moment for delaying the expression of veneration and approbation which you entertain for that excellent man whose name has called us together here to-day. I would be ashamed of myself if I were capable of thinking that I could make any speech that would enhance his merits, or place his virtues or his utility in a more striking point of view than the simple enunciation of his name alone must command. The name of the Rev. Theobald Mathew is, in fact, a spell-word. It proclaims in itself the progress of temperance, morality, prudence, and every social virtue throughout the land. I have, as I already said, come here not to make a speech, but to bear my testimony to his indescribable merits. I could not stay away from such an assemblage as this; for though I felt how little importance my attendance here could be, still I owed it to myself to share in the testimony of the mighty moral miracle that has been performed, and to raise my humble voice in the declaration of my sentiments of admiration at his utility as a man, and his virtues as a clergyman, by joining in this demonstration of the gratitude of his country towards him. Having said so much, I ought now to retire, for I feel this-that it is not in language to describe, and that there is not rapidity in human speech to follow, the brilliancy of his career. There can be no wings given to words, to enable them to rise to his moral exaltation. You might as well think of looking the noon-day sun in face, without injuring the vision, as to place the merits of Father Mathew in a clearer point of view than they at present exist. No; and if witnesses are wanting of his utility, I call on four millions of teetotallers to come forward with their testimony. I have heard much of eulogium on the Irish people as they at present exist, and I only felt some cause of regret that, in forming a contrast with their present state and that from which they had been rescued, there was some appearance of showing that they had been previously in a state of degradation, and that, in praising what has been done, there was too heavy a censure passed on the former condition of the country. Perhaps I am wrong, and that my anxiety arises from the jealousy with which I regard everything reflecting on the character of my country. It would appear as if, prior to the temperance movement, the Irish were a depraved people-emphatically a drunken population— and that it required some mighty Apostle of the Living God to rescue them from their depravity. Take notice that, in saying this, I do not mean in the slightest degree to detract from the great merits of what has been done by the Rev. Mr. Mathew. I admit that he has performed a mighty moral miracle; but at the same time utterly deny that the people of Ireland were at any time inferior to their neighbours, or to the people of any foreign country, in any part of the globe. While I have been speaking, a thought has just flashed across my mind, to which I must give utterance-it is, that the parliamentary papers furnish evidence on what I have been referring to. Do they show that Ireland was a drunken country? Quite the contrary. Taking the population of Scotland, with relation to the population of Ireland, what do we find? Now, Scotland is a country that everybody praises. You do not blame Scotchmen for praising Scotland, as they always do; and it happens that Scotchmen always contrive to take care of each other, wherever they meet. But the parliamentary papers show that, after all, the Scotchmen are not really so good as they are represented. What is the evidence? I take up the parliamentary papers, and they show me the consumption of ardent spirits in Scotland and Ireland, before Father Mathew's mighty movement commenced. Now, I hope you do not think that the Irish drank more than the Scotch. But even that would be enough to rescue them from the charge of depravity, as they are not worse than a people who are so praised. But the fact is, they did not drink half so much. I have it from the parliamentary document, that for every pint Scotch that the Irish drank, the Scotchmen drank two pints, A MONSTER TEA-PARTY. 175 and what is called a 'tilla' into the bargain. And that occurred, too, during a period when there was very little illicit distillation in Ireland, and a great deal of it in Scotland; and if the illicit whisky was taken into account, it would make the balance one-third more against Scotland. I then say, that Father Mathew did not redeem a drunken people, but he did redeem a people who were predisposed to his mission. Whatever our politics may be-whatever our creeds may be-whatever our condition or avocation in life may be, we are all here of one mind, and that is how Ireland should express her sense of the merits and the virtues of Father Mathew. I feel how inadequate I have been to the subject, for words are nothing when such a topic comes before the mind. There is no painting the rainbow, the ray that comes from the sun, or the angelic plumes that flutter round the throne of the Deity; and there is no angel more pure or worthy than the angel of public morality, dignified in the person of Father Mathew. Perhaps the most imposing and useful demonstration made by the followers of Father Mathew was that in Cork, on the 16th of February of this year (1842), when he was publicly entertained in the Corn Market. At this monster tea-party over 1700 persons, including many of the first citizens, sat down to tables well furnished with every requisite for an evening 'banquet,' as it was termed by its promoters. All classes, parties, and creeds were harmoniously blended on that occasion, which was one of unalloyed gratification to the good man himself; for he then saw, as he fondly believed, the cause gathering round its standard the worth of the middle and the influence of the higher classes of the community. His blended feelings of exultation and anxiety were expressed in his address, from which one or two passages are given :— Cold and unsusceptible must he be who would not catch a spark of the ethereal fire. I pity the man who could sit here without feeling an attachment to our cause, and who would leave us with a hostile heart. 'Hostile heart!' I think I hear some person say, who can have a heart hostile to a cause whose object is the general good of society at large?' But with sorrow I confess that our cause has enemies, that there are many who would rejoice in the fall of our society, and who would hail the return of intemperance. Prejudice, interest, appetite, and drinking customs, and, in a few cases, political motives and sectarian feelings, are arrayed against us; but strong in the strength of the Almighty God, the cause is pursuing a right forward career, and every difficulty is yielding before it. Five millions of persons are enrolled under the banner! the mighty vice of intoxication is yielding, and, with the blessing of God, we will cast the pale horse and his rider' into the sea. With heartfelt exultation we can survey the present condition of the country; we can witness the happiness of the people in the smiling faces that surround us; but let us not forget that there are those amongst our fellow-citizens, thousands of whom are suffering from the evil consequences of intoxicating drink. Oh! if we could take in at one view the ravages occasioned by intemperance in this city, we would see the dissipated husband, the bereaved father, the disconsolate mother, the pining orphan, and the youth of high hope and fervent aspirations, sinking into a shameful and premature grave. It is to oppose the progress of this great evil, to arrest this abomination, that the temperance movement has been established. He concluded with the following earnest appeal to the representatives of the wealthier and more influential classes, for aid in his work: I call on the virtuous and temperate to assist us in this great work. By saying this, I mean no censure; and if the labours of the present humble workers of the cause have been so blessed by the Almighty God as to be the means of conferring happiness and blessings on thousands, a richer, greater, and better harvest may be expected when those persons who possess wealth, influence, and rank, will cooperate with us for the benefit of the holy cause of total abstinence. I call upon all who love their species, their God, and their religion, to assist us in the accomplishment of this glorious work. It is true we are not commanded by any precept, human or divine, to abstain; but if the great springs of human action, hope and fear, have not lost their influence on our hearts, you will all obey the call, and assist us in reviving the era of Christain charity and love, and in making the world a glorious habitation, in which every man may sit down in peace, and in the enjoyment of the blessings secured through Christ: temperance binding all together in the strictest and sweetest bonds of Christian charity and brotherly love. The expense incurred in getting up this monster tea-party was considerable, leaving a balance of little short of 1007. against the committee, who were about paying it out of their own pockets, when Father Mathew heard of the fact. He appeared amongst them one evening as they were settling their accounts, and, placing a bag full of silver on the table, insisted that he alone should make good the deficiency. Remonstrance and refusal were altogether unavailing; for he was a man who, when he had made up his mind upon any matter, would have things his own way. In May 1843, his brother Frank died, and for a short time after, Father Mathew was unable to prosecute his mission; but a sense of duty soon triumphed over the natural tenderness of his heart, and saved him from indulging without restraint in grief which, if given way to, would have impaired his usefulness, and prevented him from fulfilling engagements to which he was pledged. He could not, nor did he, attempt to stifle the sorrow which every recollection of that beloved brother inspired; but he resolutely kept it locked up within his breast, and pursued his mission with unabated energy. Frequently, however, he would steal an hour from his triumphant mission to weep and pray at that tomb; and when the same sepulchre held the remains of his brother Tom, who died shortly after, his visits were still more frequent. The act soothed his feelings as a man, and gratified his piety as a priest. CHAPTER XIX. He determines to visit England-Inducements to do so--Earl Stanhope's THE next great event of his life was his visit to England. That he was.' Invitations to visit England had been pouring in upon him since 1840; and had he not kept steadily in mind the task which he had undertaken in Ireland, and the necessity of completing it, so far as it was humanly possible for him to do so, he might have yielded to the pressing entreaties addressed to him. These appeals were made alike by Protestant and Catholic, by English and Irish, by individuals as well as societies. The Christian concord his presence would be sure to promote among men of different persuasions-the prejudices he would break down-the good he would do his country through the moral elevation of the poor Irish, who, from their poverty and their social habits, were exposed to the worst temptations of large towns, these inducements, and a hundred others likely to impress a man of his sensibility, were constantly addressed to him; but whatever his impulse might prompt him to do, his strong sense of duty enabled him to resist these solicitations, so long as his work at home was not sufficiently accomplished. The announcement of his intention to visit England in the summer of 1843 was hailed with satisfaction by the friends of temperance, and with natural enthusiasm by the Irish populations of its great towns. A letter from the late Earl of Stanhope expresses the esteem in which Father Mathew was held by those who differed from him in religious belief, and the satisfaction with which the announcement of his intended visit was received : Chevening, near Sevenoaks: Jan. 26, 1843. MY DEAR SIR,—I was inexpressibly rejoiced to learn by your letter that you propose to visit London in May next, and I fervently hope that nothing will occur to prevent your arrival, which will be hailed with extreme and heartfelt satisfaction by the friends of temperance, and will be of infinite importance to the cause; for I trust that Divine Providence will continue to bless and prosper your benevolent exertions in this country as well as in your native land, and N that you may have the happiness of conferring their benefits on many of those who in the metropolis have fallen through intemperance into a state of destitution and of moral degradation. Your presence in this country will to myself in particular afford the greatest happiness, as I entertain for you the sincerest veneration, as I am most grateful for your inestimable services, and as I have long and ardently wished to have opportunities of conversing with you, when you will find me most anxious to profit by your instructions. But I am only a very humble follower in the great cause. If your engagements should allow it, you would oblige me extremely by honouring me with a visit at this place, which at that time of the year is in great beauty. Allow me again to assure you that I am, with the utmost regard and esteem, my dear sir, most faithfully yours, To the Rev. Theobald Mathew. STANHOPE. The pressure of his engagements in various parts of the country did not admit of his leaving Ireland sooner than the 30th of June, when he left Cork to redeem his long-standing and oft-repeated promise. It is not necessary that a detailed account should be given of Father Mathew's visit to England, nor to enumerate the towns through which he passed, the addresses he received, the replies which he made, the speeches which he delivered, or the numbers he enrolled. It was a repetition of his visit to Glasgow; the same enthusiasm and excitement, the same processions and assemblages, the same respect evinced towards him by those not of his own communion, the same wild exultation and delight manifested by his own country people-the same impression of the character of the man left upon the minds of all who saw him, spoke with him, or were in any way brought into contact with him. By the bishops and clergy of the Catholic Church he was received with affectionate reverence; and wherever he went, in his short but triumphant tour in England, he contrived to pay back the kindness of his reception by conferring, through his preaching, some solid advantage on the Catholic mission of each locality or district. In Liverpool, in Manchester, in Salford, in Huddersfield, in Wakefield, in Leeds, and in a number of other places, his success was extraordinary, but not greater than ought to have been the natural result of his extraordinary labours. In Liverpool and Manchester, he preached and administered the pledge in all the Catholic churches and schools of those great towns. There was not a day, during his stay in either place,—in both of which there was then, as there is now, an immense Irish population,-on which he did not lecture on temperance, and administer the pledge for several hours, frequently from an early hour in the morning to a late hour in the evening. Then, on Sundays, he preached for some special object, and also addressed crowded congregations on the ever-present purpose of his visit to England. Vast numbers of Protestants and members of the various Dissenting bodies came to hear him preach in the different |