was Carolan's merit, during his lifetime, confined within the narrow circle of his acquaintance; without the enlivening prospect, or single ray of hope, that his name, after his decease, should be held in veneration. "If some particular circumstances, then, prevent our observing the great progress of intellectual illumination, the same observation will equally apply to the stella minores, which generally accompany that illumination. It is not my desire to assign too high a niche in the temple of fame to my favourite bard; but, from the specimens he has exhibited, I presume to give him the rank which, with the advantages of due cultivation, it is to be supposed, he would have held, rather than that which he really occupied. "JAMES WHYTE, of Ballymote, co. Sligo, holds the same rank in the line of genius, with respect to his cotemporary Carolan, that the minor poets hold with regard to their superiors. Born with a rich vein of comic humour,* he possessed powers sufficient to turn (if possible) things the most serious into downright ridicule; but, his talent never having received a proper direction, he abandoned himself to the luxuriancy of his imagination. About twenty years ago his memory was fresh in the minds of many in the barony of Corran, in the county of Sligo. The story of a poor homely man (Cruighura bui O'Gallaghure), who was witness to the many calamities of Ireland after the battles of the Boyne and Aghrim, and which Whyte (who has often heard him boast, with a great share of vanity, of the wonders he had seen during the civil wars,) has framed, is a master-piece of humour not to be equalled perhaps by a Farquhar or a Sheridan. His descriptions of an entertainment and council held at Temple-house (the family seat of the Percevals, co. Sligo), may be considered as the ne plus ultra of all the subjects that the wit of man has ever devised, to excite and continue the loudest peals of laughter. A gentleman, in whose hands the salt of real humour has never lost an atom of its original flavour, has often repeated it to me; never, I must confess, without leaving the strongest desire upon my mind that he would, for my entertainment, renew the comic scene, and hold again and again so faithful and true a mirror up to nature. *"Mr. O'Connor, speaking of Whyte, in a letter to a friend, says :-' He had a genius for comedy; and, had he been bred in the school of Molière, would have been one of the most celebrated comic poets of the age. Have you heard his funeral Elegy on the death of Captain Boswell? No ridicule, with a serious air, could be more happy." "FIL O'FEIGHNY was another of the stella minores, who lived in the time of Carolan and Whyte. He seemed to have a talent for Irish odes: but, growing conscious too soon of whatever abilities he possessed, he sometimes stretched his strings beyond their natural tone. Many other instances could be produced in support of this hypothesis. "The Ode intituled Tiagharna Mhaighe-eo' was composed by a poor dependent of a former Lord Mayo, whom he had taken, from motives of benevolence, under his roof and protection; and whom the fear of continuing in his Lordship's disgrace, after having incurred his displeasure, incited to give birth to one of the finest productions, for sentiment and harmony, that ever did honour to any country. We have no other memorial of that composer's genius. Perhaps he was not conscious of the powers he possessed; or, like many other eminent men, having attained the object of his wishes, and seeing himself in the enjoyment of competence and ease, he grew careless about fame, and neglected all the means of perpetuating his memory. Certain it is, that the Tiagharna Mhaighe-eo,' or, more properly speaking, the first sketches of it, were planned in the house of a respectable gentleman of the name of Finn, near Boyle, who served in the late wars of Ireland in the commission of a captain, and who proposed an attempt of this nature as the most effectual means of reconciliation with his offended patron. It is one of those compositions that please all men, of whatever age or condition; and was, for the first time, played in Lord Mayo's hall, on Christmas Eve, where our penitent bard had concealed himself after night-fall, from an apprehension that the most humble advances would not soften his Lordship's resentment. He conjured him, by the birth of the Prince of Peace, to grant him forgiveness, in a strain of most natural pathos, which he accompanied with his harp. "The flattering manner in which my correspondent has mentioned the Tiagharna Mhaighe-eo, must undoubtedly have awakened the reader's literary curiosity. But, were his curiosity to look round for gratification, it would probably be disappointed; for this Ode (which, on the indisputable authority of Mr. O'Connor, I can assert, was composed by DAVID MURPHY, a retainer of the Mayo family,) has scarcely met the public eye. I will therefore subjoin an English version of it, by the elegant translator of Carolan's Monody. " TIAGHARNA MHAIGHE-EO. Translated by a Lady. 'Inspiring fount of cheering wine! 'Mayo, whose valour sweeps the field, May Heav'n's high pow'r the champion shield! 'Of Glory's sons thou glorious heir, Thou branch of Honour's root! Propitious to my suit. 'O! bid thy exil'd bard return, Too long from safety fled; No more in absence let him mourn, 'Shield of defence, and princely sway! 'O Judith fair! Susanna sweet!* TO RICHARD GOUGH, Esq. "SIR, Treasury Chambers, Dublin, July 9, 1787. "I am happy to learn from my friend Mr. Ledwich, that you are now proceeding on Ireland. As an admirer of your writings, and as one who has employed some of his leisure hours in making researches concerning the history and antiquities of this country, permit me to offer you my services. Be assured, Sir, I shall be happy in promoting your inquiries in this country to the utmost of my poor abilities. "From the crude work which I published sometime since on the Irish Bards, I fear you will not derive much *Children of Lord Mayo. "The epithet of Coeur de Lion' was bestowed on Richard I. of England by the poets of his age. Vide Percy's Essay on Anc. Eng. Min. P. 30." In Mr. Gough's edition of Camden's Britannia. information; however, it may at least serve to suggest to you inquiries on the subject. I am now collecting materials for an historical Essay on the Irish Dress, from the most unquestionable authorities, viz. the Brehon Laws, Irish Annals and Statutes, Sepulchral Monuments, &c. To this little work I hope to put the last hand in the course of the summer. "I have the honour to be, Sir, your most obedient, humble servant, J. C. WALKER.' "SIR, دو Treasury Chambers, Dublin, Sept. 4, 1787. "I am honoured with your polite favour of 27th July. "Command me to the utmost of my poor abilities. You have a just claim on the services of all those who devote their leisure to the study of antiquities; they are under many obligations to you. "I am happy to find you approve of my present undertaking. I am following the safest guides, and mean to illustrate with sepulchral figures, in humble imitation of your superb work. Did I not mean to publish in a few months, I would offer you the immediate use of the fruits of my researches. Give me leave to ask you, as a literary veteran, whether you would recommend it to me to publish at my own expense, or dispose of the MS. in London ? "I can only attribute to your politeness the flattering mention you are pleased to make of my former publication; it was the work of a very young man of various avocations, given in giddy haste' to the public eye. Though it has obtained for me academic honours on the Continent, how often have I wished it had never left my closet! at least, in its present crude state. "The inclosed proposals will acquaint you with an undertaking to which, I am sure, you will wish success. Mr. Beauford (who is a particular friend of mine) is now. on his tour of observation. Perhaps I may be able to prevail on him to afford you some aid. He has promised to keep a journal. "I presume you are no stranger to the county histories of Smith, Harris, and Ferrar. A history of the county of Clare is in great forwardness. I shall endeavour to prevail with an ingenious friend of mine, who has a considerable property in the county of Galway, to draw up an account of its present state, which, if I succeed, I shall VOL. VII. 2 z communicate to you. From my learned friend Ledwich you may expect solid information. "I observe your friend Nichols occasionally touches on Irish matters in his valuable Magazine. Please to assure him I should have great pleasure in promoting his inquiries. I have the honour to be, &c. JOSEPH C. WALKER." "I have some reason to think, that Mr. Conyngham's Drawings will, ere long, be given to the public." Mr. GOUGH to J. C. WALKER, Esq. " SIR, Enfield, Sept. 13, 1787. "I take the earliest opportunity of acknowledging your obliging favour of the 4th inst. which was delivered to me this morning, and to thank you for the very liberal offer of assistance in my undertaking. "If I knew how to reimburse you, or by what hands to make payment, I would beg to be set down for two copies of Mr. Beauford's Map. Before this, whose do you esteem the best general Map; and how are Mackenzie's Nautical Surveys esteemed? "The best answer I can give you on the subject of your intended publication, is my own example. I ventured to publish the Sepulchral Monuments' at my own expense, but I dared not do so with the 'Britannia.' Aquatinta prints are more expensive than others because less productive. If you have seen Mr. Douglas's Nenia Britannica,' of which the plates are executed in aquatinta, by himself, in a masterly style, you will be confirmed in your partiality for that mode. If I may again quote myself, I should prefer engraving for sepulchral monuments. But so much depends on the style that it is difficult to decide. "The county histories you mention I am possessed of, and shall be glad to add any new ones to them. I fear I cannot wait for Clare and Galway, and I should be sorry to forestal them.* "Mr. Nichols desires to return his best acknowledg ments for your attention to his inquiries, and will esteem himself honoured by such a correspondent. "It will give me great pleasure to see Mr. Conyngham's drawings engraved. * i. e. in the Britannia. |