260 Life and Times of " The Druid.'' 



always to the kindly side of human nature 

 and attracted by it alone, he never wrote a 

 word about anyone which could give him or 

 his nearest relatives pain. Many pages might 

 easily be devoted to an analytical study of 

 his character and of the style of his com- 

 positions. It will serve my purpose better, 

 however, and make my meaning more in- 

 telligible if I insert in extenso the following" 

 article from his pen. It should be pre- 

 mised that the year 1859 was remarkable 

 for the number of deaths it produced in every 

 rank of life. The French poet Maleherbe's 

 beautiful lines, written just three centuries 

 since, are so applicable to it that I cannot 

 refrain from quoting some of them here : — 



La mort a des rigueurs a nulle autre pareilles, 



On a beau la prier : 

 La cruelle qu'elle est se bouche les oreilles, 



Et nous laisse crier. 



Le pauvre en sa cabane ou le chaume le couvre 



Est sujet a ses lois : 

 Et la garde qui veille aux barrieres du Louvre 



N'en defend point nos rois. 



A year which saw the deaths of Lord 

 Macaulay and the fifth Earl of Jersey, of 

 Hallam, De Ouincey and Washington Irving, 



