Repeal the union, and you remedy this. You 'll have him at home
with you--not masquerading about in the disguise of a gentleman--not
restricted by the habits of cultivated and civilised life--not tamed
down into the semblance and mockery of good conduct--no longer the
chained-up animal of the menagerie, but the roaring, rampant lion,
roaming at large in his native forest--not performing antics before some
political Van Amburgh--not opening his huge jaws, as though he would
devour the Whigs, and shutting them again at the command of his
keeper--but howling in all the freedom of his passion, and lashing
his brawny sides with his vigorous “tail.” Haydn, the composer, had an
enormous appetite; to gratify which, when dining at a tavern, he ordered
a dinner for three. The waiter delayed in serving, as he said the
company hadn't yet arrived, but Haydn told him to bring it up at once,
remarking, as he patted complacently his paunch, “I am de compagnie
myself.” Such will you have the case in your domestic parliament--Dan
will be the company himself. No longer fighting in the ranks of
opposition, or among the supporters of a government--no more the mere
character of a piece, he will then be the Jack Johnson of the political
world, taking the money at the door--in which he has had some practice
already--he will speak the prologue, lead the orchestra, prompt the
performers, and announce a repetition of the farce every night of the
week for his own benefit. Only think what he is in England with his
“forty thieves” at his back, and imagine what he will be in Ireland
without one honest man to oppose him. He will indeed then be well worth
seeing, and if Ireland had no other attraction, foreigners might visit
us for a look at the Liberator. He is a droll fellow, is Dan, and there
is a strong dash of native humour in his notion of repeal. What strange
scenes, to be sure, it would conjure up. Only think for a moment of the
absentee lord, an exiled peer, coming back to Dublin after an absence
of half his lifetime, vainly endeavouring to seem pleased with his
condition, and appear happy with his home. Like an insolvent debtor
affecting to joke with the jailer, watch him simulating so much as he
can of habits he has long forgotten, while his ignorance of his country
is such, that he cannot direct his coachman to a street in the capital.
What a ludicrous view of life would this open to our view! While all
these men, who have been satisfied hitherto to send their sympathies
from Switzerland, and their best wishes for Ireland by an ambassador's
bag, should now come back to writhe beneath the scourge of a demagogue,
and the tyranny of a man who wields irresponsible power.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account