to eminence and strength, means, the most crafty and cruel, were taken to overthrow him, every one of which he foiled by a sagacity infinitely above that of his oppressors.  So successful had he been in deceiving the champions of intolerance, that of all the great qualities displayed in that wonderful struggle, that which was most prized was the cunning of evasion.  It left behind it an enduring and destructive influence.  Dissimulation in political action began to be regarded as a public virtue, and long afterwards, when men sought to assert the dignity of truth, their candour was charged against them as a heinous crime.  It will be seen hereafter how fatally this fact operated against their efforts.

The very character of Emancipation has assumed an exaggerated and false guise.  The joy of the nation was boundless—­its gratitude immeasurable.  In the shout that hailed the deliverer, earlier deliverers were forgotten.  No one remembered the men whose stupendous exertions wrung from the reluctant spirit of a far darker time the right of living, of worship, of enjoying property, and exercising the franchise.  All these, and more, which were once, and not very remotely, denied to the Catholics had been before this accorded to them.  Yet the interest and importance of winning access to Parliament, to the higher ranks of the army, and, perhaps a stray seat at the Privy Council, acquired the name of Emancipation, and Mr. O’Connell monopolised its entire renown.  He was styled the “Liberator,” and his achievement designated as “striking the fetters from the limbs of the slave, and liberating the altar.”  In truth, the import of Emancipation was so exaggerated, and its history so warped, that even now at a distance of more than twenty years, both the act and the actors are so misunderstood that it requires no little daring to approach a question involving the sensibilities, prejudices and passions of an entire generation.

A truer appreciation might have given Mr. O’Connell a different and higher destiny.  Not alone the boundless exultation of the Catholic but the mortified pride of the baffled Protestant also stamped its influence on his fortunes, prospects and career.  In proportion as he was to the former an object of adulation and pride did the latter hoard up in his heart for him enduring envy and insatiable hate.  Another circumstance, too, which Mr. O’Connell did not create and could not in the beginning control, contributed to mar his future glory.  This was the pecuniary compensation which the emancipated Catholics kneeled to present him.  It is far from being intended here to disparage the offering or decry its acceptance.  On the contrary, if this were the proper place, both would be vindicated with zealous pride.  But the effect of the continued collection, on Mr. O’Connell’s conduct and efficiency was baneful in the extreme.  And it was among the most prominent circumstances in shaping his career.