has much more humour than one would supposekept telling anecdotes the whole time he sat, and told them right well.'"

"Yes," said O'Connell, "he has seen so much of life that he must have gained materials for being entertaining. He must, I suppose, abound in guardroom sort of stories. We cannot but admit he is

a first-rate corporal."

O'Connell compared Martin Luther to Cobbett, whom he said the ex-Augustinian resembled much in the power and constitution of his mind.

"Luther," said he, " commenced his revolt from an eminence. Sprung from humble parents, his talents had raised him within one step of being the superior of his monastery. There is, and has ever been, that spirit of democracy in the Catholic Church, that gives to the son of the peasant and the son of the prince precisely similar advantages in all her monastic and ecclesiastical institutions. Talent and virtue will win the race, although combined with humble birth, and opposed to distinguished descent unaccompanied by moral and intellectual merit. Luther's position in his monastery entitled him to sit at table with princes."

From this observation O'Connell diverged to some of the results of the Reformation, and then

suddenly said to a Protestant gentleman who was canvassing the character of Luther,

"Do you know, it has often amused me to think how the fable of Pope Joan, which was invented at our expense by some of the reformed, has frequently been realised in the Anglican Church. The head of your church, is now, for the fourth time, a woman. I understand it was recently proposed that there should be an ecclesiastical regency, during the occasional accouchements of the head of the Protestant Church; and that the Archbishop of Canterbury, pending those interesting intervals, should be invested with temporary functions of supremacy.”

Certain Irish operatives residing in London bestirred themselves about this period in support of the Repeal of the Union. They had meetings to appoint collectors of Repeal rent, and to aid in augmenting the number of members and associates. They invited me to attend a public meeting for Repeal on the 14th of February. A day or two afterwards Mr. O'Connell asked me the details of the proceedings. I told him there was great appearance of enthusiasm, of determination to persevere; that the Irish were as noisy and mirthful as ever they had been at the Corn Exchange, and

that the spirit displayed gave me great satisfaction.

"Aye, aye," said he, laughing, "you were cock of the roost there, for I was absent."

I said, that if there were not other cocks to share the honours of the roost, it was no fault of mine, as I had canvassed for the attendance of all my parliamentary acquaintance who were favourable of Repeal, but in vain.

Whilst we conversed he told numerous anecdotes. It would not be easy to remember how they were severally introduced; the reader must have long since have observed, that it was scarcely possible to speak on any subject which did not elicit an anecdote from the stores of O'Connell's recollection. He told me, with great glee, the following story of native Kerry dexterity.

"One day during the war James Connor and I dined at Mr. Mahony's, in Dublin, and after dinner we heard the newsvenders, as usual, calling out, ‘The Post! The Dublin Evening Post! Three packets in to-night's Post! The arrival of the packets was at that time irregular, and eagerly looked for. We all were impatient for the paper, and Mahony gave a five-penny piece to his servant, a Kerry lad, and told him to go down and buy the Post. The boy returned in a minute with a Dublin Evening Post;

which, on opening, we found, to our infinite chagrin, was a fortnight old. The roguish newsvender had pawned off an old paper on the unsuspecting Kerry tiger. Mr. Mahon ystormed, Connor and I laughed, and Connor said, I wonder, gossoon, how you let the fellow cheat you? Has not your master a hundred times told you, that the dry papers are always old, and good for nothing; and that the new papers are always wet from the printing-office? Here's another five-penny. Be off, now, and take care to bring us in a wet Post. 'Oh, never mind the five-penny, sir,' said the boy, ‘I'll get the paper without it,' and he darted out of the room, while Mahony cried out, Hang that young blockhead, he'll blunder the business again.' But in less than five minutes the lad re-entered with a fresh, wet newspaper. We were all surprised, and asked him how he had managed to get it without money.

"Oh, the asiest way in life,' said the urchin. I just took the dry ould Post, and cried it down the street a bit—“ Dublin Evening Post! Dublin Evening Post!" and a fool of a gentleman meets me at the corner, and buys my ould dry paper. So I whips across to a newsman I sees over the way, and buys this fine, fresh, wet, new Post, for your honour,

with the money I got for the ould one.""

CHAPTER XXVII.

Ireland both poor and prosperous-Benevolent Landlords and starving Tenants-An impatient Duellist-John KeoghDifference between his Policy and O'Connell's-A flexible Assembly-Interview in 1793 between Keogh and PittO'Connell's Opinion of Keogh-O'Connell upon Poor LawsBattle with the Times-Reminiscence of his Gray's Inn Days -O'Connell on his own oratorical Brevity-O'Connell compared with Lord Plunkett-Reasons of an English Catholic Peer for not subscribing to an Irish Catholic Chapel-Methodist and Catholic Processions.

ON the 26th of February the division on the second reading of Lord Morpeth's Irish Registration Bill came on. O'Connell made an admirable speech in support of the measure. Some of his points were

extremely felicitous.

"You would now," said he, addressing the Tories, "refuse to Ireland equality of franchises with England. What plea do you allege for this refusal? Why, the poverty of Ireland! But, mark your inconsistency. When I arraigned the Legislative Union as having caused poverty in Ireland, how was I met? Honourable Gentlemen produced multitu