6 the press, if I could only induce some of my noble friends and my young friends of the press to join, I should be most happy, for I know how powerful their example and influence would be. The reporters of the daily papers were here placed in the same category as the scions of nobility, and no man better knew than he did the service which the former could render to his cause. But an editor of an influential journal was a prize equal in value to a prime minister. His estimate of the value of the support which he received from the public press was expressed on various occasions in Ireland; but while in England he also proclaimed his obligation and gratitude to that powerful agent. At one of his meetings in London he said :— I have often taken occasion to say that, next to God, to the support I have met with from that most mighty moral power on this earth, the public press, do I attribute the success which has attended the great moral movement, total abstinence. In Ireland, with one solitary exception, the whole press has been in my favour; and in London you all know the support I have received from the public press of all shades of opinion; and I thus publicly tender my grateful thanks to those who have the control of every metropolitan daily journal, not so much for the kindness they have accorded to me personally, as for the good they have done for the cause of morality, by sustaining my humble efforts to arrest a great evil. During his stay in London, Father Mathew met the most distinguished men of the day, who had been invited to meet the great moral reformer. He created no small amusement to a large party at the hospitable mansion of an Irish nobleman by his attempts, partly playful, but also partly serious, to make a convert of Lord Brougham, who resisted, good-humouredly but resolutely, the efforts of his dangerous neighbour. I drink very little wine," said Lord Brougham: only half a glass at luncheon, and two half glasses at dinner; and though my medical advisers told me I should increase the quantity, I refused to do so.' 'They are wrong, my lord, for advising you increase the quantity, and you are wrong in taking the small quantity you do; but I have my hopes of you.' And so, after a pleasant resistance on the part of the learned lord, Father Mathew invested his lordship with the silver medal and ribbon, the insignia and collar of the new Order of the Bath. Then I will keep it,' said Lord Brougham, and take it to the House, where I shall be sure to meet old Lord the worse of liquor, and I will put it on him.' The announcement of this intention was received with much laughter, for the noble lord referred to was notorious as a persistent worshipper of Bacchus. Lord Brougham was as good as his word; for, on meeting the veteran peer who was so celebrated for his potations, he said, 'Lor I have a present from Father Mathew for you,' and passed the ibbon rapidly over his neck. Then I tell you what it is, Brougham by ! I will keep sober for this night,' said his lordship, who kept his vow, to the great amazement of his friends. The Marquis of Clanricarde, who was the noble entertainer, accompanied his distinguished guest to the hall, where he was surprised by seeing him eagerly approach one of the servants in waiting, and shake him warmly by the hand. This was an English servant, who, afraid of losing his situation, had taken the pledge, some two or three years before, when Father Mathew visited Portumna Castle, the seat of the noble marquis in Ireland. Father Mathew, whose memory for persons was extraordinary, at once recognised his follower, and in the presence of several members of the aristocracy-who were not a little amazed at what they witnessed-treated that servant with manly respect. Father Mathew and the great Duke-the two most distinguished conquerors of the age, though in widely-different fields of glory-met on one of these occasions. The duke was singularly gracious to his brother hero, for whose character and services he entertained wellknown respect. I ought to claim your Grace as one of ours,' said the priest to the soldier. How can that be, Father Mathew? I am not a teetotaller, though I am a very moderate man,' replied the duke. 'Oh, but you are a temperance man, your Grace; for if you had not so cool a head, you would not have been the illustrious Duke of Wellington,' was the quick rejoinder. 'Father Mathew,' said a gentleman one evening to the lion of the party, you must have felt rather embarrassed in your visits to the north of Ireland; the people are so much colder than your warmhearted countrymen of the south, and so prejudiced against your Church. Far from it,' replied Father Mathew; I felt quite at home among them from the first, and they were most kind and hospitable. In Fermanagh, I was nobly received and entertained in the mansion of Captain Archdall, one of the leading Orangemen of that county. Even if Father Mathew had any other story to tell, he would have remained silent rather than say a word disparaging to the character and good feeling of his countrymen. Perhaps the most gratifying circumstance connected with his visit to England was the manner of his reception by the late Dr. Stanley, then Bishop of Norwich. The English Protestant Bishop thus offered his hospitality to the Irish Priest: Palace, Norwich: Sept. 2, 1844. REVEREND SIR,—I have just been informed that it is your intention to visit Norwich on Thursday next, Sept. 7, on which occasion I shall feel it my duty as well as my inclination to give you the cordial welcome due to one who has so zealously and so effectually devoted himself to a cause in which Christians of all denominations may co-operate. I purpose, therefore, attending an evening meeting, which I understand will be held in St. Andrew's Hall on the day of your ar rival, and I take the earliest opportunity of expressing my earnest hope that you will favour me with your company either to dinner or breakfast, at any hour that you may name most convenient to yourself. I should be obliged by a line in reply. I remain, yours faithfully, The Rev. Theobald Mathew, Hart's Temperance Hotel, 159 Aldersgate Street. E. NORWICH. Father Mathew received the bishop's letter with feelings which may be well imagined, when we consider that one of the objects of his life was to cultivate the kindliest intercourse with his Christian brethren of every denomination, and to reciprocate that fraternal charity which ought to exist among ministers of the Gospel, notwithstanding differences of doctrine. That letter, written in a fine bold hand, was preserved by Father Mathew to the hour of his death; and it is from that letter, now nearly twenty years written, that the above has been transcribed by his biographer. The bishop more than redeemed his promise of a cordial welcome, not only by his elegant hospitality, but by a noble eulogium which was honourable alike to the speaker and to its grateful object. In the face of a crowded assembly, the bishop thus addressed the man whom those thousands had met to honour and to hear: And now, reverend sir (addressing Father Mathew), you, my friend and brother from another island, I meet you not here as a Roman Catholic priest. I differ from your creed-I will candidly tell you I am even hostile to it; but I meet you here in a nobler, in a more comprehensive character than that of a priest-I meet you as a man like myself, as a Christian brother as a Christian brother on neutral ground, where Christians of all denominations delight to meet and congregate together. Sir, I have watched your proceedings for many and many a year. I remember, many years ago, that I censured you in public; nay more, may I not add, abused you. I believed those public reports spread, I scarcely know how, save by malign and foolish misrepresentation; nevertheless, I thought it my duty, as a man of candour, to apply to you as a gentleman, a Christian, and a man of honour, to tell me how the case really stood. You answered me in a manner that did you credit, and I turned over a new leaf—I abused you no more; and now I rejoice to meet you here as a friend. I am not one of those who will not believe a Catholic on his oath; I acted more courteously; I believed you on your candid and honest affirmation; and I am satisfied that you did not deceive me. I have watched over your character: I have had every resource in my possession, and I have endeavoured to ascertain precisely what it was. I will say, and I think it my duty to say, it is embodied and written in print. I will read you the character which I believe Mr. Mathew entitled to, and which describes that character and estimation in which he is held by those who know him better than I do. Here his lordship read the following eulogium: 'He is a gentleman by birth; for 24 years he has devoted his energies to the service of the poor; and so far from being actuated by sordid or pecuniary motives, he has applied his private property to religious and benevo lent purposes. As to politics, notwithstanding insinuations to the contrary, it is a fact that he has never, during his whole life, attended one political meeting, or mixed with any political agitation; and though entitled to the franchise, he has HIS GOOD WORK IN ENGLAND. 187 never voted.' My friends, I believe it; and I may say that the good sense and the good feeling of the aristocracy of London have borne me out in the opinion I entertain of this worthy man. When in London, he was visited and most hospitably received by men of high rank, high character, and high station; they knew his worth, and they bade him go on and prosper, knowing well that they should receive the advantages-if not directly, indirectly—of his invaluable exertions. But, sir, your cause was not an easy one; it was not altogether over a Macadamised road you had to pass; but you had thorns and brakes and briars in the way, You were assailed in turn by those who, while their disapprobation and censure was eulogy, sunk them in deeper degradation. Men of Norwich! citizens of this ancient city! I appeal to you, and I trust that my appeal shall not be in vain-receive this wanderer on a sacred mission from a distant countryreceive him and give him a Christian welcome, for he has come on a Christian mission. This was the crowning triumph of a visit which had done so much for the cause of temperance and for the promotion of Christian charity amongst men of different creeds and churches. It was computed that 600,000 persons had taken the pledge during this brief but successful campaign, which added much to the popularity and prestige of the Apostle. It is a matter of little difficulty to compute the numbers who knelt before Fathew Mathew and received the pledge at his hands; but it would be a difficult task indeed to tell the good which he accomplished, the fallen whom he raised, the erring whom he brought back to virtue, the despairing whom he comforted, the hungry and the naked whom he fed and clad. For many years after, the blessed traces of that mission of peace and goodwill to England were not erased; and to this day-nearly a quarter of a century after the Apostle of Temperance preached in the highways of its great towns and famous cities-there are many sober and self-respecting men, and many families too, who treasure in their hearts the remembrance of that auspicious visit. It is true there are very many more who have reason to mourn in bitterness over the folly which induced forgetfulness of his advice; but even to this hour the broad footprints left by the Apostle of Temperance on the soil of England are not altogether obliterated. CHAPTER XXI. Return to Cork-The Mathew Tower-Mr. O'Connor's Motives for its GREAT was the joy in Cork at the return of Father Mathew from England It was his first prolonged absence from his own country, and the deepest interest had been excited and kept alive, in the minds of his room. * friends and followers, by the varied events of his triumphant English tour. For a week after his arrival the parlour in Cove Street was crammed almost to suffocation, from morning to night. There were straying sheep to be taken back into the fold, prodigals to be welcomed and forgiven, backsliders to be pardoned; there were petitions to be presented, disputes to be settled, difficulties to be smoothed down; there were deputations to be received, and applications to be answered; there were whispered communications to be made in the corner of the little room, by some poor creature who had counted, with trembling eagerness, every day and hour till the good man's return; and there were interviews to be held at the foot of the stairs, or in the sittingAnd amidst all this bustle and excitement, Father Mathew was in his element, having a word for everyone, and an ear for all. He would break through the recital of some complicated tale of a misunderstanding between the leading members of a favourite readingroom, to receive a tattered drunkard, in whose tangled locks, pale cheeks, blood-shot eyes, and trembling limbs, a useful lesson might be read. Others might have shrunk from contact with that poor degraded human being, but not Father Mathew, who would exclaim in a cheery voice, Welcome, my dear!-welcome!-it is never too late to do a good work. We should never despair of the mercy of the Lord. God help you, my poor child! you have been too long the slave of strong drink--it is time for you to rise up against your greatest enemy. Kneel down, my dear, and pray of God to give you grace and strength to keep the promise you are about to make.' No sooner was the poor fellow sent away happy, perhaps with half-a-crown slipped into his hand, than Father Mathew would again plunge into the complicated 6 *To the impression made upon the mind of his personal friend, the late Mr. William O'Connor, merchant tailor, of Cork, by the reception given to Father Mathew in London, are the lovers of the picturesque indebted for the erection of the Mathew Tower, which forms so striking an object, from its lofty site on the hill-side, on the Glanmire bank of the Lee. The foundation-stone was laid on the 30th of October, 1843; and at the fête with which its completion was celebrated, its spirited founder explained the motives which impelled him to an act of such signal munificence. He said: I have not the least regret for the motives which actuated me in building this edifice; for though many said it was an expensive undertaking, yet with the same views I then and still entertain, I would not consider ten times the expense misapplied for such a purpose; and if I could raise the tower to ten times its present height, it would still be unequal to the dignity and moral grandeur of the services of him of whose labours it is commemorative. A greater impression was never made on an individual than upon me, at witnessing the kindly reception Father Mathew met with from all classes of society in London, and I resolved, on my return to Ireland, to commemorate it in some manner; and soon afterwards, when walking over the grounds you are now on, it struck me that the site would be a most eligible one to build a tower on, which would perpetuate Father Mathew's fame, and, at the same time, signify my gratitude for the reception he had met with in London: and I feel assured that it is only necessary that the people of both countries should know each other better and more intimately, to create more kindly feelings between both.' |