The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1868-03-21
T III To - y IT NJ TatFI
ST. PATRICK'S DAY. ~
WHY tiie Irish Wear the Shamrock on the
18th Day Of March.

with the present, and SO forgetful of the past
when, III fact, they deny their Indebtedness for
any of these gifts of which perchance, they may
DC in possession. to Those generations who played
their part, rs We are now playing, the stage
OF life and whose ashes mouldered into dust,
but whose deeds are inperishaLly recorded on
the page Of history in such days, say it is not
easy to attract the mind backward to those dis
tant ages, in order to review the lives of any of
those men-however great or heroic their deeds
which they produce Yet, such is my task on
this occasion. | glory in my connection with
the past. L am as inseperably connected with
the past stream is with its source, or q
branch of a tree with its parent stem. All, are
we not indebted for whatever intelligence, for
whatever knowledge We possess. to the past
What stimulates to the performance of noble
deeds, but the recollection of the heroic actions
OF our ancestors! Draw vail between YOU and
the past, and your intellectual resources will dry
up, like stream cut off from its source wither,
like u branch lspped off from its parent stem.
But do not mean, on this occasion, TO intro
ducc the name of Scipio or an Alexander,
Seneca or an Aristotle. The hero Of my theme is
OF different order of men. He never drew
sword in battle, like the former, nor promulgat-
ed that wicked philosophy which consigned help
less humanity to the ditch, like the latter. No.
His sword was the spirit of God; his philosophy
a caring love of mankind, and particularly OF
" the poor and helpless. Let travel backward
for fifteen centuries Neither the Goth nor the
Nandal, the Saxon nor the Dane, has yet appear
ed on the battle.felds Of Europe, yet Europe is
in chains. The eagles of Rome float on the
breeze of almost every European nation. OF all
the civilized nations there Is but one which has
not bowed beneath the Roman yoke. That ma
ton is Ireland. Unlike now. dropping and re-
pining as she is, and clothed in the solemn gar
ments of her widowhood, she was then full of
life and yigor, dressed in her bridal robes, with
beauty and majesty on her brow, the crowned
mistress of the Atlantic, the last stronghold of
the liberty of the world. Niall-Niall of the
nine hostages-is seated on the throne of his an
cestors. Is he, the direct descendant of Milisus
and Scotia, the true children of the Gadalien the
promised-thc descendants Of the Pharohs and
the Phenes-is he, i'll whose veins courses the
blood of hundred kings to look on with folded
arms whilst the cry of oppression from Gaul,
from Britain, and his own kindred, the Scots, is
borne on every breeze TO the shores Of Erin or
is he afraid TO meet in battle array these alcon-
quering legions of Rome BY the soul of Her
cmoH, he is not afraid of these mighty legions Of
Rome. So, calling together his knights Of tho
Red Branch" his "kerns" and "gallowgl glasses"
he cmbarks in his "currsghs' crosses the Irish
channel lands on the coast of Britain. and drives
before him the legiens of Rome like chaff before
the wind. He crosses over 10 Gaul, and breaks
forever the chains of slavery there. Like his
lightning struck to the earth, at the foot of the
Alps, in full pursuit of the flying legions of
Rome, no chased his foe far beyond the borders
of France. But alas, for the conquering heroes
of Erin! Whilst his sword is yet crimson with
the blood of the foe, as he reposes in his tent on
the banks Of the Loire, he is stabbed to death by
the hand Of an assassin. Slowly and mornfully
the warriors of Erin return to their fleets. They
were conquerors, but they were sad, for their
chief was slain.
But, though they knew it not, they more
than compensated for the loss of their king, for
among their captives, whom they carried with
them to their own country, there was youth Of
noble men and preposssssing appearance whs was
one day to bestow unspeakable blessings on that
country, and on the Scoto-Milesian race, to the
remotest generations. F~
Reader, thou anticipates me; thou knowcst
that this youth WAS Patrick, the future apostle
Of Ireland. the patron saint of the Irish race.
lie became the property of Milcho-Mae-Henan
petty prince of the north. Here, at the foot of
Slievniss, for seven long years, he herded swine
for his master. But Patrick gift of Provi-
dence, an instrument by which great things
to be accomplished among men.
As he slept on the mountain, an angel warned
him to fly to his own country. He obeyed.
Again he had dream. On this occasion he saw
man approaching il he Were coming from
Ireland, holding in his hand bundle of letters,
one Of which was addressed TO him, and which
contained these words: "Oh, come reside among
Us, o holy youth" Then he awoke. From that
day forth he knew he was to be the apostle Of
the land of his captivity. All, what future
revealed to him then Seven years resi-
dence enabled him not only to know the Ian.
guage, but the history convinced him that that
people were not only foremost among the nations
in the arts of war, but foremost in the arts Of
peace. He knew, by perusing the laws of Olamh
Fodhlah, the chronicles of Cermac Ulfadtha, and
the poetry of OsSian that the latter were cult
waited to a much greater extent if that were pos
sible, than the former. This knowledge was
fresh in his memory He knew, to be the sue.
cessful apostle of such people, he must not
only master sacred, but profane learning, to the
utmost extent of his capacity. This was no easy
matter, as printing was yet unknown among the
children of men. But he had no fears of failure.
For thirty years, in the schools of France and
Italy, especially of Rome, he pursued his studies
in the various branches of sacred and profane
learning which they afforded. And his day at
length arrived. Having been ordained priest
for many years, he was at length, through the
inhenoe of his uncle. st. Martin, bishop ofTeurs,
raised to the high dignity of bishop apostolic to
tho Irish nation. He loses not day now in
preparation He sets out Mt once for Ireland.
He arrives just on the eve of the great triennial
assembly of the nation, before Tara, the seat of
monarchy, and place of assembly. The hdelfre
was brightly burning as he, that evening, tired
with travel, pitched his tent by the svery waters
of the Boyne. Everything was as he wished it.
Here were gathered, within short mile Of
where he stood, all that was great and noble and
learned in the land. How his heart must have
throbbcd with joy at the intelligencc But how