least I felt that everywhere the thoughts struck you, nowhere the words, and this in my opinion is the perfection of composition. It is soul speaking to soul. I never felt the dignity of your cause so much as then—to promote it in any way seemed an object that would ennoble a life. Truly, one cannot despair when God sends us such teachers. But you will wish me away again for another four months if I write you such long notes. So I shall conclude with kind compliments to Mrs. Duffy, and remain, yours very sincerely,
"Francesca Elge."I only read your lecture—some time or other I would like to hear you."
The same design of elevating and strengthening the National spirit was promoted at the other end of the social scale. Songs taken from the "Spirit of the Nation," and "Paddy's Resource," a book half a century older, were printed and placed in the hands of ballad singers to replace their ordinary ware. Mr. Lyons, a young confederate of Cork, wrote to me at this time:—
"I beg to acquaint you that I have made arrangements with the publisher to send you one thousand copies of the street ballads in a few days, probably the end of next week. The sooner we receive your collection the better. I think we are ready here for a new edition.
"Mr. Meagher has expressed his intention of getting a similar sheet printed in Waterford; an exchange may be made with him for the Cork ballads with some advantage."
Daniel Owen Madden, who was a contributor to Conservative periodicals in London, feared to be misunderstood if he continued to write even biographical papers for the Nation, but he was willing to share our literary enterprises outside the journal. He interested me as a friend of Davis, and I negotiated with M'Glashan the publication of a volume of his "Irish Miscellanies," and considered favourably books he projected for the Library of Ireland.
"1. I would write the life of Doctor Doyle con amore; there would not be a sectarian word or a sectarian thought in it. Of all modern Irishmen I think him the most admirable—a far greater nature, though not a greater man, than O'Connell.
