peace, good order, and unanimity amongst his countrymen, wished to offer him a pension, the amount of which he was himself to name. "The secretary took the liberty of asking a question, to which, at the same time, he did not insist on receiving an answer-whether in the event of any popular commotion in Ireland, as it was dreaded would be the case from the diffusion of American republican notions, O'Leary would advocate, as formerly, principles of loyalty and allegiance ? To this question an unhesitating reply was given, confirmatory of the known inflexibility of O'Leary's political conduct: with regard to the pension he never had sought for one; though at a former period of his life, something of the kind had been hinted to him in the present instance he was grateful to the government for their recollection of him, and suggested that the utmost of his claims would be answered by £100 a-year. He was afterwards officially informed that his presence in Ireland was necessary for the purpose of having the pension placed on the list of that country: he repaired thither, and after the necessary formalities were gone through, he became entitled to £200 per annum." No condition, as stated by Butler, requiring him to reside in England, was annexed, nor does there seem any occasion for believing that further interference in political concerns was interdicted to O'Leary. His independence of character was too great for him to have ever submitted to such a restraint, and we find that he subsequently took a very active part in the attempts which were made by the Catholics to procure from the legislature additional measures of relief. His last production being "An Address to the Lords Spiritual and Temporal," in which he warmly protested against the passing of a bill, which had been introduced in the House of Commons by Sir Harry Mildmay-the Chambers of that day-the provisions of which were aimed at insulting and annoying the religious ladies who were residing in convents, and in which he replied with all his former zeal and vigour to the oft-repeated calumnies which he had so frequently been called upon to refute.

In November 1779, O'Leary was selected to preach the funeral sermon at the obsequies performed in London to the memory of Pope Pius VI., whose virtues, sufferings, and death had made a deep impression on the minds of men of all religious persuasions. Nor were his literary labours yet ended. During his residence in London, two productions of his pen were published. One was a memorial in behalf of the fathers of La Trappe, and the orphans committed to their care, in which he made a touching appeal to the charity of the Catholics of England, to assist the Trappists, who, compelled to fly from one country, and driven from another, were reduced to the utmost destitution. The other was, the "Address" to the Lords against Sir Henry Mildmay's projected bill, to which we have just referred.

The dreadful convulsion of Ireland in 1798, and the atrocities with which it was accompanied, occasioned O'Leary the deepest affliction. Indignant at the attempts which were made to ascribe to religious fanaticism, the distractions which the Government had excited by its flagrant misrule, if it did not actually instigate them in its nefarious policy; and at the insulting manner in which his name had been mentioned by Sir Richard Musgrave in his "History of the Irish Rebellions"; O'Leary formed the resolution of publishing a work which would contain, not merely a refutation of the calumnies which had been circulated against the Catholics, but would at the same time be an authentic history of the insurrection. For this purpose he made a collection of valuable manuscripts, and procured from his friends full and authentic details of all the transactions in various parts of Ireland; but unfortunately the progress of the disease, of which he soon after died, and the increasing infirmities of age, prevented him from carrying this resolution into effect. Finding himself unable to continue the work, and hearing that Mr. Plowden was engaged in a similar task, he transmitted to him all the materials he had been able to procure, and these were of the most material assistance to the latter in the preparation of his invaluable "Historical Review" which was soon after published.

Towards the end of 1801 O'Leary was suffering so severely from ill health, and despondency, that his physicians, having exhausted their skill in vain endeavours to alleviate his disease, as a last resource advised him to visit the South of France. Following their advice, he proceeded there, accompanied by a medical friend; but not experiencing the relief which had been anticipated, and immeasurably shocked at the then state of French society-so different from what it had been in his youth-a state which he characterized by querulously declaring "that there was not a gentleman in all France"-he resolved on returning to London. The violence of his disease, however, was aggravated by a rough passage from France, and his death occurred, rather suddenly, the day after his return to London, the 8th of January, 1802. His body was interred in the graveyard attached to St. Pancras' church; and a monument was placed over it by Earl Moira, subsequently Marquis of Hastings, who wished thus to testify his respect for the character, and his admiration of the genius, of Arthur O'Leary.

It is impossible to form a proper estimate of O'Leary's character, and of the value of his services to Catholicity, without constantly bearing in mind the vast difference which happily exists between the time at which he first appeared, and the present day. To superficial minds it may seem, that too great a stress has been laid upon his exertions; too much attributed to his literary efforts; and too high a meed of adımiration claimed for his many and varied productions. If we reflect however, on the state of public opinion in Ireland, when O'Leary first raised his voice in behalf of his proscribed religion; and on the social degradation to which the Catholics had been reduced by the long continued persecution they had endured; we may well feel surprise; -not so much at the results which attended his exertions-as at the courageous spirit which he manifested in venturing even to appeal to the justice, not to say the indulgence, of his Protestant fellow-subjects. At a time when the wish once expressed by an intolerant opponent was almost literally gratified, and a Catholic scarcely ventured to address a Protestant with his hat on; when -as some still living can recollect a Catholic as he walked the street was immediately recognizable by his abject air and demeanour ;* it required no inconsiderable amount of courage for a poor Friar, to break through the habits of submissive deference, which lengthened suffering and degradation had induced; and boldly to demand, and ultimately wring from a hostile dominant party, privileges and immunities which his fellow Catholics had long sighed for in vain, and had almost regarded as unattainable. All this O'Leary did. He contended against and overcame difficulties, which, to one less ardent than he, would have appeared insuperable. He defended the principles of his religion, when attacked by virulent and ignorant assailants, with a boldness, only equalled by his ability; while he triumphantly freed them from the gross imputations sought to be cast upon them by interested and bigoted parties. He mainly contributed to the diffusion of milder and more equitable sentiments, which ultimately led to the repeal of many of the most galling provisions contained in the penal code. He manfully resisted the violent attempts made by his opponents to prevent any relaxation from being effected in the system of intolerance which they so vehemently supported, as necessary for the permanence of their religious and political supremacy: while he never, for one instant, yielded to the machinations, which some of his own party were led to form against him, through their jealousy of his successful efforts. And we do not indulge in the language of mere panegyric, but simply give utterance to the truth, when we affirm, that to few is a deeper debt of gratitude due, by the Roman Catholics of these kingdoms, than to Arthur O'Leary.

1. Vacation Thoughts on Capital Punishments. By Charles Phillips, A.B., one of Her Majesty's Commissioners of the Court for the Relief of Insolvent Debtors, in London. Tenth Thousand. London: Cash. 1857 2. Society for Promoting the Amendment of the Law. Three Papers on Capital Punishment. By Edward Webster, Esq., A. H. Dymond, Esq., Henry Mayhew, Esq. Read at the General Meeting of the Society, July 7th, 1856. London: Sold at the Office of the Society, 3, Waterloo Place, Pall Mall.

The omniscient Ruler, looking down from above, searches every corner of this rolling world, and views with blended pity and contempt the efforts of the guilty man to cloak and conceal his crime. The black curtain of the night, the solitude of the lonely waste the thickest walls and the securest doors, avail nothing for concealment from that glance, which searches, not alone the acts, but the inmost thoughts of men. The malefactor may exhaust his ingenuity to weave around him, as he fondly hopes, an impervious web of mystery; in an instant, at the appointed hour, the curtain is is rent away, and what the all-seeing glance has beheld from the first, the omnipotent arm now uncovers to the general gaze.

So wills the fierce avenging sprite,
'Till blood for blood atones;
Aye, tho' he's buried in a cave,
And trodden down with stones,
And years have rotted off his flesh,
The world shall see his bones!

The range of human vision is, however, limited, and the war of human wits is waged on more equal ground. A solitary wretch contends against the united vigilance and penetration of a host of foes, and single-handed, frequently conquers in the fight. Uneducated and untrained in all save guilt, and in that, alas! too finished an adept, ignorant, brutal, and depraved, he baffles every effort that refined intelligence, superior skill, and the strength of a righteous cause, can bring to bear against him, and succeeds in preserving from the grasp of the law, that existence which, in