The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1873-09-18


Over shop, no. u AunQier street. Dub
In, may be seen the bust Of Ireland's lyric
poet. In that house, on the eighth Of Nav.
1879, Thomas Moore was born. His father.
John Moore, who came from Kerry. carried
on the business Of grocer, and had pre-
viousiy kept a small Wine store il John
ston's court, Grafton street. His mother
was AnastaSia Codd. daughter Of Mr..
Thomas Codd. also tradesman. This was
the lowly home and humble beginning Of
one who, IN a few years after-thanks to
his own genius-was the courted Of the
fashionable and brilliant society Of London,
thc honored friend OF Lord Moira at Don
nington, the associate Of princes and peers.
and the battered guest at the houses Of the
nobility. The literary life Of the author Of
=" The Irish Melodies . has been alreadvtold
by Earl Russell, and would be out of place
here. have only to carry down his
domestic story toits close. While engaged
in private theatricals in Ireland, he formed
the acquaintance Of a young lady. Miss
Bessie Dyke, who had recently made her
debut on the stage. and he married her on
the twenty-fifth of March, 1911, at st. Mar
tins Church, London. OF this union there
were FIVE children, who all preceded their
parents to the grave.
The last survivors were Thomas Lans-
DOVE Parr Moore, and John Russell Moore,
who both obtained commissions in the
army, and both died in early manhood.
The climate of India broke down the health
of the younger. He returned home to
breathe his last in November, 1912. Moore's
journal ? of the following month has this
entry; December-I have not had. the
heart to return to this Journal for some
weeks past. All is over. Our dear boy ex-
pired on the twenty-third of last month /;
and the calmness, sweetness and manliness
of his last moments were such as to leave,
then, in the mothers heart, not only COM
fort, but almost pleasure In less than four
years after Moore's last surviving child,
Tom, who left the British army and joined
the foreign legion of Algiers, also died.
He had long caused deep anxiety to his
father. High-spirited, thoughtless and ex-
travagant, he contracted debts which Moore
was no longer able to pay and the sale Of
the young mans commission was rendered
obligatory, He then joined, as have said,
the French service, and in broken heart
and with enfeebled constitution, soon sue
cumbed to exposure and fatigue.
In March, 1916, his father makes this en-
try in his journal About the middle of
March we received a strange and ominous
looking letter. which we opened with
trembling hands, and it told us that my son
Tom was deadl The shock was at first al
most too much to bear; but, c1n reading the
letter again, we saw reason to doubt the ae-
count it contained, and sent Immediately to
London and Paris to know if there was any
truth in the rumor. 1t was, alas but too
true. The last Of our five children is now
gone, and we are left desolote and alone
Not single relative have now left in the
world Moore's spirits never recovered
this affection; his heart was well-nigh
broken. He survived, however, until the
twenty-sixth of February, 1852, when he
was laid by the side of four Of his children,
in the little churell-yard of Bromham, Wits.
His wife was placed next him in $780,
Sir Bernard Burke.