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Article THURLOGH, THE MILESIAN. ← Page 15 of 18 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Thurlogh, The Milesian.
of distinction conferred singly upon talent , and that property , in externals , was only an object of regard inasmuch as it tended to the advancement of mental scintillations , their respect for those qualities became regulated accordingly , and thus letters were raised , to the comparative depreciation of riches .
A change , however , came over the scene , and money , in time , supplanted the place of genius and of worth . The avaricious serf , finding that by property he could command the services alike of the soldier and of the artizan , turned his money-bags next into a snare for the BAUDS . For a while the bait was virtuously repudiated : corruption was yet new ; civilization had not yet progressed ; the soul would be free ; and mind would be independent . But the nature of vice is never to despond ; its motto is , perseverance ; and death its only bar ! A few recreant defections gave spirit to its advocates ;
these renegades were employed to decry the merit and the motives of those who held out ; until , at length , persecuted and debilitated , —deprived of station and of sustenance , they fell tongue-tied and hand-bound , manacled and fettered , into the iron grasp of their remorseless task-masters . The first impress , however , of a people is never wholly to be eradicated , —it lingers even amongst the habits of the lower orders . In no region upon earth is this so much exemplified as in that wherein our scene is laid ; and the hereditary attachment to everything that possesses an alliance with literature or a
wish for its cultivation , is one of the strongest holds implanted in a thorough Irishman ' s breast , as it is one of the brightest pearls in the escutcheon of any country . To this innate veneration , then , for the aristocracy of the Muses , it is owing that the "Poor Scholar" is always welcome at the peasant ' s board he shares with him his salt ; and , if there be anything better to use as kitchen ( their name for condiment ) with the potatoes , he divides that with him also , nay , if by-and-by , in the distribution of their nocturnal coverings one is to obtain a less c m-
, any ibrtable lot , the master of the house will take care that it be not the guest ; and that the Muses be not insulted in him their representative . But our ' Commons" are not the only bodies that complain of bad shepherds ; the " Muses , " too . are sometimes querulous as to the purity of theirs . How far truly in eitber case , and in which , if in any , more than the other , it is not , at present , my business to discuss ; yet , I can not avoid to say , that I fear Madigan's example will justify the imputation , at least on the part of the Venerable Sisters .
You recollect the oath by which he so awfully pledged himself to deprive Thurlogh of the means of unmasking his hypocricy . To put this into execution he summoned up all his nerve—shook off the trammels of his debauch —emancipated himself from the listlessness or mock-heroism of intoxication , and stood erect upon his pedestals as sober as a carmelite . He then cast about for some instrument of his revenge ; and , recollecting that in the parlour of the ale-house there lay a case of pistols , ready loaded and primed , he seized upon those , and then , breathing fury and blood , he flung himself into
the fields off the windings of the high road , and never faltered or stopped , at sight of ditch or of rivulet , until , in a darksome nook , into which the coach had just entered , he took a deadly aim , and snapped one of the pistols in Thurlogh ' s face . The flash had now attracted the attention of the company , whereupon , as the assassin was in the attitude of pulling his second trigger , the guard fired upon him from above , and though the shot had no other effect than that of fright and of alarm , yet even this , under these circumstances , was gladly accepted , as he instantly withdrew , after which the coach , with its passengers , prosecuUd their journey to the capital .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Thurlogh, The Milesian.
of distinction conferred singly upon talent , and that property , in externals , was only an object of regard inasmuch as it tended to the advancement of mental scintillations , their respect for those qualities became regulated accordingly , and thus letters were raised , to the comparative depreciation of riches .
A change , however , came over the scene , and money , in time , supplanted the place of genius and of worth . The avaricious serf , finding that by property he could command the services alike of the soldier and of the artizan , turned his money-bags next into a snare for the BAUDS . For a while the bait was virtuously repudiated : corruption was yet new ; civilization had not yet progressed ; the soul would be free ; and mind would be independent . But the nature of vice is never to despond ; its motto is , perseverance ; and death its only bar ! A few recreant defections gave spirit to its advocates ;
these renegades were employed to decry the merit and the motives of those who held out ; until , at length , persecuted and debilitated , —deprived of station and of sustenance , they fell tongue-tied and hand-bound , manacled and fettered , into the iron grasp of their remorseless task-masters . The first impress , however , of a people is never wholly to be eradicated , —it lingers even amongst the habits of the lower orders . In no region upon earth is this so much exemplified as in that wherein our scene is laid ; and the hereditary attachment to everything that possesses an alliance with literature or a
wish for its cultivation , is one of the strongest holds implanted in a thorough Irishman ' s breast , as it is one of the brightest pearls in the escutcheon of any country . To this innate veneration , then , for the aristocracy of the Muses , it is owing that the "Poor Scholar" is always welcome at the peasant ' s board he shares with him his salt ; and , if there be anything better to use as kitchen ( their name for condiment ) with the potatoes , he divides that with him also , nay , if by-and-by , in the distribution of their nocturnal coverings one is to obtain a less c m-
, any ibrtable lot , the master of the house will take care that it be not the guest ; and that the Muses be not insulted in him their representative . But our ' Commons" are not the only bodies that complain of bad shepherds ; the " Muses , " too . are sometimes querulous as to the purity of theirs . How far truly in eitber case , and in which , if in any , more than the other , it is not , at present , my business to discuss ; yet , I can not avoid to say , that I fear Madigan's example will justify the imputation , at least on the part of the Venerable Sisters .
You recollect the oath by which he so awfully pledged himself to deprive Thurlogh of the means of unmasking his hypocricy . To put this into execution he summoned up all his nerve—shook off the trammels of his debauch —emancipated himself from the listlessness or mock-heroism of intoxication , and stood erect upon his pedestals as sober as a carmelite . He then cast about for some instrument of his revenge ; and , recollecting that in the parlour of the ale-house there lay a case of pistols , ready loaded and primed , he seized upon those , and then , breathing fury and blood , he flung himself into
the fields off the windings of the high road , and never faltered or stopped , at sight of ditch or of rivulet , until , in a darksome nook , into which the coach had just entered , he took a deadly aim , and snapped one of the pistols in Thurlogh ' s face . The flash had now attracted the attention of the company , whereupon , as the assassin was in the attitude of pulling his second trigger , the guard fired upon him from above , and though the shot had no other effect than that of fright and of alarm , yet even this , under these circumstances , was gladly accepted , as he instantly withdrew , after which the coach , with its passengers , prosecuUd their journey to the capital .