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Art . IV . — The Life and Death of Lord Edward Fitzgerald . By Thomas Moore . 2 Vols . 8 vo . Longman . This is by far the best of all Mr . Moore's biographical publications—the best in its subject , the best in its style , and the best in the general tone of feeling and sentiment that pervades the composition . Lord Edward Fitzgerald could not speak like Sheridan , nor write like Byron , but he could act better than either . He was a far better
man . Rebel he was , for he was unsuccessful . But he was not selfish , not vain , not wavering ; susceptible of emotion and passion , but not the creature of impulse , his plans and his character were alike and throughout honourable and consistent .
The designs of the United Irishmen are matter of history and not of present politics . What , in the event of their success , would now have been the conditiou of their country , is a problem which different minds will solve differently ; but this should not prevent any from doing justice to the characters and motives of their leaders ; and of these , generally speaking , the honesty and patriotism are as well ascertained
as any facts in the history of human nature . Nor should the event be taken as decisive evidence against their sagacity . Their prospects of success were not less encouraging than , at the outset , were those of the patriots of Greece or France , of Belgium or of Poland , or even perhaps of America itself : nor did-they
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yield to those countries fn ttie amount of wrong by which the spirit of resist * ance was stimulated . Such at least Is the impression upon our minds , nor cati it be obliterated by the fact , that after years of persecution , proscription , terror , and confusion , the prospect is now , as we hope , opening of peaceful and prosperous days for Ireland in its connexion with Great Britain . A distinct
notion of the aggravated grievances of Ireland , and of the plans of her patriots for the extinction of those grievances , must be obtained from history , or rather by recourse to those contemporary documents which are the materials of a history which is yet to be written . Mr . Moore has introduced
enough , and not more than enough , to reuder the conduct of his hero intelligible to common readers , and indicate the grounds on which its claims must rest to be regarded as justifiable and laudable . And this he has done in a way which reflects great credit upon himself , and which is as manly as it is explicit and satisfactory .
Independently of its biographical truth and historical importance , the memoir before us has all the interest of drama or romance , even in their best construction and most powerful execution . The life of Lord Edward Fitzgerald consisted
of three distinct portions , each with a character peculiar to itself , broadly marked , and strongly contrasted , yet with a poetical harmony and moral unity arising from their common identification with his individual qualities of mind and heart . The first commences
with his boyhood , and comprises several years of military service and personal adventure in America and the West Indies . An invincible desire to excel in his profession , repeatedly indulged at the sacrifice of the prospect of more rapidly rising in it ; glimpses , amid the active influences of military ambition , of the contemporaneous growth of the feelings and principles which become the citizen and even the statesman :
strong family affectious , and a fervent love of home , mingling with the intense desire of observing society in all its forms , and earth in all its diversities , which in rapid succession domesticated him in the Parisian hotel and the Indian wigwam : such are the materials for this portion of his biography . It terminates by his marriage with the daughter of Madame -Geulis , and we have then a ' succession of scenes of almost Arcadian simplicity , innocence , and peace . He plays with his child ;
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Critical Notices . —MuceUaneou * . 647
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names under which it Is known U \ England or elsewhere , —the books in which a faithful figure may be found , —the purposes for which it is best adapted , — -the seasons when it is in the greatest per * fection ,- —and topics of a similar kind , have beeu in all cases treated with especial care . This there are few men more competent to do well than Mr . Liudley , whose long practical experience , and ample opportunities of ilives * tigating such subjects personally during a series of many years , have been such as have rarely fallen to the lot of any one . " We have only to add , that the execution of the work appears to us , on inspection , fully to realize the expectations excited by this introduction . The results of physiological scieuce and actual observation are happily combined ; and the practical character given to the whole renders this a very valuable and useful volume .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Sept. 2, 1831, page 647, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2601/page/71/
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