The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1881-11-21

even were there place for him to dance in.
And, as for jollity, man with land agent
watching him like hawk to see how much he
is improving his land with the charitable in
tent OF raising his rent If by any possibility he
can screw it out OF him, is not in the mood TO
laugh, 81 1g dance or "hurroo" One might as
well think OF laughing at funeral. Ireland
is ona perpetual funeral. The CHASTITY process
sion is constantly passing
There is unquestionaby vast fund OF hu-
NOR in the Irishman, which would be delight
full could it have proper vent. You hear faint
tones of 1t as it is; but it is in the minor key
and very sad. 1t always has flavor OF rack
rent in it, a taste Of starvation, suggestion OF
eviction. and death by cold and hunger on the
roadside. It isn't cheerful / had much rath-
er have the Irishmen silent than to hear this
remnant OF jocularity which is always streaked
with blood.
THE IRISH GIRL
is always comely, and properly clothed and
fed, would be beautiful. Still she is comely.
Irish andlordism has not been sufficient to
destroy her beauty, though it has done its best.
But she has no gown of wooden stuff; cotton
slip without Underclothing Of any kind makes
up her costume. The comfortable stockings
and stout shoes, and the red kerchief about
her neck are SO many libels upon Irish land
lordism. Were My Lords agent to see such
clothing upon girl. he would Immediately
raise the rent upon her father and confscate
those clothes. And he would keep on raising
In0 rent Jlll l0 was certain b03b BQOeS ana
stockings would be forever impossible. Nei-
ther does she dance Pat down at rustic balls,
for most excellent reason: there are no balls;
and, besides, when she has cut and dried
donkey-load of peat, and walked beside that
donkey barefooted 10 the cold mud twelve
miles and back again, and sold that peat for
sixpence, she is not very much in the humor
for dancing down any one. On the contrary,
she is mighty glad to get into her wretched
bed of dried leaves and pull over her the pota-
TO sack which constitutes her sole covering,
and, soothed to sleep by the gruntings of the
pigs in the wretchsd cabin, forget landlords
and rent, and go off into the land Of happiness.
which to her is America. She finds in sleep
surcease of sorrow; and besides, 1t refresnes
her TO the degree of walking barefooted through
the mud twenty-four miles on the morrow to
sell another load OF peat for sixpenee. that she
may pay more money to My Lord. whose town
house in London aud whose mistresses in Paris
require great deal of money. Champagne
and the delicaces OF the season are always ex-
pensve; and My Lords appetite aud the appe-
tite of his wife and mistresses, and children,
legitimate and illegitimate, are delicate.
Clearly Katy is In no humor for dancing She
has her share to contribute TO all these objects
And so she eats her meal Of potatoes or stira-
bout (she never has both at once) and goes into
sleep and dreams.
AS TO THE PRIEST,
there never was wilder delusion than exists
in the minds of the American people concern
ing him. was at the houses, or rather lodg-
ings of great many of them, but one example
will suffice
Halfway between Kanmare and Killarney.
in wild, desolate country, lives one of these
parish-priests, who are supposed to inhabit
luxurious houses, and to live gorgeously. and
to be perpetually singing "The t'ruiskeen
Lawn" with pipe in one Land and glass of
poteen ia the other.
He is magnificent man. In face and figure
he is the exact picture of the lamented Salmon
P, Chase, one of the greatest of Americans;
and venture the assertion that, had he adop-
ted any other profession and come to America,
where ge niuS and intelect mean something
and whore great ability finds great rewards, he
would have been one of the most eminent OF
men. A man of great learning, of wonderful
intuitions, of cool, clear judgment, of grest
nerve and unbounded heart, he would, were
ne to come to America and drop his priestly
robes, be President of a great railroad corpor-
alton, or Senator, or anything else he chose TO
be. But what is he in ireland? His apart
ments comprise bedroom just large enough to
hold very poor bed, and study, in a better
class farmhouse for which he pays rent tho
same as everybody else does. His floor is un-
carpeted, and the entire furniture of his rooms,
leaving out his library, would not invoice $40.
His parish is one of the widest and bleakesL in
Ireland, and is twenty-five miles long and
eighteen wide.
Now understand that this man is the lawyer,
the friend, the guide and director in temporal
as we'll as spiritual matters, of the entire popu-
stion of this district. If husband and wife
quarrel, it is his duty to hear and decide. II
tenant gets into trouble with his landlord he
is the go-between TO arrange IL. In short,
every trouble, great and small, in the parish Is
referred to him, and he must act He Is their
lawyer as well as their priest. He is their ev-
erything, He supplies TO them the intelligence
that the most Internal Government on earth
has denied them.
But this is q small part of his duties. He
has TO conduct services at all the chapes in this
stretch of country. He has to watch over the
morals OF all the people. But this Is not all.
No matter at what hour OF night, no matter
what is the condition of the weather, the sum-
mons to the bedside OF q dying man to admins
ter the last sacraments Of the Church must be
obeyed. 1t may be that to do this requires
ride On horseback of twenty miles in blind
ing storm, but it must be done. Every child
must be christened, every deathbed must be
soothed, every sorrow mitigsted by the only
comfort this suffering people have-the faith
in their Church
What do you suppose this magnificent man
gets for all this? The largest income he ever
received in his life was 9100, which, reduced to
American money, amounts to exactly S484.
And out of this he has to pay his rent, his
food, his clothing, the keeping OF his horse;
and all that remains goes in charity TO the
suffering sick-every cent OF IT,
When the father dies, his nephews and
nieces will not lind very good picking from
what is left, 1 assure you.
"Why do you" asked, ga man capable Of
doing so much in the world, stay and do this
enormous work for nothing?"
Il was called to it, was the answer what
would these poor people do without me?"
Thai was ALL Here is y man capable of
anything, who deliberately sacrifices a career,
sacrifices comfort, sacrifices the life he was
fitted for, sinks his identity, foregoes fame,
everything, for the sake of
uffering peoplel
Il was c4iled to it; what would these poor
people do withous me?"
/ am a very vigorous Protestant, and have
no especial love for the Catholic Church; but
shall esteem myself especially fortunate If
can make a record in this world that will give
me place in the next within guushot Of
where this man will be placed. I'M not capa-
BILE of making the sacrifices for my fellows
that he is doing-I wish to Heaven was.
found by actual demonstration why the Irish
so love their priests They would be in still
worse way, if possible, without them.