to which he has not given the aid of
his pen, such as it was, and this whether he received remuneration or
not. Indeed, the consciousness that the success of his works had been
the humble means of inciting others to similar exertion in their own
country, and of thus giving the first impulse to our literature, is one
which has on his part created an enthusiastic interest in it which will
only die with him.

Notwithstanding the failure of the periodicals just mentioned, it
was clear that the intellect of the country was beginning to feel its
strength and put forth its power. A national spirit that rose above the
narrow distinctions of creed and party began to form itself, and in the
first impulses of its early enthusiasm a periodical was established,
which it is only necessary to name--the "Dublin University Magazine"--a
work unsurpassed by any magazine of the day; and which, moreover,
without ever departing from its principles, has been as a bond of union
for literary men of every class, who have from time to time enriched its
pages by their contributions. It has been, and is, a neutral spot in a
country where party feeling runs so high, on which the Roman Catholic
Priest and the Protestant Parson, the Whig, the Tory, and the Radical,
divested of their respective prejudices, can meet in an amicable spirit.
I mention these things with great satisfaction, for it is surely a
gratification to know that literature, in a country which has been so
much distracted as Ireland, is progressing in a spirit of noble candor
and generosity, which is ere long likely to produce a most salutary
effect among the educated classes of all parties, and consequently among
those whom they influence. The number, ability, and importance of the
works which have issued from the Dublin press within the last eight or
ten years, if they could be enumerated here, would exhibit the rapid
progress of the national mind, and satisfy the reader that Ireland in
a few years will be able to sustain a native literature as lofty and
generous, and beneficial to herself, as any other country in the world
can boast of.

This hasty sketch of its progress I felt myself called upon to give,
in order that our neighbors may know what we have done, and learn to
respect us accordingly; and, if the truth must be told, from a principle
of honest pride, arising from the position which our country holds, and
is likely to hold, as an intellectual nation.

Having disposed of