The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-09-04
JOHN LIS KIND HEART
FOndness of the Worlds Cham
pi0n for Children.
GIVES AN EXHIBITION FOR BOYS.
He Receives . Message From . Girl in
Ireland, and Sends Her . Lot
ter and o Present.

The contradictory elements in the char
acter Of John l.. Sullivan, the champion
heavyweight pugilist, are very fairly il
Illustrated IN the following stanza of
Bowery song:
He's all right when you know him, though he's
spelling for fight;
He'll black your eye one minute, then he'll hug
you with delight:
de wouldn't hurt a baby; he's pal that you
can trust;
He's all right when you know him, but you've
got to know him iust.
John L. Sullivan has never been accused
OF being q sentimentalist and probably
never will be. but toward young people he
exhibits the utmost kindness and consid-
Grafton. During the time that he has
spent In the old-fashioned mn he has re-
peatedly shown this weakness-if it can be-
called weakness-and has excited sur
prise among those who know him by ex-
hibitions of the tenderest feeling. Refer
ence Is made particularly to kis kindness
toward the numerous boys who have come
to visit him from the surrounding country.
A crowd of thirty little fellows came to see
the great pugilist few days since. He
was buslly engaged rehearsing his new
play. But when he heard that the boys
had come to see him he dropped his work
and went down stairs to shake hands with
the boys and to invite them into his
homely gymnasium. Here he put on his
sweaters, banged the pendent ball. lifted
heavy weights. boxed with Jack Ashton
and did everything he could think of in
physical way to entertain his little
visitors. Then he took them all with
him when he went down to Peconic bay
for his daily bath. 1t was a very pleasing
scene to witness this herculean fellow,
whose name is the synonym the world
over for brute force and strength, showing
the pigmies how to swim and lifting them
over his head as a mother lifts her babe.
But more striking instance still of Sui
livan's Willingness to please occurred re-
Gently. He was seated on the wide, old
fashioned veranda, Sitting the upper por-
ton of pair of $l2-shoes with jackknife
to ease his feet. There was the freedom of
large nature in this act, as very few men,
even were they millionaires, would DELHI
erately ruin pair of $l2-shoes simply be-
cause they caused him a little temporary
annoyance. While re was engaged in this
destructive business man approached,
who said:
you from Ireland"
Zip! went the knife through the soft
calfskin. Then, as he viewed his work
with evident satisfaction, he called to his
Japanese valet ami told him to put his
shoes on for him. Turning to the visitor,
Sullivan exclaimed, with almost painful
abruptness:
"Well, sir, what is your message? Do
they want me to knock the boobies into
the scar"
mo, sir" replied the stranger, with a
smile. MY message is from a pretty
young Irish peasant girl, eighteen years
old"
Here the big fellow became interested.
Looking the stranger full in the eye, he
asked In deep basso profundo voice which
made the windows rattle:
What the devil does pretty young
Irish girl want of me?"
she wants to know if you will send her
a pair Of shoes, No IS" was the reply.
well, she has feet big enough, anyhow.
| wear only 9s myself" said Sullivan.
What is her name?"
"ManOn OSullivan. She lives in the
hamlet of Lack-a-beg. in the county of
Kerry, and she thinks she is your second
cousin"
That may be-" said John L.. with
from that part Of the country. But let's
have the whole story, man. How did the
girl happen to send such request to
your"
ut happened" said the stranger, "that
about year ago l was travelling through
Kerry, and knowing that your ancestors
came from that portion Of the country l
made inquiries concerning the birthplace
OF your father. In the course of my in
vestigatiOns / found that nearly every
O'Sullivan in kerry-and there are thou
sands of them-claimed some relationship
to you. l started my search in Tralee and
got on what thought was the right trail
when arrived at Lack-a-beg, which is q
small hamlet about four miles from Tralee
in the lower Kerry mountains. The father
OF the family which l visited was named
John Owen Ouge, which means John
Owen, Jr. He lived in an ordinary peasants
cottage with a matched roof and an
earthen flooring made hard by mixing
clay and lime together. There were
ten children in the family, all of whom are
as rugged and hearty as any have ever
seen. My appearance III the hamlet cre-
ated the most intense excitement, espe-
cially when the object of my visit was
made known. / remained there for three
days, and every evening the cottage was
filled with men and women who came TO
see the Yankee gintleman' who was look
ing for the relatives Of John l.. Sullivan.
Strong limbed sturdy young men sat
upon suggaun chairs and bodies of trees
and listened to the tales of your prowess.
John Owen OSu.livan was deeply inter
ested in my talk. lie interrupted me fire.
quently by making such remarks as
'Arrah. man, but I'd like TO see him! And
i of his own flesh and blood! Dye think
will he ever fight the nagur2"
mo, never Will, interrupted John L.,
who was deeply interested in the story of
the admiration of his kin in Ireland for
him. but how did John owen explain
his relationship to me?"
"He said" continued the stranger. "that
many years ago, probably fifty, three
Observation-Disclosures, John and Lawrence
came the famine of 1s4o, and Michael and
John wen. to America, leaving Lawrence
to work the place. He was positive that
you were the son of Michael or John, he
didn't know which, and then he arrived
at the conclusion that you were his cousin,
which would make his children your sec
ond cousins. Was he right in his concIu-
sions2"
"WelI, don't know anything about my
relatives in Ireland" replied John L. MY
fathers name was Michael, and it is posi-
BILE that John Owen is my cousin. Any
how, am willing he should be. But how
about the 1S-year-old girlf"
s'She was the eldest daughter Of John
Owen, O stout, healthy lass, with a beauti-
ful complexio and bright blue eyes. She
baked the lovely bread over the turf fire,
and regarded you IN the same light as We
regard Samson"
This delicate fiattery made John l.. laugh
and blush like big sehooiboy.
"She wore no shoes. even in winter--it
was February when 1 visited them-and
when I asked her why she went barefoot
she blushed and replied that she did not
have the money to buy shoes. And when
4 oh. Il