Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1854-01-28
From Mitehclfs Citizen.
Irish Orators Five n ough Sketches
~ THOMAS FRANCIS NEAGn


of n grey eagle-that J. Henry sratfan.
What Of himl lie bud great caase II great
! opportunity great genius. The independence
of ireland. the cause. The embarrassment oil
England with her colonies the opportunity. p
| With the magnitude of bath his genius was com
mensurate. lie was equal to his friends-as be
himself said Of his rival, Harry Flood-and more
than equal to his enemies.
] When he spoke. the intirmties and deformities
If the man disappeared IN blaze OF glory Ills
elequence was mere than human. "lt was com
/ binaiian Of cloud, whirlwind, and hnme.' Moth
/ ing could resist it--notbing could approach 1t
/ II conquered all or distauced all Like the Arch
] angel of Raphael, it was W nged "a well as arm
/ ed.
His intellect WIS most noblc-hs heart was
not less diviney moulded. N.yer did 50 much
gentleness, 50 much benigniiy, much sweet
ness, 80 much courage. 80 much force, unite be
fore in one poor frame.
The brightest event of Irish histor y,s the great
event of that great mans life. If the brightest
let us refer it to his genius, his spirit, his anbi
ton. "Iic never would be satisfied long
the mennest cottager in ireland had link of he
British chain clankng to his rags" Thus he
spoke moving the Declaration Of Independence.
The last time he appeared in the Irish Parlia-
ment was at midnight. lie had come from his
siek-bed. They gave him leave to- sit whilst he
addressed the House. Men behed before their
he, with the rising fortunes of my oountry-l
willing 10 die with her expiring libertes.p
Had Henry Grattan been at that hour inspired
with the repubIioanism of " olfe Tone, his char
aoter and glory would have been complete !.
There is dark dwarfish figure-with a brown
rugged cheek, short Hat nose, upturned.
earnest face, an eye swimming in black lustre,
hands upon the lips, the awkward body, swinging
To and fro,l 1okng as though il were convulsed-
that is john philpot Curran
Who, knowing anything Of ireland, has not
heard of Lin! Who. having read the story of
her wrongs and martyrdoms, has failed to love
that loving, gallant, glowing nature Who, mt
all familiar with the marked features of his time,
will refuse to him an exalted station and the most
generous homage!
In period conspicuous for its wit,his was the
brightest wit of all. At time when the most
eNubcrant hospitality prevailed, his was the most
genial nature that flowed and spnrkled at the
ea board In IA crowded school of orators, each
one of whom was prominent and towering, he
stood, il not the foremost, second only to the
foremost.
When corruption was let loose, he stood unpur-
chaseahe and iny.olate. In reign Of terror, he
dauntless and inyincbc. "Y"u may muir
der" he exclaimed one day to the armed rufiians
in the court house. who threatened him with their
bayoncts, ''but you cannot intimi late"
In the midst of devastation, he was guardian
spirit and an immortal saviour From the begin
nmg 10 the end, he chung to the fortunes of his
60 utry-gavc To her his love, his labor, his
thoughts, his gaicty. his sorrow, the inspiration
Of his courage, the leXhilarating warmth and
splrndor of his gcnius-guvc them all to her in
the fullest measure.
Closing our hands in prayer, and bending in
reverence beside his tomb, one regret alone may
escape our lips in the contemplation OF his career
hat he al mot ,b la II, IA,
save
On "A broken ledge of granite, against which
the green waves of the sea seem to have worked
for many a long day, and in the shadow Of a
mountain elnd IN purple heath, aud over which
the INST y pH~sing, there stands, as though IT
grew ont of it, n massive ligure--nlms folded,
stoutly limbcd, brond- shoudcred, deep chested,
erect, well set staunch, massive the granite
small head, small grey twinkling eyes flexible
small lips, features suifused with humor, yet, un-
der the laughing surface, betraymg lurking sa-
gacity and purpose, aud "A consciousness of power
it is O'Conne,
Why say more He himself uttered these
words one day, in the spring of lsI3:
~ find that my humbie name has penetrated
and become familiar along the Carpathidn noun
tains, dnd I reriiy beiiepe The 1utocrdt Of Rus
sia has heard Of him who noe addresses you.-
Portugal has heard ofH Spain has ftH IL. II
has been talked Of in The mountains Of Hungary.
coupled NTH il, the moes Of ireland were heard
IF from the sources Of The Missouri. From the
ieaters Of the Ohio, from The SummifS Of The IL
ifgh0nies, and the ,cooded banks Of the Nonon-
gaheta-in erery part Of that rast continent,
from n ? forest Of he Canddds to The mordSSes
near Nec Orleans wih my rdme is mingled the
cry for the restoration Of the liberties Of Ire
/ tdRd.a
The utterance of these words no fictitious
ostcntation. His own Importance he did not ex-
aggcratc None viii dispute it. Ills btterest
enemies admit it. The celebrity of his name was
measured by seas and continents
His power within the country of his birth was
equal 10 his notorety abroad. No man. at any
time, in any country, was endowed with greater.
His was the only Legitimate kngship in Europe.
! Hhe had not drilled regiments he had an impet-
nous and oycrpowering people at his back. II
not the master of the ordnance. he was ruler of
the avalancc. Ii would have come, had he breath
ed syllable. \ stroke of the eagles wing, they
say, will dslodge il from the Alps.
Why say more Is it necessary To Justify
these words (! his estimate of that mans pow
er This assertion of his absolute capacity
a very eminent critic, writing in the French
tongue-writimg of Mirabeau, Dante Guizot,
Theirs, Lamartine-las said this concerning
him:
"O'Conne has been likent unto nemosthenes.
o'Connell uses simple phrases and simple con
| structions. Herein the two are both alike But
oConnell has pathos unknown to the Greek
| Demosthencs is the statelier-0 Conn ell the more
varied. The Athenian often made men pale with
terror, or silent with deliberate fury. OConnell
oftener made them laughand shout, and love him,
and go along with him and with his cause"
Nothing within the range of human ca,acty,