The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-07-04

of one Of his ancestors icing a skillful me-
chanio-thst is. king of the Tools" which,
through corruption, came TO be king
O'Toole."
KING "NED" o'coNNoR.
The claimant to the crown of Connaught
is familiar figure to most newspaper men.
being none other than Edward, or, as his
friends familiarly call him, Med" O'Con-
nor. This monarch is a newspaper reporter
OF rather more than average ability, and is
probably on the shady side of 40. He has
an extremely rotund figure and the rubi-
cund complexion OF the bon vivant In
fact. he comes as near answering the de-
scription of the famous old King Cole as
any monarch, crowned or uncrowned, that
ever lived since the jolly hero Of nursery
lore.
He is considerably more modest than the
other claimants mentioned, 30 much so that
1t is difficult to get him to discuss the sub
ject He is also less sanguine Of restoration,
and, indeed, Processes utter Indifference to
1t. In fact, he claims to be thoroughgo-
ing democrat, and would prefer to soc his
ancient realm q republic than to occupy the
throne at any cost
He is employed on one OF the afternoon
papers aud he is usually to be seen, when at
leisure In some one Of the hostslries in the
neighborhood OF Beekmsn street and Park
row. Ned" II may be allowed to refer
to his majesty in such familiar terms 10 a
thoroughly good fellow, the social side Of
whose nature is remarkably well developed.
This king WAS more fortunate than either
OF the other two claimants In being born on
Irish soil, as he is a native of Belfast or a
near suburb and he emigratsd to this ooun-
try soon after the troublous epoch of '"65. I"
King OConnor is proud of the fact that
his lineage, unlike that OF O'Toole, is direct,
without blemish or bar sinister although
be cannot explain why the great Daniel
OConnor, whom he claims as an ancestor
never put in any claim TO royal descent.
He also denies that one of his ancestors
turned traitor in the cause of Ireland in the
time Of William of Orange and took an
active part in the battle Of the Boyne on
the side OF the Protestant prince,
KING GMHooLY.
The remaining one of the four monarchs,
the claimant of Lieuster, is a decided con-
trast to the others His name is James Gil
hooly. He is a painter by trade, and has
been denied some of those advantages Of
education possessed by his brother monarchs
But his claim 10 broader than theirs, aud is
supported with far greater zeal. Indeed. he
suspects that he is entitled to the united
throne vacated by the illustrious Bryan
Boroimhe, and that his realm should en-
brace the entire Green Isle. But he never
makes this claim with absolute confidence,
except when surrounded by his chief sup
porters and filed with an enthusiasm too
bright aud high TO be enduring.
King Gtlhooly Is 30 emphatic In his claim
for the whole kingdom OF Ireland that he
absolutely and Indignantly refused to hear
the proposition once suggested by King
O'Leary, that the four monarchs should
formulate their partnership realm into a
trust with power to create any one OF their
number supreme rule during such period as
might seem good and proper to the remain
ing three, thus giving each a chance in turn
OF being at the head OF affairs and at the
same time giving the others an opportunity
for rest from the tolls and cares of state.
The kings claim is founded mainly on his
name Of Gilhooly, which, he says, means in
the Celtic tongue Leader of the people. {"
He admits that for many centuries his fam
lily lived in obscurity and poverty, in total
ignorance Of the fact that royal blood
coursed in their veins and that it was
through the merest accident that the fact
was discovered.
1t appears that once upon time tthe king
is uncertain as to the date an ancestor was
employed as gardener for a certain Isaac
Solomon; that this gentleman became so
much attached TO the gardener that in his
will be bsqueathed to the latter gold ring
Of ancient design. Upon examination at a
later period it was discovered that on the
inside Of the ring were engraved the initials
II. 8. K"
For long time the gardener and his fam
lily were puzzled TO understand the meaning
of the strange inscription They could essily
comprehend that II. s." stood for Isaac
Solomon )" but they could not imagine what
the lnall ok" meant. Finally a soothsayer,
in the person Of an old woman (soothsayers
were common In those days. came along,
and, on being shown the ring, at once in
terpreted the initials to mean "Ireland's
second king"
This led to an investigation, which re-
suited in the discovery that the ring had
formerly belonged to the Gilhooly family.
This established the fact. beyond all cavil,
that the family had descended from the
king of that name, who was the second ia
his line.
1t afterward became necessary, however,
for several Of the present claimants anoes-
tors to crack the heads of divers skeptics
who suggested that the mysterious initials
might be simply '1S K" indicating the
quality of the ring.