gain applied himself to poetry, upon the spur of
applause he received from the periodical publications of the day, as he
himself tells us in one of his Prefaces. Is it not to be lamented that a
man who was so conversant with permanent truth, and whose writings are
so valuable an acquisition to our country's literature, should have
_required_ an impulse from such a quarter?[10]

[10] In pencil on opposite page, by Mrs. Quillinan--Daddy dear, I don't
like this. Think how many reasons there were to depress his Muse--to say
nothing of his duties as a Priest, and probably he found poetry
interfere with them. He did not _require_ such praise to make him write,
but it just put it into his heart to try again, and gave him the courage
to do so. (See Notes and Illustrations at close. G)

Mrs. Hemans was unfortunate as a Poetess in being obliged by
circumstances to write for money, and that so frequently and so much,
that she was compelled to look out for subjects wherever she could find
them, and to write as expeditiously as possible. As a woman she was to a
considerable degree a spoilt child of the world. She had been early in
life distinguished for talents, and poems of hers were published whilst
she was a girl. She had also been handsome in her youth, but her
education had been most unfortunate. She was totally ignorant of
housewifery, and could as easily have managed the spear of Minerva as
her needle. It was from observing these deficiencies that one day, while
she was under my roof, I purposely directed her attention to household
economy, and told her I had purchased scales which I intended to present
to a young lady as a wedding present; pointed out their utility (for her
especial benefit), and said that no menage ought to be without them.
Mrs. Hemans, not in the least suspecting my drift, reported this saying
in a letter to a friend at the time, as a proof of my simplicity. Being
disposed to make large allowances for the faults of her education and
the circumstances in which she was placed, I felt most kindly disposed
towards her and took her part upon all occasions, and I was not a little
affected by learning that after she withdrew to Ireland a long and
severe illness raised her spirit as it depressed her body. This I heard
from her most intimate friends, and there is striking evidence of it in
a poem entitled [Blank; and in pencil on opposite page--Do you mean a
Sonnet entitled 'Sabbath Sonnet,' composed by Mrs. Hemans