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 domestic relations. Unlike the people of
other nations, his grief is loud but lasting, vehement but deep; and
whilst its shadow has been chequered by the laughter and mirth of a
cheerful disposition, still in the moments of seclusion, at his bedside
prayer, or over the grave of those he loved, it will put itself forth
after half a life with a vivid power of recollection which is sometimes