour to the laws,
by tummoning a feis or parliaaient at Cashell ; aa^ he
caused the ruined oh^irobes and mottaateries lo be rebuild
and tbe bishops and die clergy to be restored to their
liviogs. His ann«d revenue^ as King of Munftter, was
immense, and ts calculated to give a magoificeiit idea of
the riches of Ireland in his time; a particular account of
it ift cofitaioed in ibe |lieabhar na Cleart, or Book of
Rights, and which O'Halloran has translated.
Domnald, monarch of Ireland, tired of tbe pageantry of
jcoyajty, quitted the thrane ip 980^ and Mal^hie w%s
chosen his successor. The jealoilly with which be x^
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BRIEN BOIRUMHB. 115
gftfdfd the glory of Qrien waa hereditary, and tbelcnow-
ItdgA of liiis piBobaUy uidiiocfll CKEekm lo form a powerful
coofedemcy agaisst the King of MoMter. Near Water-
Soid the araiiet cogaged; Brieo, with hM usual fortuAo^
obtaiped n ooinplate victory; and the attempts^ of bis
eneniss to rmn his power, temiiuiled in the reduction of
the whole of southern Ireland under his power, by which
hf became King of Leath Mogha.
So signal a success irritated the envious Malachie; and,
in 062, be invaded Munster, and carried off considerable
founder. The ne^t year, having taken into his pay a
numerous body of Danes, he made a fresh incursion into
Leinster. This repeated insult roused the indignation of
Brien ; be prepared to wn^ a signal vengeance on the
bead of Malnchie, who, terrified at the prospect of so
speedy and severe a retribution, offered him peace, in
wiucb he engaged to make restitution for all the damages
be had committed.
Continually in arms against the plundering and op-
pressive Danes, he reduced them from a state of indepen-
dency to absolute subjection ) and so benefited the country
at large, that a cooventiop of the states of Conuaugbt and
Munster, contrasting his power, magnanimity and justice
with the passive temporising spirit of Malachie, agreed to
request Brieo to assume the monarchy, and engaged to
support him to their utmost. Deputies were dispatched
to Makobie to inform him of their intention, and to desire
htm to resign a throne be was so ill qualified to fill.
He received the proposal with surprise and indignation,
declaring, as he lived, be would die — Monarch of Ireland.
Brien was prepared for such an answer : at the head of
a large army of veterans he marched to Tara; but Ma-
lachie representing that he had not had tin^e to collect his .
troops, ^d requesting a month for that purpose, Brien
granted him his wish, on the condition, that, if, at the
end or that time, he were not able to defend the crown,
be should resign it into his hands. Ail the exertions.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
1J6 BRIEN BOIRUMHE.
however, of Malacbie were useless ; the Princes of Leath
Cain were either too much attached to Brien, or dreaded
his power, and refused to answer the summons of Mala-
chie. On the day appointed, he appeared before Brien,
and surrendered to him the insignia of royalty; but
Brien with generous humanity, allowed hira twelve months
longer to take measures to preserve them.
So liberal a behaviour exeited no corresponding senti-
ments in the breast of Malachie; it rather increased his
envy of that virtue which he could not emulate. After
employing in vain every art to form a party against Brien,
he had the meanness to offer to surrender his crown to
O'Niall, on condition that he should defend it against the
pretender. His offer was rejected* and he was again
compelled to pass through the same humiliatiug ceremony
of surrendering his crown into the hands of his enemy ;
and, having given hostages for his peaceable behaviour,
he retired to the private situation, for which alone he was
adapted.
The reign of Brien, which commenced in the year
1001, presents a bright assemblage of every virtue which
€»n endear the heart, and every talent which can adorn
the reason. In war, victory pursued his path; in peace,
the arts embellished his repose. Property respected,
oppression punished, religion venerated, invasion crushed,
literature encouraged, and law maintained, were the sacred
characteristics of an age which the historian records with
delight, and the monarch may study with iniiprovement.
A fresh irruption of the Danes called the venerable hero
again into action, and the sanguinary achievement of
Clontarf closed, at the age of figkit/^eight, the glorious
career of a sovereign, whose '* hand was bent on war, but
whose heart was for the peace of Erin "
O'Halloran gives the following curious description of
the battle of Clonurf :—
'' At the head of 30,000 men highly appointed, Brien
marched into Leinster, about the beginning of April 1014,
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BRIEN BOIRUMHE. 117
io three diTisions, and was joined by Malachie^ King of
Meath. He encam ped, as he had done the year before, Dear
Kilmaioham. Aod, after bodb armies viewing each other
for some time, it was agreed on to determine the fate of
Ireland by a general battle on the plains of Clontarf. Early
on the £Srd of April, being Good-Friday, the Danes ap-
peared formed in three separate bodies for battle, and by
their dispositions Brien regulated his own. The auxiliaries
from Sweden and Denmark, consisting of 12,000 men,
among whom 2000 were heavy armed, commanded by
Brodar and Airgiodal, formed the right division. The left^
of nearly an equal number, commanded by Sitric, com-
posed of the Danes of Ireland and their associates, and
the centre composed of the flower of Leinster, under the
direction of Maol-Mordha, who acted as general in chiei^
formed the enemy's disposition of battle. It was judged
that, by placing the troops in this manner, under their own
leaders, it would raise a spirit of generous emulation
among them, and that they would vie with each other in
feats of bravery. The right wing of the imperial army was
composed of the household troops, filled up by the prime
nobility of Munster. The invincible tribe of Dalgais, with
all the princes of Brien's Uood, were also of this division,
and Malachie with the forces of Meath. This was to be
commanded by Morrogh, and Sitric, Prince of Ulster. In
the left wing, commanded by the King of Connaught, all
the Conacian troops were placed ; but, as it did not form
so extended a line as the enemy's, several detachments
were added to it. The troops of South Munster, under
their different chiefs, with those of the Deasies, formed
the central division. Brien rode through the ranks with
his crucifix iu one band, and his drawn sword in the other.
He exhorted them as they passed along to "do their duty
as christians and soldiers in the cause of religion and their
country. He reminded them. of all the distresses their
ancestors were reduced to by the perfidious and sanguinary
Danes, strangers to religion and humanity. That these,,
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116 BRIEN BOIRUMH£.
their iacc«6tor^ waiced ioipetiamly to renew the Mtat
scenes of derasution and crtelty^ and bj way of antiei^
pation (says he) they have fixed oo the very day on wMeh
Cbrwt was x^racified to destroy the conntry of hii greatest
votaries* But that God^ whose cause you are to fight, wiU
be present with yon, and deliver bis enemied into yoer
hands/' So saying, he proceeded towards the centre to
lead bis troopi to action, bnt the cbieft of the army with
one voice requested he would retii^ from the field of
battle oo acoount of bis extrene age, and leave to the
gallant Morrogh the chief oommiind. At eight in the
morning the signal for slaughter* was given. The Daigaif
with the whole right wing marched to atuck> sWord in
band| the Danes coaimanded by Brodar and Airgiodal r
but an uhoommon act of cowardice or treachery had like
to have destroyed the whole army,for) at this very critical
moment^ Malachie with bia Meathians retired suddenly
from the field of battle, leaving the rest of this body ex*^
posed to a far greater number of enemies* But Mormgh^
with great presence of mind> called out to bis briite Dal^
gaii, '^ that this was the time to distinguish tbemselveS) as
li^ey atone would have the unrivalled glory of cutting off
that formidable body of the enemy ^"^ And now, while
close engaged with battle-axe, sword, and dagger on the
right, the left, under the commend of the King of dm*
naught, hasten to engage the Domes of Leinster and their
insular levies, whilst the troops of South Munster attack
the apostate MaoUMordba and his degenerate Lagenians*
Never was greater tmimosity, perseverance^ and intrepidity
displayed in any battle than this, as every thing depended
on open force and coun^e. The situation of the ground
admitted of no ambuscade, and none were used. They
fought man to man, and breast to breast, and the victora
in one rank fell victims in the next! The officers and
generals performed prodigies of valour. Morrogb, his son
Turioghy his brethren and kinsmen, flew from place to
phce, and every where left the sanguinary traces of their
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Bftf£K fiOlRUMHE. 119
eotirage Md their (otHiiide. Tire ftMrtitud^ displdyed by
Moitogh deferfniiied Catolas and CoMuio), two Denies ef
dbttbctiod, to dttdck in eonju Action thid princ^e, slnd both
iMi by his sword. It wm obserted, thaC he, with odier
chiefs, had retired from the battle more than once, and
aftef each retnrti seemed to be possessed of redoubled
tbrte. It Wat (o- ilake their thifst and cool thek bands,
dwelled with the nse of the sw6rd and battte-axe, in an
6rfjt>hfing brook, over which a stoall gaafd was placed,
and this the Danes ^oon destroyed. On rejohiing his
trooptf dkelast time, Sifric-MaC^Lodair, with a body of
Banes, was making a fresh attack on the Dalgais^him*
Bfoffdgh singled ont, and with a blow of his battle-axe"
divided his body in two throagh his armour! I'he other
Irish Cbmuiaitders in like mantjer distmgnished theni'^
selves, thongh their exploits ar^ not so particularly nar^
fitted; and it Wotkld seem, from the number of prim^
nobility that fell on both sides, that, besides its beiAg H
geneml biatfe, the dtkh on each side every where sitigleif
dtft each other to single Combat.
The com^gi^ of the Irish was not to be subdued. Till
liear four o^clock in the afternoon did the issue of tllef day
reumin doubtful, and then it was that they made so general
an attack upon the enemy that its force Wa^ not t6 h^
resrslerf. Destftnte of leaders, and of course of drder, the
Danes gave way on every side. - Mortogh, at this tim<^
thtough the uncommon use and exertion of the sword
arm, bad both his hatid and arm so sWdle>d and paitied aM
to be unable to lift them up. In this condition he wafii
assaifed 6word in hand, by Henry, a Danish pritice ; but
Moi^dgb, dosing in upon him, seized him with the left*
hand, shook him out of his coat of mail, arid pi'ostrating
him, pierced his body widi his sword by forcing it^ pum;-
mel on his breast, and pressing the weight of his body on
it. In this dying situation of Henry, be nerertbeless seized
the dagger which hung by Aforrogh'^ side, and' with it
gave him, at the sam^ jmseadt, a mortal wound. The D^xiit
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1£0 BRIEN BOIRUMHE.
expired on the spot, but Morrogh lived till next morning,
employing the intermediate time in acts of piety and de-
votion; in making, says my manuscript, a general con*
fession, receiving the eucharisti and dying as a hero and
a christian skould die.
The confusion became general through the Danish army,
and they Bed on every side. Corcoran, one of the mo-
narch's aides-de-camp, seeing the standard of Morrogh
struck, for this notified the fall of the chief, and in the
general d^route unable to distinguish friend from foe, con*
eluded that the imperial army was defeated. He hastily
entered the tent of Brien, who was on his knees before a
crucifix, and requested he would immediately mount his
horse and escape, for all was lost. ** Do you,'' said the
hero, ** and my other attendants By. It was to conquer
or die I came here, and my enemies shall not boast the
killing of me by inglorious wounds." So saying, he seized
bis sword and battle-axe, his constant companions in war,
and resolutely waited the event. In the general confusion,
Brodar and a few of his followers entered the royal tent.
He was armed from head to foot, and yet the gallant old
chief pierced his body through his coat of mail ! two more
of his attendants met the same fate, and Brien received
* his death by a fourth.
The intrepid Sitric, Prince of Ulster, the faithful com-
panion of Brien in all his wars, was witness to the death
of Morrogh, and revenged it by that of Plait, a Danish
knight of great intrepidity, and by others of less note.
Eagerly pursuing Brodar and his party, he saw them enter
the tent of Brien, and cut to pieces the remains of them.
But when he beheld the aged monarch extended on the
ground his grief was extreme. He threw himself on the
dead body, the many wounds be had received in the battle
burst forth afresh — be refused every assistance, and ex-
pired in the arms of his friend and faithful ally.
Thus fell the immortal Brien, one of the most uniformly
perfect characters that history can produce. In twenty-*
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BRIEN BOIRUMHE. \t\
fite different reocontres, and twenty-nine pitched battles,
did he engage his Danish and other enemies, and victory
always attended his standard! But if he was terrible to his
enemies in the field, he was mild and merciful to them in
the cabinet, and, during his whole reign, a single act of
cruelty or injustice cannot be laid to his charge/'
We intended here to have concluded this sketch of
Brien, but the following poetic effusion from the pen of
Moore claimed its insertion : —
L
Remember the glories of Brien the braTe,
Though the days of the hero are o'er.
Though lout to MoDooia *,aDd cold io the grate,
He returns to Kmkorat no more !
That star of the field, which so often has poured
Its beam on the battle is set.
But enough of its glory remains on each sword,
To light OS to victory yet
ir.
Mononiaf when nature embeUish'd the tint
Of thy fields, and thy mountains so fair.
Did she ever intend that a tyrant should print
The footstep of slavery there ?
No, freedom whose smile we shaU never resign.
Go, teU our invaders the Danes,
That 'tis sweeter to Ueed for an age at thy shrine,
Than to sleep but a nM>ment in chains.
m.
Forget not our wounded companions!, who stood
In the day of distress by our side,
WhUe the moss of the valley grew red with their blood,
lliey stirred not, but conqoer'd and died :
The sun, that now blesses or arms with his light,
Saw tliem fiiU upon Ossory's plain :
Oh! let him not blush, when he leaves us to night,
To find that they feU there in vain !
• Mnnster.
t The palace of Brien.
t This alludes to an interesting drcnmstance related of the DdlgaUp
the lavourite troops of Brien, when they were interrupted in their return
IhMn the batUe of Clontarf, by Fitt patriek Prince of Ossory. The wounded
men entreated that they might be aOowed to fight with the rest :—*< 1^
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im
Dr. EDMUND BORLASE.
Of this skilful physlciao and celebrated historian so few-
particulars are known, that we should have been inclined
to have passed him over in silence, bad not his interesting
account of the great rebellion in 1641, claimed our pecu*
liar notice. He was the son of Sir John Borlase, master
of the ordnance, and one of the lords justices of Ireland.
He was born in Dublin, and received his education in the
university of that city, and afterwards travelled to Leyden,
his inclination for medicine leading bim to prefer finish-
ing his studies at that place, which was then the best
school to acquire a knowledge of that art* He remained
there for sonre years, and took his degnee as doctor of
physic in 1650, soon after which he returned to England,
and was admitted to the same degree at Oxford. At
length he settled at Chester, where be continued till his
death in 1682, practisii^ his profet^on with great repu-
tation and success* The following may be eiMimerated
among his productions ; ** Latham Spaw in Lancashire ;
with some remarkable Cases and Cares effected by
it," London, 1670, dedicated to Cbarles, Eail of Derby.
<'The Redu^iofr of Irelaml to tbeCro^n af Eogland;
with the Governors, since the Conquest by king Henry IL
anno 1172, and some Passages in their Government. A
brief Account of the Rebellion Ann. Dom. 1641. Also
the Original of the University of Dublin, and the College
of Physicians." '^ Brief Reflections on the Earl of Castle-
haven's Memoirs of his Engagetoeni; atid Carriage in the
War of Ireland. By which the Govertiment of that time,
and the Justice of the Crown* since^ are vindicated from
Mi9kei/* (they said) << be stuck hHkeg/>mM; and nfftr each qfui^Hid U
tmd mpported hy one qf ikeu OalttSf i» k$ fdoMti tn his rank hf the mde^a
^wjul miti''^^ B^twuti terwi wad eight Inmdrid wMnOed iMiiy"(«dld8
OFniA<Ma) ** fttde, tBuustetedv. vmA s«p|f«rte4 in this nanDer, B^pmreA
nAneH wttfi Ae fmekkmt tS the troop^C-^lVeit^ ww iMb mmCImp a^
«]iAlbHefft''*^l«Mtt^Q^/rffaif^hMli xii ck L
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BORLASE. 123
Aspcnions cast upon both/' And lastly, his most exten-
sive and celebrated, wprk, ** The History of the execrable
Irish Rebellioti, traced from many preceding Acts to the
Oriad Eraptiott, October Q3, 1641 ; and thedc6 pursued
fa the Act of Settl^mettt 1672.'' Wood informs ns that •
maeh crT ibis h iakM frotn ^ The Iriih Rebellioa i or, the
History of the begintiittg and ^rst Progress of the General
Rebellion raised within the Kingdom of Ireland^ October,
iS) 1641/ which wds written by Sir John Temple, master
6f the rolls, and one of his majesty's privy conncil in
Ii^Ahd, ahd father of the eeiebrated Sir William Temple.
Tbe following obsertatfons on iebis work atie by Dr.
Nai»o&> who says, '* Thiit besides the neaftiess of his rela-
tiaa to one of the lords justices, and his being avowedly
a favourer ot the faction, men, and actions of those time^,
be is an author of such strange inconsistency, tbat bis
book M rajher a paradox than a history. And it must
ftaeda be so ; folr 1 know not by what aecident the copy
of a MS. Written by the Earl o# Clanendon, happening to
(all into hi» hands, he has very unartfuHy blended h with
his own tough and unpoHshed heap of matter ; so that
his book looks like A eurious embroidery, sowed with
ooarse tbread upon a piece of sackcloth. And truly had
ha no other crime than that of a plagiary, it is such a sort
of theft to steal the child of another's brain, that mAy well
Mnder him suspected not to be overstocked with honesty
and justice, so necessary to the reputation of an unblemish-
ed historian ; but it is far more unpardonable to castrate
the lawful issue of another man's pen, and thereby disable
it from propagating truth, and to teach it to speak a lan-
guage which the parent never intended. And yet this is
the exact case of Dt. Borlase's history, in whith he has
taken great pains to expunge some, and alter many pa^-
Mgev, which he thought were too poignant against his
Avourites, or spoke too much in vindication of his late
taajesty and bis miprt^ters !"
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lU
HUGH, OE HUGH MACAULEY BOYD,
An ingenious author, bul who, according to his infatuated
biographer, the late Laurence Dundas Campbell, possessed
talents of sufficient magnitude to have illuminated any
age or nation. He was the second son of Alexander
Macaulej, Esq. of the county of Antrim, and was bom in
, October 1746, at Ballycastle, in the same county. Several
anecdotes to prove the miraculous precocity of his talent
are related by Campbell, and we are gravely told '^ He
began to pun while he was yet in his childhood ; and he
often punned so aptly, that be both surprised and amused
his friends.*' At the age of fourteen, he was placed
in Trinity College, Dublin, during which period, a
Mr. Marten, a gentleman of similar perceptions with
Mr. Campbell, used to characterise him by saying, ^'tbat
he united the meekness of the lamb with the spirit of the
lion.'' In 1765, he took bis degree of master of arts, and
bis grandfather wished him to enter the church; thi«
however, he declined, as the natural gallantry of his nature
indi^ced him to prefer the army; but bis father being desi-
rous that he should go into the infantry, and he giving an
undutiful preference to the mare elevated service of the
cavalry, some delay in conseqaence took place, and
Mr. Macauley's death terminated the dispute. He left no
will, and Mr. Boyd was consequently unprovided for.
Disappointed in the dream of becoming a general, hie
consoled himself with the expectation of being a judge,-*
in other words, he quitted the army for the law, and
shortly after visited London, where he was patronised by
Mr. Richard Burke; and, amongst the countless individuals
who were delighted with his wit and the excessroe splen-
dour of his talents, might be enumerated the celebrated
Mrs. Macauley, to whose husband he was related. But
we are told " the inborn generosity of his mind, together
with his exquisite sensibHitt/^ prompted him to acts of bene-
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BOYD. 125
volence which his scanty and precarions income was ill
suited to supply; and before be had been a year in
London, he was involved in pecuniary entanglements, from
which, alas! he was not at any period of his life to be en-
tirely released." But the same magnanimity which induced
him to expend what he did not possess, led him to despise
the inconveniencies resulting from such conduct. His cre-
ditors, it seems, became impatient; but he retained his
tranquillity, determined to keep his temper, although he
should lose his liberty.
This habitual thoughtlessness, his biographer gallantly
insinuates, rendered him a distinguished favourite among
the ladies; nor was he insensible of their admiration, as he
returned the compliment by marrying a Miss Morphy, a
young lady worthy of his super-human qualifications ; and,
as the merest trifle about truly great characters is interest-
ing, his biographer informs us, the courtship lasted a year
and some weeks. By this marriage his circumstances
were rendered somewhat easier, as Miss Morphy*s amiable
qualities and good sense, restrained that '' inborn genero-
sity and exquisite sensibility^' which he was possessed of
in so eminent a degree. He, however, suffered many
relapses, and ^'frequently plunged himself into difficulties
to save the credit or relieve the distresses of the man he
loved/' His friends, however, began to think it was high
time this period of capacious philanthropy should come
to afuli stop ; he was therefore recommended to his coun-
tryman. Lord Macartney, and on his lordship's nomination
to the government of Madras, he appointed Boyd his
second secretary. He sailed accordingly with the embassy,
and arrived at Madras in the autumn of 1781. After un-
dergoing several vicissitudes^ he went for a few months to
Calcutta, where *'his talents, wit, and humour, together
with the suptrkAvoe sprightliness of his convivial qualities
will be long remembered with pleasure." In February
1794, he advertised proposals for publishing, by subscrip-
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m Bova
tiopt b\$ ''£mhA9»7 to G^niv ;" tmt owiog to a wimt of
t^te wholly unaocpuutahW, Uie #i>b6^ipiioii did ooc
ia;9re$^ fio^^ «Q rapidly a» might b^v« befo e;cp«ctod.
H^, howevfr, pQ^pp^Jled by ibia adverse cireuoiBtaDot,
Dodenook ttw wvk with ^e^l^ an4 oos^dendy hoped t»
fij9i3b it wjthiii 9*^ m>nihh hit thii hope (iwfon«iiatdy
for poiterity) v«u oever renjfsed, oa A^oM«i of bis deeeate,
which occQfred QO the ifitb of O^tob^r, 1794, and bo was
iQterred in th^ mw buryiog groond at Madras*
"Of his person,'* we are told,** he vraa tall aad graceful,
jEonned with the moft exact ^ynio^tfy, bis mifio noble and
lelevated, bi$ ooiinteiMance aoUa^^ and coomiafldiBg, and
his deporunent exi^edvogly elegant/'
$«d) 19 tb^ iif<9 of Boyd> a# wriueo by I^uvenoe Camp-
bell, and we would have ivad^ a few oiore extraeta firoiii
ity bad w? not arrir^d at a chapter on bis ^* laidlactaal
Ellemf pta"' (a? hi« biographer i$ pieaaed to tenn theoi), we
iherefore thought U high time to dose the Tolume, with
the belief, that if any eJeqFKMt leMded in bis intelleet, it
was — air.
That Boyd was aa author po^^eiaed of »ome ingeauity,
we are w>t disppa^d to deiiy, but that be wa& aoy thing
jnprd would bP pwoewhat diflELcMlt to prove ; and we beg
the r?ad«r (if he iiwgia^ft w# have treated Boyd with
iindpe levity) to remember, that tbiis sketch is taken fron
a life written by ooo of hU mo»t lAtimate fneoda, evciy
lioe of whi^h reod^i both eoospionoualy ridiculoaa,
Boyd*$ Political Twfltf w^re fep<ioted in one Qotaw»
votum^ with a view toi4stabli$h;ap f^sertiom that Ahnonia
supposed to bavo b^P the ^sit to have made, porporting
Mr. Boyd to be the author of Juoiui.— Weoei^taialyhave
hpard the letter^ of Jwiu^^^tribBiod to^veral iadividoala,
whose inqprpparable vanity of b(ead seemed their onlj
plajm to the distioptiop; W o^ver before Boyd va^
m^ntioD^d fiid we see a fe^blo imitator mistaken for aa
origioai writer.
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BOYD. 127
Should, however, any of our readers not be conviaced
that Mr. Boyd was not the author of Junius, we take the
liberty of subjoiqiag the fcllowiig lett^, which appeared
IB the GeoUenwi's Mnga^iM of Marqh 1914.
'^ 8ir Jobu Maopb^rsoo, Bart* of Brpuaptoo Grove^ 19
both a BoiAnd scholar wd a g^ntiamw of sterling Abilities 1
and Sir John ouce rom a gov^roor-gen^al of Jtvdii^ Hii
nemplai^x^onrtesy, Ubctral tM^pit^lity, wd communicative
disfMBsitiM, are well kupwuu FroQ^ his owo lips I bafe
»y»elf been positively and distinctly iufprmed^ that (jmt
Mn Walter Boyd, ofdfibmMfm^i but) ^ugb Boyd, Eaq,
dedared^ 0^re dwx vim, at $ir Jobn^p tahW» wh^n the
jifoYd^j host bad temporarily retired, that ^^Sir Job« Miae*-
pbtrB4Ni little fcn^w he was crutertaimog ip bis mausjon a
political wttttr, whose sesytin^ao^ were onpe the pcoasian
i^achiyalreiiis appeal from Sir J. tp arms/' immediately
•ddiog/* I lu inn Author qv Junius/'
Amidst all the cirdes of our JQPuMur acquaiotance, we
have beard but ^ne wittki^m uttributed to Mr. Boyd#
which (aa it is onr wish to be as avn^fiug 93 possible) wt
take the liberty of inserting -.^rr^Mr. Boyd was once dining
with a large party of oativ^s of ** The L^d of Sain^"
all admirers of good dinnersy good jokes, and good wines,
vbea, after bawling partaken in ^99le ^bt degree of the
fermer, ihey proceeded to take i9 ^ mpre v^hola^ propor**
liop of the lal^ter, whiob having done, o^ of the ^ompaoy,
by way of being i»ore anmsmg thw th^ rest> lippk up a
decanter, and (him$ certmonik) flung it at the bead of the
penoQ thai sat facing bim^'Boydj bow§ver« seeing the
misttle thrown, dexterously sir^tebed fmr^i bis band, and
caught i% exQlaiming at the wue ume» ^^ B«aJly, geotle-
msm, if you send the hojttle abput iu Ms pqjfj there will
Jiot be ope ^f us able to simd pr^entjy,"
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128
RICHARD BOYLE,
Cblbbbatbd for liis attachment to the anfortunate
family of the Stuarts id all their distresses^ was bom at the
college of Youghall, on the 20th of October, 1612; He
waA the second son of Richard Boyle, the great Earl of
Corke, and Catherine, the only daughter of Sir Jeffery
Fenton, 'master of the rolls for Ireland ; of whose court-
ship the following account is so curious, that we cannot
avoid inserting it: — One morning, paying a visit to Sir
Jeffery Fenton on some business of consequence, that
gentleman, being very busy in looking over some papers,
did not come down so soon as usual. Finding, however,
when he came down, that Mr. Boyle had waited for him,
be apologizes for his neglect very handsomely, saying,
that had he known he was waiting, he would have come
down immediately. Mr. Boyle smiled, and told Sir Jef-
fery, that he did not by any means think the time long,
having been diverting himself with his pretty little daugh*
ter, (who was then in arms, and about two years old) and
added, that he had been courting her to become his wife*
On this. Sir Jeffery told him pleasantly, that so young a
widower would be loth lo stay so long for a wife ; but
Mr. Boyle seriously affirmed he would, if Sir Jeffery would
give his consent; which he accordingly did; and they
both fulfilled their promises. This curious and appa-
rently trifling incident gave rise to a connection which
afterwards formed the principal happiness of the life of
that great man ; and from her are descended the whole of
the numerous family of the Boyles, which has since shone
with so much lustre both in the field and in the senate. .
His earher years were passed in the acquirement of use-
ful knowledge under the care of Mr. Marcombes, in which
he made considerable progress, as is evident from the
qualities he afterwards displayed ; as well as from his re-
ceiving the honour of knighthood from the hands of Lord
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BOYLE. 1^
Fiiftkod, tbjen depatjrgeneral of Iretaod, wben he was
under tw'elve years of age^ he being then Viscount Dun«p
gtmuD, in confi^uence of the death of his elder brother
Roger^ at nine years of age* Having attained his twea«
tieth jtear, he was sevat, abroad to finish, his edocationi
under tb< care of his able and intelligent; tutor^ with ao
allowAQce of 1000/:. per annum. He passed two years in
his travels, having visited Flanders^ Francei and Italy,
and retiinied home furnished with every agreeable accom->
plisbment. On bis return, the unfortunate Lord Went-
worth, afterwards jBarl of Sfrafford, struck with his graceful
appearanceaad manly qualifications^ proposed to his father
to form an alliance between bis son and the Lady Elizabeth,
daughter and sole heiress ,of Henry, Lord Clifford, after-
wards Earl of Cumberland. This alliance, which was at
first retarded through some unforeseen difficulties, was at
length concluded, and their marriage took place on July 5,
1635. By this connection he increased bis fortune and
extended bis interest: it introduced him to the familiar
acquaintance of many of the 6rst persons at court, and con-
sequently paved the way for a favourable reception, which
was not a little increased by bis graces and accomplishments!
He was favourably received by Charles L; and having
been educated in the strictest loyalty and attachment to
his sovereign, he strongly adhered to the interest of that
unfortunate monarch. In the troubles of the North, be
raised a troop of horse which be intended to head, under
the command of the Earl of Northumberland ; an actioQ
which gained for him the friendship of many persons gf
the greatest consideration ; and when the rebellion broke
out in Ireland, he was oue of the first in arms, to support
the establishment He not only commanded troops, but
raised them himself, and following the noble example of
his father, paid them from the produce of his own estate*
He did not, however, on this account, treat them as his
slaves; be used them as if they had claimed a nearer
relation to him than that created by ^rvice; as if they had
VOL. I. K
Digitized by VjOOQIC
130 fiOVLS.
foTined a pdrtSon of his (hmity . Hit exhortatiMs to iftmA
t^ere manly and kind, and he often reminded them^ thai
th^y should Consider themsdries Dot bm soldiein of fintniM^
but a^ men iwhb had taken up armtf solely ffi^ the prated
tibii of dieir country frbni her teternal fces. At thif
head of these troops he Wli^ preset at s^teml isieget imd
battles, parttcttlariy ii3i the ^tebtatt^d aetibtl at Linearrol }
atrd such was the ^iFeet pirodubed by hi» kindness V6 hU
tAet^, that they always distinguished them^lveb^VAtvei^y
lfer.vice in whrch they wer^ engaged.
He always differed strongly from tfcos^ Whd ihbuight
tfhat the most successful way of carrying ow the wat wcfft
by irritating the cathoHcs; and the cessad^A wa^ in «l
'gte^t inea:8ure owing to the excellent advice whfch h6
gare to the Marquis of Omiond. This affair being com^
{)Ieted in September 1643, he exerted himself in endeisi*
Voaring to procure for the king that assistance wbi^h he
Expected as the con^quence of his agreement to this mea^
snre; and so great was his zeal on this occasion, that. III
bis own request, his regiment was part of th^ Irish brigade
kent to the relief of his majesty, and Was comtnted^ by
^is lordship in person. On his arrival at Oxford, he wa6
received by Charles I. with fevcry mark of favour and
Attention ; and even his enemies admired the firmtfess of
bis attachment to the fortunes of his sovereign.' He HHI
now raised to the dignity of Baron Cliflbrd, of Labesboi-
rough, in consideration, as the patent expresses i^, of hik
timely and effectual services. He constantly attended hi^
Inajesty with his troops, as long ^s any part of the king'-
dom afforded reception to him ; but was at lengtb forced
to compound for his estates, with the then existing
government for the sum of 1631/. Hltving, however^
crossed the seas before the composition was completed,
the House of Commons taking advantage of hi« absentee,
appointed a committee to consider of the debt owing by
the Earl of Cork (a titl'e to which be had now snceeeded)
Which involved him in considerable dtfficuftres. Ha was
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BOYLE. ISI
howtvcr, fertmMttljF eaabM to «atbfj their demands^ and
in order to secare bis property, returned to Iretand, where
he lircd in a retired mmoiitf iopon hi» own eedatety wbjeh
were cooMdcrably enoumbered in consequence of his )ate
exertions io fa^otr«f Charles I. and the heavy oomfosi*
tioa he had just been conpelled to pay.
Daring hia rasideDce in Irehmd, which oontmed until
tbe restoration of Charles IL his generoes disposition
eserted itself in relieving those who had suffered from
their attacbnent to the late king. He also'endeayoured to
svf^port his establishment in the seme state and magnifi*
cctice in which bis father bad lived, in consequence of
which be was at length so much embarrassed, that bis
countess was reduced to the necessity of applyrog to the
Protector for relief, which was liberally granted through
the intereessidn of hi» brother, the Lord Broghifl. No
sooner had be received this assistance, than he appfied a
oonsiderable portion of it to relieve the wants of Charles
IL then in exile ; a circumstance, which certainly, how-
ever it may evince his toysdty, do^ not tend to set his
gratitude in the most fev€>urable light. He also con-
stantly laboured, as much f» his property and interest would
Mffw, to procure the restoration of that prince to the throne
of his fathers ; in consequence of which, in the sixteenth
year of his reign, that monarch created him by Jetters
patent. Earl of Burlington, or Bridlington, in the county
of York. He also possessed the office of lord high trea-
surer of Ireland, which had been rendered, through the
interest of his father when -in that sitoatioa, bereditaiy in
the £uily.
On J me 3, 1^65, his second son, Richard, then a volun^
tecr on board the fleet commanded by his royal highness'
tbe Dvke of York, was killed by a cannon-shot in the en*
gagemeat off'Solebay. - This melancholy accident afforded
his majesty another opportunity of testifyii^g his affectiod
§m bia lordship, by appointing him, in 1666,' lord Kea*
! of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and of the city
Digitized by VjOOQIC
15« BOYLE.
York. Id 1679^ be was also appointed custos rotulorum
for that coQDtry.
These honours he held till after the death of Charles II.;
but when bis successor intimated to him his wish that he
should sacrifice the duties of his office to the private incli*
nations of his majesty, and consequently assist in subvert-
ing the constitution of his country, he decidedly declared
against so infamous a project, and magnanimously resigned
bis trusts, rather than consent to betray them. In conse-
quence of this, the situations he had filled for so many
years with the greatest honour to himself, and benefit to
his country, were bestowed on Lord Thomas Howard, a
zealous catholic, and one who was thought more fitted
for the great design then projected against our religion
and liberty.
On the arrival of the Prince of Orange, he zealously
concurred in all the measures which were then adopted
for resettling the constitution ; but he neither sought for^
nor accepted, any place; notwithstanding his great talents
and qualifications, which rendered him adequate to the
most active and important stations. He contented him-
self with a peaceful and less pompous retirement, gaining
the esteem of his equals, the love of his sovereign, and the
admiration of his inferiors, which were warmly expressed
on bis decease, which took place on January 15, 1697-8,
in the eighty*$ixth year of bis age.
The character of this great man may be summed up in
a few words. In all the polite and elegant accomplish-
ments of his age, he excelled ; as a soldier, his skill and
courage cannot be questioned ; and his attachment to an
unfortunate sovereign and his descendants, though warm
and energetic while he regarded their government as con-
nected with the welfare of his country, could not induce
him to consent tQ ah attempt against its liberties. This
he abhorred from whatever quarter it might arise; and he
rejoiced in the re*establishment of its constitution, though
accompanied with the downfal of the family he.revere4;
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BOYLE. 1«
and with a truly noble spirit preferred the benefit of hit
coontrj at large to the gratification of his private inclina*
tions. In private life, his virtues were as great as his
talents in public; he was beloved by his servants aud
his tenants, and regretted by all. His generosity was
unbounded; and although he might be conceived, from
the diflBculties under which he at one time laboured, to
have justly incurred the charge of imprudence, we. cannot
but feel inclined to pardon this weakness, when we consider
the cause of his distress,— that it was occasioned by re-
lieving the wants of those, who, deprived of their all from
their attachment to their prince, had none but him to look
up to for assistance.
ROGER BOYLE.
'Fhis celebrated individual, who united the greatest abh>
lities in the field, with the most consummate judgment in
the cabinet, and whose reputation as an author was equal-
led but by few of his contemporaries, was born on the 26th
of April, 1621. He was the third son of Richard, the first
Earl of Cork. When seven years of age, he was invested
with the title of Baron Broghill, of the kingdom of Ire-
land, and at the age of fifteen was sent to Trinity College,
where he remained for some time in the pursuit of his stu*
dies. He afterwards travelled under the care of Mr. Mar-
combes, visiting the court of France, and then proceeded
to Italy. In this country he remained under the care of
his learned and friendly preceptor, and imbibed an incli-
nation for poetry, which he afterwards cultivated with
great success. On his return to England, the reputation
of bis father procured him an introduction at court, and
his personal merits and cultivated talents ensured him the
approbation of all who were acquainted with him. Such
abilities as. he possessed soon attracted general attention,
and bit firiendship and assistance were earnestly courted by
the Eari of Strafford and the Earl of Northumberland. lo
Digitized by VjOOQIC
154 fiOYLB.
the ezpedkioti «rhioh was imdsrtakefi bjr tins laitar nobler .
mao into the north of Englsnd against the Scotch^ ha
eot rusted the Lonl Brogfaill 'with the comnaQd of his owa
troop, ia which sitaatioa this young nobleman acqaitfiadl
faiaiself to his contnaodar^ satis&ction ; aad soon after
his return, be tnarried the Lady Margaret Howardi sisiar
ta the Earl of Suffolk.
* He now returned to Ireland with bis lady^ aad arrivad
im the Tery day on which the great icbellioa cooiQieaeed.
This oiroumstancey howerery-was not thea kaowo ia
Munster, so that he proceeded in safety «o his father's at
Lismore* A few days after his arrival, going with his
father to dine with his brother-in law, the Earl of Barry-
more, at Castle Lyons^ the Earl of Cork was called out to
a messenger, who informed him, that an open rebellion
had commenced, aad that the iasurgents were masters of
the country, and were coaunittiog dhe most horrid barba-
fities on the English settlers. The Earl of Cork returned
40 the company without shewing any emotion^ and did
aot commuaicate this dreadful intelligence till after dio^
tier, when the Earl of Muskerry, who was tbeii on a visit
«t Castle Lyons, tneated the story as a mere fabrication^
and employed die whole force of bis wit in turning at into
ridicule. The coaipany, however> were alarmed, and sooa
separated, retorDiag to their homes, where the first intelli-
gence they received was^ that the Lord Muskerry had
appeared at the head of some thousands of rebels.
' The insurrection now became uni versal^ and was attended
-with circumstances of such atrocious barbarity aod uneix-
ampled crueky, that the English were thrown into tbe
greatest alarm. The Earl of Cork, without delay^ sum-
iBoned his tenants, and formed a body of five hnodved
men, giving the coaimaod of a troop of horse to Loid
Broghill. They were soon ordered to join the lord-presi-
dent St. Leifper, and Lord Broghill, on maay occasions,
evinced the greatest courage and conduct ; the soocess of
die contest remaining for a long time doubtAil, owing to
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BQYIS. m
tlM pv^ipowiBAUig pnmbecs of t^e ipsvrgf pti^. Wbea this
oessation of arms w^ coqcluded i^ MS0, Xx»r4 ^roghill
^eot QYtsf %9 Englandi where be repre$iquted the treachery
€if t}ie n^beU io 90 s^'opg a light to his mnjentif, ^ to cQ^t
viime hii9 that t|iejr did not peaa to adh^e to tbe terip^
which biwl heeo agreed pa, In qonsequeiiQA of this, hU
Hu^esty dispatched to Ix>rd IiH^hiqaio, then president 9f
M.QQtH3ri » ^(amission to prosecute the reb^^, and Iipr4
9f«ghill einplofed aU his iotensst to a#^8t bim in tbf
exercise of his ardooits task. Sooq after this, the goverpr
mem of Ireland w^s ceded by the ^ing to the comiQi^
siooeisi^ppoiDted by the parUaoneDt; hut so much did liQrd
^gbill abhor the cruelties aod excesses which had beea
QMBjnitted by the jrebeb* that he still retained his coair
miji^ipii) find did n^^ relax from his streuuouJi eudfH^VQUc^
tp ,rf-esUblish the tranquillity of hi« country.
Qn the .execujUon of Ch^rl^ (. Lord . Broghill wm
so mu^b gboc{c(^ ajt tbt^t melftuchply ocqurreupe, tbftt \^
innpediAtely .quitted the service of the pf^rliam^pt, and
ab^mdoniiig his lestAtQi in Ireland, embarjced for £Qglapdt
He now retired to his seat ajt Marstpn, m SomersfQtshire^
where he lived privfuely tiU ]649; b^t this joaptive Uf^
aopn wearied him. He regarded it as a dereliction of bis
duty to th^ unfortunate ffunily pf tb^e Stu^rts^ ^nd unfit .
for a man of bis quality. The principles of loyalty in
which he bad been educated stimulated h,in^ to aptive ex-
ertions, and he resolved upon passing pyer tp tbe continent,
to procure a commission froqi Charles II. %o Ijevy forceii
for bis service in Ireland. For ]tbi^ purpo^p, be raised ^.
opn^iderable sum of money uppn bi^ estates, and applied
10 fb§ 1^1 of SfVarwick, who was then in great credit witi}
tbe previaling party, reque^tiqg him to prpcure for him ft
4m paM to.gp oypr to the Sipa, the watery of that placp
having beep reppg)pi€;uded to bi^ as essential tp tbprecQ-
^W. Wd pt^ery^tion pf bi» bc^tb, JJp alfo pomQu-
iwcMsd b^s design to several persons whom be conceived
eg/mih 4«vot#d with himielif to tine ca^se of their exilf d
Digitized by VjjOOQIC
166 BOYLE.
sovereign; and the plao being approved of by thein^ he
went to London to wait for his passport.
Tlie committee of state, who were then at the head of
the government, were ever on the watch to discover th^
designs of the partisans of Charles, and spared no money
to procure intelligence. The Lord BroghilPs abilities
were too well known to them, his principles they had
every reason to saspect were unfavourable to their govern-
ment, and his every motion was watched. His secret
intentions were soon discovered, and the committee re-
solved upon making him an example to deter the friends
of the king from exerting themselves in his behalf. From
this resolution ihey were, however, diverted by Cromwell,
who had just been appointed to the command of the forces
in Ireland, and who ivas aware what essential service
might be rendered him in that office by the interest of
Lord Broghill, and his intimate acquaintance with the
country, the subjugation of which he was about to attempt.
He represented these reasons to the committee, of which
he was a member, and prevailed on them to allow him to
talk with Lord Broghill, previous to proceeding to extre-
mities. Having obtained this permission, he immediately
dispatched a gentleman to Lord Broghill, requesting to
know at what hour it would be convenient fov tlie general
to wait upon him.
Lord Broghill was much surprised at this message
never having had the slightest acquaintance with Crom-
well, and he informed the messenger, that he must be
mistaken in the person to whom the message was sent.
The gentleman, however, insisting that it was to the Lord*
Broghill, his lordship requested him to inform his master,
that he would wait upon him if he knew when he would
be at leisure, and added, that in the mean time he would
remain at home to receive the general's answer.
Relying upon the honour of those he had entrusted with
his secret, he did not entertain the slightest idea that hfs
intentions had been discovered, and he renuuned at home
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BOYLE. 137
in much perplexity, waiting the return of the messenger,
when, to his great surprise, Cromwell himself entered the
room. After the first civilities were exchanged between
them, Cromwell in few words informed him, that the
committee of state were aware of his design of going over
9nd applying to Chdrles Stuart for a commission to raise
forces in Ireland^ and that they had determined to punish
him with the greatest severity, had not he himself di-
verted them from their resolution. Lord Broghill on this,
interrupted him, with an assurance that the committee
had been misled by false intelligence, as he had neither
the power nor the inclination to raise any disturbance in
Ireland; he also thanked the genera] for his kind offices
to him, and entreated him to continue his good opinion.
Cromwell made no reply, but drew from his pocket some
papers, and put them into Lord Broghill's hands. These
were copies of several letters which he had sent to some
of the persons, on whose assistance he most relied. Finding
farther dissimulation impracticable, he asked his excel-
lency's pardon for what he had said, thanked him for his
protection against the resolutions of the committee, and
entreated his advice how to act on so delicate an occa*
sion. Cromwell candidly told him, that though till that
time he had been a stranger to his person, he was none to
bis merits and character; that he had heard how gallantly
bis lordship had already behaved in the Irish war« ; and
therefore, since he was named lord-lieutenant of Ireland,
and the reduction of that country had now become his
province, he had obtained leave of the committee to ofifisr
bira the command of a general-officer, if he would serve in
that war; that he should have no oaths nor engagements
imposed upon him, nor be expected to draw hb sword,
except against the Irish rebels.
So generous and unexpected an ofifer much surprised
Lord Broghill. He saw himself perfectly at liberty by all
tke kws of honour to draw his sword against the rebels,
wfaose atrocious barbarities were equally detested l^
Dightized by VjOOQIC
m BOY^E.
both partiet. He, hpveyer, reqnett^ iome time tojooth'
aider of the proppsal, but CrpmweU briskly tol4 him th^
be must form hj» resolution immediatelj, as he was return-
ing, to the committee, wbo were &tiU sittings and who, if
hi| lordship rejected their .o£Eer, had determined tp send
him to the Tower. Broghill seeing that bis liberty and
life were in the uKMt imminent danger, and cbanmed vitk
the fraokne^s of Cromweir^ bebavioar> gaye him bis. word
and honour that he would faithfully ienre him .againat th*
Irish rebels. On this Cromwell renewed hi» promiBes,iaod
ordered him to repair to Bristol, whither forces should bt
immediately Bent him, with a sufficient number of trana*
port^ for their conveyance to Ireland^ to which eOMQtry he
himself would sopn follow.
These promises were fulfilled in every respect* .Lord
Broghill hastened to Bristol, where he was soon joined by
the neceasary txoops, and on his arrival in Iceland, io
much had be gained the affections of those who bad for^-
merly served under him, by his courage and affability,
that he soon saw himself at the head of a tj*oop of horse
composed entirely of gentlemen, togetlier with a regiment
of fifteen hundred men. With this little army, be boveced
up and down the country, keeping the insurgents at check,
until Cromwell landed, at Wexford, wbgrn he immediately
joined with bis troops, though some of his friends had
advised him not to put himself too much in the power of
the lord -lieutenant. Broghill^ however, resolved upon
trustiflg himself entirely to Cromwell's honour, nor had he
ever reason to repent his <:onfidence.
After the reduction of Drogbeda, Cromwell laid siege
to Cionmell, when he received inteUigenee that the febeis
bad coUected a large body (tf troops, which were stiU
increasing in nambers,with the intention of compelling bim
to raiae *he siege.. He imoMdi^^y dispatched Loid Brog-
hill at the bead of.&atroqg idetaobment, with^irdera to .&il
upon the pMty which bad aasembled. Thb servtee was
performed with the greatest celerity, and he fell npon ibe
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BOYLE. IS9
mkitmf^ whmtmmibtan*montktti to afaoit five thoasaocl
seciy ber<MPe tb^y Wie»-e aw^are of hts ftppfoaeh, and entbdy
ilQiited ihem, and was engaged id' taking measures for their
coniplete ^spersjoi^ when be raceiired dis|»atche» ttom
Cfomwell, ia£arjniing iijiin fthat bis army before Oximeli
wa» much reduced by ibe ravages of disease^ and tbat they
bad beeatHTice repaked by ibe besie^d; conjuring bim
U>ereflN)e|hy every tie of duty and affeetion,rte hasten to
his relief, or 4hat be sbould be. compelled to raise the
sj^e* Lord Grogbill ioseediately retumed him for a»»
swer, by his «wa toessenger, that he had just defeated ihe
rebds, and voaM he iMh bim before Qoomell in. three
daya, GromweU was Buicb pleased wkh this message^:
wd when, at the time appointed^ Lord Broghill appeared^
he «nkred 4he fwhole army to ery, ''A BrogbiU!''^
A BfogbiU !" and jran^ind embraced Um, thanking him for
hja^seasonable asaistaocey and ooBgratalaiing him on his
kl^ victory* Thas raraforced^ he prosecuted the siege ivith
Fedoobled vigoar^ and Cornell sttnendered. to hia victo*
U99$9 4irms in the depth «if winter*
Gpom^rell heiag soeo after, aeat Cur to oppose the
Soetoh» gavie the chief oooimand. of theforees in Iveland
to ketoni wbcdSi he apfointed Us deputy, and left Lord
BiAgbtll ait the head of a iying camfi in Mnnster* In this
tkttttion he was indefatigable, taking several towns^ and
firequently atiMoking the enemy ^ with ''Suoees& In these
expeditions be evinced so much ability, and gave peraoaai
proofs Af each iindanniad conrage, thai fae^was regarded
with admimtioa by the whole- body of the* nation; und
laeiomy who still sntspecled him of a private atlBchment to
the royal farty^ is reported to. have saidy^ We most mke
off Biwgb<]u, <or he wiU ruin tts aU."
Lord Bnoghitt himself eolenained great ensfsdons. ef
betonV jealoDsy of faimi and thenrfore kept wstb hss. little
nrmy at some distance, acting independently tifl he waa
noofieUed to join him at the siege of Limerick. Dnriog
Digitized by VjOOQIC
140 BOYLE.
thi8 8iege the Lord Broghill wai ordered on a senrice
which certainly appears to have been dictated by evil
intentions on the part of Ireton. Lord ' Muskerry had
collected a body of three thousand men, one thousand of
whom were horse^ with which he was marching to join the
Nuncio, who was at the head of eight thousand men, for
the purpose of afterwards proceeding to the relief of Li-
merick. To prevent their junction. Lord Broghill was
dispatched by Ireton with but one thousand troops. By
forced marches he came up with Lord Muskerry before he
had effected his union with the Nuncio, and fell upon him
with the greatest intrepidity and resolution. He was,
however, owing to his inferior numbers, soon surrounded
by the enemy, who offered him fair quarter. This he
refused, and threw himself into the thickest of the battle,
to encourage his men to exert themselves to the utmost.
This so exasperated the rebels, that they exclaimed, ** Kill
the fellow in the gold-laced coat," and they would in all
probability have effected their purpose, had he not been
brought off* by a lieutenant of his own troop, who was
shot twice, and had his horse killed under him in ensuring
his commander*s rescue. So spirited an example infused
fresh courage into his troops, the^ fought with despe-
ration, and their exertions were crowned with victory.
The enemy was completely routed, leaving six hundred
men dead on the spot, together with a great number of
prisoners.
When the war in Ireland was ^nished, Cromwell, who
seemed resolved to attach Lord Broghill to him, by load-
ing him with fresh favours, sent for him to England, and
appointed him one of his privy council, ^or can there be
a greater proof of the fine taste of the Protector, in spite
of the cant which the times compelled him to use in pub-
lic, than the constant and familiar intimacy in which he
lived with Broghill, Waller, and Milton.
The affairs of Scotland were at this time in much e»n-
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BOYLE. 141
foiioDy and Cromwell, wanting a man of abilities in wbofu
be could confide, to preside in that country, fixed apoa
Lord Broghill for that high situation. His lordship, bow-
tYCT, was uBwilling to accept so delicate an ofiice ; he was
aware that bis conduct would be grossly misrepresented by.
the factions with which that country was then divided^
and he requested the PrQtector to excuse his not accepting
that post, informing him at the same time of bis reasons
for refusing the honour intended him. Cromweli, how*
ever, stating that it was necessary for his service, he was
compelled to submit. He, however, obtained a promise of
the Protector, that bisbighneiss would listen to no com-
plainu which should be made against bim, till he bad an
opportunity of vindicating himself, and that he should be
recalled at the end of one year. The Protector fulfilled
his promises, and Broghill, on bis return, found, as he ex«
pected, that numerous and violent complaints had been
made against bim. He, however, gave so dear an account
of bis reasons for his conduct in every particular, thai
Cromwell was perfectly satisfied, and conceived a mucb
higher esteem for him than he bad before entertained.
During the protectorate of Cromwell, Lord Broghill
bad many opportunities of relieving and assistmg the
adherents of the king, from the affection which Cromwell
entertained for him. In proof of this, we may mention,,
that Cromwell one day, in the midst of a friendly cooveiw
sation, told him in a gay manner, that an old friend of his
was just come to town. Broghill desiring to know whooL'
his highness meant? Crom^well, to his great surprise, an«
swered, the Marquis of Ormond. On this Broghill pro-
tested that he was wholly ignorant of it. I know that well
enough, said the Protector ; however, if you have a mind
to preserve your old acquaintance, let him know, that I am
not ignorant either where he is or what he is doing. He
also told him where the Marquis lodged, and Broghill,
having obtained this goierbus permission to save his
friend, went directly to him, and acquainted bim with
Digitized by VjOOQIC
1« BOYLE.
what bad passed; Ormond fiDdmg htmself discoirered^
hi^mediatelj quitted London^ and srailed himself of tbe
etfrii^c opportunity of retur^Tng to the king.
' The kindness and aflectioiv with whidv Lord Broghtij
w«s always treated by the Protector, excited correspond^
kig sentiments in his bosom ; and when, en the decease of
Ofiver^iiis son Richard 'succeeded hinr in bis power, be
resolved upon endeavouring to eritiee bis gratitude to the*
fotber, by supporting the son* He saw the weak aatF
racillating state of Richard Crottwetl's mind, and he sooir
became awm'e of tbe impossibility of his maintaining the
situation to which bis fttCber's merits and abilities bad
invsedbifn. A^ one of bis eabinet council, which cen6tste«l
of Dr^ Wflkins, €o4onel Phillips, and himself, he bad frt^
Hfoeal opportuniMes of perceiviog that want of decismi
fmd firmness which marked tbe administration of tbe new?
Protector, aad which prevented his piiofiting by ibe adrice
of ibose who were to wdL capable of directing biia. Pen*
MPadedby the faction then prevalent ia the army, Ricbanst*
wa» tnduoe^ without acqvaiotiog bis cabinet conncil, ia
consent) to the meeting of a general cou»eil of officem a«
the same time that the parliament met* Broghili was per-
fectly* aware of the destruction tbe Protector waaidrawii^
bk^hiia own bead by thi* wprudcttCmeasare, and expostu*
latttd witlr him on tbe occasion, promttiog at the «ame
ume^ that if be wouU reaoive upon dissolving iheoouacil
fttitbe fiat opportunity, be would endeavour to prevesfe
tfarnisehief wbich avigbt <9(therwise ensue, k^iug; as »
general, the right to< be present at its* meeting.
' WallingfordHouse'ii^astheplaceapiioiiitedfortdiemees^
iwgof the general council of officers^ and on ibe fiest day
ihey assembleiito the aanvbevof abe«efivehui>dred» After
a long prayer by Dr.- Owen, Majar-Gcoeral DeBbocMigk
iMe, and- in a long speech reminded them how graciooa
the Lord bad been, and bow their arras had flouriEbed^
Ibbughbe feared this< would not oontinue loog^ as seven!
sons of Belial bad cvept in amongst tbem^ who ia all pro*
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BOYLE. 148
bability woold draw down the jadgments of bearen vfon
them. To prevent this, he proposed a test lo be taken
hf all persons in the army, that every one should swear
Alit be believed in his conscience, that the pvctin^r to
UltBth of the late king Charles Stuart ww lawful and jast
Tbis speech was received with great appllaase, oecaiioiii^
iilg a general ay of *' well-aioved !* w that mtkiy of
Richard's friends thinking it useless to oppose so etidenta
majority, left the house. Lord Broghill, bow^ver/against
whom this speech was more particularly levelled, as soon
as silence was restored, rose to object against any tests
whatever,.as a thing which they had often declared against.
That if they proceeded to impose tests upon themselves^
they would soon have them imposed by others. That the
test proposed was improper^ a3 many of tbe members were
not present at the execution of the late king, and conse-
quently were unable to swear as to the lawfulness of a pro-
ceeding, tbe circumstances of which they were unac*
quainted with. If, however, they were resolved upon
having a test, he would propose, that every parson in the
army shouM swear to defend tbe establisbed govemmeiiC
voder the Protector and parliaiaent.
This propositioa was received with a kmdier cry of
^ wdl-BMved,'' than that of Desborough^s, aad was se-
eoodcd with so much wartnth by sowe otbor Members of
the eouwcil) that Desboroiv^, after consukiog with Fleel»-
Immd, and fiiuMiig it ioiposaiMe to carry the test he had
psapofcd^ saaaed that the arguments whidihad bcisn made
■ae of by Lord Bro^ill, had oonrriBced him tbtd tests
arere i8if)iroper,aBd he tberef»re pracpoted Aaa they ahoaU
teth be withdrawn, which was at length agseed to.
On tbe breaking u>p of tbe council, which, was adjourned
till the next day, BrogbiU returned to t^e Proaectoc, and
after pointing out the constant difficulties in whic^ he
would be involved daring their sittings^ adviaed him to
diisotve cfaem imuiediaieiy. Riobard inquiring bow ha
rtumM do i« f BrogbiU said that fae would draw up a shost
Digitized by VjOOQIC
m BOYLE.
«peecb for hiaii which he might read to them the next
moroingy after haying sat among them about an boutf
This was accordingly done. T|)e following morning ; th^
Protector, to the great surprise of the assembly^ ?eate^
himself in the chair of state^ and after attending ,tp ,thie
debates some time, rose and delivered the speech, w.bicb
had been prepared for him by the Lord Brogbill^ with
tnuch better grace than bad been c:i^p€;cted. . .
'* Gentlemen,
" i thankfully accept of your Services. I have consi*
dered your grievances, and think the properest method
to redress what is amiss among you, is to do it in the par-
liament now sitting, and where I will take care ycti shall
have justice done you. I therefore declare my commis.
sion for holding this assembly to be void ; and that thift
general council is now dissolved; and I desire that such
of you as are not members of the parliament, will repair
forthwith to your respective commands/'
Fleetwood, . Desborough, and the rest of their party
were confounded by this spirited speech, and had Richard
been capable of acting with the same dignity which ha
expressed upon this occasion, he might still have retained
the power which was bequeathed to him by his father.
The faction toon gaessed that Broghill was the author of
the speech they had jnst heard, and resolved, to be re-
venged upon him for his imierfereoce. In consequepce of
this, at the first meeting of parliament they complaioed that
they had been grossly abused and affronted by a cerHua
lord in that assembly, and therefore moved that an addresa
be presented to his highness the Protector, to know who
advised him to dissolve the council of war without the
consent and knowledge of his parliament.
Several of Broghill's friends who saw that the storm
was pointed at him, advised him to withdraw ; he, how-
ever, sat still, till hijB enemies had done, and then rose and
said, that he was not averse to the presenting such aa
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BOYLE. 14i
address^ but at the tame time be would more for another
address, to know who advised the calling the council of
war^ without the consent and knowledge of his parliament,
for surely, they were much more guilty than him who had
advised its dissolution. This motion was received with
applause by the house, who entertained great jealousy of
the council of war, and Fleetwood had the mortification
to see his {dans baffled a second time by the dexterity of
the Lord Broghilh
Though the council of officers had been dissolved, a
great number of them still continued to meet privately*
Broghill and some others of Richard's friends informed
the Protector of these meetings, by which, not only his
power, but even his person was endangered, and engaged
that if he would act boldly, and give them a sufficient
authority, they would either force his enemies to obey
him, or destroy them. Richard was startled at this pro-
posal, and declined their offers, stating, that rather than
a drop of blood should be spilt on his account, he would
lay down his power, which was but a burden to him ; nor
could all their persuasions induce him to alter his resolu*
tion. Shortly after this, the council of officers, partly by
threats, and partly by promises, prevailed upon the Pro-
tector to dissolve the parliament. This was in effect
destroying his own power ; and Lord Broghill seeing the
family of the Cromwells was now laid aside, returned To
bis command in Munster, where he was much beloved.
The conduct of affairs now devolved into the hands of
the committee of safety, appointed by the army, and seven
commissioners were detached by that body to take charge
of Ireland. They had particular instructions to attend to
the motions of Lord Broghill, and if possible to find some
occasion to confine him, as they were well aware of his
intentions of endeavouring to restore the exiled family of
the Stuarts, and knew, that bis popularity in Munster, and
bia great abilities might induce the whole army of Ireland
to join with him to effect his purpose. He bad already
VOL. !• L
Digitized by VjOOQIC
146 BOYLE.
applied to Sir Charles Coote, wiio had great power in the
north of Ireland, when he was sumnioned by the commis*
sionert to appear before them at the castle of Doblin. His
friends on this adrised him to stand upon his gaard^ and
not put himself into the power of his oiemies ; but he
thought himself not sufficiently strong to take sucfaaatep^
and therefore went to 'Dublin, taking bis own troop with
him as a guard, which he left in the suburbs. The day
after his arrival, he appeared before the commissioners
who informed him that he was suspected of plotting against
the state, and that they had orders to ooafine him, unless
be would be answerable with hit life and estate that there
should be no commotion in Munster, where his interest
principally lay. Lord Broghill was much surprised at this
proposal ; he saw himself in the power of his enemies,
who would Uke advantage of his refusing the security
required, by immuring him in a prison, and who, if he gave
the securities, might themselves raise some commotion.
He requested some time to consider, but they insisted on
his immediate answer ; when he requested to know if they
intended to put the whole power of Munster into bis
bands; if they did, he was willing to enter into any secu-
rities whatever; but if they did not, they could not expect
him to be answerable for the behaviour of people over
whom he had no control.
This question so much embarraued the commissioaers,
that they ordered him to withdraw, and fell into a warm
debate how they ought to proceed with him ; and at length
it was resolved by the majority, that he should be sent
back to his command in Munster, with every civility, and
sufibred to retain it till they bad farther orders from £pg^
land. In consequence of which he was invited to dkie
with the commissioners, who assured him that they had so
high an opinion of his honour and integrity, that they
would require him to enter into no engagements whlttever,
and dismissed him with the greatest respect. Oo his retorts
to Munster, Lord Broghill easily saw through the oieaa«>
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BOYLB. Hf
iogof the^e outward citilltiesi and ot bU arrival at bit.
commdnd, exerted biroaelf with 90 moch energy in tbe
rojBi cause, that he was soon enabled to atad over to
CbaHes a declaratian of their wbh, that be should oome
to Irelaody sigoed by all the principal officers and com*
maodeni in that oountry.
Soon after his hrothec's dqmrlure for Flaodersy be re»»
ceived a letter from Six CUiarles Coott > informing biei that
ibeir design of dedaiiag for the kiog bad been discovered,
in consequence of which he bad been eompelled to declare
himself sooner than be had intended, and coojaring bis
lordship not to forsake biad in a design which he had first
persoaded him to undertake* On the i«ceipt of tbia Lord
BrogbiU imniediately declared himaelf for his majesty;
and the coinmissi(H»ers finding theiaselves in the widat of
two snch powerM parties, made so trifling a resistance,
fcbat the whole kingdom was quickly lecurod in the name
oflw majesty Charles lU
On the retam of the king to England^ and his re^esta^
blishment \n the throne of bis father, Lord Broghill has*
tenad to England, where he was received by Charles with
great coolness. He was much surprised at thtf, until he
discovered that Sir Charles Coote had sent over a friend
to At king at Brussels, who informed him that Sir Charles
was the first man in Ireland who had taken up arms for bis
majesty, and Uiat I^ord Bro^ill was extremely averse to
bis restoration^ In oooseqaence of this, BrogbiU put the
letter be bad received from Sir Charles into the haode of
his brother, the Lord Shannon, who laid it before bis aas-
jesty, who was thus convinced of the strenuous exertions
of Lord Broghill in bis favour, and received hira after*
vwds in the most gracious manner. Soon aftjur i\m be
was created Earl of Orrery, and appointed' one of his
majesty's cabinet oowciU He was also promoted to the
situation of lord president of Munster, and named one of
the lords jnspces for the government of Ireland.
The tranquillity which followed the restoration of
Cbarlea ineodering the 1^1 of Orrery's abtlrties as a aoMier
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us BOYLE.
of less importance, he employed his talents in writing those
plays on which his reputation as an author principally
depends. They are, " The History of Henry V.;" « Mus-
tapha, the Son of Soliman the Magnificent;" ''The Black
Prince;** and " Triphon.*' They were distinguished by
much of that brilliant wit which sparkled in the luxurious
court of Charlesy but found their principal claim to our
notice on the sentiments of honour and probity with which
they are filled. His lordship unfortunately gained so much
applause from his first piece, which was written in rhyme,
that he published all his subsequent works in the same
style, which is certainly extremely improper for the stage;
and in consequence of this, some of the finest thoughts
are expressed in so spiritless a manner, as to lay them
open to the greatest ridicule. Great allowances, are how-
ever, to be made, when we consider that these plays were
composed during the excruciating fits of the gout, (a dis-
order which, although it may elicit spirited exclamations,
is not on the whole, favourable for the development of
poetic talents.) This afi9iction caused Charles to observe,
that if he intended to defer finishing his Black Prince
till he had another attack, he heartily wished him a
good fit of it. His posthumous plays are, " M* An-
thony;" "Gusman;** *' Herod the Great;" and "Alte-
mira." His lordship is also well known as an author, by
his immense romance, " Par then issa ;" a work which
has been admired and read in several modern languages.
He also published, ** The Irish Colours displayed ; in a
Reply of an English Protestant to a Letter of an Irish
Roman Catholic;*' and *^ An Answer to a scandalous Let-
ter lately printed and subscribed by Peter Walsh, Procu-
rator for the secular and regular Popish Priests of Ireland,
entitled, ' A Letter desiring a just and merciful regard of
the Roman Catholics of Ireland, given about the end of
October, I66O, to the then Marquis, now Duke of Ormond,
and the feecoud time Lord- Lieutenant of tijat kingdom.'
By the Right Honourable the Earl of Orrery, &c., being a
full Discovery of the Treachery of the Irish Rebels, since
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BOYLE. 149
the beginoiog of the Rebellion there, necessary to be con-
sidered by all Adventurers^ and other Persons estated in
that Kingdom." His poems comprise,^^ A Poem on his
Majesty's happy Restoration ;'* '* A Poem on the Death
of the celebrated Mr. Abraham Cowley;*' ''The Dream,"
which is altogether political ; and '* Poems on the Fasts^
and Festivals of the Church of England." This w^s his
last work, and exhibits manifest proofs of declining genius.
He also dedicated to his majesty, " The Art of War," a
work which exhibits much classical ability and military
talent.
Not long after his majesty's return, the catholics of
Ireland commissioned Sir Nicholas Plunket, and some
other gentlemen, to present a memorial to him, requesting *
the restoration of their estates. The protestants, alarmed
lest this remonstrance should take effect, chose the Earl
of Orrery, and six more, to oppose this measure in the
couDcil. The Earl of Orrery had always been so strenuous
an opposer of the catholics that they were apprehensive
that bis eloquence and address might influence the coun*
cil against tbem. In consequence of this^ they offered
him, as Mr. Morrice, his lordship's chaplain, assures us,
8000/. in money, and estates to the amount of 7000/. per
annum, not to appear against them ; but he rejected this
proposal with disdain, stating that, since he had the
honour to be employed by the protestants, he would never
have the baseness to betray them. The cause was heard
with great solemnity before the king and council: the
commissioners of the catholics urged their arguments on
the case,and expatiated ori their loyalty and attachment to
his majesty ; when the Earl of Orrery rose, and, after a hand-^
some compliment to the king, stated that his protestant
subjects in Ireland were the first who bad formed a party
for his assistance ; that the catholics had fought against
the authority, both of the late and present king ; and
finally, that they had offered the kingdom of Ireland
to the Pope, the king of Spain, and the king of France.
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lAO BOYLE.
In proof of his atdertiood, to the great surprise of all t?ho
^ere present^ he produced origimd papers, signed by the
sDpreme council of the catholics^ of which Sir Nicholas
Pluoket himself tras one. This unexpected blow decided
the contest in favour of the protestants, and his majesty
dismissed the catholic commissioners with more severity
than he commonly made use of.
Shortly after this, his lordship with Sir Charles Coote,
who had been created Earl of Montrath, and Sir Maurice
Eustace^ were appointed lords justices of Ireland, and
commissioned to hold a parliament for the settlement of
the nation. On this occasion Lord Orrery, with his own
hand drew up the famous Act of Settlement, which was
looked upon when it passed as evincing the most con*
sUannate skill and address* The partial interpretation,
however^ which was afterwards put upon it by the judges,
gave rise to wacb damour and complaint, and completely
deprived the measure of that conciliating eSeoty which
had hetfa intended by it, in restoring many of the catholics
to their herediury possessions. When the Duke of Ormond
was appointed lord-lteutenant. Lord Orery retired to his
presidency of Muster, where he beard and determined
causes with such judgment and impartiality as acquired
bim the general approbation and esteem of that province,
and induced the king, after the fall of the Earl of Claren^
don, ta ofier him the seals. The gout, however, with
which he was now almost continually afflicted, induced
him to decline a sitoation which required so regular an
attendance.
During the first Dutch war in which France acted in
, coDfederaoy with Holland, he defeated the scheme formed
by the Duke de Beaufort, admiral of France, to get pos-
session of the harbour of Kinsale ; and taking advantage
of the alarm of the neighbourhood, he had a fort erected
aader his own directions, which was named ^' Fort Charles.^
He afterwards interested himself in aa inquiry which waa
attempted, into the king's rev»ue from Irdand; hot
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BOYLE. 151
Charles having applied large tmns out of that ravcDae^
waa aowilliog that the inquiry should proceed^ add he
cooseqaeatly ikiled in his endeavouni to procure it*
The ministry of England, which was now principally
directed by Sir Thomas Clifibrd, apprehcniiTO that they
should not be able to succeed in their designs in Ireland,
while Lord Orrery continued president of Munsteri pr»*
vailed on his nuyesty to direct him to discontinue his resi-
dential court, in which he sat as judge for that province,
as a compeosatioQ for which, he received 8000/. But soon
after^ they procured articles of impeaclunent for treason
and high misdemeanours to be exhibited against bicn in
the English house of commons; on which occasion his
lordship in his place, delivered so candid, ingenuous, and
satisfactory a defence, that the proceedingli were dropped.
He was, however, so incensed against the ministry who
had thus attempted to destroy him, that when Charles IL
who fdt a real attachment to him, offered him the post of
lord high treasurer to induce him to remain in England,
be refused it; plainly telling him that he was guided by
unsteady counsellors with whom he could not act«
Having been long a martyr to the gout, the frequent
returns of which had induced an ill state of health for
some time previous, be expired on the i6tb of October,
1679, at the age of fifty-eight, leaving behind him the
character of an able general, statesman, and writer* In
all these capacities we have already had occasion to con-
sider him, and have seen that he was deserving of high
estimation in each of them. Bat the most distinguishing
part of his conduct is that happy presence of mind which
he possessed^ and his peculiar dexterity in extricating
himself from the perplexities in which be was so frequently
involved* His generosity was great, but it was regulated
by prudence ; and bis charities, as we are informed by bis
diq>laan, Mr. Morrice, were extensive and uninfluenced
by any narrow illaberaliiy of party or religion. He pos^
nessed ao undeviating integrity and rectitude of principle^
Digitized by VjOOQIC
m BOYLE
from which we hare seen, on one occatioo, that bribes
could not bias him, and on another he refused the oflTer
of 4000/. which Charles, who was not so delicate, is known
to have put into his own priv^- purse* His natural talents
were much improved by literature, and bis wit and cou-
rage rendered still more amiable by religion. His con-
versation was peculiarly interesting from the knowledge
of men and manners which it evinced, and the wit with
which it was enlivened.
His person (we are informed) was of a middle size, well
shaped and comely ; and his eyes had that life and quickness
in them which is generally regarded as the sign of great
and uncommon talents.
FRANCIS BOYLE,
Viscount Shannon, fourth son of Richard, first Earl of
Cork, was bom on June 25, 1623. His first essay in arms
was at the commencement of the great rebellion, and
when his brother, Lord Kynalmenby was slain, he brought
off in safety the cavalry which his lordship had com-
manded, together with his body, at the hazard of his own
life. He continued very active during the reign of
Charles I. in suppressing the rebellion.
In 1660 he was dispatched to Brussels by his brother
Roger, then Lord BroghiU, to invite Charles II. to Ireland,
in order to procure his restoration ; but the exertions of
Monk in England having ensured his reception in that
couqtry, he did not avail himself of the offer of the Boyles.
As a reward, however, for his services, he was in Septem-
ber raised by the king to the title of Viscount Shannon.
He was also admitted a member of the privy council,
made captain of a troop of horse, and received two grants
of lands under the acts of settlement. In August 16729
be was appointed governor of the city and county of Cork,
and lived probably till near the end of the seventeenth
century.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BOYLE. 153
His lordship is known to the literary world as author of
" Discourses and Essays, useful for the vain modish Ladies
and their Gallants; as also upon several subjects, moral
and divine, in two parts;'' a work which is now very
rared-^In Park's edition of Orford's Royal and No^le
Authors, is a list of the titles of the different essays which
compose this work, some of which are curious : as,
'^8. Against maids marrying for mere love, &c.
9* Against widows marrying.
10. Against keeping of misses," 8lc.
Aubrey, from Dr. Walker's funeral sermon on Lady
Warwick, speaks of a publication by Lord Shannon,
entitled, his " Pocket Pistol/' *' which may make/' says
the preacher, ^'as wide breaches in the walls of the
Capitol as many cannons."
HON^^E- ROBERT BOYLJE.
^fiis celebrated and accurate investigator of nature,
equally distinguished for the extent of his knowledge and
the purity of his morals, was born at Lismore, in the pro«
vince of Munster, on January 25, 1626-7. He was the
seventh son and the fourteenth child of Richard Boyle,
the great Earl of Cork. When nine years of age, having
been already taught to write a good hand, and to speak
French and Latin with great fluency, (the former with so
much accuracy, as to pass frequently when on his travels
for a native of France,) he was sent by his father to Eng-
land, to be educated at Eton school, under the care of
Sir Henry Wptton ; who discovered so much ability in
the son of his old friend, combined with so anxious an
inclination to avail himself of every opportunity to increase
his acquiremenis, that he soon became accustomed to
regard him as one of the most promising youths in that
establishment.
. During his stay at Eton, he met with several accidents,
.which had nearly proved fatal to him. Being once
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IH BOYLE.
mouQled od a startiog horse, the animal reared pp, and
bad almost thrown him backwards, when he would cer-
taialy have been crushed, had he not fortunately diseop
gaged himself in time from the stirrups, and thrown him*
self off. On another occasioo, an apothecary's servant
having by mistake delivered to him a strong emetic instead
of a cooling draught, his life was in great danger through
the violent operation of so improper a medicine on his
delicate constitution. The most severe accident, however,
happened one night when he was in bed ; the room giving
way, he was enveloped amidst falling timber, bricks, and
rubbish ; at which time, in addition to the imminent dan-
ger of .being crushed by the ruins, he would inevitably
have been choked by the dust caused by the disturbance,
had it not been for his presence of mind in wrapping the
sheet round his face, and thus secnriug to himself the
power of breathing with freedom. When about ten years
old, he was afflicted with an ague, which had occasioned
so great a depression of his spirits, that in order to revive
him from the melancholy into which he had fallen, they
made him read '' Amadis deGaul," and several other works
of the same description ; which, as he informs as in his ^
Memoirs, produced such a restlessness in him, that he
was obliged to apply himself to the eiiraction of the
square and cube roots, and to the more laborious optn^
cions of algebra, in order to fix and settle the volatility of
his fancy. These studies, with the addition of several of
the higher branches of the mathematics, he afterwards
pursued with great application and success, more particu-
larly during his residence at Geneva.
After having remained at Eton aboot three years, he
accompanied hb father to his seat at Stalbridge, in Dor-
setshire, where he continued his studies under the direction
of the Rev. William Douob, rector of that place, until the
autumn of 1638, when he returned to London. Here be
resided with his father at the Savoy, till bis brother,
Mr. Francis Boyle; espoused Mrs* Eittabfsth Killigrew,
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BOYLE. 155
feir dft;f« after whioh both brothers left Biiglmd, under
the cmre of Mr. Marcombes^ with whom at his residence at
Geoeva, they spent nearly two years in the prosecution of
their studies* In their way to that place, they passed *
through Parts aad Lyons, at both whioh cities they de** •
TOted some time to observing every thing which was
curiotts and worthy of attention. From Geneva he made
frequent excursions into the neighbouring countries, and
having on one occasion penetrated those wild and desolate
mountains, rendered so gloomily interesting by the solitary
life of the austere Bruno, and the establishment of the first
and chief of the ^nonasteries of his order (the Carthusian),
he was so deeply affiscted, that he relates that ^the devil,
taking advantage of that deep raving melancholy, so sad a
place, his own humour, which was naturally greve and
serious, and the strange stories and pictures he found there
of Briao, suggested such strange and hideous distracting
doubu of some of the fundamentals of Christianity, that
thoagfa his looks did but little betray his thoughts, nothing
but the forbiddenness of self*dispatch prevented his acting
it" In a mind so well regulated as that of Mr. Boyle,
diere could be little fear of such a catastrophe. He
laboured under this melancholy for some months, and was
at length recovered from it by an inquiry into the founda-*
tiouM' the christian religion; which terminating in his
complete conviction of its truth, re-^established his mind
#n that firm basis from which the wild and terrific
localities which surrounded him, had almost caused it
to totter.
In the autumn of 1641 he quitted Geneva, and went to
Venice^ whence, after spending a short time in that city,
be proceeded * to Florence, where he remained during
the whole of the winter. Hiis time he employed in
the study of the Italian language, and in forming an
aoquaitttance with the works of the celebrated astronomer
GaUkO) who died in a village in the neighbourhood,
durittg Mr. Boyleli residence at this place. In March the
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}5Q BOYLEU
next year, be made an excursion to Rome^ where he
arrived in five days, and surveyed the venerable relics and
antiquities of that ancient metropolis of the world. He
also visited such of the adjacent villages and towns as
contained any object worthy of his attention^ but was
prevented from making so long a stay as he had intended,
the heat of the weather not agreeing with his brother's-
health. Having visited in his return several of the principal
cities of Italy, he arrived at Marseilles in May, where he
received letters from his father, informing him of the
rebellion in Ireland, which had just commenced, and
stating, that it was not without much difficulty he had
procured the £50/. which he remitted to defray their
expenses to England. This money they never received;
and after waiting several months in expectation of it, their
pecuniary difficulties were such as to put them under the
necessity of being indebted to their governor's kindness
for the means of their conveyance to his residence at
Geneva ; and finally, after a long stay there, to his credit
in obtaining some jewels, from the sale of which he raised
a sufficient sum to enable them to reach England, which
they did in 1644. On his arrival, Mr. Boyle found his
father dead ; by whose will he became possessed of the
manor of Stalbridge in England, and estates to a conside-
rable amount in Ireland. His first care, after hmng
obtained from the then government, protections for his
estates in both countries, was to procure a permission to
pass over into France, to remunerate Mr. Marcombes for
the kindness he had shewn him in his distress; and from
the generosity of Mr. Boyle's character, there can be no
doubt of his having done it with great liberality. He
staid but a short time on the continent, as we find him at
Cambridge the following December.
He now retired to his manor of Stalbridge, where he
continued for several years, devoting his time entirely to
the study of chemistry and experimental philosophy; in
which pursuits, the ardour and abilities with which he
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BOYLE. 157
prosecated his researches, soon introduced him to the
acquaintance or correspondence of every person distin-
garshed either for science or literature. These connections
were the cause of occasional excursions to London, Ox-
fordyScc. in which he formed a personal acquaintance with
those scientific men whom he had before known merely by
thfeir writings; and he soon became so celebrated, that in
1651, Dr. Nathaniel Highmore, an eminent physician,
dedicated to him his " History of Generation ;'* a work in
which he examines the opinions of different authors,
particularly those of Sir Kenelm Digby.
In May 1650 he left Stalbridge; and in l652 went
over to Ireland, to arrange his affairs in that country,
which detained him till August 1653. He was soon after
compelled to return to Ireland again ; a circumstance he
would have much regretted, from the interruption caused
by it to his studies, had it not been for his intimacy with
his distinguished countryman, Archbishop Usher, with
whom he studied the Scriptures in their original languages
with so great exactness, as to quote readily any remarkable
passage in either the Old or the New Testament. He was
also intimately acquainted with the celebrated Sir William
Petty, in whose conversation be took particular pleasure.
A short time previous to the commencement of the civil
wars, a few of the most distinguished philosophers had
formed the plan of a society for prosecnting inquiries into
nature, on the principle of experiment ; an idea which had
been originally suggested by the celebrated Bacon. Of
this Mr. Boyle was one of the earliest members; and when
all academical studies were suspended in consequence of
the tumultuous times, this society, which was then called the
Philosophical College, continued still to hold its meetings,
though with the greatest secresy, first at London, and
afterwards at Oxford. This induced Mr. Boyle, on his
return to England in 1654, to fix his abode at Oxford,
where the society then held its meetings; as he was here
surrounded by a number of his learned friends, such at
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IM BOYLE.
Wilkipsj Ward, Willie, Wren, &c, who were all Amibera
of the Philosopbioal College, and with whom be patted
his time io the pleasiog reciprocatioa of imparting and
receiving informatioo.
During his stay at Oicford he resided m the house of
Mr. Crosse, an apothecary, which be preferred to a cot*
lege, as i^ afforded more ro<Hn for his experiments, and
agreed better with his health. It was here Uuu he invented
that admirable machine, the air*pump; the immeose utility
of which tlK>se only who devote themselves to bis studies
can justly appreciate: a machine which has deteloped so
many facts as to have led to a nearly complete theory of
the air, and laid the foundation on which chemistry haa
been raised to that high pinoacle of perfection oo which
she now stands. By the assistance of Mr. Robert Hooke,
professor of mathematics at Gresbam College, it was at
lengtb perfected in 1678, or 1679» Mr. Boyle laboured
incessantly in framing and oonductiog new experiments ;
such,'he said, being the only true foundation of science, and
the sole means by whicb it was possible to arrive at •
knowledge of the operations of nature : and so devoted
was be to this opinion, that, although the Cartesian pfaik>*
sophy WHS at that time much applauded^ be would never
suffer himaelf to be persuaded to read the works of Des
Cartes, lest, by plausible hypotheses and delusive theories,
he mig^t be led away from that truth for Uie estafatiskr
meat of which be was oontiouaUy engaged in collecting
9saterials,
Deeply^ however, as be was devoted to inquiries into
nature, hia attention was not exclusively db-ected to them,
be still continued to pursue critical and theological studies,
in which be was assisted by L)r. Edward Pooock, Mr.
Thomas Hyde, and Mr. Samuel Clarke, all of whom were
eminently skilled in the oriental languages. He also cul'*
tivated a strict intimacy with Dr. Barlow, afterwards
B^bop of Lincoln, a man of the greatest variety and
extent of Warning; who was at that time keeper of the
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BOYLEL 159
Bodleian Library. His frieod. Dr. Wallis, ia 1659, dedi*
cated to him bit excelleot ^* Treatise oq the Cycloid/'
And in tbe same year the learned Saodersoo, afterwards
Bisbop of Lincoln, having been deprived of all bis pre*
ferments in consequence of his attachment to tbe royal
party, . Mr. Boyle generously settled upon him a pension
of 50/. per annum, to encourage him to apply himself to
tbe writing of cases of conscienoe. In consequence of
whic^h this excellent logician printed his lectures, which
he bad read at Oxford in l647, '' De Obligatione Con*
scientisB,'' and dedicated them to his friend and patron ;
without whose assistance, so liberally bestowed, this ex*
odlent production would have been buried, together with
its pious author, in oblivion.
On tbe restoration of Charles IL Mr. Boyle was received
by that monarch with great civility, and was solicited by
Lord Clarendon, and afterwards by tbe Earl of Shaftes*
bury, to enter into orders ; both of those illustiious states*
men conceiving that his unblemished life and extensive
learning would give additional strength to the doctrines
be should preach. This proposition was, however, d^
dined by Mr. Boyle, who conceived that, as a layman,
bis works in behalf of religion would perhaps have oiore
effect than as clergyman, as being evidently free from all
BU$picion<of interestedoess, and therefore not liable to the
•coff 80 fireqnently aimed at those whose religion is con*
sidered as being merely their trade* In addition to this,
as Bomet has informed us in bis funeral sermon, be did
not fieel that ^^ inward motion to it by the Holy Ghost/'
which be conceived to be essential to take upon him that
important charge.
In 166£ he commenced publishing the fruits of hie
studies with *' New Experiments, Physico*MeohanicaI,
toncbiag tbe Spring of the Air and its Effects, made for
die most part in a new pneumatical Engine." This work
be addressed to his nephew the Lord Dnngarvan. He
also published ^ Seraphic Love; or, some Motives and
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160 BOYLE.
locentives to the Love of God, pathetically discoursed of
in a Letter to a Friend/' which was finished a« early as
1648, though not printed till this time. It is said to have
been occasioned by a passion which he is stated to have
entertained for the daughter of the Earl of Monmouth.
Even so early as this period his fame had extended itself
beyond the limits of this kingdom, and Mr. Southwell,
then resident at Florence, informed him in a letter, dated
October 10, l660, that the Grand Duke of Tuscany (a
prince eminently distinguished for his learning and abi-
lities) was desirous of engaging in a correspondence with
him. The following year appeared ** Certain Physiolo-
gical Essays and other Tracts;" and, in 1662, he pub-
lished his " Sceptical Chemist," a work containing much
curious and valuable information ; and also a second edi-
tion of his ^' New Experiments," 8cc. which we should not
have noticed, but for the Appendix which was now first
printed, in which the work is defended with much ability
and success against the objections which had been urged
against it by Mr. Hobbes and Franciscus Linus. In this
year a grant of the forfeited impropriations in Ireland
was obtained from the king in Mr. Boyle^s name, though
without his knowledge; but this did not prevent him from
shewing a lively interest in procuring the application of
those funds to the increase and promotion of religion and
learning. As governor of the Corporation for propagating
the^Gospel in New England, he was also very instrumental
in procuring a decree in the court of chancery against
Colonel Bedingfield; which restored to that society an
estate of which they had been unjustly deprived, the colonel
having taken possession of it after having sold it to them
for a valuable consideration.
In 1663 he published '' Considerations touching the
Usefulness of Experimental Natural Philosophy;'' and also,
'' Experiments and Considerations upon Colours;" to
which was added, ** A Letter, containing Observations on
a Diamond that shines in the Dark." This dissertation is
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BOYLE. 161
foil of most curious and valuable remarks ou this subject,
which had beeu entirely unexplained prior to this time,
and which afforded much assistance to Sir Isaac Newton
in forming that complete theory which has since suffered
so little alteration. Mr. Boyle, indeed, was so attached
to the collection of facts only, that he is said never, on
any occasion, to have hazarded an hypothesis in expla-
nation of any subject in which he was engaged. The
latter end of this year he also published an extract from
a larger work, entitled *' An Essay on Scripture," under
the name of Considerations upon the Style of the Holy
Scriptures.'* The whole work was afterwards published
by Sir Peter Pett, one of Mr. Boyle's most intimate
friends.
In the same year, on the incorporation of the Philoso*
phical College by Charles II. under the name of the Royal
Society, Mr. Boyle was appointed one of the council; an
honour which was certainly due to him, as he might be
justly reckoned among the founders of that learned body.
He continued throughout the whole of his life one of iu
most distinguished members; and the earlier volumes of
its transactions are enriched with many valuable papers
from hb pen, in which we know not whether to admire
most, the genius which dictated his experiments, or the
unceasing perseverance with which he pursued them.
The whole of the ensuing year, in which he was elected
one of the company of the royal mines, was employed by
him in the prosecution of various designs for the service of
his country, which was probably the reason why he did
not publish until 1665, when there appeared '* Occasional
Reflections upon several Subjects ; whereto is prefixed,
A Discourse about such Kind of Thoughts." This excel-
lent work is dedicated to his sister, the Lady Ranelagb,
whose name he conceals under the fictitious appellation
of Sophronia; and contains thoughts upon various sub-
jects which strongly evince his wit, learning, and piety.
Id these reflections, however, he followed too closely that
VOL. u u
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precept of Seneca '' OmDibus rebus, omnibusque sermo-
nibus, aliqoid salutare misceDdum est ;" the meanness of
some of the subjects exposing him to the ridicule of the
celebrated Dean Swift, whieh was severely bestowed io
'^ A pious Meditation on a Broom Stick; in the Style of
the Honourable Robert Boyle." This was the only attack
which Mr. Boyle ever sustained ; and, although we can*
not approve of the severity of the censure, we must allow
that his style is occasionally too verbose find prolix, and
this more particularly in his theological treatises. He has
also, and not without justice, been blamed for believing
many things too easily ot the credit of other people;
although this has been attempted to Ve accounted for, by
stating that, as he abhorred to affirm what was false him-
self, he was unwilling to believe others capable of so mean
a practice. A certain writer, however, by way of making
reprisals upon Swift for this attack, wificb he affirms to
be as cruel and unjust as it is trivial and indecent, has
observed, that, from this very treatise which he has thus
held up to ridicule, he borrowed the first idea of his Gul-
liver's Travels ; an assertion which certainly appears to be
strongly supported by the following passage, which be
has quoted in proof of his opinion : —
" You put me in mind of a fancy of your friend Mr.
Boyle, who was saying that be had thoughts of making a
short romantic story, where the scene should be laid in
some island of the Southern Ocean, governed by some
such rational laws and customs as those of the Utopia or
the New Atalantis ; and in this country he would intro-
duce an observing native, that, upon his retjurn home from
bis travels made in Europe, should give an account of our
countries and manners under feigned names; and fre-
quently intimate in his relations, or in bis answers, to qu^t*
tions that should be made him, the reasons of his wonder-
ing to find our customs so extravagant, and differing from
those of his own country. For your friend imagined that^
by such a way of exposing many of our practices, we
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BOYLE. Ite
^Miidd oiirtelr^ be broagbt unawares to coad^ma, or
perhaps to laagh at them ; and tboald at least cease to
wonder to find other nations think them as extraragant
as we think the manners of the Dutch and Spaniards, as
thej are represented in oor traveller&' books/'
He also pnUisfaed an important work, ander the title of
^ New ExperimenU and Observations upon Cold ; or, an
experimental History of Cold began : ivith sevaral Pieces
tbereonto annexed/'
In August 1665, he was nominated bj the king to the
proTOstdiip of fiton college, which was thoagbt the fittest
employment for bim in the kingdom ; his excellent cha-
racter alone, without any solicitation, haying obtained for
him this noble appointment. Power or wealth, howerer,
had for him no charms. Deeply devoted to retirement, as
it afforded him the opportunity of employing his time in
the manner most congenial to his disposition, so tempting
an offer had but little effect on him, and, after mature
deliberation, he declined it; a step which he took in direct
opposition to the wishes of all his friends, who bad strongly
advised bis acceptance of so enviable a situation. He felt
that the duties it would impose upon him would interfere
too much with the studies he was addicted to, and with
the course of life he then pursued, which was so congenial
to his constitution ; and he was besides unwilling to enter
into orders, wbich he looked upon as a necessary qualifica-
tion for a situation of such importance.
In 1666 he published, at the request of the Royal
Society, '' Hydrostatical Paradoxes made out by new
Experiments, for the most part physical and easy ;'' being
an account of some experiments he had made about two
years before, at their request. He also published '^The
Origin of Forms and Qualities, according to the corpuscular
Philosophy, illustrated by Considerations and Experi*
ments," which evince consummate judgment and indefati*
gable perseverance in the pursuits of truth.
At this time the public attention was mucii engaged in
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104 BOYLE.
caii;(ras8iDg the pretensions of an Irish gentleman, by name,
Valentine Greatraeks, who affirmed that he possessed a'
peculiar gift of curing diseases, by stroking the affected'
parts. In some instances, certainly, he had succeeded,
owing most probably, to the effect prodoced on the ima-
gination of the persons who underwent this operation.
This gave rise to a controversy, in the course of which
many pamphlets appeared on both sides, and at length
Mr. Henry Stubbe wrote ^The Miraculous Conformist;
or, an account of several marvellous Cures performed by
the stroking of the hands of Mr. Valentine Greatraeks ;
with a physical discourse thereupon, in a letter to the
Honourable Robert Boyle, Esq." who, the morning after
he received it, wrote a letter in answer, which evinces the
greatest accuracy of judgment and correctness of style, com-
bined with that comprehensiveness of mind, which at one
view taking in the whole of an extensive subject, arranges
it with perspicuity. It contains twenty pages, and from
the ability which it displays, can be hardly conceived to
have been written in a single morning, where we not
assured by the unimpeachable testimony of Mr. Boyle
himself. Nor must we omit to mention, that at the very
time in which Mr, Stubbe thus respectfully appealed to
the decision of Mr. Boyle, he was engaged in a warm
attack on the Royal Society, not one of whose members,
with the exception of Mr. Boyle alone, escaped his severe
invective.
In 1668 Mr. Boyle left Oxford, and settled in Pail-
Mall, in the house of his favourite sister. Lady Ranelagh,
where he continued during the remaitider of his life.
Desirous of facilitating every information in his peculiar
studies, he now resolved upon devoting a particular portion
of the day to receive such men of science as should be
desirous of communicating their discoveries to a person s6
well qualified to appreciate justly their claims to attention,
and to point out the new lights they were likely to throw
on the economy of nature. Such are the claims of society
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BOYLE. 165
on those whose talents ^nd exertions have rendej^ed them
conspicuous^ that, had it not been for this /^ell-timed
arrangement, Mr. Boyle would have had but /few oppor*
tunities of continuing his studies, owing to the multitude
of those who resorted to so celebrated a philosopher.
His reputation, however, as we have already seen, was
not confined to the country in which he resided. It bad
spread itself over the whole of Europe: and no foreigner
who arrived in England With the slightest taste for literary
or philosophical enjoyment, now left it without having
visited him. He received them with an openness and
hospitality which were peculiar to him; and when some of
his friends seemed to blame him for suffering himself to
be so frequently interrupted by the visits of strangers, and
condescending to answer all their questions, he replied,
** that what he did was but gratitude, since he could not
forget with what humanity he himself had been received
by learned strangers in foreign parts, and how much he
should have been grieved, had they refused to gratify
bis curiosity." His laboratory was also constantly open
to the curious, whom he permitted to see most of his
processes.
It is true he made some discoveries in the course of his
experiments, which he looked upon himself obliged to
conceal for the good of mankind. Of this nature were
several sorts of poisons, and a certain liquor with which he
assures us he could discharge all the writing of any deed
upon paper or parchment, and leave nothing but the par-
ties' names who signed it; and that tlie place from whence
the first writing had been discharged would bear ink again
as well as ever.
It is not, however, merely as a chemist that we are to
regard Mr. Boyle. Chemistry in him was merely one
vehicle in which his vast beneficence of spirit exerted
itself to relieve the wants and alleviate the miseries of his
fellow mortals. Actively engaged in endeavouring to
extend the knowledge of the religion he professed, he
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166 BOYLE.
expended. lai^e iumt of monej in procnriog translatioot
6f the Scriptures into YariotiB languges, and in causing
them to be distributed ; thus setting the example to those
hnmense establishments which have of late years spread
abroad the Gospel into the remotest parts of the earth.
Among many other instances, may. be mentioned hi»
sending to the Levant many copies of ''Grotius de Veritate
Rcligionis Christi^SB ;" translated, principally at his ex-
pense^ into Arabic, by Dr. Pocock; and his having caused
five hundred copies of the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles
to be printed at Oxford in 1677, in the Malayan language,
and sebt abroad. Pecuniary donations, however, coming
from a rich man, are not to be regarded as positive proofs
of a charity of disposition ; what he gives in this way is
to him superfluous ; but when we see a man like Boyle,
whose delight is in retirement, come forward as a director
of the East India Company, continue in that capacity for
many years, use great exertions in their service, particu-
larly in procuring for them their charter, and all this solely
with the intention of prevailing on the company to assist
in propagating the Gospel through the medium of their
factories, shall we not say, '' Such is indeed the charitable
man ; the man who sacrifices his own comforts to minister
to the wants of others."
In the midst of all these exertions and studies for the
benefit of mankind, he was afflicted with a severe paralytic
attack, from which he recovered, though not without
much difficulty, by strictly adhering to the regimen pre>
scribed for him by his skilful and friendly physician,
Sir Edmund King. In 1669, he published ''A Continuation
of New Experiments, touching the Spring and Weight of
the Air ; to which is added, a Discourse of the Atmospheres
of consistent Bodies.'* He also, in the same year, made
many additions to several of the tracts he ha^ previously
published; many of which were now translated into Latin,
for the benefit of such foreigners as might be unable to
consult them in their original language. In 1670 there
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BOYLE. 167
appeardd '^Tracts abdut theCostDicalQaalities of Things;
Coflinical Suspicions; the Teoiperature of the Subtenra-
Dean Regions; the Bottom of the Sea; to which is pre-
fixed an Int)t>dgction to the History of particular Qua-
lities/' This work excited considerable speculation, as it
contained an iimnense number of facts, which were alto-
gether new, and was, besides, founded upon actual expe-
riments, from which legitimate conclusions were drawn ;
a method which completely and justly exploded the phi-
losophy then popularly received, which consisted entirely
of a confased tissue of mere hypotheses and groundless
conjectures.
To enumerate even a portion of the numerous papers^
which Mr. Boyle was continually communicating to the
Royal ^ciety, would extend these memoirs far beyond
the limits which can be allowed them; yet we cannot
refrain from mentioning ^* An Experimental Discourse of
Quicksilver growing hot with Gold,'' to which was added,
another on the same su1>ject; as it was regarded at the
time as a discovery of the utmost importance. .So great
has in all ages been the avidity with which men have
pursued every thing which appeared likely to open a way
to the transmutation of the baser metals into gold, that
these papers excited a very general attention, and were
regarded «ven by men of science as a prelude to that
immense discovery, as is evident frobi a letter addressed
by Mr. afterwards Sir Isaac Newton to Mr. Oldenburgh^
secretary to the Royal Society. Indeed, it is evident, from
several passages in his writings, that Mr. Boyle entertained
a belief of the possibility of this transmutation ; and he
was afterwards (in 1689) at some trouble in procuring an
act for repealing the statute then in force against multi-
plying gold and silver.
In 1671 he published ''Considerations on the Usefulness
of Experimental and Natural Philosophy. The second
Part;" and also "A Collection of Tracts upon several
useful and important Points of practical Philosophy.'*
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168 BOYLE-
Aod in 1672, ** An Essay about the Origin and Virtne of
Geins," together with ** A Collection of Tracts upon the
Relation between Flame and Air; and several other useful
, and curious Subjects,** In the following year Anthony le
Grand, the famous Cartesian philosopher^ published at
London his *^ Historia Naturae/' 8cc. and in his dedication
to Mr. Boyle, he does justice to his unirersal reputation
for extensive learning and amazing sagacity in every
branch of experimental philosophy; and says of him, what
Averroes said of Aristotle, that nature had formed him as
an exemplar or pattern of the highest perfection to which
humanity can attain. About this time Mr. Boyle pub-
lished " The Excellency of Theology compared with
Natural Philosophy;" and '' Essays on the strange sub-
tlety, great efficacy, and determinate nature of Effluvia ;
to which are added a variety of Experiments on other sub-
jects." And in 1674, " A Collection of TracU upon the
Saltness of the Sea, the Moisture of the Air, the Natural
and Preternatural Stote of Bodies ; to which is prefixed, a
Dialogue concerning Cold ;*' and another " Collection of
Tracts, containing Suspicions about hidden Qualities of
the Air ; with an Appendix touching Celestial Magnets :
Animadversions upon Mr. Hobbes' Problem about a Va-
cuum; a Discourse of the Cause of Attraction and Suc-
tion.'' In the following year, 1675, he published " Some
Considerations about the Reconcileableness of Reason and
Religion. By T. E. a Layman. To which is annexed, a
Discourse about the Possibility of the Resurrection, by
Mr. Boyle." Both these pieces were, however, written
by him, although the former is marked only with the final
letters of his name. In 1 676 he published *' Experiments
and Notes, about the mechanical Origin or Production of
particular Qualities."
In 1677 there was printed at Geneva, without his know-
ledge or consent, a collection of his miscellaneous wcwks,
in Latin, of which there is a large account given in the
Philosophical Transactions. In the following year he
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BOYLE. 1®
commanicated to Mr. Hooke some observatibbs on an
artificial substance that shines without any preceding
illustration, which were published by that gentleman in
his *^ Lectiones Cntlerian®/' And at the latter end of this
year, as a proof of the high estimation in which he was
held by Sir Isaac Newton, we may mention that that
celebrated philosopher wrote him a very curious letter, in
which he laid before him his sentimenu upon that ethereal
medium which he afterwards proposed in his Optics, as
the mechanical cause of gravitation.
Deeply impressed with a just sense of his great worth,
and of the services he bad rendered to science during the
whole of his life, on the SOth of November this year, the
Royal Society made choice of him for their president.
This honour he, however, declined in a letter addressed to
bis friend Mr. Robert Hooke, being, as he says, even
peculiarly tender in point of oaths.
In 1680 he published ''The ^rial Noctiluca; or, some
new phenomena, and a process of factitious self-shining
substance.'' Phosphorus, the substance here alluded to,
was then of very recent discovery. The first inventor of
it was Brandt, a citizen of Hamburgh, who imparted his
process to one Kraaft ; by whose persuasion he kept it a
profound secret. In 1679 Kraaft brought a piece of it to
£ngland to shew to the king and queen, which having been
seen by Mr. Boyle, he actually, in the following year»
succeeded in making a small quantity, which he presented
to the Royal Society, taking a receipt for it. The process
was also discovered about the same time by Kunckel,
another citizen of Hamburgh. It would not, however,
have been necess^ryto be thus particular, had not Stabl, in
a small work, entitled ''Three hundred Experiments,"
stated that Kraaft informed him that he communicated
the process to Mr. Boyle ; a circumstance which we must
conceive to be entirely destitute of truth, when we con-
sider the unimpeached veracity of Mr. Boyle, who would
never have published to the world as his own disooveryj a
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170 BOYLE.
process which he had received from the communications
of another. We are, indeed, strongly inclined to regard
Kraaft as a designing empiric, who, in revenge for the
discovery of his secret processes, endeavoured to blast the
reputation of the man who published them for the benefit
of the world at large. Mr. Boyle afterwards instructed
in the manipulations of the process, one Godfrey Hantk->
witz, who exposed it for sale in a shop in Southampton
street, Covent Garden, which has since remained a che-
mist's to the present day, having still his name over the
door, with the date 1680. Mr. Boyle also published about
this time, ^' Historical Account of a Degradation of Gold,
by an Anti-Elixir; a strange chemical narrative."
In 1681 he published a ^'Discourse of Things above
Reason; inquiring whether a philosopher should admit
there are any such?" and in the following year, "New
Experiments and Observations made upon the Icy Nocti-
luca; to which is added, a Chemical Paradox, grounded
upon new experiments, making it probable that chemical
principles are transmutable, so that out of one of them
others may be produced ;" and also about the same time,
" A Continuation of New Experiments, Pbysico-Mecha-
nical, touching the Spring and Weight of the Air, and
their effects/' In 1683 nothing appeared from his pen,
except a short letter to Dr. Beat, relative to making fresh
water out of salt. But in 1684 he printed two very con-
siderable works; ^Memoirs for the Natural History of
Human Blood, especially the spirit of that liquor;^ and
** Experiments and Considerations about the Porosity of
Bodies.**
At this time Dr. Ralph Cudworth, celebrated for his
immortal work, " The Intellectual System,'* wrote to him
in the most pressing terms, requesting him to make an
entire collection of his various writings, whtch had now
become so very numerous ; and to publish them together
in Latin ; "and then," says he, '* what you shall superadd
will be easily collected, and added aft^wards. And I pray
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BOYLE. 171
God continue your life and healtb, that jou may still
enrich the world with tnofe. Yon have mnch outdone
Sir Francis Bacon in your natural experiments ; and you
have not insinuated any thing, as he is thought to have
done, tending to irreligion, but rather the contrary."
In 1^5 he published ''Short Memoirs for the Natural
Experimental History of Mineral Waters^with directions
as to the several methods of trying them ;" ^ An Essay on
the great Effects of even, languid, and unheeded Motion ;
whereunto is annexed an Experimental Discourse of some
hitherto little regarded Causes of the Salubrity and Insa-
lubrity of the Air, and its Effecu ;" which was received
with the greatest applause; and also, " Of the Recon-
cileableness of specific Medicines to the corpuscular
Philosophy; to which is added, a Discourse about the
Advantages of the Use of simple Medicines.'' In addition
to these philpsophical works, he obliged the world with a
theological one, " Of the high Veneration Man's Intellect
owes to God| peculiarly for his Wisdom and Power." At
the commencement of the following year, his ^ Free Inquiry
into the vulgarly received Notion of Nature" appeared ; a
work which was so highly and justly admired as to be
reprinted in the following year.
In Jane 1686, his friend Dr. Gilbert Burnet, afterwards
Bishop of Salisbury, transmitted to him from the Hague
the manuscript of his travels, which he had drawn up in
the form of letters, addressed to Mr. Boyle ; who, in his
answer, expresses great satisfaction in ''finding, that all
men do not travel as most do, to observe buildings and
gardens and modes, and other amusements of a superficial
and almost insignificant curiosity; for your judicious
remarks and reflections may not a little improve both a
statesman, a critic, and a divine, as well as they will make
the writer pass for all three.'' About this time also,
Mr. Boyle was compelled, though very unwillingly, to
complain to the public of some inconveniences under
which he had long laboured ; which he did in ^^ An adver-
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17« BOYLE.
tisement about the loss of many of his writings, addressed
to J. W. to be communicated to those of his friends that
are virtuosi ; which may serve as a kind of preface to most
of his mutilated and unfinished writings." He here com-
plains much of the treatment he had met with from
plagiaries both at home and abroad; and though it is not
easy to do so without incurring the charge of vanity, such
is Mr. Boyle's manner, that it tends rather to raise in us a
higher admiration and esteem for him.
In 1687, he published '' The Martyrdom of Theodora
and Didymia," one of the productions of his youth; and
in the following year '' A Disquisition about the final
Causes of natural Things ; wherein it is inquired, whether,
and if at all, with what caution, a naturalist should admit
them. With an Appendix about vitiated Light."
Mr. Boyle now finding his health declining fast and
anxious to put his numerous papers and accounts of ex-
periments in order, for the benefit of the scientific world,
came to a resolution to receive no more visitors. To
announce this, he put forth an advertisement stating, that
his age and sickliness require him to arrange his writings,
which are much scattered, and some of them decayed,
and partly destroyed through the misfortune of his ser-
vants having broken a bottle of oil of^vitriol over the chest
in which they were contained ; and also that liis physician
and friends had pressingly advised him to decline ail visits
as causing too great a waste of his spirits. He thus gained
time to finish many works ; and among others, one, which
was never published, he mentions in a letter to a friend as
a kind of hermetic legacy to the studious disciples of that
art. Preferring the benefit of the whole republic of letters
to assisting any branch of it, he now ceased also to com-
municate any more papers to the Royal Society ; which
aiTorded him ^ufiicient leisure to publish *' Medicina Hy-
drostatica, or Hydrostatics applied to the Materia Medica,
shewing how, by the Weight that divers Bodies used in
Physic, have in Water, oqe may discover whether they
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BOYLE. 175
be genuine or adulterate. To which is subjoined, a pre-
vious Hydrostatical Way of estimating Ores/' " The
Christian Virtuoso ; shewing, that by being addicted to
Experimental Philosophy, a man is rather assisted than
indisposed to be a good Christian. — ^The first Part. To
which are subjoined, a Discourse about the Distinction
that represents some things as above Reason, but not con-
trary to Reason ; and, the first chapters of a Discourse,
intituled Greatness of Mind promoted by Christianity."
In the advertisement prefixed to this work, he mentions a
second part; which, however, he did not live to finish.
But the papers he left behind him for that purpose, im-
perfect as they are, are printed in the late edition of his
works in folio. The last work which he published him-
self, was in the spring of I691 ; '' Experimenta et Obser-
vationes Physical ; wherein are briefly treated of, several
subjects relating' to Natural Philosophy in an Experimen-
tal Way. To which is added, a small Collection of strange
Reports,"
His complaints continuing still t<fincrea8e,after a tedious
and lingering illness, which may be regarded as a com-
plete decay of nature, he departed this life on the 30th
December, I691 ; exactly one week after the decease of
his dear sister Lady Ranelagh^ which afflicted him so
much, as no doubt to hasten that melancholy event.
On the 7th of the following January, he was buried at
St. Martin in the Fields; his funeral sermon being preached
by Dr. Gilbert Burnet, whom he had much assisted in his
publication of the History of the Reformation, and who
had gratefully acknowledged his kindness in the preface to
his second volume. He states in this sermon, that twenty^
nine years of intimate conversation with Mr* Boyle, have
enabled him to give a complete character of him. He
descants upon his zeal for the christian religion, and men-^
tions with particular approbation his foundation for
lectures in its defence against deists, atheists, &c. without
interferiiig with any of those points on which christians
Digitized by VjOOQIC
174 BOYLE.
are divided into sects ; and which has since produced %6
maDjT volumes of excelleat discourses. He was at the
expense of 70Df* for printing the Irish bible, which he
cai^sed to be distributed in that country, as well ais large
sums towards the Welch Uble^ and that in the Irish Ian*
guage for Scotland, besides many other gifts of a similar
nature. In other respects, the bishop informs us, so great
were his charities, that they amounted to upwards of
1000/. per annum.
He then proceeds te enlarge upon Mr. Boyle*s astom'shr
ing abilities. After stating and extolling his knowledge
of the Hebrew, of the fathers, and of the controversies on
the Scriptures, his acquirements in the mathematics, par-
ticularly in geometry, his accntate and intimate acquaints
ance with geography and history, and his skill in physic;
he says, *' but for the history of nature, ancient and modem,
of the productions of all countries, of the virtues and im*
provements of plants, of ores and minerals, and all the
varieties that are in them in d liferent climates, he was by
very much the readiest and the perfectest I ever knew in
the greatest compass, and with the nicest exactness. This
put him in the way of making all that vast variety of ex-
periments, beyond any man, as far as we know, that ever
lived. And in these as be made a great progress in new
discoveries, so he used so nice a strictness, and delivered
them with so scrupulous a truth, that all who have ex-
amined them, have found how safely the world may
depend upon them. But his peculiar and favourite study
was chemistry, in which he was engaged with none of
ibose ravenous and ambitious designs, which draw many
into it. As he made chemistry much the better for his
dealing in it, so he never made himself either the worse or
the poorer for it. It was a charity to others as well as an
entertainment* to himself; for the produce of it was dis-
tributed by bis sister and others into whose hands he
pnt it."
Such is the character of Boyle, as delivered to us by
Digitized by VjjOOQIC
BOYLE. ITS
bis great contemporary and intiaEiale friend ; and from the
facta of his life, and the internal evidence of his writings^
we cannot conceive that the hand of friendship has been
called upon to skr over the fjEinlta which might otheiwiae
have appeared, or to place in a stronger light the virtnes
he possessed ; to draw, the character of Boyle it needed not
the pen of a friend, it is handed down to ns in his works
of science, in his religions reflections, ami in his deeds of
charity.
Mr. Boyle was in person, tall and slaider, with a pale
conntenance, and a weakness in his eyes, which made him
very careful of them. His constitntion was so deUcate,
that he had cloaks of different snbstances, to wear when
he went out, and which he put on according to the thep-
laiomettf, although he was in his infancy committed to
the care of a country nurse, his father, as he informs us,
^ having a perfect aversion for the tenderness of those
parents which made them breed their children so nice and
tenderly, that a hot sun or a good shower of rain, as much
endangers them, as if they were made of butter, or /of
sugar/' The effect of this hardy treatment was a strong
aiid vigorous state of health, whieh was unfortunately
soon destroyed on his return home, through too much
indulgence and mistaken kindness. For the last forty
yelurs of his life, so low were his health and spirits, that U
was a wonder to all who knew him, how he could read,
stady, make experiments^ and write in the manner he did4
He also had an impediment in his speech, which continued
through the whole of his life, he having contracted it
when a child, from mocking the stutter of other children
of the same age. ' '
Mr. Boyle was never married, though he is said by
Evelyn to have formed an attachment to the interesting
daughter of Gary, Earl of Monmouth; and there is extant
a letter of Dr. John Wallis to him, by which we find, that
there was an overture made him with respect to Lady
Mary Hasting, sister to the Earl of Huntingdon. Burnet
Digitized by VjOOQIC
176 BOYLE.
informs us that he refraiiied from marriage at first through
pradential motives, and afterwards more philosopbicalij;
and from a letter of his to the Lady Barrymore his niece,
which yet remains, we may infer that it was neither owing
to a dislike to the sex, nor to an austerity of disposition,
every word in it breathing the truest spirit, of gallantry
and politeness.
In the habit of familiar intercourse with Charles IL
James IL and William IIL all of whom were much at^
tached to him, we might wonder that he was never raised
to the peerage, especially as his four elder brothers were
all of that rank. He was, however, in the habit of speak-
ing his mind freely, with respect to the measures of
government, and it might have been conceived that these
kings, though pleased with him as a man, might think
him unfit for a courtier, were it not that we are informed
that the offer of a peerage was frequently made to him,
and as constantly declined. That it is not in the power
of titles to ensure fame, is evinced by two of his brothers,
of whom we now know nothing but the name ; while the
history of the untitled Robert Boyle remains as a beacon
to future ages, which points out exertion as the surest
means of arriving at splendid celebrity.
The posthumous works of Mr. Boyle, are, '* The general
History of the Air, designed tind begun ;" a work which
was highly esteemed by two of the most ingenious men
of the time, Mr. Locke, and Mr. Molineux ; as is evident
from several letters which passed between them on the
subject. '^ General Heads for the Natural History of a
Country, great or small ; drawn out for the use of Tra*
Tellers and Navigators. To which are added, other Direc-
tions for Navigators, &c. with particular Observations on
the most noted Countries in the world. By another Hand.**
^ A paper of the Honourable Robert Boyle's deposited
with the Secretaries of the Royal Society, October 14>
1680, and opened since his death; being an account of his
making the Phosphorus, September SO, 1680;^' printed
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BOYLE. 177
in the Philosophical Traosactions. *^ A free Discoarse
against customary Swearing, and a Dissuasive from
Cursing ;** and, lastly, '' Medicinal Ezperimeots ; or, a
Collection of choice Reniedies, chiefly simple, and easily
prepared, useful in Families and fit for the service of the
Country People. The third and last volume; published
from the Author's original Manuscript; whereunto are
added several useful Notes, explicatory of the same/' The
first edition of this work was in 1688, under the title of
** Receipts sent to a Friend in America;'' it was reprinted
in 1692, with the additbn of a second part; to which was
now added (in 1698) a third volume, as above.
These posthumous works, joined to those before men-
tioned, together with his numerous scattered pieces in the
Philosophical Transactions, have been collected together
and published by Dr. Birch, in 6 vols. 4to.
HENRIETTA BOYLE,
Ladt on kill, is introduced here as the authoress of
several elegant little poems, which grace the pages of
Mrs. Charlotte Smith; for a specimen of which we insert
ber
ODE TO THE POPPY
Not for the promise of the laboured field.
Not for the good the ycUow harvests yield,
I bend at Ceres' shrioe ;
For dull to humid eyes appear
The golden furies of the year ;
Alas ! a melancholy worship's mine :
I hail the goddess for her scarlet flow'r !
Then brilliant weed.
That dost so far exceed
The richest gifts gay Flora can bestow.
Heedless I passed thee in life's morning hour,
Hion comforter of woe,
Till sorrow taught me to confess thy powV.
TOL. I. N
Digitized by VjOOQIC
h78 BOTl/E.
In early d agri, when fancy eheatt,
A Tarious wreath I wove,
O^ laughuAg spring's luxuriant' Hweeb,
To deck ungrateful foVe.
*ttktd td^ of tbotn my nmubers ctowih'<f ,
A« VeAdil slttifd; dr Y^us frowtfdl,
But love and joy and aH their trtiM are flown ;
E'en languid hope no more is mine,
And I will sing of thee alone ;
fSrA^ perchance the attributes of giAef,
The cypifess bod and willow kaf»
Their pale AiAereia foliagO blend with Ihine.
HailyloTely faiassom I tkm can's! ^aie
The wretched victims of disease ;
Can'st close tiose weary eyes in gentle sleep,
#hicti never open btit W weep ;
FOroh! fhy pottetcfaantt
Can agonising g)$ef disarm;
Expel imperious memory from her seajt.
And bid the throbbing heart forget to beat
Soul-soothing plasty that can suak blessings give,
By Ihee the mourner bears to live !
By Hiea the hopeless die !
Oh, 6ver friendly to despair,
Xig^i sotroi»'s palUd votary da^e.
Without a crime that remedy implore,
MHilch bids the spirit from its bondage fl/,
Vi court thy palliative aid no more,
No more Fd sue that thou shouldst spread
Thy spell around my aching head,
But wduUi Conjure thee to bnpaft
Thy babam ibr a broken heaH!
And by tiiy soft Lethean pow'r,
Inestimable flower.
Burst these terre^triU bonds, aitd Other regions try.
She was the only daughter of Charles, Viscount Dun-
garvan, eldest son of John, Earl of Cork, and born in the
year 1758. She married, in October 1777> John O'Neill,
£sq. of Slanes Castle^ in the county of Antrim, who was
created a pelSir of Infetehd ill Nbvfcftibet 1793, and about
two months after he had the misfortune to become a
widower.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
179
ROGER BOYLE,
A PRBLATB of great learning and an nnblameable life,
was a nathre of Ireland, and received his education at
Trinity College, Dublin, where, being elected a fellow, he
continued until the commotions broke out in 1641, when
he retired into England, and became tutor to^Lord Paulet,
whom he accompanied in his travels, and remained in that
family until the restoration of King Charles II. He then
revisited his native country, and was presented to the
rectory of Caragiline (alias Beaver), in the diocese of Cork,
and from thence was advanced to the deanery of Cork,
which he enjoyed until he was promoted to the sees of
Down and Connor, (the letters patent of which were dated
the 12th of September, 1667). He was consecrated in
Christ Church, Dublin, on St. Luke's day following, by
James, Archbishop of Armagh, assisted by the Bishops of
Kilmore, Ferns, and Leighlin, from whence he was trans-
lated to the see of Clogber, on the 21st of September, 1672.
He died on the 26th of November, l687, in the 70th year
of his age, and was buried in the church of Clunes. He
wrote ''Inquisitio in Fidem Christianorum hujus Saeculi,**
Dublin, 1665, l2mo. ^'Summa TheologisB Christian®,**
Dublin, 1687, 4to.
His Common-Place Book on various subjects, together
with an abstract of Sir Kenelm Digby's Treatise of Bodies,
in MS. is deposited in the library of Trinity College.
SAMUEL BOYSE,
It basbten fissertefj with ^opae truth, that the number of
inclividaa|9 to whom np cirppm8tance9 can t^ach wisdoni
14 9b$Ql^pe\y jcppn^l^s^, apd amongst that numerous class
m^y bp incjuiite^ tbp sfibjept of the present iQemoir. H<^
wf^ \\^p only i^qa of hia fibber, who was an eminent dif-
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180 BOYSE.
seDtitig mioister io Eogland, but accepting an invitation to
be joint pastor with Dr. Williams, in Dublin, be removed
thither; but at what period he died is unknown. He was
considered as a learned, pious, and useful divine; assi^
duous in the exercise of his ministry, and in his conduct
generally esteemed. Samuel, who was io every respect
the reverse of his father, was bom in Dublin in the year
1708 ; and, after receiving the rudiments of his education
at a private school in his native city, he was sent, at the
age of eighteen, to the university of Glasgow. His father's
intention was, that he might pursue those studies that are
preparatory to entering into the ministry; but before he
had resided many months in that metropolis, his studies
met with rather aserious interruption by a love affair, with
aMissAtcheson,the daughter of a respectable tradesman in
that city, who, being possessed of both beauty and thought-
lessness, he married, before he had attained his twentieth
year, and probably without the consent of the parents on
either side. This unwise connection, in addition to the
natural extravagance of his temper, involved him in
numerous pecuniary difficulties, which obliged him to
quit the university before he had completed his studies,
and to seek relief for himself and his wife from his father
at Dublin. On this expedition he was accompanied by his
wife and ^er sister; but, notwithstanding this addition of
tnterestifig incumbrance, and tbe general levity of his
conduct, his father received him with kindness, and out
of the scanty and precarious income which he derived
by voluntary subscriptions from his congregation, and
from the income of a small estate in Yorkshire, which
produced him 80/. annually, he endeavoured to maintain
his son, and to reclaim him once more to the prosecution
of his studies. Tenderness like this, however, the mere
mention of which is sufficient to excite gratitude, pro-
duced no corresponding effects on the degraded mind and
abandoned heart of his son; who, far from attempting to
prosecute bis studies, gave way to the most unremitting
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BOYSE. 181
idlenefts and dissipatioo. In this course too (it is said) he
was unhappily encouraged by his wife! who, while she
imposed upon the good old man, by a shew of decency
and even sanctity, became in fact both dissolute and
vicious, and at length unblushingly shared her favours
with other men, and that not without the knowledge of
her husband, who is said either to have wanted resolution
to resent her infidelity, or was reconciled by a share in
the profits of his dishonour. We will hope, however, for
the sake of human nature that this was not the case, and
that the hand of some obscure biographer inserted this
anecdote for the purpose of rendering his memorial amus-
ing, and thus sacrificed fact on the altar of fiction*
His father died in the year 1728, and his entire pro-
perty having been exhausted in the support of his son,
the latter repaired to Edinburgh, where bis poetical talents
procured him numerous friends, amongst whom were some
. patrons of considerable eminence, particularly the lords
Stair, Stormont, and Tweedale. In 1731 he published a
volume of poems, which gained him reputation ; and to
which was subjoined a translation of the Tablatfire of
Cebes, and a Letter upon Liberty, which had been pre-
viously published in ; the Dublin Journal. This volume
was addressed to the Countess of Eglinton, a lady of dis-
tinguished excellencies, and so much celebrated for^her
beauty *^ that it would be difficult," says Cibber, '^ for
the best panegyrist to be too lavish in her praise :" she
was the patroness of all men of wit, and greatly distin-
guished Mr. Boyse while he resided in that country. It is
likewise recorded of this damsel, that she was not ^tally
exempt from the lot of humanity, and her conspicuous
accomplishments were yet chequered with failings: the
chief of which was too high a consciousness of her own
charms, which inspired a vanity that sometimes bet^ftyed
her into errors.
The following short anecdote was frequently related by
Mr. Boyse. The countess one day came into the bed-
Digitized by VjjOOQIC
A4 »OYSE.
dh^mber of bet youngest daugbfcr, then about tbirteeli
years old, wtfiles'he^^as dressfingat her toilet; thecounrteitk
observing tbe a^sMt^hy iiMi whieb the y6utig lady wontied
to Bet off faer *petioh, to 'tbe best ^dvantagei asik^ed lier,
* What *Afe wouM giVe to be as hand^dme as her mamma?'*
To wbfdh Miss Veplied, '' As tnuch as your ladyship wouM
give to be as youiig as ineJ* Tbis smart tepeLtt^e, whkh
was at once pungent and witty, very scfnsibly affected the
'countes^; who^ for the future, Was less lavish of her dWh
dharms.
tJp6n the death of the Viscdtrtft^ StoAnoWt he wrote an
elegy, etotrtled*' The Tears oftheMu^es;" in compliment
to her ladyship's taste, as a patroness of poets. Lord Stbr-
ftudnt was so highly grati6ed With this inark of 'respect to
l!be memory of his deceaised lady, that be brdef^ biiand-
iome present t6 be made td the author, whom howev^ it
iras no easy matter to find, afs a radical mettdtte^ of 'cbn-
racter, and partiality fdr loW pleasantly, togiether with
tin aversidn to all d^ent s6ciety, bad tk>sse^sed bim »o
^^ittirely, that Boyse's person Was kndwn onlyamotrg
the lower orders; and the gefaerous -idteotion of Lord
Stormont would have been frustrkited, bad not bis
agent put ^an advertisement into the pi^tpers, i-equesting
the author of ** The Tears of the Muses** to call updn
bhil.
These tub^t(6ttial ^ tokens Uf 'iavour, on the part of
his lordship, and of the'Coudteis of %linton, served
to pr6cure for him the ptltroimge 6t tbe 'Ducbets bf
Gbrdon, Who likeWise was a person of literary 'taste,
' and cultivated the correspondence of some of the mbst
eminent poets of her time: and so desirous Was «be of
raidng Boyie from obscurity, and placing him above
necessity, that she employed ber hiterest ih prdcuHng for
him the promise of a place; and^ accordingly, gave bim
a letter, which he was the next day to deliver 'tb one of
' iihe commissioners of the customs at Edinburgh; but it
udluckily happened that he was then some miles distant
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BOY8B. 183
frpni ibe city,Md the moroipg. on.iphich he was to ba^ rock
to towA wiUi borigtaceV letter, proved to .be rainy. This
trivial circumstance was sufficient to discourage Boy^e,
wbp m9» 1 Miner eocqstomed ito look 'beyond the present
pnomeBlb and iwb6 ,iaivariably acted up to the old Spanish
^qtvetibof^f/nvjet* doing ithattOHdayy that can be done
jto-piOffTpIv ;" (be, >therefore, decUaed ^oing to town oik
#$cmiit of the rainy weatber; ^Bd while >he let slip the
^^{i^rtjttaity,: the place vras -b^towed upon another ; and
ilie was consoled by thcooiniDissioBePs dedaration,'^^ that
Jiebad kept tbe.pkoe v^fcabt for some titne in expectation
of seeing a .peraon recommended by the Duchess of
Gordon;''
•SQok is llhe.8jtc»:y of the •disappointmenty in which aH
^yse's faiognipbers have acquiesced, and which bears
^strengly the >miu'ks of probability. Its consistency has
rbeen objected to by some on account of the epithet
^^ 90m&im^' being applied by the commissioner ; ' but let
it be remenri>ered that ^Boyee ' had studied, and was
'tiiorott^ly acquainted withevery chapter of ^ The Art of
jlQdoleace,''4u>d that there was no -space of time but what
Jie.'W0Uld liawe.got rid of without knowing hour.
it is certain, that diis, as well as^very other kind inten-
tion of his. patrons in *Scetlaad,. were defeated by his |>eir-
. vene. conduct ;>and> that he remained at Edinburgh until
tcetntemptjandpoverty were succeeded by thedread ofincar-
cerntkon. To. escape from a prospect, whieh, viewed at all
•fifm^U, aprpeascid dreary in the extreme, he determined on
• visiting I^ndon; and had no sooner communicated his
.des^n;of going to England, than the Duchess of Goitlon
(,wbo,9till retained a bigb opinion of his poetical abilities)
i^ne him ajrecomniendatory letter to Mr. Pope, and
ilQJbtained anotber for him to Sir Peter King, then loid
/ jchanceUor, and procmred for Um several, to persons of rank,
ifadMAn, and influence. Liord Stormont also recommenided
faiin to his brother, the solicitor-general, afterwards the
rcelebcated Lord Mansfield. Upon receiving these let*
Digitized by VjOOQIC
481 BOYSE.
ten, he, with great cautioo, quitted Edinburgh ; and his
abftence was regretted by a numeroas class of society — his
creditors.
On his arrival in London, in 1737, he waited on Pope,
bat as he happened to be from home, he never repeated
his visit. There is some reason to think, however, that he
was afterwards known to Pope, who acknowledged that
there were lines in his poem of** The Deity'* which he
should not have been ashamed to have written ; and Boyse
complains to one of his correspondents, that nothing was
approved of unless sanctioned by the infallibility of a
Pope. By the lord chancellor he is said to have been
received with kindness, and to have been occasionally
admitted to his lordship's table. So despicable were his
habits, however, and such his aversion to polite company
and rational society, that this latter part of his history,
which he used to relate himself, has been doubted by those
who lived near enough his time to have known the fact.
Whatever advantages he derived from the recommen-
dations he brought with him from Scotland, they made
not the smallest alteration in his line of conduct, in that
he was lamentably consistent; and, consequently, was
speedily reduced to a state of extreme indigence, from
which he attempted no means of extricating himself, but
by writing complimentary poems and mendicant letters,
except that he frequently applied for assistance to several
eminent dissenters, from whom he received numerous
benefactions, in consequence of the respect which they
paid to his father's memory. But such supplies were
quickly dissipated in the lowest gratifications, and his
friends were at length tired of exerting their bounty, that '
was thus rendered useless to the object of it. The author
of his life in Gibber's works informs us, that, *' Often
when he had received half a guinea in consequence of a
supplicating letter, he would go into a tavern, order a
supper to be prepared, drink of the richest wines, and
spend all the money that had just been given him in
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BOYSE. 186
diaritjy without having aojr one to participate the regale
with hiiDy and while his wife and children were .starving
at home/' If this anecdote be fact, it is altogether so
disgusting and of so heartless a nature, that we rej<HCe
while we write that we believe it to be nnequalled in
the annals 6f depravity. .
About the year 1738 he published a second volume of
poems, but with what success is not known ; and, as he did
not put his name to this volume, his biographer has not
.been able to find any mention of it. In the year 1740 he
was reduced to the lowest state of poverty, having.no
clothes left in which he could appear abroad; and what
bare sul^sistence he procured was by writing occasioiial
poems for the magazines* Of the disposition of his appa-
rel, Mr. Nichols received from Dr. Johnson, who knew
him well, the following account: He used to pawn what
he had of this sort, and it was no sooner redeemed by his
friends, than pawned again. On one occasion Dr. John-
son collected a sum of money for this purpose, (*^ the sum,
(said Johnson) was collected by sixpences, at a time when
to me sixpence was a serious consideration ;") and in two
days the clothes were pawned again, in this state he
remained in bed, with no other covering than a blanket,
with two holes, through which he passed his arms when
he sat up to write. The author of his life, in Gibber, adds,
that when his distresses were so pressing as to induce him
to dispose of his shirt, he used to cut some white paper in
slips, which he tied round his wrists, and in the same
manner supplied his. neck. In this plight he frequently
appeared abroad, while bis other apparel was scarcely
sufficient for the purposes of decency.
While in this wretched state, he published **The Deity,"
a poem, which was highly praised by some of the best
critics of the age. Among those whose praise was of con-
siderable value, Hervey introduced the mention of it in^'his
Meditations, ^'as a beautiful and instructive poem;** and
Fielding, in his Tom Jones, after extractii^ a few lines.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
^S6 BOVSE.
«M^'tfaikt thiey aretdeea from*^^ very noble poem, called
the®eity, pufbMiei about nine-yeors ago (174»),aod tong
«hi6fe buried in obUviou ; a prdcf that ^ood books no iftore
than good meo, do alw«y« survive the4)ad.'' These •eaco<-
(tftiiuns t^uded to revive the poem, of which a third edition
was published in 1752; and it has Bince been reprinted in
^various collections. Fidding's respect for this poem was
mnifonn. -He praised it in a periodical paper, called The
iOhampion, dated February 18, 1739-40, but at the same
time points Out its defects, and seems to object to the
^autho^ orthodoxy. An account of the Deity was sent
no the Gentleman's Magazine, and, although not inserted,
'Was probably the means of Boyse's introduction to Mr.
*Oave,'from whom he obtained some supplies for writing
tind translating in that journal between the years 1741 and
1743. Cave's practice was to pay by the hundred lines,
wbich after a while he wanted poor Boyse to make what is
called the fowg" Aimrfr«/. His usual signaturefor his poenrs
'was Y. Of AkcBtis. When in a spunging-house in Grocer's-
•all^,in the Poultry, he wrote the following letter to Cave,
which was communicated by the late Mr. Astle to the
editor of* the Biographia Britannica.
"Inscription for St. Lazarus' Cave.
Hodie, teste ccelo sniiimo,
Sine panDO, sine numiiio,
8artepa8il«siilfett^»
Sciibo tibi dalenB moesU :
Fame, bile» tome^ j ecur,
Urbane, mitte opem, precor;
-Tibi «iiiiii COT hmnamiin
Non imalfealieBnm :
Mlhi mens nee male grata,
Pro k te favore data.
Ex gehenna debitoria, Alcjcui.
* Vnlgo domo spongtatoria.
"Sir,
** Lwroie you yestevday aniacoount of my unhappy case.
, I ^am 'every. moment threatened lo be turned put here,
Digitized by VjOOQIC
teeaase I bat^ a6t money to fmy for my bed two vigbts
pasty which is atilally paid bcrfbrcv^hand, and I am lo^ to
Jigolnto tbe'Oompter 'tilM can see if my affair can possibly
<be made np : I bofpe tbefefone j<m will have the tbamrnoity
^ send ine batf a gaidea fear ^sapport, Hill I finish your
'pfiipers ifi tay hands. — ^The Ode to 'the fimtish Ntiiian
1 tope to 'banre done lo-day, und want « proof copy of ^ that
•part ofStcme ycMi design for^tlie present iMgasine, that it
-asay be improved as far 'as possible from yonr assistaiicte.
Yoor papers aire hvn ill tmnaeribed. I agvee with you as
'to St. Angtistin's Cave, i hnmlbly entreat your aaswt*,
4iaVitig^otmst«d^afiy thing iainee Tuesday evesiing I came
here, and my coat will be taken off my back for the
'tiharge of the bed, ao thitt I mutt go into prison naked,
^hich^s too shocking for'^eto think of.
^ 1 ato, irith •sincere regard, Sir,
Yotlr itnibnunate bumble aenraot,
S. Bayaa'.''
'' Cr(^h 6offee*h<>bse,GrocerV
alley, Poultry, July 21, 1742."
"July 21, 1742.
" Redeiipedfrom Mr. Onve'the sum- of half-a-guineai by
^ne, in •confinement. S. BoYsa.
'' lOf . &t Sent.
'' I iend Mr« Van Haren's Ode dn Britain.^
" To- Mr. Care, at St. John^srgate, aerkenwell."
The Ode on the British Nation, mentioned her^ is ^
translation from Van Haren, a Butch :poet, from whose
works be translated some other passages. The *' part of
Stowe*' was a part of his poem on Lord Cobham's gardens.
The greater number of the poems which he wrote for
the Gen tlemto's Magazine during the years above men*
tinned, are reprinted in the late edition of the finglith
PoeU; but all ^ his fugitive pieoes were not writUn for
the magazine, some of them having been composed long
before he had formed a connection with Cave, and, as there
Digitized by VjOOQIC
188 BOYSE.
is reason to believe, sent in manuscript to such persons ai
were likely to make bim a pecuniary return.
By a letter to Dr. Birch*, dated October £3, 1742, it
appears, that he had, among many similar projects, an
intention of publishing a translation of Voltaire's poetical
works, and sent to the Doctor a specimen of three of bis
Ethic epistles. On the next day, he sent another letter
supplicating assistance, and assuring Dr. Birch that his
distress was not in any way the effect of his own miscon-
duct! In a letter dated November 5, after acknowledging
Dr. Birch's kindness to him, and urging him to make his
case known to others, he gives the following account of
himself: —
''I am» Sir, the only son of Mr. Boyse of Dublin, a man
whose character and writings are well known. My father
died in 1728 in very involved circumstances, so that 1 had
nothing left to trust to, but a liberal education. In 1730
I removed to Edinburgh, where I published a Collection
of Poems, with a translation of the Tablature of Cebes.
After some years stay there, and many disappointments,
1 came in 1737 to London, where I have done several
essays in the literary way (chiefly poetry) but with slender
encouragement. Mr. Cave, for whose magazine I have
done many things, and at whose desire I removed to this
neighbourhood (St. John's Court, Clerkenwell,) has not
used me so kindly as the sense he expressed of my services
gave me reason to expect. Learning, however it may be
a consolation under a£3iction, is no security againjst the
common calamities of life. I think myself capable of
business in the literary way, but by my late necessities am
unhappily reduced to an incapacity of going abroad to
seek it. I have reason to believe, could I wait on Lord
HaliiBx, (which a small matter would enable me lo do)
I should receive some gratuity for my dedication, so as to
make me easy. This is all the hope I have left to save me
* MSS. Birch, 4S01, in Brit Mut.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BOYSE. 18&
from the ruin that seems to threaten me if I continue
longer in the condition I am in : and as I sboold be willing
most gratefully to repay any assistance I might receive
out of my lord's bounty, so I should ever retain a deep
impression of the obligation. I humbly beg yon will
forgive this liberty, and believe me, with the greatest
gratitude and esteem,
" Yours, 8cc.
'^ P. S. Mrs. Boyse has so deep a sense of your goodness
that it is with difficulty she undertakes this."
Mrs. Boyse was generally employed in conveying his
letters of this description, and if she felt so much on
delivering the above, her feelings were again tried on the
l6th of the same month, when Boyse sent another impor*
tunate letter, which Dr. Birch probably found it necessary
to disregard. When he had thus exhausted the patience
of some, he made attempts on the humanity of others by
yet meaner expedients. One of these was to employ his
wife in circulating a report that he was just expiring; and
many of his friends were surprised to meet the man in
the streets to-day, to whom they had yesterday sent relief,
as to a person on the verge of dissolution. Proposak for
works written, or to be written, was a more common trick :
besides the translation of Voltaire^ we find him, in one of
his letters, thanking Sir Hans Sloane's goodness in encou*
raging his proposals for a life of Sir Francis Drake. But
these expedients soon lost their effect: his friends became
ashamed of his repeated frauds and the general meanness
of his conduct, and could only mix with their contempt
some hope that his brain was disordered.
In 1743, he published without his name, an ode on the
battle of Dettingen, entitled "Albion's Triumph," a frag-
ment of which is printed in the last edition of the Poets.
In 1745 we find him at Reading, where he was employed
by the late Mr. David Henry in compiling a work, pub*
lished in 1747, in two volumes octavo, under the title of
Digitized by VjOOQIC
V^ BOYSflSv
'^ An HUtorWal Review of tbe Traosi^U9i\« of Europe^
jvom theCommeooeii^eDt of theWar with Sp$ia ia 1739 to
thei Ifiturrectioa in ScoUaod in 1745 ; wi^ the Proceedings
in IVrliament) aad tbe most remarkable Domestic OccuJif-
reoees diirmg tt^t period* To wbicbi is added, an impar*
tial History of the late RebelUoD^ interspered with Cha^
racters and Memoirs, and illustrated with Notes/' To thisi
he affixed his name, with the addition of M Jl. a degree
which it is probable he assumed without authority. The
work, however, considered as a compilation qf recent apd
consequently very imperfectly-known events, is said to.
possess considerable merit. In a letter, published by Mr.
Nichols, we have some information relative to it, and tq
the present state of his^ mind apd ^tuation: — *^ My salary
is wretchedly small (balf-arguinea a week) both for writing
the history and correcting the pr^s; b^t I bless Gq^
I enjoy a greater degree of health than I have known fqr
many years, and a serene melancholy, which I prefer ^i
the most poignant sensations of pleasure I ever knew. — Al)
I sigh for is a settlement, with some degree of indepen-
dence, for my last stage of life, that I may have \i^e coipfor^
of my poor dear girl to be near me, and close my eyfss^
I should \>e glad to know if you have seen my histpry, fropi^
which you must not expect great things, fis \ have beep
over-persuaded to put my name to a composure, for yfk'ioh
we ought to have had at least more time and better mat^
rials, and from which 1 have neither profit nor reputf^tJQR
to expect. I am now beginning ^^The History pf the
Rebellion,'' a very difficult and invidious t^sk' All ^§
accounts I have yet seen are either defeptiv^ coofi^sed,
or heavy. I think myself, from my long residence in Sept-
land, net unqualified for the attempt, but I apprehend it
is premature; and, by waiting a year or two, better vf^^t
terials would offer. Some account, I think, will probably
be published abroad, and give us light into many t^iingf
we are now at a loss to aooount for. I am about a trans-
lation (at my leisure hours) of an invaluably Srpn<ih wprk^
Digitized by VjOOQIC
mtided '^LfHistom lJniiver$dle/' by die late M. Bossuet;,
Bisiiop^of Meaox, apcl preceptlor to tfae dBupbin^ Met
soa of LewisiXtV* I propose only to |pTe Us ditseitationji
on the a&cieat empires, mu the BgyptMU^ AssyriaD^ Gt«4
ciaoy aod RomaOy wbicb he baa described with smptisiog
coociscness^ ami viith eqoid jodgmeot and beaety. I de<^
sign to inscEibe ii to the RtghA Hosourable Mr. Lytieltoo,
ooe of the lords- of ikc treas«ffy, one of the BMst amiable
men I have eYer kaowii, and to whose ancoiuinoD good**
oess, if you knew my obbgatioiK^ ytm woald esteem bim^
as much as he desenres*."
Darii^ his residence at Readiag^ his wife died, aod
•notwithstaiidiog tbe good sense expiessed in the above
letter^ be put on airs of concern on this occasion^ wMcb
iDcIiues us to think that intemperauce bad in some degree
injuied bis reason. Beiog unable to purchase mourning,
be tied a piece of black ribbon round the neck of a^
lap^<U)g which he carried about in his aarms; and when in
liquor, be always indulged a dream of bis wife's being stiH
idive, and would talk very spitefully of those by whom he
suspected she was entertained. This he never mentioned;
however, but in his cups, which was as often as be bad-
money to spend. The mamier, it is added, by bis bio«
grapber, of bis becoming intoxicated, was very particular.
Ab he had no spirit to keep good company, he retired to
some obscure ale-house, and regaled himself with hot two-
penny, which, thongb he drank in very great quantities,
yet he bad never more than a pennyworth at a time. Such
a practice rendered him so completely sottish, that his
abilities, as an author, were sensibly impaired*
After his return from Reading, his behaviour, it is said^
becaipe so decent, that hopes were entertained of his
reformation. He now obtained some employment from
tbe booksellers in translating, of which, from the French
language at least, be was very capable; but his former
iffiegolarities had gradually undermined his constitution,
and. enfeebled his powers both of body and mind. He
Digitized by VjOOQIC
19« BOYSE.
died, after a liagering illness, in obscure lodgings Dear
Shoorlane, in the month of May 1749* The manner of bis
death is varionsly related. Mr. Giles, a collector of poems,
•ays be was informed by Mr. Sandby, the bookseller, that
Boyse was found dead in his bed, with a pen in his hand,
and in the act of writing: and Dr. Johnson informed
Mr. Nichols that he was run over by a coach, when in a
fit of intoxication ; or that he was brought home in such
a condition as to make this probable, but too far gone
to be able to give any account of the accident.
Another of Mr. Nichols's correspondents produces a
letter from Mr. Stewart, the son of a bookseller at Edin-
burgh, who had long been intimately acquainted with Mr.
Boyse, io which the particulars of his death are related in
a different manner.
" Poor Mr. Boyse was one evening last winter attacked
in Westminster by two or three soldiers, who not only
robbed him, but used him so barbarously, that he never
recovered the bruises he received, which might very pro-
bably induce the consumption of which he died. Aix>ut
nine months before bis death he married a cutler's widow,
a native of Dublin, with whom he had no money; but she
proved a very careful nurse to him during his lingering
indisposition. She told me, that Mr. Boyse never ima^
gined he was dying, as he always was talking of his reco-
very; but, perhaps, his design in this might be to comfort
her, for one incident makes me think otherwise. About
four or five weeks before he breathed his last, his wife
went out in the morning, and was surprised to find a great
deal of burnt papers upon the hearth, which he told her
were old bills and accpmpts; but I suppose were his ma-
nuscripts, which he had resolved to destroy, for nothing
of that kind could be found after his death. Though from
this circumstance it may be inferred that he was appre->
hensive of death, yet, I must own, that he never intimated
it to me, nor did he seem in ihe least desirous of any
spiritual advice. For some months before bis end, he bad
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BOYSE. I9S
kft off drinkiiig all fermMted liquors, eaoe^ now and
thto a glass of wine to sapport bis spirits, and tka% h«
took very moderately. After bii death I endeavoared aff
I coQid to get bia deeently buried, by solioitiog those
dissenters who we#e tbe friends of bidi and bis fatber, but
to no parpoae; for oaly Dr»Grosveiior,inHoxtoiMquare)
a disseatiog teacber, offered to join towards it. He bad
qtsite tired out tbose firieads in his life-time; and tba
general answer that I recemd was, ^ Tbat such a eotk*
iribation was of no service to hini) ISar it was a matter of
no importance bow or where he was burittd/' As I found
aoihiog eould be dooe^ oar last nssource was ad appli-
Oalioa to the parish ; aor was it witboot some diflBcahy,
occasioned by the malice of bis landlady, that we at last
got him interred on the Saturday after he died. Three
ttore of Mr. Johnson's amanuenses, and myself, attended^
the corpse to the grave. Such was tbe miserable end of
poor Sam, who was obliged to be buried in tbe sarma
efaaritable manner with his first wife; a burial, of which
be had often mentioned his abhorrence.''
Although there is too much reason to believe that no
part of Boyse's character has been misrepresented in tbe
preceding narrative, be mnst not be deprived of the evi-
denee which Mr. Nichols's correspondent has advanced
in his fevovr. He assarea us tbat be knew him from the
year 17M to tbe time of his death ; and tbat he never saw
any thing in his wife's ooMlact that deserved censure ;
that be was a man of learning; and when in company
wkh those by whoai be was not awed, an entertaining
companion; but so irregalar and ioconsistent in bis con*
duct, tbttt it appealed as if be had been actuated by two
different souls on different occasions. These last accounts
are in some degree confirmed by the writer of bis life hi
Gibber's collection, who says that while Boyse was in bis
fawt illness, be bad do notion of his approaching end, nor
'* did he expect it untU it was aloHist past tbe thinking of."
His mind, indeed, was o<%ea religiously disposed; ha
VOL. 1. D
Digitized by VjOOQIC
'194 BOYSE,
fi^uently thought upon that^subject; and probably suf-
fered a great deal from the remorse of his conscience.
The early impressions of' his good education were never
entirely obliterated ; add his whole life was a continual
struggle between his will and his reason, as he was always
violating his duty to the one, while he fell under the sub-
jection of the other. It was, adds the same authori in
consequence of this war in his mind, that he wrote a beau-
tiful poem called '* Recantation ;'* which poem, like many
other productions of the author/ is not now- to be found
unless by accident.
The following observations, annexed to a sketch of the
life of Boyse, contain so much of apposite remark and
judicious reflection, as will, we are sure, • preclude the
necessity of any apology for inserting them: —
* Such was the life of a man whose writings, as far as we
have been able to discover them, are uniformly in favour
of virtue, remarkable for justness of sentiment on every
subject in which the moral character is concerned, and
not unfrequently for the loftiness and dignity which mark
the effusions of a pure and independent mind. To recon-
cile such a train of thought with his life, with actions
utterly devoid of shame or delicacy, or to apologize for
the latter with a view to remove the inconsistency between
the man and his writings, if not inipossible, must at least
be left to those who have no scruple to tell us that genius
is an apology for all moral defects, and that none but the
plodding and prudent sons of dulness would reveal or cen-
sure the vices of a favourite poet* Such is already the
influence of this perversion of the powers of reasoning,
that, if it is much .longer indulged, no men will be thought
worthy of compassion or apology, but those who err
against knowledge and principle, who act wrong and know
better.
The Ufe of Boyse, however, as it has been handed down
to us, without any affected palliation, will not be wholly
useless, if it in any degree contribute to convince the dis-^
' Digitized by VjjOOQIC
BOYSE. J95
tipated aod thoughtless of what dissipatioo and thought-
lessness must ineyitably produce. It is much to be re-
grettedy that they who mourn over the misfortunes of
genius have been too frequently induced by the artifice
of partial biographers, to suppose that misery is the in-
separable lot of men of distinguished talents, and that the
world has no rewards for those by whom ii has been in-
structed or.delighted, except poverty and neglect. Such
is the propensity of some to murmur without reason, and
of others to sympathise without discrimination, that this
unfair opinion of mankind might be received as unanswer-
able, if we had no means of looking more closely into the
lives of those who are said to have been denied that ex-
traordinary indulgence to which they laid claim. Where
the truth has been honestly divulged, however, we shall
find that of the complaints which lenity or afiectation have
encouraged and exaggerated in narrative, some will appear
to have very little foundation, and others to be trifling
and capricious. Men of genius have no right to expect
more favourable consequences from imprudence and vice
than what are common to the meanest of mankind. What-
ever estimate they may have formed of their superiority,
if they pass the limits allotted to character, happiness, or
health, they must not hope that the accustomed rules of
society are to be broken, or the common process -of nature
is to be suspended, in order that they may be idle without
poverty, or intemperate without sickness. Yet the lives of
.men celebrated for literary, and especially for poetical
talents, afford many melancholy examples of these delu-
sions, which, if perpetuated by mistaken kindness, cannot
add any thing to genius but a fictitious privilege, which
it is impossible to vindicate with seriousness, or exert
with impunity.
If the life of Boyse be considered with a reference to
these remarks, it will be found that he was scarcely ever
in a situation of distress, of which he copld justly com-
plain. He exhausted the patience of one set pf friends
Digitized by VjOOQIC
190 BOYSE.
after another, with <uch utifMiag eotitempt atd ibgnni-^
tttde, that wte dre Aot to i^ooiler at hi* living the precftriom
Kfe of aa oalcAsty of h i&mn who beloags to no society, tod
Whom no society is behind to maintaid. Among his patnM
were many persons of high rank and opniencey whom ht
hindered ashamed oF their patronage^ and perhaps prfe«-
rebted from the ejtercise of general kindness, lest it might
be disgraced by the encoarBgementoT those who dissipMs
fcvery favour in low and wanton excesses.
What can be urged in his favour from intettml evidence
ought not to be concealed. We do aot find iti his works
touch of the cant of complaint : and, although he sub*
ttitted to efvery mean art of supplication, he does not seem
to have resented a denial as an insult, nor to have ti^ett
tench pains to make the worse appear the better cau^.
In his private letters, indeed, he sometimes endeavoured,
by false professions and imaginary misfortanes, to impose
^pon others, but he did not impose upon himself* He
had not perverted his own mind by any of the impious
sophistries, which, by frequent repetition, become mis^^
taken for right reason. He was not, therefore, wid^t hil
iiours of remorse; and towards the latte?'part of fini life,
Wlien his heart was softened by a sense of inward decay,
he resolved in earnest to retrieve his character*
As a poet, his reputation has been chiefly fixed on the
production entitled " Dbitt,'' which, although irregular
Md monotonous, conteios many striking proofs of poetical
genius. The eflbrt indicates no sasall elevatiim of mind,
eten while we must allow that success is beyond all hamaa
power. His other pieces may be regarded as curiosities,
tts the productions of a man who never enjoyed the undis^
turbed exercise of his powers, who wrote i^ circumstance
of peculiar distress, heightened by the conSiciou^DeBS that
he could obtain only temporary relief, that he had forfeited
tbe respect tiae to genius, and could expect So be tt^.
warded on(y by tiiose to whom be was^ kast known. W«
n)«e told vhat he wrote all Us pottos with ans^ and «vn
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BRABASON. IQf
iHpiditjr. That itfaoy of bi^ U»e« ard iaoorreet i«iU oot
Iborefbre ^Kcite sui priae> <;specially when we oonaider that
he wrote for iinmediate relief, and iK>fe for faoM, and thai
when one piece bad produced him a benefeciioDihe gen%
rally ditnissed it from hi) mind, and began another, abdut
which he bad no other care than that it mighiaiuiweif the
•ame pnrpos^*
WII.UAM BRABAZON,
The first Earl of Meath, wa^ the eldest 9on of Sir Edward
Brabaapi), X40i:d Ardee, and was born in 1679- He iras
knighted during the life of his father, and succeeded to hit
honours and estates on his decease in 1625. He was soon
after appointed custos rotulorom of the county of Dublin,
and in 1627 created Earl of Meath; his majesty, Charles
}kf as ihe cbanceFy rolls express it, ^^ esteeming it a prin*
mpal strength and ornament to his royal estate in hit
l«?erat king^ms, to have the same attended on by persons
dignified with titles of honour, and being eareftd to coafet
the same upon such whose virtues do deserve it, made
ehoice of his lordship, to advance him to a more emineol
degree of honour, by making him an earl of his realm of
Xreland, having received very good testimcyiy of his vir<*
tnes and merits, and of the long continuance of his ances*
tors in the service of the crown there, as counsellor and
pffieer of state, and of his and their constancy in the pro^
Dsssk^o of true religion.'' And, ^^ also, in regard of has
many ^ood abilitieS| and of his great experience in the
affairs of Ireland, ordered him forthwith to be sworn of
his privy council/'
During the troubles in Ireland which commenced Ia
1641, he suffered much from the damages and destruetien
committed by the insurgents on his estates, aad his house
Ht Kilfothery, together with his gardens, &o. were de«
firoyed i« cutting trenebes for the defisnce of the city of
Dublin- In 1644, be was deputed by the Marquis sif
Digitized by VjOOQIC
198 BRADY.
Ormondy to attend Charles I. at Oxford, ia cotnpaDy with
Sir Henry Tichburne and Sir James Ware, to explain td
him the situation oF his affairs in Ireland, and to consult
with him on the measures which were necessary to be
taken. On their return they were taken by a parliament
ship, just after Sir James Ware had thrown the letters,
with which they were entrusted from the king to the Mar-
quis of Ormond, into the sea. They were then carried to
London, and committed to the Tower, in which they were
confined eleven months, when they were released in
exchange for other prisoners.
He died in 1651, and was buried at St. Catherine's.
De. NICHOLAS BRADY,
A learned divine, was the son of Major Nicholas Brady,
an officer of the king's army in the rebellion of 1641, and
was born at Bandon, in the county of Cork, on the 28th of
October, 1659, and continued in his native country till he
was twelve years of age, when he was removed to England^
and placed in Westminster school, where he was chosen
king's scholar, and from thence elected student of Christ-
church, Oxford. After continuing there about four years^
be went to Dublin, where his father resided ; at which uni-
versity he immediately commenced B. A. When he was
of due standing, his diploma for the degree of D.D. was;
on account of his uncommon merit, presented to him by
that university while he was in England ; and brought
over by Dr. Pratt, then senior travelling fellow, afterwards
provost of that college. His first ecclesiastical preferment
was to a prebend in the cathedral of St. Barry, at Cork ;
to which he was collated by Bishop Wettenhall, whose
domestic chaplain he was. He wad a zealous promoter
of the Revolution, and in consequence of his zeal suffered
for it. In 1690, when the troubles broke out in Ireland,
by his interests with king Jam«s's general, M'Carty, he
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BRADY. 199
thrice prevented the burning of the town of Bandon, after
three several orders given by that prince to destroy it* The
same year, having been deputed by the people of Bandon,
he went over to England, to petition the parliament for. a
redress of some grievances they had suffered while king
James was in Ireland ; and afterwards quitting his. pre-
ferments in Ireland, he settled in. London ; where, being
celebrated for his. abilities in the pulpit, he was elected
minister of St. Catherine Cree church, and lecturer of St.
Michael's Wood*street* He afterwards became minister
of Richmond in Surrey, and Stratford upon Avon in War-
wickshire, and at length rector of Clapham in Surrey ;
which last, together with Ridmiond, he held till his death.
His preferments amounted to 600/. a year, but, he was so
little of an oeconomist as to be obliged to keep a school at
Richmond.. Hewas.ako chaplain to the duke of Ormond's
troop of horse-guards, as he was to their majesties king
William and queen Mary. He died May 20, 1726, aged
sizty-siz, leaving behind him the character of, being a
person of an agreeable temper, a polite gentleman, an
excellent preacher, and a good poet. He has no high rank,
however, among poets, and would have long ere now been
forgotten in that character, if bis name was not so familiar
as a translator of the new version of the ^' Psalms,*' in con-*
junction with Mr. Tate, which version was licensed in 1696:
He translated also the '' ^neids of Virgil," published by
subscription in 1726, 4 vols. 8vo ; and a tragedy, called
'• The Rape, or the Innocent Impostors," neither perform-
ances of much character. His prose works consist of
^ Sermons,^ three volumes of which were published by
himself in 1704, 1706, and 1713, and three others by his
eldest son, who was a clergyman at Tooting, in Surrey,;
London, 1730, 8 vo.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
«x>
Was an intrepid ofhter in bis majesty's senrioa for
upwards of fiftj years. He served in the kst two cao^
fMigas of the Amerioaa war of 1775 ; io the West ladies^
and la the MediterraneaQ for five years. He was oo&*
•taatly employed in active servioe^ during whi<^ periods
lie condaeted himseif with ooarage cool and determined.
He was present at most of the^ battles siace the year
1793, and particularly distinguished himself at Toalon, in
Ck>rsicay and in Holland. He retamed to the West Indies
in ISOSp and was at the last reduction of St. Lucia, where
he continued oomraaadant till 1807, when he obtained
permission to revisit his native country for the recovery
of bis healthy be being seriously affected by a liver coov-
plainty which was contracted by a residence of thirteen
years in tropical climates, and which terminated bis exist-
ence on tbe 1st of July, 18 16, at New Abbey, KUdare.
St. BRIQJT,
St. Brioit, or Bridge^, as^d by cootracjiop Bride, Abbefyit
and JBL Saint of the Romish clwrcb, and the patrooeis of
Ireland* flourished in tbe bejj^doiDg of tbe sixth centuryi
%nd is named in the martyrology of Bede, and in ^l
^bers ^iaoe that age. She was horn #t Pochard in l/lster«
sQon after Ireland was oonv^rted tQ the ^ristiaa f?itb«
$be reaved the retigioas vqil, at an early ag^^ frp") ^.
Kands of St. Niel, nephew of St. Pfttrick, $ihe built her*^
Sfdf a cell voder a large onk, th^noe ?^l)cd ftill-rdara, or.
i;be cell of tbe oak ; Hying, it o^ay k^ pfe9^f^ed, (torn tbe^
veneration with which her name has l^e^ handed down
to posterity, in the exercise of every virtue. Her fame
soon spread, and several of her own sex, having resorted
to her, they formed themselves into a religious community,
which in lime branched out into several other nunneries
, Digitized by VjjOOQIC
BaODRICK. Ml
ihfCNigbaiit Ireland, all of whieh aokDovladged bar for
tfattr «other and fonadreas. Hor biographers give |io
-pardoulars of her life, but what relates to miracles. Sevend
chiMTclies ip England and Seotland are dedicated to her,
some also in Geroaany and France, by wtuoh we may judge
of her past repnution.
She died at the age of seventy, A. D. 52\, and Giraldus
Cambrensis informs us, that her body was found with ihose
of St. Patrick and St. Columba, in a triple vault at Down
Patrick in 1185, and were all three translated to the
cathedral of the same city ; bat their monument was de-
stroyed in the reign of Henry VIII. She was coinmemo-
mted in many churches in Germany and France, ^ntil the
year 16(17, and likewise in the Roman martyr<^ogy on the
1st of February*
II mil iijiM
ALIJVN BRODRICK,
Fia^r ViicpuwT Mi»i*»To», was the leoopd 3on of
Sir ^t, Jobn Brpdrick, aRd was educated to tbe profe^**
sipa of the law in wbicb be speedily attained ,to emif
l^eacf, being appoiated, ip ISQO, bi^ majesty's serjeaptr
|p 169& h^ was advanced to tb« ot^p^ of splici^or*
gep^ral of Ireland; and m 1703, being returned to thf
p^iapo^pt as member for the pity of Cprk, he wa^
unaniinpiisly chosen speaker of the bpnse of popimops}
apd Xh^U o^ice was coqfir^i^ed by the )ord cbapoellor^ i*
the pamfs of the Dnke of Onpopd, tbep lord-^lieutenant, in
9 bigbly flatteripg speech^ This good understandioy,
bpwever, was soon broken ; ©rodrick apppigrs to have b^»
^ firm and warm friend IP bin cpuntry, apd tbp powerful
opposition wbipb be mad? t^ wpj^ bills, proposed by \\m
lord-lieutenant, and which were thereby frustrated, sO'
much incensed his grace, that in 1704, he was removed
from his situation as solicitor-general. A change, however,
having taken place in 1707, her majesty appointed him
attorney-general, and in 1710, on the death of Sir Richard
Digitized by VjOOQIC
202 BRODRICK.
Pyoe, chief justice of the king's bench in Ireland, he w&a
appointed his successor. On this occasion the author of
the Life of Thomas, Earl of Wharton, who was then lord-
lieutenant, observes, " that he procured that high post for
one of the most worthy patriots of that kingdom, as an
instance of the care be took of the security of religion and
liberty/'
By this promotion, being raised to the house of peers,
he took his seat on the woolsack on the 19th of May, 1710;
and received the thanks of the commons for his faithful
and eminent services to that house, during the time of
his being speaker. In 1711, the queen, on changing her
ministry, removed Brodrick from this high situation, in
which he was succeeded by Sir Richard Cox. In 1713,
he was returned to parliament for the county of Cork, and
was again invested with the dignity of speaker, a more
ample proof of his abilities, and judgment in the exercise
of that arduous office, than the common-place routine of
votes oi^ thanks. Indeed, his constant and faithful attach*
ment to the laws and establishments of his country were
eminently conspicuous; and he exerted himself with
so much diligence in securing the succession of the crown
to the House of Hanover, that George I. immediately on
his succession, preferred him to the dignity of lord high
chancellor of Ireland ; and soon after advanced him to the
peerage, by the name of Baron Brodrick, of Midleton.
From this time he continued in great favour with the
government, and was frequently appointed one of the lords
justices during the absence of the lord-lieutenant, and in-
1717, he ivas created Viscount Midleton. He was after*
Wards chosen a member of the British parliament for
Midhurst, in Sussex; and died in February 1727.
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fi03
HENRY BROOKE,
The author of ^'Gustavus Vasa," and "The Fool of Qua-
lity," was born in Ireland in 1706. His father, a man of
considerable talent and great worth, was rector of the
parishes of Kollinhare, MuIIough, Mybullough, and Li-
cowie: his mother's name was Digby. He was for some
time the pupil of Dr. Sheridan, and from thence removed
to Trinity College, Dublin, and when only seventeen, he
commenced the study of the law in the Temple. In this
situation, his genius, vivacity, and amiable temper, en-
deared him to the first characters there, and he was gene-
rally admired and beloved ; and the friendship of Swift and
Pope conferred a lustre on his name. He was recalled
to Ireland by the illness of his aunt, who, on her dying
bed, committed to his care and guardianship her daughter,
a beautiful girl not twelve years old. Pleased with the
trust, he was assiduous in his care, he placed her at a
boarding school in Dublin, visited her often, with tender
anxiety, thought only of her happiness, until he found his
own was connected with it, and the guardian lost in the
lover.
He found the enchanting girl sensible of his worth and
ready to return his affection, and at length prevailed on
her to consent to a private marriage, before she had
reached her fourteenth year. It is not easy, or pleasant to
believe^ what some have affirmed, that she was a mother
before that period. When the marriage was discovered,
the ceremony was again performed in the presence of the
family. Happy, and with no cares but to please each
other, it was not until after the birth of their third child,
that they began to think seriously how a family was to be
provided for. Brooke had long given up the law, and he
felt no inclination to resume a profession, which excluded
thie pleasures of imagination, and was so opposite to the
teelings of a mind, tender, benevolent, and romantic. A
Digitized by VjOOQIC
£04 BROOKE.
jouniejr to LoDdon was resolved oo ; there he might indulge
bis genias, enjoj the advantages of literary society, and
by the execution tif Kterary scbemesy be finally rewarded
with fame and wealth* Accordingly, on his arrival, he
hastened to renew hU acqqaintancf with his form^f
friends, and, uqder the eye of Pope, wrote^ and published
hif philosophical poem of '^ Universal Beaqty," u) 173*.
He was soon, however, obliged to return tolrelaqd, wher?
for a short time he practised, though reluctantly, a^ a
cbamber-^council* But the desire of acquiring distinctioB
in elegant literature, was not to be conquered, and a third
journey to liOndon was the consequence : this was in 17S7.
He was introduced to Lord Lyttletpn and others, the
political and literary adherents of the Prince of Wales ; he
was oaressed and treated \rith friendly familiarity, and
received from the latter many elegant and friendly tokens
of regard. Amidst such society, he had every thing t^
cherish his ambitious hopes of fame and independence^
und he readily caught that fervour of enthusiasm, which
was the hond of union in the prince's court.
In 1738 he published a translation of the first three
books of Tasso, of which Hoole gives this flattering testis
mony : " It is at once so harmonious, and so spirited, that
I think, an entire translation of Tasso, by him, would not
only have rendered my task unnecessary, but have discoup
raged those from the attempt, whose poetical talents are
Q^ucb superior to mine/' He was, however, by his
political friends, diverted from completing the translation,
mad his talent conducted to another channel, and, as i.t
W^r^, joined to a host of writerS| who wielded the weapons
^literature against the minister of the day. Paul Whiter
head wrole satires; Fielding, comedies and farces ; Glover»
^p fpic poem; apd Brooke, encpuraged to introduce
Walpple in tragedy, wrote '' Gustavus Vasa, the Peliverer
(^ bis Country :" it was acqepted at Drury l^ane, bu>
w4»efl §« the point of performance, an order Uom tbe lor4-
l^haipberlaio airived to prohibit it. This pifOP* awMM
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BROOKE. tM
wilh tht noblest fteatimenu of liberty^ wai, how^Ter^ c<»i«
gid€fed «t the thne to contain a considerable portion of*
partj spirit) and the character of TroUio, the Swedish
duotster^ ba intended for Sir Robert Walpoie: but it may
be doubted whether this minister gained any ihibg by
prohibiting its performance, since he could not suppress^
its publication* By the prohibition, curiosity was awakened
ih ab unoomtnon degree, and il excited an eothusiafttie
ardour in hid favour, amongst his friends and of the public
generally, who trere not biassed by the Other party, and
^e author was more richly rewanded than he would bav«
beete by the promts of the theatre. Above tt thousaud
oopies were subscribed for, at five shillings each, and by
the sak of subsequent edition^ be cleared about a thousand
pounds* Ik. Johnson appealed at bb side, and wrote a
i^ry ingeuiouB satirical pataphlet, entitled ''A Complete
Vindication of ^e Licensers of the Stage from the mali«»
eious Aspeivioos of Mn Brooke^ Author of Gustavos Vasa,
1789/ 4to.
Tbe hme Brooke acquired by this play, seemed the
etnieat of a prosperous career, and as at this time the
prince proposed Mrd. Brooke as wet-ntirse to tbe child of
whom the princess was then pfegnant, the most flattering
prospects opeoed to his imagination* He hired » house al
Twickenham^ near to Pope's, fbrnished it genteelly, and
•eut for Mrs. Brooke and family. But, alas ! his flattering
prospects were soon obscured ; he was taken ill, and hie
eomplaint continued %o violent and obstinate, that hit
physicians considered his life in danger, and advised, as a
kit lesource, his native air. He accordingly removed
thither, and soon recovered. Bui when his return Was
Expected by his friends, to their great aurpris^ he parted
with tbe house at Twickenham, and determined to remain
in Ireland. For a conduct so apparently inconsistent, both
Iks to interest and inclination, he declined aooountiag for.
tt afberwwds appeared Mn« Brooke was alarmed at the
Md with which he espoused the cause of die oppeeition^
Digitized by VjOOQIC
ao6 BROOKE.
and dreaded tl^e consequence with which his next publi-
cation might be followed. For this singular measure, at
this favourable crisis in his history, he could assign no
adequate reason without exposing her to the imputation of
timidity, and himself to that of a tender and too yielding
husband. He still continued to court the Muses, and kept
up a literary correspondence with his London friends,
particularly with Pope; and it is to be lamented, that all
these letters were consumed by an accidental fire. In one
of the letters, Pope advised Brooke to. take orders, as
bang a profession better suited to his principles, dispo-
sition, and his genius, than that of the law; and also less
injurious to bis health. .Why. he did not comply with
this advice cannot now be known ; for it appears he was
always of a religious turn, and his principles those of the
strictest kind, notwithstanding the apparent inconsistency
of his ambition to shine as a diramatic writer.
In 1741 he contributed to Ogle's version of Chaucer's
'^ Constanxia; or, the Man of Law's Tale;" and, in 1745,
his tragedy of the *' Earl of Westmoreland," was per-
formed on the Dublin stage. The Farmer's Letters ap-
peared the same year, and was calculated to rouse the
spirit of freedom among the Irish, threatened, as they
were in common with their fellow-subjects, by rebellion
and invasion. Lord Chesterfield was at this time vice-
roy, and patronized Mr. Brooke, from the admiration of
his talents, and the respect which his virtues obtaiued from
all. The office of barrack-master was conferred on him^
which fixed him some years in Dublin. In 174ff he wrote
iin epilogue on the birih-day of the Duke of Cumberland,
spoken by Mr. Garrick in Dublin ; and a prologue to
Othello. In 1747 he contributed to Moore's volume of
Fables, four of great poetical merit, m. ** The Temple
of Hymen;" *'The Sparrow and Dove;" " The Female
Seducers;" and *' Love and Vanity." In 174B he wrote
a prologue to ** The Foundliqg;" and an opera, entitled
'^ Little John and the Giants." Thi^ was act^ed oply on^
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BROOKE. 207
nighty in Dublin, being prohibited on account of political
allusions. This produced *' The last Speech of John
Goody alias Jack the Giant Queller; a satirical effusion,
mixed with political allegory, and a profusion of quota-
tions against Tyrants and Tyranny." In 1749, his tragedy
of the ** Earl of Essex" was performed at Dublin, and
afterwards at Drury Lane, with much success, as it was at
that time preferred to those before written on the same
subject. At what period his other dramatic pieces. were
written or performed is uncertain ; these were ** The Con-
tending Brothers;" " The Female Officer;" and "The
Marriage Contract," comedies : " The Impostor," a tru*
gedy ; and " Cymbeline," an aheration from Shakspeare.
" Montezuma," although printed among his. works, is said
to be the production of another.
In 1762 he published a pamphlet, entitled '' The Trial
of the Roman Catholics;" in which he generously en-
deavoured to prove the justice and propriety of removing
the restraints on that class of the community; and in his
zeal to remove the prejudices entertained against them,
to prove it might be done with safety, he was led to assert
that the history of the " Irish Massacre, in 1641," is no-
thing but an old wife's fable. Its success did not answer
bis expectations ; and, wearied at length with fruitless
efforts to arouse the slumbering genius of his country, dis-
appointed, and disgusted, he withdrew to his paternal seat,
and there, in the society of the Muses, apd the peaceful
bosom of domestic love, consoled himself for lost advan-
tages and deceitful hopes. An affectionate, and only bro-
ther, with a wife and family almost as numerous as his
own, accompanied his retirement; and there for many years
they lived together with uninterrupted harmony*— dis«
cord never entered their habitation, it was a little parar
dise— the abode of peace and love.
" The Fool of Quality ; or, the History of the Earl of
Moreland," appeared in 1766; a novel which excited
much attention, in England; and, certainly, a work replete
Digitized by VjOOQIC
4M BROOK E«
y^hh iht knowledge of hudnan life and Bhannars, aif4 kf
wbicb are admirable traits of ihoral feeling and profnriecy;
hnt, towards the dose, thert id to6 macb of religious dis-
ctitoion for a worl( of this fiatare. It became, however,
\fhen completed \h 6 vols, in 1770, t very popular hotel;
Abd has gone through several editions. In } 772 he pub-^
Irshed '' Redemption/' II poem; in which that great myn*
tcty of our religion is explained, with a boldneBs and
Miplification seldom h&2arded; and it must be admitted,
that sometimes his enthusiasm surmounted his better
judgment, and in this poem the introduction of rhymes,
which mirst be reAd according to the vulgar Irish, de^
dtmed Mnsiderably from the merit of the performance.
Hta last work was ** Juliet Grenville,*' a novel in three
volumes, which appeared in 1774; and is very justly
efttiiled ^' The History of the Human Heart,^ the secret
movements of which few novelists have better dbplayed ;
b«t there is such a mixture of the most sacred doctrines
of religion with the common and trifling incidents of
lAoderd romance, that his best friends could not hnt
lament the absence of that genius^ spirit, and judgment
which onoe enlightened his mind. It has been said, that,
ki this year, Oarrick pressed him earnestly to write for tlM
stage ; bat there are s^ many reasons for supposing this
to be incorrect^ that it. is needless to mention contradict
tory rap6rts4
Our author's tenderness of heart, and unsuspecting
tempctf, involved him in pecuniary difficulties. He could
not be deaf to a tale of distress ; his purse was ever ready,
and be relieved their necessities, and added to his oWiik
At length he was compelled, first to mortgage, and then
to sell his paternal lands, and remove to Kildare. Here
bt resided some time, and then took a farm near his
former residence. Not long aft^ his removal, his mind
rao^iiv^ a shock, by the death of his wife, Which it nelrer
wholly recovered ; they had been happily united for nearly
ftfiy years. TMs calamity, aggravated by the decease of
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BROOKE. «09
bis cbildreoy which, from seTenteen, were now reduced to
two, together with bis pecuniary embarrassments, was
followed by such a state of mental imbecthty as to leave
little hope of recovery. However, religion had early been
planted in bis mind ; and though the blossoms for a time
appeared to wither, the root lived ; and, as he approached
bis last days, it revived, and like a medicinal balm shed^
Hs healing balsam on his wounded heart. He died,
Oct. 10, I783| leaving a son, since dead; and a daughter,
the child of his old age. He was in possession of the
place of barrack-master of MuUingar at his death.
His poetical works were collected in 1778, in four vols,
octavo, but printed very incorrectly, and with the addition
of some pieces which were not his. In 179^ another
edition was published, in Dublin, by his daughter; who
procured some memoirs of her father, and prefixed them
to the first volume. In this she observes, she found many
difficulties, as the greater part of his friends and contem*
poraries had departed before him. It is to be regretted
Miss Brooke could not obtain more correct information^
since the narrative is in many points confused and con*
tradictory ; yet from all it is apparent that Brooke was a
man of most amiable character, endowed with the kindest
and best feelings of our nature ; and, perhaps, few men
have produced writings of equal variety, the tendency of
all being so uniformly in favour of religious and moral
principles ; yet truth must admit that there are in these
many inconsistencies, which it would be difficult to ex-
plain. We cannot reconcile it to our feelings, and it is
certainly repugnant to taste and propriety, the bringing
together, as it were in the same page, the most awful
doctrines of religion and the lighter incidents and humor-
ous sketches of vulgar or fashionable life 'y yet this is fre-
quently exhibited in his novels, and remains a sad
memorial of the weakness and frailty of the best minds.
As a poet he delights his reader by occasional flights of a
vivid imagination ; and his first production, ^^ Univerfal
VOL. I. p
Digitized by VjOOQIC
tlO BROOKE.
Beauty/' hai a charning display of fancy in many parts.
It has been insinuated that Pope, to whom he submitted
it, gave some assistance ; but this may admit of doubt,
from the absence of that regularity and smoothness so
universal in the writings of the latter.
During a great part of the life of Brooke, his religious-
opinions approached to what is termed methodistioal,
yet he uniformly supported the stage; and we find evea
trifling farces among his works. Whether the importuni^
of injudicious friends, or the pressing occasions of embar-
rassed circumstances, pointed to the stage as a profitable
resource, cannot now be known; but, it is certain he
lived more consistently than he wrote. No day passed
in which he did not collect his femiiy to prayer; and be
not only read, but expounded the Scriptures to them, with
a clearness and fervency edifying and interesting. The
following anecdote will more immediately illustrate bis
ability on this bead : —
One Sunday, while the congregation were assembled in
the rural church of the parish in which he lived, tbey
waited a long time the arrival of their clergyman. At
last, finding he was not likely to come that day, tbey judged
lliat some accident had detained him ; and, being loth to
depart entirely without their errand, they, with one accord^
requested that Mr. Brooke would perform the service for
them, and expound a part of the Seripturjes. He coo«>
sented, and the previous prayers being over, he opened
the Bible, and preached extempore on the first text that
struck his eye. in the middle of his discourse the clergy-
man entered, and found the whole congregation in tears.
He entreated Mr. Brooke to proceed; but this he modestly
refused ; and the other as modestly declared, that,, after
the testimony of superior abilities, which he perceived io
the moist eyes of all present, he would think it pre-
sumption and folly t0 hazard any thing of his own. Ao«
cordingly^ the ooncluding pragters alone were satd;, and
the congregation dismissed for the4ay.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BROOKS. dll
Ai&Mg bid tetmtlu and hunble fritends, be w^ the
betlevdient dhd getieroas character he bad been aecus-*
tonied to depict itt bifi works ; add it may be traly said,
whilst be bad the means, — ^be relieved the poor, comforted
the afflicted, Converted the weak, and iitersdlj went about
doing good.
CHARLOTTE BROOKE
Was daughter of the above, and was ode of the brightest
literary ornamedts of her country. It is to be regretted of
a lady so celebrated^ so little is known. Her first publica-
tion was a translation of a Song, and Monody by Carblan,
in '* Walker's Irish Bards ;" to neither of these translations
did she affix her name. Her translation of the Monody is
thus prefaced by Walker : " For the benefit of the English
reader, I shall here give an elegant Paraphrase of this
Monody by a young lady, whose name I am enjoined to
conceal — with the modesty ever attendant on true merit,
and with the sweet timidity natural to her sex, she shrinks
from the public eye." She was, however, at length pre*
vailed od by Mr. Walker, and others of her literary friends,
to conquer her timidity, and to engage in a work for whicU
she seemed admirably calculated. Accordingly, in th^
year 1787, she uddertook a translation of such production^
of merit of the ancient and modern Irish Bards, as sha
could collect amongst her friends, and in the year follow-*
ing appeared her *' Reliques of Irish Poetry;" a work
udiversally and justly admired, as affording gratification,
both to the antiquary and lover of poesy.
Id the year 1791, she once more presented het^elf btfibra
the public eye, as in the early part of that year, she pdb-
lished " The School for Christians, in Dialogues, for tb6
use of Children." In the preface to this little work, she
informs us, that ** her only object in this publication is,
the happiness of s^^ing it become useful to her species,
and the picture of bestowidg the profits of the book ott
Digitized by VjOOQIC
file BROOKS.
the enlargemeDt of a little plan she has formed, for the
charitable education of children, whose parents are too
poor to afford them the means of instruction.'' But her
praise*worthy literary labours did not close here : auxious
to do honour to the memory of her father, she re*published
all his works, to which she prefixed a well-written sketch
of his life. There her exertions in the fields of literature
terminated ; for shortly after (on the fi9th March, 1793)
a malignant fever put an end to her valuable life.
It is said, she wrote a tragedy entitled ^' Belisarius,''
which was spoken very highly of by those who had read
it ; but the manuscript of which is supposed to be lost.
JOHN BROOKS, oe BROOKES,
An ingenious mezzotinto engraver, was a native of Ire*
land, and it is to his instruction the world is indebted for
two very celebrated mezzotinto engravers, M'Ardell, and
Houston, who were both apprenticed to him.
The year that Brooks left Ireland is unknown ; but on
his arrival in Bngland, he produced a specimen of an art
which has since been applied and extended to a very con-
siderable manufacture at Liverpool and several other
places in England — which was printing in enamel colours
to burn on china, which having been shewn to that gene-
ral patriot and worthy character. Sir Theodore Jansen, he
conceived it might prove a national advantage, and readily
embarked in it, Uking York-house, at Battersea, and fitting
it up at a considerable expense. One Gynn, a native of
Ireland, a very ingenious designer and engraver, was em-
ployed, with the celebrated John Hall, who at that time
was very young. The subjects they chose, consisted for
the most part of stories from Ovid and Homer, and were
greatly admired, not only for their beauty of design and
engraving, but for the novelty of execution, and were
indefatigably sought after by the curious, for pendents
in cabinets, or covers to toilet boxes. This manufacture
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BROOKS. 213
might have beeo highly advantageous to all parties, but
owing to the bad management and dissipated conduct of
Brooks, it became the principal cause of the ruin of Jansen,
who was lord mayor of London at that time; but the com-
mission of bankruptcy was withheld until his office was
expired, on account of his not wishing to receive the usual
annual stipend for his support, which is customary under
such circumstances, and the city manifested their respect
for him, by choosing him afterwards into the office of
chamberlain, which he held until his decease*
At the breaking up of this manufactory. Brooks took
up his residence in a place more congenial to his nature,
namely, a public-house, situated in Westminster, and kept
by one Rose, and so attached was he either to his host, or
the '' bosom of his family," that he stirred not out of his
apartments for several years. On Rose's quitting this
bouse, Brooks manifested his regard for him by following
him to the ** White Hart," Bloomsbury, where he re-
mained in the same happy state of seclusion for years, and
was at last compelled to leave the house by an event which
be, no doubt, feelingly regretted — the decease of his
landlord ; thus were separated two congenial souls, which
nothing in all probability could have separated, except
death, or a bailiff. After this unhappy occurrence, his
old friend Hall (^ho was then very eminent) took him
home ** from whose house," says his biographer, with an
elegant archness, ** he never moved until turned eut by th&
undertakers.'^
Although in his latter days he was systematically dis-
sipated, yet it is recorded of him, that he was possessed of
a great share of industry in the early part of his life, and
made a copy from the print of Hogarth's Richard 111. in
pen and ink, which was esteemed a miracle; for when it
was shewn to Hogarth, who was desired to view it with
attention, he was so far deceived, as to reply, he saw
nothing in it remarkable, but that it was a very tine ion
pression ; and was not convinced^until the original wa»
Digitized by VjOOQIC
fit4 BRCrtJNCKER.
prodqc^> to shew that tbU wt^c a viMrj^tiqi^ in toque trifling
circfftinstances.
He lived about the year 1742, Hit prints are chiefly
portraits; amongst which are Hugh Boulter, Archbishop
of AriQ(^b, and William Aldrioh, lord mayor of Dablin.
There is also a print of the bi^ttle of the Boyne by him
after Wyck.
SiE WILLIAM BROUNCKER,
Viscount of Castle LroNs^an eminent mathemati-^
cian, and the first president of the Royal Society, was born
about the year 16$0* He received no regular university
eduoation,, but applied himself with such diligence to the
study of the matheooiatics^ as to arrive at great perfection
in tl^at useful branch of knowledge. He succeeded to his
father's honours in 1645, and in June in the following
year be was created M.D. of the university of Oj^fcurd*
In April 1660, he subscribed with many otherS;^ a declara^
tion wherein General Monk was acknowledged the restorer
of the laws and privileges of these nations^
On the incorporatioq of the Royal Society ip 1662, be
tvas appointed president pro tempore, a situation which
wat at first continued to him by monthly, and afterwards
by yearly elections^ la this capacity he continued about
fifteen years, and was of considerable service, as well as
a distinguished ornament to that learned body. He also
enjoyed the offices of chancellor to Queen Catherine,^ and
keeper of her great seal ; and was one of the commissioners
for executing the ofiice of lord high admiral, and master
of St. Catherine's hospital, near the Tower of London.
This last he obtained in 1681, after a long suit at law
with Sir Robert Atkins, one of the judges of the cojmnu>n
pleas*
He died at his house in St. James's Street^ Westminster,
April 5, 1684, aged sixty-four years, and was l^uried oo
the 14th of the same month, in a vault which he had pr^
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BROWN. ei5
pared fdr himttlf in the middle of tbedioirbeloiigiog to
the boapital of St. Catherine.
A Ym of his irorkt are to be found in Park's edilion of
Lord Ofibrd'd Noble AQtbors*
DR. JEMMET BROWN
Was desoended from a respectable family long settled at
Cork. His grandfather was a merchant eS considerable
ooaseqaeoce, and intending his eldest son for tile meiTcan*
tile profession, sent him to Holland at an ^u^ly age^ to^
qnalify himself io various branches of commerce, thai
eould not be acquired in his native eouotry. When he
had remained in the Netherlands abont three or four jeafs^
his father sent for him bomei for the double purpose of
Mttling him in marriage and in business. He dutifully
obeyed his father's letter as speedily as possible, add
landed at the cvstom-bouse quay, at Cork, on a Sunday
morning, at a time when the congregatiom were coming
out of Christ-church. Not having se«i his native eoun-
Uy for some years, he selected a post near theoburck, and
wbere^ placing himself aguoit it io a pensive yet interest*
i«g posture, he beheld the various groupes passing by^
Mmi gazed upon ibem ail indifferent, till be saw om
^ whose fairy form was never to be forgot ;" he, of coursci
followed her home, and determined it was invpoasible to
bt happy wiflh any other woman^ The next morning he
received the agreeable commands to prepare himself to
visit his intended bride; hi9 feelings we sbalt not attempt
to describe; he glooiHiy obeyed ^ but what were his
ttraasports, hia excess of jo^, when,, upon the iotioducCfoir,
be found her to be the very same young lady whon> he
beheld the morning before, and whom the ev^ery wish of
hi» heart was talead to the hymeweal altar. It is almost
needless to say t^ey we^e married in a month, and the
iobjeot of the present memoir was «be first frails of that
ttMnrii^ge.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
«16 BROWN.
Mr. Brown being intended by bis parents for the
cbnrcb/was educated accordingly, and, after passing
through the forms of the university, ordained, and through
the interest of his father, shortly obtained a handsome
living. How long he continued in this situation has not
been recorded, but his next promotion was to the deanery
of Elpbin, which had the advantage of affluence being
attached to it. This benefice he obtained through the
interest of Henry Boyle, Earl of Shannon, at that time
speaker of the house of commons of Ireland, and the
^' Scandalous Chronicle" declared, that this interest was
first formed by Mr. Brown's making the speaker a present
of a fine hunter, who from that instant perceived his
talents, and patronized him accordingly.
Whether the hunter had any share in Dr. Brown's
advancement is now of little consequence ; suffice it to
observe, the politics of Ireland at that time ran very high;
the whole kingdom were divided amongst two parties,
known by the name of Williamites and Jacobites (nearly
answering the principles of our Whig and Tory). Brown
was of the former, on the purest principles of attachment;
and would, if necessary, defend those principles at the
hazard of his life. Boyle was likewise a Williamite up
to the head and ears; and so staunch an advocate for the
cause as Brown was, could not well miss the patronage of
the former. Brown was likewise a keen sportsman; so
was Boyle: thus from a congeniality of amusements, as
well as politics, an union was formed between both, which
only terminated with the life of the earl.
In 1743, Dr. Brown was consecrated Bishop of Killaloe ;
soon after of Dromore; and in 1745, Bishop of his native
city of Cork. Here he continued twenty>seven years, and
in that time had the opportunity of providing handsomely
for his sons and relations ; a great number of whom were
bred ecclesiastics. As a diocesan, Dr. Brown was a great
disciplinarian; keeping his clergy to constant residence
and punctual duties, and examining with great accuracy
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BROWN. 217
into all parochial matters at his visitations. He gave the
example himself bj constantly attending divine service
twice a day, and by preaching every Sunday evening at
the several parish churches alternately.
Daring his residence at Cork, he was involved in a
contest with one of his clergy, of the name of Dallas, on
account of the latter not complying with the orders of his
superior. The fact was this : The ceremony of marriage,
before the bishop's time, was equally performed in the
private house of the parties, or at church, just as they
themselves settled it: Dr. Brown issued out general direc-
tions at an early visitation, and by the usual official
notices, '' That no clergyman in his diocese, after such a
day, should marry any couple in his diocese, but in the
body of the parish church of one of the parties." This
order was inadvertently broke through by Mr. Dallas, who
was persuaded, by the influence of his pupil (a gentleman
of considerable fortune), to marry him at his own house.
Dallas perhaps thought the particular occasion might
make the bishop overlook it; or, at the worst, a slight
apology would atone for his transgression : bat Dr. Brown
was not of a temper thus easily to forgive so marked
a dereliction from the path of duty. He summoned Dallas
to appear before him, and he not willing to make such an
apology as his bishop dictated, a spiritual law-suit com-
menced, which, after travelling through all the courts,
finally rested in a confirmation of the bishop's sentence,
which was a suspension from all ecclesiastical duties.
Blame was attached to both parties at the time: to
Dallas, for the first breaking through the positive orders of
his diocesan ; and to the bishop, for pursuing an offence of
so trivial a nature with such rigid perseverance. This
apology, however, may fairly be made for the bishop, who,
beside having officially a fault to correct in his inferior,
had to give an example to the rest of his clergy, who
might on other occasions plead apologies for transgressing
his orders. The issue, however, was fatal to poor Dallas,
Digitized by VjjOOQIC
'
918 BROWN.
be DOl only lost hia curacy, but soon after his school; nor
4id we ever bear he was properly remnneratsd by the
&iiiily for whom be risked and lost so much.
In 1772 Dr. Brown was removed to Elphio, and in 1775
consecrated Archbishop of Tuam; previous to which
period bis wife died, and be entered into the conmibial
state a second time, at the steady age of sevoity, choosing
for bis partner the widow of a Captain Barry, a lady
possessed of an agreeable person, highly aocompHsbed,
and who had attained the age of thirty. The seeming
inequality of this match was commented on in the usual
agreeable way, and many jokes (which cannot be too
Uliidi reprobated) passed at the tea tables and other
parties of the friends of both sides ; amongst wbidi the
following 6011 tmd was long recorded : —
The day after the ceremony, several^ of the Ushops and
dignified clergy of his acquaintance, who happened to be
in or near Dublin, agreed to go and compliment him on
the occasion. The archbishop, who was always a man of
high spirits, and which he enjoyed to the last, bore their
raillery with great good humour, and retaliated on them
in their own way. ** Well, but," said the Bishop of Derry,
<' though we need not ask you, my lord, how you are,
seeing you in such high spirits, how does Mrs. Brown bear
the hurry of her new situation f" — " Oh ! perfectly well,**
leplied the other; ^'for I can assure you she had the full
benefit of clergy T— " I am heartily sorry for that,** said
the bishop, looking very gravely ; **'as you know, my lord,
by our laws, she cannot have that benefit a second time/*
He died in his archbishopric in about eight years after
his marriage (1782), without issue by his last wife, but
leaving several grandchildren, and other relations, behind
him. His eldest son Edward died a dean, and left several
children. His second son Thomas died early, chancellor
of the diocese, without a family. His eldeat daughter
a»arried a dignified clergyman, and bis youngest <Ued
unmarried.
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BROWN- ai9
Dr. Blown** firsi wife was fi Misf Wtterhouie, tister of
tbe cbancqlloir of (be diooe^e^ which offic? be afterwards
conferred on his second sonThoiii£i9. His l^it wife's maiden
naqae was Swan^ sifter to Bellingham Swan, Esq. and
afterwards piarrjed to Captain Barry, son of the celebrated
Sir Edward Barry, who, beside being an eminent pbjsi<^
ciaq, wrote the celebrated treatise '* On the Wines of the
Artients.**
Tbe bishop's country reiideoce was Riverstown, a pa*
terqa) estate pear Cork, wbioh be laid out with great
eleganoe» and where he Ured with mvch hospitality. His
town resideooe, called " The Bidiop*s Palace," had little to
value itself on as a buildiog, besides its being roomy^
and a good situation : the library is a pretty good one, and
ope. of tbe rooms is ornamented with a series of all tbe
portraits of the Bishops of Cork since the Reformation.
Amongst the«e portraits, thai of tbe celebrated Dr.
William Lyon, promoted to this see by Queen Elizabeth
in lias, deserves particular notice^ from the following
short history of the original :--*
Lyon, thoi^gb a map of tolerable educatiop, bad taken
ap early likiag to the sea service, and by degrees rose to
tb<} command of a frigate, where he sigqalised himself so
much under Sir Walter Raleigh, that Queen Elizabeth
promised lam tbe first place in her power. Soon after,
the bishopric of Cork became vacant ; a»d Lyon, relying
on her promise, without finding in himself any disqoaiifi*^
calioM for the office^ solicited her for the bishopric. Tbe
queen at first excused herself op account of the impro-
priety of the request ; but l^pp pressing her on tbe words
of her promise, which were without any exception, and
which he relied on, the queen consented, and he was con-
secrated bishop of that see in the spring of 1583.
He was bishop of this diocese near thirty-five years ;
mad, dMriag all that time, behaved himself with great pro-
priety UB a clergynum ; and, being a man of spirit, and
much attached to tbe Reformation^ was very serviceable in
Digitized by VjOOQIC
220 BROWN.
the promotion and discipline of the protestant religion.
He never attempted to preach bnt once, and that was on
the queen's death, which it is supposed he lamented with
great sincerity. Amongst other topics of discourse on
this occasion, he observed, '^ Fatal as the day was for all
true lovers of the church and state, still there were no
doubts but many would be glad of it : this wish (said the
honest blunt zealot) they are now fully gratified in ; the
day is come, and the d— 1 do them good with it.**
By his portrait, he appears to have been a stout, short,
swarthy-looking man ; his right-hand extended, and want-
ing the forefinger, which was shot off in one of his early
engagements with the Spaniards.
Dr. Brown was in his person a tall, manly, well-looking
figure, with a piercing eye, and decisive countenance. He
was in principles a high churchman, and executed the
duties of a bishop with that punctuality which demanded
obedience from his inferior clergy. He preached more
sermons, perhaps, than any dignitary of his time, though
we do not know that he printed any, or that he published
any thing else, except one or two pamphlets during
his contest with Dallas, which, though written forcibly
enough in respect to the subject, bore no marks of superior
writing.
Though possessed of no great eloquence as a lord of
parliament, yet he was a good matter of fact speaker, and
was always reckoned useful in the house, which he regu-
larly attended in the busy time of parliament. In the
recess, and indeed the greatest part of the year, he mostly
resided at Riverstown. He had a social turn amongst
intimates, and particularly amongst the ladies, who formed
most of his parties; and to whom he always shewed those
particular attentions which form so much the characteristic
trait of an Irishman.
Being so many years Bishop of Cork, he had an oppor-
tunity of providing handsomely for most of the branches
of his family, and he was too good a christian '^ to neglect
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BROWN. €«1
his own household." To his two sons he gave good
livings, with church dignities. To his elder brotbeo
Dr. St. John Brown, a living worth near 1000/. per annum.
To his second brother, who was a layman, the registry of
the city of Cork, a place worth then between four and five
hundred pounds per year. His nephews, his cousins, and
other relations, who were bred to the church, likewise
partook of his bounties : nor did he neglect the inferior
clergy (though no way related to him), who had services,
large families, or considerable merit, to recommend them.
Observing one day, at a visitation, a stout country, or
rather ploughman- looking parson in the consistory, with a
tattered gown and old wig, he particularly examined him
in respect to the state of his church. The honest parson,
who felt poverty to be no disgrace, told him he was a
curate of but fifty pounds per year, for which he did the
duties of two churches ; that be bad eight children ; that
not being able to afford a horse, he walked thirty miles
every year up to the visitation ; and if it was not for the
additional labour of his own hands, with those of his wife
and eldest son, they must want the necessaries of life!
This artless stpry had a visible effect even upon the
pampered Levites around bim. The bishop heard him
with particular attention, commended his conduct, aud
told him, he would take the first opportunity to remedy his
situation ; which he punctually performed, as in less than
three months he presented bim with a living, worth
between four and five hundred pounds per year.
The poor curate, on receiving this intelligence, brought
up his whole family to town, to thank in person their
generous benefactor. The bishop was pleased with this
honest mark of gratitude, entertained them with great
hospiulity, and dismissed them with little domestic pre-
sents. He enjoyed this living for many years, and educated
his family with great propriety: on every visitation-day
he previously called at the bishop's palace, to pay his
respects to his patron ; and, as the parson was always fond
Digitized by VjOOQIC
«£ BROW RE.
of punch, the first toast he draoJe aftet dioner, from a fall
bowl of this liquor^ was '' The Bisliop of Cork and RosS)
and God bless him !"
Dr. Brown died at the adyanced age of eighty, and
it was whispered, that some time prior to his d^cease^
he felt the full force of Dr. Johnson's vitriolic maXim ;
'^That marriages that don't find people equal, seldom
make them so."
PETER BROWNE, D.D.
Was a native of Ireland. He was a senior fellow of
Trinity College, Dublin, and afterwards provost of it, from
whence he was removed to the sees of Cork and Ross, by
letters patent, dated the 11 th of January, 1709, and was
consecrated on the 10th of April, 1710. He had no eccle-
siastical preferments before his advancement to these sees,
except a lectureship in St. Bridget's parish, Dublin, while
be was a junior fellow, and after that the parish of St
Mary's in that city, being appointed thereto by an act of
'parliament, which created the parishes of St. Paul's and
St. Mary's out of the old parish of St. Micham. But he
stirreddered the same on the 9th of November, 1699 to
the dean and chapter of Christ-church (who had the colla-
tion thereto) on his promotion to his provostship.
fie died at Cork on the 25th of August, 1735. ** He
was,'' says Hartis, '' ad austere, retired, and mortified man ;
but a prelate of the first rank for learning among his
brethren, and was esteemed the best preacher of his age,
for the gracefulness of his manner, and a fine elocution.
He studied, and was master of the most exact and just
pronunciation, heightened by the sweetest and most solemn
tone of voice ; and set off by a serious air, and a venerable
person; all which united, commanded the most awftrl
attention in his hearers of M sorts. He was eminent for
hi* critical skill in the Greek and Hebrew, which enabled
him ta explain the beauty, energy, and lubtiittity of the
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BROWNE. ££3
sacred writings to great advantage : and as he bad formed
himsdf upon the best models of antiquity, be quickly in*
troduced a true taste of eloquence into that society, of
which he was a member and head ; and utterly banished
that false glitter of shining thoughts, and idle affectation
of points, and turns, which reigned before in the sermons
of their most eminent preachers ; by shewing how con<»
temptible they were, compared with the solidity and
dignity which discovered themselves in his plainer, but
more correct and nervous periods. Yet after all, his most
distinguished talent was that of inspiring true piety into
the hearts of all that heard hiih preach or pray ; his heart
was full of it ; and his whole air, manner, and tone of
voice <wbetber in the pulpit, or at the altar) breathed and
inspired it pure and fervent. The liturgy of the church
of Ireland was seen in a new light of beauty and excellency,
when he ojBiciated: and more particularly the communion
service was felt and confessed, by every man that heard it
from bis mouth, to be an heavenly composition.
" His whole life was one uniformten or of piety and true
religion. He expended vast sums in charitable uses; but
took particular pains to keep the knowledge of theni
private ; even those who were relieved, knew not the hand
from whence their assistance came. He made it a role,
never to trust any person to convey his charity a second
time, who bad once divulged what he desired should be
kept secret from all the world.
*^ By bis generous encouragement several churches were
rebuilt and repaired, and a handsotne public library, with
a large room for a charity school, erected near his cathe>
dral. Although those good works were not entirely done
at his own eaepense; yet he was the most considerable
contributor to them. And in such cases, his most inti*
mate friends could seldom discover the amotuit of his dis*
borsements* He expended upward of 2000/. on a country
house and improvements at Ballinaspack, or Bisbopstown,
near Cofrk ; wbidi be bitik for a summer retreat, and left
Digitized by VjOOQIC
€24 BROWNE.
to his successors free from any charge^ as he did aliso his
improvements at Bishopscourt, in Cork, of a considerable
value.
" He was a great enemy to death-bed donations ; and
therefore what he left by his will to public uses, was
chiefly a contingency of 3000L if a young female relation
of his died before the age of twenty-one, or her marriage^
or if she married without the consent of a clergyman,
under whose care he left her. If any of these things should
happen, then he ordered the said 3000/. to be laid out on
the purchase of a rent, one third part of which to be given
as a salary to a librarian for the library erected near St.
Finbarr's church ; another third part for the purchase of
books to supply the said library ; and the remainder for
the benefit of widows and children of poor clergymen, to
be distributed according to the discretion of his successors.
He left also 20/. to the poor of the parish of St. Finbarr,
100/. for clothing poor children, and putting them out
apprentices ; and he bequeathed a part of his books to the
library aforesaid.'^
He greatly distinguished himself by the following con-
troversial writings : — 1. "A Refutation of Toland's Chris-
tianity, not mysterious.^' This pamphlet was the founda-
tion of his preferment, and it was the occasion of his say-
ing to Toland himself, that it was he who had made him
bishop of Cork. 2. '^ The Progress, Extent, and Limits,
of the Human Understanding,'' published in 1728, in dvo.
This was meant as a supplemental work, and displayed
more copiously the principles on which he had confuted
Toland. 3. *' Sermons," levelled principally against the
Socinians, written in a manly and easy style, and were
much admired at the time of their publication. He like*
wise published a little volume in 12mo. against the ^* Cus-
tom of Drinking to the Memory of the Dead." It was a
fashion among the Whigs of his time to drink to the glorious
and immortal memory of king William HI. which gi^eatly
disgusted our worthy bishop, and is supposed to have
Digitized by VjOOQIC
fiROWNE. 225
giyeo rise to the book in question. His notion was,
that drinlcing to the dead is tantamount to praying for
them, and not as is in reality meant, an approbation of
certain conduct or principles. The Whigs of course were
not less copious in their libations, and the only effect the
book had, was their adding good-naturedly to every toast,
^ in spite of the bishop of Cork.''
PATRICK BROWNE.
This ingenious and eminent naturalist was the fourth son
of Edward Browne, Esq. a gentleman of respectable
family and handsome estate, in the county of Mayo, where
the subject of the present memoir was born, at Woodstock,
the paternal inheritance, in the parish of Crossboyne, and
county of Mayo, about the year 1720. After receiving a
good classical education, he was sent to a near relation in
the Island of Antigua, in 1737- But the climate disagree-
ing with bis constitution, he returned in about a twelve-
month to Europe, and landing in France, went directly to
Paris, where he speedily regained his health, and with the
approbation of his parents, applied himself diligently to
the study of medicine, and particularly to the improveinent
of bis knowledge in botany, a science for which he always
manifested a peculiar predilection. After having passed
five years in the acquirement of knowledge at Paris, he
removed to Leyden, where he remained near two years,
applying with assiduity to study, and at the expiration of
that period, obtained from the famed university of that
city, the degree of M.D. Here he foriped an intimacy
with Grooovius and Muschenbroeck, and commenced a
correspondence with Liunseus, and other eminent botanists
and learned men.
From Holland he proceeded to London, where he prac-
tised his profession near two years, and from thence went
out again to the West Indies; and after spending some
vont^is in Ai\tigua| and some other of the sugar islands,
▼ OL. I. Q
Digitized by VjOOQIC
«6 BROWNE.
he pr<K>ecNled to JamaiCQ, where be occupied tbe grentor
part of hta tiue ia collecting and preaerying eortout np^
cimens of the plants, birds, shells, tec. of thoae luxaiioai
soils, with a view to the improyement and elucidation of
Its aataxal historj. During the time he reaiaiiied in Ja^
maica, his residence was chiefly at Kingston, and it was
he who first pointed out the absurdity of cootiBuing
Spanish Town the port and capital^ while reason plainly
pointed out Kingston, or in his own words, '^ the defects
of a port of clearance to leeward ;'* and in consequence
of his writing to the governor and cooBoil on the sub-
ject, they represented the matter so strikingly to Bail
Granyille^ the then president of the council, that the iiii->
mediate adoptbn of the measure ensBed, and KingstoQ
became the port of clearance to the great enlargement of
commerce in general^ as, prior to this arrangement, when
vessels were clearing but of Kingston, and ready to weigh
anchor, they were obliged to send near seven miles to
Spanish Town, by which they often suffered great incon*
tenience and delay. At this time he alsQ collected ma-
terials, and made the necessary observations (being a good
mathematician and astronomer) for a new map of the island
of Jamaica, which he published in London, id Avgnst
1755, engraved by Dr. Bayly, on two sheets, and by which
the Doctor cleared the sum of four htmdred^guineas.
Soon after this (March 1756) he published his •* Civil
and Natural History of Jamaica,** in foHo, ornamented
with forty-nine engravings of natural history, a whol^sbeet
map of the island, and another of the harbour of Port-
Royal, Kingston Town, &c. Of this work there wei»
but two fanndred and fifty copies printed by subscription,
at the very low price of one guinea, but a few n^ere sold
at two guineas in sheets, by the printer. Unfortunately
all the copper-plates, as well as the original drawings,
were consumed by the great fife in Cornhill, on November
7y 1765. This disastrous circumstanee prevented, in bia
life*time, a second edition of the work, for whieb he made
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BROWNE. fXi
^?^al fprfe^tioQ9 in bis^ different yaya^es to these islca^d^ ^
fair f^i;9g«th€; hi| ^iiite4 thQ W^t Indiet^ ^ six diferqi;^
periods, and resided upwards of a twelve-month at Au^i?
gf^ ¥]^Q» 19 his die<?e9«^, he fpKW.ajrded to Sir Joseph
fiimkfi, PtHi 5. *' A Ca^ogoe of the Plwts growing ^t
tbeSMfi^ bl^od^fLp. cl«s«ed ao4 desoribe^ ^e^rdiog tq
th? I^iiuwevi sysi^wi/' iq 4(to. gont^qning ^Q«t eijhtjr
pages. In Exsh^w's Geatlem^'s and Londpn Magazine^
for Jumt 1774a he pnWisb^ft *' 4 Catft^Qg^e of the Birds
gf Irelandgi" and ia ^sImv'i Magazine of August follow*
in^ *^ A Cat#logi|p of the Fish of Ireland."
Dk, Pfow^ long w4 regMl^rly kept up ^ qoryespon-
dwce yrith tint cel«thrat^d Li^ux^u^^ which oantjoned to bis
deatby a correspondence which, for the sake of science it
would have been praiseworthy to have published, but un-
fortunately, though the Doctor was possessed of the
epistles of Linoros, by tonui niiiccimQlaJble neglect he
reitaiped no copies of his Qwn«
In 1788 be prepared for the press ^ very curious aQ4
iffi^fpl Catalogue of the Plants of the North- West Counties
of Ireland, classed with g^reat care and (u^qtir^y, accordipj
to th© LiiVA99an ftystepa^ and wntaiping above se?er> hyn^
4ied plantQj nspatly ofeaenrfd by hittiaielf, having trqHe^
y^ry £^w IQ th# dasQriptioQs of others* This small trac^
written ia J^tk, bul oQptainiog bqth the English and
Irish names and descriptions, might be of considerable M9^
\n aisisii^g to eovipUe a '' Flora Hiberuia," a vorl^ ^yf ry
|K>tai)ia( viH ajAovr to be nfoch wanting-
Tha Poctor was a tall, wmly wan, of good address,
and gentle and vnasi^qg m^umer^^ patprally cfae^rfvl^
very temperate, and in general healthy ; hut in his latter
ye^rs had violent periodical fits of the gpyt, by which h^
sugared greatly. In the intervals of these nnwelcof^e
vif its be fomied the Cati^logu^ of Plants, and was a)way9
(when in health) employed 4n the study cf natural history,
iv mathematics. He married at a very early period, in
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42S BUNWORTH.
Antigua^ a native of that island, but bad no issue. Hif
circumstances were moderate, but easy, and the poor
found ample benefit from his liberality as well as profes«
sional skill.
This worthy member of society paid the debt of nature
at Rushbrook, in the county of Mayo, on Sunday, August
the 29th, 1790, and was interred in the family burial place,
at Crossboyne. In his will he desired the following
inscription to be placed on his monument: —
" Hanc opponi jussit Patri Matri Fratribusque Piissimis
et sibi ; Patricius Browne, olim Medicus Jamaicensis,
qui, nunc insitahuiniliter pro turn inter mortuos enu-
merandum deprecetur praecis fidelium pro se illisque
offerri; ut cum Domino Deo requiescant in pace*
Amen.**
CHARLES BUNWORTH
Was a protestant clergyman, and rector of Buttivant, m
the county of Cork for many years, and was greatly dis-
tinguished for his patronage and knowledge of Irish
music. He was a remarkably good performer on the
Irish harp, and at the time of his decease, about the year
1770, had in his possession fifteen harps, bequeathed to
him at various times by the minstrels of his native land,
as the last mark of their gratitude for his hospitality
towards them.
His own harp was made by the famous Kelly for him,
and bears an inscription to that purpose on its front. It
is still preserved by his descendants with that care and
veneration, which so interesting a relick deserves.
Mr. Bunworth had also an intimate knowledge of the
classics. The celebrated Curran came to him to be ex-
amined before he entered Dublin college, and Mr. Bun-
worth was so much pleased with young Curran, that he
gave him some pecuniary assistance.
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££0
WALTER HUSSEY BURGH
Came into parliament under the aaspices of James, Doke
of Leioster, and immediately joined the opposition theil
formed against the administration of Lord Townsheod.
His speeches when he first entered the house of com-
mons, were very brilliant, very figurative, and far more
remarkable for that elegant poetic taste, which had highly
distingaished him when a member of the university, than
any logical illustration or depth of argument ; every session
however, took away somewhat of that unnecessary and
exuberant splendour.
His eloquence (says one of his contemporaries) was by
no means gaudy, tumid, nor approaching to that species of
oratory, which the Roman critics denominated Asiatic; but
it was always decorated as the occasion required : it was
often compressed, and pointed ; it was sustained by great
iiigenuity,great rapidity of intellect, luminous and piercing
satire ; in refinement, abundant, in simplicity, sterile. The
classical allusions of this orator, for he was most truly one^
were so apposite, they followed each other in such bright,
and varied succession, and, at times, spread such an unex-
pected and triumphant blaze around his subject, that all
persons, who were in the least tinged with literature, could
never be tired of listening to him.
He accepted the ofiice of prime seijeant during the
early part of Lord Buckinghamshire's administration ; but
the experience of one session convinced him, that his
sentiments and those of the English and Irish cabinets, on
the great questions relative to the independence of Ireland,
would never assimilate. He soon grew weary of his situa*
tion ; when his return to the standard of opposition was
marked by all ranks of people, and especially his own
profession, as a day of splendid triumph. Numerous were
the congratulations which he received on this sacrifice of
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Mo . BDRGH.
official eraoIumeDt, to the duty which he owed to his
country/ That country he lored even to enthusiasai* He
moved the question of a free trade for Ireland| as the only
measure that c^ul^ th^a rescue thM 4ciii^dooi from total
idlBtiay. The reiolntioii wiis •eMoltfe, «wrgttto, aod sae-
TOftlful. H« impported Mr. GrattM ^ ^1 the nxMloin
wbidi>fiott)iy \M prostrate the dottinioii cf tht Briiisb
fttrtiattietrt t>if«r Irekmd. When \a did so, he wm not
tmaequainted with the vindictive dtopdsition-of the EngtMi
t^binet of that -day, towards i^l who dared to MiintBtti
•weh propositions. One tfight, when he sat down after n
•W*t aWe, argumentative speech tn fevottr cf the jost
lights cf Ireland, he turned to Mr. Grittan, * f hate now/'
said be, '^ nor do I repent it, sealed l!be door agihittlBny
OWA prtferment; and I have made the fortune oftfaetnaa
bppoiite to me,'' titoiing a particulat persM who «at 'oa
^ tieasmy 'bench.
ile loved fkme, he enjoyed the Matte of his own repatiih
tion> and the most unclouded moments of tris life were
hot those wheti his escertions at the bar, or ib Ae houM if
tommons,'(SEdledto receive their accostomed and ampte
tribute of admiration; that, indeed, bntTrtrely hap|M»el^
he felt it ift particular moments, during bi^ c<>itoedtlq|l&
^ith the Buckinghamshire administration; nor i6A tbe
general applause which he received counterbalance bik
temporary chagrin.
He died at a time of life when his faculties, always
prompt and discriminating, approirimated, as it should
seem, to their fullert perfection. On the behch, whcrfe he
sat more than one year, he had sometimes lost "sight of
that wise precept which Lord Bacon lays down for tbe
conduct of a judge towards an advocate at the bar. ** You
should not affect the opinion df poignkncy and erpedi^
tion, by an impatient, and catching hearing of the coutn
ifellors dt the bar*." He seemefi to be sensible of Us
^ Lord Bacon's speech to Judge Hottoa, on btitog initde a Judge 6f tht
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BURKE. fSt
deWafiion from ibis; to be oonriaced ihat Hccuri^ in
9tuc own optnbnsy like too great seoarity Id aoy thing,
*' is mortal's cbiefest enemy," and that, la oar daily
converse with the world, we meet with others wIk> are
far wiser diaa ourselves, eren on those points where we
fondly imagine our own wisdom to be the most aothenti^
catedw His honest desire not to feed eomentioa, but bring
it to as speedy a determination as could reasonably be
wished, deserves great praise.
'^ He did not," says Mr. Flood, alluding^ to bim bi one
of his speeches,^ live to be ennoMed, but he was ennobled
l^Aotare."
EDMUND BURKE.
Tbb early history of this great man ismraeually nacligpe;
even the place of his birth has been disputed* According
to aome of bb btografihers, he was born at Dubiio ; ae*
cording to others, in a little town in the ooonty of Cork*
The date of his birth, however, is more certain — 1st Ja-
Mnry, 1730. His father wa& an attorney of oongiderable
practice; and, beside the nesolts of his practice, bad an
estate of 150/. or 200/. a year. He married into tbe
ancient femily of tlie Nagles* Edmund was bis second
siso ; and, at a very early age was sent to Baly tore school,
a seminary in tbe north of Ireland, well known for having
fmmAei tbe bar. and the puipk of that country with
dumy distiaguished mee-^-a feet the more worthy ^note,
beea«se die school haa, for near a century, been under
the direction >of Quakers, whose oratory » not generally
esteemed the best model of imitation for young men of
any profession, with tbe exception, perhaps^ of those who
are intended for certain waHcs of the drama.
Here young Burke is said to have distinguished him-
sdf by «s ardent attachment to study, a prompt com-
mend of words, ttul a good taste." He proved the power
of ^is memory by the facility with whieh he became a
Ci^ipor m£ vei!ses, wnd the precocity of his invention by
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»2 BURKE.
writing a play, of which little is remembered, but ^' that
Alfred was the principal character, and that the piece
contained many sublime sentiments on liberty."
We lament the loss of this school-boy effusion ; it is
important to mark the gradations by which genius mounts.
If the first essays of great men could always be known,
we should often find their ascent to have been more gra-
dual than is usually imagined. Many a young aspirant,
who is dismayed at the height which others have attained,
would be cheered and stimulated if he could ascertain what
they had accomplished at his age, and the indolent and
confident would be reminded that no superiority of talent
can supply the necessity of early and regular exertion.
Burke regarded his preceptor, Mr. Shackelton, with
feelings which did honour to both. For nearly forty-years
that he went annually to Ireland, he invariably travelled
many miles to pay him a visit; nor did he confine his
friendship to old Mr. Shackelton, his son enjoyed it also,
with whom he was in habits of constant correspondence.
From school, Burke went to Trinity College, Dublin ;
but here, according to his contemporary, Goldsmith, he
did not distinguish himself. It may excite surprise, that
the motives which placed him at the head of his school,
did not operate to raise him at the university ; but let the
progress of the human mind be carefully observed, and
the inquirer i;^ill soon .find that the springs of action are
very different in the child and th^ adi^t. The child per-
forms his task from love of imitation, hope of reward, and
fear of punishment; as the intellect strengthens, he be-
gins to love learning for itself, or for the distinction
which he hopes to gain by the exertion of original powers;
that which was before a means becomes an end, and his
former hopes and fears, and wishes, pass away and are
forgotten.
We are far from asserting that such a change obtains
in every mind, and still farther from maintaining that it
always happens at a particular age. We only suggpest
this new birth as unfavourable to a very ardent affection
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BURKE. £83
for college exercises, because tbe aatural and onavoidable
distinction between man and man, will always tend to pro*
duce variety of object. Artificial motives will alone produce
exact conformity of movement; and where these have not
only faded from the view, but are supplied with others
which have a contrary effect, it must cease to be matter of
surprise, that men, whose originality in after-life instructs
and delights future ages, should be so often outstripped
in youth by competitors, whose names will only be known
to posterity from their association with those whom they
conquered.
How far our theory is correct we shall leave to the
decision of our readers; th^ facts on which it is built are *
numerous and incontrovertible; and, if Burke be still
thought to deserve censure for, coolness with regard to
university honours, let it be at least remembered that,
among the companions of his disgrace, must be couuted
Johnson, Swift, Gibbon, Dryden, and even Milton him^
self. .
At an early period of his life, Burke is said to have
planned a confutation of the metaphysical theories of
Berkeley and Hume— a task which he never executed.
Indeed, according to some of his biographers, his ideas
flowed with too great a rapidity to enable him to give
that patient attention to minute distinction, without which
it is in vain to attempt a confutation of these astute and
subtle reasoners. We find it sufficiently difficult to de-
cide upon the merits of what he has done ; and, therefore,
feel no inclination to institute an inquiry into the possi-
bility of bis genius.
In the year 1749 we find young Burke employed upon
a subject more analogous to his future pursuits. At that
period, Mr. Lucas, a political apothecary, wrote papers
against government, and acquired by them as much
popularity in Dublin as Mr. Wilkes afterwards obtained
by his North Briton in London. Burke employed against
Lacas tbe Reduciio ad ebswrdum ; he imitated his style
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€04 BURKCb
•6 CExaody as to deceive the public; and panned the
priDoif I« of his oppotteat to conseqtReiiceB, which^ in the
opinion of bis biographera, neoessarily resalted from those
prtnoifdesy and wbioh rendered their falsity manifest.
'^ Ireknd/'says Dr. Bissett, ^ thoagh often the mother,
is seMom the nnrse of getiias.'* She does not seem to
have any exception in lavour of Mr. Burke, or he cer-
tainly wo«ld never have deserted her for Scotland. We
are told he became ambitiotts of the logical chair at Glas*
gow ; -but, whether the application came too late, or whe^
ther the university was unwilling to receive a stranger,
certain it is, Burke was unsuccessfuL One account says,
that he was passing the dd oollege gate, when a labet
afiixed to it, struck h»s eye, inviting all the candidates fbr
the professetohip to a competition, although it was known
that a sueceasor was already fixed upon. Burke was stiM
yoveag enough to be taken in by this form ; althoagh h/t
bad enpyed the benefit of an academic edacation, and
might have learnt, we think, to suspect the seeming fair-
ness of such challenges.
Disappointed in Glasgow, Burke betook himself to
London. His first arrival in the metropolis was in 1753 )
and he immediately entered himself of the Temple. Here
he studied with vniemitting diligence; but his exertions
were not confined to the acquisition of knowledge, for,
althon^ from iihe death of his elder brotlier, his ultimate
expeotatiooB were considerable, yet, as his father was still
alive^ and had other children, his allowance was small ;
and be found it necessary to supply ^ deficiency by his
own exertions, and we are told, he became a frequent
oontrihutor to the periodical pnUicatioos. His manners,
at this period of his Ufe, were engaging; his habits and
oonvevsi^on were long rememibered aH the Grecian coffee*
honse (then the rendeEvons of the teaaplaiB), and they left
a strong and favoarable impression of his talents and
iMrabi. On the otiier hand, bis deotactors httre ridfcnled
him for pnssmg bb leisore with Mm. WoffingtoA tiM
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BORKE. BM
4Wft^f ; bat it »hoaM km re«dleoted that Ae w«s bh
^cotaa^TtottiaD^ and tlmt iicr focidty wai ito leBs ooorteA
iiymen of getrivs tlMD)>y men of pl«aMrre.
Allbongb be mis professedly ttodyitig tbe law, hfe
by DO neatn «oDfiQed Ininself to ttiat science; there Is
KBBOii %o fcditBte thai beHe^tfr made it even a prrfttcifal
tykject of atteatioo. If Vnd taiay trust Iris biographers, he
tanged oter the whole expanse of hutnan kaowiedge;
-e^n w4eb henarroired t)betKnrnd«of his exairsionSy they
aippear atmost too wide «o he traversed by mortal ener-
f^ei>. ** Tbe snadies to which be gave hittself vp with
petulimr wml (says Dr. BhsettX were those which irof)lded
Inioaan 'Bvciirey hiMofy, €#1^9, politrcs pnenmatologyy
poelry^'aod eritieisAi.^
The «oc]Mi)aMce ^ thil ^plicatieti was a dangerous
Woass, and be resorted for medical advice to his country^
taaai) Dp. Hmgetn^ ^ phyoiciain of gneat skill and eqnsfl
ipene^eoee. The l^ocior^ i6onsidering that diambers are
Itattdk betted adapted for prodochig patients than caring
diem (M «»ipi«ioa irbich we hold frbtti taperience to be
among tbe 9&at^t!B^in (the f^i^fession), kindly offered him
vpartments in bis own beMe, wbere the attention of this
benctQ4»dm man and hk femly, gradually, with or without
the aMistMoe of medicine, restored his patient's health.
Ifanong «he most attentive to yoting Burice, was the amiable
dMghter «if bis best. A warm and mutual attachment
was formed ^between the convalescent and bis gentle nursCi
mi »ooh after bis rectyvery they were married. With
Miss Nogeift, Barke seems to have enjoyed uninterrupted
bsfppiness: ^ In all tbe snitioas moments of my public
life (be tften Baid to bis iViends) every oare vanishes when
i «ier my wwn houBO.^*
Ib >1^6 appesMd the firsl^of bis pro^ctions which he
has tliMigbt i^rarthy ^ acknowledgment. It is a veiy
happy imitation of Bolingbroke, entitled ** A Vmdication
M MftMrti SocieQr/' It was a bold attempt for a young
«w, toiy « to fwistfty'^sevaith ye^r, to impose upon tbe
Digitized by VjOOQIC
236 BURKE.
world tbe tesayi of his own inexperience for the prodiie-
tions of a veteran, and ' such a veteran as Bolingbroke;
but the experiment succeeded. Macklin the player, who
was a kind of professor of Belles Lettres at the Grecian
coffee-house, affected to detect Bolingbroke at every turn,
and exclaimed to the young templars, Burke, perhaps,
being one of the audience, '' Oh ! this must be Harry Bo-
lingbroke, I know him by his cloven foot." It is also said
that Warburton, and even Chesterfield, were at first de-
ceived. It may have been so, but to us the irony appears
tolerably evident. Burke's intention by this ironical
attack upon society, as at present constituted, was to shew
the disciples of Lord Bolingbroke, that the same train of
reasoning by which their master had attempted to explode
the religion of their country, in whose fate they were but
little interested, might be applied to the destruction of
their property and the annihilation of their privileges, and
wisely concluded that the argument ad crumenam was the
most effective, if not the soundest which could be employed
against them. There is a radical fallacy in the reasoning
of the sceptical philosophers, which lays them fairly open
to such attacks as this of Burke's. They take it for
granted, that all tjie evils which exist, are effects of the
peculiar systems under which they exist. They deem it
sufiicient to point out evil to prove the necessity of
alteration, forgetting that good and bad, like up and down,
are, practically speaking, only terms of comparison, and,
that it is idle to point out defects in a system, without at
the same time furnishing an opportunity of comparing
them with remedies ; for since a perfect system can never
be made without perfect materials, it behoves the objector
to shew that the defect is in the construction, and not in
the elemenu, which he cannot do, unless by shewing
how a different construction would have obviat^ tbe
objection.
In a rapid and masterly sketch, Burke shews that political
societies have seldom been employed but in injuring eadv
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BURKE. M7
other^— that, if we may trust history, a hasty^ partial cnii*
meratioa of the nambers who have lost their lives in pub-
lic wars, more than equals the whole existing population
of the earth. Turning from the external to the internal po-
lity of governments, he shews that all are alike wayward,
Ignorant, selfish, and tyrannical, waging an eternal war
with the happiness of our species. From all which he
infers that we have done wrong in forming political com-
munities and enacting laws, and that we shoald have rested
satisfied with the simple relations of natural society.
As roust be expected, the picture is overcharged, and
sometimes the portrait verges upon caricature; yet the
author has shewn great art in avoiding almost all exagge-
rations but what naturally resulted from the nature of the
attack.
Soon after the " Vindication of Natural Society," ap-
peared the celebrated Essay on the ^ Sublime and Beau-
tiful.'' This work is too well known to require an analysis
of the system. The investigation was new, and though
far from being completely successful, has at least furnished
some important suggestions. Johnson considered it a
model of philosophical criticism : — ^* We have (he said)
an example of true criticism in Burke's Essay on the
Sublime and Beautiful. There is no great merit in shew-
ing how many plays have ghosts in them, or how this
ghost is better than that, you must shew how terror is
impressed on the human heart."
The publication of this work formed a distinguished
epoch in fhe life of Burke. He speedily became univer*
sally known and admired. The ignorant and superficial,
from the subject, believed him to be a man of taste; the
learned and the wise, from the execution, knew him to be
a man of taste and profound philosophy. His acquaint-
ance was immediately courted by the most distinguished
literary characters. Mr. (afterwards Sir Joshua) Reynolds
and Dr. Johnson were among the first who formed an in-
timate connection with him ; and the latter in particular
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«a BURKBi
was so charm^ «itb ihegcaiut mi kaawledge wbicb be
exiubkcdy thav ^t a vciy eadly per ied of iheif acf vaiotmiea^
it was observed by Muipbyy thai Johnson) would firodn
Srwrke beaf contradiotion, which hs would toltrtOe tn ha
other persoB. Goldsaiith, Popbam Qeaaderc^ Sk joha
Hawkins, aad maay others, equally diatinguished for Ua^
rature and elassical acqairtwientSy also beoame alcqaaiatad
with him about this tine ; and of these was formed a
literary club, which comprehended almost att the t^ent
and genins of the day. But the principal and most ios*
mediate advantage derived by .Burke from this puUJca*
tko, was a remitunce of lOOi. which his father, who w«a
enraptared at peruangthe spirited and degaat poodaoUoa
of his SO&, immediately forwarded to him; aad which,
with the sale of his book, relieved him from some very
pressing pecuniary embarraMmenta.
Id 17M be proposed to Dodsley the plan of aa '^ Ao*^
MMd Register'' of the civil, political, and literary traaa*
actions of the times; a work, which, if conducted oa
liberal and impartial principles, must be allowed to have
been a great desideratam in history. This proposal met
with Dodsky's approbation, aad it was carried into effect;
Borke himself superintending the publication, and 6on«
tributiDg krgely to its contents for many years.
He had, at an early period oi bis life, been connectad
ifl istimate friendship with the Right Homonrable William
Gerard Hamilton, since known by the fantUiar appellation
of ^^ Stngle^peech Hamilton ;" a title which was founded
OB a general, though erroneous idea, that Mr. Hamilton
bad never delivered but one speech of any importance in
the British senate ; and that oae so jusdy celebrated aa to
give rise to an opinion, which was strengthened by. the
rniimacy of the parties, that it was composed for him by
Mr. Borke. When Mr. Hamilton went over to Iteiaod
as official secretary to Lord Halifax, than lordJieutenant,
he pr<e vailed upon Burke to ^accompany him. Shortly
after his arrival there, Mr.Haasilton having made another
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BURKE. 9S9
cxceUeot speech in the Irish Hoase of ComoMiis, sad
haYiDg procured for Barke a pensioir of SOOL a year oa
tlie Irish ettablishmeoty it was considered by many as a
recompence for bis assutanoe in their compeaitioQ. Tbi%
however^ we have reasoa lo beliere was nol ibe case; the
taleou of Hamilton were very great, and fully adequate
to the. production of the speeches referred to; and bis
future silence in the senate may be easily aoooaated for
by the iadoleoee of that gentleman, whose ample fortune
afforded him the means of indulging in that dissipatiosi t^
which he was so ardently at taobed. His biographer, how*
ever, in negativiag the above rqKxrt, does not famish as
with any ohie to guide us oot of the labyrinth; and waavf
ttill at a loM to ascertain to what peculiar circumstances
Bnrke was indebted for this libera) and seasonable supply,.
That it was not altogether owing to an understood or avow*
ed agreement, on the part of Burke^ tosnpport the measures
of his friend by the powerful eflbru of his geaius, may be
Goliected from the circumstance of his never bavtag been
known as the author of a^y political publications oa tbat
side during the short period of his stay in Ireland* Hf
also retained the pension for some time after his letnra to
England; and did not throw it up until be bad declared
himself an avowed adherent to the party in oppositaoa to
that in which Hamilton ranked.
An anecdote which is recorded of the dissolution of
their friendship, principally, we suppose, for the sake of
the pun which it contains, is totally inconsistent with tbe
fects related by Dr. Bissett. In a dispute wluob arose on
some politioal question, Hamilton is reported to have t(4d
Burke, ^' that he took him from a garret;'* ^ Thei^ Sir, by
your own confession it was I tbat dactndkd lo know you,^
was tbe indignant reply. Bissett, however, sti^tes, tbat
though no intimate connection subsisted between these
gentlemen after Burke's return from Ireland, yet that their
friendsbip was never entirely dissolved, a circumstanca
wbicb muat have been onavoidable, bad tbe above report
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Z40 BURKE.
been true; and he alleges, in coofirmation of this, the
aotbority of a letter written by Burke to Hamilton, which
he had seen, and in which the former gentleman expostu-
lates with his friend on his indolence, and reminds him,
that he himself had a growing family to maintain, and
must turn his talents to what would be useful ; and, on that
account, that he must politically associate with men of
more active exertions.
On his return to England, his pecuniary circumstances
being less embarrassed, and himself raised above want by
his Irish pension, he applied himself with equal ardour,
and increased success, to the study of politics. Several
pamphlets which he published about this time, together
with some occasional disquisitions in the Public Adver-
tiser, introduced him to the notice of Mr. Fitzherbert,
through whose friendly medium he became known to the
Marquis of Rockingham and Lord Yerney.
Now it was that Burke was destined to.shihe in his
proper colours, as a distinguished orator and enlightened
sutesman. The administration, over which Mr. Grenville
presided, having become unpopular to the nation and
unpieasing to the court, his majesty, in 1765, appointed a
new ministry, composed entirely of the friends and political
adherents of the Marquis of Rockingham. The marquis
became first lord of the treasury, and Burke was appointed
his private secretary; a dissolution of parliament took
place, and Burke was nominated by Lord Verney to repre-
sent the borough of Wendover, in Somersetshire.
Johnson had declared, that in whatever society Burke
were placed, he would become the first man in it : ^^ If he
were to go into the stable,'' said Johnson, '^ and talk to the
ostlers, for five minutes, they would think him the wisest
man they ever saw.'^ This opinion was quickly realised.
The high expectations which his party had formed of
his genius and abilities were not disappointed. With that
ardour of mind which ever prompted him to shine, he
devoted the time previous to the meeting of parliament to
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BURKE. ^1
a new course of study. For tlie purpose of storing W*
mind with facts, reasonings, imagery, and sentiments, he
applied himself with unwearied diligence to the study of
history, poetry, and philosophy. His biographer alsa
assures us, that he at the same time dived deep into a
study, of which it would be difficult for any but himself to*
perceive the utility, that of the'Fathers, and the scholastic
disputations of the middle ages. A study more evidently
useful, but which to the elegant mind of Burke must have
been almost equally unpleasing, was that of parliamentary
usages, pirecedents, &c. in which he employed a great
portion of his time, aware in how great a degree they were
essential to the man of eminence in parliamentary business.
He soon, however, felt that all acquirements would be of
little service, unless accompanied by an easy and unern*
barrassed manner of communicating them to others. To
obviate this difficulty, and accustom himself to hear his
own opinions combated and to oppose those of others, he
for some time frequented the Robin Hood Society; a
debating club at that time in high reputation, and which
has produced many men of distinguished oratorical powers.
l^y this course of studies and exertions, continued for
some months, he qualified himself for delivering at the
opening of the ensuing session, a maiden speech, which
excited the admiration of the house, and elicited the
warmest praises from the great Mr. Pitt.
The influence which introduced Burke into the house
of commons, had no doubt considerable weight in deter-
mining his parliamentary conduct. This will probably not
be regarded as a harsh assertion, when we consider the
comprehensiveness of his mind and the soundness of his
judgment, and reflect on the measures which he advocated
in his first parliamentary essay. The object of primary
importance, when the Rockingham administration suc-
ceeded to power, was America; and Burke, with the rest
of that party, advised and strongly contended for measures
which certainly, in whatever light we consider them, give
VOL. 1. E
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tit Dp tery great id^ of fh^ politiqrf eftoiency of th^if
atitborji. Th^ intisDtion was tp jconcUiate the ^^nericanf
by 9 repeal of the ^tamp &ct; bpt at the same time tp
save the honour of the mother country, by pressing an a^jt
declaratory of the right of the Pfitish parl^meot tp tax
the coIoQies. Witb r^ereoce, however, to subjects of
domestic poVcy, this adipiQJstratiop actied with greater
pnulefs^oe and better success. The repeal of the cyder act,
a law which invested with an unjiist lapd almost arbitrary
power, the officers pf the excise, gave universal satis&o-
tion. Resplutions were passed, declaring the illegality of
geaeral warrants apd the seizure of papers, circumstaQceg
which had expited so much dissatisfaction in the affair of
Wilkes; and i^aoy excellent commprcial regulations were
carried into effect. But the consequences which must result
from their m^pres, with respect to America, were so evi-
imty and perhaps too the secret ipflueoce which afterwards
removed the Earl of Chathaoi, was so strong, that th^y
wer^ quickly dismissed from officp ^o make room for a
i^w administratipn under the auspipes of Pitt, creatpd for
that purpose Earl of Chatham, and lord privy seal.
In this brief sketch of the 8ho/t4ive(l Rockin^hpui
administration we have scarcely mentioned Burke, as his
public life was identified with the history pf the party
which he supported- On its dismissali he published ^^ A
short Defence of the late short-lived Administration ;'' in
which be advocated their measures with great plausibility,
and ip a style essjentially different from that pf any of his
other productions. It bears the semblance of having beei|
pomposfd by a m.an of consummate plainness and simpii'*
city, and was therefore more adapted for makin|; converts
than the most elaborate and highly ^finished production,
which would rather have been re|;arded with suspicion, ^^
the pleadings of ap ingenious apd artful advocate. He
soon after published an ironical answer to this defenc<^
purporting to be written by a tallow-chapdler apd cpmpapp*
cpuncil miap, in whicb hp attapkoi I^rd Chpthapi 9pd t(ip
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BURKE. €4S
ttew mmifltrj with great iMiiiK>iur, mingledl with thekceneat
kony. Whatever may faa^e been the inerits or demeiits
of ihe RockinghaminiQistryf they oertaioly deserve high
commeodaAioQs for the tibecal manner in which -tbej
retired from their offices. Not one of them retained either
place, pension, or leversion for themselves or their friends*
A piece of djsintereatedoess which mast have been to-
▼endy fek by Bnrke, from the nanrowness of bis private
fortune.
In July 1766, Mr. Burke being once inore free from all
restraint, revisited his native land, endeared to him by long
abseooe, and the remembrance of the friends of his earlier
years, with many of whom he renewed his acquaintance.
Towards the close of the year he returoed to England,
where a strong opposition had been organised against the
measures of the new administration. In this Burke took
an active part, and soon distinguished himself as the heai
of the Rockingham party, m which, although supported
by men of powerful talents, Dowdeswell, Cooosellor Duo^
ning, and Colonel Barr6, Burke always claimed prt-emi-
tience. His speeches shone with a warmth of imaginatioa
united to a high de^ee of political knowledge, which the
otbert could never attain. The opinion which .Burke
drtertained of this ministry, which is commonly known by
the Grafton administration, is thus hnmorocisly described
by himself. After paying many merited enlogiums to the
character of Lord Chatham, he claims the privilege of his-
tory to speak of the administration he had formed, and thus
proceeds:— -'He ipade an administration so checqnered
and speckled ; he put together a piece of joining, so crosdy
indented and whimsically dove-tailed; a cabinet so ra*
rionsly inlaid; such a piece of diversified Mosaic; «nch a
tessellated paremeot without cement; here a bit <^ black
Stone,and there a bit of white ;,patriots and courtiers; king^
friends and repablicans; Whigs and Tories; treacbefous
firiaids spd open enemies ; that it was indeed a veiy
<Mmotts show, bat nttefly unsafe to tonch> «ul (msnre to
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£44 BURKE.
stand upon. The colleagues, whom he had assorted at
the same boards, stared at each other, and were obliged to
ask, *Sir, your name? — Sir, you have the advantage of
me — Mr. Such-a-one — Sir, 1 beg ten thousand pardons.*—
I venture to say, it did so happen, that persons had a
single office divided between them, who had never spoken
to each other in their lives, until they found themselves,
they knew not how, heads and points, in the same truckle-
bed."
An administration, composed of materials so discordant,
could not long remain united. The secret influence of
the princess dowager was unceasingly employed in scatter*
ing dissensions among the ministry, and in counteracting
the patriotic designs of Lord Chatham. Wearied with
unavailing attempts to carry into effect the extensive plans
which he had meditated for the good of his country, and
finding it no longer in his power to oppose the cabal
which had been formed in tlie cabinet against him, this
great and patriotic statesman at length retired in disgust,
under the united pressure of age and ill*health. He felt
that he bad no longer the power to oppose with effect
those ruinous measures into which the country was> about
to be precipitated, and he resolved not to give even a tacit
consent to them, by retaining an office of which the power
had passed away from him.
On the resignation of Lord Chatham, the parliament
was dissolved, and Burke was again returned for the bo-
rough of Wendover. The new parliament, which met in
November 1768, is famous for the proceedings which
took place in the memorable affair of Wilkes, and which
are so well known as to render a repetition of them
useless. Burke, on this occasion, took a high and consti-
tutional ground, strenuously contending that an act of
parliament alone could disqualify any person from sitting
in the house of commons, who had been fairly elected by
a majority of votes to a vacant seat. This principle,
though then rejected, was, in an ensuing parliament,
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BURKE. 245
ftcknowledgedy the reaolution for inserting the name of
Lottrdl in the returned writ, instead of that of Wilkes,
being rescinded by order of the house. This and other
events which occurred about the same time, gave rise to
those celebrated letters inserted in the Public Advertiser,
under the signature of Junius. These letters have fre-
quently been attributed to Burke, but on very insufficient
grounds: he declared to Johnson that he was not the
author of them; and the internal evidence of style, toge«
ther with the very different political opinions of Burke
and Junius, prove their characters to have been entirely
distinct.
Nor did Burke on this important occasion confine him-
self to the many excellent speeches which he made in the
house. He drew up a petition to the king, from the free-
holders of Buckinghamshire (at Beaconsfield, in which
county he had now purchased a house), complaining of the
conduct of the house of commons in the expulsion of
Wilkes, and praying for a dissolution of parliament.
Indeed so unpopular at this time was the Grafton ministry,
that their continuance in office was principally, if not
solely, owing to the divisions among their antagonists*
The opposition was composed of two parties, at the head
of which were the Marquis of Rockingham and Mr.Gren-
ville, which agreed on no other point than to harass the
ministry. Mr. Grenville, about this time, published an
Essay on ** The present State of the Nation ;" to which
Burke wrote an answer, under the title of ** Observations
on the present State of the Nation." Grenville's principal
object was to prove that the nation was about to be ruined
by a deviation from those principles on which he acted
during his administration, and that America was very well
able to pay a certain proportion of taxes towards the sup-
port of the state. In bis " Observations" on this pamphlet,
Burke, with great perspicuity, follows Grenville through
all his details, and proves the insufficiency and inaccuracy
of his arguments and calculations: — ^'Grenville," said
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m6 BURKB.
Bork^ ^' ia tfatiaiied to repeat gravely, at he hat done a
Jiandred ttmes before, tbat the Afnericans are able to ^y,
but does he lay open any part of his phn how they ma^
be compelled to pay it, without plunging ourselves into
oakmities which outweigh ten times the proposed benefiti*
H^ attaek^ the Grenville administration with severity and
justice, he ddends that of Rockingham with ingenuity,
and ridtcnles, with the nofost sarcastic remarks, the coflfdtfct
of their successors.
The effects of the new system of taxation on the imports
t( Ndrth America, Which had been introduced at the
recommendation of Mr. Charles Townsend, and whieh
bad principally occasioned the retirement of Chatham,
BOW became obvious. The disturbances now assumed A
more threatening aspect, and afforded Burke a capaciotrs
Iteld for the display of those splendid talents with which
he Was endowed. For the purpose of intimidating thd
Americans, it wasr proposed to revive an obsolete law, by
Which the king was empowered to appoint a commission
in England, for the trial of treason committed beyond seas.
A law at once so unjast and so impolitic, met with the most
strenuous opposition of Burke. This, however, was una-
vililing, and its immediate effects were such as he bad
predicted ; — it exasperated the Americans, without causing
th# least obstruction to their measures.
While these extraordinary measures of colonial policy
were carried into effect, the proceedings in* the case of
Wilkes, had raised so gfeat a ferment throughout the
whole of England, as to cause the most insulting, and im-
perious remonstrances to be drawn up and presented to
the king, particuliirly one from the livery of London,
which assumed a tone nearly approximating to that of
licentious abuse. On this occasion Burke published
*' Thoughts on the Causes of the present Discontents;'*
tbcf principal object of which is, to recommend the forma-
tion of an open aristocracy, consisting of men of talents,
lank, property, ^nd independence. Such an aristocracy,
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BURtCB. iif
be cbnctiy^i, having a greater iat^l-^st in die welfiire of
ih6 tbUHttf, ^i\\ h6 ittofe Itkdy to pfoifiot^ it, than eiAi6t
ihe (>e6p1^ tbemsfelv^ on ih€ ond bmid, or tlie 6iinion< 6t
a ctiixti on tb^ other. TbifT, id the opinion of Dr. Bissett,
taky be tegjktdtd at it iMi-inA^k of Bnrke't own doctrine^
f^pectibg the British goyermnent ; and from this he coti-^
6eiyes biftttelf qdalifled to prove, tbat the tentiorent^
4vdwed by hini at thi^ time'. Were those which be continued
ib act tipon dorhlg the whole Of bis lift. We, however, c^ti-
6ot implieitly subscribe tb this doctribe; tht design of th^
pamphlet id question is evidently to procure the re-esta*
btisbmlent of the Rockingham party in power, ahd, vieweci
in that light, it v^ ^ modt irtgetiioos party performance. As a
generdA iys^tetn of government it might perhaps be reckoned
Itmotigst the most visionary theories oh that subject whicb
have ever appeared; 4n aifistocracy so formed, would '
Quickly degenerate idto an oligarchy, (indeed, in its best
and most perfect form, it would be litttle else than a masked
oligarchy,) and the consequences to the public welfare
Would be more deleterious and destructive than even the
pure and unmixed power, either of a monarchy, or a
democracy.
On the resignation of the Duke of Grafton in 1^70,
akid the promotion of Lord North to a high and efficient
situation in the cabinet, Burke uniformly opposed the
measures brought forward by that minister, particularly
those which affected the dispute with America. The dis-
dOntedts and disturbances elicited by the laws, enforced
by the late administration. Were too evident nbt to be per*
chived, and too extensive not to be dreaded; yet the preci-
pitation with which those measures had been enacted, left
n6 medium fot the n^inister to pursue. To remove ^t
once the causes of discontent by repealing the obnoxious
acts, was to acknowledge th6 incapacity of the British
government to enforce obedience to them ; and, on th^
Other band, to continue them, and to compel their eiCecu-
li6D, Was to plunge the nation into aii exp^iftive add
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^8 BURKE*
destructive war. Id these distressing circumstaDces^ Lord
North was aoi^ious to attain a mediam where none could
exist; he proposed to repeal all the obnoxious laws of
the preceding administration, with the exception of <chat
which imposed a duty on tea, in itself of no importance^
but which he conceived it advisable to retain, as a mark
of the authority of parliament over the colonies. This
measure was evidently impolitic in the extreme, as it
evinced the weakness of the government without removing
the cause of the dispute. The opposition of the Americans
was not to the amount of taxation, but to the principle,
which was equally established by the most trifling tax, as
by the most oppressive and degrading impositions. This
measure, evidently founded on the same mistaken policy,
and emanating from the same principles with that which
M r. Burke had so strongly advocated on his first appearance
in the house of commons, was on this occasion opposed
by that gentleman with the keenest force of his ridicule:
" Lord North's scheme," he said, " was a heterogeneous
mixture of concession and coercion ; of concession not tend-
ing to conciliate, and of coercion that could not be carried
into execution ; at once exciting hatred for the intention,
and contempt for the weakness. Thus, the malignity of
your will is. abhorred, and the debility of your power is
contemned ; and parliament, which you persuade to sanc-
tion your follies, is exposed to dishonour."
To account for this apparently extraordinary change of
sentiment. Dr. Bisset observes with much metaphysical
subtilty of reasoning, that ^' as Burke's great genius was
moire and more matured by experience, he became, in
estimating plans for the conduct of affairs, less and less
attentive to questions of abstraction;" and pursues his
argument until he arrives at the conclusion that '^abstract
competency should be regarded as subservient to moral
competency." " The Americans," says Bisset, reasoning
for Burke, " have been very serviceable to Britain under
the old system ; do not therefore, let us rashly seek a new.^^ ,
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. BURKE. £49
Our commercial interests have been hitherto very greatly
promoted by our friendly intercourse with the colonies ^
do not let us endanger possession for. contingency; do not
let OS substitute untried theories for a system experimen-
tally ascertained to be useful,"
" Whatever opinion Burke/' said his old friend Gerard
Hamilton, ''from any motive, supports, so ductile is bis
imagination, that he soon conceives it to be right.'' Burke
was more accustomed to philosophise on certain qqestions
than is usually supposed ; and by revolving the question
in every possible light, it is conceived that his mind was
often as full of .arguments on one side as on the other;
hence it is, that men of quite opposite opinions have been
equally desirous to quote his authority ; and that there
are in his works, passages that may be triumphantly
brought forward by almost any party.
In the summer of 1772 he paid a visit to France, where
his high reputation made his society courted by the most
distinguished politicians and philosophers of the day.
The hasty strides which republicanism and infidelity were
making in that country were obvious to the eye of Bnrke;
which is the less surprising, when we remember that they
were observed about the same time by a man of much less
discernment and no religion, the late Horace Walpole,
Lord Orford. So deeply, however, was the mind of
Burke impressed with the dreadful effects which he appre-
hended from their united force, that, on his return to
England, he could not avoid, in a speech in the house of
commons, adverting to them as objects worthy of no com-
mon dread. He professed that he was not over-fond of
calling in the aid of the secular arm to suppress doctrines
and opinions ; but if ever it was to be raised, it should be
against those enemies of their kind, who would take from
us the noblest prerogative of our nature, — that of being a
religious animal. And be concluded by recommending,
that a grand alliance should be formed among all believers,
** against those ministers of rebellious darkness, who were
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Mdeatouri^g to %hAe all the ^birfes of Ood, establidied id
be&uty and ordet.'^ In tbe c6tir^ of the saltkie session, oa
a tnotibn by 9rr Heory Houghton for the relief of di^
Milters, he expressed in iftrong term'sl, his opiniot] of th^
disqualifications under which thefjr laboured) idling tb^
iokration which they enjoyed by connivan^e^ '^ at teknpo-
raiy relaxatien of slavery ;** a sort of Kberty '' not calculated
for the meridian of England.''
Ota the dissolution of parliament in iii4f, he w^ re-
Mviiedy through the influence of die Marquis of Rodcing*
tota^ for the borough of Malton^ in Yorkshire; btit when
dtt iht (Mrint of sitting dowti to dinner with bis friends i^
f^t town, after the election, a deputation of iliercbanti
arrived from Brbtol to request bitn to stand for thai city.
B^ the advice of his constituents at Malton, he con*
sented to accompany theitf, tod throwing himself into a
Iplbsrt-ebaise, prdceeded with all possible expedition to
Bi^istd. A large body of the prhicipd merchanU of that
dty, eohsisting chiefly of dissenters, had beheld with
admiration his splendid talents, and considering him a
firm friend to the cause of civil ahd rdigious liberty,
Atood forward in bis behaMl The old membcfi^ for that
eity were already opposed by Mr. Cruger ; and on Burke's
appearance on the hxrstings, which il^as not until the sixtli
day of the deetion/ be delivered- a most eloquent speech,
in which, by his itttimate acquaintance with the advantages
ahd principles 6f eoibmerce, and the local interests of
Bristol, be produced so deep iln iihpression on the minds
of the electors, as to ensure his final success. He was
iietumed for that city in conjundtioh with Mr. Cruger; a
gentleman, who, it would seeifa, possessed no great share
of that eloqoebce which so emmently distinguished his
colleague, ft is even reported, that after Burke bad
ddivered one of his best speeches, at Bristbl, Cruger rose
up, and excldhkied, ** I say ditto to Mr. BUrke — I say diUo
to Mr. Burke/'
The meeting df thfe hew pariiati^ent displayed a greater
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BURKE. «1
ftsaemblage of taleots than had perhaps eTer appeHred id
Any age or country. Fox had long been a member of th^
hoQBe of commons, bat had tttvtr hitherto distinguished
himself for oratorical abilities dr poliCrcdl efficiency*
Stimulated to exertion by the hnhefto unrivalled elo-
quence and powers of Burke, he now comfmenced tluft
glorious career in which he persevered until his decease;
and Vox and Burke were not crnly regarded with adoH-
ration by the opposition, of which they were the un-
daunted champions and supporter*, But ware viewed by
the minfister and his adherents with mingled admi^atioil
and dread. The pditical dottneciioti now formed b^tweett
these two great men soon led to an intimate friendship,
which cominued to unite them both in public sltid private
life for many years.
The mistaken measures of the atdmlnistration bad tfow
driven the Americans (o the necessity of taking up armi
iti defence of their civil rights. The struggle was long
and arduous. On the one hand, an extensive and fertile
country, firmly united in the support of their rights; on
the other, a nation so divided within itself that a majority
perhaps of its inhabitants rejoiced in the successes of
those whom the government would have taught them to
regard as enemies. During the whole of the conteflt>
Burke uniformly and ardently opposed the measures of
Lord North, and defended and encouraged the Americani
in the pursuit of those privileges for which th^y fought ;
ft conduct which, notv^ithstanding the endeavours 6f hii
biographers to establish d thorough Con^stefacy through^
out the whole of bis political life, we cdn by no means
reconcile witb that which he afterwards* pursued' when
France was engaged in a similar contest. In the coursi^
of this war he delivered many brilliant speeches whrch
are convincing evidences of the vast extent of his genius,
and the great superiority of his eloquence.
Dodng the summer of 1776, Burke, together with
several other leaders of opposition, took the extraordinary.
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252 BURKE.
though not uoprecedeDted step, of seceding from parlia-
ment, and retiring from the house^ whenever any question
relative to America was brought into discussion. Wcf
cannot conceive him justified in this conduct, notwith*
standing the arguments adduced in his ** Letter to the
Sheriffs of Bristol ;" and it was the opinion of the oppo-
sition at large, that such measures should not be persisted
in. Burke himself observed, on another occasion, that
'^ Eloquence, though it might not procure a majority to
members of opposition, was not without its effect, in
modifying measures of ministry." In the succeeding
session he returned with great vigour to his parliamentary
duty, and became again a most active partisan of the
opposition, and indefatigable in seizing every opportunity
of harassing and distressing the ministry.
On his election for Bristol in 1774 he had openly de-
clared himself against the popular doctrine, that the
members of the house of commons, being the organ of
the people, should, on all occasions, vote in concurrence
with the sentiments, and in obedience to the instructions
of their constituenu. These sentiments he carried into
execution, particularly in supporting the bill for relieving
the trade of Ireland from many oppressive restrictions
under which it then laboured ; on which occasion he had
received instructions from his constituents to oppose it.
His exertions in favour of Sir George Saville's motion, for
relieving the Catholics from certain penalties to which
they were subject, were also disapproved of by the citizens
of Bristol. On these and other occasions, he had acted
in so direct an opposition to their declared opinions, that,
when he presented himself a second time as a candidate
for Bristol, at the general election in 1780, he was com-
pelled, after an unsuccessful canvass, to decline the con-
test; which he did in a speech replete with his usual
eloquence. In consequence of this disappointment, he
took his seat in the new parliament for the borough of
Malton.
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BURKE. 65S
The first session of the new parliament^ which was dis*
tinguished by the accession of Pitt and Sheridan to the
opposition^ presented a scene similar to that of many pre-
ceding years. The ministry^ supported by their numbers,
continued to resist with efiect, the attacks oftheoppo-*
sition, which were energetic, and supported by a com-
bination of talents never equalled. This assertion will not
be regarded as an exaggeration, when we refer to the last
effort of the opposition in the session of 1781. A motion
by Foi, for the house to resolve itself into a committee,
to consider of the American war, was supported by She*
ridan, by Dunning, by Pitt, by Burke, and by Fox.
The ensuing session was very different in its history
and in its results. The long continuance of the war with
America had so completely shaken the confidence of the
country members in the wisdom of the ministers, that
hopes were entertained by the opposition, that a reiterated
and well conducted series of attacks might finally ensure
success. The contest was commenced by a resolution,
moved by Mr. Fox, on February 7, 1 782, accusing Lord
Sandwich^ then at the head of the Admiralty, of gross mis*
managiement in the conduct of naval affairs. The spaall
majority by which this motion was negatived, encouraged
them to proceed in their plan ; and, several motions hav-
ing been decided against them by a diminishing majority,
on the 8th of March, Lord John Cavendish moved certain
resolutions, recapitulating the failures, the misconduct,
and the expenses of the war. These resolutions were met
by a motion for the order of the day, and were lost by a
majority of only ten.
This defection on the side of the administration gave
heart to the minority, and they rallied with redoubled
force and spiriu on the 16th of March, when a motion of
Sir John Rous, ^^ That the house could have no further
confidence in the ministers, who had the direction of pub-
lic affairs," was negatived only by a majority of nine.
The minority followed their fortune, and, on the 21st of
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$9i BURKE.
the same opyi^ath (the hoase being oacommonly croiided)
tbe Earl of Surrey (late Duke bf Norfolk) rose to make
bi« promised piotioo, when Lord North spoke to order,
saying, '^ H^ n^e^nt no disrespect to the noble earl ; but,
as notice had been given, that the object of ^be intended
laotion was the removal of his majesty's mLni^te^s, he
meant to have acquainted the bouse that sucb a motion
was unnecessary, as he could assure the house, on au*
thority,— that the present administration was no more)
find that his majesty had come to a full determination of
changing his ministers; and, for the purpose of giving thf
necessary time for new arrangements, he moved an adr
journment;," which was instantly adopted.
During this adjournment, a new administration was
formed, under the auspices of the Marquis of Rocking-
ham, on wbose public principles and private virtpes the
nation seemed to repose, after the violent struggle by
which it had been agitated, with the securest and mos^
implicit confidence. The Marquis of Rockingham was
appointed first lord of the treasury, the Earl of Shelburoe
and Mr. Fox, joint-secretaries of state, Lord Omden prer
sideot of the council, Duke of Grafton privy seal. Lord
John Ovendish chancellor of the exchequer, and Mr>
Burke paymaster-general of the forces.
The new ministry, which stood pledged to the people
for many reforms, began immediately to put them into
execution. The first object of their attention was the
affairs of Ireland. A bill was passed through both houses,
which, by repealing the act of the 6th George L rendered
the parliament of Ireland independent of that of Great
Britain. This was coupled with a resolution, '^Tbat it
was essentially necessary to the mutual happiness of the
two countries, that a firm and solid connection should be
forthwith established by the consent of .both; and. that
his majesty should be requested to give the proper direc«-
tions for prompting ihe same/'
Ob the '5tb of April, Burke . brought 'forw^d bb great
Digitized by VjOOQIC
ap4 f^t9P^^^ plii9 Af retf ^Qcl^neot in tljie expenditore^f
tjifs ciyil Ih^ by wbic;h jthe ^npual »av|iigp (aod whii:l^
i9ro|il<jl Ve yearly iporeftsiog) would amovnt to 72,36§/*
Ijt ws^ QJbjecUd by spme ipfiembers; that jthe bill wa^ ^9^;
ao ^xjtei^iiye ^ it bad been originally fr^mied; bjat Mr.
9urke entered into the groupd^ of those omissionsi wbicl^
had bejen ma^e either frop a coip^pliance with the opiniona
of others, o^ firofn a fuMejc consideration of the particular
ciases ; At the sao^e ,time he pledged himself^ that he should
at all times he re^dy to obey their call, whenever it
appei^red to be the geojeral opinion pf the house and pf
tbe people, to prosecute a mor^ co^iplete system pf
nefopp. A bill was also passed, dLsq\:|alifying revenue
giSiGers froip voting in th^ elections for members of piur- '
liamept; $nd several other popular propositions were mn/h
aofi fulopted.
Xbe death of the Marquis of Rockingham, which took
plac^ qn July 1, .17^2, speedily dissolved the ministry, of
iprbich be alone formed tb|s connecting link. It had been
uaderstoqd by Fox mi Purke, that th^ Duke of Portland
^puld bavp beeii nominated his successor. Great indeed
yl^^ t^e^r disapppintment when the J^rl of Shelbunle
found means to procure the appointment for himself, when
t)A^y considered biqa as having agreed that the Duke of
Pprtland should be invested with the office, and that the
pli^qs of the Rockingham a^min^st)r^tion should be pur-
4|ied. Fox and Burke imniediaiely resigtied. They opt
oply differed with Sbelb,uro^ in their opinion duit the
ipdep^ndenp^ of Americfi should be ackpowledged ; biit^
auperipr to the petty i^rtifices pf conrt intrigue, th^
vje^pd with copfempt the mode by which their colleague
hful i^pen^ed to power.
OwH^ again ip pppositiouj Fo^ ^pd Burke joined their
fqrces j;i the enduing 4^sion to those of Lord North, apd
^ttftcjn^ l,h^ gepfsral pefce which had beep conplude^
d})ripg the repess, with gre^t force of talent «md eminent
aiHi^Pffi^ The cqphiaed f^im procui^d » .majority in
Digitized by VjOOQIC
256 BURKE.
the bouse, and passed a vote of censure on the new
ministry; which^ after some ineffectual struggles^ was
compelled to retire. The Duke of Portland now became
first lord of the treasury, Lord John Cavendish chancellor
of the exchequer, Mr. Burke, as before, paymaster of the
forces, and Mr. Fox and Lord North joint-secretaries of
state, in what was called the coalition administration.
As this union of political interest was the most unpo-
pular measure adopted in the present reign, and that
which it has, above all others, been found most difficult
to reconcile with purity and consistency of principle, it
may be necessary to state what has been offered in apo*
logy, at least as far as Mr. Burke is concerned. It is well
known to those in the least conversant in the politics
which immediately preceded this period, how uniformly
Lord North was upbraided for his conduct throughout the
whole course of the American war : every thing that could
attach to a bad ministry wias laid to his charge, except
perhaps the solitary exception of corruption in his own
person, which was not much, while he was continually
accused of being the mover of a mass of corruption in
others ; and as Mr, Fox and Mr. Burke were the two
leading champions of the house of commons, in their several
speeches will be found invectives of such a nature, as to
men, judging of others in the ordinary habits of life, per-
haps would be thought insurmountable barriers to their
coalition. But we are told, that forming an administration
upon a broad bottom of political interest is quite a different
thing from contracting a private friendship: in the former
many things are to be conceded, in regard to times and
circumstances, and the opinions of others ; in the latter,
the question of right and wrong lies in a narrower com-
pass, and is more readily judged of by the parties and
their friends. Mr. Burke, therefore, may say, " that, in
his several attacks on Lord North, he considered him as a
principal promoter and encourager of the American war,
a war which he held destructive of the interests and ^on-
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BURKE. 857
ititutional rights of this couatry. As a mbdster, there-
fort, he reprobated bis conduct; but the Americao contest
being over, and others measures about to be pursued,
which, in his opinion, might heal the bruises of this war,
he coalesced with him as a tnan^ who (benefiting himself
by his former mistakes) might still render important
services to his country."
Such a defence as this may very wdl be admitted in
favour of Mr. Burke and others ; but Mr. Fox stood
jdedged upon diffSerent grounds. He not only inveighed
against the mimHer in the grossest terms of abuse, but
against the man,* whom, he said, ** he would not trust
himself in a room with, and from the moment that he ever
acted with him, he would rest satisfied to be termed the
most infamous of men.** After such a particular decla*
ration as this, emphatically and deliberately announced
in a full house of commons, scarce nine months had
elapsed when Mr. Fox cordially united with Lord North,
and brought a suspicion on his character, with regard to
consistency, which all the exertions of his future life were
not able to remove. In the mean time, however, the new
administration bade fair for permanence. It was strong
in talents, in rank, and in the weight of landed interest.
It seemed nearly such a combination of great families as
Mr. Burke had wished in his ^^ Thoughu on the Causes
of the present Discontents;" but it wanted what was neces-
sary to complete his plan, — ** the approbation and confi-
dence of the people.'' Suspicipn attached to all their
measures, and seemed, in the opinion of the people, to be
confirmed when they introduced the famous East India
bill. This is not the place for discussing the merits of this
important bill ; it may suffice, as matter of fact, to state
that it was considered as trenching too much on the
prerogative, as creating a mass of ministerial influence
which would be irresistible; and that the vast powers
which it gave the house of commons might reader the
administration too strong for the crown. Had these
VOL. I. s
Digitized by VjOOQIC
S5S BURKE.
objections been confined to the ex-ministers and their
friends, the coalesced ministers might have repelled them,
at least by force of numbers ; bat it was pecoliarly unfor*
iubate for Mr. Burke, Mr. Fox, and the Whig part of the
administration, that they were opposed without doors by
the Toice of the people, and in the writings of all those
authors who had the credit of being constitutional autho-
rities. The East India bill, accordingly, although carried
in the house of commons, was lost in that of the lords, and
a new administration was formed in December 1783, at
the head of which was Mr. Pitt.
The mtyority of the house of commons, however, still
continuing attached to the dismissed ministers, public
business was interrupted, and continued in an embarrassed
state until his mtyesty determined to appeal to the people
by a dissolution of parliament in May 1784. The issue
of this was, that many of the most distinguished adherents
to the Coalition were rejected by their constituents, and
Mr. Pitt, in the new parliament, acquired a majority quite
decisive as to the common routine of business, but cer^
tainly for many years not comparable in talents to the
opposition. Mr. Burke, again belonging to this class|
exerted the utmost of those powers which so justly entitled
him to the character he maintained in the world. To
detail the progress of that high character through all the
political business he went through would be incompatible
with the nature and limits of this work ; his talents will
be best shewn in a general and minute review of his publie
life, as exemplified in his speeches, his political and other
publications, and be will be found one of the greatest oma«
ments of the age he lived in.
A committee of the house of commons had been ap*
pointed in 1782, of which Burke was a member, to inquire
into the execution of justice in the East Indies. In the
course of their researches on the subject, Burke had seen
what he conceived to be disgraceful peculation, combined
with rapacious avarice; and atrocities of the deepest dye^
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BURKE. 959
commtUed onder the teinblaiice of justice, united in the
persoB of the governor*geoeral. In the begiuoiog of July
1784, he made a speech on the enormities he inscribed to
Hastings ; and displayed, in the picture he drew, powera
which might have composed a most admirable tragedy.
He brought forward a string of resolutions, as the foun-
dation of an inquiry into the conduct of Mr. Hastings.
This was briefly opposed by Pitt, becau^^ there was not
at that time that undoubted cTideoce of deiioquency
which aione could evince the propriety of the motion*
Burke's fancy and passions getting much warmer from
opposition, pictured to him Hf^tings as the greatest
monster that ever cursed the earth ; persisting in pressing
the subject, he was at length overpowered by a loud and
continual clamour. The want of effective talent on the
ministerial benches, had repeatedly compelled them to
have recourse to this expedient, to drown the eloquence
of Burke. The dignity of conscious superiority should
bare rendered him indi6ferent to such a dbturbance, in-
stead of which he frequently fell into the most outrageous
fits of passion ; and once told them that he could discipline
a pack of hounds to yelp with much more melody and
equal comprehensioo.
From this time Burke devoted the whole of his attention
to this important subject; and the committee of the house
having presented a report, in which they accused Hastings
and Hornby with having, '^ in sundry instances, acted in a
manner repugnant to the honour and policy of this nation,"
Burke pledged himself to move an impeachment, when
Hastings^ return should enable him to refute the charges,
if false. During the recess of 1785 Hastings returned
from India. On the commencement of the ensuing sessioUi
Burke was challenged by Major Scott to bring forward
his charges. This he promised to do; and, on Feb. 17,
1786, he called the attention of the house to that subject;
and the impeachment was agreed to.
It is not our intention to repeat even the heads of the
Digitized by VjOOQIC
860 BURKE.
charges against Hastings. It will be sufficient to observe,
that the yariety and extent of Burke's powers were per-
haps never exhibited to greater advantage than during
this tedious trial. The opening speech of Burke, on the.
modes of bringing a public delinquent to justice, on the
character add situation of the accuser, and the motives
by which he ought to be actuated, exhibits at once a
most extensive knowledge of the crown law of this king-
dom, of the science of jurisprudence, and of ethics in
general. His speech on the Rohilla war unites a most
complete acquaintance with the Roman policy in the
management of distant provinces, and that of modern
Europe, to the wisest and most liberal principles respect-
ing that department of government. His eloquence,
though it did not prove the points he wished to establish
ebnceming Hastings, and was in that view a waste of
genius, yet contains facts, imagery, sentiments, and philo*
sophy, that render it delightful and estimable. >
' No measure which he ever supported subjected Burke
to more obloquy and abuse* than the prosecution of
Hastings. It was stated, that he was instigated to it by
personal resentment against the governor-general, in con*
sequence of his inattention to Mr. W. Burke. ^^ That
Burke,'' says Dr. Bisset, *^ or any man, would undertake
so laborious a task, which required such minuteness of
investigation concerning. so intricate details, the materials
to be fetched from such a- distance, with so great and
powerful a body Inimical to an inquiry, merely because
his friend had been slighted, is hardly within the compass
of credibility." Yet fron^ whatever cause it did arise, it
* Amongst nunerons Yinilent ettackt, through the mediam of the public
press, may be recorded the foUowing fnirioUe epigram, which the editor
was assured by a lady of yeradty, came from the pen of Mrs. John
Ireland:—
I've often wondered that on Irish gronnd
No Tenomons reptile ever coold be found ;
But Nature, willing to perform her work.
Saved aU her venom to complete a BURKE.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BURKE. 461
IS certain that Burke indulged in the co'krsest personal
observations on Mr. Hastings, and in many violent exag*
gerations not founded on the slightest proof. On one
occasion in particular it is stated^ that^ in a moment of
Mr. Hastings' hesitation about the ceremony of kneeling
at the bar, which proceeded from accident, Burke com*
manded him to kneel, with a ferocity in his conntenafice
which no painting could express.
In the debates which took place, during his majesty's
illness in ]788^9> on the settlement of a regency, Burke
stood forward with an unusual degree of prominence, and
in a manner which certainly did no credit either to his
prudence or to his feelings. It is well known that the
opinion expressed by Mr. Pitt on this occasion, was, that
it remained with parliament to supply the deficiency, as in
other circumstances not before provided for by the exist*
ing laws. Fox, on the other side, contended, that during
this incapacity, there was virtuldly a demise of the crown ;
and that therefore the next heir should assume the powers
of government, while the incapacity continued. Burke's
intimate connection with the prince, the interest of his
friends, and no doubt also his own hopes of again coming
into office, led him to support this latter opinion. But the
Warmth with which he contended, and particularly the
indecent and cruel expressions which burst from him
respecting his majesty, created a more general dislike to
his character than had hitherto been entertained, and occa*
sioned a feeling in the house move formidable to his friends
than to the minister whom they opposed. /
His biographer, whose object it is to exhibit him to the
World as perfectly consbtent in his public character,
appears to have been desirous to cast a veil over tliis part
of his history. Tet, as it exhibits, perhaps, more charac*
teristic features of the man as well as the politician, than
any other action of his life, we have thought it improper
io avoid noticing it. And when we consider, that this
violence of temper and passion were exercised on the
Digitized by VjOOQIC
t6t BURKE.
illastrious personage to whom, in a very few years, be was
gratefdlly to acknowledge his obligation for the indepen*
dehce atid comfort of his latter days, we cannot be surprised
that those who intend an uniform and unqualified pane-
gyric 6n his public life, wish to suppress his conduct
during this memorable period.
We have now arrived at the last and most important
era of the life of Burke, when at once dissolving almost
every connection of his former life, he threw himself into
the amtf of those whom he had uniformly and vehemently
opposed. The revolution which was taking place in
Prande was hailed by Fox as the dawn of returning liberty
and justice^ while Burke regarded it as \he meteoric glare
6f anarchy and ruin. In a debate on the army estimates
for 1790, adverting to the revolution in France, Fox con-
sidered that event as a reason for rendering a smaller
military establishment necessary on our part :<^'' The new
form," he said, " that the government of France was likely
!• assume, would, he was persuaded, make her a better
neighbour, and less propense to hostility, than when she
was subject to the cabal and intrigues of ambitious and
interested statesmen/'
^rke soon after delivered his sentiments on the sub-
ject. Fully coinciding with Fox respecting the evils of
the old despotism, and the dangers that accrued from it to
this country, he thought very differently of the tranquillity
to neighbours and happiness to themselves, likely to ensoe
from the late proceedmgs in France. Warming, as he
advanced in the argument, be observed, '^ In the last agQ
we had been in danger of being entangled, by the example
of France, in the net of relentless despotism. Our present
danger, from the model of a people whose character knew
no medium, was that of being led through an admiration
of successful fraud and violence, to imitate the excesses
of an irrational, unprincipled, proscribing, confiscating^
plundering, ferocious, bloody, and tyrannical democracy."
Sheridan expressed his disapprobation of the remarks
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BURKE. ^
and reasoniogs of Barke on this subject, with much forq«;
He thought them qaite incoDsisteot with the general prin*
ciples and condact of one who so highly valued the British
goTernment and revolution: ^ The National Assemhly/' he
said/' had exerted a firmness and perseverance^ hitherto UQ«r
ezampled, that had secured the liberty of France, and vindi-*
cated the cause of mankind. What action of theirs autho*
rised the appellation of a bloody, ferocious^ and tyrannical
democracy?" Burke, perceiving Sheridan's view of afiairs
in France, differed entirely from him» and thinking his
friend's construction of his observations uncandid, declared,
that Mr. Sheridan and he were from that moment separated
for ever in politics. '^ Mr. Sheridan/' he said, '^ has sacri-
ficed my friendship in exchange for the applause of cluba
and associations: I assure him he will find the acquisition
too insignificant to be worth the price at which it is
purchased.''
The sentiments and opinions declared in the house of
commons by Messrs. Fox and Sheridan^ induced Burke to
publish his '' Reflections on tlie French Revolution/' in n
more enlarged form, and more closely to contemplate its
probable influence on British minds* To account for hil
mppareaH change of opinion on the subject of civil libertyi
be informs us in his Reflections, tliat he was endeavouring
to ^ preserve consistency by varying bis neans to seonrs
the unity of his end ; and when the equipoise of the vess^
in which he sails, may be in danger of overloading upoii
.one side, is desirous of carrying tlie small weight of bU
reasons to that which may preserve the equipoise."
In tfaje session of 1790, be adhered uniformly io the
ieotiments which he had avowed in bis discussioAs wit^
Foa: and Sheridan, identifying the whole body of tbo
dissenters with Drs. Priesiley aod Price, and therefore
looking upon them as the friends of the French revolution
aod tbe propagators of iu principles in this country. H#
opposed a motion for the repeal of the test act, a measure
which he bad, at a Iwrmer period, strenuously advocat^di
Digitized by VjOOQIC
264 BURKE.
He also opposed a motion for reform ia parliament At
this time Mr. Fox and be still continued in terms of
friendship^ though they did not frequently meet; but when^
in 179I9 a bill was proposed for the formation of a consti-
tution in Canada, Burke, in the course of the discussion,
entered on the general principle of the rights of man,
proceeded to its offspring the constitution of France, and
expressed his conviction, that there was a design formed
in this country against its constitution. After some of the
members of his own party^ had called Mr. Burke to order,
Mr. Fox spoke, and, after declaring his conviction, that
the British constitution, though defective in theory, was
in practice excellently adapted to this country, repeated
his praises of the French revolution, which, he thought, on
the whole, one of the most glorious events in the history
of mankind. He then proceeded to express his dissent
from Burke^s opinions on the subject, as inconsistent with
just views of the inherent rights of mankind. These be-
sides, he said, were inconsistent with Mr. Burke's former
principles.
Burke, in reply, complained of having been treated by
Fox with harshness and malignity ; and, after defending
his opinions with regard to the new system pursued in
France, denied the^ charge of inconsistency, and insisted
that his opinions on government had been the same during
all bis political life. He said that Mr. Fox and he had
often differed, and there had been no loss of friendship
between them, but there is something in the cursed French
revolution that envenoms every thing. Fox whispered,
*^ there is no loss of friendship between us.'' Burke, with
great warmth, answered, '^ There is ! I know the price of
my conduct; oar friendship is at an end.'' Mr. Fox was
very greatly agitated by this renunciation of frieodtbip,
and made many concessions, but still maintained that
Burke had formerly held very different principles, and that
he himself had learned from him those principles which
be now reprobated, at the same time enforcing the allega-
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BURKE. i65
tion; by refereDces to measures which Burke had either
proposed or promoted, and by many apposite quotations
from his speeches. This repetition of the charge of incon-
sistency prevented the impression which his affectionate
and conciliating language and behaviour might otherwise
have made on Burke. ^^ It would be difficult/' says
Dr. Bissety *^ to determine with certainty whether consti-
tutional irritability or public principle was the chief cause
of Burke's sacrifice of that friendship which he had so long
cherished, and of which the talents and qualifications of
its object rendered him so worthy." Another reason has
been assigned, which might, perhaps, have had some
weight in this determination. It is stated, that an obser-
vation of Fox, on the "Reflections," that they were radier
to be regarded as an effusion of poetic genius, than a
philosophical investigation, had reached Burke's ears.; a
remark which mortified him as an author, and displeased
him as a friend. Be this as it may, from the time of this
debate, he remained at complete variance with Mr. Fox,
and even treated him with great asperity in some of bis
subsequent publications.
Some days after this discussion, the following paragraph
appeared in the Morning Ckromcle : — ^^ The great and firm
b6dy of the Whigs of England have decided on the dis-
pute between Mr. Fox and Mr. Burke; and the former is
declared to have maintained the pare doctrines by which
they are bound together, and upon which they have inva-
riably acted. The consequence is, that Mr. Burke retires
from parliament" After this consignation to retirement,
Mr. Burke no Icmger took any prominent part in the pro*
ceedings of parliament, except with regard to the French
revolution and the prosecution of Hastings, which being
terminated by the acquittal of that gentleman in the sum-
flier of 1794, be soon after resigned his seat, and retired to
bis villa at Beaconsfield, where, on the 2nd of August in the
same year, he met with a severe domestic calamity, in the
death of his only son. In the beginning of the year he
Digitized by VjOOQIC
a66 BURKE.
alio lost his brother Itichard; bnt though this reiterated
stroke of death deeply affected him, it neither relaxed the
vigour of his mind, nor lessened the interest which he took
in public affairs.
Soon after the death of his son, his majesty bestowed
on him a pension of 1200/. for his own life and that of
his wife, charged on the eivil list, and two other pensions
of d500/« for three lives, payable out of the four and a half
per cent. These gifts were represented as a reward for
having changed bis principles, and deserted his friends,
and drew down some severe' censures from Lord Lauder*
dale and the Duke of Bedford. These he repelled in a
^' Letter to a noble Lord," in which he gives a sketch of
his political life, and of the beneficial measures in which be
had been engaged. Not content, however, with vindi^
eating his own claim to a pension, he gives a retrospective
view of the means by which the Duke of Bedford's ances*
tors acquired their property. This account of the Russell
acquirements is generally conceived to be erroneous, and
can only be attributed to irritation and anger at the cen*
sure passed by that nobleman, on what he regarded as a
squandering of the public money.
When the appearaace of melioration in the principlea
and government of France, induced his majesty to make
overtures for peace to the French Directory, Burke re-
sumed his pen, and, in his *^ Thoughts on the Prospect of
a Rogioide Peace," expressed himself strongly against the
»9teif of suoh a meaaare. This was his last work, and in
poiftt .of atyle and reasooing, not inferior to any be had
{NToduced on the subject of the French character aad
govemmeat.
From the beginning of June 1797, hb liealtb rapidly
declined ; bat his understanding exerted itself with undi*
miniahed force, and uncontracted range. On. 7th July,
he spent the morning in a recapitulation of the most im«
portadt actions of his life, the circumstances in which be
acted, and the motives by which he was prompted. DweU
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BURKE. . 967
Hog particularly on tbe French revolotion^ add on iht
leparatioQ from admired friends^ be spoke with pleasure
of the conscious rectitude of bis intentions ; and entreated
that, if any unguarded asperity of bis had oflliended them, to
beliere that no offence was intended. On the following
day, while one of his friends, with the assistance of bis
bervantSy was carrying him into another room, be faintly
ottered '' God hleis you !" fell back, and iilstantly expired^
in the sixty-eighth year of his age^
• In this sk^ob of the life of Edmund Burke^ itbas bteft
impossible to insert eyen the titles of bis nnmeroua pnbUh
totioas. They bare been sinoe published entire by bis
executors Drs. King and Lawrence, in five vob. 4to. and
iweWe vols* 8vo. and will ever form a stupendous moni^-
ment of bis great and unrivalled talents. By tbe political
student, however, they will require to be read with a ton*
siderable portion of that judgment which, in the author,
was frequently paralysed by tbe rapidity of his ideas, and
the bewitching seductions of bis imagination.
In his person, Burke was about five feet ten inches high,
erect, and well formed ; with a coontenanoe rather soft
&nd open, which, except by an occasional bend of hii
brow, caused by his being near-s^bted, indicated none of
those great traits of mind which he possessed. Tbe best
print of him is from a half4ength by Sir Joshua Reynolds^
painted when be was in the meridian of life.
An opinion has be^n very prevalent, that Sir Joahaa
Reynolds' lectures were written by Burke,--4)ut whoever
will compare these discourses with the Ebsay on the Sub*
lime and Beautiful, will find their theories of beauty to
have been by no means tbe same. According to Bnrke,
comparative smallness, smoothness, varieQr in the direction
of their parts, freedom from aogahuity in their paru,
delicacy of construction, clearness and brightness, colour
without glare, — these are the constituenu of beauty.
In this enumeration, Burke has omitted one great coi»*
stitaent of beauty, infinitely more important than all bm
Digitized by VjOOQIC
«68 BURKE.
has laid down-^^this principle Reynolds has supplied. It
must have occurred to the readers of the Sublime and
Beautiful, tha( the elements of Bur^e are not sufficiently
defined to desenre the name of principles. Such phrases
as '' delicacy of construction/' ** clearness and brightness
of colour without glare/' ^* yariety of direction in the
parts,'' are too pliable to be made weapons of philosophical
controversy. It might also be objected, that it would be
possible to construct something in which all these consti-
tuents Jihould be found, and which would at the same time
•produce no effect of beauty in the mind of the beholder,
it might also be said that beautiful objects maybe found
in which one, or even several of Burke's principles are
violated. What is more beautiful than the broad expanse
of clear sky ? and yet there is no '' comparative smallness"
in it. Are the willows arching over a river, add dipping
their leaves in the stream, the broad water-planu floating
on its surface, and the fragments of rock which ruffle the
course of its waters, destructive of its beauty, by injuring
its smoothness? Is there nothing beautiful in the form of
a sphere, though it has but little *^ variation in the direc-
tion of iu parts?" Would Burke have bent the '^anglea'*
of the larch fir, into curves ; or would he have thought he
bad improved the beauty of the oak, by remodelling its
form to correspond with the delicate construction of the
acacia i If there be beauty in the '^ clear bright colours'*
of noon, is there nothing to admire in the calm and sober
shades of twilight? These are objections which would
naturally strike the mind of an artist, and accordingly the
whole tenour of the lectures is in opposition to that reckless
devotion to analysis, which could alone have led Burke
into such a narrow system.
. Accordingly in the theory of beauty which is laid down
in Sir Joshua Reynolds' third discourse, we find no refe-
rence to the elements of Burke. Beauty is there defined
to consist in an abstraction of all that is singular, local,
and peculiar in nature. That individual is most beautifu]
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BURKE. £69
which approaches nearest ta what we may be allowed to
call the average form of the species to which it belong^.
" It may be objected/' says he, " that in every partis
cnlar species there are varioos central forms, which are
separate and distinct from each other, and yet are unde-
niably beautiful ; that in the human figure, for Instance,
the beauty of Hercules is one, of the Gladiator another,
of the Apollo another ; which makes so many different
ideas of beauty.
** It is true, indeed, that these figures are each perfect in
their kind, though of different characters and proportions;
but still none of them is the representation of an indivi-
dual, but of a class. And as there is one general form,
which, as I have said, belongs to the human kind at large,
so in each of these classes there is one common idea and
central form, which is the abstract of the various individual
forms belonging to that class. Thus, though the forms of
childhood and age differ exceedingly, there is a common
form in childhood, and a common form in age, which is
the more perfect, as it is more remote from all peculiar!*
ties. But I must add further, that though the most perfect
forms of each of the general divisions of the human figure
are ideal, and superior to any individual form of that class;
yet the highest perfection of the human figure is not to
be found in any one of them. It is not in the Hercules,
nor in the Gladiator, nor in the Apollo; but in that form
which is taken from them all, and which partakes equally
of the activity of the Gladiator^ of the delicacy of the
Apollo, and of the muscular strength of the Hercules.
For perfect beauty in any species must combine all the
characters which are beautiful in that species. It cannot
consist in any one to the exclusion of the rest : no one,
therefore, must be predominant, that no one may be de-
ficient.''
The discourse from which the foregoing extract has
been taken, was delivered in the year 1770. Perhaps it
might be objected, that Burke may have revised his theory
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$70 BURKE.
in tbe tbirteeo years which then had elapsed since his
publication^ and might have taken that opportunity of
correcting his error. Such a supposition is improbable
on many grounds ; bat we have evidence which will go
near to prove it false, and shew, that soon after the publi-
cation of Burke's Essay, Reynolds' Theory of Beauty was
already formed. In the eighty-second number of the
Idler, published in November 1759, which was allowedly
written by Sir Joshua, the same doctrines are mainuined
with even more ability than in his lectures, and some pas-
sages in this article seem specially directed against the
Essay on the Sublime and Beautiful, which had then been
before the public only two years, and would naturally be
adverted to in any discussion connected with the subject
on which it treats ; — ^* Whoever shall attempt to prove,
(says he,) that a form is beautiful from a particular grada-
tion of magnitude, undulation of a curve, or direction of a
line, or whatever other conceit of his imagination, he shall
fix on as a criterion of form, he will be continually con*
tradicting himself, and find at last, that the great mother
oature will not be subjected to such narrow rules.'' (vol.ii.
p«ge 939.)
If to this internal evidence we add the external proof
furnished' by Mr. Burke's unequivocal disavowal, and
Malooe's very satisfactory statement, we hope the question
will sit at rest. Perhaps it was not worthy so minute an
investigation; but if posthumous reputation be the reward
which has called forth the most important services man-
kind has recdved, we are all interested in shewing, that
whatever it may want in substance, it shall, at least be
rendered as certain as tbe imperfect state of human dis«-
crimination will admit.
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«71
RICHARD BURKE.
Or this gentlemaQ whose powers of pleasing id private
life» were do less distioguished tbao those of his celebrated
brother Edaiaod, we regret that we have beeo able to
obtaiD but few particulars. His fame rests priocipallj
oD bis wit, which peculiarly excelled io repartees, deli-
veied with a homorous quaiotoess, that gave additional
poigoaocy to the seDtimeDt, aud maoy of which have beeo
frequently retailed as proceediog from. his brother. He
was educated to the profession of the law, in which he
became a barrister, but does not appear ever to have
attained any height in this pursuit, as he was probably
contented with the moderate salaries of those situations to
which he was appointed through the interest of his brother.
In Barry's Letters, we find a grateful remembrance of the
kindness which he experienced from Richard Burke during
a visit made by that gentleman to Paris in 1767, while
Barry remained in that capital; and shortly after his
return from the continent, he had the misfortune to break
both bones of his leg in two places, by a fall in the street;
a circumstance which is humorously alluded to by Gold*
Miiitb, as a just punishment for the jests he had broken on
others. He was at different times collector of Grenada,
and recorder of Bristol, whidi last office he retained till
his death, which happened February 5, 1794. He had
topped with his brother Edmund, and another relation, ih
Duke Street, St. James's, on the preceding evening, and
Appeared in excellent health and spirits ; at twelve o'clock
be was carried home in a coach to his chambers in L\q-
coln*% Inn, where he was soon after taken ill, and expired
before three in the morning.
His easy humour and familiar good-nature, procured
for him the appellation of Dick Burke ; and his under-
ataoding, though far inferior to the transcendant powers of
tfasit of his brother, was highly respectable and fraught
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27« BURKE.
ivith varioas tnd abundant knowledge. We are not aware
that he at any time distinguished himself in the literary
world, his only published remains which we are acquainted
with, being two letters to Barry, inserted in the works of
that artist; and which, though on common-place subjects,
bear evident testimony to the justice of that character
which declares his disposition to have been generous,
humane, and friendly.
The following lines, forming a part of the humorous
retaliation of Goldsmith, contains so whimsical a character
of Richard Burke, that we cannot refrain inserting them : —
^ Here Ues honest Ridnrd, whose fiOe I mnst sigh at ;
Alatl tfasttMhfroKcthovildiiowbeso^iiiet!
What spiriti were his 1 what wit, and what whim I
Now brealung a jett, and now breaking a Ifanb 1
Now wrangling and gmmbling to keep op tlie ball f
Now teasing and yexing, yet langliing at all t
In short, so proyoking a deyU was Dick,
That we wished him foil ten times a day at old Nick ;
But, missing his mirth and agreeable vein,
As often we wished to have Dick back again.''
WALTER BURKE
Was a native of Limerick, and at the time of his deatb
was one of the oldest pursers in the navy, which profession
he entered under the protection of his kinsman, the late
Edmund Burke, and served upwards of thirty years, during
which period he was present at the most decisive engage-
ments, and closed his naval career on the memorable 2 1st
of October, 1805, when he had the honour to. support his
mucb^loved commander, the immortal Nelson, in his dying
moments. He was then purser of the Victory, and was
much esteemed by his lordship, and so great was his
veneration for his admiral, that he would never serve afloat
after that day.
To him,- almost the last^ words of his lordship previous
to the battle were addressed : '^ Burke,'' said be,/' I expect
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BURROWES. «73
to see every nuui in bis ttauoo, and if we sacceed to-day,
you and I will go to sea no more/' He died at Would-
ham, near Rochester, in January 1816, at the advanced
«ge of seveoty-flix. There is a good likeness of him to be
foand in West's picture of the death of Nelson,
The unfortunate, but gaUaat Captain Burke, of the
SeagnU, with a younger brother (both of whom foundered
in that ship) were his sons; and also Lieut. Burke, of the
Mars, who was mortally wonnded in cutting out La Ch6-
vrette, and succeeded by boarding her after receiving his
mortal wound*
JOHN BURNS
Was born in the town' of Monaghan, about the com*
inencement of the last century. He was deaf and dumb
^rom his birth, but discovering a strong natural capacity,
was taught to read and write, and speedily acquired a con*
^iderable knowledge of arithmetic, geography, history, and
chronology. In the humblest circumstances, he com-
menced life as a pedlar, with a few shillings, which he
improved into a considerable sum, and became a shop-
keeper. He was, however, unfortunate; he became a
bankrupt, and was cast into prison. From hence he was
Kberated, and paid the full amount of his debts, by his
literary talents. His misfortunes and abilities had attracted
the notice of the eccentric and benevolent Philip Skelton,
under whose patronage he composed, at an advanced
period of life, ''An Historical and Chronological Remem-
brancer,'' which was published by subscription in Dublin,
by William Watson, in 1776. It contains five hundred
pages of curious matter, and appears a surprising intel*
ieclual effort of a man born with his infirmities*
ALEXAi^DER SAUNDERSON BURROWES
vV AS a brave naval officer, who fell gloriously in the arms
of victory. He was the third son of Alexander Burrowes,
yoL. I. T
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274 BUTLER.
Esq. of tbe county of Cavan^ and had been bat a few
months promoted to the ootmnaad of ^ The Constance,*' a
frigate of twenty-two guns. He was also made commodore
oCa small flying squadron, under Sir James SaomareZy on
the Jersey station, for the pnrpose of scomruig the Chan-
nel in that qnarter. The squadron consisted of the Con-
stance (flag«ehip), tbe Strennoos, Sharpshooter, Sbcldivke,
and one or two odier light vessels. On the Idth October,
1806, they weighed fifom their anchorage at Chancy, and
on standing in to reconnoitre St. Maloes, a sail was dis-
covered off Cape Frihol, to which the squadron gave
chace; it was soon discovered by her manoeuvres the
chace was an enemy, who about noon succeeded in getting
into Bouche D'Arkie, hauling close in with the rocks, and
making every preparation for an obstinate defence ( she
was covered t^y a strong battery of guns on tbe htU, aa
well as 6eld-pieces and musquetry employed by tbe troops
brought down for that purpose. After a desperate and
sanguinary conflict, in which Captain Burrowes was slain
by a grape-shot in the beat of the action, she was taken,
and proved to be ^^ La Salamandre," a French frigate*
An officer of greater gallantry and enterprise could not
have been chosen for the active service in which be was
engaged. He was in bis thirty-ninth year, twenty-five of
which had been devoted to the service of bis country.
His merit was his only recommendation, and had his life
been longer spared, be would probably have ranked among
tbe most splendid warriors of the British navy.
JAMES BUTLER,
Thb fourth Earl of Or mo ndb, was equally distin-
guished by his learning and attention to literature in an
age when such qualities were rarely the companions of
wealth or rank. He was under age when he succeeded
to the title and estates by the death of his father, and on
bis return into Ireland, he accompanied the lord deputy
Scrope in his invasion of the territory of M'Murrough,
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BUTLER. m
when tbtt numerous and powerful sept were completely
routed, aod O^Nolao^ w jtb bis son, and many othera» made
priftooers. During tliis ezcursiony on the receipt of iotel-
ligenoe that Walter de Bprge, aod O^CarroU faiad ravaged
the coaoty of Kilkeooy, they marched with such expedU
tioo tp CaUao, that they surprised the rebels^ aod oom->
pletdy defeated them with the slaughter of eight huodred
men. At the termination of this successful campaign, in
I407» be returned to Dahliot when be was app<Hated lord
deputy of Ireland, althaugh be was yet a minor ; and a
parliament which he held there confiraied the statutes of
Kilkenny and Dublin, together with the charter granted
under the great seal of England. He afterwards stood
godfather with the Earl of Desmond, to George Plaatage-
net, the unfortunate Duke of Clanence, who was born in
Dublin.
In 1412 he accompanied Thomas of Lancaster iato
France, in which year Henry V. mounting the throne^
be was received with great favour by him ; and returned
to Ireland in 14i9i with the appoiotmeut of lord-lieute-
nant from that victorious monarch, by virtue of a more
ample commission than had been granted to any of his
predecessors. He shortly after ponvened a parliament|
which granted a large supply to the king, and conferred
on himfielf a pecuniary recom pence for his activity and
zeal for the public benefit* He now attacked O'Reilly,
and compelled him to sue for peace ; and turning bis arms
against M'Murrough, who at that time made all Leinster
tcemble, completely reduced his formidable power. Theae
signal successes rendered him equally dreaded and bated
by the natives, and in 14^1 a dreadful ^laughter was com*
mitted on his family near the monastery of Leys, twenty*
seven being slain, and a considerable number taken
prisoners. Incensed at this outrage, he immediately levied
a body of troops, and invading the territories of I#eys,com«'
pelled the aggressors to sue for peace, and to make ample
compensation feu- tbe damages they had committed*
On tbe decease of Henry V. in 1428, bis lordship was
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«76 BUTLER.
continued in the government until the arrival of Edmond
Mortimer, Earl of March, who, in \424, appointed him his
deputy. In 1426 he was knighted, together with the young
king, Henry VI. by the Duke of Bedford, the King's uncle,
who was then regent. In the following year he attacked
Gerald O'Cavenagh, who had collected a number of forces
for the purpose of invading the Pale, and caused him to
forego his intention. In 1440 he was again appointed
lord-lieutenant, and afterwards lord deputy, and obtained
a grant, for ten years, of the temporalities of the arch-
bishopric of Cashel. In 1444 he assembled at Drogheda
many of the privy council and nobility of the Pale, and in-
formed them, that having filled theofficeof chief governor,
for upwards of three years, the king hud commanded him
to repair immediately to England without delay or excuse;
he therefore requested of them, that they would declare
in the presence of the king's messenger, whether he had
committed, during his government, any extortion contrary
to the laws, or been remiss in their execution. After a full
consideration of his conduct. Sir James Allen declared,
that no one could complain of him, but all were thankful
to him for his good and gracious government ; for the
pains he had taken in defence of the land, in which he had
undergone great and continual labours ; and had also, in
addition to the allowance of the government, expended
much of his private property in the execution of his duties.
It was thereupon agreed, that if he were then to leave the
country, his life would be exposed to great danger ; and
they therefore dispatched a messenger to the king, request-
ing a safe conduct for him, and representing that there
was an extensive confederacy to destroy bis loyal sub-
jects, and that it would be a great comfort to them, and
confusion to their enemies, if his majesty should not insist
on the Earl of Ormonde's attendance at court until after
the harvest. On this representation the king dispensed
with his attendance in England ; but two years afterwards,
on a petition of several lords, stating " that he was old
and feeble, and bad lost many of his old castles for want
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BUTLER. «77
of defence, and therefore was not likely to maintain, much
less enlarge, the king's possessions in Ireland ;** he was
dismissed, though most of the barons and clergy of Ireland
joined in a full testimonial of his services. In the follow-
ing year he was accused of high treason by the Earl of
Shrewsbury, then lord-lieutenant, before the Duke of
Norfolk, in the Marshal's Court. The king, however, in-
fluenced by the above testimonial, put a stop to proceed-
ings; and examining the cause himself, was so fully con-
vinced of the maliciousness of its origin, that he declared
by patent,'^ That the Earl of Ormonde was faithful in his
allegiance ; meritorious in his services, and untainted in
his fame ; ihat no one should dare, on pain of his indig-
nation, to revive the accusation, or reproach his conduct ;
and that his accusers were men of no credit, nor should
their testimony be admitted in any case." A writ, reciting
which, signed by his mortal enemy, Richard, archbishop
of Dublin, deputy to his brother Shrewsbury, was sent to
the magistrates of Limerick and other towns, to cause
proclamation thereof to be made throughout the kingdom.
After so signal a victory over the malice of his accusers,
he appears to have retired entirely from public life until
1452, when lie undertook an expedition against Connor
OMuIrian ; on his return from which, on £3rd August,,he
died at Ardee, and was buried in St. Mary's Abbey, near
. Dublin. He was celebrated as a great lover of antiqui^
lies, and during his residence in France, Henry V. at his
recommendation, first created a king of arms in Ireland,
to which office he appointed John Kiteley, herald in Eng-
land, by the title of Ireland king of arms. He also gave
lands to the College of Heralds, for which, till the Refor«
mation, he was prayed for in all their public meetings ;
and has since been constantly remembered as a special
benefactor.
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fl78
RICHARD BUTLER,
Third Viscount MouNTGARESTy a nobleman ofemi*
nent virtaes, and celebrated in the history of Ireland for
bis conduct in the rebellion of 1641, was the eldest son of
Edmond, the second Viscount Mountgarret. He mar-
ried Margaret, the daughter of Hugh O'Neal, Earl of
Tyrone, in whose rebellion he engaged in 1599, and de-
fended the castles of Ballyraggett and Cullihil), at the
head of his own dependants, with great bravery and skill.
He was afterwards reconciled to the government, and suc-
ceeded to his paternal estates on the decease of his father
in 1005, after which time his lordship constantly took his
seat as a peer of parliament. On the commencement of
the great rebellion in 1641, his lordship was joined in com-
mission with the Earl of Ormonde in the government of
the county of Kilkenny; which afterwards, on the ad-
vancement of Ormonde to the command of the army,
devolved upon him alone. A report, however, which was
promulgated at the commencement of 1642, of the deter-
mination of the council to extirpate the religion of the
church of Rome and its professors, induced him to take
up arms, and embark himself and his family in a firm and
decided opposition to a step which appeared so destruc-
tive to his religion and interest ; a design which was much
facilitated by his family connections, which extended to
most of the principal inhabitants of the county of Kil-
kenny, who were readily induced by bis persuasions to
join him in his endeavours. Attended by a numerous train
be advanced to the city of Kilkenny, which he took pos-
session of, and issued a proclamation, strictly enjoining all
his followers, neither to pillage nor hurt the English inha-
bitants, either in body or goods ; a precaution essentially
necessary, and which had the effect of preventing any
excesses. A more arduous situation than that which his
lordship occupied, can hardly be imagined ; the leader of
a popular commotion, composed of such various materials.
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BUTLER. £7»
and resolved to control the exercise of tbeir aknost un*
governable passion for revenge on their persecutors. His
humanity prompted him to preserve the protcstanfea, and
alleviate their distresses; while be was cootinually ba-
raased by the opposite party to proceed with severity
' against them. A petition was presented to him by the
captain of the Irish town of Kilkenny, and the aldermen,
requesiiag him to punish Philip Purcdl, Esq. bis son*in-
la w^ for relieving tbe fMTotestants; and on a subsequent
occasion, a petition from the titular bishop of Cashel, Sir
Turiogb O'Neiie and others, requesting that tbe Eaglisb
protestaats of Kilkenny should be put to death, was
Ibwarttd solely by the pi^rsiuasions and power of Lord
MOuntgarret, bis son Edmond, and bis aoa-in*law, Pur-
cell. His popularity at this time was so great, that within
a week from his arrival at Kilkenny, almost all the t;pw»s
and forts in tbe counties of Kilkenny, Waterford, and
Tipperary, were in the possession of his friends. He was
now choaen general of all the forces of that district, with
which he marched into Munster, where he besieged and
took several castles of great importance : but tbe county
of Cork insisting upon appousting a general in tbeir own
province, be conceived this resolation was aimed: princi-
pally at himself, and retired with his forces into Letnster ;
where he met tbe Earl of Ormonde with a powerfa) army,
and gave bin battle at Kilrnsh, ho tbe county of Kildar^,
on 10th April, l64£. In this battle he was completely
defeated $ which compelled him to retire with the remains
of bis scattered forces to Kilkenny, where he was elected
president of the supreme council which was formed there
in l64d» In tbe follorwing year be again took the field,
and was present at several sieges; particularly at that
of Ballynakill, which surrendered in May 1643, after a
siege of nearly eighteen months. He continued to act
throughout the whole of tbe war, and was particularly dis-
tinguished by hia gieat moderation and care of the protes-
tantSy who found in him a steady and powerful protector
irom the misguided zeal of some of bis aisociaies. He
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480 BUTLER.
died in 1651, and was boned io the cbancel of St. Caoicfe
church*
Variooa as the dispositions of meni and the accidents of
their fortunes, are the motives which induce them to en-
gage in those great political convulsions, which form the
terror of the age in which they exists and constitute the
most prominent features in the history of nations. Acto^
ated by personal motives, revenge, or ambition, many are
induced to take up arms; while others are influenced by
political or religious bigotry; and some feWf more enlight-
ened, engage themselves and their property in the public
service, for the purpose of securing to their countrymen
their rights as men and as citizens. In what are termed
the rebellions of Ireland, all these incentives no doubt had
their full weight; and to these are superadded, a national
animosity which burnt high in the breasts of the lineal
descendants from the ancient kings of the country, who
could not, with calmness, behold themselves dependant
on the will of a nation which they regarded as inferior to
themselves, and base in its origin. In engaging in the
rebellion of Tyrone, Mountgarret probably felt with some
force the animating influence of this powerful motive;
the flame, though smothered, continued still to burn in
his bosom ; and when he saw the distresses, privations,
and almost ignominy to which the professors of the ancient
religion were exposed, and beheld the errors and insolence
of the government, and of those who were entrusted with
the execution of iu commands, he became, what was
termed, a rebels from principle : but, in his anxiety to alle^
viate the distresses of his country, he refrained from add-*
ing to those of his political opponents, and never, even
in the heat of action, forgot for a moment the dictates of
the most christian charity.
THOMAS BUTLER,
Gabl of Ossory, is a name that fills an important
space in the list of those» who, in different ages, have
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BUTLER. 281
embraced the profetsioo of arms, with every diffipalty and
danger attached to it, arising entirely from a spirit of
enterprise and gallantry implanted in them by nature, and
a desire of no other recompence for their services, than the
jast applaase of their countrymen, and the enrolling their
names on the banners of fame. He w;|s the eldest son of
the celebrated James, Duke of Ormonde, and was born in
the castle of Kilkenny, on the 9th of July, 1634. After
having received an excellent education both in England
and France, he resided with his mother in London, where,
by his talents and modesty, he gained the esteem of persons
of all ranks, which excited the jealousy of Cromwell, that,
on some pretence, he committed him to the Tower, where
he was confined near eight months, when falling ill of a
fever which threatened his life, Cromwell, with great
difficulty, consented to his discharge; and his physicians
being of opinion, that a change of air and climate might
re-establish his health, he withdrew into Flanders, and
from thence to Holland, where he married Lady Emilia
Nassau, daughter of Lord Beserweest, a nobleman of the
first rank. At the Restoration, he attended the king to
England; and in 1662 was made lieutenant-general of
horse, and succeeded the Earl of Montrath in his regiment
of foot and troop of horse. On the 2tod of June in the
same year, he was called, by writ, to the house of lords in
Ireland, and on the l6th of August, l663, he was ap-
pointed lieutenant-general of the army in that kingdom.
His entrance into the naval service was marked with
that intrepidity and thorough contempt of danger, which
was ever apparent in all his actions. On his return from
Ireland, in May 1606, he paid a visit to the Eari of
Ariington, at Euston, in Suffolk. The long engagement
between the Dqke of Albemarle and the Dutch, com-
menced on the morning of the 1st of June, and the earl,
informed of this event by the report of the cannon,
repaired instantly to Harwich, where he embarked the
same night with Sir Thomas Clifford, in search of the
duke, under whom he intended to enrol him9elf as a
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€82 BUTLER.
voknteer. He was fortuoate enough to reach the fleet on
the evening of the second, and was a welcome guest^ as he
carried iBformation to the duke, who was retreating from
the very superior force of the Dutch, that Prince Rupert
was hastening to his assistance, and might be hourly
expected. He had his share in the glorious actions of
that and the succeeding day; and King Charles justly
thought this singular attention to the interest and service
of his country so meritorious, that after his return from
the fleet (on board of which he continued till the end of
i^ogust) he was summoned by writ to the house of peers,
by the title of Lord Butler, of Moor Park, on the 14th of
September, 1666. He was likewise sworn one of the privy
council, being then one of the lords of the bedchamber,
by his father's resigoation. He bad not sat six weeks in
the house, before he called the Duke of Buckingham to
account, for saying, on the debate on the bill for prohibit-
ing the importation of Irish cattle, that none were against
it but such as had Irish estates or Irish under standingg^
Lord Butler challenged him, and they were to have met
the next day^ lo Chelsea Fields; but in his stead, about
three hours after the time, came an officer with a guard,
to secure him, and the duke would have shared the same
fate, had be not fortunately kept oat of the way. The
pext morning his grace complained to the house of lords,
of a breach pf privilege, which produced a fresh dispute
with the Earl of Arlington. As soon as the king was
informed of this complaint, he gave orders that the Earl
of Ossory should be released, who, on the instant of his
liberation, went direct to the bouse of lords to make his
defence, which, however, did not prevent his being sent to
ibe Tower; and the Duke of Buckingham was committed
to the custody of the usher of the black rod, but in two
di^s they were both released.
, In October 1670, he was sent to Holland, to brii^ over
the Prince of Orange. At the close of the same year,
perceiving the Duke of Buckingham standing by tbe king,
be went boldly up to him, and spoke as follows: — " My
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BUTLER. «»5
lordi I know welt that yoa are at the bottom of this
atlempl of Bk>od's apon my father, and if be comes to a
violeiit end by any means, I shaU oonsider you as th^
assassiD, and shall pistol yoa, though yoQ stood behind the
king's obair, and 1 tell it yon in his majesty's presence,
that yon may be sure I shall keep my word." In \G7^ he
had the command of the Resotutioa, a third-rate man of
war, and was second in command of the smalt squadron
under Sir Robert Holmes, which attacked the Dutch
Smyrna fleet, in the month of March in that year. On this
ocoaston he displayed his usual gallantry, and was, in
consequence, honoured with the highest encomiums.
From the Resolution he was advanced to the Victory, and,
on the 28th May, 1673, was in the action off SouthwoM
Bay^ where he displayed, in an eminent degree, both skill
and courage, and as one of the seconds of the Duke
of York (who is admitted by all parties, to have behaved
most gallantly), he aocompanied him through all his dan*^
gers, when deserted by the French, and attacked by the
united squadrous of De Ruyter and Banckert.
On the 30th of September he was elected knight of the
garter, and in the November following, he went as envoy-
extraordinary to France, with compliments of condolence
on the death of the Duke of Anjou. Early in the month
of May l673, he was promoted to the rank of rear^-admiral
of the bhie squadron, by the special appointment of
Charles II. who, thinking it necessary to make some
apology to the rest of the service, for raising so young an
officer to so high a post, declared he did it in consequence of
the high esteem be entertained of the many signal services
performed by the earl on many occasions, as well in hisf
conduct during the preceding summer, as at other times.
He served in this station during the two engagements that
took place between Prince Rupert and the Dutch, on the
£dth of May and the 4th of June. Having hoisted his flag
on board the St. Michael, be was very soon afterwards pro»
moted to be vice-admiral of the fed ; and it was to the gal-*
lantry of the Earl of Ossory, that the " Royal Prince*' was
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«84 BUTLER.
indebted for her preservatioa*, after she was so completely
disabled, so as to compel Sir Edward Spragge, whose ffag
was on board her, to quit her and go on board the
St. George, shattered as she was. He, however, contrived
to bring her off in tow at night, and then joined Prince
Rupert's squadron. Upon this his lordship was promoted
to the rank of rear-admiral of the red, and on the 10th of
September, he displayed the union flag, as commander-in*
chief of the whole fleet in the absence of Prince Rupert,
by the king's special command. With' this honourable
appointment his naval services closed ; peace taking place
with the United 'Provinces soon after.
His lordship had equally the confidence of the Duke of
York and of the king ; and this in their private as well as
public concerns, as appears from his being the only noble-
man trusted with the secret of the duke's first marriage,
and the person who actually gave Mrs. Anne Hyde away.
In 1674 he was sent to Flanders, to accelerate the marriage
of the Lady Mary to the Prince of Orange. And in
1675 he was made one of the lords commissioners of the
admiralty.
It is curious to observe, with what magic the different
interests of political states convert the most inveterate
enemies of yesterday, into the most strenuous supporters
on the morrow. The earl, who so lately, in alliance with
the French, had exerted his talents and bravery in oppo*
sition to the United Provinces, now assumed a military
command in their defence, and fought against his former
colleagues. He was appointed general-in-chief of bis
majesty's forces in the service of his Highness the Prince
of Orange, and the states of the United Provinces ; and
upon the appearance of a battle, had the post of honour
given him, with a command of six thousand men. In the
* ^Thd great aim of the Dutch admbral was to siok or take the Royal
Priace, but the Earl qf Oisory and Sir John Kepthome, together with
Spragge himself, so eflTectaally protected the disabled vessel, that none of the
d/s fira-ships coald come near her, though this was oAeo attempted.*^
Campbux.
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BUTLER. 2B5
oommeDcement of the year 1678, he took upon himself the
command of the British subjects in the pay of the Sutes,
and at the dose of the war was continued in his command
with extraordinary marks of honour from the Stares-
general. In the progress of the campaign that followed,
be greatly distinguished himself, especially at the battle of
Mons, fought on theSrd of August, wherein he commanded
the English troops, and by his skill and courage, contri-
buted so much to the retreat Marshal Luxemburg was
obliged to mak^ that the States of Holland, the governor
of the Low Countries, and even his catholic majesty him-
self thought fit, in a letter under his hand, to acknowledge
the great services he performed in that action*.
He returned to Engtan(},«n the 13th of September, 1678,
but did not long live to enjoy the high reputation he had
gained in his new occupation. He was attacked by a
violent fever in the month of July 1680, which, after a
few days illness, put a period to his existence on the 30th
of the same month, in the forty-sixth year of his age, and
on the following evening (fearful of infection) his body
was deposited in Westminster Abbey.
His eminent loyalty and forward zeal on all occasions,
to serve his country and his sovereign, was evinced by a
long series of brave and perilous services, which, as diey
rendered him both honoured and esteemed when living,
caused him, when dead, to be both pitied and lamented.
Hot were his talents less in the senate than on the ocean,
or in the field. His speech, addressed to the Earl of
Shaftesbury, in vindication of his father, the Duke of
Onnonde, possessed so much vigour of language, and was
so energetically delivered, that it even confounded that
• Extract qfa Utter Jrom St. Demi, dated August 16, N, S.
^ The Earl of Otsory, with the regiments of the k'mg of Rngland't
fobfects niuler his command, was engaged in the attack on tlie side of
Castleham, in which, as well the officers as common soldiers, in emulation of
liis lordship's example, who always charged with them, behaved themselves
with the greatest courage and bravery."
In a letter from the Hague, written on the same occasion, is the following
cipretfioo, ^Tbe Earl of Ossory and his troops did wonders."
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286 BUTLER.
intrepid orator, add was so oniversally admired, that it
was transinitted toHollaad, aod there traQsIated into Dutch,
upon which the Prince of Orange* as a mark of his high
esteem for the Earl of Ossory, wrote his lordship a com*
mendatory letter.
His generosity was like his talents — almost hoondless,
bat at the same time exerted to noble purposes, and on
proper occasions. When he was commander-in*chief of
the English brigade, and had the naming of the officers of
akx regiments, be evinced his diBinterestedness io pr^erring
none but men of merit, and, at the same time, directed his
secretary (Mr. Ellis) to take nothing for their commissions;
and as he was, by this arrangement, deprived of a con-
siderable perquisite, his lordship liberally gave him the
deficiency from bis own parse.
A judicious and elegant character is given of him by
Granger, who informs us, that when his father, the Duke
of Ormonde, was informed of his death, he is reported,
amongst other things, to have said, '^ That he would not
exchange his dead son for any living son in Christendom."
He was, at the time of his decease, lieutenant-general
of his majesty's forces in Ireland, lord chamberlain to the
queen, one of the lords of his majesty's most honourable
privy council io the kingdoms of England and Ireland^
one of the lords of his majesty's bed-chamber, and knight
of the most noble order of the garter*
JAMES BUTLER,
DuKB OF Ormonde. This illustrious soldier, who united
distinguished bravery with consummate skill, was de-
scended from the renowned family of Ormonde; in which
talent seemed as hereditary as titles and estates. He was
born in the eastle of Dublin, on the ^th of April, 1665 ;
and at the age of ten years was sent to France, where he
remained but a short time, returning again to Ireland ;
from whence he was sent to England, and placed in Christ
church college, Oxford, where he continued until the
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BUTLER. Ǥ7
death of hh faitiet. At the age of seveote^ he married
the dittighter of Lord Hyde, afterwards £arl of Roobesier*
Iq 1664 he was present at the siege of Laxembiurgby which
commeoced on the 28th of April; and was terfluoated,
by die surrender of the town, on the 7th of Jnoe follow-
jog. The year following death deprrved him of hi$ lady*
Shortly after which he was appointed lord of the bed^
dumber; and served ^' in the tented field" against the
Duke of Moomoath io the west. A treaty of marriage,
which had formerfy been entered npoo, was now revired
and happily coodadfid, between him and Xiady Mary So^
merset, daughter to the Duke of Beaufort.
On the 28th of November, l688, be was elected a knight
cormpaiiion of the garter, and was installed on the 5th of
April following, in St. George's Chapel, Wmdsor, by the
Duke of Grafton and the Earl of Roobester. About the
same period he was elected cbaooellor of the university of
Oxford, in the room of his grandfather, and was installed
at his own house in St. James's square. On the 17th
of December, 1688, be attended King James to Salis-
bury, near which place he had fixed the rendezvous of fats
army ; but, on the king's return, he joined the Prince of
Orange at Sherbourne Castle, and entered Salisbury witb
him. From which city the Duke of Ormonde, with a party
of the prince's troops, went to Oxford, and caused bis
declaration to be publicly read in that university. After
King William and Queen Mary were proclaimed, and the
privy council chosen, the Duke of Ormonde was made
one of the lords of the bedchamber, and attended King
William to Ireland. He was present at the battle of the
Boyne ; after which he was sent with niae troops of horse
to preserve the tranquillity of Dublin. Thither he was fol-
lowed by the king ; and, on his removing westward, was sent
by his majesty from Carlow, with a party of horse, to take
possession of Kilkenny, and to protect the inhabitants
of the adjacent parts from the depredations of the enemy.
Here he gave a splendid entertainment to his majesty, at
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288 BUTLER.
the castle belonging to his grace^ which the Count Lau*
zun had generously protected from plunder^ so that he
not only found his furniture uninjured, but even his cellars
well stored with wine.
After the campaign was over, his grace, having been
named one of the privy council for Ireland, returned to
England in January 169 i* He attended his majesty to'
Holland ; and, at the Hague, where there ^as a meeting
of the confederates, during which period his grace was
remarkable for his magnificence and splendid hospitality.
King James, intending to invade England, sent over a
declaration, in which he set forth his right; inviting all
his subjects to join him on his landing, and promising a
free pardon to all but the persons therein excepted by
name, among whom was the Duke of Ormonde. The
duke, however, was in no great danger of falling a victim
to the resentment of the exiled monarch, his hopes being
entirely blasted by the destruction of the French fleet off
Cape Barfleut*, and at La Hogue.
A better fortune, however, attended the French arms in
Flanders, in 1693, at the battle of Landen ; where Luxem-
burgh, by a skilful manoeuvre, forced the camp of King
W^iiliam, a position esteemed inaccessible. His majesty,
during the whole of the day, behaved with uncommon
gallantry, charging the enemy several timesr at the head of
his troops. The Duke of Ormonde likewise displayed
distinguished courage during the sanguinary conflict,
making a desperate charge at the head of one of Lumley's
squadrons; in which his horse was shot under him, and
himself wounded ; when a soldier was on the point of
killing him, but one of the French king's guards, seeing
on his finger a rich diamond ring, concluded him to be a
person of distinction, and rescued him from the impend-
ing danger. After the battle he was carried to Namure,
where great care being taken of him, he was soon out of
danger. Here, with his usual generosity, he distributed
among the poor prisoners of the allied troops, who were
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BUTIER. 889
Gonfioed Id the town^ a cbnaiderable sum of money. Hd
tbortij after eiichang^ icir the D^ke c^ Berwiqki iwihQ
L taken prisoner by JBr^^er' CbqrbhiU.
In 1694; Charles Boiler, Esq. his grace's brother, was
created a baron of Englandy and Earl of Arran in Ireland^
Oa the 3rd of April, 1695> be embarked at Graven? nd
with the king; and ^as at the taking of Namure, Wit^er^ he
commanded the second troop of guards, and provideptially
escaped un wounded, he being often exposed to the de-
structive fire of the besieged, and many b^ing killed around
bim.
In 1695 his majesty, in his progress, designing to make
a visit to the university of Oxford, his grace sat out to
receive. and compliment bim as .chancellor, and, after the
uanal ceremonies had been gone through of presenting
bis majesty with a large English Bible, a Common
Prayer Book, the plates of the university, and a pair of
gold fringed glpves, a sumptuous entertainment, and a
choice concert of music was provided ^ regale his
ma^sty, as they expected he would do the university the
honour to dine with them. But Boyer relates, that the
Dukeof Ormonde having communioated to his majesty,
an* anonymous letter, addressed to his grace, and dropped
in the street the day before, wherein information was
given of a pretended design to poison the king at an
entertainment, bis majesty, without reflecting on the
groundlessness of a report which was undoubtedly raised
by his enemies, resolved neither to eat nor drink; and
immediately took bis departure for Windsor, declaring, as
a reason for his short stay, and his not going, to see the
colleges, that ^' this was a visit of kindness, not of curio*
sity, having before seen the university."
King William died on the 8th of March, 1702; and
was succeeded by Queen Anne, who, shortly after her acces-
sion, declared the Duke of Ormonde commander-in-chief
of all the land forces to be employed on board the fleet.
It is necessary, however, to state, that, prior to King
William's death, a scheme bad been concerted to besiege
VOL. 1. u
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€90 BUTLER.
Cadiz by sea and land* This plan was now pot in eze^
cution; and the Duke of Ormonde, with an immense force,
sailed with Admiral Sir George Rook, on the intended
expedition, on the first of July; and on the 8th of the
same month were obliged to put into Torbay, on account
of contrary winds; but on the same day month the whole
fleet made the rock of Lisbon ; and, after having held
several councils of war, the Duke gave orders for landing
the ti;oop8 on the 15th ultimo, which orders were strictly
obeyed; and every battalion acting with great bravery,
they drove the Spaniards before them in all directions.
Upon landing his grace gave the strictest orders, upon
pain of death, that the inhabitants should in no ways be
plundered ; and then marched the army against Port St.
Mary; but these orders were very ill obeyed, for both
the soldiers and sailors, being both thirsty and fatigued,
got to the wine cellars, where they drank plentifully, and
immediately both commenced plundering, nor was it in
the power of their officers to prevent them. Aften^^ards
his grace went to Vigo, where he took and burnt several
of the enemy's ships, and brought away an immense
booty ; the galleons that were then in the harbour, being
very richly laden. He sailed with Sir George Rook, on
the )9th October, for England; leaving behind him Sir
Cloudesley Shovel, with about twenty ships, to watch the
station. On the 7th of November following he arrived in
the Downs, and the same day landed at Deal. He arrived
in London the next morning, -where he was received with
great and deserved marks of favour by her majesty, and
with the loud acclamations of the populace. On the 14th
of the same month the queen commanded a public thanks-
giving for the late victories, and announced her intention
of attending divine worship in St. Paul's Cathedral for
that purpose on the 15th of December.
In 1703 his grace was appointed lord-lieutenant of Ire-
land, and on the 20th of May left London for Chester to
embark for that station; where, after having filled the
high station to which he was appointed to the satisfaction
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BUTLER. «9l
of all parties, be returned to England in March 1704; but
went back again to Ireland on the loth of November foU
lowing. He arrived a second time in England in the year
1705; and in 1708 was sworn a privy counsellor of the
two united kingdoms, England and Scotland. On the
1st of October, 17 1 1, his grace was once more made lord*
lieutenant of Ireland ; and landed at Dunlany on the Srd
of July following, and proceeded to Dublin, where be was
received with unbounded acclamations.
The Duke of Marlborough*s conduct having displeased
the queen^ her majesty removed him from all his employ-
ments, and nominated the Duke of Ormonde, in January
1712, commander-in-chief of her majesty's forces ; and, in
February, he received his commission of captain^general,
and was made colonel of the first regiment of foot guards.
On the 9th of April he proceeded from London to Flanders^
and arrived on the 6th of May at the city of Tournay,
where he was hospitably entertained by the Earl of Albe-
marle, and Prince Eugene of Savoy. On the 25rd, after
having viewed the fortifications of Douay, he reviewed
the right wing of the first line of his army ; and, after the
review, entertained the Prince Eugene and the general
officers of both armies at dinner. Upon a second review
of the army, between Douay and Marchiennes, it was
found to consist of two hundred and ninety-five squadrons
and one hundred and forty-three battalions, amounting in
the whole to 122,250 effective men. With these forces,
the generals marched towards the enemy ; but the Duke
of Ormonde declared to Prince Eugene, that the queen,
having a prospect that the negociations of peace would
prove successful, had given him orders not to act offen-
sively against the enemy, but that his orders did not
extend to a siege; whereupon the confederates set down
before Quesnoy. On the 24th of June, the Duke of
Ormonde, pursuant to the orders he had received from
court, sent to Prince Eugene, and the deputies of the
States attending the army, to desire a conference with
ibem the oe;(t day; wherein he acquainted them, that
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fige BUTLER.
he had received orders Trom ber majesty to publish^ wUhiR
ihree days^ a ibspension of arms for two months^ bet^e^
bis army aiifd the Preoch, and to send a detacbinent to
take posseeeion of Dunkirk^ which place the King of
France would put into the bands of the English, as a
security for the performance of his promises. He like-
wise proposed, that the tike suspension of arms should be
published in the confederate army. He suspended for
some days, when the allies not^ agreeing to the suspension,
he marched oflF with the British troops; of which the
allies soon felt the fatal eiSTects. Their army, commanded
by the Earl of Albemarle, being completely routed by
Marshal Villars ; and other advantages obtained by the
enemy.
On the £5th of June, the duke sent a trumpet to Marshri
Villars, to acquaint him that he had received a cop^ of the ^
preliminaries, signed by the Marquis de Torcy.
The campaign having terminated, and both the French
and confederate armies going now into winter quarters,
the duke thought his stay in the country was no longer
necessary, and therefore made a request to the queen, that
he might have leave to return to England. Accordingly,
on 2 1st October, Lord Bolingbroke sent him word that the
queen permitted his coming home as soon as he should
think fit; in consequence of which, the duke set sail and
landed therein on the 1st of November ; and waited on the
queen, at Windsor, on the 4th, and was niost graciously
received.
On the 10th June, 1713, the Duke of Ormonde joined
in commission with the lord chancellor and lord steward
of her majesty's household, declared and notified the royal
assent to several acts of parliament.
On King George the First's accession to the throne, his
majesty sent Lord Townshend, his uew secretary of state
(having before his arrival removed Lord Bolingbroke) to
inform his grace that he had no longer occasion for his ser-
vices, but would be glad to see him at court. His grace was
also left out of the new privy council ; but named for that
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BUTLER. 9gs
of Irebmd^ The piurty, Tvhicli bad lately been kept iinder,
hsving now, in a great measarey engrossed the king, to
wbom they bad long before his accession made tbeir coart,
were resolved to lay the axe to the root> and to put it out
of the power of their opposers, ever, for the future, to
break m upon their poftsessioa of tbe royal fiivoor; in
consequence of which the duke was impeached of high
treason by Mr. secretary Stanhope. Sdverat spoke in be-
half of, his. grace, aoioog whom was Sir Joseph JekylU
Tbe chike, however, did not think it advisable to attempt
weathering a storm whioh he saw levelled all before it,
but wkhdoew privately from his house at Richmond to
France; prior to which, by authentic ads, he resigned the
ehonoellarsbip of Oxfocd and the higfakstewardship of
Westminster ; to both which dignities his brother, the Earl
ef ilrran, was elecled.
. His grace has been censured for thus quitting England ;
bot he knew too well who were bis persecutors. He was
tboro«ghIy acquainted both with their principles and views ;
and was too wise to trust bis head, not to their mercy,
hut to their disposal. As soon as it was publicly known
that the duke bad withdrawn himself, on the 5th of Augast^
articles of impeachment were read against him in the house
of commons; and, shortly after, a bill was brought in td
summon him to surrender by the 10th of September, and
Oft defiiult thereof to attaint him of high treason ; which
passed both houses, and received tbe royal assent. The
Duke, having neglected to obey this summons, the house
of lords ordered the earl marshal to erdse his name out of
tbe list of peers. His arms also were erased; and his
achievements, as knight of the garter, wert taken down
from St. George^s chapel at Windsor. The commons of
Ireland also brought in a bill to attaint bim; and offered a
reward of 10,000/. for his bead. Inventories were taken
of aU his personal estate; and both that and his real,
vested in the crown.
His grace, stripped of all support, and in a foreign
country^ was under the necessity of entering some service
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«94 BUTLER-
for subsistence. He was not long in FraDCe, (wh^re he
had taken the title and name of Colonel Ck>merford,) before
he had an invitation from the court of Spain, who were
eager to embrace so brave and skilful a commander,
and it is reported, that he commanded a bodj of troops
destined to make a descent upon England; but this infor-
mation rested not on good authority.
His grace had, from the court of Spain, a pension of
2000 pistoles, and he chose Avignon for his retreat, where
he lived completely secluded from the world. He was
here, in 1741, solicited by the court of Seville to accept a
command, but he excused himself by alleging his great
age and infirmities. His grace was here, (as throughout
the whole course of his long life) remarkable for his bene-
volence and hospitality. He had divine service performed
in his house twice every Sunday, and on every Wednes-
day and Friday morning throughout the year, at which all
his protestant tenants were obliged to be present. The
sacrament was administered to the family once a quarter.
He never prepared for bed, or went abroad in the morning,
till he had withdrawn for an hour in his closet. He bad
public assemblies twice a week, at which, though he
assumed great cheerfulness and pleasantry, it was evident
to all, that it was merely assumed through respect to his
visitors.
tn October 1745 he complained of a loss of appetite,
and at length grew too weak to walk, which complaints
increasing, the physician who attended him sent for two
others from Montpelier, and after a consultation, con-
cluded on taking some blood from him, and in two days
afterwards (Nov. 16), about seven o'clock in the evening,
he quitted this world with the consoling hope of enjoying
a better. His body was embalmed, and brought, the May
following, through France to England, lodged in the Jeru-
salem chamber, and soon after interred in the vault of his
ancestors in King Henry Vfl.'s chapel, the bishop of
Rochester, attended by a full choir, performing the cere-
mony.
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BUTTS. 295
That died, in his eighty«first year, a brave soldier, and
prudent general, whose reward for splendid achievements
was a thirty years exile.
When we consider the difficult part he had given him
by Queen Anne to act in Flanders, it must be admitted
that he was an individual of no ordinary powers, — suffice
it, however, to observe, such was, and such will be the
fate of those, on whom the sun of royal favour sheds not
his benefic beams.
A word or two must be added to biographers. It is an
absolute fact that only one biographical dictionary* can be
produced, in which the name of this eminent individual is
to be found. And it is to be hoped, that, after this uncon"
tradktabk declaration, the worthy native of the land of
Saints will be ceased to be laughed at, who, compiling a
dictionary, omitted the letter S^ which he appeared totally
to have forgottenf*
JOHN BUTTS
Was a native of Cork, and painted figures and land-
scapes. He was accustomed to paint that grotesque
assemblage usually to be found in ale-houses, on panel,
which he executed with great ingenuity. He was em*
ployed for several seasons as scene-painter to Crow
Street theatre, when that establishment was under the
management of Spranger Barry. His dbtresses at times
were so numerous, that be was compelled to paint signs,
and coach panels for the present wants of a numerous
family.
* Flloyd's Bibliotheca Biographica, a weU written work in 3 vob. Svo.
published in the year 1700.
t PhiUp FitigibboDy an eminent mathematician.
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996
CHARLES BYRNE
Was a man, ivfaose powers ever might be truly termed
^r^at, and at times strildng. H6 was exactly eight feet
hi^b', and after his decease, which occtkited on the 1st of
June, 1783) he measured eight feet four inches.
His death is said to have been precipitated by excessive
drinking, to which he was always addicted, but thore par-
ticiillarfy since his loss of all his property, which he had
invested in a single bank note of 700/.
In hid last moments (it has been said) he requested that
his ponderous renuiins might be thr6wn into the sea, in
6rd^ that his bones might be placed far out of the reach
6f the chirurgiclal fraternity; in consequence of which,
the body was shipped on board a vessel to be conveyed to
the Downs, to be sunk in twenty fathom water.
The veracity of this report, however, has been ques-
tioned, as it is well known at the time of Byrne's decease
he excited a great (feal of public curiosity, and somebody
IB- suspected of having invented the above, to aniuse
thi^mselves, and thef world at large.
The following story has been related of many tall men,
bot it certainly origmated in the individual now before us ;
Being necessarily obliged to walk out very early in the
mornhig, or hot at all, he us^d to startle the watchmen,
who at that hour were parading the streets, by taking off
the tops of the fan^ps, and lighting his pipe at the flame
within.
CHARLES BYRNE
Was an excellent miniature paints, and born ip Dublin,
in which city he died about the year 1810. He practised
during a short time in London.— With a superior under-
standing and much benevolence of heart, be mingled a
dash of eccentricity, which not unfrequently drew on him
the animadversion of his friends, who mistook that for
Digitized by VjOOQIC
BYftNE- ^7
caprice which was unhappily a constitutional infirmity,
and which settled a short time before his death into con-
firmed insanity .—And many, wli6 as frienrfs or employers
Imtc hcen gratified wUIe sittinfg i& hivtt^ or wiih him, by
bia.aBimitfed flaw of conversation, and evident exoeUenc^
of feeling, iday.. perhaps leel pleased slwuld this.di^t
tobdte to his mesiory happen to mteet their observation.
Mi3S r BYRNE
IVas a prototype of her iUustrious coaotrywoobao, Conr
stantia Grierson, as in the dead languages we are fold
^'she wasorittC2lllycorrect,''and wai equally well grounded
ill' the modem.. Her attainments were not solely literary {
th^ ttrinor, (though perhaps, to many) the more imerestiojg
ind lUtrdctive acocmplistiments of musie and iBs sister
lirt^ were h^r'El ia perfeetio^^ She was Assessed of a con*
sidemblei fohan^ but sbe vieM^ed rkhes as , the me^uis of
doing godd to others, and her eonspicbous superiority to
Ib^ gei^rality of- her sexy ^m obsoured by her excessWe
d^denc^ arid odooimcloasoess. She was likewise emi«
laently conspicuoiiis in the exercise of every cbristiaa
tirtue.
- She was the eldest daughter of tbe late Robert Byme^
E^q. of Cablufteely, and died at tbe premature age of
ntnfeteen, in 18^14^ at the island of Madeira, whidier she
had repaired for the benefit of her health.
" When age, all patient, and without regret,
lies down in {feace, and ^ayv fhe general debt,
'^ weakneii iMft anmallf to deploie
The death of those Who relish life no more ;
But when fair yonth, that eyery promise gave,
Slieds her sweet blossom in the lasting grave,
Alt eyes o'^rflow wiar rinby a ittemoSag ttn,
And each sad bosom heaves the sigh sineere."
Digitized by VjOOQIC
«98 CURRAN.
JOHN PHILPOT CURRAN.
This htgh-gifted individoal, whose genias, wit, and
eloquence have rendered him an ornament to his age and
country, affords a striking instance of the buoyancy of a
superior mind on the flood of early adversity; and which,
in spite of all impediments, raised him fmm the humblest
state of friendless obscurity, not only to one of the highest
stations in the legal profession which he adorned, but to
the most honourable distinctions of an independent senator
and incorruptible patriot.
Mr. Curran was not a descendant from Irish ancestors ;
his first paternal stock, in the country so justly proud of
his name, was a sdon from a northern English family,
named Cubwen ; who found his way to the sister island
as a soldier, in the army of Cromwell ; but, from the
humble fortunes of his posterity, he does not appear to
have been enriched by the spoils of the land he helped to
subjugate, like many other adventurers in the train of the
usurper, whose descendants have long stood high in rank
and fortune. Little more is known of the ancestry of this
eminent man, than that his father James Curran filled the
humble office of seneschal in the manor court of New-
Market, in the county of Cork, the scanty emolument
from which, with the produce of a small ftirm,; were his
only resources for the maintenance of a growing family.
The maiden name of his wife was PhilpoL She was
descended of a respectable stock in that county, and
although John, her eldest son, who bore also the name
of his mother as an additional prenomen, could boast no
hereditary talents on the side of his father, whose educa-
tion and capacity were as humble as his rank ; he derived
from his mother that native genius, which, moulded by
her early example, and cherished by her instruction, laid
the basis of that celebrity which afterwards so highly dis-
tinguished her favourite boy. Though young Curran
from the first dawn of intellect in bis puerile days, gave
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CURRAN. 299
f&minent proofs that the seedd of wit and talents were
not sparidgly sown in his composition^ the humble cir«
cumstances of his parents afforded no prospect of an edu-
cation to bring out the native Instre of his capacity; and
but for circumstances wholly fortuitous^ he might have
lived and died with fame^ no higher than that of a village
wit, and the chance of succeeding to his fatherVoiBce.
Such might have been the fate of Curran, were he placed
in any soil less congenial to the growth of his young intet-*
lect^or any guidance less favourable than that of a mother,
whose native capacity was his best inheritance, whose cul-
ture *^ taught his young ideas how to shoot," and whom
he loved and venerated to the latest hour of his exigence.
The village school received him as an early pupil, where
he soon evinced a capacity superior to his little ragged
companions; and in the hours of play he proved his supe-
riority in all the variegated sciences of marbles and chuck-
farthing, and evinced a sportive fancy in all the arch
pranks, and practical stratagems of the play-ground. His
father, even if he had capacity, had little leisure to attend
to the progress of his son's education. The youngster was
therefore left to follow his own devices, snd pursue the
bent of his humour in ev^ry species of lively fun and arch
eccentricity. At fairs, where wit and whiskey alternately
excited the laugh and the wrangle ; at wakes, the last social
obsequies to the dead in the village, at which sorrow and
mirth in turns beguiled each other, young Curran was
always present*— now a mime, and now a mourner. The
prophecies of the more serious began to augur most unfa*
vourably to the future fortunes of young Pickk, while he
was the favourite of all the cheerful. The court of his
father was quite scandalised, but all acknowledged him the
legitimate heir of his mother's wit. A new scene, how-
ever, occurred in the amusements of the village, in which
yoQDg Curran made his d6bui as a principal actor with
much eclai to his comic fame, and which through life he
took great pleasure to relate as one of his first incentives
to eloquence, especially to that part of it which Demos"
Digitized by VjOOQIC
SOQ CURRAN.
tketies urg^a as the first, second, and third essential to the
success of aa orator, — namely, action. The itinerant ex^
bibitor of a street puppet-show, in the course of his tour,
arrived at New-Market> much to the edification and amuse-
ment of the staring crowd; and the comic feats of Mr*
Punch, and the eloquence of his man, superseded every
other topic of conversation. Unfortunately, however, the
second named actor in this drama was seized with sickness,
and the whole establkfament was threatened with rujur
But little Philpot, who was a constant member of the
aa«htory, and eagerly imbibed at eyes and ears. the whole
exhibition, proposed himself to the manager, as a volnn-'
teer substitute for Punch's man. This ofifer from so young;
and^ promising an amateur , was gladly accepted by the
manager, who was well aware of tlie advantages of an arch
young comedian, acquainted with all the characters, and
local history of the place ; but the young actor declined
salary, and only stipulated, that he should remain per-
fectly incog, and that his name was not to be known,
which condition of the treaty the manager faithfully kept.
The success of the substitute was quite miraculous; iook*
mense crowds attended every performance; the new actoc
Was universally admired, and the crouded audiences were
astonished at the knowledge be displayed. He developed
the village politics, pourtrayed all characters, descdbed
tibe fairs, blabbed the wake secrets, caricatured the spee^
tators, diselo^ every private amour, detailed all the
seandal of the village, and attadced with hnmorous ridicule
even the sacerdotal dignity of the parish priest. But this
was the signal for general outcry ; satire bad transgressed
its due limits ; and men and nwideps who laughed at theif
neighbour'^ pictures, and pretended to recognise their
own,^ were horrified at such pro£fene familiarity with the
clergy.- ReKgion, as on larger tluatrcsi, . wa» the scape;*
goaC, and sentence of punisbmeBt was unanimously passed
on Mr; Pnaob and his man ; tbe manager,, however, kept
tbe graud secret, and bb prudence psevented any inquiry
after sudh dangerous eelebrity, and Corran, who was
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CURRAN. 301
through life in his convivial hours^ the soul of mirth, fre'-
qaently declared that he never produced such an effect
iipon any audience as in the humble character of Mr*
Punch's man.
As years advanced, the chance of better fortune began
to dawn, and the reader shall have the first auspicious, in*
cident in his own words :— '^ I was at this time a little
ragged apprentice to every kind of idleness and mischief:
all day studying whatever was eccentric in those older,
and half the night practising it for the amusement of those
who were younger than myself. Heaven only khofi^s
where it would have ended; but, as my poor mother said^
' I was bom to be a great man.'
^' One morning while playing at marbles with my ragged
playmates in the village ball-court, the gibe and the jest^
and the plunder went gaily round ; those who won, laughed,
and those who lost, cheated. Suddenly a stranger appeared
amongst us of a venerable but cheerful aspect. His ap*
pearance gave no restraint to our merry assemblage. But
he seemed pleased and delighted. He was a benevolent
creature, and the days of infancy (after all, the happiest
of our lives) perhaps rose to his memory. God bless him !
I think I see his form at the distance of half a century,
just as he stood before me in the ball court. His name
was Boyse ; he was the rector of New-Market ; to me he
took a particular fancy ; I was winning, and full of wag-*
gefy, thinking and saying every thing eccentric, and by
no means a miser of my flashes. Every one w^ welcome
to share them, and I had plenty to spare after freighting
the company. Some sweet-cakes easily bribed me home
with him ; be seemed delighted with the casual acquireitent
of sueh a disciple ; he undertook my tuition, taught me
my grammar and classical rudiments; and having taught
me all he had leisure to teach, he sent me to the classical
school of a Doctor Carey, at Middleton, where my young
capacity received the first stimulus of effective advaoci^-
ment, to which I am indebted for all my better fortune in
life."
Digitized by VjOOQIC
302 CURRAN.
At this school young Curraa became the class-fellow of
some young tt/ros^ not then of prospects much superior to
his own; but who afterwards in life experienced elevated
fortunes, and became his intimate and attached friends.
At this school also the promising proofs of young Currants
capacity attracted the benevolent protection of a generous
lady, appositely named Allworthy^ who undertook to bear
the charge of his education; and in the family of this
amiable gentlewoman, to whom he was distantly related
through his maternal connection, and also in the family of
the Wrixons and others of highly respectable rank in that
part of the county, he was received as a welcome visitant,
not only during his scholastic years, but afterwards during
his college vacations; and here it was, as he himself
frequently declared, that he formed the first notions of elo<>
quence.
The wakes^ that is to say, the assemblages of the neigh-
bours in melancholy convention round the bodies of the
deceased, during the nights that pass between death and
interment, form no inconsiderable part in the occasional
amusements of an Irish village, and no incurious charac-
teristic in the customs of the country. The body of the
deceased is laid out in a large room upon a bedstead or
table, and covered by a sheet with the face only exposed;
sprigs of rosemary, mint, and thyme, flowers and odorous
herbage are spread over the coverlid, and the corpse is
surmounted by plates of snufF and tobacco to regale the
visitants. Tobacco pipes are plentifully distributed for the
purpose of fumigation, and to counteract any unwholesome
odours from the dead body. In the ancient Irish families,
or those wherein civil refinements have not exploded old
customs, ^200 and sometimes /our /entafe bards attend oq
those mournful occasions, who are expressly hired for the
purpose of lamentation: this is probably a relique of
druidical usage coeval with the Phoenician ancestry ; and
they sing, by turns, their song of death in voices sweet and
piercing, but in tones the most melancholy and affect-
ing. They string together, in rude extempore verse, the
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CURRAN. SOS
genealc^ and family history^ and they re€Ount all the
exploits, the virtues, and even the very dresses, conversa-
tions, and endearing manners of the deceased. To those
who understand these funereal songs, for they are chaunted
in Irish, the scene is deeply affecting, and even with those
who do not, the piercing tone of grief excites the deepest
sympathy, and the whole assemblage are bathed in tears :
great numbers of candles are lighted in the room, and
every thing wears the aspect of melancholy. But, to
relieve the mourners from the woe-fraught scene, an adja-
cent room is appropriated to purposes directly opposite,
as if to banish the woe excited in the first. Here there
appears a display of different ages, characters, and passions,
all the young and the old; the serious and the comical;
the grave and the gay of the lower classes assemble. No
where does the real genius and humour of the people so
strongly appear, tragedy, comedy, broad farce, pantomime,
match-making, love-making, speech-making, song-making,
and story-telling, and all that is comical in the genuine
Irish character, develop themselves with the most fantasti-
cal freedom in the rustic melo-drame; the contrasted scenes
succeed each other as quick as thought; there is a melan-
choly in their mirth, and a mirth in their melancholy, like
that which pervades their national music, and the opposite
passions alternately prevail, like light and shade playing
upon the surface of a sullen stream. The people* come
many miles to one of those serio-comic assemblies; refresh-
ments of cakes, whiskey, and ale are distributed between
the acts to the visitants, who sit up all night; but the
grand feast is reserved to precede the funereal obsequies.
A whole hecatomb of geese, turkies, fowls, and lambs are
sacrificed some days before for the occasion, and the friends,
acquaintances, and neighbours of the deceased are regaled
with an abundant cold collation, and plenty of ale, spirits,
and wine: while the company of the lower order assemble
in the exterior barn or court-yard, and are feasted with
baskets of cakes and tubs of ale. When the funeral sets
out for the place of interment, the road for miles is covered
Digitized by VjOOQIC
904 CURBAN.
I
hfiBLn imperTioiis crouds horee aad foot» sometime to tth^
niuoher of jMveral thottsadds, esp^ially if the dec^eied^be
a ^Irsonln ordiDary respect or esiteem with his oeigbbouvs;
Tbis ftardf before^meDtioned form die ptobeaiico^ and^nait
IDlervalSy reoew the hyaui of ^rief, which it^sbokussed by
ibe whole crood^ with shovts of '' UliUf/' thfit rend: the
skies,
Scenes of this sort were peculiarly gesmaiDe to ibe
eoqeotric taste of youDg^urran; his whole mind and
heart entered into the spirit of them ; he saw in them aH
the vai^ieties of whim, and humonr, and passion in t the
national charaoteir, and here he fielt the first impulse oi
those Jtransports which seized on his imagination, and
induced hini to cultivate the pursuit of eloquence^
While he attended the wake of a wealthy person, who^
by his last will, had distributed amongst his favouiite
kindred, his fortune and effects, the legatees were c«i-
spicuoits in their sorrows, and lavish in their praises to his
merits; they measured their eulogies by bis bounties, and
their funeral orations kept pace with the value of bis
bequests : but the last who came forward on this occaskm
was a woman of portly stature and elegant shape; her long
hlack hair flowed loosely down her shoulders ; her datk
eyes teemed with expression, and her whole manner was
sedate, but austere and majestic. She -had married with*
' out the consent of the deceased, who was her uncle; she
had been his favourite niece, but she had followed the
impulse of lovie in the choice of .a husband : she was nam
a, widow with many childpen : her offended kinsman carried
his resecitment to the grave, and left her poor and uapro*
vtded. She had sat long -in silence; and at length rose,
^nd with slow and measured pace approached her dead
uncle. She calmly laid ber hand upon. his forehead, and
paused ; vtbilst all present, expected a passionate display of
bef anger and disappointment, she addressed herself to .the
dead in these few ^ords ; ^^ Those of my kindred who have
uttered praises, and poured them forth with their tears .to
the memory of the deceased, did only what they owed him
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CURRAN. 305
niider tbeweight ofobl^ations. Tbey bav6 been benefited,
they have in their different degrees partaken that bounty
which he could no longer withhold. During his life, he for-
got to exercise that generosity by which his memory might
now be embalmed in the hearts of disinterested affection.
Such consolation, however, as these purchased praises
could impart to his. spirit, I would not, by any im(Mety
tear from him. Cold in death is tbb head, but not colder
than that heart, when living, through which no thrill of
nature did ever vibrate. This has thrown the errors of my
youth, and of an impulse too obedient to that affection
which I still cherish, into poverty and sorrow, heightened
beyond hope by the loss of him who is now in heaven, and
still more by the tender pledges he has left after him on
earth. But I shall not add to these reflections the bitter
remorse of inflicting even a merited calumny; and because
my blood coursed through bis veins, I shall not have his
memory scored or tortured by the expression of my disap-
pointment, or of the desolation which now sweeps through
my heart. It therefore best becomes me to say, that bis
faith and honour, in the other relations of life, were just
and exact, and that these may have imposed a severity on
his principles and manners. The tears which dow swell
my eyes, I cannot check, but tbey rise like bubbles in the
mountain stream^ and burst, to appear no more."
Such was the pathetic oration from which Mr. Curran ac-
knowledged to have caught the early flame of his eloquence;
and no where does the pabulum of natural eloquence more
abound, than in the very region of his birth and education.
Commerce or refinement had not yet polished away the
feelings of the heart, and every passion of the soul held
undiminished vigour in the popular mind : the barbarous
only, because obsolete language of their Celtic ancestors
(the most copious on earth, if the learned Colonel Val«
LANCEY deserves credit) had not yet vanished. Those
who relish the language of Ossbn, can form some judg«
ment of the style and idiom common in the dialect of the
Munster peasantry,
VOL. 1. X
Digitized by VjOOQIC
906 CURRAN.
Tbe learned tdll as, that dl tfae seeds of geonUie
eloquence are most TigorotiB amohgst earage natioos^ and
that the vigorous mbd, crampt by tbe paucity of a limited
iangiiage, finds vent for its feelings in figures and epithets
infiniteiy more forcible and expressive than tlie copiosis
dialects of pdisfaed nations can famish. Bot with tbe
peasantry of Ireland, wliere theirnative language is fluently
spoken^and particularly in Monstery the extreme oopiocn-
«ess of their mother tongue has by no means diluted tbe
strength of expression; for when once their passions «re
roused or interested, their whole dialect becomes a txirrent
of thoughts *' rtiat flow, and words that burn,'' aceompa-
nied by the most forcible expression of the dnintenaoce,
and action of the whole frame : all the wiM Aowers of
rhetoric^ unforflaed indeed by die band of criticism, seem
wholly at tfae speaker's command; and wbetber j^ or
grief, love or hatred, rage or kindness, pity or fereoge
be the predoannant passion of tfae momenft, all the fiseol-
ttes of ■rind and bo^y are in unison to give it the most
nataral aiMl strenuous expression.
Every thing marks tbe strength of miwl and depth of
fediog, and the wildest language of hyperbole seeoM
seaicely adequate to vent the labouriog thought. Shrewd
in their observation, keen and humorous in their ridicule,
caustic in their sarcasms, generous to their friends, fierce
with their enemies, quick of irritation, and easy of reoon-
eiiement; vengeful to oppression, faithful and affectionate
to lenity and justice. In th^ joy, extravagant; in their
grief, tender and pathetic. Their kindness, honey; their
maledictions, gall. Their hospitality, proverbial ; their
•courage, graven upon the annals of every nation, needs no
panegyric; and their patience, almost miraculous under
sufferings and privations, unparalleled in any other civi-
lized country, are perfectly inconceivable to the majority
of the people of England, who are, perhaps, better
-apquainted with the state of their fellow subjects in
Canada orChina-Tartary, than of those in t)ie Irish branch
of the United Kingdom.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CURRAN. m
It is therefore not to miraralovs If a mibd like Cttmm*S|
dfMiktBg from ittoh a foUntaiii^ mctA nortnr^ amid t^h
iaimcoufaep should be readily susceptible of the poUsbtng
ioflo^ooe of clasfiio literlit«re> of ^hidi be wMs a maiterk
A thoOsaod getM of the same waiwr are still to be fouud in
the s&me miii^ did tbej meet with the same skill to briog
out their lustre.
Frotn the school at MiddletoD, young Curran was tmti^
planted to Trinity College, where he entered as a siaar M
the 16th of June^ 1767, voder the tutorage of the learned
Doctor Dobbyn, and obtained the second plMt on his
entrance: but two years elapsed before be acqniti&d his
scholarship of tbehoasei bnt this dot owing to dullness of
idleness, but by die number of senior candidates for the
Taeaticies which occurred in the time* His ootemporarle^
at college recollect nothing extraordinary to distinguish
his progress there) he was never eminent for his apparent
application to hit studies, nor ambitious to obtain seho^
lastic degrees ; bat many canses may baTe existed to curb
his ambition* His mind naturally resentful of indignity,
and prone to ecOentrioity, was ill calculated to btook the
frowns add insults of wealthier students, for whose society
neither his purse nor his apparel qualified him as a com^
petitor in expense or finery. His finances were extremely
confined, and from boyhood to old age, he was never an
eminent votary of dress or fashion : indeed, his ambition
seemed to point the other way; the jeaml, and not the
casket, was the object of his attention, and while the
former dazzled by its lustre^ the rusticity of his estt^rior
seemed as a foil to the intellectual splendour it veiled:-^
<< At Btxetatm fbai nm o'er gdldea laiaeii,
With Bodtit nranaar gUIti
Nor seem to know the weaUh that shines
Within their gentle tide.
O ! yefl'd beneath a simple guise,
Thjr radnmt genius shone,
And tint which dMmf d SU other eyes,
Seem'd worthless in thy own/' Moosn,
But however nnambitious of collegiate distinctions, he
Digitized by VjOOQIC
SOS CURRAN.
aGCumulated without labour, and appareDtlj without study,
all treasures of classic learning. To the study of eloquence
he anxiously devoted his mind, and stored his genius from
all the great masters of the Greek and Roman schools.
Having finished his college courae, he proceeded to
London, and entered himself of the Middle Temple* Here
be ate his commons through the stated number of terms,*
to qualify him for the Irish bar, and it is generally believed,
be sustained bis expenses by the labour of his pen, as
many of his eminent countrymen had done before him.
On his return to Ireland in 1775, he was called to the
Irish bar, where he performed a briefless quarantine of
some years in the hall of the four courts ; and in ^e spring
and summer assizes, laid the foundation of his professional
fortunes on the Munster circuit Here too be had the
courage and patience to persist in his almost briefless
ordeal (like many of his predecessors and cotemporaries
who afterwards attained the highest forensic honours)
while his fees scarcely defrayed his travelling charges. It
was on one of those excursions that he was introduced to
Miss O'Dell, a young lady of respectable family, who
shortly afterwards became his wife; but this match brought
no increase to his finances, and he returned to the metro-
polis with the additional charge of maintaining a wife^
though the fruits of his last exertions were scarcely
competent to his personal support. He saw a young
family increase, without means to sustain them; for
splendid as were his talents, and encouraging the hope
of future eminence, still he wanted the friends and con-
nections indispensable to success; but vivacious spirits
and an elastic mind bore him above the torrent he
had to buflet, and enabled him to stem the billows of
adversity.
Passing rapidly over a series of melancholy reflections,
arising from a conjugal alliance commenced under embar-
rassments, (and terminated some years afterwards in a
legal separation under the most afflicting circumstances,)
we now arrive at the first dawn of his auspicious fortunes.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CURRAN. 309^
By degrees his character and talents became more known
and respected ; and, if report be correct, he was indebted
for his first patron and rising fame to his own manly
spirit, coupled with that mental energy to which a little
incident proved favourable.
He was retained during an election contest, in which
common-place abuse and reciprocal invective are so fre-
quently resorted to both in £ngland and Ireland, instead'
of law and reason; Mr. Curran employed both his wit
and satire (in each of which he was matchless) against
the pretensions of the opposite candidate; and particularly
objected to a vote tendered in his behalf. This instantly
produc/ed many gross personal allusions on the part of the
adversary, and the apparent meanness of the barrister's
figure and dress proved a fruitful though vulgar theme for
declamation. Mr. Curran, restrained only by the presence
of the presiding magistrate from instantly conferring per*
sonal chastisement, was compelled to adopt another expe-
dient, and immediately poured forth such a torrent of
sarcastic eloquence, that he overwhelmed his opponent
with shame and confusion, while he enlisted all the noble
and generous passions of his auditors on the side of out-
raged huoD^anity.
His antagonist, instead of resorting to pistols (the
honourable arbitration of right and wrong at that day>
had good sense and generosity enough to acknowledge his
errors; nay, more, he granted to the young lawyer his
friendship and protection, and is said to have eminently
contributed by his influence, to place his merit and talents
in a fair point of view.
But it was not alone with the probationary difficulty of
a jnnbr barrister that Mr. Curran had to contend in his
early career; perhaps it is not, even in that liberal profes-
' iiion, that a young man of humble origin and obscure
(connections, but superior talents and rising fame has to
expect the kasi display of enmity from senior competitors,
more fortunate in their alliances, wealth, and veteran stand-
ing; there are, certain. invidbns propensities in our firai>
Digitized by VjOOQIC
Qnturei which even the gravity of a silk gown and t
Serjeant's coif cannot always cooceal : but when tuch a
feeling betrays itself on the bend), it merits a mach harshfur
naioe than mere UUberality.
There was an Honourable Judge RoUnson at this lime
gn the Irish bench, as remarkable for the peeyisboess of
his temper as the pitifalness of his person, who had nore
than once elicited sparks of just resentment from gentle
ipen of the bar, that might have tavght him better caution*
Current rumours stated that this learned jndge attained
his promotion to tbe judgment seat» not by his eminent
virtues or his lega) learning, but his literary services in the
publication of some political pampblti&y remarkable only
for their senseless, slavish, and venomous scurrility. Tbia
goodly sage, at a time when Mr. Curran was struggling
with adversity, and straining every nerve in one of bis
early forensic pursuits, made an unfeeling effort to extin*
gnish bim< Mr, Curran, in combating aome opinio^
urged by the opposite counsel, said, ihfX he had con$Mked
qU his law booh, and could not find a single case to esta*
blish the opinion oootended for; '^ i nttfttcty Sir/* said tlie
heartless judge with a sneer, ^Uhai ^em law library is
rather contracted." Such a remark from the beocb^ applied
to a young man of ordinary pretensions would bane in&I-
Ubly crufhed him. But Mr. Curran, whose practical
motto was ^^nerna tm impunk lace$sit" rose from the prct- ,
sure of this suoke with increased elasticity. For a moment
he eyed the judge with a pause of contemptwous silence^
^nd tbea replied,--^ It is true, my lofd, that I am poor; mmI
that circumstance has rather curtailed my library; but, if
my books are not numerous, they are select ; aad^ I hope,
have been perused with proper dispositions ; I have pre-
pared myself for this high profession, rath^ by the study
of a few good books, than the compadtum cfmamy badQ»e9.
I am not ashamed of my poverty, hut I ^ould of my
WfaUb> could I sloop to acquire it by servility anci corrup-
tipA^ if i rise not to rank^ I shall at least be hottest ; and
§h(¥|ld I ever cease to ^e so, many escamples skew me,
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CfJRKAN. . 511
that aa iiiracqiBfed etevatioo, bj readectng me move
s|^aoii8> woaU only make me the more nmiTersal^jr and
i»ore ffeptoriotttly cootemptibk." This appeart ta hare
beea the last ooca^ooi cm aihicb the leanied jadge Taa-
tared a Me at the same /Ue.
Perhapa do man ever possesaed poi^ars of inrectiTe anil
exasperatiooy more Tirolent than tbose of Mr. Curran.
Eavljr in his profesakoal career, he was emplc^d at Cork,
to proaecate an officer, naased SeUb^ew, for asaaalting a
catholic elergymao. Selliager,. josAly oi ciherwiae, wm
siMpected by Mc. Corran to he a mete pc^cal creatQseof
Lofd Doneraile^ and to hare acted i* mere sobseryieoGy lo
the religioQs prejudices of his patron. On this theme be
expatiated with sach bitterness and eflfect, that Sellioger
seat him a message the next clay. Tbey met; Mr. Curra»
received, but did not return his fit e ; and thas the affair
ended. '' It was not necessary," said Cmran some time
afterwards to a fi ieiid^ '^ for me to fire at him ; he died in
three weeka after the duel, of the report of bis own pistol/'
Mr. Curran might now be considered as prosperously
established at the bar, riakig to the very summit of hia
profession, and daily employed in those forensic exertioaa
which so eminently contributed to ktfs fortnoe aa a lawyer,
and bis bme as an orator ; but, Dotwithstaodiag the exten«
stveaesi of hia professionat pursuits, he eoiuid find time
to enjoy the convivial society of a few select firieads. This
society was entitled, the Monks^ •f tk$ Screw, and did not,
as a vulgar biographer of Mr. Curran has igaot aotly stated,
consist of shabivy barristers and ale-bibbers, but of aieo of
the first character, wit, and talents the coantry could
' boast; aien as eminent for the polish of their manners, as
for their learning and gei^asw Amongst these were the
late Lord Charlemont, Mr. Flood, Mr. Grattan, Mr. Bowes
Daly, Mr. George Ogle, Mr. Keller, Messrs. Day, Chann
berlaine, and Metge, since judges; Barry Yelverton
(afterwards Lord A von more), the celebrated Dr. O^Leary,
and a boat of sach duiracters were amongst its mlembers.
Tbey nset every Saturday during the law terms, in a hu^ge
Digitized by VjjOOQIC
3ie GURRAN.
house of tbeir own, in Kevin street. Mr. Curran was
installed grand prior of the order, and deputed to compose
the charter-song. If ever there was a social board, whereat
the votaries of wit, taste, and festivity might enjoy with
delight ^ the feast of reason and the flow of soul ;" it was
in this convent of accomplished monks. This society
continued for several years ; and after its dissolution, the
small statue of tbeir patron saint was removed to Mr. Cur-
rants seat, called the Priory^ near Dublin, and placed on
the sideboard in his dining room.
Of all the friends with whom Mr. Curran maintained the
strictest intimacy, and who treated him with an almost
parental esteem, was Barry Yelverton, whose talents had
raised him to the dignity of the peerage, as Lord Avonmore.
They were educated at the same school, and were fellow-
students, though Yelverton was by some years the older.
This nobleman was said to make his first bound in life
from a whimsical incident. While asizar at Trinity College,
he employed his vacations as an assistant-tutor at the
classical school of the Reverend Doctor Buck, in North
King street, and was treated as one of the family, and
boarded at the doctor's table; but Mrs. Buck was a
practical economist, and dictated an arrangement, by
which the tutors were cashiered of their toast and tea
breakfast, and placed on a morning establishment of bread
and milk with the boys of the school. Btit Yelverton, who
possessed as much as most men of the milk of human
kindness, could not bear this humiliating change; he
immediately quitted the school, redoubled his diligence at
college, pushed bis way for the bar, where his talents soon
enabled him to outstrip his competitors, and to establish
his fame in public as a lawyer, an orator, and a statesman;
and in private as a scholar, a poet, and a wit of the first
water. His simplicity -rendered him the constant butt of
Curran's playful wit; but his good nature always forgave
the prank for the sake of the joke. He had long presided
as chief baron of his majesty's exchequer court. About the
period of the Union he received his patent of peerage, by
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CURRAN. SIS
the title of Avanmare, as was said, io cooBideratioQ of his
support to the m^isare of union, in direct opposition td
the principles of bis whole life, and to the sentiments of all
his friends and admirers at the bar, to whom that measure
has never ceased to be peculiarly obnoxious. About this
time an unfortunate division separated the friendship be-
tween those eminent men, which had subsisted from their
boyish days, and no reconciliation took place until the
year 1805, when it was casually effected by an incident
highly honourable to the feelings of both. On the memo-
rable cause of the King v. Mr. Justice Johnston, in the
court of exchequer, when Mr. Curran came to be heard,
after alluding to a previous decision in the king's, bench
against his client, he thus pathetically appealed to Lord
Avonmore :—
** I am not ignorant, my lord, that this extraordinary
construction has received the sanction of another court,
nor of the surprise and dismay with which it smote upon
the general heart of the bar. I am aware that I may have
the mortification of being told in another country of that
unhappy decision, and I foresee in what confusion I shall
hang down my head when I am told it. But I cherish
too the consolatory hope, that 1 shall be able to tell them
that I had an old and learned friend, whom 1 would put
above all the sweepings of their hall, who was of a different
opinion ; who had derived his ideas of civil liberty from
the purest fountains of Athens and of Rome; who had fed
the youthful vigour of his studious mind, with the theoretic
knowledge of their wisest philosophers and statesmen ; and
who had refined the theory into the quick and exquisite
sensibility of moral instinct, by contemplating the prac-
tice of tlieir most illustrious examples; by dwelling on the
sweet souPd piety of Cimon ; on the anticipated Chris-
tianity of Socrates ; on the gallant and pathetic patriotism
of Epaminondas ; on that pure austerity of Fabricius,
whom, to move from his integrity, would have been more
difficult than to have pushed the sun from his course. I
would add, that if he had seemed to hesitate, it was but
Digitized by VjOOQIC
314 CURRAN.
for a moment : that his hesitation was like the passing
cloud that floats across the momiog sun, and hides it from
the view ; and does 8o» for a moment, hide it hj involv-
ing the spectator without even approaching the face of
the luminary : And this soothing hope 1 draw from the
dearest and tenderest recollections of my li£^ from the
remembrance of those Attic nights and those reflections
of the gods which we have spent with those admired and
respected and heloved companions who have gone before
us ; — over whose ashes the most precious tears of Ireland
have been shed : yes, my good lord, I see you do not for-
get tbem ; I see tlieir sacred fprms passing in sad review
before your memory: I see your pained and softened
fancy recalling those happy meetings when the innocent
enjoyment of social mirth expanded into the nobler
warmth of social virtue;. and the horizon of the board
became enlarged into the horizon of man; — when the
swelling heart conceived and commonicated the pure and
generous purpose, — when my slenderer and younger taper
imbibed its borrowed light from the more matured and
redundant fountain of yours. Yet, my lord, we can
remember those nighu without any other regret than that
they can never more return, for
<< We speot tbem iMt in t03m» «r lutt, truAne;
But search of deep philoaoph j.
Wit, eloqaeoce and poesy.
Arts, wblch I lov'd, for they, myjriend, were thine/^
But, my lord, to return to a subject from which to
have thus far departed, I think, may not be wholly without
excuse,'*
As soon as the court rose, the tipsta£f informed Mr.
Curran, be was wanted immediately in the chamber by
one of the judges of the exchequer. He obeyed the man-
date ; and the moment he entered, the venerable Lord
Avonmore, whose cheeks were still wet with tears extorted
by this heart-touching appeal, clasped him to hia bosom,
and from that moment. all cause of diffeipence was oblile^
rated.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CURRAN. 315
We now go bade to the year 17SS, in the admioistra-
tjoQ of Lord Northingtoa, when Mr* Corrao firgt took bis
seat in Parliament for the borough of Kilbeggsm, having
for hit coneagoe, the celebrated Henry Flood, with whom
be joined the opposttioo of the day. A circnoistance
attending hit election was highly honourable to Mr. Car*
ran. Lord Longoerille who was proprietor of the bo-
rottgby and a wholesale dealer in the trade of parliament,
was eager to attach to bis force so desirable a recruit as
Mr. Cnrraoy and he returned him for a seat, nuder the
idea that a young barrister with a growing family, and
totally dependant on bis profession for sabsistence^ woald
scarcely suffer his political principles to interfere with his
interests. He found, however, in Mr. Curran a stubborn
exception to this rule ; for on the very first question, be
not only voted agwnst his patron, but by a most energetic
speech, proved the total fallacy of all his expectations.
Lord Longaevilte, of coarse warmly remonstrated ; bat
what was his astonishment to find Mr. Cnrran, not only
persevering in the independence of his opinions, but even
devoting the only 500/. he bad in the world, to the pur-
diase of a seat which he insisted on transferring as an
equivalent for that of Kilbeggan. Doring the whole of
Mr. Curran's parliamentary life, it was his fbrtnne to be
j<ued in the ranks of opposition, in which be acted widi
many of the most eminent patriots, orators, and statesmen
bia country could boast in any age, and he ever prcyved
htmself a steady adherent to the cause of bis country, and
worthy the attachment and oonidenceof bis friends. Itia
not our purpose in this sketch, to attempt lengthened
detaiiaof his eloquence in the senate, where he has so often
shone with refulgent splendour, and where not only the
feioe of his arguments, but the lightnings of bis wit, and
the shafts of bis invective were deeply felt on that side of
tbe house to which he was opposed. He had, however,
the mortification to see several of bis friends from time to
time, larcd by the sweets of office, relinquishing their old
colleagttcs and the public cause, to join the ranks of the
Digitized by VjOOQIC
316 CURRAN.
minister. Mr. Curran always adhered to the same politics
which distingaisbed the political lives of the Poasonby's,
Mr. Grattan, and those numerous friends who formed the
Whig club in Ireland, and he was a zealous supporter of
all their measures ; but able as that support was, circum-
stances rendered the house of commons not the most
favourable theatre for the display of his talents. His
forensic labours occupied much the greater portion of his
time, and daily demanded his presence in one or all of the
four courts. His post in the senatorial ranks was usually
allotted in the rear of the debates ; for he seldom came
into action till towards the close of the engagement; and
this, after having previously toiled through the courte for
the entire day : of course he brought to the house of com-
mons a person enfeebled, and a mind exhausted. He was
therefore compelled to speak late in the night, when the
subject for discussion and the patience of the house were
worn out, and he had frequently to devote the residue of
the night, after the division, to reading his briefs, and pre->
paring to meet the judges early the next morning. But
even exhausted as he was on those occasions, and fatigued
as were the attentions of his auditors, he never failed, by
the brilliancy of his wit, the vivacity of his spirits, the
vigour of his intellect, and the beauty of his eloquence,
to rally the languor of the house, and reanimate the discus-
sion, to its very close. It is to be lamented that ample
justice was scarcely ever done to the most brilliant of his
speeches in the printed reports of the day, and hence
many of his Enest orations are lost for ever.
Much censure, and even abuse have been cast on the
parliamentary reporters of the time for their negligence or
inability on this and other like points, so injurious to
national eloquence : but it may not be amiss, even here,
to offer some apology for men thus severely and indiscri-
minately blamed, and to throw some light upon a subject
little understood by the public.
The newspapers in Ireland were the only immediate
vehicles for the details of parliamentary eloquence. The
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CURRAN. 317
gdremmeot of the country employed ttoDo reportef^ with
liberal salaries and lacrative patronage, to take care of the
speeches of the ministerial members. Two newspapers
with large allowances were entirely devoted to the pur-
pose, and many or most of the speakers from the treasury
benchesy anxious to display their talents and utilityi gene*
rally wrote their own speeches and sent them to the
government prints. But with the popular newspapers^
the case was quite different* They were generally in the
bands of needy or parsimonious printers ; and for each
paper a single reporter^ at the enormous salary of two
guineas per week! attended in the gallery to note and
detail the eloquence of the opposition orators, from the
sitting of the house to its rising, frequently a period of
eight, ten, or twelve hours a night ; and then they adjourned
to their printing offices, fatigued and exhausted in mind
and body, to give such a sketch of the discussion as a
news-printer had room or inclination to insert. Many of
those reporters were men of. considerable ability, and not
as Mr. Hardy, the biographer of Lord Charlemont, has
stated *' the most ignorant and illiterate of the human race,'*
bat as competent to the task as any of those employed for
the like purpose in London, where six or eight are some-
times engaged for each print. It is hoped this short and
true explanation will, once for all, plead apology for the
historians of Irish parliamentary eloquence, whose wretched
emoluments were so utterly inadequate to remunerate
tbeif exertions ; and who, to perform the task they have
been charged with neglecting, must have had constitutions
and capacities more than human.
Mr. Curran was not more fortunate in the details of his
forensic omtions ; for the reporter in the law courts and
in the house of commons was one and the same, and in-
cluded both duties under the one miserable stipend. Short-
hand was scarcely known in the country at the time, save
by one or two gentlemen of the bar, to whose labours the
world is indebted for the only sketches extant of Mr.
Curran's speeches, approaching to any thing like perfect
Digitized by VjOOQIC
316 CURRAN.
nmilitnde, parucularly thote uttered on the Stale Trials;
and he himsdf could Devter be prerailed on to revise or
retouch the tranecript of a single oration. Had Cicero,
or Burke, been thus negligent of their facnadiary fame,
we should not, at this day, possess in print the splendid
moBumentft of their eloquence that chajknge our admi'-
ration : but, of the genuine eloquence of Curran, as of the
exquisite sculptures of ancient Greece and Rom^ we ans
left to form our conception f\rom the broken statues and
mutilated fragments, collected from cursory sketches,
some notes, or fleeting memory, which are compiled into
the shape in which we now find them. Ex pede HerctUan.
But, if such be the deucfaed members, what nuMt have
been the entire figure of that eloquence, which, to be felt
and estimated, must have been heard in the delivery ?
If his powers were great, his materials were also aband*
ant. The themes of his parliamentary displays were the
grievances of his country, the wrongs of her people, and
the corrupt influence of her ruling system; mid never did
any civilized country, called free, in any age, present
more prolific sources to fire the mind and stimulate the
eloquence of a patriot orator. The corruption of the system^
and the rapacity of its instruments, were the constant ob«>
jecu of his attack ; and he poured on them an incessant
fire of pointed invective and scalding ridicule. His very
pleasantries were subservient to his purpose; and even
the victims of his wit, while they winced under the lash
of bis satire, or were scorching by the lightnings of hU
fancy, were often convulsed with laughter. A few short
specimens may serve to illustrate this part of the sketch.
The Beresford family, who were at the head of the
revenue, and Mr. Fitzgibbon (afterwards Lord Clare) con«
nected with them by marriage, long held the ruling sway
in Ireland ; and, in addition to the influence which their
stations gave them over the representative body within
the walls of parliament, from the weighty operation of tbe
loaves and fishes, that influence was greatly strengthened
by their omnipotent patronage and control over the
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CURRAN. Sl«
rtvaitte lyiAeai, with the bmiiMR of ^lecttoDt^ wUcb en-
abled tbeniy in all emergencies, to numoh m whole army of
excisemeDy tax-gatherers, distillera, brewers, aad pnUicangy
into the field ; all of whom had either votes in eorpo-
rationa^ or were fottyahHliog freeholders in three <nr fear
ooonties ; and, if on any ocoaaion, the success of the court
candidate was doobtful^ a hatch of those ibrtyi^sbilUsg
voten were mmurfaa^rtd for the occasioo, and the same
idcftitieal acre was wmetimes transferred in suooesaion
A6m mu to iweaiy tenants, sridi an increasing profit^rent
of foity-sUllingi a year to each. Oto one fartioalar oc^
oanoa, when pofMikr interest ran Ugh on the approaeh
of a general dectum, &f r. Beresford was obliged to bri^
gade the eusDom^home officers from the metropcrfts, and
every out-port in the kingdom, cdl of whom being pre-
vioatly organised as quormm voters for several connties,
were aetoaUy marched by squads, and travelled through
every district within the circuit of their respective can*
tonmeats, to tarn the scale at every election they could
leaoh i^aiaat the popular candidate.
On the meetiag of the new parliament Mr. Cnrran laid
held of thia circumataoce, which he handled with infinite
hurnonr: — *^ What, Mr. Speaker, said he, ** mast be the
aterm and consternation of the whole country, when they
saw these horde9 of at9t9m-kou$e TsMrters traversing every^
district) devouring like locusts the provisions, and over^
whekaiog the franchises of the people i These Jiscat
comedums travelled in carts and waggons from town to
town, connty to county, and election to electioa, to fill
this house, not with the representatives of the people^
bat of the great Cham who commands them. Methinks
I tee a whole caravm of those 9trolBng conditttents^ trund-
ling in their vehicles towards a country town, where some
gaping simpleton, in wonderment at their appearance,
asks the driver of the first vehicle : ^ Where, my good
fcUow, dre you going with those i^aggamaffins ? I suppose
they are convicts on their way to the Idd-ship for trans-
portation to Botany Bay.' ^ Oh! no,' answers the driver^
Digitized by VjOOQIC
320 CURRAN.
* they are only a few cartloads of the raw maierials /bl*
manufacturing members ofparSament, on their way to the
next election.* "
Even Mr. Beresford himself, and his whole corps of
commissionersi who were present, had not gravity enough
to withstand this attack on their risible muscles, but
joined in the general burst of laughter it excited.
When the late Lord Buckinghamshire (then Major
Hobart) was secretary to the viceroy, and, of course, had
what is called the management of the conunons house, hit
raaks were filled in general by a miserable set of sup*
porters, whose talents only qualified them to talk against
time, or fire their amen shots at the question, by the simple
monosyllables, aye or no ; sitting mum through the de-
bate, and serving, like Falstoff^s soldiers, as " mere jhod for
the gunpowder" of Curran's wit. The orator, in one of his
speeches, affecting a tone of commiseration, noticed those
gentlemen thus : —
" For my part, Mr. Speaker, I never glance at the right
honourable gentleman over the way (Major Hobart) with-
out feelings of unaffected pity for him, in the duties he
has to perform in his arduous situation. When I behold
an Eng^sh secretary, day after day, marching down to this
house from the castle,' like a petty German clock^maker,
with his wooden timepieces dangling at his back, in order
to deposit them on their shelves, in dumb shew, until their
manager shall pull the string for their larums to go off,
or their hurdy-gurdies to play their appointed tunes, I
feel for the honour of the country he came from, as well
as for the debasement of my own. Such is the miserable
machinery by which his questions are carried in this house,
without even the semblance of argument or the decency
of candid discussion.''
At another time, expressing his alarm at the rapid strides
of corruption over the remaining virtues of the repre-
sentative body, and the elevation of apostacy in proportion
to its excess, be compared the unblushing supporters of
the minister's influence, to " Drowned bodies, which
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CURRAN. 321
excited no apprehensions while sunk at the bottom of the
current; but, in process of time, they rose as they rotted,
by the buoyancy of their own corruption ; till, reaching the
surface, they floated down the stream, infecting the very
atmosphere by the stench of their putrescence, and filled
the surrounding country with horror and dismay .''
At another time he compared them to '^ tnummief in a
catacomb, who remained fixed in their niches, until dug out
to give their votes, or be told off in the dumb show of a
division against their country/'
But one of bis most ludicrous and effective strokes in
this way was played off upon a gentleman of the bar,
named Duqucry, who had a seat in parliament. He was
a gentleman of distinguished talents and worth, who had
long been the zealous supporter of Mr. Cu'rran and his
friends, but he was not so fortunate as Curran in the
forensic field ; and felt himself advancing in years with an
income very inadequate to his station in life. This gentle-
man was prevailed on to accept a serjeantry-at-law, as a
s|ep preliminary to higher advancement in his professional
line: but the condition, however unpalatable, was a
transfer of his talents to the treasury-side of the house,
and an implicit support of administration. Mr. Duquery
with reluctance complied, much to the surprise and chagrin
of his old colleagues ; and on his first night's appearance
in his new situation, he made a speech in support of a
ministerial question, so very inferior to his usual style, and
so feeble in the cause he had recently espoused, as greatly
to disappoii^t the hopes of his new allies, and to gratify
those whom he had so lately deserted.
Such a circumstance could not escape the vigilance and
wit of Curran ; and in a night or two afterwards, while
Mr. Duquery sat blushingi amongst his new friends, for his
recent failure, and preparing for a more successful effort
in the evening's debate, Mr. Curran rose, and made,
as usual, a brilliant speech on the subject under discussion,
towards the end of which, he ^ congratulated the Right
Honourable Major (Hobart) on the acquisition of his new
VOL, I. Y
Digitized by VjOOQIC
mt CURRAN.
rearuUf aod w^ glad to find bim alreadj promoted to tlie
honour of a haUberd} be had do doubt that the jouog
BefjeaM Would prove a valuable acquisition to tbe regiment,
although he had cut rather an aukward figure upon the
fir^t night's drilL The mainceuvres and disoipliae of bis
squad might be a little irksome, because so different froth
that of the corps be bad lately quitted^ wad in which he
had served so long with credit as an expert soldier; but be
might improve in time, and entitle himself to higher piij^
and promotien. At present, tbe worthy Serjeant's siiuatioti
reminded him of an incident while he was a boy, Which
occurred to the master of a puppet*show in his native
village. This itinerant manager, with his company of
wooden comedians, large as life, on his arrival sent forth
his pickle herring, with fife and drum, to announce his
performance: the quality of the place, mcluding the
squire, tbe attorney, the apothecary, the exckedian, and
the church-warden of tbe village, with their ladies, attended
the performance. Tbe Roscius of the drama;, Mr. Punch,
excited the warmest admiration of the audience, he was all
eloquence, wit, and pleasantry, and so fascinated the lady
of the squire, and chief magistrate in particular, that, oti
her return home, she talked and dreamed of nothing but
Mr. Punch, and at last made a positive demand of her
husband that he should purchase Mr. Punch from tlie
manager, as an ornament to her cabinet. In vain did her
worshipful spouse remonstrate, and inveigh against the
folly of such a whim, in vain did be warn her of what the
neighboursi would say; he talked to no purpose, Punch
she must have, she could not live without him. ''The
gray mare was the better horse:" — the magistrate was
obliged to comply, and the very next day concluded an
expensive treaty with the manager for the purchase of his
chief actor. But when punch was transferred to my lady's
chamber, all his faculties failed him, all his vivacity vanish-
ed; he could neither telk, joke, laugh, nor amuse, as he was
wont. The lady tried to rouse his spirits, she raised one hand,
but it fell lifeless by his side ; she tfied the other, with the
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CUftttAN. 323
sftnie effect ; she chucked bim under the chio, but his jaw fell
i^aiti on his bre^t: and, in short, the lively, facetious, and
diverting Mr. Punch, became as dull, and dumb, as any of
the tight hontmrable puppets now in my eye ;— the secret
was, that Mr. Punch was not in his proper place, or under
the same management which procured her liking: and,
qoile disappointed, she requested the squire to return him
to bis former quarters, with a handsome present to the
manager, who soon restored Mr. Punch to all his former
celebrity, and he became as great a favourite with the town
as ever/'
This speech, so appositely applied to the learned Ser-
jeant, excited continual bursts of laughter at his expense:
but it had the still stronger effect of deciding him never
more to risk a similar lecture from the same quarter ; for,
the next day, he resigned his Serjeant's coif, and returned
to his old post on the opposition bench.
The following extracts from Mr. Currants speech upon
the pension bill, on the 13th of March, 17B6, are admirable
specimens of grave and sarcastic humour:-—
This polyglot of wealth, this museum of curiosities, the
pension list, embraces every link in the human chain,
every description of men, women, and children, from the
exalted excellence of a Hawke or a Rodney, to the
debased situation of the ladj/ who ' humbletb herself that
she may be exalted.' But the lessons it inculcates form its
greatest perfection: — it teacheth, that sloth and vice may
eat that bread, which virtue and honesty may starve for,
after they had em-ned it. It teaches the idle and dissolute
to look up for that support which they are too proud to
stoop and earn. It directs the minds of men to an entire
reliance on the sruling power of the state, who feed the
ravens of the royal aviary, that cry continually for food.
It teaches them to imitate those saints on the pension list,
that are like the lilies of the field — they toil not, neither
do they spin, and yet are arrayed like Solomon in his glory.
Ir fine, it teaches a lesson which indeed they might have
learned from Epictetus — that it is sometimes good not to
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be over-virtnous : it shews, that in proportion as our
distresses increase, the munificence of the crown increases
also — in proportion as our clothes are rent, the royal
mantle is extended over us. But notwithstanding that
the pension list, like charity, covers a multitude of sins,
give me leave to consider it as coming home to the mem-
bers of this house — »give me leave to say, that the crown,
in extending its charity, its liberality, its profusion, is lay-
ing a foundation for the independence of parliament; for
hereafter, instead of orators or patriots accounting for
thejr conduct to such mean and unworthy persons as free-
holders, they will learn to despise them, and look to the
' first man in the state, and they will by so doing have this
security for their independence, that while any man in the
kingdom has a shilling they will not want one. Suppose
at any future period of time the boroughs of Ireland
should decline from their present flourishing and pros-
perous state— suppose they should fall into the hands
of men who would wish to drive a profitable commerce,
by having members of parliament to hke or let; in such a
case a secretary would find great di£Sculty if the pro*
prietors of members should enter into a combinatipn to
form a monopoly ; to prevent which in time, the wisest
way is to purchase up the raw material^ young members of.
parliament, just rough from the grass, and when they are
a little bitledf and he has got a pretty stud, perhiips of
seventy, he may laugh at the slave-merchant: some of
them he may teach to sound through the nose, like a
barrel organ ; some, in the course of a few months, might
be taught to cry ^hear! hear!' some, 'chair! chair!' upon
occasiop^ though -those latter might create a little confu-
iioD, if they were lo forget whether they were calling
inside or outside of those doors. Again, he might have
some so trained that he need only pull a string, and up
gets a repeating member; and if they were so dull that
they could neither speak nor make orations, (for they are
different things) he might have them taught to dance, pedi*
bus ire in sentenlid. — 'i'his improvement mijght be extend-
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«() ; be might have them dressed in coats and shirts all of one
colour, and of a Sunday he might march them to church two
by twoy to the great edification of the people and the honour
of the christian religion; afterwards, like ancient Spartans,
or the fraternity of Kilmainham, they might dine all toge^
ther in a large hall. Good heaven ! what a sight to see
them feeding in pdblic upon public viands, and talking of
public subjects for the benefit of the public! It is a pity
they are not immortal; but 1 hope they will flourish as a
corporation, and that pensioners will beget pensioners to
the end of the chapter."
Notwithstanding the latitude to which freedom of
speech is sometimes indulged in the house of commons, and
the personal stings thus inflicted without provoking personal
resentment, matters are sometimes carried beyond the
pitch of senatorial gravity, or philosophic paftience;- the
interchange of invective between Mr. Curran and some of
his political antagonists, has at times led to personal
hostilities out of doors. In the Duke of Rutland's vice-
royalty, Mr. Fitzgibbon, the attorney-general (afterwards
lord chancellor Clare) issued an attachment against the
high sheriff of the county of Dublin (a Mr. OReilly), for
complying with a requisition of certain freeholders, by
calling a meeting to elect members for a conventional
congress to effect a parliamentary reform. This incident
led to an animated discussion in the house of commons, in
which the question of attachments caused considerable
disquisition, and was argued with much zeal and learning.
When Mr. Curran rose to speak, the attorney-general,
who!^ professional as well as political character was
deeply inyolved, sunk into a real or affected doze, in his
seat: — ** I hope," said Mr. Curran, "(indignant at what he
conceived contemptuous apathy,) '' I may be allowed to
speak to this great question, without disturbing the sleep
of any right honourable member: and yet, perhaps, I
ought rather to envy than blame his tranquillity; t do not
feel myself so happily tempered as to be lulled to rest by
the storms that shake the land : but if they invite rest to
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aoyi that rest ought not to be lavished on the guiU^
spirit:*
When he had concluded his speech, the attorney-gene-
raly having replied to his arguments, concluded by desiring
that ** no puny babbler should attempt, with vile, unfamM
columns/ to blast the venerable character of the judges of
the land."
Mr. Curran immediately rose, and retorted — "The gen-
tleman has called me a puny babbler — I do not indeed
recollect that there were sponsors at the baptismal font^
nor was there any occasion, as the infant had promised and
vowed so many things in his own name* Indeed, Sir,
I find it difficult to reply, for I am not accustomed to
panegyrise myself. I do not well know how to do so, hot
iinct 1 cannot tell the house what I am, I will tell then»
whajt I 9caimot :^— I am not a young man whose respect in
person and character depends upon the importance of his
office;— I an> not a man who thrusts himself into the fore-
ground of a picture which ought to be occupied by a
better figure;*—! am not a man who replies by invectiVe,
when sinking under the weight of argun^eot; — I an? r^ot a
mon who denied the necessity of parliamentary reform, at
the time be proved the expediency of \% by reviling his
own con^titnents, the parish clerk, the sexton, and the
grave-digger (Mr. F^ was member for a rotten borongh);
and if there be any man here who can apply what Jam net
to himself f I leave him to think of it in the committee^ and
contemplate it when be goes home.'' The conseqoeace of
this altercation wa« a message from Mr^Fitzgibbon* The
parties meit, and exchanged shots without injury; and
thus the a£&ir ended, without apology or explanation.
He once liad an affair with his friend Mrt Egan; but
neither were hurt.
Now that we are on the subject of duels, Mr* CurraOf
long subsequent to this incident, was involved in another
duel, perhaps not so creditable to his spirit. A gentiemaaf
who held a place in the customs, was one of the pa)rlja-
mentary reporters employed at the charge of government.
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to attettd the hpQse of commons, and deUil the debates
there, with doe attentjoa to the mioisterial speakers, whose
speeoheft were either vfiry partially given, or wholly sop-
peessed, ia the popular prints of the day. To this gen*
Uemao, who was certainly a man of very competent ability,
and who was sitting in the gallery one night, Mr. Corran,
in one of his phillipics against the profusion of ministers,
alluded personally, by a very gross epithet, charging
ministers with *^ sending a miscreant into that gallery, at
the public expense, to misrepresent the speeches of
members on that side of the house." He mentioned no
name; and if he had, it would have been a breach of pri^
vilege to call a member to account out of doors for words
uttered in parliament. The next day, however, this gen<^
Ueman saw Mr. Curran in the street, in company with
his friend Mr. Egaa, and 6hook his walking-stick at him
across the way. Mr. Curran, perhaps, thinking it beneath
bis dignity to notice the person from whom this affront pro-
ceeded, took another course, which he probably thought
more honourable, and which was to send his friend Mr.
Egan, with a fnessage to the chief sei;retary. Major
Hobart (the late Earl of Buckinghamshire) demanding
this alternative — either, tliat he should immediately dis<-
miss the offender from his place in the customs, or meet
Mr. Curran in the field. Major Hobart, with great calm-
ness, answered that he had jiothiag to do with the private
quarrels of the gentleman in question; nor could he
assume any control over his conduct beyond the line of
his office: but, as he had always understood he was a
faithful public officer in the discharge of his duty, he cerr
tainly could not think of dismissing him for the private
cause stated. Mr. Egan then mentioned the other alter-
native : to which Major Hobart repli^, that it was some-
what singular.he should be called on thus by a gentleman
with whom he hi^d no personal difference; however, he
was a soldier, and did not consider himself at liberty to
decline the invitation. The parties met, with their seconds.
Mf. Curran called on his antagonist to fire first. Miyor
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Hobart declined, saying he came there to gtoCf and not t0
takty satisfaction. Mr.Curran then fired, without effect,
and again called on Major Hobart, who had /eserved hi»
shot, but declined firing. Mr. Curran said he could not
fire until the major took his turn. The major still refused ;
and said the gentleman might use his own discretion, and
fire again if he pleased. This produced a short pause,
and some conversation between Mr. Curran and His
seconds. Major Hobart, after waiting some time, desired
to know if the gentleman had any further commands for
him f Wi^ich being answered in the negative, as he would
not fire, he bowed, and walked coolly off the ground to
his carriage. The triumph in this affair certainly was not
with Mr. Curran.
The animosity of Mr. Fitzgibbon towards Mr. Curran,
by no means terminated in the affair of their duel. Parlia-
mentary discussion frequently brought them into contact.
Both were men of first-rate talents, equally prone to irrita-
tion and keen asperity ; constantly opposed on every great
subject of debate; and, like two thunder clouds, they
rarely approached each other without reciprocally exciting
electric sparks, which shewed a constant aptitude for
mutual explosion. Mr. Fitzgibbon was proud and dis-
dainful; and apt to mark, by his manner, a feeling of
conscious superiority towards those he considered his
inferiors in connection, rank, and authority. Mr. Curraa
probably felt himself assorted amongst the number, and
scorned to succumb ; few, if any, occasions were suffered
to pass without marking this feeling. But an incident
occurred which gave Mr. Fitzgibbon a permanent oppor^
tunity of marking his peculiar hostility to Mr. Curran,
iaBnitely more illustrative of an implacable spirit, than of
a mind fitted to the high station to which his political
stars had destined him. — In short, the old chancellor. Lord
Lifford, died about the time of his majesty's first mental
malady, and the long and ardent services of Mr.. Fitz-
gibbon against the opposition phalanx in parliament, and
against every symptom of popular spirit out of it, crowned
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by his marked opposition to the regency question, tindier
Lord Buckingham's vice-royalty, recommended him to the
vacant seals and woolsack ; and he changed his office of
diabolus regis for that of custos consdenlia.
On taking leave of the bar, he marked his respect for
the talents of Mr. Ponsonby, a strong political opponent,
by presenting that gentleman with his bag of briefs ; but
he carried with him to the chancery bench all his hostility
to Mr. Curran, who, from the notoriety of this fact, soon
felt its effects in the rapid decay of his chancery business,
which liad been by far the most lucrative branch of his
practice. For this misfortune there was no practical re-
medy, because, if even Mr. Curran had not been too proud
for conciliatory remonstrance, or obsequious humility, the
chancellor was of too unrelenting a disposition to relax
his old resentments — the ear of the judge was to Curran,
like the ^^ Dull cold ear of death.^* The chancery solicitors
observed this marked hostility; the client participated in
the disfavour of his counsel, whose practice was soon
reduced exclusively to Nisi Prius. ^' 1 made," said he, in
a letter to Mr. Grattan twenty years afterwards^ ** no
compromise with power; I had the merit of provoking
and despising the personal malice of every man in Ireland
who was known, to be the enemy of the country. With-
out the walls of the courts of justice, my character was
pursued with the most persevering slander; and within
those walls, though I was too strong to be beaten down
by judicial malignity, it was not so with my clients; and
my consequent losses in professional income have never
been estimated at less, as you must have often heard, than
thirty thousand pounds a year.''
While Mr* Curran smarted under the rapid extenuation
of his chancery practice, a ludicrous occasion occurred for
marking his cool and contemptuous feeling for the noble
author. Lord Clare, who, when off the bench, assumed
as proud a disregard for the decorous formalities of his
station, as for his importance in it, generally walked to his
court, accompanied by a large favourite Newfoundland dog.
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which became afterwards bis associate on the bendi; and
one day while Mr* Curran addressed his lordship in a most
elaborate argument, the chancellor, as if to mark his
utter disregard, amused himself by foqdliqg his dog, to
whi(^ he paid much more attention than to the learned
advocate. Tbis gross indecency was observed by the
whole ban Mr. Curran stopped for some time, but the
chancellor missing his voice, and twitched by his silence,
to an effort of attention, said with an air of the coldest
indifference, *' Proceed, Mr. Curran, proceed." " I beg
pardon, my lards^'* answered Curraq, ^' I really thought
your lordships were employed in consultation, but as your
lordships are now at leisure, I will proceed, — then my
lords, as I have already observed to your lordships." — ^The
dog and his master were so aptly and so ludicrously con*
joined in this allusion, that his lordship, with marked chih
grin, thought fit to dismiss his shaggy tice<h(nceUort and
resume his attention, perhaps more to the symptoms of
suppressed laughter that mantled on the countenances of
the whole bar, than to the arguments of the learned adr
vocate.
But although Mr. Curran wa^ debarred of redress in
that court where his ennobled adversary ruled paramount,
an incident occurred in the city which gave him the
opportunity of taking as ample a revenge before a bi^er
tribunal, as the junction of his talents and indignation
could suggest. In the year 1790, a dispute arose between
hostile parties in the corporation about the choice of a
lord mayor for the ensuing year. The sheriffs and com-
mop-council elected a popular alderman, named Harrison,
but the board of aldermen refused their sanction to this
phoice, and elected a worshipfql brother, of quite opposite
principles, named James, as the chief magistrate next In
rotation, but whom the commons on their part rcjectedj.
By certain rules long established by the privy counpil^
^nder the authority of an act of parliament, qo man could
be lord mayor unless first approved by the viceroy '\^
counpil; and those rules directed, that in case of such disf
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ptttes as thisy the lord-li^yiteaaqt aod privy council for the
time beiog^ 8boiiI4 be the umpires. Appeal was accord*
iogly made to tbeip^ by petitions from both bodies. A
djB^y'fox hearing was appointedi — the privy council assem«>
bled,-^Lord Westmorland, then viceroy, presided at the
board. — liOrd Clare was also present. — Mr. Ponsonby and
Mr. Curran attended as counsel for the commons in sup*
port of AJderman Harrison. The council was extremely
folly and the counqil-chamber thronged with respectable
citizens, Wbep it pfime to Mr. Gurran's turn to address
the board, he did so in perhaps one of the most eloquent
orations he ever yttered^ and of which the fpllowing are
but very short extr^c^s.
" But) my lords, bow must these considerations (former
contests of a similar kind, and laws enacted for their ad-
justment) have been enforced by a view of Ireland as a
connected country, deprived as it was of almost all the
advantages of a hereditary monarch : the father of his
people residing at a distance, and the paternal beams
reflected upon his children through such a variety of
ffudiumsy sometimes too languidly to warn them^ — some-
times so intensely as to consume them: — a succession of
governors differing from each other in their tempers, in
their talents^ in their virtues, and of course in their systems
of administrations. Unprepared in general for rule, by
any previous institution ; and utterly unacquainted with
the people they were to govern, and with the men through
whose agency they were to act* Sometimes, my lordly
'tis true a rare individual appeared amongst us, as if sent
by the bounty of Providence in compassion for human
tniseriesy marked by that digni&ed simplicity of manly
character .which is the mingled result of enlightened ud-
derstaQdiog, and elevated int^rity, commanding a respect
that be laboured not to inspire*. It is but ^igbt years
since we saw such a man amongst us raising a degraded
cpfiqtiy froQ^ the condition of a province to the rank and
«> AUuding to the Dake of PMUmmI, i|mkr wbMn Ireland comptetod her
iiKlepeiideot constitqtuNi.
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consequence of a people, worthy to be the ally of a mighty
empire, on the firm and honourable basis of equal liberty
and a common fate, standing or falling with Great Britain.
But how short is the continuance of those auspicious
gleams of public sunshine ! How soon are they past, per-
haps for ever! In what rapid and fatal revolution has
Ireland seen the talents and the virtues of such men give
place to a succession of sordid parade and empty preten-
sion; of bloated promise and lank performance; of austere
hypocrisy and peculating economy. Hence it is, my lords,
that the administration of Ireland so often presenu to the
reader of her history, the view not of a legitimate govern-
ment, but rather of an encampment in the country of a
barbarous enemy ; where the object of the invader is not
dominion, but conquest. Where he is obliged to resort to
the corruption of the clans, or of single individuals, pointed
out to his notice by public abhorrence, and recommended
to his confidence only by a treachery so rank and consum-
mate, as precludes all possibility of their return to private
virtue, or to public reliance; and therefore, only put into
authority over a wretched country, condemned to the tor-
ture of all that petulant, unfeeling asperity with which a
narrow and malignant mind will bristle, in its unmerited
elevation ; condemned to be betrayed, and disgraced, and
exhausted by the little traitors that have been suffered to
nestle and to grow within it, making it at once the source
of their grandeur, and the victim of their vices: reducing
it to the melancholy necessity of supporting their conse-
quence, and of sinking under their crimes, like the lion
perishing by the poison of a reptile that finds shelter in
the mane of the noble animal, while it stings him to
death.'*
** In this very chamber did the chancellor and judges
sit (fit the reign of Queen Anne and ike chancellorship of
Mr. Constantine Phipps) with all the gravity and affected
attention to arguments in favour of that liberty, and those
rights which they had conspired to destroy. But to what
end, my lords, offer argument to such men ? A little and a
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peevish mind may be exasperated^ and bow shall it be cor-
rected by refutation ? How fruitless would it have been to
represent to that wretched chancellor, that he was betray-
ing those rights which he was sworn to maintain;— that
he was involving a government in disgrace, and a kingdom
in panic and consternation ; that he was violating every
sacred duty, and every solemn engagement, that bound
him to his sovereign, his country, and his God ! — Alas ! —
my lords, by what argument could any man hope to re-
claim or dissuade a mean, illiberal, and unprincipled minion
of anthority, induced by his profligacy to undertake,
and bound by his avarice and vanity to persevere i He
would probably have replied to the most unanswerable
arguments by some curt, contumelious, and unmeaning
apophthegm, delivered with the fretful smile of irritated
self-sufficiency, and disconcerted arrogance ; or even if he
should be dragged by his fears to a consideration of the
question, by what miracle could the pigmy capacity of a
stnnted pedant be enlarged to a reception of the subject ?
The endeavour to approach- it would have only removed
him to a greater distance than he was before, as a little
band that strives to grasp a mighty globe, is thrown back
by the reaction of its own effort to comprehend. It
may be given to a Halb or a Hardwicke to discover
and retract a mistake. The errors of such men are only
specks that arise for a moment on the surface of a splen-
did luminary, consumed by its heat or irradiated by its
lighti they soon disappear. But the perverseness of a mean
and narrow intellect are like the excrescences that grow
on bodies naturally cold and dark ; no fire to waste them,
and no. ray to enlighten, they assimilate and coalesce with
those qualities so congenial to their nature; and acquire
an incorrigible permanency in the union with kindred
frost and kindred opacity. Nor indeed, my lords, except
where the interest of millions can be affected by the vice
or the folly of an individual, need it be much regretted
^t to things not worthy of being made better, it hath
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334 CURRAN.
not pleased Providence to afford the privilege of improve*
ment."
This description of Mr. Constantine Phipps was bat ar
masked battery playing on the character of Lord Clare ;
every ^hot told upon his feelings, and on those of th^
whole auditory.
Amongst all the parliamentary antagonists of Mr. Ctfr-
ran, there was none who more sorely writhed under his
tooth, than Dr. Duigenan. The former was the zealous ad-
vocate for the catholic^ — the latter their most furious and
bigotted antagonist. Whenever the question of their
emabcipatiou was agitated in parliament, the Doctor was
unmuzzled and let loose to oppose them ; and usually dis-
charged upon their history, their principles, their character,
and religion, and even upon their advocates, such a torrent
of abuse, as sometimes shocked even the nerves of his
own partisans. '* He scortied any thing,'' says Mr.Grattan,
''which was classical, moderate, or refined,and preferred as
more effectual, the foul, the gross and scandalous ; — that,
with all the garbage his imagination could collect, with
whatever ^»€ri the Jishinark^ could furnish, everything
which the streets could administer to the learned Doctor's
taste and refinement, he assailed all men, and all bodies
of men, overlaid them with such a profusion of filth, as
to amaze all who were not acquainted with the ways and
customs of the learned Doctor."
He had attacked Mr. Curran, in the debate on the
catholic question in 1796; but Mr. Curran, in his reply
to the Doctor, lightened upon him for half an hour, and
effectually nnged him by the flashes of his wit.
'* The learned Doctor," he said, ** had made himself a
very prominent feature in the debate ; furious indeed had
been his anger, and manifold his attacks. What ailment,
what man, or what thing had he not abused ; half choked
by his rage in striving to refute those who had spoken, he
had relieved himself by abusing those who had not spoken.
He had abused the catholics, their ancestors ; he had abused
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the merchants of Ireland ; he had abused Mr. Burke ; he
had abused those who voted for the order of the day. I do
not know (continued he) but I ought to thank the learned
Doctor for honouring me with a place in his invective, lie
has stjied me the bottle-holder of my right honourable
friend (Mr. Grattan), but sure I am, that if I had been
the bottle-holder of both, the learned Doctor would have
less reason to complain of me than my right honourable
friend ; for him I should have left perfectly sober, whilst
it would clearly appear, that the bottle^ with respect to the
learned Doctor, would have been managed, not only fairly
but generously ; and that if, in furnishing him with liquor
I had not furnished him with argument, 1 had at least fur-
nished him with a good excuse for wanting it; with,
indeed, the best excuse for that confusion of history, and
divinity, and civil law, and common law; that heteroge-^
neons mixture of politics, and theology, and antiquity, with
which he has overwhelmed the debate, and the havoc and
carnage he has made of the population of the last age, and
the fury with which he has seemed determined to extermi-
nate, and even to devour the population of this, and which
urged him, after tearing the character of the catholics, to
spend the last efforts of his rage with the most relentless
ferocity in actually gnawing their names, (alluding to the
Doctor's enunciation of the nameofJTeogfA, which he pro-
nounced Keoaugh). In truth. Sir," continued he, " I felt
some surprise, and some regret, when I heard him describe
the Mceptre of lath, and tiara of straw ; and mimic his bed-
lamite emperor and pope, with such refined and happy
gesticulation, that he could be prevailed on to quit so
congenial a company. I should not, however, be disposed
to hasten his return to them, or to precipitate the access of
his fit, if by a most unlucky felicity of indiscretion, he had
not dropped some doctrines which the silent approbation
of the minister seemed to adopt. I do not mean, amongst
those doctrines, to place the learned Doctor's opinion of
the revolution, nor his wise and valorous plan in case of
invasion, to arm the beadles and the sextons, and put
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himself io wind for an attack on the French by a massacre
of the papists. The opinion I mean is, that catholic fran-
chise is inconsistent with British connections. Strong,
indeed, must the minister be in so wild and desperate a
prejudice, if he can venture, in the present fallen state of
this empire, under the disasters of w^r,and with an enemy
at our gates, if he can dare to state to the great body of
the Irish nation, that their slavery is the condition of our
connection with England :t— that she is more afraid of yield-
ing Irish liberty, than of losing Irish connection; and
though the denunciation is not yet upon record, yet it. may
be left with the learned Doctor, who, I hope, ha&r embraced
it only to make it odious ; has hugged in his arms only
with the generous purpose of plunging with it into the
deep, and exposing it to merited derision, by hazard-
ing the character of his own sanity. It is yet in the
power of the minister to decide, whether a blasphemy
of this kind shall pass for the mere ravings of polemical
phrenzy, or for the solemn and mischievous lunacy of a
chief secretary : 1 call therefore again on that minister, to
rouse him from his trance, and in the hearing of both
countries, to put the question to him, which must be
beard by a third, whether, at no period, upon no event,
at no extremity, are we to hope for any connection with
Great Britain, except that of the master and the slave ;
and this, even without the assertion of any fact that can
support such a proscription.''
During the administration of Lord Rockingham, Earl
Fitzwilliam was sent viceroy to Ireland, and hailed by the
whole country as the harbinger of conciliation and peace;
and it was expected as a matter of course, that all the
leading members who had most strenuously advocated
those measures in Ireland, which Lord Rockingham and
Mr. Fox had supported in England, would be called into
office, under Earl Fitzwilliam. This expectation, how-
ever, was not fulfilled; for although Mr. Grattan and
Mr. Ponsonby were called to high and confidential situa-
tions, as were some others of their friends, Mr. Curraa
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and Mr. Egan were passed by unnoticed^ and both felt the
circumstance with disappolDtment and chagrin. The
reign of the new elives was, however, but short; for
Earl Fitz William, debarred by a majority of the British
cabinet who sent him, from fulfilling the promises he was
authorised to hold out, demanded his recal : Mr. Grattan
and Mr. Ponsonby repassed to the opposition bench,
and Mr. Curran never returned to a seat in parliament
after the next dissolution, which took place. It has
before been stated, that parliament was not the theatre
most favourable to the display of his eloquence. The bar
was bis best field; there his talents had long shone with
refulgent light: but there was comparatively little in the
forensic arena to excite their full force previous to the
point of time at which Lord Fitzwilliam retired. It was
during the agitated state of the country which speedily
followed, that those opportunities occurred in the govern-
ment prosecutions for libels, sedition, and high treason,
in which Mr, Curran was usually retained for the accused
parties, that his eloquence blazed out with such dazzling
splendour, and formed what may be termed the Augustan
era of his extraordinary talents. His speeches on those
trials have been collected and published in one volume ;
and although confessedly under the disadvantage of im-
perfect reports, and defective of his own revision and
amendments, still do they present such monuments of his
oratorical pov^ers, as if, ever equalled, were certainly never
surpassed in the English language, and which, like the
classic productions of Greece and Rome, will afford per-
manent models worthy the emulation of future orators. *
The following able criticism on his style and talents, is
extracted from the Edinburgh Review, of October 1814.
— " The wits of Queen Anne's time, practised a style cha-
racterised by purity, smoothness, and a kind of simple and
temperate elegance. Their reasoning was correct and
luminous, and their raillery terse and refined; but they
never so much as aimed at touching the greater passions,
or rising to the loftier graces of composition. Theic
VOL. 1. z
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S38 CURRAN.
fublimity was little more tbao a graceful and gentle soleiiH
oitj; their inTectiye went no farther than polished sarcasm,
nor their vehemence than pretty viyacity. Even the older
writers who dealt in larger views and stronger language
«-^the Hookesy and Taylors, and Barrows, and Miltonsi
although they possessed beyond all doubt, an original and
commanding eloquence, had little of nature, or rapid
movement of passions about them. Their diction, thoagh
pow^ul, is loaded and laborious, and their imagination,
thoagh rich and copious, is neither playful nor popular ;
even the celebrated orators of England have deen deficient
in some of their characteristics. The rhetoric of Fox was
logic; the eloquence of Pitt consisted mainly in his talent
for sarcasm, and for sounding amplification. Neither of
them had much pathos and but little play of fancy.
Yet the style of which we speak (Mr. Curran's) is new
familiar to the English public It was introduced by an
Irishman, and may be clearly traced to the genius of
BuRRB. There was no such composition known in £ng«
lan^ before his day. Bolingbroke, whom be is sometiaies
said to have copied, bad none of it; he is infinitely more
careless ; he is infinitely less impassioned ; he has no such
variety of imagery— ^no such flights of poetry — no such
touches of tendeme8S**-no such visions of philosophy*
The style has been defiled since, indeed, by base imita-
tions and disgusting parodies ; and in its more imitable
pans, has been naturalised and transfused into the recent
literature of our country : but it was of Irish origin, and
still attains to its highest honours only in its native soil.
For this we appeal to the whole speaking and wriung of
that nation, to the speeches of Mr. Grattani and even to
the volume before us. WiUi less of deep thought than
the connected compositions of Burke, and less of point
and polish than the magical effusions of Gratian, it still
bears the impression of that inflamed fancy which charac-
terises the eloquence of both, and is distinctly assimilated
to them by those traits of national resemblance.''
In attempting to select passages from the volume alluded
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tp io aJiQitratiao of the opinioQ of this judiciQus critic,
judgiaeQt 18 bewildered amid the infinite variety of b^an-r
ties. To quote every excellence would be alniost to
traoacribe Hhein entire. They ar€ like portions of a splen-
did and maaterly picture, each a part of one great whole,
and all designed to reflect, and set off the characters and
beauties of each other. It is in fact like picking brilliants
from their tasteful settings, where their juxta^position
doubles f heir splendour ; or taking detached features and
Bieoibers from the Medicean Venus, or the Farnese Her*
cules, to give adequate notions of the beauty, or the
strength which the entire statues can alone convey. We
have ventured to cite some passages, without, however,
presuming to say they are the best,-**'aQd we refer the
reader to the last edition of the Speeches themselves for
the fuU enjoyment of all their excellence.
J« the trial of Major Sirr, upon an action for assault
and false imprisonment on a Mr. Hevey,xme of the nume-
rous circumstanoea of wanton i^rocity distinctive of the
period, Mr. Curran gives this statement of the transac-
tion : — '' On the 8th of September last, Mr. Hevey was
sitting in a public coffee-house, Major Sirr was there*
Mr. Hevey was informed that the nuyor had at that mo-
ment SAid, be (Hevey) ought to havA been baaged. The
plaintiff was fired at the charge; he fixed bis eye on Sirr,
and asked if be ba^ dared to say so ? 3irf declared thai he
had, and said it truly. Hevey answered that he was a
slanderous scoundrel. At the instant, Sirr rushed upon
him, and, assisted by three or four of his satellites, who
had Attended bim in disguise, secured him and sent him to
the c^Ue ^naid, desiring that a receipt jnight be given
for.th^ villain.— He was seot 4bither. — The officer .of the
guard chanced to be an Englishman but latdy arrived in
Ireland ; he said to the constable, ' If this was in &igland,
I should think ibis gentleman entitled to bail. But 1 don't
know jibe laws of this country; however, I think you had
better Iposen ibose irons upon bis wrists, or they may
kttlbim.'
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340 CURRAN.
^ Here he was flung into a room of aboat thirteen feet
by twelve. It was called the * hospital of the provost/ It
was occapied by six beds ; on which were to lie fourteen
or fifteen miserable wretches ; some of them sinking under
contagious diseases. Here he passed the first night, with-
out bed or food. The next morning his humane keeper.
Major Sandys, appeared. The plaintiff demanded why
he was imprisoned ? complained of hunger; and asked for
the gaol allowance. Major Sandys replied, by a torrent
of abuse, which he concluded by saying, ^ Your crime is
your insolence to Major Sirr; however, he disdains to
trample upon you. You may appease him by proper and
contrite submission ; but, unless you do so, you shall rot
where you are. I tell you this, that, if government will
not protect us, by God we will not protect them. You
will probably (for 1 know your insolent and ungrateful
hardiness) attempt to get out by an habeas corpus ; but,
in that you will find yourself mistaken, as such a rascal
deserves.' Hevey was insoknt enough to issue an habeas
corpus; and a return was made upon it, that Hevey was
in custody under a warrant from General Craig, on a
charge of high treason ; which return was grossly false."
** If," says the reviewer, " it be the test of supreme
genius to produce strong and permanent emotions, the
passages which we have quoted must be in the very highest
style of eloquence. There is not a subject of these king-
doms, we hope, that can read them without feeling his
blood boil, and bis heart throb with indignation; and
without feeling that any government, which could tolerate
or connive at such proceedings, held out. a bounty to
rebellion which it would be almost dastardly to reject.
The eloquence of these passages is the facts they recite ;
and it is far more powerful than that which depends x»poa
the mere fancy or art of the orator."
There are many passages, however, of this description
in the volume before us, which deserves to be quoted.
— Mr. Curran is giving a specimen of the state of his
country, at the time that General Abercrombie^ afier bis
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CURRAN. 341
appointment to the chief command of the army, retired
in disgust at its utter want of discipline, and the licen-
tious horrors it was daily extending through the country;
infinitely better calculated to excite rebellion than deter
and suppress it.
*' If, for instance," says he, *' you wish to convey to the
mind of an English matron the horrors of that direful
period, when, in defiance of the remonstrance of the ever-
to-be-lamented Abercrombie, our people were surrendered
to the licentious brutality of the soldiery, by the authority
of the state, you would vainly endeavour to give her a
general picture of lust, and rapine, and murder, and con-
flagration. Instead of exhibiting the picture of an entife
province, select a single object; — do not release the ima^
gination of your hearer from its task, by giving more than
an outline. Take a cottage ; place the affrighted mother
of her orphan daughter^ at the door; the paleness of
death upon her countenance, and more than its agonies
in her heart. Her aching eye, her anxious ear struggles
through the mists of closing day to catch the approaches
of desolation and dishonour. The ruffian gang arrives, —
the feast of plunder begins'— the cup of madness kindles
in its circulation. The wandering glances of the ravisber
become concentrated upon the devote4 victim. You need
not dilate, — you need not expatiate. The unpolluted motlier
to whom you tell the story of horror, beseeches you not
to proceed. She presses her child to her bosom, — she
drowns it in her tears. Her fancy catches. more than an
angel's tongue could describe; at a single view she takes
in the whole miserable succession of f^rce, of profit-
nation, of despair, of death. So it is in the queistion
before us. If any man shall hear of this day's transaction,
he cannot be so foolish as to suppose that we have been
confined to a single character like those now brought
before you."
On the trial of Archibald Hamilton Rowen, Esq. for
the publication of a seditious libel, Mr. Curran uttered a
most magnificent oration, embracing the whole variety qf
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topics which at that time agitated the public mitid. We
select the following as pecuHaf for their force and beauty.
On the liftkersal emancipation of ail minor seets from the
penal and prescriptive statute for the ascendency of the
. estabUshsd church.
** 1 ptit it to joiir oathsy gefyUemed of the jurj ; do you
thiflk that a blessibg of that kind^ that a tictory obtained
by justice over bigotry and oppression, should have d
stigma cast upon it by an ignominious sentence upon men
bold and honest enough to pr6po«e the measure i to
propose the red^ming of religion from the abuses of the
church? The reclaiming of three millions of men from
bondage, and giving liberty to all who bad a right to
demand it f Giving, I say, in the so much censured words
of this paper/ giving universal emancipation/ I speak in
the spirit of the British law, which makes liberty com*
mensurate with, and inseparable from, British soil ; which
proclaims, even to the stranger and the sojourner, the
moment he sets his foot on British earth, that the ground
on which he treads is holy and consecrated to the genius
of universal emancipation. No matter in what language
his doom may have been pronounced ; — ^no matter what
complexion iricompatible with freedom, an Indian or an
African sun may have burnt upon him;— no matter in what
disastrous battle his liberty may have been cloven down;—
no matter with what solemnities he may have been devoted
on the altar of slavery ; the first moment he touches the
sacred soil of Britain, the altar and the god sink together
in the dust. His soul walks abroad in her own majesty ;
his body swells beyond the measure of his chains that
burst from around him ; and he stands redeemed, rege-
nerated, and disenthralled by the irresistible genius of
universal emancipation/'
On the liberty i^ the press.
*' What 'then remains ? The liberty of the press only ;
the sacred palladium, which no influence, no power, no
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miDister, no government, which nothing but the depravity,
or folly, orcormption of a jnry, can ever destroy. And
what calamities are the people saved from by having
public commanication left open to them i I will tell you,
gentlemen, what they are saved from, and what the
government is saved from ; I will tell you also to what
both are exposed by shutting up that commnnication.
In one case sedition speaks aloud, and walks abroad; the
demagogue goes forth; the public eye is upon him; he
frets his busy hour upon the stage; but soon either weari*
ness, or bribe, or punishment, or disappointment, bears
him down, or drives him off, and he appears no more*
In the other ease, how does the work of sedition go for-
ward i Night after night the muffled rebel steals forth in
the dark, and casts another and another brand upon die
pile, to which, when the hour of fatal maturity shall
arrive, he will apply the flame. If you doubt of the horrid
consequences of suppressing the effusion even of indi-
vidual discontent, look to those enslaved countries where
the protection of despotism is supposed to be secured by
such restraints. Even the person of the despot there is
never in safety ; neither the fears of the despot, nor the
machinations of the slave, have any slumber; the one
anticipating the moment of peril, the other watching for
the opportunity of aggression. The fatal crisis is equally
a surprise upon both; the decisive instant is precipitated
without warning, by folly on the one side, or by frenzy on
the other; and there is no notice of the treason till the
traitor acts. In those unfortunate countries (one cannot
read it without horror) there are officers whose province
it is to have the water, which is to be drunk by their rulers,
sealed up in bottles, lest some wretched miscreant should
throw poison into the draught.
^ But, gentlemen, if you wish for a nearer and more in*,
teresting example, you have it in the history of your own
revolution. You have it at the memorable period when
the monarch found a servile acquiescence in the ministers
of his folly ; when tlie liberty of ttie press was trodden
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344 CURRAN.
under foot; when vtrtal sheriffs rdumed packed jums to
carry into effect thoee fatal conspiracies of the few against
the many \ when the devoted benches of public justice
were filled^ by some of those foundlings of fortune, who»
overwhelmed in the torrent of corruption at an early
period, lay $Li the bottom like drowned bodies, while sound-
qess or sanity remained in them ; but, at length becoming
buoyant by putrefaction, they rose as liiey rotted, and
floated to the surface of the polluted stream, where they
were drifted along, the objects of terror^ pestilence, and
abomination. In that awful moBkent of a nation's travail ;
9f the last gasp of tyranny, and the first breath of free-
dom, how pregnant is the example. The press extin-
guishedj the people enslaved, and the prince undone. As
the advocate of society, therefore of peace, of domestic
liberty, and of the lasting union of both countries, I con-
jure you to guard the liberty of the press, that great cen-
tinel of the state, that grand detector of public imposture.
Guard it, because, when it sinks, there sink with it, in one
common grave, the liberty of the subject, and the security
of the crown.
** Gentlemen, I rejoice, for the sake of the court, the jury,
and the public repose, that this question -has not been
brought forward till now* In Great Britain analogous
circumstances have taken place. At the commencement
of that unfortunate war, which has deluged Europe with
blopd, the spirit of the English people was tremulously
alive to the terror of French principles. At that moment
of general paroxysm, to accuse was to convict; the danger
seemed larger to the public eye from the misty medium
through which it was surveyed. We measure inaccessible
heights from the shadows which they project, where the
lowness and the distance of the light form, the length of
the shade. There is a sort of aspiring and adventitious
credulity which disdains assenting to obvious truths, and
delights in catching at the improbability of circumstances
as its best ground of faith. To what other cause, gentle-
men, can you ascribe, that, in the wise, the reflecting, the
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philosophic nation of Great Britain, a printer has been
found guilty of a libel for publishing those resolutions to
which the present minister of that kingdom (Mr. Pitt)
had actually subscribed his name? To what other cause
can you ascribe^ what in my mind is still moreastoni^shing,
that in such a country as Scotland — a nation cast in the
happy medium between. the spiritless acquiescence of sub^
missive poverty, and the sturdy credulity of pampered
wealth: cool and ardent, adventurous and persevering,
winging her eagle flight against the blaze of every science
with an eye that never winks, and a wing tbbt never tires ;
crowned as she is with the spoils of every art, and decked
with the wreath of every muse, from the deep and scruti-
nizing researches of her Hume, to the sweet and simple,
but not less sublime and pathetic morality of her Bums;
how from the bosom of a country like that, genius and
character, and talents, should be banished to a distant,
barbarous soil ; condemned to pine under the horrid com-
munion of vulgar vice and base-born profligacy for twice
the period that ordinary calculation gives to the conti-
nuance of human life ? (alluding to the transportation of
Messrs. Muir, Palmer^ &c. to Botany Bay.
The orator then proceeded to depict a splendid portrait
of the amiable character of his client, and concluded his
peroration by this forcible appeal :^-
** I will not relinquish the confidence that this day will
be the period of his sufferings ; and, however mercilessly
he has been hitherto pursued, that your verdict, gentle-
men, will send him home to the arms of , his family, and
the wishes of his country : but if, which heaven forbid !
it hath still been unfortunately determined, that becapiae
he has not bent to power and authority, because he would
not bow down before the golden calf and worship it, he is
to be bound and cast into the furnace; I do trust in God,
that there is a redeeming spirit in the constitution, which
will be seen to walk with the sufferer through the flame,
and to preserve him unhurt through the conflagration.''
Mr. Curran's eloquence failed with the jury, for they
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ooQvicted his client ; bnt bis last hope was prophetic; for
bi)B client was fined 500/. and bound and cast into the fur-
nace of Newgate, for two years ; and the redeeming spirit
of an amiable and horoic wife, ** walked with the saffeKt
through the flames," and by a notable stratagem extri-
cated him from his prison, and saved him from the moral
certainty of concerted destruction, had her plan been de-
ferred or defeated.
Mr. Corran's next display was in the defence of a Mr.
Ftnnerty, the publisher of a newspaper, entitled the Press:
the whole of whieh speech was an uninterrupted blaze of
eloquenoe. Canvassing the motives of government for
this and similar prosecutions, and comparing transactions
gf this period to earlier occurrences in the reign of
Jambs IIv —
^^ I see you, gentlemeii, turn your eyes to those pages
of governmental abandonment, of popular degradation,
of expiring liberty, and of merciless and sanguinary per-
secutions ; to that miserable period in which the fallen and
abject state of man might have been almost an argument
in the mouth of the atheist, and the blasphemer against
the existence of an all-just and an all-wise First Cause;
if the glorious era of the revolution that followed it, had
not refuted the impious inference by shewing, that if man
descends, it is not in his own proper motion : that it is with
labour and with pain; and that he can continue to sink
only until by the force and pressure of the descent the
spring of his immortal faculties acquires that recuperative
enfergy and effort that hurries him as many miles aioflt,—*
he sinks but to rise again. It is at that period that the
Mue seeks for shelter in the destruction of the press ; it is
at a period hke that the tyrant prepares for an attack
upon the people, by destroying the liberty of the press |
by taking away that shield #f msiom and virtue, behind
which the people are invulnerable; but in whose pure and
polished convex, ere the lifted blow has fallen, he beholds
his own image, and is turned into stone. It is at these
periods that the honest man dares not speak, because truth
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is too dreadfal to be told. It is then hdmadty has no
ears, because humanity has no tongue. It is then the
proud man scorns to speak ; but, like a physician baffled
by the wayward excesses of a dying patient, retires indigo
nantly from the bed of an Unhappy wretch, whose ear is
too fastidious to bear the sound of wholesome advice ;
whose palate is too debauched to bear the salutary bitter
of the medicine that might redeem him ; and therefore
leaves him to the felonious piety of the slaves that talk to
him of life, and strip him before he is cold« I do not
wish, gentlemen, to exhaust too much of your attention
by following this subject through the last century with
much minuteness. But the foots are too recent in your
mind not to shew you that the liberty of the press, and
the liberty of the people, sink or rise together, and that
the liberty of speaking, and the liberty of acting, have
shared exactly the same fate/'
Appealing to history on the subject of the libel, which
was the capital punishment of a Mr. Orr, upon the verdict
of a drunken jury, and the speech of the attorney-general >^
** Gentlemen, I am not unconscious that, the learned
counsel for the crown seemed to address you with a
confidence of a very different kind from mine. He seemed
to expect a kind of respectful sympathy from you with
the feelings of the castle and ihe griefs of chided autho*
rity. Perhaps, gentlemen, he may know you better than
I do : ' if he does, he has spoken to yon as he ought ;
he has been right in telling you, that if the reprobation of
this is weak, it is because his genius could not make
it stronger; he has been right in telling you, that his
language has not been braided and festooned as elegantly
as it might; that he has not pinched the miserable plaits
of his phraseology, nor placed his patches and feathers
with that correctness of millinery which became so exalted
a person. If yon agree with him, gentlemen; if yon
think the man who ventures, at the hazard of his own life,
to rescue from the deep, the drowned honour of his coun-
try, must not presume upon the guilty familiarity of
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plucking it by the locks, — I have no more to say. Do a
courteous things upright and honest jurors! find a civil
and obliging verdict against this printer; and when you
have done so, march through the ranks of your fellow-
citizens to your own homes, and bear their looks as they
pass along. Retire to the bosom of your families; and
when you are presiding over the morality of the parental
board, tell your children, who are to be the future men of
Ireland, the history of this day. Form their young minds
by your precepts, and confirm those precepts by your own
example. Teach them how discreetly allegiance may be
perjured on the table, or loyalty be forsworn in the jury
box: and when you have done so, tell them the story
of Orr; tell them of his captivity, of his children, of his
crime, of his hopes, of his disappointments, of his courage,
and of his death. And, when you find your little hearers
hanging on your lips; when you see their eyes overflow
with sympathy and sorrow, and their young hearts bursting
with the pangs of anticipated orphanism, tell them that
you had the boldness and the justice to stigmatise the mon-
ster who had dared to publish the transaction.**
On the trial of Patrick Finney upon a charge of high
treason, founded on the testimony of a common informer,
named James O'Brien, who was afterwards executed for
a mpst atrocious murder; Mr. Curran thus stigmatised the
informer and his evidence, in his appeal to the jury : —
''Gentlemen, have you any doubt that it is the object of
O'Brien to take down the prisoner for the reward that
follows? Have yoo not seen with what more than instinc-
tive keenness this blood-houpd has pursued his victim?
How he has kept him in view from place to place, until he
hunts him through the arenas of the court, to where the
unhappy man now stands, hopeless of all succour, but that
which your verdict shall afford. I have heard of assassi'
nation by sword, by pistol, by dagger: — but here is a
wretch who would dip the Evangelists in blood : if he
thinks he has not sworn his victim to death, he is ready
to swear on, without mercy and without end: but, oh-
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do not, I coDJare you, suffer him to take an oath, the lips
of the murderer should not pollute the purity of the
Gospel.- If he TmLl swear, let it be on his Arm/e, the pro-
per and bloody symbol of his profession, and his liveli-
hood/'
The other state trials on which Mn Curran was retained
for the accused, were those of Mr. Oliver Bond for high
treason, and Owen Kirwan for the lilce crime; but both
were convicted. The other more celebrated specimens of
his forensic abilities were displayed in the case of the Rev.
Charles Massey against the Marquis of Headfort, for crim.
con. with the plaintiff's wife; in the case of the King,
against the Honourable Mr. Justice Johnson, where
Mr. Curran, up6n a habeas corpus, moved for the discharge
of the learned judge from his illegal imprisonment, under
a warrant issued for his apprehension, by Lord Ellen-
borough, chief justice of the king's bench in England, in
order to hold the learned judge to trial at Westminster, for
a libel ; and his splendid oration at the bar of the Irish
house of commons, in behalf of Lady Pamela Fitzgerald
and her children against the bill for the attainder of the
late Lord Edward Fitzgerald. The two former are tole-
rably well reported in the volume before-mentioned, but
the last is merely detached in substance, and, though
it contains the materials of a most able argument on the
case, it is but the dead body of an oration, which breathed
in the delivery all the fire, animation, and pathos so pecu-
liarly characteristic of Mr. Curran's eloquence.
Having thus slightly sketched the portrait of this cele-
brated orator in his parliamentary and forensic characters,
it may be desirable now to consider him in private life.
Naturally enough it might be supposed that a barrister of
such extensive practice at the bar, from the first rise of his
professional celebrity, to the day he retired from the pro-
fession ; and a senator who bore so distinguished a part on
every important discussion for a long series of years, had
but little time for the pleasures of social intercourse and
the festive board: and yet no gentleman ^appeared to
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devote more time to both, oor was ever mw more ^mioentljr
quali6ed to render convivial society dellghtfuK The same
inexhaustible fund of genius, wit, and humour, which
adorned and animated his forensic and senatorial eloquence,
contributed in a more playful application, to enliven the
society wherein he moved. His mind early stored with all
the riches of classic and scientific karning, and afterwards
improved by his intercourse with the productions of
modern taste and literature^ was an inexhaustible treasury
of all that was splendid in each. His perception was
intuitive, his memory boundless, and his fancy, ever on
eagle wing, traversed the remotest regions of intellectual
space: — now hovering aloft and sporting in the tempest; —
anon descending to glide over the sun-gilt vales of taste,
wit^ and pleasantry. A complete master in all the powers
of rhetoric, he could touch at pleasure, and with exquisite
skill, every cbord of the soul like the strings of a harp,
and elicit every tone to his purpose. He was tragedy, and
comedy, and farce, by turns ; and the same company were
alternately in tears from his pathos, electrified by his wit,
or convulsed with laughter at his inimitable humour.
His villa, which he called the Priory, situate about
four miles from the metropolis, at the foot of a mountain,
and commanding a view of the bay, and a picturesque
country, was a little temple devoted to hospitality* His
style of living was simple ; his table plain, but plentiful ;
his wines the best and most abundant; nothing appeared
starched by affectation, or frozen by ceremony. His
friends were always welcome at five. The sunshine of
good-humour gilded every thing about him, and every man
who brought mind to the banquet, was sure to enjoy *' the
feast of reason and the flow of soul.'' It may seem a
paradox, but it is not the less true, that many a guest has
risen hungry from his dinner-table when it has been stored
with variety and abundance; for if the host was once in a
facetious fii;, the flashes of his pleasantry excited such
incessant peals of laughter, that the delighted guest forgot
bis appetite, and feasted only jli^. mind* But, although
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CURRAN. 861
some of bis biograpba-s^ wbo profess to have been his
freqaeDt guests and companioDS, bear testimooy to these
traits of his character, fevir men have been less fbrtaoate
than Curran in the historians of his joculariana; for the
instances they have given to their readers rareljr pass
mediocrit}', and often descend to miserable puns; and
indeed, some of them have enriched their collections from
the counterfeit coinage of common rumour; and laid
at the door of Mr. Curran many illegitimate bantlings, of
which he has been most innocently dubbed the father.
But such has been, time immemorial^ the fateof celebxated
wits in every age ; and many a joke-merchant and dealer
in table-talk, has ventured to foist off his own coinage, or
his gleanings from the jest books, as the genuine offspring
of Mr. Curran's fancy ; well knowing that his name
stamped even upon homely witticisms, makes them current
for a dinner and a bottle at every hospitable table in
Ireland, (at least) where a plausible fellow can make the
tour of the country with little of any other coin in his
possession. But we have no national bank far wit, and
hence these forgeries increase and pass with impunity.
Though it may ill suit with the gravity of the biogra*
pber, we have selected a few of the most feasible extant,
amongst which some may be genuine, but we by no means
▼ouch for the whole. It is but fair, however, to allow
that the wii which sometimes glitters in conversation,
is often difficult to extract per se. Much of its brilliancy
frequently depends on the setting* Pick it from that, and
it loses half its waler, or becomes dim or opaque^ With*
out all the keepings of time^ place, circunutanoe, and occa*
$i(m, it is like one beautiful object detached from a fine
picture, which took its chief force and effect from its com*
bination^ as an ingredient of the materia condca. Wit is to
conversation as mUmeg to a cordial draught; a little gives
a fine taste, but too much will nauseate; or, it is like the
electric flash, which dazzles and astounds us in the dark,
but would be invisible at noon-light. ** Quickness in the
conception, and ease in the delivery," are its chief qualitiesi
Digitized by VjOOQIC
352 CURRAN,
according to Pope. And '^ brmty,^ says another eminent
aatbor, '' is the very soul of it/' It is a fine, essential
spirit of the mind which is apt to evaporate in the trans-
fusion of detail ; and therefore nothing is more dull than
your ^^deviUsk good story of a deviHsh good thing, said by
a celebrated wit/' and retailed by a smoky-headed fellow,
who smothers it in the bungling stupidity of his own
narration.
We trust our readers will not deem the above a digres-
sion ; and we now commence, sans dremoniej to record a
few of the witticisms of Mr. Curran.
Shortly after the establishment of our colony at Botany
Bay, when the population was fast increasing, Mr. Curran
in one of his speeches upon a criminal trial observed, —
"That should the colony thrive, and become a regular
civil government, what a pleasant thing it would be
to have the laws administered by judges reprieved at the
gallows; by justices ^ho had picked pockets; by coun-
sellors who had pleaded at the bar for their lives; by
lawyers who had set the law at defiance ; to see house-
breakers appointed to protect the public property ; high-
waymen entrusted with the public money; rioters invested
with commissions of the peace, and shoplifters to regulate
the markets. Such, however, said he, were the original
people of Rome ; and such the foundation of the states of
America."
He was addressing a jury on one of the state trials
in 1803 with his usual animation. The judge, whose poli-
tical bias, if any a judge can have, was certainly supposed >
not to be favourable to the prisoner, shook his head in
doubt or denial of one of the advocate's arguments:
" I see, gentlemen," said Mr. Curran, '* I see the motion
of hif lordship's head ; common observers might imagine
that implied a difiference of opinion, but they would be
mistaken — it is merely accidental — ^believe me, gentlemen,
if you remain here many days, you will yourselves per-
ceive, that whenhis lordship shakes his headthere^s nothing
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CURRAN. 353
A brother barrister of his, remarkable for having a per-
petuity in dirty shirts, was drily asked in the presence
of Mr. Curran, *' Pray, my dear Bob, how do you get so
many dirty shirts?" Mr. Curran replied for him, *' I can
easily account for it; his laundress lives at Holyhead, and
there are nine packets always due." This gentleman wishing
to travel to Cork during the rebellion, but apprehensive he
should be known by the rebels, was advised to proceed
incog, which he said was easily effected, for by disguising
himself in a clean shirt, no one would know him.
Of the same gentleman, who was a sordid miser, it was
told Mr. Curran, that he had set put from Cork to Dublin,
with one shirt, and one guinea. '^ Yes," said Mr. Curran,
*^ and I will answer for it, he will change neither of them
till he returns."
Mr. Curran, travelling on the Munster circuit with his
brother barristers, the judges, as usual, laying aside the
formalities of their high office, dine with the bar at their
mess, and participate in all the wit and conviviality of the
social board. On one of those occasions, after the rebellion
of 1798, Lord Norbury, of executive eminence, sat near
Mr. Curran, who asked leave to help his lordship to some
pickled neat's tongue. The judge politely declined it,
^yingy be did not like pickled tongue ^ but, if it had been
hmg, he would tty it. " My lord," replied Mr.C. '* if your
lordship will only try it, 'twill be hung to a certainty."
At Trinity College, Dublin, an aspirated dispute arose
between one of the fellows, Doctor Magee, who was an
eloquent preacher, and a Mr. Swift, who had tw'o sons
students at that university; and the contest broke out
into a war of pamphlets, in which the disputants libelled
each other; and mutual prosecutions in the king's bench
followed. Mr. Swift stood the first trial, and was fined
and imprisoned; and then proceeded against the doctor.
Mn Curran, who was his counsel, in reprobating the con-
duct of a clergyman for writing a malicious and scan-
dalous libel against his client, expressed an earnest wish
that the reverend gentleman, who in his pulpit was the
VOL. 1. A A
Digitized by VjOOQIC
354 CURRAN.
terjr mirror of christian charity, ceold find time on some
\ wet Sunday to go to his college chapel and hear himself
preach, as the best antidote against the libelloas asperity
of his pen.
When the new mint was erected on Tower Hill, at aa
enormous expense, the high price of the precions metals,
and the existing prospects of the country, rendered the office
of themoneyers for a considerable time perfectly sinecure.
No gold or silver was brought to the coining press; tmllmg
was confined to the pugilists and corn-grinders, and paper
usurped the post of cash. At this period the honourable
Mr. Wellesley Pole was appointed master of the mint*
Upon these circumstances, Curran, in a convivial circle,
observed,— ^'^ I am glad to find an irishman for once at the
head of a money-making department; it may afford an
additional scence for the Beggar's Opera. For Mat o'the
mint, we shall have Pat o'the mint; and, as the new esta^
blishment is likely to coin nothing but rags, there can be
no want of bulUon during the reign o/beggarj/"
It was not unfrequent for Mr. Curran, in some of his
witty rencounters, to tiave his own repartees seat back upon
him at second-hand, as originals, by a puny antagonist.
On one of those occasions, an arrow of this sort, notori*
ously his own, came whizzing upon him, and being d^opos
to the occasion, excited a wince; but, bowing to his aa«
sailant, he replied, — *^ I have no objection to a scratch
from any weapon oiyour own; but I deprecate the fate of
that unlucky eagle who was pierced by a shaft plumed
from his own wing.*'
During the late administration of Mr. Fox in England,
Mr. George Ponsonby was appointed to the Irish chancery
bench, and Mr.Curran, as has been said, through the friendly
offices of that gentleman, was appointed to the mastership
of the rolls. But this was a situation by no means con*
genial to bis taste or his habits. His eloquence, the
ornament of his ulents and the source of his elevation,
was also the delight of his soul, and upon this he
considered his new office as a complete extinguisher. It
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CDRRAN. S55
was a field perfectly new to him, and though he discharged
it^ doties with efficiency and bononri and gave him what
was deemed the otinm eum digmtate, the office of attorney-
general, with its chnnoes of elevation to the king's benchi
would have mncfa more gratified his taste and his ambition.
Id the arrangements for Mr. Currau's appointment to this
office, Sir Michael Smith, his predecessor, retired upon
the usual pension; but he stipulated also for the cont
tinuaoce of his chief officer, Mr. Ridgeway, in his post,
oo a provision for him of 500/. a year from the emoluments
of his successor* Mr. Ponsonby, to facilitate the success
of bis friend, had promised this matter should be adjusted,
met Mr. Curran, who had designed his eldest son for the
place, which was worth 1000/. a^year, considered himself
as no party to the arrangement for Mr. Ridgeway, and
refused to comply. This led to an unfortunate misunder*
standing, which continued for life, between him and
Mr. Ponsonby. The latter gentleman felt himself bound .
to make good the stipulation to Mr. Ridgeway, which he
did most honourably from his own purse. Mr. Curran,
junior, did the duties by proxy until the resignation of his
father, which took place in a very few years afterwards.
The father vindicated his own conduct in a letter circulated
io mimuscript for some time kmoagst his friends, which
ultimately found its way into print, and which by no
means tended to heal the breach. This unfortunate chasm
in his political friendship, added to a domestic occurrence
of a much earlier date, greatly embittered the happiness of
his latter years. This was the infidelity of a wife, whom
be had married for love, by whom he bad, at the time^
several grown children, who had shared with him his ele-
vation and prosperity, and became a victim to the seduc-
tive artifices of a clergyman, who had for years shared his
intimate friendship, and was a constant participator in his
hospitalities. He succeeded in an action for damages
against the man, but never exacted the penalty; and be
separated from bis unfortunate wife, but without suing for
a divorce. His domestic happiness, however, was gone for
Digitized by VjOOQIC
S56 CURRAN.
ever. This, even for years, onfttted him for bis profe»«
siooal pursuits; and though he struggled in the bustle
of forensic exertions, to banish from recollection the cause
of his unhappiness; and, on his retreat from the rolls
bench, sought, by his absence from the scenes of his fame
and the country of his heart, to dissipate his chagrin by
varied society, and travels in England and France; still
the wound was beyond remedy, and rankled in his feelings
to the hour of his dissolution, which took place at his
lodgings. No, 7, Amelia Place, Brompton, on the ISth of
October, 1817, in the sixty-fifth year of his age. For a
short time before bis death, his social intercourse was
confined to a very few intimate acquaintance. It was
imagined that his will, which was in Ireland, might con-
tain some directions as to his interment, and his funeral was
deferred until that was examined. It was, however, silent
upon the subject, and his remains were conveyed, with all
possible privacy, to their last depository, in Paddington
church-yard, attended by a few of his most intimate friends.
We intended here to have closed the memoir of Curran,
but the following eloquent character, from the pen of the
Rev. George Croly, elicited our admiration so strongly,
that we could not resist the temptation of inserting it : —
<^ From the period at which Mr. Curran emerged from
the first struggles of an unfriended man, labouring up
a jealous profession, his history makes a part of the annals
of his country; once upon the surface, his light was
always before the eye, it never sank, and was never out-
shone. With great powers to lift himself beyond the
reach of that tumultuous and stormy agitation that must
involve the movers of the public mind in a country such
as Ireland then was, he loved to cling to the heavings of
the wave; he at least never rose to that tranquil elevation
to which his early cotemporaries had, one by one, climbed;
and never left the struggle till the storm had gone down,
it is to be hoped, for ever. This was his destiny, but it
was his choice, and he was not without the reward which,
to an ambitious mindj conscious of eminent powers, might
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CURRAN. 357
be more than equivalent to the reluctant patronage of the
throne. To his habits, legal distinctions would have beein
only a bounty upon his silence. His limbs would have
been fettered by the ermine. But he had the compensation
of boundless popular honour, much respect from the
higher ranks of party, much admiration and much fear
from the lower partisans. In parliament he was the
assailant most dreaded ; in the law courts he was the advo-
cate whose assistance was deemed the most essential : in
both he was an object of all the more powerful passions
of man, but rivalry. He stood alone, and shone alone.
'^ The connections of his early life, and still more the
original turn of his feelings, threw him into the ranks of
opposition ; in England, a doubtful cause, and long sepa-
rable from patriotism ; in Ireland, at that day, the natural
direction of every man of vigorous feeling and heedless
genius. Ireland had been, from causes many anci deep,
an unhappy country. For centuries utterly torpid, or only
giving signs of life from the fresh gush of blood from her
old wounds, the influence of England's well-intentioned
policy was more than lost upon her; it was too limited to
work a thorough reformation, but too strong not to irritate ;
it was the application of the a(^tual cautery to a limb,
while the whole body was a gangrene. But a man who
loved the influence of this noblest of countries, might hate
the government of Ireland. It was a rude oligarchy.
The whole influence of the state was in the hands of a few
great families. 1'hose were the true farmers-general of
Ireland; and the English minister, pressed by the difii-
culties of an empire then beginning to expand over half
the world, was forced to take their contract on their own
terms. The viceroy was their viceroy; only the first
figure in diat deplorable triumph which led all the hopes
and virtues of the country in chains behind the chariot
wheels of a haughty faction. It was against this usurpa-
tion that the Irish minority rose up in naked but resolute
patriotism. The struggle was not long; they hewed their
way through the hereditary armour of their adversaries,
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S5S CURRAN.
with the vigour of men leagued in socb a causes and
advanced thdr standard till they saw it waving without
one to answer it. In this praise of an admirable time
there is no giddy praise of popular violence. The revo-
lution of 1780 was to Ireland what the revolution of a
century before had been to the paramount country, a great
and reviving e£Fort of nature to throw off that phantom
which sat upon her breast, and gave her the perception of
life only by the struggles that must have closed in stagna-
tion and death. The policy of the English minister was
too enlarged to offer resistance to an impulse awaked on
English principles. For him a great service had been
done; the building which he had wished to shake was cast
down in dust, and the soil left open for the visitations of all
the influences of good government. The country had lain
before his eye a vast commonage, incapable of cultivation,
and breeding only the rank and pernicious fertility of a
neglected morass ; but he had dreaded to disturb its mul-
titude of lordly pauperism, and hereditary plunder. It
was now cleared and enclosed for him, a noble expanse for
the out-pouring of all that civilization could give to its
various and magnificent nature. The history of those
years is yet to be written; whenever the temple is to be
erected, the name of Curran must be among the loftiest
on its portal.
'^ But the time of those displays which raised him to his
highest distinction as an orator was of a darker shade.
His country had risen, like the giant of Scripture, refreshed
with wine ; her vast original powers doubly excited by an
elating but dangerous draught of liberty. She had just
reached that state in which there Is the strongest demand
for the wisdom of the legislator. The old system had
been disbanded, but the whole components of its strength
survived. The spirit of clanship was still up and girded
with its rude attachments; the hatred of English ascei-
dancy had sheathed the sword, but kept it still keen, and
only waiting the word to leap from the scabbard. The
ancient Irish habits of daring gratification among all ranks.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CURRAN. 359
the faUeo estate of that moltitade who had lived on the
pay of political iotrigue, the reckless poverty of that over*
wbelimog population to which civil rights coold not give
bread, all fom^ a maw of discordant but desperate
strength, which only required a sign.-^The cross was
at length lifted before diem, and.it was the lifting of
a banner to which the whole darkened host looked np, at
to an omen of assured victory. The jrebellton wab met
with manly promptitude, and the country was set at peace.
Curran was the leading counsel in the trials of theconspi*
lalors, and he defended those guilty and misguided men
with a vigour and courage of talent, less like the emulation
pf an advocate* than the zeal of a friend. He had known
many of them in the intercourse of private life; some
of them had been his early professional associates. A good
man and a good subject might have felt for them all. The
English leveller is « traitor; the Irish rebel might have
been a patriot. Among us, the revolutionist sets fire to a
city, a great work of the wise todastry, and old established
coQveniency of man, a place c^ the temple and the palace^
the treasures of living grandeur, and the monuments of
departed virtue. He burns, that he may plunder among
the ruins. The Irish rebel threw bid firebrand into a
wilderness, and if the confiagration rose too high, and
consumed some of its statelier and more solid ornaments,
it was sure to turn ihto ashes the inveterate and tangled
undergrowth that had defied his rude industry. This was
tke effervescence of heated and untaught minds. The
worid was to be older before it learned the curse and
unhappy end of the reform that begins by blood. The
French revolution^ had not then given its moral. It was
still to the eyes of the multitude like the primal vision in
the Apocalypse, a glorious shape coming forth in nnstarned
robes, conquering and to conquer for the world's happiness;
it had not yet, like that mighty emblem, darkened down
through all its shaped of terror, till it moved against the
world. Death on the pale horse, followed by the unchained
Digitized by VjOOQIC
360 CURRAN.
spirits of human evil, and smitiog with plagae, and fomine,
and the sword.
^^Some criticism has been wasted on the presumed defi-
ciencies of Curran's speeches on those memorable trials.
Throwing off the public fact that those speeches were all un-
corrected copies, Curran was of all orators the most difficult
to follow by transcription. His elocution, rapid, exu-
berant, and 6gurative in a signal degree, was often com-
pressed into a pregnant pungency which gave a sentence
in a word. The toord hstj the charm was undone. But his
manner could not be transferred, and it was created for
his style. His eye, hand, and figure were in perpetual
speech. Nothing was abrupt to those who could see him;
nothing was lost, except when some flash would burst out,
of such sudden splendour as to leave them suspended and
dazzled too strongly to follow the lustres that shot after it
with restless iilumination. Of Curran's speeches, all hav^
been impaired by the difficulty of the period, or the imme-
diate circumstances of their delivery. Some have beeo
totally lost. His speech on the trial of the two principal
conductors of the conspiracy, the Shears's, barristers and
men of family, was made at midnight, and said to have
been his most masterly effusion of pathetic eloquence.
Of this no remnant seems to have been preserved. The
period was fatal to their authenticity. When Erskine
pleaded, he stood in the midst of a secure nation, and
pleaded like a priest of the temple of justice, with his
hand on the altar of the constitution, and all England
below prepared to treasure every fantastic oracle that
came from his lips. Curran pleaded, not on the floor of a
shrine, but on a scaffold, with no companions but the
wretched and culpable men who were to be plunged from
it ^ur by hour, and no hearers but the multitude, who
crouded anxious to that spot of hurried execution, and
then rushed away glad to shake off all remembrance
of scenes which had agitated i^nd torn every heart among
them. It is this which puts his speeches beyond the
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CURRAN, 361
estiiiiate of the closet. He had do thought to study the
cold and marble graces of scholarship. He was a being
embarked in strong emergency^ a man and not a statue.
He was to address men, of whom .he must make himself
the master. With the living energy, he had the living and
regardless variousness of attitude. Where he could not
impel by exhortation, or overpower by menace, he did not
disdain to fling himself at their feet, and conquer by grasp-
ing the hem of their robe. For this triumph he was all
things to all men. His wild wit, and far-fetched allusions,
and play upon words, and extravagant metaphors, all
repulsive to our cooler judgments, were wisdom and sub-
limity before the juries over whom he waved his wand.
Before a higher audience he might have been a model of
sustained dignity; — mingling with those men he was com-
pelled to speak the language that reached their hearts.
^ Curran in the presence of an Irish jury was first of the
first. He skirmished round the field, trying every point
of attack with unsuspected dexterity, still pressing on, till
the decisive moment was come, when he developed his
force, and poured down his whole array in a mass of
matchless strength, originality, and grandeur. It was in
this originality that a large share of his fascination con-
sisted. The course of other great public speakers may in
general be predicted from their out^t ; but in this man,
the mindji always full, was always varying the direction of
its exuberance; it was no regular stream, rolling down in
a smooth and straight-forward volume; — it had the way-
ward beauty of a mountain torrent, perpetually delighting
the eye with some unexpected sweep through the wild and
the picturesque, always rapid, always glancing back sun-
shine, till it swelled into sudden strength, and thundered
over like a cataract. For his noblest images there was no
preparation, they seemed to come spontaneously, and they
came mingled with the lightest products of his mind. It
was the volcano flinging up in succession curls of vapour,
and fiery rocks ; all from the same exhaustless depths, and
with the same unmeasured strength to which the light and
Digitized by VjOOQIC
see CURRAN-
the maasive were equ^. We had the fortune to hear amne
of those speeches, and repeat it, that to feel the fall geniaa
of the man, he must have been heard. His eloquence waa
not a studiously sheltered and feebly fed flame, but atordh
blazing only with the more breadth and brilliaooy, aa
it was the more broadly and boldly waved : it was not
a lamp, to live in his tomb. His printed speeches lie
before us, full of the errors that might convict him of an
extravagant imagination and a perverted taate. But when
those are to be brought in impeachment against the great
orator, it must be remembered, that they were spoken for
atriuntph, which they gained; that we are now pausing
over the rudeness and imwieldiness of the weapons of ^e
dead, without reference to the giant's hand that with them
drove the field. Curran's carelessness of fame has done
this dishonour to his memory. We have but the frag-'
ments of bis mind, and are investigating those glorious
reliques, separated and mutilated, like the sculptures
of the Parthenon ; while they ought to have been gazed on
where the great master had placed them, where all their
shades and foreshortenings were relief and vigour, — image
above image, rising in proportioned and conaecraied
beauty ; as statues on the face of a temple.
'' His career in parliament was less memorable. But
the cause lay in no d^eiency of those powers which give
weight in a legislative assembly. In the few instances in
which, his fedings took a part, he excited the same admb-
ration which had followed him through hi« professional
^orts. But bis lot had been cast in the courts of law,
aad his life was there. He came into the house of cobh
mons wearied by the day, and reluctant to urge himself to
teertioiis rendered le» imperious by the croud of able
men who fought the battle of opposition. — His general
speeches in parliament were the sports of the moment, the
irresistible overflow of a humorous disdain of bis adversary.
He left the heavy arms to the habitual combatants, and
amused himself with light and hovering hostility. But
bia shaft wa& dreaded, and his subtilty was sure to insinuate
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CURRAN. S6S
iMwajy where there was a mortal pang to he wrimg. With
sttch gifts what might not sQch a man have been* removed
from the low prejudices, and petty factions, and desperate
objects that thickened the atmosphere of public life in
Ireland, into the large prospects, and noble and healthful
aspirations that elated the spirit in this country, then
rising to that summit of eminence from whieh the world
at last lies beneath her ! If it were permitted to enter into
the recesses of inch a mind, some painful consciousness of
this fate would probably have been found to accoant for
that oecasioDal irritation wad spleen of heart, with which
he shaded his public life, and disguised the homage which
he must have felt for a country like England. It must
have been nothing inferior to this bitter sense of utter
expulsion, which could have made such a being, gazing
upon her unclouded glory, lift his voice only to tell her
how he bated her beams. He must have mentally mea-
sured his strength with her mighty men ; Burke and Pitt
and Fox were then moving in their courses above the
eyes of the world, great luminaries, passing over in
different orbits, but all illustrating the same superb and
general system. He had one moment not unlike theirs^
But the Irish Revolution of 1780 was too brief for the
labours or the celebrity of patriotism, and this powerful
and eccentric mind, after rushing from its obscuration just
near enough to be mingled with, and glow in the system,
was again hurried away to chillness and darkness beyond
the gaze of mankind.
'* The details of Currants private Hfe are for the biogra*
pher. But of that portion which, lying between public
labours acid domestic privacy, forms the chief ground for
the individual character, we may speak with no slight
panegyric. Few men of his means of inflicting pain
could have been more reluctant to use them; few men
whose lives passed in continual public conflict could have
had fe>yer personal enemies, and perhaps no man of his
time has left sincerer regrets among his personal friends.
He was fond of encouraging the rising talent of his pro-
Digitized by VjjOOQIC
364 CALDWELL.
fessioDy and gave his advice aod bis praise uogrudginglj,
wherever they might Idodle or direct a geoerous emulation.
As a festive compaQion he seems to have been utterly
unequalled ; and has left on record more of the happiest
strokes of a fancy at once classic, keen, and brilliant^ than
the most habitual wit of the age. It may yet be a lesson
worth the memory of those who feel themselves neglected
by nature, that with all his gifts, Curran's life was not that
one which would satisfy a man desirous of being happy.
But let no man imagine that the possession of the most
fortunate powers, is an excuse for error, still less aa
obstruction to the sense of holy obedience; our true
emblem is in the Archangel, bending with the deepest
homage, as he rises the highest in intellectual glory." —
Octobers, 1817.
SiK JAMES CALDWELL
Was descended from a family which came over from
Ayrshire, in Scotland, in the beginning of the seventeenth
century, he was settled at Ross Bay, afterwards called
Castle Caldwell, in Fermanagh. He was created a baronet,
June 23, 1683. At the Revolution his services were of
the highest importance, as appears by the following case
enclosed in a petition to King William.
The StaU qfihe Case ^^ Jamee CaUweU^ Bari,
That he staid in Ireland in aU tiie late troobles at and near EDniikiffin,
till the end of the year 1689, and raised and maintained a regiment of foot
and two troops of horse, at his own charge, and kept the same at the great
passes at Belleck and Donegal, between Conaaght and the province of
Ulster, which was of such consequence, that it hindered commonication
between the enemies in the said province of Conanght (which were very
nvmeroos) from joining or recruiting those besieging Londonderry.
That the said Sir James CaldweU was besieged with a detached party
from Colonel Sarsfield, of about the number of two thousand foot, and three
troops of dragoons, about the 3rd of May, 1689, and was fbrced to send to
Ennbkillin, CasUe Hume, and other neighboaring garrisons, for relief,
which came on the 8th of Biay^and joined tiie forces, which Sir James
Caldwell had, who then fought the enemy near Sir James's house, and
routed them, killing about a hundred and twenty, took seventy prisoners,
two cannon, many small arms, and about forty horses, from the enemy.
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CALDWELL. 365.
Tkat tbe nid Sir James Caldwell abo placed bis son Hugh Caldwell in
the garrison of Donegal, over three companies of foot^and a troop of horse,
being the next garrison to Londonderry the protestants were possessed of,
which was of sndi conseqneDce, that if the enemy had been masters of it,
the whole country aboot Rnniskillin must have submitted to them.
That the said Hugh Caldwell had several ofito of money and preferment
from the Duke of Berwick to surrender the place, but always told him he
woidd defend it to the last ; as appears afterwards by the defence he made
against the Duke, who attacked him with fifteen hundred men, burnt some
part of the town, but was beaten off with considerable loss, which Colonel
Lnttrel can give ^an account of; as also of the said Sir James's vigilant and
faithful behaviour in the defence of that country.
That the said Sir James Caldwell went in an open boat from Donegal to
Migor-Oeneral Kirk by sea, forty leagues, on the most dangerous coast on
that kingdom, not having any other way to have communication with him,
to acquaint him with the condition of that country, to which he was then
a stranger, and to get arms and ammunition from him, which were greatly
wanting to arm the naked men in the country. Some time after, the said
Sir James Caldwell was sent back with Colonel Wolsely, Colonel Tifiany,
Cx>lonel Wynne, and some ammunition, by the said m^or-generaJ, who then
gave the said Sir James a commission to be colonel of foot, and a troop of
horse independent, as by the said commissions will appear; that within
four or ^ye days after they landed their men were forced to fight Lieute-
nant'General Macarty, and obtained a great victory agahist him, as has
been heard.
That the said Sir James met Duke Schomberg when he landed at Carick-
fergus, and staid the siege of that place ; and afterwards went to Dundalk
with the Duke, and staid that campaign with him, till about a week before
he decamped, which the now Duke Schomberg will certify.
That the said Sir James Caldwell expended in money, arms, provisions,
and other necessaries, to support those troops, which were raised for the
king's service, and what he lost by the destruction of his town, houses,
iron mills, stud of horses, and stock of black cattle, and other essential
losses, aihounted to about ten thousand pounds.
That the said Sir James's second son also suffered very much, by cattle
and provisions taken from him by our own army at Bally Shannon, for the
maintenance of that garrison, without which they could not have' sus-
tained.
That the said James Caldwell had, after the campaign at Dundalk, a
regiment of dragoous, and a regiment of foot quartered in his house and
town of Belleek, wtiich did him much damage, and destroyed many things,
which he, with so much difilculty, saved ftom the enemy.
That also the said Sir James Caldwell's daughter, Elizabeth, conveyed
several quantities of powder from Dublin, by his coaunands, to Enniskillin,
and other garrisons thereabout, to the hazard of her life, as may appear by
my Lord Capel's report, upon a reference to him.
The truth of the above statement was supported by
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366 CALDWELL.
various docaments from the lord-lieotenaDt and other
officers of the king. His majesty, in recompence of his
services, bestowed upon him in cuUodiam, for seven jears^
the whole of the forfeited Bagnal estate, then let for 8000/.
per annum ; at the end of which time it was to be restored
to the Bagnal family, and Sir James was to be otherwise
provided for. He died in 1717.
HUME CALDWELL,
Who in the compass of a very short life, obtained more
military glory than has fallen to the lot of most individuals
who have embraced the profession of arms, was the third
son of Sir John Caldwell, of Castle Caldwell, and great
grandson of the subject of the preceding article. Pos-
""sessed of all those warm and generous feelings so peculiar
to the Irish, blended with a share of that uncalculating
ardour of mind, more honourable than profitable, which
has also been considered their characteristic, he rose
deservedly and rapidly to high military honours.
He was born in the year 1735, and being intended for
the university, was instructed in the Latin and Greek lan-
guages, under a private tutor, till he was about fourteen
years of age, at which time he had made considerable
progress in both.
His brother, Sir James, having distinguished himself in
the army of the Empress Queen, to whose notice he had
thus recommended himself, she made him an offer of
taking one of his brothers into her service, which he ac-
cepted in favour of Hume, who was therefore placed in a
French academy at Dublin, to learn the modern languages
and mathematics. Here, being, though so young, troubled
with some symptoms of the gout, he gave a specimen of
that firmness and self-denial which were his characteris-
tics, by abstaining, at the recommendation of his master,
from animal food and fermented liquors, and during a year
that be remained there, was never known to depart once
from this rule.
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CALDWELL. 36T
In tke year 1750, on the condusiou of the peace, hi»
brother quitted the imperial service, and returned to Lon*
don, whither Hume repaired, and was furnished bj him
with letters of recommendation to Marshal Konigsegg, a
letter of credit on Baron Aguilar for a 1000/. and 300/. in
money, with which, and a TaLet acquainted with the lan-
guage, he set out on his journey to Vienna.
Tbey were to go in the stage coach to Harwich, and the
baggage having been sent to the inn the mght before, they
were to meet it the next morning* By some negligence or
other, however, they did not arrive till the coach had been
gone at least half an hour. The servant proposed taking post
horses, but Hume refused, saying, he was resolved that no
meyf expense should accrue from his want of diligence or
punctuality, and insisted on their trying to overtake the
coach on foot. They accordingly set out running until they
were out of breath, and walking till they were able to rua
again ; but with all their exertions they could not reach the
coach till they came to the place where it stopped for the
passengers to breakfast. They now calcubted on a com-
fortable journey the rest of their way, but unfortunately,
the places which had been taken for them, were filled by
two women. Hume's gallantry would not permit him to
assert his right ; he therefore complimented the females
with the places, and went the rest of the journey with his
attendant on the outside.
On his arrival at Vienna, he was received by Marshal
Konigsegg and his lady, with markd of an almost parental
affection, and they being persons of high distinction, he
imagined that he also ought to support that character.
For this purpose he took expensive lodgings, kept a cha*
riot, a running footman, and a hussar, and was admitted
into the highest circles ; but at the close of about five
weeks, finding his ^ stock of cash much diminished, and
having formed a resolution not to have recourse to the
letter of credit which he possessed, he determined to repair
immediately to the corps in which he was to serve ; he.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
368 CALDWELL.
therefore expressed to the marshal a wish to obtain an
audience of the Empress Queen. The marshal highly
approved* of this undertaking, and immediately procured
him that honour, her majesty being always easy of
access.
When introduced to her majesty, he expressed, in a very
animated speech in the French language, his resolution to
devote himself entirely and for ever to her service^ and
his determination either to rise to a distinguished com-
mand in her armies, or to die in the attempt.
The empress was so much pleased with this spirited,
yet modest address, that she told him she did not at all
doubt of his efforts in her service, and said some obliging
things of the Irish; inquired very graciously after his
. brother, and concluded by saying, that she had recom-
mended him to Marshal Konigsegg for preferment^ who
was himself very much inclined to serve him.
After quitting the empress, he repaired to the marshal,,
and begged to be sent to his regiment, where he said he
would serve and improve himself in learning the language
and his duty, till his excellency should think proper to
honour him with a commission. The marshal gave him
a letter of recommendation in the strongest terms to the
colonel of the regiment who was then at the head-quarters,
at Coningsgratz.
Hume immediately went to his lodgings, discharged his
servants, and paid all his debts after which, to his surprise,
he found he had but two gold ducats left. This was a
blow that completely disconcerted all his measures, as it
disabled him from appearing as a volunteer in the army,
a station very incompatible with his present circumstances,
as he continued firm in his resolution not to touch his
letter of credit. Still, however, determined upon learning
the language and military discipline of the country, with-
out losing time in fruitless regret, he packed up his
clothes and other ornaments, and deposited them all at
^s banker's except the worst suit, which he wore ; even
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CALDWELL. 30D
this, howefer, w&s too good for his pi«ietit purpose ; h%
therefore, exchanged it for worse with a Jew dealer in
second-hand clothes.
He destroyed the marshal's letter, which could now be
of no sertice to him, and thus equipped, the companion of
princes, the friend of Count Konigsegg, the possessor of
a splendid hotel, and a gilt chariot, who had kept a hussar,
and an opera girl, figured at court, and had an audience
from the empress, and was possessed of a letter of credit
for a 1000^ (animated by the same spirit which had, when
he suffered the stagecoach to leave him behind, urged
him rather to overtake it on foot than incur the expense
of hiring horses by his delay) s^t out from Viebn^ alone,
On foot, in a mean habit, and with an empty pocket, for
that army, in which he was to rise by his merit, to a dis«-
tinguished command. Having arrived at a village near
Prague, where a party of Konigsegg's regiment was
quartered, he enlisted by a feigned name as a private sol-
dier. In this humble station he made so great a progress*
in the language, and behaved with so much diligence, as
to be particularly noticed by the lieutenant who com-
manded the party.
In about two months time, Konigsegg wrote to Ihe
colonel, inquiring after Hume Caldwell, and, at the same
time, sent an ensign's commission for him. The cblonel,
in great astonishment, wrote, in answer to the marshal,
that he knew no such person, nor had he ever received any
recommendation of him, neither had any such person joined
the regiment. The marshal in his reply, expressed gre^
regard for the young gentleman, and diriected inquiry to
be made after him. Inquiry was immediately made, but
no tidings could be heard; at last, somebody informed
the colonel, that there was an Irish soldier at certain quar-
ters, who might possibly know something of him. He
was imtnediately sent for, and the colonel, asking him if
he knew of any such person, mentioning, at the same time,
that there was a commission sent down for him, was
surprised to hear him answer, that he was the man.
vox. I. BB
Digitized by VjOOQIC
370 CALDWELL.
The lieutenaDt under whom be bad enlistedyliaTiiig com-
mended him in the highest terms^ these circamstances were
commudicated by the colonel to the marshal, and by the lat«
ter to the empress, who soon after gave him a lieutenancy.
He continued to apply himself very diligently to the study
of his profession, but an accident happened to him which
was near putting an end to his life and prospects at once.
Reading one night in bed, he fell asleep, and the candle
falling from his hand, set fire to the curtains; he was,
however, fortunate enough to escape in time to save the
house from destruction, but the greater part of the furni-
ture in the room was consumed ; on account of which the
people of the house obtained the sequestration of half his
pay, till the damage was made good. This involved him
in great distress^ but he acquiesced without complaint*
The circumstance, however, soon became known, and
coming to the knowledge of a large convent of Irish fran-
ciscans established at Prague, one of the fathers of which,
happening to have known Sir John Caldwell, our young
hero's father, in Ireland, gave this account of him to the
fraternity :—*' Sir John," said he, ''though a staunch protes-
tant, always treated the Roman catholics with humanity
ai^ tenderness : in particular, one stormy day, when it
rained very hard, he discovered a priest with his congre-
gation, at mass under a hedge : and instead of taking that
opportunity of blaming them for meeting so near his
house, he ordered his cows to be driven out of a neigh-
bouring cow-bouse, and signified to the priest and people
that they might take shelter from the weather, and finish
their devotion in peace. It ill becomes u^ therefore,
brethren,'' said he, ** to see the son of Sir John Caldwell
distressed in a strange country, remote from all his friends,
without affording him assistance."
The fraternity, having heard this account^ contrived, by
mutual consent, to have the debt paid, unknown to young
Caldwell, who, shortly afterwards, being advanced to a
company, presented them with treble the sum, and returned
his brother's lettej of credit. From this, time he was^
Digitized by VjOOQIC
. CALDWELL. 371
Qcdvdy eogaged in the duties of his professioD, in which
he rote gradilally bat rapidly, ^e was of great service in
cottiog off the ccmvoys, and annoyiiig the reinforcemeots
which were sent to the assistance of the King of Prussia,
daring the siege of Olmatz, particularly in the defeat and
destruction of the great convoy, the loss of which com-
pelled Frederic to raise the siege. In this action he so
highly distinguished himself, as to be made a major on the
field of battle, by General Laudohn ; and in the coarse of
the ensQiag wtiiter, be was created a knight of the military
order.
In the campaign of 176O, he was appointed to the com-
mand of two battalions, four hundred croats, and two squad-
rons of hussars,which formed the advanced guard before the
battle of Landshat, in which memorable battle he forced
the enemy, sword in hand, firom three formidable entrench-
ments, made himself master of the hill, and contributed
much to the taking of General Fouquet, who commanded
the Prussian army. All the other field-officers of his
regiment being wounded in this action, he commanded it
during the remainder of the campaign, and being sent to
Glatz, contributed much to the taking of that important
fortress. The army of General Laudohn being entirely
routed by the King of Prussia at Lignitz, Caldwell,
observing a favourable opportunity for the horse to charge,
by a wonderful exertion of spirit and presence of mind,
gave the commanding officers orders in the general's
same to advance, and placing himself at their bead, suc-
ceeded in putting a stop to the progress of the Prussians,
by which means he secured the retreat of almost half of the
army, which was dispersed and in the utmost confusion.
For this important service he was immediately advanced to
the rank of lieutenan^colonel, and in the succeeding cam-
paign always commanded the advanced or rear-guard of
Landohn's army, when on a march.
At the storming of Schweidnitz, he acted as that gene-
raps immediate instrument, being put at the head of a con-
siderable corps ; and the assault being entirely left to him,
Digitized by VjOOQIC
$19, CALDWELL.
which, aithougfa he had never before been in that fortress,
he conducted with consummate skill, himself leading one
of the most difficult and dangerous attacks. He succeeded
at the first onset, and being the first field-officer that
entered the town, was setit to Dresden and to Marshal
Daun with an account of the success, and was immediately
tAkde a colonel. To follow him through all the battles
and sieges in whieh he was engaged daring these cam-
paigns, would be giving a history of Laudobn's army;
suffice it to say, that he was in every action of consequence
in which that army was engaged, and was honoured by so
much of the general's confidence as to be very frequently
employed above his rank, in preference to many older
officers.
He had received two severe wounds in cutting off the
king of Prussia's convoy at Olmutz, in consequence of
which he bad been left for dead, and a slight one at the
escalade of Schweidnitz. In July 1762, a short time
before the last siege of that fortress, he was ordered thither
by Daun to assist in its defence. On the 8th of August
the trenobes were opened, and on the dth he commanded
a well-conducted sally. On the 13th, at night, he con^
ducted a second, in which he was struck by an iron
cartridge ball, on the outside of the upper part of his left
arm, which broke the articulation of his shoulder, and
driving the limb wjth great force against his side, caused
a violent and extensive contusion, which was pronounced
by the surgeon to be much more dangerous than the
fracture. He appeared so greatly better in the course of
a few days, as to give hopes of his recovery, but on the
18th such an alteration for the worse had taken place, as
gave a certain presage of his death. About seven o^olock
that evening he sent for a particular friend. Captain Sullivan,
who commanded a company of grenadiers in Konigsegg's
regiment ; but as he was upon duty, he could not leave bis
post till he was relieved, which was about nine. As soon
as be came into the room, the colonel said to him, ^* My
dear Sullivan, as you have known me intimately several
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CALDWELL. 37^
years, you know that 1 never feared iM hour that is now
<sooie: I find so strange an alteration in myself since yes«
terday, and have sensations so different from all I ever felt
before, that I think it impossible I should live through this
night c the only lavour I have toheg of yon is, that you
would acquaint my mother and brothers that I die like an
honest wan, who always had his duty in view; tell them^
thtt I always had my family and country at heart, aad
that it was the constant study of my life to do them
liononr* A$ God is now calling me from this world,
I desire to be thankful to him for all hil goodness to me
in it, which has been very extraordinary, for all my.underi-
takings have been crowned with success.; I am still more
thankful that I have dow nothing to reproach myself with,
and that I can die not only with resignation, but comfort.^
After this, Mr. Sullivan remained with him the whole
Dight, he settled bis affairs, told him what he owedy dnd
what he possessed; a person was sent for to make hia. witt,
by which he directed his debts to be paid, and gare peca-
niary rewards to aU his servants, appointing Captain Snt-
liv^ his executcir: the reit of the night he spent withk
minister of the Lutheran churchy and io tatkiftg of his
mother, his brothen, and family.
At eight Captain Sullivan lek him, but returned again
at ten, when he found him delirious. He staid tiD tw^lve^
when the lastagouy coming op, be oould no longer sustain
the pain it gave, him to be present at auch a Mene, and
tberdbre retired^ About two o'el6ck in the afternoon of
the 19th of August, 176t/ the colonel died, in the twenty^
seventh year of his i^e, and was buried the next day, in a
kind of A chapel or grotto; in the Lutheran i^roh-ynR},
which is reserved for persons of distinction*
Thus died in the post of honour, at the age of twenty-
seven. Colonel Hume Caldwell, sincerely and deservedly
lamented by the empress, the general, and the whole army.
To what high rank and honours such an ardent spirit and
andi iiigh professional skill flcnght have devated him, had
he lived, may be conjectured from this faint sketch o£ ^
Digitized by VjOOQIC
874 CALDWELL.
life, short but bigilliant* Indee<il, bad be survived this
fatal siege, he would have been immediately appointed a
general, and also chamberlain to their imperial majesties,
as appears by letters since received by his brother, Sir
James. The regret felt by such a man as General Laudohn,
for his death, is the best proof of his worth; we shall
therefore cooclude this article by the following translation
of a letter from that general to Colonel Lockhart, on the
subject.
^'Notwithstanding the frequent sallies that have been
made since the beginning of the siege, oof loss has not
been very considerable ; the greatest that we have suffered
is by the death of Colonel Chevalier de Caldwell, who, in
one of the sallies, which was conducted by him, as well as
many ^others, had the misfortune to be wounded, of which
he died in three days after.
'^I have no occasion to represent to you the very great
and just affliction I have suffered on account of his death.
You know very well how much I honoured and esteemed
th^t worthy officer, who, by his intrepidity and courage,
which was so natural to him, as well as by his amiable qua-
lities, had gained the friendship of all the generals of the
army, as well as the universal esteem of the public. His
memory shall be for ever dear to me ; indeed he is univer*
sally lamented.
^^As I know the friendship which subsisted between you,
I am persuaded this account will give you the greatest
affliction. I entreat that you would acquaint his family,
and in particular his brother the count, with this melan-
choly event ; it gives me the greatest pain to be obUged to
acquaint them with it, and 1 myself, on this occasion, am
\ery much to be pitied."
'' Dated at Shiobe, the 27th of August, 1762."
HENRY CALDWELL,
Gtrbat grandson of Sir James, and brother of Hume
Caldwell, served as captain of the d6th regiment of foot.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CALDWELL. 375
with the rank of major in the army, onder the command
of the great General Wolfe/ He distinguished himself
both at the capture of Loubburg and of Quebec. He so
iiEur recommended himself to the favour and kindness of the
general, that he made him live with him in his own family,
and expressed his esteem and regard for him by leaving
him a^ legacy in his will. After the conquest of Canada,
be was made a privy counsellor of the province, and waft
appointed lientenant-colonel-commandant of the British
militia for the defence of Quebec, when it was invested by
the Americans under General Montgomery. He distin-
guished himself, by his gallantry and skill, in defence of
the fortress, on which account General Carleton sent him
home with the important news of the entire defeat of the
enemy, and the raising of the siege ; on which occasion
be was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel on the
day of his arrival.
CHARLES CALDWELL,
Brother of the above Henry Caldwell, was first-lieute-
nant of the Stirling man-of-war, when she was ordered
home from America, upon which he procured himself tO'
be removed to the Trident, that he might assist in the
reduction of Canada. He distinguished himself so much
in debarking the troops at Port, in the island of Orleans,
that General Wolfe took him into his family, and em-
ployed him as a marine aid-de-camp in the whole cam-
paign for whatever related to the sea^ervice. The two
brothers^ Henry and Charles, led on each of them a party
of grenadiers at the attack of Montmorency, where Charles
was wounded in the leg with a mnsket^ball. He recovered
so &r as to be able to attend General Wolfe in the reduc-
tion of Quebec, and was near him when he fell. His
superior officers bore most decided testimony of his
extraordinary merit. He died in 1776, chiefly through
exerting himself beyond his strength, in raising men for
the navy.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
S76
ANDREW CALDWELL,
A LiTBRART character, was the eldest son of Charles
Caldwell, Esq. an emioeDt solicitor, and was bora in Dub-
lin, in the year 1732. He receWed part of his education
in one of the Scotch uniTersities, from whence he remoTed
to London, and after haying resided for about fire years
in the Tern pie, returaed to Dublin, where he was admitted
to the bar in 1760. But his father being possessed of a
good estate, fully adequate to his son's wishes, he did not
prosecute with ^' unremitting ardour*^ the dull and tedious
study of the law, and for several years before his death,
had quitted it altogether. His literary and studious dis-
position, conjoined with his taste for the fine arts, always
occupied every leisure hour, as he patronised liberally dl
those who excelled in any of the various branches of art.
Qe had made architecture the qhief object of his study,
and about the year 1770, published anonymously, some
very judicious *^ Observations on the PubKc Buildings of
Dublin," and on some edifices which at that period were
about to be erected in that city, at the expense of the
state. The only other known production of his pen that
has been published, is a very curious '* Account of the
extraordinary Escape of James Stewart, Esq. (commonly
called Athenian Stewart) by being put to death by some
Turks, in whose compcmy he happened to be travelling;''
the substance of which had been communicated to Mr,
Caldwell by the late Dr. Percy, Bishop of Dromore, as
related to his lordship by Stewart himself. Of this narm.
tive> of which only a snudl number was printed at London
in 1804, for the use of the author's friends, it is bdieved
not more than a doxen copies were distributed in thia
country.
Mr* Caldwell's literary taste naturally led him to collect
a large library, which contained many rare volumes, and
was particularly rich io botany and natural history.
He died at the house of his nephew, Major-Oeneral
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CAHLOTON, S17
Cockboni, near Bray, in the bounty of Wieklow, on the
Snd 6f Jply, 1808, in the teventy-sizlfa y«ir of his ag«,
after an illness of nearly thvee months duration.
His mannen were gentle and pleasing, and as his bene*
volence and other virtnes caused him to be generally
respected through life, so his urbanity, rariety of know-
ledge, and cultivated taste^ endeared him to the circle in
which be mo^ed.
ANDREW CANTWBLL,
A PHYSICIAN, and a native of Tipperary, resided princi*
pally in Paris, where he took bis degree of doctor in medi-
cine in 1742; the same year be published a translation
into French, of the account of Mrs. Stephens' medicine
for dissolving the stone in the bladder; and in 1746, an
account of Sir Hans Sloane's medicines for diseases of the
eyes ; also some severe strictures on the practice of pro*
pagating the small-pox by inoculation ; and in the Philo-
sophical Transactions, London, No. 4^5, an account of a
double child, a boy. He died at Paris, July 11, f764.
Sm GUY CARLETON,
Lord Dorchbst£r, was descended from an ancient
' family, which resided many years at Carleton, in Cumber-
hind, from whence they removed to Ireland. He was the
third son of Christopher Carleton, Esq. of Newry, in the
county of Down, who died in Ireland about 1738, leaving
a widow, who became the third wife of the Reverend
Thomas Skelton, and died in 1757. Three brothers of this
illustrious family lost their lives at the battle of M arston
Moor, in the seventeenth century, having espoused the
loyal cause.
Sir Guy, the subject of the 'pre^nt memoir, was born at
Strabane, in the county of Tyrone, on the 3rd of September,
1724, and agreeable to the wishes of his parents, was early
initiated into the rudiments of the military sciences, being
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378 CARLETON.
destined for the army, in which capacity it was augbred,
(firom bis great personal activity, and the early prooft he
gave of courage) that he would make a conspicuous
figure ; and how well the event realised their most sanguine
expectations, will speedily be seen.
While very young he entered into the guards, in which
corps he continued until the year 1748, when he was pi^o-
moted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel of the 7dnd regi-
ment. At this period, he had met with no opportunity of
giving an example of his merit, but upon the breaking out of
the seven years war, his abilities were put to an honourable
test* In 1758 he embarked wi^ General Amherst for the
siege of Louisburg, and in this his first campaign, he gave
such eminent proofs of his skill and bravery, as entitled
him to the notice of the commander-in-chief* The follow-
ing year he gave still greater proofs of his courage, and
good conduct, at the siege of Quebec, under the immortal
General Wolfe. He rendered the cause some effectual
services during this siege, and his abilities were now so
conspicuous, that he was entrusted with the achievement
of a post on the western point of the Isle de Orleans, in
which he was eminently successful* He now began to be
considered as an able ofiicer, and was shortly after dis-
patched to dislodge the French from PoinUau-Trompe, a
distance of twenty miles from Quebec, where the enemy
were strongly entrenched ; in this expedition he also suc-
ceeded, and forced the enemy to make a precipitate
retreat. He took a considerable part in this difficult and
important siege, and at the celebrated battle fought in the
heights of Abraham, when the gallant Wolfe fell in the
moment of victory, Carleton displayed a wonderful activity,
prudence, and presence of mind in every part of th^
arduous duty with which he was entrusted. The next oppor-
tunity he had for displaying his valour, was at the siege of
Belleisle, where he commanded as brigadier-general, with
which rank he had been invested on the spot, and it was
on this occasion he received his first wound, having
exposed himself to great personal danger during the whole
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CARLETON. S79.
^iege. la Febraary 1762^ he was promoted to the raok of
colonel, ia which capacity he embarked with the Earl of
Albemarle for the si^;e of the Havannah, where he wag
likewise distinguished for his bravery, and was wounded
in inresting the Mora Castle-
Soon after the termination of this campaign a peace for
some time interrupted the military achievements of our
colonel* He was not, however, altogether idle ; for when
General Murray was recalled from Quebec, he was ap-
pointed lieutenant-governor of that important place, and
at length promoted to the government thereof. In this sta«
tion he continued some years, and gave entire satisfaction,
both to the power who appointed him, and to the provin-
cials over whom he presided. In April 1772, he was
prcnnoted to the rank of. major-general, and appomted
colonel of the forty-seventh regiment of foot. In the
course of this year he married Lady Mary Howard, sister
to the Earl of Effingham.
In 1775 when the American war recommenced, General
Carleton had an ample field for the display of his military
talents. The American congress having resolved to resort
to arms, began soon to turn their eyes to Canada, where
they knew the late acts were very unpopular, not only
among the British settlers, but the French Canadians
themselves, who having experienced the difference be*
tween a French and a British constitution, gave the pre-
ference to the latter. To co-operate with the disaffected
in Canada, and to anticipate the probable and suspected
designs of General Carleton, the congress formed the bold
and hazardous project of invading that province. The
success of the scheme depended chiefly on the celerity of
movement, while the British troops were cooped up in
Boston, and before reinforcements could arrive from Eng-
land* In August 1 776, Schuyler and Montgomery marched
to Lake Champlaioy which they crossed in flatrbottomed
boats to St. John's ; but Sdiuyler; the American general,
being taken ill, the command devolved upon Montgomery,
Digitized by VjOOQIC
380 CARLETQN.
who, being an officer of great skill and ability, detached
the Indiana from the service of Greneral Carleton ; and
having received some reioforcements of artillery, he com-
t>elled the fort of St. John's to surrender at discretion on
the 2nd of November. Hence crossing the St, Lawrence,
he proceeded to Montreal, which being incapableof defence
General Carleton wisely evacuated, and retired to Quebec.
Having possessed himself of Montreal, Montgomery made
dispositions for advancing to besiege the capital of Ca^
nada, and there were sevei*al circumstances favourable to
his hopes of success. The works of the town had been
neglected for a long time of peace ; tbe garrison did not
exceed eleven hundred men, of which few were regulars^
and the majority oC the inhabitants ware disaffected to the
framers of their new constitution, and particularly to Gene-
ral Carleton, who was supposed to have been a steady sup-
porter of that measure* While be was endeavouring to
defend Quebec, amidst all these disadvantages^ the Ame-
rican generals, Montgomery and Arnold, summotted bim
to surrender, which be treated with contempt, and reAiaed
to hold any correspondence with rAels. Tbe inhafaitantB
too, displeased as they were with their new conslilutioo,
joined the British troops with cordial unanimity, and the
American commander unprepared for a r^ular sie^ge^ eo-
deavoored to take the plac^ by storm. In this attempt
Montgomery fell bravely at the head of his troops, whom
the garrison, after an obstinate resistance, drove from tbe
town with great loss. After this success, General Carleton
shewed that his humanity was equal to his vMour, for he
treated all tlie prisoners that feU into his hands with mild-
ness, and sofitened the rigours of their captivity. Uoder-
staqding that a number of sick and wounded. provioekds
were scattered about tbe woods and villages, he isaaed a
proclamation, qpd appointed proper persoi^ to disoover
those miserable peo|de, afford tbem relief and aasisUnce
at tlie|»ublio expense, and aaswSe them that on their reco-
very they should have leave to retwm to their respective
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CARLETON* 381
•
hbmes, and that he wbuld not take the advantage of their
d^erted and distressed situation to make them prisoners
of war.
Arnold encamped on the heights of Abraham^ where he
fortified himself, and continued the siege of Quebec in the
following year (1776) but retired from thence on the
arrival of ati English squadron.
General Carleton being now reinforced by troops, which,
added to what he had, formed a body of thirteen thousand
men, prepared fo^ offensive operations, and the Americans
evacuated their conquests, stationing themselves at Crown
Point, whither the British commander did not follow them for
the present. An armament was now prepared for crossing
Lake Champlain, in order to besiege Crown Point, and
Ticonderago. The Americans had a cobsiderable fleet
on Lake Champlain, whereas the British had not a single
vessel. The general therefore u6ed every effort to procure
the requisite naval force, bat October had commenced
before he was ready to oppose them. On the 1 1 th Octo-
ber, the British fleet commanded by Captain Pringle, and
under the direction of General Carleton, discovered the
armament of the enemy posted to defend the passage be*
tween the island of Valicour and the Western Main. An
engagement commenced, and continued on both sides for
several hoars with great intrepidity, but a contrary wind
preventing the chief British ships from takiag a part, and
night coming on, it was thought prudent to discontinue
the adtion, and Arnold took advantage of the night to
retreat.
The British pursued them the next day, and the day
following, and the wind being favourable for bringing all
the ships into action, overtook them a few leagues firom
Crown Point. The American commander unable to
avoid an engagement, made the best disposition which his
force permitted. About noon the battle began and con-
tinned with great fury for two hours, but at length the
superior force and skill of the British prevailed. General
Carleton remained at Crown Point till drd November, and
Digitized by VjOOQIC
382 CARLETON.
as the winter was commeDcing, he did not think it advi-
sable to besiege Ticonderago. He returned therefore to
St. John's, whence he distributed his army into winter
quarters.
In the following year, 1777, an expedition being planned
from Canada, to effect a co-operation with the principal
British force, the command of the armament was con-
ferred on General Burgoyne. Sir Guy Carletoo, (for he had
been created a knight of the bath in July 1776) from his
official situation in Canada, his conduct, and especially
his defence of Quebec, might have reasonably expected
diis appointment; he was an older general, of more mili-
tary experience, and from his official situation in Canada,
had acquired a superior knowledge of the country, its
inhabitants and resources. His character commanded
greater authority than Burgoyne's had hitherto established ;
and as no military grounds could be alleged for super-
seding Carleton to make room for Burgoyne, his promo*
tion was imputed to parliamentary influence, more than to
his official talenU. Carleton disgusted with a preference
by no means merited, as soon as he heard of the appoint-
ment, resigned his government, in which he was succeeded
by General Haldinard ; but before he departed, exerted
himself to the utmost to enable Burgoyne to take the field
with advantage.
On his arrival in England, he received the congratula-
tions of all the friends of his country for his very able and
successful defence of Quebec, and was honoured by his
majesty with a red ribbon, as a mark of his gracious ap-
probation of his conduct and services.
In August 1777y Sir Guy was made a lieutenant-general
in the army, and in 1781, was appointed to succeed Sir
Henry Clinton as commander-in-chief in America, where
he remained until the termination of the contest, when,
after an interview with General Washington, in which
these two veterans congratulated each other on arriving at
the close of a disastrous war, he evacuated New York, and
returned to England.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CAROLAN. 383
In April 1786 he was once more appointed governor of
Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, and as a
reward for bis long services, was in the following August
raised to ibe peerage by tbe title of Lord Dorchester of
Dorchester, in the county of Oxford; His lordship re-
mained in this extensive government for many years;
and returned at length to England, where he passed his
old age in the bosom of his family, first at Kempshot, near
Basingstoke, in Hampshire, and afterwards at his seat
near Maidenhead. He died the 10th November, 1808,
at the advanced age of eighty-five, at which time he was
colonel of the fourth regiment of dragoons, and a general
in the army.
He left a numerous issue, and was succeeded in title^
and estate, by his grandson, Arthur Henry Carleton, a
minor.
TURLOUGH CAROLAN,
Blind and untaught, may be considered as a musical
phenomenon. This minstrel bard, sweet as impressive,
will long claim remembrance, and float down the stream
of time, whilst harmony has power to charm. He was
bom in the year 1670, in the village of Nodder, in the
county of Westmeath, on the lands of Carolans town,
which were wrested from his ancestors by the family of
the Nugents, on their arrival in this kingdom, with King
Henry II. His father was a poor farmer, the humble pro*
prietor of a few acres, which afforded him a scanty sub^*
sistence. Of his mother little is known, probably the
daughter of a neighbouring peasant, in the choice of
whom, his father was guided rather by nature, than pru-
dence. It was in his infancy that Carolan was deprived
of his sight by the small-pox. This deprivation he sup-
ported with cheerfulaess, and would merrily say, /^ my
eyes are transplanted into my ears.'' His musical genius
was soon discovered, and procured him many friends, who
Digitized by VjOOQIC
SM CAROLAN.
detertnined to aid its cultiiratioQ, and a)t the dge of twelve
a proper master was engaged^ to tnstract him on the harp $
hot his diligeDce in the regular modes of instruction was
not great, yet bis harp was rarely unstmng^ for his intui-
tire genius assisted him in cdmpo^tion, whilst his fingers
wandered amongst the strings, in quest of the sweets of
melody. In a few years this ^* child of song" becaine
enamoured of Miss Bridget Cruise. His harp, now inspired
by love, Would only echo to the sound ; though this lady
did not give him her hand, it is imagined she did not
deny him her heart, but like Apollo, when he caught at
the nymph ^'he filled his arms with bays," and the song
which bears her name, is considered his chef-d^ceuvrcf it
oame warm from his. heart, while his genius was in its fliU
vigour.
Our bard, however, after a time, solaced himself for the
loss of Miss Cruise, in the arms of Miss Mary Maguire,
a young lady of good family in the county of Fermanagh.
She was gifted in ix small degree with both pride and
extravagance, but she was the wife of his choice, beloved
her tenderly, and lived harmoniously with hen On his
entering into the connnbial state, he fixed his residence
oh a small fiirm near Moshill, in the couhty of Leitrim;
here he built a neat little house, in which he prao«
tised hospitality on a scale more suited to his mind
than to his meAns, his profusion speedily consumed the
produce of his little farm, and he was soon left to lament
the want of prudence, without which the rich cannot taste
of pleasure long, or the poor of happiness^
At length Carolan eoramehced the profession of aa
itinerant musician. Whenever he went^ the gates of the
nobility and others, were tbrdwn open to him ; he was re»
ceived with respect, and a distinguished pbure assigned
bim at the uUe : '^ Carolan/' says Mr. Ritson, *^ seems
from the description we have of him to be a genuine
representative of the ancient bard."
It was during bis peregrinations that Carolan composed
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CAROLAN. 385
all those airs which are still the delight of his countrymeti^
and which a modem bard possessed of a congenial soul
hath so elegantly adorned.
He thobght the tribute of a song due to every house in
which he was entertained, and he seldom failed to pay it,
choosing for his subject, either the head of the family, or
the loYeliest of its branches.
Several anecdotes bordering on the miraculous, are
recorded of Carolan, and amongst others the following
which we are told, was '^ a fact well ascertained."
'^ The fame of Carolan having reached the ears of an
eminent Italian music-master in Dublin, he put his abilities
to a severe test, and the issue of the trial confirmed him,
bow well founded every thing had been, which was ad*
vanced in favour of our Irish bard. The method he made
use of was as follows : he singled out an excellent piece
of music^ and highly in the style of the country which
gave him birth ; here and there he either altered or muti-
lated the piece, but in such a manner, as that no one but
a real judge could make a discovery. Carolan bestowed
the deepest attention upon the performer while he played
it, not knowing, however, that it was intended as a trial of
his skill; and that the critical moment was at hand, which
was to determine his reputation for ever. He declared
it was an admirable piece of music, but, to the astonish-
inent of all present, said, very humorously, in his own
language, **la seabr chois air bacaighe/' that is, here and
there it limps and stumbles* He was prayed to rectiiy
the errors, which he accordingly did. In this state the
piece was sent from Connaught to Dublin; and tbe Italian
no sooner saw the amendments than he pronounced Caro-
lan to be a true musical genius."
The period now approached at which Carolan's feelings
were to receive a violent shock. In the year 1735, the
wife of his bosom was torn from him by the hand of death,,
and as soon as tbe transport of bis grief was a little sub-
sided, he composed a monody teeming with harmony and
poetic beauties. Carolan did not continue long in this
VOL. I. c c
Digitized by VjOOQIC
Mfl CAROLAN.
vale of sorrow after the decease of bia wife. While on m
visit at the house of Mrs. M^Dermot, of Alderford, ia the
county of Roscommon^ he expired in the month of March,
1738, in the sixty-eighth year of hit age, and was interred in
the p&ish-church of Killronan, in the diocese of Avedagb,
but " not a stone tells where he lies."
The manner of his death has been Tariously related ; hut
that his excessive partiality for a more sparkling stjfeam than
flows at Helicon, was the cause oi his decease, is a point
that all his biographers have agreed on. Goldsmith says
'^ his death was not more remarkable than his life. Homer
was never more fond of a glass than he. He would drink
whole pints of usquebaugh, and, as he used to think, withont
any ill consequence. His intemperance, however, ill this
respect, at length brought on an incurable disorder, and
when just at the point of death, he called for a cup of his
beloved liquor. Those who were standing round him,
surprised at the demand, endeavoured to persuade him to
the contrary, but he persisted ; and when the bowl was
brought him, attempted to drink but could not, whenefeTe
giving away the bowl, he observed with a smile, that it
would be hard if two such friends as he and the cup should
part, at least without kissing, and then expired.**
Walker, in his account of the Irish Bards, inserts a
letter which states that ** Carolan, at an early period of
his life, contracted a fondness for spirituous liquors, which
he retained even to the last stage of it. But inordinate
gratiflcations carry their punishments along with them ;
nor was Carolan exempt from this general imposition.
His physicians assured him, that, unless he corrected this
vicious habit, a scurvy, which was the consequence of his
intemperance, would soon put an end to his mortal career.
He obeyed with reluctance ; and seriously resolved upon
never tasting that forbidden, though (to him) delicious
cup. The town of Boyle, in the county of Roscommon,
was at that time his principal place of residence ; there,
while under so severe a regimen, he walked, or rather
wandered about like a riveur. His usual gaiety forsook
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CAROLAN. 387
Irim; DO tallies of a lively imagiQation escaped him;
every moment was marked with a dejection of spirits,
approaching to' the deepest melancholy ; and his harp, his
favottrite harp, lay in some obscnre comer of his habi-
tation, neglected and unstrang. Passing one day by a
grocer's riiop in the town (where a Mr. Currifteene at
present resides) our Irish Orpheos, after a six week's
quaraotiaey was tempted to step in ; undetermined whether
be should abide by his late resolution, or whether lie
•honM yield to the impulse which he felt at the moment*
** fFeil, my dear firiendy" cried he to the young man who stood
behind the compter, ^^oti see Jam a mtmof constancy ; for
six long weeks I have refrained from whiskey. Was there
efoer so great an instance of self-denial9 But a thought
strikes msy and surely you will not be cruel enough to refuse
am grai^ication which I shall earnestly solicit. Bring hither
a measure of my favourite kguor, which I shall smell tOy but
indeed shall noi taste,** The lad indulged him on that con-
dition; and no sooner did the fumes ascend to his brain,
than every latent spark within him was rekindled, his
fioontenance glowed with an unusual brightness, and the
soliloquy which be repeated over the cup, was the
fusions of a heart newly animated, and the ramblings
of a genius which a Sterne would have pursued with rap-
tmnes of delight. At length, to the great peril of his health,
and contrary to the advice of his medical friends, he once
more quaffed the forbidden draught, and renewed the
brimmer, until his spirite were sufficiently exhilarated,
and until his mind had fully resumed its former tone.
He immediately set about composing that much-admired
song which goes by the name of Cardan's (and sometimes
Stafford's) Receipt. For sprightliness of sentifiient, and
harmony of numbers, it stands unrivalled in the list of our
best modern drinking songs, as our. nicest critics will
readily allow. He commenced the words, and began
to modulate the air, in the evening at Boyle; and, before
the following morning, be su9g and played this noble off-
Digitized by VjjOOQIC
388 CARON.
spriag of his imagination in Mr. StaflFord^s parlour^ at
Elfin."
"Cardan's inordinate fondness/' says Walker,'* for Iriab
Wine (as Pierre le Grand used to call whiskey) will not
admit of an excuse ; it was a vice of habit» and might
therefore have been corrected. But let me say sonietbiog
in extenuation. He seldom drank to excess; besides, he
seemed to think — nay, was cottomced from experience,
that the spirit of Whiskey was grateful to his muse, and
for that reason generally offered it when he intended to
invoke her." ** They tell me/' says Dr. Campbell in his
Survey of the South of Ireland, '* that in his (Carolan's)
latter days, he never composed without the inspiration of
whiskey, of which, at that critical hour, be always took
core to have a bottle beside him." ^' Nor was Carolan/'
continues Walker, ** the only bard who dr^w inspiration
from the bottle; there have been several planets in the poe-
tical hemisphere, that seldom shone, but when illuminated
by the rays of rosy wine." He then proceeds to infer the
advantages of a state of demi-drunkenness, as far as re-
gards poetic composition, and instances Cunningham,
Addison, and Homer, as three authors whose works bear
ample testimony to the efficacy of so pleasing a methbd
of procuring inspiration. That Carolan was not indiffe-
rent to advice of this description, has been sufficiently
proved, and in all probability, both he and Mr. Walker
thought true talent similar to those richly painted vases
in the east, the most brilliant tints of which could not be
discovered unless wine were poured into them *.
REDMOND CARON.
This individual, celebrated both for learning and piety,
was descended from an ancient family near Athlone, in the
county of Westmeath ; at which place he was born about
the year 1605. He embraced the Franciscan order in the
* Vide Moore's LaUa Rookh.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CARON. 389
poiivent of Athlone when be was only sixteen years of
age; and afterwards studied philosophy in a monastery of
his own order at Drogheda, under the tuition of Dr. Alex-
ander Flemming. Several years after, when many of the
convents were seized by the iron hand of government, he
quitted Ireland, and retired to Saltsburgh in Germany;
where, uniting intense application to great learning, he
devoted the whole of his time to the study of divinity, in
a Franciscan monastery ; and finished bis studies at Lou-
vain, in Flanders, under the instruction and direction of
Malachy Fallow and Bonaventure Delahoide, two eminent
Irish professors in divinity. In a short time after this
period he possessed the chair himself, and acquired the
reputation of an able and learned tbeologist. Some years
after he was sent to his native country in quality of com-
missary-general of the RecoUets, all over Ireland; where
he found every thing in a state of grciat confusion. Be-
ing at Kilkenny when the differences and disputes ran
high between the loyal catholics and the party of Owen
O'Neill, he sided with the former ; and, in an attempt to
remove from that city one Brenan and some other sedi-
tious friars, he was in great danger of losing bis life ; and
to a certainty had lost it in the tumult raised by these
friars, had not the Earl of Castlehaven providentially
arrived} with some friends, in the very instant of time to
save hinu *
When the forces, sent by parliament to reduce Ireland,
had landed, and were proceeding to their work of murder,
flame, and desolation, Caron left his country, and con-
tinued abroad until the Restoration ; at which period he
returned to England, where he resided till within a few
months of his death. Prior to which, feeling the hand of
that despotic monarch upon him, he returned once more
unto the land of his birth; and died in Dublin, some time
in May 1666 ; and was buried in St. James's church-yard
in that city.
He was esteemed a man of exemplary piety and extra-
ordinary learning, and of upright and loyal principles,
Digitized by VjOOQIC
590 GARTER.
which raised him mtmj enemtefl among bis brethreti, wtM>;
by their coaniiances, caused the censures of tbeir cbnrcb
to fall ifpon biro. He was remarkably aealous mpramotiDg
the affair of tbc Irish reraoDStraoce of their loyalty ; and
wrote, at some length, in defence of iu A complete list
of his writings is to be found in Ware's Accomit of the
Writers of Ireland.
THOMAS CARTER,
An eminent musical and vocal performer, was a native of
Ireland, but left that country at a very early age, and was
pnatronrsed by the Earl of Inchiquin. After visiting various
jcountries for the better perfecting himself in the intricacies
of his art, he arrived at Naples, where he was much noticed
by Sir William and Lady Hamihon. Here he became
celebrated for the great effect with which he sung the
beautiful little ballad of ''Sally in our Alley.'' He was
also celebrated fdr a capriccio, commencing with the words
''Fairest Dorinda," in which he united all the elegancies
of musical science, with the most humorous comic expres*
sion. In Italy he finished his musical studies, but where
he proceeded to next we are not informed. He visited
'' the clime of the east,'' and passed some time in India,
where he conducted the musical department in the theatre
at Bengal; bat the intense heat of the cKmate so greatly
affected the health ''of this child of song," that he was
obliged to bid adieu to a clime, " where every voice
is melody, and every breath perfume," and iy to Albion's
genial skies, to endeavour to regain that heahh be had lost
in delighting others.
'In 1793 he married one of the daughters of the Rev.
Mr. Wells, of Cookham, iu Berkshire, by whom he bad
two children, but did not live long to enjoy the pkasures
of a domestic life, or contribute to the happiness of the
circle that surrounded him, as he died of that unrelenting
disease, a liver complaint, (which he is supposed to have
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CAULFIELIX 591
imbibed on India's fullfry shore) on tbe 8cb of November,
iBOOy being tben in the tbirtj^^econd year of bb age.
He was a distinguished member of most of the musical
societies in this metropolis, and was justly considered hj
tkmny ^ as the choicest fealber of tbeir wing.''
, WILLIAM CAULFIELD,
Saoown Viscount Charlemont, was a brave and expe*
rienced soldier, whp patriotically took up arms in defenee
of bis reKgioo and conntry, against the attacks made on
both by King James XL ai^d during the contest between
•chat monarch and King William, be not only engaged
himself, but his brothers, in the service of the latter,
whereupon he was attainted, and his estate of 500/. a-year,
sequestrated on the 7th of May, 1689, by King" James's
parliament. But after the reduction of the kingdom, King
William gave him a regiment of foot^ made him governor
and CuHos Ratubrum of the counties of Tyrone and
ArnM^h, and governor of tbe fort of Charlemont.
On the 5th of October, l6g£, he took his seat in the
bouse of peers, and in l€D7, the peace being concluded,
his regiment was disbanded, but on the 28th of June, 1701,
be was again made cdone] of a regiment of foot.
In 1705 be was called upon to serve her majesty in
Spain, under Charies, Earl of Peterborough, commander-
in-*chief of her Hmjesty's forces. King Charles III. being
besieged by tbe French in his city of Barcelona, all efforts
^and expedition were made use of to relieve him, and at the
attack of the breach of the town on the £4th of April,
Lord Charlemont commanded the first brigade, and forced
an entrance, and it being determined on the 26th of
August, to attack the citadel of Monjuicb, which appeared
the only means whereby that city (in a short space) might
be brought to surrender, Lord Peterborough, accompanied
by the Prince of Hesse Darmstadt and Lord Charlemont,
preseiited himself with a detachment, before it on the
14th of Septenrbcr, and oammenced the assault, during
Digitized by VjOOQIC
SW CAULFIELD.
which Lord CharlemoDt behaved with dittingaisbed bm*
very, and at the attack of the fort, fearlessly marched into
the works at the head of his men. He was near the Prince
of Hesse when he fell, and continued, during the heat of
the action, to perform his duty with great coolness and
intrepidity. When the aflfair was ended, the Earl of
Peterborough presented his lordship and Colonel South-
well to the King of Spain, as two officers who had rendered
his majesty signal services, for which they received his
thankful acknowledgments.
The taking of this place occasioned the surrender of
Barcelona on the 9th of October, 1705, and the share his
lordship had in this memorable action, induced her majesty,
on the 25th of August, to promote him to the rank of a
brigadier-general of her armies; and on the 22nd of April,
1708, to advance him to that of a major-general, calling
him into her privy council, and appointing him governor
of the counties of Tyrone and Armagh.
In 1706 he was removed from his regiment by the Earl
of Peterborough. In May 1726, he was sworn of the
privy council to King George I. and having enjoyed the
peerage upwards of fifty-five years, was considered the
oldest nobleman in his majesty^s kingdoms.
He died on the 21st of July, 1726, and was buried in the
vault with his father and grandfather, under a fine monu-
ment, which he had erected to their memories, at Armagh.
He was married on the 11 th of July, 1678, to Anne,
only daughter of Doctor James Mengetson, Archbishop
of Armagh, and by her (who died in 1729) had five daugh-
ters and seven sons, the second of whom is the subject of
the following memoir.
JAMES CAULFIELD,
£akl of Ch arl£mont. Thi§ nobleman, one of the most
accomplished persons of his time, and as amiable, pa-
uiotic, and truly honest man, as perhaps ever adorned any
age or country, was born at Dublin on the 18th of
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CAULFIELD. ags
Aogost^ 1738. Owing to the delicacy of his constitutioD,
and the solidtude of bis father for the early formation of
his principles, he was nerer sent to any public school, bos
was placed under three preceptors : the first of whom was
a respectable clergyman, named Skelton: another was a
Reverend Mr. Barton, eminent for moral and scholastic
character; and the last (a man of eminent worth and
learning) was a Mr.Murphy, an editor of Lucian, whose cha-
racter and abilities were so congenial to the views of Lord
Caalfield,^ that he was emfdoyed to undertake the education
of tlie young lord. Under his instructions, his pupil
redoubled his own industry, and advanced rapidly in his
studies; and such was his esteem and attachment to his
preceptor, that he afterwards took him as companion on
his travds, and treated him through life with generosity
and kindness.
In the year 1746, the young lord having finished his
classical studies, set out on his first tour to the continent
of Europe, then deemed indispensable to finish the educa-
• tion of gentlemen of rank. He first visited Holland, and
was present during the revolutionary tumult which ended
in the establishment of the Prince ,of Orange as Stadt-
holder. Then he proceeded to the British camp in Ger-
many, where he was politely received by William, Duke
of Cumberland, commander-in-chief, who, not only during
his stay, but afterwards, during His Royal Highness'slife^
gave him signal marks of esteem. From the British camp
he proceeded to Turin, where he entered the academy, and
resided a year, making occasional excursions to other
parts of Italy. At the academy he became intimate with
his illustrious fellow-student, the young Victor Amadeus,
Prince Royal of Sardinia, from whom, as well as from his
illustrious family, he received the most gracious attentions,
and enjoyed the opportunity of intercourse with many of the
most eminent literary and political characters of Europe,
who were then at Turin ; and, amongst others, the Marquis
de St. Germain, embassador to France, the Comte Perron,
and David Hume, the British historian, at that time secre^
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SM CAULFIBLD.
tavy to Sir John SiDelatr, the British pleaipotMtitry mt ih^
SardiiiiaB coiirt. From Torin be proceeded on the 27tk
of Oetobtf, 1748) (vi& Bologna) on bb way to Rome, and
tpeot the winter between that capital and Naples* la the
following April,: he sailed from Leghorn with his precept
tor Mr.Marphy, Mr* Dalton his draftsman, and two other
Iridi gentlemen, on a voyage to Constantinople* On the
&h of May, 1749, having passed the 'poetic dangors
of Scylla and Charybdis, as they approached the entrance
of the beantifol bay of Messina, their vessel was visited
by the ofUcm^ of health, who warned theas not to approacb
the city withoat due examination, lor that populous and
bcaatifnl capital^ the pride of Sicily, had been recently
wasted with a dreadful plague, which destroyed the greater
pari of its inhabitants. The infection had been brought
thither by a Genoese Tartan, laden with wool, bale good%
and corn, and she had entered the port undor Neapolitan
cokMirs, but had ooase direct from the Morea, where the
plague bed been raging for some time. Her captain
pretended he had come from Brindisi, and produced
counterfeit bills of health as from that port. But bis own
death in the Lazaretto, gave the first alarm of that pestileooe
whieh afterwards produced such hortors. Lord CharlcaioaC
aud his party were, however, permitted to land at some
distance osi die beach, and after a tedsoos ordeal ^ pre*
cautionary measures^ they were allowed to enter the city,
lately one of the finest in the world,^ aod a scene of gran-
deur and gaiety ; but now reduced to the most lamentable
contrast of its fonner state. Use streets nearly depopulated^
the few straggling passengers now visible were aquidid
firom disease, femine, and despair; the shops every where
doflfcd ; the pavements overgrown with grassland a dealhp
like silence reigned thixMigboi»t, interrupted only at inter^
vab by the plaints of wretchedness. Such were the conae*
qncnces of a pestilence,, e^al perhi^ in its bcnws to that
at Athens, described by Thucydides, or that of Floseoee^
jelated by Bocoacio«
From Messina tbe travellers sailed to Maka, where they
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CAULFIELD. S96
^yed OQ the £Oth of J«iie feUowiog ; and after a short
$Uj, proceeckd to ConatantiDople^ Tisitiog in their way^
Smyroa, Teoedos^ the Dardan^esy and the Troade, in M
of which they inspected every thing interesting to clasaical
curiosity. During his stay at Constantinople^ Lord Charle*
oont attained bis twenty-first year, which he commenio*
rated by the composition of an elegant Latin ode, id
imitation of Horace's *^ Ad PoHhtme."* Lib ii« jciy.
It was addressed to hia friend, Mr. Richard Marlay,
afterwards Lord Bishop of Waterfofd, the teamed and
admired friend and companion of Burke, Reynolds, Jobo'
son, and Malone, aod the maternal uncle of the Right
Honourable Henry Grattan.
In his observations on every thing curious in Consta*->
tinople, he was zealously aided by Doctor Mackeniie^
many years the resident physidan to the English embas-
sador and British factory there, and highly esteemed, by
the Turks for his medical skill.
From Constantinople, after a stay of little more than a
month, the travdlers proceeded to Egypt, visitiog, in the
eonrse of their voyage, the Classic Isles of Lesbos, Chio^
Micone, Delos, and Paros, ft-om the last of which they
sailed to Alexandria, and travelled thence to view every
relique of antiquity worthy of curiosity in Egypt. On the
2£Bd of October, 1749, they sailed from Alexandria, intend*
iog to visit Cyprns, in tight of which they arrived, bnt
were forced by pontrary winds, after a voyage of seven
days, to anchor at Rhodes. Whence they sailed for
Athens, but were again driven by uniavottrable gales,
upon the rocky coast of Caria, now called Carimania ; and
on the morning of the 9thof November, they passed the pro-
montory of Doris, on the south-east side of the Smm Cenh
tmcMy now Gulph of Stance: here they landed and visited
the splendid ruins of the ancient theatre near it, then
in high preservation; all of white marble, 190 feet broad
by 150 in depth; and above the theatre stood the
Digitized by VjOOQIC
396 CADLFIELD.
remains of the magaificent temple of the Cnidian Veniis^
built in the Corinthian order^ of the purest Parian marble,
and which Praxiteles had enriched with the famous statue
of the goddess, the most perfect production of his skill.
These precious monuments of classic architecture afforded
a delightful treat to the travellers, and more especially to
Lord Charlemont, whose cultivated taste taught him to
contemplate them with ecstacy. They next visited the Isle
of Cos, and thence Bodromi, and the splendid ruins of the
once famous Halicarnassus, the capital of Caria; pro-
ceeding thence to Cyntbus, now Thermia. On the SSrd of
November they passed Egina, and entered the Piraeus, and
the following morning, with the permission of the governor
of Attica, proceeded to the renowned city of Athens. On
their approach to this celebrated capital, the first grand
object of their attention was the temple of Theseus, which
alone, in the opinion of Lord Charlemont, was worth the
whole voyage. From this place they proceeded to the
Morea, Thebes, Corinth, and the ancient Euboea; and
returned to Athens on the 14th of December, 1749.
From the harbour of Aulis, immortalised by the genius
of Homer and the muse of Euripides, they sailed on the
20th of January, 1750. On their voyage to Rhodes and
Malta, they encountered a tremendous storm, and very
narrowly escaped being lost. They at length arrived at
Malta, and after a short quarantine of twenty-three days,
were allowed to land, and honoured by the grand master,
Don Emanuel Pinto, a Portuguese nobleman, and all ^he
knights, with the most courteous and hospitable urbanity.
From Malta Lord C. and his friends returned to Italy,
where he resumed his exertions to become perfect in that
language, which he had cultivated with assiduity, and his
consummate accuracy in which, aided by the polished
elegance of his mind and manners, rendered his intercourse
highly accepuble to persons of the first rank and accom-
plishments. At Turin he renewed his intimacy with his
former fellow-stndent, the Prince Royal of Sardinia, then
about to be jnarried to a princess of Spain, and the pre<*
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CAULFIELD. 397
sence of our noble traveller at the nuptials was particu-
larly requested by the prince; who afterwards took every
occasion to evince his unaltered esteem for Lord Cbarle-
mont.
His lordship next visited Lucca, Sienna, and other places
of celebrity, in company with Lord Aylesbury, whom
he met on his travels, and with w'hom he afterwards main^
tained an intimate friendship through life. AtVerona he ex-
perienced a marked attention from the Marchese Scipione
MafTei, so honourably mentioned by Lady M. W. Mon-
tague, and he cultivated intimacy with the literary society
who used to assemble at Maffei's palace, and with almost
every other erudite society in the principal towns of Italy.
At Rome he continued two years, and was one of the
earliest of the British subjects, who kept a house and
establishment there for the reception of his friends *: and
here, preceptor Murphy, the lidus Achates of his travels,
acted as his major domo in the domestic arrangements of
his establishment. The noble young traveller did not
confine his. attentions or expenditures to his own amuse-
ments and pursuits, but was a kind benefactor to several
young artists then pursuing their studies at Rome; and
especially Mr. William Chambers, whose finances and
connections were much limited. His lordship's kindnesses
to him at that period were gratefully remembered through
life by that eminent man. With the most distinguished
of the Roman and Neapolitan nobles then at Rome, and
all the English of worth and eminence there. Lord Charle-
mont cultivated intimacy and friendship, and afterwards
corresponded with many of them. Amongst the British
whom he met there were the Lords Cavendish, and the
Marquis of Rockingham, with whom he contracted the
most cordial and indissoluble friendships, and the same
might be said of his friendship with the Due de Niver-
nois, and the venerable PontifiT, Benedict XIV; From
Rome his lordship returned to Turin, and spent his time
between that city and Florence till the end of July 1764^
when he proceeded to Spain and France, and amongst
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9QS CAULFIELD-
other etDiocnt perioos in the latter ooontrj, he visited the
cdebrated Baron Montesquieu, at his residence near
Bourdeaux, by whom he was received with the utmost
urbanity, and in whom his lordship was not a little asto*
nished to find blended the learning, talents, and profound
jrfiiiosaphy of the author of V Esprit du LoU with all the
agreeable levity, vivacity, and inexhaustible chit^c/ud of a
refined petit^mattre of the Parisian circles, although then
at the age of seventy. His lordship also renewed his inti-
macy with Monsieur de Nivemois, St. Palaye, Helv6tiu8,
the Marquis Mirabeau. At the Count D^Argenson's, and
the Dukede Biron's, he met many eminent characters both
French and English. — In 1755, after an absence of nine
years, he returned to his native country, for which, all the
attractions of foreign travel and extensive intercourse with
the arts, courts, the literature, and manners of the most
polished nations of Europe, never abated his afiections ;
nor was his country, durbg his absence, unmindful of him
in whom she contemplated one of her future and best
friends and ornaments. His return, therefore, was gladly
hailed by all ranks ; and the Lord Chancellor Jocelyn,
eminent for his discernment, spoke of him as a young
nobleman of whom his country had reason to form the
highest expectations.
The state of society at that day in Ireland had but few
inducements to secure the constant residence of a youQg
nobleman just returned from a nine years' intercourse with
the most polished nations, splendid courts, and eminent
characters of Europe, amongst which he had moved.
Much of his time, therefore, was spent amongst hisiriends
in England. His zeal, however, to promote the freedom
and prosperity of Ireland, never slept, and in the course
of some years, his love of the naiale solum superseded all
foreign attachments, and induced him to make the land of
bis birth that <^f his constant residence ; although at the
time of his return, and long afterwards, it was the prevail-
ing fashion with the Irish nobility and principal gentry,
to reside in France or England : ^r, it mnsi be admitted,
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GAULFIELD- S»
diat Ir^hndi id those days, had but few iadui^emeots for
the Totaries 6f refined taste, elegant amnsement, or social
tranqnillity. The history of the men and'measures of those
days, are so intimately blended with the life of Lord
GharlemOQt, that it will be impossible to detach them
from the thread of this memoir ; but the brevity to which
onr sketdi is necessarily restrained, will oblige ns to
exclude all collateral detailsi not indispensable to our
pnrpose.
The first Occasion we find to notice Lord Charlemont .
as a prominent figure in the polUkal canvass in Ireland,
was during the viceroyalty of the Marquis of Hartington,
son of the then Duke of DcTonshire; a nobleman selected
for the suavity of his manners, and the excellence of his
character, as a minister well calculated to calm the turbu**
lence which then prevailed between the leading partisans
of the Irish and British interests. The Lord Primate
Stone, on the one hand, and Mr. Boyle (afterwards Lord
Shannon) on the other, were the conflicting candidates
for superiority. Both were sustained by vigorous parti-
sans, and Lord Har ting ton saw, that unless conciliation
could be effected, the purposes of his mission would be
fruitless.
Lord Charlemont, then, almost a stranger in his own
country, and wholly unexperienced in the manceuvres of
old intriguing statesmen, was induced, at the request of
the viceroy, to undertake the mediation ; and notwith-
standing his youth, he carried the point by the influence
of his candour and conciliating manners. His own prin-
cipal object was, to restore tranquillity to his country, and
to effect a junction of both chiefs, in aid of the viceroy,
whose sole purpose was public utility, and the establish-
ment of harmony at the castle. But the noble young me-
diator never suspected an underplot which was proceeding
at the same time, to establish as a secret article in the
treaty, that Mr. Boyle should have an earldom with a
pension' of SOOO/. a-year, for thirty-one years ; and Aat
the Primate Stone, after a little time, should enjoy his
Digitized by VjOOQIC
400 CAULFIELD.
due share of power. But this was only one of many huiF-
dred instanceS| which proved to Lord CharlemoDt's subse-
quent experience, that the mask of patriotism and the
zealous display of violent opposition^ are too often the
mere disguise of self-interest and ambition. But whatevec
claims to the favour of the viceroy this acceptable service
might have found for Lord Charlemoot^ with him they lay
dormant ; for he sought no favour ; and the only stipen-
diary one conferred upon his family or connections, was
the unsolicited compliment of a cornetcy of cavalry to his
brother, who had chosen a military life*
In tlie subsequent viceroyalty of the Duke of Bedford^
during the then existing war with France, occurred the
descent of the French expedition under Thurot and Gene^
red Flobert, with twelve thousand men, upon Carrick-
fergus> in the North of Ireland. Lord Charlemont was
then governor of the' county of Armagh ; and on the first
news of the attack, he waited on the viceroy to receive his
commands. He learned that Lord Rothes, the commander-
in-chief, had marched with competent force for the scene
of attack ; and that the viceroy had determined to follow*
Lord Charlemont proceeded forthwith to Bel&st, where
he found, that the peasantry and yeomanry of the county,
mostly his own tenantry, had thronged from the surround-
ing country to meet the enemy, with vich arms as they
could procure. They were drawn up in regular bodies ;
some with old firelocks, but much the greater number
with lochaber axes, of which they were ready to make
a desperate use. But when his lordship had advanced to
Carrickfergus, he found the enemy, having made but
a very short stay in the town which they possessed, after
a smart action with the small force there, had fled : for,
observing the determined spirit of the country, (hey had
reimbarked their troops, and only waited a fair wind for
their escape ; having left numbers of killed and wounded
on the field, and amongst the latter. Monsieur Flobert, their
general, and many of his oflBcers, who, by the active
humanity and influence of Lord Charlemont, were saved^
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CAULFIELD. 401
from tbe fary of the people, and afterwards treated with
protection and generosity. This skirmish, thengh not
Tery important in a military point of view, gave to Lord
Charlemont the strongest proof of the spirit, promptitude,
and bravery of his countrymen in the defence of their
native soil. The conduct of his lordship on this occasion,
and the spirit displayed by hiy countrymen, were highly
commended in the viceroy's dispatches to his government
in England, and as graciously approved by the reigning
monarch, Geo. II. 'And his Grace of Bedford, at a sub-
sequent time, upon the appointment of his successor, the
Duke of Northumberland, to the viceroyalty, marked his
esteem for Lord Charlemont, by strongly recommending,
that an earldom should be offered to bis lordship. This
was tbe more generous, as Lord Charlemont had warmly
opposed many of the Duke of Bedford's measures in par*
liament.
On the succession of his present majesty to the throne,
Lord Halifax was appointed to the viceroyalty of Ireland,
and Lord Charlemont being then in London, an event
occurred, in which he conceived the honour of his coun-
try, and the privileges of its nobility, were materially
affected.
The nuptials of the young king with her late majesty.
Queen Charlotte, were shortly to be celebrated, and a
number of Irish peeresses wete then in town, and expected,
as a matter of course, to have the honour of walking in
the procession, according to their respective ranks, at the
august solemnities. But before even the queen had landed,
the Duchess of Bedford had received orders to acquaint
these ladies, '' thai they were not to walk, or form any part
m the ceremonial"
Extremely mortified at this unexpected vela, exposing
themselves to ridicule, and their country to contempt,
they applied to Lord Charlemont for his interference, to
vindicate the honour and privileges of the peerage of Ir&>
land; and his lordship, ever the devoted champion of
chivalry, aud the honour of his fair countrywomen, used
VOL. 1. D D
Digitized by VjOOQIC
402 CAULFIELD.
his exertions with such effect^ that, by the zealous aid of
Lord Middleton, Lord Halifax, and Lord £gmont^ and
(notwithstanding the warm opposition which the object met
in the privy-council, called an purpose to adjust the matter,
yet who came to no decision) he ultimately succeeded.
And his majesty was graciously pleased to forego the
indecision of his council, and to issue bis orders for th^
nobility of Ireland to take their places in the ceremooial^
inamediately after those of England, respectively accord-
ing to rank.
About this period the internal state of Ireland was frie-
quently disturbed by the insurrections and tumults of the
peasantry ; not from any motive connected with sedition
against the government, but merely from the extreme dis-
tresses and oppressions under which the common people
laboured, from a variety of causes. Amongst others, the
severe pressure of the penal laws against catholics operat-
ing on four-fifths of the whole population ; the exaction
of raclcrents from the miserable occupants of the soil ; the
severe exactions of tithes for the maintenance of the
high church clergy, pressing on dissenters as well its catho-
lics, to maintain a priesthood, from whom they d^ved no
instruction or advantage, besides being obliged tk> main-
tain their own clergy ; the heofoy taxes imi^osed by grand
juries {or roads, and other cdunij/ and baronial rates, which,
added to the wretched state, of agriculture and matiirfac-
tures, the almost total depression of home trade, and the
•utter preclusion from foreign comnierce, formed a constant
and prolific source of irritation, to which the Only legis-
lative remedies aplplied were, severe laws and sanguinai^y
punishments.
In 1763, one of those insurrectionary tumults broke out
in the north of Ireland, where the papulation was chiefly
composed of dissenters. The insurgents assumed the
appellation of oak-boys, wore oak-boughs in their hats,
threatening destruction to all abettors of the tythe system,
the rack-rent landlords,, and prombters of road as^ess-
hients. This spirit pervaded, not only, the courity of
Digitized by VjOOQIC
. CAULFIELD. 403
lAcm^h where Loiid CbarleiBont w«s governor, and ao
exAeoaive laad-owoer, but also Feroiaiiagh, Derry, and
Tyrone. Tbe geatry of the province were greatly alarnaed
aod called on government for military aid ; and proclama-
tions wese isaoedy and .military execution threatened. But
Loffd Cbarkmoat, at the request of tbe government, xe»
paired to tbe distmrbed quarters, and hy tbe influeDce of his
character, and conciliatory persuasions, aided by the mo*
derate gentry of diose counties, in a short timie, waa the
prificipal means of restoriDg trauquillity without the loas
of a single life. On his loidsbip'sTejburn to the metropolis,
he received the warmest adoiowledgoienls from tbe Duke
of Northumberland tfor this «miDm>t services in thi8>affair,
and was informed by his grace, that his majesty was, so
highly sensible of those services, as to desire him as his
lieutenant, to acquaint his lordship, that an earldom awaited
his acceptance. To this honour, his lordship, after a few
days' consideration, bowed assent; but on the express
stipulation that the advancement of his rank was in^Do way
to influence his parliamentary conduct. The duke assured
his lordship that 'nothing of the sort was ever in contem-
plation ; and upon this condition, the eavldom was accepted.
His grace only added a wish to be permitted, as an old
friend, to testify hisipure personal respect for him, in any
mode he should be pleased to point out. But Lord .Char-
lemont merely requested the appointment of a member of
the linen board, as his estates lay in the linen counties.
The appointment had no emolument attached, and it was .
<}heerfully promised him on the first vacancy.
His lordship proved his sincerity in the conditieo, on
which. he accepted the earldom ; for while his patent was
passing through the officesyhe voted against the address of
thanks for the treaty of peace then recently concluded,
and afterwards entered his protest against.it in the lords'
journals. But from this moment, there was an end of
court favour and distinction to him, nor was he ever nomi-
nated to the seat at the linen board; and although the
then Lord Chancellor, Bowes, decidedly objected to an
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404 CAULFIELD.
ientry on his patent of peerage, stating, ^ that it was
wholly unsoUcUed, and the spontaneous grant of his ma-
jesty/* as informal; his lordship had afterwards added
to his patent, an engrossed testimonial, specifying the
manner in which it was granted, lest the honour of his
earldom should ever be stained with the imputation of
motiTes similar to those which afterwards led to the pro*
fuse creations of new nobility.
In 1764, Lord Charlemont revisited London,- and was
nominated by the Dilletanti Society for the promotion of
literature and the arts, to the honour of their chair, for
which he was eminently qualified by his taste, knowledge,
and zeal for their success ; and he was chiefly instrumen-
tal to the subsequent mission of Dr. Chandler, the cele-
brated Athenian Stewart, Mr. Revett the architect, and
Mr. Pars the draftsman, to Greece, and some parts of
the East, to collect information on the ancient state of
those countries, and the remaining monuments of antiquity.
The society, in the first instance, devoted a fund of QOOOL
and for this underuking the world is indebted for those
subsequent publications at the expense of the society,
which have thrown so much light on the subject of classic
iantiqu^ty.
The next period in which we find his lordship assume a
prominent public part in Ireland, was in the viceroyalty
of Lord Townshend; a nobleman selected for the convi-
viality of his disposition, and frankness of his manner, as
well adapted to conciliate supporters to his government in .
Ireland. But his parliamentary measures met strenuous
opposition. In those contests, it was Lord Charlemont's
fortune to act with the minority. But the government
of Lord Townshend will be remembered as the epoch which
first unlocked the energies of that country, by the passing
of the octennial bill for limiting the duration of parlia-
ments, which, heretofore, was co-extensive with the lives
of the members, and only limited otherwise by the chance
of dissolution, or the demise of the crown. This measure
bad been long earnestly called for by the voice of the
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CAULFIELD. 405
country; and though heads of a bill for the purpose had
twice passed the houses of pari iament, even with the simu-
lated support of those who were^ at bottom, the most
decided enemies of the measure, because they were confi-
dent it would be stifled in the privy council, through which
it must pass, before it could be transmitted to England ; the
British cabinet, at length vexed by this duplicity, through
which the whole odium of rejecting so popular a measure
was thrown upon the government, sanctioned the bill, and
returned it confirmed, with orders to dissolve the parliament'
at the close of the session. But it was considered at the
time, perhaps truly, to have been adopted by the British
cabinet, as a measure of experiment to break down the
phalanx of Irish aristocracy, who controlled the parlia-
mentary influence of the crown, at their own discretion.
The first public writer in suggesting this measure, was
Doctor Charles Lucas, the friend and physician of Lord
Charlemont; whose able advocacy excited the exertions
of other spirited writers, and finally the voice of the whole
country, whose object was ultimately successful : an in-
stance (as Lord Charlemont was wont to observe) that
should stimulate the exertions of every true patriot, and
teach him to cherish, as an infallible maxim, ** that every
measure, intrinsically j ust and good, will finally be carried
by virtuous and steady perseverance." — A maxim, which
he solemnly recommended to his children after him, adding,
that *' although the first advocate of a good measure might
not live to witness its success, yet he may lay the foun-
dation of that success for his survivors : and that the man
who lays the first stpne of the temple of liberty, deserves
as much, and perhaps more, credit with posterity, than
he who lives to complete the edifice."
In the year 1768, Lord Charlemont married Miss Hick-
man, daughter of Robert Hickman, Esq. of the county of
Cilare; a lady, whose mind and accomplishments were
perfectly congenial with his own, and eminently contri-
buted to his subsequent happiness through life.
The dissolution of the old parliament, in consequence of
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406 CAULFIELD.
the octennial bill, created a marked change in the ener^
gies of the country, and introduced a succession of new
and splendid characters on the senatorial stage ; and the
administration of Lord Townshend became in consequence,
a perpetual scene of arduous contest. At no one period
of Irish history, did there appear so numerous a host of
able men, or a more brilliant display of talents and elo-
quence in the parliament. The country began to rouse,
as it were, from a political lethargy. The limitation of
eight years to existence of parliament on the one hand,
taught the representative body to feel, a little, their depen-
dence on popular sentiment ; and the people, on the other,
to hope that the talents of their honest gentry would have
a fair chance of being more generally exerted in their
cause; while the great boroUgh-owners looked to the
lucrative expedient which would recur to them on the
demise of every parliament, of turning their influence with
advantage to their political or pecuniary account. This
measure also sowed the first germ of a future system,
little, if at all, contemplated at the moment; namely, the
extension of the elective franchise to the catholics, who,
for a scries of years before and after, were wholly excluded
that privilege, their subsequent attainment of which, was
at least as much owing to the electioneering views, as to
the liberality of parliamentary leaders.
Amongst the leading characters eminent in the political
contests of the day, were, in the upper house, Simon, Earl
of Carhampton, and Charles Coote, Earl of Bellamont;
John Scott, a brirrister, afterwards Earl of Clonmell and
chief justice; Walter Hussey Burgh, afterwards chief baron
of the exchequer; Sir William Osborne; the celebrated
Henry Flood; John Hely Hutchinson, afterwards secre-
tary of state, and provost of Trinity College ; and Detmis
Daly, member for Qalway.
Lord Charlemont thought it his duty to his country
uniformly to act with the opposition, although he fre-
quently viewed with regret the revolt of some of his ablest
friends, whose patriotic fortitude could not withstand the
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CAULFIELD. 407
temptation of office and emolument. The octennial bill
was the only measure as yet conceded by the British
cabinet to the wishes of the Irish nation ; bin the com-
plaints of the country were now directed to other griev-
ance^y which, so long as they continued, were considered
^ insurmountable impediments to the honour, indepen-
dence, and prosperity of the nation. These grievances
were,r— 15/, the claims of the British parliament to the
right of passing laws to bind Ireland; thus superseding
the aat|;iority of her own legislature. 2d^, The ruinous
restraints upon her commerce, which debarred her from all
direct ttade with the British colonies, and all share in
the privileges of British subjecu under the navigation
act, and reduced her population to misery. And, Srdfyf
the necessity of transmitting all bills passed by the two
houses of the Irish parliament through the medium of
the lord-lieutenant and privy council, in whom was vested
the power of cmhiomng such bills (as the phrase was) t. e.
stifling them in transitu ; and, if they survived that ordeal,
they were afterwards subject to mutilation, and even
death, in the privy council of England. It was utterly
in vain fox Ireland to hope for any measure of amelio-
ration, political or commercial, under such control, which
was supposed in any degree to interfere with British in-
terests.
These were the prominent features of political evils,
which the patriots of that day considered as the sole
source of degradation and debasement to their country.
The removal of which might lead to the future miti-
gation of minor mischiefs; but, practically, those very
minor mischief were the heaviest grievances under which
the country internally sufliered ; namely, the divisions of
the people into sectarious classes, cherishing mutual ran-
cour and hostility to-each other; and the intolerable yoke
of the penal laws against cathoUcs, which weighed down
four-fifths of the population to a state of debasement and
vassalage Uitle better than that of the boors of Russia, or
of other despotic governments pf the north. This system.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
408 CAULFIELD.
otiginfttiDg in the prejudice and hostility of the Eoglnb
settlers in that country under successive reigns^ who pos-
sessed the confiscated estates of the old rebellious chiefs,
(many of them of English descent,) who resisted English
ddmination ; and more especially the followers of Crom-
well and William III. who, having obtained the ruling
power^ seemed determined to wreak interminable ven-
geance on the devoted Irish, foritheir, perhaps, mistaken,
but certainly most unfortunate loyalty to their British
monarchs, Chablrs I. and his son James IL The vic-
torious party thought they had no security for their new
possessions in Ireland, even under the protection of British
power, so long as a vestige of liberty, of property, or of
influence remained with the catholics, who formed four-
fifths of the population ; and hence they formed a system
of laws against that sect, calculated not merely to subju-
gate, but t6 brutalise them, — a system which a protestant
legislator and eminent lawyer and statesman, shortly be-
fore this period, in his endeavours to mitigate those laws,
said, — ** They were a disgrace to the statute books of an
enlightened nation ; and so odious in their principles, that
one might think they were passed in hell, and that demons
were the legislators/' And, in fact, if the catholics of
Ireland did not become the most ignorant, stupid, and
ferocious savages, it is by no means attributable to the
spirit and letter of those statutes, so emmently calculated
to render them such.
The octennial bill, which was balm to the political
wounds of the privileged sect, was a new source of bitter
oppression to the degraded one. Every new election gave
rise to new contests in every county ; and every candidate
sought to increase the numbers of his elective force. A
freehold, or profit rent, of forty shillings a year for thirty-
one years, constituted every protestant an elector; and
the result was, that every eighth year, the catholic, whose
farm had been cultivated for thirty preceding years by the
labours of himself and his children, was turned out of
possession, with his family, to beg, if they chose, in order
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CAULFIELD. 409
to make room for a manufacture of at many protestant
freeholds as bis land could admit. Not only the candi-
dates, bat tbeir friends and relatiTes bad recourse to tbe
same expedient; and the system, in progress, was further
improved by shortening the term of thirty-one years
leases to tbe catholic down to twelve or eight, so as to
terminate about the jye of a general election,-— a cere-
mony in which tbe catholic had no share, except tbe
honour of bearing a part with his cudgel, to support the
cause of his landlord, or his friends, who happened to be
candidates or partisans, in those ferocious conflicts uni-
formly prevalent in contests for representation.
The dissenters, principally inhabiting tbe north, although
exempt from the severities sustained by the catholics,
were not without some share of legal disability. For,
although the kirk was viewed as a half-sister of the high
church, still her children were not regarded without some
share of jealousy. Their Scottish descent rendered them
in view of some orthodox zealots, as hereditary friends
to the house of Stewart, while by others they were sus-
pected, partly as descendants of the Cromwelian school,
and tinctured with the principles of tbe puritans in the
days of the first Charles, and partly as secret adherents of
the house of Stewart: — and all together, a sort of mules
between Republicans and Jacobites. They were, however,
by no means cordial to the ascendancy of the dominating
sect, for, in common with the catholics, they were heavily
assessed by ty thes for the support of the high church, from
whose ministry they derived no advantage; while they had
a ministry of their own to support: and although they
were eligible to affairs under the state, their admission
was barred by sect oatbs, and religious compliances with
high church discipline; that the boon was a bitter pill to
the presbyters of the old school : but then they cordially
bated the pope and the pa(Nsts, and to this saving principle
they ultimately owed the indulgence of a bill, passed from
year to year, dispensing with those compliances, and
allowing further time to qualify. Thus they enjoyed, as
Digitized by VjOOQIC
410 CAULFIELD.
yearly teoants, privileges which served ta keep them
in good humour^ but which might be abrogated at the
discretion of parliament, so that proscription was still
• suspended over their heads, like the sword of Dionysius,
quamdHu se bene gesservU^ i. e. during good behaviour.
But the mutual religious antipathy between them and the
catholics, who viewed them as enemies of a deeper blue
than the high church, wais a clencher for the system of
divide et impera.
To the system of the penal laws, although many liberal
and enlightened men in and out of parliament were long
hostile, yet the great majority of the protestants retained the
prejudices absorbed with their mother's milk. Lord Char-
lemont himself, even with all his education, liberality, and
travelled experience in other countries, was never friendly
to a total, and certainly not to a rapid, abrogation of the
system, although his most intimate and confidential friends
were the strenuous advocates for the tot^l abolition. But
even the catholics, from the knowledge of his character,
respected his prejudices, and considered him a zealous
and conscientious friend to his country. But though he
resisted every motion of influence or aggrandisement to the
wealthier catholic, he was desirous to alleviate the suffer*-
ings of the' peasantry; and, in 1768, he had brought a bill
into the house of lords, to enable the poor labourer to
take a lease for ninety years of so much ground as might
serve him for a cottage and potatoe garden: — which,
however, was then rejected. This measure was frequently
moved in the commons, and as often failed. In 177S he
tried it again in the lords, and during some thin atten-
dances, succeeded as far as the second reading and com-
mittal : — but, to use his lordship's own language, '^ the
trumpet of bigotry had sounded the alarm; to give the
wretched cottager a permanent interest in his miserable
habitation was said to be an ii^frjngement on the penal
code, which threatened the destruction of church and
state ! A cry was raised that the proteSjtapt interest was in
danger. The lords were summoned^ the house was crouded
Digitized by CjOOQIC
CAULFIELD. * 411
with the zealoits supporters of orthodoxy and oppressioo^
and I was Toted out of the chair, not wholly unsuspected
6f being little better than a papist/'
The war in which England was engaged with her Ame*
rican colonies ultimately involved her in a war with France^
and Spain, who, at first covertly, and at last openly espoused
the cause of the colonists; and while England and Ireland
were drained of their troops to carry on the inefTectnai
struggle with the colonies, the European seas swarmed
with American and French privateers, and the squadrons
of France not only swept the British seas, but hovered on
our coasts, and menaced our fleets in the very mouths of
their own harbours. The invasion of Ireland was deemed
by France a favourable diversion in support of America, to
distract the attention of England, and oblige her to keep her
troops at home for the defence of her domestic territories;
and the project was actually set on foot for the invasion
of Ireland, where the whole force of the line, left there,
after drafts and selections for American service, consisted
of about five hundred men. The people of Belfast, mind-
ful of the danger their town had risked eighteen years
before, in the former reign, from the descent of Thurot, and
conceiving the present a much more formidable and
alarming crisis, applied to the government for a force for
their protection and that of their province. But their
application was plainly and candidly answered by Sir
Richard Heron, secretary to the then lord-lieutenanti
Lord Buckinghamshire, "that government could afford
them none.**
This answer raised alarm throughout the whole <xiuntry,
and, by degrees, roused the whole nation to a sense of the
pressing' necessity of arming for self-defence against the
common danger; and this was the first germ of that
volunteer army which occupies so prominent a place
in the modem history of Ireland. It is not our purpose
to detail minutely its growth and progress to matarity.
Government had plainly abdicated the national defco^.
The people volunteered, and armed, and arrayed, at their
Digitized by VjOOQIC
412 CAULFIELD.
own expense, for their own security. They chose their
own officers, were self^clothed, armed, disciplined, and
sustained ; and in the course of a year or two amounted to
a force of eighty thousand.
Of the regiment formed by the town of Armagh, Lord
Charlemont was chosen to the command, as were the prin-
cipal noblemen and gentlemen in other districts to the
local corps. The jealousy against the catholics, who by law
were debarred the use of arms, precluded their admission
to join these corps for some time ; but a patriotic ardour
for the common safety of the country, consumed for a time
all sectarious prejudices, and fixed the whole national
mind into one compound, like Corinthian brass. The
government did not view, without astonishment and regret,
this unexpected combination and formidable array, the
effects of its own work, and more remotely, of its prede-
cessors and of England ; by whose policy there had been
but too many dragon's teeth planted in the soil for a cen-
tury, which there was some reason to apprehend would,
on the first favourable occasion, spring up to armed men.
If it were now even possible, they felt it would be highly
rash and impolitic to attempt the disarray of the volunteers;
and the humiliations which the British arms had felt from
their ineffectual conflicts in America, taught the govern-
ment rather to dissemble their antipathies, and learn to
cherish the only force which could protect the country
at such a crisis. Therefore the supporters as well as the
opponents of administration joined their ranks, and in little
more than a year their numbers amounted to four thousand
two hundred more.
Men of all sects and orders met in the same ranks,
shared in the same fare, and the same services, forgot their
divisions, conversed with each other, not as formerly,
like enemies or rivals, but as countrymen and friends.
It became' every day more clear to the liberal and un-
biassed friends of the country, that something should be
done for the Telief of the catholics, who were in effect
** strangers at home." The people of Ireland had long
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CAULFIELD. 41S
looked forward to the resalt of the American contest as
the criterion of their own fate; and many of the most
leading li^nded proprietors foresaw, that, if America should
be successful in shaising off the government of England,
her next project would be to encourage emigration from
Europe, to people her boundless but fertile solitudes ; and,
with such an opportunity, it was natural to expect that
the catholic population of Ireland would prefer expa-
triation and liberty in America, to slavery, debasement,
and oppression at home; and that population was of some
value to the land-owner, if not to the government. Some
efforts were made in England, by Sir George Saville and
other leading men, for the relief of the catholics there;
and Lord North, then at the head of the British minis-
try, was highly favourable to relaxation in Ireland, but
thought that any measure for that purpose should origi-
nate in the Irish parliament. Accordingly Mr. Luke
Gardiner, afterwards Lord Mountjoy, a man. of large pos-
sessions in the country, in 1778, brought in a bill, the chief
objects of which were to empower catholics, subscribing
the oaths of allegiance, to take leases of lands for nine
hundred and ninety-nine years ; and to render such pro-
perty devisable and descendible, as that enjoyed by pro-
testants ;— and, also, to abrogate that infamous law for
enabling, and consequently encouraging, the son of a
catholic gentleman to make his father tenant for life, and
possess himself of the inheritance, by proving his father
a catholic, and conforming himself to the established
church. This bill was resisted in every suge ; but finally
carried in the house of commons ; and in the lords it
passed by a majority, thirty-six to twelve. Such was the
change, excited by the rapid alteration of circumstances,
in parliamentary sentiment within the short space of six
years ; and thus was the long proscribed catholic restored
once more.to the privilege of obtaining a permanent inhe-
ritance in his native country. The last- mentioned clause
of this bill, Lord Charlemont supported, but opposed it
on other points. The bill was gratefully accepted as an
Digitized by VjOOQIC
414 CAULFIELD.
important boon, and produced effects im ^e «griciik««6
and indnstry of the country witbin ten y^arSy^aparalkled Ib
the history of «ny nation in Europe witbm the like period.
Still the distressea of the country were great, and her reve-
nues reduced to a state of insolvency, from the tram-
melled state of her external commerce^ And the nation
now felt iuelf in a situation to remonstrate with England,
in firm but moderate language, for the reuioval of her
grievances, and a fair participation in the rights of Britieh
subjects, as a country annexed to the British cromi)
though under a distinct parliament. It lemained tbea <to
establish the independent iprivileges of that parliament^
free from the control of an external senate ; and the con-
stitutional rights of Ireland, as a distinct country, to be
governed by her own king, lords, and commons, under
laws of their own enactment.
Now commenced the most active period of LordC!harle-
mont's life. The volunteer army daily increased in
strength and respectability. It was not composed of
ignorant mercenaries enlisted from the lowest orders of
the community, and reduced to discipline by rigouf, kept
in order by severity, with little understanding or warm
feeling for the interests of iheir country ; animal machines
— ^thoughtful of nothing but iheir pay, and implicit obe-
dience to the commands of their officers. The volunteers,
on the contrary, were composed 'umversalty of educated
men, who read, thought, understood, and felt, for the
cause in which they were engaged ;— for a country where
they possessed rights and interests, which they had shewn
themselves prompt to defend from a foreign enemy, and
which they now wished to render worthy the name of -a
sister nation to England. Lord Charlemont was ch€«en
to the chief command of Uhe Leinster army, which 'gave
him a just celebrity or distinction, which he acknow-
ledged as the principal and dearest honour of his life;'
and happy it was for the country and the empire, that he,
and men of his chcuticter for wisdom and moderation,
were selected by the whole body to hold 'the chief sway
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CAULFIELD. 415
in their dkeettOD. For it was by the ioflneDce of their
wisdom, the veneration paid to it bj their country, that
every thing like intempeKitc ebullition was restrained,
whenever such a disf^osition partially appeared ; and the
spirit of the whole was directed by loyalty to their king,
but a manly and firm devotion to the rights and just claims
of their country. So far as depended on Lord Charlemont>
he devoMl his whole time and mind to the duties he had
asffuffled. At this time the distress of the mamifactnrers
was great beyond conception, and tens of thousands were
supported by charity, and the value of cattle and corn was
so reduced by embargoes, aud the consequent cessiktion
of external "demand, that the tenantry could not pay their
rents. The British government, and many eminent men
in parliadient, were willing to yield some measures of
relief, by removing the restrictions upon Irish external
cominerce ; but (he jealous clamonrs of the British manu-
facturers prevented them. Lord Charlemont corresponded
with the Marquis of Rockingham, and other enlightened
friends to Ireland in the British senate; but the influence
6f a few manofacturing towns in England prevailed
against the interests of all Ireland. At length the whole
country, as one man, determined on an experiment to
relieve themselves-^and entered into non-importation and
non-consumption agreements against all English commo-
modities whatever. This was the expedient which Dean
Swift had in vain advised, half a century before. And it
suddenly produced signal effects : -despondency amongst
the working orders was changed to joy and gratitude.
Those of the higher orders who had been most supine, were
now stimulated to a sense of their duty, and 'the British
manufacturers were quickly taught to feel, that some >of
their best interests were most vulnerable in that country,
whose claims they resisted with such selfish hostility.
Matters were now approaching to a crisis. Lord Charle-
mont had the honour, as well as the high satisfaction to
introduce into the house of commons, as representative
for his borough of Charlemont, that justly celebrated
Digitized by VjOOQIC
416 CAULPIELD.
orator and patriot, Henry Grattan^ then a young barrister;
bat whose talents afterwards shed so much lastre upon
his country* Towards the close of the session of parlia-
ment in 1778, an address was moved by Mr. Dennis Daly,
the object of which was, to open the trade of Ireland —
bat it was negativedt Tbat gentleman and hk friends
(of whom Lord Charlemont was a principal one) deter*
mined to renew it in the next session: and an address was
accordingly framed, and moved by Mr. Grattan in answer
to the lord-lieutenant's speech from the throne. It stated
the necessity and justice of the claims of Ireland ; and
Mr. Bargh, then prime«serjeant, on the suggestion
of Mr. Flood, moved an amendment to the preamble,
*^ that nothing but a free trade could save the country from
ruin,*' and the amendment was carried unanimously. When
the house went up with the address to the castle, the
Dublin Volunteers, under the command of the Duke of
Leinster, lined the streets through which they passed, in
grateful approbation, and the house, immediately at the
next meeting, voted their unanimous thanks to them.
And shortly afterwards they passed a money bill for sio;
months, and no longer.
These proceedings excited the attention of the British
ministry ; and some commercial resolutions in favour of
Ireland, were ably introduced by Lord North, in the Bri-
tish bouse of commons. These resolutions re-opened the
woollen trade of Ireland, and gave a freedom of commerce
with the British colonies, which were received in Ireland
with marked demonstrations of public joy and gratitude.
Mr. Grattan, some short time afterwards, acting in concert
with his noble friend, Lord Charlemont, moved in parliament
a declaration of rights i n favour of Ireland, preiaced by amost
animated and splendid oration. It was, however, resisted
by the court members, and failed. The popular indigna*
tion roused by this circumstance, vented itself in angry
but juslifiableresolutions, and addresses. Parliament did
not rise till September 1780, anjd Lord Buckinghamshire
was recalled from the government the Christmas following.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CAULFIELD. 417
He was eoeceeded by the Earl of Carlisle, accompanied
by Mr. Eden, (afterwards Lord Auckland,) as his secretary.
The nation called out for independence ; for without a
free constitution, they regarded a free trade as insecure.
Lord Carlisle did not meet parliament tillthe October
after bis arrival ; and the plan of a national bank was pro-
posed as a measure of popularity to his administration, and
adopted.
' In the year 1781 9 an eveqt took place peculiarly illus-
trative of the ardent loyalty, which prevailed in the
northern volunteer army, different in no respect from what
would have been shewn in any other part of the kingdom,
had occasion required it. A rumour was prevalent, that the
French had determined on the invasion of Ireland; Lord
Charlemont, in consequence, waited on the lord-lieutenant,
who acquainted him there was strong reason to believe the
rumour authentic, and that a letter from Lord Stormont,
then secretary of state, gave many particulars of the pro*
posed expedition, and stated that Cork was the meditated
point of attack. Lord Charlemont proposed, that, with
his excellency's permission, he should proceed to the
north, with *^ the fullest reliance of obtaining" a volunteer
auxiliary force there, ready to march to the southward,
and ba£9e every attempt of the enemy. The viceroy
warmly approved his proposal, and his lordship set out
next morning, and reached Armagh that night. The
officers of his own corps (which consisted of one thousand
infantry, with two troops of horse and two companies
of artillery) were at that time in the town, attending the
assizes; and no sooner had his lordship stated to them his
object, and asked what they would authorise him to say to
the viceroy, than the lieutenant-colonel, authorised by the
rest of the officers, expressed that ** his regiment were
extremely hurt that his lordship, whom they had unani*
mously chosen as their colonel, should feel it necessary to
make an application so hurtful to their feelings, for with
the reliance which they hoped he had on their spirit and
obedience, he should in the first instance have assured the
vot. I. E E
Digitized by VjOOQIC
4\i CACLFiEtD.
loricl-lieuteiiilnt thi&t his reglineiit wfeire re^^, at ft mOtnefii^
warnibgy to ibafch and jbin the kirig's trdops at Coi1r> ahd
be bad then but to ^end dbWti bis oHerd^ and they Wonid
have instantly obeyed, itxA marched t6 meet the eneniy.^
They would hearken to fao declaratory resolutions ;-^l
was only requisite lb inform bis Excellency they sh^dld
he at Cork as soon ai isldy other troops in the king's liervic^
and they entreated be would never again use them so ill Ift
to make a similar appHcatidii, but answei fdt them in his
bwn name, and cdtnihand iheih any Wbbre; kt any tiknls.
The whole nofthem arniy followed this gtilaiit exathpl^,
and fifteen thousand men declared thedidelVed rkady t6
inarch^ ai; a ttioment's notice, for th^' south, And p]a<^e
themselves utider the co^miand^>f his majesty's generals,
leaving a sufficient force behihd for the defence of the
northern counties.^ This promptitude gave the highest
pleasure to bis lordship, because it enabled htm to she^
to bis excellency the diipositioh of hift countryfailsn. HU
excellency, at his lordship's request, ordered camp equi-
pages to be furnished to such corps as were unprovided ;
and it may be fiairly presumed, tbat the same spirit, mani*
fested tbroiighout the country, indulced the enemy to aban-
don his project*
In such intervals of leisure as his military duties afforded*,
the peaceful retreat of his elegant villa at Marino,
bordering on Ddbliii bay, or his town residence in Rutl&ttd
square, affbrded the bpportunities of literacy amusement,
and intercourse with his flriends in the tti^trOiioUs. Both
structures were simple, but tasteful specittiiens of ^ithi^
tecture, in the Grecian style, atid furnished with excellent
librariea^ 4nd works of statuary and paintings, by the firbt
a'rtists.
The parliament at length ^seiiibled^ an^ Lord Chari«^
moht, on the first day of its session, moved the thanks of
the house of lords to the volunteers, which piassied unairi*
lUonsly, a^ did a similar motioti on the same day id A^
house of commons. The viceroy. Lord tJisuiisle, m'ost
nrbngly recommended to the English cabMet, it (tei^etiOn
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CAULFIELD. 419
of aH ohmis ot the Britiih parliRment to bind Irditod by
any laws kMde lit Westminstar, as theretofore ; and Lord
Charlemont looked with ooafidence to the conduct of pat-
Ikmetit itsdfy from which he augured the speedy accom-
plishtDeai of the great objects so anxiously desired by the
ooUotry * At length took place the memorable convention
at Dttflgamony the proposal for which originaied from the
iouthera baittalion of the first Ulster regiment, oommaoded
by Lord Gbarlemont The officers and delegates of that
battalioo met on theBBth of Deoember^ 1781, and resolTcd
to publish k decbration ^' that they beheld with the ntmoaiC
concern the little attention paid to the oonsiitutiond rightt
of Irelandi by the majority of those whose duty it was to
Establish and presenre them/' and diey intited every
volunteer association throughout their province to send
delegates to deliberate on the alanntng situation of puMtc
affairs; and find on Friday, the I5th of February, 1780,
for sadi an assembly, at Dangannon. On that day the
representatives of one hundred and forty-three corps of
volunteers of Ulster asaeoibledl accordingly ; Colonel WiU
liam Irvine took the chair; and the assembly was composed
of gentlemen of the aio^ considerable fortune, their loyalty
lind patriotism were well known and acknowledged, and
they formed twenty reselatioas, declaraiory of the rights
ami grievances of their eonntty, and at the same time
ei:preaBive of their exultation in the lace relaxation ef the
penal laws against xhm Rossan catholic coantrjrmen; and
they ooncloded fay ^roting the foHowing abort, spirited,
and impressive addiess to the minority in both bouses of
parliooient:*^
^^ My lonh and gcaitlemen;
'^ We duitak ycsi for your noble and spirited, thougd
hitherto ineffectoal efforts in defence of the great coasti-
sutiooal rights of yowr country : go on ! the a!(mos.t niiaiii*-
motts vtrioe of the people is wkh yon, and, in a firee-coon*
try, the voice of the people muat prevail.
^ We know mir duty to oar sovereign, and are loyal.
We itnosr kmht duty to onrsdves> and are resolved to be
Digitized by VjOOQIC
420 CAULFIELD.
free. We seek for our rights, and no more than our rights :
and in so just a pursuit, we should doubt the being oi a
Providence, if we doubted of success.'*
The moderate temper but manly firmness of this address,
greatly disappointed the hopes of the enemies of ther
country ; and the proceedings of the convention seemed to'
attach the applause even of foes, as well as friends. In little
more than a month the British ministry gave way ; and
Lord Carlisle having sent in his resignation to London,
through his secretary, Mr. Eden, — his lordship was suc-
ceeded in the viceroyalty by the Duke of Portland,
attended by Colonel Fitzpatrick^ (brother to Lord Ossory,)
as his secretary. Hi's grace, on his arrival, was hailed by
all ranks as the harbinger of liberty, conciliation, and
peace. A whig ministry in England, at the head of which
was the Marquis of Rockingham, and a' whig viceroy in
Ireland, who had zealously co-operated with that ministry,
were omens highly auspicious to the hopes of Lord Charle-
mont, for the completion of those objects for which he had
laboured throughout his political life, and so highly were
bis character, his integrity, and his weight in the political
scale of his country estimated, that the change of men and
measures were announced to him by a most cordial and
congratulatory letter frpm his old friend, the Marquis of
Buckingham; and his confidence and support earnestly
solicited by the new viceroy and his secretary immediately
on their arrival. He received at the same time, another letter
from Mr. Fox, couched in a similar spirit of confidence,
and giving the strongest assurances of the cordial wishes
of the new administration to promote in every way the
prosperity, the freedom, and the attachment of Ireland; to
which suitable answers were returned by his lordship.
In the proceedings of the l6th April, 1782, the reso-
lutions moved by Mr. Grattan, in the house of commons,
and carried, were objected to at the oastle, not so much
for their substance (for the British ministry meant fairly)
as because they were thought to require some modifications,
which, in the opinion of Lord Charlemont and his friends.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CAULFIELD. 421
\rouId have ditninished their weight and eB^cacy. Perhaps,
the Duke of Portland might think they would not meet
the concurrence of the British cabinet without some alter-
ation. Lord Charlemont had some interviews with his
grace on the subject^ and declared the intention of him-
self and his friends, to move the resolutions again in both
houses without any alteration; and that ministers mi^t
take what course they thought fit. In this state of un-
certainty, when the house met, it was wholly unknown to
Lord Charlemont and his friends, whether the resolutions
and address, which Mr.Grattan was to move, would be
opposed by government, or not. Mr. Grfittan, however,
persevered ; and, though much indisposed, h^ prefaced his
declaration of rights by a most splendid oration. He
suted the three great causes of complaint on the part of
Ireland; namely, the declaratory statute of George I. en-
ablii^ the British parliament to make laws to bind Ire-
land ; the perpetual meeting bill, which rendered the
standing army of Ireland independent of the control of
parliament ; and the unconstitutional powers of the Irish
privy council, to mutilate, or suppress, bills of the Irish
parliament on their way to England for the royal assent.
The repeal of these obnoxious statutes, and the abolition
of that most improper sway of the Irish privy council,
were, he said, the terms on which alone he could be
induced to support the government. The address to
his majesty, stating the grievances of Ireland, and the
declaration of rights, were then moved by him in answer
to the king's message. The sense of the house, in favour
of the address, was unequivocally manifest. All oppo-
sition, if any were intended, was relinquished ; and the
address passed unanimously; — as did a similar one in the
house of lords* The British ministry acted with candour
and magnanimity. Mr. Fox moved the repeal of the obnox-
ious statute of George I. in the British house of commons
with his usual ability* Lord Shelburne moved a similar
resolutipn in the lords ; and the repeal was immediately
adopted. If any thing could surpass the patriotic zeal
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4M CAULFIELD.
and temperate liritiDeM wbich marked die oondoot of tli«
Irish perliamefit aod people in pvirsait of their coBtCits*
tiooal rights, it was the anboanded joy and geaerona
gratitude they manifested oa this first pledge of political
sincerity on the part of the British government toward
Ireland. The parliament Toted twenty thousand seamen
for his majesty's navy; and the whole volunteer body
cheerfully engaged to contribute their aid and influence
in raising the men* A sum of 50,000L was unanimoualy
voted to Mr. Grattan, as a tribute from his grateful coun«
try, for those exertions of his eloquence which io mainly
contributed to the restoration of her rights ; and a day of
public thanksgiving was appointed to the Almighty for
that union, harmony, and cordial affection so happily
effected between the two kingdoms.
But, notwithstanding tlie unanimity which teemed to
have prevailed in parliament, that the simple repeal of the
statute of George I. was an ample renouncement of idl
right, on the part of the English parliament, to legislate for
Ireland, a few members, at the head of whom was Mr. Flood,
now came forward to start objections, and to declare that
nothing wasdone, and that nothingsbortof entire and formal
renunciation on the part of England, of all right to bind Ire-
land by British laws, could be valid or efficient. But all the
powers oF Mr. Flood's eloquence could ncM; persuade the
parliament to adopt this notion ; and they declared them-
selves almost unanimously satisfied with the simple repeal,
as fully binding upon the honour of England :— ^^ The
nation,'' said ^r.Grattan,'' that insists on the bumiliatioti
of another, is a foolish nation.^ But notwithstanding the
satisfaction expressed^by pariiament, a very opposite feel-
ing prevailed out of doors-^discontent gained ground —
the arguments pf Mr. Flood had a very general infiuesee.
On the 3 1st of July, the volunteers of Bdfast declared,
by a majority of (zdo, ^'that the nation ought not to be
satisfied with what had been done/' Many other corps
followed their example: and Mr. Grattan, for whose
patriotic conduct and eloquent exertions^ the whole nation
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CAULflELD. m
HW^f^ pf J#tf tor Ijj? fko i^i^aQtaio^sIy gro^fgl w^s re?il^d,
1^:^^^ io *n4 o^t qf parli^ent^ by tbp pffflisans of ^r.
pteof}> <|qctriq^ agaipft ih^ efficacy of siiople repp^^!.
Qvt tb^t wfiicli seemed to l^e^p pew poi^bastibles pa thi^
p^wjj kii)41e(l flame, was the attj&mpt of Lord Abingdoa
to iotroduce a bill in tb^ Prjtisb houpe of ^rds, ^^serting
the right of Qr^eat Qritajn to legislat)^ ext|^rpally for Ire^
land : ^n^ tk§ ba^is of this bil) w^ a preamble^ stating, that
wd^Tie^s th^ iciog^ of Englapd having been acknowledged
spyejr^gAf pf tl).e EfQgjUb s^ fqr eighteen centuries^ tb^
British parliao^jept had the sple fight to make laws to regu-
late the external comn^erce of Great Britain^ and all sucb
kingdoms as ^e under its spyereigpty. T^^F^ ^as also ^
diiil^e in the bill, stating, that whereas Queen JElizaWth
bM-ving formerly forbad th^ kipgs of France to build more
. sbips tbw they Uij^a bad, without ^er leave first obtained|
it enacted that pp kiugdoni, as above ^tated^ Ireland^ f^f
well as others, sbopld pr^upap jtp build a nayy, or uny
pbip or shH)s pf war without Jeaye from thp lord h^g^
~ lulmiral of Epgland/' The very apnouRqement of this
bill excited a strong ^d general feriji^^pjt p Ireland,
imd raised such distrust ai^ indignatipri ai^ong tb^
volunteer cprps whq had p)edg^ tb^ijr ^^ertions for raising
the twenty thousand se^p^j^n, tlj^t tfopy desist^jtjl fropa their
laodal^le- ende^vpurs : ^p.d a pvm^ous and resppct^bl^
corps 19 the metropolifi, th^p upd^ ^e ii^n^^diate com^
mwd of Lord jCharlemppt, entered jntp vpry warpi jpesolu-
tions against enrolling ^y seaip^n, and sent their resolu-
tions to his lordship, thep in the nprtb, witl) the ;^armes^
e:fpffession^ of personal resp^cjt and kipdnes^. To tl^is hi^
Iprdabip re^urnj^ p pplit^ ^d moderate answer, ii^ which
be^ew^d th^m the ^^sl^i^ess of suffering themselves to bf
alarmed by xbe m^asurp in question, which was '' the pro^
dup^pn of an individual nobleman, actuated by his own
private whim ig^d pirejudice, and not adopted, nor even
f ufl^^ to pjLPP^ed tp discuj^ipn in the Epglish parliament*
Tfac speitcb pf Lord Abipgdpp jn his attppipt to introduce
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424 CAULPIELO.
thid bill, was ably and explicitly replied to, and tbe bill
was not even suffered to lie on the table. Were the volan^
teers of Ireland, therefore, upon every breath of rumour,
to agitate their own minds, to forfeit the steadiness of their
character, or to desist from proceeding in a measure, to
which the nation was bound in honour, and so essentially
necessary to the security of their country, as well as Eng^
land, by manning the Channel fleet for common defence
against the common enemy V* This persuasive remon-
strance had the desired effect, and all apprehension va-
nished. A most respectable meeting was called in Dublin,
and Lord Charlemont was requested to take the chair,
and, pursuant to the desire of the meeting, wrote to every
. sheriff in Ireland, strongly recommending to their zealous
support this important service; and from all quarters
received the most satisfactory assurances of their com-
pliance. The act for repealing the statute of George L
having received tbe royal assent, a correspondence fol-
lowed between Lord Charlemont, and the Marquis of
Rockingham, and Mr. Burke. The majquis, in terms of
the most cordial esteem, congratulated bis lordsbrp on
the happy change of circumstances for his country, as did
Mr. Burke; and both earnestly recommended the speediest
possible completion of the generous and well-tim.ed offer
of Ireland, to raise the twenty thousand seamen : acquaint-
ing him that Lord Keppel had sent one of the best and
most alert officers in the navy, Captain M'firide, to receive
the men ; which would enable him iu three weeks to man
fourteen additional ships of the line, for Lord Howe's
command, which would enable the British fleet to cope
with the enemy, though superior in number of their line
of battle ships ; and nothing but tbe friendly efforts of
Ireland could rapidly furnish men for the purpose.
To this letter Lord Charlemont answered, by expressing
bis confidence in the success of the measure, in spite of a
discontented party, and promising his own best efforts to
promote it. The men were accordingly raised. Lord
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CAULFIELD. 425
Howe's fteet of fourteen sail of the line were manned, and
the world has heard of the result, that the enemy's fleet
was utterly defeated.
In the summer of 1782 a plan was proposed by goTem-
ment to supply the deficiency of the troops of the line,
which, from the number of twelve thousand men, settled
in Lord Townshend's administration, as the standing force
of the country, was now reduced by drafts for foreign ser«
vice to three thousand men, not sufficient for garrison
duty : and the plan proposed was to raise four provincial
regiments of one thousaud men each, under the name of
fendbles; to be enrolled for three years, or for the war,
and officered by Irish gentlemen, with rank according to
the numbers they should respectively raise, and not be
sent out of Ireland. The plan was submitted to Lord
Charlemont, with an ofler of commanding the whole or
part, with the rank of major-general. The latter offer he
declined on the first instant, and afterwards stated to the
viceroy his objections to the entire plan. From his pecu-
liar situation, he knew it would be highly unpopular. If,
however, on full consideration, it should appear eligible,
its mere unpopularity would not sway him as an honest
man. The volunteers would certainly consider it as a
direct attempt to undermine them, who had manifested
such alacrity for the defence of their country. In the
result, however. Lord Charlemont's predictions of the un^
popularity of the measure were fully verified, and although
there were above one hundred and fifty applications for
commissions in the proposed regiments, and many of those
from the most outrageously abusive enemies of the fen-
cible scheme, the plan was abandoned ; and the lord-^lien-
tenantexpressed to Lord Charlempnt his regret that bis
lordship had proved so true a prophet.
When the volunteer regiments of Leinster were reviewed
by Lord Charlemont in the Phcenix Park, the Duke of
Portland was present ; and on being thanked by the noble
general at the next levie, for the honour his grace had
done the volunteer troops by his presence; — ^his grace
Digitized by VjOOQIC
41« CAULFIELR
repli^, ^ Sttrely my lord, a body of uoapi fpriiu4 on wdi
priBciples, could not bjs ao near ooe wUbput a dwre on
my part to see their exertions in the fifld." The lika
attention was shewn every where by the officers of govern-
neat; and wl^enever the king's troops, tl^en under the
chief command of General Burgoyne, met with the volun-
teers, military honours were reciprocated. To Lord Cbar-
lemont himself, as a commandant, every degree of military
respect was paid by the king's troops wherever he passed.
And on hjs road to Limerick, passing through the town
of Nenagb, a party of the 18th light dragoons insisted on
mounting guard for him at his inn, whilst be staid, and ^,
party of the same regiment escorted him on bis journey,
as far as he would permit.
Earl Temple (afterwards Marquis of Buckingham) 9oe-
ceeded the Duke of Portland in the viceroyalty in 1788;
and, previous to his arrival, iffrote to Lord Oharlen^ont^
announcing his appointment, and soliciting, as his prede-
' cessof had done, his lordship's support to his administra-
tion. Lord Clic^^^^oi^^ replied, by expressing his regret
for the depar^ire of the D^ike of Portland, whos/e princi-
ples and conduct bad been the sole motive of bis attachr
ment and support ; and assuring the new viceroy of his
•opport upon the same grounds only.
About ^is time, bis majesty was pleased to found an
order of knighthood in Ireland, by the appellation qf The
KiiigbU of St. Patricia; and Earl Temple, who had ^if
majestys eomv^aods to select such a list of Irish names, at
miebt best promote bis majesty^s intentions of placing
this order on the most honourable footing — addressed, with
bis own band, a letter to Lord Cbarleipont, stating, that
be could not better promote his majesty's wishe^ than by
addressing himself to a no4^1eraan, whose bifth, rapk, for-
tune, and character, as well as hif eminent public services,
entitled him to the veneration and gratitude of bis coun-
try ; and requesting pem^iission to place faia name on the
list'of new knights. This iionour bia lordship accepte^^
with auitaUe expresaioaa of bis fiseliags for the distinction
Digitized by VjOOQIC
OAULBI£LD. 417
-^rhui OB the iaouBoenilitioiiB af perfisci pariiattMlafy inde-
pendfiDoe^ as he bad many yeaiB beibfe acocpled tka dignity
of his earldoBi ; and both wero the more honourable, be-
cause the spontaneous offers of the orown, wholly un^
lioited OB his part.
Notwithstanding the conciliatory measures then acoom*
plished, thens were still some embers of former discontent
on the subject of simple repeal, not extinguished, and
nothing short of an explicit and total renunciation of the
British parliament to legislate for Ireland, i^onld appease
the malcontents. Lord Charlemont and his friends stilt
thought sueh a demapid indelicate, because indicative of
sispioion towards th^ hoaoor and sincerity of Eaglaad.
But his loMl3hip, who had daily intelligence t^ what was
passing, saw clearly the enemies of tranquillity in Ireland
would neirer be qqiet until this point was conoeded :-F^and
be therefore judged, that to relinquish that point, would
afford the last chance of exploding all preteoees for
irritation. But ^ new flame was kindled by the circum-
stance of a writ of error froip the Irish courts to the oouri
of king's bench in England, transmitt^ previous to the
new order of things, bei^g entertained and ^acted npon by
Lord Mansfield. This circumstaaoe was regarded 99 an
ittstanee of pwtie faUh oa th^ part of Eqglaod : end the
uproar against the simple repealists, was louder than cTcr.
In Tain did Lord Charlemont strive tg allay the gathering
storm ; although he considered the occurrence fortunate,
as it would prevent soph e droumstaace being repeated in
future. Bui it led to the adoption of a measure which
silenced all apprehensions, for the draiught of a reconeilia*
tory bill was transmitted by liOid Temple to Westminster,
which was introduced into the Briti«fh f>arHameot witb
some modi€cation; passed both houses without oppo*
sition ; and finally received the royal assent. Lord Tempte
continued in office until the coalition between Mr. Fox,
and Lord North, took place; when bis lordship was suc-
ceeded by Lord Northington. Hie friendalhtp between
Aem and Lord Chailemont continued undiminished, and
Digitized by VjOOQIC
428 CAULnELD.
the volonteecB of Dublin co-operating with their venerated
commander, escorted Earl Temple to the water-side on his
return to England, as a testimonial of their gratitude and
respect. Lord Northington, who was appointed under
the influence of Mr. Fox, paid the same respect and con-
fidence to Lord Charlemont, his predecessors had done ;
and by him his lordship was called to theprivj council;
an honour which he accepted on the condition that
his friend Mr. Grattan should be called to a seat in the
same assembly; an arrangement which shortly afterwards
took place.
The friends of conciliation and tranquillity were now con-
gratulating each other upon the happy termination of all
political disputes between the sister countries, when anew
and unforeseen theme of contention arose, which, in its
progress, more seriously threatened the public tranquillity
than any topic which had heretofore heated the public
mind; — it was the question of parliamentary reform. The
fatal issue of the American war had completely chagrined
the advocates of that measure; and the galling weight of
taxation incurred by that contest, exasperated the people
of England— quite weary of so hopeless a pursuit, in which
the great majority of them had been so ardent in the out-
set. The corrupt state of parliamentary representation
was now considered as the source of all their calamities 4
apd Mr. Pitt, then just of age^ and first advancing into
public notice, became the avowed champion of parliamen-
tary reform in England. The people of Ireland had at
least as much reason as those of England to complain of
the state of their representation ; and the voice of reform
in England was immediately re-echoed in Ireland; not
simply by assemblies of the people^ but by the volunteer
army, — issuing indeed from the people, but still a military
body, numerous and formidable ; and however well inten-
tioned that army in general was, there was much reason
to apprehend that amongst them some of great popular
influence were desirous of carrying matters much beyond
the line of modification and improvement. The whole
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CAULFIELD. 429
kiDgdom was much agitated on the subject. A provincial
meeting, assembled at Cork, on the IstofMarcb, 1785,
published many strong resolutions in favour of reform ;
and in the north, another meeting of delegates from forty-
five volunteer corps, assembled at Lisburne, on the 1st of
July following, and afterwards at Belfast, on the 19th of
the same month (which afterwards corresponded with
Mr. Pitt, the Duke of Richmond, and other British advo-
cates for reform) and they addressed a letter to Lord
Charlemont, then on a visit to his friend Mr. Brownlow,
at Laydon, soliciting, net only his lordship's support in
favour of a reform for which he had already avowed the
warmest approbation, but entreating the communication
of his lordship's sentiments at large on the subject, point-
ing out such a specific mode of reform, and the most
eligible steps leading to it, as came up to his lordship's
ideas; and naming several specific points, requesting his
lordship's opinion, whether they were subjects upon which
the volunteers of Ireland ought to interfere : — his lord-
ship's opinion to be communicated to the chairman of
their meeting at Dungannon, appointed for the 8th of Sep-
tember following ; together with a sketch of such resolu-
tions as he should think proper to be proposed at that
meeting.
In his lordship's answer to this letter, after acknowledg-
ing the honour of their high opinion, he declined giving
any opinion beyond the reform itself, upon the specific
detail of subordinate points, which involved questions for
the most able and minute discussion ; and suggested that
at the meeting, the measure alone should be recommended,
without specifying any mode, leaving that entirely to the
consideration of parliament.
The meeting, however, was held at Dungannon, on the
appointed day ; and consisted of delegates from two hun-
dred and sixty-nine volunteer corps. Mr. Stewart, mem-
ber for Tyrone, in the chair. Lord Bristol, then bishop of
Derry, was also present. Many resolutions were passed;
and a grand national convention was suggested to be held
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USD OAULFIBLD.
ki Dublin, on ite ibth of Nofeihber following} locMsiil
of five pertons fVom eUcb coHttty^ to be ehowm by \Mtot,
tm digest a plan of parliAteentary i«for&i, nnd adopt stidi
iB^asiiret As appeared most likely to effect iu An addrest
to the volunteers of Maastek*^ Leinster> and Connttdgbl,
kceotnpanied tbis r^olotion. Other resolutions wei^
adopts ; and particularly one fbr etiending tbe electite
fraotehise to the Roman catbtdlcb.
The eonvention at Dablin at leagtb tt«k pla6e» Tbe
goTemm^bt was by no uieaiii at ease ; but many of (be
delegates choaeb were of a character imd description wbi6li
l^reitlyMothed tiieir fear*; and> aokongst Odiers, iMA
Cbirtonmnt und Mr. Brownley> who were cho^n for At-
magta ; Mr. Stewait, for Tyrone ; «kbd many noblemen and
gentleman of large property and known moderation^ eboien
by other eobntied> Who^e hatred to aMrctiy bid beM al-
ways manifest.
This eonventioh elected Lord Cbartemont to their poesi-
tleot's ohair ; an honour which his lordship accepted^ lis he
bad done the delegation for Armagh, ioldy with a view t6
co-bpeHikte with many other ddegateis^tfae friends of ordet-
and moderation, to prevent violence. And anothet tfiotive
Was V6 binder the Bishop of Derry from being called tb
the chair, for which that prelate, a very eccentric and
violent nia», was ei^^mely solicitous, and to whicA he
would have b^en chosen, bad Lotd Charlemont declined.
The delegates adjourned their sittings, fot more n>om, to
the rotunda in Rutland square. Tbeif noble pK^dent
led the way^ escoHed by a ^uadrbb of volanteer eavtir^i
The assembly was extremely nnmeixHis^ and in genfertd
highly respectable; but, in con^uenoe of a mixtut^ Of
some characters too ardent in natural temper and polititMl
feelings to be easily controlled by the frietMis of wiede-
ratfbn, debates mn high, ftoA day to day ; and inMNwe«-
Table projects of refoitn poured in "npon the committees
Hppointed ^ receive them, and prepare a ^kpecific plan «6
be reported to tbe convention. At length, upon tbe t»o*
^ion bf ^Aie BMiop 6f Deity, Mr. Amd wan dMieta n
Digitized by VjOOQIC
GAULPIELDi iA\
mebbtr of the tttt^fetior Mtmfaittefe^ ftnd #ooii attUued by
his imposing talents a marked asceddeilcjr. Thki Bi^btifi
of Darry utretlnoilsly ftap{«6ned Ae ir^olntion fBir ^if tend-
ing the d^titii flrandiisift to thb eathdic^ ; but Mh Fibdd
as itrfenttbiislyi but tnore subcedsfnlly^ oi[>];k>ied it. Lbitl
Chariemunt and htl fri^ds^ tbimklbg; thb nieaidar^ At tlAi
time preMatnfe, opposed it also, bfld ik was finally iiej^t^d.
Various bthier plans for the reform itself b^ il MihiUd:
ikte; atid, finally^ Mr. Flood prodaced 6n6 of his bWri,
wbichi bpoto foil diseassion, was Hot d^emM h^i& tbM
^ers which hAd been rfejett^;
Wte shall Aot here attempt to dbtaH die {Mroceiedin^
Of the Mttvebtion more at l«kf^. Thb «ssetobly, ho#^
eVer, at length tired out by the inaltiplicity of irMM^
ary projebtl^ all torded towards bond Cbarlemdnt JPor hi*
ophiion. AvevB^ alike to bst^nutiott MA piiblie ipt^akibg,
he had hitherb remained silent; but ilew ded^rM hfi
ireadihiess to isaerifice the only bomaj^h he poUsesbed to xbi
Wishes of that country, in trust fbr which he had blWayift
held fti In a conversation, whibh his lordship held apl&rt
with the bishop of Deity, that noble and rcTlerend pi^late,
ib allasion to the catholic qnesliM^ took the liberty of
tdling his lordship ^' that his condaet wa^ b^ tkb ^eabi
generally approved, and that he was eohsideted as r^thei*
lukiewarm in the cau^ of reforin*." An bbpleasani cfon^
yenmtion fbUowed^ which closed with die followiil^ dbclaL
ration of his h>rdiihip:—
'* The diffbrende I make between the ibrmeir Md pit^
seikt ol:9ectB of oar exertions iis this,-^Whilsfc Irdand wisik
in effect subject to a foreign teg^latare, th(ere were ik6
lengths to whidi I Would not have gone to k^kme hdr
from a state which I considered as positive stevery. T6
that point I had pledged my Hfe and fortune; and toward!
the attainment of it I Would willingly and cheerfuHy havlfe
haxarded not only them, bat What Was isttll morie dear to
me^ and far more important, the peace of my country.
Our present object I esteem great, and of high importance;
and to atttiin it, will do every thing ao/t ihcoivsi^tent with
Digitized by VjOOQIC
4iJ2 CAULFIELD.
the public peace, but I will go no farther. Make what
use of this you please."
' The conventioQ had now sat three weeks, and a new
parliament having met at the end of October, was sitting
the while. Lord Charlemont, who sedulously attended in
the duties of his presidency, had suffered much from close
confinement. Mr. Flood, having carried the resolution
for adopting his plan of reform, to the astonishment of
Lord Charlemont and the other friends of moderation, he
rose in the assembly on the afternoon 6f Saturday, No*
vember 29th, and proposed that he himself, accompanied
by such members of parliament as were then ^ present,
should go down to the house of commons, and move leave
for a bill for parliamentary reform, precisely correspond-
ing with the plan he had submitted — *^ and that the con-
vention should not adjourn till the fate of his motion was
ascertained." Here was a complete avowal of a delibera-
tive assembly, co-existing with the parliament, and almost
assuming co-extensive authority. The motion, however,
was carried : — Lord Charlemont and his friends saw the
rashness and impropriety of such a step; but Mr. Flood's
ascendency at that time bore down all opposition. He
hurried to the house of commons, and proposed his motion
for adopting his plan. The aspect of the house was truly
awful. Several of the minority, and all the delegates who
came with Mr. Flood from the convention, were in mili-
tary uniform. — A most tumultuous debate ensued, which
before morning became almost a tempest; but Mr. Flood's
motion was lost upon the division, one hundred and fifty-
nine against one hundred and seventy-seven, and this was
followed by a declaratory determination of the house to
maintain its just rights and privileges against any encroach-
ment whatever. A vote for an address to the throne was
afterwards carried, as the joint address of both houses,
expressive of perfect satisfaction in his majesty's govern-
ment, and a determination to support it with their livet
and fortunes.
In the mean time, the convention having sat above two
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CAULFIELD. 433
hoars without any intelligence from Mr. Flood, Lord
Charlemont, suspecting what would be the fate of that
gentleman's motion, and anxious to prevent any new error,
prevailed on them to adjourn till the following Monday.
There was a numerous meeting on the intermediate Sun-
day, at Charlemont House, whereat it was agreed, that the
public peace should be the first object of attention ; his lord-
ship received numerous messages from delegates of whom
be had scarce any personal knowledge, that they were
ready to follow him in any measure he should propose.
On the Monday morning he took the chair at an early
hour. A delegate rose and began to inveigh against th6
house of commons. His lordship instantly called the
delegate to order, observing, that one of the wisest rules
of parliamentary proceedings was never to take notice in
one house of what was said in another. This had the
desired effect, and promoted order and harmony through
the day.
Lord Charlemont's own plan at the original meeting of
the convention, was to prevent all intercourse between pap-
liamentand that assembly ; and that the delegates having
once agreed to a plan of reform, the convention should be
dissolved, and that the delegates should then lay before
their respective county meetings, regularly convened, the
plan agreed on, in order that the subject should be sub-
mitted through their representatives in dutiful petitions
to parliament. This was certainly the most unexception-
able mode of proceeding, but Mr. Flood's genius prevailed
against it. It was thought advisable, however, that the
delegates should not separate without some plan of par-
liamentary reform still to be kept in view. Two resok*
tions were therefore passed unanimopsly, declaring the
sense of the convention, that the delegates of counties,
cities; and towns, in conjunction with .the other freeholders,
should forward the plan of reform agreed to by the
assembly, by convening county meetings and instructing
their representatives in parliament to support it; and
VOL. I. F F
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434 CAULFIELD.
exhorting the nation to use every constitutioDal effort to
eiFect that reform so manifestly necessary.
An address to his majesty was then voted, deotaring
their loyalty to their sovereign, and their attachment to
Great Britain was thought the most dignified reply to
asperities east on the assembly by some members in par-
liament. The address was eouohed in the most datiful
terms, and concluded with imploring his majesty that
their humble wish to have certain manifest perversions of
parliamentary represratation in the kittgdom^ remedied by
the legislature in some reasonable degfee, might not be
imputed to any spirit of innovation in them ; but to a sober
atid laudable desire to uphold the coostitotion, to confirm
the satisfaction of their fellow-subjects, and to perpetuate
the cordial union of both kingdoms*
Lord Charlemont, fully aware of the evil consequence
to which the longer continuance of such an assembly in
the metropolis, might be liable, wisely insisted that no
other business should be proceeded on, and the oonven-
tiou finally adjourned.
Thus terminated this memorable meeting; and happy
WAS it for Ireland, aod the empire, that Lord Cbarlemont
and other noblemen and gentlemen of his wise and mode-
rate principles, bad sway enough to prevent the seeds of
anarchy so plentifully sown by indiscreet and impetnous
partisans, from coming to maturity. The dissolutioa of
the convention eixcUed little or no public sensation. To
above three-fourths of the population) namely, the catho-
lie body, their piQoeedings were viewed with jealousy, if
iiot with disappointment and disgust ; for while tjmt plaa
of reform talked of extending the right of suffrage to the
possession of property in every shape, and at the same
tiiae, to perpetuate eocclusion from that sMffrage to their
catholic couotrymep^ was a strage contradictioo : and
thus, while they professed to. erect a temple of general
freedom for the people, threes fourths of that people were
to be precluded from eatering even the vestibule^ The
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GAULFIELD* 485
oorlialit]^ mhoA had for some dme lubsistedl between
liOvd Charkmotit ftsd Lord NortbtngtoDy had considerably
eooled. T^ iDtroduetioii of John Scott (afterwards
Earl of Ctoirmell)| and John Fitzgrbbon (afterwards Earl
of Clare) to power, had alienaUd bis lordship from the
Ticeroy) whofii> on the other hand, the coDTeation had
alienated from Lord Charlemont, who had continued bis
fUtendances at the viceroy's levee^ after the convention
was dissolved ; but hi» visits were received with such cold
civility, that he now decHned them entirely. He bad
d6ne the state important servioea in that very convention^
and gratitude^ ra^r than frowns and coldness^ was the
due meed of binftself and many of bis friendS) who acted
with him^ and now shared in the same unworthy tresrt^
ment.
The coalition ministry of Mr. Fox aa«l Lord North
were soon removed from their places, and Lord Noithing*
ton of course from the government of Ireland, and was
succeeded by the Duke of Rutland.
Early in 1786, Lord Charlemont was elec^ted president of
the Royal Irish Academy, incorporated under the aospicei
of his majesty, and to which such a president was both ail
honour and an ornament, as well as an able and active
promoter of its laudable purposes, which embraced tb^
three compartments of science, polite literature, and ami**
quilies* The volunteer army-^tbe great objecu of its forma*
tion being now accomplished, began rapidly to diminish
in its numbers. This circumstanoe was observed by Lord
Charlemont; but his solicitude and attention to them^
suffered no abatement ; and in this and the following year
their reviews were continued, for he was aware that if
be relinquished the command of those bands,.there were
not wanting some who might seise on that command^ for
purposes not so patriotic as his own ; besides that, it was
more wise to suffer those corps to fade away tacitly under
bis calm and anspidous rule, than that they should receive
an angry and ill-timed mandate from the castle, for di»
peraion ; wbicb^ instead of obedience^ might have produced
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436 CAULFIELD.
a recal of their old companions to join their ranks. His
lordship's military attentions were now divided between
the volunteers of the metropolis, and those of the north —
And the rest of his time was filled up by literary or personal -
intercourse with his friends. The country, with some few
slight exceptions, was now quiet, and began to manifest
the bappy effects of its new-born liberties by rapid ad-
vances in agriculture and commerce. After the close of
the session of 1787, the Duke of Rutland died, universally
lamented, and his remains were attended to the sea-side,
on their way to England, with the most honourable marks
of sorrow and funereal respect. The Marquis of Bucking*
bam, formerly Earl Temple, returned once more to Ireland
as viceroy, and his administration for some time moved
with unusual tranquillity* On the l6th July, Lord Char-
lemont once more reviewed the volunteers near Belfast:
and at this period the flames of discord broke out in the
county of Armagh, of which his lordship was governor.
This feud originated in a petty quarrel between two pres-
byterians, in which a Roman catholic espoused one of the
parties. This affray lighted up a religious war through
the whole county. The protestant and presbyterian par-
ties assumed the appellation of Peep-o'-day Boys/'— and
the catholics that of ** Defenders ;" and much blood was
spilled. But by the benign influence of Lord Charlemont,at
least a temporary peace was restored — but unfortunately,
that peace was delusive; and the seeds of mutual hostility
sown by this quarrel, afterwards sprung forth with mis*
chievous luxuriance.
In the ensuing session, the most prominent topic which
occupied the discussions of parliament, was the question
of regency, arising from the unhappy illness of his ma-
jesty. The arduous debates which took place on thi^
occasion in both parliaments, are now matter of history,
and not necessary for detail here. It will be sdfficient to
notice, that the two parliaments • materially differed from
each other. That of England — declared its own power to
provide for the temporary incompetency of the reigning
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CAULFIELD. 437
tt&onarch, and to appoint any regent they thought fit) with-
out being limited by any considerations of the hereditary
rights of the heir apparent; but, as matter of discretion,
they voted the office to bis Royal Highness the Prince of
Wales, with restricted authority : while the parliament of
Ireland asserted its own independence, and distinct power
of appointing a regent for Ireland, uncontrolled by the
example, or the decisions of the Britith parliament ; they
considered the right of the heir apparent to represent his
royal father during his incompetency, as paramount to all
other considerations ; and they voted the regency of Ireland
to the Prince of Wales, with the full powers of the crown
to which he was the rightful heir. Lord Charlemont
and all his parliamentary friends joined in supporting the
independence of the parliament of Ireland — and in voting
the regency unrestricted to his royal highness. Their
object was strongly opposed by the whole influence of the
viceroy. An address was moved to his royal highness, in
the house of commons, by Mr. Grattan, aud in the house
of lords by Lord Charlemont — requesting him to assume
the government of Ireland, with the style and title of
Prince Regent, and in the name and behalf of his majesty,
to exercise all regal powers during his majesty's indispo-
sition, and no longer; and it was carried. With this ad-
dress both houses waited on the lord-lieutenant, to request
its transmission to England. But his excellency refused
the transmission, as inconsistent with his official oath. A
vote of censure upon this conduct of the viceroy, passed
both houses ; and the lords delegated two of their mem-
bers, the Duke of Leinster, and Lord Charlemont ; and the
commons, four, Mr. John O'Neal, Mr.Connoly, Mrj^ Wil-
liam Ponsonby, and Mr. James Stewart, to wait on his
royal highness with the address; and they proceeded forth-
with to London. But the happy restoration of his ma-
jesty's health, terminated all further proceedings respect-
ing the regency in both kingdoms. The delegates, how-
ever, were received by his royal highness with the most
courteous expressions of the high sense he felt of the
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«S CAUtFIELD.
flattering marks of attadwcot ^hewn Mvtt by the parlia-
ment of Ireland. Bnt this first attempt of the Irish par-
liament to exercise its new-bom iadepeadence, by differing
from that of England, on a point of so mnch importance,
planted the first germ of that jealousy in the British cabi-
net, which determined them to watch for the first cobve-
nient oppcnrtunity of punishing the presumption of the
parliament of Ireland, by extinction: and accordingly
it afforded the great principle of argument on which the
subsequent measure of legislative union was founded.
Lord Buckingham's resignation was a consequence
naturally resulting from the vote of censure on bis con-
duct passed by both bouses of pariiament, and he was
succeeded in the viceroyalty by the Earl of Westmoreland,
with Lord Hobart for his secretary. Lord Lifford, the
chancellor, died about the same period, and made way for
the promotion of Mr. John Pitzgibbon, attorney-general,
to the seals. Some of the opponents of Lord Bucking-
bam, upon the regency question, fell back quietly into
their old situations ; but several of the more prominent
and formidable were dismissed from their situations, and
from tliose with their adherents was gradually formed an
opposition, one of the most formidable in point of num-
bers, respectability, and talents, that bad encountered the
administration of Ireland for many years. They farmed
themselves into a Whig Club, adopted the blue and buff
uniform, as well as the principles of the Whig Club in
England. In the formation of this club, Lord Charie-
mont was prominently acrive, and also in the formation of
a similar club at Belfest, where his esteemed friend Dr.
Halliday, a whig of the old constitutional school, warmly
oo-operated in his views. But this was a measure by no
means satisfactory to the ministerial party, some of whom
scrupled not to impute to both, principles of anarchy.
But such imputations were disregarded as the ebullitions
of political rancour, which had been sustained from time
immemorial by similar associations of talent and patriotism,
acting chiefly, if not solely, to protect the purity of the
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CAULFIELD. 4»
comtitatioii from ministerial encroachment* By the mem*-
bers of the new Whig Club were proposed, and maintained
with firmness and eloqaence, a place bill, a pension bill^ a
responsibility billi a bill toprevent revenue officers from vot-
ing at elections; friaular to those bills which had long been
the law of England. Session after session were those bilk
resisted with effect by the administration and its adherents,
but perseverance at length procured their adoption. Lord
Charlemont attended all the arduous debates of that day,
and spent more of his time in the commons than in the
lordsy where EiOrd Fitzgibbon began to rule with almost
unlimited sway. A principal ground of attack on minis-
ters in the house of commons^ was the creation of fourteen
new places for members of parliament^ for the purpose of
increasing an unconstitutional influence in that house,
and conferring the honours of the peerage for money^
which was expended in the purchase of seats in the lower
hottsci For the like unconstitutional parpose. This most
criminating charge was but feebly resisted by the minis-
terial party, who were content to vindicate them&efves by
recrimination on their opponents, that similar practices
bad taken place during Lord North'ragton's administration,
which some of the leading members of the present opposi-
tion had advised and supported. The fact, however, serves
to shew the system of expedients by which the ministers
of the day were constrained to support their influence in
parliament; but while the honours of the peerage were
tbas carried to market, and sold to the best bidder, who
would only pledge his support to ministers, it was deemed
necessary to wound the feelings of a nobleman who had
always proudly maintained the dignity of his own here-
dh»ry rank, the independence of Iris principles, and the
attachment of his country. Lord Cbariemont, whose an-
cestors, for more than a century, had held the lieutenancy
of the county of Armagh, had now joined with him in
that office. Lord Gosfort, and this without auy previous
inlimation,.er any motive assigned: for the first intimation
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440 CAULFIELD.
to hit lordship of the circumstapcei was from a friend who
had accidentalij read the appointment in the Dublin Ga*
2ette. His lordship wrote immediately to the secretary of
the viceroy, and gave in his resignation. This measure
served to mark the feeling entertained at the castle of
Lord Charlemont's political conduct ; but with his coun-
try it served to exalt still higher, the man whom ministers
meant to degrade. A meeting of the freeholders of
Armagh assembled, who voted to his lordship a most
affectionate address, in which they marked the indigna-
tion which they felt for the indignity offered him, and this
address was signed by one thousand three hundred and
seventy-three of the most respectable names.
The alarming progress of the French revolution^ which,
after overturning the monarchy in France, menaced the
political systems of all Europe, had also its influence upon
the state of Ireland, and the policy of the British govern-
ment, in relation thereto. The French revolution at its
outset had the approbation and good wishes of many of the
most loyal men in both countries, and the proceedings of
the revolutionists, and the discussions which took place in
France, were read with avidity by all classes of people in
Great Britain and Ireland. His majesty's ministers foresaw
that from the state of things between the revolutionists of
France and the continental powers, England might ulti-
mately be involved in a war, if not on her own account,
yet in support of some of her allies: and therefore the
good policy of conciliating all feelings of popular dis-
content Ht, home must be obvious, on the approach of a
crisis when the whole physical force of the empire might
become necessary to her own security. To secure the
affections of the catholic population in Ireland, forming
four-fifths of the whole, was a leading object. The first
germ of this policy began with a bill introduced in the
British parliament by Sir John Mitford, afterwards Lord
Redesdale; and another was introduced into the Irish
house of commons, by Sir Hercules Langrishe, a commts-
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CAULFIELD. 441
ftiooer of revenue, and seconded by Mr. Hobart, secretary
to the viceroy, which proposed admitting the catholic^s to
the profession of the law ; permitting their intermarriage
with protestants ; removing the restrictions on their edu-
cation, and the limitations on the number of their appren-
tices in arts and manufactures. On the eligibility of this
measure, the members of the opposition were much divided.
Lord Charlemont had all along strong prejudices against
any sudden relaxation of the penal statutes ; — such was the
force of early habits. The bill, however, beside the sup-
port of that side of the house where it originated, had also
that of many distinguished members of the opposition,
and it finally passed into a law.
On the 18th February, 179^, a petition was presented
from the catholics by Mr. Egan, an opposition member,
praying their restoration to the elective franchise, and it
was ordered to lie on the table; but on the Monday, ilfr.
Latouchcj an eminent banker, and a man of considerable
influence and character, moved that this petition be re-
jected. This motion was without any previous notice to
the house, but it produced a long and most interesting
debate, embracing the whole subject of the catholic cause,
and though this motion was carried by a majority of two
hundred and eight to twenty-three, and seemingly extin-
guished for ever all hopes of the catholics on this ground,
yet this discussion procured to them many new friends,
who were before their opponents. They persevered, calmly
but firmly, in their objects. They took measures to vin-
dicate their character as a religious sect, by solemnly
abjuring the obnoxious tenets attributed to them by their
enemies; and refuting the imputations cast on their reli-
gious and political principles. And so rapid was the march
of relaxation in their favour, that the very next session
of parliament was opened by the lord-lieutenant with a
speech from the throne, recommending to the considera-
tion of both houses the situation of the catholics ; and a
bill, granting to them the elective franchise, and many
other indulgences more than they asked or expected,
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4« CAULFIELD.
finally passed into law, mach to the chagrin of many of
those former opponents who had been arrayed against it
under the ministerial standard, and were now obliged to
sopport it under the like authority. Even in the house
of lords, Chancellor Clare, who had been always the
opponent of concession, and though on this occasion he
vehemently marked his own hostility to the measure, yet
he deprecated discusston, and voted in its support. Lord
Charlemont, whose prejudices were unshaken, not only
voted, but entered bis protest against it. The fact was,
the British government felt that the conciliation of so
numerous a portion of the Irish people was of more press-
ing importance at such a crisis, than to indulge and sanc-
tion any longer, the antipathies and prejudices of the roling
sect. And the catholics retired from the doors of parlia-
ment, under a full conviction, that they owed gratitude
for this boon, more to the kindness of his majesty and the
British government, than to the liberality of that parlia-
ment, who, but the year before, bad rejected their humble
petition with contumely and reproach.
In the following year, 1794, Lord Charlemont sustained
a doaaestic calamity in the loss of his second sod, James
Caulfield, a promising youth of seventeen.
In the parliament this year, almost the only circnm-
stance worth notice that occurred, was the introduction of
a bill, by Mr. W. B. Ponsonby, on the 4th of March, to
impvove the representation c( the people in parliament, the
second reading of which he moved for the next day. This
was warmly opposed by ministers, who moved an ameod-
ncAt for postponing the second reading to the dnd of
August. The question, however, was debated with great
ability ; pcu'Iiamentary reform had long been the cry of the
north of Ireland ; Lord Charlemont himself was a warm
friend lo moderate reform, but be was extremely averse to
the principles of reform for which the political societies ot
BeWilst, echoed by dioie of IKiUin, now began to clamour,
Bamcdy, «miversal suffrage and aotiual pariiaments. The
bill iMPoduced by Mr. Poasotift)y was to effect that mea*
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CAULFIELD. 443
rare of modermte reform which the impartial of all parties
admitted to be neoestary. Bat the govemmefity on this
occasion^ opposed the measare^ on the ground that it
uroald look like a concession to the seditions damoars
then preTalent, and Mr. Grettan, who supported this bill,
deprecated, with great eloquence, the system of reform
proposed by the United [rishmen of Belfast and DnUio, as
leading to the subversion of all liberty, property, and
government. But Mr. Poasooby's motion was superseded
by the amendment, and some of the ministerialists, and
their partisans oat of doors, did not scruple to blend Lord
Charlcmonl and bis friends in common es^ation with
thq United Irishoken, and to impute to dieir parliamentary
speeches part of the gprowing sedition of the country, for
no other reason than that they opposed the obnoxious
measures of the government ; while, on the other hand,
the United Irishmen publicly declared, that the speeches
aad debates of the opposition, and all whom they could
i^uence, were regarded by them with indifference : they,
in fact, regarded Mn Ponsonby's bill merely as a tempo-
rary half-measure to privilege their own plans ; and there-
fere they rejoiced 4n its failure. Happy, perhaps, would
it have been for the tranquillity of Ireland, had this bill
succeeded ; because it would have amply satisfied all the
nsoderale reformists, and if they did not go far enon|^ to
meet the views of others, it would at least hate shewn
that the government and parliament were not decidedly
opposed to feforva in all shapes, but would have given an
e&r%st -of disposition to gratify the reasonable wishes
of the country, which might be forther extended in a
fbtwre session, and thus even the most damovous for
total reform would have been, at least, divided ; bvt the
rejection of this moderate measure streogthened the •cause
of the United Irisbaen, and furnished their leaders widi
an irrefragible argument, that they must never hence look
to the garernment or the parliameDt for any further
redress of polilicsl grievances, but seek it from their own
nnnbers and revolntioMry moveaicnls. An aw<iil ctisis
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444 CAULFIELD.
was fast approachiogi which was greatly accelerated by
the traitorous obstinacy oF government in resisting all
measures of conciliation towards popular feelings. The
old system of sectarious division had long subsided, and
the two great bodies of dissenters, the presbyterians and
catholicsi long hostile to each other from religious pre-
judices, were now become 6rm allies in political interest.
The former, in the north, avowed themselves the devoted
friends of total emancipation to the catholics ; and the
latter, in the south, east, and west, pledged themselves to
unite with the former in their efforts for parliamentary
reform ; and never to lose sight of those two great objects
so indispensable to their mutual views for the freedom and
prosperity of the country. Indeed every sympton of reli-
gious antipathy had been rapidly subsiding in tlie country
from 1782; which circumstance was viewed with alarm
by the old partisans of division; and an attempt made in
the north to revive the system. An opportunity was
offered by the revival of an old religious quarrel, which has
been before* mentioned, and which was then calmed by the
influence of Charlemont. It recommenced in a desperate
cudgel fight, between some catholic peasants and weavers
and some protestants and dissenters of the same class, at a
funeral ; and so far from being put down by the inter-
ference and authority of the magistrates^ there was strong
grounds to believe it was rather fomented by many of
them. Numerous and desperate pitched battles were
fought. The protestant party, under the assumed appel-
lation of Peep-o'-day Boys, attacked the houses of the
catholics at night, broke open their doors, destroyed their
looms and little furniture, and abused their wives and
daughters. The catholics armed for their defence under
the name of Defenders ; and, the former party being ulti*
mately victorious, commenced this short system of expul-
sion to their antagonists. A placard was affixed in the
night on the door of the catholic, in these words,— ^ To
heU, or Comuuight^ in three days" And, if he failed to
obey this manifesto, his honse was pulled down, bis pro-.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CAULFIELD. 445
\mnj deiuoyed, his looms and farniture bonit, and his
family fled by the light of the flames to seek some other
asylnm until they could escape from the province. The
unfortunate fugitives^ with their half naked wives and
ebildreUy explored their way to Connaught and Munster,
the catholic provinces; and^ as they begged their sus-
tenance on the journey, told their tales of woe, exciting
the sympathy and resentment of their catholic brethren.
This migration to the west and south, received a new con-
struction from the protestant magistrates and gentry of
those provinces, namely that the popish defenders of the
north were marching to cut their throats ; and immedi-
ately the houses of the catholic peasantry were searched
for arms, and their pitchf(|*k8, scythes, reaping hooks,
and othefr manual instruments of husbandry taken away,
as weapons of massacre. Such a severity, wholly unpro-
voked by any symptom of disloyalty or tumult; and from
their protestant landlords, magistrates, and neighbours,
naturally produced alarm amongst those poor ignorant
persons, and roused them to a fellow-feeling with the
northern defenders, hundreds of whom daily attested to
them the cruelties they had experienced previous to their
expulsion from their native homes ; and hence the source
of defenderism, nightly meetings, secret oaths, plunder for
arms, and seditious conspiracies, which, in succession,
every where began to infest the whole country; and
which were met on the other side by severe laws, domi-
ciliary visits, military executions, and arbitrary transpor-
tations, without the semblance of law, or form of trial,
carried on at midnight, by the magistrates of the country,
aided by parties of horse and foot.
These transactions were detailed with the most aggra-
vating comments.
The combustibles already collected in the country ftom
the details of the Frencl^ revolution and French victories;
from the proceedings of the corresponding society in
England; and from the wide and gratuitous distribution
of Tom Paine's Rights of Man, to the number of some
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446 CAULFIELD.
hundred thoilsuds, cavghl fire frbm new ii^bumatory
sources. The old Tolunteer army had long faUeo todecaj«
Id the norths Lord Cbarlemonti whoae voice bad ao k»g
operi^ted as a pacific charm, bad now lost all itifl«eiice»
In the metropolisy and various parts of the conntrj,. a few
detached armed companies associated under the appeik*
tion of volunteers^ onder the direction o£ some of the most
democratical leaders of the old corps^ and especidly Joincf
Napfn&r Tandy ; who then occupied his Sandajs in mar
ncBuvering those brigades in the fields ronnd the metco*
polls. They wore uniforms quite different from those of
tkt king's uoops ; and some of the corps adopted mottoes
and emblems but too significant of the political principles
of the wearers* A militia law bad passed in the eountry ;
but still the petty volunteer corps increased to such a
degree that they were at length suppressed by a procla-
mation from the castle, and a new corps were organised
under the auspices of government, under the appellatioo
of yeomanry ; furnished indeed with arms and accoutre-
ments Jby the government, but clothed at their own ex-
pense ; and to be paid when called on actual service. la
this state of affairs^ the United Irishmen continued to ex-
tend their influence,, to increase their numbers^ and adr
minister their oath ; while an opposite party of politiciani^
professing the most ardent attachment to the constitution
in church and state, assembled in various parta of the
country, under the denomination of OratigeLodges^ bound
to each other by solemn and mysterious oatba. And the
mntual. antipathy of both daily increased.
During this state of things, an important increase was
given to the British cabinet, (torn whose consultations it
was determined that some immediate measures should be
taken to calm the perturbed spirits of Ireland j and it was
finally resolved to send Earl Fitzwilliam as the harbinger
of amity and peace. The arrival of that nobleman was
hailed with general joy, as that of a minister from heaven.
Mr. Grattan and Mr. Ponsonby were called to his coun-
cils : both had been previously sununoned to Gngland, in
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CAULFIELD. 447
order for coosnltatioa with them as to the measures which
would be most likely to satisfy the wishes of their country ;
and on their return, and previously to the arrival of Eari
Fitzwiiliam, it was confidently signified, that the fatal
abrogation of the remaining penal laws against the catho-
lics, and a moderate reform in pailiament, shonld be
adopted ;*^meQsures wbicfa would at once have silenced aU
elamonr ai>d calmed every discontents Upon the first
meeting, of parliament, Mr. Grattan, in his place, an^
nounced the objects of Lord FitzwilHam's mission ; and
shortly afterwards moved an address to the lord^Iieatenant,
and <^>tained from parliament, as a proof of national gt»-
titnde, a vote of three millions in support of the war against
France.
Several members, and especially Sir Lawrence Parsons,
decidedly rejected to the precipitancy with which the
house was about to pass this measure, and advised them
to defer the gift until they were sure of the boon for
which it was given ; but his objections were treated as
illiberally suspicious, and were borne down by tha popu-
larity of the new chief governor, and the implicit reliance
placed in the sincerity of the British cabinet. The vote
therefore passed; but before it had finally proceeded
through both houses, a rOHiour prevailed that Earl Fitss-
william was to be recalled, for that he had greatly exceeded
faia instructions in the pledges held oot to. the Irish parlia-
ment; and this rumour was very speedily verified by the
publication of a correspondence on the subject between
Earl Fitzwilliam and Lord Carlisle ; and he was actually
recalled. The joy of the country was suddenly changed
to astonishment and despondency. The day of his depar-
ture was a day of sorrow in the metropolis; and his pro-
gress to the water side had all the appearance of a funereal
procession. Lord Camden came as his successor, with
Mr. Peiham as secretary, to perform the ungracious ofllice
of refosing all the measures held out for bis predecessor.
He was greeted by the populace with marked indignation.
Mr. Grattan now, with his friends, returned to tlie ranks
Digitized by VjOOQIC
448 CAULFIELD.
of opposition, brought forward his bill for the total Eman-
cipation of the catholics. It was indignantly and de-
cidedly resisted by Mr. Pelham^ who declared that con-
cession to the catholics, which had already gone to the
utmost lengthy consistent with safety to a protestaut state,
must stop somewhere; and here he would plant his foot,
and resist its further progress. An arduous debate ensued,
which was continued till six o'clock in the morning, and
ended in the loss of the bill.
This event was a decisive specimen of total departure
from the conciliatory system of which Lord Fitzwilliam
came as the harbinger ; it confirmed, at once, the influence
of the United Irishmen over the great mass of the popu-
lation ; it gave new force to the machinations of the sedi-
tious ; and accelerated the revolutionary burst, long ap-
prehended from the combustibles for years in preparation.
From that day forth, all the machinery of sedition was
set in motion on the one hand ; opposed on the other, by
severe laws and arbitrary measures of coercion, which,
instead of suppressing, served but to feed the flame. The
government could not be blind to the volcanic symptoms
perceivable on all sides ; but could never come to a full
discovery of the whole plot, until, by mere accident, on
the very eve of explosion, a chief conspirator was induced
to betray his associates. In consequence of which they
were seized in full council, in the very heart of the metro-
polis, within a day or two of the intended general insur-
rection throughout the whole country ; but although this
seizure of the chiefs defeated the plan of an immediate
and general explosion, it accelerated a partial rebellion,
which instantly broke out, and raged for nearly three
months with incessant and sanguinary fury. A few of the
chief conspirators in custody were executed ; and the rest,
seeing their grand scheme utterly defeated, purchased their
lives by a full discovery of their whole plan, force, and
preparations, to a secret committee of parliament, which,
in point of extent, surpassed all previous conception, and
Astonished both the government and senate. Tberebellioa
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CAULFIELD. 449
wfis still going on in various counties. Mr. Pelham retired
to England, leaving Lord Castlereagh at first as his tem-
porary substitute ; but shortly after that young nobleman
avowed himself as his successor in the secretaryship to his
maternal uncle, Lord Camden« The flames of civil war
raged every where unabated ; and, finally. Lord Camden
was recalled, and a military chief governor, Lord Corn*
walKs, sent in his stead. The rebel armies being at last
disconcerted, Lord Comwallis, as the best mode to stem
the further effusion of blood, loyal as well as rebellious,
proclaimed an amnesty and full pardon to all the rebels
who should within a month lay down their arms, swear
allegiance, and return to their homes. This had the im-
mediate effect of terminating the conflict; but not the
private vengeance of the victorious loyalists, still smarting
under their calamities and the slaughter of their friends.
But Lord Comwallis, thechief object of whose mission was
the restoration of peace, and the re-establishment of law
and justice, announced his determination of punishing
with equal severity the aggressions of parties on all sides;
and strictly denounced all emblems and ensigns of party
principles, as calculated only to excite new hostilities and
perpetuate mutual vengeance.
The French government, desirous of aiding the insur-
gents, had dispatched an expedition, consisting of a ship
of the line and seven frigates, with a body of troops
ofllicered in a great degree by Irishmen, toeffect a landing
in Ireland. Of this number only seven hundred men, un-
der the command of General Humbert, landed at Killala,
where, by arraying in French uniforms and arms great
numbers of the rebellious peasantry, and propagating ex-
aggerated statements of their real force, they threw the
,icountry into much alarm for about three weeks. Lord
Comwallis, however, marched against them, collecting in
bis way such troops as could be spared from garrisons, to
the amount of fifteen thousand men ; and general H um-
bert, and his whole force, after a short action, surrendered
prisoners of war. On another part of the coast, namely,
VOL, I. GO
Digitized by VjOOQIC
4M CAULFIELD.
Katlaiul/ in the coonty of SIigo> tbe notedJaroesNapper
Tandy, as a French general of diirbiofiy landed with a fejr
partisans, to ascertain the probabilities of sopport from tbe
population of that part of the country ; but quickly re*
embarked to join some of his dispersed squadrons, and
was afterwards seized in neutral territory and sent prisoner
to Ireland. Mr. Theobald Wolfe Tone^ an Irish barrister,
was found as a French officer on board another ship of
the squadron taken by some of the British fleet, and sen"
•tenced to death by a court-martial in Dublin, but destroyed
bimself.
During the whole rebellion the parliament continued
sitting; and, on its prorogation, received the thanks of
General Cornwallis in his speech from the throne.
Internal peace being now restored, the country, though
smarting under the wounds of civil war, was pcfrmitted
to take some repose ; from which, however, it was soon
roused by the alarming rumour of an intended proposi*
tion for a legislative union with England. This rumour
was soon verified by the avowal of government. This
excited new irritation, even amongst the warmest firienda
of the castle ; and was attacked in limine, as a measure of
the grossest ingratitude and treachery, on the part of the
British cabinet. The question was discussed by anticipa-
tion in a war of pamphlets and newspapers, popular meet-
ings, speeches, and resolutions. Lord Cornwallis actually
made a summer circuit to the southward, to collect the
sentiments of the country upon the subject, and stimulate
the local infiuenoe of the friends of government in sup-
port of the measure. It would exceed our limits to detail
the variety of pretences artfully insinuated to render the
attempt palateable to the different quarters, parties, and
classes in the country. The incompetence of an Irish
parliament to maintain peace and contentment in the
country, and the great advantage to Ireland of a perfect
identification with England in all the blessings of com-
merce, constitution, power, and prosperity, fonned tbe
vanguard of the proposaL Tbe consequent prosperity of
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CADLFIELD. 451
i^;riciilttti«y mamilacUires, and commerce) came next; and
while the metropolis was to be the emporiom of British
intercoursei erery other outport was flattered with the pros-
pect of flourbbing on the deoajr of maritime comnierce
in the metropolis. The catholic body were told that
their oMsplete emancipation, and admission to the repre-
sentative franchise, which they mnst never hope to attain
from an Irish parliament, would immediately follow the
estaUsshment of an union ; whik^ on the other band, the
enemies of the catholics were told that an imioD was the
only measure by which the catholios coold be prev-ented
irom forcing their way into parliament, and effecting tbe
JubversloQ of chnrch aad state. The timid were told that
union was the only resource left to terminate the struggles
of hoatile parties, and prerent the vecurrence of civil war;
and tbe bold and adventuroos, who stickled for their indo-
pendeat parliament in Ireland, as the great lotteiy for
promotions to place, power, and tafliieace, were told ithat
union was the rapid road to those advaatages, as it would
ihrow open to ^em and their £Hnilies a participalioQ in
all tbe blessings of patronage, over theertensire mage of
imperial dominion. British manufacturers with enor HiMii
capitals, tempted by the aeoarity of consolidated govern-
ments, were to cro«d into Ireland, enrich tbe oountry,
giye employment and civilization to her incteaving popu-
lation, mid rival their native England m ^commerce with
the world.
Parliament at length met. The subjedt was Bseoiaened
in the viceroy's speech ; aad^ notwithstMkdiRg the general
irritation excited out t>f doors, and tbe vengeful clamour
xff some pacttsans in tbe eeuate, the then youthful etatea-
man, Lovd Oaatlereagh^ bvou^hi forward the proposition
for consideration in tbe boose of commons. His lordship,
itk the course of his speech, did not ooofine himself to a
etatement >of the advantages polilical, commercial, and
aodfal, likely to£oUow ioibiseoutttry from an identification
with Engkdd, but proceeded to argue that the fottd
Aeattfs of « distinct and iodepeodettt pacliament, and
Digitized by VjOOQIC
45« CAULFIELD.
kiDgdom^ 8o long cherished by the patriots of 1782, as the
proud triumph of their struggles, and the peaceful achieve-
ment of tlieir volunteer army, was in fact but a mere airy
delusion, a perfect anomaly in the imperial government of
two distinct islands conjoined under the same crown, and
containing in its own womb the embryo of perpetual con-
flict and ultimate separation, as was clearly proved by the
result of the regency question some few years before,
when the parliament of Ireland were totally at variance
upon a vital question with that of England ; and might on
the recurrence of a similar occasion, assert its independent
right of differing in the choice of the person, as well as
the power to be given, to a regent representative of the
crown*
The debate was arduous, and continued till ten next
morning; but, upon the division which took place, the
numbers were so nearly equal that the proposition wi^
carried only by the majority of a single vote. The debate
was renewed gn the report of the address the next even-
ing, and the minister was left in a minority,— one hundred
and six to one hundred. Upon the first debate in the
house of lords, forty-six voted for entertaining the mea-
sure, and only nineteen against it. The country triumphed
in this defeat as a complete* and final victory^ but the
triumph was but temporary. Before the next session
the treasury wrought miracles, and the measure was
carried.
But, as to the accomplishment of those splendid pre-
dictions of national happiness and prosperity so speciously
held out as the certain consequences of the union, the
experience of the first twenty years has proved it com-
mensurate to the popularity of the noble viscount, who
had the proud honour of proposing the measure, and con-
ducting it to success. The people of Ireland have to con-
template a strange coincidence in their national fortunes
under the auspicious influence of the Stewarts, For their
loyalty to the last British monarch of that name, three-
fonrths.of tbein suffefed near a century of confiscation*
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CAULFIELD. 455
proscriptioDy disfranchisement, degradation^ and vassalage;
while the other fourth secured to themselves the extensive
monopoly of parliamentary power, office, and emolument
in church and state, for their valorous attachment to the
house of Brunswick, By the instrumentality of another
scion of the noble^ though not royal house of Stewart,
after the lapse of a century, the Irish parliament itself was
extinguished, for its presumptuous loyalty and attachment
to an illustrious descendant of the same house of Brunswick,
heir-apparent to these realms; and its memory only pre-
served by a remnant of one third of its number trans-
ported, like a condemned regiment, to represent the repre*-
sentation of Ireland in another country.
We now return to Lord Charlemont, whose mind was
long tortured with sorrow for the unhappy conflicts of his
country, and whose years and ill health obliged him to
continue little more than a silent spectator of the mis-
chief he had so long and so zealously' struggled to averts
Lord O'Neill, Lord Mountjoy, and many of his most valued
friends, had fallen in the defence of the government and
constitution of their country. Parliament had been pub-
licly thanked By the viceroy for its vigilant and successful
aid in putting down the rebellion; and, what was now
to be the remuneration to that parliament, and of the
brave loyalists, who had shed their blood and suffered so
many calamities in defence of the state i — why, extinction
to the one ; and to the other, abrogation of their rights,
privileges, and independence.
On the^ first rumour of this measure, his lordship,
waited on Lord Cornwallia, and feeling it his duty, as
an hereditary counsellor of the crown, stated his reasons
at length for deprecating most earnestly a project, which,
so far from consolidating the strength, affections, re*
sources, and interesu of both kingdoms, would directly
contribute more than any other to a separation of two
countries, the perpetual connection of which was one of
the most ardent wishes of his heart. The viceroy politely
received bis counsel| and expressed his confidence that it
Digitized by VjOOQIC
454 CENTUVRE.
was foonded on the best motiTefty but declined attb«t
time any explication on tbe project, which soon became
tineqai vocal. Lord Charlemoot exulted in the first dietary
over the ministers in the first session, although he did not
rely on it as quite decisive; bat henceforward his health
more rapidly declined. He was the continued victim of
disease; and his valuable life, though obviously verging
to its close, was occupied to the last in eflbrfs for hb
country. Not quite eighteen years had now elapsed
since he bad triumphed in esublishing the constitutional
independence of his country. That independence which
he had cherished in its cradle, he now feared he mast
shortly follow to its grave, for its existence hung, like his
own, by a feeble thread. His vital powers hourly decayed.
His appetite ceased; his limbs swelled ; and it- was evi-
dent to his friends, whose visits be received aa long as his
disorder would permit, that his dissolution was fast ap-
proaching. He did not live to see the completion of the
measure he so much deprecated; the hand of death pre*
vented him that anguish. On the 4th of Augos^ 1799, be
expired, at Charlemont House, Dublin, in the seventietb
year of his age ; and his remains were conveyed to his
family vault, in the ancient cathedral of Armagh.
Thus terminated the existence of one of the best men
and truest patriots that ever adorned any country ; be-
queathing to his posterity an illustrious example for their
imitation, and to his native land the memory of bis virtues
as an imperishable monument.
SUSANNAH CENTUVRE,
A DRAMATIC writer of great and deserved celebrity, is
asserted by some of her biographers to have been born in
Lincolnshire; but it being infinitely more probable, from
the following circumstances, that she drew her first breath
*' in the Isle of Erin," we have taken the liberty of admi^
ting her into this work.
She was the daughter of a Mr. Freeman, a gentlemu
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CENTLIVRE. 4W
of Holbeacb, in Liocoloshire. Her fatber bad been po»*
sessed of an cttate of no iocoDBiderable valae^ but, beiog
a dissenter, and baring discovered a zealous attachment to
the cause of the Parliament, was, at the Restoration,
obliged to seek refuge in Ireland, and his estate was con*
sequently confiscated. The mother of our poetess was
daughter of Mr, Markham^ a gentleman of fortune at Lyma
Regis, in Norfolk, who is represented as having encoun-
tered sioailar misfortunes with those of Mr. Freeman, in
consequence of his f>olitioal principles, which were the
same with those of that gentleman; and he also was
obliged to quit his native country, and seek shelter in the
western isle* She is supposed to have been born between
the years 1667 and 1680; and, from the above statement,
there can be but little doubt that Ireland was the spot ot
ber birth« It is true, Walter Harris, in his edition of
Ware, does not claim ber as an Irish writer, but, that she
is fully entitled to be considered as such, is as clear, as that
Congreve, who is claimed by Harris, is not.
She discovered, at an early period, a propensity to
poetry^ and is said to have written a song before she had
attained her seventh year. She was left an orphan at an
early age, having had the misfortune to lose her father
before she was three years old, and her mother before she
bad completed her twelfth year.
Having been treated with a degree of harshness, by
those to whose care she was committed, after the death of
ber mother, she resolved, whilst very young, to quit the
country, and proceed to London, to seek her fortune. The
circumstances of her life, at this period, are involved m
much obscurity, and the particulars which are recorded
seem somewhat romantic. It is said, that she attempted
her journey to the capital alone, and on foot, and, on bejr
way thither, was met by Anthony Hammond, Esq. father
of the author of the Love Elegies. This gentleman, wi^o
was then a member of the University of Cambridge, was
•track with her youth and beauty, and offered to take bei
o^der his protection. Either be? distress, inclination, or
Digitized by VjOOQIC
456 CENTLIVRE.
inexperience, induced her to comply with bis proposal,
and she accompanied him to Cambridge, where, having
equipped her in boy's clothes, he introduced her to his
college intimates as a relation who was come down to see
the university, and to pass some time with him. Under
this disguise, an amorous intercourse was carried on be-
tween them for some months, but, at length, being pro-
bably apprehensive that the affair would become known
in the university, he persuaded her to go to London, which
she agreed to, and he generously presented her with a
considerable sum of money, and recommended her, by
letter, to a lady in town with whom he was well acquaint-
ed, assuring her, at the same time, that he would speedily
follow her; this promise appears, however, not to have
been performed, yet, notwithstanding her unfavourable
introduction into life, she was married, in her sixteenth
year, to a nephew of Sir Stephen Fox, who did not live
more than a twelvemonth after their marriage; but, she
possessing both wit and personal attractions, soon ob-
tained the consolation of another husband, whose name
was Carrol. He was an officer in the army, and was
unfortunately killed in a duel, about a year and a half
after their marriage, and she became a second time a
widow. She is represented as having had a sincere attach-
ment for Mr. Carrol, and, consequently, as having felt his
loss as a severe affliction.
It was at this period of her life that she presented her-
self before the public as a dramatic authoress, to which
she was, probably, in some degree induced by the narrow-
ness of her circumstances. Some of her earlier pieces
were published under the name of Carrol. Her first at-
tempt was a tragedy, entitled ** The Perjured Husband,"
which was performed at Drnry Lane theatre, in 1700, and
published in 4to. the same year. In 1703, she produced
a <!omedy, called " The Beau's Duel ; or, a Soldier for' the
LadiesV' and " Love's Contrivance," which is chiefly a
translation from Moli^re, and the following year another
comedy, entitled *'The Stolen Heiress; or, the Salamanca
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CENTLIVRE. 457
Doctor outwitted." lo 1705, her comedy of ** The
Gamester" was acted at Lincoln's Inn Fields, which'^met
with considerable success, and was afterwards revived at
Drury Lane. The plot of this piece is chiefly borrowed
from a French comedy, called " Le Dissipateur." The
prologue was written by Nicholas Rowe.
Her attachment to dramatic amusements was so great,
that she not only distinguished herself as a writer for the
theatre, but also became a performer in it, though it is far
from probable that she attained any great celebrity as an
actress, as she appears never to have played at the theatres
of the metropolis. But in 1706, we are told she acted
the part of Alexander the Great, in Lee's tragedy of the
Rival Queens, at Windsor, where the court then was, and,
in this heroic character, she made so powerful an impres-
sion upon the heart of Mr. Joseph Centlivre (yeoman of
the mouth) or principal cook to Queen Anne, that he soon
after married her, and with him she lived happily until her
decease. That this marriage was the happiest of the three,
can easily be accounted for— the precarious subsistence
dependant on dramatic authorship is proverbial.
The same year in which she entered into the matrimo-
nial state with Mr. Centlivre, she produced the comedies'
of " The Basset Table," and " Love at a Venture;" the
latter was acted by the Duke of Grafton's servants, at the
new theatre at Bath ; and in 1708, her most celebrated
performance, " The Busy Body," was performed at Drury
Lane theatre. It met at first with so unfavourable a re-
ception from the players, that, for a time, they even refused
to act in it, and were not prevailed upon to comply, until
towards the close of the season ; and even then the cele*
brated Wilks shewed so utter a contempt for the part of
Sir George Airy, as to throw it down on the stage at the
rehearsal, with a declaration, ** that no audience would
endure such stuflF:" but the piece was received with the
greatest applause by the audience, and still keeps posses-
sion of the stage. In 1711, she produced, at Drury Lane
theatre, ** Marplot ; or, the Second Part of the Busy
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458 CENTLIVRE,
Body/* This play, thovgb greatly iDferior to the format
met with a favourable reception, and the Dnke of Portlaod,
to whom it was dedicated, made the authoress a present of
forty guineas* In 17 17, her admirable comedy of '^ A
Bold Stroke for a Wife/' was performed at Lincoln's Inn
Fields. In this play she was assisted by Mr* Mottley,
who wrote a scene or two entirely. It was extremely
well received, although Mr. Wilks very cavalierly de-
dared, that '^ not only Mrs. Centlivre's play would be
damned, but she herself would be damned for writing it."
The above opinions of Mr. Wilks ought to be regis*
tered in theatrical annals, as hints to those ladies and
gentlemen of the sock and buskin, who decide on the merit
of an author by the first ten lines they may casually glance
upon, and whose judgments are formed from the opinions
of the property-man or prompter at the rehearsal*.
In 1714, her excellent play of " The Wonder, a Wo-
man keeps a Secret!" was acted at Drury Lane theatre;
it was very successful, and Garrick threw a new lustre oa
it, by reviving it with some judicious alterations, and by
his inimitable performance of Don Felix. It has been
successively rendered popular by the admirable perform-
ances of Mrs. Jordan, in Vioiante, and Elliston, in Don
Felix ; and still keeps possession of the stage.
Besides the dramatic effusions which have been already
mentioned, she produced several others, the titles of which
are to be found in the Biographia Dramatica.
She died in Spring gardens. Charing cross, on the 1st
of December, 17^3, and was buried at St. Martin's in the
Fields. She possessed a considerable share of beauty, was
* Siace to iniieh has been lately said relative to theatrical Bianagement,
we cannot forbear hintiiig, that we oonceiTe the theatrei most have been
Infinitely better managed in tboee dayi than at present, a^ almoftt e?efy
piece produced was snccessfiil; whereas, ip the records of bothhous^
of the present day, it would be difficult to find any thing (with the excep*
lioB of pantomimes) that has kept possession of tiie stage ; and truly has
their theatrie course been characterised by s parodist, who said, <' Tks
AUiirt of to-morrow, succeeds nnio the condeouuitio9 of tiHUght''
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CENTLIVRE. 459
of a friendly and benerolent dtspoailion, and in coofversa-
tion was sprightly and entertaining. Her literary acqui-
sitions appear to have been merely the result of her own
application, and she is supposed to have understood the
French, Dutch, and Spanish languages, and to have had
some knowledge of the Latin. Mrs. Centlivre enjoyed,
for many years, the intimacy and esteem of many of the
most eminent wits of the time, particularly Sir Richard
Steele, Farquhar, Rowe, Dr. Sewell, and Eustace Budgell.
But she had the misfortune to incur the displeasure of
Mr. Pope, who introduped her into the Dunciad, for hav-
ing written a ballad against bia Homer. In the third
book are the following lines : —
*' Lo, next two slip-shod mnsev traipse along,
, In lofty madness, medittting song,
With tresses staring^ from poetic dreams.
And never wash'd bat in Castalia's streams :
Haywood, CentliYre, glories of their race," Ac. ice.
An extensive acquaintance with men and manners is
exhibited in her dramatic writings, and they are some-
times justly censurable for their licentiousness; but she
unfortunately flourished in a period when it was the
fashion to admire vice in any shape, alluring or not. Her
greatest merit is the incessant interest and bustle she has
contrived to keep up throughout the whole five acts of her
most popular plays: the language is spiritless, and at
times ridiculous: neither is there a superabundance of
wit to be found in any of her productions ; but there is such
a happiness of thought, in regard to plot, and so thorough
a knowledge of stage effect displayed throughout the
Wonder, Bold Stroke for a Wife, and Busy Body, that
(with the exception of the Beaux Stratagem) it would be
difficult to find an equal to either of them. Yet neither
Farquhar, Centlivre, Vanbrugh, or Congreve, were the
advocates of virtue; they have been characterised as
writers, who, though —
■' " Heaven endowed
To scourge bold Vice with VHf s resistless rod,
Embraced her chains, stood fortii her priests arow'd.
And scattered flow'rs in tTcry path she trod.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
460 CHANDLER.
Inglorioiis praise, tbongfa Judgment's self admir'd,
Those wanton strains which Virtne blush'd to hear;
While pamper'd passion from the scene retir'dy
With wilder rage to urge his fierce career.**
In 1761, her dramatic works were collected together,
and priDted in three volumes l2mo. and is at present a
scarce book. She was also authoress of several copies of
verses on divers subjects and occasions^ and many inge-
nious letters, entitled, '* Letters of Wit, Politics, and
Morality," which were collected and published by Mr,
Boyer.
EDWARD CHANDLER.
This pious and learned prelate was the son of Samuel
Chandler, Esq. of the city of Dublin, by his wife, Eliza-
beth (whose maiden name was Calvert), and was born in
that city, but in what year has not been mentioned, and
received his academical education at Emanuel college,
Cambridge, where, at the early age of twenty-five, he
became master of arts, was ordained priest, and made chap-
lain to Lloyd, Bishop of Winchester in 1693. He was
made prebendary of Pipa Minor, 27th April, l697,and was
afterwards canon of Litchfield and Worcester. He was
nominated to the bishopric of Litchfield on the 5th of Sep«
tember, 1717, and consecrated in the November following
at Lambeth. From which see he was translated to that of
Durham, on the 5th of November, 1780, and it was then
rumoured, that he gave the sum of 9000/. for this opulent
see; but this assertion was not credited. He enjoyed this
bishopric for a period of about twenty years, and died on
the 20th.of July, 1750, at his house in Grosvenor square,
of the stone, several large ones being found in his body
when opened. He was buried at Farnham Royal, in the
county of Bucks. During the time he was bishop of
Durham, he gave 50/. towards augmenting Monkevear-
mouth li^ng ; also the sum of 200/. to purchase a house
for the minister of Stockton, and 2000/. to be laid out in
a purchase for the benefit of clergymen's widows in the
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CHANDLER. 461
diocese of Darhatn ; and it is recorded greatly to his ho-
nour, that he never sold any of his patent offices. He
was a prelate of great eradition, and a diligent student;
and rendered himself highly and deservedly esteemed, as
a zealous supporter of the church of England, and perse*
vering investigator of truths He was author of an 8vo.
volumci which has justly merited the encomiums of the
learned, and it would be difficult to mention any work,
containing altogether, so much learning and convincing
argument in so small a space. It was entitled '' A De-
fence of Christianity, from the prophecies of the Old Tes-
tament, wherein are considered all the objections against
this kind of Proof advanced in a late Discourse on the
Grounds and Reasons of the Christian Religion. — London,
1725" It was so popular a work at the time of its publica-
tion, that it compelled Collins to produce, in 17^7, a second
book, particularly in answer to Chandler, who at that
period held the see of Litchfield. This was entitled '^ The
Scheme of Literal Prophecy considered," and was the oc-
casion of a second reply from the learned bishop, entitled
*' A Vindication of tbe Defence of Christianity from the
Pxophecies of the Old Testament ;'' this was published in
17^, and in this work with great copiousness and learn-
ing, be convincingly vindicates tbe antiquity and autho^
rity of the Bobk of Daniel, and the application of the pro-
phecies contained therein to the Messiah, against tbe
propositions and objections of Collins, and also fully
refutes his arguments advanced against the antiquity and
universality of the tradition, and expectation among the
Jews, concerning the Messiah. His other publications
were eight occasional sermons ; the ^^ Chronological Dis-
sertation'' prefixed to Arnold's Commentary on the Book
of Ecclesiasticus; and a Preface to a posthumous work of
Dr. Ralph Cudworth's, entitled *^ A Treatise concerning
Eternal and ImmuUble Morality."
Digitized by VjOOQIC
402 CHERRY.
ANDREW CHERRY,
An ingenioin dramatist^ and amusing actor, iras the eldest
ion of John Cherry^ a respectable printer and bookseller
as Limerick, and was born in that city on the llthof
JantMu-y, 1762* He received a respectable education at
a grammar school there, and was intendeded by his father
to be qualified for holy orders by matriculation in a oai-
Tersity^ but arising from yarioos disappotntmeats and
unforeseen circumstances, his parent was obliged to
abandon his intention, and at eleven years of age^ the
subject of the present memoir was placed under the pro»
tection of a Mr. J. Potts, a printer and bookseller, in
Dame street, Dublin, and was by him initiatad in bis art
and mystery. From an ancient friendship which bad sub-
sisted between Mr. I\>tts and Mr. Cherry, Andrew was
particularly favoured by his master, and made his constant
companion in all his recreations. Among other rational
amusements, Mr. Potts felt a peculiu' attachment to the-
atrical exhibitions, and perceiving that a similar attach-
ment (doubtless arising from sympathy) dwelt in the breast
of his pupil, he rarely visited the temple of Thespis with-
out being accompanied by the youthful Cherry. Thus
encouraged, ht imbibed an early predilection (or rather
infatuation) for the histrionic art, and at the early age of
fourteen, made his first appearance in the character of
LuckiS, in Addison's Cato, in a large room, at the Blacka-
moor^s head, Towers' street, Dublin^
This passibn for the stage be sedulously cultivated, and
ii^hen he had attamed his serenteenth year, viewing bate,
lieaikers, and Thalia's n^ask, fioatmg before bis disordered
hnaginatioft, be indignantly spurned typography, and
fearlessly entered the dramatic list, making his dtttd as a
professional actor, at a linle town called Naas, situated
about fourteen miles from Dublin. Here be was sur-
rounded by a small gfonp of ttieefftMe strollers, principally
composed of runaway boys and girls (all highly-gifted no
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CHERRY. 468
doubt) who wa-e then under the management of a Mr.
Martin.
The flfst character out* hero exhibited himself before
his new andience in, was Colonel Feignwell, in Mrs. Cent*-
lilrre's Comedy of '* A Bold Stroke for a Wife,** somewhat
ftd ardnous tmdertaking for a boy of seventeen, as it is
but rare that even the veterans of the stage are possessed
of a variety of talent suflicient to represent this difficoit
character. The applause, however, was great, and the
manager of this sharing company, after passing many en-
comiums on his exertions^ presented him with lO^rf. as his
dividend of the profits on that night's performance.
Young Cherry afterwards launched into a most exten-
sive range of character, for being blest ** with a peculiar
facility of study," (t. e. a good memory,) in the space of
ten months, be performed almost a// the principal charac-
ters in tragedy, comedy^ and farce ; and during the same
periods underwent all the vicissitude and distress, that
usually attend those hapless individuals, who are depen-
dant on so pirecarious a mode of existence. The friends
of Cherry have heard him declare, that although constantly
employed in the laborious study, that bis range of cha«
meter must necessarily bring upon him, he never was in
possession of a single guinea, during the whole ten months.
He was frequently without the means of common saste-
nance, and sometimes even unable to buy the very candles
by which he should study the characters that were so
numerously allotted to him — circumstances the whole of
which are highly probable.
In the town of Atbloue, we are told, a ciramustance «f
particular distress attended our hero ; but which he hotit
with all the magnanimity that dramatic ardour could ia-
apire. The business of the theatre was suspended for ii
abort time, in consequence of the benefits having turned
out badly : tbemauager was resolved not to waste any more
billsi but wait for the races, which were to commence in
a few days. Our hero being of a timid and bashful turn,
and Ussisted by a portioo of yauAfnl pride, was incapable
Digitized by VjOOQIC
464 CHERRY.
of making those advances, and playing off that train of
theatrical tricks, by which means benefits are frequently
obtained in the country, and therefore he had been less
successful than many of his brethren. His landlady, per-
ceiving there was no prospect of payment, satisfied herself
for the trifle already due, by seizing on the remnant of
our hero's wardrobe ; and knowing she could dispose of
her lodgings to more advantage during the races, turned
him out to the mercy of the winter^s wind, which he en-
dured with all his former philosophy. He rambled care*
lessly about the streets, sometimes quoting passages to
himself^ both cpmic and serious, that were analogous to
his situation, but without forming one determined ide^i of
where he was to rest his houseless head. Towards the
close of the evening he strolled by accident into the lower
part of the theatre, which had formerly been an inn, and
was then occupied by a person whose husband had been a
Serjeant of dragoons, for the purpose of retailing refresh-
ments, 8cc. to those who visited the theatre. After chat-
ting until it grew late, the woman binted to our hero that
she wished to go to bed, and begged he might retire ; upon
which he replied, in the words of Don John, ** I was just
thinking of going home, but that 1 have no lodging." The
good woman, taking the words literally, inquired into the
cause, with which he acquainted her without disguise.
Being the mother of a family, she felt severely for his
distressed situation: at that time he did not possess a
single halfpenny in the world, nor the means of obtaining
one. The poor creature shed tears of regret that she could
not effectually alleviate his misfortune. He endeavoured
to assume a careless gaiety ; but the woman's unaffected
sorrow brought the reflection of his own disobedience to
bis mind, and he dropped tears in plenteous libation : in
his grief he saw. the sorrow of his parents, whom he had
deserted, to follow what he began to perceive a mad
career, in despite of the many unanswered remonstrances
he had received, with a fair promise of forgiveness and
affection, should he return to his business. This philan-
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CHERRY. 465
tbropie female lamented that the could not famish him
with a bed, but offered to lend him her husband's cloke,
and to procure a bundle of dry hay, that he might sleep in
an empty room in her house. His lieart was too full to
pay his gratitude in words; his eyes thanked her; he
wept bitterly, accepted her kind offer, and retired to rest.
The intruding any further on her kindness was painful to
him, as she was struggling to maintain a numerous off*"
spring. He therefore carefully avoided the house at meal-
times, and wandered through the fields or streets, until he
supposed their repasts were finished : at last, so overcome
by fasting and fatigue, timt he could not rest, he rose from
his trooper's cloke in the dead of the night, and explored
the kitchen, searching the dresser and all its shelves and
drawers, in hopes of finding something that might satisfy
the cravings of his appetite, but in vain. On his return
to his hay truss, he accidentally struck against the kitchen
table, the noise of which he^feared might alarm the family;
and, uncertain of the real cause of his leaving his apart-
ment at that hour, they might naturally suppose ^hat his
purpose was to rob the house, as a reward for their hospi-
tality : the idea added to the misery he then suffered ; he
trembled, he listened, but all was quiet; and then renewed
his search (for his hunger overcame his fears), and to bis
gratification he found a large crust of stale bread, which
he was afterwards informed had been used for rubbing out
some spots of white paint from the very cloke that com-
posed his bedding; he, however, ate it with avidity, as he
was entering on the fourth day without the least refresh-
ment, and returned heartfelt thanks to Providence, whose
omnipotent hand was stretched in the very critical mo-
ment, to save him from the most direful of all possible
deaths, — starving !
At length, after enduring, in all probability, not more
than the usual and every-day hardships attendant on the
life of a strolling player, he quitted the stage, and even
now *^ returned to reason and the shop," remaining at
home for upwards of three years. The " strutting and
VOL. I. u B
Digitized by VjOOQIC
iO& CHERRY.
fretting^ plx>fe86idii was^ boweve)', too firmly seated in
his mind and heart, to be so suddenly got rid of. He
forgot entirely the misery be bad so lately suffered, quitted
bis home, and after making some excursions of little mo«-
ment, enlisted himself 'under the banners of a Mr. R. W.
Knipe, a well-known dramatic veteran, '' a scholar and a
gentleman." In bis company (we are told) Cherry enjoyed
much comfort and satisfaction, and remained attached to
it till Mr. Knipe's decease. He then joined the principal
provincial company of Ireland under the management of
Mr. Atkins, where he performed a most extensive round
of characters, and was for many years the popular favo-
rite of the north of Ireland, during which period he mar-
ried the daughter of bis old friend and manager, Mr.
Knipe, by whom he had a large family.
In 1787, Mr. Ryder having been engaged at Covent
Garden theatre, Cherry whose provincial- repute had
reached the capital, quitted tbe audiences of Belfast, to
supply his place at the theatre in Smock alley, Dublin,
where, ft>r six years, he stood at the top of his profession in
tbe comic line.
Having long entertained a desire of visiting the sister
country, he engaged Mrs. Cherry and himself to the cele-
brated Tate Wilkinson, at tbe period when Mr. Fawceit
entered into articles with the managers of Covent Garden,
whose situation he filled at tbe theatres of York, Hull,&c.
for three years, when he again returned to his native
country.
He continued two seasons in Ireland ; after which the
irregular payments of the manager, and other disgusting
circumstances, induced him to return to England, and he
accepted an engagement with Messrs. Ward and Banks,
managers of the Manchester theatres where, with bis
wife, he successfully performed two years. From thence
he went to Bath, where for four seasons be enjoyed an
ample share of public favour.
On tbe abdication of tbe late Mr. King, Mr. Cherry
was engaged at Drury Lane theatre, where he made his
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CHICHESTER. 407
appewfaimon the t5ih of Se}>tember, 180fi, ia the chd-
rac^rt of " Sir Benjamin Dove" in the *' Brothers," and
" Lazarilfo/' in " Two Strings to your Bow," and was re^
cdved with great applause. He afterwards became
manager of the Swansea and Monmouth theatres, and died
at the latter place, of dropsy on the brain, on the 12th of
February, 1812.
Such was Andrew Cherry, a man who underwent every
variety of disappointment and misery, for the pleasure of
being conspicnous : his life, though littk else but a record
of foily^ however, will not be utterly usekss to mankind,
if but tme of those countless individuals,^— the would-be
Richard's and Hamlet's, pause ere they sacrifice the snn^
niest hours of their lives, making a compact with the
'^ juggling fiend, that keeps the word of promise to tbeir
ear, and breaks it to their hope.''
As an author. Cherry is fully deserving of the epithet,
iagenions, as he contrived to produce a comedy (The SoN
dier's Daughter) which ran for thirty-seven nights, at *
time when the public Uste was not very degraded.
He wrote altogether ten dramatic pieces, the titles of
which are to be found in the Biograpbia Dramatica.
ARTHUR CHICHESTER,
EiABL or DoME<9AL, was the eldest sob of Edward^
Viscount Chichester, and was born on the 16th Jaouary,
1606. In 1627 he succeeded Lord Valentin in hia troop
of horse, and after the decease of his father, was appointed
governor of Carrickfergus for life. At this place he resided
when the first tidings of the rebellion were brought to him,
o» Saturday^ 23rd Octob^, 1641, about ten o'clock at
night. Be immediately by fires and alarm-drums raised
the cotmtryi and distributing the arms and ammunition
among those who oame to Carrickfergus, he left the castle
nnder the care of Captain Roger Lyndon, and marched
with aboat three hundred horse and foot to Belfast, where
he leceived a reinforcement. On the 27th be joined the
Digitized by VjOOQIC
408 CHICHESTER.
Lord MoDtgomery, at LisbarDcf^ and soon after he was
appointed, in commission with Sir Arthur Tyringham, to
the chief command of the county of Antrim. He imme-
diately endeavonred to put the towns in b state of defence
and to take the best methods in his power for the suppres*
sion of the rebel) ion, in which he was farther assisted by a
commission from the king, and a grant for the fortifica-
tions of Belfast. But when, by the defection of the
army in the north, he could no longer maintain his com*
mand, he retired to Dublin, where he was sworn a member
of the privy council, and, in January 1645, entered into a
resolution, with the rest of the officers of the Marquis of
Ormondes regiment, not to take the covenant imposed
upon them by the English parliament, but to preserve
their allegiance to his majesty, and obey the orders of the
lord-lieutenant. His fidelity to his prince, affection to his
country, and activity against the rebels, were indeed so
conspicuous, that the lord-lieutenant, in a letter to the
king, dated 19th January, 1645, writes thus:— -
** You have been graciously pleased of late to reward
some, that have either served your majesty actually, or
suffered for you eminently in their persons or fortunes^
with new creations, or with additions of honour in this
kingdom* That Colonel Arthur Chichester hath missed
such a mark of your majesty's favour, I conceive to have
been through his own modesty, and my not representing
his personal merit. If he outlives his father, he will be
in among the foremost of the viscounts of this kingdom
in place, and (I am sure) beyond them all, except one,
in fortune, though he be for the present deprived of the
latter for his faithfulness to your majesty's crown, the
same means whereby bis uncle got both it and his honour.
He hath served your majesty against the Irish rebellion
since the beginning of it ; and when, through an almost
general defection of the northern army, he was no longer
able to serve your uif^esty there, he came with much
hazard to take his share in the sufferings of your servants
here, and with them to attend for that happy time, thai
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CLANCY. 469
(we trust) will put us in a condition to contribute more
to your service than our prayers. If your majesty shall
think fit to advance this gentleman to an earldom, I con-
ceive thai of Dunnegally a county in the province of
Ulster, wherein be should have a good inheritance, is
fittest, which I humbly ofier to your majesty's considera-
tioD, as a part of the duty of
" Your majesty's, &c.
, "Obmond.''
In consequence of this representation, he was created,
in 1646, Earl of Donegal; and in the following year he
was one of the four hostages sent by the Marquis of
Ormond to the English parliament, as surety for his per-
formance of thearticles between them, for the surrender
of Dublin, and the other garrisons, to their commissioners.
Soon after the Restoration he was appointed custos rotu-
lorum of the counties of Antrim and Donegal, and also
restored to the government of Carrickfergus. In I668,
be founded a lectureship on mathematics in the university
of Dublin. He died at Belfast, on the 18th March, 1674,
aod was buried at Carrickfergus.
MICHAEL CLANCY, M.D.
T^uis gentleman was the son of a military man, of an
ancient and once powerful family in the county of Clare ;
and appears to have been born towards the latter end of
the sevenjteenth, or the commencement of the eighteenth
century. When he had attained his eighth year he was
placed at one of the -first colleges in France, where he
remained until the famous James, Duke of Ormonde, fled
from England and went to St« Germains. On that occa-
sion, be, with two of his companions, seizing an oppor*
tunity, quitted the college, for the purpose of seeing
an individual who had rendered himself celebrated all over
Europe; which having accomplished, he wa9y either
Uirough fcar or sbame^ deterred from returning to bit pre*
Digitized by VjOOQIC
470 CLANCY.
ceptor. He accordiogly resolved on proceeding to hit
native country ; for which purpose he took a place in the
boat for Harfleur in Normandy, and shortly after arriving
at Havre de Grace, obtained a passage to Dublin.
Being perfectly ignorant of who is relations were, or at
what place they resided, but remembering to have heard
that he sprung from a family on the borders of the county
of Clare, he resolutely determined to proceed into that
part of the kingdom ; accordingly he commenced his ex-
cursion, making the best of bis way through Kilkenny,
where he luckily met with a '^ good Samaritan," who took
compassion on his helpless state, and feeling an inclination
to pay back to the son some obligations conferred on him
by the father, eagerly embraced the opportunity that now
presented itself, and supported him, and placed him in a
free school belonging to that town. Here he continued
for three years, when the misfortunes of his benefactor
deprived him of the assistance he had derived from that
quarter; fortunately for him, however, it was his destiny in
losing one benefactor to procure another, as, about this
period, an unforeseen event brought him to the knowledge
of his relations, by whom be was sent to Trinity College,
Dublin, and became a pupil of Dr. James King.
At the university he remained nearly four years, at the
end of which period, perceiving no prospect of advance-
ment, and being of a ** lively disposition," and feeling an
inclination to ^ see a little of the world," he once more
left his native country for France, setting sail on board a
ship bound for Rochelle, on the ^th of July, 17^4. In
three days time the vessel gained sight of L'Isle Dieu on
the coast of Britanny; but, on the fourth, a violent storm
arose, which drove it towards the ooast of Spain, where it
was stranded on the shore about a mile's distance from
the town of St. Sebastian, in Biscay. From this place be
obtained a passage to Rochelle, and from thence to Bor*
deaax, where he intended to commence the study of phy-
sic Me afterwards obtained the degree of • doctor at
Rbeims. At what time be returned to Ireland ia tmknown^
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CLAYTON. 47 >
bothe was there in 1737, when he was deprived of hU
eight by an accidental cold. Thi« deprivation rendering
him incapable of his profession, he amused himself with,
writing his comedy, called '* The Sharper," which was
acted five times at Smock alley, and obtained him the
notice of Dean Swift.
From this period his life partook of all the inconve-
niences that usually result from confined circumstances,
and an inability to procure the means of subsistence by
a profession. He, however, obtained from the late king a
pension of forty pounds a-year during his life; and, in the
year 1746, procured a sum of money by performing a
part he was so well qualified for by nature, namely, Tire^
sias the blind prophet, in " (Edipus " This performance
was for his gwn benefit at Drury Lane theatre. He afieri-
wards was settled at the Latin school at Kilkenny. The
time of his death we are wholly unacquainted with.
He is the author of a Latin Poem, called " Templuw
Veneris, sive Amorum RhapsodiaB;"and of three dramatie
pieces, whose titles are, 1. " Tamar, Prince of Nubia,"
T. 1739; 2. '' Hermon, Prince of Chor®a," T. 1746f
5. *^ The Sharper," C. 1750.
BENJAMIN CLARE
Was a man of extraordinary talent, but neglected to
improve it by due application (by no means an extraor*
dinary case). He was held, however, in great estimation,
and, we are told, " he most justly deserved the name of a
fine artist." He was a man possessed of a benevolent
heart, was born in Dublin, in 1771, and died, greatly la-
mented, in that city, in 1810.
DR. ROBERT CLAYTON,
An eminent scholar, and a prelate of the church of lre»
land| was born at Dublin, in 1693. His father, Dr. Clay*
ton, was minister of St. Michael's, Dublin, and dean of
Digitized by VjOOQIC
47« CLAYTON.
Kildare. ' The familj was descended from the Claytons^
of Fulwoody in Lancashire, whose estate came to Dr«
Clayton by inheritance. The son was, at an early age,
put to Westminster school, under the tuition of Zachary
Pearce, afterwards Bishop of Rochester* The kindness
and fidelity oF the teacher, and the gratitude and applica-
tionof the pupil, cemented between them a warm and last-
ing friendship. From Westminster he was remoYcd to
Trinity College, where he made honoarable progress, and,
ID due time, was elected fellow ; and afterwards made the
tour of France and Italy. In 1729, he was D. D. and
besides this literary title, he became F. S. A. and F. R. S.
of London. In 17^8, he came into possession of an
affluent estate, in consequence of his father's death, when
be laid down his fellowsliip without any beneficiary com*
mutation, and married Catharine, daughter of Lord Chief
Baron Donellan, and had the generosity and indepen-
dence to give her fortune, which was but inconsiderable,
to her sister. He shewed an equal degree of noble kind-
ness to his own three sisters, and gave each double what
had been bequeathed them by his father's wilh
Soon after his marriage, he went with his lady to Lon-
don, where a person in distressed circumstances applied .
to him for assistance, witl^ a testimony of Dr. Samuel
Clarke, for a recommendation; upon which, instead of a
small donation, as usual upon such donations, he gave no
less than 300/. which was tlie whole sum which the unfor-
tunate man said was necessary to make him easy in the
world. This circumstance made him acquainted with Dr*
Clarke, and the result of their intercourse was, that Dr.
Clayton was led to embrace Arian principles, to which he
adhered through life. Dr. Clarke having informed Queen
Caroline of the remarkable beneficence of Dr. Clayton,
It made a strong impression on her Majesty's mind in his
favour; which impression wus strongly enforced by Mrs.
Clayton, afterwards I^dy^Sandon, then in attendance in
her Majesty's service, as bed-chamber woman. Such
powerful inter^t procured a recommendation to Lord
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CLAYTON. 473
Carteret, then lord-lieotenaot of Ireland, for the very
first bishopric which should become vacant, and he was
accordingly appointed bishop of Killala, January 17^9-30.
Over this see he presided till 1 735, when he became bishop
of Cork, which office he held till his translation to the see
of Clogher, in 1745. This was his last and greatest
ecclesiastical preferment. Dr. Clayton filled his import-
ant rank in society in a dignified and respectable manner,
bat was not known to the world as a literary character,
till he published an '^ Introduction to the History of the
Jews/' which was at first attributed to another pen. Soon
after appeared an elaborate work, which excited the atten-
tion of the learned, '' The Chronology of the Hebrew
Bible vindicated; the Facts compared with other ancient
Histories, and the Difficulties explained, from the Flood
to the Death of Moses; together with some Conjectures
in relation to Egypt, during that Period of Time; also
two Maps, in which are attempted to be settled tlie
Journey of the Children of Israel," 1747, 4to. Continuing
his Biblical studies, his lordsliip published, in 1749, a
'' Dissertation on Prophecy,'' in which he endeavoured to
shew, from a joint comparison of the prophecies of Daniel
and the revelations of St. John, that the final end of the
dispersion of the Jews will be coincident with the ruin of
Popedom, and take place about £000, A. D. After this
followed *' An impartial Enquiry into the Time of the
Coming of the Messiah," in two letters to an eminent
Jew, printed first separately and then together, in 1751.
It has already been stated, that his lordship had imbibed
the Arian doctrines, in opposition to the standards of the
Church, and, in furtherance of the views he had adopted,
he now gave to the world a work which excited consider-
able controversy. It was entitled, an ** Essay on the
Spirit;** and the object of it was to prove the inferiority
of the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and to prepare the way
for an alteration of the Liturgy of the Church. To this
work he prefixed a dedication, with his name, to the pri-
mate of Ireland ; and it had the effect of fixing on him
Digitized by VjOOQIC
474 CLAYTON.
the itain of heresy, and preventiDg his rislag farther \n the
church. After all, the work was not written by the bishop
himselfy but by a young clergyman of his diocese, who
shewed the manuscript to his lordship, but had not the
courage to print it. The bishop conveyed it to the press,
and so managed the affair, that he alone sustained the
whole brunt of the opponents. There was a considerable
degree of romantic generosity in this conduct, but little of
worldly prudence. In 175Q, be was recommended by the
Duke of Dorset, the viceroy of Ireland, to the vacant
archbishopric of Tuam, but was refused tlie promotion
simply from his being reputed the author of this essay*'.
The next work the bishop sent to the press was un*
doubtedly his own composition, ^' A Vindication of the
Histories of the Old and New Testament ; in Answer to
the Objections of the late Lord Bolingbroke;" in two
letters to a young nobleman, 175£, 8vo« It is a work of
great learning and ability, which discovers great acute-
ness of criticism and industry in his lordship, and in it
the objections of Bolingbroke are ably exposed and con-
futed. There are, however, in it some physical principles
laid down, which are more fanciful than solid. This is
more particularly the case with the second part, which
♦ The controversy to which the " Essay on Spirit" gave rise, continue^
but a short time. The best answers to the work were, *< A FuU Answer,
&c.** 1763, 8vo. by the late Rev. William Jones, the friend and biographer
of Bishop Home ; and '< A Vindication of the Doctrine of the Trinity,^ in
three p<urt8, with an Appendix, by the Rev. Dr. Randolphr &tber to tb«,
late Bishop of London. Dr. Keppis expresses his opinion that the
** Essay on Spirit," and the tracts in defence of it, were the means of
difiiising the Arian sentiments, which, however, he adds, "" are at present
upon the decline, the Unitarians tending fast to the doctrines of Socinns.''
On the ^ Essay on Spirit,'' Dr. Warbnrton says, in a letter to Dr. Hurd,
*^ The Bishop of Clogher, or some such heathenish name, in Ireland, has
just published a book. It is made up out of the rubbish of the heresies ;
<ff a much ranker cast than common Arianism. Jesus Christ is Michael,
and the Holy Otiost, Gabriel, See, -This pigfat be heresy in an English
bi^p, l>ut in an Irish, 'tis only a blunder. Bnt thanl^ Qod, our bishops
are far from making or vending heresies ; though for the good of the
church, they have excellent eyes at spying it out wherever it skulks or lies
bid."
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CLAYTON. 47$
appeared in 1754, in which be attempts to give an ac-
count of the formation of the earth, and of the deluge.
In 17 53, he published ^ A Journal from Grand Cairo
to Mount Sinaiy and back again. Translated from a Ma-
nuscript, written by the Prefetto of Egypt; in company
with the Missionaries de Propaganda Fide, at Grand
Cairo. To which are added, some Remarks on the Origin
of Hieroglyphics, and the Mythology of the ancient
Heathens/' London, 4to. and 8vo. This work was dedi-
cated to the Society of Antiquaries. The bishop having
become possessed of the original journal from Grancl
Cairo to Mount Sinai, and which had been mentioned by
Dr. Pococke in his Travels through the East, offered this
tratislation of it to the antiquaries, with a view of exciting
their attention to characters cut out in the rocks in the
wilderness of Sinai, at a place well known by the name of
Gebel el Mokatah,orthe Written Mountains. The bishop
was in great hopes, that, if they could have been copied
and transmitted to England, the meaning of them might
perhaps have been by some means or other got at ; and,
as it was supposed they were cut out by the Israelites
during the long leisure of their encampment in the Wil-
derness, it was supposed that much curious and interest-
ing information might have been obtained, and confirming
the truth of the Mosaic history. The prefetto of Egypt
had with him persons acquainted with Arabic, Greek,
Hebrew, Syriac, Coptic, Latin, Armenian, Turkish, Eng-
lish, lUyrian, German, and Bohemian languages; yet none
of them had any knowledge of the characters, which were
cut in the rock twelve or fourteen feet high with great
industry. The bishop was anxious a person might be sent
out qualified to copy them, and offered himself to contri-
bute lOO/. per annum for five years, to assist in defraying
the expense. It does not appear that any steps were
taken by the Society of Antiquaries in consequence; and
probably the result would have been less satisfactory than
supposed. The celebrated Mr. Edward Wortley Montagu,
who went from Cairo to the deseit of Sinai, for the express
Digitized by VjOOQIC
470 CLAYTON.
purpose of seeing and describing the objects proposed bj
the bishop, was greatly disappointed, and convinced that
the characters were not made by the Israelites. Other
travellers, who have been at' the same place since, have
not been more successful.
The bishop's next publication wais in 1755 ; and con-
sisted merely of some letters which had passed between
his lordship, when Bishop of Cork, and Mr. William Penn,
on the subject of baptism. In which he contended, that
the true christian baptism is to continue to the end of the
world; whereas the baptism of the Holy Ghost ceased
with the working of miracles.
The zeal with which his lordship had entered into the
Arian controversy, by fathering a work not his own, did
not cease to influence his mind ; and he attempted to fur*
ther the propagation of the same tenets in his legislative
capacity, by a speech in the house of lords, at Dublin,
2nd of February, 1756, when he moved that the Nicene and
Athanasian creeds should for the future be omitted in the
Liturgy of the church of Ireland. The speech he delivered
on that occasion was taken down in short-hand ; and,
being published, went through several editions. This so
avowed and declared an attack on the articles of the
church, made his lordship be viewed in a very unfavour-
able light by his brethren, and this feeling towards him
was aggravated still more by his posterior conduct. In
1757 he published the third part of his *^ Vindication of
the Histories of the Old and New Testament," in which he
wandered so far into heterodoxy, that it was considered by
the governors of the church as highly improper that such
conduct should be allowed in one whose situation required
him to appear in her defence. Accordingly orders were
sent by his Majesty to the Duke of Bedford, then lord-
lieutenant, to take the proper steps towards a legal prose-
cution. A day was appointed for a general meeting of
the Irish prelates at the primate; to which Bishop Clay-
ton was summoned, that he might receive from them the
notification of their intentions. A censore was certain ;
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CLAYTON. 477
ftnd it was appreheoded he would be deprived of his bene-
fice. His lordship howeyer, and the other bishops and
ministers, were relieved from all farther trouble in so un-
pleasant an affair by the hand of death, Feb. £6, 1758.
The disease was nervous fever, and the agitation of mind
under which he was thrown when a prosecution com-
menced against him, proved the cause of his death. When
informed of the prosecution, he consulted an eminent
lawyer on the subject, and asked him if he supposed he
should lose his bishopric. The answer was, " My lord, I
believe you will." *' Sir," he replied, *' you have given
me a stroke I shall never get the better of." It has been
asserted, that, after the bishop had delivered his speech in
the house of lords, he said *' That his mind was eased of
a load which bad long been upon it, and that he now
enjoyed a heartfelt pleasure, to which he had been a
stranger for above twenty years before." This story, if
true, and his lordship's future conduct, are decidedly in-
consistent; and, indeed, it is impossible to view in a
favourable light the behaviour of the bishop and his pre-
cedent conduct. If he had been truly conscientious in
the zeal he had shewn for the tenets which he had em-
braced, it ill became him to shrink from the consequences
of avowing them. The pecuniary loss of the revenues of
his bishopric for the few remaining years in which he had
any probability of living, ought not to have weighed much
in any circumstances ; and surely none at all with one who
was possessed of so ample a private fortune. And to
suffer for conscience sake, to a man thoroughly sincere in
the principles he professes, ought to be viewed as his
glory and his crown. Without, therefore, entering at all
into the merits of the doctrines he advanced, we shall only
remark, that the man who launches out into the storms of
religious controversy, ought to be prepared to meet the
bnffettings of the waves; he must expect the warm at-
tacks of his opponents, and particularly so, if the tenets he
advances be ip opposition to those to which he has sworn
his belief; and miserable must be his feelings if be is not
Digitized by VjOOQIC
47B CLEAVER*
prepared to withBtaod such hostiIity> and to deriye con**
tolatioo from the approbation of hid friends^ and the still
more important judgment of bis own conscience*
We turn with pleasure to the amiable qualities mani-
fested by the bishop in private life. The objects of bis
charity were numerous, and he bestowed bis benefactions
with such privacy, that it might be truly said his '^ left
hand knew not what his right band gave." Being a
member of the linen board, be availed himself of the means
of doing good presented to him, and by getting wheels
and reels for the poor about Clogher, he put it into their
power to maintain themselves by the exertion of honour**
able labour.
The bishop left behind him many manuscripts, the fruits
of his literary industry, but not in a state fit for the press.
As a member of the learned societies to which be be»
longed) he maintained a correspondence with men of the
first eminence for literature and science. To the learned
printer, Mr. Bowyer, he made a present of the copyright
of all his works published in England. His Lancashire
estate he bequeathed to his nearest relation, Richard Clay-
ton, Esq. chief justice of the common pleas in Ireland ;
but the principal part of his fortune fell to Dr. Barnard,
who had married his niece.
mb^ cleaver.
Wipe of the Archbishop of Dublin, born at
in Ireland, and descended from one of its ancient and most
honourable families. This lady stands so high in the
records of excellence, that it may truly be said, " When
the eye saw hef, it blessed her ;'' when the ear heard of
h^r, it was iti the chorus of praise and admiration : in her
was united all the warmth and libei-ality of the Irish, with
the solidity, energy, and fortitude of the English character.
Munificent in her donations, yet her benevolence was as
extensive as her generosity was unbonnded; unosten-
tatious in her charities, as in nil her actions, she coDcealed
Digitized by VjjOOQIC
CLBRL 479
tbeid as mtieh ab potsibKs from the public ey6. She seemed
indeed to live bat for the welfare of Others ; her every
pursuit was subservient to that exalted sense of duty
which was the ruling principle of her mind and the great
stimulus of all her actions. The benevolence and virtues
of her heart appeared in her countenance, and gave an in-
expressible charm to her manners and conversation. No
one retired from her society without having been pleased ;
and very few without improvement. With an intuitive
perception of all that was elegant or graceful in language,
and dignified in conduct, she united intellectual endow*
meats which would have rendered her conspicuous in any
sphere of life, had she pursued the paths of literature ; but
thedutiesof daughter, mother, the wife, and the friend*
engrossed her attention. She was always actively engaged
to promote happiness at home, and diffusing it in the wide
circle of her connections. She poured consolation into
the bosom of distress, bound up the broken heart ; ^' visited
the fatherless and widow in their affliction;'' '^ gave to
the poor bread ;" to the sick medicine ; and to the ignorant
instruction^ Such was the being whose decease we have
to record and lament, on the 1st of May, 1815. She had
retired to rest the preceding evening, and not having
risen at her usual time in the morning, the family became
alarmed, and on entering her chatilbet'i found her dead, ap-
parently as if recently engaged in prayer.
MICHAEL CLERI, oe, CLEIRIGH.
X HIS historian and antiquary was a nativeof the province
of Ulster, a friar of the Franciscan order ; and being well
skilled in the language and antiquities of bis country, was
one of the envoys sent into Ireland from Louvaib, by
Hugh Ward, to collect tbe materials for his work relative
to the Irish Saints. This task be performed with indefa-
tigable iadustry For about fifteen years, «id collected
together a mass of information, both genealogical and
biogmphical, and which proved invaluable (as has beed
Digitized by VjOOQIC
4lO CLOSB.,
recorded) to John Colgan, the author of the ^ Acta Sane-
tornm Hiberbife/^
The task assigned him by Hugh Ward, afforded him
an opportunity of procuring many other materials, regard-
ing both the civil and ecclesiastical history of his country,
which he digested into method and order; and with the aid
of several skilful antiquarians, whom he employed to assist
him, he not only compiled, but enlarged three historical
treatises, the titles of which are to be found in Ware.
By the assistance likewise of the aforesaid antiquaries (who
were Ferfessius O'Mselchonaire, or Coury, Peregrine
O'Clery, and Peregrine O^Dubgennan) and receiving
occasionally the assistance of others, he compiled and
composed a treatise in a convent in Donegal, entitled,
*' The Annals of Donegal." A work which O'Flaherty,
in his Oxygia, taxes with great defects in point of chrono-
logy; yet (adds Ware) it is chiefly depended on, and
closely followed by John Lynch and John Colgan.
Cleri also arranged and published a dictionary and glos-
sary of the most difficult and obsolete words in the Irish
language, under the title of ** Senasan Nuadh, Louvain,
1643/' and died in the course of the same year.
Sib BARRY CLOSE, Baet.
Was a native of Ireland, and an officer to whose eminent
talents and strict sense of public duty, the East India
Company are deeply indebted. At an early age he em-
barked in the service of the company in a military capacity,
and in every situation to which he was progressively ad-
vanced, was justly pointed out as a model for imitation.
For many years he was adjutant-general of the army
attached to fort St. George, in which capacity he exhibited
talents of so superior and scientific a cast, and acquired so
high a military reputation, as to introduce him to the
friendship and confidence of General Harris. This valu-
able connection afforded him many opportunities during
the memorable siege of Seringapatam, of distinguishing
Digitized by VjOOQIC
COGHILL. «81
^inaself ia such a manner at to obtain mach of the glory
which accrued to the British arms from that brilliant
achievement. When peace was restored to that country
by the overthrow of the house of Hyder^ and the nominal
re-establishment of the hereditary rajah on the throne of
Mysore, the Marquess Wellesley entrusted to him the im-
portant office of resident at that court, in which and in
other diplomatic employments, he exhibited political
talent, not inferior to his military abilities. His concilia*
tory manners and firmness of naind, joined to a complete
knowledge of the language, manners, and history, of the
natives, rendered him as popular among them, as among
his countrymen. On his return to England, he was elevated
to the dignity of a baronet; and died in April 1813, un-
fortunately for that country, whidi he had served with a
warmth of public spirit almost unequalled during a period
of forty-two years.
MARMADUKE COGHILL
W^AS born in Dublin, on the S8th December, 1673, and
was admitt^ a fellow commoner of Trinity college in
1687 ; here he took his degree of doctor of civil law,
and was chosen one of its representatives in parliament,
which mark of respect and esteem his constituents con^
ferred on him till the time of his decease. After filling
several important offices, he was appointed chancellor of
the Irish exchequer, in 1735, which situation he held with
great repute during the rest of his life. He died of that
fatal disorder, the gout in the stomach, in 1738, and was
interred in St. Andrew's church-yard. In public life he
was a man of unwearied diligence and clear judgment, an
equally upright counsellor of the crown, and independent
repnesentative of the people. As one of the first commis-
sioners of the board of first fruits, he may be said to have
organised that body, and to have been the prime cause of
all the benefits which arise to the established chorch rn
Ireland from his exertions. lo private lifehe was univer-
VOL. 1. I 1
Digitized by VjOOQIC
4tt COLE. '
fftlly beloved lor kift beaeyoleMe, affability, aid sweetMts
of temper. Hi« sitter, Mary Coghill, erected the ebvreb
of Drumcoodra, near Dublin, at a Hionomeot of reapeot
and afieetioD to bis memory, aod omarimiied it with a
tomb, sculptured by Scheemaker.
SiE JOHN COLE
Was descend^ froaii the ancient family 6f the Coles of
DeTonsbire, and was the second son of ^r Williaaa Cok,
wbo was the first of the family settled in Ireland.
The year of Sir John's birth has ad beeo recorded.
Dnring the unhappy dissensions, he was rery actiTO undet
bis father, particularly in the relief of Enniskillen, which
bavii^ been besieged nine weeks by fifteen hundred me%
under Philip M'Hugh O'Reily, they were surprised in m
sally by Walter Johnson, an officer under Sir William,
who being seconded by Sir Jphn, with his foot-company,
and some volunteers, they raised the sieee, and led the
pursuit of the enemy for seven mites, as uht as Maguire's
bridge.
^fter the reduction of Ireland by the pariiameat, he was
appointed, with others, on die 81st November, l6Sd, c6n>-
mis&ioQers for the precinct of Belturbet, to consider hew
the titles of the Irish and others to an estate in Ireland,
and also their delinqnency according to their respective
qualifications, might be put into the most speedy and
exacV way of acjjustment.
On the 27th of February following, he had the pay of
J 8/. 4s. allowed him by the month, as governor of £nni»>
killin, and being very instrumental in promoting the res«
toration of King Charles II. his majesty by privy seal,
dated at Whitehall, 4th August, and by patent, ^rd Jana«>
ary, 1660, created him a baronet, in consideration of his
very many good services performed to him ; and on the
ISth of December gave him a cc^nel's commissioa in a
regiment of foot, to which he was appointed on the iMted
of March following; having on the Ifitb been oen^uied
Digiti'zed by VjOOQIC
COLGAN. 46S
one of ih^ eommittiontn f^r the u^iHtrntni of tbe king*,
dom, for which purpose he bad a grant of idnds.
H^ was oiember of parliaokent for the cooaty of F^rina^
nagb, of which countj he wasippeidted oosios rotbloram
on the find of April, 1 66 1 • He married Elizabeth, daughter
of John Chichester, Esq. of Dungannoo, by whom he had
four sons and seven daughters^ and died in or aboat the
year 1603.
IMF 'M ,Hi" '
JOHN COLGAN,
A MATiTB ^f the county of Donegal, and celebrated,
both as an author aiid a scholar; was a strict Franci^caii
friar in the Irish convent of St. Anthony of Padua, in Lou-
tain, in which he was professor of divinity. He Was
thoroughly aoqaaittted with the Irish language, And like-
wise possessed a great kndwledge of the antiquities and
diarcfa history of his country, by the acquiremeht of
which learning, he was admirably qualified for the praise^
worthy and laborious Work in which he had engaged,
Namely, the collecting and writing the lives 6f the Irish
saints ; a work in which he was greatly aided by the col*
lections made for the same parpose by Hugh Ward*, who
was unfortunately prevented from carrying his int^ntidn*
into effect by Sadden death. He (Colgan) gave op the
greater part of his time and talents to thi^ work, and has
published two large folio voluoties, illustrated with many
Aotes, both useful and learned, espetially in what regardi
^ Hagh Ward was likewise a aaflfS of the connty of Donegal, but
i^tesbred part of his ediMSti^a St Saloaiatiea aad fiart in Pkuis ; and aher-
wards was made lectorar, and fhtn gilsrdian of the Irish ooUege at I^*
vain. Prior to which he was admitted into the order of Fsaociscaji friars
at Salamanca, in the year 1616. He was a man deeply read in Hibernian
antlqvltifSy Imd nndertobk the writing a complete History 6f the Lives of
Aeaslatsof telaad. For which parpOi^ be ero^dy^on^BliclMlO'Clsrsr^
who was likewise a friar of the same ord^, |ln# seat him ftfoai JLsavldp to
Irdand to search for manuscripts and to o^ct materials for the work.
The finisUng of which was prevented by the anthor's sadden decease, on
tfM 8th November, lass i and the whole of his papers caase into Om pos-
i of Joha rolfSBi sad ww sliigitstfj osefol to hha.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
484 COLGAN.
the ancient topography of Ireland, and has annexed to
them large and complete tables. The last of these volumes
in order was the first printed and entitled " Acta Sanc'
torum Veteris et Majoris Scotiae seu Uibernise, 8cc.&c."
Lov. 1645. — Folio. — His intention (says Ware) was, first
to publish one general Treatise, or Synopsis of the Eccle-
siastical Antiquities of Ireland. Secondly, The Acts of
St. Patrick, St. Colamb, and St. Bridgit. And, thirdly,
to write the Lives and Acts of the other Saints of Ireland,
according to the order of the months and days, which
would occupy many volumes. But the first part of this
last work being earliest ready for the press, he presented
it to the public eye, and called it the first volume, though
the third of what he intended for his Ecclesiastical Anti^r
<)uities.^ Into this volume he brought all the saint^ of
Ireland who died during the first three months of the year,
and it is suspected some Scots and English, such as he
could lay the least claim to; yet is far short (oontiaueih
the same author) of making sufficient reprisals on Mr.
Dempster who with so bare a face hath plundered the
Irish calendar, and from thence got the nick-name of
ay4oxXMifkf, or the Saint^stealer. Peter Talbot, a man qC
^* good parts and learning," gives our author the title and
character of Incitorum Carrosor, or a raker together of
uncertain and unknown lives. The second volume of this
work was printed at Lonvain in 1647. In this volume he
hath given seven different lives of St. Patrick, five of St.
Columb, and six of St. Bridgit, to which he has annexed
appendixes, notes, and indexes.
He died at Louvain in 1658, and his death frustrated
bis intention of giving to the public the lives of the Irish
Saints for the other nine months of the year.
Several manuscript volumes of his writings are yet
remaining at Louvain, the titles of which are to be found
in Harris's Edition of Ware.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
485
St. COLUMBA, or, COLUMKJLLE,
Was one of the greatest patriarchs of the mooastic order
hi IrelaDdy and the apostle of the Picts. To distingaish
him from other saints of the same name, he was aurnamed
Columkille, from the great number of monastic cells,,
called by the Irish^ killeSf of which he was the founder.
He was of the noble extraction of Neil» and was bom at
Gartan, in the county of Tyrconnel, in 521, and early
learned the di?in;e Scriptures, and the lessons of an ascetic,
life under the celebrated bishop of St. Ferrian, in his
great school of Cluain-iraird, and esteemed nothing worthy
his pursuit that did not assist him in the disengagement
of his mind from the world, and the advance of religion
and holiness in his heart. Being advanced to the order of
priesthood in 546, he gave admirable lessons of piety,
and sacred learning, and was soon attended by many
disciples. He founded, about the year 550, the great
monastery of Dair-magb, now called Durrogh, and Sir
iames Ware mentions a MS. copy of the four gospels of
St. Jerome's translation, adorned with silver plates, as
then extant, preserved in this abbey. He likewise founded
many other monasteries of less note ; and the same antiqua*
rian observes, that a rule composed by St. Columba, then
existed in the old Irish. This rule he settled in the hun-
dred monasteries, which he founded in Ireland and Scot-
land. King Dermot (like great men of more modern
times) being offended at the zeal which reproved public
vices, St. Columba determined on leaving his native
country; and with his twelve disciples passed into Scot«
land, and was successful in converting the king of the
northern Picts, together with his subjects. These Picts,
having embraced the faith, gave St. Columba the little
island of Hy, or lona, called from him-~Y-colin-kille,
twelves miles froni the land, in which he built the great
monastery, which was for several ages the chief seminary
of North Britain, and continued long the burying-place of
nigitized by VjjOOQIC
480 COLUMBA.
the kiDgs, and other superior persouaget. Lewis, io bis
ancient History of Great Brijtain, mentions the remains of
the tomb* in tfa^ cbai'ch-jard, of forty-eight kings of
Seotlandi fonr kings of Ireland, and eight kidgs of Norway*
St. Colamba's manner of living was most austere; his
fasting extraordinary, the bare floor his bed^ and a stone
his pillow ; yet he was mild and cbeerfol, and his general
benificedce won him the hearts of all ;— «be considered time
of so much value, that be suffered no minutes to pa^
without employment, and that employment of the bedt
kind, promoting religion and virtue in his own person;
and oommonicating the same by example and preoept to
all aroand bim,— a rare example to the priesthood of all
denominations. In the MS. life of St. Columba by
O'Donnell^ it is asserted that in the year 544, being a
prince of the royal family, he was offer^ the crown of
Ireland, and that Dermod M'Cerball, bis competitor, sac*
ceeded only because our holy abbot preferred the cowl to
the diadem, an evident proof of the sincerity of his devo-
tion, and the humility of his mind.
He died in the seventy^seventh year of his age, And was
buried in the island, but was ftome ages after removed to
Down, in Ulstef, and laid in one vault with the remains of
St. Patrick and St. Brigit.
It is justly observed by Batler, that formerly, christians
bid themselves in solitudes, that they migfat more imme*
diately devote themselves to the service of God ; but now,
after a christian education, too many pass their whole
lives in dissipation and vanity, without being able to find
leisurf for serious meditation or reading, as if they made
it their study to unlearn the chief thing which it concerns
them to know, and to love the only tiling for which jlhey
exist — ^-religion, or the worship of God.
£ND OP VOL t
Digitized by VjOOQIC
INDEX
IPO T«« - - -
FIRST VOLUME.
lA^eroethyy JohB ^ 1
Alezfttder, ^ohn 0
Apne8ley,Artbar^£arlofAiglaey 0
Arcbdale^i M^'yyi' 17
Afchdekiiiy Ricbar^ , 19
Artl|nr,j9ffiei Up
A4h, St. George 21
Atkinson, Joseph ........ 1^
AyerUl,4olw U
Aylmer, Matthew fs
Aybner, Oeorge • 9
9«UUe, CaptiMii William . . . . »
9arber, Mary . » 38
Barnewall, Antliony 88
Baroy or Baron, Bonaventiira . 99
Barret, George SI
Barrett, Dr. James Si
Barrett, Captain JohD 14
Barry, DaTid Fitzjames, Ms-
count Batte?ant 10
Barry, Da?id, first Earl of Bar-
rymore 41
Barry, James, Lord Santry . . 42
Barry, Spranger 44
Barry, James w . 68
Bathe, William 74
Beard, Thomas 75
Beling, Richard ...>.... 78
Pagr
Airkeley, George, Bisha^ ^f
Ckqme 78
Birmingham, Hon. MiB. ... 96
Btmardy Hatilet Galbeiiiift^
Counteai of BaDdaa ^ . . . • 9r
BIrkerstaff; Isaac 99
Mnoipgham, Sir John, Earl of
Unth , IIP
Blftck.Joseph m
Mriimhe« Brion « 111
Borlase, Edmnnd 122
Myd, Hugh Maoavky IM
Bayle, Richard 128
B«yle, Roger .188
Boyle, Francis, Viscomit Shan-
non 152
Boyle, Hon. Hobert 158
Boyle, fienrietta, Lady CNeil 177
ftoyl^, Roger 179
Boyse, Samnel 179
Bjrabazon, Willian^ first Earl of
Meath iPf
Brady, Nicholas 198
Brereton, Lieot*Gen 200
Brigit, St. 200
Brodrick, Allan, first Viscomit
Middleton 201
Brooke, Henry 208
Bi^pA^ tSiartotte 211
Digitized by VjOOQIC
INDEX.
Page
Brooks, or Brookes, John . . • 218
Brouncker, Sir WiUiam, Vis-
.count of Castle-Lyons .... 814
Brown, Dr. Jemmet 215
Browne, Peter 222
Browne, Patrick 225
Bnnworth, Charles 228
Bnrgli, Walter Hnssey 229
Burke, Edward 281
Barke, Richard . 271
Burke, Walter . 272
Bums, John 278
Burrowes, Alexander Saunder-
son 274
Butler, James, fourth Earl of
Ormond ........... 275
Butler, Richard, third Viscount
Mountgarret . 278
Butler, Thomas, Earl of Ossory 281
Butler, James, Duke of Or-
monde 286
Butts, John 295
Byrne, Charles 296
Byrne, Charles 296
Byrne, Ifiss 297
Curran,JohnPhUpot 298
Caldwell, Sir James 864
Caldwell, Hume 866
Page
CaMweU, Henry 874
Caldwell, Charies 875
Caldwell, Andrew 876
Cantwell, Andrew 877
Carleton, Sir Guy, Lord Dor-
chester 877
Carolan,l'urlough 888
Caron, Redmond 888
Carter, Thomas 890
Caolfield, William, second Vis-
count Chariemont 891
Caulfield, James, Earl of Char-
iemont . • . . ; 892
Centlivre, Susannah 454
Chandler, Edward 460
Cherry, Andrew 462
Chichester, Arthur, Earl of Do-
negal 467
Clancy, Michael 469
Clare, Benjamin 471
Clayton, Robert, Bishop of'
aogher 471
Cleaver, Mrs 478-
Cleiri, or Cleirigh, Ificbael . . 479
dose, Sir Barry 480
Co|^, Marmaduke 481
Cole, Sir John 482
Colgan, John 488
Columba, or Columkille, St • . 485
TO THE BINDEft,
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