grave of him who made it. Other men, and first in order, as
well as eminent in ability, was Thomas MacNevin, who has also sunk into
a too early grave, more than realised the most sanguine hopes of an
exulting country. Death first interrupted this new current of life, even
in its day of most sparkling promise. Disunion haunted the petty
jealousies of little and narrow minds; famine, pestilence and defeat
have done the rest. The labourers are dead, exiled, immured in dungeons,
or scattered over the face of the earth as fugitives; and how far they
had capacity to fulfil their inspiring promise, can never be tested
more. A few, however, remained, and amid greater gloom, and nearer to
utter death, they stand out redeeming beacons to the future.

I have not mentioned the name of Mr. O'Brien, as associated with us at
this early stage. He joined the Association in a time of great
excitement. The _Nation_ hailed the accession with the fondest joy. The
consistency of his politics, the purity of his intentions, and the
unvarying rectitude of his life gave abundant assurance, not alone that
he was deeply sincere, but that his purpose could only be changed by
death. But to those who looked beyond the expediency of the hour, those
who had cherished fervently the passionate aspirations for true liberty
his name and character became an augury of success: nor would they
intrude for any consideration on the attitude of lofty dignity he
assumed.

It has already been stated that elements of antagonism between Mr.
O'Connell and the Young Ireland Party had at this time (the period of
the State Trials) manifested themselves. It will be remembered that this
period embraced a space of nine months, from the date of Mr. O'Connell's
being held to bail in September, 1843, to that of his sentence the 30th
of May, 1844. As the events of this or the previous year do not,
properly speaking, range within the historical scope of my narrative, I
have excluded chronological and historical order. My object has been to
group together the great features of the confederacy without other
reference than that of pointing out their moral influence, operating
through a long space of time. Thus I have referred to the Parliamentary
Committee instituted by Mr. O'Brien among incidents which belong to an
anterior period, because the vigour of these incidents, which left
moral seeds in their track, continued to co-exist and blend with the
powerful agencies of that Commi