asked what he would have done, if relegated to the pages of Lilly," I should immediately have walked out of the school," said the high-minded youth, " and never set my foot into it again.”—Pp. 7, 8.

This early anecdote sufficiently proves the delicate and sensitive temperament of Phelan's mind; but, whatever failings and infirmities may have thence occasionally sprung, he was always ready to acknowledge his error; "and, after all," says his biographer, "I never knew a human being with a more placable spirit, or a tenderer heart." Under Mr. Carey, who stood to him in the relation not so much of an instructor as of a parent and a friend, his progress was far more rapid than his prospects were hopeful: and when, at the end of three years, his school-boy days had drawn to a close, his good master furnished, from his own scanty income, the necessary means for his maintenance as a sizer at Trinity College, Dublin, where he was admitted in June, 1806, in the 18th year of his age. Grateful for this assistance, he would accept of it no longer than it was strictly necessary; and, on his election to a scholarship, he earnestly requested its discontinuance. Before his removal to college, he had adopted the Protestant faith, and the means by which this change was effected was thus related by himself to his early friend, the Rev. Mortimer O'Sullivan.

I was walking home with (member of a lay fraternity of Roman Catholics,) to translate for him some portion of the Breviary, when Mr. Carey rode by on his mule, at his usual quiet pace:-" What a pity," said "that that good man cannot be saved!" I started: the doctrine of exclusive salvation never appeared so prodigious; and I warmly denied its truth and authority. ***** was stubborn in its defence; and we each cited testimonies, in behalf of our respective opinions. I withdrew to bed, occupied by thoughts which this incident awakened; went over, again, all the arguments, pro and con., which my memory could supply; weighed all the evidence, which, in my judgment, might throw light on the subject; questioned, whether any evidence could induce me to acquiesce in a dogma so revolting; and fell asleep, in no good disposition to the creed which could pronounce Mr. Carey's reprobation. In the morning when I awoke, it appeared, that I had insensibly reasoned myself into the belief of the right of private judgment; and thus, I virtually reasoned myself out of the Church of Rome.-P. 11.

During his undergraduate course he obtained several prizes for compositions in English verse and Latin prose, of which, however, he never kept a copy. In the former, his union of metaphysical and poetical expression is said to have been truly remarkable; and it was observed by Dr. Hall, then provost of Trinity College, Dublin, and one of the most accomplished scholars of his day, that one essay in particular was so purely classical, "that whole passages might have been taken from it, and, without risk of detection, inserted in the works of Cicero." In 1810, he commenced A. B., on which occasion the gold medal was adjudged to him; and about the same time he obtained the mathematical premium on Bishop Law's foundation. He now set himself

studiously to read for a fellowship, persevering for nearly three years in

a course of well-sustained, though ruinous, exertion. Towards the close of the year 1812, he was constrained by his medical advisers to remit some portion of his labours, and to sleep out of the air of Dublin. A thought now occurred to him that he might relieve himself in some degree from the irksome task of private tuition, if he could obtain a prize of 50%. then offered by the Royal Irish Academy, for the best essay on a given literary subject; and accordingly in the brief intervals which he could snatch from his daily task, he penned his "Essay on Scientific and Literary Pursuits," which is given in the first volume of his "Remains.” He did not revise, or even read the transcript, which was made by his brother, from his own rough draught on scraps of paper or the backs of letters. It was nevertheless most deservedly successful; and again in 1814, he obtained the same premium for a paper of yet greater merit, which has been unfortunately lost, "On the Force of Habit, considered in conjunction with the Love of Novelty;" but he failed in his trial for a fellowship, for which he sat in 1813.

In the almost certain prospect of success, he had set apart nearly the whole of that little which he possessed, for the comfort and accommodation of his parents; nor, in the moment of defeat, did he alter his pious purpose. His words to his brother, when he recovered from the first shock, are never to be forgotten: - "Well, James, send the money, nevertheless, to its proper destination: and, my dear fellow, have a good heart, and a hope fixed on high; we shall overcome even this blow."

A few days after this disappointment, he met Dr. Graves, one of his examiners; who, in his kind, sympathizing manner, said, "Phelan, I am sorry for you: but I did my best; you had my vote." He bowed, smiled and instantly answered,

"Victrix causa Diis placuit, sed victa Catoni."

The good and benevolent man was visibly affected.-Pp. 21, 22.

At this trying juncture, many kind and discriminating friends had been raised up to him; and among them Dr. (afterwards Archbishop) Magee, who never failed to supply him with fresh stores of animation and encouragement. In June, 1814, he again sat, and was again defeated; but he was conscious that he had not failed from want of application, and he found abundant consolation in viewing his disappointment as the fatherly discipline of a kind providence. In July, he proceeded A. M.; and, in October, was appointed, on the recommendation of Dr. Magee, second master of the endowed school of Derry. Here he entered into Holy Orders, being ordained deacon, December 4, 1814, and priest, January 4, 1815, and officiated for upwards of two years in the chapel of ease in the above city. Towards the close of March, 1817, his friends so strongly urged hi, presence in Dublin again to sit for a fellowship, that, although he considered success, after so long an alienation from academical pursuitss almost hopeless, he reluctantly complied. He was, however, unanimously elected; and thus at length, by the blessing of God on his

own exertions, placed in a station of permanent independence. His constitution had even before this received a severe shock; and during the long vacation he sought that repose which his wearied mind required. Thenceforward his time was divided chiefly between private study and his college duties. In 1818 he was elected Donnellan Lecturer, and preached the first sermon of his course on Trinity Sunday, 1819. Of the lofty argument which he sought to embody in these lectures, and of the habit of mind which suggested the design, the Bishop of Limerick writes thus:

His mind always had a predilection for inquiries, addressed, at once, to the intellectual and moral man: and he loved to regard the deeper and more mysterious truths of Christianity, as not merely, on proof given of their divine authority, to be implicitly received, and venerated; but, much more, as indispensable parts of a divine system, provided by the comprehensive and all-gracious wisdom of God, for the renewal, enlargement, and purification of our spiritual being. He sought, therefore, to exhibit the Christian scheme, in such a manner as might best show its correspondence, in all its parts, to the wants and anticipations of human nature. His lectures, accordingly, may, in some sort, be regarded as an effort to describe the physiology of Revealed Religion. Others have carefully examined facts, and doctrines; and discussed their evidence, according to the dictates of forensic pleading: he, on the contrary, was more solicitous to discover, what may be termed, the functions of those facts and doctrines. It is one thing, for example, to establish the doctrine of the Trinity, by alleging the various passages of Holy Writ, in which it is more or less distinctly revealed. It is another, and, perhaps, a yet more important office, to show, that this mysterious, yet infinitely practical doctrine, is precisely such a revelation of the Divine Nature, as could, alone, enable man to accomplish the great purposes for which he was called into existence. By the one line of argument, the timid believer may be persuaded that his Christianity is true; by the other, the candid sceptic may be convinced, that it is reasonable and just. The judgment is thus satisfied, through the previous conviction of the moral sense; and, from the congruity between ends and means, between the weakness of man, and the sufficiency of God, the facts and doctrines, which may, once, have appeared, not merely above reason, but contrary to it, will, at once, be found, harmonious in their operation, and, so to speak, in their nature necessary.-Pp. 44, 45.

One of the six University Preacherships was the next appointment to which Mr. Phelan succeeded. In his "Remains " two of the discourses which he delivered by virtue of this office, are given as specimens of his peculiar manner, which is thus described by his biographer:

He was not what is called an orator, in the popular sense of the word: but he was a much better thing; a calm, deliberate, and singularly impressive preacher. His voice was far from strong, or powerful; its volume was thin, and its compass very limited; but its tones were clear, animated, and flexible: his enunciation was distinct and solemn; his face, when he was preaching, as when he was familiarly conversing, bore the stamp of zeal, earnestness, and pure affection. He thought that the natural variations of the eye, voice, and countenance, were the sole legitimate kind of action: the only one, suitable to the dignity of the pulpit. And the combined effect of his manner, his delivery, and that truth of character, which the most eloquent words, in themselves, altogether fail to convey, was, that, as Archdeacon Churton has beautifully said of Dr. Townson,-" You would pledge your soul on his sincerity: you

were sure, there was nothing he longed for so fervently, as your salvation.”— Pp. 46, 47.

Although we are aware of the wide circulation which the volumes have attained, yet we cannot forbear from subjoining two extracts from his sermons, which his biographer has selected to our hand, as illustrative of the style and power of the writer's mind. His composition is at once easy, vigorous, and impressive: and there is a certain air of reality which pervades his discourses, exhibiting, as it were, the event which he describes graphically before us.

He thus beautifully touches on the poverty of the blessed Jesus:

"We are, generally, and incidentally, given to understand, that our Lord was poor: yet, no images are presented to us, which can excite mean and vulgar associations. There are, perhaps, only two instances, in which his poverty is pictured distinctly to the mind. These are, the scene of his nativity, and that mournful expression of his, that he had not where to lay his head.' Now, in the first of these cases, the associated ideas, are all even of unearthly magnificence; the stable of Bethlehem is transformed into a holy tabernacle, where the wise and great come to offer their incense, and angels themselves attend, in humble ministration. And, as for the pathetic expression of the Son of Man, there is a majesty in its pathos, which exalts our conception of the moral sublime. We hear nothing, but what is fit to fall from the lips of persecuted royalty; we see nothing, save what a wise heathen has pronounced the noblest sight, even for God to see, a great and good man rising superior to adversity."-Disc. iii. p. 160, 161.

The susceptibility of our Lord, unmingled with a single shade of weakness, is pictured with happy discrimination:

Unlike

"In the most highly-gifted among men, that temperament, by which the soul is softened to imbibe the influence of genius or of sensibility, generally weakens the severer moral powers. In Christ alone, both are united in their full perfection. He feels all our infirmities, yet he yields to none. He, no less than John the Baptist, is inclined to lonely meditation. He does not disdain to contemplate even the lilies of the field; yet, he can move unwearied and undisturbed, amidst the tumults and anxieties of public life. John, he is courteous: but his is, always, the courtesy of a superior being; the serene grandeur of sovereign dominion. He calls, and public officers rise and follow him he appears, and rich young men kneel down to him, and call him master: he comes into the synagogue of his own town, and the eyes of all the congregation are fastened upon him: he is silent, and no man durst question him he speaks, and the people wonder at the gracious words which proceed out of his mouth."-Disc. iv. p. 175.-Pp. 50-52.

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However gratifying to Dr. Phelan's mind his acquisition of a fellowship would have been under ordinary circumstances, there was a circumstance which rendered it a source of less sanguine expectation, and less joyful acquirement, than it would otherwise have been. After his second failure, he had spent some time with a friend, (the Rev. J. H. Stubbs,) at Dundalk, to whose sister, Miss Margaret Stubbs, his affections became irrecoverably engaged. Prudence, however, and principle, allowed him not to think of an immediate marriage; but, at length, the sudden death of the young lady's natural protector determined him, at all hazards, to resign his fellowship, and fulfil his honourable engagement. Accordingly, on the 18th of May, 1823, he

was married, having received from the provost and senior fellows the generous engagement to extend to him the privileges of a college living, and the junior fellows having relinquished their claims to any emolument arising from his pupils. His happiness was considerably augmented by the connexion, thus disinterestedly formed; which also contributed, in all probability, to the extension of his short but valuable life. After leaving college, his first settlement was at the curacy of Keady, in the diocese of Armagh, which had been kept open for him for several months, by the kindness of the primate. Here he laboured to be as useful as a village pastor, as he had been successful in the higher sphere of University preacher, and he did not labour in vain. "His learning," says Bishop Jebb, "was so attempered by suavity, that the people delighted in him as a teacher; while his parental concern for their welfare, endeared him to them as the tenderest of friends."

On the 26th of May, 1824, he was appointed by the primate to the rectory of Killymar; which afforded him the means of constant intercourse with his patron, for whom he entertained the deepest affection and respect. He now also became his Grace's examiner for holy orders, an office which he ever discharged with a faithful sense of its weighty responsibility. In October, 1825, the University presented him to the rectory of Ardtrea, thus rendering him easy in his circumstances, so that, had his life been spared for a very few years, he might have provided competently for his family. According to his own grateful acknowledgment, "he had nothing more to wish for in this world, but had every reason to be contented and happy." In July, 1826, he proceeded D.D. The symptoms of a declining constitution were now, however, manifesting themselves distinctly both to himself and his friends; but, though he had lately published but little, he still persevered beyond his strength in the prosecution of his favourite studies, and especially that of the Bible. A letter of July 16, 1827, states, that he had been ordered "to give up his books and scribbling;" but that he felt the irksomeness of unsettled employment as bad for him as work. Towards the close of this year he had a serious attack of pleurisy; and, change of scene being recommended, he went, at the advice of the primate, to Dublin. While there, he grew apparently better; but immediately on his return the complaint returned so violently, that he was forbidden to take any part in divine service. Again he went to Dublin at the close of 1829, but without any beneficial effects.

In April, 1830, his brother, who, for nineteen years, had, with anxious fondness, been watching each expressive variation of his countenance, saw in it, on his return to the country, the signs of fast-approaching dissolution. On May the 24th, he went to the Chapel-in-the-woods, one of the churches of Ardtrea, nine miles distant from the rectory, to hold a vestry.

The