HIS CONTEST FOR DUBLIN. 371 



over, the seat for Dublin was of no slight im- 

 portance, and the Whigs were extremely eager to 

 wrest it from the Tories. 



The description of the contest is given in Sir 

 William Gregory's best manner. " At last," he 

 writes, " came the nomination day — one of deep ap- 

 prehension to me ; for I had to meet the greatest 

 orator of his time. O'Connell was then Lord 

 Mayor of Dublin, and by him Lord Morpeth was 

 seconded. The Liberator's speech, though severe 

 on me as a Protestant, was by no means abusive," 

 Sir William replied in what he calls " the best 

 speech of his life." He indignantly denied that 

 his voice had ever mingled in the cry, "To hell 

 with the Pope ! " or that he had any sympathy 

 with that sentiment. When he sat down, O'Con- 

 nell was so pleased with the plucky way in which 

 his youthful antagonist had stood up to him that 

 he exclaimed, " Young man, may I shake you by 

 the hand ? Your speech has so gratified me that 

 if you will but whisper ' Repeal ' — only whisper it, 

 mind you — Daniel O'Connell will be the first man 

 at the polling booth to vote for you to-morrow." 

 The mystic word was not whispered or uttered, but 

 from that time forward O'Connell and Sir William 

 were always the best of friends, though divided in 

 age by forty-two years, as O'Connell was born in 

 1775 and Sir William in 1817. Sir William was 

 returned by a triumphant majority, and after the 

 close of the first day's poll he received the follow- 



