John was a good servant, so long as he did not attempt to play the part of master. He was neat of hand, clean in person and in habit, and an admirable cook. In the artistic laying of the cloth for dinner, and the scientific arrangement of the table, there was not, as he often declared, his superior in the universe; and really few could excel him in his soup and coffee. John brought in the soup-tureen with a solemnity of deportment that would have done honour to a master-ofceremonies; and as it was distributed to the guests, he awaited with grim dignity the accustomed praise. Should an unhappy guest look dissatisfied, or even indifferent to the merits of the elixir, he was lost -marked down from that day in John's darkest tablets. But if he praised it in this fashion-Really, this soup is so delightful that I must trouble you again, Father Mathew '-he won the artist's hearttook it by storm. There was, however, one commendation for which he always looked, and which he invariably obtained—that of his master, who would have drunk the soup were ditch-water its principal ingredient, rather than have pained his old follower. The usual formula of approval was thus pronounced- Very nice, indeed. Why, John, you are getting better every day.' These words were like sunlight to John's moral landscape. His sour features brightened with delight, and for the moment the natural vinegar and lemon-juice were banished from his thin lips. John loved his master, in his own way, and after his own fashion; but he had a mission to fulfil, and that was to tyrannise over that master, and to retain Biddy, the woman servant, in a state of abject subjection. He succeeded in the former object rather too well; but in the latter he had not equal success, for Biddy was a woman of spirit, and stood on her rights, defending them with the valour of a heroine against the encroachments of the enemy. Little knew the admiring world outside the difficulty the Apostle of Temperance had to maintain even an armed neutrality between the Great Powers of the Kitchen and the Pantry in Cove Street, or the many and unavailing efforts he made to effect a solid and lasting peace on terms honourable to both. When peace did reign between the Powers, Father Mathew rejoiced in spirit. We shall renew our acquaintance with our friend John. There was no flagging in the good work, as the gradually widening circle of the 'batches' in the Horse Bazaar, and the increasing numbers pouring into the parlour in Cove Street, sufficiently attested. The interest of the local community was excited in the movement, and the pride of the citizens of Cork was gratified by the fact of their city being the birth-place and cradle of a great moral reformation. But a deeper feeling was aroused, as the practical results of sobriety were HAPPY WORKING OF THE CAUSE. 85 being daily manifested, not only in the greater quietness and good order of the streets, but in the material and moral improvement of those who adopted this once much-ridiculed pledge of total abstinence. The numbers in the prisoners' dock in the Police Court were steadily diminishing, week after week; masters and employers expressed their satisfaction at the improved conduct of their servants and workpeople; the attendance of children in schools became more regular and continuous as their parents became sober and self-respecting; and the appearance of the people generally was marked by an air of comfort which they had not previously exhibited. If the trade of the publican was lessened, which undoubtedly it was, those who dealt in necessaries and humble luxuries were correspondingly benefited. Temperance-rooms began to spring into existence; and in these members gathered together, and drew other members towards them, as well by the example they afforded as the inducements they held out. Working men could sit at the bright fire of the reading-room without risk of temptation, hearing the news, discussing the topics of the hour, or glorying in the progress of the cause from which they were taught to expect great honour and lasting advantage to their country. These reading-rooms ere long assumed an important feature in the movement, and became one of its most effective means of practical organisation. During all this time Father Mathew was as much the priest as ever. The same early hours, the same attendance in the confessional, the same attention to his clerical duties, the same activity and punctuality in whatever he had to perform. The Father Mathew of 1838 and 1839 was in all respects, save one, the same as the Father Mathew of any year since his arrival in Cork; and that one exception was in the greater labour which he was compelled, from his new position, to undertake, but which he cheerfully and indeed delightedly went through. Doubt and uncertainty as to the step he had taken, and the course on which he was now fairly entering, vanished altogether from his mind at the spectacle of the rags and misery, the squalor and wretchedness, the sorrow and crime and ruin, which the experience of each succeeding day proved to be the consequence of the prevailing habit of a people naturally possessed of the highest moral and social qualities. Whatever his former apprehensions as to the difficulty he would have to encounter, and the risk of failure in his undertaking, he had entirely forgotten he had ever entertained such a sentiment. In fact, Father Mathew had caught the contagion of the movement, and was now as confident and fearless as the least responsible member of his already vast society. From a timid yet willing convert, he had warmed into an enthusiast; and that, too, ere many months had passed since he used the memorable words' Here goes, in the name of God!' There was not a man in Ireland whose heart and soul were now more thoroughly enlisted in the cause. He saw in it the social redemption of the individual, the national elevation of the country; and he gave himself up to it without reserve, in the spirit of a Christian and a patriot. And he had his reward in the happy faces and decent appearance of the people, as he met them in the streets, saw them in their homes, or observed them in the body of the church, or at the rails of the altar. It was thus, in four years from the commencement of his work, that, at a 'festival' in the town of Nenagh, he referred to the motives which had induced him to undertake the task : This great temperance movement which we witness, was not lightly thought of by me; it was not the result of sudden excitement; it was not the impulse of a moment that induced me to undertake the share I have had in it. I pondered long upon it; I examined it carefully; I had long reflected on the degradation to which my country was reduced—a country, I will say, second to none in the universe for every element that constitutes a nation's greatness, with a people whose generous nature is the world's admiration. I mourned in secret over the miseries of this country; I endeavoured to find out the cause of those miseries, and, if that were possible, to apply a remedy. I saw that those miseries were chiefly owing to the crimes of the people, and that those crimes again had their origin in the use that was made of intoxicating drinks. I discovered that if the cause were removed, the effects would cease; and with my hope in the God of universal benevolence and charity, reposing my hopes in the Omnipotent, I began this mission in Cork, with the cordial assistance afforded me by persons widely differing in creed, and particularly by members of the Society of Friends in that city. Four years have passed away since the grain of mustard-seed was sown; many perils were encountered; many objections had to be met; misrepresentation had to be combated; opposition had to be faced. I went on, notwithstanding all. The grain of mustard-seed grew by degrees into that mighty and majestic tree that has overshadowed the land, and under whose peaceful and protecting branches we are met this evening. Invitations now poured in upon Father Mathew from many parts of the country, principally from the adjoining counties, soliciting his presence, that he might administer the pledge, and organise local societies. For some time he did not yield to these entreaties, however supplicatory and pressing; but his compassion for the pilgrims from a distance, who so often knelt before him hungry, fainting, and foot-sore, at length prevailed over his reluctance; and from that moment might be said to have commenced a new phase in the movement, whose progress thenceforward was prodigious, and whose success was almost miraculous. CHAPTER IX. He visits Limerick-Extraordinary Excitement caused by his Visit- THE city of Limerick was the first scene of his missionary labours. He had been invited to visit that city by his venerable friend, the late Right Rev. Dr. Ryan, a man simple and homely in manner, but of solid good sense, and true Christian piety. Father Mathew the more readily yielded to the invitation, as his doing so afforded him the opportunity of visiting his sister, Mrs. Dunbar, to whom he was tenderly attached, and to whom he had always stood more in the relation of a parent than a brother. 'The announcement of his intended visit—of the coming of the Apostle of Temperance '—produced the most extraordinary effect, as it was borne from village to village, from town to town, from county to county, along the banks of the noble Shannon, and far away into the wilds of distant Connemara. Father Mathew, of whom mothers told their children, and the old, by the fireside, spoke with reverence, was coming to Limerick! The first week in December 1839 was a memorable time in that fine city. Even on the day before he was expected to arrive, the principal roads were black with groups of people from all parts of the county, from the adjoining counties, and from the province of Connaught. During the next day, the streets of Limerick were choked with dense masses, with a multitude which it was impossible to count, and whose numbers were vaguely and wildly guessed at. It was an invasion, a taking of the town by storm. The necessaries of life rose to famine prices, for who could have anticipated such a mighty rush ?-and where were food and drink to be found for those myriad mouths? What the civic authorities, the Bishop and his clergy, and the good citizens could do, to relieve the necessities and minister to the wants of the strangers, they generously did. The public rooms were thrown open for their shelter at night; for were the town ten times its size, it could scarcely have afforded ordinary sleeping accommodation for those who now stood in need of it. Father Mathew's reception was an ovation such as few men ever received; indeed still fewer had ever excited in a people the same blended feelings of love, reverence, and enthusiasm. Though with a serious and solemn purpose in their minds, the people rushed towards him as if possessed by a frenzy. They struggled and fought their way through living masses, through every obstacle, until they found themselves in his presence, at his feet, listening to his voice, receiving his blessing, repeating after him the words which emancipated them, as they felt, from sin, sorrow, and temptation. With considerate kindness, the authorities had taken such precautions as would have sufficed on an ordinary occasion; but the following extract, from a biographical notice written in a few months after by the late Rev. James Birmingham, P. P. of Borrisokane, will show with what result on this extraordinary occasion : : So great was the rush of the temperance postulants, that the iron railing opposite the house of Mr. Dunbar, the rev. gentleman's brother-in-law, in which he had stopped, were carried away, and a number of persons were precipitated into the Shannon. Fortunately they were all safely picked up, and no further accident occurred. I have been told by those who were spectators of the scene, that some of the horses, with their riders, of the Scots Greys, who attended to keep order, were occasionally lifted from the ground, and carried away for a short distance by the rushing multitude; and so densely were the people crowded, that several, in their eagerness to approach Mr. Mathew, ran along to their destination quietly and securely on the heads and shoulders of the vast assemblage. After four days of incessant labour-preaching and exhorting so long as the least remnant of voice was left him-Father Mathew concluded one of the most successful of all his temperance missions, and one that imparted an amazing impetus to the progress of the cause, which, in those four days, had obtained 150,000 additional disciples. and propagandists. Thenceforward there was no going back, no halt or hesitation-the word was 'Onwards!' Though Limerick may claim the honour of the first missionary visit of the Apostle of Temperance, Waterford claims, through the late Right Rev. Dr. Foran, the good Bishop of that day, the distinction of being the first city which invited him. The success which attended the first visit may be best described in the words of the amiable prelate, whose apostolic character was depicted in the sweetness of his countenance, and the mildness and gentleness of his manner. On a subsequent occasion, when the élite of Waterford were assembled in the Town Hall to do honour to Father Mathew, Dr. Foran, when responding to the mention of his own name, said :— Your chairman told you that I was the first Catholic Bishop who invited Father Mathew to his diocese. It is true I was. The cause of temperance commenced in Waterford before Father Mathew visited our city. When he was administering the pledge in Cork, and when the fame of his great mission had gone abroad, hundreds of the people of Waterford journeyed to Cork, and on foot, at an inclement season of the year, in order to become enrolled under his banner. Some good and humane gentlemen, on seeing this, came forward and offered to raise a sufficient sum to send the 'people on cars. 'No,' said I, 'but we can |