is diary was published, as from time to time volumes of it
appeared, slander was busy with the fame of one of the best and most
upright of all the men that God ennobled by the gift of genius.[N] For
my own part, I seek in vain through the eight thick volumes of that
diary for any evidence that can lessen the poet in this high estimate. I
find, perhaps, too many passages fitted only for the eye of love or the
ear of sympathy; but I read _no one_ that shows the poet other than the
devoted and loving husband, the thoughtful and affectionate parent, the
considerate and generous friend.

It was said of him by Leigh Hunt, that Lord Byron summed up his
character in a sentence,--"Tommy loves a lord!" Perhaps he did; but if
he did, only such lords as Lansdowne and Russell were his friends. He
loved also those who are "lords of humankind" in a far other sense; and,
as I have shown, there is nothing in his character that stands out in
higher relief than his entire _freedom from dependence_. To which of the
great did he apply during seasons of difficulty approaching poverty?
Which of them did he use for selfish purposes? Whose patronage among
them all was profitable? To what Baael did the poet Moore ever bend the
knee?

He had a large share of domestic sorrows; one after another, his five
beloved children died; I have quoted his words, "We are left--alone."
His admirable and devoted wife survives him. I visited, a short time
ago, the home that is now desolate. If ever man was adored where
adoration, so far as earth is concerned, is most to be hoped for and
valued, it is in the cottage where the poet's widow lives, and will die.

Let it be inscribed on his tomb, that ever, amid privations and
temptations, the allurements of grandeur and the suggestions of poverty,
he preserved his self-respect; bequeathing no property, but leaving no
debts; having had no "testimonial" of acknowledgment or reward,--seeking
none, nay, avoiding any; making millions his debtors for intense
delight, and acknowledging himself paid by the poet's meed, "the tribute
of a smile"; never truckling to power; laboring ardently and honestly
for his political faith, but never lending to party that which was meant
for mankind; proud, and rightly proud, of his self-obtained position,
but neither scorning nor slighting the humble root from which he sprang.

He was born and bred a Roman Catholic; but his creed was entirely and
purely catholic. Charity was the outpou