The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1872-01-13
C0ENUN5CATF0ES.
JoHNsTowE, Jan. c, 1872.

OOAiNNS4if' q, JAM y, lct-
I Q !!e A9ltor 21 the Cambria Freeman:
>; dear 5IR-I have neither time nor inc!fna-
of brogue, but l think am justified in reniyine-
70 20 @ air. Gondon,s letter which appears in Your
Ppit PapGir OF inns date. Mr.. Z. denies having said
RidShte, but admits that he did say prGste. I
distinctly understood the former, but now tha +
ne pleads guilty to having said pYdSte, / tell him
that neither he or "any other man" erCr heard
an lrishnan pronounce priest i,rdstc, Judge"
ytdgc, street Strdte, etc. I challenge him, or
irishman who pronounces these words q Ia Con-
don. 1 have eonversed, in Irish and English,
nave never yet heard ono of them say "a dSte.
ANY OF US who use the brOJtte always pronounce
nounce ''EA'' as We would a" as in bute Gte
t1i, crane, etc. But who ever heard us say
viii flourish in the affirmative ana retort: .
aver that have heard the Irish say so.''
we should CoHdOn(e) rather THAI condemn
man who calls Samuel Lover the author of
Shamus O'Brien.'' maa who Pretonds to
Know al about our ''pronounCing pCculiarities"
ought 10 know of his own knowledge the name
OF the author of poem he attempts TO rGcite
ana not depend on secondhand information.
'Shamus o Brien' was written by Sheridan
Lef&uu, a near relative of Richard Briusey
Sheridan, The great Irish orator, Wit and dr;tmt-
Mr.. c. quotes some sixteen lines or the poem
and itaiciZes tho bIOgl!e, but why did lie not add
the following?
An the PRIEST, hevin' blest him, went down
An shamus OBrien throws one last look
But the good PRIEST done more, for his hands
An with one daring spring Jim leaps to the
ground"
Now he cannot get over the fact that priest
is spelled in the original just as I give it, Why
then did he say pIaSje, which was not IN the
book he Rcld in ms hCHd. hlr. c. proves by his
own reasoning that be knows no moro about
Irish brCgNc than he does about Sanscrit when
he says that 'ali such words as remark, ark
heart cart, etc mast be read with the BlOgC."
He deserves to be presented with a pair of we'll
creased ''brOgueS" for this astounding diScOy-
cry! If he bTOp1t6 the above words for me
| pledge him my honor that | will edt g whole
HtSh or bTOgttcs, thorns ana eli, II he.Wl5i Gniy
pay for them. The haokncyed phrase of play
wisappiied when it is used to give emphasis 10
the assertion tEat "Shamus O'Bricn' cannot be
recited without the bI0g1e. j can be rccited,
and recited well, without it. ! claim to know
little about recitation, especially OF Irish pieces.
and confidently assert that ''Shamus O'Brien"
should not be reCited except by one who could
give il all that vim, pathOs, dash and declana-
ton which it requires, and hot by those who
would stand, stGtUe-ikc, and drawI forth, in q
out in 4 clear, rich, round dcciaulatory voice
The fact Is, there is not one American in ten
thousand who can initiate the much ridiculcd,
but not half understood, Irish brOgue. II the
professor who indited the Institute proceedings
for the Democrat and Echo had only heard the
public verdict in and out of the Ebensburg
Court House, in regard TO tho recital OF "3hN-
mus O'Ilrien,'' he might have been somewhat
more modest in his laudations of Mr. C.'s style
OF reading. It sufficient to call forth the
ghost Of poor Jim" TO request all amateur
readers 10 let bin rest in peace, and not to be
I had no personal motives in crjticiZing Ar.
C.'s reading, as 1 mover spoke TO that GeutiCulNn
in my life. sun I will never, 50 long as can
use tongue or peH- listen TO any one bringing
Fidicule, Intentional or otherwise, on tho irish
people without showing him he cannot Go SO
with inpunity. This viii suffice for an answer
to Hr. {. and 10 the uameieSs ones in the DCn-
ucr2t and Echo; also to Justice" in the Herald.
As FOR. Justice he must be like the goddess
OF that uame-hIiId: otherwise ne would not
| write in such a dark style as he does.
Yours, truly, II. Z. NJ