318 CURRAN, similitude, particularly those uttered on the State Trials; and he himself could never be prevailed on to revise or retouch the transcript of a single oration. Had Cicero, or Burke, been thus negligent of their facundiary fame, we should not, at this day, possess in print the splendid monuments of their eloquence that challenge our admi- ration: but, of the genuine eloquence of Curran, as of the exquisite sculptures of ancient Greece and Rome, we are left to form our conception from the broken statues and mutilated fragments, collected from cursory sketches, some notes, or fleeting memory, which are compiled into the shape in which we now find them. Ex pede Herculem. But, if such be the detached members, what must have been the entire figure of that eloquence, which, to be felt and estimated, must have been heard in the delivery? If his powers were great, his materials were also abund- ant. The themes of his parliamentary displays were the grievances of his country, the wrongs of her people, and the corrupt influence of her roling system; and never did any civilized country, called free, in any age, present more prolific sources to fire the mind and stimulate the eloquence of a patriot orator. The corruption of thesystem, and the rapacity of its instruments, were the constant ob- jects of his attack; and he poured on them an incessant fire of pointed invective and scalding ridicule. His very pleasantries were subservient to his purpose; and even the victims of his wit, while they winced under the lash of his satire, or were scorching by the lightnings of his fancy, were often convulsed with laughter. A few short specimens may serve to illustrate this part of the sketch. The Beresford family, who were at the head of the revenue, and Mr. Fitzgibbon (afterwards Lord Clare) con- nected with them by marriage, long held the ruling sway in Ireland; and, ia addition to the influence which their stations gave them over the representative body within the walls of parliament, from the weighty operation of the loaves and fishes, that influence was greatly strengthened by their omnipotent patronage and control over the
