The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1894-04-28
POET AND WRITER
An Interesting and Appreciative
Sketch of That Distinguished
Catholic Woman,
ELEANOR CECILIA DONNELLY,

Ode for the Quadro Centennial of
the History Of America One Of
Her Productions.
There are some highly talented writ
ers, whose commonplace exterior and
rugged manners give no idea of their
intellectual gifts, says Eugene Davis in
the Catholic Columbian. The stranger
who meets them casually, and has no in
inmate knowledge Of them, goes away
with the impression that, though they
are somewhat eccentric in their ways,
they belong to the ordinary class of folk
one encounters daily on his journey to
life medriocrities for the most part.
Miss Donnelly is the very antithesis to
these authors. In conversing with her
you will at once recognize in her woman
of talent, as we'll as one who exercises
that talent through the medium of the
pen. Yet as one who knows the lady
we'll thus graphically describes her, she
"has nothing of the proverbial blue
stocking about her. She is of medium
height, and faces you with pair Of
bright, Irish eyes, full Of kindly expires"
sion, a. when she speaks the gentle
ness of her voice and the expressive in
telligence of her face charm the listener
no less than the ease of her conversation
and the gracefulness of her language.
She is neither shy nor affected, and in
listening to her as she speaks about
herself and her works, one is impressed
with the total absence of all egotisrn
from her character. One comes away
with the impression that she is not only
talented poet and a charming CONVEX
satzonalist, but also modest maiden,
and thoroughly Catholic woman"
Miss Eleanor G. Donnelly was ths
sixth child of the late DR.. Philip Carrot
Donnelly, an Irish ph! sician, resident in
Philadelphia, Of which city the poet is q
ma tive.
MISS DoNNELLYs POETIC CAREER.
Her brother, Hon. Ignatius Donnelly,
of Minnesota, was the first to discover q
talent for poetry in his young sister,
who was very precocious for her age. She
wrote her first poem when she was q
child of eight years; and the profound
piety of her nature inspired her to con-
secrate this first effort Of her muse to
the Madonna, which she entitled a
"Hymn to our Blessed Lady" Like a
celebrated English poet, Alexander
Pope, who also was Catholic:
"She lisped on numbers for the mum bers
came
After having received an excellent
convent education in which her natural
talents were we'll developed, she spen
the best part of her life 80 far in the old
colonial quarter of Philadelphia, SO full
of historic associations. The title deeds
OF the antique but solid mansion where
she resided, dated back to the middle of
the 18th century. In this quaint quar-
ter during the years 1855 81, the low
white tents of the Acadian exiles from
Grand Prix unfolded themselves. Here,
too, lie buried under the walls of the
little old Catholic church yard in the
very very heart of the quaker city the
remains OF Evangeline and her long lost
lover, Gabriel. There memories of the
far past must have had vivid interest
for such an imaginative mind as that of
Miss Donnelly. She must have often
trod the sand Of that churchyard whore
the graves of the two lovers lay un-
known and unnoticed save by her alone
in the midst of big city's life and bust
ling commerce. Perhaps she brought
flowers on several occasions to wreath on
the green grasses where these twin
hearths have mouldered into clay to-
gether. Mayhap che knelt over their
ashes and prayed for the repose of
their souls.
Her volumes of poetry have been quite
numerous, and are the products Of a
busy life. They are respectively entitled
.sOut of Sweet Solitude" Legends Of
the Best Beloved and Other Poems, -
Crowned with Stars" 1.-THE Conversion
Of st. Augustine and Other Poems" two
volumes of "Hymns of the Sacred Heart
of Jesus" and q "Garland of Festival
Songs" translated fr m the German.
Her prose works have been Life of
the Rev. Felix J Barbelin," q fayorite
rector Of the old historic church Of St.
Joseph, Philadelphia, and two compils-
tions, pearls from the Casket,' and