The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1879-11-30

ton OF a book, In the fashion OF the English
1 orators, containing his speeches. He was ut
| the head OF the Irish bar, as Erskine was at
the head Of the English bar, and the great
rivals were. through these printed books, long
| and actively kept Ia q state of chronic COM
| parlson Errors Of estimation were necessa-
rlly fallen into In thus comparing these great
popular lenders. The question over the pub
lshed speeches waR another question. They
cmsed to be presented In the controversy az
orators but rs writer's instead. Ersklne's
speeches were the laborious work Of his pen,
polished profound and elegant, fautless In
argument, pure In style; Curran, as thus pre-
sented, often efitangled his readors into n bed
OF shadowy metaphors md epithets OF purely
vtuperative vitality which, oven In the most
perfect passages, perhaps an eXordtum or
| peroratiun, had In the more reading
mono OF the power, aud gave no
| impression Of tho grandeur 81 the spoken
| speech Efskine was n profound scholar and
| jurist. and he Was more. he WIS writer of
| the higheBt attachments, OF classic tastes In
| STYLE OF Corlnthan beauty and strength. Cur
ran was mono OF thesc--he was an orator.
AS n lawyer he exceled only In tho accom-
plghment Of fatally croas-examuing wilt
nossea, In which ho was unrivaled. Beyond
that thoro was only and simply his oratory-
no tact, nor legal learning, and, least OF all,
the unvoicad af1iatus of tho cautious thinker
and writer It was that master power or
eloquence the glorious gift Of pouring into
speech the thoughts, rnpid and glowing with
feeling hot from the heurt-not In producing
word images Of these living forces and their
phenomena when they had passed out Of tho
realm OF sound, of burning speech, into the
domain OF cold art-that Curran was not
matched by Erskine nor by any Engllss, ora
tor. In that consisted the real issue, and
precedence In pen speeches was something
else.
Americans who recall Edward Everitt have
q moderately exact mental likeness Of Frs
kline But know OF no American orator who
can fill the vacant circle in the frame OF Cur
rams intellectual picture. There may be
some one who may compare with him In his
power OF invective, some other Ia tho trench
ant keenness Of bis wit u third in his moving
pathos: hardly one, however, In whom tho
sonorous might OF TINT timld treble Of q voice
could be traced In the fuIlness Of Its sweeping
flood; surely none impelled by the great
forces that moved his soul to Its lofty and
matchless assertion OF power over men and
circumstances, because the excttements the
influences, the materials, consisting OF the
national and Individual elements Of Irish
character, and OF the grand events of the
period in which he lived, must ever be want
ing.
hundred years-and Ireland yet lives,
but the cause In which Curran struggled and
for which Emmett died. remains to be won.
Tho popular ignorance which Is the child OF
Irelands oppression prevails, the cruelty
and insolence OF power beset her people, tho
m aster and tho cord still infest her cabins,
and tho jailer Ia yet In constant waiting.
Other struggles arc lost or won. Greece
holds her birthright In her hand, while Hun
gary and Poland are but echoes In the cor
ridors OF time. But Ireland only lircs-yet
her people everywhere, more hopefully and
not less eagerly than In the days OF Curran,
await the man and the hour.