prized above all, as for them we suffered all, made our altars free. When in Dublin lately, I saw him for the first time; I touched that hand which tore to pieces the penal code; I hung on that voice which so oft thrilled the soul of Ireland, sweeter, softer than the tones of a lute, and drank with avidity the words dropping from his lips, gently as the flakes of descending snow, and more refreshing than the dews of a summer's night. I gazed in raptures upon that countenance mellowed with age and religion; I thought of that big heart which only beats for his country's good, and looked on the whole man as if, as such, formed by God to be the dux populi, as the mountain was created by Him to break the rain-cloud, and convey its refreshing waters to the valleys; and I shuddered at what I knew to be a sad reality, that his fair fame, whiter, purer than the ermine's fur, was attempted to be sullied by the foul aspersions of even those whom he pressed to his bosom, taught at the school of his wisdom, and held up to the honor of his country with a more than parental solicitude. Of my own impressions delicacy prevents me from saying more, as I am writing to the son of this venerable father; but this I would advise, if there be any Irishman wickedly forgetful of the deep debt of gratitude he owes him, let him go and spend a few moments in his company, and if he be not cured of his infidelity after having looked upon that venerable oak which bore the brunt of the warring elements for nearly half a century for his sake, with all his well-earned honors upon him, I would say that he is incurable, and unworthy to be associated with such a benefactor. For the Young Irelander, with all the enthusiasm of youth about him; impatient of the wrongs which his country suffers, with feverish dreams of glory to be won for fatherland, anxious for one bold stroke that would forever prostrate the Saxon, and disenthral his race; for him to forget his parent's order, and in his fiery zeal, like a young Manlius, rush from the ranks of his prudent, experienced leader, because he moved with over-cautious step towards the same goal; an excuse, if such there be for any, might be found for him in his wayward course. But what excuse can be found for the ungrateful Levites for turning away from this modern Moses, by whose indomitable energy the fetters were struck from his limbs, his creed, temple and order emancipated from a thraldom worse than that of Pharaoh, and going over to the house of some Michas, to serve him and his silver god, and with the venom of asps on their lips, and their throat a gaping sepulchre, to immolate, at this new idol's shrine, the character of his liber ator. Were I sure that such were accountable beings, with the ordinary feelings of men, having the power, as they have the will, to wound, I would say to them, in sober earnestness, no matter at whom you aim your battle-ax, 'Oh! woodman spare that tree, Whose glory and renown Are famed o'er land and sea Say wouldst thou hack it down?' "The justice of your father would not be, as it is, Platonic, if it had not such trials to encounter, and did not meet with ingratitude even at the hands it most befriended. But, as hitherto, every tongue that speaks against him shall not prosper. He has with him the common sense of Ireland. Religion covers him with her sacred mantle, and those who love that daughter of heaven more dearly than life, will never permit the image of O'Connell to be severed from hers in the sanctuary of their hearts." This It is apparent from his letters in 1848, that the Bishop had greatly modified his views of the personal character and qualities of the principal Young Irelanders. also, in justice to his memory, we shall have to show from under his own hand. But it ought to be known, and will now be put beyond dispute, that that member of the Irish Hierarchy, supposed to be constitutionally of most martial character, wholly disapproved from the outset, and until the end of his life continued to disapprove, the deplorable "secession" of 1846. For the seceeders personally, we will bye and bye find him expressing a high personal regard, and something nearly akin to admiration. As for their principles, their policy, their political system, none of the documents he has left expresses any other sentiment than regret, or pity, or condemnation. -A few words in this place on the energy of Dr. Maginn's administration of Derry. For six years previously the diocese might be said, in consequence of Dr. McLaughlin's affliction, to be without a Bishop. But now Mr. Maginn was no sooner appointed than new life was poured into every Catholic enterprise. Six new churches were dedicated, and about eleven thousand children and adults confirmed, in the first year after his consecration. Societies of the Living Rosary, Sunday-schools, and parochial circulating libraries, were established in almost every parish. The diocesan collection for the "Society for the Propagation of the Faith" was considerably augmented. Simultaneously, the Sisters of Charity and the Christian Brothers were introduced, and a spacious building known as "the County House," adjoining the Protestant (confiscated) Cathedral, was purchased for a Seminary, and dedicated to that holy object, under the title of St. Columba. Here, when in the city, the Bishop resided, often encouraging and mingling with the students, who were destined to be the future pastors of the churches committed to his care. With these as with his clergy “he was more like an elder brother than a Bishop," setting to all the brightest example of vigilance, piety, labor, and disinterestedness. In his attention to national affairs he never lost sight of the paramount claims of his own diocese, to his daily care and hourly exertions. CHAPTER IV. DR. MAGINN'S EVIDENCE BEFORE LORD DEVON'S "COMMISSION ON THE OCCUPATION OF LAND IN IRELAND"-FREQUENT MALADMINISTRATION OF THE POOR LAW-THE FAMINE AND THE OFFICIALS-HIS INDIGNATION AT THE DESTRUCTION OF HUMAN LIFE-HIS INCESSANT EFFORTS TO RELIEVE THE POOR-STRONGLY OPPOSES THE PROPOSED WHOLESALE EMIGRATION TO CANADA-" SOCIETY FOR THE CONSERVATION OF THE FAITH." THE Latin rite for the consecration of a Bishop pre scribes an examination of the postulant, in which among other questions, it is demanded of him, "Wilt thou be affable and merciful to the poor, to strangers, and to all indigent persons on account of the name of the Lord ?” And the Elect answers, "I will." Perhaps no Bishop of modern times ever made that solemn affirmative more ardently than Dr. Maginn. All his life long he had been affable and merciful to the poor, their advocate, adviser, protector, friend, in all their afflictions and privations. We have purposedly omitted in the previous chapters some of the evidences of his loving and watchful care of the poor, which were before us, and to which we now beg the reader who is resolved fully to understand this noble character, to lend his patient consideration. Of Dr. Maginn's attention to social questions, we have already spoken. Among these by far the most important in Ireland, is that which involves the tenure of land. The question itself is old as "the Reformation," and quite as deplorable. It was the fruitful source of wars, confiscation, legislation, and agitation for three centuries. Dr. French and Dr. Swift had plied their pens upon it; a Bacon, a Strafford, an Ormond, a Chesterfield, a Bedford, had acknowledged its paramount importance. When, therefore, in 1844, the Imperial Parliament for the first time since the last confiscation under William' III., ordered an Imperial commission to inquire into the "Occupation of Land in Ireland," every reformer saw reason to expect some prospective good. The Province of Ulster, as the home of the usage or custom called "Ten ant-right" was likely to occupy a great deal of attention, and there Mr. Maginn, among many others, prepared himself to be examined before the commission. He issued a circular to his brother clergymen, and to others throughout the diocese, asking for answers to a long series of practical questions, and the information thus obtained he carefully digested for public effect. His examination occupied more time than that of any other witness in his county, with a single exception, and for its intrinsic interest, as |