not been possessed of a deal of shrewd common
sense, there might have been danger of his
embracing some of the visionary doctrines in which
he was so learned. But no! even Spiritualism,
to which not a few of his brother novelists
succumbed, whilst affording congenial material for
our artist of the superhuman to work upon, did
not escape his severest satire.

Shortly after completing his last novel, strange
to say, bearing the title 'Willing to Die,' Le
Fanu breathed his last at his home No. 18,
Merrion Square South, at the age of fifty-nine.

'He was a man,' writes the author of a brief
memoir of him in the 'Dublin University
Magazine,' 'who thought deeply, especially on
religious subjects. To those who knew him he
was very dear; they admired him for his
learning, his sparkling wit, and pleasant
conversation, and loved him for his manly virtues, for
his noble and generous qualities, his gentleness,
and his loving, affectionate nature.' And all
who knew the man must feel how deeply deserved
are these simple words of sincere regard for
Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu.

Le Fanu's novels are accessible to all; but
his Purcell Papers are now for the first time
collected and published, by the permission of his