Carson daily appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1873-1877, 1876-03-18

| To grAndly triumph or most nobly fall,
On. surely In the glorious days 10 be
| You'll strike . trenchant blow for liberty.
| Again dash forward with heroic joy
| And sweep the bloody nsld like Fonsenoy.
The orator of the evening. Hon.
Thomas Fitch, being introduced, deliv.
cred the following
| When the COMMITTEES having in
charge the arrangements for this as
semblage, invited me to address It,
| answered with becoming modesty,
that not having been born in Ireland,
was not properly eligible for the
honor Your chairman replied that
my failure in that respect was my
misfortune and not my fault, and the
committee had therefore consented for
| this once to overlook it.
scented to accept the honor of address
ing you, and then the trouble COM
menced, for was At loss for topic.
/ am unlearned in priesIly lore,
know very little about saints, and q
theme prolific Of interest in other
hands would be most barren in mine.
The meager accounts Of st. Patrick
supplied by the cyclopedias, failed to
furnish me with matter for continuous
discourse, although they did supply
me with additional justification for
speaking at all. For when i exam-
ined the authorities l found that al
though they were divided As to
whether St. Patrick was born in Corn
wall, or Brittany, or Scotland, all
agreed that he WAS no more of an
Irishman than i am.
But what of that: Every Irishman
loves his native land-whetber he was
born there or not, and he 10 not the
worse citizen of his adopted country
because of the heart beat which quick
ems at the thought of the old sod. l
defy auy man, OF whatever nationality.
to visit Ireland and ever again feel
disposition to ridicule the patriotic
ardor of Irishmea, for theirs is surely
the fairest land that ever was kissed
by the sunshine and nursed by the
showers. l know that on Sabbath
morning in April three years ago,
when l jeurneyed from Queenstown
to Cork, the fields, green with soft
bright emerald greenness, that have
never seen before or since, stretched
away on either hand. Each roadside
bank was crowned and redolent with
clustering primroses, distilling soft
sweet perfumes, and waving their
bright yellow plumes. The cottages
were crowned to their thatches with
climbing vines, and from the left of
the road there floated the music Of
soft mellow bells,
Those bell. Of sh.adoa
That grand
The sniIiDs waters Of the Rive: Lee
Tonight my thoughts journey with
yours across the mountains and the
main. beyond the desert and the seas,
six thousand miles TO the Sentinel
Rocks-with plumes OF purple and feet
of foam-which guard the western
confines of Erin. The Professionalism
of many generations of Connecticut
ancestors runs in my veins, and 30 far
rs know no forefathers of mine ever
fished in tho Cove of Cork, or watched
the cats OF Kilkenny while they break
tasted upon each other; but | was
filled with emotion when my feet for
the first time pressed the soil of that
beautiful island, which has been glori-
fed by the achievements of its heroes.
and sanctifisd by the blood Of its
martyrs that island from whence We
have gathered 20 much OF the progress,
the glory, and tho power OF the
Republic.
And why should an American not
be thrilled with enthusiasm at APP
preaching one of the dearest and most
attractive Of the cradles of his race ?
The soldiers and statesmen, the ora
tors and poets, the authors and scien-
lists of Erin are ours as well. Ours is
the memory of every blood-stained
field where IRISH v2lor sounded the
slogans of victory. Ours are the yet
breathing words of Burke, and Cur
ran. and Erskins, and O'Connell. The
names of the Irishmen who barred their
breasts to the iron hail of battle that
their adopted land might live, are
burning in the sky Of our history like
fixed stars. and the monuments OF
Irish industry and progress are dis
covered wherever a locomotive shrieks
its triumph over anihilated space, or
turbine rattles the chorus of labor.
Now / do not wish it to be believed
that in the progress Of my trip through |
Ireland / climbed over the parapet Of
Cormack McCarthy's Castle, and en- |
braced the celebrated boulder
That whoever Kisses
Oh he never missss
To grow eloquent.
It's be may chamber
To q lAdy's chamber.
become member
o: Parliament
spouser
He'll sure turn out Or
out and outer
To be 10. alone.
Or bewiider him.
For he's pilgrim