Tom Moore

“ Brooking rose from his chair.
"You can repay me easily," he answered, placing his hand upon his protégé's shoulder. "Marry sweet Mistress Bessie and then keep her from Sir Percival. The happiness your wedded life should bring you both will amply reward me for any effort I may make in your behalf. If the Prince permits me to dedicate your book to him the publishers will fight for the privilege of printing it and your fortune is made, Tom Moore."
"But we have quarrelled," said Moore, hopelessly.
"Capital!" cried his lordship. "No woman tiffs with a man to whom she is indifferent. ”

“ You have won, Tom, you have won. Fame, fortune--all that you have dreamed of and fought for so long--so patiently and courageously--shall be yours. I bring you a message from the Prince of Wales."
"From the Prince?" gasped Moore.
"Yes, Tom. He accepts the dedication of your book. Lord Brooking sent me to tell you the news."
"You mean it, Bessie?" cried the half-frantic poet, as the door was sent slamming back by the entrance of Lord Brooking with Buster and the bulldog close at his heels. ”

“ Moore's voice died away melodiously in the last plaintive note.
"A very pretty song, Mr. Moore. It tells a beautiful story and points a splendid moral," said Lord Brooking.
"Yes, my lord," answered Moore, glancing toward Bessie. "It shows the folly of a poor girl in believing aught told her by a nobleman. It is as true nowadays as it was then."
"Oh, Tom," said the girl, tremulously. "It is beautiful. Is it not, Sir Percival?"
"Oh, very, very," replied the baronet. "Extremely so. I congratulate you, Mr. Moore."
"Have you reason to do so, Sir Percival?" asked Moore. ”

“ Even you, Brooking, bore me at times. Toss me, if I know anything that does not bore me sooner or later."
"Sir Percival," said the younger gentleman, "if I whispered one half that you have said to me in Tom Moore's ear he would choke the life out of you and sink your body in the pond."
"And spoil the drinking water? Well, such treatment as you describe would not bore me at all events. 'T would be exciting, even unpleasant, 't is true, but interesting in the extreme, and anything which is not tedious is worthy of all consideration." ”

“ She stopped his mouth with a kiss.
"How can you be so cruel?" she half sobbed. "There can never be any one but you."
"But," he said mischievously, "you took so long to make up your mind, I thought--"
"Tom, you don't love me or you would not tease me so."
"Oh, if you are to be believed, teasing is no sign of indifference," said Moore. "It's a leaf from the book you wrote me this last year that you are reading now, Bessie!"
"You are so obstinate," she sighed. "Ah, Tom, you will succeed in spite of all. I know you will." ”

“ Sheridan, in speaking of the subject of this memoir, said "That there was no man who put so much of his heart into his fancy as Tom Moore; that his soul seemed as if it were a particle of fire separated from the sun; and was always fluttering to get back to that source of light and heat." Lord Byron, too, distinguished Moore as "a name consecrated by unshaken public principle, and the most undoubted and various talents." ”

“ Tom Moore was a poet of all lands, and it is fitting that his centenary should be observed in cosmopolitan fashion. But he was particularly the poet of Ireland, and on this point I may be allowed to say a word, as one proud to be an Irishman, and prouder still to be an American.
Not blindly but kindly we lay our wreath of rosemary and immortelles on the grave of Moore. We do not look to him for the wisdom of the statesman or the boldness of the popular leader. Neither do we look for solidity to the rose- [Pg 857] bush, nor for strength to the nightingale, yet each is perfect of its kind. ”

“ It is the sex's sweet perversity. Then, again, Tom Moore famous, for you 'll never be more than 'Tom' if success is yours--the public loves a familiar diminutive, sir--will be a different Moore from Thomas Moore unknown."
"Ah, sir, you put new courage in my heart," said Moore, catching the young nobleman's infectious enthusiasm.
"I 'll put money in your purse, which is even better, lad," replied Brooking, plunging his hand in his pocket, from which he drew it forth filled with coins of various denominations. "Write me a sonnet to send to my lady love." ”

“ TOM MOORE HAS A BITTER DISAPPOINTMENT AND AN UNEXPECTED VISITOR
Mrs. Malone opened the door suddenly, accompanying this action with a vigorous gesture intended to represent an apology for the liberty she took in omitting the knock. By this it can be easily seen that under Buster's tuition the manners of the landlady were improving.
"A gentleman to see you, Misther Moore."
"Show the gentleman in, Mrs. Malone," said the poet, adding in an undertone to Buster, "This must be a reception we are giving. We have joined society without knowing it, lad." ”

“ Malone, sir," replied the lad, stepping behind the bulldog for safety's sake.
"The mistake is natural," answered Moore. "You were saying--?"
"There is not a shoemaker in London who would trust you, Tom Moore, nor any other tradesman," said Mrs. Malone, on whom the foregoing piece of impudence was quite thrown away.
"Nevertheless, I 'll bet you the back rent--the all the way back rent, Mrs. Malone--I have a grand new pair to-day," declared Moore, defiantly. "Am I right, Buster?" ”

“ A bright, sensuous, Celtic genius dies with Tom Moore. As a poet, he will be chiefly remembered for the undying melodies of his native land, with which his words are beautifully identified. His translations of Anacreon are clever school-boy exercises—very free versions and amplifications of the original, and contain many points and prettinesses which the old Cyclic bard never thought of. ”

“ My time for laughing will come later."
"The later the better," said Moore. "He who laughs last laughs best. Delay it as long as you can, and you will enjoy it the more."
"No doubt, Mr. Moore. Good afternoon to you, Mistress Dyke. Sir, I 'm your most obedient."
"Good-day, Sir Percival," said Bessie, dropping a courtesy as the baronet turned again at the door. Then, as his tall figure vanished from the threshold, she faced her lover with a little sigh of relief.
"Tom," she said reprovingly, "you must not speak as you do to Sir Percival. For a little while I feared you would have a real quarrel." ”

“ One hundred pounds if you will devise a scheme that parts Bessie Dyke from this Tom Moore who annoys me."
It cannot be said that Farrell was astonished at the words of Sir Percival. Nevertheless, that such a great and clever man should consider it advisable to obtain assistance in outwitting so comparatively rustic an individual as Tom Moore, was, in the youth's eyes, rather a damaging admission of weakness. ”

“ Surely he would interfere?"
"Tom," said Brummell solemnly, "if there is a woman in the case do not waste your time and exhaust the patience of Wales. His Highness is a greater rake than Percy Lovelace ever dreamed of being."
"He would not see a woman so coerced," persisted Moore.
"Remember, lad," advised Sheridan, "you are a friend and courtier of only three months' standing. Sir Percival has been Wales's companion since their boyhood."
"Then God help us," said Moore in despair. "There is nothing I can do. Stay! I forgot McDermot. ”

“ Farrell surveyed the attic with a contemptuous stare before answering.
"Surely, Sir Percival, this shabby hole is not indicative of either success or affluence," said he slowly. "One does not dig into the earth to crush a worm under foot."
"You speak in riddles, Terence," observed Sir Percival, pleasantly puzzled.
"I 'll make my meaning plain, sir. Tom Moore does not annoy you now. Wait till he succeeds, if he ever does so, before you publish that poem. The time to spoil his career is when he has accomplished something and is about to climb higher. He is starving here." ”

“ Bessie came hurrying along the hall and flinging open the door entered breathlessly.
"Oh, Tom, Tom," she cried. "The hall below is full of men. They are searching for the strange gallant who won Jane Sweeny from the grocer's son."
The Prince took a pinch of snuff.
"Egad!" said he. "A remarkable achievement, it seems. I 'm beginning to be proud of it."
"The Prince!" exclaimed the girl in amazement.
"An uninvited guest, Mistress Dyke," said his Highness, jovially.
"And therefore doubly welcome, sir," returned Moore, at the door listening to the murmur that came from below. ”

“ Several of the most important people are entirely imaginary, or have been constructed by combining a number of single individuals into one personage.
In reply to the anticipated charge that the author cannot prove that the incidents described in the progress of Moore's wooing ever happened, he makes bold to answer that it is equally as impossible to prove that they did not.
With this explanation, necessary or unnecessary, as the future will no doubt prove, the book "Tom Moore" is confided to the mercy of the public which has so generously welcomed the play. ”

“ The manager of the concerts told his father that Tom need never hope to get a hearing in Bath so long as he lives. You took him out driving with you when he should have been playing at the concert. Ah, my dear madam, one who is so strong as you are should be merciful.”
“You come here to tell me that, do you? O Dick, you have, after all, no true sense of comedy, though I fancied that none could surpass you in that respect. Is’t possible that you fail to see how ludicrous is your appearance here to-day pleading to me for—for—what? You have not yet told me what ’tis that you plead for.” ”

“ Tom behaves with constant and tender attention to his father:—he laments his dear mother sincerely, and at the time was violently affected;—but, at his age, the impressions of grief are not lasting; and his mind is naturally too lively and cheerful to dwell long on melancholy objects. He is in all respects truly amiable and in many respects so like his dear, charming mother, that I am sure he will be ever dear to my heart. I expect to have the pleasure of seeing Mr. Sheridan again next week, when I hope to find him more composed than when I took leave of him last Sunday. ”

“ Brummell clapped his pretty hands in delight.
"Egad," said he, "I 've not heard such verbal fireworks this six months."
"So you are betrothed, Tom?" said Lord Brooking.
"The darlin' has made me say 'Yes' at last," said Moore in an apparently bashful tone.
"Mistress Dyke," said his lordship, taking her hand and kissing it, "Tom is indeed a lucky man. I wish you both all the happiness you deserve. Hang me, if I 'm not envious, Tom. I 've half a mind to marry myself."
"It takes a smart man to marry himself," commented Moore, "but it is economical." ”

“ Abington—oh, she is undoubtedly a charming creature!—that’s where the danger lies. You know her, Dick; tell me what it is that she means to do in regard to Tom.”
“Oh, sir! she has taken a passing fancy to Tom—that’s all. You know what ’tis to possess the soul of an artist, sir. So far as I can gather, that soul is full of whimsies. The only comforting thought in connection with suchlike is that none of their whims lasts long. Their inconstancy is their greatest charm. Mrs. Abington will soon have done with Tom, sir.” ”

“ We are both young, and the world is all before us. For you, dearest Tom, it holds fame and fortune--"
"Ah, Bessie," he interrupted, "do you think so?"
"There will come a day," she answered, proudly, "when in all Ireland there will be no name so boasted of, so loved and reverenced, as Thomas Moore."
"And yet if this be true, I 'd throw it all away gladly, if by so doing, I 'd be sure of you," Moore answered, sincerity written on his face. "Bessie my darlin', why won't you believe in me? Won't you love me, Bessie? Can't you love me, Bessie, dear?" ”

“ Come what may I never will flatter the million's canting in any shape. Circumstances may or may not have placed me at times in a situation to lead the public opinion, but the public opinion never led, nor ever shall lead, me. I will not sit on a degraded throne; so pray put Messrs. * * or * *, or Tom Moore, or * * * upon it; they will all of them be transported with their coronation.
"P.S. The Countess Guiccioli is much better than she was. I sent you, before leaving Venice, the real original sketch which gave rise to the 'Vampire,' &c.—Did you get it?" ”

“ Just think of a poor ignorant girl like myself being able to move a learned man to tears! Oh, there is nothing worth a thought in the world save only music. Let me sing to you now, Tom; you will be able to say if I have improved.”
Tom’s face glowed.
“We have wasted an hour over supper,” he said, and there was actually mournfulness in his voice. Happily his mother, the pie-maker, was not present; she had run from the room at the first mention of music. “I always think that eating is a huge waste of time. We might have been singing an hour ago. ”

“ Linley, when Garrick had gone, and a long silence followed in the room. “’Tis a doubtful privilege to be visited by a genius. It unfits one for one’s daily work.”
“Nay, sir,” cried Tom, “I would fain believe that the visits of a genius are like those of an angel—that he brings us food, in the strength of which we can face the terrors of a wilderness as the prophet did—the wilderness of the commonplace.” ”

“ There already is somebody who does that. Can’t you hear her? That’s her laughing.”
“Come,” I said. “Let’s get into a cab.”
“Thank you, I prefer walking. Nothing like exercise when you are liverish. Are you alone?”
Miss Moore came through the crowd.
“No; I am with him.”
He stared at her as if in doubt; then with sudden recognition—
“Ah! It is the sister of the brother—the affectionate relative of our dear Tom—the beautiful Miss Moore! It is like a scene out of one of the plays in which you are the bright, particular star. The ghosts are gathering round. You were there; you saw her?” ”