Page:Biographia Hibernica volume 2.djvu/644

 640 BARRY YELVERTON, Viscount Avon More. This nobleman appears, by the Biographical Peerage of Ireland, to be the son of Francis Yelverton, Esq. who died on the 27th March, 1746, by Elizabeth, the daughter of Jonas Barry, Esq. The his storians of antiquity derived their heroes immediately from the progeny of the gods: and modern heralds are at no loss to find high family descent for the favourites of for tune, elevated from very humble beginnings to wealth and title; but who deem high ancestry and armorial tro phies, indispensable to their new-born honours. But per haps, it is not less honourable for any man to be the founder of his own fortunes, and climb to wealth and dignities by his talents and deserts, than to derive his title or the patrimony he had not merit to acquire, nor virtues to adorn, from Alfred, Cadwallader, or the Connaught kings. The majestic oak, if endowed with intellect, need feel no shame for i t s origin i n the acorn; and Lord Avon more has bequeathed t o his posterity n o cause t o blush that he, who through his talents founded their honours and for tunes, received his birth from very obscure parents, i n the same obscure village, with his eloquent and elevated coun tryman and friend, John Philpot Curran. The fact o f his origin we have from authorities, perhaps less equivocal than Rouge Dragon, o r Clarencieur; namely, the information o f those who knew him from his boyhood t o his apotheosis. Barry Yelverton was born o n the 28th May, 1736, i n the village o f Newmarket, i n the county o f Cork, and province o f Munster; a province, b y the way, more eminent for scholarship, natural genius, and i t s eminent success, than either o f the other three. His parentage was very obscure and poorly circumstanced. He was born some years before Mr. Curran, and had long preceded him a s a pupil a t the same village school. Education was extremely cheap i n those days. Classical instruction might b e had a t any o f the very numerous hedge-schools i n the province, a t a crown per quarter; and though the languages o f Rome I