New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1885-04-12
THE FRESHMAN.
HIS REsEMBLANCEs AND HIS DIFFERENCES
JUSTIN MCCARTHY DESCRIBES THE CIARACTEKIS.
TICS OF HIS COMMUNICATIVE DEEPLY
MARKED UNLIRENEss OF CELT AND SAXON.


TICS OF Ills COMMUNICATIVE DEEPLY
MARKED UNLIKESEss OF cELr AND SAXON.
Copyright 1885.
Any one who has travelled In Europe. and who
has eye for observing anything. must have
noticed the striking resemblance, in appearance
and in manners. which exists between tho Irish
Celts and what we call the Latin populations Of the
european continent. Going into q church In almost
any part of Southern France, or Italy. or Spain,
one might easily imagine himself looking at 90
Irish congregation in Kerry Connemara. There
is. of course. difference in dress between the
Irish peasant aud the Spanish. the Italian.
peasant but apart from that. peasant faces in Q
Galway crowd at prayer, and tho peasant faces ia
the cathe lral ut Burgos, might ba sail to belong
on the whole, to tho same type ORDER All the
ways of the Irish p,Ople seem to to be the ways
of population that ought properly to belong to
warm Southern country The very manner in
which the poorer of the paasantry live with some
thing like q sense of personal comfort lin their
darksome cottag 3, seems like survival Of the
habit which necessity and climate impose on the
populations of hot countries the habit Of seeking
protection from blazing within the shelter Of
dark aud solid walls. / am not anything of an
ethnologst, and not able in any satisfactory
way trace the connection between tbs Celtic and
the Latin populations; but most asslredy their
thing like close affinity.
The love Of the Irish peasant for music is q love
which he shares with tEe peasantry of all Southern
people IN Europe. That love still lives in the Irish
man. and no National League meeting ever
assemblies in the open air without its bands to play
it ill.," 1t may be said that TIE Irish peas mt drinks
whsScy, while the Italian aud the Spanish peasants
hardly drink thing strong even AS wine.
But to this it has to be answered that the Irish
peasant, although apparently destined for warm.
dry and sunny climate, lives in island sur
rounded, as Dsrael said. "by melancholy ocean,"
aud liable during great part OF the year to con-
tnuous mist and to soaking rain. Moreover. there
cannot be greater mistake than to suppose that
the ordinary Irish peasant is much of whiskey
drinker. Poor fellow. were his inclinatons ia that
way never strong, he would not have much
chance of gratifying them very often The poorer
Irish laborcr has glass of whiskey now and thcn
as treat at rare intervals. The Roman Catholic
| Archbishop of Cashel, man who knows his
| countrymen thoroughly, was speaking the other
day to IN English interviewer about the supposed
| drinking habits of the Irish peasant. lie explained
to his listener the condition of things very much as
| am explaining it now. The Irish lsborcr. accord
| ing to the Archbishop may perhaps have. on an
average. glass of whisi1ey in a week. but not
more. He has not the money to pay for much
|
preston that IAN Irish peasant in warmer and
dryer climate would soon become Indifferent to
| alcoholic drinks Spapiard or an Italian. The
love of the dance another sentiment which, even
still in all his troubles, the Irish peasant shares
| with the Spaniari and the Italian ANY one who
looks at Titan's glorious picture of the Assmpto
at the School of Art in Venice. will shat the face
of the Madonna, with all its yearning beauty aud
the anticipated majesty of the opening. Heaven on
it, is only the gorcd face of ide al irish peasant
girl.
1t is curious on tho other hand. to observe how
strikingIy unlike the Irish Cet is even still to the
English Saxon. with whom he has lived in enforced
companonship for more than 100 years. II is
hardly too much to.say that nothing IN Ireland Is
like any thing in England. National cLarac teristcs
of course. arc somewhat hard to define with any
safe attempt Mt dogma. | have known Germans
who hated smoking (by the way, We must remember
that tho greatest OF all Germans, Goethe, detested
tobacco IN every fOrml some OF tue most generous
and free-handcl men ever met were ScOtchmen;
aud am acquainted with Irishmen who hate tho
bare idea of getting into q row. Still there are
certain broad aud deepy-narkei differences which
cannot be got over. and the reality of which any
number of exceptional cases will not really Affect.
Tho English peasant. for example, is in most ways
q more practical, that is To say. moro IN aterial
person, than his Irish compecr He las less I'M
aginati0n He does not live, ~ al IRISH peasant
does, in continuous companionship with what
may call the spiritual world. lt IS almost i'm
possible TO imagine an lIish peasant becoming
materalist in matters of faith. For him still the
ghost and the fairy and the banshce are. in the air,
aud on the earth, rs they were the days before
railways and the electric light Ask an English
peasant in of the southern counties the of
u river near his cottage, and he probably cannot
give you an answer. Ii has not occurred 10 him to
think whether the river had or had not name.
Ask such question of an Irish peasant IN his Gwn
regions. and he will probably tell you not only the
name Of the river. but half score of legends about
10.
of course it Is only in country places that LITER
ences marked as these are found to- exist and to
en- ure. When populations get mixed together in
be considerably diminished, though not altogether
etiaced In New. York the Irish working population
are probably brought ptG
London Irish, we call them. are with tie English
residents OF the quarter In which they live. Rut
even in NewYo the rishman retains still most of
his national peculiarities. although some Of them
are melting and blending into those OF the popula-
ton round HIM. There is coming into Development
describe as the hAmerican. This person is Irish
in his eyes, Irish in hts mouth and lips. Irish in the
expression of his face, Irish IN his national molina
tions and Irish in his temper. But he is getting to
have all the straight wei set alert, ready appear
ancc of tho American; he has the brisk. keen ways
will probably become more American, even though
remaining always h-Ame'can. or at least
AmerIcan-Irish. l do not, see any type of man
coming up whom | could call in tho same sense tie
London Irshmau, the Englsh-lrshman. Even
where by generations OF settlement in England
family has lost all trace of Irish accent AMI indeed.
has acquired most Enthusiastically the accent of the
cockney. the appearance aud the ways of the Irish
man remain just the same. know people in the
East End of London. Irish by extraction. intensely
Irish in feeling. who habitually associate only with
freshmen. and who yet spelk III accents which ara
cockney Of the cockney. Very strange is to hear
such lads aud asses sometimes joining in the
chorns of "God Save Ireland" or some other Irish
national song. with the nnmstakabe pronnnc,a-
ton and tone of East London. In the same way,
M at Newcastle in the English North Country:
have heard men of Irish descent pouring forth tho
most intensely Irish aspirations in thorough North
umbrian dialect
But these men do not become English in appear
anco or in habits whatever may be the case Win
their accent The Saxon and the Celt seem 10 be
always kept asunder by some curious natural law.