him during upwards of twenty years of his life; and, in fact, made that life often miserable. The letter thus terminates:

"The truth is, I will sacrifice everything to stay here to get Emancipation. I have reason to hope that everything ecclesiastical will be satisfactorily settled. I know this. I will remain here, at all events, another week, and if the O'Hara case does not go to trial, I will remain here another fortnight at the least.

"In great haste,

"Yours most faithfully,

"James Sugrue, Esq."

"DANIEL O'CONNELL.

This letter was written after a personal interview with Lord Plunkett, to which Mr. O'Connell had been specially invited. The noble Lord himself was deceived as to the real intentions of the Ministry of the day; and it is therefore not to be wondered at if Mr. O'Connell were deceived. The hopes of the Catholics were raised to the highest pitch, only to be the more rudely dashed to the earth.

Some credit for prophecy might be claimed for him on the strength of the few lines about France, with which I conclude these extracts. They were written to the same party, Mr. Sugrue, and preceded, like all his multitudinous letters to the same truly kind and truly devoted friend, with money-details of the same harassing nature, and originating similarly with those already alluded to.

The date is the 7th October, 1824, from Bordeaux, whither he had gone to meet his family, which had then been for a year in the south of France.

"My stay at Tours, whither we are now journeying, will be very short; after I see my family established there, I will see you, please God, early in November; certainly before the first business-day of Michaelmas Term. I will be myself, therefore, in Dublin before the bills become due.

"My opinion of France and of Frenchmen is not raised by a near inspection. Their climate is to me detestable; nor can I endure the parched and sunburnt appearance of the country. After all, poor Ireland is the spot-if she had but justice.

"The French seem very discontented. In truth, they are full of all manner of uncharitableness. The Bourbons are, indeed, far from being popular. I should not be surprised to hear one day of their starting in a new race of revolutions!

"Believe me

"Always your obliged and affectionate

"DANIEL O'CONNELL.

"What a treat an Irish newspaper would be

to me !"

CHAPTER IV.

FREMATURE SESSION OF PARLIAMENT.-THE IRISH TORIES.-LORD DE GREY. REFORMED CORPORATION OF DUBLIN-ITS FIRST LORD MAYOR. -MUNICIPAL REFORM ACT.-MR. GROTE. THE NEW BALLOT-BOX.— VOTE BY BALLOT.-MR. O'CONNELL TAKES POSSESSION OF THE MANSION-HOUSE IN DUBLIN.-DIFFICULTIES HE HAD TO ENCOUNTER.CORPORATION ADDRESS TO HER MAJESTY-ITS PRESENTATION.DINNER AT THE LONDON TAVERN.-SIR ROBERT PEEL-HIS SPEECH ON THE DISTRESS OF THE COUNTRY.-MEETING AT THE REFORM CLUB. -THE CORN LAWS.-M. SOYER'S DINNERS. THE HIGH SHERIFF OF FERMANAGH.—BRIBERY AND INTIMIDATION.-MR. ROEBUCK.—PEEL'S FINANCIAL PLANS.-CUSTOMS TARIFF.-STATE OF PARTIES.-FRANCIS FIRES AT THE QUEEN.-ANOTHER ATTEMPT.-THE POT-HOUSE PLOT.

LITTLE was done in the short first session of the newly elected Parliament of 1841, save the easy task of turning out the already doomed Whig Ministry. It was with the inauguration of this Parliament that, very appropriately on account of its Toryism, and very happily on all accounts, we ceased to be afflicted with the constant repetition of the phrases banales for the previous nine years constantly recurring in debate, viz. " this re

formed Parliament," and "now that we all have constituents."

This first session, or first instalment of a session, began in September, and lasted about two months. Of all the devices that ever have been brought into action for man's annoyance, that of a premature session of Parliament is far and away the most irritating, troublesome, and useless. It never advances the real work of the ordinary session one inch, it never tends to shorten that ordinary session by a single day. Nay, the experienced in those matters, especially those most respectable laudatores temporis acti, the older officers of the House, do not hesitate to affirm, that a session before Christmas makes the subsequent session even longer than it would otherwise be, instead of helping to "cut it short." And there is nothing very paradoxical in the assertion, to those at least who know how hard it is to get members to give up entirely their winter amusements in the country, and persuade them not to take revenge for the unusual duties before Christmas, by at least a corresponding period of inattention and absence afterwards.

The Irish Tories made a wonderful display in