The Irish standard., 1893-08-05
A PULPIT ORATOR.
Interesting "reminiscences of Faith
or Tom" Burke, the 1mmol-
tai irish Donuinican. !
"A LlNGUIST AND VOCALIST.
His Powers OF Mimicry Were. Of
ten Hxercised, and We're Of
Marvellous Extent.

ten Hkerc1Sed, ana We're OF
Marvellous Extent
The Dublin Evening Telegram has
been publishing some very interesting
recollections of Father Burke, the elo-
quent Dominican preacher, who has
been dead just ten years. The writer
gives many instances Of the versatility of
the great Dominican, and from the arti-
Gle We take the following
His gift of language was phenomenal.
We have no direct authority for the
statement, but:sit has been confidently
male, that he could converse in almost
every European tongue. At school we
are told che galloped through the Greek
grammar" Until his fifth year he heard
no language but Irish, having been sent
out to nurse at Oranmore. He mentions
this in one of his lectures, saying: Il re-
member the time when not one word of
the English I now speak to you was on
these lips but only the sweet old rolling
Celtic tongue that my father and mother
spoke before me- Once, when rallied
about his brogue, which he retained al
ways, and which gave charm to his ora
tory, he said jovially, "My father and
mother have brogue like me, but>my
grandfather and grandmother had no
brogue, because they spoke no English >"
His grandfather, too, bore a pike in '9S
When he went to Rome fret he had to
express hiuself in Latin, knowing no
italian; when he returned to Woodches-
ter be could speak English only with diff
ficulty. having in the meantime obtained
mastery of Italian, even Of it's idion
and slang, that in after times he utilized
with ludierous effect in one of the best
of his mimetic treats. As for Latin, it is
related that during his novitiate he com
mitted to memory the "SuDlma' Of
Thomas Aquinas. To his knowledge OF
Irish literature we have previously borne
estimony. His acquaintance with Eng
h authors was wide, deep, and varied.
:kespea,e and Dickens were his favor
lues; he could recite page after page OF
A'Hamlet," Macbeth" and other TRACE
dies from memory. DR.. Mages of Car
low College was also remarkable lin
guist. During visit to Rome he was
pacing the Piazza Popolo when, desiring
some information, he addressed himself
to Dominican monk whom he saw near,
The monk seemed stupid. He did NOT
know Italian, he could speak very little
French; of Latin he seemed ignorant;
Greek he declined with shrug. AT
last the monk conveyed that he was
from Dublin, and DR.. Magee eagerly ad-
dressed him in English. Judge of his
amazement when the response came in
fluent vernacular Irish. Lingnist as he
was, DR.. Magee was unacquainted with
the tongue of his native land. Need we
add that the monk was Father Burke,
who was playing prank and teaching n
lesson at the same timel How did
Father Burke become so unequalled an
orator? We find the answer writ large
in his life. From early days he loved
elocution, both to listen to and to practice
it. Whilst at school this passion brought
him into private theatrcals; it also led
him to the Repeal meetings. He was one
of those present at O'Connell's famous
meeting on the Hill of Tara. His initial
platform effort was at Repeal meeting
in Galway. The expected speakers from
Dublin were delayed, and young Burke
was put up to fill the tiine. Telling the
tale himself, he says be was getting off
one Of his best schoolboy efforts when
some unreoonstructed old Irelander in
the crowd cried out, 'Ah! 20 long out o
that, Nicky Burke, or Til tell your
mother what q gaum Qool you are max
ing out of YOURSELF" Even before this
his bent was in the direction of oratory.
70 his schoolmates he would crate, and
sswflilst wearing bib he informs US, 81
remember climbing up platform built
of barrels, and spouting freely In the
days OF his youth he would walk along
the seashore with pebbles in his mouth
and deliver speeches to the rocks and
waves. Reminded of this by friend. he
remarked, "Ah, I was only aping Demos
themes. When he really began to
preach he was careful to excess, and
very nervous. He would talk over his
Intended sermon with q friend, freely ac-
cept corrections, write it ont, and'on de-
liyering it would, from timidity, speak
with his eyes closed. The practice of
submitting his sermon eforehand to "a "a
( iiirt,itiinate IA ar long after he made