his country's cause all but ruined--because he knew that
with his failing breath one of his country's surest helpers would pass
from her for ever. A _thoughtfully_ written "History of the life and
Times of O'Connell," by some one really competent to do justice to the
subject, is much wanted. I believe that posterity will do justice to his
memory as one of the best and noblest patriots which the world has ever
seen--a justice which as yet has been scarcely accorded to him as fully
as he has merited. Had O'Connell accomplished no other work for Ireland
than this--the giving of a tone of nationality and manliness to the
people--he had accomplished a most glorious work. He taught Irishmen
that chains do not make the slave, but rather the spirit in which the
chains are worn. He awoke, in the hearts of his countrymen, that love of
freedom, which is the first step towards making a successful effort to
obtain it. He showed them how they might intimidate their oppressors
without injuring themselves--a lesson eminently necessary where the
oppressors are incomparably more powerful than the oppressed.

The sept of O'Connell, from which this noble man was descended held a
prominent position among the early Milesian clans. Pure Celtic blood ran
in his veins; the fire of Celtic wit sparkled in his utterances; the
lighthearted happiness of a Celtic spirit guided his actions; and the
undaunted bravery of a Celtic warrior's courage looked out of his clear
beaming eye. A nobleman, in truth, was Daniel O'Connell--a nobleman of
whom any nation might justly be proud--a nobleman to whom we must hope
that Ireland will yet raise some monument of enduring fame. The
O'Connell sept were driven from their ancestral homes, in 1172, by
Raymond, Strongbow's son-in-law. Their territory lay along the Shannon.
They were now compelled to take refuge in a wild and desolate part of
Kerry, too wild and too desolate to attract English cupidity. A MS. is
still preserved in the British Museum, written by one of the O'Connell
family; it is in the Irish language, and bears date 1245. In this
document mention is made of a Daniel O'Connell, who proceeded to the
north of Ireland, at the head of a large body of men, to resist an
invading force. The Celts were successful; and when they had won the
day, the chieftain and his vanquished foes feasted together. In 1586
Richard O'Connell was High Sheriff of Kerry; but, from the accession of
William III., until the illustri