272  THE  HOME  RULE  MOVEMENT

By  that  time  the  old  leader  was  nearing  the  end.  And
undoubtedly  the  events  of  the  last  couple  of  }'ears  hastened  his
death.  Anxious  for  success,  he  felt  that  he  had  failed.  He
could  see  nothing  but  ruin  in  Mr.  Parnell's  policy,  but  he
gradually  realized  that  it  was  winning  adherents  and  that  he
himself  was  losing  ground;  and  in  1878  he  wished  to  retire
from  Parliament.  His  resignation  was  not  accepted  by  the
nation  and  he  was  persuaded  to  remain.  But  he  could  not
attend  regularly  in  Parliament,  having  to  depend  on  his  pro-
fession for  a  living.^  In  addition  to  this  his  health  began  to
fail.  In  the  summer  of  1878  he  told  his  friend,  Dr.  O'Leary,
of  weakness,  of  palpitation,  of  uneasy  sensations  at  the  heart,
of  a  want  of  readiness  and  vigour  of  thought,  and  he  feared
that  the  end  was  not  far  distant.  He  soon  rallied,  however,
and  at  the  meeting  in  February  1879  his  great  powers  seemed
at  their  best.  Yet  even  a  casual  observer  could  see  that  death
was  near.  After  the  meeting  he  fell  ill,  and  on  the  1 3th  of
May  following  the  end  came.'  With  the  modesty  of  greatness
his  desire  was  that  he  should  be  buried  in  the  little  churchyard
of  his  native  parish  of  Stranorlar,  with  as  little  expense  as
possible,  and  without  ostentation  or  parade.^  Thus,  in  accord-
ance with  his  own  wish,  there  was  no  great  funeral  procession,
no  grave  in  Glasnevin,  no  proud  monument,  no  inscription  to
recount  his  services  to  the  land  he  loved  well.  But  his  country-
men bore  him  in  kindly  remembrance,  and  if  many  thought  it
fortunate  for  Ireland  that  he  then  passed  away,  it  was  because
the)'  saw  that  his  policy  had  failed  and  his  methods  had  grown
obsolete ;  because  in  the  stormy  times  that  had  come  it  was
necessary  that  the  helm  should  be  grasped  by  a  more  vigorous
hand.
