Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1889-03-29
MiSCellame1Ms.
AN ELOQUENT GRAFTON.

AAN ASAO& " A1Av VAbh4 1OANs
The annual celebration of st. Pat
rick's Day was observed in New York
city by a dinner ut Dolmonco's on Sat
urday night, the 10th instant. Among
the large number of prominent gentle-
men present was Hon. John s. Wise,
of Virginia, who, in response to the
toast Ireland" made the following elo-
quent remarks:
"The first arms'that embodied mo in
infancy were strong, faithful Irish Drawn
and bone The first voice that greeted
my new arrival was favored with the
rich brogue of the North of Ireland
The lullabies of my childhood were those
which had sung to rest the babes Of
Londonderry. The spooks and sprites
and COLLINS of tho Emcral Isle were the
burden of the nursery tales of happy
childhood, and the legends of brave
Irish men and beautiful Irish women
gave tho first impulse to my youthful
conception Of romance and heroism.
Applause. In later years my first
knowledge Of political events was in the
Virginia contest of 1853, involving the
civil and religious liberty of foreigners
in America. The famous Know Moth
ing party. under the misapplied name
Of American, was compactly organized
by the light of its dark lanterns, and
sweeping triumphantly through tier
Of Northern States, with prescription
and ostracism as its real tenet, believed
itself to be invincble everywhere. It's
amin osity was chiefly directed against
Irishmcn and Roman Catholicism. IL
Flushed with victory, it reached the
Potomac river, and crossed into the
Old Dominion to wage battle royal for
supremacy. 1t came to blessed old Vir-
GINA, with her peak of Monticello, on
which was reared an humble shaft to
Thomas Jefferson, the author of tho
statutes of civil and religious liberty /;
to old Virginia, whose sons had given
birth to the thoughts and to the maxims
upon which Daniel O'Connell in 1929
had made his glorious fight, compelling
the Duke of Wellington to declare that
the passage of the act Of Irish emanci-
patton was necessary to avoid a civil
war in England. Emboldened by UNI
broken triumphs, w-Nothingism be.
lieved that even in the Old Dominion,
the mother of our glorious Union, the
asylum for the oppressed of all lands,
its principles and practices would be al
lowed to prevail. Ny father was chosen
as the standard-bearer Of the opposition !;
chosen at time when the odds seemed
desperate and all the probabilities against
your cause and his. OF that long and
bitter fight you know as much as l.
Through many months it was waged
with relentless earnestness On both sides,
and even after the polls had closed
Know Nothingism, always boastful, pro-
claimed its triumph But its boastings
were vain. When the full returns we're
in it was ascertained that it had met
with whitening, staggering, desolat-
ing defeat, which checked its power and
ultimately broke les strength in every
portion Of the Union Il was glorious
victory for great principle. 1t placed
upon mpregnablo foundations the sup
port and protection Of your rights in the
American Union, and settled forever the
question of civil and religious liberty to
foreigners in the United States, | was
too young then to appreciate its full
significance, but not too young to re-
member the hosts of Irishmen who came
with band and banner to my fathers
home to celebrate our common triumph.
While life lasts shall never forget the
burst of Irish enthusiasm which met the
opening sentences Of his coDgratulatory
address, as he said 'Wo have met the
black knight with his visor down and
his shield and lance are broken. | knew
that he could not withstand the pibroch
Of liberty or the viva voce Of the free
and generous people Of Virginia
THE TRIUMPH STILL REMEMBERED.
years have rolled by since then
years crowded with events enough TO fill
the pages of n century Of history, bu
the memory Of that glorious triumph is
still green in the hearts Of Irishmen ant
binds us together as did the glorious day
of Agincourt the hearts Of England
Harry and his chieftains. Applause.
With such an inspiration, invited b.
Irishmen to speak on Ireland's fiesta
day in such a presence. what must I
man not feel! How little Of what h
feels can he express when called upoI
to respond to the sentiment of ireland
, Beloved, generous land. what word
. shall fitly frame thy true apostrophe
Cheers. Shall VIC speak of your an
: Gent civilization, marked by pre-his
t toric monuments erected when Briton
: were barbarians? Or shall well tell @
the perennial youth and beauty of you
land and lakes and landscapes, stil
;, incomparably lovely and bewitching
u Shall we dwell ON your ancient lar