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Strogue Abbey (from "My Lords of Strogue") 292 STANDISH O'GRADY (b. 1846),
Ennishowen (do.),

318

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[Charles Lever belongs to the class of but with the melancholy echoes of officials or authors whom readers regard with a personal tourists. When the Bank of Ireland, too, was love. The kindness of heart, the sunniness of removed from Mary's Abbey to the seat of the temper, the high spirit, and pure feeling that old Parliament in College Green, Lever officiare found in his books naturally suggest the ated as clerk of the works while the necessary idea that the author himself possessed the vir- alterations were being made. He was also tues he portrayed; and the assumption is engaged in building the new college at Maycorrect. Charles Lever was, indeed, like one nooth. In 1795 he married Julia, daughter of those Irish gentlemen whom his pen has of Mathew Chandler, and descendant of an made as familiar figures to us as beings of real old Cromwellian family. The issue of this life; and his character and career were, like marriage were two sons-James, born in 1796, theirs, full of light and shade, of virtues and and Charles James, who first saw the light foibles. His generosity often degenerated into ten years later, namely, on August 31, 1806. recklessness and display; he did an immense Charles went to various schools before he was deal of work, but his work was desultory, and ripe for Trinity College, and numerous stories often careless; and a stout heart occasionally are, of course, told to show that, like so many broke down, and a sanguine temperament other great men, he gave indications of future turned to despair, before small obstacles and greatness while learning the three R's, and gratrifling sorrows. But, take him with all his duating in the pains and penalties of the birch. faults, Lever was a true man-a true Irish- It is said, for instance, that he displayed a wonman; proud, courageous, high-minded; a faith-derful power of story-telling; that he had a ful husband, a devoted father, an affectionate strong inclination for getting up amateur and friend, and a passionate lover of his country and countrymen.

Lilliputian theatricals; and there is a tale— which is, we fear, apocryphal of his having, Curiously enough, this singularly Celtic while still a boy, confounded and convinced a character was only half Irish. His father, police magistrate who was inquiring into the James Lever, was an Englishman, and the circumstances of a school-fight. In the October descendant of an old Lancashire family. Emi- of 1822 he entered Trinity College, not having grating to Ireland James Lever found his yet reached his seventeenth year. His course nationality a considerable recommendation to was undistinguished so far as letters went; the government of the day: for those were but he acquired distinction of another kind. the times when, in the words of the old song, Robust in health, stout of frame, and joyous ""Twas treason to be a Milesian." He was a car- in temperament, he naturally joined in the penter and builder by trade, and he obtained wild fun that the gay young student loves; profitable employment in erecting the spacious drank, stopped up o' nights, drove furiously, Custom House, whose lofty halls now resound, rode madly, played jokes on the dons, sang not with the joyful voice of bustling trade, | ballads in the streets, and did all the other

VOL. IV.

64

wild things which are chronicled in his earlier | Brennan" in the former, and "Father Tom

works. Before he had completed his medical studies he went on a trip to America, and if all that tradition says be correct, passed a very adventurous time there. It is said, among other things, that he went among the Red Indians, adopted their dress and customs, and became so indispensable to them that he had finally to make his escape by stratagem and at great risk to his life. Several of his tales certainly-notably O'Leary-contain accounts of life among the Indians, which are full of striking adventures and apparently faithful to life; and an intimate friend of Lever's quotes a statement of his to the effect that he walked through the streets of Quebec "in the mocassins, and with the head feathers." He also in those early years took a tour on the Continent, and studied medicine for some time at the university of Göttingen. He spent some time at Heidelberg and Vienna; and at Weimar he made the acquaintance of the greatest of German poets-Goethe. Returning to Dublin he introduced some of the features of student life he had learned in Germany; establishing a Burschenschaft, of which he was elected Grand Llama, and wherein were enrolled Samuel Lover, and many other young Irishmen who afterwards rose to celebrity. In midsummer, 1831, Lever graduated as Bachelor of Medicine; for some reason or other he never took the higher degree at his alma mater, but, like Goldsmith, was content with the M.D. of Louvain.

Loftus" in the latter, are both drawn from
two Roman Catholic clergymen with whom
Lever at this period came in contact; and
not only the priests themselves, but some of
their ecclesiastical superiors and friends, were
rather annoyed at the somewhat unclerical
freedom of manners with which they were
credited. The next scene of his medical la-
bours was Portstewart, where he practised as
dispensary doctor, holding at the same time
an appointment in connection with a hospital
at Derry. While thus occupied he made the
acquaintance of W. H. Maxwell, who, perhaps,
more than any other man, influenced him in
entering upon a literary career. It was while
he was in Portstewart also that he married.
The story of Lever's love and conjugal life is
in itself a touching romance, and one of the
finest traits in his whole career.
He was
one of the few men who had a first and only
love; and who retained through long years of
married life the fresh feelings and keen affec-
tion of the wooer. It is related that while he
was still a school-boy, he used to make presents
of flowers to Kate Baker as love-tokens.
course of time she left Dublin, as he did, her
father having been appointed master of the
endowed school at Navan. Thither followed
Lever from his northern home, and soon was
accepted. It is believed that in order to avoid
the anger of old James Lever, who was anxious
that his son should make a wealthy match,
the marriage was kept secret for some time.

In

The life of a dispensary doctor, subject to the caprices, the vulgarities, and the petty tyrannies of poor-law guardians, in the end wore out Lever, who was not of a very patient temper, and who, besides, was subject to peri

For a while Lever practised his profession without any very distinguished success in his father's house in Talbot Street, Dublin. The outbreak of cholera brought him sterner and more laborious employment; he was sent by the Board of Health to Clare, where the ter-odical fits of nomadic restlessness. It struck rible epidemic raged with great fierceness. The daily tasks of Lever during this period were enough to try the nerve and break the health of almost any man; and, indeed, during this time there was a holocaust of medical men. A cheery temper, a stout heart, and a robust constitution saved Lever. While he was passing through these painful scenes he was gleaning other than medical knowledge; he was storing up material for the description of tragic incident and humorous character. The Martins and St. Patrick's Eve contain many of the most painful pictures which presented themselves before the young doctor's eyes; while a coterie of gay and witty acquaintances sat unconsciously for some of the portraits in Harry Lorrequer and Jack Hinton; "Father Malachy

him that he might find in Brussels a pleasant home, and that the English population there would be large enough to give him sufficient practice. He was taken up by Sir H. Seymour, the English minister, though he never received the official rank which so many biographers have given him; he was not physician to the embassy, for no such office existed. Lever's experiences in Brussels were pleasant, and he had every prospect of attaining greater success there as a medical man than even he had anticipated. But again he was transferred just as he had begun to take root.

It was a considerable period before Lever could be convinced that he had literary genius, and that he should adopt the literary career, but he had shown traces of his inclinations at

an early age. While still a student he had contributed humorous sketches to the daily papers and to a short-lived periodical called the Irish National Magazine. It was not, however, till the foundation of the Dublin University Magazine—a literary event destined to deeply influence the lives of so many intellectual Irishmen--that he attempted anything on an extended scale.. The first instalment of the Confessions of Harry Lorrequer appeared in the February number of the magazine in 1837. This production at once gained the favour of the people and the publisher; and Lever was surprised to find it proposed that the series should be transferred from the magazine to the more dignified and lasting form of a three-volume work. The book did not attract much notice in the London press; but it had caught the vigilant eye of Mr. Richard Bentley, and a keen competition arose between the London publisher and McGlashan of Dublin, who had accepted Harry Lorrequer for the Dublin University, of which he was then part proprietor. The final result was that Charles O'Malley appeared under Irish auspices. It is unnecessary for us to expatiate on the merits of a story that has proved its popularity by having run through innumerable editions, nor to eulogize characters which have become as familiar as real persons. Suffice it to say, O'Malley was highly successful, and strengthened greatly Lever's position.

The connection with McGlashan which the publication of those stories created, led to a desire to make the connection still closer. An article of Lever in defence of Lord Eliot, then chief-secretary for Ireland, gained him some favour in official quarters; and Lever formed hopes that, if he returned to his native country, he might receive a public appointment that would be easy and remunerative. McGlashan at the same time offered him the editorship of the University Magazine at a liberal salary, the condition being that he should contribute some portion of a story every month, and that for this he should receive £1200 a year.

In January, 1842, Lever entered upon his duties; and Jack Hinton, which had been begun in the previous year, appeared month after month. It may be here said that the materials for the graphic pictures of Galway and Galway society, which appear in so many of Lever's works, were gathered during periodical visits made in youth to his brother, the Rev. John Lever, who had a cure in the county. It may also be added that he always

felt a deep liking for that part of the country. During the greater part of his tenure of editorial office, Lever lived at Templeogue House. There he kept open house after a style more Irish and generous than prudent; and he had visits from all the Irish, and many of the English celebrities of his time. Isaac Butt was one of his most frequent guests; and Thackeray there collected some of the materials for his Irish Sketch Book. O'Leary-a work which others highly praised, and the author himself rather disliked-Tom Burke, in which he utilized military incidents he had collected in a number of French works; the O'Donoghue

the idea of which was suggested by a tour in Killarney-appeared in rapid succession. It may be well to notice that Lever was involved in other than literary troubles during his editorial career; a violent attack by one of the contributors brought him into collision with the well-known littérateur, Mr. S. C. Hall: an angry correspondence was followed by a challenge; but after all the preliminaries were arranged, a reconciliation on terms honourable to both parties was arranged.

Three years of residence and hard work in Dublin produced once more the desire for change; and Lever left Dublin for the Continent, never again to be a resident in his native land. His life from this period onward is that of a wanderer in strange lands-a cosmopolitan to a great extent in languages and in residence, in sympathies and experiences; but his heart always yearned after the old country, for whose people and feelings and customs he felt an enduring love. Amid the blaze of literary fame he often longed to be a doctor in Ireland; and in the course of his after-life he made more than one attempt to get a settled position again there; and when that failed, consoled himself by taking a hurried glimpse at it in the course of occasional tours. Before he left Dublin he had made arrangements with Messrs. Chapman and Hall for the production of St. Patrick's Eve-a short story founded on his experiences as a cholera doctor, and the Knight of Gwynne. The first of these the public received somewhat coldly, for it was considered that a master of farce had no right to intrude on the domain of pathos; but it is a work which found considerable favour with more appreciative critics. The Knight of Gwynne is also pitched in a much more serious key than previous works. Lever's idea was to create a character in which there might be the "same unswerving fidelity of friendship, the same coura

geous devotion to a cause, the same haughty | mystery of which was preserved to the end,-

contempt for all that was mean or unworthy," which were the traits of an "educated and travelled Irishman of the period." To these he wished to add "the lighter accessories of genial temperament, forgiving disposition, a chivalrous respect for women." The story, as is well known, relates to the period when the Act of Union was passed, and there are portraits of Castlereagh, a prime mover in that business, and Bagenal Daly, a type of the member of parliament which Sir Jonah Barrington has immortalized. The picture of Castlereagh is perhaps more favourable than would be expected by those who regret the departure of the legislative independence of Ireland; but this is partly accounted for by the fact that Lever's views of that statesman were very much softened by his intercourse at Brussels with Sir H. Seymour, who had been one of Castlereagh's subordinates and friends.

During the next few years Lever passed most of his time at Florence, where he attracted a large amount of attention by the splendour of his equipage and his stud. It was his habit to drive about the streets with his children dressed in rather theatrical style; but in extenuation of this offence it may be remembered that Alfieri, the great Italian poet, was not free from a similar desire to display the beauties of his stables and his equestrian skill. During this period were written Roland Cashel, Maurice Tiernay, Con Cregan, and Sir Jasper Carew. The Fortunes of Glencore, which came next, marks the beginning of a new and completely different era in Lever's career. Here we have that mixture of Irish life in its simplicity, and the intrigues of small courts, and the follies of continental society. It may be said that every work produced by Lever after this period contained the same mixture of characters and scenes. We do not intend to go over each work at any length. Glencore was followed by the Martins of Cro' Martin, in which is told one of the most romantic and most poetical tales of the wreck of an old Irish family; The Daltons; Davenport Dunn, where John Sadleir the member of parliament and forger figures; One of Them, in which we find alternately described the dispensary at Portstewart and the salon at Florence; Gerald Fitzgerald; Tony Butler, published anonymously; Sir Brooke Fosbrooke, which he described as the "most carefully written" of his works, and where Chief-justice Lefroy is painted. The Bramleys appeared in the Cornhill Magazine, and is remarkable for an elaborate plot, the

an unusual occurrence with Lever. This was followed by That Boy of Northcott's, in which the story is irresolute, and the end hurried. The Rent in the Cloud is also rather a poor work; and A Day's Ride, which Dickens accepted for Household Words, proved so unattractive that the editor took the extreme step of announcing the end of the work by a certain date. The last work which Lever produced was Lord Kilgobbin, and in this there was no sign of a failing hand. It was received with unanimous praise by the press, and was regarded more as the work of a writer in his full vigour than of an elderly man who was finishing a prolonged literary career. From time to time for several years before his death, Lever was in the habit of contributing a series of articles to Blackwood on current topics under the nom de plume of Cornelius O'Dowd.

In 1858 he was appointed by his friends in the Tory administration vice-consul at Spezzia, and in 1867 he was promoted to the consulship at Trieste. The latter years of

his life were darkened by the necessity for continual work in consequence of somewhat embarrassed circumstances, and he also chafed much under the necessity of living away in comparative exile in a Dalmatian seaport. He also suffered from ill health. He paid his last visit to Ireland a short time before his death, and on the 1st June, 1872, he passed away painlessly in sleep.]

AN IRISH LEGISLATOR OF THE

OLDEN TIME.

(FROM "CHARLES O'MALLEY."1)

The rain was dashing in torrents against the window-panes, and the wind sweeping in heavy and fitful gusts along the dreary and deserted streets, as a party of three persons sat over their wine in that stately old pile which once formed the resort of the Irish members, in College Green, Dublin, and went by the name of Daly's Club House. The clatter of falling tiles and chimney-pots-the jarring of the window-frames and howling of the storm without, seemed little to affect the spirits of those within, as they drew closer to a blazing fire, before which stood a small table covered with the remains of a dessert, and an

1 By permission of Messrs. W. H. Smith & Son.

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