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his good taste to regulate his choice in a wife, and some years ago married Miss Dyke, a lady of great personal beauty, most amiable disposition, and accomplished manners, in whose society he passes much of his time in retirement at his cottage near Devizes, diversified by occasional visits to London. To complete this picture of domestic happiness, he is the father of several lovely children, on whose education he bestows the most judicious and attentive care.

Mr Moore appears equally to have cultivated a taste for music as well as for poesy, and the late celebrated Dr Burney was perfectly astonished at his talent, which he emphatically called « peculiarly his own.» Nor has he neglected those more solid attainments which should ever distinguish the well-bred gentleman, for he is an excellent general scholar, and particularly well read in the literature of the middle ages. His conversational powers are great, and his modest and unassuming manners have placed him in the highest rank of cultivated society.

hundred times beyond what the partiality of the noble chairman has invested me with, this moment, this golden moment of my life, would far exceed them all. There are some among you, gentlemen, whose friendship has been the strength and ornament, the ‘dulce decus' of my existence; who, however they differ from my public sentiments, have never allowed that transient ruffle on the surface to impede the progress of the deep tide of friendship beneath; men who feel that there is something more sacred than party, and whose noble natures, in the worst of times, would come out of the conflict of public opinion, like pebbles out of the ocean, but more smooth and more polished from its asperities by the very agitation in which they had been revolving. To see them beside me on a day like this, is pleasure that lies too deep for words. To the majority of you, gentlemen, I am unknown; but as your countryman, as one who has ventured to touch the chords of Ireland's Harp, and whose best fame is made out of the echoes of their sweetness; as one whose humble talents have been ever devoted, and, with the blessing of God, ever shall be devoted, to the honour and advancement of his country's name; whose love for that country, even they, who condemn his manner of showing it, will at least allow to be sincere, and perhaps forgive its intemperance for its truth-setting him down as 'one who loved, not wisely, but too well:'-to most of you, gentlemen, I say, I am but thus known. We have hitherto been strangers to each other; but may I not flatter myself that from this night a new era of communion begins between us? The giving and receiving of a tribute like this is the very hot-bed of the heart, forcing at once all its feeling into a fulness of fruit, which it would take years of ordinary ripening to produce; and there is not a man of you who has pledged the cup of fellowship this night, of whom I would not claim the privilege of grasping by the hand, with all the cordiality of a

The celebrated poem of Lalla Rookh appeared in 1817; in the summer of which year our poet visited the French capital, where he collected the materials for that humorous production, «The Fudge Family in Paris.» In the following year, he went to Ireland, on which occasion a dinner was given to him, on the 8th of June, 1818, at Morrison's Hotel in Dublin, which was graced by a large assemblage of the most distinguished literary and political characters. The Earl of Charlemont took the head of the table; Mr Moore sat on his right hand, and Mr Moore sen. (since dead), a venerable old gentleman, the father of our bard, was on his left. As soon as the cloth was removed, Non nobis, Domine, was sung by the vocalists present; numerous loyal and patriotic toasts followed. The Earl of Charlemont then proposed the memory of the late lamented Princess Charlotte, which was drank in solemn silence, after which a sweet and plaintive song was sung, in commemoration of her late Royal High-long and well-cemented friendship. I could not ness. After a short interval, the Earl of Charlemont again rose, and, with a suitable eulogium, proposed the health of the distinguished Irishman who had honoured the country with his presence. When the applause had subsided, Mr Moore rose much affected, and spoke to the following effect:

<< I feel this the very proudest moment of my whole life; to receive such a tribute from an assembly like this around me, composed of some of the warmest and manliest hearts that Ireland can boast, is indeed a triumph that goes to my very heart, and awakens there all that an Irishman ought to feel, whom Irishmen like you have selected for such a distinction.-Were my merits a

say more if I were to speak for ages. With a heart full as this glass, I thank you for your kindness to me, and have the sincere gratification of drinking all your healths.»

Lord Allen gave the memory of Mr Curran;"> on which a very modest, pathetic, and eloquent speech was delivered by his son, in a tone and manner that produced the most lively emotion throughout the room.

A gentleman afterwards sang a lively and wellwritten song, composed for the occasion. The subject was the poets' Election in Olympus, at which there were several candidates, such as Byron, Scott, Southey, etc.; but which ended in a due return of Moore, who had a great majority of

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worthy of their pathos and their force. But I feel I have already trespassed too long upon your patience and your time. I do not regret, however, that you have deigned to listen with patience to this humble tribute to the living mas ters of the English lyre, which I, ‘the meanest of the throng,' thus feebly, but heartily, have paid them.»

In 1822, our author made a second visit to Paris, where he resided for a considerable time with his amiable wife and family. The fame of his genius, his social yet unpretending manners, and his musical talents and conversation, acquired him much esteem with the most eminent literary and literary-loving characters of the French capital. During his stay in this city, at the request of Messrs Galignani, he sat for his portrait, which was most ably executed by F. Sieurac, and is allowed by all who have seen Mr Moore to be a masterly likeness. An excellent engraving from it, by that distinguished artist, Wedgwood, is prefixed to the present edition of his works. The writer of this sketch may perhaps be excused for introducing here an impromptu he wrote, in the blank leaf of a book belonging to a little girl, the daughter of Mr Moore, at his house in the Champs Elysées, Paris :

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Sweet child! when on thy beauteous face,
The blush of innocence I view,
Thy gentle mother's features trace,
Thy father's eye of genius too,
If envy wakes a transient sigh,
That face is my apology.

Gentlemen, notwithstanding the witty song which you have just heard, and the flattering elevation which the author has assigned me, I cannot allow such a mark of respect to be paid to the illustrious names that adorn the literature of the present day, without calling your attention awhile to the singular constellation of genius, and asking you to dwell a little on the brightness of each particular star that forms it. Can I name to you a Byron, without recalling to your hearts recollections of all that his mighty genius has awakened there; his energy, his burning words, his intense passion, that disposition of fine fancy to wander only among the ruins of the heart, to dwell in places which the fire of feeling has desolated, and, like the chesnut-tree, that grows best in volcanic soils, to luxuriate most where the conflagration of passion has left its mark? Need I mention to you a Scott, that fertile and fascinating writer, the vegetation of whose mind is as rapid as that of a northern summer, and as rich as the most golden harvest of the south, whose beautiful creations succeed each other like fruits in Armida's enchanted garden-one scarce is gathered ere another grows!' Shall I recal to you a Rogers (to me endeared by friendship as well as genius), who has hung up his own name on the shrine of memory among the most imperishable tablets there? A Southey, not the Laureate, but the author of « Don Roderick,» one Previous to Mr Moore leaving Paris, the British of the noblest and most eloquent poems in any nobility and gentry resident in that capital gave language? A Campbell, the polished and spirited him a most splendid dinner at Roberts's. About Campbell, whose song of «Innisfal» is the very 60 persons were present; Lord_Trimblestown was tears of our own Irish muse, crystallized by the in the chair, supported on his right by Mr Moore, touch of genius, and made eternal ? A Words- and on his left by the Earl of Granard. The worth, a poet, even in his puerilities, whose ca- vice-presidents were Sir Godfrey Webster, Sir pacious mind, like the great pool of Norway, John Byerley, and the Reverend Archibald Dou- | draws into its vortex not only the mighty things glas, who superintended the preparations for the of the deep, but its minute weeds and refuse? A banquet, which consisted of every luxury the Crabbe, who has shown what the more than gal-gastronomic art could produce. Mr Moore was vanic power of talent can effect, by giving not in high health and spirits; songs, catches, and only motion, but life and soul to subjects that seemed incapable of it? I could enumerate, gentlemen, still more, and from thence would pass with delight to dwell upon the living poets of our own land;—the dramatic powers of a Maturin and a Sheil, the former consecrated by the applause of a Scott and a Byron, and the latter by the tears of some of the brightest eyes in the empire; the rich imagination of a Phillips, who has courted successfully more than one muse-the versatile genius of a Morgan, who was the first that mated our sweet Irish strains with poetry

glees, blended delightfully with the sparkling Champagne. Several speeches were made by Lord Trimblestown, Messrs Byerley, Kenney, Grattan, etc.; and Mr Moore introduced the toast Prosperity to Old England in the following eloquent language:

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As the noble chairman has, in compliment to the land of my birth, given the ever-welcome toast of 'Prosperity to Ireland,' I beg leave to suggest a similar tribute to that other country to which we all belong, and to whose real greatness and solid glory-all Irishman as I am, and with

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« Tom Moore."

To the above specimens of our author's oratorical powers, we subjoin here two other speeches, of more recent date, which he delivered on occasions which called forth all the glow of his heart, and sympathy of his nature.

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my political and historical recollections fresh gaiety, good humour, and cordiality grace a about me-I am most ready to bear testimony poet's festival, than at this farewell dinner to and homage before the world. Yes, gentlemen, there may be, and there are (for God forbid that I should circumscribe virtue within any particular latitude), there may be, and there are high minds, warm hearts, and brave arms every where. But for that genuine high-mindedness, which has honesty for its basis-the only sure On the 6th of last May, the anniversary meetfoundation upon which any thing lofty was ever ing of the patrons and friends of the Artists' Built-which can distinguish between real, sub- Benevolent Fund» was held at the Freemasons' stantial greatness, and that false, inflated glory Tavern, the Right Hon. Frederick Robinson, of the moment, whose elevation, like that of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in the chair. In balloon, is owing to its emptiness, or if not to its the course of the evening, Mr Shee, R. A., proposed emptiness, at least, to the levity of its freight as a toast « The health of Thomas Moore, and for that good faith, that punctuality in engage- Thomas Campbell,» which was drunk with enments, which is the soul of all commercial as well thusiastic applause. Immediately after this Mr as all moral relations, and which, while it gives Moore rose, and returned thanks as follows:to business the confidence and good understand- I assure the meeting that I feel very sensibly ing of friendship, introduces into friendship the and very strongly the high honour which has regularity and matter-of-fact steadiness of busi- been conferred on me, nor do I feel it the less - for that spirit of fairness and liberality sensibly, from the kind and warm-hearted manamong public men, which extracts the virus of ner in which the toast has been proposed by my personality out of party zeal, and exhibits so excellent friend and fellow-countryman. often (too often, I am sorry to say, of late) the have my name coupled with that of Mr Camptouching spectacle of the most sturdy political bell, I feel to be no ordinary distinction. If a chieftains pouring out at the grave of their most critical knowledge of the arts were necessary for violent antagonists such tributes, not alone of a just admiration of them, I must at once admit, justice, but of cordial eulogy, as show how free much as I delight in them, that I cannot boast of from all private rancour was the hostility that that knowledge. I am one of those uninitiated separated them—and lastly (as I trust I may say, worshippers who admire very sincerely, though not only without infringing, but in strict accord- perhaps I could not, like the initiated, give a ance with, that wise tact which excludes party perfectly satisfactory reason for my admiration. politics from a meeting like the present), for that I enjoy the arts, as a man unacquainted with true and well-understood love of liberty, which, astronomy enjoys the beauty of sun-set, or the through all changes of chance and time, has kept brilliant wonders of a starry night. Amongst the old vessel of the Constitution sea-worthy- the many objects of commiseration with which which, in spite of storms from without, and mo- the world unfortunately abounds, there is not mentary dissensions between the crew within, one that appeals more intensely to the feelings still enables her to ride, the admiration of the than the family which a man of genius leaves beworld, and will, I trust in God, never suffer her hind him, desolate and forsaken; their only disto founder-for all these qualities, and many, tinction the reflected light of a name which renmany more that could be enumerated, equally ders their present misery more conspicuous, and lofty and equally valuable, the most widely-tra- | the contemplation of which must add poignancy velled Englishman may proudly say, as he sets his foot once more on the chalky cliffs,' This is my own, my native land, and I have seen nothing that can, in the remotest degree, compare with it.'-Gentlemen, I could not help,-in that fulness of heart, which they alone can feel towards England who have been doomed to live for some time out of it-paying this feeble tribate to that most noble country, nor can I doubt the cordiality with which you will drink also prove they have the liberal feelings which

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to their sufferings. There is no object under heaven more sure to be visited with the blessings of success than that which has in view the alleviation of such misery. I am happy to find that the Government, of which the Right Honourable Chairman forms a part, has taken the fine arts under their protection. It is for them a proud and honourable distinction, that, while they show they possess the talents of statesmen, they

‹ Prosperity, a long prosperity to Old England.'» | belong to men of taste.»
This speech was hailed with the warmest ac-
clamations, and the utmost hilarity prevailed till
morning grey began to peep.» Never did more

This speech was received with repeated cheering, and the eloquent speaker sat down amidst the loudest applause.

At the 37th Anniversary of the « Literary Fund Society, Sir John Malcolm introduced the health of our poet in the following manner :—

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<< It is another remarkable feature of this Institution, that its applause may be valuable to genius, when its money is not wanted. I allude to one now present amongst us, whom I have not the honour of knowing personally, but whose fame is well known all over the world. I now claim the liberty to pay my tribute of admiration to the individual in question; for, although I have spent a great part of my life in distant climes, his fame has reached me, and the merit of one of his works I am inyself well able to appreciate -I mean Lalla Rookh-in which the author has combined the truth of the historian with the genius of the poet, and the vigorous classical taste of his own country with the fervid imagination of the East. I propose the health of Mr Thomas Moore."

The health was then received with all the honours; upon which Mr Moore rose and said :

of those whom they had slain in battle—so boɑi
sellers drank their wine out of the skulls of a
thors. (Laughter and applause.) But differe
times have now arrived; for authors have ge
their share of the aurum potabile, and book
sellers have got rather the worst of it. There
one peculiarity attendant upon genius, which
well worth mentioning, with reference to th
great objects of this admirable Institution. Me
of genius, like the precious perfumes of the Eas
are exceedingly liable to exhaustion; and the pe
riod often comes when nothing of it remains bu
its sensibility; and the light, which long gave it
to the world, sometimes terminates in becomin
a burden to itself. (Great applause.) When
add to that the image of Poverty-when we con
sider the situation of that man of genius, whe
in his declining years and exhausted resource:
sees nothing before him but indigence-it i
then only that we can estimate the value of thi
Institution, which stretches out its friendly ban
to save him from the dire calamity. (Applause
This is a consideration which ought to have it
due effect upon the minds of the easy and opa
lent, who may themselves be men of genius; bu
there may be others who have no property to be
stow upon them; and the person who now ad
dresses you speaks the more feelingly, because h
cannot be sure that the fate of genius, which h
has just been depicting, may not one day be In
own.» (Immense applause.)

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I feel highly flattered by the compliment now paid me, although there are others who might more justly have laid claim to it—I allude to the translator of Oberon (Mr Sotheby), whose genius instructed, enlightened, and delighted the world, long ere a lay of mine appeared before the public. I cannot, however, but feel myself highly honoured by the manner in which my health has been received in such an assembly as the present. The soldier is delighted with the applause of his In 1823, Mr Moore published « The Loves o companions in arms; the sailor loves to hear the the Angels,» of which two French translation praises of those who have encountered the perils soon after appeared in Paris. While Mr Moor of the deep and of naval warfare; so I cannot was composing this poem, Lord Byron, who ther help feeling somewhat like a similar pleasure resided in Italy, was, by a singular coincidence from the approbation of those who have laboured writing a similar poem, with the title of « Heaven with me in the same field. This is the highest and Earth," both of them having taken the subhonour which they can offer, or I can receive.ject from the second verse of the 6th chapter of As to the Honourable Baronet who has proposed my health in so flattering a manner, I feel that much of what he has said may arise from the influence of the sparkling glass which has been circulating among us. (A langh.) I do not by any means say that we have yet reached the state of double vision (a laugh), but it is well known that objects seen through a glass appear magnified and of a higher elevation. There is an anecdote in the history of literature not unconnected with this topic. When the art of printing was first introduced. the types with which the first works were printed were taken down and converted into drinking-cups, to celebrate the glory of the invention. To be sure, there have been other literary glasses not quite so poetical, for it has been said, that as the warriors of the North drank their mead in the hall of Odin out of the skulls

And it came to pass, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. »

The two poets presumed that the Sons of God were angels, which opinion is also entertained by some of the fathers of the Church.

We have already alluded to our author's Memoirs of Captain Rock,» the celebrated « Rinaldo Rinaldini» of Ireland; or rather the designation adopted by the Rob Roys" of that unforiunately divided country. Mr Moore has since increased his reputation, as a prose writer, by his publication of the Life of the late Right Honour able Richard Brinsley Sheridan, which, from the superior sources of information at his command is, in a literary point of view at least, a valuable acquisition to the lovers of biography.

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It is well known that the Memoirs of Lord Byron, written by himself, had been deposited in the keeping of Mr Moore, and designed as a legacy for his benefit. It is also known that the latter, with the consent and at the desire of his lordship, had long ago sold the manuscript to Mr Murray, the bookseller, for the sum of two thousand guineas. These memoirs are, however, lost to the world : the leading facts relative to which were related in the following letter addressed by Mr Moore to the English journals:

"Without entering into the respective claims

Poems, under the assumed name of the late of Mr Murray and myself to the property in Thomas Little, Esq. 8vo. 1808. these memoirs (a question which, now that they

A Letter, to the Roman Catholics of Dublin. are destroyed, can be but of little moment to any

8vo. 1810.

M. P., or the Blue Stocking, a comic opera in three acts, performed at the Lyceum.

1811. Intercepted Letters, or the Twopenny-Post Bag (in verse), by Thomas Brown the Younger, 8vo. 1812. Of this upwards of fourteen editions have appeared in England.

one), it is sufficient to say that, believing the manuscript still to be mine, I placed it at the disposal of Lord Byron's sister, Mrs Leigh, with the sole reservation of a protest against its total destruction-at least without previous perusal and consultation among the parties. The majority of the persons present disagreed with this

A Selection of Irish Melodies, continued to opinion, and it was the only point upon which there 9 numbers.

Mr Moore completed the translation of Sallust, which had been left unfinished by Mr Arthur Murphy, and he superintended the printing of the work for the purchaser, Mr Carpenter. The Sceptic, a philosophical satire

did exist any difference between us. The manuscript was, accordingly, torn and burnt before our eyes; and I immediately paid to Mr Murray, in the presence of the gentlemen assembled, two thousand guineas, with interest, etc., being the amount of what I owed him upon the security

Lalla Rookh, an oriental romance, dedicated to of my bond, and for which I now stand indebted Samuel Rogers, Esq. 1817.

The Fudge Family in Paris, letters in verse.

1818.

National Airs, continued to six numbers.
Sacred Songs, two numbers.

Ballads, Songs, etc.

to my publishers, Messrs Longman and Co.

« Since then the family of Lord Byron have in a manner highly honourable to themselves, proposed an arrangement, by which the sum thus paid to Mr Murray might be reimbursed to me; but, from feelings and considerations which it is unnecessary here to explain, I have respectfully, but peremptorily, declined their offer.» Before we proceed to offer a few unprejudiced Rhymes on the Road, extracted from the jour-observations on this unpleasant subject, we deem nal of a travelling member of the Pococurante it proper to lay before our readers the various Society. opinions, pro et contra, to which this letter of

Tom Crib's Memorial to Congress, in verse.
Trifles, Reprinted, in verse.

Loves of the Angels. 1823.

Miscellaneous Poems, by different members of Mr Moore gave rise. It is but justice, however, to the Pococurante Society.

Fables for the Holy Alliance, in verse.
Ballads, Songs, Miscellaneous Poems, etc.
Memoirs of Captain Rock.

Mr Moore's high and unblemished reputation to premise, that neither by those who regretted the burning of Byron's Memoirs, as a public loss, nor by those who condemned it as a dereliction

The Life of the late Right Honourable Richard of the most important duty he owed to the meBrinsley Sheridan.

The Epicurean.

Odes on Cash, Corn, Catholics, etc.
Evenings in Greece.

For Lalla Rookh Mr Moore received 3,000 guineas of Messrs Longman and Co. For the Life of Sheridan he was paid 2,000 guineas by the same house -Mr Moore enjoys an annuity of 500 l. from Power, the music-seller, for the Irish Melodies and other lyrical pieces; and he is engaged to write for the Times newspaper, at a salary of 500l. a-year.

mory and fame of his noble-minded friend-by none of these, nor by any one we ever heard of, has Mr Moore's honour, disinterestedness, or delicacy-extreme delicacy-ever been, in the slightest degree impeached.

The enemies of

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The Burning said, that Mr Moore's explanatory letter was an ingenious but not an ingenuous one-for that, at any rate, it threw no light on the subject.-They cavilled at the words and it was the only point on which there did exist any difference between us," pro

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