Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1854-03-24
rh,r,,aa nevin Reilly

This week, strong. wild. fiery spirit has leit
tho Garth and gone to his home. Thomas Dtvln
| Reilly has died suddenly at Washington: vi All
| Irish rebels he WIS the boldest-of Oil lrish tx
| lies, the most active. indefatigable, relentless
| the wrongs Of his native land had taken entire
aassossion Of his soul the dark and bood-stain-
ed image Of English power haunted him hke an
| evil demon his master passion was love OF ire
land-his religion was hatred of England whose
exacratad dominion he held TO be not only the
greatest but almost the sole evil thing III crea-
fon.
And England has lost an inyeterate foe we
generous, cordial. unselfsh friend. lie was one
of those impetuous, kindly, exaggeratise, proud
and humble, fierce and gentle natures, that the
Irish soil and climate only know how to produce
blent together in man. In person, ana III
many points of character, he was like that other
wayward Irishman. Oliver Goldsmith so Ike III
person that some of the Illustrations IN roster
life OF Goldsmith seem inten led Tor him. But
he was a far stronger man than Goldsmith, ana
had more height and depth and true poetry IN his
soul. Thus he saw, with far other thoughts the
.'deserted villages of Ireland. The sight of
them scared his eye-balls and burned his heart;
and so instead of pastoral poetry and sentlmen-
tai regrets over the victims of Britains inscru-
table dispensations. he made the island echo with
passionate maledietion against the Oppressor,
loud as the voice of the Accusing Angel, elo-
quent ana scornful as the uendhcfs oi oouid
Prometheus.
In vain, the dispensations of British Provi-
deuce prevailed for that time and, even since,
Reilly has gnawe1 his heart in exile-eXile as
penat TO him as if he had gone with his friends
to Australia, for his soul dweIt in Ireland.
In fact he never forgave his friend John Mar
tin with whom he was associated IN the Irish
Felon) for taking precedence Ufhim in the honor
of convict by London law. Mr.. Martin was
proprietor and editor, however, and stood upon
his right when the generous dispute went so
far that friends were appointed To arbtrate be-
tween them, and poor Reilly pleaded before them
with flushed face and flashing eyes, that it was
his tight and privilege to be transported next
They decided against him and before he could
take bis place ON the list, the Habeas Corpus
Act was suspended. He could no longer launch
his treasons from Trinity street ; and the at
tempted insnrreetion failed, and, after ranging
half frnnticaly over 1ipperary, he betook him
self in disguise to America, to weave again the
broken meshes of our sacred rebellion.
Perhaps if he had lived one other year he might
have had the opportunity that his soul craved
aud lusted after. But may he rest in peace and
may his memory be green and fragrant in the
Irish heart forever !
Mr.. Relly's literary performances were varied
both in style and subject and seldom acknow-
lodged, as is usually the case with contributors
to periodicals. But his adventures and vicissi-
tudes, both literary and personal, and the gal
lant spirit that he held so high through them all,
make him character of whom his eountrymen
will desire to know more.--Mitchefs Citizen.