Page:American Historical Review vol. 6.djvu/578

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568 Reviews of Books on the other hand the writer fails to bring strongly before us his per- sonality, or to fully explain his wonderful power over the Irish people. Another weak side of the book is its failure to bring clearly before us the actual conditions in Ireland either when O'Connell began his work or when he ended it. Neither land nor electoral conditions are ex- plained ; there is little or no definite explanation of administrative in- stitutions or methods; we are not shown fully what "Emancipation" meant or what still was lacking after it had been achieved ; except in regard to national spirit, we get little information as to development of any kind. The book is further somewhat lacking in perspective ; the hero is not put in a satisfactory historical setting, and the general ap- preciations are weak. The author declares in his preface that the volume " is not offered to the public as a mere verbal expansion of the article I contributed a few years ago to the Dictionary of National Biography." The reviewer is unable to concur in this statement, for it seems to him that the book is clearly but little more than a " verbal expansion " of that excellent arti- cle, and that he will not be misleading anyone in asserting that nearly as much will be got from the article of eighteen pages as from this volume of 389. The effort to popularize to which the author has given himself seems to consist mainly in diluting the earlier treatment with matter of a journalistic order got largely from the notes to P'itzpatrick's Correspond- ence of Daniel O'Connell (New York, 1888, two vols.); and it seems proper to call attention to the peculiar verbatim manner in which much of this gossippy material is borrowed, though without any reference whatever to Fitzpatrick. This will be best shown by putting some ex- tracts in parallel columns : Dunlop. P. 20. rO'Connell's marriage.) This displeased his uncle Maurice " who in fact had already singled out a suitable partner for him in the person of Miss Mary Ann Healy, a mature spinster of short stature, but remarkably long purse and nose. Indeed so ser- iously did her personal appear- ance threaten to damage her matrimonial prospects, that in making his will her father thought it only right to increase her por- tion expressly ' on account of her nose.' " P. 152. (Mission to London, 1825.) " the deputation attracted con- siderable attention in passing Fitzpatrick. p. 12: — "Miss Healey was a mature spinster, short in stature, but famous for her long purse — and nose. This organ threatened to militate so gravely against the future prospects of the lady, that her uncle, when writing his will, was urged to make her fortune larger ' on account of her nose. ' ' ' I. 95 : — " The Irish political mis- sionaries, as they wended their way through England, attracted