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 a most important era in the history of the Irish Church, at which it aban- doned its independence, and was brought under the influence of Rome ; and it is thought that the accounts of the disorders of the state and of the Church before his time are unduly exaggerated by contem- porary writers, so as to justify and glorify the change that then took place. ^' 339 Blalone, Anthony, a distinguished politician, was born in Ireland 5th De- cember 1700. In his twentieth year he en- tered at Oxford, pursued his studies at the Temple, and in May 1726 was called to the Irish Bar. The following year he was elected to represent Westmeath, a seat he held without interruption until 1760. In 1740 he was appointed Prime-Sergeant, a position from which he was dismissed in 1754 for joining in the assertion of the right of Parliament to dispose of un- appropriated taxes. In 1757, under the Duke of Bedford's government, he was made Chancellor of the Exchequer. From this office he was also removed, for main- taining the right of the Irish House to ori- ginate the supplies. Soon afterwards, however, he was placed on the Privy- CouncU, and granted a patent of precedence at the Bar. In 17 71 he voted against Lord Townshend's government, although, as the Viceroy bitterly complained in a black list forwarded to London, he had " been ob- liged in ever)i;hing that he had asked." " To a commanding person, fine voice, an impressive yet conciliatory manner, temper rarely to be ruffled by an opponent, were added powers of argument and persuasion so effective that it was once proposed to transfer him from the Irish to the English House of Commons, in order to oppose Sir Eobert Walpole." ^^^ Grattan declared "Malone was a man of the finest intellect that any country ever produced. The three ablest men I have ever heard were Mr. Pitt (the father), Mr. Murray, and Mr. Malone. For a popular assembly I would choose Pitt ; for a Privy Council, Murray ; for twelve wise men, Malone.''^^! He died 8th May 1776, aged 75. His nephew, afterwards Lord Sunderlin, in- herited most of his estates. "^ '*' '^ "<* ^3- Malone, Edmond, Shaksperian com- mentator and author, nephew of the pre- ceding, was born in Dublin, 4th October 1 741. He was fij-st educated at Ford's school in Molesworth-street (with Eobert Jephson, Marquis of Lansdowne, General Blakeney and many who subsequently be- came distinguished), and then passed on to Trinity College, where steadiness rather than shining abilities characterized him. In 1763 he entered the Temple, and three MAL years afterwards we find him travelling in France. He was called to the Irish Bar, and for a time rode the Munster circuit, but being possessed of a competence, he gradually yielded to the charms of a lite- rary life, and in 1 7 77 settled permanently in London. Remaining unmarried to the last, almost his whole life was devoted to the study and elucidation of Shaks- pere. The result of these labours, a Ifew Edition of Shakspeare, appeared in II vols. 8vo. in 1790. In 1821, some years after his death, a second edition, in 21 vols., was edited by his friend James Boswell. The priucipal of his other nume- rous works were. History of the English Stage (1790), Works of Sir Joshvxi Reynolds (1797), Prose Works of Dryden (1800). He was a prominent member of "The Club," and was consequently intimate with John- son, Burke, Charlemont, and the best men of his time. " Of Malone it is not, perhaps, very high praise to say that he was with- out doubt the best of the commentators on Shakspere. He is, compared with his predecessors, more trustworthy in his assertions, more cautious in his opinions, and more careful to interpret what he found in the text than to substitute his own conjectures. But he belonged to an age when the merits of Shakspere were not properly appreciated ; and he is, like the rest of his brethren, cold and captious. He was of a critical school which, to a great extent, is fortunately extinct."'^ The Saturday Review says : " In diligence, integrity, and veneration for Shakspere himself, Malone stands second to none of the Shaksperian commentators. But his was not the subtle and catholic spirit to discover under the rough integument of first essays the sacred fire of genius, or to make allowance for the passion and vigour which streak and sometimes redeem their extravagance. Malone was an ex- cellent ferret in charter warrens, but there his skill ended ; for the higher matters of criticism he was as blind as a mole." After twenty-three years' residence in England we find him advising his Irish friends against voting for the Union. Intimate with men high in power, bis influence was courted on both sides— by Lord Clare as well as by the members of the opposite party. Two of his correspondents lost their appointments for following his ad- vice. Mr. Malone died, principally from over study and sedentary habits, 25th May 181 2, aged 70. Lord Sunderlin, his brother, buried him by the family man- sion at Baronstown in Westmeath. Al- though it is stated to have been his wish that hia splendid library should go