The mountain sentinel. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1844-1853, 1853-03-10
EEAGHER'S LECTURE.
'Henry Gratta nd he Irish Vol 1unt
OF ,S2."

Mr.. Meagher was received in the wnrmest
| manner, mt the Musical Fund Hall, Philadei-
phia. The audience was large, and among those
IN attendance were many of the most respect
table citizens. The applause ut times was tru-
y enthusiastic. The subject of the discourse
was Henry Grattan and the Irish Volunteers of
! 81. We have only room to notice few of the
prominent points. 1t was unnecessary, said
| Mr.. NJ, 70 say much concerning the birth of
Henry Grattan. He was not one of the petty
> princes of the earth, whose nobility depended
upon the cradle in which they rocked. The
! true king-the legitimate ruler-.poke only of
one ancestor. the land that bore him Was
proud or jealous only of one crest the flag she
stood by. Such Henry Grattan-
the worthiest branch of the old stock which,
deeply rooted in the Irish soil, has stood many
rude stroke, and is still firm and good. 1t
might, however, he some hat interesting to state
that his parentage furnished guarantees for the
genius and the courage which sustained him
throughout his high career-that is. if there be
any virtue in what they call blood and the
exceencies Of our nature-like an old CASTLE
stud of horses, or a suit of livery-are, i'll "A
family way, transmissibe. (Laughter)
He then gave brief outline of the early life
Of Grattnn. and of his residence in London.
Lord Chatham in the House of Lords.
and Grattan, writing to n friend OF his III Ire
land speaks in rapturous effusions of this great
EngIishman alludes 10 that ..scowl of his
which gave Sir Robert Walpole II pain the back
Loud laughter and then to that splendid ell
oquence which, even when its force abated.
''was like the spinning Of cannouball, alive
with fatal. unapproachahle activity" Ed
mund Burke was in the House of Commons and
Garrick. and Quin, and Mossop on the stage
with such temptations to lure him from the
somhre precincts of the Temple. it WAS
der he acquired dstaste for the legal profess
sion. lie hated it, in fact; and writing to his
fpInt a.
goons-avows this hatred in the fercest words.
His client should be n nation. The charter of
her freedom, the only brief from which he would
condescend To speak. His fee and recompense
the glory which the recognition of that charter,
upon himself and upon his client, would etern-
ally confer. Loud applause.
This the thought the purpose the ambi-
ton which filled his soul with the melody
and maaic of a holy vision. and gave to his
tongue so sublime an utterance Hence. he
shrank from the fashionable lounges of LOndon
Hence, those wanderings of his by night through
Windsor Forest, amid the oaks, the deer and
all those ,heauteous and luminous things of the
earth and sky-iu the land of the stranger the
master and the foe-within call of the towers on
which the English standard wayed-the young
Irish law student, night after night. grew pale
thinking of his country-Of what she was-of
what she might be-unti the glory of the ex-
painting vision descended on his features and
e.
And then again. in his own land by the clear,
brown current of the Liffey-through the groves
of Swift and Nanessa-was the same old theme
thought of and the old vision yet mere
deeply contemplated. Grattan took his seat in
the Irish Parliament about the time that George
Washington took the command of the American
army, under the elm tree the Cambridge
road. (Great applause The triumph of the
one has been reversed. The triumph of the lat
ter remains good, and Heaven grant it shall so
remain throughout all time. Enthusiastic APP
plause. His first vote WAS against the 900
Irish troops, with whom" as he exclaimea in
his philippe against Flood .'the English Minis
ter proposed to cut the throats of the Ameri-
cans fighting for their freedom-the only hope
of lreland-the only refuge for the liberties of
mankind"
After glancing at the condition of affairs in
Great Britain and Ireland. and at the course of
Grattan up to that time, Mr.. Meagher said
In the Spring Of 1882. Lord North was turn
ed out OF Office, amid loud cheers. The Wings
came in. Lord Shelbourne and Charles Fox
were appointed Secretaries of State, and the
prospects of England seemed to brighten up
these gentlemen moved off from 1.-The blank re-
gions of oppositi0n''-this WAS n saying of Sir
Robert Peel-and took their seats on the right
hand of the Speaker They were very happy
| of course, in the change. But a cloud soon
deadened the sunshine of their smiling faces
| Ireland was not down, but up. The beggar WAS
not in rags, but in uniform and crossbets.-
| [Cheers. He had Bill of Rights in one hand
and n musket in the other. TContinued cheers
! No longer scrawled his dutiiu submission upon
| foolscap. but cut a menace upon the preaching
! of his cannon. Immense applause The vol
unteers were 100000 strong, the Kings troops
| did not reach the figure of 5000. An English
regiment crossing Essex Bridge. halted to let a
regiment of volunteers pass on the latter COM
ing up the Quay, having levelled bayonets to
to dispute the pass.
] Fox saw clearly there was nothing to be done
| by force-the force all side this
! fine. and on the right for a wonder. lie thought
| it better to try little diplomacy. 'Tis always
! the way with that English Whggery.
When Samson is strong Delilah is instructed
| 10 inyeigle and reduce him. When Samson is
| slorn of his strength, the Philistines put out
his eyes, and send him to grind in the prison
| house.
Grattan loved Charlemont-loved him for the
| sweetness of his nature, the grace which all his
| actions wore, his spotless honor, and the order
| of his mind. He loved him tenderly and in
! tensey. that every word coming from 1.-The
| good and gracious nobleman. as he stvl.,d him.
| seldom failed to work upon his mind the most
| serious impression. Fox knew this, and sent
Lord Chariemont to Grattan. with request that
the Declaration of Rights should be held over
/ Tor short time.
| Grattan lay sick in bed when Cbarlemont
called upon him; his lank features were pal.
| with exhaustion.-hi bony fingers chilled tn.
hand of his friend and patron - he touched