Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-04-28
IRELAND'S HERO NOW.
William 0'Brien, Who Has Spent
Many Long, Weary Months
IN PRISON FOR HIS PATRIOTISM.
Mass Meetings Held in the Darkness to
Evade the Police.
SOME OF ERIN'S PECULIAR SCENES

LONDON. April 27.-The man who has
the heartfelt admiration and love of every
man, woman and child in Ireland to-day is
William O'Brien. His bust in plaster is
in every cabin, and his picture ornaments
every wall. He has spent two out of the
past three years in prison for making what
are called incendiary speeches, and his con-
fnement has made serious inroads on his
once vigorous health. O'Brien is
ubiquitous. During the season when
Parliament is not in session he is apt TO
appear Unexpectedly in almost any part of
ireland, notwithstanding the surveillance
of the police.
Especially is he liable to appear in those
districts where evictions are in progress or
are about to take place. On these occasions
he is in the habit of making speeches. These
addresses never take place in public hall,
but are always made in a locality unknown
to the police. The way in which he gets his
audiences on these occasions is unique. The
fact that he wishes to make an address is
made known to some of the prominent men
IN the National League, and by secret
means the peasantry are notified of the place
of meeting.
A LABOR OF LOVE.
Barefooted messengers often run 30 miles
in the course of day carrying the news.
Often the courier is seated on horse which
jumps the hedges and bitches, where it is
impossible for a jaunting car to follow with
the police. The meetings usually take place
in the evening or on Sunday afternoon in
field on the outskirts of a village. 1t is not
unusual for 10, 600 men to gather at the place
of meeting. They come in little knots of
two or three, by unfrequented paths and re-
sorting to all kinds OF subterfuges to avoid
the police, for these guardians of the peace
are about to repress these demonstrations.
When the speech is made at night there
is a rough platform just large enough to
contain the speaker and lit by a single
homely torch. The audience gathers around
in dense mass, packed together like
clothes pins in a box. O'Brien climbs on
the platform, and is saluted by subdued
roar of applause, which is quickly hushed
when the speaker waves his hand and en-
joins silence upon his listeners. O'Brien
wears Pince Albert coat buttoned up to
his chin. He is seen to be of slim figure,
about feet inches in height, and not at
all of an imposing figure. His face is pale
with emotion, and the light of patriotism
glows in his eyes. He stretches out his
slim white hand and every ear in the audi
ence is intent to catch his words as he be-
gins in the poetical style so dear to the Irish
heart:
AN ABUNDANCE OF METAPHOR.
"Fellow citizens, Irish patriotism is high
as the round towers, deep as the holy
wells"
He does not get any further than this for
many minutes, for the pent-up enthusiasm
Of the people cannot be restrained, and a
mighty roar of assent to the lofty sentiment
goes up. When silence is restored he re-
sumes, and such a torrent of eioquence
pours from his lips that the vast crowd for |
get their oppression for the time being and |
become almost delirious with joy. the !
very fire of his utterance weakens the |
speaker, and in the middle of his speech he |
is forced to sit down, covered with perspira- |
ton and painting for breath. Scarcely has |
O'Brien resumed his address, filed with |
fowery metaphor, when some one on the |
,utskirte of the crowd exclaims:
1.-The boobies are coming!"
Two minutes later the field is deserted
MANY of the audience have been caught,
Ind some have been taken to prison, there
o serve out sentences OF from three TO six
months.
When these meetings take place in the
daytime football is always taken along, so
hat when the police appear the ball can be
brown into the air and everybody makes
believe play the game.