Page:A Compendium of Irish Biography.djvu/273

 HEN

hunting or hawking ; in disposition he was parsimonious at home, but most liberal abroad." s A synod of the Irish clergy assembled at Cashel early in the spring, and a number of canons were passed tend- ing to break down the independence of the old Irish church, and assimilate it to the English. A parliament was also convened at Lismore, which a number of the Irish chiefs were induced to attend. The most important statute passed was that entitled the " Statute of Henry FitzEmpress," which empowered the Irish barons to elect a temporary Viceroy in the event of the vacation of the office by death or other- wise, Henry does not appear to have penetrated farther than Dublin, nor does he seem to have taken the style either of King or Lord of Ireland. He divided almost the whole country amongst the most powerful barons, expecting that they would make as quick and complete a conquest of the island as their ancestors had of England. Strongbow received large possessions in Leinster ; De Lacy in Meath; FitzGeralds, FitzStephen, andDeCoganin Munster ; and De Courcy in Ulster. The seaport towns he kept principally under his immediate control, while Dublin he con- ferred on the citizens of Bristol. Hugh de Lacy, appointed Constable and to the com- mand of Dublin Castle, is generally regard- ed as the first regularly constituted Vice- roy. Eichard FitzGislebert he appointed Lord-Marshal'; Bertram de Verdun, Sene- schal ; Theobald .Walter, Chief -Butler ; and De Wellesley, Royal Standard Bearer. These arrangements were carefully made with the view of counteracting the hitherto overwhelming influence of Strongbow in the affairs of the island. The easterly winds in spring brought Henry bad news from England, he went to "Wexford to await the first favourable opportunity for crossing, and on Easter Monday, 1 7th of April 1 1 72, the wind being fair, he embarked at sunrise and landed at Port Finnen in Wales about noon same day. Henry did not again visit Ireland. He died at Chinon, near Tours, 6th July 1 1 89, and was buried at Fontev- raud, in Anjou. s 148 170 3" 335

Henry, James, M.D., scholar and author, was born in Dublin in 1799. Edu- cated at a Unitarian school and at Trinity College, he adopted the medical profession, in which he soon attained great eminence and large practice, though his sceptical and independent ways of thinking, and his adop- tion of a five-shilling fee estranged from him most of his professional brethren. His sarcastic and trenchant tracts on questions of the day set him openly at war with the profession, yet his practice continued to in-

HEN

crease, and he had realized some fortune, when a large legacy made him completely independent of his ordinary work, and in- duced him to lay aside professional contro- versies for literary pursuits. About the year 1848 he began to travel through Europe with his wife and only child, and to make researches on his favourite author, Virgil. Dr. Mahaffy says : " This occupation became an absorbing passion with him, and filled up the remainder of his life. After the death of his wife in the Tyrol (where he succeeded in cremating her and carrying off her ashes, which he preserved ever after), he contin- ued to travel with his daughter, whom he brought up after his own heart, who emu- lated him in all his tastes and opinions, and who learned to assist him thoroughly and ably in his Virgilian studies. It was the habit of this curious pair to wander on foot, without luggage, through all parts of Europe, generally hunting for some ill-col- lated MS. of Virgil's ^neid, or for some rare edition or commentator. ., Seventeen times they crossed the Alps on foot, some- times in deep snow, and more than once they were obliged to show the money they carried in abundance, before they were re- ceived into the inns where they sought shel- ter from night and rain. . . In his Twelve Years' Journey through the JEneid of Virgil Dr. Henry first disclosed to the world that a great new commentator on Virgil had arisen, and those who will look through Conington's work will see how many of the best and most original notes are ascribed to Henry. He also printed privately (he never would publish anything except a few pa- pers in periodicals) versified accounts of his travels, something like the Roman saturce or medleys, and other poems more curious than beautiful — some of them, however, striking enough from their bold out-spoken- ness in religious matters." Having exam- ined every MS. of the JEneid of any value, he returned to Dublin, when declining years disposed him to rest, and where the Library of Trinity College afforded him a rich supply of early printed books on his subject. The JEneidea : or Critical, Exe- getical, and j^sthetical Remarks on the ^neid, appeared in 1873, with the follow- ing dedication : "To my beloved daughter, Katherine Olivia Henry, etc., I give, dedi- cate, and consecrate all that part of this work which is not her own." His daughter's death, shortly after the appearance of this book, was a terrible blow to him. He him- self passed away, 14th July 1876, aged yj, A full list of his publications will be found in the Academy, 12th August 1876, in the ample notice by his friend Mr. Mahaffy, 249