The fate of Addison, with his Countess Dowager, holding out no encouragement for the ambitious love of Mr. Moore, he wisely and happily allowed his good taste to regulate his choice in a wife, and some years ago married Miss Dyke, a lady of great personal attractions, and accomplished manners, in whose congenial society he passes much of his time in the retirement of an elegant cottage, in Wiltshire, devoting himself chiefly to literary pursuits.

In 1808, Mr. Moore sent to the press "Corruption and Intolerance;" two poems, with notes: addressed to an Englishman, by an Irishman; and in 1809, "The Sceptic," a philosophical satire. These works, of which the first is pungently satirical, are little known; but they are worthy of their author. They were succeeded in 1810, by "A Letter to the Roman Catholics of Dublin." His next production, "Intercepted Letters, or the Two-penny Post Bag, by Thomas Brown, the younger," 1812, was eagerly perused, and fourteen editions of it were printed. Its severities on an elevated personage and the court, will perhaps never be forgotten by the parties. In sparkling wit, keen sarcasm, and humorous pleasantry, it is rivalled only by another volume, entitled "The Fudge Family in Paris," published in 1818, the hero of which is a distinguished poet, and a zealous supporter of the present administration. To this class of Mr. Moore's works belong his "Fables for the Holy Alliance," and "Rhymes on the Road," which deserve, in some respect, a higher reputation than the former volumes.

Mr. Moore appears equally to have cultivated a taste for music as well as for poesy; and the late Dr. Burney was perfectly astonished at his talent which he emphatically called "peculiarly his own." In 1813, Mr. Moore's fame was materially increased by the appearance of his exquisite songs to Sir John Stevenson's selection of Irish Melodies. Some of these songs are among the finest specimens of poetry in our language, and the morality of the whole of them is unexceptionable. They have since been collected into one volume. In 1816, he published "A Series of Sacred Songs, Duets, and Trios," the music to which was composed and selected by himself and Sir John Stevenson.

In 1817, came forth his great work, on which he was known to have been long engaged, and which if it had been his only production, would have carried his name down to posterity as one of the first bards of his time. "Thoughts that breathe, and words that burn," would not be an inapplicable motto for this oriental romance, which unites the purest and softest tenderness with the loftiest dignity, and glows in every page with all the fervour of poetry. For the copyright of this poem he is said to have received the sum of 3,000 guineas, and it must have proved a source of immense profit to the publishers.

In 1818, Mr. Moore visited his native city, Dublin, on which occasion our poet was invited to a public dinner, which was graced by a large assemblage of the most distinguished literary and political characters. The Earl of Charlemont took the chair; Mr. Moore sat on his right hand, Mr. Moore, sen. a venerable old gentleman, the father of the poet, was on the left.

On Lord Charlemont proposing "The living Poets of Great Britain," Mr. Moore said—

"Gentlemen, notwithstanding the witty song which you have just heard, and the flattering elevation which the author has assigned me, I cannot allow such a mark of respect to be paid to the illustrious names that adorn the literature of the present day, without calling your attention awhile to the singular constellation of genius, and asking you to dwell a little on the brightness of each "particular star" that forms it. Can I name to you a Byron, without recalling to your hearts recollections of all that his mighty genius has awakened there, his energy, his burning words, his intense passion, that disposition of fine fancy to wander only among the ruins of the heart, to dwell in places which the fire of feeling has desolated, and like the chestnut-tree, that grows best in volcanic soils, to luxuriate most where conflagration of passion has left its mark? Need I mention to you a Scott, that fertile and fascinating writer, the vegetation of whose mind is as rapid as that of a northern summer, and as rich as the most golden harvests of the south, whose beautiful creations succeed each other like fruits in Armida's enchanted garden, "one scarce is gathered ere another grows?" Shall I recall to you a Rogers, (to me endeared by friendship as well as genius,) who has hung up his own name on the shrine of memory among the most imperishable tablets there. A Southey, not the laureate, but the author of 'Don Roderick,' one of the noblest and most eloquent poems in any language. A Campbell, the polished and spirited Campbell, whose song of 'Innisfail' is the very tears of our own Irish muse, crystallized by the touch of genius, and made eternal. A Wordsworth, a poet, even in his puerilities, whose capacious mind, like the great pool of Norway, draws into its vortex not only the mighty things of the deep, but its minute weeds and refuse. A Crabbe, who has shown what the more than galvanic power of talent can effect, by giving not only motion, but life and soul to subjects that seemed incapable of it. I could enumerate, gentlemen, still more, and from thence would pass with delight to dwell upon the living poets of our own land. The dramatic powers of a Maturin and a Shiel, the former consecrated by the applause of a Scott and a Byron, and the latter by the tears of some of the brightest eyes in the empire. The rich imagination of a Philips, who has courted more than one Muse. The versatile genius of a Morgan, who was the first that mated our sweet Irish strains with poetry worthy of their pathos and their force. But I feel I have already trespassed too long upon your patience and your time.

Towards the close of 1822, Mr. Moore published "The Loves of the Angels," a poem of exquisite tenderness and beauty. The object of the poet is, by an allegorical medium, to shadow out the fall of the soul from its original purity—the loss of light and happiness which it suffers, in the pursuit of this world's perishable pleasures—and the punishments from conscience and Divine justice.

Soon after the death of Lord Byron, in 1824, Mr. Moore became involved in a dispute which involved many private feelings. The facts may be thus briefly stated:—It appears that about two years previous to his death, Lord Byron wrote his own Memoirs, which, according to Captain Medwin, were given "to Moore, or Moore's little boy, at Venice," with the observation of "Here's 2,000l. for you, my young friend;" and that they were not to be published till after his lordship's death. On the completion of the Memoirs, Lord Byron wrote to his lady, proposing to send them for her inspection; but she rejected the offer, desiring that they might never appear, and finishing with a threat. Lord Byron concluded his reply by saying, that "she might depend on their being published;" and his lordship further says, "It was not till after this correspondence that I made Moore the depositary of the MS." Mr. Moore subsequently disposed of the MS. to Mr. Murray, the bookseller, for the sum of 2,000 guineas; but, at the anxious wish of some of Lord Byron's relatives, the purchase-money was returned to Mr. Murray, and the MS. was burnt. The circumstances being so recent, we do not think it requisite to enlarge upon them. Mr. Moore has since entered into an agreement with his publishers for a Life of Lord Byron, and a few weeks since the first portion of the copy was sent to the printer.

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The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 12, No. 349, Supplement to Volume 12.

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