32G MEMOIR OF DR. HARVEY. 



just been breakfasting with Poerio, and a cluster of his Italian 

 compatriots who came last night from Cork, and were taken 

 home by R. D. W. Thomas went up to Poerio, and said, 

 "Ben'venuto a Irlanda," to which the other responded very 

 warmly. The Doctor could say no more, but, " Je ne puis 

 parler un mot dTtalien," &c. So they got on as well as best 

 they could in broken French, and had a good deal of talk. 

 Poerio of course told them stories of his imprisonment of ten 

 years in a dungeon, chained to felons and murderers, without 

 books or writing materials, or " the human face divine," save in 

 its most degraded form. How he lived through it all amazes 

 himself, but he is now luxuriating in free air. Some one in 

 Cork gave him a Dante, which was a great joy. They left to- 

 day for London. No one in Dublin, save their hosts, were 

 aware of their coming. I suppose the poor things wished to 

 avoid the publicity and reception that greeted the first detach- 

 ments. 



To . 



Trinity College, Dublin, April 7th, 1859. 



The path before seems utterly barren and thorny, 



but possibly it may also prove the path to rest and peace. If 

 the desert can "rejoice and blossom," so also the blankest 

 human heart may at length, by suffering, be brought to bear its 

 flowers and fruits. I just now think of a case that I recently 

 heard of. A reprobate belonging to one of the best families in 



B , discarded by his friends, was sent as a last hope to the 



Fiji Islands, to trade with the savages. He there fell in with a 

 native chief who had learned Christianity, and who was kind to 

 him. They traded together for some time, and when the 

 American was returning home the chief said, " We are now 

 about to part ; let us pray together." " I cannot," said the 

 other. "I never prayed." "Then," said the savage, "I will 

 pray for you;" which he did with so much fervour that the 

 American was moved, and led to reflect as he had never done 

 before. During his homeward voyage his heart became 



changed, and on his arrival at B he entered as a candidate 



for holy orders in the American Episcopal Church, was 

 ordained, and is now gone as a missionary to the coast of Africa. 

 Thus there is hope for all, and some natures require trials, 



