Thomas mulock was born in Ireland in 1789; not in the north of Ireland, as has been stated, but in or near Dublin, his father having possessed a country house not far distant from that city. His father was an Irishman, and held the official position of comptroller of the stamp-office. His mother was of Swiss extraction, a Miss Hörner, granddaughter of the Burgomaster of Bale, a tall and stately lady, to whose mental qualities Mr Mulock was more probably indebted for his great natural abilities than to his father, who, however, was a man of good business habits, and of a fine genial temperament. Thomas Mulock was the second of twenty-two children born to this happy pair. When assembled round the family table, they formed so large a company that Mr Mulock was accustomed to compare them, jocularly, to a public meeting.