The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1878-10-06
FAMOUS IRISHWOMEN.
ELLEN DowNING-"MARY" OF THE :" MA
TON"
From the Irish Monthly.

bOWuluS was OOTn IN COEk
| on the 10Th of March, 1928. Her father
| was, at the time of her birth, the resident
medical officer of the Cork Fever Hospital.
Both her parents were well educated and
with keen sympathies for every thing that
regarded their country and their religion.
Her mother in particular was q woman OF
literary taste, "well read for that time'-
which was, we fear, in reality, more read
ing age than this time, as far, especially,
as ladies are concerned, all the circulatp q
libraries and magazines Notwithstanding.
A fragile iptaut, she was only brought
safe through the first perils of life by the
tender care and skill of her parents and
she grew up peculiarly, shy and delicate
child, shrinking somewhat from compan-
ions of her own age, amongst whom, how
ever, she was always favorite, aud pre-
ferring the society of her elders.
We have heard that Adelaide Proctor,
when quite little child, used to follow
her mother about the house with her fa-
vorite bite of Mrs. Browning, and so
Mamma, just listen to this" In the same
way, end about the same time, our young
Cork poetess betrayed her instinct at an
equally early age, and had contrived to
learn by heart long passages of Moore and
Byron before she was able to read them.
Another of her favorite books while still a
carefully arranged for the young, with
extracts from the translations of Homer
and Virgil. These and other pet volumes
she locked upon as personal friends, as may
be seen from her verses written on lending
her copy of CELIA" to O friend.
Her nervous temperament was 80 deli
cate that, when seven years old, and fre-
qoently in maturer years, she tainted away
at the mention of a surgical operation.
She told her sister, whose recollections l
am following, that to hear of the violent
pain of anyone almost always caused her
to feel "a precisely similar pain. The ex-
cuse she gave fer her aversion to arithme-
tic was the torture caused to her keenly
sensitive nerves by the grating of the PEN
ellis on the states.
Silent and shy as she generally was, she
could, when greatly interested in any sub.
ject, express herself with a clearness
and fuency that surprised and amused
those around her. Her special delight,
however, was to lose herself over some
serious reading, like the elevation Of the
Soul" and the Life of St. Theresa" Later
on she read with zest "Bacon's Essays,n
" Percy's Reliques," Irish History and
Legends, and such portions of Moore,
Byron, and Shelley as she was allowed to
study.
This thoughtful, affectionate child began
very early to write as we'll as to read poe
try-or rather to make poetry of her own,
for at first che did not write her verses,
but kept them in her little head, and only
as q great and rare favor permitted her
sister, to whom she would repeat them in
to set down her beloved
rhymes in black and white or she would
graciously condescend to print q copy of
one of her little lyrics-for her hand
writing being then and always deplorable,
she preferred to initiate printed characters.
When Ellen Downing was about half
way through her teens, she came under |
LI.o- l0G ATrks
springtlme of song seemed all the richer
and fresher from contract to the bleakness
and dullness of the Winter which it suc-
,eeded. The ballads and songs of Davis,
Mccarthy, and the rest, she pored over
With rapture; and, after awhile, the temp
alton came-"Perhaps, if l did my very
pest, they would priat something of
nine" Dickens describes himself drop
1ing his fret magazine contribution by
teaIth and with trembling fear into the
etter box. With more nervous dread our
'oet- maiden bore hers to the Cork Post
)ffice, sharing her secret with no one
7homsoever. Great was her delight when,
mong the "Answers TO Correspondents"
n the 10th of May, le45, she found more
han a mere word of encouragement ad-
ressed to her-"Another fair correspon- 1
ent sends US some sweet, thoughtful
erses, which we cannot refuse to publish,
only in honor of her sex and her young, {
element patriotism" Then follows q '
turdy lyric, not at all childish or girlish, {
eginning- &
Forget old wrongsl Why yes
When they shall cease to wound US
low many times did the bright, young {
yes gloat over this first printed poem be- I
IRE she ran to tell her father9 We do {
OF ask this question at random, for one of J
le family circle has given us her recolec c
on of retaining from Msss on that mid {
Iay Sunday, and seeing her father on the 1
;eps with the Nation in his hand, and he (
,ad the poem for her before entering the d
ouse and how proudly he told her that it t
as Ellie's! That was happy Sunday I
IT poor Ellie. The signature attached to /
lie first poem is "Kate ;" and is, perhaps, i
le reason why this "young recruit to our I
ir band of poetesees" receives on the fifth r
July, ls45, fresh welcome as "E. NJ. r
d." whose "Verses for my own Nan \
e," end thus - r
Vain and false the early story C
FAIRIES crowd not round our way, {
But shall we mics their gifts and glory I
While the angels with stay l
Life has wonders great and wide t