may not be lost in Ireland. It possible that this country can now be tranquallised without military force to re-establish law: the people must be made to obey the laws, or they cannot be ruled after any consessions. Nor would the mob be able to rule if they got all they desire; they would only tear each other to pieces, and die drunk or famish sober. The misfortune of this country baa been that England has always yielded to clamour what should have been granted to justice.
As Miss Edgeworth advanced in life she often spoke of "my poor Ireland," showing that hopelessness with regard to the problem had dawned on her. She was a patriot, but belonged to no party ; and was blind neither to the nation's wrongs., follies, nor crimes. She grew more and more to advocate the laissez faire system. She contended that her observations, which extended over so long a period of time, had shown her steady progression in Ireland, and she believed that the land would ultimately do well if people would only not force their political nostrums upon it. What she did demand from England was equality of legislation, but no more; and this accorded, she believed Ireland would rise from her state of degradation, though of necessity the rise would be slow, since the length of time of recovery must be in proportion to the length and force of the infliction. Mrs. Hall very rightly remarked that Miss Edgeworth's affection for Ireland was "philosophic." Yet another change Miss Edgeworth observed in the Irish, and one that made them less useful to her for literary purposes:
The modern peasantry imagine they have a part to play in the organisation of their country; their heads are fuller of politics than fun; in fact, they have been drilled into thinking about what they cannot understand, and so have; become reserved and suspicious — that is, to what they used to be.
After Helen had passed through the press, Miss Edgeworth accompanied her friends Sir Culling and
