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faF " ' •' ■'^.' 
 
 V>. 
 

 EEY. m MILEY'S 
 
 FUNERAL OEITION 
 
 ON THE DEATH OF 
 
 THE LIBERATOR, 
 
 PREACHED IN THE CHURCH OF THE CONCEPTION, AUGUST 4, 1847. 
 TO WHICH IS ADDED, 
 
 A FULL AND DETAILED ACCOUNT 
 
 OF 
 
 THE FUNERAL OBSEQUIES 
 
 CELEBRATED AT ROME. 
 
 BY THE BEV. Dft KIBBY. 
 
 DUBLIN : 
 CATHOLIC BOOK AND VESTMENT DEPOSITORY, 
 
 23, ESSEX QUAY. 
 
 184i7. 
 I' 
 

 DUBLIN : 
 PRINTKD BY J. P. FOWLER, 7, CROW 6TRBET. 
 
 i 
 
THE OEATION. 
 
 " And when this mortal hath put on immortality, then shall come to pass the 
 saying which is written : Death shall be swallowed up in Victort " 
 —I. CoritU/uant, xv. £4. 
 
 Would I deny that he is dead P Alas ! alas I how could I ? That 
 dread mystery called death, did we not behold it gathering gradually 
 but irresistibly over limb and feature, reducing them to stillness rigid 
 as marble and silent as the grave, until at last it sat enthroned upon 
 his kiugly forehead like a shadow of eternity P How could we gain- 
 say that he is dead ? Was it not this miserable right hand — alas the 
 day ! — that closed his eyes, his lips, on the accents of which millions 
 used to hang enchanted ? And if in the distraction of our bereave- 
 ment we could be tempted to deny that he is dead, would we not be 
 refuted and rebuked by the agony of our own bosoms, by the void 
 never, alas ! I fear to be filled up, which the departure of his life has 
 left, not alone in his own broken-hearted country, but through all 
 nations P No, no, alas ! denied, doubted it cannot be, that he is dead. 
 Too true it is that the Destroyer, terrible and ruthless, who, entering 
 close as it's shadow upon the steps of Sin, hath never ceased, since 
 the original transgression, to track his victims through every clime 
 and age, hath lain in ambush for him also in his pilgrimage. In 
 Genoa the Superb the stroke which no skill can ward, no strength 
 resist, which no entreaties can stay or turn aside, descended ; falling 
 upon him not by surprise, however, but serene and self-possessed, as 
 he ever was in life, and perfectly ready and prepared to meet it. 
 
 Yes, the stroke has fallen; but if reli^on has even more than 
 staunched the wound, pouring in such Heaven-descended virtue by 
 her sacraments as not alone to take from Death his sting, but to pre- 
 pare even for his body a state of being ineffably more glorious than 
 that which it before enjoyed, and a state that is to know no misery, no 
 death ; if O'Connell's fame, the imperishable element of energy that 
 was in his principles and in hb deeds, has turned round, not fearing 
 to confront the " King of Terrors,'' and disarming him of his most 
 dreaded weapons and insignia, has made of them so many trophies ; 
 if all this be true (and that it is, not we alone, but all the nations of 
 the world, now echoing with his renown, bear witness), why then may 
 we not, in the words of the Apostle, say of him, that " this mortal 
 hath put on immortality," and that the mystery to be crowned and con- 
 summated in the general resurrection has already had it's begini^ing P 
 
Immortal in the wonders he has achieved, still more so in the means 
 and in the impulses and principles by which he was enabled to effect 
 those wonders ; pervading the whole world by his renown ; destined 
 to be remembered with admiration and gratitude to the most remote 
 posterity ; aud destined, by virtue of his characteristic system to be 
 felt potently and beneficently, interfering in the amelioration of 
 society to the most distant ages, not alone in his native land, but in 
 every other land that is oppressed or needs reform ; why may it not be 
 said, and said correctly, as to all that is most formidable and porten- 
 tous in this monster, that " Death," for O'Connell, '* is swallowed up 
 in victory"? 
 
 The haughtiest Caesars who ever wore the Roman purple, you know 
 what treatment they met with at the hands of death — how ignomini- 
 ously ikey BMCcnvabed beneath his power — their sceptre shivered — 
 their diadem trampled in the dust — their bodies, idolised before, not 
 only stripped of the imperial mantle, but torn and dragged through 
 the mire with every species of atrocious insult, to be flung naked and 
 disfigured as a feast for kites and dogs, or consigned to the great re- 
 ceptacle of the Seven Hilled City's filth as their only sepulchre. Even 
 that king who, in later centuries, succeeded in identifying the idea of 
 "conquest" with his very name — William of Normandy — you know 
 how he was abandoned the moment he was struck by death. Forsa- 
 ken by all his proud barons and courtiers, putrifying and uncoffined, 
 his body was forsaken, a spectacle of disgust and horror, until some 
 religious men, through charity, consigned it to the earth. 
 
 Nor can it be asserted that these are but exceptions to the general 
 rule of death. No ; from hour to hour his shadow deepens ov^y^he 
 victims whom he has vanquished ; the wreath of glory is withered by 
 the miasma he exhales. Oblivion is the device upon the seal of 
 death. 
 
 But the knell by which death would announce his victory over him 
 whose funeral we celebrate to-day — has it not refichoed through the 
 nations as the signal of resurrection for O'Connell's fame, for the ap-^ 
 preciation of his greatness, of his worth, of the iuestimable value of 
 his principles, more vivid, more widely diiSused, profound, and entbu- 
 siastic,^than ever was known to attach to them in the palmiest days 
 of life P 
 
 You know, the whole world knows, how Rome received his heart. 
 Her history spreads over more than thirty centuries, and is embla- 
 zoned with pageants and triumphs without number ; but you will search 
 it paragraph by paragraph in vain to find another instance of such a 
 triumph as this " mother of dead empires " — this capital of Christ's 
 kingdom upon earth — has solemnly voted and rendered to our Libera- 
 tor's memory. 
 
 There is a sort of muiBed rumour, I am told, that the expenses of 
 that Roman triumph are to be paid by us. How could anything so 
 stupidly absurd have been imagined, not to say believed P No, be- 
 lieve me, it is not thus that Rome acquits herself of her triumphs. It 
 is not thus, believe me, that Romans paid their tribute to O'Connell. 
 
Sfr.; 
 
 His faneral was ordered by the supreme Pontiff of Rome : his Holi- 
 ness ordered that it should be princely : but the Romans, in their en- 
 thuuasm for our Liberator's memory, not only fulfilled their daty in 
 complying with his injunction, they surpassed it. They gathered 
 round his cenotaph the arts in which they stand preeminent, such as 
 music, sculpture, painting, and that majestic eloquence of which their 
 Ventura is such a master. The work of preparation knew no panse. 
 It was urged forward by night as well as by day ; and in the treasures 
 which it cost there was not CNoe half-farthing of alien coin. This is 
 what the Romans, the " ordo populusque Romanus," not only did not 
 seek, but would not suffer. But Pius the Ninth would not be excluded : 
 from his scanty treasures, and with his own consecrated hands, the 
 Pontiff presented a large contribution. The cross which was borne 
 before the cardinals at the absolution was the Pope's ; the Pope's 
 vestments, lent by express order, were worn in the Requiem. It was 
 his Eminence Cardinal Baluffii, who succeeded to the see of Imola, 
 the late diocess of Pins 'the Ninth, that gave the absolution on the 
 first day ; on the second day of the obsequies it was given by Cardinal 
 Castrecane, the Grand Penitentiary, whose office and exclusive privi- 
 lege it is to give the last absolution to the popes. 
 
 The funeral oration was rehearsed beforehand in the hearing of the 
 Pope : when it was intimated that there might be some difficulty as to 
 it's being published in Rome, the Pontiff smiled. Tou know what has 
 been the consequence : stamped with the imprimatur of the master of 
 the sacred palace, the funeral oration of O'Connell by the great and 
 good Ventura, published at Rome (and published uncurtailed), is now 
 read with admiration throughout all Christian countries. 
 
 The Governor of Rome was present ; so were the ambassadors of 
 the various courts of Europe, cardinals, prelates of the Papal court, 
 bishops, archbishops, and patriarchs from every region of the globe. 
 The students of the Pope's own seminary assisted ; the civic guards 
 of Rome, with their colonel and officers at their head, were marshalled 
 round our Liberator's cenotaph ; the parish priests of Rome would 
 have none but themselves to fill even the inferior offices of the sanc- 
 tuary on this occasion. 
 
 Never was there a tribute more exclusively and purely Roman ; 
 never was there a tribute paid with enthusiasm more ardent and dis- 
 interested. The very professors from the choirs of St. Peter, of the 
 Sixtine Chapel, the Lateran, the Liberian Basilica, and the other 
 basilicas, would accept no payment, though the wonders of their exe- 
 cution were such as it was said on all hands had «eldom, if ever before, 
 been witnessed even in Rome itself. 
 
 Thus fared it with O'Connell's heart. His body now lying there in 
 state before you, invested and surrounded with so much pomp — so 
 venerated and bewailed by millions, has the destroyer Death been able 
 to strip of all honour — to maltreat, insult, and mopk it as it is his 
 wont even with the remains of the mightiest of our kind, and those 
 who were best beloved? That Carlovingian emperor, whose sway 
 extended from the Elbe to the Atlantic, and spread far away beyond 
 
6 
 
 the Alps, on the side of that same thoroughfare by which O'Connell's 
 body was brought along, was not his body obliged to be abandoned P 
 But, to receive O'Connell's remains, and pay them honour, the Church 
 militant of France was under arms, with the glorious successor of St. 
 Ireneus at its head. That gallant people, which has ever been, and 
 still deserves to be arranged in the vanguard of Christendom, they 
 deplored, they almost resented as an indignity, that they were not 
 afiPorded the opportunity to manifest how great was their admiration 
 and their affection for him who belonged not alone to Ireland, but to 
 universal Christianity. 
 
 It may seem, perhaps, to have been a forlorn destiny that for over 
 two thousand miles, we, so few and so obscure, who had been the 
 companions of his pilgrimage, should alone have followed his body on 
 it's journey to the grave ; but on a moment's thought it will be seen 
 that this was the grandest and most solemnly affecting stage in all his 
 funeral ; for in the absence of human kind, the universe itself, and in 
 it's sublimest attitudes, came around to our assistance. The wailing 
 of the deep, the moaning of the forest, the sobbing of the waterfall 
 away among the mountains, the eagle's cry, and the incense which is 
 inhaled from hill-side and meadow, were mingled round his hearse. 
 Recal whatever happened in, or belonging to this great tragedy from 
 first to last, from the advent of the King of Terrors in the paJace halls 
 of the " superb city," to this solemn and almost triumphant hour, and 
 say, are not i^'a shadows, not to say relieved, but overpowered by the 
 brilliant, the sublime, the exhilarating memories abounding in it— the 
 sky of Italy, the waters that murmur and sparkle along the Ligurian 
 Riviera (the fairest region of the globe), the gorges of the hills where 
 Ligurian patriots so often and so long drove back the aggressive force 
 of Rome, Marengo, and Turin, and ♦' Alexandria of Victory," with- 
 out an hundred other historic scenes ; the sunny vineyards and teeming 
 valleys of Piedmont, the pasturages, the orchards, the joyful hamlets 
 and homesteads of many a remote province on both sides of the Jura; 
 the modern capital, the mediaeval ruin ; the town alive with commerce, 
 the smiling landscape, the lake, the thoroughfare, the majestic river, 
 the harvest plain — we cannot recal his funeral's progress without re- 
 membering all these. The snow-crowned Alps beheld the sad cortege 
 in voiceless wo, and shed down cataracts of tears. The nightingale 
 was heard as we journeyed along under the pall of darkness to entone 
 his dirge ; the songsters which hail the coming day so joyou^y. seemed 
 to cast in a note of sorrow as we passed onward ; and the Al^ne rivers, 
 bounding up from their fountain cradles, rushed after uft, bursting 
 through every species of opposition, over rocks, through dark and 
 fathomless ravines, and down the headlong precipices, determined not 
 to be left behind. 
 
 It was still seed time when death came upon him ; since then, we 
 have seen the harvest home and housed in sunnier climes, and even 
 now with ourselves it is whitening for the sickle ; but let this august 
 solemnity in which the whole Church and nation of the Irish people 
 are represented— let the scenes of mingled wo and enthusiasm which 
 

 we have witnessed daring those days past, but wh^ifip) language can 
 describe ; let the emotion, the gushing sympathiiii^ not of this vast 
 assembly alone, but of the entire nation, declare whether the anathema 
 of death has bad effect—whether that mocker who makes a sport of 
 friendship's covenants, and gives to the scoffing winds the most vehe- 
 ment vows and protestations of the passions, has been able to crush O'Con- 
 nell's memory, or whether it has not made manifest that death for him 
 has, as to it's bitterest part and most dreaded consequences at least, 
 been " swallowed up in victory" ? I speak not now of the hushed 
 tribulation of the countless myriads who watched us through their 
 tears from all the surrounding shores as the sea-chapel was approaching, 
 or of the thousands of a people once most hostile to him, who trod 
 with such reverence on Sunday last the deck where it was erected. 
 The Britii^i^ier stood beside his bier, and wept prayerfully and in 
 silence ; the sailor and the fisherman when they descried from afar the 
 cross that floated above where the body of O'Connell rested, fell with 
 bended knees upon the deck, and sobbed his requiem. Of these things 
 I qpeak not, for they are known to every one ; but I ask has not every 
 dialect in Europe been made familiar with his name, with his system^ 
 his achievements, with the minutest incidents connected with his his- 
 tory ? Has not his memory become more potent to secure adoption 
 for his theories, and impart to them efficiency, than even his own living 
 presence ever was ? It is not in his own country alone that hb me- 
 mory is cherished with an enthusiasm which bids defiance to the dull- 
 ing influence of death. As late as November next the aisles of Notre 
 Dame in Paris are to re3cho with his requiem, and his eulogy is to be 
 pronounced by that cowled orator of France, who in the presence of 
 assemblies preeminently scientific and addicted to scepticism, if jaot 
 to infidelity, has the magic power to enkindle as much enthusiasm for 
 the Faith as St. Bernard nsed to do in the times of the Crusaders. 
 
 In this, the destiny of O'Connell, it will be said, is singular. Yes, 
 you will find nothing to be compared to it in the annals of the human 
 race. Never, to the memory of emperor or potentate of any ordbr 
 hath been paid such honours. But is it not just and congruous tl^, 
 in death he should have no equal — I mean amongst the heroes who 
 live in history — since for merits he had no equ^,l in his life P I know 
 of no other hero for whom one cannot find a ' counterpart in history ; 
 but I maintain that for O'Connell there is none. He stands alone in 
 the annals of the world. 
 
 I am aware how this assertion will be derided, held up to scornful 
 mockery ; but let ua put it to the test. The proofs of it are familiar 
 to yourselves, my brethren, as household words. And it is well they 
 are so ; for how else could I, upon a notice which I received but yes- 
 terday, have ventured to ascend the giddy eminence on which you see 
 me now, in the hope to obtain for these proofs their legitimate result ? 
 Indeed nothing but the dread, the certainty that we would be disgraced 
 through Christendom were he who made our altars free permitted to 
 go down in ignominious silence to the grave, could have emboldened 
 me to an attempt, which, even with this to palliate it, could not still, I 
 

 
 8 
 
 believe, have escaped beiag stigmatised as rash, had not the foneral 
 oaration pronounced at Rome already liAed his name above the reach 
 of slander and oblivion. I know his renown is safe. I am embol- 
 dened hy this. Most reverend lords, very reverend and well-beloved 
 hrethren, I am enoonraged by yoar forbearance. I know my own 
 weakness perfectly. Bat though apparently so impossiUe for sueh 
 powers, the task is easy, and invoking most hnmUy and eMmestly 
 the aid o[ Heaven, 1 approach it without dread of failure, because I 
 know that, to make good what I have advanced, I have only to declare 
 aloud what is perfectiy well known and understood by every one who 
 hears me. 
 
 It is known to all in what a {»t>strate state he found his country. 
 It's religion was held to be anathema. To profess it was to be an 
 outlaw. To obtain the franchises and honours of the state, it was 
 not enough to abjure it's most sacred mysteries Mid dogmas ; it was, 
 moreover, indispensable to curse them, stigmatising them as damnable 
 hy solemn oath upon the holy evangelists of God. The highest law 
 authorities in the realm proclaimed that this state of things could not 
 be changed without overturning the British constitution. The British 
 people were agaisst the change ; the navies, the armies, the purlia- 
 ments, the press, were against it, as were the most darlmg interests 
 and most exasperated passions. The heir-apparent swore that no 
 such change should be permitted. Monarch after monarch was known 
 to be bigoted against the measure of emancipation. To yen, my most 
 reverend lords, it's guardians and rulers, I i^peal ae to what the ecm- 
 ditioH is in which O'Connell left, and had long since placed the ehureh. 
 Tou will bear witness that he made it the envy of Christendom, 
 reading every fetter that had involved it for ages, and obtaining for it 
 a liberty and independence the most perfect of any portion of the whole 
 church of Christ. 
 
 This is a £act as certain as the existence of the Irish church itself. 
 
 Again, there was in each city aad town of Ireland a fortress of 
 dvil and leligioos tyranny, erected to keep green and ever bleeding 
 the wound of conquest, to outrage and oppress the vast majority ef the 
 nation. By them the CathcJics were excluded &om every office and 
 even from the lowest crafts. The fountains of justice were poisoned 
 by them, and perverted from a blessiog into a new and bitter source 
 of i^liation and oppression for the people. They were protdiufned to 
 be grouted into the foundations of the state, that removed er stirred 
 they could aot be. But did not O'Connell, and that almost unaided, 
 sase them to iht ground, and plant as many fortresses of liberty upon 
 their ruinaP ^^ 
 
 Is not this fisuit as notorious as the other P Is it not well Inown that 
 the reform of the corporations was Ais work as well as the emancipa- 
 tion of the church P History will judge it, perhaps, to be the greater 
 and more difi&culfc exploit of the two. 
 
 Finally, duru^ seven hundred 'years of struggles incessantly re- 
 newed, the Celtic aborigines had been drfeated aad crushed by their 
 ▲Dglo-Nofman coDqaerors, and the prostrate race was never lower or 
 
in case more desperate than when O'Connell determined to place the 
 fallen on a pei'fect equality with the aggressor. Ton know what was 
 the issue. Did he not turn back the tide of victory upon the liaughty 
 oppressors of his country ? 
 
 That these are notorious facts cannot be questioned : it is equally 
 notorious, or at least it ought to be, that the achievement of such 
 things has won for O'Connell the palm from all the greatest names 
 that shine in history. He is greater than they, because the things he 
 effsoted are more wonderful ; greater still, because he succeeded with- 
 out the aid of the immense resources which they had in every instance 
 at their command — nay, but with these resources arrayed against him ; 
 but, above all, be surpasses them, because the means by which he 
 conquered were never even thought of for such purposes by any other 
 statesman, patriot, or conqueror, before he adopted them ; and because 
 they are infallible in their efficacy, enduring in their results, and 
 beneficent instead of being the occasion of crime and misery in their 
 operation. 
 
 I know how ludicrous it will sound to those who are dazzled by the 
 pomp and circumstance of war — ^^vain-glorious war — and by the so- 
 phisms of history so called, to hear the achievements of O'Connell put 
 not on a level with those of Napoleon, of Caesar, or Constantino, of 
 Hannibal or of Charlemagne, but above them ; but before we suffer 
 ourselves to be blinded by such delusions, let us first listen dis- 
 passionately to the testimony of competent and candid witnesses, and 
 next try the merits by the facts themselves. ** On one side," says this 
 authority (the Padre Ventura, in speaking of O'Connell), " were po- 
 litical interests, and the rivalry of fortune ; class privileges, and the 
 prejudices of education : national antipathy, and religious bate ; the 
 opposition of the king, and the repugnance of the people ; and to 
 crown all, a heresy which, during three hundred years, had struck 
 root deeply in the soil, and was in possession of the land, of the 
 country's wealth, of it's navy, it's army, and it's parliament. On one 
 side, in short, were ranged all the passions and errors, and the whole 
 talent, wealth, and power of the empire ; while on the other stood a 
 private gentleman — poor, as compared with the wealth opposed to 
 him^; helpless, as contrasted with the enormous power he set at de- 
 fiance, and belonging to a servile nation and a proscribed race ; that 
 private gentleman, designated by his foes as equally rash and fool-. 
 hardy ; accused alternately of ambition and of fanaticism, insulted, 
 derided, despised, and threatened. That private gentleman, however, 
 strong in a cause supported and blessed by his religion, overcame 
 those numerous and powerful opponents ; and that colossal power, 
 which by if s mere will determines the destinies of humanity, which 
 knows no resistance, and triumphs over all, was itself successfully re- 
 Hsted, vanquished, and triumphed over by O'Connell. Oh, truly 
 great, most singular and stupendous event, which has changed the 
 appearance of Europe, and conferred honour on the present century ! 
 Although consummated beneath our eyes, posterity may well doubt 
 the records of it's history ; for of it may be said, * Opus factum est in 
 
 2 
 
10 
 
 diebus nostris quod nemo credet cum narrabitur !' " These are tht 
 words of one removed to such a distance from the excitements in 
 which we are placed, as to be entitled to be regarded as one, if I may 
 so speak, of a contemporaneous posterity ; and hear how he reiterates 
 again the same position, and, if possible, with still greater emphasis : 
 ** Where is there to be found in history such an example ? Show me, 
 in the records of the human race, another instance of a single man 
 who for fifty years, unwearied and unintimidated, sustained a contest 
 with the most powerful state in the world, and above which he still 
 rose superior in vigour, in courage, and in constancy." 
 
 No. The religion of Rome---detested Rome — made free, preemi- 
 nently free, within these realms and their immense dependencies ; the 
 strongholds of bigotry, extortion, and injustice of every description 
 converted into the strongholds of civil and religious liberty ; the errors 
 and defeats and misfortunes of seven centuries redeemed by the most 
 brilliant and decisive triumph of the vanquished over the invading 
 race ; this, with the genius which rendered O'Connell, while a private 
 citizen, a " great power " in the estimation of every cabinet in the 
 world, a greater terror to the despot, and a surer hope for the enslaved 
 in every laud, than if he had the legions of an emperor at his back, 
 has also lefl him without any counterpart in history. 
 
 Of Hannibal it may be said, for instance, that in stratagem, in 
 effecting extraordinary things with means apparently most inade- 
 quate, but above all, in carrying on a war of unexampled victories in 
 the heart of a hostile country, and with enemy's resources, that be 
 was like O'Connell. In felicity the great Scipio Africanus was like 
 him, if not in something else. In the grace with which be wielded 
 the pen, and in his all but matchless eloquence, great Caesar resem- . 
 bled him. As an orator, Cicero was like him in grace and copious- 
 ness, bat not in the fire of Demosthenes, which TuUy wanted. In 
 later times, we may say in the days in which we live. Napoleon may 
 be likened to the Liberator in the magic influence of his very presence 
 and of his glance, and in that electric^power of his word to move and 
 wield the most fiery masses. In what shall I compare him with 
 another chief, renowned in our own times, who ignominiously disowned 
 his country ? Charlemagne, like him, evoked order from confusion, 
 had the power of organization in a preeminent degree — like him, pro- 
 moted knowledge and religion, imparted permanency to society, by 
 depending more 6i) > mortal than brute force. In fine, he was a Ca- 
 tholic, and did battle as the champion of the See of Peter. Between 
 Constantino the Great and O'Connell there is the striking and obvious 
 parallel that both of them led forth the persecuted followers of Christ, 
 and, as if by visible aid from Him, from three centuries of bondage 
 and martyrdom into perfect liberty and security. — Thus, between him 
 and all who are preeminently great in history we find traits of resem- 
 blance, but when we come to annalyse the achievements they effected, 
 and above all, the means they used, here ends the parallel, leaving in 
 these respects our Liberator preeminently above them all. If we 
 would find one most nearly his counterpart in greatness, perhaps it is 
 
tbe hero of the Ireland of the east — John Sobieski, King of Poland — 
 we should select. They were like each other in their chivalrous fide- 
 lity in nuptial life, in the exuberance of their affections for their off- 
 spring, in the deathless war they carried on, and the brilliancy of/the 
 victories won by them over the church's enemies, and in this also, 
 alas ! that they struggled for the redemption and the nationality of a, 
 distracted people. Sobieski was also like him in his deep spirit of de- 
 votion, in his charming amenity in the private circle, in his self-pos- j 
 session and dignity in the most clamorous and disorderly debate, in : 
 th« midst of perils — and, though last not least, in his sunny love of 
 poetry. But, inasmuch as he also, like others, had in his favour the 
 resources which O'Connell had arrayed against him, and that he achieved 
 his victories, not by moral, but by military means, the resemblance 
 ends, except that I should add, perhaps, that they were also like in 
 this, that each of them had the rare destiny to identify his country's 
 history with his own. The very forces which conspired to forward, 
 and influence, and aggrandise the greatness of all these, were uoiformly 
 arranged against our hero. He had opposed to him the armies, the 
 fleets, the British people, the treasury, the law, the parliaments, the 
 King himself, and, more potent i^ this age perhaps than all, he had 
 against him incessantly almost the whole artillery of the press. Do I 
 exaggerate ? 
 
 I know that in comparing O'Connell with, or setting him above 
 those characters who were preeminently great in the history of past 
 ages, or above the conquerors of modern times, I expose myself to 
 mockery. But let us look ai the facts ; let us study the meaning of 
 things, and endeavour to ascertain their value, before we come to a 
 conclusion. He began his career as a private, humble individual, 
 without following of any sort whatever. He was not unaware of the 
 mighty work that was before him, or of the obstacles that lay in his 
 way ; but, with the prescience that ever belongs to genius, he, from 
 the first moment, never seems to have doubted that he would be com- 
 pletely successful in an enterprise, which the world looked upon as the 
 most wild and impracticable. An empire, the most vast that ever 
 ruled the earth, the Romans of modern times, possessing a dominion 
 on which the sun never sets, were the implacable and haughty oppres- 
 sors of his race, and the unrelenting enemies of every thing that 
 could emanate from it ; the enemies, too, of his religion, on which 
 they long had trampled, and on whose brow they had long placed the 
 brand of disgrace and exclusion. There were banded against him as 
 one man the people, the houses of parliament, the nobility, the royal 
 stock, even crowned majesty itself; and the heir presumptive to the 
 throne had registered a vow in Heaven that never — never should one 
 professing the religion of O'Connell enter parliament, or be admitted 
 within the precincts of the constitution ; the people were, throughout 
 the land, as if by a spontaneous inspiration, shouting " No Popery" 
 with a force that appeared implacable. All those had he to contend 
 against. His opponents treated with contempt the very idea of his 
 being ever able to succeed. When we consider the interests and pre- 
 
I5l 
 
 jodices he had to overcome — the prejudices of more than three oen-* 
 turies — during which the race to which he belonged had not only been 
 trampled, on. and oppressed, but exposed to all the horrors of fire, 
 famine, and the cruel persecution of laws fitted for the meridian of 
 perdition, and designed to effect the complete extirp<ttion of his raiPe— 
 when we consider all this, we may be able to form some slight concept 
 tion of the difficulties, almost insurmountable, which he had to oyer-^ 
 come. The attempt of a naked captive standing on the arena of the 
 Flavian amphitheatre to overthrow the empire he beheld represented 
 in that it's greatest temple, could hardly Itppear more desperate. Yet, 
 O'Connell did not despair. He never suffered his courage to b« damped, 
 but went on like a man who, entertaining no doubt of the justice of 
 his cause, did not entertain a single donbt of his success. He had 
 to revive the courage of the peoplf-r-to convince them that by following 
 his counsels, by acting upon his principles, they would win their 
 liberty — ^would win civil and religious liberty for themselves in the 
 land that so long saw them enslaved, and that they would rid them- 
 selves of the serfdom and oppression of centuries. 
 
 But of this seeming paradox there is another proof so palpable that 
 no one can refuse to aidmit it's force. M. Thiers, in his history of the 
 Consulate and the Empire, has elaborately detailed the preparations 
 made by Napoleon for his projected invasion and conquest of the 
 British Islands. At the bare recital of them the very imagination 
 itself grows dizzy. Success appeared inevitable ; never before, and 
 a« the historian observes, never perhaps again, shall there be displayed 
 such an array of military- power and genius.- We kqow the i^suei 
 and do we not also know that by means of his machinery fbr effecting 
 conquests O'Connell succeeded in the very enterprise in which Napo* 
 leon failed— establishing .for years a species of dictatorship in the 
 affairs of England. It is not I who say this for the first time, nor 
 you, my brethren, who know it ; the English themselves indignantly 
 proclsdmed it. It was on that cry the Melbourne administration was 
 oriven out. 
 
 But granting what certainly is not the fact, tbat Charlemagne, 
 Caesar, Hannibal, or Napoleon, may have effected greater conquests 
 than O'Connell ; yet inasmuch as he had against him the resources 
 by which they succeeded, and wrought by means which they would 
 have scoffed ^t as chimerical, and which are yet most invincible in 
 their efficacy, and beneficent in their aption and their results, he is 
 still to be placed above them. Between Caesar and Napoleon, he" 
 tween Constantino and Charlemagne, there may be room for some 
 comparison ; but between them and O'Connell there is none, and for 
 this obvious reason, that they every one of them achieved their con- 
 quests with the resources almost unlimited of empires at their back, 
 with annies so numerous and brave that no valour could resbt them — 
 with treasures inexhaustibl^^with the sanction of the law and eyery- 
 thing that could lend force to their exertions to bear down upon their 
 foes and thus spread wide their empire. His predecessors conquered 
 by brutal force ; by agencies that spread desolation far and wide — 
 
 h 
 
X ■ : ■ - 
 
 \ . - ■■- -i 
 
 43 . 
 
 oy the two-edged sword and by: the wipged artillery that iraias ;aa)oligs^ 
 the braye a wide- wasting ruin which do fbreast-plate can resirt'^r;ya* ■ 
 lour::turn aside. ; They hiul forkesourceslthose >great powers, pc^nt 
 for a time, and which when .sinelded;.with .genias; 9Xfi irresistible, but 
 which are, weak notsdthstanding!, sino^ rwe .hf^vd ^en the hoar frost 
 and the snow reduce to j[iotlung>.<i-to utter rttin?^the greatest exhibition 
 of such forces that.was eTei>:madew- i Bat QlConnellJhfid'for the means 
 of achieYing-j7}ctorleittlth€tifo](ce><of «pinion~-<th0>great.:p9wer of troth; 
 of virtuey'sAd iof etelmal justice ; and^onrthese^rmore- thaQpn^tho 
 shield. AAd spear and the powers of artillery » had he confidence* -^ith« 
 out .the shedding of a drop of blood — the infliction of one single cal»> 
 ntiity, or causing one crime to be committed -against; the, laws of God 
 or Aian, he bore away every obstacle that impeded his ; progress,' and 
 rerciied his country from slavery and degradation,,:r t This ^ is what 
 renders him unique in the. history of man^ndj and places him high' 
 above the most illustrious men of ancient or modern times. In Ua 
 campaigbq it is true: that he desolated hdrvests, but they were those 
 that were planted by misrule. : He ra^ed ibrtresses, but then they 
 were strongholds of bigotry and oppression* There were occasions 
 upon which he showed no.quarter; but.he shed jio human blood in 
 his great, conquests, but bnly' battled- agftiiistr the^ errors and crimes 
 and prejudices of meil< .^ And; while JBTen^C^a- the. nost just -:wars— in 
 the jnoifc benefioentventetpriseathatrithe' gxeatonea of biatory '-under- 
 took-rroceaoa of:humaii blood l^ereished, orimes-'committed'' theTmosfc 
 enormous, and the permanent interests of society and religion mate- 
 rially injured; by the prosecution of the means which Q'Connell 
 adopted society was caused to become more enlightened from day -to 
 day. Instead of anarchy, order was established, feuds were termina- 
 ted, and fraternization amongst tnen encouraged. Virtue was placed 
 in the ascendlEtnt, and conspiracy and crime Were trampled under foot.- 
 Instead of being devoted to. riot, dronkenness, and> every species of 
 excess, the troops which carried onthe warfu^e that O'Connell'^led 
 were practised in all the! virtues that adoin the -.religious' and sooisd 
 character.. The humblest: aniohgst them endeavoured tomake himself 
 in some degree at least acquainted ^ith the great interests of the com- 
 monweal, a^nd to inform himself of the bearing of distant. inations cm 
 his own, in order to understand the great balance of 'power< O'Con- 
 nell laboured to spread charity and kindness among his brethren, and 
 to put an end to feuds iand dissensions amongst them. Those- were 
 the: means by which he triumphed ; he continually proclaimed that h» 
 who.committed a crimegaye strength to his opponent— that h&lopked 
 for ho conquest, longed for no victory^ but that which cdqldh^'ob-: 
 tained without, crime or a violation of the laws of God or jaaorrr:that<' 
 could not be looked down upon with a smile from' Heaven. '>^I mysetf 
 have heard him declare, in the> plentitude of his- nnceri^,'that wer» 
 the perfect liberty and nationality of his country offered hiin to-morrow^ 
 provided that it werfei to be won by any Tiolcnt appeal to arms, with 
 sovereign scorn and indignation he would have rejected it. Because, 
 he said»-4nd said it wis^y-~that such yietories, when won by b^ogd- 
 
'W 
 
 14 
 
 ahed and by the triumph of one portion of a nation over another, 
 always left behind them seeds of hatred and discontent which more 
 than counterbalanced any advantages which might be obtained from 
 such an issue. The triumphs obtained by force of arms are efiected 
 by bloodshed and violence, and leave behind them traces of misery and 
 wo ; whereas, O'Connell's victories were achieved by peaceable means, 
 and conduced to the happiness and prosperity of his country, even by 
 the very operation of the process by which he won them. He assi- 
 milated the great changes he effected as it were, by anticipation, with 
 society ; and you could no more uproot them now, than you could de- 
 stroy that society itself. They will not only live for us, but spread 
 throughout all nations. Already we see his doctrine taken up, and 
 proclaimed with an enthusiasm which we never knew, by people that 
 are far, far distant from us. His great system of political revoluti '' 
 b fast spreading through every nation. It will be hailed by them 
 with a purer, a more persevering and consistent enthusiasm, than by 
 ourselves. They never will discard his lessons ; they will improve 
 upon them, if that be possible, and make use of them to achieve 
 liberty akd independence for themselves. It was the course that 
 O'Connell pursued — ^his adherence to peace, law, and order — his ad- 
 vocacy of morality and religion — ^that made him the benefactor, not 
 only of his own, but of every nation on the earth — that rendered his 
 name terrible to every despot, and the beacon of hope to all who 
 were bound down in slavery. Viewing O'Connell's great achievements, 
 and the moral means by which they were effected, nothing but the 
 most stupid infatuation could induce any man to deny that he towers 
 immeasurably superior to the most illustrious men whom the world has 
 produced. 
 
 But it is not in these great achievements, or in the means that he 
 adopted to effect them, that we are to look for the mainspring, the 
 fountain-head of that great element of immortality, which has enabled 
 his fame as it were to grapple with and conquer the tyrant death, so 
 as to make him be swallowed up in victory. It is not in these victo- 
 ries ;we are to look for the spirit which prompted him, without the 
 auxiliaries possessed by others, to march to enterprises that seemed too 
 great even for the resources of the mightiest empire, without enter- 
 taining the slightest apprehensions of defeat. 
 
 At a period when men considered his achievements and glory were 
 at an end — when the people turned with cold indifference from his in- 
 vitations to join with him in a new struggle — you all know the confi- 
 dence with which he proceeded on his cousre, and the triumphant 
 success which crowned his efforts. You all know under what auspices 
 he came forward in '43. All men laughed in scorn when he com- 
 menced his undertaking ; but ere the year closed all the nations of the 
 world stood mute, suspending, as it were, their most darling enter- 
 prizes, in order to gaze in silent admiration upon such a spectacle as 
 the history of the human race never before presented. That man, by 
 his single voice, levied multitudes in peaceful insurrection, and estab- 
 Ibhed an tnyterium in imperiOf the most perfect that it ever entered 
 
15 
 
 into the mind of a Plato or an Aristotle to conceive, issuing orderi 
 that were obeyed as if they were behests from Heaven ; gathering 
 multitndea around him on the plains and hill-sides and in the cities ; 
 curbing them as he would a well-trained steed ; checking them, as it 
 were, in their headlong career, and making them carry into effect 
 everything th.at he desired without violating the laws of God or man. 
 In this great phase of his existence he effected those things; and 
 though they are laughed at and ridiculed now, they will be remem- 
 bered with astonishment to the remotest posterity. In that year he 
 laid the inevitable foundation of this nation's independence — traced 
 out the constitution by which it is to flourish and be protected from 
 alien interference, but still linked by the golden attachment of the 
 crown to the great realm beside it, with which, in commercial interests 
 and in the memory of conquests achieved in it's darling blood, it must 
 ever be consorted. In that year his heart throbbed in anticipation of 
 the destinies of his beloved Erin— of those glories, that retribution of 
 prosperity which seemed oftentimes to delight him when standing on 
 the hill-side drinking in patriotism at every glance, and pouring it out 
 to listening and enraptured multitudes in matchless eloquence. In that 
 year he achieved the wonder which enabled him to look forward with 
 delight in a sort of prophetic inspiration to the realization of all those 
 brilliant hopes. 
 
 But how did he achieve those wonders ? By what force did he suc- 
 ceed ? What power came to his aid that enabled him to stand alone 
 and effect things which no other hero had ever dreamt of? I will tell 
 you, and you know it already by long experience and intimate acquain- 
 tance with his life. O'Connell was great — greatest amongst all the 
 heroes who flourish in history — without a parallel in the records of all 
 time, for this simple reason, that he was an enthusiastic believer in 
 the providence* of Jesus Christ, and because, not alone in private life 
 did he wish with all the intensity of his great soul to be His true and 
 fervent disciple, but also in his public career, and in all the great en- 
 terprises in which he engaged. You know it. Slander cannot gain- 
 say it. He ever made it the guiding star and principle of his policy 
 to be in harmony with the religion of his church. Often has he pro- 
 claimed in my hearing, that the monster difficulty — the great obstacle 
 to be surmounted, was to persuade the hierarchy and clergy of Ireland 
 that a man could be sincere in his attachment to the altar, and yet 
 ardent in prosecuting civil liberty. 
 
 Such was the disgrace that self-styled patriots had inflicted on the 
 sacred cause — that cause beneficent and Heaven-descended — that it 
 required from him more exertion, anxiety, and labour, to convince 
 those who were ready to sacrifice every interest for the religion of 
 the Redeemer, that they could seek for the reform of abuses in the 
 state without aiming at the foundations of society as the continental 
 reformers did — without warring upon the altar at the same time that 
 they sent forward petitions to the throne. 
 
 Often he proclaimed that these were his great difficulties, and that, 
 
 I . 
 
 •a.r 
 
^''"■J. 
 
 16 
 
 tbese once rarmoanted, all the rest would be easy and perfectly plain 
 before him. 
 
 Yon all remember that, when the republicans of Paris came to solicit 
 him to advocate their cause, amongst the chief objections which he 
 said prevented him, he stated, and that most emphatically, that he was 
 thoroughly persuaded they never understood tile truQ meaning of 
 liberty, and never could be it's champions because of the hostility they 
 cfaeri^ed to religion. Always he kept this great principle before him. 
 He commenced all his enterprises by the invocation of Heaven's aid, 
 and placed all the great things upon which he ventured under the spe- 
 cial patronage of the Virgin Mother, whom he never failed to make 
 las advocate. He never blushed to make profession of his faith, and 
 was ever ready and eminently able to defend it. It was he who 
 planted bis giant heel upon the obscene and impious philosophism of 
 Yoltaire in Ireland, and crushed it to death. 
 
 These were the great principles that actuated his life. Here is the 
 great mystery of all his policy. Hence it was that he seemed omni- 
 potent, so that no obstacle could resist him, and that he achieved 
 things that have filled all nations with astonishment. He believed in 
 the providence of Jesus Christ as a reality. He did not, like Napo- 
 leon, at least like him in the days of his infatuated ambition— he did 
 not, like others, lift himself up against Heaven — did not regard 
 Christianity as a fable, but as a divinely established fact. Hence it 
 was that he was boine up by a power irresistible ; hence it was that 
 his works remain and must remain for ever, because, by these great 
 principles of his policy, he placed himself in perfect harmony with the 
 universe. 
 
 In proposing his great reforms he based his arguments upon truth, 
 intelligence, and immutable justiee. These were the great emanations 
 of the religion in which he believed, which he made the guiding star 
 in every enterprise, and never failed to invoke in all his difficulties — 
 which proved to be the harbinger of every triumph — bis consolation 
 in every adversity, and which never forsook him in ail his trials, even 
 to the last, when ''death was swallowed up in victory." 
 
 His devotion to religion was of the most earnest and fervent kind. 
 He was indeed a Catholic, a faithful follower and disciple of the charch 
 of Christ — a man who would die to attest the sincerity and ardour of 
 bis faith, as willingly and as chewfhlly as he lived and struggled to 
 liberate and defend it. Yet there was nothing national in the religion 
 of O'Connell, because as connected with the church nothing of the sort 
 in reality exists. It was his boast in life that he was ** Plus Papiate 
 que le Pope." 
 
 It has been made a reproach on his memory by the Standard news- 
 paper, that he was a Papist and nothing more. That journal bi\s 
 said he was a Papist — that whatever there was inexplicable in the 
 history of O'Connell was explained by that fact. The Court Qtutette 
 of Berlin took up the word, and reechoed it in Germany. Well, he 
 was in faith a Papist, and be gloried in the title. 
 
 He lo^d and revered the Pope. How often during his pilgrimage 
 
 ■ li. 
 V 
 
m-^- 
 
 did he witih that he were arrived at the Eternal City, in order to 
 humble himself at the feet of the represmtative of Jesus Chriirt on 
 earth. He fervently believed in those promises made to St. Peter, 
 and was confident that thej guaranteed the existence of the Papacy 
 ivhile the world lasts. He indeed believed that the ehurch was e^«b« 
 lisfaed on the rock — the sore foundation; and that the gates of Hell 
 should not prevail against it. There lay the whole mystery of his 
 greatness. 
 
 I will give a proof of this, supplied by one who does not belong to 
 that church. Some eight or nine years since, when the Bight Hon. 
 -Thomas Babington Macauley was making an apology before his con* 
 stituents in the capital of Scotland for not having taken a part in the 
 persecution of the Irish people, he spoke somewhat to the following 
 effect : 
 
 ** Not during one or twenty administrations, but during seven cen- 
 turies, we have used the sword against the Irish — ^we have made ex- 
 perimeat of famine — we resorted to every act of Draconian laws-— we 
 have tried ruthless extermination, — not to trample down or extinguish 
 a hated race, but to root out every vestige of them from the land th»X 
 gave them birth. But what has happensed ? Have we succeeded P 
 We have not been able to extirpate or even to weaken them. They 
 have actually increased, after ail our persecution of them, from two to 
 five, from five to seven, from seven to nine millions ; aad they are 
 gathering round us. like a deluge; they are invading our borders, 
 apparency threatening to swamp our institutions, if not to overwhelm 
 ourselves. Are we, then, to revert to the obsolete policy of the past, 
 and, continuing the policy of seven centuries, make them stronger by 
 persecution? J 
 
 ''I am not ignorant of history ; I have studied history ; lut in that 
 science I confess my incapacity to find for this fact a satis&ctory Ex- 
 planation ; but, could I, when standing beneath the dome of St. INeter's 
 church at Rome, peruse with the faith of a Roman Catholic the in- 
 scription which is emblazoned around it — < Thou abt Petsb, and 
 
 ON THIS BOCK WIIX I ^UIU) HY ChUSCH ; AKD THX GATES OF 
 
 Hbx.l 8HAIX DOT FREVAIL AGAINST IT ' — then could I solvo the 
 enigma of Irish history." ' 
 
 . Well, O'Connell read the inscription thus: and hence Ms power, 
 hb success, his unrivalled greatness. Hence his, success. Hence the 
 courage, constancy, and devotion with which he fought the battle of 
 liberty and religion. In fact, he b;elieved the promises of Christ to 
 Peter. He stood on the rock of ages — he was ever ready to sacrifice 
 liberty, which he loved so well — home, country, life itself, for 
 die Catholic faith, for the successors of Peter. See what he has done. 
 In dying he bequeathed his heart to Rome. He sent his heart there, 
 as he could not go himself, to pay allegiance to the head of the church, 
 and as the grieat Ventura has well observed, this was a consunuaatioii 
 well worthy of such a career as his. And lest in all this I should^seera 
 to exaggerate, or give room for these calumnies which never £uled to 
 track him during his existence— here is the record of the manner in 
 which he sanctified each day. I quote from the little book whieh w 
 were in habit of using daily while I was with him. When far from 
 his home and thb country he loved, he exhibited how weU prepued h« 
 

 'fmi 
 
 ^as to meet the King of Terrors-<-how well his faith and his life had 
 prepared him for the last scene. He manifested the utmost disregard 
 for everything by which men are allured in the pride of life. It was 
 a pain and an annoyance to him to hear any subject spoken of but 
 that which related to Heaven and his immortal soul. He did not 
 wish to hear those about him speak of anything but the mercies, love, 
 and judgments of God. He was then, at least, no hypocrite. Then, 
 at least, let even his enemies believe, he was in earnest. His first 
 prayer in the morning was the doxology, " Glory be to the Father, 
 and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, as it was in the beginning, is 
 now, and ever more shall be, world without end." This was the sa- 
 lutation with which he hailed the dawn, and made oblation of his being 
 to it's Author. His first prayer was this : 
 
 " Receive, Lord, my entire liberty, my memory, my understand- 
 ing, and my whole will. Whatever I have and all that I possess, thou 
 hast bestowed upon me. To thee I return all, and I surrender all to 
 be governed entirely by thy will. Grant me only thy grace, and thy 
 love, and I am rich enough, nor do I desire anything more." Then 
 next he said : — 
 
 " Remember, most compassionate Virgin Mary ! that, from all 
 ages, it is unheard of, that any one was forsaken, who, placing himself 
 under thy maternal protection, implored thy assistance, and begged 
 the favour of thy prayers. Animated with the confidence which this 
 inspires, I fly to thee, O Virgin of virgins, and Mother of my God ! 
 and in the bitterness of my sorrow, I throw myself at thy feet. 
 Mother of the Eternal Word ! despise not my humble supplication, but 
 listen graciously, and mercifully grant the request, which from my 
 heart I make thee. Amen." He was not satisfied with this, but 
 added : — 
 
 ** Remember, Most Blessed Virgin Mary ! that no one ever had 
 recourse to your protection, implored your assistance, or sought your 
 meditation, without obtaining relief. 
 
 *' Confiding, therefore, in your goodness, behold me, a wretched 
 sinner, sighing out my sins before you — beseeching you to adopt me 
 for your child, and to take upon you the care of my eternal salvation. 
 
 "Despise not, Mother of Jesus, the petition of your wretched 
 client ; but hear and grant my prayer. Amen" And then concluded 
 thus : — 
 
 " my Lord Jesus Christ ! the true Lamb of God that takes away ■ 
 the sins of the world ! by Thy mercy, which is infinite, pardon my 
 iniquities, and by Thy sacred passion preserve me this day from idl 
 sin and evil. 
 
 " I carry about me this Holy Agnus in Thine honour, and as an 
 incentive to the practice of that meekness, humility, and innocence 
 which Thou hast taught. 
 
 <* I offer myself up to Thee as an entire oblation, and in memory of 
 that sacrifice of love which Thou hast made for me upon the cross, 
 and in satisfaction for my sins. 
 
 "Accept, O my God, the oblation I make, and may it be acceptable 
 to Thee in the odour of sweetness. Amen.*'. 
 
 He recited every day his decade of the Rosary— the day was closed 
 with the Litany of oar Blessed Lady. As to the adorable Name, when 
 
alone or unobserved, it was almost perpetually upon'^his lips. M. 
 Lacour, the physician who accompanied us from Lyons, has assured 
 me often, that nothing ever so impressed him v^th religious awe and 
 fervour as the sight of this great Christian when thuB engaged in 
 prayer. 
 
 These were amongst his aspirations. His thought were, without 
 interraption, fixed upon eternity. Each day and night he consecrated 
 his sufferings, and they were acute and cruel, as an expiation to his 
 God ; he invoked His aid in the name of our blessed Saviour ; he 
 listened to a spiritual lecture ; and as we journeyed along the plains 
 and mountains and rushing streams, his conversation turned still 
 upon eternity. He would express a wish to hear some portion of the 
 Sermon on the Mount, or those parables which are set like jewels in 
 the life of Christ. Never did any man hear hira utter a word of com- 
 plaint, of bitterness, or of retaliation against one human being that 
 ever did him wrong ; but if within his hearing any observations were 
 made, reflecting upon the worst of his enemies, he was sure to come 
 forward with some meek and unostentatious apology to make allowance 
 in his magnanimity for their errors. Day after day, when we had an 
 opportunity of giving him such intelligence, he loved above all things 
 to hear a word about his country — how it fared with the poor suffering 
 people, and when the information was given he was silent. Hb heart 
 was busy, and you might see it in his countenance, but he broke not 
 into complaint. The distress of his countrymen, whom he dearly 
 loved, preyed upon his mind. The last time his voice was raised in 
 public was in demanding and imploring the intervention of the parlia- 
 ment in their behalf. He loved his country to the last, and it was the 
 griefs of a patriot that killed him. It happened that I was with him 
 some few hours before he departed from the shores of Ireland for the 
 last time, and be was downcast, almost prostrate on the earth. My 
 poor words were uttered to bring his courage — to cheer him to the 
 enterprise of mercy on which he sped, but he observed, " Alas, my 
 dear friend, it is all over. I know the vastness of this calamity. I 
 have been proclaiming it for months, for a year, and they would not 
 believe me. They believe it now, but they have no idea of it's vast- 
 ness. 1 think I can form some conception of it's extent, and it is this 
 that is killing me. I know there is no remedy." And when I alleged 
 to him that now, at least, they would believe that he did not speak 
 in paockery, but that truth almost prophetic was on his lips^that 
 standing in the Commons' House demanding and imploring aid for 
 perishing millions, his voice would be listened to with respect, and pro- 
 . perly responded to, he replied, " Alas, I feel that I am gone. My 
 physical power has departed from me. My voice is almost mute ; I 
 know what is to be effected, and it is by reason of my conviction of 
 my own incapacity to do it, that I am oppressed with grief." He 
 carried this mountain on his breast. It was ever with him ; and while 
 he hoped in Heaven that the day of triumph and consolation would 
 arise, he loved too well his people not to have his noble heart op- 
 pressed by grief for their miseries. Yes, even his enemies admitted 
 that he died a patriot ; but it was left for a recreant Irishman, one 
 who is a disgrace to the altar at which he was baptised, as well as to 
 motX that gave him birth, to give utterance to a sentiment which must 
 
 v^..;^... _:.■■;, . - _diiSis. 
 
s 
 
 ■^TFt,'^- 
 
 to 
 
 go down as infamotts in history. They were speaking of O'Conneli. 
 in a foreign city, and of how he died, when this peiiAon said — ** Con- 
 found him ! I could have forgiven O'Conneli every thing but that he 
 died a patriot !" Yes, his love of country was grand and invincible 
 because it was sanctified by his love of religion. He knew that with- 
 out rdigion there is no true liberty, no genuine patriotism, and no 
 Senuine religion without fealty to Rome. With such convictions, en- 
 owed prominently as he was with genius, no wonder he effected such 
 wonders as none other ever did ; less wonderful still that the meaps to 
 effect them which he adopted were not those of brute force, but such 
 as we have described. He had the example of primitive Christianity 
 before him, and conducted by him upon his principles the history 
 of his country in those days seems but a counterpart of those victories 
 friiich in the early and martyr ages of the Church, were achieved 
 over Pagan might and over all the glories and princely magnificence of 
 Imperial Rome. 
 
 Of his eloquence what should I say in the presence of those who 
 have often heard it P My views of it are better expressed in the lan- 
 guage of another than in my own : — ** The eloquence of O'Conneli 
 seemed, from the very first time he spoke, to be something almost 
 marvellous. It united within itself every characteristic excellence 
 which, separately, constituted the glory of the most famous orators of 
 ancient Greece and Rome ; the argumentativeness of ^schines, the 
 vigour of Demosthenes, and the dignity of Hortensius, with the po- 
 lished finish of Cicero, and Phocion's readiness at repartee. In par- 
 liament O'Conneli was an orator of enlarged views, and ever prepared 
 with expedient and practical suggestions. The elevation of his sen- 
 timents and the majesty of his language, enabled him, with unrivalled 
 felicity, to explain and resolve the most difficult questions of states- 
 manship; so that, whilst his rivals were filled with jealous rage, they 
 were also forced to bow down before his unapproachable superiority. 
 And, as he never rose amongst the assembled Commons to speak, that 
 he did not command the profound attention of the assembly, so when 
 be ceased, be invariably left his auditors in an ecstacy of silent ad- 
 miration. As a barrister he exhibited in his pleadings that accurate 
 apprehension, that wonderful precision of langui^e, and that exten- 
 sive knowledge of English law, which enabled him to deduce from the 
 chaos of the latter, arguments almost uniformly in favour of his 
 client. In popular assemblies he was, as an orator, ever vivid, ner- 
 vous, ardent, and bold— but never rash ; frank without insolence—. 
 condescending, and, at the same time, august — he approached the 
 people, descending down to their language, gathered to himself their 
 sentiments, and then, lifting them up to his own height, he bound 
 them to himself without resistance. Thus the master of all their 
 affections, and having their feelings under his command, whilst he 
 abounded in all the devices of oratory, and was rich in all the resources 
 of language, he could give free scope to his impulses, or bring to bear 
 the object he had in view ; now moving his hearers by the pathos of 
 elegy — now entrancing them by strains that fell as solemnly on the 
 ears as the holy chanting of a psalm, and now exciting them with the 
 bitterness of his satire, and then charming them with a narration 
 which had all the grace of a romance. His words were, by turns, a 
 
Ught to gaide, and a thunderb^U to terrify; he comlmied withw 
 himself the wisdom of a statesman, and the awe-inspiring diglu^ of 
 a prophet. No man better than he could excite the passions of the 
 people, nor restrain them ; no man ever endeared himself more to the 
 people, nor was more successful in directing them ; and from his lips 
 they could hear the Mtterest truth, whttst they but loved him the 
 more from the manner in which he told it. The whole history of elo- 
 quence, in short, cannot furnish an example of a more perfect orator-^ 
 of ome more varied, more original, more inexhaustible, more vivid, 
 more impetuous, or more powerful. 
 
 Now that we have thus seen, obscurely though it be, and but in 
 brief, his titles, not alone to our gratitude, but to the admiration of the 
 universe, will you forgive me if, throwing myself almost by abandon- 
 ment on your kindness, I rid my heart and conscience of one thoug&t 
 as to the place where, in my opinion, you should make his grave. 1 J.t 
 is my opinion, and humbly I propound it, that his destiny, so far as 
 depends on us, will not be complete unless ybu place his grave wit^ia 
 the island abbey of Darrynane, which he Iclved so well— which has 
 been associated with the memory of his boyhood, and in which, in his 
 days of renown, I may say of his inspiration and genius, he wished thi^ 
 his body, until the resurrection, should repose. He said in 1843,, and 
 you all remember the echo of his words : — **No, men of Kerry, the 
 man who animated the Repealers of other places is your brother Kerry-r 
 man. Yes, for I was born amongst you ; the echoes of the mountain 
 stream by which my infancy was nursed are, I fancy, murmuring 
 again in my ears. Yes, I am close to the scene of my earlier days, 
 within view of my native mountains, and -within the sound of the 
 stream that spoke to me in. earlier life in tones of immortality (hear, 
 hear). Yes, we were ever loyal to our religion, our allegiance, and 
 our country (cheers). I. am proud x)f you, men of Kerry (increased 
 cheering). I wassorn amongst tour mount ains, and amongst 
 TBEM SHALL BE MT GRAVE, though my name will go down as having 
 burst the fetters of my countrymen, and given them liberty and peace 
 (renewed acclamation)." I am not ignorant of dispositions that may 
 . appear contradictory to these, or of wishes that he may have since 
 expressed ; but when I consider how appropriate that scene would be 
 — not only as the source from which he derived the inspiration of his 
 unrivalled eloquence, and where he meditated his plans for the 
 achievement of his country's rights — but in the lull conviction that if 
 that place were made his grave, there would spring up around it an 
 influence which would perpetuate his memory with benediction for 
 bis country— an influence that would strengthen and extend the great 
 system he invented, and the efficiency of' which, to achieve and de- 
 fend the liberties of his country he so triumphantly proved — an in- 
 fluence that would be felt, far and wide, defending the liberties of the 
 Choroh and the nation, succouring the distressed, instructing the 
 ignorant, evoking the true glories of our country's astounding history, 
 and knitting ns more firmly with that holy place for ever where now 
 his heart reposes. But wherever his body lies, his heart, at least, is 
 where it ought to be. His memory is far removed libove the assaults 
 of human power ; his enemies may endeavour to detract from his me^ 
 rits, or darken the lustre of bis fame ; but it will be in vain. Hi» 
 

 J^ 
 
 22 
 
 J^^^ and his glory are placed on aa imperishable basin, and will btt" 
 tecog^aed and admired by the latest postery. Bat standing now, a« 
 I JDoay say, upon his grave, I will not profane it by any reply to the 
 calumnies of those who have traduced him, even in death, who have 
 sought not only; to trample on his lifeless body, but to soil and asperse 
 his immortal spirit. No ; under the circumstances in which we standi 
 with his great works before us, sanctioned and praised as they have 
 been — ^we will not profane his rest or insult his glory, by attempting to 
 defend him. For what are the feelings which these attacks have ex» 
 cited in the breasts of all honourable and upright men P Not feelings 
 even of fiery indignation ; but shame and humiliation the most sicken- 
 ing, to think of the odious and detestable excesses to which our sin- 
 infected nature can be driven when, abandoned as if reprobate of 
 Heaven, it is left to be the influence of it's own propensities. No — we 
 will banish from us every such irritating recollection. Beside hia 
 grave, his tomb, where death is swallowed up in victory, we will give 
 room to nothing but the thoughts of religious triumph and thanks to 
 God who has rendered this His servant such a glorious example of the 
 power of His grace, who ever supported and guided him in his un- 
 dertakings, and who will not fail to open for him the gates of eternal 
 blessing. 
 
 I need not conjure you, my most reverend lords and fathers, that he 
 who liberated our altars and conferred on the church such unexampled 
 liberties, should never be forgotten by you when offering the Spotless 
 Victim. Need I supplicate of my own very reverend and reverend 
 brethren, that those altars which he set free shall never be ascended 
 by them without a memento for O'Connell's soul ; or the faithful people 
 whom he liberated from bondage — who were introduced by his exer- 
 tions into all the blessings of the constitution — who are no longer aliens 
 in the land that gave them birth, but invested with the rights of citi- 
 zenship — need I implore of them, as they feel gratitude for his great 
 services — as they would not brand themselves for ever with the stain 
 most disgraceful to humanity — to pledge themselves by vow, in pre- 
 sence of his mortal remains now there before them, that through life 
 they shall be faithful to bis principles — that nothing shall be ever able . 
 to beguile them again from that great theory ^established by him, which 
 is the wonder of the world, and which has won for his country so many 
 bloodless triumphs. 
 
 We will pledge ourselves around his tomb to bury all our differences 
 in oblivion, and to work together for the interest of that country that 
 he loved so well. We will pledge ourselves to maintain his principles 
 inviolate — to violate no law of God or man —to rely not on the sabre 
 or artillery, but on the universal principles of truth, morality, and jus- 
 tice, by which O'Connell achieved so many triumphs, by which his 
 name was rendered terrible to the oppressor, and the hope of the op- 
 pressed — which caused him to be held in veneration by multitudes in 
 every clime who paid honour to his lifeless body, and were almost 
 ready to suffer death along with him on account of the great thinga 
 he had effected. Joihed together in the communion of that holy Bo- 
 man Catholic church of which he was a faithful servant, by the love of 
 which he guided his people unto liberty, and which enabled him to 
 overcome so many difficulties ; united in one common supplication 
 
 ''*'*^. 
 
 .-»i.i-;.fe'i4ii 
 
», 
 At; 
 
 lartyrs who have suflFered for that church — and above all, that Mother v^" 
 )f Mercy— -that Star of the Sea— that Comfortress of the Afficted, ta'^. 
 %hoin, even in childlilce devotion, he addressed his supplications for 
 her intercession. To her let our prayers ascend, that her virgin, spot- 
 less hands may be lifted to her divine Son, to obtain for him a lot 
 amongst the just for ever; that though his body may for a while be 
 consigned to the grave, it may hear the note of triumph from the 
 Archangel's trumpet calling upon it to be reunited to the spirit already 
 in beatitude — to enjoy the crown that by his fidelity he hath secured — 
 to receive the blessing of the Saviour, and abide for all eternity with 
 the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, to whom be all honour, praise^ 
 and glory, now and for ever more. — Amen. 
 
 4^ 
 
 FUNEEAL OBSEaUIES AT ROME. 
 
 The following letter i> firom the pen of the VERT RET. DR. KiRBT, a native of Watwford, ani 
 now Vice-Prendent of the Irii^ College at the centre of Catholic anitj, and directed to the RIGHT 
 Rev. Dr. O'Higgims, Bishop of Ar&^h. The respect in which the taleuta of the reverend writer 
 are held at Rome, and his known devotion to O'ConneQ, majr he estimated from the £»et that ha 
 ' was appointed to |»«aeh the first funeral oration at the obsequies of his illustrious eooutrjrman in 
 the Church of Saiut Agatha. — FrtmnatCt Journal. 
 
 Rome, Irish College, 
 Eve of the H0I7 Aposdes, SS. Peter and Paul. 
 
 Mt dear Lord, 
 
 The grand faneral service for the repose of the sonl of the beloved Liberator 
 of Ireland, has jost concltided in the Church of Saint Andrea della Valle. It is 
 wholly out of my power to give your lordship an idea of it's grandeur and magnifi^ 
 cenee. 
 
 "^totdl an early hour in the morning priests from all parts of the globe, from, the 
 rising to the setting of the Sun, incessantly offered up the Adorable Sacrifice for the 
 rep^ of him through whose means the altars of Catholic Ireland and of Great 
 Britain were set free. On the exterior of the church, over the great door, were 
 placed the arms of the O'Connell family, splendidly executed on a large scale. Be> 
 neath them stood the splendid inscription, which most probably has reached your 
 lordship through other sources before now. There were five similar large inscrip- 
 tions. Three of them were placed on the pedestal, or rather they formed the ezte> 
 nor of the pedestal itself, which sustained the immense and more than princely 
 mausoleum erected by the good " ordo populusque Romanus" to the memory of. 
 Ireland's Liberator. 
 
 To give your lordship any sufficient idea of the greatness, the magnificence, or 
 the beauty of this splendid structure, is quite impossible, at least to my very hombla 
 powers. It was about six^ feet high, and divided into several compartments, each - 
 adorned by paintings in chiaro 'acuro, descriptive of the most memorable achieve*' 
 ments of O'Connell's valuable life, or by other expressive emblems alluding to his 
 victories. The four angles of each noble compartment were adorned by gorgeous 
 candelabra of immense size and exquisite workmanship, lit up with a profusion dt 
 wax h'ghts. The front of the lower part or pedestal represented a magnificent bronza 
 door, over which was read in large letters, *< In numaria oetema eritjuttut." In tha. 
 front of the second compartment was a large medallion of the Liberator in excellent 
 iasao relievo. It represented him breathing forth his pure soul, with the crocifix in 
 his hands, to his Creator.^ Above it was the beautiful and appropriate text, " Pre^ 
 ^oaa in eonspectn Domini mors sanctorum ejus." At either aide were paintings in 
 
 %ro 'tcuro, representing some of the most remarkable facts ofthe Liberator's life; 
 
 i ,t^ 
 
 im 
 
 i - J 
 
 ^I^S^ 
 
 m-- 
 
.-.^ 
 
 
 
 ^oe, ,fi>r$aiitiiiM,*'C«praMnted him toming oat in triomph .from bU^iC^oripw cAp • 
 
 tiyitjt vThe^l'^elp of Cbnstiana " waa aeen at one side .«nd O'Connell ip^tfaa^ 
 
 \ '': ■[ 'to.lier. ''Bdneaik tbil p«intii)g were the words, "and in bonds she left iiim |iot,"-7- 
 
 ''*.'' <<«HB'¥iiiea1is non detiliqnit earn." A profusion of wax lights bamed rooiid ^9 
 
 't 'inuga^Df the expiring lather of his conntry. , ., v .... 
 
 ; ,. Itis really ont of mv power to give your lordship any idea of the en thnmasm that 
 
 *^^ V pervaded the bosoms oi all classes of the citizens, and of all orders, of ,thejbierarchy, 
 
 .fj^.: from the angost Pontiff who fills the everlasting (hair of. Peter to thd /limnblest 
 
 {'f.'^"^ aMlyte on this occasion. -.' ' ^'•■*«- 
 
 \\f.- ,"- The spacious andinoble temple of Saint Andrew 'Was crowded to excess. '~ It was 
 
 moving, consoling, and edifying in the highest degree to see with what recollection 
 
 all assisted at the touching ceremonies which accompanied the celebration of the 
 
 fonend service. Numbers offered up the holy communion for his eternal repose. 
 
 Several monasteries of the pure and holy virgins of Christ united their fervent pray- 
 
 ■ ers and e<mminnions to the suffrages of our holy mother the church for the repose of 
 
 him whose whole lifo.was directed to the defence of religion and of the rights of his 
 
 country by the only weapons which that church approves of, those of peaceful and 
 
 legitimate exertion. As to the funeral oration, I shall only say that the great ora- 
 
 tor, Father Yentura, laid down in the moat masterly manner the doctrine pf the 
 
 'church regarding the manner by which a Catholic people should seek a redress from 
 
 unjust and oppressive laws ; and this doctrine he moHt powerfully illustrated by the 
 
 - life of Ireland s Liberator. The applause with which this memorable piece of Chris- 
 
 ' :i tian oratory w^ received by all orders of the Roman people, must afford Uie greatest 
 
 . consdatioii to Catholie Ireland, and will no doubt afford a fresh and irresistible 
 
 stimulus to all to preserve with unceasing, but legitimate enei^y, to defend to the 
 
 - ■. " . last the sacred liber des of the church from the aggressions of heretical innovation, 
 
 ^V.''\. Mid to wrest the independence of their country from political degradation. 
 
 ,.-.'-*•:* JuNB 30. — Another magnificent funeral took place to-day. It was got up by 
 
 ''^ ''Y;*>jti«!Soman branch of the Association for the propagation of the faith. The Arch- 
 
 i1^f-.<^\ilafm (A N icomedia : pontificated. The Great Penitentiary, his Eminence Cardi- 
 
 ' '' •nal Castracani, gave the absolution at the tomb, and Pacb'e Yentura delivered a 
 
 second funeral oration, or rather completed, with the most powerful effect, the.dis- 
 
 eourse,* to the first part of which he devoted about two hours on Monday. His 
 
 Holiness most graciondy gave the gorgeous vestments of his own Capella for both 
 
 occasions. ' Oh, may- God bless this^ great Pontiff. Oh, mav Ireland, by her love 
 
 and devotion towards our holy religion, the true basis of all liberty, may she by her 
 
 attachment to the see of Peter, that rock, against which the gates of Hell shaU 
 
 never prevailj may Catholic Ireland, by her great hatred for bloodshed and revoln- 
 
 tionary doetrmes, and by her attachment to peace, order and piety, and her docility 
 
 to the admonitions of her 'faithful clergy, ever show herself ' worthy of the respect 
 
 which she has received oh these days, from the people, clergy and sacred Pontiff of 
 
 the everlasting city .^ -Oh,- my dearest Lord I what a treasure do we not possess in 
 
 our Holy CathoUo faith P It is that faith that baa rendered our country the most 
 
 renowned amongst the nations of the earth. It is the attachment of Ireland 
 
 towards that faith, it is because all her political struggles were based on. the on* 
 
 erring teaching of that faith, that has rendered her now the object cX the sympathy, 
 
 the respect^ knd the love oi the entire world. Yes, Catholic Ireland shines forth 
 
 DOW, even m the sufferings of her afflicted and trampled, but patient and religious 
 
 ehilaren, aa object incomparably more glorious and sublime uan moneyTmaking, 
 
 sctmiful, -proud and heretical England, with all her wealth and dominions. Oh, 
 
 how'troly'has the inspired writer said " Jtutiiia ekvat gentem." Justice, Uie true 
 
 justice, which true faith confers, can alone elevate ud ennoble, a nation, whilst on 
 
 the oontraiy — tnaeroi fecit, homna oeccorf»»t^--ain,l^ckednes8, especially heresy, 
 
 the greatestof all vrickedness of which man can' be guilty— it is that which renders 
 
 a jaople jniaerable and^degraded. From such degraoadtm, oh I may the God of Saint 
 
 :^ibMk and of Pins the Ninth preserve the Island <d^ Saints r * 
 
 >>3ul'.Boibe will be anxious to learn the account of the noble religious reception 
 
 vhieh awaits the venerated remains of the Liberator on their arrival in Ireland. 
 
 ''tl Mud your lordship'the Pallade which, gives a brief sketch of Monday's funeral. 
 
 A anmlNnr «f most beantiful poetical compositions have already appeared in Rome, 
 
 in, praise of tke " Ero della Fedee dell' Irlanda," as our beloved Liberator is here 
 
 ,•tyled.;^; ••''i--—. ~- ■■ ' ■ ^ 
 
 ('Believe 'ae, my dear Lord, with sentiments of the mostprofoond respect and 
 veneration, jonr lordship's devoted- servant 
 
 
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 179630 
 
 DATE DUE 
 
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 7 
 
 1^444 J9§ 
 
 GAYLORD 
 
 miNTEO INU.t.A. 
 
 4. A nne ot two cents wiii dc unposca lui 
 etch day that the book is overdue. 
 
 ). Resetve books withdrawn at 9:00 P. M. 
 must be returned at 8K)0 A. M. next morning. 
 Bulure to return reserve books on time, will re- 
 sult in a fine. 
 
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