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his time as profitably as possible ? Petkie may not have been blameless 

 in this regard ; but I think that valid excuses may be offered in miti- 

 gation of the censure which has fallen upon him. In the first place, 

 his health was always delicate, and his temperament sensitive. Thus, 

 his total working power was less than that of many other literary men. 

 His intense intellectual energy was out of proportion with his physical 

 strength. And, besides all this, he was intentionally slow in his work, 

 whether with the pencil or the pen, because he was cautious and truth- 

 ful, and in the highest degree fastidious. He was unsparing of his 

 labour, and indifferent about reward. Petkie united qualities which are 

 seldom possessed by the same individual ; he had the enthusiasm and 

 the imaginative power which are essential to the artist ; he also pos- 

 sessed the sagacity and calmness of judgment which are commonly sup- 

 posed to be characteristic of the man of science. There was in him a 

 singular gracefulness, combined with masculine force. He was sensitive, 

 without being morbid ; he was playful, but never wayward; he was 

 candid in criticism, but never gave a gratuitous wound to the feelings 

 of an opponent. " He exerted," as has been well said, " an influence 

 which prompted and encouraged many minds in liberal ideas — in genial 

 and tolerant social views — in the elegancies of native accomplishments, 

 and in that appreciation of the generous and noble traits of the national 

 character which is the true cement of society. Moreover, he largely 

 helped towards achieving the great problem of our day — the reconcilia- 

 tion of the cultivated intelligence and loyalty with the popular aspira- 

 tions and sympathies of the country." 



Gentlemen, I need not try to complete this imperfect portrait of 

 Peteie — the antiquary, the historian, the painter, the musician, the 

 genial, refined, true-hearted gentleman. Your recollection will supply 

 the traits which I have omitted, or drawn with a faltering hand. There 

 is no reason to fear lest his memory should fade from amongst us. You 

 will cherish every reminiscence of a man for whom you felt so warm an 

 affection, and so profound a respect. His death has been a grievous loss 

 to us. But we must not suffer our sorrow for the man to degenerate 

 into a despondency injurious to the interests of those studies which 

 were dear to him, and of which he was the ornament. He is indeed 

 lost to our sight, and removed from our converse ; much of the learning 

 which he had amassed by laborious thought and patient study has pe- 

 rished with him, and the tooth of Time is silently but surely corroding 

 the objects upon which he toiled. But let us find a consolation in the 

 thought that his influence will survive in this Academy, and wherever 

 there is a natural and healthful interest in the literature of Ireland. He 

 will leave behind him disciples imbued with his spirit, and inheriting 

 his methods of research ; and I make bold to predict that great works, 

 illustrating the history, the laws, the art, the language of this country, 

 projected in his time, and promoted by his efforts, will hereafter be the 

 monuments attesting the magnitude of the services which Peteie has 

 rendered to the cause of our national literature. Peteie' s genius did 

 not spring up, like Hamilton's, with a sudden growth, and clothe itself 



