just to the general character of our people, however, to speak
of these crimes as national; for, in fact, they are not so. If Tipperary
and some of the adjoining parts of Munster were blotted out of the moral
map of the country, we would stand as a nation in a far higher position
than that which we occupy in the opinion of our neighbors. This is a
distinction which in justice to us ought to be made, for it is surely
unfair to charge the whole kingdom with the crimes which disgrace only
a single county of it, together with a few adjacent districts--allowing,
of course, for some melancholy exceptions in other parts.

Having now discussed, with, I think, sufficient candor and impartiality,
that portion of our national character which appears worst and weakest
in the eyes of our neighbors, and attempted to show that pre-existing
circumstances originating from an unwise policy had much to do in
calling into existence and shaping its evil impulses, I come now to
a more agreeable task--the consideration, of our social and domestic
virtues. And here it is where the Irishman immeasurably outstrips all
competitors. His hospitality is not only a habit but a principle; and
indeed of such a quick and generous temperament is he, that in ninety
cases out of a hundred the feeling precedes the reflection, which in
others prompts the virtue. To be a stranger and friendless, or suffering
hunger and thirst, is at any time a sufficient passport to his heart and
purse; but it is not merely the thing or virtue, but also his manner
of doing it, that constitutes the charm which runs through his conduct.
There is a natural politeness and sincerity in his manner which no man
can mistake; and it is a fact, the truth of which I have felt a thousand
times, that he will make you feel the acceptance of the favor of
kindness he bestows to be a compliment to himself rather than to you.
The delicate ingenuity with which he diminishes the nature or amount of
his own kindness, proves that he is no common man, either in heart or
intellect; and when all fails he will lie like Lucifer himself,
and absolutely seduce you into an acceptance of his hospitality or
assistance. I speak now exclusively of the peasantry. Certainly in
domestic life there is no man so exquisitely affectionate and humanized
as the Irishman. The national imagination is active and the national
heart warm, and it follows very naturally that he should be, and is,
tender and strong in all his