-THOMAS MOORE."

And in the zenith of his fame, when society drew largely on his time,
and the highest and best of the land coveted a portion of his leisure,
with her he corresponded so regularly that at her death she possessed
(it has been so told me by Mrs. Moore) four thousand of his letters.
Never, according to the statement of Earl Russell, did he pass a week
without writing to her _twice_, except during his absence in Bermuda,
when franks were not to be obtained, and postages were costly.

When a world had tendered to him its homage, still the homely woman was
his "darling mother," to whom he transmitted a record of his cares and
his triumphs, his anxieties and his hopes, as if he considered--as I
verily believe he did consider--that to give her pleasure was the chief
enjoyment of his life. His sister--"excellent Nell"--occupied only a
second place in his heart; while his father received as much of his
respect as if he had been the hereditary representative of a line of
kings.

All his life long, "he continued," according to one of the most valued
of his correspondents, "amidst the pleasures of the world, to preserve
his home fireside affections true and genuine, as they were when a boy."

To his mother he writes of all his facts and fancies; to her he opens
his heart in its natural and innocent fulness; tells her of each thing,
great or small, that, interesting him, must interest her,--from his
introduction to the Prince, and his visit to Niagara, to the acquisition
of a pencil-case, and the purchase of a new pocket-handkerchief. "You,
my sweet mother," he writes, "can see neither frivolity nor egotism in
these details."

In 1806, Moore's father received, through the interest of Lord Moira,
the post of Barrack-Master in Dublin, and thus became independent. In
1815, "Retrenchment" deprived him of this office, and he was placed on
half-pay. The family had to seek aid from the son, who entreated them
not to despond, but rather to thank Providence for having permitted them
to enjoy the fruits of office so long, till he (the son) was "in a
situation to keep them in comfort without it." "Thank Heaven," he writes
afterwards of his father, "I have been able to make his latter days
tranquil and comfortable." When sitting beside his death-bed, (in 1825,)
he was relieved by a burst of tears and prayers, and by "a sort of
confidence that the Great and Pure Spirit above us could not be
otherwise than pleased at what He s