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SOME NOTICE OF THE
land has been so often cited in the text of the present
work, may be easily read. The following is the epitaph :
His epitaph. "Beneath this stone are deposited the remains of "William
Haliday, cut oil' l>y a lingering cliscasi- in (lie early bloom of life.
He th.- f
anticipated progress years in the maturity of under-
standing in the acquisition of knowledge, and the succ<
cultivation of a mind gifted by Provident; \\iihendowinents of
the highest order.
" At a period of life when the severer studies have scarcely commenceu,
lie had acquired an accurate knowledge of most of the
European languages, of Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and Arabic.
" But of his own, the Hiberno Celtic, so little an object of attain-
ment and study to (Oh ! shame) the youth of this once lettered
island, he had fathomed all the depths, explored the beauties, and
unravelled the intricacies. He possessed whatever was calculated
to exalt, to enoble, to endear : great faculties, sincere religion, a
good son, and an affectionate husband, a steady friend. Carried
off in the twenty-fourth year of his age, his worth will be long
remembered and his death lamented.
"Obiit, 26th October, 1812."
To these few memorials of his youthful and lamented
genius it remains only to add the following
brother Charles, written shortly after his death.
" CHARLES HALIDAY to THOMAS MARTIN.
letter from his
" London, 27th March, 1813.
" MY DEAR SIR, By the receipt this evening of the accompanying
volumes from Ireland, I am enabled to gratify the wish you had
expressed of having in your possession part of the works of my
lamented brother. Unhappily it has fallen to my lot to gratify
this wish. Unhappily, I say, for had it pleased the Almighty to
have pi-olongued his life to this time, and had he known your
wish, I feel certain from the sentiments I have heard him express
that there is no one to whom he would have had greater pleasure
in making such an offering.
" From my ignorance of our native language, unfortunately, I
am unable to judge of their intrinsic merits ; nor, were I gifted
with that power would it well become me to panegerize the works
of so near a relation. To his friends, for any errors or omissions
they may discover in them, it is probable little apology may be
made ; to his countrymen I would make none. A life spent in
the service of Ireland to redeem the memory of her past glory
again to place her in the list of nations, though unsuccessful in
the object, needs no apology for its exertions. To the more