Cùm, terrâ ignotâ, Proles Solymea refugit In lacrymis memorans Te, reverende Sion! Te præsenti Ædes irradiata Deo! Nunc pede barbarico, et manibus temerata profanis, At tu, pulchra Salix, Thamesini littoris hospes, O juncta Aonidum lauro, præcepta Salutis Stet quoque prisca Domus; (neque enim manus impia tangat); Det patribus patres, Populoque det inclyta cives Eloquiumque Foro, Judiciisque decus, Conciliisque animos, magnæque det ordine Genti Cura diù Patriæ, cura paterna Dei. It would be difficult to give this exquisite poem higher praise than it deserves; nor is it needful to point out to the classical or poetical reader all the beautiful propriety of its allusions, or (what is far more remarkable) the deep vein of uncorrupted fancy and feeling, preserved from the brightest and purest fountain of the youthful affections, which glows through every line of a composition at the advanced age of eighty. Nor can it be required to dwell upon the evidences it bears of the Christian studies and habits of feeling, which indicate that this noble and high heart was cheered in its latter days by still happier consolations, and led by purer lights and more immortal hopes than the muse of Greece or the literature of Rome. The marquis died not long after the publication of the little book from which the foregoing poem is taken, and was buried in Westminster Abbey. Charles Kendal Bushe, Chief Justice, Q.B. BORN 1767-DIED 1843. THE end of the last century, though far behind the present time in public intelligence and in the advancement of real knowledge, was yet as far beyond it in that loftier cultivation of the heart and reason among the higher classes, which constituted the finished gentleman, the accomplished man of letters, or the powerful orator. Not, indeed, that this pre-eminence was generally diffused among the wealthier classes, but while there existed among the lowest ranks a perfect barbarism, and among the rural gentry a rude and uncultivated condition as to habits of life and general attainment, there was among the higher aristocracy, the university, the bar, and the parliamentary leading men, a sedulous cultivation of elegant literature, of the refinements and graces of language, of the popular methods of address, as well as of the exercise of the whole art of forensic eloquence, such as has not since been remotely approached; nor, considering the changes which have since taken place in knowledge and manners, is likely to be again attained. In England, our illustrious countryman, Burke, had, with all his unrivalled power, raised his testimony against Indian oppression or domestic improvidence, and warned his country and mankind against the rising storms of French revolution—“Shook the arsenal and fulmin'd over Greece"-followed by the brilliant and celebrated men of either party, whose names are still so familiar. In Ireland, Grattan and his powerful contemporaries were only less famous, because they had a narrower stage, and less elevated parts to play. Emanating from this splendid competition of men of the highest gifts, there were in different circles of society bright expansions of intellectual light, of greater or less compass and spirit according to the local combination and social influence of some one or more central minds; but there was no spot within the country or the kingdom more conspicuous for its high and elegant cultivation than the county of Kilkenny. The county of Flood and of Langrishe, had long been eminent for the distinguished refinement of its social habits, and for the cultivation of every elegant and graceful art; under the influence of a few accomplished families, it had become the Attica of Ireland, and this pre-eminence was long maintained by a succession of distinguished men. To this effect the residence of several wealthy proprietors contributed; and family connections added to this illustrious circle the choicest mind of other places: by the intermarriage of his sister with Mr Bushe, of Kilfane, as well as by his early acquaintance with Mr Flood, Mr Grattan became a frequent and intimate associate in a circle thus distinguished by the union of those qualities which give a charm and grace to society, and are so favourable to the development of the mind. Such were the auspices, and such the time and place from which we are to date the illustrious career of the late Charles Kendal Bushe, a name too honourable to derive illustration from any title, or from any distinction in the gift of The ancestry of the Bushe family may be traced far into the heraldry of England, and is variously connected with that of the most respectable families in their part of Ireland. Of the Irish family, the founder came over as secretary in the time of William III., under the vice-regency of lord Carteret. They acquired, by grant or purchase, large possessions in the county of Kilkenny, and resided in the family mansion of Kilfane; in the present, or rather the now passing generation, this seat was transferred by sale to the late Sir John Power, baronet, who married Harriet, daughter to Gervase Parker Bushe, of Kilfane. A few steps of this lineage will be acceptable to many readers of the present memoir. In the end of the 17th century, the then Mr Bushe, of Kilfane, married Eleanor, sister to Sir Christopher Wandesford, who was created viscount Wandesford in 1707. By this lady he had (among other children) two sons, Amyas and Arthur; of these, the elder inherited Kilfane, and was the immediate ancestor of the Kilfane branch. To Arthur, his father gave Kilmurry, being a small estate separated from the family demesne. stance. The Reverend Thomas Bushe, eldest son to Arthur Bushe, of Kilmurry, married Katharine Doyle, sister to the late general Sir John Doyle, long governor of Guernsey, and well known as the gallant colonel of the brave 87th. Sir John was also very universally known for his rare command of wit and humour, for the eloquence of his speeches and addresses in the Irish parliament, and afterwards in the India House; and was very much distinguished by the favour of George IV., who was so eminent a judge of character and social talent. Of his peculiar style of humour we can only afford an inOnce when he had the honour of dining at Carlton house, a gentleman was entertaining the prince and his company with a lively account of some adventures which he had met on his travels; among other wonders, he gave a lively description of some monstrous bug, on the marvellous properties and exploits of which he dwelt with all the eloquence of Munchausen. "Pray, Sir John," said the prince, addressing the baronet, "have you any such bugs in Ireland?" Sir John replied, "They are quite common, I can assure your highness, we call them humbugs in Ireland." The sister of this worthy baronet, though less widely known, was not less remarkable for her superior understanding, her refined and polished wit and taste, and her knowledge of that literature which was then cultivated by the highest minds. She lived to a very old age, and had the gratification of seeing her gifted son Lord Chief Justice of Ireland. She was still, at that extreme period of her life, very remarkable for her graceful manner, the elegance of her easy play of allusion, and the youthful brilliancy of her fine eyes. She was equally observable for the fine tone of high and generous feeling, which often reminded us of some dignified matron of the Cornelian race: there was about her person, manner, and style of conversation, much to verify and illustrate the frequent remark, how often the most illustrious men have been indebted to the virtues and talents of their mothers. Not long, we believe, after his marriage with this lady, Mr Bushe accepted of the chaplaincy of Mitchelstown; and having fallen into considerable pecuniary embarrassments, was compelled to alienate Kilmurry for the liquidation of debts which had been chiefly the result of an unfortunate passion for building. Previous to this occurrence, two children, Elizabeth, and afterwards Charles Kendal, the subject of our narrative, were born, the latter in 1767. He received the name of Kendal in honour of a Mr Kendal, who had bequeathed to his father the neighbouring demesne of Mount Juliet, which his father had a little before let to lord Carrick. After removing to Mitchelstown, Mr Bushe had five other children. Of the early education of Charles Kendal Bushe, we have no very precise details to offer, and shall not load our pages with those which can amount to no more than generalities. In his fourth year, he was sent to Mr Shackleton's academy at Ballitore, then eminent for its superior system of education, and afterwards illustrious for the men it produced. We have already had to notice it in these pages. From this, he was removed to another very distinguished school, that of Mr Craig in Dublin, the same in which we have already had to trace the early days of Tone. Here, too, many persons conspicuous in after life, many of whom are yet upon the stage of the world, became united together in that interesting tie of memory, which, from so slight a beginning, has so deep and permanent a hold. From these traditionary recollections, we must pass on to the time of his entrance in Trinity College, Dublin, in 1782, when he was in his fifteenth year. Here he was eminently distinguished, and notwithstanding his extreme youth, was successful in winning premiums both in classics and science. His classical attainments were placed beyond doubt, and nearly beyond the reach of comparison, by the unusual circumstance of a scholarship in 1785, with eight first best marks. A distinction strongly verified by that perfect mastery which he retained to the very last, of the whole of that range of Greek and Roman literature which was then included in that arduous trial. His contemporaries were among the most remarkable persons of his generation. Plunket, Miller, Graves, Magee, were among the scholars at the time. Tone, also, then as much distinguished by almost unrivalled wit, and admirable address, had obtained his scholarship in the previous year. To maintain a leading position in a circle, which has not been equalled since, and is not likely to be soon equalled again, the great reputation which Bushe had then acquired, and well maintained, is of itself a test of high distinguishing qualities. The Historical Society brought these brilliant and active spirits together into a competition more free and congenial than the pursuit of academic honours; and here Bushe rose as nearly to his comparative place, relative to these eminent men, as was consistent with the imperfect nature of the test, and the inexperience of those who were to pronounce the awards of fame. We think it of some importance to mark this distinction, because we are convinced, first, that the reputation which is acquired by such academic displays of popular talent in early life, long continues to fix a man's place in the comparative estimation of his contemporaries: to point out the reasons would lead us too far, but such is the fact. And second, that there are some limits to the applicability of such a criterion as is thus held out, which are not likely to be quite understood at the period when this species of fame is won. Young men, at least in the academic stage of their lives, are often very excellent judges of style, of the rhetorical and logical expertness of a writer or speaker; but not equally so of those more severe, and solid qualities, which must be the chief foundation of excellence, in the maturer and more important efforts of actual life. They are sure to be won by ready and unfailing ingenuity, which can make the worse appear the better cause, and is never at a loss for the retort and reply. Errors of judgment, perversions of principle, they do not always detect, and when they do, an over-allowance is sure to be made for the fictitious understanding under which a fallacy is to be maintained; they readily assume that all that ready resource in the support of error, must be still more triumphant in the contest for truth; but it cannot often occur (to the many,) that in point of reality the higher powers of the understanding are rarely tested in such efforts of advocacy; and if they were, their use is not very strongly apparent on the surface. The great and commanding faculty of judgment has little scope in such boy-contests; and even, if the contrary be admitted, this master faculty of the reason, being rather employed to guide the other faculties (as from within) than to show its own peculiar working, and being mostly only to be recognized by justly measuring its effects-requires a nearly equal endowment of the same gift in the listener, before he can be qualified to appreciate this latent source of power. This fact will be found to have a very peculiar bearing on every just estimate of that mind, of which it is the main purpose of this memoir to give a faithful picture; and with the same view, it is not less important to observe that the profound and comprehensive grasp of truth and of the principles of truth which give value to the nobler exertions of the mind, will, on such occasions, place the inexperienced speaker at a disadvantage, for there cannot be a stronger obstacle to promptness in sophistry than the clear apprehension, and keen sense of truth and right, with which a high degree of such qualities must inspire their possessor. These distinctions are easily applied; it is not within our province to compare the early academic successes of Bushe, with those of any one who may have stood higher in the opinion of boys. We shall presently come to the notice of his more popular gifts; but it is on the force of the principle thus stated, that we must ground our own peculiar view of a mind which we will not admit to be second to any one of the eminent persons with whom he may have been brought into comparison. In the play of rhetoric, his match was to be found; in sophistical ingenuity, and the arts of dexterous advocacy, his superior might, perhaps, be named; but in the secret ruling intellectual power that guides to sound views, and imparts truth to the reason, and even refinement and grace to wit, he had no equal among his countrymen, and few anywhere. If, however, Bushe had, in the estimation of his college cotemporaries, a place in any degree lower in comparison than we must claim for him, it cannot strictly be said that he was underrated; if he was not first, he was nearest to it. He possessed by nature the flowing torrent of burning words which all can feel: he was also master of a rare and matchless style of wit, which art never gave; it was that |