Page:A history of booksellers, the old and the new.djvu/502

460 460 PROVINCIAL BOOKSELLERS. and produced, under their auspices, the " Library of Ireland," consisting of patriotic and national collec- tions of poems, &c., edited or written by some of the most brilliant of the National party. However, the movement for Repeal collapsed, and before this Duffy had discerningly turned his attention to less ephe- meral publications, and produced editions of Carleton, Banin, and other native celebrities. The famine of 1846 affected every trade, and as the -people had no money to buy bread, the sale of books was, of course, utterly hopeless, and Duffy found that he could not meet his engagements. His creditors granted him time, and the money was to be paid in instalments. He sold his copyrights in England, and paid the first instalment promptly. But when the time was due for the second he saw no prospect of meeting it. A neighbour, however, called John Donnegan, hearing that he was ruined, carried him a stocking full of money, his lifetime's hoardings, threw it down before him, with "Just take that, and see if it is any use to you ! Pay me when you can," and refusing to take any receipt, rushed out again. The stocking con- tained nearly^ 1 200, and Duffy was able not only to pay his creditors, but to turn his attention to the publica- tion of more important works than he had hitherto attempted, such as the Douay Bible, Missals, Prayer- books, and many historical works, and it was not long before he was in a position to repay the kindly loan. About 1860 he opened a branch house in London, and at that period the success of his publishing career may be said to have culminated, for after the death of his wife he confined himself almost entirely to dis- posing of his old stock. He died on the 4th of July of the year 1871, regretted by his fellow-citizens in