He saw with consternation;
And back to hell his way did take,
For the Devil thought by a slight mistake
It was a general conflagration.
SYDNEY SMITH.
(1771-1845.)
[LV.] THE LETTERS OF PETER PLYMLEY—ON "NO POPERY".
In 1807 the Letters of Peter Plymley to his brother Abraham on the subject of the Irish Catholics were published. "The letters", as Professor Henry Morley says, "fell like sparks on a heap of gunpowder. All London, and soon all England, were alive to the sound reason recommended by a lively wit." The example of his satiric force and sarcastic ratiocination cited below is the Second Letter in the Series.
DEAR ABRAHAM,