The Irish standard., 1889-10-05
ISH CHARACTERISTICS.
IContinued From First Page


was patriotic, yet conservative; aggres-
slve. yet diplomatic. lie endeared him
self to the world Of letters by his oriental
poem Lalla Rookh.' His Irish !
Melodies shall live 30 long as Ireland
has hopes Of becoming a nation Have
we no Irish poets in America? We
have John Boyle O' Reilly is the peer
OF great American poets. Theodore
O'Hara III the Blvouac Of the Dead"
portTays a strength, 4 vividness, a
pathos that stands unique in American
literature. The poetry of Father Ryan
shall be recited around Southern FIRE
sides long after the memories of our ma
tion's fratricidal strife shall have been
forgotten. But. poetry does not alone
constitute literature. history, biography,
| fiction and oratorY are also comprised,
La regard to history, how few have sur
passed Justin Mccarthy. John Mitchell
and Mooney? Irish fiction has numbered
such leading names as Laurence Sterne,
VIM. Carleton. Sam'l Lover and Charles
Lever. Irish fiction is not fashioned
after the style of George Elliott, or Mr.
HoweIls, or Mrs. Humphry Ward. Irish
fiction aims to build no, not to tear
down 1t may at times depict liberLln-
ism, YET it never breathes agnosticlsm.
Its characters deal with the external
and the real. Its characters are found
around Irish hearth stones in mountain
caves. and are billowed up in the
oceans waves; they climb the rugged
cliffs and wade the innumerable bogs of
Ireland
4 Wit, humor, forritude. patriotism,
eloquence, and pathos have in them true
representatives "Valentlne McClut-
chy'' and Willy RelIley' and his dear
"Cooleen Bawn' aptly illustrate the
, penal code of Ireland. Handy Andy
and s'Shandy Mcclure" portray wit
, a humor, a rathos that are peculiarly
applicable to the Irish race. Charles
Lever, with his grotesque characters, al
displayed in Harry Lorrequer" and
Charles o O'Malley'' depicts an exagger
ated phase Of Irish character. He deal!
! principally with the so called aristo
cracy of Ireland; and he does good un
consciously, by showing to the worlt
what unprlncipled libertines are tn
! men whom England has designated a.
the rulers of Ireland. Oratory has beer
: handed down undefled from Demosthe
r pes to the Irish people. Burke an,
e Sheridan and Grattan aud O'Connel
4 and Richard Lalor Shiel were NOR
; than the peers Of the world in oratory-
they we've its leaders. In America tn
silver -tongued ut.eranc OF Thoma
Adds Emmet, and Grady and Dough
erty aud O'Connor and Meagher stan
respectfully by the side of those of Wet
ster and Benton and Henry and Choate
In conclusion will say that thoug
the literature Of Ireland may seldor
touch the head, yet it shall alwav
touch the heart. 1T is not enwoven i
! metaphysical speculation, it is sdisplaye
d positively in the real Ireland shal
if ever exist as the home of orators, th
home of patriots, the home of martyrs
the home Of saints. Her mountain
Z and her valleys shall ever be people
9 with an invisible race; her poetry sha
" ever touch the human heart; her tale
~ shall be told around the family firesid,
her music shall swell like that of tt
= Aolian harp in the breezes; and b,
oratory shall reverberate In pleasin
!. cadences ssadoWn the streams OF time
r InnAI. AND OTHERWISE.